Michael Hurley

May 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Glyndbourne’s production of Don Giovanni by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of May

1. Rudy Royston’s Flatbed Buggy- Day

Bumpy ride.

2. Billy Woods and Kenny Segal- Maps

The right direction.

3. Shirley Collins- Archangel Hill

Time out of mind.

4. Joe Lovano, Marilyn Crispell and Carmen Castaldi- Our Daily Bread

Holy communion.

5. Roomful of Teeth- Rough Magic

My review.

6. Atmosphere- So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously

Atmosphere finally made a good record.

7. Kassa Overall- Animals

Pigs on the wing.

8. Béla Fleck- As We Speak

With Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer and Rakesh Chaurasia.

9. Slowspin- Talisman

Hounds of love.

10. Rod Fleeman- Saturday Afternoon Live at Green Lady Lounge, Vol. 2

My review.


Top Ten Songs of May

1. Megan Maroney- “Kansas Anymore”

Getting out of Dodge.

2. Kevin Morby- “Going to Prom”

Time the revelator.

3. That Mexican OT featuring Paul Wall and Drodi- "Johnny Dang"

Ice.

4. Paris Texas- "Bullet Man"

Who shot ya?

5. SleazyWorld Go with Polo G- “Off the Court”

Trust the process.

6. Peso Pluma- "Bye"

I say hello.

7. Speakers Corner Quartet featuring Kae Tempest- "Geronimo Blues"

Stump speech.

8. Sparks- "Gee, That Was Fun"

Au revoir.

9. $uicideboy$- “Realism vs Idealism”

No limit.

10. Lil’ Keke- "Motion"

OG.


Top Ten Performances of May

1. Tim Bernardes at Mississippi Studios

My review.

2. Yujia Shen at Diastole Scholars Center

My review.

3. Off!, Upchuck and Weaponize Chomsky at recordBar

My Instagram clips are here, here and here.

4. Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Michael Hurley at Aladdin Theater

My review.

5. Hot Chip and Cadence Weapon at Wonder Ballroom

My Instagram clips are here and here.

6. Janet Jackson and Ludacris at T-Mobile Center

My Instagram image.

7. Stone & Sue at the Portland Farmers Market

My Instagram clip.

8. Rod Fleeman Trio at Green Lady Lounge

My Instagram clip.

9. Drew Williams Quartet at Westport Coffee House

My review.

10. Luke Tarter at Portland International Airport

Elton John melodies unnerved me amid flight delays.


The previous monthly survey is here.

Concert Review: Michael Hurley and Bonnie “Prince” Billy at the Aladdin Theater

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I was momentarily startled when I spotted Will Oldham, aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy, at the 2018 edition of the Cropped Out festival.  The singer-songwriter wasn’t on the bill of the sorely missed Louisville festival, but he took in a magical set by Michael Hurley on the bank of the Ohio River.

Five years later, I was once again in the presence of both men at Portland’s Aladdin Theater on Monday, May 15.  I seemed to enjoy Hurley’s opening set more than any of the other 500 people in the audience.

My loud guffaws during the wildly tasteless "Ms. Petty Blues" elicited stares.  A subtle environmental protest song caused tears to well in my eyes.  Allusions to back doors and fresh pies were frequent.

Hurley’s wry humor invoked Furry Lewis while his devil-may-care nature caused him to resemble Mississippi John Hurt.  In spite of the slightly intrusive and entirely unnecessary accompaniment of a second musician, Hurley, 81, is a dynamic force in peak form.  I was bowled over.

Oldham made a gracious concession during his headlining performance: “The elephant in the room is Michael Hurley.”  It takes nothing away from Oldham to acknowledge that Hurley owned the evening.