Picket Line

Hello Crappy Indie Musicland!

I’ve been absent for a while. It’s true. It’s not that I don’t love you any more, I’ve just been cheating on music. I’ve been seeing comics lately and I have to say, I think we’re made for each other. I’m going to put a ring on it. That’s right. I’m marrying cartoons.

That’s not to say that music and I are done, I think we’ve got a lot more than drunk one night stands left. If you want to see what I’ve been up to you can come find me all over the Internets. This isn’t really about me though. It’s about the fusion of my favorite things, comics and music.

So if you didn’t know, Easel Ain’t Easy by Breena Wiederhoeft is the greatest thing in the world. It’s true. I’ve got facts and figures to back that up. FACT. (Don’t you dare dispute me). Autobio comics come in many shapes and sizes but this one nails me right in the heart. It’s honest, funny and strange just like a life should be. So she’s been up to a larger project too! Just when you thought there wasn’t anything greater in life.

Picket Line is an upcoming Xeric Award Winning graphic novel that tracks life, ecology, being strange, community, feeling out of place and being very human by following Beatrice and Rex as they navigate threats to the local redwood forests. I think the way of this is to not try. If you write a story and it falls that way that’s great. It’s forcing the themes into a story that make everything fall apart. These themes seem to have evolved very naturally out of the characters. I’m reaching here, I don’t have a Secret Advance Copy or anything. The first chapter is up to look through and I can see a lot of what’s in store in her process post.

I was already stoked about this book.

Today I learned that there’s a soundtrack to the book. It’s good. Not just “Oh that’s nice” good. I mean so intimately tied into the atmosphere that they cannot be separated. The essence of film score is to not only underpin the scene, but to entwine the music so deeply with the story that every time a listener hears a song they are immediately transported back into the film. This soundtrack has my head locked into the aesthetic of the book so completely that I can’t imagine the music without a pair of tiny arms. Even better, this has given me a great list of artists to follow up on. Especially The Recreation Station, because this song is so delightful it has made me dance around my job like it’s a parade every time I hear it. This is what I want to listen to every time the sun shines in Portland. Beardy biking music, you’re my favoritist.

The whole tone of the record starts here and continues on through the rest of the tracks. Every single track is bursting with sunlight filtered through the evergreens. It is a swirling dance through the inspiration that imagination brings. It’s a great feedback loop, comics sending love to music, inspiring more comics and more music and we’re all in the middle as the luckiest people. Listen to this. Read this book while you’re listening to it. GO CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL.

Love,
Eriq

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There is nothing doper than public safety raps

That is all

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Monday, May 17th

Hello Dear Readers,

I have kinda had a rough few days. To sum it up I no longer have a laptop computer of an intact drivers side window in my van. That means that yesterday I did not make a post. I have tried to blog from my phone but it is really frustrating. I don't even now who played yesterday. I heard that maybe Alan Singley played at Valentine's? Also, my wallet was stolen, so it looks like I am limited to FREE and ALL AGES shows. Luckily Portland has many kick ass FREE shows. Here is what looks good to me tonight (they also all happen to be free):

Lola's Room is having a show with Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside and Sean Flinn. All right, we got us a good show here. I think that Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside is great. They have played a lot and are a really tight band. I think that Sallie's voice is pretty incredible. When I first saw her she seemed so awkward and then I saw her cover a Billie Holiday song and I was floored. How the hell did that voice come from that girl? Anyway, I predicted big things for her years ago and bam! She won Best New Band. Sean Flinn is a guy who not only plays in several outfits around town (like Y La Bamba and Nick Jaina) but also can write a song like nobodies business. he recently put out the Patient Heart as a digital EP an will be releasing his full length "Write Me a Novel" later this year. Oh and I sometimes play with with Sean and his band, The Royal We. He truly has a cast of rotating players. As of me writing this I am not playing the show. But who knows? The show is FREE and starts at 7 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with Paschal Coeur, On The Stairs, and Mount Saint Elias. Paschal Coer is a pop band. They may have elements of a few other genres sprinkled on top, but underneath they will a pop band. Danielle Paschal Fish, the band leader, has a voice that vaguely remind me of Dirty Mitten's lead singer Chelsea but with less freak outs. Whatever. You should check the lap steel heavy song "Assuming you don't mind reading my lyric". On the Stairs is Americana outlet for Nate Clark. Though I sang on it, I don not have an actual copy of On The Stairs album. And I swear I am not being biased, but I think my favorite song is "When The Dust Comes Down" (I am singing some long oh's on this song). His voice is pretty cool. Low, but not too low. Rough, but not too rough. He recorded at Miracle Lake as did Mt. Saint Elias. I have written about Mt. Saint Elias before when it was called Jacob White. Jacob White was led by umm...Jacob White. He has a very good voice and his songs are pretty great. I am a fan for sure. I suggest you check him out. He will be recording a full length this summer so he will not be playing a whole lot of shows. The event is FREE at 9 PM.

Ripple Beach (on Swan Island) is having a show with Sailing, Million Brazilians, and Ancestral Diet. This is the show description that grabbed my attention, "SPECIAL BEACH SHOW!!! ON SWAN ISLAND TAKE GOING STREET DOWN BEHIND THE MCDONALD'S LOOK FOR THE 'BLUE VAN' ". They had me at behind the McDonalds. This show sounds super fun and slightly mysterious. Is this an acoustic show? If not how will they power stuff? Is Swan Island really an island? Will there be Swans? I have not seen any of these bands, but boy does this look like a good time. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 7:30 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say,"Hi". That would make my night.

-Ben


Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside will play for FREE at Lola's Room tonight.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Sunday, May 2nd

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I played in AristeiA at Langano Lounge. It was pretty weird. First of all my bass amp and head went out just before we left for the show. So I played on borrowed gear that was much quieter than is required. Second of all, we all had to much quieter anyway. So you would think that those would cancel each other out, but they didn't. On the other hand we totally expected to clear the room since we were basically playing a pop show, but most of the people stayed to watch. Electric Castle, the new band led by The Minders front man Martyn Leaper, sounded pretty great. Very similar to The Minders actually. I was very happy with the show. Tonight there are some shows too. See:

Satyricon is having a show with Valor, Old Ways, Housefire, Gray Matters and Trouble at Home. I list this show because I want to see The Trouble At Home. I have heard that they sound kinda like CCR. I also really want to see Housefire. I have written about them several times. Essentially they are Portland's Radiohead. The ALL AGES show is 7:30 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Archelogy, Lakes (
Atascadero), Porches, and Alemeda. I have seen Archeology a few time now. I think they ahave a lot of potential. Right now they have some pretty catchy songs. I think that they just need some more people to help flesh them out in a live setting. Also both times I have seen them, they have been sick. Hopefully they are all better tonight. Porches and Alameda I believe share some members or at least are very close. I have not seen Porches, but it has members of Autopilot is For Lovers which is a good band. I have been listening to Alameda's debut ep for a couple months now. It is a good mixture of string arrangements and singer-songwriter tunes. It should be a good show. There is a $6 cover and it starts at 8 PM.

Tube is having having a show with Nux Vomica, Embers, and DJ Brkfst Sndwch. Nux Vomica is a cool heavy band. Sometimes I am into heavy music. They seem to mix punk rock and metal (and a bunch of other stuff). The show is $3 and starts at 9:30 PM.

There is a pot luck show with The Ocean Floor, Twig Palace (New Orleans/Olympia), Letters, and Surprise House Band. I love The Ocean Floor. They are so freaking good. You must see them, The last I checked it was Lane singing and playing guitar and Shannon singing and playing Viola and various other instruments. It is really well arranged. Check it out. The ALL AGES show is by donation. The show starts at 7 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with Ponyghost and a new band led by Dan Galuki called The Fed. I will be honest, I am not familiar with Ponyghost, really. The bassist for Meyercord, Perry Pfister played in it/plays in it. They have not played a show in over a year. Perry used to play stand up in the group, which sounds like a kinda sad sounding indie folk. I hear that he has switched to electric this time around. But Perry will be playing stand up in The Fed. Dan Galuki has played in some fine bands. I believe most recently in Congratulations! but has also done time in bands like Please Step Out of the Vehicle. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

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

-Ben


Crust Metal? Nux Vomica play The Tube tonight.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music for Sunday, February 28th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I got home from work at like 10:30 in the pm. I could not bring myself to see any of the shows despite their inherent awesomeness. Instead I fell asleep watching Robocop. If you have not seen Robocop recently, it is crazy how not real some of the special effects are. Anyway, there are some good looking shows today:

Sunday, February 28th

Kennedy School is having a show with The Builders and The Butchers, Shelley Short, The Cardboard Songsters, and DJ Anjali. This is all part of the "You Who" monthly Children's variety rock show. This how the website describes You Who, "A monthly children's rock variety show created by Seann McKeel and Chris Funk in cooperation with McMenamins. It's a half hour-ish of variety entertainment featuring DJs and interactive dance parties with giant barn owls, musical guests, stories, skits, sing a longs, cartoons, artists, puppets, parades and performers. The second half hour features a live rock, hip-hop, or dance band!" So it kinda sounds like one of those fun for the whole family type deals. All of the hip parents will be there. I have played a show with the Builders & The Butchers. It was an all ages show. The kids went crazy. The kids today might be a little younger, so they might go even crazier. Plus I am deeply in like with the music of Shelley Short. The ALL AGES show is $10 for adults, $5 for walking age to 12 yrs old, and Free for non-walkers ( I assume they mean babies and such and not very lazy people). There is stuff happening starting at noon, but the show doesn't start until 1 PM.

The Wail is having a PA benefit for The Wail. It will feature Kathleen Keogh, Sustentacula, White Rainbow, Hammer of Hathor, Romancing, and Pete Swanson (of Yellow Swans). This show has several projects that I have written about before but have not seen. I have seen and liked White Rainbow before. He creates pretty and sometimes droney sometimes beat drivedn music created by layers of loops created by keyboards and pedals and samplers, and guitar and drums and a chaos pad and whatever else happens to be in his vicinity. Susentacula is a duo that makes "experimental" beat music. I do not know how best to describe it, but I do know that I like it. Hammer of Hathor play a a weird offspring of jazz. I am a fan of Jazz's weird spawns, so of course I like this. Romancing is a noisey project of Charlie Salas-Humara and Magge Vail. They are also both in a band called Leti Angel which is less noise based. You may recognize Charlie as formerly being in Panther and The Planet The before that. He does good work. I have not seen Pete Swanson solo yet. But his previous band Yellow Swans, was the loudest band I have ever seen. The ALL AGES show is by donation and starts at 6 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with Ages & Ages and AAN. I have seen Ages And Ages once and I liked it they had a lot of vocal stuff going on. But that was when they were just starting. Then I saw they more recently, a month ago?, and they were short a member but sounded pretty good. I think they will have every band member in attendance tonight, so I am planning on being there to see how it goes down. AAN is one of my favorite bands in Portland. They know how to rock the crap out of a song when it needs it, and how to barely be there and still maintain an effective intensity. I love it. It has been far too long since I have seen them. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Rontoms is having a show with Joe Manis Trio, Why I Must Be Careful, and Lindsey Stormo & Ben Darwish. Rontoms is pretty reliable in their Sunday Night shows. I am not familiar with most of the people tonight, but I freaking love Why I Must Be Careful. They do not have much music online to hear and it does not live up to their live show. It is a drums and rhodes combo. But both members are insanely good at their instruments and make kinda spazzy and yet totally awesome jazz rock or whatever. You will want to see them at some point. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

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

-Ben


Hammer of Hathor will be playing The Wail tonight.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Wednesday, February 10th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I had an AristeiA Practice that lasted until 10 PM. I then was unable to see that Laura Gibson and Ethan Rose in-store due to being at practice and unable to see the Orca Team show due to exhaustion. There will be no Practices tonight (that are currently scheduled) so I am totally planning on catching a little show action tonight. Here is what looks good to me tonight:

Wednesday, February 10th

Laurelthirst is having a show with The Ascetic Junkies and Sam Cooper. This is the second in a Wednesday night residency The Ascetic Junkies are playing at Laurelthirst. The band is a mostly acoustic pop folk band. They use a lot of two part harmonies and have a bit if twang that is hard to deny. I first heard of this band because of Sam Cooper. I really like Sam's music. They are often clever or pretty or sad or all of those elements combined. Plus he has very entertaining and sometimes educational. I have learned the origins of a few instruments because of Sam Cooper shows. This show is FREE and starts at 6 PM.

Holocene is having a show with Typhoon, Breakfast Mountain, Guantanamo Baywatch, Nolan Foster, DJ Sexy Cousin, and Magic Impact. This show is curated by Poor Claudia a literary and arts journal based right here in Portland. Their goals are to "to bring together the best and most challenging poetry, prose, essays & art being created in our community; to publish established artists & writers alongside promising beginners; to present this work in unique, hand-bound editions; and to share our enthusiasm for the literary, visual & book arts." With a line up like this it is hard to not be enthusiastic. Typhoon is easily one of my favorite Portland bands. Their sound is can be big which you would expect from a band that has as many people in it as there are (eight people?). But what is surprising is how gentle they can be in the valleys between their mountains of sound. Speaking of mountains, Breakfast Mountain will be doing his post pop dance music. Guantanamo Baywatch will represent the surf punk music. I really want to see them because I really dig what I have heard of them. Plus there will art installations and video poems. Super fun. The show is $6 and starts at 8:30 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a Haiti Benefit Show featuring with Blue Giant, The Minus 5, Lewi Longmire, Hosannas, and Ages. You know you want to help Haiti out. If you get an awesome show, all the better. I have seen Blue Giant and they rock. Like country rock. You know with guitar leads and cool pedal steel. And Hosannas just seem to me to be unable to do wring (except when they briefly called themselves Ape Cave). I really like Ages and all of their vocals too. I have heard rumours of some collaborations between groups as well. Really, this will be great. The show is a sliding scale of $15 to $50 and starts at 8 PM.

The Woods is having The CD release party for Rauelsson. Dolorean will also be be playing. The Rauelsson album is a really good orchestrated folk pop album. It is soft and pretty and in Spanish. I have know idea what he is singing , but I like the way he is singing it. It has the fell of a Classic Hush records album which I sure it will be referred to as in the years to come. Dolorean is probably the best "Americana" band in Portland, and there is some very stiff competition in this town. check them out if you haven't already. Al James is the man. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

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

-Ben


Guantanamo Baywatch leave their natural environment of the house show for the relative big time that is Holocene.

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Left Coast Rappers VS. Wannabe Homophobics 2007

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Monday, January 18th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last Night I went to the Satyricon to see a show. What an experience. I felt like I was back in high school. Not only because there was an inescapable feeling that I was in an all ages club, but because the majority of the bands, three out of four (yeah, there were four bands. Didn't I tell you it was an ALL AGES club?) bands played some form of punk rock. I listened to punk rock when I was in high school. I would have loved this show back then. But now it made me feel weird. I still enjoyed it, but I could not fully embrace the punk rock. The first band, Scum Grief, had potential they had catchy melodies and perfect punk rock arrangements but could not seem to all stay in the same tempo, which night have been because was so bad. So I do not fully fault them. Then there was Foot Ox who seemed to be kinda folk punk but mostly a mess of kids making noise on stage. There was a group of eleven kids who all looked like they cam straight from their shift at the co-op to come play the show. Again I am not sure if they played badly because of the bad sound or if that just were a mess. I think they would work better in a different room. Then came The Max Levine Ensemble who played really well and were obviously tight a stark contrast to the previous band. They had some interesting parts but did not do a whole lot to further the punk music cannon. Finally came the band that I had wanted to see, Nana Grizol. They were really good. The songwriting is really clever and thoughtful almost to the point that I wish the music were not so catchy so that I could focus on the words. But when you have a band that features two drummers (one of which also plays trumpet) and two guitars and a low brass instrument and a bass player and they all sing. It is hard to catch every word. They sound they made was uplifting and made me want to go home call all my friends and say lets make some music. Instead I went home fell asleep.

Monday, January 18th

Valentine's is having a show with Galveston, Lindsay Clarke, and Rey Villalobos. I have not seen Galveston. Though I have written about the band and also heard very good things from trust worthy friends, I have yet to get my situated in front of them while they play music. From what I can tell it is very minimalist folk with some drumming and acoustic guitar. The recordings have a touch of trumpet and a slide guitar. They have three members listed so I am not sure what the third person does. Lindsay Clarke is pretty great. I think I played the first show she played as a Portland resident. She spent sometime in the Boston area and Nevada City before that. Her folk sound definitely reminds me of some other Nevada City "folks" (Alela Diane in particular). She splits her instrument playing between guitar and banjo. I have seen Rey Villalobos a couple of times. he is relatively new to Portland but has been doing music for a while in California. He is a good songwriter and has an amazing voice. It kinda reminds me of the late Jeff Hansen who reminded me kinda of a late Elliott Smith. What I am trying say that it is that his voice breathy and light and very pretty. Last time I saw him he was backed by Brian Wright and Cory Gray of Carcrashlander on drums and keys/trumpet respectively. A very nice set up. His song "Kiss Me Like It's the 50's" stands out in my memory. I am hoping to buy his EP that he recorded here in Portland, because it sounds great. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at this show please say, "Hi". I like greeting people. What is your hobby?

-Ben


See Rey sing this song tonight at Valentines.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Sunday, January 17th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last Night at the Woods was fun. I saw a lot of people I knew there. Even fellow blogger Jess made it out. I thought we, as Y La Bamba, played pretty well. The audience was unnrevingly quiet and respectful during the performance. It was our first real show with Scott McGee on stage. We look forward to having more of him in the mix. The the Robinsons took stage and did a really good job of putting their songs from Viva Voce and Blue Giant into a new context. They used an acoustic guitar that sometimes used a lot of effects and an electric guitar with some effects as well. They also used a tamborine, slide guitar,glockenspiel, and a harmonica. On the last song Kevin played the housed piano on a songs and just killed the number. I hope to be able to play with them again in whatever form. They have this one song called target heart from Blue Giant that I really like. Anyways, here are the shows that look good ti me tonight:

Sunday, January 17th

The Parlour is having the final night of Music to Folk To! Fest with What Can Skulls Tell Us/, Shinto, Nick Caceres, Mamma Sunshine, Ross & The Hellpets, Ocean Age, Sam Cooper, and Oh Captain My Captain. The other two days of this fest looked meh. But for the final day it looks pretty promising. What Skulls Can Tell Us is Darren of Potlatch Presents. He plays acoustic music that falls somewhere between Microphones and Love of Everything. which is to say it is kinda quirky and heartfelt and not for everyone. Nick Caceres is the folk pop project of the guy from Gatitilium he hardly ever plays in his folk incarnation any more so this is cool. Mama Sunshine is a band that Eliot King assembled. He is a guy who used to play the Zilla Open Mic back when Luz and I from Y Lamba were just getting started.He was always really good. Ocean Age is a band that I do not feel is folk but who I really like. They do used an acoustic guitar but hey also used a butt load of other instruments too. Sam Coopers has recently mostly playing instruments in Horsefeathers. His music is also very good it can be silly or sad or often times both. I like the way he talks just as much as he plays when he is performing. Oh Captain My Captain is a favorite of mine but also I do not consider folk but more of a pop band. The show is $10 and starts at 3 PM.

Rontoms is having a songwriters in the round with Ritchie Young, Grey Anne, Kyle Morton, Bud Wilson, Leonard Mynx, Kelly Blair Bauman, His Name Shall Breathe, Ryan Ziles, and Sean Battles. Songs in the round have kinda of been popular as of late I know at least three unrelated people who have been setting this kind of show up. But I want to say, right off the bat, this is a risky show model. Unless everyone is really good. Switching from really good performers to sub par performers is very unsettling and may cause audience members to want to leave. I know that I have wanted to leave one of these before. Lucky for you, I know that most of these songwriters are very good. Ritchie Young is of Loch Lomond. Kyle Morton is of Typhoon. Bud Wilson is of aan. Those of you who read this blog know that some of my Portland favorites are represented here. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Satyricon is having a show with Nana Grizol, Max Levine Ensemble, Foot Ox, and Scum Grief. Nana Grizol is an Elephant 6 related band and therefore have many members and are based out of Athens. Some of those members were in bands like Neutral Milk Hotel (gasp). They are really good and I have been told that I have to see them by a friend who has impeccable taste. The Max Levine Ensemble is a punk band from D.C. Seems to be pretty good. Foot Ox is one of those folk punk bands. Though I guess folk pop punk would be more accurate. Over all this seems like a good time. Plus I have not been to Satyricon in literally years. The ALL AGES show is at 8 PM.

If you see me at these shows please say, "Hi". I am the guy with the beard.

-Ben


Grey Anne is in good company tonight at Rontoms for FREE.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Saturday, January 16th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night was crazy. I was going to try and be ambitious and catch Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond and then go to Berbati's to Catch Matt Sheehy, Weinland, and Deelay Ceelay. Alas last minute Zilla Sake and Mercy Corps decided to put together a last minute Haiti benefit show featuring Y La Bamba. This thew a wrench in my plans. But then I found out that the benefit show would start at 7. I called Padraic and found out he probably would not start until 8. I could still make this happen I thought. Alas we did not start until probably 8 and we ended up doing some Sean Flinn and Tragos Armargos songs as well. At 9, assuming I had missed Padrianc Finbar Haggerty-Hammond's set I went over to Berbati's and caught most of the night. Matt Sheehy played a rare solo show which included a cover of a Spoon song. Weinland is apparently a rock band now. They Covered some Elvis Costello and someone else. Deelay Ceelay was the highlight of the night with their animation fog machines and double drum beats turning the place into an instant dance club. Good times. But Fin, if you are reading this, I am sorry I missed your show. I had every intention of going.

Saturday, January 16th

The Woods is having a show with The Robinsons and Y La Bamba. The Robinsons are probably better known for the two bands they front Viva Voce (rock) and Blue Giant (Country). Both are great and center around the twos songwriting. From what I understand Viva Voce kinda got tired of playing as a duo which required them to play the songs the exact same way every time (due to all of the loops and prerecorded music). That is why they formed Blue Giant initially. Also to get out some songs that were a little twangier than their previous output. Then they wrote a new Viva Voce album and got two more member so they wouldn't be a duo. Then I guess they wanted to try playing as duo again, hence The Robinsons. In this incarnation of the duo there are no drums or prerecorded music. Just two voices and two guitars. It works really well. Y La Bamba a band that I play bass in and sing. I think we are getting better and better. There are now four and sometimes five part harmonies. We will be trying some new songs. We will be joined by Scott McGee of Nick Jain, Loch Lamond, Run On Sentence, and Pancake Breakfast. It will be a lot of fun. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

Full Life Coffee Shop is having a Yes on Measures 66/67 Benefit with St. Frankie Lee, bazillionaire, Swim Swam Swum, Quiet Countries, Kelli Schaefer, and Nick Jaina. I am not exactly sure what the benefits could be. Perhaps to raise awareness? I know that I have already voted yes on both measures. Anyway, I am writing because this is an opportunity to see a lot of great bands for very little money. St. Frankie Lee does girl boy ruckus folk rock. Swim Swam Swum play lean indie rock. Quiet Countries has been making Prefuse 73 inspired hip hop but is listed a playing an acoustic set so who knows. Kelli Schaefer plays guitar and sings with an epic voice. Nick Jaina plays somewhat dark indie folk rock. The show is $5 and starts at 7 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Point Juncture, WA, The Maldives (Seattle), Black Whales, and The Virgin Islands. This is a showcase for Mt Fuji Records. All of the bands are on the Seattle based label. Point Juncture is the only Portland band on the bill, but I love them. They play like a Yo La Tango or some band that plays all kinds of music but also have managed to developed a recognizable sound which in their case involves male female harmonies, vibes, and trumpet atop a very groove based indie rock band. The Maldives is a band that I have only seen once but blew me away. They are a country band for sure, but they make it sound so good. Check them out if you sometimes like that sort of thing. Black Whales is a band who I have seen their name around but not listened to. The Virgin Islands is a post rock band that rocks. The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.

The Knife Shop is having The Woolen Men and Cut House you play a show. The Woolen Men are a indie rock band that sometimes is kinda a spacey like a Velvet Underground song and then some times picks up the pace and sound like something that would be on Matador Records circa 1997. Cut House You sounds like an electro pop band that leans towards sounding like they were in the 80's as opposed to trying to cut their electro with something new ti The show is $5 and starts at 10 PM.

Jade Lounge is having a show with Winterhaven and Jennie Wayne. Winterhaven features the guys behind THWBRO . As you might expect from their blog these guys are into indie folk. The band features three members and three songwriters who have a penchant for three part harmonies. Jennie Wayne is half of the other folk-pop outfit John Heart Jackie. Her solo efforts are very pretty and she is sometimes backed by a cello. or so I am told. The show is FREE and 8 PM.

If you see me at The Woods please say, "Hi". I am the one playing bass and singing in Y La Bamba.

-Ben


Meet The Robinsons. They will sound like this sans the cellos tonight at The Woods.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Friday, January 15th

Hello Dear Readers,

Sometimes I just don't want to go out. Yesterday at about 8 PM, I was done for the day. I knew that there were a number of really good shows, but I was just finished. I ended up doing somethings that I have been meaning to get done and I felt accomplished and everything which was good. I heard that the Fin de Cinema was packed. I couldn't have handled packed last night so I am glad I stayed in.

Friday, January 15th

Tea Chai Te is having a show with Padriac Findbar Haggerty-Hammond and Maggie Morris (San Francisco). Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond has quite a name. He also has quite an ability to pen that can be silly sweet and kinda sad at the same time. His voice fits his songs perfectly they hit all the notes but is a little quirky. I really like it. He will have his friend (friends?) of Sarcastic Dharma Society back him tonight. I like Maggie Morris too. Apparently she knows Fin ( aka PFHH) from when he lived in the Bay. In fact the show I saw her play, he was there. At that show she managed to get Typhoon to act as her backing band. Sweet. I bought her CD that Boy Gorilla put out and enjoyed it as well. It is indie pop that sometimes has a bit of twang thrown in. I think you should check it out because a) it will be good and and b) the ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 7 PM (plenty o' time to check out other shows).

The Knife Shop is having a show with Andy Combs and The Moth (Talent, OR) and Team Evil. Andy Comb and Co. used to be a Portland band. Then Andy went to New York then he went to Southern Oregon where I believe he still resides. Either way it is nice to see him play Portland again. Most of the last incarnation of his lively bunch of cohorts were of the PDX band Point Juncture, WA. His music ranges from carnival-esque to to above average indie-pop to a song that sounds like Tom Waits. One of the members of Point Juncture that sometimes played in The Moth also fronts the band Team Evil. Team Evil reminds me of Chicago bands from the mid to late 90's that had really cool guitar lines but the quieter moments. The drums seemed to be brushed most of the time. There also some vibes and trumpet action (which is also used in Point Juncture) that, maybe unjustly, remind me of Chicago bands. I haven't seen them, but would really like to. The show is $5 and starts at 10 PM.

Berbati's is having a Willamette Week Give!Guide sponsored show with Deelay Ceelay, Weinland, and Matt Sheehy. The Give!Guide helped raise a lot of money for a lot of non-profit organizations and programs. This show is a celebration of that and, as you might have guessed another chance to donate. And why not? This is a FREE show. Deelay Ceelay is the double drumming duo that lays down some beats to prerecorded bleeps and spacey guitars that in coordination with trippy films provided by the band themselves create a danceable psychedelic experience even with out the drugs. Weinland does the Americana folk rock thing like they invented it. Which is to say they know what they are doing. Matt Sheehy sounds vaguely like Sufjan and not at all in a bad way. Just in that he has a very sweet voice and an ear for arrangements that involve many people. Except I feel that Matt has a larger tendency to create tension in his songs often with the use of effective backing vocals and interesting percussion. Last time I saw him he had a french horn player whose playing just melted me. Again the show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Guidance Counselor, Vella Vella (Seattle), and The Old Church is hosting an Oregon Food Bank benefit with Dolorean and Derby. Another good benefit. They also have a very good Americana band, Dolorean. It seems that American and canned goods go hand and hand. Dolorean are a bit slower than Weinland usually, but they too have very good arrangements. Al James can write the pants off of a song. Derby on the other hand is not so slow. They make lite indie rock with very sweet vocals and melodies (or some might saw power pop). Also it should be noted that upon clicking on their myspace page you will hear the rap stylings of Lo Kee Money (apparently Derby does not check it's comments otherwise they might remove Mr Money's music player) which is a little confusing at first. But their songs are really catchy and would be a blast to see performed live. The show is $10 (or $5 with a can of food or pair of socks).

If you see me at these shows please say, "Hi". I current sport a beard a chubby for Portland music.

-Ben


Padriac Finbar Haggery-Hammond heckles his audience, not the other way around. He plays Tea Chia Te for FREE

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Ben Meyercord's Lvie Music Picks for Thursday, January 14th

Hello Dear Readers,

After a nine hour Sean Flinn/Y La Bamba/Tragos Amargos practice, I could not bring myself to got out at all. Even though, there were a some shows that looked good. Instead, I fell asleep. Tonight there are some more shows that look good:

Thursday, January 14th

Berbati's is having a show with Bombs Into You, Noir City, and Strange Holiday. Bombs into You is a electro rock band that is uses the electro parts to varying degrees. Sometimes they sound like an electro pop band, other times they use some synths that accent a seemingly normal if not better than average indie rock song. I enjoy both. You can download some of their eps for free on their website. Noir City is band that has a lot of influences and displays them all from rock to R&B to Trip Hop. But thing that makes the music a little cohesive is the Diva Vocals of Alexcia Tsu. But the band I am most excited about is Strange Holiday. They are really really good. They sound somewhat like a female led Beach Boys if they were in their prime today. There are many many layers of vocals on the recordings. Live the band has a really good rhythm section. I remember the bassist had so many good bass lines that were vaguely reminiscent of old R&B or "oldies" music. On some songs there is a definite throw back feel. And Alison (Tristeza) employs the auto harp. Her voice is very beautiful and reminds me of the lady from Beach House. They will be big. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Holocene is having the second installment of Fin De Cinema. This is an event were a weird ass movie is picked and several awesome Portland bands are curated to score sections of the movie. Last time there were some good music bit from Why I Must be Careful and AAN. This time they are showing Valerie and Her Week of Wonders with Nurses, Gulls, and The Slaves. I am curious as to what Nurses will do, as they don't strike me as a movie scoring band. Though they do have that song called Technicolor. Gulls and The Slaves I think would be perfect. As they both make very atmospheric music. This not a dancing a round kind of show, but more of a sit and watch and let the music wash over you in an all encompassing audio visual experience. The show is FREE and starts at 8:30 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Kay Lay & His Weathered Underground (Seattle), Blunt Mechanic, and Pony Village. Kay Lay and Co. are a band that I have not heard of but have been getting a lot of attention that I missed. They make pop music that is pretty wide in scope which makes sense considering that there are 11 people in the band (If I trust their press photo). The songs are good and featuring pretty cool and expansive arrangements Apparently all the members are in several bands and they use each others members liberally. I suggest you check out the song "Worlds entire". I think it sounds pretty cool. Blunt Mechanic is the new band formed by Ben Barnett. Ben is most recognized as the creative force behind the Portland band Kind of Like Spitting (who I was bug fan of). In the last few years, Ben moved to Seattle and started teaching music at the School of Rock. He apparently likes the kids so much that he formed Blunt Mechanic utilizing some of his students. Pony Village is a Portland band that remind me of Northwest indie rock that I heard before I moved here. It is at once familiar and likable. I am looking forward to the album that they will be putting out this year. The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.


Kennedy School is having a benefit for Skip vonKuske. The show features Portland Cello Project, Sneakin' Out, and The Stolen Sweets. "Our beloved cellist and friend Skip vonKuske is experiencing what we're optimistically calling a "rough patch." Following the death of his mom this fall, and the subsequent theft of his cello (which was later recovered....whew!), Skip sustained a severe back injury which has left him physically disabled and in horrible pain.

Like many self-employed musicians, Skip does not have health insurance. Nor does he have the option of resting, since the gigs he plays sustain him financially and pay his bills. Without down time, Skip has developed a concurrent case of sciatica."
That sounds pretty awful for Skip. But seeing PCP for cheap sounds good for you. I no idea who they might get to play with them, but they have a knack for roping on good talent. The show is by donation and starts at 7 PM.

Doug Fir is having a show with Soft Tags, Bodhi, and We Miss the Earth. Doug Fir is pretty cool. They are constantly putting together all local lineups that probably won't sell out or anything but are a good way to stimulate the local music scene. I know that the Soft Tags work really heard at what they do. Or at least I hope they do. They are put out alums and eps like crazy and they do it themselves and the music is consistently good (very impressive). Bodhi is a rock band that has a very nice mix of post-punk and new wave mixed with regular rock music. A horrible description for sure, but please do no let my inability to articulate stop you from checking them out. I have never heard of We Miss the Earth before. But they seem like really good new wave sounding band. Hard to sound good doing this genre (it often sounds too cheesy or bad). The show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Paschal Coeur, Secrets in the Salt, and Say Bella. Most times what I write on these posts are posted without much thought. I can look back at them and cringe (and often do). I wrote about Paschal Couer before and mention that they kinda went for a soul sound, which they clearly don't. But I did like them and still like what I heard. I think that Dirty Mittens isn't such a terrible touching point to describe their sound. Secrets in The Salt is a pop band playing pop songs. Say Bella is a bit of an oddity. She writes, plays and records her songs, mostly based on her piano and laptop set up. Her songs sound sometimes childish and simple, but her lyrics seem to pretty dark or at least highly cynical. On her new song she talks about an ex who comes to her place at 4 am with "whiskey on his breath and gonneria on his dick". Ouch. Seems good right? The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at these shows please say, "Hi". I current sport a beard and hoodie.

-Ben


Pony Village. Tonight at Mississippi Studios. Viva Indie rock!

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks

Hello Dear Readers,

I picked up my friend from the airport and as a payment, he bought me a Papa Johns Pizza. Since I had not eaten besides several handfuls of goldfish (not really a meal), I destroyed the pizza and then got "pizza drunk". That meant that shows were out of the question. I must be more careful in the future. Anyways, here are the shows that look good"

Wednesday, January 13th

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Jesse Skyes and Kele Goodwin. Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter, her band, make folk rock that is distinct mostly due to her soft and raspy voice. The weird thing about her is that she often collaborates with heavy bands like SUNNO))) and BORIS. Weird. Kele Goodwin makes very pretty folk music. The obvious touching stone for getting an idea of what he Kele sounds like is Nick Drake. The show is $12 and starts at 9 PM

Ella Street Social Club is having The Woolen Men, Pill Wonder (Seattle), and White Fang play a show. Woolen Men are a good new band you should know about. They play rock and roll like the Velvet Underground would play rock and roll if they grew up listening to 90's lo-fi rock. If that makes sense. Young Prisms is a band that sounds like some kids taking drugs and playing guitars in attempts to play pop music. A lot of these bands kinda play chilled out reverby drenched pop music. I mean not Woolen Men, and especially not White Fang. White Fang plays party art punk. It is fun and catchy and I highly suggest you see them at least once in your life. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Rotture is having a show with Kidcrash, Girlfriends, Carrion Spring, and Total Bros. Di you know about how all the kids are playing mathy pop music? If you did not you should check out all of these bands. You will not regret it. Unless of course you can't handle progressive music. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

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

-Ben


Kidcrash play tonight at Rotture. Crazy.

Publish Post

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Ben Meyercord Live Music Picks for Tuesday, January 12th

Hello Dear Readers,

Oh my lord. Last night I stayed up waaaaay too late. I didn't even do anything. I was going to have a Meyercord practice but I got stood up. Then I got to doing nothing and got really lazy and then eventually just watched movies online via Netflix. I really need to fix my bike so that I can start going to shows more often. Speaking of shows there are a few tonight that I think really good:


Tuesday, January 12th


Valentine's is having a show with Root Beer & French Fry and Rob Walmart. This looks like an awesome show. Especially since I was kicking myself last time I missed Root Beer & French Fry (not that I have ever seen them). But I have heard nothing but very complimentary thing s regarding their shows, and I love the music they have posted on their myspace. If you like upbeat slightly video gamey instrumental pop music, then you are in for a treat if you come out to this show. Rob Walmart is always enjoyable. They mostly play out of their converted ice cream truck (I think it was an ice cream truck) venue on wheels they have dubbed "the cube". They make experimental noisy beats with what appears to be stream of consciousness lyrics or spoken word on top. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.


The Woods is having Portland Round with Leviethan, His Name Shall Breathe and Michael Griffith. I haven't seen Levieathan in a long time. I recall seeing him open for someone in the pre-renovation Mississippi Studios. I have since listened to him online a few times. He knows what he is doing. The main reason I write this post however is because of His Name Shall Breathe and his gorgeous Music. It is mostly centered around Tim Martin and his longing voice and arpeggiated guitar lines. It kinda reminds me of the early Owen stuff that Mike Kinsella did. I absolutely love it. Shows that feature musicians in the round can be questionable, but when the musicians are really good. It doesn't matter all that much. The show is $8 and starts at 9 PM.


Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Rollerball and Mangled Bohemians. Rollerball play art rock that is difficult to pin down. Suffice to say that they are really good. They manage to mix a bit of jazz into indie rock without sounding like Tortoise. Mangled Bohemians seem to make pretty ambient music. Which is to say that it is very ambient and very pretty (to me anyways). The show is $2 and starts at 9 PM.


Bar of The Gods will be having Westfold will be playing an acoustic show. This show strikes me as an oddity. I have never heard of the Bar of The Gods. Nor have I heard of them having shows there. Also Westfold is a rock band that has grown from doing acoustic shows four years ago into using amps and effects pedals and hard hitting drummers. My first reaction to this is that it would be a step backward. My second and current reaction is this might sound really cool. Plus I am very curious as to how they will pull it off. Rest assured this is not your typical guy and an acoustic guitar singing about a girl. The show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.
distortion


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


-Ben

ROB WALMART IN DENVER from Marriage Records on Vimeo

Rob Walmart doing what they do. They will do it tonight at Valentine's

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Monday, January 11th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I had a pretty late Y La Bamba practice. I am super excited about a new song that we have fleshed out. Anyway I got out at 11 and decided it best to stay in since I had to get to work this morning early. Any who, I only found one show I am inters ted in for tonight. Here it is:

Monday, January 11th

Mississippi Studios is having Mississippi Man (LA), The Silent Comedy (CA), St. Frankie Lee, and The Head and The Heart (Seattle) play a show. Mississippi Man at Mississippi Studios, eh? I am not sure how the booking works at the studios, but this seems a little too convenient. Regardless, Mississippi Man sounds like sunny pop music with a lead singer that reminds me of the lead singer of Dr.Dog (I want to be clear that I don't think this band sounds like Dr. Dog, because they don't). Then there is The Silent Comedy who appear to be playing every show that Mississippi Man is playing (my sources tell me they are on tour together). They are a folk rock band in the truest form possible. Yes they have mandolin, banjo, violin and harmonica, but hey still know how to rock. St. Frankie Lee, to whom this show listing is for, are a live favorite of mine. The group, currently consisting of seven members, sprawls across the stage and just seem to break the dam that holds their music from the audience. They are based around the songwriting of, possibly the cutest couple in Portland, Derrick and Chelsea. He plays banjo, she plays guitar. He sings sweetly, his voice is on par with Calvin Johnson. The combination with the lively band's energy works really well. Plus they often try to educate their patrons with different themes and facts at every show. The show is $7 and music starts at 8 PM.

If you see me at this show please say, "Hi". I will buy you a glass of water.

-Ben

No Children (live) from St. Frankie Lee on Vimeo.
St. Frankie Lee will take stage tonight at the Mississippi Studios.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Sunday, January 10th

Hello Dear Readers,

Lat Night I went to the Hosannas show at Slabtown. Archeology opened the show. I saw a lot of potential. Apparently their drummer had gotten a cold which spread to the the other singers who claimed they usually have better voices. I will take that into consideration. Also the bass seemed to low in the mix and it appeared that they were doing some sort of midi control with their feet which did not translate into an audible sound (I couldn't hear it at least). SO I would like to see them again in a place with a little bit better sound. They did a lot of group (all three singing) and harmonies. The two members that were not the drummer switched between guitar and bass quite liberally. Also they took turns on lead vocals. One of the guys played saxophone on a song. I would also like to take the opportunity to say I was mistaken in that there were three members instead of a duo. Then Rainy States took stage. They were very tight. The bassist was having a lot of fun and dancing around while they played which contrasted with the rest of the band which was...tight. They seemed very well rehearsed but ended up having to cut their set short due to a malfunctioning bass. Wampire surprised me tonight by playing with a drummer; something I have never them do before. The drummer, Cyrus Lampton plays in a ton of bands and is ridiculously skilled. He takes Wampire to the next level. All of the bands kept trying to get name of the headliners correct. Was it Church? No it was Ape Cave. Wait didn't they change their name again? Yes they did. When they took the stage, they announced that were called Hosannas. They played a great set that included one that I had never heard before. I think they are going to be recording later year and I can't wait. Anyway, there are a lot of good shows tonight. See:

Sunday, January 10th

Valentine's is having a show with Heather Woods Broderick and Dragging an Ox Through Water. Heather is very good. I love the tone of her voice. She plays many instruments very well. I think she focuses on guitar and piano in this gentle folk-ish project. But she plays many bowed instruments as well. She is about to move off the Denmark to be with Efterklang, just like her big brother Peter Broderick. Dragging An Ox Through Water is experimental folk in the truest sense. He explores the process of inserting noise burst created by homemade oscillators and other pedals. I really think it sounds cool. One of the most original sounds I have heard. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Karl Blau (Anacortes), David Hooker, Cole Miller, and David Jaberi (Eureka). David Hooker plays folk music as A John Henry Memorial. Karl Blau plays Anacortes indie pop which is really good. I am mostly writing about this show because I have been told by a good friend of mine that David Hooker is not to be missed. He rarely plays under this moniker ( he also fronts the noisy rock band ...Worms)if he ever plays at all. Which is to say that this show will be special. The ALL AGES show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Doug Fir is having a show with Leigh Marble and Mbilly. This is a double bill of Portland Americana. Something that this town is quite good at. I have often listed Leigh Marble before. I have never seen him play. I have however seen Mbilly play. It was good he split his set between a more rocking or at least a full band section and a quieter more acoustic section. I think he is equally good at both. Both of these guys generally are good at rounding up a band of some of the quality players here in Portland. The show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at these shows please say, "Hi". I am the bearded dude hogging the water jug.

-Ben


Heather Woods Broderick will be playing wothout her brother tonight at Valentine's. Don't miss it.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Saturday, January 9th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I had an AristeiA practice and then went out to eat with most of them thus opting out of seeing any shows. It seemed like a normal person thing to do, I thought I would give it a go. It was pretty good. But man I wish I had seen a show instead. Speaking of which, there are a lot of good shows tonight. See:

Saturday, January 9th

Slabtown is having a show with Hosannas, Wampire, The Rainy States, and Archeology. This looks like a grand show. Hosannas is the latest name (at least that I have heard as of writing this post) for the band formerly known as Church. Those guys are one of my favorite bands in Portland. They play very dynamic and moody art pop. Check them out. Seriously. Wampire is also quite good. They play guitars along to prerecorded jamz but manage to make it quite entertaining due in large to their outgoing personalities and enthusiasm. The aforementioned Jamz that I made reference to are often very chill yet very danceable at the same time. The Rainy States make female led indie rock music (mostly female led anyway). They have a good sense of melody and for some reason that I cannot quite pinpoint sound like they come from a place where it rains a lot (way to name yourselves guys). Archeology is a band that I remember hearing about and liking a while back and then I kinda forgot about them (sorry guys). They are a two piece that have managed to put out a couple self released eps. They make really good music the thing that stands out the most about them is their heavy use of harmonized voices. They sound really good together. The best part thought is that they said that they would be giving away copies of their eps and promo copies of their new album that will be out in March all for FREE.. How cool is that ? The show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.

Berbati's is having a show with Dengue Fever (LA), Tu Fawning, and Pink Widower. The main thing about Dengue Fever that people harp on is the Cambodian influence. But mostly you should know that they are a pop band that have some psychedelic touches and a sweet sax player. The music sounds a bit throw back. It is good. I am mostly writing about this show because of Tu Fawning. I really liked their debut ep that came out a while back. Since then I have missed several shows that featured, according to third party accounts, new songs. They normally play moody rock music. You should check out their song "Out Like Bats". Pink Widower features members of the the defunct band Ape Shape and play psychedelic reggae pop. They are a good pairing with Dengue Fever considering the shared use of similar brass (though I think Pink Widower has more of it). The show is $13-$15 and starts at 9 PM.

Portland Playhouse is having a show with Fruition, Leonard Mynx, Daniel Stern, and Never Strangers. Fruition is a modern blue grass group. I actually played with them once at Portland Playhouse. They are really solid and have gorgeous three part harmonies they throw atop their blue grass. The instrumentation consists of acoustic guitars, banjo, stand up bass, and mandolin. There are three songwriters in the band so there are no shortage of songs. Leonard Mynx also has no shortage of songs. I have been listening to his latest Le Petite Mort and really liking it. I have not seen him play acoustic in a long time. I think I might prefer him that way sometimes. Daniel Stern is the robber from Home Alone and Home Alone two that is not Joe Pesci. I am sorry but that is what he will always be best known as. But did you know he also directs plays? That is why he is in Portland. Also he plays guitar and sings. Who knew? No one. Because this is his first time to do so in front of an audience. The show is $6-$8 and starts at 7:30 PM.

The Artistery is having a show with Laura Veirs, Led to Sea, and Justin Power. Laura Veirs keeps getting better and better. I often get the song July Flame, from which her new alum is titled, stuck in my head even though I have no possession of the song. I probably have heard it only a handful of times but it has drilled its way into my brain. In a good way. "Led to Sea is the solo project of violist/violinist/composer L. Alex Guy. She is sometimes joined by incredible percussionist Paul Kikuch." This is from her myspace page. She has been a part of experimental pop bands Xiu Xiu and Dead Science. It is a cool sound. Lots of stings obviously. I am wondering if she does lopping live. I bet she does. And then there is Justin Power, as songwriter poised for greatness. He will be big. I can feel it. I liked his music immediately. Kind of like when I first heard Blind Pilot and I was like. People are going to like this. The ALL AGES show is $8 and starts at 8 PM.

The Press Club is having a show with Rauelsson, May May, and Kele Goodwin. Awww the lesser known folk scene in Portland, how I love you. I guess these are not really all that lesser know but they are small enough to play the Press Club (a very small space). All of these groups are very good and make very soothing folk tunes. Rauelsson makes his in Spanish (hey I playing a band that sometimes makes Spanish language folk music too, Rauelsson hit up Y La Bamba or Tragos Amargos for a show). May May is fronted by Laurel who also plays in Rauelsson. Kele Goodwin makes Nick Drake-ish tunes i.e. very breathy folk. He has been recording with the dudes from Musee Mecanique over the past year. Hopefully those get released this year. The show is FREE and starts at 8:30 PM.

Doug Fir is having a show with Lewi Longmire Band, The Physical Hearts, and Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside. Lewi Longmire is a guy who has been around the block a few times. He leads a country rock band that is really. Check out the song he duets with Victoria Williams. I love it. The Physical Hearts are a band that I have heard of but not heard. It is an interesting mix of folk rock and and some other elements. Check out "Downstream" when the full drum beat drops in I am like, "Is this The Sea and Cake?" A neat trick for a folk band, Then there is the excellent retro-pop of Sallie Ford and her amazing backing band The Sound Outside. These guys having been getting bigger and bigger and really deserve it. Imagine if Billie Holiday sang upbeat pop songs. The show is $8 and starts at 8 PM.

The Waypost is having a show with Orange Jam, Support Force, Ghosties. From what I can tell of the lo-fi recordings on their myspace, Orange Jam sound like a promising noisy, but not necessarily loud, psychedelic rock band. Support Force sound like a reverby pop band. Ghosties is sounds like a guy recording in his home who probably listened to all the music I did growing up. I am not good at describing these bands because they are hard to describe. But check them out. They are, as I said, promising. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.


If you see me at these shows please say, "Hi". I am the bearded dude having a good time.

-Ben


Laura Veirs plays with her awesome band tonight at The Artistery.

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