Whoops! As it turns out sometimes it is better to stay home. I regret nothing except maybe missing Design.Drift.Destination They will play again. But Tonight there are a couple shows tonight that I will for sure make it out to (at least one of them). For real these are really good.
Sunday, November 15th
Rontoms is having a show with Church, Polka Dot Dot Dot (Olympia), and Rey Villalobos. Lord I love Church (the band, not to be confused with The Church or the place of worship or whatever). They are really good at what they do, which is create very dynamic music that builds like water pressure against a dam until it spills over the edge and then flows and floods the valley below and eventually settles in new calm. Or at least it seems that way to me. Olympia's Polka Dot Dot Dot is a band I have been trying to catch for a while. They apparently met and formed in New Zealand or some crazy place like that. Each member makes music on their own, but together their voices come together to create the vocal equivalent to Voltron (i.e. very impressive). That being said, I don't think there are many indie-pop bands that are as vocally focused as this group which is a shame. I had never heard if Rey Villalobos before but he seems to have his stuff together. He recorded at Type Foundry and it sounds good (duh, great studio). I also see that he plays out with Carcrashlander. Any friend of theirs is a friend of mine. No idea if he will have band, but I am guessing not. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
Valentine's is having a show with White Hinterland, Threads of Grass, and Justin Power. White Hinterland can be described as such: A girl with a pretty voice plays songs on a Fender Rhodes. But that is just an awful description for the band because it is not your typical girl on keys sort of outfit. They play dark music that has a faint Francophone feel (I think she sometimes sings in French which adds to this) and has a dude add textual sounds and cool percussive elements, often by candle light. I have never heard of Threads of Grass before, but they list 13 members. That is crazy for a place like Valentine's. I recognize some of the band members names as good players. I also see that they are a Folk-rock band (surprise). But I think it will probably be one of the better ones. Plus they released their record on record (vinyl). Nice. Justin Power is great. I remember finding out about because other musicians that I like would have him in their "top friends". I kept seeing him and eventually took a listen. It was one of those rare times when you find something and you kinda stop what you are doing and listen. He has been getting more exposure lately because he is on the new Portland Cello Project album. It has a rendition of one of my favorite songs by Justin, "Travel". His usually plays on a bass that has been outfitted with various non-bass and bass strings to make a very versatile instrument. He also sometimes switches over to a uke. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
If you see me at any of these shows, please say "Hi". Because there is hell in hello.
-Ben
Church plays tonight at Rontoms for FREE. Why would you miss this?
2 comments:
Yes! These shows are superb but I'll have to skip 'em to see a band from my home town that I've loved for years! The Features are playing tonight with the Wigs. I'm not familiar with the Wigs, but the Features are amazing! http://www.myspace.com/thefeatures
Ah Man, Church was great.
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