Category: Live Music

I don’t generally like to preview my best of the year picks but it’s hard to not talk about IDLES. In the last six years they’ve put out a string of exceptional albums that culminated with this year’s release, TANGK. I’m confident it will rank high on my end of year list. But it’s not just the music – they are a band that wears their heart on their sleeve, putting so much genuine emotion into everything they do. Which is why I was so excited to finally see them live – and while the show was a bit rough for the band (frontman Joe Talbot was fighting illness and significant monitor issues) it made the intensity and heartfelt abandon of their performance that much more powerful.

Despite five days of freezing temperatures and very little sleep, I had a great time at the Treefort Music Festival last year so I decided I’d head back again for 2024. Fortunately, the weather cooperated quite a bit better this year, I also managed my sleep schedule better (i.e. I didn’t make early morning plans each day I was there) and I had another fun experience.

Neko Case was the headliner for the first day of the festival, and while I’ve seen her perform a dozen times or so, I certainly wasn’t going to miss that. There were also a number of amazing performances from artists I was already familiar with but had never had the chance to see live before: Mary Timony, CMAT, Pokey Laforge, zzzahara, and Ryan Curtis. But like I did with my post last year, I’m going to highlight the standout moments that came from artists I heard at the festival who were brand new to me.

Patrick Watson and the Boise Philharmonic – Patrick Watson is an artist who I might have actually heard before but he hadn’t ever crossed my path in a way I remember. (Like jobs and personal relationships, I guess connecting with music can be a lot about ‘the right time and the right place.’) On Saturday, the forth day of the festival, the weather had turned colder and I had a moment of lethargy where the idea of hoofing it 5 blocks to catch an act seemed less appealing than a nice, comfy chair inside somewhere warm. So, I headed to the Morrison Center on the Boise State University campus to see this performance I really didn’t know anything about… which is the perfect setup for an amazing experience. On his own, Watson’s music often has a melancholic, dream-like quality. Paired with an orchestra, the beautiful lighting of the Morrison Center stage (and even some ballet dancers), the experience was magical.

Cassandra Lewis – While it seems that she’s moved around quite a bit in her life, Cassandra Lewis has ties to Idaho and her mom was sitting stage-side during this packed performance at the The Shrine Social Club which lead to several touching moments during her performance. It also turned out that Lewis was celebrating having just signed a record deal with a soon to come release. This seems like well deserved recognition for a powerful voice that is made for bringing the best out of a country song. By the way, I have to share the video Lewis did for her track “Darlin.” Shot at a downtown Portland landmark, it’s an incredible example of what can come from the blending of cultures (and countercultures).

The Kindness and Sam True – The Kindness is a three-piece jazz group based in the Boise area. Lately, I’ve bee listening to a lot more jazz and particularly drawn to more minimalist styles (something I’ll probably focus on in another post coming up) so stopping in to see this group felt like an obvious choice for me – and the band was great. But my single biggest highlight of the entire festival came at the close of their set when they brought out a guest vocalist from Boise, Sam Tru, and did a cover of Kharma Police. I wish I had video of this performance that I could share but (thankfully) I was so transfixed in the moment that I didn’t think to distract myself with my phone. It was an incredible version of a modern-day rock classic that both simplified the song to it’s essential core and then exploded out into improvised jazz energy.

Sistemes Inestables – At the end of The Kindness performance I struck up a conversation with a guy from San Francisco who turned out to be a drummer and drum teacher. We got talking music (and drumming) and he told me I had to stay for the next band. (I found out later that this 3-piece band from Chile was a group one of my drum teacher’s back in Portland knew as well.) Unfortunately, I don’t think their recorded works capture the full energy of the live performance but what followed was an enthralling fusion of ambient, prog-rock, and electronica that built into an intense soundscape. I looked across the venue and I could see every person was sucked in as the band created layers of melodic repetition only to be blown apart in explosive bursts.

The Schizophonics – It’s late on your second (or is it third?) night of the festival. You’re some number of beers in and you’re starting to come down from the rush of that last great band you just saw. But you step into another venue to see what’s going on and are confronted by the most hyperactive, high-energy frontman you’ve ever seen. Distorted fuzz rock pounds away as the singer careens back and forth across the stage, somehow playing his guitar parts with just one hand, and then proceeds to literally perform while standing on his head. This is rock and roll.

I’ve been wanting to attend Treefort for a long time but there always seemed to be a conflict, travel issue (or lack of planning on my part) that got in the way. Of course there’s the added perks of having family there, friends who run some of the event, a tie with my company doing some sponsorship, and just my overall roots in Boise. This year I made the commitment well in advance and dove in for the full five day experience.

The experience was great – despite the unseasonably cold weather (which included snow on multiple days). There were some bigger, well known acts headlining the festival (Dinosaur Jr, Margo Price, Ani DeFranco, Unknown Mortal Orchestra) but I was most interested in checking out hidden gems in the list of over 500 bands and the festival didn’t disappoint in that way. While bouncing around the city from venue to venue (often via Lime scooter, under dressed for the cold, and freezing my ass off) I discovered a number of bands that impressed me and more than justified the trip.

So here are my top finds from the 2023 Treefort Music Fest –

Good Looks, Austin,TX – A band I saw on the last night of the show and probably my favorite find. I would readily go back and retroactively put the title track from their debut album, Bummer Year, as my top song of 2022. They just have one album out so far but I heard mention of a new release later this year which I will definitely be watching for.

Jess Cornelius, Los Angeles, CA – Reminding me of Julia Jacklin, Alynda Segarra (Hooray for the Riff Raff), and maybe a touch of St Vincent, Cornelius dropped catchy, intelligent, rock songs with just the right degree of pop.

The Heligoats, Chicago, IL – Due to a technical issue, Chris Otepka had to do his set at a hipster coffee shop solo and completely acoustic. It was insanely charming but their recorded albums are their own reward, particularly the 2010 album Goodness Gracious.

Jessica Moss, Montreal, Quebec – In front of full crowd at the beautifully restored Egyptian Theater, Jessica Moss got up on stage all alone. With just her violin and a series of effects and looping pedals, she created a soundscape that was spellbinding.

Bart Budwig, Enterprise, OR – The band was packed shoulder to shoulder on a tiny stage in Pengilly’s Bar and the crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder between them and the door. I would not have guessed that one of my favorite finds of the fest would come from the tiny Oregon town of Enterprise.

The No-No Boys, Portland, OR – A band from my backyard that I’d never actually heard of before. As it turned out, they had to cancel at the last minute and didn’t make it to the festival. But thanks to a playlist put out by Treefort ahead of the fest, they were another discovery that I’ll just have to try and catch back here in Portland.

I had a pretty good year seeing live shows, even without the benefit of being compared to past dire, pandemic times. I saw three of my all-time favorite bands in one 6 day period – Pavement, Spoon, and Wilco. I discovered new favorite performers like Yard Act and Liam Kazar by seeing them perform live first. I saw indie-rock stalwarts Wolf Parade and The New Pornographers. I saw standard bearers of the alt-country/Americana scene Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, Sean Rowe, Benjamin Todd and the Lost Dog Street Band. I was able to share the amazing live concert experiences of The Roots, Low Cut Connie, and Moon Hooch with great friends. And I even saw a true icon of the punk ethos, Henry Rollins (on a spoken word tour – powerful and hilarious as always). But there were two performers (three concerts in total) that were my highlights of the year, for very different reasons – creating emotional bookends for my 2022 experience.

I don’t remember how I got introduced to The Heartless Bastards (although it might have been this radio interview) but I do distinctly remember that it took one listen to one song (New Resolution) to get me permanently hooked. I also remember talking with my friend Scott in December 2005 about our favorite new music and our picks for best album of the year. The White Stripes had released Get Behind Me Satan that year and were getting a lot of press, but I told Scott that I thought HB’s Stairs and Elevators, which has a similar low-fi, gritty, blues rock sound, was actually a better album with more consistent song writing – and it rocked just as hard.

On Monday night The Heartless Bastards played the Doug Fir (my favorite Portland venue) and I hadn’t been able to see them before so I was excited to finally catch them live. And after hearing them perform some of their new material, I’m also excited about the release of their new album in February.

In case you’re not familiar with the Bastards, they’ve actually been a revolving group of musicians centered around Erika Wennerstrom – an amazing musician doing the song writing, guitar and vocals. There are some other great blues rock bands out there (like the Black Keys and the afore mentioned White Stripes) but Wennerstrom single-handedly creates a uniquely intense and soulful sound. And live, she really kicks ass.

Anyway, rather then gush on more in my post wicked-live-show-euphoria, I’ll just say check ’em out and use the Amazon gift card you get at Christmas to buy their new album.

Last Friday night we went out to Old World Deli (home of Corvallis’ local brewery) to see Matt the Electrician play.  Matt (Sever) is originally from Corvallis and stops in town to play a show whenever he’s touring on the west coast.  I first heard Matt playing open mic nights at a now defunct campus coffee shop some 12 years ago – Matt has since moved to Austin to try and make it in the music business.  He’s a strong songwriter, with a folky sound that at times reminds us of Paul Simon.

Matt put on a great show in an intimate, friends and family environment (with great micro-brews), but the big surprise of the night for us was the extremely talented band he was touring with – especially his backup singer and bass player Seela.  She too is a singer-songwriter living in Austin and has several solo albums out.  She performed one of her own songs (Under the Influence) in the middle of the set and stunned the entire crowd with her big, luscious voice.  If you’re looking for some new music, we’d highly recommend checking out her website.  She’s also in a a great jazz band with the drummer Jon Greene.