Wow, I love Portland Summers! In a town with real seasons, when the weather finally turns nice, the town just bursts into activities. Everyone is outdoors, there are festivals every weekend and more things to do than you can imagine. I have heard some amazing live music in Portland lately!
First there’s free live music on the patio at the Doug Fir on Sunday afternoons, featuring the Pete Krebs Gypsy Trio! They play jazz from the early 20th century, inspired by Django Reinhart and the like. Fabulous musicians that you can watch from as little as ten feet away.
Then I heard the Ditty Bops play at the Aladdin Theater. This is a new band (to me), but I’m really enjoying what I’ve heard so far. And the concert was just packed, and more fun than you can shake a stick at.
I ran into Pete’s crew again as they played backup for the Stolen Sweets in a free concert in Washington Park. The Sweets are the spiritual inheritors of the Boswell Sisters, tight vocal harmonies, and they really swing!
And then last night, I went to the Kennedy School to hear BED. This is a jazz quartet of vocals, guitar, stand-up base and trombone. I wouldn’t have thought a trombone would work in an intimate jazz combo; it’s hard to imagine how it wouldn’t drown out everything else. But, this guy was capable of playing so soft and smooth, he blended in with the rest of the group seamlessly and then stepped it up slightly for the solos.
And coming up, I’ve got plans to see Jonathan Coulton, Loudon Wainwright III and They Might Be Giants!
3 thoughts on “Music everywhere!”