This Week in the Mercury
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Tonight! Tonight in Music: Ke$ha, Murder by Death with The Builders and the Butchers, Smith Westerns, and more
Posted by Colleen Smyth on Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 1:30 PM
KE$HA(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) It's a scientific fact that "Tik Tok" is an unstoppable earworm of pure pop deliciousness. However, its author Ke$ha is something of a mixed bag: attractive, but at the same time, not; annoying, but at the same time, kinda fun; ridiculous, but at the same time, unstoppable. This show has tons of wicked fun potential. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
MURDER BY DEATH, THE BUILDERS AND THE BUTCHERS, DAMION SUOMI AND THE MINOR PROPHETS(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Read our article about The Builders and the Butchers.
SMITH WESTERNS, UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) The first Smith Westerns album was a gleeful lo-fi mess, a glam rock record that was more gutter than glitter, and an immediately enjoyable one. With their second album Dye it Blonde, the Chicago band (who are barely out of high school) have grown into a sound that's smoother, sweeter, and bigger than one could have ever imagined—they're still aping the vibe of early '70s British records with a willful and welcome feyness, but they do so while revealing a broader curve of rock 'n' roll history. Smith Westerns are a little reminiscent of San Francisco's Girls, who similarly drew together a coherent picture of rock's past, but did so with an explosively self-destructive bromide. The music of Smith Westerns, especially on Dye it Blonde, sounds much happier and healthier, like it was built to last. You can expect that it will. NED LANNAMANN
A complete listing of this week's shows can be viewed here.
Friends of End Hits
- Our Dumb Twitter Feed!
- Bend Bulletin
- Blackout Bin
- Blogtown
- Chris Cantino
- Cowboyz 'n' Poodles
- Crappy Indie Music
- The Daily Swarm
- The Days Of Lore
- Daytrotter
- The Fader
- Fuck Bad Music
- Into the Woods
- KPSU
- Line Out
- Local Cut
- Manhero
- More Cowbelle
- Music Spectator
- My Favorite Album Art
- The Old Gold
- Oregonian Music
- Outsider Music
- Pandora
- PC-PDX
- PDX Pop Now!
- Portland Musicians Union
- Rock and Roll Camp for Girls
- Rubin Recommends
- Snacks and Shit
- Super Happy Wax Forum
- Three Imaginary Girls
Enemies of End Hits
RSSGoing to Seattle?
