Friday night I drove out from my home in northeast Portland to Happy Valley, Oregon for Pickathon 2009. The drive only took about thirty minutes, but I felt a world away from the city as I pulled into the dirt parking lot of Pendarvis Farms. Directed by a friendly parking attendant, I schlepped my camping supplies onto the festival grounds. It was close to 10 pm and pitch black. From my left, I could hear the amplified music from the main stage. To my right were the woods containing the campgrounds.
I hiked up into the woods, passed camp sites with frolicking children, impromptu banjo pickers, and subdued beer drinkers. After some time I found a camping spot high on a quiet and dark ridge.
After an arduous battle with my tent, I made my way back down to the festival to the Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Galaxy Barn stage for Thao with the Get Down Stay Down. Set on the edge of the farm, the OPB Galaxy Barn was, indeed, a barn. But for the purposes of Pickathon, it was converted into a small, hot venue with kitsch all over the ceiling and walls.
The crowd teemed as Thao with the Get Down Stay Down took the stage. Thao Nguyen announced that this would be the band’s "unprofessional" set compared to their afternoon show on the main stage. The set did seem relaxed and slightly boozy, but by no means sloppy. Nguyen’s sultry feminine vocals filled the already hot, crowded barn, and her songs became the musical equivalent to bedroom eyes.
The band’s sound is upbeat for the most part, and often errs on the side of noodly. That being said, our favorite song of her set was the slower and more sentimental "Family Ties." Here, her soulful voice matched the song’s careful laments concerning loss and family. Nguyen finished the evening with a crowd favorite, "Bag of Hammers," and a fun cover of Salt-n-Pepa’s "Push It."
Plenty more to come from Pickathon. Sit tight, melophobes!
