Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for July 24th to July 26th

Hello Dear Readers,

Holy Crap Guys! My favorite weekend of the year has arrived. Glorious glorious PDX Pop NOW! 2009 will begin by the end of tonight. There are other shows happening this weekend, but I wouldn't bank on my being at them. However, in the spirit of this blog's usually decent coverage, I will list them.

Friday, July 24rd

Jack Pot Records (Downtown) i shaving an in-store with The Thermals! I do love me some Thermals. Yes they are three chord pop punk, but they some how manage to get me hooked every time. It is FREE and starts at 6 PM.

Rotture is having Day one of three of the PDX Pop Now! 2009 Festival. So I cannot write about every one of these bands for the festival, so I will just leave it up to you to click on the links I have provided. Today will feature performances by:

INSIDE
6:00-6:30 Dirty Mittens
6:40-7:10 The Estranged
OUTSIDE
7:25-7:55 Chamber of Commerce (Blue Cranes + Paxselin Quartet)
8:05-8:35 Don Hellions
INSIDE
8:50-9:20 Fear No Music
9:30-10:00 Peter Broderick
10:10-10:40 The Mint Chicks
OUTSIDE
10:55-11:25 Animal Farm
11:35-12:05 Explode Into Colors
12:15-12:45 The Minus 5

Though, I won't write about every band. I do want to say that Dirty Mittens and Peter Broderick are not to be missed. The show is ALL AGES and FREE. It starts at 6 PM.

Laurelthirst is having a show with The Physical Hearts, Run On Sentence, Black Heart Moon. I have not heard of the The Physical Hearts which surprises me because they sound pretty good. I have not seen Run On Sentence. But I have seen Black Heart Moon and I love them. They make warm and sad music.

The Woods is having it's first official show tonight. They will have Ages, Golden Holy, and Garrett Pierce (Davis, CA). Pretty good. I mean I personally might have waited a week and not gone up against PDX Pop. But Whatevs. I saw Ages play last Sunday at Rontom's and it was good. It is kind of Pseudosix, the band that preceded Ages, but less rock and with more vocal parts (it should be noted that Pseudosix already had a lot of vocal parts). I had not heart of Golden Holy before, but it seems pretty good. The recordings I heard sounded a bit like it was epic music on a lo-fi scale. I want to hear them live to see what their music sounds like in real life. Garret Pierce sounds like a indie crooner. I like crooning. I guess they are doing their best to compete, because the show is FREE and the doors open at 8 PM.

Doug Fir is having a show with Themselves (Oakland, CA), Cars & Trains and Hostile Tapeover. Themselves is two of the three guys responsible for the seminal anticon group Cloudead The show is $12 and starts at 9 PM.

East Burn is having Good Will River. They kind of make music that is like slowly going down a stream. But I kind of get that feeling from any music that features a full time harmonica player (Blues Traveler excluded). The show is FREE and starts at 10 PM.

Saturday, July 25th

Rotture is having day two of three of the PDX Pop Now! 2009 Festival. here is the line up:

INSIDE
12:00-12:30 Teeath
12:40-1:10 White Hinterland
1:20-1:50 Morning Teleportation
OUTSIDE
2:05-2:35 Magic Johnson
2:45-3:15 Rob Walmart
3:25-3:55 Fist Fite
INSIDE
4:10-4:40 Benoit Pioulard
4:50-5:20 Breakfast Mountain
5:30-6:00 Nucular Aminals
OUTSIDE
6:15-6:45 Luck-One
6:55-7:25 Inside Voices
7:35-8:05 Red Fang
INSIDE
8:20-8:50 Church
9:00-9:30 Tara Jane O'Neil
9:40-10:10 Deelay Ceelay
OUTSIDE
10:25-10:55 Laura Gibson
11:05-11:35 Nice Nice
11:45-12:15 Pierced Arrows
12:25-12:55 Strength

I am looking forward to this day of the festival. I think that Inside Voices, Church, and Laura Gibson are not to be missed, but there ate loads of bands that I want to see Saturday. I am bummed because I am missing a large chunk of the day due to stupid stupid work. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at noon.

Slabtown is having a Patti Smith tribute night with: Swallows, Reina Collins, Grey Anne, Karamy M, The I's, Heather Perkins, Silk & Olive, Teri Untalan, Marie Black. The whole thing is a benefit for Siren Nation. I think what Siren Nation is doing is important. Though most of these artists are not my cup of tea, I am very happy to see that Grey Anne is a part of it. She has consistently supported the nation. The show is $7 and starts sometime after 9 PM.

The Laurelthirst is having a show with Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, Audie Darling, Leviethan and Brian Bixler. The show starts at 9:30 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a DEMOCRACYLAB BENEFIT featuring musical performances by Dolorean, Celilo, and Dave McCraw and Crow Wing (Flagstaff, AZ). "DemocracyLab is an experiment in direct democracy, powered by open source software, and built on the idea that technology can empower us to harness freedom of speech and the power of the vote to solve today’s most challenging problems." Does this sound interesting to you? It does me. Plus, Dolorean and Celilo are both excellent Americana bands. I have not heard of Dave McGraw before but it seems to be in the same vein. The show is $10 in advance and $12 at the door. The music starts at 8 PM.

Sunday, July 26th

Rotture is having say three of three of the PDX Pop Now! 2009 Festival. Sunday the line up is this:

INSIDE
12:00-12:30 Ah Holly Famíly
12:40-1:10 DASH!
1:20-1:50 Guidance Counselor
OUTSIDE
2:05-2:35 The Andrew Oliver Sextet
2:45-3:15 The Quick & Easy Boys
3:25-3:55 Purple Rhinestone Eagle
INSIDE
4:10-4:40 Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside
4:50-5:20 Daniel Menche
5:30-6:00 Jeffrey Jerusalem
OUTSIDE
6:15-6:45 The Old Believers
6:55-7:25 MY-G
7:35-8:05 Cull
INSIDE
8:20-8:50 Grouper
9:00-9:30 Nurses
9:40-10:10 Thrones
OUTSIDE
10:25-10:55 The Shaky Hands
11:05-11:35 Lightheaded
11:45-12:15 Au
12:25-12:55 Menomena

In my opinion the must see acts for Sunday include, Sallie Ford and the Outside Sound, Nurses, Thrones, The Shaky Hands and...well actually you should just show up before 9 and then stay because it is all amazing. Also Menomena is playing and good lord do I love that band. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at noon.

Valentine's is having show with Brave Priest, Dark Lingo (Pittsburgh) and Bird Costumes. This is all kind on the weirder side of things. I mostly write about the show because I want to see Bird Costumes. He incorporates two things that I very much enjoy. Experimental music and costumes (check out his pictures and see how rad his bird head thing is). The show is by donation and starts at 9 PM.

Ducketts Public House is having a show with Wah Wah Exit Wound (Seattle), Bury My Teeth (Chicago), and Air War. These bands are rock. Not light rock or indie rock or anything like that. They are for real. I have been meaning to catch Air War for a while. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.


Please say "Hi" to me if you see me at The PDX Pop Now! 2009 fest. I am going to be there a whole lot. You will have ample opportunity. I am just saying.

-Ben


Nurses will be one of the many must see's at PDX Pop Now! 2009. See you there?