LOCAL MUSIC NEWS

[November 30th, 2005]

^Slabtown switch, bossanova bounced and sabala's holdin' steady

Well into its third year of an extended identity crisis, Slabtown (1033 NW 16th Ave., 223-0099) is taking steps toward reinventing itself once again. The bar has undergone a minor remodeling job to lighten up the room, it's got wi-fi, and it's been purged of its rock-and-roll lifestyle. On Oct. 31, the venue's rock-heavy booker Malati Rossington ended her one-and-a-half year stint at the club due, she says, to disagreements with management. "They want a Pearl District bar, not realizing they are a dive rock bar since day one," Rossington writes in an email to WW. The club continues to host music but is now catering to the hemp-and-patchouli crowd.

The terminally troubled Bossanova (722 E Burnside St., 233-7855) will be the next domino to fall in the suburban incursion into Portland's inner eastside. The club, which has spent the past year trying unsuccessfully to secure its spot in the East Burnside rebirth, will reopen Dec. 1 as Outlaws Bar & Grill, "the Northwest's newest premier country restaurant/night club." Running the joint will be Rick Sowers, former player with Concept Entertainment Group , the brains behind Barracuda and the Dixie Tavern. Concept will also be moving into the inner eastside with the purchase and $4.3 million renovation of the Grand Central Bowl building (808 SE Morrison St.).

The scuttlebutt among the sweat-and-leather crowd is that Sabala's at Mount Tabor (4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 238-1646) will be shutting down. This, owner Jason Sabala tells WW via email, is untrue: "We are not closing. Due to the possible divorce between my wife and I, rumors are beginning to come out about the future demise of the club. Unfortunately for those who may want us to go, my partner and I have too much invested both emotionally and financially to ever let this club go down."

^Wow & Flutter friday, dec. 2

Portland trio agrees with Bush on one thing: Restraint is overrated.

[ROCK] The first time I saw Wow & Flutter could very well have been the perennial Portland band's final show. It was July 2003 at the old Blackbird, and the band, at that time 7 years old and recently diminished from a five-piece to a three-piece, was in the grips of complete chaos. The band had been noted for pairing a paced restraint with its rock 'n' roll, its songs stretching out into languid compositions that resembled Sonic Youth on downers. Beautiful stuff. But that night, you wouldn't have guessed it. Sans drummer, the trio of Cord Amato, Amy Turner and Jack Houson stalked the stage, churning out a single, grating, 45-minute song that ended in disarray. The band, I thought, was on the verge of complete disintegration. I was wrong. Rather, Wow & Flutter, which hasn't released an album since 2002's Names, was in the early stages of a transformation. More than two years into that metamorphosis, the band has released "Elements"/"Leave It Alone," a ballsy 7-inch that proves the band has chucked that beloved restraint out the window. I sat down with the trio at the Belmont Stumptown to find out what happened. MARK BAUMGARTEN.

WW: This album sounds nothing like the old stuff. What happened?

Cord Amato: We got old and we got bored, plus there were five of us before. With three, everything changes: Amy is playing the bass instead of the cello now and Jack is singing, so the structure of the whole thing is completely different.

But these songs aren't just structurally different; they're also much more aggressive, angry even.

Jack Houson: Well, George Bush got re-elected, so we figured it was time to yell....

Amy Turner: That wasn't it. I just think what we're doing now is more fun than what we were doing before. I can honestly say that the music we made before I would never listen to. Maybe I would go to sleep to it, but it really isn't what I like to listen to. What we're doing now is much more appealing to me.

So when did it start to really change?

JH: I think one of the biggest changes happened when we played the Seventh Street Entry in Minneapolis, and we were doing kicks. We started it out as a joke, but they stuck and really started to change the whole band into something much more rock 'n' roll, I guess.

Wow & Flutter plays with Invisible and Unrecognizable Now at the Towne Lounge. 9 pm. Cover. 21+.

^Ashleigh Flynn Friday, Dec. 2

Serious songwriter enters musical matrimony with goofy spoof-makers.

[SINGER-SONGWRITER] Edgy female singer-songwriter whose previous work strove for contemporary soundscapes. All-male acoustic trio known for goofily elaborate interpretations of classic rock tunes. Not the likeliest pair of acts to combine forces. But Ashleigh Flynn's instinct led her to collaborate with Sneakin' Out for her newest project, the album Live at Mississippi Studios.

And the result is one of those fortuitous musical marriages wherein each partner benefits. For Flynn, the sturdy acoustic backing literally "roots" her in earthy sonic territory, while reliable rhythmic support lets her vocals roam free. And Sneakin' Out, whose repertoire of originals and covers tends toward the silly, does a credible job of buckling down behind Flynn's more serious tunes and providing not only musical muscle, but moral support. The band is bolstered by Skip Von Kuske's cello and the violin of Tracy Grammer, who also adds impeccable, empathic backing vocals.

Flynn's roots run deep. Born in Texas, raised in Virginia and Kentucky, she was weaned on country music. Her own songwriting and performing date from her mid-'90s arrival in Oregon; after building a reputation in Eugene, she moved to Portland in 2000. But her subsequent release, Chokecherry—her second disc and first studio recording—obscured her songs' spirit behind a hi-fi haze. "I was mystified by studio dabbling," she admits today, "but it brought out something good; it made me realize that delivering a song is about delivering a whole story, and the way it feels to listen to, respecting that. And these guys show that kind of respect. They don't overplay."

For his part, Sneakin' mandolinist David Gerow attests, "Ashleigh's everything I like about singer-songwriters, and none of the things I don't." When asked to elaborate on the latter, Gerow describes artists wanting so much control over their material that they're not open to accompanists' ideas, even those coming from more experienced players. By contrast, he says, "Ashleigh invites input—not only invites it, but actually tries to incorporate it." That sense of mutual musical invention shines on the new album, and should be abundant at tonight's release party as well. JEFF ROSENBERG.

Ashleigh Flynn and Sneakin' Out play with Government Issue Orchestra Friday, Dec. 2, at the White Eagle. 9:30 pm. $7-$10. 21+.