DEAD MOON, LONG KNIFE, DRAWINGBOARD
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Dead Moon ain't dead yet. Fred Cole was onstage this past October just months after open-heart surgery, and now Fred and his better half, Toody, will bring their Portland punk institution back out for a night of classic rock 'n' roll. Dead Moon remains one of the last links to the Portland that once was (Fred and Toody have also been known to still smoke inside clubs as if it were 1989), and the mark they've left on the city is immeasurable. After resurrecting Dead Moon one year ago for the Crystal Ballroom's 100th anniversary, they're sneaking out tonight for another rare show, reminding the city how things are done. Fred and Toody, not Fred and Carrie! MARK LORE Also see My, What a Busy Week! and All-Ages Action!

GRAMMIES, JOHANNA WARREN
(Habesha, 801 NE Broadway) It's unlikely that the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences will take notice anytime soon, but saxophonist Noah Bernstein (Tune-Yards, Shy Girls) makes some pretty awesome music as Grammies. Bernstein's horn sounds like a Max Headroom-type computer-degenerated version of Kenny G, and drummer Dan Sutherland pounds out mind-bending polyrhythms and stuttering breaks. The result—as evidenced on their first album, Award Winning—is a fascinating mixture of addictive post-funk and experiments in the intersection of no wave, jazz, and avant-garde. The second Grammies album, Great Sounding, makes its debut tonight at the duo's first performance since May. NED LANNAMANN

PETTY FEVER, WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND, HIGHWAY STAR
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) I'm pretty suspicious of tribute bands, but like all things in life, there are worthwhile ones just the same as there are ones to avoid like the plague. Often, the music to which the tribute band is paying tribute doesn't matter as much as the spirit in which it's done. That's why it's mesmerizing when Genesis tribute act the Musical Box copies everything down to Mike Rutherford's doubleneck 12-string/bass guitar and Peter Gabriel's impenetrably bizarre stage banter, and why it's deeply upsetting when Neil Diamond tribute hacks Super Diamond throw a little U2 into their set. (Seriously, what the fuck, Super Diamond.) Petty Fever seems to have everything in order. In Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, they've got a deserving but not oversaturated act to pay homage to (pretty much anything that isn't Pink Floyd qualifies). And in Petty, they've also got a consistent and sizable catalog of durable songs that shouldn't collapse under the weight of the illusion. The addition of a Loverboy cover band to the bill is a little worrisome (Petty's more than an '80s nostalgia act), but it's offset by the presence of a Deep Purple cover band, so at least you'll hear "Highway Star" before the red leather pants come out. NL

BEN BALLINGER, SAM COOPER
(Alberta Street Pub, 1036 NE Alberta) Ben Ballinger writes the kind of confessional, soul-bearing songs that make you want to call up people from your past and apologize. Originally from the Dalles, he hitchhiked to New York at 18 and now lives in Austin; Ballinger has no shortage of songwriting material. Whether relating disappointments in love, disappointments in friendship, or disappointments in success, Ballinger examines life's myriad frustrations and sings about them with a voice strained from use and abuse. He comes from the same country-folk tradition that gave birth to Townes Van Zandt and the like, but also shares similarities to modern, country-soul troubadours like Jeffrey Foucault and Mary Gauthier. Ballinger is touring in support of his latest album, The State I'm In, which could be read as a reference to either his physical location or his physical condition. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY

JERRY JOSEPH AND THE JACKMORMONS, MEXICAN GUNFIGHT
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) I saw Mexican Gunfight play once, a couple of summers ago in a tetanus-trap of a building on the site of an old junkyard in an industrial part of Bend. Every word of that sentence is true, somehow. It was a set in the middle of a three-day festival with dozens of bands, but Mexican Gunfight stood out to me primarily because of "Crazy in June," a melodic powerhouse of a song with an instantly memorable chorus, killer keyboard parts, and beautiful backing vocals. It's the kind of tune that just reaches out, grabs ears, and won't let go. These days, "Crazy in June" is the first song on Mexican Gunfight's 2014 album Long Play, which delivers more of the same kind of classic roots-rock 'n' pop throughout its 10 tracks. Tonight the band opens the second of veteran bar-rocker Jerry Joseph's two nights at the Doug Fir, which is not an old junkyard, so you have that going for you. BEN SALMON