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Thursday–Saturday, April 23–25
Stumpfest brings the best of underground metal to PDX, and what a lineup it has in store this year. Night one is headlined by Old Man Gloom, led by Isis/Sumac mastermind Aaron Turner, whose recent joining of Neurosis is this neck of the woods’ equivalent of Dio joining Sabbath. Night two features pop-metal titans Torche, the exquisitely morose Drunk Horse, and Portland’s twitchy, freaky Danava. Night three is headlined by bad-trip psych lords All Them Witches, Tool drum whiz Danny Carey’s trio, and San Francisco “cosmic rockers” Terry Gross. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave. 7 pm Thursday and Friday, 7:30 pm Saturday. $62.13 per night. 21+.
Saturday, April 25
Sunn O))) has spent 25 years in search of the perfect down-tuned guitar chord. Stripping everything away from metal except bludgeoning waves of guitar and the occasional black-metal guest vocal, the Seattle drone-doom duo has attained remarkable crossover appeal for a project so obstinate, even signing to Sub Pop for their forbidding new self-titled album. Opening for their infamously loud live show is Thrones, the solo project of underground metal lifer Joe Preston, who contributed a historically eerie vocoder performance to Altar, Sunn’s 2006 collab with Boris. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave. 7 pm. $47.50. 21+.
Tuesday, April 28
Ambient musicians often instinctively tone down their personalities to match the quietude of the music. Not William Basinski, a flamboyant figure who came up in the ’80s NYC goth scene but hit ambient paydirt when he started releasing the tape loops he’d accumulated over the decades—most famously The Disintegration Loops, sourced from tapes so old the listener can hear them deteriorate in real time. Opening is Kelly Moran, star of the prepared piano, whose ability to summon beautiful sounds from that often plunky and dissonant instrument is unrivaled. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave. 7 pm. $37.57. 21+.
