Oregon Music News

The Woods' Vivien Lyon and Ritchie Young. Photo via Rose City Live.

Sadly, it’s official.  The Woods is no more.

Riding my bike by there today was bittersweet, just like the last song of Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside’s set on Saturday night.  Seeing a hodgepodge of chairs and couches sitting behind the locked, black iron gates made me fantasize that a resurrection was still possible.

But the facts are that the property is owned by Claybourne Commons, LLC, which was looking to raise the rent while the owners of The Woods, Ritchie Young, Vivien Lyon, and Yoni Shpak, would’ve liked a rent decrease.  This effectively pushed the music venue out as Claybourne Commons currently hopes to redevelop the land, pushing the former funeral home, built in 1928, back half a block with plans to use the new real estate on SE Milwaukie for storefronts.

After two-and-half years of Bingo and Bourbon, Baby Ketten Karaoke, soul night with DJ Cooky Parker, and intimate concerts–one of my most memorable was an evening with The Robinsons and Y La Bamba–it was all destined to end on Saturday, January 7th.

But not without a free show.  And a great, local line up to boot: Brothers Young, AgesandAges, and Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside.

Yours truly and Ritchie Young. Photo thanks to Dennise Kowalczyk.

A line stretched around the block all night long, and the place was packed well-past the supposed 300 person capacity.  Familiar faces from the PDX music scene abounded with the likes of Lewi Longmire, Matt Sheehy of Lost Lander, Jim Brunberg of Mississippi Studios, the boys of Lone Madrone, music video director Alicia J. Rose, all of the brothers Young (how many are there anyways?), Dennise Kowalczyk of KZME, and the brothers from Rose City Live (who have a great gallery of photos up) all wandering around throughout the night.

Of course, Brothers Young (including three brothers of owner Ritchie Young) opened the night to a full room that never subsided.  AgesandAges played a spectacular, singalong set with only six-part harmonies–their seventh member Graham Mackenzie recently left the band after their December 23rd Doug Fir show–but excitedly shared a few new songs.

Before Sallie Ford kicked off their set with a Buddy Holly cover, The Woods owners took the stage with Vivien Lyon emotionally running down a looong list of thank you’s to everyone that made the venue and bar so much more that just that: It was a community.

She wrapped it up with: “No fucking thanks to the landlords.”

Sallie Ford and company announced their upcoming plans to hit the studio, making their final set at The Woods a practice session full of new material.  Bassist Tyler Tornfelt swapped his stand up for an electric on a lot of the new stuff as Sallie repeatedly wailed ”I just wanna roll around in bed with you” on one of the later cuts.  She was full of confidence and sexuality–fresh from touring France, I’m sure–while she was belting.  Between tracks she was still giggling and beaming full-toothed grins in all directions.

As the band is set to travel back to Europe next month, The Woods finished their last night by running out of PBR tall boys while DJ Cooky Parker spun one last soulful In the Cooky Jar dance set in the funeral parlor where he started his career.

Farewell, we will miss you.

Photo by Rose City Live