Looking at Willamette Week's online site just now, I saw an article about how the violinist Lisa Molinaro of Talkdemonic (great local band, whom I saw again this past April) will be joining The Decemberists on tour for their upcoming album The Crane Wife. Pretty cool, and go Lisa!
Last night Kelly and I ventured to McMenamins White Eagle Saloon. It's a nice spot, very much a McMenamins, but more relaxed and pleasant than say, Kennedy School, and certainly more enjoyable than Ringlers or the like. One key difference between this and other McMenamins establishments is that The White Eagle has live music (looking at their schedule, it seems every night of the week) and what brought us there last night was some live Irish folk music.
We arrived at about 7:30, walked in through the long building towards the stage and then out to the patio since the weather was so nice. We took a table just next to the door, so we could see and hear the music, and was promptly served by a very friendly and attentive server. We were happy to discover they served Nebraska Bitter, the best McMenamins beer in my opinion, even though it wasn't on their menu. Hooray! We had a very nice dinner (I had one of the specials, the 'Sgt. Pepper Salad'; sliced breaded chicken, pepperjack cheese, peppercorn ranch, and totally delicious), and reminisced about our honeymoon in Ireland while the music started.
The music, by Hanz Araki and band (sometimes known as "An Tua") was fantastic. It was lead by Hanz Araki (flutes, pennywhistles, low-whistles, shakuhachi, and vocals) who was joined by four other musicians; a guitarist, violinist, pianist, and percussionist. ist. ist. 🙂 There were songs I recognized from other traditional Irish folk albums Kelly and I own (bought while on our honeymoon) and it was a treat to hear while we chatted about where we were two years ago. Between sets Kelly purchased the An Tua album 6 of One, Five of the Other, which is also great. Very fun night out. Very groggy today. 🙂
So I have a plan. It's not a very good plan, but a plan nonetheless. I plan to write about the various beers I've sampled over the past few weeks. This is above and beyond my minimal reports of previous beerfests, but to go into some level of detail of the beers I've sampled over the past few weeks… things Ive purchased from John's Marketplace, etc. I've been keeping notes. I swear. Side note: writing this to The Smiths song 'Well I Wonder'. What a great tune.
Last night was a crazy evening. It started at the end of the work day…
The company I work for was throwing a party last night the Thirsty Lion for attendees of OSCON, an open source software convention being held in Portland over the next couple days. I was destined for Berbati's Pan (right around the corner from the Thirsty Lion) to see Grant-Lee Phillips with Kelly and our good friend Miranda, and told my manager that I wasn't sure if I was going to the party because of the show. My manager said "Oh? I think the boss's sister is playing there." Come to find out that my boss is a brother of Kristin Hersh, of Throwing Muses fame, who was opening for Grant-Lee.
I met Kelly and Miranda at the Shanghai Tunnel and then at around 7:30 I decided to do some recon of the scene at the Thirsty Lion. It was a fairly packed event, and there were free drink tickets and free food, so I decided to report back to Kelly and Miranda. We decided to go (since I had brought some entry cards with me from the office) and we had a good time. While there I get a call from my brother Travis. Last night was also Katie's 21st birthday (brother Chad's girlfriend) and they were all headed downtown. They found us at the Thirsty Lion, Travis got a list of places nearby from me, and then they all headed down to the Shanghai Tunnel, with a promise to meet up later on after Kelly, Miranda and I get out of the Grant-Lee show. Whew.
We went to the show, which was very good and very mellow. Kristen Hersh is a really good performer, with a fantastic voice. It was just her with an acoustic guitar on a stool. At one point towards the end of her set she invited Grant-Lee on stage and they performed together, but aside from that it was all her.
Grant-Lee came on around 10:45pm and was similarly stripped-down (just him with his acoustic guitar and harmonica, and the drummer).
It was a great show, though I have to admit that after the last time we saw him, with a full band, it was a bit disappointing. While Grant-Lee is a fantastic performer, full of wit and charm, I found myself missing the fullness of sound from the previous show. Still, it was definitely worth going. Kristen Hersh joined him on stage for a couple songs (as did another fellow he invited up who's name I forget), and he played most of the songs on his latest album and a few from the Grant Lee Buffalo days including Mockingbird, which made Kelly and I very happy. His cover of the New Order song 'Age of Consent' both live and on the album are excellent, giving me chills and warm-fuzzies at the same time.
After the show at about 12:45am, Kelly, Miranda and I met up with the rest of the gang at the outdoor seating of the bar part of Berbati's for another drink for Katie's birthday before Kelly and I came home. Whew, what a night. Happy birthday Katie, hope you had a great birthday!
Been hot again the past couple days (highs over 100° F), with humidity well above 50%, so it's not only hot, but sticky. And seems we're in for a repeat through the weekend. Ugh.
Last night Kelly and I went to our friends Ty and Aymie's for a BBQ (because not even the hot weather will stop the grilling of meats) and had a wonderful time relaxing in their yard. We got home around 12:30, watched some TV (got to see a late-night re-run of the show Psych, pretty funny show) and passed out on the couch.
Today we hope to get some furniture ordered for our guest bedroom… a mattress for the boxspring my brother gave me, and a desk and chair for Kelly since she's starting school again in a few weeks.
This upcoming Wednesday Kelly and I are going to go see Grant-Lee Phillips in concert again. We had seen him about 3 years ago (at the same venue, Berbati's Pan) and it was a fantastic show. He recently released new album titled nineteeneighties, containing covers of songs by artists such as New Order, Pixies, The Cure, The Smiths, etc. The new album is really quite good, though I think I'd have preferred an album of new material, but we're still very excited to see him again. More on that later (hopefully late Wednesday evening).