THE BUILDERS AND THE BUTCHERS, PANCAKE BREAKFAST (Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale) BUTCH BUILDERS—It's been awhile since the Builders and the Butchers performed an intimate show around these parts, thanks to their massively growing popularity, but tonight you can relive the magic of the olden days as the raucous band takes part in the Great Northwest Music Tour of McMenamins venues. EAC
w/Pancake Breakfast; Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale, 6 pm, FREE, all ages
LESLIE STEVENS AND THE BADGERS, CHARLIE WADHAMS, EINAR STOKKA (Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) It's been awhile since Jenny Lewis made her worst career move to date with Rilo Kiley's terribly misguided Under the Blacklight (close second: her role in Troop Beverly Hills), and in that band's extended absence there is now a void for sweet-voiced, country-tinged Los Angeles pop acts. That being the case, let us climb atop our soapbox and hereby nominate Leslie and the Badgers as heir apparent to the Rilo crown. Led by the charming Leslie Stevens, Roomful of Smoke has been in constant rotation since it first appeared on our desk a while back, and now our obsession will be shared by countless others as the recording is being re-released by Nashville label Thirty Tigers. You'll fall for the entire album, but good luck getting its opening lyrics ("Oh yes, Los Angeles, so many nights in bars like this/Enchantment can be found, but not quite this") out of your head any time soon. EAC
VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ (Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) Malian singer/guitarist Vieux Farka TourÉ carries on the vaunted legacy of his guitar-playing and singing father Ali, nimbly picking out distinctly cyclical African blues notes and chords that spellbind with their deceptively simple beauty. Vieux is coming off a little gig he did at the World Cup in Johannesburg before about a billion people, so forgive him if he seems a bit cocky on the Aladdin stage. He's supporting a live album on Six Degrees Records titled, um, Live, which chimes, rambles, and emotes with an easygoing demeanor while still communicating the time-immemorial melancholy of the blues. It's that old uplift-through-downtrodden-ness trope into which many of history's best musicians tap. Yes, it's an old trick, but it rarely gets old, and VFT is a master at it. DAVE SEGAL
Black Whales and Hairspray Blues after the jump!
As always, you can find our complete live show listings here.