Last Friday evening I waited with a jittery bunch of passengers for the North-South line streetcar to arrive in the middle of downtown.
Some, like me, were part of the late bunch who had just finished work. But most were out on the town, traipsing amongst the vast array of quality restaurants and watering holes.
I was in a mood.
After work I was wiped out and wanted nothing more than to get home, wind down with a cold beer, and hang out with Mr. H and the cats.
As the streetcar approached, it looked packed. It was warm that night, and being smashed up against strangers was the last thing I wanted to do.
Then, I began to hear a familiar tune.
Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper “I love you”
(Okay, I’m losing it. Am I hearing Ella Fitzgerald on the freaking streetcar?)
Birds singing in the sycamore trees
Dream a little dream of me
Yes, I was.
The streetcar doors opened to reveal a full-on jazz trio—two guys and a gal—clad in 1940s duds. She was the lead singer, one guy played the guitar and sang with her, while the other manned an upright bass.
We all squished into what I could only describe as a party train from another time. Fortunately, there were plenty of others around to console my fear of insanity. Historical fiction writing can blur the lines of reality and make-believe in my head sometimes.
It turns out that I happened upon another thing that makes the city of Portland that much more awesome.
Streetcar Mobile Musicfest celebrates the city by featuring local musicians on downtown streetcars at various times of the year. The live music is included with your streetcar fare, which is a whopping buck one way.
Lucky me had the privilege to see Boy & Bean. They were talented and mesmerizing.
To say that this was a magical experience doesn’t even do it justice.
The music transformed the public transportation experience entirely. Usually everyone tunes out on the streetcar, listening to music, fiddling with their smartphones, or sitting with their arms crossed and staring out the window.
That night everyone tuned in.
Riders were smiling, clapping, photographing, filming, and swaying in the seats and aisles.
There was an old couple next to me dancing and singing the whole time. The woman and I looked at each other with foolishly happy tears in our eyes. From two completely generations, we grinned and moved together, connected by a few beautiful minutes on a crowded downtown streetcar.
It would not have been hard to spend hours there, enjoying the vibe with all of those strangers as the city lights sailed by. Of course, I almost missed my stop and jumped up just in time.
I reluctantly exited the streetcar and walked home in a different mood than when I got on, jiving inside.
That’s so freaking cool! It’s like stepping outside into a Buffy musical, only better… Mood altering, no doubt!
LOL on the Buffy musical comment. Definitely lifted our spirits in that streetcar…for sure!
I would have loved to see and hear that. What a great idea. More cities should get involved with something like that.
You would have loved it, doll! I agree that more cities should jump on board with such a fantastic idea. Even if it only happens a few times a year, mobile music like this can really spread a positive vibe.
Wonderful! Your story makes me miss city life, and that’s not easy to do. : )
I’m a big nature lover, but there are things about the city that always inspire me. I guess it’s not that different from nature, since we are the peppy animals braving the urban jungle.
Returning to Chicago or any city is a treat for me and definitely informs my work. Thanks for visiting Britt.
Boy And Bean is an amazing band! I have been to shows where old and young are dancing the “old school” dances and everyones knows those depression era tunes, and they are singing the words together- – nothing but smiles EVERYWHERE! If you get a chance you should go see them! They play all over Portland, and some in WA! They are on FB and have a website!
Sounds super fun! I’m following them on FB now, so I’ll make sure to check them out in a proper show soon!
Those are moments that make life worth living. Thank you for sharing such a fantastic (in the true sense of the word) experience.
Absolutely, Jilanne! I couldn’t wait to share this awesomeness with you guys.
Oh, you Portlandians! You always come up with such cute things.
And you all make me hate New Jersey oh so much!
LOL! We are a cute bunch. Oh, come now, Jersey deserves some love. : )
Absolutely captivating concept! Probably a good reminder that we are surrounded by “mundane miracles” wherever we go – in case the noise of our mind isn’t too distracting… 🙂
The noise of our mind can be VERY distracting. It was lovely to have an outside force pull us out of our heads for a while so we could share this fantastic experience together.
Britt, this is just the kind of thing I’d imagine would happen to you! Glad you had such a great journey 🙂
I felt like the luckiest gal to stumble into this moment, believe me! It was a beautiful journey home.
Britt – such an awesome experience. Don’t these unusual things happen just when we need? xx
Yes, they do happen when we need them. The music transformed me from cranky pants into dancing fool. : )
Brilliant! 🙂 I can remember something similar happening on the London tube many years ago. All those glum faces lit up. It should happen every day to make the commute bearable 🙂
I just stopped by from Dianne’s article, out of curiosity, and I like what I see. Who can resist a ‘life enthusiast’? I try to be one myself. 🙂
That’s so neat! I agree that the commuters of the world can always use more positivity on their rides.
So glad you snooped around a bit and thank you for the follow. I’m on my way to check out your place. Have a fab weekend! : )
That sounds so awesome! You’re so lucky to have experienced something like that. 😀 It seems ever since you’ve moved to Portland you’ve been coming across many nice things.
It was super awesome! I felt totally lucky to have stepped onto that particular streetcar that evening after work by chance, especially when I had planned to ride my bike and would have missed it. Portland is a fantastic city. She continues to woo me.
This sounds really cool. It reminds me of Paris. Every time we got on the Metro, there were musicians with guitars or accordions. Of course, they played and then walked around collecting tips, but we were happy to tip for the joy of the ambience they’d created.
Yes, I totally loved that about the Metro in Paris. Hey, if people want to ask for tips by performing amazing music for everyone to enjoy, I’m cool with that.