Ural Thomas, a mainstay of the 1960’s soul scene, dropped out of the spotlight in the 70s and moved back to Portland to retire. But a couple of years ago, he was coaxed back out by a group of local musicians—now known as The Pain—and the resulting band is set to release its first 45. They perform this Friday at Revolution Hall, where you can also pick up a copy of the new tunes. As well as the A-side "I'll Do it For You", the record's B-side is a reworking of the Thomas classic  “Pain is the Name of your Game,” originally recorded in 1967. It's a whole new, uptempo version of the original hit. But it's not the only thing that's changed in the close to fifty years between the two releases. . .  

In 1967…

• Terry Schrunk was mayor of Portland.
• The population of Portland was 381,877.
• The Albina Riot broke out on August 30th, sparked by frustration with city and police officials in dealing with racial inequality.
• Revolution Hall was Washington High School.
• Leonard Nimoy served as grand marshal of Portland’s Grand Floral Parade.
• Buffalo Springfield, The Grateful Dead, The Byrds, and Jefferson Airplane all played Portland's Crystal Ballroom. 
• "Pain Is The Name Of Your Game" sounded like this: 

In 2015…

• Charlie Hales is mayor of Portland.
• The population of Portland is 609,456.
• This week marks the one-year anniversary of the first wave of Ferguson riots that broke out in response to Michael Brown’s death at the hands of police.
• Washington High School has become Revolution Hall, housing a concert venue, event space, and business offices.
• Leonard Nimoy died in February, leaving an Enterprise-sized hole in our hearts.
• Milky Chance, Chvrches, and Glen Hansard are all at the Crystal Ballroom.
• "Pain Is The Name Of Your Game" sounds like this: 

Catch Ural Thomas and the Pain at Revolution Hall this Friday (August 14) at 8pm.