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debsI have a new favorite venue. It is Mississippi Studios.
Mapquest is occasionally helpful. Last Friday, however, it was not. Mississippi Studios is located across the river in a part of town I have never visited. I had to get my Mom on the phone to talk me through a better set of directions given by the Studio's website.
The Mississippi Street area looks a great deal like that place in Eugene where we saw Nickel Creek play last year (the name escapes me). The shops/restaurants are lined up on that street, and if you turn a corner and walk a block you're in a residential neighborhood. I parked on a street of what seemed to be deserted houses. That was a little creepy.
Here's a shot of the front of the studio.
To get to the front door of the studio, you have to walk through the cafe next door and out onto their patio. From there, you have to go around a fence into another backyard. I'm so glad there were other people who knew where they were going, because otherwise I would never have found the venue. In the backyard of the Studio, there's a trailer set up supposedly for the visiting artist, and a very small outdoor performance space.
I stood in line in front of an older gentleman who I learned is a fifth grade teacher/folk enthusiast. We talked bands and kids and Dave & Tracy until they opened the doors. I think he was kind of hitting on me, which was flattering and at the same time, a little weird. :D
Inside, the venue looks like an old house that has been turned into just one gigantic parlor. I later learned from my seat buddy (not the man mentioned previously) that the house used to be a church; the bands would play in the space where the pulpit used to be, and instead of folding chairs the patrons used to sit on the old wooden pews. Recently the Studio's owner has changed the setup of the space a bit, but here's what it used to look like:
Here's what the stage looks like now:
By the time I got inside, the place had already filled up quite a bit. Because I'm short, I grabbed one of the bar stools on the right. It was actually a perfect view, the only problem was after sitting there for two hours my legs fell asleep. :) There was a coat and a bunch of stuff on the stools next to me, so I waited to see who my seat buddy would be. About ten minutes later, Tracy came over and looked at me sheepishly. "I'll move my stuff out of your way." I told her it wasn't a problem and thanked her for releasing "Seven is the Number" as it's one of my favorite Dave & Tracy albums. She smiled and said thank you, then headed back out to the trailer.
For those of you who don't know, Tracy was part of the folk duo Dave & Tracy, of which Dave Carter was the other half. Before his surprising death in 2002, Dave Carter wrote some of the most amazing lyrics I've ever heard, and Tracy is a beautiful singer and performer. She plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, etc. and now tours with a man named Jim Henry who also performs his own work. They do old Dave & Tracy songs, as well as some of Jim's work, and covers.
Tracy at Mississippi Studios
I ended up sitting next to a woman named Carley who works for HP and telecommutes to San Diego. Randomly it turns out that she knows my Dad, and we talked Corvallis, and the 12-C, and concerts for a long time. I mentioned that Josh Ritter was going to be playing the Aladdin in February, and the girls next to us had a Josh Ritter spaz with me. They didn't know he was playing, so I got to spread the love. I hope to see them again at that show. I love the people in Portland. I really love the people who go to folk concerts. They're some of the friendliest people in the world.
Jim & Tracy played two sets, with a ten minute break in between. The concert lasted from 7 to 9:30 and it was amazing. They performed some of my favorites ("Laughlin Boy" w/singalong!, "Crocodile Man," "Tanglewood Tree"). Jim has cut his hair and shaved (thank you god), and they both have a very good relationship with the Portland area and it's inhabitants. Tracy lived here for a time, and they talked about the atmosphere of the area and how it differs from the rest of the US. There were stories about the terrible plane ride and Tracy's past as a high school cheerleader. She had just attended her 20th high school reunion and sang us a new, unfinished song she'd written about it. That song made me cry, because I'm ridiculously sentimental.
They performed Richard Thomas' "1952 Vincent Black Lightening," Townes Van Zandt's "Waitin' for the Day," and a song called "Blue Wing" by the same man who wrote "The Kid" (performed to perfection by Cry Cry Cry). There were a few instrumental songs (Tracy rocks that fiddle so hard), and they ended with "The Verdant Mile." It was one of the most intimate and wonderful concerts I've ever attended, and I can't wait to go back and see her play there again.
Mapquest is occasionally helpful. Last Friday, however, it was not. Mississippi Studios is located across the river in a part of town I have never visited. I had to get my Mom on the phone to talk me through a better set of directions given by the Studio's website.
The Mississippi Street area looks a great deal like that place in Eugene where we saw Nickel Creek play last year (the name escapes me). The shops/restaurants are lined up on that street, and if you turn a corner and walk a block you're in a residential neighborhood. I parked on a street of what seemed to be deserted houses. That was a little creepy.
Here's a shot of the front of the studio.
To get to the front door of the studio, you have to walk through the cafe next door and out onto their patio. From there, you have to go around a fence into another backyard. I'm so glad there were other people who knew where they were going, because otherwise I would never have found the venue. In the backyard of the Studio, there's a trailer set up supposedly for the visiting artist, and a very small outdoor performance space.
I stood in line in front of an older gentleman who I learned is a fifth grade teacher/folk enthusiast. We talked bands and kids and Dave & Tracy until they opened the doors. I think he was kind of hitting on me, which was flattering and at the same time, a little weird. :D
Inside, the venue looks like an old house that has been turned into just one gigantic parlor. I later learned from my seat buddy (not the man mentioned previously) that the house used to be a church; the bands would play in the space where the pulpit used to be, and instead of folding chairs the patrons used to sit on the old wooden pews. Recently the Studio's owner has changed the setup of the space a bit, but here's what it used to look like:
Here's what the stage looks like now:
By the time I got inside, the place had already filled up quite a bit. Because I'm short, I grabbed one of the bar stools on the right. It was actually a perfect view, the only problem was after sitting there for two hours my legs fell asleep. :) There was a coat and a bunch of stuff on the stools next to me, so I waited to see who my seat buddy would be. About ten minutes later, Tracy came over and looked at me sheepishly. "I'll move my stuff out of your way." I told her it wasn't a problem and thanked her for releasing "Seven is the Number" as it's one of my favorite Dave & Tracy albums. She smiled and said thank you, then headed back out to the trailer.
For those of you who don't know, Tracy was part of the folk duo Dave & Tracy, of which Dave Carter was the other half. Before his surprising death in 2002, Dave Carter wrote some of the most amazing lyrics I've ever heard, and Tracy is a beautiful singer and performer. She plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, etc. and now tours with a man named Jim Henry who also performs his own work. They do old Dave & Tracy songs, as well as some of Jim's work, and covers.
Tracy at Mississippi Studios
I ended up sitting next to a woman named Carley who works for HP and telecommutes to San Diego. Randomly it turns out that she knows my Dad, and we talked Corvallis, and the 12-C, and concerts for a long time. I mentioned that Josh Ritter was going to be playing the Aladdin in February, and the girls next to us had a Josh Ritter spaz with me. They didn't know he was playing, so I got to spread the love. I hope to see them again at that show. I love the people in Portland. I really love the people who go to folk concerts. They're some of the friendliest people in the world.
Jim & Tracy played two sets, with a ten minute break in between. The concert lasted from 7 to 9:30 and it was amazing. They performed some of my favorites ("Laughlin Boy" w/singalong!, "Crocodile Man," "Tanglewood Tree"). Jim has cut his hair and shaved (thank you god), and they both have a very good relationship with the Portland area and it's inhabitants. Tracy lived here for a time, and they talked about the atmosphere of the area and how it differs from the rest of the US. There were stories about the terrible plane ride and Tracy's past as a high school cheerleader. She had just attended her 20th high school reunion and sang us a new, unfinished song she'd written about it. That song made me cry, because I'm ridiculously sentimental.
They performed Richard Thomas' "1952 Vincent Black Lightening," Townes Van Zandt's "Waitin' for the Day," and a song called "Blue Wing" by the same man who wrote "The Kid" (performed to perfection by Cry Cry Cry). There were a few instrumental songs (Tracy rocks that fiddle so hard), and they ended with "The Verdant Mile." It was one of the most intimate and wonderful concerts I've ever attended, and I can't wait to go back and see her play there again.
