So I’ve added a section “Portland Bands” to list some of the great bands I’ve been seeing here since moving. Portland has a number of different thriving music scenes currently, as well as lots of great places to see bands. 4th of July we (Lana Rebel and the Broken Promises) played a really fun house party (Mary’s Annual 4th Party) There were a number of other great bands on the bill, but the one that made the biggest impression on me was Lord Master. When they were setting up it was hard to tell what to expect…a double stack of vintage National amps! Well to keep it short I’ll just say that they play a mixed bag of smart ironic rock fused with some really great metal guitar riffs, topped off with fun snarky lyrics ( a metal song about a bodybuilder etc). All in all really great stuff. Other highlights were the Birds of War, fronted by a couple of Portland veterans James Curley and Dylan Reilly whom I knew from way back in the days of punk rock in Tucson AZ. The Birds ripped through an admirable set of vintage punk rock which would appeal to fans of Black Flag or The Minutemen…the real stuff. Dylan was pleased to report his dad has finally realized that he is indeed an excellent bass player after seeing the performance. In between these bands were Thee Headliners…who are just too damn good. They had the drunken revelers all torqued up into a sweaty frenzy that culminated oddly enough into a sweaty shirtless man jam…I snapped a camera phone picture of this display featuring none other than apple of our gal Lana’s eye Kevin Mayfield banging his tambourine and singing along during a Creedence cover of Proud Mary.

Bow before your LORD MASTER!- Myspace site
THEE Headliners- Myspace site
Lana Rebel- Official Site

Just caught the Sleepytime show here in Portland at Dante’s last night…and it was pretty damn impressive. They are a band firing on all cylinders at this point with enough material to pull from to put on a good 2 hours of really strong music. Most impressive moments for me included the new (to me) instrument created by Dan Rathbun, I don’t know which one it was from the list on their site

The Slide-piano Log, the Percussion Guitar, the Electric Pancreas, the Vatican, & the Pedal-action Wiggler; or rare: Autoharp, Glockenspiel, Toy Piano, & Viking Rowboat.

I’m going to harbor a guess it was the Pedal Action Wiggler? It looks like a bow attached to a hi-hat stand and it sounds somewhat like a didgeridoo as he pumps the hi-hat pedal, flooding the world with a monstrous bass tone. There was an entertaining number about the “Last Human Being” which i believe may have replaced the theatrical “Cockroach” number which was a personal favorite from the past. I greatly enjoyed the “Old Grey Heron”, a song written by Dan and introduced in a humorous manner as a song he had written for his father after he passed away, except he hasn’t passed away yet, and he continues to live on at the ripe old age of 88. You still have a few chances to catch this monster of a band as they finish their NW tour down the coast.

Upcoming-

# Eugene, OR WOW Hall W/ Mute Socialite
July 07, 2008
# Brookdale, CA Brookdale Lodge w/ Jason Webley , Edmund Welles
July 08, 2008
# Los Angeles, CA the Troubadour w/ Jason Webley , Edmund Welles
July 09, 2008
(Live Show)
# San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall w/ Jason Webley , Edmund Welles
July 10, 2008
(Live Show)

Official Website- Sleepytime Gorilla Museum