It's not like I've stopped....

....going to gigs, it's just that I seem to have stopped writing about it.    So, a quick post about the Magnetic Fields at the Vogue this weekend.   It was a treat.  There, that's the post.

Ok not quite.  As expected, it was a low key gig, but for me that made it all the more engaging.  Stephin Merritt's crustiness came out - I love a front man who challenges the audience about their choice to stand up when there are seats available; but that attitude is something anyone who has seen the highly enjoyable doc Strange Powers would have expected.  Anyhow, his bittersweet, sardonic songwriting appeals to me no end, as does his lazy, crazily deep voice.  I taped a few songs, but Andrew in Drag makes me smile every time, so I'm sharing it here.

And that, my friends, is me dipping my toe slightly into the water of writing about gigs again.  I could say a lot more, but I might get the bends.

And a few more

I'm tired. But I'll be back.

Portland is awesome.

Some photos to prove it.  Well, they aren't awesome, but Portland is.  Hopefully I will have energy to say more soon - and hopefully will have some nice photos from the Boy's collection to share :)

Portland...ia

On a quick vacation to Portland, land of beer, hipsters and coffee - very good coffee, I might add. And the hipsters are a surprisingly friendly and attitude free bunch, unlike their Vancouver counterparts...but I'm jumping ahead here.

We drove down with pals A&J, through some pretty crazy snow squalls and rain storms. I would have been white knuckling through most of it, jut J calmly soldiered along behind the wheel. We stopped for some very good Mexican food In the North end of Seattle - somewhere no non-Mexican would know about unless they were a slightly crazed chowhound, as A luckily is. Also lucky is her command of Spanish, as there wasn't a whole lot of English being spoken. And even more lucky? The super tasty eats (see snap of happy munching Boy below).


We arrived in Portland, and stopped at Ristretto for a cup of house roasted coffee, and a chat with the cheery baristas about coffee in Portland - something taken very seriously in these parts.


We got to the hotel (Paramount - nice place, good deal), then went for cocktails at Teardrop - I had the awkwardly named Artistaint (gin, Cynar, elderflower and lemon - lovely arc of sweet to bitter, so very good), then we headed to Deschutes where i had a gluten free elk burger and GOOD gluten free beer (oh how I miss good beer)....followed by more drinks and snacks at Clyde Common. What has struck me the most is the friendliness of the people here - everyone seems willing to provide suggestions of good places to go in their fair town. Such a different vibe than Vancouver.

So - so far, loving Portland. More later:)


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Location:SW Taylor St,Portland,United States