Live Music Roundup: Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7

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The Slants

Basshunter, Erika Hobart's favorite Swede, hits up the King Cat this evening.

David Sanborn plays his last shows tonight and tomorrow at Jazz Alley.

If you need some quality hip hop music in your life, head to the Hidmo for Ladies First. It's an all-female hip hop showcase where you're guaranteed to hear some strong women rocking the mic who will make you feel good about being one yourself.

Plus, plenty of other shows happening on the cheap, including Audioasis at the Sunset tonight, which features great bands early and a great show later on. Seriously: Hoquiam (Damien Jurado's newish folk band), Team Gina ('80s dance throwback sweetness), Man Plus (eccentric Ted Leo-ish shimmy pop), Wow & Flutter, and Katharine Hepburn's Voice.

And on Sunday, there are these two shows:

The Redwood Plan, Hostas at the Cha Cha, 9 p.m.

The Cha Cha on Capitol Hill is typically thought of as a cavernous, hipster hellhole, and not a place where one would willingly go to see a band. But it's not fair to write off the Mexi-kitsch-laden watering hole entirely, given the fact that See Me River frontman Kerry Zettel (the handsome, tattooed fellow most likely pouring your drink upstairs) isn't just one of the nicest, most talented musicians in the city, but also a bona fide local music fan and the man who thoughtfully books the Cha Cha's occasional live shows. Tonight it's the Redwood Plan, Lesli Wood's smashingly successful new pop-punk configuration, and Hostas, the promising, bass-heavy trio featuring Visqueen drummer Ben Hooker. Besides, it's a Sunday night: the douchebag quotient will undoubtedly be markedly lower. HANNAH LEVIN

The Slants, the New Up, Klover Jane at Nectar, 8 p.m., $6

Sure, it's easy to dismiss The Slants as a novelty act. Simon Young (formerly of the Stivs), formed the band by posting ads that called for Asian musicians in ethnic supermarkets across Portland. Once the lineup was completed, the band began playing gigs at--where else--anime conventions. The approach earned them a devoted fanbase of Asians, Asiaphiles, and geeks galore. And it's actually well deserved, given the quality of their music. The Slants create synthesizer-driven songs drenched in sexy beats, erratic guitar rifts, and the occasional plucking of a koto. Their 2007 demo album Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts -- reworked and re-released last year -- is a dark dance album comparable to records by electro-rock bands like The Faint and Depeche Mode. Many of the songs grapple with race relations, but even non-Asians can relate to their pain when they sing about loneliness and feeling like outsiders. ERIKA HOBART