Portland was treated well musically Wednesday night: Múm at the Aladdin Theatre and Langhorne Slim, DAWES and Austin Lucas at the Crystal Ballroom. For those at the Crystal, they were treated to strong opening sets by DAWES and Austin Lucas. Although I arrived at the tail end of Austin Lucas’ set, the audience was clearly impressed. DAWES reminded me of a much more patriotic-sounding Wilco; I kept imagining their songs being played as backing music for a Chevrolet Truck commercial. That’s not a bad thing though, since it really did pump up the crowd for the rest of the night.
But my intentions for the evening were to see Langhorne Slim...again. Not long ago, I saw him play at Music Millenium, where his voice gave out after a mere 5 songs, preventing him from performing up to his usual level. So before he went on stage, I told Sean Scolnick (aka Langhorne Slim) that he owes us one, and he laughed about it. His hour and a half on stage Wednesday, however, was pure greatness.
Langhorne Slim has an amazing stage presence, both rowdy and sentimental. At times he had the floor of the Crystal Ballroom dipping down like a wooden trampoline beneath the crowd - jumping rhythmically to the contagious melodies of songs like “Electric Love Letter.” When “Hello Sunshine” began, the whole crowd lost it, and and you could just sense the vibe Langhorne and band were putting on. He also informed the crowd of the results of the World Series between songs, and his bitter response to the Yankees defeating his hometown team in 6 games lead to a full on chant of “FUCK THE YANKEES!” At other times, Slim cast heartfelt silence over the room, using simple words to convey larger ideas on love and the quality of life. The lyrics in songs like “Hummingbird” and “Diamonds and Gold” are so obvious, wise and shamelessly candid, lacking cryptic undertones, that they shock you for being so accessible. It was a wonderful show that was both rejuvinating and human; it possessed an honesty that I feel is increasingly rare in music.
DOWNLOAD: Langhorne Slim - Checking Out (MP3) or Follow us for more Langhorne Slim MP3s (Twitter)
Justin Townes Earle + Joe Pug - 2/14
Doug Fir Lounge
The Magnetic Fields - 2/21
Aladdin Theatre
The Magnetic Fields - 2/22
Aladdin Theatre
The Magnetic Fields - 2/23
Aladdin Theatre
The Magnetic Fields - 2/24
Aladdin Theatre
El Perro Del Mar - 2/28
Doug Fir Lounge
Basia Bulat - 3/8
Mississippi Studios
Avey Tare was in attendance, along with Angel from Dirty Projectors.
by David on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 08.35 pm from the entry: Atlas Sound + Neon Indian - E&L Auditorium (New York, NY; Feb. 4, 2010)
Good catch, oh masked marvel.
by Ari Sommer on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 02.42 pm from the entry: St Vincent + Wildbirds and Peacedrums - Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR; Feb. 6, 2010)
St. Sincent...ha.
by anonymous on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 02.04 pm from the entry: St Vincent + Wildbirds and Peacedrums - Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR; Feb. 6, 2010)
Aan was amazing.
by jarrod on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 01.02 pm from the entry: Blue Horns + Morning Teleportation + Aan - Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR Jan. 30, 2010)
I’d like to clarify that for this show they cut off the back half of Neumo’s floor with a curtain and had the upstairs bar closed. It made Neumo’s obviously seem much smaller than it is. Unfortunately, now having seen Neumo’s fully open at another show I can say that this show was very empty. Still White Denim and Brazos rocked.
by Chris on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 01.57 am from the entry: White Denim + Brazos - Neumos (Seattle, WA; Jan. 24, 2010)
I agree, it’s very good. Way to deflate their balloon.
by colin on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 01.03 am from the entry: Third Annual Portland Music Awards - Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR; Jan. 28, 2010)
Love the photos. And that “Walkabout” song is the drugs.
by Beth Doreian on Sun Feb 7, 2010 at 01.14 pm from the entry: Atlas Sound + Neon Indian - E&L Auditorium (New York, NY; Feb. 4, 2010)
