NWMF

Last week I flew to Portland with Josh to attend the MFNW (Music Festival North West). Portland, Oregon started out disappointing because a lot of stuff was closed due to it being Labor Day. We tried to go to the Food Carts that I had drooled over in Sunset Magazine only to find that most were closed. Three times we walked to Pioneer Square to attend the Farmer’s Market. Closed all three times. We made plans to eat an early dinner at our hotel before going to a few shows, but we quickly learned it was "closed for a private party." Later in the week, we took a bus to a Spanish restaurant that was recommended in my travel book. Closed again. On Thursday, we took a bus to the east side of town to go to Oak Park, their amusement park with a roller rink. You guessed it …. closed! We did hold out for the roller rink, which was oddly open from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. And, we did eventually make it to the Farmer’s Market, which was wonderful, as was the Spanish restaurant, Toro Bravo.

Portland taught me patience, flexibility and that it’s not always great to be “scared of the dark.” The venues were all over the city, which meant that Josh and I had to travel from one side of town to the other, which required a bus that went over the Steel Bridge. Basically, it was like traveling back and forth from Brooklyn to Manhattan. This was okay for Josh and mostly fine for me (except for at 2 AM). There’s something about the transportation step of this festival that was, shall we say, less than “festive.”

Not to totally complain: Portland was amazing in a lot of ways. I will be posting highlights for a while because there is lots to comment on. For now (and before I forget who we saw) I want to focus on the bands and the highlights.

The Kills

Upone entering the Crystal Ballroom, I thought we were seeing The Killers. Boy was I surprised when Alison Mosshart (aka: VV) stepped on stage with Jamie Hince. She said, “Okay, we are going to sweat together.” I loved that she didn’t complain that the venue was nearly 95 degrees and humid with thousands of bodies, perspiring with anticipation! She had pink and black hair, a long leopard print jacket and some long necklaces. She quickly proved to be the essence of rock and roll. The crowd went wild, especially the young boys I was standing near who were as giddy as school girls - high-fiving and doing funny little dance routines with each other. Serves me right for standing in the "underage section." Both Hince (aka: Hotel) and Mosshart proved to be quite the kick off performance, and probably my most favorite.

Towards the end of the show, Hince performed a song and he said, “This one’s for my wife.” I was confused. Were they married? Hmmmm…..Now, the thing about festivals is that you get a lot of time to research the bands and gather background information and then more information on the background information (courtesy of my i phone, which I used each night until the battery was sucked dry). I guess you could say that I became a bit of a groupie. I am not sure who told me, but I learned that Hince had married Kate Moss. Finding this triva out was like learning that the ingredients of the delicious meal your friend just hosted came completely from her rooftop garden. So, yes… The Kills are one of my new favorites. The crowd LOVED them. We clapped and jumped and rocked out so much that the ground beneath us shook, and I was certain that the floor might give way. Later I discovered that Mosshart discovered Hince because he was practicing in the hotel room above her. Se what I mean? I collected background info on the background info.

We also saw…

Kelly Blair Bauman: Opened for The Kills; seemed overheated in her denim jacket.

The Joy Formidable: Cool female lead singer who plays guitar; rocks out.

Vive Voce

Sebadoh: They have a group following; I am not one of them

Archers of Loaf: Sadly, same as Sebadoh

White Arrows: Excellent band of brothers; lead signer was blind for most his life; unique sound

Phantogram: Awesome vibe, great female on keyboards who is also lead singer; great hair and style

Marketa Irglova: (liked her better as half of The Swell Season)

Iron and Wine: More wine than iron this time; mellow, with a haircut, but the beard remains. Great lyrics; Samuel Beam is quite the storyteller. Highlight: In response to someone yelling “Play Freebird,” Beam played and sang the first four lines of the song, and then in a soft voice said, “You asked for it, bitches ... Don’t mess with the classics, bitches.”

Weinland: Portland band with wonderful energy. Tambourine man and keyboarder have lots of spark and stage appeal! Jokingly, thanked Iron and Wine for “opening for them” at a separate venue. No one laughed (except for me).

Sharon Van Etten: snazzy red guitar

Blitzen Trapper

80s Video Attack Party – not really a band, but more of a 80s dance that I couldn’t pass up. (sorry, Josh)

Typhoon

The Antlers: Excellent!

Explosions in the Sky: exactly that.

Black Prairie

Alela Diane

Avi Buffalo: Um, Avi mentioned they were from Long Beach about 10 times; nervous or confident? I couldn’t tell…

Blind Pilot

On Sunday, we returned to the Hollywood Bowl to see:

Sharon Van Etten: A totally different perspective than her Portland performance; red guitar remains the same.

Neko Case: very funny; sounds so great LIVE; kept telling the audience that we "smelled like charred chicken." I guess that's what the front row was having for dinner.

The National: The BEST performance I have seen - hands down.