With the presidential election looming most people are myopically focused on voting for president, but the second most important vote you can make right now is with your dollars. Times are tough and not all businesses are going to survive this recession. Already this month three notable eateries have announced that they are shuttering their doors (Rocket, Mercado and Banh Cuon Tan Dinh) and more are soon to follow.
The dollar may be down on the world market, but it’s never been stronger here at home. With each dollar you spend you are making a vote, you’re voting for the business that you give your money to and perhaps voting against the places you aren’t. During tough economic times people often default to the lowest cost option out there. Companies like McDonald’s and Wal-Mart thrive because people think they get more for less there – something in tough times sounds appealing. If this current economic mess has taught us anything it’s there’s absolutely no such thing as a free lunch and today’s low low deal might have some unintended consequences tomorrow.
There’s never been a time in your life where what you spend and where you spend has mattered more. So pick the places you love and give them your business, odds are they’ll be around to thank you when this whole economic mess is all over.
I’m quickly becoming a fan of The West Cafe. My wife and I stopped in a couple weeks back for some drinks and Jazz. Excellent drinks, excellent music and perfect service.
Shortly thereafter I started following The West Cafe on Twitter and realized just how smart and cool the people running this cafe are. First they offered an exclusive coupon for people who follow them on twitter.
Now they’ve got a regular Daily Dow Special where they take the point drop or percentage drop and make a drink special out of it! Tonight’s special:
Daily Dow Drink Deal: Down 2.42% so we’ll take $2.42 off call martinis all night!! Stop by for an extra dry one, shaken not stirred.
It’s great to see a business be so savy with new media and so in touch with its customers
Packed! That’s the best way to describe the Oregeon Brewer’s Fresh Hop Beer Tastival at the Hop Works Urban Brewery this Saturday. Two tents filled with people enjoying the Indian Summer and a bounty of new beers with hops from the recent Oregon Hop Harvest.
$5 got you a nice pint glass and then each 4oz taste was $1. Unfortunately I was only able to taste 3 beers at the fest:
Hopworks Urban Brewery Parsec Pale Ale -I figured I had to give some love to the hosting brewery and that may Pale Ale days would be few and far between as we get into the winter. This Pale Ale is a light and tasty beer that is very clean with only a hint of hops.
Lompoc Brewing Proletariate Red – a sweet and hoppy beer with a nice clean edge,,very drinkable and if I had more time I would have enjoyed a full pint.
Beer Valley Brewing Black Flag Imperial Stout – WOW! They were only giving people 4oz tastes and that’s a shame because this is quite a stout. Super Dark, Bold, flavorful and hoppy. This was a beer that really got my attention, and I’d love drink again.
I also had a chance to taste Deschutes Hop Trip before the event, and I have to say it’s one of my favorite of the fresh hop bunch. I’ve also got a bottle of the Bridgeport’s Hop Harvest in my fridge which I hope to try soon.
There’s no question that Portland supports local brewery events and the excitment around the local brewers sceen is really exceptional.
We’ve lived in Portland now for 15 years, and for some reason we’ve never managed to make it out to Portland Nursery’s Apple Tasting Event. Since we now live in Laurelhurst (after moving from the west side) we swore that we would not miss this popular Portland event.
So this weekend, with the perfect fall weather, we walked down to the Portland Nursery for some apple tasting. I was surprised at just how many people come out for this event (I saw almost half the people who live on our block there).
The whole family loved having the opportunity to taste over 30 different varieties of apples and pears. Our favorites:
Elstar – Tart eating apple developed for European markets. Excellent for sauces or pies.
Cox’s Orange Pippin – An Old English variety origination about 1830. Firm, juicy and aromatic apple. Wonderful for dessert.
Honey Crisp – Macoun x Honeygold. Crisp and juicy apple rated superior to McIntosh and Delicious for fresh eating and keeps up to five months in common storage.
Jonatha – Originated in 1826 as an open-pollinated chance seedling of Esopus Spintzenberg. This Apple has crisp, juicy, tart flesh. Goof for dessert and all other culinary Uses.
Liberty – Origin New York Fruit Experiment Station. Fruit is almost enturely red-skinned with sweet juicy flesh.
After we picked our favorites from the bunch we were able to buy them from huge tubs of apples in the middle of the nursery. If you missed out the apple tasting this weekend, fear not… the Portland Nursery is doing it again next weekend: October 17, 18, 19, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Above apple descriptions courtesy of The Portland Nursery).
In an evening with four bands my expectations for the first band were pretty low, but Low v. Diamond delivered and impressed me with a strong set that felt more like a headlining set than an early opener. With good chemistry, a full textured rock sound and a talented lead singer Low v. Diamond showed showed real potential. Their sound is rocky ballad that can be filed comfortably between The Killers and Snow Patrol.
Low v. Diamond was followed up by the very stripped down Alice Smith. Accompanied onstage with only a single electric guitarist Alice Smith showed quite solidly that she has the presence to fill the stage. Her set captivated the audience who seemed to hang on every note. Smith’s vocals often have the affectation and texturing that’s reminiscent of Amy Winehouse, but she’s really at best when she lets go of the vocal styling and is just herself. Alice Smith shines when she seems to loose herself in the emotion of her songs and I’d love to see here again when she’s backed by a full band.
Alice Smith was followed by Mates of State, a keyboard and drum duet which moved swiftly through an upbeat and poppy set. I really wanted to like Mates of State, they are an extremely affable band with very listenable harmonies, but I felt like I had to really work to like them. Many of their songs are so packed that there’s very little room to really connect with them. Some of the songs take left turns which clearly left the audience behind. Mates of State did their job as an opening band, but the need some fine tuning to really grow.
After Mates of State there was an extremely long break as the stage was stripped almost completely bare. The crowd was clearly impatient waiting so long for Santogold, but all frustrations were quickly erased as she took the stage. Although it was a relatively short set Santogold was on the top of her game for every moment of it. Without a single drop in energy Sontogold’s set was celebration from the first note to the last.
Backed only by a DJ and two backup singers Santogold filled the stage with a contageous energy which flowed into the crowd. I saw more people dancing at the Santogold that almost any other show I’ve seen at the Crystal. The set which lasted just over an hour featured most of the songs off Santogold’s debut album. In many of the recent concerts I’ve attended you can tell which song gets the most radio play because it’s usually the point when the crowd comes alive. At the Santogold show the crowd responded to each song like it was a ‘hit’ song.
Santogold performed one cover, The Clash’s Guns of Brixton, transforming it into a rich and contemporary song. Even though the show’s music came from a turntable the show never felt pre-programmed or stiff. At one point Santogold messed up the lyrics to a song, laughing she ran out into the crowd pulling fans up on to stage for another go. The result felt like a dance party.
Santogold is the real deal, she’s an immensely talented performer who is even better live than in her recordings. The concert at the Crystal Ballroom was her first performance in Portland, but it certainly won’t be her last. Santogold is clearly a star on the rise and she’s got the potencial to be an extremely hot ticket the next time she’s in town.
Let me get this out right from the start, in their live appearance the Mythbusters DO NOT Blow stuff up. Sitting in the sold out crowd at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall you could feel the collective hope that all the warnings and disclaimers about the show NOT containing explosions were false.
The two science geeks who host the popular Discovery channel show had a huge task ahead of them, how to entertain a group of people who would rather see you blowing crap up than talking about it. I’m happy to report that Adam and Jamie (prompted by Host Rick Emerson) did a fantastic job of engaging and entertaining the audience for an hour and forty five minutes.
Billed as a ‘Behind The Scenes / Inside The Actor’s Studio for Science Geeks” the interactive talk gave an experience with Adam and Jamie that you just couldn’t get in an audio commentary on a DVD or in a behind the scenes snippet. Shooting entirely from the hip both Mythbusters showed just how immensely entertaining they are, even in their every day life.
Peppered with video clips (which I wish they had more), the talk did have a few slow points, but Emerson did a solid job of moving things right along. The show reached its high point when members of the audience got to ask the Mythbusters their own questions.
Some of the nuggets of info gleaned from the talk:
In their spare time they do the kind of experiments that Discovery Channel won’t let them do on TV.
Upcoming episodes include ‘How to Polish A Turd” and “Slipping on a Banana Peel”
Discovery Channel nixed “How Many Licks Does it Take to Get To The Center of A Tootsie Roll Pop”
Jamie owns and runs his own company which does work for the private industry and the government
An Airplane will take off on a conveyor belt runway…damn it (so stop sending emails)
None should ever mess with Jamie’s béret
Their absolute favorite episode is “Lead Balloon”
The exploding water heater actually went up 750 feet in the air (with a 15 second hang time)
The finale of the show was a blooper reel and clip reel of some of their best explosions which they called “Explosion Porn” including a lot of footage from a high speed camera which was an absolute hit with the crowd.
The Mythbusters could have done a kitchy stadium style show for ‘the kids’ filled with explosions and pyrotechnics but they opted for a much more honest and informal chat. I really enjoyed it but I think my sevenyear old son sill wanted to see explosions.
Reason #412 why I am madly in love with Portland. Today is my wife’s 36th birthday and so rather than go through the regular breakfast routine we decided to go down to NE 28th and catch a bite at Beulahland.
Even though the skies were foreboding we decided to walk down to Beulahland (and we were rewarded with a nice break in the clouds).
Beulahland for Brunch is an experience in simple perfection. We had their basic brekky (done vegan) with piping hot stumptown coffee and a Manchester United game on their big screen (they beat Blackburn 2-0). Service was fast, friendly and our coffee cups were never devoid of steaming hot coffee.
I’ve traveled quite a bit and the experience at Beulahland for brunch reminds me of some of the best pub breakfasts I’ve had around the world. It’s a simple gem and it’s right here in our back yard.
In my final installment of my coverage of Monotonix, I have a back stage interview which I did with the band.
In the interview Monotonix talks about how thier performing from the floor got started, what they see as the definition of punk, how many times they’ve gotten injured in their shows and what the future may hold for the band.
Back in early September I had the fortune of attending Monotonix’s show at MusicFestNW. Their short and explosive set was one of the most impactual concerts I’ve attended for a very long time. When I heard that Monotonix was returning to Portland to open for The Silver Jews I knew I had to see them again. I had to know if the show at Satyricon was some sort of anomaly. Was it just something that happened in that time and place?
It was clear from the get go that the show at the Wonder Ballroom was going to be different than Satyricon. The slightly sparse crowd was filled with thritysomething couples, out on a Tuesday night date, all of which seemed more interested in a mellow beer and music. Most of them congregated on the ‘other’ side of the OLCC beer barrier (a ridiculous regulation for all ages shows that bifurcates an audience in the worst way). The Silver Jews are a toe tapping, sway back and forth, geee aren’t they cool kind of band; so the idea of a wildly flailing and explosive Israeli punk band opening for them is an extremely unlikely paring.
As with the Satyricon show Monotonix set up their drum set out on the floor. The band entered to a few hoots and hollers. One of the guys next to me exclaimed, “This is going to blow your mind”. I wondered if that would be true. Could they blow my mind again? Would Monotonix able to catch lightening in a bottle and unleash it again and again? With their explosive start I knew from the beginning that the answer was a resounding YES.
Playing a much longer set than at Satyricon, Monotonix unleashed their music on to the fairly unsuspecting Silver Jews crowd. At one point guitarist Yonatan Gat lept across the OLCC barrier, followed by vocalist Ami Shalev who was shoved back by Wonder Ballroom security. It was the first scuffle between a band’s lead singer and security I’ve seen in years. Undaunted Ami plowed ahead taking out the barriers and one of the security guards. If punk is a state of mind vs. a musical genre, I’d submit that this scuffle was punk.
Crossing that line seemed to really engage the otherwise mellow crowd who encouraged the band. Both Avi and Yonata took to the air, floating above the crowd… It wasn’t the whole room bouncing at once experience of their Satyricon show, but a similar energy was there. Avi fond his way up onto the stage where he thrust a water battle into his pants and then pretended to ejaculate with it on one fan. He then stripped down stuffing his shirt into his shorts and proceeded to sing an Israeli folk song. Leaping off the stage the band ripped through another song, this time with their signature trash can dump over drummer Ran Shimoni.
The band then lifted the drum set and moved it to the back of the venue. Monotonix isn’t just a band that plays on the floor, the entire venue is their stage – no matter where you are, you are part of the show. Soon after Ran picked up his snare drum and ran it up to the balcony where he continued to play. Avi follows, running up onto the balcony and and then over the railing. As he balances precariously on the balcony ledge Avi yells that he’s going to jump on the count of four….and then he does. The audience catches him and he continues to belt out their final song.
There is a distinct feeling after a Monotonix show that something has happened. Monotonix brings the music off the stage and into the audience in a way that make the audience a part of the music. In may ways this is what’s been really missing with music lately. Music has become a very personal and individualized experience: people download music on to their computer, move it on to their iPod and then listen to it on their headphones. Often the only real sharing people do of their musical experience is when they snag music from Bittorrent. The reason to go see live music isn’t so YOU get to see the band in person, it’s much bigger than that. Concerts are a communal experience where the audience is just as important as the band on stage.
Most people seem to have lost sense of this communal experience. At many of the concerts I’ve been at lately I see people checking their phones, texting each other, shoe gazing, generally consuming the music without any consideration to the people around them. At a recent concert I even witnessed an event where someone almost got into a fist fight over someone singing along with the music.
There’s no question that the music industry is broken. It’s easy for people to blame record companies for the poor state of music, but I think audiences are as much to blame. Monotonix is a reminder of a time in music where music was experienced not just consumed. When the band plays from within the audience they change the dynamics, they break the personal bubbles surrounding so many of us and force you to stop watching and start participating. So many of people dance around and sing to the music when we think no one else is looking, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Concerts aren’t just spectacle, they are the shared experience of music in a deep fundamental way. When we all dance together and sing together to the same music, it connects us in a way much more powerful than adding someone as your friend on facebook or shooting them an IM. We all become a part of something bigger than ourselves and help create an experience which can only happen in that space and time.
This is why Monotonix is so important to music right now. In my mind they may be one of the MOST important things going on in music. Sure, anyone can set up their instruments on the floor and play (and maybe more bands should), but so few bands are so committed to destroying that barrier between band and audience, so committed to changing the musical experience that I think they’re worthy of being held out as an example of what should be.
With the presidential election looming most people are myopically focused on voting for president, but the second most important vote you can make right now is with your dollars. Times are tough and not all businesses are going to survive this recession. Already this month three notable eateries have announced that they are shuttering their doors (Rocket, Mercado and Banh Cuon Tan Dinh) and more are soon to follow.
