THE BOOKS, BLACK HEART PROCESSION

(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) NYC sound collagists the Books bring their immaculately crafted, speech-sampling sounds through town tonight for a one-of-a-kind live show that'll take your preconceptions of what constitutes music and turn 'em inside out. Don't miss the dark-hearted funeral rock of San Diego's the Black Heart Procession, too. NED LANNAMANN

CURREN$Y, NIPSEY HUSSLE, DOM KENNEDY, SMOKE DZA, FEIND, CORNERBOY P

(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Long before Ke$ha gave copy editors fits with her ridiculous dollar-sign name, New Orleans emcee Curren$y was laying down colossal rap jams with his relaxed, down-South drawl. Joining him will be Nipsey Hussle, whose "Feelin' Myself" is one of the best bangers of 2010. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

Lucero, Mt. Helens Vietnam Band, Horse Feathers, DarkBlack, Black Prairie, as well as a link to the complete show listings, after the jump!

LUCERO, DRAG THE RIVER, I CAN LICK ANY SONOFABITCH IN THE HOUSE

(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) As far as major label debuts go, Lucero's 1372 Overton Park was a bit of a letdown. All hangover and no drunk, the recording felt uninspired when compared to the Memphis band's wonderful back catalog. But take comfort in knowing that Lucero does their finest work with their collective backs against the wall. With a series of failed record labels in their wake, Lucero went to work their way, starting their own imprint and embarking on a seemingly nonstop tour regimen that has taken up the better part of a decade. Frontman Ben Nichols continues to sing like he has a mouthful of whiskey and sandpaper, and the band's underdog anthems still have the power to floor you. Once they break out their cover of Jawbreaker's "Kiss the Bottle"—a song that might as well be theirs at this point—all shall be forgiven. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

MT. HELENS VIETNAM BAND, THE GLOBES, AGESANDAGES

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) While the story of Mt. Helens Vietnam Band is familiar by now, it's still astonishing that drummer Marshall Verdoes is so young. The 15-year-old is the full-steam-ahead engine behind the Seattle band, made of Verdoes' older brother and guardian Benjamin, and Benjamin's wife Traci Eggleston, plus bassist Jared Price. As a result one might expect more of a dippy, family-communal vibe to their music, but newest record Where the Messengers Meet has some dark corners to it, with off-kilter songwriting, eerily quiet passages, and some spooky heavy rock. Be sure to arrive in time for Ages-
andAges, the handclap-happy, backup-vocal-drenched, country-rock Portland ensemble that is steadily becoming one of the best live draws in town. Their debut full-length Alright, You Restless comes out next year on Knitting Factory Records, and it's at the top of our list for 2011's most eagerly awaited releases. NED LANNAMANN

HORSE FEATHERS, Y LA BAMBA, SARA JACKSON-HOLMAN

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Horse Feathers and Nirvana make an unlikely pairing, but for Horse Feathers' latest 7-inch single, Justin Ringle and company dusted off their copy of Nevermind when picking a song to cover. Yet instead of a slower track from the album the band went with the normally caustic "Drain You." The results? Absolute perfection, an endearing and genuine cover that pays tribute to Aberdeen's finest, but does so on Horse Feathers' musical terms (with swelling strings buffered by Ringle's soft voice). Y la Bamba are also part of this two-night stand, and although Lupon is still fresh on record store shelves, the band just debuted a handful of robust new songs for a recent Bar Bar apartment recording session. New songs and Nirvana, you can't beat that. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

DARKBLACK, SPELLCASTER, DEAD BY DAWN

(The Knife Shop at Kelly's Olympian, 426 SW Washington) The current trend in heavy metal is tradition. Bands the world over make careers out of producing records that completely mirror the styles and sounds of old. While some are fantastic at such revisionism, they really aren't bringing anything new or exciting to the table. Enter Portland's DarkBlack, a band that embraces the sound of the past without mimicking it. Instead, they inject their brand of soaring heavy metal with extremely complex (and at times jazzy) rhythms and harmonies. The band's latest endeavor Midnight Wraith, an EP released by Stormspell Records, contains five tracks that sound like Iron Maiden songs as written by Albert Einstein. Thus, DarkBlack has now wrestled intricate and nuanced metal away from the Canadians! Sorry, Rush. ARIS WALES

BLACK PRAIRIE, OLD LIGHT, RITCHIE YOUNG

(Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta) Chances are your 2010 hasn't got a damn thing on Black Prairie's. The last dozen months have seen the bluegrass-by-way-of-the-Eastern-Bloc ensemble—made up of more than a few Decemberists—appear on the scene, ink a record deal, release their debut LP Feast of the Hunters' Moon, and tour the States. This will be your final chance this year to bask in their old-timey sound, and considering that their other band has a new record in the queue, it might be some time before you hear from Black Prairie again. Their latest is a tour-only EP that you can swoop up at the merch table, one that has unreleased material, a haunting remix of "Red Rocking Chair" that makes the band sound like Portishead, and a cover of Gram Parsons' "Hickory Wind" that'll make you weak in the knees. Joining them is Old Light, whose matured rock album The Dirty Future just might be one of the best local releases of 2010 that you have still yet to hear. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

The complete show listings can be viewed here.