Portland Cello Project tackles Radiohead this Saturday!



Lloyd Bentsen is watching you poop.

 Remember, I have been demanding tributes like this forever, so keep 'em coming!

Yes, like the fabled chocolate and peanut butter, there is going to be a sublime menage of two great things... local heroes the Portland Cello Project, and non-Doctor-Who-British-spacemen Radiohead.  It's coming up this Saturday at the Aladdin Theater!

I'm not sure if I've stated my position on Radiohead before.  My first exposure to them was "Creep," like it was for so many others.  That was the summer I also discovered Urge Overkill, but that's another story.  I felt like the promise of their big single from Pablo Honey was not lived up to in their subsequent releases, and I put Radiohead aside for many years until I met my wife and raided her ipod, discovering Kid A in the process.  I've been a fan of all their work since that groundbreakingly weird album, and it sounds like I am a minority in that view.

A lot of people- like, billions, man- treasure OK Computer as Radiohead's finest hour.  It's considered the Cadillac of Pink Floyd.  Or, wait, "Radiohead's Dark Side of the Moon".  Well, to paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, "That's no moon."  I can't deny the influence it's had, however, or its stature among fans and critics alike.
So, it is with totally unreserved hibbly-jibblies that I announce this really awesome show.  You need to hop up and get your tickets NOW Now now! SATURDAY Saturday saturday!  BE THERE Be There be there!

From the press release:

Radiohead's classic album performed in its entirety by a cello ensemble,

with a wind ensemble, and an 8-piece choir.

Featuring: Chicago's City of Tomorrow wind quintet, a new Portland men's choir under the direction of Stephen Marc Beaudoin, with a cameo from Adam Shearer

Where: Aladdin Theater, 3017 Southeast Milwaukie Avenue, Portland, OR

Details: Doors 7pm
Show 8pm

Cost: $15

Portland Cello Project Artistic Director Douglas Jenkins always said that he would never score out any Radiohead arrangements for PCP, because the originals were perfect enough soundscapes as they are.

However, the serendipity of a simultaneous collaboration with the world-class wind quintet, City of Tomorrow (the only wind ensemble for the last ten years to win the gold medal in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition), and a top-notch new men's choir led by Stephen Marc Beaudoin (recorded and toured with Pink Martini, soloist with Fear no Music, and Executive Director of PHAME), made the temptation to take on this legendary album unavoidable.

The performance of OK Computer will be interspersed with a unique assortment of contrasting and complementary classical music.

Adam Shearer (Alialujah Choir, Weinland) will sing "Exit Music (For a Film)," but otherwise, the vocals will always come en masse from the choir.

Websites:

Portland Cello Project: http://portlandcelloproject.com/

City of Tomorrow: http://thecityoftomorrow.org/

Alialujah Choir: http://alialujah.com/

PCP High-Resolution Photos and Bio: http://portlandcelloproject.com/highres

So yeah!  Get thee to this show!  Crappy will be sending out intrepid Bookish Heather to do some of her patented review magic.  Check that article out in a few days.

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Wet t-shirt- excuse me, TRIBUTE NITE

So, looking in the A&E I notice that there are not one but TWO tribute nights coming up, one for Tom Petty and one for Tom Waits. Why so many Toms? And more importantly, where is the Tom Jones tribute show? This got me thinking, and more questions followed. Who sets up these tribute nights, and WHY THE HELL WAS I NOT ASKED TO BE INVOLVED?

Let me back up. I have only played in one tribute show, an Iggy Pop show, which was a benefit back in the day for the families of 9/11-fallen FDNY. It was awesome. We were a late add-on, so all the classic songs had been taken, so we ended up doing "Mask" off his then-current album, which mutated into an even harder hardcore song with a very sweet sax-led reggae bit in the middle. It was so much fun. The host/promoter of that show was the ubiquitous DJ Gregarious, and when I talked to him later, it was going to be the first of several tribute nights, such as George Harrison and Cheap Trick. He mentioned that tribute nights are... well, tricky and not cheap, but very popular.

I can see certain difficulties immediately. Many many bands, which means more bodies that aren't paying to get in, more risks and hassle for the venue. The music rights aspect- I mean, it isn't like cover band night at the local watering hole. In the age of teh Intarweb it's even easier. If Roger Water's IP lawyer has a few idle minutes to spare, he can just google 'Pink Floyd tribute nite,' give ASCAP a call, and start shuttin' doors. Is that how it works? I'm actually very curious. As wikipedia would say, "This article requires the attention of an expert."

Here's the thing, though. I can think of some awesome tributes, boom, off the top of my head: Joy Division, The Who, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, Morrissey, etc. These are just some of my favorite artists, but you can see what I mean. I'd love to play at any of those, and I think Coeur Machant would be up to the task. So set up some tribute nights already, people, and count me in. I'll help out!

And I won't tell Roger Waters.

P.S.

Speaking of both DJ Greg and Tom Jones, we simultaneously attended his show in the summer of '95. These were the Papaccino's days when he was a barista and I was a patron. Anyway, you of course know that TJ is famous for having women throw their panties on stage during "What's New Pussycat." Well, during that song, DJ Greg (flanked of course by two fine-looking ladies) reached down into his pants and threw his boxers on stage.

Damn.

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