RED FANG, MONGOLOID VILLAGE, LORD DYING, DRUNK LADIES
(Branx, 320 SE 2nd) Read our article on Red Fang.

JAPAN RELIEF BENEFIT: TOM MITCHELL, M. QUIET, BRYAN ZENTZ, RYAN ORGAN, PIPEDREAM, IAN OBE, CLOUDBURST
(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) Looking for a positive way to lend support to Japan? Tonight's a perfect night to combine philanthropy and ass shaking, with Relief Thru Repetitive Beats, an electronic dance night/benefit featuring seven hot DJs and one hot cause. MARJORIE SKINNER

STARFUCKER, CHAMPAGNE CHAMPAGNE, AROHAN
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Starfucker (and all variations of their contentious name) might just be the bellwether for the next generation of Portland music. From their modest house-show roots to the recent string of sold-out dates across the country, Starfucker have assembled a respectable empire on their own terms. The quartet's bouncy sound is unlike anything typically associated with the Pacific Northwest, yet at the same time it's a unique snapshot of modern-day Portland. (In many ways, to not like, or "get," Starfucker is to not like modern-day Portland.) There is little denying that with their breakthrough Reptilians, Josh Hodges & Co. have created an accessible, simplistically precise sound that resonates with kids far beyond this little bubble we call home. If you need more proof of Starfucker's broad and well-deserved appeal, then catch them on any one of their three local release shows for Reptilians, each at a different venue, and each with a different selection of up-and-coming support bands. First they paved the future of Portland music, and now they are cultivating it. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

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STARFUCKER, BLOUSE
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Starfucker (and all variations of their contentious name) might just be the bellwether for the next generation of Portland music. From their modest house-show roots to the recent string of sold-out dates across the country, Starfucker have assembled a respectable empire on their own terms. The quartet's bouncy sound is unlike anything typically associated with the Pacific Northwest, yet at the same time it's a unique snapshot of modern-day Portland. (In many ways, to not like, or "get," Starfucker is to not like modern-day Portland.) There is little denying that with their breakthrough Reptilians, Josh Hodges & Co. have created an accessible, simplistically precise sound that resonates with kids far beyond this little bubble we call home. If you need more proof of Starfucker's broad and well-deserved appeal, then catch them on any one of their three local release shows for Reptilians, each at a different venue, and each with a different selection of up-and-coming support bands. First they paved the future of Portland music, and now they are cultivating it. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

PORTUGAL. THE MAN, TELEKINESIS, BRAINSTORM
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Seattle's Telekinesis make some of the brightest, most ebullient indie pop coming out of the Pacific Northwest, and have been on a major upswing since signing to Merge Records, who released 2009's self-titled debut, and the new 12 Desperate Straight Lines. Spearheaded by multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Michael Benjamin Lerner, the lineup has changed many times, but now Lerner has found a solid running mate with former Blood Brother Cody Votolato. On 12 Desperate Straight Lines, Telekinesis crunched up their sound a bit, drawing influence from the darker contours of the Cure's The Head on the Door while still engaging in power-pop hooks and effusive indie rock stylings À la Death Cab for Cutie (DCFC's Chris Walla produced both Telekinesis records). Lerner isn't as smitten as he was on his debut, which was largely written while in a cross-country long-distance relationship. But for all of Lerner's slight bitterness and hopelessness that comes across on 12 Desperate Straight Lines, he still has a way of making you fall in love, all over again. TRAVIS RITTER

KPSU BENEFIT: THE MEAN JEANS, GUANTANAMO BAYWATCH, STARPARTY
(Backspace, 115 NW 5th) It's spring-cleaning time! But rather than dragging out the lemon Pledge, why not hit up the KPSU spring pledge event at Backspace? It's guaranteed to clean out your gunky eardrums and dust off your dancing huaraches, with the rockin' party jams of the Mean Jeans and Guantanamo Baywatch. Think of it as a sweat cleanse. COURTNEY FERGUSON

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PDX POP NOW! BENEFIT: LAURA VEIRS, ERIC EARLEY, LAURA GIBSON, ISRAEL NEBEKER, DJ JEREMY PETERSON
(The Cleaners at Ace Hotel Portland, 403 SW 10th) Summer concert season is just around the bend, which means it's time for year number three of the intimate Make it Pop! benefit. Big names in Portland music—Laura Veirs, Eric Earley (Blitzen Trapper), Laura Gibson, Israel Nebeker (Blind Pilot)—come together in order to raise some cash for noble nonprofit PDX Pop Now! EZRA ACE CARAEFF

tUnE-yArDs, BUKE AND GASS, WHITE HINTERLAND
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) The two members of Buke and Gass are not actually named Buke and Gass—improbably, they have practically the same first name: Aron Sanchez plays the "gass," which is a guitar/bass hybrid, while Arone Dyer plays the "buke," a baritone ukulele. Their unconventional instrumentation is reason enough to draw your ear, but the Brooklyn duo also bash on percussion with their feet, and the result is a fully fleshed-out clatter, with footstomps on the downbeats and strange stringed sounds coming from the buke and gass. Sanchez designs and constructs instruments for Blue Man Group—he made the gass, along with the band's amps—and Dyer, whose vocal lines swoop around the songs like springtime birds, works as a bike mechanic. Their hands-on abilities are reflected in their music as ideas are presented, toyed with, and tested right down to the framework, resulting in noise that is as futuristic as it is homemade. NED LANNAMANN Also, read our article on tUnE-yArDs.

STARFUCKER, GUIDANCE COUNSELOR, DJ BRKFST SNDWCH
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Starfucker (and all variations of their contentious name) might just be the bellwether for the next generation of Portland music. From their modest house-show roots to the recent string of sold-out dates across the country, Starfucker have assembled a respectable empire on their own terms. The quartet's bouncy sound is unlike anything typically associated with the Pacific Northwest, yet at the same time it's a unique snapshot of modern-day Portland. (In many ways, to not like, or "get," Starfucker is to not like modern-day Portland.) There is little denying that with their breakthrough Reptilians, Josh Hodges & Co. have created an accessible, simplistically precise sound that resonates with kids far beyond this little bubble we call home. If you need more proof of Starfucker's broad and well-deserved appeal, then catch them on any one of their three local release shows for Reptilians, each at a different venue, and each with a different selection of up-and-coming support bands. First they paved the future of Portland music, and now they are cultivating it. EAC

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ZAC NELSON, BRAINSTORM, NEAL MORGAN

(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Hexlove's Zac Nelson offers Wicked Work it Out to the world, a warped collection of experimental pop. Pretty much all on his own, Nelson has constructed an album's worth of thick stews, made primarily of percussion and synths, moving at swift and steady boils, with Nelson's voice adding fine detail and lyrical puzzles. The record sounds both all-knowingly shamanistic and terrifyingly paranoid, and if inhabiting both of those arenas is a contradiction, then so is Wicked Work it Out. Nelson celebrates the release of the impressive record tonight, and will be giving away CD copies at the door. NED LANNAMANN

ACCEPT, SABATON, GARDEN OF EDEN

(Peter's Room at the Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Okay, all you metal purists and snobs, its time to get over yourselves and seize the amazing opportunity being presented to you. Uncross your arms, stop shaking your heads, unwrinkle your noses, and go see the legendary Accept. No, Udo Dirkschneider will not be singing, and yes, everyone else is old, and they will probably play a few songs off of their new record Blood of the Nations, but so what? You know you'll hear all the tracks you've worn out on your original pressings of their classic albums, and Mark Tornillo of TT Quick wouldn't be fronting the band if he couldn't match Udo, if not top him. So if you want to stay home, smoke a doobie, and listen to Restless and Wild for the thousandth time, go right ahead. I'm gonna be at Peter's Room with my fist in the air, and my balls firmly pressed to the wall. ARIS WALES

FAKE PROBLEMS, POMEGRANATES, LAURA STEVENSON AND THE CANS

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Let's talk about how awesome Laura Stevenson is. First, there's her voice. It's a wonderful mix of confidence and precociousness—she can quietly sing soft lullabies, but she can also carry the climactic moments of more passionate anthems (listen to "Master of Art" on her new album, Sit Resist, for evidence). Also: she has played keyboards for the wonderfully scrappy NY ska/punk band Bomb the Music Industry! (shut up the punx!), and one of the dudes from the world's greatest posi-punk band, Latterman, is in her backup band the Cans. To top it off, her famous grandfather popularized "Little Drummer Boy." Oh, and she's gorgeous. Everyone in the world should have a megacrush on this woman. MEGAN SELING

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