McMenamins

Here's an excerpt from Frank Delaney's Ireland: A Novel (2005). Have a look... you might need this info on Sunday, St. Patrick's Day...

It's Valentine's Day and have we got a sweetheart of a deal for you! The Grand Lodge is offering a 2013 wedding special. So if you are recently engaged or just haven't found the perfect venue for your special day quite yet - we have an offer you may not want to refuse.

Join fellow spirits imbibers at one of our popular Winter Scotch Dinners to hear about, smell, taste and enjoy this selection of scotches, all paired with a menu of courses to complement the flavors. Your host is the charming and edifying Stuart Ramsay.

McMenamins Grand Lodge (Forest Grove, Ore.) is hosting a Wedding Open House on Saturday, February 23, from 11 a.m. ‘til 4 p.m.

We offer onsite catering and provide waitstaff, bartenders, indoor tables, chairs and linens. With the complimentary event space, set up and service staff once the food and beverage minimum for the space is met, planning couldn't be simpler or easier on your budget.

I'm just going to say it:

Florence & The Machine was one of the best shows I've ever photographed...

When Ringo hits the stage flashing peace signs, you can't help but smile...

Ben Harper took the stage solo and started with some acoustic songs, setting a mellow mood for the rest of the show. The crowd was quiet, just taking in the music that was perfect for a warm summer night. Here are some of my favorite shots:

Foster the People -- wow, what a show these guys put on. I would like to note that it is tricky to dance and photograph at the same time, but it can be done.

Unless you've been living under a moss-encrusted rock somewhere on the nether side of Mt. Tabor, you know that Portland's beloved Wild Flag will be gracing the Crystal Ballroom stage on May 4.

If you like rock 'n' roll even a little, teeny bit, go. Go to this show. Wild Flag puts on one of the best shows you'll ever see.

But today's blog post isn't about Wild Flag. Today's blog post is about one of the support acts -EMA-  who will be playing this show. 

Last week I wrote a blog post (here) with some preliminary thoughts about the nature of "Americana." I use quotes around that word because I mean the nature of "Americana" as a term -or at least that's how I intend to start the conversation -because it's a term that gets bandied about like a mofo and I wonder if it's lost some meaning in the process. It might be interesting to unpack it a bit.

Pinning down the definition of music genres is something I think about a lot (Seriously. I know, I'm a nerd. But I once wrote a 1,200-word piece on the true definition of "emo" and got all sorts of hate mail about it, so obviously I'm not the only nerd who cares.), and my interest was re-piqued by Frank Fairfield's recent stint at Al's Den.

Spring is in the air at Edgefield. The plants are blooming, scattering the property with beautiful colors. Come on out and have a look for yourself. Here are some of the plants you might come across...

Daphne odora 'Variegata' (Winter Flowering Daphne

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Note: Local artist and beloved McMenamins contributor Joe Cotter passed away on Saturday, March 31, 2012. This is the second post in honor of his lovely, magical artwork that can be found throughout McMenamins' establishments. We have lost a friend and one of the color masters of the company. Cheers, Joe.
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From McMenamins Artist Jenny Joyce:
Losing Joe is still something I am still having trouble believing. He is the reason I started working for McMenamins, and he was also a founding member of Artback, our artists' co-op in Estacada, Ore.

Did you know that he led the fight to reinstate community murals in Portland? That battle lasted almost 10 years, I believe, and Joe, being Joe, would not let it rest until the issue was resolved fairly. He put in untold hours hammering away at the legalities. He was tenacious in that battle. He was also such a hardworking artist. He never took a short cut, always did what needed to be done without compromise. He was also one of the smartest people I have ever met.

Maybe it's spring's slow, long drag into summer (which I'm choosing to view as romantically rainy, rather than what it really is), or maybe it's the lingering effects of Frank Fairfield's recent old-tyme revival in Al's Den -for some reason I've found myself drawn to dreamy, down-tempo, reverbed-vocal-laden tunes of late. We're talking the type of music that is very broadly termed "Americana "-which is lazy as hell, as far as I'm concerned, because what does that term even mean any more?

Throughout history, courageous explorers and adventurers have introduced rare and exotic foods that over time have become commonplace staples of our modern-day diet and culinary acumen. 

Famous men such as Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, and Sir Francis Drake each returned from their adventures in Asia and the new world to their homes in Europe bringing plants and vegetables that would later transform western cuisine; their names are eternally secure, framed in our national conscience-synonymous with having changed the globe for better or for worse. Tangentially, Gabriel De Clieu is not well known; his name is not commonly found amongst the roster of monolithic characters that are recognized as great men, and yet De Clieu is the man who brought coffee to the new world. 

Beardos, take heed! All your dreams are about to come true!

Seems some of America's most favorite be-whiskered gentle rockers have teamed up to tackle a very Americana-esque task. Going under the moniker "New Multitudes," Jay Farrar (Son Volt, Gob Iron, Uncle Tupelo), Will Johnson (Centro-matic, South San Gabriel), Anders Parker (Varnaline, Gob Iron) and Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket, Monsters of Folk) have joined forces, gathered up some previously unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics, and set them to their original compositions, on which they all collaborated.

Like clothes? Like supporting Portland's finest designers? Like music, beer, and a fashion scene that's fun but not snotty? Then you'll dig the Fade to Light Fashion show at the Crystal on Wednesday, February 29.

We'll be honest: When we first heard about this show, we weren't quite sure what the deal was. A fashion show's a fashion show, right? You know: Clothes. Runway. Models. Repeat until the drinking can start.

But Fade to Light...well, it's much more than that. For one thing, DJ Gregarious will be holding down the musical fort, along with Brainstorm* and that, friends, equals fun. But more important, event producer Elizabeth Mollo promises it will bust the boundaries of your usual fashion show, in some very creative ways. We chatted with Mollo on the phone today to get her thoughts on things.

There's a certain brand of female singer-songwriter these days that's hard to describe accurately. These ladies lilt about atop a cloud of influences -jazz, mainly, but also with attachments to ethereal acousto-rockers of yore like Joni Mitchell and Carol King. This new brand of lady musicians takes classic influences and spins them with originality and a personal touch. In a world that insists upon specific definition, such concoctions can be hard to pin down, genre-wise. Is it Norah Jones-like pop? Subtle, sophisticated songcraft? Jazz-based, piano-driven, sultry chanteuse-ery?

Our 20-page seasonal newsletter was discontinued a couple years back -- so we'll be periodically pulling old stories from this, as well as from the way-way back newsletter called Resonance of the Festival. Here's a story published in our Winter 2007 newsletter about our love of a roaring, crackling fire, especially this time of year...

You know what's great? Our Music Residency Series at Al's Den. I'm not just saying this because it's my job to photograph them -- I have seen some of my favorite acoustic, live music in Portland there (and it's only been open since May ‘11). I knew this tiny room had a hold on me during the Crystal Hotel's opening when Lewi Longmire, Evan Way, and Mike Midlow started singing Neil Young covers -- swoon.

On Tuesday, September 6, 2011, as the mist rose from the fields and the sun broke through the clouds over Mount Hood, a group of early-rising brewfolk gathered at a farm in Silverton, Ore., in pursuit of one goal:

To complete "The Running of the Brewers" in record time...