The River Monks

We went to Portland on a school night for a good reason: to see our good friends The River Monks play at Valentine's!

We enjoyed dinner at a Thai restaurant called E-San down the street from the venue, and arrived early for the show. No one told us it had been pushed back an hour.

The venue was tiny - intimate, and I wondered how the six-person band would squeeze into the space. Aaron assured me it could be done. And it was. After two other interesting openers.

Aaron used to tour with some of the Monks back in the day when everybody was playing more "hardcore" music.

But, The River Monks are folksy. Their lineup of instruments includes banjo, trumpet & accordion. They are all so, incredibly talented.

I had a great time listening to them and sipping on a some whisky gingers & Baileys & coffee. I almost never drink hard liquor anymore, so that was a treat.

We grabbed some Doughnuts while we waited for the band to load up, bringing my grand Voodoo total to 7 doughnuts in 5 days, meaning I'm currently in doughnut detox.

At the end of the night, the band followed us home, and the 8 - 9 counting Boone - of us squeezed into our little apartment for the night.

I'm so glad we got to host them for the second time - and in Portland this time!

More of you really should come visit. The water is fine up here!