SHADOWPLAY

Great Event At A New Venue in Portland
SITREP
Last year when I was passing through Portland this same time of season, I enjoyed the event ShadowPlay at the venue known as The Fez. Unfortunately, that venue shut down in the last year.
THE SETUP @ NEW VENUE
However, DJ Carrion has found a new home for ShadowPlay in the very eclectic venue The LoveCraft Bar («LoveCraft“located on SE Grand Avenue in Portland’s Eastside.
I was meeting my awesome friends Marvin W. and Michelle B. — recent transplants from Sacramento to Portland — who already had an intimate knowledge of the music & dance scenes that we all love up & down the West Coast, from San Diego to the Bay Area and up through Seattle.
THE VIBE
Though much much smaller than The Fez was as a dance venue, LoveCraft has an immediate eccentric charm with it’s physical layout, wall décor & accessorization that matches quite well the dark wave vibe that ShadowPlay sets out to establish.
The attention is immediately drawn to the large open area (as you first walk in) that served first as the concert stage for the two (2) music acts — that started the night off at 9pm as soon as we arrived, and performed until 10:15pm — and then graciously tranformed into the main dance floor through the rest of the night.
THE MUSIC
The format focuses on such stalwart anthems ranging from VNV Nation, Covenant, StromKern, to some truly noteworthy German Industrial bands like Das Ich, and others I can’t name at the moment.
But whether you want to swirl or stomp on the dance floor, there was always seemed to be a song in the queue you would dance to with a couple of songs or so.
THE BAR
Our lovely bartendress made the best mixed drinks, had the most reasonable canned domestic beers available, and the most pleasant smile & demeanor to share with all her patrons.
THE LOWDOWN
A terrific time to dance & drink on Portland’s East Side!