MFNW Day #1: Berbati's Pan - The 1900s and Norfolk and Western

I bought a wristband to MusicFest NW this year. That means that I have to go to every possible show to get my $50 worth. And you can bet that I will. By the time I get to Sunday, I'll be beat.

Walking to Berbati's Pan tonight, some guy said to us, "How you doin, sexy?" And funny, the lead singer girl for the 1900s sang like she was responding to that comment for the whole 40 minutes of their set. She looked like Bess Armstrong and sang and played the tambourine with the same intensity as the lead guy singer, whose jaw clenched as he sang, his head shaking and spitting the words out. They are from Chicago and it sounded like this was their first time to Portland. "You live in a really nice city," said the lead girl, "Everyone smells like pot."

Verdict: Yay

Norfolk and Western came on next. I haven't seen them before. My first impression was: Well aren't they adorable Portlandy people. Cool glasses, funky shirts, drummer girl in cool skirt. The one guitar guy with the glasses looked like it was the easiest thing in the world to play the guitar. He had a kind of "laaaa la laaaah" look to him, like "laaa la laaaah, I'm just strumming along because I do this every single day and I quite like it." They were mellow at first, then they really rocked out, although the la-la guy still looked like he was strolling along.

Verdict: Yay

Tomorrow: We'll attempt to attend M.Ward's show at the Crystal Ballroom, with Berbati's Pan as our backup plan - Port O'Brien is playing!