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Archive for Doug Martsch

Guerilla Toss, Pals of Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus and Phish’s Trey Anastasio, Ready to Go Ape in Boise Tonight

Posted in Interviews with tags Built to Spill, Doug Martsch, Evan Zuri, Guerilla Toss, Kassie Carlson, Pavement, Phish, Stephen Malkmus, Still Depths, Trey Anastasio on 09/27/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

After a kinda middling summer concert-wise in Boise, the next month is chock-full with super shows, and The Bad Penny will do its best to both inform you about can’t-miss and encourage you to attend them. One is happening tonight at Shrine Social Club, which will host Sub Pop art-rock quintet Guerilla Toss, along with Vancouver, British Columbia’s alt-punks Still Depths and Evan Zuri.

Guerilla Toss’ set will perform selections from their fifth record, You’re Weird Now, which dropped Sept. 12 and features contributions by Stephen Malkmus of Pavement (who produced the album) and Ben Katzman, who came in third on Season 46 of Survivor. Bet you didn’t have that latter guest appearance on your bingo card.

Guerilla Toss singer Kassie Carlson did The Bad Penny the favor of touching base with us during their long drive from Portland to the City of Trees. Our conversation went a little something like this:

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At Boise Gig, Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst Recalls Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch Doing Him a Solid

Posted in Concert Reviews, News, Reviews with tags Bright Eyes, Built to Spill, Commander Venus, Conor Oberst, Doug Martsch, Saintseneca, The Poison Oak Project, trans, Treefort Music Hall on 09/01/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Bright Eyes commander Conor Oberst shared a heartfelt and formative memory with the crowd that packed the Treefort Music Hall to see his ensemble perform tonight.

About halfway through Bright Eyes‘ 20-song set, Oberst recalled that his prior band Commander Venus opened for their idols, Built to Spill, when the latter band performed in Oberst’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. He noted that he was only 14 years old at the time.

Oberst then recounted that when Bright Eyes played to an empty Neurolux in Boise when they were starting out, he received a note from that city’s hometown hero, Built to Spill leader Doug Martsch, on which he had written his home phone number an invitation for Oberst’s band to crash at his house for the night.

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Treefort 2017: The Ultimate, Gorilla-Size Review

Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Deafheaven, Doug Martsch, Grouper, Magic Sword, This Will Destroy You, Treefort on 04/12/2017 by Kurt Orzeck

Treefort 2017 delivered Deafheaven, Mac DeMarco, Grouper, Doug Marsch — and set a gorilla on the loose.

Check out my exhaustive concert review of Boise’s five-day indie-rock festival, Treefort — starring Deafheaven, Grouper, This Will Destroy You, Doug Martsch, Magic Sword and more — on Drowned in Sound.