Smells Like Pop

The annual 5-day deluge of non-stop over-lapping live-shows will be invading Portland again this year from September 4th-9th. Our feature article by Cory X on Pete Krebs was even lifted for the MFNW site. With no credit. And no link. Smells like plagiarism. Here’s some information from their site:

MusicfestNW is once again returning to the historic Pioneer Courthouse Square—Portland’s civic living room—for three picturesque outdoor headlining performances at Levi’s Pioneer Stage headlined by shoegazing alternative rockers Silversun Pickups (Sunday, Sept. 9), mashup superstar Girl Talk (Saturday, Sept. 8), and the world music-tinged indie folk of Beirut (Friday, Sept. 7).

Beyond the Square, MusicfestNW will once again take over the city of Portland for five days, with 150 bands playing at 16 clubs all over the city. On Wednesday, Sept. 5, electropop upstarts Passion Pit headline the Crystal Ballroom (the band also plays the next night) and reunited post-hardcore titans Hot Snakes play the Roseland Theater. The alt-country act Old 97’s playing their seminal record Too Far to Care front-to-back, the beautiful folk tunes of The Tallest Man on Earth, local atmospheric rockersThe Helio Sequence, local heroes Hazel reuniting for Cavity Search Records 20^th anniversary show, rising hip-hop phenomsYelawolf and Danny Brown, A-Trak DJing on the Nike Sportswear stage, and the debut of the Red Bull Common Thread series featuring guitar heroes Dinosaur Jr. with sets from the bands’ two offshoots, Sebadoh and J. Mascis. The festival also features Critics’ darlings Ceremony, Julia Holter, Lightning Bolt, The Men, Fucked Up, Trust, and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart will all be performing special sets of over the September weekend.

We’ll have a full write-up of the Sunday MusicFest show at Pioneer Square featuring Band of Horses and Cass McCombs, but we’ve got to catch-up on all the work we missed while lolly-gagging at the festival! In the meantime, here are some photos we took at the show…

Though I’ve long appreciated Explosions in the Sky’s music – I would have to admit a bias to not being able to truly “love” a rock band that doesn’t feature vocals. So it must be said that clearly there is something special about them, at least to this writer’s ears, as I find myself drawn to their particular brand of “soundtrack to a movie that hasn’t been made” production more often than not.

The same could be said for the filled Pioneer Courthouse Square on Saturday evening, as the masses swayed and moved – nearly in unity at times with Munaf Rayani, one of the Texas 5-pieces’ three guitar players, and unofficial spokesperson. Rayani’s constant swaying contributed to the band’s hypnotic sound, and visuals. Like MFNW guests Mogwai (a EITS inspiration) two years ago, the band’s nearly 90 minute set allowed the listener to create their own vision. EITS drew widely from the its catalog, though mostly from their last three albums, including 2011’s Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (an album I find myself listening to at least once a week).

The band filled the evening air with a carefully balanced set list – its ebb and flow maintaining the focus of the audience on a warm summer evening. People could be spotted on top of nearby buildings, in strategically fortunate apartments…locked in on the spectacle of a sound that has provided soundtrack music for a number of films, from the feature (and eventually television show) Friday Night Lights…to a documentary about futbol legends FC Barcelona…to Capitalism: A Love Story by “agitpropster” Michael Moore.

There wasn’t anything terribly controversial this evening, as the audience was clearly here to listen to a favorite band, and provide its own fireworks on the eve of September 11th.

On a sweltering hot day, music fans in downtown Portland started things with a cool wave, only to be swallowed up by a sonic storm.

The MFNW show on Saturday at Pioneer Square began as a showcase for some local talent; their Portland base was about all they had in common, Eluvium opening things up with their ambient, Eno-influenced sound (Smells Like Pop didn’t cover this, though we’re “longtime” fans, having covered the band’s show at Holocene in 2010, and listing 2009’s Similes as one of the year’s best).

Typhoon then took the stage, the latest “indie darlings”; in fairness, they’ve been around in one form or another since 2005. The current incarnation boasts over a dozen players, and the sheer numbers – combined with the variety of instruments (strings, three trumpets, back-up vocalists) – brought to mind the likes of Sufjan Stevens. This collective is lead by Kyle Morton, whose sharp lyrics, and Americana with an attitude brings to mind Mighty Joe Moon-era Grant Lee Buffalo. Though they share a little territory with the Decemberists, Typhoon’s brass lends a punch that sets them apart.

The band’s set featured music primarily from their album Hunger and Thirst, and their well-received recent EP, A New Kind of House. Though there have been a number of artists whose lineup has ballooned to include a variety of instruments, Typhoon deserve credit for the tightness of their performance – managing to avoid a “kitchen sink” sound, allowing sections of the ensemble to stand out  depending on the track (the horn section in fan favorite “The Honest Truth”, as an example). Morton’s vocals came off as sincere, as opposed to overly sentimental – his delivery intense and confident.

Their album Hospice originally brought attention to New York band The Antlers, but in this writer’s estimation it was their 2010 album Burst Apart (read review here) that kept fans’ interested – and much of that albums’ material served as the foundation for their afternoon set at Pioneer Square on Saturday.

As has been mentioned before (including in SLP’s review), the NYC band derived its name from Olympia (and for a while, Portland) based experimental pop artist The Microphones. However, the dream-pop that The Antlers creates is infinitely more accessible – and quite lovely, in the best sense.

Vocalist Peter Silberman’s falsetto – reminiscent of Jeff Buckley’s, and perhaps an acquired taste for some – carried the band’s sound, though his bandmate’s (keyboardist Darby Cicci, in particular) accompaniment revealed a solid ability to harmonize that thankfully worked live.

The lazy afternoon sun, and its heat, may have lent itself to the band’s sound, which wafted from the stage and transfixed the appreciative audience. Though all of the songs they performed were true to the quality of the original material, set closer “Putting the Dog To Sleep” had a particularly ruminative sadness that seemed to bond the audience in a shared lyrical catharsis … Portlanders certainly love their dogs.

(Editor’s note: a heartfelt thank you to the MFNW sound people for the Pioneer Square shows – excellent mixing allowed some truly complex arrangements from the various bands to be tastefully showcased – not easily done in an outdoor venue.)

The daytime MusicFest NW shows broadcast live on KEXP have been great so far, and since I had my kids with me and the shows are all ages, I decided to bring ‘em along. My son’s opening soccer game took precedence in the afternoon, so unfortunately we missed the Antlers noon-time set. Avi Buffalo was playing next, so after some cajoling, arm twisting and watching a couple of videos of the band, we hit the Doug Fir. I have to admit it was kind of fun showing the kids around the venue that I normally only visit late at night. We got some ice waters and settled into the lounge in back for the 30 minute set.

Avi Buffalo as a band are young, and really just kids themselves, but the songs written by Avi Zahner-Isenberg (many recorded in his home studio) have  traces and seedlings of many older artists carried within – musicians like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and even the Pixies (Avi was wearing a Pixies t-shirt). The “pop” songs were all very pleasant and sometimes more complex as both time and chord changes borrowed from jazz crept into the mix, especially on their final song.

All in all, the kids liked the show – my son even a little more than my daughter. I think she saw through my clumsy attempts at getting her to start music lessons again by pointing out the cool drummer and bassist, both girls. Not the kids first concert (that was X/Knitters when they were just wee-nippers) but a fun afternoon of music. Afterwards we walked across the driveway to the MFNW Poster Show where poster artists from all over were selling limited edition concert posters – groovy stuff, though some might have been rated PG-13.

Avi Buffalo’s debut, self-titled  album is out now on SubPop.

Olivia Tremor Control Highlight Elephant 6 Showcase

Someday Lounge is a great live venue, in a city that is filled with lots of quality performances spaces. On Friday, it played host to a family reunion, of sorts – with bands affiliated with the Elephant 6 Collective displaying their take on pop music.

After a set by Music Tapes (that we missed), The Minders (now Portland based, but originally formed in Denver, with members of the Apples in Stereo) featured a retooled lineup. Vocals and rhythm guitar were provided by founder Martyn Leaper – but the band also included former Shin’s drummer Jesse Sandoval. The Minders showcased some new music from a soon-to-be-released album (information Leaper shared midway through their set), while playing some of its solid – if not revolutionary – jangly pop, including many songs from the band’s standout album, Hooray for Tuesdays (a personal favorite). Fans of Guided by Voices and the like would have been very happy.

Brooklyn’s Ladybug Transistor, veterans of the indie music scene – as well as the Elephant 6 Recording Company, channeled – among other things – Gary Olson’s Lou Reed-inspired vocals, 50’s-dweeb chic in the person of the band’s keyboardist, and a nod to Burt Bacharach. At its best, the band’s music was sweetly lounge-ish (complete with Olson’s trumpet parts), reminiscent of Jens Lekman (perhaps because the band’s bassist, Julia Rydholm, performs those duties for him). But the sweet turned saccharine, as the band’s material became progressively sappy, pulled down by weight of sentimental lyrics and a certain sameness of sound.

The clear highlight of the evening was Olivia Tremor Control. After a hiatus of nearly a decade, the famously dense and complex pop asthetes (a friend described them as if the Beatles kept taking lots of acid) waded through their Brian Wilson-esque madness with glee.
Their hook filled tunes, which would leave some scratching their heads, left their fans – like me – shaking their head in delight.

So it was refreshing to see that not only did their sound transcend the studio – but between the charming and often witty stage presence, the impressive virtuosity and dynamic arrangements, songs revealed – or accented – the playfulness (and cleverness) embedded in their music. And considering the packed, enthusiastic house’s response – many had come heavily anticipating such a performance.

The band slammed through their playlist, wasting little time in pleasing the ravenous audience – the evening filled with highlights from their catalogue, including many tracks from landmark album Black Foliage.

For my third night chained to my MFNW bracelet, I decided to hit Pioneer Square for an open-air concert in the middle of downtown on a strikingly beautiful evening. Marketa Irglova was already on stage (I missed local rising star Sallie Ford), backed by a woman with a finger-played persian drum and a very subdued guitarist. Separated from her duo The Swell Season, Irglova delivered sentimental lyricism familiar to viewers of Once, the duo’s critically acclaimed irony-free mockumentary.  It was a pleasant performance befitting the tranquil evening, though Marketa’s in-depth explanations of the emotions inherent in her songs were somewhat jarring.

She and her drummer remained on stage as skillful back-up singers for the next performer Samuel Beam, known as Iron & Wine to you and me. With a voice generally defined by the sound and title of his song “Cinder and Smoke” from 2004′s Our Endless Numbered Days and a pepper-shaker beard down to his chest, Beam was regal and even jovial at times with the crowd that soon covered most of the bricks in the square. His voice was clear and strong for this show, with barely a hint of any wispy smokiness, and his backing band looked like seasoned jazz veterans who occasionally let loose with a sound so tight it tamped down any hint of chaos. They played a jaunty version of In Your Wings with added congo rhythms. When a very clever person in the crowd called for “Freebird,” the hirsute Beam immediately unleashed a stipped-down version of the anthem that he could have carried to the end; instead, he cut himself off, saying “Be careful what you ask for, bitches.” The crowd laughed, but the comment was off-key. In his black suit, Beam was like your uncle the preacher who told your mom to kiss his ass. Awkward, in retrospect. The largely female crowd gave him a pass, and he delivered the rest of the set in uninterrupted glory.

Hankering for the full music-festival experience, I went across town to the Roseland Theater and through its metal detectors. If the experience of being body-searched before a show wasn’t enough to signify that I was about to experience a massive cultural shift, then standing on the floor with several hundred antsy teens let me know it was largely a generational one. The young fans were there to experience the phenomenon that is Macklemore and Ryan, and they let his opening band know it. Shabbazz Palaces, critically acclaimed for experimental hip hop, kept pace for a few songs  with frenetic congo and rhymes before the restless crowd shouted them down with cries of “Macklemore!” Portland polite it was not, and Shabbazz left the stage shortly after. When the fans’ beloved eventually took the stage, the racial subtext was blatant but unacknowledged. Macklemore launched with the dialect of his street-wise hip hop peers, and the crowd was there to represent, straight outta the West Hills and south-central Lake Oswego. The hormone-intensified unison chants and fist pumps verged on pure worship, and Macklemore was clearly moved. “Last time we were here, there were only about seventy-five people in the crowd,” he remarked, almost overwhelmed. The sentiment fed right into his music, which unlike the Vanilla Ice his critics might compare him to, is a very different project indeed. His is a brand of emo hip hop, with plenty of “shits” and “muther-fucks” to make it “real,” but also a lyrical content aimed at the heart, which seemed especially on target for this adolescent crowd. Somehow he managed to get the entire floor to pogo for a tribute to a dead sportscaster from Seattle, before asking them to raise their lighters in the air in memory of “all those lost to addictions.” Apparently the irony was missed. The crowd followed his bidding, jumping and holding hands in the air on command. It was a sight to behold.

Eventually I escaped to track down The Ladybug Transistor, and ultimately the legendary Olivia Tremor Control. But the musical and generational whip-lash was too extreme to recount much more than anything pre-verbal. Leave it to my peers to describe these bands, or my review for the insanely-clever OTC would be guttural blatherings. Yagh.

Actually, there was nothing horrible about the 30 minute mid-morning set by UK goth-synth-shoegaze-pop phenom, The Horrors. Except that it could have been a little longer and the drums could have been a little softer. The Horrors wear their myriad influences proudly on their stylish sleeves, often times sounding (add looking) like the more up-beat cousins of the Brian Jonestown Massacre. They combine vintage synths, throbbing bass and fuzzed-out wall-of-guitar in a style all their own, while still feeling like the latest band in an evolutionary progression of british rock. See them tonight at Midnight at Dante’s. Really. Go see them–they’re great live.

Smells Like Pop hit the sweltering hot (literally) scene at Branx on Thursday Night for the Suuns, Talkdemonic and Handsome Furs shows, and then raced over to the practically empty midnight performance by EMA at Holocene. Suuns played a loud and revved-up set that was all over the place (good thing) sounding at times like Clinic, Can, Stereolab and more (good thing, too). We’re looking forward to hearing how their sound may get distilled into something immediately identifiable as Suuns. But, just as happy if they keep going as they are now.

Talkdemonic played a nice set of experimental noise pop, but suffered from the laptop disease that many bands today are infected with–I kept thinking how much better they’d sound with a couple more musicians on stage instead of having everything pre-recorded on a computer. But, hooray for the Macbook–it played a great set! Handsome Furs came on last like the Tasmanian Devil couple from Looney Tunes. To say they were wound-up is an understatement. In other words, “I want what they’re having.” The crazy energy of husband and wife, Dan Boeckner (Vocals & Guitar) and Alexei Perry (Synths & Beats) was almost unbelievable at the start, but their attitude and live sound quickly grew on me–it was a fun, danceable show! Go see them if you can…

I think we were expecting a lot from EMA–there’s been a lot of hype swirling around Erika M. Anderson for her recent solo record. Elements of the show were great, some good and some (like the sound and tuning of the drums) were a little flat. Her backing band looked like they felt a bit awkward which clashed with Anderson’s seeming comfort on stage. Late shows can be great or tough-going–let’s call this one somewhere in the middle.

More in-dept write-ups should be coming soon. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the night.