The Days of Lore

¡Viva el Guincho!

Monday, November 24th, 2008 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

Live: el Guincho, Atole and Breakfast Mountain at Holocene, 11.23.08

Sometimes I think practitioners of electronic music are more interested in wowing you with how many gadgets and knobs they have at their disposal than putting any actual soul into the music. It usually makes for a, well, lifeless experience … unless, perhaps, you have just the right amalgam of chemicals in your system.

There was something very endearing and pure to the music of Spanish artist Pablo Díaz-Reixa, better known as el Guincho. It’s just the right mixture of musical styles—Tropicália, dub, Afrobeat, even rock—but, more importantly, there’s sweat invoved. El Guincho knows how to move, and he definitely knows how to move an audience.

Local openers Breakfast Mountain and Atole mixed live instrumentation with loops and samples. And while they hit their respective grooves on occasion, neither quite hit the joyous peak of el Guincho. The young man from Barcelona brought a relatively small set-up along with his musical partner Aleix Clavera, who provided extra percussion and vocals. The key here was simplicity. Rather than bombard the crowd with electronic-wizardry and chaotic beats and samples, el Guincho simply dropped classic drum-loops and stacked layers that worked together, while adding their sweet, soaring dual harmonies.

Most of the night’s material came from el Guincho’s latest album Alegranza!, with a song thrown in from Díaz-Reixa’s other project Coconot. The tireless audience members cheered for an encore, and el Guincho returned to the stage with a sheepish grin: “You want to have more songs?” After admitting they were tapped out, the duo went into a two-song medley that included one of the night’s highlights “Palmitos Park.” The floor erupted one last time, and El Guincho appeared genuinely taken aback … which made it a truly live experience.

Tags: Alegranza!, Aleix Clavera, Atole, Breakfast Mountain, El Guincho, Holocene, Pablo Díaz-Reixa

Low commotion

Sunday, November 9th, 2008 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

Live: Crystal Stilts, Cause Co-Motion! and Hornet Leg at Holocene, 11.7.08

Sometimes I think about how a band becomes a buzz-band. One minute you’re bashing out songs with some buddies, the next minute a writer for some hip blog is dipping into his or her pool of snazzy adjectives and doting over you like a newborn baby, and before you know it you’re traveling the country on the label’s bill. Then some blathering boob decides that half-baked alliteration is a brilliant way to buoy the phenomenon. It boggles the mind. Two of Brooklyn’s busiest, buzziest bands made their way to Portland to bestow on us what the buzz is all about … OK, I’m done.

I read a recent article in the Village Voice that said psych five-piece Crystal Stilts lacked stage presence. Sure, the members hardly twitched, but the songs the Stilts have put on wax were very alive on stage with warm tones dueling chilly echo. There was no between-song banter. Even when vocalist Brad Hargett did say something, it was so awash with echo you couldn’t decipher the words anyway. In the end it was sort of like sitting in a dim tunnel eating a big plate of [insert comfort food here].

On the flipside, I thought labelmates, Brooklyn neighbors and exclamation mark-happy Cause Co-Motion! would be the life of the party(!). The band’s release It’s Time! is a blast of ’60s bubblegum laced with methamphetamine. Live it was a bit jumbled, and the only thing moving was bassist Liam (no last name), who had his own dance party in the back corner of stage right. In the end it was like, well, sitting in a dark bar drinking a Jack and Coke … which created quite a buzz as well.

Tags: Brad Hargett, Cause Co-Motion!, Crystal Stilts, Holocene, live, Village Voice