Club Pop: Panther, Copy, DJs Colby & Glitterpants
(Chop Suey) For a long time, it was tempting to dismiss Panther as a joke band. Charlie Salas-Humara was flexing his serious musical muscles with keyboard-driven prog-punk band The Planet The, and Panther was his outlet for oblique falsetto squealing, preprogrammed electro funk, and ridiculous dance moves. Then, The Planet The quietly folded, and Panther, over the years, has grown into a duo, adding live drumming and some serious echo-chamber delay to Salas-Humara’s vocals. The effect is less beatbox funk and more tribal psych jam, but with the same badass dance moves. Fellow Portlander Copy constructs nostalgic electronic instrumentals using vintage samples and one expertly wielded keytar. His most recent album, Hair Guitar, is a surprisingly rich record, full of deeply resonant melodies and club-ready rhythms. ERIC GRANDY

Waves of the Mind, Gabriel Teodros, Abyssinian Creole, Yirim Seck, Rajni Eddins, Sista Hailstorm, King Khazm, Julie C., Project Mayhem, DJs Elefaders & B-Girl
(Nectar) Readers of The Stranger will no doubt be familiar with tonight’s second opening act, Gabriel Teodros. Teodros’s debut full-length, Lovework, which Charles Mudede hailed as “aggressively feminist” and “a gorgeous work of hiphop,” was a landmark record in a year of big 206 hiphop releases. Perhaps less familiar are headliners Waves of the Mind, a trio of MCs—Inkubiz, Mic Flont, and Khanfidenz—and producer Phreewil, representing local crew the Mind Movers. Their production brims with dark soul samples, and their delivery varies MC to MC, from lazy rasp to agile double-time to jumbled, slightly off-beat multisyllabics. Of the four tracks posted on their website, “Future Generation,” with its electronic buzz and anthemic chorus, is the clear standout. Teodros also appears with Abyssinian Creole, where his casual, conscious flow is offset by Khingz’s smart, breathless swagger. ERIC GRANDY