COME HITHER: Voxtrot on the road — to Maine? |
As is tradition (well, four years old, anyway), I’ll sum up my wishes from last year before I get to wants for 2007. I didn’t do half bad, actually, considering the relative possibilities of each wish. First, Wilco did, indeed, return to our fair Forest City. In a powerhouse two-hour show at Merrill Auditorium, the world’s greatest band (in my humble opinion) put on a big-time fan-pleasure, with great sound and a solid stage show, even if it’s generally accepted that Nils Cline isn’t half the guitar player Jay Bennett was.Other wishes were more dreams than hopes. Maine’s Legislature hasn’t shown one-billionth the cultural intelligence needed to honor a visionary like Manny Verzosa (and state holidays are generally hard to come by, anyway), and the difficulty of founding a Portland Musicians Union is such that it couldn’t have come from nascence to completion in one year no matter who was driving things.
The final two wishes, for a 207 Festival to happen and for the opening of the White Heart and Skinny, I get at least half-credit for. While there is no Austin-esque mega-band gathering planned for Portland, there is an organization called the Portland Music Foundation, of which I’m proud to be a member, that’s attempting to set up the actual grass-roots infrastructure needed to get such an event off the ground. We’re taking conservative steps, but look for an educational program to launch in 2007.
And there’s no doubt that the White Heart is now a piece of the Portland music scene’s bedrock. There’s been everything in there, from reggaeton to deep house to rockabilly, and the crowd rivals SPACE’s for most knowledgeable (possibly because the two crowds are virtually indistinguishable). Plus, the place looks sharp.
This year, I’m aiming a little lower, focusing on the minutiae that often gets overlooked.
1. FOR SOMEONE TO FINALLY MAKE A HOME OF THE ASYLUM
Tim Reed, who managed the Asylum for less than the past year, stepped away in early December. Though there have been glimmers of success (Beth Orton, Pete Yorn), Portland’s most mysterious venue still hasn’t found its calling. While it’s great they support local acts, it’s just difficult for a local act to make the place look full, other than on New Year’s or Halloween, and therefore create the energy that makes people walk away from a show pumped up about the local scene. There are touring acts that could blow that place up. Let’s figure that out.
2. FOR VOXTROT, ROGUE WAVE, AND CALIFONE TO HIT TOWN
Not only are these three bands my favorite new discoveries from the national scene in the last year, they also could resonate in these parts. There is nothing that makes these three bands significantly better than a whole host of local indie types, headed by Phantom Buffalo, and it’s got to be said that all three have attained an enviable level of success (i.e., they probably don’t have other jobs). By the way, doesn’t anyone remember Califone backing Wilco during the 2004 State Theatre show?
