Thursday, Feb. 19
Keb’ Mo’
Aladdin Theater
7 p.m.
$32.50/$35 door
An evening of blues guitar from multi-instrumentalist Keb’ Mo.’ His style dips into the creative traditions of Delta blues, but with a distinct modern edge. Expensive, but most shows like this are.
Dirty Lowdowns
Twilight Caf퀌�
For those who like their rock loud and pumped through a Marshall. Their first album sports cheerleaders’ butts in skimpy American flag skirts, so that should be some indication of what kind of loud rock they play.
Swell, Heather Duby, Say Hi To Your Mom
Meow Meow
9 p.m.
$7
Sub-Popper Heather Duby’s intense, atmospheric sound with its spare electronic beats compliments Say Hi To Your Mom’s electric and synth-infested pop nicely. Swell has been around a while (since the beginning of the ’90s) and John Peel once said that it would be a big thing like Pavement. In my book, being compared to Pavement is pretty cool, so Swell definitely deserves to be checked out.
The Wrens
Berbati’s Pan
21+
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Elder statesmen The Wrens will depress, impress and quite possibly rock you with their Pixies-esque brand of jagged pop.
Friday, Feb. 20
The Minds, The Checkers
Twilight Caf퀌�
Exploding garage punk is on the Minds’ mind, and it can be on yours, too, if you decide to immerse yourself in their fuzz, hooks and keyboards.
“Chicana” and “Performing the Border”
PSU SMU 228
Noon
Free
“Chicana” examines the experience of Chicano women through history, while “Performing the Border” documents the impact of technology and the world economy on the women of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. And it’s all free.
Stephanie Schniedermann, Pete Krebs
Aladdin
7 p.m.
$10/$12 door
Even if you’ve never heard of Stephanie Schniedermann (which I haven’t), she must be good if Pete Krebs is opening for her. If you didn’t catch him with Hazel on Valentine’s Day, now you can make up for it.
Engine Down, The Velvet Teen, Crosstide, Statistics
Nocturnal
7 p.m.
$8
Despite their cool name, The Velvet Teen’s overwrought, whiny emo fails to impress. Crosstide is much better, but this show is doomed to be a festival of sappy pseudo-catharsis.
Cannibal Corpse, Hypocrisy, Exhumed, Vile
Roseland
8 p.m.
$16.50
The super gory death metal of Cannibal Corpse has been banned in Australia, New Zealand and Korea, which is all the more reason you should go and see them, if you like super gory death metal.
Jackstraw
White Eagle
9:30 p.m.
$6, 21+
Local bluegrass. Although it suffers from a somewhat lame image, bluegrass is in fact very cool. That fingerpicking is pretty wicked, and Jackstraw represents some of the best of Portland’s bluegrass talent.
Saturday, Feb. 21
Ravenswood
Grand Lodge
7 p.m.
Free
Dark and nebulous music that shifts like mercury and sometimes ventures into pop territory is the domain of Ravenswood. This show is free, so the only thing you have to lose is time.
Anberlin, Me Without You, Watashi Wa, Emery
Nocturnal
6:30 p.m
$10
Hmmm, these band names sound suspiciously like the names of really lame emo, especially Me Without You. However, that doesn’t mean you should jump to the same snobbish conclusions as me. Further Seems Forever has backed out of this Tooth and Nail Records sponsored tour, so the lineup is a little abridged.
Built to Spill, Denali, Black Heart Procession
Crystal Ballroom
Through Feb, 22, 8 p.m.
$15/$17 door
Indie legends Built to Spill play a two-night extravaganza with Denali the first night and Black Heart Procession the second. Either day promises to be good, so you can slack off content that you’ll see a real show whenever you go.
Sunday, Feb. 22
International Playboys
Twilight Caf퀌�
A band reputed to ‘slay beyond belief,’ the International Playboys bring the garage-y sleaze, the raunchy riffs and the suited, boozed-up frontman that any good rock band needs.
Dead Ledder
Paris Theater
4:30 p.m.
$7
Since no evidence of this band exists on the Internet, I can only assume that they must be a cross between the Dead Kennedys and Huddie Ledbetter. Hopefully.
Saturnalia Trio
Music Millennium Northwest
1 p.m.
World music invades the super-snooty northwest Music Millenium, for free.
Monday, Feb. 23
Acoustic Movies with Shelley Short, Cuspidor, Kim Baxter, 45th Parallel
Meow Meow
8 p.m.
$3
Cuspidor is the acoustic project of Lucas Bernhardt, former assistant music director of KPSU. Show your school spirit and attend! Okay, I don’t mean the school spirit thing. School spirit is horrible. Just go to see music for only three bucks.
Tuesday, Feb. 24
Celebrate The Music and Legacy of Jimi Hendrix
Starring Buddy Guy (Acoustic and Electric), Jerry Cantrell, Living Colour, Double Trouble, Indigenous, Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
Roseland Theater
8 p.m.
$35-55, 21+
Although highly expensive, this show gives you the opportunity to witness members of the original Jimi Hendrix Experience, which is something that shouldn’t be passed up. My only advice would be to try and find a way to sneak in, although it would require a lot of work to do so at the Roseland.
Independent Tuesday
Nocturnal
21+
Local independent filmmakers exhibit their takes on soap operas. There’s also Atari, board games and alcohol, which all adds up to a good time.
Cherry Poppin Daddies, Rubberneck, Vagiant UK
Crystal Ballroom
8 p.m.
$10/$14 door, 21+
Wow, remember these guys? Their big hit, “Zoot Suit Riot,” was kind of lame but cool at the same time. I don’t think I knew anyone who was into them, so my exposure has been limited to that one song. Vagiant UK is the glam band of Daddies frontman Steve Perry, which sounds interesting enough to give a listen.
Jason Anderson CD Release Party with Thanksgiving, Wardie, Y.A.C.H.T. and John Weatherproof
Meow Meow
$5
Wolf Colonel’s Jason Anderson (actually, he is Wolf Colonel) brings some cool friends to his CD release party, especially Thanksgiving, who was on KPSU not too long ago. He’s very good at channeling honest emotion into music, which is something that can make any kind of music great.
– The Calendar Boy