[Portland, OR] I was really enthused for this event Music&Ducks kindly
invited me to – so enthused, I was willing to go immediately after returning to
Portland from New York, despite being all sorts of done with people and events
or even the very act of walking. It felt very industry – like Music&Ducks
said, it felt like a SXSW day-show. It was the opening party for Portland’s
annual Soul’d Out Festival and Music&Ducks had an invite-plus-one through
connected friends. Plus it was a nice way to break the sort of embarrassing
string of country-tinged shows I’d been seeing. Let me lay the scene for you.
We entered through two very serious looking bouncers … until the purse-checker
got all apologetic – I wanted to pat him on the arm & tell him to toughen
up and rough my purse up like he was supposed to. The fashion was good – not
like creative good but the girls at least looked city-fierce, instead of the
too-frequent Portland casual, hippie, mono-culture. Drinks were free (sponsored
by Bulleit bourbon) and the little pork sliders with pickled stuff were Amazing
… or I was really really hungry. While we rested our forearms on one of the
little white-clothed tall-tables waiting for the music to start and watching
the people circle around, a guy with orange-African-print clothes and stylish
glasses left his clipboard of a stack of plain white paper and a gallon jug of
water on the table, without explanation. Turned out he was one of the lead
singers and the water jug was featured in his gyrations – hydration is
important (Music&Ducks: “Is he the singer or the dancer?”). In addition to the
gallon jug guy (who did some mellow rap in addition to his psychedelic
gyrations), the band was three guys, of varying shades of race, on keyboard,
bass, and guitar. Oh, and there was definitely a sax at some points – not sure
if another person or an instrument-exchanger. They are woke soul-rap, a little
proggy, melancholy downbeat jazz. I was thinking Arrested Devleopment, Erykah
Badu, and this band I hate with a sincere passion: Sa-Ra Creative Partners.
Music&Ducks broke the mental-racial barriers and very-correctly heard
Steely Dan. A woman joined by the 2nd or 3rd song and
sort of stole the show, although I was resistant initially. She seemed flippant
of the event, showing up in a t-shirt and jeans, dreads in a side ponytail
bound by a piece of cloth that was similar to main man’s shirt. And maybe she
was, intentionally – she oozed smarts & political activism. But her voice
was solid sad-soul. I was thinking there’s-no-sex-in-that-girl but water-jug
sort of playfully tapped her and they started doing a very sexy groove. They
also did this clever a-male and a-female dialoguing song. I couldn’t help but
love her. And then, delightfully, I saw a woman/girl in dreads (white girl)
with a ‘Resist’ t-shirt and an ‘Adidas’ backpack.
Comments
Post a Comment