MFNW Diaries: Thursday

This is when MusicfestNW really starts. Thursday is the day of the festival when it begins to seem as if there's a band playing on every corner, at all hours. It's when you have to start making agonizing sacrifices on your schedule. And it's the night you have to decide whether to leave the club and get to bed because you've got a meeting at 8 am, or stay for the encore. As your trusted guides to MFNW, WW's music staff always stays for the encore. Well, most of the time. (Bloggers in order of appearance: Ruth Brown, Mark Stock, Reed Jackson, Matthew P. Singer, Emilee Booher, Jonathan Frochtzwajg, Robert Ham.)

3:40 pm @ Leftbank Annex
Meanwhile, at Portland Digital eXperience: Gang of Four's Dave Allen is on stage laying into a software engineer from Spotify over how little he makes as an artist from its streaming content. It is both awesome and super awkward. (RB)

4:15 pm @ PDX
The white wristbands of MFNW 2012 look like hospital patient bracelets. There are a lot of escapees out there. I like to imagine fans fleeing their houses through a window via a rope made of bed linens. (MAS)

7:47 pm @ PDX
Curse you, rich lineup! The sacrifices begin too soon. Naytronix and Trampled by Turtles at the same time—a torturous decision. I'm going to let Obama's DNC speech decide, somehow, someway. If the Prez mentions youth and education more than old school values and a commitment to seniors, I'll see Naytronix. Otherwise, it's bluegrass at the Aladdin.

(MPS)

9:05 pm @ Aladdin Theater
Wow, I'm pleasantly surprised by the lead singer of These United States, Jesse Elliott. He's got a nice blend of energy, crackle and twang that fits the band's country-rock style extremely well. (EB)

9:10 pm @ Branx
Stay Calm's Claudia Meza says Omar Souleyman doing sound check in Western garb surprised her. "I was like, 'Who is that?' He's just a man, guys." (JF)

9:10 pm @ Star Theater
My first stop of the night and who do I see ready to stamp my hand? WW's own Aaron Mesh. Being a big time journalist apparently has its perks. (RH)

9:10 pm @ Aladdin Theater
"Wanna come up here and form a big sweaty lake of humans?" Jesse Elliott asks the crowd as his chin-length hair grows sweatier by the second. (EB)

9:20 pm @ Star Theater
The handsomest member of the People's Temple, a decent enough little garage pop group from Michigan: "I've never been to Oregon before. There's lots of...nature...and stuff. It's really cool." (RH)

9:25 pm @ Branx
I really miss Explode Into Colors—the band sort of soundtracked my first year in Portland—so the Stay Calm songs that sound like EIC leftovers are my favorites. The last few have been killer. But wasn't Zac Pennington in this band, too? What happened to him? (MPS)

9:25 pm @ Branx
Is Stay Calm's Claudia Meza plagiarizing her own Explode into Colors guitar riff? Or is SC playing an EiC cover?!? Wait, no, neither...Man, I miss that band. (JF)

WWeek 2015