Concerts

Portugal. The Man on Sale Tomorrow

Thu, 02 May 2013 11:03:00 -0700

Psychedelic rockers and Alaska-transplants Portugal. The Man release their sixth album Evil Friends in June—the much anticipated follow-up to 2011’s In the Mountain in the Cloud. Here's a little of what we have to say about the record in our review/Q&A with bandleader John Gourley in our June issue:

The band’s seventh album, Evil Friends, moves even further into the psychedelic wonderland, this time guided down the wending path by Brian Burton, a.k.a. Danger Mouse, the Grammy-winning production Midas who has lent his golden touch to the Black Keys, Norah Jones, and Gnarls Barkley.

Wisely, neither band nor Mouse messes with [In the Mountain in the Cloud]’s formula, but instead they expand and brighten the sonic canvas with elements such as the triumphal horns and swirling strings that burst through the Beatlesque “Sea of Air” and the circus keyboards mixed with hip-hop beats of “Holy Roller (Hallelujah).”

The band just announced a hometown record release show on July 18 at the Crystal Ballroom. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon. It will sell out. We’d bet their period on it.

For more on Portland arts and culture, sign up for our weekly On The Town newsletter, subscribe to our RSS feed, and follow us on Twitter @aarondavidscott. Visit our Arts & Entertainment Calendar for our editors’ event picks.

Premiere: Radiation City’s New Music Video

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:43:00 -0700

Portland’s reigning “Best New Band” (so says the Willamette Week poll) is set to release its excellent new album, Animals in the Median, on May 21. In our review, music writer John Chandler calls it “a highly polished gem, glittering with a bossa nova whimsy that provides the pulse for a dozen sophisticated pocket-orchestra pop songs that never venture past the five-minute mark.” It’s been on heavy rotation in our offices, like a herald trumpeting in the 70-degree weather.

Radiation City has honored us with the premiere of a video shot under the awe-inspiring span of the Astoria–Megler Bridge by local music-video-verite masters Into the Woods. It’s the third in a series of videos celebrating Fort George Brewery's Tender Loving Empire Northwest Pale Ale (local song-lovers TLE is RC’s record label). The song is “Foreign Bodies,” and if you don’t want to wait a month to get the album or two months to go to the record release show (June 28 at the Wonder), you can catch some of the songs live at the band’s performance on Live Wire! on Saturday.

Review: Prince’s Late Show at the Roseland

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:20:00 -0700

Image: Courtesy Penner

Prince at Coachella. Photos at the Roseland were strictly prohibited, as in multiple people were thrown out.

The concert began before the curtains even opened. With the first notes of “Let’s Go Crazy” strummed on heavy, distortion-seeped guitar, bright light flooded over the top of the curtains. As they swung open, a light display of dancing decibels on an LED screen blinded the audience. And from the light emerged the backlit silhouette of Prince. Calmly sauntering down stage, his shadow had more fierceness in it than most fully lit performers.

“Portland, you ready to get crazy tonight?” he asked. The sold out crowd answered unanimously, its stadium-volume roar filling the Roseland like it was the Rose Garden.

Having already played an earlier show, Prince took the stage a mere fifteen minutes later than the scheduled 11:30 pm start time—that’s early for a man who has been known to be fashionably (read: extremely) late. Known for his outrageous outfits, the Purple One kept it simple with a black-and-white long-sleeve spandex shirt, tight black pants, and a chunky metal necklace.

This seemed to be a new Prince—one who seeped his music in a wash of feedback, distortion, and psychedelic visuals and rung it out when he wanted to slow things down. Rock ’n roll numbers such as “Bambi” scorched through the speakers at a volume that blurred the line between cacophony and harmony to create something beautifully arresting. It’s a line that others may try to straddle, but Prince strolls along it with precision and flair—whether he’s addressing his affectionate side with the blues (“Beggin’ Woman Blues”) and tender soul (“When We're Dancing Close And Slow”) or exercising his solo muscles by letting his guitar wail.

The spotlight may have been set on Prince and his guitar, but there was another name on the marquee next to his. His backing band, 3^rd Eye Girl, weren’t there to simply provide the foundation. Towering over him, Hannah Ford (drums), Donna Grantis (guitar), and Ida Nielsen (bass), decked out in leather pants, studs, glittering headbands, and wild hair, were like glamazon rock warriors. Each packed formidable musical chops and played an integral part of the team with Prince assuming the role of master bandleader and controlling the flow of the music with a point of the finger or a head nod. And the relative intimacy of the Roseland meant every person in the room could see his flirty eyes and sparkling grins.

Waiting in the line that wrapped around three sides of the block before the show, the man next to me giddily listed off all of the songs he wanted Prince to play: “Purple Rain,” “Kiss,” “1999,” “Raspberry Beret.” No doubt most in the audience wished that they would witness a two-hour greatest hits medley with some Purple Rain-era salacious grinding. But aside from the stripped-down version of “Let’s Go Crazy” and “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man,” the setlist was filled with deep cuts, never-released songs, and covers. Although Wild Cherry’s “Play that Funky Music,” at which point Prince just stopped singing and let the crowd turn into a writhing frat party karaoke cluster, was questionable at best, the cover of India.Arie’s “Brown Skin,” wailed by Portland’s hometown girl and Prince backup singer Liv Warfield, who took the stage twice, was one of the most mind-exploding moments of the night.

By the first encore, it became apparent that this concert wasn’t about resurrecting old tropes or styles; it was about the music. It was about forging a distinctively new experience: one drenched in funk-heavy jams. If there were any dissidents in the crowd, their jeers were drowned out by the explosion of applause after each song. Even without many hits, Prince had the crowd wrapped around his perfectly manicured finger—to the point that he had the us yodeling halfway through the set.

Although he kicked off the encore by saying, “We’re going to be here all night” (as many hoped we would), he only came out for a second single-song encore. The lights went up a mere 75 minutes after the first notes, leaving one to wonder if his multi-hour shows are a thing of the past, or if Portland just didn’t make the cut this tour. (To his credit, he had already played one concert that night...)

Either way, as I was walking back to my apartment, I overheard the same man I met in line gushing about what he just saw. “I didn’t recognize half those songs, and I can’t get them out of my head.” Who else can shatter your expectations and still leave you wanting more? Prince, that’s who.

Win Tickets to Blind Pilot and the Oregon Symphony

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:00:00 -0700

Image: William Anthony

From left: Ian Krist, Ryan Dobrowski, Kati Claborn, Israel Nebeker, Dave Jorgensen, Luke Ydstie

For our April Culturephile feature in the magazine, we profiled the band Blind Pilot, which has charmed the socks off of NPR and listeners across the world, but is taking on the new challenge of teaming up with the Oregon Symphony for its first ever symphonic collaboration. Our profile kicks off with the band preparing to perform before a sea of children at the hit indie music kids event, You Who. From toddlers to seniors, the band is redefining ‘crossover act.’

Because we’re excited about the show to say the least, we’re giving away a pair of tickets.

This contest is now closed.

What the Festival Announces Its Summer Lineup

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:42:00 -0700

Image: Courtesy Daniel Zeiterstrom

The wading pool at What the Festival

The pretty new baby in the festival ward, the electronic dance fest What the Festival (a.k.a. WTF), returns after its inaugural three-day run last summer, a resounding enough success that NBC News Entertainment declared it the “Millennial Generation’s Woodstock.”

Held in idyllic Wolf Run Ranch on the east side of Hood on July 26–28, the festival is billed as a series of “micro-experiences” (read: a barrage of stimulation from multiple sensory sources, simultaneously). Besides the big names on the stages (see below), there’s the micro film festival, the OMG Lounge (still a mystery to us), a local food market, the Oasis Spa and Lounge, photo booth, and a host of workshops from yoga to dance classes. Underneath everything is that festival vibe on a miniature scale, more Burning Man than Sasquatch, where the chaos is meant to be manageable and an escape more readily available. Maybe. If you tire of the music and the heat, hit the hookah and teepee lounges or the Splash Party in the giant 18-inch-deep wading pool.

Read our dispatch and check out our slideshow from last year’s madcap weekend.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 am.

Here’s a preview of the lineup to get you dreaming of summer adventures:

A-Trak
This turn-table prodigy won the 1997 DMC World DJ Championship at 15. He transcends genre and context, moving seamlessly between the club and festival circuit. He wants to make you dance; maybe that’s why Kanye tapped him to be tour DJ in 2004.

The DJ at 15 and his winning spin:

And all grown up:

RJD2
The eclectic DJ and capable composer (Mad Men theme music!) is 10 years into a busy career and not stopping. Known for blending pop, hip-hop, cinema, and ambiguous quotes from bygone eras, the producer brings music that is alive, funky, beautiful, and strange.

Purity Ring
Dreamy, pretty club music composed by the hands of the Halifax-Montreal based duo Corin Roddick and Megan James.

YACHT
Definitely strange, dynamic, and magical, this Portland duo has been channeling their own thing for some time, blending new age with pop and hypnotic visuals for a weird trip of a good time.

Gramatik

This successful Brooklyn-based MC and rapper has been hooked on old funk and rhythm and blues since he was 3. He kicked off his own beat-making at age 13.

Pantyraid
The offspring of Brooklyn-based Martin Folb and LA-based Josh Mayer, this is polished hip-hop teamed with passionate synth at its best.

The 2012 recap:

Other acts include:

Polish Ambassador
Random Rab
Machinedrum
Cyril Hahn
Goth-Trad Live
Kill Paris
Shigeto
XXYYXX
Machinedrum
JETS
Random Rab
Cyril Hahn
Starkey
Goth-Trad Live
Low Riderz 2.0
Nit Grit
Eliot Lipp
AN*TEN*NAE
J.Philip
Worthy
Clicks and Whistles
Russ Liquid
The Funk Fighters
Lynx
Buku
SaQi
The Fungineers
Jeremy Sole
Pumpkin
Medium Troy
Lushbunny
Kepi
Octaban
and many more...

Did you go last year? What was your best moment? Let us know below.

Win Tickets to Mumford & Sons

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:46:00 -0700

Image: Courtesy Mumford & Sons

Seems it’s a day for ticket alerts and raucous cross-venue transgressions. While Prince decided to skip the coliseum to shimmy into the intimate black mini-skirt of the Roseland, Mumford & Sons are upsizing their tweed and denim suits from the Crystal in 2010 to the Rose Garden on May 27. My only fear is that if they get the entire stadium stomping in time to their frenzied roots rock, it will trigger the Cascadia Earthquake that's supposedly just waiting to lay waste to our city.

Tickets just went on sale through a special early invitation, and we convinced the banjo-wielding radio masters to let us give away a pair!

This contest is now closed.

You have to register to purchase the invitation only tickets.

Michael Kiwanuka and Mystery Jets open.

Mumford & Sons Upcoming Tour Dates

5/21 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome*
5/22 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place*
5/24 – Surrey, BC @ Holland Park*
5/26 – George, WA @ Sasquatch Music Festival
5/27 – Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Arena*
5/29 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre*
5/30 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre*
5/31 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre*
6/02 – San Bernardino, CA @ Glen Helen Regional Park*
6/03 – Chula Vista, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre*
6/05 – Phoenix, AZ @ Desert Sky Pavilion*
6/06 – Taos, NM @ Kit Carson Park*
6/08 – Austin, TX @ Austin 360 Amphitheater*
6/09 – Austin, TX @ Austin 360 Amphitheater*
6/11 – Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion*
6/12 – The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion*
6/13 – New Orleans, LA @ Mardi Gras World*
6/15 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
6/17 – Bonner Springs, KS @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre*
6/20 – Telluride, CO @ Telluride Bluegrass Festival
8/02-04 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
8/23-24 – Simcoe, ON @ Gentlemen of the Road Stopover
8/30-31 – Troy, OH @ Gentlemen of the Road Stopover
9/06-07 – Guthrie, OK @ Gentlemen of the Road Stopover
9/13-14 – St. Augustine, FL @ Gentlemen of the Road Stopover

Prince to Play Two Shows at the Roseland

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:11:00 -0700

This snuck up on us over the weekend: Prince will play two shows at the Roseland on April 21! The Roseland! Meaning just you, the Artist, and a measly 1000 others. That’s akin to sharing a bathroom stall or stretch limo in the untouchable world of the velvet-clad man of mystery.

Sadly, tickets are already sold out for the 8 pm show. We checked with the Roseland, and about 100 tickets in the reserved seats are left for the 11:30 pm show. This will be the stuff of legends, but it will cost you more than a decent purple suit of your own: $300. Is it worth it? Probably, especially if he plays through to dawn.

Seeing as how he has a couple nights off around his Portland stop and is only playing one night here, perhaps we can pray to the purple god that he might add a second...

Prince's tour schedule:
April 15 Vancouver, BC—The Vogue (Early and Late Show)
April 16 Vancouver, BC—The Vogue (Early and Late Show)
April 18 Seattle, WA—Showbox (Early and Late Show)
April 19 Seattle, WA—Showbox (Early and Late Show)
April 21 Portland, OR—Roseland (Early and Late Show)
April 23 San Francisco, CA—DNA Lounge (Early and Late Show)
April 24 San Francisco, CA—DNA Lounge (Early and Late Show)
April 26 Las Vegas, NV—The Joint (Early and Late Show)
April 27 Las Vegas, NV—The Joint (Early and Late Show)
April 30 Phoenix, AZ—The Marquee (Early and Late Show)
May 1 Phoenix, AZ—The Marquee (Early and Late Show)
May 3 San Diego, CA—Hard Rock Hotel (Early and Late Show)
May 4 San Diego, CA—Hard Rock Hotel (Early and Late Show)
May 7 Anaheim, CA—The Grove (Early and Late Show)
May 8 Anaheim, CA—The Grove (Early and Late Show)
July 13-15 Montreux, CH—Montreux Jazz Festival
August 4 Stockholm, SE—Stockholm Music & Arts Festival
August 7 Skanderborg, DK—Smuckfest

Win Tickets to Josh Ritter

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0700

Image: Allison Jones

Josh Ritter at the Wonder Ballroom in 2010.

Given his traditional, folk style, it didn’t seem like Northwest-raised singer-songwriter Josh Ritter could get more back to basics. Then his marriage to singer-songwriter Dawn Landes fell apart. On The Beast in Its Tracks, the songsmith’s first full-length since 2010 (he wrote a novel in the meantime that Stephen King said, “shines with a compressed lyricism that recalls Ray Bradbury in his prime”), Ritter draws from music’s oldest, deepest inspiration source: heartbreak.

He’ll be joined at the Crystal Ballroom on May 22 by his backing band, the Royal City Band. And we’re giving away a pair of tickets.

This contest is now over. Sign up for our On the Town newsletter to learn about future contests.

For more show and ticket info, visit our event listing.

For more on Portland arts and culture, sign up for our weekly On The Town newsletter, subscribe to our RSS feed, and follow us on Twitter @PoMoArt. Visit our Arts & Entertainment Calendar for our editors’ event picks.

PDX Jazz Greats Pick the Best of the Jazz Fest

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:14:00 -0800

As the PDX Jazz Festival floods the city's stages with legends and locals and local legends alike (hello, Esparanza Spalding, aren't your two new Grammys looking fancy!?), we wanted to try something new: we asked some of the PDX masters who will be performing during the fest to recommend the musicians and lineups they're most excited about. Here are their picks, arranged chronologically, and some behind-the-scenes stories, too.

Barry Harris Trio, featuring Chuck Israels and Mel Brown
Fri, Feb 15 at 7, Jimmy Mak's

The performance with Barry Harris is something of a reunion. Barry and I have worked together many times over the years in performances at the Village Vanguard and Blue Note in New York, at the Keystone Corner in Tokyo, and in various concerts in Europe and Japan. Barry is a primary keeper of the bebop flame—a deeply committed and educated musician living in the tradition of Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk. This will be the first time we have had a chance to play together in a few years. Festival producers are fond of putting together musicians who do not normally play together, and the results, while they are often interesting to the musicians and the audience, are sometimes fraught with unforeseen difficulties. This performance has the advantage of being a re-awakening of a well developed and reliable musical relationship. Playing with Barry is a joyous occasion.
—Chuck Israels

Brooks Robertson Solo
Fri, Feb 15 at 7, Aloft Hotel at Cascade Station

I saw Brooks play for the first time when we played at the same music festival as kids. I was 15, and he was a 10-year-old prodigy and already awe-inspiringly good. He has grown into an incredible artist all-around, with both the phenomenal guitar playing talent that he was seemingly born to share with the rest of us, as well as the ability to write a killer song, all while retaining such a humble and kind spirit. He's really someone to watch.
—Halie Loren performs with Matt Treder and Mark Schneider on Sat, Feb 23 at 8, the Benson Hotel

Kurt Rosenwinkel New Quartet, featuring Aaron Parks, Eric Revis, and Justin Faulkner
Thu, Feb 19 at 7:30, Evans Auditorium, Lewis and Clark College

As I mention in my JazzScene interview this month, I'm excited to be playing in the same festival as Kurt Rosenwinkel. I'm definitely going to catch his group on Feb 19. I was able to study with Kurt a little bit in my first year in New York. I still go back and listen to the mp3s of our lessons when I'm looking for something to rejuvenate my practice regimen.
—Ryan Meagher performs with George Colligan on Fri, Feb 15 at 8, Riverplace Hotel

I am looking forward to the Kurt Rosenwinkel concert. I saw his group a few years ago in New York and really enjoyed it. Beyond Kurt's virtuosity as a guitarist, he is an excellent composer.
—Mike Pardew plays with various musicians on Feb 15, 16, 22, and 23 at 9:30, Nel Centro

Kenny Garrett Quintet, featuring Vernell Brown, Corcoran Holt, McClenty Hunter, and Rudy Bird
Thu, Feb 21 at 9:30, Winningstad Theatre

While I was turned on to the "real Kenny G" relatively recently, I've worn out quite a few of his cd's, including Happy People and Beyond The Wall. He performs with a sonic sense of purpose and beauty. With a flair for Asian melodic aesthetics, which I happen to be drawn to, he always works with incomparable musicians and creates high quality productions.
—Anandi performs with Randy Porter on Thu, Feb 21 at 5, Marriott Waterfront

Ben Darwish & Michael Angela Duo
Fri, Feb 22 at 4, Porto Terra Lounge, Hilton Executive Tower

I have been a fan of Ben Darwish since we were both in college at the University of Oregon together. His piano and composition skills are out of this world, and the way he's expanded his musical work into so many interesting and exciting new places in recent years makes me want to go hear some of what he’s doing now.
—Halie Loren performs with Matt Treder and Mark Schneider on Sat, Feb 23 at 8, the Benson Hotel

The Jazz Message: Celebrating Art Blakey with Musical Director Javon Jackson featuring Bobby Watson, Curtis Fuller, Eddie Henderson, George Cables, Buster Williams, and Lewis Nash
Fri, Feb 22 at 7, Newmark Theatre

I am most excited about the Art Blakey Tribute, given that these gentlemen have never shared the same stage. I have seen them all in various contexts—some with Blakey—but this will be extra special. The first time I saw Blakey at the Lighthouse, he played four sets, and I stayed for all of them.
—Don Lucoff, Portland Jazz Festival Managing Director

Steve Kuhn Trio featuring Buster Williams and Joey Baron with special guest Devin Phillips
Fri, Feb 22 at 9:30, Winningstad Theatre

I'm looking forward to hearing pianist Steve Kuhn with Joey Baron, Buster Williams, and Devin Phillips. Concerts that bring together national artists with our world-class Portland-based artists are such a gift to the community.
—Darrell Grant, a composer and professor of jazz studies at PSU, will be having a Jazz Conversation with Kenny Garrett and Devin Phillips on Thu, Feb 21 at noon, PSU Lincoln Hall #75

NEA Jazz Master Jack DeJohnette featuring Ravi Coltrane, George Colligan, and Matthew Garrison
Sat, Feb 23 at 7, Newmark Theatre

I am most looking forward to Jack DeJohnette's thing with Ravi Coltrane, George Colligan, and Matthew Garrison. I think Ravi's newest album is one of my favorite albums released in the last ten years. And I'm obviously a fan of George's playing, because I asked him to play with me for the festival. But I don't think I've ever heard one of Jack's bands. When I think about Jack's playing, I think of him as a sideman. It'll be nice for me to get a different perspective from a musician who is right at the top of my "bucket list" of guys to play with.
—Ryan Meagher performs with George Colligan on Fri, Feb 15 at 8, Riverplace Hotel

Steven Bernstein’s Sexmob plays Fellini: The Music Of Nino Rota, featuring Briggan Kraus, Tony Scherr, and Kenny Wollesen
Sat, Feb 23 at 9:30, Winningstad Theatre

I am looking forward to Steve Bernstein's new project, as I always admired the rollicking fun of Nino Rota's music, and Sexmob will know what to do with it.
—Don Lucoff, Portland Jazz Festival Managing Director

Portland Jazz Master Nancy King “Just Friends,” featuring Steve Christofferson and Glen Moore
Sun, Feb 24 at 3, Winningstad Theatre

I'm most excited about Nancy King: a natural genius in all things music. She is one of my most favorite singers of all time. I look forward to hearing her with the ever-talented Glen Moore and Steve Christofferson. This concert will be full of perfect jazz music: honest swing, true beauty, impeccable phrasing, and fresh on-the-spot ideas.
—Mary Kadderly hosts a singing workshop performance with King on Mon, Feb 18 at 7:30, West Café. She also performs with Dan Gildea on Fri, Feb 22 at 6:30 and Sat, Feb 23 at 6, West Cafe

ACS: Geri Allen, Terri Lyne Carrington, Esperanza Spalding
Sun, Feb 24 at 7, Newmark Theatre

I'm looking forward to seeing Geri Allen. I saw her in New York City's Tomkins Square Park in the mid-'90s and was blown away. It doesn't hurt that she will be joined by Esperanza Spalding and Teri Lynn Carrington. What a match up!
—Anandi performs with Randy Porter on Thu, Feb 21 at 5, Marriott Waterfront

ACS is of course going to be amazing given that it’s a West Coast premiere. Their lone New York show was impossible to get into at the Vanguard, so I am as excited as everyone else who will see this trio for the first time.
—Don Lucoff, PJF Managing Director

This Week in Local Music: Regular Music, Summer Cannibals

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:26:00 -0800

Regular Music, Copy, Paper/Upper/Cuts, and Grapefruit; Rontoms, Feb 17

Four bands play Rontoms Sunday—but only four people do. It's no riddle: the groups playing the next edition of the bar's weekly local-music showcase are made up of the same four musicians—Eric Mast (a.k.a. E*Rock), Papi Fimbres, Marius Libman, and Charlie Salas-Humara—in different configurations. Copy, Libman's solo project, is the eldest member of this local-music family. His bass-heavy, 8-bit-esque sound made him the only electronic-music producer to have won Willamette Week's Best New Band poll—all the way back in 2006. Regular Music, a collaboration among Mast, Libman, and Humara, is the baby, emerging just last winter with an improvised, intergalactic hybrid of digital and analog elements the band says is "sympathetic in nature…to psychedelic post free jazz acid synth inner space music."

Listen to a Regular Music track:

Summer Cannibals (with Dead Folk), SoHiTek Gallery, Feb 15

Speaking of baby bands: Summer Cannibals, formed last year, is still in its infancy, but the rock group's members boast pedigrees from other fine local outfits such as Your Canvas and Adventures! with Might, and the couple songs it's posted to Bandcamp, where grungy guitars and hard-driving percussion give a '90s-alt edge to singer Jessica Boudreaux's bluesy vocals, show much promise.

Stream Summer Cannibals' songs from Bandcamp:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://summercannibals.bandcamp.com/album/-" data-mce-href="http://summercannibals.bandcamp.com/album/-"&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;_________ by Summer Cannibals&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;