Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for June 5th to June 8th

Hello dear readers,

I am not when I will be able to make my live music picks into one large entry until then I hope you are enjoying the more managable two a week thing thats been going on. I know it has probably been frustrating what with all of the anticipation that surely builds up between each post of my live music picks. But oh what a glorious feeling when you realize that a show you were going to is recognized. Or maybe a show that your band is playing is mentioned. I honestly don't expect these posts to determine what shows you go to and don't go to. I just want to hopefully get you to click on a link or two and discover some local Portland indie-music that you might enjoy. That being said, here are my picks for the end of this week.


Thursday, June 5th

There are some good shows going down on Thursday. Anyone of these shows is going to be a good time.

• As I mentioned in my last post, Pink Martini is playing several shows at The Crystal Ballroom benefiting a different cause with a different opening act. The opener for Thursday night is Stolen Sweets who, according to their website, play jazz of the western swing variety. The beneficiary of the evening is Outside In an organization which aims to better the lives of many homeless youth and marginalized people by teaching them to be self-sufficient. Sounds good to me. So if you are looking use that $25 to "pay it forward", then this would be a good opportunity as addmission is $25. The doors are at 7 PM and the ALL AGES show starts at 8 PM.

• Speaking of benefits, Holocene is having on for The Affected and La Isla Foundation. Both deal with the injustices that Nicaraguian people have endured due to unregulated pesticides and such related to farming. The following PDX indie-bands playing are Point Juncture, WA, Tractor Operator, Reporter, Hutch and Kathy (of the The Thermals), and Sabertooth. Admission is on ly $5. The doors are at 9 PM.

• There is also the show I posted about previously that is hapeening at the Red and Black Cafe. This one features Two Ton Sloth, Letdown, and of course Otem Rellik. Sadly Two Ton Sloth had to cancel, but are replaced on the bill by PDX ambient guy Biltmore Drive. Letdown makes really awesome music that is mostly instrumental and builds layer upon layer until it is almost too gorgeous. If you missed Otem Rellik at East End on Monday now is your second chance. It was really cool then and it will be really cool on Thursday. Hooray for weird electronic/hip-hop/indie/whatever Portland music! The doors here are at 7PM.

• Kelly's Olympian is having a PRA (Portland Radio Authority) curated show featuring PDX bands UHF, Go Fever, and Holiganship. Two of the bands, UHF and Go Fever are psychedelic rock bands and will most likely play trippy pop numbers. Hooligan ship is what I am interested though. At last years PDX Pop Now! they passed out 3D glasses for their mulitmedia performance which included a 3D animated film that projected on them when they played. It was a lot of fun. Their tunes on myspace don't do them justice but give you an idea of what to expect. The show is a mere $5. THe show starts at 9 PM.

• There is also a kick-butt (kick-butt is my attempt to expand on my vocabulary for adjectives for good) show happening at The Grind Coffee House. Underground indie-pop like bands We Play Quiet, Brother Mitya (Artcata, CA), The Beat Nun (Artcata, CA), Shelby Sifers and The Thirty Day Whiskey Binge, and Nathan Crawford will be gracing this Vancouver , WA coffee shop. This is a lot of greatness for one show. I highly recomend it if you like any form indie-pop based music or you are a Portlander who like to cross state lines. This is an ALL AGES show that costs $3-$5. The show starts at 7 PM.

Friday, June 6th

Guess what...thereare good shows on Friday.

• Pink Martini are playing at The Crystal Ballroom with Fjord Motor Company (Salem, OR). This show benefits the awesome Bicycle Transportation Alliance. So bring your $25 and be there at 8 PM (when the music starts). This is ALL AGES folks. Enjoy.

• Rererato is having a show with a band I have seen only once but completely swear by, Church. This show is in celebration of a new ep that Church is releasing. DoublePlusGood and Keepers (Seattle) are also playing. Seriously you should check it out. For someone who loves music I am pretty bad about describing it, but just check out the link to Church, okay. The ALL AGES show is $4. The show begins at 8 PM.

• Here's something interesting. I usually don't like Blues based music, and yet Dante's is having a bluesy kind of show that I am interested in. Bark Hide and Horn is a band that I have been meaning to check out because I have heard good things. But the other bands playing, Cicada Omega and Sassparilla are both derivative of the blues in a different but really cool ways. It is a CD release show for Cicada Omega. The show is $6. The music starts at 9:30 PM.

• Exit Only is having a show that is sure to get people to come out (at least it should). All Girl Summer Fun Band is playing along with Crayonsmith (Dublin, Ireland) and Boat (Seattle). AGSFB seem like they would put on a fun show. At least I would hope so with a name like that. And I just listened to Crayonsmith and they are super good. Plus my friend Fense of Fense Post is always going nuts about Boat. This ALL AGES show is probably really cheap? It starts at 8 PM.
  

Saturday, June 7th

These shows are what I am wanting to attend on Saturday but will most likely miss due to band practice. Please people, don't follow my lead. As it turns out if you play in three bands, you miss a lot of shows.

• Holocene has been know to throw some truly amazing FREE shows. The reason is because on occasion they do in fact throw a truly amazing FREE show. Take for instance this Friday they are having The Shaky Hands, Starfucker, Horse Feathers, DJ Beyonda, and DJ Magic Beans all play. For FREE. I cannot state this enough. This is all part of a birthday party for Holocene. The doors are at 8 PM, but get there early because this will fill up fast. Its FREE!

• Produce Row (204 SE Oak St Portland, OR 97214-1087) is having a indie-pop show. Check it out, The Contestants, New Century School Book, and The Rainy States are all playing. This one is FREE too.

• The Artistery is having a show that I am kidna interested in. The Dead Science (Seattle) is playing there with Shelley Short. Now I have seen The Dead Science before and it wasn't really my thing, but I have heard Shelley Short before and I really dig her folk-pop tunes. There will be a $6 cover. The ALL AGES show starts at 8 PM.

• Towne Lounge is having a show with The Soft Tags, Kaylee Cole (Spokane, WA), and Crow Canyon. It looks pretty sweet. The show is $5. The music starts at 9:30 PM.

• Doug Fir is having a CD release party for Matt Sheehy's new album Tigerphobia. I listened to a track via local cut the other day and you can too if you click here. The Brothers Young, brothers of Richie of Loch Lomond, and Pwrfl Power (Brooklyn?). I have heard a lot of good things about Pwrfl Power and he has been through town a lot lately and I have missed every show. I will try to see this one. It is $7 at the door. The music starts at 9 PM sharp.
  

Sunday, June 8th

A lot of shows are going on for a Sunday.

• Valentine's is having a kick ass show with Strangers Die Everyday, Privacy, and Joseph Childress (San Francisco). As you probably know I really like Strangers Die Every Day's string-centric post-rock music. This Sucker is FREE, so you should check it out. The doors are at 9 PM.

• Someday Lounge is having an experimental-rawk show consisting of Experimental Dentistry School, Chubby Behemoth (Brooklyn, NY), and ...Worms,. Should be weird and cool. At the same time. This show is $5 at the door. The door is at 9 PM.

• Towne Lounge is having Auto Pilot is for Lovers, Bela Karoli (Denver), and Porches. It should be a good show too. Seriously. It is $5 and starts at 9:30 PM sharp.

Okay I am running out of time so I will just post this now. If you see me at any of these shows say hi.

-Ben



Crow Canyon plays the Towne Lounge on Saturday. Yay!