The Chimera has moved:
TO THE POINT
LOCAL SHOW REVIEWS
By Jason Rivera (except where noted)
2001:
MOTORHEAD, MUDHONEY, CATHETERS
CRYSTAL BALLROOM
Friday, September 28th
Motorhead...It was awesome, duh. Oh, and Mudhoney played "You Stupid Asshole", which made their entire set for me.
BOTCH, HIMSA, BRUTAL FIGHT, NIHILIST
PINE ST THEATRE
Friday, August 24th
The Pine Street packed 'em in early for their second to last show before the theatre becomes office space. Openers
Nihilist played a short but excellent set consisting of four songs pure in releasing aggression and youthful confusion. I've seen Nihilist three times over the year and they just get better and more refined. I think they'll become a stand out band in the local region.
I was amazed to see almost half the crowd slaming, singing along and totally into xBrutal Fightx. I figured there weren't any bands from Vancouver, WA that had a loyal following, but they proved that theory wrong. Musically they are like a hardcore version of Pantera. Their name always has x's before and after it, which for those of you that don't know means they are straight edge, which means no alcohol, drugs and (I think) no promiscuous sex. I know bands have been proclaiming themselves to be straight edge for over 20 years, but the use of the x's was new to me.
Himsa was up next, they're death core with turntables. It was ok but it was incredibly hot so I went into the other room and just listened.
Botch on the other hand was well worth the heat. Four men churning out new and original sounds and performing in unison like a computer. Botch's time changes and use of off tuning and effects is more amazing to see live while they flip out on their instruments. A good, solid and intense hardcore band that you should check out.
Bottles & Skulls, Torture Cookies
Beulahland
Sat May 12th
Bottles and Skulls ruled again, Torture Cookies ruled again. Not much else needs to be said. Oh yeah, the Beulahland is by far my favorite club to see bands. It was a full house too.
Melvins, Hank III
Pine Street
Fri May 11
Asses to elbows all night with a line around the block.
Hank III and his band Ass Jack play real well (their violinist is super good), but they really are anything but original. They were kind of like a Korn/Pantera/Slayer/Metalica/Alic In Chains medley cover band. They started with Country Rock, but is was pretty run of the mill. But They paled in Comparison to the mighty MELVINS and their two hour set. I don't care for a lot of their newer songs, but they played songs from just about every album. Highlights for me included "Eye Flys" and most of Lysol.
ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT
Pine Street
April 30th
I had to start a brand new job the next day, but it didnt keep me from dancing myself stupid to RFTC. They played the whole A-side of "State of Art is on Fire" and "BoyChucker", which made me extra happy. The kids from Vancouver danced, the Portland kids stood and stared like they were at home watching TV.
HARKONEN, Dead Unknown, One Step Back, Argonauts
FALLOUT SHELTER
Vancouver, WA
Fri April 13th
Argonauts: Tacoma; Fu Manchu vocal style and stoner riffs blended with speed death metal.
One Step Back: Vancouver; speed rock that is young, undisciplined, angry, no finesse but intense and random. As the band grows into a tighter unit, I look forward to seeing where their aggressive and chaotic views take them.
Dead Unknown: Simple slow to fast death metal; not sure where they are from.
Harkonen: Tacoma; I have seen the dawning of a new age of rock, and it is Harkonen. I kid you not. Imagine if Karp put out another album. It would be titled "Harkonen". They pick up from Karp's "We Ate Sand" and put in their own two cents to create a sound that is post reminiscent of Karp and Botch yet original and fresh. I cannot recommend Harkonen enough, do yourself a favor and see them next time they are in town.
Thursday April 12th:
Torture Cookies
New Wave Adhesives
at Satyricon
&
Bastinado
at Berbatis Pan
Torture Cookies played one of their finest sets of Oi rock and roll that I have seen. New song "We are the Vanquished" blended Misfits and Motorhead into a kick ass number. My old favorite, "Righteous Cut", sounded better than ever.
I ran over to Berbati's and caught Bastinado again. The sound at Berbati's is perfect. Every little roll and crazy little hit Josh made on the drums came through crystal clear. Tim's bass playing is so smooth, it's jazzy yet very rockin'. The mix with David's guitar and vocals was the best I've heard in a long while.
Ran back to Satyricon in time to see the New Wave Adhesives. A five piece consisting of shrilling female vocal leads, simple straightforward drums, guitar, bass and yes, Keyboard guitar! Theatrical new wave, imagine the look and sound that Devo had on the "Whip it" video. Lots of fun.
TUES APRIL 10th, 2001
MOTHER SUPERIOR, BASTINADO
SATYRICON
Bastinado played well and their newer songs were excellent. Tim seemed a bit down and Dave's amp was waaay too loud, as my ears will attest to this morning! Josh was extra tight on the drums, and the new songs let him really go off.
Mother Superior is Henry Rollin's band without Mr. Rollins. They play their instruments superbly, but they were ridiculous. I'm sure they're just doing it for fun, but come on! It was so generic, the music was ultra boring classic bar rock. And the lyrics! Aye yi yi! "Honey, where is all the money, I don't think it's funny.." and those were some of the more clever ones. Sheesh. They gave out free promo CDs and there is a ballad on it that instantly brings me to tears of laughter.
DIESTO, BURNING CINDYS, WADSWORTH
Weds Feb 14th, 2001
ASH STREET
Wadsworth caught the last two songs. Eric from Add X on guitar. Weird to see him without a crazy costume on. The music was insane, and definitely in a good way. Very innovative three piece rock.
Burning Cindys good set from Drew, Matt and Ed. The new songs are coming along quite nicely, they sound new and different but still have that BC feel that I know and love
Diesto Way too loud for my sensitive ears! Good three piece angry heavy rock.
800 OCTANE, SK and the PUNKASS BITCHES, LOPEZ, MUDDY RIVER NIGHTMARE BAND
Thurs Feb 15th
SATYRICON
800 Octane: good catchy harmonized pop punk.
SK and the Punk Ass Bitches: funny lyrics, awesome lead guitar, traditional rock and roll band.
Lopez: Tightest Ive seen Lopez in a long time. Timmy's leads are standing out more and more; they will sound like Slayer before you know it.
Muddy River Nightmare Band: Much better than their first gig at EJ's. The addition of Jason leadfoot on guitar is a big bonus.
REAL PILLS, HIGH and THE MIGHTY, BURNING CINDYS, HUNCHES
Fri Feb 16th
MEDICINE HAT GALLERY
The Real Pills: I danced hard like a retard through they're whole set.
High and The Mighty: Wow, they kept telling me they were the "Best rock and roll band ever," and, well, they're not, but they are really good, from fast rockers to slow dance numbers, and a ton of charisma ta boot.
Burning Cindys: They should have said, "Fuck you hipsters!" Well, I would have. They played great, but the rock and roll kids don't like the Burning Cindys style of rock, or better yet, maybe they do but just wont admit it.
Hunches: Potential city. The drummer from the Real Pills, great guitar lines, sassy bass and a growly singer. They just need to work on tuning their instruments and they'll sound lodes better.
2000:
CHIMERA BENEFIT #3
MENSTRUAL TRAMPS, PINK CHIHUAHUA, BASTINADO, DAS GRAVYBOAT
SAT, AUG 5th
ARNADA CAFE
Ah, the final part of the benefit trilogy. Another good night of national rock and roll, beer drinking and just plain fun. First, I must say that without Eric Mongrain helping me with the door and Miguel running the bar and sound simultaneously, all would have been lost. A big Chimera hug and thanks to you two!
Das Gravyboat started things off just fine. We had some problems early in the set with broken strings, but then we busted out old gems like 'Aquaman' and 'Uncle Lester' to keep the natives from rioting.
Bastinado followed with a fine set, but they seemed quite unhappy with their performance. It happens, but little do they know they kicked ass.
Pink Chihuahua won the crowd over swiftly. They are so original and different, it's refreshing to have a chance to see a band that both rocks and offers something unique. Their songs are angry but there is no false attitude, no posturing or whining, just Pink Chihuahua. By the end of their set, ranging from all seven songs off their CD and more originals to covers of Dead Moon and the Rolling Stones, the crowd was theirs for the taking. They had to play an encore or they wouldn't have left the Arnada in one peice.
I was stoked on the Mentrual Tramps. I'd never heard them, but these three girls from Minneapolis could give Zeke a run for their money any day of the week. Super speed punk with all these weird little changes and fills. I don't imagine they make their way around town too often; do yourself a favor and go see them next time their around.
-JR
FILTHY JIM, DAS GRAVYBOAT, HARDSHIP, BASTINADO
FRI, JULY 21st
EJs
Bastinado and Hardship once again shared a bill together. I like both the bands a lot, and it's a good variety as they sound nothing like each other (Hardship-hardcore punk, Bastinado-intricate melodic rock). Bastinado played their tightest set yet and Hardship wooed the crowd with flaming amplifiers.
I was surprised to see such a good turn out for Das Gravyboat, as it ws such a last minute show. We played good and people seemed to enjoy our set. We tried a new long-ass song called 'Perseus vs. Medusa', but half way through my a-string tuned down to a g-string. Otherwise, a good time.
Filthy Jim are a fast hardcore four-peice band from Kansas, and they play their songs with a lot of energy and anger. They insisted on headlining, which was foolish, as most of the people left by then. I wonder why bands do that? There were plenty of people there when Bastinado opened, and they could have played for a lot more people if they would have opened like they were scheduled to. Oh well, show line-ups can get confused
-JR
HARDSHIP, BASTINADO, BURNING CINDYS
SAT JULY 15th
ARNADA CAFE
The extra sweaty Arnada show started off with a great set from the Burning Cindys. They were totally cool and played 'Mechanical Bullfighter' and a new song for my Birthday. The Burning Cindys play intricate and heavy songs, ala Tool, but with their own unique twist and sound.
Bastinado were up next. They played good and hard to the small crowd assembled to watch them. I think David (singer/guitarist) is starting to become comfortable with his role as vocalist, he even bantered with the audience. These fellas are always tight, fast and sincere.
Finally, Hardship stormed the stage. At first, it seemed like they would be playing to a crowd of three, but slowly throughout their set people trickled in. No one rocked out to them as hard as the drunk guy who had been kicked out of the club and onto the street. He banged his head against the door post till he bled, and later could be found passed out next to a tree outside the club. Hardship played a long set (for them, just over a half hour) of non-stop hardcore songs, highlighted with a few new ones and a Dead Kennedy and Poison Idea cover. I had a good night.
-JR
LOPEZ, YO YO's
THURS, AUG 21st
SATYRICON
Lopez rocked, Yo Yo's we're pathetic. The singer for the Yo Yo's peed himself and fell down and they quit early. Lopez got stuck being the only opening act and had to go on earlier than planned (usually 'Thrasher' shows are way more organized, I guess he let this one slip!), much to some fans shigrin as they walked in during their last few songs. Lopez ended their set with a rousing cover of Twisted Sister's 'You're gonna burn in Hell", complemented with South Park's Timmy on vocals. The Yo Yo's can suck my ass.
-JR
KITTENS FOR CHRISTIAN, CLOCK
TUES, AUG 15th
EJs
Okay, you can't complain too much about a free show and one dollar pints of Pabst Blue Ribbon. In fact, everything was great this night, except for the bands.
There were three bands, but we just couldn't make it through all of Kittens for Christian's set to see the last band. They are a three piece from L.A. that play sort of original spacey/goth/rock songs. The bass player was really good, but his half ass yell singing was terrible, and the guitar just played these two or three notes hypnotically over the bass and drums through every song. It wasn't so bad I guess, it just got old quick.
Clock (three peice bass/drums/guitar) came down from Boise, Idaho to play in front of all twenty of us. I'm surprised more people don't take advantage of free rock nights. I guess people just don't want to risk seeing one of the plethora of terrible bands out there. While Clock weren't terrible and they play their instruments really well, and they are trying hard to be original and play weird songs. Unfortunately they end up sounding like a loungy Primus. The bass was really good but the drums were boring. Oh well, you can't have winners at every show.
-JR
DISGRUNTLED NATION, LOPEZ, SASSHOLE, PORNSTORE JANITOR
THURS, JULY 20th
EJs
Well, it looks like Joel (Lopez singer) got to have a pretty rad birthday party. First up on the bill was Pornstore Janitor. I like Pornstore's brand of dirty rock and roll, but they didn't seem to into it this evening. The drummer mentioned they have been playing too many shows around town, so maybe they were a little burnt out. Plus, the club was a sweat box. My favorite song of their's for the night was 'Q-Tip'.
Sasshole had the place packed, but everyone really seemed to enjoy talking to each other more than listening to them, which is understandable, as they are pretty boring. As much as I love the name Sasshole, I don't want to sit through another one of their sets.
Lopez rocks. In my humble opinion, they are the kings of Portland rock and roll. They never even think of slowing down, they encourage beer spitting and stage acrobatics, and they burn through a cover of 'Mississippi Queen' like they wrote it. You can't go wrong with Lopez (especially now that they have Timmy Torture on lead guitar).
Disgruntled Nation was a tight three-peice speed punk band with great shreiking vocals from all members. I liked 'em.
-JR
CRAVEDOG FAMILY PICNIC
AUGUST 5 & 6 2000
Review by Mark Surratt
2 days of music, camping and fun in the sun.
This was the fourth such show Todd Crosby of Cravedog Records has put on. The first two shows were held in a cow field at Coverdale on the Oregon Coast. The show has built up over the years and moved to Horning's Hide Out in North Plains, Oregon. This is a really cool venue for shows in a park like environment. The large trout pond and the peacocks add to the atmosphere. 18 bands played over the weekend. The sound system was excellent, and Larry Yes did a good job at being the MC.
The bands:
Architecture, Drive and Tracker kicked things off. All three sounded similar, somber country rock. Architecture sounded the best to me of the three. I would like to see them again in a bar, but I don't think I would buy their CD.
Natrons - three-piece, high-energy rockabilly. They made for a great show and were fun to watch. Natron plays solo sometimes too.
Luther Russell - keyboards, drummer and singer-songwriter - a jack of all trades. I was hoping he would do a jazz jam from his CD, "Down at Kit's". Kind of a let down after Natron. I left to eat and drink a lot.
Jeff Trott - just caught the end of his set. More of that 'somber country rock' only a little more rockin' and I liked it better.
Pete Droge played with members of the Baseboard Heaters. I thought it was good, but not great. They're just not my style of music.
Fernando - His band got the crowd fired up with his Southern California folk-rock sound. I fell in love with his music at the first Cravedog family picnic. A master of the ballads, I like his more rockin' tunes like 'Angelyne' and 'Mamma Cita'. His performance is always one of the highlights of Cravedog Family picnic.
Let's Rock! I have seen Dead Moon the last four times they played. This night was phenomenal. Fred Cole was a man with a mission. I had a good buzz going like most people. The band was real tight. This performance really moved me.
It's got to be hard following Dead Moon, but the Miss U's have done it plenty of times. The Miss U's are a Rolling Stones cover band with an all star local musicians line up. Tres does a great over-the-top performance of Mick Jagger.
Last year I partied all night in the campground. This year I passed out trying to keep up with Andrew.
Sunday morning JackStraw started things off with a strong performance of their folkish rock. Always a treat to see them.
James Low, with full band the best sounding of that somber country rock. Dressed in a black 30's style hat and wife beater shirt. I thought he was real good.
Mad Hattie - I really dig the folk country rock sound of this band. Lead singer and writer Dee Settlemier sounds a lot like Stevie Nicks very entertaining. When they finished playing I ran over and bought their CD.
Ian Moore - I have always been very impressed by this singer songwriter. Very real and genuine. He had to cut his set short because of a sore throat. One nice thing about a show like this is you get to see the performers with their families and friends.
Little Sue w/ full band - I instantly fell in love with her the first time I heard her and judging by the crowd I am not alone. She is definitely Portland's country princess. Backed by accomplished musicians like Marilee Hord on fiddle (who played in 3 other bands on Sunday) and Paul Brainard (who played steel pedal in four bands). He was looking a little haggard by the end but still sounded good.
Flap Jacks - Portland's best rockabilly band. Louie is an awesome guitar player. He got so worked up he tried to smash his guitar but it wouldn't break. When he realized it wouldn't break, he tossed it out to the crowd.
The Old Joe Clarks hit the stage with their own brand of country rock. I like this band but I was getting tired and beginning to have a music overdose.
After packing up camp I checked out a little bit of the
Baseboard Heaters. I like them, but they sounded pretty much like they did with Pete Droge