Giving thanks for great live music - this week's picks

Don't have to say much about how thankful we all should be about the amazing musical community in this city.  The level of quality of live music in Portland is recognized nationally and deservedly.  We should be thankful so many wonderful artist are willing to play on some nights for way too little money and to way too few people. So get out to some live music - it will support the artists, support the venues, and do your soul some good ...

This could be my only post of this weekend, so I'll hit the highlights of the Thanksgiving week/weekend ...

Wednesday
Always seems to be a Thanksgivings eve of some pretty cool shows in town ...
Blind Pilot does a hometown show in the midst of touring to support their fine new CD, We Are The Tide, at the Crystal ... Point Juncture, WA opens ... 8 pm, $20

Steve Wilkinson is mid-way through his week at Al's Den ...tonight with guest Rob Stroup ... 7pm, no cover

Swing Papillon is at the Press Club .... 8:30 pm, no cover

Nancy King and Steve Christofferson will be at Touche ... 8:30 pm, $5

Redwood Son are at the White Eagle ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Jay Koder & the Soulmates are at Vie de Boheme .... 8 pm, $5

Lewi Longmire and Denver will play to a packed pre-TG crowd at the Laurelthirst ... 9 pm, $7

Billy D & The Hoodoos will be on the west side at the Rock Creek Tavern ... 9 pm, no cover

Candye Kane will be bringin' the blues mama blues to Duff's Garage ... 9:30 pm, $12

And now on to a few shows of note for your post-TG weekend ...

Friday
Cascade Zydeco Association dance with the Bay Area's Mark St Mary at PPAA (618 SE Alder Street) ... 8 pm (dance lesson at 7), $15

At Mississippi Studios Tony Furtado and band will be doing a live video recording for what will be a DVD release. Tony raised almost $20k via Kickstarter to fund this project ... 9 pm, $15

Tracy Grammer makes a quick and welcome trip into town for a gig tonight at The Space in Beaverton ... 8 pm, $??

Fernando is throwing a fundraiser to finish his new CD at the Blue Monk ... 9 pm, $10-20 sliding scale

Miss Michael Jodell and Matt Brown will play the Press Club ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Paris Slim is back in town and at Duffs tonight (and at Halibuts on Sat) ... 9:30 pm, $?

Saturday

The show that I really want to feature this weekend is The Next Waltz at the Alberta Rose Theatre.  Putting this together has been a labor of love for local songwriter and music journalist Jeff Rosenberg (along with about 60 contributing musicians). It is a celebration of the 35th anniversary of The Band's final concert at Winterland that was immortalize in Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz.  To raise money for the Jeremy Wilson Foundation and the Oregon Food Bank, an all-star contingent of Portland's amazing music community are coming together to play all of the songs (and in order) that The Band and their friends performed in that legendary concert.  You can check out a full description of the show here. ... 8 pm, $17 advance/$20 door



And if you're feeling blues and really need to dance, check out the Lloyd Jones Quartet at the Trails End Saloon ... 9 pm, $?? .... or the Robbie Laws Band at Duff's  ... 9:30 pm, $??

If The Next Waltz wasn't happening, I'd probably check out three very popular roots rock bands from 90s Portland - Haymaker, Thrillbilly, and Gravelpit - who will do a reunion show at the Someday Lounge ... 9 pm, $??

Here's a little preview of one of the many tunes you'll hear on Saturday ...

Saturday and Sunday picks

Going to be quick ... already Saturday afternoon!

If you're reading this before 3 pm and want to catch a taste of The Next Waltz show that will be happening a week from today at the Alberta Rose Theatre, there's a free 45 minute performance of some of tunes at Music Millennium at 3 pm today. 

Speaking of the Alberta Rose, tonight they host an evening of Bohemian style dance, music, and comedy with SwingTime & Wanderlust Circus: A Night At The Moulin Rouge ... looks like a pretty cool show (plus there will be a matinee of the show tomorrow ... 8 pm, $20

Another excellent show tonight is the Dirty Martini, Stephanie Schneiderman, McKinley, and A Simple Colony show at the Secret Society Ballroom ... DM doesn't perform together very often, so it's a great opportunity to catch Steph, McKinley, and Lara Michell separately and ensemble in one night ... 9 pm, $12

Artichoke Community Music has guitar wizards Doug Smith and Brooks Robertson ... this looks like a fantastic show ... 8 pm, $18

The Devil Makes Three are at the Roseland Theater  ... 9 pm, $20

Noah & The Whale are at the Wonder Ballroom ... 9 pm, $18

Rio Con Brio will be at Tabor Space  ... 8 pm, $15

Meester Meester (a 3 Leg Torso duo) and the Old Yellers will pack the cozy Press Club ... 8:30 pm, no cover
 
The Quick and Easy Boys will be rockin' at The Goodfoot ... 9 pm, $8

DK Stewart will be at Duff's Garage ... 9:30 pm, $??

Sunday
I mentioned this the other day, but one of the best of Texas' songwriters (actually one of the best from anywhere) is in town for a solo show at the Aladdin - Joe Ely.  Deep writing, story songs both tight and expansive, passionate deliver, and a sense of humor shine through Ely's significant body of work (and his judicious choice of tunes from other amazing writers) ... really, if you've never seen Joe, you should head over to the Aladdin ... 8 pm, $25

The legendary and venerable BB King will be at the Keller Auditorium ... time to go ridin' with the king ... Curtis Salgado opens ...   8 pm, $43-$85

Steve Wilkinson begins a week residency at Al's Den at the Crystal Hotel ... 7 pm, no cover

Some great show choices for tonight!

What a great evening last night at the Old Church!  Raised a whole lot of cash to help out Reggie Houston ... and everyone had a ton of fun in the process.  But now on to the weekend ... or in this post, at least tonight!

Friday

One that is probably way under your radar is songwriter/musician/engineer Steve Postell at Plews Brews in St. John's. Check out is work on his site ... his solo work and his work with a myriad of artists -  he is David Crosby's music director and band mate, Jennifer Warnes music director and band mate, Jackson Browne's go-to guy ... one of those people you never heard of who seems to be connected to everyone. Miriam German (of Miriams Well) opens (with Steve on guitar) .... 9 pm, no cover

Start your evening early with Ron Rogers & the Wailing Wind at the Hawthorne Theater ... and you can welcome Ron back from his triumphant tour of the Netherlands ... 6 pm, no cover

Evan Way of the Parson Red Heads has been holding down a residency week at Al's Den at the Crystal Hotel ... continues through tomorrow night ... 7 pm,  no cover

Thad Beckman and Kurtis Piltz are at Vino Vixens ... good chance to catch Thad on breaks between his touring with Tom Russell ... 8 pm, $5

Live Wire Radio! records tonight at the Alberta Rose Theatre with musical guests Fruit Bats and Crooked Fingers ... 7:30 pm, $20

Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside do a hometown show at the Wonder Ballroom ... 9 pm, $15

At Mississippi Studios it's the very trad country sounds of the impressive Elizabeth Cook ... 9 pm, $12

At the Secret Society it's the Caleb Klauder Country Band and WC Beck and the Valiant Swains (CD Release show) ... 9 pm, $12

Rock buoyantly with the My Oh Mys, Redray Fraiser, and Jeremy Wilson at the Ash Street Saloon ... 9:30 pm, $8

It's classic country and swing with Los Cowtones at Beaterville ... 8 pm, $3

Mississippi Pizza has Funk Shui and San Franciso's Con Brio  ... 9 pm, $8

Told you there's lots of great stuff tonight!  More for Saturday and Sunday soon ...

Reggie Houston Benefit Tonight at the Old Church!

I mentioned this in my blog post on Tuesday, but wanted to remind everyone that this is tonight.

Hope you can drop by - great music, food, and silent auction items to help raise money to help Reggie. 

Read more about it here. Hope to see you tonight!

Two benefit events you should know about this week

The role of music as a tool to raise money for causes that are meaningful to me is close to my heart - many of you know that. So I want to let you know about three events - two this week (in fact, one today) that I hope you'd consider attending.

The first, that you can read about here is raising money for Parkinson's Disease awareness and research with the release of the CD, the Shaker's Sessions, that comes from a partnership between songwriter Rob Barteletti, the Brian Grant Foundation, and Burgerville.  Rob, with the creative assistance of producer, musician, and engineer Rob Stroup recorded twelve songs of Rob's that featured a different vocalist on each ... I'll let the following explain more:

“Shakers Sessions” is a compilation CD benefiting the Brian Grant Foundation. The album was created by local singer and songwriter Rob Barteletti, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2002. Wanting to make a benefit album for Parkinson’s patients, Barteletti recruited 12 Northwest vocalists to record the songs he wrote for the CD including Storm Large, Pete Droge, and Mike Coykendall. 

“Shakers’ Sessions” will be sold exclusively through Burgerville’s 38 restaurants for $10 with 100 percent of profits being donated to the Brian Grant Foundation.  

Burgerville, the Brian Grant Foundation, and Rob Barteletti will cohost a CD launch party for Burgerville Records’ first album, “Shakers’ Sessions”. The event is free and open to the public.

  The event is today from 3 - 7 pm at the Hawthorne Burgerville (1122 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd).  Hope you can drop by to hear some music, find out more about the project and buy a CD.

The second is happening this Thursday and is a benefit for local musician and music educator Reggie Houston.  Reggie is one of the most beloved New Orleans transplants living here in Portland.  I can't begin to tell you how much I like and respect Reggie's musical abilities, his deep knowledge of roots of American music, and his warmth and humanity.  Reggie is recovering from successful cancer surgery, but has medical bills and a loss of income for a while (he's one of the busiest musicians I know in town).  Friends and family have come together to put together a benefit concert this Thursday at the Old Church.  There will be food from Cannon's Rib Express, a silent auction and raffle, and a parade of amazing talent in support of a dear friend and collaborator.  Read more about Reggie and the benefit at Oregon Music News. If you can't come, you can also donate on Reggie's site. See ya there!


Oh, I should mention one more ...

I'll be posting more soon about this one for the Jeremy Wilson Foundation and the Oregon Food Bank that will be happening at the Alberta Rose Theater on November 26th.  It's called The Next Waltz:

A lineup of Portland all-stars sing and play the music from The Band's classic concert, movie and album as a benefit for the Jeremy Wilson Foundation and The Oregon Food Bank. Scheduled performers include Lewi Longmire, Holcombe Waller, Al James, James Low, Kris Deelane, Dan Haley, Joe McMurrian, Darrin Craig, Jim Brunberg, The Don of Division Street, Shook Twins, Jeremy Wilson and many more!

But you might want to get your tickets to this one soon, as it's expected to sell out.

11/11/11 live music picks

A most excellent number ... feel like there should be 11 picks here ...

Need some happy hour tunes?  There's Woodbrain at the Laurelthirst ... or Swing Papillion at the Secret Society ... both at 6 pm.

The multi-talented singer/songwriter and author (under his given name, Wesley Stace), John Wesley Harding, will be performing at the Aladdin with the King Charles Trio & Thee Minus Five - essentially, the Decemberists minus Colin Meloy, along with Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck. JWH has a set of very good Portland friends/collaborators, having recorded his last two CDs here and finding the music community and Portland vibe much to his liking ... so this very welcome visitor is back with what should be a fine evening at the Aladdin ... Read more about the show and JWH in this story from Jeff Rosenberg at the Willamette Week ... 8 pm, $17.50

The Portland FolkMusic Society presents one of folk music's masters, John McCutcheon at the Alberta Rose Theatre ... 8 pm, $20

Herbie Hancock will be playing with the Oregon Symphony at the Schnitz tonight.  The much anticipate show will feature solo piano work and a performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Should be a delightful performance ... story here ...7:30 pm, $30-$125

And am very please to see that one of my local faves, Ron Rogers & The Wailing Wind, will be at Eugenios (3584 SE Division) tonight. Ron just got back from a grand tour of the Netherlands where I understand he's treated like one of the Beatles ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Lots of great picks for tomorrow and Sunday too (will try to get another post up later or Sat morning) ... but I want to note the Honeyboy Edwards tribute show at the Alberta Rose at 5 pm on Sunday (good story here) ... and Frank Fairfield at Duff's Garage on Sunday night.

Also ... a great project that is a collaboration between local musicians, the Brian Grant Foundation, and Burgerville to support Parkinson's Disease research will be happening this coming Tuesday from 4 - 7 pm with live music at the SE 12th and Hawthorne Burgerville to celebrate the release of The Shaker Sessions, the first release from Burgerville Records ... read more about it here.

And, a heads-up for next Thursday's fundraiser concert for Reggie Houston (recovering from cancer surgery) that will be at the Old Church ... I'll have more details on that one next week.

Busy four days of music - lets start with Thursday

Wasn't paying that close attention to all that was happening until I look at music schedules late yesterday and was blown away by how much great music we have to choose from between today and Sunday.  Here's a quick look at today and a  preview of some of the most notable choices this weekend.  I'll follow up tomorrow with more ...

Early-ish "no cover" music tonight... of course Lewi Longmire at the Laurelthirst (6 pm) ... but also Jared Mees at Al's Den (tonight with Pancake Breakfast's Mike Midlo) at 7 pm, and the Freak Mountain Ramblers at the Kennedy School - also at 7 pm.  And the usual Thursday at Jimmy Mak's with Mel Brown's B3 Organ Group at 8 pm.

Excellent touring show tonight is Rickie Lee Jones at the Aladdin ... 8 pm, $35

Another at the Crystal Ballroom is Brooklyn's They Might Be Giants who are celebrating 30 years of making their creative and quirky brand of rock ... Jonathan Coulton opens ... 9 pm - show is sold out, but you know the drill - if you show up, you'll probably find a ticket. 

Groove jazz with Trio Subtonic and a Seattle band, The Schwa, will be at The Goodfoot ... 9 pm, $6

The Blue Monk has the weekly Alan Jones jazz jam ... 8 pm, $5

Kathryn Claire and the My Oh Mys are at the Laurelthirst ... 9 pm, $??

Weekend preview:
Friday -
John McCutcheon at the Alberta Rose
John Wesley Harding at the Aladdin

Herbie Hancock at the Schnitz

Saturday -
Willie Porter at the Aladdin
Blitzen Trapper at the Crystal Ballroom
James Low & Lewi Longmire at the Press Club
Stolen Sweets at the Alberta Rose
Vie de Boheme's First Anniversary

Sunday -
Honeyboy Edwards Tribute at the Alberta Rose
Frank Fairfield at Duffs
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings at the Aladdin
Craig Carothers at the Kennedy School

A couple of shows I should have included

In my haste, I left a couple of really good choices off the last post:

Tonight, Nancy King and Friends at the Bijou Cafe (132 SW 3rd) ... 7 - 10 pm, $10 ... Supper and full bar begin at 6pm ...vocalist Nancy King will be joined by Cheryl Alex, flute, Dan Gaynor, piano, Scott Steed, bass, and Alan Jones, drums

Also tonight at 7 pm, there's an excellent show at the McMenamin's St John's Theater & Pub with Miriams Well and Redwood Son ... $5

And tomorrow night at the Mt Tabor Theater, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe with special guest Anders Osborne, will perform the entire Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers album ... heard this show is a blast ... 9 pm, $22

ok ... now back back to your regularly scheduled Friday afternoon ... 

A few quick weekend picks

Think I could be paying better attention, but need to be brief this weekend, though there are a couple of shows of note that you should definitely check out.

It's first Friday, so the James Low Western Front has their monthly happy hour at the Laurelthirst. James is one of the very best songwriters around this town and the band has really become a wonderful vehicle for his tunes ... 6 pm, no cover

Speaking of the Laurelthirst ... it's esteemed booker and Thursday happy hour mainstay, Lewi Longmire, brings a very cool project to the Alberta Rose tonight.  It's his Acoustic(esque) Orchestra that will feature some of Portland's best players augmenting Lewi's trio to present a listening experience ... which is generally impossible when the trio is rocking the 'Thirst.  Lewi is a really fine songwriter and the expanded band that includes horns keys, and strings will do ample justice to the ballads and slower tunes that shine a bright light on his songcraft.  And as an added treat Fernando and Michael Hurley will open ... 9 pm, $12

This weekend is also the annual Siren Nation Festival.  Check out some of the excellent shows focusing on the women who make some of the best music in Portland and beyond. Tonight's show at the Doug Fir features the Corin Tucker Band and Kelli Schaefer ... tomorrow's shows have Kimya Dawson at Mississippi Studios and Laura Gibson, Y La Bamba, and Led To Sea at The Woods ... check out the music schedule for details ...

Tonight you might also want to check out:
Rich Layton & The Troublemakers at Vino Vixens ... 8 pm, $5
Wayne 'the Train' Hancock at the Star Theater ...
Bill Rhoades at Halibuts ... 8 pm, no cover

Also Saturday you might want to check out:
Live Wire Radio at the Alberta Rose ...
First Saturday Swing at the Secret Society Ballroom ...
Joey Porter's Herbie Hancock Tribute at The Goodfoot ...
Deer Tick at the Mission Theater ...
Jay Farrar and Bobby Bare, Jr at the Doug Fir ...

That's it!  See ya!

Whoa - where does the time go?..

...seems like forever since I had a minute to chime in here.  Tonight, Friday, at The Buffalo Gap, Lincoln Crocket and David Brothers play, Wednesday the 9th at the Alberta Rose, The Joni Mitchell birthday tribute (I'm thinking a can't miss night...), Nov. 17, a benefit for Reggie Houston ($25) at The Old Church and The Posies at the Doug Fir.  Oh and on the 12th, Blitzen Trapper return from their cross-country tour to play The Crystal.  And, on the 19th, besides it being my birthday, Jon Koonce plays a house party at Jim Flynn's and Dan Reed plays The Star Theatre for those of us who want to drink champagne and remember the rock scene here of the '80s....