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Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Day 13
The World Famous Kenton Club in Portland, OR
with Lickity, Aranya, and Rotties
"I love Portland. Everyone looks
like they just woke up, and they're
all covered in cat hair."
--Michelle
like they just woke up, and they're
all covered in cat hair."
--Michelle
Oh, Portland... I'm not putting on sunblock today. We got breakfast at Beaterville (which, sadly, only has bottomless mimosas on Sundays... I had been saving up for that) and just found our way around Portland. We play in the northeast a lot, so it's the neighborhood we know best.
We stopped off at a tea shop Michelle likes, and three dudes in hoodies walked in, snatched a laptop, and bolted. I just kind of sat there, dumbfounded. The woman who owned the laptop went after them... and so did Joel. He came back in with a bloody hand: the cops are now looking for a car with a smashed windshield on the driver's side (he also got the license plate number.) Being a band, we asked him about playing-- Joel responds "This is not the first time I've punched something with my left hand."
It's an interesting modus operandus: the dudes had Washington plates. Lots of laptops in a tea shop on Alberta, lots of low-key, passive people sitting around (like me; I didn't do shit.) They're probably across the border in Vancouver, WA right now... with a really recognizable car, but still. It might be a stolen car, it might be one of the thieves' (in which case, I hope it costs more to replace the window than they can get from selling a hot laptop,) but it'd be funniest if it's one of their parents' car... with a smashed window and a warrant out. That'd be awesome.
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| The ultimate gear load-out clusterfuck. Wow, there was a lot of gear at this show. |
The night really worked for my pedal geek side; I talked a lot of gear with a variety of people in and around the show. I also played a crunky, old, master-volume tube amp. I really want one of those for Negative Hole type stuff.
The venue itself is pretty great. The show was free and the bands run their own sound, so we all get paid a cut of the bar... there's not money taken out for a sound man or a guy to work the door. Bands get drink tickets (well... they're more like "drink POGs"), the PA is solid, and the room is big enough. Since none of the bands tonight mic'd their cabinets (just turn up and play!), we really didn't want for anything. I was kind of packed into a corner and couldn't hear much while I was playing, but that's just how it goes sometimes-- the consensus from the crowd was that we sounded great.
There was a big gathering at Justin's (from Lickity) house; we were all packed into his living room and porch, drinking and hanging out and listening to music. It's all tour to us, but it really didn't feel like a Wednesday night throughout the group.
I crashed out before the whole thing was done, took my sleeping bag to the basement, and called it a night. A good night sleep and a trip home tomorrow.
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