Bend, Oregon: Players Bar & Grill KICKS ASS!
Saturday, we played Player's Bar & Grill in Bend, Oregon. We basically drove 8 hours there, played a show, and immediately drove back to get Jimmy to work before noon. 16 hours of driving within 22 hours. The experience we had in Bend was worth every minute of the drive!
For the uninitiated, Bend is in the mountains surrounded by desert looking conditions. I never really expected to see a desert in the mountains, but that's what I get for never leaving Seattle. I had zero expectations but I was told it has a growing population and thriving art scene. Unverified information, but you can Google that shit for yourself.
We had a sinking feeling when we drove up to Players because there was a sign out front that had a big, glowing "Lottery" sign, and one of the bands that were supposed to play (but cancelled) had their name spelled wrong. It was spelled "Hands on Thorat" instead of "Hands on Throat". We speculated for a few minutes what a "thorat" could be before we realized the misspelling. Visions of "Spinal Tap" danced through our heads.
Walking in, we were hit with a wall of cigarette smoke. I forgot that Oregon still allows smoking in the bars. I'm usually happy with this at first because I'm a smoker. Then, after an hour, my throat feels like a tobacco monkey just shit stale ashes straight into my mouth.
Besides the smoke, we saw some old couches by the stage, pull tabs, lottery signs, and some veteran drinkers making cozy with the bar. Places like this can only go two ways for a band: nightmarish or wonderful. In Vallejo, CA, it was nightmarish as the entire bar ended up in a bar fight. Keep our heads low and grab a beer.
Things started looking up when we were greeted by the opening band, Makeshift. They were extremely helpful and told us where we could park and what to expect from the bar. They explained how it was a "late" bar that gets spill-over from other bars. People will end up there later in the night, so it's better to buy for time as long as possible before playing.
Also, this is Labor Day weekend and not many people in town. I completely forgot about Labor Day before booking this 8 hour journey and immediately started kicking my own ass. Ah well, better than staying home and counting my dick.
We're introduced to Buck who booked us here. Buck immediately makes us feel at home and gets us free drinks and food. We cuddle up to the bar with Buck and start adding our own voice-overs to the television where some dog nanny show is playing. All we get from it as that this dog nanny is a bitch that invades people's houses, tells them how their little piece of shit dogs suck, and then the women who live there get jealous of the nanny because she's hotter than they are.
Fuck the dogs, Makeshift gets up and plays. Good rock music and sexy singer. Still no one in the bar. Hmmm. 8 hours for a dead show.
We go on at midnight, and suddenly there are people up front at the stage! Where did these people come from? It wasn't a ton of people, but for the small bar, we felt it was a great crowd. We start rocking out and jumping all over the place, and EVERYONE GETS INTO IT! Joseph leaps up on the table, I jump off the stage, Jimmy goes apeshit, and Ricky pounds like a mad man. Cameras start flashing, shots get delivered to us while we're playing, and a pit forms. Holy fuck! I even see the people playing pool in the back of the bar getting into it.
When we get off stage, we're assaulted for t-shirts, CDs, and autographs. Fuck, we felt like we were a famous band or something! Wow, Bend, Oregon knows how to make a band feel good!
We are definitely coming back here. Unlike some places, Players knows how to treat their entertainment. Now, I just need to learn how to sleep sitting straight up in the passenger seat without a pillow.
Good times.
For the uninitiated, Bend is in the mountains surrounded by desert looking conditions. I never really expected to see a desert in the mountains, but that's what I get for never leaving Seattle. I had zero expectations but I was told it has a growing population and thriving art scene. Unverified information, but you can Google that shit for yourself.
We had a sinking feeling when we drove up to Players because there was a sign out front that had a big, glowing "Lottery" sign, and one of the bands that were supposed to play (but cancelled) had their name spelled wrong. It was spelled "Hands on Thorat" instead of "Hands on Throat". We speculated for a few minutes what a "thorat" could be before we realized the misspelling. Visions of "Spinal Tap" danced through our heads.
Walking in, we were hit with a wall of cigarette smoke. I forgot that Oregon still allows smoking in the bars. I'm usually happy with this at first because I'm a smoker. Then, after an hour, my throat feels like a tobacco monkey just shit stale ashes straight into my mouth.
Besides the smoke, we saw some old couches by the stage, pull tabs, lottery signs, and some veteran drinkers making cozy with the bar. Places like this can only go two ways for a band: nightmarish or wonderful. In Vallejo, CA, it was nightmarish as the entire bar ended up in a bar fight. Keep our heads low and grab a beer.
Things started looking up when we were greeted by the opening band, Makeshift. They were extremely helpful and told us where we could park and what to expect from the bar. They explained how it was a "late" bar that gets spill-over from other bars. People will end up there later in the night, so it's better to buy for time as long as possible before playing.
Also, this is Labor Day weekend and not many people in town. I completely forgot about Labor Day before booking this 8 hour journey and immediately started kicking my own ass. Ah well, better than staying home and counting my dick.
We're introduced to Buck who booked us here. Buck immediately makes us feel at home and gets us free drinks and food. We cuddle up to the bar with Buck and start adding our own voice-overs to the television where some dog nanny show is playing. All we get from it as that this dog nanny is a bitch that invades people's houses, tells them how their little piece of shit dogs suck, and then the women who live there get jealous of the nanny because she's hotter than they are.
Fuck the dogs, Makeshift gets up and plays. Good rock music and sexy singer. Still no one in the bar. Hmmm. 8 hours for a dead show.
We go on at midnight, and suddenly there are people up front at the stage! Where did these people come from? It wasn't a ton of people, but for the small bar, we felt it was a great crowd. We start rocking out and jumping all over the place, and EVERYONE GETS INTO IT! Joseph leaps up on the table, I jump off the stage, Jimmy goes apeshit, and Ricky pounds like a mad man. Cameras start flashing, shots get delivered to us while we're playing, and a pit forms. Holy fuck! I even see the people playing pool in the back of the bar getting into it.
When we get off stage, we're assaulted for t-shirts, CDs, and autographs. Fuck, we felt like we were a famous band or something! Wow, Bend, Oregon knows how to make a band feel good!
We are definitely coming back here. Unlike some places, Players knows how to treat their entertainment. Now, I just need to learn how to sleep sitting straight up in the passenger seat without a pillow.
Good times.
posted by Sethalicious at
6:27 PM
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