Portlanders love records. Like, really love records. The record store to resident ratio here is like 10 to 1. This means that there are some great record shows as well. Portland has more than one record show throughout the year, as well as smaller meet-ups/record swaps at places like Gigantic Brewery. The biggest of these shows is the Record Hawk Show, which is usually sometime in October. But there’s also the Portland Record Show. Although quaint in comparison to other record shows like the aforementioned Record Hawk or the Denver Record Show, there were still tons of great digs to be had
There were 20-30 vendors here, plenty of which were selling really interesting and rare records. Sure, there was a fair amount of bargain bins spread throughout the space, but the majority of these booths were selling vinyl that was highly sought after. Compared to an average record store that will have maybe a handful of records above $50, there were tons of records here that were priced over $100. If hunting down rare pressings is a priority, record shows are generally a better bet than record stores.
The great thing about record shows in general is just how many rare records you can find compared to shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. Most of the booths here were run by collectors who are selling stuff from their own collection. Basically, expect the selection at these shows to vary wildly, but it will be about 99% used records.
After I got my bearings and identified the booths I wanted to spend extra time combing through I was able to pick up one of my missing Replacements records, one of my favorite movie soundtracks and an original pressing of an absolute classic.
If you are even a mildly serious collector, attending a record show is a must and the Portland Record Show is a great, low-key way to see what they’re about. Oh, and there was a dog. So bonus points.