Music Blog

It might look sedate and empty now, but Bend's Les Schwab Amphitheater is the scene of some big things this weekend. Indeed, for the second time in recent memory (certainly you recall the first) Bend's musical weekend trumps Portland's with a pair of heavy weights (namely: Wilco and Beck on back to back days) paired with upstart openers (Fleet Foxes and Cold War Kids, respectively). I don't know what tickets are going for because I'm working for the weekend (once again, like Loverboy before me), but if you're going to drop some dough on a large-ish venue show (or two) it may as well be these two.

In case you missed it, Wilco is the current version of the Great American Band. Radiohead without the tea. They're the alt-country spin-off of alt-country trailblazers turned sunny melodic pop band turned record label-fighting experimental knob tweakers turned "difficult" shoegazers turned AM gold dad-rockers, at least according to some. They make American music. They destroyed this year's Lollapalooza in nudie suits. They led "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at a recent Cubs game. What more can be said? Opening the show is not the local dudes in vests band, no, but the positively swoon-worthy Fleet Foxes (swoon), they of the beards and youth and Laurel Canyon harmonies. Led by the singing and songwriting of Robin Pecknold, the band's spent the summer riding the buzz-wave (Letterman, festivals galore, etc.) created by the releases of both their debut EP and their debut full-length this year on Sub Pop. We like them and don't care if everyone else does, too. They return to Portland September 6th.

MP3 (Via You Ain't No Picasso): Wilco, live at Lollapalooza 2008- "Sunny Feeling"

MP3: Fleet Foxes, from Fleet Foxes- "White Winter Hymnal"

Sunday finds the chameleonic Beck headlining the show in support of his new Danger Mouse-produced Modern Guilt (which may or may not sound too much like Gnarls Barkley's The Odd Couple and The Black Keys' Attack & Release, if only because the producer marked his territory with aplomb). In any case, there's no telling who'll show up in Bend for Beck's set-- could be Bob Dylan, might be Prince, Bootsy Collins might even make an appearance. I'm talking Beck's versions of those artists, mind you, but still-- hard to predict. Truth be told, whatever character he takes on, Beck Hansen remains perhaps the most consistent and original artist around over the past decade or so. And strangely, almost disturbingly, unaging, too-- not sure if those two are connected or not. California's Cold War Kids open, no doubt unleashing some of the new material set to appear on their upcoming second album Loyalty to Loyalty, out September 30th.

Video: Beck, from Modern Guilt- "Gamma Ray"

MP3: Cold War Kids, from Loyalty to Loyalty- "Something Is Not Right With Me"

So the case is made. What's more, if those recent days of rain and that ominous first-day-of-school smell in the air scared the hell out of you (and they should have), Bend has straight up summertime going on this weekend.

As for our Saturday night, we'll be featuring an in-studio session with The Old Believers. Alaska natives, the young duo now hails from Portland and released the excellent Eight Golden Greats earlier this summer. We'll talk to them about their young-old, modern-vintage dichotomies and hear a quartet of songs, including their stunning take on a Bob Dylan classic, on tonight's In House.