Mod Night at Sun Tiki Studios

As far as I am concerned, the hallmark of a truly talented performer is the ability to alter a performance to suit the tone and entertainment needs of an audience. We can plan, rehearse, and predict to the best of our abilities but there will come a time when the forces of nature hold youContinue reading “Mod Night at Sun Tiki Studios”

The Return of Portland Punk

As someone who is relatively new to the unrivaled treasure of the Portland music scene, I find myself constantly reacting in awe to the performances that grace our local stages. Regardless of crowd size, every band, artist, and/or performer gives it their all. You see familiar faces at each show supporting one another and forming,Continue reading “The Return of Portland Punk”

So many killer shows this weekend — it’s a Festivus Miracle!

Rejoice, music lovers, because this weekend offers a bounty of shows to choose from — so many that, unless you know a mystical way to bend the laws of time and space so that you can be in more than one place at the same time, you’ll probably need to make some difficult choices. FridayContinue reading “So many killer shows this weekend — it’s a Festivus Miracle!”

File Under: Better late than never — #PortlandStripped at Sun Tiki Studios, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021

Sun Tiki is my local. It’s close by, within walking distance, which is kind of important when the temperature drops. More importantly, thought, Sun Tiki Studios has emerged as a venue that consistently presents adventurous bills featuring some of the greater Portland area’s best local bands, in intriguing combinations. So I go to a lotContinue reading “File Under: Better late than never — #PortlandStripped at Sun Tiki Studios, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021”

Portland Stripped: four of Portland’s most notorious noise merchants unplugged

Fronting a band is one thing. Playing solo is something else altogether. There’s nowhere to hide – no drummer to keep the beat, no bass player to drive the groove, and no one else to pick up the slack. It takes courage, it takes charisma, and it takes strong material. I remember seeing Bob MouldContinue reading “Portland Stripped: four of Portland’s most notorious noise merchants unplugged”

A pair of don’t-miss folk shows in Portland

If you’re into folk or folk rock, or grunge folk or any of the other #folk varietals, there are a couple of shows on the immediate horizon that you won’t want to miss out on. First up, Dan Blakeslee and Coyote Island – a pair of Maine-based musicians who have both made quite a nameContinue reading “A pair of don’t-miss folk shows in Portland”

Portland’s SeepeopleS is back in action, people

Portland’s own genre-bending band, SeepeopleS, has been on an involuntary hiatus since the Pandemic shut pretty much everything down. But, with vaccinations rates climbing and venues starting to reopen, Seepeoples is swinging back into action, too, with a couple of high-profile gigs coming up on the immediate horizon. On Dec. 4, they’ll be opening forContinue reading “Portland’s SeepeopleS is back in action, people”

Vapors of Morphine and Muddy Ruckus at the Bayside Bowl on 11/6/21

There are a lot of hardcore Morphine fans in Portland, it seems, and when Vapors of Morphine rolled into town to do a show at the Bayside Bowl on Saturday, they were all in the house, and pretty damn stoked to be there. They were not disappointed. Vapors of Morphine delivered a set that acknowledgedContinue reading “Vapors of Morphine and Muddy Ruckus at the Bayside Bowl on 11/6/21”

Vapors of Morphine and Muddy Ruckus

Saturday, Nov. 6 at the Bayside Bowl Morphine was one of those bands that elicited far more than its share of those, “Holy shit, what was that I just heard?” moments from anyone who caught them for the first time. A three-piece outfit that featured drums, bass and a baritone sax, they put out aContinue reading “Vapors of Morphine and Muddy Ruckus”