The Triple Crown: 07/15 - 07/28

This installment of The Triple Crown has a wide range of bands to check out, form one of Portland's leading Hip Hop bands to the French pioneers of electro-swing. So whether you are fans of one of these bands or just looking for something  new, you'll find what your looking for.

Friday, July 19th
Bad Habitat (Duel Album Release)
Monster's Ink / Load B / Eminent
The Blue Monk
3341 SE Belmont St
Show: 10PM
Cover: $7
21 & Over

The three prong attack of Portland's Underground hip hop act Bad Habitat is unrelenting and awe inspiring. This band alone has not only excited in me an interest in Portland's vibrant underground hip hop scene, but has also revitalized my faith in the genera as a whole. Celebrating the release of their latest album Paper People, the guys will be sharing the festivities with Monster's Ink who are also releasing their own new album. This show should be amazing tucked into the intimate setting of the Blue Monk. With music this powerful, the venue is sure to be bursting at the seams and exuding an wildly addictive energy that is certain to be  felt blocks away. You can't miss this show, and as an added incentive the first 50 people to pay admission will get a free physical copy of Paper People.

Sunday, July 21st
Deadstring Brothers
Root Jack 
Dante's
350 West Burnside
Door: 8PM / Show: 9PM
Cover: $8
21 & Over

The ghost highway country of Detroit based Deadstring Brothers has just enough blues rock to rattle the crossroads bones a bit. At times stoically mournful without tipping into full on depression, this band has the songwriters sensibility of wandering blue-collar spirits; While still possessing the ability to conjure a danceable strut of a Chicago blues man. On the road in support of their latest Bloodshot Release Cannery Row the Deadstring Brothers will be playing an early short set before Dante's Sinferno Cabaret.  Sharing the stage will be Portland's own three piece country-rock band Root Jack.  So eek out the last little life out of your weekend and check out this show.   

Wednesday, July 24th
Caravan Palace
GlobalRuckus
Star Theater
13 NW Sixth Ave
Doors: 8PM / Show: 9PM
Cover: $18
21 & Over

Ripe with a playfully Parisian attitude, the electro-swing of Frances' Caravan Palace has all the wonderful energy of a vertigo inspiring cabaret extravaganza. The music of this digital big band is wonderfully addictive, laced with a fun danceable energy that's hard to deny. Touring in support of their latest album Panic, which saw US release late last month this band is conquering hearts one city at a time. Warming up the crowd will be the boundless DJ styling of Portland's GlobalRuckus.  Certainly something unique, this show is great for anyone looking for something new to add to their musical arsenal. So celebrate the hump and come on out and get your dance on, because what's the point of a well rested Thursday if your life sucks.       

Quick Pick: Eddie Spaghetti @ Dante's 07/14

Sunday, July 14th
Eddie Spaghetti
Dante's
350 West Burnside
Show: 9PM
Cover: $8
21 & Over

Eddie Spaghetti, the hard rocking front man of Seattle’s Supersuckers and bad boy country convert will be playing his drunken-style country-kung-fu at Dante’s this Sunday July 14th. No stranger to the seedier bars and venues of our fair city you can guess this show should be a good one.

Spaghetti’s country songs have a great hair of the dog feel to them. Certainly composed in the blurry eyed hangover of many a rock show, they have the painful honesty and bitterness of to life hard lived and hard played on the road. Carrying the sweet burn of half whiskey and half diesel you can only wonder which might kill you first.

Celebrating the release of The Value of Nothing, his latest album on the Bloodshot label. The night should be memorable. If we’re lucky we might even have a few surprise appearances by some of Portland’s own country outlaws. So make your weekend last a little longer and ward of the Sunday-nighters with a little bit of country and what ever poison makes you smile.

Cure for the Mondays: The Mowglie's - "San Francisco"

The Mowglie's - "San Francisco"

If life could only be like a music video.



Based out of LA, The Mowglie's are 8 friends making music and having one hell of a time doing it.  Having recently released their latest album Waiting For Dawn just this last month, the band is winning hearts and minds with their boundlessly fun energy. This video and their music is the perfect thing to get you through your Monday and to top it all off, they'll be swinging up our way in October. So take a moment and check them out and remember that Friday's now one more cay closer.

Tuesday Doube Feature: Fall Out Boys "The Phoenix" & Yeah,Yeah,Yeahs "Sacrilege"

For this weeks Tuesday Double Feature we have two videos that are a little more mainstream and have a darkly noir twist.

Fall Out Boys - "The Phoenix"


Current rock n roll darlings, the Fall Out Boys have made a career out of bringing their rock style to radios and arenas across the globe. Touring in support of their latest album Save Rock and Roll, the band will be playing a sold out show at the Roseland Theater Tuesday, June 18th. Part of the Save Rock and Roll: The Young Blood Chronicles, this video is the second in an eleven part video series, so make sure you see them all to catch the whole story.


Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs - "Sacrilege"


The artfully seductive style of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs is wonderfully sinful. A trait that's highly evident on their latest release Mosquito.  Currently touring in support of the new record,the band has a busy summer ahead of them but unfortunately the closest they'll come to our neck of the wood is Seattle in August. Even so, their show is sure to be worth a road trip.So get your tickets now and pick up the album to hold your over until then.

Cure for the Mondays: Youthbitch - "I'm In Love With Girls"

Youthbitch - "I'm In Love With Girls"

I'm not confirming anything, but there might be too many pictures of me in drag to run for public office.



The raunch-rock of Youthbitch is ripe with gain distorted guitars and bare bone rhythms. Their latest 7" I'm in Love With Girls was released on Dirtnap Records, the same label that brought us the immortal Exploding Hearts. Luckily, we won't have to wait long to see their lusciously fuzz-drenched garage madness in person as they will be playing Dante's this Friday for the triumphant return of My Life in Black and White.Check out the details in the Triple Crown and make sure you get their early because this show is sure to sell out.

The Triple Crown: 06/03 - 06/16

This installment of The Triple Crown is stuffed full of goodies including some wonderfully potent outlaw country, the celebrated return of one amazing Portland band, and the release of another local act's latest EP.. No matter how you line it up, it won't be hard to earn your triple crown if you don't mind missing a little sleep to catch some great  music. So cheers and have at it.

Tuesday, June 4th
The Parson Red Heads
Desert Noises / Said The Whale
Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St
Doors: 8PM / Show: 9PM
Adv.: $8 / Day Of: $10
21 & Over

The urban folk of Portland's Parson Red Heads is rich with a rustic sound. Acoustically masterful in their instrumentation  this band skirts the boundaries between pleasantly spars and perfectly layered. Vocally their lyrics are delivered in a warmly comforting manner that has the feel of a late summer evening. Refreshing in a  classical style this band and their wonderful sound are a joy to experience both recorded and live. A fact made sweeter by the celebration of the release of  their latest E.P. "6."
Just as exciting is the return of Desert Noises to Portland. Boldly powerful, this band 's music wonderfully pieces together grand elements of sound to form awesomely unforgettable songs. I had the pleasure of catching them last time they were in town and their performance blew me away. Also on the bill is the vibrant rock energy of Said the Whale making for a great night of music.    

Friday, June 7th
My Life in Black and White
Youthbitch
Dante's
350 W Burnside St
Show: 9PM
Adv.: $7 / Day Of: $7
21 & Over

This show at Dante's marks the triumphant return of Portland's blue collar punk band My Life In Black and White. This isn't the adolescent angst of your run of the mill mall punk .With a working class ethic, Dylan Summers' lyrics are the anthems of the hardworking masses with dirt beneath their nails and hearts filled with calloused handed dreams. This is the kind of rock n roll that makes you feel alive played by some of the best guitar slinging bastards that this town has to offer. This band could smoke a long list of internationally touring and radio played acts all without breaking a sweat. In my opinion this group is one of strongest bands to ever play this rainy city our. If you've ever seen them you know what I'm talking about and if you haven't and are reading this preview then trust my eleven years of musical coverage.
After a two year hiatus, this show is a must. Come and watch them shake off the cobwebs because it sure to be a joy to see. Sharing the stage is the is the rambunctious Youthbitch and their wild rocking energy.    


Saturday, June 15th
Whitey Morgan & the 78's
Denver
Dante's
350 W Burnside St
Show: 9PM
Adv.: $7 / Day Of: $7
21 & Over

Like the rebirth of outlaw country, Whitey Morgan digs deep from the influences of Haggard and Jennings. Rejecting the deluded travesty of the current CMT hick pop sound, Morgan plays true honky-tonk Country. Best heard in bars where the smells of cigarettes, whiskey and blood mix into a potent bouquet that is uniquely American in nature. This is the soundtrack to hard living, hard drinking and hard luck. Filled with heart ache and the wreckage of broken promises and dead dreams these songs still hold hope for the hard headed working class dreamers that make this country strong.
Opening the night is Portland's own Denver who's haunting petal steel and mournful vocals are the perfect musical companion to Morgan's headlining set. So order up some whiskey for you and your friends and chase it with a pitcher of beer or a bottle of wine. If you got it in you, take them both and earn your own triple crown.

Double Shot: Lana Del Rey - "Born To Die" (2012) & "Paradise"(2013)

Lana Del Rey

Born To Die / Paradise

Polydor / Interscope

Lusciously meticulous, Lana Del Rey's Born To Die is a hypnotic masterpiece. Ripe with silky vocals and a boldly symphonic instrumentation that seductively caresses the songs' raw subject matter like a high-class escort in a dive bar bathroom. Populated with songs that saunter with back ally magic and sexual energy that borders on crass. Del Rey has given a musical voice to the muses of Bukowski poems and David Lynch films. It's been years since an album has made me ache this bad.

Peppered with stylistic elements that range from vocal jazz to the slightest smatterings of hip hop rhythm this album is able to keep your attention with a sweet auditor diversity. Revealing a richly talented artist who has a wide range of weapons in her arsenal. Through darkly seductive tracks like "Blue Jeans" and "Born to Die" her hauntingly smoky sirens call is arresting.

Unfortunately the follow up album, Paradise, pales in comparison to it's predecessor. Still retaining some of the crowning elements of Born To Die including the haunting vocal lament found in the opening track "Ride".This CD is certainly a lesser product.  Lacking the ground breaking awe factor of her first album. With songs that seem like the BTD studio session leftovers that had potential yet didn’t quite make the final cut. Ultimately rushing  these tracks to market might have robbed them of their greatness.

Also missing from this album is the subtle raw sexual sophistication of its predecessor. Exchanging it for a cheaper crassness that’s only worth seemed to be shock, epitomized in the opening line of “Coke.”

Comparably Born To Die is clearly a more sound collection of material, but I would be remissed if I didn't point out that both albums are clearly the work of an amazing artist and are both worth a listen.