Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Tuesday, June 29th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last Night I was doing music related stuff that was not going to shows until almost 11:30 PM. I guess what I am saying is that I talk a big game, but sometimes I do not go out and see the shows. But my heart is always there. Even when the rest of my body isn't. Here are some shows that my heart is interested in attending:

Valentine's is having a show with Dragging and Ox Through Water, Soft Metals, Golden Retriever, and Kevin Shields. There is a brand new DAOTW 7". Nice. Many of you know that I think that Dragging an Ox Through water is great. I think that the incorporation of all sorts of influences and all sorts of instruments traditional and not so traditional (ie the ones he builds himself). Soft Metals makes chilly synth based electro music. Golden Retriever makes kinda ambient kinda electroacoustic music. I suppose somewhere between those two touch points would be a more accurate description of what they sound like. Just think bass clarinet and textural synths galore. Kevin Shields is not the leader of My Bloody Valentine. I mean he is, but there is also a Portland noise project. They make noise using an array of pedals and moded effects. They have 15 out of print releases and six in print releases. I am not saying that it is easy to make noise music. But that is a lot of releases. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Andina is having a show with Pete Krebs. Pete Krebs is one of the Portland artists that I listened to prior to moving to Portland. I had become aware of him because he was on a CMJ magazine CD. I used to read that magazine religiously every month cover to cover. I fell in love his album "Sweet Ona Rose". I still love that album. But he is an artist that has many interests and while I respect that, I am not crazy about all of his musical interests. So I am assuming that he will play songs off of his solo albums. Or at least that is what I am hoping. If you are interested in his other musical endeavors the guy plays all the time. Tonight he is playing at 7 PM.

Ella Street is having a show with Archipelego and Really Big Birds (Tempe, AZ). I believe that every Tuesday night is FREE and Ella Street Social Club. That is a pretty good deal. I am writing about this show because I played a show and thought that Archipeleago was good at what they do. I liked it. At the same time, I want to warn you that it is not for everyone. I recall it being more ambient than anything else. Some people cannot stand live ambient music. I find it to be soothing and at times quite beautiful. Really Big birds is also somewhat ambient, though there are some chill beats thrown in for good measure. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

East End is having a show with Eddy Current Suppression Ring (Austrailia), Cheap Flight, and Blood Beach. I don't know about Eddy Current Surpression Ring. Cheap Flight apparently has members of Mudhoney (Seattle) and Evolutionary Jass Band. I never got into Mudhoney, but I did get into Evolutionary Jass Band. I got into them a lot. Blood Beach is a band that grew out of the songs of Tex Winters. I really liked Tex Winters. I thought his mix of folk country and oddly psychedelic textures. This band is a natural progression of that. I don't know much about Eddy Current Suppression Ring, but they came all the way from down under. Might as well give them a shot. The show is a little bit of money and will start at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say "Hi". You could say hi no but it would do no good. Wait until you see me.

-Ben


Dragging an Ox Through Water. Tonight. Valentine's. New 7".

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Monday, June 28th

Hello Dear Readers,

I am working on getting a computer. I really am. It is just y'know...hard times right now. Anyway the only days I can currently promise show picks are Mondays and Tuesdays (a good chance on Friday's) other wise I have limited access to computers and what seems like even less chance of getting free Internet from my neighbors. Luckily, I am moving later this week to a place where I will be paying for the Internet in. That's right, I am going legit. Newsworthy? I am not sure, but I did actually get some newsworthy stuff in my email today. Do you want the good news or the bad news first? This is a silly question. I will give your bad news and then I will cheer you up with the good news. Okay. Hosannas is getting much smaller. That is to say that it that Christof and Lane are going to be pursuing other projects while the Brothers Brandon and Richard will continue on as two piece I suppose. They have one more show this Friday as a group. If you have not heard Lane's other band, The Ocean Floor, you really should. Okay, now the good news. Y La Bamba has officially set a release date of September 24th and today we made our Internet debut of a track from the album. You can hear that track and see the awesome cover art here. So anyways, here are some shows that are happening tonight:


Tube is having a show called Bad Reputation which will feature XDS, Astrology, and DJ Nate C. Remember that band Experimental Dental School that I used to write about all the time? Well the experimental pop duo have shortened their name to XDS. Kinda like when The Mr. T Experience changed their name to MTX. Anyway they are pretty read and are capable of making some really cool songs. You can even download their album for free right here. Astrology is somewhat of a super group. It has members of Panther and Copy, and something else (I looked it up, the other guy is from Dinner and The Main Course). I have not seen them yet but I bet it is cool. The show is FREE and starts at 9:30 PM.


(The World Famous) Kenton Club is having a show with Lana Rebel & The Love Lasers. I just recently discovered Lanal Rebel but I think you should check it out. Especially if you, like me, have a fondness for ladies singing somewhat sad country songs. The show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

The Honey Pot is having a show with Chrome Wings, Asss, Italic Indian (Westminster, CA), Virgin Blood, and Archipeligo. Experimental music house shows. I predict quite a few of them to occur this summer. Enjoy. I have still not seen Chrome Wings. I would imagine that they sound different from when I started to write about them a while ago. Asss is another band I have not seen. Actually let me stop myself from writing any further descriptions. And just say that I have not seen any of these bands, but that I have heard a little bit online and it peaked my interest. I feel that you should decide on going to this show based on whether or not you enjoy house shows. If you have not been to one, you should maybe give it a shot. The ALL AGES show is by donations and starts at 8 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, Hi. I do not bite.

-Ben


Lana Rebel & The Love Lasers are going to play tonight for FREE. Head out to Kenton Club.

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PDX Hip-Hop Scene Report Summer 2010 Volume 3

photo: Hives Inquiry Squad

"The holy troika goes as follows: you get down with a jam, you get infused with the holy spirit (Tiny Tim said that we are obliged to find out as much as possible about that which we love), and you decide that instead of being one of those creepy cultural keepers-of-the-flame, to become a raging enthusiastic pop-culture pyromaniac, attempting to set as many minds ablaze with your accumulated gnosis.

Share and spread enthusiasm; don’t player-hate, don’t snark—negative reviews are easy, and blasts of pure unfiltered happy-making are hard. Don’t succumb to the dark side. Stay away from snark. Don’t post shit-talk on forums.

All aspects of your life will be informed and infused with this. Your love life will improve, you’ll make more bucks, you’ll be a happier person and babies and babes and geriatrics will smile at you."
- JOHAN KUGELBERG

I've been slowly wading through and digesting the advice from writers who write about music for a living at the excellent "What's The Write Word?" feature at PopMatters. Which is where I found the Johan Kugelberg quote above. No matter your profession or hobby, it's a given that seeking advice and wisdom of those that came before you is pretty win-win. Ideally you end up with some good pointers. Or you may see a quote like the one above and say, "Fuck you old man. I'll player-hate whoever I want to." And that may inspire you to write a diatribe against your least-favorite band.

Both positions are equally valid, and there's a lot of gray area in between. Despite my undying love of hip-hop, one of my biggest pet-peeves is the term "hater" or "playa hater". I'm not really sure who coined the term or how it originated, but I am sure that it has blossomed and proliferated exponentially far beyond its initial meaning. From my understanding, it originally referred to a talentless individual, someone so jealous and bitter of someone else's success and high level of artistry that their only recourse was to dis the talented individual as a way to boost their own self-esteem. Which is fair enough, but in this day and age so many thoroughly wack artists hide behind the umbrella term as a way to dismiss criticism of any kind. "Yo, can you believe dude wasn't feeling my mixtape EP I put out freestyling off the top of my dome in my Grandma's basement? Just because I was rhyming over Dilla beats with my boy on GarageBand when we were wasted, homie had the nerve to say he wasn't feeling it?! So what if the washing machine/dryer noise in the background was so loud it made the vocals almost unintelligible. Dude is just a hater."

So there is, and always will be, a time and a place for criticism. If it's wack it's wack. Point blank. That said, I personally feel that my time and energy are best spent heralding talented artists whose music excites and inspires me. Case in point, local group Hives Inquiry Squad.

Hives Inquiry Squad is a local Portland duo, recently transplanted from Wisconsin, consisting of emcees Gavin Theory and Lucas Dix. I'm not exactly sure how they came across my radar, but I'm so damn glad they did. Gavin Theory also deftly handles production duties, creating kaleidoscopic soundscapes that combine snap your neck head-nod beats with bubbling sonic sparks and stabs of shivering psychedelic vibrations. So yes, the beats are amazing, but the absolute highlight of their music is the off the charts high quality of the lyricism. Every time I try to explain what I mean by that to people, I get into dancing about architecture territory, so all I can say is you've got to check it out yourself to see what I mean. Last I heard they've been buckled down in the lab working hard on their newest full-length, Edifice. Not sure if they've set a release date yet, last I heard the plan was later this summer. Personally, I can't. fucking. wait.

PS Speaking of mind-blowing NW hip-hop, don't sleep on Shabazz Palaces. They're coming to Rotture Wednesday July 14th. Seattle writers and music heads have already brought out every hyberbole in the book in an attempt to describe their genius, and in my opinion, each and every one is well deserved. Both EPs are in constant rotation in my world. I seriously haven't been this excited about a new hip-hop group since I heard Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) 17 years ago. And that's saying a lot.

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PDX Hip-Hop Scene Report Summer 2010 Volume 2

"Left Coast I don't say West Side.
Let's Go, I don't say Let's Ride."
-Tope

Well, despite the sunshine outside, it was sort of a dark day for Blazers fans. It was announced that General Manager Kevin Pritchard was fired by owner Paul Allen right before the draft. For those music fans out there who don't care about or follow sports, the closest analogy I can come up with is that it's like telling Santa Claus he's fired on December 25th. He put in all the hard work all year in anticipation for his biggest day of the year and still has to deliver despite knowing he won't be around to reap the rewards. I could go off forever about how stupid I think this move was, but instead I'll just boil it down to one sentence. Fuck Paul Allen.

At the end of the day the Blazers ended up with Elliot Williams a 6'4" shooting guard from Memphis as well as Luke Babbit and Ryan Gomes thanks to David Kahn, of the Minnesota Timberwolves and former writer for The Oregonian. The downside of that is the Blazers had to trade Martell Webster a high-energy, athletic fan favorite to Minnesota. The Blazers then picked Armon Johnson with their final pick. So far it's hard to tell, but considering the acquisition of 2 guards it seems likely that the team doesn't see Rudy Fernandez, Jerryd Bayless, and Andre Miller as long term Blazers. Lastly, what's up with drafting 4 lefties? Perhaps Paul Allen is looking into opening a Leftorium at the Lloyd Center?

I can already hear the collective "don't care" sighs from the indie music community, so I will move on. In my defense, there is a lot more overlap in the local music and Blazers community than you might think. In fact both Music Editors of the local weeklies also cover the Blazers beat. So shove that in your acoustic guitar sound hole and smoke it.

Ok, on to TxE, which is local emcees Tope and Epp with production by G_Force. I've already written about them in The Mercury and I truly believe that their music and artistry is strong enough to reach a national audience. As Goldie already alluded to in her PDX.FM interview, being a big act in Portland doesn't necessarily mean anything to those outside our scene. In fact I see far too many local acts content to fall into the big fish/small pond syndrome. This is not one of them. I've caught these cats at venues big and small, and they always come through strong. Whether it's a sold-out show at The Someday Lounge or at a party in a basement filled with drunk high-school kids, they bring the same level of intensity every time. You can truly tell they do it for the love, and that love is infectious. They are also very supportive of the Portland music scene in general, far beyond the confines of hip-hop which shows a musical maturity rarely found in local emcees and DJs. How many rappers do you know who give props to Alan Singley? Or even know who he is? On some Levar Burton Reading Rainbow shit, don't take my word for it....Check it out your damn self.

PS See if you can spot the Martell Webster reference in the EP.

PPS Indie-rock kids step your internet game up! Every local rapper I know has a bandcamp and a twitter. I might fuck with yr MySpace to get an idea of what you sound like, but if that's all you got your lack of initiative speaks volumes.

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PDX Hip-Hop Volume 1.5

http://gravityhits.com/ G_Force & Illmaculate = Genius like GZA.

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PDX Hip-Hop Scene Report Summer 2010 Volume 1

picture: Cloudy October. Stolen from his FB photos

What up kids? It's been a minute, but I was quite inspired by Goldie's recent 2 part interview @ PDX.FM. Please check it and listen to it if you haven't already. She has some very wise words regarding social media, how you can turn a chip on your shoulder into positivity, being the matriarch of this blog, how content is king in the digital realm, and why everyone should have a blog.

So let's get to the content...

I've explained this before but despite being immersed in the indie-rock world in Portland for almost a decade I have since shifted my attention to my first musical love, which is hip-hop. When I moved to Portland from St. Paul, MN in 2001 I was quite dismayed to find the hip-hop scene to be very underwhelming in comparison to what I was used to. In Minneapolis/St. Paul the indie-rock kids and the hip-hop kids supported each other. I guess the best example is Slug from from Atmosphere being at pretty much every Lifter Puller show and vice versa. And versa vice.

That said, I feel a sea change coming in summer 2010 here in PDX. And I'm so so psyched that it's finally becoming a reality.

Exhibit A = Cloudy October.

Any time someone comes to me bemoaning the current state of hip-hop in Portland I point them straight to Cloudy October. They invariably end up speechless and thanking me for the heads up. Get it straight, this is not your average rapper. From the production to the mind-blowing artwork to the imaginative lyrical content to the amazing live show, dude is, apologies to Snoop, realer than real deal Holyfield. I've exhausted every superlative I could ever expound on this cat, and yet I never grow tired of doing so. So I'll say it again. Don't sleep on Cloudy Oct son. His artistry is second to none. Super super psyched he is doing a PDX-POP set this year! Let it be known. I said it here first, Cloudy October is not only YOUR favorite emcee, but also your favorite indie-rockers favorite rapper too. Well deserved. Dude is off the chain!

Volume 2 + 3 to follow this weekend.
Feel free to do your homework ahead of time and follow along.
Tope & Epp and Portland Trailblazers draft edition post manyana.
Followed by Hives Inquiry Squad post Saturday.

Speaking of Saturday, Anti-Pop Consortium @ the Doug Fir.
I wrote a lil' something for the Mercury bout it bout bout it.
Soon people.....

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Tuesday, June 22nd

Hello Dear Readers,

Did you guys see any shows last night? Yes? No? Maybe so? I totally didn't I ended up practicing too late. Oh well. There is always tonight. There is always any night. That is one of the nice thing about living in this beautiful city. There are shows every night. And not just (ahem) crappy shows. Here are the ones that look good to me tonight (assuming you don't want to shell out the $25 for the amazing Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings):

The White Eagle is having a show with Mike Midlo and Silk & Olive. Mike Midlo is the main dude of Pancake Breakfast. The band is essentially Mike backed by the Pancake Breakfast Singers which as you might imagine is a choir of singers. They add a lot of dimension to the folksy or rootsy (take your pick) songs. Not that they do not have much on their own because they do. I think a lot of the recordings are with out the Pancake Breakfast Singers and they sound pretty gosh darned good. Silk & Olive is the name of the group that singer Andy Fish fronts. I am not too familiar with her music, but judging by what little I did hear it is worth checking out. Think Cat Power. Kinda. I also could not help but notice that Mike Midlo sometimes plays music with her. I wonder if that will be the case tonight. Only one way to find out. The show is $5 and starts at 8:30 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with Marisa Anderson, Neal Morgan, Wet Wool, and Bird & Flower (Columbus, OH). I have never seen Marisa Anderson on a bill with out TJO. At least not that I can remember. In addition to playing guitar with TJO and The Evolutionary Jass Band, she is pretty good at creating her own material (see the link I provided). Neal Morgan is a dude that can drum sing and entertain all at the same time. Or so I am told. I have not seen him play live. I have seen videos of it and was not sure what to think. I put one of those videos at the bottom of the post. Wet Wool is a new band with members of Inside Voices. Inside Voices (one of Portland's finest) I believe is on an extended hiatus so you should defiantly check this band out. Bird & Flower is part folk park electro part lots of over things and is on tour from Ohio. I think you might like them. A lot of other people (even potentially me) like them too. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". I would think that much cooler if you did.

-Ben


Neal Morgan will hit the drums tonight at Valentine's Tonight.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Monday, June 21st

Hello Dear Readers,

As it turns out, in addition to not having a computer, I have started to form a budding social life. This includes sometimes having a visitor from out of town that will leave you guys with out daily updates. I hope that these last several weeks have not been too rough on you. I am back for a bit now and will do my best to keep on the show watch in order to keep you all aware of what's happening. Though to be quite honest, I have no idea what has been happening since Thursday. I hear that Hosannas played. Did anyone see that? I love that band. Anyways, here are some shows that you should check out assuming you do not get into the Brokencyde show at Hawthorne Theater (barf):

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Radar Brothers (CA), Pony Village, and Pine Lanuage (Corvallis). The Radar Brothers are a band that I have not thought of in a long time. I remember hearing about them when I was in college. For whatever reason the indie rock world seemed much smaller then. I would try to learn about every band I could. Now I mainly focus on those that I can actually see. Anyway I remember them being pretty good. but then I forgot about them. I guess they kept on going and just put out a record a couple months ago on the indie heavy hitters label Merge. I would say that they make pretty easy going indie music. Pony Village is a Portland Group that you should check out. It is led by main man Ryan Barber. To me it sounds distinctly like a Pacific NW indie Pop rock band. It is catchy and has airy sweet vocals. I have their 12" ep. It is pretty good. Pine Language is a band that I am pretty sure that I first saw last year at the Bladen County Records Musicfest NW showcase. They also play what would commonly be referred to as indie rock. Though I would not specify a particular region of which they sound like they hail from. I do not think that Corvallis has a "sound". The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.

Laughing Horse Books is having a show with Maribelle (Chicago), We Play Quiet, Leviticus, and Carcrashlander. I still have not seen a show at this place. But they have had some good ones. I just wrote about the Vancouver punk band, We Play Quiet, that are also kind of poppy although I would hesitate to call them a pop punk band. I could not find any definitive information on Leviticus. I found out that there are a whole lot of hip hop acts and a whole lot of metal acts that have named themselves Leviticus. Carcrashlander is the awesome project of man about town Corey Gray. I know that his usual lead guitarist David Dyas is on tour with his solo stuff so I am kinda curious as to if he has replaced him for this show or if they will play the show with out any guitar. It is based mostly around Cory's piano/trumpet combo anyway, so it could work. The show is by donation for the touring band. It is ALL AGES and starts at 8 PM.

Duckketts is having a show with Terraform, Stag Bitten, No Babies (East Bay), amd Hawnay Troof (Oakland). So essentially I am writing about this show because of Stag Bitten. They are a mystery to me. They do not have a website (not even a myspace) as far as I can tell. They do not have any recorded music. They only play live shows. Yet I have somehow heard of them. Not only that, but I have heard good things about them. Very good things. I have seen a few photos and have read that they are some sort of punk band, but it the mystery around them that intrigues me. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". I will be the one in the hoodie with a dark beard.

-Ben


Pony Village will be playing at Mississippi Studios tonight.

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Music Review : Strangers Family Band Self-Titled EP

I've owed Strangers Family Band this review since - eh, way longer ago than I like to remember. I've been kind of a space cadet what with school, preparing to move, and other non-blog related things.

At any rate, Strangers Family Band's self-titled ep (which they offer up for free download, by the way,) contains psychedelic-rock inspired tunes in a variety of moods. When I first listened to it, I had my hater hat on, and I said, "This band sounds just like they're from the 1960's. What's with that, I may as well just listen to old psych rock." But then the CD remained in my car, and kept

finding its way into my CD player, and I couldn't help dancing a little in my seat and singing along, and realize that, hey, they do an old-fashioned thing really well, and make good music.

Musically, the songs are thick with reverb-drenched surfy guitars and organ. "Girl I've Been Taken" "No One Seees Her" and "Tangerine" are my favorites, for being perfectly poppy. "Wooden Hands" has a bit of accordion and a beat for drinking to.

"Strange Transmission" and "Beware the Autumn People", the first long and heavy on sitar, the second with carnival-style organ, didn't do much for me, though I anticipate that Autumn People would be excellent live.

If you're need a little more groovy in your life, give Strangers Family Band a listen.

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BLUE GIANT Album Giveaway

Hey, holy crap! I think this might be the first time we've popped a contest on you, so jubilation is mandatory.

What could be more romantic than an evening at The Woods with your lovely wife? An evening at The Woods with your lovely wife and Ben Meyercord! At least that is how I got to see Portland's very own The Robinsons, Kevin and Anita Robinson, actually. They're best known as Viva Voce, but in another configuration are Blue Giant, who after a pretty stellar EP release are coming out with their debut album on Vanguard Records, which features not only the Robinsons but some Portland heavyweights like Chris "Tobias" Funk, Evan "S-Words" Railton, and Seth "Betty White" Lorinczi.

AND WE WANNA GIVE YOU A COPY!

Well, we'd like to give three of you a copy, to be precise. Send us an email with "BLUE GIANT CONTEST" as the subject, and tell us briefly and humorously why you feel that you are 'the fifth Robinson'. We'll post the best of these, and three lucky winners will be chosen (by whimsy!) to get the Blue Giant album. Make sure to include your mailing info.

NEXT UP: There should be some review and interview goodness coming, and Blue Giant have some wacky NW gigs before going off into the wide world. Check them out!

July 13: Portland, OR- Music Millennium (7pm) – Side 1 of ‘Blue Giant’

July 14: Portland, OR- Jackpot Records (6pm)- Side 2 of ‘Blue Giant’

July 15: Seattle, WA- Sonic Boom (7pm) – Side 1 of ‘Blue Giant’

July 16: Seattle, WA- Silver Platters (7pm)- Side 2 of ‘Blue Giant’

July 17: Eugene, OR- CD World (3pm)- Selections from ‘Blue Giant’

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Tuesday, June 15th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I did not go to any shows. Hopefully you did. I got kinda busy and before you know it it was 11 PM. Crazy. If you saw a show leave a comment. Tell me about it in the comments section. Anyway, there are some shows that peak my interest today. Here they are:

Ducketts is having a show with Secret Codes, My Dads, and Lee Corey Oswald. Secret Codes is a band that came from a project that used to not be a band but always should have been a band. Basically Secret Codes is David Kyles baby. Though I guess his baby is now being raised (or maturing) with the assistance of his band mates. I liked how David performed before, but it is way cooler to see now. What started off as a dude composing tracks on his computer has become one of the coolest post rock bands in Portland. Which is nice because there are not too many post rock bands in Portland. The songs are instrumental heavy but there are plenty of arranged vocal parts as well. They are definitely worth checking out live. My Dads is a band that spend their time making instrumental post rock music of the chill and sometimes somewhat somber. They have cool instrumentation that includes a guy who plays trumpet and keys and another guy who plays various keys and some guitar players that are very good and make use of their many effects pedals. Lee Corey Oswald is a folk duo that does not at all seem like a folk duo. Oh wait, maybe they are a punk duo that does not at all like a punk group. I hesitate to group them in the acoustic punk scene, but that would be the closest if I had to pick one. They have a sense of pop structure which makes sense since they both also play in the uber pop band Monarques. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Poises is having a show curated by David Dyas. David is an amazing guitar player. Just ask the any of the many many groups that have taken him on tour. He also ain't to shabby a song writer himself. He has made a lot of friends in town because he is an over all awesome guy. He is about to go on tour for a few months and has decided to round up some of those musician friends to each a few songs. His musicain friends are pretty good (I am just saying that I Know him *wink*). The ALL AGES show will be FREE and starts at 8 PM.

The Space Art Collective is having a show with We Play Quiet (Vancouver, WA), The Shivas, Jordan Knect (St. Louis/Amherst), Sea of Oaks, and FC. We Play Quiet is a punk band. I would say they are, as some bands claim to be, "punk as fuck" but perhaps punk as fudge. It started as a drums and guitar duo and is now again a drums and guitar duo. If you like the kinda of punk music that incorporates actual singing and pop sensibles but is not a crappy pop punk band, this might be something you will like. The Shivas are a pop band in the traditional of I don't know...other pop bands? You melodies? They got 'em. You want information about Sea of Oaks of FC? Too bad. I tried to find out information but found nothing. Except the FC traditional is short for Football Club. Or as we would call it Soccer Club. The ALL AGES show is $3-$5 and starts at 7 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say "Hi". I dare you.



Lee Corey Oswald are better viewed in person. If you go to Ducketts tonight, you can do just that.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Monday, June 14th

Hello Dear Readers,

I have not forgotten you, I swear. Have you forgotten me? I realize it has been some time since we last spoke. Or rather that I spoke to you (the only comments I seem to get lately are spam). Not having a computer kinda cripples my blogging abilities. I have tried blogging from my phone and it BLOWS. Anyway what is the last good show you guys have seen? Leave a comment let me know. Here are the shows that interest me tonight:

The World Famous Kenton Club is having a show with Lana Rebel & The Love Lazers. Lana Rebel cut her musical teeth in a band called Last of the Juanitas. You would not really expect that based on her current output. That output being really well done female led country/rootsy I will be honest I had not listened to her before today but I read a little something that caught my eye. Namely what Ezra Caraeff of The Mercury wrote, "One of the true under appreciated voices in town, Lana Rebel channels the bygone era of outlaw country and the rhinestone flair of Gram Parsons, plus just enough punk rock flair (after all, she did deafen the masses in Last of the Juanitas for so many years) to tie it all together." this is what The show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

Dunes is having a show with Zona Mexicana (NY), Mustaphamond, With Eyes Abstract, and Elemeno (NY). What made me want to post this show was With Eyes Abstract. They are part of the criminally under appreciated Brofam Collective. If people knew about this group of ridiculously talented musicians they would all be huge. Billy Corgan recognizes. He stole (or rather borrows) one of their drummers, Mike Byrne (of Bear Cubbin and Moses Smell The Roses) for his Alternative band, Smashing Pumpkins. Anyway, With Eyes Abstract is an absolutely insane band. I would suggest those who are into crazy music check it out. It sorta sounds metal it sorta seems mathy it has weird parts and is overall pretty intense. Zona Mexicana and Elemeno are on tour together from NY. They even have a split 7" to commemorate the occasion. Zona Mexiacana sound like a math rock band that does extreme quiet to loud dynamics with some cool screamed vocals. Elemeno sound more like a post punk band. Mustaphamond does not have any music on their myspace but I did find a very positive review of them on PC-PDX The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Tube is having a show with Thrones (Salem), Hot Victory, and DJ Nate C. Thrones is pretty bad ass. It is a one man loud drone/something else spectacle. It is heavy there are many speaker cabinets cabinets, many effects pedals, drum machine and vocoder. Yeah that's right, I said drum machine and vocoder. It still sounds heavy it is still really cool. I have never seen Hot Victory and I have heard mixed things about their live show. Essentially it is two drummers facing off or working together (I suppose it is all how you look at it) while a guy does some Synth and knob twisting over it. Plus I have heard that it may be "Metal Ladies Night". I am pretty sure that this does not mean robot ladies, but rather the kinda ladies that dig the loud kind of music. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.


So if you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". What do you have to loose (I am assuming nothing).

-Ben


If you are a sucker for sad country songs like I am, then go see Lana Rebel and Co at Kenton Club tonight. It's FREE.

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Crappy Indie Music On The Radio

I am going to be on PDX.FM talking about this blog and music stuff.

Monday June 14th, 2010 1pm-2pm



Love,
Goldie

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Wednesday, June 9th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I had a few things going against me and I did not make it out. I ended up working ten hours yesterday, and did not drink enough water and ended up exhausting myself. On the one hand I am really bummed that I didn't see any of the music, but on the other hand well rested and feeling healthy. I know I know. I should not worry about such things but I have found my quality of life is better when I treat my body better. Anyway I don't have to work tomorrow. So in case I don't get to see Tortoise tonight, these are the local shows that look good to me:

The Woods is having a show with Jen Moon, Mbilly, and Wax Fingers. Jen Moon is a pretty sweet rock band. It features half of Oh Captain My Captain and a few o my friends. I think you will be impressed with how they soumd. I don't think I can describe how they sound. Mbilly is a guy who goes between folk rock and folk very nicely. Wa Fingers push pop music beyond its natural boundaries, you would a fool not to at least check out the link I provided. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

White Eagle is having a show with Rollerball and Class M Planets. RollerBall is a really good art rock band. They are really good. Too good to be on an american label. I think they are on an Italian label. Listen to the link. Class M Planets is another outlet for Adam of thebrotheregg. I suspect they also might be huge nerds because I found out that Class M planets is a reference to Star Trek. See. Luckily most nerds make really awesome music. The show is FREE and starts at 8:30 PM.

Rotture is having a show with Alan Singley, Paper/Upper/Cuts, and The Caps. I really like Alan Singley's first two albums. I confess that I do not have his third, "Feeling Citrus". Tonight he is playing as a two piece. That is how he played when I first saw him years ago when I first moved here. My guess is that the other person will play drums while Alan switches between guitar and somesort of instrument with keys. I hope he plays some oldies but goodies. His songs are usually cute and very sentimental. I think that there is a chance that Alan might be a sentimental type of guy. Paper/Upper?Cuts is the project of David "Pappi" Fimbres. He does it all. He drums, he plays keys, he loops (I think) he lets loose. You kinda just have to see it. The Caps are a indie pop band from Portland that I have neot seen yet. That guys is a great talent. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Mama Sunshine, Hello Electric, and Gabe Hascall. Have you ever heard of The Impossibles? How about SlowReader? Gabe Hascall played in both of those bands with his former musical companion Rory Phillips in Austin, TX. Both groups sound very different. The Impossibles started off as a Ska Punk pop band and eventually turned into a early Weezer-esque band. Slowreader was a soft indie rock band. Both revolved around Rory and Gabe's vocal harmonies. Then Gabe moved up here to Portland. I have only heard some recordings, but it sounds really good. On the recordings he harmonizes with himself and it is mostly an acoustic affair leaning towards the Slowreader side of things. I could see him playing solo tonight but you never know. Mama Sunshine is a bad led by Eliott King. I have not seen him since he has put the band together. I remember him being a very ambitious guy though, so I am guessing the group will sound good. Hello Electric is a band that features members of the not so big in Portland but really big elsewhere band Portugal, The Man. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows tonight please say, "Hi". Or "wasup?".

-Ben


Check out the kinda bizzare video featuring the music of Gabe Hascall. Gabe is playing tonight at Ella Street Social Club tonight.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Tuesday, June 8th

Hello Dear Readers,

Sometimes I just don't understand. Last night I went to see Padriac Finbar Haggerty Hammond at Ella Street Social Club. I am a huge fan. I apparently am one of the very few fans. I counted myself and another person who came to see the music. Granted it was a last minute show. But come on. The bartender brought in three friends and I think there was maybe three other people who were there. What I am saying is that it felt empty. Too bad for all of you suckers who didn't go because the music was awesome. I always seem to forget that because Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond is backed by Mat Vuksinich, that it is essentially the same line up as The Sarcastic Dharma Society. Which means that they tend to split their sets. Since Fin and Mat are my favorite songwriters in Portland, I am always tickled that I get to hear them both. Plus it seems that they are always fine tuning their songs and making better and better arrangements. And The Sarcastic Dharma Society's newest song is so good. It is soooo good. Since David Bazan is playing a with a band that I can't imagine seeing based on name alone (Mewithoutyou) and at the worst venue in town (Hawthorne Theater), these are the shows that I kinda wanna see:

Valentine's is having a show with Orca Team, The Taste, and Festa L'Animale. This is the album release show for Orca Team. Holy Crap. I wanna go. I wanna have that album. I still haven't seen the band. Because I am a straight up chump. I plan on going to this show and getting this album tonight. Why? Because I predict it to be the perfect soundtrack to the summer. Assuming that the summer season should be sound tracked by reverb-y lo-fi surf pop goodness. And it should, right? Festa L'Animale have two friends on myspace. They also have two tracks up. I have no idea what is going on with that. I also could not find a band called The Taste that is playing this show, show decided to link to this band instead. Look at what they wrote about their influences, "We are our own influence. Yes, that's right. WE are our OWN influence. There was a time traveling accident in one of our gigs from the future and we became stranded in the past. So we decided that we teach ourselves the ways of METAL and ROCK!". Sadly you will have to travel to Jersey to see them. The show at Valentine's is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with And And And, The Shivas, and Whqles. And And And is a band that has grown on me since I started listening to the CD they gave me a while back when AristeiA played with them. It is indie rock with the kind of indie rock vocals that you either can deal with or that you hate (think Clap Your Hands Say Yeah). I think that the songs are pretty good. And there are a lot of them and they are still all pretty good. I am impressed. The Shivas play rock and roll. They have a bit of a sound that reminds me a little bit of The Velvet Underground. Maybe it is the lackadaisical vocals. Whatever, this show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Holocene is having The Rumble with Chasing Kings (LA), Priory, and Blood Beach. I am writing about this show because The Rumble seems like a cool idea. You know have a FREE show with a touring band some cool local acts that you probably are not too familiar with. I ran into my friend Shane (the front man for Blood Beach) the other day and he told me about this show. He was told that Chasing Kings sounded kinda like Kings of Leon. He seemed confused as to what that meant. His music seems like garage rock put through a crazy lo-fi/psychedelic filter. It is fun and I would imagine even more fun to see live. If only to see how they get some of the crazy sounds that you are hearing. Shane used to play as Tex Winters where he would put folk music through that same filter. Priory are a indie pop band. They sound pretty good. Pretty darned catchy. It reminds me a bit of Seattle's BOAT. Which is a compliment. As you may or may not recall the show is FREE and starts at 8:30 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". Perhaps we can exchange names. Tell you what, I will start. "My name is Ben".

-Ben


Orca Team will play Valentine's tonight. They will have their album. They have a video. They are legit.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Monday, June 7th

Hello Dear Readers,

I had to go away over the weekend due to family concerns. There were several great shows that happened over the weekend. Please feel free to leave me comments as to which shows you went to (assuming they were good, because honestly who cares about bad shows?). Here are some shows that look like they could be good:

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond, Coyote Girl (the Bay), and The shoguns. I think that Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond aka Fin is one of my favorite songwriters in Portland. In fact, I know he is. The songs are always good. Lyrically and melodically. They usually can be cute and sad at the same time (not an easy feat). And what's more, rumour has it that his "X-mas" song that was based on a story on the amazing radio program This American Life might actually be played on the amazing radio program This American Life. How cool is that? Very very very cool. The show is FREE so there is not really an excuse not to go. It starts at 9 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with Secret Codes and Beth and Ian. Secret Codes is the vehicle for the music of David Kyle. He has assembled a pretty amazing group of musicians to execute the rather detail oriented music that he has been composing over the last couple of years. David used to play music under the name David Kyle and The Invisibles. He would perform with a couple guitars an iPod and a toshikoto. With his new band there is room for organic changes and breathing room for flourishes added by his new band mates which include a flutist, a guy playing Rhodes and trumpet, a bass player, and live drummer. I also know that David for a long time has wanted to add a lot of vocals to his past music that was mostly instrumental. I bet with all those people he has done so. Beth and Ian is a project for Ian from Secret Codes and a girl named Beth. The duo mostly performs as a an acoustic guitar and piano with male/female vocals. I have not seen them before, but David Kyle vouches for them. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

The Woods is having a show with The White Buffalo (Somewhere in the US) and Adam Shearer (of Weinland). I am unsure how I feel about The White Buffalo. I cannot for the life me decide if it is okay or not. He is going to be playing a solo acoustic, a usually make or break situation. Adam Shearer, whose band Weinland had regular colored buffalo on their last album cover, is someone who I have not seen solo before. I bet he plays a lot of Weinland songs. I bet it sounds pretty good. And I can promise you that the banter will be good. The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say "Hi". It would be the best thing ever for me.

-Ben


Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond needs to get some more videos up. I know I have posted this one before. he plays for FREE at Ella Street tonight.

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Input Jack: Women Solo Musicians

The Plight of Sologirl originally published at Grey Area

by Anne Adams - June 6th, 2010:

My recent show at Folklife prompts me to also address some more general themes that have emerged not only there, but elsewhere in my performance experience--little psychic obstacles I keep tripping over, on many stages.

Let me just say, for musical performance purposes, I'd rather be any of the other things that I am, than a girl. I don't really feel female when I play. Maybe I dress that way (and maybe I have to stop?) but I consider myself to be more of a narrator, a voice; sometimes, a medium or conjurer, and, as my buddy Tim once said, the town crier. That's the style I've come to; that's my way and my soul. World, can you stop making me regret that my guts are contained in an hourglass rather than a jar? 'Cause when I'm up there, I'm spilling them anyway.

And also, can we please make a better habit of listening to the way a given person plays (even if it's a female person), and put that person with stylistically compatible acts? I may just go slumber in a cave and you can wake me when it's finally time.

Actually, the next generation of musicians seems to have gotten beyond this problem. Newer bands are coming out now, nonchalantly co-ed, like gender isn't even a big whoop. But solo girls hold the last stigma, and the booking powers that be are often from the prior generation, and frankly still a little old-school.

So please let me debunk some assumptions. Just because I'm a female solo musician does NOT necessarily mean:

I don't have very much gear
I don't know the best way to set up/plug in my gear
I ought to act shy or modest
I should have to act masculine to earn your respect
I will be accessible or appropriate entertainment for young children or elderly people
I should open every show
I will sing about love and heartbreak
I'm an "afternoon" act
I'm a "cabaret" act
I'll fit in with every other female musician
My music will be relaxing or mellow
My music will be melodramatic
My music will be emotional and not intellectual
I'm not a geek for structure and theory
I want my audience members to try to date me
I am trying to be seductive from stage
I need to be saved
I owe you love
Stop assuming any of the above, and we'll get along just fine.

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Ben Meyercord's Liver Music Picks for Friday, June 4th

Hello Dear Readers,
Last Night I had a bit of a late practice which left me very tired at 10 last night. Plus for whatever reason (I guess I need the money) I agreed to work at 6 in the morning today. So I guess I am saying that I did not make out to any shows last night. But there are plenty of shows that are happening tonight. Look at all these shows:

The Tigard Public Library is having a show with Deelay Ceelay. If you live in Tigard this is you one chance to see some live music. If you missed The PDX Pop Now! CD release party last night (like I did), this is your second chance to see Deelay Ceelay this week. It will also be interesting to see how this show plays out. The library seems like a weird place to have a show. Especially one that usually takes place with lots of smoke machines and projected films. The library will never be the same. Right?. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts in the community room at 7 PM.

The Artistery is having a show with White Fang, The Mean Jeans, Cafeteria Dance Fever, and Guantanamo Baywatch. Hot Damn, what a line up. I have not seen White Fang in years, which is dumb. But I like their recordings and the fun punk-ish music that they emanates from their instruments. The Mean Jeans sound like a stoner version of The Ramones (in a good way). I have not seen or heard of Cafeteria Dance Fever, but they are in excellent company. Guantanamo Baywatch are one of the leaders in the Neo-Surf-punk-whatever-pop movement. Is that a movement? If you see them tonight you might make a movement in your pants (because they are good). The ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 8 PM.

Holocene is 7 years old? Crazy. To celebrate they are having a FREE dance party. If there is one thing Holocene is good at, it is throwing a dance party. They have lined up Miracles Club, Reporter, Operative, Golden Retriever, Linger & Quiet, and DJ Brkfst Sndwh. They are all pretty good. If you don't believe me, you can always click on the links I provided. The show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

Laurelthirst is having a show with Hearts of Oak, Hillfolk Noir, and Sam Cooper. I am writing about this show becuase I like Sam Coopers music. He can play just about anything he touches. He put out an album a while back called "Spiritual Billionaire". I think it is pretty great. Then he got caught up in some band called Horse Feathers. So he solo appearances are a rarity. Hearts of Oak is the band that is fronted by some guy named Nate Wallace. I really like it. It is country. The kinda country music that someone like David Pajo or Howe Gelb makes. Which is to say pretty awesome with vocals that most people do not like, but you can't imagine any other vocals singing the songs. Hillfolk Noir is Travis Ward and company. Apparently he played on Doug Martsch's solo album (y'know the dude from Built to Spill). He plays really cool county-ish folk tunes. The show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.
If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". I like it when you do.
- Ben

Reporter are one of many Dance bands playing the dance party for FREE tonight at Holocene.

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The Golden Girl Alicia McDaid

RIP Blanche Devereaux.... May you sleep in the arms of the Big Daddy in the sky.


Portland, Oregon Artist Alicia McDaid from her photo series "The Baby Sitter"

Golden Girls mash up Aerosmith and Lily Allen from Alicia McDaid on Vimeo.

The following peice brought me to tears (The Golden Girls + Abortion + Dust In The Wind = Goldie Sobbing). When I saw it, the theater (can't remember the name...) was dark and there was only a spot light. The tone was somber with that special tang of bittersweet GG's humor. I hope to find a copy of that performance. This one is a little more "funny" :

Rocksbox Fine Art: Alicia Love McDaid from OPENWIDEpdx on Vimeo.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Thursday, June 3rd

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I went to The Ella Street Social Club (what's up Chris) and saw a pretty darn good show. Problems opened the show and actually sounded different than what I recall them sounding like. Then came the always impressive The Sarcastic Dharma Society. I think that this was the best that I had ever seen them (it is a duo comprised of Mat Vuksinich and Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond). These two are always rearranging and fine tuning their songs. The songs are usually I don't know...sad. But they also seem to be very honest and I find myself relating to them and I would be surprised if others did not relate as well. Then came the out of town act. That act took forever to set up and then did not really deliver. They tried to engage the audience and often fell a bit flat. I try to talk trash too much, but it was difficult not to last night. It was worth the wait for Like a Villain though. Holland played wonderfully. This was my second time to see her and I feel her looped clarinet and glockenspiel tunes are super good. I think that you will hear about her in the near future. Anyway, there are a lot of good looking shows today. See:

Holocene is having the the PDX Pop Now! CD release show. They have Deelay Ceelay, The Angry Orts, Tope, and The Great Mundane. I love PDX Pop Now! And really, what is not to love? They give us one of the best music festivals in Portland every year. For FREE and they make sure it is ALL AGES. And do the near impossible task of making sure that the line up includes well known and not so well known Portland artists. While in all probability there is a chance that your favorite Portland musician is not playing, I can promise you that if you go you will find out about a band that you like that you did not know existed. Tonight you can get the CD which has the same effect of showcasing a nice mixture of known and unknown Portland artists for FREE (assuming you pay to get in). Yeah they are throwing in a copy of the CD for all of those who come out tonight. Score. Plus Deelay Ceelay are an experience that I feel you should at least try out. Assuming you like smoke machines video projections and an awful lot of dancing. The Angry Orts are a female led Indie rock band. I saw them play at Rontoms last year and they got the usually pretty static crowd to dance. Impressive. Tope is an emcee that has started to appear on my radar. He has a pretty midtempo flow and has really cool production from the tracks that I have heard. The show is $10 (I repeat: includes a copy of the CD). The doors are open at 8:30 PM.

Aladdin Theater is having Live Wire! tonight with musical guests John Roderick (the guy from Seattle's The Long Winters and Dirty Mittens. Live Wire! is a variety show that is pretty fun and often times funny. In addition to the musical acts there is puppet show or something. Oh and Dirty Mittens are pretty great. Their perfect mix of indie pop and soulful vocals is a winning combination. Plus they have two sax players. Two of them!. Sounds pretty promising, right? The show is $15-$30. The ALL AGES show starts at 7:30 PM.

The Woods is having a show with On The Stairs, Sara Jackson-Holman, and Team Evil. I just saw On The Stairs for the first time the other day. I really liked what I heard. He played a set of all new material last time. Though he just put out his full length in April. Some people are just prolific like that. All the new songs were pretty cool. Especially this soul song he had. Hopefully he has his brass section for tonight. They add a lot. It reminds me of Van Morrison a little bit. I just read this paragraph regarding Sara Jackson-Holman, ""I had seen Blind Pilot and fell in love with their music," explains Jackson-Holman. "I wrote on their Myspace wall. It was a typical fan post, telling them I loved their music and asking if they were planning to come back through anytime soon. Their label (McNamer), was looking through their comments one day, randomly clicked on my picture, heard my music, and wrote me asking if I had a demo CD." She was signed soon after that." That kinda blows my mind. Team Evil is another project for Skyler Norwood who is best known as a Point Juncture, WA member. This is a bit different but just as good in this guy's humble opinion. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

Branx is having a Stankhouse Records showcase with Big Black Cloud, Purple Rhinestone Eagle, Hornet Leg, Tiny Knives, Don Hellions, and Dragging an Ox Through Water. If you have read this blog before you will recognize many of these band names. I am especially fond of Don Hellions and Dragging an Ox Through Water. Don Hellions somewhat remind me of The Walkmen. Perhaps the prominent use of organ. Maybe the ways the vocals are crooned out. Either way, I think you should check them out. Dragging an Ox Through water plays highly experimental music juxtaposed with folk music. It is not for everyone. But I think it is really cool. The way the noise breaks through the songs in really unexpected ways. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

The Know is having a show with Orca Team, Best Friends Forever (Minnesota), and Sex Hair. I really need to see Orca Team. I really need to get their tape. I have long talked up this band without seeing them. They know how to write incredibly catchy pop songs. They do so through a somewhat lo-fi neo surf rock lens. I love it. BFF also tend to craft very catchy lo-fi indie pop gems. They are from Minneapolis so you should catch them while you can. The show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

Dunes is having a show with The Constellation Branch (Phoenix), Mama Sunshine, The Jezebel Spirit, and Grananda. The Constellation band is a rock band. To me they sound like they might be fans of...Oh I don't know, The Mars Volta. Which is to say that their music is pretty progressive and has really high vocals. Not a bad thing. They are playing with Mama Sunshine which is a band that I have been meaning to see for quite some time. It is led by Elliott King. He used to play quieter more Elliott Smith influenced numbers. Some time over the last couple of years he turned very positive and started singing sunnier numbers and put together a nice band. The songs are very poppy and have a lot of melodic "hooks". The Jezebel Spirit is an awesome instrumental post-rock band that do their BroFam Collective proud. They only have two tacks up on their myspace page but they are an awesome mix of influences including traditional instrumental bands and math rock sensibilities. AristeiA played a show with them way back. They are constantly getting better. The show is probably FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Dead Peasant, Rozendal, and Sweet Williams Ghost. I think that Dead Peasant might be pretty cool. I just listened to their song "The death of Anna". It features some pretty cool guitar work. Rozendal is the songs of Brian Rozedal. He has a lineup that includes a female bassist (who also adds some backing vocals), a lap steel payer and drums. Basically I am jealous of that kinda instrumentation. I feel like I have heard of Sweet Williams Ghost before. But I have not seen them before. From what I have heard it it seems to be some really nice folk tunes centered around the male/female vocals of Dean Gorman and Ali Ippolito. Also there is some pretty tasteful Dobro/lap steel in this band as well. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". That would be pretty nice of you.

-Ben


The Jezebel Spirit are playing tonight at Dunes. Kinda like in this video.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Wednesday, June 2nd

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I played at the Knife Shop in AristeiA. I was actually kinda impressed with us considering we have not practiced in about two weeks. The other bands we pretty good too. I was happy that I finally got to see On The Stairs. Nate Clark and his band played a set of all new songs and he recorded the set. Maybe for a possible release? He had a brass trio backing him, it was really cool. He had this one song that sounded like a soul song. We thought Van Morrison. He said after the show he was going for Otis Redding. We then agreed that Van Morrison was probably going for Otis Redding as well. Anyway, there are a couple shows tonight:

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Like a Villain, The Sarcastic Dharma Society, and E.P. Hall (Bloomington, IN), and Problems?. I think I told you guys about Like a Villain. I tis Holland Andrews who also plays clarinet and sings in Meyercord with me. But this is a whole different thing. It is an awesome thing. She loops like a mad woman creating really impressive clarinet loops spiced with glockenspiel and vocal layers. I can't get enough of it. Sarcastic Dharma Society is one of my favorite bands in Portland. You must listen to their songs. They are obviously well crafted. Time was spent on the arrangements. EP Hall sounds like promising female fronted gothic folk. Problems? make very quirky pop music. I like it. Time was spent on the lyrics. I The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Holocene is having a show with Gratitillium, Pancake Breakfast, and Tiger House. Gratitillium is the weird pop band of Nick Caceres a former folk guy. Tonight he and his crew are releasing an ep to tide us over until his second album drops later this year. Pancake Breakfast is the vehicle Mike Midlo uses to share his music with the world. He usually is backed by a choir and various musical elements. It changes from show to show. Or so I have been told. It will be a good time if you make it out. The show is $5 and starts at 8:30 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". I said Please.

-Ben



The Sarcastic Dharma Society will play in full form tonight at Ella Street. You should go.

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