High Notes: The Best Live Music in Portland This Week, Dec. 9 - 14

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Tuesday, December 09, 2014

John Chandler, GoLocalPDX Contributor

This week’s picks come to a furious head on Friday, with four intriguing shows in one night! Normally, we hate to leave you on the horns of a musical dilemma, but since there aren’t any obvious style overlaps between these artists, we’re confident it won’t cause too many sleepless nights. Choose wisely!

Spoon

Dec 10 @ 9pm

On the Austin indie band’s new album ‘They Want My Soul,’ singer and guitarist Britt Daniel locks eyes with a tenacious enemy and remains musically defiant. His latest batch of songs is among his best, a consistent and confident assortment of non-obvious guitar rock that chronicles his artistic tug of war with the forces of compromise that would dilute his vision. Songs like “Do You” and “Rent I Pay,” acknowledge that longevity in the rock ’n’ roll game is a dicey proposition at best, but Daniel makes it clear that Spoon won’t bend.  

$27. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St. 

Exodus

Dec 12 @ 8pm

In his excellent book ‘Sound of the Beast,’ metal scholar Ian Christie notes, “Exodus unleashed a huge terrain of syncopated headbanger thrills designed for maximum physical reaction from denin- and leather-clad bodies.” The relentless Bay Area band responsible for thrash masterpiece ‘Bonded In Blood’ 30 years ago, is hammering harder than ever, and currently touring behind a spankin’ new album, ‘Blood In Blood Out,’ which features a cameo by former member Kirk Hammett, whose guitar went on to conquer the world with Metallica. 

$18-20. Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th Ave. 

Hillstomp

Dec 12 @ 8pm

This bucket-and-slide duo from right here in the Rose City distills a particularly bracing tonic of trance blues, the product of two wise-ass punks who are nonetheless respectful of the Delta heritage. Slide guitarist Henry Kammerer and drummer John Johnson (who keeps time on a junkyard kit outfitted with buckets and cans) boil the blues down to a wicked shiver that’s as dangerous as it is danceable. What you get with Hillstomp is a spooky blues clatter that’s capable of lifting you up like a cherry picker at a downed power line. Hillstomp’s latest album is titled ‘Portland, Ore,’ so really, shouldn’t every citizen own a copy? 

$10-12. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St. 

tUnE-YArDs

Dec 12 @ 8pm

Drum diva Merrill Garbus is the mastermind behind this creative and case-sensitive combo. She typically lays down a percolating foundation of multi-culti percussion and sings, rhymes, howls, and chants over the top, resulting in a fairly exotic melting pot of global pop. On her current album ‘Nikki Nack,’ Garbus returns from a recent excursion to Haiti bearing new songs like “Look Around” and “Water Fountain” that bubble and pop in such a charmingly winsome manner, that anyone inclined to dismiss her efforts on behalf of cultural appropriation, will probably be shouted down by a majority that just wants a little fun in the sun. 

$28. Roseland Theater, 8 NW Sixth Ave. 

Portland Garage Fest

Dec 12 @ 8pm

For that up-close-and-personal experience that voracious rock junkies crave, this gathering of local garage groups is just the ticket. The Twilight on SE Powell is a cramped, boozy dungeon that forces performers to confront a crowd that’s hell-bent for leather and just a few inches away. A monster lineup that includes the Sellwoods, Paradise, Sharks From Mars, Donkey Driver and Navarone Bandit is more than capable of taking care of business with a battery of savage sounds that may have been inspired by the swinging ’60s, but continue to evolve brilliantly in the next century.

$8. Twilight Café & Bar, 1420 SE Powell Blvd. 

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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