UP&COMING THIS WEEK’S MUSIC PREVIEWS
CRYSTAL FIGHTERS, Wonder Ballroom, 6/2
EXITMUSIC Bunk Bar, 10/11
THURSDAY 10/11 HOSPITALITY, TEEN, MINDEN (Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 17.
ALEXIS GIDEON: VIDEO MUSICS III: FLOATING OCEANS (Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy) See Music, pg. 18.
EXITMUSIC, GRAPEFRUIT (Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Boardwalk Empire actress Aleksa Palladino performs with her husband, Devon Church, as Exitmusic, and their morose debut album, Passage, was given a release on indie titan Secretly Canadian. It’s a pretty, tense record with widescreen sounds and broad sonic strokes that have been sandblasted into cushiony, comforting breaths of air. Palladino’s voice ranges from a gentle coo to an overwrought tremble, and Exitmusic favors sensation over content, resulting in an album that sounds pleasant when it’s on and doesn’t linger too long in the memory once it’s off. Grapefruit is the glittering kosmische turn from Charlie Salas Humara, whose roster of bands has probably hit the triple digits by now, and who refines his thirst for aural adventure with peerless taste. The result is that virtually everything he does is worth some of your attention. NED LANNAMANN
MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS (Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) As he’s becoming more and more mainstream, Seattle’s favorite rapper Macklemore is using his popularity as a platform for social change. He’s talking about things on his new album, The Heist, that far too many people in his position would avoid bringing up. He paints the world as a gray cloud with a silver lining. Rather than bashing the people he disagrees with, he presents a call to action for personal and civil rights issues. Macklemore stands up for same-sex marriage, openly discusses substance abuse, and shines a light on growing up in the hiphop community. Producer Ryan Lewis, meanwhile, does a great job of soundtracking the story by creating intensity when appropriate and leaving space where it’s necessary. The sold-out show tonight is an affirmation that music fans appreciate the transparency and commentary even in a genre that doesn’t always welcome this openness. It’s clear, here: Music is a message. ROCHELLE HUNTER
MORBID ANGEL, DARK FUNERAL, GRAVE, ON ENEMY SOIL (Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) Remember that androgynous Chris Crocker fellow who sobbed all over YouTube in 2007, pleading that the cruel world leave poor Britney Spears alone? I think it’s time for Morbid Angel to get an advocate like him. Their most recent release, Illud Divinum Insanus, was the most anticipated, then universally hated and publicly flogged, metal album of 2011. Rightfully so; Morbid Angel’s dark wave and industrial experimentations were certainly an illadvised step for a revered death-metal band to take, especially coming out of an eight-year dry spell. Then came the remix album. It’s almost as if they responded to their diehard fans’ backlash by producing something they’d hate even worse, just so they would forget about the disappointment of Illud. Whatever the case, it’s time to move on and enjoy the show. Let’s all stop using Illud as a benchmark for all things shitty and just forget it ever happened. Morbid Angel is seemingly not going anywhere, and ideally they’ve learned from their catastrophic mistakes. ARIS WALES
FRIDAY 10/12 IN THE COOKY JAR: DJ COOKY PARKER (Eagles Lodge, 4904 SE Hawthorne) See My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 17.
WOODS, EAT SKULL, THE WOOLEN MEN (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See Music, pg. 23.
DEFTONES, SCARS ON BROADWAY (Roseland, 8 NW 6th) In an age when artists seem to live and die on a tastemaker’s whim, it’s difficult to predict which of today’s bands we’ll be seeing in 10 or 15 years. Deftones aren’t new, but they have outlived most of their contemporaries—of course, a lot of their contemporaries were awful, but I never would have guessed they’d still be making records (to critical acclaim, no less) in 2012. Deftones, who got their start as a noisy hiphop-meets-rock band from Sacramento, got “arty” on 2000’s White Pony and have continued down that path for more than a decade. While Deftones albums always have moments of dark thrills, they have also fallen into a tidy formula. I just want to know who’s buying the concert tickets for the band’s sold-out shows across the country. If I’m still asking that same question in 10 years, I’ll take back everything I just said. But don’t hold me to it. MARK LORE
CIRCA SURVIVE, TOUCHE AMORE, BALANCE AND COMPOSURE, O’BROTHER (Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Even if Circa Survive’s brand of histrionic, vaguely progressive emo (or whatever) isn’t really up your alley, you have to acknowledge that the band has a number of things going for them. First of all, they’re consistent as hell—they’ve never actually strayed from their intended path, in spite of immense commercial success and a brief major label roundabout, which is testament to the group’s artistic integrity. Secondly, and admirably, Circa adheres to a stubborn DIY ethos, reflected in their decision to ditch the aforementioned major label. And last but not least, vocalist Anthony Green is one of the most compelling and original singers in the entire rock genus active today. Their new, self-released record Violent Waves is hard to find fault with, assuming you’re into this sort of thing. (Except for the cover, which sucks pretty hard.) MORGAN TROPER
SATURDAY 10/13 DÉJÀ VU: WHITE RAINBOW, YACHT, DJ TAH REI (The Spot, 2401 N Harding) See My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 17.
CORIN TUCKER BAND, HOUNDSTOOTH (Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) See Music, pg. 18.
RODRIGUEZ (Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) See Music, pg. 21.
PONY VILLAGE, PALISADES, RUBEDO, THE HOOT HOOTS (Kelly’s Olympian, 426 SW Washington) 20 Sided Records isn’t dicking around with the pomp of their first compilation release. The San Francisco imprint is hosting a seven-day, multi-city bash in celebration of End of Days, a collection of most of the label’s fledgling lineup, with stops up and down the West Coast. The sixth day comes to Kelly’s Olympian armed with label stalwarts Rubedo, an epically ambitious sort of pop-rock trio from Denver. 20 Sided’s comp represents as alchemic a slice of sonic pop you could ask for from a label raised on the wizardly foundations of D&D—possibly peaking with Animal Eyes’ plaintive “Goat Chasing,” a solemn tune representing just one of the Portland contingents of 20 Sided’s roster. Other PDX reps include Pony Village (“Heart Failure”), whose tight arrangements and flair for hypnotic guitar interplay are also being featured for the release. RYAN J. PRADO
WRECKLESS ERIC AND AMY RIGBY (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Wreckless Eric (Goulden) watched fellow Stiff Records stiffs Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and Ian Dury explode while he was left writhing in comparative obscurity, but he’s arguably just as noteworthy. The songwriter’s first two records are some of the greatest, most forthright poprock records to hail from the New Wave period, particularly the single “(I’d Go the) Whole Wide World,”
October 11, 2012 Portland Mercury 25