WEDNESDAY 1/2

PETE SWANSON, CONCRETE FLOOR, DREAMBOAT, GOODWIN
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Since the breakup of Portland two-piece Yellow Swans in 2008, Pete Swanson has remained busy making the same psychedelic clatter he always has while—wait for it, drug reference—expanding his own mind, man. Swanson creates music that sometimes doesn't even carry a tune. But every buzz and whir and whoosh serves a purpose. And as cacophonous as his songs can be, they will eventually get to that resolution you're looking for. It's music for every mood—it can be beautiful, eerie, and ferocious over the course of a single song. I highly recommend a good pair of headphones and a mind-altering substance to really get you in the right frame of mind. MARK LORE

THURSDAY 1/3

SHY GIRLS, PWRHAUS, HOUNDSTOOTH
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See My, What a Busy Week!

OLD AGE, THE WE SHARED MILK, FANNO CREEK, TALKATIVE
(East End, 203 SE Grand) My favorite thing about Frantically, the cassette that Talkative released in 2012, is how little its songs resemble each other. There's zooming art rock, tropically tinged chanting, subterranean acoustic post-apocalyptic lullabies, and at least one absolute masterpiece, the whippit-echo of "Saturday," which sounds like Animal Collective trying their hand at Liars' Drum's Not Dead, with a bit of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska thrown in for good measure. Frantically is available for streaming and download on Bandcamp, although cassette editions are sold out; Talkative says a CD version will be available in February. The trio plays for free as part of an art opening for Susan Sage, and they also headline tomorrow night at Slabtown. NED LANNAMANN

FRIDAY 1/4

TALKATIVE, SOCCER BABES, NO MORE PARACHUTES, COWBOY + STATUE
(Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th) See Thursday's listing.

DANNY CORN, GULLS, JOSH T., DRUMPLESTILTSKIN, LINCOLNUP, BEN TACTIC
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) It's refreshing to hear electronic music that rides the edge of experimentalism while holding true to a rhythmic foundation that grooves enough to make a crowd move. With an assortment of quality remixes and releases under his belt, underscored by his signature West Coast sound, Danny Corn generously deals out the syncopated, bass-heavy music that's enveloped in the exotic sound design that speaks so well to connoisseurs of electronica. His live shows are an eclectic mix of material and are always a good time. CHRISTINA BROUSSARD

SATURDAY 1/5

FEDERALE, THE UPSIDEDOWN, THE PURRS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!, and read our article on Federale.

BOOTY BASSMENT: MAXX BASS, NATHAN DETROIT, RYAN AND DIMITRI
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See My, What a Busy Week!

CASEY NEILL AND THE NORWAY RATS, SASSPARILLA, MCDOUGALL
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Despite their Scandinavian-sounding moniker, the Norway Rats are as American and blue-collar as Bruce Springsteen eating a peanut butter sandwich. Casey Neill's voice is warm and avuncular, seemingly designed for delivering hard advice and tough love, and his lyrics tend toward the evocative and memory-based.  And that makes them sad, somehow, though the stories he tells aren't depressing. Unlike most bands specializing in Americana these days, there's no gratuitous banjo, but there is a sense of open spaces and solemnity that combine with Jenny Conlee's keys and accordion to give the songs a hymnal quality. The Norway Rats capture the isolation and bigness of the American West as it is now—not as that imagined, mythic place that probably never existed. 2013 will see the release of All You Pretty Vandals, their first album in three years, as well as a string of dates supporting Camper Van Beethoven. REBECCA WILSON

HANGOVER FEST: PAGERIPPERS, DANGER DEATH RAY, NASALROD, JEFFERSON DEATH STAR, & MORE
(Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th) Something's probably very wrong if you're still hung over five days after New Year's, and Slabtown's lineup for their annual Hangover Fest isn't exactly the aural equivalent of an Alka-Seltzer. Between the boozy, dad-rock-as-interpreted-by-the-Dead Kennedys stylings of local cult dignitaries Nasalrod and the guttural howl of pop-punk outfit Jefferson Death Star's Ryan Koreski (he sings about beer and cigarettes and stuff), the bands playing tonight are bound to keep you feeling groggy for the remainder of 2013 and beyond. MORGAN TROPER

RAMBLE ON, ANTS IN THE KITCHEN, RED LIGHT ROMEOS
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Remember when everybody gave Prince a whole bunch of shit for changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol? Well, Led Zeppelin did it first—way back in 1971, when everyone was too stoned to notice. Each member ascribed themselves a runic symbol, and all four symbols made up the title of their fourth album, now commonly called IV, or Zoso, after guitarist Jimmy Page's totally nutso, ornate symbol drawn from his dabblings in the occult. The other three's symbols were far more modest (drummer John Bonham simply redrew the logo from the can of Ballantine beer that was no doubt in front of him at the time). Tonight, local Zeppelin tribute band play Zep's IV in its entirety, and I probably wouldn't bother telling you about it except that it is a very sloooow week for music, and because of our weird holiday deadlines, I'm writing this like three weeks in advance. Besides, who couldn't use a little more "Misty Mountain Hop" in their lives? Dance in the dark of night, y'all. NL

SUNDAY 1/6

YOU WHO: BLIND PILOT, CAT DOORMAN
(Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd) See My, What a Busy Week!

HOT VICTORY, WHORE PAINT, TROPHY WIFE
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) When it comes to the songwriting process, drummers typically get the short end of the stick (excuse the pun). Crash, bang, boom is supposedly all they've really got. Since singers, guitarists, and bass players can make all those fancy notes, they get to strut around out front and get all the credit. Enter Hot Victory, a stringed instrument's worst nightmare. The band features two drummers, Caitlin Love and Ben Stoller. Equipped with a symmetrical setup including electronic and acoustic drums, a shared hi-hat, and some samples and loops to play over, the duo create hypnotic, prog-tastic space journeys that fascinate and perplex. A Hot Victory set is a mindbender that will leave any "fretters" in the room scratching their heads, and any skinsmen, or women, high-fiving each other. Score one "Hot Victory" for all tub-thumpers! ARIS WALES

MONDAY 1/7

Very happy birthday wishes to Kenny Loggins. (Not you, Jim Messina.)

TUESDAY 1/8

BOOGIE TUESDAY: GWIZSKI, MIKIE LIXX
(Swift Lounge, 1932 NE Broadway) See My, What a Busy Week!

KEANE, YOUNGBLOOD HAWKE
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Youngblood Hawke's "We Come Running" lines itself up perfectly with the kind of empty epicness of gang-vocal pop anthems like fun.'s "We Are Young" and the Journey-with-banjos motif of a majority of the Mumford and Sons catalog. It makes sense, then, that the band would be opening for Keane, one of the most overrated, formulaic, and schmaltzy bands to have ever sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. Their totally safe fourth LP, Strangeland, further removes them from blatant Beatles-lite hacks to synth-crutched pop robots slinging songs destined to bump in every Forever 21 in every country forever. This isn't to say that this show won't be totally sold out, and that everyone in attendance will most likely feel invigorated and cleansed and hoarse. Because the world is, in fact, ending. Slowly. Happy New Year. RYAN J. PRADO