1. The Black Angels w/ Hanni El Khatib & Wall of Death
Where: Wonder Ballroom
How Much: $18
When: Wednesday, May 15th – 8pm
Why: Hot off the heels of performing and curating the 6th Austin Psych Fest, The Black Angels continue on tour in support of their fourth full-length album, Indigo Meadow. You can expect a healthy mix of old and new, swirling psychedelic lights and sounds, and reverbed-drenched guitars. 

2. Steve Adamyk w/ Needles//Pins & Youthbitch
Where: The Know
How Much: $5
When: Thursday, May 16th – 8pm
Why: Inspired by 70′s punk, 80′s power pop, and 90′s garage rock, this Ottawa four-piece kicks out the trash-pop jams and they kick ‘em out hard. With Vancouver’s Needles//Pins and Portland’s Youthbitch you can bet your sweet ass you’ll be shimmying and shakin all night long!

3. The Shivas w/ The Beets, Older Women & Awkward Energy
Where: Record Room
How Much: $6
When: Sunday, May 19th – 8pm
Why: It’s a no-brainer, kids! The Shivas have one last show before heading out on a month-long tour with The Dandy Warhols, so come out and show ‘em some love! You won’t want to miss The Beets either! Representing Jackson Heights, NY, the trio features minimalistic drumming, a healthy dose of reverb, and vocals by all three members.

KPSU rocks the boat with local-artist driven “kruises” on The Portland Spirit, in which passengers board for a party that helps to raise funds for the university station’s very own FM signal. Last Friday’s event came at the end of an 85 degree day, and a leisurely late-night cruise with a couple of Portland’s finest up-and-coming seemed an ideal way to cool down and start the weekend.

 

 

KPSU is likely to take advantage of this unique venue for fair weather good times that showcase local music and support their station and students. So here’s the thing: You will be in a limited space on the water for a few hours–once you are on the boat you are committed!  Please don’t throw your cups or ciggy butts overboard. There is plenty of room to dance so go ahead. Drinks aren’t cheap, but a bottle of champagne as you glide under the city’s bridges and cheer to hear the echo is sooo worth it.

Last Tuesday night a circus rolled in to McMenamin’s Mission Theater.  Calling itself The Traveling Imaginary it was a two-show stop on a tour organized by ringmaster Julian Koster to promote his band The Music Tapes newest album Mary’s Voice.

Last fall Koster, probably best known as a member of The Neutral Milk Hotel, launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund The Traveling Imaginary.  The money raised was used to purchase a custom circus tent that the band is playing shows in across the country along with games, stories, films and amusements.

People arrived in the lobby of the theater to find games set up in front of the red and white striped tent.  Julian walked around banging a pan lid with a drumstick and announcing games through an electric megaphone: “The Penny and The Bell!” “Flooded The Sailor School!” “Traditional Bag Toss!”  Most required a blindfold and winners were promised prizes after the show.

After about 45 minutes of games the tent was opened and the roughly 30 people in attendance sat on the checkered floor in front of instruments and a seven-foot tall metronome.  It was the start of a surreal swirl of music, performance art, storytelling and even a magic trick.

The music was at times distantly grainy and at others powerful, with the sounds of live instruments, samples and orchestral arrangements blending with Eastern European elements and Julian’s wailing voice into emotional and earnestly whimsical pieces.  The orchestral banjo (played with a bow), singing saw, tuba, organ and tubular bells were prominent instruments.  At one point an entire song was sung by Static the singing television, his animated face in a jagged, lopsided smile.

Songs morphed into stories and stories morphed into songs throughout the show.  Julian talked about his family history, imaginary games children play, and visions.  Questions were incorporated into the stories and volunteers in the audience answered.  Everyone had blindfolds “for their safety” (acquired while playing the pre-show games).  At one point the audience put them on and listened to a recorded story complete with sound effects.  Blindfolds came off to find a giant snowman in front of everyone and a request for an audience member to throw a snowball at a target (the moon) in order to melt him.

The evening culminated in a present suspended from the ceiling of the tent.  Everyone was instructed to focus on the present and more questions were asked, seemingly randomly.  The present was lowered and unwrapped by a volunteer while another stood on stage.  Inside the present was a diorama of the tent containing another, smaller, wrapped present and a cassette tape.  The cassette was given to the volunteer at the front and the smaller present was unwrapped.  Julian read the printed short story inside which incorporated the answers various audience members had given during the course of the show, including those that had been given just a couple of minutes earlier.  The tape was played and it contained a recording detailing a conversation that occurred while the large present had been suspended over everyone.  Minds were blown and the show ended.

Julian invited those who won prizes throughout the evening to meet him in the center of the tent.  He opened a suitcase containing inedible candy canes, marbles from his childhood marble collection, antique keys and pieces of silver Mylar that were once part of Andy Warhol’s Silver Floatations exhibition.  Winners could pick whatever they wanted.  Julian remained to talk, sign autographs and draw pictures for anyone who was interested.  It was a fitting, interactive ending to a wonder-instilling performance experience.  If the upcoming Neutral Milk Hotel reunion shows are anything like The Traveling Imaginary they will be well worth making an effort to see.

Words and Photos by Mike Herman

Photos on Flickr.

Without further ado, Ep. 1 featuring Fanno Creek:

1. Arrested Development Returns Party!
Where: Holocene
How Much: $6
When: Wednesday, May 8th – 8:30pm
Why: Holy moly, are you as excited as we are for the return of television’s most underrated series of all time?! Tonight!  Banana Stand Media presents: Arrested Development Returns Party! With Tango Alpha Tango, Animal Eyes, The We Shared Milk. Just remember: there’s always music in the banana stand!

2. The Dandelyons w/ The Laurels & Miracle Falls
Where: Kelly’s Olympian
How Much: $5
When: Thursday, May 9th, 2013 – 9pm
Why: Portland’s The Dandelyons team up with Miracle Falls, project from ex – Mercury Rev / Sparklehorse / Longwave member Paul Dillon, for a night with Australia’s The Laurels (fresh from Austin Psych Fest). Expect a night of psychedelic shoegazy indie rock goodness!

3. KPSU Presents: The KPSU Kruise 2!
Where: Portland Spirit
How Much: $10/$15
When: Friday, May 10th – 10:30pm boarding
Why: Presented by KPSU’s 2013 Radio Revival & PSPS–hop aboard the Portland Spirit for a midnight cruise with Onuinu & Grandparents! Proceeds benefit KPSU’s efforts to bring freeform, student-run college radio back to Portland’s FM airwaves. All ages and a full bar for those 21+. Tickets available online or call 503-224-3900

2. METZ w/ White Lung & WL
Where: Holocene
How Much: $10/$12
When: Thursday, May 2nd – 9pm
Why: Hailing from Toronto, this power rock trio brings it, and they bring it hard. I happened to catch METZ at a pre-Austin Psych Fest show last week and woah! Add Vancouver B.C.’s White Lung and hot damn, y’all are in for a treat–it’s a match made in music heaven!

3. Vietnam w/ Gap Dream & Small Arms
Where: Dante’s
How Much: $10
When: Saturday, May 4th – 9pm
Why: Mexican Summer’s Vietnam teams up with Burger Record’s Gap Dream for one heck of show you’re not going to want to miss! Here’s one of my favorite tracks from Gap Dream: 58th St. Fingers. Highly recommended! Definitely bring some extra dollars to pick up both of these bands’ records.

Jeff Mangum has been on tour a bit the past couple years, including sold out shows in the Pacific NW. It appears nostalgia has got the better of him, as he and his mates have reformed the iconic Neutral Milk Hotel. Today just got a bit less Monday-y. No nearby dates yet, but more coming soon, so keep checking back here or at the band’s website: http://walkingwallofwords.com/tour.html

10/22 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club (with Elf Power)
10/23 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club (with Half Japanese)
10/25 – Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium (with Half Japanese, Daniel Johnston)
11/28 – Taipei, Taiwan @ Hostess Club Festival
12/01 – Tokyo, Japan @ Hostess Club Festival

Sold out weeks in advance, there was restlessness in the air at the Crystal Ballroom on Thursday night as the crowd waited for headliner Local Natives to take the stage. So many fans have been waiting to get a piece of Local Natives but it’s been a while.  The five-piece indie rock outfit is known for their satiable live performances but haven’t been through Portland in nearly three years. Their debut release, Gorilla Manor, was received with praise but the band remained under the radar to the average fan.

Queue Hummingbird. Nearly three years after the release of Gorilla Manor, Hummingbird was perhaps one of the most anticipated albums of the 2012. Whether or not the album delivered and fulfilled the hype, Local Natives took the stage to one of the most uproarious crowds seen at the Crystal Ballroom in recent memory.

Opening with the first track off Hummingbird, “You & I” Local Natives proved that their beautiful four-part harmonies and driving deep percussion could carry their latest album to new heights in a live setting. “Breakers,” followed before the band returned to Gorilla Manor and played the first track “Wide Eyes.” “Wide Eyes,” was met with far more enthusiasm than an already uproarious crowd had given before. This was the theme for most of the night. Two new songs; one old. It felt a bit as though the band realized the crowd was there to see Gorilla Manor and perhaps modified their set accordingly.

The set culminated in back to back performance of their most popular cuts to date, “Who Knows Who Cares,” which guitarist and singer Taylor Rice dedicated to his mom in the crowd (how cute) and “Sun Hands.” Everyone in the crowd had been waiting for this moment. As they all shouted at the top of their lungs “And when I can feel with my sun hands/I promise not to lose her again.” The crowd joined in. The energy was positively electric. The band remarked they hadn’t played such a fun show in as long as they could remember.

After the obstreperous would hear nothing of the show being over, Local Natives returned to the stage once again to give the crowd another favorite oldie, “Shape Shifter.” With drawn out bridges and interludes the song’s piercing quality took the room to new height once again.  Local Natives may not have satisfied with their latest recordings but their live shows are a force to be reckoned with.

Words and Photos by Gabriel Granach

Coming off of recent shows at Coachella, James Blake headed up to Portland Wednesday night for a sold out show at the Wonder Ballroom. The 24 year old Londoner had a minimalistic stage set up: a few white circle backdrops with a pseudo candle like flame/light brightly lit in front of them. Blake was joined by a live guitarist and drummer that rounded out his sound. It was a pleasure to listen to James sing acapella at times and to be soothed by his mature voice. The new album is definitely more attuned to vocals and sends the listener on a nice trip through the songs. The young kids were all nestled together for slow grinding action to the electronic, soul, dubstep jam session.

Only having had one listen of the new material from April’s Overgrown (second full length) I was impressed with the translation to stage. He took the show as an opportunity to explore: manipulating songs, playing between a super low, seductive bpm and then back up again, hard and fast, getting you into a lovemaking mood. It’s easy to spot some differences since 2011’s self-titled debut: this time he’s in love with Warpaint’s Theresa Wayman, which is adorable. A lot of his beats reminded me of the steady, fierce, rhythmic pattern your own heart follows.

After introducing the song “Voyeur” and playing the first few notes, I saw a few people look down and shuffle their feet. It’s a slower beginning, but it was awesome when the shrill, powerful bell-like sound started to chime in an addicting manner, immediately grabbing everyone’s attention. That song put a giant smile on my face. Looking up at one point I realized how much I like the Wonder for shows, the sound is always spot on! James Blake is a talented musician whose talents should be heard; Grab a ticket early next time if you missed this outstanding show.

Words by Kelly Kovl. Photos by Gabriel Granach.

Canadian electronic/hip-hop duo, Purity Ring, played to a fervent crowd on Tuesday night at the Roseland Theater. Even though the group is relatively new (they formed in 2010) their draw was huge, with lines spiraling in and around the theater well before the band took to the sold-out stage. The theater was transformed into a bass-drenched dance club for the night, with an eruptive pulse propelling movement on the floor and in the balconies. Unlike many Roseland shows, there were signs encouraging photography from the audience, and there wasn’t a typical pit, which allowed front-row access to anyone who pushed their way in.

At around 10pm, Megan James and Corin Roddick uncovered their tree-like, custom-built instrumentation, which looked like giant, light-up cocoons of various sizes hanging over the stage. These “lights” are struck with drum-sticks and create a firefly, strobe effect when played. The performance was extremely composed, intentional, and enchanting. It felt like watching a spectacle, or experiencing a foreign ritual take place.

During a few songs, James (vocals) used a mallet to strike a lit-up bass drum that was mounted above her head. The crowd really started moving during their cover of “Grammy” (originally by Soulja Boy ft. Ester Dean), where James had the space to showoff her breathy, pitch perfect vocals. The set was relatively short and filled with the singles that the audience knew from their premiere 2012 record, Shrines, including the echoey –pop-dance hit, “Ungirthed,” which James said was about, “living in the woods”.

Photos and Words by Rachel Milbauer