Posts from — February 2010

Holocene
Thursday February 25, 2010
TIME: 8pm
COST: FREE!

TAPEFEST 2010
Featuring live performances from
White Fang
Mattress
Hammer of Hathor
Strategy tape set
Pete Swanson
DJ Hostile Tapeover

Plus merchandise from
Gnar Tapes
Eggy Records
Karamazov Tapes
UHU Tapes
Meandering Tapes
Stunned Records
Not Not Fun Tapes

A glorious celebration of that most exceptionally thrifty, durable, and aesthetically intriguing medium: the cassette! (And vhs, and reel-to-reel for that matter!) Also, an excuse for all tape-making labels, tape-using performers, and tape-loving Portlanders to come together to rub elbows and trade tapes!

$2 donation to the bands strongly suggested.

Check out the new edition of W + K’s episodic series Don’t Move Here, which is all about Portland tape labels, and features Uhu Tapes and Eggy!

PDX Pop Now! -- Portland’s premier DIY music festival, compilation and music advocacy organization – has announced the “Make It Pop!” fundraiser event. The all-ages event will be held in the Cleaners at the Ace Hotel in Portland (403 SW 10th Ave) on April 29th at 6:30pm. Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, The Alialujah Choir, Ah Holly Famly, and Musee Mechanique. Come hungry and enjoy drinks, hors d’oeuvres and desserts. There will also be a silent auction andDJ Jeremy Petersen of OPB Music will provide music in between live sets.

“Make It Pop!” is brought to you in part by generous sponsorships from OPB Music, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Ace Hotel Portland, Bakery Bar, Captured by Porches Brewing, Fifty Licks Ice Cream and Saint Cupcake. Tickets for the event can be purchased for $35 here.

Pete Bernhard, the band-leader & principal song-writer for Devil Makes Three has released a new solo album and will be coming to the Doug Fir this week in support of the new release. Forming in Vermont & then recently re-locating to Santa Cruz, Pete Bernhard is one of the premier song-writers on the scene today. Come down to the Doug Fir & check them out!

BIO: With a hectic Devil Makes Three touring schedule and a new studio record to promote, one might wonder how Pete Bernhard, the primary songwriter and lead singer of The Devil Makes Three has found the time to write solo material, assemble a band, and self-produce a record. Well, he has done it, and from it has come an exciting record that is full of a variety of genres, influences, instruments, melodies and emotion topped off with his unmistakable voice – a defining element of The Devil Makes Three.

On his second solo album, Straight Line (his first solo commercial release), Pete lays down a set of his more driving numbers. He focuses on songs that he felt needed drums and weren’t suited for the all-acoustic old-country/blues/punk outfit The Devil Makes Three. His solo set has a no-holds- barred feel about it and lyrical fearlessness that one only finds in the truly liberated – feeling no pressure of fitting into a mold. There’s folk, funky New Orleans soul, blues, rock and other genres craft fully melded into a seamless and natural combination that is, like The Devil Makes Three, extremely difficult to place into a single genre. This may be the biggest similarity to Pete’s primary band – the music crosses many boundaries. You feel it, you relate to it, it’s like an old friend you’ve never met before. You have no idea what it is or what to call it.

Pete’s lyrics are thoughtful and inquisitive, often with painted with his well-known sarcasm and irony. He questions the status quo frequently, most notably on his song “Orphan”. Would you rather be an orphan or a slave? Some might go through their entire lives obliviously, never asking or answering a question like this but Pete has no interest in shirking life’s tougher dilemmas. “I got to thinking how everyone has some idea about how you should be and what you should and shouldn’t say. Trying to pay attention to all that can be demanding. It’s about how people are never satisfied,” he explained. “Pray For Rain” shines a spotlight on the mindless, sheep-like mentality of those who worship at the altar of consumerism. Straight Line is almost exclusively original compositions, with one cover, “Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold” from the great Townes Van Zandt. He reinvents the folk classic with wailing B3 organ and arrangements that bring to mind the best of The Band.

URL: http://www.petebernhard.com/

Press: Katta Roker / Radio, Radio, Radio

MP3/Download: Pete Bernhard – Warning
MP3/Download: Pete Bernhard – Straight Line

Doug Fir
Friday February 26, 2010
Pete Bernhard
w/ Shoeshine Blue
Doors at 8pm, Show at 9pm / $10 advance, $10 day of show
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahT--UYsnl0]

All in-store performances are at Music Millennium 32nd & E Burnside, 503-231-8926

KASEY ANDERSON
MATTHEW RYAN
Thursday, 2/25 – 6 PM
With his world-weary voice and gritty, narrative-driven songs, Kasey Anderson has drawn comparisons to Americana and alt-country artists like Steve Earle, Tom Waits, Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen, and Ryan Adams. Matthew Ryan is an artist driven to communicate with each sequential album a maturing, unique cinema that ties the themes of personal experience to a wider, more collective human story, with a beautiful balance between intimacy and anthem, from sparse folk to sweeping epics to torch songs.

BRIAN CUTEAN
Friday, 2/26 – 6 PM
After five albums and nearly 30 years of songwriting, performing wordplay, metafables and stories, Oregon troubadour Brian Cutean (aka QTN) has released Guitarred and Feathered, a new CD of wordless acoustic guitar music for mindheartsouls to sing along with. With one guitar, a whirl of musical ideas and the sound of hands, wound wires and wood, Cutean weaves together instrumental songs with dynamic playing in the new CD. “The four elements I reached for in this recording, ” says Cutean, “are melody, rhythm, a fun bassline and silence. This album is a breather from a world shrill with opinions, instant message me-me-me blogs and 24 hour news chatter. It is universal in every language and the stories it tells belong to us all.” Brian will be live in a wordless guitar concert, Friday February 26, 6 pm at Music Millennium, 3158 E. Burnside. The album is featured in Millennium’s Listening Station too so folks can hear the album instore anytime during the month of February.

COMMUNITY DAY!
Monday, 3/1 10 AM to 10 PM
featuring
SONGWRITERS CIRCLE at 7 PM
with MARY FLOWER, JOE McMURRIAN
& TONY FURTADO

Join us for Community Day, featuring Songwriters Circle! There will be free refreshments, special one-day deals, live music, and a variety of unique events throughout the year. This month: Mary Flower, Joe McMurrian and Tony Furtado. Hosted by Jack McMahon.

BECCA
Tuesday, 3/2 – 6 PM
A self-described “rock chick” who was singing before she learned to walk, Portland, OR, native Becca’s list of accomplishments include being discovered by Meredith Brooks and becoming a multi-media star in Japan, all while she was still a teenager. Now, with the release of her debut album, ALIVE!!, she’s ready to conquer her home country. Becca’s proven equally adept at belting out full-throttle, female empowering rockers like “Without You” and “Make You Mad” as she is crooning big arena-sized power ballads such as “Lose You Now” and “Falling Down.”

TREE TOP TRIBE
Wednesday, 3/3 – 6 PM
Tree Top Tribe is a rootsy and eclectic acoustic ensemble from Portland, Oregon. Tree Top Tribe has recently released their first CD, The Blackberry Jam Sessions, which was recorded and mastered at the Kung Fu Bakery, with the help of Sound Engineer Dean Baskerville, who has worked with the likes of Everclear, Pink Martini and Sheryl Crow. The album is an eclectic mix of blues and folk rock with dashes of bluegrass and jazz.

Coming Soon!
Elizabeth Naccarato (3/6), Shae Fiol (3/11), UHF (3/13), One Eskimo (3/13), Temper Trap (3/14), Laura Meyer (3/18), Miss Massive Snowflake (3/19)

Music Millennium – www.musicmillennium.com
3158 East Burnside Street
Portland, OR 97214-1995
(503) 231-8926
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-SehqCvzME]

Fanfarlo is a hot up & coming band from London that PDX’ers are sure to love. They will be appearing @ SXSW this year along Portland’s own Black Prairie at the Paste Magazine Party. Tuesday night, they will rock the Doug Fir on their way down the west coast!

Wiki: Fanfarlo is a London-based indie pop band formed in 2006 by the Swedish musician Simon Balthazar. They make extensive use of the trumpet, violin and mandolin as well as more commonplace instruments such as guitars and drums. Throughout 2006-2008 they released three limited edition singles and one split 7″ single with Sleeping States on London-based indie labels. Their debut album, Reservoir, was recorded in October/November 2008 at Tarquin Studios, Connecticut, USA and was produced by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol). The album was released in February 2009.

In an effort to spread the word as far as possible and make their music as accessible as possible, Fanfarlo decided to offer their latest album, Reservoir, as a $1 download on http://fanfarlo.com until 4 July 2009. Their single The Walls Are Coming Down was released during September 2009. The music video for the single was produced by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard and features one of Europe’s top escape artists Roslyn Walker performing his version of the Hanging Straitjacket Escape, a classic stunt first performed by Harry Houdini in the early 1900s.

URL: http://www.fanfarlo.com/

Press: NPR / Spin / NY Times

MP3/Download: Fanfarlo – The Walls Are Coming Down
MP3/Download: Fanfarlo – Luna

Doug Fir
Tuesday February 23, 2010
Fanfarlo
w/ April Smith & The Great Picture Show
Doors at 8pm, Show at 9pm / $11 advance, $12 day of show
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsXhQfIZD2c]

2010 Sasquatch! Festival Lineup

My Morning Jacket
Massive Attack
Pavement
Ween
Vampire Weekend
MGMT
Band of Horses
The National
LCD Soundsystem
Tegan & Sara
Broken Social Scene
Passion Pit
Deadmau5
She & Him
Public Enemy
Nada Surf
The New Pornographers
The Hold Steady
The xx
Dirty Projectors
OK Go
Drive By Truckers
Kid Cudi
The Long Winters
Minus the Bear
The Mountain Goats
Quasi
Camera Obscura
Fruit Bats
Brother Ali
Midlake
Dr. Dog
Caribou
Simian Mobile Disco
City & Colour
No Age
The Temper Trap
Vetiver
Miike Snow
Portugal. The Man
Telekinesis
Mayer Hawthorne
Why?
Girls
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Wale
The Lonely Forest
Japandroids
Boys Noize
Yacht
Freelance Whales
Laura Marling
Patrick Watson
Past Lives
Cymbals Eat Guitars
The Low Anthem
The Very Best
Phantogram
Neon Indian
Nurses
The Tallest Man on Earth
Fresh Espresso
Mumford & Sons
Jets Overhead
tUnE-YarDs
Shabazz Palaces
Fool’s Gold
Morning Teleportation
Z-Trip
Dam-Funk
Hudson Mohawke
The Middle East
Local Natives
Avi Buffalo
Booka Shade
A-Trak
Yes Giantess
Craig Robinson
Rob Riggle
Garfunkel & Oates
Luke Burbank
…and more to come!

***CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS****

All Tickets are General Admission

Beginning Saturday, February 20th (10am pst):

Single day tickets, $70.00 per day

Discount 3 day pass, $170 (only available thru Sun. Feb. 21 at midnight)

Feb. 20-May 23- Single day tickets, $70 per day

May 24-May 28- Single day tickets, $80 per day

Day of show- Single day tickets, $86 per day

• All ages welcome.
• Parking is free.
• Children under 5 free.
• Festival gates open at 11:00am each day.
• Parking lots & Box Office open 9:00am each day.
• Rain or shine.
• No refunds or exchanges.
• Line up subject to change.
• All patrons subject to search.
• Photo ID required for all will call or guestlist ticket pick-ups.

Port O’Brien returns to the Doug Fir with their high-energy live show and a new album in tow. In addition, Port O’Brien is releasing a new EP entitled The Pan American Sessions. The EP includes four alternate versions of songs from their recent album, threadbare, that were recorded with the Papercuts’ Jason Quever in his Pan American Studios in San Francisco. The EP is available for $4 at the band’s website and all proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders and their relief efforts in Haiti. The band is also set to begin a tour with Portugal The Man in February. Tracklist Includes:

Port O’Brien Pan American Sessions EP

01 Calm Me Down (La Cometa Version)
02 Leap Year (Hummmble Version)
03 My Will Is Good (John McLaren Version)
04 Oslo Campfire (Bla Backstage Version)

BIO: Port O’Brien is pleased to announce the release of their third album, threadbare, this on TBD Records (Radiohead, White Rabbits). The coastal California band, which started as a bedroom project of Van Pierszalowski and Cambria Goodwin, has been hard at work since the release of their acclaimed 2008 album, All We Could Do Was Sing, spending the better part of the last two years touring the world.

As 2009 began, the band started to prepare songs for what was to become threadbare. What started as a light-hearted and loose effort quickly turned into a dense, introspective work following the tragic loss of Cambria’s younger brother. They started recording at their friend Jason Quever of Papercuts’ living room studio in San Francisco. The songs were given a certain warmth and intimacy that couldn’t be achieved in a larger space. The sense of comfort they found gave them the ability to fully realize the weight of the songs. “In the Meantime” explores the desire for contentment in tumultuous times. “High Without the Hope” bookends the album, illuminating the emotion and sense of loss that was felt throughout the recording process.

After spending weeks recording with Jason, the band felt they could work in a more open space. They worked on the more celebratory and rhythmic songs in Los Angeles with Aaron Espinoza of Earlimart at the Ship recording studio. “My Will is Good” and “Oslo Campfire” describe the liberation that follows in the wake of making active changes in one’s life following tragedy.

Together these sessions create threadbare. Its become somewhat of a two sided record with dark, haunting, and at times meditative songs paired up with the untiring, somewhat aggressive and punchy anthems that Port O’Brien is becoming known for. The last few years have seen many adventures for the band. The creation of this record came with continuing changes both within the band personally, and sonically. Port O’Brien will continue to evolve. In the meantime, Threadbare stands as another mark this young band is leaving.

URL: http://www.portobrien.com/

Press: DayTrotter / Fluid Radio / Stylus Magazine

MP3/Download: Port O’Brien – Fisherman’s Son
MP3/Download: Port O’Brien – My Will Is Gone

Doug Fir
Friday February 19, 2010
Port O’Brien
Jared Mees & The Grown Children
Sean Flinn & the Royal We
Quiet Life
Doors at 8pm, Show at 9pm
$8 advance, $10 day of show
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw3Y84zXLwg]