Weekly Volcano Blogs: Walkie Talkie Blog

May 1, 2010 at 9:54am

NIGHT MOVES: Mecca Normal, The Riffbrokers, Mount Eerie, Tyler Fortier, C.F.A.

Jean Smith and David Lester of Mecca Normal

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LIVE MUSIC IN THE SOUTH SOUND TONIGHT >>>

NOISE ROCK: Throughout the month of May, Northern will be hosting a group exhibit of political artwork from Vancouver, B.C. artists. The show will be co-curated by David Lester and Jean Smith, the duo that make up the long-standing noise-rock band Mecca Normal. Saturday will be the exhibit's opening reception, as well as a celebration of Northern's one-year anniversary, featuring a performance from Mecca Normal. If you've never heard them before, well, they're about as minimal as minimal gets: Lester plays guitar and Smith sings, and that's about it. But Smith's poetic lyrics and passionate vocals, not to mention the raucous sounds that come from Lester's guitar, helped pave the way for noise-rock and riot grrrl. If you're in Olympia, this is an event not to miss. Part of Black Dot Museum opening, Saturday, May 1, 5 p.m., all ages, Northern, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia - Rev. Adam McKinney

POWER POP: The Riffbrokers would sound perfect on vinyl. They remind me of a band whose LP I'd pick up on a stop in a record shop - intrigued by their name and a couple song titles, never having heard them before. I'd bring The Riffbrokers home and listen alone on a rainy day - utterly blown away. Then I'd become slightly obsessed with the band for a couple months, telling all my friends about The Riffbrokers, and the band's sound combination of Creedence Clearwater Revival and REM, but with a singer who sounds like a more subdued Elvis Costello. When my friends would rebuff my offers to play them the record, I'd decide that this music wasn't meant for them anyway. I'd be happy to keep it my secret. With The Lund Bros, Jones Family Fortune, Saturday, May 1, 9 p.m., $5, The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020  - Rev. AM

LO-FI ROCK: Noise and effects. Noise and effects. Phil Elverum - as The Microphones, or Mount Eerie, or just about any other name in the book, I'd presume - is all about noise and effects. It's lo-fi, and repetitive, and uber-artistic, and the kind of thing that's about as far from the mainstream as you can get without being 4-track recorded monkey sex - but it is epically cool, and you don't even need to be a hipster to appreciate it. Sure, being a hipster kind of helps - it gets your retro sneaker in the Phil Elverum door, so to speak, but once you're inside it's survival of the artistically fittest. Can your mind wrap around the tangled sonic cloth Elverum weaves, like a bohemian David the Gnome, having popped out from underneath some bizarre-ass, Kombucha smelling forest mushroom, acoustic guitar in hand? If it can, Mount Eerie is an enjoyable ride. Or something. With Colonies, Saturday, May 1, 7 p.m., all ages, $8, The Viaduct, 5412 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.472.1948 - Matt Driscoll

FOLK ROCK: If Tyler Fortier is one thing, it's an up-and-coming, present-tense folk rocker - in a complimentary sense of the notion - based out of lush (read: stony) Eugene, Ore. If Fortier is two things, it's all of the above and a damn entertaining blogger. I know, I know - blogging is a debatable art form, but there's no debating Fortier does it well. In addition to playing a whole slew of shows over the next two months in Oregon, Idaho and Washington - in support of his just released This Love Is Fleeting record, which "dropped" April 15 - Fortier will also be doling out witty lines like this on tylerfortier.wordpress.com: "I played first, tickling some ivory (and by ivory, I mean a plastic keyed digital piano).  I should have prefaced this section by stating the night was billed as "danceable, funky, pop music."  My music ... Not danceable. Not funky.  Not pop.  In fact, my music just wants to make people fucking cry." Awesome. Fortier plays two shows in Tacoma today. Saturday, May 1, 3 p.m., all ages, no cover, Rocket Records, 3843 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.756.5186; 8:30 p.m., all ages, no cover, Mandolin Café, 3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma, 253.761.3482 - MD

ROCK: A band like Cody Foster's Army doesn't come along every day - a dynamic and powerful three-piece with a heavy old school hardcore attitude and an uncompromising DIY approach. Consisting of members of an assortment of legendary Tacoma bands from the last two decades, these guys are no strangers to local rock. Foster plays bass and sings, Dave Takata is the crazy guitarist, and "Reno" David Marseillan is the thundering drummer. Together they are making a name for themselves with a fierce set of raging tunes. They are also gearing up for the release of their debut EP, Smoking Gun, on Violent Hippie Records. Read the full story here. With Zeke, Witchburn, and The Badlands, Saturday, May 1, 9 p.m., $10, Hell's Kitchen, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003 - Potter

LINK: More live music in the South Sound tonight

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