IF YOU HAVEN’T been to the Artistery, I strongly advise you to hightail it to 4315 SE Division, stride in through the front door, and proclaim, “I’m here for FUN!” Artistery shows have the feeling of house shows, but without the cops being called at 10:30 pm or worrying about fucking somebody’s mom’s kitchen up. […]
Adam Gnade
Posted inMusic
Unknown Pleasures
Saros’ Heavyweight Thrills
AS DELUGED BY hype as we are, sometimes it’s nice to get deep into a band you’ve never heard of. I know next to nothing about Saros. I know they’re from San Francisco, and I know they have a girl singer but, beyond that, I have a record and that’s all I’m asking for. It’s […]
Posted inMusic
Magical People
Small Sails’ Big Pop Bliss-Out
LET’S NOT BULLSHIT ourselves here—ambient music can be some of the most emperor’s new clothes-ish, low payoff, substance-less, boring crap you’ll find anywhere. It’s easy to play nice sighing grooves, but damn tough to keep it interesting, human-feeling, and evocative of anything concrete. Small Sails, then, makes ambient pop that is upbeat, nimble, and fun […]
Posted inMusic
Beyond Classic
John McCauley’s Deer Tick
THE FIRST TIME I heard Deer Tick, I was wasted drunk in the backseat of a friend’s car. The lights in NE were all yellow streaks and messy red blurs, and the song was “Dirty Dishes,” an R&B groove direct from the heart of Van Morrison’s TB Sheets, a slow and shuffling bluesy thing that […]
Posted inMusic
The Scene Report
Local Music News
Heroes and Villains has a new record out and they’re doing the CD release party in style. Bringing pals Nick Jaina and Horse Feathers, the band will perform Turn Your Swords in its entirety at Dante’s on Friday, September 22. I caught up with HandV drummer/vocalist Scott Magee for some news. MERCURY: What’s new? MAGEE: […]
Posted inMusic
The Scene Report
Local Music News
Rotture, the new club taking Loveland’s space, is opening this week. Says booker Bennett Yankey, “the ‘soft opening’ party planned for Friday, September 15—featuring Magick Daggers, Rabbits, and some surprise guests—is now open to the public. Originally we had planned to have it be a semi-private affair, but we’d love to invite everyone out to […]
Posted inMusic
The Scene Report
Local Music News
Viva Voce’s been on tour awhile and they’re about to head out again. They also have a new record called Get Yr Blood Sucked Out that’s set for release September 12 on Barsuk. Things seem to be happening for them right now—even bigger things than that car commercial they gave a song to last winter. […]
Posted inMusic
Sing Blast Fly
Yuma Nora and Gospel of Freedom
THERE ARE BANDS that try and really brand their sound and aesthetic, and then there are bands like Yuma Nora. Made up of Amy Vecchione, Aaron Reyna, and Jake Anderson, Yuma Nora goes through their musical life like jellyfish, moving wherever the tides take them, though still verily under their own power. Live or on […]
Posted inMusic
Good-Bye PDX
2% Majesty Splits for the Chi-Boogie
ALL THESE BANDS that I love are leaving town. M. Ward went to New Hampshire and now 2% Majesty are all set to be Chicagoans. Once there they’ll become a four-piece electric band, leaving behind the folk for the folk-ROCK. I talked to violin player/singer Kyla Cech and singer/guitarist Ryan One and got their State […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Kill Your Idols
A People’s History of No-Wave
“IT WAS ABOUT making music that reminded you of nothing else,” says Lydia Lunch in Kill Your Idols, a 70-minute documentary on the birth, death, and multiple reincarnations of no-wave music. The film begins in 1972 and microscopes on the New York scene, past to present. “We weren’t just trying to make music—we were trying […]
Posted inMusic
This Fest is the Best Fest
Halleluwah: A Music and Arts Festival Like No Other!
It started with a MySpace message. Sent from local music booker Chantelle Hylton (Blackbird Presents) to the publisher of insanely respected music/arts journal Yeti magazine, Mike McGonigal. Subject: “Let’s.” Body: “make a festival together.” This is dated March 31, 2006, 12:45 am. I have the original message in front of me; it’s short, to the […]
Posted inMusic
The Scene Report
Local Music News
Big news for Portland venues. As we reported this past week in Blog Town, PDX (portlandmercury.com/blogtown), besides a couple upcoming Mike Thrasher Presents shows, Loveland is more or less closed down; in its place Rotture will be opening, and Food Hole will be taking a short break. Says booker Bennett Yankey, “We’re opening a new […]