Portland, Oregon - June 11, 2026

Last year’s Pete and Bas concert in Portland (October 2025) was my favourite concert experience, ever. And I’ve seen some big shows… Pink Floyd, Chicago, Erasure, Depeche Mode, Lady Gaga, and more. So I had really high hopes for this one.

I found a nice little cajun restaurant across the street from the venue (the red building) and had some mac-n-cheese and a bowl of gumbo.

The venue had its own food as well, so I headed over there to grab a pint and wait for the doors to open. Opening act The Delivery Boys were there and I got to know them a bit. Nice guys.

At the meet and greet, the guy taking pictures had a hard time because we didn’t really need another photo of me with them, so the boys and I just talked for a bit.

He finally said, “OK, guys, look this way.” If I happen to disappear and I’m never heard from again, you will probably be able to trace that back to the moment that Pete saw this photo.

Delivery Boys came out and did their first number and from that moment, I knew this one would be awesome. They even told the crowd, “that’s the best opening number response we’ve ever gotten. This show is going to be special.” (And yes, Goldwood is wearing my hat in the photo)

When the London lads came out, the place went crazy. Absolute mayhem. And the energy level stayed there. The crowd was into it and was more similar to the UK crowds in that lots of people knew all the words to the songs.

The usual things happened: beer-with-a-raw-egg guzzling contest, ladies coming up on stage to dance, all the things.
When they got to the song, “T Pain”, they wanted someone to sing with them. A guy I’d been talking to before and during the show got their attention and Pete looked him in the eyes and said, “do you know all the words?” He said he did and Pete doubled down: “are you sure?”
Pete has little tolerance for people who just want to be on stage. If you get invited to sing, you had better know what you’re doing. I’ve seen Pete stop a song after one verse and tell the person they invited up, “no. You’re done.” and send them back to the audience. Brutal. But this guy said he could do it. He flubbed a word or two right off the bat - and I thought Pete was gonna toss him.

He recovered quickly before Pete could stop the song and ended up doing a really good job. Good for him, he obviously was having the time of his life up there.

A friend of a friend came to the show and I got to meet her and her friend. We all had a blast singing and dancing and generally acting like fools. Afterwards, we got a photo with them post-show.

Two shows in a row and I’m EXHAUSTED. I have no idea how these two septuagenarians do these tours. Sixteen stops in 20 days. That’s insane.

I’m glad they do, though. Nobody throws a party like these two guys - and this kind of concert experience isn’t something that anyone is doing. When they finally go into Beatles mode and stop touring to focus on studio work, it will be the end of an era.