Mac DeMarco fits right in, here in Portland, Oregon. “I dress like a homeless person,” the neo-grunge jokester self-deprecates. Mac, one of our new favorites, joined about 80 other acts for the Bridge City’s 5 day SXSW-style festival, Musicfest NW last week–still rocking the flannels and Vans.
He’s a perfect fit, indeed. Portland brews beers as much as it brews bands and bohemian hipsters. We witnessed the beards, award-winning ‘staches, and fixed-gear bicyclist locals who were obsessing over bands like Modest Mouse, Starfucker, Death Cab For Cutie, The Decemberists–and basically every other band born in the Pacific Northwest indie music mecca–before you had even heard of them. Running around the city like common tourists, 17 spread out venues wooed us with the their line ups, which cruelly overlapped creating an experience of indecision and speed walking.
See who were totally worth the blisters.
Mac DeMarco giving us us a taste of his attitude and a gaze mid-performance
Girl Talk throws the biggest party at MusicFest
Tallest Man on Earth quiets the entire Crystal Ballroom
Starfucker packs Pioneer Square
Starfucker’s Johny O. on drums
Daughn Gibson getting weird with his Mac at Star Theater
Photos by Michael Gabel. See more photos here.
