Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Tuesday, January 26th

Hello Dear Readers,


Last night I didn't get out of AristeiA practice until 10:30 in the PM. That is crazy late for me. By that time I had dashed all hopes of going to a show. Oh well. Tonight there is only one local show that I want to mention. If that is what you want to read about, I suggest you skip this next part. I never do this, but I would like to mention a non-local show that features one of my favorites, Julie Doiron. She is playing at Mississippi Studios tonight opening for Bowerbirds. This follows the tradition of the far superior opener for a tour act. Not that I have anything against Bowerbirds. Infact I like what I have heard of their music. But Julie Doiron is just so great. That show is $12 and starts at 9 PM. Back to the Portland music.


Tuesday, January 26th


Doug Fir is having a show with Nick Delffs (The Shaky Hands, Justin Power, and Cannons & Clouds (San Francisco). I know that Nick Delffs played stripped down as Death Songs. But I guess this is different because as I understand it, Death Songs is a duo. This must be even more stripped down. Or not. The only videos I could find of Nick have members of The Shaky Hands backing him. Regardless, his songs are catchy as hell. He has a definite sense of how pop songs should go. Even in an "solo" context (solo doesn't always mean folk). Justin Power is one of the better songwriters who mostly plays solo. While I have seen him also collaborate with others (most notably on Portland Cello Projects last album), he works just as well on his own. He plays what I think is a bass with some guitar strings on it. I have also seen him play one of those bigger ukuleles. Beaches & Cannons is a band that lists itself as a indie rock band. I think it is official. Indie rock is wimpy. That being said I have long been a fan of wimpy music. In fact, a lot of the music I make is wimpy. I like what I heard of Cannons & Clouds though, I would not have classified them as indie rock. They are not quite either though. They do use a lot of acoustic instruments and have some sweet three part harmonies. Whatevs. Check their link that I provided. The Show is $6 at 9 PM.


If you see someone who looks like me at one of these shows please say, "Hi". It might turn out to be me. Or you just might make a new friend.


-Ben


This maybe what Nick Delff's set up might look like tonight at Doug Fir