High Notes: The Best Live Music in Portland This Week, Jan. 27
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
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.
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.
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