music
Devilishly Rhythmic,
Deliciously Cultured
The Grateful Dead had members just like any
other band, and they were all just as human as you
or me. Yeah, maybe the Dead’s been placed on a
proverbial pedestal over the course of the last half-
century or so, but that doesn’t mean we should
forget the people who made that music possible.
Among them, of course, is one part of the dynamic
percussion section that pushed the Grateful Dead
that extra mile — Mickey Hart.
Despite being an integral part of what was
possibly the most highly regarded jam band of all
time, Hart has tried his best to step out of the
Grateful Dead’s shadow and into the light. He’s
certainly still got the drum chops that made him
famous, and much of his solo work alongside the
other members of the Mickey Hart Band is
rhythmically based as a result. Sadly, it seems as
though there’s an unwitting agreement between a
lot of the ex-Dead members and their fans to
recognize the Grateful Dead only as fuel for tribute
bands, but if there’s a guy to shift this paradigm, it’s
probably going to be Hart.
Since the Grateful Dead, he’s put a lot of effort
into discovering new, unique percussion sounds —
many of them exotic and found exclusively in other
cultures — and these sounds have ignited a fire for
the world in his belly. Hart’s work discovering and
comprehending other cultures through music has
been recognized by some of the major forces in
history and preservation. So, from drugs and rock ‘n’
roll to collaborations with the Library of Congress
and the Smithsonian, I guess you could say Hart’s
just about done it all. The truth is, though, if you’re
looking for a long jamming, deliciously drum-heavy
hippie sweat-shower this week, then you’re looking
for Mickey Hart.
The Mickey Hart Band plays 7 pm, Wednesday,
Nov. 30, at McDonald Theatre; $25 adv., $30 door.
— Andy Valentine
The Technique of Change
Immortal Technique is in the middle of a raging, tumultuous
battle. He has no record label, no corporate sponsorship, no
obligations or accountability to anyone besides himself and his fans.
He says what he wants, when he wants to. And what he usually has
to say are the kinds of things that start revolutions. That renders him
a few enemies (like the U.S. government). But as the frailty and
tenuousness of what we in America know as the First Amendment or
“Freedom of Speech” becomes more and more evident it seems that
now is Technique’s time to enlighten the masses. And that’s exactly
what he’s been doing.
As images of police pepper spraying the faces of nonviolent,
peaceful protesters in “liberal” places like Portland go viral, the
reality of a well-fortified, aggressive police-state hegemony is
exposed and Technique’s wasted no time in becoming one of the
spokespeople for the Occupy movement. In recent interviews he
preaches the same ideas that he has been for the last decade:
denouncing our overwhelming culture of
imperialism, the rule of the 1 percent and
bolstering our dire need for positive
social change. Of his recent tour
supporting his new (and free) album
The Martyr Technique told EW that,
“The momentum on tour has been
very powerful from the several stops at
Occupy sites to the wild shows, the
energy level hasn’t dissipated at all. In
fact, it’s just gotten stronger and
stronger as we stay on the road.”
The album’s thematic focus stays close
to home, covering topics like US occupation
of foreign nations and shedding light on
ideas that corporate execs and dogmatic
politicians wouldn’t want you to know.
Don’t miss Technique at the UO Multi-
cultural Center 4 pm Tuesday, Nov. 29, when
speaks on hip hop and activism.
Immortal Technique plays 9 pm Tuesday, Nov.
29, at WOW Hall; $18 adv., $20 door.
— Andrew Hitz
Straight out of Saskatoon
When discussing certain bands, the term roots music becomes a redundancy — geography and sound are
inextricable, and each native note seems to bloom from the soil of a given place/name. The land itself seems to
sing. You can’t listen to early R.E.M. without picturing the kudzu-covered South, and you can’t hear Lucinda
Williams without smelling the heat rise off Houston asphalt. Similarly, the eerie harmonies and lunar melodies
of The Deep Dark Woods whisper of the vast, land-locked prairies and boreal forests of the band’s home in
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The band’s music, full of brushed rhythms and country twang, evoke the alienation
and dark descents into heartbreak and breakdown.
Like The Deep Dark Woods’ fellow countryman Neil Young, the group taps into a species of Americana that
sounds more authentic than a dozen contemporary bands garnering that same label. Fragile, keening vocals,
slow-plucked banjo, swampy percussion and an aura of Appalachian gospel work together to evoke the deep,
murky history of the West. On “Charlie’s (Is Coming Down),” the single that won CBC’s Great Canadian Song
Quest, the band lays down a vintage blues riff while singer/guitarist Ryan Boldt croons a sad tale of loss and
decay: “This whole world has got me down, all these places have hit the ground, so let’s buy another round,
before Charlie’s crumbles down…”
The Deep Dark Woods’ latest album, The Place I Left Behind, is a collection of songs as completely rooted in
time and space as Harvest or Music from Big Pink. On the opener, “Westside Street,” the gorgeous melodies and
richly textured musicianship belie Boldt’s lament about “this town of misery.” Songs like “The Place I Left
Behind,” “Mary’s Gone” and “Oh, What a Life” are tinged around the edges like an old photograph; they sound
like they might have been written in the bunkhouses of the Hudson Bay Company. The Deep Dark Woods mine a
similar territory as the Avett Brothers, though the group possesses a more vintage sound; where the Avetts gild
their mountain music with a thoroughly modern sensibility, Deep Dark Woods create a grittier, grimier version
of folk/country that haunts the present like ghost.
The Deep Dark Woods play 8:30 pm Wednesday, Nov. 30, at John Henry’s; $5 adv., $6 door. — Rick Levin
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