Even before Tom Van Buskirk proclaimed Javelin’s love for Portland during the end of their set at Mississippi Studios last week, I felt the band might have a special reverence for the city. Maybe it was the fact that Van Buskirk mentioned in our interview that his house looked more like the houses "you might see in Portland" or that he realized was living a small town existence in a more metropolitan area—there's certainly more than a few of us…

To quote esteemed football manager Rafa Benitez, here are some facts: electronic music is in right now. While this may seem obvious to anyone who has listened to either terrestrial or satellite radio over the past 18 months, Monday night’s Holy Ghost! Show at the Troubadour confirmed that young, in-the-know music listeners could turn literally any venue into a dance party. Even the most hallowed of rock halls in Los Angeles. After stirring set by L.A.’s own Classixx, the Brooklyn-natives…

Laura Marling is simply too charming. Marling played the Columbia City Theater in Seattle’s Columbia City last week. The old Baroque-style theater housed a quiet night of female singer-songwriters who wooed a crowd who silently stood in awe of the talent on stage. As Marling approached the stage and immediately started commenting on the impossibility of entering gracefully by yourself; mid-sentence and mid-tuning she dropped her guitar, mucking it up slightly and causing her British cheeks to blush. In a…

Hangout Festival is a festival for everyone – the kind of music celebration that takes relaxation to the next level of intimacy. Located on the stunning beaches of Gulf Shores, Ala., the three-day festival included headliner gold. Kings of Leon, Tom Petty and Stevie Wonder graced the mega stage each evening to crowds of gargantuan proportions. With five stages and sold out tickets, the groups were a pleasant madhouse of people everywhere. Despite the iconic headlines it was those small…