Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, The Portland Cello Project, David Schultz
Saturday, October 24th at the Empyrean Coffee House

David Schultz was casually funny and a great song writer. His guitar musically carried out his words and he was a really cool musician. He wasn’t very chatty but when he did say something it was because he goofed up or had something silly to say like after saying hello he said “… I might never be back here!”

One of the songs he did play and mentioned the song title of, was a song called “Promise Ring.” His lyrics were straight forward but they weren’t too harsh or clear cut, they still had a creative spark. I could definitely catch myself listening to him any day of the week. He appeared to be this super nice kid who enjoyed writing music and playing his guitar, it showed a nice aura.

Towards the end of his set he had Adam who played bass and Willis on drums join him on stage for two songs. They are both from Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. It was cool to get to hear him with a band as well; I dig when musicians from other bands play with other musicians. It always mixes things up a notch. His music flowed nicely into the next set by The Portland Cello Project.

I was expecting 8 cellos but it was still as cool as I was hoping it would be with only 4. The Empyrean was full there were people on the floor, in chairs, standing on things, and against the wall. It was so crowded I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself. The Portland Cello Project was something I have never even came close to seeing. You just don’t get music like that on an average basis.

The first song they played was Mouth for War by Pantera. We heard a piece written by Anna Fritz titled “Bone and Breath,” which she wrote herself on a side project called Walking Home. The cellists covered classical, Elliott Smith, and Outkast’s  Hey Ya in which everyone sang along too. Their goal is to bring cello’s to places where they normally wouldn’t be heard. They also show that it doesn’t have to be classical when you play the cello. Their friend and musician Justin Power brought his ukulele and played music with them too.

The group covered a lot of different genres of music and added culture and art to music for Spokane . They are talented musicians and worth catching when you can. Even though I had to sit outside the door because it was so packed it was really cool to hear and I am so glad they decided to come to Spokane!

It stayed full throughout the night and people were ready to dance with Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. I was surprised that the age difference in the group stayed and people were curious as to what was going to happen after the PCP. Thao reminded me a lot of an indie Karen-O. She had a great attitude, let loose, rocked out, and had a super cute outfit and cowboy boots on.

They had a lot of percussion and it was cool to see all the hand made stuff Willis used. Like a drum symbol out of wood and beer caps, a drum brush out of a thin metal with rings around the edges; very DIY! Their sound is very indie folk but they still keep it pretty upbeat which makes you tap your feet and swing your hips. We totally got to dance to their title song of their new record “Know Better Learn Faster.”

The main guy from the PCP joined Thao and played the keys, sang, and the electric guitar – talented musician. It was cool to look in the front row and see people singing along to almost all of the songs. During the set all of the band did a drum solo together and it sounded really good and looked awesome. They were having a good time. Including Adam and Willis who were wearing colorful monster animal necklaces. When asked about it Willis said he was a Shaman. They have their own shtick going on and they are a great live band.

A lot of energy, crowd participation, clapping, and having fun what every show should be about. I can see these kids playing some major festivals this summer! Check them out when you can even if it is their myspace, you’ll get down and stay down.

Check out more photos from the show here!

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com