After blasting onto the music scene with “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” from their self-titled album in 2009, Cage The Elephant has found its footing as one of the most popular rock bands of the era. The band is currently touring in support of Tell Me I’m Pretty, which was produced by Black Keys/The Arcs guitarist Dan Auerbach. Brad Shultz, guitarist of Cage The Elephant, spoke with the Emerald before a home-state show in Louisville, KY.

This Saturday, Cage The Elephant will perform a sold-out show at McMenamin’s Edgefield Ampitheater in Troutdale, OR with Portugal. The Man and Twin Peaks. Check out our interview with Shultz below.

Emerald: Portugal. The Man is a band that has some roots in Portland, so have you guys talked to them about exploring the city when you’re here?

Brad Shultz: Our keyboard player [Matthan Minster] lived in Portland for ten years, we’re pretty familiar with it. We get around Portland pretty good.

Do you guys have any favorite spots in Portland? Doug Fir, Crystal Ballroom is great and then Matthan used to live right down the road from Sassy’s (laughs), so we spent some nights in there. I mean you’re in Portland, it’s like the capital (of strip clubs).

Now I’m sure you’ve been asked about this hundreds of times, but Dan Auerbach produced Tell Me I’m Pretty, so what was it like to work with him? It was awesome. Dan has been a friend of ours for a long time, so it just felt like a natural thing. We have been on tour with the Black Keys for several tours. And in doing those tours we became really close friends and talked to Dan a lot about music and recording philosophies and it seemed like a lot of our ideas matched up. A good producer is supposed to give you a different perspective on things and I think Dan was able to do that and one of the most important things that we came to realize through Dan was that we didn’t have to put every idea into a song. Sometimes it’s addition by subtraction.

I know Dan is a collector of rare guitars; did he influence your instrument selection on the album? I generally use a Fender Mustang. I think I may have used one of his guitars on maybe a track or so. He did have a really nice Gretsch Chet Atkins hollow body, so I used that on a couple songs, but for the most part I just used the Mustang that I have. He actually did get me using flat-wound strings though, that’s something. The Mustang is a very bright sound, and the flat-wound kind of bring a darker sound to things and dull it down. The mix between the two was a very nice sound.

I’ve read that you never learned music theory. Why is that? My dad never put a lot of weight into that when he was teaching us. He wanted us to learn to write songs before we became great musicians. He valued that more than becoming a great musician. He was the kind of guy that would teach me and Matt three chords and then say ‘go write a song,’ so I don’t know. It’s not that I wouldn’t like to know music theory, it’s just I’ve always put more weight into songwriting and I think that takes a lot of my time up.

I just finished a college course about Miles Davis and he said that he thinks of music like a boxing match – the soloist with the most music theory will always know what’s coming next and how to react to what’s going on around him. Would you say that rock music is more of a feeling than a technically demanding form of music? I think rock ‘n’ roll is more of an embodiment of spirit than anything. I think it helps to know music theory and whenever you’re playing music, whatever you’re playing, it’s a plus to know that. Miles Davis might also be feeding a bit into what you’re saying. I can’t remember the drummer’s name, but I was watching this interview and the drummer was talking about how he dropped a stick in the middle of a solo that Miles Davis was doing, and he thought that he screwed the whole thing up, but Miles Davis kept playing and actually fed into the stick drop and kind of changed the whole song. Afterwards the drummer went up to Miles and apologized, and (Davis) said, ‘What are you apologizing for?’ Music is like life. Things happen unexpectedly and you just have to go with the flow so it’s not really a mistake, it’s just part of what that was supposed to be. I don’t know what my point was in that (laughs) but music theory is important. I wish I knew it, I just never spent time to do so.

Obviously Matt is the singer of Cage The Elephant, so what’s it like to be in a touring band with your younger brother? It’s great. I feel blessed that we get to share this experience together. We grew up in a small government housing apartment complex in one bedroom with four boys, so we were always really close. It wasn’t like we had any kinds of feuds or anything. We get in our arguments from time to time. I think we let things boil to a head and then when we actually have a blowout, we have a much better understanding of each other than we would have if we didn’t, and it kind of brings us closer. All in all, I love it.

You are playing in Louisville, KY tonight. Are you going to have a chance to return to your hometown of Bowling Green? We actually did just go home to Bowling Green. My dad played a show at this bar called Pit Balls, which is kinda the place we started, so we all went up there and hung with my dad and had a good time. We haven’t had a chance to play Bowling Green. We will probably do that in the fall or something.

What’s it feel like when you do return home? Usually when we go home and go out in Bowling Green, it’s to that bar (Pit Balls) and it feels like Cheers. It’s really Bowling Green’s version of Cheers so it’s good to see everyone and see old faces.

Will Toledo was no newcomer to the music scene when the so called “first” Car Seat Headrest album, Teens of Style was released last year through Matador Records. Toledo had already completed 11 self-released albums on his Bandcamp page and attracted a small cult following. Their first official album, Teens Of Style, was a sort of greatest hits collection from his catalog that showed a prolific songwriter on the verge of discovering greatness.

The follow-up album, Teens Of Denial, released on March 20, is one of the most enjoyable albums of 2016 so far.

On Denial, Car Seat Headrest has transitioned from a Toledo-led solo project into a cohesive four-piece band. The result is a fuller sound and a young band displaying great confidence behind the leadership of a powerful and prolific songwriter.

Drummer Andrew Katz is a Eugene native who graduated from South Eugene High School and the University of Oregon with an economics degree. Rounding out the lineup are Ethan Ives on guitar and Seth Dalby on bass.

The album was originally set for a Friday the 13th release, but after the vinyl and CDs had already been pressed, Ric Ocasek of the Cars declined the band the rights to sample the Cars’ classic “Just What I Needed” on “Just What I Needed / Not Just What I Needed.” The first pressings were recalled and destroyed; Matador Records estimates the move will cost them at least $50,000. Physical copies of the album are now scheduled for a July release, but Denial is currently available for digital download.

Toledo rewrote the song and turned it into “Not What I Needed,” which is actually a superior version of a similar-sounding song – now with a sample of the Teens of Style highlight, “Something Soon,” placed at the end among a loop of backwards crash cymbals. In the end, the album was improved by the song swap.

“(Joe Gets Kicked Out Of School For Using) Drugs With Friends (But Says This Isn’t A Problem)” is not only the album’s longest and best title but also its most moving song. As his alter-ego, Joe, Toledo sings of a disappointing chemically-induced trip: “Last Friday I took acid and mushrooms / I did not transcend I felt like a walking piece of shit / with a stupid looking jacket.”

The album reaches an emotional peak with the 11-minute epic “The Ballad of the Costa Concordia.” In the midsection, the music stops save for a few dark piano chords fit for an Adele track. Toledo’s cathartic monologue is punctuated by a thunderous guitar attack that unburdens him of all the issues following the first major Car Seat Headrest tour and what seem to be painful childhood memories.

The leaps the band made in a single year are astonishing. Genres are beautifully blended, from the grungy “Destroyed By Hippy Powers” to the Strokes-esque “Unforgiving Girl (She’s Not An)” to the gentle balladry of “Joe Goes To School.” Toledo is quickly earning the reputation of a leading rock songwriter.

The Who were scheduled to perform in Portland as a part of the Who Hits 50 tour, but Roger Daltrey was hospitalized due to a case of viral meningitis which forced the band to postpone the tour. They promised to come back stronger than ever, which seems unbelievable for anyone who has ever listened to Live At Leeds.

Daltrey and Townshend were the last of the eight-person band to enter the Moda Center’s stage, and it was clear from the first note that this show was worth the nine-month wait. Townshend struck a power chord with a windmill attack on his candy apple-red Fender Stratocaster as the the arena was bathed in red light and hit with a wall of sound. The bold opening song of “Who Are You” made it clear that tonight’s Who set was going to be one for the ages.

The Who Hits 50 tour reached Portland’s Moda Center on Tuesday, May 17. And despite the tour’s humbling name, Townshend, Roger Daltrey, drummer Zak Starkey (son of Richard Starkey) and Pino Palladino are perpetually youthful, as vital as ever. Townshend’s brother Simon plays second guitar.

The band’s set was introduced by a scrolling history of the band’s relationship to the Rose City – they first visited Portland in July 1967 at the Portland Coliseum (now the Veterans Memorial Coliseum), where they opened up for Herman’s Hermits.

Each track scored a visual feast to match. “The Seeker” showed a young Daltrey sprinting (it’s a clip from the band’s 1975 rock opera film Tommy) and doing cartwheels.

Daltrey, now 72, bounced back from his September hospitalization and showed that his pipes can still reach the high notes, the low notes and the iconic screams. During “Bargain,” he’d aim the microphone toward the audience to hit “the best I ever haaaaad!”

Townshend recalled when the band played at Monterey Pop festival and learned that “good buddy” Jimi Hendrix was also on the bill. Townshend thought, “Ah, fuck,” before joking that the band left the stage with little on it. He then began a suite from 1973’s rock opera Quadrophenia with “I’m One.”

“The Rock,” an instrumental masterpiece, was made even more powerful as sobering news footage from burning oil fields in Kuwait and Daily Mirror covers announced the deaths of legendary musicians Elvis Presley, John Lennon and original Who drummer Keith Moon. It also featured footage of Clash frontman Joe Strummer, Queen Elizabeth and Vietnam protests. It clarifies what may have been going through Townshend’s head when he was attempting to write his failed project Lifehouse. “The Rock” video proceeded to modern news events with shaky camcorder footage from the Sept. 11 attacks, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton chumming it up, and Occupy Wall Street protests. It was a sobering event that led to “Love Reign O’er Me.” The crowd responded with a long standing ovation.

Later the 70-year-old Townshend remarked, “I don’t like to remind myself how old I am,” before noting that he’d be 71 on Thursday this week.

Cameras regularly panned to the front rows, where someone in the audience held up a rudimentary cardboard sign that said “100th show” and an arrow pointing to the left. The sign popped up so frequently that Townshend eventually was obliged to remark, “You’ve probably held that sign up 100 times.”

The set closed with the sublime “Baba O’Riley” and Townshend’s domineering guitar playing on  “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” The Who don’t need an encore when the set ends with Starkey’s drum solo and Daltrey’s blood-curdling animal howl to cap off a perfect hits-filled set.

“For those of you who are seeing us for the first time,” Townshend boomed, “TELL YOUR FRIENDS THEY ALREADY MISSED US!”

Setlist:

1. Who Are You
2. The Seeker
3. The Kids Are Alright
4. I Can See For Miles
5. My Generation
6. Squeezebox
7. Behind Blue Eyes
8. Bargain
9. Join Together
10. You Better You Bet
11. I’m One
12. The Rock
13. Love, Reign O’er Me
14. Eminence Front
15. Amazing Journey/Sparks
16. The Acid Queen
17. Pinball Wizard
18. See Me Feel Me/Listening To You
19. Baba O’Riley
20. Won’t Get Fooled Again

After Philadelphia punk band Beach Slang’s Thursday night show in Salt Lake City, which ended with thrown guitars and a promise for a refund from singer James Alex, rumors began to fly that the band had broken up. Friday’s show in Boise was cancelled, fueling the speculation. Later in the day, the band released a statement that said, “If you’re still in, we are. Beach Slang is not breaking up.”

James Alex was sitting at a table near the back of Portland’s Analog Cafe on Sunday night watching opening bands Puppy Breath, Dyke Drama and Potty Mouth. We spoke briefly, and when the topic of the breakup surfaced, he simply said, “We got over it.”

The band’s second show since the scare was exceptional.

In November, Beach Slang played the same venue with maybe 60 percent of its capability. The band had played a small house show in Washington on the drive down, and despite Alex’s stage rolls, bassist Ed McNulty’s endless movements, J.P. Flexner’s aggressive drumming and Ruben Gallego’s sharp humor, each member seemed tired.

I gave that show a rave review, but Sunday night’s show was Beach Slang at the top of its game. They released all of their pent-up rage into their instruments, allowing them to vent their nervous energy into one of the strongest performances I’ve ever seen.

James Alex of Beach Slang tumbles onstage while playing his guitar at Portland’s Analog Theater on Nov. 11. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

One of Beach Slang’s best attributes is the level of crowd interaction the band allows. A fan complimented the band’s set during their show, and Alex promised to find the person who said it and give him a sweaty hug. Alex tossed his white Epiphone guitar to McNulty and searched for the fan, saying, “You’re like a romantic ninja lurking in the shadows.” When the fan reached the base of the stage, the two embraced for a few seconds in a triumphant bear hug.

Throughout the night, there were moments of joy between the band and also some clear tension onstage. Alex mentioned that the band is currently three days sober. They then all looked at the floor with guilty frowns, likely hoping the breakup would go unmentioned. They may be fun to watch when they’re all drunk, but for at least one night, the sober incarnation of Beach Slang was damn near impossible to beat.

Beach Slang’s second album is due out in September. Based on the three new songs they previewed at the show, it promises to be every bit as engaging as their debut The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us.

“This could be a car crash, but that’s what you came here for isn’t it?” Alex said before introducing the new material. 

The moment that Beach Slang seemed to mend itself back into a tight-knit band came during “Filthy Luck,” the final song of the night. Alex leaned back as far as he could as feedback filled the venue while Gallego and McNulty flashed each other a quick smile. A thunderous take of the song followed.

As he often does, Alex began the show by saying, “We’re here to punch you in the heart.” This time, the punches left the gentlest bruise possible, but it left an impact that will be felt for years.  

In 2014, Sturgill Simpson blended drug-induced psychedelic country with traditional outlaw tales in Metamodern Sounds In Country Music. The cosmos-inspired country sound proved to be one of the strongest and most interesting albums of the year. On A Sailor’s Guide To The Earth, the Kentucky native has continued to diversify his sound with an orchestra, horns and inspiration from his newborn son.

Much of the album is sung as an open letter to the baby who has already changed his life. The songs are both messages of unconditional love and the cautionary tales of the mistakes his child should attempt to avoid in life.

On the opening track of the album, Simpson recalls his revelation from Metamodern‘s “Turtles All The Way Down” about love being the only thing that’s ever saved his life; however, “Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)” echoes and amplifies this feeling as he now has found the thing he loves most of all in this world: his son.

The song begins with an atmospheric slide guitar being played like a theremin before transitioning into a cheery piano rhythm ready for a fairytale. Simpson’s voice bellows with paternal comfort balanced with fluttering violins fit for an angelic welcome party. After the first verse, the song pivots to a lively acid-jazz ballad with a lax brass section and an electric piano.

It is clear after three minutes that Simpson is further diversifying his sound. Sailor’s Guide is his most mellow and mature album to date, with the greatest emphasis on instrumental experimentation.

The defining characteristic of Simpson’s music is his voice. It’s deep and gruff like the classic country rebels, but he also has the ability to leap to higher octaves and brighten any song no matter how dark it may seem at first. It keeps the listener on their toes, as they never know where a song may venture.

The tamed reworking of Nirvana’s classic “In Bloom” more closely resembles a lullaby than the original grunge masterpiece, even if Simpson still suggests “sell the kids for food.” But while Cobain would cry that some of Nirvana’s bandwagon fans “don’t know what it means,” Simpson adds on the lyric “to love someone” to the end of the chorus to keep with the album’s one true constant theme.

Sailor’s Guide serves as a series of Simpson’s recommendations for how his son can best enjoy life. “Brace For Impact (Live A Little)” finds Simpson telling his son to enjoy life because at some point, “Every party must break up.”

In “All Around You,” Simpson promises to be a constant companion: “Long after I’m gone, I’ll still be around ‘Cause our bond is eternal, and so is love.”

“Keep It Between The Lines” is certain to be the song to embarass his son in the future, as Simpson provides the paternal advice that no kid wants to hear (stay in school, say no to drugs, “Don’t get busted selling at 17”), but isn’t that what dads are for?

As long as Simpson’s music keeps developing at this rate, he deserves a few free passes for dolling out cheesy dad wisdom.

Listen to Sturgill Simpson’s cover of Nirvana’s classic “In Bloom” below:

As the conclusion of Silicon Valley’s second season, it seemed as if Pied Piper, the data compression company created by Richard Hendricks (played by Thomas Middleditch), may finally have overcome its legal troubles against the tech giant Hooli. But of course, Hendricks was far from safe as he and the company face a brand new set of issues with the blossoming tech company. Emerald writers Craig Wright and Alex Ruby share their thoughts on the show’s return.

Craig’s take:

There can be no peace for Richard Hendricks in HBO’s Silicon Valley. The comedy about David taking on Goliath in the highly competitive technology industry of California’s Silicon Valley returned with all of its characteristic blunt humor and the endless trek of setbacks for the Pied Piper CEO.

In spite of the growing stack of obstacles set against Hendricks, his ego continues to build at an alarming rate. At a time when he should be leaning on his closest companions for assistance, he instead alienates them, forcing his allies to question if their commitment lies with Hendricks or the future of Pied Piper.

After the board of directors begins its search for a new CEO to take Hendricks’s place, he is forced to either swallow his pride and accept the role of Chief Technology Officer at Pied Piper, or give up his chance to work with the industry changing company he created.

T.J. Miller remains the comedic highlight as the foul-mouthed, bong-toting Erlich Bachman. In every scene at his “incubator” home, he appears with a different bong, at one point forcing Jared (Zach Woods) to empty a fishbowl-sized bong of the remaining smoke inside by using a quick puff-and release strategy.

The rest of the core cast returns with Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) and Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) as the bickering programmers who are debating whether or not to support the egotistical Hendricks. Their mutual deprecation counterintuitively continues to push the pair to an inseparable degree of dependency.

Silicon Valley continues to take standard comedy and phrase it slightly differently than expected to hilarious effect. It balances subtle humor with over-the-top visual gags, such as Bachman kicking a “Bambot” robotic deer, cursing its names as the shocked team of Stanford engineers watch in horror.

Surely, this season will provide many more beatdowns, both physical and digital, as Pied Piper continues to try to make its mark in the industry. The results will undoubtedly continue to be painfully hilarious and embarrassing for all parties involved.

Follow Craig on Twitter @wgwcraig

Alex’s take:

Watch the trailer for season three of Silicon Valley below:

Elvis Costello made a trip to Eugene’s McDonald Theatre on Saturday night, April 16, as a part of his “Detour” tour. The solo tour featured Costello deconstructing his songs and taking a new approach to each.

What made this show different than the standard concert was the storytelling. Costello is well known as a brilliant songwriter, but almost every song at his concert was accompanied by a story that was crafted as carefully as the song. It felt like an intimate conversation between Costello and the sold-out crowd.

The audience was attentive and silent for the entirety of the concert. Every dropped cup and chair squeak pierced the still sound. Often, Costello would step away from the microphone and sing a capella, showing off both the power of his voice and the venue’s great acoustics. 

Throughout the show, he thanked his father and grandfather, both musicians, for paving the way to his career. His father was a radio star and a performer in the sixties, and even performed at the Royal Variety Performance show when John Lennon made his infamous “rattle your jewelry” comment to Queen Elizabeth.

Costello recalled his first professional gig, playing guitar for his father as a “17-year-old know-it-all.” The pianist intentionally gave him the wrong notes with which to tune, and right before the curtain rose, his father turned to him and said, “Don’t fuck this up.” When he realized his guitar was out of tune, he killed the volume and proceeded to play a convincing air guitar.

The funniest story of the night was about a cab driver whom Costello had briefly fallen in love with during an early U.S. tour. They decided to drive to Mexico on a whim (“before there was a wall or anything”). The breaking point of the relationship was when she said she wanted to find a radio station that played side two of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety. He said he then returned to his motel room and wrote “Accidents Will Happen.”

He even managed to sneak in a joke about Donald Trump’s little hands.

Alone on stage for most of the night, Costello stood in front of a large old school box TV with a screen that showed videos before the show, and photos throughout. For the second (of three) encore, the screen parted and Costello performed “Allison” and “Pump It Up” on a mini stage behind the curtain.

Costello invited opening act Larkin Poe to join him for the first encore and “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding.” The sister-duo from Georgia began the show with a 30-minute blues set, then provided beautiful backing vocals, mandolin and slide guitar for Costello.

In two hours and a quarter, Costello covered a large body of musical and emotional material. Songs ranged from Get Happy’s “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down” to songs about the devil, war and family. Hopefully he detours to Eugene again soon.

Follow Craig on Twitter: @wgwcraig

The seemingly endless lines to enter Portland’s Moda Center stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. Soapbox preachers standing under the shadow of the Moda Center’s fire and water fountain were armed with a megaphone and a GoPro camera, promising eternal damnation and venereal disease for the crowd trapped in line. Despite the 30 minutes of waiting required just to enter the arena, the undeniable buzz of excitement in the air was palpable.

Paul McCartney was in town for the second stop on his new “One on One” tour. It was McCartney’s first Portland date since 2005.

There is nothing original left to say about Paul McCartney or the Beatles, and for good reason. The Beatles are commonly referred to as the greatest band of all time, and McCartney could very well be the best performer this planet has ever known.

At a youthful 73 years old, McCartney delivered a 36-song set that lasted nearly three hours. The songs ranged from the first Beatles song ever recorded (“In Spite Of All The Danger”) to his most recent (the Rihanna and Kanye West superstar collaboration of “FourFiveSeconds”), as well as highlights from The Beatles, Wings and McCartney’s solo career.  

McCartney and his band surprisingly began the concert with “A Hard Day’s Night,” which was played for the first time in 51 years at the first tour stop in Fresno, CA on Wednesday night. Throughout the night the band continued to incorporate lesser-played material mixed in with the staples of McCartney’s repertoire.

This was the night’s most interesting moment: the band gathered in the front of the stage with a dividing screen showing an image of a rundown cabin. Here they played “In Spite Of All The Danger,” a stripped-down version of “You Won’t See Me,” “Love Me Do” and “And I Love Her.” The screen allowed a more intimate feel that suited the skiffle inspired tune “Love Me Do,” which was dedicated to the memory of longtime Beatles producer George Martin who recently passed away.

McCartney began “You Won’t See Me” with a quick story of how he writes songs. He said one way to write is to come up with a single riff and build around it. As he played the main guitar line, the rest of the band slowly added to the sound. By the end of the song, it closely resembled the recorded version.

The two standard ways to react to a McCartney concert are to either sing and dance to every song and word, or to sit paralyzed with enjoyment in your seat. As the number of classics pile up, it’s easy to be stunned at the depth and variety of his catalog.

For example, after the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band psychedelic circus song “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite,” McCartney played a beautiful ukelele rendition of George Harrison’s “Something.” Then the band orchestrated an arena wide sing-along of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” in which McCartney willed the crowd to sing its best. “You’re going to sing beautifully,” he said. “You’re going to sing magnificently.” After a few more words of encouragement he said, “That’s enough of that.”

McCartney is a master showman and would strike a pose or dance after most songs while playfully chatting with the audience. After removing his suit jacket early on, he joked, “That will be the only wardrobe change of the night” in response to the screams he received. It’s an earned cockiness that you can’t help but enjoy.

Any time it seems like the show has reached a peak, McCartney finds the next gear. “Live And Let Die” is was fueled by enough pyrotechnics to give Mötley Crüe an adrenaline rush, but then “Hey Jude” transports the crowd to an entirely different emotional place.

During the encore, two fans were brought onstage with a sign that said “Marry us, Sir Paul.” McCartney asked the couple if they were engaged yet and he looked a little confused when they said no, rhetorically asking for the advice of the couple’s mothers, whom were also in attendance.  

“We were hoping you could help us, Sir Paul,” the man said. With that, McCartney hinted that it would be a very good time for the man to propose. In front of about 20,000 people and with his soon-to-be fiancee standing with an arm around McCartney, he did. McCartney performed a non-legally binding marriage onstage before playing “Hi Hi Hi” to celebrate.

Seeing a Paul McCartney concert is a truly unforgettable experience. It’s a high that transcends simple music and reminds us why the world once collectively went crazy for four Liverpudlians with a knack for catchy songs.

Setlist:

1. A Hard Day’s Night
2. Save Us
3. Can’t Buy Me Love
4. Letting Go
5. Temporary Secretary
6. Let Me Roll It/Foxy Lady
7. I’ve Got A Feeling
8. My Valentine
9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
10. Here, There, and Everywhere
11. Maybe I’m Amazed
12. We Can Work It Out
13. In Spite Of All The Danger
14. You Won’t See Me
15. Love Me Do (Dedicated to George Martin)
16. And I Love Her
17. Blackbird
18. Here Today
19. Queenie Eye
20. New
21. The Fool On The Hill
22. Lady Madonna
23. FourFiveSeconds
24. Eleanor Rigby
25. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite
26. Something
27. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
28. Band On The Run
29. Back In The USSR
30. Let It Be
31. Live And Let Die
32. Hey Jude
33. Yesterday
34. Hi Hi Hi
35. Birthday
36. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End

Here’s the most basic history of Weezer in 43 words: Weezer was good. Then they weren’t. Despite a decade-long dry spell (about 2004-2014), fans still adored the band. In 2014 Rivers Cuomo promised us that Everything Will Be Alright In The End, which brings us to The White Album, Weezer’s 10th studio album.

For an extended look at the history of Weezer, check out our E1 story: Is Weezer Cool?

Weezer is in a unique place. As Weezer is known for their trend of producing popular albums followed by poorly reviewed ones, White is arguably the first Weezer album to be even better than the already impressive album preceding. Yes, 1996’s Pinkerton is now regarded as a classic, but at the time of release, it was hated by the vast majority of listeners.

Much like The Beach Boys’ masterpiece, Pet Sounds, you can feel the sun-soaked vibe of California in every song with the innocent longing for true love and escaping to a worry-free environment. It is also jam-packed with beautiful harmonies, scene-setting ocean sounds and of course, Weezer’s signature power-chord-driven rock.

If the allusion to Pet Sounds is legitimate, “King Of The World” is the 2016 update of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” “King” is a letter from Cuomo to his wife Kyoko and features a similar desire to explore the world and find unparalleled happiness with the one you love. Cuomo says: “We are the small fish / We swim together / No Prozac or Valium / We’ll face tsunamis together.”

Interestingly though, Weezer is effectively drawing influence from Weezer as well. In the bridge of “King Of The World,” bassist Scott Shriner plays an almost note for note copy of the bass line from 1994’s “Only In Dreams.”

The two weakest tracks (“Jacked Up,” “Summer Elaine and Drunk Dorie”) would easily be highlights on Raditude or Red, but on The White Album, they flow smoothly and highlight the strengths that are apparent through the rest of the nearly seamless album. Sure, they’re filler, but at least they’re tolerable.

A staggering majority of the songs — seven of the album’s 10 — are 3:25 to 3:30. Perhaps Cuomo feels he has once again cracked the formula for how to write a perfect pop song, much like he did with the band’s best-known track, “Island In The Sun” (which similarly clocks in at 3:20).

White features Weezer’s widest range of historical references. In “Wind In Our Sails,” Cuomo sings about Sisyphus, Charles Darwin and Mendel’s peas in the course of a single song. Similarly, “Thank God For Girls” balances biblical references and daydreams of fighting dragons in a battle for supremacy and access to females. The video, released last October, was an unsettling visual assault of biblical imagery, a tacky mustache, a whole mess of cannoli. What starts as a seemingly normal song about a girl in a pastry shop quickly reroutes to the Garden of Eden with God microwaving Adam’s extra rib. It’s entirely unexpected, but after a few listens, “Thank God” turns into a standout track.

“Endless Bummer,” a soft acoustic song, closes the album with the line “Kumbaya makes me get violent / I just want this summer to end.” In the process of crafting the sound of summer, Cuomo evidently also grew sick of it. Luckily for the rest of us, The White Album has made it socially acceptable to call oneself a modern Weezer fan.

Watch the video for “King Of The World” below.

I would be a liar if I said I was expecting this day to go smoothly. I was scheduled to interview and attend a concert by a band that verges on being the most violent act in the world, and they were playing at a venue notorious for its rowdy shows. (You have to pass through a metal detector and be patted down before they even scan your ticket). It was a gloomy overcast Portland day, and as I passed the die-hard fans who had lined up hours early, I noticed a common trait: Everyone was wearing black, and no one looked happy.

At a mere 140 pounds, I couldn’t shake the thought that I’d be the outsider to be tossed like a ragdoll into the center of a thrash metal circle pit, never to resurface. I wasn’t expecting to make it through my first metal show unscathed. I had said my goodbyes before I left. Just in case.

Marking its first appearance in Portland since 2011 was Slayer, the fathers of thrash metal. It was also its first appearance at the 1,400 capacity Roseland Theater since 2004. The show sold out in a matter of minutes and resale tickets online were pushing upwards of $200 that day. Slayer is touring in support of 2015’s Repentless, the band’s first album to feature the current lineup of singer/bassist Tom Araya, guitarist Kerry King, drummer Paul Bostaph and guitarist Gary Holt. Testament and Carcass were also on the bill, rounding out a triple header of thrash.

Slayer frontman and bassist Tom Araya (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

At the back of the theater, photographer Meerah Powell and I waited to be let backstage to interview Holt and Bostaph, the two most recent additions to Slayer’s lineup. Holt (previously of Exodus) joined permanently after founding member and guitarist Jeff Hanneman’s 2013 death from liver failure. He began as a temporary fill-in while Hanneman was recovering from a spider bite that destroyed most of the skin on his right arm in 2011. Bostaph played in Slayer from 1992-2001, and rejoined after drummer Dave Lombardo’s dismissal from the group in 2013.

The security staff was already on high alert half-an-hour before the venue’s doors would open. At the back of the theater is a gate that blocks the public from the tour buses. A security guard nodded to a group huddled across the street outside the bar-arcade and asked me, “See that group over there? They tried to rush the gate earlier,” she said, “so we’re going to have to wait to let you back.”

Slayer Nation was active.

After waiting for a few minutes, Slayer’s tour manager Mike LaTronica found us and led us backstage. I asked how his day was going, and he was unenthusiastic to share. It was clear that tensions were high as we walked through the Roseland. He asked me why Portland doesn’t have a venue that can host a metal show for 2,000 to 5,000 people. It’s a valid question.

Slayer guitarist Kerry King brings an intimidating presence to the stage – complete with chains hanging off of his belt (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Standing at the bottom of the stairs was Kerry King. He greeted us with a cheery “Hello. How are you?” He politely waited for us to exit the stairway, nodded, then made his way up the stairs. He may have defined the stereotype for a mean-looking metal badass, but before hitting the stage he was nothing but courteous in a brief encounter.

LaTronica led us to a small room with a beat-up black leather couch and an equally black curtain hanging on the wall behind it. The air was stagnant and reeked of cheap incense.

“Ooh, someone lit incense back here. Doesn’t hide how fucking shitty this venue is, and you can quote me on that,” LaTronica said with a smile. “I’ll go fetch the guys.”

Check out the full Q&A with Slayer’s Gary Holt and Paul Bostaph here.

Hanging over the stairs at the Roseland is a sign that says, “No moshing or other disruptive behaviors.” Stopping a mosh pit at a Slayer show is like asking a Grateful Dead crowd to leave the weed at home, but certain rules are made to be broken.

The Roseland Theater doesn’t seem like an ideal place for a massive circle pit to break out, due to the large black pillars that span from floor to ceiling. They were also almost camouflaged by the impressive array of black t-shirts with increasingly offensive block-letter slogans. About 90 percent of these shirts’ content cannot be printed here. Anyone who has ever said metalheads have no sense of humor is seriously misguided.

The energy in the room was palpable the whole night. Before Carcass opened the show, fans in the balcony began menacingly chanting for Slayer.

“I have a good feeling about what’s going to snap-off tonight,” Gary Holt told me. “I think it’s going to be fucking nuts. This club has just got that vibe of violence to it and I like it.”

“Any club with a pole in the middle of the stage is setting the stage (for a good show),” Paul Bostaph added.

At precisely 7:30, Carcass took the stage with lead singer and bass player Jeff Walker’s leg in a cast. He sang all his songs and played from a stool, but it didn’t prevent him from putting on a good show. He mentioned that he had hurt his leg the day before, and that his respect for all handicapped people has since increased greatly.

At the end of Carcass’ set, Walker exited the stage in visible pain, assisted by a walker. For a crowd that at first seemed hell-bent on destruction, the cheers Walker received here were wholly sincere and encouraging. Although I was situated at the edges of the venue, it was becoming clear that metal shows have received an unwarranted reputation as being relentless death traps. In fact, people are courteous. Everyone around me even said “Excuse me” when they needed to make their way past me.

Testament was next and the crowd increased its energy level on songs like “Into The Pit” and “Rise Up.” Singer Chuck Billy, a tall, imposing figure, carried around the top portion of a microphone stand and used it to play air guitar whenever he wasn’t singing. Testament had an energetic set with the guitarists and bassist wandering the stage, looking for the fans going the most berserk. Once spotted, Testament would point them out and nod in approval.

Testament is also a legendary thrash band in its own right. There was a large contingent of fans wearing Testament t-shirts and much of the crowd knew most of the lyrics.

The white kabuki curtain dropped about twenty minutes before Slayer hit the stage. Holt says that this is the moment that Slayer becomes Slayer. “That’s when shit gets real,” he said. The crowd echoed the same sentiment as it appeared ready to erupt with every soundcheck note blasting behind the screen. AC/DC’s “T.N.T.” blared over the loudspeaker and further riled up the crowd with its infectious “Oi!” chants.

Holt described a Slayer show’s environment as being “kind of like a vortex. Like entering the maelstrom. It just builds and builds into like an F5 tornado… It just builds to this big apex; a shitstorm. It’s awesome.”

A small spark was all it would take to ignite tonight’s shitstorm.

The Emerald sits down with Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph (left) and guitarist Gary Holt for an interview before a show at Portland’s Roseland Theater on Sunday, March 20 (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

After a few minutes of waiting backstage, Bostaph and Holt joined us in the small, incense-filled room. Both were sporting shaggy beards and long, frizzy brown hair. They each offered warm hellos, although Bostaph looked tired. Holt had a smiled fixed to his face and large tattoos covering both arms. Immediately, Holt seemed more like a friendly surf-rocker than a hardened thrash metal figure. His shirt had a raccoon on it that read “The Hissfits” with the writing in the style of the Misfits’ green lettering. Bostaph had a more reserved personality and was dressed in a zip-up black sweatshirt and brown pants.

We began with some small talk about Portland and Crater Lake before moving on to Slayer. They both described their standard pre-gig preparations checklist, and it involves about an hour of warming up and stretching to prevent pulling any muscles.

“We don’t prepare by like slaughtering small animals or anything like that,” Holt said. “It’s actually pretty tame.”

For 34 years, Slayer has continued to play at punishing tempos. Countless bands have been inspired by Slayer, and Holt is aware that, although he has bad back issues, he and the crowd demand a high level of performance at every show. To date, he has received four epidural shots in his spine and has to tour with an inversion table to hang upside down on. It’s a labor of love for him.

“I will do whatever it fucking takes to keep doing this. I get onstage and I’m not going to half ass anything. I’ll stop doing this when I feel I can’t do it at the level I demand of myself. The older I get, the more I want to show people half my age how this shit is done, and make them look tired. The only difference is I walk off stage and start gobbling more ibuprofen, then I go hang upside down and call my back doctor, and (young people) are riding skateboards down the street.”

All four members of the band have now surpassed 50 years on this earth, but it is not slowing them nor Slayer down. Repentless maintains the aggressive spirit of all its preceding catalog.

“Honestly, we don’t have a problem playing fast,” Bostaph said. “As a matter of fact, I play better fast now than I did when I was younger… I could play fast, but shit, I listened to the first record I ever did, and I played way too fast. Now I can control the tools that I have and speed is not a problem.”

A Slayer show is an intense experience, and the band thrives on the adrenaline rush it provides, yet somehow, shortly after a post-show meal, Holt is able to go straight to sleep. Bostaph takes a more traditional approach to unwinding by having a celebratory shot with Kerry King, cracking a beer and then relaxing until the adrenaline has faded.

Thrash metal invokes violent imagery and lyrics that are often about murder, death, violence and racial prejudice. It may seem like the authors of these themes would be immune to nightmares, but even the fathers of thrash fall victim to nightmares.

“I have tons of nightmares,” Bostaph said. ”When I get them, they’re super intense. I wake up from a nightmare, and I couldn’t tell you any one in particular, but I’ve had dreams where I go into a dark room, and I know there’s something in there. I know it’s coming to get me. I can feel it. I can feel the goosebumps. When I was younger, I used to run out of that room, but there are some times in that dream where I stand in the middle of that room and I go ‘OK, motherfucker, let’s go’ and I’m actually throwing blows with whatever it is and I wake up. Then there are some of those nightmares where it’s whatever that fear is, I wake up from it and I get this cold goosebump energy that passes through my body, and sometimes I wonder if that’s even a ghost that’s in the room. You wake up from it and you go, ‘That was fucking creepy and weird.’ ”

I can feel Holt watching me intently as Bostaph shares his nightmare story. He takes an extended drag from an e-cigarette before saying that he loves the feeling of waking up in a cold sweat from a particularly visceral nightmare. Nightmares have even served as the basis for Exodus songs in the past.

“In Exodus my dreams are legendary because I’ll wake up and be like ‘Guess what happened last night?’ And they’ll be like ‘Dude, you’re fucked up,’ ” Holt said. “I had a dream once many years ago, a simple dream, no fantasyland-type shit, that I murdered somebody, and I swear for a month I believed that shit. I thought it was a repressed memory thing. It was so real that I was asking myself, ‘Did I really do that shit? No, I couldn’t. I didn’t kill a man and bury him in a park by my mom’s house.’ But it kept fucking popping back up as this repressed memory before I realized what it was which was just the memory of this dream coming back.

“It was scary. But cool as fuck at the same time.”

Watch the music video for Slayer’s “Repentless.”

Although people often complain about the content of heavy metal lyrics and its obsession with the macabre, Holt and Bostaph both passionately defended metal and said that 100 percent of fans who attend shows do not think to take the lyrics literally. The themes they write about reflect reality, but people are often uncomfortable with the inherent darkness, and in turn, fail to see it as an art form, misinterpreting it as reality.

“If you can take this world and turn it into a perfect paradise that’s completely hate-free, I’d be happy to stop writing about hate,” Holt said. “I’m not that selfish that I’m like ‘Well what else am I going to write about?’ If we lived in this tranquil, perfect society where there’s no hate and there’s no racial prejudice, no violence, I’d write about happy shit, but that’s not the world I live in. We live in a fucked-up place, so that’s where my inspiration comes from.”

The white kabuki curtain filled with ominous red lighting as the opening track of Repentless, “Delusions Of Savior,” played over the speakers. Gold crosses were projected onto the screen and slowly turned upside down. Pentagrams then swirled around before revealing the classic Slayer logo at which point the curtain dropped and the band ferociously launched into the title track of “Repentless.”

For the entire show, there was always at least one hand in the crowd proudly sporting the Devil horns gesture from the time the crosses appeared onscreen, until Kerry King had thrown out his final guitar pick to end the concert.

Hearing Slayer on record is one thing, but to experience the sonic punch that they unleash live is a beast of another caliber. King and Holt’s Marshall stack amps unleash a sheer sonic force that combines with Bostaph’s thunderous drums and Tom Araya’s heavy bass to round out the low end. It’s skull shaking and utterly invigorating.

Immediately, the mosh pit went wild, but due to the Roseland’s pillars, it was contained to more of an oblong rectangle formation than the traditional circle pit.

A couple behind me was debating whether Araya looked more like Santa Claus or Sasquatch with his long hair and bushy gray beard. Not up for debate is whether the band can still rock. It does. Araya’s voice was surprisingly strong. He managed to scream for the entirety of a 100 minute show and unleashed a grueling scream at the beginning of “Angel Of Death” for the final song.

Slayer guitarist Gary Holt rocks a custom guitar painted by artist Vincent Castiglia. The guitar required 18 vials of Holt’s blood. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

For many songs, Holt sported a guitar that was painted with his own blood by artist Vincent Castiglia. It took 18 vials of Holt’s blood to create, but the blood-red colors mix with the white to create an eerie, demonic guitar that Holt is now able to use every night.

Kerry King and Holt trade solos like seasoned professionals with neither having the edge over the other. Each solo complements the other’s, with Holt appearing to be slightly faster, and King’s solos a bit more melodic.

“When The Stillness Comes” provided the closest thing to a slow song of the night, but after a calm intro, it quickly regained intensity.

The most attention-grabbing song of the night was “Chemical Warfare.” This seemed to be the song that edged the crowd to another level of crazy. The mosh pit grew and the band seized the crowd’s energy. After “Chemical Warfare,” the show continued to blaze along at lightning speed.

“Raining Blood” was the obvious highlight as all the lights in the venue cast a red glow on the fog, but “Angel Of Death” and “South Of Heaven” were equally powerful. Without question, the mosh pit reached critical mass during “Raining Blood,” extending past the inhibiting poles for one of the few times of the night. Even people who had avoided the mosh pit for the night jumped in.

Between certain songs Araya addressed the crowd standing under a single spotlight, creating a more intimate feeling to the performance. When a fan yelled out “Fuckin’ A!”, Araya responded with “Let’s go through the alphabet. Fuckin’ B man.” The crowd gladly obliged until about D.

After “Angel Of Death,” the light’s quickly shot on, presumably because Slayer had gone a few minutes over its allotted time. The speakers cut out slightly earlier than expected, but each member tossed out as many guitar picks as they could. King stayed on stage for about two minutes after the rest of the band had left, tossing picks to every part of the crowd.

Watch the video for Slayer’s “You Against You” below.

The question I set out to answer was how do you describe a Slayer show for someone who has never been before? I do not have a background with metal other than seeing Motley Crüe and Van Halen this past summer. By today’s standards, they’re considered classic rock. This was my first true metal show, and I will admit that I had my reservations about attending because of stories I had read about Slayer and also what I had heard from my metalhead friends. The first adjective they almost always used to describe the atmosphere was “violent.” The conversations always ended with “good luck.”

The biggest shock for me was how strong Slayer’s live performance was. I did not expect to enjoy the music, but I left with a newfound respect and understanding of metal. The easiest description is that you are able to create whatever experience you want to. Personally, I wanted to watch the chaos from the sidelines, and I was able to do just that. Never once did I feel unsafe or intimidated. Sure, it’s different from a standard rock or pop concert, but the fans who were looking to mosh and bleed were able to do just that. Either way, fans are taking away an equally memorable experience. Metalheads may just be more willing to bleed than the average music fan, and the bands thrive on the intensity. It’s a trade-off.

I asked Holt and Bostaph what the future of Slayer holds, and how the band has maintained its longevity. Bostaph said part of the successful formula is to not push each other’s buttons, but Holt added:

“I don’t think any of us know how to do anything else other than play heavy metal, thrash metal and do it well. You get to play a sold-out show with a pole in the middle of the stage in front of a bunch of people who are going to go nuts, or I could go to trade school. I’d rather be here. It’s kind of an easy choice.”

If thrash metal is the only thing they know how to do, then they shouldn’t worry. They do it quite well.

(Meerah Powell/Emerald)