The Lost Highwaymen Host Portland Casual Jams' Own Open Mic Night

You're bored. You walk into a bar. You sit down for a drink; it's hot out, even though it's 6:15 in the evening. (Yeah, it's summer.) You hear some noise from behind a door at the back of the room...musical noise...pretty jammin' musical noise. Hmm. Go and see, or no? You take a sip. The noise gets louder. You throw caution to the wind, walk through the door and see The Lost Highwaymen, Celtic rock belting out of Rob 'Bodhi' Wolff's mouth and off his guitar, with Asher Wood going nuts on a mandolin beside Bodhi, rounded out by Rodney Olivier on bass and Dan Coughlin on drums.

Do you sit and get lost in the rest of the set? Damned right you do, and you order a couple more beers while the rest of the crowd - musically inclined themselves - rotate across the stage, playing eclectic selections of songs with varying measures of talent. Those who may need a bit more practice get the encouragement they need from Bodhi and the other Highwaymen, while more practiced musicians try out new material or just play what they love in front of an appreciative, low-key crowd.

What is this dreamland of a musical venue? It's the Meadows Lounge in Portland, and the group of musicians gathered here on this Sunday night are members of Portland Area Casual Jams for Musicians and Singers, a group organized through Meetup.com with the purpose of allowing local musicians to meet and jam, without the pressure and expectations of pleasing an audience. Anyone can join (even if you aren't a Portland or Vancouver local, although that makes it difficult to attend the Sunday night Open Mic Nights) and anyone can play onstage, with backup musicians or without. If you have a song but no backup, musicians sign up to be in the pool, meaning that if someone needs accompaniment they make themselves available to play. Knowing a wide assortment of songs is a plus if you sign up for the pool, or else one should be able to read a chord sheet and play a given song on short notice. On my own first foray into the muddy waters, I chose to sing a cappella, having remembered the lyrics to a favorite song ten minutes prior to taking the stage and not having a chord sheet for any willing victims...uh...accompanists. This isn't necessary, though; many people who come to this group are confident in their skills and will do their best to add to your experience if you decide to hop up there.

See? You have no excuse for boredom, and now you don't have to wander into Meadows Lounge by accident. What else do you have to do with a Sunday night? Go sign up at Meetup.com and put some musical coolness into your week. We'll be there.