Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for January 31st and February 1st

Hello Dear Readers,

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.

-Ben


e*rock @ calvin from gabe berghuis on Vimeo.
E*Rock is Crazy. He is playing for FREE on Sunday.