okay- i'm back on the front row center tip, so any stragglers who want to write 350 words-ish on their most intense live show (seen or played, or imagined) please do so in the next week and send me yr story....(pinkgerl@yahoo.com)

PORTLAND ROX! it really is a crazy liberal paradise, tho i found the downtown to be somewhat oppressive in its late 60s style attempts at intimate urban architecture. everyone is silly in portland! i saw an entire buscar full of people wearing balloon hats. kate said that this is the sort of low level insanity that invades. coupled with having browsed past a 10:30 devo soundcheck (that Run Hit Wonder thing) after seeing Oregon's own Beavers play ball, it was enough to charm me. there's a whole block of alternative publication stores, including the IPRC, a non-prof zine library and self-publishing resource that has ancient typesetting machines for member use. my undergraduate thesis heaven, and I don't mean that in a bad way.

Also got to see Lucky Dragons and Y.A.C.H.T., and I have to say - Luke is tearing it up these days. The make-out club was out in full effect and they vibed to his just cause they're smarty don't mean the pants aren't dancing style laptop love. Also, I have a platonic crush on Y.A.C.H.T. because he is actually one of the nicest people I've ever met and has a room-infecting smile.