Tuesday Double Feature: Ramona Falls "Fingerhold" & Slave Republic "Electric"

This week's Tuesday Double Feature contains uniquely stylistic videos by bands who's music is equally unique.  

Ramona Falls - "Fingerhold"



The dreamy jangle pop of Portland, Oregon's Ramona Falls is filled with a grace and subtlety that makes their beautifully unique music breath taking. Having released their latest album Prophet on Barsuk Records the latter part of 2012. The band is currently crossing the US on tour which will bring them to our front door for a show at the Doug Fir Lounge Friday, March 1st. 

Slave Republic - "Electric"



German based duo Slave Republic are making some of the most authentic new wave music heard since 1986. Dark and  danceable like Depeche Mode, this two piece has pressed some awesome music onto their latest album Quest For Love. So whether these tunes bring back fond memories or a new discovery for you, there's certain to be something to love.

Quick Pick: Golden Feilds @ The Crystal Ballroom 02/25

Monday, February 25th
Gold Fields
The Ecstatics
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W. Burnside
Doors: 8PM / Show: 9PM
Adv.: $0.94 /Day Of: $0.94
21 & Over

With the tribal energy of Midnight Oil and the artistic subtleties of Ah-Ha the band Golden Fields is sure to be the next powerhouse from down under. Combining all the right elements this band is on the brink of breaking out. Dynamically energetic Golden Fields has all the brow furrowing thought of alternative rock with the motivating rhythm that will make you want to dance. Fresh on the heels of their latest album Dark Again the band is burning through their US tour. Rightfully so, they'll be playing tonight's 94.7NRK's I Saw Them When showcase at the Crystal Ballroom.
Sharing the stages is Portland's The Ecstatics, with their electric jive guitar freakout. True to their name this band is ecstatic in nature with all the fun that comes with it. I know it's a Monday night but for the unbelievable price of 94 cents you can't miss the chance to catch these 2 bands. So tell that responsible part of your brain to sit on it and come out and dance.  

Cure for the Mondays: Total Warr - "Bambastard"

Total Warr - "Bambastard" (ft. The Death Set)

What the .......?



French duo Total Warr are friends on a mission. Striving to make energetically fun pop songs, this team is getting positive reviews and is sure to garner more with the release of their latest 3 track EP Loisy. As for the video, just roll with it.

Confessions of the Dangerously Uncool - Rocksmith Review

                Over the years I’ve had what I’d call a dalliance with the guitar.  My sophomore year of college, for Christmas I received my first guitar, a Squire Strat.  For those unfamiliar with the brand, let me put it this way, if Fender were a grocery store, this would be the Western Family of guitars.  Nice guitar, nothing to brag about, but also not some weird Rainbow Foods variety of guitar that you’d see Jack White playing either.  

                So like all aspiring young guitarists, I bought myself a guitar book, and got really good at the first couple of chapters.  Which means, I can play the heck out of the A chord, C chord, G chord, D chord, E chord, as well as A and E minors.  If I’m in room with just myself and a guitar, I can play enough to sound competent.  I can play enough that I played guitar on 4 self-produced (by the drummer) and lightly released albums that range from awesomely bad, to just plain bad.  As Clint said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”  That really is the long way around, and in honor of Homer Simpson, I’ll skip to the chorus, my guitar ability has stagnated.  

                This weekend in an act of desperation, or maybe just boredom, I purchased the game Rocksmith by UBISOFT, a game that decided to take the premise of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero and marry it with a real guitar.  The results is a hybrid between a game and a teaching aid.  

                Full disclosure here, at this point I’ve only logged a couple of hours on the game, but I think I’ve seen enough to discuss Rocksmith as a teaching aid.  My feelings are pretty mixed.   The good of it, is it has gotten me to pick up the Guitar for several hours over the weekend.  I’ve even learned a couple new chords, that I’m sure I’ll forget  in couple weeks (don’t worry open A, I still love you).  It has a chord book for each song, and a techniques section that seems pretty useful.  

                  On the other hand I don’t really like the approach they have taken to teach guitar.  I feel very much like Daniel Son waxing Mr. Miyagi’s cars.  Instead of starting with songs that are easy to learn and giving you the entire piece of a song, the game starts with giving you portions of riffs as you play through entire songs.  Presumably as you get better the game gives you more and more pieces of songs.  I’m still on level suck, so we’ll see if that holds true or not.  Which means, I’ll have to pretty awesome to play a single song.  For a person that needs to see tangible results, I can see myself losing interest pretty quickly, unless of course Mr. Miyagi comes and saves me from skeleton dressed hoodlums that is.  

                I also find navigating the game a little clunky at times as it seems I have to do a bunch of backing out of portions of the game to get to spots I’d like.  I worry the game’s interface itself might cause some to focus more on visual cues than the rhythm aspect that is so important to playing guitar, especially in level suck where it can be hard to find the rhythm when you are playing such small snippet of individual parts.  

                Overall I think it would have been better served trying to be less of a hybrid, and be more of a true teaching aid.  The technology is cool, and this style of teaching may work for some, but I’m dubious of the results I will get.   The good news is I'll probably turn it back on after I post this piece, so it hasn’t completely lost my interest.    

Tuesday Double Feature: Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestre "The Bed Song" & Brooke Annibale "Middle of the Mess"

With last Thursday being Valentine's Day we wanted to dedicate this week's Tuesday Double Feature to the reality of love. It's still great and fulfilling but it's also hard work and a little bit messy.  

Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra - "The Bed Song"


Powerful and amazing Amanda Palmer continues to reveal the the unending breath of her talent as both a singer and performer. This latest video is another jewel in a long line of powerfully cinematic presentations of her songs. Make sure you pickup her and her band's latest album Theater Is Evil.

Brooke Annibale - "Middle of the Mess"


Nashville transplant Brooke Annibale is an artist in transition. Not only has she uprooted to a new hometown but she is also expanding the acoustic songwriting of her first album. Experimenting with a more elect sound on her latest EP Words In Your Eyes, Annibale is showing growth as an artist.

Cure for the Mondays: Gold Feilds - "Tree House"

Gold Fields - "Tree House"

Jazzersizers and a guy in a unicorn head. If that don't cure the Mondays nothing will.



The rising act from down under Gold Fields, is quickly building a name for themselves. With a refreshingly throw back new-wave sound the band will see the North American release of their debut album Black Sun on the 26th of this Month. Currently in the midst of their U.S. Winter tour the band will be in Portland on Monday February 25th and the Crystal Ballroom. Check them out be for they get much bigger.

Living Room Performance: Jim James - "A New Life"

Jim James - "A New Life"

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

February 4th, 2013




Having spent close to 20 years as the lead singer and songwriter of My Morning Jacket, Jim James has recently released his debut solo album Regions Of Light And Sound Of God on ATO Records. A soft spoken acoustic soul, James solo material is a powerfully haunting thing. This performance of his lead off single with a fifteen piece band is awesome to watch. If it gets you excited to see James live, you'll get your chance May 14th at the Crystal Ballroom.