Well, that was much better than this song:

Colin Meloy - "Dracula's Daughter" (Live)

If you need any more convincing to head out to East End for tonight's impressivve lineup of Lovvers, Nice Boys and Meezcaz, then check out a few breezy tracks by openers, Orca Team. Even on an icy day like this, they'll manage to melt your heart with their '50's inspired love songs that sound like Elvis in Blue Hawaii. Get to East End early!

LISTEN:

Orca Team - "And She Knows"

Orca Team - "Ill at Ease"

LISTEN:

Neon Indian - "Deadbeat Summer"

The Stranger ran an interesting piece on the short lifespan of the "chillwave" scene, which reflects how quickly the online music community chews up and spits out new genres nowadays. I actually think the supposed chillwave backlash demonstrates the inefficacy of genre-branding in general. (Does anyone else think the genre tags in iTunes are worthless, and change them to another identifier? My genre tags are all switched to the year, so I can browse that way.) But hey, the bagging and tagging of an emergent musical genre makes it easier to talk/write about music, I guess.

So: Neon Indian in Portland tonight! And—this is cool—they're playing a show in Salem tomorrow night at Willamette University. It's part of their Wulapalooza Fall Feastival (an autumnal counterpart to the University's spring fest) and the show is free (and all-ages, I'd reckon, or at least 18 and up). It takes place on campus at the Montag Den and "neon attire is encouraged." (Thanks to Cliff Batson for the tip!)

Neon Indian plays live tonight w/Guidance Counselor & Tigercity at Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm (DJ Remy the Restless starts at 8 pm), $10; and tomorrow (Wed Nov 18) w/Tigercity at Montag Den, Willamette University, 900 State St, Salem, 8 pm, FREE

“Pokerface”

“I Kissed A Girl”

Of Mice and Men’s singer, Austin Carlile, was contributing vocoder vocals (Vocoderals?) to Attack Attack! (He’s an original member!) while they recorded this fine cover. I'm particularly fond of the way he sings “I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it.”

Oh, and John Steinbeck would never wear this. Also on the bill is Island Of The Blue Dolphins, The Call Of The Wild and Anne Of Green Gables.

Alright—it's tonight. Mean Jeans w/ White Fang & The Dirtnap 10th Anniversary Party @ Ground Kontrol. It's FREE. And now, a quote from this week's print version:

Christian: "I was a major league shredder. The Berklee School of Music, they gave me a major paycheck to go teach youngsters how to shred. And 'cause I knew how to shred I said, "All right—I'll shred it.'"

"Steve Don't Party No More"

• Ben Salmon

Presented as a limited-edition CD run complete with hand-screened covers, The Sun Says He's God is the first proper offering from the Brothers Young. While the band's boots are muddied by the murky waters of traditional folk—with enough down-home bluegrass to justify your bourbon intake during their live performances—the Brothers' intertwined melodies can occasionally fall into Pinback territory, especially on the dark and sprawling "Waterman." But The Sun Says is not a modern mashup of genres; it's primarily a sleepy-eyed folk record, one that buries even the softest of vocal melodies under a mountain of textured instrumentals. It's the product of a band that proudly rolls a half-dozen members deep—Michael, Dustin and Dillon Young, plus Travis Girton, Trevino Brings Plenty, and Levi Ethan Cecil (he put out the record, so he automatically gets to be in the band). EZRA ACE CARAEFF

You may know that there is a fourth Brother Young—the Andy Gibb of the Young clan, if you will—Ritchie Young, who is not in the band but fronts Loch Lomond and runs tonight's show's venue, the Woods. Also, you should know that BOAT is opening for the Brothers Young. BOAT is really good. We like BOAT. Go see Brothers Young and BOAT. You will be glad.

The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie, 9 pm, $7

For those of you headed to the Dirty Projectors/Little Wings show tonight at the Aladdin, beware: You might become part of the opening act! This is speculation based on what I've read, and heard from friends who know Kyle Field of Little Wings, but he may or may not be inviting folks from the audience up on stage with him this evening.

As a rather rampant artiste, Field views his music as "an ever-changing art project," thus prompting him to borrow other bands' equipment and use whoever might be around to enhance (or butcher) his sound. Perhaps he is right? Perhaps everything anyone could ever need is always right in front of us? These are not a terrible concepts in theory; I'm just not sure how it all works when it's put into practice.

Regardless, I've spent all afternoon practicing the harmony for this song, just in case.

LISTEN:

Little Wings- "What Wonder"

You'd be safe to bring a tambourine.

• Jack Oblivian is prepared for all weather situations.

As Lucero is currently being mauled by an evil snow creature—thus canceling their Portland show—the rest of the "Ramblin' Roadshow and Memphis Revue" has made it to Portland alive. Jack Oblivian & the Tennessee Tearjerkers and John Paul Keith & One Four Fives will both be at Slabtown tonight. It's $6, 21&over, and starts at 9pm.

Do it for Lucero.

• Erin Volk

Okay. I'm sorry. We won't call it that, I promise. But perhaps you'd still like to read it?

PDX Pop Now! Benefit w/Britt Daniel, the Robinsons, & IOA; Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 8 pm, $25, all ages

Propagandhi @ Satyricon, tonight

For whatever reason, I vividly remember the day I discovered Propagandi. I was about 14 or 15, on a train with some friends to San Francisco and one produced Less Talk More Rock. I listened over and over and over, blown away by the politics that would quickly lead—or should I say guilt—me into an ill-fated stint at vegetarianism. When I hear them now I wonder if I've gone soft, politically speaking. How does the saying go?

If you're not anti-establishment at the age of 20, you're lying. But if you haven't turned establishment by the age of 30, you're just plain foolish.

That's a horribly written version, but captures the idea and it begs the question, or the reflection on what it means once one's own rebelliousness mellows with age, no matter how rationalized it may appear (ie: we must play the game to win).

But aside from Propagandhi's bludgeoning politics—anti-sexist, anti-facist, anti-capitalist—the music was good, at least in the pop-punk sphere. The three Canadian metal-fans crunched, but subsisted on mostly major chords and crisp breaks and eschewed solos totally. A good heft of melody came from emo-leaning bassist John K Sampson, would would later leave to front the Weakerthans. When Sampson left, so did a lot of the pretty. He was replaced with a more hardcore screamer, and the group's balanced shifted further towards shred. And even though level-headed gender politics prevailed, the testosterone soared.

Now I—like so many of us—listened to some inexcusably horrible music in my teens. Not having yet had sex will do that to you. But all those CD's, records and tapes are long gone. Except Propagandhi. Maybe it was just a time and a place. Or maybe they really were better than the rest. I don't know and I don't care. Because tonight, when they crank up some of those early tunes, I'll be 14 again—a rebel with a cause.

JOE PUG, MBILLY
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Joe Pug played in a barn at Pickathon. He also played in the woods, and on a proper stage as well, but any member of the crowd that was fortunate enough to be riveted by his barn performance knows that no other locale fits the Chicago singer better. He's Woody in a boxcar, Dylan in the East Village, or any other pure American folk image you can think of. Much like the Tallest Man on Earth, Pug (born Joe Pugliese) wields a barren-yet-soulful voice that immediately strikes a chord with anyone seeking a modern-day folk savior. You can believe in Joe Pug. EAC

It's true. Pug (that is just weird to type in reference to a creature that doesn't have a smashed face and curly tail) played a barn on a sweltering day during Picktathon and it felt absolutely perfect. Sort of like the above video, where Pug (again, weird) performs in the emptiness of a ghost town saloon. Granted, the Doug Fir is a little nicer than those places, but it won't stop me from ordering three fingers of whiskey and starting a fight.

In anticipating of tonight's Jesus Lizard performance at the Crystal, we've been hearing all sorts of tales from friends about previous shows from the legendary band. It seems that everyone has a Jesus Lizard story. While some of the tales are believable (the midget that was on David Yow's shoulders during a show), there are others that we are skeptical of (David Yow killed a bear with his bare hands while singing "Mouth Breather").

But of all the stories, this—from our sales guru, Rob Thompson—is easily our favorite:

I was at the show in Peoria that Rolling Stone wrote about. My friend Stan got naked and climbed on stage with the band. In their review, Rolling Stone called him a "pudgy adolescent."

Wow. See you at the show, I'll be the one reliving my (pudgy) adolescent years.

Tonight’s show at the Crystal Ballroom (Train) has been canceled. Refunds are available at point of purchase.

The excellent Two Beers Veirs ensemble performances—featuring Laura Veirs, the Decemberists' Chris Funk, and any able-bodied musician they pull off the street—is returning to the Laurelthirst Public House tonight. The shows are loose and a ton of fun, with plenty of old timey covers and lots of delicious beer to wet your parched whistle. You might end up drinking so much that you wake the next morning spooning a kitchen mop. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Two Beers Veirs runs from 6-8 pm and is free.

Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, doors at 10, album listening plus film presentation starts at 11, FREE.

I'm thinking tonight's show will be a good excuse to drink heavily and let loose. And by drink heavily and let loose I mean trash your instruments, Mr. Keely, Mr. Reese.

LISTEN:

Future of the Left - "Chin Music"

Future of the Left opens for Trail of Dead tonight at Dante's, 9 p.m.

This-a-Way Records is a direct reaction to the changing infrastructure of the music industry. As traditional record labels continue to fail through an inability to adapt to digital music, TAW has found the way forward through embracing both vinyl and file-sharing, stripping away obsolete industry machinations and fully utilizing the DIY talents of its roster.

Essentially Keith has surrounded herself with a group of badass mother fuckers—musicians, bookers, producers, screen-printers, you name it—all of whom have come together to help one another get their music out. Portland's LookBook, for example. The trio will release The Look and Feel on This-a-Way Records tonight at the collective's big kick-off at Mississippi Studios along with collective-mates The Prids and Soft Tags. And don't let the Teddy bear with the shotgun frighten you... he just takes the term "DIY Or Die" very seriously.

Team Evil plays tonight with the Hand that Bleeds and Jana Osta at Backspace, 115 NW 5th, 9 pm, $6, all ages.

• Alicia J. Rose
• Golden Bloom, possibly just after making his own "golden bloom"? Ewwww.

LISTEN:

Golden Bloom - "Doomsday Devices"

Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 8 pm, $20

Warpaint - Tonight at Doug Fir w/ School Of Seven Bells

From an recent U&C:

Certain bands excel in particular spaces. For Warpaint, a breezy, tranquil, starry night at an intimate venue is ideal. There the group's ghostly vapors should float right on through the wispy curtains and off into the summertime sky. For the Los Angeles foursome—three girls and a boy—these grooves (as opposed to more shifting pop compositions...

That was a few months ago, but for tonight it remains true, and perhaps even better suited for the autumn months. The Doug Fir should be a fine, moody spot on this clear but chilly Thursday. See you there.

• Tae Rhee

LISTEN:

Throw Me the Statue - "Ancestors"

Throw Me the Statue opens for Minus the Bear tonight at the Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $18

What happened to the Horrors? 2007's Strange House was a loud, snarling barrage of arty UK punk rock ("arty" in the gothic-with-platform-shoes-and-makeup sense of the word) that appealed to fans of zombie garage punk and Hot Topic. The hairspray must have touched some brain nerves, because the Horrors have slowed down a bit on Primary Colours, trading in some of their previous noise for something more conventional. Portishead's Geoff Barrow co-produced their latest, and if anything can be linked to the drastic change in their sound, it's Barrow's influence; Colours is synth heavy, a little freaky where it needs to be, and a lot slower, with lead singer Faris Badwan droning on like an Interpol tribute band. Where there once was emotion, now a confusing stew of sound and distorted vocals fill the void. But hey, they still look like vampires, so I guess some things will never change. PHILIP GAUDETTE

Uh, what?

No, that's their name. And I Was Like, What? .... got it? The group includes members of other bands like AristeiA, Songs from the Rodeo, and Emma Hill, and the EP is called Grand Delusions. It's the sound of four friends who grew up in the PacNW, crusing from the coast to the forest to the desert, with some hints of pop, country, and indefinable Northwest flavor lining the rough-hewn songs. It's a really good listen. See listen for yourself:

LISTEN:

And I Was Like, What? - "Selfish and With Good Reason"

The release show takes place at the Twilight Cafe and Bar, 1420 SE Powell, 9 pm, $3. Other bands on the bill: Someday Tricycle, Eighteen Individual Eyes, and the Oregon Donor.