Tuesday will mark the first headline show at Mississippi Studios for Us Lights. It is also be the kick off of their European tour. Joining them will be Hosannas and Yeah Great Fine, making it yet again a blinding display of the Portland scene.

Yeah Great Fine’s fluid polyrhythms lay underneath some seriously catchy pop ditties. Reminiscent of 90s video game themes, these boys will make even the most uptight ears twitch. Their song Manifest Destiny’s Child a personal favorite­ because, quite frankly, we could all use a little Beyonce spirit from time to time. Tight harmonies and percussive genius make this a great start to the night. 

Hosannas next with a slightly more ominous tone. These punching drums and distorted whispers of melodies are haunting and thought provoking, and tracks like Cccloud smack with an Art Garfunkel influence that is hard not to love. 

Michael Young’s vocals for Us Lights are breathtaking. As rich as Rufus Wainwright, his tone soars over beautiful, classic synth melodies. This five piece produce an incredibly dynamic tease of clean emotive pop. I defy you to not be blown away.

– Jennie Chapman

Photo of Us Lights by Peter Rasmussen

This weekend, the Red Bull Sound Select concert series continues its reign of killer showcases featuring some of the best local music any of us can find. This time around, the show is part of Portland’s long running music festival, MusicFest NW. Because of outdoor noise ordinances (boooo!) the festival will shut down at 10PM leaving a lot of room in the night for music. This is where the Red Bull team comes in to save the party.

Saturday night, at the Star Theater, RBSS have aligned two local acts to open for Com Truise (yes, you read that right). The first is the dreamy, electronic indie rockers, AAN. They are an extremely versatile band that can end a long, slow build up with thrashing guitars and high pitched vocals. Also opening the show is one of Portland’s favorite electronic groups, Hustle and Drone. This duo bases their music in electronic beats and heavy synth use, but play their tunes with a rock ‘n roll, high-intensity that few electronic acts can pull off. The entire night is heavily based in electronics as the headliner all the way from Brooklyn is a synth wizard that mixes together music most appropriate for unnamed TRON sequels and robot porn. But I’m into that kinda stuff and will hopefully see you there. The show starts at 10pm, RSVP here to secure $3 entry. 

– Colin Hudson 

Despite the arguably volatile conditions that have developed around the Portland music community as of late – hyper increased development in inner urban areas displacing low-income artist types and forcing venues to close; increased noise curfew enforcement; obtusely racist police interference with hip hop shows – there is still one beautiful, unalienable force that is overflowing throughout our tired and artistic collective: FRIENDSHIP.

PALS FEST 2014, taking place August 9th through 15th, is the perfect celebration of the friendship that ties together Portland’s musical community, and back for the festival’s third year, the lineup couldn’t include any better best-bud-bands. This year, the celebration offers seven crazy nights of music, each at a different venue across town and curated by different local tastemakers, and all free or $5 entry. However, if you’re like most day-job slaving humanoids and don’t have the stamina to take in seven nights of live music in a row, here is our abridged list of shows you probably don’t want to miss:

Big news for all you paisley-wearing, ‘60s-loving, long-locked garage-psych fanatics: now you don’t have to travel all the way to Austin, Texas for the psych festival of your dreams. Introducing, A Beautiful Thing: Portland Happening and Psych Fest, including The Sellwoods, The Verner Pantons, The Mirrors, The Dandelyons, and The Pynnacles–the best plural noun pop acts this grand city has to offer. All right, so the Portland rendition of Psych Fest is technically not curated by The Black Angels and doesn’t feature an international spectrum of psychedelic rock bands, but the the festival that we know and drool over each year started from the same humble beginnings.

The magic is happening August 9, 9pm at The Analog Cafe & DRD Records Theater (720 SE Hawthorne). Starting the night off will be The Sellwoods, the distinctly more punk-inclined band of the lineup, who will drop fuzz bombs into your ear canals with their snotty garage rippers. Later on, The Dandelyons will melt away your woes with their beachy flower-pop. Each tune begs for your feet to do the Twist and your hands to clap to the beat. At the end of the night, The Pynnacles will induce a 13th Floor Elevators-laced trip with psychedelic keyboard textures, reverb-smothered guitar, and frontman Sean Croghan’s hoarse soulful vocals.

Come be a part of this Beautiful Thing and it may end up Happening again.

– Bryce Woodcock

Photo of The Pynnacles by John Keel

Welp, better go give your money to the Autonomics. The Portland trio puts out it’s newest EP Keep Tulsa Ugly tuesday, 8.5.14. The self-release is a fuzzy, grunge-pop snapshot of the band’s tour-tight sound. Recorded in less than two days, the songs are crunchy, raw, and full of energy–a perfect representation of their gnarly (in a good way) live set. All five songs smash through your ears in just under 13 minutes. The track “I love you, Oprah Winfrey” will have you humming and la-la..ing along in no time. Shit is catchy.  

Check out the new songs and see The Autonomics at Bunk Bar with Psychomagic and Mufassa tonight. Show starts at 9pm. $5 gets you in, and a free download card for the EP.

– Chandler Strutz

When Michael Finn quit drumming for Old Age a couple of years ago, all I could think was "what the fuck man? Old Age Kills! You Kill! WHAT THE FUCK?!" But then I watched Finn play a handful of solo acoustic sets which showcased a side of the artist I hadn’t seen yet, some startlingly beautiful chops and an honest knack for songwriting. And when I heard the first tracks from his new project, The Domestics, where he’s teamed up with fellow songwriter Leo London, I finally felt at ease about Finn’s departure from Old Age. The Domestics absolutely kill, too! Which is why they’ve earned themselves the righteous title of Deli Portland’s Artist of the Month. Congrats boys!

With a sound that’s Part Elliot Smith, part The Beatles and a dash of Nick Cave, The Domestics write songs from the heart and their delivery couldn’t be more polished. Keep your eyes on this band, they’re shure to make a big splash with the release of their forthcoming self titled debut album due for release on September 5, 2014. 

– Travis Leipzig

As a young woman, musician and music journalist, Madison Sturdevant recognized a need to strengthen the support mechanisms in place for female musicians in her community. To that end, last year she decided to found a non-profit organization dedicated to just that, and is now poised to hold their first event. Behold, GIRLFEST NORTHWEST 2014: an evening of six radically different girl-powered bands and solo acts, at the now all-ages Lola’s Room at the Crystal Ballroom on August 2. This one-day benefit music fest encourages men and women to come out and support girls making noise in the community, and it is just the beginning of Madison’s non-profit plans. The Deli got a chance to ask Madison a few questions about her cause. 

Read the interview here. Buy tickets to GFNW here.

– Brandy Crowe

This Friday night at Doug Fir Lounge marks a homecoming show for Genders, returning from a brief West Coast tour with another of the evening’s outfits, New Madrid. Add The Ghost Ease to the mix and it’s a show not to be missed. 

All-female power trio The Ghost Ease will kick the evening off with a slow, but powerful punch. Expect to be delighted with celestial vocals, thoughtful story and drums to batter away the memory of your working week. Catchy undercurrents of old school guitar riffs are complimented by vaporous melodies, and I can’t help feeling a little Tim Burton after listening to the album. 

New Madrid are in town from Georgia next, and I am excited. What a joy to hear a band that not only has the basic talent and beyond, but clearly has a great skill for creating an entire sound. Their 2014 11-track album, Sunswimmer, is a feast of orchestral swells and punchy anthemic verses, delivering complex classic guitar that Chris Rea would be proud of and full harmonies to please all of you Beach Boys fans. 

Genders close out the night. Their national tour last year with Built to Spill was followed by a debut album, which has caused much a flutter. Maggie Morris’s warblings are enough to make you feel… anything she wants to make you feel – an intoxicating control in a front person. With exciting syncopation experimentation, Katherine Paul’s drumming skills are wicked. A kind of New Wave sound, I cannot wait to see if it translates into live performance, and from what I am told it is irrefutable.

– Jennie Chapman

The sweetness of fleeting sound. The frantic grasp of ears from one measure to the next.

Alright, listen up, this one is important. Eidolons are taking over Mississippi Studios July 30th in what might indeed be their last show for an indefinite amount of time. Ian Wollman, their “beloved BASS player/friend/chinese scholar” is moving to China. As they say, go big or go to China. Well the band is certainly going big as they will use Wednesday night’s show as a release party for their brand new double EP, The Big Yellow Shirt / Hard Hang in a Deep Country.  If this is a memorial for the band… let’s make it a monument.

Over the past six odd years, Eidolons have been engaging in collective sonic masonry, crafting their sound into the Frank Gehry of basement rock as evidenced by their most recent 2013 release, Skyhook. Frontperson, guitarist/vocalist Dan Byer’s crooning tenor sands and smooths the band’s oft jagged garage sounds whilst still making room for the occasional folk tinged slow-dance.

The band describes The Big Yellow Shirt / Hard Hang in a Deep Country, as having “some raucous tush-pushers on one side, some smooth gravy on the other.” Sounds delicious. The double EP is currently available for digital download through their Bandcamp page on a pay-what-you-want basis, but physical CDs and cassettes will be available at Wednesday night’s show.

Eidolons will be sharing the night with buddy bands, Animal Eyes and Talkative who are stellar experimental, noisy space punkers with enough energy for all. They’ll play how they feel while you feel how they play. 

Whenever you see The Woolen Men appear on a bill you can count on it being a killer show. Not just because of their own aptitude for producing first-rate garage slacker-pop jams, but also because they keep very good company. July 29 at Mississippi Studios the guys are hanging out with Dogheart and San Francisco based Cool Ghouls for a night of bouncy garage rock and crunchy guitars. Dogheart is a new band on the scene who runs with knockabout bands like The Shivas and Mister Tang, but takes a more polished and subdued approach to the Portland-garage sound. Cool Ghouls will fill in the rough-and-tumble role that Dogheart will be familiar with; their brand of R&B infused swinging rock and roll is reminiscent of early Strange Boys with a twist of psych rock texture. This lineup will get you so jiggy Will Smith would offer you a solemn nod of approval.

– Bryce Woodcock 

The Deli Magazine would love to incite more rowdy into your summer.

To that end, on Saturday, July 26th at 2pm, we are kicking off the first installment of what will be an ongoing audio/video series that we’ve dubbed, Intimate Exposures, featuring interviews and live performances by Portland’s best bands in varying intimate settings, and we invite you all to come be a part of it! Saturday’s inaugural event will be a pot-luck style brunch house show at the Aquarium Garden House, awesomely located on the corner of Alberta and NE 6th, featuring one of our absolute favorite bands, GRANDPARENTS: a psych-pop band full of amazing musicians who, in collaboration, are known to invoke mindgasms over and over again. SS Curmudgeon will open the afternoon at 2pm with Grandparents to follow at 3pm.

Audio from Grandparents set will be recorded by Adam Harney, one of the sound engineer geniouses behind Banana Stand Media. Additionally, the party will be filmed by a team of five talented cameramen and women, with direction and editing by local videographers gurus Alexei Shishkin and Nick Gattman.

We invite you to bring some variation of food or drink to share with the party. Beer will be aplenty and FREE thanks to Salem sudster sweethearts, Gilgamesh Brewering, and local snow cone experts, Fancy Ice, will be there to help you cool down with handcrafted flavors and booze infused cones! Corn-hole will be setup in the yard, but please feel free to bring any other yard games you’ll want to get down on. 

It would be hard for someone to argue against the statement that Portland has its quirks. When you throw in​ creative individuals who desire a strong sense of community, you get magic. You get someone like Bim Ditson. He’s gone on to be one of the stand-out innovators in the Portland music and arts communities. His invention? Rigsketball (and lots of amazing music and chainmail accessories).

You might’ve seen Rigsketball before, especially if you hang around local music venues. There’s only one brightly-painted van with a hoop attached. The game is seriously defined as "a yearly bracket style basketball tournament played between Portland bands at locations across the city on a regulation height hoop attached to the back of a van." What happens next? Music.

Semifinals and finals will occur in the parking lot of The East Portland Eagles Lodge this Friday, July 25th at 5pm​. Live performances by six of our favorite Portland artists, Bearcubbin’, Sons of Huns, The Ghost Ease, And And And, Talkative and Old Age and they can be experienced between two stages. Everything is free. Everything. See you there.