November « 2009 « Frequency blog: Music news and reviews from Bend and Central Oregon, by Ben Salmon

Archive for November, 2009

November 13 in GO! Magazine

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Sore throat and an achy body here, folks, so I’m going to keep this short. And if you don’t hear from me over the weekend, now you know why.

-Tiempo Libre is bringing an authentic Latin-jazz dance party to the Tower Theatre. These guys are awfully good at what they do. Want to win “Bach In Havana,” their new CD? Click here and enter the contest. Deadline is noon today.

-Irish punks the Dropkick Murphys sold out the Midtown Ballroom on Sunday night. I was there, and this is my review. To see lots of great pictures of the night, click here.

-Folk faves Keith Greeninger and Dayan Kai will celebrate the release of their new album with a show Saturday night in Sisters.

-Classic rock will never die! Especially if bands like The Lonely H keep reviving it.

-Reggae great Eek-A-Mouse will return to the Domino Room in Bend next week.

-Check out the seriously diverse lineup of offerings at Silver Moon Brewing over the next seven days. Seriously, they have a lot of good bands coming through there this week! Kudos to Silver Moon and their talent buyer Cassie Moore.

That’s it, folks. To read it all, pick up a copy of the newspaper. But first, send your positive vibes my way.

Tags: Dayan Kai, Dropkick Murphys, Eek-A-Mouse, Keith Greeninger, Silver Moon, The Lonely H, Tiempo Libre
Posted in news | 1 Comment »

Win Tiempo Libre’s “Bach in Havana” CD!

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Alright, folks, it’s time for Frequency’s first-ever contest! Very exciting.

Here’s the deal: The super-energetic Latin-jazz band Tiempo Libre — born in Cuba, now based in Miami, so you know it’s authentic — is performing at the Tower Theatre in Bend on Tuesday. By all accounts, this is going to be a heck of a fun show, especially if you’re the dancin’ type.

The band also has a new CD out called “Bach in Havana,” which pairs Tiempo Libre’s timba style with the transcendent brilliance of some dude named Johann Sebastian Bach. Sounds a little weird, I know, but it works quite well. You can listen to the whole album at the band’s Web site to hear for yourself. (Just click “Launch player.”)

OR!

I have a sealed copy of Tiempo Libre’s “Bach in Havana” to give away, and I’m going to give it to one of you guys. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and tell me why you’d like to hear the thing. Your deadline is noon on Friday — that’s only 48 hours from right now — and I’ll pick a winner that afternoon. Be sure to leave an e-mail address that you actually check so we can figure out how to get your CD to you.

Tickets to Tuesday’s Tiempo Libre show are available through the Tower, and I’ll have an article on the band in Friday’s GO! Magazine.

Tags: Tiempo Libre
Posted in contest | 8 Comments »

Local music news: vote for The Tree Dwellers, new songs from We Are Brontosaurus, Chicks with Picks, and El Dante is no more

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Odds and ends from your local music scene:

-Man, I blew it on this one. For the past several days, Bend’s The Tree Dwellers have been competing for votes in a national battle of the bands happening at something called garagebandplayoff.com. Their voting window closes tomorrow. So go here and vote for them. Vote for them a bunch; it’s not against the rules.

More than 100 bands entered this thing, according to Dwellers keyboardist Forrest Grenfell, and The Tree Dwellers were selected as one of the top 24. If you go vote for them enough, they’ll move on to the top 8. The champ will be crowned on Dec. 18.

-Youthful indie rockers We Are Brontosaurus has posted three new live recordings on its MySpace profile. You should go check out “Nausea,” “Post Modern Post” and “Mr. Man,” because these guys are getting better fast.

-In the non-teenagers category of this post, I’m sad to report that local funk-rock-jam band El Dante has split up. I asked guitarist Gabe Johnson for a reason and got the long version, which I tremendously appreciate, but I’m not going to go into here. Instead, the short version: Different band members wanted to play different styles of music, and that caused a rift in the group. Some other stuff went down, too, but yeah, that’s pretty much the main thing. It happens. A lot.

Word on the street is a couple bands may be rising from El Dante’s ashes, but mum’s the word on that for now. I’ll let you know what’s up as soon as I hear something official.

-Silver Moon Brewing & Taproom will host a benefit for the local women’s shelter Saving Grace on Nov. 27, and the lineup will feature four local, lady-led bands. Very cool, right? I think so. Anyway, here’s the flyer:

Tags: El Dante, Silver Moon, The Tree Dwellers, We Are Brontosaurus
Posted in locals, news | No Comments »

Photos: Dropkick Murphys at Midtown Ballroom in Bend

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Bulletin photographer Andy Tullis checked out the Dropkick Murphys concert — the sold-out-on-a-Sunday-night-in-November Dropkick Murphys concert! — at Midtown Ballroom Sunday night and came back with tons of great photos. Here are a few of them. My full review of the show will be in Friday’s GO! Magazine.

P.S. If you or your buddy got up on stage at any point, you definitely want to click through the jump!

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Tags: Dropkick Murphys
Posted in photo | 2 Comments »

Paste’s top 50 albums of the decade. Discuss.

Friday, November 6th, 2009

A month ago, a few Frequency frequenters and I picked apart Pitchfork’s list of the best records of the past decade, and commenter Shannon said she was looking forward to Paste magazine’s picks.

So here it is. (Update: After watching a reader click through and scroll through Paste’s five-page feature, I’ve added the list in text-only format to this post and put it after the jump. Click below to read it and my thoughts.)

(more…)

Tags: magazines, Paste
Posted in ramblings | 7 Comments »

November 6 in GO! Magazine

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Man, it’s windy outside as I write this. Fall is finally, really here. Or maybe that’s winter.

Whatever, the seasons may change, but the local music scene churns on. This weekend’s lineup is highlighted by some Canadian hip-hop, some Irish punk rock, and a benefit for the folks in our own community who need it most.

Hey … if you go out and see some music and snap a few pictures, why don’t you add them the Frequency’s Flickr pool?

-Two years after Flogging Molly packed the Midtown Ballroom, their fellow Irish-punk rockers Dropkick Murphys are visiting the same venue on Sunday. Read Al Barr’s take on the band’s success and what it has meant for their fan base.

-Swollen Members ought to consider just renting a place in Bend, perhaps. They’re back tonight, just a couple months after opening for Kottonmouth Kings at Midtown Ballroom. This time, though, the Canadian rap quartet is touring behind its brand new album, “Armed to the Teeth,” and will headline the Domino Room.

-For the fourth year in a row, a lot of local folk/bluegrass/Americana bands are gathering at Bend’s Community Center for Hoedown for Hunger, where proceeds will benefit the center’s Feed The Hungry program.

-California’s softcore ska dudes the Mad Caddies played at Mountain’s Edge bar in Bend on Sunday. I dug it.

-Elsewhere in town this week, Dana and Susan Robinson play a house concert, Shireen Amini settles into Jackson’s Corner, The Snag will do a free show at a church, and Cloaked Characters and The Bayliens will light up the Bendistillery Martini Bar.

As always, not all those stories will be available to everyone. If you run into a paywall, you’ll need to subscribe to The Bulletin’s online edition or, better yet, pick up a print copy of today’s paper.

Tags: Cloaked Characters, Dropkick Murphys, Hoedown for Hunger, Mad Caddies, Shireen Amini, Swollen Members, The Bayliens, The Snag
Posted in news | No Comments »

Video: Zombies do the “Thriller” dance on the streets of downtown Bend

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

From Thursday night. This is absolutely fantastic.

Thanks to Luke Menasco for passing this along.

There are two other videos from different vantage points here and here. If you can only watch one, though, make sure it’s the one above. It’s the best.

Posted in locals, oddities | 3 Comments »

New shows announced (Brandi Carlile, The Lonely H, Son Volt, Erin Cole-Baker and more)

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

There are several concerts coming to the area over the next few months that I haven’t yet mentioned. Here’s a round-up:

-Port Angeles, Wash.’s The Lonely H do what I’d call modern classic rock, and they do it very well. From the long hair and denim to their throwback sound, these dudes are the real deal. They’ll return to Bend on Nov. 13 to play the Black Horse Saloon.

-Reggae legend Eek-A-Mouse will play the Domino Room on Nov. 18, and Northwest blues-rock stalwart Too Slim & The Taildraggers is set for a Nov. 20 show at The Annex.

-Local keyboard kingpin Brad Jones has set a date for his CD-release show: Nov. 21 at The Annex in Bend. Also on the bill is The Mostest, Defekt and Manic.

-The excellent, Portland-based indie-pop band Church will warm up The Annex on Dec. 4, along with locals The Sweet Harlots. I saw Church open for Finn Riggins several weeks back at Silver Moon, and they were terrific.

-The Domino Room will host alt-country combo Son Volt on Dec. 7, and then Sublime tribute act 40 Oz. to Freedom on Dec. 12.

-Local folk singer Erin Cole-Baker is planning her long-awaited CD-release show on Dec. 12. No word yet on where, exactly, so stay tuned for that detail.

-The first date for the Sisters Folk Festival’s Winter Concert Series has popped up, and it’s Alaskan roots-grass band Bearfoot on Feb. 6.

-Here’s the biggest news of this batch, I think: Rising roots-rock star Brandi Carlile — who introduced herself to Bend by opening for Sheryl Crow a year ago and then sold out the Tower Theater in June — will return to the Tower March 17-18 for a two-night engagement.

The promoter bringing Carlile to town, Bret Grier of Random Presents, said today that he has booked back-to-back concerts by one artist only once before in 11 years, and that was Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe at Bend’s Best Bet in 2000. So why Carlile and why now … or rather, March?

“(Her) show (here) on June 10 … sold out extremely fast making it obvious we needed to find her a larger home or do multiple nights,” Grier wrote in an e-mail. “After the show Brandi claimed the Tower Theatre to be her new favorite place to play and suggested we do two nights on the next northwest run.”

Sweet! I missed Carlile last time she was in town, so I’m going to be sure to catch her in the spring.

Anyway, that’s most of what I know about right now. Did I miss anything? Fill me in in the comments.

Tags: 40 Oz. to Freedom, Bearfoot, Brad Jones, Brandi Carlile, Church, Eek-A-Mouse, Erin Cole-Baker, Son Volt, The Lonely H, Too Slim & the Taildraggers
Posted in news | 2 Comments »

Fine jazz band tonight in Sisters

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

All you jazz fans out there ought to consider checking out this band BUG tonight in Sisters. (Sorry for the short notice.)

BUG consists of five educators, and you can hear their slick (but not too slick) sound at their Web site. Or, just trust Jody Henderson, the band director at Sisters High School and Sisters Middle School, who says BUG is “the real deal.” Jody’s a jazz fan, a player and a vital cog in the region’s jazz scene, so he knows what he’s talking about.

The band will play at 7:30 tonight in the Sisters High School band room, at 1700 W. McKinney Butte Road. Cover is $5 for students and $10 for adults, and the money will help pay for more artists like this to come to Sisters, where they work with jazz students before playing a concert for the general public. It’s a cool thing that’s worth supporting.

Tags: BUG, jazz
Posted in news, tonight | No Comments »

Photos: Mad Caddies at Mountain’s Edge

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Here are a few photos I took at Sunday night’s Mad Caddies show at Mountain’s Edge in Bend. I’ll put a few more on the Frequency Flickr page in the next day or so, and my review of the show will appear in Friday’s GO! Magazine.