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Just wanted to do a quick post on the few other videos I collected from the weekend.  It’s fairly random and mostly from the first two nights.  Security was tighter than tight (wow that’s a bad metaphor) on Friday and Saturday, which means there’s is no video of John Vanderslice, Vampire Weekend, Lackthereof, Blitzen Trapper, Fleet Foxes, Menomena or Helio Sequence (those last four bands all played at the same show Saturday night!  My face melted clear off and I still haven’t put it back together. I look worse than Joan Rivers).

I’m particularly upset about this because my final memory of MusicFest Northwest was Menomena coming out to play with Helio Sequence, a band they dubbed “The Helio Unsequence.”

Also Danny Seim is a world class fucking drummer.  I’m not sure you could definitively say he’s the best drummer right now, but between Menomena and Lackthereof, if you’re having that conversation it definitely starts with him.

Anyway, some video from the week that was.  We’ll have a final “thoughts” roundup about the fest with some photos to touch on all the good stuff.

1900’s

The 1900’s are a Chicago outfit and became one of my favorite acts. They have about seven members and sound similar to numerous tweepop bands like Belle and Sebastian or Camera Obscura, Essex Green, etc. However, their brand of psychpop with boy-girl harmonies and upbeat melodies was catchy as hell.

The played one extended jam to close their set and at times I kept thinking “wow they sorta remind me of Velvet Underground or Zombie.” Not that they were beholden to any of those influences, only that you could parse them. I’ll be keeping my eye on them, as I think they have a full length that’s out Oct. 2 from Parasol Records.

They played Berbati’s Pan and it was the first set I caught on Wednesday to kick things off. Great way to start.

M. Ward

Like Mr. M. Ward needs any introduction at this point. He closed Thursday night and delayed coming on by about 45 minutes. The crowd, usually patience reigns in Portland, became agitated with this and you could see it everywhere - the mumblings and grumblings, the loud cheering and clapping anytime the house music songs ended and the rapture when M. Ward finally strode out on stage.

He played songs from across his entire catalogue, played solo for a bit and I was shocked by how much he rocks out. His albums are generally quiet, contemplative affairs - even the uptempo tracks - but here he let loose just noodling his guitar and having fun.

I left a bit early to try and catch Starfucker and Deerhunter across town. My last mistake in trying to leave a show for another one. Needless to say, lines suck.

And this one got cut off unfortunately due to the ever vigilant security. *Sigh* Don’t they know?

Eskimo and Sons

These guys and gals are from Portland and only have one EP and a 7″ to their name, but it’s a gloriously awesome set of songs. Unfortunately, they are going on indefinite hiatus, well they are on hiatus as of Sunday morning. Saturday at the Towne Lounge was their last concert. I caught them on Thursday and it was an emotional show for all involved. They played with friends The Old Believers.

Bittersweet is the word. I’m glad I caught them though and hopefully they’ll come back under a different name or lineup or something. Too much enjoyment and talent involved to just walk away.

And the song “No Shit” which I incorrectly typoed as “No Shirt” when I uploaded the vidoe. Grrrrrr.

Okay, that’s it for video. We’ll be back with some closing thoughts on the rest of the bands we saw this past week, possibly tonight, as well as an open letter to Vampire Weekend. We hope the band might take some steps to alleviate what we would call their “fan base problem.” Unless they take steps they are going to become the next DMB with a fan base of 15 year-old girls and college asshat dudes. The crowd just about ruined their set for me. Just sayin’

So I’m still alive, sort of.  It’s been grueling going to shows and work and pretending to maintain this whole blog thing.  I should, when time allows tomorrow morning, have some awesome video for you guys.  Over the past two days I’ve caught some great bands and made some nice discoveries.

However, there is much to hate about the festival and that all stems from the planning by the Willamette Week.  Twice now, I’ve bolted concerts to go to another location and twice have been met with long lines and the inevitability of disapointment.  On Wednesday it was making a break for the Mogwai show at Roseland Ballroom after being slightly disappointed by the lineup at Berbati’s Pan and last night it was leaving M. Ward midway through his set to see Starfucker and Deerhunter across town at Holocene.

Of course, not knowing anything about Holocene (cut me some slack I just moved here) I assumed because Deerhunter was playing there that it had to be a large venue, right?  That’s a good assumption to make.

I was met with looooooooooooong lines both times.  Last night was especially crushing because both Starfucker and Deerhunter were high on my list of shows to see, though I never imagined that they would schedule Portland’s most popular local band and one of the most popular festival bands back to back in the tragically tiny Holocene.  But this is Portland and that’s what happened.  Seriously, there’s something askew about this town and one day I’m going to put my finger on it.  The whole Deerhunter episode is indicative of that, but I’m not quite sure how it’s connected to long lines at coffee shops and waiters who could care less about serving you and buses that run whenever they want.  I know it’s all connected somehow.

You could hear the grumbling from people in line about why on god’s earth would Deerhunter be playing Holocene, especially given that the Wonder Ballroom wasn’t being used. One guy jokes, while leaning up against garbage cans, “Now this is how I imagined my night going” and another girl, upon seeing the monstrously long line said with utter defeat, “Can this day suck any more?”

Sucky for sure.  Still, I got to see No Age at the Wonder Ballroom and they totally rocked my socks off.  I didn’t know much about them accept for reputation only and shit, those two guys played louder and more furiously than I was anticipating.  It was just an hour of high-tempo, hard hitting music.  Battles followed them up and it’s safe to say, I can appreciate the band for what they are, but not my cup of tea.  I thought, perhaps they would sound better live but no.  Better on the record.  They are a band that’s good in theory, but again it takes a special person to love the sort of mathy-prog-rock that sounds like smurf music on acid and I’m just not that special.

We’ll have more in depth looks at the bands tomorrow. As for tonight we’ve got Britt Daniel of Spoon going solo acoustic.  Well, I’m not positive about the acoustic part but definitely solo.  And then Built to Spill performing their album Perfect From Now On in its entirety.  Then, busting ass to the Crystal Ballroom for Lackthereof, John Vanderslice and Vampire Weekend.  Maybe.  I still really wanna see TV on the Radio, but I’m not waiting in any more lines.  If that happens than I’m putting the entire city of Portland on notice.

If Zooey Deschanel killed me I would still love her, would probably still attempt to envelop her in a gigantic bloody bear hug. There is no one more adorable right now working in the entertainment industry. In her first video she still looks rather uncomfortable, or at least as uncomfortable as people were saying she looked performing live, but here with animated birds and ghosts she amps the cute factor to 11.

That we get the unexpected surprise of her killing people in the video is just gravy. Seriously, this is one of the most morbid videos I’ve seen in a while, but it’s all good because Deschanel is cute as a button.

Also: M. Ward, otherwise known as the guitar guy in the above video, but known more famously for his dusty, throwback folk music is re-releasing his album Transfigurations of Vincent on vinyl. The good folks over at Merge Records are offering free downloads for three demos tracks cut from the album. Get them here (registration required).