The Music Tapes @ Mission Theater 5/7/2013
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.
This entry was written by , posted on May 10, 2013 at 1:37 am, filed under Live and tagged Eleven, Eleven Magazine, ELEVEN MAGAZINE PDX, ELEVEN PDX, Eleven PDX Magazine, ELEVENPDX, Julian Koster, Kickstarter, McMenamins, Mike Herman, Mission Theater, Neutral Milk Hotel, Neutral Milk Reunion, PDX, PDX Live Music, PDX Music, The Music Tapes, The Traveling Imaginary. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
James Blake @ The Wonder Ballroom 4/24/2013
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.
This entry was written by , posted on April 25, 2013 at 11:43 pm, filed under Live and tagged 2013, acapella, April's Overgrown, Coachella, Dubstep, Electronic, Eleven, Eleven Magazine, ELEVEN MAGAZINE PDX, ELEVEN PDX, Eleven PDX Magazine, ELEVENPDX, Gabriel Granach, guitarist, James Blake, Kelly Kovl, Live, London, music, PDX EVENTS, PDX Live Music, PDX Music, Portland, Show, Wonder Ballroom. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Purity Ring @ Roseland Theater 4/24/2013
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.
This entry was written by , posted on April 24, 2013 at 6:03 pm, filed under Live and tagged Eleven Magazine, ELEVEN MAGAZINE PDX, ELEVEN MUSIC, ELEVEN PDX, Eleven PDX Magazine, ELEVEN PDX. PDX Live Music, ELEVENPDX, PDX, Portland, Purity Ring, Roseland Theater. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Andrew McMahon 3/25/2013 @ Hawthorne Theatre
This entry was written by , posted on March 26, 2013 at 11:29 pm, filed under Live and tagged 2013, Andrew McMahon, Eleven Magazine, ELEVEN MAGAZINE PDX, ELEVEN PDX, Eleven PDX Magazine, ELEVENPDX, hawthorne, Hawthorne Theatre, Jack's Mannequin, Kimberly Lawson, Portland, Something Corporate. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
KMFDM @ Star Theater 3/8/2013
One of my dreams came true last night at Star Theater: for the first time I reveled in the furious live sound of industrial rock/electronic/pop/punk/funk legends KMFDM. My fascination with the band began way back in high school when new music came from either BMG Music Club or the kid at school selling burned CDs complete with scanned color copy inserts of the front and back covers. There were a lot of random genres I was listening to those days because I picked stuff out by the appeal of the album art. Aidan Hughe’s iconic artwork on 1997’s Symbols caught my eye and I have no regrets using this maneuver. It just so happened that I ended up being seduced by this abrasive, loud music that would be great for punching walls to.
This entry was written by , posted on March 9, 2013 at 7:18 pm, filed under Live and tagged Eleven, Eleven Magazine, ELEVEN MAGAZINE PDX, ELEVEN MUSIC, ELEVEN PDX, Eleven PDX Magazine, ELEVENPDX, KMFDM, PDX EVENTS, PDX Live Music, Star Theater. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Toro y Moi @ Wonder Ballroom 3/1/2013
Toro y Moi. Bull and me. Ethereal music and me. Mind blowing instrumentals and me. Awesome light show and me. This was my Thursday evening at a sold out Wonder Ballroom. Wise, young man, Chazwick Bundick, from South Carolina, graced Portland with his presence and genius musical skills; which I have no problem using the word genius on any musician that blows my mind with the sounds they create. Chaz et al is out and about showing off his new material from just released album Anything In Return.
This entry was written by , posted on March 2, 2013 at 1:01 am, filed under Live and tagged Chaz Bundick, Chazwick Bundick, Chillwave, Eleven, Eleven Magazine, ELEVEN MAGAZINE PDX, ELEVEN MUSIC, ELEVEN PDX, Eleven PDX Magazine, ELEVENPDX, Kelly Kovl, Kimberly Lawson, Portland, Review, Show, Show Review, Toro Y Moi, Wonder Ballroom. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Portland Comic Con 2.22-2.24.13
Wizard World Portland Comic Con delivers the best in pop culture in all of Oregon. Making its debut at the Oregon Convention Center, the Comic Con will span three whole days, February 22-24, 2013.
Wizard World Portland Comic Con will bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop culture: Movies, Comics, Graphic Novels, Toys, Video Gaming, Games, TV, Horror, Wrestling, MMA, Original Art, Collectibles, Anime, Manga, Contests, Q&A Panels, Meet & Greets, Parties and more!
Major standouts on the Wizard World Portland Comic Con celebrity roster include comic book legend and creator Stan Lee, “The Walking Dead” headliners Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker, ”Homeland” and “Firefly’s” Morena Baccarin, Henry “The Fonz” Winkler, “Evil Dead’s” Bruce Campbell and Dean Cain of “Lois and Clark,” WWE® Superstar The Miz®, plus the one and only Lou “The Hulk” Ferrigno.
This entry was written by , posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:02 am, filed under Uncategorized, Upcoming and tagged 2013, Bruce Campbell, Comic Con, Comics, Convention Center, Eleven, Eleven Magazine, ELEVEN MAGAZINE PDX, ELEVEN PDX, Eleven PDX Magazine, ELEVENPDX, Events, Henry Winkler, Lou Ferrigno, Michael Rooker, Norman Reedus, PDX, Pop Culture, Portland, Stan Lee, Upcoming, Wizard World. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Tegan and Sara + M83 + The Killers @ Rose Garden Theater of the Clouds 12/5/2012
December to Remember has been in full effect since Sunday, and I’ve had the pleasure of checking out the impressive lineup on Wednesday. The show was in the Rose Garden in their “Theater of the Clouds” where they partition off a section of the arena for a more intimate setting. The show started off with the quirky Canadian twin sister duo, Tegan and Sara, who very recently were nominated for a Grammy for Best Long Form Music Video. They played a variety of songs ranging from their newest single “Closer” to “Walking with a Ghost” off of So Jealous. Watching Tegan and Sara in a mini-arena setting with upwards of 6,000 other concert attendees is a little less intimate than one would be used to, but they pulled it off incredibly well.
This entry was written by , posted on December 6, 2012 at 2:05 am, filed under Live and tagged 12/5/12, December to remember, Electro Dance-rock, electronica, Eleven, Eleven Magazine, ELEVEN MAGAZINE PDX, ELEVEN MUSIC, ELEVEN PDX, ELEVENPDX, Indie-pop, Kimberly Lawson, Live, Live Music, M83, music, Rose Garden, Rose Garden Arena, Rose Quarter, Show Review, Tegan and Sara, The Killers. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
The All American Rejects + Boys Like Girls @ The Crystal Ballroom 11/28/2012
On a dark and rainy Halloweekend eve, I headed over to the West side to check out The All American Rejects and Boys Like Girls at the Crystal Ballroom. The band ascended up the stairs from the green room and over to the stage in full fledged costumes and makeup. Red lights flooded the stage giving The All-American Rejects an eerie glow as they started out with “Dirty Little Secret” and continued with a scattered mix of everything from their Self-Titled album from 2002, such as “Swing, Swing” and “My Paper Heart”, which everyone was singing along to, all the way up to their latest release Kids In The Street. Halfway through the set the skeletal Tyson Ritter jokingly reprimanded the crowd for not dressing up for Halloween, and asked if everyone was scared when they came out on stage. Despite the crowd not being dressed in a festive manner they still rocked out and jumped up and down furiously on the ballroom floor. Near the end of the set Tyson asked the crowd to open up the curtains to see our beautiful city, and made his way over to the windows and sang while overlooking the city. The Rejects closed out their set with “Gives You Hell” with the whole crowd singing along perfectly.
Next up Boys Like Girls started up their set with power pop punk filled energy with one of their hit songs “The Great Escape” from their debut Album in 2006 as well as playing “Hero/Heroine” soon after. The crowd went absolutely insane and fans were jumping at the chance to catch one of the many guitar picks Morgan Dorr and Martin Johnson were throwing out like candy. That devotion and dedication is still somewhat surprising because their last full release Love Drunk was three years ago in 2009, especially after going on a short hiatus a year ago. Despite the short break, new songs from their latest EP were sprinkled in the set and really showed the maturation of the band with their latest single “Be Your Everything” which sounds more alt-country rock than pop punk as well as “Life Of The Party” which really garnered a positive response from the crowd.
All in all theshow was a mix of getting to hear songs from bands that some fans have grown up listening to as well as watching these artists progress into their latest releases.
Words and Photos by Kimberly Lawson. More photos on Flickr.
This entry was written by , posted on October 31, 2012 at 1:10 am, filed under Live and tagged 10/28/12, AAR, BLG, Boys Like Girls, Concert, Crystal Ballroom, Eleven Magazine, ELEVENPDX, Kimberly Lawson, Live, Live Music, Martin Johnson, Morgan Dorr, Nick Wheeler, Paul DiGiovanni, PDX, PDX Music, Photography, Pop, Portland, Portland Music, Punk, Show Review, The All American Rejects, Tyson Ritter. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Portland Digital eXperience 9/5/2012-9/8/2012
Have you heard about the Portland Digital eXperience? Their goal is to capture the creative and ass-kicking spirit and drive that fuels the Portland’s start-up scene. If you need something to do during the day before you head out to the music festivities in the evening you should really check this out. With panels covering everything from technology to music to animation and all things interactive. Check out the schedule here.
More information can be found here.
This entry was written by , posted on August 31, 2012 at 7:51 pm, filed under Upcoming and tagged Eleven Magazine, ELEVENPDX, Events, PDX, Portland, Portland Digital Experience, Upcoming. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.