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Friday, June 6
Portland Fruit Beer Fest
The marquee event of Portland Beer Week, the Portland Fruit Beer Festival begins at 11 am at Burnside Brewing. Get warm and toasty with a few glasses of Elysian D'Mango Unchained and the Commons Citrus Royale, because it's almost time to peel your clothes off. Admission is $20. The Portland Fruit Beer Festival is at Burnside Brewing Co., 701 E Burnside St., portlandfruitbeerfest.com, on Friday (4-9 pm), Saturday (11 am-9 pm) and Sunday (11 am-6 pm), June 6-8. $20 ($30 Friday VIP) for 12 tickets and a glass.
Improvisation Summit of Portland 2014
[MAKING IT UP AS THEY GO] Featuring something like three dozen of the city's finest improvising musicians—from jazzers (Rich Halley, Farnell Newton, Reed Wallsmith, Dan Duval) to avant-garde explorers (Doug Theriault, Matt Carlson) to Indian musicians (Michael Stirling, Josh Feinberg) to dancers (Mike Barber, Gregg Bielemeier, Kaj-anne Pepper, Tere Mathern)—this Creative Music Guild extravaganza has to be one of the city's most impressive multidisciplinary arts gatherings. The great New York saxophone adventurer Tim Berne, a former Portlander who's played with everyone from Bill Frisell to John Zorn to Chris Speed and more, is the star guest, and Seattle avant-jazz duo Bad Luck also joins the improv action. The summit also includes workshops and a new film at Whitsell Auditorium, The Reach of Resonance, starring composers John Luther Adams (this year's Pulitzer Prize for Music winner), Miya Masaoka (who uses everything from koto to bees in her work) and Bob Ostertag. BRETT CAMPBELL. Sandbox Studio, 420 NE 9th Ave., 784-7331. 5:30 pm Friday, 4:30 pm Saturday, June 6-7. $12-$20 sliding scale for one night, $20-$35 for two nights.
Gigantic Oyster Social
A bit early for oyster season, but never really too early for oysters. Portland Farmers Market operations manager Jaret Foster will be popping up with mobile raw-bar oyster socials at different spots around town this month. The condiments range from lemon wedge to ginger-shallot mignonette and local hot sauces from Marshall's Haute Sauce and Picklopolis. The first Social of the year is at Gigantic Brewing, with oysters available at $2 a pop to go with Champagne or Gigantic taster flights. The raw bar is cash-only. Stay tuned for the next one at Bailey's Taproom's upstairs Upper Lip on Wednesday, June 11. Gigantic Brewing, 5224 SE 26th Ave., 208-3416. 5-8 pm.
Pacific Mean Time
Inspired by the somber freak pop of Sparklehorse and the sound of â90s college radio, PAcific Mean Time's self-titled debut album teeters between folksy church hymns and bass-heavy jams. From the haunting sing-along of âStraight Shot (Towards the Sun)â to the banjo-laden dance number âMinutes to Midnight,â Pacific Mean Time is a diverse, sonically tight record, intensely versatile and vibrant enough to restore faith in the waning indie-pop genre, with songs are still catchy enough for the CMJ charts. Alhambra Theatre, 4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd., with the My Oh Mys and Young Vienna, on Friday, June 6. 9 pm. Free. 21+.
Joseph Arthur, Carly Ritter
[SINGER-SONGWRITER] Joseph Arthur's Lou is a quiet, subtly chilling tip of the hat to the Velvet Underground frontman that trembles in his spiritual presence. Arthur, who was discovered by Peter Gabriel in the mid-â90s and was the first American to work under Gabrielâs Real World Records, has steadily pushed along, building an impressive résumé without really going mainstream. His biggest hit, âIn the Sun,â came from 2000âs Come to Where Iâm From, a record co-produced by T-Bone Burnett that captured the shy neo-folk that Beck and Wilco were making popular in the early aughts. Arthur tried going bigger, later forming short-lived group the Lonely Astronauts, and he even incorporated brass and soul singers with last yearâs The Ballad of Boogie Christ. With Lou, Arthur is back performing by himself again, which is where this multifaceted indie icon is most effective. MARK STOCK. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave., 328-2865. 10 pm Friday, June 6. 21+.
Battleme, Rare Monk, Empire
[SLACKER ROCK] Battleme isnât strictly for biker dramas anymore. Frontman Matt Drenik has expanded his once-solo project since penning a couple of tunes for the second season of FXâs Sons of Anarchy, issuing two albums of pensive retro rock teaming with brawny guitars and Drenikâs husky croon. Future Runs Magnetic, the bandâs last LP, arrived with a more cohesive sound. Tracks like âNights on the Standâ sit in a bed of stripped beats and sinewy guitar, before imploding in a brief cacophony of rattling distortion and drums. Opener âJust Weightâ hits the ground running, with a punk-rock touch and lyrics ruminating on the unsung fragility of time. BRANDON WIDDER. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. 9 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
Zak Waters
[NU-FUNK] I'm not surprised more people don't follow in Zak Waters' footsteps. The L.A. singer, songwriter and producer hasn't let basking in the limelight back in 2012 deter him from being a one-man electro-pop band. His sunny, funky songs enthrall before they eventually grate, but his freshly released cover of Ginuwine's grinding classic "Pony" proves he's got late-night chops to boot. A recent collaboration with Codi Caraco, though, shows Waters is also adept at dance floor-ready pop house. I'm not sure where he's headed, but watch your collective back, Jamiroquai. MITCH LILLIE. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave. 8 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. All ages.
Saturday, June 7
World Naked Bike Ride
The biggest event of Pedalpalooza, the World Naked Bike Ride, isn't totally naked—helmets and shoes are strongly encouraged—but it's otherwise everything you'd expect and more. People begin gathering at Normandale Park (Northeast 55th Avenue and Wasco Street) at 8 pm. Ride starts at 9 pm.
Pancake Art
[PANCAKES] Internet-famous Nathan Shields will make weirdly complicated pancakes that look like squid, beetles and Tusken Raiders. And he will teach you how to do the same, but way worse. Slappy Cakes, 4246 SE Belmont St., 477-4805, slappycakes.com. Noon. Free, but you gotta buy your own pancakes.
Michael Ian Black
[COMEDY] A former member of generation-defining '90s sketch-comedy troupe the Slate, Black has since become a strangely ubiquitous figure in pop culture, popping up as a talking head on VH1, hosting podcasts, hawking sodas and ice cream bars in TV ads, fighting with Marc Maron on Twitter, even writing children's books. Through it all, he maintains an air of self-deprecating smarminess that's at once infuriating and hilarious. Hawthorne Theater, 1507 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., 233-7100. 7 pm. $20 advance, $25 day of show. 21+.
Ernie Watts with the Marc Seales Trio
[JAZZ] A top call in L.A. studio sessions when he's not touring the world with his own band, tenor sax master Ernie Watts works the melodic jazz mainstream so proficiently he just garnered another major career achievement prize (in Germany) to add to his collection. A veteran of groups led by Charlie Haden (Quartet West), Pat Metheny, Kurt Elling and others, Watts just released a stylish, straight-ahead new CD, A Simple Truth, whose title track was co-written by longtime friend and pianist Marc Seales. They'll be joined by Portland jazz stalwarts Dave Captein on bass and Gary Hobbs on drums. BRETT CAMPBELL. Jimmy Mak's, 221 NW 10th Ave., 295-6542. 8 pm Saturday, June 7. $17 general admission, $22 guaranteed seating. Under 21 permitted until 9 pm.
Guided by Voices
[music] Robert Pollard never wrote a tune he didn't think was worth the world hearing. His beloved indie-rock band's initial two-decade run produced approximately 8 zillion songs, and since reuniting the "classic" GBV lineup in 2010, he's generated six more albums' worth of material. What's more astounding than the sheer volume of his output is the quality: He's batting over .500 for his career, and doing so while mostly being drunk off his ass. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 284-8686. 8 pm. $35. 21+.
Paul Collins Beat, Mean Jeans, the Cry, Defect Defect
[POWER POP] Helming the Nerves and the Beat has left Paul Collins toting around such a colossal bag of sunshiny L.A. pop songs that writing new ditties can't be a tremendous concern. His last batch for Bomp! Records, 2010's King of Power Pop, didn't do much to change that accrued legacy, but turning in stunners like "Hanging on the Telephone" (no, Cat Power didn't write it, nor did Debbie Harry, dufus) and "Walking Out on Love" during the 1970s means high-tension pop won't be in short supply, regardless of what portion of his career Collins pulls from on this current tour. DAVE CANTOR. East End, 203 SE Grand Ave., 232-0056. 9 pm. $8. 21+.
Timber Timbre, Tasseomancy
[SPOOKY INDIE] You thought summer was here? Not if Timber Timbre can help it. Latest release Hot Dreams finds the Canadian five-piece destroying all traces of sunshine and blue skies with its haunting take on indie rock. The first track on its fifth album is the aptly titled "Beat the Drum Slowly," a weird, dark march complete with a one-two snare, fluttering violin and nonsensical distortion that ascends to a stressful crescendo before dropping into nothing. Much of the album is like this—playing like a creepy, melancholy record spinning on an underwater gramophone. Trumpets wail, organ billows, electric guitar drones, and most everything is tinted with a shaky wobble held together only by Taylor Kirk's solid baritone. KAITIE TODD. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 9 pm. $13 advance, $15 day of show. 21+.
Mic Crenshaw, Jana Losey, DJ Radical Klavical
[HEAVY HIP-HOP] Like fellow Portland hip-hop vet Cool Nutz, Mic Crenshaw has earned such a rep as an activist and musical ambassador (earlier this year, he was hired as a station manager at KBOO) that it's easy to overlook his artistic merits. As an MC, Crenshaw is rugged and commanding, with a presence akin to the frontman of a hardcore punk band—so it makes total sense that he'd headline a place like the Know. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., 473-8729. 8 pm. Call venue for ticket information. 21+.
Sunday, June 8
Traffic Signal Wonkery Ride
As the weekend warriors put their clothes back on and recover from fruit beer-induced hangovers, hardcore bikers will gather to discuss stoplights on the 12-mile Traffic Signal Wonkery ride. Meet under the Portlandia statue (1120 SW 5th Ave.) at 5:30 pm and prepare to be awestruck by "some of the city's best intersections."
M.A.S.S. VII
[MUSIC, ETC.] For the seventh installment of this ongoing series of serene music, art and writing, Benoit Pioulard makes the trip down from Seattle to perform his delicately minimal soundscapes, accompanied by projections from Portland-based visual artist Colin Manning. Alberta Abbey, 126 NE Alberta St., 897-7037. 9 pm. Free.
PDX Pop Now! Compilation Release Party: Illmaculate, Bearcubbin', Sara Jackson Holman, Hosannas, New Move, Blak Neon, Natasha Kmeto (DJ set)
[ALL-AGES TRADITION] The PDX Pop Now compilation release show is an annual tradition nearly rivaling the yearly all-ages local music festival itself. This year's typically diverse lineup is headed up by fire-spitting St. Johns MC Illmaculate, math-y instrumental groovers Bearcubbin' and jazzy chanteuse Sara Jackson Holman. Come to get the comp, stay for the bands—oh, and to get a look at the 2014 PPN lineup. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. All ages show at 2 pm on Bar Bar patio, free with $5 suggested donation. 21+ show inside venue at 7:30 pm, $10-$20 sliding scale.
WWeek 2015