Preparing for a two day trip can be a headache. It’s too short to justify anything more than a toothbrush and a change of shorts, but what if it rains? What if it’s too hot? Where does one begin to compromise utility for comfort? Soon, your whole wardrobe lies before you, each piece of the ensemble appearing to be the cornerstone of necessity. And what of the boredom that accompanies staring at a passing landscape as you travel south and farther south and all the way back to the home you wish to never see again? You just leave it all. It will be waiting to burden you. So you put that toothbrush in a pocket and take one last look knowing something will be forgotten. It’s only two days.
The path to Portland required us to cross the Puget Sound for a show in Bremerton. If you, the reader, are like most people, you are unfamiliar with the intimate details of my life. So while Bremerton might raise the vague image of a working class ghost town, the history of that abandoned waterfront was filled when, at the age of four, I moved to Bremerton. The particulars of next nineteen years are incredibly unimportant, but as we boarded the ferry for Bainbridge Island, I was a little apprehensive about returning to a place that, in the corner of my memory, exists as a failed battlefield—the kind of association I imagine Arthur Rimbaud was trying to describe when he wrote:
The south brought back miserable memories of my childhood, my summer despairs, the horrible quantity of strength and of knowledge that fate has always kept from me. No! we will not spend summer in this avaricious country where we shall never be anything but affianced orphans. I want this hardened arm to stop dragging a cherished image.
The potency of nostalgia and poetry needed a quick remedy, so I assembled a goofy group picture (click on the thumbnails to see the full sized image):
The Silverdale skate park was our first destination upon crossing the Sound. Little known fact: this park is the result of fund raising and working with local government and businesses during my high school years. The Chamber of Commerce created a task force to solve issues resulting from a rash of graffiti that plagued the Silverdale area (which happened to be the work of numerous skateboarders). The solution was to put real work into giving the area a skate park. We spent a lot of afternoons after school working with the community, traveling to study other parks and fund raising.
After cruising the park for a few minutes, John and I felt like total posers. I haven’t done much real skateboarding since moving to Bellingham, so I’ve lost the brave and nimble reflexes acquired through years of skating all day and every day.
We were sweating hard and needed to take a break from the heat, so we jumped into a lake near the park. Keith found a crawfish. The little guy was missing a claw, but he still wanted to fight Keith. HARDEST dude of the trip.
John and I briefly skated the Bremerton park afterwards, but after years of not skating any real street spots, the poser vibe was heavy.
The AFU hall surprised us because it wasn’t a hall. It was an art space squeezed between adult shops and tattoo parlors.
The show opened with a young band melodic hardcore band called Breaking Ground. I was digging the drummer’s style. They played a Chain of Strength cover, and all of us old dudes somehow mistook it for a Count Me Out song.
We played next. I was impressed by the fact the sound guy actually wanted to get a decent sound from the band. He seemed really excited to help all the bands, and I really appreciated this. Unfortunately, I really can’t give an account of our set. All I remember is that Keith’s guitar exploded and Wampler probably moshed me.
Anchor: I left my camera in the van while I rushed into the venue to watch their set. After the show, I argued that Anchor was my favorite band of the night. Their demeanor was extremely positive despite playing riffs that are more hard and tough or expected by bands that don’t have any kind of political message. The singer described his experience of America through European media and popular American culture (the band is from Sweden). It’s pretty easy to forget that so much of the world thinks of this country through the simulacra of our entertainment industry. I was really stoked to have the opportunity to see them again in Portland the following night.
The remainder of Envision favored Run with the Hunted. Based out of Phoenix, Arizona, RWTH jammed an intensely heavy brand of hardcore. I didn’t agree with a few of the things that were mentioned between songs, but I really appreciated the passion dedicated to trying to return hardcore to a community of politics and ideas rather than the current fashion show of broken hearts and party dudes.
Parasitic Skies were the final act of the night. They blazed through a raging set of crushing riffs—especially throughout the song “Embers.” I will use this space to make a formal request that Parasitic Skies discuss their songs. Please?
We left for Vancouver, WA shortly after the show. Our pal, Shaun, was kind enough to let us harsh a date night by letting us sleep at his place. Shaun, if it hasn’t been said enough already, thank you for putting up with us. Your patience was exemplary, and I thought waking to see you and your girl pal listening to Trapped Under Ice was cute.
Portland, Oregon:
I spent much of the afternoon rummaging through the bookcases at Powell’s books.
The difficult part about looking through an extensive catalog of books is that I can never remember what I am trying to find. I should have come with a list, but I had to settle with a feeble recollection of what I might have wanted to purchase. I left with an English-Arabic edition of The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery (I want to say I own a French edition, but I can’t seem to find it), The Watcher and other stories by Italo Calvino, and A Music Behind the Wall by Anna Maria Ortese. Keith found a book on crime scene photographs and film history, while Alex purchased his tenth copy of a Raymond Carver collection.
While we were shopping for records, an intense wind stormed through Portland. Shortly afterwards, the warm afternoon was washed away with relentless rain. We passed the time by eating doughnuts.
The Arctic Circle Pit is a house that has been hosting hardcore shows. This show was to be their last, which kind of stinks because it’s a very cozy basement with great sound. I kind of fell in love with this painting that was hanging near the stairs to the basement:
We opened the show. As before, I don’t remember much besides being awkward between songs and Wampler moshing my head into the P.A. I usually try to talk about the lyrics, but I couldn’t think of anything relevant or interesting. My voice was garbage. Due to illness, I missed a lot of chances to practice after returning from California. My throat wasn't up for the task.
Not Sorry is currently my favorite straight edge band from Seattle. No posing, no attitude—just straight and honest hardcore. “Balance” is the Jam of the Century and I require massive dogpiles next time it is played. I shot some video of their set, but the footage is too dark to post.
Unrestrained! Record release show! Like Not Sorry, I’m a huge fan of the honest vibe of Unrestrained. There’s nothing forced about this band. Mix that with unstoppable mid-90s styled core, and the world seems right for the duration of their set. “The Mammal in Man” (which is the first song on their new record) set me off just as hard as the cover of Undertow’s “Control.” Was this the longest Unrestrained set yet?
Anchor! Another great set! I think I was won over by the gracious and princely bows from the band to thank us for watching their set. Anchor and Run with the Hunted were sharing a van for their tour, and it broke-down a few miles from the Arctic Circle Pit. Hopefully, the van was fixed and the guys were quickly on their way to the next show.
This might have been my second favorite show that Envision has played. Great bands, awesome vibes, and I think I saw the girl of my dreams. I had to work in the morning, so we drove back to Bellingham after the show. We didn’t arrive until sometime after 4 a.m. but John got us back safely. I’d like to thank Dustin, the Arctic Circle Pit, Breaking Ground, Parasitic Skies, Not Sorry, Unrestrained, Anchor, and Run with the Hunted for making these two days a lot of fun. Wampler was kind enough to take the photographs of our set.
Here’s the record haul for the week:
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