All photos by Autumn Andel. On Friday night, Montreal shoegazers No Joy stopped by Mississippi Studios, and photographer Autumn Andel was there to shoot it. The Montreal shoe gazers were there on the back of their latest album, More Faithful (on Mexican Summer), and the four-piece offered their shimmering, guitar-driven dreamsounds, which alternated from placid […]
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Best Coast and Bully at Alhambra Theatre, Fri June 5
Minh Tran How do you stay motivated or improve if you’re already Best Coast? What’s better than best? That was the question lingering in my mind as I braced myself for the oppressive heat and humidity that is requisite with any sold-out show inside Alhambra Theatre (which announced yesterday that it is closing its doors […]
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Shakey Graves and the Barr Brothers at the Crystal Ballroom, Wed May 27, 2015
Katie Summer The Barr Brothers at the Crystal Ballroom I first saw Montreal’s the Barr Brothers in a totally unexpected moment of pure magic—underneath the stars at my first Pickathon. I was in love. As anyone who has attended Portland’s Best Summer Fest knows, it’s hard to re-create the special something of those three days. […]
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Hot Chip at Roseland, Tuesday, May 27, 2015
All photos by Minh Tran. Like most sets you’ve seen in bigger venues like the Roseland, Hot Chip‘s live show on Tuesday night had a workmanlike quality to it. Each of the seven members of the group hit their marks on stage, being at the right place at the right time, and never flubbing a […]
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Sleater-Kinney at the Crystal Ballroom, Tues May 5, 2015
Katie Summer Sleater-Kinney sell out the Crystal Ballroom Katie Summer Sleater-Kinney Tuesday night’s sold-out Sleater-Kinney show at the Crystal Ballroom had an interesting energy. The build-up for the reunion of a much-loved band, after a little fame and time, created a palpable feeling of expectation in the crowd. Expectant of magic, maybe, but for most […]
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The Diplomats at Peter’s Room, Sun May 3, 2015
Minh Tran Minh Tran Minh Tran Harlem’s native sons, the Diplomats—AKA Dipset, AKA Cam’ron, Jim Jones, Freekey Rekey, and Juelz Santana—performed before an enthusiastic, if relatively small, crowd of Pacific Northwest Diplomatic devotees on Sunday. Perhaps due to my advanced age and East Coast upbringing, I am continually surprised at how little draw many of […]
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José González at the Roseland, Fri April 24, 2015
Katie Summer José González at the Roseland Katie Summer José González at the Roseland Putting on a José González record always feels like therapy: plunging, honest, soothing, and beautiful in an aching kind of way—yet always upholding a forward moving motion. You’re going to be okay. And seeing him play live is all the more […]
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Mac DeMarco at the Crystal Ballroom, April 22, 2015
Minh Tran Minh Tran When Mac DeMarco last visited the Crystal Ballroom, he was opening for Phoenix, and having not yet heard of him, I foolishly skipped that set in favor of something that I have no recollection of now. Fast forward just over a year later and when Mac came back—following his 2014 Pickathon […]
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Leon Bridges at the Crystal Ballroom, April 16, 2015
Minh Tran Minh Tran While the current vanguard in music is focused on exploring minimal, ambient expansions on ’80s-rooted R&B, Leon Bridges follows the blueprint of a much older era of the genre, one derived from Sam Cooke and Otis Redding as opposed to Sade and Luther Vandross. Possessing a warm, rich, clear tenor and […]
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Treefort 2015 Photo Gallery
Katie Summer Portland’s Bearcubbin’! at Treefort 2015 Katie Summer Boyfrndz from Austin TX Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho, now in its fourth year, is current runner-up for my favorite music fest of the year. (Pickathon forever!) With this year’s Treefort hosting 400-plus bands in five days, I am so glad I had photos to […]
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Belle and Sebastian at Roseland, Thurs April 9, 2015
Autumn Andel Autumn Andel Autumn Andel On Thursday night, Glasgow hit Portland with all the impact of a warm hug and a hot pot of tea. Belle and Sebastian didn’t rouse the Roseland rabble with earsplitting sonics and eye-scorching pyrotechnics. They did something far better: performed a terrific, exuberant show with expert musicianship, dance-ready pop […]
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Stromae at Crystal Ballroom, Tues April 7, 2015
Minh Tran Minh Tran Is the local Portland music scene thriving or subsisting? I’m never quite sure. Certainly there are a plethora of musical acts creating, recording, and performing locally at any given time—but the number who’ve achieved traction beyond regional lines seems to have diminished as global sonic tastes shift and evolve. Portland’s music […]