myShoggoth

Michael Shrieve's Spellbinder at ToST

Wow.

I expect (and was told to expect) something special at this show but I was still blown away.  A group of exceptionally talented and skilled musicians working their craft.

Michael Shrieve did not disappoint.  When I watch a master at work one question that I always ask myself is whether I'd really like to be able to do what he's doing, and the answer in this case was absolutely!

The other members of the band were amazing in their own right.

I will be going to this show regularly, maybe not every week but at least once a month.  The venue, ToST, is small and intimate and the musicians mix in with the not-too-crowded crowd between sets.

For the price ($6 cover!) you're seeing a performance that could easily be at the Jazz Alley, as an example, for a lot more.  Hard to beat that deal.

Faith and the Adam Hunter Band at ToST

I'll link to the upcoming one rather that the event for Sunday that I went to.

This is, as I remember it, a new collaboration between Faith and the preexisting Adam Hunter Band.  It worked very well, they're still early on and it shows in the performance but the amount of potential and talent is really great.  The band itself worked well, at one point they did a song where Adam (I assume) was singing and Faith did backup, and that went fairly well although Faith's part seemed needlessly tacked on.

Faith has a wonderful voice and clearly loves being center stage and having the attention.

I'm hoping they keep going and really concentrate on tightening up the performance, I really enjoyed what I saw but there's so much potential for more there.

Viqueen at the Tractor Tavern

Man that was a fun show, Seattle-based Visqueen headlined at the Tractor Tavern tonight, a sold out show that really deserved it.

Dale, Jodi and I showed up around 10pm just as they posted that it was sold out, Dale had anticipated this so we all had pre-ordered our tickets.

The band just before them, Department of Energy, started playing a little bit after we got there and met up with some friends.  They were a mixed bag for me, I'm not a fan of their lead singer's... singing, and their keyboards were overpowering and I think took away from the sound.  On the other hand their basic songs were very interesting and have a ton of potential.

Visqueen just rocked the house, I had listened to their music a bit on MySpace when Dale invited me to go but seeing them live was a whole different ballgame.  I instantly fell in love with their lead singer and their new bass player is just plain adorable.  I think there were also other band members, but I can't say for sure.

Attempt to Kill My Brother #1

In the first house I grew up in next to the front door was a full length pane of bubbly glass.  I don't know the technical term for it.  You couldn't quite see through it, it was possible to make out vague shapes and colors to know something or someone was on the other side but it was completely distorted.

The doorbell rang one day and my brother and I, being fairly competitive, both took off running to answer get there first so we could answer it.  I'm two years older and thought better of the situation about halfway there and stopped.  Jeff kept going and probably lost traction on the tile floor, skidded up to the door and put an arm through that glass pane.

My parents were obviously very worried and went over to see how bad he was hurt, one of them opened the door to see who rang the doorbell in the first place.

It was a girl from the neighborhood (now I'm struggling to try to remember who, probably Jill or Carlie), in uniform, who said "Girl scout cookies?" with an utterly traumatized look on her face.

Happy Hour Heroes at the The Monkey

Went with Dale and Jodi to see one of Dale's favorite (but least seen) local bands which under its current incarnation is named Happy Hour Heroes.  I can't find a site for them and I'm not sure if it is because they don't have one or because there are other bands across the nation with the same name.  A better name is in order, guys.

They were clearly a bit out of practice but had tons of talent and some great songs, I'm really looking forward to hearing more of what they've got in the future.

They played at The Monkey in the U District, hadn't been there before, had a great time.

Update: Dale gave me the correct name/URL so I've updated.

Rebirth Brass Band at the High Dive

Holy. Crap.

My friend Dale forwarded me a note he had gotten from the Tractor Tavern about the Rebirth Brass Band not being able to make it to their Portland gig due to weather and washed out roads, and they had managed to book a 10pm show at the High Dive at the last second.

I am so glad that happened, Portland missed out.  They put on a show, it was incredible.   If you get a chance to see them to not miss it!

Unfortunately we got there a bit after 10 and they didn't get on the stage until around 11:30pm.  I blame the horrible cover band on the stage before them.  As Dale said, "They had the trees but no forest."  I can't put it any better than that, so I won't even try.

Drum Lessons and MySpace

I took my first drum lesson ever last night at Donn Bennett Drum Studio, which coincidentally is a short walk from my house.  So much fun!  I may end up spending a worrying amount of time over there hitting things with drumsticks for fun and therapeutic reasons.

In other music related news although I'll be blogging here about shows I go see and stuff like that I caved in and made a MySpace to track bands and friends who are over there.  Damn you, Leigh!

Lady Drama at the Tractor Tavern

Tuesday night I went to see my friend Lincoln's band Lady Drama headline at the Tractor Tavern.  Had a great time, this is the second time I've seen them play and I will continue to go to their shows.  They rawk.

It was a pretty surreal night for me as I dragged my friends Mike and Jason to the show with me and then kept running into people I knew.  It turns out that the second opening band's (National Broadcast) bassist used to work for the server team back when I was their client lead developer working on Windows Messenger.  Small world.  A few of the people who came out to support them I had worked with close to when I started with Microsoft.

Plus a woman who I had taken salsa classes with!

Lots of fun.  A pleasant surprise was that the opening bands for this show were good, last time I saw Lady Drama the openers stank on ice.

Lady Drama next plays at the Blue Moon Tavern on January 31st, I'll be there and so should you.