Beirut Invades the Pacific Northwest
Don't worry, we won't be bowing to Lebanese overlords anytime soon. The band Beirut is actually based out of New Mexico and headed to Vancouver, BC tonight and Portland, OR tomorrow. Led by singer Zach Condon, whom also tinkers on the trumpet and ukulele, Beirut creates an off-kilter sound which on first listen seems like it shouldn't work but it just does. There's some kind of special something that pulls together the unique instrumentals, vocals and electronic sounds the band shells out into a loosely cohesive bubble. That may not sound like your idea of enjoyable music or even make sense--but once you've heard it you'll know what we mean.
Get Out Saturday: Dengue Fever @ Neumo's
Dengue Fever falls uncomfortably somewhere between Gogol Bordello and Beirut in the musical spectrum: unlike Gogol Bordello, this really isn't traditional music, nor are the band members--mostly indie rockers from LA--as diverse or international as Eugene Hutz's crew; but unlike Beirut, Zach Condon's Balkan brass band, Dengue Fever does have itself anchored to its musical pedigree: lead singer Chhom Nimol. Nimol comes from a family of successful Cambodian wedding singers. She moved to the US in 2000 at age 21, and wound up in Long Beach, California where her sister already lived.
Heads Up: Sasquatch Lineup By Day
Right on the heels of the announcement that the Mars Volta was added to the Sasquatch lineup, and right before tickets go on sale this Saturday, the three-day music festival has seen fit to delineate who will be playing on which day:
Heads Up: Sasquatch Lineup Announced
After months of wild speculation, the official 2008 Sasquatch lineup has finally been announced:
Live at KEXP Volume Three
Rob Gordon once said, "The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules."

