Read more about Heavyweight Dub Champion and this show here.
Bulletin E-Edition:
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
Read more about Heavyweight Dub Champion and this show here.
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
(Check out the photo above and 10 others from the show at Frequency’s Flickr photo pool. You can also get to it through that little widget on the right side of the blog. Got photos of music being made in Central Oregon? Add them to the pool!)
If a band rocks a dive bar and no one’s around to hear it, does it make a sound?
That’s the question about the set The High Strung played at Players Bar & Grill on Friday night.
It’d be inaccurate to say that no one was there, of course. Throughout the Detroit trio’s set, the crowd dwindled from about three dozen to 15 or so folks, and that included me, the bar’s staff, and members of opening act No Cash Value. (I showed up just in time to catch No Cash do a couple catchy punk numbers, ending their set with a cover of the Misfits’ “Skulls.” They sounded great, and I made a mental note to make sure I see more of them soon.)
And truth be told, it’d probably be inaccurate to say The High Strung rocked the bar. It was more like a jostling. That said, the band performed about as well as you could expect, considering they were playing for so few people.
When The High Strung took the stage, frontman Josh Malerman proposed to his band mates a half-hour set. They ran over that by half, and this band can fit a lot of music into 45 minutes. Malerman and company delivered three-minute pop gems fast and furious, breaking only to decide what to play next.
The High Strung’s sound is pure pop filtered through a prism of garage grit, like The Who playing Beatles songs. Malerman is the ringleader and drummer Derek Berk is a beast behind the kit, but it’s bassist Chad Stocker who’s most fun to watch; his flailing and headbanging didn’t seem dampened by the small audience.
Those who stuck it out seemed appreciative. Scattered hoots and hollers and claps followed each song, and The High Strung stayed relentlessly positive, complimenting No Cash Value and saying how stoked they were to play a new town. (The band played for kids at the Bend Public Library in 2006, but this was their first club show here.)
Near the end of their set, Stocker stopped to pimp the stuff for sale at the band’s merch table, and an onlooker yelled (I’m paraphrasing here) “Less banter with the crowd!” (even though there really hadn’t been that much). Without missing a beat, Stocker replied: “We’re doing our usual amount of banter, there’s just fewer people.”
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
This is really short notice, but I just stopped at Ranch Records and saw that Jon Davidson, frontman for Portland hard-rock band (and R3 Festival alum) Silversafe, will be playing a few songs at the Wall Street record store at 4 p.m. That’s only about an hour from now. Tonight, he’ll perform at 8 p.m. at Seven, the nightclub in the old Grove space at 1033 N.W. Bond St. Both shows are free to attend.
Davidson is touring in support of his first solo album, “Perfect Cliche,” which came out last fall. If the songs on his MySpace are any indication, the guy can write a pretty catchy alt-rock tune as easily as most of us eat several tacos in one sitting. (Is that just me? Anyway…) The difference between Davidson and whatever band rock radio is currently flogging probably isn’t skills, but just a break here or there.
The dude also does benefits for groups like the American Cancer Society and the March of Dimes, so head down to Ranch or Seven and show him your appreciation.
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
The High Strung will play anywhere.
An elementary school gym in Fernwood, Idaho. Burt’s Tiki Lounge in Albuquerque, N.M.
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Seriously. They head there for a show in late July.)
The Bend Public Library. (The High Strung performed to a packed house there in 2006, and will return Aug. 19.)
In a world with hundreds of bands driving vans all over the country, the three fellows in The High Strung have carved out quite a niche for themselves.
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
For the first few months of 2009, people asked me over and over if I’d heard what big-name bands would be playing on Memorial Day weekend at Bend’s Les Schwab Amphitheater this year. As the days passed, my answer became more and more pessimistic, and their disappointment became harder and harder to hide. How quickly we forget that, while we did enjoy some great concerts last year, the Schwab was silent at this time in 2007. And so it is again this year.
But in today’s GO! Magazine, we have lots of great options for all you lovers of live music out there. Click the band names to read more about each of these fine shows, and don’t miss the downloads in between:
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
When I was a kid, I played (and loved playing) Little League baseball.
When I was a teenager, I listened to (and loved listening to) They Might Be Giants.
I don’t do either anymore, really, but I absolutely love this with all my heart.
Can we get a Central Oregon team in on this?
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Five years ago, I saw the Pixies play one of their first reunion shows at the Big Easy Concert House (now known as the Knitting Factory) in Boise. As a longtime fan who didn’t see the seminal Boston quartet during their initial run in the late ’80s/early ’90s (skipping a Pixies show in high school remains one of my biggest concert-going regrets), I was stoked to have a second chance to see one of my favorite bands of all time.
So stoked, in fact, that when it was announced recordings of the show would be available to purchase on CD on the way out the door of the club, I pounced. It was expensive ($25 for a double-disc set, I think) but worth it to have a document of the experience.
The Pink Snowflakes don’t have quite the same budget as the Pixies, but the Portland psych-pop band is trying something similar.
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
I find Kanye West’s blog endlessly entertaining, whether he’s posting on things that catch his eye (music, fashion, architecture, women), or ranting so hard he might break his MacBook Air!!!!!!!! Today, he threw up a gem of a post complimenting the paparazzi on what he deems a “fresh” photo of Rihanna.
It is a pretty cool photo, though maybe not as cool as Kanye thinks. But as is his wont, Kanye can’t stop at just props for the paparazzi. Instead, he delves into the relationship between photogs and the “legends” they’re covering, complete with a comparison of modern-day pop stars to those of yesteryear:
“I LOOK AT OUR CURRENT SUPERSTARS LIKE LEGENDS IN THE MAKING… LIKE JUSTIN IS THE NEW MIKE , BEYONCE’S THE NEW TINA TURNER, GAGA’S MADONNA, JAY IS SINATRA… WAYNE IS HENDRIX, THOM YORKE IS ROGER WATERS, THESE ARE THE CHAMPIONS AND SHOULD BE DOCUMENTED AS SUCH.”
That’s good stuff. Justin Timberlake the new Mike (Jackson, presumably)? Reasonable. Beyonce = Tina. OK. Thom Yorke is Roger Waters? Look at Kanye flashing the proggy-Brit-rocker knowledge! And does he mean Jay-Z is the new Sinatra? And Lil Wayne is a modern Jimi Hendrix? Each is a stretch in my mind, but I can see it, I guess: Jay-Z is the dapper, classy godfather of modern rap, and Wayne’s a talented, wild personality with a flair for the dramatic (not to mention a rock jones).
But wait … Lady Gaga is the new Madonna? *Urp* Swing and a miss on that one, Kanye.
More on Lady Gaga in an upcoming post on the Frequency blog, but for now, let’s turn the question to you, dear reader: If Justin is the new Mike, and so on and so on, what classic star’s image/career/trajectory does Kanye West recall? Leave your ideas in the comments…
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
The lineup for the free Summer Sunday shows at Les Schwab Amphitheater has been announced, and it’s a mix of locals, artists that have played the series before, and new out-of-town acts.
The Sunday shows are popular because they’re free, they’re open to families (including dogs on leashes), and folks can bring food in and enjoy an afternoon of music and sunshine. Pretty sweet. Gates open at 1 p.m. and the music starts around 2:30 p.m.
And now, the lineup:
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
This didn’t get much love in Friday’s GO! Magazine, but that’s really only because I didn’t know much about it: The first “3rd Tuesday Thump” goes down tonight at Bendistillery Martini Bar, and this thing looks like it may have some potential.
The concept: A house band comprising some of Bend’s best players will be on hand to provide beats and other noise. The players are Aaron Miller (keys) and Jared Forqueran (drums) of Person People, and Shane Thomas (guitar) and Pat Pearsall (bass) of Empty Space Orchestra. MCs are invited to show up with their best stuff and jam, open-mic style, with the band. Things will kick off officially at about 9 p.m., though the band will be available for rehearsal from 6 to 8 p.m.
It’s like a freestyle battle, but with a live band instead of DJ beats, and it’s not a competition. So really, it’s not like a freestyle battle. It’s like a skills showcase for local MCs, who get to pretend they’re Black Thought for a night. And Person People’s DJ Sorski will play the role of host, like Jimmy Fallon but waaaaay funnier!
Anyway, here’s the flyer with all the info you need:
As you can see, the plan is to do this every third Tuesday all summer, so get down to the martini bar and help ‘em kick it off right.
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