Tag Archives: musicfest

musicfest northwest, 9/11, the decemberists, pioneer courthouse square

Posted on by
Reply

That is a long title.

So I didn’t get a pass to MFNW this year.  I know that’s become a sort of big thing that I write about on this blog1, but I was relatively broke and I only wanted to buy a VIP pass, considering how awesome it was to have a VIP pass last year.  But I couldn’t afford it and then they sold out of them so blah blah whatever.

But by various circumstances, I was lucky enough to snag my friend Lisa’s second ticket to the Decemberists show in Pioneer Square tonight, and in a word, it was excellent!  The show, not the ticket.  The ticket was quite average looking.

The lineup was Weinland, Blue Giant, Laura Veirs, and The D’s.  These are all bands that are local, and all great.  So let’s just start from the start, shall we? Continue reading →

  1. I actually have a draft saved of my last day at MFNW last year, which I will probably never post.  Sorry about that. ↩

why hello thar

Posted on by
Reply

I haven’t updated this blog in over two months.  My primary reason is because I never finished the fourth day of my Musicfest NW excursion.  I don’t know why, it just felt silly to write it at the time.  I had a great time and all, but the memory seemed too personal to be shared across the internet.  I know that doesn’t make sense, considering the amount of personal shit I spout on this blog, but there was something about being in the East End’s basement, getting pissed off at the drunkards who were ruining Church’s set, and then entering some kind of weird trance listening to Finn Riggins, that made me unable to articulate just how much fun I had on Saturday.  I had fun on the other days too, don’t get me wrong, but Saturday was like some kind of capper, a night that transcended your average music listening night for me.

Maybe that sounds pretentious.  I don’t care.  It was my experience, not yours, and I don’t expect you to understand how I felt at the time.  After being in the Rose City for a year and trying desperately to call it home, I finally felt home that night, and it felt good.

With that said, I promise I will blog more.

I am doing the Most Nerdiest Thing right now: DMing a D&D game.  It’s a lot of fun so far.  If you want to read more about it (and the custom campaign setting I’m developing), I suggest you head to our Obsidian Portal site.  If you’re into that sort of thing.

I love you all, thank you for reading and listening and being my friend.  It means a lot to me!

mfnw 9/18: day three

Posted on by
1

Boy, I really let this fall by the wayside, didn’t I?  Long time readers will find no surprise in that.

Friday night started late again; Paul and I were determined to get some sleep before we headed out to a very long night of music.  I ended up taking a two hour nap, but Paul wasn’t as fortunate (this totally makes us sound gay, like we were sleeping in the same bed or something.  We weren’t, but if it makes you feel better to imagine that we were, that’s fine.), so I was nice and refreshed and he was still a little bleh.  We found ourselves getting food instead of seeing the 8pm bands (we hadn’t heard of any of them).  Food was sushi.  A quick tangent1 about sushi: I love it.  I grew up hating seafood.  I still do, really.  In landlocked states, fish is smelly and disgusting, having been frozen for some time.  Once you get over the cascades, it generally tastes better.  I can eat salmon, because there is fresh salmon in Idaho, but other than that, get it away from me.  Lobsters, shrimp, etc?  No way, dudes.  I don’t want to eat ocean bugs. Continue reading →

  1. They’re never quick, are they? ↩

mfnw 9/17: day two

Posted on by
Reply

Thursday, Friday and Saturday had Nike-sponsored all ages shows at the Wonder Ballroom, shows that happened earlier in the day (five-thirty as opposed to nine or ten), I suppose so high schoolers could go to the show, rock out, and be home in time for homework.  A bit of backstory: Paul and I both purchased VIP wristbands, instead of regular ones.  It cost us $100 more, but it was well worth it, as you’ll read about in tomorrow’s blog.  One of the perks of having a VIP wristband was that you got immediate access into the venue; in other words, you didn’t have to wait in line.  While this was super sweet, the Wonder shows did not follow this rule.  So even if you had a wristband, you still had to wait in line.  Since Paul and I had to work until 5:00, we couldn’t get to the show in time, especially because the lines to the Wonder shows are always PACKED.  By the time we would get there, the line would be full of young teenaged hipsters trying outlandish new fashions, ushering in a new age of Annie Hall hats and vests, ridiculously skinny jeans, and Converse. Oh god the Converse. Continue reading →

mfnw, 9/16: day one

Posted on by
1

If I were a real writer, stealing literature riffs from Hunter S. Thompson or George Plimpton, I might make some grand thesis-esque statement for my first paragraph about Musicfest NW, something about the welcoming atmosphere of the Portland music scene for this one glorious weekend in September, maybe a little bit about myself and my love of music yet continual need to branch out, to listen to more, to find yet another band that I love.  I might hearken back to my childhood, relating stories of listening to my father’s americana/country band practicing in our basement, or the time my dad walked in on me singing “Hakuna Matata” at the top of my lungs in my bedroom1.

But this is Musicfest, not the fucking Beatles, and this is a blog, not some goddamn Rolling Stones feature. So let’s get into it. Continue reading →

  1. I swear I’m not gay. ↩