Oregon Music News

The beautiful performance space at North Portland’s Mississippi Studios can handle all types of sounds. One type of sound, the intimate strains of folk inflected indie rock, seems to lend itself almost naturally to the venue. That sound was on full display Friday evening in a show headlined by Swedish duo First Aid Kit and featuring Oklahoman Samantha Crain and the local boys Brothers Young.

Brothers Young, a six piece with a guest on the slide guitar for a few tracks, had almost more instruments and members than the stage had space, and managed to overcome some early, banjo related technical difficulties to put together a set that established the tone of the evening.

Brothers Young

Brothers Young were strongest in three-part harmony, like on the song “Remains The Same” from their first album The Sun Says He’s God, and their wailing vocals married nicely with their dirge like lyrics. With a little more polish, Brothers Young could likely find themselves among numerous Portland bands successfully adopting the country-rock sound.

Samantha Crain followed Brothers Young, and maintained their folk-tinged musical style, kicking it up a notch on occasion. Crain, touring the country in support of her newest album You (Understood), made available for purchase for the first time Friday night, brought a blend of straight ahead rock and soft acoustic tunes, all backed by her remarkably strong voice. Rolling Stone characterized it as being “gorgeously odd” and the New York Times claims “traverses the space between Gillian Welch and Regina Spektor.”

Samantha Crain

Crain switched fluidly between acoustic and electric guitars, changing as she did from a folk singer to an arena rocker and back again. Accompanied by steady bass lines and rolling drums, Crain worked through a set that included some songs from Songs In The Night, her 2009 record with her band The Midnight Shivers, and treated the crowd to some new tunes in addition. Although Crain’s accompanists were flawless, it was when they left the stage, and Crain did two songs on her own, that her ability as a songwriter was most evident. Two songs from the second half of Crain’s twelve-song set brought her portion of the evening to a swinging close. “Let The Fever Out,” from Songs In The Night was one of the evenings snappiest tunes, and “Up On The Table,” Crain’s final number, really hummed.

The final act of the evening, the sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg, were not only making their Portland debut, they were in the early stages of their first trip to North America. First Aid Kit, as the sisters are known, is spending part of the month of June touring the United States, with stops in Quebec and Toronto, following the stateside release of their first record The Big Black & The Blue.

The sisters Söderberg brought the folk-rock feeling of the evening to a its folksiest heights, featuring Johanna Söderberg on the autoharp a la Mother Maybelle Carter, and providing the evenings most beautiful vocal harmonies. Originally from Stockholm, the Söderbergs dressed the part too, picking up a couple of vintage Joan Baezesque dresses on their afternoon shopping trip around Portland. First Aid Kit pulled off a pitch perfect cover of Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song,”(below) an indication that the countrified indie rock sound has gone trans-Atlantic. They also provided the highlight of the evening, stepping from behind their microphones, and putting the strength of their voices front and center.

It took a few tries, and some help from the crowd closest to the stage, but once the bar noise had been quieted, First Aid Kit harmonized, sans amplification, through the haunting song, “Ghost Town.” Two young women, singing to a hushed crowd, without the help of microphones, is just the thing that Mississippi Studios was built for.

First Aid Kit and Samantha Crain continue their tour together through the 16^th of June before the Söderbergs head back to Europe. Crain will also take the stage on June 11^th as one of Spin magazine’s 30 must-hear artists at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.

Photos by Kevin Tomanka

Friday night at the Roseland Theater was proof that Bohemian music is alive and well. DeVotchKa, as part of the Soul’d Out Music Festival, stormed through the place, giving a performance that stunned the packed house. Vocalist Nick Urata’s unique, powerful, and haunting voice can probably still be heard by those who attended.

The quartet-composed of Urata (guitars, piano, theremin, trumpet, bouzouki), Tom Hagerman (piano, accordion, violin), Jeanie Schroder (sousaphone, upright bass), and Shawn King (drums, percussion, trumpet) blew through the Roseland playing sixteen songs, including a two song encore.

DeVotchKa played for over two hours, spanning its entire decade-old catalog. Their set included “The Clockwise Witness” (a new defining piece), “Head Honcho,” “Basso Profundo,” “We’re Leaving,” and “Undone” from their latest work of art A Mad and Faithful Telling, “Queen of the Surface Streets” and “Ocean of Lust” from their 2003 release Una Volta, “I Cried Like a Silly Boy” from their 2006 EP Curse Your Little Heart, and, of course, “How It Ends,” “The Enemy Guns,” and “Too Tired” from their 2004 masterpiece How It Ends.

The band’s performance was greeted with fervency. Arms raised and clapping throughout the night, the audience stomped feet, jumped up and down, swung arms and booties while pretend drumming and shouting “woos,” “owws,” and even “yee yee yees.” You would have thought DeVotchKa was playing at the Crystal Ballroom as the dance floor physically shook and bounced, as if there were springs underneath the floor.

Urata introduced himself and the band before playing the lively, raucous “Queen of the Surface Streets,” clearly appreciating the turnout: “Good to see you all, beautiful Portland,” he said with a smile. In fact, the band was beaming the entire night. They played with the kind of passion and heart that they are known for, and by the way King was banging on the drums all night, you could have mistaken the atmospheric smoke behind the set as steam rising from his back.

The crowd, after a good few minutes of making as much noise as possible, was treated with “How It Ends” and “Too Tired” for the encore. One girl was so excited about “How It Ends” she threw her underwear onstage… right at the feet of Hagerman. Hagerman hesitated, then shrugged, smiled, and went back to playing.

At the end of “Too Tired” (complete with accordion, bouzouki and cowbell), Urata went back and forth with the audience, singing “Yo, yo, yo yo yo.” And, yes, the rumors are true: Urata does drink an entire bottle of wine at the end of his performances. After quickly swigging it at the start of the encore, he took one final gulp towards the end and proceeded to press the bottle against his guitar strings while he strummed furiously to bring the show to a dramatic close.

The fact that Portland-based Vagabond Opera and Ritchie Young of Loch Lomond were able to have the crowd buzzing even before DeVotchKa took the stage was a tribute to them.

Young opened the show as the crowd filtered in, playing for about half an hour with three accompanying vocalists from Portland’s Brothers Young as well as a member of Gingerbread Patriots, who backed up Young’s acoustics with melodica, xylophone, shakers and effects.

The crowd sat quietly, cross-legged in front of the stage as Young played Loch Lomond songs including “All My Friends are Smiling,” “The Trumpet Song,” “Nelson Family,” and “I Love Me.”

Young’s floating vocals echoed throughout the not-quite-filled venue amid the instruments, adding more intimacy to the performance. After the crowd sang along with Young during “Elephants and Little Girls,” he finished the performance with “Ghost of an Earthworm.”

Explaining the song, Young said, “I had a dream I was an earthworm and I swallowed a skeleton… [smiling] I sniff a lot of glue.” The song culminated with the entire cast onstage repeatedly singing, “We are the same,” leaving the audience warm for more.

But the biggest surprise of the night for many in the audience was Vagabond Opera. The Bohemian sextet-fresh back from a trip to Poland was a perfect lead-up to DeVotchKa–infusing cabaret-style, jazzy, swing-y, Ukrainian folk into the crowd. Dressed in red and black vests and striped pants and donning top hats and feathered hats, the group instantly brought the level of excitement to a peak. Lead singer Eric Stern introduced the band one by one with bravado as they played “Chimaeras Be Met” to start their set, a piece you could imagine hearing in a swing club in the 1920s.

Each member contributed to the circus atmosphere: Stern with his booming, operatic voice, Robin Jackson on the saxophone, Jason Flores on the standup bass, Skip vonKuske with his captivating cello solos (met with grand applause every time), Mark Burdon on drums, and the lovely Ashia Grzesik from Poland (cello, vocals) capturing the audience with her sexy swaying and shaking.

Grzesik had many sets of eyes on her throughout the performance, and she knew it. From her sultry voice to her strip teases (pulling numerous things from her undergarments, including necklaces, blindfolds, and fake teeth), Grzesik knows how to work an audience.

After the romance-tinged “Kabbarista Farewell”–a song for skipping in a park with your lover–Vagabond Opera brought the crowd to its feet with “The Transformation into Marlene,” a tribute to the 1920s German actress and singer Marlene Dietrich. Those still sitting cross-legged on the floor amid people dancing in a circle around them each got up, one by one until everyone was dancing to the bopping, quick-paced gypsy swing piece.

Stern, adapting his lyrics a bit, sang, “I wish I was Marlena Dietrich, I’d dress as airport security on my way to Poland and you’d take me in your arms and you’d slap me.” This led to an interlude where Grzesik pretended to slap Stern as the band provided a quick explosion of sound when she connected. Stern, unimpressed, said, “Look, you’re Polish, pretend I’m Hitler.” (Something he later mentioned he regretted saying.) To this Grzesik brought out a belt and gave Stern a thwacking. Stern extended the end of the song with his never-ending, opera-trained voice as band members spun their top hats on cello sticks and Jackson looked surprisingly at his watch.

After Stern did some “Tom Chi” (Tom Waits Tai Chi), they proceeded to play a magnificent cover of “Whiskey Bar,” a German opera song written in 1929 made popular by The Doors. As an extra swigged a bottled of whiskey and drunkenly fell off the stage, the band continued into a beautiful, quiet, floating version of the song, exploding into a frenetic pace at the chorus parts, and then transitioning back to a serene pace when the chorus ended.

The set culminated with a cello piece by Grzesik called “Pay to be Loved.” Grzesik showed she could hold the audience on her own, going from quiet, finger-picking to aggressive swinging of her musical wand. The band joined her at the end. At one point Jackson sang mournfully, “Will they find me hanging by dawn?” (pulling his tie upwards). To this, the music suddenly stopped. “This is our last song,” Stern said. “Stop bringing everyone down.” Jackson shrugged and the band quickly went into a furious thunderstorm of sound as Grzesik pulled Flores close to her with a red scarf and band members locked arms and kicked their legs out in swinging fashion amid red rose props flying around the stage. As the song ended, the crowd roared with delight and laughter yelling “Bravo!”

Those who attended Friday night’s extravaganza witnessed an unforgettable performance as DeVotchKa continues on its worldwide tour alongside the legendary Gogol Bordello for the next two months.

Oregon Music News is happy to be a sponsor of the Soul’d Out Music Festival.

Sunday’s PDX Songwriters in the Round at Rontoms was an experiment in collaborative presentation, one with mixed results.  Each of the eight featured songwriters played a single song in each of the four rounds that spanned the course of the night.

There were excellent moments throughout.  Kyle Morton, of Typhoon, gave consistently standout performances.  His songs had a flair for the dramatic, accompanied by hand-clapping friends singing backup vocals.  Kelly Blair Bauman also opted for accompaniment, and his lead guitarist’s tasteful solos gave Bauman’s set a Band-era Bob Dylan vibe.  Leonard Mynx likewise succeeded in channeling Dylan.  Grey Anne’s a capella duet with Ryan Giles was a highlight–experimental, beautiful and playful.

Noticeably absent was Ritchie Young of Loch Lomond and The Brothers Young.  He was slated to play.

Rontoms was rough for the songwriters who performed acoustic and solo. The setting, with the songwriters almost sitting in the audience and playing in front of a fireplace, was warm, personal, and inviting.  Unfortunately, the large crowd drifted in and out of attentiveness.

Conversation drowned out the more sensitive performers like Sean Battles.  His Name Shall Breathe was also an act that suffered.  His tender, honest, and unassuming performance was frustratingly unmatched for the crowd in the back.

It was interesting, though, to see seasoned performers like Grey Anne interact with, and play through, the talkers.  Her performance was beautiful and engaging, with a charming awkwardness to her lovely songs. Bud Wilson, of Aan, was also bluesy and ear-catching.

PDX Songwriters in the Round was a good, if imperfect, introduction to some of Portland’s song masters.  Grey Anne, His Name Shall Breathe, and Kyle Morton are acts to keep an eye out for.  To see Morton play in the sprawling band Typhoon, check out “Spin the Wheel Night” at Holocene, for another unorthodox show from Portland labels Tender Loving Empire and Bladen County Records, January 21st, 8:30pm (21+).

The musical landscape is littered with family music acts, some brilliant (The Jackson 5, The Pointer Sisters, The Everly Brothers), some less so (The Osmonds). Thankfully, the sibling band we have in Portland, The Brothers Young, falls squarely in the former category. Formed by brothers Dustin, Dillon, Ritchie (also the front man for Loch Lomond) and Michael Young, the group (which also includes Levi Ethan Cecil and Trevino Brings Plenty) play the cut up method with their sound, letting lazy programmed beats carry folk guitar picking and precise, unforced singing. Their latest album, the recently released The Sun Says He’s God, puts all of these aspects on display, rolling along with an unhurried grace that only the most assured musicians could pull off well. Oregon Music News spoke with Dustin Young via e-mail.

Were all the brothers in the family particularly close growing up?
I would say that we’ve had (and still have) our battles, but I can’t imagine not being close. We don’t really know what that feels like. “Time is the Killer,” is a track off the new record, and it has a lot to do with those daily annoyances we go through that end up creating a love song for each other.

Did one of you show a musical interest before the rest or did you all come of age musically at the same time/age?
Ritchie (our oldest brother who’s not technically in the band) is eleven years older than our youngest brother Dillon. Because there are so many years between us, Ritchie started playing music long before some of us. But younger siblings tend to have a fascination in their older siblings interests. It’s a question I have myself: would we have gotten into music if he had not?

Did you live in a very musical household? What sort of stuff would you all listen to when you were growing up?
My dad played guitar and sang old John Denver songs, and my mom pretty much listened to oldies. She swore she had soul music in her genes. The Nelsons, her large, close-knit family, spent most of their free time playing music together. Her father actually owned a music shop.

Your sound is an interesting amalgam of genres – with these downtempo beats coming up against more folk and country stuff – is that just a reflection of your varied musical interests?
I would say that although we each have our own musical interests, I think that on our own, our individual music would still end up having those same overtones.

Is there one of you that leads the songwriting more than the other brothers or do you all share a role in shaping the songs equally?
We all take equal part in writing. We bring songs to each other, and then collaborate to build on those foundations.

There are plenty of bands with siblings in them – and it is something that seems to cause a lot of interesting tension within the group dynamic – do you experience that within the group?
Yes. But we know each other well enough that we tend to be able to work things out.

You were playing with Ritchie for a while but he is no longer a part of the project – why is that?
We originally created Brothers Young so two of any of the four of us could play under that name at any time. Foureveryoung has four in the name, so it’s really hard to constantly explain to people that there’s only three brothers playing that night. I would say that Foureveryoung is still very much alive when Ritchie is not so busy with Loch Lomond.

What can you tell me about the new album?
This album has more of a live-band feel, and more worked out song structure than anything we’ve recorded collectively before now. Also, the packaging is very special. I don’t know if you know much about letterpress, but each color layer has to be individually designed and then pressed by a human, using, in this case, over a hundred year old equipment, which can’t exactly be run by a hamster in a wheel. We hired trained pugs to fold and hot-glue all the cases though.

What is next for the band?
The Sun Says He’s God was meant to be recorded and put out in a month, but took over a year when all’s said and done. So although we’re very proud of the album, some of the songs have a newer, fresher feel in the direction that we want to go. And so we’re really excited about writing and recording our next album, maybe this time we’ll try to be more realistic about our recording time. There’s three of us writing songs, so we’d like to put out multiple albums a year.