Hey! I'm Dylan, I'm not new to blogging but I'm new on Crappy Indie Music. Anyway, brief introduction aside here are two new delicious releases for you to listen to (one of them is free!).
First is Loch Lomond's 'Trumpets for Paper Children'. Loch Lomond has always been a great Portland band, possessing an almost unmatchable sound. The 7 sometimes 8 member orchestral band produces waves of fresh sounds and delightful little melodies that you're ear can't help but agree with. Their vocals, guitars, vibes, percussion and string instruments came together to produce the free EP that you see above that is available (with donation suggested and I highly support donating to Loch Lomond, it's a mere 2.49) off of Hush Records.
Second is Ethan Rose's sophomore release which can be purchased off of Holocene Music. Ethan Rose is one of the newer shining gems to come out of Portland, whose music is being hailed by Pitchfork, The New York Times and XLR8R as some of the most 'incomparably beautiful' music to come out of the northwest. Without a doubt worth paying for. For a sample of his music click here.
I have not seen music yet this week, with the exception of playing in Seattle last night. I missed all the good bands because I have to work this morning. Oh well. Here are some good shows.
Saturday, January 31st
Check it!
Alberta Street Pub is having a special show. Balmorhea (Austin), Peter Broderick, and Helios. Peter Broderick makes beautiful music. He sometimes lives here in Portland (is he living here now? I don't know him personally so I am not in the know) . He used to play in like every band folk band in Portland. Then he moved to Denmark to join Efterklang. Awesome. Anyway, he makes very good music that is between modern composition and ambient. Then he goes and makes a really good record where he uses only guitar and vocals. The other people playing are pretty goo too. I have seen Helio's name around but did not listen to them until now. Mistake. I cannot seem to find a cover charge. But I do know that the show starts at 9:30.
I think I would totally go to the previous show except that there Backspace is having Oh Captain, My Captain, The Black Whales and Y La Bamba. Yes I play bass and sing in Y La Bamba, but I can honestly say that I was a fan long before I was in the band. Oh Captain My Captain are a good group of guys you should totally check out what they do. I like what I Heard of Black Whales. This ALL AGES show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
Sunday, February 1st
Super Bowl Sunday! Hooray! Actually I was never really into sports. At least not watching them. But if your thing then go for it. I on the other hand am into music. Now one of my band mates was telling me it was okay to like music and sports at the same time. He was all, "why do you think they always have a musical guest during half time at the Super Bowl?" Duh. To get non-sports fans to watch a football game. Anyway, here are some awesome show happing on Sunday.
Mississippi Pizza is having a show with Meyercord (that's me), Black Heart Moon and Dhani Rosa. I know that I may be biased, but I think this looks like a pretty sweet line up. There is nice music by all. I will be playing solo which I haven't done in a while. Black Heart Moon a relatively new band who show a lot of potential in the music they make. They make use of an impressive set up considering there are only two of them. They have guitar, acoustic bass, vocals (lovely vocals), and a simple drum set up that is split up between the two of them. Dhani is probably better known for his other band DoubleDutch or his last band Eskimo and Sons. But I have seen him play live before and it is interesting to see his songs in a usually sparse setting, he sometimes puts a looping pedal to good use. Anyway, this should be an awesome show. It is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
Someday Lounge is having the new Willamette Week Monthly FREE show. It is specifically related to local cut, the WIlly's online music blog. You may recall Willamette Week's old FREE monthly show The Lounge Series. Since there is no more Towne Lounge they have a new name Portland Makes Music. This will be the second in the new series and will feature the dancey and sometimes "messed up" tunes of Atole and E*Rock. They even did an interview thing for the show. See. This show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
Valentine's is having a show with Origami Ghosts (seattle) and Inside Voices. Origami Ghosts were a band I played with on Friday night in Seattle. Unfortunately, I missed their set because I had to leave early to work on Saturday. Their stuff on myspace kinda reminded me of early Modest Mouse. Inside Voices have made their way near to the top of my list of bands that I am dying to see live. I really like what they have online. This show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
So I hope to see you at a show this weekend. If you see me, say "Hi". It will be greatly appreciated.
I neglected to properly introduce myself in my previous blog entry, so I figured I'd do so here. I'm Dr. Something, or Alison. Feel free to address me as either. I'd like to thank Goldie and the rest of the Crappy Indie crew for welcoming me into this prestigious fold. I'm very excited about adding my typewritten voice to this web publication.
So... onto an aesthetic discussion I've previously thought about bringing up in an online music forum, namely The Loudness War™.
This term refers to a trend in music mastering, wherein engineers use a shitload of compression in order to up the entire volume level of a recording and make it "stand out" among other recordings. While this process increases the overall volume level and "punch" of recordings, it also decreases the dynamic level, The quietest moments become considerably louder, while the loudest are bound by the physical limitations of the medium (there's about a 50dB range for vinyl, and a 90dB range for CDs). So you get something that's just all around loud, and often these louder recordings peak so often and intensely that they cause distortion.
Basically, I'm hugely into dynamics. The first music I fell in love with as a kid that wasn't something my parents were listening to was Beethoven's symphonies. Boy was I a rebellious kid! I'd argue that his music's most salient feature is its intense use of dynamics, and ever since, I've often gravitated toward music of many different genres that makes dramatic use of quiet and loud sounds and many levels in between. And while I'm not a sound engineer, I've still noticed this trend and it irritates the hell out of me.
Earlier today I stumbled upon this essay by recording engineer George Graham, that does a fantastic job of both describing this trend (far better than my above summary), and articulating frusrtation at the loss of dynamics in these works. And that essay is what prompted this post, especially his mention of many home or low budget recordings taking on this quality, due to widespread and user-friendly computer programs that allow for easy or even automatic compression of recordings. While I definitely understand that some bands with a bigger, fuzzier sound can sound fine under those circumstances, I hear a lot of music, including (perhaps especially) indie recordings where such hyper-compression is used seemingly as a way to make projects sound more polished or "pro," in comparison to raw, unmastered demos. I find it particularly sad to hear acoustic albums that are "over-mastered" in this way. It seems to plasticize the sound of acoustic instruments, leaving them devoid of their natural texture and timbre. I'm always sad when I see a great live group, get their CD, and not only the jewel case, but the music ends up being coated in shrink-wrap.
Has anyone else noticed or been bothered by this? Conversely, is there anyone who prefers the louder, more compressed recordings for their greater punch and uniformity? I'd be interested to see if there are other Portland indie fans who have an opinon on this.
Here's a show that I will unfortunately have to miss, but anyone else who enjoys early jazz, tin pan alley and swing standards played by top notch musicians and who has $12 to burn and an open Saturday night, should head on down to the Mission Theater for The Midnight Serenaders' CD Release show.
The sextet covers a wide aural spectrum, featuring ukulele, guitar, Hawaiian steel guitar, clarinet, trumpet and upright bass, and plays with the intensity of a full big band. The blithe interplay of clarinetist David Evans and trumpeter Garner Pruitt is captivating, but never steps into "noodly" territory. They deliver sparkling embellishments between perfectly timed negative space. In addition, guitarist Doug Sammons and ukulele player Dee Settlemeier deliver each song with tight vocal harmonies and vaudevillian pizzazz. It's an added bonus that Doug Sammons has a knack for choosing some of the catchiest and most ribald songs of the jazz era, always a treat for filthy-minded listeners such as myself.
If that wasn't enough to sell you, The Stolen Sweets will be opening. The centerpiece of this group is the vocal trio of Jen Bernard, Lara Mitchell, and Erin Sutherland, a group of exceptionally talented singers heavily influenced by iconic 1930s trio, The Boswell Sisters. The "Sweets" also feature a highly skilled backing band, most notably including Portland indie icon turned Djangophile Pete Krebs on guitar.
I have yet to hear the Midnight Serenaders' new CD, Sweet Nothins, but if their live show and their previous recording Magnolia are any indication, it should definitely be worth picking up!
Here are the Details:
Sat. January 31st 9PM The Mission Theater 1624 NW Glisan St $12 21+
I have not seen a show all week. I think I have been gearing up for this weekend when I am playing in various forms from Friday to Sunday (if you are curious as to what shows, please continue to read as I am not above listing my own shows in this blog). But anyways enough about me. What about you? Oh really? That's fascinating.
Here are the shows for Today and tomorrow.
Thursday, January 28th
I am bummed. I will not be able to see any shows tonight. Late practice mixed with enven later band meeting.
Doug Fir is having a show with Alan Singley & Pants Machine, Team Evil, and Gavin Castleton. Alan is a super nice guy and makes super nice music. You should hear the wonderful pop that he and his cohorts are playing these days. Team Evil is the brainchild of Skyler Norwood (Point Juncture, WA) and to me sounds like the slightly mathy, slightly emo-ish stuff that came out of the midwest during the mid to late 90's that I love so much. I had never heard of Gaven Castleton, but judging from what I heard from his myspace page, he is really good. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.
Rotture is having a K Records showcase that features some of our local talent: Lake (Olympia but I wanna say at least one member lives here), Wallpaper, Hornet Leg and The Vibrarians. Lake and Wallpaper play indie-pop (Lake do an exceptional job though), the other bands play NW house-show punk type music. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.
Satyricon is having a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Benefit. You may recall there was a benefit just last week. As it turns out, Leukemia and Lymphoma need even more money to continue their research. Luckily the following bands: Dusk's Embrace, Myndissent, Secnd Best, My Life in Black & White and Squalora, know that and decided to help out by doing what they do best (play their music). This ALL AGES show is $12 and starts at 7 PM.
Crystal Ballroom is having the Portland Music Awards (put on by ). From what I recall this awards show is kinda B.S. That being said they do have some legit bands playing it. Hopefully they are being paid well. These are the bands playing: March Fourth Marching Band, Mel Brown, Portland Cello Project, Acoustic Minds, Tea for Julie, Debra Arlyn, Aaron Meyer, Echo Helstrom and Bobby Torres Ensemble. Basically I think March Forth are always fun to see. Its a spectacle! Portland Cello Project is also always fun to see. They usually have collaborators, so I am curious if they will have any tonight. But not $25 curious. This show is ALL AGES and starts at 7 PM.
Friday, January 30
First off, I just want to say the Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings are playing Crystal Ballroom and I hear that her live show is to be missed. But Whatevs. Second off, I want to say that I will be out of town and therefore be unable to see any of these shows :(
Then again Dekum Manor is having a great show with Grey Anne and Autopilot. House Shows = ALL AGES!. No cover listed = Cheap! The show starts at 8 PM.
Satyricon is having a an acoustic type show with some really good His Name Shall Breathe, Kelli Schaefer, and Attica! Attica! . Let me break them down one by one. His Name Shall Breathe = Ballady singer-songwriter (but good). kelli Schaefer = really good songs sang by a girl with really good vocals. Attica! Attica! = acoustic folk punk. This ALL AGES thang is $10 and starts at 8 PM.
Backspace is having a show with some Brooklynites who call themselves Matt & Kim. Seattlites Champagne Champagne who make pop infused rap (indie-pop-hop?) will also make an appearance. And Portland will offer one of our crappy bands who some may love Magic Johnson. I mean they sound like they would be fun live, but when compared to the other bands playing it kinda sounds like poo-poo. This ALL AGES show is $10 and starts at 8:30 PM.
Someday Lounge is having Thrones (Salem), Sedan (Olympia) and Hot Victory play a show. Basically if you know who Joe Preston is, then you will want to come to this show. If you don't know who he is and like post-metal experimental rock, then this is the show for you. Though it is by no means the heaviest show ever, Sedan make piano music for crying out loud, it is probably the coolest. The show is $8 and starts at 9 PM.
So I hope I see you at one of these shows. Though if you see me instead, please say "Hi".
-Ben
Autopilot is for Lovers is playing for all you lovers Friday Night at Dekum Manor (not exclusively for lovers)
Dear Readers and Bloggers, I have a bone to pick and I want your feedback.
I have a problem with advertising, marketing and SEO firm's marketing themselves as INDIE. Especially when they are suppose to be talking about INDIE MUSIC. I'm not a punk rocker who has a code of ethics up my butt, but come on! Advertising, marketing and SEO company's can NOT afford to pay their bloggers to write GOOD content. They can't do it. Unless they are a HUGE company with millions of dollars of revue for their one account who needs a music blog BLOGGERS DON'T GET PAID SHIT. These company's buy blogs that are linked in with good keywords to the demographic they are trying to reach. And then they turn that blog into a gateway into their company. You will notice how boring and irrelevant the content becomes if you see this happen.
For the love of search engines I am not going to write out the name of one of them but I will spell it for you:
This particular blog USE TO be run by and actual human music lover. We used to have a little blog crush on each other. Leaving comments, sending emails about how great we are etc. One day I get an email from the original creator. He asked me if I knew of anyone who would buy his blog. I didn't know of anyone. In retrospect he was, like me trying to figure out a way to capitalize on our obsession. I hadn't thought about it before. Who would buy a music blog? I know blogs are serious Internet marketing tools. I can tell you all about that later. He found a buyer. After the Stone-W. fell off of the first page of a Google search I forgot about them. Didn't even wonder what happened to the blog or who bought it.
AND THEN TONIGHT I was geeking out on Google Analytics. I start typing keywords to see where Crappy Indie Music shows up. I typed the words Portland Indie Music. Expecting to see Dave Allen at #1 (marketing genius! he changed the URL of his site to p o r t l a n d i n d i e m u s i c . com) -- I see THE S T O N E W A I L E R as number one! Not only that but apparently they have an office with a Portland address. WTF? I ask myself.
What the fuck indeed. It's all bullshit. It's not a real music blog. I didn't spend much time on it because I HATE HATE HATE HATE to give traffic to fake bloggers like that. I might have to do more recon to get the real dirt on these guys.
DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! Not all #1's on Google searches are golden. Especially not in a small potato town like Portland were everyone is trying to make a buck on the cheap.
People of the world! I ask you: Are advertising/marketing/SEO firm run music blogs cool or crap?
Someday Crappy Indie Music will take the #1 slot of a precious google keyword search of PORTLAND INDIE MUSIC BLOG . When we do will because our content fucking rules it and I TOO know how to link keywords, blog about it and then link to the blog (wink).
One of CIMTB's goals for 2009 is to find bloggers to help diversify our content. We want new voices. We want to hear new voices that keep it real, funny, absurd, whateve's. You don't have to be "cool" you just have to speak your mind.
You are in a band: write about venues, shows you went to, your friends bands, touring, tips for other musicians, compliments and complaints about and and all things listed above or whatever
You love to blog: share your favorite online video, blog, wise cracks, photo's, you know whatever you want to blog about as it pertains to Portland music and/or loose affiliation with. Do you have friends you think make kick ass videos, music, photo's? Tell us about them. Maybe you make your own videos... Blog them here so people can see them.
You love music: you listen online, you have favorite Portland, Oregon, Vantucky bands, you might throw house shows, maybe you are heavily into one genre of music (punk, jazz, folk, synth pop, drum and bass, hip hop etc.) and want to share the word about it by listing shows you would recommend.
You hate music: you listen to music and it makes you mad. You might have a beef with aspects of Portland music, venues, bands, etc
Crappy Indie Music is at the cusp of running a promotional campaign to draw readers into our Portland-centric, unique, personal, uncensored, indie, blog. Our readers are local AND national musicians, critics, fanatics and music lovers. We are a unique voice for Portland's ever growing and increasingly nationally recognized music community. The CIM bloggers are the people who make the scene go round. We are musicians, critics and music lovers. We are documenting what goes on right now.
Crappy Indie Music is a place for people who want to speak frankly with others. Blogs are conversations. I have found more music THAT I ACTUALLY like from the bloggers and readers (can I get a witness). I have found like minded people and people that challenge my point of view.
If you are a writer, blogger, musician that is looking for exposure or simply want to help shape Portland's music community come blog with us.
If you want to blog let me know and I can get you set up right away. Have questions? Leave a comment or email me: goldiedavich@gmail.com
So, the other night I saw the opening of OZ Cafe right next to Tender Loving Empire. I saw Yeah Great Fine which features ex-members of Newsapers who were super sweet. Then Jared Mees and his Grown Children played and let me tell you, they are fast becoming one of my favorite live bands to see here in town. And it ended with a snow tinged Boy Eats Drum Machine set. Seeing the flakes fall all around while bobbing my head to beat, it felt good to be alive. Which is to say that seeing live music can be life affirming. Speaking of which:
Monday, January 26th
Katy Perry is playing tonight at the Crystal Ballroom. Say what you will about her, I think she is hella cute and has catchty (niavely homophobic) songs that she can get away with because she is...well, hella cute. But if it is local you are looking for check these out:
Doug Fir is having a show with Day of Lions, The Days and Le Switch (LA). Since the last time I saw Day of Lions, Gena has gotten a band together, married, and put out full length album. Which is to say that it has been too long since I have seen her (and her band) play. Having a band has added some meat to her former skeletal song structure. I am pleased to say that they work both ways. so if you like what I have heard of her before, then you will probaly really like her lastest album, "Come Down from the Mountain", and this would be the perfect place to pick it up. The show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.
Valentine's is having a Pep Assembly show. Don Hellions will be playing too. I admit that I haven't seen Pep Assembly, but I know that I have been a fan of anything that Liam has done musically. The show is FREE and starts sometime after 9 PM.
Tuesday, January 27th
Umm... here are some shows for your consideration.
I straight up copied and pasted this from an earlier post. I am not sure if I got the date wrong or if this is an encore performacne but, here it is anyway. I really want to see this. Electroacoustic artist Ethan Rose will be performing at Oaks Park Roller Rink for the release of his new album "Oaks" which is based around the use of the 1920's Wulitser organ located in the roller rink. It is presented by PICA and Holocene Music, so I bet that if one were to want more information, one could click on these links to find out more information. This will be one of two releases for Ethan this year. The other is a collaboration with Laura Gibson witch I cannot wait to hear. Anyways, the show is $10 for memebers and $12 for the general public. I should mention that the cover also includes skate rentals (sweet!). The ALL AGES event opens doors at 7 PM and starts at 8 PM.
Valentine's is having a show with Pink Widower, Ay Claudia and Baby Dollars. I list this solely on the fact that I have seen some of these names around town and Valentine's is usually pretty spot-on on their bookings. Besides, the show is FREE. It is set to start sometime after 9 PM.
Mississippi Pizza is having a show with Sean & Diana and The Ascetic Junkies are playing a show. Basically the other day my friend Sam Cooper was telling me I had to check out this band the Aesthetic Junkies. He has pretty good taste in music, so I am listing this show. If you think I have made a mistake in listing please direct complaints to him here. There is no cover listed and since it starts at 6 PM I bet you it is ALL AGES.
Rotture is having a show with Reclinerland, Annie Vergnetti, and Super XX Man. I have yet to see Super XX Man despite my living in the same city with him and the band for like four years. Crazy. I remember hearing good things Reclinerland. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
Holocene is having an awesome show with Church, Chrome Wings and Guidance Counselor. Be there for real. Church is awesome. For Real. I keep missing Chrome Wings and hearing that I missed out. And Guidance Counselor puts the dance in guidance. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
I blew it. I was on a roll going to shows, having a good time and then, it stopped. I am not sure what happened. Maybe it was the inauguration? Maybe it was the band practices, the band meetings. It was probably, the band practices and meetings.
Friday, January 23rd
There are some shows that I would not mind at all missing. In fact I think I would love to see any and all of these shows.
The Hush is having a show with Blue Horns, Magic Bullets (San Francisco), Altspeak (Seattle). If you haven't seen or heard The Blue Horns yet then, you are missing out. They are super fun to see live. I haven't heard the record yet, but I am sure it worth your listen. The ALL AGES show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
I haven't been to the newest Disjecta . Tonight Sonny Smith will be playing some music. He apparently has a 7 " record that he has released. Evolutionary Jass Band and The Sandwitches (San Francisco) will also be playing sets. You know how much CIMTB loves that Jass Band. The show is $7 and starts at 8 PM.
SMYRC (Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center) is having a show with the taxpayers, White Fang , We Play Quiet (Vancouver). This is a free benefit show to raise awareness for the center. The Taxpayers are also using the show as a CD release show. There is a CD compilation to benefit SMYRC. This is a FREE ALL AGES show that starts at 7:30 PM.
Random Order, the excellent coffee house on Alberta, is celebrating National Pie Day with special prices and specialty cocktails, a pie raffle, and live music. The pies: new classic Lemon Meringue, tradewind sexy Banana Rum, and "Old World Apple Farm" Apple. The Music: Jacob Elliot, Y La Bamba (stripped down version), The Fantastic Lou Thomas, and Malcolm Rollick. The Price: FREE (that is, there is no cover to get in, but you do need to pay for anything eat or drink). The event starts 6:30 PM.
Camp Rainbow, one of Portland's many "house venues", is having a show with Summer Blondes ( with members of Pegasus), Jeffery Jerusalem, Late Night Curly. Pegasus plays awesome mathy stuff, Jeffery makes some cool electronic based music, Late Night Curly plays zany pop music. If any of that interests you I would advise you to check it out. It is a going away party for Jeffery. The ALL AGES show is at 8 PM.
Saturday, January 24th
There are a lot of good shows happening on Saturday. See:
Slabtown is having a show with The Morals, Paper Brain, AAN. I really like both the Morals, and AAN. A Morals show is always very entertaining. Man, I can't stop listening to the AAN CD I bought the last time I saw them. This show is $6-9 and starts at 9 PM.
The Artistery is having a show with Breakfast Mountain, Temple Vibe (Seattle), and Guidance Counselor. If you like cool electronic based music at all, this is show for you. I have not seen Breakfast Mountain, but I like the CD. I have on the other hand, seen Guidance Counselor and it is super fun to see. The ALL AGES show is $6 and starts 8 PM.
OZ Cafe (1720 NW Lovejoy, Suite 121) is having a Grand Opening Party with Jared Mees & The Grown Children, Boy Eats Drum Machine, and Yeah Great Fine. This is an awesome show. However, it is even more awesome when you find out that it is FREE. The ALL AGES show is at 8 PM.
Green Dragon Bistro & Brewpub is having a show with Leigh Marble and Shoeshine Blue. I know that Shoeshine Blue is awesome live. And judging by the company that Leigh Marble keeps, he is probably pretty awesome live too. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
The Coop, the people who run the super sweet PC-PDX.com site, is having a show with some bands that I haven't heard in a while. Namely Bodhi, Southern Belle, Reporter, The Rainy States. Well, actually I saw Reporter the other week and they were in top top form. The ALL AGES show is $2 and starts at 8 PM.
I just read a post from Rush-N-Disco. Check it out, "COME ON DOWN AND WITNESS THE EXCITING SPECTACLE THAT IS "SPECIAL PEOPLES CLUB" AT BRANX ON SATURDAY JAN 24TH FEATURING: SPECIAL PEOPLES BAND, ARMATRONIX, MATT VS KELLAN, SOLOMON, DJ. ALL THAT FOR JUST 3 DOLLARZ!? WOW". It seems like a great show. If you have not seen Rush-N-Disco, you need to. It is an experience. The show is $3 and starts at 10 PM.
Sunday, January 25th
Some real good shows are happening on Sunday. Some of them are FREE.
Rotture is having a show with Eagle & Talon (LA), Swallows and Grey Anne. Though I am not too familiar with the other two bands, I know that Grey Anne is great. She has played a lot this month and I have already missed a few times. But I have regretted every show I missed because every Grey Anne show is an experience (a good one). She works the looping pedal like you wouldn't believe. The show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.
Doug Fir is having "Tony Rogers, founder of the Portland Cello Project returns to Portland to orchestrate, “Cellos and Choirs” a collaborative show featuring classical, popular, and original works combining members of the Portland Cello Project and two of the premiere A cappella groups from the Portland Area¬– the “classical man band” Four Score and The Roxy consort, an all-female classical chorale.". The Ahs will perform as well.
Rontoms as always, is having a great show this Sunday. This one has the line up of pals is having a darn good folk show with Galveston and Golden Spun. I have not seen either of these bands, but I have heard what they have to off via myspace and its good. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
So thats it for the shows this week. I hope you make it out to some of them. If you do, please say, "Hi".
Hey kids, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've been busy with working during the ice and snow, and now that that's done, trying to apply for grad school. Which is a serious pain in the butt. But that's not what I'm here to tell you about today. This past Saturday I played a show with my band, New Century Schoolbook, at the Green Dragon in inner SE. Having never heard of the place before, I had little idea what to expect. I showed up there on Friday night for a friend's birthday party, and though that gave me a view of the place (and a taste of some delicious hush puppies. Deep fried batter.. mmm.) I still didn't know what to expect from playing there. The Green Dragon is one of those places that doesn't primarily exist as a venue. In fact, when we showed up on Saturday night, it was packed (I guess someone besides me had heard of the place) but it seemed clear that most of the people there, besides the ones we brought with us and the other band, Someday Tricycle, weren't expecting a show to go on. The bar itself has a fairly open and comfortable feel, though it is filled with several large tables, and there is a shuffleboard table by the wall (which I never got a chance to play. boo) and a few pinball tables as well. The stage was somewhat triangular in shape and in the corner. I was having a hard time figuring out who was responsible for getting us set up, since I wasn't involved in the booking of the show and didn't really know who our contact person was. As far as I could tell we just set our stuff up and then played when we decided to play - there were a PA and a couple of microphones on the stage, and we were pretty much left to our own devices, which wasn't really a bad thing. The food was pretty tasty , although it may have been more tempting were I a meat-eater - it seemed like southern-inspired, sausage-laden dishes were where they really shine, but the mac & cheese was decent and the french fries were divine. They also, being a brewery as well, have an excellent selection of beers, and carry absinthe (I didn't drink a whole glass, considering it imprudent for a pre-show choice of beverage, but did have a little bit. I think that stuff is awesome, and am quite pleased that it's legal now.) As far as the show, it went off quite well, and though the audience may have been surprised to see a band come in, the bar staff was super helpful in getting the tables pushed back to make a walkway, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Especially if you're a beer fan, I would check this place out, though I'm not sure how often they have shows - we were little advertised and there was a big notice up on the blackboard about their upcoming meet the brewers night. while it's clear the beer is the place's primary focus, it was a pretty cool place to play a show, to, and the audience was receptive. Check it out if you get a chance.
Last night I went to the Hush for the first time. Man, I gotta say it was a pretty cool space. It is the perfect size for a small to medium size band. The show was good, but I believe the hightlight was Down South Sallie and her band. Even though Sallie was sick and kept saying that she couldn't sing, she belt out her numbers like a champ (though there was a lot of coughing between the delivery of lines). Dahni Rosa played a quiet set with what I believe was the musical Hair Projected onto him. I was really intersting to hear his songs a) by himself (I am used to seeing them fleshed out by the rest of Eskimo and Sons) and b) with people dancing in various states of undress behind him. In my head I was all like, "that's a good line, BOOBS!". Grey Anne played a good but brief set which included her bringing up a friend Blie (Bly?) from Aulstralia to sing one of his songs (bonus!). Y La Bamba played too, but since I played in the band, I have no idea how it sounded. I do know that I ended up talking. A lot. Thanks to Anne for giving me an orange so that I would use my mouth for eating instead of carrying on with my ramblings (but seriously, how long does it take to tune a guitar?).
Anyways, These are the shows that show promise this week.
Monday, January 19th
I only see one show that I interested in, (because the Boys II Men show @ Spirit Mountain Casino is SOLD OUT):
Valentine's is having a show with Harsh Sunshine, Hot Victory, and Judy (featuring members of Swan Island I am told). I am not too familiar with either, but I have been impressed by some of the youtube videos of Hot Victory. They do a bunch where it is just the two drummers. Really Hot Victory is a two person drum solo (I realize this is contradictory) with some knob twiddling added. If you are into that sort of thing, check it out. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
Tuesday, January 20th
It's my Birthday! Guess what I'm getting. A new president. Here are some shows you can watch in celebration of my birth:
Someday Lounge is having it's "2009 Inaugural Freakout!" wich will feature the music of Chrome Wings, Why I Must be Careful, Eyes Like Saucers, and Sustencula. All of these bands fall under the "experimental" umbrella which means that probably do not resemble each other much. I think I have been trying to catch Chrome Wings (on the It should be a good time. The show is $6 and starts at 9PM.
There is a really sweet house show going on at The Dill Pickle (5231 NE 31st ave, Portland, Oregon 97211) with Polka Dot Dot Dot (Polka Dot Dot?) of Olympia, Grey Anne, Hey Tiger!, and Wisdom Tooth (New Mexico). I have nothing but amazing things about Polka Dot Dot Dot. And of Course you guys know I love Grey Anne shows. So basically this is a no brainer. There will be a $5 cover for this ALL AGES
Holocene is having a pretty good showcasing of local talent. They are having AAN, Ohioan (which ranges from one to thirteen members), Golden Hours, and Sigmund Henry. I am familiar with the first two and would hightly recomend seeing the show based on just them. But there are two more bands. Bonus! AAN announced via a myspace bulletin that they are debuting a new member and new equipment. Well shoot. I was blown away by their old members and old equipment. I would be stoked to see what these additions umm...add to the music. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
Laurel Thrirst Publeic House will be having a show with some indie-roots type people. Namely Audie Darling and Run On Sentence. Audie Darling has, a dare I say, "sultry" voice and the the songs to back it up. She also has a really well hand-packaged CD that she usually sells at shows with said songs on them. Run On Sentence has been on my radar since October when he released an album on Hush records. I have not seen him. This looks like the perfect time to catch him in action. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
White Eagle Saloon is having a show with the jazz stylings of Blue Cranes. The Blue Cranes is one of the many many bands that I really like what I have heard online, but have been unable to catch a live show yet. Sam Howard Band and A Cationary Tale are also set to play this show. The best part is that it is FREE. The show starts at 8:30 PM.
Thursday, January 22nd
Gots some shows for you. And this is what they are.
The Doug Fir is having one of its Log Love shows (which are always all local). This one has a lineup of Leigh Marble, House of Badger, and Lowenbad1. I believe I have seen all of these names around town. Maybe its worth checking out? At $5, probably. The show starts at 9 PM.
The Fez is having a benifit concert to raise money for the National Leukemia/Lymphoma Society presented by L.O.V.E. Promotions. Aurora (seattle), The Jezebel Spirit (Portland/Corvallis), Break As We Fall, and Breviamore (Salem) will all be playing sets. I (as part of AristeiA) played a show once with Jezebel Spirit and they were pretty rad. Blood Cancers are not rad. This show is $10 in advance and $12 at the door. The doors open at 7 PM.
So that is what I show as interesting to me. If you see me at any of these shows, you should walk up to me, tap me on the shoulder, and if I haven't flipped you onto the groud (hey. I got reflexes, okay), then say, "Hi". If you choose not to greet me, then by all means shoot me longs stares that will sure to confuse me.
-Ben
Grey Anne is play a house show on Wednesday. She would probably be liking you to go to it.
Well shooot. I saw another good show the other night. This time it was the Tender Loving Empire show at the Doug Fir. It featured TLE artists Finn Riggins (from Boise) and Jared Mees and the Grown Children (Jared is one of the head honchos over at TLE). It also featured TLE buddies World's Greatest Ghosts. Man it was so much fun. World's Greatest Ghost started the night with a bang. They are are really good at layering their guitars and keyboards in various arpeggios and scale running. Plus it is cathy as hell. Finn Riggins was up next. I had only very briefly listened to their myspace page. So I was just expecting some pretty good pop rock. What I was not expecting was the proggy-ness that they mixed in with their pop. Let me just say that their drummer had a steel drum (and he actually played it on more than one song, pushing it past a novelty instrument) and instead of a bass player they had a dude who sang behind a mountain of keyboards. And let me tell you a little story regarding Jared Mees and the Grown Children. I saw him play a show once and I thought it was good. Afterwards I told him so, Jared looked at me in the eye and apologized he said that he wished he could have brought more energy (it was the night they returned from a good length tour). Seeing as to how they had a good amount of energy at that show, I did not know what he was talking about. Thursday night they brought the energy that Jared had referred to. It was so fun. I danced and sang and clapped along which left me sweaty and satisfied (is that dirty?). Anyways, I am remembering why I go to see live music.
Here are some opportunities for you to remember what live music is all about.
Saturday, January 17th
There are a bunch of good shows today
Aladdin Theater is having absolutely great local folk line up of Blind Pilot, Loch Lomond, and The Old Believers. I was totally stoked about this show last month (it was canceled due to the freakish snow of last month), and I am still totally stoked now. These are some of my favorite bands. Do yourself a favor and see this show. It is ALL AGES with a cover of $12. The music starts at 8 PM.
East End is having a show with Blue Skies for Black Hearts, Pure Country Gold, DJ Hwy 7. I think Blue Skies is one of the better pop bands and Portland. Plus, I have nothing but good things about Pure Country Gold. The show has no listed cover and starts at 9 PM.
Green Dragon Bistro is having a great indie-pop show with the excellent Someday Tricycle and New Century Schoolbook (shout out to CIMTB blogger Amber Dawn!). Very good indie-pop played very well. This bad boy is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
Backspace is having a show with Truckasaurus (Seattle), Atole, and Breakfast Mountain. So break out your dancing shoes, because I'll be damned if you go to this show and are not moved to spaz around the place (aka dance). The ALL AGES show is $5 and starts at 8:30 PM.
Berbati's is having a School of Rock show. They will be performing Radiohead. So if hearing a bunch of snot nosed kids playing The Bends appeals to you (and I admit it kinda appeals to me) then you might consider going down to Berbatis tonight, The cover is $10-12. The ALL AGES show starts at 6 PM.
Sunday, January 18th
Rontoms is having another one of their Sunday night shows. This time they have a very good line up of Autopilot is for Lovers and St. Frankie Lee. Both of these bands are good and even better to see live. If you missed St. Frankie Lee when they played earlier this week, this is your second chance. If you didn't miss them you might go to see what Sunday night's theme will be. They always have a theme which they will talk about between songs (Monday's theme was trees). This shoe is FREE and starts at 9:30 PM.
The Hush is having an incredible show with a butt-load of great artists: Down South Sallie, Saw Whet, Somersault, Grey Anne, Dhani Champion of the World, and Y La Bamba. I know. You see a bill with this many acts and one's immediate reaction should be, "it sucks". But in this instance you would be wrong. These are some of the best Portland has to offer. The ALL AGES show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
The Artistery is having a show with Flaspar, Spenking (Brunswick?) and Ruth Allison (Oly). It is an interesting mix to be sure. Spenking is just a dude with his acoustic guitar. Ruth Allison can do that, but sometimes has a band. Flaspar is dance. Nutty. The ALL AGES show is $5 with doors at 7 PM.
Valentine's is having a folk night with Maymay, Sworn Virgin (tjo + ilyas ahmed = new project), and Daniel Sparks. Perhaps you noticed that I mentioned it is TJO in anew project. I shouldn't have to write anything else. That is all you need to know. But I will add that Maymay is very good as well. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
So there you have it. These are the shows that I think look amazing, good or interesting. If you see me at any of them, do not hesitate to say "Hi".
-Ben
Blind Pilot will play this song kinda like this tonight at the Aladdin. thanks to KEXP
Let me just say that seeing live music is awesome. I also want to mention that living in Portland, we are luuucky. In fact when I went to see the excellent Old Believers, St. Frankie Lee, and Black Heart Moon show at Valentine's on Monday, I met I guy and his gal who came all the ways from Reno to hang out in our town. Lets call them Bryan and Kara (cause that's their respective names). They came show specifically to see The Old Believers. Bryan was shocked that a show of that caliber was FREE. Also he was surprised at St. Frankie Lee's 7 members, "Just like the band he plays at in Reno! " I think he said. Buster Blue is the name of his band. He also eyed Derrick's (of St. Frankie Lee) banjo, stating that it was exactly like the one he uses. I think band friends were made. Anyway, he was kind enough to give me an advance copy of his CD "This Beard Grows for Freedom" . Now Bryan was sporting no beard, so I had some initial doubts. But I was surprised to hear that it was actually pretty good (if you like with some twang, if you like your twang with a little sax, if you like music that incorporates chains, then check it out). Then Last night I saw Carcrashlander play at Rotture. My goodness they are awesome. I thought it was criminally unattended. While talking to Cory Gray (leader of Carcrashlander) he said that was the last show for a while as he is going into Jackpot Studios in February to record a new album. Nice.
Anyways this is what is going on the rest of the week:
Thursday, January 15th
There are a lot of excellent shows to choose from.
Doug Fir is having a Tender Loving Empire curated night with a great lineup of Jared Mees & The Grown Children, Finn Riggins (Boise, ID), and World's Greatest Ghosts. All of these bands are super fun. As you may recall I thought that World's Greatest Ghosts were one of the best performer at PDX Pop last year. They are great. Jared Mees and co. Are super fun live, and their song "Bees" is definately one of my favorite songs of last year. If you go to this you will most assuredly dance around. And if you can't dance (or don't dance), you will at least bob your head to this joyous night of pop bliss. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
Holocene is having a show with the amazing Shelly Short, Iiyas Ahmed, and M Billy. This is a show if you like things a little on the acoustic but somewhat weird side of things. Shelly Short has an incredible voice and often plays with Alex Gideon who has a very unique (and awesome guitar style that he has developed with Carcrashlander (Brian Wright and Cory Gray, of said band, also often back her up as well). Iiyas Ahmed is very good and often plays with TJO (in fact, check out Valentine's on Sunday to see a new project feature those two). M Billy is really good but is kinda mellow. Actually they are all a bit mellow. You might want to sit down for this one. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.
Backspace is having a video release show for Ocelli's "Fiction Failed this Family". Ocelli will be playing a set as well as screening their video. The music video makes use of Castiron Carouselmarionettes.Y La Bamba (a stripped down set of Luzelena and myself), and Saqi will also be playing. It should be pretty sweet and and its ALL AGES. The $7 starts at 8 PM.
Friday, January 16th
You want to see a show? Perhaps you should look at the following:
Backspace is having a show with MEGA*CHURCH, Deelay Ceelay, and Pep Assembly. These bands are pretty good from what I've heard. Remember The Snuggle Ups? well Liam from that band is in Pep Assembly if that means anything to you (it means something to me). The ALL AGES show is $5 and starts at 8:30 PM.
The Coop is having an awesome with At Dusk, Point Juncture, WA, Aaron Shepard (of Metal. This is a stellar lineup. At Dusk hardly EVER plays so this is really special. The show is ALL AGES and is only a mere $2. It starts at 8 PM.
Red and Black is having a show with Lion and Eagles of the Sec Saints Art Collective which impressed me with thier roster. They will be playing "Special Guests" This is an ALL AGES show with donation based cover. It starts 6 PM (ps the food at this place is great).
Grey Gardens (2849 NE Davis) is having a show with Panther , Fist Fite and The Captains Daughter. If you are a fan of the energy charged house show setting. You probably already know about this show. If you don't know about how awesome house shows are, I suggest you attend this to see what its all about. Its is ALL AGES and $0. The things gets underway at 8 PM.
I will list some more shows happening this weekend later. And Trust me there is some great stuff coming up. So if you see me at any of these, please say "Hi".
Check it out...I actually have started to regularly. Its crazy I know, but I went to a show on Saturday night AND Sunday Night. What's more is that I intend to see a show tonight as well.
Basically On Saturday wasn't going to go to a show. I had band practice and then was somewhat "beat". But when I got home I remmebered that I locked my keys in my apartment that morning. So I had to go back downtown to get my roomates keys. When I was down there I walked by Backspace and suddenly realized I was five minutes away from a show that I actually really wanted to see (DoubleDutch, Reporter and Maggie Morris). So it was basically fate telling me that I should see this show and I am very glad that I did. DoubleDutch who I had seen once before played much better than I when I saw them before. With the exception of a technical diffuctly in the middle of the set (which allowed singer Jordan to do a lovely solo song) everything was much tighter. They are starting to acheive some of their potential. Typhoon, as always, brought it. They really need to play more often. I should mention that they also played the set with Maggie Morris as her backing band and were excellent.
Sunday night I went to the MusiCares benefit and good lord it was good. I have never seen Ritchie Young by himself and was pleased to see that he completely held his own. Using only one,very nice, mic he strummed out his songs on his acoustic or violin. He is the only person I can recall strumming his viloin at this moment. Heather Woods (Broderick) did a set with Eric Early (frontman of Blitzen Trapper) performing lead guitar/banjo and some vocals (these two sound great together). Amanda Lawrence (of Loch Lomond and Sabertooth, who played pretty solid set later) also provided some vocals on the first few of Heather's songs. But the real gem (or gem among gems rather) here was Musee Mechanique. They just blew me away with howw good it was. These boys know how to arrange the crap out of a song. They kinda sound like Grandaddy mixed with Blonde Redhead with some folk mixed in. Really good. Any who, there are some more great shows this week.
Monday, January 12th
There is only one show I could find, but it is a great one.
Valentine's are having a show with The Old Believers, Black Heart Moon, and St. Frankie Lee. The Old Believers released a really good album last year entitled "Eight Golden Greats". You should go buy it, now. Black Heart Moon is a newish band featuring members of Hide and Go Hustle doing something completely different. And St. Frankie Lee is what would happen is what would happen if Calvin Johnson were in a male/female country band. This bad boy is FREE! It starts at 9 PM.
Tuesday, January 13th
I originally couldn't find andything but then I saw this...
Electroacoustic artist Ethan Rose will be performing at Oaks Park Roller Rink for the release of his new album "Oaks" which is based around the use of the 1920's Wulitser organ located in the roller rink. It is presented by PICA and Holocene Music, so I bet that if one were to want more information, one could click on these links to find out more information. This will be one of two releases for Ethan this year. The other is a collaboration with Laura Gibson witch I cannot wait to hear. Anyways, the show is $10 for memebers and $12 for the general public. I should mention that the cover also includes skate rentals (sweet!). The ALL AGES event opens doors at 7 PM and starts at 8 PM.
Wednesday, January 14th
Rotture is having a sick show with CIMTB favorites: Westfold, Aristeia, and Carcrashlander. From the socio-core tunes of Westfold, to the vast instrumental post-rock exploits of AristeiA (I play bass in this group. Whatevs!), to the downer sober rock of Carcrashlander it is all good. Seriously, this show is not to be missed. It is a mere $5 and starts at 9 PM.
Holocene is having something called Six. It is apparently some sort of experimental sound design. This is what Holocene's website said about it, "hree dimensional music is back, courtesy of Portland's ONLY multi-channel performance environment event, SIX!!! For those of you tired of the flat, ordinary, life of stereo sound systems we bring you a high-end, Holocene-sized six channel sound system. Multi channel performances recontextualize the audience's physical relationship to the music -putting the audience at the center of the experience, literally-- and force the musicians to rethink issues of directionality, space, and conventional music making in a completely new way. This is music you can only hear in this unique live setting, not reproducible in any other environment, with compositions tailor made for this sound system by the city's leading experimental artists. Multi-channel sound performances are usually relegated to exclusive European sound galleries, electronic music PhD programs at faraway universities, etc...But now it's here for Portland, for everyone to experience and enjoy. In 2007, SIX provided a midsummer foray into contemplative and immersive listening. SIX Part Two is proud to bring you some returning artists as well as new angles. Celebrated local DJ, experimental music guru, and producer DJ Brokenwindow has devised a three-turntable, six-channel DJing configuration, and will be providing music between sets all evening. The elusive Jetfinger will return with his ever-growing, ever changing magnificent home built modular synthesizer, possibly one of the largest and most comprehensive systems in the city. Portland's ambassador of reverberant inner space music Grouper (Type Records) will join us for her first ever multi-channel performance! Computer music artist and SIX chief curator Cloudburst will be joined by fellow traveller Robert Deeble while returning SIX artist map~map will collaborate with Portland's own Gasp. Rounding out the night will be a rare solo live set from futuristic mischief maker Strategy. Please join us for another wonderful experiment in new sound system experimentation!" There will be several musical participants using the system to the best of theor abilities. Specfically: Strategy, Grouper, Cloudburst, [[ Gasp + map~map ]], Jetfinger, DJ Six Broken Windows aka DJ Brokenwindow (Get it?). The show is $6 (get it?) and starts at 9 PM (what do you get when you turn 9 upside down? hmmm...).
So that is the first half of the week for you. If you see me at any of these shows, do not hesitate to approach me with a "Hi". I will most assuredly say "Hi"back.
-Ben
The Old Beleivers play tonight. I will be there. You Should be there too. Just Sayin'
I am so tired. I have not seen any shows. But I am going to try to catch some this weekend. It would appear that I have quite a few amazing ones to choose from. So I will write this blog, get rested and see what I can do to see some local Portland music.
Friday, January 9th
Some tough decisions tonight. Here is what is happening:
The Artistery is having a show with Alan Singley and pants machine, Chores, and Travis Wiggins . I have heard that Alan will be performing as a seven peice with viola and sax and female vocals and new drummer , Scott Hayden. I think that this would sourely be worth your while. Chores and Travis Wiggins should put on fun performances as well covering your pop-rock and weird samplin' and etc.. needs respectively. The ALL AGESshow is $6 and starts at 8 PM.
Crystal Ballroom is having a Bitch Magazine Benefit: Kimya Dawson (Olympia), Mirah and Anomie Belle (Seattle). In these crazy financial times certain things that we may take for granted (say a certain feminist quarterly magazine) are in financial dire straights. Often Benefit concerts with very entertaining people are held to raise money to save the certain neglected things. This is one of those things. You probably know who these entertainers are but if you don't know who they check them out right now. They are very good. The ALL AGES show is $18-22 and starts 9 PM.
If perhaps you fancy yourself an artful person who lives an artful life you might want to check out the Launch Pad Gallery which is having a art opening with a bunch of artists collaborations. The artists participating are: Ennah Snyder and Nikki Jones, Ben Carey and Nathan & Noah Rice, Veranda Haddon and Michelle Purvis, Brent Wear and Jamie Watson, Rick Warren and Charles Daniels. There will also be a film collaboration by Film by: Michelle Tuffias, Sara Robbin and Charles Daniels. The reason I list this event though, is because there will also be music provided by Kaitlyn ni Donovan and Point Juncture, WA. These are both good performers and at the price of FREE, it is hard to say no to this show. The ALL AGES opening opens at 6 PM. The music starts at 9 PM.
The Know will be host to the Live from Portland DVD Release this weekend. I am going to go out on a limb and assume that there will be a DVD for sale featuring some really good Portland bands performing live on it. The event will actually last two days and feature many our city's great bands performing from 7 PM to 11 PM. The first night has Leviethan, Weinland, and Sean Flinn and The Squealers. There is a $5 cover both nights. and again starts at 7 PM.
Saturday, January 10th
Another night of tough Choices. I don't think it gets any easier.
Doug Fir is having a show with a band that was one of my favorite Portland bands before I even moved here, Quasi. They play rock music in some of its purest forms. While there songs used to be filled with very cynical and amusing lyrics they have lightened up over the years and now occasionally have positive things to sing about too. Eat Skull and The Golden Bears will also be performing sets to round out this all local show. From what I can tell Eat skull make loud lo-fi recordings that seem to beg to be seen live. The Golden Bears make folky music but the two members have been in a lot of bands that you may have heard of that sound quite a bit different Like Electrolettes, Circus Lupus, and Crime in Choir.
It is day two of the Live from Portland DVD Release event at The Know. Saturday night will feature: His Name Shall Breathe, Graves, Run On Sentence and Pancake Breakfast (White Salmon, WA). All bands are worth checking out. I am going to try to go to at least one of the nights to pick up the DVD. Again, like the previous night, the show is $5 and starts at 7 PM.
Backspace qill be having an awesome show too though. They are having Reporter, Typhoon, Doubledutch and Maggie Morris (San Francisco) play on Saturday night. These are all great bands and performers (a lot of Boy Gorilla related bands), but seriously Typhoon is not to be missed. They really put on some of the most moving and amazing live shows. 9 p.m. $5
Berbati's Pan is hosting the Chicharones (Josh Martinez and Sleep) CD release show. I hear that the DJ for Chicharones wears a pig mask. Thats pretty crazy. But the reason I list this show is because it will feature some of the best NW hip-hop currently happening. Performers like Braille, Night Crawlers, Jon the Baptist and Erd are all pretty great. But there is also Raise the Bridges (who rep Hillboro), a rock rap outfit. I don't maybe that's your thing. The show is $8 in advance and $10 at the door. The music starts at 10 PM.
Sunday, January 11th
Here are some more shows that you might enjoy.
There is another good benefit show happening this weekend. This one is happening at Doug Fir and will help put MusiCares & OHSU Uninsured Patients. This was orignially scheduled as a benefit concert for local musician Kele Goodwin who injured himself and had mad medical bills which were eventually very graciously covered by MusiCares. THis is a way of saying thank you and perhaps raising money to help other musicians who might not have medical insurance. The all-star lineup consists of Musee Mecanique, Sabertooth, Heather Broderick and Ritchie Young of Loch Lomond. If you know anything about these musicians you have probably already made arrangements to get to this show. If you don't know anything about these people, now would be a charitable time to "discover" them. The cover is a sliding scale of $10-15. The show starts at 9 PM.
Valentine's is having a The Flight & The Fall show with Root Beer & French Fry and The Wedding Singers also performing. So what the heck is The Flight and The Fall? Well, its a variety show? This is what I found from the Mercury's site. It looks pretty interesting, plus Root Beer and French Fry are really good. This show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
220 House is having a show with The Hugs , Meth Teeth, Best Supporting Actress, Chrome Wings . These are some good bands. And everyone knows nothing can beat a good house show. So if it is good music in a loud and intimate setting that you crave, I suggest you attend this show. I am unsure of a cover, but the show is set to begin at 8 PM.
So that is what is happening this weekend, show-wise. If you see me at any of these please say "Hi".
-Ben
Mirah to perform for all you bitches (and Bitch magazine) tonight at Crystal Ballroom.
Hey! I'm Dylan, I'm not new to blogging but I'm new on Crappy Indie Music. Anyway, brief introduction aside here are two new delicious releases for you to listen to (one of them is free!).
