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Portland mind-expanding experimentalists Planets Around The Sun just unveiled the hypnotic new video for “Water Dub” that they’ve been hanging onto for a minute, so now we can all enjoy it. This isn’t some fancy filter on the video – it was shot this way. The band’s Ian Paige filmed “Water Dub” at the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art right here in Portland, Maine. Daniel Rozin’s Snow Mirror provided the psychedelic effects. Some of you might be asking this question about the show happening tonight at SPACE Gallery…  STRFKR After The Jump Fest CMJ Showcase, October 2008 - Knitting Factory, NYC It’s been a while since I’ve seen STRFKR live. The last time was where the above photo was taken, when the band played a CMJ showcase curated by After The Jump, the NYC-based music blog collective from my pre-HillyTown days. Since then the band went through a schizophrenic period that briefly saw them called Pyramid/Pyramiddd. Yeah, the name change never stuck with us, either, but the music did. See for yourself on their latest, Reptillians. There seems to be a bit of a good buzz about this show – refreshing to see when an act from the other side of the country (the other Portland to be precise) comes all the way out here to play, since it doesn’t always work out that way. For those who are still curious, I’ve compiled some visual/audio treats below to pique your interest. Furthermore, tourmates Champagne, Champagne promise to party in their own special way, plus locals Foam Castles open! Bonus: Midcoast electronic darlings Vistas (who you may have heard are participating in an upcoming HillyTown event) kick things off and keep it going between acts.
Band: o’death / Hometown: Brooklyn, NY Currently in the midst of a North American tour, with European dates kicking off April 27, o’death are on the road (dates here) in support of their fantastic new record, Outside. I caught two of their sets at SXSW (in an attempt to make up for missing both of their recent shows in Maine at The Ox + The Ax – a venue run by the band’s frontman, Greg Jamie) and the difference in crowds made for very different experiences. The first – at Red 7 on a bill with like-minded bands on the Panache booking roster – felt like most proper o’death gigs, with a rowdy mix of punks and friends losing their minds to the band’s onstage contortions. The second – and ultimately the last show I chose to watch at the festival – was in the smaller venue 512 and seemed to invite more of a walk-in crowd that may not have been familiar with the band. It was definitely the first time I saw anybody play air guitar at an o’death show! Below is the new video for the song “Bugs.” It was filmed here in Maine by the band themselves. Read on for photos from both shows by Bryan Bruchman. And the current Portland music scene goes 100% self-referential… What next, will Sunset Hearts cover Brenda? (Actually, I like where this could go). Brenda is currently the band at the center of the Portland indie rock scene. With deep roots and infinite connections musically and socially that touch almost everybody who spends their nights practicing and playing shows in our many venues, the trio also happens to have a knack for writing catchy songs that share a piece of Portland with their listeners. This track, “Girl Don’t Grow” (from Silver Tower) is the epitome of that, name-checking neighborhoods and streets. The video takes us along for the ride as the band starts their day, spends some time in the studio, shops at Sounds Absurd, and then plays a show at Port City Music Hall (shot at their TWO show with Marie Stella on Feb. 1). Watch the video below, and see the band live on March 29th when they open for Titus Andronicus at SPACE Gallery. Head to their site for more tour dates (including Free Range Fest). Portland pop rock band Grand Hotel released a new video today for their track “Walken.” The storyline is pretty simple but fun and upbeat, much like the tune itself. Check it out. The guys have two local gigs coming up – this Saturday, March 12, they’ll be at Yankee Lanes for the MAMM Slam, then you can catch them on the 22nd at Big Easy where they’ll play a set of original music followed by covering the entirety of Modest Mouse’s Good News For People Who Love Bad News. This Friday, Jakob Battick & Friends will play their last show for the next 6 months (doesn’t this sound familiar?) as they celebrate the release of their new EP, Bloodworm Songs. Check out the final packaged version of the album below: A while back we shared the group’s video for “Three Orphans,” from this upcoming release. Beginning on Friday, the full album will be available for streaming and purchase at Bandcamp (and from below). In addition to the new EP, you’ll also get live recordings of their performance at The Oak + The Ax on January 29. Check out the video below for a sneak peak (visually) at that one. This happens to fall on the same night as Dan Deacon at SPACE, but I highly recommend running back and forth to both to maximize the awesomeness of your evening. The new clip for “Never Easy,” the first single off Zach Jones‘ upcoming album Broken Record, starts out innocent enough, but hang in there to see things go in an interesting direction. The song itself is super catchy in that satisfyingly fuzzy way that makes us think of the Foo Fighters. Enjoy. The “Never Easy” maxi-single is available for purchase from Bandcamp as of today. Stream it below. Zach’s next couple shows are out on the west coast, but I’d wager there’s a show in Portland coming up before too long. Here’s a little taste of what the sold out crowd at the State Theatre is in for tonight with Girl Talk… Read this NYT interview with Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) where he talks about his double life, technology, and the fine art of bootlegging and remixing (and why it works). Things get started in just a couple hours – don’t miss the openers, Max Tundra and Junk Culture! Covers by Max Tundra Back in December our friend Nate Martinez (Brooklyn-based Thieving Irons) came through town and played a special acoustic show we put together at Mayo Street Arts. Check out this video below of Thieving Irons as a full band (including members of The National, Takka Takka, and Rocketship Park) playing on the Serious Business show on BreakThru Radio. Look for some Portland bands starting to pop up on those video podcasts before too long as well… Looking for a great show to check out on Thursday? Here’s a solid bet: Nicole Atkins & The Black Sea (“Vultures” video above) are coming to town in support of the new album Mondo Amore. Even better, Cotton Jones are will be along to open the show. Just yesterday, they released a new ep, Sit Beside Your Vegetables. Check it out below or at Bandcamp. Local Jacob Augustine (who we just did a one-shot acoustic video for) starts the night out. Get tickets here. Read on for more Nicole Atkins and Cotton Jones tour dates after the jump. Continue reading Nicole Atkins Thursday! This little gem just surfaced on Facebook (thanks to Factory Portland) – check it out for a look back at what the Portland underground music scene looked like 15 years ago. Bonus video: a big rave (Hi, Kris Clark!) from “some unknown location in Portland” in 1993. Back in December, we hosted a criminally under-attended show of excellent acoustic music at Mayo Street Arts. The final performance of the night was from Jacob Augustine, whose band – The House Of Fire – had just fallen apart. This was about as intimate as a public concert could get, and those in the room felt it as his strong but fragile voice filled every corner of the former church. The connection was apparent, and Jacob felt it so much that he wanted to come back to the venue as soon as possible – “After my first experience at Mayo Street I have come to the conclusion that this building was built specifically just for me to sing in. Seriously I love it.” On Friday, February 18th, before playing a show there with Hi Tiger, he spent the afternoon recording an album in the space. I stopped by to get a preview and make this video. Just watch and listen, and I think you’ll get the idea. I realize the camera work isn’t perfect, nor is the sound – consider this an ongoing public education of my own use of a DSLR for video, while wrestling with the restrictions of iMovie for editing. But I’m pretty happy with the results. Check out Jacob Augustine live opening for Nicole Atkins at Port City on Thursday, this Saturday at the Oak + the Ax or on March 3 at Empire. There’s another look behind the scenes at the process for the big show tonight at SPACE. Advance tickets are highly recommended! And here’s a video courtesy of Dave Camlin from the band selection process earlier today at SPACE. It all comes together this Saturday. See you there! Don’t forget to grab those albums recorded by the bands created during this project in its first two years. |
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