Deerhunter @ Audio Cinema (at Music Fest NW in Portland, Ore.)
Ah, the joy of being on the inside of corporate sponsorships. As a part of this year’s festival, a little known Portland-based sneaker company called “Nike” had a private, industry-only venue under the Hawthorne Bridge that put on exclusive performances by Cat Power, Grizzly Bear, Ghostface Killah and Deerhunter over the course of the unseasonably hot weekend. Luckily for me, a high-school friend of mine happened to work for Nike and totally hooked me up. Meredith, thanks for the in and all your spectacular media coverage for Teen Vogue (inside joke).
Coping with the rather sudden departure of guitarist Colin Mee and the dinner hour time-slot of 5:30 p.m., Deerhunter put on a subdued, but memorable performance. The last time I saw these southern boys I was in Vancouver, B.C. and the sound quality was so poor that the entire concert was one fuzzy, ear-drum dissolving tone, so I was more than happy to get a 2nd crack at seeing them live.

Lead-singer Bradford Cox took back the role of guitarist for the now-quartet and put on a laid back, LSD-soaked groove of a set, playing mostly off of their critically lauded Cryptograms LP. Throughout the performance, Cox masterfully fucked with the crowds’ heads, distorting and reverse looping his voice on top of the songs, occasionally complementing it with the deafening screech of his guitar. All-in-all great show. Deerhunter fans do not fret; they will do just fine without Colin Mee.