Groovin' in the Gorge

I love live music.  It's always fun to see and hear your favorite band in the flesh.  And during the summertime there's no better concert venue than the great outdoors.

Let the show begin!

Back in 2011, I won tickets to see Styx perform at the Maryhill Winery.  Located on the Washington side of the eastern gorge, the winery constructed an amphitheater on the banks of the Columbia River overlooking vineyards, steep bluffs, and wind turbines.  It was such a perfect place to view a concert, I'd been wanting to come back ever since.

Maryhill amphitheater

When Maryhill announced their 2014 concert schedule, I was thrilled to see Styx on the list.  Even better - they were paired up with Foreigner.  Two favorite bands from my high school days! (Yes, I realize I'm dating myself)  I bought tickets the minute they were available.

Golden hills of the eastern Gorge

Concert day was the first Saturday of August.  Blazingly hot in Portland, temps only rose higher as Roger and I headed east.  But once we we arrived at the winery, and settled in to a spot on the lawn, a thin cloud layer slipped over the sun.  Ahhh....not having the sun's hot glare beating down upon us helped so much.

The local vino

The venue allows concert-goers to bring in outside food and sealed, non-alcoholic drinks.  But if you wish to imbibe, one must purchase wine from the winery.  And it isn't cheap!

Of course we had to try some!

But this was a special event, so we decided to spring for a bottle.  Gotta sample the local vino!

Foreigner takes the stage

Waiting for the concert to start, we lazed around in the grass, sipping our wine, eating our sandwiches and cheese, and watching the crowd around us.  It was people-watching at it's finest.

This guy's t-shirt made us laugh

There were lots of gray-haired people in the crowd.  Roger and I laughed about all the "old farts" sitting around until we realized most of them were probably the same age as us!  But it was fun to see so many folks having a good time.  Everyone reliving their younger years - remembering the first time they'd seen these bands.  We even noticed a lady, well into her 70s, who stood along the sidelines dancing away.

Colorful crowd

Foreigner took the stage first.  Although we were told by the people sitting next to us that the original band members no longer tour, the new "Foreigner" sounded just like I remembered from high school days.  They put on a great show and had the crowd rockin'.

Time for Styx

Then after a brief intermission, Styx took the stage.  As with Foreigner, there's only one original member of Styx that still tours with the band, guitarist Tommy Shaw.  Sadly, the man who replaced their lead singer (the amazing Dennis DeYoung) was nowhere near as good.

No more flicking your Bic - now everyone turns on their cell phones

At one point in the show, the audience was encouraged to turn on their cell phone screens and hold them high.  A 21st century equivalent of "flicking your Bic" before the concert (anyone remember doing that??)

Confetti finale

Styx only played a little more than one hour, before ending their show in a rain of confetti.  The sparkling paper bits twinkling in the stage lights made for a great photo op (except that someone walked into my frame....)

End of the show

Although Styx was a bit disappointing, it was still fun to be outside enjoying music and wine in a beautiful setting.  I'm ready to do it again next year.  Wonder when Maryhill's 2015 concert schedule comes out?


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