Backstage Pass: Roselit Bone at Doug Fir Lounge

I didn’t anticipate that one result of picking up photography again after such a long break would be an increase in concert attendance. Safe to say that my presence at shows jacks up the median age of the crowd a bit. But having been overseas for a good chunk of the past 10 years or so, I have some catching up to do. And it’s Seattle, where the ethos (for now) includes a healthy dose of do your thing.
Besides, shooting photos at concerts has been great practice and fun. Along the way I’ve met some incredibly talented, friendly musicians in the Pacific Northwest. I envy them their tight-knit community. That definitely applies to Portland-based Roselit Bone. I learned about Roselit Bone while talking to Faith Grossnicklaus, their violinist, about the busking community at Seattle’s Pike Place Public Market. I liked the band even before I’d heard their music. On their website, under the Bio section, Will Stenberg penned a description of the band and its sound that practically demands a listen, if only to hear lead singer Joshua McCaslin’s “nightmare-poetry” or the shards of pedal steel flying like shrapnel.

On 31 May I went down to Portland to see their album release show for Blister Steel at the Doug Fir Lounge. The show was amazing. I’d seen Roselit Bone about a week earlier at the Northwest Folklife Festival and thought that show was great. The show at the Doug Fir Lounge was even better. It was the full band, they were on their home turf, and they were releasing an album that they’re justifiably proud of. It was also a cool venue. I’ve only been to Portland a few times, but I like it. I loved seeing loads of people leaving the show with vinyl. I left with a CD, one that I can’t play on the laptop I finally upgraded to after years of hanging onto a sputtering 2011 dinosaur. Anyway, I’ve added some shots below from the show.