Last night I saw Mel Brown at The Vault and it was stellar. Portland jazz has a new fan. Make that three new fans. Jazz is easy, right? No it’s not. It’s key changes, tempo, and timing. And practice. Mel Brown has been a Portland jazz anchor; his group has a regular gig at the […]
GAGA EFFECT: REDEMPTION, ACCEPTANCE
February 25, 2019 by
Gaga Effect? I remember friends from junior high who seemed on a different path than the rest of us. They showed up for a year or two, made best friends with everyone, and held hands with a boy who looked perfect with them. Then they left. Something happened and they packed up and headed out […]
SHAKEY GRAVES INSIDER FUN
December 13, 2018 by
The last time I saw a touring musician’s guitar go wrong it was The Police and Sting broke a base string and replaced it without missing a beat in the song they played. Afterward he joked that a real band would have stopped and corrected the problem before restarting. In the history of […]
Batman Rescue, Or What To Do With A Bat In The House
August 28, 2018 by
Picture yourself and your date out on a most enjoyable night with an invitation to a home cooked dinner. The home in this case was a wonderful castle abode with a hillside view and an acre of manicured garden in the down sloping backyard. It had a feeling of Xanadu from […]
Dylan Song For 2018 Mid-Term Elections
August 17, 2018 by
Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There’s a battle outside And it is ragin’. It’ll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin’.
Willie Nelson Brings More To Portland Than His Band
August 1, 2018 by
The old guitar picker takes the stage tonight at McMenamins Edgefield. Willie Nelson, all eighty five years of himself, takes the stage after opener Allison Krause. More important, he’s on the cover of AARP magazine. Why is that important? How many public figures don’t want to talk about age? In a youth motivated culture, […]
DEAR SASQUATCH! IT DISAPPEARED, BUT I GOT THE PICS
June 29, 2018 by
How can this be the end of Sasquatch!? It was my first time and now it’s over? My impression? I should have signed up earlier, but probably not last year. People camping near us gave a round up of great times. It was their fifth Sasquatch!
LADY DAY PLAYS BOOMERPDX BAR AND GRILL
June 14, 2018 by
“Most men won’t go to live theater with their wives,” was an observation my wife shared. We were walking out of Portland Center Stage at the Armory on NW 11th by Powell’s Tuesday night when she said it. I was revved up after seeing LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL. “Did I ever thank […]
Sasquatch Music Festival, Travel Therapy and Spa, Part 1
May 29, 2018 by
I collect things. Experiences, memories, a garage and crawl space full of important things saved for important people. It’s almost like I haven’t heard the big news that kids don’t want their parents’ important stuff yet. Even bigger news? I have heard some parents share new memories with their kids instead of […]
Music Fills The Air, Joy Fills The Body, Repeat
October 10, 2017 by
Music in the Floyd Country Store is more than a radio station. The old time music jams on Sundays bring young and old with fiddles, guitars, mandolins, and banjos. A big circle passes the song from one to another; new player, new song. It’s American roots music at its finest and […]
