GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR

(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) After taking most of the last decade off, Montreal post-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor have returned at last, playing their majestic, instrumental epics to eager crowds—so eager, in fact, that tonight's show is all sold out. But you'll think of something, because who knows if they'll pass this way again? NED LANNAMANN

YO LA TENGO, THE URINALS

(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) A year and a half after their latest release—2009's quietly revered Popular Songs—Yo La Tengo hits the road with a winning gimmick: a two-tiered show whose first chunk will be decided by the spinning of a modified chore wheel (among the options the band must be prepared to execute: comedy skits, audience Q&A, performances as their garage-rock alter egos the Condo Fucks). The second chunk of the show features a set of classic songs spanning the band's 27-year, 12-album career. DAVID SCHMADER

DREW GROW BENEFIT: PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT, SHENANDOAH DAVIS, EZZA ROSE

(The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie) Last month, Portland musician Drew Grow suffered a serious wreck in his band's touring van. The van didn't make it, but thankfully Grow is recovering as well as could be hoped for, following several surgeries and an extended hospital stay. But as you can imagine, those kind of medical necessities don't come cheap, so as a result—do you see where this is going?—a group of kind Portland musicians have come together to perform a benefit concert to raise funds for Grow's hefty hospital bills. Performers include Seattle singer/songwriter Shenandoah Davis—who's a sometime member of chamber pop group Grand Hallway and whose solo material marries classical and pop styles—alongside Ezza Rose, a Portlander with a stunning voice and a repertoire of gently bewitching jazz-folk. Davis and Rose will be joined by a quartet of cellists from the Portland Cello Project. NL

SERGE SEVERE, MANIMALHOUSE, DESTRO, L PRO, MIC CRENSHAW, LEVEL HEADED, DICTION, UNIVERSAL DJ SECT, GEN. ERIK

(Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash) Serge Severe is a Portland emcee whose dexterous lyricism, combined with his respect for rap history, has been evident ever since he burst upon the scene. Severe's last mixtape found him spitting over classic DJ Premier tracks, cementing his commitment to a culture where rocking the mic right is of the utmost importance; a world where radio spins and social media acolytes are secondary spoils to the true calling of being able to move the crowd with a DJ on the ones and twos. On his latest full-length, Back on My Rhymes, Severe further solidifies this mission with a who's-who guest list of local emcees that proves the respect he's earned from his peers. Perhaps the greatest triumph of the album is deftly not letting reverence slip into retro nostalgia, instead building on the past to create something categorically contemporary. RYAN FEIGH

A complete listing of this week's shows can be viewed here.

WATER AND BODIES, ARCHEOLOGY, THE DIMES, UHF

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Water and Bodies have always come off as slight outsiders in this indie rock-centric town of ours. The local act has perfected the rarest of Portland musical qualities: a glossy, hook-heavy rock sound that could hijack the FM airwaves if only given a fair chance. The quartet isn't afraid to bare it all—quite literally, as they appear nude (worry not, their bits and pieces are tastefully covered) on the cover of their debut LP, Light Year—and frontman Christopher Ruff is a heart-on-his-sleeve songwriter unafraid to gush his way though a song (most notably the album's finest track, "Parallels"). The Kickstarter-funded Light Year builds nicely upon their two previous EPs, and if alt-rock radio wises up, it's going to be difficult to keep an ambitious band like this down for long. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

EL REY, AXXICORN

(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) You may be wondering what an axxicorn is, but don't worry about that yet. All you need to know is the band Axxicorn is a crossbreed of love for classic metal and a penchant for Greek mythology. With songs like "Poseidon" and "Theseus and the Minotaur," this trio of metalheads has been laying waste to Portland audiences in recent months, bringing Sabbath-style metal back to life without a single trace of irony. Guitarist Jeremy Hanson lays out riffs that make heads bang, relentlessly shredding and thick with doom, while bass player Kerr Mahnke thumbs out lines as heavy as Zeus slinging lightning bolts from Mount Olympus, and Mike McDonnell's drumming is like the chaos that existed before the Gods intervened. Altogether they create a cathartic noise much needed in these times, and currently in the process of being captured on tape for their first album.
MARANDA BISH

RUNAWAY PRODUCTIONS 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY: CHICHARONES, LIVING PROOF, SPACEMAN, RAISE THE BRIDGES, IAME, DJ SPARK

(Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th) Anthony Sanchez has seen some empty clubs in his day. The man whose heart beats for Portland hiphop founded Runaway Productions a decade ago and has consistently booked shows for this city's underappreciated hiphop community. This meant plenty of sparsely attended shows with more tumbleweeds than emcees, but Sanchez has remained true to the cause just as Portland hiphop has come bubbling back to the surface (where it rightfully belongs). Come celebrate Runaway Productions' first 10 years with a star-studded throwdown headlined by Chicharones (that's Sleep and Josh Martinez, duh), Full Speed creators Living Proof, members of Sandpeople, and plenty more. May decade number two be nothing but sold-out rooms. EAC

A complete listing of this week's shows can be viewed here.