INDIE-ROCK MICRO-FEST
“Everyone I talk to, there’s something different in the air,” says Bri Childs, guitarist
with Eugene/Portland instrumental act Childspeak. She’s talking about the energy
in Eugene’s indie-rock scene. “Bands are really supporting each other,” she continues.
“The music community is growing so fast.”
So Childs, along with Hi-Fi Music Hall, hatched Mini-Merica, what Childs calls
a “mini-rock fest” happening July 4 at Hi-Fi. Childs describes Mini-Merica as “a
showcase of a lot of the working Eugene bands” and “a celebration of the air that’s in
our music community right now.”
The event features 10 bands, a dizzying array of local talent: from Thom Simon
and Spiller to Critical Shakes and Muscle Beach Petting Zoo, plus a whole lot
more. What’s apparent is that, despite Eugene’s reputation as a capital of hippie
music, the town has a vibrant indie-rock and garage-punk scene. Childs says Mini-
Merica was strategically planned so that between Hi-Fi’s lounge and main hall music
will always be happening.
“There won’t be any silence,” Childs says, adding that “the idea is that you can
catch at least some of every band’s set.” And part of the show’s cover will go to mix
and produce an online video of the concert. “Someone will be able to find this video
online,” Childs explains, “and it will have a song from each of the performing bands.”
Childspeak’s Mini-Merica is 8 pm Tuesday, July 4, at Hi-Fi Music Hall; $10 adv., $12
door, 21-plus. — Will Kennedy
TOM CH A MBERL AIN
THURSDAY 6/29
B&B LOUNGE Karaoke—
9:30pm; n/c
THE BARNLIGHT Karaoke w/
Breezy Bee—9pm; n/c
BEERGARDEN The Jive
Masters—7:30pm; blues, n/c
BLACK FOREST AKA Faceless,
North by North—10pm; n/c
COWFISH Dirty Thursday w/
Diemos—9pm; dirty-house,
electronic, n/c
CUTHBERT AMPHITHEATER
Rebelution, Nahko & Medicine
for the People, Collie Buddz,
HIRIE & DJ Mackle—6:30pm;
$35
DEXTER LAKE CLUB Karaoke w/
Jared—9pm; n/c
FIFTH ST PUBLIC MARKET
RIFFLE—6pm; blues, R&B, rock,
n/c
HAPPY HOURS Crystal Harmony
Karaoke—8:30pm; n/c
HI-FI LOUNGE Pluto the Planet
w/Slow Corpse, Joseph Hein—
10pm; indie rock, $5
JAZZ STATION Portland Jazz
Series: LaRhonda Steele—
7:30pm; jazz, $12
LUCKEY'S Grateful Dead Family
Jam—10pm; dead covers, open
jam, $3
MAX’S DJ Victor—10pm; hits,
old standards, requests, n/c
MCSHANE'S Acoustic
Underground Open Mic—
7:30pm; n/c
OAKSHIRE Fiddlin' Sue Band—
4:30pm; bluegrass, folk, n/c
OLD NICK'S Eugene Order of
Steel Happy Hour Bout—6pm;
n/c. Orchards, Critical Shakes,
The Meridians—9pm; post-hard-
core, punk, shoegaze, $5
OVERTIME BAR & GRILL Blues
Jam w/Dave Roberts, ft. Gaye
Lee Russell—7pm; n/c
POKER LOUNGE Karaoke w/
Sassy Patty—7pm; n/c
SAM BONDS FOUNDRY Dan
Cioper—6pm; singer-songwriter,
n/c
SAM BONDS GARAGE Leadbetter
& Young—9pm; $5
SHADOWFOX Open Mic—8pm; n/c
TERRITORIAL VINEYARDS Easy
on the Ears—7pm; pop, jazz, origi-
nals, n/c
FRIDAY 6/30
5TH ST CORNUCOPIA Caught
Red Handed—9:30pm; n/c.
Gumbo Groove plays
Fungrass—10pm; n/c
BLACK FOREST Red Cloud, Last
Giant Band, Coyote—10pm; n/c
BLAIRALLY Church of the 80s
w/Chris, Jen & John—8pm; 80s
vinyl, $3
BREWSTATION Sojourner—
7:30pm; indie, n/c
BRONCO SALOON Karaoke w/
Lindsey—9pm; n/c
BUGSY'S Daddy Rabbit—9pm;
50s & 60s rock & roll, covers &
originals, n/c
COWFISH Freek-Nite w/SPOC-
3PO—9pm; underground, pop,
remix, $5
DAVIS DJ Crown—10:30pm; hip-
hop, dance, reggaeton, $5
DOC'S PAD Karaoke w/KJ
Power—9pm; n/c
DRIFTWOOD BAR Karaoke w/
Slick Nick—9pm; n/c
DUCK BAR Karaoke w/Breezy
Bee—9pm; n/c
EL TAPATIO CANTINA Karaoke w/
KJ Rick—9pm; n/c
HI-FI LOUNGE Alder St. w/Left
Coast Country—10pm; blue-
grass, folk, $5
JAZZ STATION Sarah Burkhart
sings Sarah Vaughn—7:30pm;
jazz, $10
JERSEY'S Karaoke w/Sassy
Patty—9pm; n/c
KEG TAVERN Karaoke
w/J'Lynn—9pm; n/c
LUCKEY'S Ready Steady Soul
Club Whole Lotta Soul Dance
Party!—10pm; rare soul djs, $3
MOE'S Stone Cold JAZZ w/Kenny
Reed—6pm; jazz jam, n/c
MOHAWK TAVERN
Shatterproof—9pm; rock, coun-
try, n/c
MULLIGAN'S PUB Christie &
McCallum—8:30pm; ameri-
cana, n/c
NOBLE ESTATE URBAN Jobe
Woosley—6pm; americana, n/c
O BAR Karaoke w/Jared—9pm;
n/c
OLD NICK'S Miss Minsky
Presents Burlesque w/Real
Gone Trio—10pm; burlesque,
variety, $8
OREGON WINE LAB Barbara
Healy Trio—7pm; original R&B,
jazz, blues, n/c
SULKY
SURF
Surf-rock band La Luz is a sepia-filtered road trip down Hwy 101 in the dead of
summer. The group mashes together doo-wop, angst and dance jams with an added
sprinkle of vocals thick as winter fog. From their Seattle roots to a newfound home
in Los Angeles, La Luz creates a balanced stew of purely West Coast sounds.
Shana Cleveland (guitar, vocals) and Alice Sandahl (keyboard, vocals) meld
together haunting melodies with their cooing voices and wailing, classically
’60s keyboard. Lena Simon (bass, vocals) and Marian Li Pino (drums) bring a
contagiously danceable tempo for a balanced concoction of sulky yet playful vibes.
“The darkness is part of what I consider to be empathy or compassion,”
Cleveland says about the band’s saturated sound. “To ignore the struggle is to be
uncompassionate.”
She explains that La Luz brings empathy to every show; it’s an experience you
can dance to, but also something real. “If I hear music that’s only celebrating the
good times, like party music,” Cleveland says, “it doesn’t touch me. It doesn’t feel
true to life.”
Last year, La Luz took their lovably dreary Seattle sound to Los Angeles, where
they are polishing their West Coast vibe — and getting more sun, Cleveland notes.
“Seattle had, ya know, the ’90s,” she laughs. “It’s the perfect place to start a band.
Los Angeles feels like home.”
This sentiment will be reflected in the band’s fourth and upcoming album
(details yet to be disclosed), along with a more finely tuned vintage sound. “It feels
like us,” Cleveland says, “not the idea of what we would be when we first started.
La Luz along plays with Savila and VCR 9:30 pm Tuesday, July 4, at WOW Hall;
$15 adv., $18 door. — Kelsey Anne Rankin
PARK BLOCKS Fridays at the
Park Blocks Concert—4:30pm;
n/c
SAGINAW VINEYARD Living The
Dream—6pm; rock & roll, n/c
SAM BONDS GARAGE Echo Pearl
Varsity, Joy Tribe—9:30pm;
math-rock, jazz, indie, $7
SARVER WINERY Peter Giri w/
Lloyd Tolbert—5pm; acoustic &
electric songs, n/c
SPFD ELKS BTM Karaoke—8pm;
everyone welcome, n/c
SWEET CHEEKS TASTING ROOM
Mike Davis—6pm; acoustic gui-
tar, n/c
TERRITORIAL VINEYARDS
Geo4—7pm; jazzy ethnic funk,
n/c
VANILLA JILL'S Crystal Bop—
7pm; improvised electronic
music, don.
WAYWARD LAMB Glamazons
Drag Show —10pm; burlesque,
cabaret, $5
WHITE HORSE SALOON Karaoke
w/KJ Mike—9pm; n/c
SATURDAY 7/1
5TH ST CORNUCOPIA
Goshwood—9:30pm; n/c
AGRARIAN ALES Gumbo Groove
plays Fungrass—5pm; n/c
THE ATRIUM Temple Under the
Stars—2pm; n/c
AXE & FIDDLE Rudolf Korv—
8:30pm; n/c
BEERGARDEN The Real Gone
Trio—7:30pm; rockabilly, n/c
BENNETT VINEYARDS The
Brewketts—6pm; n/c
BLACK FOREST Choke The
Silence—10pm; n/c
BREW & CUE Sassy Patty, BTM
Karaoke—9pm; n/c
BREWSTATION Farmer Jimmy &
Michael Brennen et al—
7:30pm; greek festival, n/c
CITY NIGHTCLUB Crystal
Harmony Karaoke—9pm; EDM,
n/c
COWFISH Sup! w/Michael
Human—9pm; hip-hop, electro,
top-40, $5
CUSH CAFE Open Mic—2pm; n/c
DEXTER LAKE CLUB Christie &
McCallum—7pm; americana, n/c
DOC'S PAD Karaoke w/KJ
Power—9pm; n/c
DOWNTOWN LIBRARY Okaidja
Afroso—1pm; singer-songwriter
from Ghana, n/c
DRIFTWOOD BAR Karaoke w/
Slick Nick—9pm; n/c
DUCK BAR Karaoke w/Breezy
Bee—9pm; n/c
HI-FI LOUNGE Mercury's
Antennae w/Black Magdalene—
10pm; electronica, darkwave,
shoegaze, $5
JAZZ STATION Frank Kohl &
John Stowell Trio—7:30pm;
jazz, $12
KEG TAVERN Dance Music
w/J'Lynn—9pm; n/c
LUCKEY'S Fools, TBA—10pm;
indie, garage rock, $5
MOHAWK TAVERN Impulse—
9pm; rock, country, n/c
NOBLE ESTATE URBAN Skip
Jones & Friends—6pm; blues &
boogie, n/c
OLD NICK'S Caribbean Night w/
DJ Crown—10pm; reggae,
dance hall, $3
QUACKER'S Ladies Night &
DeeJay—9pm; n/c
SAM BONDS GARAGE Giants in
the Trees, Ferns—9:30pm; rock,
n/c
THE SHEDD Nellie McKay: A Girl
Named Bill—7:30pm; $28-$36
SWEET CHEEKS TASTING ROOM
Olem Alves—6pm; n/c
TIME OUT TAVERN The Kilroys—
9pm; n/c
VANILLA JILL'S Joseph Heim
Band—7pm; americana, R&B,
rock, $5
WHITE HORSE SALOON Karaoke
w/Sarah—9pm; n/c
SUNDAY 7/2
AGATE ALLEY BISTRO Karaoke
w/Breezy Bee—9pm; n/c
ALTON BAKER PARK Art and the
Vineyard: Gerry Rempal Jazz
Syndicate—noon; $5-$25. Theo
Czuk—2pm; $5-$25. Jake
Koelzer—4pm; $5-$25.
Edewaard—6pm; $5-$25. Pigs
on the Wing—8pm; $5-$25
BLIND PIG Karaoke w/Sassy
Patty—7pm; n/c
COWFISH Sun Daze w/Aaron
Jackson—9pm; bass, house,
club, n/c
CUSH CAFE Open Mic—2pm;
n/c
THE EMBERS Karaoke w/Sassy
Patty—7pm; n/c
JAZZ STATION Sunday Vocal Jam
hosted by Dona Clarke—6pm;
$5 don.
eugeneweekly.com • June 29, 2017
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