Wednesday, September 28, 2011

..quick notes from XMass..

New housemate's band, Wizard Boots, plays Kelly's Olympian Knife Shop this Thursday. Haven't heard them yet myself, but the name cracks me up! On Oct. 7, I will be doing the cross town dash - first Lost Lander (Matt Sheehy's and Brent Knopf's new band) will preview their up coming CD and opening for Loch Lomond at Mississippi Studios, then Richmond Fontaine's record release at the newly re-furbished Star Theatre on NW 6th across from The Roseland. The Oregon Music Hall of Fame gala is Oct. 8th at a new location, The Newmark Theatre on SW Broadway....and with Johnny and the Distractions for us old rockers. Oct. 12, Baaba Maal at the Alberta Rose, brings music and stories from Mali.

Friday, September 23, 2011

The Joys of working many jobs...

..instead of one good one, is that I have been too tired to even think about adding my two cents here..and trust me, that ain't easy for an Italian girl...but here's is something to add to the dance card for Saturday, Sept. 24 - Mango Madness African Dance Party, a benefit for Ko-Falen Cultural Center in Bamako, Mali. My friends, Baba Wague Diakite and Ronna Neuenshwander, local ceramic artists, started this center in Wague's native Mali to provide a resource for native artisans and visiting artists to educate, inspire and preserve the arts in Mali. It's at The Plant, 939 SE Alder, 7 PM to midnite, tickets at the door or at www.ko-falen.org. Music by Jujuba, DJS, there will be food, no-host bar, African market and a raffle and silent auction. African dancing and helping a good cause - what's not to love?

Also, a little bird has told me that Paula Sinclair will be one of the openers for John Doe at Dante's on Oct. 22....

Quick weekend picks

It's officially autumn, but we can squeeze out a couple more days of nice weather with some music to accompany ...

Friday
Haggard and Kristofferson. Icons of Country/Americana. Songwriters' songwriters. Two who've done music their way for a long time.  Tonight at the Schintz is a great opportunity to be in the presence of the best ... 8 pm, $48

The other big touring show tonight is James Blake at the Wonder Ballroom - simultaneously sonically complex and minimalist R&B/soul ... 8 pm, $20

But for a more throwback soul sound out of Oakland, CA, it's the California Honeydrops at Duff's ... 9 pm, $10

Live Wire Radio! is live at the Alberta Rose tonight ... 7:30 pm, $20

Thara Memory's Superband is at Jimmy Mak's ... 8 pm, $10

Ben Darwish's funk/afrobeat band, Commotion is at Ted's @ Berbati's Pan ... more at Oregon Music News ... 9 pm, $8

The King Louie Trio is at Halibut's ... 8 pm, no cover

The Stolen Sweets are at Tony Starlight's ... 8 pm, $15


Saturday
It's Octoberfest at the McMenamins' Grand Lodge in Forest Grove, and includes an excellent band from NY that's been doing the McMenamin's grand tour of venues - The DEFiBULATORs headline at 7 pm, but music starts at noon ... free

There's an excellent double-bill at the Secret Society Ballroom with Rich Layton & The Troublemakers and Ron Rogers & the Wailing Wind ... As Rich puts it, "Barbed wire meets backwoods bayou when these two bands transform the ballroom into a rockin’ Saturday night roadhouse."  ... 8 pm, $5

Jonathan Richman is at the Aladdin ... 8 pm, $15

Bon Iver is the last of the outdoor shows at Edgefield ... it's sold out, too ... 6:30 pm, $37

The Linda Hornbuckle Band is at Jimmy Mak's ... 8 pm, $10

The Strange Tones are at Duff's ... Crime-a-billy time! ... 9 pm, $??

Ezra Hollbrook and Jacob van Auken are at the Press Club ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Vie de Boheme Winery has Where's Danny? ... 8 pm, $5

Whitey Morgan & the 78s, the Tumblers, and the Water Tower Boys are at Dante's ... 9:30 pm, $12

OK ... get yourselves out to some live music ... it's good for you!

BTW ... my plan for next week is to head down to SF for the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival ... so I probably won't post ... but check the blog in case Marychris decides to throw some options your way.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

James Low Kickstarter Campaign

Music artists fan-funding their projects has become an extremely viable way to get the funds necessary to record, mix, market, press, etc., a new recording (not cheap to do if you want to do it right).  If you follow my blog, you know that James Low is one of those artists in town that I think should be know far and wide.  I have had the chance to preview the tracks of his new CD, Whiskey Farmer, and think it's the best recording he has produced. Please think about joining his Kickstarter campaign to help fund the final pieces necessary to properly do the release of this outstanding recording.

BTW, there's a very cool video of the title track at the site too ... check it out ...

Thanks for your attention!

    - Jim


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Friday, September 16, 2011

Weekend picks ... Friday and Saturday

Don't have time for a long post, but here's what I see for the weekend ...

Friday
Happy hour music?  My pick would be Ron Rogers at Hawthorne Theater Pub  ... 6 pm, no cover

Casey Neill continues his week's residency at Al's Den ... tonight with Scott McCaughey guesting ... tomorrow with members of the Norway Rats ... 7 pm, no cover

The house will be rockin' at Jim Flynn's In the House with Thad Beckman ... BYOB, etc ... music starts at 7 pm. Contact Jim for details ... 503-784-6824

The always entertaining David Bromberg is at the Aladdin ... a very cool bonus is that Ollabelle opens ... 8 pm, $20

After 30 years, the de-evolution continues (obviously matching the state of American politics) with Devo at the Crystal Ballroom ... understand that their live shows are really good ... 8 pm, $40

Rich Layton & the Troublemakers will be semi-unplugged at Vino Vixens ... 8 pm, $5

DK Stewart (quartet) will be at Halibuts ... 8 pm, no cover   ... and DK (with Sextet) will be a Duff's on Saturday night.

The Freak Mountain Ramblers are at the Laurelthirst ... 9:30 pm, $??



Saturday
The McMenamins celebrate half-way to St Pat's Day at most of their venues today - any excuse to book a bunch of bands (some even play Celtic music) and hold a bunch of fun frivolity - much of it outside ... find schedules and details on the McMenamins calendar.

The Cascade Blues Association holds their 25th Anniversary concert at the Melody Ballroom, featuring Chad Rupp & The Ruppshakers, Lloyd Jones Struggle, Karen Lovely, and the Robbie Laws Band ... 6 pm, $15 (or save $5 and buy a ticket with the Puddletown Blues, Vol. 1 CD as a $25 package)

Speaking of anniversaries, Artichoke Music holds its 40th Anniversary Celebration at the Alberta Rose Theatre with a host of notable Portland tunesmiths ... 8 pm, $25

At the Laurelthirst it's a triple bill of Drunken Prayer, the James Low Western Front, and Fleur Jack (a band from New Zealand) ... come out and show the Kiwis some Laurelthirst love ... 9 pm, $??

Soul Vaccination is at Jimmy Mak's ... 8 pm, $10

AND ... if you feel like heading to Astoria, Judy Collins will be at the Liberty Theater as part of Astoria's bicentennial week ... Sunday, too.  Kenny White (wonderful singer/songwriter/pianist who some of you caught with Tony Furtado last year) opens ... Saturday at 7 pm, Sunday at 4 pm ... $30 - 60

There's always more, so do check the local music calendars for complete info .... 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Midweek picks ... Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday
Casey Neill contines his week's residency at Al's Den in the Crystal Hotel (thru Saturday) ... Matt Brown joins him tonight ... 7 pm, no cover

Colin Hay will be the man at work at the Alberta Rose ... show is sold out, but if you really want to go, show up early and be patient ... 7:30 pm, $30

Swing Papillion will django-ize the Press Club ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Fine jazz with pianist Gordon Lee and Duncan Branom, Ed Bennett @ Vie de Boheme ... 8 pm, $7

Sublime vocals of Nancy King can be heard at Touche ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Thursday
Happy hour music?  Catch the Portland Playboys at Duff's or Lewi Longmire at the Laurelthirst ... 6 pm

Bob Shoemaker is at the White Eagle ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Thad Beckman (back in town after extensive summer touring) and Kurtis Piltz will be at O'Connor's ... 8 pm, $5

Cecilio & Kapono -  a "household name throughout Hawaii and the Pacific" bring their island sounds to the Aladdin ... 8 pm, $30

Memphis-based singer/songwriter/bassist Amy LaVere is at Mississippi Studios ... 9 pm, $10   ... and she'll be at Music Millennium at 6 pm for a free in-store performance.

It will be a delightful night of Celtic music with Molly's Revenge and Coleen Raney at the Secret Society ... 9 pm, $7

Another fine singer/songwriter, Austin-based Matt the Electrician, is at the The Woods ... 9 pm, $12

Galactic's drummer Stanton Moore is in town with his trio tonight at Dante's ... 9 pm, $15

Friday, September 9, 2011

A few more live music picks for the weekend ...

With all of the weekend's massive musical activities around town (see yesterday's post) ... here's a few more options for music through Sunday ...

BTW, here's another good preview/recommendation for MFNW from Ryan White at the Oregonian about two prominent Portland bands at the festival - Blind Pilot and Blitzen Trapper - releasing new CDs.

Friday 
Woodbrain plays the Laurelthirst happy hour ... 6 pm, no cover

Mary Flower will do an in-store performance at Music Millennium (see below about her CD release show on Saturday) ... 6 pm, free

Live Wire! Radio records tonight at the Alberta Rose Theatre with featured musical guests Blind Pilot ... 7:30 pm, $20

Sara Gwen and Scott Weddle duo is at Mississippi Pizza ... 9 pm, $??

There's a Tribute to Patsy Cline at Duffs ... 9 pm, $??

The Pete Krebs Swing Trio is at the Press Club ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Saturday
One of my favorite musicians in town, the internationally respected blues/roots guitarist Mary Flower, will do a CD release show at the Secret Society.  Each track on Misery Loves Company features Mary in a musical duet with a range of partners including Curtis Salgado, Brian Oberlin, Colin Linden, Dave Frishberg, Johnny Connolly, and more.  Here's Mary talking with Tom D'Antoni of Oregon Music News about the recording  ... Check it out at the Secret Society - there'll be some surprise guests who'll join Mary, too ... 8 pm, $10

The Widmer Bros Octoberfest will have music all day, including Dr. Theopolis. The Quick & Easy Boys, Empty Space Orchestra, Hey Marseilles, and Colin Lake & Wellbottom ... free (the music, not the beer)

Speaking of afternoon music ... check out the schedule for Sat and Sunday at the Muddy Boot Festival ...

Wendy & the Lost Boys do their monthly Saturday at the Hawthorne Theater Lounge .... 6 pm, no cover

Catch one of the very best songwriters on the planet at Edgefield ... John PrineAni Defranco opens ... 6:30 pm, $42

The Robbie Laws Band is at Duff's  ... 9:30 pm, $??

Alan Hagar is at the Muddy Rudder ... 8 pm, no cover

Sunday
Casey Neill begins a week residency at Al's Den ... with different guests each night ... 7 pm, no cover

Thursday, September 8, 2011

The start of a big weekend of music in Portland

Like the finale of a fireworks display, this almost-the-end-of-summer weekend showers Portland music-goers with brilliant sparks and sunbursts... the options are numerous and it's going to be tough to pick ... but don't sit home - there's just too many really fine choices ...

Portland's biggest music festival of the year kicked off last night  - MusicFestNW runs through Sunday and provides some of the best of the weekend - check out the schedule, decide whether you want a wristband or individual event tickets, and get going. The lineup includes local and touring artists from multiple genres. I'm not going to single out any particular show or artist, but Oregon Music News has a good preview and recommendations ....

Another festival going on this weekend is the annual Muddy Boot Festival in SE Portland .... the focus is on sustainability, but there's always a solid lineup of bands playing on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.  Admission is $5 per day in advance or $7 at door.  This year's include Tapwater, Colleen Raney, Casey Neill, Brethren Thread, the Freak Mt Ramblers, and more ... check it out!

If you're in the mood to head out of town this weekend, the always wonderful and nationally-respected Sisters Folk Festival starts Friday.

This weekend there's also LiveWire Radio at the Alberta Rose, Widmer Octoberfest, John Prine and Ani Defranco at Edgefield, Mary Flower's CD release at the Secret Society ...

But first, what's notable tonight?  Here's my trifecta pick:

The Secret Society Ballroom celebrates it's Three and a Third Anniversary tonight with Pete Krebs & the Portland Playboys, and the Stolen Sweets .... music from 6 pm until midnight ... no cover.

Vocalist Kelly Shannon celebrates the release of her new CD, Temptation, at Touche. Story and review at OMN .... 8 pm, $5

Two outstanding singer/songwriters make a great double-bill at the Alberta Rose - Mary Gauthier and Slaid Cleaves. Gauthier will also be at Sisters this weekend and is touring to support her latest critically-acclaimed CD, The Foundling. Cleaves is one of my favorite Austin-based tunesmiths.  With both, it's songwriting of the highest caliber. Highly recommend this one!  ... 8 pm, $18

I'll follow up about the rest of the weekend in my next post ....



Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Free Tix!

I have two tickets for Slaid Cleaves and Mary Gauthier at Alberta Rose tomorrow, Thursday, that a friend sent from Seattle because she can't make it down. If you are interested, call me at 503-516-6090. See you at TBA Fest or Music Fest NW!
XMass

OMN’s guide to MFNW 2011 « Oregon Music News

Here's Oregon Music News' guide to Musicfest NW ... five days of music begins today!



Friday, September 2, 2011

Live music picks for Labor Day weekend

September already?!!

This is a relatively quiet weekend before Music Fest NW (here's Oregon Music New's guide to the fest to check out) and a few other big shows coming next week. But there's still some great choices for enjoying live music ...

Friday
It is first Friday, so that means the James Low Western Front at the Laurelthirst happy hour. I've been listening to a preview of James' new CD (targeted for release in the Fall) - probably his strongest recording since Mexiquita in 2000 ... this one leans towards a more country sound (which I know will please a lot of long-time fans), but there's another recording in the works that will focus on Low's piano-driven tunes ... two sides of a very talented coin ... you can hear both sides tonight ... 6 pm, no cover

Lloyd Jones will be at Vino Vixens ... Lloyd's latest CD of acoustic blues, Highway Bound, is getting great reviews around the country and the tunes from it will be on display tonight ... 8 pm, $5

Stir the roux and put on your dancin' shoes 'cause it's Atomic Gumbo time at Duff's.  Steve Kerin and friends will keep the feet moving with a tasty mix of Louisiana flavored tunes - New Orleans rhythm and blues, piano boogie, Cajun two-steps, and a dash of Zydeco make a pot full of big fun ... 9 pm, $7

One of the premier jazz organists in the world - Joey DeFrancesco - drops into town at Jimmy Mak's tonight. He's a monster and will be playing in a trio with the fabulous Mel Brown on drums and Dan Faehnle on guitar ... more at Oregon Music News ... 8 pm, $17

Carbon Leaf will be at Mississippi Studios ... story about the band at OMN ... 8 pm, $15

Caleb Klauder is at the Spare Room ... 9 pm, $??

Guitarist Jason Okamoto is at the Secret Society Lounge ... 9 pm, no cover

Saturday
Knuckleheads Bar hosts a Blues Festival this weekend that includes Kevin Selfe and the Tornadoes and Franco & the Stingers ...

It's a swinging evening at the Secret Society with Pete Krebs and the Portland Playboys at 6 pm, then Anna Paul & The Bearded Lady, Eric Stern, and Russell Bruner at 8:30 ... no cover for either set!

Swing's the thing at Duff's too with the Bridgetown Sextet ... 9 pm, $??

...and you can swing the blues with DK Stewart and band in the courtyard of the Portland Art Museum. Dancin' With the Cars is part of the final week of museum's wonderful Allure of the Automobile show (which I highly recommend seeing) ... 7 pm, $10 or $15 with museum admission included

OK .... get out, enjoy the sunshine while we have it, then out for an evening of live music!