A few weeks ago I worked my first live music show at the shop – I believe it was Miss Michael Jodell & The Slow Healers. In that moment I had a sort of out of body moment looking into the shop and seeing these incredible musicians in a space that I had created… I looked at every piece of furniture, the floors, the walls we built, the bar, the equipment. Every piece I scrounged for (table bases = $20/piece at Rose’s Restaurant Equipment in the used section; the front of the bar is made out of old doors we found at Lovett Deconstruction and the ReBuilding Center), the fighting I had to do to get financing, how scared I’ve been at nearly every step (from telling everyone we were opening a second business to asking the landlord to offset our rent for various building issues and hoping he would agree). It felt in watching that show that something exceptionally good was happening at the shop… That it was supposed to be a place for everyone, and everyone came.

During the time that Scott (McPherson) was talking about booking the shows, we always chatted about the possibility of some really big names dropping in given Scott’s music circle. I used some of those potential names to talk to the Mercury and Willamette Week and get our name out there as a music venue. Frankly, I don’t know much about the music world, but M. Ward has always been a name that was dropped while we were planning this. I would always say it to people who asked, but only half believed myself.

Tonight was the second to last show that Scott was booking before he goes on tour with She & Him, and then he hands the booking baton to one of his friends. It was expected to be another clockwork evening – Katie was working the show, a veteran at Posies, so I wasn’t worried. I put Anouk to sleep, sat on the couch and started checking emails. Katie texted me and said it was really busy… We exchanged a few more texts. Then Mr. Ben texted me the following message: “Are you aware that M. Ward just got done playing a set at your packed cafe?”

WHAT?! Let me repeat… WHAT?!

Please understand, while I’ve admitted I know nothing about music, and that I am not easily starstruck, the build-up to this possibly happening, and then it ACTUALLY happening was almost more excitement than I could handle. Yes, I am excited that really famous people are willing to perform at my shop, but I think what I’m even more excited about, and what I’ve become so overwhelmed with is that Posies has become so much more than I ever expected. While I’m proud of what it has become (becoming?), I’m so much more proud of what I’m seeing our little neighborhood can do when neighbors work together for the greater good of the community. It’s community-building at its best, and reminds me of just how much can be accomplished when folks work together with a common goal of goodness and offer themselves out of kindness. Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone!

And for those of you who haven’t made a show yet, stop in sometime, cause, hey, maybe you’ll see an intimate M. Ward show.

Jessie

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