Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Friday May 7th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night was awesome. Not only did I get to play music to a bunch of people and also get to see The Slaves and AAN both play amazing sets, but I also had a reader come up to me and say hi. Thank you Terry. You are the best. Anyways I do believe there are some shows worth checking out tonight. I mean if you didn't get your ticket to see Jonathan Richmond play at The Know, you should peep these out:

Berbati's is having the Willamette Week's Best New Band showcase with Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, Typhoon, and Deelay Ceelay. Oh yeah, did we forget to mention that the Willamette Week's Best New Band list was released on Wednesday? The winner was Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside. I have been a supporter of Sallie since I first saw her almost two years ago. At the time she was room mates with Luzelena from Y La Bamba. I met them both and was like, "you guys are going to be famous". Looks like I was right. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

The Waypost is having a show with Petoskey, Calla Louise and Paris Brewer. Petoskey is the band that features Angie the violinist from Pigeons as the front person. It is really good. I ran unit her the other night and she told me that I had to check out these other artists. She seems to have pretty good tastes, so I trust her judgement. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

Backspace is having a show with Slow Skate (Seattle), Billygoat, and Tarlton(Minneappolis). All I am saying is that seeing Billygoat is a must. The audio visual experience is really unparralelled. I think it is great. I currently have three pieces of their artwork in my home and hope to eventually get more. The ALL AGES show is

Rotture is having a show with Quiet Countries, Sleepy Eyes of Death, Jatun, and Saudade. This the CD release show for Seattle's Sleepy Eyes of Death. I saw them once a while back and was very impressed with their music and equally impressed with their light show. I have always dug on Quiet Countries. Jatun mix shoegaze and digital white noise. Pretty cool. Saudade makes pretty to pretty loud noise music. If you are into this sort of stuff, and I am. You might check the show out. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "Hi". Terry did and now he is famous (I mean I wrote about him in a blog. Instant fame).

-Ben


Sallie Ford plays for FREE at Berbati's tonight.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Thursday May 6th

Hello Dear Readers,

last night I went to that secret Blitzen Trapper show at The Woods it was pretty awesome. I missed out on a lot of of the friends of theirs that played before. But it seemed like everyone was having a good time. The guys played wonderfully. Then Scott McGee from many many bands debuted his DJ skills. It was pretty impressive that despite only having one turntable, he managed to lead a successful dance party. Tonight there are some good things happening too:

Holocene is having the aan CD release show with Y La Bamba and The Slaves. aan is one of my very favorite bands in Portland. I have been waiting for this CD to come out for what seems like forever. Just yesterday it they made the album available for streaming on their myspace page. I suggest you take a listen and then come out tonight so's that you can purchase the album. Bud Wilson's voice is amazing. His guitar playing is very unique and the way he incorporates effects pedals both on his guitar and voice is so sweet. Oh and Y La Bamba is playing it to. Since I play in that band I get to go for free, suckas. I should also mention that The Slaves are also playing the show. I have only seen them once, but it really made an impression on me. It is very very reverb covered almost ambient but actually engaging and beautiful music. The show is $6 and starts at 8:30 PM.

The Artistery is having a show with The Woolen Men, And And And, and Archers. All of these bands are relatively newish to me. I don't know that I had heard of any of them say like a year ago, but what I have heard of them I like. This is an indie rock bill. I will be honest, I am not familiar enough with any of these bands material to have formed set opinions, but I do tend to think that I like them. Check out the links I provided to see for yourself. The show is $6 and starts at 7:30 PM.

Doug Fir is having a show with Southerly, Super XX Man, and Soft Tags. When I think of Southerly, I think of Kirst Krueger. That is because I have only seen him play solo and acoustic. I forget that Southerly is actually a band. Judging by his latest release, he will need a band. It is mostly instrumental pieces. I departure for sure when you get known as a songwriter. Not that these are not songs, but it's different. Supper XX Man is also known as a songwriter. I like his songs quite a bit. They often seem deceptively simple and heartfelt. I too have only seen Super XX Man as a acoustic one man "band". But I know that they are a real band as well. THey play too often so this is kinda special. Soft Tags are a great band That I have yet to actually see. They are terribely prolific and are constantly getting better at what they do. As a d.i.y. band, that would be everything from writing and recording to actually screen printing their albums. If you like rock that is a little bit lo-fi but also a little bit shoegaze, this is the band for you. The show is $6 and starts at 9 PM.

Tender Loving Empire is having its grand opening today in their new store location, 412 SW 10th Ave. It is a celebration. There will be a art instilation called "Growth" that is curated by Greg from Human Eyeball. Plus there will be live music by Tender Loving Empire musical artist Boy Eats Drum Machine. So if you like pop music that incorporates crooning, samples, turntable skills, and a touch of sax, then I highly recommend that you check out BEDM. The show is FREE and lasts from 6 Pm to 10 PM.

If you see me at Holocene please say "Hi". It will be a great greeting.

-Ben


BEDM will be part of the Tender Loving Empire's grand Opening this Evening.

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Ben Meyrcord's Live Music Picks

Hello Dear Readers,

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Last night I played at the Waypost. It was awesome. I ran into an old friend from high school. That was crazy. Also The Paddle Boat were crazy good. They kinda are comparable to Hosannas. But y'know different. They had a lot of cool dynamic shifts and cool two part harmonies. I recommend checking them out. Then Jennie Wayne played her set. Oh man it was beautiful. It was mostly just her and her guitar. All her songs are gentle yet she was able to captivate the whole place for her entire set. On a few songs she had the lovely vocals of Ezza Rose backing her up. I was so glad to be a part of that show. There are a few shows that look interesting tonight:

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Strange Holiday, People Under The Sun, and Seven Saturdays (LA). Strange Holiday is an amazing band. I honestly can't get enough of them. The way they combine an insane amount of reverb and and insane amount of pop sensibilities. Led by Alison Ables who sounds kinda like the lady from Broadcast. I love it. People Under the Stairs also reverb laden pop and I think Alison plays guitar in this band too. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with May Ling and DJ Sexy Cousin. May Ling is the super dance-centric offspring of the already danceable Reporter. I have only seen them once. It was in a hot a sweaty basement show. Valentine's is pretty small so I bet people will be able to make it hot and sweaty pretty easily. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

The Goodfoot is having a show with Palo Verde, Tyrants, Wizard Rifle, and Valkyrie Rodeo. Rock music is still around and much cooler than it used to be. The heaviness of Palo Verde can not be denied. The insanity of Tyrants punk music can not be denied. The riff rock of Wizard Rifle will not be denied. The sludgy hardcore that is Valkyrie Rodeo is undeniable. Viva la Rock. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say "Hi". Greeting people is one of my hobbies.

-Ben


May Ling will be playing at Valentine's tonight. Sadly, I think the dragon will not be able to make it.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Tuesday, May 4th

Hello Dear Readers,

After a long day and spending almost$300 more than I wanted to yesterday (bass speakers are kinda spendy even when you get a good deal), I could not bring myself to go out. Also I knew that today is going to be a busy day for me. You can call me Busy Benny. Or Productive Peter. Crazy Carl? I have stopped making sense. Anyway I will pretty much be going non stop all day. There are some really great shows tonight. I would love to see them all. But for reasons I am about to reveal to you, the choice is easy for me. For you...it may be a little more difficult of a decision. Here are the shows:

The Waypost is having a show with The Paddle Boat (San Diego), Jenni Wayne, and Meyercord. Yeah, I 'm playing this show. I also think that it will be a good one. I just listened to The Paddle Boat. The dude in that band can sing. It has a whole lot more drums than I think Jennie Wayne or myself will have. Which is cool because you don't want to see the same set three times in a row. Jennie Wayne has a great voice and has been rumored to play with a cellist in live and recorded situations. I looking forward to finding out. You may know her from John Hearts Jackie. I am planning on playing completely acoustic with out any use of microphone or anything. I am really into that lately. Luckily my band mates play instruments that don't really require any amps. I have a stand up bass player and a clarinet play who adds her vocals as well. I am looking forward to this. The ALL AGES show is FREE and starts at 7 PM.

Holocene is having The Rumble with The Ferocious Few (SF), Monarques, and 1776. This is mostly put on by Futures Sounds a pretty cool music website. All I am saying is that Monarques pretty much rule it. That is if you are into 50's inspired pop perfection. 1776 sound like they listened to a lot of classic rock. They sound more like 1976 than 1776. Fericious Few seem to make ferocious sounding rock with a bit of what might be some country twang. I liked what I heard. The show is FREE and starts at 8:30 PM.

Ella Street is having a show with Au Contraire, Boy & Bean, and Petoskey. I don't know much about these bands, but it is a free show. Au Contraire has Shelby Sifers who can write a hell of a song. Petokskey features many of the same people as Pigeons. I saw her play a couple of times. I liked it. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Valentines is having a show with Honeycomb (SF), Lindsay Clark, Alina Hardin, and Kacey Johansing (near SF). I saw Alina Hardin once and it was very pretty. So much so that I bought the CD that she was selling at the show. As well as the 10" she put out with her good friend Alela Diane. Another one of Alela's friends is Lindsay Clark. One time I played a show with her and it was so pretty that I bouoght a CD that she was selling at the show. Sounds familiar, no? Well they both make really quality folk tunes. I would suggest that you check this one out if you have have been lacking any folkness in your life. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

East End is having a show with O Bruxo, XDS, Nymph (NYC), and DJ Ben Bogart. I think XDS are pretty cool. I always thought they kinda had a deer hoof thing going for them. The otherday I was playing them in the car and a band mate was like, "is this Les Claypoole?" I was, "No!". But it was too late. I think I must admit their zany tunes do kinda sound like the former Primus front man's output. Whatevs. Its cool. The show is at 9 PM.

So most of the shows I have listed for tonight have been free, but if you feel like you want to throw down a lot of money to see a show, you can go to the Firehouse on Dekum for Rock'n'Roll Supper Club. The what what what club? I guess if one were to break it down, the club exists "To support youth enrolled in Impact Northwest’s Urban Opportunities Program, a jobs training and creation program for under supported high school aged youth." Tonight they have a special acoustic performance by The Dandy Warhols. It is for a good cause. The show is $85 and starts at 5:30 PM.

If you see me at The Waypost please say "Hi". I am the bearded guy with the guitar.

-Ben

Jennie Wayne will be playing at The Waypost tonight. I will be there. What about you?

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Monday May 3rd

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I was planning on going out. Specifically to see my boy Perry Pfister play in Ponyghost and The Fed at Valentine's. But first I was going to take a quick nap. I had only gotten about seven hours of sleep for the previous two nights and was starting to feel it. Apparently I do not have the art of the quick nap mastered because I woke up at 11. I was like "damn!". Then after getting out of my clothes and brushing my teeth, I went back to sleep and I am happy to say that I am currently well rested. But I am show deprived. Luckily there is at least one show happening tonight:

Valentine's is having a show with DoublePlusGood, Serious Business, and Pegasus Dream. DoublePlusGood is a band I can totally get down with. They are a two piece that makes some of the catchiest, danciest, most electro-poppin' tunes in town. Another thing that I can totally get down with, is their practice of leaving free eps in a most record stores in town. Speaking of free eps...if you want to download the Pegasus Dream Miles of Sound ep, you can do so here. They seem to be more pop than electro pop. But that is not a bad thing. In their case it is a good thing, because they sound like they have a good thing gong. Serious Business has one song on their myspace. It is called The BFF song. Seems pretty serious. They too have an electro thing going. Oh look, you can get some of their demos for free too. Click here. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at this show please say "Hi". I said Hello at the beginning of this post. I am not saying you owe me but... you kinda do.

-Ben


DoublePlusGood will be kicking out some jams tonight at Valentine's

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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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Read between the lines: Band Bio

This is an example of when a publicist has to apologize for the unlikable personality of a musician and can only rely upon a weak and arrogant comparison to two, somewhat sympathetic, fictional assholes recognized by hipsters and the literate alike.

The following is a REAL band bio:

______________ is an alt-folk bandleader from ______________ , and his is the story of one man's willingness to be obsessed at his own risk. He is a fine writer of prose and if it weren't for his infatuation with music and performing he'd probably be sitting up in his room churning out novels instead of songs. His band, featuring members of __________ is the result of five albums worth of playing in the streets, touring, sometimes living hungry, and sometimes selling out shows to the ravenous fans who've found them.

From his high concept records to his busking in front of national monuments and his tours in Finland, Alaska and everywhere in the continental United States, _____ loves to experiment, but he's suffered for it. He has run out of money, slept in his car, booked tours from the road, and sacrificed relationships at home for the good of his art. The result is an incredible talent, live show, and band unparalleled in _______ . On tour they often play two shows, one in the club they were booked and one in the street to boost attendance and sell a few records. At the end of the day though all of this patience and dedication has made _____ sort of a loner, conflicted and uneasy, like captain Ahab at the end of the bar, the white whale tugging at the back of his mind. But like Hank Chinaski said in barfly: "No writer who wrote worth a damn wrote in peace."


READ BETWEEN THE LINES version of this band bio:
I am a dick and I play music.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Saturday, May 1st

Hello Dear Readers,

I returned to Portland as the the sun crept up this morning. I had a little two day jaunt up to Seattle and Anacortes, WA. Fun times. Who knew that there are still cool bands from Seattle that I have not heard of. Probably everyone. Regardless, I am glad that we got to see Yuni In Taxco last night they were pretty cool. It kinda reminded me a bit of Portland's own aan. Who I absolutely love. Anyway there are a but load of good shows tonight. See:

Langano Lounge is having a show with Hey Lover, Electric Castle, Curious Hands, and AristeiA. I am listing this show because well... I play in AristeiA and I want you to come and see us play. I think were are constantly bettering and refining our instrumental rock sound. We are going to be debuting a new song tonight. Hey Lover are a pretty high energy garage pop band. Electric Castle is coming from some of the people that were in that amazing band The Minders. Curious Hands are a extremely poppy garage pop band. They sound kinda in the same vein as The Undertones (you know the band that sang "Teenage Kicks"). Plus there will be DJ's Electric M and Splitpills. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Backspace is doing a the ALL AGES release show for Typhoon's new record Hunger an Thirst. The show is also with Last Slice of Butter (Seattle), and Wampire. Typhoon is an amazing band. I love the album that they are releasing tonight. It is so good. You should if anything go to this show to pick it up because it is not in stores until Tuesday. Their brand of epic folk pieces is just awe inspiring and they are able to pull it off live as well. For real listen to this band and fall in love already. Last Slice of Butter is a noisy band from Seattle that have a relationship to Boy Gorilla just like Typhoon. They are the good kind of noisy though, they are all things considered pretty catchy. Wampire is an extremely catchy group though. Their songs are chill and danceable and so melodic all at the same time. Plus if you are down to see some dudes strip down to their undies, it is almost a sure thing at a Wampire show. The ALL AGES show is $5 and starts at 6 PM.

Next door, Someday Lounge is having the 21+ release show for Typhoon's new record Hunger and Thirst. This one is with Point Juncture, WA and Jared Mees & The Grown Children. Say you can't make the earlier Typhoon show, this is your second chance. Or maybe you are tempted to see them twice. There is no shame in that game. Especially considering that the other two acts on this bill are so good. Point Juncture is to me basically like Portland's answer to Yo La Tengo with some of the instrumentation of Tortoise (ie vibes and cool percussion and all). I was just listening to their last LP the other day thinking about how good they are. Jared Mees is one of the people behind Tender Loving Empire who is not only putting out Typhoon's record this week, but will also be opening the doors to the new store. It's gonna be awesome. Plus his band is super fun to see live and his songs are great. He and his Grown Children have several new songs that they want to play for you. You really should give them a listen. The show is $7 and starts at 9:30 PM.

The Woods is having a show wtih AgesAndAges, Brothers Young, and The Spinning Leaves (Philadelphia, PA). AgesAndAges are super good. They are in the midst of recording their debut album so don't have much in the way of recorded music to listen to. But they have one song on their myspace. It is good. But what you really have to do is see their highly vocally arranged pop tunes in person to get a feel for what they are doing. The Brothers Young are another vocal heavy band. They specialize in the power of brotherly (literally) unison singing. Along with honest to goodness good tunes. The Spinning Leaves are a pretty good Americana band from Philadelphia. The show is $7 and starts at 9 PM.

The Wail is having a show with Yeah Great Fine, Wax Fingers, and Wishyunu. Yeah Great Fine and Wax Fingers seem like a perfect fit together because they both play pretty progressive pop music that delves in to other sub genres quite often. Wishyunu are mostly a dream pop band. A mighty good one at that. Or so I have heard. I sadly missed all of their residency at Berbati's last month. But I be that playing so regularly made them super tight. Now is the time to see them. The ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 7 PM.

If you see me at the Langano Lounge please say, "Hi", I will the one playing the bass tones.

-Ben


This band plays twice tonight: Backspace and Someday Lounge.

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