The Deli Portland will be back at the Mt. Tabor Theater this Friday to host a night of outstanding local music. This month the kinetic haze of The Hugs will be rocking the concert hall with A Happy Death’s riotous garage rock and Father Figure’s anthemic indie rock ballads. In the lounge, Mars Water will be delivering an otherworldy performance alongside Mufassa’s psychedelic tones and Bath Party’s dynamic spin on the surf rock genre. The show starts at 9pm sharp, be there to experience some of the most delectable music Portland has to offer for the low price of five dollars.  

Rontoms might be the fanciest garage a band could possibly play in, which is fitting because one of the most popular garage pop-rock bands in Portland, The Hugs, will be playing their weekly free show this Sunday. The Hugs have been around since 2007 and have gained popularity and high praise since. Their sound is grounded in early century garage sound but adds very clean vocals and specific spacy guitar effects to bring their music to the forefront of today’s scene. They bring a ton of energy and mix it with psychedelic undertones to keep the listener interested and in a good mood. Add in a steady rhythm section and you’ve got the perfect formula for great beer drinking music. – Colin Hudson

Five years, two records down the line, The Hugs are back with a sound that has not aged a day. With three new members and still at heart the adolescent spirit that gave birth to the band in 2007, Danny Delegato released late june a kickstarted third studio album 'Dirty Gems'. Candid garage-pop fuzz served with high energy, it offers like both previous records a light-hearted take on the weird world of teenage turmoil. This time though, no half-measures. All feel-good tricks from warping to vocal harmonies and other 'yeah-yeahs' are welcome on this record that opens with the effervescence of a Sprite ad and concludes on the bold riffs, screams and heavy basslines of 'City', written back in '07 and by far the loudest song of the album. The Hugs are performing tonight at the Doug Fir Lounge, and will play the Mt Tabor Theatre on August 16th for Portland's 2012 edition of the International Pop Overthrow!- Tracy Mamoun