After work, June 30, 2010, a splendid summer day in Portland, Oregon

Music on Main Street, presented for free by what was then known as the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. This group, Pancake Breakfast, took the stage and entertained an nice-sized audience happy to enjoy live music from 5 to 7 p.m. The building to their right is Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, to their left it's the Antoinette Hatfield Hall. There's one stage in the Schnitz and three stages in the Hatfield. They are four of the five stages now known collectively as the Portland'5 Centers for the Arts. The other stage is blocks away inside Keller Auditorium. I used to be a volunteer usher at the Hatfield and a volunteer tour guide at it and the Schnitz. Quite a lot of responsibility and some great times witnessing shows at the Hatfield and leading interested folks on tour in both buildings. Having the keys to the Schnitz in your hand is such a rush! It's an awesome vintage beauty to experience.



Folks of all ages come out for these events, year after year.



I'll bet these ladies are smiling at how the crowd reacted to the song that had just been performed.



A wider view of the crowd.



One of my favorite signs and marquees in Portland, at the Schnitz.

From the Portland'5 Web site:

Music on Main Street

The Portland’5 Centers for the Arts and ArtBar & Bistro are proud to present the 10th Annual Music on Main Street outdoor concert series.

The free concerts are held in downtown Portland on Main Street, between Southwest Broadway & Park Ave., next to Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

On Wednesday evenings starting in July, Portland’5 takes advantage of the lovely summer weather in Portland to present Music on Main Street, our free outdoor concert series. The concerts feature popular local musicians playing a diverse collection of music.

The 2015 season features jazz, salsa and world music with tributes to the Stevie Wonder and the Allman Brothers. The free concerts are open to the public and run from 5pm to 7pm – tickets are not required. The ArtBar & Bistro will be serving seasonal fare and delicious libations starting at 4:30 p.m.

Music on Main Street 2015 Schedule

July 8 - The Minus 5

July 15 - Joey Porter’s Tribute to Stevie Wonder
Ah, I see a goal for my recovery here! Have folding aluminum lawn chair, will travel!

July 22 - The Shanghai Woolies

July 29 - 3 Leg Torso

August 5 - Melao de Cuba

August 12 - Freak Mountain Ramblers

No show on August 19th due to private event

August 26 - Brothers and Sister

September 2 - Jujuba
This group makes great music and puts on an energetic show! I hope I'm able to see them again. We'll have to see what my treatment schedule dictates.
 
*In case of rain or extreme heat, Music on Main Street concerts will be held in the rotunda lobby of Antoinette Hatfield Hall, located next to Main Street at 1111 SW Broadway.

Sights I'll miss until I am about out and about again, No. 5 - no biopsy results yet, maybe later in the week

Portland's a city that communicates in all ways. Here we witness the written word, as in placing signs wherever they will stick. Love Your Farmer. Old Ragged-Time Music. This Is Your Land - Vote.



And here, on top of the instrument case, I can make out one that reads: Eat More Kale.The others are upside down and blurry.

Right now I've been up three hours after a good night's sleep. Ate a little oatmeal for breakfast. Drank some Twining's English Breakfast Tea--that stuff is doggone great! In a little while, I'll make a couple of L-shaped loops in the hallway of my apartment building, probably go down the few steps from my hallway into the vestibule and look out the front door. No pain medications needed--hooray! My sons will be back after work today. I am blessed. Thank you for your continued prayers, love and concern.

If you are worried that I'm about to get stir crazy, to tell you the truth, I don't feel it coming on.  Four great windows in my living room and sunshine outside help a whole lot. Knowing that in a few days I should be able to take my aluminum folding lawn chair outside and sit on the sidewalk in the sunshine is a goal I will achieve.

I took these photos at the Portland Farmers Market on the Portland State University campus on April 29, 2011. Not only live music, but lots of local foodstuffs and flowers. What special places, all of the farmers' markets in and around Portland.

Hugh Laurie and the Copper Bottom Band, June 1, 2012, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, downtown Portland

The marquee connected to the iconic Portland sign says it all. Here's what Laurie's Web site had to say about the tour:

Hugh Laurie will take the music from his critically acclaimed debut album Let Them Talk on the road for a run of select dates on the West Coast. The 10-show tour will kick off on May 22 in San Diego and include stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland before concluding on June 4 in Seattle. 

This marks Laurie’s first U.S. tour, following up on two heralded performances last year at The Mint in Los Angeles and the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco.

Laurie will be on vocals and piano and will be joined onstage by The Copper Bottom Band, featuring a cast of renowned musicians including Jay Bellerose (drums), Kevin Breit (guitars), Vincent Henry (horns), David Piltch (bass), and Patrick Warren (keyboard/accordion).
 

Laurie alternated from playing the piano and singing from there, just playing the piano, or just singing at the mic at center stage. The music performed ranged from "Unchain My Heart" to "St. James Infirmary" to "You Don't Know My Mind" to "Suwannee River" to "Tipitina." Made me wish for younger knees and feet and the opportunity to stand up and dance the night away. The man played and/or sang for a couple of hours without a break, then took a bow and came back to do, I think it was, two more songs for an encore. As far as I'm concerned, Laurie was a great big piece of cake which certainly makes the Copper Bottom Band the perfect icing on said piece of cake.
 

After the show, someone offered to take our photo--that's Sharon in the middle of her twin daughters and me on the left. Smiles all around after a most satisfying evening of entertainment and live music.

October 17, 2008, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Jimmy Mak's, an easy walk from home

Solo time. Sound so low that my skin vibrated with the deep timbre of the saxophone.


I walked to Jimmy Mak’s at 221 NW 10th Ave. (between Davis and Everett), just 12 blocks from the apartment where I used to live ...


... on a great Friday evening filled with funky, outta sight live music and a house packed with fans of the band.


You see, I knew the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, having enjoyed them outdoors a couple of times in my hometown of Jackson, Mississippi.




Women came on stage at the invitation of the band ...

... to dance ...

... and groove to the music.

Impossible to remain still. Fine fun.My older son Lamont joined me once he got off at 3 Doors Down Cafe, the restaurant where he used to work. Always great to enjoy live music together, always.

After the show he walked me to the bus stop a few blocks away on Burnside in front of Powell's Books. Not long after, I boarded the 20 and rode on home.

Tango Berretin, Southeast Portland

I couldn't believe my luck! While driving the Buick, I saw these people wearing black, in sharp contrast to the brick-colored wall. Then the traffic light turned red! I got to take some photos! Later I looked on the web and found out that they must have been the surprise live music at Tango Berretin's special event, The Thing. Evidently it was break time. I couldn't find anything else except the schedule and that you can take tango lessons there. I'll bet everyone had a blast! I like these photos a lot.





A couple of wide views.

ABC Wednesday - L is for loud and love and Lamont and Leland!

Yep, loud. And I loved it, every single second of the February show at Doug Fir on East Burnside. Loud. Loved it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

I first heard Grupo Fantasma in Jackson a couple of years ago at a Crossroads Film Festival after-party at Hal & Mal's, one of my favorite hometown places to listen to live music. Grupo Fantasma, as I found on their Web site, is a "band incorporating elements of funk, mambo, merengue, and cumbia." I don't know what cumbia is, but I recognize the rest of those nouns and know their infectious beat. From personal experience I have to say that it's impossible to be still when this band plays. Besides blasting away to a Latin beat, the crowd of musicians enjoyed themselves a whole lot, just like the crowd on the dance floor. That night I bought their two CDs and played them often enough that I could almost sing in Spanish, phonetically, of course, not understanding a single word, but lovin' it!

So, the Wednesday that I knew Mama would probably get to come home on Friday, I read in the Willamette Week (a local alternative newspaper) that Grupo Fantasma would be at Doug Fir the next Wednesday night. Ah, I quickly realized, Kay would be here to help with Mama's transition back to apartment-dweller, so maybe, just maybe, I could go to the show.

I grabbed my cellphone and called our friend Chris who tends bar at Doug Fir. He's from Jackson; we've known him for 25 years, since the guys were all in elementary school; he's now a Portlander, too, and I love him like a son. I asked him to please check to see if the show was sold out. Nope, it wasn't, and he said he'd see if he could get me on the list as his guest. Whooppee!

Naturally our sweet friend Kay thought it would be grand for me to go, that she and Mama and Duncan would be just fine, so the night of Feb. 20 I got on the #20 and rode right over the Willamette River, 30 blocks to certain, rhythmic fun!

Chris had called earlier to tell me that I was on the list, plus one. To join in the fun, Lamont figured that he would ride his bicycle over after his dinner shift at 3 Doors Down Cafe. What more could a mama ask of her first born son than he be her plus one at a live music show?

Having been to Doug Fir's downstairs show venue in the past when Chris was spinning records, I realized if I wanted to sit down, watch people and wait for the show, I'd best get there early. What I didn't realize was that some other group was opening--they were OK but I don't even remember their name. Some people danced which I think is always good for a band's morale when there's a dance floor right in front of 'em. I sort of chair-danced a little bit, but mostly I was saving my energy for what I knew was to come.

When Grupo Fantasma started playing, the dance floor filled right up, practically packed with people moving to the pulsating sound. I stood up right where I was and had a blast, groovin' to the music, watching the musicians, watching the dancers. During their second song, Lamont showed up, and we had ourselves a fine time. The band played for almost two wonderful hours. I took some photos, and I bought their newest CD and a T-shirt. Lamont walked me to the bus stop across the street, and soon I caught the #20 back to the apartment. It was such a great night that it didn't even rain!



Yep, it was loud, and I loved it, and I loved being there with Lamont. If Leland hadn't had to study for an exam, he'd have been right there with us. I believe I'll throw in lucky as my final L word 'cause I'm one lucky Mama.

If you're of a mind to, go to Mrs. Nesbitt's Place for loads of other ABC Wednesday blogs! You'll need to look at the comments at her blog to find out who is participating this week.