Full of the attendant reunion atmosphere that is the real treat of any Thanksgiving weekend concert, the release party for Joshua Loring and SPACE Gallery's Treble Treble indie compilation and photobook was a cheerful place to be. The music was pretty good, too.
After an ambient opening by Tempera and a brief but sprawling effects-laden acoustic set by Leif Sherman Curtis, Jeremy Alexander's Americana band, An Evening With, added some muscularity to their woozy rock ballads in the form of a small string section.
If any artist in Portland is destined to be lionized as an underrecognized genius of their time, it's Vince Nez. The most prolific artist in town who never seems to release any music (his great contribution to Treble Treble, for instance, was recorded in one night, despite his playing about 10 instruments on it), Nez performed his set as part of, of all things, a string quartet, offering too little of his rubber-band voice but yet another facet of his dextrous talent to wow an always-unsuspecting crowd.
Portland's relatively dormant indie-rock scene showed some vitality as well. Jay Lobley's post-Cult Maze indie-poppers Metal Feathers continue to have a goofily indelible ear for interesting melodies. Jason Rogers's restless bass lines are a fine match for Lobley's massive guitar sound, as are his high-pitched backing vocals. Gully, led by Oscar Romero, have honed their sound considerably in the past year or so, and sported a more tightly wound rhythm section (not to mention more considered, less flailing vocals by Romero). Huak, always a thrill, closed out the night with some new songs and a dose of welcome urgency, like the upstart kingpins of a dynamic, diverse scene.
