Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Thursday, December 17th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I played a show with Y La Bamba and it was super fun. Bryan Free started the show with pretty songs he played solo on the piano. Then came Leonard Mynx and his band. It was one of the best bands that Leonard has put together (he usually puts together a new band every show). Then we played. It felt really good. We tried something new, which is making a set list and sticking to it. It worked really well. Plus we played a song that Luz Elena had written the night before. We made a rudimentary arrangement and surprisingly it worked out. But enough about me, let's talk about

Thursday, December 17th

Holocene is having a Flight 64 Benefit called Prin Tit with Jizz Wizard, Lifesyles, Sex Life, The Singing Knives, Bigjoy, Sharon is Karen, and Dorian - Deau Bird. Flight 64 is not a tragic place crash or anything. It is actually a nonprofit art gallery on Alberta. Jizz Wizard is industrial dance music. Lifestyles used to be called Leather Tom and the Dirty Dudes. They make really awesome disco music. Actually all of these groups are good for dancing to. The show is $5-$10 and starts at 6 PM.

The Woods is having the Portland Round with Tahoe Jackson, Mike Coykendall, and Dlux Light. Tahoe is an amazing soul singer. Mike Coykendall is a underrated folk-rock person. DLux I believe is a hip-hop/soul guy. This is a really diverse bill. If they play on each others songs as some rounds do, it will be bananas. The show is $8 and starts at 9 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Rollerball, The Golden Bears, and Arch Cape. Rollerball is an art rock band that is amazing that is big in Europe but not so big over here. That might change if you go out and see them. The Golden Bears is a band based around the girl/boy duo of Julianna Bright and Seth Major. They have been in several bands together and have developed quite a musical chemistry. The songs range from full out rockers to quiet numbers. All of which are pretty good. I have yet to see them. The Show is $8 and starts at 9 PM.

Rotture is having a show with Soft Tags, Massive Moth, and Symmetry/Symmetry. Soft Tags are something special. It seems that every couple of months they are putiing out a new CD. They are totally DIY. Tonight they are releasing a double lp entitled "Mathematical Monsters" . I am not sure if it will be on wax (probably not, as it is extremely expensive and they pride themselves on not spending much money). You should check out their epic Lo-fi jamz. I am a fan. I went to listen to Symmetry/Symmetry and was very surprised to hear some very awesome Christmas songs done really well check it out if you like Christmas songs. I must admit I am a sucker for Christmas music (one of the many perks of not working retail). The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Alberta Street Pub is having a show with Jake Kelly, Brian Rozendal, and John Vecchiarelli. Jake Kelly vaguely reminds me of Johnny Cash. Not completely but he has a very strong old school country kind of voice. The recordings I heard were very minimal but impressed me. I actually met Brian Rezendal at a Meyercord show. We talked about how we both had bands that were named after our last names. He like me, makes Acoustic Folk rock or whatever and has people backing him. But he has a lot more instruments going on, like piano, cello, and a drummer. Which means that he has an actual band, while I have a project that I dearly love (but maybe not a band). John Vecchiarelli is the drummer for many bands. But his solo thing is pretty good and you should check it out. Think soft indie folk. This is what KPSU said, "8 songs of quiet brilliance. John's newest songs flip the same emotional switches for me as artists such as Elliott Smith and Red House Painters, but do so without sounding derived from them at all.". I agree. The show is FREE? and starts at 9 PM.
If you see me at these shows please say, "Hi".

-Ben


Rollerball is playing at Mississippi Studios. Neat.