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.
Local Natives @ The Crystal Ballroom 4/25/2013
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.
This entry was written by , posted on April 26, 2013 at 10:07 pm, filed under ELEVEN, Live and tagged 2013, Crystal Ballroom, Eleven, ELEVENPDX, Gabriel Granach, hummingbird, Indie, Live, live performances, Local Natives, McMenamins, PDX EVENTS, PDX Live Music, PDX Music, Portland, rock, Show. 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.
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.
Hott Summer Nights
Our pals at Marmoset are hosting an all-day, all-night romp at Rontomsin Portland on Sunday, September 9th – the final day of MusicFest NW, 2pm until midnight. 14 bands, 4 DJs and beer that flows like a river.
Marmoset’s party is 100% free and no festival wristband is required. They’ll be serving up cold, refreshing beer all day for a buck, plus cheap food and other specials throughout the day. Sizzle Pie will also be on site, offering specials on slices.
There’s two outdoor stages featuring a different band or artist every 30 minutes:
Pure Bathing Culture // 10:00pm
Kelli Schaefer // 9:00pm
Pearly Gate Music // 8:00pm
Purse Candy // 7:00pm
Sean Flinn & The Royal We // 6:30pm
1939 Ensemble // 6:00pm
1776 // 5:30pm
Kris Orlowski // 5:00pm
Lost Lander // 4:30pm
Wesley Jensen & The Penny Arcade // 4:00pm
Houndstooth // 3:30pm
Pegasus Dream // 3:00pm
The Dimes // 2:30pm
Great Wilderness // 2:00pm
DJ sets going all day and night (inside) from Boy Eats Drum Machine, Ryan Biornstad (formerly of Starfucker), DJ vs Nature from Beacon Sound, and another special guest DJ TBA.
Friends, family, and sponsors for the party include Portland’s Eleven Magazine, Stumptown Coffee, Beacon Sound, Upright Brewing (beer for artists), Burnside Brewing (beer for guests) and Ninkasi Brewing (beer for guests), and Tyler and Nicole at Factory North for making a killer poster. Boom!
This entry was written by , posted on September 7, 2012 at 2:26 pm, filed under Upcoming and tagged 1776, 1939 Ensemble, Beacon Sound, Boy Eats Drum Machine, Burnside Brewing, DJ vs Nature, Eleven, ELEVEN PDX, Factory North, Great Wilderness, Hott Summer Nights, Houndstooth, Kelli Schaefer, Kris Orlowski, Live Music, Lost Lander, Marmoset Music, MFNW 2012, Ninkasi Brewing, PDX Music, Pearly Gate Music, Pegasus Dream, Pure Bathing Culture, Purse Candy, Sean Flinn & The Royal We, Stumptown Coffee, The Dimes, Upright Brewing, Wesley Jensen & The Penny Arcade. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Rockstar Mayhem Festival @ White River Ampitheatre 7/3/2012
Rockstar Energy Drink’s Mayhem Festival is one of the biggest touring summer music festivals. It hit Auburn, WA on July 3rd and was up and running by 1PM when gates were opened to attendees. The main stage housed Motörhead, Slayer, and Slipknot every night whileThe Devil Wears Prada, As I Lay Dying, and Anthrax were bands that took part in a rotating schedule playing the main stage as well.
As we entered the venue, not long after the gates were opened, we wandered around for a few minutes before stumbling upon a huge crowd. These fans were already locked and loaded to rock, despite it being the middle of the day. Whitechapel soon appeared onstage and launched into a half-hour set of pure energy. It was a pleasant surprise to see so many people energetically participating in mosh pits, crowd surfing, and fist pumping in unison even with it being a Wednesday afternoon. The crowd’s boisterous enthusiasm only continued to grow throughout the day with every band that played. Next up, As I Lay Dying was greeted by eager fans as well as a sudden downpour of rain, neither of which let up. Eventually the rain stopped towards the end of their set, but there was virtually no displacement in the way the crowd rocked out. Next on the bill was Asking Alexandria, followed by thrash metal legends Anthrax.
This entry was written by , posted on July 6, 2012 at 8:52 pm, filed under ELEVEN, Live and tagged 2012, Anthrax, As I Lay Dying, Auburn, Concert, ELEVEN MUSIC, ELEVEN PDX, Energy Drink, Kimberly Lawson, Live, Mayhem, Mayhem Festival, Metal, Motorhead, PDX Music, Portland, Rockstar, Slayer, Slipknot, The Devil Wears Prada, Washington, Whitechapel. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
The Men @ Mississippi Studios 6/23/2012
What a way to kick off the summer—the evening began with two ripping sets from Hausu and Hurry Up, and by 11pm the room was filled with the stench of campfire and testosterone. Not quite a sold out show, it left some wiggle room for more people to filter in as the New York foursome took the stage. The energetic, heavy, punk/post-hardcore quartet opened with some crowd-pleasing tunes from 2011’s Leave Home which definitely got the fans going—specifically the male crowd (the men outnumbered the ladies in attendance 10:1), who showed their love and appreciation with a sweaty mosh pit of body slamming and beer spilling.
This entry was written by , posted on June 25, 2012 at 4:54 pm, filed under ELEVEN, Live and tagged 2012, ELEVEN MUSIC, ELEVEN PDX, Live, Mike Herman, Mississippi Studios, PDX Music, Portland, Portland live music, The Men, Wendy Worzalla. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Thrice’s Farewell Tour @ Roseland Theater 06/10/12
Pushing the maximum capacity limits and shaking the floorboards of the Roseland Theater, Sunday night a sold-out crowd said a stirring farewell to Thrice, as their North American farewell tour made one last stop in the City of Roses.
Though the band has been adamant that this isn’t necessarily the absolute end for them, but instead a hiatus for the foreseeable future, fans of Thrice were left to the bitter-sweetness of getting to enjoy seeing a band that’s been at it for over a decade for what could possibly be the last time.
This entry was written by , posted on June 13, 2012 at 12:59 am, filed under ELEVEN, Live and tagged 2012, Dustin Kensrue, Eleven Magazine, ELEVENPDX, Farewell Tour, Jenna Fletcher, Kimberly Lawson, Live Music, PDX, PDX Music, Portland Music, Roseland Theater, Thrice. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Fun. + Now Now @ Roseland Theater 05/29/12
“For the first time in a long time, I feel alive,” are some of the simple and succinct lyrics to Fun.’s song “Barlights.” If you want a verbal snapshot of what Tuesday’s impressive show at the Roseland Theater was like, go no further than that.
As if the long-held sold out ticket status wasn’t indicator enough, Fun.’s recent Billboard Hot 100 success “We Are Young” has garnered the New York outfit a large burst of attention. Fresh from playing Sasquatch Music Festival, and with youngsters Now Now slated to open, Fun.’s tour kickoff is something that many fans anxiously waited for.
This entry was written by , posted on May 31, 2012 at 9:16 am, filed under Live and tagged Andrew Dost, Eleven Magazine, ELEVENPDX, Fun., Jack Antonoff, Kimberly Lawson, Live Music, Nate Ruess, Now Now, PDX, PDX Music, Portland, Portland Music, Roseland Theater. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
DJ Shadow @ The Wonder Ballroom 04/26/2012
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.
This entry was written by , posted on April 27, 2012 at 11:11 pm, 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. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.