Bad Blogger, No Cookie!!

First off, I have to apologize for being an awful blogger. I have been in the presence of lots of lights no eye can see lately, but managed to leave my camera at home every time. It doesn't matter that much - now I realize that no matter how many megapixels my digital camera may be, the pictures that I want require a proper lens. And those things are expensive. But I promise y'all that I'll get one soon. And I'll try to stop enjoying myself enough to actually take it into the show. Explode onto the rock 'n roll photography scene if you will.

Since we last spoke, I've seen a ton of music. And, much to my surprise, lots of it has been really good. Some notables off the top of my head - New Mastersounds/Trombone Shorty (fun), Yonder Mountain String Band (meh), Elephant Revival (good), Explosions in the Sky (loud). Here is a review of three of the bigger shows I've been lucky enough to see recently:

Akron/Family 2009-04-10
On April 10, I noticed that Akron/Family was playing a $5 gig with a bunch of other bands (MC Chris, Dan Deacon) at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. Hell yes. I had never been to Lewis & Clark before, and it reminded me of a summer camp I used to go to as a kid - really weird can't imagine going to school there. It is just south of P-Town tucked back in a wooded area with one road in and one road out. When I got there, I realized that on a Saturday night in a college campus such as this, most people over the age of 21 live and drink elsewhere. What is left is all the young-ins that live on campus. The show was in a dining room (I think) and was literally filled with probably 300 young, loud, drunk, insane, crowd surfing, mosh pitting kids that were ready to Par-Tay!!

After getting thrown around in the mosh pit for a minute, I noticed a platform about 15 feet back that I could get out of the madness on. This left me with a killer view of the room and the band. Akron/Family did not dissappoint. At one point, they had every single hand in the air moving in unison to the music - I'm talking EVERY SINGLE one. It was insane - not sure when the last time I saw a room totally locked in like that. I was kicking myself for not having my camera. The band opened with River and played an incredible set from start to finish. To me, they sound like some kind of noisy post-folk movement that creates within a 21st century tribal, shamanic, unified community full of love. Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

They brought out two guest percussionists for an amazing, jammy Ed is a Portal to add to the power trio (bass, guitar, drums). They also have some type of sampler which produces everything from beautiful acoustic Middle Eastern music to dirty beats. Most of the other songs I didn't recognize (new album?), but they were all awesome! The band tapped in to the fact that it was a room full of 18-19 year olds going totally nuts, and played as hard and tight and with as much energy as I've ever seen them. Hopefully, I'll get to do it again soon.

Mark Knopfler 2009-04-11
The very next day, Mark Knopfler had the unenviable task of attempting to bring me back to the musical high I experienced the night before with Akron/Family. The show was at the Hult Center in Eugene, which was way cooler than I remember it - very interesting looking room with great sound. After enjoying some Pliny the Elder, I was feeling good, and I managed to scam a scalper outside. I ended up with a dead center seat directly in front of Knopfler 6th row. I love the small markets where they (scalpers) will take a loss as opposed to the big ones where they'd rather eat the ticket than sell for less than face. Scalper scum!!

Though not that exciting, it was a pleasure to see Mark Knopfler of course. The band was the same or very similar to the last time I saw him. Richard Bennett was great of course. And I was surprised to see Tim O'Brien there. He played everything from mandolin to banjo to fiddle to probably tons of other stuff too - very cool and definitely added to the Celtic feel of the evening. Knopfler's solo stuff is OK, imo. There are a couple really good ones, but most of it is flute-y folk drivel. Though I can see why he went in that direction after Brothers in Arms, which I thought was one of the clear highlights of the night. Marbletown was another highlight. Between Bennett and Tim O'Brien, I bet they can play almost every stringed instrument known to man. Surpisingly, at some point during the show, the curtain behind the band lifted to reveal a screen that had cool psychedelic design - way more production than he had two summers ago. Of the Dire Straits songs he played, I remember Romeo & Juliet, Sultans of Swing, Telegraph Road (set closer). The three song encore kicked off with the aforementioned Brothers in Arms and included Shangri-La (can't remember the third song).

Knopfler's distinct guitar tone was prevalent for much of the show, and the band as a whole was INCREDIBLY tight. It did rock out at times, and at times there were beautiful, amazing moments. Though, on the whole, the flute-y style of music was a little boring for me. And the crowd didn't help either - no one standing up as far as my eye could see (limited by the 6th row seat). Mostly older, seemingly rich people ($90 ticket prices help with that I suppose) translate to a nice sit-down affair rather than a rock 'n roll show. It's all water under the bridge though, and I'm sure I'll check him out again the next time I get the chance to.

Yeasayer 2010-04-19
Which brings me to the Yeasayer show I saw last night (4/19) at the sold out Wonder Ballroom in Portland. I learned the venue does NOT serve Caldera IPA in a can anymore, which makes me much less inclined to go back there. And they replace it with Bridgeport IPA?!?!?! Sometimes people make stupid mistakes, I guess. Anyway, I wasn't sure what to expect going in.

I love the new album Odd Blood but had no idea how it would translate into the live setting. As it turns out, Yeasayer is friggin' awesome!! The three part vocal harmonies are outstanding, and both the main vocalists have great voices. There are two percussionists, and it seems like there were a total of four keyboards on stage with a laptop, guitar, and a bass guitar (which had a sick flute solo at some point - idkwtf?).

They opened with The Children, as does their newest album. They made it even darker and more awesome than it is on the album. The vocals were put through a filter to sound very low and deep. I believe they played every song off Odd Blood and a good chunk of the songs from All Hour Cymbals. Every single song was good, and the energy from the stage gradually rubbed off on the Portland crowd. My personal highlight of the set was "I Remember," - sounded very tight and powerful. Chris Keating's voice has amazing capabilities - the way he hit the highs in this song was amazing. Once the crowd got into it, there were sing a longs and pockets of dance party breaking out. Everyone was having a blast. They closed the set with Ambling Alp "Now the world can be an unfair place at times, but your lows will have their complement of highs."

Yeasayer (and the crowd) reminded me of what it would be like if MGMT had a full band and could sing well - just an amazing dance party with some great music. The production was tasteful but still interesting (row of smaller screens behind the band with colored lights being inoffensively and unobtrusively blended on them). This band does not need lots of flashy LED bars or intense video screen, because they are entertaining enough to watch. I was a little concerned about the sound mix, but it was dialed in at the Wonder, which always sounds good. The thing I like about Yeasayer (and lots of other indie-electro pop bands) is that they are combining elements from the raves/clubs/parties with actual songs with structure and meaning. And it feels great to see a unifying force in music rather than dividing these days. All in all, if you get a chance, definitely check out this band.

I'm so blessed
To have spent the time
With my family
And the friends I love
In my short life
I have had so many people I deeply care for.