Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Tuesday March 30th

Hello Dear Readers,

I am back. California is beautiful and sunny and warm. Portland is cold and rainy. But I am glad to be back regardless of the temperature. I played many shows in many cities and noone has as many good shows on any given day like Portland. Or maybe they do and I just didn't research enough. In any case, I am glad to be back. I returned from a West coast tour with Y La Bamba and Sean Flinn & The Royal We (playing bass and singing in both) yesterday. Last night I had an AristeiA practice for a podcast we are recording this evening. So I didn't attend a show. But the podcast we are recording tonight is pretty early so I might be able to take in a show tonight. Here are some fine looking shows that peaked my interest:

Tuesday, March 30th

The Barn is having a show with Tall Grass (Oakland), Firs of Prey, and Captn Shirt. Tall Grass is a band from Oakland thatmake pretty good post indie folk music. It is obviously infuenced by those who did male female harmonies before them armed with acoustic instruments, but it is not afraid to add newer elements. Take the programmed beat on "For a Good Time Call" , for instance. I like it. It kinda reminds me of The Moldy Peaches. Firs of Prey is the project that Andrew Miller uses to make music. The recordings I have heard generally consist of classic pop arrangements with well above average melodies and super tight three part harmonies. I have not seen him live but I have seen this video of him with a looping pedal that is just brilliant. I think I will include it at the bottom of this post. I could not find any info on Captn Shirt. Oh well. The show was originally scheduled to take place at The Skidmore Bluffs but as you may have noticed,it is currently raining and really cold outside. So they moved it. The ALL AGES show is by donation and starts at 5:30 PM.

Burgerville (SE 12th and Hathorne) is having a show with Droni Mitchell, Eternal Tapestry, and Jeffrey Jerusalem. Droni Mitchell is a mix of a lot of different elements. I have come to expect this form anything that Travis Wiggins touches. He seems to have dedicated himself to exploring new sounds of psychedelia. Also, as one might expect from a band called Droni Mitchell, there is a hint of drone to the music. Eternal Tapestry is one of those bands that is hard to describe with out using that word psychedelic. But they are more of a tripped out rock band with loud riffs and walls of sound. Cool stuff. Then there is Jeffrey Jerusalem, the one man disco party. You may know him as the drummer from Inside Voices, but I assure you this is nothing like that amazing band. This project is also rad, but in a totally different and fun way. If you love to dance, this is for you. If you happen to be at this show and you don't love to dance, be prepared to learn how to love to dance. That is a confusing sentence, but I assure you it makes sense. Have a burger. Perhaps a shake. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 6 PM.

The Parlour is having a show with The Kris Special (LA), Kelli Schaefer, Destroy Nate Allen, Mike Hex, and maybe more. The Kris special is a duo from LA. They list themselves as Americana and Punk. I listened to their first song on their myspace and I was like, "yes, this is kinda punk-ish". Then I listened some more and I was like, "Woah, is that pedal steel? That sounds good. Americana!" So rare to have people be un-ironic in their genre listing for myspace. Kelli Schaefer is amazing. She is why I listed this show and one of the many musical reasons you should be glad you live in Portland. If you do not live in Portland and are reading this, do not move here. It is cold and rainy and unpleasant always. But Kelli Schaefer makes music that showcases not only her incredibly stong voice but her talent as a songwriter as well. She initially caught my ear from her song "Lasso the Moon" a while back. It seems every song she writes she gets better though. Check her itunes singles and you will see what I mean. I have never seen Nate Allen play, but you can read a review of one of his CDs that was posted on CIMTB last summer just by clicking this link. Mike Hex writes coutry songs that are inspired by whiskey. His playing appears to be inspired by it as well. Not in all too bad way though. It might just be a certain asthetic. I don't know. The ALL AGES show is $4 and starts at 7 PM.

Posies Cafe will be having a show with The Moon In Light. I heard about this show through my buddy Perry. He has started booking shows at Posies every Tuesday. Pretty good stuff ususally. I have not seen The Moon In Light but have heard good things and written about those good things before on this very blog. It is the musical vehicle for Tim Emerson. Sometimes it seems kinda folky sometimes it is more a indie rock type thing. Both of these genre tags are pretty useless though, so I would suggest you go ahead and click on the link I provided and see for yourself what it sounds like. It will be FREE and starts at 7:30 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". I am the one you have not seen at shows in a while welcome me back.

-Ben


I know I have posted this video of Firs of Prey before, but I don't really care. He plays at The Barn tonight. Check it out.