Last week, I went out to Sauvie Island — a week too late. It was my yearly outing to pick blackberries for winemaking and the rain molded seven-eighths of the crop. Rather than the five-gallon bucket worth, I ended up with about four cups.

Today, instead of doing the dishes that would accompany winemaking supplies, I am cleaning after making pasta and a blackberry cobbler. The slightly overcast weather is making me want to put on Neil Young, but instead I chose the new Harlowe and the Great North Woods album. It was a good substitution. It makes me want to drink whisk(e)y, sit around a fire and dish with friends rather than do these dishes, but I don’t have any whisk(e)y, so I put some brandy in my coffee, and that should help with these haunting boy/girl harmonizing vocals that are coming from the speakers.

This isn’t the kind of music made for listening over a hi-fi. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying it, but I’d rather have these folks over and have them play in my living room, feed them pirogues and white blackberry brandy at 148 proof, get drunk and make friends. This is music for sharing hot meals on cool evenings. This is soup-making music. Maybe it’s just the instrumentation, but the music reminds me a little of 16 Horsepower, which brings me to my first criticism of this album; it’s too goddamn short, like that first 16 Horsepower EP. If you’re going to make music this good, this powerful, perhaps you should wait until you have a full length album worth of material before you release it.

It was like my trip to Sauvie Island — the berries that were available for picking were delicious, there just weren’t enough of them. Or it would be like if I brought that cobbler to a potluck — it’s just a tease. It wasn’t long enough for me to finish the dishes. I had to repeat it. I wonder if they are trying to redefine the concept of album. The name should be changed to …The Great North Woods EP. That criticism aside, this is a band I’ll look forward to hearing more of, maybe a full-length platter that will take me to the other side of dishes.

End note: I’m a little drunk now and I can’t locate my coffee, maybe I’ll just finish the cobbler and call it a night.

– Chappy

 

 

It’s been a long time coming, but the wait is finally over. Tomorrow night marks the release of the whimsical Y La Bamba‘s first studio record, Lupon. With the help of The Decemberists‘ Chris Funk, the seven-piece has successfully produced an album that incorporates dreamy, sultry folk with Mexican tradition.

Lead lady, Luzelena Mendoza, pulls from her strict Mexican Catholic upbringing to create hazy, haunting lyrical harmonies back by a melange of guitar, ukulele, woodwinds and percussion. Help the septet celebrate Lupon September 17 at Mississippi Studios. $10 in advance, $12 day of. 9 pm. 21+.

 

 

-Katrina Nattress

The Deli Portland, truth be told, is a goddamn small operation. Utilizing roughly the manpower equivalent to those who’ll be flocking to PGE Park for MLS Soccer when it comes to Stumptown next year (R.I.P. Beavers), our humble little corner of the Deli Magazine market is still in its infancy. So when the crowning achievement, relatively, of Portland’s musical menagerie descends upon this rose-strewn metropolis, we basically put our head down, pack a flask, and do our best.

Our best this year consists of a series of photographs by one Daniel Cronin, whose camera actually worked (unlike that of yours truly), and who actually possesses the technical skills to make it look like you missed out on everything. And you may have. So here are some amazing live shots from some of MFNW 2010’s best shows (read: the ones we could ably send out our meager armada to…) (re-read: about six shows total…) Onward!

Hosannas Live at Mississippi Studios September 17

 

 

Shonen Knife Live at Mississippi Studios September 17

Smashing Pumpkins Live at Wonder Ballroom September 18

What shows should we have made, Deli Portland readers? Don’t count Sleep, NoMeansNo, the amazing Riot Act Media free show at Rontom’s on Sunday, The Oh Sees or The Thermals… Let us know in how many ways we blew it!

 – Photos by Daniel Cronin (who did not blow it)

 

 

MusicfestNW is a beast on the wallet of those working through the weekend. However, the $17 dollar entrance (or whichever overpriced wristband chosen) to Thursday’s show at the Crystal Ballroom never felt like a waste (the $5-plus soda and vodka was, however). Setting off the night were Past Lives, a Seattle post-hardcore band comprised of members of the Blood Brothers (yeah, one of the singers). At times, Past Lives dipped into the past lives of its respective genre, with noodling guitar lines and swerving rhythms. Yet, spaghetti western and surf-influenced guitar lines interrupted an unwelcome stroll down an all too familiar Pacific Northwest sound (Minus the Bear, These Arms are Snakes, and Blood Brothers naturally).

The full-force sound of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists was the deciding factor of my attendance. Rarely can such a song-smith produce quality pieces of rock-music that defy what’s "in" at the time. Leo’s tunes are timeless, so they’re always in. The four-piece plowed through much of this year’s great The Brutalist Breaks with a couple of crowd-pleasers, "Where Have all the Rude Boys Gone?" and "Sons of Cain." Ted Leo’s rapid-fire set deceived the band’s obvious maturity to rest of the bill.

Full-disclosure, I’d yet to purchase a complete Thermals album. Just my luck, as much of the set was comprised of tunes from the recently released Personal Life. While an album documenting a failed relationship doesn’t sound like great live material, the Thermals brought the rock. The album’s new single, "I Don’t Believe You," was a distinct high-light. As long as I didn’t listen to the lyrics, everything was great. Fan-favorites provided the tail-end of an inspired set. "Now We Can See," "Pillar of Salt," and "Returning to the Fold," and an encore cover of "My name is Jonas" made the cavernous and oft-alienating Ballroom into a great singalong. MFNW’s Thursday was a night of earnest, strong rock. Even if this was the highlight of the weekend, what a highlight indeed.

-Nick Walker

 

This is an extremely late notice report. I just found out one of my favorite solo projects is playing a house show tonight. Dewey Mahood of Eternal Tapestry’s side project, Plankton Wat.

In my advancing age, I’m experiencing crowd anxieties. And as much as I’m a fan of the rock, I’m also becoming more of a fan of things that are away from the mainstream—example: MusicFest NW. And really, they have enough support. Do they need one more aging and self-important hipster music nerd?

Dewey of Plankton Wat put out arguably the best psych record of last year, entitled Dawn of the Golden Eternity on DNT Records. It was equal parts loner blues, John Fahey-style folk guitar workout, and acid-drenched stoner jams. Plankton Wat will be playing with Selaroda from Oakland, CA.— Michael Henning of The Why Because solo project. Also on tap will be Stag Hare from Portland.

The location is The Wail at 5135 NE 42nd Ave. @ Sumner. The time is 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

– Chappy

 

[Editor’s Note: Starting this week, The Deli Portland will be presenting our first weekly (or bi-weekly, depending on life and liberty) column, "Chappy’s Dishes." Chappy is a Portlander who likes to do dishes, listen to music, and wash dishes while listening to music (or vice-versa). He also likes to write about the music he’s listening to while washing dishes – but not at the same time. When the Deli Portland learns more about Chappy, we will be sure to fill you in. Until then, enjoy this first installment of "Chappy’s Dishes."]

About once a week, my wife and I fix a complex meal that involves a lot of dirty dishes, and on the following day, I take it upon myself to tackle the pile. It’s one of the few occasions when I’m forced to stand in one place for more than an hour and attend to some mindless work. It’s usually in this time that I really listen to music and am forced to confront what that music pulls out of me. Last night, I made pizzas from scratch and for some reason I dirtied every dish in the house along with most of our utensils and glasses. Today, while laboring away, rather than putting on some cacophonous black metal or meandering free jazz to occupy my mind and confront my demons, I threw on Lovers‘ Dark Light for something different.

While washing, my hands may have been immersed in scalding hot and soapy water, but my mind was reconstructing the first mixtape I made using my parents’ tape player alarm clock. I was trying to be cool and find the most “new wave” stuff scaning the FM dial, when I stumbled across a college radio station playing an hour of New Romanticism. Of course, I had no idea then what I had stumbled on, but you better believe that mixtape was a hit and landed me my first girlfriend.

The bouncing ’80s synth of Dark Light‘s "Figure 8" further immersed me into the fantasy of late elementary school. The best pop music then (and really, now) will attach itself to particular memories and live there forever. Lovers are on to this.

If I were in 7th grade algebra class, "Shepherd of Stray Hearts" would be just one of those pop songs. "Shepherd…" is where everything is leading to and falling from. “I wanted you” would be the chorus rolling in my head while watching the seagulls bank on the wind to scoop up half-eaten French fries and pizza pockets from the quad, me fantasizing about girls instead of understanding integers and formulation of functional relationships.

Don’t take this the wrong way – Lovers aren’t just some ’80s revisionist dance band. They definitely seem to be forging their own territory, which is best exemplified on the last track "Cedar Falls." Here, the synths are still used whimsically, but there’s a certain maturity to this song that I didn’t catch on the rest of the record. Maybe it’s because I’m washing the wine glasses now and thinking of getting a little tipsy with my wife last night, or that this is the kind of music I imagine real adults listening to. Whatever the case, this closer had a distinctly different feel.

Just as I was cleaning the last surface, my wife walked in to a replaying of "Cedar Falls." The look on her face was astonishment, as it wasn’t mind peeling acid rock or reverb-drenched garage rock, but some new kind of adult music – Lovers for my lover.

"Figure 8":

 

– Chappy

Don’t miss Lovers this Saturday, September 11 at Rotture as part of MFNW 2010! They’lll be sharing the stage with MEN (Le Tigre’s JD Samson’s side band), Boy Joy, Sista Fist, and Permanent Wave! 8:00 p.m. $10 at the door, or free with MFNW wristband.

 

 

 

To all you dudes and dudettes who are into music just as much as we are here at The Deli Portland, here’s a friendly reminder that Willy Week‘s highly revered music festival, MusicfestNW, starts THIS WEDNESDAY. Individual tickets to Wiz Khalifa, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Sleep are sold out, but remember, you can get into ANY show with a MFNW wristband, which can still be bought here.

We can’t wait for the raucous that will ensue in the venues and streets of Portland this week(end) and can’t wait to see you all out at some shows!

-The Deli Portland Staff

 

It’s been four years since Strength made Portland all hot and bothered with its self-released, sex-saturated debut, Going Strong. The album was a swanky collection of love jams with titles of the like of, “Burning up for Two,” and, “Press Up,” crooned by Bailey Winters and accompanied by John Zeigler on keys and Patrick Morris on guitar, bass, and drums, resulting in a synth-disco album that even Europeans would get down to. Needless to say, the trio’s sophomore release was a highly anticipated one.

The boys did not disappoint. Although the track titles are not so bluntly sexual on Strength’s second self-released full-length, Mind-Reader, the content is. “Let me rub you down with brandy, let me lay you in my bed,” Winters ardently offers in the funky, hip-gyrating tune, “Brandy.” Yes, please.

His seduction gets a little darker in, “Blood,” a minor chord driven groove about a weak, thirsty vampire who has his female victim cornered as he instructs her, “Now stand back close against the wall, my hands on you feel comfortable…This is blood that will soon be mine.”

The only unsatisfying element of this record is its length. The eight-track-long LP clocks in at a measly 24 minutes that has its listener begging for more. On your next album, boys, work on your stamina.

-Katrina Nattress

 

It’s been four long years since the synth-disco trio, Strength, self-released its debut LP, the swanky collection of love jams entitled, Going Strong, but this Friday us Portlanders who have been pining over the über-confident threesome will have to wait no more. September 3rd marks the album release party for the baby-makin’-music-makers highly anticipated sophomore effort, Mind-Reader.

If you’ve ever seen Strength perform, you know that Bailey Winters’ sassy, sex-saturated vocals accompanied by catchy Euro-disco hooks and pelvic gyrations aplenty can get even the most tight-laced prick shakin’ his groove thang. With Fake Drugs, DJ Copy and DJ Patricia Furpurse warming up the Holocene crowd, this will, without a doubt, be the sweaty dance party of the summer (or is it fall now?). If you’re yet to be convinced about Strength’s pure sex appeal, check out the mp3 below for the first track off Mind-Reader, "Metal".

 

 

If you’re still not convinced, how about the fact that the show only costs $5? I thought that’d hook ya! See you sexy bitches on the dance floor. Show starts at 9 pm. 21+.

-Katrina Nattress

 

Two years of research and execution have gone by and finally the wait is over for Alexis Gideon’s new “Video Opera."

The one hour film, Video Musics: Sun Wu-Kong, centers on the character Sun Wu-Kong and is based on the 16th-century Chinese novel The Journey to the West. The event starts at 8 p.m., September 3, costs $5 and is open to all ages.

The film is also accompanied by an art show of “stills and fabricated characters," which started August 18, and will run through September 6. The Disjecta website questions the definition of the art and appeal of Gideon’s work with two sets of dichotomies, saying, “Is it film or music? Is it high art or pop?” We say, don’t worry about it ’cause it’s cool and engaging and fun. More info here from previous Deli blog http://portland.thedelimagazine.com/node/2127

Check out excerpts and stills from the film here.

– Joel Sommer

 

Portland’s electro-pop due Starlight and Magic have just released their version of a perfect summer jam mixtape – the hope being that after listening to the first couple of tracks, you’ll glide into a room with (way too short) short-shorts and a lime green tube-top with ruby-colored sparkling sequin lettering that reads "First Dibs on Hottie" like a flashing marquee.

This is might not be for you rock ’n’rollers with long beards, sleeveless Ts, and armpit hair so copious one might mistake it for a dude with a Wookie in a headlock. This tape sounds more like hot, sweaty summer nights, American Apparel body suits and flexible dance moves. Check out the stream over @ Disco Workout or download here. 

Track Listing:

1. Slingshot – You Shook Me All Night Long

2. Love & Lust f/ Aisha – Love & Lust (Club of Cairo)

3. Beat Club – Security (Club Mix)

4. J*Davey – Valley of Love

5. Chi’lo’sa – Twin Love

6. Jan Leslie Holmes – I’m Your Superman

7. Natasha – Be Gentle with my Heart

8. Starlight & Magic – You’re Mine Megamix (f/ Connie)

9. Felix & Jarvis – Touch You

10. Babydoll – Girls Can’t Help It

11. R. Kelly – (She’s Got That) Vibe

12. Bill Summers and the Summer’s Heat – Seventeen

13. Bryan Loren – Easier Said Than Done

14. Howard Johnson – Say You Wanna

15. The System – I Wanna Make You Feel Good

– Joel Sommer

 

One of the year’s most anticipated new Portland-bred albums is streaming right now over at NPR. You can check out The Thermals’ Personal Life there until its release on September 7. Get going! And let us know what you think!

– Ryan J. Prado

– Photo by Radmeister Alicia J. Rose