The Rumble – Saturday @ Mississippi Studios (3939 N Mississippi)
I would be remiss if I didn’t drop at least one reference to this free show sponsored by Pampelmoose. But I would be excited about it regardless as it brings together two fantastic NW bands – The Blakes, the sneering garage pop band from Seattle, and The Mint Chicks, the noisy, shape shifting fuzz pop group originally from New Zealand but now living in Portland. Add to it another Portland outfit, The Greenladies who specialize in a dusty, twangy sound, and you’ve got the recipe for a brilliant evening of music.
Jake Powell – Sunday @ Satyricon (125 NW 6th Ave)
As charged and engaging as Jake Powell’s (pictured) music is, what takes his brand of punchy punk-tinged rock into the stratosphere is his distinctive and fantastic singing voice. It comes out like the perfect melding of the tones used by the brothers Leo. You can hear Ted’s earth-shaking wail and Chris’s reedier, slightly more graceful voice in songs like the horn-inflected “On The Outside” and the arch and woozy sounding “Go” (both of which can be found on his self-released CD My 10-45 Code 1). Satyricon is the perfect venue for Powell to let himself loose and let his powerful tunes loose on an unsuspecting public.
Jackie-O Motherfucker/Dragging An Ox Through Water – Wednesday @ Mississippi Studios (3939 N Mississippi)
You may already be familiar with the sprawling collective known in mixed company as JOMF, and their sprawling psych/drone noise sprinkled with hints of Eastern modalities and the occasional pop turn of phrase. But I say make sure you get there on time to catch opener Dragging An Ox Through Water, as well. It’s a one-man sonic mindfuck that refuses to land in any particular genre. He prefers instead to hover above the fray, referencing as many different moods and ideas as his array of pedals and handmade noise machines will allow.
Micachu & The Shapes – Thursday @ Doug Fir Lounge (830 E Burnside)
Lead Shape Micachu (known to her parents as Mica Levi) started out as an MC in the UK grime scene, but has since turned her attention to a noisy, unconventional brand of pop music that emphasizes the clatter of percussion – both live and computer generated. It’s an extension of the weird and woolly turns taken by groups like the Raincoats and Essential Logic in the heady post-punk days, but with the childish insouciance of the Sarah/53rd and 3rd brand of twee.