We look forward by looking back tonight, as we revisit our in-studio session recorded last month with singer-songwriter David Dondero. His latest release, Simple Love, is another fine traveling tapestry of relationships, strange but true tales and widespread locales-- all the kinds of elements fans of his past work have come to expect. As usual, the week ahead finds Dondero out on the road, this time as part of a bill that also features Richard Buckner. The duo plays Dante's in Portland this Friday night.

Tomorrow night finds indie veterans Yo La Tengo at the Aladdin Theater. Hoboken's finest have been putting out consistently great, if mostly under the radar music for nearly 25 years now, and have shown no signs of slowing in recent years. Their most recent release, I Am Not Afraid of You & I Will Beat Your Ass, mixed the occasionally horn-drenched pop bliss of some of their later work with the more challenging noise excursions of their early years. That album came out last year on Matador.

MP3: Yo La Tengo- "Beanbag Chair"

Later in the week, it's the Siren Nation Festival, self-described as a festival "showcasing women's music, performance art and film, focusing primarily on artists from Portland and the Pacific Northwest." Four days of screenings, performances, workshops and more begin with the kickoff party at the Holocene Thursday night, and run through Sunday. Musical performers at this year's festival include Alela Diane, Myshkin's Ruby Warblers, Swallows, Blubird, Team Dresch, and more.

Also this week: The Parson Redheads at Holocene (Monday), Architecture in Helsinki at the Wonder Ballroom (Tuesday) and WOW Hall in Eugene (Wednesday), Rocky Votolato & Jesse Sykes at the Hawthorne Theater (Wednesday), Apostle of Hustle at the Doug Fir (Thursday), and Kelly Joe Phelps at the Aladdin Theater (Friday), among others.

OPB in-studio with David Dondero

Posted by jpetersen on Sunday, October 28 at 9:13pm

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A scintillating selection of shows tonight in the Rose City, highlighted by Kevin Drew and the Broken Social Scene at the Aladdin Theater and Los Straitjackets at Dante's. Drew, the founder of what is now the collective known as the Broken Social Scene, recently released his first album under his own name, although there are appearances from BSS personnel all over the place. Drew is just the latest affiliate of the Toronto-based act to gain attention under his own moniker while simultaneously benefiting from his talented associates (see also: Feist, Apostle of Hustle, Emily Haines, among others).

Los Straitjackets, meanwhile, are from another planet entirely. Those Mexican wrestling masks (lucha libre) you see? Nothing whatsoever to do with Halloween. For almost twenty years now, the band has been taking to stages looking like well-dressed versions of Rey Mysterio, but sounding like Link Wray. The quartet's latest effort is an all Spanish language affair, and while it's not necessarily their first album to feature singing it still represents a branching out for the band. Rock en Espanol, Vol. 1 features versions of classic rock & roll songs all sung in Spanish, and based on the versions originally composed by 60's Mexican garage bands with names like Los Teen Tops and Los Rebeldes del Rock. "Hang On Sloopy, " thus, becomes "Hey Lupe," and "Lonely Teardrops," is here known as "Lagrimas Salitarias." Los Lobos frontman Cesar Rosas and Big Sandy, among others, guest star on vocal duties.

Also tonight, we revisit portions of sessions recorded earlier this year in our studios with Rocky Votolato and Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter. The labelmates, both on Seattle's Barsuk records, are touring together and play the Hawthorne Theater in Portland this Wednesday night.

Plus, new music tonight from Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, Ray Davies, Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, and more.

OPB in-studio with Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter

OPB in-studio with Rocky Votolato

Posted by jpetersen on Saturday, October 27 at 9:24pm

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Thurston Moore's new solo album Trees Outside the Academy is not necessarily the kind of release one would expect from the Sonic Youth frontman. It's surprising in its acoustic sparseness, a major departure from Moore's regular fare if not from that of his band (outside of 1995's Psychic Hearts, his solo oeuvre has consisted mostly of twenty minute noise excursions and the like). Instead, the new effort feels like a distant cousin to some of the more pop-oriented material Sonic Youth has issued in recent years, notably Murray Street, Sonic Nurse and Rather Ripped, a rather under-appreciated trio of releases that let the pop seep through the cracks in that famed Sonic Youth sound. Call it Thurston's midlife crisis album if you must, but it's a much better way to go than a sports car. Thurston Moore plays the Doug Fir tonight (with Scorces).

MP3: Thurston Moore, from Trees Outside the Academy- "Fri/End" 

Elsewhere, former Oregonians the Parson Redheads are blanketing the area over the next week or so with performances in Eugene, Portland, Salem, Bend, and, tonight, Corvallis. Upwards of nine members strong, the Redheads have been spreading the word with their live shows, which marry the necessary ingredients of classic popped-out bliss (tambourines, four-part harmonies, etc.) with the ecstatic righteousness of religious revival (all clad in white, no less). In this case, music is the religion, and their fervor challenges the "smuggest of indie hipsters," as they put it, not to clap along. Get up with people(!) tonight at Iovino's in Corvallis (with Acute).

Watch/listen: The Parson Redheads- "Punctual As Usual"

 

Also tonight: A Fine Frenzy and Brandi Carlile at the Crystal Ballroom; Me'Shell Ndegéocello at the Roseland Theater; and Aesop Rock with Black Moth Super Rainbow at the Wonder Ballroom.

Posted by jpetersen on Thursday, October 25 at 12:26pm

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We branch out a bit tonight in fine style with a visit from the Portland Cello Project, as they look forward to their performance at the Aladdin Theater next Friday night. The collective is as it sounds: a coming together of upwards of fifteen cellists (though the numbers tend to vary with each performance) to bring inexpensive performances to the people in the kinds of venues that don't ordinarily see a lot of cello action. It's a kind of musical Robin Hood-ism they practice, in other words, described by some as "high culture with Pabst." 

What makes the project even more interesting is the playful and collaborative spirit that exists in their repertoire, leading them to play pieces by current and past classical masters, yes, but also Outkast and Britney Spears, not to mention involving locals like Laura Gibson, Nick Jaina, and others in their performances. Joining them in our studio tonight, in fact, are members of some of Portland's best and brightest: John Weinland, Loch Lomond, Hurtbird, and Norfolk & Western all get in on the action by offering a song each. On the other hand, we'll also hear selections from Beethoven, as well as original compositions from PCP members Skip Von Kuske and Gideon Freudmann. It all adds up to a rather glorious musical undertaking and an excellent preview of what will be on display this coming Friday. 

Elsewhere, we look forward to Neil Young's performance at the Keller Auditorium in Portland tomorrow night with selections from his catalog throughout the show. Far from slowing down with age, Young's 50s and 60s have proven fruitful. He's set to release yet another album of newly-recorded material, Chrome Dreams II, this week, and that comes on the heels of another new album (plus two classic bootlegs from his fabled treasure trove) in 2006.

Plus, music from Josh Ritter, Pinback, Thurston Moore, The Parson Redheads, and Brandi Carlile, all of whom are playing in the area this week, and new music from Ween, Dan Wilson, Iron & Wine, and more.

In Studio: Portland Cello Project

Posted by jpetersen on Sunday, October 21 at 8:36pm

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Swedish singer-songwriter José González is a study in seemingly disparate pairs. The son of Argentine parents who fled the political situation in their native land in the mid-70's, González's background ensured that he was exposed to both the latin and bossa nova sounds of artists like Caetano Veloso and Silvio Rodriguez, as well as the European and American indie and post-punk sounds popular in his native land. His recent second full-length release, In Our Nature, once again combines intimately sung vocals and complex guitar arrangements, while adding lyrics that turn a discerning eye on the world around them. We might chalk it up to González's formative years playing bass in a hardcore band, perhaps, as he takes on the masters of war and organized religion in songs like "Abram," "How Low," and "Cycling Trivialities." It's the combination of these kinds of ideas with his autumnal delivery that makes the songs so unique-- if anything, the effect of an accusatory line like "Absorbed in your ill hustling/You're feeding a monster/Just feeding your monster..." is that much more biting because it is whispered than it would be if it were screamed.

José González joins us in the studio tonight for a performance and interview. We'll hear songs from the new album and talk to him about his early influences, the pressures of recording a follow-up to a well-received debut, and the political and theological themes running through the new release.

Also tonight, new music from Neil Young, as we look forward to his show Monday night at the Keller Auditorium in Portland, plus recent releases from Dirty Martini, Band of Horses, Les Savy Fav, Art in Manila, and more.

In Studio: Jose Gonzalez

Posted by jpetersen on Saturday, October 20 at 8:45pm

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If you take your indie with pop and intellect, it's a can't miss bill tonight at the Doug Fir. The nicest guy in indie rock (if not also the hardest working), John Vanderslice comes to Portland in support of his sixth and newest release on Barsuk, entitled Emerald City. The effort is another in a string of interesting albums this decade from the San Francisco-based musician, following a stint as frontman for MK Ultra in the 90's. As is the case anytime one sees him live, expect the unexpected from the spontaneous and affable Vanderslice (this could mean a post-show dance party, a campfire sing-a-long, or karaoke across the street, one never knows).

MP3: From Emerald City- "White Dove" Listen: An In House conversation with John Vanderslice recorded late last spring As if that were not plenty, Brooklyn's Bishop Allen opens the show as they return to Portland for the first time since their headlining tour this past summer. The Broken String is the recent second full-length from the band, following a decidedly unbroken string of EPs in 2006 (one every month, to be exact). For a change, they're an opener not even Portland will be talking through. MP3: From The Broken String- "Click Click Click Click" Listen: Bishop Allen's OPB session recorded in August

Posted by jpetersen on Thursday, October 18 at 1am

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The week ahead finds Rogue Wave passing through town in support of their recent release, Asleep at Heaven's Gate. That effort comes near the end of an eventful and occasionally difficult year for the Bay Area-based band. It was just eight months ago that drummer Pat Spurgeon received a kidney transplant, and the band followed that up with a switch of labels, moving from the vaunted Sub Pop to Jack Johnson's Brushfire imprint. Luckily, fears of a mellow surf groove influence on the band's music have been unfounded as Asleep at Heaven's Gate is arguably their most adventurous if not also most accomplished album to date following two solid Sub Pop releases. Rogue Wave plays the Wonder Ballroom in Portland tomorrow night with openers Port O'Brien.

Also this week, the Brooklyn-based brother/sister duo Fiery Furnaces bring their chaotic musical stew to the Aladdin Theater. The music of Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger is characterized by its refusal to remain in one place for very long at a time. Widow City is the title of their newest album, and it might be considered a step back from the asylum if only because this one doesn't feature their grandmother (which 2005's Rehearsing My Choir, in fact, did). The Fiery Furnaces stuff a lot into three and four-minute windows, and it makes for a stunning live show-- catch them Wednesday night at the Aladdin Theater (with Pit Er Pat).

Finally, Bishop Allen returns to town Thursday night at the Doug Fir, as they open up for the always outstanding John Vanderslice (more on him later in the week). Just to refresh your memory a bit, Bishop Allen self-released twelve EPs in 2006, somehow finding time to tour constantly and follow it all up with the release of the second full-length, The Broken String this past summer.

Also this week: The Stolen Sweets at Alberta St. Pub (Hurricane Katrina Benefit, Monday); Bat For Lashes at the Doug Fir (Monday); Great Lake Swimmers with Arthur & Yu at Holocene (Tuesday); The Go! Team at the Doug Fir (Wednesday); Lucero with Bobby Bare Jr. at the Hawthorne Theater (Thursday); Killed By Bears at the White Eagle (CD release show, Thursday); Iris DeMent at the Aladdin Theater (Friday); and Interpol with The Liars at the Memorial Coliseum (Friday).

Posted by jpetersen on Sunday, October 14 at 8:07pm

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If it's an artistic creation's ability to convey a sense of feeling, time, and place that deems its merit, The National may very well have created a masterpiece. The Brooklyn-based quintet's 2007 release Boxer seethes with themes based around the modern urban landscape, with some of its characters chasing the faded glory of a corporate ladder while others are resigned to stay to themselves (together, alone) and find something worthwhile outside of the rat-race. That's one take, at least. Frontman and lyricist Matt Berninger acknowledges the influence of the band's adopted hometown on his writing, though he claims a far more haphazard composition process than one might expect. "Very often I'm just trying to avoid a stupid-sounding lyric," he told us last summer, "Most of what I write sounds like bad rock lyrics, so very often it's just scratching out most of it and, whatever's left, I just see if I can make a song out of it." The results are hardly so imperfect.

The National joins us for an in-studio session tonight on the show, getting to some uniquely-arranged, stripped-down versions of songs from Boxer. We'll also talk to them about the effect the familial connections in the band have on their music (the five-piece includes two sets of brothers), their democratic creation process, and the nightly catharsis that is their live show.

Also tonight, recent, new, and upcoming releases from Radiohead, Eddie Vedder, Michelle Shocked, Sea Wolf, and more.

In Studio: The National

Posted by jpetersen on Saturday, October 13 at 8:45pm

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Another plentiful weekend (an earful!) is upon us, and the live action begins tonight at the Doug Fir as upstart Jesca Hoop takes the stage along with longtime indie-popsters Matt Pond PA. Even before most people heard her music, Hoop probably first gained fame as the musician who was Tom Waits' nanny (or, more accurately, his children's nanny, otherwise that's a much different story) for five years. As it turns out, her recent debut Kismet has shown her to be both worthy of attention based on her music alone, and of the public stamp of approval that Waits himself has given her. Songs like "Summertime," "Seed of Wonder," and "Out the Back Door," reveal a surprisingly self-assured batch of songs that are at once playful and mysterious. Waits likens her music to "going swimming in a lake at night."

MP3: Jesca Hoop, from Kismet- "Intelligentactile 101"

Tomorrow night finds the Danish band Figurines at Dante's with Australians Dappled Cities. Putting past comparisons to American indie acts like Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, and The Shins aside, Figurines achieve a sound all their own with the recent issue of their third full-length, When the Deer Wore Blue. Dappled Cities, meanwhile, are bonafide superstars down under. Their 2006 debut Granddance received a U.S. release on Dangerbird earlier this year.

MP3: Figurines, from When the Deer Wore Blue- "Hey, Girl"
MP3: Dappled Cities- "Granddance (Demo)" 

Also tomorrow night (and from the comfort of your own home if you choose), it's a don't miss edition of In House as we feature an in-studio performance and interview with The National. The New York City-based band's 2007 release, Boxer, already has a spot on more than few best of the year lists and for good reason. We'll hear unique, stripped-down versions of songs from that release as part of our set.
MP3: The National, from Boxer- "Fake Empire" Now go. Enjoy.

Posted by jpetersen on Friday, October 12 at 5:46pm

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Interesting news this week on the copyright, file-download front, don't you think?

Of course Radiohead threw out a surprise by announcing a new album, In Rainbows, releasing it themselves, and by offering it for download at the price of whatever you want to pay. This surely wasn't good news for the major labels, who are struggling through another year of declining CD sales, and who would presumably love to have a new release from Radiohead to lead off the Christmas buying season. "Hello recording industry, please hold your stocking open wider for the coal."

Meanwhile, the RIAA which represents the labels' copyright interests, has been busy tracking and threatening those who trade copyrighted music over the internet, and just last week six major labels won a $220,000 judgment against a Minnesota woman, Jammie Thomas, for allegedly sharing files over Kazaa. Thomas has said she will appeal the decision.

Posted by dchristensen on Thursday, October 11 at 3:16pm

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If you didn't stay up late for it, those of you who pre-ordered the digital version of Radiohead's In Rainbows woke up to a pleasant surprise in your inbox-- unless of course that whole 160 bitrate thing got to you a little bit (still sounds better than a cassette!). First impressions? Solid as always, with "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi," "Nude," and closer "Videotape" asserting themselves as standout tracks- though there's luckily a bit much here to digest in just one listen.

Did you buy it? How much did you pay? Most importantly: how's it sounding?

Posted by jpetersen on Wednesday, October 10 at 10:19am

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The Thermals want you:

Subject: come be in our video this saturday!

yo portland, this weekend, we'll be filming another video with whitey (he directed "a pillar of salt"), for "returning to the fold". we need people to chase us down an alley.please come! when: this saturday (oct. 13) at 2pm where: meet in front of Ron Tom's bar at East Burnside and 6th who: you! (of any age) what: our video. we'll need you for approximately a couple of hours. wear whatever. why: because i said so. thanks! love, kathy

Posted by jpetersen on Wednesday, October 10 at 0:37am

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Good for them, but there goes another little piece of my youth. "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb"

They played "The Underdog" too.

Posted by jpetersen on Monday, October 8 at 2:12am

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There's plenty to talk about with our weekly Sunday night look forward tonight, including a hometown gig from M. Ward. It's the first Portland appearance from the softspoken singer-songwriter since this summer's show with Norah Jones and also features openers Whalebones and former Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle. The bill at the Crystal Ballroom is perhaps the centerpiece for an uncharacteristically busy Sunday night that also includes Nellie McKay at the Aladdin Theater and Toots & the Maytals at Berbati's Pan.

The week ahead's no slouch, either, and it begins with the "Jesus of Cool" himself, Nick Lowe, tomorrow night at the Aladdin Theater. Still going strong at nearly 60, Lowe released his thirteenth studio album, At My Age this past summer on yep roc. Elsewhere, the man formerly know as Smog, Bill Callahan, plays the Mission Theater on Tuesday, while the same night sees Canadians The Sadies playing at Dante's AND joining The Mekons at the Aladdin Theater (not sure how that one's working out, exactly). Also this week: The Shout Out Louds (WOW Hall in Eugene on Wednesday, Berbati's Pan on Thursday), Patrick Wolf (Hawthorne Theater on Thursday), and Jesca Hoop with Matt Pond PA (Doug Fir on Friday).

We'll also get to music from new releases out this week from Cass McCombs, Fiery Furnaces, and Jens Lekman, plus recent efforts from Joe Henry, Bat For Lashes, Thurston Moore and more.

MP3: Jens Lekman, from Night Falls Over Kortedala (out 10/9)- "Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo"

Posted by jpetersen on Sunday, October 7 at 8:32pm

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David Dondero's been doing some hard travelin'. Of course, if you've listened to any of his six releases, the tales he weaves stretching from the Deep South and the Carolinas to Alaska and the Golden Gate Bridge have told you as much. Yes, Dondero's a troubadour in the truest sense of the term, turning his varied travels into songs filled with highways, preachers, and booze, with the occasional fantasy thrown in for good measure (it's no mistake that album closer "Double Murder Ballad Suicide" morphs halfway through into the spitting image of Jack Kerouac's Steve Allen-backed television appearances). Dondero's latest, Simple Love, is his second for Conor Oberst's Team Love label and yet another collection of tunes worthy of the respect he's been earning over the past decade or so. Tonight he plays an in-studio set for us, and we talk to him about the new release, life on the road, and his newest passion: deep-sea fishing off of the Carolina coast.

Also tonight, new music from Portland's Loch Lomond, who celebrate the issue of their new album Paper the Walls with a pair of CD release shows tonight at Mississippi Studios. Plus, new music from Neil Young, PJ Harvey, Jesca Hoop, Toots & the Maytals, and more.

MP3: David Dondero, from Simple Love- "Rothko Chapel"
In Studio: David Dondero

Posted by jpetersen on Saturday, October 6 at 8:53pm

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The fact that Jose Gonzalez is a singing, songwriting, finger-picking musician from Sweden and not, say, a shortstop for the Dodgers is only a tad bit more unlikely than the kudos he's received worldwide since issuing his full-length debut, Veneer, in Europe in 2003. The hipster's folkie, as one might call him, tends to pair layered, almost whispered vocals with complex solo guitar arrangements that seem at least as influenced by the South American roots of his parents (think Caetano Veloso or even Joao Gilberto) as by the stark seasons of his home country. The rare combination has proven to hold wide appeal, and there's much buzz surrounding the recent release of his sophomore effort, In Our Nature, after it took almost three years for his debut to catch on in the U.S. Gonzalez plays the Aladdin Theater with opener Tiny Vipers tonight in Portland.

MP3: Jose Gonzalez, from In Our Nature- "Teardrop" (Massive Attack cover)

Also tonight, Eugene's Shedd Institute hosts the charming, quick-witted, occasionally bawdy, pop-jazz diva Nellie McKay. She may be only 23, but over the course of three albums now she's shown that she follows her own muse, famously demanding that Sony release the double album version she preferred of her second recording Pretty Little Head to the shorter one the suits were insisting upon (and getting dropped from the label in the process, which is what she wanted anyway). Her latest effort, Obligatory Villagers, is succinct by comparison-- just nine songs, but they find McKay in fine form as she sets her acerbic observations and heart-on-her-sleeve politics to a carnival of Broadway inspired pop. She also plays the Aladdin Theater in Portland this Sunday night.

Tomorrow night sees the CD release celebration of Portland's Loch Lomond, as they unveil their second full length album, Paper the Walls, with two shows at Mississippi Studios. The early version (7p.) also features Nick Jaina, while the latter (10p.) sees Strangers Die Everyday opening. Ritchie Young leads the collective, whose personnel tends to vary between six and nine. The new album is out on Hush next Tuesday.

MP3: Loch Lomond, from Paper the Walls- "Carl Sagan"

As for In House, tomorrow night we welcome singer-songwriter David Dondero in for a performance and interview. Dondero's latest, out on Conor Oberst's Team Love label, is entitled Simple Love.

Posted by jpetersen on Friday, October 5 at 6:52pm

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It's night #2 of Black Francis/Frank Black/Charles Thompson IV at the Doug Fir tonight. Based on the back catalog he has to choose from alone (classic Pixies, solo work from Frank Black and Teenager of the Year, rootsy but rockin' fare with his band The Catholics, etc.) this should be a no-brainer, particularly if you missed him last night. Word is he's never been booed-- I can't vouch for that, but I can tell you that he's left it all on the stage every time I've seen him. The numerously-named one has a new album to play from, too-- he calls it Bluefinger.

In other news, imagine for a moment a fantasy scenario in which I told you of rainbows, moonbeams, and a new free-for-download tribute to R.E.M.'s Automatic For the People featuring The Veils, Meat Puppets, Rogue Wave, Figurines, and Portland's own Blitzen Trapper, among others. Your reaction would no doubt be, in a word....automatic, am I right? While they can't help you with most of those other fantasy scenarios that keep you occupied through your work days, the good folks at Stereogum are making this one a reality. Drive XV is there for the taking, though as good as the covers are, the whole thing brings to mind one thought:

Dear Mr.(s) Stipe, Buck, Mills, and Berry (yes, bring back Berry): Let's pretend the last decade never happened. Break out the mandolins, dust off the harmonium, get back to the country, brush up on your Will Faulkner, and deliver the Southern Gothic masterpiece that we all know you have left in you, the one that should have followed New Adventures in Hi-Fi. It's what the world needs now. Still love you though. J.

Oh by the way, in case you haven't already heard....everywhere (and speaking of rainbows), Radiohead announced a new album from out of nowhere this weekend, and it's full of all kinds of tidbits. In Rainbows will be released digitally....IN 8 DAYS. Oh, and you set your own price. Yeah. You can also pre-order the deluxe physical version now, due out in December. Finally, it's new release Tuesday and this week's list features releases from a number of grizzled veterans, including (another) classic Dylan collection (stream it), Bruce Springsteen's Magic (stream it), The Cult's Born Into This (stream it), P.J. Harvey's White Chalk (stream it), and a Mick Jagger best of (stream it). Also today, new efforts from two consistently brilliant AND underrated acts: The Sadies' New Seasons (stream it) and Richard Hawley's Lady's Bridge (stream it). You have a lot to do.

Posted by jpetersen on Tuesday, October 2 at 2:29pm

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