www.montereycountyweekly.com APRIL 20-26, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 35 MUSIC Three days after David Portner’s 44th birthday, he will have packed his bags, traveled across the country, and readied himself to kick off the second half of his 7s promotional tour (performing as Avey Tare) at the Henry Miller Memorial Library. “I set up the visuals and the music and all of it so it takes up most of my time. It’s been a lot of fun so far though,” Portner says. Portner was born in Baltimore and began creating music with future Animal Collective members in high school. As a teenager, the multi-instrumentalist and singer established a unique bond with how he listened to—and perhaps what he considered to be—music. Today, he stresses the way location and environment influence how he creates, perceives and “digests” music. “I’d drive around Maryland backroads listening to different tapes or CDs and discovering what music worked best on which road, which weather, that kind of thing,” Portner says. “It just became a natural thing to want to be in specific places, to make certain kinds of music, and to make music for certain kinds of places. “I think the Maryland woods and farmlands definitely stuck with me for a lot of the early days of Animal Collective, but the chaos and claustrophobic atmosphere of New York City also had an undeniable influence,” he adds. “Now that I’m living more in the woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains, I think I’m returning to my roots of sound-making.” His latest album, 7s, was released in February and showcases some of what he describes as the “electroacoustic movement.” How 7s came together also seems closely linked to the location where it was recorded. “It was 2020 and I had been pretty cut off from my usual collaborations,” Portner says. Itching to record new material in a different environment, he began meeting up with a friend in Ashland, North Carolina, and soon realized that he had a new record in the works. Playing in Big Sur, which will serve as something of an extended birthday celebration, feels like the right place to both continue his journey and return to his roots. “I love it,” Portner says of the area. “The nature and atmosphere is so unique, and never fails to overwhelm me in the best of ways.” Avey Tare (plus Maral May) 7pm Thursday, April 27. Henry Miller Memorial Library, Highway 1, Big Sur. $80. bit.ly/AveyTareBigSur. AMY GRACE On Location David Portner, performing as Avey Tare, brings music with a sense of place to Big Sur. By Jesse Herwitz Avey Tare’s latest album began as a pandemic-era collaboration. “The making of 7s arose out of a necessity to work with someone else in the realm of music,” he says. 146 12TH STREET • PACIFIC GROVE Scottish Invasion! Old Blind Dogs Old Blind Dogs’ incandescent instrumental arsenal of pipes, fiddle, whistles, bouzouki, guitar and percussion and their vibrant vocals combine the sounds of old Scotland with a fresh new edge, sure to please. This concert will be pure summer fun! SUN. MAY 7•3PM Doors open at 2:30pm ADVANCE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT WWW.CELTICSOCIETY.ORG $30 ADVANCE / $12 KIDS 12 & UNDER $35 DOOR / $15 KIDS 12 & UNDER For additional information, Call or text 831-224-3819 for more info. www.stmarysbythesea.org Book, Lyrics, & Music by Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney Tickets: Playing April 6 - April 22 The Comedy Musical! Tickets: Paperwing.com 711 Cannery Row Upstairs, Ste i B k, L ics, & Music by Kevin M phy & Dan Studney
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