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Ok, so I’m in love with Peaches. The deep, real love that only comes of seeing a live performance that literally tears your shirt off and makes you beg for more (twice). She was fabulous. Everything I had hoped for and SO MUCH MORE. The opening act, Amanda Blank, was an unexpected treat as well, donning a skin tight “david lee roth” swimsuit (her words, not mine) and spitting some mad shit over two highly talented djs and a somewhat bored drummer (i feel your pain man). When the band went off of the first set, peaches stayed up there and munched a turkey leg, in an animalistic, gutteral and low way that drives you frigging crazy. They played “Rock n Roll” in the first encore, rocking your nuts off for ten minutes before going through a fake accidental stage fall and fight between the usher stage hand and the leather pants wearing, shirtless, iggy pop impersonating, keyboardist/dj/guitarist/singer guy. I got every song I wanted. From an epic “Shake your Dix” to a thumping “the Boys wanna be her”. I really couldn’t ask for more. But then, before the second encore, she munched into a whole turkey carcass, ripping off bits before tossing the carcass in front on the drums. Oh, yeah, she kept climbing on the drumset and then jumping off it. She does a weak ass splits in the air (like 35 degrees), but at least she’s up there, hurling herself in the air. Bless you Mama Peaches.

There are musical instruments out there that never really get the respect they deserve. High on this list are the Triangle and the Tambourine – both so simple we give them to children, but both also rich in their possibility. No matter how musically sophisticated you are, I would bet you serious money you can’t tell me who the Yo-Yo Ma of the Triangle or the Tambourine is. While these masters may linger in obscurity, at least we can bring one guru of the lowly to the spotlight. Abby (she gave no last name), is without a doubt the finest spoons player I’ve ever seen.

Abby was performing down on the waterfront today, but the tourists were largely ignoring her, fixated instead on yet another guy making metallic tone spray-paint space art (what do people see in that stuff?). I was completely mesmerized. At first, it seemed she had created a special two spoon connected device, but no, in the end it is just two spoons turned with their bulbs inwards towards each other, their handles covered in white tape. She was kind enough to give me a quick lesson in which she explained how the positioning of the spoons relative to each other, the part of your hand or other surfaces you hit, and even the wind effect of moving your other hand around the spoons, and swooping the spoons in the air, all play an important part in terms of the musical tone produced. I was impressed by the washboard contraption she had built which had two tin cans, some bells and small finger cymbals all worked in together to give her a wide variety of percussive options. She explained how she watched lots of people play, and slowed down various videos to really learn the different technical traits of different techniques. Clearly her hard work has paid off, as she is now a joy to watch. Sure, we need great violinists, but I’m glad we have some spoon players like Abby as well.

(Abby was kind enough to pose with Cutie also, but she seemed a bit confused by his wings and articulated bum. )

Abby and Cutie

Let’s hope this song isn’t too prescient about the unrest in Tehran “these are fairy tales that don’t have happy endings”.

Looking for a great new Portland band to adore?  How about these guys?

AutoPilot is for Lovers
http://www.autopilotisforlovers.com/
 

“Autopilot is for Lovers” is a fine new four piece from PDX with a small spunky lead singer (Adrienne Hatkin – or should i perhaps say Smoking Hotkin) who mixes kim gordon with jan sjankmeyer producing wavering tones of goodness as she rocks out either a Banjo or a bad ass red guitar that seems to be plucked from the pages of Robotech.  There is a towering violinist (Fiona McLoughlin) who looks around alot.  The rhythm section is tight, adding a nice layer of rock out to what could otherwise delve into iron and whinedom.  Paul Seely (skins) and Kyle Knight (says violin in the liner notes but I believe he was on bass) were both great, but need to ’sex it up a bit’ when it comes to the performance. (Come on boys, make the ladies swoon. )

I like Forget Cassettes, Interpol, Cat Power, and Siouxsie more than the average man on the street, so Autopilot was right up my alley.  They played the Alberta Art Hop and did a great job.  The crowd loved it.  This could easily be a big band – at least on the indie scene.  I would hurry up and book this band for your indie venue.  Come on, try to keep ahead of the curve rather than just following whatever CMJ throws your way.  

They offer 2 CDs at their shows, an EP for $6 and the full length “To the Wolves” for $10.  I bought both, and am very happy with my decision, though the show was more rocking than “To the Wolves”, which is excellent, but much calmer than I had imagined.   

You should get them both, but if you are on low end of broke, then don’t miss the EP.  The packaging alone (you can fold it out and hang it on your wall) makes it well worth the money, and it seems like they may be hard to come by a year from now.  I liked the music too, with songs like “Dogs for Cats” and “#1 Fan”  that really brought back Sonic Youth, Erase Errata, and Forget Cassettes to the tip of my musical tongue.  If you play #1 Fan really loud on your boombox, you will get laid, I promise you. That’s worth $6, no matter how broke you are.

The Full Length is an excellent record as well.  It showcases Hatkin’s vocals exquisitely, especially in tracks like Come Now, Bones, and Whale Belly.  Some songs, like Left to the Sun and Shadows, do reach rock heights, but too many tracks lack drums for my taste.  

If you are one of those people that only buys individual songs now, my picks would be:

• #1 Fan
• Dogs and Cats
• Left to the Sun
• Bones
• Whale Belly
• Come Now
• Shadows