Friday, February 13
Somehow Hollow
Solid State
Somehow Hollow, while they are a pop-punk band, preach a message of friendship and togetherness, which is cool. It figures that they’re Canadian.
Liquor Union, Ms. 45, Morgan Grace
Twilight Caf퀌�
Free
Morgan Grace delivers “Dirty Chick Rock,” or so says her website. Chick rock and dirty rock are both good, so maybe dirty chick rock is even better.
Reclinerland
Red And Black Caf퀌�
8 p.m.
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Relax on Friday the 13th with the pop of Reclinerland, which blends soaring instrumentation with fingerpicking, The Zombies, and some other stuff as well. They’re an outlet for songwriter/composer Michael Johnson, so the lineup varies sometimes depending on the songs, which is a cool way for a songwriter to create without having to tie down to a full-time band.
Senses Fail, Moneen, A Beautiful Mistake, Boy’s Night Out
Nocturnal
7 p.m.
$10, all ages
I don’t know a lot about their music, but I really like A Beautiful Mistake’s album title Light a Match, For I Deserve to Burn. This show promises to be emo-riffic, as two of the three bands feature a heart prominently in their website design, and the third has a picture of a girl, even though there’s no girl in the band.
Marriage Records Revue with Thanksgiving, A John Henry Memorial, Teether, Mise En Abyme, Rob Walmart, The Watery Graves
Meow Meow
$5
Right on! This show is super cheap and packed with gear music like Thanksgiving’s folky acoustic impressionism and the dreamlike drums and piano of The Watery Graves.
The Walkmen, Weird War, alaska!
Berbati’s
9:30 p.m.
The Walkmen love Syd Barrett, and that means they must be cool. Their ambling, pop-tinged, piano-infested garage-y rock rises from the remains of Jonathan Fire*Eater and has even seen them compared to the Strokes. Also on the roster is Weird War, formerly the Scene Creamers, featuring former members of the Make-Up. If you’re willing to put up with the crowd at Berbati’s, this is a show not to miss.
Valentine’s Day Couples Massage Class
McMenamin’s Edgefield
Through Feb. 15
$80
Yeahhhh … $80. I can give good massages and I never had to pay $80. That just seems like a lot of money to me. I’m not really an expert on the value of massage instruction, though, so it could be a bargain.
Vagina Monologues
PSU, SMSU Ballroom
Through Feb. 15, 8 p.m.-10 p.m.
$15/$12 student
PSU students present the now famous play, with all proceeds going to the Women’s Crisis Hotline. Too bad you already spent all your money on that dumb massage class. Maybe you can contribute your new massage skills to the hotline.
The Wild Bunch
Cinema 21
Through Feb. 19
An awesome ’60s western which, as everyone knows, was their golden age. Forget “Dances With Wolves” and crap like that. These westerns really captured a grittiness and leanness that very few today are able to replicate. This is art, man. Gunslinging, twisted art to the extreme.
Saturday, February 14
Hazel
Meow Meow
Portland legends Hazel celebrate their 12th birthday, and you can celebrate it with them as you take in the multi-dimensional rock and roll that they are so adept at creating.
Pink Martini
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
7:30 p.m.
Pink Martini fuses pop, orchestra and all kinds of wild stuff together to create their own brand of music that pops up all over the place.
All Girl Summer Fun Band, Bishop Allen, The Badger King
Nocturnal
8p.m.
$6, $10/couple all ages
Nocturnal always has something interesting going on, and tonight is no exception, with the good-times rock of AGSFB kicking open the doors to fun, as their name would suggest.
Fetish Masquerade Ball #6
Roseland Theater
9 p.m.
$20
Contortionists! Trapeze artists! Burlesque! Sounds like a recipe for entertainment and craziness.
Bad Juju, Jet City Fix, Zeke
Twilight Caf퀌�
$5
Hard and heavy is the trademark of Seattle’s Zeke, who have been tearing it since 1993. They’re good enough to inspire the Twilight to charge a cover, so they should be good enough for you.
Reason To Live
Paris Theater
7:30 p.m.
$7
I don’t know anything about this band. I’ve never read press, they don’t have a website, and as such, I cannot recommend them. Go if you know them, but other than that, it’s at your own risk.
Valentine’s Masquerade w/ DJ Naha, DJ Venus, Flave, Little MZ Booty
Paris Theater
10 p.m.
$10
The Paris celebrates Valentine’s Day with this blowout, featuring Denmark’s DJ Naha. She traveled a very long way to be here, so if you came to see Reason To Live you should stay.
Monday, February 16
Ghost To Falco, Sex With Girls Is Rad, Tunnels, Assasins
Meow Meow
8 p.m., $5
Sex With Girls Is Rad is a rad band. If they weren’t, they would deserve to have horrible fun made of them for their name, and their Web site, which has pictures drawn by the bandmembers of the girls they have crushes on. Luckily for them, they are indeed rad, so they should be checked out by you.
Tuesday, February 17
Dada
Roseland Theater
9 p.m.
$13, 21+
A ’90s alternative rock band. One of their members went on to become an A&R rep for MCA Records. They have connections with the Blue Man Group, who are the lamest band ever to put pick to string, or whatever dumb instruments they play. I think it’s like PVC pipe instruments or something.
Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker
Crystal Ballroom
7 p.m.
$20 advance, $22 doors
CVB have been around the block a few times, and the fi just keeps getting lower. They’re releasing a box set of 4 out-of-print CDs, so it’s the perfect time to check them out and get your Camper Van fix taken care of.
– The Calendar Boy