Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside and Finn Riggins @ Alive After Five; Radiation City, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside and Death Songs @ Neurolux (6/26/13)

I'd liked what I'd heard by Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, but I'd never seen them play live.  When I saw that they'd be playing Alive After Five, then, I marked it down on the calendar.  I just hoped that I'd take enough notes before converting into liquid form.

There were so many people when I got down to the Grove that I didn't bother trying to count them.  I'd guess that there were at least a couple hundred folks.  When Sallie Ford played, there were maybe a couple hundred more.

I got there in time to catch about half of Finn Riggins' opening set.  Lisa Simpson's voice and guitar sounded as melodious, Eric Gilbert's keyboards as textured and Cameron Bouiss's drums as propulsive as ever.  It made me smile to see about a dozen people dancing, especially a couple of young girls and an elderly Asian lady with a tan Army hat.  The set's last song, "Pannin' For Gold," went out to Eric Gilbert's mom, who couldn't make it to this gig.  Nice fella, that Eric Gilbert.

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside played next.  Rarely do formalists have both the heart to fully embrace their chosen traditions and the smarts to put their own stamp on them.  One part Wanda Jackson, one part Liz Phair, one part the vinyl-collecting librarian of my dreams, Ford is one of those few.  Originals such as the swaggering "They Told Me" and the sassy, surf-tinged "Bad Boys" sounded right at home next to the cover of Loretta Lynn's "Fist City."  Ford seemed a bit subdued, but her pinched, squealing snarl still struck a nice balance between geeky and sexy.  Her bandmates pitched in with strong, swinging rhythms and yowling guitar.  And if their "Heart of Glass" cover didn't quite fit, who cares?  It's a wise formalist who knows when to leave formalism alone.

Miraculously, I stayed close enough to solid after Alive After Five to make it down to Neurolux.  The show there excited me because it featured Death Songs, an act I hadn't seen in well over a year; the Cave Singers, a Treefort 2012 act I'd missed; and Radiation City, one of my top 10 Treefort 2013 acts.

Unfortunately, I learned when I got there that the Cave Singers' van had broken down, forcing them to cancel their appearance (lotta that going around, seems like--the same thing happened with the Nekromantix about two weeks before).  Radiation City and Death Songs were still on board, however, and Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside jumped on the bill to fill things out.

Death Songs played first.  I likened Nicholas Dellfs to Skip James in my review of his April 2012 performance at the VaC.  Hearing his eerie, quavery tenor and ominous but catchy tunes here, however, I thought that he sounded a bit too pop for that analogy to work.  I toyed with comparing him to Travis Ward at first, but Dellf's sharp cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Lungs" brushed that one aside too.  Works for me: I dig Skip James, but nowadays, I play "Snake Song" and "To Live is to Fly" more than "Devil Got My Woman."

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside played next.  Third time's the charm: I don't know if it was the air conditioning or the beer or the two-set warm-up, but Ford stepped up her game considerably here.  Her vocal attack had more bite ("You may thinkofmeas just some littlegirlyoumet..."), and her interactions with the crowd felt more open and comfortable.  She even told a joke: "Don't have phone sex; you might get hearing AIDS!"  Meanwhile, the band sounded as smooth and strong as they did a couple of hours earlier, and the enclosed space seemed to give the music more concentrated force.  The dance floor filled up early on and stayed full for the duration of the set.

Radiation City closed out the show at Neurolux.  Their shiny tunes, chiming guitar and misty keyboard sounded just as dreamy, but their lithe, bouncy rhythm section sounded much funkier and more rocking than I remembered.  Also, while I'm loath to call someone's singing "soulful" (really, the word gets used way too damn often), Elisabeth Ellison's moans, coos and wails all but demand it.  "Heart of Glass" would've made more sense coming from them than from Sallie Ford.  Given the savvy elusiveness of their lyrics, however, "Happiness is a Warm Gun" worked just as well.

You can find info on these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Duck Club Presents.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button and donate.  Even $5 would help.

Carrie Rodriguez and Fulton Sanders @ the VaC (6/25/13)

I'd heard good things about Austin musician Carrie Rodriguez--anybody who can open for Lucinda Williams will be worth seeing, I figure--but I missed her at the VaC last August.  When I saw that she'd be coming back, then, I jumped at the chance to check her out.

I counted over fifty people when I arrived at the VaC.  When Carrie Rodriguez played, I counted around ninety.  Most of the crowd looked to be in their forties or older.  I imagined that the young'uns were freaking out to Wooden Indian Burial Ground over at Neurolux (and judging from the crowd I saw there later, I was right).  In any case, a good turnout.

Local duo Fulton Sanders opened the show.  At one point, Steve Fulton told the audience that he'd received a message on Facebook before the show: "I hope you don't play too long, Steve!  I want to go home early tonight."  No one seemed to mind the length of his and Shon Sanders's set, however.  Between their clean, sweet harmonies, their smoothly funky rhythms and their weaving guitars, I certainly didn't.  Listening to Fulton croon through a clenched jaw a la George Jones, I realized that he doesn't just work with good singers (e.g. Catherine Merrick); he's a pretty respectable one in his own right.  Sanders' lower, smokier voice complemented Fulton's tenor nicely.

Carrie Rodriguez played next with guitarist Luke Jacobs.  Between this set and Fulton Sanders', Merle Haggard songs played on the VaC's speakers.  "Wow," I said to myself.  "That's setting the bar a little high." However, with her well-groomed tunes and conversational, offhandedly sharp lyrics, Rodriguez met that challenge.  Indeed, her yearning, gorgeous ballad "Get Back in Love," her impressionistic narrative "Seven Angels On a Bicycle" and her sassy rocker "I Cry for Love" didn't sound too shabby at all next to her and Jacobs's duet on "Today I Started Loving You Again."  Of course, it didn't hurt that Rodriguez has to be one of the sliest, sultriest singers I've heard in a good long while.  Most welcome as well were her shredding violin solos and Jacobs's nimble picking and jolting slide.  The crowd whooped, clapped, snapped and stomped during the rowdier numbers.  During the softer ones, they were so quiet that I grew a bit self-conscious over my pen's clicking.  Easily one of the best performances that I've seen so far this year.

You can find info on Steve Fulton, Shon Sanders and Carrie Rodriguez on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Sam Stimpert and the Visual Arts Collective.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button and donate whatever you can.  Even $5 would help.

Sama Dams, Catherine Feeny, Judson Claiborne and the Boise Cello Collective @ the Crux (6/22/13)

This night offered cello enthusiasts a couple of options: they could've checked out this Crux show, which featured the Boise Cello Collective, or the Portland Cello Project at the VaC.  I chose the Crux, but not so much because of cellos.  Instead, I'd listened to a couple of songs by Sama Dams and grown intrigued.

There were over fifty people at the Crux when I arrived.  That number would drop by the time that Sama Dams played--that was around 11:30--but about thirty folks still stuck around to see them.  Overall, a good turnout.

I showed up late but got there in time to catch about half of the Boise Cello Collective's set.  I'll admit that this music made a bit nervous at first.  I ain't no classical musics expert, I thought.  How'm I s'posed to write about this?  Thankfully, a few pop song covers helped me find my bearings.  Danika McClure may have leaned a little too hard into an Elliot Smith song, but her high, fluttery voice was quite pleasant nonetheless.  Besides, the other cellists' playing and arrangements were as smart and sensitive as you could've wanted.  It may not have been much of a trick to make the Beatles' "Yesterday" sound pretty, but their Vivaldi-esque retooling of the Who's "Baba O'Riley" impressed me greatly.  Also impressive were a pair of originals by cellist Mark Doubleday that ended the set.  The first was a mellow, swooning number that made me think of a warm autumn day.  The second, which was tenser and more slashing, rubbed the Bernard Herrmann fan in me the right way.

Up next was Chicago/Olympia musician Judson Claiborne.  I couldn't figure out exactly whose voice Claiborne's warm, sturdy tenor reminded me of (Bono without the preening melodrama, maybe?).  In any case, his occasionally cryptic lyrics and his serene yet somehow disquieting tunes made me think a little of Nick Drake.  Claiborne was a good deal tougher, however; I can't picture Nick Drake singing lines like "I been walkin' down the road, / I got piss all over my clothes."  (I think that's what he said, anyway.)

Catherine Feeny played next.  I imagine that Suzanne Vega might sound like this if she hooked up with Joe Strummer.  Feeny's high, eerie wail and spare, tense ukulele lines kicked any hint of twee to the curb, and her Occupy-inspired lyrics drove a stake through its heart ("Calling all souls / Before it's too late / Lie in the way of the police state.").  Her three-piece band backed her up with bright, misty keyboard, funky guitar and delicate, jazzy, propulsive drumming.  The audience applauded Feeny so loudly that they managed to squeeze an encore out of her.

Sama Dams finished the show.  Catherine Feeny was an awfully tough act to follow, but this Portland band managed just fine with their subdued, Thom Yorke-ish wails, hazy guitar, glowing keyboard and supple, jagged beats.  The lyrics that I caught weren't as pointed as Feeny's, but I still found their ominousness plenty agreeable.  A cameo from Sun Blood Stories' Andy Rayborn didn't hurt either.  The crowd stayed in their seats but applauded warmly throughout.

You can find info on these acts on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Duck Club Presents.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button and donate whatever you can.  Even $5 would help.

Weatherbox, LA Font and A Sea of Glass @ the Red Room (6/20/13)

I'd never heard Weatherbox and LA Font before.  This, of course, gave me all the reason I needed to check this show out.  The chance to see A Sea of Glass again was a nice bonus.

I counted thirty-five people at the Red Room when I arrived.  When Weatherbox played, not more than fifteen or sixteen people were watching them.  Bummer, but it happens.

A Sea of Glass opened the show.  The audience stood a few feet away from the stage during this set.  In a way, I found that fitting.  There's a certain fragile majesty to this group's music; it's grand and soaring, but it feels as if it could vanish if you get too close to it.  The ebb and flow of their surging rhythms, airy guitar, swooning violin and angelic vocals sounded as gorgeous as it did the past two times that I've heard them.  The moments when Joseph Lyle didn't quite hit those high notes just added a nice human touch.

LA Font played next.  I dig pretty melodies and twang-jangle-and-drone as much as the next guy.  If you ask me, however, it's the bass and drums that separate the men/women from the boys/girls when it comes to 60's/70's pop/surf/garage knock-offs.  This L.A. (Echo Park, to be precise) band was a perfect case in point.  The sunny tunes were plenty catchy and Danny Bobbe and Jon Perry's guitars plenty sharp, but they wouldn't have gotten as far without Greg Katz's tuneful basslines and Harlow Rodriguez's smooth, strong drumming pushing them forward.  The smart lyrics were a nice bonus.  And sure, Bobbe may have sounded like an a**hole, but I'll take punky sneer over indie reediness most any day.

Besides, anybody with merch like this can't be too bad.  Go Dodgers!

Weatherbox closed out the night.  This San Diego band's mix of poppy melodies, grinding riffs and galloping drums struck a fascinating balance between thunderous and light or even playful.  The pockets of space in their sound (riff-riff-stop riff-riff-stop, quiet verses and LOUD choruses) probably helped.  It really was too bad that more people didn't stay to check them out.  At least they got some good whoops and cheers from those who did as well as an offer to put them up for the night.

You can find info on these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Duck Club Presents.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button and donate whatever you can.  Even $5 would help.

Slam Dunk, Radar Brothers and Ola Podrida @ Neurolux (6/18/13)

I didn't get to see Slam Dunk at Treefort this year; I saw Grandparents instead (but I SHOULD have seen YACHT).  Anyway, this show caught my interest because it gave me a chance to check them out.  It didn't hurt either that I'd never seen Radar Brothers or Ola Podrida before.

I counted about thirty people when I got to Neurolux.  When Slam Dunk played, I counted a little over fifty people watching.  A very good audience for a Tuesday.

Ola Podrida opened the show.  This Austin band made me think of different bands at different points--maybe some R.E.M. or early Built to Spill here, maybe some Sleepy Seeds or Wilco there.  Which, I guess, indicates how much I liked them.  Jangling, misty guitars and smooth, steady rhythms carried David Wingo's breathy tenor along.  The touches of howling distortion helped keep the dreamy tunes from floating off into the ether.  Very cool.

Radar Brothers played next.  There's a thin line between dreamy and sleep-inducing.  With their ambling, stately tempos, their unwavering drones and their light, subdued vocals, this Independence, CA group might have wandered a bit too far on the latter side of that line.  Those drones were still plenty tuneful, however, and their synth buzzes and squiggles added a neat pinch of new wave to their straight-ahead indie-rock.  The lyrics that I caught were intriguing too ("You don't love me, so you don't pay me anymore. / You won't hide me, you won't pay me to clean your floor.").

Slam Dunk closed out the show.  These Victoria, BC guys and gal kept you awake, that's for sure: swinging, muscular drums, honking sax, charmingly caterwauling vocals.  Something about their hodgepodge of punk, surf, doo-wop and who knows what else nagged at me, however.  It wasn't sofistimacated enough to be called postmodern; instead of Derrida-obsessed caffeine junkies, this group called to mind bright adolescents who'd had too much sugar or gone off their ADHD meds.  Which, I guess, is just a pretentious way of saying that their music felt a bit too scattered and miscellaneous.  Still, their high energy and good cheer were impossible to dislike.  Call them Scarf with better chops and better tunes, maybe.

In any case, the rest of the audience didn't seem to share my quibbles.  It only took two songs to get people moving, and the dance floor stayed bubbling for the rest of the set.  When Slam Dunk started setting down their instruments, the calls for an encore were so loud that they didn't even bother with the ritual of stepping offstage, waiting and then coming back up.

You can find info on these acts on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Radio Boise.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button and donate whatever you can.  Even $5 could go a long way.

The Very Most, PETS, the Dirty Moogs and Hey V Kay @ the Crux (6/14/13)

I've always liked the Very Most, but I hadn't written about them in over a year.  This show attracted my interest for that reason and also because it celebrated the release of their new EP Just a Pup.  The presence on the bill of the Dirty Moogs, whom I also hadn't written about in a good while, and Hey V Kay, one of my favorite local acts, didn't hurt either.

I counted eleven people when I got to the Crux.  The audience would peak at about forty-five, by my estimate.  The Very Most didn't play until around 11:40, but over thirty people stuck around to watch them.  Pretty good.

Hey V Kay opened the show.  Karen Havey told the crowd up front that she'd come down with a cold and apologized if she sounded nasally.  Given her low, breathy singing style, however, I couldn't hear much of a difference.  Indeed, her voice, her melancholy tunes, her dance-worthy beats and Owen Havey's elegant guitar lines all sounded as irresistible as ever.  "Middle-Class Sweetheart" was as impressive here as it was at Treefort, and a frantic, intricately crafted new number matched both it and the older material.  The cherry on top was a swooning, disco-ish take on Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game."  I've said it before and I'll say it again: Hey V Kay needs to do a covers album.

The Dirty Moogs played next.  In keeping with the Very Most's sunny pop sound, the Moogs opted to twee things up here: tinkling keyboards, purposely dinky beats, even an acoustic guitar.  That the songs held up under the cutesification was a testament to their charm and craftsmanship.  Having Gia Trotter sing harmony on "Julie's an Android" was an especially nice touch.

After a DJ set by Discoma a.k.a. Jake Hite, PETS played.  I can't think of any other group that could call to mind both Beat Happening and the Ohio Players.  Melodic, buoyant basslines and smooth, steady drums anchored ringing guitar and high, murmured vocals.  I couldn't make out all of the lyrics, but what I heard didn't threaten to turn my stomach (not even the song about drinking apple juice).  Twee but funky: a very interesting combination.

Jeremy Jensen dropped a bomb near the end of the Very Most's set: he announced that this might be the band's last live performance ever.  That'd be too bad, but happily, he mentioned afterwards that they still planned to record.  Besides, they picked a good show to go out on.  The groove between Jake Hite's lean, swinging drums, Brion Rushton's driving basslines and the Jensen brothers' elegant, jangling guitars felt as lived-in and comfortable as your favorite sweater.  In addition to her usual gorgeous harmonies, Gia Trotter took the lead on "It's Not Unusual" and brought a nice bit of sultriness to it.  Last but not least, the melodies sounded as sweet and fresh as I remembered.  Congratulations indeed.

You can find info on these acts on Facebook and elsewhere online.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button and donate whatever you can.  Even $5 would help.

Tango Alpha Tango, Sun Blood Stories and Modesto @ Neurolux (6/11/13)

I saw Tango Alpha Tango at Tom Grainey's last year.  I'd started a blog only six days prior and didn't have a clear conception for it.  As I listened to them and another Portland band, Violet Isle, a light bulb went off over my head.  "Hey," I thought, "why don't I write about these guys?"  The rest is history.

So when I saw that Tango Alpha Tango would be returning to Boise, I didn't care that I'd seen all of the acts on the bill before.  I immediately gave the show a spot on the calendar.

I counted over thirty people when I got to Neurolux.  When Tango Alpha Tango played, there were about fifty, thirty of whom stayed inside.  Not bad.

Modesto opened the show with their best performance yet (that I've seen, anyway).  Their groove struck just the right balance of tight and loose.  Their shifts in dynamics and tempo felt smoother, which rendered their sharp arrangements even more impressive.  And while I could complain that their lyrics still felt a little too generic, songwriting in and of itself seemed a bit beside the point.  Instead, the songs served more as excuses for the thunderous riffs, yowling solos, liquid basslines and sly, slippery drumming to weave with and bounce off each other.  For now, that's enough: more than any band I've heard lately, these guys conveyed the pure joy of making music as a group.

Sun Blood Stories' set proved a bit disconcerting.  Not that they sounded bad; their scorching wah-wah guitar, screeching sax and lumbering, funky grooves sounded as sexy and menacing as ever.  It was just strange to see so few people watching them.  Eh, whatever; there were still a handful of folks getting down, and they got some good applause at the end.  This set featured some pounding, hypnotic new material that should go over well with larger audiences.

Tango Alpha Tango closed out the night and sounded even better than I remembered.  While Nathan Trueb's protean soloing called to mind Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan once again, his vocals sounded fuller, deeper and defter.  He found strong support in Mirabai Carter-Trueb's unassumingly fluid bass, Aaron Trueb's spooky keyboard and their new drummer's subtle, steady work.  They handled jazzy swing, roiling funk, Zeppelin stomp, country-blues bounce and Crazy Horse chug with equal assurance.  Nathan Trueb promised that they'd come back again.  Judging from the dancing and cheering, I doubt that the crowd will mind.  I sure won't.

You can find info on these acts on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Radio Boise.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button and donate whatever you can.  Even $5 would help.