Music Blog

Saturday, October 27 Saturday Sounds: Straitjackets, Social Scene, Sykes, etc.

A scintillating selection of shows tonight in the Rose City, highlighted by Kevin Drew and the Broken Social Scene at the Aladdin Theater and Los Straitjackets at Dante's. Drew, the founder of what is now the collective known as the Broken Social Scene, recently released his first album under his own name, although there are appearances from BSS personnel all over the place. Drew is just the latest affiliate of the Toronto-based act to gain attention under his own moniker while simultaneously benefiting from his talented associates (see also: Feist, Apostle of Hustle, Emily Haines, among others).

Los Straitjackets play Dante’s in Portland tonight. Los Straitjackets, meanwhile, are from another planet entirely. Those Mexican wrestling masks (lucha libre) you see? Nothing whatsoever to do with Halloween. For almost twenty years now, the band has been taking to stages looking like well-dressed versions of Rey Mysterio, but sounding like Link Wray. The quartet's latest effort is an all Spanish language affair, and while it's not necessarily their first album to feature singing it still represents a branching out for the band. Rock en Espanol, Vol. 1 features versions of classic rock & roll songs all sung in Spanish, and based on the versions originally composed by 60's Mexican garage bands with names like Los Teen Tops and Los Rebeldes del Rock. "Hang On Sloopy, " thus, becomes "Hey Lupe," and "Lonely Teardrops," is here known as "Lagrimas Salitarias." Los Lobos frontman Cesar Rosas and Big Sandy, among others, guest star on vocal duties.

Jesse Sykes returns to Portland this week. Also tonight, we revisit portions of sessions recorded earlier this year in our studios with Rocky Votolato and Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter. The labelmates, both on Seattle's Barsuk records, are touring together and play the Hawthorne Theater in Portland this Wednesday night.