Scene Report: Live in the Depths 88
LIVE IN THE DEPTHS 88: Official Website
Venue: Mississippi Pizza & Atlantis Lounge – Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR
One of my favorite things to do at Live in the Depths is get settled in like an hour before the show starts. I get my neon slush cocktail that looks like it was blended about a year ago, grab a greasy triangle of pizza, set up my journal and let the stems take over. That’s when the shoulder taps begin – people pass by me and touch my shoulders as if I’m some obscure sculpture in a Moldovian train station – something that their visitor guide encourages all who passes by it must touch it. But every so often a DJ at Live in the Depths comes along that absolutely sets the mood for these little moments and stems. DJ Brandy Gray played, for me, the absolute basics of joy to start the night. That kind of pleasing techno’y house music that was very nourishing. Hydration via bass – the kind of hydration that could coax a flower out of concrete.
I was doing that little bopping thing everyone does with their body, moving in sync to this ridiculously satisfying music, when Enzo Caselnova passed behind me a like a crow, silent and sharp, who had a nut waiting for him on stage. I forgave him for not greeting me, because that nut was James Staub. And brother, I understood.
James Staub’s experimental cello playing started and suddenly the direction of Live in the Depths shifted into strange and welcome territory. A long time ago I tried playing the cello and I failed. James Staub has not failed. This is hauntingly beautiful. The strings are strangely sympathetic, like they’re alive and I feel for them. They murmur, they wince, they plead – the whole thing sounded like a lost East German sci-fi film. It was music for dreaming in a kind of grayscale. Beautiful, yes, but with the distinct feeling that something could go terribly wrong at any moment – a perfect score for July 2025 in this collapsing fascist theme park we call America. What a great set – a breath of fresh air. Here’s some of his set below.
It was at that moment Occurian informed that he wasn’t paranoid or delusional, he actually has a medical issue. So now I’m the only delusional one in our once shared medical anxiety. The mutual spiral of medical dread is officially dead. Luckily for all of us, Occurian is getting his issues taken care of and he’s releasing a new album soon – will be looking forward to that. Also, wanted to mention the visuals tonight by Casual Decay. Not what I was expecting at all, but it actually fit with the vibe perfect. Kind of avant-garde – very deliberate with vibrant colors. It was like I was watching a color wheel hang glide into the depths of despair. Great addition to the show.
Next up was Drozas and I was excited to finally hear them play. I met them a few months back at Second Saturday while they were buried in the guts of a musical basement – machines everywhere, blinking and snarling. They were playing the kind music one would play in a modded out electronic music factory basement deep in the heart of Northeast Portland. Real bunker music. This was no different – there were a couple of small technical difficulties – a few blips, a cable tantrum, maybe a rogue voltage spike tossed in for seasoning? Who knows. But nothing a good visit to SPAZ radio (they archive all of the LITD shows) couldn’t fix. Great stick-to-your-ribs music – which seems to be the vibe tonight. Lots of deep basses, satisfying breakbeats and twisting melodies. Glitches aside, this was a great set. Check out some of it below.
“I can’t believe this is considered a slow Live in the Depths,” Ramon (aka Production Unit Xero) said as he surveyed the dance floor that was pretty much 75% full. I’ve only been attending Live in the Depths sporadically for a couple rotations around the sun, but it looks like its signal has spread. Whatever this started as back in 2016, it’s mutated – caught in the underground bloodstream now. Speaking of underground, I caught up with Kapala again and lowkey demanded to know when their album is finally coming out. They didn’t flinch. Said they’ve got five, maybe six tracks in the chamber, so it’s getting close. The album is titled, “Tell the Truth. Shame the Devil.” They said they conjured it up while wading through not-so-metaphorical fire. So I’m guessing, real burns or a real skin-peeling revelation. If that’s the vibe of the album, I’m sure it’ll be sick.
Next up was Hex Wolves. Holy shit, where did this come from? Blade’y beats and deep bass hits. I mean blade like the sword and not the Marvel character, although this does sound like great music to eat people to – or maybe just suck their blood. Anyway, this music is razor sharp, but somehow bubbly? Full-body jolts like a car crash in a janky tunnel. But somehow – there was this squirmy, dare I say effervescent (I never get a chance to use that word) undercurrent? Definitely an intense experience. Just solid techno music for the blood harvest. Check out their set below or on SPAZ Radio for the full effect.
After this, our good friend Dhug was scheming to get everyone to sing Happy Birthday to local mutant-arcana Todd, who, depending on who you ask, just turned either 32 or 8,426. The man exists on multiple timelines. A walking paradox wrapped in magic and regional lore. So Happy Birthday to Todd. Speaking of Blade and Vampires, the CIA just got here. Khaki-clad, clean-shaven, civic-minded vampires, I’m sure fresh off a Zillow binge and still reeking of polyester ambitions. They oozed into the venue like some kind of bureaucratic sludge, right as the room started to twitch into the sweet spot of the night. Here I was thinking that maybe these people are seeing what’s happening in this country right now and are finally ready to get out and get weird – maybe shed the skin and scrape off the crust of Home Depot-living and make contact with something real. You know, get culture. But what did they do instead? Walked right in without paying the cover and went to the bar. Dodging culture like it owed them money. Isn’t there a TGIF somewhere for just this kind of thing?
Anyway, no time for that shit, MK Ultra is starting – and not a moment too soon. Time to to wallow in the puddles of crushed fog and prickly mist. MK Ultra’s music is always a very strange experience for me. I first heard them a couple of years ago during stretch of time best described as emotionally septic and I’m pretty sure I remember what they sounded like. But it didn’t sound like this. Or maybe it did. The music hits like déjà vu from a dream you weren’t sure you survived. This is exactly the kind of music I like listening to. Weird, experimental, and possibly dangerous if you’re in the wrong kind of headspace. It flickers in and out of comprehension. It feels like an automatic ocean with demons popping their heads up and down like whack-a-moles. It’s music like this that proves – without debate – that our minds are public property. Anyone can get in there with the right tools. Amazing set. Check out some of it below.
As people started filing out, I went to Dhug to ask him about these CIA Agents. Maybe I was wrong about them. Maybe these were just apple-pie relatives of one of the artists. It is the Fourth of July weekend, after all. Time for flags, fireworks, family and the slow erosion of the republic. Dhug thought maybe the same thing I did but finally said, “Wait, why don’t you ask them? You seem like you’re good at that.” Damn right I am. So I found the one who looked the most like RFK Jr. — sunburned, plastic-grinned, standing there like a father who’d lost his children to TikTok and asked him, “Hey there. How did you find out about Live in the Depths?”
“We just kind of stumbled in. What are you taking a survey?” he slurred.
“No,” I told him. “I’m writing an article. But I’ll be sure to mention you, officer.”
But hey, maybe I’m just in a cynical mode. The American experiment is smoking in the gutter while fascist larvae crawl out of the cracks in the sidewalk, grinning like missionaries. We weirdos – those of us who believe in art, culture and community have to huddle up. The concrete might be cracking, their masks might be off and the collapse is starting, but it’s never been about escaping the collapse – it’s about broadcasting through it, linking arms in the feedback, and refusing to be normal while the whole empire buckles. Great show.
Videos Courtesy of Ramon Mills (Production Unit Xero)
You can listen to LITD sets on S.P.A.Z. Radio here: https://spaz.org/
