Crappy Indie Music -- The Blog!: Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks May 5th to May 11th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last week, eh? pretty good right? I went to three of the million shows I listed. They were all great, but my favorite was the A Weather/Weinland show. Both are super good and had played three days in a row together. They were having a lot of fun and it spilled over to the rest of the audience.

This week I will probably not see very many shows because I leaving town (for a little bit). So you guys need to go out as much as possible to make up for my absence.

Monday, May 5th

Today is Cinco de Mayo. Hooray Mexico! Here is how you can celebrate:

The Crown Room is having a common variation on the holiday, Cinco de Mustache. They will have the a double bill of Portland Post-rockers AristeiA and Colt Vista. There will be mustaches a plenty. There will be righteous music. There will be a $3. The doors are at 9 PM.

Valentine's is having a show too. Theirs will feature the music of Nurses, Inside Voices, Bret Gand is Dead (Chicago), and SingSing (Chicago). I heard good things about Nurses and Inside voices. Even though this is not an official Cinco de Mustache party, I am pretty sure you will see some mustaches present. The show is FREE (but donations for the touring bands are graciously accepted). The music starts at 9 PM.

If you live in the the SE, there are a couple of free shows in your area. Doug Fir is having Mike D & Thee Loyal Bastards (not to be confused with Michael Diamond of the Beastie Boys) play with Mishka Shubaly, House of Badger, and Leigh Marble. This bill is pretty heavy on the country/folk influenced side of things. The show as I mention is FREE. The music starts at 9 PM.

If you prefer to dance, you might check out East End. They are having white hot Glass Candy, Hard Place (LA), and Gemini. This is again, is FREE. Doors are at 9 PM.

Tuesday, May 6th

Some good shows are going down on Tuesday. See:

Roseland is know for its terrible environment. Normally I would never recommend you go there, but there is the matter of the Grill. I have never been to the Roseland Grill and therefore have not gripe with it (yet). So The Kin, a national touring act whom I've never heard of, are playing through Portland on Tuesday. Jon Garcia and The Best Laid Plans is playing before them. I am going to suggest you go. This is why: Westfold is playing. Westfold not only are an amazing live band, they are also going to be selling very limited hand packaged copies of their new CD The Morning Commute. Awesome. The ALL AGES show starts at 8 PM. There is a $10 cover.

Speaking of National acts coming through with a local opener (if you are familiar at all with seeing live music you will realize this is a very common practice and I aplologize for using this sentence as a transition), you Doug Fir is doing the same as Musee Mecanique is opening up for Dark Meat (Athens, GA). I have been meaning to see Musee Mecanique for like...forever. I probably miss this time too (You know I'm all about Westfold). This show is $8. The music starts at 9 PM.

Valentine's is having a notable show featuring Reporter, Dirty Mittens, Bow + Arrow (Seattle), and Finest Dearest (San Fransisco). All in all it should be a lively show if these bands' myspace pages give the correct impression. There is a $3 cover. The show starts at 9 PM.

Also there is always the option of taking it easy and checking out the open mic at Zilla Sake. It is hosted by Y La Bamba. It is worth it just to see her play but make no mistake, there will be other good performers as well. There is no cover, but may I suggest the Curry (it is soooo good). The music starts at 8 PM.

Wednesday, May 7th

I got two shows for ya:

Blue Cranes have been on my radar for a while. Though I have only heard the myspace songs, I like what I heard. Good jazz I must warn people I am not a jazz fanatic and what I think is good jazz might not be "good jazz". Anyway, they are having a CD release show for their new album, "Homing Patterns" on Wednesday at Holocene. Wow and Flutter is set to open. The cover is $6. The doors are at 8 PM.

Satyricon is a place I wanted to like when it first opened. I thought it would be nice to have an all ages club Then it seemed to have shows in the vein of Rock and Roll Pizza. Which is to say it would have like twenty bands play night and would prey on high school bands. However every once in a blue moon they will have a show that I am interested in. Wednesday is one of those nights. They have Air War, Design.Drift.Distance, and The War at Sea. I am drawn to Air War's description of themselves on their Mercury band page. All of the bands seem to have good influences and claim to be on the progressive side of rock. I think it would be worth $7 to find out. The ALL AGES show starts at 8 PM.

Thursday, May 8th

This is the day I leave town. I will not be able see anything past this point of the post :( But you will. There are some really good ones on Thursday:

The one I would most definitely make is at The Crown Room where Y La Bamba will be opening for Ocelli as part of their video release party (not sure what video). Salvaged Romance is also set to play with DJ Global Rukas doing the DJ thing between sets and most likely afterwards too. Y La Bamba has recently grown to include a drummer/bells/backing vocalist, accordion player, and a second guitarist. It is a sight to see and hear. Ocelli is an impressive collective of musicians as well. They make the kind of chamber music (stand up bass, acoustic guitar, violin, saw, and piano) that doesn't have a drummer but someone who plays percussion. This will cost you $10. The good times start at 9 PM.

Alberta Street Pub is having quite a good show as well. Hearts of Oak (a Ted Leo reference?) and MBilly comprise a wonderful double bill. I have not seen either but would like to see both. I like what the recorded stuff I have heard. This show only costs $3. The music starts at 9 PM.

Backspace should be mentioned too. They are hosting Telephone Jim Jesus (Oakland), Egadz (San Fransisco), Two Ton Sloth, and Cars and Trains. I have not heard of the others, but Cars and Trains is special. I think you should pay attention cause this one has potential. He already has his records distributed via Anticon (Telephone Jim's label). So if you like that sort of experimental electronic/hip-hop pop sort of thing, this is your show. There is a $5 cover. This ALL AGES show starts at 9 PM.

Friday, May 9th

As per usual most of the shows go down on Friday and Saturday. This is what Friday looks like:

Guess who's turning ten this year. That's right, The IPRC (independant publishing resource center)! To celebrate this amazing resource, they are putting on some shows or a "10th Birthday Party Rock N Roll Bash". The main show will be held at Someday Lounge. It will be what they have dubbed Superstar Open Mic Night. It will feature Brandon Summers (The Helio Sequence), Leigh Marble, Sam Coomes (Quasi), and more. There is a $10 that will cover you for the Someday show and...

Backspace is hosting the ALL AGES half of the IPRC "10th Birthday Party Rock N Roll Bash". They are having Ghost To Falco, Hutch and Kathy (The Thermals sans drummer), and Iretsu. I haven't heard Iretsu, but the rest of of this line up is awesome. Again you pay $10 you get into both shows. The doors at both are 8 PM.

Ethos Music Center is having a show with Alan Singley and Pants Machine (Alan works there) and Blue Cranes (fresh from their CD release show at Holocene). It will be recorded for Comcast cable channel 23 (that's live TV folks). This super cool FREE ALL AGES show starts at 8 PM sharp.

Or there looks to be a pretty sweet house show at the Ugly Green Monster House (2268 Johnson, 23rd and Johnson). It will feature Jordan (Double Dutch), Shelby Sifers, Morgan Orion, and Megan (Old Money). I am not familiar with anyone except Shelby Sifers (shes amazing). But for a FREE house show, I would say it is probably worth checking out. The music starts at 7 PM.

Saturday, May 10th

Three shows you might consider:

I would highly recommend heading to The Waypost on Saturday as Randy B, Nire, and MBilly are playing. I really love Nire's very soft and subtle appraoch to music. I really like the songs I have heard of MBilly. I really have no idea who Randy B is, yet I really suggest you find out. The FREE show starts at 8 PM.

Satyricon, out of nowhere has two good shows. I already listed the one on Wednesday. On Saturday they have The Prids, Reporter, Strawberry Blonde, and Magic Johnson all lined up. These are all legit Portland bands. It looks like fun. There is an $8 cover. The ALL AGES show starts at 8 PM.

Or if you want to dance and generally get your crazy on, you can head over to Dante's where March Fourth Marching Band is playing. If your have never seen them live, I suggest going at least once. You will either love it or hate it. Either way it is definitely an experience. The show costs $10. The show starts at 9:30 PM.

Sunday, May 11th

There are a couple of shows I'd like to suggest:

The one I would hands down be all about and be super stoked about were I in town would is the Pink Widower, Church, and Baby Dollars show at Valentine's. I am only familiar with Church, abut I really want to see them again. I saw them at Valentine's a while back and was pretty impressed. Seriously, you should check out this show. I mean it is FREE. What else are you doing at 9 PM on a Sunday night?

But if you have to see a show other than the Church, then I would say check out Kelly's Olympian. They are having Jon Garcia and The Best Laid Plans play with a band I recommended last week, Wax Fingers. Since I have not seen them and have no other reason to think otherwise, I would say they look pretty promising. This show will set you back $5. The show starts at 9 PM.

So there you have it. Another perfectly good week for seeing shows. Please go out and support your Portland and Vancouver musical Brethren and see some of these shows. And as always, if you see say hi.

-Ben