pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

Happy belated* 237th birthday, United States!
*-everything I do lately is belated

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So, here are my faves of the first half of 2013… and outside of the Top 5, it’s all kind of random order on how I feel today… it’s all bound to switch around by year’s end (click album art for sound samples):

Artist – Album (style)

1. Thom Yorke’s Atoms for Peace – AMOK ( electronic rock )
2. Sigur Rós – Kveikur ( ambient icelandic )
3. Kim Taylor – Love’s A Dog ( singer-songwriter )
4. Dave Douglas Quintet – Time Travel ( trumpet jazz )
5. Fol Chen – The False Alarms ( electronic indie pop )
6. Jeffrey Foucault’s Cold Satellite – Cavalcade ( americana rock )
7. Goddamn Electric Bill – Dead Alive ( electronic indie pop )
8. Jon Madof’s Zion80 – Zion80 ( jewish afrobeat )
9. Pat Metheny plays John Zorn’s Masada Book Two – Book of Angels, Vol. 20: Tap ( jewish jazz )
10. Palms – Palms ( catharsis, a magical blend of Isis & Deftones )
11. Mike Patton – The Place Beyond the Pines ( movie score )
12. Overseas – Overseas ( indie rock )
13. Pinnick Gales Pridgen – Pinnick Gales Pridgen ( soulful power trio )
14. Steven Wilson – The Raven That Refused To Sing (and Other Stories) ( prog rock )
15. Puscifer – Donkey Punch the Night -EP- ( rock )
16. Les Rhinocéros – Les Rhinocéros II ( avant jazz rock )
17. Steven Bernstein’s Sexmob – Cinema, Circus & Spaghetti: Sexmob plays Fellini: The Music of Nino Rota ( trumpet jazz )
18. Tegan and Sara – Heartthrob ( pop )
19. Tomahawk – Oddfellows ( hard rock )
20. Wussy – Duo -EP- ( indie rock )

I didn’t get a few that already came out this year (yet) and whatever “et cetera” that the cool kids are listening to these days; but they may make it to the list at the end of the year.

The 2nd half of 2013 promises to bring some potential great ones, too… a few more from John Zorn, Over the Rhine (a double-album Meet Me At the Edge of the World & new holiday album), George Hrab’s 21812 live CD/DVD, another from Holy Fuck, new Nellie McKay (rumored), Levi Weaver (pledge now!), 3rd Ear Experience (just got in the mail), Chali 2Na (more EPs in the Against the Current series), Au4 & Digital Noise Academy (physical CDs for their late 2012 digital only), yMusic, and many more…

Favorite concerts of 2013 (so far):

• Tomahawk in Portland (Feb)
• John Zorn @ 60 in Minneapolis (Apr)
• Charlie Hunter, Booker T. Jones & Carlton Jackson in Portland (Apr)
• Prince in Portland (Apr)
• Secret Chiefs 3 – two nights / four sets in Seattle (May)
  and tons more where I didn’t write a review
  (click pictures below for review links)

~Dan – np: 3rd Ear Experience (with dUg Pinnick of King’s X) – Boi