This Week in the Mercury
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Thursday, July 31, 2008
News Au to Tour With Deerhoof and the Dodos, but not Dodohoof (Because There is no Such Band)
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 3:32 PM
Hey you, Au, nice tour you just landed. Separate jaunts with two of the Bay Area's finest acts, Deerhoof and the Dodos, is mighty impressive.
But why no Portland shows on this tour? I was nice and didn't even make fun of your accidental drum circle during your previous hometown show, the least you could do is play here alongside both Deerhoof and the Dodos. Please?
Non-Portland tour dates after the jump.
Photo: Pat Kehoe
MP3 New Album Preview From Bears!
Posted by Rob Simonsen on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 3:11 PM
Not to be confused with the Bears that gave us the terrifyingly amazing "Super Bowl Shuffle," Cleveland, Ohio's Bears are heavy on the indie pop and light on the awkward synchronized dancing.
For the time being the band is offering up, via Myspace, four tracks from their forthcoming album Simple Machinery. All four tracks are great, sounding like a mixture of the Lucksmiths and Acid House Kings, but it is the re-recorded version of "Wait and See" that has been on extended repeat this afternoon. The harmonies in that song are ridiculous, and it is proving to be the perfect counterbalance to the crippling hangover I have today from the Titus Andronicus show last night.
Simple Machinery is out sometime in September, but you can pre-order it direct from the band here.
MP3 Moonshot Manny
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 2:47 PM
In honor of the biggest baseball trade in quite some time, the End Hits sports desk (which is just myself sitting alone under this poster) brings you the greatest, and only, song ever written about Manny Ramirez.
It's not the finest work of the usually untouchable Joe Pernice, but when you normally write depressing pop songs about killing yourself, it's hard to transition over to penning something about a dreadlocked baseball player known for his bizarre behavior.
LISTEN:
Joe Pernice - "Moonshot, Manny (Pega Luna, Manny)"
MP3 / Tonight! Babydollar$ - Tonight!
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 2:16 PM
- Ann Ploeger
Toussaint Perrault has been all over the place. He's a member of Tu Fawning. He's played with Ape Shape, Laura Gibson, Evolutionary Jass Band, and a bajillion other projects. Heck, he even used to write for the Mercury. Still, he's found time to release an album under his Babydollar$ moniker. It's called If You Were My Homegirl, You'd Be Home By Now, Girl.
I am undecided as to how I feel about that title.
Anyway, Perrault is wrapping up a short series of Babydollar$ gigs tonight, outdoors at Moxie Rx at N Mississippi and Shaver. Larry Yes and Ralf Youtz (in Youtz's farewell show to Portland) are also on the bill, and movies will be projected onto the exterior wall of Mississippi Records. Should be fun. Things get rolling at 7:30 and it will only cost you the very reasonable price of FREE.
I'll have more to say about the Babydollar$ record tomorrow here on End Hits. In the meantime, take a listen to one of the tracks:
LISTEN:
Babydollar$ - "Ghost Dance"
News Help the Prids, Then Shut Up and Dance
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 1:45 PM
After that terrible van accident, it's time for Portland to show some love to the Prids. The heavyhitting DJ Gregarious has assembled one mighty benefit raffle that will take place during his Shut Up & Dance night this Friday at the Fez. Prizes include a $125 session at Tiger Lilly Tattoo, tickets to the Faint and Squeeze, gift certificates to Everyday Music, Dot's, Dirty Little Secret Salon & tons more.
The raffle also includes one majestic grand prize entitled "The Common People Package: Dance & Drink & Screw" (get it?) with dinner for two at the Fish Grotto, free dancing at Shut Up & Dance, a liver-destroying night of free drinking with yours truly, and, most important, a night in a fancy local hotel.
And while I'm a little reluctant (and yet a little flattered as well) to be personally packaged in a prize that includes "screwing," I hope the winners understand that I won't be there for that part of the evening. Unless, you know, they're into that sort of thing. I can write a review of it. Or maybe live-blog it.
Click here to view the flyer and full prize list.
Tonight! Torche - Tonight!
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 10:48 AM
BORIS, TORCHE, LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) It's a timeless debate: Ought truly filthy metal bands let the dreaded "hook" into the mix? Doesn't that, by way of some mysterious and storied rock 'n' roll tablature, go against the grain of what metal is supposed to be? I don't have the answer, but Torche doesn't give a hoot what you think anyway. Hydra Head's latest doom-metal wunderkinds are basking in the wake of their second full-length album, Meanderthal-an absolutely punishing breed of crushing rock and surprisingly catchy melodicism-and have taken steps to cobble the dirt road of stoner metal for the sophisticated listener. It's a melding that's in close stead to the fringe-pop meanderings of groups like Cave In, applying just a pinch of mainstream resonance to an otherwise scathing miasma of underground rock noise. Just when you thought every metal band had to sound like Isis (or actually be in Isis) to get things moving... RYAN J. PRADO
LISTEN:
Torche - "Grenades"
Photo: joh m
MP3 This Week's Mercury Music Section
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Another week, another Mercury music section to read while you work on your slam dunking skills. #6, the one with the beer-chugging, is easily my favorite. I could watch that all day, every day.
The Prids somehow walk away from a horrific touring accident (see above photo), but vow to carry on.
LISTEN:
The Prids - "Molest the Outer Heart"
Owen (Kinsella alert!) tours with new songs and a desire not to sleep on your floor. Huh, that's a pretty uppity attitude for a dude who also plays in a Fugazi cover band. Ian MacKaye would sleep on my floor, after lecturing it about moshing. That made no sense.
LISTEN:
Owen - "The Sad Waltzes of Pietro Crespi"
All the old punks in the house, put 'em up, put 'em up. Resist take us back to a time when Portland (and local punk music) was a scary scary place.
LISTEN:
Resist - "It's A Wonderful Life"
Harvey Milk dust-off the bruising avant-metal that sounds like this picture looks. Seriously, if every band photo was like that, I'd be a much happier person.
LISTEN:
Harvey Milk - "The Boy With Bosoms"
MP3 Blitzen Trapper Share a Little Furr
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 8:29 AM
A couple weeks back we shared the first details on Blitzen Trapper's Furry-themed rock opera new album, Furr.
Now thanks to Urban Outfitters (huh?), you can listen to the title track of the album. "Furr" is a wonderful little song, which makes the wait until the album's September 23rd release all that more challenging. How come a clothing store that sells ironic t-shirts has a copy of the record and we don't? That ain't right.
LISTEN:
Blitzen Trapper - "Furr"
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tonight! Titus Andronicus Looks at Paintings, Rocks Out
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 4:45 PM
With a name cribbed from one of Shakespeare's more obscure plays, New Jersey's Titus Andronicus seem to be teeter on the mighty thin line between righteous rock glory and arty pretentiousness. The subject matter of their songs don't necessarily help either, like this one:
LISTEN:
Titus Andronicus - "Upon Viewing Brueghel's Landscape With the Fall of Icarus"
(Here's what the painting looks like, by the way):
Pieter Brueghel the Elder - Landscape With the Fall of Icarus
BUT WAIT... The song probably doesn't sound what you think it sounds like. This is bashing, fist-pumping, blustery, punk(ish) rock 'n' roll, with lyrics like: "God sent me a vision of the future in a dream on a Saturday night/and I see no reason to celebrate, for when I saw it I wept like a child./It came to me like a knife in the chest."
Ooookay, that's pretty arty. But the song brings it, and you should definitely go to their show tonight. In the meantime, you can read more about Titus Andronicus here, if you haven't yet already.
And tonight's show at Holocene has a giant bill, with the likes of Faunts, Sad Horse, Hot Victory, and Rob Walmart. Holy crap. It's gonna be a late night.
After their show tonight, Titus Andronicus plays in an undisclosed location tomorrow night somewhere in Eugene.
News Bandago Comes to Portland
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 4:01 PM
Vroom! Vroom!
Almost three years ago (to the day) I wrote about Bandago, the independent van rental company for musicians, by musicians, and now word comes in that they have opened a Portland office.
Turns out that the local office (2617 SE 17th) has been open for a few months now, but the company is still establishing itself in town (and in Seattle, which I assume is a large market for them as well). Since Bandago is "the first van rental company in the US to be 100% carbon neutral," I think they'll fit in just fine here in Portland.
Their band-friendly vans are primed for touring, and their fancy Sprinter model even feature wi-fi, since everyone knows a band that doesn't update their MySpace blog is an irrelevant band. It's not the most affordable option (not touring is), but it's a perfect fit for traveling acts that don't own have a reliable ride of their own.
MP3 The Shaky Hands - "We Are Young"
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 3:33 PM
We previously talked about the rorschach-y cover artwork, so we might as well share a tune from Lunglight, the brand new LP from the Shaky Hands. The record is out on September 9th, and no word yet on who is handling percussion duties now that longtime drummer Colin Anderson has left the band.
Perhaps they'll get this thing as their new drummer.
LISTEN:
The Shaky Hands - "We Are Young"
Video The Penny Jam Takes Laura Gibson to the Museum
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 2:32 PM
The one thing I know about fans of Laura Gibson is that they love Chinese Dinosaur bones. Sort of like how Jimmy Buffet fans like Hawaiian shirts and spending my inheritance on overpriced margaritas and cheap weed (Mom, this means you).
Anyway, Gibson followers are now in luck since the awesome crew at The Penny Jam has filmed the soft-voiced folksinger performing a pair of songs ("Where Have All Your Good Words Gone" and "Come by Storm") at OMSI inside their dinosaur exhibit. The shots of Gibson performing beneath the majestic skeletons are absolutely stunning, it's almost enough to overlook the fact that dinosaurs are just a Darwinistic myth spread by the Jew-run liberal media. Would you like to subscribe to my newsletter?
We can make that joke because we're Jewish. And a dinosaur.
MP3 Atole - "Satyricow"
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 8:59 AM
The hotshit dancefloor burners in Atole have dropped a track from their upcoming Voices EP. The "mostly-live teaser EP" features their "Maximal Techno" jam, plus the excellent Copy remix of "Satiricow" which we posted below.
Wait, Satiricow? What the hell is that? Did they misspell the word "satirical"? Or do they mean Satyricon?
I am confoosed.
LISTEN:
Atole - "Satyricow" (Copy remix)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
News MFNW Announces Nike Shows
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 9:25 PM
MusicFest NW has announced the lineup for their super secret somewhat exclusive Nike daytime shows:
Thursday September 4th - No Age, Battles
Friday September 5th - Britt Daniel, Built to Spill (performing Perfect From Now On)
Saturday September 6th - Ratatat, Les Savy Fav
OMG! MFNW! LS SVY FV! NOAGE! RATATAT! All performances take place at the Wonder Ballroom (4:30pm doors, 5:30pm show), and to gain access, follow these instructions:
please pick up a free Nike Sportswear pass available at either Jackpot Records locations starting at 10 am on the day of each show or be admitted with a MFNW wristband. Admission to these shows will be based on a first come first serve basis.
Not to be outdone, the Mercury is teaming with British Knights for some totally badass concerts. In my basement. Okay, my mom's basement. Dymacel power!
Video M83 - "Kim & Jessie"
Posted by Rob Simonsen on Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 2:45 PM
Love is apparently made up of sacrifices (or so I've heard). And while the new video for M83's "Kim & Jessie" seems like a simple enough love story between two roller skaters clad in pink leotards and some brooding boys (with some sweet synchronized dancing mixed in), wow, the dark undertones are inescapable.
Really, who gives up (spoiler alert!) their roller skates for a pair of roller blades?! And for a boy, no less?
Sorry, M83, I would do anything for love, but I won't do that.
Let's Talk About... Let's Talk About... Slapstick
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 1:42 PM
We have few rules here at End Hits:
Don't let Rob write about Morrissey.
Don't let Andrew drink Zima and drunkenly blog.
And, most importantly, no ska. Ever.
Yet here we are.
Slapstick was the ska (*cough, technically, ska-core, cough*) forefathers of Alkaline Trio. In honor of that band falling the fuck off, it's fair to examine their rude boy roots.
Somehow more tolerable than most ska acts, Slapstick were reckless enough to woo the punk kids, had enough horns for the skankers, and were respectable enough for me not to feel (that much) shame for still owning their out-of-print Lookit debut. They only lasted a few years (before splitting into a ton of bands, including Lawrence Arms and the aforementioned Alkaline Trio), which most likely adds to their mystique.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that if Reel Big Fish had broken up in the mid-'90s they'd be any better... although it would have made the world a much better place.
PICK IT UP! PICK IT UP!
Slapstick - "Nate B."
MP3 Girls Rock! The Soundtrack
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 12:40 PM
Last year's Girls Rock! documentary was a blast. The locally-produced film offered up an inspiring glimpse at the power of the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls as seen through the eyes of the campers, their parents, and the patient camp staff. You can view the trailer here, our kind review here, and a ridiculously cruel WW review here.
Now the film has a soundtrack, appropriately titled Girls Rock! The Soundtrack, out on Sarah Dougher's Cherchez la Femme Projects label. Featuring 15 tracks featured in the film, the artists run the gamet from the expected participants (Sonic Youth, Low), to local heavy-hitters (The Gossip, The Blow, Viva Voce), and even some past camp participants (Blübird) as well. But the best song has to be the opening number, the sing-along "Camp Theme Song" which establishes the mood and foundation for both the film and the soundtrack.
LISTEN:
2004 Summer Campers (w/ Rachel Blumberg, Carrie Brownstein & more) - "Camp Theme Song"
Girls Rock! The Soundtrack will be available on August 12th.
Tonight! Alkaline Trio - Tonight!
Posted by Rob Simonsen on Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Will somebody please tell me what in the hell happened to Alkaline Trio? Not that they were ever the best band in the world (actually, I think they hold the title of being one of the worst live bands I have ever seen, proven by the butchered version of "Message From Kathleen" above), but Goddamnit! and Maybe I'll Catch Fire (and, fine, From Here to Infirmary too) were some great slices of pop punk goodness.
Now they are just a parody of themselves, having awkward appearances on the Hills, and writing the most generic, Hot Topic friendly psuedo-goth mall punk. Every time a band falls this far (I'm looking at you, Jimmy Eat World), it makes me think I was wrong for loving them in the first place.
Needless to say, there will be no guyliner, no spiked belts, no drinking straight vodka until I puke, and no awkward calls to mom to come pick me up after my friends totally ditch me after I call Dan's new girlfriend Kate kind of mean, in my future tonight.
Let's Talk About... Notes from Airpot Purgatory
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 11:45 AM
OK, quick post from Bryant Park in NY.
It's fucking beautiful here, outside in the sunshine. This is the way to work... that is, only if you've got to.
The whole scene is made all the more beautiful by the fact that I am finally free from two days of airline and airport purgatory. Missed flights, thunderstorms, bumps, arguments, and more missed flights. But for all the troubles, things actually worked out for the best. I got stranded in L.A. for a night and was fortunate enough to see two shows.
First was Mt. Egypt, who played at a surf shop with the talented young kids from Simon Dawes backing. Killer mellow, life-affirming stuff. Check out this older track, "Can You Feel The Wind"
Later that night it was Rumspringa at a warehouse. This felt real, real good at the time. Some of the best live-looping I've ever seen, especially when the duo branched out from blues rock into stranger scapes and Arabian scales. It isn't coming across nearly as well in the recordings...
Oh, and finally, a sweet story about a musician doing his tour via canoe down the Erie Canal--all 500 some-odd miles of it. That's right, Fuck You Gas Prices!
Tonight! The Subways - Tonight!
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 11:22 AM
THE SUBWAYS, FIST FITE
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Oh, man. The Subways! Long time since I heard that name! I remember I used to tell Ryan he had to listen to them, but he was always too busy getting all broody over Marissa. Don't ask me, man-he was always rocking to Journey, like they had anything on Jem or Keane or Rooney! But yeah, last summer the Subways came through and played the Bait Shop. I went alone, but c'mon-ever since Ryan moved to Berkeley with Taylor, and ever since Summer "reassessed things" and disappeared into thin air with that dude who looks like Anakin Skywalker, it's not like the ol' iCal has been overflowing, right? Anyway, I've seen better crowds at the Bait Shop. When I walked in, I was all, "Whoa, is this the Bait Shop or the Fortress of Solitude?" The Subways, who were the only other people there, didn't think that was very funny. I wish Alex still worked there-she always thought I was pretty funny. But now she's gone, too. Just like everybody else... Sometimes, when I'm trying to fall asleep, I whisper into Captain Oats' ear how lonely I am. SETH COHEN
Podcast New Episode of Your Radio Sucks
Posted by Christine S. Blystone on Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Your Radio Sucks combines the finest minerals and manure to give your growing plants the nutrients they need. Look how green they are! Our resident green thumb, Ned Lannamann, plays music from the Loved, CSS, Titus Andronicus, Ida Maria, Chikita Violenta (pictured), Azeda Booth, Ponytail, and Harvey Milk. If your plant could talk, it would say, "Turn it up!" Or, it might say "Feed me, Seymour!" and then eat you alive.
Get your listening on here.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Live Review Fleet Foxes at Doug Fir, Fri July 25 (Now with Photos!)
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 4:17 PM
Update! We now have Liza Lubell's photographs to accompany this post.
While much of the post-weekend attention should deservedly be devoted to PDX Pop Now, there were some other shows in town this weekend also--too many, in fact. It was difficult to decide what to do with one's self, with No Age, Sharon Jones, the Hold Steady, Girl Talk, and Jay Reatard all performing at the same time as the weekend-long local music festival. Oh, and Fleet Foxes.
News James Brown Live at the Apollo screening Fri August 8
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 2:51 PM
Jackpot Records is hosting a FREE showing of a 1968 James Brown concert--a great opportunity to see the legend in action, especially for those of us who never got the chance while the Godfather of Soul was still alive. Watch a trailer here.
The action goes down at the Secret Society Ballroom (116 NE Russell, right next to the Wonder) on Friday, August 8. Doors open at 8 pm and the film starts at 9 pm, followed by a dance party of James Brown floor-shakers that goes until 1 am. This is a free event, but it is 21 and over.
MP3 Portland Phones It In
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Broadcast out of Providence, RI, Phoning It In is a radio program where select artists are dialed up, briefly interviewed, and then give intimate concerts via the telephone. It's an interesting concept (like Black Cab Sessions, but stationary!), and the site has opened their archives to the public for your streaming/downloading pleasure.
The program is quite fond of Portland music and their archives (which date back to 2005) feature a slew of local acts, including: Nire, Scout Niblett, Tara Jane O'Neil, Kind of Like Spitting, Watery Graves, Ross Beach, Jeff London & Corrina Repp, Sarah Dougher, and Thanksgiving.
The interviews themselves tend to be very awkward in a college radio sort of way ("um, um, um"), but there is just something terribly charming in hearing a performer--out of their proper element--singing their heart out into a phone's receiver. Below is Laura Veirs, live from a New York hotel room.
LISTEN:
Laura Veirs - Phoning It In Session (05/22/08)
Video New Take Away Shows From El Perro Del Mar And Lykke Li!
Posted by Rob Simonsen on Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:20 AM
Swedes unite! Both El Perro Del Mar and Lykke Li, who stopped by the Doug Fir together not too long ago, have new concerts up for the always wonderful La Blogotheque. I'm not the biggest Lykke Li fan in the world (man, that "Can I Kick It?" cover is great though), but I love me some EPDM, and the two of them together have a nice chemistry that can't really be denied.
Above is them doing "Somebody's Baby," and El Perro track, but there's a couple more videos over at the La Blogotheque website, so if you want to see Lykke Li doing "Dance Dance Dance," you should probably head that way.
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