The Portland Chapter of the School of Rock recently put on a hell of a show at the Crystal Ballroom, featuring the students playing a slew of great songs from some of Portland's finest artists. Even better, some members of the "real" bands joined the kids onstage to help them play their own songs. Not that they really needed the help. I have to admit, before the show I expected at best a fun show with kids playing these songs as well as they could and gosh darn it'll be cute. Wrong! They can fucking play, and I grossly underestimated their chops and fearless stage presence. It was a blast, and I look forward to seeing another show in the future. Check out the rest of my photos here.

The Decemberists are releasing a live album on 3/13/12. I shot the cover photo (that one up there!) at Edgefield, just outside Portland, during the final show of their most recent tour. More specifically during "The Mariner's Revenge Song". See more info and the tracklisting on their website.

The current Willamette Week cover story is an interesting piece on Voodoo Doughnut co-owner Tres Shannon. Say what you will about the quality of the doughnuts (*cough* Tonalli's is better *cough*), but they've definitely created something unique and wildly successful. I remember going to the old shop one night and watching Janet Weiss play essentially a 45-minute drum solo up on the platform above the bathroom while literally tens of customers filed in and out. She handed out maracas and various noisemakers for the small group of spectators to play along with. I hate to use the tired and usually inaccurate phrase "only in Portland" to describe the evening, but it fits in this case as far as I know.

I snapped this photo with my Holga in 2008 when they opened up their second shop on the east side. There was a parade with marching bands, then-mayor Tom Potter, and hundreds of people marching over the Burnside Bridge. For a doughnut shop. I haven't been to the original location since they expanded and renovated (because I'm old school dammit! and that place is a tourist trap now!) but it will be interesting to see what Tres does with his new venture, the Portland P Palace. I definitely agree with this somewhat crotchety statement at the end the WW article: “If people are so into this town,” he says, “why are they trying to change it?”