Recorded live at SPACE Gallery on January 22, 2005, this song is really a medley arranged by Marc Chillemi. He says that he “combined an African song from Nigeria, which was based on Manicero and written by one of King Sunny Ade’s guitarist, and put the two together.” For this performance, Esperanza featured the following members: Stephanie Reed – piano, Rah Hergenhan – timbales, Dylan Blanchard – congas, Tim Cooper – bongos, Greg Goodwin – bass, Adam Montminy – tenor sax, Joe Pera – baritone sax, Eric Ambrose – trombone, and Marc Chillemi – trumpet.

The newly formed Grupo Esperanza can be contacted at: www.esperanzaband.com.

Track recorded and mixed by Pete Nenortas of Satronen Sound.

Last week you heard a track from Sara Cox, who opened for the Maasachussetts-based singer Lori McKenna at SPACE Gallery on December 18, 2004.

The streaming track included here was recorded at that show, and is a song that appeared on 2005′s Bittertown (available here). Lori is currently promoting her latest release, Unglamorous, out now on Warner Bros. Records. Her career has been growing strong since 2004, as proven last year when three McKenna-penned songs appeared on Faith Hill’s Number One album, Fireflies, including the single “Stealing Kisses.”

Get more info on Lori McKenna at her Myspace page.

Live MP3 recorded and mixed by Pete Nenortas of Satronen Sound.
Photo courtesy of Lori McKenna’s management.

Just a few days before Andrew Bird’s memorable show at SPACE, Nova Scotia’s Buck 65 graced our humble stage, where the above MP3 of “Pants On Fire” was recorded. A studio version of this track appears on Buck 65′s compilation from that year, This Right Here Is Buck 65.
Stream Buck 65 – Pants on Fire (Live @ SPACE Gallery 11.01.04)

Rich Terfry, aka Buck 65, currently hosts “Radio 2 Drive” on CBC Radio 2, which broadcasts nationally in Canada and on the web. Don’t let that make you think that he hasn’t been making music: the latest Buck 65 release is Situation, which is about the year 1957 (details here). He has also made available Dirtbike, a free three-album compilation of lo-fi demos and home recordings, available here. Finally, a collaboration with Sufjan Stevens appears on the incredible new compilation, Dark Was The Night. The album is a fund raising effort by the Red Hot Organization – an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS.

Buck 65 performs this Saturday, March 21, at the Strange Famous SXSW showcase in Austin, Texas with Sage Francis, Sleep, Dan le sac Vs. Scroobius Pip, and others.

Live MP3 recorded and mixed by Pete Nenortas of Satronen Sound.
Photo from Buck65′s Myspace page.

Deerhoof are the type of band that are infinitely difficult to describe, but ultimately pure pleasure to watch or listen to. This recording from back in 2005 at SPACE Gallery (the track appeared on that year’s The Runners Four) epitomizes their style of swirling, hypnotic pop that nobody else can do in quite the same way.

Deerhoof are currently involved in an exciting experiment using Indaba Music, allowing anybody to join the band!They’ve made basic tracks (and sheet music!) for the song “Buck And Judy” (off their latest, Offend Maggie) available for fans to download and use to re-imagine the song, or contribute parts of it. The goal is to create unique versions of the song, from remixes to orchestral interpretations, to whatever their fans can imagine.

The band is gearing up for some international dates before returning to play shows at home in California in May.

Live MP3 recorded and mixed by Pete Nenortas of Satronen Sound.

Okay, so that Andrew Bird show back in ’04? Here’s the other half of the equation!

The always lovely Emilia Dahlin opened that night, and here’s a live track from her set.

Emilia needs no introduction, but if you’re new to this gazillion times over award winner, here’s her bio. She just spent February teaching a songwriting course for the Portland non-profit the Telling Room  and is embarking today on a bunch of tour dates.

Here’s the link to Emilia’s studio album which features 6 Acre Lot.
http://cdbaby.com/cd/emilia

AND some First Friday Art Walk trivia: Nathan Eldridge Photography  (who took this photo) is making portraits at Aucocisco Gallery tonight March 6th during First Friday Art Walk.  For $20 you walk away with a 4×5 printed portrait of you, or you & yours, and as an add on he sends a picture to your Facebook account.  What a steal.

Track recorded and mixed by Pete Nenortas of Satronen Sound.

Read on for the MP3 and more.

Stream Andrew Bird – Why? (Live @ SPACE Gallery 11.06.04)

In November 2004, Andrew Bird performed at SPACE Gallery. A studio version of the track above appeared on the album The Swimming Hour from Bird’s previous band, Bowl Of Fire, in 2001.

Andrew Bird has been making the rounds lately, promoting his latest release, Noble Beast. Check out this interview with Bird at NPR and a radio interview at KCRW. Also, don’t miss the great new video for “Fitz & The Dizzyspells.”

He is currently on tour.

PS. Watch this space for the next Live At SPACE installment, featuring a free-to-download track from Portland’s own Emilia Dahlin playing the opening set for Mr. Bird!

Live MP3 recorded and mixed by Pete Nenortas of Satronen Sound.

While we kicked off the Live at SPACE MP3 series with a bang with an (inter)national act, it definitely makes sense to follow it up with one of our own great Portland bands. Phantom Buffalo have survived enough changes in names, members, and the local club scene to make anyone’s head spin, but their psychedelic-tinged pop songs seem to just keep getting better. The high quality (320 kbps) MP3 above is a clear indication of that, as it was among the bevy of new songs that the band played at this show just a few months ago. The band plans to include it on an album they will begin work on later this summer.

On December 9th, the band opened for Oxford Collapse (Sub Pop) and The Spinto Band (Park The Van) at SPACE Gallery. Relive the night back at the original post and photo gallery.

Phantom Buffalo are currently finishing up work on their 3rd full length album, Cement Postcard with Owl Colors, due out later this year. On Thursday, March 12th, the band will play with Soul Movement at the Portland Museum of Art as part of our All Access event (celebrating the PMA’s “Backstage Pass” Rock and Roll photography exhibit). Music starts at 7pm and tickets (which include admission to the second half of the event, at SPACE) will be $10.

Recorded and mixed by Pete Nenortas of Satronen Sound.
Photos by Bryan Bruchman

Kicking off our long awaited project for releasing “Live at SPACE” mp3s is a high quality (320 kbps) audio track from the Feb 25th, 2008 Black Mountain show. Just four days after their nationally televised appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien, the buzz was out there and 300+ fans rallied on a Monday night to witness an epic show!

The studio version of “Queens Will Play” appears on Black Mountain’s most recent album, In The Future (Jagjaguwar), which has been nominated for a Juno in the category of “Best Alternative Album”. Winners will be announced March 29th, 2009. The band is currently on tour in Australia, to be followed by a west coast tour in March. Maine awaits the band’s return – until then, enjoy this live recording from one year ago today!

Recorded and mixed by Pete Nenortas of Satronen Sound.
Photos by Aaron Flacke