THURSDAY 6/16

MARK LANEGAN, SEAN WHEELER, ZANDER SCHLOSS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

DAX RIGGS, SONS OF HUNS, MONOPLANE
(Branx, 320 SE 2nd) Over countless bands and incarnations over the years, it seems as if Dax Riggs (Acid Bath, Deadboy and the Elephantmen) has reached the height of his powers. His 2010 record Say Goodnight to the World is a narcotic platter of razor-sharp glamdust, with lurching, fuzz-rock interpolations of the blues underpinning Riggs' fearsome baritone. He's captured a perfect blend of classic rock, metal sludge, gallows blues, and noir-goth Americana, resulting the kind of record that Jack White would trade in his entire wardrobe of antique clothes to make. What's more, Riggs' weathered voice is the kind of instrument that only deepens with time, meaning that he's bound to keep making spooky, craggy, craftily seductive records for years to come. Mark Lanegan fans—you might very well have a better time tonight at this show. NED LANNAMANN

MARK SULTAN, MONARQUES, THEE HEADLINERS, BOO JAYS
(East End, 203 SE Grand) When Mark Sultan, the turban- and dashiki-wearing Canuck known as BBQ, and King Khan split ways from their long-running musical partnership (as the King Khan and BBQ Show) following a disastrous Australian gig, the garage world was shocked off its already turbulent foundation. But Sultan trudged on, recording a bunch of tunes that will eventually fill out a pair of LPs before we hit 2012. While Sultan's doo-slop—sappy, doo-wop-inspired slop-rock—remains his strongest suit, the man has been known to throw some snaggle-toothed swagger into the fold. Sultan recently returned from Europe, where he and Khan reconciled their differences and played a surprise reunion show in Italy. (Yep, they're back on!) He should be in top form and high spirits when he straps on his guitar and sets the scene for a punk-rock prom where everyone loses their virginity afterward. TRAVIS RITTER

TIMES NEW VIKING, AND AND AND
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Times New Viking were once considered the lowest of the lo-fi—years before everyone and their moms were trying to out-scuzz one another. Even the flip from Siltbreeze to Matador a few years back didn't put the Columbus, Ohio, trio on the straight and narrow. On Dancer Equired!—their first release for yet another label, Merge Records—TNV cleans things up a tad, while adding a little more melody to the mix. To the lo-fi faithful (is there a lo-fi faithful, or am I just making it up?) this could be seen as sacrilege, but frankly, I've heard many a good song/album nearly ruined by shitty (over) blown-out, tinny production (I'm looking at you, Eat Skull), so you won't hear me complaining. You probably won't hear many others complain, either... except for maybe Pitchfork—but they complain about everything. MARK LORE

XDS, EDIBLES, SUN ANGLE
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Other Minds Meet Inner Space, the new 12-inch from Edibles—the duo of Eternal Tapestry's Dewey Mahood and Bark Hide and Horn's Dusty Dybvig—ostensibly starts out as a dub record. There's plenty of flanged percussion, gooey echo, and skanky beats; there are the waves of melodica that kick off Side Two. But along the way, Edibles uncover something more exploratory, as the instrumental tracks find themselves brushing up against deep pockets of psychedelia and uncoiling groove. Mahood and Dybvig have immersed themselves into a dark, thick syrup of sound, and Other Minds Meet Inner Space is at equal turn both a chillout record and an unsettling look into the abyss. The more aggressive their playing becomes, the more the dub grooves work their magic, which in turns makes the psychedelic freakouts that much more transportive. NL

FRIDAY 6/17

LAURA GIBSON, HOLCOMBE WALLER
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See My, What a Busy Week!

SHUT UP AND DANCE: DJ GREGARIOUS
(Jack London Bar at the Rialto, 529 SW 4th) See My, What a Busy Week!

BOAT, DIRTY MITTENS, THE NIGHTGOWNS
(Backspace, 115 NW 5th) Read our article on Boat.

BARRY BRUSSEAU, EZZA ROSE, SEAN CROGHAN
(Record Room, 8 NE Killingsworth) The act of tucking your punk-rock past into bed and moving forward can be as difficult a task as any musician has to face. Barry Brusseau knows this all too well, as his previous musical endeavors were heavy on the noise (the Jimmies, Legend of Dutch Savage), and his new EP A Cheap Charming Sound is a grand departure from volume altogether. Possessing an ornate baritone (Who knew?), Brusseau channels the hushed intimacy of a smoldering Leonard Cohen ballad on this six-song EP that is made up of three originals and three covers. Brusseau's songs are striking and barren, his voice the main component, while the covers show great range, from old-timey blues ("Cool Iron Bed") to the puzzling choice of Bob Seger's "Night Moves." The EP is limited to 50 copies and comes beautifully wrapped in a hand-stitched canvas sleeve, topped off by a one-inch button of Brusseau's face. Listen to the EP, and wear this man's face on your lapel with pride. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

MACROCOSM, PURPLE RHINESTONE EAGLE, AYAHUASCA TRAVELERS, BLUES DRUID
(East End, 203 SE Grand) If there is one show where it should be totally acceptable to hand out one-hitters to those in attendance, this is it. Purple Rhinestone Eagle will bring enough psychedelic guitar and drum thud that you'll feel like you're trapped inside a blacklight poster (one of those vintage felt ones, not the crappy kind you get at the fair or Spencer Gifts). Local act Macrocosm are lesser known, but equally pummeling. "I and Thou" is seven-and-a-half minutes of monolithic noise that can lay waste to eardrums, skulls, and city blocks. Picture the destruction of Mothra vs. Godzilla, except with a better soundtrack. ML

A GUY CALLED GERALD, BRYAN ZENTZ, TOM MITCHELL, DAVE BATE
(Groove Suite, 440 NW Glisan) As a founding member of the groundbreaking Manchester electronic dance band 808 State and creator of 1988's classic acid house track "Voodoo Ray," A Guy Called Gerald (Gerald Simpson) can take significant credit for germinating the early sounds of Chicago and Detroit across the pond in England at a pivotal time for dance music in Europe. Over the last 20 years, Simpson has reliably produced original dance tracks ranging from house, to drum and bass, to downtempo. His music is less bound together by genre than it is by a general warmth, sexiness, and tendency to be on the leading edge. His latest single—a collaboration with Benno Blome and Highgrade Records boss Tom Clark—is a prime example of this. Despite his old school status, Simpson has stayed ahead of technology and he's known for bringing his entire production suite into the club, which should be a nice lesson in both music history and modernity. AVA HEGEDUS

MINUS THE BEAR, THEMES, EMPTY SPACE ORCHESTRA
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) There was a period of time where Minus the Bear stopped liking Minus the Bear. At least, it sure seemed that way. The stop/start technical noodling and short-attention-span lyrics that were such integral cogs to the Seattle band's signature sound were kicked to the curb for 2010's Omni, an album that sounded closer to Maroon 5 than the Minus the Bear we've known and loved. To the band's credit, Omni is a grand statement—since it seemed as if the band had grown stagnant with the template that served them so well on their three previous full-lengths (technical precision + goofy song titles)—and better to be weighed down by ambition than to succumb to the pressure of recording the same album over and over again. Whatever, I'm just killing time until Sharks Keep Moving reunite. EAC

PRIORY, FINN RIGGINS, MACKINTOSH BRAUN
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) With their self-titled debut, Priory have made a polished and capable record that contains a few moments of greatness. Aided by the assured hands of Point Juncture, WA's Skyler Norwood, the Portland quartet's sounds are sometimes based on the folktronic palette of nylon-string guitar and pitter-pattering programmed percussion, but the songs build into earnest structures that bear both a progressive, exploratory edge and a mint-condition pop classicism. Kyle Dieker's high falsetto works in tandem with Brandon Johnson's lead—occasionally bringing to mind the harmonizing Laws brothers of Hosannas—which lightens the load of Priory's often weighty material. The sing-songy "Devil vs. Heater" is a giddily buoyant pop song, one of the most immediately infectious tracks released by a local band in recent months, and while the rest of the album is more ponderous, it's proof that not only is Priory a band full of compelling ideas, it's more than capable of executing them. NL

THE DRUTHERS, TYLER STENSON, BRYAN FREE
(Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th) Tyler Stenson bills his music as "elegant folk," and who am I to disagree with that? The just-released Another Gleam is his re-recording of his 2008 album See That Gleam (he better complete the trifecta with a remix album entitled Gleaming the Cube), and it's a perfectly passable recording of sensitive dude folk music, not from removed from the quivering Gap commercial that is Damian Rice, or a surfer brah Jack Johnson. The sensibility of re-recording your old record aside, there is nothing to dislike about Another Gleam—it's utterly perfect in so many ways—yet it feels empty, like a pristine model home that lacks the charm of a more ramshackled, lived-in domicile. That's not to say you won't fall head over heels for Stenson (fans of Rice or Johnson certainly might), it's just that music with a little risk has always sounded better to my ears. EAC

SATURDAY 6/18

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, MIDTOWN DICKENS
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See My, What a Busy Week!

BLOW PONY: LESLIE HALL, CJ AND THE DOLLS, JEAU BREEDLOVE, LITTLE TOMMY BANG BANG, & MORE
(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) See My, What a Busy Week!

BELL X1, JARROD GORBEL
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) One won't ever accuse Bell X1 of being trailblazers. The Irish band makes a neatly sanitized, Grey's Anatomy-approved version of Radiohead's skyscraping pop engineering. And there's plenty of arena-sized emoting to boot, which brings to mind U2, another peace-proselytizing Irish band that shares its name with war aircraft. (Up next: a band named Enola Gay.) This is not to say Bell X1 makes unpleasant sounding music; quite the opposite. Their new album Bloodless Coup is swirling and moody in completely appealing ways, as dramatic melodies sway under the weight of their own gravity. Since the size of US audiences have not quite caught up to the massive following Bell X1 has in their homeland, seeing a band that makes music on this grand a scale play a tiny club should be a fully exhilarating experience. It's unlikely you'll have the chance to get this close to Bell X1 again. NL

GRANT HART, CHEAP MEATS, DRUNK LADIES
(East End, 203 SE Grand) Grant Hart has secured a spot in the rock pantheon for his excellent, impassioned drumming, singing, and songwriting in punk-pop-sike juggernaut Hüsker Dü. After dropping classic albums like Zen Arcade, New Day Rising, and Candy Apple Grey, Hüsker Dü split in 1987, partially due to Hart's struggle with heroin addiction. Nevertheless, he went on to release the strong 1989 solo debut LP Intolerance and later formed the solid Nova Mob. In whatever configuration he toils, Hart is a magnificent crafter of melodies, imbuing his songs with familiar folk and soul tropes that wallop you into whole-hearted empathy, thanks largely to his huskily modulated Midwestern vocalese. (Check out "2541," one of the most slyly affecting songs ever.) Post-Hüsker, Hart hasn't been very prolific, but he's issued enough gems to make this appearance an intriguing prospect, even at this late date. DAVE SEGAL

SUNDAY 6/19

KID CONGO POWERS AND THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS, CAT FANCY, DON'T, GHOST MOM
(East End, 203 SE Grand) Kid Congo Powers has been a preeminent fixture in underground rock music for the last 30-plus years. From his early days as a member of the Gun Club and the Cramps, Powers went on to become a Bad Seed during Nick Cave's darkest and most damning era in the late '80s. Since then, Powers has found his own footing as leader of the swampy, vamping garage ensemble Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds. The band's fantastic 2009 release, Dracula Boots, unlocked a closet filled with supernatural premonitions and urban myths, casting a ghoulish light on all the dark corners of noir, surf, and garage music. Now the band is touring the West Coast in support of their recently released third full-length, Gorilla Rose, which is capable of setting fire to the carpet under your blistered, bare feet. TR

MONDAY 6/20

...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD, RINGO DEATHSTARR, FOLLOW THAT BIRD
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead are hardly the "10.0" band that Source Tags & Codes (AKA the one Trail of Dead album you own) made them out to be. Yet while the instrument-smashing gimmicks might be what defined the band, the Austin quartet has a natural gift for creating bombastic rock-and-roll songs that rival anything else the genre has to offer these days. Support act Ringo Deathstarr are more than a pop culture-mined moniker; instead the co-ed Texas trio will blow out your eardrums with a gleefully deafening shoegaze/pop concoction. Their Colour Trip debut album toggles between bouncy bubblegum pop and enough tinnitus-inducing feedback to send you straight to the otolaryngologist. EAC

JOHN MAUS, PURO INSTINCT, GENEVA JACUZZI
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) John Maus' music will likely remind you of his former collaborator Ariel Pink, with its casual, hazily pretty melodies and quasi-tongue-in-cheek, melodramatic tone. His third album—We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves—sounds as if it's coated in slick gauze. Maus seems to be wearing his heart on his sleeve, waxing romantic in a deep croon, but, as a former philosophy professor, he may be putting us all on with a simulacrum of a throwback heartthrob, retooled for our current hypnagogic-pop moment ("Pussy is not a matter of fact," he sings, poker-facedly). He creates the illusion that he's singing in a mausoleum, with slicked-back hair, using a chintzy drum machine, third-hand synths, and a four-track. But Maus' tunes quickly insinuate themselves into your memory, even as you wonder if dude's taking the piss. Panda Bear, Aziz Ansari, and Lil B are fans, if that sways you. DS

TUESDAY 6/21

YOURS
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) See My, What a Busy Week!

OKKERVIL RIVER, TITUS ANDRONICUS, JULIANNA BARWICK
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Read our article on Okkervil River.

EMILY'S ARMY
(The Sea Shanty) Read our article on Emily's Army.

HARRY AND THE POTTERS, THE WHOMPING WILLOWS, LAUREN FAIRWEATHER, JUSTIN FINCH FLETCHLEY AND THE SUGAR QUILLS
(Backspace, 115 NW 5th) If it surprises you that wizard rock band Harry and the Potters are still touring, years after the final book in J.K. Rowling's series was released, then you underestimate both the devotion of the Harry Potter faithful and the genuine appeal of the music of brothers Paul and Joe DeGeorge. Yes, the duo is still playing shows in Harry Potter costume, and still touring with the likes of the Whomping Willows and others in the surprisingly vibrant wizard-rock scene—but the apparent gimmick has two solid anchors: heartfelt, catchy pop songs, and an earnest commitment to generating excitement about books. If past performances are any indication, their show is a guaranteed night of good, wholesome, all-ages fun. When was the last time you had any of that? ALISON HALLETT

WEDNESDAY 6/22

CALVIN JOHNSON, THE SANDWITCHES (4 PM)
(The Record Room, 8 NE Killingsworth) See My, What a Busy Week!

CALVIN JOHNSON, THE SANDWITCHES (8 PM)
(Cherry Sprout Produce, 722 N Sumner) See My, What a Busy Week!

MEAT PUPPETS, BAD WEATHER CALIFORNIA, THE BLACK BOX REVELATION
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) For the Meat Puppets, it's unfortunate that Too High to Die was more than just the title of an album. The band's rampant drug use—plus the drug use of those around them, and all the street cred that surely must come when a member is capped by a post office security guard—acted as a distraction from an underappreciated discography that stretches for nearly three decades. A preview like this can never quite do them justice, but their first three recordings are essential. While 2009's Sewn Together was an adequate return to form (of sorts) for the Brothers Kirkwood, this year's Lollipop captures a band that has finally grown comfortable in its weathered skin. EAC