Mike Coykendall and friends - Landmark Saloon, Portland OR - November 18, 2017

[Portland OR] I liked this place straight off – a little run down, lots of weirdos running around, but still high functioning. Awash in the smell of BBQ and so of course reminiscent of Austin. I was sick, sad, something, and hung to myself inside by the music despite the beautiful weather (for Portland Novembers) drawing everybody outside. It was an old guy in white hair with a fisherman’s cap and a Latin-cloth knee patch on guitar and singing lead vocals and a fey bescarfed Afro-ed guy on guitar too. I think Mike often works as a one-man band with his guitar and drum machine. I clapped – alone – after the first song because I believe it’s what you ought to do. He said: “Thanks for the clap” and made me laugh. A hipster in his 40s and his kid sat on some chairs by the wall and so then it was me and the kid clapping. They covered “Moon River,” Tom Petty, a CCR song, The Psychedelic Fur’s “The Ghost In You” (

was haunting me so much I had to look the lyrics up), a Pink Floyd sounding song referencing a “dream train” (even google couldn’t solve this one). Their songs may have all been covers. Their sound varied–sad country folk, rowdier country punk (Scott Biram), rockabilly, Buddy Holly. Diversity like that can fray me but they managed to maintain a cohesion and they were quality. I liked them. On the side, it still amazes me how prevalent Carharts are in Portland – I thought it was a rural Colorado thing but maybe it’s just a libertarian state thing… most likely, for Portland, the hipsters have co-opted it – for damn sure, there were no hammers in the loops.