PORTLAND MUTANT PARTY: CHEMICALS, LEADERS, THE MEAN JEANS, THERAPISTS, BILL COLLECTORS
(Branx, 320 SE 2nd) The Portland Mutant Party is a two-day festival of some of Portland's favorite party bands (Mean Jeans! Guantanamo Baywatch!) It's unclear whether any unusual sorts or "mutants" or "freaks" will be in attendance, but it's a pretty safe bet they are welcome. MARJORIE SKINNER

BUCK AND BOUNCE: BEYONDADOUBT, BRICE NICE
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Prepare to leave it all on the dance floor as DJs Beyondadoubt and New Orleans' Brice Nice resurrect their sultry Buck and Bounce dance night. With a turntable full of the filthiest Dirty South bass music, you will get freaked tonight and you will like it. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

BRENDAN PERRY, ROBIN GUTHRIE
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) England's 4AD label has inspired some of the most devout fans in the history of fandom. So the pairing on this tour of Dead Can Dance's Brendan Perry and Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie should make some sensitive hearts explode with glee. Blessed with a rich, deep voice of Sinatra-esque timbre, Perry guided Dead Can Dance through several elegant albums of musical archeology imbued with passionate goth romanticism and utmost gravity. He and partner Lisa Gerrard animated ancient musics from around the world with impeccable poise and skill. Guthrie turned Cocteau Twins into one of the most glorious exemplars of the "sonic cathedral" aesthetic; they took Phil Spector to church, and many worshiped at their stained-glass wall of sound. The Twins' high-trajectory shoegaze lullabies still sound awesome. Perry will likely play material from the recent album of dramatic, alabaster ballads, Ark, and Guthrie from his new collection of Emeralds, which renders the Cocteau Twins sound in quasi-new-age watercolors. DAVE SEGAL

STEVE EARLE AND THE DUKES
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) I promised myself I'd talk about Steve Earle's music. Not his Brando-esque physical transformation from completely boneable (have you seen the cover of Guitar Town lately?) to a weird creature with a combover that resides under a bridge. Nor shall I discuss his debut novel, I'll Never Get out of This World Alive, or his roles as Walon on The Wire and Harley Watt on Treme—nope, we're talking about the man's music. Currently making the rounds in support of I'll Never Get out of This World Alive—the album, not the book—Earle peppers his sets with a respectable balance of new and old, and is backed by his better half, singer/songwriter Allison Moorer. While the T Bone Burnett-produced I'll Never Get isn't his finest hour, it's a solid, balanced mix of protest rock ("Little Emperor") and sober ballads ("This City"). It's proof that there is still plenty left to say about the music of Steve Earle. EAC

AESOP ROCK, KIMYA DAWSON, ROB SONIC, DJ BIG WIZ
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Aesop Rock has shared the spotlight with many a notable name—the greatest of these was Vast Aire's cameo on "Nickel Plated Pockets"—and the rapid-fire emcee continues that tradition with Hail Mary Mallon, his recent collaboration with Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz. It's not a grand departure for the San Francisco (via New York) rapper; instead it's yet another contribution to his otherwise bulletproof discography (seriously, the man has yet to make a single poor recording). He'll be sharing a bill with MC Kimya Dawson (the oft-forgotten 10th member of the Wu-Tang Clan), an odd lineup that, if anything, proves that these two eclectic artists are cool with diversifying their surroundings a bit. Tonight quirky folkers and hiphop backpackers shall mingle as one. EAC

THE LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG, WITCH MOUNTAIN, CHRISTIAN MISTRESS, DARKBLACK
(Plan B, 1305 SE 8th) Remember the moment you discovered your dad was cool? You flipped through his record collection while he told you anecdotes about hiking Mount Hood on peyote, or the time he saw Vanilla Fudge, Blue Cheer, and Jimi Hendrix all at the same show. Well, tonight's lineup is the one you will tell your teenagers about. You'll spin your worn Christian Mistress Agony and Opium record and regale them with a tale of how you witnessed their heavy-metal majesty in the flesh. You'll point at your kid's vintage DarkBlack shirt and knowingly exclaim that their dual guitar harmonies and soaring vocals were much more amazing live. Their jaws may drop when you tell them how many times you saw Portland's doom-slinging mainstays Witch Mountain. And finally, when you describe Slough Feg as Thin Lizzy on steroids, they'll understand because (hopefully) they'll have already heard Bad Reputation. Don't you want to see that look of admiration and respect in your future offspring's eyes? ARIS WALES

SEAN WAGNER AND THE NE'ER DO WELLS, GINA NOELL AND THE DOT DOT DOT DOTS, BRIAN COPELAND BAND
(Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta) Sean Wagner is the feathery-voiced solo artist responsible for Tangled and Knotted, a joyful little pop record whose release shall be celebrated tonight. Full-length number three from the Portland singer/songwriter and his eight-piece backing band the Ne'er Do Wells has slight elements of an Elephant Six influence, plus plenty of traditional rock radio charm (think Mason Jennings, or if you prefer the '90s, Freedy Johnston) to go around. While overwhelmingly cautious—one wishes Wagner & Co. took a few more risks—Tangled and Knotted is affable and pleasant, evidence that you don't need much more than good songs and a great voice. EAC

MIAMI HORROR, JEFFREY JERUSALEM, PRESCRIPTION PILLS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) What began as the solo electro-dance project of Australian producer Ben Plant has now been fleshed out into a full band incarnation called Miami Horror. From its 2007 underground beginnings to last year's debut full-length Illumination, the band's extremely danceable yet unfailingly artful music has found acclaim and appreciation, sharing stages with the likes of Lily Allen and Friendly Fires. Plant & Co. will be relocating from Oz to Los Angeles, and tonight they will join one of the most curious of Portland's new bands, the glam and grungy art-rock group Prescription Pills. MARANDA BISH

SQUID ATTACK!, PAPER BRAIN, BUTTER, GRANDFATHER
(Backspace, 115 NW 5th) Prepare for the most adorable story ever. As an eighth grader, Isaac Scott won a guitar in a charity auction and immediately started writing his own music. Soon he recruited a bassist named "Panda," and was booked for the school talent show, but young Isaac was still searching for a drummer. As it turns out, his drummer was sitting across from him at the dinner table—his father, Sid. A father/son band like Squid Attack! might appear to be a cheap gimmick that places novelty over quality, but there is something very real about the younger Scott's still-evolving skill as a frontman. With a weathered voice far beyond his years (inexplicably enough, he sounds like David Byrne), the band has hastily assembled a few recordings—the latest of which is released tonight—before Isaac leaves the nest for his freshman year at Evergreen College. While for obvious reasons I don't approve of the "Ezra is dead" chorus in "RRR," the gentle "Samana Clay" is a wondrous work of jangling rock precision and the epic "Grass House/The Moth" rewards listeners with an abrupt tempo shift at the song's halfway point. Isaac, have fun in college, but don't you dare put that guitar down anytime soon. EAC