The Cave

[June 11th, 2008]

SUBTERRANEAN BLISS: With the hominess of a house show, the covert charm of a speakeasy, a menu filled with delicious-sounding cheap Persian vegetarian specialties and bric-a-brac décor recalling a ’50s beatnik cafe, The Cave (636 SW Jackson St., 274-4294) is an unpretentious blessing to Portland jazz. Last Saturday night, it was tough to find a seat as multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Robert Moore and friends played to a mixed crowd: College-age kids slouched on sofas while a gaggle of “honored citizens” huddled up close and personal with the musicians—all for a cheap five bucks that goes directly to the performers. After banging my head (twice) on the low-hanging ceiling beams and quietly cursing to myself, I ordered a glass of Côtes du Rhône ($5) to wash down my falafel ($6.95), which came piled high with a stack of chickpea goodness, topped with tahini sauce and surrounded on all sides by warm pita. Later, an order of the rosewater- and saffron-infused Persian ice cream ($3.95) did wonders to help soothe the fast-growing welts on my forehead. According to Sousan Brown—owner of upstairs restaurant the Green Onion (local drummer/composer Alan Jones books the downstairs space, which began hosting live music in early May)—they had to haul truckloads of garbage out of the basement in order to clear room for the venue. This makes the Cave the best product of spring cleaning I’ve come across in a long time.