Left of the Dial

Portland, OR

Contact for rates

Travels up to 120 miles

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Left of the Dial - Promo Video

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Overview

Left of the Dial, a Portland-based cover band, celebrates the golden era of college, indie, and alternative rock. Our set pulls from the best of the ‘80s and ‘90s underground—bands like R.E.M., The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Pixies, Uncle Tupelo, and many others. We’ve built a flexible, high-energy setlist of over 100 songs that can be tailored to the vibe of the night, including specialty shows like:
- Alt-Country Night (Wilco, Jayhawks, Uncle Tupelo)
- R.E.M.'s Lifes Rich Pageant performed start to finish, REM Reckoning entire album
- SST Records Showcase – Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Hüsker Dü, etc.
- Female alternative artists of the 80s/90s (Pretenders, Belly, Hole, Breeders, etc.)


Reviews

1 review

Small thumbnail image for reviewer Dan M.

Dan M.

March 1, 2020
Verified review

They killed it!

Great sound. Everyone enjoyed.

Hired as: Tribute Band

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Left of the Dial

Thanks for the positive review! We had a great time playing two sets of 80s college rock classics. Everyone there was super helpful and professional. Hope we can do it again next year.

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Booking information

Price range: Contact for rates

Languages: English

Gig length: 60 - 180 minutes

What to expect

We can play up to 3 (50-minute) sets of music, which can cover a timeframe of 3-4 hours including breaks. Expect a high energy show filled with 80s and 90s nostalgia from one of the most prolific eras of alternative music.

About

Hello! We play the music we grew up listening to during high school and college. College radio is where you could hear the music of The Replacements, The Pixies, The Smithereens, INXS, The Cure, The Smiths, REM, Hoodoo Gurus, and so many more groups. This covers several genres including "alt-country," punk, new-wave, dark-wave, and rock-n-roll. We try to play as much of a variety from these genres as possible.

Additional booking notes

We can provide our own sound, which will cost an extra $200. This is a bargain for sound services. If the venue is larger than 100 people, we would require an outside service. We have 3 vocal mics, two guitars, a bass, and drums. In a larger venue, most likely, everything would need to be mic'ed-up. We require 3 monitor speakers, all stand, and cords. We need at least 1-hour to do a soundcheck prior to the gig. Generally, our sets last 50 minutes with a 10-15 minute break.

Upcoming booked events

June 2026

11

Thursday

Vince & Nate at Artichoke Music

7:00pm - 7:30pm

July 2026

17

Friday

Vince (solo acoustic) Ross Island

7:00pm - 8:00pm

31

Friday

White Eagle Gig

All-day event

September 2026

12

Saturday

The Snug with Band

8:00pm - 9:00pm

Past booked events

May 2026

23

Saturday

Star Theater with Stupid Girls

All-day event

09

Saturday

Left of the Dial/The Frequence

All-day event

April 2026

25

Saturday

Relacements Tribute Night

All-day event

March 2026

14

Saturday

Alt-country Hootenanny

All-day event

February 2026

07

Saturday

Vince's Birthday Bash @ Turn, Turn, Turn

8:00pm - 10:00pm

January 2026

10

Saturday

British Invasion 80s/90s Gig Arbor Beer Lodge

8:00pm - 10:00pm

December 2025

29

Monday

Nate K. Birthday Celebration

6:00pm - 11:00pm

November 2025

14

Friday

Gig

8:00pm - 10:00pm

September 2025

26

Friday

Shawn out of town

12:00pm - 11:30pm

21

Sunday

Gig at Turn, Turn, Turn

4:30pm - 6:30pm

11

Thursday

N8 - Napa

All-day event

August 2025

13

Wednesday

N8 - Oahu

All-day event

July 2025

19

Saturday

Arbor Beer Lodge

8:00pm - 10:00pm

June 2025

13

Friday

Gig @ Georgie's Garage & Grill (Vancouver)

7:00pm - 10:00pm

May 2025

31

Saturday

REM show Turn, Turn, Turn

5:30pm - 6:30pm

March 2025

07

Friday

Gemini with Champale Supernova

7:00pm - 10:00pm

February 2025

21

Friday

Misdemeanor Meadows with Champale

7:00pm - 9:00pm

January 2025

09

Thursday

Mississippi Pizza Gig

7:30pm - 8:30pm

December 2024

21

Saturday

Highwater Mark Gig

6:00pm - 11:00pm

13

Friday

Arbor Beer Lodge Gig

6:00pm - 9:00pm

November 2024

03

Sunday

N8 - The The show

8:00pm - 8:30pm

October 2024

04

Friday

Club Xanadu, Astoria

9:00pm - 11:00pm

04

Friday

Band gig

7:00pm - 11:00pm

04

Friday

Band gig

All-day event

August 2024

17

Saturday

Left of the Dial Dublin Pub

All-day event

03

Saturday

N8 - vacation

All-day event

July 2024

26

Friday

Club Xanadu Astoria, OR

All-day event

10

Wednesday

N8 - Redd Kross show

8:00pm - 8:30pm

June 2024

30

Sunday

N8 - Joe Jackson - Revo Hall

6:00pm - 6:30pm

14

Friday

N8 - Fear show

7:00pm - 7:30pm

13

Thursday

N8 - Damned show

7:00pm - 7:30pm

06

Thursday

Left of the Dial Misdemeanor Meadows

All-day event

February 2020

29

Saturday

Festival

12:00pm - 2:00pm

Portland, OR

Set list

Set 1:
Bigger Stones – The Beat Farmers
That Year – Uncle Tupelo
Bigmouth Strikes Again – The Smiths
Like Wow Wipeout – Hoodoo Gurus
Driver 8 - REM
Cruel to be Kind – Nick Lowe
Brave Captain - fIREHOSE
Second Guessing - REM
Behind the Wall of Sleep – The Smithereens
Love Removal Machine – The Cult
Blaze – fIREHOSE

Set 2:
Add it Up – Violent Femmes
Drown - Sun Volt
A Million Miles Away – The Plimsouls
I Want You Back – Hoodoo Gurus
These Days - REM
Ghost on the Road – Guadalcanal Diary
Flatness – Uncle Tupelo
King Contrary Man – The Cult
Hash Pipe - Weezer
Movie Star - Cracker
Good Guys and Bad Guys – Camper Van Beethoven

Influences and inspiration

Too many to list! Here are some of the bands we play

Firehose
The Pixies
The Replacements
Husker Du
Dinosaur Jr.
The Silos
Green on Red
The Beat Farmers
REM
INXS
The Hoodoo Gurus
The Smithereens
The Smiths
Echo and the Bunnymen

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