Dec 9 2011

You know what's great? Our Music Residency Series at Al's Den. I'm not just saying this because it's my job to photograph them -- I have seen some of my favorite acoustic, live music in Portland there (and it's only been open since May ‘11). I knew this tiny room had a hold on me during the Crystal Hotel's opening when Lewi Longmire, Evan Way, and Mike Midlow started singing Neil Young covers -- swoon.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Apr 29 2011

This is pretty magical.

photoBack in the day (as in, 50 years ago), three talented men anchored the hoppin' downtown jazz scene, whose epicenter happened to be clubs that stood where the Crystal Hotel is today: Charlie Gabriel, Mel Brown and Carl Smith.

Each man eventually left Portland to make his way in the music world. All three went on to great success in the New Orleans and Motown scenes; all three left an enduring mark on Stumptown's musical history.

And now, each man is returning to their old stomping grounds -what is now the Crystal Hotel & Ballroom.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Apr 27 2011

Okkervil RiverOkkervil River's hotly anticipated new album I Am Very Far isn't due out 'til May 10, but tonight the band will be streaming a live performance of the album in its entirety! Wish we could take credit for this one, but the Pitchfork website has the scoop on where you can catch the live webcast tonight at 4 p.m. PST.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Apr 14 2011

Old TonesAs Deftones fans most likely -and sadly-already know, the band's longtime bassist Chi Cheng suffered serious brain damage as the result of a 2008 car accident.

Cheng has never recovered; he remains in a semi-conscious state.

As of May, 2010, Cheng began to show signs of significant improvement. He can track people with his eyes and slightly move his hands. But, obviously, he has a long way to go.

This is where the Deftone's second show at the Crystal Ballroom, slated for Saturday, April 16, comes in...

Read More
1 comment Post a comment
Apr 6 2011

 

photoThe stars of our current McMenamins Small Batch Tour, Christabel & the Jons may play an old-timey style, but the group is not anachronism. Rather, the quartet manages to coax jazzy genres from the past out of the mothballs and into the future. The result is simply gorgeous: A mélange of countrified folky jazz swing and, lately, a sultry bossa nova groove, above which floats the voice of Christa DeCicco. DeCicco's voice is tailor-made for jazz; her lyrics -sharp and clever-and melodies are more catchy than any pop song. Despite the bands penchant for thrift-store finds and acoustic instruments, it all feels very much grounded in the now, thanks to smart musical twists and turns, seemingly effortless blending of genres, and a sparkling energy.

 

 

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Mar 25 2011

 

photoTo celebrate '80s Video Dance Attack's sixth anniversary party, I had planned on writing several glowing paragraphs about how much un this weekly event is. After all, every single Friday, hundreds and hundreds of people -many clad in glowing plastic bangles, pegged jeans and Pretty In Pink-esque prom dresses-crowd the Crystal's dance floor and straight up get into the groove. This isn't one of those parties where patrons stand around watching a couple people dance; this is a fun, sweaty, fully interactive blowout that pulls in an age range between those just old enough to drink legally and those who purchased Madonna's first album...on vinyl. The day it came out.

 

 

Read More
1 comment Post a comment
Mar 22 2011

LogoShould a band that's been playing since 1958 have a MySpace page? In a musical world full of pop stars whose blip of fame barely registers long enough to produce a ring tone, The Ventures may be the only 53-year-old band to be able to pull it off.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Mar 16 2011

David MayfieldBearded and bespectacled, David Mayfield doesn't initially look like the type of performer who could whip a crowd into a frenzy. But with his swiveling hips, sexy moves (ironic, or not?) and loopy charm, Mayfield exudes an awkward charisma that elicits hoots 'n' hollers.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Mar 4 2011

King PerkoffYou don't have to be a jazz fan to dig the coolest cat around, King Perkoff. The dude is to saxophones what LeBron James is to basketball – a master of his art, and a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Mar 3 2011

Vince BrownThe Spar Café: It's been a saloon, a rooming house for rowdy sailors, a billiard hall, a bowling alley and even a haven for gambling. It's been a meeting place for longshoremen and politicians, students and native Olympians. And now, while maybe less raucous than it used to be, the Spar is re-instating a staple of its past: Live music.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Feb 22 2011

B DarwishIn a town like Portland, blessedly overflowing with indie rock bands, sometimes jazz gets overlooked. Portland actually has quite a strong jazz scene, and, as befitting our unconventional little burg, that scene is home to a creative substratum that likes to push the boundaries of the genre.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Feb 17 2011

 

photoWe told you that all our McMenamins Music Tours were about to kick it into high gear, and we weren't kidding. Tonight, the Wiyos kick off their Small Batch Tour (which will hit three properties in two days!) at the Kennedy School.

There's old-school, and there's way old-school, and the Wiyos definitely fit the latter. This crew of modern Tin Pan Alley crooners seems to hail from an era when newsboys crowed from street corners and a fedora topped every head. These anachronists somehow manage to infuse their songbook -clearly taken from the popular music of the 1920s and '30s, with an almost imperceptible modern-ness. The result is both a nostalgic look at the past and an eye on the future.  

 

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Feb 17 2011

photoI challenge anyone to really describe Y La Bamba (currently on the Great Northwest Music Tour) accurately. This band is so original, so genre-bending, so strange (in a good way), they defy the usual modus operandi of lazy music writers everywhere: comparison. Comparing this Portland group to any other band is simply impossible.

So we'll have to do the best we can, with snippets of aural imagery and forays into the band's personality. So let's try: Moody, melodic, multi-cultural post-folk (that is, folk with a bit of a backbeat -which in this case feels like a melancholy heartbeat) centered on singer Luzelena Mendoza's swirl of a voice. No, "swirl" is too weak of a word. It's strong and feminine, like a Frida Kahlo painting, this voice. No, not like a painting -- like Frida herself. 

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Feb 16 2011

 

photoSpring is, if not exactly around the corner, at least within a few flips of the calendar page. What does that mean for us? Well now's the time of year we really ratchet up our McMenamins Music Tours. But you may be wondering: WHAT ARE THESE MCMENAMINS TOURS, ANYWAY?

Well, we'll tell ya:

 

 

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Feb 11 2011

 

photoWe here at McMenamins music have a special affection for the Avett Brothers. After all, we have quite a history with these fellas: They've traveled our properties as a Great Northwest Music Tour headliner, played four Crystal Ballroom shows, and absolutely tore it UP at last summer's Edgefield Concerts on the Lawn (side note: Avett fans are very good tippers. Thanks, y'all!).

So we couldn't be more pleased to spread the word that our favorite heartfelt stomp-rock-country-roots band will be playing at the Grammys this year! The Avetts will be sharing the stage with Bob Dylan, no less (another Edgefield Concert star from last summer, by the way) and Mumford and Sons, who of course took over the airwaves this past year.

Click through and see some awesome exclusive pics!

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Feb 3 2011

Opera TOGOThe word "opera" doesn't usually conjure up the words "light-hearted comedy," "kids fare" or even "fun." The art form, succumbing to the slow change in taste over the centuries, is nowadays often seen as a stodgy old art form, reserved for stodgy old people, to be performed in ornate (but still stodgy!) old opera houses.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Jan 26 2011

 

photoWhen my esteemed music marketing overlords asked me to write a blog entry giving you the lowdown on the Crystal Ballroom's 97th Birthday Free-for-All, my first thought was, "Uh, sure guys, that's all fine and dandy in theory, but how could I possibly describe the ultimate awesomeness that this party entails? It will take 25 pages, and our readers have lives, ya know!"

So I figured I'd narrow it down. Give you a real feel for what this affair is, not just some fluffy words. To wit:

 

 

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Jan 19 2011

 

photoSometimes, you just get on a roll. And, not to toot our own vuvuzelas, but, brutha, the Mission is on a roll. Or, perhaps it's better to say the Mission is, uh, on a mission to drop some serious live entertainment on PDX.

What, you thought the Mission was only for movies? OK, we'll grant you that it's called the Mission Theater, but if you know McMenamins you know we love to think outside the box. We've been lining up a seriously cool, wondrously varied lineup for the upcoming weeks, and, while there's plenty of screen-oriented goodness to check out, we'd like to point out some of the other goodies on their way to the Mission's live stage:  

 

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Jan 11 2011

jmFor years, James Mercer has been known as many things.

He is, for one, a Shin. In fact, he founded the Shins, one of the most lauded bands of the decade.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment
Jan 7 2011

photoOK...as a professional, I know am supposed to maintain a cool, detached demeanor. I mean, yeah we have fun here at McMenamins Music and all, but still, there's a certain comportment one is supposed to bear while at work. You know, no tank tops at your desk. No throwing flip-flops at the brewers as they pass by. No excited "Woo hoo"'s should be emanating from behind my cubicle wall.

Read More
0 comments Post a comment