video: Port O'Brien & Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

"On repeat: Caravan and we danced around the room"

Those cats at SwitchBurn.TV really got it on lock down. Not only are their signature multi-shot videos a unique and refreshing addition to the paradigm, but they also happen to shoot some great fucking bands. Case in point, Port O'Brien. We've been fawning over these guys for a while now, but couldn't resist posting this version of "I Woke Up Today." Yes, we've talked about the song alot, but it really is a great one and the perfect track to kick off All We Could Do Was Sing. The crew at SwitchBurn.TV also captured Port O'Brien tour mates (more on that tour later), and recent Bobka interviewee's, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Below is their nu-pop anthem "Think I'm Gonna Die", one of the standouts from the bands recently released Pershing LP.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin "Think I'm Gonna Die" live in Austin

Port O'Brien/ Blog Fresh Radio/ Bobka

"Exxon, Exxon, Clean It Up"

The other day our good friends at Blog Fresh Radio rang us for a tea-time chat about our favorite ramshackle sea-faring obsession of the moment, Port O'Brien. Coincidently, Port O'Brien will release its debut studio record, All We Could Do Was Sing, today. We pre-ordered ours from the kind folks at CD Baby and they had it in our hands late last week. Needless to say it's an invigorating folk record, just in time for summer road trips, perfect for camping trips in the Pac-Nor or the Northern Rockies. The band is currently touring the left coast with Bobka-interviewees Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.


Listen to the latest episode of Blog Fresh Radio HERE.

Port O'Brien- I Woke Up Today

nu music: Port O'Brien

"Sleep is where I want to be"

(photo by CharlieHomo)
A couple of days before we were drooling over the Fleet Foxes NYC debut, we were fawning over Port O'Brien's foot stomping ramshackle affair at Piano's. While the latest studio version of "I Woke Up Today" is undoubtedly one of the best songs of the year, the band's got alot more up their sleeve than the pots and pans percussion and bourbon sing-a-long of the song that birthed the title of their upcoming record All We Could Do Was Sing. And while I love the studio recording, the savage army sing-a-long they recorded for Daytrotter during Noise Pop is so boisterous that it practically screams 'wake the fuck up,' both literally and figuratively. Appropriately, the revamped Daytrotter version has been my iTunes alarm clock jam since it was loaded it a few weeks back.

Coincidentally, our good friend, psuedo-west coast correspondent and blow dart enthusiast John Dura (aka SpaceCakes420, muxtape) sent me a few tracks the band recently recorded for a Hear Ya Live Session (brought to you by Beer Nuts!). The band performed three songs, including standout "From Port," but the real treat is "Is This Really What It's Come To." Personally, this song really hits home. Not only does Van mention listening to the Grateful Dead (my first favorite band) and the Smashing Pumpkins (my first concert, Infinite Sadness tour) but he has the uncanny ability to sum up the subtle nuances of young life by way of sleepless nights. I can't do any justice to this one, so just peep the lyrics.

"Is this really what its come to/ Some drugs inside my bedroom/ With the lights turned down/ I know I cant see much of anything/ The glow from my computer screens/ Telling me to go/ And sleep is where I want to be/ but I cant get there for the life of me/ So I guess I'll just, watch TV/ And I'll listen to the Grateful Dead on my headphones/ I'll watch as my old dear friends hit the road/ but I think I will stay/ Stay right here.

I've taken all these college course/ I've seen all kind of courses/ That my life should take/ And not to hesitate/ But that's all I want to do/ So I'll sit right here and think it through/ Until the timings right/ Or right for, the time is running with me/ We're holding hands for eternity/ Then we'll have some kids/ Then we'll die/ And I'll listen to the Smashing Pumpkins on my headphones/ I'll watch as my old dear friends hit the road/ But I think I will stay/ Stay right here."

Port O'Brien- I Woke UP Today (Daytrotter/Noise Pop version)
Port O'Brien- Is This Really What It's Come To

Port O'Brien raging "I Woke Up Today" in New York City

one take new york with PORT O'BRIEN, 'i woke up today' from one take new york on Vimeo.

tonight: Fleet Foxes & Blitzen Trapper

"Over near Tennessee"

Backstage Sessions : Fleet Foxes - Katie Cruel (Cover) from Hard to Find a Friend on Vimeo.

We're super duper excited to see Fleet Foxes and Blitzen Trapper tonight at the Bowery Ballroom. As of a few minutes ago the show still hadn't sold out, but expect that to change by show time. This will be Fleet Foxes first show in New York, and from what we've heard, it sounds as if we could be in for a very magical evening. Not to mention that Blitzen Trapper put out one of my favorite records of 2007. Ola Podrida is also on the bill. Oddly enough, the last time we saw them was back in October at Maxwell's on the same bill as Port O'Brien. It's all coming full circle. Weird. Anyway, if you're in the area be sure to hop a train, plane or automobile down to Delancy St. for what is sure to be a memorable evening.

Sunday Brunch: Muxtape

Missing XL-II's like whoa

Dura sent me a link to Muxtape the other morning. It's pretty sweet, so I figured we'd make an inaugural mux. Think of it as a belated St. Patrick's day present, from us to you. No theme here, just a few randoms I've been enjoying and threw together. Expect this to change over the coming weeks. Without further adieu, our first muxtape.

Hello Blue Roses- My Shadow Falls
Dr. Dog- Heart it Races (Architecture in Helsinki cover)
Ra Ra Riot- St. Peter's Day Festival (Daytrotter session)
Peter and the Wolf- Better Days
The War on Drugs- Buenos Aires Beach
Sera Cahoone- Only as Long as the Day
Radiohead- Unravel
Mindbenders- Groovy Kind of Love
Silver Jews- Black and Brown Blues
Arthur Russell- A Little Lost
Fleet Foxes- He Doesn't Know Why
Port O'Brien- I Woke Up Today

Make your own Muxtape here

we saw: Port O'Brien and Delta Spirit

"I Woke Up Today"

(Photo by IRockIRoll)
There was a good chance Pianos could've burned to the ground last night. And if Port O'Brien happened to lit the spark that burned down the Lower East Side, it's safe to say that anyone in attendance would've been cool with it. That said, Port O'Brien absolutely destroyed the minds of New York hipsters, who, as usual, stood around like nothing that important was going on. Truth be told, any band that works as hard as Port O'Brien is sure to make a name for themselves. Especially with songs like "I Woke Up Today", a ravaged shanty anthem that felt like a call to arms, a definite highlight of the evening.

While I'm not too familiar with the bands catalog, another undisputed highlight was "A Fishermans Son", which featured one of the most unexpected, yet utterly smooth segues I've heard in a long time. I caught a few songs of theirs back in October when they were supporting Rogue Wave and remember feeling a sort of Arcade Fire vibe. Truth is, Van Pierszalowski bears more than an uncanny resemblance to a Mr. Win Butler. But throw similarities out the door (like when you think of My Morning Jacket/Band of Horses/ Fleet Foxes) because Port O'Brien is a savaged beast of a band with the seemingly rare ability to "take ya to church." A blood wrenching assault of banjos, tin cans, Americana guitars and shout along vocals transformed Pianos into what felt like a Depression era labor rally in Hooverville. Working class punk rock for kids who don't get skinny jeans, neon t-shirts, and guyliner.

Throughout the evening Port O'Brien kept reminding me of the Pogues, which makes sense as Van Pierszalowski and Shane MacGowan share a similar blood boiled intensity and both bands bash through a ramshackle revival of traditional folk music. Drunken shanty town sing-a-longs for sure. Port O'Brien's blue collar spirit is real (Pierszalowski works on his fathers fishing boat in Alaska every summer) and would make Woody Guthrie proud. Robert Hunter once noted the best compliment he ever received was from a coal miner in the Cumberland Gap who actually thought the Grateful Dead's "Cumberland Blues" was a real miners tune. Something tells me that the fishermen in Alaska will one day be saying the same thing about a high percentage of the Port O'Brien catalog. Expect to hear about this band changing lives in the coming years (days, months).

(Photo by Pupkin)
After a short break, Delta Spirit took to what was left of the stage Port O'Brien destroyed for a set of their signature retro leaning Americana. The band, who seem to have miraculously bridged the time continuum between 2008 and sometime back before I was born, was in fine form, playing a host of new songs and selected gems from last years Ode to Sunshine. Things seem like their in full swing for Delta Spirit; their performance a lot tighter and, for better or worse, sleeker than when we caught them at Maxwell's last Fall. (Coincidently, not long after seeing Port O'Brien at the same venue.) The San Diego quintet treated the sold out (?) crowd to "House for Two", "Strangevine" and "People C'mon", amongst , including a few new tracks ("Oh Vivian", "Throwing Stones"). A very poignant show from Delta Spirit, who finished with their trademark social reform ballad "People Turn Around." Like the last time we saw the Spirit, we left wondering the same thing: Why the hell aren't these guys huge?

Port O'Brien is self releasing a new album, All We Could Do Was Sing, on May 13th. Needless to say, after last night, we are really fucking psyched about it. In the meantime you can feast your ears on a few tracks from their recent Daytrotter session, including an alternative arrangement of "I Woke Up Today" titled "Simple Way."A video of "I Woke Up Today", although incomplete, is a indicative of Port O'Brien's live show. It's bad ass.

Port O'Brien- Simple Way (Daytrotter Session)
Port O'Brien- From Port(Daytrotter Session)
Delta Spirit- French Quarter(Daytrotter Session)
Delta Spirit- House Built For Two(Daytrotter Session)

Port O'Brien "I Woke Up Today" Live in San Francisco