Last Thursday night, I had dinner at Bar Carlo with my good friend and her one-year-old son Lucian. As the adults sat perusing over the menu, Lucian took it upon himself to bang two knives against the table and crank his head up and down, as he sang a song at the top of his lungs that only he knew the words to. This might have been annoying to the staff and other patrons of the restaurant, but for me it was an enjoyable experience watching a very intelligent child express himself. I turned to my friend in the midst of the noise and said, “Your son is so metal.” And if you think about it, what I said to my friend was completely true. What is metal if not someone pounding on the drums, head banging and bellowing lyrics that you usually can’t understand?

It is generally the high energy, screaming and testosterone that makes us love metal, not necessarily the message behind the music. But many metal bands like Manowar, Iron Maiden and Portland’s own Last Empire do have a message, and for Harry Potter nerds like myself, it is a message of heavenly geekiness.

Fantasy-metal purveyors Last Empire sing about unicorns, falcons and kings of the throne. Their sound has a definite old school ’80s feel, but mixes in a new school style and swagger. The band has received nothing but great reviews, especially for the out-of-this-world vocals of singer Brian Allen; but they haven’t quite caught on the same way in the U.S. as they have in Europe. Portland is lucky to have access to such a talented band, so you listeners out there need to take advantage of it by seeing them play on Saturday, January 16th with an all-Oregon bill also featuring Portland’s Goatsoldiers, Excruciator and Salem’s Filth-Machine at Satyricon. 8:00 p.m. All ages. $8.

– Deanna Uutela

We all know that Portland is hyper saturated with electro-pop; but in my eyes, this is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I love stumbling across new upbeat projects, and there’s nothing quite like an electro-pop show in a small bar. I mean, who doesn’t want to dance his or her ass off at a show and come home smelling like other peoples’ sweat? It’s fantastic.

Local electro-poppers Guidance Counselor take the bloops and bleeps from the city’s beloved genre, but couples them with a lo-fi garage rock sensibility. The three-piece strums simple guitar chords and bass lines atop rhythmic drums, while band founder, Ian Anderson, croons romantic lyrics like, “What is love but flesh and blood and guts?” in deep monotone similar to that of New Order’s Bernard Sumner. The result is marvelous dance music that is not as sugary sweet as some of the band’s contemporaries. If this intrigues you, spend your Friday night at Mississippi Studios with Guidance Counselor and a bunch of sweaty strangers.

Seattle’s Velella Velella, and Portland’s own Arch Cape will open this evening of perspiration starting at 9:00 p.m. (doors at 8:00). $8. 21 and over.

– Katrina Nattress

The members of Cootie Platoon love beer, cigarettes and rock. Surprise, surprise! What garage/punk band doesn’t love those things? Or at least claim to. They also love fishnets, tight short skirts, The Ramones and roller derby. If you’re thinking this band sounds a lot like a leftover product of the ’90s Riot Grrrl movement, you might be half right—but don’t underestimate the power of a girl rocking.

The members of Cootie Platoon are not at all new to the Portland music scene—their songs have been featured on several compilation cds, including Northwest Kicked In The Nuts, Monkey Business III and PDX POPNOW 2009. Singer/guitarist Melodie Beirwagen went through many bands, including some all-girl groups, before starting Cootie Platoon in 2001 with former members of the White Trash Debutantes, and Candyass via San Francsico transplant Rico De Guyo. Cootie Platoon’s style is similar to that of Veruca Salt, The Donnas and The Butthole Surfers. The band calls their sound "the Brady kids hopped up on cherry squishies," and even though I don’t quite see the connection, considering the Brady kids suck ass and Cootie Platoon doesn’t, I appreciate the imagery.

The Cootie Platoon plays with 48 Thrills, Minty Rosa and Molly Bolt on Friday, January 15th at The Red Room. 9:00 p.m., 21 and over.

– Deanna Uutela

This all-Portland revue of talented rock bands is sure to please, especially for those looking to find some enjoyable lo-fi pop, shoegaze tones or garage-rock college tunes. Check out these bit-sized features and then check out their tunes.

Soft Tags: Their songwriting is like standing aboard a ship sailing its steady course while cutting through white noise and distortion. It takes no detours until it finds its proper resting point after an enjoyable five-minute tour (sometimes longer). With the recent release of their double LP Mathematical Monsters, Soft Tags are on the rise as they promote their new work.

Bodhi: Quality pop rock. Good leading melodic lines. A breath of ’80s spill out the vocal chords, often with tones of Bowie. Songs can vary from a heavy influence of Joy Division to a rock-a-billy groove. All tastefully done, of course.

We Miss the Earth: Smooth reverb guitar effects and delay-soaked synth slide through their chord changes. The songwriting is solid. These guys have a darker side that is at times mixed with more cheerful melodies one might find on a My Bloody Valentine song.

Soft Tags, Bodhi, and We Miss the Earth will be performing at the excellent Doug Fir, for the small cost of $6.

– Joel Sommer

An empty-echoed harmony breaks through the silence in a cry reminscent of classic American folk. Blind Pilot, in their new iTunes-exclusive release, has truly mastered a style sure to resonate with listeners. Opening with a two-stepped cover of Gillian Welch’s “Look at Miss Ohio,” (which you can see a live clip of above) the band continues on with three re-recorded tracks of their own, each in a spirit deeper and more longing than the last, finishing up with a new song titled “Get it Out.”

Although this exclusive EP features only two previously unreleased songs, each recording was tracked live and has been modified in such a way to make them truly unique from their original, as heard in the ukulele-led rendition of “3 Rounds & a Sound.” This EP is a great start for those unfamiliar with Blind Pilot, and a necessary addition to any current listener’s collection.

– Michael Miller

Autopilot is for Lovers is one of those rare Portland combinations of intimate musicianship and sincere urgency…actually backed up by talent. Anchored by multi-instrumentalist Paul Seely (formerly of The Builders and the Butchers, now also guitarist in Dr. Helicopter), Autopilot maintains a choral arc over their indie-rock kitsch. This isn’t a dig on them – they have simply nailed all corners of folk, orchestral-pop, gloomy rock, and railway blues into one cohesive presentation. The effect is eerie and fresh, as is evidenced on their debut album To the Wolves, released last spring.

Vocalist Adrian Hatkin (also Seely’s fiancee) weaves warbly melodies throughout tracks like "Pessimist," like a New Age Stevie Nicks with a newfound love of accordions. The result from the spiraling din of instrumentation, melodies plucked from the Maker, and the combined efforts of cellist Jessie Dettwiller, violinist Emily Nelson, and bassist Sterling Myles, is engaging, if not inspiring. If you don’t believe me, go listen to "Workhorse Blues" right now. Or if you don’t trust me, would you trust NPR?

You can see for yourself tonight, when Autopilot is for Lovers takes the stage at Portland’s favorite funeral-parlor-turned-music-venue The Woods! Opening the show will be former Deli Portland band of the month winners Porches, who’ve been skippin’ up an Americana whirlwind all over town as of late, showcasing the floppy mane of guitarist/bad dude Keenan Cloud, vocalist/guitarist Ryan Olson, saw(ist?) Matt Radke, and…hey what do you know! Paul Seely! Among other equally amazing band members whom I’m spacing the names of.

The whole goddamn thing is a recipe for rad. Mr. Frederick rounds out the bill. Tickets are $5 in advance, $5 at the door. Doors at 8:00 p.m., show at 9:00 p.m. 21 and over.

– Ryan J. Prado

Hey Portlanders,

We just finished collecting the nominations for The Deli Year End Best of Portland Poll for emerging artists from our knowledgeable and attractive panel of jurors – THE READER’S POLL IS NOW OPEN VOTE HERE! (full list of bands is on the right – If you’d like to learn more about our voting process, please check out the rules here.)

We are also ready to announce the winners of our Open Contest, which contributed to the nominations of artists for the poll. We’d like to thank all the artists who participated in our Open Contest. This was not an easy decision to make for The Deli writers, which is a testament to our amazing music scene. We are happy to announce that these Portland bands:

Housefire
Parenthetical Girls
Mint Chicks
Bombs Into You
Dr. Helicopter
Dropa

Have been selected to join our jurors’ list of nominees, and special congratulations to Housefire who were the overall winners of our Open Contest!

The Deli Portland Staff

P.S. Housefire guys, get us a nice picture of your faces!!! (instead of your feet…)

It’s New Year’s Eve, and you know what that means—an excuse for bars to jack up their drink prices and charge ridiculous covers because some shitty band will be butchering other bands’ music all night with a complimentary champagne toast. But have no fear, my fellow Portlanders, for if you sift through all the NYE bullshit, you will find gold. Below are some fantastic local NYE shows that will be worth the cover charge.

Doug Fir: The first time I read about this, I had to do a double take, but yes, Quasi is performing The Who for New Year’s Eve, and it’s going to be epic. What makes this show even more epic is the fact that other local folk monsters The Shaky Hands and indie darlings, Inside Voices, will be accompanying them. If you want to chill out and listen to some amazing Portland folk music (and good covers) this is the NYE celebration for you! Show starts at 9 p.m. $15.

Holocene: The theme of this New Year’s Eve bash is “NYE 102,010,” as in it’s set 100,000 years in the future. Portland’s spacey electro-pop trio Reporter’s synthesized beats paired with Guidance Counselor’s gritty, lo-fi electronica, not to mention a mess of local DJs, is a fitting lineup for such a premise. If you want to get hot and sweaty with people dressed like robots, or spacemen, or Neanderthals (you never know, the apocalypse could happen in the next 100,00 years) then this is the NYE celebration for you! Show starts at 8 p.m. $15.

Mission Theater: Two of Portland’s more melancholic indie bands, Weinland and The Dimes, are doing something very out of their element (or seemingly so) this New Year’s Eve. The bands have promised a dance off, where they will be performing “some of the best dance music of the last 40 years,” and though neither band seems to fit the mold for “dance music,” they each do an extremely good job of incorporating pop and melody into their music. If you want to witness quite possibly the most awkward (or surprisingly awesome) dance party of 2009, then this is the NYE celebration for you! Show starts at 9 p.m. $15.

Mississippi Studios: Portland’s morbid Americana-ers, The Builders & The Butchers, have been playing nothing but large venue shows this year, and though I wish them nothing but success in 2010, they are the type of band that is much more impressive in intimate settings where they can get the audience involved, so the quaint Mississippi Studios will be a perfect place for them to ring in the new year. Fellow swamp stomping blues boys Dr. Helicopter are also on the bill. If you want to feel like you’re celebrating the turn of the century in Louisiana, then this is the NYE celebration for you! Show starts at 10 p.m. $15.

There are other great shows happening at venues such as the Ash Street Saloon, Branx, Rotture, and Slabtown, just to name a few, so if none of these tickle your fancy, check out their NYE rosters.

-Katrina Nattress

Even though these guys have been slinging out records since the ’90s, I hadn’t heard of them until today.

Rollerball recently released yet another record, their 15th, called Two Feathers. I personally think that’s a lot of records. I’m only just beginning to realize the depth and the assortment of layers of music this town has to offer.

From what I’ve read and heard so far, I would pitch their sound as extremely varied – ranging from experimental jazz influenced rock to slower tunes that are atmospheric and ambient. Their sound often seems to carry a reverberating presence, akin to the expansive spatial dome of a cathedral, and along with it, the same intensity and seriousness one might find under that type of religious dome. Some cool shit here.

Rollerball rocks rich, interesting and weird compositions with just piano, bass, drums, sax and female vocals. Take a minute and check it out.

– Joel Sommer

Looking for something to sate these winter wisps? Musee Mechanique is an excellent laid-back indie band who often incorporates a well-placed touch of folk influence. They very much remind me of a non-abrasive Blonde Redhead, both in song style and vocals on certain songs. I particularly enjoyed the tracks "Two Friends Like Us" and "Nothing Glorious," both of which can be found on their MySpace profile. The band seems to enjoy creating dreamy environments that soothe the soul and often bring in quality arrangements of strings, woodwinds or vibraphones to complete their compositions.

Check out the above fan video for their song "Our Changing Skins," off of the band’s stellar 2008 debut, Hold This Ghost.

– Joel Sommer

Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweethearts in Bands,

As usual, The Deli’s Year End Poll (for emerging artists) will assign the cover of our Spring Issue 2010. The polling process is as complex as rocket science (if you want to try and get your head around it be our guest and go here).

The submissions for the open contest that will select minimum 3 artists for the next phase is now closed. We are currently receiving the jurors’ votes. The next phase will be the readers’ vote, which will start on January 3.

All the bands that submitted to our open contest were also added to our chart system for indie artists – which will get them some exposure in the future.

Here we are taking a little bit of a holiday break – we’ll still have some content up in the next few days, but not as much. We will see you back in early January – in the meantime Happy Holidays to you all!!

The Deli’s Staff
www.thedelimagazine.com

Musical peoples from Portland and beyond.

A few weeks are left before the end of 2009, and the time has come for our end of year musical "summary". Yes, you got that right: The Deli’s "Best of (emerging) Portland 2009 Poll" is upon us!

This year we’ll have an overall chart including the votes from Jury, Writers and Readers, and a Readers’ charts including only the readers’ votes. There will be prizes in vouchers, software and studio time for all the top artists in both charts.

We have a lot to tell you about this, but as this poll couldn’t happen without sponsors, we’ll start by listing them all, and by thanking them for being part of this.

Instructions about the poll coming soon!

PREMIUM SPONSORS

OTHER SPONSORS

providing a total of 18 audio plug in for the pool of prizes(9 iZotope, 9 IK Multimedia)