Another beautiful Portland summer weekend . . . . We have plenty of time the rest of the year to spend at our fine indoor venues . . . but now it's time to enjoy our music outside.
Whatever you think about the development of North Mississippi Ave (and the gentrification of much of North Portland in general) aside, Saturday brings us the annual Mississippi Street Fair with four stages of music going from 1 pm until 8:30 pm. Lineup of great local bands include Norman Sylvester, the Freak Mt Ramblers, Linda Hornbuckle, The Dimes, Stephanie Schneiderman, James Low, Tahoe Jackson, Swing Papillon, Jessica Stiles, Matt Sheehy, Weinland . . . . should be fun . . . come on out for a wander, a bite and an earful.
If you didn't catch The Minus Five on Friday night at the Doug Fir, there's another chance this evening in Forest Grove at the SakeOne summer music series. . . . 6:30, $10 (20% goes to Mercy Corp's Voices for Silent Disasters Fund)
On Sunday, the Doug Fir's Pickin' on Sunday gets off to a great start with Pete Krebs and Casey Neill. Kick back the patio for acoustic sets from each. Now that's a fine way to spend a lazy summer afternoon . . . 3 pm, free
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
NoDepression.com: the archives the ND festival
Some of you might have been familiar with the music magazine No Depression when it was published from 1995 until last year. Outstanding magazine that covered alt-country, roots, americana . . . a fairly broad umbrella - with a majority of artists that fell a bit outside of the mainstream or were hard to classify. It featured some great writing, from artist profiles to history, reviews and local/regional scene coverage. . . . anyway, it was something I looked forward to six times a year.
So ND has now morphed into a music social networking site - http://community.nodepression.com/. . . it's a growing location to connect to music resources - musicians, fans, writers, bloggers, reviewers, music, videos, etc. And this week, the entire archive of No Depression magazine is available through the site! NoDepression.com has been developing since the magazine's demise and is turning into a very valuable destination for many of us. I urge you to check it out, sign up and participate (if you do, add me as a friend). It might be very useful to develop a Portland community on the site (other locales are doing that, with some being very active).
And on Saturday, the first No Depression Festival will be held at Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA. A $45 ticket gets you a full day of music with Gillian Welch, Iron & Wine, Patterson Hood, Jessie Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Justin Townes Earle, and others . . . . Music begins at 1 pm, so you have plenty of time for the drive up . . . . It should be a wonderful event.
So ND has now morphed into a music social networking site - http://community.nodepression.com/. . . it's a growing location to connect to music resources - musicians, fans, writers, bloggers, reviewers, music, videos, etc. And this week, the entire archive of No Depression magazine is available through the site! NoDepression.com has been developing since the magazine's demise and is turning into a very valuable destination for many of us. I urge you to check it out, sign up and participate (if you do, add me as a friend). It might be very useful to develop a Portland community on the site (other locales are doing that, with some being very active).
And on Saturday, the first No Depression Festival will be held at Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA. A $45 ticket gets you a full day of music with Gillian Welch, Iron & Wine, Patterson Hood, Jessie Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Justin Townes Earle, and others . . . . Music begins at 1 pm, so you have plenty of time for the drive up . . . . It should be a wonderful event.
Back to business
Blues Festival receding from sight, finished supporting Kevin Gordon's multiple appearances (thanks to all who came out to see him! . . . think he made a good sized group of new fans), and now back to whatever it is I do . . .
I do seem to remember that I make a few recommendations here and there for live music, so here's a few for tonight and tomorrow . . .
Thursday
As usual, it's a great locals night for happy hour or later shows - Laurelthirst (Lewi Longmire @ 6, Lynn Conover @ 9:30), Biddy McGraw's (Jaycob Van Auken @ 6, Rollie Tussing @ 9), Duff's Garage (Pete Krebs @ 6), Jimmy Mak's (Mel Brown @ 8), or the Chapel Pub (Jenny Conlee @ 8).
And, if you didn't get enough blues at the festival, there's Shemekia Copeland at the Aladdin . . . 8 pm, $20
Friday
Torn between two of the bigger shows this evening - The Minus 5 at the Doug Fir and The Gourds and Patterson Hood & the Screwtopians at the Wonder Ballroom.
Scott McCaughey is celebrating the release of Killingsworth, a Minus 5 project that includes a who's who of local talent. Ryan White of the Oregonian has a great write up of Scott and the project here. He's become one of my favorite local artists since he moved to Portland a couple years back. . . . And what I find really cool about Scott is that when he's not touring or playing a gig, he's out at shows all over town - genuinely digging the music and supporting fellow artists. This show is going to be fun . . . 9 pm, $12
Then there's the strong double bill of The Gourds, a fine band out of Austin and Patterson Hood (of the Drive By Truckers), who will put on a high energy good time show at the Wonder . . . 9 pm, $15
A good early show choice (6:30 pm) is to take advantage of one of the free neighborhood park shows, with Tony Furtado at Fernhill Park (NE 37th, north of Ainsworth).
Oh yeah . . . and some band named Coldplay is at the Clark County Amphitheater. Hear they're popular.
A few Saturday and Sunday choices will be up tomorrow . . . .
I do seem to remember that I make a few recommendations here and there for live music, so here's a few for tonight and tomorrow . . .
Thursday
As usual, it's a great locals night for happy hour or later shows - Laurelthirst (Lewi Longmire @ 6, Lynn Conover @ 9:30), Biddy McGraw's (Jaycob Van Auken @ 6, Rollie Tussing @ 9), Duff's Garage (Pete Krebs @ 6), Jimmy Mak's (Mel Brown @ 8), or the Chapel Pub (Jenny Conlee @ 8).
And, if you didn't get enough blues at the festival, there's Shemekia Copeland at the Aladdin . . . 8 pm, $20
Friday
Torn between two of the bigger shows this evening - The Minus 5 at the Doug Fir and The Gourds and Patterson Hood & the Screwtopians at the Wonder Ballroom.
Scott McCaughey is celebrating the release of Killingsworth, a Minus 5 project that includes a who's who of local talent. Ryan White of the Oregonian has a great write up of Scott and the project here. He's become one of my favorite local artists since he moved to Portland a couple years back. . . . And what I find really cool about Scott is that when he's not touring or playing a gig, he's out at shows all over town - genuinely digging the music and supporting fellow artists. This show is going to be fun . . . 9 pm, $12
Then there's the strong double bill of The Gourds, a fine band out of Austin and Patterson Hood (of the Drive By Truckers), who will put on a high energy good time show at the Wonder . . . 9 pm, $15
A good early show choice (6:30 pm) is to take advantage of one of the free neighborhood park shows, with Tony Furtado at Fernhill Park (NE 37th, north of Ainsworth).
Oh yeah . . . and some band named Coldplay is at the Clark County Amphitheater. Hear they're popular.
A few Saturday and Sunday choices will be up tomorrow . . . .
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Blues Festival - Sunday
Last day of the festival that, even with the heat, has brought out great crowds . . . all good for the Oregon Food Bank.
Looking at how much time he spent signing CDs and talking to folks after his set on Saturday afternoon, Kevin Gordon definitely made some new fans in Portland. And he'll have a couple of more opportunities to do it today with a Workshop stage performance at 12:45 and then the afternoon river cruise (for which there may be a few tickets left).
Otherwise it looks like a great finale for the festival today. Try to check out local fave Lloyd Jones at 1:30, Woodbrain at 3:30, Magic Slim at 5, Big Sam's Funky Nation at 6, Ryan Shaw at 7, and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings closing things down at 7:50. Really fine music at all the stages all day today. If you haven't come out to the festival, it will be a little less hot and a little less crowded, but with a strong lineup, $10 and a couple of cans of food is definitely a live music bargin and supports a wonderful cause.
Full schedule here . . .
See ya at the festival!
Looking at how much time he spent signing CDs and talking to folks after his set on Saturday afternoon, Kevin Gordon definitely made some new fans in Portland. And he'll have a couple of more opportunities to do it today with a Workshop stage performance at 12:45 and then the afternoon river cruise (for which there may be a few tickets left).
Otherwise it looks like a great finale for the festival today. Try to check out local fave Lloyd Jones at 1:30, Woodbrain at 3:30, Magic Slim at 5, Big Sam's Funky Nation at 6, Ryan Shaw at 7, and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings closing things down at 7:50. Really fine music at all the stages all day today. If you haven't come out to the festival, it will be a little less hot and a little less crowded, but with a strong lineup, $10 and a couple of cans of food is definitely a live music bargin and supports a wonderful cause.
Full schedule here . . .
See ya at the festival!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Blues Fest quick picks for July 4th
It's the big day at the fest . . . big crowds, fireworks, and still going to be hot. But so is the music.
On my radar today is, of course, Kevin Gordon (4:50 pm), but other great acts performing. Local favorite Storm Large, not known by most for singing blues, will be performing at 4 - expect a great set. The outstanding blues/soul vocalist Terry Evans will on at 5:40, and the New Orleans trombone band, Bonerama will finish the night before the fireworks. The big annual harmonica blow-off will be happening from 7:15 to 9:30 at the Front Porch. But I also can't recommend enough the intimate Workshop stage - shady and intimate, it can be a great respite from the heat and big sound in the bowl. Check out Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, the blues of Jimmy Reed, and Gals with Guitars among a great lineup today.
Full Saturday schedule here.
See you there!
On my radar today is, of course, Kevin Gordon (4:50 pm), but other great acts performing. Local favorite Storm Large, not known by most for singing blues, will be performing at 4 - expect a great set. The outstanding blues/soul vocalist Terry Evans will on at 5:40, and the New Orleans trombone band, Bonerama will finish the night before the fireworks. The big annual harmonica blow-off will be happening from 7:15 to 9:30 at the Front Porch. But I also can't recommend enough the intimate Workshop stage - shady and intimate, it can be a great respite from the heat and big sound in the bowl. Check out Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, the blues of Jimmy Reed, and Gals with Guitars among a great lineup today.
Full Saturday schedule here.
See you there!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Waterfront Blues Festival - Friday quick picks
Man it was hot out there yesterday . . . but it didn't keep the crowd away and it felt right for the music . . .
The Troublemakers kicked it off right with a hot swampy set, Mary Flower showed why she's one of the best finger-picking and lap slide guitar players anywhere, the Sharkskin Revue had everyone swinging at the Front Porch Stage . . . followed by Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas and Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie who kept the crowd dancing until 11. Robin Ford and Keb' Mo' seemed to please everyone in the main stage area - great for Keb to step in at the last minute for the ill Etta James.
And speaking of Nathan and Geno . . . both will be doing a couple of sets today at the Front Porch stage today as part of the annual celebration of the bayou with zydeco and swamp rock all day. It's gonna get hot and sweaty out there, but come ready to dance until late. Bon temps!
Some great music in the bowl including some of our best local blues women all together at 4, Sonny Landreth at 5, Dave Gonzales & Mike Barfield at 6, Karl Denson at 7, and Malford Milligan & Greg Koch at 8 . . . this is going to be another hot day at the festival (in more ways than one!).
When you need shade breaks, check out what's going on at the FedEx Workshop stage - way more intimate shows with some of the main stage performers - one I'll try to get to is Steve Kerin & Friends' Music of Louisiana's Bayous at 9 . . . And if you have the energy, check out the after hours jams at the Marriott . . . .
Full schedule here.
So pace yourself, remember to hydrate, and check out some great music! See you out there!
The Troublemakers kicked it off right with a hot swampy set, Mary Flower showed why she's one of the best finger-picking and lap slide guitar players anywhere, the Sharkskin Revue had everyone swinging at the Front Porch Stage . . . followed by Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas and Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie who kept the crowd dancing until 11. Robin Ford and Keb' Mo' seemed to please everyone in the main stage area - great for Keb to step in at the last minute for the ill Etta James.
And speaking of Nathan and Geno . . . both will be doing a couple of sets today at the Front Porch stage today as part of the annual celebration of the bayou with zydeco and swamp rock all day. It's gonna get hot and sweaty out there, but come ready to dance until late. Bon temps!
Some great music in the bowl including some of our best local blues women all together at 4, Sonny Landreth at 5, Dave Gonzales & Mike Barfield at 6, Karl Denson at 7, and Malford Milligan & Greg Koch at 8 . . . this is going to be another hot day at the festival (in more ways than one!).
When you need shade breaks, check out what's going on at the FedEx Workshop stage - way more intimate shows with some of the main stage performers - one I'll try to get to is Steve Kerin & Friends' Music of Louisiana's Bayous at 9 . . . And if you have the energy, check out the after hours jams at the Marriott . . . .
Full schedule here.
So pace yourself, remember to hydrate, and check out some great music! See you out there!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Kevin Gordon
About seven years ago perusing a magazine rack, I stumbled across the Oxford American's annual music edition. Focused on southern music with stories and an enclosed CD, it look liked something I needed to check out. About three songs into the CD, a chiming guitar, a loping beat, and a road-weary voice singing . . .
Mud colored dogs guarding shotgun shacks
A red door on a green Cadillac
Hot wind blowing smoke through graveyard streets . . .
The image sucked me right . . . and then the chorus began with Lucinda Williams singing harmony and then taking the second verse. Killer song. I had to know more. Who was this guy Kevin Gordon? Searched for his CD (Down To The Well) and wasn't disappointed. And then I couldn't stop telling people about this relatively unknown songwriter from in Nashville. Swampy, bluesy, rocking and tremendously literate writing.
Fast forward a couple of years to the Americana Music Association's conference in Nashville. Kevin was releasing a new CD (O Come Look At The Burning) and doing a showcase performance late one night with his band. Handful of people in the place, staff wanting to cut the show short (btw, Grant Alden wrote a great piece about this in No Depression), but I was there and thrilled to finally hear him live. We chatted a bit while the band was breaking down and I told him if he needed any help if he wanted with finding gigs in the NW sometime, I'd be willing to help. So we struck up an occasional correspondence - my end of it mostly consisted of "we gotta find a way to get you up here" . . . . his about how tough it was to put a tour together to the other side of the country. Ain't that a familiar tune (for a lot of you).
But Peter Dammann gave him a listen . . . and ending up on the radar of the talent coordinator for the Blues Festival was a good thing, because this year Peter figured he could make Kevin an offer to come out to play. With a couple of anchor dates on the west coast, a tour seemed possible. I provide a little inept assistance with info and contacts and presented Kevin as a possible act for a neighborhood park show. Somehow, Kevin pieced together a road tour that's now taken him through Texas, the southwest, California, and this weekend to Portland before heading back to Nashville.
So I've gotta tell you to come out and see Kevin . . . . whether it's at the festival on Saturday afternoon (4:50 pm - also on river cruise on Sunday afternoon), at the Laurelthirst on Sunday night (9:30), or at Sellwood Riverfront Park on Monday evening (6:30).
Let's give him a great welcome to the NW . . . . you will not be disappointed.
BTW . . . the amazing Chris Miller will be playing guitar with Kevin on his Portland gigs!
Mud colored dogs guarding shotgun shacks
A red door on a green Cadillac
Hot wind blowing smoke through graveyard streets . . .
The image sucked me right . . . and then the chorus began with Lucinda Williams singing harmony and then taking the second verse. Killer song. I had to know more. Who was this guy Kevin Gordon? Searched for his CD (Down To The Well) and wasn't disappointed. And then I couldn't stop telling people about this relatively unknown songwriter from in Nashville. Swampy, bluesy, rocking and tremendously literate writing.
Fast forward a couple of years to the Americana Music Association's conference in Nashville. Kevin was releasing a new CD (O Come Look At The Burning) and doing a showcase performance late one night with his band. Handful of people in the place, staff wanting to cut the show short (btw, Grant Alden wrote a great piece about this in No Depression), but I was there and thrilled to finally hear him live. We chatted a bit while the band was breaking down and I told him if he needed any help if he wanted with finding gigs in the NW sometime, I'd be willing to help. So we struck up an occasional correspondence - my end of it mostly consisted of "we gotta find a way to get you up here" . . . . his about how tough it was to put a tour together to the other side of the country. Ain't that a familiar tune (for a lot of you).
But Peter Dammann gave him a listen . . . and ending up on the radar of the talent coordinator for the Blues Festival was a good thing, because this year Peter figured he could make Kevin an offer to come out to play. With a couple of anchor dates on the west coast, a tour seemed possible. I provide a little inept assistance with info and contacts and presented Kevin as a possible act for a neighborhood park show. Somehow, Kevin pieced together a road tour that's now taken him through Texas, the southwest, California, and this weekend to Portland before heading back to Nashville.
So I've gotta tell you to come out and see Kevin . . . . whether it's at the festival on Saturday afternoon (4:50 pm - also on river cruise on Sunday afternoon), at the Laurelthirst on Sunday night (9:30), or at Sellwood Riverfront Park on Monday evening (6:30).
Let's give him a great welcome to the NW . . . . you will not be disappointed.
BTW . . . the amazing Chris Miller will be playing guitar with Kevin on his Portland gigs!
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