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WEDNESDAY, AUG. 16:
If the 2010s will be remembered in the annals of American underground rock for emo and psych rock, the 2020s is starting to look like a fertile time for shoegaze. Though the genre has long been associated with wallflower Brits, a fearsome American contingent of pedal-enamored bands is popping up, and McMenamins Mission Theater is showcasing a glut of them: Atlanta’s Sword II, New York’s Hot-line TNT, Oakland’s Toner, Philadelphia’s They Are Gutting a Body of Water, and Tacoma’s Enumclaw. McMenamins Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St. 7 pm. $22. All ages.
WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, AUG. 16-24:
True West is bringing back its summer PDX Live concert series in Pioneer Courthouse Square. The series has already seen performances from 30-year-old Alex G, one of the best songwriters of his generation, and 76-year-old punk poet Patti Smith, one of the best songwriters of hers. This Wednesday, cult-fave pop duo Tegan & Sara grace the stage, followed by Greensky Bluegrass on Thursday, Japanese Breakfast with Built to Spill on Friday, The Flaming Lips on Tuesday, and Fleet Foxes on Thursday the 24th. Pioneer Courthouse Square. All shows open at 5 pm. $49.50 and up. All ages.
MONDAY, AUG. 21:
Texas trio Portrayal of Guilt is one of the most unpredictable purveyors of heavy rock music in America. Coming to fame as a hardcore punk band, they turned toward horns-in-the-air heavy metal on a 2021 album whose title is unprintable in a paper such as this but, let it suffice to say, sounded great out of the mouth of the late Gilbert Gottfried. Their latest album, Devil Music, consists of half technically dexterous black metal and half classical renditions of the same material. File them under “capable of anything.” Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave. 8 pm. $16. 21+.
