I’ve always had a soft spot for creative expression and for music especially. With the general decline of popular music sourcing from the large record companies I started to look toward the smaller companies and independent bands for my fix. After moving to Boston in 1997 music was starting to be promoted on the Internet and come 2003 with the founding of MySpace the number of artists on the net had exploded. Despite this coverage I still found joy in finding that great band on my own. In Boston I had that serendipity on a regular basis from just being in bars or coming early to hear the warmup bands for a show a friend had recommended. May times these were local talent that you’d never heard of because they just played around town and you’d never hear them on the radio let alone see them being promoted in a big record store.
This was the charm of PDX PopNow (August 3-5 2007). Get local bands from a great music city, Portland, and put them all together in an all-ages, free weekend long festival. Every band got 30 minutes of time no matter what their popularity or style. The bands where not presented in any order, so if you hung around for the afternoon you’d hear everything from electronic to punk.
The venue promoted an open feel. AudioCinema is a converted warehouse under the Hawthorne Bridge across the river from downtown Portland. When I arrived Friday evening to hear music flowing from under a dark overpass I will admit I was wary, but once you got closer you could see a sea of people and bikes (part of the Portland culture). No barricades, nobody checking IDs, just a woman handing you a program as you walk in. I think I saw a few police around, but they were just enjoying the evening. In the morning there were of course fewer people, but everybody seemed to know each other, were their to support friends up on stage, and just hanging out enjoying the tunes. They even have an Astroturf room. All of the hipsters needed a place to sit.
All of the bands I heard were good to excellent. A few of them are known outside Portland or are just on the verge of being “discovered.” Some of my personal favorites were the MarchFourth Marching Band which preformed to a full house Friday evening (continuing outside after their finishing), Dragging an Ox Through Water, Ethan Rose, Star Fucker, Copy, Here Comes a Big Black Cloud, Bright Paper, and Corrina Repp. I didn’t catch all of them but the bloggers where then in full force for you to catch up.
If you want a taste for the concert I recommend the compilations CD from the last 4 years (at CDBaby, search “PDX”). Each year is a two CD set selected from submissions by local bands. This year there were over 200 entries. They are cheap ($7 for 2 disks!), you’ll get some great music, and proceeds go to help keep the annual festival free. Portland Radio Authority also put up a series of podcasts recorded live at the festival.
I hope PDX Pop Now! keeps it’s spirit. It’s truly wonderful and unique.
