PDX POP NOW BENEFIT: GUIDANCE COUNSELOR, WELCOME HOME WALKER, ONUINU, STARPARTY
(Backspace, 115 NW 5th) Unlike most guidance counselors (AKA responsibility police), Portland's own Guidance Counselor's shrill, lo-fi mess of sweet, grimy dance punk suggests major life decisions are bullshit. But proceeds from this event go to PDX Pop Now!'s school outreach programming, so you can still feel good about yourself in spite of your newfound nihilism. KEVIN OTZENBERGER
BUILT TO SPILL, LE FLEUR, LORDS OF FALCONRY
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) [Editor's note: Normally Courtney Ferguson is on the Built to Spill beat around these parts, but since she is feeling creatively bereft about Mr. Martsch & Co., we'll let her BTS-lovin' husband take it from here.] A summer afternoon 16 years ago brought together all the elements necessary for the creation of a hopeless indie-rock fanboy. I'd smoked a little dope, skated over to the local college, wound up in some co-ed's front room listening to There's Nothing Wrong with Love, and the rest is history... going to all their shows I possibly could, listening to them every day at work, requesting "Car" at my wedding for the first dance between me and my new wife. Look, I'm 36 years old—too old for these fanboy shenanigans, right? Doesn't matter, because every time I see Doug and the boys live, I start grinnin' and air-guitarin' like an idiot, angling for the front of the crowd and waiting for the crazy to kick in. When all Hell does finally break loose, with the layers of cascading guitars and effect pedals smoking and wheezing and generally trying to keep up with the mayhem, there's Built to Spill, cool as cucumbers, keeping us amazed, and making it all look so easy. E.M. BACHER
MIGHTY GHOSTS, ERIN LEIKER
(White Eagle, 836 N Russell) Once there was Mighty Ghosts of Heaven, now it is simply Mighty Ghosts. Prior to the release of their brand-new album Aberdeen, which celebrates its release tonight, the Portland five-piece streamlined their name, added a drummer, and altered their repertoire. The traditional old-time tunes they were playing evolved and changed along with the band; the songs became the Mighty Ghosts' own, and vocalist Gus Smith wrote a fair shake of his own to go along with them. The new album is a jaunty, relaxed collection of country pickin', bluegrass harmonies, and back-porch folk, sounding as effortless and carefree as a ribbon in the wind. It's the kind of American roots music that many have tried, but few have mastered—and with Aberdeen, it's clear that Mighty Ghosts are in the latter camp, joining this town's elite of expert roots, old-time, and folk practitioners. NED LANNAMANN
DJ Anjali, Biz Markie, Wilg Flag, and the Built to Spill afterparty info, as well as a link to the complete show listings, after the jump!