Portland, OR

August 11, 2002 ... Aladdin Theater

SETLIST

Lose Me On the Way
On the Low
Clear Day
Charlotte
Butterfly Mornings
Friends of a Smile
Bavarian Fruit Bread
Drop
Silver and Gold
Around My Smile
Suzanne

Encore:
Louise (Acetone)

REVIEWS

• 'a boy': i just got home from the show in portland at the aladdin theatre and it was fantastic! i've never seen hope or mazzy star and i was blown away by how good hope's voice sounded live- completely effortless. wow. also the music is the best- nothing else like it.

  the aladdin theatre is a really nice venue- it holds a lot of people but still retains a great intimacy and the sound was really seamless- really really nice.

  me and my girlfriend parked our car behind on the one-way street behind the theatre right next to hope's tour bus and we think that we saw her looking out at us from the back window of the bus, but i'm not sure because when we looked up whoever it was pulled the blinds down.

  i really liked the soledad brothers- i'd never heard them before and they were great! they started things out slow and then they really brought the rock. it's always nice to see a support band that really blows you away.

  it took a while between bands but once hope and the band came out things went very quickly and wonderfully. everyone in the venue stayed seated and everyone was very quiet. there was one girl who yelled 'HOPE I LOVE YOU!!' but it wasn't during a song so it was no big deal. it was also a lot of fun to see colm o'ciosig in action too because i'm a massive my bloody valentine fan and i thought it was almost too good to be true when i first heard he was working with hope, so it was neat to see them play together live.

  i really loved the new songs that i'd never heard before- hopefully they'll be released soon (or ideally already are released) i got the names of them (or what i believe their names are) from the sacramento setlist since it was very similar to this one. i loved hearing 'lose me on the way' live- that's probably my favorite on the record and i liked hearing acoustic songs like 'clear day' and 'bavarian fruit bread' get a slightly more psychadelic and filled out reading live. i'm also glad that she sang 'drop' live as it's one of my favorite jesus and mary chain songs that i'm glad hope covered because i think that she has done the mary chain a great favor by covering one of their most overlooked gems and breathing some new vibrance and life into it. it was really fantastic. thanks a lot!

• Havala: I was lucky enough to catch the show, but I'm writing this review months later. I wasn't going to write, but after I read some of the reviews from other cities, I just had to.

  The show was amazing. It was a treat to see such talented musicians live, and I got the feeling the whole crowd thought the same thing. Not to brag, but Portlanders know how to show respect. There were no hecklers, no stupid obnoxious shouts - just a big crowd of fans truly happy to be there. I went with my best friend, also a Mazzy Star fan from way back. We couldn't stop smiling once Hope and the Warm Inventions came out. I paid to hear them perform live, that's it. After reading reviews containing complaints and disappointment, I think, "Duh, people. I wouldn't want to talk, show myself, or share myself with any group of such critical a-holes either." Hope and the guys seem to be true perfectionists, and I happen to appreciate the care that goes in to making their music sound great. She and the band have to live on a bus and sit there for weeks just to bring themselves to us. It's not glamorous. I've been to shows where the musicians were full of themselves and took every opportunity to feel like Gods up on stage, even though their music sounded like shit live. They spend too much time talking and dancing around, and they're obviously looking for that shallow, cheesy MTV celebrity status. I personally love the fact that Hope and the guys aren't in to that. To come and bust out such beautiful music and leave without having to say, "Hey, look at me everybody, I'm a super star and don't you know it," is much more classy in my opinion.

  Afterwards, we weren't ready for the show to be over, so we went out back and watched the band load up the bus. Eventually they came over and sat down with us (not Hope, but most of the band). They shared some whiskey and asked us what we thought of the show, which seemed like such a silly question to me... Anyway, it was a great night and I can't wait to see them in Portland again!