The Quick & Easy Boys have a new album coming out May 22nd. Mosca Photo was happy to shoot the CD Spread for the new album! Yeah Bud!

The Quick & Easy Boys

Galactic is becoming a classic cult band! Originally from New Orleans, they are a psychedelic/electronic combination of hip hop, big band, blues, and rock. All of these genres put together make for a few-words/lots-of-high-energy-instruments kind of experience for a night of funk and nonstop dancing. They have a dedicated light engineer who added an amazing visual element to the tunes. As a photographer, a stage enveloped in always-changing crazy lights turning on and off from every direction makes my job pretty damn difficult. As an audience member, however, it was a necessary shock to the senses.

Galactic started out as an octet back in 1994 and has since travelled the world performing to sold-out crowds. They are often seen and heard performing with equally legendary bands such as Widespread Panic, The Allman Brothers, and BB King. One of the perks of seeing Galactic live is that one never knows who the guest musician will be. They are very social and open to collaboration. Their newest album is called Ya-Ka-May, and it was the main focus of this particular show. It is a sort of homage to New Orleans and her myriad of musicians. On stage this day was a member of the Rebirth Brass Band, who added an awesomely high-energy loud and funky trombone to the already colorful combination of perfectly loud, big-band-style instruments in Galactic.

This was an all-around amazing show! Do not miss their next tour! You will NOT be disappointed!

STS9

Sound Tribe Sector 9, abbreviated and most commonly known as STS9, is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. The group got together in the early ’90s; ten years later, they relocated to northern California. Ever since their beginnings, they have had a huge, loyal following. They are one of my own personal favorite bands of all time. Few lyrics, just pure inspiring music.

Their sound is an eclectic mix of rock, jam, jazz, trance, electronic, funk, and hip-hop. I know: awesome energy! They focus on group-wide, extended jam sessions mixing individual instruments with synthesized electronic sounds. I suppose I would describe them as a progeny of Phish & Depeche Mode & Tiesto. Yeah, I think that just about does it.

Needless to say, the stage at this month’s performance at the Crystal Ballroom was full of extra computers and monitors, accompanied by psychedelic lighting systems and extra bass boxes. Seriously, the Crystal Ballroom’s stage is a large one, able to hold a small orchestra; STS9, however, was “forced to” take over part of the dance floor for their extra speakers and monitors. As a photographer, I was ecstatic to have a photo pit all to myself, of course, but when I got there . . . wow. I hardly had room to move around freely because of all the added sound system they had! Ordinarily, I would be a little put off by my limitations as a photographer, but in this case, absolutely NOT! The beats and rhythms and bass their music is well known and loved for needed to be “exaggerated” by the extra equipment they brought with them. From where I was standing, I could see three sound guys!

The crowd was wild, entranced to say the least. I noticed fewer people than usual going to the bar area for drinks this time: everyone was too busy shaking and moving and grooving to STS9’s long jams. It was an amazing show. Full house, packed to the brim. Visually stimulating (with their state-of-the-art LED panels), and sensational to listen to. I personally ran into people who live fairly far from Portland who made the effort to take a long drive into town just to see them live.

February 19th was the first of the two nights STS9 played here in Portland. Both nights were packed. Not only is their music intense and inspiring, their stage presence was amazing to watch as well. Not much of a social band this one: they are simply geniuses at work! The concentration and the dedication clearly visible in their faces with their expressions is inspiring. One can tell they are professionals and one can tell they are there to impress, to be perfect, to be tight. Truly hypnotic artists at work.

I like consistency. It’s good. I like knowing that I can go to a Floater show (I’ve been to at least 20) and my head will get rocked. Floater fans (“Floaties”?) are some of the most loyal on the planet, and it shows when you walk around the venue and see at least 80% of the people signing along to their songs, fists in the air and huge smiles on their faces.

This Friday I was joined by a handful of friends at the Crystal Ballroom. Many of them had never been to a Floater show. By the time we left the venue, friends jaws were agape. In a good way. It was clear that Floater had converted them into “Floaties.”

Portland Mayor, Sam Adams, got the already eager crowd even more energized with a lively introduction of the band. He seemed just as excited to see them as most of the crowd, as he introduced them before the second act even came up. When Floater did make it to the stage, they immediately jumped into a dark groove which set a vibrant tone for the rest of the evening, leading up to an incredible cover of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.” The crowd was as “active” as always at a Floater show, leading to the removal a handful of more rowdy fans by the venue security.

Floater has been around since ‘93 and keeps going strong in the Pacific Northwest, routinely selling out the venues. If you have not seen them, I highly recommend it. Chance are you’ll be a “Floatie” by night’s end.

Who here has heard of Múm? Clearly many Portlanders, as evidenced by the packed Aladdin Theater Wednesday night. And for good reason.

Mum’s show at the Aladdin marked a rare live performance of their native Iceland (and Europe). Formed in 1997, Mum hasn’t stopped composing new and inspiring psychedelic, electronic, funky, unusual, special-effects tunes since. Simply put, they are a group of born musicians with innate capabilities to compose. They have fun experimenting with all possible sounds traditional instruments can possibly utter, as well as unconventional, often times, custom-made instruments. All mashed up and combined with amazingly angelic soft voices and a passion that can be felt when listening to them, and watching them, live on stage.

The audience was mesmerized. I had assumed it would be a seated show. A show during which people would comfortably sit and calmly listen. Instead, it seems like no one had the audacity to relax on their seats! No dancing, no mosh-pit, no drama. Just simple, respectful, standing reverence towards their truly hypnotizing music.

Their latest release, Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know, was released this past August via download through Gogoyoko. I encourage you to get the album and look at our photos here on melophobe while the album is playing in the background. You will not be disappointed.

When I write reviews, I usually start by going to the trusty Wikipedia and getting a little more knowledge about the artist. It’s apparent that Moby did that before visiting Portland, because he had some pretty distinct knowledge about the local area. From famous local songs, like “Louie, Louie,” or that Portland has a vast number of porn shops. Moby knew it all and had quite the dialogue going with the crowd.

As I was up front getting ready to photograph the show, the intro song (“A Seated Night” from the new album Wait For Me) was playing, and I must admit that it put a lump in my throat. When Moby ran on stage, the packed house at the Crystal Ballroom erupted with excitement. It was a great experience to be there and catch the electricity between the crowd and performer. You can tell that he is a genuine artist by the way he takes time to interact with his fans. I was amazed to see such talent on multiple instruments: from the guitar, to the piano, and on to the drums, Moby did not let us down with his skills. The show had several high energy points that segued seamlessly into the ethereal, giant musical numbers that Moby is famous for.

If you are a Moby fan, be sure to catch him on this tour—you won’t want to miss it.

We had the opportunity to interview BoomBox for Melophobe.com – Here it is!

BoomBox has a huge following all around the US. I have personally been a fan of theirs for three years, even since another relatively obscure band (Particle) introduced me to them. I’ve been hooked ever since! They rarely come to the Pacific Northwest, so when I learned of their show here in Portland, at The Crown Room, I jumped at the opportunity to see them live and to get to meet them!

We were set to meet with them right after sound check, around 7:30pm. When we arrived, they had just gotten there from their previous show in Seattle. We all know how horrible traffic on I-5 southbound can be sometimes! So we reassured them of the normality of it all and told them to let us know when they were going to be ready for us. Sound check happened and then a quick trip to the green room downstairs to grab wallets and van keys, and we were off! We joined them for a quick bite to eat at a local burger joint around the corner from the venue and immediately hit it off! Zion and Russ and their crew were genuinely interested and mesmerized by the facts and figures and little bit of trivia Josh and I gave them about Portland and they sincerely wished they could stay for a couple of days after the show to take in the scene and the local people. They promised us that the next time they come around, they will!

Their opening act, Ana Sia, started playing and the room was bumpin’! Pretty close to a packed house an hour or so before BoomBox was even supposed to start. We took advantage of the down time after dinner to ask them a few questions downstairs in the green room. Read on below for the interview.

One last note. If you have never heard of BoomBox, know this: two members, Zion on guitar and voice, Russ on synthesizers and other complicated equipment that makes their sound what it is. They are genuinely peaceful and sweet people who do what they love. Dance, house, trance, techno—whatever you want to call their style—it’s live and always fresh. Light shows always accompany their performances, making it not only pleasing to the heart, soul, and ears, but to the eyes too. They play everywhere from smaller venues like The Crown Room in Portland to giant festivals like 10000 Lakes! Give them a listen and be sure to put them on your concert calendar for their next show! You will NOT regret it!

Melophobe: How has the tour been so far?

BoomBox: The tour has been good, interesting. Trying to break in new markets and new promoters and getting everyone to know BoomBox. The sound is very important to us, we are perfectionists and our performances can be affected by sound problems. We played a gig in southern Oregon where the venue was on noise ordinance probation and we got shutdown! Another show was in Seattle where the venue did not have enough power and the power kept going out. It was tough for us and for our fans.

Melophobe: Do you get to mingle with your opening artists?

BoomBox: We do, occasionally. The schedules are really tight and by the time we get to a venue, get setup, do sound check, immediately we have to do the things we have to do. A lot of the times, by the time we finish getting ready, the opener is already on. There are times we get to hang out though. Festivals are really good for that. We get to hang out backstage and catch up with other musicians. It’s cool that Ana Sia is opening for us on this tour and to have a constant opening act.

Melophobe: Were you impressed by any bands that were completely new to you?

BoomBox: We try hard to promote our local music scene (Muscle Shoals, AL), there is a lot of talent coming out of there. We try to educate off of what we have learned and help the bands pave a road out of town on to their own thing. As we learn, covering so many bases, our goal is to develop the record label and help develop talent. We feel like we’re part of a movement in Muscle Shoals, and it’s really cool to feel that.

Melophobe: What are some of the cool sights across the US that you have been able to see on your tours?

BoomBox: A boat. We did a boat party in NYC that was crazy, get on the boat at midnight and play out to the Statue of Liberty. It’s crazy! Getting paid to play at the feet of the Statue of Liberty. There’s another cool cruise in Boston that we like: Harper’s Ferry. The festivals are cool; the small ones usually fall under the radar until you hear about them from another band. We are really blessed that basically every city we roll into we get to meet really solid people and a cool scene.
We stay in hotels now, but four years ago we would couch surf in the cities that we played in. We would book one show and stay in the city for a couple of days after, just to get to know the people and the city. It’s a unique perspective that you can’t get from a normal job.

Melophobe: What’s next for BoomBox?

BoomBox: The New album! Downriverelectric should be out in early 2010. The first record was sold out of the trunk of a car! This new record will be a whole new step for us as independent artists. We both go down the road with headphones working on this album, it’s needed for our souls! It’s literally been eating at us, we need this record. Also: we want to eventually hit Europe. We’d love to be in with the crowds overseas. Eventually it will happen!

I was not around for any of the Psychedelic Furs shows in the 80’s, being a young kid and all. But I can tell that they have not lost any of the excitement of playing live. From Tim Butler mouthing the words to the songs (sans microphone) to Richard Butler’s interaction and face time with the crowd, their energy is contagious, and the crowd was buzzing before they even stepped on stage.

The Furs have been at it for a long time, since their founding in 1977. Despite breakups and going other directions, they have not stopped being what they are: a great band.

Richard Butler’s gargle-glass voice lead the band through a rocking set before a packed house Tuesday at the Crystal Ballroom. The whole show was exciting from the first opening act, Amusement Parks On Fire, through the second act, Happy Mondays.

Bassist Tim Butler’s control of the bottom end just makes you want to dance, and Mars Williams keeps the energy going with his incredible mastery of the Saxophone.

The Psychedelic Furs played all of their hits and some of the more obscure songs as well. If you are a rabid fan, or just looking for a great show, I would recommend seeing them as they swing through your town.