The PDX Pop Now! organizers might look calm, but they've got a Portland music fire burning inside. IMAGE: TOM OLIVER

Food carts. Ten members of the PDX Pop Now! organizing collective sit in the backyard of their headquarters in Southeast Portland debating about food carts. Are two carts enough, or will three be needed to feed the local music fans who show up at this weekend's all-local music festival?

These are the type of minutiae this group, made up mostly of musicians, have been considering for the past few weeks. Which suggests two things: 1) Setting up a music festival isn't always as exciting as you might think; and 2) this festival is actually going to happen.

Five months ago, the idea of a festival showcasing Portland's indie music scene was first discussed on a local computer list. This week, that idea comes to fruition with PDX Pop Now!, a free, all-ages festival starring 44 local rock bands, which will take over the stage at Meow Meow.

"We did go through hell," says music writer and festival organizer Cori Taratoot, citing countless late-night/early-morning meetings. "But I think once we saw what it could be, we were willing to go through anything--and we did go through anything--to make sure that it was going to happen."

The idea for the festival grew out of an email sent by KPSU assistant music director Angelo Deleso to the PDX POP listserv, a music-focused email list. Deleso listed a number of local bands who had released albums in the previous year, and commented on the strength of the Portland scene.

Within a month there were 15 main players who dug in and turned a vague idea into a well-honed vision of what the festival could be.

"Portland has such an inordinately rich collection of great bands," says Josh Kirby, who plays in the Empty Set when he's not soliciting sponsorships for the festival. "We wanted to celebrate that."

The first result of this mission came late last month with the release of the PDX Pop Now! 2004 compilation (see the Reckoning, page 37). A fundraiser for the festival, the double CD has also raised awareness of smaller Portland bands by pairing well-known bands like the Shins and the Decemberists with lesser-knowns like Orange & Allred and Wet Confetti.

While the festival's roster doesn't boast the big acts of the CD, it does spotlight a broad spectrum of Portland's independent bands. Organizers hope the talent will open the ears of festival attendees, and lead to another festival next year.

"Because of the sort of trail we blazed this year, it's going to be even better next year," Kirby says. "Hopefully, it will be a new group of people, but I imagine this group of people will be included. We've got a lot invested in this personally at this point."

PDX Pop Now! Schedule

FRIDAY, JULY 9

7 pm Alarmist
7:40 Pseudosix
8:25 Binary Dolls
9:05 The Punk Group
9:50 System & Station
10:30 Talkdemonic
11:15 Viva Voce
11:45 The Minders
12:25 The Forth

SATURDAY, JULY 10

Noon Ross & the Hellpets
12:40 UHF
1:20 The Divided
2:05 Junior Private Detective
2:45 Bella Fayes
3:25 Wow & Flutter
4:10 Per Se
4:50 Modernstate

5:30 Lackthereof
6:15 The Jolenes
6:55 We're From Japan!
7:35 Kieskegato
8:20 Andrew Kaffer
9:00 Schicky Gnarowitz & the

Transparent Wings of Joy
9:40 Sarah Dougher
10:25 Empty Set
11:05 Corrina Repp
11:45 Wet Confetti
12:25 Sunset Valley

SUNDAY, JULY 11

2 pm Stars of Track and Field
2:40 At Dusk
3:20 Loch Lomond
4:05 Gravity & Henry
4:45 Reclinerland
5:25 Blue Skies for Black Hearts
6:10 The Snuggle-ups
6:50 Jonah

7:30 Charmparticles
8:15 Yacht
8:55 Blitzen Trapper
9:35 Mirah
10:20 Tea for Julie
11:00 Jeremy Wilson
11:40 Tara Jane O'Neil
12:20 The Joggers

All shows held at Meow Meow, 320 2nd Ave., 517-0824. All ages.

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All shows held at Meow Meow, 320 2nd Ave., 517-0824. All ages.