Here's a love letter to both a person and a city... I used to live in Portland, Oregon. (I still spend a lot of time there, but currently live elsewhere.) I was really involved in the music scene and had many opportunities to see a lot of incredible artists. One show, however, has lived large in my memory. It was Valentine's Day and my date for the evening was my best friend, who is now my fiancé. We met up that evening to head to E.J.'s, a long-gone but much-missed favorite dive bar. The show? A one-night only pairing of Elliott Smith (vocals/guitar), Charlie Campbell (guitar, Pond), Sam Coomes (vocals/keyboards, Quasi), Joanna Bolme (bass, current Quasi and The Jicks with Stephen Malkmus) and Janet Weiss (vocals/drums, ex-Sleater-Kinney, current Quasi and The Jicks) performing Kinks covers! I'll never forget the finale, "Shangri-La" - it was truly a 'holy shit' moment. Absolutely phenomenal. I'm so grateful I got to experience that time. It's turned out to be a very special shared memory with my husband-to-be. Portland is an amazing city and it's given me so much over the years. And my honey? He did come through with a poem equal to Poe's, but I'll keep that part private. [Photo Credit: Larry Crane. This is a snapshot of Larry's dear, departed friend Elliott Smith playing basketball with producer Rob Schnapf during the XO sessions. We miss you, Elliott! Thanks to Larry for sharing this photo.]
I was at that same show! Reading your thoughts on Portland, which I share, and seeing that pic got me all teary. Glad we were both lucky enough to be there during such a great time. Happy Valentine's Day, honey!