Portland Show Calendar: October 30 – November 6

Greetings from dj zen_hound! I’ve returned with another Portland show guide, detailing some interesting events and live performances happening over the next seven days. This list seems short when compared to some past posts, and I would attribute it to a general feeling of fatigue on my part, as well as the fact that this is Halloween weekend, meaning there are all sorts of Halloween-themed shows and dance parties happening. I didn’t quite feel like getting into all that, and I’m assuming that if you’re a hardcore Halloween celebrator you probably have something lined up already and don’t need any advice from me (to clarify, I LOVE Halloween, but I do not love parties, yet I love that people who love parties are made happy by parties).

Artist names are augmented with Bandcamp hyperlinks where available. Give some a listen and see if they appeal to you!


Sunday 10/30

SERPENTENT, Moonbladder, Sleeping With The Earth, Shifting Harbor, Spiritual Exit

Azoth (NE 87th and NE Sandy)

For fans of: dark folk, doom, experimental electronic, noise, drone, power electronics, ambient


Moving Targets, Right Lane Ends, The Unquotables, Charts

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: punk rock, pop punk, hardcore punk, progressive rock, garage rock, lo-fi rock


In The Mourning, Lana Shea, To Bloom

Kelly’s Olympian (426 SW Washington St)

For fans of: pop punk indie rock, pop rock, emo, post-hardcore, progressive rock, hip hop, R&B, acoustic, folk


Ogre, Fawn, Gorgeous George

No Fun (1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: noise rock, post-punk, garage rock, dream pop, electronic, synth punk


Tango Alpha Tango, Motrik

Rontoms (600 E Burnside St)

For fans of: psychedelic rock, garage rock, krautrock, progressive rock, space rock


Monday 10/31

Mingus Maps, Jackie, Phoenix Echo

Lay Low Tavern (6015 SE Powell Blvd)

For fans of: alternative rock, indie rock


Wednesday 11/2

AVOLA (album release), Faith Coloccia, Aaron Turner, Daniel Menche

The Old Church (1422 SW 11th Ave)

For fans of: experimental, electronic, noise, improvisation, noise metal, sound art, field recording, drone


Thursday 11/3

Pileup (album release), Yellow Room, Has/Will

The Fixin’ To (8218 N Lombard St)

For fans of: indie rock, alternative rock, grunge, post-punk, noise rock


Jesco Payne & The Painkillers, The Prairie Benders, Dina Sage & The Wildflowers

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: country, country rock, folk rock


The Thesis: Rainezra, The Dutchess, A’Revolution, Cadillac Monte

Kelly’s Olympian (426 SW Washington St)

For fans of: hip hop, pop, soul, R&B


Young Culture, Super American, Glacier Veins

Mano Oculta (1420 SE Powell Blvd)

For fans of: pop punk, pop rock, indie rock, emo


Battle Trance (feat. Travis Laplante), Blue Cranes

The Old Church (1422 SW 11th Ave)

For fans of: experimental, jazz, classical, improvisation


Sad Horse, Love In Hell, Noxeema

The Six Below Midnight (3341 SE Belmont St)

For fans of: punk rock, hardcore punk, alternative rock, indie rock


Friday 11/4

Darkwraith Covenant, Inhalant, NO

Azoth (NE 87th and NE Sandy)

For fans of: synthpop, synthwave, darkwave, post-punk, electronic body music, industrial


Dancing Plague, Salo, Psychic Guilt

The Coffin Club (421 SE Grand Ave)

For fans of: darkwave, synthpop, electronica


Somafree Institute, Mnemonic Pulse, Noise-A-Tron

The Fixin’ To (8218 N Lombard St)

For fans of: ambient electronic, drone, experimental, dark ambient, post-industrial


Desir, Kids, Beetroot

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: hip hop


Hovering Shrikes, Pegasister, Hexteria

No Fun (1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: indie rock, new wave, post-punk, garage rock, punk rock, indie pop


Rocky Votolato, Babytooth

Polaris Hall (635 N Killingsworth Ct)

For fans of: indie rock, singer-songwriter, folk rock


Saturday 11/5

Graveyard Gossip, Halt, Temple

The Coffin Club (421 SE Grand Ave)

For fans of: darkwave, death rock, goth rock, post-punk, synthwave, synthpop, electronic body music


Cruise Control, Scorch, Johnny Franco

The Fixin’ To (8218 N Lombard St)

For fans of: jangle pop, yacht rock, country rock, alternative country, powerpop


Gaytheist, Great Falls, Ils

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: hardcore punk, noise rock, post-hardcore, noisecore, heavy rock


Yuna, Yawa (Amenta Abioto)

Holocene (1001 SE Morrison St)

For fans of: experimental, soul, pop, electronic


Titans of Industry, The Collective, Danny Shaw

Lay Low Tavern (6015 SE Powell Blvd)

For fans of: progressive rock, experimental rock


Peekaboo, Jansten, Super Future

The North Warehouse (723 N Tillamook St)

For fans of: bass, trap, dubstep, electronic dance music


Ten Million Lights, Black Nite Crash

The Six Below Midnight (3341 SE Belmont St)

For fans of: post-punk, psych, shoegaze


Sunday 11/6

Cyberplasm, Collate, Lizard Skin

Alleyway Cafe & Bar (2415 Ne Alberta St)

For fans of: breakcore, techno, noise punk, post-punk, art punk, goth rock, darkwave


Paisley Fields, Horse Pills

The Fixin’ To (8218 N Lombard St)

For fans of: country, outlaw country, queer country


Spencer Krug, Saloli

Mississippi Studios (3939 N Mississippi Ave)

For fans of: piano, electronic, ambient, experimental, singer-songwriter


Thank you for reading!

  • dj zen_hound, host of the show WHOA THIS IS HEAVY, Friday 2pm on Freeform Portland Community radio

Portland Show Calendar: October 23-30

Greetings, listeners. Another week has gone, and another week approaches. Here is your weekly show calendar. As usual, there is a lot going on. This time around I have included some band and venue hyperlinks where available, so you may more closely examine the artists and venues.
This week sees the continuation and culmination of the Creative Music Guild’s 2022 Improvisation Summit of Portland, so expect to see a lot of experimental electronic and improv electroacoustic shows.


Sunday 10/23

Long Knife, Decomp, Blade

The Coffin Club (421 SE Grand Ave)

For fans of: hardcore punk, d-beat, crust punk


Haley Heynderickx, Denzel Mendoza, Alexander Thomas, Matthew Holmes, Logan Strosahl, David Berry, Lorin Benedict (Creative Music Guild’s Improv Summit of Portland)

The Fixin’ To (8218 N Lombard St)

For fans of: acoustic folk, indie folk, experimental, ambient electronic, synth, instrumental


Mare, Kill Michael, North By North, The Wild Jumps

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: hard rock, grunge, garage rock, punk rock, power pop


White Bike, Low Flyer, Seabug

Honey Latte Cafe (1033 SE Main St)

For fans of: garage rock, indie rock


Marisa Anderson, Fronjentress, Mouth Painter

Mississippi Studios (3939 N Mississippi Ave)

For fans of: experimental guitar, instrumental guitar, folk, country, alternative folk, psychedelic


Loose, Tom Connelly, World Record Winner, Bombshell Nightlight

No Fun (1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: indie rock, surf rock, indie pop, bedroom pop, experimental, slowcore


Live Dungeon Odyssey with Wraith Knight and Cold Sanctum 

Star Theater (13 NW 6th Ave)

For fans of: dungeon synth, ambient, orchestral


Monday 10/24

Halfbird, Maxx Katz, Touch System, meroitic (Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland 2022)

Turn! Turn! Turn! (8 NE Killingsworth St)

For fans of: experimental, free jazz, free improvisation, noise, punk, doom metal, experimental metal, dark ambient, cosmic soundscapes


Tuesday 10/25

Vision Video, NITE, Ritual Veil

The Coffin Club (421 SE Grand Ave)

For fans of: goth, new wave, post-punk, darkwave, synthpop 


“Ramasser Experience” featuring Maarquii, nonbinary girlfriend

Holocene (1001 SE Morrison St)

For fans of: hip hop, rap, R&B, pop, lo-fi, indie rock


Matt Mayhall’s Sift, Logan Strosahl’s New Normal (Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland 2022)

No Fun (1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: free jazz, instrumental, improvisation, chamber jazz, modern classical, experimental


Wednesday 10/26

Haru Nemuri, Frost Children

Hawthorne Theatre (1507 SE 39th Ave)

For fans of: indie pop, coldwave, noise, post-hardcore, post-punk, post-rock, electronic


Orchid Tooth (EP release/music video premiere/listening party), Ki, .oOSadieOo., Lenny Beach (visuals)

Kelly’s Olympian (426 SW Washington St)

For fans of: ambient, experimental, industrial, noise


Shadowgraphs, Spirit Award, Raincult

Mississippi Studios (3939 N Mississippi Ave)

For fans of: psychedelic pop, dreampop, indie rock, garage rock


Argyle

Starday Tavern (6517 SE Foster Rd)

For fans of: jazz, funk, fusion, instrumental, synth funk


Aesthetic.Stalemate, Avola / Vo, Crystal Quartez (Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland 2022)

Xhurch (4550 NE 20th Ave)

For fans of: experimental, electronic, drone, industrial, noise, synthesis, ambient, field recording, meditation


Thursday 10/27 

Soft Kill (record release tour), Human Leather, Gag, Of Feather & Bone, Underpass, Candy Apple

Bossanova Ballroom (722 E Burnside St)

For fans of: indie rock, indie pop, post-punk, new wave, synthpop, hardcore punk, death metal


Hungry, Diane?

Hawthorne Hideaway (2221 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: punk rock, pop punk


Visible Cloaks, {arsonist}, The Garbage Man (DJ set)

Holocene (1001 SE Morrison St)

For fans of: experimental, electronic, ambient, sound art, modern classical


Methods Body, Cate Kennan, Moss Wand

No Fun (1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: experimental, avant-garde, improvisation, modular synth, ambient electronic, deep techno, meditation, sound bath


Friday 10/28

Innumerable Forms, Lexicon, Myconid

Black Water Bar (835 NE Broadway)

For fans of: death metal, doom metal


Priest, Julien-K, Die Robot, DJ Lu, Dj Skully

The Coffin Club (421 SE Grand Ave) 

For fans of: electronic, synthpop, techno, industrial rock, darkwave, electronic body music


Death Ball 2022: Robots of the Ancient World, Karen Caskets, Tit Sweat

Dante’s (350 W Burnside St)

For fans of: desert rock, stoner rock, stoner metal, indie rock, grunge, garage rock


Reptaliens, Bijoux Cone, Buddy Wynkoop (venue grand opening)

The Lollipop Shoppe (736 SE Grand Ave)

For fans of: synthpop, art pop, art punk, garage rock, goth pop, emo jazz


Holy Catholic Social Club, Black Shelton, Gawky Runt, The Hatchets

No Fun (1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: garage rock, punk rock, blues rock, psych rock


Forty Feet Tall, Yuvees, Shaylee

The Six Below Midnight (3341 SE Belmont St)

For fans of: indie rock, post-punk, psychedelic rock, post-rock, power pop, noise rock, mutant disco


Spellling, Spacemoth, Sun Atoms 

Star Theater (13 NW 6th Ave)

For fans of: experimental pop, synthpop, synthwave, krautrock, psychedelic, space rock, art pop


Mnemonic Pulse, Contact Cult, Perimeters

Turn! Turn! Turn! (8 NE Killingsworth St)

For fans of: electronic, ambient, synthpop, space drone, indie pop, post-punk, shoegaze


Saturday 10/29

The Hague, Luna Vista, Oh Lonesome Ana

Firkin Tavern (1937 SE 11th Ave)

For fans of: Indie rock, emo, post-rock, post-hardcore, math rock, alternative country


Velvet Merkin, The Last Responders, Vicious Cycle, Baby Gravez

Hawthorne Hideaway (2221 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: roadhouse rock, punk rock, street punk, folk punk


Pan Amerikan-Native Front, Pig’s Blood, hellshock

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: death metal, black metal, blackened death metal, thrash metal, crust punk, hardcore punk


“Discordance” hosted by Caspar Sonnet

Gabie Strong, Ian Wellman / Caspar Sonnet, Leather Jester, Cody Bryant (Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland 2022)

Leaven Community (5431 NE 20th Ave)

For fans of: experimental, drone, noise, improvisation, ambient, field recording


“Cyberpunk Halloween” Strict Tempo hosted by Vox Sinistra, featuring Trust Anchor, Sea_wraith

Shanghai Tunnel (211 SW Ankeny St)

For fans of: electronic, techno, electronic body music, cyberpunk


Sunday 10/30

Moving Targets, Right Lane Ends, The Unquotables, Charts

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: punk rock, pop punk, hardcore punk, progressive rock, garage rock, lo-fi rock


In The Mourning, Lana Shea, To Bloom

Kelly’s Olympian (426 SW Washington St)

For fans of: pop punk indie rock, pop rock, emo, post-hardcore, progressive rock, hip hop, R&B, acoustic, folk


That’s it! Thanks for checking it out. If there are any events I did not include and you feel I really should have, leave a comment and let me know! I do my best to feature every live show I can, but I’m only human! Get out there, take care of each other, and Keep Portland Feared.

  • dj zen_hound, host of WHOA THIS IS HEAVY, airing on Freeform Portland Community Radio Fridays 2-4pm

Dry Cleaning “Stumpwork” Record Review

Let’s get the important business out of the way, right up front. The album by Dry Cleaning “Stumpwork” is out now, and it is great.

I can not exactly recall how I became aware of Dry Cleaning, some mention on the internet no doubt. But by that time their first album “New Long Leg” was being released, so investigated and was happily struck by the band’s sound, their economic sound, driving drums, groovy bass with busy effected guitar, against / with a singer whose deadpan delivery both offset and complimented the music. Sometimes reminding me of bands like Pylon, or The Smiths. Yet uniquely their own.

I dug into their history and also found that the two EP’s they had released before their proper first album were brilliant as well. Thus far, no missteps. The band seemed to have arrived fully formed from the get go.

I have read a number of articles now about the singer’s spoken word deadpan delivery, and the fact that she cribbed her lyrics from the internet, reading comments sections, or collected things she had overheard in passing.
But I am unconcerned about the source of her material. It is delivered in such a way that it sounds like one’s own inner monologue, random thoughts, and perhaps that is why it has such appeal, it seems so easily recognizable.
That being said, it is not as if she has taken complete statements and forced them into song lyric shape. There is no doubt a lot of thought and editing before these bits and pieces work as songs.

On the new album, “Stumpwork” the band have not changed things so much as they have managed to improve them, and made themselves sound even better than they did on the first album. They have added a bit of extra instrumentation, accents to a few songs, and the guitar sound seems more varied in tone. On a whole, the music may be brighter than it was on the first album, and makes the inner monologue lyrics sound sometimes anthemic.

The new album is a nice balance between fast shorter songs such as “Gary Ashby” & “Don’t Press Me” and longer slightly more experimental songs, “No Decent Shoes For Rain”, “Anna Calls From The Arctic” & “Liberty Log”.

The band seemed to have been nearly constantly on tour since they released their first album, and will be hitting the road, or boats or planes soon to play more shows to support their new album. I was fortunate to have seen the band perform when they played Portland, and was struck by joy from the first note. Contrary what I may have read, the band is not a dour band on stage by any means. The guitarist found it impossible to stay still, vibrating with energy and happiness as he wildly played through the band’s set. The faces on both the drummer and bass player smiled away, song after song. The band obviously had the time of their lives sharing the songs they wrote with an audience.
If you have a chance to see them perform live, please do so.
In the meantime, buy the new album, “Stumpwork”.

Station Top 30 – Week of 10/17/2022

1. Bjork – Fossora (One Little Independent)
2. Franc Moody – Into the Ether (Juicebox/AWAL)
3. Dungen – En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog (Mexican Summer)
4. Mamalarky – Pocket Fantasy (FireTalk)
5. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – Reset (Domino)
6. Flevans – In Shadows (Jalapeno)
7. LUCI – Juvenilia (Don’t Sleep/[PIAS])
8. Tim Burgess – Typical Music (Bella Union/PIAS)
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down (Secretly Canadian)
10. Deathprod – Sow Your Gold In The White Foliated Earth (Smalltown Supersound)
11. Hercules & Love Affair – In Amber (Skint)
12. Shygirl – Nymph (Because)
13. Macula Dog – Orange 2 (Wharf Cat)
14. V/A – PDX Pop Now! Vol. 19 (PDX Pop Now!)
15. Pixies – Doggerel (BMG)
16. Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen (Stones Throw)
17. V/A – Visions of Darkness: Volume II (Cold Spring/Unexplained Sounds)
18. V/A – Dracula – Music Inspired By The Bram Stoker’s Novel (Eighth Tower)
19. Improvement Movement – Don’t Delay, Join Today! (Acrophase)
20. The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors (Partisan)
21. Ginger Root – Nisemono (Acrophase)
22. Gilla Band – Most Normal (Rough Trade)
23. New Jetz – Expressed Yourself (Subsequent)
24. Oberst & Buchner – Marble Arch (Heimlich)
25. Tenka – Hydration (Métron)
26. Molly Lewis – Mirage (Jagjaguwar)
27. Sampa the Great – As Above, So Below (Loma Vista)
28. Luca Yupanqui – Conversations (Sacred Bones)
29. Bibi Club – Le soleil et la mer (Secret City)
30. Attia Taylor – Space Ghost (Lame-O)

Portland Show Calendar: October 16-23

Hello again, Freeformers! dj zen_hound returns with another weekly show guide.

I’ve assembled a list of 48 shows happening in Portland this week, which you may peruse below at your leisure.

The big event has to be the Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland, which will be summoning artists from across the realms of improvised, experimental, avant-garde, jazz, electronic and electroacoustic music to at least six different venues this week, with more events scheduled until the 29th of October. You can find more information at https://creativemusicguild.org/improvisation-summit-of-portland-2022/

Not really your bag? Don’t worry, there’s plenty of other stuff going on in the dive bars and ballrooms of Portland. Observe.

Sunday 10/16

Napalm Death, Brujeria, Cryptic Slaughter

Bossanova Ballroom (722 E Burnside St)

For fans of: death metal, grindcore, hardcore, thrash metal


Kontravoid, Kris Baha, Puerta Negra, Major Hex

The Coffin Club (421 SE Grand Ave)

for fans of: techno, industrial, electronic body music, darkwave


Otoboke Beaver, Hell Baby

Doug Fir Lounge (830 E Burnside St)

For fans of: punk rock, hardcore punk, indie rock


Jake Rozier, Bailey Allen Baker, Jed Wyatt Smith, Devolver

Misdemeanor Meadows (6920 SE 52nd Ave)

For fans of: country, americana, folk, acoustic


Monday 10/17

Collate, Love In Hell, Unseen Ways

Turn! Turn! Turn! (8 NE Killingsworth St)

For fans of: garage rock, art rock, art punk, post-punk, no wave


Tuesday 10/18

Itasca, Half Shadow, Gabriel Seaver

The Fixin’ To (8218 N Lombard St)

For fans of: folk, acoustic, avant-folk, experimental


Unkle Andy & The Fuck Around Gang, Pegzilla, Luna Negra

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: hard rock, stoner rock


Johnny Franco, Pleasure Pak, The Vagilantes, Atomic Momma

Kelly’s Olympian (426 SW Washington St)

For fans of: psychedelic rock, garage rock, light rock


Abrasion, Extinguish, Big Boy, By All Meanz

Mano Oculta (1420 SE Powell Blvd)

For fans of: hardcore punk, metallic hardcore


Noah Simpson, Domo Branch, Mike Gamble, Space Jammerz (Creative Music Guild’s Improv Summit of Portland)

No Fun (1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: jazz, improvisation, experimental, avant-garde


Wednesday 10/19

Max Kutner, Casual Decay, Lorin Benedict (Creative Music Guild’s Improv Summit of Portland)

Speck’s Records & Tapes (8216 N Denver Ave)

For fans of: experimental, improvisation, avant-garde, drone, electronic, modular, ambient


Drop Shadow

Turn! Turn! Turn! (8 NE Killingsworth St)

For fans of: jazz, experimental


Thursday 10/20

Blood Handsome, Soft Vein, Nite Hike

The Coffin Club (421 SE Grand Ave)

For fans of: darkwave, electronic, industrial, dance rock, disco rock


Molly Nilsson, Launderette, Vacant Stares

Dante’s (350 W Burnside St)

For fans of: electronic, synthpop, synth punk, goth, dreampop, coldwave


Help, Divers, Hell Nancy

Doug Fir Lounge (830 E Burnside St)

For fans of: indie rock, punk rock, noise rock, garage rock


Lies We Were told (album release), Masonique, Luscious Apparatus

The Fixin’ To (8218 N Lombard St)

For fans of: synthpop, krautrock, post-punk, gothic rock


The Body, Dis Fig, Nonzerosum

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: experimental, electronic, club, noise, sludge, ambient


And/or (Andrew Jones/The Crenshaw), meroitic, Machado Mijiga, Lorin Benedict (Creative Music Guild’s Improv Summit of Portland)

Holocene (1001 SE Morrison St)

For fans of: avant-pop, noise, dark ambient, experimental, jazz


Snake Father, VileGloom, Bare King

Mano Oculta (1420 SE Powell Blvd)

For fans of: death metal, deathcore, djent, metalcore


Tiny Jackets, Tigerbite, The Loved

The Six Below Midnight (3341 SE Belmont St)

For fans of: indie rock, garage rock, indie pop


Philthy Dronez, Terror Cactus, LaPaushi

Swan Dive (727 SE Grand Ave)

For fans of: cumbia, dub, hip hop, reggae


Sit Pretty, Grimes, Banana Creatures

Turn! Turn! Turn! (8 NE Killingsworth St)

For fans of: indie rock, shoegaze


Friday 10/21

Thomas Dimuzio, Scot Jenerik, MoonBladder, noisepoetnobody

Azoth (NE 87th and NE Sandy)

For fans of: experimental, electronic, improvisation, modular, avant-garde, industrial, sound art


Minuit Machine, Panterah (aka Fee Lion), L

The Coffin Club (421 SE Grand Ave)

for fans of: industrial, electronic body music, darkwave, synthwave, techno, experimental


Panthervision, Quags, Lions Of The Interstate

Hawthorne Hideaway (2221 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: indie rock, power pop, psychedelic, garage rock


Usnea, Aequorea, Glasghote

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: doom metal, death metal, post metal, sludge metal


A.B. Corduroy, Alminiana, Tigers Of Youth, Meeyan Punch

Honey Latte Cafe (1033 SE Main St)

For fans of: drone, noise, experimental, indie rock, pop, alternative rock, power pop


Lord Master, Roller Dome, Rad Max

Kenton Club (2025 N Kilpatrick St)

For fans of: glam rock, pop punk, dance rock, new wave


David Torn, John Niekrasz, Mike Gamble, Alexis Mahler, Lindsay Dreyer, Mike Lockwood’s Safe Travels (Creative Music Guild’s Improv Summit of Portland)

Leaven Community (5431 NE 20th Ave)

For fans of: improvisation, experimental, ambient, noise, instrumental, electroacoustic


Spectrum/Static, The Carotids, Sorcery Of The Rabbits

Misdemeanor Meadows (6920 SE 52nd Ave)

For fans of: noise rock, punk rock, indie rock, garage rock, hard rock, alternative rock


ex-Ports, Tuna Head, Hopeful No One

No Fun (1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: garage rock, street punk, indie rock


Maria DeHart, The Moon Caravan, Brady

The Six Below Midnight (3341 SE Belmont St)

For fans of: dream pop, bedroom pop, shoegaze, Caribe


Avola, Leather Jester, Golden Donna, Cosmic Surveillance

Turn! Turn! Turn! (8 NE Killingsworth St)

For fans of: experimental, noise, electronic, industrial, synthesis


Saturday 10/22

Change, Jade Dust, Dry Socket

Black Water Bar (835 NE Broadway)

For fans of: hardcore punk, post-hardcore, youth crew


Blister, Havania Whaal, Plume

The Fixin’ To (8218 N Lombard St)

For fans of: hardcore punk, death rock, post-punk, garage rock


Terminal Dusk, Paradigm Shift, Anatoray, Dreadlight

Hawthorne Hideaway (2221 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: symphonic metal, gothic metal, hard rock, heavy rock


Triumvir Foul, Caustic Wound, Jonathan Canady

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: death metal, grindcore, heavy electronics


Hotel Neon, Patricia Wolf, Benoit Pioulard, Viul

Holocene (1001 SE Morrison St)

For fans of: ambient, experimental, electronic, drone, noise


Queen Chief, Marble, Kinghorn

Mano Oculta (1420 SE Powell Blvd)

For fans of: post-hardcore, post-metal, post-rock, garage rock, indie rock, alternative rock


Atomic Momma, The Wizard, Ultraviolet Communication

No Fun (1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: psychedelic rock, garage rock, hard rock


David Torn + Corzi și Arcuri (Strings and Bows) “Tall Tales (direct translations from the lost tongue” – Michelle Alany, Isabel Damman, Chibia, Alexis Mahler, Harlan Silverman, Mike Gamble, Alex Callenberger, Ryan Miller (Creative Music Guild’s Improv Summit of Portland)

The Old Church (1422 SW 11th Ave)

For fans of: experimental, electronic, improvisation, instrumental, ambient


Kahn + Neek

The Six Below Midnight (3341 SE Belmont St)

For fans of: dub, dubstep, drum&bass, techno, basement, hardcore, grime


Waves Crashing, Tired, Spooky Boys

Turn! Turn! Turn! (8 NE Killingsworth St)

For fans of: indie rock, shoegaze, surf rock, pop rock


Sunday 10/23

Haley Heynderickx, Denzel Mendoza, Alexander Thomas, Matthew Holmes, Logan Strosahl, David Berry, Lorin Benedict (Creative Music Guild’s Improv Summit of Portland)

The Fixin’ To (8218 N Lombard St)

For fans of: acoustic folk, indie folk, experimental, ambient electronic, synth, instrumental


Mare, Kill Michael, North By North, The Wild Jumps

High Water Mark Lounge (6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd)

For fans of: hard rock, grunge, garage rock, punk rock, power pop


White Bike, Low Flyer, Seabug

Honey Latte Cafe (1033 SE Main St)

For fans of: garage rock, indie rock


Marisa Anderson, Fronjentress, Mouth Painter

Mississippi Studios (3939 N Mississippi Ave)

For fans of: experimental guitar, instrumental guitar, folk, country, alternative folk, psychedelic


Loose, Tom Connelly, World Record Winner, Bombshell Nighlight

No Fun (1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd)

For fans of: indie rock, surf rock, indie pop, bedroom pop, experimental, slowcore


And that wraps up another weather report! Be safe, have a blast, watch each other’s backs, and Keep Portland Feared.

  • dj zen_hound, host of the program WHOA THIS IS HEAVY, airing weekly on Freeform Portland community radio Fridays at 2pm

Station Top 30 – Week of 10/10/2022

1. Bjork – Fossora (One Little Independent)
2. Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen (Stones Throw)
3. The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors (Partisan)
4. Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Ali (Dead Oceans)
5. Oberst & Buchner – Marble Arch (Heimlich)
6. Eyedress – Full Time Lover (Lex)
7. QUINQUIS – AER EP (Mute)
8. Ginger Root – Nisemono (Acrophase)
9. Molly Lewis – Mirage (Jagjaguwar)
10. El Búho – Tributaries Vol. 2 (Wonderwheel)
11. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down (Secretly Canadian)
12. Luca Yupanqui – Conversations (Sacred Bones)
13. Bibi Club – Le soleil et la mer (Secret City)
14. Sampa the Great – As Above, So Below (Loma Vista)
15. Nyati Mayi & Astral Synth Transmitters – Lulanga Tales (Bongo Joe)
16. Liturgy – As the Blood of God Bursts the Veins of Time (Thrill Jockey)
17. The Gruesome Twosome – Hallucination Generation (Crammed Discs)
18. Sun’s Signature – S/T (Partisan)
19. Shygirl – Nymph (Because)
20. Tenka – Hydration (Métron)
21. Lung – Let It Be Gone (Romanus)
22. Sessa – Estrela Acesa (Mexican Summer)
23. The Advisory Circle – Full Circle (Ghost Box)
24. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – Reset (Domino)
25. Rachika Nayar – Heaven Come Crashing (NNA Tapes)
26. memotone – Clever Dog (Accidental Meetings)
27. Loris S. Sarid – Seabed-Sunbath (Moon Glyph)
28. Roméo Poirier – Living Room (Faitiche)
29. Viagra Boys – Cave World (Year0001)
30. Cheekface – Too Much To Ask (s/r)

Sweet Love Under Tyranny- Post Show Review

banner in black font white background that reads s.l.u.t.

LAST Thursday, on October 6, 2022

[in the former dwelling of Twilight bar] Mano Occulta, located on SE Powell Blvd, featured a bill of four artists, predominantly encompassing a storm of heavy noise, staticed with elements of Industrial-Metal, & broody vocals. 

First act of the night, [Portland duo] At the Heart of the World, pulsed the room with coarse thickets, & adrenaline- carrying forward, with dense beats on their shoulders. To follow,

The audience fell silent, as Sweet Love Under Tyranny [S.L.U.T.] opened their set with a spoken prayer, syncing the attention of the room to her incantation.

Chords pitched with pink, blue, & yellow beams of melodic rippling, rang over the atmosphere, in a shimmer-fallen fashion, -like a sapphire train from a gown [made] of constellations- Vocals ranged from sensual hymns, to a devouring rasp of Primal Lilith. Each piece’s easy-to-follow lyrics were serenaded over richly layered beats, & stilettoed keys -accented with complimentary, Cold Wave percussive[s.]-

photo credit Lucia Luna

S.L.U.T. performed a four, full-tracks set, including the popular Sirened Single, Love is the Law


popular Sirened Single, Love is the Law

[Full setlist:] //Opening Incantation// Sojourn, Sanctuary, Love is the Law, Montparnasse, //Closing Incantation//

As her hypnosis charmed its way to a close, those of us watching were released from an unstated sense of surrender, left to reacclimate back into the confines of a dive bar. [I would go as far as to say it is as if I had been perfumed with her melodies since I left the show, & I have not quite been able to stop humming them since.]

Sweet Love Under Tyranny simultaneously cleansed, & refueled the space with her alchemical songing, the perfect balance branching the thrash of (PDX) At the Heart of the World, & [following act] (NYC) Trace Amount [& (PDX) headliner King Yosef.]

To learn more, & get to know Portland’s Cold Wave Sensualist artist, check out our interview featured here, on the Freeform Portland Blog

https://www.freeformportland.org/2022/10/04/interview-with-sweet-love-under-tyranny/

To hear more Sweet Love Under Tyranny, & similar music, tune into Matriarch e/o Tuesday 6p PST | 9p EST with St. J0NES

Station Top 30 – Week of 10/3/2022

1. Sampa the Great – As Above, So Below (Loma Vista)
2. Alhaji Waziri Oshomah – World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah (Luaka Bop)
3. Oliver Sim – Hideous Bastard (Young)
4. The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors (Partisan)
5. Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen (Stones Throw)
6. Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Ali (Dead Oceans)
7. The Mommyheads – Genius Killer (s/r)
8. Boris – Heavy Rocks (2022) (Relapse)
9. V/A – PDX Pop Now! Vol. 19 (PDX Pop)
10. Hellcat Bloom – Semisweet EP (pOprOck)
11. Abronia – Map of Dawn (Cardinal Fuzz / Feeding Tube)
12. Horsegirl – Versions Of Modern Performance (Matador)
13. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – Reset (Domino)
14. QUINQUIS – AER EP (Mute)
15. The Mountain Goats – Bleed Out (Merge)
16. Spacemoth – No Past No Future (Carpark/Wax Nine)
17. Elf Power – Artificial Countrysides (Yep Roc)
18. Molly Lewis – Mirage (Jagjaguwar)
19. THICK – Happy Now (Epitaph)
20. Ginger Root – Nisemono (Acrophase)
21. SRSQ – Ever Crashing (Dais)
22. Cheekface – Too Much To Ask (s/r)
23. El Búho – Tributaries Vol. 2 (Wonderwheel)
24. Mdou Moctar – Niger EP Vol. 1 (Matador)
25. Revocation – Netherheaven (Metal Blade)
26. Dendrons – 5-3-8″ (Innovative Leisure)
27. Flowertown – Half Yesterday (Mt.St.Mtn./Paisley Shirt)
28. Shilpa Ray – Portrait of a Lady (Northern Spy)
29. The Soft Moon – Exister (Sacred Bones)
30. The Paranoyds – Talk Talk Talk (Third Man)

Station Top 30 – Week of 9/26/2022

1. Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen (Stones Throw)
2. Mdou Moctar – Niger EP Vol. 1 (Matador)
3. Ginger Root – Nisemono (Acrophase)
4. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – Reset (Domino)
5. The Soft Moon – Exister (Sacred Bones)
6. Dendrons – 5-3-8″ (Innovative Leisure)
7. The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors (Partisan)
8. UTO – Touch The Lock (Pain Surprises/InFiné)
9. Boris – Heavy Rocks (2022) (Relapse)
10. The Paranoyds – Talk Talk Talk (Third Man)
11. Dreckig – Digital Exposure (Broken Clover)
12. Yes, Oh Yes – S/T (s/r)
13. Naima Bock – Giant Palm (Sub Pop)
14. The Medium – For Horses (Still the Best/YK)
15. Boyfriend – Sugar & Spice (s/r)
16. Blood Orange – Four Songs (RCA)
17. Julia Jacklin – PRE PLEASURE (Polyvinyl)
18. Meridian Brothers & El Grupo Renacimiento – S/T (Ansonia)
19. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Let’s Turn It into Sound (Ghostly International)
20. Savage Republic – Tragic Figures (Real Gone Music)
21. Tenka – Hydration (Métron)
22. Salamanda – ashbalkum (Human Pitch)
23. Stephen Mallinder – tick tick tick (Dais)
24. GWAR – The New Dark Ages (Pit)
25. Zeal & Ardor – S/T (MVKA)
26. downstairs J – Too (SUZI)
27. Xibling – Auswahl (ant-zen)
28. Bartees Strange – Farm to Table (4AD)
29. Cristiano Bocci – Beyond the Dark Shadow (Unexplained Sounds)
30. Kate Bollinger – Look at It in the Light (Ghostly International)

Interview with Sweet Love Under Tyranny

photo of artist sweet love under tyranny posing on a pillar in flowing skirt & mid drift top

As we tilt past the autumn equinox, & fully submerge into the seasons ruled by night

Freeform Portland DJ [Shan] St. J0NES [host of bi-weekly show Matriarch] gets acquainted with Portland’s Cold Wave Sensualist artist Sweet Love Under Tyranny [S.L.U.T.]

Alessandra, [visionary, producer, & performer] of solo project S.L.U.T. sits down with us to share her favorites, advice, & insight into her history, that led to establishing herself as a musician in the Portland Metro Area.

https://www.instagram.com/sweetloveundertyranny/

https://www.facebook.com/sweetloveundertyranny/

https://slut.bandcamp.com/

[S:] How long have you been in Portland? Are you from Portland?

[A:] I’ve been here 7 years, via New York, but I’m originally from Boston.

[S:] When, & how did you become a musician?

[A:] I consider myself as much an “artist” as a musician, & have studied various artforms pretty seriously throughout the years as far back as I can remember. My musicianship probably stems most directly from my having grown up in a pretty traditional Russian ballet school, where I was imprinted somatically with phrasing, pacing, & a sense of showmanship.

[S:] What majorly influences your music pieces?

Hmm, Love. Sex. Birth. Death. The Feminine forces. Nature. A deep desire for the fall of Patriarchy. The Divine. Fire.

[S:] Is there an ambiance to your music?

[A:] Yes. It’s a siren song designed to seduce, & destroy. I believe the oceanic quality, while subtle, is a thread. It’s all a bit, well.. celestial.

[S:] Can you describe the progression of how you came to the sound you perform today?

[A:] Well, when it became clear around puberty that I wasn’t going to be able to continue to pursue my dream of becoming a professional ballerina, I pivoted to other forms of performance, initially playing drums, & singing in bands. 

I was really always more of a performer in the grand tradition of the showgirl, & was drawn to atypical voices, like that of Stevie Nicks, Nico, Nina Hagen… 

We had this cool goth tenant living upstairs in the house I grew up in who had cherry red teased out hair, & wore all black velvet, & had tapestries on her ceiling, & red light bulbs in her lamps, & smelled like Patchouli, & the whole thing. When she moved out, she bestowed me with a collection of her tapes. It was a box of New Order, Depeche Mode, & The The, & The Cure, & all of this sick 80’s goth and new romantic stuff, with handwritten playlists…I still have a lot of them. It really turned me on, & seeded my musical flavor.

[S:] Wow, she almost sounds like someone who exists in a music video, or some sort of exceptionally cool character in a 90’s film, & you were neighbors… that’s almost, I want to say.. lucky in a way, growing up, you can only hope for this sort of exposure to alt. culture before you really get to go out, full force, on your own. I won’t say I’m jealous, but… [laughs] continue.

[A:] I had a taste for all things glam, & was innately drawn to the romance world of the nightclub. So when I moved to New York, I began working in nightlife, & did a fair amount of performing. I had my band Sphinx [gothic space rock concept group] & was going through a phase where I was obsessed with the band Death. I was also going out, & seeing the Brooklyn band Attake play a lot, & had The Plasmatics on heavy rotation, l & I really wanted to sort out how to scream.

I remember going out with a male friend who was a punk from the 70’s UK scene, & lamenting about how I couldn’t scream, & he goes, “Well darling, maybe you just aren’t angry enough,”

– & I was like “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I AM F*CKING FURIOUS!” I think that really put a fire up my ass, because I found my scream. 

[S:] Good for you, seriously.

[A:] So from then on, we would get put on all of these metal bills.. But [co-collaborator] (Mz.) Neon was producing all of the music at that point, & we were really into juxtaposing seemingly disparate genres
– you have to remember, this is before Instagram, which has genre-bent everything now-
we would do things like write an acid house song, but then I’d be doing black metal style vocals over it, & then the next song would be a full industrial track about S&M, & the one after that a glam ballad about the fall of man, & then a d-beat song, & these metal heads who took themselves seriously as hell just fully did not know what to do with us..

There was an irreverence there, but I found myself doing some pretty solid writing.. almost hymn-like, lyrically.. sometimes limericks.. & it was a really formative time for exploring the perimeters of my voice, & style.

The next big leap in my musical evolution really came when I decided to learn Ableton, & become a proficient producer in my own right. I’m actually a bit of a luddite, & a technology-phobe. I like things that are based in the senses and a level of tactility, & I really resisted technology until it was so painful not to be able to create my own work that something broke, & I just got disciplined, & honed my skills.

In terms of this project [S.L.U.T.] it feels like a culmination of a lot of elements I’ve been consistent in developing for a long time. I expected it to be more industrial initially, but the more I sit down to write, the more central the keyboard is becoming in my process, so the tracks are turning out heavily melodic, & informed by typical pop song structures, which I think is a comfortable, & palatable vehicle for them, because content wise, the work is quite mystical, & might otherwise be more challenging for my audience to digest. 

It’s a heavy dose of Earth worship, & Feminism when you strip the content down to its most consistent themes, but a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.

portrait photo of artist sweet love under tyranny wearing leather jacket with studded shoulder accents
portrait photograph, Sweet Love Under Tyranny, 2022

[S:] What is the most fulfilling part of producing your creative vision?

[A:] Performance is the most fulfilling part of the equation for me. Connecting with an audience makes it real.

[S:] Are your live performances multimedia based?

[A:] Often, yes. I make Super 8 Films, & hand paint them, & sometimes incorporate them into my live shows. I’m also fairly body based, & love a costume, so it’s a performance experience, to be sure. 

What I’d really like to gain some control over for my shows is LIGHTING. Lighting is half the battle in life. Lighting, lighting, lighting. It’s rough out there.

[S:] Preach.

[S:]  Is there any piece of music equipment you stand by?

[A:] I really love the Gaia SH-01. I love the DX-7 too, but it weighs about 500 pounds, & is just a beast to gig with. That little Gaia is light as a feather, & the controls are all visible so it’s an extremely straightforward synth that you can get some great sounds out of.

I’m here for “Availabilism” though. Have you heard Kembra (Pfaler) talk about that? “Availabilism.“ It’s about using what’s around you. The right gear is great, but if you don’t have it, don’t let that be the thing that stops you.

[S:] [I] Love Kembra, & that whole concept, Availabilism, it truly opens doors before you’re so knowledgeable, or at first, you can become overwhelmed with so many options out there, at least for me, & rewiring the idea of value in correspondence to the idea of ‘quality,’ & how that’s applied to music

[S:] Do you have side projects?

[A:] Yes, I sing in a brand new doomy deathrock quad of guitar, cello, & drums (& vox). It’s called Blood Moon, & it’s heavy, but gorgeous.

https://www.instagram.com/bloodmoonpdx/

[S:] Are there specific venues you really enjoy booking with?

[A:] Star Theatre has great sound, & feels like a vampire nightclub, so I have to shout them out. The Six under Midnight Society is a good one too. Coffin Club will always hold the number one place in my heart though.

[S:] Do you book house shows, or performances outside established venues?

[A:] I haven’t played a S.L.U.T. house show yet, but I love a house show. Doom Slug for life, baby. & one of my all time favorite shows I ever played was a generator show with [former PDX post punk band] Over in the street in front of Ted Wheeler’s condo during the summer 2020 protests.

{S:] Do you play benefit shows? What causes have you supported with your music?

[A:] Yes. The last [current band] Blood Moon show was a benefit to support a social justice summer camp program, & not a show, but just last week, Lynette of Bestial Mouths released a fantastic compilation she curated of 30 tracks from various artists to benefit Planned Parenthood. 

I’ve got a track on it, & it can be found at https://bestialmouths.bandcamp.com/album/we-stand

[S:] Would you say you have established a community with other artists in Portland?

[A:] Yes.

[S:] What seems to drive the success of a thriving Portland music scene?

[A:] I find artists to be really supportive of each other here.

[S:] Is there any advice you could lend to other musicians starting out in Portland?

[A:] Trial by fire. I think it’s really about just going for it before you’re “ready”, because performing reveals a lot about one’s music back to you in terms of what works, & what doesn’t, & you just can’t get that feedback without going through the performance process.

[S:] Are there other Portland musicians you play shows with you would like to mention?

[A:] Light Asylum, Lucia Luna, & Crystal Cortez are some of my favorite local solo musicians.

As far as bands go NYX Division, Deathcharge, Gr!ma, Usnea, Fatal State, & the newly arrived via Oakland, Esses, are all up there on my not to be missed list.

[S:] Are there venues you frequent?

[A:] Yes, there are several venues I love in Portland. Coffin Club tops my list, but I also love Mississippi Studios for their sound, & Shanghai Tunnel has been booking a ton of great shows lately. High Water Mark, Blackwater, Kenton Club.

[S:] Who is your favorite music artist?

[A:] That’s a huge, & impossible question, but I think Cocteau Twins came pretty close to perfection… & Light Asylum has the power for the contemporary win.

[S:]What future do you hope for in the Portland music scene?

[A:] I’d love to see a more glam nightclub open here… something that could cater to a new “new romantic” flavor for those of us who like to get swept away in ambiance, & have a sense of the theatrical.

S.L.U.T. will be sharing the stage this Thursday, 10.06.2022 with King Yosef, Trace Amount, & At The Heart Of The World at Mano Oculta [1420 SE Powell Blvd] ALLages [21+ bar access with I.D.] show at 7pm, $15

[Shan] St. J0NES will be in attendance, & releasing a follow up review for this event, published on Freeform Portland Blog.

promotional flyer for king yosef, trace amount, sweet love under tyranny, & at the heart of the world hosted at mano oculta on oct 6th 2022
Promotional Flyer, 2022 http://www.manooculta.com

You can hear more Sweet Love Under Tyranny by tuning into Matriarch with St. J0NES, airing e/o Tuesday 6-8p PST | 9-11p EST on [90.3 | 98.3 FM] Freeform Portland Community Radio