the alberta I used to know

I walked down and up (and then back down) Alberta Street today, flyering for a benefit show that we're going to be putting on in Northeast Portland on September 11th. Other people stayed to clean the venue. I opted for the introvert's choice and decided to be the lone flyerer. Doing the work wasn't hard for me. Actually, I enjoyed it. However, walking the neighborhood was a bit of a challenge. It's changed so damn much. I went into SO many places tonight that did not exist a few years ago, looking for room to flyer. Even Vita Cafe, which I am usually headed to if I go up that direction, has moved...across the street but still, they've even become trendier.

If I hadn't been here seven years ago and I hadn't seen Alberta for what it was, I may like it up there. There are a lot of fun bars, neat coffee/tea shops (yay Star-E-Rose!) and other businesses I'd be interested in. However, everything up there is now tainted for me. All of the funky fun places that are both funky and fun helped to usher in the great tide of gentrification. Now the neighborhood is hardly recognizable.

I've blogged about Alberta before. However today, I got a lot bigger taste of what the neighborhood has become. It's really hard to enjoy which is a shame because it seems awful fun. I even gave way and went into the Nest for the first time for my first Laura Palmer. It was good and so was the bar (and the dj). If I'm in the area again and thirsty, I may stop in again. But I'll still feel like part of the problem.