music
Fiona Boyes
experimenting and tweaking paused only
for life, love and travel. After she fi nished
self-recording and producing Midnight,
Lynn dabbled in the art of video production.
She created a show featuring seven solo
performers with video she specifi cally shot
and edited for each one.
2006 saw the addition of permanent
member Rando Skrasek and the recording
and release of Levator’s most current album,
Jackson Hwy. Barnes Drive. Over two months,
Lynn packed up her van Fridays after work,
drove to her father’s Oregon ranch, where
she grew up, and hammered away on the new
material until it was time to head north on
Sunday night.
This singer-songwriter has warranted
comparisons to PJ Harvey and Mazzy Star,
and her song textures to that of Sonic Youth.
Levator, Muke and Testface play at 10 pm
Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Luckey’s. $3-$5. 21+
show. — Anne Pick
She Can Play That Thing
Australia may conjure more musical
references to didgeridoos than steel guitars,
but native Aussie Fiona Boyes is burning
up American clubs and airwaves with blues
riffs so sizzling that even the die-hard Delta
old-school is taking notice. Now residing
in Portland, Boyes is one of the most
celebrated voices in blues today, earning a
Memphis Blues Awards Contemporary Blues
Album of the Year nomination in 2007 and
a Contemporary Female Blues Artist of the
Year nomination for 2008. With her band, The
Fortune Tellers, Boyes uses her sometimes
husky, sometimes velvety voice to set love
and pain, joy and bitterness to the twang of a
most quintessentially American sound.
Boyes’ most recent album, 2006’s Lucky 13,
features songs dominated by very traditional
bluesy chord progressions as well as several
jazzy, boogie woogie tracks thrown in to spice
up the mix. Her highly regarded picking skills
are demonstrated to their full
potential on the boot-stomper
“Rockabilly on the Radio,” while
she gets a little feisty and
more sultry on the humorous
“Celebrate the Curves.” A bevy
of high profi le backing talent
infuse Lucky 13 with horns,
pianos and supporting vocals
that showcase Boyes’ lyrics and
vocals without overwhelming
her. While it’s not featured on
her American debut album,
fans or potential fans would
do well to seek out the song
“She Could Play That Thing,” a
humorous, autobiographical
account
of
blues
fans
encountering Boyes for the
fi rst time and feeling confused
by her femininity coupled with
her vicious mastery of a guitar
style typically dominated by
men. Fiona Boyes and the
Fortune Tellers play at 9:30 pm
Friday, Feb. 22, at Bombs Away
Café, Corvallis. $8. — Adrienne
van der Valk
Dreamworthy
Hauntingly sweet and dripping with
ambience, the delicate compositions of
Levator will fl oat through your dreams. The
band’s musty yet cool indie pop is detailed
and precise, like a recurring dream you just
can’t forget.
“Perfect World” takes life as a modern-day
lullaby. “It’s a perfect world and I’m wishing
time away…” Sky Lynn breathes into the
microphone. Rather than “Hush little baby,
don’t you cry,” this lullaby full of melody gives
hope for a world without worries, where time
ceases.
Sky Lynn formed Seattle-based Levator
in 2003. Lynn spent a year making her fi rst
album, Midnight, which she started by buying
a computer and software. Late nights spent
Love, Actually
Whether you’re broken hearted or about
to fall in love, Jesse Meade’s slow, raspy style
makes for perfect listening. Meade, who plays
a mix of covers and originals, has taste that
varies from Ray Charles to traditional songs
like “This Little Light of Mine.”
After moving to Eugene just over a year
ago with only a friend’s couch to crash on, 26-
year-old Meade is trying to make an impact on
the Eugene music scene. Meade describes his
music as “structurally rhythm and blues,” but
also credits his style to the classical country
of the ’50s and ’60s.
Like most musicians who like to prey
on our emotional weaknesses, his music is
about love lost and gained. Songs like “Let
Me Go” and “Nothing Will Be Like This”
talk about relationships turned sour and
disappointing love affairs. Meade’s lyrics aim
for the heartstrings of his listeners, but fall
slightly shorter than his more famous musical
counterparts John Mayer and Jack Johnson.
Jesse Meade
While “R&B is the biggest infl uence,”
Meade’s style varies slightly on tracks such
as “Getting Good at Feeling Bad,” which has
a bluesy feel to it. Within its lyrics — “I’m
beyond disappointment / I’m beyond feeling
sad / I’m getting good at feeling bad” — he
plays the typical bluesman singing about the
woman who did him wrong.
Whether singing blues or country, Meade
offers a new talent in the diverse Eugene
music scene. Currently recording and writing
new songs, Meade’s been busy playing his
romantic renditions at local bars all over
Eugene; take a listen at www.jessemeade.
com Jesse Meade and Sam Hahn play at 10
pm Tuesdays at Luckey’s. $3-$5. 21+ show.
— Megan Udow
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EUGENE WEEKLY FEBRUARY 21, 2008 31