With the whirlwind of amazing shows and festivals that have swept over Portland in the past couple weeks, we’ve got a buttload of photos to share from some of the great sets we’ve caught recently. Check out photos of: AAN and Illmaculate at the St Johns Bizarre; Grandparents and Spookies at Rontoms, and Summer Cannibals, Sad Horse and Charts at the Firkin Tavern for the release parties of New Moss Records compilation tape HITS Vol. 1. Photos by Todd Walberg and Linneas Boland-Godbey. 

AAN at St. John’s Bizzare

Illmaculate at the St. Johns Bizarre. 

Grandparents and Spookies at Rontoms

Summer Cannibals, Sad Horse and Charts at the Firkin Tavern

– Travis Leipzig

Wooden Indian Burial Ground does a memorable job of overstepping our tolerance, and that goes beyond our sense of hearing. This is a good thing. The three-piece has a way of introducing listeners to another world and continues to expand that imagination. The fuzz is dense enough that for those unfamiliar, it might be hard to take in at first. Get past that initial shock and you’ll be able to decipher the subtleties that draw admirers back. Nothing about it is emotionally neutral. Each musician involved has a built in intuition to keep the intensity going at all cost. If the city began to burn, Wooden Indian Burial Ground would play until the end. 

This Saturday, Stellar Donkey boking brings a fantastic night of lo-fi garage psych jams to Portland’s noise-heads of the Northeast at the High Water Mark Lounge. Headlining the show, Brooklyn based glitch-psych super group, Ice Balloons (featuring members of TV On The Radio and Wild Yaks), are sure to blow your mind or leave you with temporary tinnitus. On tour with Ice Balloons are New Orleans rippers, Babes. Opening the night and representing Portland’s own noteworthy contributions to the current psych movement are some of my local favorites Still Caves and Grapefruit.

High Water Mark is located at 6800 NE MLK. Doors at 8pm, and there is a $7 cover.

– Travis Leipzig

A common theme running through the lineup at Holocene Wednesday night is piano folk, but there will be a lot variety within this niche. Opening the show is Mojave Bird with her beautiful and hauntingly ambient songs. In the middle of the bill are Rio Grands. Their almost Latin influence on soft driven tunes relies on smooth rhythms and a dynamic vocalist that somehow comes across as soulful surf rock. Headlining the evening is Morning Ritual. Featuring the Shook Twins on vocals, they are rooted in folk, but have lately introduced a soft, electronic R&B element to their lively sound. These three groups would make for excellent nights of music on their own, but will be joining forces for a songwriter’s showcase Wednesday night. The show starts at 8:30 and there is an $8 cover. 

– Colin Hudson 

This June 19-22, Central Oregon plays host to the third annual What The Festival, which boasts a stellar lineup this year that includes a handful of great local artists. From the headliners to the early sets by up and comers, music fans will have many opportunities to see what this region has in it’s electronic suitcase, while partying night and day. 

While we would love to rightfully claim festival headliner Washed Out as one of Portland’s own, having written the theme song to Portlandia, he hails from the other side of the country. However, on the same musical plane and also performoing at WTF, is Portland’s homie Emancipator. Producing worldly chillwave music at a high level, he mixes in a variety of live instrumentation, which should be highly showcased at this festival as he will be backed by his band, the Emancipator Ensamble.

Another well known local name on the bill is Natasha Kmeto, who has steadily been on the rise with four albums and a strong national following. Her R&B voice matches well with the dark and laid-back beats that she sings over. WTF is just one of many festivals she will be playing at this summer.

Local producers Solovox (who is currently featured in the Deli Portland’s Artist of the Month poll)and Manoj will deliver energetic dancy sets. Solovox is a live mixer and synth wizard. His music will take you on a funk driven ride that will result in you losing your sunglasses. Manoj mixes bouncy beats that have made him a master at the art of dance music. Other notable Oregon acts are the bass heavy Mr. Wu and Octoban.

It can be easy for larger-scale festivals to neglect local influence. But with a packed lineup of local DJs and surrounded by spectacular scenery, What The Festival Is staying true to it’s Oregon colors. Get tickets to WTF here.

– Colin Hudson

Today officially kicks off street festival season around many parts of town, particularly with the 8th annual open air craft fair of St. Johns Bizarre. Taking place in front of the towering St. Johns Bridge, the day long event features local artists and activities for crafty folks and families, as well as an eclectic musical line-up representing many genres through local artists. This year’s bill boasts beautiful soul music from Ural Thomas and the Pain, fuzzy rock from Summer Cannibals, hip hop from Illmaculate, experimental pop from AAN, and modern Mexican composition from Edna Vasquez. Check out the full schedule for the Bizarre here. 

Feels Like Home Ep #38 Ural Thomas – "Pain Is The Name Of Your Game" from INTOTHEWOODS.TV on Vimeo.

Portland’s infamous New Moss Records are rolling out a new compilation cassette series titled "HITS." Featuring songs the label’s favorite bands from Portland and beyond, the first installment of the series, "HITS Volume 1," features thirteen tracks including six unreleased tracks by Grandparents, Wimps, Old Light, Spookies, Summer Cannibals and Natural Blonde. Also featured on the compilation are tracks by Charts, The We Shared Milk, XDS, Wooden Indian Burial Ground, Still Caves, And And And, and Sad Horse. The cassettes are priced at $6, but only 300 copies will be made so don’t be a slow-poke in picking one up. You can pre-order HITS Vol. 1 here, or, if you’re the smart type you can go to one, two or all three of New Moss Records’ masterfully curated compilation release parties this weekend to pick up a cassette in person. 

Release Parties:

Friday, May 9th at the Firkin Tavern (no cover): Summer Canniblas, Sad Horse, Charts

Saturday, May 10th at the Know ($5 cover): And And And, Old Light, XDS

Sunday, May 11th at Rontoms (no cover): Grandparents, Spookies

Official Todd Walberg photos from the release parties to come! 

– Travis Leipzig

Last Tuesday night, Portland music podcasters, Party Boyz, hosted one hell of an event at Bunk Bar. The night marked the one year anniversary for the podcast, as well as the release of their first printed Zine and first compilation album on compact disc. The Zines looked great and featured content by local artists and musicians. Wearing handmade, screenprinted covers, the compilations feature bands that have been guests on the podcast during it’s first year, including some unreleased tracks by a few artists. To help celebrate this great night, the girls of Party Boyz gathered three portland powerhouses, Genders, And And And, and Sama Dams, to play some rock ‘n roll. Here’s a brief recap. 

opening the night, Sama Dams awed the crowd with their sheer musical virtuosity, featuring intricate drum rhythms, haunting and bassy organ chops, and beautiful almost seizure-like guitar soloing. Switching between playing his guitar, bass and keys, Sam played some of the most shredding synthesizer solos I’ve ever heard.

Up next was And And And, who were in full partyboy rock mode. Drummer Bim Ditson’s shirt came off right away per usual, Bassist Jonathan Sallas was fed beer during a song, beehive guitarist Berg sported a rocker’s spike bracelet, and Nathan sang his heart out. The energy was static in the packed room, and the boys played flawlessly. 

Genders closed down the night with their brilliant shoegaze garage pop. Their rhythm section alone amazes me to the point of jealousy, but with Stephen’s excellent guitar tone and styling and Maggie’s gentle voice and knack for songwriting, it’s no surprise why they are one of Portland’s favorite bands. 

– Travis Leipzig

Tonight, the Deli Portland’s current Artist of the Month, The Hill Dogs, play a tour kick off show at Kelly’s Olympian. Catch the beautiful and badass folk rock tunes that earned The Hill Dogs your votes and some free ad space on our website. Sing with them, party with them, cellebrate a hopeful Blazers playoff win with them, and send them off on tour after such a good night that they’re dying to be home the whole time they’re away. There is a $5 cover for the show, doors are at 8:30, Device Grips open the night at 9pm.  

– Travis Leipzig

After having overcome some recent life challenges, last month Wild Ones re-released their debut album Keep It Safe through Topshelf Records.

Danielle Sullivan’s writing reflects some of the tensions leading to growth, tapping into lucid thoughts of pure connection and how letting go is easier for some than others. Her vocals are high and clear, and the formula of each song is still sweet and synthy. But what stands out most from the instrumentation of their previous EP, You’re A Winner, is the breadth of electronics, the new drumming of Seve Sheldon, and the guitar styling of Nick Vicario who transitioned from bassist to guitarist in the band. 

This album is bound to narrate upcoming summer excursions. Slower songs like “18 Mile Island” carry intricate guitar solos behind breezy soundscapes and lyrics of “make believin’ is the only thing i do.” “Lion Heart” begins beefed up with a heavy riff over drum beats, then hops and skips lightly into pop and intricate keyboard, before finishing with a rock guitar wail. There is a lot of crystalline electronic looping as well on tracks such as “Row,” and the final, title track “Keep It Safe,” which is perhaps a promise to stay wild, stay strong, and let all that hard work pay off.

– Brandy Crowe

Portland’s most beloved underground house venue and record label has released another fantastic live recording to its ever growing collection. Banana Stand Media has been hosting and recording local bands in their basement studio for several years, documenting the continuously evolving landscape of the music scene. The newest addition to the Banana Stand archive of live recordings features the instrumental funk arrangements of the Polyrhythmics.

Polyrhythmics are an insanely talented eight-piece band with a massive sound blending funk, jazz, and soul melodies that are carried out by afro-beat rhythms. Through a main framework of funk, the songs progressively extend as seasoned musicians transition in and out of solos with each other. If you like funk music and long technical arrangements, then this is the Banana Stand album for you. Here’s the breakdown.

It opens with a hard-hitting number set in a mildly high tempo and plays a true representation to what the Polyrythmics do as a band. They are horn heavy but in a subtle way. The trumpet is in front of the music but the trombone keeps it from taking over. This first track, “Labrador” features a long and impressive saxaphone solo that smoothly works it’s way back into the rhythm. Changeing the pace slightly, the next song “Le Hustle” is a slower funk groove that is brought alive by a vibrant horn section and prominent bass tone. While it’s well known that songs in any subcategory of funk are heavily bass driven, halfway through the album, the songs reach a high level of bass-driven-ness. Let’s just say that if the bass on "The Octagon" were a chicken wing sauce at Fire On The Mountain, it would rank in at El Jefe. Which is fitting because the final track on the album is called “El Fuego.” There is a definite mariachi influence on this one with bright use of trumpet and a weirdly driving rhythm.

A polyrhythm by definition is more than one rhythm working together within a single beat. It’s a part of music that often gets lost in the art of songwriting when things get too overly simplified. Polyrhythmics have not let go of the little technical things when making their music, and when executed perfectly like on this record, you come away with some of the best genuine art. Not only that, this band, and their time capsuled recording from the Banana Stand will make you move a little to boot. Also check out the video for "Labrador" shot during the set! 

– Colin Hudson

Polyrhythmics – "Labrador" from Banana Stand Media on Vimeo.

Lying within 25 miles of Seattle, the resurgence of a music scene is inevitable, though building any community is a slow process. Led by the Everett Music Initiative, the Fisherman’s Village Music Festival is finally bringing recognition to Everett, Washington as being part of the thriving music culture in the region. The event features an intriguing lineup over the course of two days, Friday May 16th through Saturday May 17th. Performances will be at four venues: the Historic Everett Theatre, an outdoor theater called the Shipyard, the Cannery and the Bait shop at Kroakers. The bands listed cover all genres, providing a one size fits all for sound preference while maintaining an authentic Pacific Northwest flair. General admission for the weekend is under $70 and well worth the investment.