DAVID BOWIE AT ROSE QUARTER, APRIL 13 IMAGE: BASIL CHILDERS

PDX POP DETRITUS

PDX POP NOW VOTING, PART DEUX

Now that the insiders have had their say, the organizers of the first-ever PDX POP NOW festival are letting the voting public weigh in. After an initial vote by members of the indie-pop listserv, the polls are now open to anyone who wants a hand in deciding who will be playing the free all-local music festival to be held at Meow Meow July 9-11. To vote, go to www.pdxpopnow.com. Polls close Saturday, May 1. (Mark Baumgarten)

EMP POP CONFERENCE, SEATTLE, APRIL 16-17

A full-fledged music geek-out commenced earlier this month as some of the greatest minds in music criticism gathered at the third annual Pop Music Conference at the Experience Music Project. The conference, which features panels on various super-fun topics in popular music, covered it all, and Portland was representing. WW contributor (and winner of the Most Unassuming Rock Critic award) Douglas Wolk dissected, to howling effect, the numerous copy-cat Beatles that sprang up in early 1964, while former WW arts & culture editor and conference veteran Caryn Brooks somehow managed to draw a convincing parallel between the Dixie Chicks, Liz Phair and Bob Dylan. Other Stumptown presenters included Portland Mercury arts editrix Julianne Shepherd and Reed College's Alicia Cohen. Check out the fantastic abstracts for this year's conference at www.emplive.com/visit/education/popConfBio.asp. (MB)

"PORTLAND, OREGON" BY LORETTA LYNN AND JACK WHITE

There's no mention of Burnside or the Rose Garden in this "Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground"-ish tune from Lynn's forthcoming album, but White's guitar licks are fat, and the duo pronounces the state's name correctly. Check it out on Fluxblog at newflux.blogspot.com. (MB)

SHOWS OF NOTE

THE MARS VOLTA AT THE SALEM ARMORY, APRIL 10

The Mars Volta inconspicuously rode into town on the star-studded coattails of A Perfect Circle's tour and then, in the space of maybe two proper songs, threw down a fantastic free-form 45-minute set. Yellow lights cast 50-foot writhing shadows of guitarist Omar Rodriguez and singer Cedric Bixler on opposing walls. As they slammed themselves around the stage, screams erupted from corners of the overheated auditorium. The tension was palpable. The world hadn't felt a rock show like this since Jim Morrison screamed and cursed his way through sloppy, drunken sets. Not that TMV was sloppy or drunk. Just loose and crazed. (Joshua P. Heineman)

DAVID BOWIE AND THE POLYPHONIC SPREE AT ROSE QUARTER, APRIL 13

T-shirts printed with the legend "I Fucked Mick Jagger." High-school boys sporting Aladdin Sane glitter makeup. The Dandy Warhols' Courtney Taylor-Taylor holding up the will-call line while trying to snag a backstage pass. Reminders of David Bowie's five-decade-spanning iconography were everywhere. But still, the question of whether old man Ziggy could still hypnotize young Americans had enveloped the auditorium in a fevered, gin-flavored haze. The answer was yes--and no. As his thin, white majesty sauntered out on stage and let loose with a strong time warp of classics like "Rebel Rebel," "China Girl" and "Quicksand," the years fell away. He sneered. He shimmied. The audience beamed as he gabbed about '70s Berlin heroin highs like he was filming a glam-rock episode of VH1 Storytellers. Alas, as the show trudged on, time--and gravity--took its toll. Bathroom breaks were taken as the artist, chicken skin fluttering like boat sails beneath his spindly arms, slogged through his newer, more atmospheric work. It was painful, sad and expected. In the end, Bowie regained his glitter. A 20-foot-high B-O-W-I-E flashed on the stage's screen as he sang out the final razor-sharp note of "Ziggy Stardust." The blaze almost obliterated his tiny frame altogether, but, somehow, that seemed hunky-dory. Legends are never really meant to be seen up close. (Kelly Clarke)

THE STROKES AT ROSELAND THEATER, APRIL 15

After what seemed like years, the lights at the Roseland Theater dimmed and, amid a sea of ear-splitting shrieks, the Fab Five ambled into their darkened positions, only visible by the cherries on their cigarettes. Soon the drums were being hit, those retro chords strummed and NYC metropolitan rock was abloom in Stumptown. The band was in good form, playing a pleasing mix of Room on Fire and Is This It numbers. About midset, Julian mumbled about being shown "too good" of a time kicking around with the Dandy Warhols the night before (see above). At the end of the set the crowd was definitely looking for more. But there was no question of an encore after guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. reached over and spilled the drums all over the stage after "Take It or Leave It" closed the set. (JPH)