Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for September 12th

Hello Dear Readers,

I really like the Woods. You should check it out. I had a lot of fun. I saw Church play there last night and it was Uh-Mazing. I love that band so much. I made a mistake when I listed the show yesterday. Lane, their drummer has been back for a week now. So that alternate set involving a drum machine I made mention of, didn't happen. Which I am totally fine with, because I have seen Church with Lane and without Lane and prefer the with Lane version. Anyway, here is what I am interested in tonight.

Saturday, September 13th

The TBA's The Works is having Bugskull and Quasi play tonight. The works is located at Washington High School. I have heard of Bugskull before. I love me some Quasi. They are one of the bands that I looked forward to seeing all the time when I moved up here almost five years ago now. A it turns out, they don't play out that often, so when they do it is kinda a big deal. The show is $8-10 and starts at 11 PM.

Rotture is having its three year anniversary with a show consisting of Fleshtone, Fist Fite, Hot Victory, Diamond Liars, and DJ Linoleum. This to me seems like a very Rotture-esque show. The venue tends to lean towards a little bit more experimental type music. It doesn't do a lot of pop rock shows. While Fleshtone maybe catchy, it is also clearly kinda performance art pop. Fist Fite is great but is, as I recall, pretty scream/yelp filled. Hot Victory has two drummers and a keyboard. Experimental! I don't know anything about Diamond Liars. All the other acts I can say that I would have a good time watching. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Pill Wonder (Seattle), The Golden Hours, and Sunn Dagger (Olympia). Pill Wonder plays cheerful noisy pop music. Sounds good. I have heard really good things about The Golden Hours. I just checked out their myspace and I think it would be awesome to see them. Their recordings are rough lo-fi pop gems. Check out their cover of "Baby it's You" so good. I just checked out Sunn Dagger. They are also a good example of noisy pop greatness. This is how pop punk should have gone instead of the polished crap that it eventually became. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

White Eagle is having a show with The Maldives (Seattle), Gavin Wahl-Stephens & The New Americans, and Celilo. Americana! I love it. And judging by the amount of Portland bands who play it, so does this city. I think that the Maldives are a very good example of the twangy, dare I say, country end of the Americana spectrum. They have it down. It is so good live. Actually it has been a while since I have seen them . maybe they have a new album to sell. Oh, they do. Also I have been very impressed every time I have seen Celilo. The show is $8 and starts at 9:30 PM.

So if you see me at any of these shows. Say "Hi". Someone did last night and it was awesome.

-Ben


Just a taste of some of the sonic freak outs you might witness as Quasi plays tonight at Washington High School.

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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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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for September 10th

Hello Dear Readers,

I missed shows last night. Damn. Maybe I will see some shows tonight? Here is what is happening.

Thursday, September 10th

Twilight Cafe & Bar is having a show with Olina and Prairie. These two bands are both pretty good. Olina plays pretty Americana. Prairie makes good indie rock music. Seriously, I wish I could write about music better, but you will have to trust me on this one it is good.The show is $3 and starts at 9 PM

East End is having a show with Mangled Bohemians, Jackie-O Mother, Moodring, and Paint & Copter. This show is for the slightly different kind of music lovers. Mangled Bohemians makes cool ambient music (if you like that sort of thing). Jackie-O Mother makes folk music that is far more psychedelic than say...well most folk. Moodring on the other hand I can only describe as dark. The show is $7 and starts 9 PM.

The TBA's The Works is having Rush-N-Disco play tonight. The works is located at Washington High School. Rush-N-Disco are great. Just ask Goldie. They redo youtube videos. Live and accapella. Sweet. The show is $8-10 and starts at 11 PM.

The Know (2026 Ne Alberta Street, Portland, OR) is having a show with Harvey Girls and Slutty Hearts. Harvey Girls is another one that Goldie kinda got me into. They play kinda weird good pop music. Slutty Hearts make even weirder pop music. So if you like kinda weird non-traditional pop music. This is the show for you. The show is FREE? and starts at 7 PM.

Red and Black Cafe is having a show with Mike Xvx (Santa Barbara), Camping Party, Shelby Sifers, and Lee Corey Oswald. I have seen Camping party party before. It is pretty cool. He does everything he can to recreate the lo-fi experience. He uses reverb heavily and everything else as I recall. Shelby Sifers makes cute and very good music. I have not seen her play in a very long time. Last time she had a few friends backing her. Though, I personally like her better as a solo act. The show is ALL AGES and FREE and starts at 7 PM.

So if you see me at any of these shows, please please please say "Hi". Just Sayin'

-Ben


Jackie-O Mother plays tonight at East End. Nice.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for September 9th

Hello Dear Readers,

I know it has been a while. I guess I have been very busy. And away from a computer. But here I am. And here are some shows.

Wednesday, September 9th

Berbati's is having the second installment of the AAN residency in the restaurant. Also, Brainstorm is playing. AAN is amazing. His song writing and arrangements are great. Brainstorm is kinda mathy and kinda cool. The show is FREE and starts at 10 PM.

Berbati's the actual venue side is having a show with Anomie Belle (Seattle), Benoit Pioulard. I am listing this show because have been impressed with what I have heard of Benoit Piolard. The show is $8-10 and starts at 8 PM.

Holocene is having a show with Michael Hurley, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, and St. Frankie Lee. Michael Hurley is a folk legend. He is pretty cool. I like his music. Also I feel like Sallie will be huge. She just toured with The Avett Brothers. And St. Frankie Lee is so much fun to see live. The show is $7 and starts 8:30 PM.

Doug Fir is having a show with Weinland, Telegraph Canyon, and Friday Mile. I have not seen Weinland since the released their last album Breaks in The Sun. They are super good at Americana pop that they play. Telegraph Canyon is from Ft. Worth, TX. That is right next to Dallas, TX where I grew up. One of my favorite local bands in Dallas was Centro-matic. I love Centro-matic. Will Johnson the lead guy in that band recorded and produced Telegraph Canyon and it has the same feel as some of Will's work. The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.

So if you see me at any of these shows, say "Hi". Cause why wouldn't you?

-Ben


Sallie plays at Holocene tonight!

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Excellent is not good enough! The Autopilot Is For Lovers album review.

From the title of Morrissey's album Vauxhall and I and the lyrics to his track "Reader Meets Author", some drew the conclusion that he was firing a musical shot across the bow of his almost supernaturally gifted biographer Johnny Rogan, with whom he'd had a love/(mostly)hate relationship over the years. Now, I'm no Mr. Rogan to Autopilot For Lovers' Moz, potential wishes for me to die in a fire aside, but there is a tempting parallel to draw. The title of their new album from Bladen County Records is To The Wolves. As in their band being thrown? Just who are these wolves? The listening public? Pompadoured critics? Literal lupines? I've 'reassured' Adrienne, AIFL's frontwoman, that with their brand of folk/pop/whatever she has nothing to fear in this town, and with this great new disc I think I will be proved right. But will cutting a really good album be enough? Let's take a look.

In my assessment of AIFL's previous album, I expressed a thought that perhaps they were needing a little road grime, something to add depth to their sound. Maybe I was hoping that this album meant that they were going to grow a pelt, heft some rough-hewn axe and devolve To The Wolves. So to speak. They've actually gone the other way- TTW is a very polished album. It sounds great, sophisticated and professional, befitting a band beginning to seize the zeitgizzle in our hot little hamlet.

For me personally, this is the reason that I don't think the album will mean much to me. Portland is crowded with this type of folky stuff, and it certainly seems to be many people's cups of tea. It's great, but not Tony the Tiger grrrreat, and I think it comes back to what I've posited before. There are no risks being taken here. All this 'noir-pop' stuff is territory that has been well-covered and is well-liked here and now. Adding a studio gloss without big-time artistic gravitas, as on To The Wolves, serves only in some cases to steer Autopilot Is For Lovers in the direction of emotive nineties girlie alternative. We don't need any more Heather Novas or Tracy Bonhams, so I'm just warning you kids that it is a slippery slope.

After some repeat listens, the album did grow on me overall, but I did notice something. The lead vocal cadences tend to sound the same, and I think that gets its root in Adrienne Hatkin's lead instrument, the accordion, which also finds its way onto most of the songs on TTW. Now, there is nothing wrong with this instrument- it has graced many fine metal albums such as Voivod's Angel Rat or The Hills Fell Silent by Portland's own Paranaut. Its omnipresence here, and the sameness of its rhythms does nothing to help break Autopilot out of the throng.

So what's the final assessment? Despite my personal disagreements with the band and general level of disinterest in the genre, I find that Autopilot Is For Lovers' To The Wolves is a top notch album of Portland folk pop, one that will appeal greatly not only to the highly attuned audience here in PDX, but people all over as the world's ears get less and less tinny. It's also a sophomore sign that this a band that needs to dig way deeper and get way riskier in order to produce something truly captivating.

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Free Music = Punk Fucking Rock!

September 1st, Quote Unquote Records digitally released local punk band, The Taxpayers, album "A Rhythm In The Cages" for FREE/DONATION DOWNLOAD! You should totally download it and make them feel important, ahem....

Long before Radiohead and NiN "set trends" by releasing music for free/donation download, Quote Unquote Records had been doing just that for years. Quote Unquote champions itself as "The First Ever Donation Based Record Label", which is most likely entirely true. The label is headed by DIY hero, Jeff Rosenstock, who has earned the adoration (and extreme distaste, why? i dunno... haters be haters) of punk rockers all around the world. Jeff, who is a wonderful person, also fronts the synth crazy, ska-core musical collective Bomb The Music Industry! (my favorite band) and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches. Rumor says he once even turned down a a multi-thousand dollar deal with Hummer for use one of his songs, punk as fuck!

If you truly believe in DIY music, you should stop over to Quote Unquote (download the new Taxpayers album, eh eh?) and check out the incredible bands they have to offer. Bands like Cheeky, We Versus The Shark, and Laura Stevenson prove that DIY music can be amazing and can come in any variety. Great fucking stuff.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for September 3rd

Hello Dear Readers,

So last night I saw the first show in AAN's Residency at Berbati's. Honestly I was really glad I went. Though The Sarcastic Dharma Society had the misfortune of having a hard time with sound, there were true moments of beauty that came through. I feel that a noise laden bar is just not the right venue for their music. AAN on the other hand would probably work just about anywhere. I have not seen them as a band in quite some time. It allowed Bud, the leader of the group, to yell and get louder than usual. This proved more effective than one might think. I am going to try to catch some more of these shows. Anyways, here is what is happening tonight.

Thursday, September 3rd

WonderBallroom is having a show with Daniel Johnston, Scout Niblett and Gregory Miles Harris. What a bunch of Weirdos. That is what someone might say about this line up. Truthfully, that might be correct. But there is nothing wrong with being a weirdo, especially if you make great music. Daniel Johnston is the king of that sentiment. The characters in his music are not your usual fair, but tend to be kinda funny and kinda heart wrenching at the same time. I have only seen Scout Niblet once and it was strange. But the memory leaves me wanting more. I still have not seen Gregory Miles Harris, but I like his songs and I am curious to hear what they sound like live. He has said they often change. Gregory and his friends will also function as a back up band to Daniel. I would imagine that this is quite incredible for them. I would be so stoked. The show is $18-20 and starts at 8 PM.

There will be a First Thursday show at Tender Loving Empire with Y La Bamba and White Lighter (Kyle of Typhoon!). This will be a stripped down version of Y La Bamba. I am not sure how stripped down, but pretty stripped down. I have seen Kyle play solo before and it is just as effective with out the Typhoon!. I am not dissing the band, just that I find it just as captivating, but perhaps in a different sense. There will also be art by Jeremy Okai Davis, Julianna Swaney, and Ariana Harley. Fun fact Jeremy used to do a lot of photos for Y La Bamba before there was a band. The show is FREE and starts sometime after 6 PM.

Holocene is having a show with Extra Golden (Chicago?), Explode into Colors and Ohmega Watts. Extra Golden apparently Extra Golden play a mixture of "American Rock mixed with African Guitars". Sounds interesting. What sounds even more interesting is that they are on Thrill Jockey Records (home of Tortoise, etc...). Then there is Explode into Colors, a band that I have only seen once and I am still a little undecided on. I guess what throws me is there nomination of "Best New Band". I heard them and they were good. But personally I wouldn't pick them as number one. So I guess I feel it is unfair to have such expectations. That is why I am glad not to have been selected as the number one pick for "Best New Band". And of course there is Ohmega Watts who is just one of the best hip hop artists in the NW. The show is $10-$12 and starts at 9 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Carrie Rodriguez (Brooklyn), Cordeo (NYC), and Leonard Mynx. I must admit that I am not at all familiar with the two acts that are not from Portland. But I am familiar with Leonard Mynx and have subsequently listed this show. He always pulls together a fresh band of friends to play a new batch of songs. The guy cannot stop writing, which I guess I am very jealous of. I did not know about the show until Sam Cooper mentioned to me the other night that Leonard had asked him to play. So I know that there will be at least a fiddle in the band. The show is $14 and will start at 8 PM.

So if you see me out and about these here shows, please say "Hi".

-Ben


White Lighter is what Kyle from Typhoon! calls himself when he plays solo, which you can do for FREE at Tender Loving Empire today.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for September 2nd

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night at Mississippi Studios was super fun. I was really kind of surprised at the amount of people (not as many as I would have suspected) who showed up to Ritchie Young's Performance. He is really pretty great. I am partial to the songs where he uses the violin as a strummed instrument. Then I well...Black Heart Moon I thought did pretty well (I was on stage singing for most of the time, so you really cannot trust my opinion). Then Auto Pilot killed it with their large sound (though for full disclosure I will admit I sang on three of their songs as well, but that was a sort of very last minute sort of deal). Adrian played a very Piano heavy set because the piano was right there. What? Was she not going to play it? I don't think so. So anyways, here are the shows that look good tonight.

Wednesday, September 2nd

Berbati's is having the start of a month long residency for AAN (inside the restuant portion of the place). I could not be happier. I think that AAN is amazing and I have been saying so for a while. It would seem people are starting to reckonize. I think my friend Matt said it best when he decribes AAN as one of the most intentional bands he has ever seen. Bud from AAN incorporates a lot of jazz chords and textural sounds from keyboards and samplers etc... He loops in a very effective way. What's even better is that The Sacastic Dharma Society is opening up (which includes my previously mention friend Matt). They are such a good band. The songwriting is sooooo good. And so is the music. I cannot stress enough how good of a show this will be. I am excited. The show is FREE and starts at 10 PM.

Laurelthirst is having a show with local Americana pros Celilo. I have seen these guys a couple of times now and they are solid. I think that they are also doing a residency. They will be playing every Wednesday in September for FREE at 6 PM. This is the first and like I said will be FREE and starts at 6 PM.

Peter's Room at the Roseland is having a show with Joshua James, Cory Chisel and Jared Mees & The Grown Children. Jared Mees is such a good band to see live. If you were at Rontom's last Sunday you could have gotten a free ticket to the show. I think that it is free anyway, but it is kinda cool to have the ticket. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

So if you see me tonight, make sure that you say "Hi". Because if you don't then you might regret it.

-Ben


The Sarcastic Dharma Society plays tonight with AAN for FREE at Berbati's

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