Will Hoge Plays Mississippi Studios in Portland, OR
Will Hoge, Portland, OR
by Brianne Turner, photography by Justin Patterson
Known primarily for and because of his exhaustive and extensive pre-accident tour schedule, Will Hoge has made a name for himself based primarily on the merit of his sweaty, orgasm-inducing? rock ‘n’ roll shows.
Playing a 19-song set from the stage of Portland’s Mississippi Studios, Will burned through an assortment of songs from each of his five studio albums, most of his attention settling around the tracks from his newest release, The Wreckage. When Will announced that “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” would be next on his setlist, the wave of giddiness that washed over the crowd was audibly apparent. In response, the Nashville singer replied, “If we’d known you’d react like that, we’d've played it all night. We’d call it ‘Even If It Pisses You Off.’” Fair enough. Because regardless of how many encores he does or how many songs he threatens to play on repeat, a Will Hoge setlist is never really long enough.
Opening the show was Welsh singer Paul Freeman who prepped the crowd with tales of Wales and by bringing an audience member up to the mic with him. He also covered “Handle With Care” by Traveling Wilburys. If that doesn’t earn a guy the best possible kind of 1988 street cred, nothing will.
