THURSDAY 10/13

STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS, TY SEGALL
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

GANG GANG DANCE, PRINCE RAMA, BRUXA, CENTERS, THE MIRACLES CLUB
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) It's not that Gang Gang Dance have gotten any less weird, it's that the rest of us have finally caught up. The New York group capably mixes earthy sounds—the nomadic voice of Lizzi Bougatsos; drummer Jesse Lee's floor-bumping but graceful beats—with electronic noises that don't exist anywhere in nature. Brian DeGraw's synthesizers emit blocky, almost chintzy tones, but they practically insist that you embark on a spirit journey within their digital tapestry. Gang Gang Dance's latest, Eye Contact, is the kind of fully realized record that's attracted them a whole new crop of fans, and their polyglot sound contains some of the world's most populist sounds—Lebanese dabke, Cambodian romvong, Malian desert blues—within its skewed artiness. NED LANNAMANN

THE RENDERERS, SORE EROS, THE WHINES
(Kenton Club, 2025 N Kilpatrick) It's a night of legends: the most stalwart watering hole of North Portland welcomes the Renderers, a band who has crossed continents and decades to take the stage tonight. The Renderers hail from New Zealand, and are anchored by the husband-and-wife duo of Brian and Maryrose Crook. They released their first album in 1990 on Flying Nun Records, a label that is renowned for releasing intelligent and emotionally pummeling music into the sonic atmosphere. Eight years later, they reached American ears via underground label Siltbreeze. Now preparing a seventh album, their style combines the honest sentimentality of country and western with the experimental bent of modern rock. Their influence can already be heard with the latest generation of musicians, including openers the Whines, whose time in Portland has given us beautiful things, including last year's unforgettable LP Hell to Pay. MARANDA BISH

METRONOMY, NEWVILLAGER, COPY
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) When Metronomy played Holocene in January 2009, it was a dance party and a half: The English group, with Joe Mount leading the pack, sprang through a lively set of electro-disco, packed full of rigid, new wave beats and squealy, futuristic synths. So it's slightly puzzling that Metronomy's latest, The English Riviera, is a taut but gentle soft-rock record, but its restraint allows Mount's songcraft to shine through. France's Phoenix is an easy reference point, and there are some ELO-ish hints as well, but there's also a similarity to the lovely, immaculate pop of Sunderland's Field Music (and its offspring, School of Language and the Week That Was)—particularly in Mount's carefully controlled vocals, which draw comparisons to the Brewis brothers. No, the crowd won't be bouncing off the walls this time around, but Metronomy will assuredly offer plenty of slow-swaying grooves—like the lilting "Trouble"—for you to get cozy. NL

BATTLES, WALLS
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Battles' zany math rock reached its zenith on the band's 2007 debut LP Mirrored, proving that music that is both zany and mathy can actually be listenable, too. Vocalist Tyondai Braxton provided much of that eccentricity. Battles released Gloss Drop earlier this year, sans Braxton, but there's still plenty to keep listeners interested. New wave godfather Gary Numan guests on "My Machines," an industrial-grade rocker that locks tight into a relentless fuzz bass line. The rest of the album shows a band with plenty of tricks up their sleeves. And live? Watching John Stanier mercilessly bash the drums (and that high-rise cymbal) is worth the price of admission alone. MARK LORE

NASALROD, FIST FITE, YOUTHBITCH
(East End, 203 SE Grand) Have you seen Nasalrod yet? You need to. Each band on this bill is a fine example of the creativity and style that courses through Portland's metaphoric veins, but Nasalrod is a particularly potent display of the beautiful fusion that occurs among our city's myriad talented citizens. With Jeffrey "Chairman" Couch as ringleader, the band is in the hands of someone so fiercely dedicated to music and enthralled with its form that he becomes a live conduit of rock and roll. His vocal delivery is physical and auditory hysteria, erupting in accord with the no-nonsense bass stylings of Kat Knows and Justin Stimson's hard-hitting guitar. Add to the equation the legendary Spit Stix, drummer for Fear and local band Lickity, and you have an outfit that will rock your world in every way. MB

THE NAKED AND FAMOUS, THE CHAIN GANG OF 1974, WHITE ARROWS
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) No Light, the Naked and Famous' 2008 EP just re-released by their Universal Music overlords, sees the New Zealand band in slightly rawer form, with songs that sound like they could have been made by mere mortals. But there's still a hint of the huge arena pop that would grace their monumentally successful debut LP Passive Me, Aggressive You, a record that sounds like it was etched onto the stratosphere by titans the size of skyscrapers. That the Naked and Famous don't have a ton of personality of their own actually works in their favor—it's that much easier for a listener to project one's self onto their gargantuan hooks. And while it's probably worth taking a trip to the bar during the overly trodden retro-synth shtick of the Chain Gang of 1974, stick around for openers White Arrows, who take the quirky synth jitter of bands like Nurses and cheerfully re-coif it in a sparkly LA sheen. NL

FRIDAY 10/14

ST. VINCENT, CATE LE BON
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Read our article on St. Vincent.

ANIKA, STAY CALM, DJ SPENCER D
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our article on Anika.

THE SILENT NUMBERS, ADVISORY, SWAMP BUCK
(Kenton Club, 2025 N Kilpatrick) The Silent Numbers are the reason we arrive early to shows, rolling the dice and taking a chance on an opening act we have yet to hear. This relatively new act deftly manages a sound heavily steeped in shoegaze's finest hour—if you have any of the following albums in your collection, consider yourself a preemptive fan: Just for a Day, Loveless, Psychocandy. Their forthcoming 7-inch (out tonight) hints at great things to come. As frontman Nick Woods delivers each and every line with a casual detachment—a cooler-than-cool vocal styling that is a natural fit—his bandmates toggle between the very quiet and the very loud, often losing the reins (as they do on "Canadia") and letting a song spiral into an unruly sea of noise. This surely isn't the last we'll hear of the Silent Numbers. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

L PRO, FARNELL NEWTON, MANIMALHOUSE
(Ted's, 231 SW Ankeny) Vertigo, the latest full-length from Portland emcee L Pro and producer 5th Sequence, is a stylistic continuation of their Equilibrium EP released earlier this year. Those expecting a dizzy sonic divergence based on the album title alone will be disappointed, while those who enjoyed the commanding baritone spit over jazz samples and head-nod beats will welcome the return to form. The intro track features scratches of classic Stetsasonic samples as well as a Midnight Marauders-type tour guide welcoming you to the record, signaling up front that this is their wheelhouse, so buckle up, young buck, and enjoy the ride. To further hammer the point home, tonight L Pro will be backed by a live band formed by local trumpet player Farnell Newton. Talkin' all that jazz. RYAN FEIGH

SCREENING: SYSTEM AND STATION'S LIVE AT THE KNIFE SHOP
(Over and Out, 410 SE 81st) Ten albums, 20-something national tours, and now, one DVD. As their peers packed it in over the previous 13 years, the men of System and System have truly lived up to their billing as a steadfast, blue-collar rock act, one that now celebrates the release of their first live CD/DVD, Live at the Knife Shop. (Odd timing since the venue just recently dropped the Knife Shop moniker and went back to their former title, Kelly's Olympian.) No matter; at tonight's DVD viewing party you can witness the complex guitar rock of System and System on the big screen—a live show without having to wear earplugs. EAC

SATURDAY 10/15

THE TEZETA BAND, TOQUE LIBRE, DJ LORD SMITHINGHAM
(The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie) See My, What a Busy Week!

ELECTROGALS: PAMELA Z, LOVERS, LA PUMP, MOMILANI RAMSTRUM, PORTABLE MORLA, SILK & OLIVE, CHRISTI DENTON
(Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate) Read our article on Pamela Z.

FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS, ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD, INTO IT OVER IT
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) Read our article on Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls.

SUNDAY 10/16

TOM TOM MAGAZINE RELEASE: SAD HORSE, HUNGRY GHOST, REYNOSA
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Guess how many female drummers have appeared on the cover of Modern Drummer? One. (And it wasn't Sheila E.—it was jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.) Thank heaven, then, for Tom Tom magazine, a national publication that's entirely devoted to women percussionists. Tonight is the local celebration for the release of their seventh issue, and appropriately there's a batch of local bands with ladies on the skins, including Sad Horse (with Elizabeth Venable) and Hungry Ghost (with Sara Lund). Only a complete chauvinist or an absolute moron could pretend that a woman on the drum throne is a novelty at this point in time—I'd reckon that there are just as many females drumming in Portland as there are males, if not more, although this is purely unscientific guesswork. Still, here's a chance to celebrate all the incredible women drummers we have in this town. NL

OPETH, KATATONIA
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Thank the (dark) lord for Opeth and their 16-year contribution to the world of heavy music. Primary songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt & Co. have always brought original songwriting and immaculate musicianship to the metal table. However, their most recent effort, Heritage, may have taken too sharp a turn for some fans. Åkerfeldt has given up a little heaviness and all of his growling death vocals, and replaced them with clean vocals throughout, some grand piano, and a squirming heap of jazz-fusion. Think King Crimson, but with a better sense of melody and mood. The band even went as far as enlisting Weather Report percussionist Alex Acuña and Swedish composer/flautist Björn J:son Lindh to contribute to a track, adding to the band's fusion legitimacy. With some longtime fans, Opeth may lose a step or two, but those who can appreciate a band that matures gracefully will most likely tip their hats. ARIS WALES

MONDAY 10/17

THEOPHILUS LONDON, BREAKFAST MOUNTAIN
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

TUESDAY 10/18

THE LORD OF THE RINGS IN CONCERT
(Rose Garden, 1 Center Ct) See My, What a Busy Week!

THE SHIVAS, LUBEC
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) The Shivas dropped a lovely new song on this year's PDX Pop Now! compilation in the form of "Gun in My Pocket," but over the past five years the Vancouver, Washington, band has amassed a lengthy back catalog and many tour miles under their collective belts. The Shivas' sound is a wistful blend of '60s pop innocence, complete with sugar-sweet vocal harmonies, disrupted by dark guitar reverb roiling under the surface. "Gun in My Pocket"—recently turned into a charming music video (the titular gun does make an appearance)—evokes both the sweet innocence of the Shangri-Las and the tarnished mystery of the Jesus and Mary Chain, but the Shivas will also turn the ears of anyone who's ever craved a bit of psych in their melody. NL

WEDNESDAY 10/19

EVENT 1: ALEX FITCH, PIETER HILTON, MIKE KITSON, SCOTT MAGEE, JEFF BRODSKY, JOHN GNORSKI, CYRUS LAMPTON, ELEC MORIN, ERIC STIPE, CLAYTON KNAPP, NORA ZIMMERLY
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See My, What a Busy Week!

JOURNEY, FOREIGNER, NIGHT RANGER
(Rose Garden, 1 Center Ct) See My, What a Busy Week!

THE HEAD AND THE HEART, THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN, LEMOLO
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) People the world over love the Head and the Heart. People in Seattle, well, that's another story. The warmest of folk revival acts went from busking in the streets of Seattle and self-releasing their debut recording, to selling out venues across the globe and having Sub Pop reissue their self-titled album to rave reviews. While the band still has a loyal hometown following, the unrelenting backlash—which stems from their quick ascension from open mic corners to headlining slots, Sub Pop's involvement, and an alleged dust-up between the band's Jon Russell and a local soundman—has nearly drowned out their music entirely. As always, the Moz was right: We hate it when our friends become successful. As Portlanders, let's leave the petty resentment to our neighbors to the north and accept the Head and the Heart for what they are—a damn fine band with a boisterous live show and a flawless debut album under their belts. Ain't nothing wrong with that. EAC