THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS, THE DODOS, IMAAD WASIF (Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) TRIPLE DIP—The power pop jangle of the New Pornographers should be more than enough to lure you to the Crystal tonight—both Neko Case and Dan Bejar will be there!—but there's even more to this bill than meets the eye: There's the luminous, thumping tunes of the Dodos, plus the incendiary guitar wizardry of Imaad Wasif. Don't miss a single note. NL

SUPERFEST 2: COPY, WAMPIRE, FAKE DRUGS, HOSANNAS, STRATEGY, JOEY CASIO, RUDE DUDES (Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) SUPER—Live electronic music monthly Supernature is spreading its (unicorn) wings across two days for the second annual Superfest 2: Electric Boogaloo. Tonight and tomorrow, check out a slew of Portland dance bands, including the debut of a two-piece Copy, now with live drums! MS

THE MYNABIRDS, CELILO, SEAN FLINN AND THE ROYAL WE, THE PHYSICAL HEARTS (Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) WHEN GEORGIE JAMES—the duo comprising Q and Not U's John Davis and singer/songwriter Laura Burhenn—mysteriously disappeared off the map in 2008, it wasn't clear if Burhenn would choose to return to her solo career. And she didn't, exactly. Instead, she retreated to Cottage Grove, Oregon, a small town just south of Eugene, and in the studio of Richard Swift created one of the finest pop albums of the year. "We finished the record and I wasn't sure if I should release it under my name—should it be a solo singer/songwriter project, should it be band name?" says Burhenn. "I really didn't want to release it as a singer/songwriter; I didn't really want to be pegged or pigeonholed." She elected to release it under the name the Mynabirds. NL

...Continue reading the rest of Ned Lannamann's article on Mynabirds here.

Kaiser Cartel, Built To Spill, Howl and Cute Lepers after the jump!

Need more? As always, you can find our complete live music listings here.

KAISER CARTEL, STEPHEN ASHBROOK, JOSH GARRELS (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Kaiser Cartel might seem like an invented band name, but it's actually the surnames of its two members, Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel. The Brooklyn-based pair just released their second album, Secret Transit, and it ranges from moody, crescent-moon balladry to peppy, strummy pop songs. It's a darker record than their debut, and a more complex, rewarding listen. Kaiser leads the way most of the time, with a clarion and assured voice supported by Cartel's unobtrusive harmonies. These songs grow on you, with watertight pop construction, and sunny turns of phrase balanced by just a little bit of black-heart moroseness to keep things from being too cloying. NED LANNAMANN

BUILT TO SPILL, QUASI (Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) A summer night colliding with sprawling guitars means hot, sweaty, rockin' fun. Combine said collision with you-know-'em-you-love-'em Built to Spill and you're reliving a late-'90s July night, sitting around the fireside drinking beer with your best friends "Car" and "I Would Hurt a Fly." Continuing their tour on last year's great There Is No Enemy, Doug Martsch and the boys of Built to Spill bust out the epic guitaring, beard swinging, and all-around indie rock history-making. Meanwhile Sam Coomes, Janet Weiss, and Joanna Bolme of Quasi open up the summer sweat-off with much rockage from their hot-shit album American Gong (not to be confused with their 2003 album Hot Shit!). Remember to hydrate for this one, y'all. You might want to carb load too, for maximum dancing energy. COURTNEY FERGUSON

BLACK COBRA, HOWL, LESBIAN, NETHER REGIONS, WIZARD RIFLE (Satyricon, 125 NW 6th) If you missed High on Fire as they scorched through town earlier this year, tonight may be your only chance to see a show of the same caliber. However, instead of Oakland's purveyors of monstrous doom and Black Cobra, you get Howl and Black Cobra. On their debut full-length Full of Hell, Providence's Howl sounds very similar to High on Fire's first two recordings. Full of Hell has floor-tom-heavy drumming, thick-as-molasses riffs played at a funeral dirge pace, and a thick layer of sludge caked all over every track. Each instrument is distinguishable, but Full sounds like something produced by the Creature from the Black Lagoon. ARIS WALES

SWINGIN' UTTERS, THE CUTE LEPERS, MY LIFE IN BLACK AND WHITE (Dante's, 1 SW 3rd) There's a lot to like about the Cute Lepers. That's a good thing, because geniality seems to be the Seattle foursome's foremost goal. Unlike vocalist Steve E. Nix's better-known group the Briefs, the Cute Lepers eschew the snottiness and danger of '70s punk while still doing their best to sound like Stiff Records also-rans. The result is like a goofy bridge between the Knack and the punk rockers that hated them. The Lepers sand the edges of tried-and-true punk formula and give it an arena rock boost, which might grate a little on those punk fans not comfortable in the middle of the road. The hooks are easy to swallow, and just as easy to forget, and in the end it's just as easy to dance to the Lepers as it is to dismiss them—but the former is much more fun. DAVE BOW