With the whirlwind of amazing shows and festivals that have swept over Portland in the past couple weeks, we've got a buttload of photos to share from some of the great sets we've caught recently. Check out photos of: AAN and Illmaculate at the St Johns Bizarre; Grandparents and Spookies at Rontoms, and Summer Cannibals, Sad Horse and Charts at the Firkin Tavern for the release parties of New Moss Records compilation tape HITS Vol. 1. Photos by Todd Walberg and Linneas Boland-Godbey. 

AAN at St. John's Bizzare

Illmaculate at the St. Johns Bizarre. 

Grandparents and Spookies at Rontoms

Summer Cannibals, Sad Horse and Charts at the Firkin Tavern

- Travis Leipzig

Portland's infamous New Moss Records are rolling out a new compilation cassette series titled "HITS." Featuring songs the label's favorite bands from Portland and beyond, the first installment of the series, "HITS Volume 1," features thirteen tracks including six unreleased tracks by Grandparents, Wimps, Old Light, Spookies, Summer Cannibals and Natural Blonde. Also featured on the compilation are tracks by Charts, The We Shared Milk, XDS, Wooden Indian Burial Ground, Still Caves, And And And, and Sad Horse. The cassettes are priced at $6, but only 300 copies will be made so don't be a slow-poke in picking one up. You can pre-order HITS Vol. 1 here, or, if you're the smart type you can go to one, two or all three of New Moss Records' masterfully curated compilation release parties this weekend to pick up a cassette in person. 

Release Parties:

Friday, May 9th at the Firkin Tavern (no cover): Summer Canniblas, Sad Horse, Charts

Saturday, May 10th at the Know ($5 cover): And And And, Old Light, XDS

Sunday, May 11th at Rontoms (no cover): Grandparents, Spookies

Official Todd Walberg photos from the release parties to come! 

- Travis Leipzig

Calling on their spaced out, summery, surf-pop good vibes, Charts are the perfect remedy to lift the grayness cast by old man winter here in Portland. These guys killed it so hard in 2013 with their short but tasty summer release, Vacation, I have no doubt that 2014 will be the year of Charts. Also on my “killing-it radar” is Hands In, the electro psych pop solo project of Erick Crosby, front man of rad Chicago transplant band Yourself and The Air. According to his Facebook page he has a new album coming out soon titled Polyester Itch so keep your ears to the ground, but in the meantime he leaves us with this weirdo teaser. Join me this Sunday night, January 5th, at Rontoms to kick 2014 off right. Hands In at 9:30 and Charts at 10:30, the show is free. -Travis Leipzig

 When listening to Charts, I can’t help but imagine myself at a low lit, gum popping, high-school dance of a by-gone time. There are guys in fancy blazers playing questionably appropriate rock-n-roll for the kids. Then someone spikes the punch, and I dash off in my bobby socks to wave a scarf at a night time drag race and smoke lots of cigarettes. Ok, so in my research I found that there had been a 1950's doo-wop band named The Charts and perhaps this influenced me as I listened to Charts (no "the"). They do have a classic sound: a lo-fi buzz of burly bass (Andrew Clyde) and drum kicks (Josh Smith), all slicked up with romantic strikes of guitar strings and the twangy, sometimes punky vocals of Michael Rowan. There are rockabilly and punk elements, perhaps influenced by Ween, The Violent Femmes, or Suicidal Tendencies, that give them an intentional lilt, such as the warped "We Got it Good" off of The Eggy Tape EP. The trio's latest work, Tease, continues in this drawl. The sound is heavy, yet off-beat and sweet, with a few tracks having the added harmonies of a female singer. The band has been rumored to play a swanky house show or two and has been busy playing with The We Shared Milk, jamming on the streetcar, and performing as part of a special PDX Pop Now! fund drive for KBOO community Radio. With Halloween season in Portland at hand, they are set to play a seasonal set of haunted pop songs like Slow Down Zombie(Your Eating Too Fast), How Did You Get So Dead, and more, for Record Room's 2nd Anniversary party this Saturday. - Brandy Crowe