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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Upcoming / $0.01 Buy Super Cheap Pickathon Tickets Right Now!

Posted by Ned Lannamann on Wed, Jun 22, 2011 at 5:11 PM

Every year we talk about how great Pickathon is, and every year some commenter complains about the price. (At least it seems that way.) The sheer wrongheadedness of those complaints aside—Pickathon ordinarily costs $145 for three days of music, including camping, which breaks down to less than $50 per day, which is less than just about any vacation I can think of—there's a blazing hot deal available for Pickathon tickets right now over on MercPerks. It just went live at 5 pm today, and only a limited number are available, so jump on this right quick.

Weekend passes (including parking) are a mere $100. Since parking is $40, that's nearly half off if you're planning on driving. (It's still a good deal for carpoolers and public transit riders, too.) AND single-day passes are available for this year's fest for the first time anywhere: Saturday passes are $55, while Sunday is going for $45.

I hate to sound like a shill, but this is an excellent deal. If you were at all toying with the idea of checking out this year's Pickathon—acts include Bill Callahan, Mavis Staples, Califone, Black Mountain, and many, many others—this is a bargain. So, go buy.

Okay. Sales pitch mode off. Let's not hear any more complaining about ticket prices, all right?

Pickathon takes place August 5-7 at Pendarvis Farm, Happy Valley. Regular tickets are $145 for the full weekend.

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Monday, May 9, 2011

Upcoming / $0.01 Tasty Beats for Tasty Eats: Music Benefitting Sandwiches

Posted by Travis Ritter on Mon, May 9, 2011 at 12:49 PM

Brass Tacks Sandwiches use sustainable, organic, and local ingredients, unlike Subway's yarn-flavored meats and vegetables

Brass Tacks Sandwiches use sustainable, organic, and local ingredients, unlike Subway's yarn-flavored meats and vegetables

Ami Taylor, whom some might know as the drummer for Orca Team, is opening up a new sandwich shop, Brass Tacks Sandwiches, with business partner Sara Pavao on June 1. But before the do-it-yourselfers can open the meat/gluten-free/vegan sandwich shop at 3535 N. Vancouver (near Fremont), they need a few necessary pieces of deli equipment, including an industrial meat and cheese slicer and a new refrigeration unit. Last month, the pair launched a Kickstarter campaign to help raise the funds needed to purchase the equipment that will cost $3500. The campaign has so far raised nearly two grand, but they only have thirteen days to raise the additional $1500.

Fortunately, some of Portland's more adventurous and new DIY musicians, including Why I Must Be Careful, Karen, Breezin, and Woolen Men, are contributing their musical efforts to the Brass Tacks benefit concert happening at 9pm on May 21 at Mudai Lounge, followed by a dance party with DJ Landlord. Because Brass Tacks won't get the funding if the goal is not met, they're offering folks who pledge $5 or more a spot on the guest list to the show, which will be $8 at the door. $25 will get you a guest list spot, as well as two sandwiches and a salad (once they open). And if you're really feeling generous and want to be a Brass Tacks VIP, which includes your photo on the wall and having your very own sandwich on the menu, there are pledge options for those as well.

Regardless, any amount over $5 will get you into the show, plus you'll also be directly responsible for helping open what's soon to be your new favorite Portland deli. Doesn't sound like such a bad idea, especially if you're considering a $5 foot-long from Subway for lunch today (something you will regret later).

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Thursday, February 10, 2011

$0.01 Tune Du Jour: Thee Oh Sees "Thee Hounds Of Foggy Notion"

Posted by Travis Ritter on Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 9:33 AM

From the limited edition LP/DVD of the same name, "Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion" is a perfect foggy morning song, and not just because it has "foggy" in the title. Every stitch of the song seems to reflect the foggy mornings in San Francisco, where Thee Oh Sees call home: the eerie singing saw treatments, the folk-tinged guitar melody, and John Dwyer and Brigid Dawson's misty, reverbed voices fluttering into the air. It's less than two minutes long, but it's enough to get lost in very quickly. Use your headlights.

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Monday, June 21, 2010

$0.01 An Open Letter to Mercury Music Editor Ezra Caraeff

Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 9:53 AM

Dear Ezra:
The next review you write will be about this band... or else.
Sincerely,
Wm. Steven Humphrey
Editor
Portland Mercury

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Thursday, February 18, 2010

$0.01 From the archives: King Biscuit Time

Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 2:16 PM

I had one of those nights where you scatter out and go through a bunch of old music. It'd been a while since I'd listened to King Biscuit Time, the side project of Stephen Mason, who was once upon a time singer of the Beta Band.

"No Style," King Biscuit Time's EP from 2000 now sounds so far ahead of it's time. It's sample heavy, yet organic. Have a listen to the lead single:

King Biscuit Time - "I Walk The Earth"

The whole EP is thoroughly great. What's more you can buy the whole damn thing from Amazon.com for just $0.99.

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

$0.01 / Contest Patti Smith Interview (and Book Giveaway!)

Posted by Alison Hallett on Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 12:31 PM

I interviewed Patti Smith last week, in anticipation of her appearance next week at the Bagdad. She'll be reading from her new book, Just Kids, about her lifelong friendship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Here's what I wrote in this week's paper:

WHEN PATTI SMITH was 20 years old, she packed up and left her New Jersey hometown for the Big Apple, leaving behind her family and a string of miserable factory jobs. When she arrived in New York, she met the boy who would first become her lover, and then her lifelong friend: photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Smith is a bona fide rock legend, renowned as much for her progressive politics and tireless activism as for her contributions to music. But her new memoir is not intended as a "history of punk rock," as Smith herself told me in our interview. Sure, it's full of anecdotes about living in the Chelsea Hotel in the 1970s, of meeting Allen Ginsberg and Jimi Hendrix—but at its heart, it's an account of the friendship that grew between two young artists who were just beginning to find their way in the world. The black-and-white photographs that punctuate Just Kids are almost unbearably poignant: The two wide-eyed kids will go on to redefine their respective art forms. Somewhere along the way, they'll get old. Worse: In 1989, Mapplethorpe will die of AIDS. Twenty years later, Just Kids is Smith's incredibly moving tribute to her lost friend.

The complete transcript of our interview is after the jump, minus the parts where I'm stammering incoherently because I'm talking to someone I consider basically the coolest woman on the planet.

I've got a spare copy of her book, Just Kids—email me with "Patti Smith" in the subject line by noon tomorrow for a chance to win it, I'll pick someone at random.

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Friday, February 27, 2009

$0.01 More Gushing over the Reading Frenzy Benefit at Holocene

Posted by Alison Hallett on Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 4:30 PM

Ned already mentioned the upcoming Reading Frenzy benefit at Holocene, but to my admittedly fevered fan-brain, his post lacked the appropriate level of enthusiasm for the fact that Corin Tucker will be performing a solo show. I mean yes, he posted a huge picture of her face, and the headline of his post was "Corin Tucker to play Reading Frenzy benefit " but... still. Tucker provided the vocals for the greatest rock band Portland has ever produced, and unlike the other members of Sleater-Kinney, she's largely avoided the spotlight since the band broke up. From the Call the Doctor days through the end, her voice is what kept me listening to the band (I know, a controversial position). Like here:

This song makes me crrrry. Plus! In addition to Tucker, music from Tu Fawning, Golden Bears, and rumored special guests Mirah and Explode into Colors; Carrie Brownstein will screen one of the Thunderant shorts she makes with Fred Armisen; and there are readings on the docket by Northline author Willy Vlautin (I will not embarrass myself here by describing just how much I like Willy Vlautin) and Arthur Bradford, author of Dogwatcher and creator of How's Your News.

It pretty much could not be a better show. Wait yes it could, Janet Weiss could swoop in for a Sleater-Kinney reunion. Eh?

Next Thursday at Holocene. Tickets are apparently going fast—it's $20 advance or $8-20 sliding scale at the door, but waiting til day-of to score an $8 ticket does not seem like a prudent strategy. Buy them here.

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