On the eve of a new year, I thought it would be fun to get in on the “year-in-review” things that many people/publications/media-outlets do. PC-PDX has always been a huge supporter of our endeavors at The Know, and what better forum to share this retrospective look at 2011.
In chronological order:
04.01 - FROM ASHES RISE / NUX VOMICA / TRAUMA
This line-up was so ridiculous that some people on message boards had concluded that our listing was an “April fools” joke...it wasn’t, and the show went down with hundreds of people cramming into our humble venue-area to catch a glimpse of Portland’s finest d-beat crushers.
06.10 - BASEMENT ANIMAL / VILE GASH (OH) / NUKKEHAMMER (OH) / SOCIETY NURSE (WA)
Rarely are we able to accommodate a slew of touring-acts that can hold their own with minimal local-support. But when you’ve got the nastiest sonic-pummeling from crew of Ohioans, and a venerable/touted neighbor from the north, support becomes less of an issue! Not to mention what would be the final assault from Portland’s very own grind-punks, Basement Animal.
06.18 - SLOWMOTIONS (JP) / CRAZY SPIRIT (NY) / ORIGIN OF M (JP)
June was the month of unbelievable touring acts playing our stage. En route from the Chaos in Tejas festival, we landed some of Japan’s most entertaining punk-bands as well as the darlings of NYC’s current punk-scene. Folks came out in droves and partied the night away to killer tunes brought from thousands of miles away!
07.17 - THE CYSTS / DRUNK DAD / DRAGGING AN OX THROUGH WATER
The final show for the vastly under-appreciated band, The Cysts. Turn-out exceeded what had been expected and made for a highly-supportive farewell for a band deserving of the honor. People were moving/thrashing around/heckling harder than I’ve seen in our venue...ever! It ruled, and concluded with The Cysts refusing to play an encore, to which a rowdy fan shouted, “fuck your dignity,” and got everyone (including the band) laughing.
07.21 - UNNATURAL HELPERS (WA) / TENSIONS / FREEDOM CLUB
Unheralded for far too long, Dean Whitmore (the genius/writer behind Unnatural Helpers), has struck gold with this band. With a fathomless batch of catchy garage rock&roll tunes at his disposal, he had a packed room of admirers tapping their toes and bopping along. A true display of song-craft by one of the best in the business, and a memorable night for everyone who was there.
08.06 - PIERCED ARROWS / DIVERS / RAIDER
Untiring Portland veterans/legends, Fred and Toody Cole (of Dead Moon and The Rats), have been rocking for over 25 years. This, however, marked their first/long-overdue appearance at The Know, and will not soon be forgotten. Sweltering August temperatures, and a packed house, made for one of the sweatiest nights in our venue for performers and audience alike. Unflappable during their flawless performance, Toody later divulged that she had nearly fainted from heat/exhaustion during their set...‘nough said!
08.28 - ORGANIZED SPORTS / VACANT STATE (CAN) / BI-MARKS
Canada lent us one of their toughest-sounding/finest “throw-back” hardcore acts for a weekend, and in turn we provided them with the best hc-support acts that PDX has to offer. Both Organized Sports and Bi-Marks are un-fuck-with-able, and are at the forefront of a youthful/“new crop” of hardcore bands in town. The energy at this show was through-the-roof!
09.11 - STEVE LAKE (UK) / VIVID SECT / ATROCITY EXHIBITION
“Aging gracefully” doesn’t really describe it...Steve Lake graced our stage with such-little-pretense/such enthusiasm that it was hard to put-into-perspective the influence he’s had