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To borrow a phrase inadvertently coined onstage by Alialujah Choir's Adam Shearer, last night was a "monumentous" moment in Portland music: the first ever show at the new Revolution Hall.
Sure, it was a "soft opening"—a sneak preview before the venue formally gets going in April—but after a year of what seemed like daily closures of local institutions, just being able to celebrate someplace new seemed, indeed, like a revolution. Of course, Revolution Hall isn't quite new: For 75 years, it was known as the Washington High School auditorium. And though it's been revamped, with a state of the art sound system and LED lights above the stage, it doesn't feel like some freshly unwrapped bauble. Instead, it feels like a room unfrozen from time. Maybe it's the vintage seats filling the floor and wrap-around balcony, or the simplistic decor, but it seems lived in—like a place that's been having shows the last three decades without anyone noticing.
Thankfully, though, it sounds shiny and new. Admittedly, I'm no audiophile, but after going to shows in Portland for six years, I do know when a place sounds less-than-adequate. And Revolution Hall sounds…well, significantly better than that. (Apparently, the system is not even fully installed yet.) Synth-pop darlings Wild Ones got the first crack, debuting new, slightly darker songs from its upcoming sophomore album and ending with a cover of the Cranberries' "Dreams" that suggested the band should just become a full-time Cranberries tribute act. (Singer Danielle Sullivan has always sounded a bit like Dolores O'Riordan.) Alialujah Choir, the Portland folk supergroup featuring members of Weinland and Norfolk and Western, celebrated the release of its second record, Big Picture Show, playing lush, harmony-rich Americana of the sort that's already dominating Revolution Hall's preliminary concert calendar. In fact, AC announced it'll be back in April, opening for Neko Case.
If there were any soft-opening-night jitters, they weren't visible to the general public. Beyond the long will-call lines, the night couldn't be called anything other than "monumentous." Here's what it looked like.
WWeek 2015