Welby Family On Fleek – Pacific Northwest Fall 2017 – Day 7 Portland (9/28/17)

We started the day with breakfast at Kenny & Zuke’s Delicatessen. As you might guess this is a fancy deli. It was good, but not unusual.

We then wandered the Knob Hill retail on NW 23rd Avenue. Again it was a mix of familiar national retailers and local.

We then headed over to Base Camp Brewing Company. This brewery had a Minnesota feel – right down to the guy who was pouring the beers who went to the University of Minnesota. They had nice outdoor space and plenty of good beers. Again we had a perfect weather day in Portland.

I had the anniversary beer called Four (8 IBUs, 7.3 SRM, 19.3°P OG, 1.0°P TG, 10.5% ABV –not sure what all that means beyond the IBU and ABV). Per their website:

Our yearly anniversary beer, brewed in celebration of our fourth year spent doing what we love. A tart and funky strong amber saison. It showcases pilsner malt, wheat malt, and flaked wheat, then fermented with our two favorite saison yeasts. We then add to the complexity of this beer with an extended aging in red wine barrels, where it’s dosed with brettanomyces, lactobacillus, and Willamette Valley-grown Pinot Noir grapes from Goschie Farms.

We had a snack from one of the on-premise food trucks: the classic nachos, but instead of a base of chips, it was fries – a simple but brilliant innovation.

The Base Camp bartender suggested we try out Wayfinder. Again a brewery with great outdoor space for a top-10 weather day. They also had a great play list of classic and new-classic soul/funk over a well designed sound system. This brewery’s shtick was recreating some German classics – I had their Octoberfest (Freight!).

We headed back to the Airbnb to regroup and prep for today’s feature event which was to see Sturgill Simpson at a local theater.

Before the show we went to Shalom Y’All for dinner. Their deal is Israeli street food. Food was great, but the real feature was the incredibly fresh pita bread – literally prepared on the spot. Stuff melted on your tongue like butter.

We then walked over to the Arlene Schnitzer Hall to see Sturgill. The Arlene Schnitzer Hall is the building with the iconic Portland in neon marquee you have seen in TV and movies. A absolutely beautiful old concert hall.

Given how elaborately arranged his latest album is, I was not sure what to expect from Sturgill. He came up with a great idea: an outright rock presentation of his catalog. It was a very pleasant surprise to learn Simpson is a fine guitar player. The four piece band was tight and jammed without getting boring. My only complaint was that Sturgill’s vocals which were a garbled – it seemed the goal of the sound system was to make his vocals sound musical, but not necessarily understandable. It was a fair compromise. Overall a great show and I highly recommend him if you are a fan of his music – he can deliver live.