If you weren’t drunk during the show, you were after. Like a brief, perhaps doomed, first dalliance with a lover, Phantogram had the capacity to gelatinize the legs and quicken the blood with all varieties of emotional intensity. Sarah Barthel pushed the right buttons while Josh Carter (aka ‘what’s-his-face’, sadly, as a result of Barthel’s mesmerizing shadow) plucked the right strings. Together they made beautiful love…I mean music.
They started with “Nobody Loves Me” and ended with “All Dried Up”, but what happened in the middle is a blur. Most of the songs they pulled from their 2010 album, Eyelid Movies, but a good number were unfamiliar, likely from their new album slated to release Fall 2011. The set was seamless, or I just saw it that way. The crowd sang along to “Mouth Full of Diamonds”, swooned during “You Are The Ocean (and I’m good at drowning/you should be looking out)”, and nearly sobbed during “Futuristic Casket”. Again, maybe it was just me.
Hailing from Hermosa Beach, the famed birthplace of Black Flag, The White Arrows kindly returned to Portland after having just played a month earlier with Those Darlins; the show that brought them to my attention, and really, the reason I went to this show and not the 5,610 others going on that same night. They played songs I remembered from last time, including the jangly “Save Me a Place” by Fleetwood Mac, “I’m on Fire” (still hot the second time) by Bruce Springsteen, and a smattering of their own jams. Do say hello to these friendly gentlemen when they shuffle into your town; they are all smiles and fist-bumps. First opportunity: their upcoming October nationwide tour with The Naked and Famous.
Purity Ring was a show stopper with their intricate light-up instrument displays including a hand drum propped up behind singer Megan James, ready for her to wail on at will, and a series of metal pipes with light up tips for Corin, the keyboardist/pretty-noise-maker-man. Megan exuded miraculous femininity with her graceful ballet poise and sugared vocals. They struck a near-perfect balance between new age, electronica, indie-pop, and performance art that was both accessible and transcendent. They have a new split 7” with Braids available in October through Fat Possum records. Check it. I know I will.
Another as yet unheard-of MFNW band was Brainstorm. Other than ‘Brainstorm’ being a terrible band name due to its unsearchability online and its distribution amongst at least two other bands, the Brainstorm who played that night were at least memorable. The drummer, set up stage left, wore a pop-star headset and maintained an amusing state of animation throughout the set. Their sound was a playful, energetic blend of instruments and styles ranging from electronica, power-pop, folk anthems, and art-rock. Steadily foot-tappy, oh-o-ohh-y, and hand-clappy, these guys are sure to pop up with increasing frequency outside their Northwest indie-pop-hotbed homeland.
