High Notes: The Best Live Music in Portland This Week, Dec 30 - Jan 4
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Hot Tuna
Dec 31 @ 8pm
Since it’s New Year’s Eve, let’s talk about old acquaintances. High-flying Jefferson Airplane alums Jorma Kaukonen (guitar) and Jack Casady (bass) have been tuning up together in one form or another for half a century. As is the case with most folks who were once ready for the revolution, Jorma and Jack eventually returned to the dirt in 1970 with Hot Tuna, a stripped-down blues duo that can expand into a rock band if need be. But tonight it’s just two old pals plucking and thumping through “Hesitation Blues,” “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” and Airplane tidbits like “Trial By Fire” and “Good Shepherd.”
$75-80. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave.
MarchFourth Marching Band
Dec 30-31 @ 8pm
If you want your New Year’s Eve experience to look and sound like Mardi Gras (or maybe halftime at a bowl game), then your search is over. For sheer volume of entertainment, how can anything compete with M4? In addition to phalanxes of comely dancers, hula-hoopers, stilt-walkers, and banner-wavers, there’s a skintight band here that’s capable of blowing up the joint with horn-heavy funk and savvy jazz jump.
$25-45. Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St.
The Strange Tones
Dec 31 @ 8pm
This hardworking quartet, fronted by guitarist Julie Strange and bassist-husband Andy Strange, is one of the most reliably rocking acts in town, with a smoking set list of surf-spy swagger and blustery, low-down blues. On very special occasions (like this one, we assume), the ’Tones are accompanied by the Volcano Vixens, a pair of twitching terpsichorean types with plenty of get up and go-go. Now that’s a proper party!
$17. Duff’s Garage, 2530 NE 82nd Ave.
Weinland’s NYE Supergroup
Dec 31 @ 9pm
Who’s going to be there? Now in its sixth year, this annual shindig features rural-rock ensemble Weinland anchoring a rotating cast of prominent local musicians—including Laura Gibson, Dave Depper, and members of Blind Pilot—belting out a guilty pleasure playlist. In years past, folks from Portland Cello Project, Minus 5, and the Fruit Bats have all taken turns tearing up everything from AC/DC to ZZ Top. It’s like you’ve finally found the cool secret club where the in-crowd meets for karaoke.
$25-28. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St.
Dead Moon
Jan 3 @ 8pm
The chance to christen the New Year with Portland’s most revered band should not be missed. Rock ’n’ roll grandparents Fred and Toody Cole have played together in a number of memorable groups, but it was as Dead Moon (1987-2006) with drummer Andrew Loomis that the Coles hit upon the ideal outlet for such don’t-tread-on-us anthems like “54-40 Or Fight,” “It’s O.K.” and “Fire in the Western World.” Once their afternoon naps are out of the way, all the feisty old-timers will be out in force for this class reunion.
$26. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St.
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