Dim Wit are the type of duo that command attention. The fun wigs, the sometimes immediate jarring of frontman Jeff Tuyay's screeching guitar, drummer Tyler Verigin's rhythmic and interesting time signatures. Many factors play into the particular, drawing effect that Dim Wit has. Recently, the duo (or sometimes trio, with Hadrian Kindt of Fire Nuns occasionally joining in) have released a new video that's just as hypnotizing as their sounds.

The stop-motion animated visuals of "Suburbanal" were created by local visual artist Grayson Bear. Its visuals, much like the song's vocals, start out with the spry innocence connected to the idea of the "American dream." As the song and video progress, the animations increase in their intensity before unleashing a creative hatred upon our unfortunate President. 

It's incredibly entertaining, and well worth a few run-throughs. Watch "Surburbanal" below

In conjunction with this weekend's Sabertooth Music Fest, Showdeer and Al's Den are hosting Laura Palmer's DEATH PARADE as their residency for the next six days. Though it technically started last night, many special guests will be joining in on the dark psych folk fun, led by the beautiful swoon of Laura Hopkins.

Jetlag from their recent UK tour won't stop this trio from giving it all they've got for the rest of the week, with local favorites like Nathan Baumgartner of And And And, Dim Wit, Sweeping Exits, Cat Hoch, and Bryson Cone aiding in the excitement. 

See the flyer above for a breakdown of each night's LPDP pairings. Each night is free, 21+ and starts at 7pm so if you're gearing up to head out for the night, stop by Al's Den and see them tonight with Haley Heynderickx.

Though Thanksgiving has traditionally stood a holiday where we give thanks to the harvest, for many its original meaning is lost. Anyone with a smart phone or an internet connection has been privy to what mass media is attempting to mask so greatly - the tragedy of the North Dakota Access Pipeline at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

Without getting into tearful details of this travesty (and appreciating the veterans who are stepping up to serve as a human shield to the protestors), the Deli Portland is fully endorsing attending a benefit show for the Standing Rock Medic and Healer Council, happening this Friday at the Haight House. 

Half the halcyon calmness of folk and half the excitable nature of garage rock, Friday's bill, booked in conjunction with local volunteer collective Portland Artist Coalition for Progressive Acts and Causes, will have the droney folk of Cave Cricket and the soothing acoustics of Galen Ballinger with two of Portland's most favorite rockin' af bands Dim Wit and Ah God bringing it home.

A donation of $5 is asked, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. All that's asked is the audience respect the house, respect each other, and respect the cause.

*photo by Marlee Banta 

It's nearly impossible for these Deli eyes to stay open this morning without the help of this new track by the lo-fi funny boys of Dim Wit. They just dropped their first official single on Friday and for anyone that's had the chance to see Dim Wit live, you'll know how perfectly appropriate of a debut track it is for the duo's (sometimes trio) schtick.

Just picture them, clad in colorful wigs, rockin' about as those slinky string lines and screams come in as "Wow Ow Now" runs its course. Channeling Dim Wit's energy both on "Wow Ow Now" and from experiencing their live sets is the only way to start the week out.

Listen to "Wow Ow Now" below and be sure to catch them next week at Smart Collective.

*photo of San Lorenzo by Aaron Sharpsteen. Other photos from the night can be found on the Deli Portland Facebook page.

The string of beautiful days and nights stirred something, a desire to attend the basic foundation of local underground music: the word-of-mouth house show. There was a time when I was attending these on a regular basis in Portland, years ago...but as it always happens, people move, houses are sold to different people, and I didn’t keep up with the who/what/when/where of it all.

How lucky then was I to find out about one of these shows while attending another, and not only that, but right down the street (literally 6 blocks away) from my deep SouthEast apartment. Armed with a bottle of root-beer schnapps and some cheap beer, I made my way over to a stranger’s house to catch some tunes.

The first band of the evening was so called “Russian surf act” Kozyol. The project seems to be the brainchild of Davey Zilban, who plays guitar and sings in Russian, slinging a mash-up of vaguely folksy-sounding surf that was the perfect start to a party. Nothing too aggressive or abrasive, but certainly nothing too relaxed or laid-back, Kozyol hit the perfect tempo and got bodies moving immediately. I knew it was going to be a good night.

Next up was Dim Wit, in this iteration a two-piece with Zilban moving back to drums and Jeff Tuyay moving up to sing and play guitar. Dim Wit is obviously a play on words, as I found the lyrics quite witty and compelling, and Tuyay very charming and natural as a lead man. There’s something pleasing about a minimalist set-up that can crank out well-written but unconventional songs and keep it interesting, and Dim Wit did just that. They also somehow stirred the young folks (yes, I am old enough to say that) into some light moshing by the end.

Absolutely no offense to any of the other bands who played, but the night belonged to The Super Secret Hot Girls Club, who threw down what might have been one of the best house-show performances I’ve seen in quite a while. After two more traditional rock acts they turned up the noise and upped the tempo, with an energetic front-man who had the entire room in the palm of his hand.

Unfortunately there was a casualty, as it appeared one of the more energetic participants slammed into a wall and left a gigantic, body shaped hole. By this point the root beer schnapps and cheap beer was completely gone and so was I, and it was great.

Closers San Lorenzo were obviously the most polished, “professional” bands of the evening (check them out, they have shows coming up all over town in the next month or so) but the crowd was a little thinned out, possibly because of the relative age of the audience and perhaps because the people who slammed into the wall dipped the fuck out instead of doing the decent thing and sticking around to take responsibility for their mistakes. Seriously. My ears were still ringing from The Super Secret Hot Girls Club but San Lorenzo ended the night well with a solid performance.

After the quality that I witnessed on Saturday, it’s safe to say that I plan on attending many more of these soirees over the next few months. Hope to see you there, in the garden from which our underground music scene grows: the shady-looking house down the block with the music coming out of it.

Aaron Sharpsteen is a photographer and swell dude based in Portland, Or.