Listenin’ and Lovin’
Friday, Feb. 25
Brother Egg, High Violets, Wow & Flutter
Ash Street Saloon, 225 S.W. Ash St.
$6, 21+
Brother Egg layer experimental percussion and quirky pop melodies to create fun interesting musical landscapes. Think Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips.
Sage Francis
Roseland Theater, 8 N.W. Sixth Ave.
$16, All ages
Sage Francis replaces the bravado of hip-hop with self-righteous preaching. His flow is dated, his lyrics drip with lonely-boy name-calling, and I think he’s straight-edge. He looks like Bobcat Goldthwait and has wasted the best Joe Beats tracks ever made. He is like everything wrong with Anticon, but magnified. Why do I like him so much?
Dark Star Orchestra
McMenamin’s Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside St.
$18/$20, All ages
Break out your patchouli oil and tie-dye. Maybe if you smoke enough ganja you’ll forget this is a Grateful Dead cover band.
The Comas, Vietnam
Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E. Burnside St.
$8, 21+
The Comas create textured atmospheric soundscapes infused with a heavy dose of pop sensibility but while Vietnam’s mellow fuck folk instrumentation and Lou Reed vocals are interesting for a while, but there is very little substance to sustain them for long.
Metal Church, Bastard Saints, Redshift
Dante’s Inferno, 1 S.W Third Ave.
$10, 21+
Dig out your acid-washed jeans and hairspray, it’s time for speed metal. And speed. And metal.
Loch Lomond, HurtBird 12" release party
Berbati’s Pan, 10 S.W. Third Ave.
This is one hell of a burner. Hurtbird brings a whole new sound to PDX hip-hop, following in the lo-fi footprints of dreamy psych-beats producers Nobody and Prefuse 73, with equally spacey flow. Loch Lomond fills the flip with low key pop in the mushroom folk style. A weird pairing to say the least but it works so well. Come catch it live and pick up the wax.
Saturday, Feb. 26
Eighteen Visions
Meow Meow, 320 S.E. Second Ave.
$10, All Ages
Eighteen Visions blur the line between punk revival and metal allegiance, but you get the feeling that they don’t know the difference. But hey, they’re from the OC – the real one.
BeauSoleil
Aladdin Theater, 3017 S.E. Milwaukie Ave.
$20/$22, All ages
Largely regarded as one of the best Zydeco and Cajun bands around, but you probably don’t give a shit.
Dawn of The Derby Zombie Ball with Dr. Theopolis and DJ Teenage
Bossanova, 730 E. Burnside St.
$10, 21+
A benefit for Portland’s own roller derby team, the Rose City Rollers, this show features a date auction, a fashion show and prizes galore. Come dressed as a zombie; God knows listening to Theopolis for too long will make you one.
Hungry Mob, Sleep & Syndel, L-Pro
Ash Street Saloon, 225 S.W. Ash St.
$8, 21+
P-town’s semi-super group Hungry Mob! Sleep is awesome, and Syndel, damn! Portland hip-hop is only getting better.
The Golden Republic
Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E. Burnside St.
$7, 21+
Glam-rock from Kansas, ‘nough said. Wheat!
Devotchka, Robbers on High Street, Black Mountain Army
Dante’s, 1 S.W. Third Ave.
$10, 21+
If Morrissey sang Eastern European folk-influenced indie-rock, the result might be as good as Devotchka. Check this show out.
Sunday Feb. 27
Collective Soul
Roseland Theater, 8 N.W. Sixth Ave.
$20, All ages
While it might not be worth a jackson to catch this train wreck, few aging grunge bands have attempted as startling a transformation. It’s kind of like finding out your fat, balding uncle is a cross-dresser. He might not be attractive in a muu-muu but at least he’s more interesting.
The Tunahelpers
Dante’s, 1 S.W. Third Ave.
$6, 21+
All-girl goth-pop with Puppets. Tee hee.
Monday(s are lame) Feb. 28
Holocene, 1001 S.E. Morrison
$6, 21+
There are a million – no, a ka-trillion – psych folk bands in the United States right now, but only one Grizzly Bear. Fuck yes! I love Grizzly Bear! Love ’em! Thank you, God, for bringing this band to Portland.
Tuesday, Mar. 1
Heiruspecs, Suckapunch, The Procussions
Dante’s, 1 S.W. Third Ave.
$5, 21+
How many times do I have to say this? Suckapunch has great flow, but terrible beats. ’95 is so, well, ’95.
Nocturnal, 1800 E. Burnside St.
$5, all ages
Oh, Calvin, you throaty Northwest dream boat in high-waters. Come on up and see me, we’ll ride bikes.
Wednesday, Mar. 2
One Tree Hill: Gavin Degraw, Wreckers
Roseland Theater, 8 S.W. Sixth Ave.
$23, All ages
Ha ha.
Jolie Holland
Doug Fir Lounge, 830 S.W. Burnside St.
$10, 21+
An early collaborator with the amazing Be Good Tanyas, Holland’s music is as whimsical and moving as her fellow minstrels.
Thursday, Mar. 3
Crack Sabbath
Doug Fir Lounge, 830 S.W. Burnside St.
$10, 21+
Sprung from the loins of post-grunge Seattle, Crack Sabbath plays tongue-in-cheek covers of everybody from Charles Mingus to Motorhead.
Bottom, Stovokor, Slowhawk
Dante’s Inferno, 1 S.W. Third Ave.
$5, 21+
All-girl stoner rock and Klingon death metal! Better than "Scrubs," I guess.
Compiled by Leathan Graves-Highsmith and Choncy Joncy-Jones
