Quantum entanglement

Okay, so, yeah, it’s been a minute. This spring has seemed to be a little extra cold and dreary, no? And I feel like I haven’t been out to see much. But not just cuz I can be kinda lazy, like, there hasn’t been much around. Just me? Well, alright, what have I seen though? I’ll start with Colin Stetson at The Old Church. I don’t really know what to say, the dude is insane. You likely all know by now that I’m typically somewhere between disinterested and dismissive of what would generally be considered high levels of technical musical proficiency, but sometimes, remarkable skill and talent are used for good. I can’t even fathom what he’s doing and it sounds amazing. And so physical, so visceral. If you ever get to see him (or have any interest in ginormous saxophones!) you have to do it. I saw Arrington De Dionyso and Ben Bennet. Twice, actually! I’m a little at a loss for a proper description here, De Dionyso played a little sax, but mostly it was odd, homemade percussion from both of them. And by odd, I mean wonderful. I was unfamiliar with Bennet, but he’s a super interesting percussionist from PA. Surprisingly delicate at times, wonderfully abrasive for brief moments. If Levon or Scott care to add to this lackluster description, that’d be welcomed. We saw the always wonderful Sea Moss at Fixin’ To. Damn, they’re sooo good. It was a pretty full house, but the crowd was a little dead unfortunately. Their lightly frenetic energy really benefits from a lively room. Blesst Chest opened, they were pretty good. There were moments where they seemed so close to something great then they’d get a little too clever and musical and veer too far into rawk n roll (for me). But generally good. And I blamed the lackluster crowd on the fact that they were all waiting for headliner Dommengang, who, if you actually read this spam I send out every once in a while, I do not like. Anyhoo. Going way back a minute, I ended up seeing Unwound by way of a friend of this thread getting me on the guest list (thanks!). I’d hemmed and hawed about whether to by a ticket or not and had left off with I guess I won’t go. Very glad I did. I think I’ve recounted how I was long a fan, but never a super fan, and how I kinda forget about them sometimes, and how maybe, when I think about back in the day, it was really my ex who was the fan. Or some such version of my often faulty memory. And I know, a reunion show on top of all that. But holy shit, they were so good. I was surprised with how familiar I was with most of the set too. Big Biz Jared was a terrific stand in for Vern, the singer dude somehow hasn’t lost his voice in the last 25+ years, and Sara Lund is still a absolute badass drummer. I spent the week or two after revisiting the Unwound catalog for the first time in ages. Wow, I guess we did listen to them a ton cuz I felt like I knew all of the songs (well, at least through Repetition, I didn’t even know the last two records existed).

Reunion shows are funny. I’m so dismissive, but there are exceptions. I went to both nights of the godheadSilo shows at Bunk Bar way back when (and woulda gone had there been a third night). And if The Blood Brothers got back together, holy crap, I’d be first in line for a ticket. I dunno, life’s funny and we all have our own rules (until we don’t).

Also, Burt Bacharach died. Wait, he was still alive? I was just listening to The White Stripes’ Elephant on the occasion of it having been released 20 years ago (wait, what?!?! How old are we?!??!!), and their cover of his "I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself" is a true gem (as is that entire record).

Already missed a couple things I was looking to see (like Emma Ruth Rundle at Rev Hall), but this is what seems to be coming up...

Lions of the Interstate, Wed 4/5, Turn! Turn! Turn! Do you need some charming, light, 90’s inflected fun for your humpday this week? You wanna support a great local bar/venue and see a friend of this email’s band? (The answer is “yes” to all three questions, BTW.). https://lionsoftheinterstate.bandcamp.com/album/lost-in-spokane

Blackwater Holylight, Sat 4/8, Mississippi Studios. Sold out. But I do wanna see them again. Anybody have tix? I’d like to hear how the show is.

Federale, Fri 4/14, Lollipop Shoppe. I’ve been threatening to see them for a while, Portland’s own spaghetti western inspired 7 piece band. And I still haven’t been to Lollipop Shoppe. But if I do go out on this night…

Steal Beans, Fri 4/14, Star Theater. This guy. Absofuckinglutely. Let’s go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFJJ-aYsGl4

Flynt Flossy & Turquoise Jeep, Sun 4/16, Doug Fir. I know I don’t hype many hip hop shows here (cuz, like, I know embarrassingly little about the scene here, and I’m hardly well versed in general), but this could be a rad show. Kinda jokey, kinda dirty, the songs I know are real fun. I’m a little confused because I thought Flynt Flossy was part of Turqouise Jeep, but whatevs.

Etran De L’Aïr, Tue 4/18, Mississippi Studios. Another sub-Saharan guitar band from Niger, these guys might be the best of the bunch. Apparently they’ve never toured the States before. A few of us have tickets, it's not sold out yet. Do yourself a favor. https://etrandelair.bandcamp.com/album/agadez

These Stumpfest shows are coming up. Def some good stuff, although it appears some shows are already sold out. https://www.facebook.com/STUMPFEST777/

Quando Quando Quando, Fri 4/21, Turn! Turn! Turn! Do you need some charming, lightly punky rock to wind down your work week? You wanna support a great local bar/venue and see a friend of this email’s band? (The answer is “yes” to all three questions, BTW.).

The Social Stomach, Sat 4/29, The World Famous Kenton Club. Another great local two-piece; rad, jazzy drumming and badass lady spoken word. And, as mentioned before, FOL. RIP Lucas!

Should we be paying attention to Still/Form? They seem like they may be good?

Deerhoof, Fri, 5/5, Aladdin Theater. They’re still around! Man, I‘ve seen them so many times, but it’s been ages. I haven’t heard any of their newer stuff but assuming it’s still the main cast of characters it could only be good or better.

Okay, that’s where I need to stop or I’ll literally never finish this. Out farther, believe it or not, the Tim Hecker show appears to not be sold out yet… https://www.holocene.org/event/tim-hecker-early-show-21/holocene/portland/ You really should get a ticket for this. Also have tix for Xiu Xiu on Thursday the 4th of May (also at Holocene, also not sold out yet!). A few of us have Bonnie “Prince” Billie tix for what is now the first of two shows at Aladdin. I waited a little to buy a ticket for Bill Callahan (also at Aladdin) and it’s already sold out. Fuck. I might buy a ticket for Molchat Doma at Crystal in May. Anybody else interested in Belarusian darkwave/postpunk? Enough to see a show at Crystal? They’re pretty good! And what about Ladytron at Wonder in May? Another whoa, they’re still around band, but I really liked them back in the day. And they’re named after a Roxy Music song, that’s about as cool as a band can be (see also, Boris).

Somehow, despite my whining that there’s not a lot around right now, this has taken me forever to compose, quite scattered, little bits at a time, so I’m more sure than ever that I’ve missed stuff. And yr here to help! I think. As always always, additions, corrections, and/or subtractions welcome.

DW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGJw7iXIwZs

Inundation Zone

February, huh? That was fast. Maybe it’s time to stop pretending that this is a “monthly” thing and admit it’s more like a “when I finally finish it” thing. Hoping this is a month without terrible news, cuz, we really don’t need any more of that. What happened at the end of 2022 on the music front? I think December ended up a dud, actually. I went to the Thrill Jockey show at Mississippi, timed it just right to catch the second half of Rose City Band (boring, at best), then expected to see Marisa Anderson and The Body. Well, fuckers, they swithed the order up and Marisa Anderson had already played. Instead, Dommengang, who I thought I’d miss, played second to last. They were so good that I decided to leave before my faves The Body. Wow. What crap. Give me a rock n roll trope and they have embraced some part of it. Did get me thinking about all-time shit bands though, which is always a fun convo. Needless to say I have Guns N Roses alone at the top of that list. I mean, even Aerosmith, as implausibly awful as most of their catalog is, have a few songs from the 70s that are at least not terrible. Pearl Jam? They seem like nice guys so I always wanna give them a pass, but, oof. The Strokes maybe? They’re even supposed to be assholes! But I digress…. I shoulda gone to the Cold Cave show, I feel like I blew it on that one, I quite like the new record. In January there were a few things I claimed to be excited about and then bailed on. Ghost Ease and Slang. Will Sheff. Ils at The Spare Room. Was out of town for Sun Foot but I gather they were great. I did see Dry Cleaning at Crystal. They were pretty good (Coach Millions got me into the VIP section!), but I can’t see being too excited about them. They’re also not a band that really works particularly well live, what with the talk singing. And local noise night with Feed Fatigue and Body Shame at The Fixin To. Okay, now this show was real good. There were two other acts that were pretty decent too, but I really liked Feed Fatigue's harsh electronics and Body Shame’s danceable industrial noise (those are both lazy, but largely accurate, descriptions). Want to see them both again. That’s all I saw in the last two months?! I think that’s it! Anybody see either of the ESG shows? Anyhoo, coming up...

Those three Unwound shows, once upon a time waaaay out in the future, are now next week. Last I looked there are still tix for the middle show. Who all’s going? Am I gonna regret not going to this? I got a semi-rando DM on Insta yesterday from a way way way back old friend as he saw that Unwound is playing shows again and he thinks he remembers a whole squad of us walking from our apartment in Cambridgeport to The Middle East to see them, this would be 1996 probably. Playing with Blonde Redhead, no less! Is that possible? Probably, although I forget so many of those shows and that era in general. I may run this memory past my most trusted music colleague, who’s memory for this stuff is much sharper than mine. Funny either way. #shastathemastablasta Black Belt Eagle Scout, Fri 2/10, Aladdin Theater. Really lovely dreamy indie rock filtered through the lens of it’s Queer, Indigenous creator, Katherine Paul. The new record drops this day as well. This would probably be a sneaky good show. https://blackbelteaglescout.bandcamp.com/album/the-land-the-water-the-sky Sumac, Sat 2/11, Polaris Hall. Heavy Portland rock. Both openers, Thrones and Avola, are knob twiddling faves though. Usnea, Sat 2/11, High Water Mark. Actually opening for Ninth Moon Black, who I have on good authority are also of the doom/black metal vein of Usnea. Maybe we should check this out. Lingua Ignota, Fri 2/17,Star Theater. Sold out!? Wow, it wasn’t long ago she was opening for The Body at The Know. Unsane, Sat 2/18, Mississippi Studios. With Gaythiest. Yo La Tengo, Sun & Mon 2/19 & 20, Wonder Ballroom. I don’t know how I missed the boat on them, they were always around, I always had friends who liked them. And now I feel like it’s too late to go back and explore their gazillion year long catalog. Maybe not? (Do you know the origin story of the band’s name? Look it up, it’s funny. Sometimes I think my 12 year old self fucked up choosing a life of Red Sox fandom over the Mets.) Feed Fatigue, Sun 2/19, Turn! Turn! Turn!. Hey guess what? Here he is again! And with Caspar Sonnet who hosts some of the CMG shows at his house. I haven’t seen him play, but one of the pricklier characters on this thread raves. I will be at this, guarantee. Divers and Wild Powwers, Fri 2/24, Doug Fir. I need to go back and look at old notes, but I feel like we saw Wild Powwers in the before times and thought they were good, just in need of a little refining, very close to something excellent. Indigo Sparke, Mon 2/27, Mississippi Studios. I think folk is the closest standard category for her, but that’s selling it short. Maybe some sort of Australian Waxahatchee? I dunno. I feel like she’s on the verge of blowing up, if you like her, you should check this out before it’s too late. Quasi, Sat 3/4, Doug Fir. There’s also an early all-ages show the next day, Sunday, that, as much as I don’t like the idea of an all ages show, might be the one to check out, the openers are Yuvees and Sea Moss! Maybe some Sunday day drinking is in order! And I've actually bought a couple of tix way in advance, Xiu Xiu in May at Holocene (I haven’t seen them in ages) and Bonnie “Prince” Billy at Aladdin also in May. Somehow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Will Oldham live. Is that really possible? Never? Not some variation on the Palace Brothers theme, nothing. Well, see above, maybe I should check with the authorities on this one, but I’m super excited to finally see someone I’ve been a big fan of for probably closing in on thirty years. Alright, this is admittedly a lackluster entry in this ongoing inbox-stuffing prattling, but I’m tired, it feels like the last couple months were half a year long. Holidays, death, endless gray skies, plus all the regular shit. I’m sure I’ve missed something, I’ve been writing this in fits and starts for a while now. So, tell us what you know. as always always, always, additions, corrects, and/or subtractions welcomed. DW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD9zmHUU2jE

The only fact we have

One of the sorta surprising charms of living in a single family house is that you can crank your stereo more or less as loud as you want whenever you want (we bought new speakers, too 😬). I’ve lived in a bunch of old apartment buildings, a borderline flophouse in Seattle, classic Boston triple deckers, and yr basic multis, in New Orleans and like the place Clara and I lived in on Mason. Hell, I was a landlord of an old three family Victorian. And every one of those have a common denominator… you have a neighbor (or neighbors), in the building. Keep it down! When the occasion asks for more volume, whether it celebratory or to drown out sorrowful news, that option is now there and it’s very welcomed. The music in here tonight is so loud the mostly deaf, geriatric poodle seems slightly unnerved.

I digress… on the sorrowful news note, Mimi from Low died. I’ve long adored Things We Lost In The Fire and a couple other records, but I can't say I was ever a rabid fan. But, shit. And she was young. This was news that hurt more than I thought it would, and, maybe, like most things, it’s all about timing, but it seems worse every day. So sad. I’ve long claimed (maybe even somewhere a million years ago in this very thread) that I think Low’s “Embrace" might be the saddest song ever. They were gonna be at Wonder in March. Fuck.

I need some good news and I’ll take it even if it comes from a very unexpected place. Y’all been following this Ticketmaster fiasco with Taylor Swift? This could turn into the biggest thing in forever. Like, what if Swifties finally bring down Ticketmaster?!?!? Someone has to topple that bullshit monopoly and maybe, just maybe, she has the power to do it. It could actually happen. Anyway, what’d we see in the month of my birth. Kid Congo Powers at Mississippi. He was exactly what I’d hoped, a helplessly charming character who churned out songs just interesting enough that you left still holding him in high esteem. Now I really wanna read his new book. The surprise of the night was the opener, Roselit Bone. So XDS was supposed to also open, charming old Portland noise two piece, but they had to cancel. Dissapointing, that was kinda the extra bit that got me to buy a ticket. Anyhoo, I knew nothing about other opener Roselit Bone and went in with low expectations. Much like Michael’s response earlier in this chat (sorry I didn't reply to that one, I felt your surprising affection for them too), I was really surprised by how much I liked them. My notes from that night were “what if Devotchka was fr the US/Mex border and listened to a lot of Siouxsie?”. That’s it. Eager to see them again. Went to the Mecnhe/John Wiese show at HWM. Another cancelled opener, Caustic Touch did not play. Headliner, Wiese, was real good, but again, Menche steals the show. How is this dude not more famous outside of the PNW? And Quando Quando Quando and Yuvees at Turn. Sorry, fellas, I really didn’t think you’d start that early, I’ll get there on time next time. There was a middle band that I already forget, but Yuvees was good. The couple songs I’d heard gave me DEVO vibes, but they were more just arty post-punk. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I liked them pretty well. The sorta main guy/primary singer was real short, I dunno if you remember my whining about short front persons (especially relative to Clinic, I’ve told that story before), but, still, it throws me off.

What else. Anybody else seen this guy who reimagines current pop songs as if they were B-52s songs? Some of them are hilarious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Bbkj86cRw Oh, and a gripe. Post COVID (we’re post COVID, right?!?), a number of venues are a lot worse at keeping their calendars up to date or posting shows ahead of time. I’m looking at you, Black Water! Coming up... The Mountain Goats, Mon, Tues 12/5 & 6, Doug Fir. Well, the first of these shows was tonight (or is right now, whatevs). I actually know nothing about them, but I feel like I’ve heard a lot of friends over the years talk about them. Am I confusing them with someone else? Excited for this show on Friday at Mississippi, I already have a ticket. Thrill Jockey birthday party with Rose City Band (Ripley Johnson's not Mood Duo or Wooden Shjips band), Marisa Anderson (whose magical guitar work I’ve recently gotten super into), and my faves The Body. Among others! Meet me there around 6:30, Bar Bar has a solid house made veggie burger and (more importantly) good onion rings. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cjs6-uturMC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link X, Fri 12/9, Revolution Hall. With Los Straightjackets. I dunno. I never fully found my way in with X. There are some amazing songs (“Nausea” comes to mind), but on whole, for me, there was always too much ironic hillbilly chaff mixed in with the punk wheat. I know it’s all four original members still (again?), and I know they had a new record a couple years ago, but this still feels very reunion. Did I already say “I dunno”? Los Straightjackets are fun though. Do they still wear the wrestling masks? Maybe that's not cool anymore? (Asking for a friend…) Witch Mountain, Fri 12/9, Lollipop Shoppe. Old school Portland heavy metal. They call themselves doom but I don’t buy it. Crystal Quartez, Sun 12/11, Holocene. Wonderful local electronics gal, I should look up who else is playing, could be one of those sneaky good bills. Cold Cave, Sun 11/11, Hawthorne Theatre. There’s a part of me that wants to say he’s just kinda cheesy, what with the leather jackets and sunglasses and the whole look, but damn, his records are strangely infectious. Like everyone else, I loved 2009’s Love Comes Close, "Life Magazine" is a banger and "Heaven Was Full" is a pitch black slab of dancefloor darkness. The next record, meh. Then not much. But then he finally put out a new record last year, Fate In Seven Lessons, and it’s pretty good. Hawthorne is just the kind of dirty, shitty venue that this lightly glossy darkwave would be enhanced by. Maybe we all just fucking go to this and dance and sweat and pretend that everything isn’t shit?

METZ, Mon 12/12, Doug Fir. Band’s 10th anniversary tour. Neo-grunge kids from Toronto, clearly know the Nirvana catalog inside and out. And somewhow, they make it seem fresh. And they’re a ferociously good live band. OFF!, Wed 12/14, Mississippi Studios. Different bug killer brand, same Keith Morris. Sunbathe, Thurs 12/15, Doug Fir. Local songsters that I think I’ve wanted to see for a while, but I can’t remember why. Will look them up. Rose City Band, Fri 12/16, Lollipop Shoppe. As noted, Ripley Johnson’s other other band. Murder City Devils and Big Business, Sat 12/31, Revolution Hall. Roselit Bone and Yuvees, Sat 12/31, Lollipop Shoppe. I really want to see Roselit Bone again and both this and the Murder City Devils/Big Biz show at Rev Hall would be solid NYE’s shows... if one were inclined to wade into the inky, quicksand sewer that is New Year’s Eve out in public with the amateurs, lost souls, and Long Island Iced Teas. No thanks. K. That’s what I got. Not in the mood for the rah rah rah, let’s go to shows this time, although I will encourage you to join me on Friday. I saw this James Baldwin quote recently and I couldn’t add anything to it if I wanted to. "Life is tragic simply because the earth turns and the sun inexorably rises and sets, and one day, for each of us, the sun will go down for the last, last time. Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nations, in order to deny the fact of death, the only fact we have. It seems to me that one ought to rejoice in the fact of death--ought to decide, indeed, to earn one's death by confronting with passion the conundrum of life. One is responsible for life: It is the small beacon in that terrifying darkness from which we come and to which we shall return.” As always always, additions, corrections, and/or subtractions welcome. DW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beIoVxUybvc