The Northwest Ordinance/Moutain Screamer @ Oregon Express 6.19.08

...while we may have shown up to the Oregon Express a few minutes later than planned, we figured we would at least catch some of the opening act. We also didn't expect the opening act to be the only out-of-town band on the bill, Church of the Red Museum. Apparently, there was some confusion as to who was to play when and the show started promptly at 10 PM, which from our experience never happens. Arriving at 10:35, we completely missed the first band. If you're planning to attend a show at OE in the near future, please make a of this as you may very well miss some of the show. To add insult to injury, we were told that COTRM were incredible. We hope to remedy this soon...

...after stewing on the fact we missed a band we truly wanted to catch, we settled in to check out Mountain Screamer for the first time. While their Myspace tracks suggest a rough, sludgy sound as evidenced on their track on The Buddha Den Summer Sampler, in live performance Mountain Screamer are a powerhouse of a duo. Taking cues from the blues-derived guitar/drum duo sect, these guys infuse their brand with a whole lot of punk, Sun Records-style country, and a whole lot of Crazy Horse. Drummer Tubba Bumps propels the duo with his incessant stomp, throwing in dance-punk rhythms and tasteful tambourine work. Although guitarist JP Magical might be a bit of a shoegazer at times, his huge, bluesy riffage is traced with a nice punk edge that keeps the band's sound from veering into retro pastiche. While the band's set may have run a little long on this night, we're officially declaring Mountain Screamer a must-see band...




...closing out the evening, we had one of our favorite locals, The Northwest Ordinance. On this night, the band tore through tracks off their State of Ohio disc, as well as a number of new tracks, with a rapid-fire fury that never gave the audience time to catch their breath. We found the band's distinctive blend of punk/garage/grunge at it's most raw, intense state last night as the band truly played as if they had something to prove. If you're still waiting to catch these guys, get on with it...




For more photos from the evening, go here...