Thursday, July 10, 2008 ... Music on Main, Fernando

That's Fernando in the black. I walked over after work and had a great time, listening, watching, taking photos.


Main closed between Broadway and Park--here you're looking west from Broadway.


Here you're looking east from Park. Just yesterday evening Mama and I drove west on this street, headed home in the Buick.


These guys got into it!


The crowd loved this one, too.



Portland Center for the Performing Arts presents Fernando. He leads off the Music on Main Street Summer Series. Wednesday, July 9. Free!

"Fernando writes compelling pop songs with captivating melodies and lush vocal harmonies. Bouncy and charming guitars juggle the bass and drums into rhythmic waves of clever ballads… (with) instrumentation which belies a roots rock intention smartly wrapped in bubble wrap of indie pop.” – Smother

Argentina-born Fernando Vicivonte came of age musically in L.A. fronting the hard rock band Monkey Paw. He moved to Portland in 1994 and released Season in Hell, a downbeat collection of country rock, in 1996. His sophomore effort, Windows, saw a harder-edged approach that at times recalled his Southern California days. The Spanish language album Pacoima (1998) represented an abrupt shift as Fernando explored his So Cal barrio roots, swinging from border rock to Tex-Mex to Mexican R&B. Sure enough, he changed gears ayet again for Old Man Motel (1999) indulging in a powerful collection of relatively straight-ahead rock. In 2001 Fernando released Dreams of the Sun and Sky, a startling gorgeous collection of gauzy, narcotic tracks with Latin and country-folk accents. Fernando’s latest record, Exit to Enter, isn’t your average pop-rock album. Sure it’s full of sweet, somber vocals and catchy hooks, but the album’s got something you don’t hear very often on melodic pop/rock releases – and that’s raw emotion.

www.myspace.com/fernandoportland