Albert Hammond Jr./Rathborne - Hawthorne Theatre

Albert Hammond Jr. - Hawthorne Theatre

Polica/Marijuana Deathsquads - Wonder Ballroom

Polica - Wonder Ballroom

Marijuana Deathsquads - Wonder Ballroom

Thomas Dolby - Alberta Rose Theatre

Thomas Dolby brought his "Invisible Lighthouse" documentary to town, and gave us a live performance with narration, soundtrack and foley as accompaniment.  His special guest for the night was Storm Large, who gave us a rendition of "The Key to Her Ferrari."  I loved the female-viewpoint comeback that was added to "Airhead," and the live percussion programming for "Hyperactive."

Thomas Dolby with Storm Large - Alberta Rose Theatre

Nine Inch Nails/Explosions in the Sky - Moda Center

Trent Reznor always gives a full-on performance and this time was no different.

Nine Inch Nails - Moda Center

Explosions in the Sky - Moda Center

Cults/Sacco/Mood Rings/Gallop - Wonder Ballroom

Cults - Wonder Ballroom

Minor Alps/Upsidedown - Hawthorne Theatre

This was the second ever live show by Minor Alps. Juliana Hatfield and Matthew Caws took the stage with just two guitars, a small keyboard and some backing drum tracks.  That's all they needed.

Minor Alps - Hawthorne Theatre

Mazzy Star/Entrance Band/Mariee Sioux - Crystal Ballroom

Charli XCX/Kitten/Liz - Star Theater

The surprise of the show was when Charli performed "I Love It," a song which she had written, but which had made Icona Pop famous.  The funnest moment was when Chloe of Kitten joined Charli on stage during the encore for a cover of Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy."

Charli XCX - Star Theater

Kitten - Star Theater

Widowspeak/Pure Bathing Culture - Bunk Bar

Widowspeak - Bunk Bar

Pure Bathing Culture - Bunk Bar

Boy - Doug Fir Lounge

Boy - Doug Fir Lounge

The Naked and Famous/Colourist - Roseland Theater

The Naked and Famous - Roseland Theater

Metric/Battleme - Roseland Theater

Portland got lucky.  Metric was the supporting act on the Paramore tour, but they were skipping over Portland.  With a fortuitous gap in the tour schedule, Metric booked a one-off headlining show at the Roseland.  With the freedom afforded by playing a smaller concert outside of a regular tour, Metric brought out a fair number of their older songs.  The crowd ate it up and the show was fantastic.

Metric - Roseland Theater