NYE picks

Okay, I'm going to cheat ...

Go to this post at Oregon Music News ... it's a pretty comprehensive list of NYE music options ... but first a few they missed in the list:

My pick show is sold out! .... The Two Beers Veirs' New Years Celebration at the Laurelthirst.  Once again, Laura Veirs will be hosting this annual New Years' Eve party. This year's show will feature: Laura Veirs, Black Prairie, Israel Nebeker from Blind Pilot, Willy Vlautin from Richmond Fontaine, Sallie Ford, Ritchie Young from Loc Lomond, Kevin and Anita from Viva Voce, Scott McCaughey from Minus 5, John Moen from Decemberists and more! 


But that means you can pick from the following:
Mary Flower with band at Brasserie Montmartre - here's what Mary has to say about the gig: I'll be playing some lap steel and a big old ES 125 Gibson with the Mighty Band: Carlton Jackson (drums), Dave Fleshner (piano) and Kevin Deitz (bass). We'll be ringing in 2012 starting at 10:00PM downtown at the Brasserie Montmartre.

Rich Layton & The Troublemakers at Vino Vixens ... I'll let Rich describe it:  This New Year's Eve, we'll be rockin' the Vino Vixens Lounge (at a reasonable volume, of course) for your listening and dancing pleasure. You can also spread out to one of 3 other rooms for some intimate conversation, enjoy the free pool table or play some serious foosball. The kitchen features a hip new menu along with some special dishes. We guarantee an evening of good friends, good music and good cheer. Cover is just $15 or $25/couple and includes party favors, snacks and a decent glass of bubbly for the midnight toast.

...or, the Jack McMahon Band at O'Connors Vault ... 9 pm, $10

Now here's my picks from the OMN list:

The Caleb Klauder Country Band and The Foghorn Stringband at The Spare Room

New Year’s Eve Bash at Secret Society Ballroom: Saloon Ensemble, The Ukeladies

The Sultans of Slide at Vie de Boheme

The Weinland Supergroup featuring The Fruit Bats at the Doug Fir

Langhorne Slim and the Law and The Builders and the Butchers at the Bagdad Theater

Soul Vaccination at Jimmy Mak's

The Shanghai Woollies’ Roaring 20s Havana New Year’s Eve at the TA Event Center 

The Quarterflash: 30th Anniversary Show with Jon Koonce at the Aladdin

Leftover Salmon at the Roseland

The Rev. Horton Heat at the Crystal Ballroom

Or, you can avoid the public festivities entirely and just stay home for a quiet evening waiting for the ball to drop (really, that's a great option, too!) .... 

Happy New Year everyone!  Wishing you a wonderful 2012!  And get out to some live music!!!

Pre-NYE music picks

My NYE thoughts for live music will be coming in the next post ... but don't overlook tonight or tomorrow ...

Thursday
Happy hour?  I'd head to the Laurelthirst for Lewi Longmire at 6 pm ...

Other cheap (but quality!) choices ... Mel Brown's B3 Organ Band at Jimmy Mak's (8 pm, $5), Steve Kerin on the Chapel Pub organ (8 pm, no cover), Sarah Gwen Peters & Scott Weddle, Mike Midlo at Mississippi Pizza (9 pm, $??), or the Alan Jones Jazz Jam at The Blue Monk (8 pm, $5)

The sublime vocal/piano duo of Rebecca Kilgore and Dave Frishberg are at Touche ... (8 pm, $5 plus $10 food/drink minimum)

Kicking of a NYE weekend of shows at the Alberta Rose tonight is a fine double bill of Black Prairie and Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons ... 9 pm, $15 (sorry, but tomorrow and Saturday's Storm Large/Holcomb Waller shows are sold out!)

Casey Anderson & The Honkies and Star Anna & The Laughing Dogs are at Mississippi Studios ... 9 pm, $10

Friday
Lauren Sheehan and Terry Robb make for an excellent string-bending duo at the Muddy Rudder ... 8 pm, no cover

The Linda Hornbuckle Band checks into Jimmy Mak's for some soulful pre-NYE tunes ... 8 pm, $10

Nothing fishy about Lloyd Jones playing at Halibuts ... 8 pm,  no cover

The Pete Krebs Swing Trio will keep things mellow and swingin' at the Press Club ... 8:30 pm, no cover

If your a fan of Johnny Cash, you should check out Get Rhythm at Duff's Garage ... 9:30 pm, $??

Rock hard at the Doug Fir with Ants In The Kitchen, Morgan Grace, and Ramble On (Led Zep tribute) ... 9 pm, $8

Trio Subtonic and The Ocular Concern are joining forces for a pre-NYE show at The Blue Monk ... 9 pm, $??

Excellent show at Mississippi Studios with Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons (who are also at Dante's on NYE) and The Minus Five ... 9 pm, $15

More on NYE later or tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

Last post before Christmas

... and all through Portland are definitely a few shows worth checking out:

Thursday
Looking for a holiday themed show tonight?  Try the Alberta Rose Theatre for the Magical Strings Celtic Yuletide Concert for some Celtic-inspired holiday music, dancers, caroling, storytelling, and more ... 7:30 pm, $18/$12 (under 12)

Or, at the Muddy Rudder, it's Lauren Sheehan's Soulstice Show, with holiday songs, old carols, audience requests, and even some singing along ... the fire will be lit and it will be a cozy neighborhood gathering in Sellwood ... 8 pm, no cover

... and Steve Kerin will take your (holiday) requests to play on the very cool pipe organ at the Chapel Pub - and won't mind a bit if you sing along ... 8 pm, no cover

Pianist Andrew Oliver and his trio are at the Camellia Lounge in the Pearl (510 NW 11th) ... 8 pm, $5

... and drummer Alan Jones leads his weekly jam at The Blue Monk ... 8 pm, $5

Friday
Paul Brainard and friends check into the Spare Room for some night before the night before Christmas fun with the Fun Machine - and with a new CD, Another Fun Machine Christmas ... 8:30 pm, no cover

Excellent set of Portland folk-rock bands at the Doug Fir Lounge with AgesandAges, Old Light, and the 1939 Ensemble ... 9 pm, $10

The Devin Phillips Quartet is at Wilfs ... 8 pm, $??

And that's all until after Christmas ...

Wishing all who read this a very happy holiday weekend!

Live music picks for the weekend before holiday weekend...

Just a few to note for this weekend ... hope you're all not too busy to stop and relax with friends and some great live music around town ...

Friday
It's the first of two nights of two sold-out holiday shows with the Portland Cello Project and special guests at the Aladdin ... can always try to just show up and find an extra ticket or two ...story at OMN ... 8 pm, $15

But don't be sad, you can also head to the Alberta Rose Theatre for the fabulous Holcomb Waller and his special guests ... should be a wonderful evening of music from this most adventurous singer/songwriter ... 8 pm, $20

Looking to dance ... try pianist DK Stewart and his sextet (with horns) at Duff's ... 9:30 pm, $?? ... or Ty Curtis at the Trails End Saloon (8:30 pm, $??) ... or  Linda Hornbuckle at Halibuts (ok, a bit harder to dance in that space!) .... 8 pm, no cover

Something a bit more mellow ... it's a fine triple bill at the Press Club with Naomi Hooley, Rob Stroup, and Lara Michell ... 8:30 pm, no cover  ... mellow, but bluesy - try Bill Rhoades at Vino Vixens (8 pm, no cover)

Need a little Christmas - Vegas style? ... well, head to the Tony Starlight Christmas Extravaganza at Tony Starlight's ... 8 pm, $15

Saturday
It's the final Live Wire Radio Show! recording of the year at the Alberta Rose ... 7:30 pm, $20

Three of the very best acoustic blues (and more) players combine talents at O'Connors - Mary Flower, Thad Beckman, and Alan Hagar - my idea of an outstanding low-key quality night of music in Portland ... 7:30 pm, $12

Miz Kitty puts on a Christmas vaudeville show at the Mission Theater ... 7 pm, $12

Singer and bassist Kate Davis is home from NY and doing a couple of shows ... tonight it's a home for the holidays show at Wilf's (8 pm, $??)  ... and a special show with a new project, Itsy, with pianist Ben Darwish, on Sunday night at Rontoms ...which you can read about at Oregon Music News.

All for now ... see ya out and about!

No Fernando show tonight....

..just saw that Fernando's fund raiser at the Laurelthirst on Friday night has been canceled....Fernando is having some throat issues.  Hopefully his voice will recover soon! 

Thursday quick picks

Got busy and distracted, but if you're still paying attention ...

Thad Beckman & Kurtis Piltz at O'Connor's ... 8 pm, $5

Lauren Sheehan at the Muddy Rudder ... 8 pm, no cover

The Damian Erskine Project at the Mission Theater, 8 pm, $8

Rae Gordon at the Trail's End Saloon ... 8 pm, $??

or ... check out:

A Celtic Christmas with  Molly's Revenge and Christa Burch at the Alberta Rose ... 7:30 pm, $20

Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter at the Doug Fir tonight (headliner Howe Gelb had to cancel) ... 9 pm, $10

Reva DeVito and Allan Stone are at Mississippi Studios ... 9 pm, $10

We can't go off to The Woods today....

..see that The Woods, our local mortuary/music venue, will be closing down.  I have to admit, that even though within long walking distance and an initial excitement over that fact, I seldom was drawn in by the bookings (and the fact that in the beginning, there was no hard liquor...never got the beer thing...) The few standouts I did manage to catch, however included Robyn Hitchock and Joe Boyd and Sean Lennon....both were amazing shows!!  Hopefully someone will step in and make it work as a music venue.  Friday night holds many opportunities - Holcombe Waller at The Alberta Rose and if that don't work for you - Fernando will be at the Laurelthirst trying to raise money for a new record.  His last one was brilliant...so help a guy out!  And for the head bangers, I just saw that Anvil is playing Dante's in February...you know you secretly want to go.....

Weekend picks ... Dec 9 & 10

Here's a few as you plan your weekend ...

Friday

Where I'll probably end up tonight is at Duff's Garage for the Texican double bill of two of my local faves - Ron Rogers & the Wailing Wind and Rich Layton & the Troublemakers. Texas natives - one a dry wind from west central, the other Gulf coast swampified .... but they meet with a common music vocabulary ... and you definitely can dance to it.  The bands will alternate sets through the evening and do a little collaboratin' ... 9 pm, $8



What else?  Well, Christmas/holiday are events in full swing - couple to call attention too include the annual Holidays With The Trail Band at the Aladdin.  These shows always sell out,  but there's probably a few tickets left to the remaining performances tonight, and matinee and evening shows on Sunday.  This is an outstanding production from Marv and Rindy Ross and the fine musicians of the Trail Band.  Musically rich, warm, cozy, fun for the holidays ....  Or, over at the Alberta Rose it's the White Album Christmas with the Nowhere Band and the Wanderlust Circus ... the performances on Friday and Saturday unfortunately are sold out ... so you might want to put this on your radar for next year - its a very cool mashup of Beatles, circus, and holidays.  Finally, there's a free event in Pioneer Square at 1:30 pm on Saturday afternoon - it's time for the 21st annual Tuba Christmas Concert ... 200 tubas playing holiday tunes ... ok, definitely beats Mariah Carey.

Other shows tonight include:
Naomi Hooley is at the Beaterville Cafe - playing as duo with Rob Stroup ... 8 pm, no cover

Thad Beckman and Kurtis Piltz are at Vino Vixens ... Thad is one of the best guitarists in town - plus a pretty fair singer and songwriter to boot ...  8 pm, $5

Some fine uptempo blues will be rockin' Knuckleheads with Kevin Selfe ... 8 pm, no cover

The psychedelic pop rock of Portugal The Man will fill the Crystal Ballroom ... 8 pm, sold out - but maybe tickets can be found at the door.

 ... and there's some fine jazz with the Devin Phillips Quartet at Jimmy Mak's ... 8 pm, $10

Reminder for this weekend (Xmas gift alert!) - the annual Voodoo Catbox poster sale takes place at Music Millennium on Saturday and Sunday ... from one of the best (and my favorite) poster artists anywhere, Gary Houston.

Saturday
Just a couple of shows I want to mention ...

My pick show of the evening is again at Duff's, with The Strange Tones' Christmas Album release show ... yep, it's a Crime-A-Billy Xmas ... with musical mayhem from the rockin-est crimefighting band anywhere ... direct from the secret volcano hideout with the Volcano Snow Vixens, special musical guests, and more ... 9 pm, $10 ($2 discount for CBA members) ... doors at 7:30 to grab a seat



Alan Hagar is at the Muddy Rudder for some outstanding acoustic blues ... 8 pm, no cover

Get out and enjoy the weekend!

And into December ...

OK, I'm back ... hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend and have buckled your safety belts for the too fast ride to Christmas and New Years ...

So what's up for tonight?

Starting early? There's three great choices ... all at 6 pm and no cover -
 It's first Friday, so it's time for the James Low Western Front happy hour at the Laurelthirst.  Hear there are new Whiskey Farmer tee shirts tonight too. Think holiday gifts!
Or head to the Hawthorne Theater Lounge for Wendy & The Lost Boys and some lively acoustic tunes to start the weekend.
And Swing Papillion brings its gypsy jazz to the Secret Society.

... and one more for just $2 is Honey & the Hamdogs doing classic country rock and more at Duff's Garage ...

My pick show of the night is a really fun double bill is also at Duff's with the roots jazz of the Bridgetown Sextet and can't-stay-off-the-dance floor sounds of the Too Loose Cajun/Zydeco Band  ... 8:30 pm, $10

Attend a taping of Live Wire Radio at the Alberta Rose ... with musical guests Viva Voce and Telekinesis (plus Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBobSquarePants) ... 7:30 pm, $20

Deadheads and percussion fans can get a rhythmic fix at the Aladdin with the Micky Hart Band ... 8 pm, $25

Typhoon plays the first of three shows over two nights at Mississippi Studios ... come out and hear why one more fine Portland band is getting national attention ... tonight with Mimicking Birds opening ... 9 pm, $12

Rich Layton & the Troublemakers quiet it down a bit for the back room at Vino Vixens ... a very relaxed, yet swampy, harmonica-fueled hang ... 8 pm, $5

Vocalist Laura Ivancie is at Touche ... 8 pm, $??

Lisa Mann & Her Really Good Band are at the Trails End Saloon ... 9 pm, $??

The Lewi Longmire Band is at Biddy McGraws tonight ... 9:30 pm, no cover

Alright ... that's in for tonight ... a little late ... but there ya go ...