Topher Cyll

Or is that "Plays Portland"? It's not clear to me if Phantom Buffalo, the band name, is singular or plural. You see, a week ago, Evan Carroll emailed me. The Ponys from Portland, Maine had become Phantom Buffalo he said, and not only that, they were playing a house party in Portland, Oregon. Crazed with excitement, he wrote:

I HOPE YOU CAN MAKE THEIR CONCERT IN WHERE YOU ARE. I SHOULD BE GOING TO SEE THEM TOMORROW EVENING. AND YES. . . I CAUGHT THE WEASELS TOO. (NOT MEASELS)

Nevermind about the weasels, but fast foward to last Friday. Amanda and Craig were along for the ride. We almost didn't find the house. But nestled in a quiet residential area, the punk house was made obvious by the army of bikes resting on the lawn. If the posters were to be believed, the house was known as The Multiverse, or maybe the inhabitants were?

Someone had set up a "Guerilla Public House" set up in the living room. The barkeep was selling glass mason jars of homemade beer by the pint or quart.

Amanda and Craig and I sat around awkwardly as I sipped a strong beer brewed with rye. Were we the only strangers? We couldn't tell. Then, to make things even more confusing, the "handicapped" girl in the wheelchair just got up and walked off. Surreal.

The actual show took place in the basement. It was a glorious basement. Dirty and full of exposed pipes and rough wooden boards. And it was packed with instruments. One corner had even been converted into a bedrom by the simple act of hanging quilts around it.

A solo song writer played first, and I didn't catch his name. But after that, Matthew Johnson (I think) of Natural Bridges played a wonderful set in the backyard by the campfire.

Here Comes a Big Black Cloud played back in the basement. Theirs was a dark, driving sound. They had this one guy, who I got a chance to talk to later, playing both the theramin and an accordion/synthesizer hybrid to devestating effect. Their trio of costumed dancers performed zombie mime, burtal murders, and danced around.

Phantom Buffalo took the stage last. They sounded great, even in the close quarters of the basement and the audience got really into it. The first half of the show was new music and then they moved on to some old favorites to finish up. It was great to hear them again, and a once in a lifetime chance for me to hear them out here in Portland, Oregon.

posted on: 07/07/2006 | path: /life