Dahlia

I went with my new neighbor, mdal, last night to see Dahlia at Dante's. It was stupendous. The show was absolutely incredibly and powerful. Here's a review of the band I found on AOL's City Guide:

"On the fast track to becoming one of Portland's most followed electronic acts, Dahlia defies pigeonholing, though their deep grooves and siren cries could be compared to a more organic Portishead, a less piercing Bjork. Their regular Tuesday nights at the Ohm are building a strong fan base. Vocalist Jennifer Folker enjoys a friendly rapport with the crowd between songs. Her powerful voice comes bubbling up through a vortex of reverb and echoed effects. Keith Schreiner's multi-layered synthesizer creations ebb and flow along beat loops, and his didjeridoo is a celebrated sight. No song is played the same twice -- improvisation is integral to their performances. The sound engineer behind this slow sexy train is Jay Bozich, who mixes for King Black Acid. The wall behind the stage provides a slate for psychedelic projections or, sometimes, a simulcast of Bozich's movements on the mixing board. Casually dressed dancers gently bob and weave on the dance floor, or simply sway and watch Folker's ministrations. -- Jessie Hensley"

They're playing next at Ohm on March 5th to celebrate their 5th anniversary. Portland just keeps getting better and better!

One of the things I wanted to mention about the show was how powerful they are energetically. The music is incredible but the two (or three) of them combine to form an incredibly fluid and intense energetic field. I don't remember any of the songs individually (probably cause I'd never heard them before) but I remember paying close attention to the energetic impact and vibration of each song and it was stunning. I had never really thought about how the beat vibrates at different levels but that point was driven home. Keith played some incredible beat lines and the vibrational level was pretty clear - mainly because the sound was loud and pretty much vibrated your whole body from the center of the vibration.

That doesn't sound coherent so let me clarify: Music is vibrational so you can feel it energetically, where it's vibrating and where it's moving your energy. I hadn't thought about how the beat can do that but it does. If you put on a song with a pronounced beat, feel where the beat seems to be 'hitting' your body, where you feel it. Sometimes it's your navel area (2nd chakra), sometimes it's your chest (4th chakra) and so on. Last night was an awesome experience not just because Dahlia was so incredible but because I'd never felt a beat energetically so strongly. Some of them went from front to back of my chakras and they were strong!

Keith played two songs with the didjeridoo and the first one blew my mind! It was such a sixth chakra song, intense and powerful music. Incredible. The second was good also but not as intense although the music seemed more intricate and a bit quicker. Bottom line is, I'm going to see them as much as I can - hopefully they'll be playing lots of shows around town...