don't stop the rockin'

i'd like to take this opportunity to welcome back helskel of therubberwall (see "links" for a link). helskel, i'm gonna make you jealous by the end of this post... just fair warning (which i've been less than generous with as of late...) without further ado:

MusicFestNW... a showcase of what portland has to offer musically, some great, some not-so-great, but quite an interesting barhop from the bicycle. and what i found was worth the price of admission, both in spectacle and talent:

first, the spectacle: portland's "next hottest band," as decided by i-don't-know-who, is copy--and copy sux big donkey doodie. a cheeseball with a key-tar busting out pre-programmed beats for the retarded portion of the portland population (which, by the way, i didn't know was so large, but i guess it goes to show that drugs ARE bad... mmmm-kay). really bad, and truly pathetic in his professionalism (laptop failure sent his crap... uh, act... into a tailspin). perhaps he should cut the techmological umbilical and get a new groove... (damn, that's nerdtastic!) fortunately, i found much better at the fest...

for instance, there was alela diane, who's good in a folksy sort of way, and i think she could do well. time will tell, but she's got a good sound. (i like it for a song or three, but i'm not sure about an album... maybe to lull me to sleep, which is actually high praise coming from me... you get the picture)

the lead singer from sunny day real estate has a solo project. i think his name is brian engck (or maybe jeremy?). saw him at the crystal ballroom, and i was pleased. he only did one solo acoustic song, which i thought he'd be exploring more since leaving sunny day, but i liked sunny day and his band is pretty solid.

and as loud and cool as engck was, the melvins took my ringing ears and shoved them through a shredder. apparently they were a big influence of k cobain's. fuuuuuuck... two drummers beating the crap outta the drums, and some freaky big guitarist and bassist clad in black dresses and rocking--ROCKING!--like i can't remember seeing since... i don't know when. if i ever need some wake-up music, a melvins cd is in order. they were really, really good. thank god for earplugs and the advanced age that makes hipness secondary to comfort.

and now for the jealous maker:



KRISTIN HERSH...

saw her at jimmy maks, a jazz club in the pearl. (the pearl is like lodo--ex-ghetto turned hip, white, urban, yuppie. not my fave part of town, but kristin hersh for god's sake!) a set with some of hips and makers, some throwing muses, and kind of heavy on her sunny border blue album. she introduced "william's cut" with a warning that it includes the f-bomb. she was shy and strange and sweet, and this was the first time i've seen her solo. she (unlike copy) was a professional; the monitors were bad and she didn't make a fuss until between songs, and even then it was with humor ("that's ok, i know what guitar sounds like"). and when they got it together, she wowed the almost-capacity crowd. 25 feet away from her is far compared to the muses shows i've seen, but this felt more intimate.

i need to see her group 50footwave soon... i missed out this past weekend due to ear issues, but since she also lives in portland i think i'll get another chance soon.

and that's pretty much that... i mean, the first band i saw (and i forget their names), i recognized the keyboardist from the bus (never knew i was that close to greatness on the number 4!!). and helskel, look for jurado in denver--i have to go up to seattle to see him in october--you don't need to take that three-hour journey!