Oregon Music News

Sunday, July 24th was hot, inside and out, at PDX Pop Now! 2011. It was day 3 of the all-ages, free festival at Refuge, and although we didn’t catch every single band today, it was likely the top overall day of music at this year’s fest. Saving the best for last, here are some of the day’s highlights, in chronological order no less.

Unassumingly emotive: Lizzy Ellison of Radiation City and her slow building soulfulness. Delicate but strong at the same time, once you realized this girl could really sing guitarist Cameron Spies took the lead vocal role for some male-female interplay. Cameron was equally passionate albeit a little more brash at times until Lizzy brought him back into her delicate range, which was not quite as airy as Beach House’s Victoria Legrand or as robustly soulful as Amy Winehouse but somewhere in between with a touch of Regina Spektor. Radiation City verged on sunniness but remained coy like a single sunbeam peaking through the clouds on a gray day, timidly bursting through the last nebulous layer in preconceived streams.

Rough around the edges: And being exactly who they are were The Woolen Men. Swapping instruments and vocal duties, playing a stripped down, stand up “drum kit,” their closing song “West Coast” reeked of wild Captain Beefheart and Lou Reed’s lyrical chatter.

We all need at least one slogging, heavy metal set per day: Thanks goes to Diesto and their varied stack of beat up Orange, Marshall, Hiwatt, Ampeg and Yamaha amps. Also a fan of Red Fang? Try Diesto’s latest, High As The Sun, recorded by Red Fang’s Adam Pike.

Most likely to bring classical music to your street corners and coffee shops or even Holocene: Classical Revolution PDX

Hottest electronica set: With an arsenal of electronic noises, Onuinu (On You In You) built a dancey set that morphed from chillwave to the whole room moving, smiling as he competed with the passing train whistles. If the names Tropics or Deaubird sound familiar to you, Dorian Duvall has also gone by those monikers but today he deftly turned knobs, mic clutched in hand. Adding his own vocals to the mix while steadily increasing the energy, he might be a shining point in this rising class of solo, young electro dancemakers.

Basking in the sun before Holy Sons. Okay, so we know that quip is lame.

Fred Armisen spottings: One. Here’s the proof. Plus somebody from @PortlandiaTV was retweeting our stuff. Thanks!

Besting the noise of a passing train: Look outside through the garage doors of Refuge and you’ll see a flow of freight cars noiselessly floating by. That’s because Holy Sons was easily drowning them out with their melodic, psychedelic, fuzzy, haunting, dusky rock. Led by Emil Amos (of Grails), the vocals were wrenching, although Emil did show a softer and quieter side at times, and backed by his talented band, which had no use for keeping things concise.

And our pal Jeff Hylton Simmons from Radio23 found out Fred Armisen is a huge Holy Sons fan and caught this on his iPad.

Only saw, accordion and Bauhaus t-shirt seen on stage: Musee Mecanique’s rotating frontmen Micah Rabwin, Sean Ogilvie, Brian Perez, and new drummer Scott Magee (wearing the tee) creating ghostly,
cinematic folk-pop.

Times we caught Dave Depper on stage: Once on Saturday with Monarques providing keys and again on Sunday with Musee Mecanique on the bass but no longer with Loch Lomond.

Drew Grow on the shovel. Photos by Jennifer Sowell.

Only shovel and stone on stage: Scuffed and scratched to the beat by Drew Grow who helped back up the emotionally intense Kelli Schaefer and her band. You can hear the same shovel, and the scraping of a glass jar too, on the recorded version of “Ghost of the Beast.” And let’s not forget the epic drumming from Jeremiah Hayden.

“What’s Up Jared?!”: Is what we’d like to call the two-man dubstep crew who put on a show between sets from the back of a Nissan truck until their engine died. Their real name is Decades and the brostep was decent even if the hypeman was obnoxious, shouting genericized affirmations of brohood (like “Yeah!,” “Uhhh,” and the aforementioned), as he should be.

Wickedest mix of tuba and lightning drumming: Brainstorm for their experimental oompah meets lo-fi keys meets tropical rhythmic patterns meets eccentric, blazing drumming.

Furry tails spotted: Just a measly one.

Farewell: Guidance Counselor. Especially from the screaming, groping teen girls up front who got crushed against the front of the stage by surging dancers and from above by crowder surfers.

Adios PDX Pop Now! 2011.

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