MusicFestNW, Day 2.

Because at least one person will care about this... Maybe two, if I remind her that this blog exists... Maybe even three, if I can use it as a sample for my music/concert reviewer dream job.

As mentioned, I skipped Day 1 in favor of zombies, so I was very excited to plan tonight's agenda between work projects today. First up was The Helio Sequence (from Portland? I thought they were Seattle!), free at the Wonder Ballroom. I really, really like this band, but I have to say... I was not impressed with the live show. It was neat to see them live, because I never have, but the music and format is not exactly conducive to a great live show. When I can get the same exact thing on my comfy couch, I probably won't be paying money to see anyone in the future. I caught a few minutes of the set of the prior act, Dr. Dog, and I'm glad I did. It's interesting and while I'm not sure I could listen to it regularly on headphones, I would really like to see a full set of theirs live. The energy was definitely there.

Next up: downtown. But first, a digression. I alternated back and forth four times between the Ash Street Saloon and Dante's, which are a mere four blocks apart (thank you, damn small town) but in a sketchy part of damn small town. So this required some serious maneuvering amongst the actual homeless and the hipster "homeless," and I got an offer (twice) from an Emile Hirsch-looking hipster homeless boy offering his services as a "houseboy" and/or "foot massager." I declined both politely, but at 11pm after four hours on my feet I started to reconsider the latter. He said he cleaned up nice, after all, how bad could he be? End of digression.

ANYWAY. Band three (technically speaking, if you count three seconds of Dr. Dog) at Ash Street was Hey Marseilles. I was somewhat interested from their MySpace playlist, and somewhat disappointed initially because the first three songs sounded exactly the same, and they had seven people in the band, and I kept wondering why three of those people didn't just go off and write a different sounding song instead of contributing to the same sound. And then they suddenly pulled some sea shanty/Celtic-type stuff out, and it reminded me vaguely of a very early Decemberists type of music, and I had a whole new respect for this band. Natch, they were out of CDs. And they're not from Portland. Meh. But check them out if you ever can.

Next up at Dante's was Archeology. Portland representing, again! I don't mind their (MySpace) recorded stuff, but it's not something I would listen to on a regular basis and I wouldn't pay to see them again. There was just something off in their show tonight. Maybe it was because they were being videotaped for the MFNW and they were nervous? Maybe it was because they were opening for the greatest band I saw tonight and they were nervous?

Then back to Ash Street, for the Black Whales, who I was really excited about from the MySpace listens. In reality it was just loud (although to be fair, Ash Street is not really set up for loud, but this band wasn't supposed to be loud from the samples I'd heard), and even though they had two drum sets (which I'm growing more and more to love), and one of the drummers had a tambourine in the shape of a moon, and the bass player looked exactly like Will Ferrell, and two of them wore deck shoes with rolled up jeans (the antithesis of hipster), I just couldn't get into it. Very disappointing. All that said, please do check out their free recorded stuff. It's ear-worthy.

Then back to Dante's, where I was surprised by We Were Promised Jetpacks. I must've heard a song or two on the radio because they sounded familiar when I was screening the candidates today. And the band name was instantly appealing - sure to produce some angst and/or melancholy. And that they did. (Apparently, the band name brings "constant disappointment" to the singer, who regrets naming the band such a name. Having recently skydived I can attest to the helpless feeling such a name might project.) But oh my, were they amazing. I'm not sure how they would feel about such a comparison but it felt like I was watching Arcade Fire, Coldplay (albums 1,2 or 4) and Interpol in a glorious musical blender. To me, this is a good thing. As mentioned elsewhere, their recorded stuff is definitely good on the ears but the live show is amazing. They are the only band I've seen lately (excluding The Decemberists, of course) who really seemed to click and who really seemed to want to be doing what they're doing. The drummer was constantly looking at each bandmate for whatever reason - keeping everyone on pace, watching for queues for unanticipated song changes - it really doesn't matter because I've never seen a drummer do that. Good for them.

The band I really wanted to see, I was too tired for, but now I'm kicking myself because it's 1am and I could've squeezed them in had I skipped the review. Initial concerns about eardrums, the ability to fall into bed for an early day tomorrow, and the need to have energy for three more days of this got in the way. Damn this responsibility and getting old shit.