CROWDED HOUSE, LAWRENCE ARABIA
(Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale)
MERCURY: Is it tough to balance the "hits" everyone knows along with new material from Intriguer?
NEIL FINN: People have memories of certain songs and they pay to hear us play those songs, and we enjoy that. But I'm always going to be working on new music and moving forward. It's far more satisfying from an artistic point of view.Read the rest of Matthew Slessler's interview with Crowded House's Neil Finn.
ADRIAN ORANGE, ALI BABA
(The Artistery, 4315 SE Division) It's been a while since we heard from Adrian Orange, co-founder of Marriage Records and the wunderkind behind the Thanksgiving and Adrian Orange and Her Band monikers. Between popping up on a few bills sporadically over the past couple years, Orange's release schedule has been nearly bare since the high profile Adrian Orange and Her Band on K Records in 2007, especially since Orange's discography prior to that was crammed with releases. So it'll be interesting to see what he's got up his sleeve for this show—we're expecting some synthed-out, dubby experiments—but the real draw will be Malian performer Ali Baba, whose Return to Your Roots album is available through Marriage Records. The music of Ali Kamiya fits in the vein of the tight webs of clean guitar lines and bubbling rhythms of similar "desert blues" acts from Mali, with urgent pleas of global compassion in the lyrics, making for laments that are still danceable. NED LANNAMANN
CHICHARONES, RAFAEL VIGILANTICS, EDDIE VALIANT, CLOUDY OCTOBER
(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) Need a quick primer on Portland's sadly neglected hiphop scene? Start here. Chicharones are the dream-team collaboration between Josh "the People's Champ" Martinez and the fastest emcee in the land, Sleep. Joining them is up-and-comer Cloudy October, who's been known to steal the show every time he sets foot onstage. EZRA ACE CARAEFF
NURSES, DRAGGING AN OX THROUGH WATER, OPERATIVE
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) While we Portlanders have exhausted Apple's Acre to the point that we're chomping at its core waiting for a new Nurses recording, the album still has some life to it. This time next week the Nurses crew will cross the pond for a slew of European dates and big-time festival appearances (sharing a stage with the likes of Modest Mouse, Wilco), as the band shares their Dead Oceans debut with a newfound audience. When not dodging exposed genitalia during their ChatRoulette live video or composing a one-time score for the cult Czech film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Nurses have had a busy year of staying active while not draining the life from Apple's Acre. EZRA ACE CARAEFF
NATASHA KMETO, NEO LANE, ROCK FRIENDS, CLEOPATRA
(Branx, 320 SE 2nd) Thanks to the internet we now have daily insights into the minds of our favorite artists—from Lady Gaga's constant dialogue with her fans to Kanye West melting down 140 characters at a time on Twitter. In this same light, online updates allow us to learn that local electro-R&B artist Natasha Kmeto had the best rehearsal of her life the other day. Kmeto's website gives a bird's-eye view to the evolution of her unique live set—which features powerful vocals, live synths, and an army of recorded clips and effects—and the creative process of her upcoming sophomore album, Expressor. These intimate details make for a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, the artist behind the slick and gorgeous compositions. MARANDA BISH