This Saturday, the 17th, in Portland is going to rock more than most. Garage bands from all over the country will infiltrate four bars around downtown. There’s a healthy smattering of international acts as well, such as Thee Vicars from the UK and Mojomatics, all the way from Venice, Italy. This free one-day festival is put on by Vice Records and includes a line-up of over 30 bands all falling somewhere between death metal and rockabilly. this is sure to be a raucous good time.

Some of the bigger names on the roster feature The Black Lips, Jay Retard, and King Khan and the BBQ Show. But I’m most excited for Tennessee’s Those Darlins, Portland’s The Fresh and Onlys, Austin’s Strangeboys, and Atlanta’s Coathangers, to name a few. Some Seattle bands making the short trip South are The Spits, and The Dutchess and The Duke. Look for a few interviews with some of the kick ass acts and hopefully we’ll have some sweet images. If you haven’t gotten your wristband yet or won one from us, it may be too late. But for those of you who have, remember, no chain wallets allowed, and the bars are listed below. See you Southward!

Satyricon
125 NW 6th Ave
ALL AGES

Berbati’s Pan
231 SW Ankeny
ALL AGES

Someday Lounge
125 NW 5TH Ave
21 +

Dante’s
1 SW 3rd Ave
21 +

{Photo Credit: Jay Reatard MySpace Page}

Riding a cloud of hair, animal magnetism and sweat, Jay Reatard will descend upon Seattle October 15th, to rock the Croc. Touring on the unbelievably infectious Watch Me Fall, Reatard brings his own brand of finesse to punk and indie rock with whispers of folk to create a self-labeled "homemade" sound. It is incredibly accurate. The tracks off of Watch Me Fall are exactly that. They have a certain warmth and tightness to them that shows his attachment to them, and the fact that they are home recordings make them one of a kind. This is not to say that they are warm and fuzzy; these tracks have teeth. Reatard has a similar loveable quality as Joey Ramone- though he is punk at his core, there is something of a kinder, gentler, more playful quality, as opposed to those of his more sneering, more profoundly nihilistic, contemporaries.

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Limited edition vinyl releases from Jay Reatard, Sonic Youth, and Pavement!!!

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When I asked the very intelligent and capable talent buyer Eli Anderson of the soon-to-be-reopened Crocodile Cafe, I was expecting a list of ten records he liked. Instead, he had sent me several well-written lists and deserves countless bonus points because he even showed his work.

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at Capitol Hill Block Party 2008

There have always been bands I haven’t given the time of day simply because of their monikers. Case in point: Jay Reatard.

I was unsurprised to be greeted with wild-haired, ironic flying-v toting post-punk rockers. But like mama always says, don’t judge a book by its Pitchfork cover story.

Though skeptical, I was pleased once I witnessed a band who could churn out songs so quick and so raw they were seconds away from tearing my face off. Unfortunately their high-energy antics brought out the mosher in some of the crowd, most likely those too drunk to realize that punk has been on its deathbed for quite some time.

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