High Notes: The Best Live Music in Portland This Week
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Crosby, Stills and Nash
Sept. 16 @ 8 p.m.
Perhaps their fabled vocal blend isn’t quite as pristine as it was in decades past, but with a set list of hits that stretches all the way back to Woodstock, Crosby, Stills and Nash shouldn’t have any difficulty encouraging a crowd of caffeinated boomers to let their hair down and sing along. Golden chestnuts like “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” “Teach Your Children” and “Wooden Ships” will be reintroduced and parents can dutifully lecture their offspring about how “those were different times.”
But weren’t CSN just on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon singing Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy?”
$52-92. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St, portland5.com
Hustle & Drone, The Dig, The We Shared Milk
Sept. 16 @ 9:30 p.m.
Cut from a comfortably familiar synth-pop template, Portland trio Hustle and Drone achieve moments that conjure pleasant aural memories of Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and the Cure—and there’s nothing wrong with that. But the band is at its best when the bass lines get to throbbing and singer Ryan Neighbours (formerly of Portugal. The Man) puts a little soul in his roll, as on recent tunes like “Evaporated” and “Kiddo.”
The beats are fortified with state-of-the-art bounce and when the splashy keyboards kick in you'll happily join the hive mind in a better place than this.
And since it’s at Bunk Bar, the sandwiches should be sensational.
$10. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave, bunksandwiches.com
Sept. 19 @ 9 p.m.
Sometimes a broken heart can do wonders for a career. Swedish chanteuse Li Lykke Timotej Svensson Zachrisson (or Lykke Li, for short) made some particularly righteous lemonade after a tumultuous breakup in 2008, dishing out three well-received albums of resilient-yet-sorrowful girl-group anthems including “Love Me Like I’m Not Made of Stone” and “Gunshot.” Li’s evocative soprano can also be heard alongside some guy named Bono on the new U2 album Songs of Innocence—which may show up in your iTunes library whether you like it or not.
$36. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, crystalballroompdx.com
Ben Folds with the Oregon Symphony
Sept. 20 @ 8 p.m.
If you’ve followed the career of prolific piano man and songwriter Ben Folds, then you know there’s nothing especially earth-shattering about the idea of him getting cozy with the Oregon Symphony. Folds’s elegant pop music is often gilded with string accompaniment and sophisticated percussion instruments—so why not an entire orchestra?
Word is that Folds will unveil a new piano concerto for the occasion, but don’t be scared off by the thought of a stuffy evening of black tie and tails. Reliable hits like “Brick” and “Landed” should glow even brighter with orchestral embellishment.
$35 and up. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, portland5.com
Sept. 21 @ 8 p.m.
The most recent band of Brits to revel in radiant harmonies and joyous tangles of Rickenbacker guitars, Temples pack a picnic fit for the Summer of Love on their debut record Sun Structures. You can practically see the lava lamp bubbling in time with dreamy Moroccan flourishes on “Keep in the Dark” and “The Golden Throne,” where all is ear-pleasingly weird and wonderful. The local lads in Wampire are no slouches at tripping things out either, and should give the headliners all they can handle.
After all, there’s no such thing as too much groovy.
$18-20. Hawthorne Theater, 1507 SE 39th Ave, hawthornetheatre.com
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