LIVE MUSIC!

By BARBARA MITCHELL

The Portland Tribune, Jul 10, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Fun’s in store for Foo Fighters fans when the band rocks the Rose Garden on July 10.

COURTESY OF FOO FIGHTERS

ALTERNATIVE

The Police and Elvis Costello

Catch ’em while you can. The Police are making one of their last Northwest appearances tonight before wrapping it up for good. By most accounts, witnessing the onstage chemistry between Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer extraordinaire Stewart Copeland (not to mention the catalog of hits) is more than worth the investment in tickets and gas.

And if you needed more incentive, they’re bringing along the incomparable Elvis Costello and his Imposters.

It’s unlikely the Clark County Amphitheater has ever played host to so much bitingly great pop music in one night.

7:30 p.m. Friday, July 11, Amphitheater at Clark County, 17200 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield, Wash., 360-816-7000, $46, $96, $200, all ages

Foo Fighters

Who would’ve guessed that the drummer from Nirvana would end up being as successful as a bandleader and songwriter as his former lead singer?

Both Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain share a knack for splicing pop melodies with gnarlier punk and rock elements for maximum effect. After a brief foray into their softer acoustic side, Grohl’s Foo Fighters are back to rock the Rose Garden, and they’re bringing along longstanding British pop-rock sensations Supergrass.

Both bands are veterans at this point –and both of their excellent recent albums prove that they’re likely to be around for some time to come.

7 p.m. Thursday, July 10, Rose Garden Arena, 1 Center Court, 877-789-7673, $25, $38.50, $45, all ages

Jimmy Eat World

Jimmy Eat World may have helped pioneer “emo,” but more than a decade later it still does bittersweet pop better than any of its imitators.

The band’s battered-but-not-beaten anthems still glisten with adolescent anguish even though the members now are in their 30s; then again, what set the band apart from the beginning was a compelling sense of maturity that gave its wide-eyed musings real weight.

Like the Cure, Jimmy Eat World have continually been able to turn melancholy and disappointment into pure gold.

8 p.m. Wednesday, July 16, Roseland, 10 N.W. Sixth Ave., 503-224-2038, $20, all ages

SONGWRITER

Ed Harcourt

Ed Harcourt’s MySpace page lists his music as “melodramatic popular song” and that’s not a bad description. The British singer-songwriter has a flair for grand hooks, romantic swells and –most important – ace songwriting that results in tunes that knock around your head long after the last note has faded into oblivion.

Far from being precious, however, Harcourt is a hoot and a half. With songs like “Born in the ’70s” and “You Only Call Me When You’re Drunk,” he distinguishes himself as a rare connoisseur of the sublime and the absurd. His songs are fantastic on record but even better live, where Harcourt’s hyper wit and big personality share center stage with his art.

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