GIVERS

I was planning on going to the MusicfestNW Announcement Party on Tuesday night at the Star Theater, but I arrived a wee bit early. Or, a LOT bit early. So I decided to head up to the Mission Theater in the meantime and check out GIVERS. Turns out, my early arrival mistake turned out to be the best band I saw all night.

GIVERS is a band I first heard about on All Songs Considered in early 2010, and they have been on my "Check Out That Band" list ever since. Now I'm kicking myself for not seeing or listening to them earlier, because they put on a fantastic show. All 5 members played every single song like it was the last song of the night, and the energy was completely infectious. The space between the tables and the stage at the Mission was totally backed with bouncing bodies and flailing hands. Not a full house by any means, but the band didn't seem to notice and rocked - HARD - through their set.

There were tons of instruments on stage ranging from a glockenspiel to a computer. The guy lead singer/guitarist (Taylor Guarisco) switched it up and played bass for a few songs, and the girl lead singer (Tiffany Lamson) played ukulele, guitar AND percussion. Multiple keyboards surrounded the keysman (who also played flute), and the bass player had some intricately arpeggiated guitar lines on a few tunes. All of the songs are hugely percussion-based and feature the guy/girl vocal harmonies throughout, which GIVERS do very well. Here's a good example:
GIVERS Up Up Up by Glassnotemusic

GIVERS play MusicfestNW in September, and their new album In Light is out on June 7. Give GIVERS a chance - you'll dig it.

By the way, if you want a preview of their MusicfestNW performance, visit KCRW's website in the next few days for their archived Morning Becomes Eclectic performance.

GIVERS website

MFNW Is Upon Us (Almost)

Just announced this morning, the initial list of artists performing at MusicFestNW is below. I have put in bold the artists I am most excited about...what about you?

A Storm of Light
Akimbo
Alela Diane
Anais Mitchell
And And And
Archers
Archers of Loaf
Avi Buffalo
Band of Horses
Bare Wires
Beat Connection
Big Freedia
Black Prairie
Blind Pilot
Blitzen Trapper
Blouse
Boat
Bobby Bare Jr.
Butthole Surfers
Caleb Klauder
Cass McCombs
Celilo
Centro-Matic
Charles Bradley
Climber
Crooked Fingers
Crypts
Dam-Funk & Master Blaster
Dangerous Boys Club
Death Songs
Dennis Coffey
Diesto
Dirty Beaches
Dirty Mittens
DJ Anjali
Dolorean
E*Rock
E3
Elitist
EMA
Emily Wells
Eternal Tapestry
Explosions in the Sky
Fernando
GIVERS
Glass Candy
GRAILS
Hammerhead
Handsome Furs
Heavy Cream
Holcombe Waller
Horse Feathers
Iron & Wine
Jared Mees & the Grown Children
Jeffrey Jerusalem
Joe Pug
Kelly Blair Bauman
Kylesa
Lifesavas
Little Dragon
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Mad Rad
Marius Libman
Mnemonic Sounds
Monarques
Morning Teleportation
Natasha Kmeto
Nether Regions
Neurosis
Old Light
Olivia Tremor Control
Operative
Phantogram
Pierced Arrows
Pig Destroyer
Portland Cello Project
PS I Love You
Purple & Green
Quiet Life
Rabbits
Rebecca Gates
Reporter
Rhett Miller
Richmond Fontaine
RTX
Sean Flinn & the Royal We
Sebadoh
Shabazz Palaces
Sharon Van Etten
Sleepy Sun
Soft Kill
Talkdemonic
Ted Leo
Tennis
The Angry Orts
The Antlers
The Dimes
The Gaslamp Killer
The Globes
The Hood Internet
The Horrors
The Incredible Kid
The Joy Formidable
The Kills
The Ladybug Transistor
The Minders
The Miracles Club
The Moondoggies
The Needful Longings
The Soft Moon
The Thermals
The Vaccines
The Wizard Rifle
Thee Oh Sees
Thornes
Thrones
Thousands
Transient
Twin Sister
TxE
Ty Segall
Typhoon
UME
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Violet Isle
Viva Voce
WEINLAND
White Hills
Wild Ones
Witch Mountain
Y La Bamba
Yacht
YOB
You Am I
Zuzuka Poderos

MusicfestNW runs from September 7-11 at various venues around Portland. www.musicfestnw.com

Good Peoples

I was in Washington D.C. recently and felt like going to a show on a random Thursday night. Not having done my homework, I jumped online to see who was in town. After a quick sweep of the venues I am familiar with (Black Cat, 9:30 Club, Rock & Roll Hotel), I made the decision to see Hurricane Bells - a band I previously knew nothing about - at the Black Cat Backstage.

Hurricane Bells hit the stage a little after 9p and I was quickly happy - extremely happy - with my choice. Their bass, guitar/vox, drums, female-backups lineup was sonically full, and each player was clearly skilled. The melodies were smooth and unassuming, and each song was just different enough to keep me engaged for the entire 40 minute set. Plus, the two singers did the two-singers-on-one-mic thing a few times, which is kind of adorable when it's a guy and a girl...just sayin.



Once they were through I noticed a lack of merchandise, so I tracked down the singer, Steve Schiltz. The gin & tonics may have helped in the decision making, but I gave him $20 and my home address and said, "I want everything Hurricane Bells has released. Is this enough?" "Yes" came the response. Perfect.

Lo and behold, about a week later I received a package with a nice note from Steve. He included Hurricane Bells' EP, LP and an extra full-length CD from Scout, his female singer's other band.



I guess the point here is that you can still trust people these days. Steve's simple follow-through and added personal touch put a stamp on my already enthusiastic attitude toward his band, and I eagerly await their forthcoming LP.

Steve Schiltz and Hurricane Bells are good peoples. I support them and so should you.

http://www.hurricanebells.com/
http://www.scoutscoutscout.com/