Recently Announced

So a couple new summer shows at the Edgefield were announced a few days ago.

The Yeah Yeah Yeah's are playing their first show back in Portland after 4 years on August 14th. I missed them last time they came around too. One day I'll see 'em.
Here's a link to get tix.

Also Death Cab For Cutie will be playing on August 31st. It's the 10 year anniversary of the Transatlanticism album, and they'll be playing the entire album through plus more.
Here's a link for tix to the show.

I've gotta say, I'm a little bummed about the timing. I was sort of happy that there weren't too many good shows this summer since I am going to be in San Francisco. Oh well, at least I'll get to see Alt-J and Portugal. The Man in Oakland. And hopefully both bands will come to the Bay Area!

Evil Friends Streaming

Portugal. The Man's new album Evil Friends is now streaming! The album comes out tomorrow, the 4th, but luckily for me, the whole thing is online now and I don't have to wait an extra day.

The album is really good. You can hear details that Danger Mouse as the producer put in. The paring of Portugal. The Man and Danger Mouse is a match made in music heaven.

The album is very similar to the band's last album In The Mountain, In The Cloud with it's catchy tunes, reuse of melodies and lyrics in different songs, and songs that will continually get stuck in your head.

You can give it a listen here.

Enjoy!

MusicFest NW

The lineup for MusicFest NW was announced today! Some of the bands I'm looking forward to are:

-The Joy Formidable
-Typhoon
-Fred Armisen
-Ra Ra Riot
-Horse Feathers
-Surfer Blood

There are lots more, and you can see the entire lineup here.

Young The Giant will be playing also. I never really got into them, although I've actually seen them before. The Kooks opened for them a few years ago at the Crystal Ballroom for one of the December To Remember shows.

It could have been a better lineup, but it's by no means bad. I'm just still relishing the performance by Silversun Pickups from last September when they played for MFNW at Pioneer Square, and a few years before that when I saw The Decemberists play there as well.

Fred Armisen should be fun to see! My sister won tickets to see Jim Gaffigan at the Keller Auditorium last year, and to our surprise, Fred was the opening act. He put on a great show, and it'll be fun to see him again!

Vampire Weekend

Well, the new Vampire Weekend album came out a little bit ago.You can tell that they've done a lot of growing up in the 5 years since they released their first album.
Modern Vampires Of The City is more reminiscent of their sophomore album, Contra, with more mellow and experimental sounds.
Their quirky sound, references to vague and obscure things in their lyrics, and catchy courses are what make Vampire Weekend who they are. Modern Vampires Of The City a quality album, and you should definitely give it a listen and see for yourself.

I'm really bummed that they're playing the Keller Auditorium in a few days in Portland. It's a venue designed for theatre, musicals, opera, and ballet. NOT for musical performances. My parents saw The Shins when they played there, and said the sound quality was horrible, and that it almost wasn't worth it.


Here's the first single, Diane Young:

First Concert

When I was seven years old, I saw my very first concert. It was N'Sync at the Rose Garden. I remember my dad had put tickets in an empty heart shaped box on Valentine's Day for me and my sister, and we freaked out. I don't remember too much from that night, but there are three specific things I remember really clearly:

1. I was wearing a long sleeve orange tie-dye shirt, with butterflies on it.

2. I saw a girl wearing a homemade shirt that said "I love Lance" and I got really pissed off because I  loved Lance. The nerve of some people...

3. At one point during the show all the guys got onto this horseshoe platform that rose out into the audience, and my dad told me there were probably around forty feet away, and I was amazed at how close I had been to them.

Of course, this was before cell phones with video, so the only way to have recorded it would have been to bring a clunky old video camera, and that definitely wasn't allowed... I miss the times when people didn't always take videos though. People were more connected to the show and being present, rather than passively taking video to show their friends.

Anyway, that was the show that got me started. Then, three years later or so, I saw Green Day at the Memorial Coliseum, and Lifehouse at the Roseland. Those were my first three, and I'm not gonna lie, I sometimes still listen to N'Sync when I'm bored. Justin Timberlake will always be a guilty pleasure of mine.

Best Concert

My favorite concert I've ever been to has changed a lot over the years, but in 2009 that changed when I saw The Decemberists perform the entire Hazards Of Love album at the Edgefield in Troutdale.
I've seen The Decemberists 6 times, and every time I feel like they couldn't get any better, but they blow my mind every time.

Since Hazards Of Love is a concept album with a pretty complex plot line, seeing them play the entire album front to back was amazing. Here's a link to an explanation of the story: http://www.firsttube.com/read/the-decemberists-the-hazards-of-love/

Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond) and Becky Stark (of Lavender Diamond) were guest vocalists on the album playing the Forest Queen and Margaret, and were both performing with the band during the tour.

When they played The Rake's Song (a short little gruesome story about a single dad killing his three kids after his wife dies during childbirth), everyone onstage save for Colin Meloy on guitar and Nate Query on bass had their own drum and played along with the song creating an amazing and powerful sound.

Here's a video of them playing it:

It was a magical show, and on top of playing the entire album, they came back for an encore of 7 more songs. If you ever get the chance to see The Decemberists live, JUMP ON IT. They don't disappoint, and every show is incredible.

Here's a video from the concert (The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid):

New Band Alert

Just started listening to a 4-piece Irish band called The Strypes. Very talented kids, and when I say kids, I mean kids... They are all 16 or 17 years old. Incredibly skilled beyond their years though. I believe they'll definitely break through and become something big, so might as well jump on the bandwagon now.

They have a Beatles/Fratellis sound, with a hint of some Black Keys Guitar, and Arctic Monkeys vocals. Very classic rock with heavy blues undertones.

Here's a song of theirs called Blue Collar Jane: