2
THE OPENING ACT
FEBRUARY 16�23, 2022
STAFF
What we’re into New releases
LIVE MUSIC
‘DRAGON NEW WARM
MOUNTAIN I BELIEVE IN
YOU,’ BIG THIEF
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I
’m not musical, but I do enjoy
music.
I didn’t realize, though, how
much I love live music until we
didn’t have it.
Concerts ceased in March of
2020, like so many other things
we take for granted. Many musi-
cians turned to the internet and
off ered livestreamed concerts.
While this was the only solution at
the time, it just wasn’t the same.
I interview musicians quite of-
ten for Go! stories. As live music
slowly returns, there is a common
theme throughout the interviews:
They miss a live audience.
We have music events on
the horizon. Joseph Mountain
Jubilee announced its event
for July 2, and the brand-new
Chautauqua Music Festival is
set for May 20-22 in Richland. In
Baker City, where I live, the Ison
House is bringing back Concerts
on the Lawn, and the Powder
River Music Review returns for
the summer.
But those are a few months
away.
For now, concerts are spo-
radic. Eastern Oregon University
presents “We’ve Got Your Num-
ber” Feb. 25-26 after postponing
B
Amanda Senior/Contributed image
Live music is returning to Eastern
Oregon — the duo Fox and Bones,
pictured here, plays Feb. 18 at
Churchill School in Baker City.
the original dates. In Baker City,
Churchill School is ramping up a
schedule of concerts, including
Fox and Bones on Friday, Feb.
18. Many of Churchill’s sched-
uled bands are based in Oregon,
but this year brings several
groups from Minnesota as well.
It was when my kids and I lis-
tened to the duo of Lauren Napier
and Vic Ruggiero on Aug. 21,
2021, at Churchill that it struck
me how much I missed live music
— not just the lyrics, but also the
interaction as the musicians tell
stories between songs.
I think we all could use more
music in our lives, now more
than ever.
— LISA BRITTON, GO! EDITOR
Specializing in
HOMETOWN
Real Estate
Keisha Anderson
Real Estate Agent
541.910.8827
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RAISING THE CURTAIN
ON THIS WEEK’S ISSUE
www.johnjhoward.com
rooklyn-based indie rock
band Big Thief seems to
draw from a bottomless well
of creativity. After releas-
ing two records in 2019, the
band’s fi fth LP, “Dragon New
Warm Mountain I Believe In
You,” is a sprawling 20-track
double album.
While quantity does not
always equal quality, in Big
Thief’s case, the band never
compromises the excellence
of their songwriting. Instead of
churning out carbon copies of
the same song, they use each
album as a playground for
exploration — and it pays off .
In “Dragon New Warm
Mountain I Believe In You,”
the group of four — Adri-
anne Lenker, Buck Meek,
Max Oleartchik and James
Krivchenia — recorded in four
diff erent studios with four
diff erent engineers and drum-
mer Krivchenia as producer.
The eff ect is a collection of
songs that feels dynamic with
unexpected turns throughout
the track list. The soft love
song “12,000 Lines” is fol-
lowed by the buzzing “Simula-
tion Swarm.”
As with all Big Thief re-
cords, Lenker’s voice and
songwriting shines in the
album’s quieter moments.
Opener “Change” — unknow-
ingly recorded while the band
was rehearsing the song in
the studio — is a striking
analysis of change. Whether
change is viewed through the
lens of the end of a relation-
ship or the end of a life, Len-
ker is able to fi nd the beauty
and necessity at the heart:
“Would you walk forever in the
light/ To never learn the secret
of the quiet night?”
It’s the perfect opener for
an album not afraid of change
as Big Thief weaves through
genres and themes on
“Dragon New Warm Mountain I
Believe In You.”
— THE ASSOCIATED PRESS