Sounds Illustrated: DoublePlusGood Plus...

Howdy Crappeteers!

It's been a long time since I've added any so-called content to this blog. Luckily, Erik Carlson of dance pop duo DoublePlusGood invited me to check out a sweet music/fashion show at Backspace way back in early December, hereby prompting me to make another Sounds Illustrated post. So here goes:

The night's entertainment featured Jeffrey Jerusalem soundchecking:


And then delivering some conga-laced disco-concrète accompanied by vibrant computer-animation loops.



Between sets, models clad in garb from local Portland designers strutted across the venue. I was not able to capture any of this in sketch form and am thus forced to hang my head and drawing-hand in shame. But I can say that the collections featured evening-wear fashioned out of recycled magnetic tape, silver-sequined shoulder-bags, lots of neutral colors, and low-slung fashion/utility belts.

Natasha Kmeto followed with a set of dense, trance-y R&B which equally showcased her smooth vocals and visceral, throbbing beats.





DoublePlusGood finished off the night with their fantastically danceable amalgam of glitchy indie electro-pop and sparkly, melodic top 40 gloss.




And on a rather different note (genre-wise), here's an apocryphal sketch of local folk legend Michael Hurley playing with the band Ida at Mississippi Studios on October 24th, which I didn't get around to scanning until just recently. Enjoy!

Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Thursday, December 30th

Hello Dear Readers,

It has been a crazy month for me. I have been on tour. I have had my girlfriend in town. I was working at a place with out an Internet connection. I am listing excuses, but I guess what I am saying is that I have missed blogging. In the past several years it has become part of my daily routine. I feel like I have not been brushing my teeth for like a month (. I have made a couple of false starts. Yesterday I got most of a post done but got too caught up doing my job to finish it. I hate it when that happens. Anyway here are some shows that look good to me:

Black Rose Infoshop is having a show with Ordstro (San Francisco), Matsuri (San Francisco), Duck Little Brother Duck, and Lunge. Ordstro and Matsuri are on tour together from San Francisco. I am not well versed with their music though Matsuri has all of their music available for download here and all of Ordstro's music is here. As far as I can tell both are loud-ish bands that incorporate a vocal style that is best described as screaming. Listening to Ordstro hurts my voice. Matsuri while screams just as much has also added some interesting guitar parts to the music. Duck Little Brother Duck are why I am listing this show. I love their music. It is mathy at times. It is intricate. It is pretty epic at times. Their live show packs an amazing amount of energy. The ALL AGES show is $4 and starts at 7 PM.

Rotture is having a show with Problems?, Corpus Callosum (SD, Like a Villain, and Toyboat Toyboat Toyboat. I have written about the quirky pop of Problems? before. But the real reason I list this show is becuase of Like a Villain. She is great. Very dramatic songs crafted from clarinet and vocal loops accented with glockenspiel. Yes, she plays in a band with me, but I would love this anyway (she also plays in The Ocean Floor). The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". It has been far too long, yes?

-Ben


Duck Little Brother Duck are set to kill it tonight at Black Rose Infoshop

Magical Christmas Sparkles Tonight: The Woods & Friends First Annual Holiday Special

Christmas music can be a terrible experience. I can clearly recall being horrified and permanently scarred by the repeated playing of the 'N Sync Christmas album at Tower Records. Eventually my mind snapped and I came to associate Christmas with mindless hordes of consumption hungry Holiday Zombies and prancing ninnies in tight pants butchering classic tunes. So join me for an evening of reclaiming holiday music as something other than replaying whatever fucked up memories you may have of Christmas' past. There is nothing better than well played music and beer. Especially at The Woods. Which is Very Fancy.

You'll spot me there, drinking beer with a smile on my face.

:: A night of holiday standards and favorites ::

*** DOORS 7pm, SHOW 8pm ***

A night of holiday standards and favorites from Laura Gibson, Musee Mecanique, Alela Diane, Michael Hurley, Lewi Longmire, Denver, Duover, Johanna Kunin, Dave Depper, Mike Midlo (of Pancake Breakfast), Quiet Life, Great Wilderness, Ezza Rose, Greylag, and, of course, other special, not-to-be-named guests! Only $5!

$5 in advance, $5 day of show

Well, since you asked. Top 5 records from 2010

The Portland Mercury is out asking people to round up their favorite 5 albums from this year so let's do this thing. Here's my contribution:

1. Delta Spirit - History From Below
2. Phosphorescent- Here's To Taking It Easy
3. The Walkmen - Lisbon
4. Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig
5. Tartufi - Goodwill Of The Scar

Dear Crappy Indie Reader-Friends,

I would like to bring to your attention a project I'm involved with called Children of Mercy. Children of Mercy is a book collecting stories and essays by several people in the indie music world, including myself and a couple other Crappy Indie bloggers, accompanied by a music CD, covering the gamut of topics from band breakups to success stories. Perhaps most importantly, the proceeds from sales of Children of Mercy will go to support the fight against Cystic Fibrosis. In order to get this project off the ground, we need some help. That's why we've got a Kickstarter page. So I'd like to invite you to take a look, and pledge if you can. I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important.

BAT COUNTRY, WHIP MY HAIR EDITION

It's not hard to get your video in BAT COUNTRY, just send us your links. Oh wait, you already do!!!

Well, since A-ha retired, we need a new Norwegian pop band.

John Snow has volunteered.

I don't care if you don't think psychrock-playing drag queens are hot or not,

This video is quel WOW!

Okay, I thought this video started out kind of creepy,

But it's actually kind of cute.

Hey Icarus Kid, your tunes are pretty good

But not only did you pick the worst NES character, you look like a douche live!!!

Here's some candid talk with ethereal and haunting songstress Jenny Gillespie.

Now that's ethereal and haunting!!

I'm officially happy now.

The world needs more dreampop.

And just so you don't think I'm a tease...