Ah, the third and final day of PDX Pop Now!, when the going gets tough, and the tough get to napping on the sidewalk. Sunday’s showing may have been the all-around most anticipated day of the fest, with Libretto (sadly, a no-show), Shaky Hands (who, you may remember, became my and a lot of other people’s favorite band after last year’s amazing showing), Dat’r, Sandpeople (young lions of hip-hop!) and Blitzen Trapper (unkempt!) all on the bill.

I thought I was going to miss the night’s festivities, do to a rock and roll camp in Pendleton I’ll be helping out with (”What did you learn, kids?” “Don’t do it for the money ’cause there ain’t any?” “That’s right!”). A fortuitous change of plan meant I get to do both (I leave for Pendleton shortly), which meant getting to see the Sand Peeps AND the Shaky Hands. I’m so glad I didn’t miss it.

Once again, Jason Quigley took these kick-ass photos. I’m only going to comment on a few acts.

Here Comes a Big Black Cloud

Apparently Libretto’s no-show meant that there was a brief PDX Pop open mic. I knew I shoulda brought my kazoo, but I showed up late anyway. No pics, but I hear most of it wasn’t half bad. Just goest to show you that Portland is “The City That Plays!”

Bright Red Paper was crazy dramatic. Turned out to be the perfect soundtrack to eatin’ some chicken on a stick and potato salad!

Bright Red Paper:

It was my first time seeing singer/songwriter Kele Goodwin, and I’m glad I grabbed a spot on the floor for his set. Despite being well-dressed, he was an understated, poetic songwriter with a delivery that looked stressed at times but never came out that way. One song stood out to me more than the others: Something about a girl dropping a key, and him swimming to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve it, then getting stuck with the lousy key. Girls, I tell ya!

Kele Goodwin:

Gejius:

Alright, I missed a few acts here.

Ape Shape:

Got back in time for Blue Skies for Black Hearts. Pat Kearns (who I had met briefly through Jackpot! studios) makes a pretty convincing frontman. A friend commented that he looked like a cross between Rivers Cuomo from Weezer and some new-fangled guy I’d never heard of. That may well be the case…

Blue Skies for Black Hearts:

RFK Heise (on the left in Jason’s band shot), frontman of System and Station, always looks like he needs a bigger stage. The guy just has “rockstar” written all over him, but not in a Billy Idol way. I love when he hits the throaty notes and sounds like Bjork. I wonder if he’s a Bjork fan. I wonder where he got the name RFK? I gotta interview that guy…

System and Station:

It was really, really heartening to see a whole room of kids in tune with Blue Cranes’ lively jazz set. I made the mistake of clapping after the first solo (I thought that’s what you did at jazz shows), but other than that I really enjoyed the band’s set, too. It opened with Kingdom cover!

Blue Cranes:

Laura Gibson was spectacular. It’s puzzling to me how she can come off as both incredibly shy and extremely confident at the same time (like Garth in Wayne’s World saying “I like to play” after his massive drum solo), as though she’s surprised that people appreciate her music. Great band, great set, great crowd! It’s so awesome to hear a room that full (and young, for that matter) stay that quiet.

Laura Gibson:

The Nice Boys’ fast tempo and tight harmonies meant that being under the bridge actually kind of fucked with their set, but it was still pretty strong. I didn’t realize until after the fact that they had closed with a Nick Drake [Nick Lowe, duh. He’s one of my favorite dudes ever. Peep the new record, it’s like Burt Bacharach and Johnny Cash rolled into one] cover. Ballsy!

Nice Boys:

Dat’r’s (weird punctuation!) set made me feel how I imagine British people felt when the Rave scene turned into bands like Pop Will Eat Itself and Primal Scream. Kinda rad, kinda not high. Man did they have kids dancing. They were still talking about it when I left the fest.

Dat’r:

I’d be lying if I said that Shaky Hands wasn’t my most anticipated set (though Sandpeople were a close second) of the weekend. And when Nick Delffs started rambling, I got a tiny bit worried. Then when the sound was a little off for the band’s first song (really bass-heavy), I got a bit more worried. Then the Shaky Hands proceeded to blow my mind entirely.

The band gaged the perfect balance between its awesome set at last year’s pop fest and its Best New Band showing, taking the high energy, feel good stuff from the former and combining it with the raw, pissed-off soulfulness of the latter. It was incredible. At first I thought, “why is this crowd not rocking out,” but I’m pretty sure they were like deer in the headlights of the Shaky Hands’ awesomeness.

I looked down at my phone, it was a text message from Arya Imig: “Jesus, can they be best new band next year too?” Matt Wright, PR man for the band, [Matt Wright does PR (occasionally for Holocene Music, the Shaky Hands’ label), but his role for the Shakies is generally as co-owner of the Holocene label] seemed similarly frazzled after the Shakies performance, telling me that he thought it might have been the best show of theirs he’d ever seen. Good stuff boys.

Shaky Hands:

I had to leave for a half hour and I missed E.J.S.. LocalCut’s Michael Byrne is gonna kick my ass for it.

Evolutionary Jass Band:

During the Yellow Swans’ set, I looked over at Ethic and Illmaculate staring wide-eyed at the speakers. I gave a big thumbs-up. “You guys gotta do a collabo,” I told them. “I’m so confused right now,” Ethic replied.

Pretty sure the speakers melted.

Yellow Swans:

I thought Sandpeople were on point, but I’ll leave that for you to decide once Ryan Feigh uploads some of the video he shot to YouTube. He was right in the middle of the yes-yes-y’alls and the waving hands in the air (as if folks just didn’t care), so I expect good things to come out of that camera.

We were treated to a short freestyle session between Illmac and Gold, as well as an unintentional Chopped and Screwed mix from DJ Spark. Most of the group got a kick out of it when the beat slowed down to about half-speed, though Spark didn’t look very happy. Sounds like another practical joke courtesy of the Sandpeople’s crosstown competition, the Dirtdudes. Damn you, dirt dudes!!!

Sandpeople:

Blitzen Trapper was a good call to end the fest, though it may have been best to swap their appearance with the March Fourth folks. But it was great to see a band that had consistently supported PDX Pop Now! (I think this was BT’s third appearance in four years) coming back while at the top of its game.

Blitzen Trapper:

It’s a two-way street, I suppose. The fest helps bands and bands help the fest. I saw multiple Portland rock stars (repping Menomena, the Thermals, Wet Confetti/Reporter, Drats!!!, etc.—not to mention the fest’s many volunteers, many of whom have bands of their own) hanging around and getting down, as well as many of this year’s performers catching shows hours before and after their own PDX Pop appearances. That’s where the strength of this festival lies. It’s about artists supporting artists, a must in a town with SO MANY BANDS.

And it was a great fest. I’m not one to end posts with “what did you think?”—seems too much like a cry for help most of the time. But I really do want to know what your favorite part of the fest was. There’s no way I could cover it all myself. So, what did you think?

Links:
pdxpopnow.com
Jason Quigley’s Flickr page (more PDX Pop shots)

(p.s. I’ll be blogging live from the Pendleton rock camp I’m visiting. Hopin’ these kids will want to do some of my work for me.)