Miles
Across America
Show
reviews from the Pacific Northwest
Bingen
I - Bingen II - Portland
Pre-Show
Welp, first of all, I was totally mispronouncing the name Bingen. it's "bin"-"gin". I think the guy on the phone at the North Shore Bar and Grill got a big kick out it. He thought the show was on Tuesday the 14th. I asked for the address and he didn't know it, but assured me it would be easy to find as Bingen is a small city. Maybe somebody else will have more luck!!! As it looks like there will be no Seattle show, I'm off to Bingen next week. I look forward to seeing Miles and Co. Got my CD yesterday and am loving it.
- Steve Robinson
I called the club the other night & the person who answered the phone said the show is on the 14th. As it turns out, it's about the only day I may be able to get down there so I'm hoping this is an accurate date - they didn't sound too sure. At any rate, I'm glad to hear that some other folks are planning on going! Hope to see you there (Hope to BE there!).
- Lisa Wearne
Set List
1. Cartoon Boyfriend
2. Piece Of Sky
3. Manna From Heaven
4. Your Latest Innuendo
5. Fixer
6. Let's Hope I Get It Right This Time
7. Can't Shape Up
8. Sing The Absurd
9. Amongst The Old Reliables
10. On The Ropes
11. Circlesquare
12. Caught In My Shadow
13. Mission Drive
14. Ruby Horse
15. Size Of A Cow
16. Don't Let Me Down, Gently
17. Unbearable
18. A Wish Away
19. Golden Green
Show reviews
The North Shore Bar and Grill is a little bar in the middle of nowhere on the Washington / Oregon border where Miles & Malc played for a small "crowd" (if we were all in the same elevator, we still couldn't use the word "crowd" to describe our number!). They were in great spirits, played an amazing set to an appreciative audience AND two dogs that were roaming around! If someone had put a hunk of fine Belgian chocolate in my hand I would have thought I was dreaming or had died & gone to heaven. It was all very surreal to be in that setting & experience those songs again. The four hour drive was more than worth it. It was a real pleasure to share the ultimate "Bin - Gin" experience with everyone last night.
Basking in the afterglow,
- Lisa Wearne
Hello Folks ... the Bingen show was brilliant. After a four hour drive I arrived in this tiny quaint little town in the middle of nowhere. Miles was going to go on about 9:30. Met a few other list members who were extremely cool and helped pass the time as I was alone. Then David walked in. As everybody has said - he is an extremely nice guy. I preceded to chat with him for about 40 minutes. To be honest, I really didn't know what to expect at the Bingen show. There were only a handful of people and all I could think about was whether or not they'd play for a long time. From the start Miles was chatty and just fantastic. After the show we hung out and talked for about two hours ... then the long drive home ... it was well worth it. I just have to thank David for being so nice and for bringing Miles and Malc around. Thank you Miles and Malc for making the trip worth it. This will be an evening I won't forget.
- Steve Robinson
Somewhere on the slopes of the Cascade mountains, around but certainly not exclusive to the Columbia River Gorge, lies one of the last pockets of wild magic on the planet. This could not have been more apparent as a small but appreciative group found their way to the North Shore Bar and Grill in Bingen, Washington for nearly two hours of some of the best music around. After the initial shock of the location, Miles and Malc settled into a fun, laid-back approach to the gig. No suits and attitudes to impress, just a bunch of small-town folk out on a Tuesday night. A contingency of fans from the Seattle and Portland areas put just enough people there who knew the music, and the rest who just came out for a beer found themselves being treated to a brilliant acoustic show, which had the crowd begging for more by the end of the set. The songs were mixed up well between Miles' solo work and the breadth of material from the Wonder Stuff. Old favorites like "Ruby Horse" and "Circlesquare" were pleasant surprises which translate amazingly well to acoustic format. Having heard the newer material for the first time, it was wonderful to find the high quality of songwriting and lyricism I've come to expect over the years. This show was even more special to me, after my van got robbed in May. A hundred CDs were stolen, including all of my Wonder Stuff. I never realised just how much I missed listening to them the past couple months until I got to hear them live for the first time in over six years. A couple of British expatriots even happened upon the North Shore, only one actually knowing what was going on that evening. SMALL WORLD ALERT - bloke named Sully, from Devon, now living in Florida but in town for the Gorge Games, turned out to be friends with someone Miles has been known to jam with on occasion. Amazing what you can find in what seems like nowhere. Quite a change of course from what Miles and Malc were used to playing, but with a new look and attitude, they seem to be pretty comfortable with their new lease on music.
- dlb (Jayne?)
Pre-Show
Here's where the trouble started: somewhere out in the sticks of Oregon, all the gauges on the dash went to zero! Figuring it was the alternator, I kept driving, trying to get to the next town before it stalled ...didnt make it! Getting AAA service the day before we left was great foresight ... Only one small problem: my cell phone wasnt working, and we had a gig that nite! And we were 50 miles away from the nearest town! After about an hour, I got the phone working and got towed to Bingen. Bright and early the next day we tried to get the van fixed... stuck in the middle of nowhere, we couldnt exactly hunt around for the best price, and it cost tons more than we expected! (about $775)
- davidgig
Bingen I was the best show I've seen all year and I'm hoping we can convince Miles to play even longer. I think we might have been able to last time, had he not broken a guitar string. I'm rooting for Disco King this time. I'm hoping to take pictures at both the Bingen and Seattle shows.
- Steve Robinson
Set List
1. Cartoon Boyfriend
2. Piece Of Sky
3. Manna From Heaven
4. Immortalizing Chase
5. Fixer
6. Let's Hope I Get It Right This Time
7. Can't Shape Up
8. Sing The Absurd
9. Amongst The Old Reliables
10. Circlesquare
11. Caught In My Shadow
12. Mission Drive
13. Slowly Drowning
14. 30 Years In The BathroomShow reviews
The bar was full of obnoxious drunks, and Milo hated it.
- davidgig
Better late than never is my motto for the day. The Bingen gig is now two days old, but it's still fresh in the ol' noggin. Not a long show, but I can't say I blame them. Had there of been less interesting type characters in there last night it would have been a great sounding show! They played a brand spankin' new song I've called "Gift of Life" - it's interesting.
- Steve Robinson
As a new father, I'm with Steve when he says "Better late than never". Bingen II is now three days old, the Portland gig is two days old, the baby's eight days old after being ten days late, I'm still tired. Steve mentioned "a brand spankin' new song" he called "Gift of Life". That would have been my guess too. I asked Miles about it in Portland - he said that it didn't really have a title yet, but was provisionally called "Slowly Drowning", and added that it was rather appropriate for the evening in Bingen. Malc said it was the first time he'd ever played it. "Not a long show, but I can't say I blame them." Nor I, after their van troubles and with the Bingen locals acting up.
- David Thompson
Set List
1. Cartoon Boyfriend
2. Piece Of Sky
3. Manna From Heaven
4. Immortalizing Chase
5. Fixer
6. Let's Hope I Get It Right This Time
7. Can't Shape Up
8. Sing The Absurd
9. Amongst The Old Reliables
10. Caught In My Shadow
11. CirclesquareShow reviews
Portland was a lot of fun. Thankfully Miles and Malc were first on the bill of four bands (one of them a hardcore Japanese band!) Only about 15 fans were there to see Miles and Malc start, but by the time the set ended, there were close to 150 people there, and it was obvious they won over new fans.
- davidgigThe Portland show was better attended (pretty easy to beat the eight fans at the Bingen II show) and the crowd seemed more globally appreciative. Miles and Malc went on first and the crowd grew through the set. At first I thought there were only a very few fans, but as they wrapped up their set, it was apparent that quite a number of people had come out to see Miles and Malc (and not Zoo Bombs, Gossamer Wings or Jr. High). The Portland set list was the same as Bingen except they didn't play '30 Years In The Bathroom'. 'Mission Drive' or 'Slowly Drowning'. This was the first show I had seen where Miles introduced songs (Bingen was rather informal).
- David Thompson
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