Photos by inger klekacz [T]here are fantastic reasons for not going to concerts. The standing, the waiting, the crowds, the noise, the heat, the late-night hours, the cost, the fact that your friends might not go and…who goes to concerts alone??? Concerts, to most people, are a pain, or at best, something they’ll only do if the band risks breaking up or dying. And those of us who are addicted to live music are alright with the extra room at the venue. But with the music industry at the mercy of free Internet streams and downloads, live shows are are often the…
4 CommentsTag: Portland
Photos by Colin McLaughlin [B]y now it’s no secret: Portland is a place unlike any other. From a certain over-saturated television show to the New York Times’ ongoing love affair, there’s no denying we live in a quirky little paradise. Sometimes, though, a reminder is necessary to regain perspective – to make lifelong residents and recent transplants appreciate the city’s charm. The Portland Cello Project’s Extreme Cello Dance Party is that reminder. Tales of this not-to-be-missed event’s gleeful atmosphere have spread across the city, and the fifth annual Extreme Dance Party has been sold out for weeks. The Portland Cello…
6 CommentsPhotos by Carrie Johnston The Black Angels’ spin on 60’s psych-rock is nothing short of monumental. Jim Morrisson died too soon, but thank goodness people like Alex Maas are alive now to channel his voice and break through the haunting spectrum of sound that The Doors (Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, et al) established. Their newest album, Indigo Meadows at once guides and disorients. Stephanie Baliey’s drumming leads a stampede of soldiers onward through a dizzying maze of fuzz, wobbles, and foreboding lyrics while the crushing power of it opens the mind and forces meditation. This is to say that it…
1 CommentPhotos by Carrie Johnston In his fourteen-year career as a rapper, Sage Francis has garnered fans through clever navigation of language around topics ranging from personal anguish and societal distrust, to being awkward around girls. His DIY approach has kept those fans loyal since making his first recordings out of his apartment in Providence, Rhode Island in 1999. After working with the big labels for the middle section of his career, he has gone back to his homemade label, Strange Famous. Thankfully, Sage’s success has not catapulted him through the roof of fame and fortune. He is still essentially on…
8 CommentsPhotos by Carrie Johnston [A] prominent downtown venue on a warm Saturday attracts all species of night crawlers. Due to this, nothing exclusive or particular about VietNam playing at Dante’s on such a night struck me. The noncommittal crowd was thin to begin with, then fattened when VietNam started, and mostly disappeared before the end. Save for the second opener, Small Arms, the whole experience– the crowd, the music, the low red lights, the air… was like the low hum of a car engine on a three-hour highway jaunt. The most desolate moments were during Daydream Machine’s set with their…
2 CommentsPhotos by inger klekacz [T]wo Minneapolis bands swept through Portland the other night, packing the Wonder Ballroom and sending us back out to combat the gloomy weather with an army of groovy jams. First up were Night Moves; a trio of curly-haired boys (and the odd flat-haired blonde man) that pooled influences from 70’s soft rock titans like Fleetwood Mac and Chicago to the indie and psych-folk of Band of Horses and Devendra Banhart. They pounded out rich layers of instrumentation and familiar chord progressions with a natural energy and cool happiness that seemed to affect everyone in eye-shot. There…
3 CommentsPhotos by Colin McLaughlin [O]n a night where I had to make myself go out, Efterklang impressed. It takes quite a bit of skill to turn someone’s whole mood around, but that’s exactly what Efterklang did with their slightly operatic and frequently creative arrangements. Maybe the lush instrumentation and gorgeous harmonies that guide “The Klang” — as Dave Hartley (of Nightlands) jokingly called them — is sourced from the same stuff that makes them such thoughtful crowd pleasers. Or maybe indie rock doesn’t give us many opportunities to see bands let down their hair and show how much fun they are…
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