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MUSIC COLUMN BY RICHARD MARTIN
I've always hated when a waiter serves my order with a side dish of complaints about how bad his day's been, so I'll spare you my agonies over writing and editing countless previews for the gargantuan music festival and conference that set Portland abuzz last weekend. Instead, I've cataloged the highs and lows of North by Northwest '98 as I see 'em. Of course, the thousands of music fans who attended the three-day extravaganza each had their own epiphanies and disasters, but I hope this critic's memoir will act as a representation of the cultural event that transformed our town, however briefly, into Music City U.S.A.: More superstars, please: The previous three NXNWs didn't exactly abound with jaw-dropping names, but it often felt like we were at least seeing the stars of tomorrow. This year, there was no shortage of talent, but even the mind-blowing performances seemed to come from bands still in the early stages of development. Rescind the urban-planning awards: Friday and Saturday night brought the biggest crowds and turned the downtown/Old Town area into a snarled mess of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Besides the usual parking snafus, music fans had to contend with loathsome weekend cruisers. A companion and I were almost mowed down by a shrieking carful of inebriated teens who blasted through a red light on Southwest Second Avenue. So much music, so little time: By their nature, music festivals tend to overwhelm, and NXNW was no exception. Throughout the city, individuals could be found perusing the pocket guide in a befuddled attempt to figure out which show to see next. The stakes were high: choosing the wrong band could result in having to sit through a 40-minute set of mediocre music with the nagging feeling that something infinitely more exciting was taking place elsewhere. Viva variety: The festival brings an abundance of power-pop and alt-country bands from around the region, but it also attracts some oddities and rare gems. Many attendees found electronic enlightenment at Zoot Suite or challenged the senses with avant-garde jazz at Green Onion. Three of my personal highlights came Saturday night. It began with the whispered intonations and gleaming guitar chords of New York City's Dean Wilson, who performed under the guise of Illyah Kuryahkin at LaLuna. A few hours later at the Cobalt Lounge, Tokyo's ex-girl maneuvered through an artful, unusual set that included an a cappella outburst in three-part harmony and a spate of noisy tunes that sounded more like Sleater-Kinney than Shonen Knife. Closing out the fest at Key Largo, Ithaca, N.Y.'s Johnny Dowd Band welded searing blues riffs to galloping country rhythms, as a female vocalist and Dowd sang with the passion of a Memphis gospel choir. Let's party, dude: The festival proper always includes offshoot parties. While I opted out of Seattle Weekly's crowded late-night soirée at the Paris Theater Friday, I caught Sunset Valley's power-packed Saturday afternoon gig at The Rocket's annual NXNW bash at Satyricon. Thanks for the memories: It's always the little moments that carry the most resonance. My list of keepers from NXNW '98 includes moderating a panel on the dilemmas of regional music press, where The Stranger's stodgy Brit crit Everett True argued against traditional journalistic ethics and squared off with the Austin Chronicle's objectivity-minded Raoul Hernandez; watching passengers disembark the Music Millennium shuttle bus with colorful packages of chips in hand; hearing Richard Buckner ask a crowd to remind him of lyrics he had flubbed, then good-naturedly berating the audience member who supplied him with a verse he'd already sung; and of course getting blissed out to wonderful sets by For Stars, Death Cab For Cutie, Western State Hurricanes, Pedro the Lion, Snowmen and Faster Tiger. Portland Postscript: At last year's NXNW, Portlander DJ T-1-11 entertained guests with a set at a N.A.I.L. Distribution party, but the kitsch-loving turntablist was nowhere to be seen this time around. The DJ, otherwise known as Greg Gallant, now resides in Amsterdam, where he recorded Natural Selection. The 10-song album features a collage of dance beats, sampled dialogue and alluring grooves with highlights like the pulsating "Who's the DJ for the Riot?" and the whimsical "Geen Slaap tot Lieden." The limited-edition record is available locally.
The Sounds of Silence
originally published August 26, 1998 |
