Modest Mouse
POP MUSIC
Musicfest Northwest
Various locations
September 16-21
Musicfestnw.com
Call it a festival if you insist, but really, MusicFest Northwest is a deafening, overstimulating game of musical hopscotch. Now in its ninth year, MFNW places 180 bands into 18 venues scattered across the city and dares you to see them all. Faced with a roster of acts that includes Bad Brains, Explosions in the Sky, and Girl Talk, you might end up spinning between the choices. Luckily, whether checking out recently reunited emo godfathers Sunny Day Real Estate or local folk upstarts Blind Pilot, it’s hard to go wrong. The weekend culminates with the Glacial Pace Recordings Showcase, where, after showing off new bands like Mimicking Birds and Morning Teleportation, label chief Isaac Brook will take the stage with his own band—a little group called Modest Mouse.—Victoria Nguyen
The Killers
Memorial Coliseum
September 24
Love them or hate them—it’s hard to deny that this glitzy band of Vegas kids knows its way around a sticky pop tune. In the arena setting, front man Brandon Flowers’s over-the-top wardrobe and outsize ego seem right at home, and a song like “All These Things That I’ve Done” sounds like the most powerful song ever written.
Ian Anderson
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
November 13
The man who made the flute cool (at least between 1971 and ’72), Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson gives the band’s massive catalog a classical makeover with Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull. When he gets to “Locomotive Breath,” feel free to bust out a little air-flauting.
Grizzly Bear
Crystal Ballroom
October 15
After four albums of precious, delicate, and stirringly beautiful rock, Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear has finally hit the big time. Appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman, headlining gigs at festivals, a spot on the Billboard charts, and a national tour have left mouths agape and maybe even a few eyes damp with tears.
Monsters of Folk
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
October 14
A supergroup consisting of critically fawned-over musicians’ musicians, the Monsters are Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame, Portland’s own M. Ward, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis. It’s like an alt-rock reimagining of the Traveling Wilburys, with, no doubt, a lot more screaming female fans.
