Last night was an important night in Portland’s rich, music scene. A concert was held at Doug Fir to celebrate the new album release from Metts Ryans and Collins, which also featured local rockers One From Many and Emotitron on the bill. The show was put on by JFell Presents who is a key player in Portland’s cover music scene, but tonight Jason and company promoted a full show dedicated to just original bands. This is a big deal in my opinion and is really needed. As a fan of our Portland scene, there are some major talents here. I think its great seeing the spotlight shine on these people for who they really are. Bands like Metts Ryans and Collins consist of three very talented musicians, Geoff Metts, Dain Ryan and Mike Collins, who deserve their own attention and due credit. For me, it was fun hearing these newly recorded tunes live and also hearing the band experiment with new sounds they are working on. A new instrumental in the works for example shows this band’s potential of where they are going. I have always been a fan of Geoff Metts for one, whose vocals and guitar parts take me back to those great rock n roll sounds of the past. I hear bluesy sounds reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and love where he is going with his rock, slide guitar work. When you add the pumping rhythm section from Dain Ryan and Mike Collins, we get some good time, old school rock n roll. 
Oregon is a great example from the new record and its GOOD STUFF. There is alot of music coming from this three piece band and they fuse their influences with their own styles nicely. I strongly recommend buying their new album and going to see them live. With that said, it is so important to buy a ticket and support the band’s show, but you have to also BUY a copy of their music too. It is so crucial to show this kind of financial support to these artists directly. The whole point of the show was to sell their album. These artists work their butts off and need our support to survive. Show them love and show them the money! They need us just as much as we need them.
There was one thing that struck me odd from last night too. I am not sure why Metts Ryans and Collins were moved to the middle band in the lineup as they were billed as headliners. With the attention mainly focused on the new album release, some left early after the MRC show. That was sad to me. A band like One From Many, who ended up headlining are talented musicians in their own and started their own set with utter intensity. Starting their set with an unreleased track, Reiterate they simply blew me away. They also played another classic Farcry tune, Weight coming from their earlier music incarnation of OFM and they seriously rocked that one too. For those who left early, you missed out. This was a great triple bill and some didn’t take advantage of the full package they were offered. I was never one to leave and “beat the traffic”. I did stay and saw a great triple bill of new original music. Great show guys and thanks Jason for making it happen. Looking forward to more.
Brent Angelo Photography (click on link for pictures from the show)
