High Notes: The Best Live Music in Portland This Week
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Sturgill Simpson
Nov 25 @ 8pm
No less of an authority than ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine recently ran a story with the headline “Is Sturgill Simpson Country Music’s Savior?” Since busting onto the scene with a pair of highly lauded albums two years ago, this Kentucky troubadour has convinced a whole bunch of folks that he’s the real deal. The evidence is plain as the nose on your face on his latest album, ‘Metamodern Sounds in Country Music,’ which Simpson refers to as his “hippie love record,” even though it sounds a lot more like Waylon Jennings than the Dead.
$15-17. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave.
Lord Dying
Nov 26 @ 9pm
The holiday season is a trying time for those of us who weren’t blessed with festive DNA. The mental energy it takes to be constantly thankful for everything can prove extremely taxing. If you’re in need of a dose of darkness, Portland metal monsters Lord Dying have a little something to stuff in your stocking. Let the healing powers of doom and desolation pillage your eardrums on almost evil numbers like “In a Frightful State of Gnawed Dismemberment.” (Dedicated to the turkey, perhaps?) Blast away the blahs.
$10. Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash St.
Haymaker
Nov 28 @ 8pm
One of Portland’s most revered alt-country combos returned from a decade-long hiatus a few years back, and fans of tasteful twang and lost highway hootenannies ought to do themselves a favor and revisit Haymaker. Led by singer-songwriter Steve Lockwood, Haymaker packs a sneaky wallop whether ripping it up on Okie rock jammers like “Go For a Ride” or getting misty about a certain girl on “Here in My Arms.” Don’t forget to order a beer so you have something to cry into.
$5. Alberta St Pub, 1036 NE Alberta St.
The Next Waltz
Nov 28-29 @ 8pm
Organized by ‘Willamette Week’ music writer Jeff Rosenberg, this annual live staging of ‘The Last Waltz’, Martin Scorsese’s epic documentary of The Band’s final concert, is chockfull of local talent like Ural Thomas, Anita Lee Elliott, and Casey Neill interpreting songs by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell. The two-night concert is also a benefit for the Jeremy Wilson Foundation, a nonprofit that provides financial assistance for musicians facing medical emergencies. Hurry! It’s usually a sell-out.
$25-28. Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St.
Wild Ones, Radiation City
Nov 29 @ 8pm
This is an inspired bill, offering lucky listeners the opportunity to see two of the town’s top pop bands on one stage. Wild Ones have a buoyant keyboard bounce to their step that belies the wistful words coming from singer Danielle Sullivan. Similarly, Radiation City singer-keyboardist Lizzy Ellison exhibits a languid grace suggestive of Astrid Gilberto, surrounded by an inventive little bossa nova orchestra. Both bands are sophisticated and melodically adept, proving once again that Portland’s music milieu is an abundance of riches.
$12. Star Theater, 13 NW Sixth Ave.
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