Oct. 19--Portland was one of the last stops on a West Coast tour for San Fermin, a band that describes its sound as a "pastiche of post-rock, chamber-pop and contemporary classical composition."
The New York City group played last night at Bunk Bar -- "That was great," said trumpet player John Brandon -- and then made their way to the Red Lion hotel out near Portland International Airport. They stashed their gear in a Uhaul attached to their car, locked it up tight and went to bed. They had a show planned in Seattle for the following night.
But at about 8:30 this morning, members of the band came out to find the trailer missing, "like clean off the hitch," Brandon said.
The trailer, a small Uhaul measuring 5 feet by 8 feet, was carrying a long list of gear -- the band posted the whole lot on their Facebook page -- including a drum set, two electric guitars, one acoustic guitar, a baritone saxophone, a midi keyboard and a guitar amp.
Put another way, "you could buy yourself a nice car for what's inside," Brandon said.
As it turns out, members of San Fermin met some other musicians staying at the Red Lion who said somebody had tried to solder through their own hitch, but gave up, leaving it half melted.
The band seems to be taking the theft in stride, though. After considering canceling their last two shows -- one in Seattle and one in Vancouver, B.C. -- they decided to push forward with tonight's performance at Barboza. They'll have to skip Vancouver, but for tonight they'll use borrowed and rented equipment.
Next, they plan to fly back to New York City to get ready for another set of shows on the East Coast and then it's off to Europe for a little more than two weeks. They'll just have to rely on rentals unless their equipment turns up, Brandon said.
They filled out a police report this morning before heading north. Still, members are asking anybody who might know something or anybody who has seen a white-and-orange Uhual with the license plate GDX050 to get in touch with them through their Facebook page or contact the police.
If you're curious about the kind of music San Fermin made with the stolen equipment, here's their single "Sonsick":
Copyright 2013 - The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.
