Blog: End Hits

This Saturday, May 5 , the Portland Cello Project teams up with Portland School of Rock students to form a giant behemoth called Portlandportland Rockproject Celloschool . Okay, I just made that up, but the two groups are performing a special show together at the Aladdin Theater that they're calling "Beck, Brubeck and Bach"; the program naturally will comprise pieces by those three composers. (Somewhere, Burt Bacharach is taking a long hard look in the mirror.) Actually, this is precisely why Portland Cello Project is so great: They've found the [...]

MAY DAY MUSIC FEST: RED FANG, DOG SHREDDER, SONS OF HUNS ( Alhambra Theatre , 4811 SE Hawthorne) The Alhambra Theatre (formerly Mt. Tabor Theater) is celebrating Portland's great music scene with their five-day May Day Music Fest. And they're kicking it off tonight with much beloved heavy-duty rockers Red Fang, who may melt your face with awesomeness. Check out the entire fest lineup, which includes such greats as Sage Francis, Y la Bamba, Black Prairie, and more! WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY Also, read our article on the opening of Alhambra Theatre . [...]

It ain't easy to make this year's four-day series of Open Season fashion shows even more exciting than their all-star lineup already is, but Pendleton's The Portland Collection has scored a nice little feather for their cap: Joining them for their presentation of the new Fall 2013 collection on Wednesday, May 15 at Rontoms (6 pm) will be the live accompaniment of none other than kickass Portland band Lovers . This year's series takes place at some of the loveliest inner southeast venues, but they're relatively small, [...]

We've been eagerly awaiting Sun Angle 's first full-length album Diamond Junk , and hooray, there's a stream of the full album that you can listen to right now. The album, produced by Menonema's Danny Seim, comes out next week on New Moss Records, and captures the trio in all their explosive, brain-liquifying, orgiastic splendor. There's also a new Into the Woods video for album track "Time Snakes," which you can check out above. It involves a house party, animal masks, and a lot of weed. (Are you surprised?) Sun Angle play [...]

• newmossrecords - Diamond Junk

The second proper full-length from UK's Wolf People is out today—it's their third record overall, including a compilation of early material from 2005-2007 called Tidings , and 2010's splendid Steeple . That latter record was my first introduction to the English band, and it blew me away via the band's dark but not overtly heavy take on classic rock, British folk, Led Zep blooze, and trans-European psychedelia. Seriously, it's an incredible album. Despite being released on indie powerhouse Jagjaguwar—Wolf People is the first British band on that label—it made little of an impression Stateside. [...]

Mr. Screwdriver Man by A VOLCANO A VOLCANO, AH GOD, YOUNG DAD, MISTER TANG ( Backspace , 115 NW 5th) Young Dad might be the perfect antidote to all the '90s-revival folk and pop music that's in heavy rotation around town (not that it's a problem, there's just a lot of it). This four-piece makes loud, cathartic, noisy music that you'll want to thrash your head along with. Their Bandcamp page is stocked with some new, rowdy recordings that will be exciting to check out live. Meanwhile, Ah God is [...]

Last night, Dr. Dog brought their medical degrees and delightfully furry coats to the Crystal Ballroom, co-headlining a show with Dawes. Photographer Rachel Milbauer was there to capture Dr. Dog's set, and she reports: "Dr. Dog rocked (as usual). They played mostly old songs, maybe only four off their new record, closing with an awesome, stripped down version of 'Lonesome.'" More photos after the jump! [...]

It's a new episode of Pleased to Meet You , in which our host Nilina Mason-Campbell interviews emerging local musicians in unconventional but oddly appropriate places. This week she joins party rapper Neo G Yo to play some videogames, and to find out why that's so appropriate, click play! For past episodes of Pleased to Meet You , click here . [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Man oh man, it's Music Monday! Local Celebrity by Lubec Starting the week off is a marvelous new song from Portland band Lubec that moved here from Virginia a couple years ago (and named themselves after a town in Maine). The song's called "Local Celebrity" and it boasts dueling male-female vocals and fuzz-drenched guitars to give it a charming shoegaze-twee feel. The song is a preview from their upcoming album The Thrall , which they're currently recording with Robert Comitz of Nucular Aminals at his Frawg Pound Studio, and it's currently [...]

• The Builders and the Butchers - Dirt in the Ground
• wishyunu - Sprayy

CRYSTAL CASTLES, PICTUREPLANE ( Roseland , 8 NW 6th) Bleep, bloop, bleepity. Crystal Castles beckons you to come dance your fool faces off with them. The Toronto band is touring on their 2012 album (III) , so get lost in their butt-moving wash of synthy layers, which oscillate from dark and aggressive to warm soundscapes. Wear your party pants. COURTNEY FERGUSON LILACS AND CHAMPAGNE ( Dig a Pony , 736 SE Grand) When they're not making darker-than-black instrumental music with Portland [...]

WHITE FANG, THE SHIVAS, BOOM! ( Burgerville , 1122 SE Hawthorne) What better place for a Burger Records showcase than Burgerville? Three of the city's finest, sickest bands will pack your buns with meaty music, including the Shivas, Boom!, and party kings White Fang. It's all part of KPSU's Radio Revival series of shows and events to raise funds for a bona fide FM signal. Yes, you want fries with that. NED LANNAMANN DAWES, DR. DOG ( Crystal [...]

BLIND PILOT, OREGON SYMPHONY ( Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall , 1037 SW Broadway) The Schnitz and backing from the Oregon Symphony seem like some pretty fancy trappings for a band as gentle and homespun as Blind Pilot. Watching the folk act overcome and transcend those cushy surroundings might be part of the magic. Besides, any band good enough for Ellen DeGeneres is probably good enough for you. DENIS C. THERIAULT RODRIGUEZ, JENNY O ( Roseland , 8 NW 6th) [...]

• chloeharris - Raica - Electree

Va va va voom, it's Video Vriday! Here's Portugal. The Man 's video for "Purple Yellow Red & Blue," the new track which was recorded with members of Haim, from the Evil Friends album (out June 4). In this video, frontman John Gourley embraces his inner street person and walks around with a ratty blanket. (Or is it a technicolor dreamcoat?) A bunch of other strange stuff happens. This video is like a metaphysical version of shining the blacklight on some motel sheets to see all the jizz stains. Final assessment [...]

The Michael Jackson HIS tory Show is coming to Portland on June 7 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Renowned Michael Jackson impersonator Kenny Wizz is the star of the show. Here is the promotional trailer (more info on the show on PCPA's site .) SOME THINGS OF NOTE: • Kenny Wizz is a decidedly unfortunate name. Perhaps he imagines the name will have people recalling MJ's role in The Wiz , but everyone will agree it sounds more like he's a porn star who specializes in "wet work." [...]

MARNIE STERN, SISU, SWAHILI ( Mississippi Studios , 3939 N Mississippi) Read our article on Marnie Stern. NOMEANSNO, FORD PIER, DIRTCLODFIGHT, BISON BISON ( Hawthorne Theatre , 1507 SE César E. Chávez) Read our article on NoMeansNo. ABSU, RITUAL NECROMANCY, L'ACEPHALE, PLEASURE CROSS ( Ash Street Saloon , 225 SW Ash) [...]

OUR STORY SO FAR: Michelle Shocked had a concert scheduled for last night, April 25, at the Alberta Rose Theatre. Then she had some sort of meltdown/rant at a show in San Francisco on March 17 , during which the formerly gay/currently born-again singer said some really unpleasant anti-gay remarks. She claims she was misconstrued, but the Alberta Rose show—along with several others on her current tour—were promptly cancelled. In its place, the Alberta Rose scheduled a fundraiser for Basic Rights Oregon called BROmance. Then on March 28, Shocked turned up in Santa Cruz outside one of [...]

Taking its cue from Apple, or possibly Hot Topic, Microsoft is opening retail stores across the country, and one is coming to lucky, lucky Portland. The Portland Microsoft store opens at Pioneer Place Mall (in the former space of the Macaroni Grill, RIP forever and ever) with a celebration on Thursday, June 20 and Friday, June 21, and—here's the thing, guys, here is why I am blogging this— Weezer is playing . Weezer is playing? I am confused as you. So confused that I can't think of a snarky joke about this. It's just [...]

The Music Tapes are one of the many offshoots of the Elephant 6 collective, and the band of former Neutral Milk Hotel member Julian Koster. Their unique live performances are some of the most inventive staged by any band, from small-scale house shows to carnival productions in opera houses. While the circus vibe has been tainted by the surge of "contemporary circus" that has come into vogue in recent years—which Portland has no shortage of—the Music Tapes' current show, The Traveling Imaginary , is more of a dreamlike, childhood-evoking assemblage of ghostlike sounds and imagery from [...]

PALMA VIOLETS, GUARDS, EIDOLONS ( Holocene , 1001 SE Morrison) When NME named Palma Violets' "Best of Friends" the song of the year for 2012, they were actually onto something. That terrific song—a bright, brash, bashed-out anthem with the kind of hoarse chorus that worms its way into your heart like a wiggly puppy—bested Japandroids at their own holler-along game. What's astonishing, then, is how diverse and incredible the rest of Palma Violet's debut album 180 is, bouncing from smart, moody, Kinks-y pop to cool Walkmen-style organ-and-croon saunters. That's not to mention the ample [...]

Living room tours are all the rage this spring. While house shows are nothing new, we've gotten a number of great touring artists coming through town to play your neighbor's front room—and it's a fine antidote to dark, noisy clubs with bar-priced drinks. Also, some of the people who host these living room shows have dogs. Dogs make all shows better. The Undertow music collective is responsible for a lot of these shows we're seeing (the company's creative director Mark Ray lives here in Portland, where he works at the North branding agency). Will Johnson of [...]