Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Summer Music Around Portland

It's already started and will begin to pick up a full head of steam this week ... it's summer, and that means live music outdoors in parks and plazas all over the metro area.  It truly is an embarrassment of riches .... and there's nothing stopping you from getting out to one ... or a dozen of these through the summer.

There is free music and ticketed shows ... but let's begin with the free (most paid for by generous sponsorships of local businesses).

Portland Parks and Recreation's Concerts in the Parks:  Thirteen city parks, including Washington Park, will have evening concerts throughout the summer.  These concerts kickoff on July 6th at Mt. Tabor Park and are one of those summertime treasures around town. Grab a picnic dinner (or patronize the food vendors), bring a blanket or chairs and enjoy.  Nothing better on a summer's eve. I've been a part of organizing the Sellwood Riverfront Park shows that will run four consecutive Mondays, beginning on July 12. This year kicks off with a band from Austin, TX, that will be at the Waterfront Blues Festival on July 4th - Mingo Fishtrap.

For all of you who are downtown in Portland for your work week, there a couple of great opportunities - one at lunchtime, one at 5 pm:

Music on Main is a great Wednesday series that begins this week on Main Street between the Schnitz and the Performing Arts Center. Really one of the best lineups of bands for any series this summer!

Pioneer Square has another year of Noon Tunes - every Tuesday and Thursday beginning on July 6th.

And not to leave out those on the east side - there's noon Lunchbox Concerts in the Oregon Square Courtyard (Lloyd District) every Wednesday until 8/25.

A new one is Sundown@Ecotrust Concerts (721 NW 9th) - Thursdays in July at 5pm beginning this week.

Then there are street fairs - for instance, Mississippi Street Fair (July 10) and the Hawthorne Street Fair (Aug 15) - and other events that will have free live music...

But Portland isn't the only city in the area that has an abundance of free music ... check out these summer concert schedules:

Lake Oswego has four concert series at Millennium Plaza Park, Foothills Park (including the fabulous Carrie Rodriguez on July 21!), and Westlake Park.

Tualatin has two series - parks concerts and Tualatin Commons.

Beaverton has a Last Tuesday series at the Round Fountain Plaza.

West Linn's has a Thursday night series at Tanner Creek Park.

Vancouver has an evening and a noon series downtown in Esther Short Park.

Ticketed shows:
(recycled some of this from an earlier post)
Of course starting Friday, July 2nd, its the 23rd Annual Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival - once more with an outstanding lineup of national headliners, regional acts, and locals tearing it up for four days in Waterfront Park. Stay tuned to a post devoted to the festival and a few acts not to be missed.

Head to Sauvie Island for Farm Tunes - every Thursday at 6:30 pm through September 2nd. $10 per car.

Check out the lineup at The Oregon Zoo. A few stand out for me - Carolina Chocolate Drops, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, the Quebe Sisters, The Swell Season and Black Francis, and .... Levon Helm. Holy crap ... Levon ... makes my summer, thank you.

Then there's the McMenamin's Edgefield Concerts on the Lawn, including the Avett Brothers, Crowded House, Pavement, and ...Willie Nelson in September... I hear that a Bob Dylan/John Mellencamp show might be in the mix too.

There's no whining about Maryhill Winery's summer shows that include Lyle Lovett, Jackson Browne with David Lindley, and Natalie Merchant.

There's a couple of festivals within minutes of the city ... complete with camping and a feel-good vibe that's hard to resist. First is the annual Northwest String Summit at Hornings Hideout (July 16-18). Then the first weekend of August (6th-8th) brings the annual Pickathon out at Pendarvis Farm ... combining an eclectic mix of touring and local artists - roots music, folk, bluegrass, and indie pop in a beautiful setting just outside of Portland.

I'll bet someone could go to live music outdoors every day this summer! No, it isn't going to be me ... but I'll do my share ... and I'm sure you'll do yours!  See ya out and about ....

 .... and be sure to add other events you know about via the Comments or email them directly to me.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Last weekend of June

Already?  Sheesh ... where'd the month go (and so glad Junuary seems to be fading into damp memory).... As summer has officially started, there's lots to review ... will start with music for today and tomorrow, but should get posts up in the next day or two on outdoor summer music and a preview of the Waterfront Blues Festival that begins on Friday ... yes, it's that time of year again!

Saturday
Happy hour music?  Check out Little Sue and her trio at the Laurelthirst ... 6 pm, no cover

Thad Beckman and his band will be at O'Connor's tonight ... hear Thad's going to be recorded for Oregon Art Beat at the show ... 8:30 pm, $5

Music will be hot and lively at Jimmy Mak's with the Bobby Torres Ensemble and Patrick Lamb ... 8 pm, $10

Kate Davis is back in Portland for the summer and has two shows tonight at Wilf's. Joining Kate will be outstanding guitarist Dan Balmer and pianist Dan Gaynor ... 7:30 and 9:30 pm, $10

The very fine songwriter and vocalist Jonatha Brooke is at the Aladdin ... 8 pm, $30

There'll be some great pickin' at the new Alberta Rose Theater with Dirk Powell and the Foghorn Stringband ... 8:30 pm, $15

The Laurelthirst will be rockin' with Drunken Prayer (featuring the fine songwriting of Morgan Geer) and Lotus Isle (the band of Matt Brown, who just got off the road with She & Him) ... 9:30 pm, $5

Sunday
Got a chance last week to have brunch at EaT: An Oyster Bar on N.Williams ... what's really special about the place is you also get to hear Reggie Houston's Box of Chocolates .... delicious! ... 11 am, no cover

Speaking of Reggie ... it's time to celebrate with his pre-Blues Fest birthday bash at Jim Flynn's In The House house party.  The house will be rockin' Mardi Gras style with Reggie and friends. Contact Jim Flynn (email or call 503-784-6824 for details if you want to join the festivities!  Party begins at 5 pm.

And an excellent Nashville-based singer/songwriter, Buddy Mondlock, will be at Blackbird Wine (4323 NE Fremont). Buddy and bassist Mike Lindauer will fill the room with warm melodies and thoughtful lyrics. Nathaniel Talbot opens ... 8 pm, $15

Friday, June 25, 2010

Friday quick picks

With Gulfsongs Oregon keeping me busy today ... I'm going to make these quick, because there's lots of fine choices for the evening ....

Looking for happy hour music? Check out Ron Rogers & The Wailing Wind at the Hawthorne Theater Pub (39th & Hawthorne) ... 6 pm, no cover

Artichoke Music's 4th Annual Folk Festival begins tonight at 7 pm. Lots of songwriters and the event is a fundraiser for Artichoke Community Music ... 

Ezra Holbrook and Friends are at the Press Club ... 8:30 pm, no cover

LaRhonda Steel is at Clyde's Prime Rib ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Long time Canadian band Blue Rodeo bring their hook-heavy roots/country tunes to Mississippi Studios.  Justin Rutledge opens ... 9 pm, $17

Modern pop-folkster Josh Ritter is in town at the Wonder Ballroom .... 8 pm, $20

It's Floater with a CD release show at the Crystal Ballroom tonight celebrating their 8th release, Wake. Kleveland opens ... 9 pm, $18

It's the trippy fusion mix of jazz artist Marco Benevento at the Doug Fir. Surprise Me Mr Davis opens ...9 pm, $15

It's New Orleans flavored roots-jazz from Bridgetown Sextet at Duff's Garage ... 9:30 pm, $??

and ... the Freak Mountain Ramblers are at the Laurelthirst ... 9:30 pm, $6

There's probably more good ones too ... but I'm done .


Thursday, June 24, 2010

Gulfsongs Oregon and live music tonight

Sometimes there's just some things you gotta do. A few weeks ago a conversation with music community friend Stacy DeHart about how not to feel so helpless as we watched oil spilling into the Gulf resulted in the creation of a fundraising project that was soon named Gulfsongs Oregon.  Choose an organization or two on the Gulf Coast that are directly helping people there, book some venues, invite musicians to play.  Simple. Okay, not quite so simple.  But we set it in motion, told folks, asked for things. The response from people and organizations has been incredibly gratifying.  We have a Gulfsongs website, Facebook page (with a growing list of friends), a partnership with Oregon Music News, three kickoff shows booked, another 10 dates scheduled, and a lot of work to do.

An article I wrote about Gulfsongs was posted this morning on Oregon Music News (I figured linking to that instead of blathering about it here was better) .... check it out (and all of the great content at OMN).

This project is so gratifying and actually fun to be building.  I'll try to keep my music recommendations coming, but there may be a few less posts through the summer (though I'll try to post at least twice each week).

A couple of quick picks for tonight:

It's the celebratory grand opening of the Alberta Rose Theater that I mentioned earlier this week. This will be a welcome addition to the music venues in town. Celilo, Adam & Kris, Chris Kokesh and the March Fourth Marching Band will be performing ... and March Fourth will be parading up Alberta St into the theater .... it all begins at 6:30.

Colin Lake and Wellbottom are at The Goodfoot. Nice to have Colin back in town for a couple weeks from his new home in New Orleans. Seattle's The Staxx Brothers are also on the bill .... 9 pm, $8

It will be hot and bluesy at Mel Brown's B3 Organ Band gig at Jimmy Maks tonight ... special guests are Bill Rhoades and Paris Slim .... 8 pm, $5

The Garcia Birthday Band will be jamming at the White Eagle ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Berthaline and the Cajun Love Brigade will be at the Spare Room .... this is a fun band that rocks in so many ways ... 9 pm, no cover

It's time for warm summer nights, long hours of daylight, and getting out to some kickass live music .... see ya out and about!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Sharon Jones tonight at Crystal Ballroom

Hope it didn't escape your radar, but the phenomenal Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings will be at the Crystal tonight  .... 8 pm, $25

And Colin Lake is back in town from his new home in New Orleans. He has a couple of gigs this week and at the Blues Festival ... tonight he's playing with Chance Hayden at Brasserie Montmartre ... 8 pm, no cover

Opening this week: the Alberta Rose Theater!

The hum of construction inside the building on the corner of NE 30th and Alberta will finally quiet this week as the finishing touches are put on the renovated Alberta Rose Theater.  The theater has it's official opening this Thursday night in conjunction with the Last Thursday Art Walk on Alberta Street.

This is a very exciting development on the venue scene in Portland. It is a 280 seat theater ... which means that some of the shows that currently either go to venues like the Doug Fir or Mississippi Studios -- where the mostly standing and sometimes noisy crowds aren't optimal for enjoying many artists, or to the Aladdin -- which often feels empty when 200 people show up for a show, will now have an attractive alternative. The room has an intimacy that will be ideal for a wide range of artists and performances.

Here's a story already published about the new venue from the Melophobe music blog (just discovered this - looks like a solid resource for concert reviews, etc). And check in on Wednesday with Oregon Music News for more on the new venue.

Check out the Alberta Rose show schedule ... and hope to see you at the opening celebration on Thursday!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Out and about on Saturday

I've noticed when the weather is cool and drizzly (when it's supposed to be more like, oh, say warm and sunny), we respond by reverting to our hunkered down winter mode. Okay people, resist the cocooning urge ...  the bands in town will warm you up, dry you off, and leave you smiling ... yep, they will. Trust me. So ... where ya headed on Saturday night? Lottsa choices ... but here's my picks ....

Fine bluesy guitarist and songwriter Thad Beckman is back in town from his touring work with Tom Russell and doing a solo show in Multnomah Village at Sip D'Vine. ... 7 pm, $2

Little Sue and Lynn Conover hold down happy hour at the Laurelthirst (6 pm, no cover) ... which will be followed by a musical tribute to local singer/songwriter Fernando.  A host of Portland's songsters and bands include Casey Neill, Michael Jodell, Lewi Longmire, Morgan Geer, Little Sue, Marilee Hord, Lara Michell, Mike Coykendall, Jeremy Wilson, Tahoe Jackson, From Words To Blows, Willy Vlautin, Mike Hughes, Paul Brainard, and Allen Hunter will be covering his fine body of work and the show will be a benefit for local musician Jeremy Wilson who needs heart surgery.  ... 9 pm, $10

The Strange Tones will be rockin' Duff's in there wonderfully entertaining fashion  .... 9:30 pm, $??

Portland's first family of "real" country music, the Millers, hold down the evening at Biddy McGraw's with two bands - Lisa & Her Kin, and then brothers Ian and Chris Miller's project (along with James Sasser) Pondosa. Dance or cry in your beer ... either way, it works for me ... 9:30 pm, $??

Pianist and racontour David Vest will bring the band to Jimmy Mak's ... some fine blues, boogie woogie, jazz, swing and a bit of country to boot .... you're going to want a dance floor .... 8 pm, $10

Speaking of dance floors, one of the best afro-beat bands in the NW, Jujuba is at the Goodfoot ... if you're not dancing, you're probably not breathing ....  9 pm, $??

Looking for something a bit mellower ... there's some fine jazz and standards from vocalist Valerie Day at Wilf's. She'll be joined by Mike Horsfall on piano and  Dave Captein on bass ... 8 pm, $??

There's lots more, too ... check the calendars, but you can't go wrong with any of these. So, get outta da house!

Friday, June 18, 2010

One more for Friday

Forgot to mention a wonderful Texas troubadour appearing tonight at the Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro (a fine venue if you've never ventured out to it) ... Eric Taylor. Eric is a long-time fixture on the Texas (Houston in particular) folk and acoustic music scene. A songwriter and performer with depth and heart ... simply one of the best .... highly recommended ... 8 pm, $17

Freaky Friday

Okay, not so freaky ... though considering our season to date, it is sunny today. Hopefully a trend in the making.

On to music .... and there's some excellent choices ....

Cascade Zydeco hosts a dance tonight at PPAA with one of my fave locals, the TooLoose Cajun Band. Tonight they'll have Steve Kerin with them on keys and who knows who else (maybe Paul Brainard on pedal steel, and they've been rehearsing with Steve, Reggie Houston, and Peter Dammann for a Waterfront Blues Festival performance) .... lace up those dancin' shoes and cut loose .... 8:30 pm, $10 (show up at 7:30 for a dance lesson)

In town tonight at the Crystal it's Robert Randolph & the Family Band.  Randolph comes out of the "sacred steel" tradition, but has moved to include more blues and eclectic fare, which has garnered him a wide and well-deserved audience. His new CD, We Walk This Road, was produced by T Bone Burnett (good post about it in today's OMN) ... 8 pm, $25

The Woods is coming up on its one year anniversary and tonight has the very fine Mike Coydendall (just off the road with She & Him) with special guests Pancake Breakfast and Ash Reiter. Should be a fun show with raised voices and stompin' feet ... 9 pm, $7

Speaking of stompin', Hillstomp celebrates the release of its new CD tonight at the Wonder Ballroom. This duo makes some compelling rootsy, hill country blues ... for a couple of young guys, they sound timeless. good post at OMN about the band ....  also on the bill is the Yogoman Burning Band and Sassparilla .... 9 pm, $10

And over at the White Eagle, it's a great triple bill of roots rock/Americana bands with Lewi Longmire, One Horse Shy, and featuring Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles. This is a great opportunity to see Borges, who has embarked on a cross-country tour from her home base in New England... and a bargian to boot. ... 9:30 pm, $6



Thursday, June 17, 2010

Thursday choices

 In addition to the usual Thursday shows that I seem to unavoidably mention (Lewi at Laurelthirst at 6pm, Stephanie Schneiderman followed by the Mel Brown B3 Organ Band at Jimmy Mak's at 7pm ... to name a couple), I'd like to point out two shows happening tonight.

First is an all-ages, Music in the Schools benefit at the Wonder Ballroom. Music in the Schools raises money for high school music programs in Portland and is run by Portland high school students. Money for a very good cause! ... 8 pm, $10

There's an Italian restaurant in Milwaukie that serves up some tasty jazz every Wednesday through Saturday.... Arrivederci is a cool little outpost of great music on the southeast side of town ..... there's no cover and tonight you can see a fine trio of the wonderful Dave Frishberg,  John Gross, and Charlie Doggett ... 7pm, no cover

Also ... in jazz, Ron Steen does an invitational jam tonight at Doc George's Jazz Kitchen ... 8 pm,  no cover

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Tuesday night choices

A few things to note for tonight ....

It's the last week of Tony Furtado's series of shows at The Woods. Tonight Tony has his band with him to preview some new tunes he's about to record. Plus he has special guests Rob Stroup, Courtenay Hameister of LiveWire, and Stephanie Schneiderman .... and whoever else pops by to end this run .... one of the best music bangs for the buck ... 8 pm, $7

There's also a benefit show tonight for Nashville Flood Relief at the Old Church. It starts at 7 pm, with a host of artists .... $12

One of the finest jazz vocalist around, Nancy King, will be at Tony Starlight's with pianist Steve Christofferson ... 7:30 pm, $7

And Tuesdays has the always reliable blues jam at Duff's Garage led by Dover Weinberg. Always a great host of Portland's top blues players for your listening and dancing pleasure ... 9 pm, $2

Friday, June 11, 2010

Something different for Friday ...

 Okay folks, you're going to have to do better ... more people out to music...or comedy?

Okay ... but I'm not going to mention music shows for tonight, but simply the opportunity to see one of the longest-lived comedy troupes (since 1966) - Firesign Theater. They will be at the Winningstad Theater at the Performing Arts Center tonight and tomorrow night bring their special brand of political and social satire mixed with silliness and sound effects.  Ah yes ... Firesign Theater ... like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist ... Let's join Phil Austin, Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman and David Ossman on the Funway! ... 7:30 pm, $45

Here's an updated classic from the guys:

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Help flip on the summer switch

I believe the more people get out to music tonight, the faster the rain will stop and summer will arrive. Really. Couldn't hurt to try .... so pick one and bring on the sunshine!

I saw a great band at The Woods with Tony Furtado on Tuesday - they are from South Carolina and go by the catchy name of Dangermuffin (have no idea why, but maybe I'll find out later). Rootsy and jazzy, fun and complex, jammy but tight ... this trio was very impressive. Check out their music and head over to the Kennedy School tonight for a free show as they make a stop on their McMenamin's Great Northwest Music Tour .... they'll even make it back here next week at Lola's Room ... 7 pm, no cover

In addition to some great Thursday standbyes - Lewi Longmire at the Laurelthirst (6 pm, no cover), Mel Brown at Jimmy Mak's (8 pm, $5), Lauren Sheehan at the Muddy Rudder (8 pm, no cover), you can catch Justin Power, Chris Beck and Huck Notari at the Ella Street Social Club (9 pm, $5), or the Garcia Birthday Band and Mexican Gunfight at the Mt Tabor Theater (9 pm, $6)

Richmond Fontaine, Scott McCaughey and Kevin McKinney will be at Dante's .... 9 pm, $12

... and it's a night of sublime chamber folk/pop from Portland's Loch Lomond and Seattle's Hey Marseille at Mississippi Studios ... 9 pm, $14

Remember: out to music tonight ... sun tomorrow! Come on folks, do your part ...

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Tony Furtado at The Woods tonight

You all have probably figured out that I am a big fan of Tony Furtado .... So I have to remind you all that Tony is playing the 2nd of three consecutive Tuesday shows tonight at The Woods.  8 pm, $7

If you haven't caught one of his shows, you're missing a very fine night of music .... tonight and next week are you last chances for a while to catch him and a great rotating slate of guests. This week features Casey Neill and Danger Muffin (cool trio out of South Carolina). But you never know who else might drop by.  Hope to see ya there!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Busy Thursday and a few for Friday

Thursday
A bunch of great music options to check out today ...

It's the Edgefield 99th Birthday Bash with music beginning at 3 pm .... including the Freak Mountain Ramblers, Chervona, Old Yellers, Vagabond Opera, Pancake Breakfast, and more.

Of course, Lewi Longmire holds down happy hour at the Laurelthirst.  If you haven't experience one of Lewi's Thursdays at the 'Thirst, you are missing one of the most consistently satisfying shows in Portland ... 6 pm, no cover

Stephanie Schneiderman is at Jimmy Mak's at 7 pm (no cover), followed by the Mel Brown B3 Band at 8 pm. ($5)

There's more jazz at The Goodfoot with Trio Subtonic and Excellent Gentlemen .... 9 pm, $6

LiveWire Radio wraps up their season with tonight's show at the Aladdin  .... 8 pm, $15
PDX Pop Now! has its 2010 Compilation CD release show tonight at Holocene ... 7 pm, $10 (all ages)

At Mississippi Studios it's music dark and soulful from worlds old and new with the Bay Area's Brass Menazeri and Mark Growden .... 9 pm, $12

Friday
On the radar for tomorrow, there's James Low's monthly  happy hour at the Laurelthirst ... 6 pm, no cover

It's time for Siren Nation's 5th Annual Dolly Parton Hoot Night at the Mission Theater .... 9 pm, $15

There'll be some high energy harmonica-fueled blues at Duff's with a CD release show for Franco & the Stingers, who will be joined by Jim Wallace & the Housecats .... 9:30 pm, $??

At the Kennedy School it's the farewell show for long-time Portland favorites, the X-Angels/Cowboy Angels. Fine article in today's Oregonian about the band .... there will be a bunch of special guests, too ...  7 pm, $15

Sweetjuice, Brian Odell and Angie Foster are at the White Eagle - it's a CD release show for Angie ... 9 pm, $6

Get out to some live music!