Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Friday July 16th

Hello Dear Readers,

Umm...I took a bit of a break. Not really. I have been super busy. Specifically during the normal hours of blogging. I will be trying to get back in the swing of things but it has been difficult. What are the best shows you have seen in the last couple of weeks? I have been playing them like crazy. I played Wednesday night with Y La Bamaba, last night with AristeiA, tonight I am playing with Sean Flinn, and then a couple of Y La Bamba gigs this weekend. Good times for Ben Meyercord. Anyway here are the shows that want to mention tonight:

Doug Fir is having a show with The Mynabirds (Omaha), Celilo, Sean Flinn & The Royal We, and The Physical Hearts. Do you remember that band Georgia James? You know, that one that had the dude from Q and Not You and that woman that you were unfamiliar with. Well, I do. I thought they were pretty good. Anyway that woman who I referenced is Laura Burhenn. Like most Omaha based bands they are signed to Saddle Creek. After just a quick taste of the songs I feel that this is what Jenny Lewis' second album should have sounded like. Celilo is one of the finest Americana Rock bands our town has to offer. Sean Flinn & The Royal We is are a rotating cast of people based around the really well crafted pop songs of Jolie Holland, Nick Jaina, and Y La Bamba guitarist Sean Flinn. He has an album coming out eventually. But I am not sure when. The Physical Hearts are another kinda Americana band. The show is $8 and starts at 9 PM.

Wonder Ballroom is having Built to Spill and Quasi. Do I really need to say more? Sigh. I really really really really really really really really really wish I could go to this. Pacific NW Rock Gods will grace the stage. Oh My God. This show will be Epic. I have loved both of these bands since I was 18. That is a good decade of indie rock love. You probably should go to this show. It is $23. ALL AGES, and starts at 9 PM.

Rotture is having Superfest 2 Electric Boogaloo. This is a kinda eclectic two day festival that will feature some bands that I quite enjoy. Tonight they have Copy, Wampire, Fake Drugs, Hosannas, Strategy, Joey Casio (Olympia), and Rude Dudes (DJ Solomon and DJ Rad!). I also think it is the first official use of the downstairs area being a part of Rotture. I know we have all seen PDX Pop Now! shows there but this is will be a regular thing. Bigger shows downstairs, smaller shows upstairs. Anyway a lot of these bands are dance music. But all a little skewed. It makes it okay to like dance music which is a lot of the time predictable or boring or whatever. I have no idea what Hosannas is going to be like. But I think it will be a two piece. So weird. Somebody has to go to this show and tell me what is up with the performance. The show is $8-$12 and starts at 7 PM.

The Waypost is having a show with Your Rival, River Banks, and Faire du Surf (Washington state). River Banks is Justin of Pigeons. He is quite good. I have played a show with him before and I was impressed. He has a really cool sounding vintage amp. Your Rival my not be your actual rival, but it is an actual band. Kinda. There is a myspace and it lists a member and has one song. I actually don't feel like I know what is going on with the song. Which is more than I can say for Faire du Surf who have no songs up. They claim to be an Indie Surf band. That is a pretty hot genre right now. Especially with summer in full swing. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

Paschal Coeur, Ed & The Red Reds, and Hello Constable. I know that I have written about Paschal Coeur before. But I am mostly writing about this show because of Ed & The Red Reds. This is essentially the band for Ed Thanhouser a man about town. You should check it out assuming you like a taste of the indie country folk type stuff. The ALL AGES show is $ and starts at 9 PM.

The Woods is having a show with Westfold, Tempest Fujit (SF), and Dan Connolly. Westfold is a good band. I have never seen them in a venue as nice as the Woods. Let's face facts, that despite it being an ex-funeral home it is the coziest venue in Portland. Westfold's music is not that cozy. It is generally about talking about the uncomfortable social issues that plague our society. They also do it while sounding very raw. You should check them out. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

The Green House is having a show with Foot Ox, Forever, Blandina, Blood Beach, and Matthew & The Minervals. There are a bunch of bands playing this, obviously. I have heard of Foot Ox before. I just listened to it. It is the sort of music you either love or hate. Indie pop with a singer with a funny voice. It is an album release show for them. I am writing about the show because of Blood Beach though. I have still not seen them. I have heard really cool things about them. I used to see front man Shane when he played as Tex Winters. I think is a pretty cool guy. Check out his very weird psych music. The ALL AGES show is probably FREE and starts at 8 PM.

The Red and Black Cafe is having a show with Purrbot, Jordaan Mason, Shelby Sifers, and D. Purrbot makes delicate and restrained music usually on banjo or piano. You should check it out. I have not heard Shelby Sifers play in a long time. Apparently she has a new dancey kind project called Peacock Dreams. But I still like her very cute songs that she writes under her given name. Jordaan is really good. Really dramatic, but really good. The ALL AGES show is probably by donation and starts at 8 PM.

So if you see me at Doug Fir please say, "Hi".

-Ben


Sean's playing at the Doug Fir tonight.