End Hits, Portland Mercury

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01/23/12--15:42: Tonight in Music: NOFX (chan 1135656)




NOFX, OLD MAN MARKLEY, POISON IDEA

(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Read our article on NOFX.

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01/24/12--01:29: Loopy (chan 1135656)

Some pretty sweet guitar looping and sound manipulation from Dustin Wong (of Ponytail):

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01/24/12--06:30: Interview with Wow & Flutter (chan 1135656)





Perennial Portland rock trio Wow & Flutter know a thing or two about craft beer. Living in the land of small brews, the band took it upon themselves to get into the mix with a brand new EP/Imperial Ale called "Double Deuce." It goes like this, buy a 22oz. bottle of the specially made beer from Alameda Brewing either at local stores or shows, and get a code for download of the band's new five song EP.

As far as ingenious ideas go, this one takes the keg. But, it does leave me with a few questions. Luckily, Wow & Flutter were happy to provide the answers. Read on to find out the inspiration for and benefits of a beer-centric release. And get your hands on the new EP at Wow & Flutter's upcoming release show January 28th at Kelly's Olympian.

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01/24/12--09:59: Damien Jurado Plays an In-Store at Jackpot Records (chan 1135656)



• Sarah Jurado


One day after the release of his stunning new album Maraqopa, Damien Jurado will play an in-store performance at Jackpot Records. He'll be at the SE Hawthorne store on Wednesday, February 22 at 6 pm, for a free, all-ages show. He'll no doubt play some tunes from the new record, which was recorded with Oregon audio auteur Richard Swift and, judging by advance listens, is absolutely remarkable.

The other day I was talking with someone about how many solo performers there are in the world who are capable of captivating an audience for an entire set—just them and an acoustic guitar. The list was pretty short. I think we came up with a total of four. Damien Jurado was one of them.

Here's a tune from Maraqopa.

LISTEN:

Damien Jurado - "Nothing Is the News"

Damien Jurado at Jackpot Records, 3574 SE Hawthorne, Wed Feb 22, 6 pm, FREE, all ages. Jurado will also perform at Holocene on Sunday, April 22.

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01/24/12--10:38: Greg Dulli Covers Leonard Cohen (And No, He Didn't do "Hallelujah") (chan 1135656)

WARNING: This video opens with a Korn ad sponsored by Axe Body Spray. It’s a dire commercial, one that will make you hate the internet, music, and life (in that order). But the payoff is worth it. I promise.

“Paper Thin Hotel” has always been my favorite Leonard Cohen song. There’s just something so intriguing about the thought of the songwriting lothario with his ear cupped to a hollow hotel room wall while he eavesdrops on the sounds of his lover passionately fucking someone else mere inches away. It’s the sort of salacious detail that only a Cohen song could carry—this simply would not suffice in our modern peeping-on-Erin-Andrews era of hotel voyeurism.

The walls of this hotel are paper-thin
Last night I heard you making love to him
The struggle mouth to mouth and limb to limb
The grunt of unity when he came in
I stood there with my ear against the wall
I was not seized by jealousy at all
In fact a burden lifted from my soul
I heard that love was out of my control

Rolling Stone is paying tribute to Cohen by herding in some modern songwriters to pay tribute to the Canadian musical icon in a series entitled Old Ideas with New Friends. A newly thin-ish Greg Dulli swung by and covered “Paper Thin Hotel,” an impassioned version that adds a hefty dose of crooning soul to the original, yet still remains tethered to the song’s original heartache.
If you watch one video—and one Korn commercial sponsored by Axe Body Spray—today, make it this one.

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01/24/12--11:14: Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano Q&A (chan 1135656)





I interviewed venerable rock 'n' roller Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde a few weeks back for this short piece, but she had so much more to say. (She's a bit of a charming motormouth.) Q&A is after the jump.

You can catch 'em tonight at the Star Theater.

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01/24/12--15:13: Happy 71st Birthday, Neil Diamond! (chan 1135656)

Yeah. He's getting pretty old.

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01/24/12--15:51: Tonight in Music: Concrete Blonde, Fitz and the Tantrums (chan 1135656)




CONCRETE BLONDE, MENKENA

(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Read our article on Concrete Blonde.




FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS, AMERICAN TOMAHAWK, REVA DEVITO

(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Bubbling above the recent swell of revivalist, blue-eyed soul, Fitz and the Tantrums have seen their fair share of mainstream success in the past year. Their swaggering track "Moneygrabber" permeated radio waves for much of the spring and summer, and a few supporting slots on high-profile tours exposed the LA band's highly infectious music to an even larger population sample; a pandemic was born. But while "Moneygrabber" is well and good in its poppy dredge, it pales in comparison to many of the other songs on 2010's Pickin' Up the Pieces (including "Breaking the Chains of Love" and the title track, at the very least). The band is absolutely bombastic, while Fitz and Noelle Scaggs command the vocals and the audience with finesse; prepare for a night of over-the-top fun. RAQUEL NASSER

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01/24/12--16:04: It's Still Neil Diamond's Birthday! (chan 1135656)

Oh my god. I love this man.

He probably shouldn't be driving.

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01/25/12--09:35: And And And's New 10-Inch Record (chan 1135656)





• Ingrid Renan
• Note the Log Across the Washer shirt—the new band of ex-AAA member Tyler Keene.

And And And has announced the release of a new EP on Exploding Green Records. Lost will be the group's first release on vinyl, and the 10-inch record contains six songs recorded by Eric Earley and Michael VanPelt of Blitzen Trapper. And And And play a vinyl release show on that sexiest of days, Valentine's Day, where they'll be playing at the Record Room (8 NE Killingsworth)—Tuesday, February 14, bright and early at 5:30 pm. That show is free and all ages. According to the press release, the songs on Lost "center on the themes of alienation, concealment, and becoming 'lost' in the confusion surrounding everyday life."

Oh. So it has nothing to do with the TV show.

And And And embark on their first West Coast tour on Friday, and also have a date scheduled at the Doug Fir on Saturday, February 18. You can listen to the entirety of Lost over at the Exploding Green site, or on Bandcamp. You can also listen to the opening track below.

LISTEN:

And And And - "I Want More Alcohol (It Makes Me Sadder)"

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01/25/12--10:01: Grouper Covers Dead Moon for Yeti (chan 1135656)





That's the latest issue of Mike McGonigal's Yeti magazine, and if it looks like a record, well, it is. Along with the usual printed stuff (and cover art by Carson Ellis), there's a 7-inch record contained within. And on that record is Grouper's cover of a Dead Moon tune. (Other tracks include two Mississippi Fred McDowell recordings and a Tiki Men cover of a Duane Eddy number.) Listen to Grouper's version right here (which also went up on Pitchfork today)—and check out the original here. To say they sound radically different would be underplaying it a bit.

LISTEN:

Grouper - "Demona" (Dead Moon cover)

McGonigal's also offering a 100-minute download of music containing those four tracks, plus loads more, which you can get by ambling on over to the Yeti site, where you'll undoubtedly want to order the latest issue as well. This time around, McGonigal's compiled: "Photos from the Alan Lomax Archives ca. his 1959 ‘Southern Journey’; poet Margarita Shalina’s recollections of the NYC 1980s HARDCORE scene; Kim Spurlock’s annotated trove of NEAL CASSADY ephemera; photos by Nina Dudoladova of ABANDONED FORTS in Kaliningrad, Russia; epic essay on forgotten ‘90s surf band THE TIKI MEN; an interview with translator/author SUSAN BERNOFSKY; a great short story by Mimi Lipson; Chris Kirkley on African sign-painter THIAM BELLOU; Jamaican gospel 7-inch labels; drawings by Tim Miller, James Trotter, and Shana Cleveland."

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01/25/12--14:14: The Parson Red Heads Hit Up Daytrotter (chan 1135656)





The fine folks at Daytrotter welcomed in Portland's Parson Red Heads this week for a wonderfully warm and harmonious set of songs. Led by the demure vocals of songwriter Evan Way, the group's sonorous approach marries perfectly with Daytrotter's intimate recording process. All four songs on the session come from the softly radiant folk rock of the band's most recent album, Yearling, their most resonant work yet; and below we've got the session's lead track, "Seven Years Ago." Check it out and then click it here to get the rest. The only way to get a more intimate performance is to see the Parson Red Heads live at Mississippi Studios on January 29th.

LISTEN:

The Parson Red Heads - "Seven Years Ago"(Daytrotter Session)

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01/25/12--15:41: Tonight in Music: Nationale's Anniversary, Hornet Leg (chan 1135656)




NATIONALE THIRD ANNIVERSARY

(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Entering its fourth year, Nationale has become much more than your typical boutique. It's grown into a haven of art, performances, and exhibits—and it's still a really cool shop. Celebrate its birthday tonight with bands, DJs, performance art, video installations, and more, with the likes of Scout Niblett, Woolly Mammoth Comes to Dinner, and Jenn Armbrust's free advice booth. NED LANNAMANN










HORNET LEG, HEY LOVER, DAD AND DAD, DJ KEN DIRTNAP

(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Maybe the most attractive aural value of Portland's Hornet Leg is the inherent fun found in their particular brand of jangly fuzz-punk. The vocal dynamic between founder Chris Sutton—who's also played sporadically in K Rec flag bearers Dub Narcotic Sound System and C.O.C.O.—and former drummer Claudia Meza summoned the sunny harmonies of a youthful Black Francis-Kim Deal tandem, abounding with oft-times blues-grooved chord progressions (Still Life's "Ghost House"), and skewed menageries of melodic mischief. But with the additions in recent years of Nucular Aminals' frontman Robert Comitz on the skins, and Bob Desaulniers on bass, Hornet Leg's minimalist onslaught—though still potent—is coiled in tighter quarters, allowing Sutton's songwriting to rise above the din. RYAN J. PRADO Also see My, What a Busy Week!

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01/26/12--10:39: This Week's Mercury Music Section (chan 1135656)





• Don VanCleave
• Alabama Shakes

Another week, another Mercury music section to ignore as you wring your hands in defeat after learning that Bonnie "Prince" Billy brand-name coffee is all sold out. Alas, that mountain-fresh morning-roast scent will never be yours. Damn. At least they spelled "Bonnie" wrong on the bag.

They only have an EP to their name (the album's out in April), but we're certain Alabama Shakes are going to be huge. No, really—like, Adele huge. Their show this Saturday is almost sold out, but rest assured that when they come back, they'll be playing a much bigger room.
LISTEN:

Alabama Shakes - "Hold On"

Jessie Baylin left her label, fired her manager, and made a terrific new album with Oregon's Richard Swift. Just as good as the album is the new EP of mostly covers that she and Swift recorded on a four-track in her living room. (Download it for free.)
LISTEN:

Jessie Baylin - "Love Is Wasted on Lovers"

The devil-worshiping Ghost is a scary, scary band. So scary! Well, that is until you listen to their music. These guys look like the creepiest death metal band on the planet, but they choogle like Grand Funk Railroad. We have to say, it's pretty great.
LISTEN:

Ghost - "Ritual"

After playing in lots of other local bands, Ed Thanhouser has started his own band, Ed and the Red Reds. Their psych-flecked country debut album Lost Leader is excellent. But you know what this band really excels at? Belt buckles.
LISTEN:

Ed and the Red Reds - "Story of the Sound"

Beats Antique sound like globetrotters, but the core trio—which includes a full-time belly dancer—hails from Oakland. Bubble on, oh melting pot.
LISTEN:

Beats Antique - "Cat Skillz"

Plus, additional words about other Up and Coming shows.

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01/26/12--12:44: Tonight in Music: Doomtree Collective, Jessie Baylin, Audie Darling & More (chan 1135656)




DOOMTREE, SAPIENT, SIMS, LAZERBEAK, CECIL OTTER, P.O.S., MIKE MICTLAN, DESSA
(Branx, 320 SE 2nd) With the likes of P.O.S., Dessa, Lazerbeak, and more, Minneapolis' Doomtree collective is without peer. Their exploratory and exciting approach to rap is both the product of a tightly knit musical family and its individual members' fiercely unique personalities. Doomtree's many tendrils have brushed up against all corners of the indie music scene, but tonight's the chance to see the crew intact and in action. NED LANNAMANN




JESSIE BAYLIN, THE WATSON TWINS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on Jessie Baylin.




GREGORY MILES HARRIS, AUDIE DARLING, STEVEN THE CELLO GUY
(The Waypost, 3120 N Williams) I first heard Audie Darling's music in a public place and found myself caught off guard, wondering what beauty was gracing my ears. It turned out to be her 2009 album Full of Ghosts, a lovely collection of Americana-inspired songs with Darling's endearing voice as the centerpiece. Recorded at Adam Selzer's venerable Type Foundry studios with the assistance of a gaggle of local performers, Darling has clearly found the sonic camaraderie so common to Portland. Coming from a family of musicians in Nashville, her savvy and comfort with the medium is apparent, and her delivery rings with a bittersweet knowingness. Her return to Portland with a spattering of performances comes on the heels of completing a new album in Nashville. MARANDA BISH


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01/26/12--12:59: Radiation City Finds Uses for All Parts of a Piano (chan 1135656)



IFC has its sights set on Portland for sure—they've just premiered the new Radiation City video for a song from their upcoming Cool Nightmare EP. During the sessions, Radiation City apparently trashed a piano so that it no longer made good sounds, but like all industrious independent bands, they found another use for the doomed piano. It's here in the video for the appropriately titled "Find It of Use," directed by Andrew Sloan. And you'd think they'd be done there, but no. They've also found yet a further use for the remaining parts of that poor piano—the surviving keys will be attached to USB drives that contain the new songs.

Cool Nightmare comes out March 6.

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01/26/12--13:43: Red Fang's New Video (Air Guitar! Shower Scene!) (chan 1135656)

'Tis the day for video premieres. Here's the latest from Red Fang, who once again have teamed up with director Whitey McConnaughy, a partnership that does music videos pretty much better than anyone else. (Proof and proof.)

Back in October, Red Fang put out the call for air guitarists for their new music video, and here are the glorious results in the video for "Hank Is Dead." Tons of Portland landmarks in this one, and familiar faces, plus a sexy, sexxxy shower scene at the beginning. Oh, and lots of beer drinking.

Here's what drummer John Sherman had to say:

This one came together super quick with the help of some insane Portland locals and their sick air guitar skills. We basically just threw a big party and had a blast while a bunch of cameras ran. That is my shower Aaron and Bryan and Bobcat are in at the intro, btw. It still has a weird ring around it...

Yeah. I suppose it goes without saying, but this is awesome.

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01/26/12--14:21: Grand Opening: Little Axe Records (chan 1135656)





Little Axe Records has been known around town for years as the guerilla storefront Jed Bindeman and Warren Hill run out of a NE Portland garage, but now the pair have moved their collections into a more conspicuous location off NE Alberta, an area of town that's been just begging for a record haven of this caliber. So what kind of discs do they specialize in? Here's what their Facebook profile has to say about it:

Little Axe carries a vast array of sounds on vinyl and cassette. Many genres are well represented, including post punk, ethnographic, experimental, 60s soul, psych, industrial, folk & rock & blues in all it's types and everything in between. Music for complete weirdos and non-weirdos alike.



Grand opening is tomorrow at noon. And if you stick around until the evening, rumor has it you can expect some live music, including a rather "fishy" headliner. That's the other thing we're excited about: the in-store performances, which will be arranged by Experimental ½ Hour's Eva Aguila and Eternal Tapestry's Ryan Carlile. Damn, this is going to be an amazingly well-curated record shop. Be excited.

Little Axe Records is located at 5012 NE 28th (at Alberta).

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01/26/12--15:19: Laura Gibson's Ghostly New Video (chan 1135656)

I wasn't kidding about it being a day for video premieres. Here's the gorgeous new video from Laura Gibson, who enlisted director Alicia J. Rose to direct this clip for the title track of Gibson's new record, La Grande. Gibson stars in the video, in which she visits Hot Lake Hotel in the town of La Grande, Oregon—that's where the name of the record came from, for those of you keeping track. Trouble is, the hotel seems to have a wee bit of a ghost problem.

NPR premiered the video today, and they have the whole story, told by Gibson and Rose. It's well worth reading. There are ghosts, and train wrecks, and 208-degree natural hot lakes!

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01/27/12--11:15: Drink It In: Wow and Flutter's Double Deuce EP and Imperial Ale (chan 1135656)





Wow and Flutter are no dummies. With a storied career in the rearview and an exceedingly noisier one ahead, they understand that to engage listenership beyond the time-tested annals of pressing records, lasering compact discs, leaking downloads, touring, playing shows, they needed to somehow confront their audience’s most likely focal point and manipulate the market.

I’m here to report that never have I felt my desires so controlled as I do right now, sipping this 7.2 percent Double Deuce Imperial Ale, listening to the raw, calculated rock of Portland’s Wow and Flutter. And you know what? I don’t mind. In a stroke of music marketing genius, Wow and Flutter didn’t hesitate to go right for the jugular to get the word out about their new recordings: alcohol addiction! Buy their specially brewed concoction in specially labeled 22 ounce bottle—thanks to the efforts of Alameda Brewing—get a download of the tracks, and poof! Beer EP! And it’s probably the best extracurricular libation project foisted upon the public since Maynard James Keenan’s vino, or more recently, Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s organic Kona coffee. At least I can get my hands on the brew.

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01/27/12--11:58: Tonight in Music: Into the Woods, Ed and the Red Reds, Beats Antique & More (chan 1135656)




INTO THE WOODS SECOND ANNIVERSARY: NIGHTMOVES, GRANDPARENTS, 1939 ENSEMBLE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Northwest music media website Into the Woods may not have quite achieved empire status, but two years in, they're well on the way. Come celebrate their birthday with new videos (plus some greatest hits), live music from Nightmoves, and the promise of other surprises. MARJORIE SKINNER





ED AND THE RED REDS, MERIDIAN, W.C. BECK AND THE VALIANT SWAINS, EZZA ROSE
(The Piano Fort, 1715 SE Spokane) Read our article on Ed and the Red Reds.





BEATS ANTIQUE
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Read our article on Beats Antique.


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01/27/12--12:23: Marty Marquis' Residency at Al's Den (chan 1135656)





• Tyler Kohlhoff

One of the things we regrettably didn't have room for in the paper this week is the excellent week-long residency of Marty Marquis at Al's Den. Marquis, a member of Blitzen Trapper and frequent solo performer, has put together seven great-looking nights of music, including sets from his fellow Blitzen Trapper-ers and plenty more.

Marquis says, "I'm pretty stoked about the performers on tap. There's some of the usual suspects (Evan Way, Mike Coykendall, solo sets from all the Denver dudes)... I'm particularly excited to have both Heatwarmer and Thousands coming down from Seattle to play, very different bands (though one is made up of a subset of the other), both among the very best at what they do." It's an all-star lineup to see some great musicians and songwriters in a small room—and for free. The series kicks off this Sunday with Marquis joined by Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats and Zach Tillman of Pearly Gate Music.

Here's the full schedule (Marquis plays on all dates, naturally):

Sun Jan 29 Eric Johnson (Fruit Bats), Zach Tillman (Pearly Gate Music)
Mon Jan 30 Jenna Conrad, Corey Ravens and friends
Tues Jan 31 Eric Earley (Blitzen Trapper, Denver), Mike Elias (Denver)
Wed Feb 1 Evan Way (Parson Red Heads), Brian Koch (Blitzen Trapper)
Thurs Feb 2 Heatwarmer, Birger Olsen (Denver)
Fri Feb 3 Thousands, Tom Bevitori (Alela Diane & Wild Divine, Denver)
Sat Feb 4 Mike Coykendall, John & David Totten (The Quiet Ones)

All shows start at 7 pm at Al's Den (303 SW 12th) and are FREE.

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01/27/12--13:32: Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys on Sunday (chan 1135656)

You've probably noticed that we don't post about a lot of zydeco music here. In fact, scarcely a day goes by where someone doesn't say, "Hey! What about all that zydeco music you never post about on End Hits, huh?" It has been a decided oversight. But I've been an appreciator ever since becoming mildly obsessed with New Orleans music as a teenager (which is what happens when you grow up in an area that has no musical heritage of its own to speak of). I've found zydeco to be rowdy, raw dance music that, apart from its Cajun musical cousin, stands more or less alone in the American music spectrum. There's accordion. There's washboard. There are songs sung in Creole. And there's always a party. It is the opposite of the kind of music that was played in my hometown.

On that note, here's a video clip of Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys, who are playing at Duff's Garage on Sunday. And it's a barnburner. Ledet and the Playboys play a particularly rockin' brand of zydeco, with a lot of muscle in the bottom end and surf guitar licks from the guitar. Other than Queen Ida, there historically aren't a ton of female zydeco singers, and Louisiana's Ledet has me wondering why. This show looks like it'll be a lot of fun—an ideal way to keep warm on Sunday night.

Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys at Duff's Garage, 1635 SE 7th, Sun Jan 29, 8 pm, $10

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01/27/12--14:29: Crisne - "Hall of Wisdom" (chan 1135656)

Francesca Marongiu is best known as one-half of the Italian avant-drone duo Architeuthis Rex, but it's her new solo debut under the alias Crisne that really smacks me. Think heavy analog arping alongside hyper-focused drone exploration, with updated synth and drum pads—like Chris & Cosey or Doris Norton for the modern age. Seriously, those motifs have been in need of an update for a long time, and Marongiu is proving herself exceedingly capable when handling these kind of renovations. With Albedo, she succeeds not only at breathing new life into old tropes, but also at making them entirely her own. Yeah, it's really fucking good.

Crisne's Albedo is out now on Phantasma Disques.

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01/27/12--15:48: Alabama Shakes This Weekend (chan 1135656)

An email from Andrew R Tonry, who's down in California and wrote about Alabama Shakes this week:

dude, i hope you're going to alabama shakes.

i had to go to the show in solana beach, about an hour and a half south, near san diego because the troubadour was well sold-out and i was on the publicist's "guest waiting list," which i figured was a nice way of saying "no."

the trip was worth it. even down there the place, bigger than the troubadour, was fucking packed. and damn, they were hotter than i expected—keep in mind i knew they would be good. but they're polished good, not punk rock good.

feel like they're so bound to get huge that there's almost no ceiling. could be adele big. brittany has a ridiculously incredible voice. with it, she could be the next aretha franklin.

could also be co-opted and scrubbed for massive mall rock, corporate franchises, the house of blues and applebees 40-somethings whose other CD's include josh groban. but i think, based on my conversation with brittany, that they're purer than that. here's hoping.

either way, you'll never see 'em in a venue that size again.

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