Fin de Cinema – Wednesday @ Holocene The second installment of the series that asks some of Portland’s best bands to play the live soundtrack to some of cinema’s most avant garde films (the last night saw Nurses and others performing alongside the Czech classic Valerie and her Week of Wonders) highlights the work of [...]
Van Dyke Parks – Wednesday @ Mississippi Studios If you’re a music geek, the name Van Dyke Parks is music to your ears, considering the man’s pop pedigree. He has contributed lyrics to many great Beach Boys songs (“Heroes & Villains”, “Surf’s Up”), performed with The Byrds, produced albums by Ry Cooder and Randy Newman, [...]
Nomo @ Sunday @ Doug Fir Lounge While the music writers and critics of the world try to parse out whether Vampire Weekend is honest in their approach to African pop, you should busy yourself with this fine group of gents from Michigan. Formed in the early part of the past decade, this sextet plays [...]
Lymbyc Systym – Friday @ Mississippi Studios For a two-man band, Lymbyc Systym can sure make a noise like they are being backed up by a phalanx of musicians and personalities. But, on stage and on record, it is just Jared and Mike Bell, brothers raised in Arizona and now splitting their time between the [...]
Melt-Banana – Saturday @ Dantes Japan boasts many a musical act that tears asunder the strictures of rock and pop music, piecing the remaining shards back together in a colorful collage of sound, akin to Christian Marclay’s reconstructions of vinyl LPs. Melt-Banana has stood firmly in that grand tradition for nearly two decades, giving punk [...]
Joker & Nomad – November 25th @ HoloceneGrime and dubstep – the two bass-heavy sounds that combine the deep thrust of jungle with the thud of dub (obviously) and the glitz of modern hip-hop – is a phenomenon in the UK, spawning chart-topping icons like Dizzee Rascal and the artful grit of Burial. As with [...]
múm – Wednesday, November 4th @ Aladdin TheaterIn the 12 years since the band formed in its native Iceland, they have altered their sound in tiny increments, a move that suits the group’s frail, glassy sound. Move too quickly and the whole intricate construction of pensive folk, minimalist electronica and muted vocals would completely collapse. [...]
Birds & Batteries – Tuesday, October 27th @ The WoodsOur fearless leader wrote a small profile of this California-based band (pictured) back in May when they were gearing up to play Doug Fir. If you missed that show, you’d do well to pick up the slack by seeing them tonight. Dave said they reminded him [...]
