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REVIEW: Bad Veins @ Sam Bond’s (Eugene, OR – 10/16/09)
Rarely do elements of the Cincinnati music scene tromp through Oregon. I got the opportunity to see Bad Veins about 5 weeks ago up in Portland, and now they’re back through Oregon, but this time in my lovely city of Eugene. They received a nice write-up in the 10/15/09 Eugene Weekly, too…
We showed up late but before anyone started yet; so we moseyed over to One Cup for some delicious coffee. On the way back to Sam Bond’s, we could hear the opener (Blue Horns from Portland) blaring through the door & windows… and we were about 2 blocks away. “Oh, crap, I forgot my earplugs!” Blue Horns were a good rock band. Really loud, though (and I don’t think it was their fault). They had a nice vibe, but it was hard to tell what the guy was singing most of the time. Listening to them on MySpace now, they’re kinda jangly & bouncy indie rock. Maybe I should write a letter to SB’s soundguy to turn it down from 17 to 11. I mean, come on… 11 is enough.
Bad Veins got all set up and ready to go by 11pm… based on the poster (above), they seem to be the main band for this Daytrotter sponsored tour (I ♥ Daytrotter), yet they went on before The Subjects. This was fine with me. Nothing against The Subjects, but I was done after BV’s set. Tired after a long week’s work and ears practically in tears.
Sebastien and Benjamin rocked us out for about a half hour. As they like to say in the industry, Sebastien was “killing the fuck out of his drums.” OK, maybe they don’t say that in the “industry.” He was doing it regardless. Maybe his drums slept with his girlfriend or ate the last breakfast burrito… or… or… both. Regardless, he was going nuts. :)
After about the first song, we moved outside to help shelter our ears (again, Mr. Soundman… 11 is loud enough). I was able to find a good spot on SB’s patio and watch through the window. No pictures this show, as I rarely get any good shots at Sam Bond’s (even with a good camera). For recent Bad Veins concert photos, check my last month’s review (click picture below)…
Setlist:
- Found
- Gold and Warm
- Crosseyed
- Afraid
- Dry Out
- Falling Tide
- The Lie
Their set was identical to the time prior, and my wife made a good comment… “well, they use that reel-to-reel so they have to keep things in the same order.” Duh on my part. Anyway, it was still a really good set, despite the extreme loudness of it all. I think Sam Bond’s is not the place to see rock music (prior to this, I’ve only seen Skerik/ jazz, Talkdemonic/ acoustic post-rock, and various singer-songwriters). Hopefully The Subjects got better sound treatment.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Bad Veins Official Webpage
- Bad Veins on MySpace
- Blue Horns on MySpace
- The Subjects on MySpace
- Sam Bond’s Garage
~Dan – np: Foo Fighters – In Your Honor
REVIEW: Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt @ Hult (Eugene, OR – 10/15/09)
Well, had you asked me at the beginning of the week, “are you going to see Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt?,” my answer would have been “um… no.” I wouldn’t say I was seeking out going to this show. However, some friends of ours who had tickets ended up with a conflict and gave the tickets to us (thanks J&M!).
For me, Lyle’s music is a touch too close to country to seek him out, and I had never even really heard of John Hiatt. Regardless of that prejudice and ignorance about their music, I had a lot of fun. Lyle and John came out around 7:45pm and immediately started talking. This would kick off the format – a lot of talking and each person trading off songs.
They were both great storytellers through their songs, and I was glad that they weren’t too twangy (really my only big gripe with country music is the twang). It’s actually hard to say which part was more entertaining, their songs or their banter. After about an hour, they’d only made it through 8 songs, and their songs aren’t generally long. They really seemed to be good friends who let us into their living room to watch them shoot the shit and play some songs for each other.
Setlist: two and a half hours
- Drive South [JH]
- Fiona [LL]
- Walk On [JH]
- LA County [LL]
- Thunderbird [JH]
- Home Is Where My Horse Is [LL]
- Tennessee Plates [JH]
- I Will Rise Up [LL]
- Always Movin’ On (new) [JH]
- South Texas Girl [LL]
- Have a Little Faith in Me [JH]
- Choke My Chicken [LL]
- Crossing Muddy Waters [JH]
- North Dakota [LL]
- Memphis in the Meantime [JH]
- Her First Mistake [LL]
- Through Your Hands [JH]
- My Baby Don’t Tolerate [LL with JH guitar solo]
- Ain’t No More Cane [LL & JH]
- Encore: Thing Called Love [JH & LL]
- If I Had a Boat [LL]
Overall, it was a great show. They were both great storytellers and quite humorous. They seemed to be very well paired and play off (and with) each other well. Thanks again J&M for the tickets!
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Lyle Lovett’s Official Site
- Lyle Lovett on MySpace
- John Hiatt’s Official Site
- John Hiatt on MySpace
- The Hult Center
~Dan – np: Nellie McKay – Normal As Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day
Aimee Mann (10/6) photos posted
Photos from Tuesday’s show are now posted… go to…
REVIEW: Aimee Mann @ Aladdin (Portland, OR – 10/6/09)
~Dan
REVIEW: Aimee Mann @ Aladdin (Portland, OR – 10/6/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I got into Aimee Mann after several promptings by my friend Bruce, and then eventually via her quite powerful role in the P.T. Anderson movie, Magnolia (1999). Her spot in that movie and her pervasiveness on that soundtrack made me pay attention. I’ve stuck with her through some great albums, including a doozy of holiday album (but I don’t blame her, I blame the general holiday music content). Her albums are always pretty damn consistent… consistently good. I just never got the chance to see her until now. I happened to be up in Portland for work; so I naturally found my way to the venue. :)
I really like the Aladdin Theater… it’s a classy theater, and every show I’ve seen here has been great (Jude and Yael Naim), and I plan on hitting the Aladdin at least 2 or three more times this year (Múm, the Swell Season, and maybe Stryper… but mainly for the humor aspect of that show).
The opener was Nick Lowe, who I didn’t know. Apparently I knew some of his songs, specifically “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding” (he wrote for Elvis Costello, and I’ve heard the A Perfect Circle version). Nick played about 50 minutes, and probably 15 songs. He had some very good, short pop songs. I can see why people like him. I mean, he kinda blended into the background to me, but he had a charm and lyricism that I can admire.
Aimee Mann came on around 9:20pm with two keyboardists. Throughout the set, they both swapped around many instruments… mainly keys, but also guitar, shakers, drums, recorder. She played a short 40 minute pre-determined set before breaking out into the audience request portion of the show…
Setlist: 2 hours
- The Moth
- Nightmare Girl
- Momentum *a fave of the night*
- Build That Wall
- Par For The Course
- Amateur *a fave of the night*
- This Is How It Goes
- Wise Up *a fave of the night*
- Save Me [false start – see comments below]
——————— - Real Bad News [start to the audience requests]
- Long Shot
- Looking For Nothing
- Freeway *a fave of the night*
- Jacob Marley’s Chain
- 4th Of July
- Mr. Harris
- Video *a fave of the night*
- Ghost World
- You Could Make A Killing *a fave of the night*
- Red Vines
- Invisible Ink
- Susan
- One (Harry Nilsson cover)
- Encore: Save Me *a fave of the night*
- Voices Carry
So, the first attempt at “Save Me” got an odd response from a few ladies… almost like the cheering as you’re going up a rollercoaster. Aimee pointed that out and countered it with how depressing and co-dependent-y the song was. Then she went into some really depressing (but funny) new lyrics for the song… which led into the giggles; so she couldn’t even finish the real version of the song. She came back to it later for the encore.
Aimee was really fun… much more fun than I thought she’d be. I mean, her songs really meander on the line of depressed, melancholic disappointment; however, she was quite bubbly, and giddy in spots. Her three-piece band really worked well together in a pinch. Great, long show… check her out if she swings by!!! She’s only a short West Coast tour this fall; see the remaining handful of dates below…
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Finger Eleven – Finger Eleven
Aimee Mann West Coast Tour 2009
- 10/2/09 UC Santa Barbara CA
- 10/3/09 Santa Cruz, CA Rio Theatre
- 10/4/09 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass FREE
- 10/6/09 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater …with Nick Lowe
- 10/7/09 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre with Nick Lowe
- 10/8/09 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
- 10/10/09 Coeur D’Alene, ID The Kroc Center
- 10/11/09 Boise, ID EgyptianTheatre with Fountains of Wayne
- 10/12/09 Salt Lake City, UT The State Room with Fountains of Wayne
- 10/14/09 Boulder, CO Boulder Theater with Fountains of Wayne
- 10/16/09 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern with Fountains of Wayne
AIMEE MANN & NICK LOWE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (7 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (24 Aimee pics, 6 Nick pics)
REVIEW: W.P.A. at the W.O.W. (Eugene, OR – 9/27/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Works Progress Administration
I’ve been a fan of Glen Phillips via Toad the Wet Sprocket since back in my “high school days”… Toad is one of the few artists to make it out alive from that period, remaining a cherished part of my collection. Glen’s voice is so evocative and honest and personable… it’s hard not to love just about everything he does. In fact, last year, he pulled a doozy, releasing two albums under different band monikers (without much warning) under Radiohead’s In Rainbows “pay what you want philosophy.” Both the Plover and RemoteTreeChildren cracked my Top 5 albums of 2008.
Well, this time, Glen decided to let us know about his new band and let some buzz build up… the Works Progress Administration (aka W.P.A. / WPA) is more or an Americana effort that is at its core made up of the trio of trio of Glen Phillips, Luke Bulla (from Lyle Lovett’s band), and Sean Watkins (from Nickel Creek). The Eugene show was with the extended band, not just the core trio of Phillips/Bulla/Watkins. It also included Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Greg Leisz (Joni Mitchell, Bill Frisell), Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing), and Don Heffington (Lone Justice… and I remember seeing him play with Over the Rhine at one point).
The first opener, Ehren Ebbage, put on a quick 20 minute set, four songs. He hails from Seattle. He was pretty good – he has the pop singer-songwriter vibe going on. He seemed like a good soul, funny personality. He got a opening slot due to “begging for it.” We didn’t walk out with his CD, unfortunately; but if he swings back through Eugene, I’ll give him another listen.
The second opener, Molly Jenson, stomped on the stage shortly after Ehren. I say “stomped,” as she had these killer heels with jingles fixed to them (see pictures below). Her first song in her 20 minutes, 4 song set was a song that showed that playing guitar, singing and stomping your foot in heels is probably more than I’d be able to handle physically. It’s gotta be much harder than patting your head and rubbing your stomach. Molly was pretty funny, she joked about the disco ball (and had the light guy turn it on). She also talked about how she and Sara Watkins rolled around the hall’s floor that afternoon in their rollerskates. Her sound was more in the country/folk singer-songwriter mold. She ended her set with “You Are My Sunshine.”
Molly Jenson released her Webisode #13 that included footage from the WOW Hall show. Check it out on YouTube.
WPA hit the stage around 9pm and jumped right into material from their new album. “Always Have My Love” is such a good lead-off track to their live show (and CD). It really features all aspects of this huge band. WPA overall is really hard to pigeonhole. They definitely fit in the folky genre, but they have many aspects of bluegrass, pop, rock. Lots of violin, steel guitar, great vocals. Vocal duties were shared by Glen, Luke, Sean and Sara. They played mainly songs from the debut CD, but they also played songs from each of the singer’s “main gigs / solo albums.”
Part way through the set, they invited Alex & Tatiana Hargreaves on stage. I had never heard of them, but they were well received by the crowd. They are both young and are quite the fiddle phenoms. They jammed on two songs with Sara, Luke & Sean – one instrumental and one with Tatiana singing lead on a song from her recent album.
Here’s what they played…
Setlist: 90+ minutes
- Always Have My Love (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- End This Now (Glen on vocals)
- Paralyzed (Sean on vocals)
- Cry For You (Luke on vocals)
- Solar Flare (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Rise Up (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- I Feel the Blues Movin’ In (Luke on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- I Go to Sleep (Sara on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Already Gone (Sean on vocals)
- Not Sure (Sean on vocals)
- Drive By (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Pink Triangle (Weezer cover, Sean on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Garfields (with Alex & Tatiana, instrumental)
- Sugar Babe (with Alex & Tatiana, Tati on vocals)
- Somebody More Like You (Sean on vocals)
- Remember Well (Luke on vocals)
- Long Hot Summer Days (Sara on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Good As Ever (Glen on vocals)
- A Wedding or a Wake (Glen on vocals)
- Encore: The Price (Glen on vocals)
- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome (Bob Dylan cover, Sean on vocals) *a fave of the night*
Fantastic show. It’s amazing to see so many great musicians on the stage at the same time. They honestly looked like they were having a ball, too. It was also good to see Glen playing guitar again (after his pretty nasty glass table accident last fall). Luke Bulla and Nickel Creek, while already on my radar, made my list of “I should see them if they come through again.” Fantastic players all around…
I picked up the debut WPA CD at the show. It came out a week ago, but I wanted to wait until I saw them in person – you know, to make sure they got all the money, not shipping or some distribution middle-man like Amazon. You can order it directly from the WPA site (click the photo):
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Always Have My Love (live on WNCW)
Introducing W.P.A.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Works Progress Administration Official Site
- WPA on MySpace
- Glen Phillips Official Site
- Glen Phillips on MySpace
- Sean Watkins on MySpace
- Luke Bulla on MySpace
- Tatiana Hargreaves Online
- Alex Hargreaves Online
- Molly Jenson Official Site
- Molly Jenson on MySpace
- Ehren Ebbage Official Site
- Ehren Ebbage on MySpace
- WOW Hall
~Dan – np: Faith No More – Album of the Year
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
WPA’s tourdates:
- Sun 08/16/09 – Schwenksville, PA – Old Pool Farm
- Tue 08/18/09 – Exton, PA – Eagleview Concert Series
- Wed 08/19/09 – New York, NY – Joe’s Pub
- Thu 08/20/09 – Londonderry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
- Sun 09/06/09 – Yosemite, CA – Camp Mather
- Wed 09/16/09 – Columbia, SC – White Mule
- Thu 09/17/09 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
- Fri 09/18/09 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle
- Sun 09/20/09 – Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic
- Fri 09/25/09 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
- Sat 09/26/09 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe
- Sun 09/27/09 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
- Tue 09/29/09 – Chico, CA – Manzanita Place
- Wed 09/30/09 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
- Sat 10/03/09 – Ventura, CA – The Lodge
- Mon 10/05/09 – Los Angeles, CA – Largo
- Thu 11/05/09 – New York, NY – High Line Ballroom
- Sat 11/07/09 – Pittsburgh, PA – Diesel Club Lounge
- Sun 11/08/09 – Charleston, WV – Cultural Center
- Tue 11/10/09 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head On Stage
- Wed 11/11/09 – Vienna, VA – Barns At Wolf Trap
- Thu 11/12/09 – Fairfield, CT – StageOne
- Fri 11/13/09 – Cambridge, MA – Passim Folk Music & Cultural Center
- Sat 11/14/09 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
- Sun 11/15/09 – Fall River, MA – Narrows Center For The Arts
- Tue 12/01/09 – Cedar Rapids, IA – CSPS / Legion Arts
- Wed 12/02/09 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
- Thu 12/03/09 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
- Sat 12/05/09 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
- Sun 12/06/09 – Chicago, IL – Old Town School Of Folk Music
REVIEW: Alice in Chains @ Roseland (Portland, OR – 9/26/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
(the new Alice in Chains)
So, I could have seen Pearl Jam, but since I’d seen them (and they put on a freakin’ great live show) and I had never seen Alice in Chains. So, AiC won out in the battle of who to see tonight. Regardless of the lack of Layne Staley, I really dig guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell and the new lead singer (William DuVall) sounds pretty good. So, I’ll have to hold off on seeing Pearl Jam for a 2010 tour (?). This Alice in Chains show was billed as “An Evening With,” which makes me happy. Openers at rock/metal shows are usually for sucks.
Due to crappy Duck Football traffic, it took forever to get to Portland. I got to the Roseland Theater around 8pm, and the band hit the stage just after 8:30. It was a packed crowd, but I was able to move around a bit. No cameras again. Blerg. I’ll have to contact some people before Regina Spektor & Puscifer in this same venue to see if I can get photo access. We shall see. I took some iPhone photos, as that wasn’t expressly disallowed (like it was announced as prohibited for the Porcupine Tree show last week).
Jerry Cantrell was always a big part of their sound, on both guitar and vocals. He did quite a bit of vocals, and William really pulled off “the Layne sound.” It’s difficult coming into a band with a solid career and trying to replace a very distinct vocalist. While I wouldn’t say that William “has his own voice” with regards to the band, he’s definitely helping them carry on and make great music in the wake of losing Layne. Hopefully William’s own voice shines through on the upcoming record (out 9/29).
Here’s what they played…
Setlist:
- Rain When I Die
- Again
- Check My Brain *a new one – it was OK*
- Them Bones
- Dam That River
- A Looking In View *a new one – pretty good*
- We Die Young
- Nutshell *a fave of the night*
- Love, Hate, Love
- God Am
- Acid Bubble *new one – I’m kinda “meh” on this one for now*
- Angry Chair
- Man in the Box *a fave of the night*
- Would? *a fave of the night*
- Encore: Sludge Factory
- No Excuses *a fave of the night*
- Rooster
A great show… again, William does a great job filling Layne’s shoes. Jerry and the rest of the band were as tight as ever. Their setlist covered their career nicely. I’m looking forward to their new album, Black Gives Way to Blue, showing up on my doorstep (I ordered it with the new Megadeth & Nellie McKay). You can pre-order it below (it comes out on Tuesday):
Since my photos are only (subpar) iPhone photos… here are some professional photos from the Seattle show by Savoia Digital Concert Photography:
TONS MORE at Savoia’s Facebook photo album
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Fantômas – Fantômas (aka Amenaza al Mundo) 
ALICE IN CHAINS iPhone PHOTOS
(sorry in advance for the lower quality)
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: David Cross @ Newmark Theatre (Portland, OR – 9/25/09)
David Cross is on a little fall tour to promote his new book, I Drink For a Reason. You may know him from Mr Show with Bob & David, or as Tobias Fünke on Arrested Development (i.e.- the best television show of all-time), or his stand-up specials, or a glut of parts in television and movies.
(David Cross as Tobias Fünke was one of the best character pieces with laugh-out-loud antics in about every moment he was on screen).
I was just at the Newmark for another comedian, Patton Oswalt. Unlike the Patton show, though, this show wasn’t general admission. Yay! We got to our seats ( fairly close up). The show began not too long after.
The opener was Todd Glass. He only did about 15 minutes, but was pretty damn funny. He jumped around a lot in material, but I guess with only 15 minutes, you have to get as much in as possible.
David came out around 8:45pm and started off with a song about tearing Portland a new asshole that morphed into the jokes he was going to tell us, which wouldn’t involve any cosmonaut jokes… which, of course, ended with a cosmonaut joke.
David, of course, touched on religion, politics, and drugs. My favorite bits were scattered all about. His mom making yogurt… from yogurt was pretty funny. The bit on the horror porn was hilarious. He did make a good point – what’s the reason for horror porn? To scare the cum out of you?
One of the better parts of the night was when he called out a sign language guy for signing words that didn’t exist. The “deaf guy interloper” was part of the show, a friend of David’s; however at first, the audience didn’t know. When David said “Gallileo,” the guy signed the motions for looking through a looking glass. It looked so odd that David said it again about 3 times… then David started saying words like “ridonkulous” to see what the sign language would be. It all ended with David calling him out and telling him to leave (“deaf guy” showed up later as a “live blogger interloper” during the set).
The bit about Scientology and Mormonism was also pretty funny. We’ll see how that goes next week in Salt Lake City. :) Some of his other humor was a little bit over the line (re: hassidic jews, etc), but that’s what you get with David Cross. He ended with a joke on crazy things to buy (i.e.- SkyMall crap). The focus on the “time mug” was pretty hilarious.
After 90 quality minutes David left the stage… but then came back out shortly for a quick movie encore… he played 3 and a half minutes (all that was legally allowed) of his upcoming UK television series directed by Spike Jonze, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. It looks pretty damn brilliant. Anytime you have Spike Jonze involved, it’s got good potential. Arrested Development alum Will Arnett was also in it. We’ll likely not get it on this sided of the pond, until it hits DVD.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- David Cross’s Wiki (including Filmography)
- Todd Glass on MySpace
- Newmark Theatre / PCPA
~Dan – np: Faith No More – The Real Thing
David Cross’s Tour Dates
September 2009
24 & 25 – Portland, Ore. @ The Newmark Theatre
27 – Vancouver, B.C. @ Vancouver Comedy Festival
28 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ In The Venue
29 – Denver, Colo. @ Paramount Theatre
30 – Kansas City, Mo. @ Midland Theatre
3 – Milwaukee, Wisc. @ Riverside Theatre
4 – Chicago, Ill. @ Congress Theatre
5 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ State Theatre
7 – Durham, N.C. @ Carolina Theatre of Durham
9 – Munhall, Pa. @ Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
10 – Morgantown, W.V. @ University of West Virginia
11 – Columbus, Ohio @ Capitol Theatre
13 – Ann Arbor, Mich. @ Michigan Theatre
14 – Austin, Texas @ Paramount Theater
16 – Dallas, Texas @ Lakewood Theater
17 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Tabernacle
19 – Boston, Mass. @ Wilbur Theater
20 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Merriam Theater
21 – Washington, D.C. @ Warner Theater
REVIEW: Raquy & the Cavemen @ Joe’s (Eugene, OR – 9/24/09)
In Cincinnati, we got to see Raquy Danziger, Liron Peled, and the rest of the Cavemen about twice a year due to the large tribal bellydance scene. Well, luckily, Raquy’s sister lives in Eugene; so we get a visit roughly once a year. They always put on a great show, full of wonderful percussive world rhythms.
I’d never been to Joe’s Bar & Grill… if I get a chance, I hope I’ll choose not to go again (or at least on a Thursday). You see, last night, besides the four different sources on the web with different start times and openers listed, was “ladies night.” So, during Raquy’s set, we got a nice dose of “two drunk ‘ladies’ shouting too loudly over the music.” One girl was literally explaining in a PhD dissertation-length exchange about how her phone was ringing, that she was going to pick it up, that she did pick it up, that she was going to talk on it, and then the volume didn’t decrease much when she was talking on it. It must have been listed as “classy ladies night” in the local paper.
Despite prior interweb research, the Ruins of Ooah (a local band) was not the opener, but rather the last band. We didn’t stick around for them, but I’ll try to catch them at another venue around town. Up first was Mood Area 52 (a local bohemian/gypsy-style band). They usually have a larger band, but last night was just accordian/vocals, cello, and double bass. The cellist, Amy Danziger, is actually Raquy’s aforementioned sister who is Eugene-local. I’ve seen MA52 several times, but usually in a more “secondary” setting… meaning, they happen to be playing I stop by for a few songs during a Saturday Market, art walk, or coffee shop visit. They played about 6 songs over 30 minutes. They weren’t mic’ed at all, but it didn’t seem to matter. They missed the loud lady convention that seemingly descended on the venue during Raquy’s set. MA52 was quite delightful, and I recommend them if they’re playing and you’re in town.
Raquy and the Caveman hit the stage around 9:45 or so. This time it was sans Nezih (only a Raquy & Liron duo band). We had caught their long-ish soundcheck, and due to it being a “school night” only stuck around until about 10:30 for their main set. They started out with several dual dumbek / dumset* songs… mostly fast, showing off both Raquy’s and Liron’s insane percussive skills. We left shortly after their song that featured Raquy on kemenche (a Persion stringed instrument) and Liron on a Liron-custom 11-string guitar (stringed and tuned with a saz in mind). A great performance by both of them… we wished we could have mustered up enough to stay longer. Next year, we shall!
*-The “dumset” is a small set-up by Liron with a dumbek set up to a kick pedal, a dumbek in hand, cymbals, riq, etc. It’s played like a regular drumset.
Raquy & the Cavemen’s fifth album, Bewitched, is out now. We picked it up at the show, and I look forward to spinning it today. Click the picture for more information on the new release:
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Raquy and the Cavemen’s Official Site
- Raquy and the Cavemen on MySpace
- Mood Area 52
- Mood Ares 52 on MySpace
- Ruins of Ooah
- Ruins of Ooah on MySpace
- Joe’s Bar & Grill
~Dan – np: Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
REVIEW: Sunny Day Real Estate @ Crystal Ballroom MFNW (Portland, OR – 9/18/09)
(photo: Rebecca Blissett, from Vancouver show)
I saw Sunny Day Real Estate in Oct 2000 on the Rising Tide Tour (Bogart’s in Cincinnati), which would ultimately be their last. I had a few chances to see Jeremy Enigk solo or The Fire Theft, but the shows never meshed with my schedule. Seeing as I count the 2000 SDRE show as one of my favorite shows of all -time (Top 25 at least), I was soooooo stoked when it was announced that they were getting back together for a tour.
This was only my second time at McMennamin’s Crystal Ballroom. The room was packed with tons of Music Fest Northwest (MFNW) people; so I’m hoping the hardcore SDRE fans got in. The venue was set-up like most Portland venues with the odd barrier between the drinkers and the youngins’. This was one of the rare shows of late where I don’t think I saw anyone younger than 25.
The opener, The Jealous Sound, were pretty good. I listened to them on MySpace before the show and they seemed like a pretty good power pop/rock band. At the show, the sound was a little muddled, but I could still get a good feel for their groove. Maybe like a slightly less hooky Heatmiser? I don’t know… they’re definitely worth checking out.
No cameras were supposed to be allowed in the venue last night (I asked). Yet, when I get in (without my camera), I see a few people with cameras. Damn me for asking. :( Anyway, Rebecca Blissett’s photos from Vancouver will suffice as my pictorial show of the reunited SDRE…
SDRE’s set went by blisteringly fast. They played a solid hour plus before leaving for a short break before their 3 song encore. Jeremy’s voice was on top of its game, yet as indecipherable as usual. I think he ranks up their with Karin Bergquist of Over the Rhine as misheard lyric contributor. :) The rest of the band seemed really tight. The “muddliness” of the opener’s set seemed to be cleared up. And while Sunny Day haven’t been a cohesive unit for 8-9 years, they sure seemed like one tonight. It seems like they didn’t miss a beat at all.
Setlist: 80+ mins
- Friday
- Seven *a fave of the night*
- Red Elephant
- Song About An Angel
- Grendel
- Shadows
- Inscarabaid
- 47
- Theo B
- 10 [new song]
- 48
- Sometimes
- Encore: In Circles *a fave of the night*
- Spade & Parade
- J’Nuh *a fave of the night*
They only played material from their first two discs at this show (they have played at least “Guitar & Video Games” off of How It Feels to Be Something On on this tour), which was kind of odd. And I know, this may be heresy, but I really love their last album the best (2000’s The Rising Tide). It’s probably just a factor of when I got into them as a band. So, as far as the only downside, that was it. But the fact that they wrote a new song as recent as a week or so ago… well, that bodes well for future album(s) & tour(s).
Sunny Day Real Estate’s Diary & LP2 (aka Pink) have been remastered and re-released by Sub Pop in 2009 (click pictures for info). No word on a remaster of How It Feels to Be Something On, though… hmm…
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Sunny Day Real Estate‘s Official Site
- Sunny Day Real Estate on MySpace
- Jeremy Enigk on MySpace
- The Fire Theft on MySpace
- Spin‘s SDRE – Vancouver Review(2nd reunion show, 9/17)
- The Jealous Sound
- The Jealous Sound MySpace
- Crystal Ballroom
- Music Fest NW
SDRE on Jimmy Fallon (9/29/09)
~Dan – np: Pearl Jam – Backspacer
no free download or torrent available here
SDRE Reunion Tourdates
09-17 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom
09-18 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom (MusicFest NW)
09-20 Murray, UT – Murray Theater
09-21 Denver, CO – Ogden Theater
09-23 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
09-24 Chicago, IL – Metro
09-25 Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
09-27 New York, NY – Terminal Five
09-28 Boston, MA – House of Blues
09-30 Washington, D.C. – 930 Club
10-01 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
10-03 Atlanta, GA – CW Center Stage
10-05 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
10-06 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live – Ballroom
10-07 Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa
10-09 Tempe, AZ – Marquee
10-10 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
10-11 Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theater
10-13 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
10-15 Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
10-16 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theater
REVIEW: Wynton Marsalis & LCJO @ Hult (Eugene, OR – 9/17/09)
Well, I got into Wynton Marsalis from Ken Burns’ (long ass) JAZZ documentary. I had heard of him, but never really heard him, and he was featured heavily in the movie. I came to find out that he was the artistic director & co-producer of the documentary series. Anyway, I love trumpet (Dave Douglas & Steven Bernstein being top of my other Top 3 living trumpeters). This year, I’ve had a chance to see all three of them… Yay!
I like the Hult. I saw Wynton’s brother Branford at the Hult around this time last year. I like the Hult this week in particular (due to it being a 4 concert week): I like that the show started early (7:30pm), ended on time (9:25pm), and I got home at a reasonable time. Double Yay!
Wynton and his near-double octet hit the stage after a short introduction. Wynton was position at the top center of the bandstand and went directly into announcing the first song…
Setlist:
1st set – 40 mins
- Free for All (Art Blakey) *a fave of night*
- Peace (Horace Silver)
- I Like to Take My Time (Mr Rogers)
- Itsy Bitsy Spider
- Up from Down (Gardner) *a fave of night*
2nd set – 45 mins
- Weary Blues (sextet band, ragtime tune) *a fave of night*
- Joe Turner’s Blues (septet, Wynton sang impromptu)
- Tattooed Bride (Duke Ellington)
- Portrait of Mahalia Jackson (Duke) *a fave of night*
The first set started off with “Free for All” which had some great solos… sax, trombone and trumpet. The entire night was filled with some great solos, and “Free for All” kicked it off right. For the second set we moved to some open seats near the center… right by the very energetic soundman. He was humorous. While I dug the first set a lot, the second set was smokin’ hot. More ragtime and New Orleans street jazz in spots versus the more held back, big band vibe from the first set. The first two songs of the second set were a stripped down cast (sextet and the septet before the rest of the band re-joined them for the Duke tunes. I think my favorite tune of the whole night was “Weary Blues, ” which was really hoppin’. Seem ironic that the entire crowd (of largely white hair) was just idly sitting in their seats. :)
All in all, a great evening of great jazz.
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Fima Ephron – Soul Machine
REVIEW: Porcupine Tree w/ That1Guy @ Roseland (Portland, OR – 9/16/09)
Rarely do two bands you like happen to tour together. Porcupine Tree is touring with King’s X on this U.S. Leg… well… ok, starting in a week in Ohio. This West Coast leg, though gets That1Guy (another musician I like a lot). I’m bummed I’m missing a KXC/PT show, but That1Guy is a fun live act as well.
I guess I’ll have to get used to the Roseland, as I imagine I’ll be seeing more and more shows here over the years. It’s an “OK” venue… a basic stand-y rock club. They do have a nice food menu, though… and I got as Zappa veggie dog (I heart the PacNW). The band had a ban on cameras, outside of the officially selected photographer for the Incident tour blog; so no photos from me this time.
That1Guy played a short set. Pretty much the same set as the last time I saw him in Feb, but just cut short. I was kind of bummed that he didn’t play “Buttmachine” or “Mustaches.” Maybe he was trying to be “more serious” for the prog fans. I don’t know. I think “Buttmachine” is one of his catchiest songs, regardless of its ridiculous lyrics. Watch the video here. Overall his set & jams were a bit redundant / repetitive, but he’s still fun to watch.
Setlist: about 40 mins
- Intro Jam
- Jigsaw
- Weasel Potpie leading into Instrumental Jam
- Heaven or Heck
- Dig (with the magic boot)
- Outro Jam (T1G’s credit card jam with snippets of “Smoke on the Water”)
That1Guy’s 2007 album, The Moon is Disgusting, aged well. I’m still digging it a bunch, and wish he would have played more off of it outside of “Jigsaw” and “Dig.” You can listen to samples of the album HERE.
Next up, Porcupine Tree, whose new album, The Incident, arrived to my earbuds last weekend (thanks to Demonoid) but also hit my hands in a the lush limited edition on Tuesday. Wow… it’s freakin’ excellent. Great packaging in the deluxe edition. I think the limited edition is sold out, but the standard CD is available worldwide now.
Porcupine Tree hit the stage around 9:15 and played a first set entirely made up of The Incident‘s 1st disc. They didn’t stray from the album in scope or sound. It was very great being in the same room as Steven again. He’s truly a great musician and songwriter, which is a hard moniker to assign to a progressive rock musician (most of them can’t write a song to save their lives). Their set…
Setlist:
- The Incident (in its entirety)
I – Occam’s Razor
II – The Blind House
III – Great Expectations
IV – Kneel and Disconnect
V – Drawing the Line
VI – The Incident
VII – Your Unpleasant Family
VIII – The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train
IX – Time Flies
X – Degree Zero of Liberty
XI – Octane Twisted
XII – The Séance
XIII – Circle of Manias
XIV – I Drive the Hearse
2nd Set - The Start of Something Beautiful
- Buying New Soul
- Anesthetize Part 2
- Lazarus
- Strip the Soul
- .3
- Bonnie the Cat
- Encore: Way Out of Here
- Trains
Great show for their fantastic new album. They played right around 2 hours total. The Incident is easily the best album they’ve done since In Absentia, IMO. This was only the 2nd show of their tour, and it didn’t really show. I mean, they were on top of their game. Steven mentioned that they were a little nervous at the Seattle show the day prior. Somehow I’m skeptical of that. They probably roll out of bed and could play these songs blindfolded. :)
The Appropriate Linkage:
- PorcupineTree.com
- The Incident on Tour (official blog)
- Another Portland 9/16 Review (by Mark Colman)
- Porcupine Tree on MySpace
- That1Guy & the Magic Pipe
- That1Guy on MySpace
- Roseland Theater
~Dan – np: Patton Oswalt – My Weakness is Strong
Further U.S> Porcupine Tree Tour Dates (as of now)
Tue 15 Sep SEATTLE, WA MOORE THEATER [opener: That1Guy]
Wed 16 Sep PORTLAND, OR ROSELAND [opener: That 1 Guy]
Fri 18 Sep SAN FRANCISCO WARFIELD [opener: That 1 Guy]
Sat 19 Sep LOS ANGELES CLUB NOKIA [opener: Big Elf]
Mon 21 Sep CLEVELAND, OH HOUSE OF BLUES [opener: King’s X]
Tue 22 Sep CHICAGO, IL VIC THEATER [opener: King’s X]
Thu 24 Sep NY, NY TERMINAL 5 [opener: King’s X]
Fri 25 Sep BALTIMORE RAM’S HEAD [opener: King’s X]
Sat 26 Sep PHILLY ELECTRIC FACTORY [opener: King’s X]
Sun 27 Sep BOSTON, MA HOUSE OF BLUES [opener: King’s X]
Tue 29 Sep MONTREAL METROPOLIS [opener: King’s X]
Wed 30 Sep TORONTO QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE [opener: King’s X]
REVIEW: Patton Oswalt @ Newmark Theatre (Portland, OR – 9/13/09)
OK, so you may have heard of Patton Oswalt from Pixar’s Ratatouille. He was the leading… um… rat. You may also know him from the newly hitting the cinemas flick called Big Fan, and well… tons of other stuff. He just released a new CD/DVD of his Comedy Central special, My Weakness is Strong.
(available on the Amazons)
This was my second time in the Newmark Theatre. It suits a comedian as well as a 9-piece jazz band. The show started right on time (7:30pm), and it was general admission, and I showed up at about 7:29pm… but I lucked out with a decent spot in the 2nd balcony. The opener was really funny… a guy formerly from Portland, but who now lives in Seattle and writes trivia questions for an XBox game company or something. I didn’t catch his name… Andy something (any help to fellow comedy-goers?). Anyway, he was good, did 15 solid minutes and handed the mic directly to Patton…
Patton was really funny. He has some bits canned, but he seems to wing it more than other comedians that I’ve seen (i.e.- Seinfeld & Carlin don’t tend to stray from their “script”). Based on looking at the track titles from My Weakness is Strong, he did Sky Cake, The Oswalt Family Crest, Rats, Orgy, Treadmill, Obama…And Time Travel…And Coolness…And The Last Racist, and The Magician. He also did the KFC Famous Bowl bit with a newly added bit about an upcoming “Double Down” sandwich that sounded dreadful to eat. We got to witness a spontaneous song written for the Double Down when an audience member asked if there’d be a song…
♪♫ fuck you heart, fuck you liver, I’m gonna double down ♪♫
He ended the 90 minute set with the Christmas Song (Newsong) bit and a bit about Stella Dora breakfast treats.
Favorite bits from Patton… hmm… Sky Cake (YouTube below) is a great bit and right up my alley. Obama/Time Travel was great. The Magician who was pissed about $5 was great. KFC Famous Bowl / Double Down was classic, especially as we got to witness a new song formulated on-stage. And Patton’s random interaction with a kid in a band from Eugene called Busket for about 5 minutes was pretty hilarious, too. Good ol’ Motorized Vinyl Rhino!
Sky Cake is a Lie!
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Porcupine Tree – The Incident
REVIEW: Erik Friedlander @ Winningstad Theatre (Portland, OR – 9/12/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Erik Friedlander grew up spending many of his summers on the road with his family due to his photographer father, Lee Friedlander. I knew his dad was a photographer with some notoriety, but I hadn’t known about the long, cross-country summer road trips – which were the basis for Erik’s 3-day run of Block Ice and Propane at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)’s TBA Festival (aka T:BA:09). More about T:BA:09 later…
I have been into Erik for a while… basically contemporaneously with my immersion into John Zorn, as Erik is a mainstay in the Downtown NYC jazz scene and finds his way on maaaaany of the Tzadik releases that I love. He’s a part of the Masada String Trio & Bar Kokhba Sextet, and has played with Dave Douglas, Ikue Mori, Wadada Leo Smith, severalk of Zorn’s Filmworks series, et cetera.
When I showed up for the event, I was caught off guard by the vast amount of people milling about the lobby. “Does Erik have this big of a draw in Portland?”
Well, the answer to that question is, “now he does.” This was the third night of his three-night run as part of the T:BA:09 festival put on by PICA. The entire 10-day festival was also coming to a crescendo on the 12th… needless to say, the program looked amazing, full of art of all kinds, not just music. I’m definitely putting T:BA:10 on my radar for next year.
Erik’s solo chair, laptop stand, and microphone in front of a projector screen was nicely lit with a blue light as the herd of an audience entered the Dolores Winningstad Theatre. I’d never been to the Winningstad Theatre, but it’s in the same complex as the Newmark Theatre (where I saw the SF Jazz Collective in ’08 and where I’ll see Patton Oswalt tonight), and it’s right next door to the Arlene Schnitzer Hall (where I’ve seen many shows). “The Winny” was a great venue… small & intimate, but seemingly able to fit in a large amount of people, including 2 tiers of balcony seating. Luckily I was solo; so I found a stray seat right up front-left.
As mentioned prior, the show was Erik playing solo cello in front of a backdrop of photos from his childhood, primarily taken by his father Lee Friedlander. The performance, specifically the backdrop, had a very “Americana” feel set to non-“Americana music.” Or perhaps it was Americana music set through the filter of the cello. It wasn’t Woody Guthrie-esque, but it had that dirty, road weary, wow-look-at-this-wonderful-country feel to it. Amongst the photos were also some videos shot by Bill Morrison.
Outside of photographing the country on big summer roadtrips, Erik’s father Lee also photographed many musicians… Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane… even up to the current era like a famous Madonna photo. Lee’s love of music spilled over to Erik, who found a love for music early in his life. He started on guitar and eventually moved to cello. However, his basis in guitar drove much of the style of playing last night. Only a few times did Erik pull out a bow – rather he plucked and strummed his cello like one would with a guitar… well, a guitar that you were holding like a cello. :)
Setlist:
- Block Ice & Propane
- Road Weary
- King Rig
- I’m Not Here
- Cold Chicken
- Yakima
- Pressure Cooking
- Winking at Highway 7
- Rusting in Honeysuckle
- Dream Song
- Airstream Envy
- Night White
Some of my favorite pieces were the lead-in, title track (to the 2007 CD of the same name), as well as “Pressure Cooking” and “Night White” (nice harmonics). The story about “Cold Chicken” was great, about how at a diner they were served very slowly and Lee stormed into the kitchen to complain about “who wants to eat cold chicken!?” while the family scurried away. The music, which I’ve heard several times before on the CD, totally made sense now. Nice…
Block Ice and Propane (the 2007 CD) can be purchased directly from Erik HERE.
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Porcupine Tree – The Incident
ERIK FRIEDLANDER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: Bad Veins @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – 9/8/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Bad Veins were only one of the openers last night, but my main draw for the evening. The main band was Division Day, with additional support from Love Like Fire. I knew Bad Veins from kicking around the Cincinnati rock scene a few years ago. I’d seen them once prior in Cincinnati, then shortly thereafter that I moved to Oregon… but I’ve kept up with them on Woxy, Daytrotter, et cetera. This is their first trip out West. They’re also coming back, and playing in my town (Eugene) on October 16th (Sam Bond’s Garage). Yay!
Bad Veins is a two man wrecking crew: Benjamin Davis on vocals & guitar and Sebastien Schultz on drums. They also employ a reel-to-reel for backup music. And by “employ,” I mean, they plug it in… I’m pretty sure a W-2 is not involved. It’s part of the lo-fi charm of Bad Veins. They were pretty true to form, and busted through a solid set from their debut album (out on Dangerbird Records). It was a pretty good wall of sound coming from these two gents. Here’s what they played…
Setlist:
- Found
- Gold and Warm
- Crosseyed
- Afraid
- Dry Out
- Falling Tide
- The Lie
Sebastien cut his finger on the drumkit the last song of their set, and bled on the drums. Oh, the joys of D.I.Y. rock! Seeing as it was a “school night,” and I had two hours of driving to do, I bailed shortly after Bad Veins’ set. (Sorry to both Love Like Fire who played before and Division Day who played after.) I look forward to seeing Bad Veins play again when they’re in Eugene next month.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Bad Veins Official Webpage
- Bad Veins on MySpace
- Division Day on MySpace
- Love Like Fire on MySpace
- Doug Fir Lounge
~Dan – np: Marty Ehrlich’s Dark Woods Ensemble – Sojourn
BAD VEINS PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Mini-REVIEW: Extra Golden @ Celebration (Eugene, OR – 9/5/09)
So, Eugene Celebration is one of the many good things going in Eugene every fall. We went down on Saturday and caught the tail end of Thomas Mapfumo, Extra Golden, and much later in the evening Gift of Gab. Both Gift of Gab and Thomas Mapfumo were good, but the highlight of the evening for me was Extra Golden…
I was introduced by my friend Aaron to Extra Golden only a few hours prior, and the sound samples I heard online were “OK,” but I really only listened to a few songs for a little bit. I’m up for anything and was already planning on going to Eugene Celebration; so I was game.
Well, let’s just say that their live show was fantastic. Really fun groove, tight musicianship, and a very energetic frontman (who likes our yogurt here in Eugene). Extra Golden were formed in Kenya by two Americans and one Kenyan. I think their live set was made up of three Americans with a Kenyan singer and Kenyan drummer. They played for a solid hour plus. For the last song, their singer, Otieno Jagwasi, joined us in the crowd and danced up a storm.
I snapped a few crappy iPhone pictures. Kinda fuzzy… anyway… here are some pics from their show:
Note how one of their guitarists looks like John Locke from Lost… :)
Check out Extra Golden on the MySpaces.
~Dan – np: Extra Golden – Thank You Very Quickly Vol 3
REVIEW: dredg @ Wonder Ballroom (Portland, OR – 8/15/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
This was my third time seeing dredg, and the second time this year. Their latest record (The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion) is an amazing album… a definite front runner for album of the year for me. It is inspired by Salman Rushdie’s essay “Imagine There’s No Heaven: A Letter to the Sixth Billionth Citizen.” I gladly made the trek up to Portland, and now that I’d been able to soak in their latest album (it wasn’t out when I saw them in April), I knew much more of the material being played. I was also able to bring my camera… yay!
The first opener As Tall As Lions were really good. The first song, the bassist was acting a bit goofy. I thought it seemed weird, or that he was “overacting.” However, throughout their whole 5-6 song set (35 minutes), he kept it up. Maybe it grew on me, or maybe I changed my mind and felt he really was into it that much (plus he’s got some backing vocal chops). :) Anyway, As Tall As Lions were a 6-piece in this live setting. They’re from New York, and had a good indie rock vibe – nice vocals, nice groove, and good use of horns. The band was way forward on the stage; so my only downside was that I was right next to the drums, which drowned out a lot of their vocals. But, all in all, a very good opener.
The second opener Rx Bandits may as well have been a co-headliner (maybe they were billed as such). It seemed as if tons of the crowd were there to see RxB. They started the set with all four members on drums, which was fun. One of the highlights of their 70 minute set was their lead guitarist and their drummer. Their drummer had a dirty Daniel Johns (of Silverchair) look, and was kicking the crap out of his drumkit. And their lead guitarist didn’t have the most “rock” stage presence, but he seemed like he could fit in a really into a shredder band… he played some really complex underlying scales, all while having a nonchalant look on his face. :) Their vocalist reminded me physically as Brett McKenzie (from Flight of the Conchords). And vocally, he seemed like he could fit in a jamband meets reggae/punk band. Their bassist looked like he also fit in a jamband, and he had a very nice groove and bounced around the stage a lot. It was an odd mix for a group, but it worked. I’ll definitely see them if they swing through Eugene. I took a few pics of RxB, but they didn’t turn out… oh well… next time…
Dredg came on right at 10:50pm and blasted into the trio of songs that kicks off The Pariah, The Parrott, The Delusion. They seemed a little toured out (only compared to the last show in April). They still put on a great show. Gavin (singer/ lap steel), Dino (drums/ keyboard), Drew (bass) and Mark (guitars) were joined by a second guitarist for a few songs (I didn’t catch his name). He played with them on Pariah, Drunk Slide, and Information. Great 85 minute set. Here’s what they played…
Setlist:
- Pariah
- Drunk Slide
- Ireland
- Ode to the Sun
- Catch without Arms
- Same Ol’ Road
- Saviour
- RUOK?
- I Don’t Know
- Δ
- Bug Eyes
- Information
- Light Switch
- Zebraskin
- The Tanbark is Hot Lava
- The Canyon Behind Her
- Down to the Cellar
- Cartoon Showroom
No encore (again), but perhaps that’s their M.O. I’m not putting my usual “a fave of the night” notations by any song, because, quite frankly, it was all amazing. At the end of Down the Cellar, the crew took Dino’s drum kit away one piece at a time at the end, with him ending on piano and no drums around him. That was fun.
The only song I really wish they played but didn’t was “Gathering Pebbles” (from their new one). I could play that song on repeat all day…
As much as I can get across in words, dredg is quickly becoming one of my favorite bands. Rarely does an opener hit me, and ever since I saw dredg open for Coheed & Cambria (a few years back), I’ve been an immediate fan. Their latest is their best yet, and their other albums are great as well. I’d recommend picking The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion up on CD, vinyl (from the dredg store), or if you are silly… on mp3 (why go for the lower quality folks?). :)
dredg “Information“
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.dredg.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/dredg
- http://www.myspace.com/rxbandits
- http://www.myspace.com/astallaslions
- http://www.wonderballroom.com/
~Dan – np: Dub Trio – New Heavy
DREDG PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (6 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (31 pics)
REVIEW: The Melvins @ John Henry’s (Eugene, OR – 8/9/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I hear that King Buzzo has three dogs.
I bet he walks them really slow.
So, The Melvins have been around for… ever. First album in 1986, but I didn’t get turned onto them until Melvins’ guitarist King Buzzo joined Mike Patton’s avant-noise metal supergroup Fantômas on the 1999 debut (along with Mr Bungle’s Trevor Dunn & Slayer’s Dave Lombardo). I saw The Melvins in 2003 play with Skeleton Key & Mike Patton’s Tomahawk in Columbus, Ohio (Tomahawk’s Mit Gas tour). I found a new respect for a mainstay on Patton’s Ipecac Recordings… The Melvins are a major force in heavy music.
Some history… they’re from Seattle and were considered an early founder of grunge (Kurt Cobain listed them as a major influence). The Melvins have since moved into what could be best called “sludge metal“… which spurred Earth, and subsequently Sunn O))), in the drone & doom metal sub-genres. All that to say, The Melvins have been around for a long time and have been an artistic force in music.
I haven’t had a solid chance of seeing them in 6 years. They swung through Eugene last year, but I was out of town. Last time, they played a bigger venue (WOW Hall), but this time, they played two full sets (with no opener)… so I’ll take it. :) This was only their 2nd date of their 2009 U.S. Summer tour (see dates at the bottom), but they were pretty tight regardless.
They took the stage right at 7:30 and played six songs as a duo, just Buzz Osborne on guitars and Dale Crover on drums. They were then joined by Jarred Warren on bass and Coady Willis on a 2nd set of drums. Their first set started with more of the grunge/punk but had plenty of the sludge to go around. It was a powerful 40-45 minute set.
They came back on 20 minutes later and belted out another 50 minute set without stopping. “Hooch” was the highlight for me, but it was an amazing show all around. No banter, barely stopping to tune… just a full force, heavy wave of music.
Setlist:
- 1st set ~ Dale drum intro -> Ballad of Dwight Fry [Alice Cooper cover]
- It’s Shoved
- Let Me Roll It [McCartney cover]
- Suicide in Progress
- Oven
- Black Bock
- Let God Be Your Gardener
- Pigs of the Roman Empire [Jared & Coady join]
- The Talking Horse
- The Bloated Pope
- Dog Island
- Dies Iraea
- 2nd set ~ Dies Iraea (cont’d)
- Billy Fish
- Mr. DNA [Devo cover]
- Anaconda
- Zodiac
- The Kicking Machine
- Civilized Drums
- Blood Witch
- Hooch
- Smiling Cobra
- With Teeth
- Night Goat
- The Bit
*- from Buzzo’s setlist, corrections by Ryan (Idlehanz)
Overall… bloody brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it, and I don’t know half of their songs… :) I’m definitely seeing them anytime they come through town. A great band with 2 great sets!!
Their latest CD, 2008’s Nude With Boots, is great. And the concept behind their upcoming CD, Chicken Switch, is intriguing. It’s a remix album, but not a normal remix album. Each song is a remix of an entire Melvins’ album (boiled into one song). Some of the remixers included are Matmos, Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, Eye Yamatsuka, and Merzbow (Masami Akita). It’s out on September 29th on Ipecac. Read more over at themelvins.net. I’m looking forward to it…
The Appropriate Linkage:
- The Melvins Official Page
- The Melvins dot net (the premiere fan page)
- The Melvins on MySpace
- Ipecac Recordings
- John Henry’s MySpace
- Brooklyn Vegan’s kick ass pictures (from May 2009)
~Dan – np: dredg – El Cielo no torrent or free download here
THE MELVINS PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (6 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (46 pics)
2009 U.S. Summer Tour
- August 7, 2009 – San Jose, CA – The Blank Club
- August 9, 2009 – Eugene, OR – John Henry’s
- August 11, 2009 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox SoDo w/ Down
- August 12, 2009 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre w/ Down
- August 14, 2009 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom w/ Down
- August 15, 2009 – Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theater w/ Down
- August 16, 2009 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues w/ Down
- August 18, 2009 – Anaheim, CA – House Of Blues w/ Down
- August 19, 2009 – Las Vegas, NV – House Of Blues w/ Down
- August 21, 2009 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue w/ Down
- August 22, 2009 – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre w/ Down
- August 24, 2009 – Tulsa, OK – The Marquee
- August 25, 2009 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
- August 26, 2009 – Dallas, TX – House Of Blues Pontiac Garage
- August 27, 2009 – San Antonio, TX – The White Rabbit
- August 28, 2009 – Houston, TX – Meridian Red Room
- August 29, 2009 – Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
- September 1, 2009 – Atlanta, GA – CW Center Stage w/ Down
- September 2, 2009 – Orlando, FL – House Of Blues w/ Down
- September 4, 2009 – North Myrtle Beach, SC – House Of Blues w/ Down
- September 5, 2009 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte w/ Down
- September 6, 2009 – Knoxville, TN – The Valarium w/ Down
- September 8, 2009 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar w/ Down
- September 9, 2009 – Clifton Park, NY – Northern Lights w/ Down
- September 11, 2009 – New York, NY – NOKIA Theatre Times Square w/ Down
- September 12, 2009 – Monticello, NY – Kutshers Country Club – ATP NEW YORK 2009 CURATED BY THE FLAMING LIPS
- September 13, 2009 – Boston, MA – House Of Blues w/ Down
- September 15, 2009 – Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre w/ Down
- September 16, 2009 – Rochster, NY – Main Street Armory w/ Down
- September 17, 2009 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
- September 18, 2009 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre
- September 19, 2009 – Detroit, MI – Emerald Theatre w/ Down
- September 21, 2009 – Indianapolis, IN – Vogue Theatre w/ Down
- September 22, 2009 – Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues w/ Down
- September 24, 2009 – Omaha, NE – Sokol Auditorium w/ Down
- September 25, 2009 – Sauget, IL – Pop’s Nightclub w/ Down
- September 26, 2009 – Mokena, IL – The Pearl Room w/ Down
- September 28, 2009 – Louisville, KY – Expo Five w/ Down
Mike Bragg :: Pulled from the Ground
Yesterday, I went up with some friends (including the featured artist) to see the opening of Mike Bragg‘s Pulled from the Ground at OGLE in Portland. Fun times, too much food, great art, and voodoo donuts were had by all. If you’re up in Portland within the next two months, go check it out. It is set up with a great view from the street, too…
MIKE BRAGG
Pulled from the Ground @ Ogle
August 6th to September 26th, 2009
http://www.mikebragg.com/
http://ogleinc.com/
310 NW Broadway
Portland, OR
The images & video below are the intellectual property of Mike Bragg
and are used with promotional intent only.
(click for larger)
The performance piece / video is located at:
Mike Bragg’s Video Archive
Pulled from the Ground is a series comprised of a multi-channel video installation, a single channel video, photographs, drawings and a sound collage. Its foundation imagery centers on a collection of roots and a man’s obsession with them. The symbolization of the roots is seen throughout: they are an anchor of stability, yet at the same time, a literal reminder of the tangling snare of obsessiveness. Pulled from the Ground documents a struggle for stability against the constant flux of existence. The perception of safety and comfort derived from man’s organization and compulsory system of stability are precarious when viewed from within an exaggerated environment.
The elements of this series are designed to operate both autonomously and in conjunction with one another. The main element of the installation is the substantial, obsessive collection of roots. Displayed within the existing space or within a constructed set, the jars of roots are combined with drawings, photographs, videos and sounds to create an overwhelming, claustrophobic effect. In addition to the installation videos, there is a single channel video providing an experimental narrative echoing the themes explored in the installation.
Pulled from the Ground is adaptable to a variety of spaces. The project can be assembled as a full installation, a site specific modified version or as a single channel projection. The full installation includes three monitors situated in a room cluttered with root filled jars. The monitors loop images of pulsating and turning roots synchronized to a cacophony of sounds ranging from deep breathing to frantic mumblings. Almost every space is covered with worn photographs, tattered drawings and jars filled with roots. Other items contribute to the obsessive collection, such as microphones positioned to “capture the sounds of the roots” and a reel-to-reel recorder. A fourth monitor is tethered to the space via an extension cord, distanced somewhat from the cluttered collection and displaying an experimental narrative that documents the themes’ progression.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And unrelated, but also dark & arty (ok, maybe Anti-Sweden could use Mike Bragg’s accompanying music to sell jeans, too)… drone metal titans Sunn O))) are now being used to sell Anti-Sweden jeans in Norway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxjGPRPODyc
Odd. I doubt we’ll ever see Sunn O))) used for commercial purposes in the U.S.A.
~Dan – np: Bill Frisell – Disfarmer
REVIEW: Zoë Jakes & Beats Antique @ Faerieworlds (Mt. Pisgah, OR – 7/31/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
We last saw Zoë Jakes dance with her troupe, Indigo Belly Dance Company with Rachel Brice & Mardi Love, at last year’s Oregon Country Fair. She has a fun American tribal style fusion mixed with some hip-hop pops & locks. Anyway, she’s fun, and a lot of her facial expressions remind me of one of our good friends in Ohio (who is now en route to South Carolina).
Anyway… my wife and I got free tickets to last night’s Faerieworlds 2009 festival. My wife’s working the fest Sat & Sun, but Friday’s Zoë Jakes & Beats Antique show was the main thing I wanted to see. They started right on time, 7:30pm, and played for 75 minutes. Beats Antique is comprised of David Satori (Zoë’s squeeze) & Tommy Chappel. David & Tommy both manned laptops with electronics beats and loops. Tommy also played some hand drums, and David played violin, guitar, and provided horseback rides. Zoë danced with 5 or 6 tunes, taking breaks to change and breathe. :)
The crowd was really into the band and Zoë, and were dancing all around us. Near the end, David brought up a friend who was up front, and she got to dance on stage for a bit (while Zoë was off). As the band was ending their set, the sun was going down. It was really a great scene.
The band has a new digital -EP- out called Contraption Vol 1, and can be gotten via their webpage (not on iTunes, yet). Check it out… it’s got some rad electronic, glitch-rock & dub mixed with world music.
Many pics are below (with a ZIP file with all of the pictures fit to print, but too many to actually post).
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.beatsantique.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/beatsantique
- http://www.zoebellydance.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/zoebellydance
- http://www.theindigo.net/
- http://www.faerieworlds.com/
~Dan – np: downset. – Code Blue Coma -EP- no free download or torrent available, sorry.
ZOË JAKES &
BEATS ANTIQUE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (13 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (10 pics)
and this fuzzy one, because of its funny face…
Large ZIP file with more pictures (47.7Megs)
69 pictures, includes the 23 above
CLICK HERE FOR ZIP FILE (right click, save as)
Zoe
Oakshire Overcast Espresso Stout Float
With the new bottling capabilities of Eugene’s Oakshire Brewery, coupled with Wednesday’s blistering 105° heat in Eugene Oregon, I opted for a tasty treat… a Double Espresso Stout Float.
Three scoops Ciao Bello espresso gelato, about 4-6 ounces of Oakshire Overcast espresso stout, and enjoy! Tasting notes: The espresso gelato was a bit over the top with the already coffee’d up stout. I’d also recommend trying it with good ol’ vanilla ice cream or even another local Eugene company… Coconut Bliss!!
Also, try a Blue Moon & Orange sherbet float (flippin’ amazing)!!
~Dan – np: dóusidʒ – Empties (aka Dóusid 3 or Dosage)
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
Creative Commons
This blog and concert photos therein are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Available with Attribution for Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative Use.
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