Vancouver Sleep Clinic with Julia Pratt at Doug Fir Lounge

Decorated like a 1970s log cabin Doug Fir Lounge is a small basement venue in Portland with mostly standing room and a few tables lining the side walls. 

As people settled into their spots and got their drinks Julia Pratt’s band came on stage to a backing track of her vocals that worked into her first song as she followed them on stage. She played a song called Odessy that was written shortly after a family member passed away from an overdose so it was written while in the mindset of feeling that grief and the bittersweet feeling of getting to be with family around the holidays. Between songs, she opened up a lot about what she was feeling and going through during the time she wrote them adding a layer of vulnerability on top of the already vulnerable act of being on stage. Pratt writes about the experiences of being in toxic relationships, grief, and the feeling of not fitting in. She gave a big thanks to her band: bassist Harlee Torres and drummer Satchel Schwartz. Though out her set Pratt maintained incredible vocal control and a strong chemistry with her band. She closed with a song about begging your significant other to treat you decently that featured drum and bass solos displaying the talent of her bandmates. 

Vancouver Sleep Clinic’s set began with a stage filled with smoke and lights. Throughout the set, the lights were set to move with the music or the color to fit the song. The first three songs of the set were one into the next, fitting together; most of the songs blended into the next in an effort to fit as many songs into the set as possible. One of the few times the crowd was talked to in between songs, Tim Benttinson thanked the crowd and shared that it was their second time playing at the Doug Fir Lounge. He went on to say that as an Australian he always feels at home when he plays to Portland crowds due to their laid-back nature. However, from the crowd it did not feel as laidback; there was a lot of heckling and yelling from the crowd. At every chance, someone yelled from the crowd "We love you Timmy" or started a burst of cheering. The cheering got more enthusiastic when they played a cover of The 1975's 'Somebody Else' Benttinson moves around a ton on stage, from the crowd you can see the emotion on his face as he sings. At the end of the set Benttinson changed guitars, while he re-tuned he chatted with the crowd a little bit. The two songs the crowd was most excited about were both covers, the rest of the set was well-received, but the excitement during those two covers seemed to be the peak of the show. Benttinson made sure to thank his band Luke Jenkins and Dex Muldoon while the crowd cheered for him. The band left the stage after a big thank you to the crowd then the house lights came on and the crowd began chanting "One more song". When the crowd began to lose hope in their chant Vancouver Sleep Clinic returned to the stage for three more songs. Ending with another round of thank you's. 

As a whole, the show felt extremely long but managed to not be boring even though it dragged on a little bit.