Last night I had a super good time at Backspace. They place was packed and eventually reached capacity. The first band was called Zoo Girl. I have listed them for shows but only because they played with other bands I liked. They don't have a myspace you see and so I could not find an alternative site to listen to their music. Perhaps they don't have anything recorded. Regardless I was very impressed. They had a midwest 90's band sound. Think early Cursive of maybe Desaparecidos or Cap n' Jazz or something. I really liked it. Then was Eat Skull played. I will admit I was in the back during their set so I cannot make a very good judgement of how their set went. It seemed to be the kind of music that if you were up front would be easy to get into, but sounds unimpressive from the back. During most of Tango Alpha Tango, I was outside in line trying to get my roommates into the at capacity show. I ended up just hanging out with them in line. But Then Y La Bamba played. I thought we played pretty well. And Luz Elena kinda debuted some songs for her new even folkier project called Tragos Amargos. I did not play on these songs so I can assure you as an objective viewing party they sounded beautiful. Then the mighty Typhoon took stage. They sounded great even with some occasional guitar troubles it was for sure the highlight of the show. I think what they are doing is so good. They are releasing an album in May. It cannot come soon enough. Here are the shows that look good to me tonight.
Sunday, January 3rd
Rontoms is having a show with Mia Riddle (Brooklyn) and Sean Flinn and The Royal We. Mia Riddle is someone I have never heard of but who sounds really good. I would say she is in the same ballpark as Neko Case, but she is leans more towards rock arrangements than Neko. But she still has her folkier moments. She and her band have apparently gone on several tours here in the US and overseas which means that her band will be tight. Sean Flinn is the guitarist for Jolie Holland, Nick Jaina, and Y La Bamba. But his songs are really good and need to be heard. You might have heard of his old band Invisible Rockets, but if not don't even sweat it. I hadn't heard of the band and Sean still let me join this band. Yep, this is another band that I play in. Luz Elena from Y La Bamba started singing in his band and then eventually convinced me to join her. There are a lot of cool things going on in his music and a lot of cool vocal stuff going on. I was a fan before I was in the band. I fell in love with his song Patient Heart and I never looked back. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.
Holocene is having a show with Michael Hurley, Dragging an Ox Through Water, Operative, Thor and DJ Hermanito. This is a birthday Party for Holocene's own Gina Altamura. It's her party and she picked some of her favorite Portland people to play. Looking at the bill it is clear that she has pretty good taste. Also a good thing in a booker. Michael Hurley is somewhat of a legend in certain folk circles. I have only seen hi play once, but the old man can play. Then there is the most experimental folk person I know, Dragging an Ox Through Water. He makes it seem natural to have a noise freak out in between bouts of pretty finger picking. Plus his voice is a gorgeous croon that I cannot seem to get over. Operative is totally different and seems to be a more dance oriented group. I saw a video of them and it was a live drummer, a fake drummer (electronic drums), and a guy with a laptop and and loads of effects. Probably, as I might have implied, good for dancing to. The show is is $6 and starts at 8:30 PM.
Rotture is having Night 2 of SuperFresh! Strength, Dat'r, Deelay Ceelay, Jeffrey Jerusalem, Hooliganship, DJ Copy, Fake Drugs, and Maxx Bass. But if you don't want any folk mixed in with your dance music, I would suggest you head over to Rotture. This is the last night of Superfresh. I cannot stress how good all of these groups are. Strength is probably one of the finest dance rock bands there is. Dat'r is just awesome and seeing Paul Alcott perform is always a pleasure. Deelay Ceelay is a great spectacle to behold. The videos that those guys make to drum along to are brilliant. Jeffrey Jerusalem is my favorite drummer in Portland (he plays in Inside Voices). The guy has rhythm. Which is why it makes perfect sense that he has an incredible and super fun dance project. DJ Copy know how to work a crowd and while I am not familiar with Fake Drugs or Maxx Bass, it doesn't really matter considering the rest of the lineup. Either you want to get down, or you don't. The show is $10 and starts at 6 PM.
If you see me at the rontoms show please say, "Hi". I am the cute one playing bass.
-Ben
Dragging an Ox Through Water is kinda where its at.
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