This fall semester, the Red Herring Vegetarian Restaurant has kept its doors open later on the weekend and started hosting live music once again. Yes, one the sun goes down and the moon is on the rise, the Red Herring Vegetarian Restaurant turns into the Red Herring Coffee House. With shows running every weekend, including some Pygmalion related events, the intimate basement establishment has proven to be a great place to see a wide range of acts. Dr. Manhattan brought power pop, Treologic hip hop and now Throw Me The Statue and David Dondero will be representing the best of indie songwriting.
On David Dondero’s newest album, Simple Love, he sings “my religion is to love you, my church is entropy.” His music is summed up by this direct line. The words that tremble out of his throat are very direct. Below that all is a depth of wisdom and insight that comes forward in his songs. Called a modern day Townes Van Zandt, he conjures the images of any great American songwriter that stands behind an acoustic guitar. Recording music since 1993, he is noted as being a major influence on Conor Orberst of Bright Eyes. Listening to him really is like listening to a mature, wise and well-balanced Bright Eyes. The Portland-based performer will be playing a solo set.
Headlining is Seattle’s Throw Me The Statue. Mentioned early in The Overture, this five-piece wrote one of my favorite songs in recent memory. With minimalist orchestration while utilizing a plethora of sounds and instruments, the group has managed to create some complex and equally fun three minute pop songs. West Coast inspirations no doubt come from the brilliant stuff that came out of K Records in the nineties; TMTS is strange and haunting while being very familiar.
The Red Herring is a perfect venue for these two artists. Intimate enough so the acoustic set by Dondero can be appreciated by painted in bright enough colors to complement the lo-fi pop onslaught that is Throw Me The Statue. It’s only $7 and starts at 10 p.m.