By Elliot Boswell
GO BASK IN THE PURE SPECTACLE OF... British Sea Power at the Doug Fir Lounge, Monday at 9 p.m. (21 and over, sadly). These British boys seem to be making it their business to make a mockery of everything in rock 'n' roll that takes itself too seriously (no small task - they can start with rock criticism) but they're so eccentrically deadpan about it that we may never know.
Depending on their fancy, they might dress up in WWI uniforms and adorn the stage with stuffed owls; or they bring out a 10-foot bear dubbed "Ursine Ultra;" or give the location of their next gig as a set of coordinates. It's really a toss-up.
The music itself sounds like a non-miserable take on The Cure, replete with epic, textured guitar work and melodic (and melodramatic) vocals, and their most recent album "Do You Like Rock Music?" held the top spot on KDUP's top 30 albums for more than a month. But what else is to be expected from a band whose frontman's biggest claim to rock star decadence is eating "a Kit-Kat and a Jammy Dodger" at the same time?
MAYBE GO SEE... "Be Kind Rewind" by Michael Gondry. Admittedly, this is kind of a stupid premise - a couple of film geeks (Mos Def, Jack Black) who work in a VHS rental store have their entire catalogue erased, so they go about re-shooting such cinematic standards as "Boyz N the Hood" and "Ghostbusters," starring themselves and various local figures.
Their plan kind of works for awhile as their dedicated but clueless clientele (Mia Farrow, mainly) are too old to see the difference; inevitably, things go downhill but not so downhill that there isn't still a happy ending in store.
Not the mind-trip that was "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind," but Gondry's visual palette is still a rich one and this creation in an amusing, whimsical thing that is satisfying in never trying to bite off more than it can chew.
FIGHT YOUR WAY IN TO WATCH... Colin Meloy at the grand opening of the new Jackpot Records on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, Sunday at 2 p.m.
Better known as the lead singer of local indie heroes The Decemberists, Meloy will probably blend songs from his solo album "Colin Meloy Sings Live!" with acoustic versions of choice Decemberists songs. It will be interesting to see how the latter's eclectic arrangements will translate to the bare trappings of a vocals/guitar combo, as so much of The Decemberists' charm stems from their bizarre instrumental flavors.
But count on more of the hyper-literate, humorous and poignant lyricism that Meloy excels at, and get there early - free shows in a town as thrift-store chic as Portland are going to fill up in a hurry.
-ELLIOT BOSWELL
