For the month of February, The We Shared Milk posted up at The Firkin Tavern, and we got a chance to watch Boone’s facial hair grow into true Portland form. TWSM invited a slew of great bands to play with them each Friday, a tradition that I hope The Firkin keeps alive. We asked Boone (vocals, guitar) to describe his experience playing these shows…

“The Firkin Tavern is an unobtrusive bar with a memorable name on Southeast 11th. I hear it’s had a few other monikers over the years, but as the Firkin, with presumably new management, they’ve picked up some steam in the local music crowd. Our friend Chris books some of the shows there and we asked him if we could play every Friday in February. The motivation was simple: an opportunity to host killer bills of bands we don’t often get to play with, in a venue so honest and relaxed that we could do just about whatever we want. It didn’t hurt that the shows there are free, this is a great business model for bars that want to host shows, pay the bands, and avoid scaring away their regulars with a door cover. Firkin February was great, the crowd grew with each show, and I truly miss looking forward to Fridays each week. There are rumors that another awesome local band may hold a residency of their own there in the upcoming months, so plan on heading there for a fine draft (or cheap tallboy) and some ripping live music.”

Photos by Todd Walberg & Steven Oster