Honeymoon Day Eleven - Art, Fireworks and Electro

As usual at the Ace Hotel, we started off the morning with coffee and fresh squeezed OJ from Stumptown Coffee on the first floor. After a small breakfast and a relaxed start to the sunny day, we walked around downtown to find some lunch. We walked by a handful of restaurants and eventually decided on Isabel's in the Pearl District, not far from our hotel.

Isabel's is housed within a contemporary concrete building with large window/doors that are operated by large turn wheels on the interior of the restaurant (video below). Stacy had a sandwich/soup combo and Jed had a sandwich/salad combo, both of which were very tasty. The interior was minimal and sleek and all of the doors were open halfway, allowing a nice breeze into the restaurant.

After lunch, we walked around the Pearl District up to 21st Street where we popped into a couple of shops and both got a quick hair trim. After our hair trim we found a very eclectic art gallery called Cannibals that sold everything from altered taxidermy (video below), chandaliers made of vintage eyeglasses, George Bush zero cent stamps, to wire wrapped robots and animals. It was a very cool gallery, each piece of art as interesting as the next.

After perusing the avant garde art, we heading to the closest streetcar stop to ride it (for the first time) down to the southwest part of the water front. There we would take the newest transport in town, the aerial tram, up the hill. The aerial tram is a very well designed tram service that connects the Southwestern waterfront with the OSHU Center for Health and Healing on Marquam Hill. From the ride up the hill you can see Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, all of downtown, and as far as the eye can see in all directions (videos below). One of the most expansive and beautiful views in town.

We took the aerial tram back down to the waterfront and the streetcar back to our hotel. After relaxing for a while in the hotel room, we walked just north of Burnside to see the Go Tell Mama (unoffficial Obama Art Show) at Art 323, a new gallery in Portland. Go Tell Mama was in Raleigh a month or so ago and Stacy was unable to catch it, so it was good we were able to see it again here (video below). We chatted with the artist, Ray Noland, and looked at the artwork for a bit before heading out to dinner.

We walked to Burnside after the art show and caught a cab to the southeast part of town for dinner at Biwa. Biwa is a Japanese tapas place that is located below ground in a space that used to house the grunge venue in the 90s called La Luna. Biwa is noted as the only Ramen Noodle restaurant in town. Stacy had a combo plate of pork fried rice, pot stickers, soup and asparagus. Jed had one of the chicken ramen noodles. Both were very delicious and we had more food than we knew how to eat.

After dinner, we stopped into a recommended local bar for drinks before heading to Rotture for music. The bar is called East End and was only a couple of blocks from Biwa. We had a drink in the dark back corner and plotted our newest idea for a business in Raleigh, Joystick, an all day arcade bar that hosts bands and serves alcohol at night (a mix of Ground Kontrol here in Portland and Kings Barcade). We drafted some logo and t-shirt ideas and think it would be perfectly located in one of the brick warehouses in downtown. If done right, it would be a hit. We also saw a Birds of Avalon poster in both bathrooms at East End which reminded us fondly of home.

After East End, we headed to Rotture for the Future Arts Festival featuring lots of DJs, Fleshtone, Mute Era and Chromatics. We were a bit early, so we bounced around to different spots checking out the crowd before the music began. We were able to see the fireworks that are part of the Rose Festival from the outdoor balcony of Rotture (video below). After the fireworks, the music started downstairs with Fleshtone who were very entertaining and got the crowd dancing to start the evening.

After Fleshtone, Mute Era peformed more of a sporatic grunge verion of the White Stripes. They were followed by a dance routine which Stacy said "look like a television ad for American Apparel". We were able to see the practice run of the dance earlier in the evening downstairs but it was cool to see them interacting with the crowd (which was a packed house by night's end).

After the dance number, Chromatics took the stage wth their low lights, fog machine and "noir disco" (as the press is calling it). They started with a cover of Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" and ended with Kate Bush's "Running up that Hill", with a handful of their foot tapping groovy songs in between. Overall, they created a nice moody music evening and delivered well on what we had only heard previously on computer. All proceeds from the evening went to fund a music fest in portland that will occur in a couple of months. Too bad we won't be here for it.

Roll-up Doors at Isabel's



Taxidermy Art



View of Downtown Portland from Aerial Tram



Aerial Tram Leaving Station



Go Tell Mama Art Show



Fireworks



Balloons and Fleshtone



Chromatics - I'm on Fire (Springsteen Cover)



Chromatics - I Want Your Love