Ticket Price=$15
Show Date: August 26th, 2011
First show for YOTS to review at The Mission. Way fun. The Mission is an old church/union hall. It has been converted into a theater for second-run films and shows where Portland can sop up beer and pizza. It is a McMennamin’s property.
It is a super humid and hot evening. That carries over into the venue, but isn’t severe enough to be a major issue in the balcony. The floor is packed and bouncing with energy. A positively sexy-slippery pit.
Cloud Cult packs the stage with musicians. At anytime bass, cello, violin, horns, guitar, keys, vocal, and electronics can be heard while band member Scott West (fellow band member/painter Connie Minowa was home due to pregnancy) paints a piece that is auctioned off after the show. A video screen was also used during the show.
The band walks their value system . Solar paneled touring van, geothermal energy powered recording on the lead singer, Craig Minowa’s, organic farm. Their own record label produces their recorded music that can range from guitar driven hooky to, well, indie rock. Song titles like “You’ll Be Bright (Invocation Part 1)” are not going to come spewing out of a drive time DJ’s mouth anytime soon.
This is the type of rock that is often classified as experimental. Certainly not for everyone, but more than enough people dig it to jam The Mission. Show looks like 95%+ full.
Door guy “Man, everyone here must be 39 tonight”.
So. I guess the crowd is a little older. Not surprising. In 2002, band members Craig and Connie Minowa lost their two year old son. The songs after this largely paint pictures about grief, loss, and the deeper realities of being human and the positive aspects of the journey as well. These are not dirge like tunes.
A friend (DJRKCNDY, name check) turned me onto Cloud Cult with the excellent track “Brain Gateway” from the album The Meaning Of 8. Upon finding out the artistic subject matter was driven by a family loss, I bolted from deeper Cloud Cult catalog exploration. My personal situation was coping with losing my Dad and hearing about that subject matter at that time would have been about as fun as a self-amputation. Well. So I thought. Ignorance isn’t bliss. I’ve learned to embrace my own personal darkness. Once I started dealing with the losses in my life, I found Cloud Cult’s songs both helpful and inspiring. Cloud Cult helped me muscle through a couple days.
The show’s foundation is the album Light Chasers. The show really is amazing. Sincerely. As tempo increases, the painting by Scott West intensifies and a portrait takes shape. Songs like “Unexplainable Stories” can range from orchestral to guitar driven within the same tune. “Today We Give Ourselves To The Fire” that begs to be a live anthem. It is rare to hear so many sonic layers and textures in an evening. The entire band can be playing percussion simultaneously. And if the groove of the moment isn’t doing it, there’s no lack of creative/visual stimulation.
This was an evening to be savored. Occasionally, I would have a moment of clarity where I would realize that this venue wasn’t the entire world. Total immersion. Felt good. There were so many hard core fans there, I’m not going to disrespect that by posing. I’m new to this party. But, I get it. If the music talks to you, this show is positively heat. Quality. Left me feeling better than when it started. Still does.
After the show, I told ChrisT I went.
“And you don’t listen to Arcade Fire?”
That’s the ready-made comparison.
Not a thing to me.
In a world where I felt adrift and running away from the dark for seemingly forever, this was an anchor for me. Some karmic debts need paid. And running to the darkness feels good. It gets lighter. And this was an evening I wouldn’t trade.
Spotify Links:
“Brain Gateway”
“Today We Give Ourselves To The Fire”
“Unexplainable Stories”
