This is Portland, we do what we like. This is Portland, we do what we like.

i think it's safe to say that cheap pbr's will be available as long as pdx exists, no? and i don't go to bars so i know nothing about that place, sorry -- though a web search says they had shuffleboard in there?! cool.

i was just thinking that another thing to love about this place is how (in part thanks to actual city planning) the "yuppies" tend to live in three areas, each of which might as well have a moat around them: the northwest 23/ 21st corridor, the pearl district condo city-states, and that south waterfront condo-land next to the base of the tram.

and yes, of course, we have a tram now. i've yet to ride it but it looks a little bit like the future. i need to take my nephew on it shortly...

We call that moat "the Willamette".

That mystery bar sounds familiar but it's been nearly 5 years since I've been in that boozey neck of the woods really.

Yuppies are now spreading to Irvington, parts of Mississippi, and Alberta

If yuppies = white people with money, then you can pretty much count everything in the city limits, at this point.

No, not necessarily. I'm talking about the areas of a particular flavor of gentrification.

At any rate, for those who are around, head to Ash St Saloon tonight. Poison Idea is playing a free show, and one of the opening bands is Dead Moon's Fred & Toody doing the first show of their new group.

If yuppies = white people with money, then you can pretty much count everything in the city limits, at this point.

haha yeah the vicious class warfare between groups of white people in adjoining tax brackets is one of the things i miss least about portland.

best place to american shuffleboard: the black cat in sellwood.

I like your fair city! Initial impressions:
1. Many restaurants, public places play this bizarre mix of lite jazz/muzak I haven't ever heard.
2. There are more strip clubs per capita than any place else I have ever been except for maybe New Orleans.
3. The homeless keep to themselves. I encountered well into the double digits today and not a single one asked me for change. This would never happen in Chicago.
4. A la the Chris Rock routine, unlike every other city in America, MLK Blvd here is not sketchy--well, at least the parts I've been on.

I think I might be at my free show tonight at Langano instead. We might be the last band to ever play there! I feel like the kiss of death for nice small clubs.

Noctural, we hardly knew ye, but at least we got to play in ye just before you stopped doing shows.

Red & Black, I remember you telling us our show was going to be the last "full band" show you were going to have. I can't imagine that you stuck with that, but it was an honor to be told we'd be the last "full band" to play there.

If the Towne Lounge ever books us they are doomed.

my roommate books the towne lounge (i think she still does anyway) so i'll warn her, okay.

Yes. I met her once a million years ago when I played a show at a previous venue that she booked, but there is no way she'd remember me.

Also, this is a smallish town sometimes. Not necessarily in a bad way.

yeah it took me about a week living here to figure that out. sometimes it's a good reason to go out -- running into lots of people -- and lots of times it's as good a reason (for me anyway) to just stay home, knowmsayin?

and if i were to go out tonight i'd most certainly go see the new dead moon people's "punkier" band, am fairly sure that'll be great.

Got back from wandering around downtown. the line for ash street was around the block, and still there 1.5 hours later, so we went to Ground Kontrol/the Shanghai Tunnel instead. A couple of pushers tried to offer their wares as we wandered off to the car, which was funny in that i haven't had that happen before, and there was a cop car about 10 yards away.

That must have been officer Muldoon.

Wait, really? A Car 54 reference?

A genuine Car 54 reference would have been officer Tooty.