PDX Pop Now! at City Hall, July 25, 2007
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Paul is a WW news intern, whom we sent downtown to check out PDX POP NOW!’s second annual city hall show.] City Hall’s front porch turned into a mini-happening Wednesday, with three bands, a stage, and some fans going about their business pretty much ignored by rush-hour downtown Portland streaming past. No matter how loud headliners Old Time Relijun, the Watery Graves, or singer/songwriter Little Sue got—there was no breaking the bubble that seemed to form around the kids lying out with boyfriends or girlfriends on City Hall’s grassy prayer rug beside the stage.
Perhaps in homage to the city-that-cycles, Old Time Relijun front-man Arrington De Dionyso came out on PDX Pop Now’s City Hall stage wearing tight black bike shorts. Ripping through a set leading the kids down a primrose path of indie rock to their own jazz sound, Old Time Relijun seemed to take the crowd by the shoulders and shake it. Amy Nichols, 17, thought the band was groovy: “I love to dance to this music,” she said.
Before Relijun took the stage, three-piece band Watery Graves played it casual, chatting with each other between songs with Graves drummer Adrian Orange always asking the sound guy to make it louder. And kicking off the second coming of PDX Pop Now’s City Hall show—a warm up for their 2007 festival beginning on Friday August 3—veteran Portland performer Little Sue did a set that included a cover of “Xanadu,” everyone’s favorite Olivia Newton-John/ELO collaboration.
But the main attraction was still Relijun, with at least 100 people on City Hall’s steps (including festival-sponsor Commissioner Sam Adams, who made an appearance) listening to them play as the sun set. “We took a poll, and we find that Portland is better in every way than Seattle,” said Dionoyso to the crowd that wanted Relijun (but more still, to believe).
For those you didn’t make the Old Time Relijun’s City Hall show, you got another chance coming. The band will play at downtown Portland’s Ground Kontrol arcade this Friday at 8 p.m.
Links:
PDX POP NOW!
Old Time Relijun
Watery Graves
Little Sue
Photos by Paul Leonard
Little Sue:
Kids:
Hartman Brothers:
Cary Clarke
says:Thanks for the pics, Paul! A few notes:
-Sam Adams is not a PDX Pop Now! festival sponsor. His office, as part of the Creative Capacity initiative, and with the aid of RACC, did, however, pay for the City Hall event, which is pretty darn cool of them.
Posted @ July 27th, 2007 at 5:59 pm (July 27th, 2007) | Flag this Comment | permalink-There were at least 400 people there over the course of the afternoon.
-This year’s City Hall show echoed last year’s in that an impromptu game of leap frog developed in front of the stage.
-Old Time Relijun are rockin’ their new tunes hard.
-The Watery Graves’ set featured two guest performers - OTR’s Ben Hartman on sax, and Fox, Curtis Knapp’s toddler, on drums.
PDX PIPELINE Local Cut/WW Delivers the Goods on PDX POP NOW! at City Hall «
says:[…] July 28th, 2007 — Julian Chadwick Local Cut comes through again–this time with a run-down PDX POP NOW! at City Hall City Hall’s front porch turned into a mini-happening Wednesday, with three bands, a stage, and […]
Posted @ July 28th, 2007 at 5:47 pm (July 27th, 2007) | Flag this Comment | permalink