UP&COMING THIS WEEK’S MUSIC PREVIEWS
NUDE BEACH Slabtown, 9/14
CRYSTAL FIGHTERS, Wonder Ballroom, 6/2
THURSDAY 9/13 HOT CHIP, YACHT
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 24.
ADVENTURE GALLEY, MINDEN, SHY GIRLS (Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Minden’s record release show is headlined by Adventure Galley, whose lone EP, The Right Place to Be, is just as addictive today as when it was released two years ago. With inspiring synth hooks and ’80s power chords behind a monolith of indie-rock vocals, they are poised to soundtrack a mid-’80s period piece about teenagers who find meaning by partaking in racy dancing. The unpolished vocals—at times halting, at times passionate—provide an alluring contrast with the lustrous production. Meanwhile, a new album is on the way, and advance track “Weekend Lovers” is on Soundcloud. Shy Girls is the project of Dan Vidmar, Ingmar Carlson, and Dan Sutherland, and it doesn’t technically involve any girls, though it does sound quite a bit like a make-out fantasy involving En Vogue and Salt-n-Pepa. Laid-back and sexy, the thin production and unapologetically digital drums are the perfect setup for a long night of martini drinking and sex having. REBECCA WILSON Also see Music, pg. 31.
THE FRESH AND ONLYS, GRASS WIDOW, TERRY MALTS
Records used to be, and they stocked all the cool shit Tower wouldn’t—hence the name.) Originally hailing from Long Island, Nude Beach sounds like they were raised on WNEW and outdoor concerts at Jones Beach; their jangly fi st-pumpers initially elicit comparisons to vintage Elvis Costello and early Tom Petty, but quickly assert themselves as their own individual entities. Roky Erickson is taking them on tour as his backing band later this year, but you don’t need the godfather of American psychedelia’s blessing—Nude Beach are making rock ’n’ roll the way god intended: catchy, snappy, a little sloppy, and with sand in the crotch. NED LANNAMANN
BUCKETHEAD, BEN SAMPLES (Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Even if you don’t really give a shit about Buckethead—in which case, welcome to the club, we’re nearing capacity—you have to admire how frighteningly prolific the guy (girl? animatron?) is. For the last 10 years, Bucky’s been sticking to a four-LP-a-year average, while also touring—as a solo artist, briefly as a member of Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains, and (controversially) Guns N Roses. He is a diligent-ass dude. On the other hand, though, how hard can it be to pump a record out when you’re a “virtuoso guitarist”? His latest, The Shores of Molokai, suggests it isn’t very difficult at all, as the tracks all sound rather lazily assembled. Maybe this will be the show where he finally removes his disguise? MT
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) While San Francisco has no shortage of bands enmeshed in ’60s pop in one form or another, the Fresh and Onlys continue to push it in sparkly new directions. That’s to say the band’s latest LP, Long Slow Dance, is a wonderfully lush earworm that has more in common with the Cure than, say, the Seeds. The record is unabashedly sweet and sentimental, brought home by Tim Cohen’s echoed vocals and guitars that are less fuzzy and more reverb-drenched than ever. Don’t let the slickness of the recording frighten you—you can’t fault a band that wants to move out of their parents’ garage and take a swan dive into the Paisley Underground. MARK LORE
CHICAGO
FRIDAY 9/14
MIKE COYKENDALL, OLD LIGHT, 1939 ENSEMBLE
BRONCHO, BAD WEATHER CALIFORNIA, LOVELY BAD THINGS, JARET FERRATUSCO (Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) See My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 24.
GAYTHEIST, MINOTON, COUGAR (Kenton Club, 2025 N Kilpatrick) See Music, pg. 27.
THE VIBRATORS, BOATS!, BLUE SKIES FOR BLACK HEARTS, THE CRY (Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash) We should all be very grateful that a classic, illustrious British punk band like the Vibrators would even bother playing in this city at a modest venue like Ash Street (in a perfect world, they’d be headlining the Rose Garden, but this world is clearly far from perfect). The group’s 1977 debut, Pure Mania (which is consistently voted one of the best punk LPs of all time), is probably the best place to start: 15 immaculate pop hits in under 35 minutes—what an incredible value! But it’s hardly where you should stop: the band’s oft-eclipsed sophomore effort V2 is every bit as good. Just listen to the excellent “Fall In Love”— turns out Big Star wasn’t the only band Paul Westerberg was stealing from. MORGAN TROPER
NUDE BEACH, DIVERS, DEFECT DEFECT, BI-MARKS, DJ KEN DIRTNAP (Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th) Go ahead, Google “Nude Beach.” I dare ya. If you’re lucky—or if you throw the word “band” in your search phrase—you’ll come across the fucking splendid New York trio, who just released their just-as-Google-proof album II on the new imprint of renowned Manhattan record emporium Other Music. (It’s across the street from where Tower
sat. 9/15 xinr record release with danava
(Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon) Before they turned into what was essentially a Peter Cetera solo vehicle (god forbid), Chicago was actually a neat little rock ’n’ roll band, combining symphonic elements with solid pop songcraft while, almost inconceivably, managing to avoid prog-rock grandiosity. Chicago II, in particular, is a great record ripe for rediscovery (“Make Me Smile” and “25 or 6 to 4” are arguably the band’s best known compositions from their early period, and for good reason). Anything beyond that, tread cautiously. MT
SATURDAY 9/15 (Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See Music, pg. 27.
NURSES, AAN, HOOKERS, DJ JD SAMSON (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Portland freak-pop quartet Aan have turned heads regionally ever since vocalist/guitarist Bud Wilson began the then-solo project in his bedroom in 2006. Wilson’s songs have absorbed melodic intricacies that are hard to pack into a band’s catalog, let alone single songs. Vocal vitality notwithstanding, the spooky, effectsheavy husk of 2011 7-inch single “Somewhere’s Sunshine” was only a litmus test for the band’s upcoming full-length, Amor Ad Nauseum (incidentally, the band’s original name before it was shortened to an acronym). “I Don’t Need Love,” a teaser track from the new album, explodes with keys, crafty guitar solos, and macabre lyrical railing. The group is likely to play some tracks from the new album tonight; get there early for Le Tigre’s JD Samson on the wheels of steel, and stay late for Nurses! RYAN J. PRADO Also see My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 24.
ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL (Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Anthrax may always be considered the bottom rung of thrash metal’s Big Four, which includes Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica. A lot of that is of course based on record sales, rather than actual recorded output. Since their formation nearly three decades ago, Anthrax has—for better or worse— fused metal and hiphop with Public Enemy (one of the fi rst metal bands to do so), and have taken themselves far less seriously than their brow-furrowed brothers in metal. After years of fl oundering in the proverbial mosh pit of life, Anthrax are again fi ring on all cylin-
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September 13, 2012 Portland Mercury 33