at The High Dive

Remember how I told y'all to be at The High Dive on Friday to see the most excellent PDX band Blue Skies for Black Hearts take the stage? I hope at least some of you made it out, because they TOTALLY ROCKED IT. (duh, like they wouldn't) 

Anyway! There was a last-minute band addition, so BS4BH played first, and super-early, starting their set just after 9pm. I am happy to report that even though the crowd was scarce, the boys gathered an impressive menagerie of dancing (in Seattle? WHAT?) groups near the stage by the time they were 2 songs in to the set. The boys in The Ames (the Belligham-based band that followed) seemed particularly impressed, and were very enthusiastic about getting down to some grooves. Again: dancing? in Seattle? WHAT. Just another of the many side-effects Blue Skies offers when rocking their audiences' socks off. 

{More photos after the jump} 

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I love, love, LOVE discovering new bands that rock my socks off - I just wish I had known about Portland band Blue Skies for Black Hearts MUCH earlier, since it seems they've been around for awhile, based on all the CDs they have out already. But I digress. When I went to the Tennis Pro show a few weeks back at Chop Suey, these boys took the stage and positively blew me away with their tight, retro-pop tunes, bouncy attitude, and adorable faces. I fell for them straight away, marched over to the merch table after their set to buy some tunes, and tipsily stumbled over telling the bass player how AWESOME they were (a patented Amie move).

The above video for "Siouxsie (!!!) Please Come Home" helps illustrate their fantasticness - and the fact that our Seattle "Summer" could be worse - but I urge you to check out more of their songs, and fortheloveofallthatisholy see them live next time they're in town (9/22 at The High Dive) or you find yourself in PDX.

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Half of what you get with the new Microtia album, Spacemaker, is nine smoking songs recorded by the Portland trio. The other half of the equation is the packaging for the new release, which was made exclusively from Pabst Blue Ribbon and Marlboro Lights boxes. This alone seems like every hipsters dream release. This CD has been in the works for quite some time, but is officially coming out this month.

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at Ash Street Saloon

Local to Portland, Viva Voce seemed to light up the crowd the most. Kevin Robinson taking to smashing his guitar on the stage near the end of the set.

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Last year, the Dandy Warhols launched Beat The World Records and today they are using the independence of their own label to release mixes of 2003’s Welcome to the Monkey House, that Capitol Records, their label for 8 years, didn’t see fit for distribution. The Dandy Warhols ARE Sound is Welcome to the Monkey House as Russell Elavedo mixed it.

If the techno-infused mixes on Monkey House are psych rock on e, then ARE Sound’s songs are rock ‘n roll so stoned, they think it’s the 90’s. And in the 90’s, The Dandy Warhols were making 60’s infused psych/pop. In fact, Monkey House was a breaking point with the Dandy Warhols’ fan base for its hyper-produced, late 80’s synth rock edge. This is not to say the ARE Sound’s mixes are better than Monkey House tracks, but they are the band’s original intent.

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at

The show last Saturday was a celebration of Magic Marker Record’s 10th anniversary, and it showcased the label’s finest pop bands, both past and present: The Galactic Heroes, Dear Nora (both reformed for this night only), BOAT and Tullycraft. With a line-up like that, Portland really doesn’t seem too far away.

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You better hope gas prices stay low until February! Portland's fantastic Magic Marker Records just announced their anniversary show! And it's amazing!

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Portland bedroom lo-fi troubadour Casiotone for the Painfully Alone has announced he (Owen Ashworth) is becoming a they (a bunch of friends -- aka: a band) and they are hitting the road!

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