Oct. 21
Rebels meet Death
Leah Shapiro, drummer for San Francisco rockers Black Rebel Motorcyle Club, says the trios Portland fans can expect to hear a mix of songs from their seven albums and other releases, but not exactly note-for-note when they visit town this week.
We dont necessarily play the songs as theyre arranged on the albums all the time, she says. We kind of venture off into unknown territory when were live.
Drummer for the band since 2008, Shapiro says one of her favorite tunes to play is the midtempo shoegaze-meets-psychedelic-grunge number Awake, off the groups 2001 debut record.
It just has this trancelike feel, she says. It feels like meditation playing this song. You can really just float away and drift into the sound of the big lush guitars.
Shapiro holds the beat down for Peter Hayes (vocal, guitar, harmonica) and Robert Levon Been (vocal, bass, guitar), and says she particularly enjoyed recording Lose Yourself off BRMCs 2013 album Specter at the Feast.
Its so slow, and theres so much open space, and in my head I wanted it to feel kind of like waves rolling in, the way the ocean moves.
Speaking of moving, Death From Above 1979s bassist-guitarist-vocalist Jesse F. Keeler says no one has moves like Jagger quite like Mick Jagger himself.
Keeler went bowling with him, as well as Jack White, and DFA 1979 drummer-singer Sebastien Grainger, after recording Live at Third Man Records in 2015. White owns Third Man and Jagger was in Nashville and had stopped by to hear the Toronto noise-dance-punk duo record at Whites Blue Room, prior to the guttural excursion.
When he did get a strike, he did a little dance, like in the video for Jumpin Jack Flash, Keeler says with a chuckle.
Like BRMC, Keeler and Grainger plan to play a career-spanning set of their tunes at this Fridays show.
We kind of want to show people who have never seen our band the depth of what we do and fans of our band what theyd like to hear, Keeler says.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death From Above 1979, Deap Valley, 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, Roseland Theater, 8 N.W. Sixth Ave. All ages. $28. Info: 971-230-0033, www.roselandpdx.com.
Oct. 24
Big in the Baltic
Chicago indie rock trio Fort Frances recently released its latest album Alio, Lithuanian for Hello on the phone. Turns out the band got hugely popular in Eastern Europe when it released a cover of Will Smiths 1991 single Summertime. They are so popular they were invited by the U.S. embassy in Lithuania last year to come to the capital city of Vilnius to headline one of the citys biggest summer gigs, Loftas Fest. The bands combination of mainstream rock, pop, roots, choral and crunch should make it popular with Lithuanians as well as other ethnic groups stateside as well.
Fort Frances, Scott Ryan, Rich McCloud, 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, White Eagle Saloon, 836 N. Russell St. $10. Info: 503-282-6810, www.mcmenamins.com.
Oct. 26
Energy drink n roll
Red Bull Sound Select continues its series of musical showcases in our area with a girl-power bill featuring spaghetti Western-surf-doo-wop-garage rock band La Luz, who formed in Seattle but now call L.A. home; Portland all-female harmonizing shoegaze-via-Blue-Cheer trio Candace (formerly Is/Is); and Forest Groves Haley Heynderickx, a self-described doom folk artist. Tickets are just $3 for those who RSVP online at bit.ly/2cCsMUx.
La Luz, Candace, Haley Heynderickx, 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N. Mississippi Ave. Info: 503-288-3895, www.mississippistudios.com.
Quick hits
The Woody Guthrie Northwest Songs Tribute Concert, a fundraiser for the Roll Columbia Album Project, takes place at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at The Old Church, 1422 S.W. 11th Ave. $25, $30 at show. Musicians working on the album include David Grisman, John Moen of The Decemberists, and Peter Buck of R.E.M. Info: www.brownpapertickets.com
Having supported Florence + The Machine on a tour, idiosyncratic indie rockers Papa know how to please a crowd. They share a bill with Reptaliens and Gold Casio at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, at Holocene, 1001 S.E. Morrison St. $13 in advance, $15 at the door. Info: 503-239-7639, www.holocene.org.
Originally a death metal band, Swedish rockers Opeth have incorporated jazz fusion, folk, blues and classical styles into their music, and have just released Sorceress, aka the Hillary Clinton story.
OK, we may have made up some of that.
You can catch them along with The Sword at 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at the Roseland Theater, 8 N.W. Sixth Ave. 21 and over. $30, $40 in advance, $35, $45 day of show. Info: www.roselandpdx.com.
Alt rockers Dillinger Escape Plan and OBrother join metalheads Cult Leader and Mentheos for whats sure to be one sweaty bill at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, at Dantes, 350 W. Burnside St. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Info: 503-226-6630, www.danteslive.com.
