The Days of Lore

2 much rawk 4 me?

Monday, December 8th, 2008 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

Live: Blitzen Trapper, Starfucker and The Parson Red Heads at Wonder Ballroom, 12.4.08

The Thermals, Panther and Champagne Champagne at Doug Fir Lounge, 12.5.08

Seeing 2 handsome rock bands in 2 nights might be 2 much 2 handle 4 some. But I went for it. A couple of Portland’s beloveds performed at home after long absences: Blitzen Trapper has been touring the country for the better part of this year, performing on Conan and generally making music-folk weak in the knees. The Thermals have been working on a new record, recruiting a new drummer, signing to a new label and generally making me weak in the knees.

It was my first time seeing Blitzen Trapper, although I’ve watched plenty of live clips. The stuff I had seen always reminded me of the euphoric musicality of The Last Waltz, minus the coke boogers … and Neil Diamond. On this night the Trappers performed like the seasoned road warriors that they are, playing a good portion of the excellent Furr record. Although, it was a short set. Are they, perhaps, experiencing some road fatigue? No matter. They played “Furr,” “God & Suicide” and “Love U,” and I left a full-on Trapper keeper.

The Thermals played their first show in Portland in almost a year. And with that they unleashed nine new songs from their forthcoming release Now We Can See, which will hit iTunes and those old contraptions they call record stores April 7. The title track and “I Let it Go” (hear the demo version on their MySpace) are loaded with rock and hooks, soaked with blood, sweat and tears, slathered in barbecue sauce and … just read about it at SPIN.com (I am not above shameless self-promotion).

I haven’t been able to get enough of The Thermals of late. I think I might have a problem. 1 of the effects is that I start 2 use Prince-isms. Now U can C.

Tags: Blitzen Trapper, Furr, live, Neil Diamond, Now We Can See, The Last Waltz, The Thermals

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

Remodeling the garage

Friday, October 17th, 2008 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

Live: The Pink Snowflakes, Candy Apple, The Worthless Children
and Leopold and his Fiction at East End, 10.16.08

Garage rock has moved into the living room, or at least the spare bedroom … and with lots and lots of nice equipment. Portland’s Pink Snowflakes (pictured) probably took longer to set up their arsenal of speakers and strobe lights than it took all three of the other bands on the bill to set up, break down and give after-show hugs. It was ridiculously impressive (impressively ridiculous?).

I put on my kaleidoscope eyes for these four lads, who lean toward the psychedelic clamor of early Flaming Lips. But I did not put in my (un)rock ‘n’ roll earplugs, which is why I sat in bed after the show and fell asleep to the soothing ring of hearing loss. What’s that?!

While the other bands didn’t quite match the volume of the Snowflakes, they made up for it with pure rawkingness. San Fran three-piece Leopold and his Fiction played a solid riff-happy set of Detroit-laced Southern rock. Not overly original, but live in a small club it was fun, fun, fun. PDX outfit The Worthless Children played unadulterated pop punk, and the singer wore jeans with a sport-coat and tie. Don’t let that scare you off. The band’s song “Sydney” was pure sugar on my tongue. I loved it … now I’m partially deaf AND my teeth hurt.

The Pink Snowflakes had to follow up perpetual crowd-pleasers Candy Apple. The Chico, Cali crew is a ball of sweaty energy wrapped in ’60s bubblegum and sneering ’70s punk rock. Farfisa plays a key role, as does tambourine courtesy of the smiley Sunny Summer Maroste. It’s an unabashed homage to early good-time rock ‘n’ roll, when it was still burning hot with soul and R&B. “Jeanie Was a Motorbiker” and “Jelly Bean” are can’t-miss live, though a lot of the songs tend to start sounding like revved-up versions of “96 Tears” after a while. I love that song. What didja say?!

Tags: "96 Tears", Candy Apple, East End, Leopold and his Fiction, live, The Pink Snowflakes, The Worthless Children