Sera Cahoone ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

“Pullman you say? A music destination you say??? Pffft…” Yes, I know you’re trying not to laugh. But Pullman resident, ardent Inland-Northwest music supporter, and the man behind Stereopathic Music Larson Hicks is gunning to make it exactly that. Looking at the lineup he’s confirmed for a weekend in late March for the 1st Annual Birds on a Wire Folk Festival, he looks to be on just the right track. Happening March 26th and 27th and taking place on three stages within walking distance of each other on Pullman’s main street, the festival is an outgrowth of a series of Birds on a Wire shows Hicks did last year with some success, which itself was an product of his need for his underserved area to realize it’s musical potential.

Hicks is not a corporation like Live Nation, just a guy with a dream to make his town as fun as it can be, and on the leading edge of a localism movement that is now even reaching the music business. Small local music festivals used to be cute getaways to take in some folk talent or something specialized like that. Now in many smaller markets it makes sense can put on a music festival that attracts current and in-demand talent. In our area: Birds on a Wire, Doe Bay Fest, Pickathon, Wintergrass (bluegrass and folk). There were a host of other Oregon festivals that many of the biggest local artists made a point of attending in 2009. I don’t doubt by the end of the year the size of that list of festival names will be doubled.

The lineup for Birds on a Wire looks like this so far:

Justin Townes Earle
Damien Jurado
Joe Pug
Rocky Votolato
Horse Feathers
Sera Cahoone
Frontier Ruckus
The Maldives
The Moondoggies
Cataldo
Laura Gibson
Al James (Dolorean)
Super XX Man
Goldfinch
Karli Fairbanks
Pablo Trucker
Mike Kelly
Hueco
Samuel Dickison
Tony Kevin Jr.
Low-Fi
more announced soon…

‘Current’ and ‘Northwest’ are two words that come quickly to mind when looking at this bill, and Hicks says he’s not done announcing national level touring acts yet.

Advanced tickets available via the birdsonawirefest.com site, and are $35, $25 for large groups. Day-of tickets are $45 at the door. Volunteering will get you an even better deal I’d expect. Since Hicks doesn’t a hefty amount of resources to put on this festival, he’s looking to make it happen smoothly and in a cost neutral way with local sponsors and a group of volunteers. He needs everything from sound and stage nerds to assist with shows, to people who are able to ferry bands from the airport day-of. It’s a great opportunity to be involved with a festival that is just getting off the ground.

Facebook: Birds on a Wire Festival on Facebook

Sometimes, when a bit intoxicated and in the presence of a certain sort of, well, more emotional music a strange feeling takes over my face.  A well of emotion so great behind the thin layer of my skin, it feels as if a gentle force is pulling my head towards the stage.  It might be akin to crying, but no tears fall, just a tingly sort of silence that tugs me forward eyes closed.

Last night, Horse Feathers dropped by San Franceesco’s very own Bottom of the Hill to charm the crowd with some back-country folk, and wow, it felt as if my eyes were being vacuumed from my skull.  The crowd, a typically drunken sort, was funereally silent for the entirety of the show.  I imagine that sort of crowd-silencing power only bodes well for this fantastic quartet of well-timed orchestral folk, well, folk.

This Gillian Welch cover, an organ tinged bit of pure unfiltered sadness, closed the set, and if you could find an audience member who wasn’t mouth agape, stunned in to reverent awe, you were looking too hard.

Horse Feathers - Orphan Girl (Gillian Welch Cover)

No rest for the wicked or at least for the music lovers of Seattle this weekend, even on that most traditional day of rest, Sunday. 

This Sunday’s show choices read more like a stacked Friday or Saturday night in Seattle. Even though it will mean dragging a little bit of ass on Monday morning, there are too many good shows going on Sunday night for you to sacrafice a little sleep for what are sure to be some great shows.

May we recommend you check out one of the following:

 Horse Feathers, Cataldo — Tractor Tavern (show starts at 8:30 sharp)

 Swollen Members, Common Market — Neumos

 Headlights, Anni Rossi, Pomegranates  — The Sunset Tavern

 Dinosaur Jr., Lou Barlow & The Missing Men – Showbox

 Rufus Wainwright with the Seattle Symphony — Benaroya Hall

 DEVO, Reggie Watts - The Moore

The Builders and the Butchers ::: Photo by Josh

Last year Sasquatch showed Seattle’s up and comer’s a whole lot of love, and this year Portland is the local city with the honor of the most performers. In fact it’s a veritable who’s who of notables coming out of PDX: Hockey, Blind Pilot, Loch Lomond, M Ward, The Decemberists, Viva Voce, Pt. Juncture, WA, The Builders and the Butchers, Blitzen Trapper, Horse Feathers. We can honestly say there’s not a bad one in the bunch and something for everyone, with a small gripe that maybe a little more female representation from the Rose city might’ve been nice (Laura Viers, Mirah, Explode into Colors… the list is lengthy).

To help you decide about which of these distinguished Oregonian bands you should see, I’ve assembled a nice list of free tracks from each of these bands (except one band who keeps a tight grip on their tracks online) for you to evaluate on the long drive to the Gorge. Enjoy and make sure to pick up these band’s albums should you like what you hear. A number of these bands including the Decemberists and Blind Pilot will be signing their albums at the Easy Street Booth throughout the festival, so take a look at that schedule too.

MP3: “Go On Say It” by Blind Pilot courtesy of SXSW 2009

MP3: “Blue Lead Fences” by Loch Lomond courtesy of SXSW 2009

MP3: “Never Had No One Like You” by M Ward courtesy of Merge Records

MP3: “Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect” by The Decemberists courtesy of Kill Rock Stars

MP3: “Devotion” by Viva Voce courtesy of Barsuk Records

MP3: “Sick on Sugar” by Pt. Juncture, WA
courtesy of Pt. Juncture, WA

MP3: “Devil Town” by The Builders and the Butchers

MP3: “Gold For Bread” by Blitzen Trapper courtesy of Sub Pop Records

MP3: “Curs in the Weeds” by Horse Feathers courtesy of Kill Rock Stars

Video: “Too Fake” by Hockey

Despite my earlier jest about Portland’s Horse Feathers, having not caught them live yet, I really am excited to see them. The video above features a live version of their song “Working Poor.”

Horse Feathers play the Yeti Stage at 2:10pm on Monday May 25.

The Dutchess and the Duke ::: Photo by Abbey

I’ve got a strange obsession with hair and rock n’ roll or maybe just more generally hair and popular music. I’m currently testing the theory that by growing longer hair I may in fact also be increasing my aptitude for rocking. Looking through history one finds the association of long hair and rocking hard is strong, though I’ve yet to come to a firm conclusion based on my own short experience.

Up here in the Northwest it seems we may have also taken that theory a whole ‘nother step by deciding to now bundle our mana in our beards, or at the very least our facial hair. (It’s just that much closer to our hearts I guess.) Among the latest crop of musicians who are easily identifiable with the new popular Seattle sound are beard supporters aplenty. Band of Horses and Grand Archives practically started this whole beard rock thing. Common Market. The Maldives. The Moondoggies. Fleet Foxes. The Dutchess and the Duke. The Cave Singers. Aqueduct. Throw Me the Statue. David Bazan. The list goes on. And the baby-facers? We’ll the ladies I suppose, but even the Sera Cahoone band has it’s own beardo and fair share of legit mustaches.

To drive my point home I thought I’d evaluate a few short match-ups of artists appearing at Sasquatch in this column to determine: Is Seattle the beardiest of them all? In my quest to weigh each band equally I’ll be asking myself primarily this question: which band most embodies the spirit of beardedness? Diversity, quantity (how many members), size and overall aesthetic are all factors that go into determining a winner.

To set the stage a little bit more, let’s delve a little deeper into just how serious we take our beards up here in the northwest. Before Sasquatch was to even happen, two local party loving hip hop groups Mad Rad and Champagne Champagne, who each sport a notably bearded member agreed to a one on one basketball challenge where the loser would have to lose the beard before their Sasquatch appearance. I checked in with Mad Rad’s Terry Radjaw today to learn the results, and they’ve decided to make more of an event out of it, moving the showdown to later in the summer, to happen at the Funhouse on July 24. To get warmed up, let’s start with their virtual beard-off…

Real Life Local Beard Off
Champagne Champagne (SEA) | myspace |
Noon Saturday May 23 at the Yeti Stage
vs.
Mad Rad (SEA) | myspace |
Noon Sunday May 24 at the Yeti Stage

Winner: Champagne Champagne.
While we won’t venture a guess as to the eventual winner of the basketball challenge, we’ve got to say as far as beardedness goes, Thomas of Champagne Champagne is the clear winner. Thickness, face coverage and the fact that his beard’s style is unified with his hair style make him a model member of the beard brigade. Terry Radjaw gets props for overall commitment, but let’s be real here: a beard without a properly developed upper lip is hardly a beard at all.

For the other festival match-ups I’ve tried to match similarly constructed bands into various logical categories:

Main Stage Veterans
Murder City Devils (SEA) | myspace |
5:20pm on Sunday May 24 at the Main Stage
vs.
TV On the Radio (NY) | myspace |
6:35pm on Sunday May 24 at the Main Stage

Winner: Murder City Devils.
These two heavyweights play the mainstage one right after another, so you’ll easily be able to judge for yourself who the winner is of this one. We will always give props where they are due: Kipp Malone’s beard is impressive. Very impressive. But the Murder City Devils aren’t exactly slouches either. You’ve got a Spencer Moody’s “backwoods crazy” beard counterpointed by bassist (and Cave Singer) Derek Fudesco’s typical well groomed Seattle style. It’s a one-two high-low punch combo that’s stood the test of time. What really put this band over the top though is their roadie Gabe. Have you seen his beard lately? He could practically win this competition single-handed. (Or maybe single-bearded?)

–

Fleet Foxes ::: Photo by Josh

Expansive Melodies and Harmonies
Fleet Foxes (SEA) | myspace |
4:45pm Monday May 25 at the Main Stage
vs.
Other Lives (TN) | myspace |
12:35pm Monday May 25 at the Wookie Stage

Winner: Fleet Foxes.
Other Lives singer Jesse Tabish leads an impressive enough band that they’ve been asked to open for the Decemberists for a few Oregon stops in the coming days, and his beard is no minor effort let me tell you. Yet Seattle’s Fleet Foxes sport two of Seattle’s most notable and bushy beards in Robin Pecknold and drummer Josh Tillman, while the whole band at times supports a total of four beards on stage at once. Even if Fleet Foxes wasn’t the biggest band in the world right now, in this competition what band could compete with that?

–

Northwest Head To Head
The Dutchess and the Duke (SEA) | myspace |
4:20pm Monday May 25 at the Yeti Stage
vs.
Horse Feathers (PDX) | myspace |
2:10pm Monday May 25 at the Yeti Stage

Winner: The Dutchess and the Duke.
I thought this match-up was a very good one and a hard one to tease out a winner. Neither band uses a drum, both are pretty acoustic, and both have a primary female member. Both also have front-men with beards. We had to include another beard from the Northwest to properly be able to judge if Seattle was really the place, or if it was just Northwest thing in general. You might call Horse Feathers’ Justin Ringle the model Portlandian Beardo: sensitive, acoustic, and thoughtful. D&D are those things too. What puts the The Dutchess and the Duke on top in this is the overall sense of unreserved fun. A happy beard always wins over a frowny beard in my book.

–

Conclusion
After laying it out like this, it seems pretty clear that Seattle is the beardedest of them all. Though I suppose luckily for our locals God wasn’t a player in any of these head-to-heads. If Matisyahu had been attending Sasquatch, things might look much different…

You saw them on our best of the northwest year end lists for their 2008 album House With No Home; tonight you can catch Portland band Horse Feathers down at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard. Next week they’re headed off to Europe for a few weeks before returning stateside to fit in a few SXSW appearances. I sadly won’t be making it to the show since I’ll be at the Showbox, but Abbey will be poking around and taking pictures with her new(!) camera, so say hi.

The song below should be the only convincing you really need to head out to this show so give it a listen. Also on the bill tonight are Ah Holly Family and Mighty Tiger.

MP3: “Curs in the Weeds” - Horse Feathers (courtesy of Kill Rock Stars)

Video: “Curs in the Weeds” - Horse Feathers

Happy 2009 all! Here’s the first ‘09 edition of what I’m listening to. Hope 2009 has been treating you all swell thus far. As you’re about to see, 2009 has been a lot less of my usual heavy rock & roll and a lot of enjoying singer-song-writers and quieter tunes.

* Blind Pilot - 3 Rounds and a Sound
* Rodriguez - Cold Fact
* Horse Feathers - House With No Home
* Hey Marseilles - To Travels & Trunks
* Damien Jurado - Caught in The Trees
* Telekinesis - “Coast of Carolina”
* Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things
* J. Tillman - Vacilando Territory Blues and Minor Works
* The Dutchess and The Duke - She’s The Dutchess and He’s The Duke
* Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP

 
Here it is folks, the end all and be all…our Top 25 Northwest Albums of 2008. While numbers 6 through 25 were highly contentious, there was unanimity as to the Top 5 Northwest Albums of 2008 and their order. There’s no doubt in our minds, that no band deserves the accolades more than The Moondoggies. Their album Don’t Be A Stranger is an instant classic in the vein of Music from Big Pink. We expect 2009 to be even bigger than 2008 for The Moondoggies, and we can’t wait to see what comes next from them, as well as the other great bands that made this years list.

1. The Moondoggies - Don’t Be A Stranger |myspace|
2. J. Tillman - Vacilando Territory Blues |myspace|
3. Wild Orchid Children - S/T EP |myspace|
4. The Dutchess and The Duke - She’s The Dutchess, He’s The Duke |myspace|
5. Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground - S/T LP  |myspace|
6. Fleet Foxes - S/T LP |myspace|
7. See Me River - Time Machine |myspace|
8. Whore Moans - Hello From the Radio Wasteland |myspace|
9. Starfucker - S/T LP |myspace|
10. Jake One - White Van Music |myspace|
11. Blind Pilot  - 3 Rounds and a Sound |myspace|
12. Thee Emergency - SOLID |myspace|
12. Sera Cahoone - Only As The Day Is Long |myspace| 
13. Horse Feathers - House with No Home |myspace|
14. The Pica Beats  - Bring Back the Claws |myspace|
15. Throw Me the Statue - Moonbeams |myspace|
16. Das Llamas - Class Wars: K-12 |myspace|
17. The Builders and The Butchers - S/T LP (re-released nationally 7/08) |myspace|
18. Saturday Knights - Mingle |myspace|
19. The New Faces - S/T LP |myspace|
20. Damien Jurado - Caught In Trees |myspace|
21. Bark Hide and Horn - National Road |myspace|
22. Grand Archives - S/T LP |myspace|
23. Hey Marseilles - To Travels & Trunks |myspace|
24. The Hands - S/T LP  |myspace|
25. A Gun That Shoots Knives - Future of Love  |myspace|

Here is my list of what I consider to the be the “best” releases I’ve heard this year, full albums and EP’s, local and not, self-released or with a label. Regular readers probably won’t find too much surprising but there are a few that we may have not featured very much, probably because I just didn’t have too much to add to the already existing narrative. Most notable among that list is my number one choice From Emma, Forever Ago, by Bon Iver, AKA Justin Vernon. Each listen of this debut LP proffers a new detail to my ear and generates a renewed catharsis within my soul.

Before I start opining any further and get out of control (we’re saving that for next week’s official Northwest-themed lists), here are my favorites from the past year…

Josh’s Top 25 Releases of 2008

1. Bon Iver - From Emma, Forever Ago |myspace|
2. Dead Confederate - Wrecking Ball |myspace|
3. The Moondoggies - Don’t Be A Stranger |myspace|
4. J Tillman - Vacilando Territory Blues (Digital Release Only) |myspace|
5. The Whigs - Mission Control |myspace|
6. The Dutchess and the Duke - She’s the Dutchess, He’s the Duke |myspace|
7. Wild Orchid Children - S/T EP |myspace|
8. Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground - S/T LP |myspace|
9. Starfucker - S/T LP |myspace|
10. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours |myspace|
11. The Notwist - Devil, You + Me |myspace|
12. Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down |myspace|
13. Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes |myspace|
14. Fleet Foxes - S/T LP |myspace|
15. The Dodos - Visiter |myspace|
16 See Me River - Time Machine |myspace|
17. Jake One - White Van Music |myspace|
18. Whore Moans - Hello From the Radio Wasteland |myspace|
19. The Pica Beats - Bring Back the Claws … |myspace|
20. Thee Emergency - SOLID |myspace|
21. Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off the Lavender Bridge |myspace|
22. The Saturday Knights - Mingle |myspace|
23. Army Navy - S/T LP |myspace|
24. Horse Feathers - House with No Home |myspace|
25. Crystal Stilts - Alight of Night |myspace |

The album I listened to the most that was actually from last year but didn’t discover until this year…

The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism |myspace|

You’ll notice TV on the Radio, Of Montreal, Portishead, and Deerhunter aren’t in there. Nor Lil Wayne. I’m sorry (but not that sorry) to say I’ve listened to all of these records and they just didn’t do it for me. Dear, Science is certainly an innovative record, but I didn’t connect enough to warrant the repeated listens of those listed above. Vampire Weekend’s record is another that fits that profile, a well realized album that unfortunately for me is without any lasting impact. And I’ve diligently searched for the quality in the Deerhunter album that has everyone shouting, but I’m just completely missing it.

Today you can buy the MP3 album of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago from Amazon for 5 bucks. After my ringing endorsement, and at that price, you have no good reason not to go get it.