MFNW DAYS THREE AND FOUR + RECAP: DOUBLE WOW!

Well, friends, we did it, and we did it good. MFNW was a super success for all Riot Act bands involved, and Nathan, Dave and I had an amazing time getting to kick it with everyone we work with who made it down here (as well as everyone we work with who already lives here).

Thursday night was a doozy! Black Whales played one of the craziest, tightest and raddest sets of all time at Ash Street. Cameras were going off, minds were being blown, jams were being jammed. Willamette Week said of the show, "The Black Whales are perfect, and that is all that needs to be said. They are a great example of how one can clean up the garage rock sound while keeping the energy and spirit of the garage tradition. If I could bottle the sound of the Black Whales set on some magical spinning disc, I would take for it a cross-country road trip."

Next, it was on to Berbati's to see the always-amazing Norfolk & Western who were, as always amazing. This time, they were also louder than ever before--on purpose. When you're opening for Dirty Three, you have to bring it, and they killed it DEAD, even bringing up friends like Weinland's Adam Shearer to amplify the already euphoric riffage. In their MFNW Spotlight feature, Basement of our Brain said of the show, "Norfolk and Western is one of those inde-rock super-groups that could only come out of Portland. Featuring band members & producers of MWard, Bright Eyes, Loch Lomond, Decemberists & more, this is truly a who's-who of inde-rock players. I can't think of a better group to truly represent Portland this MusicfestNW".

Friday, the magic continued (even though I felt super under the weather, doing Emergen-C shooters and making it happen was the name of the game; no way was I going to miss this stuff). First, it was off to see Blunt Mechanic's second show ever at the Barsuk Showcase back at Berbati's. There is nothing that can even be said to describe how awesome it is to see Ben Barnett and his stellar band rip through their upcoming full-length, "World Record" (out this January on Barsuk), front to back in order. Weinland was next at the Spectre showcase at Mississippi Studios--an always flawless band fronted by one of Portland's most enigmatic dudes. I am not sure if Weinland got out of there before the dudes from Deer Tick apparently trashed the green room and started a food fight, but I hope they did. Then, it was on to BOAT at the Local Cut showcase at Someday Lounge; holy double whoa. Accompanied by a couple of extra friends and tons of pogo-ing superfans, BOAT showed the entire f'n place a crazy time. Probably my favorite BOAT show ever, personally. Willamette Week said, "I have a total crush. And it appears I’m not the only one, some seriously dedicated followers up front are throwing confetti in the air on the big numbers. What’s the new “lately lately” one called? (ed: it's called "Lately") It’s solely responsible for red wine being all down my clothes and not in my glass. Small price to pay. Their merch is awesome too, none of the bright blue lion T-shirts left though, criminal. "

Saturday, the final day for us Riot Acters, started early when Black Whales played another amazing set at the Burnside/Rumblefish day party to kick the day off, and then Finn Riggins followed suit as one of the last bands to play what was an amazing fete. Their set was at sunset, overlooking downtown and part of Portland's industrial district on the rooftop of this HUGE building called the Olympic Mills Convention Center. Needless to say, it was gorgeous. The sound bounced off all the walls of the enormous surrounding warehouses in the greatest of ways, and loud train horns hilariously interrupted the set that Tender Loving Empire label head Jared Mees' band, Jared Mees and the Grown Children, played before Finn Riggins went on. The Finn was brilliant--Lisa sang her brains out, Eric's keyboarding science was Duke-era Genesis-rad, and Cam's steel drum-peppered percussion was dizzying. Willamette Week called Finn Riggins' "Wake (Keep This Town Alive)" "...the best single that's not even out yet", gushing "It's an uptempo, swirling affirmation of life, complete with 'wah ah ah ooh ooh' harmonies, galloping drums, and a plea to never forget your roots. The entire Tender Loving Empire set is filled with personal favorites, but nothing beats this track for pure pop fun."

Next, All Smiles gave the crowd at Mississippi Studios a gorgeous, intense performance of stuff from both this year's "Oh For The Getting and Not Letting Go" and their previous effort, "Ten Readings of a Warming". I have never heard Jim Fairchild's voice be so crazy strong and acrobatic. Everyone was mesmerized, and lucky to boot, as Fairchild, a new San Francisco resident, is in town because he's in Modest Mouse, who are playing a few shows for us this week. Finn Riggins played another incredible show after that at the Tender Loving Empire showcase at East End to close out the night at midnight, while Loch Lomond simultaneously debuted songs from their forthcoming Night Bats EP (out this November on Hush) at Mississippi Studios. All in all, it was an amazing and exhausting handful of days--Riot Act would love to thank everyone at MFNW, Willamette Week, and all the bands, label folks, booking agents, writers and photographers who put so much into this--we had a great time! Check out just-released footage of Loch Lomond playing Portland's Ace Hotel here, thanks to the nice folks at Penny Jam.