Portland’s Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside played to a pretty full house Wednesday night at McMenamins Old St. Francis School in Bend. Things were kind of slow-going at first; there were lots of folks seated at tables, with the standing crowd behind them, afraid to move up and block their view. After a few songs, though, a couple of energetic gals and wobbly, long-haired dudes broke through and boogied in a small pocket at the side of the stage. Ford — still new enough to fronting a band that plenty of awkwardness shines through — was obviously amused by this. So before she launched into “Danger” she made sure to point out that the song is “good for dancing.” And it is.

This, of course, was all the license folks needed to pour into the space in front of the stage and dance, dance, dance. In this day and age, Ford’s sound is unique, a blend of vintage jazz and soul, modern rock ‘n’ roll and Ford’s powerful, Neko Case-meets-Joanna Newsom voice. (Special shout-out to guitarist Jeffrey Munger, whose playing is a tastefully perfect fit for the songs. The guy has a way with tone.) It truly sounds like something you’d hear pumping out of an old phonograph at an antique shop … well, except for the lyrical references to ’90s emo giants Sunny Day Real Estate and Jets to Brazil.

So anyway, the band got the dance party rolling, and it was rolling along pretty well when Ford announced the band would take a short break. The crowd didn’t like the sound of that one bit, though, and warmly voiced its displeasure. To which Ford looked at her band mates, laughed, and said, “Well, OK! I guess we won’t take a break!” She went on to do more originals and prove she wasn’t afraid to tackle legends, covering folks like Tom Waits and Patsy Cline. Eventually, the band did indulge in an intermission, after which it seemed to me some of the show’s momentum (and crowd) had waned. No big deal, though; Ford and her mates just went back to work, using their snappy, cross-generational dance music to begin building it back up again.

A few more photos:

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