High Notes: The Best Live Music in Portland This Week, Jan. 27

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

John Chandler, GoLocalPDX Contributor

The Toasters Courtesy of Moon Ska World

The unseasonably warm weather has been a blessing, but when the sun goes down we can combat the winter doldrums by huddling up at one of our carefully curated concerts. Ska veterans the Toasters should have no trouble turning up the temperature, while San Diego stoners Joy blast off on a voyage of cosmic exploration. And the Blow will get us psyched for Valentine’s Day with an evening of entirely adorable love songs.

The Toasters

Jan 27 @ 9pm

When you’ve been gigging for more than 30 years, the term “rude boy” becomes somewhat obsolete. This Big Apple bunch, led by British expat Rob “Bucket” Hingley, has been on the frontlines of American ska since the Reagan Years, and chestnuts like “2-Tone Army” and “Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down” have helped shape the wardrobes of fashionably floundering punks from Boston to Baja. Ska fans know how to use an iron—just sayin’.

$9-12. Rotture, 315 SE Third Ave.

Joy, Sons of Huns

Jan 28 @ 9pm

Can stoner rock be frisky? In the case of San Diego wah-wah pedal fetishists Joy that’s definitely affirmative. Things get downright progressive on Joy’s latest album ‘Under the Spell of Joy,’ as tunes like “One More Time” and “Drive Me Insane” open like Sabbath on a furious coke bender before succumbing to Hendrix Experience cosmic broad strokes. Thankfully, the songs tend to sizzle and cook rather than merely marinate in a surfeit of sauce. Don’t keep your riffs under a bushel, that’s my motto.

The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St.

The Blow Courtesy of Kanine Records

Welfare State, Pinehurst Kids

Jan 30 @ 9pm

Here’s a chance to pay your respects to a pair of longtime Portland bands that really know their onions when it comes to superior songwriting. Welfare State singer Eric Gregory has been penning poetic tirades and archly observant anthems for local groups like Hypermarket and Crack City Rockers for 20 years. The Welfare State provides him with a chops-heavy combo that brings out his best on stage. Pinehurst Kids are another seasoned outfit that briefly flirted with mainstream recognition (Hey! They had a song on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’!), and continue to write and record quality punk-soaked pop gems regardless of today’s forecast.

$5. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St. Sandy Blvd.

The Blow

Jan 31 @ 9pm

Though minimalist charmers the Blow are no longer citizens of the Northwest, their relocation to Brooklyn hasn’t diminished the appeal of singer Khaela Maricich’s winsome observations about love and stuff, welded to Melissa Dyne’s cheery doodle-pop templates. The show is billed as the Blow “Unplugged,” which might be considered a challenge for most electronic bands, but Maricich and Dyne will undoubtedly find the cleverest method for getting their point across.

$18-20. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St.

Winterfolk XXVII

Jan 31 @ 7pm

The latest edition of this annual fundraiser, for local nonprofit Sisters of the Road, is to be headlined by autoharp virtuoso and storyteller Bryan Bowers, with spirited support from Kate Power and Steve Einhorn, Kathryn Claire, Avery Hill, and Don Lange, among others. Raffle prizes include a Simon & Patrick Woodland Pro Folk Sunburst guitar and a full day of recording time at Billy Oskay’s Big Red Studio. Winter is a lousy time to be hungry, so lend a hand to Sisters of the Road’s ongoing mission of providing low-cost meals to those in need.

$30-32. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave.

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.