THURSDAY
5/21
AXE & FIDDLE The
Evangenitals—8:30pm; Avant-
Americana, n/c
B&B LOUNGE Karaoke—
9:30pm
BARN LIGHT Karaoke—9pm;
n/c
BLACK FOREST Destroyer of
Light, Greenbeard—10pm; n/c
THE COOLER Karaoke—10pm
COWFISH Bass-Nite w/Aaron
Jackson & guests—9pm; EDM,
bass-house, n/c
EL TAPATIO CANTINA Karaoke—
8pm; n/c
GROWLER UNDERGROUND
Open Mic—6:30pm; n/c
JAZZ STATION Idit Shner Quartet
w/Jason Palmer & Tyler
Abbott—7:30pm; Jazz, $6-$8
KOWLOON’S Karaoke under the
Stars—10pm; n/c
LUCKEY’S Thursday Night
Funk—9:30pm; Open jam, $2
MAC’S Peter Giri & Lloyd
Tolbert—6pm; Acoustic, n/c
MAX’S DJ Victor—10pm; n/c
MOHAWK TAVERN DJ—9pm;
‘80s tunes, n/c
OAKSHIRE PUB Corwin Bolt—
5pm; Folk, n/c
OLD NICK’S Wild Flowers & Dirty
Dandelions—7pm; Bluegrass,
$3-5
THE OLD PAD Karaoke—9pm;
n/c
OVERTIME TAVERN West Side
Blues Jam—8:30pm; Open jam,
n/c
RAGOZZINO HALL Junior
Orchstra Spring Concert—
7:30pm; Spring concert, $5-10
REALITY KITCHEN Acoustic
Reality—5pm; Open mic, n/c
RESTOBAR Steven McVay—5pm
ROARING RAPIDS PIZZA The Dan
Gaynor Jazz Trio—7:30pm; n/c
ROUTE 5 Joanne Broh—6pm;
Upbeat blues, n/c
SAM BOND’S GARAGE Sour
Bridges, Michael Damron—9pm;
$6
WEBFOOT DJ Sauce—10pm; n/c
WOW HALL Patchy Sanders,
Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys—
8pm; Americana, $1 & up
FRIDAY
5/22
5TH ST. CORNUCOPIA Satori
Bob—9:30pm; n/c
AASEN-HULL HALL Oregon
Composers Forum—8pm; n/c
AVALON LODGE Cross Current—
7pm; CD release, benefit for
FOOD for Lane County, $5
AXE & FIDDLE Casey Neill & the
Norway Rats—8:30pm; Rock,
$7
BEALL HALL Spring Big Bands—
7pm; $5-$7
BLACK FOREST Pancho & The
Factory, BrownTown, Manx,
Entresol—10pm; n/c
BLAIRALLY ARCADE ‘80s Night
w/Chris, Jen & John—9pm;
Vinyl, $3
THE BLIND PIG Karaoke w/Jim
Jim—9pm
BUGSY’S Beau Teak—9pm;
Rock, n/c
COWFISH Freak-nite w/Spocter
Shmock—9pm; EDM, juke,
house
D’S DINER Karaoke—9pm; n/c
EL TAPATIO CANTINA Karaoke w/
KJ Rick—9pm; n/c
EMBERS The Survivors—9pm;
Classic rock, n/c
HAPPY HOURS Dragstrip
Superstar—8:30pm; Classic
rock, n/c
HILTON HOTEL Aftermath—
7pm; Jazz, n/c
JAZZ STATION Adam Harris
Quartet—8pm; Jazz, $8-$10
JERSEY’S Karaoke—9pm; n/c
LEVEL UP DJ food stamp—9pm;
Rap, breaks, soul, n/c
LUCKEY’S Lojia, After Nations,
Bustin’ Jeiber—10pm; $5
MAC’S Kevin Selfe & The
Tornadoes—8pm; Blues, $6
MOHAWK TAVERN Michele & The
Monsters—9pm; Rock, n/c
MULLIGAN’S The Allegations—
8pm; Americana, rock, n/c
O’DONNELL’S Karaoke—9pm
OLD NICK’S Xboyfriends,
Everyday Automaton, Tinnitus
the Knight, Tyranno Tut—9pm;
Punk, $3-5
PIZZA RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Olem Alves Duo—6:30pm; n/c
PORKY’S PALACE Karaoke—
8pm
RAVEN A PUB Karaoke—9pm
SAGINAW VINEYARD Cowboy
Cadillac—6pm; Country rock,
n/c
SAM BOND’S GARAGE The Hoot
Hoots, Machine—9:30pm; $6
TAYLOR’S DJ Victor—10pm; Hip
hop, dance, n/c
TERRITORIAL VINEYARDS The
Cornstalkers—7pm; n/c
TRACKSTIRS Karaoke—9pm;
n/c
TRACKTOWN RECORDS IrieFuse,
JRas, Burnell Washburn, High
Pressure Sodium—9pm;
Reggae, all ages, $10
TRAVELERS COVE Peter Giri
Trio—6pm; n/c
WANDERING GOAT Serial Hawk,
Psyrup, Rivers of Mercury—
8pm; Sludge, psyche, noise,
$3-$5
WHITE HORSE SALOON
Karaoke—9pm; n/c
WOW HALL Glass Animals w/
Gilligan Moss—9pm; SOLD OUT
FANTASTIC
VOYAGE
The May 26 show at WOW Hall is a bit of a rare
bird as far as Eugene goes: The lineup features two
badass acts, both women. Over the phone, I
mention to singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis how
unusual this is, to have a show here with nary a
beard gracing the stage.
“I’ve always tried to be fair with picking openers,”
Lewis says. “It’s just cool to have all females on the
bill.”
Lewis explains that she’s noticed a dearth of
female musicians on festival lineups. “There’s a lot
less of us for sure,” she says, but in the same breath
points out the “absolute powerhouses” she is
digging right now — St. Vincent, Florence and the
Machine, Angel Olson.
That’s why for The Voyager tour with her 2014
album of the same name, Lewis is trying to book
exclusively female openers, including the rising alt-
pop country artist Nikki Lane, who will join Lewis in
Eugene.
“She’s so fucking cool,” Lewis says. “She’s writing
great tunes.”
That’s a big stamp of approval to nab early on
from Lewis, a veteran musician with a cult following
that has tracked her path from tween stardom in
films like 1989’s Troop Beverly Hills to her days as
frontman for Rilo Kiley, the now defunct L.A. indie-
rock band — an indie rock band that actually had a
soul.
Lewis is now blazing her solo career, which is
equal parts indie rock and alt country brightened
with a little West Coast sunshine. The Voyager is her
third solo album, taking five years to complete,
longer than her average turnaround.
“I had been on a trajectory where I was putting
out a record every two years, and I hit a creative
and personal wall,” Lewis says. “I had to take a
moment for myself.” In that period, Lewis lost her
father, began a struggle with insomnia and broke up
with Rilo Kiley.
“It was like losing a family member,” Lewis says
of the end of Rilo Kiley. “It was like a divorce.”
SATURDAY
5/23
5TH ST. CORNUCOPIA Crooked
River—9:30pm; Americana,
country, n/c
AGATE ALLEY BISTRO Trivia
Night—8pm; n/c
AGRARIAN ALES Gumbo
Groove—4pm; Bluegrass, n/c
AMBROSIA Stone Cold Jazz—
8pm; n/c
AXE & FIDDLE Small Axe
Ensemble, Syrinx Effect—
8:30pm; Jazz, $5
B&B LOUNGE Karaoke—
9:30pm
BLACK FOREST Black Hare,
Lojia, Lore Uprise—10pm; n/c
THE BOREAL Jonathan Canady,
Teeth Engraved, Regosphere,
Don Haugen, Chefkirk—7:30pm;
Industrial, all ages, $5
CORNERSTONE TAILGATES
Heavy Chevy & More—11am;
Blues & food, $15
COWFISH Sup! w/Michael
Human—9pm; Trap, hip hop,
twerk
DOC’S PAD Evolve Saturdays—
9pm; EDM, hip hop, n/c
DUCK BAR & GRILL Karaoke—
9pm; n/c
DUCK INN Karaoke—10pm
EL TAPATIO CANTINA DJ &
Dance Music—9pm; n/c
EMBERS The Survivors—9pm;
Classic rock, n/c
HAPPY HOURS Justin Case—
8:30pm; Classic rock, n/c
HI FI MUSIC HALL Marv Ellis &
We Tribe, Metric—9pm; Hip hop,
funk, $10-$12 adv., $13-$15
door
JAZZ STATION “No More Blues”
w/Torrey Newhart’s
NewSextet—8pm; Jazz, $6-$8
LEVEL UP DJ Rock ‘n’ Roll
Damnation—9pm; ’70s & ’80s
rock, heavy metal; n/c
LUCKEY’S Mes One, The
Architex, Bum Sack—9pm;
Variety, hip hop, Frenetic Films
fundraiser, $5
MAC’S The Ben Rice Band—
8pm; Blues, rock, $5
MOHAWK TAVERN Michele & The
Monsters—9pm; Rock, n/c
OAKSHIRE PUB Hipbilly—5pm;
Roots, indie, n/c
OLD NICK’S Xboyfriends,
Everyday Automaton, Tinnitus
the Knight, Tyranno Tut—
9:30pm; Rock, $10
PIZZA RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Wildflowers—7pm; Bluegrass,
n/c
POUR HOUSE Karaoke—9pm
QUACKER’S Ladies Night &
DeeJay—9pm; n/c
RAVEN A PUB Karaoke—9pm
SAM BOND’S BREWING “A
Celebration of Loneliness &
Bitter Disappointment” w/Ty
Connor & Joshua Finch—
8:30pm; n/c
SAM BOND’S GARAGE
Bridgetown Brass—9:30pm; $6
TERRITORIAL VINEYARDS Mike
& Nora—7pm; n/c
TRACKSTIRS Karaoke—9pm;
n/c
WANDERING GOAT Scott Yoder,
Scott Eddington, Lucas Gunn—
8pm; Acoustic, $3-$5
WEBFOOT DJ BiGG—10pm; n/c
WESTEND TAVERN Karaoke—
9pm; n/c
After that, Lewis says she needed to rebuild her
musical life. From that came The Voyager, a classic
Jenny Lewis album where cheery beats and
melodies act as a Trojan horse into a listener’s
heart, her witty lyricism full of sharp confessions
and droll observations.
In “She’s Not Me,” Lewis sings, “I used to think
you could save me/ I’ve been wandering lately/
Heard she’s having your baby/ And everything’s so
amazing.”
While Lewis’ brand of wry heartache is alive and
well on The Voyager, the album sounds much more
polished than previous efforts. Lewis tapped Ryan
Adams to produce, who will join her onstage May 23
at Bend’s Les Schwab Amphitheater.
“I was sitting on a bunch of songs, and I needed a
spirit guide. I needed someone to believe in me,”
Lewis says of bringing in Adams. “I arrived with
songs. That’s really the most important thing. If you
don’t have the tunes, it doesn’t fucking matter.”
Beck also helped produce The Voyager. “I’d really
like to work with Beck some more,” Lewis says,
calling him an amazing artist. On the album,
longtime fans will also be happy to see Lewis
teaming up again with indie-folk duo The Watson
Twins, who also worked with her on 2006’s fantastic
Rabbit Fur Coat.
“They sang on a very early Rilo Kiley song,” Lewis
recalls. “It was the first time professionally I had the
opportunity to sing with other women. I really found
myself with them. They brought this female
element. I really carried it with me. I need that
interaction in my music.”
Her most recent collaboration was performing
her new single “Girl on Girl” with Haim, the pop-rock
band du jour. “It’s really exciting to do something
new when you’re in the middle of a record cycle,”
says Lewis, who adds she’s close friends with the
Haim sisters and their family — Danielle Haim even
got her break playing backing guitar in Lewis’ band.
“There’s always women in my band,” she says.
Nikki Lane joins Jenny Lewis 8 pm Tuesday, May
26, at WOW Hall; $25 adv., $28 door. — Alex V. Cipolle
PHOTO BY AUTUMN DE WILDE
eugeneweekly.com • May 21, 2015
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