Thursday at the Elks

Live Music Free...who could ask for me. The event of the evening, Thursday, in Zootown was held at the Elks, where two bands from Virginia played, with Pygmy Lush headlining. Tideland was the other Virginia group. Three local bands were to provide warm-up, but only two and a fraction showed up. One lonely member of Riddlin' Que showed on time and made a brave effort to fill the band's slot.


Missoula duo, Stein, opened the proceedings with their oddball mix of humor and music. They seem to want to hide their musical talents with pratfalls and banter, but their abilities are obvious. Bonus points for having real drums, instead of relying on the keyboard for sound effects.

Ida's house band, the Sherlocks were the third and final local band to play before the Virginia visitors took over. They made me think Green Day and the Wallflowers had cross-pollinated. Give these kids a little stage time, and they will make their presence felt in Missoula. They're still a little tight, in front of an audience, but their practice shows and their skills are obviously growing.



As time ran out on the event, Tideland rushed through a shortened set to leave time for the head-liners.



Pygmy Lush lived up to the top billing, grabbing attention with raucous, almost punk, stridency and settling into hypnotic, contemporary psychedelic riffs.

Is that Clint Eastwood? The man with no-name (and no face) provided minimalist percussion accompaniment for a time, and then stood upright and grabbed a guitar for a change of pace.

Dauphine's Makes the Scene

Shelby Cunliffe



Saucy Yodaa

Olbio Duo

The old Raven has resurrected as Dauphine's, and they have made the scene big time. The Dead Hipsters produced a terrific show there, recently, featuring Good Neighbor Policy. Hear that band, if you can, before they leave for Bellingham. Lead man, Thomas Pendarvis, is leaving Dauphine's and taking the band with him, very soon. Another, tight, local band the Victory Smokes also played that night.

Last Friday produced another strong show. A band so new as to be nameless opened, followed by Shelby Cunliffe. Where has this chanteuse been hiding? Her raw, smoky voice was perfect for the smoky emotions of her original material. A lot of original, song-writing women, in Missoula, are not getting their due. Amy Martin is another, who comes quickly to mind, and Andrea Harsell is all over this town. After Shelby, the Mythological Horses, from Portland, horsed around. Saucy Yodaa opened their performance with three raps.

Stein was up next, reminding me a bit of They Might be Giants, with funky, home-grown lyrics. They introduced the final band, Olbio Duo. Their exaggerated, southern eccentricities seemed over-rehearsed at times, but they knew their way around their instruments and performed more than competently. They came from Denver for this gig.