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I know, two food-related posts in a row? I thought this was a music blog! Don’t worry, it is. I just enjoy food, as you may have noticed. Drinks, too. At El Rayo Taqueria (aka that new taco joint in Portland that’s really good) yesterday I noticed an interesting beverage on the drink menu: a Michelada. It was described as “Beer of choice served over ice with Worcestershire sauce, lime, tabasco, and salt.” Sounded perfect to me. When I ordered it I was asked “are you from the Southwest?” No. “Have you lived in Mexico?” Nope. “Been there?” Not once. “Oh. Usually those are the only people that drink this.” Now if only someone would open up a late-night taco truck in Portland, all my Mexican food-related needs would be fulfilled! review by Biscuit Wakefield The Udder Place Two years ago I joined my husband on a trip to New York City, where he was attending a boat sales show, and there I encountered a chocolate chip cookie unlike any I’d ever eaten. It was at the Levain Bakery, which my daughter Kathy tells me is “famous” from mentions on the Food TV Network. The place was recommended to me by someone at the conference, who said I “absolutely had to try” the Levain cookie, even though it meant riding the subway alone and getting lost. As I wandered around in circles I found myself envying the pigeons, what with their homing brains. Finally I homed in on the bakery and a “famous” “must-try” chocolate chip cookie was mine – and just as everything in New York seemed overly large and hard to digest, this cookie was a whopper. I could only eat half, but oh, what a half it was: massively thick, underbaked in the center, with sturdy outsides and a heady rush of sugar. I have since dreamt of this cookie, which Mr. Wakefield liked also when I shared a piece back at the hotel. The reason for this preface is that The Udder Place’s chocolate chip cookie was reminiscent of Levain’s, if a lot smaller and less intense. When I broke it in half the thick bottom crust bent, it didn’t snap;the insides were soft and doughy. This is my preferred CCC texture but I realize it may not be yours. As at Levain, there was no pronounced vanilla flavor – cheap extracts have ruined many a fine cookie. Instead, the experience was one of light caramel, almost like eating a blondie. The chocolate involved was quality semi-sweet, but in my opinion the chip-to-dough ratio was a mite low. The cookie itself was also greasier than it should have been, leaving visible oily stains on the napkin. A little less fat and a little more chocolate and this would have been a contender for the top chocolate chip cookie in Portland. Best of all I did not have to ride a bus or the subway in order to get it, although it does require a short drive from the peninsula, which I did not mind because I had some spare time that morning.
On Friday night, They Might Be Giants made it up to Portland, Maine for their (supposedly) only show in Maine this decade. Though they often double it up and do a children’s show early in the day followed by a later club show for the grownups, this time around they just brought the full-on-adult rock to Port City Music Hall. Audrey Ryan opened with a set full of acoustic guitar, accordion, and a bit of an overly aggressive smoke machine. One of the quirks of PCMH is that when though the stage is large, it’s pretty low to the ground, so when someone like Audrey Ryan performs sitting down, it’s hard to tell if it’s a recording or the opening act you’re hearing! I suppose it’s a testament to PCMH’s top-notch sound system, but it can lead to some confusion when the house is packed and you can’t quite tell if something is happening on the stage or not. It was great to see They Might Be Giants here in Portland, and of course they played all the hits that you’d expect to hear at this point in their long career. Their set last over an hour and a half, so fans certainly got their money’s worth! Check out the full exclusive photo gallery from this show here.
Before we get into it, might I share with you this late-notice bit of HillyTown housekeeping from the department of live music, or HillyTown Presents. On Saturday, June 20, we’re bringing you Strand Of Oaks, Matt Bauer, and Tin Ceilings with an evening of music at Zero Station. Details here.
On a personal note, I launched my new photography portfolio site this week. Portland, its people, and its music scene are pretty well-represented. See you out there, in the sun, hopefully. It is supposed to be summer now, right? It seems like Spencer And The School Spirit Mafia have been making a huge impression all over Portland for a while now, before releasing any recorded music or having much of an online presence at all. These days, this seems like a pretty novel approach to promoting a band, but it sure seems to work for them. Maybe it has something to do with having a massive group with costumes (please hold your Sufjan comparisons until after you hear the music… at which point they’ll make even more sense) or the band’s tendency to parade down Congress Street, performing in front of crowded bars and venues. With their debut album scheduled for an July 21st release (with a release show on August 1st at Asylum, which is definitely not closing), SATSSM have a blog, myspace page, and Facebook page for you to keep up on their activities. Check it out, and enjoy. Fun, Two, Three, Four, indeed. Just to clear some things up, I have official word from Asylum to update us on changes going on at the club. Contrary to what you may have be hearing from anonymous posts and commenters posing as employees, the venue is not going to be discontinuing their live music programming this year.
Also, a side note about posting comments here on HillyTown: I encourage you to join the discussion here with any thoughts related to the posts, and all opinions are welcome. However, posting under someone else’s name or posing as them in any way will not be allowed. Let’s end this post on a positive note. The fine gentlemen over at [dog] and [pony] have posted the first of their Tower Of Song Festival episodes, which features Sam James and Chriss Sutherland. Do yourself a huge favor and watch this, and fall in love with the Portland music scene a little more.
We spent a marathon pin-making night with Kris Johnsen of Emblem Studio (and additional help from Jess from SPACE) getting ready for the debut of the Portland Pins project this weekend. Stop by Eli-Phant (253 Congress St., Portland) tonight on the First Friday Art Walk for the opening of their Unkle Thirsty exhibit and check out the results of the project. With all of the great contributions we received, you stand to get some amazing one-of-a-kind artwork on a pin for just 25 cents (which can actually get you up to 3 pins sometimes). This weekend marks Eli-Phant’s one year anniversary, so the excitement continues with a party tomorrow! On to the listage:
Since this isn’t actually Portland related at all (oh wait, there was that awesome Sonic Youth/Pixies Clash Of The Titans this week, right), it goes outside the list. Next week is Sonic Youth week on Pitchfork TV. Yes, please. This is a reminder that today is the deadline for getting your Portland Pins designs turned in to us for them to be included in the debut of the project this weekend at Eli-Phant! If you’ve filled out a template sheet, you can drop it off at the box in the lobby of SPACE Gallery (538 Congress) – you may be headed there tonight for the Pink Mountaintops show anyway – or at Eli-Phant (253 Congress). If you didn’t get your pin designs finished up yet, that’s ok. The project is ongoing, and we will continue to take submissions and add them to the collection periodically.
I’m a big fan of free music, especially when a cool venue gets creative and finds fun new ways to use their space for something a little different (in August I’ll be putting my money where my mouth is when it comes to this idea, more on that in the coming weeks). In the spirit of getting people in the door and providing entertainment on off-nights, Port City Music Hall has started a Front Lounge Music Series, featuring acoustic music and DJ nights. Admission to all of these typically 8pm to 1am events is free, though they remain 21+, like all events at the venue. Read on for the full initial schedule… Read on… |
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