Eight Gigs: Marisa Anderson

Marisa Anderson is the kind of musician who is a both meticulous composer and a free-form improviser—and it's tough to tell which she's doing at any given moment. The Portland guitarist plays gorgeous genre-tinkering, instrumental licks that really tap into the guitar's potential as an expressive tool, both in terms of building profound melodies and in creating a strong mood. She paints with country, blues, noise, rock and jazz—but twists these genres inside out, playing fluidly, emotively, atmospherically and never with much technical flash. It's the kind of music that is so starkly simple, it's just incredible. 2733 Riverside Boulevard, www.marisaandersonmusic.com.