Marc Broussard
Marc’s song “Home” was successful at radio and catapulted him onto the national touring stage. His music has been placed in many TV shows and movies. The timeless, soulful nature of Marc’s vocal lends well to Film and TV, and will continue to do so for years to come.
Most recently, Marc released an independent Christmas Album titled, “Magnolias & Mistletoe”. The original song, “Almost Christmas” received radio play word wide. Marc’s next project is a charitable rhythm and blues covers record to be released summer 2016. He will be donating fifty percent of the proceeds to City of Refuge.
Carsie Blanton
“Her sly wit and urbane imagery reminds me of a female Cole Porter.” -John Oates (of Hall & Oates)
Carsie Blanton is a singer/songwriter based in New Orleans. Her newest record, So Ferocious, is “a playful indie-pop record for smart, ferocious libertines”. Her albums range from folk and pop (Buoy, 2009) through Americana and rock (Idiot Heart, 2012; Rude Remarks, 2013), to classic jazz (Not Old, Not New, 2014).
When asked about the genre of So Ferocious, Carsie told DIME Magazine, “making music is like making love; if you only know one way to do it, you’re not very good at it.”
So Ferocious was released on August 2nd, along with three music videos, all of which explore the album’s themes of pleasure, ferocity, and female empowerment. Carsie will be touring to promote the record throughout the fall in the US and Europe.
Carsie has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe since 2006, as a headliner and as support for Paul Simon, The Wood Brothers, The Weepies, Shawn Colvin and many more.
Her live performances, which include material from every album, have been praised for their wit, humor, and captivating charm. In addition to her four full-length albums and two EPs, Carsie has gained popularity for her blog (which tackles questions of love and sexuality) and music videos (including “So Ferocious” and “Baby Can Dance”).
Call of the Wild is an event like no other to benefit the work of Oregon Wild, our state’s premier conservation group for over 40 years. This event features casual flannel instead of black ties, campfire circles instead of white tablecloths, and custom local bites galore instead of pre-selected entrees. Guests will enjoy a silent auction, local food and drink, live music, and more. Be part of the celebration by purchasing your advance ticket. We hope you’ll join us! A camp-inspired night of festivities, Call of the Wild is a chance to see stunning photography from our 13th annual Outdoor Photo Contest, mingle with wilderness and wildlife lovers from across the state, and celebrate everything you love about Oregon. This year’s benefit will feature:
- The unveiling of the winning photographs from our 13th annual Outdoor Photo Contest;
- A silent auction featuring framed prints of the Photo Contest finalists, rafting and adventure trips, outdoor gear and apparel, packages for hikers, photographers, climbers, fishing enthusiasts, kayakers, beer lovers, foodies, and more;
- Tasty local food, local wine, and beer from Oregon Brewshed® Alliance partners;
- Wild-crafted cocktails made with local ingredients;
- Live music from Oregon's own Anna Hoone;
- and more!
The Oregon Bluegrass Association's Bluegrass Special is proud to present Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, a high-energy five-piece bluegrass band based in the Western frontier state of Colorado. Their distinctive sound showcases an eclectic range of influences that marry second -and third-generation bluegrass, delivering a unique experience that captivates audiences and keeps them guessing. Its a powerful, high mountain bluegrass explosion that features world-class banjo, fiddle, and mandolin playing, incredible vocals, a solid and energetic rhythm and an easy stage banter that has delighted listeners all over the world.http://www.jeffscrogginsandcolorado.com/
THE WAR ON DRUGS
Philadelphia’s The War on Drugs reside at the blurred edges of American music: overexposing studio limitations, piling tape upon tape to maximum density, and the —with each song—they pull off the scaffolding to reveal what sticks, keeping only what’s absolutely necessary and dig into what sounds like the best kind of f****d up. As on their 2008 debut, Wagonwheel Blues, central member Adam Granduciel takes small moments occurring over multiple tapes and multiple song versions, and puts every last drop of trust in his own keen instinct of momentum.
That’s not to overshadow the sharp, personal songwriting at play here. There are certainly cues taken from our very best American bards (Dylan, Petty, Springsteen). Yet, The War on Drugs are wise enough to also implode those cues or send themselves into outer space when the moment calls for it. The driving organ riff that pushes “Baby Missiles,” from the band’s 2010 epic EP Future Weather, may well be inspired by a fever dream of Springsteen rather than any particular song in his catalogue. And the endless layers of guitar melody and atmospherics of “Comin’ Through,” also from Future Weather, rather than add weight to the vessel, only work to fill its sails with warmer and warmer winds.
Hope Sandoval was born June 24, 1966 and grew up in east L.A. with her Mexican-American family. She started her career together with her friend Sylvia Gomez in a band called "Going Home", a folk duo formed in 1986.
Hope had admired Kendra Smith as a teen-age Dream Syndicate fan. Sylvia Gomez handed Kendra Smith a demo tape which was comprised of Hope Sandoval on vocals and Sylvia on guitar. David Roback offered to produce some recordings for them and they went into the studio and recorded an album that to this day is yet to be released.
Hope and Sylvia played gigs in California throughout the mid '80s, and stayed friends with both Kendra and David. During the Opal tour in December '87, Kendra left the band and disappeared. David called Hope to see if she would be interested to take Kendra's place in Opal. They found Kendra and had some discussions. They did two more shows together but then she flew home. Keith Mitchell flew home and the next day he flew back with Hope. After that tour Opal became Mazzy Star.
Mazzy Star has released 4 albums: She Hangs Brightly (1990), So Tonight That I Might See (1993), Among My Swan (1996), and Seasons Of Your Day (2013).
Hope writes almost all the lyrics for Mazzy Star. Hope is a very shy and private person. "For me recording is better," says Sandoval. "Live, I just get really nervous. Once you're onstage, you're expected to perform. I don't do that. I always feel awkward about just standing there and not speaking to the audience. It's difficult for me."
In 2001, Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions released Bavarian Fruit Bread and toured the US and Europe in the fall of 2002. Two EPs were also released: At The Doorway Again and Suzanne.
In addition to Mazzy Star and The Warm Inventions, Hope has collaborated with a variety of artists including The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Chemical Brothers, Death In Vegas, Bert Jansch, Richard X, Air, Vetiver, and Le Volume Courbe. In 2008, Hope had a song, "Wild Roses", on a compilation CD from Air France titled In The Air.
Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions released Through The Devil Softly on September 29, 2009 and Until the Hunter on November 4, 2016.
Daydream Machine
Portland, Oregon psychedelic/shoegaze group featuring members of Music For Headphones, The Upsidedown, The Warlocks and others.
Live Nation and Monqui Presents present English indie-rock band alt-J at the Portland'5 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Monday, October 9, 2017 and Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 8pm. Tickets are available portland5.com, the Portland'5 Box Office and TickestWest outlets, and by phone: 800-273-1530.
"The new sonic territory they've staked out here and the mystery in their lyrics just reminds me of why I love this band so much."– NPR
"'3WW' showcases how much alt-J has matured musically since their debut five years ago and their ability to go platinum despite their non-traditional song structure."– Rolling Stone
alt-J have released a new video for "3WW," the first song released from their upcoming album, RELAXER. The video was directed by Young Replicant. Watch it here.
The video for "3WW" follows the lead single, "In Cold Blood," which was released last month. "3WW" and "In Cold Blood" are now available for stream, download, and as instant grats with album pre-order now. The band have set June 2 as the release date for their third album, which will be available in North America via Canvasback Music. RELAXER is the follow up to the band's Grammy-nominated album This Is All Yours, and finds the band working with producer Charlie Andrew for the third time.
Additionally, the band has announced an extensive fall tour. Fans who pre-order RELAXER from the band's web store will receive first access to tickets. Fan pre-sale begins Sunday, April 16 at 10am local.
AT&T brings you to the front of the line for alt-J's fall tour. AT&T priority presale ticket access begins Monday, April 17 at 10am local time through AT&T THANKS program. For complete presale details, visit att.com/frontoftheline.
As the official presale credit card for alt-J 2017 tour, Citi® cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets beginning Wednesday at 10am through Thursday at 10pm. For complete details, please visit www.CitiPrivatePass.com.
The band will also be selling an exclusive merch item on tour to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), powered by Revolutions Per Minute. The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI provides advocacy, education, support, and public awareness so all people can experience resiliency, recovery, and wellness.
alt-J are Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton, and Thom Green. Their first album, An Awesome Wave, won the prestigious Mercury Prize in the UK and sold Gold in the US and Canada. The band have headlined festivals across the globe and sold out London's O2 arena and New York's Madison Square Garden on their last tour.
alt-J are an alternative band from the UK, formed in 2008 by four friends who met at Leeds University. Having forged their own unique sound combining elements of electronic, folk and guitar music, the band recorded and released their debut album An Awesome Wave in 2012. Critically lauded, An Awesome Wave won the Mercury Music Prize, an Ivor Novello 'Album Award' for songwriting and three BRIT award nominations. The album has now gone platinum in the UK and sold over 1,000,000 albums worldwide.
Their second album This Is All Yours was released in September 2014 to rapturous acclaim, heading straight to no.1 in UK chart, no.4 in the US Billboard chart and subsequent top 10 positions in the majority of Europe. Now a three-piece, the band continue to excel as a genre-defying act, receiving nominations for 'Best Alternative Album' at The Grammys 2015 and 'Best British Group' and 'Best Album' at The BRIT Awards 2015, as well as selling out the 02 and Madison Square Garden Arenas.
The band's third album, Relaxer, is set for release June 2, 2017.
This revelatory documentary brings to light the profound and overlooked influence of Indigenous people on popular music in North America. Focusing on music icons like Link Wray , Jimi Hendrix, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Charley Patton, Mildred Bailey, Jesse Ed Davis, Robbie Robertson, and Randy Castillo, RUMBLE shows how these pioneering Native American musicians helped shape the soundtracks of our lives.
This fall, from October 9-14, your pals at the Mercury are teaming up with Portland VegFest to present Veg Week—6 days when some of Portland's greatest vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants will provide signature vegan entrees... at HALF-PRICE!
Portland's already one of the best cities to live in (and eat in!) for those who enjoy the ethical, physical, and environmental benefits of a healthy diet—and, for one week, it's about to get EVEN BETTER. That goes for vegetarians and vegans, sure—but also for everybody who wants to check out some of the best and most inventive dishes Portland restaurants have to offer!
Veg Week is brought to you in part by Portland VegFest, Wildwood Farm Sanctuary, Twist Yoga, Farm Spirit, and Peace Seed Organic.
Here are all the places you can get half-price vegan entrees October 9-14:
Aviv
Bar Maven
Biwa
Brass Tacks Sandwiches
Ground Breaker Gastropub
Ichiza Kitchen & Tea House
Laughing Planet (select locations)
Loyal Legion
Mississippi Pizza
Next Level Burger
Night Light Lounge
No Bones Beach Club
Noraneko
Off The Griddle
Papa G’s Deli
Rad Fare
Revelry
Sasquatch Brewing Co.
Stacked Sandwich Shop
The Sudra
Virtuous Pie
Water Avenue Coffee
Wolf & Bear's
Xico
Stay tuned to the Mercury's social media channels for the announcements of the delicious dishes these restaurants will be serving up as well as our Veg Week map and other updates!
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard
“As soon as the dust settles you can see an new world / In place of where the old one had been...”
A concept album to end all concepts, Murder Of The Universe is the new collection by head-bending psychedelicists King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Murder Of The Universe is a face-melting musical assault concerned with the downfall of man, the death of the planet....the murder of the whole goddamn universe.
“We’re living in dystopian times that are pretty scary and it’s hard not to reflect that in our music,” says front man Stu Mackenzie. “It’s almost unavoidable. Some scientists predict that the downfall of humanity is just as likely to come at the hands of Artificial Intelligence, as it is war or viruses or climate change. But these are fascinating times too. Human beings are visual creatures – vision is our primary instinct, and this is very much a visual, descriptive, bleak record. While the tone is definitely Apocalyptic, it is not necessarily purely a mirror of the current state of humanity. It’s about new non-linear narratives.”
Lit by thunderclaps and lightning, Murder Of The Universe inhabits a sonic landscape of death, decay, ossification, fossilisation, rebirth. It is a place occupied by wandering shape-shifting beasts, bleeding skies, pools of blood, great fires and mushroom clouds; a planet rent asunder by conflict. It may take years for its true importance to be appreciated. There are simply no capital letters large enough to convey the EPIC nature of this collection.
Their tenth album in five dizzying years, the first eight tracks of Murder Of The Universe alone sees songs doing battle with one another (‘Altered Beast’ Pts I to IV and ‘Alter Me’ Pts I to III), as man, beast and automaton collide in a death grapple. Flesh and bone meets mud and metal as the listener is treated to funereal fugue pieces (‘Some Context’), primordial drone-sludge (‘The Reticent Raconteur’), demonic doom-chants (‘The Floating Fire’), cyborg-narrated kosmiche workouts (‘Han-Tyumi, The Confused Cyborg’) and technicolour Outback proto-metal (‘Vomit Coffin’).
A disorientating experience, the album hinges on three distinct chapters that rise from larval beds, and whose lyrics should be carved in stone, squeezed from moss, discovered in ancient runes. And all the while a passing cast of characters imbue the tale with both human and non-human emotions.
Snippets of their breakthrough records I’m In Your Mind Fuzz and Nonagon Infinity resurface throughout in ghostly shadow form to haunt their latest sound. In years to come King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard will be judged not by their separate albums, but by a body of work where themes, melodies, motifs, riffs and ideas resurface and recur, each album peeling back a layer of the onion to glimpse at past and future alike.
Their albums should be treated as portals through which you can move from one to the other. Songs sync together, records can be played in loops and past ideas recur or are reprised, and then woven into new textures. “These ideas aren’t necessarily contrived,” says Stu “sometimes they just happen.”
Formed in 2010 in Geelong, fifty miles outside of Melbourne (where they now reside) as a jam band off-shoot of a variety of other projects, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard released their debut album 12 Bar Bruise in 2012. Currently the most productive band on the planet, they are a once-in-generation group who play a heady combination of psychedelia, prog rock, freakbeat, jazz, heavy metal and Krautrock at a breathless punk pace; theirs is a high-velocity sound, each album a transportative diversion down a slippery worm-hole steered by seven minds sharing one on-going journey.
Those who have seen them live will attest that King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard can go toe-to-toe with any of those forefathers that keen ears might hear shades of embedded deep within Murder Of The Universe: Aphrodite’s Child, Mahivishnu Orchestra, Hawkwind, King Crimson, The Doors, 13th Elevators, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Amon Duul II.
Whether recording albums that connect into an infinite loop of sound (2016’s Nonagon Infinity), jazz-leaning pieces of the exact same length (2015’s Quarters!), surprising all-comers with a bucolic collection of sun-drenched pastoral folk-pop comedown music (2015’s Paper Mache Dream Balloon) King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard do not do things by halves. Their creative pudding is over-egged and all the better for it.
Murder Of The Universe follows hot on the scorched black heels of Flying Microtonal Banana (March 2017), which saw the band customise their own instruments in order to explores those spaces between existing tones – microtones. Charting at No. 2 in Australia it is one of the most far-out collections to trouble the lower regions of the album charts in the US and UK too.
Beyond Murder Of The Universe, the band will next release a jazz-based, improv- leaning collection entitled Sketches Of Brunswick East, whose name alludes to both Miles Davis’ Sketches Of Spain, the notion of sketches as outlines for ideas and all- round sketchy behaviour. Two more albums will follow that in 2017. But that is a story for another day....
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are: Stu Mackenzie (vocals/guitar/flute), Ambrose Kenny-Smith (harmonica/vocals), Cook Craig (guitar/vocals), Eric Moore (drums), Joey Walker (guitar), Lucas Skinner (bass) & Michael Cavanagh (drums).
Album discography: 12 Bar Bruise (2012), Eyes Like the Sky (2013), Float Along – Fill Your Lungs (2013), Oddments (2014), I'm In Your Mind Fuzz (2014), Quarters! (2015), Paper Mache Dream Balloon (2015), Nonagon Infinity (2016), Flying Microtonal Banana (2017), Murder of the Universe (2017).
Ben Myers March 2017.
After moving to the small Nordic community in 2010, Karazija wrote and recorded Low Roar's debut self-titled album with the help of Grammy winning producer/mixer Andrew Scheps (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele). After releasing the album in November 2011, Karazija recruited drummer Logi Guðmundsson and the two toured Germany, Poland, Lithuania and a myriad of other European countries, eventually joining the Iceland Airwaves and ATP festival lineups, as well as supporting indie favorite Soko.
Now with Leifur Björnsson on keys, Low Roar is releasing their second album, 0, on July 8, 2014 which features Icelandic darlings Amiina on strings and is co-produced by Andrew Scheps and Mike Lindsay (Tuung).
After a few years gigging and finding his feet in Oxford he left for Seville and ended up staying for two years. It was here he explored the different attitudes towards the guitar, and developed a fresh technique that was a catalyst for his creativity. Taking the percussive qualities of flamenco, his playing became sharp enough to craft songs laden with delicate flourishes, intricate melodic turns, and moments of stark introspection. His work continues to be both expansive and intimate.
“I guess the reason that it took so long for me to put something out was that I couldn’t play the way I wanted to play” he explains. “I knew how I wanted it to be, but I just couldn’t do it. I gave myself quite a tough time.”
But this perfectionist streak results in some truly wonderful moments of musicality. Charlie Cunningham’s enormously suggestive songwriting is sonically beautiful while also packing an emotional punch.
Join us for the 7th annual TEDx event!
Your admission includes a full day of awesome experiences:
Talks and performances by 12-14 incredible community members who have an idea worth spreading.
A delicious breakfast complete with plenty of coffee to get your day started right!
A lunch from one of our favorite food carts brought in from around Portland for you to enjoy outside or in the cafeteria.
Specially curated TED Talks around the theme "Alchemy.
Two action breaks designed to give your body and brain a break while you connect with alumni speakers and partners, enjoy some fresh air, or chat with your favorite speaker or other attendees.
Line-up:
Sade Sanchez - guitar, vocals
Irita Pai - bass, organ
Ellie English - drums
Former members:
Crystal Nava - drums
A special week of live music from October 5th - October 13th at the Doug Fir Lounge. Join us in celebrating Doug Fir's anniversary with special guests and live musicians including:
10/5 - Walter TV / Reptaliens
10/6 - Open Mike Eagle / Billy Woods
10/7 - Rainer Maria / Olivia Neutron-John
10/8 - Colter Wall
10/9 - Boris' "Dear/25th Anniversary Tour" / Sumac / Endon
10/10 - Ben Ottewell (of Gomez) / Buddy
10/11 - Torres / The Dove & The Wolf
10/12 - LÉON / Wrabel
10/13 - Protomartyr / Hurry Up / The Woolen Men
THE END OF THE END chronicles the final tour from the band who forged the sound of metal - Black Sabbath. After nearly 50 years together, the Birmingham band took to the stage for the last time in their home city, bringing down the curtain on their final tour ever. They performed generation-spanning songs that have defined a genre in front of a sold-out arena and, in exclusive new interviews, the band themselves tell it how they lived it. After half a century, this is your chance to hear the final word from the greatest metal band of all time.
Allah-Las
If you drive past the 200 block of South La Brea, there is a lamp shop, a pet shop, and a little glass door that says “Casting Agency” above it. Inside you’ll find one of LA’s most stereotypical rituals, where men & women from all walks of life vie for the attention and popularity of the Hollywood producer. It’s a dream factory for some of them. It’s also a place where Los Angeles outsiders learn what the city is really like, beyond the sun and surf and celebrities, where every brightly-lit surface eventually faces a cloud.
Indeed, the lessons learned by the Allah-Las – guitarists Miles Michaud and Pedrum Siadatian, bassist Spencer Dunham, drummer Matthew Correia – since their auspicious formation in 2008 have been tempered with experience. Now, with their third album Calico Review (their first for Mexican Summer), their experience transforms once more, this time into wisdom. The band’s trajectory, formed around mutual appreciation for the same kinds of music and a host of shared experiences, focuses on both the outer trappings of their home and surroundings, and the through line of darkness that suffuses life in LA county.
Where the Allah-Las display their insight, and what really shines across the 12 songs that comprise Calico Review, is the way that the group has pivoted from specific influences and nods to the music they love, to crafting the feelings of freedom, grit, and melancholy in their music. That feeling – the peerless capture of music long in the tradition and mood of California pop, the sound that’s captured the essence of the LA experience - aligns with their stylistic technique and their experience in the studio environment to create their strongest album to date, one which showcases their developments in songwriting and arrangements.
The process began with their self-titled debut, which captured the Allah-Las’ live set circa 2012 and continued onward with 2014’s Worship the Sun, where they began to experiment with overdubs and writing songs individually instead of as a band. Now, Calico Review showcases a band that’s grown confident in its own style to reflect the perspectives of each member, to craft an album that changes up the approach from song-to-song, while retaining their abilities as a cohesive unit.
Audiences familiar with the band will recognize the levels of nuance and steadiness the Allah-Las have grown into throughout Calico Review. It’s immediate, the first thing you recognize about the band in the opening moves of “Strange Heat,” in the amount of control and character burning off of the band’s knack for restraint. Songs like “Famous Phone Figure” cradle character sketches over delicate strains of violin, organ, and Mellotron, Correia’s drumming carefully underlining a three-note theme that casts a phantom sadness over the proceedings, the group exerting a touch both light and steady enough to bring your mood to theirs.
“Could Be You” works off a steady percussive gallop, guitarist Miles Michaud waxing reflexively on second chances while the band focuses on forward motion. “Roadside Memorial” applies the Bo Diddley beat to the open road, Pedrum Siadatian stepping up on vocals, and finding new ways to match his talents to propulsive musical ends. Elsewhere, “High & Dry,” featuring drummer Matthew Correia on lead vocals, focuses on the Allah-Las most quintessential and peerless quality: writing emotionally resonant pop, at once direct and detached, casual and knowing, and instantly memorable. The dream factory itself gets called out in the fun, surf-stung number “200 South La Brea,” its carnival-like atmosphere reflecting the excitement and anxiety of those who await their judgment.
In between releases, the Allah-Las have toured around the world, and will continue that journey in support of Calico Review. The experience of traveling and idle time on tour inspired the group in different ways, and provided the pathways by which the band transports its listeners to a different place, be that wherever they are, and where the band has been.
What the Allah-Las present is not necessarily crossing the L.A. River, coin in mouth, on the Riverboat Styx. It’s not Raymond Chandler and it’s not Raymond Carver. But the band’s four members are aware of the pitfalls that stack against the idyllic notion of southern California life that forms from outside of the city. It’s a siren call to the hopeful, and it’s a successful town for tempering dreams into wakeful reality. Even with over 8,000 people per square mile, there is room for everyone, and then some, to be completely alone, by choice or otherwise.
Calico Review bears the mark of four students becoming the teachers, sharing the sentiments of the town they call home. Join them. There’s a lot to learn.
Entrance
Book of Changes, the new album by Guy Blakeslee as
ENTRANCE, is a poetic song cycle about the seasons of
the heart, tracing an emotional journey through longing
and emptiness to peace and redemption. The record
achieves a seamless melding of the personal, political and
philosophical, a vibrant document of an artist hitting a
creative stride and discovering an expansive new sound.
The adventurously produced collection of songs is
reminiscent of Townes Van Zandt’s ruminative lyricism
and the gypsy avored orchestral explorations of Arthur
Lee and Love, uniquely channeled through Blakeslee’s 21st Century approach to the spiritual dimensions of American songwriting in a way that gives an old form new power.
Book of Changes was written and recorded by Blakeslee over the course of a restless year of travel, touring and transformation. The album took shape in 11 di erent studios in Los Angeles and London, produced by Blakeslee and mixed by multi-instrumentalist David Vandervelde (Father John Misty, Jay Bennett) at Elliott Smith’s New Monkey Studios in Van Nuys, California. Additional mixing came from Chris Coady (Future Islands, Cass McCombs) who lent his talents to the song “Always the Right Time.” Grammy nominated engineer Sarah Register (David Bowie, The Shins) mastered Book of Changes.
On the new recording, Blakeslee is joined by several very talented friends including longtime collaborator Paz Lenchantin (Pixies, Silver Jews) and percussionist Frank Lenz (Pedro the Lion, The Weepies) as well as vocalists Jessica Tonder and Lael Neale and the drummers Derek James and Will Scott. The accompanying art by critically acclaimed artist Amanda Charchian captures Blakeslee with freshly blossomed orchids.
Strings, pianos, xylophones, bells and dreamy female voices swirl around uid basslines and ngerpicked acoustic guitars. At the heart of these songs is a voice, which holds an intensity of emotion that can only come from the depths of the soul. From the devotional pop of “Always the Right Time” and the western bolero of “I’d Be A Fool” through the stark blues of “The Avenue” and the dark romantic amenco of “Molly,” Blakeslee’s singing carries the narrative with heart-stopping force. Each unfolding chapter touches a new emotional nerve, from the Lee and Nancy style sway of “Winter Lady” and the apocalyptic lm noir piano dirge “Leaving California” to the anthemic album closer “Revolution Eyes,” which dissolves in a stormy melt of piano and bells as the listener is swept away on an ecstatic wave of liberation and joy. While at moments the ghost of rock ’n’ roll is invoked, for the most part this is something more fragile and ethereal; music from a half-remembered dream, strange and familiar at the same time.
When asked about the impetus for the new sound and style, Blakeslee replied:
“I desperately wanted to get back to the essential nature of ‘SONG’ - as opposed to a ‘track’... Most music that is released nowadays is really a track, not a song - it would be impossible for one person with an instrument to sit down in a room and perform it... So it was important that this album begin from actual songs that I could sing with a guitar or a piano... all of the textures and sounds I added along the way are the icing on the cake to expand the experience for the listener, but at the heart is a real song, a basic text of words and a melody. I want to do my part to see that tradition isn’t lost. I believe there’s still a lot of power in a song.”
- Paul Carlin
October 4th - Wooden Indian Burial Ground + K Skeleton
October 12th - Earth World + Le Rev
October 19th - Don Gero
October 26th - Isaac Rother & The Phantoms + The Reverberations
All times are 8pm.
Fresh from touring the world with Joe Henry and galvanized by ‘events’, not least the worrying rise of popularism, Billy Bragg is dealing with it in the best way he knows how, by strapping on his electric guitar and heading out on tour across the US in October, under the title ‘Bridges Not Walls’. Billy, in one-man Clash mode, will perform songs from his 30+ year career, some pertinent covers by his heroes and mentors and some freshly minted songs about the state of the world.
Billy Bragg has been a fearless recording artist, tireless live performer and peerless political campaigner for over 30 years. Among the former Saturday boy’s albums are his punk-charged debut Life’s a Riot With Spy Vs Spy, the more love-infused Workers Playtime, pop classic Don’t Try This At Home, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee-timed treatise on national identity England, Half-English, and his stripped-down tenth, Tooth & Nail, his most successful since the early 90s. The intervening three decades have been marked by a number one hit single, having a street named after him, being the subject of a South Bank Show, appearing onstage at Wembley Stadium, curating Left Field at Glastonbury, sharing spotted dick with a Cabinet minister in the House of Commons cafeteria, being mentioned in Bob Dylan’s memoir and meeting the Queen. At their best, Billy’s songs present ‘the perfect Venn diagram between the political and the personal’ (the Guardian).
Rakim
Born : January 28, 1968 // Long Island, NY, United States
Rakim Allah, a native of Wyandanch, New York, revolutionised the rap artform during the late 1980s as one half of the influential hip-hop duo Eric B & Rakim. The duo parted ways in 1992 after releasing four popular albums, including the all-time hip-hop classic 'Paid In Full'. After taking a five-year break from music, Rakim returned as a solo artist in 1997 with the album 'The 18th Letter'. He continues to record sporadically.
Libretto
Hip-hop artist out of Watts, California. Currently residing in Portland, Oregon.
Singer / songwriter / accordionist / novelist Geoff Berner's music combines klezmer, punk, political satire and Balkan dance rhythms. He writes sharp, literate songs that make you want to weep, laugh, grind your teeth, or kick out a window - often all at the same time. A lot of famous people have covered his compositions. Look it up.
Berner has built a serious cult following throughout North America and Europe by touring relentlessly through thousands of bars, cafés, and festivals. With his weirdly compelling stage presence, he has a strange ability to create fun chaos. He describes his typical audience members as “odd, bookish people who like to drink. There’s a surprising number of physicists.”
Jack Falk opens.
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Ballet presents a series of FREE PRE-ballet classes for ages 6-9. The series are each four classes held once a week at TPB’s studio, 6250 SW Capitol Highway.
The FREE PRE classes introduce young dancers to the fundamentals of ballet and help them decide if ballet is right for them. TPB welcomes all new dancers in these commitment-free series with the goal of giving students the basic foundations and an appreciation of dance. TPB is devoted to nurturing, student-centered ballet training.
The final class acts as a placement assessment for the Curriculum Ballet program. Students must attend the full series (all four classes) but are not required to pay an audition fee. Parents who wish to enroll their children must complete a Registration Form. Class sizes are limited, and they may be cancelled if they do not meet minimum enrollment.
Dress code: Female dancers should wear pink tights, pink ballet shoes and a leotard of any color. They should not wear skirts or tutus. Male dancers should wear black tights, a white t-shirt and black ballet shoes.
Dates and times:
- July 10, 17, 24, 31 – Mondays 4:30-5:30 p.m.
- July 15, 22, 29, Aug. 5 – Saturdays 10-11 a.m.
- September 9, 16, 23, 30 – Saturdays 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
- January 6, 13, 20, 27, 2018 – Saturdays 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
To register: theportlandballet.org or 503.452.8448
The Portland Ballet, led by artistic directors Nancy Davis and Anne Mueller, nurtures young dancers from age three to 22. TPB students are trained with professional intent by a faculty that includes some of the nation’s finest dancers and choreographers, with experience at companies such as the National Ballet, the original Los Angeles Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet, Trey McIntyre Project, and BodyVox. Professionally produced performance experience is at the core of TPB training. TPB graduates have gone on to professional dance careers with companies such as Grand Rapids Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Sacramento Ballet, Houston Ballet, St. Louis Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Batsheva, LEV, Ballet Memphis, and Ballet West