The Birds, the Bees & a busy, busy Me

OK, so I know I’ve been a bad blogger of late. Two months (yesterday) since my last post. But, there is a reason (OK, an excuse) why I have been so delinquent in updating for the interested parties. You see, two months ago my world drastically changed, and quite suddenly. I became all too employed and the long awaited spring finally hit Portland. The first meant that my free time was exponentially divided down to a very small slice, and that my energy level (due to the nature of my current employment) was also drastically reduced during said free time. The second meant that, in addition to all the bloom, pollination and making of honey (or perhaps because of) Portland exploded into a wild storm releasing much of its pent up energy and there were so many events, that I literally can’t currently recall them all. In truth, a great deal of the shows and what not I attended were put on by bands and at venues that I have previously detailed. I did, however, make some new discoveries, and I will cover them in a bit, but first I want to talk about this weekend.

For those who are not aware, the Gorge Amphitheatre (754 Silica Road NW George, WA 98824) is arguably the greatest outdoor venue in the states, particularly considering the scale of events which occur there. Every year, during Memorial Day weekend, the Gorge hosts Sasquatch (www.myspace.com/sasquatchmusicfestival), three days of music in the scenic Columbia River gorge. I’ve wanted to go previous years, but the 4 & ½ hour commute and spendy prices (this year it was $65/day or $150 for all three) have prevented me from making it there. This year, however, the Cure (do I really need to link to them? I think we are all well aware who they are.) were the headliners on Sunday night. As it happens, despite my rigorous work schedule, I was a good $40 short of the ticket price, but that meant I had just enough money to pay my share of the gas round trip to the far off venue. What good is traveling several hundred miles if you can’t afford to get in, you might ask. Well as it happens, the first fourteen years of the Cure’s existence marked some of my favorite (and most repeatedly purchased) recordings. About the time that period ended, I was just getting old enough to develop a taste for the old school British alt-rockers. Sixteen years later, I still had not seen them in concert and they were coming what is by far my favorite venue large enough to book them. Thus, when my, also broke, partner in mischief (this time, criminal) suggested that we go for broke and try to sneak in, I said “Fuck it. Why not?” What ensued was one of the best experiences I have had in a while. First off, one should know that the drive from PDX to the Gorge in late May is incredibly gorgeous. I am not going into detail as to how we got in, for I would like that it remain an option for those daring enough to attempt it and smart enough to plan it right; but let’s just say, if you’re willing to risk life, limb and personal freedom to achieve entrance, no facility of that size and remote location can actually be completely impenetrable. I will say that I felt as if my friend and I were Sam & Frodo making our way to Mount Doom. It ruled! They were even playing the song To Wish Impossible Things when we made our way onto the grounds. By the end of the third and final encore, as a light rain began to fall on our desert location, I was standing just feet away from Robert Smith. It was amazing. They went on at about ¼ after 10 PM I believe (I’m not really sure, we were still dealing with a vast and dramatic, darkened landscape in our attempt to gain entry at that point), and the house lights came on at about ¼ to 1 AM. In the two and half hours on stage, Robert and the boys covered the whole gambit of their career. Does that mean they played every song I wanted to hear? Not at all (that would be ~7-8 hour set). But they did play a lot of their old, great material for all of us whose fandom spans to the earlier portions of the 30 year career, and the live versions of newer stuff came off some much better and more inspiring than it would have off the records. It had been a long time since I had engaged in activity so brilliantly inspired/insanely stupid, and besides fulfilling decade and half long goal of seeing one of my all-time favorite bands live, it revived a long dormant part of my spirit, one that I have been missing for a great long while. I honestly feel like a new man. Then, of course, as with all Gorge shows, was party in the parking lot. The catch with seeing massive shows at venue hundreds of miles from most of its patrons’ homes, is that many of those patrons spend the night (or in the case of many Sasquatchers, three nights) on the adjacent grounds. After my long, exhausting/exhilarating experience, I got wasted and talked till almost dawn with interesting strangers from various places in multiple countries. Yeah, it was a long weekend well spent.

Now, I realize that the Cure hardly qualify as Northwest music, but Sasquatch definitely does have a distinctively PNW status, and it was high time I, as patron of local music happenings, checked it out. But I do want to spend what little time I have left this evening (indeed, the outside world calls again) speaking about a few occurrences of note over the last two months.

Out of the uncountable shows and events I have seen in the last two months, there were two PNW acts I had not previously heard that I definitely want to mention. The first was Romanteek (www.myspace.com/romanteek), the new and enlarged offshoot of longtime, controversially named, Olympia standard act Romantic Retard Nation. The former understated, sultry, soulful, bluesy duo has been reborn as a vibrant, swinging, funky, dance pop quintet, with some of OlyWa’s most respected musicians added to their roster. I had just read a MySpace bulletin posted by musician I had great deal of artistic respect for that he was playing at Rotture (315 SE 3^rd Avenue). I noticed no mention of the specific act he would be performing as/with. In fact, I was not even aware that he had joined the band. Needless to say, when asking the doorperson who had played, in order to find out if I’d missed my friend’s set, I was most surprised to discover that Romanteek was the Olympia band on the bill. The show was by no means packed, even for a Tuesday (I think it was a Tuesday), but Ruby Valentine’s exuberant crooning and the tight ensemble of musicians kept the audience shaking it quite thoroughly. The show was the kickoff of the band’s tour of the Northern half (or so) of the West coast. They ended it around a week later with a show at Slabtown (1033 NW 16th Avenue), but I did not make it too that one. Before I left Rotture that night, however, I did find out about another show taking place in Portland with other heavy-hitters of Olympia talent. Problems (www.myspace.com/problems247) another Portland/Olympia spanning band was playing a show at Valentines (232 SW Ankeny Street). As it happened, that was a very busy night for me, and despite my regular urging, my friends/ride kept delaying our arrival at the show. Unfortunately, Problems had already performed. We caught a bit of one bands set, interesting to be sure, but I don’t recall the act’s name. After it, however, our plans to call it a night were derailed by the incredible performance from a duo by the name of Why I Must be Careful (www.myspace.com/whyimustbecareful). It was a completely enthralling experience, led by a distorted Rhode’s 88 key (which was making noises I did not know electric pianos could make), jazz-esque drums and strange, arty, poetic vocal ejaculations. It was rather awe inspiring really. I have wanted to catch their sets since, but unfortunately my other obligations in life have kept me from making it to view a second performance by the powerful pair.

It would seem that the moment has come where the outside world calls me presently away from my computer, so I must again away, though I promise to try not to let it be so long until I return. But before I do depart, I want to say that one of my favorite local acts, Kickball (previously mentioned, see Gotta Love PDX), is playing the first show after their long hiatus. It is scheduled of the 30^th of this month (May) at Olympia legacy the ABC House. It is the only show they currently have scheduled, and unfortunately, I will not be able to attend. But to those who can, do. They will be playing with Francois Virot (www.myspace.com/francoisvirot) of Lyon, France who they have shared several tours spanning Europe and the US with. Francois will also be playing here in Portland the following night at the Funky Church (2456 SE Tamarack) with longtime contributor to the Olympia music scene Jenny Jenkins. Again, I won’t be able to make it, but I’m sure it will be a great representation of the global DIY community and its place here in the great Northwest. Check it if you can.