1. Ramona Falls w/ Incredible Yacht Control
Where: Doug Fir
How Much: $12/$14
When: Friday, May 18th – 9pm
Why: Spend the evening celebrating the second full-length release from Brent Knopf (formerly of Menomena). Blossoming in the midst of a delayed Menomena album, the side project turned full-time gig has given Knopf the time and space to expand his ever-growing talents as a musician–which is quite apparent in Ramona Falls’ latest effort, Prophet.

2. Strangled Darlings w/ Ezza Rose
Where: Secret Society Ballroom
How Much: $8/$12
When: Saturday, May 19th – 9pm
Why: Multi-instrumentalists George Veech and Jessica Anderly make up neo-folk duo Strangled Darlings. With an album recently released (Red Yellow & Blue on Mudfarm Records), you can be sure to hear new jazzy folk-pop tunes that will at the very least make your head bop and your feet tap to the beat.

3. Rontoms Sunday Sessions: The We Shared Milk & Log Across the Washer w/ Plum Sutra
Where: Rontoms
How Much: Free
When: Sunday, May 20th – 9pm
Why: Rontoms is at it again bringing the latest and greatest in local and touring performers. This week’s tasty treat is the 7″ split record release between The We Shared Milk and Log Across the Washer–13:33 minutes nearly split right down the middle. The first 6:54, “Annual”, is a quieter side of TWSM that flows gracefully into LATW’s beautifully layered “De Grasse/What in the World”. As always, the show is free so no excuses–be there!

Written by elevenpdx, filed under Upcoming and tagged 7" Split, Album Release, Doug Fir, ELEVEN PDX, Ezza Rose, Incredible Yacht Control, Live Music, Log Across the Washer, Plum Sutra, Portland, Ramona Falls, Rontom's, Secret Society Ballroom, Strangled Darlings, Sunday Sessions, The We Shared Milk.

1. Ketamines w/ Night Beats, Cosmonauts & PinkSlime
Where: East End
How Much: $8
When: Wednesday, May 9th – 9pm
Why: Dubbed as a Calgary supergroup, Ketamines was formed from the demise of Myelin Sheaths and Endangered Ape. The energetic psych-pop will leave your head spinning for days with their infectious hooks. Seattle’s best psych trio, Night Beats, have new material to share as well as the mind-numbing tunes from their self-titled released last year. Cosmonauts, hailing from Fullerton, CA bring the fuzzed-out primitive garage rock and newcomers PinkSlime will give them all a run for their money.

2. Willamette Week Presents: Best New Band 2012
Where: Mississippi Studios
How Much: Free!
When: Friday, May 11th – 8pm
Why: Featuring Willamette Week’s Best New Band of 2012: Radiation City! After taking 12th place last year, Rad City soars to the top and takes home the title with a whopping 165 points. This not-to-miss show also includes runner ups Pure Bathing Culture and Onuinu (4th place, respectively). Get their early to secure your spot, this free show will fill up fast! For more information and a comprehensive list of bands who made the Top Ten, check out Willamette Weekly’s Best New Band 2012.

3. Beach Fossils w/ Mac DeMarco & White Fang
Where: Bunk Bar
How Much: $12
When: Saturday, May 12th – 10pm
Why: Formed by Dustin Payseur in 2009, Brooklyn’s Beach Fossils have undergone plenty of line-up changes while constantly touring in their three years of existence. With a solid and devoted fanbase throughout the country, the self-titled debut immediately received favorable reviews in 2010 and the band continued the success with 2011′s What a Pleasure EP. Their dreamy summertime jams will make you yearn for those long lying-on-a-blanket-in-the-park kinda days.

Written by elevenpdx, filed under ELEVEN, Upcoming and tagged Beach Fossils, Best New Band, Bunk Bar, Cosmonauts, East End, ELEVEN PDX, Ketamines, Mac DeMarco, Mississippi Studios, Night Beats, Onuinu, PinkSlime, Portland live music, Pure Bathing Culture, Radiation City, White Fang.

First rule of The Wonder Ballroom: get there early or have your tickets in hand. Waiting in line for will-call and jumping over to the main entrance line is no fun, especially when it’s a 21+ show and no one has their IDs ready. Now that I’ve had my peace, let’s get down to business.

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Written by elevenpdx, filed under ELEVEN, Live and tagged Anton Newcombe, Austin Psych Fest, ELEVEN PDX, experimental, Germany, Live, Mike Herman, Nils Ottensmeyer, Psychedelic, The Blue Angel Lounge, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Wendy Worzalla, Wonder Ballroom.

Let me start off by saying hats off to the East End kids for booking this show at a larger venue—I can’t imagine the night would have been the same. It was a fantastic evening, bumping into a slew of old and new friends. I mistakenly assumed the show would be in true East End fashion and not start until after 10pm, but we managed to get there in the middle of Nucular Aminals set. The Star Theater was already fairly crowded, and the line to get in didn’t stop for another hour.

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Written by elevenpdx, filed under ELEVEN, Live and tagged Charlie Mootheart, Distortion, East End Kids Present, ELEVEN PDX, Emily Rose, Hair, Live, Mikal Cronin, Mike Herman, Nucular Aminals, Psych pop, San Francisco, Star Theater, Ted Nugent, The Beatles, The Ty Segall Band, Ty Segall, Wendy Worzalla, White Fence.

1. White Fence w/ Ty Segall, Nucular Aminals & Youthbitch
Where: Star Theater
How Much: $12
When: Thursday, May 3rd – 9pm
Why: California invades Portland this weekend and what better way to kick things off than with two of the Bay area’s youngest and brightest. With multiple releases already under their belts, Ty Segall and White Fence’s Tim Presley recently released an eight-song collaborative record last month, Hair. How they managed to squeeze out that little gem amongst their individual releases (White Fence’s Family Perfume Vol. 1 & Vol. 2; Segall’s tour split with The Feeling of Love and the upcoming Ty Segall Band release, Slaughterhouse) this year is ambitious to say the least. Get it while the going is good.

2. The Brian Jonestown Massacre w/ The Blue Angel Lounge
Where: Wonder Ballroom
How Much: $18/$20
When: Friday, May 4th – 9pm
Why: Eclectic psychedelic rockers The Brian Jonestown Massacre recently started somewhat of a world tour in support of their anticipated 13th studio album, Aufheben, released May 1st. Originally formed in San Francisco in the early 1990s, Anton Newcombe has been BJM’s only consistent member assisted by a revolving door of musicians. Currently based in Berlin, Newcombe has enlisted Hagen, Germany’s psychedelic experimental group The Blue Angel Lounge for the American leg of the tour.

3. ELEVEN PDX and Dig A Pony Present: The Official Delta Spirit Afterparty 
Where: Dig A Pony
How Much: Free
When: Saturday, May 5th – 12am
Why: Your Saturday should look like this: sleep in, brunch, appearance at your friend/co-worker/neighbor’s Cinco de Mayo party, nap (optional), and Delta Spirit at the Wonder Ballroom. But wait, that’s not all…after you’re done rockin to the tunes of this soulful San Diego multi-instrumental group, head over to Dig A Pony for a DJ set with Delta Spirit’s Brandon Young. Although this event is free, please consider a small donation to support Invisible Children/KARA (Kids At Risk Action). Come shake ya tail feather!

Written by elevenpdx, filed under Live, Upcoming and tagged Anton Newcombe, Delta Spirit, Dig A Pony, DJ Set, ELEVEN PDX, experimental, Germany, Invisible Children, KARA, Nucular Aminals, Portland live music, Psychedelic, San Francisco, Soul, Star Theater, The Blue Angel Lounge, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Tim Presley, Ty Segall, White Fence, Wonder Ballroom, Youthbitch.

DJ motherfuckin’ Shadow, aka Josh Davis, seized the trip hop scene by building up steam through the earlier years of the 90’s to unleash his mastery in ’96 with Endtroducing. His 20+ year career took him to the Wonder Ballroom Thursday night, where he continued to channel the music that has always flowed through him, and audibly undressed a full house. He’s been on tour for a while now promoting his latest album, The Less You Know, The Better (2011), which involves playing inside a white Shadowsphere that can rotate.

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Written by elevenpdx, filed under Live and tagged DJ Shadow, ELEVEN PDX, Endtroducing, Josh Davis, Kelly Kovl, Live Music, PDX Music, Portland Music, Shadowsphere, The Less You Know The Better, Trip Hop, Wonder Ballroom.

In recent months Tanlines have been seen a lot of places. They snagged on a slew of song/album/band-of-the-weeks across the independent music blogosphere, landed a spot in the pages of The New York Times and even grazed the Billboard album charts. Since last month’s release of their second album Mixed Emotions there’s a high probability they’ve crossed your path.

Though their sound is nothing unique, a faultless mixture of international beats and pop choruses is what makes Tanlines so charming. Their vibe deviates between easy listening melodies and tropical soundscapes. It’s simple lyrics and guitar topped off with the kind of eclectic, organic percussion you can only expect from talented producers. Mixed Emotions is calm and collective while simultaneously energetic and colorful—and that’s one way to describe last night’s show at the Doug Fir.

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Written by elevenpdx, filed under Live and tagged 04/25/2012, Aaron Pfenning, Brooklyn Music, Doug Fir Lounge, ELEVEN PDX, Eric Emm, Jesse Cohen, Live Music, Megan Gex, Portland Music, Rewards, Tanlines, Tropical Pop.

With many people zeroing in on the end that could have come to fruition and with their recent success in landing a spot opening for Coldplay’s North American tour, you can imagine the sort of pressure The Pierces must be feeling. Tuesday night’s show, center stage at the Rose Garden Arena, however, proved that they are ready to fight and show people across the nation the spark that they’ve got.

After over ten years of making music together, Allison and Catherine have had ample time to learn what works for them and what doesn’t. While translating that to an astronomically larger stage than normal can be an awkward learning process for some acts, the sisters looked comfortable there in the spotlight, playing a selection of songs spanning their releases, but focusing mostly on tracks from You and I, released about a year ago.

The sweet harmonies and up-tempo riffs somehow managed to make such a large space feel close and intimate—and fans still filtering into the arena seemed to take notice, many standing in their seats and applauding throughout the set enthusiastically. A fitting high point was during “You’ll Be Mine,” both sisters and their backing band looking confident and engaging the crowd with their energy. The subtle twang, and powerful pop tones of the Pierces music is just genre-liquid enough to invite scores of people to indulge in, and although it’s no surprise that the majority of people in the audience were anxiously waiting for Coldplay’s turn on the stage, the response to the Pierces was impressive, to say the least.

Prior to the show, Catherine had already noted that Portland was a stand-out for the tour, as they had close family and friends in attendance. Their cousin, Amelia Pape, is a Portland resident, in fact, who help runs a mobile grocery cart called My Street Grocery which services “food deserts”—or lower income areas in the city that don’t have ample access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

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Written by elevenpdx, filed under Live and tagged Coldplay, Concert, ELEVENPDX, Live Music, PDX, Portland, Review, Rose Garden Arena, Show, The Pierces.

1. Finn Riggins (album release) w/ And And And & Grandparents
How Much: $8
Where: Holocene
When: Thursday, April 26th – 8:30pm
Why: With a recent record store day release from Tender Loving Empire (delicious 10” red vinyl) Boise, Idaho’s energetic indie rock trio will continue their celebration this Thursday. Support from two of Portland’s finest: last year’s WW Best New Band (in case you forgot) and a future contender for the title, Grandparents.

2. House of Light w/ Sundaze & The Dead Beat
How Much: $3-$5
Where: Langano Lounge
When: Friday, April 27th – 9pm
Why: Berlin’s underground rockers, House of Light, are headlining this benefit show for Portland up and comers The Dead Beat, who unfortunately fell victim to theft of their equipment. With special guests Sundaze, come out for some killer rock/shoegaze/noise-pop tunes and help raise some dough to replace the recently stolen gear.

3. Discos Humeantes
Where: Valentine’s
How Much: Free
When: Saturday, April 28th – 9pm
Why: Currently enjoying his second visit to the Rose City this year, Jorge Páez is the man behind the fantastic psych/punk/garage label Discos Humeantes out of Oviedo, Asturias Spain. Last time around, he had all kinds of gems from Brazil to Puerto Rico, and Madrid to New York. Come check it out!

Written by elevenpdx, filed under Live and tagged Album Release, And And And, Benefit Show, Discos Humeantes, ELEVEN PDX, Finn Riggins, Grandparents, Holocene, House of Light, Langano Lounge, Portland live music, Sundaze, Tender Loving Empire, The Dead Beat, Valentine's.

Michiganders living in Portland came out Friday night to support Greensky Bluegrass, a band formed in The Mitten State city of Kalamazoo. Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo! All other attendees were people who love the original bluegrass jams from these five, friendly guys. Since forming in 2000, the band has been touring full-time, forming a loyal following and even earning the number three spot last fall on the Billboard Bluegrass charts for their latest album, Handguns.

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Written by elevenpdx, filed under Live and tagged 420, Bluegrass, ELEVEN PDX, Greensky Bluegrass, Live Music, Portland Music, Roseland Theater.