MBRASCATU, REDWOOD SON AND THE REVELRY, LAURA IVANCIE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our article on Mbrascatu.
PRIMUS AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY WITH THE FUNGI ENSEMBLE
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) When a band's been going for 30 years, it needs to change it up to keep from stagnating and slipping into insanity/inanity; for one example, look at the Flaming Lips and their tackling of sacred-cow rock albums in their entirety. So it makes a kind of twisted sense that funky prog-rock smart alecks Primus would cover the soundtrack to the whimsical 1971 cult film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, as they did with their 2014 album, Primus and the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble. Bassist/vocalist Les Claypool & Co. stretch out the super-sweet orchestral-pop trifles from Wonka and apply their show-offy, Zappa-esque chops to them. It's a funny—and annoying, due to Claypool's exaggeratedly goofy singing style—parlor trick that will take on a decidedly trippy tenor if the visuals spotted in YouTube clips from previous Primus concerts are any indication. DAVE SEGAL Also see All-Ages Action!
IN THE COOKY JAR: DJ COOKY PARKER, DJ BEYONDA, DJ NICK WATERHOUSE
(Eagles Lodge, 4904 SE Hawthorne) See My, What a Busy Week!
BUREAU OF STANDARDS BIG BAND
(Jimmy Mak's, 221 NW 10th) At this point, you've slept off the clouds and other residue left over in your brain from your New Year's revelry and might be looking to get right back in the saddle. If that's the case, get 2015 started with a little bit of class and flair by getting dolled up and dropping by Jimmy Mak's to swill highballs and martinis to the sounds of the Bureau of Standards Big Band. The 17-piece-strong jazz throwback orchestra sashays from the hot swing of Duke Ellington and Count Basie to the Vegas-style glitz of singers like Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, and Dean Martin. ROBERT HAM
FANG, MILLIONS OF DEAD COPS, CHARTBUSTERS
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) Those familiar with Fang's history might be most familiar with that highly unfortunate point in 1989 when vocalist Sam McBride (Sammytown) went to prison for six years for voluntary manslaughter after strangling his girlfriend to death. The band reformed in 1995 when McBride was released from prison and immediately started where they left off, forging pissed-off hardcore punk straight out of the East Bay. With Millions of Dead Cops also on the bill, tonight's lineup will remind you that in a not-so-distant past, punk rock was the scariest shit ever. RYAN J. PRADO
KING GHIDORA, YOUTH DESTROYER, NOISE COMPLAINT
(Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash) The first two things listed under the "Artists We Also Like" section of King Ghidora's deliciously silly Facebook profile are Dick Dale and Man or Astro-man?, so you can probably guess what kind of music this band plays. Originally from outer space but now living in McMinnville, King Ghidora are a masked quartet that make real-deal surf-rock that falls in line with that genre's traditions: roiling drums, waves of reverberant electric guitar, occasional theremin appearances, and no vocals. Put Dale's tubular tones on one end of the spectrum and Astro-man's space-punk schtick on the other and you'll find King Ghidora somewhere near the middle. They call it "sonic surf rock." You might just call it fun, at least for a night. BEN SALMON
