Music Blog

It's a bevy of live action! A bevy, I say! Stay with me here... Only the two bands responsible for three of the top five live shows I've ever seen begin a two-night run at Portland's Crystal Ballroom tonight. Built to Spill and Camper Van Beethoven, each semi-legendary in their own way, team up for a bill bound to include punkish takes on eastern European rhythms, the odd Cheap Trick, Status Quo or Fleetwood Mac cover, guitar hero antics, beards, and (lately) reggae, among other things. Pseudosix plays a hometown gig at Holocene for its CD release show, celebrating the recent issue of their self-titled album on Sonic Boom recordings. If this doesn't excite you, you probably missed their recent OPB in-studio. Elsewhere, San Francisco-based musician Nyles Lannon plays Tonic in support of Pressure, his latest out on the Portland-based Badman Recording Co. Lannon's sound is not easily labeled, provoking such invented terms as "folktronica" and "lap-top pop." Listen for an in-studio session with him on an upcoming edition of In House. Meanwhile, down Eugene way, singer-songwriter David Dondero plays WOW Hall as part of an apparent Oregon a go-go tour, with dates in Bend on Friday, Corvallis on Saturday, and Portland on Sunday. Dondero's latest, Simple Love, was recently issued on Conor Obert's Team Love label. MP3: Pseudosix- "Under the Waves" MP3: David Dondero- "When the Heart Breaks Deep" Take a breath... Duluth, Minnesota's Low begin a two-night residency at the Doug Fir tomorrow night. The married duo at the heart of the band, Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk, have been making music marked in its slow, steady beauty for over a decade now-- although their last couple of efforts have attempted to change the formula up a bit. Their latest, Drums & Guns, came out earlier this year on Sub Pop. MP3: Low- "Breaker" On the local front, A Cautionary Tale brings major chops to the table in creating an unlikely stew of flamenco-leaning, jazz-toned indie rock. The band plays the Someday Lounge Friday night as part of a bill that also includes the final 2007 show for varied locals Wooden Nickle. MP3: A Cautionary Tale- "Angola" MP3: Wooden Nickle- "Vintage" Elsewhere, the John Butler Trio plays Andina and The Donnas play the Hawthorne Theater. And we're not even talking about Saturday yet (we'll do that tomorrow)...

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