McMenamins

This is pretty magical.

Back in the day (as in, 50 years ago), three talented men anchored the hoppin' downtown jazz scene, whose epicenter happened to be clubs that stood where the Crystal Hotel is today: Charlie Gabriel, Mel Brown and Carl Smith.

Each man eventually left Portland to make his way in the music world. All three went on to great success in the New Orleans and Motown scenes; all three left an enduring mark on Stumptown's musical history.

And now, each man is returning to their old stomping grounds -what is now the Crystal Hotel & Ballroom.

Okkervil River's hotly anticipated new album I Am Very Far isn't due out 'til May 10, but tonight the band will be streaming a live performance of the album in its entirety! Wish we could take credit for this one, but the Pitchfork website has the scoop on where you can catch the live webcast tonight at 4 p.m. PST.

As Deftones fans most likely -and sadly-already know, the band's longtime bassist Chi Cheng suffered serious brain damage as the result of a 2008 car accident.

Cheng has never recovered; he remains in a semi-conscious state.

As of May, 2010, Cheng began to show signs of significant improvement. He can track people with his eyes and slightly move his hands. But, obviously, he has a long way to go.

This is where the Deftone's second show at the Crystal Ballroom, slated for Saturday, April 16, comes in...

Anti-folk, neo-folk modern folk...whatever you call it, Paleface's upbeat, addictive songs sure ain't your grandpappy's music (although, it certainly owes plenty to Grampa Guthrie). Let's face it, any group that garners the praise of the Avett Brothers and Beck - who cites Paleface as an early influence - has more going for him than just a ratty old acoustic guitar and a harmonica. What sets Paleface apart is his ability to stretch folk to its ultimate boundaries, with a beautiful voice that suddenly dips into a punkish snarl and a drummer who doesn't seem to know that this band is supposed to be folk, dang it (in a good way)!

The stars of our current McMenamins Small Batch Tour, Christabel & the Jons may play an old-timey style, but the group is not anachronism. Rather, the quartet manages to coax jazzy genres from the past out of the mothballs and into the future. The result is simply gorgeous: A mélange of countrified folky jazz swing and, lately, a sultry bossa nova groove, above which floats the voice of Christa DeCicco. DeCicco's voice is tailor-made for jazz; her lyrics -sharp and clever-and melodies are more catchy than any pop song. Despite the bands penchant for thrift-store finds and acoustic instruments, it all feels very much grounded in the now, thanks to smart musical twists and turns, seemingly effortless blending of genres, and a sparkling energy.

One of the great things about our new Crystal Hotel is how the entire space blurs the lines between art and music. As you probably know, all of our properties feature intriguing, mind-bending art; in the hands of our artists, wall panels, doors, even pipes transform from the mundane to the visually fascinating. Throw rock 'n' roll in the mix, and you've got an opportunity to do something really special. For instance, every room (all 51 of 'em) here is named after a song that actually has been played on the Crystal Ballroom stage. 

To celebrate '80s Video Dance Attack's sixth anniversary party, I had planned on writing several glowing paragraphs about how much un this weekly event is. After all, every single Friday, hundreds and hundreds of people -many clad in glowing plastic bangles, pegged jeans and Pretty In Pink-esque prom dresses-crowd the Crystal's dance floor and straight up get into the groove. This isn't one of those parties where patrons stand around watching a couple people dance; this is a fun, sweaty, fully interactive blowout that pulls in an age range between those just old enough to drink legally and those who purchased Madonna's first album...on vinyl. The day it came out.

Should a band that's been playing since 1958 have a MySpace page? In a musical world full of pop stars whose blip of fame barely registers long enough to produce a ring tone, The Ventures may be the only 53-year-old band to be able to pull it off.

Put your birthday party hats on, because it's time to paint the town red -Ruby red, in honor of Ruby Ale's 25^th Birthday.

That's right, the popular ol' gal was first brewed on March 21, 1986, at the Hillsdale Brewery, and with its light taste buoyed by, of all things, raspberry puree. The original recipe (seen below) was more bitter than today's incarnation of the beer. McMenamins brewer John Richen explains, "This version was very heavily hopped among other things: six pounds of hops for a 110-gallon batch versus [today's] half-pound of hops for a 210 gallon batch."

Of course, Ruby's signature is the light streak of raspberry flavor that infuses the beer with a beautiful red glow. Ruby gets her fruity zing from 42 pounds of raspberry puree added to every 210-gallon batch. No wonder she blushes so much!

Bearded and bespectacled, David Mayfield doesn't initially look like the type of performer who could whip a crowd into a frenzy. But with his swiveling hips, sexy moves (ironic, or not?) and loopy charm, Mayfield exudes an awkward charisma that elicits hoots 'n' hollers.

You don't have to be a jazz fan to dig the coolest cat around, King Perkoff. The dude is to saxophones what LeBron James is to basketball – a master of his art, and a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

The Spar Café: It's been a saloon, a rooming house for rowdy sailors, a billiard hall, a bowling alley and even a haven for gambling. It's been a meeting place for longshoremen and politicians, students and native Olympians. And now, while maybe less raucous than it used to be, the Spar is re-instating a staple of its past: Live music.

In a town like Portland, blessedly overflowing with indie rock bands, sometimes jazz gets overlooked. Portland actually has quite a strong jazz scene, and, as befitting our unconventional little burg, that scene is home to a creative substratum that likes to push the boundaries of the genre.

We told you that all our McMenamins Music Tours were about to kick it into high gear, and we weren't kidding. Tonight, the Wiyos kick off their Small Batch Tour (which will hit three properties in two days!) at the Kennedy School.

There's old-school, and there's way old-school, and the Wiyos definitely fit the latter. This crew of modern Tin Pan Alley crooners seems to hail from an era when newsboys crowed from street corners and a fedora topped every head. These anachronists somehow manage to infuse their songbook -clearly taken from the popular music of the 1920s and '30s, with an almost imperceptible modern-ness. The result is both a nostalgic look at the past and an eye on the future.  

I challenge anyone to really describe Y La Bamba (currently on the Great Northwest Music Tour) accurately. This band is so original, so genre-bending, so strange (in a good way), they defy the usual modus operandi of lazy music writers everywhere: comparison. Comparing this Portland group to any other band is simply impossible.

So we'll have to do the best we can, with snippets of aural imagery and forays into the band's personality. So let's try: Moody, melodic, multi-cultural post-folk (that is, folk with a bit of a backbeat -which in this case feels like a melancholy heartbeat) centered on singer Luzelena Mendoza's swirl of a voice. No, "swirl" is too weak of a word. It's strong and feminine, like a Frida Kahlo painting, this voice. No, not like a painting -- like Frida herself. 

Spring is, if not exactly around the corner, at least within a few flips of the calendar page. What does that mean for us? Well now's the time of year we really ratchet up our McMenamins Music Tours. But you may be wondering: WHAT ARE THESE MCMENAMINS TOURS, ANYWAY?

Well, we'll tell ya:

We here at McMenamins music have a special affection for the Avett Brothers. After all, we have quite a history with these fellas: They've traveled our properties as a Great Northwest Music Tour headliner, played four Crystal Ballroom shows, and absolutely tore it UP at last summer's Edgefield Concerts on the Lawn (side note: Avett fans are very good tippers. Thanks, y'all!).

So we couldn't be more pleased to spread the word that our favorite heartfelt stomp-rock-country-roots band will be playing at the Grammys this year! The Avetts will be sharing the stage with Bob Dylan, no less (another Edgefield Concert star from last summer, by the way) and Mumford and Sons, who of course took over the airwaves this past year.

Click through and see some awesome exclusive pics!

The word "opera" doesn't usually conjure up the words "light-hearted comedy," "kids fare" or even "fun." The art form, succumbing to the slow change in taste over the centuries, is nowadays often seen as a stodgy old art form, reserved for stodgy old people, to be performed in ornate (but still stodgy!) old opera houses.

When my esteemed music marketing overlords asked me to write a blog entry giving you the lowdown on the Crystal Ballroom's 97^th Birthday Free-for-All, my first thought was, "Uh, sure guys, that's all fine and dandy in theory, but how could I possibly describe the ultimate awesomeness that this party entails? It will take 25 pages, and our readers have lives, ya know!"

So I figured I'd narrow it down. Give you a real feel for what this affair is, not just some fluffy words. To wit:

Sometimes, you just get on a roll. And, not to toot our own vuvuzelas, but, brutha, the Mission is on a roll. Or, perhaps it's better to say the Mission is, uh, on a mission to drop some serious live entertainment on PDX.

What, you thought the Mission was only for movies? OK, we'll grant you that it's called the Mission Theater, but if you know McMenamins you know we love to think outside the box. We've been lining up a seriously cool, wondrously varied lineup for the upcoming weeks, and, while there's plenty of screen-oriented goodness to check out, we'd like to point out some of the other goodies on their way to the Mission's live stage: