Monday, 29 June 2009 11:10 UK Giving up my iPod for a Walkman
When the Sony Walkman was launched, 30 years ago this week, it started a revolution in portable music. But how does it compare with its digital successors? The Magazine invited 13-year-old Scott Campbell to swap his iPod for a Walkman for a week.
My dad had told me it was the iPod of its day.
He had told me it was big, but I hadn't realized he meant THAT big. It was the size of a small book.
When I saw it for the first time, its colour also struck me. Nowadays gadgets come in a rainbow of colours but this was only one shade - a bland grey. read more...
I thought this story was from The Onion but it's from BBC News! - ste. goldie
Icelandic music makes me want to go to Iceland. It must be a landscape of endless ice castles and sparkling sunlight. Around every corner is some mythic beauty that causes you to weep on your knees for the ruined fate of our species. They know with a certainty that the world is beautiful and we are only getting in the way of this. Blindfold wraps this ethereal image in pop music and sends it running over an endless field of compositions that fill the entire room with their sound.
This is a rich, layered, spectral and occasionally melancholy pop music that makes me smile and cry at the same time. I am a sucker for reverb and the production value on this record sets the level just right, neither blurring out the structure or letting you back down out of the clouds for too long. It is deft and classy arrangement showing a long familiarity with the band and what they're going for. I've spent some time looking for production credits out there on the tubes and I can't find any. If you know who produced this, I'd love to hear from you.
There is an element that I find lacking in a lot of music that I get in spades here. Dynamic range. I like the big, swelling crescendos, the long build up and the feeling like a wave of music just took your feet out from underneath you. Quiet moments in the record where all the clouds part and you can watch a single bird fly across the sunlight. Loud, angry thrashing guitars that threaten to break down the walls of your mind. I like range and Blindfold has delivered it to me.
Caffeine and Sleeping Pills is my favorite track so far, though I think that had more to do with my intimate familiarity with that particular sense of surreality than anything else. They do a great job lyrically and tonally bringing me to those horrible and glorious 5 AM moments where you don't know if it's more coffee or more drugs that you really want.
I am an admitted fan of music that sounds like its name. Their songs are descriptive tone poems that are drawing out a long night spent watching the river flow by and wondering why you haven't slept in a week. There is a constant sense of the distant horizon always beckoning as an escape from whatever nightmare has you in its clutches and you want to go there. It is potential, it is potent and it is persistent. It is worth listening to, preferably alone during that mysterious hour of 4 AM, watching mists and drinking something unbelievably alcoholic.
Faking Dreams will be released on August 1st, 2009 directly from the band.
Party with Bitch July 9th at the newly renovated Mississippi Studios to hear the likes of Boy Eats Drum Machine, Sugar Short Wave, Katie Sawicki, Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside. Bring your friends for a night of great music while supporting Bitch Media!
Get a little taste of each artist in the video posted above!
Doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 8. Purchase tickets ($10) at the door, or in advance directly from the venue:
Start Time: Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 7:00pm End Time: Friday, July 10, 2009 at 12:00am Location: Mississippi Studios Street: 3939 N Mississippi Ave City/Town: Portland, OR
PS - someone is whistling Carol of the Bells outside...
You can leave but don't think you are gonna get me to blog about it. I am losing my mind over here. I can't do this on my own. Be with me. Not with her.
Who has two thumbs and likes to party on my couch with my wireless mouse? Who? This guy.
THERE ARE NO BEN MEYERCORD PICKS!!!!?!?!?? The blog loses integrity by the minute when he is not here.
Alright. Here it is. This is my call to the PDX readers of CIM to consider switching from Comcast to Clear. I am ready and able to help you make that happen. You'll never have to share bandwidth again. Clear uses WiMax (wifi on crack). You will save mad dolla bills. Plans start at $20 a month. Have questions? Give me a call! -or- email me! goldiedavich (at) gmail (dot) com
Your's Sincerely with Love and Appreciation, goldie
Not a fan of Comcast? Fuel the fire:
A Washington student got a bit of a shock when he received an email from internet service provider Comcast about comments he had made on his blog. Read more...
Thanks to the Computer Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) from May 2007, companies like Comcast have more latitude to spy on users for both the government and themselves. They are using this latitude now to hire someone whose sole purpose will be to spy on Comcast users. Read more...
WASHINGTON -- On Friday, Comcast released the technical details of its current and future "network management" practices. This disclosure by the nation's largest cable company was required as part of the Federal Communications Commission's order last month sanctioning Comcast for blocking Internet users' access to lawful online content and services. Read more...
Tech analyst John Paczkowski reports on Comcast's decision to appeal the FCC’s precedent-setting ruling that Internet gatekeepers cannot block users' access to the free and open Internet:
I am no longer accepting anonymous comments. I will accept your internet aliases and such. This decision is based on:
My inability to take most anonymous comments seriously.
It's annoying to have multiply anonymous comments on one post. It's confusing.
**tirade about the nature of The Internet**
Using your real name is best because it establishes your online credibility.
If you are in a band we are talking about you are more than welcome to discuss your music with us. Blogs ARE conversations. If you have criticism please share them. We aren't animals. If you are a venue, label, CD Baby... it's cool. Promoting your biznas it A-Okay... if you want to sell real estate then fuck off.
STOP BEING A CHICKEN!
There are many advantages and NO disadvantages to using a user name. There have been a rash of anonymous comments. Some are from a truly interesting person. I hope they don't feel attacked. I just can't take it anymore.
Join the community. Let us call you by name, any name.
Sincerely, Goldie Davich <-- real name
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE Gmail, TypePad, Wordpress or AIM GET YOUR NEW USER NAME ACCOUNT HERE:OpenID
Well, I am about to go away for a bit. Y La Bamba is going on a West Coast tour starting tomorrow. So that means I have tonight to see Portland shows, and then I will see what California has to offer.
Tuesday, June 16th
Mississippi Pizza is having a show with Black Heart Moon, Sam Cooper and Pancake Breakfast (White Salmon, WA). I have had the pleasure of playing shows with both Black Heart Moon and Sam Cooper. THey are both really good. The songs of Black Heart Moon are really good. I highly suggest you check them out. Sam Cooper is an amazing musician. he's played with just about every band in Portland. Plus his songs are so good. The show will be by donations and starts at 9 PM.
Someday Lounge is having a show with The Prids, Martin Bisi, and Valentine's is having a show with Oregon Painting Society, Wraiths, and Wooly Mammoth Comes to Dinner. I mostly mention this show because of Wooly Mammoth Comes to Dinner, the improv modern dance group. They use whatever is at their disposal including sometimes t=doing some Voltron type stuff (what with locking their bodies together and all).The show is FREE (donations?) and starts at 9 PM.
The Wail is having a show with Our Brother the Native (Ann Arbor), Religious Girls (East Bay, CA), Carson McWhirter (of The Advantage), and Summer Blondes. I could not hear any music on their page, so I don't if they are a band or not. I have heard Our Brother Native and liked what I heard. The ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 7 PM.
Wednesday, June 17th
Berbati's Pan is having the show with Leather Tom and The Dirty Dudes and Pigeons. I want to experience the Leather Tom show. I also have been meaning to catch Pigeons for a while. The recordings sound pretty good, my friends who have seen them said it was pretty good too. The show is FREE and starts at 10 PM.
Ash Street Saloon is having a show with Mut (Olympia), Sound The Shout!, vs. the sea. I am writing about this show because Vs. The Sea has a really good songwriter at the helm (Jared Brennen). The show is $5 and the music starts at 9:30
The Know (the website is down, 2026 NE Albert st) is having a show with Stiffwiff and The Winebirds. The band Stiffwiff is a band that usually does improv jams, but I have been told that on Wednesday they are going to play songs that have already been written. I am curious as to how it will go. Also, I have heard good things about the Winebirds. It will be FREE and starts at 9 PM.
Thursday, June 18th
Disjecta is having an event called Art Words. Check out this email I got, "Disjecta and Tin House return to a winning formula for the next installment of Arty Words, the literary/art/music sensation too unwieldy to be called an event. Vol. II features Los Angeles artist and writer Zak Smith, Portland's own Jon Raymond and a very special musical performance by Quasi. Zak Smith does for alt porn what Hunter S. Thompson did for motorcycle gangs and Tom Wolfe for psychedelica. Punk artist and icon Zak Smith made a name for himself by visually re-creating Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow and drawing pictures of girls in the "naked girl business." His artistic pedigree and acute observation landed him in high-profile exhibits at the Whitney and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Somewhere along the line, Smith went from the observer to the observed, from the guy with a sketchpad to the guy on-screen doing the unnamable for anyone eighteen or older to see. We Did Porn follows Zak Smith (aka Zak Sabbath) from the New York art scene to Los Angeles's seedy, yet colorful, underbelly-the world of alt porn. Through memoir and more than one hundred drawings, Smith narrates his foray into pornography and gives his readers a new understanding of the industry, its players, and its audience. Jon Raymondis the author of The Half-Life, a novel, and Livability, a collection of stories, two of which were made into the films Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy. He is an editor at Plazm magazine, a former editor at Tin House, and his writing has appeared in Artforum, Bookforum, the Village Voice, and other publications. He lives in Kenton, home of Disjecta." Ummm...did you see that Quasi is playing? Rejoice! The show is $7 and starts early at 7:30 PM.
Backspace is having a show with Hexlove, PWRFL Power (Seatlle/Tokyo), The Naked Hearts, and Tunnels. This is a Potlatch Presents show. If you have not heard of Potlatch, get with it. They are an awesome bunch of people who promote good local music. Hexlove make very pretty ambient music. I love PWFL Power and his songs and his guitar playing. I also have been meaning to see Tunnels for some time. The show is $7 and starts 7:30 PM.
Rotture is having a show for Rock'n'Roll Camp for Girls. It will feature Feelin' Alright, Dirty Mittens, Anaturle. This is for a good cause folks. And just so you know, Fellin' Alright has members of Team Dresch, Errase Errata, and Dear Nora (Super Group!). Dirty Mittens are so good. You should totally check them out if you haven't already. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
The Wonder Ballroom is having a pretty awesome show with The Builders & The Butchers, Loch Lomond, and Ah Holly Fam'ly. Both The builders and Loch Lomond have gone on tour with the Deceberists. Will Ah Holly Fam'ly be next? No. Blind Pilot is going tour with them, but I still think that Ah Holly Fam'ly is really good and deserves any exposure they get. Plus I think that Loch Lomond is great. The ALL AGES show is $12-14 and starts at 8 PM.
Mississippi Pizza is having a show with Dear Ether and Brass Clouds. Dear Ether is a band that was started as a one man recording project in Seattle. Since he moved down to Portland it has grown to a band and then to a sometimes band. I am not sure if tonight will be a band or solo show. but it will probably be fun wither way. The show is probably by donation and starts at 9 PM.
I was pretty excited to receive a CD from Tribella. A three-piece, all woman band from Austin, trained in classical piano and jazz? Sounds pretty sweet. Unfortunately, the result is relatively unremarkable. They're talented, they have good instrumental skills, good voices, and good production. A little too good, a little too mainstream. I expect them to be singing "Soak up the sun". The title track, "My Guest List," and #4 "Saucer Eyes" are notable for their girl-power, I don't need some man to treat me wrong, I'm in a rock band attitude, but stylistically, I'd still rather have Bratmobile tell me that. Don't want to take my word for it? The whole EP is available for free to listen on their website.
Lat night I caught the very end of the Sallie Ford and the Outside Sound show at Junior Ambassadors. It was an outdoor show, which is very summer. I made me excited for the rest of the summer, which is sure to have many outdoor shows. Until then here are some indoor shows (Scratch that, some of these are outside too).
Tender Loving Empire, right next to the Oz Cafe is having 4T "Forty Ounces of Radness". It is a Group show at Tender Loving Empire. Feature work done by various artist on 40 oz bottles of booze. With music by Come Gather Round Us and Inside Voices. Sounds like a cool idea. Plus Inside Voices is a really awesome band, a contender for sure. I saw them at Valentine's the other day and was very impressed. I had not heard of Come Gather Round Us, but they sound good. This sucka is ALL AGES and FREE and lasts from 3 PM to 11 PM.
The Artistery is having a show with Evolutionary Jass Band, Ages, and Hammer of Hathor. As we all know, Evolutionary Jass band is the best jass band in town (perhaps, the only jass band?). Hamor of Hathor easily fit into that left field area that is near jazz, but isn't jazz. I have not heard Ages, but I know some of the people in the band and they are really good musicians, so I am guessing it is good as well. This ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 8 PM.
Portland Playhouse is having the first in its music series called No PA in NoPo acoustic music series. It will feature Juan Prophet, Fruition, Meyercord, and Daryl Shawn (Mexico). I am not too familiar with the other acts. I saw Fruition in it's beginning stages when it was just Mimi and her banjo.I don't know if you noticed , but Meyercord is me. I am excited to be playing with Perry Pfister on upright bass and David Kyle on acoustic guitar. You may know Perry from Black Heart Moon or Pony Ghost. You may know David from Secret Codes, The Shadow Grounds, and Y La Bamba (I play in that band too!). I am super excited to be playing with both of these guys.
The Aladdin Theater is hiving Live Wire! with Chris Ballew (Presidents of The United States of America), The Old Believers, and Ralph Huntley & The Mutton Chops (aka The Live Wire House Band). I have never been to or heard Live Wire! (it is broadcast on OPB), but I understand it is a variety show that has guests and comedy bits, and music of course. The Old Believers are super good. I missed them last time they played the Aladdin, but I heard that they had added ten more people to the original duo. I am pretty sure that all the members of Congradulations! Eskimo and Sons) new in The Old Believers. The ALL AGES showis $20-30 and starts at 8 PM.
Backspace is having a show with Blastoids (Murfreesboro, Tennessee), Deelay Ceelay, Chrome Wings, and Root Beer and French Fry. This is a really good show. Blastiods is pretty cool, I had never heard of them prior, but the rest of the bands I have heard of and I think they are brilliant. All of them pop music with some electronic elements. Check 'em out. The ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.
Sunday, June 14th
Mississippi Studios is having a show with Y La Bamba, Carcrashlander, and Brothers Young. I know I know I know, I am soooo biased. But, I think Y La Bamba is awesome. Carcrashlander is one of the coolest rock bands in Portland. The band that Cory Gray has put together is top notch. The Brothers Young are supposedly very good. It features several of Ritchie Young's (Loch lomond leader) brothers, so we know they will be able to sing. I am looking forward to it. The show is $8-10 and starts at 8 PM.
Valentines is having a show with Wishyunu, Patterns, and The Golden Hours. All of these bands are soooo good. I had never heard of Wishyunu before, but know I really want to see them. I have been meaning to check out The Golden Hours for some time now, they sound really good too. I already knew that Patterns was good. Sigh, I guess I will catch all these bands next time they play. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
So if you see me at any of these shows, say "Hi". It will be awesome.
-Ben
Wishyunu play at Valentine's On Sunday. Pretty cool , no?
God I am so tired. I love music so much. There is no time for sleep. Here are some shows that are happening today.
Friday, June 12th
Junior Ambassador's is having a show with Grey Anne, Duo'ver, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, and Petoskey. First off I would want to say that Junior Ambassador's is a food cart. Not you your typical music venue. But ALL of these bands/artists/projects/"whatever you want to call them" are great. Plus Grey Anne just got back from a tour down the coast to California. If you come to the show, you can be one of the first to welcome her home. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 6 PM.
The Wail is having a show to raise money to buy a PA. They are calling it PA Fundraiser. It will feature White Fang, Rob Wallmart, Breakfast Mountain, and Ghosting. It is a good time for sure. Plus how cool would it be to have better sound at Artistery? Answer: very cool. The ALL AGES show will have a $5 cover.
Blood Bank is having a show with St. Frankie Lee, Brasstronaut (Vanteuver, B.C.), and Sarah of Battle of Land and Sea. This is a show that kind of slipped under my careless radar. I know that St. Frankie Lee always brings it. I have only seen Battle of Land and Sea once, like a long time ago. It was very good though. So the deal with the the Blood Bank is that it is a house venue which holds FREE ALL AGES shows. That being said, this show is FREE and ALL AGES. It is set to start at 8 PM.
The Aladdin Theater is having a show with Portland Cello Project. They are a big band (not that kind of big band, just a lot of members), so they need a big venue. This is their CD release party. It is out on Kill Rock Stars and features awesome local guy Justin Power. It will be $13-15. The ALL AGES show starts at 8 PM.
Mississippi Studios is have Rebecca Gates & The Consortium (RD), Adam Stephens &The Finite Plain, and Sean Flinn. Rebecca Gates used to play in the Portland band The Spinanes. So this is kinda like a homecoming. Though I think Portland has completely changed since her departure. Also I would like to mention that I met Sean Flinn the other day and he seemed like a real cool guy, then I listened to his music and I was like, "Damn, that's some good music". The show is $10 and starts at 9:30 PM.
Backspace is having a show with Gratitillium, Finn Riggins, and Marmits. Basically Tender Loving Empire is having the CD release show for Gratitillium. The great thing about TLE CD release shows is that they often throw in a CD with the price of admission. They are doing that tonight. Plus Gratitillium are really fun to watch. The ALL AGES show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.
White Eagle is having Mimicking Birds, Celilo and The Black Whales (Seattle). Mimicj=king bird is very good. They are one of those bands that Mr. Issac "I am Modest Mouse" Brock has under his wing. Celilo is an underrated Americana-ish band. So basically this will be a good show. The show is $8 and starts at 9:30 PM.
So please say "Hi" to me if you see me at any of these shows. I most likely say "Hi" back and might even attempt a conversation.
-Ben
Sallie Ford and her band are so good. You can see them at the much smaller Junior Ambassador tonight for FREE.
Hello everyone. I assure you that I'm not missing or dead. I've been getting my life in order to move to Portland this summer. Things will be a little sporadic, but I assure you that Musical Etiquette will be back shortly and full time in the fall. In the meantime, here's a video I helped make with some friends earlier this year. That's me in the Monster Hoodie. The band is Hot Lava, go buy their record right now and say "Squeeeee!"
Man I love to watch me some music. Last Night I caught the Canjun Jems show with Inside Voices. I thought the Cajun Jems show set was far too short. I wanted more. Especially considering that I think the band has only played out like six times in it's entire existence. Inside voices was a band I was excited to see and was very satisfied that they were just as good as I thought they were going to be. My friend told me that they are the first Portland band he has been excited about in a loooong time. Plus it turns out that their stellar drummer is none other than Jeffery Jerusalem. I had no idea. Anyways,here are some shows that are happening this week.
Monday, June 8th
Valentine's us having a show with Ocean Age, Lovers and Deacon. I am pretty stoked about this show because I missed the very good Ocean Age last week when they played Berbatis. They live up to their "We don't suck" myspace headline. Also I missed Carolyn Berk (leader of Lovers) do the Willamette Week thing yesterday, and I love the Lovers album but have not seen them play yet. All I know about Deacon is that it is in no way related to Dan Deacon (and that they are from Portland) It will be FREE (donations accepted) and starts sometime after 9 PM.
The Know (2026 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211) is having a show with Westfold, Makeout Party (Cherry Hill, NJ), and Friendly Skies. Westfold and Friednly Skies are some of the most underated bands in Portland, in my opinion. Westfold makes really good Rock music that is hard to pin down musically, but is all bound together by the thougtful lyrics of Mark Palumbo. Frindley Skies makes good instrumental post-rock music with some sick beats provided by amazing drummer Jason Drost. The show will be FREE and starts sometime after 8 PM.
Tuesday, June 9th
Holocene is having a show with Love is All (Gotenberg, Sweden), Still Flyin' (San Francisco), and Dirty Mittens. I know the name Love is All, but I am listing the show because I feel that Dirty Mittens is one of the best darned bands in Portland. They kind of, to me, have a Saturday Looks Good to Me kind of feel. It has sax solos! What can I say? It's good. The show is $10 in advance and $12 at the door. The music starts sometime around 9 PM.
Wednesday, June 10th
Berbati's is having Leather Tom and The Dirty Dudes play with Dudes of Chaos. That is a lot of Dudes. As I mentioned last week Leather Tom is playing for FREE every Wednesday of this week at Berbati's. Kinda like how Delorean played everyweek at Laurelthirst every Wednesday of last month. Except these guys are way more dancey and it starts at 10 PM instead of 6 PM. So again FREE show at 10 PM.
Holocene is having Ear Pwr (Baltimore, RD), Adventure (Baltimore, RD), Alexis Gideon and Jeffrey Jerusalem play a show. I an listing this show because Alexis Gideon has such a unique and awesome show. He has animation that goes over his sweet white boy flow about all sorts of fantastical things. Plus the one man disco show that is Jeffery Jerusalem is not to be missed. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.
The Know (2026 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211) is having a show with The Pseudo Dates (Denver, CO), Bugs of Lightning and New Century Schoolbook. Do you lika the indie-pop? Is twee not a dirty word to you? Then you probably should check this show out. I am just saying. The show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.
Please say "Hi" to me. Preferabley at a show. Even better if it is one of the shows I have just listed. I promise to say hello back. Even if I have no idea as to who you are!
-Ben
The Friendly Skies will play the Know tonight. Just like this.
Summer time is crazy. It is super nice outside which makes you want to go outside. It is also means that it stays light for like forever. Which means generally you do more things. As a show=goer this can be dangerous. I have missed several shows due to exhaustion. So pace yourself. If there is a show that you know you NEED to see, then do not go outside during the day. You will get tired, and then you will miss the show. That being said yesterday was all stormy so I went to see a show. The Grey Anne/PWRFL Power show which was excellent. Here are some more excellent shows.
Friday, June 5th
Backspace is having a show with Atole, Breakfast Mountain, Guidance Counselor, Mattress and DJ Hostile Tapeover. If you feel like getting your hot summer ass dancing. This is the show you want to go to. I still have not seen Breakfast Moutain. I think this would be a nice introduction. This ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.
Berbati's is having a show with Blue Horns, The Rosewood Thieves (Somewhere else), St. Frankie Lee and Mississippi Man (Fullerton, CA). Blue Horns are pretty bomb. I think of them as in the same sort of ballpark as Shaky Hands I think they are neighbors with St. Frankie Lee. Who are bomb in their own right. I have played shows with St. Frankie Lee several times and they are super fun to see. They always have cool hand made merch. Last time I saw them they had St. Frankie Lee pillow cases. How cool is that? The cost is $5-7 and starts at 10 PM.
Hawthorne Theater is having a show with Hide & Go Hustle, Dandelion Snow (NYC), and Morgan Erinaa. Hide & Go Hustle make very beautiful music. It is where classical, instrumental post rock, and beats meet. I have only seen them once but it was very good. The other tow people playing this seem more singer songwriter-y. I think one of them used to live in Seattle. The ALL AGES show is $3 and starts at 7 PM
Slabtown is having a show with We're From Japan!, Pony Village and Donovan Breakwater. We're From Japan! pretty much rule it. They make instrumental rock music sort of in the same vein as EITS. They know how to build a song. I often get caught up in the momentum of their music (ie dance). I have been meaning to check out Pony Village for a while now, they make indie rock. Donovan Breaker does too. They actually sound like they came directly fro like 1997 or something (not a bad thing). Who doesn't like a little indie rock every once and a while? The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
Saturday, June 6th
Holocene's Six Year Anniversary with: Talkdemonic, Explode into Colors, Nurses, Gulls, E*Rock and Bobby Dangerous. Six years is a pretty substantial amount of time for a music venue in this day and age. Why not celebrate? Plus this looks like an awesome show. I listen to Talkdemonic all the time. I personally think they make a good soundtrack to about everything. You know like putting salt on something. It was good before, but now its awesome. I have not seen Explode into Colors despite the amount press they have gotten. Nurses however, I have seen and I think they are fantastic. This show is FREE and starts 9 PM.
The Know is having a show with Vs. the Sea and a band called Mister Steak. I have never heard of Mister Steak. But Vs. The Sea is a band that has a friend of mine, Jared, who used to play the Zilla Sake house. This is the place where I started playing my solo stuff and started playing with Luz Elena of Y La Bamba. It is good to see that he is still doing his thing as I always thought he was a really good songwriter. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
The Waypost is having a show with Damon Moon & The Whispering Drifters (Georgia), Travis Wiggins and Alan Singley. I am writing this because it is nice to see that the two kings of quirky pop (Alan and Travis) are sharing a bill together again. Though I suppose Alan has gone more and more traditional pop late, and Travis weirder and weirder. Travis used to play in Alan's band or vice versa (or both?). Any way this will be a very fun show. This is a FREE ALL AGES show and starts at 8 PM.
The Artistery is having a shows with Gejus, Very International Love, Glasssmoustache and Gameshow. I don't know anything about the other bands, but Gejius is really good at the laptop/live electronics dance thing. It isn't straight up techno or pop, pop more of a grove thing. The thing he did with Huey Louis's Heart and Soul is so awesome. The ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 8 PM.
The Blood Bank is having a show with Firs of Prey, Snuffaluffagus, and Sec Saints Art Collective. I have heard of the Blood Bank, but have never been. I have heard of Birds of Prey from my friend Grey Anne who assured me that he is great. I listened to his myspace and she was right it kind of reminds me of the acoustic numbers on the Beatles White Album (live there is a lot of looping). I heard of Snuffaluffagus from my friend Tex Winters. I guess he is their roommate. He says that their practices sound pretty good. Again I checked the myspace, again they are pretty good. I have liked what I have heard of the Sec Saints Art Collective. So it looks to be a pretty amazing show. The ALL AGES show has set a cover as "FREE as Fuck" according to where I saw the show posted.
Fun Run Records is having a house show (312 NE 61st ave) with Westfold, Hey Lover, Dio McCloud, Not To Reason (Petaluma, CA), and Goodriddler (Santa Rosa, CA), and DJ Skin So Soft. Westfold is one of my favorites though I have not seen them play i a long time. They apparently have a new drummer and a lot of new songs I have not heard. Dio McCloud is a guy who does not play out near enough. He kinda sounds like the Red House Painter (i.e. really good). I have not seen Hey Lover before or the two California bands (who are on tour together), but they all sound pretty good. This ALL AGES show is FREE (though donations will be accepted gratiously) and starts at 7 PM.
The Green House is having a house show (gasp!) with Guidance Counselor, Fake Drugs, Saucy Yoda, Southern Belle, Torture Me Elmo, and Mythological Horses. I will try to describe each band in one sentence because there are so many of them. Guidance counselor is lo-tech techno-pop. Fake Drugs is lo-fi electro-disco. Saucy Yoda is DIY girl hip-hop. Sothern Belle plays music that is in the same indie rock ballpark as Wolf Parade or World's Greatest Ghosts and others they incorporate a heavy use of keyboards. Tourture me Elmo is a punk band. Mythological Horses plays curse drenched folk music. It might cost money? The ALL AGES show starts at 7 PM.
Sunday, June 7th
PDX Salon is having something called Eat Music Brunch. It will feature music from Leviethan. I don't know if you have heard but Ol' Levi here has a new business model for making records. Which is essentiall having his listeners to pay for the costs. They would pay fro a pre-order type deal. You can read about it here. I believe that this is a fundraiser for the album as well. It is $40 a head. This seems very interesting. It will last from 10 Am to 2 PM.
Valentine's is having an amazing show with Sunday (Austin, TX), Cajun Gems, and Inside Voices. Cajun Gems are the mostly acoustic side project of the Joggers. It is really good. Inside voices is a band that currently at the top of Portland I NEED to see this summer. I love what I have heard by them so far. This show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
The Someday Lounge is having a show with Reclinerland and Carolyn Berk (of Lovers). This is the Willamette Week thing they do the first Sunday of every month at Someday Lounge. It features live performances and interviews. I don't know if you have ever seen a live interview, but it is awkward. Reclinerland writes catchy songs with good and entertaining lyrics. You may know the Michael Johnson (Reclinerland) from his other band Parks and Recreation. He recently decided to quit Reclinerland, then even more recently decided not to. But during the brief time he quit he offered a FREE album via his blog. Lovers the band that Carolyn Berk uses to perform her songs is pretty great, Though I have yet to see them their recently released album "I Am the West" is very good. I fell in love witht he first track, "Igloos for Ojos" straight away (it is one of my Summer Jamz). The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
Ground Kontrol is having a heavy show with Thrones (Salem) and Silentist. DJ Nate C will be spinning some heavy metal records too. If you are into heavy music you probably know about Thrones and Silentist. If you don't, I just want to remind people that the Portland area make more than folk or dancey pop music. The show starts at 9 PM.
Mississippi Pizza Pub is having a show with Hide & Go Hustle and Hair Envelope (Seattle). I wrote about Hide & Go Hustle for Friday. But if you can't make the Friday show, then check this one out. I know that my friend Luz Elena played a show with the Seattle group. They make very good Indie dancey music. For real it is better than average dance music. I know that it will be at 9 PM, I don't know if there is a cover, but donations will be acceptaded for sure.
Please do me the favor of saying "Hi" if you see me at any of these shows. It would make me happy. And give me an excuse to give you a high five. It should be noted I don't require much of an excuse to give a high five.
-Ben
Firs of Prey doing will do something something similar to this on Saturday at the Blood bank.
Hey Yo! Did you know that Portland is awesome? Here are the shows to prove it. Not that having awesome shows is the sole reason that Portland is awesome, but it certainly does help. Here are the shows I am interested in.
Wednesday, June 3rd
Berbati's is having Leather Tom and the Dirty Dudes and Ocean Age. Apparently Leather Tom and his Dirty Dudes will be playing FREE every Wednesday for June. After listening to them only two words come to mind. Gay Disco. Now I don't mean that in a bad way at all. In fact it is pretty good. But there is no way around it, It is gay. Just listen to there song Leather Ballet. I think this would be a very very fun show to attend. It kinda makes me wish I saw them last night at Backspace. Ocean Age's myspace headline says it all. "We don't suck". Well, actually I guess that is pretty vague. Let me clear it up they are actually good. From what I can tell that take old school indie -pop boy and girl vocals and mix them with more contemporary indie pop sensibilities. I like it. The show, again, is FREE and starts at 10 PM.
The Someday Lounge is having a show with Patterns, and Pigeons. Patterns makes pretty good pop music. And Pigeons makes make kinda twangy music with an enormous studder in the main vocals. I am trying to see if I can get over it, cause I enjoy the music. There is an instrumental song on the myspace and a song called "Send Mt. to my Valentine" which I quite enjoy that do not have the studdering. This show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
East Burn is having a show with Spinning Wheels. I remember back in the day when East End was called Nocturnal. I saw Deerhoof there. Speaking of poppy and slightly mathy bands, Spinning wheels are playing. WHile granted they lean very heavily on the pop side of things. They have enough of a influence that I can see possibly a Pele feel to the music. If you are not familiar with that band you are missing out. Anyway, this show is listed on the East End page, but not the Spinning Wheels. So who knows if is actually happening. The show is FREE and starts at 10 PM.
Thursday June 4th
Nest Lounge is having is monthly first Thursday show with Rian O'Hara, Gregory Mile Harris, and Tommy Suitcase. I sometimes wonder if people mind if their music is called cute. I think Gregory Miles Harris's songs are cure. Or at the very least very sweet. It happens here every first Thursday at 8 PM. No cover.
Rotture is having a show with Lineland (Chicago), Animal Hospital (Boston), Strategy, Wampire, and E*Rock. This looks amazing. Let me try to break it down for you. E*Rock makes cool electro-esque music and runs this label based out of Portland called Audio Dregs. This label has put out records by Lineland and Strategy. The dude from Lineland has a label called Mutable Sound which has put out a record by Animal Hospital. Which leaves Wampire. They are completely unrelated to any of the other artists, but they are pretty great. The artists range from ambient to dancey and a lot of inbetween. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.
Krakow Cafe is having a show with Michael the Blind. It is probably FREE (note: I just confirmed it to be FREE). I think Michael is a pretty darn good songwriter and a fine guitar player to boot. This will be him playing in a relaxed setting. I think that is a songwriters natural habitat. The show starts at 6 PM.
Holocene is having the PDX Pop Now! CD Release show with Copy, Jared Mees & The Grown Children, What's Up?, The Taxpayers, and DJ Beyonda. All of you should know by now that I think that Jared Mees and The Grown Children are one of my favorite bands in Portland. Especially live. They are so positive and fun. Do not be cynical embrace the joy that is their show. The show is $10 and starts at 8 PM.
The Artistery is having a show with PWRFL Power (Seattle/Tokyo), Cap Lori (Seattle), and Grey Anne. PWRFL Power writes very entertaining songs that are also very good. They make you laugh and then they burrow their way in to you memory. I played with him and his friend Cap Lori a little while ago in Seattle it was pretty fun. And Grey Anne of course is also very entertaining. She often engages the audience, she tries things that make the make the show more than just a person just standing on stage strumming a guitar. She employs the help of stage animal friends (sometimes a giraffe, sometimes a bird), hand motions, acting looping etc. Plus her songs are also very good. Anyway, this ALL AGES show is $6 and starst at 7:30 PM.
So if you see me at one of these shows, give me a "Hi" and I will give you a "High five". It is a pretty good deal.
-Ben
Jared Mees & The Grown Children play little children and for PDX Pop Now fans on Thursday.
I guess sometimes, (have you ever had this happen to you?), I get so entranced and overwhelmed with a work of art that I wasn't expecting and certainly not even consciously aware of even and then BLAM! out of left field it instantly becomes a part of my every day. And, so as a result, you end up being like...nah just bang it and head nod homie. But nah, you should check it. Real 4. et cet.
Enough excuses though. I'm gonna dive in like Louganis.....
Last sentence of the track= "long story short, fucking dawg= listen."
True.
Track #2 - Hate Aside
The "SIngle". And I can see why. "Ain't no rules in this game we play. Doo doo doo." is pretty much the "Feeling Groovy" hook of the record. I'm in deep. not sweatin' it. yeah. I don't want to see those quotes on the net. ocd tendencies et al.
Track #3-Oh My God
Ok ok, WTF w/ the Boyz-2-Men-esque 2 dirty englishmen intro? And I quote=
"See, people get confused. And it makes us concerned. They're confused that we might be concerned...with their ideas of what we should be doing. Or whether we care about what they say. And that makes us concerned. But we're gonna keep doing what we been doing. Crushing. Fucking Sandpeople cunt."
Weirdest intro forever ever? Perhaps. Anyway,it gets even better, Making cheddar like Wisconsin! check. Ri diggedy donkulous like T-Pains Top Hat? check. Q-Tip sample? check. your letters to the editor are anonymous.
Track #4 - Beyond Us
I'm grateful for the air I drink.
Track #5 - Control Panel
Ok, this is probably my favorite track on the whole record. Either this one or the next one. And apologies to the MC who kicks this track off, but even though I don't know you - you're the m=erf'in bomb.
To be honest, until this EP came out I was mostly familiar w/ my boy IllMac.
That said, whoever spits the first verse is my new fave mc of this whole crew. this is bananas like woody allen. check it.....
"BOOM!
So what if I step slow?
I live in the gentro-ghetto
Hipsters come hither with your indie-pop electro
Metro (buck buck) you think you can't hear guns
over your ear bud headphones?
I know it's safer, but bangers are still toting their skets though.
and if they're your neighbors, that's bad for escrow. (escrow)
A couple of months ago, I got a random Myspace friend invite from this band, Play People. Now, I tend to get tons of band invites on Myspace, and I generally wait until I have ten or so lined up, and twenty minutes or more to kill, and sit there and listen a little to each one and decide whether to add them or not. Generally, I end up getting a lot of crap, and a lot of, "oh, well they don't suck, so ok whatever, being a Myspace friend isn't exactly a real relationship or anything." When I listened to Play People, I was thoroughly impressed. I actually sent them an email thanking them for adding me. Of course, the actual email has long since disappeared into the abyss, but it went something along the lines of : "Thanks for the add. It's really refreshing to get a friend invite from what is simply a damn good pop band." Since then, I've been intending to write some kind of a review. Well, all I can say is that Play People offer purely delightful brit pop for your listening pleasure. And that they have a single out on Cloudberry Records entitled "Goes Out." I hope they record some more stuff soon, because they are all kinds of awesome. Do yourself a favor and check them out. And of course, if they ever come to Portland, I know somebody who would be glad to open for them....
Last night when I played with Y La Bamba at the Doug Fir, I had such a good time. St. Frankie Lee were good, with Chelsea making the jumop from her usual acoustic gutiar to an electric. While it might not have been as big as when Dylan went electric, I still noticed and appreciated the switch. Autopilot totally brought it with big string parts and up to seven people all singing in harmony. Plus all the people in all the bands were super nice.
Monday, June 1st
Backspace is having Bodies of Water (LA), Ah Holly Fam'ly, and White Hinterland play a show. Now I have heard the name Bodies of Water around not necessarily bad or good, I have just heard it. The reason I am listing this show is because of Ah Holly Fam'ly. I have yet to see them and I have heard very good things about them. Plus all the videos I have seen of them have been pretty great well arranged folish/Americana type stuff. White Hinterland has been hit or miss with me. Never really terrible, but whatevs (except for some time when it is very good). The ALL AGES show is $8 and starts at 9 PM.
Valentine's is having a show with Black Heart Moon and We You (LA). Black Heart Moon are pretty good. They are one of the most promising bands I know. When they are on they are soooo on. When they are off they are still pretty good. The band also contains its secret weapon David Dyas who plays mostly gorgeous sounding slide guitar. This will be FREE and starts at 9 PM.
Plan B is having a show with Yeah Great Fine, Skip Proxy and Project Eldrige. I saw Yeah Great Fine once. And was really impressed. I want to see them again. They are kinda like the Joggers in the way that they write straight up pop songs that have subtle weird and somewhat mathy elements. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
Tuesday, June 2nd
Backspace is having a show with Clues, Wampire, and Leather Tom and The Dirty Dudes. Clues is a band that has members of Arcade Fire and The Unicorns. That means they are Canadian. Unlike a lot of Canadian bands I have heard recently, I don;t think they are all that. I am writing about this show because of local openers Wampire. I remember playing a show with them about a year ago and thinking that they showed a lot of promise. It turns out I was right. I feel like they are starting up a bit of a buzz. They are getting all kinds of sweet shows. I think you should check them out. This ALL AGES show is $8 in advance and $10 at the door. The show starts at 8 PM.
The Wail is having a show with Shelby Sifers and Nap Club International, Hello Shark (New England), and Big Spirit (Boise, ID). Shelby Sifers is probably one of the more underrated songwriters in Portland. I bought her album at Tender Loving Empire last summer and loved it. I don't know anyththing about the other bands. This ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 7 PM.
So if you see me at any of these, I beg of you to say "Hi".
-Ben
I think her songs are so damn adorable. Shelby Sifers plays the Wail on Tuesday night.
