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Want to see some live music tonight? Here are your best options, curated by the Willamette Week music staf
FRIDAY, DEC. 11
Gospel Christmas
[TIS THE SEASON] Now in its 17th year, the Oregon Symphony's annual wintertime special gives all the best holiday classics a soulful facelift. It's a massive affair: Featuring performances by the Oregon Community Gospel Choir, which is accompanied by a full orchestra, the show is probably the biggest and best-produced local Christmas escapade outside of Tuba Christmas. Drink some eggnog, wrap up in a cozy sweater and enjoy—there's a good reason it's lasted this long. PARKER HALL. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 7:30 pm. $35-$115. All ages.
Witch Mountain, Netherlands, WILL, Saola
[MAMMOTH METAL] Over its 18-year career, Witch Mountain lost and replaced plenty of members—mostly bass players. But last year, not only did the Portland-based doom titan (which features WW contributor Nathan Carson on drums) lose another bassist, but also frontwoman Uta Plotkin. Not only that, but she left right after the release Mobile of Angels, a fantastic mass of mammoth metal of which her voice is a key element. Plotkin might have gone out with a bang, but doubtlessly left some fans hanging. Thankfully, there seems to be no shortage of kick-ass metal frontwomen in this town: Her replacement, Kayla Dixon, is seriously awesome, with a powerful bluesy voice and a theatrical stage presence. SHANNON GORMLEY. Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway. 7 pm. $10. All ages.
The Blasters, Gamblers Mark, Trujillo
[ROCKABILLY OF AGES] Like their running buddies in X—who'll be in town next week—L.A. roots-punk institution the Blasters have been long forgotten by post-millennial tastemakers, but back in the '80s, there was pretty much nothing cooler than playing revved-up midcentury Americana with a leather-and-studs sneer. Unlike their contemporaries, the band foregrounded "roots" over "punk," which certainly hasn't helped them seem less like an anachronism now. Losing songwriter Dave Alvin decades ago also hasn't helped, and neither has the very long lulls between albums, nor the fact that its last release, 2012's Fun On Saturday Night, was a covers collection. But in an age where rock 'n' roll has never been more out of fashion, there's something to be said for a group doubling down on it. And leader Phil Alvin still looks like he'll knock your teeth out if you look at him wrong. MATTHEW SINGER. Dante's, 350 W Burnside St. 9 pm. $15. 21+.
Portland Baroque Orchestra & Cappella Romana
[TRUE MESSIAH] Like the followers in Monty Python's Life of Brian, every year Portlanders are confronted by a choice of messiahs—not deities, but performances of Handel's 18th-century choral masterpiece that's long been a favorite of the Christmas season, though the story is probably better suited to Easter. This year, you can stand and wail your hallelujahs with Portland Chamber Orchestra or the Oregon Symphony, or others. But if you want the messianic experience that's closest to what the composer intended and its first audiences actually heard, you'll go for Portland Baroque Orchestra's annual complete version, performed on replicas of instruments of the Baroque era—which sound sometimes very different from their modern equivalents used by other, false messiahs—and in the styles and tunings of the time. They'll be augmented by the superb local singers of Cappella Romana and a quartet of well-regarded guest vocal soloists including Portland Opera's Hannah Penn. BRETT CAMPBELL. First Baptist Church, 909 SW 11th Ave. 7:30 pm. $39-$70. All ages.
Oregon Repertory Singers
[HIP HOLIDAY] We have a wide range of holiday music choices, ranging from ever-popular carols to ancient sacred sounds, but no other holiday choral concert offers so much 20th- and 21st- century music as the Oregon Repertory Singers. The show includes new arrangements of traditional carols by Seattle composer and choir director Eric Banks, the hot, young Norwegian-American composer Ola Gjeilo, Benjamin Britten's " A Hymn to the Virgin" and even some of John Williams' Christmas music from Home Alone. The show, which also includes guest singers from various schools and youth choirs, repeats on Dec. 11 and 13. BRETT CAMPBELL. First United Methodist Church, 5830 NE Alameda St. 7:30 pm. $15- $35. All ages.
Charlie Hunter Trio
[EIGHT-STRINGED WONDER] It's surprising that Bay Area guitarist Charlie Hunter has enough fingers to operate his own instrument. An eight-stringed guitar-bass combo on which the 48-year-old finger-picks both rhythmic and harmonic concepts with soulful ease, the custom axe allows Hunter to lessen the number of musicians he needs onstage. So, in place of a bass player, he is joined by trombonist Curtis Fowles as the third member of his trio, along with drummer Bobby Previte. It's an interesting combo—a thoughtful group which showcases its ability play slow-swinging blues classics and speedy swing numbers alike, most of which were recorded for Hunter's excellent recent release, Let the Bells Ring On. PARKER HALL. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave. 8 pm. $20. 21+.
The Garden
[WHO KNOWS] What the fuck are the Garden, even? Sometimes they lean toward electronica, other times '80s rock. Sometimes they sing with a snotty, Green Day-style sneer, other times they just sort of shout together. Most songs on 2015's haha are less than two minutes long and are usually about total nonsense (see, especially, "Everything Has a Face"). Whether the duo—identical twin brothers—are overly artsy or just fucking around is unclear, but it seems a fair guess that it's a little of both. It's the kind of thing that often gets referred to as "hipster bullshit," but it's entertaining as hell and surprisingly listenable. SHANNON GORMLEY. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave. 10:30 pm. $10. 21+.
Portland Gay Men's Chorus: The Most Wonderful Season
[WINTER WAILING] Carolers are great—150 singing voices in the cozy Newmark Theatre is even greater. Quickly becoming a Portland holiday season must-do, The Most Wonderful Seasoncelebrates the time of year beyond Christmas with the help of an energetic brass backing band. The Portland Gay Men's Chorus puts on one of the most fun shows in town, and pushes equal rights in sonic style. Even if Christmas isn't your thing, the evening will take the chill out of winter and put some bounce in your step. MARK STOCK. Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway. 8 pm. $16-$48. 21+.
Billy Gibbons and the BFGs, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown
[UN HOMBRE] Billy Gibbons has a beard 1,000 feet long, and he played guitar on Tres Hombres, the best ZZ Top record—in fact, the best record ever made. One of the dual-bearded freaks in that little old band from Texas is treading new ground, even if the overall landscape is familiar. His new record, Perfectamundo, appeals perfectly to the sensibilities of men who wear leather vests and ride expensive Harleys but aren't racist. It's a Cuba-Mex-blues sort of thing, music for fat guys who were in the Marine Corps in the mid-'80s and still sometimes get laid by their female equivalent when they go to the bar, which is every day. BRACE BELDEN. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St #110. 8 pm. $49.50-$150. 21+.
The Motet
[FUNKY BUT NOT FRESH] The Motet are Colorado's Earth, Wind, and Fire. A seven-piece ensemble lead by drummer Dave Watts, the group is a syncopated, cleanly-executed funk orchestra with enough Bootsy Collins-style grit to keep its sound sticky. Sure, its discography stretches back 15 years, and they all mostly sound the same, and sure, there is nothing particularly groundbreaking about the band, but that's not why you go to see it. If the formula for excellent funk had changed in the past two decades, you would probably be upset about it. PARKER HALL. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave. 9 pm. $20. 21+.
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