To Portland people; MFNW question

Helpless Rock

As the stars happen to align, I am in the middle of moving to Portland, OR next week. Which, just so happens to be the same time as Music Fest NorthWest. I honestly didn't know about this until two nights ago, at which point I quickly decided on making sure I'll be in Portland on September 8th.

I guess, that's all irrelevant information, since I really just have a question for those that have gone through a MFNW in the past. I'm a little confused on the ticket prices. It says it's $90 for a wristband that guarantees "no cover charge" to any shows. I just can't seem to figure out if that is suppose to mean it gets me into each of the shows without having to also buy a ticket for the acts I want to see or not. Maybe I'm just to tired to be interpreting that correctly or something, but it's tricking me out. Especially when I see the (Now sold out) VIP tickets say "guarantees ENTRY" into all shows, it makes me curious what cover charge to them means.

I suppose I'll also ask those that have experienced this, is there a special bus line going down Burnside or is it just the normal buses? Some are in pretty decent walking distances, but others are across the bridge. And, seeing as I'm moving there the day before, I'm going to be pretty unfamiliar with the town. I just can't think of a better way of entering a future city then 4 nights of rockin' shows.

Esh

The wrist band gets you into everything. It's a "mega-ticket" so to speak.

I don't understand what you mean by "special bus line". The 20 line goes up and down Burnside. Can you be a little more clear?

EDIT: Do you need to see both The National and The Decemberists? If not, save yourself $25 and get a General Admission wristband rather than the $90 step up of a wristband.

Helpless Rock

Esh wrote: »

The wrist band gets you into everything. It's a "mega-ticket" so to speak.

I don't understand what you mean by "special bus line". The 20 line goes up and down Burnside. Can you be a little more clear?

EDIT: Do you need to see both The National and The Decemberists? If not, save yourself $25 and get a General Admission wristband rather than the $90 step up of a wristband.

That's what I was mostly assuming, a "mega-ticket", but just wasn't completely sure.


As for the buses, what i mean by special bus line is I know there is a line that already goes that way I was just curious if they're might have been some that just go to each venue instead of all the rest of the normal bus stops. I'm not really sure how viable that would even be, and probably even alittle silly, but I was curious nonetheless.

I don't necessarily HAVE to see both the National and the Decemberists, but I do really like both of them and I'm pretty sure I can manage the extra 25 to see both.

Esh

Helpless Rock wrote: »

Esh wrote: »

The wrist band gets you into everything. It's a "mega-ticket" so to speak.

I don't understand what you mean by "special bus line". The 20 line goes up and down Burnside. Can you be a little more clear?

EDIT: Do you need to see both The National and The Decemberists? If not, save yourself $25 and get a General Admission wristband rather than the $90 step up of a wristband.

That's what I was mostly assuming, a "mega-ticket", but just wasn't completely sure.


As for the buses, what i mean by special bus line is I know there is a line that already goes that way I was just curious if they're might have been some that just go to each venue instead of all the rest of the normal bus stops. I'm not really sure how viable that would even be, and probably even alittle silly, but I was curious nonetheless.

I don't necessarily HAVE to see both the National and the Decemberists, but I do really like both of them and I'm pretty sure I can manage the extra 25 to see both.

No, there are no specific buses. But the 20 (the main Burnside bus) will drop you off right near several of them.

Where are you going to be coming from specifically?

The venues that are in downtown Portland can be easily walked to. It looks like 90% of them are just right in downtown.

The Doug Fir is on still on Burnside, but on the east side of the river.

If you have any even more specific questions, feel free to ask. Portland is laid out in a very logical and easy manner.

artrulz

Yeah, when navigating Portland, just remember Burnside separates North and South, and the Willamette River separates East and West (Downtown).

You'll mostly be walking around downtown, though, so you won't have any problem finding things.

Good luck in your move to Portland!

PS. There's another event coming up you might be interested in: Portland Retro Gaming Expo

Helpless Rock

I'm moving from Bakersfield, CA (couple hours north of LA). I'll be staying with my uncle in Vancouver, WA until I find a place and everything.

I did notice most of them are in walking distance of each other which is pretty awesome. The bands that I'm seeing all mostly playing at the Wonder Ballroom though except The Black Lips at the Crystal Ballroom.

Esh

Helpless Rock wrote: »

I'm moving from Bakersfield, CA (couple hours north of LA). I'll be staying with my uncle in Vancouver, WA until I find a place and everything.

I did notice most of them are in walking distance of each other which is pretty awesome. The bands that I'm seeing all mostly playing at the Wonder Ballroom though except The Black Lips at the Crystal Ballroom.

The Wonder is in north Portland. Still pretty easy to get to though. There's not a bus that goes right to it, but you could take one of the buses that goes down MLK and get off at a stop near Russell. It's right off of MLK. I actually used to run the bar that's below the main ballroom.

tri-met.org and the trip planner on the site are invaluable. If you have an iPhone, there's a great app for Tre-Met to help you get around.

Dance Commander

Google maps also has all the trimet schedules in their database. Get directions from point a to point b normally, then hit the "public transit" button to get directions by bus or the MAX.

Aphostile

Downtown Portland is pretty small, especially when you factor in the frequency of the east-west and north-south MAX lines. I'd say you're not going to have any issue taking the MAX and walking to most of the venues.

Helpless Rock

Aphostile wrote: »

Downtown Portland is pretty small, especially when you factor in the frequency of the east-west and north-south MAX lines. I'd say you're not going to have any issue taking the MAX and walking to most of the venues.

Yeah, really my only problem is figuring out the best way to get from Vancouver into Portland for this. When I was there last August I just parked in the Cascades shopping area near the Ikea and airport and took the MAX right into Pioneer Square and back. However, they stop running after midnight don't they? Which makes that idea not really viable. So I'll probably park in a garage in the middle of the two and work from there, maybe.