Portland has long enjoyed an incredibly vibrant music community that has featured many extremely talented musicians. Waves of great musicians and bands continue emerging from our city even though it is far from the heavily beaten music path. While different songwriters, musicians, industry professionals and venues have contributed to the development of this creative music community, few nightclubs had the longevity, popularity or creative impact of The Last Hurrah.
The Hurrah was regularly voted “Portland’s Best Nightclub” in balloting by the Willamette Week and Downtowner Magazine. As one well-known music critic at the time said, the Hurrah was “Portland’s music living room” from 1975 - 1987. In various ways during this period, The Last Hurrah helped foster the development of Portland’s remarkably creative original music environment.
Over the years, many great bands performing various music genres have made, and continue making, important contributions to Portland music. In addition to all of Portland’s exceptionally talented bands, this vibrant music community was fostered by a generation of fans and a media that supported the musicians in a fermenting nightclub scene. Between 1978 and 1990 an absolutely outstanding creative music environment evolved. During this era Portland’s fabulously talented artists pushed their careers onto the national stage.
Many signed recording contracts with major music labels, took part in major concert tours, and performed in some of the country’s largest venues. Some had chart topping hits, received international acclaim and traveled the world. Musicians of this era put Portland on the world’s music map, helping draw even more music industry attention to our local music community that in turn helped foster the careers of other rising stars.
The Hurrah was the launching pad or at least an important stepping stone for many great musicians. The Jeff Lorber Fusion with Kenny Gorelick (now simply Kenny G) regularly played Sunday Night Jazz at the Hurrah for a $1.00 cover charge. The Robert Cray Band with Curtis Salgado was a staple on Blue Mondays, cover charge $1.00. The Hurrah was the first downtown club to book Pleasure, a legendary funk band from north Portland.
Shortly after the Hurrah opened talent began oozing out of Portland and a few years later it was ready to burst into flames. The Hurrah always seemed close to the source of this original music explosion and was often the place that first brought many of these great bands to the public and media eye.
The Hurrah’s basement location, with its almost obscured doorway, made it hard for newcomers to find. But this same hideaway atmosphere made it a haven from the real world for many. It was a place where you could get lost in the music and forget about what was on the streets above.
Musicians loved playing there and it was often their club of choice to hear other bands play. The Hurrah’s soft cedar walls created great acoustics and the ambiance was warm and inviting. Creativity seemed to hover in the air. Fans and musicians understood that original music was at the core of the club’s purpose and identity. And the Hurrah continuously featured a variety of music genres, presenting a broad spectrum of the best talent the northwest had to offer.
The Hurrah regularly paid a premier price for talent. This support allowed bands to dedicate themselves full time to developing their talent. During this era the best musicians could actually make a reasonable living playing their art locally. They could afford to buy new gear, record their music, and actually promote themselves. Eventually, the top bands had their own stage crews, sound engineers, and lighting technicians. Many hired managers and publicists. Most importantly, the Hurrah was the first club to strongly encourage bands to perform at least 25% original music. Shortly after this “original music” requirement most bands began performing 75 to 90 to 100% original music.
The creative burst that followed changed Portland's entire nightclub environment. The Hurrah’s encouragement (really a requirement) skyrocketed local musicians toward a radically new self-perception. Bands were no longer looking for a fun weekend gig that paid a few hundred bucks. Instead they began dreaming of major recording contracts and performing on the national music stage. And the Hurrah was an important stepping stone. It took awhile for the Hurrah’s “original music policy” to grow legs and other nightclubs quickly followed the Hurrah's lead.
Within a few years, hearing original music bands at many Portland clubs became the norm, not the exception. Then the Hurrah began cross promoting Portland and Seattle bands (including Jr. Cadillac, Kidd Africa, The Cowboys, the b-sides, The Allies, The Heats, The Kinetics, etc.). This cross promotion brought new energy to Portland’s music scene and opened a whole new market to Portland’s best bands. Portland’s media and fans loved it, throwing a can of gasoline on an already growing fire.
The impetus that came from The Last Hurrah wasn't always clearly recognized, especially by those who were more casual fans or later grew into this already developed original music nightclub circuit. This basement nightclub quickly became an original music haven for musicians and music lovers from around the Pacific Northwest.
International artists regularly dropped by the Hurrah after their local concerts to see bands playing at the Hurrah. They’d heard that The Last Hurrah in Portland, Oregon, had incredibly hot music. Its successful format was much copied but, every night for 12 years, The Last Hurrah presented the best regional talent available in an upscale, professional environment. During this era, a wonderful sense of camaraderie existed and many lasting friendships developed. Twenty years after it’s closing, it is still fondly remembered by the many Oregonians. Join us September 14 – 16 for a once in a lifetime reunion of many of the Hurrah’s greatest bands.
