A Smashing Tuesday Night in the Palace

The Palace has vaulted from smaller sibling or poor cousin to the Badlander to a great venue in its own right. There's still comfortable old furniture to lounge in and pool tables to play on. Since the stage was moved, the lighting and sound have been slowly, to a tight budget, improved. The music shows the Ritz partners' love of diversity. On Tuesday, March 31, Low Red Land came calling, from San Francisco. The trio put on a dynamic performance, and retired to catch their breath and watch the March of the Black Queen cap the evening.

 

Thomas Pendarvis is not to be outdone, when it comes to dynamic performances, and on this night he pranced, stomped and kicked with abandon. March of the Black Queen showed some fatigue, in the early morning hours, and although Thomas is too much the gentleman to complain, the late start annoyed him. It cut into my sleep, too. 

This band works so hard at their craft, sometimes their skill seems flawless. Thomas has his doubts, however, and always wants to work harder. If he were in charge, the music would start on time. That's a sure bet. 

For more shots of all three bands in the Palace this night, check the flickr archive. 

Places opened the show, and offered something fresh, from the dueling drummers facing each other in the back, to the acoustic guitar up front to open the set. The lead switched to an electric guitar later. I thoroughly enjoyed these guys. They have some upcoming dates here and in the Badlander, and I will see them again. 

Spring Arrives

For a month every time people have enjoyed a moderate day and used the "s" word, mother nature has hit us with two inches of snow and cold wind. Today is the first day of spring, since the equinox occurred at 5:44am Missoula time. Now, we should be able to use the word without fear of retribution.

This just in: the headliners for the Sunday show at the Other Side have canceled and the show is off, according to Thomas Pendarvis, whose band, the March of the Black Queen, was scheduled for the event. That makes the Palace the only place to be this Sunday night.

Name This Band

Guitar and vocals: Madison, viola by Mary.

Madison
Lorna
Lorna and Mary
Deb

This new band is searching for a name, because their first choice, Thug Life, obviously didn't fit them. What should they call themselves? I have a lot of ideas. What about you?

See them at Dauphine's final show on Friday the 13th of March. Be there or be square. Maybe they will have a name by then. Thomas Pendarvis' March of the Black Queen and Pluto is a Planet will also perform.

First Night in the Zoo City

The first highlight of First Night was hearing Dave Thomas reading his poetry at the Dana Gallery. I had greeted him often on Higgins, but didn't know his name until I saw him with his Festival of the Book name tag. The gallery talks at Dana are always exceptional. I bought Dave's book, Buck's Last Wreck, an original 1996 print with the original low price, and he signed it. He reminds me of Gary Snyder, and, indeed, Dave said Gary inspired him.

The Festival of the Book was another well-planned Missoula event. I have some images of other Montana writers I captured, which should be on this site soon.
I enjoy Tom and the Tomatoes. To see them during two other events, look for that name among the sets on the flickr archive. There's also a set, which matches the title of this post. There you will find more photos of my three favorites from First Night. This feisty group was the second.





Thomas Pendarvis and March of the Black Queen jump started the new year. That makes my favorite three, in chronological order.

I saw Bethany, another graduate of Good Neighbor Policy. I had just missed hearing one of her new bands, Pillar Saints. She said the other band, Wartime Blues, would be playing the Badlander, Tuesday, January 13, 2009. There is a set of Wartime Blues on the flickr archive.

Missoula events.net is the place to look for up to the minute action in zoo city. KBGA is the hip campus station. I'm embarrassed by how long it took me to find out there was more than the NPR station on campus.

Amanda Brings Bad Intentions to Badlander

Amanda Cevallos came to the Badlander with her new band, Bad Intentions, after debuting earlier in the Palace. Once upon a time, she played bass behind Wolf Redboy, but she quit taking a back seat to anybody. She takes the stage with great energy, and already has a growing fan base for this line-up and the mostly original material. The one cover, when it comes, is a rocking version of Jolene, which has the crowd singing along.







Not content with a single set, Amanda is back on stage with another band immediately. This was a group hastily assembled to plug a hole in the program. March of the Black Queen was supposed to play, but had only two members available. Streetlight People, also had only two members. Adding Amanda to the mix and jamming like a jazz band provided a peppy and original sound.



That is, of course, Thomas Pendarvis of The March of the Black Queen looking over Amanda's shoulder. To see his band, go to the flickr archive and view the set for the cancer benefit at the Badlander and see the previous post here titled Ravin' at Dauphine's.

Secret Powers capped this evening at the Badlander. I'll have some images of them up soon.

Ravin' at Dauphine's

I arrived in Missoula too late to experience The Raven, but evidently it was a kick-ass joint. Friday, December 5, its successor, Dauphine's, was rocking with kick-ass music. Good Neighbor Policy, whom the Missoulian said might be zoo town's best band is also gone, but again there is a worthy successor. Thomas Pendarvis has put together another band, The March of the Black Queen, and on this night they ripped a powerful set to climax the evening. Thomas fronted GNP, and here he is with the new band.







Earlier, Pluto's a Planet (formerly LP and the Federales) took their turn on stage and pleased a packed house with their sound.






Fiancee' started the evening with a creative rampage. I had not heard them before, but will make damn sure I hear them again.



It was a great night in the old Raven, and maybe a new beginning for Dauphine's, since Thomas says he wants more music there.

There are more photos from this night on flickr. Go there, find the set Ravin' at Dauphine's and hit the slide show button.

Next time you see a poster for music at this venue, be there, and maybe I'll take your picture.