Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for December 12th to 14th

Hello Dear Readers,

I feel good. I have been able to go to shows. I saw Nurses and AAN at Valentine's on Monday. It was awesome. I was frustrated because I missed the first act, Genchen & Reidel which I was bummed about because their myspace tunes sounded really good. Plus I played two last minute shows that I did not get to promote. One as Meyercord at Jade Lounge with St. Frankie Lee, and one as Y La Bamba at Holocene as part of the Bladen County Records Showcase because Ritche Young was a bit under the weather. Both were really fun.

So here is what we have for the weekend:

Friday, December 12th

So many shows. So good.

Hush is having a show with Flaspar, French Miami (San Francisco), and Very International Love. Flaspar is a band that has been on my radar for quite a while but I have not seen yet. It will be a very danceable time. This ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.

Doug Fir Lounge is having an all local show with Weinland, Matt Sheehy & The Believers, John Vecchiarelli. I have seen both Weinland and Matt Sheehy and been satisfied. Tell you what. If you go to this show, when Weinland comes on, yell at the top of your lungs, "Piles of Clothes! Piles of Clothes!...Gold! Play Gold!" If they do indeed play these songs, then you will be satisfied as well. I have yet to see Matt Sheehy play with a full band, but I hear it is pretty cool. Plus I have nothing but very good things about John Vecchiarelli. This show is $12 and starts at 9 PM.

The Camellia Lounge is having a show with the very talented Down South Sallie, and Diane Uy I have been constantly blown away by the vocals of Down South Sallie since I first saw her play a little over a year ago. I have not previously hear of Dian Uy, but she weem s to be a promising act (I like her song "As Far As"). This ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Someday Lounge is having a show with Heroes and Villains, Blue Horns, and Mint Chicks. This should be a diverse pop show. Heroes and Villains play that kind of five part harmony waltzy accordion pop. Blue Horns play that sort of post-punk jangle-core type pop. Mint Chicks (y'know that band that moved here from New Zealand) play very poppy new wave style jams. Should be fun. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

The Waypost is having a show with Pony Ghost, Black Heart Moon, and Anodyne Gearhall. This is one of those shows where all the bands are connected. A true testament of the incestuous nature of Portland Bands. The Bassist of Pony Ghost is also the Bassist of Black Heart Moon (stand up and acoustic bass, but not "regular"). The girlfriend of the singer of Pony Ghost is in Anondyne Gearhall. These people are in other bands as well, but lets not get in to that just now. The point is that this will be a fun show and it is ALL AGES and FREE. It starts at 8 PM.

Muddy Waters is having a silent auction to benefit the fact that it was just bought witht the intentions of becoming a non-profit. That's cool. The other reason I list this is because both Grey Anne and Andy Combs and the Moth will be playing it. If you have not seen Grey Anne, shame on you. Granted this is a town with tons of shows going on all the time (hence my regular posts), She is one of my favorite performers (and song writers). Andy Combs is really good too. So check it out. The show will probably be a donation type situation and will start at 8 PM.

Rotture will be having a show with The Oregon Painting Society, Arrington de Dionyso (dude from Old Time Relijun), and The Golden Hours. I read somewhere that Scout Niblett and Adrian Orange might some how be involved with this show too (are they honorary members of The Oregon Painting Society?). The Golden Hours only have one song on their myspace, but it is really good (it is that kind of lo-fi reverby girl garage rock that is really hot right now). The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.


Saturday, December 13th

Another day, another butt load of shows.

Slabtown is host of the first annual Rock'n'Shop. "What is Rock'nShop?", you may ask. Well this what Slabtown said, "On December 13 local record labels will gather in Slabtown to sell their wares from bar open to bar close. Live music starts in the early evening. Participating labels: PDX Pop Now!, Hovercraft, King of Hearts, Green Noise, The Union, Sohitek, Jealous Butcher, Crash Assailant, Boy Gorilla, In Music We Trust, Beginning Era, Dirtnap, Kill Rock Stars, Felony Fidelity, Extra Ball, Tender Loving Empire, States Rights, Reverb, Magic Marker, Marriage, Bladen County, Discouraged, Regional Hits, People In A Position To Know, and Hush." The live music in order of appearance: Drats!!!, Southerly, The Mean Jeans, White Fang, Gratitillium, Plankton Beat (Seattle), Hey Lover, DoublePlusGood, New York Rifles, and Wow and Flutter. Good god thats a lot of links. The show is FREE and starts at 3 PM.

Branx is having something called Super Nature. Flaspar, DJ Copy, E*Rock, and DJ BJ will all be doing sets. What it boils down to is some of the best electronic music Portland has to offer under one roof. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Above that roof, Rotture is having a show with a pretty large bill (many acts all good). This one features Drew Grow, Katrina Skalland with the Pastor's Wives, Michael Vermillion, Kelli Schaefer. There will also be book readings by Paul G. Maziar. Y La Bamba (I play bass in Y La Bamba. You know that, right?) played one of these shows (the kind where Paul reads from his book), before with Drew Grow. I was super impressed. Also I was blow away when I saw Kelli Schaefer. She is soooo good. Apparently Katrina Skalland is using this show to release her split WP with the Pator's Wives. After looking closer, it would appear that the Pator's Wives is Drew's backing band. Nice. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

Speaking of Y La Bamba, we will be opening up for The Cave Singers (Seattle) at Doug Fir Lounge on Saturday. I am excited because I think Doug Fir is a great place to see music. Also The Cave singers are on Matador Records who I have been a fan of forever. Yo La Tengo is on Matador. I met Luzelena at Yo La Tengo show. Full Circle? Kinda. Past Lives (Seattle) will also play. They sound pretty cool. This show will be $10-12 and will start at 9 PM.

The Green Dragon Bistro will be having a really good show with Jared Mees & The Grown Children, Sam Cooper and The Providence Plantations, and Saint Jerome. This will most likely be a energetic and fun filled show. Did I mention that this mother is FREE? Well, it is. It starts at 8 PM.

The Waypost is having a show with a new fave of mine Jacob White and Support Force. Jacob is really a good songwriter and has assembled two really good players to support him. They play as a three piece vocals/guitars, viola/vocals, and percussion. This show is ALL AGES, FREE, and starts at 8 PM.

Kelly's Olympian is having a show with Rollerball, Mr. Frederick Kill Hollywood, and Whiskey Ship Choir. You may recall the name Rollerball from when Goldie freaked out about them last spring. I have seen Mr. Fredrick's name around and seen a very interesting pictures. He looks to be a "character". This show is $5 and starts at 10 PM.

The Hungry Tiger is having a show with Ghosts & Mysteries (of Philosophy Dads), Snuffaluffagus, and Saw Whet. I just want to say that I really like what I have heard of Saw Whet aka Becky Dawson. Plus she is in other good bands like Ah Holly Fam'ly and Au. I respect people that are in three bands. Any way this show will probably be the last Ghosts & Mysteries show (I believe a member is moving). The show is probably donation based as far as a cover. The show starts at 8 PM.


Sunday, December 14th

Things are slowing down a bit. I count only five amazing shows for Sunday. Luckily/unluckily I will be out of town so I don't need to make ant hard decisions.

Doug Fir is having a show celebrating the U.S. release of We're From Japan!'s new album, "Now Breathe". It was release in Japan (duh) and subsequently the internet a few months back. To make it special, they are including a bonus disc with the U.S. version of the album. Which is a pleasant change from all of the exclusive Japanesse bonus tracks that I see on a lot of albums. Another pleasant surprise is the rest of the line up, Bright Red Paper, and Autopilot is for Lovers. Bright Red Paper has not played a full show since guitarist Dan Enberg moved to Eugene. Though I did see Dan play some Bright Red Paper songs with Portland Cello Project (which is led by BRP cellist Doug Jenkins) in Eugene over the summer. It was awesome. We're From Japan! is Awesome. This show is Awesome. It also is $8 and starts at 9 PM.

Dunes will be hosting Bellingham's Ship to Ship with ex-Bellingham's David Kyle and the Invisibles and our own Hide and GO Hustle. I have Hide and Go Hustle and David Kyle perfore which is why I am listing this show. I find it to my liking. This ain't no indie-pop. But its not haeavy metal either. Its just good music. The show is $5 and will start at 9 PM.

The Mantle (4004 Se Grant Court, Portland, OR) is having a show with the sometime charming other times heart breaking tunes of Shelby Sifers, and the beautifully dramatic songs Purrbot, and Squirellhead. I cannot vouch for Squirellhead, but Shelby has. So if you like songs and you like the house show esthetic, I would suggest that this is the show for you. The cover for this ALL AGES event is by donation. The thing starts at 8 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with Sabertooth, Shicky Gnarowitz, and friends. The two listed are kinda folky. I like what I remember of Sabertooth. And judging by the top friends of these bands the TBA "friends" will probably be pretty good. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Rotture is having a show with Hawnay Troof, and Explode into Colors. I have heard nothing but good things about Panther (though I know that I personally prefer his second alum to the first and more solo one) and Explode into Colors (the only slightly bad thing that I have heard is that Kickball is better). I know nothing of Hawnay Troof except that the name sounds like something from a made up language. This show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.


So that concludes this post. If you see me at any of these shows, please say "Hi".

-Ben


Andy Combs got a gold guitar. What you got? See him play tonight at Muddy Waters.