SHOW OF THE MONTH

Every Move A Picture / The Lovemakers / LCD Soundsystem
The Mezzanine
San Francisco, CA
June 8, 2007

San Francisco dance rockers Every Move A Picture kicked off Live 105’s Pre-BFD Party at The Mezzanine with their rousing, bass-driven songs. Lead singer Brent Messenger did everything but kiss the microphone as he danced with it during songs from last year’s Heart=Weapon. Their set started with a musical attack against blindly following tradition. Over subterranean bass and aerial guitar riffs, “Outlaw” aimed its teeth directly at country singer Toby Keith as Messenger sang, “Kneel down and testify / Your sin is not even knowing why / Tradition is not an alibi.” Fusing visceral and ethereal aspects, the band blasted off even more with the electro dancer “Signs of Life.” Before the group was done, it sounded like an intergalactic dance party.

Next, Oakland-based slinky electronic pop group The Lovemakers turned up the heat as they previewed material from their second album, Misery Loves Company. Bassist/vocalist/violinist Lisa Light prowled around stage while Scott Blonde tossed a leather jacket behind him to start the set. That was only the beginning of the clothing removal though. During a lull in the performance someone yelled out to Blonde to take his pants off. Blonde said, “Only if you do too.” This piqued Light’s interest and she asked to see what the fan looked like. The drunk fan took off every shred of clothing and the band continued. The sexuality didn’t end there. During the pop strut on “Shake That Ass,” Light and Blonde made out during the climax of the song. They’re not called The Lovemakers for nothing.

For the musical coda of the night, LCD Soundsystem stepped on to the stage with their clarion musical statement on “Us vs Them.” The time had come for all the people to dance, and the crowd did not hesitate. Lead singer James Murphy, sporting a shirt with a skeleton eating a huge hamburger on it, chirped, yelped and howled over songs that were anything but emaciated. The five-member band unspooled beats into the ultimate hands-in-the-air sing-a-alongs on “North American Scum” and “Watch the Tapes.” The guitars on “Daft Punk is Playing at My House” turned slightly metal and, despite being under the weather, drummer Patt Mahoney mustered more than enough energy on percussion. In live form, everything from Sound of Silver and LCD’s self-titled debut was beefed up and extended into searing underground disco grooves straight out of the skyscraper jungle.

For an ultimate example in anthems, Murphy closed the night with the slow building “New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down.” It was an appropriate ending to the night, letting all the mania, energy and angst die with the final hopeful chords.

-Review by Kyle Lemmon, Photo by RC Rivera

No Doctors / Wooden Shjips / Fuckwolf / Sic Alps
Elbo Room
San Francisco, CA
June 15, 2007

A whole lot of noise can easily amount to a whole lot of nothing if set upon the wrong ears. For the attentive listener, the evening of No Doctors’ album release yielded a cornucopia of noise rock bliss.

Sic Alps led off the evening with a slew of slow, bluesy tunes, punctuated in turn by dirty feedback, falsetto hoots and the primitive, percussive righteousness of drugged-up big beat (a la The Doors’ “The WASP”). Never quite breaking past a moderate tempo, this no-frills duo still managed to rock hard enough to break a couple of strings (and mustered enough comic banter to ride out the awkwardness deftly). Like good wit, the key to Sic Alps’ strength is their brevity. The two-minute romper “Latin” was the highlight of their set.

Undulant, dark and polyrhythmic, Fuckwolf sounded like a drum circle gone electric. Their digitally delayed bongo drumming added a particularly satisfying ornament to their drawn out jams, whose elements too often seemed to compete rather than mesh. While rhythm was clearly the band’s focus, it would have been great to hear Fuckwolf’s guitar come out from behind the wall of noise more often. Although an excellent end-of-set dose of acid rock spoke easily of their ability, Fuckwolf sounded somewhat quaint in contrast to the sparse tension that preceded them, and too muddy against the resplendent psychedelic flair that followed.

San Francisco’s Wooden Shjips navigated the course of their set by way of a steady, bass-heavy cadence, adorned with the eerie textures of ethereal organ, echoing chants, and wickedly processed guitar. Wooden Shjips’ rhythm section, drummer Omar Ahsanuddin and bassist Dusty Jermier, set a groove strong enough to move bodies, while guitarist Ripley Johnson milked the sustain from his axe. Drawing the largest crowd of the evening, the Shjips’ phantasmagoria was lauded, albeit short lived; they played only four songs.

Unfortunately, most of the crowd departed after Wooden Shjips’ set, leaving the Elbo Room feeling as cavernous as Johnson’s vocals. No Doctors thus celebrated their CD release with a small group of diehards, who were rewarded with a set that offered plenty of dramatic, climbing riffs. The downside was that those riffs seemed locked in a struggle to free themselves from the mire of No Doctors’ persistent, sludgy drone.
A well-rounded show, this evening’s performances had something for noise aficionados across the board.

-Review by Andres Jauregui, Photo by RC Rivera

Noise For the Needy Festival: Ghost Stories / Sera Cahoone / Okkervil River
Neumos
Seattle, WA
June 10, 2007

The grand finale of the Noise For the Needy Festival brought a collection of eerie, airy, spacious indie rock outfits to a club full of incredibly appreciative fans. The festival, which is held annually to benefit different commendable charities, has developed a reputation for good taste and atypical programming. The line-up at this final show catered to those with both an acoustic and ambient disposition; instrumentation varied widely from one band to another, and in their own way, each musician managed to hypnotize the audience.

Ghost Stories, a.k.a. Ron Lewis, served up an entirely solo set. With one of the more apt stage names, Lewis had the breathy delivery and the achingly high falsetto befitting all the best-told creepy tales. He sang of “delicate holes where your eyes used to be,” and “burning the house down to its shadow,” giving special attention to morbid detail. The key quality of Lewis’ entrancing performance was the way it sounded simultaneously sinister and soothing. Aptly named, indeed.

Switching gears, Sera Cahoone and her band performed a decidedly swingin’ country show. Pulling the audience out of their pleasant fog with a pedal steel and a fiddle, they galloped from one song to another with a practiced energy. Their songs walked the line between boot-stompin’ rhythms and indie sulking in the most appealing of alt-country ways. Everything about the performance was likeable and sincere. Cahoone’s low, resonant vocals were perfectly attuned to the understated yet cohesive band at her side. Kudos to the members of a band who know when to let their singer be heard, and when it’s their turn to make noise — no easy task.

Most of Okkervil River‘s set was a satisfying but monotonous rock groove. The first song, “The President’s Dead,” started off well, but somewhere in the middle, the lead guitar muddled up everything else, and so continued the rest of the set. The performance felt slightly cumbersome, as if there was more filler than actual song. In light of the preceding bands, Okkervil River just seemed far more ordinary. The band spun consuming stories, so the highlights came when the gain levels lowered enough to let them be heard.

The curious mix of sounds between these three bands was refreshing. Due to the semi-adventurous line-up, the packed club felt unusually inclusive and welcoming. If the world had more benefit concerts, maybe we all really could be friends.

-Review and Photo by Ali Marcus

Gang Gang Dance / Ariel Pink / Ocrilim
The Independent
San Francisco, CA
June 18, 2007

New Weird America, huh? Monday night’s eclectic mix of psych fiends and noiseists proved that this cryptic music scene creeping across America is as weird as ever. The most engaging aspect of the show was the inclusive range of influences that each act brought with them to the table: cosmic psych-noise, spiraling death metal assaults, abstract and neo-primitivist powwows.

The club was only about a quarter full by the time Mick Barr climbed on stage to perform as his solo outing Ocrilim, but nevertheless the crowd gave him some love as they wormed closer to the front of the room. Heralded for his brutal guitar playing (and slaying), Barr’s near half-hour, voiceless set of non-stop ax wrangling was an ear-bleeding exhibit of jarring proportions, and the beer-sipping throng seemed to love every second of it. Rather then start things off with a few intricate notes, Barr dove right in, punishing his squawky instrument with throes of finger-knotting chord progressions and tight-grip palm slides. Barr stood motionless for the duration of his performance, aside from his greasy mat of hair that spun around like a cyclone from all of the head banging.

Next up was SoCal’s Ariel Pink, who aside from enjoying critical success on Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks record label, has also spent the better part of his career holed up in his bedroom making all sorts of esoteric home recordings. Wasting little time, Pink and his brood launched right into the jangly soul-pop of “Among Dreams,” before following up with “Envelopes Another Day,” both from The Doldrums album. Blending vaporous psychedelia with elements of mid-’70s AM-dial rock, disco, space pop and folk, Pink and company’s dynamite performance felt like being in a time machine (only the crowd looked much more hip). As the members of the group danced around on stage, Pink wandered aimlessly, crouching over and constantly running his hand through his hair. The audience appeared delighted by Pink’s shrill caterwauls on ditties like “Let’s Build a Campfire There” and “Tokyo Gamblers,” while the chilled grooves of “Life in L.A.” and “The Drummer” garnered much hip-shaking from the turnout.

Closing out the night was Brooklyn’s Gang Gang Dance, a percussive bunch that sounded every bit arty as it did dancey. Led by singer Liz Bougatsos’ sorceress-like chants, the quartet’s set was an enthralling combo of avant-garde dance pop (think the Art of Noise meets the ‘80s Mute Records roster), East Indian rhythms and tribal drum ardency. Integrating old and new material alike, the group’s tight-knit performance brought the perfect close to a weird, but equally exciting night.

-Review by Chris Sabbath, Photo by Joshua Uziel

Sasquatch! Music Festival
The Gorge Amphitheatre
George, WA
May 26-27, 2007

Returning to the Gorge Amphitheatre for its sixth year, the Sasquatch! Music Festival kicked off the summer concert season over Memorial Day weekend with two days of noteworthy national and regional acts.

Looking rather like Sasquatch himself, Two Gallants‘ Adam Stephens showed off a fierce new mountain-man beard alongside a few brand-new songs. “Little Liza,” which sadly doesn’t appear on their latest EP, The Scenery of Farewell, is more of a party song than their usual half-angry, half-drunk anthems. The new classic kicked off a chain of all the golden oldies with the best shout-along choruses: “I come from the old town baby / Where all the kids are crazy...”

The kids were getting crazy at the Wookie Stage for the rest of the afternoon during Electrelane and all through Ghostland Observatory‘s epic set. The Austin duo mixed The Rapture and Guns N’ Roses in a display of manly ass-shaking that ended only after the aviator-sporting frontman undid his long braided pigtails and let loose on the sensual “Silver City.”

Arcade Fire‘s towering pipe organ and eleven band members filled the huge Main Stage as tightly as their albums, with the added edge of live theater. The day could have been complete after that monumental set — except for the fact that Bjork was on her way.

Then came the morning after. Sunburned and hung-over, few concertgoers could rouse themselves for the 12 p.m. start time of The Blakes‘ set. Those that did were treated to an espresso shot of solid beats and healthy pop tunes reminiscent of The Fratellis. Working their way through “Don’t Bother Me” and “Two Times,” The Blakes’ performance was just tight enough not to disappoint fans of their recent local radio hits, but loose enough to justify leaving their sleeping bag early.

The Stars of Track and Field proved to be the ethereal sorbet to the energy jolt of The Blakes. The Portland trio’s soothing, yet techy ballads were well matched to the amphitheatre’s vast surroundings.

With members not old enough to gain admission to many of the venues they perform at, Smoosh could easily be a novelty act. But with two albums and relentless touring, the Seattle sisters have proven to have some serious rock chops. Those skills were on full display at the Yeti Stage. They peppered their performance with songs from both of their albums, but the crowd favorite was far and away their cover of Bloc Party’s “This Modern Love.” It was the closest the Yeti had come to a full-fledged dance party all weekend.

By late afternoon, when The Polyphonic Spree took the stage, the day’s breeze had become a gale. The two huge video screens and the bacchanalia of lighting and speaker equipment swayed violently. The festival organizers closed the Main Stage for several hours, shifting around acts to the smaller stages in attempt to stay on schedule.

The energy of the festival couldn’t quite survive the sudden halt. By the time Beastie Boys took the stage, many of the huddled masses had already left the show. Those who stayed were treated to a set that included new tunes such as “Electric Worm,” as well as classic hits like “Intergalactic” and “Sabotage.”

-Megan Chaffee and Kjersti Egerdahl, Photo by Christopher Nelson

Welcome / The Joggers / The Mary Timony Band
Someday Lounge
Portland, OR
June 2, 2007

On this Saturday night, The Mary Timony Band descended on Someday Lounge, an eccentric vegan cafe in Old Town Portland, with The Joggers and Welcome as support. The show started late, with sound checks still happening at 10 p.m., but from the moment it got going, it was dazzling.

Seattle’s Welcome took the shrouded stage and began playing to a black room; after a few moments the curtains were whisked open to reveal a vibrantly lit stage and video screen behind the four-piece band. Welcome’s sound was complemented with a sampler, run by guitarist Mike Wurn, and the amps were cranked way up to allow drummer Mark Salvadalena to play with full intensity. As a result, the band’s shy singer, Jo Claxton, was often drowned out, but the music raged on and the band took no breaks to chat with the audience — save for a brief moment when Salvadalena punched straight through his snare drum and promptly repaired it with duct tape. At the end of each song, the video screen aptly congratulated Welcome with “A+ good job!“ in giant letters.

Though sandwiched in the middle slot, The Joggers owned the night both in performance and musicality. Their sound was much more elaborate than the other bands on the bill and their songs had great range. The Joggers bore a strong, Weezer-esque presence onstage thanks to a sort of humor to their set, with drummer Jake Morris taking every opportunity he could to get off his throne and get a part of the action. The Joggers’ performance was underscored by Ben Whitesides’ great songwriting, tight vocal harmonies, seamless lead shifts between guitarists Dan Wilson and Darrell Bourque and excellent pacing.

The Mary Timony Band took a more businesslike approach to their set, calmly moving from one song to the next without any mistakes or confusion. Mary Timony was cool and casual and almost seemed bored during her set, even when playing songs from her new album. Musically the range was limited, which made for more of a nostalgic experience, as the entire set was reminiscent of mid-’90s girl rock without much of an update. However, with the dated feel came a veteran performance, nearly perfect technically and led by Timony’s grace and mastery.

-Bonwell Parker

Laura Veirs and Saltbreakers / LAKE / Ryan Auffenberg
Cafe du Nord
San Francisco, CA
June 5, 2007

Laura Veirs’ recent return to Cafe du Nord treated fans to a wealth of up-and-coming West Coast indie pop talent. Accompanying himself on guitar and then on piano, San Franciscan Ryan Auffenberg opened the evening with an intimate set of summery folk. Spiced with a bittersweet twang of heartbreak, Auffenberg’s bright, ringing voice and boyish, all-American affectations yielded an unrestrained purity that fell on the tasteful side of sentimental. This was exemplified most eloquently by his wistful rendition of “Missouri in the Morning.” Although Auffenberg’s music was not particularly innovative, his performance was adept and confident.

Combining innovation with technical proficiency is a tall order, but not one that was above LAKE. Ashley Erikkson, Eli Moore, Lindsay Schief and Andrew Dorsett, a troupe of singing, multi-instrumental talent from Olympia, gave the performance of the evening. Sounding like Stereolab with a more traditional rock ‘n’ roll footing, LAKE’s sweet, dreamy melodies tied together solidly crafted pop songs that cleverly appropriated diverse stylistic influences such as bossa nova, dub and R&B. Aided by a charming sense of humor — songs about good manners, endearing banter, and antics such as gargling water while singing — LAKE had the crowd moving and clapping along by the third song. The group’s ability to gracefully blend styles into their own cohesive sound makes LAKE a band to watch: they have recorded with Karl Blau for Kelp! Monthly and plan to release a Tucker Martine-produced album in 2008.

Dressed to impress in custom-made outfits featuring sea creatures and nature scenes, Laura Veirs and her band, Saltbreakers — bassist/guitarist Blau, drummer Martine and keyboardist Steve Moore — kicked off their set with “Pink Light,” the lead track from their eponymous new album. The majority of that album followed, with the exception of a rocking version of “Galaxies” and a handful of older songs. The crowd’s clapping and singing along created a wonderful ambiance, particularly during the ethereal “To the Country,” and the set was good overall. There were moments, though, where the band seemed tired, perhaps road-weary. It was also disappointing to see Veirs, a capable guitarist, make only rare attempts at playing rock leads with her vintage Les Paul.

Even so, Veirs appeared to have a great time. She acknowledged the crowd’s warm reception, showed off her band’s outfits, and smiled at her parents, who had surprised her at the show. But the pageantry of her set felt a little hollow next to Ryan Auffenberg’s sincerity, and a little slack compared to LAKE’s convivial energy. Perhaps competition is the price of booking such worthy opening acts.

-Review by Andres Jauregui, Photo by Joshua Uziel

PDX Pop Now! CD Release Party:
The Hugs / The Better to See You With / Strength / B-Boys / Hungry Mob
Hawthorne Theatre
Portland, OR
June 8, 2007

In preparation for its annual independent music festival, slated this year for August 3-5, PDX Pop Now! celebrated the release of its fourth compilation CD with a party at the Hawthorne Theatre. The two-disc compilation features a local track list that Portland voted upon earlier this year, and Friday night’s release party gave locals a sneak peak at both the album and the city’s musical diversity.

The Hugs brought Portland’s Brit-pop sound to the scene with half an hour of rock ‘n’ roll. The young band members reveled in the spotlight, thrusting their guitars in the air and leaping across the stage with reckless abandon. Guitarist/vocalist Danny Delegato took command of the performance, jumping onto the bass drum, dancing on the edge of the stage, repeatedly knocking over his mic stand and chasing the microphone on its way to the floor.

Strength represented the disco portion of the evening, though the group isn’t actually represented on the compilation. This fact didn’t seem to matter to them though, as they cheerfully sped through a solid set of dance songs with appropriately fluffy lyrics like, “I think I’m burning up for two” and “We are who you think we are.” Teenage frontman Bailey Winters tantalized the audience to an almost disturbing degree, hiking up his shirt from time to time, rubbing himself down and biting on his pinky as he sang.

This year, PDX Pop Now! made a concerted effort to include Portland’s grindcore scene, and the delegate at this show was The Better to See You With. The band eschewed the traditional 30-minute set for a carefully rehearsed 12-minute set, running the gamut from angry whispers over a single note to all-out thrashing and screaming, hitting notes low enough to ruin one’s appetite and high enough to drain the wax from one’s ears.

Representing the R&B and hip-hop sector were the B-Boys and Hungry Mob. Special guests B-Boys offered a 10-minute sampling of the Ashes 2 Ashes dance competition — a series of Northwest breakdancers facing off with the best moves they could pull off at midnight after dancing all day at the actual competition. Then Hungry Mob closed out the night, offering a dark brand of hip-hop with a live band. Singer Adrian O’Dell sang some of the songs solo, and rapper Mic Crenshaw led the rest with O’Dell providing the choruses.

-Review by Bonwell Parker, Photo by Jason Quigley