High Notes: The Best Live Music in Portland This Week, Dec. 23

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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

John Chandler, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Ka-thud! The holidays have landed and most respectable folks are content to curl up in front of the fire, torching Christmas cards and biting the heads off gingerbread men. For those restless spirits who must venture out, there are still worthwhile musical options to be found—if you’re willing to look.  

It’s a Tony Starlight Christmas!

Dec 23 @ 7pm

Portland’s quippiest master of ceremonies will don his Santa hat for a swaggering music and comedy revue that includes dinner, serious Yuletide swing, and a whole bunch of spot-on impressions of show biz giants like Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, and Neil Diamond. Cherished songs from beloved TV holiday specials are also part of the festivities. Hurray!

$25-74. Tony Starlight’s Supper Club, 1125 SE Madison Ave. 

Bummer Xmas Eve Show

Dec 24 @ 9pm

Join the party poopers at this gathering of dour dudes singing gloomy tunes on Christmas Eve, and celebrate the healing power of misery! Michael Dean Damron, frontman of I Can Like Any Sonofabitch in the House, Daniel Coble, the Johnny Cash stand-in for Counterfeit Cash, and folksinger Count Kellam will plow through a sorrowful set list that will have you counting your blessings that Christmas sucks but once a year. 

Free. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St. Sandy Blvd.

Mitch Kashmar Blues Band

Dec 27 @ 9pm

If you need a shot of something strong to get over the post-holiday blues, West Coast harmonica maniac Mitch Kashmar is just what the doctor ordered. In addition to a stint with funk forefathers War, Kashmar has played with the likes of John Lee Hooker, Eric Burdon, and Stevie Ray Vaughn, blowing his Little Walter-style harp and singing slyly about women and whiskey, both good and bad. Keep an eye on keyboardist Jimmy Calire—the man’s a boogie-woogie dynamo.

Duff’s Garage, 2530 NE 82nd Ave. 

The Bobs

Dec 26 @ 7:30pm

These Grammy nominated a cappella cutups have been dexterously deconstructing popular songs for more than 30 years. Whether they’re having their way with Hendrix, Vince Guaraldi, Tom Waits or Fats Waller, the Bobs’ vocal yoga is downright uncanny. Billed as an After Christmas Holiday Show, expect some kooky carols (“Mambo Santa Mambo” and “Christmas in Jail,” to name two) alongside original material like “Tight Pants Tango” and “Fluffy’s Master Plan for World Domination.”

$20-22. Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St. 

Reignwolf

Dec 28 @ 9pm

Canadian Jordan Cook is a one-man blues-rock wrecking crew, a gnarly guitar slinger with one foot on the fuzz pedal and the other on the kick drum. He’s perfectly capable of owning the stage all by his lonesome, but these days he comes equipped with a rhythm section to maximize Reignwolf’s aural attack, that sounds like a redneck Led Zeppelin recording for Fat Possum Records. 

$17-20. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St. 

John Chandler has been writing about rock and/or roll for 25 years with The Rocket, Portland Tribune, Portland Monthly, Magnet, Dagger, No Depression, and Puncture. He also writes about beer, booze, and bars for Portland'sBarFly website and plays in a couple goofy bands when the mood strikes him. He can most often be found at the wheel of horrificflicks.com, a review website dedicated to horror movies.

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