The Love Loungers at the Crown Room

First Impression: Good look.

These guys goin' with the mildly cliche' red and black look, pull it off well. The group with their self titled genre "Groove Hop" are certainly entertaining. The male lead vocalist, while he doesn't really sing to a tune necessarily, certainly commands the stage lyrically and physically. He's always hopping around! Extremely entertaining, he puts it all out there.

The female vocalist is just a badass. Nuff' said. Don't believe me.... go listen to them.

Some great covers, Outkast and others! Love it!

Their horn line is SOLID, awesome solo's, no cracked notes, and their energy is up even when they're not playing, they pull it off well.

Rhythm section is stone cold. No mistakes all night, and they're all moving around and into the music. I don't think I've ever seen a bass with a body that has such a long strap mount on the top of it.... craziest bass ever. Ok not ever, but up there.

Overall: Go see them if you want to shake your booty. I'm going to definitely check them out when I get the chance.

(For the record, this show was also with Luc One and Phife from A Tribe Called Quest, but I wasn't able to stick around for them.... sad times)

Desert Noises, Aan & Candy Claws

Desert Noises
Up until they hit a note I was the only one standing in the room. For playing in front of now about 10 or 15 people, these guys put their hearts out on the line.
Apparently they are from Utah!  Cool.
Harmonies are solid. That's always a pleasant surprise. The lead vocalist in particular has a soothing element to it. The attendance is slowly but steadily rising, I feel it's because of these guys' music. I would describe their sound as spaghetticana, a pleasant mix of folk americana and spaghetti western influence, with a dash of roots rock.
These guys could definitely give tips to other bands on how to give great stage presence. All three on the front line are into it! I love it!
Drummer is sturdy! Not overplaying or overbearing, kit is tuned well also.
I could hear these guys on a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack, easily.
Overall: These guys are really good. I'm going to try to catch another show of theirs, probably even follow their tour schedule. Highly recommend these guys.

Aan
First word that comes to mind.... Interesting.
An interesting group due to their skillful use of dissonance. Sometimes it feels as though their chords are competing, then resolve so nicely! Every time!
Peculiar songs structures, eclectic organizations, and high energy! A very organic feel.
Cant pick out where I've heard a vocal sound like theirs before, but it fits like a glove, I cant imagine someone else singing for them.
Good use of samples too! My head is nodding, always a good sign.
Personally I could use a bit more punch on their song endings, they seem to fizzle out to me, but it's not necessarily a bad thing, just a personal preference.
As per my friends recommendation, and I have to agree, it  reminds us a lot of Explosions in the Sky, but with vocals (and in my opinion a little more Pink Floyd influence (their druggier days))
Overall: Interesting. I want to check out their recorded music for comparison. I'd see them again given the opportunity, they aren't mainstream at all and I love it!

as usually I had to leave before the headliner :( No review of Candy Claws, sorry folks

RX Bandits with Maps & Atlases and Zech's Marquise

Lineup:

RX Bandits
Maps & Atlases
Zechs Marquise

 Location:
The Hawthorne Theater

I'm stoked to say the least! More to come.

Zech's Marquise.... holy.... Wow.

So upon my arrival I see an old friend at the bar, we strike up a conversation which leads to others joining in. This resulted in learning that monger other than Omar Roderiguez-lopez's brother is in this band.

After a snarky comment from someone on the floor to the group, I'm pretty sure it's the bassist. I'll check that later. (though he really looks like Omar). If you don't know Omar, google him.

This band is wild, their music is erratic, and they have no singer. They certainly are tight and their music is well rehearsed. Not surprising though.

I just have to say this, their drummers beard would put a viking dwarf from lord of the rings to shame. IT'S EPIC! His drum skills are as epic as his beard, he's solid as a rock.

These guys are so organic. I'm sure it's rehearsed but it really sounds like they are just going with the flow! Tight beats and bitchin' licks.

Overall: I'm seeking these guys out for when they come back to portland. They are amazing.

Maps & Atlases

probably the craziest math rock bamf I've ever heard of. The lead singer looks like he was pulled off of a wild hippie commune, but that doesn't deter his amazing guitar playing.

I'm really loving that the crowd knows when to join in on some synchronized claps. The level of concentration observed on the faces of these guys is unparalleled! They poetically have to think so much harder just to get those crazy time signatures to sound impeccable. Definitely makes me want to just go home and practice.

Other than that though I feel there's not much to say. They're just frickin' talented.

Overall: I probably would go see them again at some point. If you want to expand your musical prowess, check them out.

RX Bandits
Too awesome. You are not worthy of hearing about their show. If you weren't there, you should have been.

'nuff said.

The Dark Backward, Ask You In Gray, and Sunny Travels

Sunny Travels
First up was Sunny Travels. Not bad! Being the judgmental person that I am I really didn't expect much based on looks alone, but they weren't bad!

The singer, while mildly overweight and wearing a badass Voltron shirt (the older crowd will get that) can sing! His pitches were on and the harmonies supplied by their guitarist were in tune! I love that.
They have ok stage presence, could probably spice it up a bit.

The drummer definitely has a niiiice Gretsch kit. Love looking at the sparkles on the finish.
Enough about the looks, their sound is good!

They are definitely feel good music, I could find myself listening to these guys on the beach on a nice sunny day. Rock/Raggae mix with some definite long beach influence. I think they'd have a lot more success down in the long beach area certainly, though I have no idea how long they've been a band.

Overall feeling: I'd probably see them again if I knew they were playing somewhere close, but I don't think I'll seek them out like I would some more favorable bands. With some refinement they could easily climb higher on my list. Definitely a solid band though.

Ask You In Gray
I like that these guys perform their show at full power no matter how the size of the crowd is.

Sometimes I hate myself because I can't help but dance to pop music. These guys tend to have the same effect apparently. I'm bobbing up and down as I write this part of the review from my cell phone...

Their performance is well rehearsed, but I think they could do with more performers to help create the sounds that are currently sampled. A drummer, bassist (synth bass... or anything!) and whatever else is sampled would have such a better punch the live element I feel.

For two guys though they are bountiful in stage presence! Teach other bands that! Seriously!
I just want to book these guys at an epic house party, they would be awesome! Or some big dance party, for realz.

The Dark Backward 
Spunky.

The look is good, but it seems like only the bassist and guitar player got the memo on dressing up. Maybe it's just this show, if the whole band had that uniform look I think it'd suit them well.

 Good energy on stage. All but the bassist moving like they're throwing their heart into it, especially the fiddle player, but I think it's because he's not locked to a boom stand for backing vocals.

 Drummer is solid! He's definitely into it and I've been impressed by his study and crafty fills. Lead vocalist is into it! Love that, not to mention get pitch and tone fit the band well.

Humor on stage, appreciated.

 Overall feeling: an eclectic sound, solid and rehearsed. Good mesh of harmonies with the music underneath. If you want to dance to some upbeat fun rock music, check them out.

The Doug Fir - Norman, The Tree Ring

It was actually a three band bill, but having gotten there late missed the first band. Apologies to you who opened :(

The Tree Ring

The first band I was able to catch was The Tree Ring. Highly recommended from members in the audience, as well as members from the headlining band Norman. By the end of the performance, they were truly spectacular, not to say that they didn't start out that way, but having never heard them before, the beginning of performances are greeted with a bit of skepticism. Needless to say they delivered, in spades. This group live is one you can lose yourself in. Simply shutting your eyes and listening to the immense beauty of their instruments, which lines up as follows.

Just listen to their music! That's all I have to say. Shut your eyes, and relax and listen to The Tree Ring. You won't regret it. I've been listening to it at work for a few days and I love it! 

(thanks to their website for this)

Joel P West : Guitar, Vocals
Kelly Bennett : Violin
Douglas Welcome : Double Bass
Darla Hawn : Drums, Vocals

CRAP! out of time, this review will be finished later. With photos :-D

Now I am finishing this. (UPDATED 7/28/2011)

Norman
So Norman got up and I had heard good things about them previously, and having some roots in my former hometown I was fairly excited to see them. Needless to say, these guys really rock!

The vocals were solid, their stage presence was good, and overall they were very entertaining. They certainly rocked a lot more than I thought they would, I went in with the impression that they were more of a low key indie sound, they certainly brought the heat despite that illegitimate preconceived notion.

I heard rumors that their drummer was sick as a dog too, poor guy. If that was the case he didn't hesitate one second at putting all he had into the show. It's hard being stuck at a drumkit to really personify massive amounts of energy, but he certainly did! If he was sick... I certainly couldn't tell by his rock solid drumming.

Lead guitars screamed! They were great, especially the slide. The guitar harmonies were legit as well, they went well with each other and one wasn't more overbearing than the other.

Definitely loved the organic electronic ending just before their encore. Letting the Moog do it's thing, while just messing with knobs and settings, that energy you just can't get anywhere else than a live show.

Overall: I am going to see them again if I hear of them being in town. I'm probably going to check their calendar a few times just to put their shows on my calendar :-D I recommend seeing them if you're looking for a rockin' good time. 

More Photo's of The Tree Ring: