The Poison Control Center Comes To Bend

This coming Thursday... the music calendar in Bend, Oregon is packed. The White Buffalo plays with a full band at Silver Moon Tap Room, The Aggrolites are set to knock down listeners at The Domino Room, and it's the town's second week of Munch N Music in Drake Park.

I'm gonna tell you to skip all of that.

WHAT!?!

You read me right. Skip it. (I suppose if you want to see some pretty standard Afro Beat Reggae at Munch N Music you can stroll through the park without sacrificing plans for live music later in the night)

The White Buffalo is completely awesome and with a full band in town for the first time, the chances that he will be even more awesome are pretty good. But it's still this artist's 3rd trip to Bend in the first half of 2010, with all shows performed at Silver Moon. Add to that Silver Moon's lack of air conditioning... and you could be in for a very uncomfortable evening as SM is one of the worst summertime venues in Bend. You will have a pretty good chance of seeing him come round this way again when the mercury isn't so high... so my recommendation is to hold off on seeing him this visit.

And for one of the same reasons... I say skip the Aggrolites. While easily more hip than the reggae that will be performed at Munch N Music that same night, The Aggrolites are not strangers to Bend. They've been here before and they will be here again. There isn't too much new that they are doing with their music, aside from their Yo Gabba Gabba contribution. Nothing new... with great potential to see them in town again down the road... means... skip it.

Now what does that leave us? A great Indie Rock performance at Bend's Mountain's Edge Bar by Iowa band, The Poison Control Center. This is where you should be on July 15th if you want to see some great new wave, 90's style, powerpop rock. At only $3 for admission to the show it's also the best bargain in town. They will be arriving fresh off performances at KEXP's studios and The High Dive in Seattle, and Portland's Doug Fir Lounge. So we are quite lucky to have them choose Bend as a stop on their tour. Check out four songs from this band below and make your way over to the South end of town by 9pm on Thursday. You will be glad you did.

Sasquatch 2010 Re-Cap

This year's Sasquatch festival made me wish a few things. First... that I had brought a megaphone to use, then lose, then find, then be able to run around the campground with the found megaphone informing everyone that all previous announcements regarding a lost megaphone were null and void. Second... that I had known, prior to setting up my tent, I was erecting it on top of a dried up river bed, soon to see it's water supply replenished. And third... that Bon Iver had once again been one of the performing bands.

Since I just touched on them a bit, it makes sense to expand on a few of the disappointments from this years premier Pacific Northwest outdoor music festival first, and then get to the good stuff.

As mentioned, this year's lineup lacked a band capable of spurring an entire audience into heavy hearts and quiet thought, as Bon Iver did a year ago. There simply wasn't one on the schedule. Not to say that Sasquatch 2010 didn't have special moments... but that type of moment was sadly... not to be found.

Another disappointment... 16oz Pabst are still $9. Should anyone from Live Nation see this (and I'm quite sure I don't have that kind of readership)... If you're not going to have your gate staff check bags thoroughly enough to prevent people from sneaking in all kinds of alcohol and drugs... then what's the point of $9 beers? If you checked the bags and then charged $5-$6 per beer (still a rip off)... you'd sell a ton of them! Certainly more than you do to those of us who don't attempt to sneak stuff in (zero purchased by this writer). One additional point... Alcohol shouldn't be your only worry when considering how your staff examines bags. On all three days, the type of search rendered to my backpack meant that I could have brought in at least one if not two 9mm pistols or perhaps even a "dirty bomb" (that's for you Mike). Seriously, Live Nation... just search the bags a bit better and lower the price of beer. Do that next year, and I guarantee I will buy a sixer. Even shotgun one with you. (I like to pretend Live Nation is just one guy... named Larry... and he forgot how to have fun)

Now to the good stuff.

31 bands in 3 days... and I even left early. What this year's festival lacked in emotional gravity (see previous comment about Bon Iver), it made up for in fun! With bands like Edward Sharpe, Passion Pit, and LCD Soundsystem, how could it not?

Teetering on the threat of rain the entire weekend but never quite fully realizing that threat (save for an overnight pour on the second night well after lights out), Sasquatch 2010 delivered with great style. Honorable mentions from the festival include a performance by eclectic singer, tUnE yArDs (who autographed her vinyl album for me) as she used looped vocal chants to create deep landscapes behind minimal instrumentation and divine drum beats inspired by other continents. Broken Social Scene also returned to support their new album (Forgiveness Rock Record), and showed all goers why they remain one of Canada's premier collective rock efforts. Queens, NY group Freelance Whales, shined as best they could from the small and set aside Yeti stage, belting out their East Coast style pop (believe me... there is a distinctive sound to pop from the other side of the country). And while not drumming up a stellar performance... Tegan & Sara still manged to do their fans proud and even capture some new ones with their daylight show on the Sasquatch main stage. Seattle's Fresh Espresso lit up the Yeti stage on day three with their Oreo branded hip hop and Passion Pit topped their 2009 Wookie stage performance with a much grander show from the main stage.

3rd place awards for the weekend went to great rock band Dr. Dog (a must see) and beat savvy Kid Cudi; who dropped so much bounce worthy music on the Sasquatch stage (had it been an after dark performance) would have easily brought the house down. Dinosaur Feathers took care of business as the opening 2nd day performers and L.A.'s Local Natives provided an epic 1:30 show on day two, spilling story telling song after story telling song with brilliant Pacific Coast, sugar coated, sunny rock style. Ok Go maintained their quirky and lovable selves with a solid main stage performance the first day and Laura Marling's haunting vocals eased everyone into the weekend on Saturday afternoon with hints of self reflection.

Near top nods were earned by a pleasing number of groups during the festival, including Ohio/NY band, The National. Remember all those scenes in 80's and 90's movies where the main character hits rock bottom and then finally starts putting together a series of events to right their situation? (NOT to be confused with a training montage). Every song by The National could be used to define those scenes. Triumphant in nature and struggling in substance, The National worked through each song during their first day set and saw each of them through to their anthem like finishes. Mumford & Sons' performance was inspired, Portugal, The Man, blazed through guitar solos and edgy vocals, while The Tallest Man On Earth, showered 21st Century folk rock on a giant Bigfoot stage afternoon crowd and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, turned an abbreviated set into a modern day Woodstock, delivering 1960's psych/bohemian rock in classic sing along style.

And now... the favorites.

Australia supplied some great music this year, and while The Middle East's performance butted up against Portugal, The Man and Edward Sharpe, The Temper Trap's strong 3rd day main stage show was free and clear to be witnessed. Finding success by having their song "Sweet Disposition" show up on the soundtrack to arguably 2009's best relationship movie "500 Days Of Summer" (which featured as an actress, one of Sasquatch 2010's top performers), TTT dove right into a crowd waiting to be shook up by their new favorite pop rock band. The group's lead singer Dougy Mandagi, even poured his bottled water on the surface of a stand alone drum he was using in order create a slow-mo worthy spray.

Based upon the performance by former Hip Hop producer turned R&B vocalist, Mayer Hawthorne... I finally bought his album. Transforming himself via live show, from douche to douchetastic... his fun and smile bearing early 70's Motown sound was wildly entertaining. Vampire Weekend also gave everyone something to smile about as they handed the Sasquatch crowd their most polished show of the festival; and polished or not... it worked. Surely a must see at Edgefield in Troutdale, OR later this summer for those of you who missed Sasquatch, Vampire Weekend look like ivy league pop rockers and after seeing them live for the first time... I couldn't care less. They are energy.

My Morning Jacket gave the best rock performance of the festival this year. Languishing over his guitar, Jim James lead the rest of the band into Sasquatch legend. A set filled with both deep soulful rock and the kind of stuff that could materialize as a stone skipping across a flat pond, MMJ, took a cool May evening and turned up the heat. Reunited band Pavement, fought through (literally) the beginning of their set (no doubt as the result of heavily celebrating Steve Malkmus' birthday). However, it didn't take long for the group to rebound and deliver a solid performance that probably baffled some of the under 18 crowd but had the rest of us giddy with nineties joy. British duo Massive Attack, turned in a performance using the stuff dreams are made of. A breezy and flowing assault on a crowd determined to get riled up, Massive Attack turned operatic at times and became one of two brilliant surprise performances of the weekend.

And then... there were four. Four Sasquatch performances that topped all others. Completely different and substantial in their own right... sets by LCD Soundsystem, Band Of Horses, She & Him, and Deadmau5 were this year's 'reasons for going'.

Destroying mundane dance beats that permeate top 40 music, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, screamed, jerked, and actually sang a giant crowd into unified rhythm. Having attended multiple shows at The Gorge... I can't recall any show, where one band... during daylight hours... had everyone in the front of the stage and as far up the hill as eyes could see, executing a singular dance move without even asking them to do so. It just happened. As did LCD Soundsystem's new album This Is Happening. Quite possibly their best effort to date, the album played a major part in their Sasquatch performance. I was pleased to see the crowd not get so lost in their crazy punk dance moves they forgot to yell out the re verb chants in Pow Pow, "Advantages To Both!" and "Advantages!, Advantages!", key audience participation lyrics to be sure.

What can be said about a talent like M. Ward paring with the vocal abilities of Zooey Deschanel? Not much that hasn't already been said. Probably the best lineup decision for 2010 made by festival creator Adam Zachs, She And Him flawlessly performed their contemporary brand of country/folk rock with a doo-wop twist. Fans of M. Ward, (who showcased his own work in 2009 at Sasquatch), were satiated by his featured vocals on songs from the duo's new album Volume Two.

Band Of Horses launched the Sasquatch crowd into the final night of shows with BIG melancholy rock. Surprisingly filling their set with a large portion of songs from the band's second album, Cease To Begin, BOH enlightened the crowd to just enough of the group's third installment, Infinite Arms to entice purchasing. Epic delivery on songs Like The Funeral and No One's Gonna Love You left the Sasquatch main stage dripping with emotion and was probably the closest this year's festival came to a "Bon Iver" moment.

Finally... a unique... in your face... dance till your feet are bloody, late night performance by Toronto based DJ, Deadmau5 (dead mouse) at the newly named Bigfoot stage , provided the biggest reason to rejoice for having a pass to the fastest sell out year in Sasquatch history (see article picture). The best light show ever witnessed, along with the vibrant energy flowing from the DJ as he (Joel Thomas Zimmerman), bounced around in the middle of his cube cut out with his lit up mouse head, combined to send excitement boiling over long into the first night of the festival. House music wrought with unique vocals and bold genre challenging beats, put what probably would have been a very good second night performance by Booka Shade, to shame.

Sasquatch 2010 was a wild success despite the disappointments mentioned at the beginning of the recap. And next year I plan to complete my experience by bringing along... a megaphone.

Summer Concerts 2010 (so far)

In this post you will find the current available selection of Oregon area shows for the upcoming summer months that we think deserve special attention. More shows will be announced all the time, so check back for updates! Hope you find something you like!

Doug Fir Lounge:
May 22nd- Derby
May 23rd- Landon Pigg
May 28th- Patrick Watson
May 29th- The Minus 5
June 2nd- Isis
June 7th- Kurt Vile
June 10th- Delta Spirit
June 13th- Matt Pond PA
June 19th- Wang Chung
July 2nd- The Submarines
July 10th- Fol Chen w/Grand Hallway
July 15th- Ben Taylor
July 23rd- Here We Go Magic
Sept 7th- The Clientele

Mississippi Studios
May 21st- Plants & Animals
May 24th- Broken Bells (just announced afternoon show tix on sale tomorrow 10am)
May 27th- Local Natives
May 28th- Vetiver
May 29th- tUnE yArDs
June 1st- Sera Cahoone
June 4th- Samantha Crain
June 5th- Themselves
June 9th- Delorean
June 10th- Loch Lomond
June 17th- Kelli Schaefer
July 2nd- The Moondoggies
July 7th- Sleepy Sun
July 10th Mirah

Wonder Ballroom
May 28th- Why?
June 24th- Rooney

Hawthorne Theater
May 26th- Caribou
May 28th- Ok Go
June 8th- mewithoutyou & David Bazan

The Woods
June 7th- The White Buffalo

Crystal Ballroom
May 26th & 27th- John Butler Trio with State Radio
June 1st & 2nd- MGMT
June 16th- Cage The Elephant
June 22nd- Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
July 16th- New Pornographers
July 23rd- Blitzen Trapper
July 27th- Wolf Parade
July 28th- Toad The Wet Sprocket

SPECIAL ADVANCE NOTICE: October 16th- Broken Social Scene

Aladdin Theater
June 4th- Crash Test Dummies
June 17th- Stars
June 18th- Melody Gardot
July 15th- Carbon Leaf
August 6th & 7th- Joanna Newsom
August 27th- Mat Kearney

Backspace
May 22nd- The Ascetic Junkies
June 5th- Jared Mees & The Grown Children

Dante's
June 4th- Jesse Malin

Berbati's Pan
May 28th- The Long Winters

Oregon Zoo
June 25th- Jewel
August 20th- The Swell Season

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
June 16th- Imogen Heap

Roseland Theater
May 28th- Minus The Bear
May 29th- LCD Soundsystem
June 26th- Portugal The Man

Edgefield
June 10th- Norman
July 17th- The Avett Brothers with Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
August 11th- The Builders & The Butchers
August 14th- Rodrigo Y Gabriela
September 3rd- Pavement

Sleep Country Amphitheater
July 2nd- Lilith Fair
October 3rd- Jack Johnson

Maryhill Winery
July 31st- Jackson Browne
August 7th- Natalie Merchant

Wow Hall
May 22nd- YACHT
May 27th- The Long Winters
May 29th- Isis
May 30th- Why?
June 4th- Jaguar Love
August 1st- Nappy Roots
August 25th- Mat Kearney

The Cuthbert
July 27th- Jackson Browne
August 1st- Ringo Starr Band
August 6th- Michael Franti

The Gorge Amphitheater
July 3rd- Lilith Fair
July 17th- Kings Of Leon
Sept 3rd-5th- Dave Mathews Band
October 2nd- Jack Johnson

Britt Pavilion
June 26th- Jewel
June 27th- Brandi Carlile
July 2nd- Black Crowes
July 15th- Michael Franti with Brett Dennen
July 17th- New Pornographers with The Dodos
July 20th- The Swell Season
July 26th- Jackson Browne

Boondocks
May 20th- Erin Cole-Baker, Eric Tollefson

Silvermoon Tap Room
May 27th- Yenn Family Acoustic Project

Domino Room
July 8th- Pinback
Aug 24th- Mat Kearney

The Annex
June 5th- The White Buffalo

Les Schwab Amphitheater
May 30th- Band Of Horses
August 1st- Stolen Sweets
August 5th- Michael Franti

Old St. Francis
June 23rd- Stephanie Schneiderman
August 18th- The Builders & The Butchers

Tower Theater
May 25th- Horse Feathers
June 3rd- Helio Sequence
August 5th- Dar Williams

Dom: Sun Bronzed Greek Gods

If you’ve got 60 minutes to listen to some new music, you’ll be able to blaze through Dom’s 19 minute long, debut EP “Sun Bronzed Greek Gods” three times. It’s probably a good idea you do just that. The first time will serve to get you hooked on the dance rock beats and youthful melodies, the subsequent listen will force you to take notice of the lyrics, and the third will wrap it all up nicely in one completely enjoyable package.

For lovers of Passion Pit and Metric, this electric rock EP starts off with the seemingly patriotic anthem “Living In America” and declares “…forget all you haters, U.S.A. is for lovers!” What follows the first track are 6 more anthems with great lo-fi vocals covering mostly stories about relationships and some ecstasy use. Except for a beach inspired guitar interlude toward the end of the EP’s 5th track :”Rude As Jude”, much of Sun Bronzed Greek Gods unfolds using garage rock greatness and polished drum driven bridges.

Dom is a band from Massachusetts, and also the name of the elusive lead singer (who refused to give his last name to an interviewer from Pitchfork last month). However, with the success this EP is likely to bring the band, it’s unlikely the mystique surrounding the 22 year old will last long. The album is sure to become a summertime staple and supporters will eventually root out more info about him. For now be content with knowing him through his music… it’s not a bad insight at all.

Marshall McLean & Chris Chabot

Here is a quick blog post with video of two performances by great acoustic artists at a coffee shop here in Bend.

Marshall McLean is from Spokane and has a voice that mirrors the strength of Joshua James almost perfectly and here he is performing a song titled Jericho.



This next video is of Bend artist and dear friend of mine, Chris Chabot. One of the most honest songwriters I know... Chris has no fear when it comes to sharing his past and current life with people through song. As a result you feel comforted during his performances... Here he is singing a song to one of his sons.

The Besnard Lakes Release A Roar

And on their latest album, it’s a roar that lasts over 46 minutes. “The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night”, is a record dripping in Shoegaze sweetness and songs that build anticipation. Montreal couple Jake Lasek and Olga Goreas, like to spread themselves all over the musical landscape and return on their third album to do just that. The first track (really just an intro for the first song) “Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt. 1: The Ocean”, is in itself, a sea of sound, featuring long shaky guitar notes layered with ambient synth noise that lead the listener into the inner sanctuary of the continued movement on “Pt 2: The Innocent” and then the rest of the album. The fourth track, “Albatross” a love song just as flowing as the first track, gets a smile added to the music by The Besnard Lakes introducing some rhythmic drum beats and guitar melodies.

Other reviews of this work compare the vocals to Brian Wilson and Roger Walters, and while definite Beach Boys and Pink Floyd sounds exist, (especially on the climactic psychedelic rock track “Light Up The Night”), there is something else to “Roaring Night”. Something that tugs at the listeners’ heart strings a little more than works by those two bands. It’s a safe album without a lot of boldness, yet it spins around your mind creating mystic dreamscapes and grinds against your afternoon releasing you from your troubles.

Ignite Bend 4

Last week I welcomed the humbling opportunity to deliver an IgniteBend presentation at Bend's Tower Theater. The topic I spoke on? The experience of seeing one hundred different bands perform live in 2009. The Ignite format consists of a five minute PowerPoint presentation with 20 slides that change automatically every 15 seconds whether the presenter is ready for it or not. No animation... no gimmicks... just quick bits of information displayed on creative slides with verbal skills that hopefully do the topic justice.

Once news came at around 2pm the day of the show, that the Theater had sold out the event... the desire to puke set in. Holding only a little more than 400 people, the Tower Theater doesn't fill up with what one might call a giant crowd. Still, a bunch of people ready to react to any mistake in your presentation can jostle the nerves a bit. Practicing the Apollo Ono stress relieving yawn for most of the afternoon and evening was a surprise help in getting my lunch to stay in its intended location. For most of the two weeks leading up to the event, I had pictured myself getting completely psyched out for the necessary five minutes and letting my pumped up nerves take over. The puking feeling was not initially something I had prepared for.

The first step up to the stage must have been sprinkled with magic dust as stepping on it erased all nausea and the energy of the crowd pushed out all nervousness. Before I knew it... the five minutes were up and I was Dirk Diggler karate kicking and bowing to thank the audience for listening. Having covered topics ranging from average price per performance to favorite venues and falling in Love with Emily Haines... one topic came up unintentionally and I'd like to clarify it.

Early in the presentation I mentioned that rather than sit here in Bend, Oregon and see whatever bands happened to come through town as my avenue to 100 bands in 2009, I did some traveling to assure that my goal was met by seeing bands of a certain quality. In doing so, I may have inadvertently insulted the local brew pub, Silver Moon. Becoming Bend's only consistent venue for quality live music, Silver Moon utilizes a makeshift stage in the corner of the somewhat tiny establishment to lure such acts as Amber Rubarth, Vetiver, The White Buffalo, and Igor & The Red Elvises to town. While some shows can be down right uncomfortable because of the space limitations (summer shows are the worst as Silver Moon lacks sufficient air conditioning and can be completely miserable), others feature performances by some of the brilliant and aforementioned artists. Yet there are still shows with just your typical run of the mill local bands that don't really inspire me to go downtown and pay the typical $5+ cover required to catch a glimpse of someone who sounds like a million better and similar artists available. Not all places that book live music can expect to hit home runs with every act they put on the calendar and certainly not a place that struggles to find room for a full band and concert goers. Even the prominent Portland venue Doug Fir Lounge has brought in bands I certainly could have gone without seeing, but sat through in order to get to the pay off main act. Let's face it... even the Rose Garden brings in acts like The Jonas Brothers, who you couldn't pay me to go see.

What made maters worse regarding my Silver Moon statement was that they were a sponsor of the Ignite Bend event and the owners may have been in the audience. I attempted to reel back in my borderline slam of their establishment and even pointed out some of the great shows I've been to there. But bottom line... music and especially live music is about personal taste. I wouldn't expect Silver Moon to provide our town with bands or artists that entice me to remove money from my wallet 100% of the time and I certainly don't expect it from venues that are designed for the sole purpose of facilitating live performances. I do believe that Silver Moon continues to be the best beacon for live music lovers in Bend and I commend them for their effort in sustaining that. But I will probably never buy in to every show they schedule. A stance I take with every venue in the Pacific Northwest.

If you would like to watch myself and all of the presenters from Ignite Bend 4, travel over to www.ignitebend.com and follow the link on the homepage or click "Watch Ignite Bend" from the menu. Several 'burning' ideas from Central Oregon were shared as Ignites all over the country continue to serve as a place for people to spill their passions out for all to see.