Sounds from Central Oregon and beyond
Sunday, February 7th, 2010, 12:11 pm by Ben Salmon
Football game? What football game?
OK, yeah, there’s a football game today. But there are also still people in Haiti who need our help. So if you have no interest in the Super Bowl, head down to the Domino Room (51 N.W. Greenwood Ave., Bend) for “Rise Up & Rebuild,” a Haiti benefit concert organized by local humanitarian group Rise Up International. And if you do want to watch the game, consider heading down to the benefit afterward. This is a great bill for a great cause.
Saturday, February 6th, 2010, 9:42 am by Ben Salmon
My sister, Emily, and brother-in-law, Ryan, live in Lexington, Kentucky with their new puppy, which they’ve named Chesney. Yes, that Chesney. So they’re pretty big fans of country music.
They’re also, like most Kentuckians, lifelong fans of the University of Kentucky basketball team, which is currently 21-1 and ranked No. 3 or 4 in the country, depending on which poll you read. Just sayin’.
Anyway, on Jan. 21, they got to combine those two interests by taking in country superstar Brad Paisley’s “American Saturday Night” tour at UK’s home court, Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington. (Miranda Lambert opened the night, but is sadly absent from this review.)
As Frequency readers know, I believe Paisley and Lambert are the cream of the country crop right now, so I asked Emily and/or Ryan to write a short review of the show for me. Ryan came through; he was even nice enough to write a headline and sprinkle in several Dick Vitale-isms (they’re in quotes). Click below to see what he had to say, plus some video from the show:
Friday, February 5th, 2010, 1:12 pm by Ben Salmon
In Miami on Sunday, a football squad known as the New Orleans Grocery Bag Heads will tangle on the gridiron with a football squad called the Indianapolis Mannings for the title of best football squad in all the land. Both teams are led by top-notch quarterbacks and both teams thank their lucky stars for a dude named Archie, but that’s about where the similarities end.
Here on Frequency, let’s focus on the topic that matters most: music. In terms of musical heritage, New Orleans vs. Indianapolis is a blowout. A complete and utter smackdown. The former is one of the absolute pillars of the American music experience, the birthplace of jazz, Dixieland, sludge metal (apparently), and Lil Wayne. Three out of four ain’t bad.
The latter gave us Adam Lambert and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.
On the other hand:
In the battle of “songs on my hard drive with titles that include the words ‘New Orleans’ or ‘Indianapolis,’” I think the Midwesterners eke out a victory. It’s very close — that “trapped inside the song” refrain in the Silver Jews jam is aces — but I’m a sucker for a story song, and Bottle Rockets main man Brian Henneman (former Uncle Tupelo guitar tech and player of hot licks on Wilco’s “A.M.,” natch) can craft a story song.
Plus: “I’ll puke if that jukebox plays John Cougar one more time.” Say it to yourself. Heck, say it out loud. What a great string of words, both in sound and rhythm.
All things considered, this one looks like a toss-up. I predict that the team that scores more points on Sunday will come away with the win.
Friday, February 5th, 2010, 10:07 am by Ben Salmon
Bearfoot will perform Saturday at Sisters High School for Sisters Folk Festival’s Winter Concert Series. Here’s an excerpt from my story on the band:
Bearfoot’s wings are fully spread on “Doors and Windows,” released last year on Compass Records. It’s the band’s first album with new fiddler/vocalist/songwriter Odessa Jorgensen (formerly of The Biscuit Burners), and it was Bearfoot’s first recording session powered by a record company. Compass exerted a little bit of welcomed influence, Hamre said.
“They kind of made us focus — which is good — more on radio play,” she said. “(They helped us) make the CD cohesive, where all the songs make sense together.”
Indeed, “Doors and Windows” is a wonderful and mature album, apropos of a modern-day string band that has grown up before the eyes of bluegrass nation. It’s jam-packed with toe-tapping melodies and gorgeous vocals, not to mention songs that keep one foot in old-time music and one in the pop-grass world that made superstars out of Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek.
Read the whole thing here.
Here’s an excerpt from my column on last weekend’s Grammy Awards:
(Pink) sauntered out clad head-to-toe in white, like some Star Wars princess. Snooze. But then she shed the robe (leaving her nearly nude), climbed into a long white sheet draped from the ceiling and performed a full-on acrobatics routine a few dozen feet in the air, half while dripping wet. And she never missed a note. This was no joke; I actually worried for her safety, but she nailed it. Maybe she was raised in the circus. I barely heard the song, but she deserves (credit) for her guts.
My recap of the rest of the show isn’t nearly as positive. Read it here.
Also in the music section this week: Cash’d Out pays tribute to The Man in Black, The Aggrolites open for Slightly Stoopid, singer-songwriter Emma Hill returns to town, Rise Up throws a Haiti benefit concert, Gary Fulkerson plays guitar at Velvet and local metal band Inimica leads a heavy bill at Players. And, as always, there’s more in our complete music calendar.
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010, 11:14 am by Ben Salmon
Yesterday afternoon, whoever runs the Old Mill District’s Twitter account tweeted this:
Suggestions began pouring in, ranging from Willie Nelson, Keith Urban and Chris Isaak to Vampire Weekend, Coldplay and Spoon to Yo La Tengo, Thao Nguyen and Sade. So far, Cake has been not only seconded, but thirded! To see them all, click here. (I asked the same question in December and got a bunch of suggestions, too. See them here.)
Anyway, I’ll play. Unlike my column a couple years ago where I tried to predict the lineup, this is more of a wish list … with more than a hint of realism. (I’m not going to pretend, for example, that the Schwab would book a weekend festival featuring Quest for Fire, Shabazz Palaces and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin as headliners. Although that would be totally rad.)
First, the ultimate dream:
Monday, February 1st, 2010, 12:21 pm by Ben Salmon
I’ll have one in Friday’s GO! Magazine.
Sneak preview: This was the best moment of the night. Actually, this is pretty much all you need to know:
But come back on Friday and read my recap anyway.
(Thanks, goldenfiddle.)
Friday, January 29th, 2010, 3:59 pm by Ben Salmon
These women did, and look where it got them. They’re famous! Totally anonymous, but famous.
Anyway, newish local pop-punk band Capture the Flag is shooting a video tomorrow for their song “Greenwood Ave.” Here’s then when and where:
Free coffee and hot cocoa! Even if you don’t become anonymously famous, you’ll still get a free warm beverage out of the deal.
Friday, January 29th, 2010, 1:46 pm by Ben Salmon
I mentioned this in passing yesterday, but folk singer The White Buffalo (aka Jake Smith) performed on Tuesday night at Silver Moon Brewing & Taproom in Bend, and pretty much blew me away. Here’s an excerpt of my review:
Smith’s talents are many, but his voice is obviously his most distinctive quality. It’s a show-stopper. A jaw-dropper. It’s canyon deep and sequoia strong, with a natural resonance that 99 percent of singers would kill to have.
The closest comparison I can come up with is Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, though when he’s at his best, Smith makes Vedder sound like Bobby Brady going through puberty. He’s just that great of a singer.
Smith showcased that voice on barnburners like “The Madman” and “Carnage,” with their ultra-low notes, as well as meandering, pretty numbers such as “Sleepy Little Town” and “Where Dirt and Water Collide.” And he let it soar during two of his best songs, “Love Song #1” and “Damned.” The ascendant pre-chorus of the former and the roller-coaster verses of the latter were perfect examples of Smith’s skill for writing melodies that are both unconventional and memorable.
You can read my take on the first great local concert of the year by clicking here. (Note: That article is freely available to all. You won’t hit a paywall.)
The White Buffalo at Silver Moon. Photos by Ben.
(Click below for more photos.)
Friday, January 29th, 2010, 8:58 am by Ben Salmon
It’s almost February already. Unbelievable. Before we know it, summer will be here.
Until then, however, a few musical happenings to keep you warm and indoors:
-Sort-of-local trio Ruins of Ooah (didge player Tyler Spencer lives in Bend) will handle the free show at McMenamins Old St. Francis School on Wednesday. Read all about their tribal-tronic dance rock here.
-Burly folk singer The White Buffalo pretty much blew my mind Tuesday night at Silver Moon in Bend. Here is my review of the first great show of 2010.
-Venerable Wisconsin folk singer Johnsmith is back in the area to play the first show of the Harmony House concert series on Saturday.
-Tonight at Three Creeks Brewing Co. in Sisters, AMP Media Group is putting on a showcase of its artists. Five singer-songwriters for five bucks. Not bad.
-Tonight in Bend, local odd-rockers Hawgwash and The Kronkmen are teaming up for a night of frivolity at Mountain’s Edge bar.
-Portland invades Bend: The Quick & Easy Boys and Alpaca! play separate shows at Silver Moon Brewing, and DJ Wicked lights up Bendistillery Martini Bar.
Go pick up a copy of The Bulletin today and find all this and more (fine arts, restaurants, movies, gaming, etc.) in GO! Magazine. DO IT.
Thursday, January 28th, 2010, 7:21 pm by Ben Salmon
… is this song, “Swim,” from Surfer Blood’s “Astro Coast.” (Read about the second awesome thing I’ve heard this year in tomorrow’s GO! Magazine.)
(Via Pitchfork.)
Recent Comments
Who do you want to see at Les Schwab Amphitheater in 2010? (This time, the Old Mill is listening.)
And the first confirmed Les Schwab Amphitheater concert for 2010 is …
Review: The White Buffalo at Silver Moon Brewing
Who do you want to see at Les Schwab Amphitheater in 2010? (This time, the Old Mill is listening.)
Who do you want to see at Les Schwab Amphitheater in 2010? (This time, the Old Mill is listening.)