Everything under the Finest sun

(this piece was published by Planet JH Weekly)The first thing that comes to mind when a band unabashedly calls themselves World’s Finest is that they must think highly of themselves. Yet the first song on its website’s music player is “Da Dip,” the 1996 one-hit wonder from Freak Nasty, so I digress. World’s Finest self-proclaimed tags of “funky punky acoustic dub ska honkytonk reggae jam bluegrass rowdiness” and “neo-Americana” leaves little genre play left to discover, though if you hang around for the entire show, its likely you’ll get a dose of it all—including groove and rap. Regardless of far-reaching style, the foundation remains primarily acoustic (with drums), which would seemingly put them in a jamgrass class, without the traditional bluegrass background. Like Sam Bush has embraced over the years, bluegrass and reggae have similar attributes, yet the Finest bring the amalgam culture of Portland into music form. According to PortlandMetronome.com, there’s been quite a local buzz about the quintet over the last couple of years. They’ve put out two full-length efforts, Pattern (2012) and 33 (2012), featuring a lineup that mashes guitar, bass, banjo, drums, and saxophone. World’s Finest, 7:30 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Silver Dollar Bar. Free. 732-3939.