He may be known as "the Grace Kelly of Indie Rock" (as Courtney Love once so-famously refered to him), but this past Tuesday in Portland, Stephen Malkmus got back to his punk rock roots, with an intimate secret show in front a few hundred fans. Taking the stage at Satryicon, (a former punk rock haven that recently re-opened, after years away), the memories of the club's grimy past seemed to be weighing heavy on everyone's mind. In fact, just before the former Pavement frontman and his band The Jicks took the stage, a fan close to the front began talking about a time when you could "get hepatatis by just leaning against the wall" at the club.

Damn. Fortunately, the new and improved Satyricon isn't quite as dirty as it once was, but it still felt like the perfect venue for Malkmus and his Jicks to celebrate the release of their latest album, Real Emotional Trash. Since Portland is home to virtually every major indie rock band going (including the Jicks), the floor at Satyricon was crowded out early by loads of local musicians, such as the members of Modest Mouse, The Decemberists and Spoon.

While they too surely came out to hear Malkmus and The Jicks play a few songs off of Real Emotional Trash, little did they know that they would play the entire record, from front-to-back. Throughout the band's hour-long set, album highlights like "Hopscoth Willie" and "Baltimore" stretched into extended guitar solos, while newest member Janet Weiss (formerly of Sleater-Kinney) further asserted her role as one of the most bad ass drummers around.

The band closed things out with "Church On White" (a bittersweet ballad from their 2001 debut) before striking their equipment and exiting the stage. It's not that often that an indie rock legend like Malkmus gets to play a show as small and unique as this one, and it wouldn't have been possible without help of Satyricon, Matador Records and, of course, the fans that came out.

So a big thanks to all of them and, per usual, we'll see you at the next show.