Yesterday, the second day of popfest, was a warm hug and a high five. I had some anxiety going into it: sequencing things as we did – out bands like jackie-o, electronic groups like ainu, pop groups like derby, and not one but four hip hop acts on the same two stages – is asking a lot of the audience, namely, wide open minds and hearts. Some of the initial reactions we got to this year’s line-up were really negative, like a big middle finger to the whole open-minded, one love concept. But what I saw yesterday was the opposite. Every single band that played received a warm reception, and every single band embraced a new audience. It was wonderful. Nice Nice played heavy ass experimental funk to a “pop” audience of 700 people, and brought the house down. Later on, special guest Lifesavas came out and got a crowd of tired, hot people out of their funk and into the funk, clapping hands, DANCING, and chanting “L-I-F-E” in celebratory unison. They finished off with a monologue – no, manifesto – involving community and independent culture that summed it up so nicely. It’s not about music anyway, really. It’s about breaking down walls between people and connecting through art, asking people to open their minds within this small domain, in the hope that this exercise might transmute to other parts of their lives, and in that small way make a better city, and a little better world. To whisper that in Portland’s ear and get a thousand YES’s back – that’s maybe the best thing ever.