my week in pictures 67 labor day weekend

monday 8/25 - monday 9/1

Last week was crazy busy, but thankfully most of that business was play, not work. Hooray for three day weekends!

On Tuesday we met some friends in Old Mill for dinner and then headed to a little park by the river to listen to Dave Matthew's Band, who was playing a sold out show at the amphitheater. There were a ton of people floating/anchoring in the water to listen as well. The sound carried nicely and we got to take in a few songs before being overrun by mosquitos and deciding to vacate the area.

We spent most the weekend hanging out with our friends who moved away on Monday. Friday night we all went out and got a bit carried away, which resulted in a fairly lazy Saturday (aside from me getting a wild hair and deciding to chalk paint the door to the garage). On Sunday we met up with them again to hike along the Metolius River to Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery, which was really relaxing and beautiful. My family had decided last minute to rent a place in Sunriver for the weekend, so we met up with them Saturday evening for dinner before going out with our friends one last time.

Monday we spent the day with my family at the Sunriver pool, which I had never been to. They had a tiny lazy river and some pretty sweet water slides that the littles made us go down several times. Eventually we said our goodbyes and stopped by Pats dads place for dinner before heading home.

All in all it was a pretty good Labor Day weekend. Especially since we really hadn't planned anything at all ahead of time.

[[ listening to dave matthew's band in old mill. pictures from the most ridiculous group text with my family. creeping in the creepy rock garden with the dinans. baking bacon in the super bacon apron. chalk painting the door on a whim. pretty hike along the metolius river. wizard fish hatchery. hiking back. sunday night goodbyes with the dinans. spending the day with my family at sharc. ]]

memphis may fire - or - that one time i got kicked in the face and didn't even really mind

Sorry, this is officially the longest concert post ever... 


Last Thursday me and Pat both left work early, headed to Salem to grab Tony, and then went up to Portland for the Memphis May Fire concert at The Wonder Ballroom. It was definitely one of the best shows I have been to in a while.

A few years ago we saw Memphis at a tiny little venue in Portland called Branx, I mean so Tiny that there wasn't really much of a stage, and after the show the band walked down and we were just talking to them, no big deal. Granted they weren't really that big yet, so the setting was fitting. This time they were headlining in a lineup with four other bands.

When we got to Portland we went straight down to Bunk Bar to grab beers and sandwiches for dinner. This is a newer venue, and one of the best qualities is that Bunk Bar is conveniently right below. Since we got a pretty late start we unfortunately missed the first opener while we were eating. Eventually we made our way inside and up to the balcony area to watch the rest of the opening bands.

One of the best things about being 21 at a show is having the choice between the balcony and the floor, both of which are completely different experiences. Being down on the floor is a gritty, sweaty, in your face experience, while the balcony allows you to sit back, relax, and take it all in. Both have their upsides.

a few of the opening bands

[[ hands like houses. the world alive. ]]

When Memphis came on me and Tony decided to head down to the floor for their full set, giving me the chance to finally try crowd surfing (which is on my 30 before 30 list). In a matter of minutes we had made our way to the very front of the crowd, just in time for Memphis to come on. I think within the first song I was up in the air being carried forward to the stage. Unlike any show I have EVER been to, there was NO security blockade between the front of the stage and the crowd, so when I was launched forward I actually had a chance to get on the stage with the band take it all in and then leap back in to the crowd. It was awesome! I couldn't have picked a better show to cross that goal off of my list at.

Also, since Pat was still on the balcony with all of our stuff, he actually got pictures of me! Added bonus! The only downside was the guy that came down on top of me, with his foot, in my face. By the time I popped back up I had a sweet lump of my forehead and a gash on my nose, but I didn't even care. We stayed down on the floor for the rest of the show screaming lyrics back at the stage with all of the other spectators (many of which reminded me of my high school self). Once the concert was over, and me and Tony reconnected with Pat, I got a chance to take a look at myself in the mirror... it was not pretty... but it was worth it. It's not like I haven't come away from concerts with battle wounds before, they are just usually reserved for my arms and legs (which are also bruised incidentally).

Luckily the gash wasn't that bad and stopped bleeding eventually, so I didn't need stitches or anything. Even more luckily my nose wasn't broken. Another added bonus is that my glasses, which I always wear to work, almost perfectly cover the gash and bruise on my nose, while makeup handles the rest. And no, I was not wearing said glasses at the time of the incident, they would have definitely been broken.

Alright, enough of that, time for the rest of the pictures!

memphis from pat's vantage point

[[ all the awesome pics pat took from the balcony. ]]

my crowd surfing experience

[[ me!! ]]

me & tony's vantage point

(I had to borrow a few of these)

[[ tony's pics. more pics from the floor. ]]

and of course... my battle wounds...

(and leftover makeup/not enough makeup)

[[ my ugly mug: lump/bruise on my forehead, cut on my nose, bruises all over. ]]

steve martin & his banjo

On Friday night me and Pat went to see Steve Martin play his banjo at the amphitheater. Yes, that Steve Martin, the actor/comedian. 

"Just another Hollywood dilettante hitching a ride on the bluegrass gravy train..."

It was a really good show, definitely entertaining and weird to see that white hair in person. The show was a mix of him playing solo, or with his band The Steep Canyon Rangers, and their featured singer Edie Brickell who was very soulful. One of the funniest parts was when they sang a song "for the atheists", since of course all of the other religions have their hymns, and they didn't want us to feel left out. He is one hell of a banjo player, and I am glad that we got a chance to see him in person. Here are a few of the better shots that I got during the show. Sorry they aren't the greatest, it was freezing outside!

[[ a few shots from the steve martin concert. ]]

my week in pictures 25

monday 9/30 - sunday 10/6

Last week we definitely spent the majority of our time working on the house. I think this will be the general theme for a while. On Friday night me and Pat went to see Steve Martin play his banjo at the amphitheater, but more on that later. My mom and step dad had also agreed to come in to town to help us with some of the bigger projects around the house (like repairing/replacing some of the carpet), so we met them for dinner after the concert, and proceeded to spend the rest of the weekend working around the house.

My mom also brought me all of these bins that had been sitting up in her attic since I went away to high school, which were highly ridiculous and entertaining to go through. Not only did I find notes passed back in fourth about boys, old "comic strips" and "magazines" that me and my friends used to make in middle school, hilarious birthday cards/raps from my friends in high school, and a ton of old art projects, but I also found part of a Malibu Rum bottle... which I would have thought I would want to have in college, but I guess I placed it in one of the bins instead for safe keeping. I am going to need to post some of these glorious items in the near future...

Anyway, here are some pics.

[[ the pretty mountain view on my drive to work. the house coming together. froggy friend hanging out in the garage. sketches and ideas. steve martin concert. projects in progress. some of the treasures i found in my high school bins: hot dog straw, ice cream poem, school dance pic, sad note from little sister. a beautiful sunny sunday fall afternoon. ]]

pepper

Last Tuesday night me and Pat went to see Pepper at The Domino Room in Bend. That venue makes me miss The Roseland... come on Bend, you can do better than that!

I started listening to Pepper when me and Pat were first dating and "Give It Up" came on in his car, but I had never gotten the chance to see them perform. The show was really fun, although they played a lot of their new stuff which I am not familiar with, so it was a little slow at times. They are great live though. Very high energy and they sing the songs just like they sound in their albums, which I appreciated. They started off with an acoustic set in leu of an opening band and then moved on to their normal style afterwards. Towards the end me and Pat made out way down to the floor and finished up the show at the front of the crowd. Not too bad for a Tuesday night in Bend, and I am happy I finally got to see them. Here is the setlist if you are interested. One thing I thought was a bit odd is that "Give It Up" was acoustic...

I did not get the greatest pictures, but I will post what I got. I blame the venue... it didn't exactly have the best set up. I also grabbed a few better pictures off of Instagram (photo credit below). If you want some even better shots from our concert check out this link on the BLM website.

[[ from instagram, photo credit: stephmoney88. a_gut. stonedharts. raiderjosh87. laysancartwright. ]]

[[ my pics from the pepper show, from the balcony and the floor. ]]

And of course, here is a sample of some music. Enjoy.