

The Secret Society—Pete Krebs & His Portland Playboys, 6 pm, free, all ages; Drunken Prayer, Ukeladies, Matt Brown, 9 pm, $8-15
Alberta Street Public House—Mikey's Irish Jam Session, 6:30 pm; Fanno Creek, Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes, 9:30 pm
Backspace—Bear & Moose, Neighbors, Awkward Energy, Fasters, 9 pm, all ages
Bunk Bar—SXSW PDX Showcase Fundraiser: Priory, Norman, 9 pm
Dante's—Motley Crude, The Lordy Lords, Thrones, Iron Lords, Bitch School, 9 pm, $5
East End—Digital Leather, Therapists, Fine Pets, DJ Chris Hnat, 9 pm
Food For Thought Café—KPSU Benefit Show: Tyrants, Drats!!!, NiteBrite, DJ Tuff Gnarly, 8 pm, $3-5
Holocene—Two Years of Ecstasy: Miracles Club, Polonaise, Gemini Lion, Leech, Ecstacy DJs, Ecstatic Eye, 9 pm, $5
Kelly's Olympian—Drew De Man & Old Custer, Ross McLeron & The World Radiant, Siren & the Sea, 9 pm, $5
Mission Theater—Opera vs. Cinema: Aida vs. Metropolis: Douglas Schneider, Gregory Ewer, 7 pm, $9-12
Music Millennium—Black Pussy, 5 pm, free, all ages
Roseland—Too Short, Steady the Boss, DJ Chill, 8 pm, $25, all ages
The Waypost—Small Souls, Barry Brusseau, 8 pm, all ages

But this isn't just any old Lackthereof album. Seim recorded it in a single day, as part of the "Twenty Song Challenge," a game that musicians play in which everyone goes off and writes and records 20 songs in 12 hours. They get together at the end of the day to play each other results. The finest record goes onto win the Grammy for album of the year, and the losers are sacrificed in a bloody, carnal ceremony.
Okay, that last sentence is not true. Actually, it is not a competition at all, and it sounds like everyone else who participated in Seim's challenge also made stunningly great records. Seim, for his part, got through the marathon recording process by "finding lyrical inspiration in cheesy self-help websites, using as many instruments as I had in my little house, and sprinkling in a few shredded samples from a Nick Jaina album (Nick was sort of the one who persuaded me to take The Challenge that day, so i thought i'd give him a little aural shout-out)."
And the results are Lackthereof's next album—and as mentioned, it is available for free download over on Menomena's site. Seim ended up making its 20 short pieces all fit in to part of a larger whole, with the album now playing as a single seamless MP3. That's the album cover up there, a picture of Memomena bandmate Justin Harris holding up a painting Seim made of The Room's Tommy Wiseau. Speaking of Menomena, they are apparently two weeks away from finishing the recording of their next album.

Another week, another Mercury music section to wad up in fury as you read the profoundly irritating news that Portlandia is publishing its own travel guide to Portland.
Two friends growing up on Vashon Island start a band. That band becomes the Pharmacy, and the Pharmacy is here to disprove any rumors about rock and roll's supposed demise.
LISTEN:
The Pharmacy - "Dig Your Grave"
Our metal writer proclaims that Arizona's Vektor is the most legit metal band in the US. He obviously hasn't heard my metal band, LEGÏTIMATÖR—we do a mean metal cover of "2 Legit 2 Quit."
LISTEN:
Plus, we also have a special Valentine's Day playlist of the creepiest love songs of all time, with the Crystals, Roxy Music, Kenny Rogers, and more. These are the songs that you don't want to put on that Valentine's mixtape for your sweetie.
And a whole candy box full of Up and Comings.

Dante's—System & Station, The Jet Age, Animal R&R, 9 pm
Alberta Rose Theatre—John Gorka, Rose Cousins, 8 pm, $15
Bunk Bar—Milo Green, Family of the Year, 10 pm, $8
Doug Fir—Wax Fingers, Sun Angle, Glass Knees, 9 pm, $6
Ella Street Social Club—The Pharmacy, The Shivas, Ghost Mom, Mythological Horses, 9 pm, $5
Holocene—NYC to PDX: A Dance Party: Salvatore Principato, Morgan Geist, Nathan Detroit, 9 pm, $5
Music Millennium—Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes, 6 pm, free, all ages
Rotture—I've Got a Hole in my Soul: Beyondadoubt, Brice Nice, 9 pm, $5
Tiga—Jason Urick, 9 pm, free
Tonic Lounge—A Volcano, Eiger Sanction, Monoplane, $5
Wonder Ballroom—YACHT, Lovers, Jeffrey Jerusalem, 9 pm, $13-15, all ages

Actually, this is a damn perfect presidential campaign song for Obama. Take a look at the lyrics:
When I walk, there will be noAgesandAges join other music heavyweights on the playlist, including Wilco, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, and—wait. Two songs by Darius Rucker?
Speculation, no act to follow
And my words, they will be strong
Find your way, feel free to come
Peep the whole playlist, and listen to AgesandAges below.
LISTEN:
AgesandAges - "No Nostalgia"
We got an email from reader Emily last week saying we should start up a Portland version of the Stranger's Poster of the Week column. Emily's right. We should. So to kick things off, I'll throw down the Stumptown gauntlet with this excellent poster by local artist Chris Bigalke. From here on out, send your favorites to me at courtney@portlandmercury.com. Make sure they're for upcoming shows (no posters for that 1996 Afghan Whigs show at La Luna—although that was a sick show, amirite?), and we'll make this a regular Wednesday feature on Blogtown.



Doug Fir—Los Campesinos!, Parenthetical Girls, 9 pm, $14-15
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall—Wilco, White Denim, 8 pm, $53.50, all ages
Holocene—Event 2: Claudia Meza, Shannon Steele, Richard Laws, Chris Cantino, Dorian Duvall, Booth Wilson, Gary Burns, DJ Snakks, 8:30 pm, $5
Mississippi Studios—Village Free School Benefit: Hurry Up, Adventure Galley, Father Figure, 8 pm, $5-10

The "stem" files are posted over on Typhoon's Facebook page, but Laxer and the band generously agreed to not require that you "like" Typhoon in order to access the files. (Other bands, take note.) It's uncommon for a band to make these kind of stem files public, so here's to Laxer and Typhoon allowing us the chance to get our hands dirty.
Here's the official info:
Typhoon's audio engineer Paul Laxer (http://paullaxer.wordpress.com/) releases stems from the original recordings via their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/wearetyphoon). Tracks are organized, isolated, and labeled. Re-mixer Heaven.The songs included are "Summer Home," "The Honest Truth," and "CPR" parts 1 and 2. Typhoon kicks off a tour in March which will take them down to SXSW; they also have become the only Typhoon in town following the closure of the chain of Thai restaurants sharing that name.One can simply drop these files into an audio program; the audio files line up to each other. When all files are set to the same level it re-creates the original pre-master mix. Even if they are not a sound nerd, people will still get a kick out of soloing each track...

After leaving KNRK, Cooley briefly worked in Phoenix at KEDJ/KEXX, but she had since returned to the Portland area. She died at the home of her father and stepmother while in the hot tub. Partly in response to the wild and perhaps distasteful speculation into the nature of her death—which at this time has not been determined beyond an unfortunate accident—Cooley's family has prepared the following statement:
We lost Jaime in a tragic accidental drowning on Feb 4th. It is our wishes to have a private service for the family, followed by a public memorial Friday, Feb 10th at Lola’s Room (1332 West Burnside Street, Portland, OR) from 5-8. We are also requesting that donations in her name be made to the Pacific Pug Rescue:Our deepest sympathies and condolences to Jaime's family, loved ones, and friends. She will be greatly missed.http://www.pacificpugrescue.org/
P.O. Box 820032
Portland, OR 97282-1032
503-704-3587
pugs@pacificpugrescue.org
This was one of her favorites:

Cynic's New Year—which one is that again? Doesn't that one come between the Year of the Rat and the Year of the Bearded Toad?—is the Portland group's fourth full-length. It's a 12-song collection produced by Point Juncture, WA's Skyler Norwood, whose recent credits include Blind Pilot and Talkdemonic. The album sees Horse Feathers, based around the duo of songwriter Justin Ringle and violinist Nathan Crockett, augmented by 11 other musicians, giving their stark, haunting folk sound a lush backdrop, including French horn, bells, banjo, and electric-chainsaw feedback other stringed instruments. You can hear a track off the album, "Fit Against the Country," by moseying on over to Horse Feathers' site and getting on their mailing list.
Full tracklist after the jump!
As far as I am concerned there are two perfect foods in this world of which I will never tire: fresh, hot, salted pretzels and pickles. Clearly the people behind the Dill Pickle Club—the quasi-historical society that puts on a full calendar of fun, interactive events all about "Portland's past, present and future"—agree with me at least on one count. Not only are they named after that noblest of briny spears, but their annual fundraiser, The Perfect Pickle, revolves around the competitive creation of them.
For the second year running, they've rounded up some serious culinary talent (Biwa, Brass Tacks, Chop, DOC, Grain & Gristle, Olympic Provisions, Paley’s Place, Picklopolis, Salt Fire & Time, Unbound Pickling, Verde Cocina, Yume Confections) to compete for the title of "perfect pickle." (Last years defending champion is Chop). And while the official judges include assuredly qualified names (including Erin deJesus from EaterPDX, Dave “Killer Bread” Dahl, and Byron Beck), the general public is encouraged to sample the entries, jars of which will also be on sale for $25. YUM.
Plus, music from Pete Krebs, Denver, Cécilia und die Sauerkrauts (har), and DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid provide the soundtrack, OK Comedy will unveil a new video, and Voodoo is concocting a dubious sounding "perfect pickle" donut. EW. It kicks off at 6 pm at Holocene, with MC Joe Haege presiding and all proceeds to support the DPC's programming for the coming year. Get yer $10 ticket here.

Holocene—Perfect Pickle: Pete Krebs, Denver, Cecilia und die Sauerkrauts, DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid, 6 pm, $10
Doug Fir—Twin Sister, Ava Luna, Pure Bathing Culture, 9 pm, $10-12
East End—Portland Metal Winter Olympics: Pinkzilla, Alabama Black Snake, DJ Nate C, 9 pm, $2
Ella Street Social Club—Still Caves, Zodiac Death Valley, Bath Party, 10 pm, $5
Valentine's—Petoskey, Electro-kraken, Edna Vasquez, 9 pm

Lost Lander's debut DRRT comes with a fold-out planetarium. We fully expect that future releases from this great new Portland band will include a lodestone, a zoetrope, signal flares, a Swiss army knife, and an ocarina.
LISTEN:
Lost Lander - "Afraid of Summer"
We assume Laura Gibson wanted to name her excellent new album after a town that shares her initials. And the lucky winner in this selective process turned out to be La Grande, Oregon. (Better luck next time, Los Gangeles.)
LISTEN:
Laura Gibson - "La Grande"
The Golden Bears' second record, Write It Like You Find It, is just as good as their first (which was terrific). Recorded at home in their basement, it's a 12-song ode to domesticity and rock and roll—and it turns out those two flavors go together extraordinarily well.
LISTEN:
The Golden Bears - "Come to Be"
Neal Morgan is a singing drummer. But his intriguing new album In the Yard sounds nothing like "In the Air Tonight."
LISTEN:
Neal Morgan - "Fathers Day"
Welsh band Los Campesinos! have grown from precocious youngsters into a grownup band. Don't worry: Their diary-like songs are still as heart-on-the-sleeve as ever.
LISTEN:
Los Campesinos! - "Hello Sadness"
And a lapful of Up & Comings as well.

East End—Shut Your Animal Mouth, Guantanamo Baywatch, 9 pm, free
Aladdin Theater—The Wood Brothers, Sarah & Christian Dugas, 8 pm, $16-18
Al's Den—Marty Marquis, Thousands, Tom Bevitori, 7 pm, free
Backspace—The Sexbots, Dropa, Stereovision, 9 pm, $7, all ages
Branx—Superfresh: Wampire, Strategy, Truckasaurus, Jonny X & The Groadies, Litanic Mask, Vice Device, Light House, DJ Maxx Bass, 7 pm, $7, all ages
Dante's—12th Anniversary: Murder City Devils, P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S, Sassparilla, 9 pm, $20
Doug Fir—DJ Cooky Parker, DJ Beyonda, 9 pm, $5
Hawthorne Theatre—The Builders & The Butchers, Quiet Life, Turbo Perfecto, 7 pm, $13-15
LaurelThirst Public House—James Low Western Front, 6 pm; Lewi Longmire, Meridian, 9:30 pm
Lola's Room—Annual HER Human Rights Campaign Dance Benefit: DJ Anjali, 7 pm, $10; '80s Video Dance Attack: VJ Kittyrox, 9 pm, $5
Mississippi Studios—Laura Gibson, Breathe Owl Breathe, Mike Midlo, 9 pm, $10-12
Slabtown—Slabtown Bender: The Trashies, Top Ten, Unnatural Helpers, Stan McMahon Band, Denizenz, TacocaT, Huff Stuff Magazine, The Needful Longings, Arctic Flowers, Billions & Billions, Mom, 5 pm, $10

upgrading the sound system, changing the menu, putting in some altars to musicians who’ve passed away (and that I venerate for their contributions to the music scene). Slabtown will reopen on February 24th with DJs, free foods, live music from the Bloodtypes and others, and our own version of Kaiju Big Battel.Rogers also has plans for an unusual coterie of events at the NW bar, as he states:
I’m extremely easily bored, and Slabtown is going to have to entertain me as much as anyone else. Record swaps and sock hops, Blazer games, spaghetti feeds and the Church of RocknRoll, May Day and Labor Day events where the proceeds go to the staff instead of management, celebrations for Joey Ramone Day and Happy Moo Year, and as much live music as I have time to book. Yes, I’ll be keeping the pinball machines.Here's wishing the very best of luck to Rogers as he takes the reins.
The Slabtown Bender kicks off tonight, with Wreckless Eric, the Trashies, Kid Congo Powers, and tons more. Get yer Slabtown Bender Weekend Wristbands here!

Diane is in the midst of working on her fourth album, and has already laid some tracks to tape. She'll be playing new songs at these shows; the new record is shaping up to be an intimate, acoustic solo record—as opposed to last year's band effort, Alela Diane & Wild Divine—so the setting for these two special shows is appropriate.
Peep the flyer for the Wednesday show—which affords a glimpse of the church's interior—after the jump.
Oaks Pioneer Church, 455 SE Spokane, Tues Feb 28 & Wed Feb 29, 8 pm, $12, tickets for the Tuesday show go on sale here at 9 am

Peep the whole lineup:
The Thermals' Hutch Harris takes a minute to serenade his cat Cece for "Totally Low," a song for Hutch's Forbidden Friends solo project. I love how Cece's ears go back when it gets to the "woh-ohs." You can totally bet there's a couple pugs off screen playing all the instruments.
But good news, music (and sundae) lovers! Mississippi Studios has just added an early show—so, if you didn't already have tickets to the late show, you'll still be able to see Gibson premiere the record for an eager hometown crowd. This pair of shows promises to be exceptional: Gibson and her band kicked off their US tour last week, and with this batch of La Grande tunes at their disposal, they'll be firing on all cylinders.
Get tickets to the early show (tomorrow night at 6:30) over at Mississippi Studios' site.
Al's Den—Marty Marquis, Heartwarmer, Birger Olsen, 7 pm, free; DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid, 10:30 pm, free
Ella Street Social Club—Charts, My Life as a Dog, Ugly Flowers, 9 pm, $5
Holocene—Heeb Remixed: Weinland, St. Even, Gideon Freudmann, 8 pm, $10
Kelly's Olympian—Benefit for the Special Olympics: LSD&D, The Ol' Devils, Muddy River Nightmare Band, DJ Sliced Hambino, 8 pm, $5
Kenton Club—Zodiac Death Valley, White Fang, Not Right Now, 9 pm, free
Music Millennium—Laura Gibson, 6 pm, free, all ages
Star Bar—Youthbitch, Diskords, Boom, 9 pm, free

We're giving away two pairs of tickets to see the Black Keys at the Rose Garden on Monday, May 7. Want to win them?
Yes. Yes. You do. So click on over to End Hits to win!
Primary colors can be confusing!! There's no shame in that. That's why OK Go! has furnished Sesame Street with the following clever music video that not only easily explains what happens when primary colors get mixed together, the song is sure to be stuck in your head all day. (That's a good thing, right?)

Mississippi Studios—Paper Upper Cuts, Gulls, Michael Bruce, Animal Stitches, 9 pm, $5
Al's Den—Marty Marquis, Evan Way, 7 pm, free
Ella Street Social Club—Sioux Falls, The Steven Lasombres, Threadbear, 9 pm, $5
Holocene—13 Months of Sunshine: African Sounds Dance Party: Brainstorm, Jason Urick, DJ Cuica, DJ Spencer D, 9 pm, free
The Know—The Woollen Kits, The Woolen Men, 8 pm
Roadside Attraction—DwarfHorse, 9 pm, free
Someday Lounge—Andrews Ave, Animal Eyes, The Ecology, 9 pm, $7
The Waypost—Classical Revolution, 7 pm, all ages
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