Going from 12/25 - 1/3, about 3 days in each city. Can please anyone tell me places to go in these cities?

Specifically, I want to know:
good music shops
vintage stores
venues to check out shows
any "tourist" spots that's a must-see
restaurants

Or are there any websites anyone knows of I can look up info? I want to make the most of this trip.

Thanks!

later I'll give you some scoop on the emerald city.

there is this one record store in seattle that you might want to steer clear of. i think it's bedazzled and there is this guy who works there that is so annoying! i picked up a copy of elvis costello's get happy!! once and he gave me shit because he claimed it didn't sound nearly as good as the UK version, which he also had, but for $8 more dollars. i said i'd stick with the domestic copy and he went on some tangent about how i'd regret it and it'd be the worst record-shopping mistake, et cetera. then i flipped through the comedy records and he followed me over there. i picked out some lenny bruce LP and he goes, "tommy chong was just in here last week, cleaned me out of the good lenny bruce records." i was like, "is that a fact?" i'd pick out any record and he'd have some comments on it, about how it was either essential or every existing copy should be burned. i would've spent more time there, but i couldn't stand him.

um... sonic boom records is a good time, though. it's on fremont, i think.

Yeah, it's on fremont. Hanging out in Fremont in general is a good thing to do. If you're feeling adventurous, check out the Hales brewery which is not too far from there. I have friends of friends that are the brewmasters there. Also, there's a great southern bbq place with the hottest sauce in the universe, if you're feeling especially adventurous....but it's in Bellevue, outside of Seattle. It's called Dixie's bbq, but it's more than worth the drive.

that's where i'm going to move someday...probably vancouver

In Vancouver you gotta go to Zulu Records on 4th in Kistilano. Make sure you check out the used section upstairs. It's got nothing on Amoeba but it's the best this city can offer.

For vintage stores try trawling up Main Street between 12th and 26th, or Commercial Drive between Venables and 1st. There was a great vintage store downtown called Cabbages 'n' Kinx but I seem to remember it getting wasted in a fire.

For venues, there's the big ol' Commodore Ballroom with it's suspended dancefloor and tacky supper club glitz. Smaller places here open and close with astounding regularity, but at the moment some worth checking out (depending on who's playing, natch) are Richard's on Richards, The Red Room (aka The Drink), The Pic, The Marine Club, and The Brickyard (and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few). And, no matter who's playing, The Railway Club is probably the coolest spot in town.

There's too many restaurants to list, but the Pondok on Commercial (at 12th) is one of those secret places that not too many locals even know about. Great Malaysian cuisine and it's amazingly inexpensive. And for weekend brunch there's the Elbow Room. It's best known for heaping abuse upon its customers (although last week none other than Tom Waits complained from onstage that he didn't get enough abuse from the staff), but the food is topnotch as well.

I don't know about tourist spots, but stay away from Gastown.

Hope you have fun while you're here!

Edit: here's a link to the city's free entertainment weekly The Georgia Straight.

There are 2 great record stores adjacent to Powell's Bookstore in Portland. I apologize but I can't remember their names, but they're both within 100 feet of Powell's, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding them. One of them is huge, with thousands upon thousands of used CDs. The other is much smaller, but more specific to the kind of music we tend to seek. Both are worth checking out. Definitely check out Powell's Bookstore as well---best bookstore on the West coast

Dri, I'll post more later, but here's a good website to check out for Portland.

http://www.altportland.com/index.shtml

You guys are great. Thanks.

I'm gonna have to find out exact details of where I'll be staying in each city, b/c I'm staying with my mom in Chehalis, WA; and other friends in Portland & Vancouver- so I wanted to map out everything before I head up there.

I cannot wait. Radcliffe- how is New Year's Eve in Vancouver?

New Year's in Vancouver is iffy. Great if you can find a good house party - but the downtown celebrations are a downer because our city cops apparently like riots. My suggestion for the best place to go for New Year's Eve would be Whistler. They have a party in the village that's a total blast.

My house is a pretty good tourist spot, you should go there. (Portland)

there's a cool book/zine store in Portland, i believe it's called Reading Frenzy. check it out if you can, if yr into indie lit as well as music. as for record stores, they are all over the place over there. i believe there is a main strip called Burnside that has a couple good ones on it.

Dri,

I'm so jealous of you right now. I've been wanting to make that trip (but start in NoCal) for a while now. Let us know how it goes.

Yeah. Over where dnorwood lives though, the Hawthorne area and surrounding areas, on the east side of the river are really the coolest places in portland.

Yeah the original plan was to take an actual roadtrip starting in LA- then SF- Portland- Seattle- Vancouver, but my friend who I was planning the trip with can't go anymore. Luckily, another friend of mine wanted to do the same trip & he's into all the same shit as I am, so I know we'll have a blast in every city and I'm soooo stoked because my mom's paying for my flight to/from as my Christmas gift. I don't go on trips like these very often, so I'm trying to get on it & take full advantage.

Yes info on indie lit would be great, my friend totally wants to hit up all the indie bookstores.

You guys just gave me a huge obner! Thanks for all the info.

For Portland

Specifically, I want to know:
good music shops - I like Everyday Music, one on west Burnside at maybe 14th? There is also a cool place called Music Millenium which is on both East Burnside at about 20th and on NW 23rd near Hoyt?

vintage stores - there quite a few in the Hawthorne district...probably the most of anywhere

venues to check out shows -I really like the Aladdin Theater in SE Portland at Powell and Milwaukie. There are also a lot of goods shows at many other places. There are a couple really cool new venues, one called Doug Fir and one called Bossanova on East Burnside around 10th. They are pretty hot right now. Crystal Ballroom has some good shows and has a cool floor that floats on hydraulics - bouncy!

any "tourist" spots that's a must-see - well since it will be the middle of winter it could be difficult to do that much outside where the best of Portland really is.

restaurants - a shitload realy - quite a few centered around NW 23rd Ave, the Pearl District, and a bunch in the neighborhoods on the east side of town...portland.citysearch.com has some listings as well as the Willamette Week restaurant guide (they may still have it online)

Well if you go to a Bookstore, you have to go to Powell's on west burnside. It's like the biggest bookstore in the world or something.

Billy's got most of it covered but I'm gonna chime in here anyway.



There's another one called Red Cat Records that up on 27th and Main. You can hit it up at the end of your stroll up Main St. It's pretty tiny but there are nice folks in there and a red cat named Buddy.


They actually start around Broadway (9th). Here's some names for ya: Burcu's Angels (9th), Echo (16th), Front (21stish), My Orange Bag & Legends (28th).



I've seen some great shows at The Media Room and Pat's Pub as well but yeah, it all depends on whose playing where.



I'll talk more about Main St. Around 10th ave you can eat either at Monsoon or Typhoon. Both are asian fusion type places. I prefer Typhoon but whatevs. For best Pho in town stop at Pho Thanh Long at 22nd. It's simple, only 10 types of 4 on the menu but soooo good. Then up around 25th there is the Reef (Caribbean) and The Locus for wicked breakfast where they serve you non stop Americanos instead of just greasy spoon drip coffee.


Hope you have fun while you're here!

I believe you are referring to Everyday Music Here - it is West of Powell's up Burnside


I'm pretty certain that you are referring to Ozone Records here - it is across Burnside from Powell's.

Yep--those are the ones I was thinking of. Whenever I'm visiting family in Portland, I always hit Ozone Records---great store. Thanks CW.

I've seen a couple of good shows in Portland as well. I saw Super Furry Animals and Four Tet at Berbatti's Pan (i think that's what it's called) and the Flaming Lips/Liz Phair/Starlight Mints at the Crystal Ballroom.

Any recommendations on NON-asian food? I'm asian so I'm pretty picky when it comes to asian food... specifically I like Greek, Italian, Meditterannean....

Shit man. Seriously, we have too many restaurants in portland. Our citysearch guide is pretty accurate for food rankings, a lot of the time.

Yeah, I'm just too lazy to look all that stuff up on citysearch, I rather hear from people who know the cities... naw mean?

But, thanks so much- I think I have a good idea of what to check out in Portland & Vancouver now, need to do a little more research on Seattle. Does anyone have a good link for Seattle? (Besides citysearch, is there like a good weekly online site?)

Seattle is my hometown, and I really should know more about it, but I don't. I haven't lived there for 11 years, and whenever I'm in town now, I spend most of my time visiting family and friends, so I'm not up on the nightlife. Kabob and geoduck should be able to give you more info there.

I do know that many of the bands I want to see play the Crocodile Cafe and the Showbox---check out their calendar for the dates you'll be in town.

I would recommend visiting the Experience Music Project near the Space Needle--Paul Allen's tribute museum to music. There are some pretty cool exhibits.

I'm still a Seattle noob so I concede to Mr Kabob unless you're into fish ladders and awesome corned beef hash.