THURSDAY 1/24
SYNAPSE STARRING JC 3, MIC CRENSHAW, DJ WICKED, DAVID PARKS' PANIC PROJECT
(Fez, 316 SW 11) Fez is a really cool venue because it's enormous, its got this weird Middle Eastern feel that's not too overwhelming, and it feels lush without making you feel like you're incredibly poor. The primary problem with Fez is that there are a lot of lame acts booked there, which is why you should take this opportunity to see a really rad act that's playing there. Not only does this bill contain local hiphop stars Mike Crenshaw and DJ Wicked, as well as local jazz quartet David Park's Panic Project, but it also does so with some organization, so that the show should, hopefully, have some consistency and coherency. KATIA DUNN
THE SWEET SCIENCE, LAUREL BRAUNS
(Lewis & Clark Council Chambers, 0416 Palatine Hill Rd) With an affinity for eerie bossa nova, mysterious cello solos, and a plain desire to rock out artfully with a palpable sentiment, The Sweet Science plays music with the most wonderful quirks and harmonies. The band, from Bainbridge Island, WA, is a good example of how to utilize different influences (jazz, punk, perhaps showtunes) without sounding like a half-assed pastiche. JULIANNE SHEPHERD
THE QUAILS, SHICKY GNAROWITZ AND THE TRANSPARENT WINGS OF JOY
(PS What? 1968 SW 5th, 827-3797) The Quails are an SF band including Seth from Circus Lupus!, Julianna from the Electrolettes, and Jen Smith, aka "Miss Lady Hand Grenade." I've never seen them, but here's a description courtesy their label lady, Erase Errata's Sara Jaffe (who released their first LP on her Inconvenient Recordings label): "dance-damage, politico-agitators with lotsa heart." I would say, judging from who's in the band, that it's going to fucking rock. But if it doesn't, there's still Shicky Gnarowitz, Portland's awesome, beautiful klezmer dance trio. JS
FIRE ANTS, CIRCLE OF WILLIS, MIRACLE CHOSUKE
(Satyricon, 125 NW 6th) There are two Fire Ants. One is a media darling that gained fame after CNN covered how that Fire Ants gathered a following by posting their cutesy R&B songs on the internet. They're not to be confused with the Fire Ants who are coming to town. No, the Fire Ants coming to Satyricon are a full-bodied and aggressive band; punk in the tradition that leans more towards the cerebral than an emotional soundgarden. With a calm and almost patient voice, Skie Bender keeps a lockjaw grip on their otherwise runaway songs. When she sings their song "Animal," it sounds as if she is swallowing her vowels whole, like a python gulping down a rat. PHIL DOT BUSSE
STEREOPHONICS, JJ72
(Berbati's, 231 SW Ankeny) Stereophonics are a fine band, but they have the same problem that every Britpop band does: They all sound exactly the same. It makes sense when you think about it. England is only as big as, say, California, so it's not like they have many people that can be making exclusive music, especially when they all probably live within two square miles of London. Stereophonics pulls off the tortured Brit voice pretty well, the production is glossy, the melody is catchy, and you can easily map other bands onto their music, like Travis and Oasis. KD
DISTANCE FORMULA, LOS ANGELES, MOON PONY
(Blackbird, 3728 NE Sandy) I've gushed over Wow and Flutter a billion times. They're so sweet, they're so dark, they're my favorite band in Portland, blah blah blah. Sadly, however, their last couple shows have been not so good. Their deep, somber sound has gotten all confused and I, too, have been confused by their confusion. So now, Chris, W&F's drummer, and Donnie, the hot keyboard player/guitarist, have a new project called Moon Pony. I can't help but have high hopes. KATIE SHIMER
FRIDAY 1/25
THE QUAILS, SARAH DOUGHER, CORNERTOUR
(Mississippi Pizza, 3552 N Mississippi) See Thursday Listing.
AUDIO CRAFTS #1 STARRING AUDITORY SCULPTURE PLAYING WITH FOUR DVDS AND A LAPTOP TO CLASSIC HITCHCOCK FILM DIALOGUE WITH SOCIOELECTRONIC SOUNDSCAPES
(Madame Butterfly, 425 SW Stark) Postmodern, now modern! JS
NEW BOMB TURKS, FIREBALLS OF FREEDOM, THE HUNCHES
(Ash Street, 225 SW Ash) Perhaps the reason behind Columbus, Ohio's New Bomb Turks' longevity is frontman Eric Davidson's keen wit, which he isn't afraid to occasionally bury for sake of a good ol' dumb-but-catchy lyrics. That, and the fact that this high-octane garage-punk band hasn't changed its tune much since it first burst on the scene with 1992's Destroy Oh Boy!. New Bomb Turks share tonight's bill with three like-minded local bands, including Flamethrower, which plays hard, furious punk at breakneck tempos. KATHLEEN WILSON
BUCKSHOT, SMIF N WESSON
(Roseland, NW 6th & Burnside) Hiphop's best years are from 1993 to 1997, and one of the defining crews of that wonderful period is the Brooklyn-based Duck Down posse, which was made up of roughly five bands (Helter Skelter, Smif N Wessun, Boot Camp Click, and Black Moon). The central band of the Duck Down posse was Black Moon, its main rapper was Buckshot, and the song that crowned of all their gangsta-bleak, beat-heavy efforts was Black Moon's darkling gem "Who Got Da Props?" Though the members of the Duck Down posse were proud "gun clappers," the violence in their lyrics never stood alone, but was embedded in the most beautiful, and at times even magical, beats. Tonight, Smif N Wessun and Buckshot return from the past and bring to life what was the greatest period in hiphop music. CHARLES MUDEDE
MILEMARKER, POINT LINE PLANE, OTHER MEN MY AGE
(Blackbird) See Music pg 15
CALIFORNIA GUITAR TRIO, TREY GUNN BAND
(Berbati's) This show is a barometer for how progressive rock's flirtation with classical music can have the greatest and worst effects on it. California Guitar Trio checks in at the "cheese" end of the spectrum. The band's most recent record covers songs from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" to Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" in a baroque, all-guitar fashion. While the members of CGT are all extremely talented, their music is a big snoozefest; it's the exact music they pump into the aromatherapy room at my gym. Trey Gunn (the young fellow from King Crimson) is slightly more experimental. Armed with a trillion string guitar, Trey is mostly interesting, playing some hot riffs that showcase his talent. But be warned: he sometimes plays "ambient funk jams." If you're not content watching talented musicians wank, I would advise you to get krunk with a copy of King Crimson's Red or In the Court of the Crimson King. JS
BILL HORIST, (r), TERMINAL I.F., SIKHARA, NEQUQUAM VACCUM
(Jasmine Tree, 401 SW Harrison) Bill Horist plays guitar, but it's not what you think. He takes found objects and inserts them in his guitar strings--much like John Cage's prepared piano sonatas--and by means of an editing machine, layers the sounds one by one until they congeal into an industrial anti-pastoral soundscape. KREG HASEGAWA
SATURDAY 1/26
PINE HILL HAINTS, BUCK DAGGER & HIS HANDFUL OF HONEST MEN, JUANITA FAMILY
(Blackbird) With Clint Black and Travis Tritt turning country & western music into ten-gallon, baritone versions of Air Supply's lost-love laments, the genre is in need of redemption. Where are the Hank Williams sermons and confessions about surviving hard-knock and felonious lives? For tonight, the Blackbird flaunts that oldschool tradition and pulls C&W from the horseshit pile. With songs like "The Whiskey Broke My Fall," headliners Pine Hill Haints set the pace with songs as fast-moving, playful and rambunctious as a record-breaking calf roping. (The band is a configuration of Florida-based country-punks This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb.) Local metal bangers Last of the Juanitas also weigh in, reshuffling their sensibilities (but not the attitude) to form the Juanita Family. Lana Rebel's voice is oddly gifted for the mournful coalminer ditties about lies, love, and loss. Joined by Buck Dagger and His Handful of Honest Men, a power gathering of rockers The Gleaners, Electric Eye, and the Real Pills. PDB
THE PALADINS, CAVE CATT SAMMY
(Dante's, 1 SW 3rd) There was a time in American history that the exact tone, brawn, and sneer of a band could be clarified by a reference to a certain hot rod model--say a '57 Chevy or a '68 Roadrunner. But that collective knowledge of cars is gone like hula hoops, poodle skirts, and brill hair cream. It is enough to say that there is no irony here; the Paladins are perfectly restored rockabilly, with guttural stand-up bass notes, Jerry Lee Lewis sweeps of the piano keys, cat-yelps, and adolescent "gee-shucks" yearning. PDB
EYES ADRIFT
(Satyricon) Quietly throwing his hat into the "supergroup" ring, former Nirvana member Krist Novoselic is joined by Meat Puppets guitarist Curt Kirkwood and Sublime/Long Beach Dub All Stars drummer Bud Gaugh in the new alt-country-flavored trio Eyes Adrift. Novoselic is currently embroiled in legal wrangling with Courtney Love's theatrical pursuit of the rights to all things Nirvana. He is also excited to be playing music and finishing the album Eyes Adrift began recording in Austin last December. Novoselic sums up the motivation for beginning anew like this: "In regards to where I've been, dealing with something that, quite literally, has such huge mythos it can make you forget the genesis of the whole shebang--Music." KW
THE HUNCHES, GET DOWN SYNDROME, 10-4 BACKDOOR
(Billy Ray's) Headed by wacky local King Louie, 10-4 Backdoor deem themselves, "Portland's premiere crap rock and hillbilly folksters." With songs like "Hot Dog," the three-line disease song, "Vaccination," and the highly insensitive "She's Losing Her Hair,"--a cruel, cruel song about a hot chick who loses her hair and gets dissed by all the guys--you can guarantee that you won't have to sit silently with your hands in your lap listening to someone's cheesed-out life ponderings. Get Down Syndrome blasts the garage rock, which goes perfectly with the disheveled Billy Ray's space (and the assloads of PBR you'll be drinking). And if you're not into that, go see the Hunches; their bluesy punk rock show is amazing, and tonight, it's free. KS
SUNDAY 1/27
ROLLERBALL, BILL HORIST, MOTHRA
(Blackbird) Rollerball is a band that manages to make significant references to rock with a combination of vocals, synthesizer, trumpet, saxophone, bass, drums, and samplers, and still remain organized and innovative. This explains why they've been famous for so long, and why the fame is still deserved. One of the best things about Rollerball is that their music is calculated in its discordance, and held back enough to be smart, rather than just channeling their talent into drumming as loud and as fast as they can. Really, they're awesome. KD
MONDAY 1/28
XIU XIU, CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE, ROY TINSEL
(Blackbird) See Music pg 15
IT JUST IS WITH KEANE & DENA
(Tiger Bar, 317 NW Broadway) Keane (Sunrise) and Dena (KBOO) spin underground/abstract/eclectic hiphop, in addition to drum and bass, house, old school, and anything they feel like spinning. Abstract hiphop = laidback. Here's a chance to hear some new directions in hiphop by two smart cats who certainly have huge record collections. JS
TUESDAY 1/29
SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM, PLEASEEASAUR, THAT 1 GUY, LISA FEY
(Blackbird) There's just something charming about a guy who dresses up in an abominable snowman suit and sings in a commercial-tune voice about meat. Pleaseeasaur has been doing this for at least three years, and has updated his act to include a huge cardboard backdrop complete with flames, overhead projections, and costume changes. Though he hasn't changed his actual songs all that much over the years, Pleaseeasaur is pretty funny, with all the poise of a stand-up comedian, but definitely not as stupid as Bob Saget. JS
CONCRETE BLONDE
(Roseland) The new Concrete Blonde album, Group Therapy, brings the LA band together for its first new album in just about a decade, and music listeners everywhere are left to wonder what the point is. Singer/bassist Johnette Napolitano has mellowed considerably over the years and projects that have come since 1993's Mexican Moon, but the schmaltz factor is still high, including a painfully nostalgic tribute to Roxy Music ("Roxy"), a whimsical center spread in the CD art that features all the band's members in straightjackets, and routine, overwrought delay on Napolitano's voice. JEFF DeROCHE
WEDNESDAY 1/30
THE PLANET THE, MONITOR BAATS, POLKADOT CHOKEALOT, POINT LINE PLANE, GUEST DJS
(Disjecta, 118 NE Russell) After releasing Close to the Edge, the band Yes decided they wanted to record their next album in a forest. Technicalities made it necessary for them to record in an actual studio. However, unwilling to relinquish that country feel, Yes rested their amplifiers on bales of hay and employed an actual cow to accompany them in the studio... Now, pair Yes' sense of the absurd and brilliant talent with three Portland boys with crazy eyes and a punk background, and you've got The Planet The. (You may know their singer as the guy in the negligee being stalked by penises in the "Meeting People" art project.) Polkadot Chokealot are Reed College's beat-savvy duo with estrogen levels equivalent to testosterone--they just want to fuck, and they rap about it. Monitor Baats' sax player and guitarist do this really exciting hopping thing when they play. Finally, Point Line Plane is a new duo featuring Nate from Witch Mountain and Josh from The Sensualists/Mome Raths. I missed nearly all of their first gig because I was off buying the Yes biography where I learned about the cow. But Nate is a fine drummer and Josh seems to sing-scream into the mic, and pound his keyboard. It seems punk and electric, but I only saw one minute. JS
JAY FARRAR, BRIAN HENNEMAN
(Aladdin, 3017 SE Milwaukie) Since Uncle Tupelo's 1994 breakup, Jay Farrar has hewn closely to Tupelo's overall sound, while giving it his own stamp. With Son Volt's 1995 debut, Trace, Farrar set out to attain the high marks of the traditional country songwriting he admired, and marry it to a psychically intense, rock-informed rural music. The result has been a balanced palette of country and rock that never gets too doctrinaire. With his expressive, husky voice, Farrar brings the many varieties of sadness and ache home with weariness and wisdom. Farrar doesn't stray all that far from the signature sound of his former band, but the ways in which he does are crucial. This solo show is a great opportunity to see a true believer who makes music that is timeless, beholden only to the formidable tradition of its own creator. NATE LIPPENS
GOING TO SEATTLE?
Fri 1/25: Eyes Adrift (I-Spy)
Tues 1/29: Chromatics, Fagatron (Crocodile)
For more info, visit www.thestranger.com
New Releases Jan. 29: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan*, Asphalt Jungle, Audio Learning Center, Beta Band*, Chemical Brothers, Cracker, DJ Maxximus, Extra Glenns*, James Hardway, Dawn Robinson, The Standard, Teenage Fanclub & Jad Fair*, Thievery Corporation, Undecided, Jaguar Wright, X-ecutioners* *=the scales are in your favor
R.I.P. Juan Garcia Esquivel (1918-2002)
