Tonight’s another installment of the Future Arts Festival, which goes to benefit the PDJX Event in August. There’s a ton of stuff going on, with performances by Chromatics (pictured above), Mute Era, Fleshtone, Copy, DJ RAD!, DJ Girlfriends, and Dee Jay Jack. This is going to be a two-floor party and it should be a blast. Our own Drew Gemmer (Intern to the Stars!) is particularly excited about Fleshtone’s performance tonight:

…Damn, they do put on a good show. It’s nearly impossible not to get caught up in the whole experience when Fleshtone’s deranged cheerleading hits the stage, choreographed to the hilt with high kicks and floor humping. The dark, synth-heavy electronica is made all the more absurd with lyrics like “knock-knock-knocking on your uterine wall, scream-scream-screaming as I come down the hall.” And “Feed us! Feed us! You ain’t nothing but a fetus.” You get the idea. DREW GEMMER

You’ve probably already seen tons of pics of the musicians at Sasquatch, but here are some pics of the crowd, the setting, and the vibe in general. Good friend of the Mercury, the wonderful Tina Whitler, took these pics. Check ‘em out!

During MIA’s set.

More after the jump!

During Fleet Foxes.

The Morning Benders

Everything, and I mean everything, about this video is perfect. The dude in the “Girl Wanted” shirt, the foliage, the tambourine playing, the “naked man in my dreams” lyric: Morrissey is slowly turning into this guy, and I couldn’t be more happy.

You know, Moz was always the king of the tongue in cheek lyric, but it’s almost like now, with age, he’s letting that tongue fly. Even if the song isn’t spectacular (although I will say I enjoy it much more than almost everything on Ringleader), he still somehow manages to sell it completely, making me want to throw my panties flowers at his feet for all forty-five nights of his Las Vegas residency (which, I realize, hasn’t happened yet, but if you don’t think that is exactly where he is headed, you’re crazy).

Courtney Taylor-Taylor and Brent DeBoer of the Dandy Warhols are giving a special performance today at SunnySide Environmental School. It’s part of the SunnyStock event, put on by eighth graders as part of their year-end project. (Hmm. When I was in eighth grade, I think our class project was making sure the gerbil didn’t eat her babies.) Taylor-Taylor and DeBoer are performing at the Dutch Masters, and they’ll be playing “cover versions of classic rock hits.” Also on the bill: Highway, which features the Dandys’ own Peter Holmstrom.

TODAY’S SCHEDULE:
12 pm: Various student band performances
3 pm: Dutch Masters (Taylor-Taylor and DeBoer)
3:45: Highway

SunnySide Environmental School, 3421 SE Salmon. This event is open to the public!

J. Ward—not to be confused with M. Ward—is a musician from South Dakota currently hiding out in this indie-mecca we call home. His project, the Weather Machines, is guitar-driven, feel-good pop-rock, not a million miles away from the Cars or Big Star, but with perhaps less polish. (This is a good thing; those refined sugars can kill you.) The Sound of Pseudoscience album has been around for a while, but it still sounds fresh—or more accurately, timeless. It’s perfect music for the start of summer, either soundtracking a backyard barbeque or a meandering drive out of town with all the windows down. If it won’t be enough to get you through summer, there’s a new Weather Machines EP coming out soon called Bones and Brains.

In honor of Mr. Jones’ performance tonight at the Schnitz, End Hits presents this multimedia experience. Please, Fire up the Soundtrack for the photo gallery. And, after the music starts to roll, follow the jump and behold…

That's Sir Tom, bitch!

“Doom metal” now describes bands as diverse as drone-rumblers Sunn O))) and hard-rockers Danava, but what did it mean originally? Tonight’s show is a journey to the center of this bleak music that more or less started with Black Sabbath (but trust me, you don’t want to hear Ozzy anymore). Sweden’s Candlemass formed in 1985 and have gone through many lineup and stylistic changes, but the dedication in the liner notes of their 1986 debut, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, still applies: “To hatred, bitterness, pain, depression, and hangovers.” Their new offering, King of the Grey Islands, with Solitude Aeturnus singer Robert Lowe, is a slow march into dead-air AOR. “Of Stars and Smoke” is this year’s best 1987 single, evoking early Savatage strut over suffocating Sabbath/Trouble chording. Openers Daylight Dies, who honor both Swedish death/doom and American Southern rock (sparingly), are a real sight to be seen. MIKE MEYER

The Mac Store’s Portland location is having an opening celebration of sorts (they’ve been open for a while now, but hey, whatever), with FREE music by local bands. You already missed Weinland and Clampitt Gaddis & Buck last weekend. BUT!!! It’s not too late to check out this weekend’s action, with the following folk performers playing for FREE. Which is pretty rad.

Tractor Operator plays this Friday, May 30 at 5 pm.

Laura Veirs plays this Saturday, May 31 at 5 pm.

Mighty Ghosts of Heaven play this Sunday, June 1 at 3 pm.

This is pretty cool news for those of us whose weekend nights are already booked up—a good way to squeeze a little more music into each day, without dropping any more cash. And if you’re not 21, or just really like computers, here’s a cool way to check out some live performances.

Mac Store, 700 NE Multnomah, Ground Floor, FREE

Last night I watched Heavy Metal in Baghdad, the Spike Jonze-executive produced VICE documentary, which is screening in Portland one night only, this Tuesday at 8 pm at the Someday Lounge. I’ll have my review of the film up tomorrow, but if you haven’t already heard, or at least heard of (in addition to VICE coverage they’ve been featured on NPR, BBC News, etc) “the only Iraqi metal band,” Acrassicauda (named after a deadly black scorpion found in the deserts of Iraq), this clip from Al Jazeera gives a synopsis:

Acrassicauda isn’t exactly the greatest sounding metal band out there (hear the three songs they managed to record (with the help of VICE) while living as refugees in Damascus on their MySpace page), but their story is amazing: Plucked from a population of millions of refugees fleeing Iraq, their esoteric (by Iraqi standards) music preferences might save them. VICE has been collecting donations, through which the band has already managed to get to Istanbul after foreign visa policy changes in Syria threatened to send them back into the belly of the beast (er, Baghdad). Plus, as they themselves point out in the film, they came up playing metal in a place where life is really like this:

Tonight, sadly, that will not be you in the back with the pink shirt and fists raised in the air. Nor, tonight, shall you be the girl in the jean miniskirt and oddly cavernous smile. Unfortunately, Richie Hawtin has fallen ill and wasn’t able to get on the plane to Portland for tonight’s show.

There is a bright side, though! The show is still on, with Hawtin’s M_nus labelmates Magda and Heartthrob, and now Bryan Zentz has been added to the bill, too. Even better? The show’s totally FREE.

Richie Hawtin’s appearance has been rescheduled for August 27. Thanks, Ava, for the tip.

Magda, Heartthrob, Bryan Zentz; Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 9 pm, FREE

I’m still on vacation, but just thought I’d check in and give an update on my trip so far. We saw her buying Indian spices in NY, this guy buying rye bread in LA, we bought way too much at Amoeba Records (see above), and, oh yeah, there was that super secret free Elvis Costello show I went to last night.

Well, not that “super secret,” since the concert was announced by Elvis about an hour before it started (while he was opening for The Police at the Hollywood Bowl), and word quickly spread. Yet it was pretty easy for us to stroll into the small (900 capacity) venue (El Rey Theater) and catch the epic set from Elvis, the Imposters, and Elvis’ bolo tie. Performing most everything from his latest album, Momofuku, Elvis and Co. also unleashed a slew of hits—”Everyday I Write the Book,” “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea,” etc.—along the way, and were joined by Jonathan Rice, plus some guitar player who we just referred to as “The Tallest Hippie.”

I’d write more, but I’m on vacation.

It was a number of years ago, when I first saw Japanther. It was at a house party, somewhere in Deep North Portland. I don’t remember how I found out about it (could it have been the Mercury?) and I wasn’t sure, really, what I was about to see. But I was single, lonely and bored. So I fired up the ol’ motorbike and headed out.

And hot damn, the cramped sweaty show in the basement that night was ferocious. Major chords, cassette tape loops, simple structures and all kinds of uplifting, relentless punk energy. The two dudes from New York were on a cross-country tour and they were playing basements. Who said punk is dead?! Fuck… I bought their record, which came across equally well (and one side was covered with a radical hand etching…).

My how they’ve kept at it, traversing back and forth, always finding amazing, all-ages, DIY spaces to play. It’s got to be, and I’m sure there have been many letdowns, clusterfuck and screw jobs and trying times along the way, and yet, in the back of some stinky van, or sleeping on some cold, hard floors, Japanther rattles on.

Last year they set up in that old cavernous building (was it a church once, or just some mega-industrial space) on Mississippi St., playing amidst a ton of art installations. I remember someone had built and furnished these tiny wooden cabins. Inside they were decked out with tiny chairs, type-writers, tools and quaint art. They were beautiful. The band played right up against them. Before they went on we curled up inside and drank 40’s.

Japanther has perfected a sort of organized confusion. The sloppiness is endearing—part of the overall aesthetic. But when it comes to energy and inclusion, the two are always spot on.

Give ‘em a look tonight at Exit Only, another DIY venue which is apparently hard to find. It’s at 1121 N. Loring St. And just in case, here’s a map.

Listen to: Fuk Tha Prince A Pull Iz Dum

I want to give a hefty thanks to one of my favorite blogs, Indie MP3, for turning me onto to NYC’s Vivian Girls today. Not only do I have a new musical crush, but these ladies just happen to be playing in Portland the next two nights! What luck!

This is some serious shambling C86 by way of punk rock, and really, it couldn’t sound any better.

Vivian Girls - “Tell the World”

Vivian Girls play The Twilight Cafe tonight with Eat Skull and The Heaves. Vivian Girls also play Backspace tomorrow with Silent Majority, The Vonneguts, and Magic Johnson.

The Kooks’ secret MySpace show took place last night at Backspace, with kids lining up around the block hours beforehand. By the time I got there, though, all 250 wristbands had been issued and there were only a few stragglers on the sidewalk outside. I peered through the window at openers the Dutchess & the Duke, who were playing to a crowd of eager teenagers pressed right up against the stage. I wandered in (no wristband for me; I am a big shot journalist, don’t you know) and took my place at the back as the Kooks hit the stage, to screams and delight. These guys are really popular! Are they on the radio? (I don’t really listen to the radio.)

It was an acoustic set, with frontman Luke Pritchard and his oddly Hasidic haircut strumming an acoustic song while the drummer thwacked a snare and bass set up. The young Kooks fans were thrilled, mere inches away from their idols. I’m hard-pressed to tell you about the musical merits of the show; not being familiar with the songs, I was not the target audience. I should say, though, that Backspace handled the event expertly. While the stage was thronged by teenagers, they did not overfill the venue, and there was plenty of room for some kids to dance in the back, as well as a sectioned-off “beer garden” for parents, and, well, me.
Sybris

What I can tell you about is the Sybris show that took place next door at the Someday Lounge. These guys fuckin’ rock. That’s all there is to it. They didn’t get much of a crowd, sadly (there were, like, fourteen other big shows in town last night) but they killed it with their spastic, dirty, fun, funny post-alt indie guitar rock. Angela Mullenhour strummed her guitar without a pick while getting all kinds of worked up on the vocals. Screaming, howling, moaning, and—on occasion—singing. The band seemed road-weary but it good spirits despite the meager attendance.

Members of the Kooks moseyed into the Someday Lounge for a private post-show drink. They came from backstage to avoid their fans on the street, but the teenagers quickly spied them through the windows and congregated around. None of them were permitted to enter the 21+ Someday Lounge. It was a curious sight to see the mass of kids outside looking into the sparse adult crowd inside, with few people paying attention to the awesome band onstage. After awhile those Kooky rockstars went out to say hi to their fans and take pictures and sign posters. Sybris, meanwhile, finished their set with an unfussy frenzy and left their small audience wanting more.

Our own Minh Tran was at the Jamie Lidell show last night and took some great photos. Check ‘em out! Lidell rocked a gold lame blazer, nerd glasses, and some swanky seersucker pants, all while singing sweet cosmic soul music.

More after the jump!

Well Hot Damn! Guess what came out today? That’s right, Spiritualized’s Songs In A&E, their first new album in five years. After some delays I wasn’t sure if the thing would really make it out. I checked online and a simple search didn’t bring anything up, so I called Everyday Music and yes, indeed it’s in. “We’re listening to it right now, actually,” the clerk told me. This is a good sign. Gonna have to go get me one.

In the meantime, check out the video from this morning’s live performance on KCRW. Good stuff… acoustic with backing string section… and my God, the pain on Pierce’s face… But hey, these things are cathartic, no? Lord, let it rain on me. Let it all come down.

Ro Tam took some pictures of the Beirut/Brunettes show this past Sunday and was kind enough to share them with us. Check ‘em out!

Beirut

The Brunettes

More after the jump!

Beirut

The Brunettes

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD! Swerverdriver is playing! In Portland! Tonight!

Please, pardon the hysterics, but do you realize how freaking awesome this is? My face, melted in person, by “Rave Down”? OH HELL YES.

I realize there are about eight hundred things happening tonight (I’m really bummed about missing both the Jamie Lidell/James Pants and Sybris/Unwed Sailor shows), but, you know, we’re talking Swervedriver here. The apocalypse, zombies, zombie-monkeys, or, well, anything this side of death couldn’t stop me from seeing this show tonight.

Chicago’s Sybris may sound like they’re stuck in the early ’90s, but that ain’t necessarily a bad thing. With rich female vocals layered on top of post-punk guitars, they sound like the hipster version (by way of Yeah Yeah Yeahs) of shoegazey alterna-rock stalwarts like Lush and Velocity Girl. Quasi-danceable, quasi-emo, and quasi-jangly, their main focus is vocalist Angela Mullenhour, whose powerful delivery is the epicenter and anchor to the band’s rich melodies, which quite often start as an afterthought but build into euphoric white noise crescendos. ROB SIMONSEN

MP3:
Sybris - Oh Man

I fucking love this song. I could play it over and over. Their whole new album is great, too.

w/Unwed Sailor, Odyska; Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th, 9 pm, $6

This week on Your Radio Sucks, Portland’s favorite intern Drew Gemmer (aka DJ Drew) is taking over as host while Ned Lannamann is off searching for some sasquatch in the woods. DJ Drew turns this week’s show into a dance party by spinning tracks from Does It Offend You, Yeah? (pictured), Yo Majesty, Lil Wayne feat. Corey Gunz, Fleshtone, Cut Copy, Architecture in Helsinki, Carcrashlander, Death Cab For Cutie, and Trannybear Loves Trout. Listen here!

What are you doing the Sunday before Thanksgiving?

You’re doing THIS!!!!!!

That’s right! The New Kids on the Block are BACK, and they’re playing the Rose Garden November 23rd. They’ll have a new album, too, and you can hear the first single, “Summertime,” here. But who gives a shit about the new songs, when they’re going to be playing all the hits! So if you want a piece of The Right Stuff, you’ll need to go Step by Step and get your tickets when they go on sale THIS SATURDAY.

In related news: EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blue Skies for Black Hearts - Siouxsie Please Come Home

Here’s the new video from Blue Skies for Black Hearts, from their brand new album Serenades and Hand Grenades. The Skies play in a chilly, snowbound setting (somewhat reminiscent of this video, and thankfully not at all reminiscent of this one). Unlike the video, the song is a sunny, warmhearted jangly pop song straight out of the ’60s. Frontman Pat Kearns strums his Rickenbacker with gloved fingers (which doesn’t really work in real life; the notes get all muffled). Looks cold! But it looks like they were having fun, too, on one of the few snowy days of the year.

For photos of this year’s Sasquatch! festival, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sasquatch08

Well, I was wrong about Sasquatch (which is still currently happening): Dan Bejar DID perform with the New Pornographers. It was awesome! Neko Case was there, too. In other surprises, the National’s tour bus broke down so they played later than their original slot, which meant Fleet Foxes were able to play a later set, to a bigger crowd. Their carefully-stacked harmonies and acoustic instrumentation seemed like a natural fit for the splendor of the Gorge, but I think their music is really too subtle for such a large venue.

M.I.A. did not get stopped by customs and was able to perform a pumping, puzzling set; on such a grand scale, some of her songs sound very unmusical. (The other ones, the hits, sounded great.) She did the standard thing of letting a whole bunch of kids onstage during a few songs, causing panic among the yellow-shirted security staff. In other news, the band “Awesome” is not, despite their name, awesome. In fact their music is spectacularly un-awesome. Hokey joke-fiddle-rock with jam band overtones. Atrocious, really.

Tegan and Sara were great, able to scale their performances to the giant venue, complete with their trademark witty banter. Kathleen Edwards killed it with a passionate, perfect set complete with some foot-stomping spear-in-the-back lead guitar work courtesy of Ms. Edwards. The Morning Benders played a charming, effortless set, and J. Tillman’s dry, hilarious between-song banter is at excellent odds with his mopey, beautiful acoustic ballads.

In other Sasquatch news: Morgan Murphy is a very funny stand-up comedian. (No, I’d never heard of her, either.) She made a joke about waiting in line for the ice cold showers, to which a hippie festival-goer shouted, “Why bother with a shower?” She quickly whipped back, “Well, eight guys came all over my face last night so… yeah, R.E.M. was just that good.” Another note: Canadians seem to be much more naturally disposed to be festival-goers than Americans. They are just better at it; they have more fun, and get more fucked up, without getting exhausted. I am not sure why this is; healthcare, perhaps? Also, Truckasauras would very much like to see your tits. If you show them, they will give you a T-shirt. (Which seems to kind of go against the whole point of baring one’s… oh, never mind.)

Something funny about festivals: About the second band of the day in, the individual performances stop mattering, and it all becomes a hazy, pleasant wash of sound. For me, personally, the two best performances were (probably not coincidentally) the two first performances I saw on either day. I would have loved to stay for the third day as I originally planed, but the sleeping situation was not suitable for me (more on that below), and my early departure meant that I got to come into work today, on the holiday! Yay!

Lowlights:

• Occasional rain. Kind of unavoidable, I guess. Also, an intermittently hot sun. Sweat, and no easy access to showers.

• Lines. Lines to get in. Lines for the comedy tent, which were constant. (The beer lines and Honey Bucket lines, however, were not bad at all.) Waiting for an hour for the chick to show up to will call with my press pass.

• The dumb girl at the Verizon booth hawking, I don’t know what, cell phone plans or something? She did the worst form of street advertising: yelling at people passing by, trying to engage them in public conversation. I fucking hate that. “Hey, you, with the t-shirt, what band are you here to see? Spearhead am I right? Hey, how’s about a cell phone?”

• The Kooks pissing off their fans (and, no doubt, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, whose set immediately followed theirs) by starting nearly an hour after their scheduled start time.

• I tried to avoid Mike Patton’s new project, Crudo, like the plague. I really did. But in waiting for the line for the Honey Bucket, some of their set managed to waft over. It sounded like the most awful kind of New Jack Swing, with what had to be the single worst moment of scratching ever performed by anybody anywhere: it sounded like someone stuck the microphone in a fan. An arrhythmic thwap! thwap! Honestly, just the shittiest music I heard all weekend. Maybe ever.

• Getting into the campground took FOREVER. We sat in standstill traffic for an hour before getting to the girl who wanted to take our money. “Where’s your ticket?” she asked. “Will call,” I responded. “You need to have your ticket before you can enter the campground.” SOOO we had to circle around and wait through the line a second time.

• Yeah, camping sucked. Imagine pitching your tent in rural Washington, near one of the most spectacular natural settings in the world. NOW imagine that idyll shattered by a group of 18-20 year old college kids who are FUCKED out of their minds on weed, beer, whiskey, acid, mushrooms, ecstasy, poor taste, bad decisions, eminent failure, and god know what else. These fucktards don’t sleep, play bad music (Kid Rock, etc.) shout, fight, screech (honestly, what is up with drunk screeching sorority girls), piss, drink, stumble, and shout some more. There was no sleep to be had. At three in the morning, there was a very loud, very stupid argument outside my door by two guys who were supposedly friends. Their conversation was filled with such witty rejoinders as, “Fuck you!” and “Step off, son!” (Also, let me be the first to admit that I am old and have forgotten how to have fun.)

I am hard-pressed to pick a particular high point, at least performance-wise, but the whole overall experience was pretty good. I enjoyed myself a lot more once I stopped worrying about an agenda and stopped caring about seeking out particular bands. Lying in the grass on the hill, looking at the blue sky, having a sleepy murmured conversation with a friend, drinking an $11 Coors Light (yeah, I know.), feeling the sun and the breeze, not really sure what band is playing down in the bowl below… It was fun. Next year, maybe I’ll try to get a motel room.