Holy goodness, is it that time of year already? Yes it is, Portland! MFNW is right around the corner. September 7-11 all around town, MusicFest Northwest is going to blow your brain out of your face. If you haven’t gotten your wristband already, get on it! If you’re not into bracelets, then start scoping for tickets! This year’s lineup looks ridiculously amazing. We’ll be out there catching as much as we can, but here are a few picks from our writers & photographers who’ll be roaming/running around Portland for the weekend. –MH
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Cat Lam, host of Cat’s Cradle on KPSU is really stoked to see:
They’ve shed their gimmicky over the top goth garb, and have evolved into sonic textural masters. The Horrors are the band I’m personally most excited to see this year. Their latest record, Skying, is the band’s first self produced effort and is an amazingly lush landscape of weaving tones and reverb. See the Horrors on Saturday September 10th at Dante’s.
The long reaching influence of Joy Division’s driving baselines is highly evident, most notably on the track “Breathe the Fire”. The faint chanting whisper of Luis Vasquez’s voice is both heavy and haunting. Catch The Soft Moon at Rotture on Sunday September 11th.
Dirty Beaches’ debut LP, Badlands, can be summed up as grimy, lo-fi recordings seemingly from another era. Like the score to a David Lynch film, you can almost visualize the vast landscapes their sounds project. Whip that pompadour into shape, Dirty Beaches is bringin’ back those 1950s vibes. Friday September 9th at Dante’s at 10pm.
Blouse’s 7” single for “Shadow” is yet another amazing throw-back-y dream pop record, courtesy of Sub Pop. Both airy and brooding, their tunes are melancholy filtered through the lens of summer. This is going to be a show your inner goth is not going to want to miss. Thursday September 8th at Holocene at 10pm.
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I have impeccable timing in that I will be out of town right when MFNW is going down. Luckily, I’m going to be in sunny California catching my good friends Rad City tour up the left coast. But! If I were in town, my show picks for MusicFest NW would go like this: Mike Harper, founder/blogger/photographer over at Words Cut Open, and editor here at The Deli Portland is looking forward to these bands:
Well orchestrated pop from the makers of Congratulations, Eskimo & Sons, and more, channeling the summertime joy of all my favourite house shows. Swoon at sway away with these P-town favourites Saturday September 10 at Backspace at 8pm.
Blisteringly energetic and heartfelt in the most frenetically neo-tribal, trombone wielding way, Brainstorm will make your face explode with a thousand smiles in a flurry of genuine beat-driven, slightly tropical (in a Portland kind of way) tunes. Feel it Thursday September 8 at Doug Fir at 9pm.
This small army of sing-along 20-somethings has become sort of a mascot for Portland these days. From their tender loving latest release to their glowing performance on David Letterman, Typhoon may easily be slated as one of the most looked-forward-to local bands of this year’s MFNW. Saturday Sept 10 at Pioneer Courthouse Square at 5pm.
You can expect no less than a rousingly sweaty show of boops, beeps, beats and bright bold vocals from Jeffrey Jerusalem. Persuade yourself into fast moving feet Saturday September 10 at Branx, 9pm.
As I’ve said before, this man will make you sweaty. He might even make you dance. This time around, he will definitely call for both. Don’t let him down. I know he’ll return the favour. Friday September 9 at Doug Fir at 9pm.
Ever since his hand in The Blow, I’ve been in love with every danceable beat that’s come from Jona Bechtolt. Yacht continually brings an other-worldy set of light show colour explosion, so do not DO NOT miss this band. Saturday September 10 at 11pm at Branx (same night as Jefferey Jerusalem!).