High Notes: The Best Live Music in Portland This Week, Feb. 10

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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

John Chandler, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Portland gets set for Valentine’s Day with a vivid array of artists as varied as love itself. Whether your heart responds to Dengue Fever’s luscious exotica, Jucifer’s muddy mayhem, or a selection of soul standards from Smokey Robinson, your emotional needs are sure to be met. 

Dengue Fever

Feb 11 @ 9pm

Seeing Dengue Fever live is like waking up on a surprise vacation to Southeast Asia. The band hails from Los Angeles, but on songs like “Sni Bong” and “One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula” Cambodian singer Chhom Nimol’s mysterious, beckoning voice comes cloaked in a kaleidoscope of Eastern nightclub melodies and go-go drums that typically inspire unbridled temple dancing. Dengue Fever is out test-driving material from its new album, ‘The Deepest Lake,’ which we recommend you go and jump into. 

$14-16. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St. 

Jucifer

Feb 12 @ 9pm

Now here’s a couple that will likely never need marriage counseling. Athens, Georgia guitarist Gazelle Amber Valentine and drummer husband Edgar Livengood get ample opportunity to exorcise their demons onstage, churning up grimy metal ooze on a nightly basis. Jucifer’s latest record, ‘District of Dystopia,’ is rife with vicious, fuzzed-out power chords alongside Valentine’s hellish growling that sounds like Beelzebub taking a bubble bath in holy water. 

$10. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St. Sandy Blvd. 

Alialujah Choir

Feb 12 @ 8pm

The unveiling of the spanking new Southeast venue, Revolution Hall, commences with a flourish, as one of Portland’s most esteemed ensembles take charge of the debut. Alialujuah Choir’s exquisite tent-revival harmonies are ideal for a concert christening; Adam Shearer from Weinland, Norfolk and Western’s Adam Seltzer, and veteran music teacher Alia Farah achieve a rich three-part vocal blend that should settle into the hall’s vintage timbers like rainfall on parched shrubbery. The group is celebrating a new album called ‘Big Picture Show’ and will soon be on the road with country chanteuse Neko Case as her opening act. 

$15. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St. 

Smokey Robinson

Feb 14 @ 7pm

This one’s a no-brainer. If you and your sweetie want the Valentine’s Day Full Monty, then an evening of sexy serenades from Motown icon Smokey Robinson, backed by the Oregon Symphony, is pretty damn close to the peak of perfection. With a romantic repertoire that includes “Tears of a Clown,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me,” and “I Second That Emotion,” Robinson, who turns 75 next week, continues his lifelong quest to bring all good people together under a loving sun. And if he plays “Mickey’s Monkey” we are truly blessed.

$45 and up. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway. 

Benefit for Too Slim

Feb 15 @ 5pm

Spokane guitarist Tim “Too Slim” Langford has been the frontman for blues-rock trio Too Slim and the Taildraggers since 1986, and chances are, if you’ve ever spent time sipping beer in a Northwest honkytonk, you’re familiar with his work. Langford was recently diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery in December. To make a dent in the medical bills, an all-star posse of his pals are getting together to help a brother out. Curtis Salgado, Big Monti, Mary Flower, Joe McMurrian, Lloyd Jones, and slide guitar wizard Henry Cooper are among the do-gooders throwing down. 

$15-18. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St. 

John Chandler has been writing about rock and/or roll for 25 years with The Rocket, Portland Tribune, Portland Monthly, Magnet, Dagger, No Depression, and Puncture. He also writes about beer, booze, and bars for Portland'sBarFly website and plays in a couple goofy bands when the mood strikes him. He can most often be found at the wheel of horrificflicks.com, a review website dedicated to horror movies.

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