I’ll be honest: barely a week after my northeastern tour ended, I wasn’t very eager to get out onto the street to play music again. But a couple of things got me out there once again.

First, a far-flung friend was visiting Portland, and this would be his first chance to see me playing as a one man band. (He’s more accustomed to seeing me in a three-piece band.) And second, the reality of playing outdoors in Portland is, summer doesn’t last forever, so we have to take advantage of the late sundowns and dry sidewalks while we may.

And so I picked a spot that has been hit or miss, but more hit than miss, and set about playing. After about 10 minutes I was hitting my stride, and my old friend showed up. I was happy to show him a few old favorites with a new one-man-band arrangement, as well as playing some newer songs he’d never heard before.

It’s kind of a blur looking back–it’s still pretty hot out, and I definitely worked up a sweat, if I didn’t actually daze myself–but I recall quite a few other people looking on or hanging around. Even a couple of balcony perchers from the apartment across the street seemed to be enjoying the show. (Unless they were simply gathering evidence for a noise complaint!)

Soon I was sufficiently worn out, and the audience was the same. The sun called it a day, and so did I. My old friend and I walked to a nearby beer house and downed a couple while catching up on each other. In spite of my initial reservations, I was glad I went out. And before long, I’ll be out there again. Probably!