redray

hey there portland people. i just wanted to give you a heads up that a good friend of mine, ray frazier, is playing tomorrow night at the laurelthirst. ray is a sweet soulful guy who mixes r&b with folk and funk. and all around just a great guy. if you're looking for something to do, stop by the laurelthirst from 9pm-12 tomorrow, june 22nd. what a great way to bring in the summer!

laurelthirst public house
2958 ne glisan
503.232.1504

happy new year!

happy new year all of my portland people! what are your plans for tomorrow evening?

i think i am going to ring in the new year at a friend's house with lorenzo and our pooches but if i were going to go out, i'd definitely be going to see sallie ford and the sound outside (above). i just love her sound and personality.

she's playing a show at the doug fir if you still don't have anything planned. i'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

alas, when you work in retail, by the time new year rolls around, it's time for a little breaky poo.

any resolutions for the new year? one of mine is to spend a little more time and effort on my blogs. i'm so lucky to have my devoted readers and i admit, i've slacked off this latter part of the year. so that will be my goal...and to get a new camera with my tax return which will help said goal.

so thank you, thank you for staying tuned and i hope you all have a wonderful and safe new year. no drinking and driving, just have a sleepover where ever you find yourselves, k!

xoxo hawthorne girl, lorenzo, lulu and roy

image courtesy of willy week

i can't believe i forgot to mention...

that the band that is opening for the brian jonestown massacre is really amazing.

if you are a fan of the spaghetti western, or the sadies and have never seen federale, it is worth it to check them out tomorrow. they play around portland pretty regularly too, though.

dig it!

have you ever seen the movie dig! about the dandy warhols and the brian jonestown massacre? well you should.

i was not really a fan of the local portland band, the dandy warhols, but after seeing the film, i have a new appreciation for them as they seemed to carve out a niche for their sound and worked very hard.

the film follows their relationship with the band the brian jonestown massacre and their "friendly" competition with this band. i checked out the music of brian jonestown after seeing the film and i really liked it. i'm not so sure of their new stuff (there is a constant rotation of bandmates). lorenzo really wanted to go see them, just to check them out, i on the other hand, think i will pass since it's a work night and wait for his report back.

whether you like either band or not, i highly recommend the film dig! for it's character study of the respective musicians.

the brian jonestown massacre is playing tomorrow night at the crystal ballroom.

my one and only thrill

one of my favorite singers today, melody gardot, is performing this friday night at the aladdin theater. i've had so much going on that i still haven't bought tickets. i'm hoping there will still be seats available because i will be bummed out if i miss another great show.

anybody else going to this one?

the aladdin is at 3017 se milwaukie ave 503.234.9694

psyched!

i'm pretty excited about the fact that i will be seeing the psychedelic furs this sunday, june 20th at the crystal ballroom.

yes, i am a product of the 80's and john hughes and the furs were a huge part of my life. where would i be had it not been for molly ringwald in pretty in pink showing us that the poor little artsy girl can get the cute guy after all? oh and i wanted a karmannghia so bad after seeing that movie!

so lorenzo and i will be donning our 80's finest and heading over to the crystal to relive our lost childhood. i wonder if they serve wine coolers?

the crystal ballroom is at 1332 w burnside 503.225.0047

le troubadour

our local french troubadour, eric john kaiser is playing a free show this saturday night, june 12th at one of my favorite venues, the someday lounge.

if you like all things frenchie, you will love his music. it will completely transport you to paris, mais oui!

someday lounge is at 125 nw 5th ave 503.248.1030

my crying heart

be sure to check out one of my favorite local tormented artists, willy vlautin and his band, richmond fontaine playing tomorrow night, june 10th at dantes.

because sometimes we all need to cry tears into our beer.

dantes is at 1 sw3rd ave 503.226.6630

social climber

tomorrow night is going to be a great night in portland. i have a holiday party to go to and then lorenzo, friends and i are heading over to mississippi studios for a great show.


and while this is mississippi records and not studios, i just love this shot and it's right down from the studios, which is a fabulous venue if you haven't caught a show there yet.
mississippi studios is at 3939 n. mississippi 503.753.4473


one of lorenzo's favorite local bands, climber, is playing. i haven't seen one of their shows yet so i'm really excited to see them. they have a huge portland following so it should be a lot of fun.


and then one of my favorite local bands, another cynthia, is having their cd release party.

i don't get out to see as many shows as i would like to any more but i always try to catch another cynthia when they are playing. they have great energy and sound and i really hope they do well so you know i'll be there in support of their new cd. you should check them out too!

give me hope

i'm taking a break from my closet reconstruction and listening to some new music by hope sandoval, the lead singer of mazzy star. i had forgotten how much i missed mazzy star until i started listening to hope again.

i think mazzy star was gaining the height of their popularity my last few years of college and i can remember my best friend and i listening to her voice late into the night, drinking red wine and smoking cigarettes. the angst in her voice and lyrics was exactly how we were feeling at the time. young, unsure of what we were going to do with our lives, pining away over this guy or that one. mazzy star, and mainly hope, spoke the language of my generation.

i went to see mazzy star at this great old theater in albuquerque called the el rey. i think it was the last date my college boyfriend and i went on and we both knew at the time that our lives were moving in different directions. i remember not being especially sad about this and contrary to what you may think because of her style of music, i actually felt very free and happy and ready for my next phase in life. i stood there in my pink dress with a glass of wine i knew i was going to be ok. i think the strength in her lyrics really stand out even though her music could come off as sad or depressing. i'll never forget at one point in the show, some people were talking and she asked them very politely to shut the f** up because she could not hear herself or the music. i liked her ballsyness!

so i'm excited about her show monday night at the doug fir at 9 pm with her new band the warm inventions. i have a feeling that her new band will not disappoint you. just don't talk while she's playing.

my gypsy heart

i must admit, i have a fondness for gypsies mostly because my chilhood dog was the sweetest golden retriever named gypsy. she went everywhere with me from 5th grade until i graduated and went off to college. because of her and how much i adored her, i've always loved anything "gypsy" and would dress up as some version of a gypsy, hippie or bohemian growing up and sometimes i still do. while i have my sweet lulu and willie, now, gypsy was my baby growing up and i miss her dearly.

so because of my gypsy love, of course i heart the gipsy kings. several years back, my friend and i went to see them at the schnitz which was truly amazing. if you have never seen a show at the schnitz, i highly recommend it. it is such a beautiful theater and it really plays a part of any show you are seeing there and it was no different with the gipsy kings who were just incredible. so aside from seeing them at the schnitz, i think the next best thing would be seeing them at edgefield which is where they will be playing this sunday night, september 6th. imagine the gipsy kings out in our beautiful edgefield under the stars. oh, i think it will be really amazing.

it looks like tickets are still available at the mcmenamins website so let's make a day of it and head out to edgefield next sunday to make the very best of our last days of summer. i can't think of a more perfect place to do this.

have a very happy monday!

i bat my lashes

another very cool event happening on thursday is bat for lashes playing at the wonder ballroom. i am totally infatuated by natasha khan, isn't she just gorgeous? and her music is very ethereal and dreamy but rockin. oh i hope i can make it to this show! is any one else planning on going?
the wonder ballroom is at 128 ne russell 503.284.8686
(photo bat for lashes)



oh my gosh, it would be so great to go have dinner at toro bravo before hand! it's right next door. i could really go for some of their chicken liver mousse, yum.
(photo what's cooking america)

music and the moon

tete

carmina piranha (now luna)

i haven't been to berbati's pan for a while but i caught a really great show there last night, the french singer/songwriter, tete. tete is a paris musician who has been referred to as the jeff buckley of france (however, still with us). he got his start playing music in cafes and busking on the streets of paris and is now hailed as one of france's best songwriters. you can catch him under the moon tonight at edgefield playing with eric john kaiser starting at 7:00pm. it's a free show and a beautiful day today so if you are looking for something to do this evening, pack some cheese and wine and head out to edgefield for a wonderful night of french music.

if you are in the mood to stick closer to home, head over the the press club at se 26th and clinton to hear carmina luna. carmina luna is made up of members of the now defunct carmina piranha, a portland band that was popular in the mid 90s. carmina luna does not play many shows these days as most of the members are busy playing with their other bands (including lara michell of the stolen sweets) so i highly recommend checking them out tonight. that's where you will find me. it is a free all ages show beginning at 8:30. (carmina image from cd baby)

and happy saturday to you all!

melody monday

melody gardot

since music is clearly on my mind today, i thought i would share with you an artist i have recently discovered. her name is melody gardot and she is a beautiful jazz musician out of philadelphia. her latest album is called "my one and only thrill." when melody was 19, she was struck by a car while riding her bike (something close to home for us portlanders). she discovered music therapy while recovering from the accident and soon put out her first album.

melody lists her influences as janis joplin and miles davis to name a few but i would compare her to madeleine peyroux and billie holiday.

when i first heard her, i rushed out to my favorite music store (music millenium 3158 se burnside 503.231.8926 http://www.musicmillenium.com/) and bought her latest album. i'm still a little old-fashioned and like to have a cd in my hands but if you would like to check her out first, starbucks is currently giving away icards with a sample of her latest cd.

(image from detender wordpress)

mock me

the mock crest tavern

the jessica stiles band

after living in portland over ten years, i'm always excited to experience new things. this weekend i visited the mock crest tavern for the first time to see the jessica stiles band, also for the first time. both made for a great evening!

the mock crest is located in north portland at 3435 n. lombard 503.283.5014 http://www.mockcrest.com/

the mock is a cozy little bar nestled in between the kenton and st. john's neighborhoods. the drinks were stiff and reasonably priced. i was even offered a sample of tequila the minute i sat down, which in my opinion is quite the sign of hospitality (you can take the girl out of new mexico...). we also ordered some appetizers and out came the largest portion of tater tots i have ever seen in my life. in fact, after 10 pm, you receive a complimentary small basket of tots with the purchase of a pitcher.

my friend and i arrived early to get a seat as it can fill up very quickly. there's not a stage so the band is up close and personal which creates a very intimate setting. as much as i love to go see live music, i do not enjoy music that is so loud that you and your companion must yell at each other (which seems to happen at tiny music venues) and i am happy to say that the volume was perfect. i will definitely catch another show here and i've been told that they regularly have great music.

the jessica stiles band plays classic western music a la patsy cline. jessica writes here own music which tends to be humorous, western drinking songs and also performs classics such as dolly parton's "coat of many colors" and gram parson's "sin city" but with her own charming style. if you have the opportunity, check jessica out next time she's playing. i found her home page on my space under jessica lynn stiles. she was also joined by portland pedal steel player, paul brainerd for her last set. i swear paul must be cloned because he plays with every alt western band this side of austin!

so if you're looking for something to do this weekend, check out either of these fine portland establishments.