The Poison Control Center

NOVEMBER 14 – RONTOMS, PORTLAND, OR [SHOW #124]

Day 158.  37,279 miles.  [JT]  When I woke up at I came down the stairs to a sight that is not to familiar on tour:  Everyone was lounging in the living room enjoying the pancakes that Beth had made and was watching the Vikings/Bears football game on TV.  It felt like such a nice luxury to be able to watch the game and take our time that morning to shower and do some computer work.  The Vikings performance in the game was pitiful, and Patrick was disappointed.  But the road was calling us and soon we were saying our goodbyes to Beth and were packing up the van once again.  We went into downtown Seattle to pick up Alli, who had graciously bought a box of assorted doughnuts from Top Pot.  She accompanied us on the ride down to Portland and we shared samples of the different treats along the way.

We arrived at Rontoms in Portland a couple hours before showtime.  We first strolled down Burnside to check out the nearby vintage shops, nightclubs, and Theater where a street dance even had a line of people snaking around the block.  Across the street from Rontoms was an art installation of a joung woman living for one straight month inside of a ground-floor apartment with huge glass windows through which passerbys could observe.  Her only allowed contact with the outside world was provided via the internet, and all evening the girl was at the computer doing work or having video chats.

The word we had been gathering about Rontoms was that it is THE hangout to see live music on Sunday nights in Portland.  It was a cool place:  a square room with a fireplace along the center of the back wall, a bar along another, and many couches, chairs and benches throughout the rest of the place.  It definitely was a lounge.  The bands set up and perform around the fireplace at the bottom of the slightly-tiered room.  Devin, David and I enjoyed fantastic dinners prepared by the kitchen, whereas Alli, Patrick and went out with Shelly Short for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant nearby.  The other act playing that night was a duo from San Diego called Writer (pictured).  We talked with them for a while before show about music, touring, and the west coast scene.  They were really nice guys, and when the club started filling in with they played a great set that was really liked by all.  We played second, and though the boxy room wasn’t the most ideal setting for most live music, the Soundman Joe did a great job with the sound mixing and really worked with our band to get everything right.  It was a little funny to play to a seated crowd that all looked so comfortable in their seats, but they seemed to like our show and we had fun playing.  Joe asked me if I’ve ever played next to a fireplace before and I said “well, I have, but not one that was actively burning.”  We met some other really nice people that night, and our good friend (and onetime PCC drummer) Nic Sievert came out to see us.  It was great to hang with him and catch up, since we hadn’t talked to him since he moved to Portland over a year ago.  After Rontoms wrapped up,  we met up at a bar a mile away that was deejaying music videos by request, and we sat around until last call watching and requesting videos from the past to the present.  What a neat idea, and it made for a good time.

The jam in the van:  The Temptations Motown Number 1’s / 89.1FM Jazz Radio

The word we heard:  “Oh shit! My pants split while getting a split at Splits, so let’s split after we split a banana split.” –Devin, after we passed a roadside bowling alley named Splits

The pet we met:  Sasha (16 year-old manx)

The pad was rad:  Shawna & Thilo & Cian

Dinner was a winner:  Rontoms burger, steak & roast beef

Our friend the Bartend:  Mike

Sound Tech we respect:  Joe

Sticks, strings & broken things:  Devin – 1 A string, 1 – D string / Patrick – 1 G string / David – 1 stick

The fill of the bill:  Writer

Patrick:  if the show is a miss it may not be your setlist, you can blame your drunk band when we play in Portland