High Notes: The Best Live Music in Portland This Week, June 16-21
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Rhett Miller, Annalisa Tornfelt
June 16 @ 8pm
The lead singer for alt-country faves the Old 97’s recorded his most recent solo album, ‘The Traveler,’ right here in the Rose City with our own Black Prairie serving as his artful accompanists. It’s a fertile collaboration, as oscillating happy/sad strum-alongs like “Most in the Summertime” and “Escape Velocity” are given rollicking arrangements punctuated by Annalisa Tornfelt’s dexterous violin and sympathetic backing vocals. Tornfelt, who recently released her excellent debut album ‘The Number 8,’ opens the show and will undoubtedly play a handful of songs with the headliner.
$15-17. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave.
Steel Pulse
June 17 @ 8pm
Legal recreational marijuana is still a few weeks away, but you can probably get a waiver for the Steel Pulse show. One of the top reggae bands to come from jolly ol’ England, Steel Pulse has been rallying against racism and class warfare for 40 years on hits like “Ku Klux Klan, “Your House,” and last year’s single, “Put Your Hoodies On (4 Trayvon).” On “Global Warming” and “Earth Crisis” they add environmental vigilance to their list of causes—all of which can be danced to. Love and justice, ya’ll.
$25-38.50. Roseland Theater, 8 NW Sixth Ave.
Paul Collins Beat
June 17 @ 9pm
He’s been covered by Green Day, had a song on the ‘Caddyshack’ soundtrack, and was once a member of revered Los Angeles power-pop trio the Nerves, which also featured Peter Case of the Plimsouls. Singer and guitarist Paul Collins has been a firm believer in the redemptive power of rock ’n’ roll since the ’70s, and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Last year’s ‘Feel the Noise’ album is chockfull of jangly delights such as “All Eyes to See” and “Don’t Know How to Treat a Lady,” that prove there’s no expiration date on quality rock.
$10. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St. Sandy Blvd.
Mimicking Birds
June 18 @ 9pm
Somewhere during the layoff between 2010’s self-titled debut album and last year’s ‘Eons,’ Mimicking Birds’ prime mover Nate Lacy (who calls Portland home) seems to have received a confidence booster shot, kicking his whispery, bedroom-folk tunes up a notch into beauteous band fodder, without sacrificing any of their intimate power. On newer material like “Owl Hoots” and “Wormholes” the colors Lacy’s added to his palette, a splash of guitar here, percolating percussion there, help to clarify and add purpose to his meandering spirit.
$12-14. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St.
Agalloch
June 20 @ 9pm
Even with the occasional cello sawing through the swirling textures, veteran Portland crew Agalloch revels in the darkness, eschewing endless helicopter guitar solos for a haunting, pastoral aesthetic that aligns them more with European neofolk and black metal, than with the grueling thrash tempos favored by their Yankee countrymen. Wintery collages like “Black Lake Nidstang,” “Falling Snow,” and “Fire Above, Ice Below” demonstrate an atmospheric orchestral sensibility that rumbles and grows like an impending storm.
$12. Star Theater, 13 NW Sixth Ave.
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