THURSDAY 4/15

SOUL'D OUT MUSIC FEST: GIL SCOTT-HERON

(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See Music.

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG, JOGGER

(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) See Music.

EXENE CERVENKA

(Music Millennium, 3158 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

HELMS ALEE, HOT VICTORY, LA FIN DU MONDE, ROLLIE FINGERS

(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) One would think in an age of marvelous technological advancements such as laptops and drum machines, a one-man band would carry a lighter load. Not Rollie Fingers. A.C. Jensen, who claims his motivation is to be "the soloist of the solo," lugs two guitar stacks, a bass stack, and a full drum set to his live gigs. He pushes his pre-recorded guitar and bass tracks through the appropriate gear while he mans the drums. Thanks to a lot of muscle, Rollie Fingers is a one-man act that sounds like a four piece live band. If that's not cool enough, his lumbering, mathy, Melvins-inspired instrumental tunes will convince you. ARIS WALES

FRIDAY 4/16

MBILLY, THE ALIALUJAH CHOIR, TARA JANE O'NEIL

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Mbilly is one Will Helfrich, and after a very long gestation period his album Mister Nobody Baby is finally seeing its release, celebrated by tonight's show. Helfrich is yet another Portland dude strumming an acoustic guitar and singing folk-tinged ballads about how love is all, you know, hard and stuff. But Helfrich approaches this very familiar turf from a unique angle, and with a heavyweight songwriting talent in tow. A wry sense of humor prevents the songs from becoming maudlin, and a clarity of vision keeps his metaphors from stacking too high on one another. Members of Weinland (whose Adam Shearer makes an appearance with the Alialujah Choir tonight) are just some of the many Portland musicians guesting on Mister Nobody Baby, which also features opener Tara Jane O'Neil. NED LANNAMANN

THE MOTHER HIPS, JARED MEES AND THE GROWN CHILDREN, THE HUGS

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) "Human kindness will wash all the bad vibes out of my mind," sings Tim Bluhm, frontman of the Mother Hips, in an ode to the surfing life in the song "TGIM" (which I assume stands for "Thank God It's Monday," a very bold statement). The Bay Area band is reminiscent of the golden era of Golden State rock and roll—long before massive debt, sustainability crises, and Schwarzenegger—with soaring Byrdsian harmonies and enough shimmering guitar fuzz to mimic their favorite ocean (hint: it's the Pacific) on a sunny day. Yet their latest record, Pacific Dust, has genuine grit to it and while so many bands try to replicate this sound with mixed results, the Mother Hips will remind you what rock and roll really sounds like. RAQUEL NASSER

BERNARD PURDIE

(Jimmy Mak's, 221 NW 10th) Bernard "Pretty" Purdie claims to be the "World's Most Recorded Drummer," and you know what? Maybe he is. You can't really substantiate a claim like that. (My claim as "World's Third-Best Parallel Parker" is similarly unproveable, but no less valid.) Yes, Purdie has doubtlessly played on a ton of records; he was Aretha Franklin's drummer for five years and his patented, lightning-fast shuffle beat can be heard on Steely Dan's "Babylon Sisters" and "Home at Last." So what to expect from tonight's solo show from Purdie, which is part of the wide-ranging Soul'd Out Music Festival? You can expect some anemic funk and soul—Purdie's latest effort Jersey Blue is so musically competent that it's practically devoid of any character whatsoever—backed up by some ridiculously excellent drumming. NL

ROSKA, BEN TASTIC, LINCOLNUP

(Crown Room, 205 NW 4th) Local DJs Lincolnup and Ben Tactic are adding to your weekend dancing options with a new monthly party focused on garage, UK funky, bashment, tropical, house, and dubstep. They're going big on the inaugural event and importing London's Roska for the evening. A producer for notable London pirate station rinse.fm, Roska has been steadily gaining international notoriety and should be able to easily cover the laundry list of aforementioned genres, and then some. This includes his mega-sexy collaboration with house vocalist Jamie George ("Love 2 Nite"), the deep Caribbean beat and addictive little vibrating noise of the directionless "Squark," and "Tomorrow is Today," which smashes together two-step and old skool electro with a bit of irony. Point is, the Roska is talented, versatile and doesn't take himself too seriously—all qualities that point to a DJ who can make people fully cut loose on a dance floor. AVA HEGEDUS

BOO FROG, THE SPIDER BABIES, HAIRSPRAY BLUES

(Ducketts Public House, 825 N Killingsworth) If you want to dole out credit for the inception of self-described "swamp rock" act Boo Frog, you can pin it all on the bikini briefs of one Lux Interior. Formed as a one-off band for a Lux/Cramps tribute, Boo Frog soon underwent a metamorphosis to a fulltime outfit, one responsible for the just-released Better Than the Rest full-length. Dual vocalists Erika Meyer and Chris Newman split time behind the mic—Meyer's voice is firm and assertive, while Newman's fills the void between Fred Cole and Sky Saxon—rounding out a bare bones garage style that nicely meshes together. And for this, we thank you, Lux. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

SOUL'D OUT MUSIC FEST: DEVOTCHKA, VAGABOND OPERA, RITCHIE YOUNG

(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) You might be surprised to find that the epic orchestral dance music of DeVotchKa—complete with their exotic Slavic and/or Latin-tinged, sounds—is actually from Colorado. Don't let that stop you from buying into their timeless and ethereal music. In fact, you are probably familiar with the band, considering that they provided the quirky, moving soundtrack to beloved 2007 film Little Miss Sunshine. Amazingly, the "gypsy punk" sound created by DeVotchKa can be credited to just four band members, each playing multiple instruments, including the theremin, sousaphone and trumpet. MARANDA BISH

SATURDAY 4/17

RECORD STORE DAY

(Various stores) See My, What a Busy Week!

NY NIGHTTRAIN'S SOUL CLAP: JONATHAN TOUBIN

(East End, 203 SE Grand) See My, What a Busy Week!

MEGAFAUN, BREATHE OWL BREATHE, PANCAKE BREAKFAST

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) A sneak preview of Breathe Owl Breathe's upcoming Magic Central album reveals the Michigan trio is cooking up some genuinely warped avant-pop. There's rustic folk plucking, uneasy synth tones, atonal piano lines, and more spoken word than you think you might be able to handle. It all works, amazingly enough. There are also plenty of lushly gorgeous melodies, an invitingly adorable artiness, and a genuine exuberance that has you rooting for the band with every note. Magic Central will be out sometime this summer, and Breathe Owl Breathe will return to the Portland area for August's Pickathon festival, but you can get a jumpstart by seeing them at tonight's show, which is also sort of an unofficial kickoff party for Pickathon and will include special prizes like a free weekend pass for the festival. Breathe Owl Breathe are opening for Megafaun, who are still riding high off of last year's splendid, languid Gather, Form and Fly album and who have a similarly off-kilter take on back-porch folk strumming. NL

OVERKILL, VADER, GOD DETHRONED, WARBRINGER, EVILE, WOE OF TYRANTS

(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Overkill has reached the quarter-century mark, but for some reason they still seem like the kid in the back of the class, desperately waving their hand to get the teacher's attention. Overshadowed by looming juggernauts like Slayer and Megadeth, the Jersey band has been churning out hard-charging, good-time thrash for just as long as their far more successful peers. Ironbound, the band's fifteenth album, holds up right alongside their earlier classics like The Years of Decay or Under the Influence. Ironbound's chunky, bangable riffs and gang vocals give it a timeless feel, and the record's lone flaw is the out-of-place T-Pain moment singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth has on the bridge of "Give a Little." Hopefully "Blitz" realizes that Auto-Tune is most certainly not metal and avoids trying to recreate that onstage. AW

DARK TIME SUNSHINE, JAKE ONE, OLDOMINION, TOPE & EPP, RAFAEL VIGILANTICS

(Backspace, 115 NW 5th) Dark Time Sunshine is made up of Seattle's Onry Ozzborn alongside Chicago producer Zavala. Ozzborn is a rare breed of emcee that is equally as comfortable name-dropping Cyndi Lauper as he is Pretty Toney. Ozzborn's acrobatic flow is both silly and sincere, as verses like "From dead livers to Liverpool/We go together like Linda Blair and Rick James used to" come off not as punchlines, but instead as something strictly regal. Portland emcees Tope & Epp have joined forces with producer G_Force and if their recent tour EP, Rain in Cali, is any indication of things to come, T&E are poised to join the upper echelon of local artists whose music reaches far beyond the confines of their geography. RYAN FEIGH

SUNDAY 4/18

FILM ACTION OREGON BENEFIT: BLUE SKIES FOR BLACK HEARTS, JOHN ASKEW, LEONARD MYNX & MORE

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Film Action Oregon is a local nonprofit that runs the show at the Hollywood Theatre and in honor of their "Rock for Light" benefit, they'll be screening only the most obscure prints from Cassavetes and Fellini for you astute cinephiles. Oh wait, I mean they are showing scenes from Labyrinth and Halloween. But not just any scenes; these will be scored by a varied selection of fine local bands, including popsmiths Blue Skies for Black Hearts, the heartfelt stylings of Leonard Mynx, and plenty more. But if staring at musicians and a video projection of Jareth the Goblin King's massive crotch bulge just isn't enough for you, local thespians will be on hand to reenact pivotal scenes as well. EAC

BLANK DOGS, COSMETICS, TUNNELS, SHALLOW SEAS

(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) Brooklyn's Blank Dogs (AKA Mike Sniper) creates muzzy, bedroom-fidelity electronic pop that traffics in the same sort of consoling melancholy as the Magnetic Fields and Fad Gadget. Sniper infuses textural and structural weirdness into the generally straightforward songwriter lines of the project to keep things from getting too predictable or cutesy. His special talent is a kind of nonchalant tunefulness, so his hooks lift the corners of your mouth into a smile, but one that doesn't expose your teeth. Vancouver trio Cosmetics describe themselves as "Grace Jones on estrogen," which is witty if not entirely accurate. Rather, they sound like a more introverted, less propulsive Adult. DAVE SEGAL

BURNING YELLOWS, PSYCHEDELIC HORSESHIT, EAT SKULL, WHINES, BELLYS

(East End, 203 SE Grand) When your band has a 7-inch on the way from legendary Chicago garage label HoZac Records and your number of live performances is still under five shows, it's really no secret that you probably have some connections. And Burning Yellows certainly do. Husband and wife Zach and Kyja King are, among other things, two Portland garage-lo-fi-punk mainstays who you might know from their their SMMR/DMMR BMMR festivals. But can they actually deliver the goods? Yes. Their brand new "Urinal Cakes" single is a reverb-drenched wall of sound, a gem of a first effort for Burning Yellows. This show will make for the most worthwhile Monday morning hangover you've had in years. MATTEY HUNTER

MONDAY 4/19

YEASAYER, SLEIGH BELLS

(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) I'm less taken than most critics by Brooklyn band Yeasayer's brand of vaguely apocalyptic, quasi-tribal, vocal-harmony-heavy rock, but I'm as intrigued as everyone else by Sleigh Bells. The duo is composed of guitarist/producer Derek Miller, formerly of Florida hardcore footnotes Poison the Well, and vocalist Alexis Krauss, who previously performed in a teen-pop act called Ruby Blue. As Sleigh Bells, they meet somewhere in the vast area between those polar extremes, with Miller laying down noisy but ultimately poppy guitar riffs and big, drill-team hiphop beats over which Krauss shouts bratty, peppy threats and coos odd come-ons. Imagine a lo-fi and less annoying version of the Tings Tings, maybe, or Yeah Yeah Yeahs on a Xanax jag and a cruddy mic. Could be good fun live. ERIC GRANDY Also see My, What a Busy Week!

AWESOME COLOR, HAIR POLICE

(Worksound, 820 SE Alder) Lexington, Kentucky/Ypsilanti, Michigan's Hair Police stand as one of America's foremost wreckers of hearing currently operating. Like many noise units, the trio of Trevor Tremaine, Robert Beatty, and Mike Connelly (the last of whom is also in Wolf Eyes) deal in extremities of frequencies and emotions. They strive to push you to your mental and physical threshold with their eruptive, emergency-room-panic splatter of tones. Hair Police translate into sound the spirit of Sam Kinison at his most vein-bulging end-of-tetherness. By contrast, Awesome Color—who record for Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label—dig their Motor City rock roots with faithfulness and fervor. You know the litany: Stooges, MC5, Alice Cooper, Nugent. For this Detroit native, it's a rust-belt-raunchy sound that's as familiar and comfortable as a mother's heartbeat. You may like their meaty garage rock, too. DS

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY AND THE BROKEOFFS, THEE HEADLINERS, MONARQUES

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Truly She Is None Other, the title of Holly Golightly's 2003 release, is a loving description of this musical Jill-of-all-trades. Golightly started out in the early '90s singing with Thee Headcoatees; since then Holly has recorded, toured, and collaborated relentlessly, releasing a handful of albums and innumerable singles that are distinctly nostalgic and otherworldly—ranging from Wanda Jackson-inspired rockabilly to grooving, mod R&B. Since 2007, she and a fella named Lawyer Dave have been playing as Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs, and Medicine County, released last month on UK's Damaged Goods label, is a collection of rollicking alt-country and rock and roll that is sure to make for a lively stage show. MB

TUESDAY 4/20

GUIDANCE COUNSELOR, FAKE DRUGS, ASTROLOGY

(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See My, What a Busy Week!

DEER TICK, DOLOREAN, HOLY SONS

(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

SOUL'D OUT MUSIC FEST: DR. LONNIE SMITH

(Jimmy Mak's, 300 NW 10th) See Music.

THE JOGGERS, TV TORSO, ETERNAL TAPESTRY

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) One questions remained following February's packed-to-the-gills Joggers reunion show at the Kenton Club: Is the band back for good? Or was that night just one of those non-committal reunions, where a band only sort of gets back together and does so mostly as an excuse to get drunk? "Everyone is in it to win it," drummer Jake Morris explains. Granted, these days Joggers have real jobs and real babies, so the days of reckless van living might be a thing of the past, but the band has a full-length written and ready to record, and will likely support that with some touring as well. Wait, a new Joggers LP this year? You now have permission to be officially excited. EAC

WEDNESDAY 4/21

PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED

(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See Music.

NATASHA KMETO, SHE'S ON DRUGS, BOY MEETS CLUB, DARKCLOUD

(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) It would be enough for Natasha Kmeto to get by with just her voice, a powerful instrument that goes from a careful whisper to a soulful belt. But Kmeto's got a lot more going on, creating electro soundscapes that sound like R&B songs turned inside out. Chilly synths find heatseeking frequencies while screwed-up beats skitter around heavy bass; Kmeto's voice brings a distinctly human element to her digital deconstructions, creating a futuristic club music that doesn't yet have any parallel. Armed with Ableton and a mic, Kmeto's found a trance-ready spot that tugs at the sleeves of hiphop, IDM, and maybe even a tinge of goth, with a singing voice that keeps the digital zeroes and ones imbued with flesh and blood. NL