The sweetness of fleeting sound. The frantic grasp of ears from one measure to the next.

Alright, listen up, this one is important. Eidolons are taking over Mississippi Studios July 30th in what might indeed be their last show for an indefinite amount of time. Ian Wollman, their “beloved BASS player/friend/chinese scholar” is moving to China. As they say, go big or go to China. Well the band is certainly going big as they will use Wednesday night's show as a release party for their brand new double EP, The Big Yellow Shirt / Hard Hang in a Deep Country.  If this is a memorial for the band... let’s make it a monument.

Over the past six odd years, Eidolons have been engaging in collective sonic masonry, crafting their sound into the Frank Gehry of basement rock as evidenced by their most recent 2013 release, Skyhook. Frontperson, guitarist/vocalist Dan Byer’s crooning tenor sands and smooths the band’s oft jagged garage sounds whilst still making room for the occasional folk tinged slow-dance.

The band describes The Big Yellow Shirt / Hard Hang in a Deep Country, as having “some raucous tush-pushers on one side, some smooth gravy on the other.” Sounds delicious. The double EP is currently available for digital download through their Bandcamp page on a pay-what-you-want basis, but physical CDs and cassettes will be available at Wednesday night's show.

Eidolons will be sharing the night with buddy bands, Animal Eyes and Talkative who are stellar experimental, noisy space punkers with enough energy for all. They’ll play how they feel while you feel how they play. 

It would be hard for someone to argue against the statement that Portland has its quirks. When you throw in​ creative individuals who desire a strong sense of community, you get magic. You get someone like Bim Ditson. He's gone on to be one of the stand-out innovators in the Portland music and arts communities. His invention? Rigsketball (and lots of amazing music and chainmail accessories).

You might've seen Rigsketball before, especially if you hang around local music venues. There's only one brightly-painted van with a hoop attached. The game is seriously defined as "a yearly bracket style basketball tournament played between Portland bands at locations across the city on a regulation height hoop attached to the back of a van." What happens next? Music.

Semifinals and finals will occur in the parking lot of The East Portland Eagles Lodge this Friday, July 25th at 5pm​. Live performances by six of our favorite Portland artists, Bearcubbin', Sons of Huns, The Ghost Ease, And And And, Talkative and Old Age and they can be experienced between two stages. Everything is free. Everything. See you there.

Sunday (6.29) at Rontoms, Talkative played a release show for their latest record, Hot Fruit Barbeque, where they blew minds and tugged on heart strings - especially with their supergroup rendition of "Snow Jobs" sharing the stage with local-legends Grandparents. Were you there? Photos by Todd Walberg.

Check out the rest of the photos from the show here! 

Whitnessing the growth of Portland punky psych-pop outfit, Talkative, over the years, has been an absolute pleasure. Each of their albums has a home in my music library and heart. Not to mention the dudes in the band are some of the finest gents among the Portland music community. I knew we'd be good buds from the first time I met guitarist/synth/vocalist Cody Berger in 2011, after my own band played a show at Kelly's Olympian, and I reluctantly let an intoxicated Cody, saying "hey man, Boone says you like to smoke pot too, cool!" hop a ride back to the SE with me to shorten his walk home. 

Talkative's latest efforts, Hot Fruit Barbeque, takes their raucous high energy sounds to new levels. And it's not just upscaled production. The album feels more purposeful than their previus work, each song commanding you to yield and listen or dance (I prefer to wiggle). Lead single "Rudy Huckleberry" will be left lingering in your ear as you try to recreate Berger's catchy but mostly unintelligible vocal hooks for the remainder of the day. Equally as catcy, "Snow Jobs" and "Hava Nagila" showcase the impressively explosive capabilities of Casunn Taft's drumming. The boys explore slightly more worldly rhythms and tones alongside their distorted guitars on "Gentrifuckation" for an overall excelent, bouncy, party track. 

Hot Fruit Barbeque falls at the top of my list of favorite albums in 2014. Talkative will cellebrate the release of their new album this Sunday at Rontoms with the help of fellow psych-pop greats, Grandparents. 

- Travis Leipzig