I just got home a bit ago from a very sold-out appearance by The Shins at the Domino Room here in Bend and I'm pleased to say that this rehashed version of the band far exceeded my expectations.
In fact, James Mercer and crew -- cheered on by an incredibly appreciative audience -- looked to be in rare form with an hour-and-a-half-long set that included plenty of hits from the old days as well as a couple new tunes. These small-venue Oregon shows the band is playing were said to be warm up gigs for their appearance at Outside Lands, but as far as I could tell, they've already ironed out most of the kinks that typically come from a new lineup.
Here's a quick video from the show, in case you were one of the many, many people who weren't able to get into this (almost) surprise gig.
Tomorrow, Central Oregon's biggest food and drink festival, The Bite of Bend, gets underway with damn near every type of cuisine and beverage you can think of. And while the food, beer and wine -- in addition to the Top Chef's competition -- garner plenty of attention, The Bite has become increasingly respected over the last few years for its eclectic, innovative and FREE music line up.
Headlining the event is Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, giving Bendites a taste of the New Orleans funk they love so much. But the rest of Saturday's schedule is also looking strong.
For all you rap fans and want to be rap superstars, your time to shine has come! Snoop Dogg has proposed a rap competition TV show similar to "American Idol" or "X Factor"
For all you Snoop Dogg fans who cannot seem to get enough of your favorite rapper, you may get the chance to see him on TV weekly.
Snoop Dogg has proposed his own TV show, which according to Paste Magazine, will find “America’s hottest hood artists.” The proposed search-for-the-best-rap-artist show will be competition style and similar to well known shows such as, American Idol and X Factor.
However, all you fans and potential rap stars out there may have to wait a little bit since the show has yet to be picked up by a network. The New York Post reported, “Oxygen, Bravo and NBC aren't biting but that E! and MTV have shown interest. Sources say Snoop is touting that the show could be as popular as Fox’s “American Idol,” but TV execs are not convinced.” While networks consider the potential of the show, Snoop Dogg is diligently working to find a panel of hip-hop icons to judge the competition and mentor the show’s artists.
If you haven't picked up a copy of this week's print edition of the Source, would recommend doing so, because you could win some tickets to the upcoming Decemberists or Death Cab for Cutie shows.
All you have to do is scour the paper for a hidden lyrics to each of these bands. Once you find them, listen to 92/9FM tomorrow morning and call in, giving the lyrics you found in the paper for a chance to win a pair of tickets to one of these shows -- both of which feature incredible opening acts.
I can't tell you where exactly you'll find the lyrics, so you'll have to just read the whole paper, I guess. Enjoy!
One of the more interesting indie hip-hop shows we've seen this year, the More Bars in More Places Tour 2, is coming to the Domino Room on Friday night.
On the lineup are several Bay Area hip-hop stalwarts like Opio, Aplus, Knobody, as well as Bend's own Cloaked Characters and other performers.
We've got two pairs of will call tickets for you guys to win. Just go to our Facebook page, make sure you "like" us and then leave a comment on the post referring to this giveaway.
This morning, Central Oregon's Last Band Standing, the local battle of the bands that kicks off next weekend, announced the lineups for each of the seven preliminary rounds. Here's a shot of all the bands from last night's kickoff party.
When I left the house around noon on Saturday afternoon and looked up at the menacing gray clouds overhead, I said something like, "Ohhh boy, I hope it doesn't rain?"
Anyway, it didn't rain, which was good, because I saw outdoor live music featuring three of our region's best acts, in April, in Bend, all freaking day. First, was Empty Space Orchestra's Record Store Day performance down in the alley behind Ranch Records. About 150 people (maybe more, maybe less...I'm not a scientist) turned out for an excellently tight set featuring some cuts from the instrumental space rock band's forthcoming self-titled record. Here's some video evidence:
Next, it was up to Northwest Crossing for a back-to-back bill that included Larry and His Flask and Mosley Wotta at the Spring Festival. LAHF was as outrageous as ever, getting the eclectic crowd of festival goers moving in no time. BUT, at one point drummer Jamin Marshall said something along the lines of "A critic from the Source said that Central Oregon is sick of seeing Larry and His Flask and Mosley Wotta."
The crowd responded with a resounding boo, but I was like "WTF?"
So yeah, I didn't write that, Twitter it, Facebook it, fax it to my neighbors. Nor did anyone at the paper. I told Jamin that after the show, and he felt bad and apologized. We high-fived and all was well. No worries, but for the record the Source does not hate LAHF or Mosley Wotta. And that's because they play incredible live shows, like you'll see below.
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