Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for May 7th and 8th

Hello Dear Readers,

So I thought I was going to be able to see shows. And then yesterday I went to the dentist. Afterwards (more specifically after I paid the bill) I realized that I was not seeing a show that night. Luckily there are some FREE ones tonight that I might be able to check out.

Thursday, May 7th

• Crystal Ballroom is having night two of two featuring The Shins and The Delta Spirit (CA) play. As I mentioned previously, these show are totally sold out. You will have to do some shameful things to get into this show (unless of course you have already bought a ticket, in which case, do you have an extra?). The ALL AGES show starts at 9 PM.

• Tender Loving Empire is having a first Thursday event with Finn Riggins and Church. I think I read somewhere that TLE will be putting out the Church full length. I am so stoked for that to come out. This is a FREE event and starts at 8 PM.

• East End is having a John Lennon Tribute: The Lark, Dantronix, Jeezum Crow, Soft Paws, Beyond Veronica, Oh Captain My Captain, Viola Rose, Zack Blei and Brace Paine. I must admit that I am only listing this because I think that Oh Captain My Captain is awesome. Plus this Show is FREE. And John Lennon was a cool guy. The show starts at 8 PM.

• Plan B is having a show with Les Flaneurs, Chores and Tractor Operator. I have been meaning to see Les Flaneurs, and Chores for a long time. I also have not seen Tractor Operator in a looong time. It is $5 and starts at 9:30 PM.
  

• Nest Lounge is having Rian O'Hara, Gregory Miles Harris and Tommy Suitcase all play. Do you like quirk-core (a genre I just made up?). These are some of quirk-cores finest contemporaries. I am pretty sure it is FREE and even more sure that it starts at 8 PM.

Friday, May 8th

• Backspace is having a show with Y la Bamba, Odawas (Berkeley) and Sabertooth. Hey guess what. I play in Y La Bamba! Is this a conflict of interest? Maybe. Is that why I am listing this shows first? Yes. I think we are awesome. But apparently I am not the only one who thinks so as we were voted #6 Best New Bands by WW. Anyways, the ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 8:30 PM.

• Mississippi Pizza is having Blue Cranes and Andrew Oliver Sextet. If you don't like hip indie rock bands, perhaps you like hip indie jazz bands. I like both. This show is $8 and starts at 9 PM.

• Holocene is having PDX Film Fest Karaoke Throwdown: Rush-N-Disco, Hooliganship and DJ BJ. This looks like it will be loads of fun. Most crowd participation type events are. Plus if you haven't seen Rush-N-Disco, you really need to. Just ask Goldie. This show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

• White Eagle is having Sera Cahoone, Celilo (Seattle) and Betsy Olson (Seattle). I admit that what caught my eye was Sera Cahoone (Ex-Carissa is Weird, and Band of Horses). I think she is pretty darn good. But What I did't know was that Celilo is was good. I have seen the name around town but have somehow managed to avoid actually listening to it. I think that maybe you should too. It is $8-10 and starts at 9:30 PM.

• Doug Fir is having Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks. Do I really have to try to sell you on this guys? Really it is a no brainer. Janet from Quasi is the new drummer. I have not seen her drum with them yet. But I do know it will be rock. This show is $15 and starts at 9 PM.

• Quetzo Lodge is having a show with Reporter, Yeah Great Fine, Skip Rroxy, Deau Deau, Followed by a raucous dance party with DJ Royal. I think this is a house show. House shows are fun. Yeah Great Fine is pretty rad. Reporter is pretty rad. The ALL AGES show is FREE.

So those are some shows to start off your weekend (assuming that Thursday is still the new Friday). I hope that I make it out to some of them (I know I will be at Backspace on Friday). If you see me, You should give me a slight kidney punch followed by a "Hi". Once my bewildered look fades, I will say "Hi" back. That is how conversations start. Yes?

-Ben


Celilo a while back. You can see them on Friday at White Eagle.