This Week in the Mercury
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Video / Tonight! Akron/Family and Datura Blues Tonight!
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 12:43 PM
I only have room in my heart for one jam band. Sorry Disco Biscuits, but it is reserved for New York's Akron/Family, who aren't a "jam" band as much as a band that hearkens back to the exploratory, experimental style of musicians like Captain Beefheart, Sun Ra, and Can. There are some folk and rock grooves in their extended performances, and some mellow moments, but there is some genuinely weird shit, too, enough to inspire terror in the heart of the twirlingest tie-dyed dreadlocker. This band is the real deal, and the two times I've seen them (once at the tiny Towne Lounge, the other at Waterloo Park at this year's SXSW) are enough to convince me that they are one of the best live bands on the planet.
Also on the bill are Portland's own Evolutionary Jass Band, and Datura Blues, whose ranks tonight include the Laws brothers from Church. Here's the reported lineup:
Brandon Laws (Church) on vibraphone, synth, voxTonight, Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, 9 pm, $15
Richard Laws (Church) on hammer dulcimer, percussion, vox
Shannon Steele (The Ocean Floor) on violin, vox
Todd Swikhart (Poncho Luxurio) tenor sax, percussion
Rudy Slizewski (Tapwater) on steel drums, percussion
Showing 1-2 of 2
Do you have room enough in your heart to take me with you?
Man, I wish I could have caught this show! I was a big fan of the first few Akron records, and they totally lost me with Love Is Simple (including the interminable live versions of those songs). I recently checked out the new one - Set Em Wild, Set Em Free - and my faith was at least partially restored. I'd like to see how they do live as a trio.
One note - the line-up you listed for Datura Blues is of the auxiliary players only, I think, and doesn't include the core members of the band, who are absent.
I hope it was great!
Small Group Business Coaching
Group Coaching For Businesses On A Budget!
The Group Coaching will bring several qualities into your business development: Business Coaching, Collaboration of other businesses, sounding board and multiple skill sets.
Band of the Week
I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House
About Portland Mercury
RSSGoing to Seattle?
Comments (2) RSS