TBA is fancy this year. There's a shiny new sign announcing the presence of shiny art things, and the outdoor beer garden at the Works has gotten a makeover, with a smaller, aggressively reinforced perimeter that affects crowd flow in a weird way—you can no longer grab a drink inside and just wander out to grab some food on the patio. The opening night crowd was typically PNCA-pretty, and while Venus X didn't pack the dance floor per se, there was still a healthy, sweaty crowd on the stage and floor of the school's old auditorium.

This isn't the first year TBA has opened with projections on the side of Washington High, but last night's noisy presentation of The People—Portland demanded the neighborhood's attention in ways it hasn't in the past. You could pretty much watch the show from the outdoor seating at Hal's (er, "Havana West"), my preferred Works pre-func location, and some of the homeless people who live around Washington High seemed touchy about all the activity. ("Don't touch my fucking trailer!") We'll have a review up of The People—Portland soon—it runs for two more nights.

Also, I had a tiny ice cream cone. It was delicious.

It's not even worth trying to take in any of TBA's art offerings on opening night—it's a party, it's loud, everyone is kinda drunk and wound up. So to that end, I'll post some more pretty pictures of opening night after the jump.