Seattle multimedia psych explorers (and Portable Shrines co-conspirators) Midday Veil are heading down the West Coast this month with a new cassette/digital release on Translinguistic Other. Subterranean Ritual II consists of two long, slow-building tracks improvised in the studio during the recording sessions for Eyes All Around and may be streamed in its entirety for free via the band’s Bandcamp page.
Tour dates in handy poster form below. Facebook event here.
Sooo many things going on in the imminent future… like for instance, ESCALATOR FEST III SEPTEMBER 23-24TH! (more on this very soon) But first things first- this Wednesday Aug. 10th at The Comet: “Return to the Fungal Abyss” This is the 2nd night of a month long journey into sound that will be happening every Wednesday in August and features all four members of avant-metal geniuses Lesbian taking an improvisational trip into realms beyond joined by numerous special guests. Each night will be a something new and different. This week the Curious Mystery open up with visuals by Portable Shrines and the All Seeing DJ One Eye spinning far-out records between sets. Reports from the 1st night indicate that this is definitely an event you don’t want to miss…
This will also be a party to celebrate the release of FUNGAL ABYSS’ debut album “Bardo Abgrund Temple” on Transliguistic Other. Hear a preview here: http://fungalabyss.bandcamp.com/
There are two can’t-miss shows tonight happening on opposite ends of town. I guess this is a good problem to have, but damn if it isn’t tough to choose sometimes.
Over at Chop Suey, our longtime faves Night Beats are celebrating the release of their debut full-length on Trouble in Mind Records with Bare Wires and First Times. Facebook invite here.
At Nectar, Sublime Frequencies presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a performance by Group Doueh from the Western Sahara. Filling out the bill will be Angelo Spencer et les Hauts Sommets and Arrington De Dionyso’s Malaikat dan Singa, who recently released an online-only album titled Slow Dancin’ Under the Moon. This one will likely sell out, we recommend getting there early.
Fortunately, as transdimensional beings, we will be able to experience these shows simultaneously. The rest of you will have to choose…
Geist and the Sacred Ensemble play the Josephine (surely you know where that is?) this Saturday night to celebrate their long awaited first full-length release. You can get a preview of it HERE. Also dig this interview on the always excellent Revolt of the Apes blog.
With: HUNTER (Tacoma), Kelli’s Starlight Wishes and Tied To Branches (SF)
In past years, we’ve often lamented not being able to make the trip to Austin Psych Fest. (In 2009, Austin transplant Victoria Reynard even wrote a full review of APF2 for Portable Shrines so we could at least experience it vicariously.)
This year, a small group of us made the trip to Austin to observe first hand how our psychedelic brethren do it up down south.
Photo by Clarita Hinojosa
Austin Psych Fest 4 was held at the Seaholm Power Plant, an old art deco landmark that has been retired from producing actual power since the 1950s. The inside of the space was completely transformed for the occasion, with two stages set up to accomodate the 50-some bands who made the trek to Texas for our psychedelic consideration. (This year’s lineup was truly amazing…so many bands we were excited to see, all in one place!) We arrived on Friday afternoon just in time to catch Seattle’s own Night Beats deliver an inspired set of rock and roll with the help of special guest Chris Catalena (of The Tunnels and The Ghost Songs).
The Night Beats at Austin Psych Fest 4. Photo by Emily Pothast.
The next day, we caught Night Beats again, this time giving a performance at the Do512 Lounge, a small performance space that hosted small televised shows for several of the Psych Fest Bands (including The Meek, The Black Ryder and The Diamond Center. It was a great chance to see some of these bands in such an intimate setting. We couldn’t stay for long, however, because the afternoon was full of some of the bands we were most excited to catch: Cloudland Canyon, PONTIAK, White Hills, Lumerians, Young Prisms and The Soft Moon all played the second stage on Saturday, before SPECTRUM took to the mainstage for an epic, slow-building performance.
PONTIAK at Austin Psych Fest 4. Photo by Emily Pothast.
White Hills at Austin Psych Fest 4. Photo by Emily Pothast.
Lumerians at Austin Psych Fest 4. Photo by Emily Pothast.
On Day 3, we investigated some of Austin’s more exciting off-site attractions, including the amazing record store End of an Ear and Switched on Austin, an analog synth specialty store featuring immaculate modulars and vintage Farfisas as far as the eye could see. Again, we didn’t have much time because the afternoon was full of more bands we were dying to see: Denver’s Tjutjuna and Minneapolis’s Daughters of the Sun were standouts on the second stage. By the time Roky Erickson and festival organizers The Black Angels took to the main stage, their audience was completely saturated by the ear-splitting, soul-vibrating good vibes.
Switched On Music and Electronics, Austin's synth mecca.
Tjutjuna at Austin Psych Fest 4. (In Austin, bands can have beer on stage!) Photo by Emily Pothast.
Austin Psych Fest is a very special event. People were there to hang out and network as much as they were there to listen to (and play) music, and so in many ways, it seems like the fine folks at the Reverberation Appreciation Society have put together a spectacular alternative to SXSW for those most interested in music on the heady end of the spectrum. If I were to issue any criticism at all of this near-perfect event, it would be that the sound on the mainstage was a little thin compared to the second stage, which was like a full-body vibratory chamber. That and maybe the Pacific Northwest felt a tiny bit underrepresented. (Aside from Night Beats, were there any Northwest bands on the bill? Maybe it’s just their proximity to us, but I thought Eternal Tapestry felt conspicuously absent. Purple Rhinestone Eagle, Kinski, AFCGT and [ahem] Midday Veil would have also fit seamlessly into the lineup, and Master Musicians of Bukkake would have warped it, in a good way.)
Dan Brinner from Skully'z Recordz at Austin Psych Fest 4.
But Northwest psych fans may rest assured that our humble Portable Shrines Magic Sound Theatre Vol. I compilation was all over the fest, from the Night Beats’s merch table to the record booth provided by Skully’z Recordz from New Orleans. It will be exciting to see which psychedelic sounds bubble up from the Northwest underground in time for APF5.
For those of you who didn’t make it to Austin this year, we’ve got a couple of delectable local events in store this week featuring APF4 bands: Cloudland Canyon is playing on Monday, May 9 at the Comet (with Midday Veil, Magnog and Brain Fruit) and Daughters of the Sun are playing next Saturday, May 14 at the Josephine (with Ayahuasca Travellers, Magnog, and This Blinding Light). We’ve also been talking to some of the other APF4 bands who are planning to come up in late summer, more details soon.
(Cuz in Seattle, it’s Psych Fest all year loooooong!)
In Austin, they have this weird ball of light in the sky. They call it "The Sun."
If you’ve been fortunate enough to secure a copy of our Record Store Day compilation Portable Shrines Magic Sound Theatre Vol. I, you’ve probably already fallen in love with “_/\_ (revised),” the beautifully textured drone piece by Seattle visual artist and musician Garek Druss, aka (a) Story of Rats (also known in these parts as half of Dull Knife with Adam Svenson, and as a regular collaborator with Portland-based drone lords TECUMSEH).
Garek is getting ready to put out his first full-length solo LP on his bandmate Svenson’s new label Eiderdown Records. The LP features gorgeous hand-screened artwork designed by Garek…we can’t wait to get our hands on this thing!
You can pick yours up soon as well…(a) Story of Rats is heading out next week on a US tour with Idaho’s WOLVSERPENT (formerly Pussygutt):
—-WOLVSERPENT/A STORY OF RATS US TOUR—-
Wed 5/11 in Boise, ID @ VAC w/Uzala, Midday Veil
Thu 5/12 in Seattle, WA @ El Corazon w/Master Musicians of Bukkake, The Blinding Light
Fri 5/13 in Portland, OR @ East End w/Witch Mountain
Mon 5/16 in Arcata, CA @ The Alibi
Tue 5/17 in SF, CA @ TheeParkside w/Amber Asylum
Wed 5/18 in Oakland, CA @ Eli’s Mile High Club w/Laudanum
Thu5/19 in LA, CA @ Bordello Bar w/Wino (acoustic)
Fri 5/20 in Phoenix, AZ @ Sound Kontrol w/GOG, John Mannion, Rituals
5/21 in Santa Fe, NM @ Warehouse 21
Sun 5/22 in Las Cruces, NM @ The Trainyard w/Yazata, Ghost Icon
Mon 5/23 in Austin, TX @ Headhunters
Tue 5/24 in Dallas, TX @ Rubber GlovesWed
Weds 5/25 in Texarkana @ Dave’s Skate Shop
Thu 5/26 in Shreveport, LA @ Dalzell
Fri5/27 in Nashville, TN @ Little Hamilton
Sat 5/28 in Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge
Sun 5/29 in Columbia, SC @ TBA
Mon 5/30 in Durham, NC @ Casbah w/MAKE
Tue 5/31 in Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter w/Wildildlife
Fri 6/3 in Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head
Sat 6/4 in Brooklyn, NY @ Acheron
Sun 6/5 in Providence, RI @ TBA
Wed 6/8 in Milford, CT @ Daniel St w/Kayo Dot
Thu 6/9 in Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Arts w/Dwarf Fortress
Fri 6/10 in Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon St
Sat 6/11 in Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar
Sun 6/12 in Chicago, IL @ Pancho’s w/Tombs, A Storm of Light
Tue 6/14 in Milwaukee, WI @ Borg Ward
Wed 6/15 in Minneapolis, MN @ TBA
Thu 6/16 in Iowa City, IA @ TBA
Fri 6/17 – TBA
Sat 6/18 – Denver, CO @ TBA
In contrast to the largely instrumental “Asymptote II,” whose kaleidoscopic, Dumb Eyes-directed video has been in circulation since last fall, “Anthem” deals with emotionally intense themes: the song is about the death of vocalist Emily Pothast‘s parents in a 2005 car accident.
The new video is comprised almost entirely of analog feedback generated by Pothast and bandmate Timm Mason (aka Mood Organ) during a recent residency at the Experimental Television Center in Owego, NY, and was edited by band member David Golightly.
Midday Veil are kicking off a tour of the Western US on May 9 at the Comet Tavern in Seattle with Cloudland Canyon, Magnog and Brain Fruit. More US dates will follow this summer.
May 9 The Comet Tavern, Seattle, WA (with Cloudland Canyon, Magnog, Brain Fruit)
May 11 Visual Arts Collective, Boise, ID (with A Story of Rats, Wolvserpent)
May 13 Rhinoceropolis, Denver, CO (with Nightshark, Décollage)
May 14 The Kosmos, Albuquerque, NM (with Shoulder Voices, Phantom Lake)
May 15 Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, Denton, TX (with Peopleodian, Lucretia Borgia)
May 16 Emo’s, Austin, TX (with No Mas Bodas, OS OVNI, Chris Catalena)
May 18 Sound Kontrol, Phoenix, AZ (with Otra Mundo)
May 19 Public Fiction, Los Angeles, CA
May 20 The Fuzzplex, Oakland, CA (with Moccretro, Janina Angel Bath)
Tonight our regularly scheduled Portable Shrines DJ party at The Living Room has been commandeered by zodiacal forces in celebration of the birthdays of no less than five Aries-Taurus cuspers in our ranks.
As fiery as they are earthy, Arietaurs are creative doers. They have passion AND pragmatism. They dream big AND they make things happen.
Party starts at 9 pm. DJs One Eye, Wonderbeard, and Veins, plus the lovely Ellie Dicola and Clarita Hinojosa will be kicking out the cosmic jams for your enjoyment.
Record Store Day 2011 is only a few hours away, and this year’s RSD is shaping up to be the best one yet, since it marks the official release date of our Portable Shrines Magic Sound Theatre Vol. I.
As you probably already know, PSMST vol. I is the first ever Portable Shrines Collective compilation, a limited-edition gatefold masterpiece featuring 2 LPs packed with music and artwork by 18 of the headiest bands out there, released by the new Shrines-affiliated label Translinguistic Other and distributed by the awesome folks at Light in the Attic Records. If you didn’t score a copy at our release party at the Lo-Fi, tomorrow is your chance to support your local record store and snap one up before they’re gone forever.
Thanks to everyone who came out to an awesome show last night at the Funhouse!
If you’re like us and can’t get enough of the smoky, mysterious soundtracks of Diminished Men, you might want to check out the release party tonight for Simon Henneman’s solo record Black Magic and Moustache, available now via Hisham Mayet’s Assophon imprint. Originally released as a limited-run CD in 2006, Black Magic and Moustache is a glimpse into the jazz-infused compositional prowess of Diminished Men bassist and multi-instrumentalist Simon Henneman. Dave Segal just gave the record a glowing review in The Stranger.
The LP release party features performances by Wah Wah Exit Wound, Bad Luck, Contraband Country Band and Simon’s duo with drummer Gregg Keplinger (plus a special appearance by Simon’s son Satchel Henneman.) All of the bands will be playing two “cover songs” from Simon’s record in addition to their own sets. At the Josephine, 608 NW 65th. Facebook event here.
Thanks to everyone who came out to our record release show at the Lo-Fi last night! Photos and videos on the way…
Meanwhile there’s lots more live music to experience this week. Psychedelic songstress Ruthann Friedman is playing a matinee show at the Comet this afternoon at 4!
Ruthann’s album Constant Companion (1969) is a folk gem and she wrote “Windy,” The Association’s 1967 #1 hit. Van Dyke Parks and John Mueller (The Mumlers) produced her as yet unreleased new album, and Drag City just put out a 7″. Ruthann is featured in Lauren Dukoff’s book, Family, with Devendra Banhart and others she has influenced in the LA folk scene.
She will also be playing tomorrow night (Monday, April 4) at the Rendezvous with fellow Los Angeles folkies Fort King, who are touring behind a current Townes Van Zandt tribute CD with J. Tillman and a debut album on Autumn Ferment Records (Scotland/UK).
Rounding out the bill at the Rendezvous will be a screening of Seattle artist Stefan Gruber‘s animated work “Both Worlds.” Facebook invite here.
This Saturday April 2nd we celebrate the release of our super deluxe double LP extravaganza of mind boggling sounds from beyond. An amazing 6 of the 18 bands featured on the album will be performing at the Lo-Fi Performance Gallery 429 Eastlake. I daresay one of the finest lineups we’ve had the pleasure to present. These are exact times so don’t miss out!
Spinning the finest zonked out gems all night in the lounge will be DJs Valerie”Explorateur”Calano, Dull Knife’s Adam Svenson and Garek Druss and the all-seeing DJ Eye. Projections by Aubrey Nehring, Darlene Nordyke, David Golightly and Ellie Dicola.
The record wont be in stores til Record Store Day April 16th so come down and score a copy now, along with some other very limited edition treats.
