Last night, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks kicked off the third annual Affair at the Jupiter Hotel art fair down on lower Burnside with an amazing set that included 4 or 5 brand new songs. In the open air courtyard of the hotel, with countless stars overhead, it was an incredible way to see old Malk, and to witness no small moment of Portland music history. On drums—to almost everyone’s surprise—was Janet Weiss, of dearly departed Sleater-Kinney! Not a one-shot deal, it seems that Weiss is an official member of the Jicks now (evening the gender ration to a straight 50/50!), and she didn’t hold back on her signature bombast of controlled explosions on songs like “Post-Paint Boy,” “Water and a Seat,” and “Baby C’Mon.” They also played 4 or 5 brand new songs, which sounded predictably terrific, including one with an enormous, sludgy bassline and one of Malkmus’s most insane guitar-god solos to date. Toward the end of the set, somebody shoulted out a request for “Jenny and Ess-Dog,” to which Jicks bassist Joanna Bolme replied that Janet hadn’t had a chance to learn that one yet. “It’s just too tricky for her,” Bolme laughed. Then Stephen said “this next song’s for Perry Farrel” and launched into an especially jamtastic version of “Do Not Feed the Oyster.” Corrin Tucker was in the audience, as were a few hundred members of the national Art Mafia, seeing as this was a big art fair with galleries from across the country. The newly revamped Jicks absolutely killed it with their set, though—aided perhaps, not only by the incredible addition of Janet Weiss, but Malkmus’s creepy new moustache.