Choose your venue wisely

You know what you’re getting when you go to a concert at the Rose Garden arena: either a band that released its last good album 20 years ago (The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Roger Waters) or a band whose songs you’ve already heard so many times on the radio that they’re permanently burned into your brain (Coldplay, Katy Perry). You also know what you’re getting from a show at the Crystal Ballroom: a band just popular enough for casual music fans to like and serious music fans to hate (Snow Patrol, Hot Chip). Elsewhere, though, it gets murky.

This is why it’s critical to know which types of bands usually play at which venues and whether the usual cover charges are worth it, given the atmosphere and various other factors. Here’s an introductory guide to some lesser-known locales around PDX.

Whiskey Bar
31 NW First Ave.

Located just on the edge of Chinatown, Whiskey Bar typically features local DJs and dubstep artists trying to get their foot in the door of the local scene, which usually means that they’ll play all of their best crowd-pleasers. This is good news for audience members, as is the fact that cover charges generally run pretty low (from $5 to, at most, around $15, although you can usually haggle the bouncers down to $10). Still, the bad news for PSU students is the word “bar” in the title; only 21-and-uppers get in, and usually not for long, as the place doesn’t really start hopping until around 11–11:30 p.m.

Must-see upcoming show: Opiuo, May 31, 10 p.m., $10, 21+. Red Cube, one of the West Coast’s best electronic music production companies, is sponsoring, and they usually put on fairly exhilarating shows. Leave your Thirsty Thursday calendar open and get ready for tracks with titles like “Creamy Taco,” “Robo Booty,” and others that could only exist in the genre of electronic funk.

Branx
320 SE Second Ave.

Likely the most appealing venue in Portland’s inner-Southeast warehouse district, Branx tends to draw quite an interesting crowd, especially given that a good number of its shows are all-ages (though some are 21+). It’s still fairly underground, so you’re unlikely to find many concert-goers who are simply there “to be seen” or “to say they saw so-and-so play before they were popular,” as is often the case in hipster-haven Portland. Go for the atmosphere and the low cover charges (no upcoming shows charge more than $16 at the door), but be wary of the long lines at the bathroom (there are just two single-capacity restrooms downstairs).

Must-see upcoming show: Starfucker, May 24, 8 p.m., $15, all ages/Bar with ID. Put on your dancing shoes and head out to celebrate Portland’s local dance-pop heroes, as well as the FCC’s least likely favorite band.

Roseland Theater
8 NW Sixth Ave.

One of the bigger venues, the Roseland Theater has featured shows on its roster that can compete with others of its ilk, like the Crystal Ballroom and the Wonder Ballroom. Prominent acts such as Neon Trees, Porter Robinson and Kaskade are set to play there in upcoming weeks. The Roseland perhaps strikes the best balance between low-key concert fun for adults (given its single-seating upper bar area) and kick-ass concert awesomeness for kids (given its vast dance floor area). Tickets are significantly more expensive at Roseland than either Whiskey Bar or Branx given the more famous artists that visit, but it’s almost impossible not to have a good time there. Plus, all concerts are all-ages, so it’s a perfect place to either be young or do a dead-on imitation of it.

Must-see upcoming show: Neon Trees, June 5, 8 p.m., $16, All ages/upstairs bar. Don’t lie: When you first heard “Animal,” you spent the next week wishing there was an appropriate time and place for you to scream out “OH! OH! I WANT SOME MORE!” as loud as humanly possible. Well, now there is. It’s just another part of what makes the Roseland so special.