Mint Chicks - Friday @ Doug Fir Lounge (830 E Burnside)

For decades now, New Zealand has maintained a rather impressive batting average when it comes to their homegrown musical talent- from The Clean to Crowded House to The Dead C to Boh Runga to Flight of the Conchords and beyond. As you might already know, one such brilliant group from this Pacific island country, the Mint Chicks, now calls Portland home and has been playing a variety of shows, honing up their batch of new material. If you have yet to bask in their shambolic garage pop glow, there’s no time like the present.

Winterhaven/On The Stairs/What Hearts - Saturday @ Ella Street Social Club (714 SW 20th Pl)

All three local acts on this bill take their own unique spin on the folk idiom, but all thankfully free of the wispy sentiment that marks so many of its famous practitioners. The charming What Hearts is the most twee of the bunch, due to Julie Vitelis’s hyper-girlish vocals and plainspoken sentiments of love and affection. Winterhaven and On The Stairs contrast this with a ’70s-inspired warmth and a respectable calm that humbly shades their top drawer musicianship and often dark songwriting.

Kid Koala - Wednesday @ Doug Fir Lounge (830 E Burnside)

A turntable artist who has helped elevated the process cutting and scratching records to strange and beautiful heights, Kid Koala’s name has found himself working with the likes of Deltron 3030, Beastie Boys and Mike Patton. For his latest project, The Slew, Kid is working three turntables alongside the former rhythm section for the Aussie boogie rock trio Wolfmother. This tour stop will see the Canadian wonder all on his lonesome, showcasing his ridiculous mastery of the ones and twos.

Daniel Johnston - Thursday @ Wonder Ballroom (128 NE Russell)

As has been documented on both film and in countless column inches of writing, Daniel Johnston (pictured) is one of the rawest, most honest songwriters ever to walk this Earth. His work began as a series of self-recorded, self-released cassettes and has since evolved into the digital age. His sound has evolved with it, moving from acoustic guitar or keyboard only toward full-fledged compositions overseen by such luminaries as Kramer and Mark Linkous. His latest collaborator is noted power-popster Jason Falkner, with whom he wrote and recorded the upcoming album Is And Always Was.

Loch Lomond - “Witchy” from HUSH Records on Vimeo.

From PCPA web site.

David Byrne comes to raise the hair on your arms and the sweat on your palms. Eno and Byrne have made a new record, Everything that Happens will Happen Today, their first in 30 years—the formula was lost, but now it has been found. Byrne and Eno began their artistic relationship in the late seventies with 3 Talking Heads albums, followed by their groundbreaking album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Songs from all of the above will be performed in this concert, but not in that order.

David Byrne is well known as the musician who co-founded the group Talking Heads (1976–88) in New York. On record and in concert, the band was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike; more importantly, however, they have proven to be extremely influential. Talking Heads took popular music in new directions, both in terms of sound and lyrics, and also introduced an innovative visual approach to the genre. In 2002 Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2003, Talking Heads released a lovely boxed set which includes a DVD of all the band’s videos. In 2005 a Brick was released with the complete studio catalog on dualdisc with previously unreleased audio and video material.

Brian Eno is not performing on this tour

Talk Demonic. Pic: Alicia J Rose

Today, we introduce a weekly spotlight of Portland-area concerts that we think you should put on your radar. A new edition will be featured here every Thursday.

Holocene 6 Year Anniversary - Friday & Saturday @ Holocene (1001 SE Morrison) One of Portland’s best venues celebrates their sixth birthday with a two-day extravaganza, featuring a fantastic lineup of music. The concerts showcase the two sides of this club’s personality, with Friday highlighting Holocene’s love of forward thinking electronic and dance music. That night’s lineup includes a DJ set from Brooklyn-based house DJ Marcos Cabral and a set by local favorites Linger & Quiet. Saturday leans heavily on indie rock with recent Willamette Week Best New Band pick Explode Into Colors and the drums/viola electro-pop instrumental duo Talkdemonic (pictured) headlining.

Basshaters/Peninsula Project - Friday @ The Wail (5135 NE 42nd Ave) A duo featuring drums and double bass in which neither instrument is played as expected. This San Francisco group ekes out scratchy noise and horn-like tones from the strings and uses their trap kit as a device to rattle instead of roll. The band is touring the Western U.S. with a likeminded bunch of noisemakers from Norway (with a instrumental lineup that includes bass, guitar and tuba) known as Peninsula Project.

Michael Hurley - Saturday @ The Press Club (2621 SE Clinton) One of the many great things about Michael Hurley is that you never really can pin the man down. His name seems to pop up on concert calendars without warning, leaving fans scrambling to rearrange plans so they don’t miss out on one of his peerless performances. Tonight, this long-time blues/folk veteran will be filing the cozy confines of the Press Club with his wizened vocals and arch lyrical visions.

Imaad Wasif - Saturday @ Mississippi Studios (3939 N Mississippi) You can catch this brilliant singer-songwriter opening up for Neko Case at the second of her two shows at the Crystal Ballroom. Or you can make it a late night and stop by Mississippi Studios at midnight on Saturday when Wasif will be performing what’s sure to be either a sleepy or boozy set of beautifully rendered acoustic pop.

The Juan MacLean - Sunday @ Doug Fir Lounge (830 E Burnside) If you ever need proof as to the hypnotic power of dance music, I suggest you drop your tone arm on the masterpiece that is “Happy House” by The Juan MacLean. It wraps the history of house and disco into a tight, 12-minute package custom made for a sweaty dance floor. It’s going to get mighty muggy in the Doug Fir once this group hits the stage.

Portland Radio Authority Benefit - Tuesday @ East End (203 SE Grand Ave) This online, non-commercial, listener-supported station is seeking out a little extra help during this wintry economic climate via this well-curated benefit show. On the bill is art rockers Iretsu and filmmaker Matt McCormick playing minimalist electronica under the name Very Stereo.

The Bronx - History’s Stranglers from Original Signal on Vimeo.

Here’s what Spin had to say of The Bronx at SXSW:
So it’s the Bronx, L.A.’s greatest current punk band, but in place of tautly melodic thrashing and Matt McCaughthran’s gritty anti-social bellow, you get a couple of acoustic guitars, a trumpet, stand-up drums, a big-ass guitarrón, and the band members all dressed up in full mariachi finery with studded charro outfits and ribbon ties — but, alas, no hats. Oh, and instead of screaming about your shitty future, dude’s singing (yes, singing!) about being stuck in prison, among other hard-luck scenarios. And it’s not a joke; it can’t be. They’re playing too well. The songs are too heartfelt. And McCaughthran’s mile-wide smile — and his own immodest acknowledgement of just how special it is for any band to attempt something like this nowadays — reveals a crew genuinely proud of what they’ve accomplished. Then they come back on stage three hours later as their Clark Kent selves and show just why they are L.A.’s greatest current punk band. — Doug Brod