Saw the Freak Mountain Ramblers at the Haunted White Eagle Hotel. I sat and caught up with some friends while signing to some great songs. Huge turn out and a good show of the first half where I had to leave as I was becoming a bit tired from the preceeding 2 nights.

The Roseland is having Xavier Rudd open for Spearhead. Now many I know are going to see Spearhead but me I'm going solo to see Xavier Rudd. I could leave after that and be happy. Xavier is top 3 new artist this year with his Australian native sounds and natural energy he brings the crowd alive and cheering for more. I saw him the first week or so he was in America and I don't think he has left yet. His following has grown and all I know that see him are instant fans.

-- I would be disappointed with the fact that Xavier Rudd cancelled. Still saw the show and enjoyed it until I was just too hot to care. Left and would hear other music. Just not "live" it would be DJ at a great Halloween Party. Ended a great night after being sadden.

I haven't been out to see the HG boys in a while. Lots going on and decisions to make. I'm heading that way tonight though maybe after stopping by and seeing some other shows. Tomorrow is a big show day and a little show tonight will be nice.

-- Ran into some people I haven't seen in a while and caught up on old events. As one friend put it, "I've never seen HG so happy". They jammed, sang, and smiled through a great show. Was good to see that energy back in the room.

Went out to Rock Creek to listen to Stephen Ashbrook. It sounded great. Talked to him and purchased his latest live album and have been happy with the 2 CD set. The sound really was nice at Rock Creek Tavern. Maybe it has something to do with all the wood and such but a few of us pointed that out.

Timerberland Lodge is having the last of its acoustic series today.
I'm going to see the mountain and check out the snow.

-- The mountain was beautiful with the Lunar Eclipse, Folk Music and Boston Winning the World Series. Had a great time on the Mountain talking with some locals about all the snow and getting ready to go skiing on Sunday.

I pretty much to decided to always go down to the Green Room on Tuesady's to see all the new upcoming artist. Trevor from Big Wheel Production puts these on and a great chance to see new talent. I saw 4 new artist last night. Two guitar singing songwriters and 2 piano singer songwriters. A good evening of music and the Green Room is becoming a popular place on Tuesday for Artist to gather and show off their talents. Good sounding venue with great local support.

I went down to Jimmy Mac's expecting to see the Dan Balmer Trio but instead the "Go by Train" band was playing. Now, I think it is just Dan Balmer with a few different folks. They had keys, drums, and guitar doing some jazz with techo sounds. I liked the music. The long times between pauses was nice. Just a continual song or shift from one to the other.

Wow! I have to first say that Carbon Leaf is in the top 4 new artist I've seen this year. Their performance is full of energy and the excitement they have when they play is great. The show tonight was a Kink Raising Star show that cost $1.02. Everyone should see these guys when they come back through town. The guiter and bass solo pieces were excellent. Some of the best playing I've every seen. Just amazing to watch them play with some much energy. They are on the top of the list of new bands you must see.
As for the Doug Fir Lounge. This venue is smokefree, 21 and over for all shows, holds only 300 people, sounds amazing, and the feeling of being in someone private cabin in the woods. It is the best place to see music in town. Now if they would just have coffee served downstairs along with some appetizers then it would be complete. Go see a show here and enjoy kicking back in a cabin to your favorite tunes.

Headed up to Yelm to attend a Barn Dance. Or perhaps a Barn Party. None the less the folks putting on the event had two bands and a complete light and video display that was quite impressive. The 2nd band became additional members from the audience and they played well. I enjoyed the performance and being able to attend to a event held in the barn was really cool. The barn glowed with the lights from outside and the whole evening was a lot of fun.

Well, after I catch the new Warren Miller Film I'm heading over to the Bitter End. This will be the first reunion of the Buds of May at the Bitter End that I've seen since the change in owenrship. The Bitter End has gone through a few hands and hopefully is now with a decent owner that can keep the place open and working well.

Went down to see Amelia White and Ashleigh Flynn perform at the MPP. I liked Ashleigh music but Amelia played with a Chello and congos along with her guitar which I really like that sound.
The venue had a good crowd and the new back bar was full. The addition of the couch moved infront of a TV is an odd thing.

Heading to PAM to attend the Portland Arts Museum Afterhours. No idea what is playing and don't care. The music is usually really good, the cause is great, and the new food from last week was excellent. Should be a good evening out. The sun is shining again and you got to like that.

Another night at the Green Room for the PDX Songwriters Showcase and it was a crowded night. Glad to see all the support for the new song writers here in PDX. The Green Room has become one of the great places to see new music. Trevor is doing a great job promoting new sounds of PDX.

Well it seems Music Millenimum is doing a great job of promoting more music and maybe the fall tours are also going strong but in either case I'm going to start the evening off at MMNW for the free show of Old 97's. They are playing at the aladdin tonight as well. Good chance to see what you like is enticing to see the entire show.

Well I spent the early afternoon walking the Portland Sunday Market listening to a variety of music. A three piece drum/guitar/bass doing some Eric Clapton covers and other old rock tunes. Played well sound was a bit loud and thus unclear. The two piece on the second stange wasn't that good. Then the solo old country looking guy playing guitar and singing was a classic shot. The Portland Market is a great place to wander and listen to local music and a great relaxing time from the normal musical events.

So, on my way up the mountain to see High on the Hood Hog Fest featuring High on the Hog I stopped at the Arts and Music festival in Parkdale. The three piece bluegrass playing was fun. Stayed a bit at the tiny event then headed up the road to get in some hiking then off to Government camp to see the big event. It turned out great. Everyone having a great time with good music, good people and good food. The weather held off for the event and we didn't get drench in the rain until 4am.

So tonight I'm heading to see the Whispering Piano series. These are aired on the internet and travel around doing shows then broadcasting them. Should be a great time. I know little about them other then that so tonight I'll have to read up more.

-- This was a great event. There was some great contemporary piano artist playing. I think everyone should go see some of these artist that performed. Dax Johnson is a great artist who goes from playing to plucking strings and depress them to create a wider sound from the piano. Alex a 13yr performer was fantastic as well. The credit goes to David as he promotes these great some venue events. Check out his work and promotion of other events here: http://solopianoradio.com

I was wondering around and found the sunset high school bringing out their equipment to practice. They have Marimba's and other fancy percussion that looked great. I could hear the drums off in a distance practicing and was a bit entised to hang out and wait but was off to other things. I'll have to add a high school or college football game to my music adventures to listen to them play.
I did go to Rock Creek Tavern and listened to the Blues of Billy Kennedy & Bob Sterling. I enjoyed listening to them play and sing. I haven't heard much blues and this was fun blues.

Saw a solo guitar player at Alessandro's who I know nothing about. He was fairly good but no idea his name or anything else. I don't see any posting of his performance either. After hanging there for a bit I saw David Andrews at the Imbibe. He is playing there weekly for the month on Wednessday's.

I made it down to NW Music Millenium again to see Kaki King perform. She is a young artist that has the same crazy guitar playing similar to Keller Williams.
I then was treated to a decent street guitar fellow singing to the passer by'ers.

No idea what I'm doing today but perhaps I'll find some music from columbus times.
Since I don't find that likely, I'll have to see what else happens.

-- Saw The Sleeping at NW Millenium and they were not something I liked. A punk rock band that needs help. Just one fellows thoughts.

Having awoke in Seattle and needing to take folks up to Everett we took off and headed north. Then we would go to Whidbey Island to see a new home of my friends. Walked around looking for perhaps some music or maybe just a break. Would stop a few other times down I-5 while returning home. Wouldn't find music, although I didn't look too hard, until I arrived in Portland and stopped in the Moon and Sixpense and listened to Foghorn String Band over a pot of tea. Sounded great in their at midnight. Perhaps because it wasn't that crowded so the talking was really low. Still was enjoyable to rest a bit to people enjoying playing.

Headed out to see Kris and Adam along with Sweetjuice down at the Oyster Fest. Standing in the rain with spots of sun I enjoyed the music. Again, back to singing along. Was a fine early afternoon.
Then I decided to head up to seattle and see Yonder Mountain String Band. I hadn't planned on actually seeing them but it turns out that I was able to get a ticket and have a great time talking with everyone. Enjoyed the night. Afterwards would be more fun talking and walking around town with my friends. Then once again an angry drunk would want to make a decision that was just plan bad. Two nights of anger. Hmm, those elections most be getting close.

Well tonight is one of the most busiest nights in music. Buds of May, Higherground, Paperboys, Yonder Mountain, Crackpots, and many many others. Just a difficult night to decide. I'm going to the Buds for sure and then who knows.

-- Well I ened up at the Crackpots for part of their shows. Then headed over to The Buds of May. That was a great show. I had a fun time dancing and singing. Something most welcome. It would be the drunk confrontation afterwards that would be the sad part of the evening.

I haven't decided but I may either go to Jimmy Macs and see the Mel Brown B-3 Quartet or to Blue Monk to see Shoehorn. Both of them are shows that I haven't seen and recommended.

-- Well I ended up at Rock Creek listening to Little Sue. Was a more laid back night.

Well they sneak up on you and surprise you at times. Today I discovered that the Portland Art Museum is once again doing the Museum Afterhours. These are good concerts where I have had the oppurtunity to discover new musicians. I think I may just find myself seeing if the Ballroom is finished or if the Tent is still the choice of musical venues tonight.

-- It was the opening season of the 18th year of Museum Afterhours. With a new restaurant Aura providing the goodies and the funk and groove sounds from Norman Sylvester Quartet the Improptu Tent was alive with dancing and good times. I'm excited to see what they do with the ballroom when it gets finished. That is a great place to see some tunes.

Went down to Demetri's for a happy hour. Ok, so I thought they had one. They just have Pita bread and well drinks from 5-7:30. The VP debate was playing and that was interesting to see present and perhaps future leaders of the country debate. Then around 7pm Turtle and others started to play some Jazz. Now the odd thing is that they played two or so christmas songs. Are they confused? Do they miss Christmas? I don't know but it was odd to hear the tunes. It was a good relaxing Jazz night out.

Well, yesterday turned into an interesting night and started a theme for the week for me. I was out with a friend and noticed all the folks all dressed up walking about. Thought that perhaps the Symphony was playing. Check and it was and it was Opening Season performance. Hmm, let's go see the Oregon Symphony.
Now not being dressed for the part we still thought we would go and go we did. Looked at ticket prices and bought the cheapest at $25 for the upper Balcony. Then looked at the tickets to see what was playing. It was Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3. Hey a piano concerto. I like the piano and don't get to hear performances with that instrument very often. So this was exciting. They opened with CARL NIELSEN's Symphony No. 5, Opus 50. This was performed well with lots of strings and snare drum. I liked it.
The Piano Concerto would be nicely performed but not my favorite piece I've heard. I didn't like some of the piano playing but I did enjoy the show. The Arlene Schnitzer is a great venue. The sound is quite pleasant and the ornate works great to admire. Reminded me of the last big show I went to and that was in Prague at the Opera house. Yes, the Prague Opera house is a lot bigger and they have cheaper tickets but the feelings similar.
The theme for the week is going to be Classical /Jazz. Not so sure I could find Classical music all week. I'll try and see what I find.

Having woke up and seating outside just as the sun was cresting the tree tops in the Mosier Creek valley and warming up I was treated to the solo work of Alan on a Violin. This would start the music off for the day as others would join with Mandolin and guitars. Some great morning/early afternoon music seating in the sun. A very pleasant and relaxing day.
The 4 or 5 of them would write the first smokefest Jam that morning and play was more good music. Then others would join in and sing some songs as the day progressed.

Continuing the Mosier and Hood River weekend I went into Hood River and attended the Hood River Beer Fest. It wasn't really big but good size. Odd as I had tasted almost all the beers from before. So, I opted to taste some Bad Cider or hard cider from Bingen. It was more like Champange with hints of apple and good. The band playing was a rocking band with Drum kit, electric guitar and bass. A decent 3 piece. Didn't get the name.

I then headed back to Mosier and up to a cabin for Smoke Fest 2. We had smoked lots of Cheese/Salmon and meat. All was good to go with the Salads and other yummy food. Of course there was music that would go all night. With members from Higher Ground and Jerry Rig and others we had a great circle of music and some interesting sounds late night as we started to create new music. Two people on one guitar and multiple shakers were fun to find new rhythms in the wee hours.

On my way to Mosier and SmokeFest 2 I ran into an event in Hood River I knew nothing about.
Every 1st Friday they close down a few blocks in downtown Hood River and show off arts/music while shops stay open later and people check out all the street crafts and more. It was really cool. There were bluegrass bands, Drum crew, solo guitars and others. Many places had music and the crafts and arts were equally nice to see. Being that it was a beautiful night the streets were crowded with folks strolling around the streets enjoying the warm fall evening.