Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Thursday, April 14th

Hello Dear Readers,

I am writing to you from California, once more. I will be back sometime tonight. I am not sure if I will be up for seeing a show. But if I do, here are the shows happening today in Portland:

The Woods is having a show with Ólöf Arnalds (Iceland), The Ocean Floor, and Jordan O'Jordan (Olympia/Ohio). Ólöf Arnalds, if you could not tell from the crazy unusual letters in her name, is from Iceland. She makes folky music with a really unique and recognizable voice. If you think that you have the slightest interest in her, which you shoal because she is good, then you should come out. Folks from Iceland don't get here too often. If not for her than for the other great acts on the bill. The Ocean Floor was for a long time a two piece of Lane Barrington and Shannon Rose Steel. It was wonderful and beautiful with impressive live arrangements. But if you listen to any of their recorded work you will see that their recent growth to a five piece was inevitable and a good move. Their is no shortage of arrangements to be played. They took this new inception of the band to New Zealand and have come back assumedly tighter than ever. I would love to see them. Jordan O'Jordan is one The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.

Holocene is having a show with El Ten Eleven (LA), Lynx, and Girlfriends. El Ten Eleven is a math rock duo. I played with them once in San Francisco. They were pretty cool. There was a lot of looping from the guitar player. There was a lot of cool parts. I was impressed. Lynx is a a band that I feel like I have heard of before. After checking out the web page I realized that I have a Lynx CD at my house. It must have gotten put in there when Y La Bamba was on tour in California last. Form what I have heard, Lynx is a woman whose music is a it is a mixture of hip hop and electronic influences with a healthy dose of acoustic instruments. Girlfriends is a the solo project of Jerry Joiner. He has two albums that seem pretty math (check the link I provided). He loops a lot and then goes nuts on the drums. It interesting to see music that changes parts mostly due to the drums. They definitely seem to be the main instrument of the live show. See the video at the bottom of the page to see what I am talking about. The show is $12 and starts at 8:30 PM.

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

Ben


Girlfriends play at Holocene tonight.