THE VON TRAPPS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Buried in the back of most of our heads is a childhood memory of watching The Sound of Music. Maybe a hazy memory includes Julie Andrews' polished smile or a row of sharply clad children vocally bouncing through "Do-Re-Mi." And maybe even further down in our minds is a memory of the true story, that this was based on a real people who eventually made their way from Austria to America as a family band. Generations later, the von Trapps are a sibling quartet who prove the theory that it runs in the blood. Earlier this year, the von Trapps—Sofia, Melanie, Amanda, and August—paired up with Pink Martini for Dream a Little Dream, a highly eclectic mix of standards and originals. You can hear their perfect harmonies, passed down from generations of von Trapps, on the day after Christmas. What better way to emerge from the holi-daze? ROBIN BACIOR Also see My, What a Busy Week!

TONY STARLIGHT'S NEIL DIAMOND EXPERIENCE, HOLIDAY STYLE
(The Tony Starlight Showroom, 1125 SE Madison) I come from a long line of dedicated Neil Diamond enthusiasts, but I admit that some later-period Diamonda has eluded my notice. For instance, 2009's A Cherry Cherry Christmas collection, the crooner's third collection of yuletide-themed tunes. (The irony of Diamond having such a deep catalog of Christmas music is not lost on me, but a quick, digressive plea: Can we all stop calling Diamond the Jewish Elvis? Elvis didn't write any of his own songs—not a one. Diamond, meanwhile, remains one of the great American songwriters, the throughline from New York's Brill Building pop of the '60s to the California singer/songwriter period of the '70s to whatever revisionist karaoke era we're currently living in.) Last Christmas, my brother asked if I had heard Cherry Cherry Christmas' title track. I hadn't. Grinning, he dialed it up on Spotify, and the phone emitted the most ridiculous, pandering, wonderful piece of Christmas music I've ever heard. In it, Diamond shamelessly namedrops several of his own songs—an example: "Wish you a very merry cherry cherry Christmas/And a holly holy holiday, too." Or: "Let's raise a Christmas toast of red red wine/We'll even sing Sweet Caroline while the whole world sings along." And lo, there's also a super-swanky saxophone solo. The song is a masterwork, a thing of awe-striking beauty. Tonight, Portland's premier Neil Diamond tribute artist, Tony Starlight, performs a Diamond-inflected holiday show, drawing deep from the man's triptych of Christmas albums. Let's hope "Cherry Cherry Christmas" is on the program. NED LANNAMANN