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About Willamette week. (Portland, Or.) 1974-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 2017)
MUSIC Tera Melos, Speedy Ortiz [PROG-PUNK] On their early releases, Sacramento’s Tera Melos sounded like they dumped 60 years’ worth of jazz, progressive rock and post-hardcore melodies and rhythms into a blender. Once wordless and blindingly prodi- gious, the band went through some lineup changes and came out the other side as a brainy pop band. X’ed Out , from 2013, sanded down their intriguing warts and wrin- kles into an overly pristine indie- rock visage, but Trash Generator , released in August, is a better-bal- anced blend of their headiest and catchiest impulses. Ease into their headlining set here with Speedy Ortiz, among the most indie-rock of indie-rock bands, whose eccentrici- ties are rarer, and catchiness comes more naturally. PATRICK LYONS. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503-239-7639. 8 pm. $15. All ages. The Afghan Whigs, Har Mar Superstar [POST-GRUNGE GRUNGE] See Get Busy, page 25. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 503-284-8686. 8:30 pm. $33 general admission, $135 VIP. 21+. TUESDAY, OCT. 17 Generationals, Benjamin Jones [CATCHY OR DIE] Generationals got an early start in the era of electro-inspired pop music. As early as 2009, the New Orleans- based two-piece was making ’60s-leaning California jangle-pop songs infused with melodic electro beats that make you feel like you’re fl ying downhill on a skate- board. The band hasn’t released a full album since the Richard Swift- produced, ’80s-infl uenced Alix in 2014, but we’ve gotten a taste for what’s to come with fi ve singles released in 2017. They point to a turn for the club while keeping the same reverb-soaked vocals, big synths and jangly surf guitars. SOPHIA JUNE. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., 503-248-4700. 9:30 pm. $13. 21+. CLASSICAL, JAZZ & WORLD Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony [CLASSICAL] Dmitri Shostakovich’s fi fth and most popular symphony likely saved his life. He had pulled his Fourth Symphony during rehearsals out of fear of potential retribution from the Russian state. His response was to compose the “abso- lute music” of his Fifth as being without text or explanation, and restrained himself from pushing boundaries that could lead to his execution. Nevertheless, it’s an epic and exciting work deserving of its reputation. The fi rst half of this weekend’s program by Swiss- born guest conductor Baldur Brönnimann features Canadian cellist Johannes Moser delivering a Saint-Saëns concerto. But the real treat is the opening 11-minute per- cussion extravaganza of Ângela da Ponte’s 2011 poetically inspired work, The Rising Sea . NATHAN CARSON. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-248- 4335. 7:30 pm Saturday-Monday, Oct. 14-16. $25-$120. All ages. Delgani String Quartet [CASCADIAN COMPOSITIONS] Now in its third year, the young, Eugene-based Delgani String Quartet has quickly risen to become one of Oregon’s most dis- tinctive and impressive chamber music ensembles. Not only do their performances display a higher level of preparation and energy than most of the state’s veteran groups, their programs also include as much music from today’s com- posers as established classics. This collaboration with Cascadia Composers features all contempo- rary music, including fellow Eugene 32 Willamette Week OCTOBER 11, 2017 wweek.com DATES HERE native Paul Safar’s groovy Quartet in Red, Black, & Blue , a Cuban- infl uenced quartet by LA-based Latin Grammy winner Yalil Guerra, Joshua Hey’s piece inspired by an Alpha Centaurian lens fl are and more. The main course is Portland composing eminence Tomás Svoboda’s fi erce, tragic sixth string quartet, inspired by fellow com- poser Dmitri Shostakovich’s strug- gles against Soviet repression. BRETT CAMPBELL. Community Music Center, 3350 SE Francis St. 7:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 14. $5-$20. All ages. Northwest Art Song & The Ensemble [WOMEN’S VOICES] Women have long been discriminated against in classical music, with American orchestras devoting less than 2 percent of their program- ming to music written by women. Portland is leading the way in redressing this imbalance. This concert, presented by local clas- sical vocal groups, the Ensemble and Northwest Art Song, features two of the city’s fi nest singers, sopranos Arwen Myers and Laura Beckel Thoreson, accompanied by pianist Susan McDaniel, and will present music written by some of today’s most prominent female composers. That includes the ven- erable Libby Larsen to younger generations represented by Abbie Betinis, Kati Agócs, Juliana Hall and Stacy Garrop. That would be rare enough—but here, all of the poetry the composers set to music is also written by women. BRETT CAMPBELL. First Christian Church, 1314 SW Park Ave. 3 pm Sunday, Oct. 15. $20-$25. All ages. Portland Gay Men’s Chorus [PROTEST SONGS] A lot of Portland artists have gotten politi- cal since last November, some devoting whole seasons to cre- ations that protest injustice or raise social consciousness. Now the city’s biggest gay chorus joins the fray. The program’s centerpiece is a harrowing, moving recent work by Atlanta-based composer Joel Thompson. The lyrics for each of its seven movements consist entirely of the last words uttered by unarmed African-American men and boys before they died at the hands of police and other so-called “authority fi gures,” including, of course, “I can’t breathe.” The group is putting their money where their mouths are, donat- ing 50 percent of proceeds from table seats to nine co-sponsoring local community social justice non- profi ts. BRETT CAMPBELL. Kaul Auditorium (at Reed College), 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., 503-222-6000. 3 pm Sunday, Oct. 15. Contact venue for ticket prices. All ages. Organic Nation Listening Club [PEPPER UPPER] A couple weeks ago, Parkrose High hosted the fi fth annual Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival—a symbol of the high regard the state holds for one of its most prominent Native American artists and nationally renowned jazz legends. A charter class inductee of the Oregon Music Hall of Fame, the Salem-born saxo- phonist pioneered a blend of jazz and Native American music with his ’60s band, the Free Spirits. His music, recorded on over 50 albums and including an origi- nal symphony, also often incorpo- rated Latin and African infl uences. Tonight, David Ornette Cherry, son of late trumpet legend Don Cherry, celebrates Pepper in this edition of the keyboardist’s annual Organic Listening Club Project, tracing his trajectory through Portland and beyond. BRETT CAMPBELL. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 503-241-1278. 7:30 pm Tuesday, Oct. 17. $15. All ages. For more Music listings, visit