My friend Demune gave me a shout the other day, inviting me to come out to his show at The Tonic Lounge in Northeast Portland to take some photos of his performance. Since he wasn’t able to perform at the Basic Shapes show I shot at Greek Cusina, I had been looking for an opportunity to make it up by getting some new shots.

The first set of pictures in the gallery are of Cadalack Ron with DJ Memory. Even though not many people were out to see hip-hop in Portland on a Wednesday night, he still put in a strong performance. DJ Memory was highly impressive, laying down some very smooth and intricate beats for Cadalack Ron. The general message of his lyrics was quite different from what I’m used to hearing up here in the Pacific Northwest, but he certainly is true to himself coming from Los Angeles.

Demune got a chance to walk the stage next, giving his usual high energy efforts despite a small crowd. Throughout his performance, you can easily feel his dynamic presence, keeping all engaged to his rhymes. The mood was light, and that came through in the music. Always upbeat and never a let-down, Demune can fill a room with his amazing quality and energy.

While visiting my parents in Houston, Texas, my daughter and my parents attended their annual International Festival (also known as iFest Houston) held within several downtown city blocks. This year’s theme was “Out of Africa”, so many of the booths and performances gave the visitors a spotlight on many different African cultures.It was a wonderfully organized festival, with plenty of room for the thousands of people in attendance.

We arrived early, just in time for the gates to open. That gave us a chance to wander through the festival with virtually no crowds. We first browsed the wonderful booths full of beautiful crafts and carvings from Africa. There were so many great colors surrounding us as we wandered. We attended the performance of Harrison Kumi from Ghana.

During this performance, I was distracted by a family of ducks making their way down to a pond on the festival grounds. My daughter Maysen was distracted too, and we followed them to get some good duckling shots.

The highlight of our time at the festival was watching the National Dance Theatre of Ethiopia who performed their wonderful native dance upon the main stage. The movement of their bodies seemed like impossible feats of rhythm and style. The second page of my iFest 2008 gallery features much of their dancing.