Upcoming/Recent Shows

The latest Blossom Music Center Lawn Pass adventure -

The Offspring w/ Simple Plan and Sum 41

I went through a HUGE Offspring phase in high school after checking out their Greatest Hits CD from the library. Well, that and in middle school my babysitter was watching MTV and the video for Original Prankster came on. That was an eye opener for younger me!

Anyway, this is part of Sum 41's last shebang. Obviously Fat Lip and Hell Song amongst a few others were on rotation at the same time, so was glad to catch a performance of these live. They seemed to be soaking it all in and got the crowd moving as the first opener. Trying to force circle pits multiple times was a bit, eh, cliché.
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Simple Plan surprised me. I didn't realize just how many songs of theirs that I knew. AND THEY PLAYED THE WHAT'S NEW SCOOBY DOG THEME IN FULL!

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The Offspring sounded incredible. Well, the band did. Dexter's vocals were really straining throughout the whole set. I'm not surprised that he can't hit some of the more emphatically high notes anymore, but even some of the middle of the road notes seemed like he was pushing to the edge. They also talked...a lot in between songs. Now, Offspring songs aren't the longest in the world because, well, punk. So I estimated we could have heard at least 2 more songs had they not talked as much. And it was a stupid drawn out joke about there being a million people in attendance and that they broke a world record. Ugh. But hearing the hits was fulfilling high school me's dreams, so I'll take what I got.

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Tash Sultana ~ Rady Shell San Diego

Tash kicked off (I think) her latest US Tour last night in San Diego to a sold out show. Ended up watching from outside, which isn't an issue at this venue - there is a public promenade that you can walk around it and still get a great view. Second time seeing her, first time with a band. Amazing musician - guitar, mandolin, keyboards, sax, trumpet, flute and solid grooves the entire time.

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The Swell Season, Masonic Auditorium San Francisco

I've been a fan of the Swell Season for years and this was my 5th or 6th time seeing them. It was an amazing show full of new songs and some surprises (This Gift as a true encore after the lights had come up!) They mentioned having enough songs for a new album so hopefully we get that sooner than later.

 
tvham said:
The Swell Season, Masonic Auditorium San Francisco

I've been a fan of the Swell Season for years and this was my 5th or 6th time seeing them. It was an amazing show full of new songs and some surprises (This Gift as a true encore after the lights had come up!) They mentioned having enough songs for a new album so hopefully we get that sooner than later.

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On a semi related tangent... John Carney, former bassist for The Frames and director of Once, in which Glen & Mar starred, has a new film coming out. It's titled "Flora and Son" and stars Eve Hewson (Bono's daughter). It looks great - will be in select theatres on Sept 22 and on AppleTv Sept 29.

 
threesunrises said:
On a semi related tangent... John Carney, former bassist for The Frames and director of Once, in which Glen & Mar starred, has a new film coming out. It's titled "Flora and Son" and stars Eve Hewson (Bono's daughter). It looks great - will be in select theatres on Sept 22 and on AppleTv Sept 29.

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Oh yeah, I can't wait! Once is my all time favorite film and Sing Street is pretty great, too.
 
tvham said:
Oh yeah, I can't wait! Once is my all time favorite film and Sing Street is pretty great, too.
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Same. Absolutely love Once (even saw it on broadway twice - first time before it was nominated for any Tonys - and loved Sing Street as well. Was just looking at his other films and really would like to see On the Edge (2001) but I can't find it streaming anywhere in the US. I wonder if I try to login to AppleTV using a VPN will work...

It has a killer soundtrack, too!
 
threesunrises said:
Same. Absolutely love Once (even saw it on broadway twice - first time before it was nominated for any Tonys - and loved Sing Street as well. Was just looking at his other films and really would like to see On the Edge (2001) but I can't find it streaming anywhere in the US. I wonder if I try to login to AppleTV using a VPN will work...

It has a killer soundtrack, too!
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I saw it on Broadway, too! Loved the bar on stage where you could grab a drink before the show started. They had one of the touring leads (the Girl roll) come on stage and sing w them last night. It was a magical show!
 
Had the pleasure of seeing Jess Williamson last night in Portland. Also my first time in Doug Fir Lounge (my favorite PDX venue) this year, which will also be my last before their move into a former Portland favorite restaurant (La Bistro Montage) about half a mile away.

Laith & The Texas Birds

This band from Texas was quite impressive, considering I'm not caring too much for modern country/Southern rock. Laith, the lead singer, grew up in Houston, TX but has lived in Portland, OR for the past few years, even working as a former Doug Fir Lounge employee.
The band sounded tight and interesting enough to keep my attention on stage. A female guest (friend of the lead singer's?) was brought on stage after the fourth song or so, but I could barely tell she was in the audio mix.

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Jess Williamson

Jess entered the stage from the right to the drum intro of "As the Birds Are" wearing a gorgeous white dress. Yep, I knew I was going to be in for a good time.
A 16-song setlist (+2 encore)! The entire new album in full! Around 80min in total! She even performed "Abilene" and "I Walked With You a Ways" from the Plains collab YES YES YES!
During the extended piano outro of "I'd Come to Your Call" performed on synthesizer by her bassist for live setting, Jess walked over to the Fender amp, reached behind and pulled out ten or so flowers. She slowly handed a few out to audience members in front, and tossed the rest into the crowd one by one. I didn't get one, but was standing next to someone in front who did receive one.
She also performed a cover of John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery" which I've heard before a few times. She brought Laith to the stage to perform as a duet. I really enjoyed Jess's cover, one of my favorite parts of the set.


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She was fantastic. Would catch her again in a similar-sized venue.

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Video of my favorite song "God in Everything" from her new record:




Post-show

Right after the encore, Jess encouraged us to say hi at the merch booth. A few items available, though all somewhat pricy ($30/LP, $35/shirt). Waited in line for ~15min until I got the front. Jess was so so nice and all smiles. I brought out my Sorceress and Time Ain't Accidental jackets from my bag and asked her to sign them, which she was more than happy to. I had a silver Sharpie on hand specifically for the Sorceress jacket considering the color spectrum, but she had plenty of black/silver pens at her side. I suggested that silver would be best, but Jess replied saying that black signatures were "looking pretty cute on tonight's merch" so I just went with it 😅 She also added some personalization; a 2023-labeled heart with Cupid arrow on Sorceress, and a flower in the corner of Time Ain't Accidental. She gave me a hug as well and I wished her well and safe health for the rest of the tour.

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Of course the above pair well with this pre-signed beauty gifted out of nowhere from @avecigrec when I was on a no-buy period last year. It still remains my favorite Jess Williamson related release, a perfect summertime roadtripping morsel of saccharine joy.

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EDIT: Added info about John Prine cover.
 
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tvham said:
I saw it on Broadway, too! Loved the bar on stage where you could grab a drink before the show started. They had one of the touring leads (the Girl roll) come on stage and sing w them last night. It was a magical show!
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We missed their recent show at Radio City due to a scheduling conflict, but did see them last in Philly in March 2022. Always an amazing show, and Mar's sister (who was running the merch table) performed a song with them.

I joked to my husband when we saw Once, that buying a drink would be the only way I'd ever make it up onto a stage on Bway. Still have the drink cups from those shows.
 
threesunrises said:
We missed their recent show at Radio City due to a scheduling conflict, but did see them last in Philly in March 2022. Always an amazing show, and Mar's sister (who was running the merch table) performed a song with them.

I joked to my husband when we saw Once, that buying a drink would be the only way I'd ever make it up onto a stage on Bway. Still have the drink cups from those shows.
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Yeah, her sister came out last night too and sang with them! They played a number of new songs and hinted at a new album on the way soon.
 
Counting Crows at the Rady Shell, San Diego Sept. 3

Free show for me, watched from the outside promenade. Haven't seen Counting Crows before, and never really followed them. That being said, I really enjoyed the concert. It was obvious that Adam wasn't too invested in playing the hits, but you could tell there was a strong personal investment in the songs he was really into. He mentioned how the band was surprised at soundcheck that there were tables set up for the show (it's typically a symphony venue, and a lot of the shows leave the tables / seating setup this way), and that they wouldn't play here again as it didn't feel like a rock show. Too bad as the sound is fantastic here.

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Paying the price of a good night's sleep to see Julie Byrne (absolutely worth it!) for a lateish show to wake up for a 5:00 AM shift the following day. Yes yes yes! ❤️

ann annie

A local multi-instrumentalist born and raised in Portland, OR. Their music is a hybrid of modern classical, jazz, and ambient genres, using clarinet, keyboard, guitar, and modular synthesis to achieve their sound. Really enjoyable improvisation, with some beautiful, tranquil moments spread out in the ~30min set.

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Julie Byrne

A gorgeously performed ~50min set of mostly all of 2023 AotY candidate The Greater Wings with plenty of in between chatter. Julie alternated a few songs of acoustic guitar + vocals, and then only vocals.

In addition, I gained insight to a deeper meaning for the inspiration for the album title...which I initially thought was solely about a reflection on the recent loss of her childhood friend and music collaborator. It came about from when Julie was getting treatment from a massage therapist in Paris. During the exchange, the therapist mentioned that the sphenoid bone was one of the most vital and sensitive parts of the human skull and that it bears two pairs of lateral "wings" in its structure. Something about that intimate exchange had resonated with Julie enough to coin the name of her newest record.

She also played an unreleased new song "Twenty-Two" in the middle of the set, which will drop sometime in October.

Encore selection was a solo performance "Sleepwalker" from the excellent sophomore effort Not Even Happiness, sounding clear as crystal and with conviction.

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Video of the gorgeous "Lightning Comes Up From the Ground" from Julie's newest LP. She has a handful of infectious, hearty laughs that aren't shown in this video:



Post-show

Chatted with the local people near the front who have been longstanding acquaintances I have seen at other concerts here over the years. They all were riveted by Julie's music/voice, much like I was.
Looking at the merch table, there were shirts that, as Julie mentioned from earlier, had the text of The Greater Wings with a graphic of a sphenoid bone with "wings." They looked pretty neat, but I ultimately have too many band tees accumulated at this time. There were also lyric booklets of The Greater Wings for $15 and vinyl/CDs. I waited around the middle of the room for after the encore in hopes of having my Julie records from home signed. About three other people had the same gameplan.
About 25min pass by, and then with someone saying to another patient, hopeful patron says to him that Julie was actually outside the venue entrance talking to a handful of people and that she had been doing this for the past ~15min or so. :LOL: Soo...
The group of us headed outside and saw Julie chatting with a couple that were just ready to take off. She then approached me and asked how I was and if I wanted something autographed. Initially on Rooms With Walls and Windows, I handed a silver pen to her thinking it would contrast well with the artwork...but it didn't show up great, she commented that it looked very translucent. I had a black pen ready so I instead had her use black ink for all of them, using black to overwrite the preexisting silver signature. After getting my three jackets autographed, I told her to keep the black pen as no one else brought one. She still politely returned it to me after the other people had their autograph requests fulfilled.
I was ready to head home afterwards, but one of my concert acquaintances at the front who was waiting for an autographed ticket stub also suggested I get a photo with Julie. So, I couldn't say no, could I? If you excuse my awkward pose, I think we cute. 🤗

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EDIT: Added unreleased song info + edited opener.
 
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