Breeders/Tweens - Wonder Ballroom

The LSXX tour was a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of the classic album "Last Splash."  A lineup of the band which had last played on stage in 1994 reunited for this tour.  In the intervening years, at least Kim, Kelley and Josephine had been involved in notable side projects, and Kim had also toured with the Breeders and the Pixies.  However, even after all this time, there was still a lot of chemistry and humor shared among the band members.  It was quite a treat to see the entirety of "Last Splash" performed, including a second playing of "Drivin' on 9" following the breaking of a violin string during the first attempt.  Fantastic!

Breeders - Wonder Ballroom

Whirr/Nothing - Bunk Bar

There had been complaints that Whirr had chosen to tour without either of their vocalists.  I had to agree with those who responded that it didn't make a difference whether the vocalists were there or not - the band put forth a powerful sonic wall that made vocals irrelevant.  The band members used their entire bodies to force tsunami waves of sound from their instruments.  Despite the extreme loudness of the music, there was a pleasing melodic quality to the songs that had the crowd mesmerized.

Whirr - Bunk Bar

Nothing - Bunk Bar

Best Coast/Lovely Bad Things - Hawthorne Theatre

A few years ago, Best Coast rode a wave of hype based on their song "Boyfriend," but I just could not get into that song.  Recently, I have been quite enjoying their song "The Only Place," which I have been hearing repeatedly in television commercials for Microsoft's Windows 8.  Based on the strength of that song, I decided to catch their latest tour when they stopped in town.  I quite enjoyed their performance, and only wished that I could have gotten into them sooner.

Best Coast - Hawthorne Theatre

Kopecky Family Band/Said the Whale/Evan Donohue - Mississippi Studios

I went out to support hometown band Said the Whale, and I thought that they did a great job.  There seemed to be a few other Canadians in the crowd, from the conversations I overheard.  It's always nice to see young Canadians getting exposure in America.

Said the Whale - Mississippi Studios

Band of Horses/Sera Cahoone/S (Jenn Ghetto) - Crystal Ballroom

Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses recounted how he saw so many great shows at the Crystal Ballroom when he lived in Portland.  He must really love the venue because this was the fourth time I had seen them perform here.  I was surprised at the large number of women and girls in the crowd - I had always considered the band to be a harder rock band.  However, while I was enjoying the songs, I realized that the pacing of many of the songs gave them a ballady, whistful feel that might appeal to the fairer sex.  Hearing songs from throughout the band's full catalog was a pleasure.

Band of Horses - Crystal Ballroom

What is with the band name S?  I enjoyed the songs, but S does not Google well...