Sam Prekop Mon May 23 Doug Fir Lounge 830 E Burnside Sam Prekop was outside a club in Hamburg, Germany when we spoke. “On the surface, the city comes across as fairly unpleasant, but it’s really not,” he said before expounding on the simple joys of local bratwurst: “They’re these huge sausages and tiny buns… […]
Joan Hiller
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The Moon Won’t Stop Talking
The Ethereal Simplicity of Nedelle
Nedelle Fri April 15 Berbati’s Pan 10 SW 3rd IF YOU’RE slack-jawed and pacified a mere 10 seconds into “Tell Me A Story”, the opener of Portland-based bossa-pop songstress Nedelle Torissi’s debut for Kill Rock Stars, it means you’re listening right. On From The Lion’s Mouth, the follow-up to 2002’s Republic of Two (Kimchee), Torrisi […]
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Spread the Love
Viva Voce’s Newest, From Our Mouths to Yours
Viva Voce Tues Sept 14 Music Millenium 801 NW 23rd Loosely translated from Italian, Viva Voce means “by word of mouth,” which couldn’t be more fitting for husband and wife duo Anita and Kevin Robinson–an increasing number of wide-eyed converts have been singing their praises across the Northwest of late. Viva Voce’s been one of […]
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Family Reunion
Thinking Fellers are Back, Too!
Thinking Fellers Union Local 232 Fri June 11 Berbati’s Pan 10 SW 3rd “Art” and “schedules” are by nature at odds–think about how many crappy tromp l’oils or scratchy violin sonatas you turned out fulfilling art prerequisites during college! Were you allowed to take your time, do what you wanted and maybe enjoy a tall […]
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It Takes Two
…To Make Viva Voce Go Ri-eeeght!
Viva Voce Fri April 16 Ash Street Saloon 225 SW Ash “Couples who play together stay together” isn’t just the Marriage Counselor Cliché of 2004; it’s practically a mantra for this year’s crop of couple-bands. Is this the summer of love all over again? Viva Voce certainly makes it feel that way. Both parties’ notoriously […]
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Tim Sticks it to the Man
Joan of Arc’s Tim Kinsella
Joan of Arc Mon Mar 10 Blackbird [KINSELLA ALERT!] Tim Kinsella’s two new Joan of Arc albums–So Much Staying Alive and Lovelessness (Jade Tree) and his forthcoming release on Perishable–are micro- and macrocosmic masterworks, respectively. So Much achieves a new level of synthesis between the distant and the catchy, the abstract and musique concrete–it’s more […]
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All Things Meandering
Kinski Totally Rocks Portland
Kinski Fri Feb 21 Blackbird Since Kinski’s 1999 avant-rock release Space Launch for Frenchie, they’ve been compared to every not-so-out-of-bounds experimental guitaring outfit imaginable. While their flowing, multidimensional love of all things meandering and exploding does harken back to Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation, Kinski’s mood isn’t nearly as sassy or rough. Like SY, however, bassist […]
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Check Tha Mike Right
Asphodel Reissues Mix Master Mike & Skratch Piklz
With the proliferation of electronic and hiphop artists of all sub-classifications looking back to their original roots, now’s the perfect time to make reflection part of forward thinking. Nobody knows that better than San Francisco’s famed Asphodel Records, a growing label dedicated to all things fringe, avant, and groundbreaking in the non-rock universe. This year, […]