This Week in the Mercury
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.
News Read The Newspaper!
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Three good things to share from today's Arts section of the NY Times; something local, something old and something to make you laugh (but only a chuckle under your breath).
1.) More Than Just a Theater, With More Than Just an Audience, a nice little bit of history on the 75th anniversary of the Apollo Theatre.
2.) Putting virgin turds in their place. REVIEW: Jonas Bros Movie
“Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” isn’t a movie so much as a devotional object, a kind of secular fetish designed to induce rapture. Submitting to the experience requires initiation into the teenybopper cult of the Jonas brothers trinity — Joe, Kevin and Nick — purveyors of innocuous, repetitive guitar pop and the kind of bland sexuality that provokes a certain type of teenage girl to wait 72 hours in the rain in Times Square for a chance to glimpse the godhead.
More About This MovieDirected with slick banality by Bruce Hendricks, “Jonas Brothers” consists of concert footage from a 2008 Madison Square Garden spectacular supplemented by ridiculous behind-the-scenes tidbits: the brothers pull up to a Virgin Megastore for the midnight release of their new album, fend off a throng of screaming fans, purchase three copies, then pile back into the limo and drive away.
The default camera position places the viewer in a sea of teenage fists clutching glow sticks, cameras or cellphones. Guitar picks are repeatedly — three dimensionally! — chucked at the screen. If you’ve ever wanted to crawl into Kevin’s chest hair, this is as close as you’re likely to get without incurring a restraining order.
3.) In the upcoming concerts section Amanda Petrusich writes Blitzen Trapper are "often — and accurately — compared to Pavement..." Am I fucking crazy? Blitzen Trapper doesn't remind me of Pavement one bit. Pavement is willfully shambolic where BT are finely tuned, filled out and polished—pop mapped out almost overly so. They're both sort of nerdy, but Pavement are slackers where BT seems more like math-class overachievers. Not to mention the BT singer is pretty dang obsessed with acoustic 60's folk, where Pavement comes from, what, 80's punk...? This is crazy... no, no and no. And, most of all, I loves me some Pavement and can't stand Blitzen Trapper.
Your thoughts?
MP3 Panther Sets a Bridge on Fire, Escapes to Europe
Posted by Ezra Ace Caraeff on Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 3:28 PM
Actual photo of Panther burning a bridge.
In honor of Panther's very first tour to Europe—where they will backpack across the countryside, stay at hostels, and totally find themselves—the band is releasing a new 12" EP entitled The Birds on Altin Village Records.
A track from the EP is below, and be sure to send the band off at their show this Saturday at the Hush. Tell them everything you know about Europe, which is pretty much just limited to secondhand stories about gypsies, and what you learned from watching National Lampoon's European Vacation.
LISTEN:
Panther - "Like A Bridge On Fire"
I'm Drunk! Bands the World Can Do Without
Posted by Maranda Bish on Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 2:23 PM
I was thinking. I was thinking that there is a unique status that belongs to bands that you don't hate, that don't make your blood boil with murderous rage (for me, for example, this would be Limp Bizkit...GRRR), but that you would be OK to never hear speak of again. I have solemnly concluded that one of these bands I feel this way about is Aerosmith, as implicated by their activity from around the Clinton years on.
I can't deny that the band did have a golden era, uniquely styling that early '70's feel with powerful jams like "Dream On" (later bastardized by Enimem...another one of my blood boilers). In the ensuing years they made some good videos (see above), and Steven Tyler made a real good-lookin' daughter.
But dammit, the world really did not need their cover of "Come Together", and that song from Armageddon continues to suck souls daily on soft-rock radio. Also, I am offended by the gratuitous amount of scarves that can be seen draped around Stephen Tyler's mic stand during live shows. Ultimately, I think it is the band's seemingly self-determined descent into standard, generic rock (new descriptor: generiROCK? Does that work?) that turned them into ghosts of themselves and makes me turn away in indifference.
Yeah, I could do without, forever. Sorry Aerosmith. What about y'all? Any bands you feel this way about?
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MP3 Luck-One Introduces "Coolax" Into the Verbal Lexicon
Posted by Ezra Ace Caraeff on Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 10:20 AM
We all know chillax (as in Dynamix's ode to public transportation, "Chillaxin On The Max"), but is there room in our personal vocabudomes (that's where the words go!) for coolax?
Yes.
Yes, there is.
"Coolax" is just one of the many standout jams on the excellent Beautiful Music EP from local emcee Luck-One (along with beat maker Dekk). A rarity among fresh-faced rhymers, Luck-One eschews youthful bravado in favor of the carefully assembles "Coolax," with its patient and political lines and building chorus. His release show is on the 5th of March at Berbati's, show some local pride and make your presence known.
LISTEN:
Luck-One & Dekk - "Coolax"
Thursday, February 26, 2009
News It's Lil' Wayne, BITCH!
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Oh shit yeah—that's right. Weezy F. B. and his questionable live show is coming to the Rose City.
I suppose the only thing left to do, other than getting tickets, is set the odds and start the betting on whether or not Young Carter shows up. 3-2 that he doesn't? 2-1? Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. (Also show up late to miss Gym Class Heros (really Wayne?) and pray for no guitar solos.)
Lil’ Wayne "I Am Music Tour" at Rose Garden Apr 2Tickets On Sale Mon, Mar 2 at 5pm
Who: Lil’ Wayne with special guests Gym Class Heroes and Keri Hilson
When: Thu., Apr 2, 2009 - 7:30p
Where: Rose Quarter - Rose Garden
Tickets: Tickets are priced at $39.75, $59.75 & $79.75. Tickets go on sale Monday, March 2nd at 5p and can be purchased at the Rose Quarter Box Office (M-F 10a-5p), all participating Safeway/ Tickets West outlets, by calling 877.789.ROSE (7673), or at ComcastTIX.com. For more information please visit RoseQuarter.com. Prices do not include service charges. To receive event notices, pre-sale opportunities, discounts and prizes join our free Rose Quarter CyberClub at RoseQuarter.com.
I beg of you: Buy these suckers anywhere but from Comcast. (Their menu service sucks, the on-demand thing is shit, they're holding the Blazer games hostage and, worst of all, remember when they took over broadband from AT&T and immediately jacked up the price $10 per month? Technology and service is supposed to get cheaper over time, not more expensive as it becomes more abundant. EAT SHIT AND DIE, COMCAST MONOPOLY!)
News Grouper to Tour with Animal Collective
Posted by Ezra Ace Caraeff on Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Hearty knuckle-bumps go out to Liz Harris and Grouper, who have been hand-picked for the much coveted opening slot on the upcoming Animal Collective tour. This includes the (almost sold out) May 25th show at the Roseland.
Tour dates after the jump... just in case you feel like loading up the AstroVan and following this tour from city to city.
Thanks to Cary for the tip.
MP3 Dark Was the Night: Spoon is Well, Alright
Posted by Ezra Ace Caraeff on Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 8:13 AM
In honor of the excellent Dark Was the Night compilation—out last week, with all proceeds lining the pockets of the Red Hot Organization—here is one more contribution from a (sort of) local act:
LISTEN:
Spoon - "Well-Alright"
First off, doesn't "Well-Alright" sound like something Spoon would title any of their songs?
While it's clearly not the best song on this double-disc compilation—that honor most likely belongs to Sharon Jones' cover of the Shuggie Otis classic, "Inspiration Information"—Spoon's effort is hardly a wasted track. Feeling like a demo that never received the proper Jim Eno production sheen, "Well-Alright" is closer to the raw Britt Daniel material from his Home IV split with Conor Oberst. My lone question, when Daniel talks about "fighting in the attic with hungry ghosts," is he referring to this guy?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Video The Boy Least Likely To - "A Balloon On a Broken String"
Posted by Rob Simonsen on Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 5:02 PM
A Balloon On A Broken String from The Boy Least Likely To on Vimeo.
Normally I would not recommend an indie pop band with a Morrissey-referencing name to anyone that wasn't myself, but I have no qualms with linking to the The Boy Least Likely To, a fantastic UK-duo about to release to release their second full length album, Law of the Playground.
This new song and video for "A Balloon On a Broken String" are, of course, adorable. The breathy-vocals, the xylophone, the synth-line, the shakers, the hand claps, and the "shoo-be-dos" and "tra-la-las" are just about what you would expect, but pretty damn great regardless. Here's to hoping the rest of the new record can live up to not only the last record but this slice of goodness as well.
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Live Review Awwwwwww Au!
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 3:44 PM
Photo clearly not taken at the Holocene
SHORTEST, BLURRIEST, LAZIEST SHOW REVIEW EVER: AU @ HOLOCENE, 2/19/08
I caught a chunk of Au last Thursday at Holocene. As usual, they were fucking incredible. However, there was something relatively unusual about this particular performance: it was just two of 'em, mastermind composer Luke Wyland and drummer Dana Valatka. The amount of joy and ruckus that came out of the duo was insane, and dare I say Valatka was every bit as important as Wyland. He was killing the drums, an ace of speed and precision, moving from thrash to pseudo-melodic cowbell/woodblock, to keeping it simple and serving the song, singing all the while. Ferocious. Wyland played on numerous keyboards, blew into melodica, did a little bit of looping and kept it sharp and thick with a big grin on his face all the while.
I used to think that Wyland's shit eating grin was a result of having so many musicians on stage, blowing his ideas sky high. I was wrong.
The last few times Au has played in Portland it's been with a gigantic ensemble of local musicians singing, banging and sharing. September's TBA performance was just an insane builder... the entrance of the drum core from all corners of the room, the matching lady singers and the painted chorus... good Lord it was something—a shimmering, glorious cacophony. I felt for the rest of the country, and for Au themselves, that a tour of this scope was impossible (at least for now).
But taking on the road as a duo tuned Wyland and Valatka into a fiercely strong machine. And though playing with a 20 person ensemble is something incredibly special, the two have managed to make their stripped-down show equally worthwhile. One one hand there's inclusive community of the ensemble. On the other there's a special one-on-one musical, almost telepathic connection which highlights the extreme amount of technical ability, creativity and talent harnessed by Wyland and Valatka. And in their own ways, each is a beautiful spectacle.
Tonight! Hey, What's Going On Tonight?
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 2:43 PM
Glad you asked!
MURDER BY DEATH
If you sing like Nick Cave, then you might as well really sing like Nick Cave. This includes penning your own bloody ballads, and various other dim tales of struggle and woe, just like Murder by Death frontman Adam Turla does on the band's latest, Red of Tooth and Claw. Like an Americanized Cave weaned on a steady diet of '90s punk and backed by his own personal Bad Seeds, Turla makes up for the lack of hopefulness with a deep sense of melody and drama, two factors best experienced on the band's finest four minutes and 11 seconds, the gorgeous "Fuego!" A love song to what might as well be a ghost ("the bones show through her skin"), "Fuego!" restlessly thrashes for the unattainable before smoldering out in its lusty conclusion. EZRA ACE CARAEFF
w/Ryan Sollee, Fake Problems, My Life in Black and White; Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd, 9 pm, $12
THANK YOU, MI AMI
Grouping two former members of Black Eyes—guitarist/vocalist Daniel Martin-McCormick and bassist Jacob Long—with drummer Damon Palermo, Mi Ami's shriek-fuck gamelan disco is both repellant and strangely seductive. With the release of their ominously titled Watersports album, the band touches upon joyous pop thrash with "New Guitar," but first single "Echononecho" is more indicative of the weirdness that Mi Ami revel in, like Prince's falsetto fronting a very drunken punk band doing Fela Kuti covers. It's both at odds and strangely complementary to their tourmates, the mundanely titled Thank You, who distend their Boredoms-style percussive music into stretched-Silly Putty jams where nothing and everything happens at the same time. This should be a very disorienting evening.
LISTEN:
Mi Ami - "Echononecho"
LISTEN:
Thank You - "Embryo Imbroglio"
w/Paint & Copter; Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th, 9 pm, $7
THE MORNING BENDERS, THE SUBMARINES
This is a double bill bound to paste a smile on that wintry mug of yours; the Morning Benders play shuffling, sloping rock while the Submarines' perfect pop songs are so magnanimously sunny they make Mates of State sound like the Bickersons. The two bands recently teamed up for a split 7-inch in which they covered each others songs, so the love is going in every direction tonight.
LISTEN:
The Morning Benders - "1940" (cover of Submarines song)
w/the Mumlers; Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $10
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
MP3 Live At Dunes
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 3:57 PM
Looking for a list of upcoming shows I went to the Dunes website. In typical barely-legal fashion there is no list. In its place, however, are a bunch of live mp3's, recorded in the tight space. There are some good ones too, including tracks from Yacht, Panther, The Hunches, Yellow Swans and even a few from touring acts like Sunn 0)), Black Mountain, and my personal favorites, the Fuse (that show was fucking crazy by the way... they are missed.)
Anyway, you can find and download the aforementioned mp3's here. In the meantime, check out the Fuse:
News Starfucker Prep Mini-LP
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 3:40 PM
It's already time for more Starfucker. You knew it was coming.
The band's second release is going to be called Jupiter, and is an eight-song, 26 minute "mini-LP," or "EP," depending on where you're standing. It'll showcase some of the band's recent live favorites and—if such a thing is possible—be even more dancey than their self-titled debut. Release date is sometime this spring ("May?" suggests Starfucker's MySpace page) and it will include their cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," which as Dylan from Badman points out, "recently made it to internet aggregator elbo.ws’ Top 2 of blog downloads." Like the first record, the vinyl version (on 180-gm vinyl) will include bonus music not on the cd.
Get ready!
Tonight! Unnatural Helpfulness: What Do You Entail?
Posted by Maranda Bish on Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Perhaps it's a phenomenon limited to small-town coastal educational institutions, but at my high school there was this club called The Natural Helpers that everybody wanted to be in. Kids voted in their classmates based on which peers they found to be the most, every so vaguely, helpful. Then, those selected (including yours truly) were sanctimoniously inducted via exclusive overnight retreats and further illustrious training in (again, vague) helpfulness.
I mostly remember eating lots of Red Vines and watching cautionary videos about the spread of STDs, but I'm sure I picked up some of my invaluable social skills there as well. Now, I don't doubt that the program had good intentions, but it also had the unfortunate effect of making some of us feel like we were so much better than everybody else. This is an assertion that plagues my psyche to this day, despite ensuing years of demonstrated mediocrity.
To which I say: damn you elitist grooming group! And this is why I'm very interested in learning what kind of background Seattle band Unnatural Helpers have.
As teens, were they bitter rejects from the selective society I took part in? Or, is there a wholly separate organization that stands as the antithesis, the alien enemy even, of everything the NH stood for? I'm dying to know, and luckily can find out tonight when the band comes down to play at Slabtown.
Here's some of what I do know about the Helpers: the "Dutchess" half of Seattle sensations The Dutchess and the Duke puts in time in this band as well, and along with the local Pity Fucks they'll be playing in support of the touring Tyvek, a group doing really interesting stuff.
If the tale of my teenage plight for worthiness didn't convince you to check out the show, just give this song a listen, and surely the killer drumbeat and clanging guitar will.
LISTEN:
Unnatural Helpers—Heavy Sugar
Song thanks to Dean from the band!
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Tonight! / MP3 Moving Objects With One's Mind
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 12:17 PM
It's always a delight to stumble upon a new band that totally rocks your world, and it's always a surprise how quickly and completely the obsession develops. I first heard Seattle's Telekinesis a few short days ago, but I'd reckon I've listened to the debut record dozens of times already. It's the kind of approachable, perfect pop that was suited to cruising around to the fine weather we've been having. In some ways they remind me of fellow Seattleites Throw Me the Statue, in that melody trumps all. The weather's turned to shit, sadly but not unexpectedly—but the sunniness of Telekinesis hasn't broken.
LISTEN:
Telekinesis - "Coast of Carolina"
Telekinesis play tonight at the Doug Fir, opening for Ra Ra Riot and Cut Off Your Hands. They won't be in the opening slot for long, that's for sure. Here's what appeared in this week's paper:
While it's not a medical emergency, Michael Benjamin Lerner is in possession of a "heart that is afraid to love." Said organ is at the very center of Telekinesis!, the nearly identically titled debut recording from Telekinesis—the musical outfit fronted by Lerner, an otherwise obscure Seattle singer. Well, obscure until he inked a deal with the mighty Merge Records, and was taken under the wing of Death Cab guitarist Chris Walla, who rolled tape for Lerner's debut album. Telekinesis' instantaneous songs meld a carefree pop charm—not dissimilar to Walla's overlooked solo recording, Field Manual—built upon clever songwriting, modest arrangements, and an endless array of pop hooks. Much like the work of the untouchable A.C. Newman (who took the same stage a few days earlier), this is carefully assembled pop music absolute in its familiarity, yet still resonating with great creativity and charm. His heart will be just fine. EZRA ACE CARAEFF
Monday, February 23, 2009
Let's Talk About... Let's Vent
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 3:57 PM
Is this what rock and roll looks like?
Sure, it's a little slow right now. Few albums and fewer shows in the approaching days make it hard to drum up decent coverage, much-less excitement. And yeah, something about today's rain and grey feels especially rotten and slow, more like a second Sunday. But dammit, even if CD burning, record pressing, and tour van maintaining technologies are somehow lost forever, it's still not OK to talk about a Jane's Addiction reunion as if it matters.
Jane's addiction suck now and they sucked then.
Just the worst no talent hustle. Reject hippie-dippie lyrics heisted from coffee-shop poetry slam trash can. Crap musicians, crap posturing, and crap-filled leather pants. Sold-out, pussed-out, burned out pampered yuppie dad-rock appears back at the coffee-shop all night ecstasy rave with a useless, melted brain. See you at the weed expanding cosmos bong shop tapestry eating conspiracy blubbering faux mind expansion own-dick-sucking barb-wire tattoo having tramp stamp dude is crazay in make up fucking two nasty girls at the same time with his bro watching while sublime cranks in the background get out of system brah fuck you all!
NO!
Consider this the beginning of a life-long No Dave Navarro policy. I could go on (and on) but I wont. The moratorium begins now. The only thing dude needs is more daily prank calls, like he used to get from Buddyhead:
At the beggining of 2006, Travis and Joe Burns thought it would be a great idea to call Dave Navarro every day. Nine times out of ten Dave would pick up the phone and be a good sport about it. The calls would usually start a little something like this… “YEAH DAVE WHATS UP? IT’S BUCKETHEAD, LET’S JAM ON “WHORES” RIGHT NOW BRO! ME, YOU, PERKINS AND THAT WEIRD SINGER DUDE FROM PANIC CHANNEL! YEAAAAH! GRAB ONE OF YOUR KILLER PARKER FLY AXES AND MEET US AT MATES, LEAVE THE SHIRT AT HOME!”
Video Singing Actors Day! Part 3
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 3:47 PM
We love actors! Not only can they act, not only can they sing, but they can write songs too! Check out one Billy Bob Thornton, who not only wrote and starred and directed in that movie about that retarded guy who likes french fries, but composed this heartfelt love ballad!
Sample lyrics:
I walked into an elevator and you walked into the wallMmm, those two crazy panthers! Billy Bob and Angelina had a love that was destined to last forever, and thank goodness it's captured, and celebrated, in this amazingly powerful song.
You said you wanted to be with me, I never dreamed I'd have it all
But something changed that day inside me
And I believe it changed inside you too.Angelina, can you feel it?
Watching angels as they're dancing up above
Angelina, what’s come between us?
Could it be the magic and the mystery of love?They all said we’d never make it, two crazy panthers on the prowl
They all said we would only fake it, we just stared at them and growled
"Painted Soldiers" Strike Back in Nashville
Posted by Andrew Stout on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 3:27 PM
This weekend, while you were biking and boozing, Pavement reunited! Well, four of five members got back together—for one night—to play "Love Train" at percussionist/mascot Bob Nastanovich's wedding in Nashville.
So, Coachella it was not. But considering the fact the only missing member was guitarist Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg, this one-off was sweet revenge served ice-cold (and all other cliches for vindictive behavior) for the dishonorable discharge the other four suffered in the "Painted Soldiers" video. Take that Veruca Salt!
Hat tip: Pitchfork.
The Ashford & Simpson Challenge
Posted by Andrew Stout on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 2:51 PM
This morning, while avoiding eye-contact on an unusually crowded and sensual Max ride through the rain, I stayed sane by trying to figure out how many Ashford & Simpson records I could buy for $10. And which ones I should choose.
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Video Singing Actors Day! Part 2
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 2:48 PM
Yayyyy, famous actors are so cool and talented!
Despite the title of the YouTube clip below, it is not a Kevin Bacon solo performance but a performance by the Bacon Brothers.
Yes there is another Bacon OMG his name is Michael and while he is not as cute as Kevin he is just as talented! LOL!
A warning: Despite my lighthearted tone above, this clip is not to be watched casually. After viewing, you may need to call your loved ones and tell them you love them. It's pretty intense. The brothers Bacon begin with a self-composed ditty called "Peace Dance" (sample lyric: "She got the sexy motion/Oh she got the dust board paints"[?]), before humming the "na-na-na" refrain from "Here Comes the Hotstepper," and finally launching into that song from that one movie that Kevin Bacon was in.
Is there anything actors can't do?
Video Singing Actors Day! Part 1
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 2:20 PM
Yay Oscars! It's Singing Actors Day on End Hits! You thought Huge Ackman was a good singer? Wait until you check out this double-threat!
That's right, it's Joe Pesci, taking the role of his character from My Cousin Vinny for an entire album! This 1998 masterpiece includes three versions of "Yo Cousin Vinny," a cover of "What a Wonderful World," and this seminal classic:
Hooray for Hollywood! Movie stars are the bestest!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Weekend! The Earth is Not a Cold, Dead Place!!
Posted by Maranda Bish on Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 4:35 PM
I almost forgot! Thank you, sun. Hey, what are you doing this weekend?
Saturday, I'm gonna run a 5K race, then drink heck of mimosas and go see this house show. It's going to be so cool because a) the lineup consists entirely of rad local bands and b) proceeds go to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. Not to get all political on your asses, but hells yeah those kids need some relief.
Total Bros and Fuck You Safari are two fairly new collaborations between various members of the house show circuit, sure to be noisy 'n fun. Headlining are doom-glam all-girl rockers Purple Rhinestone Eagle (pictured), a damn hardworking group about to launch a several month US tour. Catch 'em before they leave.
The band I'm real excited for is Nucular Animals (I swear that's how they spell it). Their synthy-pop doo-wop loveliness makes me forget there's still weeks left of winter, and their album (out on Seattle's awesome Aphonia Recordings, which specializes in "the more bizarre aspects of pop music") also has some darker-tinged tunes that I'm thinking will make for a rather entertaining performance.
LISTEN:
Nucular Animals — La Dead a Bamba
Show details at PC-PDX.com. I'll be there. Now wish me luck on that 5K. If Fred and Toody can do it, dammit, so can I.
A Disco Offensive in Eastern Europe
Posted by Andrew Stout on Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 2:40 PM
Remember last summer when Russia and Georgia engaged in a human rights violating pissing match over the the sovereignty of South Ossetia? Yeah, me neither. But apparently it got very nasty. So nasty, in fact, that hostilities have spilled over into the annual Eurovision Song Contest.
Georgia's entry into this year's competition is a glittery piece of agit-pop called "We Don't Wanna Put In," submitted by Stefane and 3G. When sung with a particular emphasis—like Britney Spears's pseudo controversial "If U Seek Amy"—the song's refrain appears to slag Russian Prime Minister (and our century's very own icon of thuggery) Vadimir Putin. Bangin'!
Stop, look, and listen! And marvel at the Che-meets-Cerrone charisma of Stephane Mgebrishvili. Something in his swagger tells me both a star and martyr has just been born.
Gossip (No, Not the Band) Blind Item: Tennessee Whiskey + Party Band?
Posted by Ezra Ace Caraeff on Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 8:58 AM
(Yes, there is a reason why a certain band member gets two bars over his face.)
Anyway, here is the world's most obvious blind item:
Which hard-partying bar rock band with an affinity for Bert Blyleven will be taking part in one of those boozy sponsorship shows at the Crystal Ballroom on the 16th of March?
The sponsor is based out of Lynchburg, Tennessee—as compared to, say, Ybor City—and the show will most likely be invite only. Or you'll have to sign up for some email list or something. We'll keep you, and the other hood rats, updated.
News Leonard Cohen, Not Coming to Portland
Posted by Ezra Ace Caraeff on Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 8:41 AM
Has anyone been to—get ready for some corporate brand naming synergy—WaMu Theater at Qwest Field Events Center in Seattle?
Because if I'm going to finally see Leonard Cohen, that's where it has to be. Cohen is embarking on a rare North American tour, but while there are shows in such global hubs as Saskatoon (he's Canadian, so fine, whatever) and Grand Prairie, Texas, there is nothing for us Portlanders. As always. The closest we get is a Seattle show on the 23rd of April.
Road trip?
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