Music Blog

There's something very right about walking into Pioneer Courthouse Square, "Portand's Living Room," and seeing Portland bands you've long admired, on an enormous stage, their music echoing off the surrounding buildings. Add a little sunshine, and a light 70º breeze, and you might just find yourself brimming with a sense of well-being, feeling right at home in a crowd of hundreds of strangers (and a few friends).

Though I'll sadly admit I missed Weinland's set, according to reports, it included a solid cover of "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas. Blue Giant charmed the audience with an expanded lineup, followed by Laura Veirs, whose lyrics "the sun has been known to shine on our wandering kind" took on a more literal meaning as the light slowly turned a golden orange hue. The Decemberists clearly enjoyed a hometown gig under such ideal conditions, and gave a set worthy of the occasion. Their last song, as a tribute to the ninth anniversary of September 11th, was "Sons and Daughters," off their 2006 album, The Crane Wife, asking the audience to join in the cathartic and hopeful chorus, "hear all the bombs, they fade away."

Later, over at Mississippi Studios, Laura Burhenn's band The Mynabirds played through songs off the debut album, What We Lose in the Fire, We Gain in the Flood, which sound decidedly different without Richard Swift's vacuum-tube production, though no less compelling or fun. Portland Cello Project followed, with a vegetables-then-dessert approach, putting their more classical repertoire at the beginning, then following it with several hip hop and pop numbers with a few guest vocalists and Janet Weiss on drums. Eric Bachmann finished out the evening with his latest version of Crooked Fingers, simply himself with Liz Durrett on drums and samples, and played the most emotionally compelling and full-sounding music you could ever expect from two people. Portland Cello Project accompanied them on the final three songs, the last of which was performed without microphones or amps and transported the room, packed to capacity, back 100 years.

Links:
Weinland in-studio session
Blue Giant in-studio session
Laura Veirs in-studio session
Mynabirds in-studio session
Portland Cello Project in-studio session
The Decemberists - "Sons and Daughters" live @ Crystal Ballroom, 2008

-Dave Cusick

Tagged: MFNW 2010