*photo by Travis Trautt

What can really be said about Future Shock? The duo, comprised of futuristic characters RayGun and The Doctor, can put your world down, flip it and reverse it with their sounds. They took over Hattie’s Hat the first night of this year’s Freakout Festival and in every sense, they definitely ran the place.

Commanding the back room of Hattie’s with a creatively confident air, Future Shock were unapologetically themselves; their afro-nu wave-neo soul a force that no one in the audience could really reckon with. An amalgamation to the likes of Kraftwerk, Tribe Called Quest, Bowie and new wave greats, Future Shock, fog machine and bull horn in tow, ran through incredibly dancey tracks like "The Future," "Time & Space" and "Secret Weapon," all of which were very well received. With one of the most captivating and overall entertaining sets of the entire festival, if they weren’t on your radar before they definitely need to be now.

They may not play sets very often but it’s more than worth it if you’re able to catch one. Follow Future Shock’s Facebook to see when they’re taking the stage next.

 A pretty strong departure from the heavily rocking tunes he’s dished out for Sons of Anarchy and on his albums, Battleme‘s Matt Drenik has teamed up with Andy McFarlane and a couple other musicians to make minimalist but pretty pop music as Far Lands.

The supergroup of sorts also includes Ivan Howard of The Rosebuds and Howard Evans on bass and backup vocals, as well as Elliott Smith‘s old drummer Paul Pulvirenti. When these musical talents come together, the result is somewhat on a Beck-meets-Neil Young plane of congenial folk pop, especially on their newest album Oh, What an Honor/Oh, What a Drag.

There’s an ardor that comes along with Far Lands tracks, particularly with the single "Hearts Like a Knife." McFarlane wrote the track while sitting at his kitchen table with his two daughters, who also happen to join in singing along with the song in the studio. The thought behind the song is cutely warm.

“I didn’t know it then but when Trump won I looked to it as something close to a protest song," says McFarlane. "My little way of telling my girls (and myself) that all will be okay if we stick together and focus on each other instead of the noise.”

Northwest locals were devastated when fires took over the Columbia River Gorge over the summer. Seeing destruction of that magnitude happen to your hometown is simultaneously saddening and numbing, but does sort of strengthen the community. Bearing in mind that many of us moved here from another place anyway, it makes sense that we’d do what we can for those who’ve just experienced this in Northern California.

Last month Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Butte and Solano counties were hit with a series of 21 wildfires that devastated wine country and surrounding NorCal terrain. This slew of fires included one of the most destructive in California wildfire history, the Tubbs Fire, so there’s much about the area that needs to be rebuilt.

A few Portland bands are getting together shortly to help raise some funds, with some raffles taking place in-between sets. A few of the musicians playing tonight have called California (but more specifically, Northern California) their home at one point in time, so this benefit show is a bit more personal. Enjoy some harsh hardcore punk from Worws, Phantom Family and Dead Tropics, along with a bit of a bluegrass twang from the Lonesome Valley Pussyfooters. Art and other fun things from Green Noise Records, Scapegoat Tattoo, Grizzly Tattoo, Oddball Tattoo and Josh McQuary will be raffled away betwixt the bands, and all proceeds will be given to UndocuFund. Seeing as tons of undocumented families and workers have been affected by the fires and won’t be receiving federal aid, they are some of the most vulnerable beings in cases like these. 

Music for tonight’s NorCal relief benefit at Tonic Lounge starts at 9pm. Entry is $8 with larger donations being accepted, with raffle tickets running one for $3 or two for $5.