Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Wednesday, June 9th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I had a few things going against me and I did not make it out. I ended up working ten hours yesterday, and did not drink enough water and ended up exhausting myself. On the one hand I am really bummed that I didn't see any of the music, but on the other hand well rested and feeling healthy. I know I know. I should not worry about such things but I have found my quality of life is better when I treat my body better. Anyway I don't have to work tomorrow. So in case I don't get to see Tortoise tonight, these are the local shows that look good to me:

The Woods is having a show with Jen Moon, Mbilly, and Wax Fingers. Jen Moon is a pretty sweet rock band. It features half of Oh Captain My Captain and a few o my friends. I think you will be impressed with how they soumd. I don't think I can describe how they sound. Mbilly is a guy who goes between folk rock and folk very nicely. Wa Fingers push pop music beyond its natural boundaries, you would a fool not to at least check out the link I provided. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

White Eagle is having a show with Rollerball and Class M Planets. RollerBall is a really good art rock band. They are really good. Too good to be on an american label. I think they are on an Italian label. Listen to the link. Class M Planets is another outlet for Adam of thebrotheregg. I suspect they also might be huge nerds because I found out that Class M planets is a reference to Star Trek. See. Luckily most nerds make really awesome music. The show is FREE and starts at 8:30 PM.

Rotture is having a show with Alan Singley, Paper/Upper/Cuts, and The Caps. I really like Alan Singley's first two albums. I confess that I do not have his third, "Feeling Citrus". Tonight he is playing as a two piece. That is how he played when I first saw him years ago when I first moved here. My guess is that the other person will play drums while Alan switches between guitar and somesort of instrument with keys. I hope he plays some oldies but goodies. His songs are usually cute and very sentimental. I think that there is a chance that Alan might be a sentimental type of guy. Paper/Upper?Cuts is the project of David "Pappi" Fimbres. He does it all. He drums, he plays keys, he loops (I think) he lets loose. You kinda just have to see it. The Caps are a indie pop band from Portland that I have neot seen yet. That guys is a great talent. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Mama Sunshine, Hello Electric, and Gabe Hascall. Have you ever heard of The Impossibles? How about SlowReader? Gabe Hascall played in both of those bands with his former musical companion Rory Phillips in Austin, TX. Both groups sound very different. The Impossibles started off as a Ska Punk pop band and eventually turned into a early Weezer-esque band. Slowreader was a soft indie rock band. Both revolved around Rory and Gabe's vocal harmonies. Then Gabe moved up here to Portland. I have only heard some recordings, but it sounds really good. On the recordings he harmonizes with himself and it is mostly an acoustic affair leaning towards the Slowreader side of things. I could see him playing solo tonight but you never know. Mama Sunshine is a bad led by Eliott King. I have not seen him since he has put the band together. I remember him being a very ambitious guy though, so I am guessing the group will sound good. Hello Electric is a band that features members of the not so big in Portland but really big elsewhere band Portugal, The Man. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows tonight please say, "Hi". Or "wasup?".

-Ben


Check out the kinda bizzare video featuring the music of Gabe Hascall. Gabe is playing tonight at Ella Street Social Club tonight.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Tuesday, June 8th

Hello Dear Readers,

Sometimes I just don't understand. Last night I went to see Padriac Finbar Haggerty Hammond at Ella Street Social Club. I am a huge fan. I apparently am one of the very few fans. I counted myself and another person who came to see the music. Granted it was a last minute show. But come on. The bartender brought in three friends and I think there was maybe three other people who were there. What I am saying is that it felt empty. Too bad for all of you suckers who didn't go because the music was awesome. I always seem to forget that because Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond is backed by Mat Vuksinich, that it is essentially the same line up as The Sarcastic Dharma Society. Which means that they tend to split their sets. Since Fin and Mat are my favorite songwriters in Portland, I am always tickled that I get to hear them both. Plus it seems that they are always fine tuning their songs and making better and better arrangements. And The Sarcastic Dharma Society's newest song is so good. It is soooo good. Since David Bazan is playing a with a band that I can't imagine seeing based on name alone (Mewithoutyou) and at the worst venue in town (Hawthorne Theater), these are the shows that I kinda wanna see:

Valentine's is having a show with Orca Team, The Taste, and Festa L'Animale. This is the album release show for Orca Team. Holy Crap. I wanna go. I wanna have that album. I still haven't seen the band. Because I am a straight up chump. I plan on going to this show and getting this album tonight. Why? Because I predict it to be the perfect soundtrack to the summer. Assuming that the summer season should be sound tracked by reverb-y lo-fi surf pop goodness. And it should, right? Festa L'Animale have two friends on myspace. They also have two tracks up. I have no idea what is going on with that. I also could not find a band called The Taste that is playing this show, show decided to link to this band instead. Look at what they wrote about their influences, "We are our own influence. Yes, that's right. WE are our OWN influence. There was a time traveling accident in one of our gigs from the future and we became stranded in the past. So we decided that we teach ourselves the ways of METAL and ROCK!". Sadly you will have to travel to Jersey to see them. The show at Valentine's is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with And And And, The Shivas, and Whqles. And And And is a band that has grown on me since I started listening to the CD they gave me a while back when AristeiA played with them. It is indie rock with the kind of indie rock vocals that you either can deal with or that you hate (think Clap Your Hands Say Yeah). I think that the songs are pretty good. And there are a lot of them and they are still all pretty good. I am impressed. The Shivas play rock and roll. They have a bit of a sound that reminds me a little bit of The Velvet Underground. Maybe it is the lackadaisical vocals. Whatever, this show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Holocene is having The Rumble with Chasing Kings (LA), Priory, and Blood Beach. I am writing about this show because The Rumble seems like a cool idea. You know have a FREE show with a touring band some cool local acts that you probably are not too familiar with. I ran into my friend Shane (the front man for Blood Beach) the other day and he told me about this show. He was told that Chasing Kings sounded kinda like Kings of Leon. He seemed confused as to what that meant. His music seems like garage rock put through a crazy lo-fi/psychedelic filter. It is fun and I would imagine even more fun to see live. If only to see how they get some of the crazy sounds that you are hearing. Shane used to play as Tex Winters where he would put folk music through that same filter. Priory are a indie pop band. They sound pretty good. Pretty darned catchy. It reminds me a bit of Seattle's BOAT. Which is a compliment. As you may or may not recall the show is FREE and starts at 8:30 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". Perhaps we can exchange names. Tell you what, I will start. "My name is Ben".

-Ben


Orca Team will play Valentine's tonight. They will have their album. They have a video. They are legit.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Monday, June 7th

Hello Dear Readers,

I had to go away over the weekend due to family concerns. There were several great shows that happened over the weekend. Please feel free to leave me comments as to which shows you went to (assuming they were good, because honestly who cares about bad shows?). Here are some shows that look like they could be good:

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond, Coyote Girl (the Bay), and The shoguns. I think that Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond aka Fin is one of my favorite songwriters in Portland. In fact, I know he is. The songs are always good. Lyrically and melodically. They usually can be cute and sad at the same time (not an easy feat). And what's more, rumour has it that his "X-mas" song that was based on a story on the amazing radio program This American Life might actually be played on the amazing radio program This American Life. How cool is that? Very very very cool. The show is FREE so there is not really an excuse not to go. It starts at 9 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with Secret Codes and Beth and Ian. Secret Codes is the vehicle for the music of David Kyle. He has assembled a pretty amazing group of musicians to execute the rather detail oriented music that he has been composing over the last couple of years. David used to play music under the name David Kyle and The Invisibles. He would perform with a couple guitars an iPod and a toshikoto. With his new band there is room for organic changes and breathing room for flourishes added by his new band mates which include a flutist, a guy playing Rhodes and trumpet, a bass player, and live drummer. I also know that David for a long time has wanted to add a lot of vocals to his past music that was mostly instrumental. I bet with all those people he has done so. Beth and Ian is a project for Ian from Secret Codes and a girl named Beth. The duo mostly performs as a an acoustic guitar and piano with male/female vocals. I have not seen them before, but David Kyle vouches for them. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

The Woods is having a show with The White Buffalo (Somewhere in the US) and Adam Shearer (of Weinland). I am unsure how I feel about The White Buffalo. I cannot for the life me decide if it is okay or not. He is going to be playing a solo acoustic, a usually make or break situation. Adam Shearer, whose band Weinland had regular colored buffalo on their last album cover, is someone who I have not seen solo before. I bet he plays a lot of Weinland songs. I bet it sounds pretty good. And I can promise you that the banter will be good. The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say "Hi". It would be the best thing ever for me.

-Ben


Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond needs to get some more videos up. I know I have posted this one before. he plays for FREE at Ella Street tonight.

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Input Jack: Women Solo Musicians

The Plight of Sologirl originally published at Grey Area

by Anne Adams - June 6th, 2010:

My recent show at Folklife prompts me to also address some more general themes that have emerged not only there, but elsewhere in my performance experience--little psychic obstacles I keep tripping over, on many stages.

Let me just say, for musical performance purposes, I'd rather be any of the other things that I am, than a girl. I don't really feel female when I play. Maybe I dress that way (and maybe I have to stop?) but I consider myself to be more of a narrator, a voice; sometimes, a medium or conjurer, and, as my buddy Tim once said, the town crier. That's the style I've come to; that's my way and my soul. World, can you stop making me regret that my guts are contained in an hourglass rather than a jar? 'Cause when I'm up there, I'm spilling them anyway.

And also, can we please make a better habit of listening to the way a given person plays (even if it's a female person), and put that person with stylistically compatible acts? I may just go slumber in a cave and you can wake me when it's finally time.

Actually, the next generation of musicians seems to have gotten beyond this problem. Newer bands are coming out now, nonchalantly co-ed, like gender isn't even a big whoop. But solo girls hold the last stigma, and the booking powers that be are often from the prior generation, and frankly still a little old-school.

So please let me debunk some assumptions. Just because I'm a female solo musician does NOT necessarily mean:

I don't have very much gear
I don't know the best way to set up/plug in my gear
I ought to act shy or modest
I should have to act masculine to earn your respect
I will be accessible or appropriate entertainment for young children or elderly people
I should open every show
I will sing about love and heartbreak
I'm an "afternoon" act
I'm a "cabaret" act
I'll fit in with every other female musician
My music will be relaxing or mellow
My music will be melodramatic
My music will be emotional and not intellectual
I'm not a geek for structure and theory
I want my audience members to try to date me
I am trying to be seductive from stage
I need to be saved
I owe you love
Stop assuming any of the above, and we'll get along just fine.

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Ben Meyercord's Liver Music Picks for Friday, June 4th

Hello Dear Readers,
Last Night I had a bit of a late practice which left me very tired at 10 last night. Plus for whatever reason (I guess I need the money) I agreed to work at 6 in the morning today. So I guess I am saying that I did not make out to any shows last night. But there are plenty of shows that are happening tonight. Look at all these shows:

The Tigard Public Library is having a show with Deelay Ceelay. If you live in Tigard this is you one chance to see some live music. If you missed The PDX Pop Now! CD release party last night (like I did), this is your second chance to see Deelay Ceelay this week. It will also be interesting to see how this show plays out. The library seems like a weird place to have a show. Especially one that usually takes place with lots of smoke machines and projected films. The library will never be the same. Right?. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts in the community room at 7 PM.

The Artistery is having a show with White Fang, The Mean Jeans, Cafeteria Dance Fever, and Guantanamo Baywatch. Hot Damn, what a line up. I have not seen White Fang in years, which is dumb. But I like their recordings and the fun punk-ish music that they emanates from their instruments. The Mean Jeans sound like a stoner version of The Ramones (in a good way). I have not seen or heard of Cafeteria Dance Fever, but they are in excellent company. Guantanamo Baywatch are one of the leaders in the Neo-Surf-punk-whatever-pop movement. Is that a movement? If you see them tonight you might make a movement in your pants (because they are good). The ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 8 PM.

Holocene is 7 years old? Crazy. To celebrate they are having a FREE dance party. If there is one thing Holocene is good at, it is throwing a dance party. They have lined up Miracles Club, Reporter, Operative, Golden Retriever, Linger & Quiet, and DJ Brkfst Sndwh. They are all pretty good. If you don't believe me, you can always click on the links I provided. The show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

Laurelthirst is having a show with Hearts of Oak, Hillfolk Noir, and Sam Cooper. I am writing about this show becuase I like Sam Coopers music. He can play just about anything he touches. He put out an album a while back called "Spiritual Billionaire". I think it is pretty great. Then he got caught up in some band called Horse Feathers. So he solo appearances are a rarity. Hearts of Oak is the band that is fronted by some guy named Nate Wallace. I really like it. It is country. The kinda country music that someone like David Pajo or Howe Gelb makes. Which is to say pretty awesome with vocals that most people do not like, but you can't imagine any other vocals singing the songs. Hillfolk Noir is Travis Ward and company. Apparently he played on Doug Martsch's solo album (y'know the dude from Built to Spill). He plays really cool county-ish folk tunes. The show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.
If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". I like it when you do.
- Ben

Reporter are one of many Dance bands playing the dance party for FREE tonight at Holocene.

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The Golden Girl Alicia McDaid

RIP Blanche Devereaux.... May you sleep in the arms of the Big Daddy in the sky.


Portland, Oregon Artist Alicia McDaid from her photo series "The Baby Sitter"

Golden Girls mash up Aerosmith and Lily Allen from Alicia McDaid on Vimeo.

The following peice brought me to tears (The Golden Girls + Abortion + Dust In The Wind = Goldie Sobbing). When I saw it, the theater (can't remember the name...) was dark and there was only a spot light. The tone was somber with that special tang of bittersweet GG's humor. I hope to find a copy of that performance. This one is a little more "funny" :

Rocksbox Fine Art: Alicia Love McDaid from OPENWIDEpdx on Vimeo.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Thursday, June 3rd

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I went to The Ella Street Social Club (what's up Chris) and saw a pretty darn good show. Problems opened the show and actually sounded different than what I recall them sounding like. Then came the always impressive The Sarcastic Dharma Society. I think that this was the best that I had ever seen them (it is a duo comprised of Mat Vuksinich and Padriac Finbar Haggerty-Hammond). These two are always rearranging and fine tuning their songs. The songs are usually I don't know...sad. But they also seem to be very honest and I find myself relating to them and I would be surprised if others did not relate as well. Then came the out of town act. That act took forever to set up and then did not really deliver. They tried to engage the audience and often fell a bit flat. I try to talk trash too much, but it was difficult not to last night. It was worth the wait for Like a Villain though. Holland played wonderfully. This was my second time to see her and I feel her looped clarinet and glockenspiel tunes are super good. I think that you will hear about her in the near future. Anyway, there are a lot of good looking shows today. See:

Holocene is having the the PDX Pop Now! CD release show. They have Deelay Ceelay, The Angry Orts, Tope, and The Great Mundane. I love PDX Pop Now! And really, what is not to love? They give us one of the best music festivals in Portland every year. For FREE and they make sure it is ALL AGES. And do the near impossible task of making sure that the line up includes well known and not so well known Portland artists. While in all probability there is a chance that your favorite Portland musician is not playing, I can promise you that if you go you will find out about a band that you like that you did not know existed. Tonight you can get the CD which has the same effect of showcasing a nice mixture of known and unknown Portland artists for FREE (assuming you pay to get in). Yeah they are throwing in a copy of the CD for all of those who come out tonight. Score. Plus Deelay Ceelay are an experience that I feel you should at least try out. Assuming you like smoke machines video projections and an awful lot of dancing. The Angry Orts are a female led Indie rock band. I saw them play at Rontoms last year and they got the usually pretty static crowd to dance. Impressive. Tope is an emcee that has started to appear on my radar. He has a pretty midtempo flow and has really cool production from the tracks that I have heard. The show is $10 (I repeat: includes a copy of the CD). The doors are open at 8:30 PM.

Aladdin Theater is having Live Wire! tonight with musical guests John Roderick (the guy from Seattle's The Long Winters and Dirty Mittens. Live Wire! is a variety show that is pretty fun and often times funny. In addition to the musical acts there is puppet show or something. Oh and Dirty Mittens are pretty great. Their perfect mix of indie pop and soulful vocals is a winning combination. Plus they have two sax players. Two of them!. Sounds pretty promising, right? The show is $15-$30. The ALL AGES show starts at 7:30 PM.

The Woods is having a show with On The Stairs, Sara Jackson-Holman, and Team Evil. I just saw On The Stairs for the first time the other day. I really liked what I heard. He played a set of all new material last time. Though he just put out his full length in April. Some people are just prolific like that. All the new songs were pretty cool. Especially this soul song he had. Hopefully he has his brass section for tonight. They add a lot. It reminds me of Van Morrison a little bit. I just read this paragraph regarding Sara Jackson-Holman, ""I had seen Blind Pilot and fell in love with their music," explains Jackson-Holman. "I wrote on their Myspace wall. It was a typical fan post, telling them I loved their music and asking if they were planning to come back through anytime soon. Their label (McNamer), was looking through their comments one day, randomly clicked on my picture, heard my music, and wrote me asking if I had a demo CD." She was signed soon after that." That kinda blows my mind. Team Evil is another project for Skyler Norwood who is best known as a Point Juncture, WA member. This is a bit different but just as good in this guy's humble opinion. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

Branx is having a Stankhouse Records showcase with Big Black Cloud, Purple Rhinestone Eagle, Hornet Leg, Tiny Knives, Don Hellions, and Dragging an Ox Through Water. If you have read this blog before you will recognize many of these band names. I am especially fond of Don Hellions and Dragging an Ox Through Water. Don Hellions somewhat remind me of The Walkmen. Perhaps the prominent use of organ. Maybe the ways the vocals are crooned out. Either way, I think you should check them out. Dragging an Ox Through water plays highly experimental music juxtaposed with folk music. It is not for everyone. But I think it is really cool. The way the noise breaks through the songs in really unexpected ways. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

The Know is having a show with Orca Team, Best Friends Forever (Minnesota), and Sex Hair. I really need to see Orca Team. I really need to get their tape. I have long talked up this band without seeing them. They know how to write incredibly catchy pop songs. They do so through a somewhat lo-fi neo surf rock lens. I love it. BFF also tend to craft very catchy lo-fi indie pop gems. They are from Minneapolis so you should catch them while you can. The show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

Dunes is having a show with The Constellation Branch (Phoenix), Mama Sunshine, The Jezebel Spirit, and Grananda. The Constellation band is a rock band. To me they sound like they might be fans of...Oh I don't know, The Mars Volta. Which is to say that their music is pretty progressive and has really high vocals. Not a bad thing. They are playing with Mama Sunshine which is a band that I have been meaning to see for quite some time. It is led by Elliott King. He used to play quieter more Elliott Smith influenced numbers. Some time over the last couple of years he turned very positive and started singing sunnier numbers and put together a nice band. The songs are very poppy and have a lot of melodic "hooks". The Jezebel Spirit is an awesome instrumental post-rock band that do their BroFam Collective proud. They only have two tacks up on their myspace page but they are an awesome mix of influences including traditional instrumental bands and math rock sensibilities. AristeiA played a show with them way back. They are constantly getting better. The show is probably FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Dead Peasant, Rozendal, and Sweet Williams Ghost. I think that Dead Peasant might be pretty cool. I just listened to their song "The death of Anna". It features some pretty cool guitar work. Rozendal is the songs of Brian Rozedal. He has a lineup that includes a female bassist (who also adds some backing vocals), a lap steel payer and drums. Basically I am jealous of that kinda instrumentation. I feel like I have heard of Sweet Williams Ghost before. But I have not seen them before. From what I have heard it it seems to be some really nice folk tunes centered around the male/female vocals of Dean Gorman and Ali Ippolito. Also there is some pretty tasteful Dobro/lap steel in this band as well. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

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

-Ben


The Jezebel Spirit are playing tonight at Dunes. Kinda like in this video.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Wednesday, June 2nd

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I played at the Knife Shop in AristeiA. I was actually kinda impressed with us considering we have not practiced in about two weeks. The other bands we pretty good too. I was happy that I finally got to see On The Stairs. Nate Clark and his band played a set of all new songs and he recorded the set. Maybe for a possible release? He had a brass trio backing him, it was really cool. He had this one song that sounded like a soul song. We thought Van Morrison. He said after the show he was going for Otis Redding. We then agreed that Van Morrison was probably going for Otis Redding as well. Anyway, there are a couple shows tonight:

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Like a Villain, The Sarcastic Dharma Society, and E.P. Hall (Bloomington, IN), and Problems?. I think I told you guys about Like a Villain. I tis Holland Andrews who also plays clarinet and sings in Meyercord with me. But this is a whole different thing. It is an awesome thing. She loops like a mad woman creating really impressive clarinet loops spiced with glockenspiel and vocal layers. I can't get enough of it. Sarcastic Dharma Society is one of my favorite bands in Portland. You must listen to their songs. They are obviously well crafted. Time was spent on the arrangements. EP Hall sounds like promising female fronted gothic folk. Problems? make very quirky pop music. I like it. Time was spent on the lyrics. I The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Holocene is having a show with Gratitillium, Pancake Breakfast, and Tiger House. Gratitillium is the weird pop band of Nick Caceres a former folk guy. Tonight he and his crew are releasing an ep to tide us over until his second album drops later this year. Pancake Breakfast is the vehicle Mike Midlo uses to share his music with the world. He usually is backed by a choir and various musical elements. It changes from show to show. Or so I have been told. It will be a good time if you make it out. The show is $5 and starts at 8:30 PM.

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

-Ben



The Sarcastic Dharma Society will play in full form tonight at Ella Street. You should go.

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