A bit of background, in case you are reading this long after it was posted… Portland, Oregon is in the middle of a standoff between Donald Trump’s gestapo ICE agents and Portland protestors in costumes who are mocking them. It hasn’t yet gotten ugly, but Trump is planning to send the National Guard into Portland to “take control of the city” or some other such nonsense.
This, plus the general feeling in Canada right now of “screw the USA, seriously” ever since Trump started telling us that we’d be better off as the 51st state than as a sovereign nation, might have you wondering, “why on earth would you go to Portland right now?”
I get it. But Pete and Bas are doing concerts in Portland and Seattle on consecutive days and there’s no way I’m missing this opportunity to see my heroes in person again. The last time, I had to fly to the UK to see them, so this seems easy by comparison.

That time was special. I was given a backstage pass and got to hang out with them for several hours before the show. I even got to show them the video I made about how they pulled me out of a cancer depression and thus likely saved my life, literally.

That day was a pinnacle moment in my life. I mean, I admire the fuck out of these guys. They decided in their 70s that it would be fun to make a rap video(!) and now they’re doing sold-out tours all over the world.
The writer in me is continually floored by the level of depth in their lyrics, with hidden meanings, wordplay, punchlines, double (and triple) entendrés, and rhyme schemes that are sometimes incredibly complex.
The musician in me is astonished at the delivery of complex rhythms, the number of times they effortlessly switch the flow and cadence in a song, and the surgical precision with which they can ride a beat - ANY beat - even when they are rapid-fire switching parts and handing off verses to each other.

Then, when I got to hang out with them, I found out that they are genuinely good people. Regardless of the lyrics they put out there in their gangster alter-ego characters, full of violence, women, drugs, guns, and organized crime, these two boys are kind, funny, down-to-earth, and humble. They are both devoted family men, they’ve never been in prison, they don’t do drugs, and they’re much more likely to give you a hug than a fist to the face.

But I’m fully aware that even though that day was a standout moment in my life, for them it was just another show where they hung out with a fan before going on stage. I get that. I mean, they are my heroes, but I’m just a guy they met once.

So for the show tonight, I’m not expecting them to treat me any differently than the others who got the VIP package. We’ll get a meet and greet session and some goodies and maybe get time for a few pics, but it will all be structured and I’ll just be one of the crowd. That’s fine. It will be fun to see a concert of theirs from the regular perspective, rather than off to the side, like at Newcastle.

I have gifts for them this time. At the Newcastle show, I wore a shirt with the lyrics to “Bish Bash Bosh” printed on it and Bas loved it and asked where he could get one. I promised that I’d bring them shirts when I got to the Portland show. I got Bas a long-sleeve dress shirt, and Pete a black short-sleeve with white lettering, and I also got one of those for Queenie, their DJ, who was nice enough to take pics and video of me on stage with them.

Also in the boxes is a nice thank-you card. Queenie, thanks for taking and sharing the pics and videos of me on stage. Bas, thanks for an email you sent a couple years ago telling me to stay positive and I could beat this cancer, no matter what the odds. Geezus, that email got me through some hard moments.
Pete’s was harder. When I was in my depression, the doc told me that if I believed that I wasn’t going to survive this, then I wouldn’t. And I gotta tell you, I had pretty much already decided that my days were numbered and I wasn’t going to be around much longer. That’s going to come as a shock to a lot of you, because I hid it really well, but I had just been through a month of radiation, I was tired, and I couldn’t even fathom getting the energy it would take to fight this.
But finding out that Pete had launched a brand new career in a gruelling business in his 70s, while beating cancer was what turned it around for me. If he could do it, then I could, too. And while I was able to tell him, “thank you for getting me through the hard times” back in July, this time I’ll be able to tell him, “thanks to your inspiration, I beat this shit, in spite of the odds.” How can you express that level of gratitude in a few lines on a card?

Sorry, I’m rambling. Not enough coffee yet.
So back to the trip. I was a bit concerned about getting across the border because of the fascist regime currently in control of the US and especially because I was on my way to Portland, which is overrun with ICE agents and is about to be infiltrated by the National Guard, AND because I renounced my US citizenship back in 2020, as soon as I got my Canadian citizenship.
Luckily, I have a Nexus card, so that gives me a certain benefit of the doubt that I’m not Riff-raff. Even so, the border agent sees my Canadian passport that says I was born in Oklahoma and asks, “do you have a US passport?” (Dual citizens must travel with both passports) I said, “I don’t, but I have my renunciation papers with me.” [holds breath]
She says, “OK, that’s fine.” and I’m done. Whew.

Once in the terminal, I decide to prepare myself for being in the presence of British legends with a plate of fish and chips and a lager.

…and before you say it, YES, I’m aware that Stella Artois is Belgian, not British. But it’s Pete’s lager of choice, so it’s all good.

The server at the airport pub, a young Asian woman in her early 20s, was making small talk as I paid the bill. She asked where I was off to and I said I was going to Portland to see a concert. “Wow. That’s a long way to go for a concert. Who are you going to see?” and I flipped my laptop around, which had this showing on the screen:

Her eyes got wide and she said, “OMG, I follow them on Instagram. They are AWESOME!” then paused and said, “wait… they do live shows?” I assured her that they did and told her about seeing them in Newcastle and getting to perform on stage with them.
Mind. Blown.

I was flying United for the first time in decades… but I have a United credit card that earns miles, so I was able to fly down in business class on points. Yay! And I gotta tell ya… if this is what passes for business on United, I can’t imagine what kind of shitshow goes on in economy. On both legs, Calgary -> San Francisco and San Francisco -> Portland, the comfort level just wasn’t there, the food was economy-level at best, and the service was friendly, but sparse.

At least the trip home will be on Air Canada. And when you’re looking forward to flying Air Canada, then you know how poor United must’ve been.

Decided to do a little walkabout around the neighborhood, since I wanted to get some lunch and I needed to hit up the Apple Store for an adapter to get pics from my camera into my laptop. Neither of the venues I’m going to allow any removable-lens cameras, so I dug out my little point-and-shoot for this trip. The walkabout also got me familiar with using it again.

Maybe I’m just too used to Calgary, where the sidewalks are always full of people, even when it’s cold, but it seems like even though Portland’s Pearl District is very walkable, nobody seems to walk anywhere. Look how deserted these streets are at 11am!

Had lunch at Chipotle, which was as good as I remember. And who should walk in right before I get up to leave? The guy I sat next to on the plane last night.

I don’t remember his name (which will be no shock to anyone who knows me), but he’s a Russian-born European who works in the research and development department of a company that is working on drugs that fight cancer. Portland has one of their manufacturing facilities and he’s visiting all of those. He was coming in from Zurich last night. Of course, that convo led to me telling him about P&B and their effect on my recovery.

He didn’t see me, as I was sitting off in a corner. He sat down facing out the window with his earbuds in, so I didn’t disturb him. But when I left, I walked past that window. He noticed me and smiled, I gave him a nod, then he turned his phone around so I could see… he was listening to Pete and Bas on Spotify!

Another fan, thanks to yours truly.

And all morning long, people would notice my shirt and say, “Pete and Bas! I love those guys” and I’d mention that I’m in town for the concert and they’d say, “WHAT CONCERT? They’re in town???” and then they’d be big disappointed when I told them the show was sold out. The lads need a proper tour promoter, they could sell out big venues. I mean, when they play festivals that have marketing, they certainly bring the crowds… even in Finland!

Their shows work best in small venues, though, so maybe I’m glad they aren’t doing arena shows.

This area of Portland is surprisingly quiet and rather pretty. I made it down to the river.

And it was down by the river that I finally found the dangerous part of Portland… but it wasn’t ICE agents, it was cobra chickens.

Back to the hotel for a nap and a shower, then it’s off to the show!