I’ve been out to Edgefield a number of times – for weddings, for work functions, for their annual Halloween party, just to go have some food and drinks with friends – but I’d never been to one of their concerts until this past weekend. My girlfriend and I went out for 94.7’s Pet Aid – benefiting the Oregon Humane Society and Dove Lewis. And other than the fact that Ticketmaster continues to rape us with service fees – it was a great show!

The show started early at 6 – although we weren’t terribly interested in the first band – so we bolted out right after work knowing we’d have to fight our way out I-84. Once we arrived, we bought tickets from a ‘friend’ (paying $14 over face-value of tickets, but still saving ourselves $12 in ‘convenience fees.’), then headed down to the winery for some tasting. We tried several McMennamins wines that I’d never had before – Julia was a great – then headed back out to the venue.

For concerts, the entire northeast part of the lawn is fenced off with the stage set up at the far north end of the lawn. Up on the top by the Little Red Shed are the food and drink vendors (and porta-potties!) then everyone sits down the hill. Because they started so early, all three bands were finished before it got dark, and while I’d say it was mostly adults – there were some little ones running around too. And the adults – ever so Portland polite. People had their blankets to sit on – but up toward the front people were standing and dancing around – and not stepping on anyone’s blankets. It made me giggle when I realized it. All these groups of people standing around watching, and singing along and dancing – with pockets where no one stood – because there was a blanket spread out on the lawn. Gotta love Portlanders!

All in all though – it was a great night. And despite the ridiculous pricing – I’m a big fan of Edgefield concerts for a nice summer night out. Billy Idol will be there two weeks from tonight – and so will I!