MusicfestNW Diary 2010

By RUTH BROWN, KELLY CLARKE, SHANE DANAHER, ROBERT HAM, CASEY JARMAN, MICHAEL MANNHEIMER, AARON MESH, REBECCA RABER, CHRIS STAMM, MARK STOCK and MATT P. SINGER

By Sunday night, as the sun set over the downtown skyline, two things were clear: This year's MusicfestNW was an epic success, and we were still drunk. In its 10th year, MFNW was bigger and better than ever, with two huge outdoor shows at Pioneer Courthouse Square, many wonderful smaller performances (BOAT! Thee Oh Sees! Shabazz Palaces!) and lots of debauchery and ill-advised tweets. Here are some of our highlights from the long weekend.

NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND: Shabazz Palaces at Jimmy Mak's. IMAGE: Kyle Johnson

Wednesday, Sept. 8

Crystal Ballroom, 9:55 pm.
There's electricity in the air, buzzing in the form of desperate scalpers and grinning wristband holders. People are marching up the stairs like they're on the way to the circus. Some skip, others hold hands with strangers. I imagine the smell of cotton candy and look forward to the Panda Bear exhibit.... He is the bridge between Beach House and the Beach Boys. (MS)

Thursday, Sept. 9

Doug Fir Lounge, 2:40 pm.
Ted Leo's yawning. Drummer Chris Wilson is pounding Starbucks. Seeing rock gods in the afternoon is like walking in on your naked grandmother: unnatural and awkward but, in some way I'd rather not delve into too deeply, kind of magical. (CS)

Mississippi Studios, 7:31 pm.
Aussie Henry Wagons takes to the stage, sporting the ever-fashionable combination of cowboy shirt and sweat-headband. He thanks the small crowd for making an appearance so early. "I dedicate this show to all of you. Here's a song about us burning in hell together!" (RB)

Crystal Ballroom, 8:23 pm.
Past Lives vocalist Jordan Blilie has a habit of bending his torso nearly horizontal while performing. He still manages to belt out some impressive howls, which can signify nothing but good news about the state of his abdominal muscles. (SD)

Roseland, 10:12 pm.
"I SEE AZZ OVER HERE, AZZ OVER THERE-A!" yells Big Freedia, looking like a cross between Salt-N-Pepa circa "Push It" and True Blood's Lafayette. The queen of bounce music and lover of all things ass-related twists around and unleashes a titanic spin cycle of ass shake on us. (KC)

Crystal Ballroom, 10:30 pm.
The Thermals hit the stage to a rapturous response. Kathy is high-fiving all the kids in the front row. The band kicks things off with "Here's Your Future," and all the under-21ers are clapping in time from the opening notes. The only person who seems more stoked to be here than them is drummer Westin Glass. (RR)

Outside Dante's, 10:40 pm.
Rabbits finishes its set and 95 percent of the crowd heads outside for a cigarette, thereby earning my "Least Health-Conscious Audience" award for this evening. Kudos, guys.

ANYTHING GOES: Major Lazer at Roseland. IMAGE: Andy Wright

Roseland Theater, 11:05 pm.
A Matrix Reloaded-style rave is in full effect for Major Lazer. Lots of groping, grinding and simulated sex. And that's just from Skerrit Bwoy and the curvy female dancer he has on stage with him. DJ Diplo eggs on them and the capacity crowd with a mix of dirty beats, piercing highs and intestine-rumbling lows. (RH)

Dante's, 11:14 pm.
I expected mullets at the Red Fang show, and I got mullets. What I did not anticipate was the number of beer bellies, and their girth. I was, for a terrible instant, physically pinned between two of these bellies. (AM)

Ash Street Saloon, 11:22 pm.
Garotas Suecas, the Brazilian Britpop-Carnival-rock-funk explosion, has proven a theory: I will never be as sexy as a Brazilian rock star. (APK)

Roseland, 11:24 pm.
There are ladies in the men's restroom! Two overly heated security guards nearly kick down the door to get them out. Hey, guys, kids are literally fucking on the dance floor out there. Maybe you should be a bit more concerned about that. (MPS)

Roseland, 11:25 pm.
Mark Zusman is freak dancing. I've never been more scared in my whole life. Ever. (MM)

Crystal Ballroom, 11:38 pm.
Thermals encore. They play Weezer's "My Name Is Jonas," and the two preteen boys in front of us go nuts. I'd like to think it's because they're massive Weezer fans, but I know it's just because this song was on Guitar Hero III. Because I can shred it on Expert, thankyouverymuch. (RB)

Roseland, 11:50 pm.
Skerrit Bwoy just brought out a ladder. Either he's going to fight Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Title, or he's going to climb to the top, pull his pants down, leap off and land between the spread legs of his dancer and start furiously dry-humping her. Turns out it's the latter. (MPS)

Berbati's Pan, 11:50 pm.
I already have a favorite MusicfestNW 2010 discovery: Frank Turner. He dragged me in with a cover of "Thunder Road" and kept me planted with throaty, grinning exuberance. (AM)

Berbati's, 12:47 am.
Justin Townes Earle covers the Replacements' "Can't Hardly Wait." My heart melts. God, I'm so easy. And he has a female bass player. And she's playing an upright bass. IN HIGH HEELS. Swoon. (RB)

Sassy's, 1:25 am.
You literally cannot escape the ass in here. Which makes it the perfect place for Big Freedia to film a performance for Into the Woods. She's making it rain as about a half-dozen strippers gyrate around her. The place is packed, the booty bass is bumpin', and I don't think there's a more definitively Portland moment than this. (MPS)

Friday, Sept. 10

Wonder Ballroom, 4:45 pm.
London's Male Bonding is slicing through a spirited yet still somewhat disaffected set of echo-chamber punk. More importantly, I just became the mayor of Wonder Ballroom on Foursquare! My first action will be to abolish this crowded, 21-plus balcony. Then, I will build a monorail. (MPS)

Backspace, 7:20 pm.
The members of Candy Claws are performing in what looks like the masks from Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The lead singer is wearing something on his head that looks like an LED onion, and he's blessing the crowd with two scepters made of palm fronds. (SD)

Wonder Ballroom, 7:20 pm.
Rock 'n' roll: spitting in the air onstage. Not rock 'n' roll: catching it in your mouth again. Gross, Black Lips. Gross. (RB)

West Burnside Street at 6th Avenue, 7:48 pm.
A TriMet officer asks all bus passengers to show their transfers as proof of fare. Drunkenly, I flash my MFNW wristband. He does not think I am funny. (APK)

Berbati's, 9:14 pm.
Why the hell have I never heard of Old Light? The four-piece evokes the Band and My Morning Jacket with occasional forays into hard rock. Oh, maybe it's because there's hardly anyone at the show. This needs to change. (APK)

Someday Lounge, 9:32 pm.
Finn Riggins amazes me with its sheer energy. Seriously, if these three weren't in a band, I bet they'd get together three times a week and just do jumping jacks. (SD)

Slabtown Community Fest, 9:50 pm. I am just flabbergasted by how well the Shaky Hands' Nick Delffs drums and sings at the same time. Fuck Phil Collins, this guy is for real. (CJ)

(Top Left) YOUNGIN' ON HIS GRIND: Wiz Khalifa at the Roseland, IMAGE: leahnash.com. (Bottom Left) HEY HEY, WE'RE: The Gories at Dante's, IMAGE: vivianhohnson.com. (Right) GUITAR FACE 101: Jeff the Brotherhood at Doug Fir, IMAGE: Andy Wright

Roseland, 10 pm.
I'm walking through security to see Wiz Khalifa—the Pittsburgh mega-rapper who loves weed with the power of nine Christs. The teen girl in front of me stops to give her ticket to the guard, and a shiny little pipe falls out of her bag and hits the security guard's shoe. The guard let's her go but keeps the pipe. (WH)

Roseland, 10:10 pm.
Brandon Roy just peeked out from the side of the stage, and the rumor is that Jerryd Bayless and Dante Cunningham are also backstage. But I'm sure they're staying away from the stick icky, right? I mean, it's not like Wiz does that stuff. I hope to God John Canzano isn't reading this…. (MM)

Crystal Ballroom, 10:15 pm.
"How many of you have goats?" Bobby Bare Jr. asks, to which the crowd responds with hollers to the affirmative. "Yeah…you're goat owners." With a bob of his curl-topped head he leans into the mic and says, "This song's called 'Your Goat Is On Fire'; it's about my feelings and emotions." (KC)

Crystal Ballroom, 11:05 pm.
Okkervil River's Will Sheff dresses like an English lit professor and jumps around the stage like he's fronting At the Drive-In. The band doesn't have any settings between "off" and "screaming," and tonight it's set to "screaming." (SD)

Backspace, 11:34 pm.
Forget everything bad I ever said about L.A.: Abe Vigoda kicks all kinds of ass. The lead singer says the band is here to rep L.A.; somebody shouts, "Go Clippers!" (AM)

Mississippi Studios, midnight.
Uh, is this the real Shonen Knife? If so, they haven't aged in at least two decades. They hit the stage smiling wide and throwing up devil-horn signs and proceed to rip through a set that sounds like the Ramones if they hosted a Japanese children's show. (MPS)

Doug Fir, 12:20 am.
Tallest Man on Earth is actually the shortest guy here. (MS)

Rotture, 12:41 am.
Lazer Sword is changing my life. I want to have a ballcap with a flat brim. I want to have a shorty. I want to grrriiiyyyiiind. I want to be a sex robot. I want to stay here forever. (AM)

Sandbox Studios, 3:33 am.
What shall we say of the MusicfestNW afterparty? That it was sponsored by Toyota? That there were many free drinks? That the DJ played more 1980s music videos? That I danced like a damned fool in the general vicinity of beautiful women? Let us never speak of this again. (AM)

Saturday, Sept. 11

Pioneer Courthouse Square, 7:52 pm.
The Square sounds amazing (honestly, I thought it was going to sound like shit). The Decemberists launch into a pair of new songs, and they're lazy, country-feeling numbers that excite me more than anything the band has done in years. (CJ)

Ash Street Saloon, 9:15 pm.
Don't is tearing it up onstage—three older gents and a far younger frontwoman. To paraphrase one Wayne Campbell: This chick can really wail. (RB)

Jimmy Mak's, 9:20 pm.
Both members of Seattle hip-hop duo THEESatisfaction are wearing extremely high-waisted mom jeans. But their best accessory is that they ooze confidence. The beats sound like they were ripped into iTunes at about 96 kbps; this is one of the most compelling shows I've seen yet. (CJ)

WE WANT IT! WE WANT IT!: BOAT at Backspace. IMAGE: Ian McNeil

Backspace, 10:02 pm.
BOAT takes the stage to the best intro of MFNW. Over Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2," someone reads a list of famous locals (from "Rowdy" Roddy Piper to Dallas McKennon, the voice of Gumby). (RR)

Doug Fir, 10:25 pm.
Jeff the Brotherhood guitarist Jake Orrall is playing his three-string and looking distractingly like Randall "Pink" Floyd in Dazed and Confused. He's also strenuously eye-fucking this room. He asks for the house lights to be turned up; apparently he likes to do it with them on. (AM)

Backspace, 10:27 pm.
The guys in BOAT seem genuinely tickled they have drawn such a big crowd on such a competitive MFNW night. "Smashing Pumpkins is playing right now," says one of them. "You know it's the same wristband to see them, right?" (RR)

Roseland Theater, 11:10 pm.
I watch as a reunited Sleep turns hundreds of men with creative facial hair and sleeve tattoos into giddy schoolchildren and growling monsters with nothing more than a few notes of a guitar line. (RH)

Backspace, 11:15 pm.
Titus Andronicus frontman Ian Graetzer has the exact right combination of crazy beard, weather-beaten facial features, and gravelly, rant-prone voice to make him look like a wino. (SD)

Wonder Ballroom, 11:23 pm.
The walls at the Wonder are sweating, the crowd packed in tight to hear Billy Corgan wail through his Pumpkins catalog with a baby band that includes Beaverton's 20-year-old Mike Byrne. Byrne garners the loudest cheer of the night with his drum solo. "You didn't know it. But you weren't in the band yet," Corgan laughs. "But tonight, you're hired." (KC)

Crystal Ballroom, 11:25 pm.
Menomena is absolutely phenomenal. Pheno-menomena-al. That sounded funnier in my head after a few beers. (RB)

Crystal Ballroom, 11:58 pm.
I can't stop watching Danny Seim punish this drum set. It's entrancing. (WH)

Jimmy Mak's, 12:20 am.
In theory, I'm watching Shabazz Palaces' set of avant hip-hop. In practice, I'm kicking a chair, apparently. (MPS)

Mississippi Studios, 12:39 am.
Crooked Fingers is not playing covers. Instead, Eric Bachmann is sampling the early stuff. And he is just breaking my heart. I want to live in a hole. (AM)

Dante's, 1 am.
Out in front, a huge, beat-up punk is icing his (presumably) broken nose. Inside, the three members of Nomeansno look old enough to be my grandfathers—in fact, a quick look at Wikipedia tells me the frontman is 56—and they are absolutely shit-hot. Five minutes later, the broken-nose punk is back, thrashing around with tissues shoved up his nostrils. (RB)

Sunday, Sept. 12

DAD ROCK FTW: The National at Pioneer Courthouse Square. IMAGE: Inger Klekacz

Pioneer Courthouse Square, 7:57 pm.
What a magical night for dad rock. Across from me on the porch outside the Starbucks is a kid, no more than 3, riding on his pop's shoulders, clapping in some approximation of time to the National. After a weekend of Brief Dance Parties with Hideous Men, this is a hopeful sight. (AM)

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