In these dire times of too little money and too few great bands we have, thankfully, been given The Five.
Ticket prices can be high. You have to know how to look for the shows that pass the cost/benefit analysis. Luckily we have our saviors, right on campus, a group of people connected to the local music scene that can coordinate brilliant low-dough shows for up and coming bands.
If you’ve ever been dying to say “I saw them when” then take notice, for that “when” is now. Even if you are a broke college kid, KPSU has you covered for all your live music needs.
Whether you are a part-time listener or you have the dial cemented on 1450 AM, KPSU should be a familiar name to those who operate in the microcosm of Portland music. For the uninitiated, KPSU is a PSU radio station run by students and local DJs.
Since its creation in 1994, KPSU has been playing cutting-edge music, teaching about the radio field, inviting local bands into the studio for performances and reaching out to the community to give local bands a spotlight. Thus, we have the five bands for $5 series; an idea that the powers that be at KPSU hope will become a monthly series featuring local music from all varieties of genres.
And who is on the bill for this inaugural run? Southerly for one, a spacey indie pop five-some led by jack of all musical trades Krist Krueger.
Starting the band on his own in 2003 on low-fi equipment and after a few short-run cassette releases, Krueger felt the desire for a bigger band. After four different drummers and two bass players, Southerly has arrived at their present line-up. Krist Krueger mans guitars, piano and vocals, Casey Montgomery provides organ and backing vox and Bill Belzer, Dave Fimbres and Dan O’Hara fill out the lineup on drums, keys and bass, respectively.
Krist arranges all the music and adds his patented orchestral horn arrangements. Mostly, their songs are piano driven, well-harmonized pop dreams. Their swirling energy can build upon itself with the crescendos crashing easily into picked folk sounds.
Tango Alpha Tango, co-headlining the bill, sounds at times like crunchy ’70s throwback rock something akin to a stranger Tom Petty. Other times they wander towards straight up indie-pop perfection. The brainchild of Nathan Trueb (formerly of The Carolines), Tango Alpha Tango is a family band.
Trueb recruited his brother Aaron Trueb (also of The Carolines) for synth, pianos and some vocals and then asked friend Walker Beckman, whom he met in the Jazz department at Mt. Hood Community College, to play percussion. As dreamy as they may get in their songs and arrangements, the music centers on a warm, close-knit glow. Together they create a pleasantly retro sound that strays into its own territory at just the right moments.
Rounding out the bill for this inaugural $5 show are Swim Swam Swum, Deer or the Doe and Colt Vista. This will be an eclectic night of music and will whet the appetites of many. At just $5, the only good excuse for not going will be that you are not yet of the drinking age, as it is a 21 and over show. Thank you KPSU, we already can’t wait for next month.
Five Bands for $5w/ Southerly, Tango Alpha Tango, Swim Swam Swum, Deer or Doe and ColtWonder BallroomOct. 30, 8 p.m.$5 (duh)21-plus