Last night in the cozy confines of the Doug Fir Lounge, those of us willing to shrug off the weight of our work week and dreg through another miserably wet Portland night, were rewarded with an ass shaking, jaw dropping and mind blowing rock show.
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| By Mark Lawrence IV |
Opening the night was the catchy garage pop of the Spookies. This was my first time seeing the band, and now I’m hooked. At times vibrating with a certain kind of eccentric pop madness, the bounding performance of lead singer, Mayhaw Hoons was a true pleasure to behold. Matching the wildness of his ginger locks, Hoons seemed barely able to contain himself at times, stepping from the mic to scream his lyrics with out audio enhancement so as not to overload the system. Energetic and fun, the infectious rhythm of their opening set leapt from the stage causing the audience to break out into random feats of joyous dancing. The uncomplicated dynamic of the bands single vocal set up has allowed Hoons voice to find compliment in the instrumental support of a band of awesome musicians whose focus is absolute in the music they are playing. The end result is a seamless tapestry of sound built with the tightly woven guitar play of Alex Arrowsmith and Jeff Lehman and the rhythm and sway of Nightmaren Couch and Colin Anderson’s Bass and drums that holds to a near perfect groove. The Spookies’ opening set was truly memorable and proved my long standing additive that opening slots are where you can find great bands.
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| By Mark Lawrence IV |
Quick to follow was the bold punk sound of Hurry Up! True to their name the band came on fast and furious. Aggressively raw, this band is awesome and rightly so compiled of Thermals’ Kathy Foster and Westin Glass on drums and guitar and scene staple and The Bangs member Maggie Vail on bass. Every time I see this band I love them that much more and they’re quickly becoming one of my new home town favorites. As though connected on a harmonically psychic level this band’s music is built of a near perfect sonic architecture. Adding to the uniqueness of their music is Glass and Vail's trading vocals. The energy of the band continued the acceleration of the night as the house filled and the crowd grew more excited for the main event.
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| By Mark Lawrence IV |
Finally the time came for the Summers Cannibals to take the stage and they took it with no quarter, launching right into their darkly rich rock ‘n’ roll. Celebrating the release of their new
Make You Better EP, this night was all about them and the band was in top form. As always Jessica Bourdreaux commanded the stage with her vibrantly potent demeanor. Tearing through their set with pure abandon the Summer Cannibals were like a storm of sound and fury. Marc Swart and Bourdreaux both dug away at their guitars with an animal like aggression while Valerie and Lynnae's grooves and rhythmic beats were hypnotically sensual in nature. Yet again this band proved why they are quickly becoming one of my new favorite live Portland acts. Even though they played every song in their catalog, leaving nothing for an encore. When the lights were brought up many of us wished they could have kept playing, the echo of such an awesome rock show so fresh in our ears.
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| By Mark Lawrence IV |
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