Live! Tonight! Not Sold-Out!

Want to see some live music tonight? Here are your best options, curated by the Willamette Week music staff.

SATURDAY, OCT. 17

Salad Boys, Love Cop

[MISLABELED] If you came across Salad Boys' recently released debut wrapped up in plastic in a record store, with no information other the name of the band and the album, you might have a hard time guessing what it sounds like. On one hand, the band's name is Salad Boys, which sounds like a lackadaisical indie-rock band. On the other hand, the album is called Metalmania, which sounds like an album by a group of Def Leppard wannabes. Thankfully, your first guess was the right one. The album in your hands is full of sunny guitars and low-in-the-mix vocals—not stadium anthems by old guys with stringy blond hair. SHANNON GORMLEY. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave. 9:30 pm. $7. 21+.

Kurt Vile and the Violators, Cass McCombs, Heron Oblivion

[PRETTY PIMPIN] Anyone even remotely familiar with Philadelphia's indie frontrunner knows a Kurt Vile record when they hear it. His voice is sluggish, the guitar melancholic and he meticulously wraps both in a hazy ball of earnestness that's often as self-deprecating as it is comical. It all remains oddly inviting, though, and the recent b'lieve i'm going down record concludes a superb trio of full-length albums born out of late-night bedroom compositions. Piano and tufts of banjo carry much of the solo-friendly melodies throughout the album, many of which drift in and out like an afternoon hangover you just can't kick—minus the nausea. BRANDON WIDDER. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St. 8 pm. $30. All ages.

Anonymous 4

[SWAN SONG] For the last three decades and more than 20 albums, the sublime female vocal quartet Anonymous 4 has racked up a string of prestigious awards and record sales that's even more impressive considering they've mostly sung nonstandard repertoire, ranging from medieval chants to historical American gospel, and folk songs and hymns to contemporary sounds. Surprisingly for classical musicians, who can sometimes sound like they're slumming when covering non-classical music, A4's collaborations with pop and newgrass performers like Darol Anger, Mike Marshall and the Mountain Goats sounded authentic and vibrant. In this Friends of Chamber Music concert on their farewell tour, the singers will traverse stops from across their storied career, with sacred and secular stops from a millennium of music. BRETT CAMPBELL. Kaul Auditorium at Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd. 7:30 pm. $15-$47. All ages.

Bully, Heat, Dead Soft

[BREAKUP ROCK] Alicia Bognanno fronts Nashville quartet Bully with the fearsome presence of a predator just released in the wild. It's a saber-rattling approach that gives the '90s-minded band a gutsy core. Mashed in between bruising, distorted alt-rock hooks are Bognanno's unapologetic lyrics about past relationships and the absurdity of life. Bully's freshman LP, Feels Like, is a racing 10-track collection of tried and true rock 'n' roll, the "play hard for the sake of playing hard" kind of music Portlanders have grown to expect from homegrown acts such as Summer Cannibals. MARK STOCK. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave. 9 pm. $12. 21+.

Madonna

[BITCH, IT'S MADONNA] Really, you need us to write you an essay on this one? If you really need some background, go here and here. Moda Center, 1 N Center Court St. 8 pm. $40-$335. All ages.

Alela Diane & Ryan Francesconi, Damien Jurado

[ACOUSTIC ALCHEMY] See our review of Alela Diane and Ryan Francesconi's Cold Moon here. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St. 9 pm. $20. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian.

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Skinny Lister, Beans on Toast

[PUNK FOLK] When English singer-songwriter Frank Turner first started out in music, he played in hardcore bands like Million Dead. But when that group broke up, Turner went solo, with just an acoustic guitar and some buddies, known as the Sleeping Souls backing him on drums, bass, keys and mandolin. With six full-length albums (including August's Positive Songs For Negative People) and a smattering of EPs, Turner has earned a reputation for earnest punk-rock songs that make even the most cynical hardcore dudes want to mosh a little. HILARY SAUNDERS. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave. 8 pm. $20. All ages.

Moody Little Sister

[AMERICANA] Naomi Hooley's not the first person to visit Portland—from Alaska, in 2010—and decide to stay, and she's not the first to hear an album recorded by Rob Stroup at his 8 Ball Studio, and say, "He's gotta produce my next record." She is, however, the only one to end up forming a musical—and, ultimately, romantic—partnership with Stroup, a Stumptown native who made his name in the '90s with local alt-country heroes the Baseboard Heaters. So, where does a great producer turn when it's time to cut his own dream duo's debut? To another great Northwest artist and producer, Pete Droge, who drafted world-class musicians to craft Moody Little Sister'sWild Places, including drummer Jay Bellerose, who brings some of the haunting ambiance he lent another memorable Americana duo, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. The result is as fine an album as has ever emerged from Portland's acoustic community. JEFF ROSENBERG. The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave. 6:30pm. $16-$35. All ages.

Willamette Week