One of the many things I liked about Bonnie when we started hanging out together was the fact that she loved the same artists that I did, even though she'd never heard them or heard of them before she met me. She absolutely loved Greg Brown, Fred Eaglesmith (especially the train songs), Paul Kelly, Chris Smither, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Terry Allen, and almost any other male artist I played. For some reason, she wasn't so impressed with my taste in female artists, but I guess there have to be some disagreements just to mix things up. In any case, we managed to see two of our favorites just a few days apart. Last Thursday, Fred was playing at my favorite Seattle musical venue, the Tractor Tavern. Actually it was more like Fred "lite." He appeared with a drummer, a bass player, a guitar player, and himself. In spite of the fact he had no mandolins, no fiddles, no Washboard Hank, and only played a couple of train songs, he put on a pretty good show. He was in fine humor, and unlike the last couple of times I saw him, didn't insult his fans too badly. He kept up a patter of dumb jokes and stories between songs that sometimes made me think he really wants to do stand-up, but all-in-all, a good time was had by all.
On Friday, we went to Portland to see Greg Brown at The Aladdin, an aging neighborhood theater that couldn't survive the competition from the mega-mall cinemas. He too put on a pretty good show, even though I thought the sound was a bit muddled, making it hard to follow his lyrics. He didn't play much that I was familiar with, but he's such a prolific writer that it's not surprising he's got lots of songs I never heard before.
While in Portland, we visited two old friends I hadn't seen in years, and a good friend of Bonnie's whom she's known forever. We had a couple of great meals at interesting restaurants. One was at Andina in the Pearl District. They advertised their food as Nuevo Peruvian, but no matter how it's labelled, the lamb shank I had was one of the best restaurant meals I've ever had. The other memorable meal was at Toro Bravo, a Spanish place that had interesting tapas, paellas, and other good food. I'm sure there are out-of-the-ordinary places to eat in Seattle too, and I don't eat out a whole lot, but I haven't been anywhere in Seattle that compares with those two establishments in Portland.
Portland is a great city that in many ways is more liveable than Seattle. It's more affordable, it has light rail transit, the scenery is great, the traffic isn't nearly as bad as Seattle's, and there's nothing in Seattle that compares to the Pearl District. But it's also 100 miles from salt water, so I'd have a lot harder time satisfying my boating addiction. When I find the perfect place to live, I'll be sure to let you know.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I'm sitting here tentatively watching the wind scream through my big maple trees..chasing my fall leaves throughout the neighborhood...oh and I say tentatively because mother nature knocked out what was left of a maple tree that fell over last year...need wood???
I'm just praying that none of these trees come crashing through the house..especially now that it is in escrow for the third time. It is contingent on a couple selling their house..but a contingent offer is better that none at all...just hope that I don't have to move during the holidays.
When are you leaving for your Bahaha trip? Tell Bob & Phyllis that they have to start blogging on the website...want to hear the exciting tales that are bound to happening.....
Love Fred, Smither, Greg, etc too. And wanted to recommend some new, younger wonders: Devon Sproule & Paul Curreri (seafolklore.org on 10/27) and Eilen Jewell (Tractor on 12/5).
Post a Comment