The Decemberists at the Crystal Ballroom

The Decemberists will play at the Crystal Ballroom Wednesday, January 23 at 9 p.m.

Here's where you can get some of my favorite Decemberists songs:
The Decemberists - 16 Military Wives
The Decemberists - Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect [Buy mp3!!!]
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife 3 [Buy mp3!!!]
The Decemberists - Apology Song [Buy mp3!!!]
The Decemberists - Los Angeles, I'm Yours [Buy mp3!!!]

Aesop Rock at Wonder Ballroom 10/25

Aesop Rock,
originally uploaded by Alex Rando.

Aesop Rock sounds sinister. I think his voice reminds me of Dr. Dre, but do I want to download "Bitches Ain't Shit" to check? I sure don't. I know Aesop Rock reminds me of the mix-tape gem "Sky is Falling" by Blackalicious, who I otherwise don't like as much as my liberally-educated indie-loving demographic should indicate. I enjoy most of Aesop Rock's produced songs, and I'd like to be super-excited about his show next week at the Wonder Ballroom. But I listened to some crappy crowd-screamy recordings of his live stuff, and the music was not interesting enough to make me endure the screamers. The mashup (shudder) "We Share Our Mother's Jumper Cables" is illustrative. Normally I loathe mashups, but this one's great. Aesop Rock's voice is fantastic, and pairing it with better music shows how much the boring, flat beats in some of his own songs weigh him down. The music is still great, but the potential is even greater.

Aesop Rock - We Share Our Mother's Jumper Cables
Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass [YouTube][Buy mp3!!!]
Aesop Rock - Basic Cable [Buy mp3!!!]
Aesop Rock - Coffee (feat. John Darnielle) [Buy mp3!!!]
Prefuse 73 - Black List (feat. MF Doom and Aesop Rock)
Aesop Rock - No City
Evil Nine - Crooked (feat. Aesop Rock) [YouTube]

The Pipettes at Wonder Ballroom 10/31

mediaeater

Don a polka-dot dress and practice some fifties dance moves -- The Pipettes will play at Portland's Wonder Ballroom on Halloween. The Pipettes - Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me [YouTube][Live][Live][Buy] The Pipettes - I Love You [Live][Live][Buy] The Pipettes - I Think We're Alone Now The Pipettes - Dirty Mind [Live][Buy]

The Pipettes - Because It's Not Love (But It's Still A Feeling) [Live][Live][Buy]
The Pipettes - Why Did You Stay? [Live][Buy]
The Pipettes - In The Bleak Midwinter
The Pipettes - ABC [Live][YouTube][Buy]
The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes [Live][Buy]
The Pipettes - Tell Me What You Want [Live][Live][Buy]
The Pipettes - Just Be Yourself, Baby
The Pipettes - Pull Shapes [YouTube][Live][Buy]

Best online calendar

Ever since CitySearch was new, I've yearned for an event calendar that didn't suck. So I decided to compare various calendars on offer nowadays. I started with Google Calendar. It was pretty good, but a little clunky. Most of your search results are "events" like "OMG Dave Matthews gota tell Sara." Then I tried Eventful. It made the rest of the competition moot. If it doesn't have an event, you can add it, and you can sync it with everything, and since people know the event they're adding is for everyone, we don't learn about Sara's affinity for Dave Matthews.

Eventful
Any type of event
Finds Viva Voce in Portland? No, but I added it
Sync with Google Calendar? Yes
Sync with deli.cio.us? Yes
Facebook integration? Yes
Can easily add events it can't find? Yes
Finds Viva Voce in Seattle? Yes
Finds Wolf Parade in Portland? Yes
Finds Holy Fuck? Yes, but not the time
Sync with Yahoo! Calendar? Yes
Sync with Outlook? Yes
Sync with Upcoming? Yes

Google Calendar
Any type of event
Finds Viva Voce in Portland? No
Sync with Google Calendar? Yes
Can easily add events it can't find? Yes
Finds Viva Voce in Seattle? No
Finds Wolf Parade in Portland? No
Notes: Has a Viva Voce show I didn't know about yet.

Upcoming
Any type of event
Finds Viva Voce in Portland? No
Facebook integration? Yes
Finds Holy Fuck? No

deli.cio.us/events
Notes: Froze the fuck out of Firefox twice in a row. Fool me twice, won't get fooled again.

Tourfilter
Music only
Finds Viva Voce in Portland? Yes
Facebook integration? Yes
Finds Wolf Parade in Portland? Yes
Finds Holy Fuck? No

iLike
When iLike turned up, I loved the possibility that not only could I track the shows I want to see, but my friends both there and on Facebook could see which ones I'd like to go to. Except that I can't, and they can't. I finally did this calendar comparison because neither last.fm nor iLike has any idea that Bumbershoot and MusicfestNW are taking place. They don't even list most of the individual shows in either festival. And although I know damn well you can add events to iLike, I couldn't find the link to do it for the life of me.
Music only
Facebook integration? Yes
Can easily add events it can't find? No

last.fm
Neither last.fm nor iLike has any idea that Bumbershoot and MusicfestNW are taking place. They don't even list most of the individual shows in either festival. And although I know damn well you can add events to iLike, I couldn't find the link to do it for the life of me.
Music only
Can easily add events it can't find? Yes

Bumbershoot and MusicfestNW preview summary

Here's a summary of the things I'm most excited to see on each day of the outstanding Bumbershoot and MusicfestNW festivals this year.

Bumbershoot, Seattle, 9/1-9/3
Saturday, September 1
Sunday, September 2
Monday, September 3

MusicfestNW, Portland, 9/6-9/9
Thursday, September 6
Friday, September 7
Saturday, September 8
Sunday, September 9

MusicfestNW - Sunday 9/9

My plans for the last day of the outstanding music festivals coming up in Portland and Seattle. I couldn't find Swim Swam Swum mp3s, and I didn't like the Holy Fuck song I heard, so this one's short and sweet.

11 p.m. Wolf Parade
Crystal Ballroom
Wolf Parade - Shine A Light
Wolf Parade - I'll Believe In Anything
Wolf Parade - Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts

Bumbershoot 2007 - Sunday 9/2

Day 2 of Bumbershoot is kinda gappy, but the bands I do want to see, I reallyreally wanna see. Mssrs. Bird and Banhart, I'm looking at you.

12:30-1:30 The Trucks
Sound Transit stage
At first listen, The Trucks' songs about women as humans with thoughts outside the male porn mandate reminded me of Peaches and Le Tigre (with echoes of their sexy feminist forebears PJ Harvey and Liz Phair). I'm fer it.
The Trucks - Titties
The Trucks - Old Bikes
The Trucks - Zombie
The Trucks - 3am

1:30-2:15: Henry Gallery Satellite
I really don't like the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and haven't found mp3s yet for Ian McFeron or Victor Noriega, so I'll check out the Henry Gallery Satellite (and Rude Mechanicals if I have time).

2:15-3:15: The Watson Twins
Sound Transit stage
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Happy [YouTube]
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - You Are What You Love [YouTube]
The Watson Twins - I Summon You
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Born Secular
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat

3:30-4: The Fucking Eagles
Sky Church
The Fucking Eagles - When Will I Be Loved
The Fucking Eagles - Baby, I'm Coming Home

4-5: Stars of Track and Field
Sound Transit stage
Stars of Track and Field - Fantastic
Stars of Track and Field - With You [YouTube]

5-5:45: Iceage Cobra
Sky Church
Iceage Cobra is like Led Zeppelin on meth with a 13-year-old Eddie Vedder on vocals. That is, it's effed up in a not completely bad way.
Iceage Cobra - Tornado of Knives
Iceage Cobra - Weapon of Mass Seduction
Iceage Cobra - We Gotta Move

5:45-6:45: Apples in Stereo
Sound Transit stage

ZiarciRose

Apples in Stereo - Stephen, Stephen [YouTube] Apples in Stereo - Energy [YouTube]

7-7:30 Vau de Vire Society
Fountain Lawn
I can't find mp3s for Ian Ball or Book of Black Earth yet, so perhaps I'll check out the Vau de Vire Society.

7:30-8: Art Brut
Sound Transit stage
"My Little Brother" is great. It inspired me to get my little sister on iLike and last.fm, which inspired me to post an exhaustive series of recommendation posts (which "series" consists, thus far, of one). Art Brut's songs frequently involve an irrational love of music. I can relate. This is one of the painful choices of the festival, but I'll have to cut my time watching Art Brut short to see Andrew Bird.
Art Brut - My Little Brother
Art Brut - People in Love
Art Brut - Fight!
Art Brut - Pump Up The Volume [Live]
Art Brut - Emily Kane [YouTube]

8-10: Andrew Bird
Starbucks stage
Andrew Bird - Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left [Live] [Live] [YouTube]
Andrew Bird - Sovay [YouTube][Live][Live]
Andrew Bird - Heretics
Andrew Bird - Imitosis [Live]
Andrew Bird - Masterfade [Live]

Also: He's the one they're calling Dr. Stringz.

9:30-10:45: Devendra Banhart
Sound Transit stage

Tim Broddin

Devendra Banhart - Quedate Luna Devendra Banhart - Little Yellow Spider [YouTube] Devendra Banhart - The Body Breaks [YouTube] Devendra Banhart - Will Is My Friend Devendra Banhart - This Beard Is For Siobhan [YouTube]

My plans for Bumbershoot Saturday are here, and for Monday, here.

Bumbershoot 2007 - Monday 9/3

If I have to crawl to Seattle on my hands and knees, I'm going to Bumbershoot this year. The line-up is massive and amazing. But music festivals are always bittersweet. Though the choice between Art Brut and Andrew Bird is perfectly clear to me, how about between the Wu-Tang Clan and Ted Leo? Here's what I plan to choose and why on Monday.

2:15-3:15: The Blakes
Sound Transit stage
The Blakes know how to start a song, which is key for me, as I generally give the random songs that cruise over to my computer from various mp3 blogs less than 30 seconds to win me over. These guys do it in five, following through with some nice intensified-Jack-White vocals. And I love a good "shake it" song, so "Two Times" is a sure hit, even if they are talking about (gasp!) illegal drug use or somesuch other irredeemable sin.

chona kasinger

The Blakes - Pistol Grip The Blakes - Magoo The Blakes - Don't Bother Me The Blakes - Two Times The Blakes - Lintwalk

3:15-4: Bike Rodeo
Fountain Lawn
I can't find mp3s to test out Allison Moorer, John Legend, Shake Some Action!, Schoolyard Heroes, Night Canopy, or Taylor Mac, so the Bike Rodeo it is.

4-5: Viva Voce
Sound Transit stage
A frequent comment about Viva Voce is that their sound is bigger than two people. That's for sure. Intrigued by "We Do Not Fuck Around," I blasphemed by skipping Neko Case (who I'd seen manymanymany times) to wander over to the Wookie stage at the Sasquatch Music Festival this year to check out Viva Voce. I was shocked to see a dude on a surprisingly large drum situation at the front of the stage, and a dainty gal with a guitar next to him, using the amazing Columbia River gorge venue to its best effect: filling it with rock. It was the most fun I've had at a show in years, and I thought I'd keel over with joy when they played their excellent cover of "Eye In The Sky" for the finale.
Viva Voce - We Do Not Fuck Around
Viva Voce - From the Devil Himself [YouTube]
Viva Voce - When Planets Collide
Viva Voce - Alive With Pleasure [YouTube] [YouTube]



5-5:45: The Damnwells
Starbucks stage
I've had tons of The Damnwells' mellow tunes on my computer for two weeks and haven't listened to a one of 'em all the way through. I think they'd be great for Linkin Park/Staind/Good Charlotte types, in that they're about love, but men in fraternities could listen to them. The trouble for me may be that I'm through the horrible pining-for-someone-I-can't-have phase of my life, so these yearny songs are just not very resonant. "God Bless America" is really great, as it appeals to my hate-America-first liberal latte sensibilities, but it's so fucking long, with a 1:20 opening that consists of hitting the "high hat" (that's the metal drum thingie, yes?).

lodri

The Damnwells - Sweet Marie The Damnwells - For My Own Good The Damnwells - While You Can The Damnwells - Smile Guy

5:45-6:45: Tokyo Police Club
Sound Transit stage
The "Nature of the Experiment" video was a bit shocking the first time I saw it. I'm old enough to be these lads' mother. Such wittow cute wittow teeny wockows* [pinches cheeks].

Conway L.

Tokyo Police Club - Nature of the Experiment [YouTube] Tokyo Police Club - Citizens of Tomorrow Tokyo Police Club - Your English Is Good [YouTube] Tokyo Police Club - Be Good

*Little cute little teeny rockers.

6:45-7:30: Roky Erickson
Starbucks stage
"You're Gonna Miss Me" by the 13th Floor Elevators featured as a breakup song in the movie "High Fidelity." Thank goodness. The temptation for me in unwanted breakups is to put the serotonin-sucking "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt on repeat. So it was nice to have the high-energy "You're Gonna Miss Me" kicking around the 'Net during a particularly painful and prolonged end several years back. Who can be sad when there's an "electric jug"? (Someone trying to listen to a whole 13th Floor Elevators album, rather than just one song, perhaps.)

Roky Erickson was the dream-a-licious lead singer of the 13th Floor Elevators, back in the day. His newer songs are, mm, lyrically simple. Jonathan Lethem used "You Don't Love Me Yet" as the title for a novel about a songwriters with, ah, lyric problems, starting the book off by juxtaposing the lyrics to Erickson's song with the lyrics of "You Don't Love Me Yet" by the Vulgar Boatmen. I can't find the lyrics, though, and haven't bought the book, so I can't elaborate. (Lethem's reading on the Authors on Tour podcast has me intrigued (is the hilarious deejay character a caricature of Nic Harcourt? anyone?).) Erickson's promisingly-titled song "I Walked With A Zombie" is really just that statement, repeated again and again. If you're gonna repeat something again and again, you could do worse. "Creature With The Atom Brain" works in some mad rhymes (why is he acting so strange?), though.

I intend to be amused.

Allogist

13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me [YouTube] Roky Erickson - Don't Shake Me Lucifer Roky Erickson - Creature With The Atom Brain Roky Erickson - I Walked With A Zombie

7:30-8:45: The Frames
Sound Transit stage
"Fake" is a great tribute to the double-edged sword of passion and violent dysfunction in relationships. I suspect the smashing of things in the name of "love" is much more widespread than people let on. The Frames' seething, barely-restrained passion underlies all their songs, regardless of tempo. It's great, and I'm really looking forward to seeing these guys.

Drake LeLane

The Frames - Fake [YouTube] The Frames - Dream Awake The Frames - Falling Slowly [YouTube] The Frames - One Irish Rover The Frames - God Bless Mom [YouTube]

8:45-9:30: Steve Earle
Starbucks stage
Steve Earle is honky tonky bluesy. I don't usually like honky tonky bluesy (stop waving your guitar in my face, you showoff!). But Earle mixes it up, playing enough Irish jigs and folksy protest songs that it doesn't get dull.

sampos

Steve Earle - Galway Girl Steve Earle - Rich Man's War Steve Earle - The Gringo's Tale Steve Earle - Copperhead Road Steve Earle - South Nashville Blues

9:30 -10:45: Ted Leo
Sound Transit stage
I have a vague sense that I'd been not-liking Ted Leo's loud-rock style since the early nineties. Back then, loud-rock equalled Fugazi equalled one song I liked and JesusGod a lot of boring guitar grinding.

Then WHAMMO! "Loyal to My Sorrowful Country" and "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb. (1954)" both spoke perfectly to the wounded proud-of-what-America-said-it-was-when-I-was-in-grade-school-
but-what-the-FUCK-Republicans part of me, and I gave Ted Leo the attention he's deserved all along. Punk rock in general, which I've never liked, has really aided the politically furious part of me lately. As a 32-year-old yuppie woman, this is demographically awkward.

glynnish

Ted Leo - Loyal To My Sorrowful Country [YouTube] Ted Leo - Bomb Repeat Bomb [YouTube] Ted Leo - Who Do You Love Ted Leo - Bleeding Powers [YouTube] Ted Leo - The Gold Finch and the Red Oak Tree

My plans for Bumbershoot Saturday are here, and for Sunday, here.