The Big Busk: Rock the sidewalks!

Jared Crawford New York City

This Saturday July 18th, 2–8 PM a bunch of Portland musicians will be busking out the jams! Wanna get on the action? Email the dude below:

The Big Busk is a new music festival for downtown Portland.

These are the ingredients:

• a deep and diverse pool of creative and talented musicians
• a beautiful, human-friendly downtown that consistently ranks among the most walkable in the nation
• a really crappy economy

The idea is, for an entire afternoon, to saturate downtown with music. All kinds of music. Up and down Broadway, the transit mall, the park blocks to the esplanade.

There is no stage, but every corner is a stage. There is no audience, but everyone is the audience. There is no admission fee, but we trust attendees tip generously.

So it's kind of an experiment. It's also kind of an art project and a tongue-in-cheek celebration of creative defiance. Good music for tough times.

If you'd like to be a part, please send me an email at richard@thebigbusk.info.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks

Hello Dear Readers,

No Time to talk. Just time to list shows. Here are the highlights. I know there are many more (Wolves in the Throne Room, anyone?), but whatevs.

Wednesday, July 15th

East End is having a show with Graveyard (Sweden), Ancient Age and Danava. If you like rock music. I mean real rock music. Then this is the show for you. I sometimes like real rock music. I think Danava is one of Portland's best ROCK bands. We don't have too many of them, so go support them. The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.

The Artistery is having a show with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Cryptacize and Neal Morgan. I love me some Casiotone. At first I didn't dig his new album that much, but it totally grew on me. You should check it out. The ALL AGES show is $6-8 and starts at 7:30 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Rock Plaza Central and Carcrashlander. "Canada's best alt'not-country-orkestra" says somebody who is credited as being KUCI. I am unsure of the description, but it is better than anything I could come up with. I am mostly listing this show because of Carcrashlander. They have a new album (I am not sure if it is out or not) that I have been listening. It is a much more chill album than their last. You know how Graves albums are kinda chill? This is album is chill like that. It also sounds really good (like I mean the production and all of that). So go check it out. And tell their new guitarist Dave Dyas to turn up (last time I saw them play he was too quiet). The show is $10 and the doors open at 8 PM.

Someday Lounge is doing another Pabst sponsored Recession FREE Wednesday. This time around they have Anderson (Amsterdam), Root Beer & French Fry and Bombs Into You. I have a special place in my heart for electronic pop music. I very big place actually. If I had more patience I think I would try my hand at it. As it is I can barley manage to play an acoustic guitar. Tonight you can see electronic pop in many forms. I have not heard Anderson before, but really like what i heard. Root Beer and French Fry is a band I still have not seen despite my better judgement. I heard last time they played their drummer Andy Parker was not there though. I hope he is there tonight. Bombs into You are kind of like when Bush (the band) went a little electronic. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

So say "Hi" to me if you see me at these shows. It would be nice.

-Ben


This is a funny video I found of someone singing along with a Carrashlander song. This could be you tonight at Mississippi Studios.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for July 14th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last Night I played/attended the biggest house show I have ever witnessed. There were seven bands, what appeared to be 100 plus people. it was crazy. I think I want to do more house shows. But some people need to stop sucking at house shows. I.E. not vandalizing the neighborhood and making it so that said house can no longer provide you with FREE entertainment. Anyway, Here is what is going on today.

Tuesday, July 14th

Holocene is having a show with Privacy, Pumice (all over the place), Grouper, and Slaves. This show ranges from the regular-ish folk of Privacy to the weirdness of Grouper and Slaves version of folk. The show is $7 and starts at 8:30 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Sara Lov, All Smiles and Gavin Castleton. I am not too crazy about two of the acts, but I do really like Gavin Castleton. Check him out. It is cool. The show is $10 and starts at 8 PM.

Valentine's is having Death Songs, Romancing and Some Weird Sin (probably the wrong link but fun for me). Side projects! Am I right? Death songs is the guy from Shaky Hands. Romancing is one of the many projects from Charlie of Panther. I could not find the myspace for Death Songs. I know that one existed at one point. It was good. Anyway, this is a rare performance , so it should be good. This show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Doug Fir is havign a show with Shoeshine Blue, Rob Stroup & The Blame, Matthew Lindley & Troubadour Deluxe. WHo doesn't like some good 'ol Americana music. Perhaps spliced with some old blues? This show is specially spiced at FREE. Shoeshine Blue is pretty good. For real. The show starts at 9 PM.

Say "Hi" if you see me. Or you will meet my fist.

-Ben


Some call it boring. I call it pretty. Grouper plays tonight at Holocence.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for July 13th

Hello Dear Readers,

It is a new week. I am very excited about this week because there are many good shows. As you have probably figured out by now, That is sort of what I am "into". Last night for instance I went to Backspace and caught the Michael Jackson Tribute. It was pretty rad. I ended up doing some very last minute backing vocals and snaps for Leonard Mynx on "The Way You Make Me Feel". But hands down the best moments were when Grey Anne made her vocal loop for the fade out of "Leave Me Alone" and Typhoon's epic rendition of "Billie Jean". Anyways, here is what is up.

Monday, July 13th

Baller Tower is a new house venue (hopefully). Tonight they will host a inagural show. I am very happy to be part of it playing my "Meyercord" songs. But there are some really good bands playing this bad boy, like Breakfast Mountain, Wampire, Hail Satan, Duck. Little Brother, Duck!, The Sarcastic Dharma Society, Ross McLeron, and Padraic Finbar Hagerty-Hammond. the Sarcastic Dharma Society will be playing first at precisely 8pm! He is one of my favorites and you would be a fool not to see him play. I also have yet to see Breakfast Mountain play live. I am so stoked. Plus Wampire is always great and if you have not seen Padriac Finbar Hagerty-Hammond you should change that. Apparently he has some news songs that will wow you. So I am fairly sure this is ALL AGES and FREE. It starts, as I said, promptly at 8 PM.

The White Eagle is having a show with Black Heart Moon, When The Broken Bow, and Audie Darling. If I weren't so playing the house show this would surely be my second choice. I love Black Heart Moon. They just posted a new recording today of one of my favorite songs of theirs, "The Sunlight and The Sand". When the Broken Bow is Alia Ippolito (of many groups) and Audie Darling fill out this bill very nicely. It will be a night of female led indie folk-pop or whatever you want to call it. The show is FREE and starts at 8:30 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with The Pharmacy (Seattle or New Orleans, I am unsure), Jack Lewis & Twigs, and Don Hellions. The Pharmacy sounds real good, it vaguely sounds like if Pavement and David Bowie had a child. I saw Jack Lewis (He is the brother of that other J. Lewis) play a Michael Jackson song last night it seemed 'aight. Don Hellions sound kinda crazy. I just saw that they are playing PDX Pop Now! 2009, which just released it's schedule recently. The show is FREE? and starts at 9 PM.

So if you see me at the house show. Please say "hi". I would love it.

-Ben

The Sarcastic Dharma Society - Shit On My Heart (By Meyercord) from sarcasticdharma on Vimeo.

Sarcastic Dharma Society covering me. Who will play this song tonight? Probably him, cause even though I wrote it, I never play it.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks For July 12th

Hello Dear Readers,

It is Sunday. The last day of the weekend. The last day of the week. The day of rest? I don't think so. There are still plenty of shows. Take a look.

Sunday, July 12th

Valentine's is having a show with The Subcons,Song Sparrow Research and Matt Sheehy. Matt Sheehy is really good. This will probably be a solo show for him which usually consists of a lot of looping. The Subcons are a band I have been wanting to check for quite some time. The show is by donations. The show starts at 9 PM.

Ash Street Saloon is having a show with Asteroid M, The Oregon Donor (Ancortes, WA) and Cyrus Fell Down (Pullman, WA) I have had the pleasure of playing with both Cyrus Fell Down and The Oregon Donor. Cyrus Fell down is kinda like a mathy version of Muse. the bass player is crazy and spends his time spazzing out while still playing really awesome stuff. One really has to witness it to get it. They are both great, though. I had not heard of Asteroid M, but it sounds pretty good. The show is $5 and starts at 9:30 PM.

Backspace is having a special edition of Portland Makes Music! (put on by localcut) which features some of Portland's finest, namely: Grey Anne, The Rainy States, Congratulations, Leonard Mynx, Michael Dean Damron, Alan Singley, The Soft Tags, Gabe Hascall and Dirty Mittens, performing Michael Jackson songs. That is right yet another MJ tribute is exactly what the world needs right now. But whatevs. Michael knew how to write a pop song. You know what? These artists know how to perform a pop song. And that is exactly what they will do one MJ song each. It is ALL AGES, FREE, and starts at 9 PM.

So if you see me at one of these shows, please say "Hi". I promise to give you a shout out in this here blog.

-Ben


I generally very ani-bongo drums. But this seems okay. The Subcons play tonight at Valentines.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for July 11th

Hello Dear Readers,

It is Saturday. There are a lot of shows today. Most of them are FREE. Rejoice.

Saturday, July 11th

Pix Patisserie (North) All Ages Bastille Day Block Party: The Shaky Hands, Mic Crenshaw, DJ Wicked, Fogatron, CJ & The Dolls, Alan Singley & Pants Machine, Reporter, World's Greatest Ghosts, Chores and Paper Upper Cuts. Are you French? Do you like pastries? Do you like music of the FREE variety. If you answered yes to any of these, then you should totally go to this annual celebration of the beheading of a bunch of French Aristocracy. Plus all the bands are super good. The ALL AGES show is FREE. It lasts from 1 PM to 10 PM.

Centaur Guitar is having a show with Blue Skies for Black Hearts, The Friendly Skies, Meredith Bros. Band, The Great Unrest, Drugstore Cowboys and Space Waves. Centaur Guitar is a guitar shop in front and a studio in the back. Pat from Blue Skies for Black Hearts runs the studio and I believe works at Centaur. My guess is that he put the show together as well. The bands are all probably in the power op vein. I know that the Blue Skies are anyways. The ALL AGES show is FREE and lasts from 2 PM to 7 PM.

Laurel Thirst Public House is having a show with Ezra Carey, Porches and Sam Cooper. This show is listed mostly because I find that Sam Cooper is highly underrated. Check him out. He is good. Plus I remember liking what I heard of both Ezra Carey and Porches. The show is $6 and starts at 9:30 PM.

Mississippi Street Fair: Swing Papillon, Cloaked Characters & Mosely Wotta, Funk Plastic, The Beauty, Sudden Anthem, Taylor Newville, Samba Soleil, Tezeta, Celilo, The Bridgetown Saints, James Low, Sneakin' Out, Nathaniel Talbot, Weinland, Matt Sheehy, SEI Sounds of Soul, Linda Hornbuckle, The Dimes, Freak Mountain Ramblers and Norman Sylvester. I did not have time to link ot all of them this morning but trust me when I say that Celilo, Weinland, and Matt Sheehy are all great additions to the Portland Indie music cannon. This is an all day event with lots of fun stuff going on. The ALL AGES show lasts from 10 AM to 9 PM. It's FREE.

Camellia Lounge is having a show with Rebecca Sanborn and Gavin Castleton. It is FREE and starts at 8 PM.

Worksound is having a show with Wampire, Deelay Ceelay, May Ling, Rob Walmart and E*Rock. These are some hip bands playing some hip music. I know what you're thinking. "So What?" Well all of these guys are also very interesting and dare I say...good. If you get tired of all of the free shows going I highly suggest you check this one out too. The ALL AGES show starts at $5 8 PM.

So if you sees me at any of these shows. Please holla (this means say"Hi").

-Ben


Blue Skies for Blue Hearts are playing at Centaur Guitar sans the snow for FREE.

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A Question For Debate on Methods of Criticism

About a week ago, I was driving somewhere with my boyfriend and talking to him about how on occasion, when I receive music to review, I often find myself at a loss for what to say because, since I usually choose an album by the name or the vague and generally overly flattering description given by the press release, I frequently end up with an album of a style which I know is popular, and common, but I don't know what to call it or how to describe it because I don't listen to other things that sound like it, and don't know what to compare it to.
He responded by suggesting that it's not necessary to know the history of a work of art, its influences, or its significance in its own genre in order to criticize it adequately, you only have to know what you think about it, and communicate that.
So, what do you all think? Is it useful, and or necessary, to offer comparisons to give an idea of a band's sound, or is it a cop out for when you can't put your feelings into more descriptive words? What style of reviews do you like \ what features do you like to see in music reviews? What, to you, constitutes a good music review? I know I love how at the end of Bitch Magazine's music reviews they always have a really clever "listening suggestion" like, "listen while : making a bonfire out of your highschool prom photos" or "goes well with red wine and asparagus" but I rarely come up with that sort of thing, and besides, I wouldn't want to cop their style.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for July 9th and 10th

Hello Dear Readers,

You know how in the Summer here in Portland there is a BBQ everyday all day all the time? You need a break from all that lounging right? Might I suggest attending a show. Here is a list of the ones I think look promising.

Thursday, July 9th

Dunes is having a show with Amos Val, Congradulations, and Cat Stalks Bird. Congratulations is that band with Eskimo & Sons and The Old Believers, right? I have no way of telling if this is that band. But Amos Val sounds pretty sweet if you like pretty instrumental post-rock. Cat Stalks Bird doesn't sound half bad neither. The show is at 9 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having the Bitch Magazine Benefit: Sugar Shortwave, Boy Eats Drum Machine, Katie Sawicki and Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside. Bitch Magazine is the magazine that reminds you that feminism is not dead. Taking the word back and all. It is a good cause and there are good people playing it. If you have not seen Sallie Ford, you are missing out. Such a strong voice. Such a tight band. The show is $10 and starts at 8 PM.

Holocene is having PICA's 14th Birthday with Strength, Point Juncture, WA, Lovers and DJ Girlfriends. Strength is dancey with a lot of rhythmic strummy guitar stuff. Point Junture is awesome indie rock pop. It is well arranged and well played. Lovers is a band I still have not seen but am a big fan of their latest release. Their song Igloos for Ojos is a contender for "jam of the Summer". The show is $5 if you are a PICA Member and $7 if you are not. The show starts at 8 PM.

The Artistery is having a show with Ryland Bouchard, and Drakkar Sauna. Ryan Bouchard used to play music under the alias The Robot Ate Me. I kinda saw him play PDX Pop two years ago. It was a very very hushed set that had him end very early and left many people confused as to whether he had just played a set or finished a sound check. It was weird. Anyway, since then he started playing under his own name and seems much more comfortable with it. I recently saw him on the Blogotheque take away show series. Pretty cool. I keep hearing about Drakkar Sauna. I hear that they do not play too often so tonight is kinda of a special night. The ALL AGES show is $6 and starts at 8 PM.

Friday, July 10th

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Azure Ray and White Hinterland. Umm.m...Azure Ray was one of my favorite bands when I was in college. I could not get enough. Their voices were so gentle and soothing and in harmony. I would just lay in my bed with the curtains drawn and listen to their albums. So good. And our Portland native, White Hinterland sings in French. So it should be a good show. It will cost you $13-15 and starts at 9 PM.

Ghost Realm is having a show with Reporter, World's Greatest Ghost, Yeah Great Fine, and Skip Roxy. House Show Ho! WGG is one of the better bands in Portland. I cannot wait for their next release to come out. I still listen to their debut quite frequently. It is very good summer music. If you are thinking about making a "summer mix" I highly suggest you include some of this bands tunes. Plus Reporter is always. I only saw Yeah Great Fine once, but it was good. And truthfully I have not heard Roxy Poxy, but because of the quality of the other three bands, it hardly matters. There is a $3 cover. The ALL AGES show starts at 7 PM.

So if you see me at any of these shows, let a guy know. Say "Hi". I will then know that you have spotted me. I will let you know by acknowledging you greeting with a similar greeting. Perhaps a "Hello".

-Ben

Ryland Bouchard - Golden You - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Ryan Bouchard will play indoors tonight at the Artistery

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