LIVE REVIEWS - Q & A

[November 9th, 2005]

^Tractor Operator Saturday, Nov. 12

Eric Jensen paints a haunting picture of the degraded West, coloring it only slightly.

[FOLK] The themes that emerge from Tractor Operator's self-titled debut full-length—guns, abusive father-figures and alcoholic weeknights—might seem like working-class life as seen through the Michael Moore-tinted glasses of the urbanite. But, according to lead singer-songwriter Eric Jensen, the stories told in his songs were just a "part of life" when he grew up in Wyoming and Idaho. He admits some of it could be romanticized.

"I might make things darker than they were in real life," he says, "but most of the stuff is still steeped in real events." The references to fathers, for instance, come from a very real angry place. "I was raised by a single mother who raised four kids all by herself, so I have a certain animosity toward fathers and men in general," Jensen explained on the phone while his tour was winding around the Midwest toward his current home in Portland.

Like that of Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, Jensen's songwriting maps a desolate, rural, working-class terrain that's full of strange images and druggy dreamscapes. In "The Last Sunday in November," a son asks his father for the rifle he plans to shoot himself or someone else with, while "From the Ceiling" features elephants rudely leaving a room without saying goodbye. Delivered in Jensen's thin voice, all of this sounds very ordinary, as if suicide and rude elephants and buying a new black bike ("New Black Bike") all exist on the same emotional plane.

On the album, which is a collection of tracks from two previously released EPs, Tractor Operator's arrangements are spare, often containing only one or two guitar tracks and Jensen's double-tracked vocals, and the sum effect is haunting and creepily confessional. Jensen says his recording technique came about out of necessity, because "I grew up poor and I could only afford a four-track." But necessity has turned into an aesthetic, and Jensen doesn't think he'd ever like to record with better equipment. "I think the lo-fi approach creates intimacy and it just feels more honest," he explains. "I wouldn't feel comfortable if my music was glossy or Hollywood in any way." In fact, Jensen is such a fan of lo-fi recording that he's joking about recording an album in rest-stop bathrooms around the country. "This Arkansas bathroom I stopped in had amazing acoustics," he exclaims. "I just kept thinking what a great drum sound I could get in it." DANIEL KROW.

Tractor Operator plays with Dragging an Ox Through Water at the Know. 9 pm. Cover. 21+. Both bands also perform a free, all-ages in-store show at 7 pm at Q Is for Choir.

^SODA friday, nov. 11

Portland electro-catalyst Corban Lester goes back for one more refill.

[ELECTRONIC] Corban Lester wears really nice shirts, the kind of shirts that make a man the center of attention when he enters the room. And while wearing these generally black, ruffled shirts, Lester does a few other things to draw attention: He performs in the provocatively named electro-goth group the Cancer Fags, he contributes to this paper, and he operated the monthly night of live electronic music at Noir called SODA for seven months before pulling the plug due to exhaustion. But fear not, fan of blip and bleep, SODA is back for one night at Porky's Pub, with its best lineup yet. We caught up with Lester and his fancy shirt to find out what's up. MARK BAUMGARTEN.

WW: How did SODA start?

Corban Lester: Well, basically I started it because I wanted a place to play. And I felt like there wasn't a room for the people who wanted to see me. When I started SODA, it was just going to be me, and then Josh [Beastie] from Noir became my partner. He's the one who suggested we bring in General Studies and 31 Avas, and he wanted to play it, too. What we had to offer was not being offered anywhere else: a social night that was predictable where the quality was very high and the artists were underground.

You're calling this SODA one-off "Flashlight." Why?

Basically I feel like this lineup is the best and the brightest of Portland's live electronic scene. It's kind of like those KNRK shows, the "I Saw Them When" ones. You never know, with this kind of music, where the market's gonna go or if they're ever going to get out of Portland, but I feel like, if anyone did, it would be one of these guys.

What do all these artists have in common?

There's a certain electro aesthetic, there's an '80s feel, and there's a very strong indie aesthetic. We're all pretty DIY and we're all very experienced, operating for a number of years under the radar, not really in bed with anyone.

Why are you having the night at Porky's?

Because they treat bands better than any other small venue in town.

In what way?

Not only do they pay you, but they'll pay you extra if you bring people in, if you really do it right. They will sometimes help with postering. They will never complain about feeding everybody, giving beer to everybody. They treat you with a smile. And this isn't a place that gets really great bands all the time. It's just like every other venue in town, but they're hungrier.

SODA, featuring Portland General Electro, The Cancer Fags, Copy, Señor Frio and DJ Disco Mode, at Porky's Pub. 9 pm. $5. 21+.