We were pretty lethargic last night until a rousing early summer storm cooled things off and gave us a new lease on Wednesday night. So with verve renewed, we headed downtown to see what this Salem First Wednesday is all about.
Now, in my experience, First [insert day here]‘s can be a sign of a motivated scene that knows about mid-week, post-work impulses to get out and feel like your life is something else. Those are the best events. Or, sadly, they can seem like business-spurring chamber of commerce shots in the dark trying desperately (there’s that word again) to get people to enliven a dead-as-dirt downtown. Those events really suck.
I can safely say that my first-ever Salem’s First Wednesday didn’t suck.
We had a pretty great time checking out a Portland guy Eric Nordby who fronts a band called Norman and who has the more adorable free stickers I’ve seen. We tend to like our indie/folk rockers a little more pared down and a little more raw, so I can’t say anything for the band he fronts, but we did like the talented Mr. Nordby all by himself, even if he did sing one song that sounded like Death Cab. Also: cutest band T-shirts I’ve seen of late, including one that looks oddly reminiscent of my very first-ever drawing, circa 1982, of “People in Parachutes” (I was always a Doomsday Girl).
Venti’s just keeps getting better. In the few months that we’ve lived here, we’ve gone on and off Venti’s a couple of times. Four charred falafel balls will do that to you. But this romance is back on with a vengeance. Someone in the kitchen has been taking some plating cues from higher-end establishments because the stuff looks just about as sexy as a pile of hummus can look. It also takes a special kind of masochist to make crunchy hippie stir-fries look like little objets d’arte. But we clearly have some ambitions in the laid-back alternakids working in the back.
Later that night we walked through the closed up corridors of the Reed Opera House after hours. Creepy! A Wednesday less ordinary indeed.
Ah, totally neglected the First Wednesday, damn. I am intrigued by Wild Pear for dinner. . .
Dude, I actually thought about calling you after the fact, figured I should have just called ahead of time to tell you what we were up to. We didn’t get down there until 8:30, pretty late, but there were still some folks out.
I liked hearing your thoughts on all this; Venti’s, first Wednesday, the band. Eric and his band members are friends of mine, but I actually haven’t been to see them play in a couple years. I’ll have to make it a point. I havent been to first Wednesday in a couple of years either…. I should get out more…. I guess I used to feel like it was “business-spurring chamber of commerce shots in the dark”, so I’ll have to give it another try
Again, I am so loving Venti’s. Love the people, the food, and yes, the entertainment. I love that one family brought their little kids. I just wish these evenings went later.