Concert: Lily Allen

Lily Allen has only ever played Portland twice (once before at the Crystal, and the time before that at the Aladdin). As soon as I heard about her latest album, Sheezus, I knew she would tour and was hoping for a US leg! Lily had been on a hiatus since 2009's It's Not Me, It's You, and fans and cirtics alike were abuzz with excitement of the forthcoming album. October 6th couldn't get there fast enough!

The first single off Sheezus was a song called Hard Out Here which was critically acclaimed as a feminist anthem which discusses gender roles of women in the music industry as well as in society as a whole. The lyrics perfectly capture the thoughts of millions of women faced with the pressures of today's society, and the unfairness of how women and men are persevered in the media "If I told you 'bout my sex life, you'd call me a slut/When boys be talking about their bitches, no one's making a fuss". Lily Allen has always been outspoken about the inequality of genders and societal issues with women in the media, and it's a breath of fresh air from the usual popular garbage we're spoon fed from popular artists (most of whom don't even write their own lyrics).

I got to Ringler's Pub early to wait for the concert, and ended up meeting some like-minded people that let me join their table as we all waiting together. Once doors opened we rushed up the two flights of stairs, but saw four people already standing front and center even though we were the first people though the doors. I discovered late on that it was due to one of the girls having a brother that worked at the venue, so they were allowed in early. Unfortunately, these University of Oregon students were not very big fans and one of them (the tall brute of a man next to who was front and center) was on his phone the whole night. Totally disrespectful.

The opening act, Lolawolf, are a New York trio comprised of Jimmy Giannopoulos, James Levy, and none other than the daughter of Lenny Kravitz - Zoe Kravitz. They have a dreamy-synth sound with electronica undertones. They put on a good show, but it was a bit slow and most of the songs sounded alike to my mind, and no song was particularly distinct.

A friend of mine who somehow managed to get on the VIP list said she saw Alia Shawkat - best known for her role in Arrested Development as Maeby. Appearently Alia and Zoe are friends and Alia happened to be in town. Fun!

Lily's set consisted of oversized, light-up baby bottles scattered across the stage, and heavy, dense fog machine cover. I was wondering how the stage would be set considering the stage at the Crystal Ballroom is awkwardly in the corner, and not very large. I'm sure Lily is used to performing on big stages with lots of space for herself/the band/the backup dancers. They utilized the space well though, and everything fit nicely if not a bit snug.

Lily Allen and her back up dancers came on and started the show with the title track of the new album, Sheezus. She went right into the song It's Not Fair next, and at the beginning of the next song LDN she removed her sparkly top to reveal a pink polka-dot unitard. A mom of 2, Lily looked fantastic with her pink hair, sky high heels, and unitard. 

After the song URL Badman she exited the stage for a quick costume change - wile still speaking to the audience via her wireless microphone. She appeared a few minutes later wearing an oversized hockey jersey emblazoned with the number '420', with platform jelly sandals and pink socks, and a cigarette in her hand.

The song Smile concluded with a remix with heavy beats that her backup dances came on and grooved to.

For the encore, Lily came out in gold sparkly track pants and an Oregon State University Beavers T-shirt, much to the chagrin of the disrespectful U of O students next to me who booed at the sight of it.

The last song of the night was Hard Out Here, and the backup dancers all came onstage wearing black full body spandex and dog masks over their heads (get it? Bitches?).

All in all it was a great show! I was disappointed by the number of audience members with phones in their hands filming the show rather than actually enjoying it and not being an asshole to the people behind them, but it seems that's a train that is going full speed ahead and can no longer be stopped.

Concert: The Decemberists (Night 2)

For the second Decemberists show on May 30th, I had purchased a special VIP ticket which got me early entry and a meet and greet with the band. At about 5:45 they let the VIP line in. I had learned the day before that 120 VIP tickets were sold for each show, which seemed like a lot to me. I also learned that there's no way to tell someone that you're standing in the VIP line without sounding like a total douche...

I met a few people in line that were pretty cool, and we hung out in Lola's Room which is another venue on the floor below the Crystal Ballroom. It's pretty small - 340 people capacity - and that's where the meet and greet was. There was a table with some food from Ringler's Pub downstairs, and everyone got a drink ticket. The band didn't come in until about 6:30 (they were supposed to come in at 6), and the girl (can't remember her name for the life of me...) I had met before and I immediately went over to Colin since we knew he was going to get swamped and we wanted to get up to the stage before the early entry from Ringler's were allowed in.

I told him how much I appreciated what the band was doing for Victory Academy since I used to babysit for a boy that was on the autism spectrum. I also gave him a little salve package (my mom makes organic salves and lip balms, so I gave him two lip balms and a 'healskin' salve that's good for scrapes and cuts).

After that I went around and met the other band members with the girl and gave each of them a lip balm that my mom had made. They all loved them - John (drummer) put it on right away, and Nate (bass player) said it would be perfect for his 4-year-old who is very into "lipstick" right now.

I asked Chris Funk (various instruments, guitar, steel pedal guitar, theremin, etc.) about what the story is with the small deity that's always onstage with them now. Apparently it's Athena, and they stole it from the dressing room of a venue they played at once. He actually remembered me from the Black Prairie show at the KINK Bing Lounge which was super cool.

I finished the meet and greet by talking to Jenny Conlee (pianist and accordion player), who over the course of our conversation ended up reveling there would be a new Decemberists album and tour early next year. I also ended up talking to her about piano lessons, which I'm now taking with her!


                                        Colin Meloy                                                                                   Chris Funk

                     

                   
                       My whole family was in the front row                 Signed poster included with VIP ticket


I got to the barricade (front and center) with a few people from the meet and greet, but there were only about five of us there when the early entry from Ringler's came rushing in. My family were one of the first groups in, and there was actually enough room for us all to be in front together which was kinda cool.

Sallie Ford was the opening act, she came out with a new band (all female which was badass) since 'The Sound Outside' had split. She was excellent, and Chris Funk (who is producing her latest album which I found out at the Black Prairie KINK Bing Lounge show) came out for a few songs.

The first part of the set was the Castaways And Cutouts (2002) album - same as the night before. Although I thought the first night was better than the second, due to the 80's Video Dance Attack happening in Lola's Room below the Crystal. The bass could be heard from below which really sucked during the slow songs.

After a half hour break they came back out and played the exact same second set from the night before. I was a little surprised that they played the same set since I've seen them play back to back nights before and it was always different, but I guess they haven't played in a while so they probably only rehearsed those specific songs.

Like the night before, Colin played Hank Eat Your Oatmeal which went into Calamity Song, and the rest of the second set was as excellent as the night before.
When they came back for the two song encore, Colin made a joke about the 80's Video Dance Attack that was still happening below, and the band ended up playing Your Love (an 80's song by The Outfield) with Chris Funk on vocals.

This is the song for reference:

They played almost all of  Your Love, then went into 16 Military Wives. Towards the end of the song, Chris Funk and Colin Meloy had a bit of a 'guitar solo battle', and stood on the speakers between the barricade and the stage. After a bit of back and forth between them, Colin handed his guitar to the girl standing to the left of my dad, and Chris went to pull a guy up onstage who was a few people to my right. The guy didn't want to go up though, so he pulled up the girl next to him. I was super bummed he didn't pick me at first, but then John got off the drums (Colin took his place), grabbed a Tom drum that Chris had used for Rake's Song, and held it out for me to play from behind the barricade!

John was talking to me as I was playing the drums saying that "I could get a job doing this", but then went on to say "Nah, you'd be better off getting a real job" (not condescendingly, but in a joking way) , and also saying that he had "No idea how long this will go on for".

It was total chaos for a little bit: the girl was onstage playing Chris's guitar (with him helping her), John was holding out the drum for me to play, Nate got tired and sat on the drum platform with his giant upright bass on its side in his lap, and Jenny was keeping the beat.

Then after a good five minutes or so, John told me that they were going to 'bring it back', and left the drum for me to play. Colin came back out gestured for the audience to lower down - which they (of course) obliged to do (even me still playing the drum as I did so). Colin took the mic stand and was standing on the speakers in front of the stage about to end the song, when the stand disconnected and he was just holding the top part. A crew member rushed out to put it back into place, but it was very funny.

Like the night before, they ended with June Hymn, and it was a lovely, magical finish to to a fabulous night.

Concert: The Decemberists (Night 1)

The Decemberists haven't played a show since their two epic back to back nights at McMenamins Edgefield back in 2011. They played the Boston Calling music festival on May 24th before their two sold out nights at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland on the 29th and 30th to benefit the Victory Academy. Victory Academy is a school in the Portland metro area specifically for kids on the autism spectrum; it has seen so much success that it is in desperate need of expansion which is what the shows were benefiting.

The show was ticketless in order to try and curtail the rampant scalping, meaning that there was a two ticket limit per credit card, and to get into the show you had to have the card used to purchase the tickets present along with ID. For both of the shows there were regular admittance tickets, and special VIP tickets that got you a signed special edition poster, a pre-show meet and greet with the band and some food, and early entry into the venue.

The first night I had just a regular admittance ticket, but I still ended up front row and center due to some very cool people I met who had the VIP tickets, and a funny coincidence: Three years ago at one of the back to back nights at the Edgefield my sister and I stood next to a guy who had come all the way from Alaska. He was at the front and center, and actually remembered us from the show three years ago. As it turns out, there was a picture taken of the show that was used in the album booklet  for their live album and there are only about four people visible. My sister, the Alaskan guy, and I, are all clearly visible! This photo is currently their Facebook cover photo

Before the show started, a security guard came out and gave a loud (non microphone) announcement to the front rows saying that there were no photos or videos per request of the band. People adhered to it too!

Laura Veirs came out and played a short set right at 8pm. She played the first few songs with just her and her guitar, then The Decemberists (minus front man Colin Meloy) came out, and accompanied her for the rest of the excellent set.

Before the show, the founder and one of the teachers at Victory Academy came out (with an introduction from Colin) and talked a bit about the school and its goals. And then the moment everyone had been waiting for: The Decemberists came out to great whoops and cheers and immediately started into the first act of the night - the entire Castaways and Cutouts (2002) album.

It sounded excellent, and there was - of course - some banter between songs because Colin couldn't help himself. The first half ran very smoothly save for a few minor tangles which I'm guessing were simply due to not playing for a while. During Cautionary Song Colin messed up some of the lines, but he brushed it off and the crowed loved it. He also really got into California One/Youth and Beauty Parade - laying down on the ground while playing guitar, and refreshing the drummer, John Moen, with some water (pouring it in his mouth/all over his face).

They took a 20 minute break between the sets, then came back out to play another thirteen songs. At one point someone yelled out "Freebird" and Colin went on a short rant about his involvement in MACOF (Musicians Against the Calling Out of Freebird - more info here). He sang the short ditty "Hank Eat Your Oatmeal" - a song about getting his son to eat breakfast - which went into Calamity Song.

During O Valencia he went into a quick verse of "the worst song in the world" Dracula's Daughter, and before 16 Military Wives they went into the Doobie Brothers song Dixiland, and during the final 'duh duh duh''s, Colin had the audience change the volume level of singing, had us whisper it, and then finally just think it.

The performance was wonderful, and everyone had a good time. It was a spectacular comeback, and a great first night of their back to back shows which left me eagerly awaiting the second night, and marveling in the euphoria from the first night.

Concert: Modest Mouse

The last time Modest Mouse played their hometown of Portland was back in the summer of 2011 at the McMenamins Edgefield 100th birthday celebration. They came back in full swing after canceling a European tour in 2013 to continue work on their album. With around a dozen show tour plus festival dates, they kicked off their tour with two hometown shows on May 1st and 2nd at the crystal ballroom.

They obviously felt comfortable in front of their hometown fans, as was apparent by them coming out a half hour later than they were supposed to. They had some longer than necessary pauses between songs, with a few awkward stories told here and their by front-man Isaac Brock. 

The first was an anecdote about when he was opening up a can of cat food and was reminded of how his grandmother's house used to smell, even though she didn't have a cat (which was the weird part). The other story was about how he was an extra in The Pelican Brief, and signed up his girlfriend even though she couldn't make it, so he got paid twice. Both stories ended rather abruptly, and filled some of the time spent in between songs.

They played a rather conservative set of songs that were sure to please. A handful of older songs, but they mostly stuck to their newer work, while also introducing three new songs: "Shit in your cut', 'Lampshades on fire', and 'Sugar boats (alternately known as 'heart of mine')'. 

With 7+ people on stage at any given time, a whole second percussion set, and some brass instruments, they were very tight (although a tad rusty considering it had been a while since playing live). Isaac Brock did his classic, spastic, shout-singing in parts of most of the songs, and all the other band members switched between instruments so often that everyone was all over the stage, which accounted for some of the long pauses between songs.

No definitive news yet about when the new album will be released. I have a good friend who is next door neighbors to Isaac Brock, and Isaac invited her and her boyfriend to come listen to the new album. So as far as I know so far, it is almost in its completion, and hopefully will be released in the fall/winter. Their last full length album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, was released in 2007, and the EP No One's First and You're Next came out in 2009. They are long overdue for a new release!

The encore was: Lampshades on Fire, Baby Blue Sedan, Doin' the Cockroach, Tiny Cities Made of Ashes

Dashboard

Fire it Up

Photos and videos courtesy of Howard Weiner 

Concert: Jake Bugg

When I got to Ringler's next to the Crystal Ballroom, there were no decorations this time. There were a few other people waiting inside that looked like they had only gotten there a little bit before I did. Later on in the evening we all joined together into one group (four of us total including me). That's why I like going to concerts by myself; I get to meet new people and sometimes make new friends, or 'concert buds' as I call them, and see them at other shows.

Anyway, all of them were there for one of the opening acts, Albert Hammond Jr. who is actually they guitarist and keyboardist of The Strokes. He has his own band though (under his name) and they were awesome. They sounded just like the strokes basically. I honestly had no idea who he was until the group came together and they told me.

Since I was there so early, we saw the bands get there and unload all of their stuff. My group all ran out to meet Albert when he appeared later in the day, and I held down the fort inside. When Jake Bugg was going from the bus to the venue I was able to snag a quick picture and say hello. He's actually smiling in the picture (something he rarely does), but - of course - I look awful.

The show was late - doors at 8 show at 9 instead of the standard, doors at 7 show at 8. And with two opening bands I knew it would be pretty late.
One of the security guards I had befriended, John, was standing nearby when I got inside and was front and center. I asked him when it was over, and it didn't end until 12:20. I asked him how that worked since nearly all of the shows I've been to there ended before 11:30. He said it depended on the curfew that they are given, and most of the time it's midnight, but that particular night it was 1am. I should have asked him how that worked... Next time I guess.

It's very convenient to know a security guard by the way. Sometimes things get crazy and people are assholes, and to know someone's name can help get their attention to take care of the issue. That's about it though, other than knowing someone who knows the times of the shows. John did give me a bottle of water though which was awesome.

The first band were called The Skins, and they were out of New York. The had a very rock sound to them, but also a few softer songs. The lead singer had a voice that sounded to me like a combination of Adele and Amy Winehouse. Very powerful from such a small woman. The female guitarist could shred like crazy and that combined with the other guitarist playing the same lick intensified the sound and made it that much more tight.

Here's a song of theirs called Ocean:

Then Albert came out and played in a black jumpsuit. The sound was very much like the strokes and included the signature guitar's playing together and harmonizing. There were a bunch of people around me in the front who were just there for him and left afterwards.

Then Jake Bugg and two others came out. The only time I have seen the stage emptier was the night before when it was just Colin Meloy, a guitar, and a table. The drummer and bass player were only onstage about 50% of the time. Since I had only ever seen Jake play solo with an acoustic, it was really cool to finally hear those rock songs with the addition of the bass and drums. The classic trio of bass, guitar, and drums.

Jake Bugg has been compared to Bob Dylan, but says one of his biggest inspirations was actually Donovan. He has a great combination of rock songs and mellow, hauntingly beautiful acoustic songs with lyrics about getting out of his hometown and love. At only 19 he is a nice refresher from the other kids his age in music *coughJustinBiebercough*, and lets his talent and hard work shine through.

Concert: Colin Meloy

The Crystal Ballroom turned 100 years old on the 21st. To celebrate, they had 100 nights of music and events leading up to the big birthday party on the 21st featuring Colin Meloy doing a solo set.
When I got to Ringler's pub next to the Crystal to wait for doors to open, there were balloons and parts hats at every table. Many people had no idea why, but it made me even more excited for the evening of music to come. I met some kids and one of their father's who had come from Bend for the show.

Colin Meloy set off on his US solo tour in November of 2013 with a month and a half break until his west coast tour leg. I had been tracking what his setlist would look like though the website setlist.fm where I could see what songs he played at the various venues throughout the tour. He changed it up a fair amount, but played Engine Driver into Bus Mall, Crane Wife 1&2, and Crane Wife 3 nearly every night.

As I got to the third level where the actual ballroom was, there were tables and tables full of cupcakes. I hurriedly grabbed one at random and secured my spot in the front. The one I ended up grabbing was a lemon poppy seed cupcake that was delicious!

Before the opening act, a representative of the Crystal came onstage and rattled off a long list of people who have played at the Crystal, and why the place was so special. Then almost the entire staff came onstage and two of the security guards brought up a giant cake and the entire audience sang happy birthday.

Then John Roderick played his set. He had opened for the Decemberists ten years previous so it was special for him to be playing with Colin again. His music was good. He reminded me of a sort of cross between Counting Crows vocals and a Guster sound to his songs.

Then Colin Meloy came out to the roars and cheers of his hometown fans. He played Hazards Of Love part 1, and then explained afterwards that the muffled shout that can be heard at the end of the song was in fact, Chris Funk shouting out the name of a sandwich played in reverse. Mystery solved! I had always been curious as to what the hell that was.

He played a nice mix of old and new songs. He mentioned the struggles of trying to get his son to eat his breakfast in a quick song called "Hank Eat Your Oatmeal" which turned into Calamity Song. He played an old song called Tristan & Isolde from his former band called Tarkio. At the encore he played a song that wasn't on his setlist called Record Year (which incidentally is my all time favorite Decemberists song), because someone in the back of the crowd shouted it out. I'm very appreciative of that man, whoever he was. However, Colin hadn't played it in so long that he kept forgetting the words, but the girl next to me and I supplied him with corrections when needed which he seemed to appreciate.

There were two new songs called Philomena and Better, which Colin said were new Decmeberists songs that were in the works as the band were in the studio again. Hurray! Before he played Philomena he prefaced it with saying he named the song before the movie with the same title came out, and that the song is rather lude and now all he can think of is Dame Judi Dench when he sings this particular song.

It was an excellent show, and I snagged another cupcake on my way out. There were quite a few left over which I can only assume is due to gluten intolerance because they were damn good cupcakes.

Leftover cupcakes

The one and only setlist that was onstage that I managed to snag

I've never seen the stage so empty

Concert: Portugal. The Man (part 2)

In the second Portugal. The Man show, I was right up front again (and as always). The opening band was Wampire, a local duo that was influenced by Starfucker, another Portland band. They have a synth-y sound with some classic 80's beats thrown into the mix.

Then Portugal. The Man came out and it was great as always. They love playing for the hometown crowd, and Zachary talked about how the first band he saw in Portland was at the Crystal and that it was crazy that he was playing here now. It was very sweet, and they band played great.

It was interesting though, because I felt like they had a better energy at the kids show, but didn't play quite as well (probably since it was in the afternoon), and they played better in the evening, but didn't have quite the same energy.

The only problem (and this happened when I saw them in Oakland too), is that the photographers and people who get press passes to take photos are only supposed to be allowed to take pictures for the first three songs. In this new set that they've been playing and touring with, there aren't really many definitive breaks between songs - they kind of merge and run into one another. So the photographers were there for over five songs, and it was very frustrating when they would stand right in front of you and they shouldn't even be there in the first place...

Otherwise it was a great show, and I can't wait to see them again.

Modern Jesus

Purple Yellow Red And Blue

Concert: Portugal. The Man (part 1)

In addition to playing a sold out show at the Crystal Ballroom later that night as a part of 94.7s December To Remember series, Portugal. The Man played an all ages kids show that same afternoon. The show was a benefit concert for an organization called Oregon Music Hall Of Fame. It's an organization that  honors Oregonians that have made significant contributions to the music industry, including performers and non-performers alike. They also provide college scholarships to musically talented kids to continue in their field.

The show was for kids aged 18 and under. If you were over 18 you had to be accompanied by someone 18 or younger. Finally being 19 and looking like I'm 16 payed off! I got to the venue and met up with some of the people I had met at Alt-J and The Mowgli's. Only a few of them were going to the kids show, and the others held out spot in line when we went in so we could re-join them right after the kids show.

There was no opening band and no barricade from the audience to the stage. The band came out and played a mini version of the set they've been playing all tour long. They - of course - bleeped the word "fucking" to "really" in the song Creep in A Tee Shirt.

Then towards the end of the set they had three boys who were students of the program come out. They played the horns for the song Creep In A Tee Shirt, and it was exceptional. They boys knew what they were doing, and it was excellent to finally hear that song with the horns like how it was recorded on the album. They didn't bring a horn section with them on tour, so that was the first time I heard that song live with horns. Very cool.

After the show, rather than immediately leaving the stage and going backstage to relax, the band members all hopped off stage and met their young fans. They stuck around for quite some time, making sure to greet everyone who was waiting. By the time I left (relatively early after they were done performing) to go back in line for round 2, they were still there and talking to people. They were all very sweet and humble, and it was a very fun show.

John Gourley

Zachary Carothers

Kane Ritchoette

The Airborne Toxic Event

A few weekends ago I got to see The Airborne Toxic Event for the 4th time at the Crystal Ballroom. They put on an AMAZING show, and I was so glad I got to see them again. They played a good mix of their current two albums, with a couple of songs off the EP.

Last time I saw them, I met a bunch of people in line that I become friends with. Well, two years later I met up with them again! It was fun reconnecting, and meeting other people in line who were big fans of the band.

Then something awesome happened. I was talking to a guy in line, Glen, and he was saying how he works with a charity for kids with Downs Syndrome, and the band was going to sign a poster for him to auction off for the charity. So he was getting ready to go meet up with the manager then go meet the band. I said I was jealous and I wished I could go with him (as a joke), when he paused and said "I could probably pass you off as my assistant". I got to go with him!! The manager, Brian, was very cool and he lead us to the dressing room where we met the band. I helped squeeze paint onto the paper plates (they did paint hand prints as well as signatures), and took pictures of the band members signing. They were so nice and funny, and it turned out it was super helpful that I was there because otherwise Glen wouldn't have been able to get any pictures. So yay!

The band holding up the poster

And a picture of the poster itself 

After the show I met the band members again and got a picture with Mikel, the lead singer

They put on a fantastic show, and I highly recommend going if you get the chance! They definitely don't disappoint. They sound like a mix of Silversun Pickups, Cold War Kids, Atlas Genius, and A Silent Film.

Their newest album "Such Hot Blood" come out tomorrow, but I've been streaming it for the past few weeks here. The song Bride & Groom is my favorite off the new album, but they're all really good!