Music Blog

The first of Saturday's free shows at the Wonder Ballroom was from Ratatat.

Photo taken by Flickr user Kyle kjten22, he's also got some other great MFNW shots.

MP3: Ratatat - Mirando
MP3: Ratatat - Shiller
MP3: Ratatat - Seventeen Years

After 90 minutes of a packed house dancing to the some amazingly danceable music, the Wonder was really, really hot. So hot, that Les Savy Fav lead singer Tim Harrington removed his tye-dyed shirt just one song into their set, revealing a chest so white that my camera's flash ceased to function for the rest of the band's performance. The band, and Harrington in particular, are true punk showmen. He kept the energy on overdrive for far longer than should have been possible in an environment of 95 degrees and 95% humidity, using a variety of props, including: his shirt, a roll of toilet paper, a stepladder (which he climbed to the top of, and then crowdsurfed on, still elevated), and a small flashlight placed inside his mouth.

MP3: Les Savy Fav - What Would Wolves Do?
MP3: Les Savy Fav - Patty Lee

As packed and hyped the Wonder was, the Someday Lounge was quiet. It was as different as you could imagine, and refreshingly so, but one theme remained consistent: the semi-nude male form. Portland's Iretsu performed their vocal post-rock dressed as Olympic swimmers, wearing only Speedos and gold medals.

MP3: Iretsu - 6 Bump Hillbilly Stomp
MP3: Iretsu - Name Our Numbers Numbers

Over at the Hawthorne Theater, Portland's Dykeritz, with nearly three times the members of Iretsu, played. Their music is winding pop, with as many chord changes as members in sometimes fewer bars. Their sound check ended up being about as long their actual set they played, but in the words of my friend who was also at the show, "it's like French cooking--it takes a long time, there's never enough food, but it's REALLY GOOD."

MP3: Dykeritz - Look at My Hands, Look at My Knees
MP3: Dykeritz - Big Drapes (via Local Cut)

At the Crystal Ballroom, Portland three-piece Menomena performed their first Portland show in a while, what with other projects the band has been working on. In keeping with the partially-clothed male theme of the evening, drummer Danny Seim performed, as always, sans shoes.

MP3: Menomena - Wet and Rusting
VIDEO: Menomena - Cough Coughing
VIDEO: Menomena - Evil Bee
VIDEO: Menomena - Wet and Rusting

Wrapping up an amazing bill at the Crystal, was Portland two-piece band The Helio Sequence. An amazing set to an attentive crowd, the second-to-last song was their cover of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows," followed by their final song, the title track from their latest album, "Keep Your Eyes Ahead."

MP3: The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
MP3: The Helio Sequence - Blood Bleeds
MP3: The Helio Sequence - Everyone Knows Everyone
MP3: The Helio Sequence - Can't Say No
LISTEN: Helio Sequence: Live in-studio @ OPB

I finished out the night with about 10 minutes of watching the man best known for his inability to lie about his preferred body type. Sir Mix-a-Lot's rap career started in 1986, and he continues to create new material now, more than 20 years later, and 17 years after the success of "Baby Got Back." That song still haunts him, like a Nemesis, damning him to a status of "one hit wonder." An hour and a half into his set, he still wasn't ready to perform it, but I was ready to call it a night.

VIDEO: Sir Mix-a-Lot - Baby Got Back
MP3: Jonathan Coulton - Baby Got Back

You can see all our photos from the night here and here.