News Jul 24, 2008 at 4:00 am

A profile of Portland's music scene in 1988.

Comments

1
I roadied for Poison Idea at the Mayor's Ball Too gig.
Back then they easily held the title of 'mightiest band on Earth,' both in size and sound. Anybody who has ever seen Jerry A blow fire would most likely concur. He had this schtick were he'd get a hearty mouthful of 151 or rocket fuel or whatever and spit it all up onto a flare he'd hold over his head. Well, the ceiling at the Coliseum convention hall was pretty low and the flame glanced of the ceiling and singed many an eyebrow. You could even see a few burning embers falling off the ceiling tiles.
The crowd went apeshit.
I remember tons of cops outside after the set. Somehow a worried buzz went through the ears of the powers that were that this mass of fucked up looking kids was going to riot.
Certainly one of the high points of '88.
A big thank you, Ezra, for not making it look like the scene back then revolved around Courtney Taylor-Taylor's Beauty Stab and that ilk. Far from it.

2
Ezra -- No mention of the amazing jazz/soul scene in 88? It was also small, community based yet still vibrant.
3
My dad was the guitarist for Final Warning and played bass a few times with Napalm Beach, so I've heard him talk about many of those bands, especially Poison Idea. I'll have to show him this article, it will probably bring back a lot of memories for him. Also, Final Warning is having a reunion show this September.
4
I spent many a night at the Satyricon and La Luna back when i was in HS (graduated in 88!), and my brother dated this chick Leslie who was in Theatre of Sheep, a pretty small band many might not know of, but also monumental in their time - it IS nice to look back and remember all those who came before...
5
I wasn't in Portland in 1988, so it's cool to get a little perspective from the day. That Satyricon bathroom photo looks to be from about 1997, though.
6
How did Ida No time-travel to the old Satyricon bathroom?

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