Saturday, October 30, 2010

Halloween weekend ... more music options

So ... the weekend continues with a lot of Halloween themed shows.  Enjoy!

If you missed it, here's Oregon Music News' highlights for the weekend.  Great choices listed like Vagabond Opera's Transylvania Voodoo Ball at the Secret Society, a Zydeco party at the Blue Monk with the New Iberians, and what sounds like a hoot  - the Night of the Living Strangetones at Jimmy Mak's.  But lots of good choices are noted.

For tonight, I'd like to add the Halloween Dance in the Crematorium at The Woods, a Rockabilly Halloween Ball at the Twilight Cafe, the 11th Annual Portland Erotic Ball at the Crystal Ballroom, the Midnight Serenaders at the Duff's Garage Halloween party, and the Spare Room's Halloween event with Brethren Thread.  There's probably more I'm sure you can find.

One non-Halloween themed show is at TaborSpace with the Retta Christie Trio - fine vocalist doing music at the crossroads of Western Swing and the Great American Songbook ... 7:30 PM, $10

And if you're heading out tomorrow ... Charlie Musselwhite will be at the Aladdin ... 8 PM. $22

Friday, October 29, 2010

Halloween weekend ... Friday's scary music choices

Not where to find scary music (not a theremin in site) ... just a scary number of choices this weekend.  This post will cover tonight .... next one the rest of the weekend.

Good choice to start the evening is Lisa & Her Kin at the Laurelthirst's happy hour ... 6 PM, no cover

It's a Lloyd Jones Struggle Extravaganza at Jimmy Mak's ... Lloyd's pulling out the stops - dressed sharp and with horns blasting, it will be a funky, bluesy good time at Portland's premier jazz club .... 8 PM, $10

The Kennedy School is throwing a Halloween party with the Freak Mountain Ramblers ... 8 PM, no cover Check the McMenamin's calendar for all their Halloween show options for tonight.

You can stay at the 'Thirst right through for Berthaline and the Love Brigade (a side project of pianist Steve Kerin, vocalist Kris Delane, and guitarist Jesse Young that has grown into a pretty formidable, and very entertaining, band) ... the night also has a Halloween theme, so costume up if so desired ... 9:30 PM, $??

Irish flute player, Hanz Araki has a CD release party tonight at the Secret Society Ballroom ... 8 PM, $??

The soul/jazz vocals of LaRhonda Steele can be heard tonight at Clyde's Prime Rib ... 9 PM, no cover

The Press Club on SE Clinton has the Pete Krebs Trio .... 8:30 PM, no cover

There's the I-5 Nine Halloween Dance Party at Duff's Garage.  The I-5 Nine are an allstar combo of blues players (some of my faves in town) that should have the place hoppin' ... 9 PM, $10

Over at The Woods, it's an evening of indie folk rock with The Parson Red Heads, Hunter Payne and James Apollo ... 9 PM, $10

The touring shows rolling in tonight that you might want to check out include Sufjan Stevens at the Schnitz (8 PM, $28-35 ... but reportedly sold out) and the Joan Osborne Acoustic Duo at the Aladdin (8 PM, $25)

Don't let the choices scare ya ... pick something and get outa da house!

 .... and speaking of Halloween music, Oregon Music News published their weekend picks here.



Saturday, October 23, 2010

Rainy weekend music ...

So the rain returns.  As it's not scheduled to leave until somewhere around July 1, 2011, guess it's time to get out the rain gear and remember that weather doesn't stop us from getting out to live music ... it should encourage us, as it's one of the best antidotes to the gloomy gray and drizzle.

So what's going on tonight and tomorrow?

How about some musical theater?  I don't usually point us in that direction, but there's two shows in town you might want to check out.  In The Heights finishes its week long run at the Keller Auditorium with four shows (two matinee and evening performances - 2 and 7:30 PM on Sat, 1 and 6:30 PM on Sun).  This is a Tony Award winning show with great reviews and a killer score.  Here's a review of the traveling production from its stop in Seattle .... tickets are $30 and up.

The other musical is at the Alberta Rose Theatre - Grievous Angel-The Legend of Gram Parsons.  I'd write this off as possibly hokey, it seems the production pulls off a fine homage to one of the seminal figures in what's variously been called country-rock, alt-country and the now all-encompassing Americana.  Whatever you call it, a look at Gram and singing partner Emmylou Harris as Gram was writing, performing and ultimately killing himself with drugs and alcohol at 26, might be both entertaining and insightful. Review here.  Performances are at 2 and 8:30 PM and tickets are $20.

What else?
Jazz and world music fans might want to check out Paris-based virtuoso bassist Avishai Cohen and his band at the Winningstad Theater ... this is part of the PDX Jazz Festival's ongoing series of shows through the year. Good preview at Oregon Music News. ... 7:30 PM, $33 and up

On the local front, Celilo, Morgan Geer and Matt Candenelli are at the Press Club (8:30 PM, no cover); Wendy & The Lost Boys are at the Hawthorne Theatre Pub (7:30 PM, no cover); The Lonesomes and the Chris Miller/James Sasser Band are at the White Eagle (9:30 PM, $6);  the ongoing farewell reunion shows at Satyricon continue tonight with Quasi and Pond (8 PM, $10); and Hillstomp is at Dante's (9 PM, $10) ...

Two other shows I want to mention are on Sunday and Monday ...

At The Woods on Sunday, there's Middle Eastern music with The Brothers of the Baladi in a Benefit for The 9th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days,  ... "a global network of events to promote peace and understanding through the language of music in a united stand against the culture of violence." ... 8 PM, $10 and all donations go to the Daniel Pearl World Music Days Foundation.

...and on Monday, Austin's Asleep At The Wheel roll into Portland with a show at the Aladdin Theater.  Keepers of the western swing flame, Ray Benson and his crew have been at for 40 years (albeit with an evolving cast of amazing players) and are always entertaining.  A long-time favorite of mine ... 8 PM, $25

Friday, October 22, 2010

A Friday with way too many great choices

[Had to correct this post ... I had the Fred Eaglesmith show down for tonight and it was last night! Whoops]


Dilemma.  So I want to watch the ALCS game tonight - maybe Yankees go down in six to the Rangers (making all my Texas buddies very happy).  But there's music I don't want to miss by being in front of the TV. Don't laugh ... it's the choices of a baseball fan this time of the year. But the music fan in me has an even bigger dilemma with the shows going on tonight.  A couple of my favorite singer-songwriters are in town, there are locals who are part of national act playing at home, a great LiveWire Radio show, Portland bands with some cool gigs .... argh!

The national act playing the Schnitz is She and Him (M.Ward and Zooey Deschanel) and their band includes local musical aces Mike Coykendall, Matt Brown and Scott McPhearson (Mike also engineered the She and Him recordings and produces M. Ward's) ... A fun show of sweet, sunny retro pop.  More about the show here at the Oregonian. Mike and his band will also open the show ... 8 PM, $35


The singer/songwriter show I referred to are Peter Mulvey/Jeffrey Faucault at The Woods. Mulvey and Faucault are both fine songwriters (Mulvey in particular for me), but can also brilliantly handle covers from other writers and traditional folk and blues.  They are old friends and can make the audience feel like that too .... Great to see them touring together.  Their show is at 7:30 PM and is $12.
Here's a bit of Peter doing a tune that resonates for me ...


On the local front, Rob Stroup and the Blame have a dynamite album release party planned at the Secret Society Ballroom that includes Chris Robley and The Minus 5. You can read more about the show at Oregon Music News ... 9 PM, $10

LiveWire Radio records tonight at the Alberta Rose Theatre.  Looks like another great evening of humor, conversation, music and an exciting assortment of guests. Check it out! .... 7:30 PM, $15/$30

Other fine choices tonight include Ron Rogers and the Wailing Wind at Hawthorne Theatre Pub (6 PM, no cover), Mark Hummel & Rusty Zinn are at Duff's Garage (9:30 PM, $??), Lewi Longmire (who is taking a little break from happy hours) and the Left Coast Roasters will be at the Laurelthirst with The Robinsons (9:30 PM, $6), Terry Robb is a Vino Vixens (8 PM, $5), and Rachel Taylor Brown and Leigh Marble are at the Press Club (8:30 PM, no cover)


Whatever you choose it's a home run ... see ya out and about!

Oh well ... here's a bit of Fred Eaglesmith - missed his show last night at Papa G's (which for some reason I had marked for tonight)...



Saturday, October 16, 2010

Saturday filled with tasty music morsels

As Reggie Houston says in response to why he calls one of his bands Box of Chocolates - you never know what you'll get.  Well, tonight you just might want to reach in and pick one ... or two if you can start early ... cause whatever you choose, it's going to satisfy.

Consider as a appetizer starting with the James Low Western Front at the Secret Society Ballroom ... 6 PM, no cover .... and the Secret Society has excellent libations and food ...

Speaking of Reggie Houston, he's doing a CD release show tonight at Jimmy Maks to celebrate his latest release, Homage 1... dedicated to the sounds of his native New Orleans and musical roots and life inspirations. In the liner notes he says,
 “In its entirety this album is a humble tribute to all the brave, talented and dedicated teachers, artists, civil rights activists and visionaries who dared to dream into existence a better world for all of us,” Houston writes in the notes about the album. “It is an homage to the people who brought me into this world and those who brought me up into the music and taught me to see and focus on that which is beautiful. It is a heart-felt thank you to those who created the rich heritage and culture I have been gifted with, and to those with whom I am still blessed to play and create, to learn from and to teach, and most certainly a tribute to every incredible person who contributed to this album.”

You can check out a track in this story from earlier this summer at Oregon Music News and read more about tonight's show here. This show will be tasty indeed!  ... 8 PM, $12

A Southern troubadour whose loyal following is rewarded every year or so when he swings through town, Steve Forbert is at the Alberta Rose Theatre tonight. Having to overcome being touted as the next Dylan hype in the 70s, this Mississippi native settled into a life of producing excellent songs and tireless touring.  One of those guys you really should catch if you haven't .... 8:30 PM, $20

Sublime vocals and piano ... that would be Rebecca Kilgore and Dave Frishberg tonight at Tony Starlight's as part of the PDX Jazz monthly series.  Rebecca is one of the finest vocalists you will ever hear and one of the prime keepers of the Great American Songbook. Frishberg is the ultimate accompaniest. Good story over at Oregon Music News ... 8 PM, $15

Of course, there's the two shows I've already mentioned - the house concert with Mary Flower and Alan Hagar, and Joyce Woodson at Artichoke Music.

The notable Canadian band, Broken Social Scene and Chicago's The Sea and Cake will be at the Crystal Ballroom ... 9 PM, $28

Other choices tonight include:  Retta Christie at The Blue Monk (9 PM, $10), Danny Barnes and The Piano Throwers at The Goodfoot (9 PM, $10), Drunken Prayer at Biddy McGraws (9:30 PM, no cover), and Jimmy Boyer, Billy Kennedy, Bingo, Tim Acott and Miss Jesse Spero at the Laurelthirst (9:30 PM, $7)

I've probably missed some, but you can't cover every piece in the big box of chocolates ... indulge your musical tastes and get out to some live music!

Western singer/songwriter Joyce Woodson at Artichoke Music tonight

Sometimes I like to pass on recommendations from folks in town whose musical tastes I respect. Thanks to Terry and DonnaLynn Davis (who many of you know - they are musicians who host a popular house concert series ... and will open this show) for the heads up on what looks like another fine Saturday evening music choice ...

Joyce Woodson is a great singer-songwriter of both Western and Folk music. She's ridin' in from San Juan Capistrano, and will be appearing at Artichoke Music's Back Gate stage (3130 SE Hawthorne). We're honored to be her opening act, and will share some familiar songs and some you may not have heard.  We'd love to see some of our friends there. Joyce is a Western treasure; you won't be disappointed. Show starts at 8:00. $10 at the door.

 "Joyce Woodson's singing and songwriting are fresh and clean and clear as a mountain stream. Her tender, lyrical music is the best of contemporary western music and brings out the best in all of us." -- Ranger Doug Green, of Riders in the Sky


Friday, October 15, 2010

House concert Saturday night - Mary Flower & Alan Hagar

Two fine Portland pickers - Mary Flower and Alan Hagar - are joining forces at an intimate house concert tomorrow ... there are still some tickets left ... and if you call today, they are still $15 .... if you wait until tomorrow, it will be $20. 

Here's the details:
7:00pm / All Ages
Where: Clackamas, OR   (map)
$15/$20 day of show
call for tickets: 503-804-7885, or better - text a message to 503-771-2154 with your name / phone number and you'll get a call back.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Thursday and Friday

Gotta be fast ... kinda busy and not sure if I'm going to even get out to music in the next few days, but I've got a few for you to check out.

Thursday
A few fine choices tonight including ...
Keyboardist Bruce Katz has blayed with a who's who of jazz, blues and soul and tonight brings his band to Duff's Garage ... any piano players that are off tonight will be there ... he is seriously that good ... 9:30 PM, $?? (probably $10)

Things will be all funked up at the Goodfoot with Philly's Phunkestra and Seattle's Staxx Brothers ... time to sweat ... 9 PM, $7

And, it's the Kennedy School's 13th Annual Celebration with music beginning at 4 PM.... and headlined by the Boulder Acoustic Society (7 PM) ... free

Friday
Looking for some adventurous sounds? Seattle composer, pianist and electronic musician Wayne Horvitz returns to Portland with his acoustic ensemble, Sweeter Than The Day ... and opening the evening will be Portland quintet Blue Cranes ... 7 PM, $12

It will be an evening with Misty River at the Alberta Rose Theatre ... 8 PM, $17

Lloyd Jones and his organ trio is at Halibuts on Alberta Street ... 8 PM, no cover

And the Ascetic Junkies will be doing a CD release at the Doug Fir. Jared Mees & The Grown Children and The Angry Orts round out a fine indie band bill ... 9 PM, $10

Friday, October 8, 2010

Here comes the weekend ...

Friday
Singer/songwriter touring troubadour heaven for a lot of folks (and choices to make) with Greg Brown and Bo Ramsey at the Aladdin (8 PM, $30) and the combination of Lucy Kaplansky and Tracy Grammer at the Alberta Rose (8:30 PM, $25). Can't go wrong with either and all have their very dedicated fan bases.  Have fun choosing!

Triple play of rockabilly, Cajun/zydeco and honky-tonk country at Duff's Garage tonight with Seattle's Roy Kay Trio, the New Iberians, and Lisa & Her Kin .... time to two-step, swing and generally bop around the dance floor ... 9 PM, $??

Like a little country swing with outstanding vocals? The Retta Christy Trio (w/Dave Frishberg-piano, Lee Wuthenow-sax) is at O'Connors in Multnomah Village ... 8 PM, $10

The Doug Fir has their 6th Anniversary show featuring The Dimes, The Blakes and Celilo ... 9 PM, $6

James Low, Audie Darling and Mbilly at the Press Club ought to be pretty sweet show too ... 8:30 PM, no cover

Son Jack Jr and Michael Wilde will be in town and at Vino Vixens (they have been having a great series of Friday night, mostly acoustic blues shows ... check it out ... 8 PM, $??

And the Freak Mountain Ramblers are "In the House" at Jim Flynn's house party ... contact Jim for details - 503-784-6824 or jimflynn AT realtytrust.com. Music starts at 7 PM. 

Saturday
Absolutely the most fun show of the night will be at the Doug Fir with From the Land of Ice and Snow: The Songs of Led Zeppelin, which celebrates the release of a double CD of the same name. Check out the list of artists who contributed to the project and that will be her for this performance ... 9 PM, $10

This weekend is the annual Wordstock, so that means LiveWire! will be doing their Wordstock Extravaganza show at the Aladdin. This is always one of their best ... 8 PM, $25

It's also time for the annual Oregon Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Roseland Theater. There's a silent auction and VIP tickets. More about the show here .... 7 PM, $30 ($90 VIP)

3 Leg Torso is at Tony Starlight's ... 8 PM, $13

Reggie Houston is at Brasserie Montmartre ... 9 PM, no cover

Okay ... not get out this weekend and catch some great music around town!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Quick hits for tonight

There's a fun show at Duff's Garage with The Knuckleheads (an allstar Portland blues band) and special guests Paris Slim and Steve Kerin. Should be satisfying musical mayhem ... 9 PM, $??

Of course there's Lewi Longmire doing his weekly rockin' happy hour at the Laurelthirst ... 6 PM, no cover

Stephanie Schneiderman does her bi-weekly set at Jimmy Mak's (7 PM, no cover), followed by the Mel Brown B3 Organ Band (8 PM, $5)

Jerry Joseph and Wally Ingram are at the Alberta Rose Theatre (9 PM, $12), and the Corin Tucker Band is at the Aladdin (8 PM, $18) ... Both shows are tour stops to support new CDs for the artists.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

HSB10 - Sunday

Back in Portland and thought I'd post a few parting words about Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.  The 10th Anniversary HSB was one of the coolest festival experiences I've ever had.  It's hard to believe this is a free event that is financed by one person - Warren Hellman.  A banjo playing, music junkie, multi-millionaire who 10 years ago decided to put a festival together - essentially throwing a really big party in Golden Gate Park. One that has grown. Really big. Six stages, almost 100 acts, 600 thousand people ... and very few problems. Rules: be nice, be patient, make room for others, no smoking tobacco, have a great time.  Outstanding music. Period. Some acts have performed every year (as Emmylou said, as long as Warren puts it on, she'll be there - already with 10 years perfect attendance), others made their debut this year. And you never know what musical collaborations might occur. Acts don't come in, play a set and leave. If they can, they schedule themselves to hang around San Francisco all weekend - you could watch them enjoying themselves along with the rest of us. There were sets at clubs at night and after-parties ...

I think this is now on my list of must-attend events (ya think?) ... And I got to spend the weekend with some of my favorite old friends who live in Bay Area (where I resided for 12 years) and new - some of my closest boogie buddies from Portland who made the trek down.  It was a blast.

So here's a few photos from Sunday ... the highlights for me on the last day were Randy Newman (performing a set of his "greatest hits"), Doc Watson (hard to believe he's 87 - sounded in great form), Nick Lowe (was right in front for Nick and wasn't ever tempted to leave to hear anyone else - even with Patti Smith going on at same time), and ending with a wonderful Emmylou Harris set (oh, and caught the last Avett Bros tune at their stage to cap it all)....

Randy Newman ... one man at piano, huge audience, smiles all around
Nick Lowe ... What's so funny, 'bout peace, love and under-standing?
This was the view from the back of the crowd at the Star stage during Elvis Costello's set!

Tuesday and Wednesday music picks

Time to refocus on what's going on locally after being at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass ...

Tuesday
Speaking of HSB, two acts that were there over the weekend are here today -
Hot Tuna will be at the Aladdin. Really loved their set at HSB ... should be a great show tonight ... 8 PM, $35
... and The Felice Brothers will be at the Doug Fir tonight ... Check 'em out ... 9 PM, $16

Tony Furtado will be back for an evening at the Secret Society Ballroom with a great group of guests - The Coal Men (doing their songs and backing Tony), Scott Law, and Mary Flower. Should be quite an evening!.... 8 PM, $8


Wednesday
For happy hour you might want to check out Catherine Feeny and Come Gather 'Round Us at the Laurelthirst ... 6 PM, no cover

Out on the westside you can catch Chris Miller and James Sasser (some of the best country music you can hear around Portland) at the Rock Creek Tavern ... 7 PM, no cover

Cowboy Junkies and the Watson Twins make a tour stop tonight at the Aladdin ... 8 PM, $35

Looks like a fine show at the Alberta Rose Theatre (really, you have to check out this venue if you haven't been there yet) with Victoria Williams, Marvin Etzioni, and locals Lewi Longmire and Annalisa Tornfelt opening and backing Victoria ... 8 PM, $12

Good choices ... get out to some music!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Hardly Strictly Day 2

Wow ... this is pretty unbelievable ... can't imagine a better run - logistically, musically - event - particularly when it was probably the biggest crowd I've ever seen at a festival.  Seriously impressive. Quick highlight - Trombone Shorty jumpstarting the day with a killer set that had the crowd dancing at the Star Stage at 11 am ... caught partial sets of Band of Heathens, Hot Tuna (sounding excellent), Guy Clark, songwriters (Steve Earle, Robert Earl Keen, John Doe, David Olney), Richard Thompson (guitargasmic) ... then full set of Buddy Miller which was highlight of the day for me.  Variously joined by Jim Lauderdale, Emmylou Harris, and Patty Griffin and with a band that included Stuart Duncan on fiddle and Joel Guzman on accordion, he delivered a really satisfying set .... couldn't be better. Ended the day with Steve Earle and the Dukes, who just rocked the Banjo Stage til the sun (not that we could see it) was down.  Wow ... and one more day left - planning to catch Elvis Costello, Randy Newman, Nick Lowe, Emmylou and we'll see who else might work in ... pretty amazing.





Saturday, October 2, 2010

Day 1 at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Quick highlights ...
Arriving early and running into the soundcheck of The Dukes of September Rhythm Review (Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald, Donald Fagin ...with an killer band) ...
The Waybacks with Sarah Dugas from the Duhks with a great verson of Dylan's Its Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) ...
Patty Griffin's entire set  ...included Emmylou Harris harmony (on Little Fire)
Spending the last 90 minutes catching pieces of the sets at all three stages - the subdudes, Dukes of September, and T Bone Burnett .... T Bone pretty much defers to the great group surrounding him and a host of special guests - working with the Punch Brothers (Chris Theile, etc) most of this day. Catching the last half hour was a treat - with Steve Earle and Elvis Costello coming out for a bunch of tunes ... one of those "only at a festival like this" moment ...

Now gotta get ready to meet folks back at the park ... Trombone Shorty at 11 am!




Friday, October 1, 2010

Weekend music

Though I'm in San Francisco this weekend for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, I do have some small pangs of regret for not being around for some fine local Portland music this weekend .... small pangs ... will get over them. But if you're in town, there are a few shows I'll point out.

Friday
Will always recommend the monthly first Friday happy hour at the Laurelthirst with the James Low Western Front ... great way to start the weekend. James' great songs and a band that's shaping into one of his best combos .... 6 PM, no cover

Stephanie Schneiderman will be doing a full band show at The Woods ... Steph has a bunch of (excellent) new songs from her upcoming album ... Seattle's Two Loons For Tea will open .... 9 PM, $10

Duff's will be rocking with Rich Layton & The Troublemakers and The Twangshifters.  Rich and the band have a great new recording coming out soon ... 9 PM, $??

If it's jazz you're seeking, head to Jimmy Mak's for the Alan Jones Sextet.  Nice to see drummer Jones playing in town with his own project (Alan travels the world as a tremendously in-demand drummer) .... check out the story on Oregon Music News.

How about Irish music?  Check out one of the most popular bands in the world on the Irish music scene, Lunasa at the Alberta Rose Theatre. One of our local celtic music favorites, Hanz Araki, opens ... 8:30 PM, $25

Saturday
Down at the Trails End in Oregon City, it's Lloyd Jones and band with special guest Paris Slim. Lloyd promises to set the place on fire with some incendiary licks from two of Portland's best guitar slingers .... fire hoses standing by ... 9 PM, $??

Tough choice between that and The Strangetones at Duff's  ... 9:30 PM, $??

Just a few shows that jumped out at me this weekend .... enjoy whatever you do and I'll try to give a little taste or recap of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass  ....