Eugene weekly., June 11, 2009, Page 21, Image 21

music
The Practice of Preach
American Journeys
Portland MC Braille has had to fi ght off the title “Christian
rapper” throughout his career, and it’s understandable that
people who don’t share his worldview might shy away from
the guy’s music, which is heavy with religious symbolism.
Still, it’s ultimately their loss. Yes, the guy has faith, and he
rhymes about it, but it’s only one aspect of his music. If it’s
palatable to a non-Christian audience, that’s because he writes
about his own, personal faith instead of trying to convert
others. In person, Braille’s a conversational rhyme-writer
whose unaffected optimism is capable of rubbing off on even
the most cynical bastards; unfortunately, this doesn’t come
through quite as well on his albums.
But anyone who’s ever paid attention
to the fl yers plastered all over
Eugene’s telephone poles knows he’s
been rocking shows in the area for
years. This show is special, though, and
will wind up being the latest in a long list
of instances in which Braille has practiced
the Christian morals he preaches and
donated his time for a good cause. The
HIV Alliance, a nonprofi t that provides
free HIV testing, a needle exchange and
services for those living with HIV/AIDS,
recently suffered a break-in in which
some of their computers were damaged
or stolen along with other items like
food gift cards intended to help the
Alliance’s clients. All who attend will
receive a copy of Braille’s latest album,
Cloud 19, free. Braille plays an in-store
at 5:30 pm Saturday, June 13, at CD
World (free), then performs with
Braille
Nik Fury, the BreakDown Dancers,
BreakDown Jr., Endr Won, the Sons of
Vindication and the RAWKrew b-boys
at 8 pm Saturday, June 13, at the Eastside Faith Center, 89
Centennial Loop. $10 sug. don. — Sara Brickner
Destinations, the new CD from local American roots band
Sideroads, is a mellow acoustic/electric rock mix reminiscent
of Tom Petty during his Wildfl owers days or Jackson Browne
via The Pretender, with a little bit of Bruce Springsteen to boot.
The band, which celebrates the release of the CD this weekend,
revels in simple guitar chords and straightforward lyrics about
love, growing up and past and current journeys.
Pulling from rock, blues, country and folk infl uences,
Michael Kevin Daly, Richard Gabriel, Joel Narva and Willie
McEachern have written and recorded an album with “the dust
of America embedded in [its] shoes.” Tracks like “Cool June
Night” and “Oh Lover” are all bluesy, toe tapping rhythm, while
“Sideroads” and “Spirit Hwy” hark back to the great country
music storytellers.
The band members originate from three distant corners of the
U.S. — Massachusetts and New York, Alabama and California — and
by “taking the side roads,” have ended up here in the Northwest.
Their music is a celebration and refl ection of collective journey, no
matter where their Destinations might take them. You might just
want to follow. Sideroads play at 8 pm Friday, June 12, at Cosmic
Pizza. $5. — Katie Kalk
music
Homegrown Oregon Bluegrass
The latest installment of local bluegrass is here. The Water
Tower Bucket Boys, four kids from Portland packing punches
with their fi ddles and strings, return to their college roots to
celebrate the release of their new album Catfi sh on the Line,
which came out April 20. The self-produced record features
four original songs (one written by each band member) set
against traditional bluegrass fare. It’s a throwback to high-
energy, old-timey country roots, played with the Boys’ live-wire
raw grit. With banjo, fi ddle, guitar, mandolin, harmonica and
upright bass, the rhythms pound and swing and beg you to get
up and get down on the dance fl oor.
Clocking in at a mode age of 22, former UO students Josh
Rabie, Cory Goldman, Kenny Feinstein and Walter Spencer started
playing music together four years ago and have since produced
two albums, taken their music to the streets of Portland and
The Water Tower Bucket Boys
toured up and down the West Coast. This summer their tour takes
them to the U.K., Idaho, Washington and Colorado.
With another set at Sam Bond’s July 2 and three days of
playing at the Oregon Country Fair after that, the Boys will be
in town long enough for everyone to catch a show. The Water
Tower Bucket Boys and Huck Notari play at 9:30 pm Friday,
June 12, at Sam Bond’s Garage. 21+. $5. — Katie Kalk
BY VANESSA SALVIA
This Isn’t Some Kind of Metaphor;
This Is Real
Shellac paints Eugene sarcastic
A
t a University of Minnesota show
during his Big Black days, Steve
Albini walked onstage with a string
of Chinese fi recrackers. He lit them, threw
them into the crowd and walked offstage. In
the ensuing panic and under cover of smoke,
Big Black emerged and launched into
“Steelworker,” a song with lyrics suggesting
that working class people are animals.
This is Steve Albini — a button-pusher,
shit-stirrer and, as far as popular rumor goes,
an abrasive dick in person and in his music.
Add in his recording work for the likes of
Nirvana, Pixies, Stooges, Low, Neurosis,
The Jesus Lizard, Slint and PJ Harvey, and
Steve Albini cannot be fucked with.
Yet in his own recorded music, from
Big Black to the controversial Rapeman to
Shellac’s angular, sarcastic punk rock, Albini
presents an image as the angry but often
helpless geek, an A/V club president gone
bad. Albini doesn’t so much sing as rant,
calling upon God when he wants something
really dirty done, such as when he’s scheming
for the deaths of an ex-girlfriend and her
Shellac, Arcwelder
9 pm Monday, June 15
WOW Hall • $12 adv., $15 door
lover in the song “Prayer to God.” On “End
of Radio,” from Shellac’s latest recording,
Excellent Italian Greyhound, Albini is a
DJ spinning records for no one, screaming
“Can you hear me now?” repeatedly over a
primitive, bluesy rhythm section. “Hey, hey,
this is a real goddamn emergency,” he froths
to a seemingly deserted planet.
The whole of Excellent Italian
Greyhound is hilariously dour, from the
pooch cover model to the oddly indebted
Fugazi quote opening “Elephant” and the
fi nal notes of “Spoke,” with drums tripping
over a minimalist groove constructed of
razors and wire, Albini and bassist Bob
Weston both screaming unintelligibly.
Shellac rarely tour, so when they
do, it’s an event. This time, they’ve
brought along Touch and Go Records
labelmates Arcwelder to open. Arcwelder
assemble songs from elements similar to
Minneapolis’ ugly noise bands such as
Cows and Guzzard, minus the thuggish
aesthetic of most of AmRep’s catalog.
The fact that Shellac was only intended
as a hobby band for Albini and the other
members, and that fans waited seven
years between the release of 1000 Hurts
(the title itself a geeky insider joke for a
sound engineer) and their latest offering,
has made no dent in their popularity.
Albini does what he does, and he remains
challenging as ever.
ew
EUGENE WEEKLY WISHES TO THANK THESE CLUBS WHO PROMOTE
THE LOCAL ORIGINAL MUSIC SCENE..... PLEASE SUPPORT THEM
DIABLOS DOWNTOWN LOUNGE
BLACK FOREST
THE DISTRICT
COZMIC PIZZA
LUCKEY’S
SAM BOND’S GARAGE
JOHN HENRY’S
EUGENE, OREGON: ONE OF THE MOST VITAL
LOCAL MUSIC SCENES IN THE WORLD
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
EUGENE WEEKLY JUNE 11, 2009 21