Holmes Helicopters

Sometimes something comes up on Groupon that is simply too good to pass up. The Groupon deal for Holmes Helicopters was one of those amazing deals: a 45-minute helicopter tour of the Dundee Hills for two people for under $200. To put this in perspective, it's not uncommon for helicopter rides to cost several hundreds of dollars per person. The reason helicopter rides cost so much is the fuel. It costs $200 per hour to fly a very small helicopter in good conditions, and considerably more for larger helicopters.

Holmes Helicopters is based in Newberg, Oregon, a quick 45-minute drive down the 99w from Portland. The company operates out of a home office and a tent by its hangar at the Sportsman Airpark, very much a mom-and-pop operation.

No Frills But Functional

The three-person helicopter flown by Holmes Helicopters has obviously been around a while and is very basic. While it looks pretty worn, it flies very well and once we got in the air we always felt safe.  Owner and pilot Jeff Holmes is an exceptional pilot with considerable experience. It was extremely clear that he absolutely loves to fly and that really helped make our flight a special experience.

Taking off from Sportsman Airpark

We had originally booked a 45-minute flight over the wineries of Dundee, but Jeff Holmes suggested a more scenic trip over the Willamette River instead. We decided to take his advice and opted for the river flight, which ended up being excellent advice.  Flying in a helicopter is almost indescribable. The helicopter floats and moves so gracefully in the air that it gives you one of the closest feelings you'll ever have to personally being able to fly. It's something to be experienced at least once in your life.

The Farms of Newberg

Driving through Newberg and the surrounding area by car, you don't get the scale of just how much farming there is in the area; flying over these farms gives you a different perspective and was a ton of fun. We sailed over hazelnut orchards, corn and wheat fields, stock yards and horse stables. I often found myself lost in the scenery – it's simply dazzling.

Willamette River by air

The highlight of the trip was seeing the Willamette River. Between Newberg and Dundee, the river is much quieter and more serene than it is near Portland, like a tranquil oasis in a rural part of Oregon.

The 45-minute flight was the perfect length, just long enough to really feel like we had a significant flight, but short enough that we were always engaged and having fun.

Holmes Helicopters offers a wide range of flying options, including everything from flying lessons to a romantic nighttime flight over the city of Portland. I really liked pilot Jeff Holmes, who really made the flight fun and memorable.

Flights with Holmes Helicopter can be booked by calling Jeff Holmes at (503) 750-5020 or Shanda at (503) 260-5181. You can also email jeffholmes@holmeshelicopters.com.

American Idol 2010 Tour Interviews

The American Idol Tour in 2009 made Portland the first stop on the trip. The buzz and excitement of Adam Lambert, Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta hitting the stage for the first time was palpable. This time around the American Idol Tour hits Portland as it is winding down. Rather than have all ten of the 2010 American Idol Finalists come out and talk to journalists, they picked five to represent the American Idol Tour experience.

The five interviews include Didi Benami, Crystal Bowersox, Casey James, Aaron Kelly and Tim Urban. Interestingly, the topic of a country album came up with many of the Idols (with Aaron Kelly on the road to making a country album and Casey James signed to Sony Country). Acting was also on the minds of a few of the American Idols, with Didi Benami and Tim Urban both considering careers in film and television.

All five American Idols seemed to reflect a tremendous amount of growth from their American Idol Tour experience, with Aaron Kelly clearly showing a confidence that he didn't have going into the competition.

We hope you enjoy these interviews as much as we did:

Didi Benami:

Crystal Bowersox:

Casey James:

Aaron Kelly:

Tim Urban:

Also be sure to check out our complete Review of The 2010 American Idol Tour with a song-by-song breakdown of how these and the other five Idols did.

American Idol 2010 Tour

The 2010 American Idol tour made one of its final stops in its national tour with a very clear message: what happens on the series isn't always reflected when the show is translated onto the big stage.  For some like Andrew Garcia or Big Mike Lynche, this leads to significant disappointments, but for Casey James, Tim Urban and Aaron Kelly it was a tremendous opportunity to show what kind of artists they really are.

The 2010 American Idol series has often been criticized as a weaker season than many of its predecessors.  The truth is the Adam Lambert v. Kris Allen battle is a tremendously tough act to follow. But as a whole, this year's American Idol Tour was actually stronger than last year's, with better production values and some great surprises from some of the underdog performers.

The evening started out pretty well with Didi Benami, who did a solid job with ”Lay It On Me” by The Rescues. It was much stronger than other performers who've made it into the top 10 right on the cusp. Her rendition of “Terrified” by Katharine McPhee was simply fantastic. For a moment Didi really showed the talent that got her into the top 10 and made a strong argument that she probably should have finished higher.  "Terrified" was one of the real great moments of the show.

Perhaps the evening's biggest disappointment was Andrew Garcia, whose creative arrangement of “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul secured hin a spot on the show, but proved to be more of a fluke than a real moment of inspiration.  On stage Garcia's "Straight Up" felt forced and lifeless, devoid of any magic it may have had.  His rendition of “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5 felt like an opening act as Garcia failed to create much stage presence. For a fairly big guy, Garcia seemed awfully small on stage and clearly out of his league.

Also out of her element, Katie Stevens had a really uneven set.  Singing “Here We Go Again” by Demi Lovato, Katie Stevens seemed like she was trying to play teenage pop star (right down to the lace finger gloves).  Her rendition of “Fighter” by Christina Aguilera was signficantly better as she seems to really thrive when she's singing in a fuller and deeper register.  As I watched her perform, it struck me that perhaps Katie Stevens would have had a better route to performing as a backup singer for one of the major touring acts. She's got a great voice and some charisma but seems to really need to grow into it.  Getting some experience with some heavy hitters may do her good, but as a Top 10 American Idol finalist it's hard to imagine her doing backup.

Tim Urban

Tim Urban seemed to have a fair share of detractors during the run of the show. He certainly wasn't a judge favorite, but on stage he showed that he has what it takes to really stand out.  His first song, “Better Days” by Goo Goo Dolls, was extremely solid and showed off Tim Urban's magnetism. Urban effortlessly connected with the audience and seemed right at home on stage. His second song, "Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, didn't go as well. Urban wanted to turn the song into a sing-along, but it wasn't the right song for the crowd to sing along. This lead to a real disconnect and seemed to leave Urban kind of lost in the song.

Siobhan Magnus made one of the biggest entrances of the night. Sporting a faux-hawk, corset and boots, she looked the most 'rock star' of the bunch. Unfortunately Siobhan's set was extremely choppy.  She bounced between vocal styles and almost always landed on her patented scream, but the pieces never really fit together. Sure, it was great to hear her hit the high note at the end of "Paint it Black” by The Rolling Stones, but the journey to get there was a pretty rough ride. “Spiderwebs” by No Doubt was even more of a stylistic train wreck. Every time it seemed like she settled into the song, she'd switch her vocal style and the proverbial wheels would come off the tracks. The one song I really enjoyed was her rendition of “Stockholm Syndrome” by Muse; unfortunately, the real star of that song was the backup band, who absolutely let loose on the song.  I enjoy Siobhan's quirkiness and love hearing her hit that high note, but she doesn't seem to have a real musical home or style that works.  Perhaps she'd do well in a metal band using mostly her high register (something akin to Evanescence).

While I'm not a huge fan of Aaron Kelly, he had one of the more solid sets of the evening. From the first note to the last, Kelly clearly declared "I am a country boy!". Much more confident than during the TV series, Kelly did a fantastic job with “Somebody Like You” by Keith Urban. Dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt, Aaron both looked and sounded the part and his performance really seemed to resonate with the crowd. Kelly followed up with “Walking In Memphis” by Marc Cohn and then “Fast Cars and Freedom” by Rascal Flatts – all in all a solid set and convincing argument that he has what it takes to become a country music star.

Aaron Kelly was followed by a group number with the first five performers: Didi, Andrew, Katie, Tim, Siobhan, and Aaron, singing “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. It was refreshing to see a group number that wasn't lip-synched (which was one of my biggest gripes about the TV series).  Katie seemed much stronger with the vocals of "The Climb" and Aaron took the lead and showed he really has what it takes to step out front.

After an intermission (where we were bombarded with advertising), Michael (Big Mike) Lynche took the stage. Big Mike's rendition of  “Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush was one of the show stoppers during the series but on stage it really lost its magic. Big Mike showed that the moment on the show couldn't be recreated, and like Andrew Garcia's "Straight Up", it was a one shot deal. Big Mike followed up with “Ready For Love” by India.arie, which was a much better performance that captured his true croning abilities.  Unfortunately his closing song, "My Love" by Justin Timberlake, was an absolute disaster. Big Mike started out in falsetto (which simply didn't work), jumped into his normal register, and then tried to rap. It was absolutely painful to watch.

The highlight of the evening was Casey James, who stole the show out from under Crystal Bowersox and Lee Dewyze. His rendition of  “I Got Mine” by the Black Keys was simply amazing, showing off extraordinary guitar skills. All  I could think of during this first song was, "Damn, this boy can really play guitar". Casey James' "I Got Mine" was the real first exclamation point of the evening.  This was followed by “Don’t” by Shania Twain, which was a great example of an artists making a song his own. It was at this point that it stopped feeling like an American Idol Tour and started feeling like the Casey James show.

Casey brought Big Mike back on stage for a nice rendition of  “Have You Really Loved a Woman”. Mike's performance with Casey was stronger than any of his own three songs and it was nice to see the two of them sing together.  The real highlight of Casey's set was “It’s All Over Now” by The Rolling Stones, the hands-down best performed song of the evening.  Casey played a terrific slide guitar and made it clear that he is the best guitarist to have ever performed on American Idol. By the end of the song it was easy to forget that it wasn't an original song – a monstrous task considering its origin.

Crystal Bowersox Lost on Stage

Crowd-favorite Crystal Bowersox had the impossible task of following Casey James, and although she sounded great, she was never quite able to surpass Casey's set.  Dressed extremely casually, Bowersox seemed extremely comfortable on stage, almost too comfortable and informal. Although she has a great voice, there was always something missing from her performance.  Her rendition of “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blonds felt passionless and uninspired.  She warmed up a little with “Come To My Window” by Melissa Etheridge, which sounded fantastic, but the follow-up song, “Up To The Mountain” by Patty Griffin, felt limp and weak.  Bowersox seemed so laid back during her performance it seemed more like watching someone sing in a recording studio than on stage. It completely lacked any form of showmanship whatsoever. Bowersox closed with "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin, which again sounded great but really lacked any pizzaz and certainly wasn't strong enough of a performance to argue that she should or could have won American Idol.

Lee Dewyze: Winner But Not Champion

I had really hoped that Lee Dewyze would be able to step in and really pick things up, but his set felt almost as "also ran" as Bowersox. He's opening song, "Beautiful Day” by U2, never really came together and lacked any of the spark that was there when he performed it on the show.  Appreciably better was Dewyze's rendition of  “Rocket Man” by Elton John, an extremely solid rendition of the song which really breathed new life into it.  Dewyze's high point was definitely  “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. Dewyze seems to have really connected with the soul of Leonard Cohen's hauntingly beautiful song and he was able to replicate that for the big stage.  Unfortunately this was followed up by  “Treat Her Like a Lady” by Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose, which was just okay. Dewyze closed with "Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon, which came off a lot like "Kings of Leon Light". It just wasn't a strong enough to close on and it never really felt like Dewyze was able to make any form of declaration of being the champ.  Lee Dewyze seems like a really great guy, he sings well and seems to genuinely enjoy being on stage, but he doesn't really offer enough to be a real headlining act. He reminds me a lot of David Cook and I think he'll have a similar career path.

The evening ended on a real low note with a very short medley of  “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi sung by the men and “My Life Would Suck Without You” by Kelly Clarkson sung by the women with the men joining in at the end.  Throughout the series, the group numbers were almost always lip-synched and it seems like there was a good reason to do that – the group's chemistry isn't quite there and the sum is much worse than its parts.

It's always exciting to see how American Idol translates from the bubble universe of the TV series onto the arena stage. This year's production had its highs and lows, but on balance was a better show than last year's show. With better production values, a much better back-up band, and a stronger flow, the 2010 American Idol Tour was quite enjoyable. The big high point of the evening was Casey James, who I'd absolutely go see in concert again.

River Rafting on the Deschutes River

We've been looking for great adventure getaways, so we were excited to see a discount for the Imperial River Company in Maupin, Oregon pop up on Groupon. Over the summer Groupon has featured a number of enticing activities, and rafting down the Deschutes at half-off was way too good to pass up.

Up at 6:30 am, we were on the road by 7 and in Maupin by 9:15am. The just over 2-hour trip on Highway 26 brings you up and over Mt. Hood and through the high desert near Maupin. It's a nice drive and the fairly close proximity makes it possible to go down to the Deschutes River for rafting in the morning (check-in is at 9:30am) and make it back home in time for dinner.

While the Groupon made a float down the Deschutes River a smoking-hot deal, the regular rates at Imperial River Company are extremely reasonable.  The 18-mile all-day adventure, which runs 6 hours and includes lunch, runs $99 (or $80 for kids). Considering that they run rafts with only 6 people in each raft and you get your own personal guide, transportation from the river, and lunch, it's a pretty great value for an entire day's activity.

The guides at Imperial River Company are exceptional.  Our guide, Jason, has over 14 years of experience on the river and expertly guided our raft down the Deschutes. He seemed to know every nook and cranny of the river and exactly how to approach some of the more technical rapids for the best ride.

The Wild Ride of the Deschutes River

The Descutes River is a really nice mix of wild class 3 rapids and stretches of much mellower class 1 and 2 rapids.  The day we went rafting, stretches of the river were closed to boats due to fires, so we traversed the same section of river several times. It was a unique opportunity to 'get to know' a section of the river and see how different approaches give different rides on the rapids.

One of The Wilder Rapids on the Deschutes

I was surprised at just how wild some of the bigger rapids were, with some literally engulfing the boat with water. Some rapids featured dramatic drops which rivaled many of the great roller coasters I've ridden.  Because of the intensity of some of these rapids, Imperial River Company requires that riders be at least 6 years old and at least 50 pounds.  I brought my son down the river, who is 9 and a solid swimmer. It felt like a good age to introduce him to the wonderful world of whitewater river rafting.

None of the people in our boat had what they call an "out-of-raft experience" but we saw a couple of other riders fall out throughout the course of the day. I was very impressed by Imperial's quick and coordinated efforts to get these riders out of the river and back onto the boats.  We felt completely safe and in great hands the entire trip.

The Deschutes River is beautiful

The trip down the Deschutes isn't all white-knuckle rapids. There are some great stretches of river where we were able to calmly float and take in the scenery and wildlife.  Also, mid-day we took a nice break for lunch at the rafting company's headquarters. They have their own landing which makes stopping for lunch a snap. Imperial River Company is located right near amazing ranchers like Painted Hills, and they serve fantastic local, grass-fed, pasture raised beef in their burgers.

Deschutes River Rafting Extreme Fun

There's a summer camp-like atmosphere during the float down the Deschutes River – guides tell jokes and everyone seems to be having a good time. There are parts of the day filled with great heart pumping excitement and parts where you can just sit back and enjoy floating down the river. It's the kind of contagious fun that makes a single day of river rafting feel like a long adventure. We were extremely happy with our Imperial River Company rafting experience and absolutely plan to make a float down the Deschutes River an annual adventure with them.

Imperial River Company has a fantastic "No Rain Guarantee": if you get rained on during your rafting trip, they give you another trip for free.  They also have accommodations on-site for people who want to stay over the night before or after a rafting trip.  They contract with a professional photographer to provide pictures from the trip, for which they charge $12.95 per 5×7 print or $60 for an entire photo CD. The CD we bought contained 73 photos and we were very pleased with the quality of them.

As mentioned before, a full day trip runs $99, but it's important to also factor in a tip for the guide, which should be around $15-$20 per person in your party. Also be sure to bring a change of clothes as you WILL get drenched.

Imperial River Company is located at 304 Bakeoven Road, Maupin, OR 97037. Phone (800) 395-3903.

Great Wolf Lodge

In our continuing series of quick and easy getaways, we have a look at Great Wolf Lodge, Grand Mound Washington. Located an hour and forty-five minutes north of Portland, just outside Centralia, Washington, Great Wolf Lodge is one of the few water parks in the Northwest. Unlike many water parks, Great Wolf Lodge is not open for day use. In order to use its massive indoor water structures, you must be a guest of their hotel.

Great Wolf Lodge claims that this keeps the number of people in the water park down, but with so many rooms we found that even on off days the crowds can be significant.

Family Suite

We booked a Family Suite, which during peek times costs a whopping $319.00 a night (but drops closer to $200 during the off season and we were fortunate to be offered a media rate for the room). There are a few theme rooms, including bunk beds or camping themes, which are more expensive. The Family Suite is pretty sparse with two queen beds and a fold-out couch. The room can hold up to 6 people. Rooms either look out on the front or back parking lot (not much view to be had here). The room is the kind of room you'd find at an Econo Lodge or maybe Courtyard by Marriott.

Family Suite Pull-Out Couch

We found a few nice touches in the room – a mini microwave and a small fridge. Both are handy if you don't plan on eating everything at the lodge's restaurants or snackbars. Unfortunately, other details are missed. A coffee pot has supplies for coffee, but not tea or hot chocolate. There's no turndown service or really anyone around to provide much service – no porters or even doormen at the lodge entrance. We had to lug the fold-out couch open ourselves. On the upside, everything was fairly clean and well maintained.

Great Wolf Lodge Wristband Room Key

An innovative feature of the room is the water park wristband which also acts as your room key. This is extremely convenient. Wristbands can also be used to charge things to the room, eliminating the need to carry a wallet at the lodge. You get your wristband at check-in, which can be done as early as 1pm on the day of your arrival (and you can stay and use the water park as late as 9pm on the day of your departure). Checking in RIGHT at 1pm is not advisable, as it's when there are the most crowds and wait times for checking in can be 20 minutes or more. It's much better to come in at 3 or 4 and skip the crowds.

Fort Mackenzie: The Centerpiece of the Park

The real star attraction is, of course, the Great Wolf Lodge Water Park. Almost entirely contained in a huge indoor facility, the Great Wolf Lodge Water Park provides a wide array of water activities and slides that covers a wide spectrum of ages. At the center of the park is Fort Mackenzie, a water playground with streams of water and jets squirting and splashing water everywhere. Going in, we thought that the water slides would be the main attraction and we were surprised at just how much fun we had playing at Fort Mackenzie.

Fort Mackenzie Water Play

The fort features almost every kind of water sprayer, jet, dump bucket and fountain you can imagine. People freely squirt or dump water on each other as there's the assumption that if you are playing around Fort Mackenzie, you are going to get drenched. In addition to the water features, the fort also has two small water slides for smaller kids. Both of these slides are easy rides and neither had much of a line. Atop the fort is a huge bucket of water that dumps every few minutes, drenching everyone standing below. It's a huge splash of water and I don't think I've ever been more drenched.

Great Wolf Lodge Four Big Slides

As fun as Fort Mackenzie is, the stars of Great Wolf Lodge are the four main water slides – two major thrill rides and two identical medium thrill rides. All four of these rides are completely enclosed. You enter the slides after climbing a huge set of stairs and then splashdown below into one of two pools. The lodge has a good number of lifeguards throughout the park and there's always someone to help you either get in or get out of the rides.

The two main thrill water slides use large rafts and tubes, which support up to four people per ride, and the lodge has an inventive way of getting these up to the top (so you don't have to lug them yourself). The park insists riders be at least 48" high and under 250 pounds (you're asked every single trip if you meet the height and weight requirements, and I saw at least one 'big guy' walking back down the stairs from the top of the slides).

River Canyon Run

Of the two major slides,the absolute standout is the Howlin' Tornado, one of the most enjoyable water slides I've ever been on. The Howlin' Tornado whips and winds you around a dark cavern and then drops you into a huge brightly lit five story high cylinder. The four person tube sails up each wall of the cylinder like a skateboarder on a ramp, and then it comes splashing down at the mouth of the cylinder. Because it's a water ride, it's never quite the same ride each time. Some of the times we road the Howlin' Tornado we got more air, and sometimes we got more splash.

The River Canyon Run is closer to a traditional slide but on a much bigger scale. You ride in a large circular raft. It's also fun, but it doesn't really hold a candle to the Howlin' Tornado. The other two slides (which are almost identical), both called Alberta Falls, is a fairly traditional water slide which can be ridden with either a one person or two person tube. They're both fun and not as intense as the two major slides. Wait time for the slides really varies depending on the time of day, with 1pm-3pm being the absolute peak. From 9am – 10am and 7pm-9pm had the shortest wait times.

While we loved the slides at Great Wolf Lodge, there just weren't enough of them. Two major slides and a third lesser slide (duplicated into two) just aren't enough for a place that doesn't offer day access. Wild Waves in Seattle has 7 slides, a much more reasonable number considering how much time you ultimately spend at Great Wolf Lodge. Also missing from Great Wolf Lodge is a lazy river. It's a no-brainer and was notably absent from this water park.

Great Wolf Lodge Wave Pool

Great Wolf Lodge does have a wave pool which features two different levels of waves, a rolling easy wave and a much rougher and choppy set of waves. The wave pool is smaller than the one at the North Clackamas Aquatic Park and there aren't any tubes allowed in the wave pool. Wave sessions felt painfully short and it seemed like there were more times when the waves weren't flowing than when they were.

Lily Pad Challenge

In addition to the wave pool there's a nice play area with water basketball, a lily pad challenge and some floating animals to play on. There's also a really nice area for younger children which featured pint-sized slides and water features. The water in the kids area is notably warmer and it's well protected from the rest of the park.

The water park is kept pretty warm (maybe too warm), and the air often felt stuffy and muggy. The chlorine levels are also pretty high throughout and it gets very fumy up on the main slide stairs. One big issue with the water park is there aren't many places to put things like shoes or coverups. Lockers can be rented for a whopping $10 a day (plus a $10 refundable deposit) which felt like we were being fleeced considering there is no day use of the facilities.

Great Wolf Lodge Lobby

The rest of Great Wolf Lodge is pretty underwhelming. Other activities include an video game arcade, a youth center (which is $10 additional a day) that features video games and some activities, a kids center and a gym.  It's just not enough to support more than an overnight visit to the Lodge.

In terms of food options, the lodge is pretty low rent. The most prevalent food option is Pizza Hut Express. We had brunch at the Cottage Cafe and it was both overpriced and mediocre. The flow of the lodge is such that everyone seems to be heading in one direction all at the same time so we encountered very long lines at brunch.

Bill & Bea's Drive In for burgers and shakes

The best food experience we had at Great Wolf Lodge was the evening we decided to venture out to Centralia (which is only 4 miles and about 8 minutes away). We ate at Bill & Bea's Drive In (1215 Harrison Avenue) , a classic burger bar with superb old fashioned burgers and fries. It was a refreshing change of scenery and absolutely delicious. The milkshakes at Bill & Bea's are phenomenal and the small size is actually small, perfect for when you want just a little shake with your burger and fries.

There's also a Safeway right down the street from Bill & Bea's which is perfect for picking up a few drinks and maybe microwave popcorn for the room.

Great Wolf Lodge in Washington

Overall, we had a great time at Great Wolf Lodge, but would have preferred to experience it as a day park. The lodge part just doesn't add enough value to the equation and we found that one full day of the park was more than enough. It would be nice to see Great Wolf Lodge expand their water park offerings and perhaps offer more options inside the lodge for when guests get waterlogged and want to do something else. A movie theater, small bowling alley, virtual golf range or rock wall would all be easy additions and greatly expand the lodge's offering.

Great Wolf Lodge is located at 20500 Old Highway 99 SW, Centralia, WA 98531. Reservations: 800.640.9653 Hotel Direct: 360.273.7718.

Lincoln City, Oregon

In our continuing series on easy Portland getaways, we have a look at a fairly easy trip that's only a few hours away – Lincoln City.  You don't have to own a beach house to enjoy the Oregon coast. Using services like Vacation Rental By Owner or Home Away, it's easy to book a few nights at a beach house. We picked a house that could accommodate a family of five and a dog. It's surprising how many of the options available are pet friendly.  The house was situated just up the street from Bella Beach in Lincoln City (just north of the 101 near a big Safeway, Bi Mart and Grocery Outlet).  Bella Beach is a nice size and access to the beach is pretty easy, so there's less of a need to stay right on the beach.

When looking at activities in, near, and around Lincoln City, I was surprised at the lack of feedback and reviews online.  After calling around to several charter fishing companies, I narrowed it down to two options, Yaquina Bay Charters (541-265-6800)  in Newport and Dockside Charters (541-765-2545) in Depoe Bay.  I liked how both companies presented themselves online and over the phone, and both had positive ratings among the limited reviews out there.  We ultimately went with Dockside Charters because Depoe Bay was closer and Yaquina Bay Charters was all booked up for their bottom fishing trips.  It's a good idea to book these trips at least a week in advance to ensure a spot.

Deep Sea Fishing with Dockside Charters in Depoe Bay

Dockside Charters runs daily 5-hour bottom fishing trips from Depoe Bay. They charge $75 for the trip for adults and only $35 for children 9 and under. I went with my two oldest children (ages 9 and 11) and they gave my older child the discounted rate. Leaving at 6am for a fishing trip (we had to be at the dock by 5:30) may sound challenging, but the waters on the Oregon coast can get rough and the earlier trip tends to have calmer seas. A fishing license is needed for any fisherman over the age of 14 and Dockside sells a day license for $16.50. You can add crabbing to the trip with a $7 license and $15 for the traps to the charter company. The boat's crab catch is split between all the people going crabbing and they drop one pot per participant, so it can add up to a LOT of crabs.

We went with bottom fishing (which includes mainly rockfish, sea bass, and ling cod) as it's the trip with the most 'action', best suited for kids or less experienced fishermen. Between the three of us our limit was a whopping 21 rock fish and 6 ling cod (our catch ended up being close to limit in rock fish but no ling cod). The ship we went out on from Dockside was a 50-foot boat with about sixteen total people aboard. The boat never felt cramped and I think the experience was more fun than going out on a smaller six-person boat. Even though the seas were very calm many people (including my kids) got seasick. Sea Bands (which activate pressure points to alleviate seasickness) and NOT drinking coffee before the trip probably would have really helped.

The Dockside crew was friendly and helpful and assisted in bringing the fish on board after we reeled them in. They were also great about helping the kids with their fishing and were supportive of the people who got seasick. At the dock there are people who will clean and fillet the catch (they charge $1 a fish). Since they are independent of the charters they are paid directly and in cash.

Boating on Siletz Bay

Not far south from Lincoln City is Siletz Bay and the Siletz River. While the bay is pretty shallow and not really navigable by motor boat, the connecting river is an excellent place to boat and fish for salmon. The river also connects to an estuary which can be explored by kayak. Where the river and bay connect is the charming Siletz Moorage (541-996-3671), run by Larry and Belinda. Siletz Moorage rents out a wide array of boats and kayaks. Our timing was poor for salmon fishing as the blueback season had ended and the steelhead season was just about to start, so we decided to focus less on fishing and more on boating. We rented a 15’ SmokerCraft boat which rents out for $100 for 4 hours or $150 for 8. The boat easily fit the five of us and was easy to maneuver, even for a first time boater.

The Siletz River is a wonderful mellow river that is lined by small docks and waterfront RVs. We spent four hours boating down and back the river, stopping occasionally to take in the river's wildlife or have a bite to eat. Although it wasn't as action packed as our bottom fishing trip, the river trip was one of the highlights of our time in Lincoln City.

Fishing at Devils Lake

Although we're not huge fishermen, we kept with the fishing theme of this trip and spent our third day at Devils Lake, which is just minutes south of Lincoln City. We had considered renting a boat from Blue Heron Landing (541-994-4708), which rents paddle boats, fishing boats and jet skis, but decided instead to stick to dry land for our fishing. Devils Lake is stocked each year with 30,000 rainbow trout and all you need to fish there is a fishing license which can be easily picked up at the Lincoln City Bi-Mart.

There are several landings from which you can fish from at Devils Lake. We chose one up the road from Lincoln City's Tanger Outlet Mall. While it was amazingly picturesque, we were less than lucky with the fish that day.

In between our main activities we spent a good amount of time  just walking along Bella Beach. Unlike Gearhart or Seaside, in the north part of the Oregon Coast, there are no cars allowed on the beach in Lincoln City and this makes for a much more relaxed beach environment.  The Oregon Coast beaches aren't the kind of beaches you sit and sun yourself on; between the generally overcast sky and the strong winds, the beaches are perfect for kite flying, taking a walk or playing in the sand.

Our getaway to Lincoln City was a great reminder  of all the amazing activities available near Portland.  This excursion really inspired us to hop in the car and explore more activities and sights that are a short car ride away. We hope to bring you more reporting of these getaways soon.

Portland Tub and Tan's Disco Room

We had such a positive response to our Portland Staycation piece that we've decided to seek out more quick, easy and affordable ways to get a quick escape without having to plan or spend for a big vacation.

We didn't quite know what to expect from Portland Tub and Tan, located in the Montavilla neighborhood of SE Portland. The business is only a stones throw away from less than fantastic neighborhoods beyond 82nd Avenue. But Montavilla is going through quite a revival and we've been pleasantly surprised with our time at bars, restaurants and movie theaters in the neighborhood. So we decided to take the plunge and give Portland Tub and Tan a try.

Portland Tub and Tan features 16 private hot tub rooms in a wide variety of themes and configurations.  The tubs are split into three classes: Standard Indoor Tub ($35 per hour) is fairly basic with tub, music and mood lighting; VIP Indoor Room ($45 per hour) has surround sound, flatscreen TV, and themes; and Open Air Hottub Room ($55 per hour) with built-in fireplace, plasma TV, surround sound, waterfall and rock structures. All rooms include towel service and are priced for 2 people.

We found the staff at Portland Tub and Tan to be very friendly. They were willing to give tours of the available rooms and walked us through each room's features in good detail.

Portland Tub and Tan's Buddha Theme Room

Some of the Tub and Tan rooms feature specific themes or special features, including an in-room sauna, Asian themed/ buddha room and the Disco Room. We decided to give the Disco Room (Room 16) a try. The Disco Room is Portland Tub and Tan's uber room and features a complete disco lighting system with lasers, disco ball and about 10 different lighting effects which can be turned on and off. The room also has a waterfall, a misting system, dual headed shower, a jet above the hottub which lets cool water cascade down, fresh air system, flat screen TV, and a 'relaxation' bench.

The star of Portland Tub and Tan's rooms are, of course, the hot tubs. You can have the tub adjusted to your temperature preference, but once it's set if it's too hot or too cold you have to call the front desk to have them re-adjust it. The tub was impeccably clean and well maintained with enough room that it could probably comfortably accommodate five people. Everything on the tub was in working order and it had ample jets. The chlorine level wasn't overly strong so it was possible to sit in the tub for quite a while.

Disco Room with TV and Resting Bench

The Disco Room has so many different lighting combinations that it's hard not to constantly jump up and mess with them. With all the lighting combinations the room can transform from full-on party mode to romantically lit, almost like moonlight. One of the things we really loved about the room was the misting system, which sprayed a fine, cool mist down from the ceiling. This cool mist really helped balance the temperature so we weren't constantly having to hop in and out of the spa to cool down.

The room comes equipped with a DMX music system with a ton of different music choices. The remote is mounted to the wall so you have to hop out of the tub to adjust the station and the volume. The music system does support iPods and is probably the best way to go for music. The flat screen TV seemed superflous and there wasn't any guide to the stations in the room. The rooms are exceptionally well insulated and private; we never heard any outside noise, talking or music spill-over from any of the adjoining rooms.

The rooms are billed by the hour and we found an hour is enough time to have a relaxing soak in the tub. They flash the lights in the room to let you know when you have ten minutes left so you can shower off and get dressed. A dual headed shower was a nice touch for showering off after being in the tub.

Portland Tub and Tan sends out special offers via their email newsletter (which you can sign up for on their site). The August coupon was fantastic, giving you an extra 30 minutes of tub time on top of whatever you book.

We were pleasantly surprised with Portland Tub and Tan, pleased at how clean and well maintained the facilities are, and how helpful and friendly the staff is. It's a fantastic urban oasis to steal away from the city for an hour and really escape.

Portland Tub and Tan (8028 SE Stark St., Portland. Ph: 503.261.1180) is open Sunday – Thursday starting at 9am with the last session beginning at 11pm, and Friday – Saturday starting at 9am with the last session beginning at 1am.

Photos courtesy of Portland Tub and Tan

Over 15 varieties of green coffee beans

Between the deep recession and Portland's native artisan culture, the DIY ('do it yourself') movement has seen explosive growth here. Mississippi Avenue in North Portland is quickly becoming an epicenter for this growing movement with many local businesses focused on providing resources and tools for Portlanders to take charge and do things themeselves.

Up the street from The ReBuilding Center and Pistols Nursery, and around the corner from SewPo, the newly opened Mr. Green Beans hopes to become a headquarters for do-it-yourselfers interested in everything from roasting their own coffee beans to making their own cheese, soap and more.

Mr. Green Beans green coffee beans

At the heart of Mr. Green Beans is, of course, coffee beans. Owners Ginny and Trevin Miller, long time enthusiast home coffee roasters, decided to turn their passion into a business and open Portland's first roast-your-own-coffee-beans store.   The proposition is both simple and enticing. Buy green coffee beans (which are shelf stable and can last up to 6 months if properly stored) at a dramatically discounted price over pre-roasted beans,  roast them with easy-to-find home appliances (like an air popcorn popper, or a wok), and have fresh beans for coffee when you want, roasted how you want.  Savings for roasting your own beans can be as much as 75% over the cost of store-bought gourmet coffee beans, and it means you can enjoy more of your coffee during its peak 12-24 hour freshness zone after roasting (roasted coffee is only considered 'good' or 'fresh' within 2 weeks after its roasting).

Mr. Green Beans offers over 15 varieties of green coffee beans with almost all of them either fair trade, organic, rainforest alliance, shade grown or sustainable. They offer a wide selection of beans from Cafe Femenino, a special coffee program with coffee produced by women and benefiting women in impoverished coffee growing regions.

In addition to advice on how to use air popcorn poppers or other common kitchen appliances to roast coffee beans, Mr. Green Beans also sells a wide variety of home roasting machines ranging from $100 to almost $1000. They also sell several unique brewing tools to help you get the most out of your beans.

With Portland's explosive coffee culture, it's surprising that it took this long for someone to launch a business like this.

Make your own cheese

Although green coffee beans are at the heart of the business, Mr. Green Beans also sells supplies for a number of other DIY foods and crafts including make your own cheese kits, soap making and more. They feature a wide selection of books on topics including making your own soda pop to canning and preserving.

Supplies for making your own soap

To help complement the store's tools, Mr. Green Beans also will be holding classes on a wide variety of DIY topics including, of course, making great coffee at home, soap making and making cheeses. They plan to expand their selection of tools and classes based on customer requests, with a possible expansion into home canning and preserving and home soda making.

Here's our interview with Trevin and Ginny Miller about Mr. Green Beans:

Here's a look at how to roast coffee beans with a home air popcorn popper:

Mr. Green Beans DIY Coffee Roasting & More
3932 N. Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR. 97227
503-708-7763
T-F 11am-7pm
Sa-Su 10am-6pm

Living in Portland, it's easy to overlook some of the amazing things that the city has to offer. With busy lives, it's hard to carve out time to get away, so we decided to do a mini staycation – one evening after work through mid-morning the next day – something most people could do time-wise and within a modest budget.

The cornerstone to our mini staycation was the Garden Spa room at the Hotel Vintage Plaza [422 Southwest Broadway, (503) 228-1212].  Situated right in the heart of downtown, this hotel was a perfect base camp for our quick break.

We signed up for the 'romance package', which was just a little more expensive than the standard rate but well worth it. Mid-week room availability was really good and so were the rates.

Hotel Vintage Plaza Rose Petal Covered Bed

The Garden Spa room at the Hotel Vintage Plaza was perfect – quiet, clean with every detail taken care of. As part of the romance package, the bed was sprinkled with rose petals, we had a complimentary bottle of champagne, and a $30 credit to Pazzo Ristorante or for room service.

Champagne - part of the romance package

The real star of the Garden Spa Room is an outdoor hot tub.

Garden Spa Hot Tub

While the Hotel Vintage Plaza is surrounded by tall buildings (which means the office across the way  and hotel next door have  views of the tub), it does have a fantastic view. Sitting in the hot tub looking out over the city was a fantastic experience. You literally get a fresh view of the city. The hot tub was extremely well maintained, clean and already set to a good temperature (there's nothing like having to wait for a hot tub to heat up to ruin a romantic evening). The hotel provides nice thick bathrobes so you can sit on the veranda and enjoy the city in between dips in the hot tub.

View from The Garden Spa Hot Tub

Once we were ready to get our evening underway (and it was hard to leave the absolute comfort of the Garden Spa Room) , we took an eight or nine block stroll to Bluehour [250 Northwest 13th Avenue, (503) 226-3394].

Bluehour

While the restaurant is very well known in Portland for its food, many people are unaware that the bar serves some of the best cocktails in town.

Juan Collins at Bluehour

Bar Manager Tommy "Tweed" Klus has assembled a fantastic team of bartenders (including Alan Akwai) and an ever-changing list of cocktails, both classic and new. We had Tommy's Juan Collins ($10), a fantastic mix of tequila, lime, strawberry, mezcal and mexican coca cola. It's the kind of cocktail you can sip on a warm evening and a perfect cocktail to whet your appetite before dinner.

From Bluehour we moved on to Ten01 [1001 Northwest Couch Street, (503) 226-3463].

Ten01

Ten01 may have had one of the roughest openings of any Portland restaurant, but several years later (and several chefs later), it's found its stride and is one of the better restaurants in the area. Chef Michael Hanaghan is doing fantastic Northwest cuisine with local ingredients.

Lamb at Ten01

The absolute highlight at Ten01 was the Cattail Creek leg of lamb with crispy polenta, medjool dates, glazed turnips, spring onions and sorrel corriander jus ($29).

Powell's Books

From Ten01 we walked across the street to Powell's Books (1005 W Burnside). Portlanders tend to be pretty cavalier about Powells, but an ENTIRE city block worth of books is something to be appreciated. If you ever want to truly appreciate Powell's, stop at a Borders or Barnes and Noble and check out their cook book selection and then go to Powell's and compare. The difference is literally five times the books, and this holds true for most sections.

Tanner Springs Park in The Pearl

The Pearl gets a pretty bad rap, but it's really undeserved. An after dinner stroll through The Pearl is extraordinary and mid-week you've got most of it to yourself. We walked from Powell's through The Pearl, past Jamison Square Park to Tanner Springs Park (NW 10th Ave & Marshall St).  Tanner Springs is a unique urban park that fuses industrial with wild wetland. It's a perfect spot to sit and watch the sun set over the Fremont bridge in the background. Since we already had a bottle of champagne back at the room, we only browsed at Pearl Specialty Market and Spirits [900 Northwest Lovejoy Street, (503) 477-8604], which has the best selection of spirits in Portland.

Portland Streetcar Free Zone

From there we walked a few blocks and caught the Portland Streetcar. Like MAX, the Portland Streetcar has a free zone through the heart of the city.

Gruner

We decided to check out Gruner [527 SW 12th Avenue, (503) 241-7163], which is steps away from the Portland Streetcar stop. Gruner is part of Portland's "Golden Triangle of Cocktails" which also includes Bluehour, Clyde Common and Teardrop Lounge. You can easily barhop between these bars by foot and they represent the best cocktails in Portland.

Teardrop Lounge

We finally landed at Teardrop Lounge [1015 Northwest Everett Street, (503) 445-8109], the epicenter for cocktails in Portland. All the top Portland mixologists either work or have at some time spent time behind the bar at Teardrop. Currently, nationally renowned mixologists Ricky Gomez and David Shenaut work behind the bar.

Drinks at Teardrop Lounge

Teardrop currently has a menu of over 30 drinks, combining classic cocktails, creations from their house mixologists, and cocktails from notable bartenders across the country. Two of our favorite come from Erik Atkins out of San Francisco, including the Rhum Agricole Punch and Carter Beats The Devil (not pictured here but both amazing). Drinks at Teardrop run $8-$14 but they are some of the very best you'll find.

Vintage Plaza Hotel Hot Tub Night

The end of our evening found us back at the hotel enjoying the hot tub overlooking the empty streets of Portland at night.

Pazzo's Spendy Breakfast

The next morning we decided to use our $30 meal certificate at Pazzo which is connected to the Hotel Vintage Plaza. Pazzo for breakfast feels a lot like a hotel restaurant with prices to match. The breakfast special was a whopping $17, almost the price for two people to eat at most of Portland's great breakfast joints.

Public Domain Coffee

With a time short before we had to get back, we decided to walk across the street to Public Domain Coffee [603 SW Broadway, (503) 243-6374]. Our favorite (and arguably the best coffee in Portland) is Barista [539 Northwest 13th Avenue,  (503) 274-12110] but Public Domain does a very good job with their coffee with skilled and knowledgable baristas (and it was right across the street). Public Domain is also a great urban cafe, the perfect place to sip a cup of espresso in the city and go on about your day.

Our Portland mini staycation didn't include sights in Portland like the Chinese Gardens, Portland Tram or Rose Garden, as we've been to many of those MANY times with out of town friends and relatives, but we did get a nice slice of Portland and enjoyed it in a way we don't normally. Taking a break in the city you live in, when that city is Portland, is an exceptional experience, even with extremely limited time. A Portland staycation quickly shows you why so many people travel here to enjoy our fantastic city.

Lion King in Portland

As a musical, The Lion King doesn't measure up to a lot of its contemporaries. Outside its three signature songs "Circle of Life", "Hakuna Matata" and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", the music of The Lion King is pretty clunky, uninspired and sometimes even awkward. Oddly enough, the music of The Lion King really isn't the star of the show. Many of the musical numbers act as connective tissue between grand scenes awash in color, movement, dance and puppetry. It's this wondrous magic and not the music which makes The Lion King the grand spectacle that it is.

Following fairly closely to the film, The Lion King Musical tells the story of the 'circle of life' of one lion cub from infancy through adulthood including his life challenges and adventures. The story is a fairly dark one where characters are often put into peril. One of the most important things to know about The Lion King Musical may be that is NOT really good viewing material for younger children. At least half of the show contains content that would be very challenging for kids under the age of 7 and some of the scenes are downright graphic. One scene depicts a fairly graphic death onstage, something far more intense than in the animated version.

Being a Disney production with fairly dark themes gives The Lion King a somewhat schizophrenic nature. On one hand we're presented with a show that has wonderful African dance and music numbers, romantic interludes and sensual dance, and on the other we've got cartoon-like characters doing prat falls and fart jokes. As I sat watching The Lion King I wondered who exactly the show was aiming for. Perhaps a bolder move for the show would have been to accept that the production is a musical inspired by the Disney movie but for adults. Swapping out some of the weaker narrative songs with more African dance and puppetry would have gone a long way towards making this a much better show. However, the spectacle of The Lion King is so grand and some of the elements so engaging that it's easy to overlook some of its significant issues.

Putting the story and music aside, The Lion King is simply stunning. Staged with a full cast, a refreshing change from many of the paired down touring company productions I've seen lately, The Lion King literally overwhelms your senses. End to end, The Lion King constantly offers something new visually, like an unending buffet of visual delights. One of the key elements of this visual feast is an inventive fusion of puppetry and costume. The interaction of these two elements with the performers is amazing.

In terms of the performance, the touring company does an amiable job. The strongest performance actually comes from Tony Freeman as Zazu, the sidekick bird to Mufasa, Scar and Simba. Tony Freeman always seems to hit the right notes and has a fantastic and innate understanding of the relationship between performer and puppet. I also really liked Dionne Randolph's take on Mufasa. Randolph exudes strength in his performance and seemed to make the role his own, rather than just mimicking the film role (unlike Brent Harris, who plays Scar as a pure impersonation of Jeremy Irons).

The young performers were also standouts, especially Jamarina Tribble who played the Young Nala perfectly. She had an absolute spark on stage that you wouldn't expect from a performer her age. The only performer I was really disappointed with was Andre Jackson as the older Simba; his vocals often got lost in the orchestration and was never quite up to the level of his fellow performers. Still, no performance, no matter how underwhelming, could slow down this theatrical freight train, which is so visually exceptional that it's easy to forgive and forget anything that doesn't quite measure up.

There's been a lot of hype over The Lion King since its original Broadway debut and much of it is warranted. It is a show that is absolutely worth experiencing, provided you don't bring young kids to it. During the opening performance I heard a number of screaming and crying kids who probably left with a lot less love for the Lion King franchise than when they came in.

The Lion King is part of the Broadway Across America series and runs June 16-July 11th at the Keller Auditorium. Tickets run $26-$125.  We HIGHLY suggest seats in the center section and as close as you can afford. The acoustics in the Keller are awful and the experience of the show from the far sides and higher balcony is less than fantastic.

Sting Symphonicity Orchestra Concert

I wasn't really planning on seeing Sting on his current tour. After a ho-hum show a few years back at the Rose Garden, I decided that perhaps the best shows for Sting were behind him. I find it extremely difficult to watch some of my favorite performers from my childhood struggle to try to recapture a spark they have lost. Musically, there's almost nothing worse than listening to a song you love, sung by someone you used to love hear singing it, and having it sound like someone doing a karaoke version of their own song.

I'm extremely grateful that I ended up seeing Sting in his latest tour "Symphonicity" on its first US stop in Portland, Oregon. Not only was Sting's Symphonicity show a fantastic musical experience, it was a rare opportunity to see an extremely accomplished performer celebrate his work in a way that enhanced the memory of it rather than denigrate it.

Backed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sting seemed to be right at home on stage with 48 other musicians. Sting has always been attracted to great music and musicians, from the mad genius of Stewart Copeland in The Police, Branford Marsalis in Bring on The Night, and more recently Chris Botti. Playing with talented people always seems to elevate Sting's performance.

There was a lot for Sting to draw from with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, expertly conducted by Steven Mercurio. Sting adapted the arrangements of many of his iconic songs for the orchestra and they did a superb job of accompanying him. Not all adaptations were a home run, however. Message in A Bottle lost its sense of loneliness and longing, Next to You felt like someone trying to force a rock sound out of an orchestra, and Whenever I Say Your Name was an utter train wreck. But when things worked, they really worked.

Songs from Sting's Ten Summoner's Tales album adapted extremely well for an orchestra. If I Ever Lose My Faith in You, the opening song, sounded fantastically full, Fields of Gold got some great texture, and Shape of My Heart became more dramatic with symphonic exclamations.

With such a strong orchestral accompaniment, Sting's backup vocalist, Jo Lawry, got pretty lost in the shuffle. The duet I Say Your Name, originally performed with Mary J. Blige, came off poorly, and the chorus for When We Dance was muted and stripped down to accommodate Lawry's voice. The only place she really shined was on You Will Be My Ain True Love, a song Sting wrote for the motion picture Cold Mountain (originally recorded by Alison Krauss). Even there, her voice didn't quite mesh with with Sting.

Steven Mercurio and Sting

With Symphonicity, Sting's greatest on-stage collaborator was really conductor Steven Mercurio. It was extremely clear that Mercurio 'got it' – his conducting was animated, dramatic and just plain fun. For some this concert may be an introduction to seeing an orchestra live, and I couldn't think of a better introduction than Mercurio.

Sting has had a pretty diverse musical journey throughout his career, from his pure rock days with The Police, his ballad-focused solo work, jazzy Bring On The Night, and even country I Hung My Head (which was ultimately recorded by Johnny Cash before his death). Rather than just making Symphonicity an evening of Sting's greatest hits, Sting drew from all the corners of his musical cannon in a celebration of the breadth of his work. Songs like Tomorrow We'll See and End of The Game fit between classics like Moon Over Bourbon Street and King of Pain, and Hung My Head and You Will Be My Ain True Love syncopated with Shape of My Heart and Mad About You.

One of the things I loved the most about Symphonicity was the absolute pure clarity of sound. Sting's voice was exceptional. He effortlessly hit the high notes on Roxanne while still maintaining a strong soft and quiet voice on A Thousand Years. The orchestra also sounded fantastic, from the dramatic orchestration for Moon Over Bourbon Street and Russians, to the softer Why Should I Cry For You and Fields of Gold, The Royal Philharmonic had a richness and depth of sound that was simply spectacular.

The absolute high point of the show for me was King of Pain. It was the moment that all the elements came together perfectly – a classic Police song, sung exactingly by Sting, and sonically expanded by the orchestra. It was the absolute 'a-ha' moment of the show and the moment I knew I would have deeply regretted missing Symphonicity.

Sting

With fairly high ticket prices, some may accuse Sting of using Symphonicity to 'cash in'. I've seen Sting phone it in before and he isn't doing that here. Sting delivered over three hours of top level performance backed by one of the better orchestras I've seen on stage, all of which are more than enough to justify paying the ticket price.  Rearranging these songs for the orchestra has breathed some new life and energy into Sting's work and Sting seemed really invigorated by it. If you are a fan of Sting, this is the tour you absolutely should not miss.

Here's the setlist from the June 4th Sting Symphonicity show at the Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon:

Lose My Faith
Englishman in New York
Every Litte Thing She Does Is Magic
Roxanne
Straight To My Heart
Russians
Fields of Gold
I Hung MY Head
Shape of My Heart
Why Should I Cry For You
Whenever I Say Your Name
When We Dance
Message in A Bottle
Next to You

20 min intermission

A Thousand Years
Tomorrow We'll See
Moon Over Bourbon Street
The End of The Game
My Ain True Love
All Would Envy
Mad About You
Ghost Story
King of Pain
Every Breath You Take

Encore
Desert Rose
She's Too Good For Me
Fragile
I Was Brought To My Senses (acapella)

Sting performs again in Portland on June 5th in Portland and then: June 9 at Red Rocks in Denver; June 15 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles; July 17 and 18 at Chicago’s renowned Ravinia Festival. Sting will also perform in New York, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle and Washington and return to Canada, with stops in Toronto and Montreal. Tickets can be purchased at Live Nation.

Portland Opera's Barber of Seville

I really didn't know what to expect taking my 8 1/2 year old son to the opera. When I first asked him if he wanted to join me to see Portland Opera's production of The Barber of Seville, he gave me an energetic and brief "sure!" Did he know what he was in for? I hesitated telling him that The Barber of Seville is sung entirely in Italian, and that it runs well over two hours. I held off on dragging out summary sheets or doing any opera prep work. Part of me honestly believed that all that would scare him off.

It's not all that unreasonable an assumption. There are a great number of people who are intimidated by opera – they live under the misconception that opera is somehow too fancy, unapproachable or requires some sort of pre-requisite knowledge or home work.

Hours before the show I decided to pull up both the Woody Woodpecker and Bugs Bunny renditions of "Figaro" on YouTube, figuring I'd give him some sort of context for what he was about to see and hopefully make the experience fun. My son was, as I was as a kid, enthralled. "You know that it's not going to be like this when we see it", I clarified.

Getting an 8 1/2 year old to 'dress up' for anything is a challenge and I explained to him that although there would be people at the opera dressed very fancy, a nice collared shirt and sweater could do the trick. He matched these with cargo jeans and Converse All Stars and voila, Portland kid semi-formal.

Going to the opera with my son was a lot like going to a dog park with a puppy – he got  a lot of attention. Everyone from the ticket taker to the people we sat next to asked him if this was his first opera and gave him really encouraging comments.

As the house lights went down and the music began to play, I leaned over and squeezed my son's hand, a silent 'here we go' and a hope that he wouldn't be bored to death. Portland Opera's production of the Barber of Seville couldn't have been more appropriate for my son's first opera. The sets glow with bright cartoony colors that look like the performers came to life in a pop-up book version of the opera. The costumes were equally big and colorful, almost something out of the Bugs Bunny version of the opera.

The cast of Portland's Barber of Seville did a fantastic job of filling out their characters beyond the words they sing. Daniel Belcher, who plays Figaro, winks and nods to the audience as if Figaro is so connected to everything in the story that he's also aware of the audience.  Nicholas Phan has a blast with Count Almaviva and his various disguises, embracing the idiosyncrasies of each one.  Jennifer Rivera, who plays Rosina, is really the 'straight man' of the piece and she nails the performance.   Steve Condy is deliciously fun as Doctor Bartolo and seems to be having the time of his life playing the role. The chemistry and interactions between the four lead characters is so good you often forget that they are even signing in Italian.

At intermission my son tried to put into words this phenomenon: "Even though I don't understand the words, I kind of get what's going on." For me that's the sign of a great opera and at that moment all my fears of my son 'not getting it' or 'being bored' evaporated.

The second act of The Barber of Seville is a complete romp. My son cackled at the onstage antics and the cartoony cast of supporting characters, including a brigade of policemen which could have stepped right out of a Monty Python sketch.

As the opera concluded and the actors took their curtain call, my son asked me to boost him up so he could see over the all the people clapping and cheering in a standing ovation. I thought it was to quell his curiosity about why everyone was standing, but as he furiously began to clap his hands together I realized he wanted to join along.

I've been covering arts and entertainment for over twelve years and even I assumed that opera was going to be too tough or too boring for my son. I couldn't have been more wrong. I don't know why opera has such baggage attached to it, but it does. For my son it doesn't. He had an amazing experience with a fantastic performance and as a parent I couldn't be happier.

The Barber of Seville runs May 7th, 9, 13 and 15th at the Keller Auditorium.

Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival

While I spend a lot of time with Portland's cocktail and micro-distillery world for DrinkSpirits.com, I can't help but be drawn to all the amazing wine and beer festivals and events that take place in Portland year round.  One event which has always been on my radar screen is the Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival. Now in its sixth year, this home-grown event has blossomed into one of Portland's more notable culinary expos.

The festival features 40 of the top wines selected from a pool of Oregon craft wineries which produce no more than 2,500 cases or more. This year they've added a special section to spotlight top scoring reds under $25 and whites under $15. Judges for the 2010 festival include Claud Mann of TBS’ Dinner and a Movie, journalist and author Alice Feiring, James Beard nominated Chef Cathy Whims of Nostrana, and Bernie Sun, Corporate Beverage Director at Jean-Georges Management, LLC. Portland’s top chefs will join the selected 40 craft producers and serve up sophisticated wine-friendly bites.

The 2010 Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival will take place at the Bison Building (19 NE 10th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232) on Saturday, May 8th from 2 – 6 p.m.   Tickets are $75/person and include one tasting glass, festival passport and access to pours from all wineries and food from all the featured restaurants.

Stark Staging Hampers The Chosen

Chaim Potok's The Chosen is among several productions this season at Portland Center Stage that are based on a book or had previously been produced as a movie. It's an almost unavoidable reality for theatrical companies to pack their slate with plays that people are somehow familiar with in some way.

Another unfortunate reality of modern theater is that the money available for productions has shrunken. Portland Center Stage's artistic director Chris Coleman has embraced this fact and in many  of his productions this season has worked with negative space and  actor's narrative or pantomime to fill the stage. This tactic worked extremely well for Ragtime and Snow Falling on Cedars but fails miserably with The Chosen.

Based on Chaim Potok's award winning book about two boys from opposite sides of the Jewish spectrum (one Hasidic and the other more secular) whose worlds literally collide with each other, The Chosen is a compelling tale that weaves interesting themes about life, relationships and religion. While the themes in The Chosen eminate from Judiasm and Jewish text, they are in many ways universal.

Aaron Posner's adaptation seems to be more interested in discussing the themes of Chaim Potok's book than focusing on the characters. The play is hamstrung by painfully long monologues which are more in service of communicating ideology than moving the story along.  Posner's adaptation also relies on a device which really doesn't work here: a grown-up version of one of the main characters (Reuven Malter) narrates the story of how he met and befriended the Hasidic Danny Sanders.  This narration constantly takes focus away from the actual characters on stage and makes the play extremely choppy and disjointed.

Matthew Boston does an admirable job as this narrator, but when the play transitions to the actual scenes he seems lost and superfluous on stage.  It's hard to fault him as he does the best he can with what's there, but it simply doesn't work.  Another actor who seems lost on stage is John Rothman, who plays David Malter, Reuven Malter's father.  Sporting an absolutely horrid accent, Rothman, who has done much better work on screen with The Devil Wears Prada and United 93, is just plain dull. In one of the key moments in his character's arch he delivers a passage that was instrumental to inspiring Chris Coleman to bring the play to Portland Center Stage:

We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye. The blink of an eye is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that just might be something.

It's a core theme to the play but it's delivered so poorly that it feels limp in Rothman's hands.  As dull and off as John Rothman is, David Margulies, who may be best known for his role on The Sopranos, was simply electric. Just as the first act seemed to be losing some steam, Margulies lit up the stage with a larger-than-life portral of Reb (Rabbi) Saunders. But even Margulies' delicious performance couldn't save him from the choppy and undisciplined text. His opening monologue goes on so long it loses all the magic and energy that it starts with.

Also putting in solid performances are Carter Hudson as "Young" Reuven Malter and Jonathan David Martin. Their chemistry as the two high school-aged kids whose worlds collide is one of the few things that holds this production together. Had Aaron Posner's adaptation trusted more in these two main characters and their relationship, instead of trying to bolster it with a narrator, this would have been a much better production.

One of my biggest disappointments with Portland Center Stage's production of  The Chosen is Chris Coleman's staging. The starkness of this production overwhelms it. There are several scenes in which there is a clear need for other actors on the stage and their absence gives the production more a feel of a workshopped play than a full production.  At several points the action on stage is split between two locations and it never really worked.  But ultimately the staging is so stripped down and stark that it provides the audience very little to consume. When the play has its slow moments there's nothing else there and this adds to one of the play's biggest problems – it's way too slow and way too choppy.

The first hour of Portland Center Stage's production felt like two and without much spark behind the concept and ideas presented in the play, I found intermission to be a time to stretch and get rid of my restlessness rather than embark in any debate or discussion with anyone. The second act felt equally tough and at the end I was happy to have made my way through it.

It's a shame – somewhere in Chaim Potok's book is a compelling play waiting to be adapted, but this isn't it. Also, I really hope this is the end of Chris Coleman's experiment with space.  I think it has run its course and it is time for Portland Center Stage to find its way back to some more concrete set pieces and casts. The theater of the mind is fantastic, but Coleman needs to remember I'm also paying to see theater on the stage.

The Chosen runs at Portland Center Stage April 6 – May 2, 2010

Michael Bublé Concert Portland

A lot of performers have put on a suit, stepped up to the mic and made an attempt at the gold standards. It's an alluring cannon of music which instantly resonates with a huge number of music fans. The problem, though, when you sing classic songs is that it's nearly impossible for people not to compare you and your performance to the great performers who originated them.

Michael Bublé seems acutely aware of this fact and the range of his voice, and he uses the music and style of Sinatra, Nat King Cole and even more contemporary artists as a jumping off point for his own unique sound and style. While Bublé has a very strong voice he doesn't have the same lower register / golden throat that gave Sinatra's music those well-rounded, sweet lower tones. Bublé seems to acknowledge this and intelligently navigates his way thought the best-fitting Sinatra songs for his register, including "I've Got The World On A String" and "All of Me" which feature big high notes that Bublé can hit with ease.

While Bublé may not have the same vocal depth of someone like Frank Sinatra, he does have an extraordinary talent for showmanship. It would be easy for a good looking, well-dressed crooner to have an ego to match, but Bublé remains humble and emotionally honest on stage.

At one point in the show Michael Bublé stopped to address the men who had been dragged by their significant others to the concert, musing that they must be thinking, "Oh my God, he's so gay!" (and then following it up with talk of his engagement to Argentinean actress Luisana Loreley Lopilato de la Torre).

Bublé often poked fun at himself and at one point during the show quipped, "I'm just doing what you do in the shower – they're just paying me to do it." Bublé is simply charming and the sold-out crowd at the Rose Garden (on April 2nd, in Portland, Oregon)  acknowledged it with every step. Thirty and 40-something year old women screamed and swooned – albeit in a lower key – like teenage girls screaming at a Jonas Brother's concert.

The truth is, you don't have to be a Michael Bublé fan to love his concert. It's not a pre-requisite. Bublé puts on such a fantastic and intimate show that he's sure to win over even the guys who get dragged along to see him. "Concerts are boring!", exclaimed Bublé during one of many interlude talks with the audience. "If you just wanted to hear my music you could stay home and listen to the CD. This is your show and you should have fun".

Sliding across the slanted marble stage, Bublé always looked like he was having a good time. He has an infectious energy that lights up whatever he sings. One of my favorite moments in the show was when Bublé sat at the piano and sang the song "Best of Me", originally done by David Foster and Olivia Newton-John. Bublé spoke about going through a tough point in his life and how the song really resonated with him during that time. I don't think I've seen a more emotionally honest performance in my life. Bublé made every word of the song sound like it emanated from a deep place within, and at the end of it, when the lights went down, he wiped his eyes.

This touching moment was followed up by one of the most odd and funny moments of the show. As Bublé got up, the band started to play Steve Wonder's "For Once in My Life". Bublé shot a look at his musical director and partner Alan Chang and then started to work his way through the song. About a minute into it he asked the orchestra to stop and then broke into laughter. "You see, on my copy of the set list, the next song is 'Georgia on My Mind' ". It was a very real moment that fit well with this very alive concert. After switching over to "Georgia on My Mind", Bublé and company gave another shot at "For Once in My Life" which had an air of spunkiness and humor that was quite fun.

One of the things I really appreciated about Michael Bublé's show was his treatment of his own original hits. None of them felt tired or overplayed and he brought as much enthusiasm to "Haven't Met You Yet" as he did to some of the classics he sang. Bublé closed the show with what seems to be his signature closing song, "A Song For You," made popular by Donny Hathaway. The final refrain of the song Bublé performed in front of the closed curtain without a mic. It was a very nice nod to the classic performers who didn't always perform with amplification, and it showed that while he may not have Sinatra's golden throat, that boy can sing.

Michael Bublé Set List:
Cry Me A River by Arthur Hamilton
All of Me (Frank Sinatra) by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons
At This Moment by Billy Vera & The Beaters
Smile by Nat King Cole
Everything by Michael Bublé
Orchestral Number/Jam
I've Got The World On A String by Frank Sinatra
Best Of Me by David Foster and Olivia Newton John
For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder (Sang about 1 min and then stopped)
Georgia on My Mind by Ray Charles
For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder
Billy Jean by Michael Jackson (abbreviated version)
Twist and Shout (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) by The Isley Brothers
Home by Michael Bublé (Acoustic Guitar)
Save the Last Dance for Me by The Drifters
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) by James Taylor
Heartache Tonight by Eagles
Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Bublé

Encore
Feeling Good lyrics by Nina Simone
Me and Mrs Jones by Billy Paul
A Song for You by Leon Russel (Donny Hathaway)

Concert Running Time 1 hour and 40 mins with encore.