Ice Palace, Say Hi, Cloud Cult @ Wonder Ballroom in Portland, OR
Ice Palace
To everyone who didn’t show up for the first band of the Ice Palace/Say Hi/Cloud Cult show at the Wonder Ballroom on Sunday, you paid full price to miss a pretty incredible lineup.
Ice Palace kicked things off with “Outside the Gates” and seemed determined to rock, regardless of how many people were (or weren’t) there to see them do it. If you’re into straightforward rock n roll, this could be your band. Without a gimmick or charming concept to fall back onto, they depend on their songs to get their point across. And when that doesn’t work (it always works), they get all intense in a metal way and make the walls shake with songs like “Devil’s Tower.” Make no mistake, these guys– and girl– can get heavy.
Ice Palace
Touring on the strength of the newly-released Wonder Subtly Crushing Us, the quintet played seven of the ten songs from the album. (They also played “Nuance and Spark” from Bright Leaf Left, if set lists are your bag.) They rounded the set out with “Thoughts/Facts,” inviting the drummer from Cloud Cult to accompany them on tambourine.
Post-Ice Palace, Say Hi took the stage and played a solid and surprisingly sonorous show. With singer Eric Elbogen on guitar and only one very tight, very incredible drummer to accompany him, their songs filled the venue as if there were a full band backing them. And again, if you dig set lists, we have theirs, too. Elbogen wisely ended the show with “Northwestern Girls” by announcing that they would play “‘Northwestern Girls’ for the ladies in the house.” But he probably said that to all the Seattle girls, too.
Cloud Cult ended the night on a creative note, to say the least. The stage was overrun by strobe lights, projection screens, two canvases, and seven band members. The show became a spectacle after the first note, incorporating two live artists and two projection screens which featured shots of the band while they played on stage as well as clips of their music videos.
Stage left: projection of “When Water Comes To Life” video
Cloud Cult are an imaginative group. If you like concerts, you will like a Cloud Cult show. If you do not like concerts, you will like a Cloud Cult show. The band’s energy matched that of the crowd, who enthusiastically shouted lead singer Craig Minowa’s lyrics back at him, verse for verse. The advantage of knowing how to utilize a slow and steady crescendo is not lost on the band, either. Beginning a lot of their songs with an almost ambient feel, every moment is filled with anticipation until the song hits its climax. And it always hits its climax.
Stage left: artist/background vocalist, Scott West, paints on stage
After each show, the paintings are auctioned off to the highest bidders.
If you’ve yet to see Ice Palace, Say Hi, or Cloud Cult live, feel free to catch them at one of their remaining shows in Arizona, Colorado, and Nebraska. If you don’t live near any of those places, it’s worth the road trip.
05.16.09 Tucson, AZ @ Plush
05.17.09 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
05.19.09 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
05.20.09 Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room
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For more information on Ice Palace, visit icepalacetheband.com.
If you’d like to know more about Say Hi, visit myspace.com/sayhitoyourmom.
For information on Cloud Cult, stop by their official website.