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MRT – The Living River 6/3 (photos)

11th Jun 11 (Sat) Leave a comment

The McKenzie River Trust benefit concert, The Living River for the benefit of the McKenzie River, with Misty River & Doug Smith at The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts, Eugene, Oregon – Friday, June 3rd, 2011:

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Photos by Margaret O’Brien (emobie photography)
http://emobiephotography.com/
emobie on Facebook

http://mckenzieriver.org/
http://www.mistyriverband.com/
http://www.dougsmithguitar.com/

~Dan – np: Les RhinocérosLes Rhinocéros

MRT’s Misty River benefit show (Eugene, OR)

4th Jun 11 (Sat) Leave a comment

Busy weekend… hitting the road for Seattle shortly for U2…

Last night was the McKenzie River Trust benefit show “The Living River” at The Shedd (Eugene, OR) with finger-picking wonder Doug Smith & folky group Misty River.  It was a delight.

emobie photography was in the house snapping away some photos.  I’ll post them here with her permission once they are processed (by Tuesday for sure).

In the meantime, check out the websites for MRT & the performers:

http://mckenzieriver.org/

http://www.mistyriverband.com/

http://www.dougsmithguitar.com/

~Dan

REVIEW: Ani DiFranco @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – 4/12/11)

14th Apr 11 (Thu) 2 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Ani DiFranco comes through Eugene on just about every West Coast tour – which is always a delight.  The crowd seemed a tad sparse… perhaps due to the lack of new Ani material out there recently.  She’s prolific, but hasn’t put out an album since 2008’s Red Letter Year.  She hasn’t even put out any new official live bootlegs since 2009.  With that lack of apparent new music on the shelves (CD World or iTunes), one might think she’s taking a break.  Well, as you’ll see from the setlist below, no break has occurred with her songwriting proliferation…

Super busy week; so I apologize in advance… I didn’t catch the opener Animal Prufrock this time.  I saw her back in 2008 with Judy Grahn & Ani D.  I enjoyed Animal’s raucous energy, but again… twas an uber-busy week, and I couldn’t make it to the McD for the early opener start time (Animal @ 7:30, Ani D @ 8:30!).

I got into the venue about 30 seconds before Ani and band hit the stage.  Whew, perfect timing!  Her band this time was the same as her prior Eugene gig… Andy Barger on drums, Mike Dillon on percussion, and Todd Sickafoose on contrabass.  Fantastically gelled band… I love watching these guys play.  In fact, I’ll be seeing Mike Dillon play again next week in Eugene.  At the end of the Ani tour, he’s hitting the road with Skerik and the rest of the guys with Garage A Trois.

Tons of new stuff was played…

Setlist: around 90 minutes pre-encore

  • Anticipate
  • Angry Any More
  • Unworry (newish – she played it at Eugene 2009)
  • Paradigm
  • Promiscuity (new)
  • Gloating (new)
  • W.O.W. (new)
  • J (new)
  • I Know This Bar
  • See See “Still in Love with You” (new)
  • The Atom
  • Everest
  • If You’re Not (new)
  • Untouchable Face
  • Which Side Are You On?
  • Encore: Overlap
  • Angel from Montgomery

Due to a hectic week, I had to bail right before the encore.  Based on other reports from this tour, she also played a few older tunes and maybe the newer tune “Mariachi.”  Anyone with a good memory or notes throw a little help on what she played after “Which Side…” for an encore?

As far as the new stuff, I dug it… especially “Gloating,” “Jay,” and “W.O.W.”  I will say one of the best things of the night was the main line to “If You’re Not”…

If you’re not getting happier as you get older, you’re fucking up.

A lot of new stuff to digest… I usually need some more time for the new material to kick around my brain.  Perhaps with this glut of new material, she’s heading into the studio soon for studio album #18(!).  Anyone catch her Crystal Ballroom show in Portland? Any major difference in setlist?

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Next show for me… Skerik, Mike Dillon, Marc Benevento and Stanton Moore are Garage A Trois @ Sam Bond’s 4/21.

~Dan – np: Todd SickafooseTiny Resistors

ANI DIFRANCO PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Ani DiFranco in Eugene (4/12)

12th Apr 11 (Tue) Leave a comment

Photos and review of Ani DiFranco’s show at the McDonald Theatre in Eugene coming soon(ish)!

Check back Wednesday evening or Thursday morning for the report from Eugene!

Her Portland show is Wednesday… check it!

~Dan

REVIEW: Madeleine Peyroux @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 4/5/11)

7th Apr 11 (Thu) Leave a comment

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Madeleine Peyroux has a new album coming out called Standin’ On the Rooftop.  The album, coming out June 7th on Decca, features Marc Ribot on guitar/banjo along with Me’shell Ndegeocello on bass.  No word on tracklist for the full-length, but she just released a preview EP called The Things I’ve Seen Today, which features the title track co-written by violinist Jenny Scheinman and a delightful cover of The Beatles’ “Martha, My Dear” (click picture to the right for samples).

This show in Eugene was her second time through in as many years.  I don’t recall if the band members were the same as last time, but regardless, they were all fantastic musicians.  While Ribot/Ndegeocello/Scheinman were not in the live band, all four band members created a vibe conducive to taking in Madeleine’s golden vocal chords.

They played a fairly jazzy set, and Madeleine’s lush vocals bounced around in more of a jazzy singer-songwriter feel than I remembered her from before.  As you’ll be able to see from the setlist below, she played a lot of the new material from the forthcoming album – much of it I was unable to unidentify.  If you have any assistance on the setlist, let me know in the comments.

Setlist: over 90 minutes

  • unknown
  • The Things I’ve Seen Today
  • Martha, My Dear [The Beatles]
  • “Muddy Mississippi”
  • You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go [Bob Dylan]
  • “seen my reflection underneath the moon”
  • “here we are… I’m only human”
  • Don’t Wait Too Long
  • Don’t Pick a Fight With a Poet
  • “Meet me in Rio”
  • “involuntary pass/past(?)”
  • Dance Me to the End of Love [Leonard Cohen]
  • unknown love song
  • Instead [with band introductions & solos]
  • Encore: J’Ai Deux Amours
  • “I hear music” [with band solos]

Fantastic show.  Madeleine was fairly chatty and in a great mood.  The Eugene crowd was fairly subdued, except for a particular “amateur comedian” named George who interacted a bit with Madeleine – which at one point said she should have him open for her. :)

Be on the lookout for her new album in June.  She’s hitting a few more West Coast & Canada dates (as well as a NYC date) between now and the end of June.  Check out more tour dates below.

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Next show for me… quite possibly Ani DiFranco at McDonald Theatre in Eugene (4/12).

~Dan – np: PlatypusWhen Pus Comes to Shove

MADELEINE PEYROUX PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Madeleine Peyroux Spring/Summer 2011 Tour Dates:
3/31-4/02 – Seattle, WA @ Jazz Alley
4/03 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
4/05 – Eugene, OR @ Shedd Institute for Arts
4/06 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Wells Fargo Center
4/08 – San Francisco, CA @ Palace of Fine Arts
4/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ Luckman Theater
4/11 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Lobero Theatre
4/13 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
6/17-19 – New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
6/22 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
6/24 – Victoria, British Columbia, Canada @ Royal Theatre (Victoria
International Jazzfest)
6/25 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada @ Centre for the Performing Arts
(Vancouver International Jazz Festival))
6/26 – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada @ Winspear Centre for Music (Edmonton Int’l
Jazz Festival)
6/28 – Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada @ Theatre Granada
6/29 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada @ Theatre Maisonneuve (Fest Int’l De Jazz De
Montreal)
6/30 – Quebec, Canada @ Raoul-Jobin Hall (Palais Montcalm)

Oakshire’s Hellshire I (5/7/2011)

6th Apr 11 (Wed) Leave a comment

My favorite local Eugene brewery Oakshire has been delving into single batches and barrel-aged beers lately.  One of my favorites so far is the Heart-shaped Box… a barrel-aged espresso stout with cherries, cocoa nibs and vanilla beans.  Freakin’ wondrous. Well, they’re going to start bottling and releasing some of their barrel-aged creations under the moniker “HELLSHIRE.”  The first one hits May 7th at 8am, the morning after the Sasquatch Brewer’s Dinner:

Hellshire I – barleywine aged in bourbon barrels

The official press release on Hellshire I

For 10 months, it has rested quietly and now it is time for it’s triumphant unveiling!!

Our new line of barrel aged beers, dubbed The Hellshire Series, will have it’s first release with a grand party on Saturday May 7th beginning at 8AM. A limited number of bottles will be sold in 22 ounce, wax dipped bottles for $15 each. Along with live, local music, we’ll have complimentary coffee and we will have a local food cart on site cooking up breakfast sandwiches. Oakshire beers will be sampled and sold along with the last of the Heart Shaped Box and any other goodies we can dig out of the cooler. Come and have brunch at Oakshire Brewing!

Hellshire I is a bourbon barrel aged barleywine. It is 10% abv and spent 10 months in Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrels. Notes of vanilla, coconut and bourbon intertwine with the complex malt and hop flavors. We’ve bottle conditioned it, so enjoy it now, or store it in your beer cellar for months.

Hellshire, our barrel aged beer program, is currently underway and growing. With an inventory of 50 barrels, we’ve got plans for wild (sour) beers, bourbon aged beers, gin barrel aged beers and more. We expect someday to be able to release 3-4 unique barrel aged beers per year, but for now we’ll wait until the beer tells us it is ready. All of the Hellshire beers will be released in bottles in limited quantities at the brewery.

I’ll be camped out at 8am… despite the brewer’s dinner the night before.  It’ll be a fun morning… I’m looking forward to more bottled goodness, and maybe the Heart-shaped Box bottles will rise up one of these days.

Related Sidenote: Love Oakshire’s beers?  Wanna try a warm weather treat?  How about an Overcast espresso stout float.  Yum!

~Dan – np: RadioheadThe King of Limbs

REVIEW: The Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – 3/16/11)

19th Mar 11 (Sat) Leave a comment

I hadn’t heard the Punch Brothers prior to the show, outside of a few clips on their webpage… but what I did hear, I knew I’d love it.  I have also been a fan of frontman Chris Thile’s mandolin work with Nickel Creek; so I knew what to expect from at least his performance.

The show started with a delightful set from local fiddler prodigy Tatiana Hargreaves (backed by Scott Law on guitar).  I had seen Tatiana play (with her brother Alex) during Works Progress Administration’s show at the WOW Hall in 2009 – which is a side project from Glen Phillips and Sean & Sara Watkins (from Nickel Creek as well)… so her opening for the Punch Brothers made perfect sense.  Her set was a great warm up for what was to come (sorry, no photos came out of Tatiana & Scott, my camera was acting up).

The Punch Brothers went on shortly after Tatiana’s set.  No flashy stage set-up or lights, just five guys and their instruments.  The Punch Brothers are Chris Thile on mandolin & vocals, Gabe Witcher on fiddle/violin, Noam Pikelny on banjo, Chris Eldridge on guitar, and Paul Kowert on bass.  They played a hour and a half or more with a great split between rollicking bluegrass vocal numbers and more stretched out instrumental pieces.

The overall musicianship in the entire group was evident early on.  They were a quite tight five piece string band, and the lack of drums was barely noticeable – their use of rhythm duties amongst the strings was more than enough to keep the jammy, progressive instrumental movements rolling along.  Since I don’t know their material all that well, I can’t really help out on the setlist front.  I know they played “Rye Whiskey,” the Beatles “Paperback Writer,” a stunning mandolin-centric version of Radiohead “Paranoid Android,” and Chris Thile did a riveting Bach piece on solo mandolin. Also, per Serena from the Register Guard, they covered the Strokes and Josh Ritter as well.

Fantastic show, and I shall get to know their music before they swing through again.  Their latest CD is 2010’s Antifogmatic (pictured to the right).

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Next show for me… probably Lawn Gnomes & Upstate Trio @ Cornucopia (3/25) or Pojama People (an Oregon Frank Zappa cover band) @ Sam Bond’s Garage (3/26).

~Dan – np: David BazanFewer Moving Pieces

THE PUNCH BROTHERS PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Eugene Beer Week – May 2nd to 8th, 2011

14th Mar 11 (Mon) Leave a comment

I’m not a “beer blogger” per se.  I’m a music blogger, but I’m a homebrewer and dig a good local beer.  For Oregonians, this is an event to get excited about…

Eugene Beer Week

From May 2nd to May 8th, Eugene Oregon will host its first annual beer week.
Eugene Beer Week will celebrate craft beer culture in the Willamette Valley.

The US craft brewing industry has been growing steadily and cities across the country have been organizing beer celebrations to promote the industry. These beer weeks include a great number of beer tastings, brewers dinners and other events celebrating craft beer. Breweries, retailers, bars, restaurants and beer writers participate in beer weeks by helping bring greater awareness to a region’s craft beers. Cities such as Seattle, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Chicago all boast successful beer weeks.

Eugene Beer Week’s objective is to bring a greater awareness of craft beer in the Willamette Valley. They aim to accomplish this goal by providing a website that beer drinkers can peruse and locate beer related events taking place during the week. Eugenebeerweek.org will also provide a forum for businesses to promote their beer week efforts. Eugene Beer Week culminates with the Sasquatch Beer Festival that celebrates the life of one of Eugene’s former brewers, Glen Falconer.

What’s in store?

  • Beer Dinners – Special dinners featuring a beer or several beer paired courses
  • Beer Releases – Release celebration celebrating a new beer
  • Festivals – Craft beer festivals
  • Tastings – Special tastings of craft beers
  • How to Brew/Taste/Enjoy – demonstrations and informational classes

For more information visit eugenebeerweek.org (or Facebook and Twitter below).  Stay tuned for some great events around town.


~Dan – np: EisleyThe Valley

REVIEW: Kaki King @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 3/9/11)

12th Mar 11 (Sat) 1 comment

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Kaki King burst into the music scene in 2003 with her exquisite fretwork and primarily instrumental pieces. “Playing With Pink Noise” (from 2004’s Legs to Make Us Longer) thrust her more in the indie rock spotlight, showcasing a guitar that she played as if it were trying to run away from her. The video for “Pink Noise” was simply a white backdrop with Kaki effortlessly plucking and slapping away among randomly timed pink rose petals and balloons. It helped land her hands on the silver screen — as the up-close guitar “stunt double” for Freddie Highmore, who played a guitar prodigy in 2007’s August Rush. Later that year, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her score for Sean Penn’s Into the Wild (alongside Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder).

With her fifth album, Junior, a more mature songwriter has emerged. She still brings the famous fretwork to her songs, but Junior brings vocals more to the fore. Kaki woos us with the subtle and intricate pop of “Spit It Back In My Mouth,” the drive of “Falling Day,” the indie pop feel of “Communist Friends” and the hard rock of “Death Head.” The vulnerable and heartfelt “Sunnyside” brings the album to a close and shows off her more personal side. Kaki King is for fans of the indie rock of Sleater-Kinney and Tegan & Sara, or for those who like a bit more virtuoso musicianship mixed in with their lush pop melodies.

Kaki came through Eugene last May, and blew us away with her rockin’ band.  For this go-round, it was just going to be her and her guitar.  Or, shall I say… guitars… this is dubbed her “Guitar Traveling Freak Show” tour…

kaki king’s “band” on this tour

Before Kaki hit the stage, Washington went on.  (Megan) Washington is an Australian singer-songwriter, who I hear is quite popular down under.  She actually started her set with a joke about an odd fellow from Arcata, CA, who brandished a sword in front of her the day prior.  She told us that she normally plays guitar, but due to obvious reasons wouldn’t be tonight.  Her sound reminded me of a slightly grittier Regina Spektor (specifically from a vocal side of things).  She definitely had some songwriting chops.  She played about an hour… sometimes dreamy piano pop, sometimes more sullen indie rock.  She didn’t have anything to sell us (no shirt, CDs, etc)… probably too difficult to manage hauling it to this hemisphere.  I’d recommend checking out her records, especially How to Tame Lions and I Believe You Liar.

Kaki hit the stage at 8:30pm for this early show.  She played almost entirely an instrumental set… with vocals only on “Life Being” and “Communist” (if I remember correctly).  She switched between her trusty six string, a smaller than usual 12-string (Irish?), a banjo-guitar hybrid, an interestingly “koto”-style modified bridge guitar, a harp guitar, and probably a few I’m missing.

Setlist: about 90 minutes

  • Bone Chaos in the Castle
  • I Need A Girl Who Knows A Map
  • Doing the Wrong Thing
  • unidentified… possibly “Ingots”
  • Life Being What It Is
  • Playing With Pink Noise
  • unidentified… possibly “Carmine St”
  • My Girl the Horse [Fences]
  • Andecy [Andrew York]
  • Because It’s There [Michael Hedges]
  • Nails
  • unidentified… possibly “Magazine”
  • unidentified… new song for Megan Washington
  • unidentified… possibly “Bowen Island”
  • Encore: unidentified… with Dan Brantigan on trumpet
  • unidentified… “world premiere” drunk guitar song
  • Communist Friends

Kaki is the kind of guitar player that makes non-guitar players want to learn how to play.  She’s also the kind of guitar player who makes current guitar players want to throw away their axe.  And despite her focused brilliance with her instrument, she has quite a humorous and awkwardly delightful stage presence.  She’s charming, she’ll jokingly cuss the audience out, and then she’ll be self-deprecating.  She’ll act playful and humble, and then she’ll smoke the 6 to 12 strings in front of her without much trouble.  There’s no doubt that she belongs on stage and that you belong watching her.

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

Next show for me… Chris Thile‘s Punch Brothers at McDonald Theatre on 3/16.

~Dan – np: Nik Bärtsch’s RoninLlyrìa

KAKI KING PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

KAKI KING – 2011 TOUR DATES
Feb 23 Museum of Modern Art: Celeste Bartos Theatre New York, New York
Feb 26 Salon Vive Cuervo Mexico City, Mexico
Feb 28 The Loft – UC San Diego San Diego, California
Mar 2 Largo at the Coronet West Hollywood, California
Mar 3 College of the Sequoias Theatre Visalia, California
Mar 4 Yoshi’s San Francisco, CA
Mar 5 Ashkenaz Berkeley, California
Mar 6 Harlows Sacramento, California
Mar 8 Jambalaya Arcata, California
Mar 9 WOW Hall Eugene, Oregon
Mar 10 Mississippi Studios Portland, Oregon
Mar 11 The Triple Door Seattle, Washington
Mar 12 Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Mar 24 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mar 25 Space Evanston, Illinois
Mar 26 The Old Rock House St. Louis, Missouri
Mar 28 Southgate House Newport, Kentucky
Mar 29 The Birchmere Alexandria , Virginia
Mar 30 World Cafe Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Apr 1 Center for the Arts Natick, Massachusetts
Apr 2 Iron Horse Northampton, Massachusetts
Apr 3 Infinity Hall Norfolk, Connecticut
Apr 7 City Winery New York, New York
Apr 8 City Winery New York, New York
Apr 9 Binghamton University Binghamton, New York

Kaki King @ WOW Hall in Eugene 2011

10th Mar 11 (Thu) 2 comments

Help 12-yo blues singer Savanna (Kickstarter) [3/6 update]

6th Mar 11 (Sun) Leave a comment

Savanna has less than a month left and is only about halfway there. If you have a spare $10, you can help her make this album. Every little bit helps!

http://tinyurl.com/coen-kickstart

~Dan

Help 12-yo blues singer Savanna (Kickstarter) I’m here to promote music.  When that music is also made by friends, it’s even more fun to promote. When I moved to Eugene, I got involved in a most excellent vegetarian supper club.  The founders, Josh & Sharon Coen, are super great… it’s a really fun group.  Well, when we moved here, we met their (then) 9 year old Savanna.  About two years ago, she started singing and has been gigging more and more in the Eugene area… whether it be Satu … Read More

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REVIEW: Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin @ Alberta Rose/PDX Jazz Fest (Portland, OR – 2/25/11)

1st Mar 11 (Tue) 2 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Despite Grammy-winner Esperanza Spalding going on at the same night as part of Portland Jazz Fest 2011, I wasn’t going to miss Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin.  I got into Ronin with 2006’s Stoa.  Nik’s way of creative a funky, piano-based jazz setting captured my attention.  And being from Switzerland, the chances to see Ronin are few and far between (their U.S. Tour consisted of four dates: Oakland, Portland, Knoxville & New York).  First, the opener…

First up was Portland’s own Blue Cranes.  I had heard of them, and I was glad to make it to the club early enough to catch their set.  Great reed-driven quartet.  They started out with a guest sax player and a string trio (with Anna Fritz, whom I’ve seen/heard before).  They were genteel at first, but also drove the tempo up with some raucous solos and melodies.

Songs I caught the names of their hour-long set (I missed the opening song’s name): Love Love Love (by Wayne Horvitz), Hated Because of Great Qualities (by Blonde Redhead), Grandpa’s Hands (featuring toy piano), Beware of the Pneumatic Nailer, Soldier (with strings), Ritchie Bros., and Maddie Mae.  Sha from Ronin joined them on-stage for a number as well.  They’re heading out on an 30-day Amtrack tour soon… kicking off March 19th @ Tony Starlight‘s in Portland.

RONIN is Nik Bärtsch on piano, Kaspar Rast on drums, Andi Pupato on percussion, Sha on the alto and bass clarinet, and Thomy Jordi on bass.  Their latest album, Llyrìa, came out on ECM in October 2010 and features what Nik calls “moduls.”

A “modul” is an unnamed, but numbered musical entities that can be woven together.  Per Nik (in his interview with Oregon Music News), “when a module combination makes dramaturgically and formally sense and creates a coherent piece, I give a number to it.

Friday’s show was primarily pulled from the moduls in Llyrìa.  Interwoven, interlocking, overlapping pieces played through the air as the dimly, strategically lit stage changed to fit the sounds.  Color and music formed an fantastic audio and visual masterpiece.  The moduls started with a slow rumble and grew and warped throughout their long set.  Very much jazz-centric, but also many elements of rock, funk, and progressive music.  The PDX Jazz Fest brought Nik to town in 2008, but I’m hoping it doesn’t have to be another three years before we get to see this amazing live act again in Oregon.

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Next show for me… Damien Jurado & Viva Voce at Doug Fir Lounge on Friday, 3/4.

~Dan – np: Mike PattonA Perfect Place

NIK BARTSCH PDX JAZZ FEST PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin (PDX Jazz Fest)

26th Feb 11 (Sat) Leave a comment

Last night’s Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin show at the Alberta Rose Theatre as part of the 2011 Portland Jazz Festival last night was amazing… due to work and other commitments, I won’t be able to edit and post the photos until probably Monday or Tuesday.  UPDATE: the review is live now, sorry about the delay.

(more coming soon)

Check back sometime next week!

~Dan

REVIEW: Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR – 2/18/11)

19th Feb 11 (Sat) 13 comments

GYBE-evaphoto

Video flickers “hope” on loop. Slow build with piercing tones presumably of guitar mixed with cello & screams in the violin pickups. The vapors turn into steam, the bowing more frantic, random percussive shakes. Eight minutes, the first hits on a high hat. The steam now turning into an impending waterfall. “Hope” still flickers. The impending waterfall never comes. The sounds fall away into sweepy hallways.

Clean guitars, gentle malleted vibes, as the guitar soars upwards with the violins. The screen text and numbers jumble. The pace expands and explodes, then stabilizes. Guitars are the backbone, the drums brisk, the xylo/vibes, on the other hand, are furious. Gasping. Grasping. They’re trying to escape. The drums take over, the other players fall to the side. A stringed étude tucks it away.

Violin warming up, workshop hammering percussion until the sounds become like a train leaving the station. This one built quicker than the prior pieces. More Mogwaian versus Sigurrósient. Churning turns into hints of melodic keys. Maybe they were just car keys… it’s turned more into a tumultuous rock instrumental.  Rush.

That was the first forty minutes. The rest of Godspeed You! Black Emperor‘s two-plus hour set was full of highs and lows, and all the things that make post-rock so wondrous and confounding. Sweeping movements with The Anatomy of Melancholy text and images flashing above the band’s heads. I think sprinting away from convention is what makes this music so magical. Shying away from the press definitely adds to the mystery.

Setlist: (thanks Jason & others)

  • Hope Drone
  • Moya
  • Albanian
  • Monheim
  • Dead Metheny
  • (unknown)
  • 09-15-00 (outro)
  • Chart #3
  • World Police & Friendly Fire
  • Gathering Storm
  • Blaise Bailey Finnegan III (aka BBF3)

Sorry for no photos from the show… t’was too packed, dark and I decided to hang back and enjoy anyway.  My opinion of the opener in the comment section.

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

Next show for me… Nik Barstch’s Ronin as part of Portland Jazz Fest next weekend.

~Dan – np: EarthAngels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Tourdates

February 2011
16 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Vogue Theatre
17 – Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox at the Market
18 – Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom
20 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall
21 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall
23 – Los Angeles, Calif @ Music Box at the Henry Fonda

March 2011
16 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Masonic Temple
17 – New York City, N.Y. @ Church of St. Paul the Apostle
19 – Philadelphia, Penn. @ Trocadero
20 Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
22 – Athens, Ga. @ 40 Watt Club
24 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Cannery Ballroom
26 – Chicago, Ill. @ Metro
27 – Chicago, Ill. @ Metro
29 – Detroit, Mich. @ Majestic Theatre

REVIEW: Elton John @ Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, OR – 2/17/11)

18th Feb 11 (Fri) 6 comments

Vancouver 2011, photo by Adrian Lam, Timescolonist.com

The newly built Matthew Knight Arena, nestled at the University of Oregon in lovely Eugene, Oregon, hosted a supreme pop-star last night… the multi-million record selling Sir Elton John.  He’s been releasing records and trotting the globe for over 5 decades, he has a countless (or at least monumentally difficult to count) list of awards and sales records.  His tribute to Princess Diana (the “Candle in the Wind 1997″ single) sold 37 million copies alone.  He’s been brash & counter-culture, but more often than not, he’s been a shaper of pop culture and pop music.

So, why Eugene, Oregon for his kick-off U.S. date on his 2011 winter tour?  eh, maybe he’s a Ducks fan? Regardless of the reason, we were glad to host him and his band.  His band last night was Davey Johnstone on guitar, Nigel Olsson on drums, Bob Birch on bass, John Mahon on percussion, Kim Bullard on keyboards, and a quartet of backing singers.

This was my first time to the Matthew Knight Arena (aka Matt Arena or Matt Court).  It is a gorgeous facility.  I tend to see artists play in much smaller venues, but it’s good to see a new venue in town to draw bigger arena acts.  I am in Portland a lot, but if I can stay in town for someone like the Foo Fighters, Leonard Cohen, Pearl Jam, Tool, etc – I will.

The show was, as expected, a “Greatest Hits Live” show with a handful of new tunes…

Setlist: about 3 hours

  • Funeral For A Friend
  • Love Lies Bleeding
  • Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)
  • Levon
  • Madman Across the Water
  • Tiny Dancer
  • Philadelphia Freedom
  • Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
  • Daniel
  • Rocket Man
  • I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues
  • Hey Ahab
  • The Best Part Of The Day
  • Gone To Shiloh
  • Monkey Suit
  • When Love Is Dying
  • Sad Songs
  • Piano Solo/Take Me To The Pilot
  • Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody)
  • Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
  • Candle in the Wind
  • Burn Down the Mission
  • Bennie and the Jets
  • The Bitch Is Back
  • I’m Still Standing
  • Crocodile Rock
  • Encore: Your Song
  • Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me

Check out photos from the Eugene show over at Eugene Weekly‘s blog:
http://blogs.eugeneweekly.com/content/elton-john-live-matt-knight-arena-21711

Elton John’s show was full of energy.  I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest Elton John fan, but there were many songs that I knew.  With that many records and hit songs, even an avant-garde jazz & metal fan is bound to know more than half of the songs.  The band was tight – pretty much nailing the progressive rock parts on “Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding,” but the stage was set to let Elton shine.  He didn’t just sit back and let his backing band take charge.

Things I could have lived without… the crazy texters surrounding us, the people who whipped out their cellphones to take pictures and/or videos (from the nose bleeds), and well, yeah, the keyboard horn section.  Oh, and the crazy or drunk lady who eventually got ejected during “Candle in the Wind.”

Short and sweet: Elton put on a fantastic show, and I’m excited for more big events here in Eugene!

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

Next show for me… Godspeed You! Black Emperor tonight in Portland (Crystal Ballroom).  Look for a review later this weekend…

~Dan – np: MogwaiHardcore Will Never Die,  But You Will

Elton John 2011 North American Tour Dates

  • 14-Feb-2011 Victoria BC Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
  • 15-Feb-2011 Victoria BC Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
  • 17-Feb-2011 Eugene, OR Matthew Knight Arena
  • 19-Feb-2011 Reno, NV Event Center
  • 24-Feb-2011 Kahului, HI Maui Arts & Cultural Center
  • 25-Feb-2011 Kahului, HI Maui Arts & Cultural Center
  • 11-Mar-2011 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun
  • 12-Mar-2011 Worcester, MA DCU Center
  • 16-Mar-2011 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
  • 18-Mar-2011 Norfolk, VA Ted Constant Convocation Center
  • 20-Mar-2011 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
  • 23-Mar-2011 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center
  • 25-Mar-2011 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
  • 26-Mar-2011 Baltimore, MD First Mariner Arena
  • 27-Mar-2011 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
  • 06-Apr-2011 Bismarck, ND Civic Center
  • 08-Apr-2011 Spokane, WA Spokane Arena
  • 09-Apr-2011 Boise, ID Taco Bell Arena
  • 10-Apr-2011 Billings, MT Matra Park
  • 22-Apr-2011 Wilkes-Barre, PA Mohegan Sun Arena
  • 23-Apr-2011 Rochester, NY Blue Cross Arena
  • 06-May-2011 Duluth, MN Amsoil Arena

 

Psychology & the Taste Buds: Abyss 2009

7th Feb 11 (Mon) Leave a comment

SO, in late 2009, I jumped on the “damn, I like this tasty beer” bandwagon and bought a case of Deschutes Brewery‘s The Abyss 2009.  I had it in 2008 and liked it; so why not!?  The price wasn’t something to sneeze at, but it essentially became the start of my now bustling beer cellar.  The Abyss is an Imperial Stout, clocking in at 11% abv – brewed with licorice and molasses with 1/3 of the beer aged in oak barrels.  It’s quite a treat, and it comes out once a year in black wax dipped 22oz bombers.

It’s also in limited quantity, hence my impulse purchase of an entire case being not all that irrational.  A beer barrel (BBL) is 31 gallons (roughly 2 full kegs)…

Vintages (production numbers from Deschutes):
2006 – Released December 2006 (approx 90 BBL)
2007 – Released January 2008 (approx 350 BBL)
2008 – Released November 2008 (approx 350 BBL)
2009 – Released November 2009 (approx 600 BBL)
2010 – Released December 2010 (approx 600 BBL)

Well, fast forward to Thanksgiving 2010, I cracked a 2009 Abyss open, and wow… I did not like it.  I shared it amongst friends; so we managed to kill the bottle.  We had plenty of beer on hand that day (various homebrews as well as growlers of Block 15’s La Ferme de Demons & Gilgamesh’s Mamba); so I didn’t make a big deal of it.

Then I had another Abyss 2009 around Christmas.  I drank about 8-12 ounces of it and hated it… I did the unthinkable.  I poured about half a bottle down the drain.  When you’re expecting a creamy & dense licorice & molasses bold stout on your lips, the taste that was coming from the glass was simply unpalatable.

The 2007, 2008 & 2010 Abyss vintages were / are phenomenal and hit the mark based on what you’d expect from a partially oak-aged imperial licorice & molasses stout.  What went wrong with 2009’s vintage?

Jan 31, 2011… the brewery announced that they found the culprit… a wild yeast called Brettanomyces (aka “Brett”) was found in some of their oak barrels (this also affected the 2009 Mirror Mirror release).  Brettanomyces varieties (Bruxellensis, Lambicus & Anomolus), as well as other wild yeasts like Pediococcus or Lactobacillus are sometimes used on purpose in beer.  In fact, I have a double red ale going now that just finished a fermentation with Wyeast’s Roeselare #3763 – which is a souring yeast blend with a Belgian style ale strain, a sherry strain, two Brett strains, a Lacto culture, and a Pedio culture.

As with many things beer, I’m blaming my friend Aaron for my introduction and head-over-heels love of sour beers.  Last summer he was on a sour kick that baffled me, then he introduced me to some sours, and then Cascade Brewing in Portland opened up a pub.  Now… every time I go up there, I have to hit up their Barrel House in SE Portland.  I went to a brewer’s dinner last fall (menu) that was out of this world amazing.  They are the “House of Sour Beer,” but even Cascade trys to stay away from Brett, as it has a way of taking over everything.  They had some beer get infected, rolled it out to the barrel house and then destroyed the barrel(s) involved afterwards.

Brett is a wily devil, and its impact on the 2009 Abyss is likely bad news for many people.  Well, now that I know what is giving off the “bad flavor”… here is where I’m going to see if psychology and perception are gonna make this more than half a case left of “infected” 2009 Abyss turn into a treasure.

February 6, 2011… I decided to crack open another bottle.

First taste? Oh, yeah, it’s definitely infected.

But… now I like it.

Explain that! Not even five weeks ago, I had some of the very same infected beer, and I dumped more than half the bottle.  Now, I have it… tastes probably identical, but since I was expecting a soured Brett-y beer, I am totally digging it.

Oh, Brain, you have pwned me again.

Happy psychology experiment on Deschutes’ accident.  Well, at least I have some more left to enjoy over the coming years.  For future releases, they will be flash pasteurizing their oak-aged beers – to kill any wild yeast strains prior to blending.  2009 Abyss & Mirror Mirror may be bad for some, but they also may be a special treat for others.  I’d suggest not sending them back to the brewery for a refund.  Find someone out there who will trade you for it.  Rather than seeing it get dumped, put it to use… in a sour fiend’s mouth. :)

~Dan – np: MogwaiSpecial Moves

REVIEW: Nels Cline Singers with Yuka Honda @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – 1/30/11)

2nd Feb 11 (Wed) 3 comments

 FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

I had heard of Nels Cline like many people… via Wilco.  I had even seen Wilco at some point on the A Ghost is Born tour (Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, 2000-and-something).  While I dig Wilco enough, more adventurous music is where it’s at for me nowadays.  I had heard of Nels and knew of his free jazz group, but I had only actually heard a little bit of his music – which gets me to my interest even being piqued in this show… enter Yuka C. Honda.

I dig Yuka’s Japanese/American sugar-pop of Cibo Matto (with fellow Japanese ex-pat Miho Hatori), but I also dig her experimental acoustic-electronic albums on Tzadik.  My love of Yuka’s solo work led to her Portland tour date popping up on my radar…and I saw “oh, and with Nels Cline, I’ve heard some of his stuff.”

Boy, was I in for a surprise.

I found out about a week before the show that Yuka was actually playing with the Nels Cline Singers (the next generation of his NC Trio).  I found out later that they’re married ; so the joint tour totally made sense to me now.

Then I found out that one of my favorite bassists, Trevor Dunn, was playing in the group for this short West Coast tour.  Trevor played/plays with Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Moonchild, Trio Convulsant, Electric Masada, et-fucking-cetera (tons upon tons of groups).

Then I found out that Scott Amendola was drumming with them… he’s the drummer for Mike Patton‘s fantastic Mondo Cane big-band.  Then, after seeing the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger* on Friday 1/28 in Portland, I thought… “hey, GOASTT is wrapping up their tour in Seattle on the 29th, and Nels Cline is starting their tour on the 29th in Seattle.  Sean Lennon (of GOASTT) & Yuka used to be together as a couple and still work in bands together, Sean & Nels are on the same label, I bet something’s up.”  Well, yeah, something was up…

*GOASTT is Sean Lennon & Charlotte Kemp Muhl‘s band (to the R of Nels).

As evidenced above, Sean & Charlotte watched from side of the stage during the first set, until Sean disappeared only to come up on stage to tambourine with the group for the last song in the first set.

So, now that my mind was thoroughly blown with all of the players on stage – let’s get on with the music.

Despite the “Singers” namesake, it’s an instrumental band.  Actually, it’s an instrumental force with which to reckon.  The first set started off with just the trio of Nels’ guitars and the battery of Trevor & Scott.  The first song “Forge” swooned and swelled before crashing down on our ears.

The group seemed to me to be a great mix of what I love about both free jazz and post-rock.  You don’t know what to expect, and you don’t want to know what to expect.  The wave-like rise and fall is part of the enjoyment.  If the wave doesn’t take you to where you wanted to go, well, you have to give in… it’s not your wave to control.

After the first few songs, Yuka came on and joined them on keyboards and percussion.  I think she evened out the sound a bit… less chaotic, but still adventurous.

1st Set: 60-70 minutes

  • Forge
  • A Mug Like Mine
  • Dedication
  • Thurston County
  • B86 (Inkblot Nebula)
  • Thoughts on Caetano [with Sean Lennon]

Brilliant wall of sound and magic coming from the Singers.  Alas, I had to call it a night.  They took about a 30-40 minute break before I threw in the towel (around 11pm).  They were going to come back on and do a 2nd full set.  Sunday night, long drive ahead of me… I headed back to Eugene.  I sooo very much wanted to stick around for the second set.  The cards were stacked against me; so I scurried to my car and hit the road… if any readers caught the second set – how was it? what did they play?

many more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

Next shows for me… Sir Elton John in Eugene on 2/17 and then Godspeed! You Black Emperor the next day in Portland.

~Dan – np: OpethOrchid

NELS CLINE SINGERS PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Winter 2011 West Coast Tour Dates

  • Jan 29 – Seattle, WA – Is That Jazz? Festival
  • Jan 30 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
  • Feb 2 – Arcata, CA – Arcata Playhouse
  • Feb 3 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
  • Feb 4 – Santa Cruz, CA – Don Quixote’s
  • Feb 5 – Los Angeles, CA – Getty Center

Nels Cline Singers – Portland (photos on Wednesday)

31st Jan 11 (Mon) 1 comment

Last night’s show at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland with the Nels Cline Singers (Nels, Trevor Dunn & Scott Amendola) with Yuka Honda was rad.  Due to my schedule, I won’t be able to post the review until late Tuesday Wednesday (Go Here for the Review/Photos).  Here are some teaser shots… one with Sean Lennon







More to come… check back Tuesday night Wednesday morning!  Sorry, utterly swamped at work…

~Dan

REVIEW: Sean Lennon/Charlotte Kemp Muhl’s Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger @ The Woods (Portland, OR – 1/28/11)

29th Jan 11 (Sat) 4 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Sean Lennon‘s last studio album,  Friendly Fire, was brilliant.  Not only was it chock full of great pop songs, but it also came with a DVD with a full album’s worth of cinematic music videos… for the entire album.  Back in 2008, his new band Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (with Charlotte Kemp-Muhl) had a presence on MySpace… and put out some songs that eventually blossomed into the debut album – Acoustic Sessions (out in late 2010).  They hit the road this past December & January, winding up with their last few shows here on the West Coast.

Opener Laura Gibson is a Portland local who has been the support on this recent GOASTT tour.  Of all the venues on the tour, she said she could have “roller skated to this venue” (The Woods in the Sellwood neighborhood).  She played 45 minutes with her drummer / multi-instrumentalistSean Ogilvie.  Their set was quite wonderful: a folky, poppy duo… similar to the Weepies with a bit more charm, and very reminiscent in some of her vocal delivery to Maery Lanahan (from Seattle via Dayton, OH).  Charming, well-crafted songs… and with anagram nicknames like “Albino Sugar” and “Eagle Vision,” you simply can’t go wrong with Laura Gibson & Sean Ogilvie!

After what seemed like a long-time, Sean, Charlotte & horn-player C.J. took the stage.  They dug right into a new song, the only song I didn’t previously know… Sean rattled off the song name quickly.  I didn’t catch it, except for they did sing “she’s got a meanstreak” a few times throughout.  They played mostly everything from their Acoustic Sessions album except for “Robot Boy,” and also threw in a couple covers and a great song from Sean’s Friendly Fire album.

Sean sang and played guitar & drums.  Charlotte also sang, played bass, accordion, toy piano/xylophone, melodica and other percussion.  We never really got the real name of the horn-player, but “C.J. Calamari” played french horn and trumpet.  He used several foot pedals to run the horns through effects processors… giving it a jazz-fusion sound that reminded me a lot of NYC-trumpet player Dave DouglasFreak In album.  It was a great electronic-rooted-in-brass timbre that really worked well with Sean & Charlotte’s poppy, eclectic-folky sound.

Setlist: 90 minutes

  • new song “she’s got a meanstreak”
  • Rainbows In Gasoline
  • Jardin du Luxembourg
  • Lavender Road
  • Shroedinger’s Cat
  • Dark Matter, White Noise
  • Songs For James
  • Girl From The North Country [Bob Dylan]
  • Candy Necklace
  • Dead Meat [Sean Lennon]
  • The World Was Made For Men [false start x3 / giggle fest]
  • Bennie and the Jets [Elton John]
  • The World Was Made For Men

When they announced “Lavender Road” as being their “rocking song,” I internally chuckled, but wow… they tore it up at the end with guitar, drum and horn solos that truly rocked out.

Throughout the night, the band joked a lot in between songs, many times to the point of inability to hold back the laughter (both the crowd & band).  You’d think this was a comedy tour instead of a music tour.  There were stories of bar fights at Tex-Mex restaurants.  Sean added a silly little impromptu “reggae rap” at the end of “Candy Necklace.” And the “worldwide venereal disease of tuning / history of world music” from Sean after Charlotte pulled out the accordion for “Song For James” was quite piece of stagecraft with many bad accents.

The 90 minutes they were on stage flew by far too quickly.  They spared us the “ruse that is the encore,” but when they couldn’t get past the first 15 seconds of “The World Was Made For Men” due to a giggle fest from both Charlotte & Sean, they rocked into a seemingly impromptu “Bennie & the Jets” with the house piano on stage, and then finally hit “The World” again with a giggle-free completion and many cheers!

I’ve been privileged with many shows, but this was one of the best shows in a while – definitely for the year.  Great songs, great people, great humor, great musicianship, great souls… and you could tell that they were having fun on stage.  Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger plays Seattle tonight before heading back home.  Check out their album Acoustic Sessionsit’s bueno!

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

Next show for me… Nels Cline Singer and Yuka Honda on 1/30.

~Dan – np: GOASTTJardin du Luxembourg 7″ vinyl

GHOST OF A SABER TOOTH TIGER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

GOASTT 2010/2011 Tour (backwards order)

  • Saturday 1/29/11 – The Crocodile, Seattle WA
  • Friday 1/28/11 – The Woods, Portland OR
  • Tuesday 1/25/11 – Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco CA
  • Saturday 1/22/11 – Pappy & Harriets, Pioneertown (Joshua Tree) CA
  • Friday 1/21/11 – Club Congress, Tucson AZ
  • Wednesday 1/19/11 – Cactus Cafe, Austin TX
  • Tuesday 1/18/11 – Dan’s Silver Leaf, Denton TX
  • Saturday 1/15/11 – The Earl, Atlanta GA
  • Friday 1/14/11 – Melting Point, Athens GA
  • Thursday 1/13/11 – Evening Muse, Charlotte NC
  • Wednesday 1/12/11 – Local 506, Chapel Hill NC
  • Tuesday 1/11/11 – Ioata, Washington D.C.
  • Saturday 1/8/11 – Rockwood Music Hall, New York NY
  • Friday 1/7/11 – Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia PA
  • Thursday 1/6/11 – Great Scott, Boston MA
  • Friday 12/17/10 Bercy, Paris, France (with -M-)
  • Thursday 12/16/10 Bercy, Paris, France (with -M-)
  • Wednesday 12/15/10 Bercy, Paris, France (with -M-)
  • Tuesday 12/14/10 Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Monday 12/13/10 Frannz Club, Berlin, Germany
  • Saturday 12/11/10 MOD, Hasselt, Belgium
  • Friday 12/10/10 Zenith, Saint Herblain, France (with -M-)
  • Thursday 12/9/10 Zenith, Saint Herblain, France (with -M-)
  • Wednesday 12/8/10 Grand Hall, Tours, France (with -M-)
  • Tuesday 12/7/10 Zenith d’Orleans, Orleans, France (with -M-)
  • Friday 12/3/10 Arena de Montpellier, Montpellier, France (with -M-)
  • Thursday 12/2/10 Nikaia, Nice, France (with -M-)
  • Wednesday 11/17/10 Largo, Los Angeles, CA