The New Old Thing

By Casey Jarman

On Saturday, Biz Markie and Rev. Shines helped rechristen the expanded Branx (320 SE 2nd Ave., myspace.com/branxpdx), former home of Meow Meow and Loveland. While the show probably wasn't the most indicative of Branx's future identity as a punk and metal club for the all-ages set—Biz's DJ gig was 21+ and packed with Nike employees doing the Humpty Dance—it did provide a preview of the remodeled space and its (nice) sound system. There are a few new walls, mainly to keep clear distinctions between the barebones bar area—prime real estate at shows—and the all-ages side. There's also a Food Hole-looking burger-'n'-fries shack whose menu will expand in early December. Aside from those changes, Branx feels, as did its predecessors, like a windowless, brick-walled batcave. Which is exactly how it should feel.

WWeek 2015

Casey Jarman

Casey Jarman

Casey Jarman is a freelance editor and writer based in East Portland, Oregon. He has served as Music Editor at Willamette Week and Managing Editor at The Believer magazine, where he remains a contributing editor. He is currently working on his first book. It's about death.

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