Rachel’s Tale of Santa Monica, CA – The Temple Bar (or “Someone Has to Have a Meltdown, Might As Well Be Me”)
There is always at least one spectacular meltdown in any given tour—at least, any tour I’ve ever been on. Usually at that crucial just-past-midway point when the sleep deprivation and cramped quarters and [...]

OK so, first things first: Ya know my WW show preview for Lily Allen? As in, the lead review of the whole music listings section this week? Well, just to clarify: it wasn’t supposed to begin “When I first heard ‘Smile,’” as it does. No, it was supposed to read, “At first, when I [...]

This song appears to about blood getting on clothes at a punk show. That’s about all I can gather. Colin Grigson sounds hoarse and guttural shouting the lyrics that sound pretty mean. It’s cool to hear him doing vocals for a band that’s a little metal. I really dig the breakdown in the middle with [...]

Six thirty pm. Saturday, the twenty fourth day in March 2007. Exit Portland, Oregon
Let the tour begin!
The Weinlander (our ever trusty tour van purchased by adam’s granddad in 1975 and passed down two generations before we got ‘er) has been going through a week of serious training and has been declared “tight.” We’ll take [...]

I Am the Arm is one of those bands that’s always on the brink of achieving the success that their great music ought to earn them, but stuff keeps getting in the way. I thought that teaming up with Lauren Newman (a.k.a. LKN) was the ticket when I wrote this profile of the trio a [...]

After the interview was over, I was still trying to hash out some finer points of Grigson’s belief system off the record. I knew from a previous conversation that he’s not a big fan of any venue with fire in the logo, so I asked him how he felt about Dante’s, a place that’s clearly [...]

Portland’s blues harmonica giant, Paul deLay, who died unexpectedly March 7th, will be celebrated on Sunday, April Fools’ Day with a concert at the Portland Art Museum’s Kridel Grand Ballroom. Hosted by eleven former members of various incarnations of The Paul deLay Band, the bill features Duffy Bishop, Linda Hornbuckle, Lloyd Jones, and Terry Robb—artists [...]

Three old Portland peeps (Daisy, Angie, and Tomo) are all in Tucson now for school, studying Library Science, Horticulture, and Audiology respectively. They each brought some friends and fellow students out to our show at Plush, which went quite well. You probably shouldn’t assume that those particular academic fields are normally full of party-hardy [...]

This number was doubtlessly the favorite among Observers fans. It elicited quite a reaction at the band’s epic farewell show in 2005, and kicks off their only LP. The guitar melody in the intro pretty much epitomizes the generally melancholic-yet-confident vibe that permeates the album and reminds me of early ‘80s Bad Religion “They [...]