GOTHAM A GO GO: BATMANIA, DJ MATT STANGER
(White Owl Social Club, 1305 SE 8th) See My, What a Busy Week!


APPENDIXES, COREY J. BREWER, FOG FATHER
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) It's time we came up with another word for shoegaze. Portland trio Appendixes—don't you dare say the word "appendices" in their presence, Frodo—make soaring, electric, misty, dense-yet-spacious rock that lives somewhere near that overused term, but the tunes on their fantastic new EP, Everyday Use, are closer to the dream-pop end of the spectrum. Still, that's an unhelpful distinction at best—these songs are wistful, wet with color, and full of gloaming half-light. Opener "Moonwalking" gives you a sense of Appendixes' immersive quality in its title alone; "Burn" is a cavernous pop gem that defies time and space. Everyday Use, which celebrates its release on Portland label Track and Field Records tonight, is good enough to deserve its own genre appellation. Lunarwave? Cumulus somnium-rock? Expansive-electric lo-NRG sounds? Eck. I should just call it "great" and be done with it. NED LANNAMANN


BROOKE FRASER, DARK WAVES
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Despite the Sleater-Kinneys and Bankses of the world, it still seems as though the music industry is male-dominated, with strong, likeable female singers hard to find. Brooke Fraser is a refreshing change from this trend, playing and writing her own material, and using her popularity to help charitable causes, such as clean water wells in Ethiopia. Fraser is one of the top-selling artists in her home country of New Zealand, and her most recent album, Brutal Romantic, is a nod to Tori Amos—a haunting, thundering journey through her relationships, her realizations about the world, and a call to save it. ROSE FINN


DARK TRANQUILLITY, INSOMNIUM, BOUDICA, ZORAKARER, WICKED HAVEN, DAMAGE OVERDOSE
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) Hawthorne Theatre will play host to another sweatbox of metal with six, that's six, SIX bands from as far away as Scandinavia and as close as next door. Dark Tranquility and Insomnium make the trek across the pond, bringing their blackened death metal. More locally, Damage Overdose hikes over from Warm Springs, Wicked Haven crawls up from Salem, and Zorakarer and Boudica form the unholy Portland alliance. Needless to say it'll be a night of endless riffs and black T-shirts—the best kinds of night. MARK LORE


THANKS, JUST LIONS, US LIGHTS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Within the first minute of "The Weight, the Worry," the opening track from Thanks' 2014 LP Blood Sounds, it's clear that there's a patience at work that a lot of young bands don't grasp. Blooming slowly, the song's driving beat, organ-washed foundation, and lead guitar unfurl and mature before Thanks' dense instrumentation can overwhelm you. It's one of the reasons the band has generated a large local following over the last couple of years, and why Blood Sounds was a great addition to Portland's admittedly thin neo-soul community. Vocalist Jimi Hendrix (yep) is an onstage force unrivaled in both soulful delivery and willingness to pay homage to the divas of yesteryear in a kind of possessed idolatry. With Just Lions and the fantastic Us Lights opening, our guess here is that you'll leave Mississippi Studios with a couple more albums under your arm than when you walked in. RYAN J. PRADO


MAD CADDIES, THE AGGROLITES, THE BUNNY GANG
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Of all the white-guy reggae/ska bands to emerge from California basements and dorm rooms over the past couple of decades, the Mad Caddies are among the least objectionable, thanks primarily to their sharp pop instinct. But if you decide to give 'em a shot tonight at the Star Theater, be sure to get there in time for the Aggrolites, an excellent LA band that plays what they call "dirty reggae." They've released five albums over the past 12 years, each packed with a brand of upbeat reggae that's gritty, punk-influenced, and driven by the warm, vintage sound of Roger Rivas' organ. They also dabble in bubbly dub, old-school soul, and doo-wop; it's like Motown meets Kingston when these guys get going. And it's rad. You can stream all of their records—including their most recent, a live set—at music.aggroreggae.com. BEN SALMON


HENRY KAISER / FRED CHALLENOR / DANA VALATKA
(Performance Works Northwest, 4625 SE 67th) For 40-plus years, Henry Kaiser has been one of the world's most fascinating musical polyglots. Primarily a guitarist, the Bay Area artist's interests as a player and listener have run far and wide, including collaborations with singer/songwriter Richard Thompson and avant-garde jazz champion John Zorn, scoring films and TV shows, recording the native music of various foreign countries, and playing his interpretations of work by the Grateful Dead and Miles Davis. Through each project, the 62-year-old maintains a distinctive guitar tone that's as brittle and beautiful as a raw piece of crystal. Kaiser is also constantly up for a challenge, which is why his first Portland performance in over two decades will include an improvised set in collaboration with two locals: percussionist Dana Valatka and bassist Fred Chalenor. ROBERT HAM


FAMINE FEST NW: TERRORIZER, DRAWN AND QUARTERED, RAPTOR, & MORE
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) If you're curious what vile terror and gurgling mayhem is belching up from the bowels of the extreme metal underground, look no further then this year's Famine Fest. The two-day fest features over two dozen bands, EACH with a gnarly axe to grind. Come for the local speed-barrier-breaking thrash of Raptor and the gore-caked sleaze of Blood Freak, stay for the breakneck foulness of Colorado's Nekrofilth and the churning death metal of Seattle's Drawn and Quartered. Saturday features Los Angeles grindcore champions Terrorizer, who will play their 1989 classic World Downfall in its entirety. Famine Fest promises to be two days of the most nihilistic sonic violation that's fit to offend. You've been warned. ARIS HUNTER WALES