July 16
Google their choogle
Banditos bio notes this sextet uses the populist choogle of Creedence Clearwater Revival, in addition to garage punk scuzz, hill country mojo, and Slim Harpos hip shake baby groove. We decided to try to top alt-country-rockers Banditos self description with one of our own, after we listened to their tunes.
Our take? Originally from Birmingham, Ala., Banditos burst into your ears and eyes like a drunken bachelorette party so rowdy theyre being tossed from an outlaw biker bar because the bikers can no longer take their silliness. Thats right hell hath no fury this band wouldnt find laughable.
Banditos, 9 p.m. Thursday, July 16, Duffs Garage, 2530 N.E. 82nd Ave. $10. Info: 503-234-2337, www.duffsgarage.com.
July 18-19
Gentlemen prefer Blondie
Chris Stein, guitarist for Blondie, says part of his to-the-point guitar style is rooted in his aesthetic.
Im a big believer in less is more, he says. Endless guitar solos can be kind of daunting. You dont need 48 bars.
Stein will be able to practice what he preaches at 7:45 p.m. Saturday, July 18, when Blondie headlines Project Pabst at Zidell Yards. The fabled New Wave bands set will wrap a day that includes performances by Hustle and Drone, Priory, The Velvet Teen, Against Me!, Thee Oh Sees, TV on the Radio, Run the Jewels. On Sunday, July 19, Weezer similarly closes out a day that includes sets by Wampire, Wild Ones, Terry and Louie, Alvvays, The Both, Passion Pit and Buzzcocks
Stein will be joined by original members singer Debbie Harry and drummer Clem Burke, as well as bassist Leigh Foxx, keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen, and guitarist Tommy Kessler.
Although the band often is lumped in with punk rock CBGB denizens like the Ramones, Blondie actually was more akin to Talking Heads, exploring rhythmic and sonic possibilities that went beyond 1, 2, 3, 4! From the disco throb of Heart of Glass to the bells-aringing proto-hip-hop of Rapture, Blondie was more about writing songs that simply worked, whatever the style, in the best tradition of pop tunesmiths.
It just happened, it was not anything planned, Stein says of the groups eclectic catalog, which includes rockers like One Way or Another as well as the propulsive dance hit Call Me. Its just what we were drawn to. People we admired, like Bowie, were always reinventing themselves.
The band will play about two-thirds old hits and one-third newer stuff, including music off its Ghosts of Download double CD released last year. Stein also is coming off a successful year as a photographer, having published Chris Stein/Negative: Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk. The book contains photos Stein took of Blondie, the Ramones, Talking Heads and other punk and New Wave pioneers of the 1970s New York City scene.
I tell kids to take pictures of their friends, you never know which ones will become famous, he says with a chuckle. When reminded that young people actually take a lot of pictures these days of themselves and their friends, he laughs and says, That and cats. And food.
Project Pabst, Saturday-Sunday, July 18-19, Zidell Yards, 3030 S.W. Moody Ave. Single-day tickets $40, weekend passes $75. Separately ticketed evening shows take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday July 17-19 Info: www.projectpabst.com.
Quick hits
Hot on the heels of their latest single, the dance-happy Crave, Parachute plays a stripped down acoustic set, along with Mikey Wax, at Lolas Room at the Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside St., at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 19. $18 in advance, $20 day of show. Info: 503-225-0047, www.mcmenamins.com.
Spokane Americana rockers The Marshall McLean Band, as well singer-songwriters Anna Tivel and Jeffrey Martin, share a bill at Secret Society Ballroom, 116 N.E. Russell St., at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 19. $10. Info: 503-493-3600, www.ticketfly.com, www.secretsociety.net.
Best-selling jazz vocalist Catherine Russell, backed by Matt Munisteri on guitar, Mark Shane on piano, and Tal Ronen on bass, performs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23, at Jimmy Maks, 221 N.W. 10th Ave. $10. Info: 503-295-6542, www.jimmymaks.com.