seattle through 23 Seattle International Dance Festival Kickoff for the seventh annual Seattle International Dance Festival will take place at the South Lake Union with free performances by local and international dancers, including Seattle b-boy collective Massive Monkees—a great descriptor for the dancers' apish, primal street-dance style. In addition to inviting performers from as far […]
Sound Stories & Interviews
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Obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian Baths Label anticon “I might walk upright, but then again, I might still try to die,” Will Wiesenfeld whispers on “Worsening,” the opening track on Obsidian, his second album recording as Baths. He bemoans against eerie broken glass electro beats cutting into the pillowy softness of his voice: “Where is God when you hate […]
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Outdoor Vibes
Two camping music festival options. Two very different experiences.
Healing Powers: The two-day Coyote Spirit Festival in the south-central Oregon town of Paisley, is as much a therapeutic treatment as it is a camping music festival. Set among the reportedly healing waters of Summer Lake Hot Springs and featuring a venue called “The Devotional Dome,” the Coyote Spirit Festival blends hoovy-groovy things like laughter […]
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Journey to the Orient
MarchFourth Marching Band fill unlikely role as U.S. ambassadors to China
Forget about Dennis Rodman’s goodwill tour of North Korea; that was nothing more than tabloid fodder. Portland’s giant marching band MarchFourth (M4) just returned to the states after completing a two-week U.S. State Department-sponsored exchange to improve relations with China. As unconventional as it may seem to have an American marching band playing at universities […]
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Out of Town 6/12 – 6/20
portland wednesday 12- sunday 16 Portland Pride Week Our neighbors to the north have jumped on the same-sex marriage choo-choo train; time to show those Washingtonians that Oregon supports equal rights, too! But don’t just go to Pride 2013 out of spite that Washington is more socially advanced. The event is going to be a […]
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Out of Town 6/5 – 6/13
portland thursday 6 Third Annual Captain Picard Day An annual tradition for the schoolchildren aboard the USS Enterprise, Captain Picard Day honors the baldest, baddest Starfleet captain “Next Generation” has to offer. How? With an art contest, of course. Submissions honoring Jean-Luc Picard will be eligible for hundreds of dollars in prizes, but the real […]
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Black Cloud
The Latest from Tango Alpha Tango
Black Cloud Tango Alpha Tango Independent It is easy to believe that the pauses between the songs of Portland rock outfit Tango Alpha Tango’s new album Black Cloud are necessary respites allowing lead singer Nathan Trueb to wipe the sweat from his brow. These songs are hot. (Damn hot!) And the amount of teeth grinding […]
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More Than a Name Change
Once Ascetic Junkies, now There Is No Mountain
Sometimes the second act is sweeter. That is what happened when Matt Harmon and Kali Giaritta—formerly of the Ascetic Junkies—struck out on their own to become There Is No Mountain. As great as The Ascetic Junkies' bluegrass whiskey stomp was—making them a Bend favorite for five years—the music of There Is No Mountain is even […]
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Poncho or Cowboy Hat?
Tremoloco brings a blender of border music
Not every Tremoloco song requires bi-lingual ears, but for tracks like “Temo” and “La Lechuza” it sure helps. The seven band members of the Tex-Mex band from Los Angeles play guitar-esque instruments with names like the “requinto romantic” (a high-pitched acoustic guitar) and the jarana (a Spanish ukulele). Singer-guitarist Tony Zamora has played with Los […]
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Portland bands that really need to return
A wishlist
Weinland It’s shocking that this Rose City vintage rock band has been away from Bend for years now. It's perfect for this town. Lead singer Adam Shearer is a beard-toting, city-fied mountain man. He fronts one of Portland’s most likeable bands and writes ’70s rock songs that blend acoustic and electric guitar with harmonies that […]
