‘live from the banana stand’ : a q/a with ‘stand founders on documenting portland’s live sound

As a wise man once said, "There's always money in the banana stand."

And a few years after that banana stand burned down, some Midwest transplants decided to build their own banana stand in Portland. Since 2007, it's evolved into a record label (Banana Stand Media) and a secret venue (The Banana Stand) located in SE Portland where a team of music aficionados strive to document Portland's music scene through live recordings.

Their efforts can be accessed on Banana Stand Media, which serves as a portal to their work and mission as well as an outlet for the crew to share photos, interviews (often conducted with the bands that perform at the 'Stand), and comments on new musical discoveries, local and otherwise. Through documenting their own growth and processes, it's also a bit of a resource for musicians and home recording geeks.

The 'Stand also has plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign (soon!), which "will fund production of a 1,000-unit run of live compilation CDs. The CDs will feature 20 different live tracks from bands like Tango Alpha Tango, Blue Skies for Black Hearts, The Angry Orts, Death Songs, Youth, Forest Park, Sons of Huns, The We Shared Milk, The Woolen Men—you know who we've worked with, you know who is on it."

Hoping to defray expenses, the 'Stand says about $1,300 should We have expenses defray their costs, and "rewards will be compilation related, but will also include t-shirts and other CDs we've produced... and whatever else we can lay hands on."

Until then, the 'Stand's next release (out on April 10th) comes from The Angry Orts. Recorded on September 24th, 2011, The Orts' Sara Hernandez told OMN that she remembers "a lot of warm, fuzzy feelings" from that night when the band played set composed of garage rocking cuts from their first two albums as well as laid down one new track.

Listen and download "Mustache Ride" from The Ort's Live from The Banana Stand set:

"We recently signed on two new band members, which is really exciting," Hernandez said, so the official lineup of the band now includes Aaron Ettlin (guitar), Matthew Hernandez (drums), Sara Hernandez (vocals), Emily Seabroke (bass), Molly Wiltshire (backup vocals/auxiliary instruments/booty shaker... also Sara's sister). "I think it's going to take the band in a slightly different direction, but we'll still keep that upbeat, pop-y vibe." But more on this at the tail end of this article...

Advocates and documentarians of local music, two of the 'Stand's founders, Louie Herr and Aaron Colter, took the time to answer a slew of questions from OMN about what goes on at the 'Stand. (Note: Answers without attribution come from both guys.)

Let's start with a few numbers from the 'Stand stat sheet:

Number of shows that have been played at the 'Stand: 55 shows, 90+ live performances recorded.
Number of people involved in putting on a 'Stand show: As many as a dozen for any one show.
Number of people who fit in the 'Stand for a live show: 50-60, somewhat comfortably.
Number of recordings the 'Stand has released: 35 EP- and LP-length live albums and a smattering of other live recordings.
Number of songs/albums sold/downloaded to date: Our online players are accessed far more often than tracks are downloaded. To date, we've served 10,000+ plays and 500+ downloads.
Frequency of releases: Every two weeks.
Average time between recording and release: Several months, but we're working on it.

Who started to the 'Stand and when? And who actually lives at the secret locale?

Banana Stand was started by Indiana transplants Louie Herr, Aaron Colter, Shawn Pike, Ross Faulkenberg, and Jott Robertson in late 2007. Our first event was a live-recorded NYE show...

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Read the rest on OMN.

rejuvenating piano pieces on radiation city's 'cool nightmare'

Fresh off of their first appearance at SXSW, Portland's Radiation City have been working their way back home up the West Coast since departing the anointed indie fest in mid-March. Down in Austin, Rad City played seven shows in four days, including The Portland Party (which we threw for ourselves, damn it!), and, although they just released their debut LP in September, they've been playing plenty of new material from their new EP, Cool Nightmare, which will be released on April 10th via Tender Loving Empire.

The full-length, The Hands That Take You, was largely the efforts of Rad City creators and couple Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison, but the latest seven-track EP sees contributions from three additional members: Matt Rafferty, Randy Bemrose, and the newest addition, Patti King.

With Cool Nightmare, there's an intriguing story of finding inspiration in a decrepit piano before destroying it, documenting the whole process audibly and visually, and sharing some mementos of this exercise with fans.

To understand the ideas and muse behind this eerily bewitching EP, which is also full of "dream-like ambience and warmth," OMN spoke to Cameron Spies before the band returns to the NW in the beginning of April for two Oregon shows: Sunday, April 1st at Sam Bonds in Eugene and a free EP release party at Rontoms in Portland on Sunday, April 8th with Seattle's Legendary Oaks.

But first, listen to the spectral power of the latest single "Eye of Yours":

Two months ago, you released a music video for "Find it of Use" (below), which featured the destruction of a piano. Tell me the story behind your new EP and that piano's role.

The imagery for this record involves this piano that lived in Randy's basement. We recorded a lot of the piano tracks for the album [using this piano], and by the completion of the record, the piano was essentially useless—a ragged heap wasting away in the dark. We decided it would be best to give it new life through its destruction. We captured audio of a decent amount of the moving/smashing part of the process for use as samples on the record or for use in later recordings (hence the title "Find it of Use," I guess, although the song title came first). That imagery is not an accident though. The record evokes the idea of destruction and rebirth through a gentle tug of war between darkness and levity.

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Read the rest on OMN.

sxsw send off with archeology, the horde + the harem + andrew paul woodworth at jimmy mak’s

On Saturday, March 3rd, Oregon Music News and Octopus Entertainment will team up to send off two rising Northwest acts to SXSW. And in doing so, the indie rock invasion at Jimmy Mak's will kick off with Andrew Paul Woodworth—the LA via PDX via LO singer/songwriter who is also an OMN writer... and now broadcaster.

Let APW tell you about the March 3rd lineup with his first installment of Don't Go Camping (also available on the OMN podcast or iTunes):

As alluded to by Andrew, the Portland four-piece Archeology write "desert hymns" full of foot-stomping, hand-clapping, and chant-along melodies. Drum circle-inspired beats combine with playful, jangly touches and singalong lyrics. Including lead vocalist and bassist Daniel Walker, guitarist and vocalist Jason Davis, drummer Benjamin Haysom, and lead guitarist and vocalist Zach Dilday, listen to a few of Archeology's multi-layered, multi-part harmonies in our OMN/Octopus show sampler below, including a new track, "Piaute," from their latest EP Gamebird, which available at the gig followed by a post-SXSW digital release.

March 3rd will be Archeology's last home gig as they look south (aka Austin-ward), taking to the road with Seattle's The Horde and the Harem for a month-long trek to SXSW. THATH (not to be confused with the slightly more famous Seattleites THATH) will also be celebrating the release of their debut, full-length debut, A Long Midwinter, at Jimmy Mak's. The guitar/bass/keys/drums five-piece are known to include an exuberant horn (as heard in "Chasing Crows" above) as well as back-and-forth vocals shared by four singers—those not wielding sticks.

Warming up before the Jimmy Mak's release gig, The Horde and the Harem will take the record store stage at Music Millennium on the afternoon of March 3rd at 3pm.

And warming us all up will be none other than the Andrew Paul Woodworth. The LA via PDX va LO singer/songwriter is back in the greater Portland metro area... to stay?

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Read the rest and win tickets on OMN.

top ten

Inspired to see what my ten most played tracks were in iTunes, I peeped at what my actual listening habits reveal about my taste in music and found there's nothing to be ashamed about. As a disclaimer, I have a tendency of purging older, even nostalgic, tracks and albums over time but much of what's here has lasted the lifetime of this Mac Book (since 2008).

1 -- Baustelle "L." (Montepulciano, Italia) : Followed by "Charlie fa surf" and "Baudelaire" amongst several other Amen-era tracks in my most played. This was the first album I discovered by the band and it appears that I listened to it a lot that year I lived in Italy.

2 -- Deelay Ceelay "No Vex" (Portland, Oregon) : From their debut EP Thank You, which you can download for free here. Their first full-length, Sunset Drumsets, just dropped.

3 -- Sigur Rós "Gobbledigook" (Reykjavík, Iceland) : Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust also came out in 2008 while I was living in Italy and I suppose I was preparing for my first ever Sigur Rós performance that summer at Southside in Germany. Their set was followed by In Rainbows Radiohead. Epic.

4 -- Phoenix "Lisztomania" (Versailles, France) : Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix brought Phoenix back into my consciousness, and everyone else's, with a much-needed resurgence in 2009.

5 -- Metric "Help, I'm Alive" (Toronto, Canada) : I remember stumbling across this early version of the song some six months before Fantasies would be released. Obviously, I couldn't stop listening to it.

6 -- Radiohead "15 Step" (Abingdon, England) : Although I can't remember what I paid (if anything) for In Rainbows, my mp3 of the opening track is well worn.

7 -- Cut Copy "Hearts on Fire" (Melbourne, Australia) : In Ghost Colours was another album from 2008, which was also the year I first saw the band perform.

8 -- Digitalism "Magnets" tied with "Idealistic" (Hamburg, Germany) : After keeping Idealism in heavy rotation, I was duly prepared to see Digitalism at that same Southside festival. And now they've finally got a new one out.

9 -- Mayer Hawthorne "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) : Couldn't resist this white boy's falsettic soul.

10 -- Rodrigo y Gabriela "Viking Man" (México, D.F., Mexico) : Who also appeared at Southside; my first time seeing them. But not last.

And the immediate runner ups include:

Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside "Danger"
Sufjan Stevens' The BQE "Movement IV: Traffic Shock"
Yelle "Je Veux Te Voir [Club-Club Version]"

While Elbow's "Forget Myself," "Grounds For Divorce" and "We're Away" all tied with Foo Fighters' "See You" and Starfucker's "Laadeedaa," "Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second" and "Holly" ...followed by more Baustelle (hey, Amen had 17 tracks!), Cut Copy, Digitalism, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton (of Metric), one Hockey cut ("Song Away") and Jónsi… there's a pattern here.

What's in your top ten?

yacht’s vision of utopia begins with ‘dystopia’

The first taste of YACHT’s upcoming full-length, Shangri-La, on DFA Records–the second on the renowned NYC dance label but fifth album overall–is here. The socially conscious “Dystopia (The Earth is on Fire)” is a song about disaster, natural and otherwise, in a world of earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and oil spills–the song was actually written last May “around the time of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” says YACHT.

The message is clear, warning that the tides are rising, the skies are darkening, and our overconsumption will be our demise, but telling us in a synthesized, rocking disco boogie with analogies to jackals and lions, stuttered vocal deliveries from Claire L. Evans, and emphatic declarations of “Let the mother fucker burn.”

YACHT’s ideological philosophies (much more on this below) have always been ever-present, playing a central role in the unique atmosphere they create, but could “Dystopia” be more grown up? If anything, it’s definitely sleeker, losing some of YACHT’s signature artsy yet jarring aesthetic but quite possible more palatable for a larger audience, which they continue play for–including a spot at this year’s Coachella followed by an extensive North American tour after much exposure last year opening for LCD Soundsystem in Europe as well as playing the Hollywood Bowl alongside The Chemical Brothers and Chromeo.

YACHT, along with their backing band The Straight Gaze (featuring Bobby Birdman and Jeffrey Jerusalem), is becoming a finely tuned machine and this first listen of their new album might hint that the rough edges have finally been sanded into smooth corners. Or maybe not. YACHT likes to defy our expectations.

Shangri-La, due out on June 21st, “was produced, mixed, recorded, and performed by Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans with our frequent collaborator and touring member Bobby Birdman, at the Marfa Recording Company, Jackpot! Studios, and in our temporary living quarters in Los Angeles, California.” And you can catch them in Oregon for the last two dates of their upcoming tour, May 14th at Portland’s Wonder Ballroom and May 15th at the Fort George Brewery in Astoria.

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Read more on OMN.

new song from stephanie schneiderman

Delicate trip-hopper Stephanie Schneiderman is in the studio working on her upcoming album, the follow-up to 2009’s genre-changing Dangerous Fruit, but just couldn’t wait to share her new, unreleased track “Wide Open” with her fans.

Schneiderman’s last album broke her personal mold and creative boundaries with the help of producer and beat-smith Keith Schreiner (Auditory Sculpture), and she’s back in the studio with him.

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Read a few words from Stephanie and get the track on OMN.

dear valentine : cold cave

For some ill-advised reason I skipped on this gig back in December when Cold Cave came to Rotture. I spent the time to write about it but not attend it. Stupid.

Here's a few live moodily, dark industrial treats from the trio : Live at WFMU on Choking On Cufflinks 14 February 2009.

Via Sick of the Radio.

free noise

Download these for a Merry December 22nd.

Jump Clubb -- Angeles [Elliott Smith Cover] with more Clubb freebies here.

Danger Mouse + James Mercer -- The High Road from their new, elusive collaboration Broken Bells.

a starfucking scary halloween at wonder ballroom

Get dolled up for Starfucker's spunky
Halloween costume party.

Some things haunt you for the rest of your life. Haunts of "SELL-OUT" shouted at shows, or despondent, isolated devotees wandering the moonless night in shock, never to find peace again. Haunts like changing the name of your band from Starfucker to Celine Dion's Shaggy Penis.

Or some things aren't scary at all. They just make sense. So congratulations to the hometown boys who are able eke a living out of an artistic passion.

Whatever you wanna call them, Starfucker/PYRAMIDDD plays a spooky Halloween show at the Wonder Ballroom. We all know the boys love to don drag and stage dive so try to outdo their kinky costumes as the band will be personally judging a costume contest.

Enter the gymnasium on Saturday, October 31st like you're attending some haunted prom where alcohol is no longer taboo (eerie, huh?).

On a stage crammed with gadgets, Starfucker presents a low-fi, digital indulgence plump with candied beats, sweet and sour drum machines, and chocolate turntables. Somehow their smorgasbord of audio, from echoing voices to bleeps and zaps, sped up, slowed down, is so precisely pieced together that you wanna get topsy-turvy.

And as ever, this year's treat is sprinkled with the delectable double-drummer technique known to kick ass at Starfucker shows.

So whether you're restless or confused or pissed they "sold-out," get off your high horse. The music is still the same even if this is their last show under the Starfucker moniker. As Josh Hodges, SF general and commander, believes: making music should be fun so if you can make money doing it... fuck it.

Drinks, decadence and dance music prevail. Get all three treats this Halloween.

Trick or treats : Get your mitts on Starfucker's "German Love" and download opener Deelay Ceelay's album Thank You here.

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Saturday, October 31, 2009
Starfucker / PYRAMIDDD
Deelay Ceelay
Nice Nice
Wampire
Wonder Ballroom : 128 NE Russell St, Portland, Oregon 97212
Doors at 8 PM, show at 9 PM
Cost : $14 advance and day of show
All ages

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Read this article on Examiner.com.

free : hockey + natalie portman's shaved head warm up halloween wkend at u of o

Hockey bring audacious dance
rock to the EMU in Eugene.

It's just an excuse for slutty costumes and drunken lewdness. Why not make that debauchery a university sanctioned event with an on-campus concert?

As Halloween descends upon the University of Oregon, so does the best dance music of the Northwest: PDX new wave rockers Hockey in cahoots with hip Seattle electronica from Natalie Portman's Shaved Head on Friday, October 30th.

Prepare for waves of luxurious, bouncy beats from Hockey who will blaze through tracks from their debut album Mind Chaos released this month. Singer Ben Grubin dances with wild flair to synths and rapid drumbeats breathing energy across the stage and into dance-rock rhythms like "Too Fake" and "Song Away."

As noted in "Wanna Be Black," Hockey's been making dance music since 2002 when "we wanted to make music that people could have fun to at the parties we played," says Ben.

"We wanted to make dance music that was infectious," says bassist/artwork guru Jerm Reynolds. "Almost like: this is a band but it might as well be a DJ." Infectious it is, but Hockey is much more than a DJ with a combined live presence full of stamina and dance mojo.

Seducing synths sugared with handclaps spell Natalie Portman's Shaved Head with hipster lyrics and lo-fi, electro-beats. The co-eds will jiggle and wiggle to NPSH's salutes to side ponies ("Sophisticated Side Ponytail") and love for facial hair ("Beard Lust"). And I'm willing to bet the Halloween crowd will be sporting a few of the aforementioned epidermic trends.

Beware ladies!! Don't be bewitched by the shaking maracas and tambourines. NPSH was strictly formed to get chicks as they sing on "Iceage Babeland," "And if you wanna shack up after show / Girl, just let me know / I don't get star struck anymore." Take a ride on this broomstick if so enticed.

Come costumed and ready to get sweaty. There's nothing scary about dance music.

Trick or treats : Download Hockey's "Too Fake" and "Wanna Be Black" from their most recent tour sampler with Portugal. The Man.

Check out NPSH's "Me + Yr Daughter" here.

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Friday, October 30, 2009
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
Hockey
Chilly Willy
University of Oregon EMU Ballroom : 1228 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403
Doors at 8 PM, show at 9 PM
Cost : FREE
All ages

the sounds electrify hawthorne theater oct 28

This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that The Sounds are dubbed the modern reincarnation of Blondie. It just works.

A sexy, blonde diva? Check. Backed by her skinny, new wave boys? Check. Sewing infectious synthesized dance jams between the occasional romance-laden ballad? Check. Live at the Hawthorne Theater on Wednesday, October 28th? Check.

Following the tradition of explosive Swedish rock acts, The Sounds, lead by knockout Maja Ivarsson, radiate vivacious heat on stage. Chic and feisty, Maja's powerful voice provides the soul behind the group's peppy indie blend.

2009 marks a decade together, their third album Crossing the Rubicon, and Maja's continued challenge to all the Blondies out there: "I want to be the best female vocalist around... of at least this century."

Crossing the Rubicon sees The Sounds mellow out their frenetic pace with a few moody, melancholic tracks like the album's first single "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake." But don't fear, the downtempo will give you a breather and time to get lubed up with another Champagne of Beers before blowing an effervescent cork as the band rips through another sweaty, hyperactive dance set.

So you decide who will be remembered: NYC's originator Debbie Harry or new school, Swede Maja Ivarsson? My vote goes to Maja's looks and moxie today while she lays the legacy for tomorrow.

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Sounds
Foxy Shazam
Semi Precious Weapons
Hawthorne Theater : 1507 SE 39th Ave, Portland, Oregon 97214
Doors at 7 PM, show at 8 PM
Cost : $15 advance, $18 day of show
All ages

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Read this article on Examiner.com.

lcd leaked / remixed

No surprise, it leaked.

So get your free Alan Vega remix of LCD Soundsystem's new track "Bye Bye Bayou."

Only 20,000.

may ling rings rotture oct 23

"What do you about think when you are onstage?" asked SOMA Magazine.

"What Gwyneth Paltrow's severed head must have looked like in Se7en."

Sounds like my kinda Chinese pop star. Or at least the kinda girl I'd like to clap my hands to as she vibrates like a Mexican jumping bean around the stage at Rotture on Friday night.

May Ling stirs up home stewed electro-pop with two-thirds of the electro-rockers Reporter in tow: May Ling (Alberta Poon) on voicebox and Dong Ning (Dan Grazzini) playing electrician.

May Ling's cool, hexing voice lulls you under her spell engineering lovely music for when you're slogging through a rainy Portland afternoon but with just the right pinch of pizazz to make you drool and dance.

Hypnotic beats, breathy vocals and luscious synths combine ringside with everything from Lee's Lion Dance Team to fur covered hula hoops. When you're not on the floor shakin' it like a seizure, you can have this much fun at a May Ling show shakin' your ass.

Bring your glow sticks and drinkin' pants because this little bouncing bundle is joined by a slew of PDX party machines including Breakfast Mountain, DJ Copy, DJ E*Rock, DJ BJ.

May Ling's debut effort Threats dropped on August 28th and you can snatch the Threats Remix album for free.

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Friday, October 23, 2009
Supernature
May Ling
Breakfast Mountain
DJ Copy
DJ E*Rock
DJ BJ
Rotture : 315 SE 3rd Ave, Portland, Oregon 97214
Cost : $5 day of show
21 and over

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Read this article on Examiner.com.

praise for pretty lights at the crystal

"Sunday School" started right on time and I wasn't late.But as the beat dropped and the drum kicked, this sabbath day gathering was not about praising a ritual deity but rather about reviving musical lore.

The instantly recognizable drone from Biggie coupled with the raging, harsh lyrics "Fuck Him, I didn't wanna go to Heaven anyways" let everyone know what kind of church we were in.

This Sunday's best included short skirts, sparkly face paint, and fanny packs congregated in the nave of the Crystal Ballroom under impish frescoes and colonnades topped by cackling jokers all to exalt the Pretty Lights.

Derek Vincent Smith of Pretty Lights beamed life back into old vinyl cuts but not just by spinning and sampling. Hunched over the glowing lights on his Monome 128, he organically mixed and meshed delicate sounds with deft accuracy.

Complemented by live drummer Cory Eberhard, the pair resurrected hammered beats while forging new material and playing with osmotic precision as Smith manipulated the electronics and Eberhard the sticks. The duo simultaneously, continuously changed tempos and transformed rhythms fueled by the bouncing crowd.

Backed by a multimedia show teeming with acidic oscilloscope visualizations, blinding strobes, and yes, a rainbow of pretty lights. He took the audience for a zooming joy ride strapped to the fender of the big red PL bus cruising through the city lights of Chicago, NYC or maybe even Denver—showing us the companioning cityscapes to his immense soundscapes.

The west coast was not neglected as the kids grinded to snippets of "Shake, shake it baby" from "California Love" buzzing to afros and disco hustle above.

Stating there'd be no encore, Pretty Lights continued to smash through cut after cut of tantalizing dance anthems with the crowd sweating along and the Crystal's windows clouded by a moist haze like after a steamy shower.

Absorbed in the keypad before him, a Rubik's Cube of color and rectangles blipped behind the band, and a classic Jordan finessed his way along the baseline and onto the screen for a flash on "More Important Than Michael Jordan."The finale of Wreckx-N-Effect's "Rump Shaker" vs "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. tastily blended the choral lyric "All I wanna do" to the delight of manic mob.

At the close, Smith humbly thanked Portland for coming out and asked the people to buy a t-shirt or hat to support the free music.

Check out all of Pretty Lights' tracks for free on his website.

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Sunday, October 18, 2009
Pretty Lights
Chicharones
DJ Rootz
Crystal Ballroom : 1332 W Burnside Portland, Oregon 97209

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Read this article on CWG Live And Direct.
Read this article on Examiner.com.

it's on

Check it : Pretty Lights - Let Em Know It's Time To Go

PL @ The Crystal tonight.

Read some more.

throw back guster... happy birthday

Guster gears up for their Lost and Gone Forever Ten Year Anniversary Tour where they will be playing two sets, one showcasing Lost and Gone Forever in its entirety.

In anticipation the band gives us the Pasty Tapes, bootlegs by Guster's former manager. To kick it off we have Portsmouth, NH from April 19th, 2000.

And more to be released over the coming months. Enjoy.

pretty lights passing thru the crystal oct 18

Half man, half machine. Organic and electro DJ coexisting. Beautifully.

Like so many opposites, these not only attract but blend seamlessly into a mind-blowing oblivion of flowing rhythms and soulful noise that will make you tingle and smile.

Derek Vincent Smith is Pretty Lights out of Colorado but he combines forces on Sunday, October 18th with drummer Cory Eberhard at the Crystal Ballroom.

The two communicate through a kind of clairvoyant sign language where drummer and electrician navigate from breakbeats to jazzy snares constantly manipulating the music while feeding off the crowd's aura.

Sampler extraordinaire, Pretty Lights is no petty pickpocket. This artist presents deftly crafted tracks ranging from laid-back ambiance to banging club jams, fusing "obscure old vinyl, analog synthesizers, and vintage dub gear," as Smith states on his MySpace.

His latest Passing By Behind Your Eyes, released on October 6th, is album #3 and available for free (along with his others) on his website. This one's replete with the PL trademark vivacious soundscapes, blended so sweetly that you'll soar, and meshed with hip-hop undertones, all sealed by vocals from Biggie on "Sunday School."

With a name inspired by a 1966 Pink Floyd concert poster, Smith is stepping up the multimedia show orchestrating a full sensory experience as you feel the bass bang in your bones, bounce your head and look around yourself. All the fine, moist people will be drenched in neon oranges and reds and blues, just vibing to the ubiquitous beat.

Just bathing in the oh so pretty lights.

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Sunday, October 18, 2009
Pretty Lights
Chicharones
DJ Rootz
Crystal Ballroom : 1332 W Burnside Portland, Oregon 97209
Doors at 8 PM, show at 9 PM
Cost : $15 advance, $20 day of show
All ages

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Read this article on Examiner.com.

bodyrock y'all, moby live at crystal oct 19

Although smaller in physical stature, a legacy of dependable dance music and raw, live energy precede this descendant of the great white sperm whale, author that is.

Moby brings his sweat-soaked vivacity to the Crystal Ballroom on Monday, October 19th supporting his ninth studio album Wait for Me, released this June.

You're guaranteed hits spanning Moby's extensive career from electronic rave anthems pulsing with techno beats to chilled out ambient that seeps through your warm body.

Emerging from his hideout behind the massive keyboards and electrical gadgets, Moby will also strap on a guitar to blast you with catchy alternative tunes and an occasional punk rock yowl.

Leading up to the release of his next single, Moby will be giving away a remix per week. Check out "One Time We Lived (Matrix & Futurebound Remix)" posted today.

Opening for the bald Little Idiot is the mellow Brooklynite Kelli Scarr. Download her free digital EP here.

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Monday, October 19, 2009
Moby
Kelli Scarr
Crystal Ballroom : 1332 W Burnside Portland, Oregon 97209
Doors at 8 PM, show at 9 PM
Cost : $25 advance, $28 day of show
All ages

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Read this article on Examiner.com.

grizzly bear casts its spell on the crystal ballroom oct 15

This Brooklyn quartet is not ferocious. They do not growl or snarl. Rather, these indie rockers will snare you with their soothing acoustic guitars, complex arrangements and layered vocals.

Grizzly Bear will awe all those who attend their Thursday, October 15th show at McMenamin's Crystal Ballroom with instantly infectious melodies and lovable, laid-back tunes like "Two Weeks."

Their latest release Veckatimest features vocals from all four band members and adventurous arrangements including choral ("Cheerleader") and orchestral backing on several tracks.

During the past few years of persistent touring, Grizzly Bear has garnered some high profile exposure opening for Radiohead and Feist as well as playing five shows with Paul Simon in Brooklyn. In 2008, the band even played a set with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and recently Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers helped revamp "While You Wait for the Others" with the boys in the band singing swirling backups on their own song. (Check out a live version, albeit without McDonald, from the Morning Becomes Eclectic.)

Amongst all the concerts, the foursome found time to build a truly collaborative album, their first effort where all members have contributed song ideas. And they succeeded in building a cleaner, more complete Grizzly Bear with stronger lyrics, vocals and drums.

Expect a dramatic performance full of highs and lows, like the mounting intensity heard on the album's opener "Southern Point," and climaxing with Grizzly Bear at their unified finest.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009
Grizzly Bear
The Morning Benders
Crystal Ballroom : 1332 W Burnside Portland, Oregon 97209
Doors at 7 PM, show at 8 PM
Cost : $22 advance, $25 day of show
All ages

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Read this article on Examiner.com.

ladyhawke + natalie portman's shaved head lick wonder ballroom sept 29

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton brought his first national music tour to Portland September 29th, and the Wonder Ballroom rolled and reveled in charged synthesizes reverberating from every angle.

Co-headliners Ladyhawke and Natalie Portman's Shaved Head spread their lush decadence with grinding electro-beats that made the kids bounce and wiggle to Perez's delight.

Ladyhawke cooked up Kiwi-rhythms on the stage with her signature "big synths and big guitar riffs" reminiscent of the 80's. Heavy synthesizers provided the strength behind her dance-anthem "Paris Is Burning," and she pleased the Portland crowd with tracks like "Dusk Till Dawn" and "Back of the Van."

After much success Down Under and in the UK, Ladyhawke is sure to make a name for herself in America playing her synth-infused rock with flair and touring in support of her self-titled debut released a year ago.

Crowd claps and chants accompanied the Seattle art school/hipster electronica from Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. Nerdy/sexy, so-easy-to-sing-a-long lyrics married with alluring keyboards galore induced ballroom convulsions as NPSH blared odes to facial hair, side ponies and a song for your girlfriend's parents.

The kids were clap-clap-clapping along as the quintet shook maracas, tambourines and pelvises to honeyed drumbeats and electrifying keyboards. Low-fi love spread thickly and quickly across the gymnasium stage for NPSH.

And what would Perez Hilton be without some glamorous gents opening the night? NYC's gender-bending, glam rockers Semi Precious Weapons fueled lusty passions while Perez's favorite boyish, Brit Julian Perretta played a mediocre, pop set.

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Perez Hilton Presents :
Ladyhawke
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
Semi Precious Weapons
Julian Perretta
Wonder Ballroom : 128 NE Russell St, Portland, Oregon 97212

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