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Saturday, September 24, 2011

Tonight! Tonight in Music: Bon Iver, Radiation City, Jonathan Richman, & Lots More

Posted by Ezra Ace Caraeff on Sat, Sep 24, 2011 at 10:54 AM


BON IVER, OTHER LIVES
(Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale, OR) All hyperbole aside, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver is a once-in-a-lifetime singer. Vernon's golden voice and tender songs have resonated with the masses in a way that few artists will ever experience. Tonight's show is way sold out, but you can always sit in the parking lot and bask in the glorious sounds. EZRA ACE CARAEFF


RADIATION CITY, BLOUSE, AAN
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on Radiation City.


JONATHAN RICHMAN
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) If you're expecting to see the 60-year-old former Modern Lover Jonathan Richman acting like a punk, a genre he helped to inspire, you'll be sorely disappointed. He quit acting, er, sounding like that way back in the '80s. Nevertheless, Richman is an inimitable songwriter and a sophisticate. His music's brattiness has been replaced by a beauty that's wildly eccentric and quietly refined. He might not sing "Roadrunner" or "Pablo Picasso"—two of the most recognizable Richman/Modern Lover anthems—but he will likely play acoustic guitar flawlessly, while dancing around and singing fluently in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew. Punk's not dead—it just changed its tune. KELLY O


GIRLS GOING SINGLE: GUANTANAMO BAYWATCH, DJ HG WALLS, DJ FUZZBOXX
(East End, 203 SE Grand) Girls Going Single is the best of all worlds: There is an early record swap at 7 pm, the finest girl-group cuts of wax on the turntables courtesy of DJs HG Walls and Fuzzboxx, plus (tonight only) a special all-covers set from those hip-shaking hunks and hunkettes in Guantanamo Baywatch. No telling which covers the raucous trio will break out (Hollywood Jills? The Crystals? The Four Pennies?), but regardless it'll probably include songs about boys, holding hands, or the perils of drag racing. According to statistics from the National Center of Girl Group Lyrical Insight, the number-one killer of boys in the '60s was drag-racing accidents (far worse than the Vietnam War), while the fairer gender tended to die solely from broken hearts. Those were tough times. EAC


DURAN DURAN, NEON TREES
(Rose Garden, 1 Center Ct) As much as the members of Duran Duran would probably like to dive into material from newer works like Red Carpet Massacre and All You Need Is Now, fans just want the hits. During the '80s these MTV pretties put style over substance only to get recognized for that substance, and there's plenty to choose from. "Planet Earth," "Girls On Film," "Hungry Like the Wolf," and "A View to a Kill" are all great songs backed by memorable videos. It's amazing enough that these guys are still around, let alone the fact that Duran Duran put out four records—that's four records—since 2000. Impressive. But please, just give us the hits. MARK LORE

 

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