Friday, September 11, 2009

Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for September 11th

Hello Dear Readers,

What are you doing right now? If you answered that you were wondering what sort of shows Ben Meyercord would be interested tonight. I have good news for you. I have made a list of those shows. Plus I have links to all the bands/artists so that you can make decisions as to wether or not you are interested in the show based on the music you hear. Nutz.

Friday, September 11th

The Woods is having a show with Church and Y La Bamba. As you probably know. I love the band Church. I think their sense of mood in their music and use of dynamics are impeccable. I have heard that they are short a member due to Lane being on tour with his other band The Ocean Floor. Because of this it is rumored that their sets have been completely rewritten with new arrangements better suited for their three person abilities. I play in Y La Bamba and I think we are great. Tonight we will have a special guest on guitar. Come out to see who it is. The show is $7 and starts at 8:30 PM.

Mississippi Studios is Great Northern (LA), A Weather, and Hello Morning. I find that Great Northern and Hello Morning both kind of have a post-mainstream-indie sound. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe, I am lazy in my descriptions. But I could totally see either acts songs on a hip TV show. A Weather on the other hand I feel is a unique sounding band. They used hushed vocals, interesting rhythms and dynamics to create very moving songs. I love them for it. The show is $11 and starts at 9 PM.

Mississippi Pizza is having a show with Blue Cranes, Gavin Castleton, Gardening Not Architecture, and Ben Henderson. I think Blue Cranes are so good. I think that Gavin Castleton is so Good. Though I just heard of Gardening not Architecture before writing about this show, I think they are so good. This is totally the show I would be at were I not playing elsewhere. Blue Cranes do very dynamic (I am noticing that I love dynamics in music) cool jazz influenced music. Gavin Castleton does whatever he wants be it hip hop, pop whatever fits his fancy. He is going on tour with Gardening not Architecture who sound like they wouldn't be out of place on Morr Records. Which is to say it is really good electro-pop (heavy on the pop). I know that there is a lot of bad bands that fall into this genre, but Gardening Not Architecture is not one of them The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.

The Blood Bank is having a show with Sallie Ford and the Outside Sound, William Carpenter and Towering Trees, Ben Cooley Hall (Rhode Island), Miranda Rensch (Minneapolis). Sallie Ford and her band make some of the best retro-ish pop music with a bit of bluesy twang that you are likely to hear. They are great. I have heard much from William Carpenter and Towering Trees in a while. I have never seen them, but I do really like what I have heard on their myspace page. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

Kelly's Olympian is being renamed The Knife Shop. To celebrate they are having a Big 'ol show. The show also will benefit Transition School. The bands playing are Federale, Growler, Slutty Hearts, Pellet Gun, The Rainy States, Pony Village, and Royal Houser. This is a lot of bands to write about. But I can assure there is some good stuff in the group. I have been meaning to see Pony Village for some time. There is a $5 cover and it starts at 8 PM.

The Artistery is also having a benefit tonight. There's is for the China AIDS orphan fund. The bands are Panther, Hedgehog (China), Queen Sea Big Shark (China), and Casino Demon(China). This is all part of the Sing for China tour. It features the three bands from China. This is what the website had to say, "“The Sing For China Tour will bring three of China’s biggest and best indie-rock bands to the US for 28 days in August/September as part of an unprecedented effort by the Chinese music community to raise funds for charity China AIDS Orphan Fund.” You guys probably familiar with Panther from here in Portland. It will be fun. Come cross some language barriers and help a good cause. The show is $6 and starts at 8 PM.

Doug Fir is having a show with Tango Alpha Tango, Drew Grow & The Pastors' Wives, Oh Darling. I really like Drew Grow and his band. I think they are great. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

The Waypost is having a show with Sweet William's Ghost, Audie Darling, and Tyler Gaston. I do enjoy it when a woman sings. Sweet Williams ghost has that going for it (though they also have a dude who sings too). Audie Darling is one of those women singers too. They both have very good backing bands and make music that you will not regret heading out for. I could not find The ALL AGES show will be FREE and starts at 8 PM.

Portland Playhouse is having a second show in it's acoustic music series. This time they have The Ascetic Junkies, The Glyptodons, and Heather Kropf. The Ascetic Junkies play very catchy and good pop-folk. The Glyptodons play acoustic pop. And Heather Kropf plays lady singer songwriter type stuff. The cool thing about these shows is that they are all acoustic. Meaning there will be no PA's no mic's just you and the music. The show is $6-8 and starts at 8 PM.

So if you see me at The Woods, say "Hi". If you go to a different show, just carve in the wall "your name" was here. That way I will know.

-Ben


Blue Cranes play tonight at Mississippi Studios.

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