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

Last Tuesday night, Portland music podcasters, Party Boyz, hosted one hell of an event at Bunk Bar. The night marked the one year anniversary for the podcast, as well as the release of their first printed Zine and first compilation album on compact disc. The Zines looked great and featured content by local artists and musicians. Wearing handmade, screenprinted covers, the compilations feature bands that have been guests on the podcast during it's first year, including some unreleased tracks by a few artists. To help celebrate this great night, the girls of Party Boyz gathered three portland powerhouses, Genders, And And And, and Sama Dams, to play some rock 'n roll. Here's a brief recap. 

opening the night, Sama Dams awed the crowd with their sheer musical virtuosity, featuring intricate drum rhythms, haunting and bassy organ chops, and beautiful almost seizure-like guitar soloing. Switching between playing his guitar, bass and keys, Sam played some of the most shredding synthesizer solos I've ever heard.

Up next was And And And, who were in full partyboy rock mode. Drummer Bim Ditson's shirt came off right away per usual, Bassist Jonathan Sallas was fed beer during a song, beehive guitarist Berg sported a rocker's spike bracelet, and Nathan sang his heart out. The energy was static in the packed room, and the boys played flawlessly. 

Genders closed down the night with their brilliant shoegaze garage pop. Their rhythm section alone amazes me to the point of jealousy, but with Stephen's excellent guitar tone and styling and Maggie's gentle voice and knack for songwriting, it's no surprise why they are one of Portland's favorite bands. 

- Travis Leipzig

Tonight, Bunk Bar plays host to local music podcasterz Party Boyz one year anniversary and inaugural zine and compilation release party. Helping the Boyz celebrate these great milestones, in an all-time powerhouse bill, are Genders, And And And, and Sama Dams. The Party Boyz' brand-spanking-new zine, features art and contributions from various local musicians and tastemakers including Hustle & Drone, Radiation City, Wooden Indian Burial Ground, and Banana Stand Media. Additionally, Party Boyz have put together compilation CDs featuring tracks, including some previously unreleased material, from bands who have appeared on the first season of the podcast. The first 50 people in the door tonight get a free copy of the compilation, as well as first stab at the best seats in the house for an amazing night of music. The show begins at 9pm, and the cover is $7.

 - Travis Leipzig

If you're one of the lucky ones who is making it out to Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho this weekend, you're probably losing your mind right now. And with good reason, as your life is likely to change forever. To make things easier for you, we've dug through this year's lineup to highlight the overwhelming amount of Portland bands whose performances this weekend demand your presence. Persuasion is done best quickly and carefully. Pay close attention.

Deli Nation,

Our Year End Poll for Emerging Portland Artists was - as usual - a painstaking (and somewhat excruciating) process, but we pulled it of with remarkable flair!

Kudos to nocturnal psych-rockers Genders (pictured) for winning it! Thumbs up to ethereal dream poppers WL and to sugary indie pop maestros Wild Ones.

Here is how it all went down: first, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees. Then we polled a list of 15+ Portland scene expert (our jury, list at the bottom) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each. Then we polled our writers, then we polled our readers. We tried to keep things open for each single genre, from Indie Rock to Roots Music to Hip Hop.

If you are a geek interested in all the subtelties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music Portland produced in the year 2013, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

BEST OF 2013 POLL FOR EMERGING PORTLAND ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******

ARTIST J W R OS TOT   1 Genders 9 2 0.012   11.012 2 WL 9 1 0.006   10.006 3 Wild Ones 9   0.002   9.002 4 Sama Dams 5 2 0.022 1 8.022 5 The Ghost Ease 6 2 0.004   8.004 6 Grammies 5 2 0.003   7.003 7 Your Rival 6   0.004   6.004 8 Fanno Creek 5   0.007   5.007 9 Rags and Ribbons 4   0.5   4.5 10 Tango Alpha Tango 3 1 0.039   4.039 11 Wooden Indian Burial Ground 2 2 0.007   4.007 12 Natasha Kmeto 3 1 0.004   4.004 13 Adam Brock     1 3 4 14 Bearcubbin 3   0.027   3.027 15 A Volcano 3   0.011   3.011 16 Bevelers 2 1 0.008   3.008 17 Magic Mouth 2 1 0.005   3.005   The Autonomics 3   0.005   3.005 19 Sun Angle 3   0.004   3.004 20 Holy Grove 3   0.003   3.003 21 Modern Kin 2 1 0.002   3.002 22 Magic Fades 3   0   3   She's Not Dead 1   2   3 24 Just Lions     1.5 1 2.5   Manx 2   0.5   2.5 26 Adventure Galley     0.051 2 2.051 27 The Cabin Project 2   0.035   2.035 28 Grandhorse 2   0.016   2.016 29 Melville 2   0.012   2.012   Souvenir Driver 1 1 0.012   2.012 31 Hungers 2   0.007   2.007   Grandparents 2   0.005   2.005 33 The Ecstatics 2   0.003   2.003 34 The Moonshine 2   0.001   2.001 35 Dresses 2   0   2   The People Electric 1 1 0   2 37 Coma Serfs     0.025 1.5 1.525   Shy Girls 1   0.015   1.015 39 Mister Tang 1   0.008   1.008   Summer Cannibals 1   0.006   1.006 41 Big Haunt 1   0.005   1.005 42 Rare Monk     0.004 1 1.004 43 Litanic Mask 1   0.003   1.003   The Suicide Notes 1   0.003   1.003   The We Shared Milk 1   0.003   1.003 46 Soft Shadows     0.002 1 1.002 47 There Is No Mountain 1   0.001   1.001 48 The Last 45's 1   0   1 Legend: J = Jurors, W = Deli Writers, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

List of jurors: Matt King (Mississippi Studios) James Dineen (Sessions From the Box) Rochelle Hunter (PDX Pop Now!) Nick Gattman (Alhambra Theatre) Chris Young (Oregon Music News) Cassandra Bryant (Lippop Booking) Theo Craig (Smoke Signals Booking) Louie Herr and Aaron Colter (Banana Stand Media) Michele Motta (Club 21) Nalin Silva (Kelly’s Olympian) Chris Cantino (Into the Woods) Mark Dilson (PDX Pick) Hollister Dixon and Yousef Hatlani (Faces on the Radio) Rachel Milbauer and Elizabeth Elder (Party Boyz) Dennise Kowalczyk (KZME) Gustav (94.7 too) Ashley Jocz ( RIP City Review) Jared Amon (KINK)

Hope you'll find some awesome new artists you weren't aware of!

The Deli's Staff