PROJECT PABST NIGHT SHOWS (Various locations) Project Pabst gets an early start this year with comedians at the Doug Fir on Thursday, but tonight the musical portion of the fest begins with shows scattered throughout the city. In terms of sheer tell-your-grandchildren-about-it-ness, the legendary Sonics win the night, churning out classic Tacoma garage rock at the Star Theater; on the periodic table of rock 'n' roll, the Sonics are singlehandedly responsible for about six or seven crucial elements. Chrome, the industrial-rock progenitors from San Francisco, aren't far behind, with a rare show at Bunk Bar. And Preservation Hall Jazz Band inhabit the opposite end of the musical spectrum, adding a bit of class via a Revolution Hall set of New Orleans jazz that remains as rousing as ever. For pure punk-pop fun, check out Tacocat at Mississippi Studios or Shannon and the Clams at the Doug Fir, or get down to Dante's for the Spits. If you're looking for something darker, Jex Thoth headlines a night of adventurous metal at the Ash Street Saloon. NED LANNAMANN Also, see the Mercury's guide to Project Pabst.
FU MANCHU (Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) While many practitioners of "stoner rock" do so with a touch of impending doom, Southern California stone-riffers Fu Manchu carry it out with the sun always shining and the waves always cranking. The band's first four records are stone(r)-cold classics, and even the later material maintains Fu Manchu's riff-heavy feel-good vibe. Fu Manchu got their start back in 1990 after a few years playing hardcore punk under the name Virulence. The lineup changes since then will make your head spin (Kyuss drummer Brant Bjork even had a stint), but Scott Hill is all that remains, steering this rockin' van into Fu Manchu's 25th year. The names may have changed, but the integrity remains. It's good to have Fu Manchu still around. MARK LORE
THE GOLDEN COUNTRY, POST MOVES, FOR COOL AMERICAN (Alberta Street Pub, 1036 NE Alberta) Started during some downtime with his old band, Eidolons, Post Moves is Sam Wenc's full-on love letter to Yo La Tengo, Neil Young, and, most importantly, his friends. The project's Reset Father Time, recorded with the addition of Kelsey Morris on drums and vocals, finds the full band honing a language of late-night jams, never turning the amps up past four because why harsh the mellow? Calling the songs narcoleptic seems like an insult, but the songs sound borne of the moments between closing your eyes and truly falling asleep. Just like that period of suspension before drifting off, Post Moves' songs retain a quiet but immense power on the subconscious. Their influence on your state of mind is immeasurable yet omnipresent, lasting but unknowable. MAC POGUE
FROM ASHES RISE, THE SIEGE FIRE, BLACK THEORY (The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Originating in Nashville, Tennessee, in the late 1990s, From Ashes Rise released a couple of beloved LPs in Concrete and Steel and Silence before splitting up, only to reconvene in Portland in 2001 and break up for reals in 2005. To say that the band is a cult classic in the crust-punk/hardcore community is an understatement. This is a group that is as close to royalty as a band can get among the nihilist anarchist subculture. Their roaring, speed-metal drums and screams of anti-authoritarian lyrics meet heavy-distortion, hardcore-style guitars. In 2010, the group reunited, releasing a two-song EP, Rejoice the End. Now the group returns to the Portland punk palace that is the Know for what is sure to be an aggressive, high-energy, yell-along type of night. CAMERON CROWELL
Senior Editor Ned Lannamann writes about pop culture, music, film, TV, books, travel, tech, food, drink, outdoors, politics, Portland, and other things.
