Nickell’s Bag

With the ascent of Arcade Fire to the pinacle of rock stardom, the appearance of orchestral instruments on nightclub stages has become passé to the point of cliché. Even so, the Portland Cello Project stands out. Comprised of a rotating cast of eight to sixteen cellists, the Portland Cello Project has been sawing away in Stumptown for several years now, performing an ever-changing repertoire of rock and classical tunes.

Known for its bizarre list of covers – from Salt ‘n’ Pepa to Abba to Pantera’s “Mouth for War” – and its simultaneous devotion to modern classical composers such as Arvo Part and Tan Dun, the ensemble has managed to score a recording contract on the uber-hip Kill Rock Stars label, and has collaborated with a pretty wide array of Portland acts including the Dandy Warhols, Thao Nguyen, and the Decemberists.

Here’s an awesome tune they recorded with Nguyen:

And here’s another great little tune, Gideon Freudmann’s “Denmark,” featuring nothing but PCP:

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And for a fun cover, you can hardly best this:

Spin Magazine wrote that the Portland Cello Project performs “rich, layered music that is anything but classical” – as if classical music were a bad thing. Whatever. In this era when performers like Sufjan Stevens, Joanna Newsom, and Grizzly Bear are blurring the lines between classical and pop music – and when half the new bands at the Sasquatch Festival seem to have a cellist – the Portland Cello Project would seem to fit right in.

The Portland Cello Project will appear at the Top Hat this Sunday, July 25.

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