Stream The Week

Want to see some live music? Below, you'll find our picks for the best concerts coming through Portland this week, along with a Spotify playlist of representative songs from each artist.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24

Troy Ave, Champagne James, Steezy, Mighty, Ed-Word, Donte Thomas

[THE NEW YORK TIMES SIDE] Twenty years out from the "Golden Age of Hip-Hop," rap is gradually returning to that era's classic sound. Take Brooklyn MC Troy Ave. In addition to a guest spot from Raekwon and the  jazzy loops that punctuate his first full-length, New York City: The Album, Troy Ave nods to the '90s most in his technically impressive verses. His has an adept flow that pulls listeners in steady circles before yanking them out with jarring rhythm breaks. Granted, Troy lacks in imagination, covering the standard tales of drugs and sexual conquests. But unlike his contemporaries, who seem to struggle with having fun, Troy displays true joy in his music, occasionally breaking into song mid-verse. It's not golden-age quality, but it'll certainly tide you over until the next one comes along. JAMES HELMSWORTH. Hawthorne Theater. 8 pm. $15 advance, $20 day of show. All ages.

The Bad Plus 

[JAZZ] The Minnesota-born, New York-based trio the Bad Plus' recent jazz adaptation of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring doesn't seem to have changed the mix much, but it could just be that their own diverse aesthetic already parallels that century-old masterpiece's combination of classical sophistication and vernacular passion. For their second Portland visit in as many years, classically trained pianist Ethan Iverson, sometime rock drummer Dave King and jazzy bassist Reid Iverson bring original music from their 10th album, Inevitable Western, which returns to the band's signature mix of composed and improvised elements, punchy, rock-propelled drumming, Romantic pianistic flourishes and sometimes angular harmonies. You can taste traces of earlier Bad Plus efforts all over the new release, but that doesn't make the band's flavorful flambe any less fiery or fresh. BRETT CAMPBELL. Jimmy Mak's. 7 and 9:30 pm. $18 general admission, $25 reserved seating. Under 21 permitted until 9:30 pm.

Bob Mould, Cymbals Eat Guitars

[POSI-CORE] As the frontman of the monumentally ambitious '80s hardcore act Husker Du, Bob Mould secured a spot on the Mount Rushmore of emo forefathers decades before Hot Topic made it profitable. His sensibilities have skewed in favor of a cleaner, poppier approach in recent years, but recent release Beauty & Ruin is still punctuated with the urgency of a man 20 years younger and only one iota as insightful as Mould is on the lyrics sheet. PETE COTTELL. Wonder Ballroom. 7 pm. $22 advance, $25 day of show. All ages.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 25

Midnight Magic, DJ Gossip Cat, DJ Pocket Rock-It, Misti Miller

[DISCO] If this were 2007, Midnight Magic would probably be one of DFA Records' standout acts. Alas, DFA isn't what it used to be. Munich's Permanent Vacation—the label responsible for releasing the majority of Midnight Magic's pulsing disco singles and its full-length, Midnight Creepers—and Boston's Soul Clap have filled in some of the gaps. For proof that disco is most certainly not dead, lose yourself in the bassline on "Night Flight," which will certainly be the first track on deck when NASA finally builds that heated party pool in orbit. MITCH LILLIE. Holocene. 8:30 pm. $8 advance, $10 day of show. 21+.

Tove Lo, Linus Young

[IKEA SOUL] Although the whiskey-gargling, pastry-munching "Habits" detailed in Tove Lo's 2013 breakthrough single have forced references as far afield as Ke$ha and Lena Dunham, the wordplay of our latest Swedish nightingale seems more metaphor or mistranslation than confessional and, like her contemporaries on the electro anthem circuit, matters so much less than sheer joyousness of delivery. As Scandi-pop moves from novelty to trend to outright genre, a backlash has begun to develop among those unbelievers dissuaded by the bloodless perfection of seismic hooks and insistent oversharing of millennial danger pixies. But while smart people rightly worry over the inevitability of surrender to a continuous barrage of sugared delights (a very 21st century Stockholm Syndrome), catchiness remains a virtue. Her just-released debut full length Queen Of Clouds proffers a succession of indian-summer jams painstakingly constructed for addictive potential by a sprawling list of contributors. One can't have too many Swedish chefs, and this pop shan't spoil. JAY HORTON. Wonder Ballroom. 8:30 pm.  $16 advance, $18 day of show. All ages.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 26

Project Pabst: The Constantines, Woolen Men, Summer Cannibals 

[ROCK REVIVAL] Read our profile of Constantines here. Dante's. 9 pm. $15. 21+.

Muscle & Marrow, Hail, VHMNT

[FUNERAL MARCH] See our profile on Muscle and Marrow here. The Know. 8 pm. $5. 21+.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 27

Oregon Symphony with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg  

[VOLATILE CLASSICAL] While too many other big-name soloists often coast on their accolades in performances in the provinces, the great American violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg is that rare classical music superstar who actually lives up to her billing, displaying the passionate commitment which, early on, earned her a deserved reputation as an audience favorite. She also ventures beyond the standard Romantic warhorses most celeb virtuosos repeatedly purvey, this time starring in Dmitri Shostakovich's moody, eventually blistering 1948 "Violin Concerto #1," which is an ideal showcase for her explosiveness. Along with Beethoven's first symphony, the excellent program also includes another intense post-World War II classic, American composer Samuel Barber's Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, drawn from his music for a Martha Graham ballet, and another excerpt from a ballet score—six entire minutes of music by an actual living American composer, Michael Torke's energetic, colorful Charcoal.  BRETT CAMPBELL. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. 7:30 pm Saturday and Sunday, 8 pm Monday. $22-$99.

Jackson Boone, Tender Age, Cambrian Explosion

[PSYCH YOUR MIND] If Jackson Boone's Starlit isn't the best psychedelic album to come out of Portland this year (and it just might be), it is certainly the most gorgeous. Produced by Riley Geare of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, it has the feel of classic Syd Barrett (and the last UMO album, actually), with drifting pop hooks carried by celestial strings and languidly breezy guitars. Tonight is the release show, but by all indications, this won't be the last time we'll hear about this emerging local talent. Alberta Street Pub. 9 pm. $5. 21+.

Project Pabst: High on Fire, Stone Burner, Black Snake 

[METALLIC IDEAL] Cycling through metal’s various subgenres, from drone to sludge, keeps Matt Pike and High on Fire on tour for a ridiculous amount of the time. And after issuing six full-lengths, another album’s said to be on the way for 2015. The trio’s last long player, De Vermis Mysteriis, came out a few years back at this point, but has been supplemented by a two-volume live set, as well as a one-off single for Scion. “Slave the Hive” keeps up the band’s speedy intentions, while Pike growls through a nasty recitation on the state of mindless idiots. It’s not a quantum leap forward, but the Oakland troupe continues to dole out a bludgeoning. DAVE CANTOR. Dante’s. 9:30 pm. $18. 21+.

Project Pabst: Greg Gives Peter Space, Rival Consoles, Heather Woods Broderick (Sept. 27)

[DUB TRANSMISSIONS] Like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, everything you need to know about Greg Gives Peter Space is in the name: "Greg" is composer Greg Haines, "Peter" is Oregon-born experimentalist Peter Broderick and the "space" in question is the eerie spatiality of Jamaican dub music, which inspires the duo's six-song debut. Analog synth blurts float around cosmic rhythms, with the occasional intrusion of acoustic instruments—like, say, a lightly plucked banjo—lending the project a beguiling sense of pastoral splendor. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 9 pm. $12. 21+.

Project Pabst: Tears For Fears, Violent Femmes, Rocket From the Crypt, Phosphorescent, Red Fang, X Ambassadors, K Flay, Guantanamo Baywatch

[BEER BLAST] Zidell Yards. See projectpabst.com for complete details.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 28

Puddles Pity Party

[SEND IN THE SAD VIRAL CLOWN] See our profile on Puddles here. Alberta Rose Theatre. 8 pm. $20 advance, $25 day of show. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian. 

Total Slacker, Paws, Flashlight

[COWABUNGA, DUDE] As every mind-numbing Buzzfeed quitz reminds us, people of a certain age—say, 25-35—seem to have have rather fond memories of the '90s. Tonight’s show features two different sides of the Full House coin. Brooklyn class clowns Total Slacker entered the scene in 2010 like a lame Joey Gladstone joke, playing "shitgaze" with enough smirky references to Crystal Pepsi and Bagel Bites to make you yell “cut it out.” [Insert Uncle Joey hand gestures.] The band’s follow up ditches some of the humor for a more grownup sound that is still rooted in bands like the Breeders and My Bloody Valentine, minus all the amazing noise. Scottish trio Paws, however, do the ’90s some justice, playing fast and loose with Malkmus and Mascis. The awesome-titled Youth Culture Forever is definitely a document of being young and immature, but when you can summon The Blue Album this well, it’s worthy of nothing but the most awkward Danny Tanner hug. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. Mississippi Studios. 9 pm. $12. 21+. 

Nik Turner's Hawkwind, Witch Mountain, Hedersleben

[DIRGE METAL] See our review of Witch Mountain's Mobile of Angels here. Star Theater. 9 pm. $12. 21+. 

[BEER BLAST] Zidell Yards. See projectpabst.com for complete details.

MONDAY, SEPT. 29

Pinback, Tera Melos 

[INDIE POP] Pinback has a problem. Although the San Diego group, anchored by multi-instrumentalists Rob Crow and Zach Smith, has issued five solid albums over the course of a decade, it's never been able to topple the bar it set with its 2004 classic, Summer in Abaddon. The collection of subtle, somber tunes—which the band is playing here in full—remains a meticulously-crafted piece of pop, burgeoning with distant synths and palm-muted guitar highlighted by Smith's pivotal bass and Crow's impressionistic lyrics. Given the band typically plays a songs much faster live, there's always room for additional hits. BRANDON WIDDER. Doug Fir Lounge. 9 pm. $20. 21+.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 30

Living Colour 

[ROCK'N'SOUL] Indisputably one of the most bad-ass hard rock bands of the '80s, Living Colour never got bigger than its still colossal-sounding hit, "Cult of Personality," for reasons that perhaps run deeper than typical music industry fickleness. (After all, the general public still doesn't know how to react to all-black rock bands with arena-sized ambitions.) Regardless, even after two-plus decades, the band's heavy blend of rock, funk and soul remains hard-charging and unfuckwithable. Aladdin Theater. 8 pm. $32.50 advance, $35 day of show. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian.

Trust, Mozart's Sister

[STILL SYNTH GOTH] There's been a lot of critical focus on what's missing from Joyland, Canadian goth-synth project Trust's sophomore album—the refreshing novelty of its debut, evidence of artistic growth—but the most glaring thing is former member Maya Postepski. On his own, Robert Alfons has run the hellishly harsh synths and barely-on-the-rails songcraft of Trust's earlier effort across a soft stone, adding a glossy dance floor varnish, which most reviewers apparently find bland. These critics miss two points. First, Trust's sound is now far more remix-friendly, as evidenced by Tarantula X's entrancing interpretation of "Rescue, Mister." And second, Alfons now has a lot more room to get down live. Step aside Samuel Herring of Future Islands: Alfons wins the award for Dance Performance of the Century. MITCH LILLIE. Branx. 8 pm. $12. 21+.

WWeek 2015