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wweek.com
VOL 37/02 11.17.2010
The
longest odds Hundreds of millions in casino dollars haven’t lifted Oregon’s Native Americans out of poverty. By James Pitkin | Page 16
photo of “Bunsville”, Oregon by Darryl James
BACK COVER
NEWS Shots fired at Adams’ gun plan. DISH Bosnian soccer grub. SCREEN Harry Potter & The Dark Side.
Now available in 12-packs Widmer Brothers Brrr is a unique dark red ale handcrafted with sweet caramel and chocolate malts, balanced by a bold hop profile. Brrr is sure to warm even the chilliest of winter nights. Š2010 Widmer Brothers Brewing Company, Portland, OR
2
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
Widmer_9.639x12.25_WW_Brrr
CONTENT
TAXED MESSAGING: This Portland man protests the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with a unique debt-paying approach to the IRS. Page 11.
NEWS
4
HEADOUT
27
LEAD STORY
16
MUSIC
29
CULTURE
22
SCREEN
45
DISH
27
CLASSIFIEDS
51
STAFF Editor-in-Chief Mark Zusman EDITORIAL Managing News Editor Henry Stern Arts & Culture Editor Kelly Clarke Staff Writers Nigel Jaquiss, James Pitkin, Beth Slovic Copy Chief Kat Merck Copy Editors Matt Buckingham, Peggy Perdue, Sarah Smith Special Sections Editor Ben Waterhouse Screen Editor Aaron Mesh Music Editor Casey Jarman Assistant Music Editor Michael Mannheimer Editorial Interns Christina Cooke, Leighton Cosseboom, Jacob Pierce, Jason Slotkin CONTRIBUTORS Stage Ben Waterhouse Classical Brett Campbell Dance Heather Wisner Visual Arts Richard Speer
Erik Bader, Ruth Brown, Nathan Carson, Shane Danaher, Robert Ham, Whitney Hawke, Jay Horton, AP Kryza, Nilina Mason-Campbell, John Minervini, Katrina Nattress, Rebecca Raber, Alistair Rockoff, Jeff Rosenberg, Anika Sabin, Matt Singer, Chris Stamm, Mark Stock PRODUCTION Production Manager Kendra Clune Art Director Ben Mollica Graphic Designers Soma Honkanen, Adam Krueger, Carolyn Richardson, Dylan Serkin Production Intern Taylor Schefstrom ADVERTISING Director of Advertising Jane Smith Display Account Executives Sara Backus, Alisha Barnes, Maria Boyer, Derek Henderson, Carrie Hinton, Janet Norman, Kyle Owens Classifieds Account Executives Michael Donhowe, Jennifer Lee Advertising Assistant Ashley Grether Marketing and Events Manager Jess Sword Marketing and Promotions Coordinator Brittany McKeever
Our mission: Provide our audiences with an independent and irreverent understanding of how their worlds work so they can make a difference. Circulation: 90,000 (except during holidays and school vacations.) Though Willamette Week is free, please take just one copy. Anyone removing papers in bulk from our distribution points will be prosecuted, as they say, to the full extent of the law. Willamette Week is published weekly by City of Roses Newspaper Company 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Main line phone: (503) 243-2122 fax: (503) 243-1115 Classifieds phone: (503) 223-1500 fax: (503) 223-0388
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INBOX WWEEK.COM READERS SPEAK ON… “THE BIG ASK” “At my last conference with my daughter’s fifth grade teacher, I asked her why my daughter was not learning how to do long division. After a condescending discussion about how kids learn math a new way now, and learn multiple ways of solving problems, she had my daughter (who was right there) demonstrate this. She could not solve the problem. Then the teacher said, ‘In most situations where she has a problem like this, she will have access to a calculator.’ After that conversation, I realized that my child would not get adequate preparation for college (or life) in Portland Public Schools. She is now enrolled in a private school. It is expensive, but my daughter’s future is worth it. I checked, and based on the assessed value of my home, the tax increase will be $500, not $300. As the article points out, people are concerned about jobs and education. Not construction jobs to build schools in which poor education takes place. Our own jobs, which no longer pay enough for us to waste money on a school system that does not work.” —Fred King “I’m interested in seeing more specifically how the District plans to spend the money. If the schools are somehow unsafe, they should be upgraded. But for other improvements, the LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words.
District needs to make a connection between learning and the improvement. I took classes in a modified 100-year-old barn and it didn’t really affect how well I learned history or pre-calc, so I’m not sold on the idea that a WWII-era classroom is unsuitable.…” —Erik “It seems like at least some of the proposed spending is something less than necessary. Lincoln would get “new architectural designs”— WTF?! I’m a liberal, pro-public-education, often stereotypically pro-tax kind of person, and even I can’t stomach the thought of paying $300/year for 6 years when PPS has shown no sign of fiscal responsibility. A couple of my friends are teachers and I was embarrassed to admit to them that I felt that way, but both of them said they didn’t think PPS was fiscally trustworthy.” —Beth “Amazing comments from Americans who still see school as something that ends at 12th grade, which, truth be told, is about the same as the Chinese 8th grade. And they want to give our education system a tough time on providing a decent place for kids to learn. America should worship education! It’s always been our country’s savior. Yet blowhards in these comment boxes throw rocks at it. The late, great United States.” —Newsrocket
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Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
We used to have to sort our recycling into paper, metal and plastic, but now we just chuck it all in any old hoo. Is there some machine that separates it again, or does some poor fellow have to root through it by hand? —The Phantom Vegan Science is pretty amazing. We have magnets to lift metals, solvents to dissolve paper into pulp, and complicated hydraulic contraptions to sort plastics of different densities by their specific gravity. And yet, all these marvels pale before technology’s crowning achievement: its limitless ability to create new forms of mind-numbingly repetitive work. So yes, that tofu tub caked with your grotty vegan saliva will eventually wind up on a conveyor belt, traveling at 15 mph through a sorting facility where a crackerjack cadre of French poetry majors separates your trash into homogeneous piles. If that makes you feel like a jerk (and it
should), here are some things you can do to make the sorters’ lives a bit more pleasant: 1) Keep plastic bags out of the recycling. Plastic bags get wrapped around what engineers call the “giant chompy bits,” and when they do, somebody has to climb into the works to cut them out. Often as not, the machinery then shudders to life with a sickening lurch, shredding the worker alive as jets of still-warm blood drench the faces of screaming, horrified onlookers. 2) No needles. Hey, junkies! Here’s another reason nobody likes you. Get a sharps container or use the needle exchange—that bleach bottle you’ve been using bursts open in the compactor and the sharps get out. Hasn’t your karma taken enough hits? 3) When in doubt, throw it out. You’re actually a better citizen for putting uncertain items in the trash—even if this maxim is the oldest of old hoos. QUESTIONS? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com
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DON’T TOUCH OUR JUNK. A busy Tuesday at the Police Bureau. Portland Police Officer Ronald Frashour was fired for his fatal shooting of 25-yearold Aaron Campbell on Jan. 29. Chief Mike Reese and Mayor Sam Adams on Nov. 16 also announced 80-hour unpaid AARON suspensions for three other cops involved CAMPBELL in the Campbell shooting. For more, go to wweek.com/officer_terminated. Hours after that announcement, Reese released details of discipline in another case. Capt. Mark Kruger, who honored German soldiers from the Nazi era with plaques on Rocky Butte, got an 80-hour unpaid suspension. Kruger also released his own apology. For more, go to wweek.com/kruger_suspended. Mayor Sam Adams is scheduled to meet with Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith this Thursday, Nov. 18, to discuss what role the school district’s headquarters may play in the Rose Quarter’s future. The 500,000-square-foot building just north of the Rose Garden and Memorial Coliseum represents one piece of Adams’ plan to expand the Rose Quarter and to create more daytime uses in the area. If an attractive offer came along, PPS would consider moving its headquarters. But what might replace the building remains unclear. Both Adams and a PPS representative deny one rumor about how Adams’ plans might take shape. “I am not promoting Target,” Adams tells Murmurs of his Rose Quarter plans. More bad news for the Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network. In 2009, lawmakers approved partial funding of $260 million to knit together the state’s public-safety radio networks. But a scathing Nov. 3 audit was just the latest finding that OWIN is a disaster. The audit (available at wweek. com) found “serious implementation problems,” “control deficiencies” and “no sound methodological basis” for claimed savings. “We have put together a plan to move forward on time and on budget,” says OWIN spokesman Don Hamilton. Washington County Court Judge Marco Hernandez and Perkins Coie Lawyer Michael Simon are in Washington, D.C., for a Nov. 17 Senate hearing on their nominations to fill two longtime federal judgeship vacancies in the U.S. District Court of Oregon. President Obama nominated the pair to replace Judge Garr King, who announced his retirement more than three years ago, and Judge Ancer Haggerty, who retired in August 2009. Hernandez was the earlier choice to replace King under President George W. Bush, but his nomination languished until he again won a nod under the new administration. An anonymous complaint was filed last week against Tigard High School principal Mark Neffendorf with Oregon’s Teacher Standards and Practices Commission over videos shown at a Nov. 5 school assembly in honor of Veterans Day. One video, a war montage set to country singer Jo Dee Messina’s “Heaven Was Needing a Hero,” ended with a 10-second frame of Jesus hugging a young man. Tigard School District spokeswoman Susan Stark Haydon says the district got two email complaints from staff alleging the video violated separation of church and state, and that other staff members brought up concerns in a meeting last week. The state commission is investigating the complaint filed Nov. 9.
GOT A GOOD TIP? CALL 503.445.1542, OR EMAIL NEWSHOUND@WWEEK.COM
J O N AT H A N H I L L
NEWS
READY, AIM, FIRE SOME GANG OUTREACH WORKERS SAY THE MAYOR’S GUN PLAN IS A WASTE. BY JA M E S P I T K I N
jpitkin@wweek.com
Calls of “shots fired” to police are down in Portland. And several gang outreach workers doubt Mayor Sam Adams’ crackdown on illegal guns will work. “It’s a waste,” says Michael Johnson, a former Columbia Villa Crip who now does outreach work. “It’s not affecting the necessary people, and it’s not keeping any guns out of anybody’s hands.” But the mayor is forging ahead this week with his plan to curb gangland violence by targeting illegal guns. Adams—who stepped up his gang fight after AfricanAmerican leaders called him out last summer as absent on the issue—will put his five-point gun plan before the City Council on Thursday, Nov. 18. It’s his first major legislative effort on law enforcement since taking over the Police Bureau last May and installing Mike Reese to replace Rosie Sizer as chief. Adams’ proposed ordinance would penalize gun owners who endanger children or fail to report stolen guns. It would also set a 7 pm curfew for minors who have broken gun laws, create zones where gun offenders are excluded and set a 30-day jail sentence for gun-law violators who carry a loaded weapon in public. Adams says illegal guns are “swamping the city,” citing anecdotal evidence from police and his own gang experts.
Several gang outreach workers tell WW they’re concerned Adams’ plan is little more than a diversion and fails to address the root of gang conflict. Johnson, the former Columbia Villa Crip, says he’d rather see resources go toward contacting families and teaching them the warning signs of gang involvement. David Miller is a gang outreach worker and campus “It used to be guns were pretty rare. Now everybody has them,” Adams says. “When you look back over two monitor at Benson High School, where the city’s most decades, it’s been no work on guns.… The city has sat on its recent gang shooting occurred Oct. 21. A student survived being shot on the school’s front steps while a volleyball hands and ignored it.” The mayor’s plan copies and expands on programs in game went on inside, and a 14-year-old Crips affiliate has crime-ridden cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia. But been arrested in relation to the shooting. the numbers tell a more ambiguous story about the extent Miller, too, fears Adams’ ordinance won’t be effective. “When they want guns, these kids know where to find of Portland’s gun problem. Statistics from the Portland Police Bureau show a them,” he says. “The right approach is to free up some steep rise in gang-related shootings. But shots-fired calls money, get these kids jobs and get them off the street.” LaMarcus Branch, 38, comes from one of have been dropping steadily over the past five years—raising questions about Adams’ claims FACT: City Council will Portland’s most notorious criminal families take up the ordinance at and was a cousin of perhaps its most famous of a city awash in firearms. gangster—Anthony “Lil Smurf ” Branch Jr., In 2005, the year Adams took office as a 3 pm Thursday, Nov. 18. shot dead at age 20 outside a Northeast strip city commissioner, there were 1,821 calls combined of shots fired or shootings, according to the Police club in 1997. Freed from prison last March after serving 14 years Bureau. By last year those calls had dropped 23 percent, to 1,411. As of Nov. 10, the number stood at 1,289 for this for robbery and assault, Branch volunteers as an outreach worker to help the young generation. He wonders whether year—on pace for about 1,500 calls by year’s end. Not surprisingly, gun-rights advocates have criticized Adams’ gun ordinance can accomplish the same goal. “With the young kids today,” Branch says, “it could be Adams’ plan. Kevin Starrett, head of the Oregon Firearms Federation, says the ordinance appears to be mainly a more of a challenge.” political gesture. Adams says his gun ordinance will cost the city almost “This isn’t even a gun-control debate,” Starrett says. nothing, merely giving police new tools to fight gangs. He “There’s nothing substantive here. There’s nothing that says the effort will not take resources away from the “soft” really addresses the problem. The problem is, people side of gang outreach, like contacting families and providare committing crimes. Are they gonna start obeying ing alternatives for youth. “There’s been a lot of efforts on that and very little these laws?” More remarkably, Starrett’s sentiment is echoed in effort around guns,” Adams says. “It’s that omission that the Portland neighborhoods hardest hit by gun violence. this addresses.” Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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NEWS
COURTS M A R YA N N A H O G G AT T. C O M
COPS AND BLOGGERS A TALE OF BEETS, APPLESAUCE AND TWO BANK ROBBERIES.
searching for used cars on Craigslist with a laptop. Later that day, police say she used the fake name “Christy Kelson” to buy a silver 1990 Saab. Police say the trio BY BE T H S LOV I C bslovic@wweek.com was planning a third heist, according to a statement by McGowan. Only in Portland could two bank robbery That never came to pass. On Nov. 10, suspects lead double lives as bloggers bent police arrested McGowan, Wilcoxson on environmental sustainability and urban and Ames on suspicion of holding up two farming. branches of U.S. Bank in the Woodstock But that’s what one Southeast Portland and Cully neighborhoods, on Sept. 18 and couple appears to have done, according to Oct. 8, respectively, and stealing a total of Portland police. $22,490, including several marked bills. On Nov. 7, Pamela McGowan, 25, and The trio appeared Nov. 12 before U.S. Stanley Ames, 31, blogged at UrbanSur- District Judge Donald C. Ashmanskas. vivalists.com about canning beets and They remained in Multnomah County making applesauce in the kitchen of their Inverness Jail pending a preliminary hear1,800-square-foot Lents bungalow. ing Nov. 16. “We were busy, and totally exhausted But the digital footprint left by the that day,” the couple wrote at the end of their three alleged associates offers a bizarre, 685-word post. “But it all pays off in the end.” albeit limited, record of their lives. It’s the How their other pursuits pay off is now a kind of record Bonnie and Clyde certainly matter of federal concern. never had to worry about. Two days after their FACT: McGowan and Ames’ McGowan, who called post, on Nov. 9, Portland Twitter feed had 1,011 followers, herself a structural engiPolice Sgt. J. Santos had including Mayor Sam Adams, at neer, attended Oregon McGowan and a third the time of their arrest. Institute of Technology suspect, 27-year-old Eric and earned a bachelor’s Wilcoxson, under surveillance at the Star- degree in civil engineering in 2008, accordbucks on Southeast Holgate Boulevard and ing to her profile on LinkedIn. 82nd Avenue, 15 blocks from McGowan’s On her personal blog, crackgerbal.bloghome. What the pair didn’t appear to know spot.com, McGowan often wrote of having then was that police were zeroing in on felt picked on as a student for being smart. them as possible culprits in two recent rob“The life lead [sic] by intelligent students beries at U.S. Bank branches in Portland. who want to excel is not only miserable but A license plate number on a vehicle dauntingly hopeless,” she wrote. “Next time witnesses described as a getaway car led you see a smart person...congratulate them police to Starbucks and McGowan, who for their accomplishments because I know sat at the coffeehouse with Wilcoxson they are probably getting a lot of crap from
AMES
MCGOWAN
WILCOXSON
their class mates for ‘trying to [sic] hard.’” In a Dec. 5, 2008, post, she suggested adults get licenses before having kids. “The planet is already over populated and I think its [sic] safe to say that given longer life spans and no regulation about child birth, that the planet would run out of resources quickly,” she wrote. With Ames, her partner since 2006, McGowan sold handmade soap bars through UrbanSurvivalist.com. The two attended meetings of DorkbotPDX, described as “a community of creative types.” Ames, who also says on his online profiles that he attended OIT when McGowan studied there, calls himself “just another disaffected proletariat” on MySpace. He was studying to be a mechanical engineer. Wilcoxson, who worked as an Intel manufacturing technician, wasn’t as prolific as the other two. As blogger Jack Bog-
danski wrote on bojack.org, Wilcoxson went by Batman83 online. He shared the couple’s interest in engineering. According to a court affidavit, Ames worked at Sulzer Pumps. The Swiss company has a Portland sales office and factory, which was where Ames allegedly created the email account used to buy the 1993 Ford Escort the robbers drove from the Woodstock bank Sept. 18. If the suspects’ online presence paints a picture of geeky environmentalism, what police discovered at McGowan’s home offers a different view. Police found a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, a .32-caliber semiautomatic handgun, ammo, two sets of body armor, masks matching the ones robbers wore in the banks’ surveillance videos and a note detailing how the $22,490 would be split among “Pam,” “Stan” and “Eric.”
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ACTIVISM
CHECKS AND BALANCES: Reeves with the 5,574 checks he sent the IRS earlier this month.
TAX MACHINE A PORTLANDER PROTESTS AMERICA’S WARS ONE SMALL IRS CHECK AT A TIME. BY JACO B PI E R C E
jpierce@wweek.com
Evan Reeves says people don’t know how to protest anymore, and that the city he loves disappoints him in particular. “There is such a large group of young, creative people here,” says the 27-year-old Southwest Portlander. “And I think we can exploit that and take advantage of it and really put Portland on the radar.” Reeves—whose left arm features a tattoo of a distorted, industrialized U.S. flag that he describes as “almost anti-American”—is fed up with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s why he didn’t pay his 2009 federal income taxes. But when Reeves began racking up massive fees that now total more than $5,500, he decided it would only be a matter of time before the Internal Revenue Service seized his bank accounts or garnished his paychecks. So in August, he decided to repay the money in what he calls “the most difficult way possible.” Earlier this month, he sent the IRS 5,574 checks, one for each U.S. service member who had died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to that point. It proved more difficult than he had imagined. “Probably more so for myself than the IRS,” says Reeves. The Facebook application designer and amateur photographer says he wrote each check for 96 cents. The checks and mailing process cost him between $400 and $500. He threw a “checksigning party” with some friends to enlist their help in filling in each memo box with the name of a soldier who had died. “It felt really fun, and really awful at the same time,” says Pam Allee, a 67-year-old longtime tax protester living in North Portland who attended
the party. “We understood that these were people and not just letters on a page.” Allee got to know Reeves through their involvement in anti-war websites. She laments that tax protesters often back down under pressure from the IRS and never try again. She fears that without support, Reeves might do the same. Richard Panick, the IRS’s spokesman, couldn’t comment whether the IRS will accept an individual’s payment. But he was surprised by Reeves’ method. “This is something I have not experienced,” Panick says. Reeves says he plans to take more stands against the IRS. He just doesn’t know how. He would like to find a way to raise more public awareness next time for his defiance, maybe with a Last Thursday event. Ellie Brown, a friend who graduated with Reeves from the University of Michigan and moved west with him in 2008, says Reeves’ unique, passionate protest comes from the same place as his photography. Reeves, who moved to Portland to lead a car-free, bike-happy lifestyle, has always been creative, the type of person who can always find something fun to do on a Saturday night. Once, he and Brown drove around pilfering plastic boxes and twist ties from a Kroger grocery store to build a robot on their front lawn that towered above their roof. “The neighbors already hated us because we didn’t mow our lawn,” says Brown. “He had a name, but I can’t remember it.” “Styrone,” Reeves says with a smile. “They [the boxes] are made out of some chemical compound, polystyrene…. We wanted to give him a human quality.” Reeves is not the first creative tax protester. Allee knows of people who have paid their bills to the IRS in quarters. On Monday, Nov. 15, Reeves left on a threemonth trip to Thailand with his partner, Katie Langdon. He insists he isn’t hiding from the IRS, which should know how to find him by the time he returns. “I think he’s being pretty brave. He’s putting a lot on the line,” says Brown. “Not many people talk [back to] the IRS.”
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NEWS W W P H OTO I L L U S T R AT I O N
MARIJUANA
WEED: THE NEXT CHAPTER WHAT’S NEXT FOR MEDICAL-POT REFORM IN OREGON? BY JAS O N SLOT K I N
jslotkin@wweek.com
Oregon voters’ defeat this month of a measure that would have expanded the state’s medical marijuana system is forcing supporters of that proposal to figure out new strategies. Measure 74 co-authors John Sajo and Anthony Johnson say they have two options after 56 percent of Oregonians voted against their measure. The initiative would have set up a system of nonprofit dispensaries for the 36,000-plus licensed patients who must currently grow their own pot or get a friend to do it. One option is the 2011 Legislature, though that looks tough for pot proponents given Republicans’ gains in the recent election. The other is a return to the state ballot in 2012, when electoral trends might be more favorable than in 2010. In the Legislature, Rep. Peter Buckley (D -Ashland) has started talking about introducing a legislative version of Measure 74 that would set up a system of regulated medical marijuana dispensaries in addition to the current system. Before the election, Buckley said he
would introduce a bill to go even further by legalizing marijuana in Oregon. But he now says California voters’ defeat of a legalization initiative there—and Oregon voters’ rejection of Measure 74—has prompted him to gear his marijuana legislative efforts instead toward a dispensary system. The election also upended things for Buckley’s party. Next year’s Legislature will go from a 36-24 Democratic advantage in the House to an even split between Democrats and Republicans. And the Democrats’ 18-12 edge in the Senate will erode to 16-14. Buckley acknowledges those changes mean any marijuana bill would struggle. “The budget is such a huge priority for the state,” says Buckley. “This couldn’t be a first priority.” There’s a second option, according to Johnson and Sajo. And that’s the 2012 election, when a new version of Measure 74 could reap the benefit of more young voters because it’s a larger-turnout presidential election year. “Measure 74 helped in moving cannabis into the political mainstream,” says Johnson. Johnson says Measure 74 could be tweaked, or if he gets his way, Oregon voters could be asked for a straight vote on marijuana legalization. Even though California voters rejected
“I dare say, darling, I believe that fellow has had one too many!” “Oh, My!”
legalization in this election, Johnson believes legalization has a chance in Oregon in 2012 because Gallup polls show marijuana initiatives poll higher among young voters, who are more likely to skip midterm elections. The place to start any marijuana ballot measure in 2012 will be in Multnomah County, Oregon’s largest county and one of just two in the state to have a majority “yes” vote on Measure 74. Besides the 58.9 percent “yes” vote in Multnomah County, the only other county among Oregon’s 36 counties to have a majority yes vote (with
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barely above 50 percent) on Measure 74 was Lane County, home to Eugene and the University of Oregon. A 2012 legalization initiative would not be a first for Oregon. In 1986, voters rejected a legalization measure. And an attempt this year to put a similar measure on the ballot fell short of the required number of signatures. Sajo acknowledges voter approval of legalization could be an “uphill” battle even in a high-turnout presidential year. “It’s much harder to get a ‘yes’ than a ‘no’ vote,” he says. pcs.org
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Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
THIS Y FRIDA
ROGUE
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS WHY ARE THEY RISKING BRANDON ROY’S FUTURE? When Brandon Roy announced last week he has no meniscus left in either knee, Trail Blazer fans let out a collective groan louder than fans in the 300 section of the Rose Garden cheering for a free chalupa. Does the team have another Greg Oden on its hands? We hope not. But as the injuries pile up for the Blazers, so have the questions about the team’s training staff, front office, scouts and even coach Nate McMillan. Someone needs to be held accountable for a lapse in judgment that threatens the future of Roy and the entire organization, since Roy is the franchise centerpiece with his five-year, $82 million maximum contract. The Trail Blazers organization earns Rogue status for allowing Roy to play in a meaningless early November game last weekend when he was clearly hurt. Nobody is asking people to feel sorry for a multimillionaire basketball player. But if Roy wanted to risk his knees by playing, the team should have said no. And if he didn’t want to play, it’s that much worse. Neither Roy nor the team is publicly saying anything beyond the injury being a day-to-day thing. But this much is clear: The NBA season is a long grind, and taking a few weeks off—especially given that freshly signed free agent Wesley Matthews is practically begging for minutes off the bench—might just help Roy’s achy joints. And if Roy’s four knee surgeries since high school continue to hurt him to the point where he becomes a tentative outside shooter and offensive decoy, why is he even out on the court in the first place? Many fans have theorized that, after so many years of injuries to the team’s big men (Bill Walton, Sam Bowie, Oden), the Blazers must be cursed. But watching Roy hobble around the court during the first half of a loss to the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday, Nov. 13, it’s clear it’s not a curse but a management issue here when the franchise feels compelled to have its marquee player limp through the 11th game of an 82-game season. “The problem is bone-on-bone,” Roy told The Oregonian last week. “It’s just something I’m going to have to deal with for the rest of my career.” If it’s really Roy’s career—and not just this season—at stake at age 26, then he needs to be allowed to rest for a while instead of taking pride in toughing out a road trip in November. If the Blazers don’t figure this situation out and Roy needs another surgery, it won’t just be the Rogue desk calling bullshit, but an entire city of basketball fans.
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15
DARRYL JAMES
THE
LONGEST ODDS
JACKPOT NATION: More than 1,900 slot machines await gamblers at Spirit Mountain Casino.
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN CASINO DOLLARS HAVEN’T LIFTED OREGON’S NATIVE AMERICANS OUT OF POVERTY. BY JA MES PITKIN
jpitkin@wweek.com
Earlier this month, two white guys from Lake Oswego asked Oregon voters to let them run a casino—a lucrative industry monopolized by American Indians in this state for more than 15 years. They crashed in flames. Sixty-eight percent of voters said no to Measure 75, which sought to create the state’s first nontribal casino at the former Multnomah Kennel Club in Wood Village, just east of Portland. At a time when Oregon’s budget is deep in the red, the casino backers promised to pour $150 million a year into state coffers. But even as Oregonians watch schools and other public services disappear, they were swayed by a campaign that opposed the casino in part because of a perceived debt we owe for historic wrongs to Native Americans. The anti-75 campaign spent $564,000 against the measure, invoking Oregon’s “promise” to leave casinos to the tribes as a means to uplift their people after centuries of abuse by whites. The assertion is that tribes have actually bettered their people with the money raised. “We’ve accomplished some amazing things in our communities,” Justin Martin, a lobbyist for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, said just a week before the Nov. 2 election. “None of this would have been possible without the opportunity that tribal gaming represents.” But while the Wood Village guys made a poor case to add more gambling to the state, here’s the untold story about tribal gambling in Oregon: By several key measures, American Indians here are no better off than they were the day the casinos first opened in the mid-1990s. The U.S. Census shows Native American poverty rates in Oregon skyrocketing in recent years, from 22 percent in 1999 to 31 percent from 2006 to 2008, the most recent 16
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
years for which data is available. There are some differences in the way those numbers were calculated, but they leave little doubt of a worsening trend. On their reservation on the eastern slopes of the Coast Range, the Grand Ronde run the sprawling Spirit Mountain Casino. A 90-minute drive from downtown Portland, the casino is Oregon’s largest and most successful tribal gambling enterprise. In the 15 years since it opened, Spirit Mountain has netted more than $833 million in profits for the 5,228 members of the Grand Ronde tribes. That works out to about $150,000 per person, even after the tribe’s generous donations to Oregon noprofits. And the vast majority of that money is dumped into social services for the tribe. With the resulting benefits, you’d be forgiven for wishing you were a Grand Ronde member today. The tribe covers tuition at any college or trade school in the nation, including grad school. Cradle-to-grave health care is paid for all members, no matter where they live. There’s affordable housing on the reservation. And each member receives cash payments of about $4,000 in the mail each year, courtesy of the casino. One could argue those benefits have made the Grand Ronde in some ways Oregon’s most privileged class of people. Yet statistics show those hundreds of millions in casino money have yet to lift the majority of Oregon’s Native Americans out of their economic rut. The Grand Ronde, even with Oregon’s most lucrative casino, are no exception. When Spirit Mountain opened in 1995, 55 percent of Grand Ronde tribal members earned below 80 percent of the median Oregon income, according to the tribe’s own figures. Five years later, the tribe switched to measuring by household, but the ratio was the same—55 percent. Today, hundreds of millions of dollars later, that statistic remains exactly the same—55 percent. Grand Ronde households in the deepest poverty also remain stuck at rock bottom. Ten years ago, 15 percent of tribal households were severely impoverished, earning
on statewide poverty. OSU’s numbers pegged the state’s Indian poverty rate at 29 percent at that time. Other stats are just as grim. Native Americans now make up a higher percentage of Oregon’s prison population than they did 15 years ago when the casinos opened, according to the state Department of Corrections. And they still have the highest rate of alcohol-induced death in the state, according to the Oregon Public Health Division. American Indians now earn a lower percentage of the state’s college degrees than they did in 1997, according to the Oregon University System. And, as a group, they still enter school with measurably lower social, personal and cognitive development than other children in Oregon, according to the state Department of Education. The question is why. Cheryle Ann Kennedy, elected leader of the ninemember Grand Ronde tribal council, says the emotional and economic scars from years of depredations—including massacres and actions such as Congress disbanding her tribe in the 1950s—will take generations to repair. “It’s not different from the Holocaust of the Jewish people,” Kennedy says. “When you look at the magnitude of the level of need, it’s billions of dollars. And every year, we make millions.” Terry Anderson has a different answer. An economist and head of the libertarian-leaning Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Mont., Anderson says relying on casino money to provide social services is a disincentive to progress. “You are talking about literally a welfare state,” he says. “If you ask what creates economic growth, it’s increased
productivity that comes about when people have an incentive. And there’s nothing on reservations that creates that incentive. No investment is being made to increase productivity, except for making the casino fancier.” The gold-painted tour bus that pulls in to Spirit Mountain Casino on a recent Saturday afternoon has a giant picture on the side of hot young women dancing in a club. But in Indian Country, things aren’t always what they seem. Instead of glitter and curves, the bus disgorges a load of mostly older people picked up from stops in Portland, Washington Square Mall, Tualatin and Newberg. Many rely on canes and walkers to make their way into the casino—where 1,911 slot machines, 48 card and roulette tables, 400 bingo seats and the renowned Cedar Plank Buffet await to swallow their cash. Like in casinos worldwide, there are no clocks in Spirit Mountain’s vast gambling rooms, and no windows to suggest the time of day—just the endless ding of the slot machines, the symphony of an endless jackpot. Charles Fry sits on a bench outside the casino, waiting for his wife to drive him home. The 77-year-old retired logger lives 12 miles away, in the tiny town of Sheridan, where he scrapes by on $1,200 a month from Social Security. He comes to the casino several times a week to eat or gamble, and today he blew $90 on the slots. But Fry figures the Native Americans have earned their right to run casinos. “We’ve beat up on these old Indians for so long,” he says. “They deserve everything they get.” CONT. on page 18 PHOTOS: DARRYL JAMES
less than 30 percent of the median income. Today that number is even worse—17 percent. It’s true that Grand Ronde members at the upper end of the spectrum make more money now than they did before the casino. But the fact that the wealthiest tribe in the state has invested a fortune and still failed to dent its widespread economic malaise says something deeply disturbing about the Native American experience in Oregon. Native advocates point to factors that make Indian poverty especially difficult to address. Tribes face a pernicious mix of rural and urban economic decay. Add widespread drug and alcohol abuse—and a culture still suffering from deep-seated fear and mistrust—and it becomes clear why American Indians remain stuck at the bottom. “People want it to be an easy fix, but folks don’t understand how fresh the wounds are,” says Nichole Maher, executive director of Portland’s Native American Youth and Family Center. Granting tribes the exclusive right to run casinos was intended to lift them up—and to assuage some white Oregonians’ historical guilt. But it’s not just the Grand Ronde who have struggled to make progress. The uncomfortable truth is that Oregon’s Native Americans as a whole may be even worse off than before. The majority of Native Americans statewide are not from Oregon tribes, and they see no direct benefits from tribal casinos here. But the striking persistence of Indian poverty despite the casinos is a tragedy researchers at Oregon State University already noted a decade ago. “It’s obvious that constructing gambling casinos hasn’t worked in bringing Oregon’s...Native Americans out of poverty,” a team of OSU scholars wrote in a 2000 report
FOUR OF A KIND: Facilities at the Grand Ronde reservation include (clockwise from left) a medical clinic, education center and library.
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(Source: Oregon Housing and Community Services)
(Source: US Census)
(Source: US Census)
GOSSIP SHOULD HAVE NO FRIENDS
quarter of her dad’s blood is from the Grand Ronde tribes, letting Lafferty qualify for the tribal rolls (you need to prove one-sixteenth ancestry to qualify). That simple fact has given Lafferty a huge leg up over other neighbors in Bunsville. The tribe paid for Lafferty to earn her GED through Chemeketa Community College in Salem, thanks to casino money. Now she’s studying business management at Chemeketa—again on the tribe’s dime. She attends classes via video conferencing in the tribal reservation’s $5 million education center, which is run on casino dollars. She pays for clothes, food and other bills with
PERCENT IN POVERTY, IN 2008
PERCENT IN POVERTY
A mile and a half up the road from the flashing the $4,000 she receives each year from the tribe. lights of Spirit Mountain Casino squats the very She’s on the waiting list for low-income housing portrait of rural poverty. on the reservation, where any member can live No Deductibles The village—if you can call it that—is known based on whatever they can afford. No Maximums locally as Bunsville. The name comes from Floyd Statistically, Lafferty is still an unemployed No Waiting Periods No Pre-Existing Causes Bun, the now-deceased landlord who built the single mom below the poverty line. But because CASINO LOCATIONS No AND Pain POVERTY ramshackle neighborhood off Highway 18 in the of casino money, behind those basic facts is a tiny town of Grand Ronde. woman with a ticket out of Bunsville. OREGON POVERTY BY RACE 100 Free Consultation About 40 small houses, dilapidated and shedThat’s not true for everyone in the tribe. Sto100 www.drwardinterstatedental.com ding paint, stand along four muddy dirt roads ries abound of people who squander their casino 503-285-5307 filled with puddles the size of small ponds. Dogs checks. Billie LaBonte, a white retired state Umatilla bark from behind chain-link administrative worker married INTERSTATE Grand Ronde fences. Feral cats roam the to a tribal elder for 13 years, SALEM DENTAL CLINIC OREGON’S NATIVE Siletz Warm Springs broken sidewalks. Junked cars says the curse holds especially 80 AMERICANS 5835 N. Interstate and broken appliances line the for young80 people. 100 driveways and litter yards long “The kids get their Indian Coos since abandoned to weeds. This money, and all they do is drink Burns Paiute neighborhood is home to both and do drugs,” she says. “Maybe Cow Creek Coquille whites and members of the one in 50 do something good Klamath Grand Ronde tribes. with it.” 80 60 60 House No. 12 has a sign Say what you will about gamon the garage saying, “No bling as a means of preying on Trespassing–Violators Will Be human weakness, or about the Shot–Survivors Will Be Violatfairness of the Indians’ monop60 41.8 ed.” A pink plastic tricycle and oly. By transferring hundreds 40 an old pressure washer stand of millions 40 from other people’s forgotten out front. Inside, pockets to the tribe, Spirit 32.9 18-year-old Melinda Lafferty is Mountain Casino is in many 30 40 29 effective giving a bath to her 3-year-old ways one of the most 26 daughter, Bayle. systems imaginable for redis30.6 24 The girl’s father is sometributing wealth. 19.5 18.6 20 18.1 where in South Dakota. Laf20 18 22.2 16.3 ferty, a high-school dropout, Wink Soderberg spent his early 20 13.1 13 12 is unemployed and lives in childhood on the Grand Ronde 9.8 Bunsville with her parents. If reservation in the 1930s, when she were like most of America’s there was no running water. The rural poor, her life could most family outhouse stood 50 feet 0 0 0 sbe judged a lost cause z k e e k h n 0 0 likely from his back door, and the la le in t te oos t er t 1 g l l e an only d i 0 i i e u a ac e l ig i h sia and di 20 at C rin on am Bl 20 qu Si Cr or Wsource InfoodAwas Pa p l R o m l s already. dependable of c S s n w i C d U K cI rn m an Co ran ica ar Bu cifi sp er YEAR G But Lafferty is one of about the deer in the forest. W Hi Pa Am 60,000 Oregonians identified “I remember this community OREGON AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES RACE by the Census as an American Indian. One- as just bone poor,” Soderberg says.
PERCENT IN POVERTY, IN 2000
SCOOP
FRONT PORCH: Laquina Lafferty (left), Melinda Lafferty’s mother, talks to her friend Wendy Scott at the Lafferty home in Bunsville.
Soderberg shared those memories from a leather chair in the board room of the Grand Ronde’s $5.3 million government headquarters, where he sits on the tribal council. The board room is where the council and other tribal executives run the Grand Ronde’s real-estate and investment empire, including land under development from the coast to the Pearl District. The tribe doesn’t reveal its holdings to the public. But three facts are certain: Its investments can be measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Casino money bought nearly all CONT. on page 20
LONGEST ODDS
CONT.
THE GRAND RONDE: A HISTORY Visitors to Spirit Mountain Casino are greeted at the front door by a statue of Martha Jane Sands, a Grand Ronde who survived a white raid on her childhood village by hiding in a beaver dam. As the Grand Ronde tell their history, Indians lived from time immemorial in peace and abundance in the Columbia and Willamette river valleys. Frequent wars with plateau tribes—and the widespread practice of slavery by their ancestors—are less often mentioned. With the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855, they were forced to cede their homelands, and 27 tribes were pushed onto the Grand Ronde reservation. They refer to that march as Oregon’s “Trail of Tears.” Promises from Washington, D.C., to provide government services were broken, tribe members say, and the original reservation was gradually whittled away. In 1954, the federal government disbanded the Grand Ronde and 109 other tribes nationwide under a policy called “termination.” Sixty-two of those tribes were from Oregon, mostly on prime timber land. The Grand Ronde were left with nothing but their cemetery and an adjoining tool shed. Many dispersed and intermarried with whites—other tribes now mock them for looking too pale. But a handful of elders fought to restore the tribe, a distinction Congress finally granted again in 1983. Restoration came at the same time the timber economy collapsed. Salvation came with the 1988 Indian Regulatory Gaming Act, which allowed casinos on tribal reservations. When the Grand Ronde opened Spirit Mountain in 1995, it was slots and bingo only. They had to negotiate in 1997 to allow roulette, blackjack and other games. In return, the tribe agreed to give 6 percent of its casino take to Oregon nonprofits. Those funds are distributed by the Spirit Mountain Community Fund. The fund has powerful friends—its board includes Secretary of State Kate Brown, former U.S. Rep. Darlene Hooley (D.- Ore.) and Portland businessman Sho Dozono. During this fall’s Measure 75 campaign, the opposition never tired of reminding Oregonians that the Spirit Mountain Community Fund has distributed more than $50 million to charity. CASINO LOCATIONS AND POVERTY
OREGON POVERTY BY RACE
100
100 Umatilla Grand Ronde SALEM Siletz
80
OREGON’S NATIVE AMERICANS
Warm Springs
80
Burns Paiute
Cow Creek Coquille Klamath
80
(Source: US Census)
40 32.9 26 20
16.3
18.6
18.1
19.5
13.1
(Source: US Census)
41.8
PERCENT IN POVERTY
PERCENT IN POVERTY, IN 2000
60
60
40 30.6
(Source: Oregon Housing and Community Services)
Coos
PERCENT IN POVERTY, IN 2008
100
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RACE Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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LONGEST ODDS
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CASINO LOCATIONS AND POVERTY 100
Umatilla Ronde • 503.281.7430 • 722 NW 23RD • 503.274.4190 1811 NEGrand Broadway SALEM Siletz
80
Warm Springs
Coos
Burns Paiute
Cow Creek Coquille
(Source: US Census)
32.9 26 20
16.3
18.6
18.1
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OREGON AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES
20
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
(Source: US Census)
PERCENT IN POVERTY, IN 2000
41.8 40
PERCENT IN POVERTY
Klamath
60
(Source: Oregon Housing and Community Services)
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of it. And that wealth has transformed the tribe’s shuffle out of doctors’ offices in the clinic. Cars reservation straddling Polk and Yamhill counties pull into the driveways. Elders are bused from into what you might call a utopian experiment—at their assisted housing to social events, including least by the standards of the rest of rural America. at the traditional longhouse nearby for commuDown the street from government headquar- nity ceremonies. ters is the tribe’s $4.6 million medical center, Why hasn’t all of this spending lifted more with two doctors, two nurses, three dentists, two Grand Ronde out of poverty? Tribal officials comoptometrists, two mental-health counselors and pare that task to the long-term work of rebuildtwo pharmacists. It’s open ing Iraq or Afghanistan. to anyone in the surroundThey say it will take sevOREGON POVERTY BY RACE ing towns of Sheridan, Wileral generations to see 100 lamina and Grand Ronde. more dramatic results. But tribal members here “ W hat we’r e r eally and elsewhere have their doing is nation-buildmedical bills fully covered, ing—rebuilding what was OREGON’S at a costNATIVE of $23 million this there,” says Rob Greene, AMERICANS year alone. the tribe’s attorney for 16 80 Nearby is free senior years. “That’s a tremen100 housing in handsome dous amount of work.” duplexes, where tribal Tribal council members employees take care of like Soderberg make cleaning and yardwork for about $75,000 a year, and 80 60 the elders. Next door is the tribe’s stats for the an assisted-living facility percentage of households for the dying, adjoining a making that amount community center where or more show steady 60 the young are invited to eat progress. Upper-income communal lunches with households rose from 7 40 the elders. percent of the total in 1999 The tribe provides to 25 percent in 2009. 30 But less-fortunate trib40 generous scholarships to 29 cover the costs of any level al members struggle to 24 of education30.6 for any tribal compete for lower-wage member. Nearly 600 tribal jobs. Even at the casino. 20 18 22.2 members are currently in The astounding truth 20 13 12 school on scholarships, and is, only an estimated 10 the tribal education center percent of the roughly provides preschool. 1,500 employees at Spirit The tribal housing Mountain are Grand 0 0 authority has built more Ronde—despite the fact k in te er 10 an sian 00 ac hi di nd rig 20 than units for tribal members are given Bl 20 100 housing A a o W In l s c n ni cI ica low- YEAR and middle-income hiring preference. ifi pa c s er i H Pa Am families on the reservaThe reason points back tion, with several dozen to the same social probRACE also built with federal lems plaguing Native grants. Initially, they were manufactured homes, Americans statewide. Tribal members say many but today they’re identical, pitched-roof homes Grand Ronde can’t pass the strict criminalthat look similar to those in any suburb. background and credit checks required to work Conscious of not creating class differences, in their own casino. the low- and middle-income homes look the The resounding defeat of Measure 75 shows Oresame on the outside—the only difference is the gonians are willing to rely on the tribes to run our quality of fixtures. The tribe boasts it can provide casinos. But after 15 years of what they call nation housing for any member of any income who building, the Grand Ronde also remain reliant on moves to the reservation, although there is a the rest of us—perhaps now more than ever. “We waiting list for low-income homes. need the white man and his money,” says trial elder This is no Potemkin village. Tribal members Gene LaBonte, “to keep that [casino] going.” PERCENT IN POVERTY, IN 2008
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THE WISDOM OF CROWDS: Audiences at the 37th Northwest Film & Video Festival thought more highly than WW did of The Adults in the Room, bestowing the Audience Favorite Feature award on Andy Blubaugh’s selfreflective kinda-documentary. We’re more simpatico with the audience on favorite short and favorite documentary short: They chose Nathaniel Bennett’s Bigfoot comedy, The True Believers, which is terrific, and John Waller’s caving film, Into Darkness, which is pretty darn good for a low-budget film about caving. A FITTING END: When Satyricon closed last month, its final weeks were full of nostalgic shows from throwback Portland bands like the Dandy Warhols, the Obituaries and Quasi. The last days of Berbati’s Pan won’t be quite so epic, but the venue will go out with a pretty huge bang: Five Fingers of Funk, the mythic Portland live hip-hop group that played the Berbati’s Pan venue opening night 16 years ago (and made the club its home base for years afterward), will close the place down this New Year’s Eve. A press release sent this week cited the band as one of recently deceased Berbati’s co-owner Ted Papaioannou’s favorite bands to drink ouzo with “until the sun rose.” But then, anyone who has been in Portland long enough has a couple of good Five Fingers of Funk stories. FOUND A PEANUT: Enjoying the Planters holiday ad blitz with Mr. Peanut voiced by Robert Downey Jr.? Thank Laika/ house: The commercial wing of Phil Knight’s Portland animation studio created the puppet animation for the character. The ads starring Mr. Peanut (the first time the Planters mascot has had a voice) were directed by Laika/house’s team of Mark Gustafson and Ringan Ledwidge. Meanwhile, a Planters spokesman assured The New York Times that even though Mr. Peanut speaks in the urbane, dulcet tones of Downey, and has a little male peanut friend who is always hanging around, Mr. Peanut is so very much not gay. “They are, as the saying goes, just friends,” The Times reported. “Benson does not live in Mr. Peanut’s house.” So glad we cleared that up. The two talking peanuts do not live together in a samesex talking-peanut home, because that would be unnatural.
HEADOUT
MUSIC: Yeah Great Fine is...you know. STAGE: Todd Van Voris gets doggy. GALLERIES: The wonder of Ivory Blackness. BOOKS: Kitchen revolutionary. SCREEN: James Franco is out a limb.
30 40 42 43 44 WILLAMETTE WEEK
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK IN ARTS & CULTURE
WEDNESDAY NOV. 17 [WORDS] BACK FENCE PDX Some people wonder if Bob Barker goes around off-camera telling people to spay and neuter their dogs. You may get the answer at the Back Fence PDX, where booze will be served and hilarious true stories will be recounted by several zany people including Molly Norton, a personal friend of the “actual retail price” wizard. Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St., 223-4527. 6 pm food and drink, 7:30 pm stories. $14 at the door. 21+. [SHOP] CRAFTY WONDERLAND POP-UP SHOP The city’s favorite DIY crafting expo takes over a vacant storefront downtown for the holiday season to sell arts and goods from 80 locals. Commence consuming now. 802 SW 10th Ave., craftywonderland.com/ pop-up-shop.
THURSDAY NOV. 18 [MUSIC] THE FIX The Fix celebrates its fourth anniversary with the help of Pete Rock & CL Smooth, two titans of early-’90s hip-hop. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 248-1030. 9 pm. $8. 21+.
Tom Waits and fine dining: With his Cookie Monster voice and propensity to chain smoke, mumble and down bourbon like a fish, Waits has a catalog that isn’t exactly a recipe for a 30-point Zagat rating. Yet the second annual Tom Waits For No One tribute show at the LaurelThirst gets us halfway there. In addition to more than 29 musicians—including Little Sue, Fernando and Casey Neill—taking the
RECIPES
stage and tackling Waits’ dark songs, the show and fundraiser for the Jeremy Wilson Foundation serves as a launch for Recipes For Disaster: A Cookbook By and For Portland Musicians, a book of culinary delights submitted by local rockers and folkies. But why not make like Waits and clap hands, bringing the two worlds together? With Waits on the brain, WW dreamed up a succulent menu of items inspired by the master’s works. It goes without saying that each recipe is best enjoyed with a pack of unfiltered cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey. Bon appétit. AP KRYZA.
ADAM KRUEGER
COOKING THE TOM WAITS WAY.
Bad Liver and a Broken Heart:
Filipino Box-Spring Hog:
16 Shells from a 30.06:
A delightful variation on haggis, with extra heart and liver chunks mixed with charred lung bits and stuffed into a (rain) dog’s stomach.
A delicious twist on Pinoy stew adobo, with bone-in pork shoulder slow cooked in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce and bourbon served on a bed of dirty rice.
Sixteen Pacific oysters on the half shell, served raw, smashed with a hammer and garnished with black peppercorns and capers.
Frank’s Wild Skewers: The scourge of any esophagus, these Buffalo-style chicken kebabs include ample jalapeños and red onions marinated in Frank’s RedHot sauce for at least 72 hours prior to cooking.
Coney Island Baby: A New York favorite for the PETA set: Bockwurst (veal sausage) served on a fresh bun and smothered in tangy Coney sauce.
Mango-Till-They’re-Sore Salsa: A wonderfully tropical take on the Argentinean favorite, made more dour by forlorn piano in the background. Best left in the sun for a few hours to get that withered, gray look.
I’ll Take New York Cheesecake: The classic, delectable dessert, doused in Wild Turkey 101 and set ablaze on a serving tray.
Heart Attack and Vine: A healthier version of the Scotch egg: a Lipitor capsule encased in ground chuck and bacon, wrapped in grape leaves, breaded and deep-fried to perfection.
Chocolate Jesus: A braised leg of lamb drizzled in a cocoa/sacramental wine/mint reduction and served with unleavened bread.
GO: Tom Waits For No One at the LaurelThirst Public House, 2958 NE Glisan St., 232-1504. 9:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 18. $10. Visit laurelthirst.com for details and full show lineup.
[DISH] CARTOPIA RELEASE PARTY After absorbing every cuisine on the planet, Portland’s food-cart scene now gets its very own book. The party planners promise free eats and drinks for cart owners…which pretty much covers nearly everyone in town. Art Department, 1315 SE 9th Ave., artdeptpdx.com. 6 pm. Free.
FRIDAY NOV. 19 [SCREEN] CARLOS It’s a great month for terrorism movies. This week, it’s Olivier Assayas’ biopic of Carlos the Jackal. Bring supplies: It’s 5 1/2 hours long. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave., 2211156. 6 pm Friday, 4 pm SaturdaySunday, Nov. 19-21. $6-$9.
SATURDAY NOV. 20 [STAGE] PUPPET SLAM A “very tasty food-themed” puppet slam, to be precise. Beady Little Eyes’ second puppet-theater smorgasbord (hosted by a giant toad) has eating on the brain. It should be delicious. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 646-1498. 7 pm. $8. 21+. [MUSIC] ROBYN Do you think all pop stars are vapid, soulless fembots? Robyn is here to put you in your place, bitches! Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 284-8686. 8 pm. $20 advance, $22 day of show. All ages.
TUESDAY NOV. 23 [MUSIC] ENSLAVED Do you like Vikings? And black metal? Enslaved just made your year, brah. Roseland, 8 NW 6th Ave., 224-2038. 8 pm. $22. All ages. Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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OUTDOORS PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA COOKE
CULTURE
SIZING UP: Kayak crabbing newbie Dave Hoffman measures his catch during an outing on Siletz Bay near Lincoln City.
CATCHING CRABS (ON PURPOSE) THE LATEST WAY TO CATCH YOUR SEAFOOD DINNER? KAYAK FOR IT. BY C H R I ST I N A CO O KE
ccooke@wweek.com
On a sunny, T-shirt day in late October, I sit in the front of a tandem kayak on Siletz Bay just south of Lincoln City, a cage of raw chicken hearts, legs and livers on my lap. I’m on my first kayak crabbing expedition, and, other than a close proximity to discount chicken parts, I have no idea what to expect. My partner in crime, Dave Hoffman, also a kayak crabbing newbie, pushes the boat away from the sandy shoreline and jumps in the back. “Let’s head out toward that seal head,” he says, indicating a glistening gray crown watching us from 50 yards away. Positioning our feet in the forward-backward pedals of our boat and our hands on the plastic switches that control the rudder, we maneuver into the bay to begin dropping the baited rings, which look a lot like oversized basketball hoops with enclosed nets. We are determined to catch crabs today—and we don’t plan to go home until we do. “You’re an asshole!” yells Nathaniel Olken, the man who brought us to this bay today to introduce us to the sport of kayak crabbing. He’s on his own kayak nearby and talking to a crab. A 32-year-old with green eyes and a red beard, Nathaniel wears a yellow splashguard under his personal flotation device and khaki-colored waders tucked into tall brown galoshes. An employee of Next Adventure outdoor store, the lifelong fisherman comes alive out on the water, enthusiastically answering all of our questions and talking smack to crabs that give him trouble. 24
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
Kayak crabbing and fishing involve the same techniques as the traditional sports, but from sit-on-top kayaks rather than powerboats. They originated about a decade ago in warm-water places like Southern California, Texas and Florida—and have been steadily growing in popularity in the Northwest over the past couple of years. “Even though we’re behind the eight ball, we’re catching up really fast,” says Michael Rischer, an expert kayak fisherman from Portland who is sponsored by Hobie, Next Adventure and Korkers to serve as an ambassador for the sport. “It’s a huge movement.” NorthWest Kayak Anglers, an online forum on which members exchange kayak fishing tips and information, had 800 members at the end of October, probably 300 to 400 from Oregon. Rischer said he prefers kayak to traditional fishing because it allows him to sneak up on his prey and navigate tight or shallow areas other boats can’t go. He likes not having to license or trailer his boat or put money into gas. Plus, catching a fish from a human-powered craft can be downright thrilling, he says, recalling the 30-pound chinook that recently dragged his 60-pound Hobie craft on a “sleigh ride” around Nehalem Bay for 10 minutes before wearing out. Now is a great time to hit the water for crabs—Dungeness and red around here, Rischer says, because the Oregon season runs during the months whose names end in “R”—September through December. By the time Dave and I finish placing three rings about 20 yards apart, it’s time to loop back and check the first for occupants. The sky above us is cloudless, hazy against the low hills in the distance, and a warm breeze carries the thick, salty smell of the ocean across the bay. Seagulls hover in the air above us and float in the water around our boat, at the ready in case we drop anything edible.
SO YOU WANNA GO KAYAK CRABBING? Freshwater locations include the Clackamas, Columbia, Willamette and Sandy rivers and Henry Hagg, Diamond and Crane Prairie lakes for winter and summer steelhead, coho and chinook salmon, small and largemouth bass, rainbow trout, sturgeon and walleye. Saltwater locations include Nehalem, Netarts, Siletz and Yaquina bays for Dungeness crab and salmon and the ocean for lingcod, salmon, cabazon, albacore tuna, halibut and some rockfish. Info at NorthWest Kayak Anglers (northwestkayakanglers.com) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (dfw.state.or.us). REQUIRED GEAR Sit-on-top kayak: The Hobie MirageDrive pedalpowered boats are available for rent at Next Adventure for $50 (single) or $80 (tandem). Regular sit-on-top kayaks also work. Next Adventure rents these for $30 (single) or $40 (tandem) per day; Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe rents them for $50 per day. Dry- or wetsuit: $10 a day from Next Adventure; $20 a day from Alder Creek. Fishing license: A day license for shellfishing costs $7; available at Fred Meyer, Bi-Mart, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Big 5 Sporting Goods and at dfw.state.or.us/resources/licenses. More gear: PFD, crabbing rings or traps, fishing rods, bait, a caliper for crabbing and a cooler. RENTALS: Next Adventure, 704 SE Washington St., 445-9435, nextadventure.net. Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe, Portland Boathouse: 1515 SE Water St., 285-1819, and Jantzen Beach, 200 NE Tomahawk Island Drive, 285-0464, aldercreek.com.
OUTDOORS
CULTURE
PADDLE MAN: Expert kayak fisherman Michael Rischer enjoys a float on Siletz Bay.
Through the narrow opening to our right, I can see the waves of the ocean crashing white and a pod of harbor seals lazing in the shallow water by the shore. Once Dave and I glide in to the red-and-white buoy marking the position of our first trap, I gingerly take up the slack in the rope. Finally, feeling resistance—the end of the slack—I yank the rope hard, hoisting it swiftly hand over hand to keep the crabs from escaping out the open top. I’m excited to see what it will contain; at this point, a jackpot is still completely within the realm of possibility. The net emerges dripping from the water with eight frantic crustaceans inside. “Looks like some keepers!” Dave says, leaning forward to get a better view. I scoot as far back against my seat as I can and, though it grates against all my instincts, dump the eight crabs onto the floor between my legs. Inches from their flailing and rip-ready pincers, I’m grateful for the thick rubber gloves and wetsuit I’m wearing. Following Nathaniel’s instructions, I reach into the pile of shelled bodies, grab one from behind and hold it up. Under the smooth hood of its dark-purple carapace, the creature is a jumble of joints, serrations, spines and claws—prehistoriclooking. Its beady eyes, protruding like thick pencil tips from the front edge of its shell, stare straight ahead; its mouth parts open and close. I fit a neon green plastic caliper over the width of its shell. It’s just barely smaller than the legal limit, 5.75 inches. “Your youth has saved you,” I say to the crab, tossing it over the edge of the boat. “Youth is wasted in crabs,” Dave says, disappointed. I work my way through the pile of crustaceans, returning the smaller ones and females to the water (the plate configuration on a crab’s underside indicates its gender) and passing the larger males to Nathaniel, who puts them in the blue cooler on the boat behind him. Rischer is sure the sport of kayak crabbing is on the verge of exploding. Traditional anglers are always intrigued when they see him fishing spots they can’t get to, and tackle, rod, reel and wader companies have already started creating kayak versions of their products. “I think there’ll be a time when you see more kayaks on the rivers than boats,” he says. All afternoon, Dave, Nathaniel and I make the rounds, checking and rechecking the traps, measuring, tossing, saving. Even if we hadn’t been collecting food for dinner, the activity would have been fun. “Even if you have a bad day fishing and don’t catch anything,” Nathaniel notes at one point, “you still get out and have a nice kayaking trip.” As the sun sinks toward the horizon, we begin to move our traps closer and closer to shore and finally, out of the water altogether. We count the crabs—33—tie the boats on top of the car and head home toward our kitchens. Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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ERIC CLAPTON
BORN FREE ON SALE $13.99 CD
LP AVAILABLE 12/14 ‘Born Free’ is in many ways a transformational album for Kid Rock. While there is still the edge, wit, and swagger of previous albums, he doesn’t rap, there’s no metal - there isn’t even a parental warning sticker. Special guests include Heartbreaker Benmont Tench, Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith, David Hidalgo from Los Lobos, Chavez guitarist Matt Sweeney, Bob Seger, Sheryl Crow, Zac Brown, Trace Adkins, T.I. and Martina McBride. ‘Born Free,’ was produced by Rick Rubin and mixed by Greg Fidelman.
CEE-LO GREEN
CLAPTON ON SALE $13.99 CD LP ALSO AVAILABLE
Co-produced by guitarist and long-time collaborator Doyle Bramhall II, ‘Clapton’ features an all-star cast of musical collaborations started with the legendary JJ Cale, drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Willie Weeks, and keyboardist Walt Richmond - and the sessions later added guests including Steve Winwood, Wynton Marsalis, Sheryl Crow, Allen Toussaint, and Derek Trucks. Clapton created a collection that touches on everything from century-old traditional brass bands to little-known country blues to brand-new originals. The result is both relaxed and revelatory, and unlike anything the guitarist has done in his legendary career.
THE LADY KILLER ON SALE $13.99 CD Cee-Lo Green’s first solo work in more than six years, sees the endlessly inventive singer/writer/ rapper/producer continuing to push hip-hop and soul’s creative envelope, this time working with a star-studded cast of producers that includes Salaam Remi (Nas, Amy Winehouse), Jack Splash (Alicia Keys, Missy Elliot, Jamie Foxx), and Fraser T. Smith (Nelly Furtado, James Morrison, Ellie Goulding).
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LP ALSO AVAILABLE ‘A Thousand Suns’ grapples with the personal cycle of pride, destruction, and regret. In life, like in dreams, this sequence is not always linear. And, sometimes, true remorse penetrates the devastating cycle. The hope, of course, springs from the notion that the possibility of change is born in our most harrowing moments.The album was co-produced by Rick Rubin and Mike Shinoda. The Special Edition CD/DVD includes a ‘making of the album’ documentary & ‘The Catalyst’ music video.
JERRY GARCIA ACOUSTIC BAND
RAGGED BUT RIGHT ON SALE $10.99 CD The much-loved Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band had a relatively brief life—fewer than 30 shows from the summer of ’87 to the summer of ’88—but in that time they made an indelible impression on every person who encountered their warm and inviting blend of folk, old-time country, blues and bluegrass music. ‘Ragged But Right’ is the sextet’s much anticipated sequel to ‘Almost Acoustic.’
NEIL YOUNG
LE NOISE ON SALE $13.99 CD
LP ALSO AVAILABLE This eight-song album is a collaboration between the acclaimed rock icon and musician, songwriter, and producer Daniel Lanois, known for his work with U2, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson and many others. Recorded in Lanois’ home in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles, ‘Le Noise’ features Young on acoustic and electric guitars with Lanois adding his trademark sonic textures, creating one of the most sonically arresting albums Young has ever recorded.
CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS
GENUINE NEGRO JIG ON SALE $12.99 CD LP ALSO AVAILABLE On ‘Genuine Negro Jig’ the trio brings exuberance, humor, virtuosity and an infectious acoustic groove to its exploration of a nearforgotten brand of banjo-driven string band music originating more than a century ago in the foothills of North Carolina, the Piedmont region where band members Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson were raised. CCD -- under the tutelage of nonagenarian fiddler player Joe Thompson, one of the last surviving Piedmont musicians - have reclaimed the old-time songs, making them vital and fresh for right now, reasserting in the process the African roots of the banjo.
DISH now gets its very own book—covering everything from types of carts and what makes the city so cart-friendly to interviews with cart owners. Penned by development pro Kelly Rodgers and Art Department design space head Kelley Roy, the book gets its kickoff at the Thursday release party. The party planners promise free eats and drinks for cart owners…which pretty much covers nearly everyone in town. Can’t make it? Besides being available at Powell’s, the tome will be “sold from a 1972 mobile step van that can be tracked through Twitter at @FoodCartsBook.” Of course it will. KELLY CLARKE. The Art Department, 1315 SE 9th Ave. 6 pm Thursday, Nov. 18. Free.
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. PRICES: $: Most entrees under $10. $$: $10-$20. $$$: $20-$30. $$$$: Above $30. Editor: KELLY CLARKE. Email: dish@wweek.com. See page 3 for submission instructions.
Big Chill ’10
To kick off the 2010 snow season and debut its Brrr Seasonal Ale, Widmer Brothers Brewing hosts the Big Chill ’10 celebration at Grand Central Bowl. The event will include a bowling-lane fashion show, a photo booth, a silent auction benefitting PDX Pop Now! and music by 94.7 FM and the alley’s own DJ “X.” CHRISTINA COOKE. Grand Central Bowl, 808 SE Morrison St., 2325166. 9 pm Friday, Nov. 19. Free.
The Ethical Butcher and Marissa Guggiana
This night will be all about “meaty goodness”—locally sourced wholeanimal meaty goodness, to be specific. Celebrating the release of Marissa Guggiana’s new cookbook, Primal Cuts: Cooking With America’s Best Butchers, the Ethical Butcher, Berlin Reed, will host a feast featuring 16 whole animals from three local farms, plus music from DJs Mr. Charming, Roy G. Biv and Gutter Glamour. Think rabbit, duck, chicken, lamb and pork dishes including smoked apple and Red Wattle pork handpies, BBQ Red Wattle pork and
Icelandic lamb spareribs. The cookbook includes recipes, philosophies and techniques with 50 of the country’s top “nose-to-tail butchers” (including Benjamin Dyer of Portland’s Simpatica Catering and Laurelhurst Market!). CC. Ace Hotel, 1022 SE Stark St., 228-2277. 6-11 pm Thursday, Nov. 18. $20 presale, $30 at the door.
Feast of Fire at Salvador Molly’s
Portland resident Brook Riddick, a.k.a. “The Fiery Fool,” will attempt to make the Guinness Book of World Records by extinguishing 34 fiery torches in 30 seconds with his mouth. Afterward, the Caribbean “pirate cooking” restaurant will serve the Feast of Fire to 10 participants who qualified by succeeding at the restaurant’s legendary Great Balls of Fire habanero-fritter-eating challenge. The menu will include a “Crybaby Prawn Cocktail,” poached with horseradish-infused vodka and served with puya chile sauce, and doughnuts containing the world’s hottest chiles. Tears will be shed. CC. Salvador Molly’s, 1573 SW Sunset Blvd., 297-9635. 6:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 18.
Don’t have the time or the will to prepare T-Day dinner? Irving Street’s Chef Sarah Schafer to the rescue. Schafer will prepare $45 Thanksgiving dinners to go. Order one for your family—or donate an order to a family in need through Multnomah County’s Commission on Children, Families and Community (tax deductible!). Each order serves two to three people (leftovers likely) and includes 12-hour brined organic turkey, country gravy, mashed potatoes, collard greens and buttermilk biscuits with pepper jelly. Additional sides—shrimp and oyster stuffing, wild-mushroom stuffing, caramelized
brussels sprouts with sage brown butter, cranberry sauce and butterscotch pudding—are also available. CC. Irving Street Kitchen, 701 NW 13th Ave., 343-9440. Place orders by 6 pm on Nov. 18 by calling the restaurant. $45.
Wild Edibles at Whole Foods Market
Beaker and Flask’s Ben Bettinger and Matt Talavera of Whole Foods Market host a free wild edibles cooking class for 15 customers at the Pearl District Whole Foods. Sign up for the class by emailing mary.crowe@wholefoods.com. CC. Whole Foods Pearl District, 1210 NW Couch St., 525-4343. Free.
REVIEW C H R I S R YA N P H O T O . C O M
DISH EVENTS THIS WEEK
Irving Street Kitchen Thanksgiving To Go
Cartopia Release Party
After absorbing every cuisine on the planet, Portland’s food-cart scene
4-4-2
“What can I get nice people today?” This is Muhamed Mujcic-Mufko, owner of 4-42, a new Bosnian soccer bar that he’s opened up in his old Taste of Europe market space on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard. Mujcic-Mufko is a white-haired, cheery-eyed, consummate host—he looks a bit like a shorter, Bosnian Ted Danson—who is both genuine and genuinely shticky in his comforts. In his charismatic, heavily accented idiom, everyone is “nice,” the food is the “best in town,” and each couple consists of a “young lady” and a “lucky guy.” Of course, 4-4-2 is also Portland’s lone soccer bar, and GOAL! 4-4-2’s Muhamed Mujcic-Mufko. three dedicated flat-screens adorn the walls alongside the flags of favored teams, from FC Bayern to the Timbers’ green and yellow; the bar’s stock clientele is mostly drawn from the ranks of the American Soccer Fan, which is to say: foreigners, hippies and ex-expatriates. Some of us, however, come in simply for the hospitality and the bar food (as well as the draft beer served in true halfliter mugs). Bosnian lepinja bread, made in-house, is a singular version of the Mediterranean pita: half an inch thick and fluffy as a baguette, with a sweet outer crispness that comes from being baked in olive oil. Though multiple Best bite: Peka! vegetarian options exist, Mujcic-Mufko, Cheapest bite: For just a taste of the lepinja, garlic bread can when asked for recommendations, says be had for a mere $3. simply, “I like meat.” The šiš (rich, spicy sausage patties, pronounced “sheesh”) and cevapi (beef-lamb patties akin to mini-hamburgers) are served in an array of options for prices ranging from $8-$12; each comes with lepinja bread, sweet-bitter yogurt sauce and ajvar, a spicy pepper-eggplant relish. My favorite, however, is the peka sandwich ($8.75), which sports wafer-sliced meat so smoked and cured as to be beef’s own thundering answer to bacon. Dear Lord. MATT KORFHAGE. EAT: 4-4-2, 1739 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 238-3693, 442soccerbar.com. Open 11 am-midnight Monday-Thursday, 11 am-2:30 am Friday, 7 am-2:30 am Saturday, 7 am-midnight Sunday. $ Inexpensive.
TAY L O R S C H E F S T R O M
DEVOUR
CURRY KING: Soi 9’s rich panang nua with tenderloin.
BANGKOK ROCK
the island of Phuket, where they apparently harvest fish by the bucket—it’s packed with fried fish chunks, octopus tentacles and oysters, which soak up the heat from the chile-seasoned rice. (All the dishes at Soi 9 come as hot as you want them, which can be rather damn hot; err toward mildBY AA R ON MESH amesh@wweek.com ness when ordering.) But the yum tou ($12.50) is something you’ve almost certainly never tried The dining room of Soi 9 Thai Eatery is designed before: a warm string-bean-and-shrimp salad, to blend into the design of West Burnside condo with both ingredients battered in what tastes like tower the Civic: bare, modernist boredom. Walk- a lighter, flakier tempura. ing inside, however, is like tuning in to a Bangkok The highlights of Soi 9 are instantaneous radio station—meals are soundtracked with Thai comfort foods. The panang nua curry ($12.50) is a pop music, which sounds like a countrified J-pop massive plate of tenderloin that’s been simmered with a splash of Disney ballads. for an hour in its spicy bath, with “For some reason, they really large string beans (a kitchen Order this: Panang curry with love Disney,” shrugs a server. favorite) and a drizzle of cocobeef ($12.50). The cooking likewise strikes Best deal: Each weekday at lunch, nut cream. It’s decadently sweet a happy balance between the the curry of the day is $5 to go. and powerfully spicy, like candy familiar and the fantastical. I’ll pass: The moo ping (pork that makes you cry. And the skewers, $6.50) are unremarkable. The name Soi 9 is a play on the guaey teaw ruar ($9.50)—or Boat Thai word for “street,” and the Noodle Soup—floats meatballs, menu is chef Mon Gypmantasiri’s formalizing sliced beef and watercress in a broth strongly of Southeast Asian cart food. Her specialties are seasoned with cinnamon. I immediately thought dishes you’ve almost had before; trying them is of it as Christmas pho. like sleeping with an old lover’s hotter twin. Take the guaey teaw esan ($9.50), or Eastern Province EAT: Soi 9 Thai Eatery, 1914 W Burnside St., 894-9153, soi9pdx.com. Lunch and dinner 11:30 Noodle, which uses the same thin, flat rice noo- am-2:30 pm and 4:30-9 pm Monday-Thursday; dles as pad thai, but stir fries them in black soy 11:30-2:30 pm and 4:30-10 pm Friday; noon-10 sauce and salted bean sauce, to create a darker, pm Saturday and noon-9 pm Sunday. $ Inexpensive. earthier flavor accented by tart bean sprouts. The spicy seafood fried rice ($12.50) hails from
THE STREET-FOOD DELIGHTS OF SOI 9.
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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= WW Pick. Highly recommended.
C H R I S TA M P H OTO . C O M
MUSIC
Prices listed are sometimes for advance ticket sales. At-the-door increases and so-called convenience charges may apply. Addresses for local venues are listed in WW’s Clublist column, page 40, or online at blogs.wweek.com/music/clublist/ Editors: CASEY JARMAN, MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, enter show information at least two weeks in advance on the web at wweek.com/submitmusic. Press kits, CDs and especially vinyl can be sent to Music Desk, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Please include show or release date information with all physical mailings. Email: cjarman@wweek.com Fax: 243-1115.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17 Over the Rhine, Lucy Wainwright Roche
[UP AND DOWN THE DIAL] Over the Rhine, a.k.a. married singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalists Karin Bergquist—think Chrissie Hynde going back to Ohio, realizing her city was gone, and opening a folk-’n’-bluesthemed dinner theater—and Linford Detweiler, has successfully plowed a distinct roots muse neither alt nor Branson for more than 20 years, even as its namesake Cincinnati neighborhood (beloved for untouched architecture and unpretentious small town bonhomie) hurtles toward gentrification. In altogether unrelated news, the soon-to-be-released 13th OTR album (produced by Joe Henry, featuring Lucinda Williams, promoted by a music festival held aboard railroad cars and chartered motor coach across the Painted Desert) shall be titled The Long Surrender. JAY HORTON. Aladdin Theater. 8 pm (minors accompanied by parent). $22 advance, $25 day of show. All ages.
Egadz, Upside Down Astronaut
[AVANT HIP-HOP] In two albums with his Skyrider Band, Sole—the Anticon Records co-founder who looks more like a guy who’d sell you rare issues of ElfQuest out of a van than someone who’d impress you with his MC’ing skills—has helped construct Led Zeppelinesque rock epics and atmospheric mood pieces à la Massive Attack. The group’s second effort, Plastique, offers both mildly psychedelic rap tracks and wildly tangential hardcore-rap hybrids (see “Bait” and “Black”)—tunes that have more in common with industrial music and heavy metal than anything you’d find on the Def Jam roster. Like most bold experiments, this one leads to a few belly flops. But when Sole’s apocalyptic lyricism syncs up with the band’s barreling, percussion-heavy assault, there’s plenty of black magic here, too. CASEY JARMAN. Backspace. 8 pm. $5. All ages.
Clinic, The Fresh & Onlys, Wax Fingers
[SURGICAL ROCK] When a band is too consistent, it often falls into a critical middle ground—too good to ever receive a flat-out backlash, but never equaling a past work and thereby getting overlooked for no real reason. Ever since the Liverpool-based, surgical-mask-wearing weirdos of Clinic emerged fully formed on their masterful debut, Internal Wrangler, in 2000, every proceeding album has been met with a bit of disdain. But like Stereolab, Clinic has never made a bad album, slightly skewing the aesthetic set on Internal Wrangler (off-scale chord progressions, clanging guitars, the gorgeous but almost creepy falsetto of singer Ade Blackburn) with bits of ’60s psychedelia and increased fidelity. The band’s latest, Bubblegum, is also its strongest in years, with a higher proportion of gems (“I’m Aware,” “Baby,” “Bubblegum”) than stoic garagerock duds (the samey “Orangutan.”) If your friend tries to tell you to stay away from the show because he hasn’t heard the band since “Distortions,” please punch him in the face for me. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. Doug Fir Lounge. 9 pm. $13 advance, $15 day of show. 21+.
Circle Pit, Pigeons, Welsh Bowmen, Fabulous Diamonds, DJ Yeti
[AUSTRALIAN AVANT AUDIO] It takes its name from everyone’s favorite call to brutal action at metal and punk shows, but the Australian outfit Circle Pit is given to much more gentle aims in its music. The band’s lo-fi singles and understated charm are reminiscent
of fellow Aussies the Go-Betweens and the bevy of amazing bands that reside on the next island over in New Zealand. An equally amazing group from the band’s home country joins the Pit tonight: the boy-girl, drumskeyboards duo Fabulous Diamonds, who also trucks in hazy pop, but with darker tones edged along by fidgety rhythms and spooked harmonies. ROBERT HAM. East End. 9 pm. $8. 21+.
Yeah Great Fine, Blue Horns, Onuinu
See profile, page 31. Holocene. 8:30 pm. $5. 21+.
Masters of Reality, Zander Schloss and Sean Wheeler
[DESERT-ROCK GODFATHERS] More than anything, Chris Goss is known for his production wizardry for the likes of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss. Less known is his own excellent outfit Masters of Reality, which released Pine/Cross Dover (its sixth album in 20 years) back in 2009. Spurred out of pseudo-retirement by a tour with the Cult earlier this year, MOR is geared up to play songs from its long catalog at eight special Western state gigs. Goss has collaborated with Josh Homme of QOTSA, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and Ginger Baker of Cream in the past, so the man knows exactly what he’s doing when it comes to making rockand-roll music. NATHAN CARSON. Lola’s Room at the Crystal Ballroom. 9 pm. $15 advance, $17 day of show. 21+.
High Places, Soft Circle, White Rainbow, Tearist
[HONESTLY, IT’S DRUG MUSIC] As a project from an ex-member of Black Dice, it’s totally understandable to presume that listening to Soft Circle would be an unpleasant experience. Whether lacerating eardrums with noisy skronk rock or just flat out confusing people with knob-twiddling experiments in electronic soundscaping, the Rhode Island band never makes it easy to sit through one of its albums. Former drummer Hisham Bharoocha isn’t curbing his avantgarde tendencies with his new duo, but the goal is less alienation, more mind expansion. Imagine Panda Bear stripped of any pop elements—just the swirling, trance-inducing repetition and the occasional tribal groove. It’s much more soothing than the music he used to make, but it still isn’t something to put on at a party—unless, of course, everyone at the party is on a shitload of peyote. MATTHEW SINGER. Rotture. 9 pm. $10. 21+.
THURSDAY, NOV. 18 Hives Inquiry Squad, Doc Brown Experiment, Josh Martinez, Gepetto
See music feature, this page. Ash Street Saloon. 9:30 pm. $5. 21+.
Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s, Jookabox, Burnt Ones
[MOST IMPROVED PLAYERS] Last year, Indianapolis band Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s relocated to Chicago, leaving behind a bunch of its more classically inspired members and, with them, the “chamber pop” label the press had painted all over its first three lushly layered, grandiose albums. This year’s effort, Buzzard, is a far different beast—a stripped-back, straightforward indie-rock album with echoes of Radiohead and Okkervil River that has divided critics over whether the band has finally found its true calling or lost its magic entirely. My tent is pitched firmly in the former camp—free from twee affectations and xylophone
CONT. on page 31
POST-OP HIP-HOP LOSING A LEG HASN’T SLOWED DOWN GAVIN THEORY. BY CASEY JA R MA N
cjarman@wweek.com
Gavin Soens stood out long before he had a metal leg. With his long beard and ponytail, he’s never looked like your typical rapper. “I get to a hip-hop show and people are like ‘Who the fuck is this kid?” he jokes. The onetime electronic musician and DJ relocated here from Wisconsin with his friend and collaborator Lucas Dix, the other half of Soens’ hip-hop duo, Hives Inquiry Squad. And, despite its unconventional look and organic sound, the duo was quick to fit in. “I met more people here in three months than in three years living [and attending college] in Chicago,” Soens—who raps under the name Gavin Theory—says. Theory and Dix fit in from the start, but they never quite assimilated into the Portland hip-hop scene. Instead, Hives Inquiry Squad started performing with acts from across the musical spectrum. Fruition, a Portland folk-bluegrass outfit that lives across the street from Soens and Dix, is one of their most regular collaborators. “A large part of our fanbase isn’t people who go to hip-hop shows,” he says. “But that’s part of the reason we moved here—there wasn’t a lot of identity yet, in the hip-hop scene. We thought about moving to Minneapolis, but the town is owned. It’s so laden with hip-hop acts. And if you don’t fit in, good luck.” Gavin Theory certainly isn’t a run-of-the-mill MC. Thoughtful and workmanlike in his rhyme schemes, he’s also prone to bouts of “old-man slang”: On his debut disc, Escaping Stasis, he works the words “balderdash,” “flapdoodle” and “bumfuzzlement” (that last one he says he picked up from a Tom Robbins book) into a single verse. There’s an openness and freedom to his rhymes that seem, despite Soens’ Midwest upbringing, distinctly Southeast Portland. So it has always made sense for him and Dix to share stages with nonhip-hop acts—something Hives Inquiry Squad has done since its early days playing with rock bands in Wisconsin. Splitting bills with rock bands has changed HIS, too: The duo’s live shows are blisteringly fast and nonstop affairs.
But in October of last year, Hives’ frenetic pace started to slow. It began with a pain in Soens’ knee, something doctors at the urgent-care clinic initially suggested was a sports injury that simply needed time to heal. When the pain got progressively worse, Soens saw specialists. By January, he knew something was seriously wrong. In March, doctors told 25-year-old Soens that there was a cancerous tumor behind his left knee, and that it had spread into his shin bone. “They said they might be able to save the leg, but it would be useless,” he says with a shrug. He opted for amputation. To hear Soens talk about his ordeal, you’d think doctors had simply ordered him to shave his beard. “I wasn’t a track star,” he says. “Most of what I do involves me sitting down and using my brain…of all the limbs to lose, left leg is the way to go.” The surgery was in March; by early May, Soens was performing live again. A cane and his current prosthetic leg—a minimal metal rod with some basic hydraulics where Soens’ knee once was—are
“I WASN’T A TRACK STAR. MOST OF WHAT I DO INVOLVES USING MY BRAIN.” enough to get him around, though he’ll eventually be fitted with a more complex replacement that will allow him to run or ride a bike. But Soens seems at peace with the idea that he’ll always be hobbled by the injury. “I’m not in a rush to get anywhere; I don’t need to run,” he says. “Honestly, I always liked the idea of being a slower person.” Soens isn’t bitter, but he also says he hasn’t— save for an improved organic diet—been particularly changed as a person. “I promised myself I wouldn’t regress into religion,” he says, stroking his beard. “[Cancer] is just something that happens to people— and it’s happening more and more.” There is some irony in Soens losing his leg. As an MC, his overwhelming theme has always been the intersection of technology and nature—something he examines at length on Escaping Stasis. Now Soens’ own body CONT. on page 30 Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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MUSIC M Y S PA C E . C O M / G AV I N T H E O R Y
PROFILE CONT.
Bar Bar Lounge & Patio Now Open Daily !
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THE NEW TRUST +NOT TO REASON WHY THURSDAY NOVEMBER 18 $6 Adv An evening of punk-pop thrills with adventurous combos
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S av e R o o m
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The return of PDX soul slamming champions
SOUL VACCINATION SHELLY RUDOLPH
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EVENING SHOW • Doors 7:30/Show 8pm
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 20
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A hot n’ cozy triple bill with up and coming rockers
TOMMY & THE HIGH PILOTS
KEATON COLLECTIVE
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SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21
Enjoy a special Thanksgiving Weekend saké tasting flight with dim sum from Beaverton’s Jin Wah, plus a unique tour that explains the diversity of rice. November 26 - 28 • 11 am - 5 pm Tours @ 12, 1, 2 & 3 $10 per person
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is a testament to that changing balance. “Being part bionic isn’t all bad,” he says with a smile. “It’s kind of cool; I get to write about it and put it in verses.” There have been some adjustments in Soens’ life. For now, he moves slowly down wet Portland sidewalks and across intersections in his Southeast Portland neighborhood. His latest solo recordings have reflected that change of pace. “It makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it. You’re not gonna make music that’s super-fast and dancey when you’re more of a lumbering person.” Losing a leg has not, however, affected the pace of Soens’ creative output. This week he releases the Metal Legged Mix, a free, nonstop compilation built from tracks by some of Soens’ favorite national artists, songs from Hives Inquiry Squad (which he produces beats for), and a handful of jams from local artists like Illmaculate, Mic Crenshaw, Sapient and Cloudy October. Soens hopes it’ll turn some of Hives’ fans, who may not know their city’s hip-hop scene, onto new local music. As for the album’s title, Soens figures he might as well turn his weakness into a strength. “People seem to have no problem staring at me,” he says. “And, as a performer, I’m kind of used to that. If you have to describe me, you can beat around the bush, or you can say ‘the metal-legged kid.’ I might as well use it.” Besides, he says, “it sounded pretty hip-hop.” SEE IT: Gavin Theory releases the Metal Legged Mix on Thursday, Nov. 18, at Ash St. Saloon with Hives Inquiry Squad, Doc Brown Experiment, Josh Martinez and more. 9 pm. $5. 21+.
$10 Adv
A hot indie hip-hop co-bill with Seattle sensations
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PRIMER
MAD RAD
BLONDE REDHEAD
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DIAMOND RINGS +MATTRESS FRIDAY NOVEMBER 26
BABY KETTEN KARAOKE WITH
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ON SALE $95.99 3CD/3DVD DELUXE EDITION / $103.99 3CD/3 BLU-RAY DELUXE EDITION
"Darkness was my 'samurai' record," Springsteen writes, "stripped to the frame and ready to rumble. But the music that got left behind was substantial." For the first time, fans will have access to two discs containing a total of 21 previously-unreleased songs from the Darkness recording sessions, songs that, as Springsteen writes, "perhaps could have/should have been released after ‘Born To Run’ and before the collection of songs that ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ became." ‘The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story’ comprises over six hours of film and more than two hours of audio across 3 CDs and 3 DVDs or 3 Blu-rays. The music and film are packaged within an 80-page spiral-bound notebook containing facsimiles from Springsteen's own notebooks from the original recording sessions, which include alternate lyrics, song ideas, recording details, and personal notes in addition to a new essay by Springsteen and never-before-seen photographs.
Doors 8:30pm, Show 9pm and 21+ unless otherwise noted Lighting graciously provided by
THE PROMISE: THE DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN STORY
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A hi-fi dance party karaoke sing off
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 27
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BOYFRIENDS
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OFFER GOOD THRU 11-30-10
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
Formed: In New York City in 1993. Sounds like: Two decades of 4AD records soundtracking an arty French film in which a young couple sits at a coffee table dreaming about horses. For fans of: Early Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Asobi Seksu. Latest release: 2010’s electronic-infused lullaby Penny Sparkle. Why you care: Few bands exude New York City cool like Blonde Redhead. Almost an institution at this point, the trio—singer Kazu Makino and Amedeo and Simone Pace—has been churning out dissonant, sprawling blasts of guitar noise and dreamy pop for almost two decades now. Various producer gods, including Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto and Alan Moulder (NIN, the Smashing Pumpkins), have assisted along the way, and the band’s varied catalog ranges from the messy sonics of albums like 1997’s Fake Can Be Just as Good and 2000’s career highlight Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons. Granted, Blonde Redhead has mellowed out a bit in the past few years, but the band’s new record is kind of a snoozer, all pillowy drum machines and slow tempos that recall Morcheeba more than SST. Still, the early stuff still kills, and Blonde Redhead is one of the most striking—and loud—live acts still around. SEE IT: Blonde Redhead plays Saturday, Nov. 20, at the Roseland, with Ólöf Arnalds. 9 pm. $22. All ages.
THURSDAY - FRIDAY
The Birthday Massacre, Black Veil Brides, Dommin, Aural Vampire
[HOT GOTHIC] Is “Evanescence wave” a genre? Well, it should be, if only to provide an easy shorthand description of Toronto’s the Birthday Massacre. Something tells me the band would hate that comparison—it hired a member of Skinny Puppy to produce its most recent album, seemingly to shore up its darkwave credentials—but c’mon, dudes: Those big, grinding guitars? The melodramatic female vocals? A wardrobe straight out of a Tim Burton movie? You’re numetal. Albeit with more spookysynth atmospherics and hammy horror imagery, but still. Apparently, it wasn’t always this way: Early on, the group went for more of an industrial goth sound. But the new record, Pins and Needles, is so doltishly loud it’s surprising there’s not a Stone Sour collaboration on it somewhere. MATTHEW SINGER. Hawthorne Theatre. 8 pm. $15 advance, $18 day of show. All ages.
name Skeletron. And though the performances were stripped back, the duo played old Starfucker songs and new potential hits, and since then the moniker has been used for bills where the Starfucker brand is too big to put on the marquee. But tonight, everyone should know about the alternate name, because the show is a “Party for the Primates”—yep, all the money is going straight to Orangutan Foundation International to buy precious Borneo rainforest before developers can destroy it for quick profits. Plus, the show is
technically headlined by a special surprise guest, and Berbati’s booker Matt King says it’s a pretty big deal. Do it for the apes! MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. Berbati’s Pan. 8 pm. $10 advance, $15 day of show. All ages.
THIS WEEK
The Fix with special guests Pete Rock & CL Smooth
[HIP-HOP] Some early-’90s hip-hop sounds seriously dated. Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s 1992 masterpiece, Mecca and the Soul Brother, still sounds incredibly fresh. The bulk of the credit for this goes to Rock, whose crisp beats borrow authenticity from the freshest jazz and soul records you’ve never heard, then tastefully twist them into beats equally hypnotic and explosive. His production finesse is why Pete Rock never really faded from the scene, unlike many of his contemporaries. CL Smooth, on the other hand, has faded from the public eye in the 15 years since the duo came together on a full-time basis. It’s not that Smooth lacks relevance—2007 solo album The Outsider is full of contemplative, complex lyricism— but something was lost when the smart, laid-back MC converted to a tougher, more modern sound. All the more reason to come witness these legendary pioneers perform material that’s about as timeless as hip-hop comes. The Fix DJ crew, celebrating its fourth anniversary alongside well-loved alumnus Ohmega Watts, will help make tonight worth your while. CASEY JARMAN. Someday Lounge. 9 pm. $8. 21+.
FRIDAY, NOV. 19 Skeletron, And And And, Forest Park, Robot Uprise, Surprise Guest
[PRIMATE POWER] I think the secret is out by now, right? Earlier this year, Josh Hodges and Shawn Glassford—you know them as half of Starfucker—performed a few shows as a two-piece under the
THUR
nov
18
CONT. on page 32
PROFILE
kasey aug anderson $ 5 25 k r i s t With e n wa r d wed
With
7
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SAM HUMA N S
and H el i g o ats the woods’ semi-regular
[VINTAGE SOCAL] Dawes’ debut album, North Hills, is not the kind of Americana you listen to riding
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nov
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Charles Neville and Youssoupha Sidibe, Mystic Rhythms
What is it about the kora that attracts jazz musicians? The glittering sound of the West African lute meshed elegantly with piano when Foday Musa Suso joined forces with Herbie Hancock a couple of decades back. After exploring music in Africa, Portland’s Andrew Oliver enlisted a Seattle kora virtuoso to form one of the region’s most exciting jazz bands. And now the Grammy-winning, jazzy Neville brother lends his restrained, sultry sax lines to Youssoupha Sidibe’s sparkling, reggae-inflected African harp, the latest in the Senegalese virtuoso’s collaborations with Western artists, including Matisyahu, Michael Franti, Bela Fleck, India. Arie and more. BRETT CAMPBELL. Mount Tabor Theater. 9 pm. $12 advance, $15 day of show. 21+.
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Dawes, The Moondoggies, The Romany Rye
e a r ly s h o w — 7 p m s h a r p
IOA
WED
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Y E A H G R E AT F I N E . C O M
breaks, the focus is now firmly where it belongs: on singer and songwriter Richard Edwards’ endearing voice and deft melodies. But your mileage may vary. RUTH BROWN. Doug Fir Lounge. 9 pm. $12. 21+.
MUSIC
With $ 8adv. Rumspringa 10 day of & bLOOD BEACh show $
“ IS THAT A JOKE?”
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THE woods’ monthly comedy night
THINK YOU’re lucky?
MON
YEAH GREAT FINE WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17 [INTELLIGENT PARTY MUSIC] When Yeah Great Fine embarked on its first Northwestern tour, the band worried it would be hard for people outside Portland to understand its blend of up-tempo, fun dance music and odd, jazzy time signatures. It only took one special night in La Grande to change opinions. “When we got there we thought, ‘Damn, we’re going to play math rock to a bunch of cowboys and they’re going to hate us,’” guitarist/vocalist Jake Hershman says. “But then everyone started dancing, and buying us shots. Small cities are totally our thing!” Yeah Great Fine started two years ago when Hershman’s other band, the Newspapers, imploded after realizing that moving from Cleveland to Portland didn’t fix all its problems. All YGF’s band members—Hershman, drummer Dave Hires, keyboardist Brain Hoberg, guitarist Andrew Klabzuba and bassist Kevin Fitzpatrick—had played in other bands in town before, including Jared Mees & the Grown Children and the Wires. But none of them ever felt like they were a central part of the project, so Yeah Great Fine was founded with two principles: to collaborate as much as possible and to play every show like it’s a small house show. “We can rock out to five people, I don’t care, and it’s still fun— we will go nuts for those five people,” Fitzpatrick says. “We like to bring that house-party vibe to every show but have something that’s a little more intelligent.” The result is a sound that’s difficult to pin down: At times, Yeah Great Fine brings to mind European electropop; the instrumental art house of Tortoise; or the jagged, frantic beats of Hella, often all in the same song. Most of the material on its self-titled debut (recorded by Typhoon/Brainstorm producer Paul Laxer) was started by Hires and then fleshed out by the rest of the band, and you can hear the focus on rhythms and non-traditional song structures. “Patterns” opens with a tricky, bouncing beat and copious amounts of cowbell before shifting into a singalong aided by warm keys, sunny background harmonies and spiraling video game guitars, and a few tracks (the cleverly named “Manifest Destiny’s Child” and “Don’t Wake Up”) hit with the precision of a fine-tuned math-rock outfit. Despite that designation, Yeah Great Fine is hesitant to peg itself with any label. Sitting around the band’s house in outer Southeast, all five members are quick to share their favorite stories from the road. While some are juvenile and some are serious, they all touch on one thing: Yeah Great Fine doesn’t care what you think. “When we were in Las Vegas we played a pool party, and it was 100 degrees outside,” Fitzpatrick says, “and of course we were the only band wearing swimsuits. How’s that for being cool?” MICHAEL MANNHEIMER.
Former members of the Grown Children make math rock for dancers.
SEE IT: Yeah Great Fine plays Wednesday, Nov. 17, at Holocene with Blue Horns and Onuinu. 8:30 pm. $5. 21+.
NOV
B-I-N-G-O hosted by BRIAN J. PEREZ
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Doors at 8PM, Shows at 9PM
6637 Milwaukie AVENUE PORTLAND — served by bus lines 19 & 70 — all shows 21+ www.brownpapertickets.com
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LIVE MUSIC FULL BAR FOOD FUN Thursday Nov 18th
Curtis Salgado /Alan Hager Duo 8pm Saturday Nov 20th
Bigfoot County 9pm
Friday Nov 26th
Left Coast Country 9pm
Saturday Nov 27th
3 - Leg Torso 9pm Every Tuesday
Steel Drum Music 8pm no cover! Sunday nights is “Ninkasi Nights” - Live Jazz with some of Portland’s best artists!
Starting Nov 29th:
same great menu same great beer list music 6 nights a week Portland’s best happy hour 5-7 upstairs • 6-8 downstairs All day sunday 3341 SE Belmont thebluemonk.com 503-595-0575 Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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MUSIC
FRIDAY - SATURDAY
THEY REMINISCE OVER YOU: Pete Rock & CL Smooth play Someday Lounge on Thursday. ponies through the desert, it’s the kind of Americana you listen to cruising in a sun-kissed convertible on the freeway. It’s California Americana—which is appropriate, since the fresh-faced quartet hails from the hot, dusty streets of north Los Angeles. Dawes crafts sweeping blends of vintage folk pop and quiet back-porch lullabies that can melt even the hardest heart into a vulnerable puddle of emotion. Dawes’ tracks are guided by Taylor Goldsmith’s strong tenor, which is like a velvety cross between Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold and Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan. WHITNEY HAWKE. Doug Fir Lounge. 9 pm. $12. 21+.
Mr. Gnome, Two Ton Boa, Kackala, Jason Simms
[TERRIBLE TWOS] The Cleveland duo Mr. Gnome rocks harder than most bands with twice as many members. Frontwoman Nicole Barille screams, whispers and croons whilst grinding and strumming her guitar, while husband Sam Mesiter dances over his drums with mathy precision and syncopation. The obvious comparisons have all been made—Cat Power, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, PJ Harvey— but there’s a lot more at work here than just a lady who can wail, with metal, stoner rock, prog, hardcore and trip-hop all making an appearance. Co-billing gothy, Olympiabased alt-rockers Two Ton Boa was an inspired choice and should make for a fine evening of femalefronted fury. RUTH BROWN. Mississippi Studios. 9 pm. $8. 21+.
Supernature: Boyz IV Men, Atole, DJ E*Rock
[ON BENDED KNEES] You really can’t fuck with a name like Boyz IV Men. I mean, come on—it’s clever, silly, stupid and totally perfect for a Bay Area trio that obviously don’t take itself too seriously. The band makes the kind of lo-fi, 8-bit, beat-heavy jams that appeal to fans of both Copy and Hella, and after playing a few shows in town this summer it quickly became the new favorite dance act among the Supernature crew. Maybe calling a song “The Bomb Dot Com” is a little too ironic, but once you see these dudes in the flesh, you’ll stop smirking and start dancing. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. Rotture. 9 pm. $5. 21+.
Rapids, Pure Country Gold, The Bugs, Wax Edison
[GARAGE ROCK/PUNK] I never had a chance to see Rapids before they hired former Crackerbash/ Jr. High frontman Sean Croghan as frontman, but I’d imagine it changed things a bit for the Portland quintet. Because when you put Croghan at the helm, he’s going to scream his heart out and
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leave everything on the stage—in fact, he might leave some things on the stage that weren’t there to begin with, or at least knock things over or put things from the stage out among the crowd. The point is that he changes the dynamic of a group as much as any vocalist (save for maybe David Lee Roth) ever could. That’s where Rapids deserves credit: The band keeps up with Croghan and matches his intensity on the new Control 7-inch, with fuzzbomb guitar lines and dangerous basslines and mean drums that all add up to this crazy airplane crash of a band. These are truly compelling punk rock songs with both brains and a mean case of rabies. The live show is nuts. CASEY JARMAN. Slabtown. 9 pm. $6. 21+.
Faun Fables, Billygoat
[INTERNATIONAL FOLK OVERTHROW] Here in Portland we are lousy with folk acts—acousticguitar ownership can often seem like a prerequisite to local residency—but even our town doesn’t have anything quite like Faun Fables. Primarily the project of Bay Area singer Dawn McCarthy (whom you might recognize from her Will Oldham duets) and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum’s Nik Frykdahl, the band is as enamored with Americana as it is with French, Gypsy and Celtic folk traditions, as illustrated by its recent fifth fulllength, Light of a Vaster Dark. And with its theatrical presentation—the band’s Web page cites little-known theater troupes and experimental directors as influences ahead of musicians like Roky Erickson— Faun Fables has carved out an ambitious (if singular) path for its Renaissance Faire folk. REBECCA RABER. The Woods. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
SATURDAY, NOV. 20 Luck-One, Serge Severe, Only One, Logics
See album review, page 34. Backspace. 9 pm. $5 advance, $8 day of show. All ages.
Filter, Restruct, American Bastard, Acidic
[COTTAGE INDUSTRIAL] Its singles bristling mid-’90s airwaves with meaningless profundities and jagged (9-inch, say) hooks—meh generation touchstone “Hey Man, Nice Shot” a master class in catchy disaffection—Filter appeared particularly bound to the all-consuming angst of that guilted age. The straightforward modern rock of 2008’s Anthems for the Damned seemed more than a day late and distorted riff short, and even after the band’s founding bassist quit the tour when called back to
MUSIC
M A R G OTA N DT H E N U C L E A R S O A N D S O S . N E T
SATURDAY
Never a cover!
Since 1974
MAKE IT A NIGHT Present that night’s show ticket and get $3 off any menu item Sun - Thur in the dining room
GAP
WED 11/17
SIX STRING SOCIAL
W/ MATTHEW LINDLEY & GUESTS
(ACOUSTIC SONGWRITER) 9PM
THURS 11/18
MARK WARD & SHANNON CURTIS
reserve duty in Iraq, the album’s politics somehow still seemed vapid and secondhand. This summer’s The Trouble With Angels, with frontman Richard Patrick’s full-throated Reznorisms howling against the weaknesses of others amidst approachable industrial wasteland, marks a return to the blinkered callowness of youth, for better or worse. JAY HORTON. Berbati’s Pan. 9 pm. $16 advance, $20 day of show. 21+.
Greg Dulli, Shawn Smith
[ECLIPSE] While the frontman of the Afghan Whigs and the Twilight Singers—and, with Mark Lanegan, member of the Gutter Twins, whose tunes earn equal prominence—never seemed the type to settle down for Americana cabaret, word from throughout Greg Dulli’s first solo tour found the alt lothario comfortably unplugged and pleasantly maturing. This is the last date of the “Evenings With Greg Dulli” tour that has crossed Europe and America for the past few months, and with instrumental failings ably supported by handpicked string adepts from his day band and Polyphonic Spree, Dulli strolls through an impressive songbook, elaborating past material with a Southern Gothic tinge and spiking the darkness with whimsy, maintaining stage banter and interspersing Prince and Elton John lyrics through the unlikeliest turns. JAY HORTON. Doug Fir Lounge. 9 pm. $18 advance, $20 day of show. 21+.
Attack Attack!, Pierce the Veil, In Fear and Faith, Of Mice and Men
[MYSPACECORE] Having familiarized myself with Attack Attack!’s bobby-soxer metalcore, I devised a plan: go back in time to the dawn of this millennium and find that rotten minute in which erstwhile hardcore heroes Cave In decided the world needed music that split the difference between Slayer and Richard Marx. Sure, the unforeseen consequences of tinkering with time might have us enslaved to dog aliens right about now, but who cares? Rock-’n’-roll music never would have birthed something so rabidly bad as the Aqua Net-scented chug-a-lug breakdowns and cheeseball croons of Attack Attack! Hell, bring me the head of Ian Mackaye if it means never having to hear or hear about this band again. CHRIS STAMM. Hawthorne Theatre. 6:30 pm. $18 advance, $20 day of show. All ages.
The Robinsons, Michael Hurley, Al James the Unfazed, Lewi Longmire, Emily Butler, David Lipkind, Darrin Craig
[CLASSIC COUNTRY] There is agony and ecstasy in spending your Saturday night at LaurelThirst, surrounded by some of Portland’s finest musicians (Kevin and Anita Robinson, Lewi Longmire) and greatest songwriters (Michael Hurley, Dolorean’s Al James). The agony is that this bar—a great venue that’s completely indispensable to Portland’s folk and roots music scene—is just not big enough for all this awesome-
ness. On a big night like tonight, one wishes the tables and chairs could be thrown out in the street, because it’s nearly impossible to find a vantage point from which to watch the music, and the back of the room gets real chatty no matter who the onstage talent. The ecstasy is...all this awesomeness. Tonight’s show—which finds a host of A-list Portland players presenting their favorite classic country songs—will be unforgettable, and jam-packed with friends and local rock stars. But where are the rest of us going to stand? CASEY JARMAN. LaurelThirst Public House. 9:30 pm. $10. All ages.
Blonde Redhead, Olof Arnalds
See Primer, page 30. Roseland. 9 pm. $22 advance, $25 day of show. All ages.
Bear Hands, Rumspringa, Blood Beach
[TOOTH AND NAIL] Brooklyn buzz bands are birthed at a rate rivaled only by the number of times Chris Dudley said the dreaded word “comeback.” And like Portland restaurants, many don’t exist beyond infancy, crowded out by the competition. Bears Hands has the gusto necessary for survival, though, pairing—excuse the animalband coincidence—Wolf Parade’s howling extremes with White Rabbit’s percussive ways. The band released Burning Bush Supper Club earlier this month, a record wrought with delirious energy and rash experimental punk. Somehow, the result is danceable, provided you can shake fast enough. MARK STOCK. The Woods. 9 pm. $8 advance, $10 day of show. 21+.
Robyn, Maluca, Natalia Kills
[DANCING QUEEN] How can I impress upon you the sheer awesomeness of this show? Maybe by telling you how infrequently Swedish electro-popper Robyn comes to Portland? Or perhaps by reminding you that, as of Nov. 22 (when she releases the final installment of her Body Talk trilogy), this prolific dance-floor chanteuse will have released three albums this year alone? Or maybe you need to hear that Robyn recently appeared on Gossip Girl and stole the MTV VMAs by reminding the Katy Perrys of the world what a real international pop star looks like. If that’s not convincing enough, you should show up for Diplo discovery Maluca, who peddles a unique blend of Latin- and hip-hop-influenced electronica. In short, this show should’ve sold out the minute it was announced. REBECCA RABER. Wonder Ballroom. 8 pm. $20 advance, $23 day of show. All ages.
Total Noise, Joel Wrolstad
[WILDER BEASTS] When listening to Total Noise’s new record, U.S. American Rhythms, it’s hard to ignore the influence of two bands: Parenthetical Girls and Wild Beasts. Singer and bandleader Thomas John Filardo’s voice flutters and spins in a falsetto that’s eerily similar to Zac Pennington and Hayden Thorpe—opening track
CONT. on page 34
FRI 11/19
STEPHEN BAKER & MATTHEW LINDLEY AND THE TROUBADOUR DELUXE (ACOUSTIC ROCK) 9PM
BUFFALO
THERE’S A NICE LIGHT IN HERE: Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s play Doug Fir on Thursday.
(ACOUSTIC SONGWRITER) 9PM
SAT 11/20
DOUG FIR RESTAURANT + BAR OPEN 7AM - 2:30AM EVERYDAY
SERVING BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER, LATE-NIGHT. FOOD SPECIALS 3-6 PM EVERYDAY COVERED SMOKING PATIO, FIREPLACE ROOM, LOTS OF LOG. LIVE SHOWS IN THE LOUNGE... POST-PUNK REVIVAL ROCK FROM LIVERPOOL
CLINIC
DAY!
JORDAN HARRIS BAND & MARK RADCLIFFE (POP ROCK) 9PM
CHARMING HEARTSTRUNG POP FROM INDIANAPOLIS COMBO
MARGOT SO AND SO’S THURSDAY!
SUN 11/21
BREAKFAST SERVED UNTIL 1PM!
THE FRESH AND ONLYS WAX FINGERS WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 17 •$13 ADVANCE THURSDAY NOVEMBER 18 • RESONANT AMERICANA GREATNESS FROM LA QUARTET
DAWES
TUES 11/23 OPEN MIC CONTEST
WIN $50 SIGN UP @ 8:30
AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH AFGHAN WHIGS/TWILIGHT SINGERS FRONTMAN
GREG DULLI
FRIDAY!
HOSTED BY: SCOTT GALLEGOS
$12 ADVANCE
SATURDAY! SATUR
THE MOONDOGGIES ROMANY RYE
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 19 •
$12 ADVANCE
MELODIC FRAGILITY FROM NY UP-AND-COMERS
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SATURDAY NOVEMBER 20
THU nov 18
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9PM
A SPECIAL EVENING OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHE-ROCK
THE LEGENDARY
PINK DOTS
MINIATURE TIGERS
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21 •
$11 ADVANCE
A THANKSGIVING-EVE NIGHT OF DEBAUCHERY
THE QUICK & EASY BOYS THE RESOLECTRICS
MARK MALLMAN
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 24 •
10 ADVANCE
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PETER WOLF CRIER 1/14 THE HANDSOME FAMILY 1/21 THE NELS CLINE SINGERS WITH YUKA HONDA 1/30 THE RADIO DEPT. 2/13 MAN OR ASTROMAN? 2/23
WESTERN FAMILY 11/28 • THE SHIVAS 12/1 • WATER & BODIES 12/2 • HORSE FEATHERS 12/3 & 12/4 FRAZEY FORD 12/5 • BROOKE FRASER 12/5 • PETER HOOK & FRIENDS 12/9 • STORNOWAY 12/10 TAME IMPALA 12/11 • BADLY DRAWN BOY 12/12 • THE ANGRY ORTS 12/15 • AND I WAS LIKE WHAT? 12/16 AADVANCE TICKETS AT TICKETSWEST 503-224-TIXX - www.ticketswest.com, MUSIC MILLENNIUM, JACKPOT RECORDS • SUBJECT TO SERVICE CHARGE &/OR USER FEE ALL SHOWS: 8PM DOORS / 9PM SHOW• 21+ UNLESS NOTED • BOX OFFICE OPENS 1/2 HOUR BEFORE DOORS • ROOM PACKAGES AVAILABLE AT www.jupiterhotel.com
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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MUSIC HUGE DANCE FLOOR FRI 11/19 @ 9PM
COYOTE CREEK FRI 11/26 @ 9PM
CONCRETE COWBOYS SAT 11/27 @ 9PM
FLEXOR T
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SATURDAY - TUESDAY
“Michael, David” basically sounds like a combo of those two bands, finding a nice middle ground between artrock pomp and experimental brashness. U.S. American Rhythms isn’t just a pastiche, though; the record is filled with wonderful little songs that mostly hover around the two-minute range and never really tire. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. Xhurch (4550 NE 20th Ave). 7 pm. Cover. All ages..
SUNDAY, NOV. 21 Freelance Whales, Miniature Tigers
[HANDS QUITE FULL] Four years ago, when Miniature Tigers realized it was good enough, the band abandoned the sweltering shithole that is Phoenix for a city where people are supposed to live: New York City. The quartet released its busy and buoyant sophomore record, Fortress, over the summer, recorded in part at upstate New York’s celebrated Dreamland. Miniature Tigers are musical shapeshifters, and here they practice recreational electro-tinkering on tracks like “Gold Skull” and Congratulations-era MGMT dynamism in “Mansion of Misery.” Count on a ringing keyboard melody to keep the robustness from splitting at the seams. MARK STOCK. Doug Fir Lounge. 9 pm. $11 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
MONDAY, NOV. 22 The Legendary Pink Dots
[PSYCH-GOTH LIFERS] After 30 years, more than 40 albums, and a singular pursuit of psychedelic heights that us plebeians can only dream of, the Legendary Pink Dots have finally caught up with their bold moniker. A frequent visitor to Portland to perform epic live shows, the Dots are here in support of latest album Seconds Late for the Brighton Line. The new disc finds the gothic undertones of so much of the band’s music taking over, and leader Edward Ka-Spel’s vocals pushed to the fore and clearer than ever. The overall effect, like so much of the Dots’ work, is eerie and unforgettable. ROBERT HAM. Doug Fir Lounge. 9 pm. $16 advance, $18 day of show. 21+.
LKN, Palo Verde
[BIG-TENT PUNK] Lauren K. Newman is a badass. Everyone who has seen her in concert—as LKN or in her improv metal duo, Palo Verde—knows this. And yet we don’t sing her praises nearly often enough. The woman is a Portland institution and a seemingly inexhaustible fountain of awesomeness. Her new split 12-inch with Cincinnati’s the Knife Symphony is yet more proof of this. Here Newman shows her melodic side, albeit melody tinted by years of punk and metal schooling and her geeky obsessions with math-rock time signatures. “Roll the Bones” sounds like the original NES Castlevania soundtrack as performed by Sleater-Kinney, and the spoken-word “July 5, 2008” is on the Fugazi tip without sounding at all like Fugazi. It’s hard to believe these songs were written on the fly, without rehearsal or workshopping, and performed entirely by one masterful musician—but that’s how Newman works. She’s a goddamn rock-’n’-roll miracle. CASEY JARMAN.. Valentine’s. 9 pm. Free. All ages.
TUESDAY, NOV. 23 Big Pretty, Skip Roxy
[GARAGE JANGLE] Blue Horns frontman Brian Park’s got a brand new bag, and it’s pretty—Big Pretty. The czar of incomprehensible vocal melodies and jangle-pop perfection launched his new project last month, a stripped-down outfit consisting of Park, drummer Steve Jacques, guitarist Michael Slavin (Monarques, Yours) and bassist Scott Dewitt of the Skinnyz, and things are looking good. As usual, Park’s vocals are
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Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
difficult to understand—dude frequently sounds like David Bowie underwater—but it’s a perfect fit for the undeniably peppy, hookladen rumpus that bursts out of the garage with a bang. AP KRYZA. Ella Street Social Club. 9 pm. Free. 21+.
Dimmu Borgir, Enslaved, Blood Red Throne, Dawn of Ashes
[BLACK-METAL EXCELLENCE] Norway’s Dimmu Borgir has moved from black-metal origins to symphonic works of melodramatic glory. True metal fans are quick to label the commercial aspirations and overwrought stage costumes as commodity—Demon Burger, we call them. And there’s no doubt that Dimmu’s high concepts miss more often than they hit. Latest album Abrahadabra combines intricate brutality and a symphonic orchestra with results that are both ridiculous and exciting. In a slight effort to distract from the tasteless abandon Dimmu exerts in every other aspect of its career, the band has brought Enslaved on tour in the U.S. Enslaved is probably the most unfuckwithable metal band on the planet. These Norwegian Grammy
winners have a pedigree going back to the early-’90s Viking scene, and a catalog that expands every year in a new and creative direction precedented only by bands like the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Voivod. NATHAN CARSON. Roseland. 8 pm. $22. All ages.
White Hinterland and Friends
[ART&B] It’s been nine months since I first heard White Hinterland’s surprising Kairos LP, and my opinion hasn’t changed one bit—Kairos is still a stunning record, rivaling Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca and TuneYards’ Bird-Brains for experimental pop supremacy. And though it was made in the heat of summer, Kairos works best on those foggy, lethargic fall days where even getting out of bed is a challenge. Casey Dienel just has one of those soothing voices that can fix any awful mood. Let’s hope Dienel has some new material in store for tonight, because, as much as I love these songs, it’s hard to listen to “Cataract” in such close proximity other people. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. Valentine’s. 9 pm. Free. 21+.
ALBUM REVIEW
LUCK-ONE TRUE THEORY OUTTAKES (FOCUSED NOISE) [HIP-HOP] Portland has anointed Luck-One as the Chosen MC, and it has done so with slim evidence. But Luck’s 2009 collaboration with Dekk, Beautiful Music—a synth-laden, danceclubfriendly EP that showed Luck to be a prodigious combination of Common’s spiritual-minded thoughtfulness and Kanye’s playful futurism—set up some pretty huge expectations. Luck-One, then fresh off a six-year prison stint, was full of fire that he had channeled into something magical. Nearly two years later, Luck- One’s highly anticipated fulllength follow-up, True Theory, has yet to arrive. But this week we get a taste of what’s to come with the True Theory Outtakes, available at focusednoise.blogspot.com as a free download. The logic here—to quote one of the EP’s guest hype-builders, Illmaculate—is that “if this is the outtakes, just think of what the album is gonna be like.” That’s a risky strategy. If these truly are the eventual album’s outtakes, then Luck is probably not presenting himself—after a long recording hiatus—with his best foot forward. But that’s not the vibe you get from the inspired lyricism of “Lions and Primates,” which, despite Sonny’s less-than-thrilling electro-funk beat, draws out some fire from the MC. Luck moves so fast that the listener loses him in the pulsing bass and synth strings, but the beat drops out for some of his strongest couplets. “Eternity’s just a blink in the frame of my timespan/ So if my fist can’t do it I know that my mind can,” he raps on a nonstop track that feels like getting a sermon from Bobbito Garcia. The “outtakes” tag is kind of handy, as it relieves Luck of the responsibility of making the seven tracks fit together in a cohesive manner. These are seven tracks with seven producers (beatwise, Gen.Erik’s “Move On” and T Mak’s “More” stand out as balanced compositions, while Nonstop’s squeaky “Dream” beat wears on the nerves). But if you can ignore the obnoxious shout-outs from Luck’s friends and contemporaries, this thing actually flows pretty well. There’s an 8-bit soul feel that runs throughout the disc, and Luck-One is still every bit as fiery as he was on Beautiful Music. He shares the inner workings of his grind (“Shine So Bright”), his soft side (“Ribbon,” which is too anxiety-stricken to be considered a love song) and most of all, his heart. “They Say” is almost comically uplifting at the start, but in verse after pummeling verse, Luck personalizes his struggle past the 8 Mile cliché and into an Illmatic-esque double dose of sincerity and style. “This is me at my strongest/ finding my mind clear,” he raps. The truth is, he’s only getting stronger. If Luck-One can continue burning with his current intensity on a cohesively produced full-length, we can take him off the theoretical list of the Northwest’s brightest stars and call him the chosen one...for real. CASEY JARMAN. SEE IT: Luck-One plays Saturday, Nov. 20, at Backspace with Serge Severe, Only One and Logics. 9 pm. $5 advance, $8 day of show. All ages.
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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MUSIC CALENDAR = WW Pick. Highly recommended. Editor: Michael Mannheimer. TO HAVE YOUR EVENT LISTED, enter show information at least two weeks in advance on the web at wweek.com/submitmusic. Press kits, CDs and especially vinyl can be sent to Music Desk, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Email: mmannheimer@wweek.com. Find more music: reviews 29 | clublist 39 For more listings, check out blogs.wweek.com/music/calendar/
[NOV. 17 - 23] Mount Tabor Theater
Music Millennium
Beatallica, Stay Tuned
Beatallica
Original Halibut’s Terry Robb
ADAM KRUEGER
Andrew Orr, Jen Howard
Peter’s Room
Nonpoint, In This Moment, Taking Dawn
Plan B
Go Fever, Ruby Feathers, Holy Children, Brush Prairie
Secret Society Lounge Ashia Grzesik, Eliza Rickman (9 pm); Rollie Tussing (6 pm)
Someday Lounge
Over the Rhine, Lucy Wainwright Roche
Aloft
Adrian Bourgeois
Andina
Toshi Onizuka
Andrea’s Cha Cha Club Cubaneo
Ash Street Saloon
Marca Luna, Black Haze, After Nothings End
Backspace
Sole and the Skyrider Band, Egadz, Upside Down Astronaut
Beaterville Cafe
Donny Osborne & Band
Beauty Bar
Baby Ketten Karaoke
Biddy McGraw’s
Stringed Migration (9 pm); Little Sue (6 pm)
Brasserie Montmartre Kit Taylor
Camellia Lounge Bre Gregg
Clyde’s Prime Rib
Dez Young Folk Trio
Dante’s
Jedi Mindf*ck
Doc George’s Jazz Kitchen Laura Cunard
Doug Fir Lounge
Clinic, The Fresh & Onlys, Wax Fingers
Duff’s Garage
Suburban Slim’s Bluse Jam (9:30 pm); Chris Olson’s High Flyers (6 pm)
East End
Circle Pit, Pigeons, Welsh Bowmen, Fabulous Diamonds, DJ Yeti
Fire on the Mountain Joe McMurrian
Goodfoot
Mustaphamond, Correspondents, Nasalrod
Hawthorne Theater Lounge Rockstar Karaoke
Hawthorne Theatre Beautiful Lies, Steven Franssen, Sabrina Fountain, The North Wind
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Holocene
Yeah Great Fine, Blue Horns, Onuinu
Jimmy Mak’s
The Mel Brown Quartet
Know
Tony Starlight’s
Reece Marshburn and Kurt Crowley
Twilight Cafe & Bar
Byron & Shelly, Benecio and Walker, Macy Bensley
Brittle Bones, Midday Veil
Vino Vixens
LaurelThirst Public House
White Eagle
Alice Stuart (9 pm); The Parson Red Heads, Le Switch (6 pm)
Lola’s Room at the Crystal Ballroom
Masters of Reality, Zander Schloss and Sean Wheeler
McMenamins Edgefield Winery Beth Willis
McMenamins Rock Creek Tavern Billy D
McMenamins-Grand Lodge
Lynn Conover & Gravel
Mississippi Pizza Antonette Goroch
Mount Tabor Theater
Rabbit Foot, Paul Silveria (7:30 pm) Brown Chicken Brown Cow, Left Coast Country (11 pm)
Mt. Tabor Theater Lounge
Midnight Expressions
Papa G’s Vegan Organic Deli Billy Kennedy
Plan B
Grand Coulee, Basketball Jones, The Notes Underground, Face the Box
Pub at the End of the Universe Andrew’s Ave.
Rotture
High Places, Soft Circle, White Rainbow, Tearist
Secret Society Lounge
Jenna Ellefson & Amanda Breese
The Country Inn Dub DeBrie Jam
The Knife Shop
Villains, Holy Children
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
6bq9
Unfiltered Indie Rock Showcase: On the Stairs, Rozendal
Wonder Ballroom
Kottonmouth Kings, Big B, Slaine, Tragedy
THUR. NOV. 18 Alberta Street Public House Solomon Klang
Andina Matices
Ash Street Saloon Hives Inquiry Squad, Doc Brown Experiment, Josh Martinez, Gepetto
Backspace
Ron Steen’s Invitational Jazz Jam Session
The Penalty, Advisory, The Wayne Gacy Trio
Doug Fir Lounge
Tony Starlight’s
Duff’s Garage
Blues Redemption (9:30 pm); Portland Playboys (6 pm)
East End
Honus Huffiness & guests
Ella Street Social Club The Autumn Electric, Sewblue, Margo May
Fire on the Mountain Scrafford Orser
Goodfoot
Hawthorne Theatre
The Birthday Massacre, Black Veil Brides, Dommin, Aural Vampire
Heathman Restaurant & Bar Johnny Martin Trio
Holocene
Strength, Linger & Quiet
Jimmy Mak’s
Beaterville Cafe
Modern State
Morgan Grace
Branx
Know
LaurelThirst Public House
Tom Waits for No Man: A Benefit
My Children My Bride, Ocean of Mirrors, Heart Attack High, Southgate
McMenamins Edgefield Winery
Brasserie Montmartre
McMenamins Hotel Oregon
Galen Clark
Eric John Kaiser
Buffalo Gap Saloon
Brian Copeland Trio
Burgerville (Convention Center)
Billy Kennedy
Camellia Lounge
Water Tower Bucket Boys
Chapel Pub
Matthew Payne (9 pm); Women’s Crisis Line Benefit (6 pm)
Mark Ward & Shannon Curtis
Thee Headliners Michael Pan Steve Kerin
Corkscrew Wine Bar Travis Magrane
Crown Room
Blast Thursdays featuring The I.B.M.
Dante’s
Shaman’s Harvest, Like a Storm, KUFO Kittens
The Knife Shop
Mr. Shoehorn Presents...
Twilight Cafe & Bar
A Gentlemen’s Picnic, Bryan Minus & The Disconnect, Tigress
Vino Vixens
The Darren Kleintet, Damian Erskine
White Eagle
The Welfare State, The Satin Chaps (8:30 pm); Jesse Young Band (5:30 pm)
Wine Down East Lew Jones
Monophonics
Adam Sweeney and the Jamboree, Ezza Rose, Courage
Biddy McGraw’s
TaborSpace Timbral Hut
Karen Lovely with the Mel Brown B3 Organ Group
6bq9
The Fix with special guests Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Doc George’s Jazz Kitchen
Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s, Jookabox, Burnt Ones
McMenamins Rock Creek Tavern McMenamins-Grand Lodge Mississippi Pizza
Mississippi Studios
Themes, The New Trust, Not to Reason Why
Mother Maybel’s Erin Dickinson
Jay Harris’ Moon by Night Trio
Doug Fir Lounge Dawes, The Moondoggies, The Romany Rye
Duff’s Garage
Steve “Pearly” Hettum and the Janglers, Lenny Rancher
East End
Rotture
Shirley Nanette
Doc George’s Jazz Kitchen
Red Room
Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour
Aladdin Theater
Dante’s
Dunes
Rose Garden
IOA, Sam Humans, Heligoats
‘80s Video Dance Attack
Hog Wild, Go Ballistic, Streakin Healys, East Side Speed Machine, Dwight Dickens Band Open Fate, Leafeater, The Gravity, Born Again Heathens, All Eyes Closed
The Woods
Ocean 503
Crystal Ballroom
Papa G’s Vegan Organic Deli
Heathman Restaurant and Bar
Clyde’s Prime Rib
Charles Neville and Youssoupha Sidibe, Mystic Rhythms
Funk-Jazz Jam Session
WED. NOV. 17
Know
Someday Lounge
LaurelThirst Public House
Left Coast Country
Paddy’s Bar & Grill
THE WALKING DEAD: Clinic plays Wednesday, Nov. 17, at Doug Fir.
Slim’s
FRI. NOV. 19 Aladdin Theater
Suzanne Westenhoefer
Alberta Street Public House Renegade Minstrels, Fruition String Band (9:30 pm); Mikey’s Irish Jam (9 pm)
Punk-a-Thon
East Burn
Megafauna Vice Device, Joey Casio & DJs Remy Marc & Josh Beck
Hawthorne Theater Lounge Wendy and the Lost Boys
Hawthorne Theatre
The Summer Set, Stereo Skyline, Mod Sun, The Downtown Fiction, Austin Gibbs
Heathman Restaurant & Bar Bobby Torres
Jade Lounge
Helen Chaya, David Griggs, The Disappointments
Jimmy Mak’s
Karen Lovely and Ty Curtis
LaurelThirst Public House
Brown Chicken Brown Cow, Conjugal Visitors, 4 on the Floor
Charmparticles, Blue Cranes, Deepest Darkest
TaborSpace
Padam Padam: An Evening of Country Cabaret
The Knife Shop
The Trophy Fire, Black Mercies, The Flurries
The Water Heater
Camaro Island, Southpaw, Jobo Shakins
The Woods
Faun Fables, Billygoat
Tonic Lounge
Cloud of Suns, Black Lili
Twilight Cafe & Bar SINFIX, Donacepa
Twilight Room
Gravity Research Project
Vino Vixens
Bill Rhoades, Alan Hagar
White Eagle
Stan McMahon Band, Duover, The Moonshiners (9:30 pm); Reverb Brothers (5:30 pm)
Wonder Ballroom
Amadan, Tango Alpha Tango, Oceans Above Us
SAT. NOV. 20 Aladdin Theater Willy Porter, Meg Hutchinson
Alberta Rose Theatre Brad Creel & the Reel Deal, Lincoln Crockett
Alberta Street Public House Camille Bloom
Andina
Na Mesa
Ash Street Saloon
Blood Owl, Another Fine Crisis, Swamp Surfer, Nothing Said
Augustana Lutheran Church
Augustana Jazz Quartet
Backspace
Luck-One, Serge Severe, Only One, Logics
Beaterville Cafe
Local Lounge
The Broken Meters
Noah Peterson Soul-Tet
Beauty Bar
McMenamins Rock Creek Tavern
Scorpio Rising!
Berbati’s Pan
SLA
Mississippi Pizza
Melao de Cuba (9 pm); Christina Havrilla (6 pm)
Mississippi Studios
Mr. Gnome, Two Ton Boa, Kackala, Jason Simms
Filter, Restruct, American Bastard, Acidic
Biddy McGraw’s
Drunken Prayer (9:30 pm); Twisted Whistle (6 pm)
Brasserie Montmartre Border Crossing
Speed of Darkness
The Robinsons (Kevin and Anita), Michael Hurley, Al James the Unfazed, Lewi Longmire, Emily Butler, David Lipkind, Darrin Craig (9:30 pm); Tree Frogs (6 pm)
McMenamins Edgefield Winery Folk & Spoon
McMenamins Hotel Oregon Eric John Kaiser
McMenamins Rock Creek Tavern Jettison Band
McMenamins-Grand Lodge John Bunzow
Mississippi Pizza
Klickitat (9:30 pm); Level 2 (6:30 pm); Toy Trains (4 pm)
Mississippi Studios
Soul Vaccination, Shelly Rudolph, Ian James
Mock Crest Tavern
DC Malone & The Jones
Mount Tabor Theater
The Quick & Easy Boys, 4 on the Floor
Mt. Tabor Theater Lounge Dementia
Music Millennium Rainstick Cowbell
Oak Grove Tavern Dr. Stahl, NoRegard
Original Halibut’s LaRhonda Steele
Plan B
Antiworld, The Stims, The Viggs, Raider
Press Club
Lara Michelle and Small Colony
Red Room
Highwater, Jason and the Punknecks, Chase the Shakes, The Whiskey Spots, Mr. Plow
Refuge
MarchFourth Marching Band
Roseland
Blonde Redhead, Olof Arnalds
Rotture
PANTyRAID, Vibe Squad, Starkey, Emancipator, Ras G, Shlomo, Shigeto, Drewbot 9000, Natasha Kmeto, Ate Bit
Secret Society Lounge The Midnight Serenaders (9 pm); James Low (6 pm)
Mock Crest Tavern
Buffalo Gap Saloon
Mount Tabor Theater
Camellia Lounge
Aaron Baca
Tapwater, Jesta
Michele Van Kleef
Mt. Tabor Theater Lounge
Clyde’s Prime Rib
Ghost Town Soul Club
Ocean 503
Music Millennium
Dante’s
Zepparella - All Female Led Zeppelin Review, Oxcart
Business Suit Guy, Catfight
Sneakin’ Out
Jenny Sizzler
The Moondoggies, Dawes
O’Connor’s Vault
Dave Fleschner Trio
Jonah, Mark Radcliffe
Doug Fir Lounge
Sellwood Public House Slabtown Slim’s
TaborSpace Fifth and B
The Coconut Cafe
Aloft
Original Halibut’s Lisa Mann
Duff’s Garage
Andina
Papa G’s Vegan Organic Deli
Cody Weathers & The Men Your Mama Warned You About
East Burn
The Knife Shop
Ash Street Saloon
Plan B
East End
Backspace
Ponderosa Lounge
Goodfoot
The Springwater Grill
Hall of Records
The Water Heater
Mark Alan’s Acoustic Night Pete Krebs Trio Western Family, King Carlos, The Idealist JonnyX and the Groadies, Sloths, The Odious
Beaterville Cafe Kode Bluuz Band
Berbati’s Pan
Skeletron, And And And, Forest Park, Robot Uprise, Surprise Guest
Biddy McGraw’s
The Dust Settlers (9 pm); Billy Kennedy & Jimmy Boyer (6 pm)
Lynn Conover
Salvador, Rabbits, Diesto, Lord Dying Coyote Creek
Proper Eats Cafe Stumptown Jug Thumpers
Red Room
Millions of Dead Cops, Unfallen Heroes, Rendered Useless, Motorthrone, General Nasty
Rotture
Bipartisan Cafe
Supernature: Boyz IV Men, Jeffrey Jerusalem, Atole, DJ E*Rock
Brasserie Montmartre
Secret Society Lounge
Emily Stebbins
Chuck Israels & Dan Gaynor
Buffalo Gap Saloon
Stephen Baker & Matthew Lindley and the Troubadour Deluxe
Camellia Lounge Trio Flux
Casey Neil & The Norway Rats, Sassparilla
Sellwood Public House Russell Thomas
Slabtown
Rapids, Pure Country Gold, The Bugs, Wax Edison
Greg Dulli, Shawn Smith The Buckles Boy & Bean Panthercorn, Nepalm Beach, Washers Jimi Hendrix 67th Birthday Tribute Show Mr. Jeigh
Hawthorne Theater Lounge
Carlos Severe Marcelin Duncan Ros
Hawthorne Theatre
Attack Attack!, Pierce the Veil, In Fear and Faith, Of Mice and Men
Heathman Restaurant & Bar Shirley Nanette
Jade Lounge
Chris Boone, Poeina Suddarth, Nicole Sangsuree
Jimmy Mak’s
The Bobby Torres Ensemble
Primitive Idols, Watch It Sparkle, Spider Babies
The Melody Ballroom
The Swashbuckler’s Ball Zenda Torrey and Neal Mattson Bazaar Bazarro Flea Market
The Woods
Bear Hands, Rumspringa, Blood Beach
The World Famous Kenton Club
Lonesome Shack, Weirding Module, Lana Rebel, DJ Hwy7
Tonic Lounge
Catsup & Mustard
Tony Starlight’s Jenna Mammina
Twilight Cafe & Bar
Tragos, Run for Cover, Ed-Necks
Vino Vixens
Los Gallos Rumba
White Eagle
Howlin Houndog & The Infamous Loosers, Green Pajamas, Gavin Wahl-Stephens and the New Americans (9:30 pm); The Student Loan (4:30 pm)
Wonder Ballroom
Robyn, Maluca, Natalia Kills
Xhurch
Total Noise, Joel Wrolstad
SUN. NOV. 21 Andina
Pete Krebs
Ash Street Saloon
The Legendary Superstars, Gardens and Villa, Ed Sullivan Band
Biddy McGraw’s Felim Egan
Brasserie Montmartre Ramsey Embick
Clyde’s Prime Rib
LaurelThirst Public House Billy Kennedy & Tim Acott (9 pm); Freak Mountain Ramblers (6 pm)
McMenamins Edgefield Winery
Sonny Hess & Lisa Mann
McMenamins Rock Creek Tavern
Elizabeth Nicholson & Bob Soper
Mississippi Pizza
Renegade Minstrels, Big Buck Hunters (9 pm); Lisa Forkish (6 pm)
Mississippi Studios Tommy & the High Pilots, Keaton Collective, Halsted
Music Millennium Miniature Tigers
Peter’s Room
Texas Hippie Coalition
Red Room
Truculence, Godenied, Perihelion
Rontoms
Ron Steen Jazz Jam
SNDTRKR, Gardening Not Architecture
Crystal Ballroom
Slim’s
Best of the White Eagle: Mars Retrievel Unit, Fruition, Outpost
Dante’s
Christian Kane, The Twangshifters, Three Bad Jacks, Sinferno Cabaret
Doug Fir Lounge Freelance Whales, Miniature Tigers
Fire on the Mountain Mimi Naja
Hawthorne Theatre
Groove Thief, Pseudophiles, The Ascendents, The Bittersoundface, Chris Harris, To Us, La 4leur, The Brickers
Jade Lounge
John Michael, Mya Elaine, Feisty Folker
NoPoMoJo
Someday Lounge Violet Isle
The Knife Shop
The Fasters, Andrew Norsworthy, The Autonomics
The Water Heater Wax Wing, ARC
Valentine’s
Weird Fiction, Better Homes and Gardens, Friends
Vino Vixens
The Comforters, Whiskey Priest
MON. NOV. 22 Alberta Street Public House Blue in the Face
Aloft
Martini
Andina
Scott Head
Beauty Bar Advisory
Biddy McGraw’s Eric Tonsfeldt
Brasserie Montmartre D.K. Stewart
Doug Fir Lounge
The Legendary Pink Dots
Duff’s Garage
Big “D” Jamboree (8:30 pm); Chris Miller Band (6 pm)
East End
Carnivores, Best Supporting Actress, Verner Pantons
Jimmy Mak’s
Damian Erskine
LaurelThirst Public House
Kung Pao Chickens (9 pm); Little Sue & Lynn Conover (6 pm)
Lola’s Room at the Crystal Ballroom Freak Mountain Ramblers
McMenamins Edgefield Winery Skip vonKuske
McMenamins Rock Creek Tavern Bob Shoemaker
Mississippi Pizza
The Helping Hands (10 pm); Jobo Shakins (8 pm)
O’Connor’s Vault Julie and the Boy
The Knife Shop
Lamprey, Tan Sister Radio, Digital Dreamcore
The World Famous Kenton Club
S.I.N. with Lana Rebel & The Love Lasers
Tube
Scaphism, Basement Animal, DJ Nate C
Twilight Cafe & Bar SIN Night
Valentine’s
LKN, Palo Verde
White Eagle
Gabby Holt and the Hedges, Don Juan! Peligroso!, The Planets
TUES. NOV. 23 Alberta Street Public House
Matador
Justa Pasta
DJ Donny Don’t
Anson Wright & Tim Gilson
Radio Room
LaurelThirst Public House
DJ Lo-Fi
Saucebox
Jackstraw
Living Room Theaters
Frightening Waves of Blue
Phonographix Video DJs
WED. NOV. 17
Beauty Bar
Ground Kontrol
Crystal Ballroom Goodfoot
Local Lounge
Crush Drum and Bass
Andina
LV’s Sports Bar Miriam’s Well
Tronix: Labwerx, Mike Gong, Bliphop Junkie
Andrea’s Cha Cha Club
McMenamins Edgefield Winery
Hall of Records
DJ Cracker Ass JK
Ash Street Saloon
McMenamins Rock Creek Tavern
Highway To Hell
Punknecks JB Butler
Rumberos del Caribe Lamprey, Zmoke, Diaeresis
Blue Monk
Pamela Jordan Band
The Old Yellers
Open Bluegrass Jam
Mississippi Pizza
Brasserie Montmartre
Baby Ketten Karaoke (9 pm); Supadupa Marimba Bros (6 pm)
Buffalo Gap Saloon
Mississippi Studios
Steel Drum Music Skip vonKuske
Open Mic Night hosted by Scott Gallegos
Bunk Bar
Don of Division St., From Words to Blows
Camellia Lounge Weekly Jazz Jam
Dante’s
The Ed Forman Show, DSL Open Mic Comedy
Duff’s Garage
Dover Weinberg Quartet (9:30 pm); Trio Bravo (6 pm)
Ella Street Social Club
Big Pretty, Skip Roxy
Fire on the Mountain Brad Parsons
Goodfoot
Scott Pemberton Trio
Hawthorne Theatre Trapt, Since October, Abused Romance, Quandry
Jimmy Mak’s
The Mel Brown Septet (8 pm); Tasha Miller (6 pm)
April Smith and the Great Picture Show, Ascetic Junkies
Papa G’s Vegan Organic Deli Paul Brainard
Roseland
Dimmu Borgir, Enslaved, Blood Red Throne, Dawn of Ashes
The Knife Shop Tigress
The Woods
Prairie Empire, Shenandoah Davis, Harlowe & The Great North Woods, New Heirlooms
Matador
White Eagle
The Martyrs, Kite and Dister, Tortune, Maggie Jane and the Children’s Choir
Groove Suite
Slim’s
Star Bar
Holocene
DJ DirtyNick DJ Gregarious
The World Famous Kenton Club Eye Candy VJ
Tiga
Boolar
THUR. NOV. 18 Beauty Bar
Homo Deluxe
Blitz Ladd
Video Disco With VJ Dantronix
Fez Ballroom
Miss Thing The Pageant: DJ Chelsea Starr, DJ Juan
Hall of Records DJ Nate C
Gaea Schell
DJ Aquaman’s Soul Stew
Journeys By DJ: DJ ATF & DJ Webb
Valentine’s
Vino Vixens
‘80s Video Dance Attack
After Dark
DJ King Fader
DJ Tim Russ
White Hinterland, John Heart Jackie, Friends
DJ Anjali
Saucebox
Tony Starlight’s Paul Asaro
FRI. NOV. 19
Crown Room
Railside Pub Saucebox
Phonographix Video DJs
Tiga
Vinyl Warning
Valentine’s
Tender, Love ‘n Care Country Night with Mike and Josh
Ground Kontrol
Matt Nelkin, DJ Kez, Dundiggy
Matador
S.I.N.: Gregarious, Flight Risk, Colin Sick
Saucebox
The Perfect Cyn: Unclassified
Star Bar DJ Ikon
Tiga
DJ vs. Nature
SAT. NOV. 20 Crown Room
IZM, Easter Egg, Tyler Tastemaker
Dunes
Suicide Club with DJ Nightschool, Nu Sensae
Ella Street Social Club DJ Tigerstripes
Groove Suite Soulstice
Ground Kontrol Reaganomix: DJ Destructo, DJ I (Heart) U
Holocene
Someday Lounge
Ante Up: Doctor Adam, DJ Nature, Ronin Roc
Tiga
City Baby
Valentine’s
DJ Cooky Parker
SUN. NOV. 21 Ground Kontrol DJ Nate C
Saucebox
DJ Sappho: Queer Nite
MON. NOV. 22 Ground Kontrol DJ Tibin
Hall of Records DJ Roane
Mississippi Studios DJ Hufnstuf, DJ Lunchlady
Saucebox
DJ Lionsden
The World Famous Kenton Club
Old Country Night with Billy Lee
Tiga
Musique Plastique
TUES. NOV. 23 Crown Room
See You Next Tuesday Weekly Dubstep Party
Saucebox
DJ King Tim 33 1/3
Tiga
DJ Rat Creeps
Tiger Bar
DJ Entropy
Tube
Awesome Racket
Gaycation: DJ Snowtiger, Mr. Charming
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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MOVIE TIMES PAGE 50
Celebrate greatness by honoring the winners of the 2010 Skidmore Prize
ISRAEL BAYER of Street Roots
LEAH HALL
of Morrison Child and Family Services
GABY MENDEZ of Neighborhood House
LAURA STREIB of Vibe of Portland
LIVE:
Governor Hotel Friday, Noon $5 RADIO:
OPB Friday, 7pm TV:
Channel 30 Wednesday, 8pm pdxcityclub.org
SPONSORED BY
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Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
SPOTLIGHT
Open House and Discussion featuring philosopher and noted author jacob Needleman
CAMERONBROWNE.COM
MUSIC
Jacob Needleman is a professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University and the author of many books, including What is God?, The American Soul, The Wisdom of Love, and Introduction to the Gurdjieff Work.
Friday November 19th, 7-9pm The Gurdjieff Foundation of Oregon 5820 SW Kelly Avenue, Portland, Oregon info@gurdjieff-foundation-oregon.org join us for an evening of conversation and refreshment
THE NEW OLD THING: On Saturday, Biz Markie and Rev. Shines helped rechristen the expanded Branx (320 SE 2nd Ave., myspace.com/branxpdx), former home of Meow Meow and Loveland. While the show probably wasn’t the most indicative of Branx’s future identity as a punk and metal club for the all-ages set—Biz’s DJ gig was 21+ and packed with Nike employees doing the Humpty Dance—it did provide a preview of the remodeled space and its (nice) sound system. There are a few new walls, mainly to keep clear distinctions between the barebones bar area—prime real estate at shows—and the all-ages side. There’s also a Food Hole-looking burger-’n’-fries shack whose menu will expand in early December. Aside from those changes, Branx feels, as did its predecessors, like a windowless, brick-walled batcave. Which is exactly how it should feel. CASEY JARMAN.
ALADDIN THEATER 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 234-9694 ALBERTA ROSE THEATRE 3000 NE Alberta St., 719-6055 ALBERTA STREET PUBLIC HOUSE 1036 NE Alberta St., 284-7665 ASH STREET SALOON 225 SW Ash St., 226-0430 BACKSPACE 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900 BEAUTY BAR 111 SW Ash Street., 224-0773 BERBATI’S PAN 231 SW Ankeny St., 248-4579 BIDDY MCGRAW’S 6000 NE Glisan St., 233-1178 BLUE MONK 3341 SE Belmont St., 595-0575 BRANX 320 SE 2nd Ave., 234-5683 BUNK BAR 1028 SE Water Ave., CROWN ROOM 205 NW 4th Ave., 222-6655 CRYSTAL BALLROOM 1332 W Burnside St., 225-0047 DANTE’S 1 SW 3rd Ave., 226-6630 DOUG FIR LOUNGE 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663 DUFF’S GARAGE 1635 SE 7th Ave., 234-2337 DUNES 1905 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 493-8637 EAST BURN 1800 E. Burnside., 236-2876 EAST END 203 SE Grand Ave., 232-0056
ELLA STREET SOCIAL CLUB 714 SW 20th Place., 227-0116 GOODFOOT 2845 SE Stark St., 239-9292 GROUND KONTROL 511 NW Couch St., 796-9364 HALL OF RECORDS 3342 SE Belmont St., HAWTHORNE THEATRE 3862 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 233-7100 HOLOCENE 1001 SE Morrison St., 239-7639 JIMMY MAK’S 221 NW 10th Ave., 295-6542 KNOW 2026 NE Alberta St., 473-8729 LAURELTHIRST PUBLIC HOUSE 2958 NE Glisan St., 232-1504 LOLA’S ROOM AT THE CRYSTAL BALLROOM 1332 W Burnside St., 225-0047 MISSISSIPPI PIZZA 3552 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3231 MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895 MOUNT TABOR THEATER 4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd., PLAN B 1305 SE 8th Ave., 230-9020 PRESS CLUB 2621 SE Clinton St., 233-5656 RONTOMS 600 E Burnside St., 236-4536 ROSE GARDEN 1401 N Wheeler Ave., 235-8771 ROSELAND 8 NW 6th Ave., 219-9929 (Grill), 224-2038 (Theater) ROTTURE 315 SE 3rd Ave., 234-5683
SAUCEBOX 214 SW Broadway., 241-3393 SECRET SOCIETY LOUNGE 116 NE Russell St., 493-3600 SLABTOWN 1033 NW 16th Ave., 223-0099 SOMEDAY LOUNGE 125 NW 5th Ave., 248-1030 THE KNIFE SHOP 426 SW Washington St., 228-3669 THE TWILIGHT ROOM 5242 N Lombard St., 283-5091 THE WOODS 6637 SE Milwaukie Ave., 890-0408 THE WORLD FAMOUS KENTON CLUB 2025 N Kilpatrick St., 285-3718 TIGA 1465 NE Prescott St., 288-5534 TIGER BAR 317 NW Broadway., 222-7297 TONIC LOUNGE 3100 NE Sandy Blvd., 238-0543 TONY STARLIGHT’S 3728 NE Sandy Blvd., 517-8584 TUBE 18 NW 3rd Ave., 241-8823 TWILIGHT CAFE & BAR 1420 SE Powell Blvd., 232-3576 TWILIGHT ROOM 5242 N Lombard St., 283-5091 VALENTINE’S 232 SW Ankeny St., 248-1600 VINO VIXENS 2929 SE Powell Blvd., 231-8466 WHITE EAGLE 836 N Russell St., 282-6810 WINE DOWN EAST 2236 NE Alberta St., 719-6984 WONDER BALLROOM 128 NE Russell St., 284-8686 XHURCH 4550 NE 20th Ave.,
MUSIC MILLENNIUM’S
FALL VINYL SALE FIVE DAYS ONLY! NOVEMBER 17TH – 21ST SAVE 20% OFF ALL NEW VINYL & 25% OFF ALL USED VINYL UPCOMING IN-STORE PERFORMANCES BEATALLICA THURSDAY 11/18 @ 6:30PM Forged from the influences of two of history’s greatest bands, Beatallica are the world’s first live mash-up or “bash-up” band. Beatallica destroy the boundaries of creativity and reveal how original compositions of music can be crafted for those who identify with humor and biting commentary. All the while, they show appreciation and reverence to The Beatles and Metallica, grandfathers of their respective genres.
MOONDOGGIES/DAWES FRIDAY 11/19 @ 6PM SEE THEM LIVE LATER THAT NIGHT @ DOUG FIR Though they sprang from Seattle’s vibrant roots music scene, the Moondoggies are a band schooled in much more than the common touchstones of the current Americana movement; there are no intentions of treading water stylistically here. It’s precisely this creative stretching that has resulted in the bands most artistic step forward to date: Tidelands. Dawes - Taylor Goldsmith (vocals, guitar), Griffin Goldsmith (drums, vocals), Wylie Gelber (bass) and Tay Strathairn (piano, vocals) - seem to get all their musicianship and expression across through the inherent nature of the instruments. They have utmost respect for the song itself, only stepping out when a song calls for it.
RAINSTICK COWBELL SATURDAY 11/20 @ 5PM Scott Arbogast (from the defunct Creepy Old Trucks) now wields the moniker Rainstick Cowbell. He’s left behind the bass and the drummer of his prior outfit for an emotional excursion on acoustic guitar with tight strumming, severe picking and tense open spaces. His literary lyrics lament heroes past against snapshots of his own raw emotions.
MINIATURE TIGERS SUNDAY 11/21 @ 4PM Miniature Tigers’ first album conjured up images of tropical islands and communal campfires, using acoustic guitars and casual, breezy melodies to dream up a landscape that looked nothing like the band’s home. ‘Fortress,’ the group’s second album, sketches a different picture. What was once casual is now complex; what was formerly indebted to 1960’s pop now takes cues from 21st century groups like Animal Collective and Of Montreal.
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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NOV. 17-23
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. Most prices listed are for advance ticket sales. At-the-door increases and so-called convenience charges may apply, so it’s best to call ahead. Editor: BEN WATERHOUSE. Stage: BEN WATERHOUSE (bwaterhouse@wweek. com). Classical: BRETT CAMPBELL (bcampbell@wweek.com). Dance: HEATHER WISNER (dance@wweek.com). TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit information at least two weeks in advance to: bwaterhouse@wweek.com.
STAGE
Heart Beatings
Alice & Wonderland
Oregon Children’s Theatre and “rock opera” aren’t two concepts that ordinarily go in the same sentence. But the children-focused company’s one-act treatment of the Lewis Carroll classic in a genre popularized by ’70s-era shows like Tommy largely works because the show’s songs rock to clap-along levels and because its dancing is high-energy. And like all good children’s shows, Alice & Wonderland also offers a lot for parents with all the story’s comical turns. Sara Catherine Wheatley stands out with her powerful voice as the bored Alice. She has a strong supporting cast, most notably Dave Cole as an electric guitar-riffing White Rabbit and Vin Shambry as Mock Turtle. HENRY AND BEN STERN. Newmark Theatre, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, 1111 SW Broadway, 248-4335. 2 and 5 pm Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, Nov. 20-21. $13-$26.
Cinderella
Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre offers a nice respite from ironic Portland with its sweet and straightforward adaptation of Cinderella set in France circa 1770. The 55-minute production unfolds, leading up to the prince’s masked ball, at a pace that may be a tad slow for older kids. (The line is probably around 8 years old, depending on your child’s maturity). And the show doesn’t have any insidejoke nods to the adults. But if you’re a parent of younger kids, the tabletop puppetry performed by Nancy Aldrich and Kris Woolen holds its target audience of ages 3 and up with its mix of song and cleverly designed puppets. A final note: Be sure to arrive early enough to take advantage of papermask-making in the lobby—and budget for a few minutes after the show to stick around for kids to have a Q&A with both performers. HENRY AND BEN STERN. Winningstad Theatre, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, 1111 SW Broadway, 248-0557. 11 am Saturdays, 2 and 4 pm Sundays. Closes Nov. 28. $18, $15 children.
Dying City
Portland Playhouse provides a respite from the annual onslaught of holiday shows with a wartime drama by Christopher Shinn, in which an army widow receives an unexpected visit from her late husband’s twin brother, whose intentions are not clear. Wade McCollum, who will simultaneously be performing The Santaland Diaries at PCS, plays both brothers. The Church, 602 NE Prescott St., 205-0715. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays through Nov. 28; 9 pm ThursdaysSaturdays, 4 pm Sundays Dec. 4-12; 8 pm Monday, Nov. 22. No shows Thanksgiving Day or Dec. 9. Closes Dec. 12. $12-$21.
The Foreigner
Lakewood Theatre Company turns to Larry Shue’s community-theater staple about a shy man whose attempts to avoid conversation by feigning ignorance of English do not go well. Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State St., Lake Oswego, 635-3901. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 7 pm Sunday Nov. 21, 2 pm Sundays Nov. 28 and Dec. 5 and 12. Closes Dec. 12. $24-$27.
Hammil-Town, Ohio
Spring 4th Productions’ fall show, by company members Ian Sieren and Tobin Gollihar, is a profile of an all-American town that really loves brownies. Shoe Box Theater, 2110 SE 10th Ave., 477-8255. 7:30 pm Thursdays and Sundays. No show Thanksgiving Day. Closes Dec. 5. $10-$12.
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A new musical by local composer Mark LaPierre, presented by CoHo Productions, comprising six purportedly comedic vignettes about love and sex. Each bit starts with an amusing concept (compulsive liars on a date, say), then belabors it to death. The music is that awful style of undanceable talk-singing that furthers the plot but does nothing for the ears, and the show amounts to two hours and one very good pun. At least the performers aren’t miked, and sing quite well. Why hasn’t anyone cast Andrew Bray in a really good show? The guy’s got talent to spare. BEN WATERHOUSE. The CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 205-0715. 8 pm Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 18-20. $20-$25. Thursdays are pay-what-you-will.
An Iliad
Beneath the bulging muscle, the polished armor, the gleaming fleets and onlooking deities, The Iliad boils down to this: Dying fighting in defense of your country can be pretty fucking unseemly. This truth is captured fairly well in this solo performance adapted by Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson from Robert Fagles’ translation of Homer’s poem. Here’s how it goes: A ragged storyteller stumbles onto the stage in what looks like a highway underpass, the stone walls inscribed with the names of millennia of soldiers. He is drunk, unkempt. He doesn’t seem to want to tell you his war stories, but he is compelled. This production, directed by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Penny Metropulos and performed by Joseph Graves, tones down the didactic elements of the show in favor of fury. When Graves gets to do battle, he is extraordinary, wrenching forth the blood and sun and sand, the whole, miserable mess of Hector’s needless death and the rage of Achilles in a performance that can honestly be described as spellbinding. BEN WATERHOUSE. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, noon Thursday, Nov. 20-21. $18-$40.
Mars on Life—Live!
Susannah Mars, everyone’s favorite soccer-mom chanteuse, revives her delightful holiday revue at Artists Rep. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 241-1278. 7:30 pm Wednesdays-Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 pm Sundays, 11 am Wednesday, Dec. 8. No shows Dec. 11-12 and 17-18. Closes Dec. 19. $25-$47, $20 students.
Medusa
The Working Theatre Collective presents a new reexamination of the battle between Perseus and Medusa by company member Eva Suter. Eff Space, 333 NE Hancock St., Studio 14, theworkingtheatrecollective.com. 8 pm Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 18-20. $10-$15.
PHAME Academy Winter Gala
[FUNDRAISER] The nonprofit organization, which provides arts education, performance, enrichment and student life to adults with developmental disabilities, throws its annual bash, featuring performances by Douglas Webster, Amy Beth Frankel and Margie Boulé. Acadian Ballroom, 1829 NE Alberta St., phameacademy.org. 4-7 pm Sunday, Nov. 21. $65.
Puppet Slam
A “very tasty food-themed” puppet slam, to be precise. Beady Little Eyes’ second local puppet-theater smorgasbord (hosted, as always, by a giant toad) has eating on the brain. It should be delicious. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 646-1498. 7 pm Saturday, Nov. 20. $8. 21+.
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
Right Hand Red
Curious Comedy’s latest sketch comedy offering blurs the lines between game and show. The scenes for Right Hand Red appear in random order as a Vanna White-esque character picks them out of a rotating barrel. Curious Comedy, 5225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., curiouscomedy. org. 8 pm Friday-Saturday, Nov. 19-20. $10 in advance, $12 at the door.
Sealed for Freshness
[NEW REVIEW] Adair Chappell stars as a malcontent housewife in this grotesque parody of 60s suburban mores by Comedy Central writer Doug Stone. The plot: five women get sozzled at a Tupperware party and yell at each other for an hour, having several epiphanies along the way. Like too many male playwrights who try to capture female experience in any era, Stone relies on a steaming bucket of cliches in place of any sort of real character development. His women just want to have babies, or are suffocated by their children, or wreck marriages with good looks, or are having their marriages wrecked, or demand to be constantly reminded that they’re pretty. All the laughs come in the form of insults, delivered quite well by Lori Ferraro as a hugely pregnant harpy, but being trapped for an hour in a room with a half dozen unpleasant women soon ceases to by fun. BEN WATERHOUSE. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 2395919. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Nov. 28. $15-$35.
stagedpdx.org. 8 pm Friday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, Nov. 19-21. $21-$25.
COMEDY Brianwaves
[IMPROV] Fast-paced improv comedy. Shoe Box Theater, 2110 SE 10th Ave., 250-8928. 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays. Closes Dec. 11. $10.
Grilled Cheese Theatre
[IMPROV] Legendary improvisers Paul “Sparky” Johnson, Max Schafer and Robert Moyer join Adrienne Flagg and Jennifer Lanier in ad-hoc telling of classic stories for families. Curious Comedy, 5225 NE Martin Luther King
Jr. Blvd., theatrebrigade.org. 4 pm Sunday, Nov. 21. $12, $7 children.
Sabrina Matthews, Nico Santos
[STANDUP] Excellent queer comedians, hosted by Belinda Carroll. Aura, 1022 W Burnside St., 597-2872. 8 pm Thursday, Nov. 18. $15-$55. Tickets at brownpapertickets.com/event/129649.
The Standup Comedy Showcase
[STANDUP] The Brody Theater hosts local comics. The Brody Theater, 16 NW Broadway, 224-2227. 10 pm Friday, Dec. 17. $7-$10.
Super Secret Spy Team
[IMPROV] The Brody Theater improvises an espionage thriller. The Brody
REVIEW JAMIE BOSWORTH
PERFORMANCE
Stage Left Lost
The third in Imago Theatre co-founder Jerry Mouawad’s series of “Operas Beyond Words”—short, movementbased plays without dialogue—begins backstage at a theater during a production of Othello, which the audience observes from seats behind the curtain at stage left. Actors assemble, are pushed around by an anxious stage manager and prepare for the performance. Two of them, including the actress playing Desdemona, have been recently married. Then something goes terribly wrong: During the murder scene, Desdemona actually winds up dead. What ensues could be a play within a play or maybe just a play, as a man is convicted of the killing and the fallout of the horrible deed wrecks a few more lives. The parade of seduction and suicide and menacing ghosts has the quality of a really engrossing dream with a particularly good sound track. The cast, which includes Matthew Dieckman and Carol Triffle, conveys the action of each scene lucidly. So what if the links between those scenes are obscure? A little bafflement is no reason to miss this show, and plenty of reason to see it twice. BEN WATERHOUSE. Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th Ave., 231-3959. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, Nov. 18-21. $10-$12.
Stumptown Does Broadway
Stumptown Stages presents show-tune karaoke at Wilfs. Wilfs Restaurant and Bar, Union Station, 800 NW 6th Ave., 223-0070. 6:30 pm Tuesday, Nov. 23. $10.
Violet
Violet is a girl with a deformity; some call her “Axe Face” due to the blade that halved her head at age 13. A sassy North Carolina mountain girl, she’s on a mission to Tulsa, Okla., in search of a televangelist to heal her scar. Staged!’s Oregon premiere of the musical Violet, directed by Elizabeth Klinger with musical direction by Jeffrey Childs, is snappy and earnest, its scope surprising in the small space of the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. The gospel, rock ‘n’ roll and country score is excellent, but there’s a whole lotta schmaltz on display, mainly in the flashback scenes featuring accident-aged Violet and her father. But this is a musical, after all, and Violet excels most in transforming the mundane—Greyhound bus rides and nightclub soirees—into music. Its more traditional love triangle and obvious, Wizard of Oz twist grate when compared with such unexpected fun. CAITLIN McCARTHY. Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave.,
TODD VAN VORIS
CHESAPEAKE (PROFILE THEATRE) Lee Blessing’s Chesapeake is just as absurdly silly as it is politically dramatic. In this production, directed by Third Rail Repertory’s Scott Yarbrough, the ironic political satire achieves its goal with only one actor and almost no props. At first glance it appears to be no more than a dramatic reading, as multiple-role performer Todd Van Voris recounts the first act while seated at a desk with nothing but a pitcher of water in front of him, a slide show behind him, and occasional noises (created by Rodolfo Ortega) bursting from the speakers. At its core, the story of Chesapeake, which was written at the height of Jesse Helms’ campaign against the National Endowment for the Arts, is a tale of political espionage. At least, that is what Blessing might have you think. In brief, the play narrates a chain of events through the eyes of Kerr, a performing artist, who is enamored with Filippo Marinetti and the futurists. Kerr embarks on a revenge plot against a United States senator hell-bent on gutting public arts funding, only to die in a hilariously clumsy accident and be reborn as the senator’s new dog. As with any well-conceived story, it’s not until the second act that the play’s real theme is brought to the foreground. It is illustrated by the genuine growth of both artist and politician through the unbreakable and inescapable bond between a man and his dog. Van Voris portrays each role nimbly as he jumps between Blessing’s characters. Viewers may be momentarily confused by the entry of a new character until realizing that Van Voris’ low, manly voice is also meant to portray those of several women in the act. Disbelief should also be suspended when trying to grapple with the idea of a dog who can write in the sand and type on a keyboard. The first act is funny, but the second is packed end to end with comedy. Between the protagonist’s uncontrollable impulse to have sex with a neighbor’s bitch in heat, and his description of the almost orgasmic sensation of being petted on the belly, Chesapeake will have something for aesthetes and tea-partyers alike. LEIGHTON COSSEBOOM. Todd Van Voris’ life as a dog.
SEE IT: Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont St., 242-0080. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, Nov. 17-21. $12-$28.
PERFORMANCE AMES BIRCH CAMPBELL
NOV. 17-23
THE DOLLY POPS Theater, 16 NW Broadway, 2242227. 8 pm Saturday, Nov. 20. $10, $7 students.
St. Michael and All Angels Church, 1704 NE 43rd Ave., 209-7539. 3 pm Sunday, Nov. 21. $10-$20.
U.S.S. Improvise
Satori Men’s Chorus
[IMPROV] The Unscriptables new Star Trek episodes. Unscriptables Studio, 1121 N Loring St., 309-3723. 8 pm Saturdays and Friday, Dec. 10. Closes Dec. 11. All shows are paywhat-you-will.
CLASSICAL Florestan Trio
The PSU faculty trio plays a trio of chamber work masterpieces: one of Beethoven’s great cello sonatas, Brahms’ D-minor violin sonata and Mendelssohn’s “Piano Trio in D Minor.” Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, 1620 SW Park Ave., 2421419. 4 pm Sunday, Nov. 21. $15-$25.
Jason Vieaux
Vieaux is the leading classical guitar virtuoso of his generation, and he’s lately branched out into performances of the music of Pat Metheny. A must-see for guitar fans. Marylhurst University, 17600 Highway 43, 654-0082. 8 pm Friday, Nov. 19. $30-$49.
Kim Reece
The saxophonist plays music of contemporary composers Ned Rorem and Libby Larsen with pianist Douglas Schneider. Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, 1620 SW Park Ave., 725-3307. 7:30 pm Tuesday, Nov. 23. Free.
MT Duo
The violinists/violists (Mary Rowell and Tatiana Kolchanova) play music by Mozart, Spohr and Martinu. First Presbyterian Church, 1200 SW Alder St., 228-7331. 2 pm Sunday, Nov. 21. $10-$12.
Oregon Symphony
MacArthur “genius” grant-winning pianist Stephen Hough’s virtuosity will be on full display in Liszt’s flashy, ultra-Romantic first Piano Concerto. More massive Romantic emoting pervades the program’s other pillar: musicologist Deryck Cooke’s completion of Mahler’s unfinished 10th and final symphony. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 288-1353. 7:30 pm Saturday-Sunday, 8 pm Monday, Nov. 20-22. $20-$90.
Portland State University Chamber Choir and University Choir
Music by the most prominent living American choral composers, Morten Lauridsen and Eric Whitacre, plus Philip Glass, the great Estonian composer Veljo Tormis, Brahms, Monteverdi and others. First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Ave., 7253307. 8 pm Friday, Nov. 19. $5-$10.
Portland Vocal Consort
The chorus sings all-American music by Aaron Copland and William Schuman, contemporary composers Stephen Paulus and Portland-born Morten Lauridsen.
The men’s choir sings music relating to the theme of water. The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., 2424244. 8 pm Saturday, Nov. 20. $7-$15.
DANCE Alembic
Laughing at someone else’s pain seems to be part of the human condition: maybe it’s a laugh of recognition, or maybe it’s just an expression of relief that it didn’t happen to you this time. In the latest installment of Alembic, a weekend-long marathon of dance, movement, stories and sound, Sarah Hoopes reads from her teenage diaries and comments on her adult self. She’s joined by Tracy Broyles, Jenn Gierada, and Lisa DeGrace in the dance work Fancy; and Meshi Chavez and DeGrace in the slide-show-soundscapestory The Dream Life of Clowns. DeGrace, a certified clown trained in the Pochinko clowning method, has curated the show (local viewers may recall her previous appearance here in Flying Iron, in which she performed in a 30-footwide dress with a 40-pound hoop skirt). Performance Works NW, 4625 SE 67th Ave., 777-1907. 8 pm Friday-Sunday, Nov. 19-21. $8-$15.
Irish Ceili
Ward off the fall chill with a brisk round of traditional Irish social dancing. Fiddler Dale Russ and guitarist Mike Saunders play live and you don’t need a partner or experience of any kind—lessons precede the dance and all ages are welcome. PPAA, 618 SE Alder St., 8 pm lesson, 9 pm dance Friday, Nov. 19. $8-$10.
The Rosehip Revue
Held the third Friday of every month, the revue features a rotating cast of bumping-and-grinding regulars, including the Dolly Pops, Angelique DeVil, Burlesquire, Holly Dai, Itty Bitty Bang Bang and more. Barracuda, 9 NW 2nd Ave., 2286900. 9 pm Friday, Nov. 19. $11. 21+.
it’s 10-15% off
Sheelah’s Belly Dance Studio Open House
Belly up to the bar, or at least the dance floor, as Sheelah’s Belly Dance Studio hosts an open house celebrating its arrival on the local scene. Instructors open the night with demos; a fashion show featuring apparel by MagidahWear and Fairy Cove Silks (which the studio stocks) will follow. After that, it’s open dancing till midnight and a performance or two by instructors. Food will be provided Bakery Bites and Mali Thai. Sheelah’s Belly Dance Studio, 14335 SW Pacific Highway, Tigard, 352-5644. 7 pm Friday, Nov. 19. Free.
For more Performance listings, visit Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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VISUAL ARTS
NOV. 17-23
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. By RICHARD SPEER. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit show information—including opening and closing dates, gallery address and phone number—at least two weeks in advance to: Visual Arts, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Email: rspeer@wweek.com. Fax: 2431115. Emailed press releases must be backed up by a faxed or printed copy. B L A K E LY D A D S O N
LEARN THE ART OF
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"Portland’s Best FamilyOriented Holiday Event!" —Willamette Week
BLAKELY DADSON’S IVORY BLACKNESS AT CHAMBERS @ 916
NOW SHOWING George Johanson
Veteran painter George Johanson, now in his 80s, has a certain style that certain people love. We are not among those people, but if tediously democratic tableaux of musicians playing jazz, sports lovers sitting in bleachers and summer frolickers at the beach sound like your idea of great art, then boy, does Augen have a show for you. Augen, 716 NW Davis St., 546-5056. Closes Nov. 27.
Stephen Scott Smith
Stephen Scott Smith knows a thing or two about narcissism. It’s been a recurring theme in his work, which has often featured head shots and semi-nude self-portraits of his fastidiously gym-toned body. In his current show, Burlap, he continues his seemingly inexhaustible selffascination with a gratuitous shot of his own crotch in sheer bikini briefs, interspersed with photos of a topless female porn star, a supermarket meat aisle, a surveillance camera and celebutante Ashley Olsen. Collectively, these images aim to critique the contemporary fascination with self. It is often difficult to know where a narcissist’s critique ends and where indulgence begins. Perhaps that is Smith’s point. Elsewhere in the show, a giant beech tree and a gorgeous suite of candy-colored frames add visual interest. Breeze Block Gallery, 323 NW 6th Ave., 318-6228. Closes Nov. 27.
Passage
SPANISH TREASURE Celebrate the Winter Solstice with a musical visit to Medieval & Renaissance Spain FEATURING Al-Andalus Ensemble � Laura Onizuka � Portland Brass Quintet Burl Ross � Helena de Crespo � Ken Potts � Adult & Child Choruses Stage Director: Gray Eubank � Music Director: Robert M. Lockwood MATINEES & EVENINGS: Dec. 3,4,5, and 9,10,11,12 TICKETS: 503-200-1603 or at www.portlandrevels.org; Box Office: M-F 4-8:30pm Scottish Rite Theater, SW 15th & Morrison, Ptld • Wheelchair accessible; on MAX line Adults: $36/$27/$18 • Students (13+): $26/$20/$12 • Seniors (65+): $30/$20/$12 • Children (4-12): $15/$10/$7 For more information: www.portlandrevels.org • 503.274.4654 Sponsors include: AKA Direct, The Collins Foundation, Juan Young Trust, The Kinsman Foundation, Willamette Week
Back in March, wunderkind painter Blakely Dadson made a splash with his glitter-spangled paintings of Jesus jewelry. Now he returns to Chambers as part of the twoperson show Passage. While his paintings of reggae stars cover well-worn post-Pop territory, his image of a fantastical schooner, Ivory Blackness, is something special. Although it’s not evident in reproduction, seen in person the painting’s richest component is the blackness surrounding the ship, with its intricate brushwork and dark curlicues, highlighted by a gorgeous matte finish. It is a highly accomplished painting, only one or two notches below downright breathtaking. On the opposite wall, Bay Area artist Jose Guinto has created a hilarious suite of faux Converse sneakers out of felt. Chambers @ 916, 916 NW Flanders St., 227-9398. Closes Dec. 31.
Ansel Adams: Photographs 1920s-1960s
Like all artists accorded the adjective “iconic,” Adams (1902-1984) is easy to view through a musty, sepia-tinted monocle—a trend that
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Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
RevWWAdA.pdf Runs Nov 17 and Dec 1, 2010
Ansel Adams: Photographs 1920s1960s does much to dispel. Crisply matted and framed in immaculate white, the prints incorporate closeup and medium-shot imagery, not just the expansive vistas that made Adams famous. Charles A. Hartman Fine Art, 134 NW 8th Ave., 2873886. Closes Nov. 27.
Lee Kelly, Shane McAdams
In the late 1960s, beloved Northwest artist Lee Kelly used to make sculptures out of discarded auto parts he found in junkyards. These biomorphic compositions, displayed in the exhibition Chrome, are as corny, cloying and arbitrary as you would expect from work that emerged from a trash heap. Fortunately, the artist went on to work in other media to much more sophisticated effect. In the back gallery, Brooklyn, New York-based artist Shane McAdams’ paintings have panache to burn. He frames realist depictions of waterfalls, icebergs, caverns and mountains in amoeba- and cell-like structures. Although the landscape portions aren’t quite as crisp and nuanced as they could be, it’s still a startling integration of realism and abstraction. Elizabeth Leach, 417 NW 9th Ave., 224-0521. Closes Dec. 31.
Vanessa Renwick
Like Ansel Adams, Portlandbased filmmaker and installation artist Vanessa Renwick reveres the American West to the point of obsession. In her exhibition, As Easy as Falling off a Log, she has created perhaps the most effective multimedia installation show to be mounted in a commercial Portland gallery over the past five years. Its elements—including a small mountain of chopped wood appointed with bean bags and headphones and a poignant short film titled Woodswoman—demonstrate a virtuosity with materials anchored in a sound conceptual base. PDX Across the Hall, 925 NW Flanders St., 222-0063. Closes Nov. 27.
Justin L’Amie, Arnold Kemp
Justin L’Amie’s diminutive insect drawings skew toward the precious side of the cute/cutesy dichotomy. Fortunately, this two-person show is rescued by Arnold Kemp’s ambitious abstractions. His nearly 6-foot square, Tonight’s Day, shows his talent to greatest impact. With a monolithic interior rectangle of inky black framed by washes of ink and graphite, the piece has charisma to burn: a kind of Darth Vader minimalism that is seductive, fierce and utterly compelling. PDX Contemporary Art, 925 NW Flanders St., 222-0063. Closes Nov. 27.
For more Visual Arts listings, visit
WORDS
NOV. 17-23
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. By LEIGHTON COSSEBOOM. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit lecture or reading information at least two weeks in advance to: WORDS, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Email: words@wweek.com. Fax: 243-1115.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17 Why the West Rules—For Now
Ever wonder why Americans think they’re the best? Author Ian Morris will explain how 50,000 years of history has fated Western civilization to be the dominant culture, at least so far, and what may be in store for the future of global power and politics. The event is cosponsored by the World Affairs Council of Oregon. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651. 7:30 pm. Free.
Back Fence PDX
Some people wonder if Bob Barker goes around off-camera telling people to spay and neuter their dogs. You may get the answer at the Back Fence PDX, where booze will be served and hilarious true
stories will be recounted by several zany people including Molly Norton, a personal friend of the “actual retail price” wizard. Other stories come from Ben Samples, a professional eavesdropper, among others. Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St., 223-4527. 6 pm food and drink, 7:30 pm stories. $14 at the door.
FRIDAY, NOV. 19 CF & Brian Chippendale
Move over Scott Pilgrim, some new action-adventure sagas have just hit shelves. The “manga-style” If ‘n Oof by graphic novelist Brian Chippendale follows the witty character duo Laurel and Hardy as they explore new lands and stumble upon fresh and frightening aliens. Powr Mastrs 3, by PictureBox cartoonist CF, is the latest in his epic fantasy series about a “misguided
CURIOUS COMEDY THEATER
scientist” who creates a new race of beings, the result of which is a series of power struggles among the race itself and with its maker. The book-launch party will include slide shows and an interview of the two artists from local author Matt Fraction. Floating World Comics, 20 NW 5th Ave., Suite 101, 241-0227. 6 pm. Free.
RIGHT HAND RED CRAZY FUN SKETCH COMEDY FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS 8:00PM THROUGH NOVEMBER 20TH
MONDAY, NOV. 22 Ghosted
Cocaine, whiskey and testosterone for days…black-comedy author Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall presents a tale of card sharks and urban escapades in his new novel Ghosted. Protagonist Mason Dubisee’s exploits involve drugs, death, love, lust, worry and writing in this contemporary thriller about high-stakes poker and the frustration that excess brings. Powell’s on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 228-4651. 7:30 pm. Free.
CURIOUS COMEDY THEATER SKETCH IMPROV STAND UP - COMEDY FULL BAR · GREAT FOOD
For more Words listings, visit
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REVIEW
CURIOUS COMEDY THEATER
HARRIET FASENFEST A HOUSEHOLDER’S GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE The new book by Harriet Fasenfest, A Householder’s Guide to the Universe (Tin House, 400 pages, $16.95), is like a thick slice of rhubarb pie. Tart, saucy, colorful, perhaps an acquired taste, but one with forgotten healing properties. In its pages, the Portland food-preservation teacher and former cafe owner is equal parts Martha Stewart and Che Guevara, promoting the empowerment in a bowl of your own applesauce, the simple but radical act of growing Copra onions to store in your basement. This woman hates going to the grocery store with a vehemence usually reserved for elective rootcanal surgery. Her almostallergic reaction to pushing the cart provides the jumping-off point for her theme: The food-shopping experience is a zombie walk in which we endorse corporate systems that don’t serve our well-being and threaten all that is diverse and delicious. That means everything not marinated in chemicals and owned by Monsanto. Her strategy for stepping off the consumer treadmill is “householding,” a concept inspired by old-school agrarian guru Wendell Berry. On a city lot, Fasenfest maps out a rewarding, if potentially demanding, model of stewardship and self-sufficiency. The book unfolds as a well-paced travelogue of her year in the kitchen and garden, with smart charts and cozy recipes sandwiched around essays on topics from her Holocaust-survivor mother’s joy in running a household to her own passion for pickled nasturtium seeds, homemade crème fraîche and Shuksan strawberries. She charts a month-by-month plan of attack—and make no mistake, she’s a kitchen warrior, picking and preserving her edibles like a many-armed Ganesh—inviting urbanites to harvest and ferment their way to a more tasty, meaningful life. Her observations are rooted in our climate and culture, which make her book of particular
value to Oregonians. Yet Harriet Fasenfest is not like you, unless you have 500 jars of restaurantquality food that you grew squirreled away in your pantry or boast a complete “outdoor kitchen,” the better to preserve fruity fabulousness sans swelter. (Don’t look for off-the-grid energysaving here—Fasenfest is that peculiarly American person who revels in her two refrigerators and two freezers, and fantasizes about more.) Her readers may not have the resources of time, money or, frankly, courage to adopt her practices whole hog (which, in this case, entails developing a relationship with a farmer to buy the whole hog, then mastering the myriad steps to get it to your plate; it would just be easier to become a vegan). Fasenfest doesn’t retreat from honest descriptions of her off-the-wall enthusiasms (Velcro plant ties she uses “like crack”) as well as her disappointments, struggles and failures. She makes some errors in her otherwise useful gardening info: misspelling her favorite strawberry “Shuckson”; referring to the common plant disease damping off as “dampening off”; reporting that famously easy pattypan squash are hard to grow from transplants; and recommending crop rotation yearly (what a nightmare of extra work) rather than the standard advice of every 3 to 4 years. But screwing it up—growing a crop of crookedy carrots, or making fruity soup instead of fruit sauce—is part of the natural growth curve toward greater resourcefulness. The truth is, as the exuberantly opinionated Fasenfest only proves, if you want to become a real locavore, you’ve got to be willing to go a little loca. SARAH E. SMITH. GO: Harriet Fasenfest reads at Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651. 7:30 pm Monday, Nov. 22, and 7:30 pm Wednesday, Nov. 17, at Annie Bloom’s, 7834 SW Capitol Highway, 246-0053.
HOW PORTLAND DOES COMEDY
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DATES NOV. 19-26 HERE REVIEW
= WW Pick. Highly recommended.
CHUCK ZLOTNICK
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Editor: AARON MESH. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, send screening information at least two weeks in advance to Screen, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Email: amesh@wweek.com. Fax: 243-1115.
Catfish
74 A documentary follows New York photographer Nev Schulman, who receives an email from 8-yearold Michigan wunderkind painter Abby, saying she has replicated one of Schulman’s photos. Catfish is a sympathetic portrait of the lengths people will go to escape reality and its tribulations. We all do it. We post four-yearold photos of ourselves on Facebook so our friends don’t see our beer guts. We embellish small details of our careers. And, in extreme cases, we create networks of imagined friends and events to feel alive again. PG-13. AP KRYZA. Living Room Theaters.
Due Date
54 Here’s Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis in Due Date, which feels like the spiritual equivalent of smashing your funny bone against a door frame, popping a couple Vicodin, then smashing your funny bone again really hard. It’s a rehash of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which you already knew from the World Series ads—but it’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles for a meaner, angrier America. Most of the movie’s interactions culminate in assaults and bloodletting. From the movie’s opening shot (a Downey monologue about a nightmare he’s had about a bear), it feels wired, frayed: It’s like director Todd Phillips’ last flick, The Hangover, if everybody had been chugging Four Loko and woke up the next morning with their hearts racing. Galifianakis’ character is the usual good-hearted simpleton, but with a perm and every boorish tic the screenwriters can load on him: He spends all his money on weed, he laughs helplessly at Downey’s backstory of parental abandonment, he masturbates while his traveling companion is trying to sleep. Near the end of the picture, I was convinced Downey was going to try to throw him into the Grand Canyon. He instead just slams Zach’s face into the door of a truck. Again, this isn’t really a punch line except in the most literal sense. Hardy har har oh my god I am clawing at my own face. R. AARON MESH. Broadway, Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Cinema 99, Cornelius, Hilltop, Lloyd Center, Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Sandy, Sherwood St. Johns Twin Cinema-Pub, Tigard, Wilsonville. NEW
Earth
[THREE DAYS ONLY, REVIVAL] This 1998 melodrama is the first film in Deepa Mehta’s luscious Elements trilogy. 5th Avenue Cinema. FridaySunday, Nov. 19-21. Fifth Avenue Cinemas.
Enter the Void
We’ve been pummeled by Gaspar Noé before—the first 45 minutes of Irreversible, with their assaults and rape, are quite possibly the most harrowing in the history of relatively mainstream film—so the strobing neon fonts and hammering techno of Enter the Void’s seizing opening credits come as no surprise. Nothing else in the film will be as intense or potentially brain damaging. What follows is mind expansion, not a concussion. Riding the spectral reverberations of Noé’s opening textual assault, we graduate into a shared awareness. We are inside of Oscar’s head. Oscar does drugs, deals drugs. His eyes are our eyes, his thoughts our thoughts. When he blinks, the screen blinks. When he thinks, we hear it, seem to think along with him as his gaze wanders the tiny Tokyo apartment he shares with his sister. It is a POV experiment with precedents—Lady in the Lake and the opening of Strange Days come to mind—but when Noé adds dimethyltryptamine to the formula via Oscar’s glowing glass pipe, which we toke on along with him, the world breaks and recoheres into something more than a nifty optical illusion—something more like a drug movie that actually drugs 93
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you; or a movie about death that feels like dying; or a reincarnation fable that feels like being born; or, really, a movie that doesn’t feel like a movie, but a long, sublimely damaged life crammed into just over two hours. CHRIS STAMM. Living Room Theaters.
Fair Game
More left-wing celebrity grand7 standing from studio Participant Media, Fair Game is a tribute to compromised CIA officer Valerie Plame and her diplomat husband Joe Wilson. They are played by Naomi Watts and Sean Penn as weepy victims of the Bush administration’s march to war. Time to haul out that news footage of George and the gang, so that Sean Penn can scowl at the television and “Milk” the political glamour for all it’s worth. It’s not worth much. The movie is ridiculous and elitist, reducing the war to one Beltway couple screwing over another. Scooter Libby and Karl Rove are the evil couple who smirk; Plame and Wilson are the indignant couple who shout. The official who actually blew Plame’s cover is nowhere to be seen. Is it because he, too, opposed the administration? Maybe this is Plame’s Hollywood revenge: You’re either with her or against her. Director Doug Liman favors globe-hopping plots and bland staging. He shows the Wilsons arguing in front of their innocent children, so as to justify a triumphant lecture circuit. “Mr. Wilson!” shouts an admirer. “Mr. Wilson! We came all the way from Portland!” The next sound you hear will be that of about seven moviegoers cooing in unison, as their egos—both regional and partisan— are ruthlessly tickled. PG-13. ALISTAIR ROCKOFF. Cedar Hills, Fox Tower, Hollywood Theatre.
For Colored Girls
Tyler Perry’s contemporary staging of Ntozake Shange’s 1975 play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf is crass, cringe-inducing and compelling—but that’s the mixed result you can expect when you use your movie to host a marathon poetry slam. It’s like a musical, but the dramatic incidents are links between not songs but recitations. Even Perry’s many detractors should concede that his adaptation is beautifully performed and often adroitly staged, but it hinges on Shange’s venerated poems, which are sometimes eviscerating but more often incomprehensible. You already know whether an evening of sexual assault, spousal beatings and maternal abuse would be useful to you, and the drama loses momentum every time a character gears up for a soliloquy, but the tenaciousness of the acting isn’t easily dismissed. Perry pursues all his ideas with a fearless disregard for good taste, and for everything that doesn’t work—like an exorcism scene between Whoopi Goldberg and Tessa Thompson that plays like a black remake of De Palma’s Carrie—there’s another scene that shakes you. You may leave feeling that you were, like two small children midway through the movie, dangled out of a window. But that was kind of the idea. R. AARON MESH. Eastport, Lloyd Mall. 64
Four Lions
The cell of bumbling British jihadists in Chris Morris’ divine new comedy end up disguised as a turtle, an ostrich and a bear, but what they really are is morons. Their idiocy isn’t entirely caused by their embrace of radical Islam, though, as is the case with any religious fundamentalism, it doesn’t help. Seeking their 72 virgins, the five men who call themselves the Four Lions behave like the Three Stooges. Their aim is suicide bombing. They’ll probably manage the suicide part. Offended yet? Director Morris is no novice at finding sacred cows and opening a slaughterhouse. The cast is uniformly brilliant, but my favorite is Kayvan Novak as Waj, who looks a little 96
Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
CONT. on page 46
NOT GOING ANYWHERE FOR A WHILE?: Grab a James Franco.
AN UNARMED MAN IN 127 HOURS, JAMES FRANCO IS CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND...ANOTHER ROCK. BY AA R ON MESH
amesh@wweek.com
Depending on how you choose to look at it, Danny Boyle either makes inspirational movies about distressing subjects or distressing movies about inspirational subjects. Trainspotting is a picture about a heroin addict who kicks the junk; Slumdog Millionaire is the rags-to-riches story of a desperately poor orphan who finds fortune and love on a game show. On the other hand, Trainspotting is a picture about a man who dives into the filthiest toilet in Scotland to retrieve opium, and who eventually betrays his friends; Slumdog Millionaire’s hero plops into an even filthier latrine, and for a long while that’s the best thing that happens to him, except for the time he escapes being forcibly blinded. Boyle’s new movie, 127 Hours, is in keeping with his happy-bummer contradictions: It is based on the true story of Aron Ralston, a rock climber who in 2003 got his right arm pinned beneath a boulder, was stuck in a Utah canyon for five days, and ultimately survived by amputating his own limb with a dull utility tool. However appealing or appalling that premise sounds to you, the one thing that must be said for the movie is that it is never dull. The one thing that must be said against the movie is that it is never dull. Actually, a second thing should be said for 127 Hours: It’s a reminder that no matter how many other hobbies he undertakes, James Franco is primarily one hell of an actor. If anybody ever says Franco can’t act his way out from under a rock, here is direct evidence to the contrary. He spends much of the movie in solitary confinement, and in agony, but his performance isn’t interior or off-putting. Before his fateful slip, he has the bounding energy of a happy dog. Leaping and sliding across the sandstone of Blue John Canyon, he encounters two day hikers (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara), and apologizes for having startled them by not initially removing a bandana from his mouth and nose. “Can’t take this off,” he says, pointing to his wide grin; “it’s my face.” The joke works on several levels—the first, obvious one being
Oh, James Franco, we don’t want you to take your face off, because it is so pretty, and the second is Oh, James Franco, you will soon be taking your arm off, and this is foreshadowing. To the actor’s credit, he seems to be enjoying both layers. Then that big boulder comes loose to smear bits of Franco across the canyon walls, and he’s doing the rest of the picture solo. He’s very good at communicating not merely pain but annoyance—the crisis has all the frustrations of locking your keys in the car, except instead of his keys it’s his arm. He performs a bravura talk-show sequence, complete with a laugh track, where he plays the roles of host, guest and caller—the scene reminded me, with its
ALL THE FRUSTRATIONS OF LOCKING YOUR KEYS IN THE CAR, BUT INSTEAD OF HIS KEYS IT’S HIS ARM. fierce dedication to splintering consciousness, of the one-man Rambo reenactment in Flooding With Love for the Kid. But the most intriguing bit of the performance is less showy: It’s the small, mysterious smile that appears on Franco’s face in the moment before he pulls out a knife and starts digging in. The amputation is about as harrowing as you’d expect (I’d never heard so many sharp intakes of breath at a critic’s screening), but it’s over reasonably quickly—though not before Boyle deploys his inside-the-arm cam, which somehow isn’t quite so upsetting as the outside-the-arm cam, or the insidethe-Nalgene-bottle-of-urine cam. There are a lot of cams: Boyle still loves the cacophonous montage, and often 127 Hours resembles a Nike commercial more than a drama. Boyle doesn’t have the patience to let the isolation expand into desolation, the way Gus Van Sant might have. At the movie’s end, as with the similar but more affecting Into the Wild, we’re meant to gain an appreciation of how wonderful it is to not be alone. But maybe Boyle doesn’t leave Franco quite alone enough. On the other hand…no. There is no other hand. 73 SEE IT: 127 Hours is rated R. It opens Friday at Fox Tower.
“ DANNY BOYLE AND
JAMES FRANCO TAKE US ON
A MEMORABLE THRILL RIDE.”
“ UNFORGETTABLE
AND ULTIMATELY UPLIFTING.”
“‘127 HOURS’ SCALES THE HEIGHTS OF FILMMAKING.” “
★★★★
A PHENOMENAL PIECE OF WORK.”
.
“ CELEBRATORY AND SPELLBINDING FROM START TO FINISH.
‘127 HOURS’ BRIMS WITH LOVE OF LIFE IN UNEXPECTED WAYS.”
“ TRIUMPHANT AND ENTHRALLING.
A DOUBLE TOUR-DE-FORCE FOR JAMES FRANCO AND DANNY BOYLE.”
“EXCITING, STIRRING.” “
★★★★
”
“ DAZZLING AND
PERPETUALLY SURPRISING... IT PINS YOU DOWN, SHAKES YOU UP AND
LEAVES YOU GLAD TO BE ALIVE.”
STARTS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19
CLUBLIST PAGE 39
FOX SEARCHLIGHT
REGAL CINEMAS
FOX TOWER STADIUM 10 Portland (800) FANDANGO #327
3 COL. (5.727") X 10.5"
WILLAMETTE WEEK WEDNESDAY: 11/17 Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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AN AMERICAN STORY OF OUR TIMES. TAUT AND COMPELLING.”
- Kenneth Turan, LA TIMES
SCREEN
like Ashton Kutcher and who understands martyrdom as the spiritual equivalent of cutting to the front of the line at a theme park: “Rubber dinghy rapids, bro.” Here’s the funniest thing about Four Lions: Though its mockery is unsparing and its conclusion unflinching, it humanizes Islamist terrorists in a way that no movie has even attempted before, because it understands they’re made from the same selfishness and stupidity as anybody else. Consider the anti-logic employed by jihadist Barry (Nigel Lindsay), who argues against empty gestures by driving his car into a brick wall. “Was that a gesture?” he asks. “That was for real, brother. Are you as for real as that?” Four Lions is for real. It’s the bravest cinema of the year. R. AARON MESH. Fox Tower.
★★★★
“
A GRIPPING WHODUNIT.
MONEY. SEX. POWER. BETRAYAL.
GIBNEY PUTS MYSTERY BACK INTO A STORY WE THOUGHT WE KNEW.”
-Joe Neumaier, NY DAILY NEWS
“
MASTERFUL AND PLENTY JUICY.”
-Erica Abeel, HUFFINGTON POST
“
CLIENT
EASILY ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR.”
-Jeffrey Wells, HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE
“
EYE-POPPING.”
-David Edelstein, NEW YORK MAGAZINE
THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
YO U D O N ’ T K N OW T H E R E A L STO RY
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY ALEX GIBNEY
EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT LIVING ROOM THEATRES
STARTS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19 Portland (971) 222-2010 C L I E N T 9 T H E M OV I E .CO M
WWEEKDOTCOM WWEEKDOTCOM WWEEKDOTCOM Magnolia
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WILLAMETTE WEEK
Wednesday: 11/17
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Wag the Dog, Inc. chooses to advertise in Willamette Week because it works. As a small business in the dog service industry in SE Portland, there are other publications which could reach our customers effectively, particularly those that focus on pet care, but our WW ad gives us validity and authenticity as a company, which we have not found in any other publication. As for advertising results, they are clear. We have (by accident) stopped running our WW ads which resulted in a trickle of new customers where a rapid river of new clients had been before. We mitigated this problem by running ads as soon as possible! I appreciate the way WW’s staff treats me. I am a very small fish, but they have never made me feel that way.
Christine Anderson Owner Wag the Dog
NOV. 19-26
RT
59 Glenn Gould was one of classical music’s first rock stars. The erratic Canadian pianist was infamous for canceling live performances, no-showing to big gigs and generally hating the concert life, bouncing from city to city playing unfamiliar pianos for different directors who didn’t understand his pure artistic vision. He’s been the subject of many documentaries over the years, but Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, tries— and almost succeeds—in extrapolating information about something far more intriguing than his prodigal childhood: Gould’s relationship with painter Cornelia Foss, wife of composer Lukas Foss, in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Directors Michèle Hozer and Peter Raymont spend much of Genius Within interviewing Foss and focusing on the love triangle, but it paints an unfinished portrait of a man torn between women, music and a deep passion for the absurd. Will the real Glenn Gould please stand up? MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. Hollywood Theatre.
NEW The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
35 Lisbeth Salander, buried alive with a bullet in her brain at the end of The Girl Who Played With Fire, can barely walk when The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest begins. The Girl Who Opened a Can of Worms would have been a more accurate (although considerably less sexy) title: Salander’s injuries have her confined to a hospital bed for the film’s first half, and she is capable of little more than pecking out her autobiography on a cell phone. Maybe they don’t have cans of worms in Sweden. I don’t know. But I must warn you there is very little kicking until the final 15 minutes of this third and final installment of Stieg Larsson’s horrendously popular trilogy, and not one goddamn hornet’s nest in the entire picture. While Lisbeth convalesces and awaits trial (she tried to kill The Dude With a Burned Face Who Is Also Her Dad in the previous installment), her friend Mikael Blomkvist, The Writer Who Somehow Makes Journalism Look Even More Boring Than It Is in Real Life, preps a special issue of his magazine devoted to clearing his taciturn hacker buddy’s name. It’s artless trash, but the expositionheavy proceedings are conducted in a funny foreign language, and we all know “international cinema” is synonymous with quality, so yeah, go pay for this instead of watching a Law & Order rerun for free. Call me The Boy With the Thorn in His Side if you must, but I just don’t get it. R. CHRIS STAMM. Cinema 21.
Heartbreaker
A French romantic caper starring the simmering Romain Duris as a chaste, principled gigolo hired by families of women to give them enough confidence to leave their jerky boyfriends, Heartbreaker is already scheduled for an American remake, but it hardly needs one: This version revels in Hollywood tropes. AARON MESH. Living Room Theaters. 81
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Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
REVIEW IFC FILMS
“
LI’L CHE: Édgar Ramírez as Carlos the Jackal.
CARLOS Watch Carlos immediately after Four Lions, as I did, and it seems to hail from a gentler and more civilized (if not exactly kinder or simpler) era of terrorism. Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (nom de guerre Carlos, commonly known as Carlos the Jackal) and his associates don’t want to get blown up with their targets; they advocate sexual liberation, especially if it’s somebody else’s wife being liberated; and they politely request that police negotiators deliver sandwiches without ham for their Muslim hostages. Perfect gentlemen of the left, really, unless you’re a cop. The movie’s central, dazzling set piece—a 1974 raid on an OPEC summit in Vienna—ushers militants, hostages and government envoys onto a jet airliner, and from this vantage it’s a relief to realize that everybody wants the plane to land. Four Lions is the best movie of the year, but Carlos is surely the most movie: It’s a 5 1/2-hour commitment, though as Carlos himself would say, there is no sacrifice too great for the revolution. Not that watching the work of French director Olivier Assayas is any hardship—from Demonlover to Boarding Gate, no contemporary filmmaker is better at a serious consideration of international brinksmanship, and if Carlos is perhaps a smidgen too comprehensive, it is packed with thrilling cinema. Maybe it was a case of Stockholm syndrome, but when the movie finally ended, I was sort of sorry to say goodbye. The picture opens with a bang—the Mossad car-bomb assassination of a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine agent in Paris—and, along with the title character, we are expected to figure out the shifting political landscape for ourselves. Venezuelan Carlos’ dedication to the Arab cause starts out a little suspect: He’s dismissed by one colleague as a playboy, and he certainly seems like a guy who showed up in Paris to throw some grenades and finger some pussy, and he’s just about out of grenades. But his fortunes shift—not for the last time—in an act of gunplay in a girlfriend’s apartment; after Carlos flees, Assayas returns his camera to the student radicals in the flat, frozen in shock at the sudden graduation of violence. That scene, with the antihero fetching his weapon from the toilet, recalls The Godfather, as does the film’s three-part structure (it was first shown as a miniseries in Europe) and its criminal ambition. As Carlos, however, Édgar Ramírez one-ups Robert DeNiro’s famed Raging Bull weight gains; his bulk is constantly fluctuating, depending on whether Carlos is indulging his appetite for notoriety or his thirst for whiskey-fed indolence. The performance is constantly engrossing—never more than during the brazen OPEC raid, where Carlos preens like a global heir to Che Guevara, but finds his operation descending into farce on a series of tarmacs. The entirety of Carlos is properly read, I think, as a kind of deadly comedy; confrontations with police float on a cushion of New Wave punk—including great use of Wire’s 1978 single “Dot Dash”—that, with repetition, heighten our awareness of the selfregard these guerrillas hold themselves in, even as they’re often proving to be hopelessly bungling. By movie’s end, Carlos is playing the same backyard-garden children’s hide-and-seek games as Don Corleone. “I rob the world!” he brags, but he’s become the very thing he despises: a petit bourgeois. And he doesn’t really accomplish a thing, except fame. Carlos suggests that terrorism is equally ineffectual whether you burn out or fade away. AARON MESH. Rebel with an occasional cause.
91 SEE IT: Carlos screens at the NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium. 6 pm Friday, 4 pm Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 19-21.
NOV. 19-26
In Clint Eastwood’s wretched new film, Matt Damon is a medium: He conveys the final, consoling messages of the dead, who would like their families to know that they are happy, and weightless, and sorry if they ever touched them in their bathing-suit areas. All of this unspools agonizingly slowly, in hushed, bleak houses. At times the actors’ pauses are so prolonged I wondered if they were looking for line cues. “What happens after we die?” they ask each other, and Damon, and Google. I don’t know, you guys— but could something, anything, happen before you die? None of Hereafter would be worth talking about (it would be a basic-cable movie) except Eastwood clearly thinks this credulously inept picture is profound. PG-13. AARON MESH. Forest, Fox Tower. 22
NEW
I Vitelloni
[ONE WEEK ONLY, REVIVAL] Federico Fellini’s 1953 pool-hall drama. Clinton Street Theater. 7 and 9 pm FridayThursday, Nov. 19-25. No 9 pm show Tuesday, Nov. 23.
Inside Job
Inside Job, a primer on securitization and other Wall Street follies, amounts to a wonk-on-wonk assault. Before Charles Ferguson directed the sober Iraq war documentary No End in Sight, he scored a fortune in Internet software development, and he has a fundamental gripe with bankers. It’s not that they’re rich. It’s that they don’t make anything. That is, they don’t make anything except ornately convoluted and exponentially risky methods of speculation—new ways of betting on loans, and betting on other people’s bets on loans. What makes Inside Job worth squinting at, then, is Ferguson’s gusto in calling out the regulators and academics—like Columbia Business School professor Frederic Mishkin, paid $124,000 by the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce for authoring a paper praising the country’s doomed banks—who pretend to be watchdogs when they’re actually lampreys. In the salad days of Iceland, Inside Job notes, a third of the nation’s bank regulators quit their jobs to go work for the banks. What a quaint system! In America, they don’t need to quit their jobs. PG-13. Fox Tower. 71
Jackass 3D
For 10 years, Johnny Knoxville and company have been there with fast answers to my sick questions concerning everything I always wanted to know about my body but was afraid to try. Jackass 3-D is the tamest orgy of Spike Jonze-produced skater-boy masochism yet, with too many artfully composed slow-motion shots softening the spirit of punky anarchy—it is as if the images are commiserating with our bruised, aging boys by ramping down to the crippled speed of a dying animal—but like the Ramones in their Phil Spector phase, there is simply too much raw glory in these men; they are the keepers of some tenacious life force that demands manifestation as explosive diarrhea, and no film trickery can contain them (or their shit). R. CHRIS STAMM. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV. 90
NEW Japanese Currents: The Samurai Tradition
[FOUR NIGHTS ONLY, REVIVAL] The NW Film Center opens its Japanese warrior retrospective with two Akira Kurosawa classics: Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium. The Seven Samurai screens at 7 pm Wednesday and 6 pm Monday, Nov. 16 and 22. The Hidden Fortress screens at 7 pm Thursday and Tuesday, Nov. 18 and 23.
Last Train Home
As China transformed itself into the manufacturing capital of the universe, hundreds of millions left the bucolic poverty of the Chinese countryside for the grimy opportunity of urban factory jobs. Thanks to the country’s tyrannical residency laws, many of them had to leave their families behind. Every year, some 150 million of them head home for the Lunar New Year, in an unimaginably huge mass migration. 89
In this grim and beautiful documentary, director Lixin Fan follows one broken family over the course of several New Years, as Mr. and Mrs. Zhang make their annual trek from a smoke-filled city through snow-covered hills to visit the family they abandoned some 17 years before. BEN WATERHOUSE. Living Room Theaters.
The Law
NEW
[REVIVAL] “The he-goat feels no embarrassment,” sings a pack of horny waifs marching through the town square of an Adriatic village— and indeed, most of the randy men in Porto Manacore throw dignity to the wind when confronted with the gravity-defying, wonderfully displayed cleavage of Gina Lollobrigida in Jules Dassin’s 1959 film. The Law takes its title from a drinking game, which isn’t really a game so much as a parable of Italian government—one man pours out wine for the others based on how many insults they’re willing to take. Meantime, Lollobrigida is busy laughing for no apparent reason, helping children steal motorcycles, and rolling around in piles of money with her blouse just about to fall off. She’s also looking for a husband, which means the guy least likely to attempt to rape her—Marcello Mastroianni finishes ahead of Yves Montand on that count, though he still slaps her around a little for her own good. It’s that kind of picture, and it’s pretty delightfully shameless, if you’re in the mood. AARON MESH. Hollywood Theatre. 77
NEW
Leaving
Kristin Scott Thomas brings a measure of nuance to a genre that’s been done many times over in Leaving (Partir). Written and directed by French filmmaker Catherine Corsini, the film is engaging and short enough at 85 minutes to hold the viewer’s attention. Thomas gives a compelling performance throughout. But Diane Lane delivered an equally impressive turn in the similarly themed Unfaithful, and one is reminded that the earlier film had a less predictable story with more fleshed out characters than Corsini’s tale of a trapped bourgeois woman having a tumultuous affair in the south of France. Suzanne (Thomas) is a bored mother living with her rich husband, Sam (Yvan Attal), and two teenage children. She goes back to work as a physiotherapist, and Sam pays to build a consulting room in their backyard. A Spanish laborer (Sergi Lopez, Pan’s Labyrinth) comes to do some initial planning, and it’s attraction at first sight. Though Corsini paces the affair skillfully—slow flirtation followed by unbridled passion—the outlying characters are quickly left in the dust of the lust. Sam is no more than a pathetic and stiff negotiator (“Just come home and all is forgiven”), and those poor kids don’t seem to get any second thought from crazy Mommy as the affair takes Suzanne to dangerously desperate places. Its fun to watch Thomas spiral, but the final twist will merely leave the viewer shrugging. ALI ROTHSCHILD. Living Room Theaters. 60
Life as We Know It
16 This Warner Brothers product proceeds under the misapprehension that what was enjoyable about Knocked Up was Katherine Heigl and the unexpected child. She continues her strange career of playing sour, judgmental prigs who need the touch of a man’s man—here, it’s Josh Duhamel, and they are thrown together when their best friends (Christina Hendricks and Hayes McArthur) are killed in a car wreck, bequeathing them said baby. “They definitely didn’t think this through,” Duhamel says, draining a beer. Recognizing that this premise is an irreversible laugh-killer, the movie proceeds directly into maudlin rot, sporadically leavened by dirty-diaper jokes. It is exactly like every Katherine Heigl movie, but with the addition of a baby in the background. R. AARON MESH. Clackamas, Hilltop.
Megamind
66 Poor Megamind. Its writers must’ve thought they had a really clever idea—”What if we make an animated superhero movie with the villain as the protagonist?”—until Despicable
Me came out this summer and became a sleeper hit built on that very conceit. Outside that basic premise, they’re not the same film, but the two will now be inextricably linked until the end of time—or at least until Megamind is completely forgotten, which should happen before this review even appears in print. Ironically, it’s actually the superior picture—it has better characters, explores the subjectivity of good and evil with greater insight, and doesn’t resort to fart jokes or forced cutesiness—but Despicable Me will endure longer because it reveled in old-school cartoon anarchy in a way most kiddie flicks don’t anymore. Megamind, by contrast, does little to ensure it’ll survive in anyone’s memory beyond its 96-minute runtime. Sure, it’s got some decent voice work from Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill and David Cross (despite his top billing, Brad Pitt’s appearance is basically a cameo), nice visuals (though the 3-D is unimpressive) and a couple of good gags, the best being Ferrell’s titular giant-headed criminal mastermind illustrated Shepard Fairey-style on a poster emblazoned with the phrase “No You Can’t.” But it all feels stultifyingly typical. PG. MATTHEW SINGER. 3-D: Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, Cornelius, Lloyd Center, Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV, Pioneer Place, Sandy, Sherwood. 2-D: Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Cinema 99, Cornelius, Hilltop, Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV, Oak Grove, Sherwood, Tigard, Wilsonville.
excellent young actors giving similar, better performances elsewhere. As the most poignant of the doomed donors, Andrew Garfield repeats the enraged victimhood he displays in The Social Network—the character is equally wounded, but not nearly as intelligent. Playing the classmate who loves him, Carey Mulligan continues to play the painfully vulnerable innocent she coined in An Education and honed in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. With its focus on an inseparable trio of British boarding-school students, Never Let Me Go feels like a Harry Potter movie for the clinically depressed. Maybe you should try a nice comedy. R. AARON MESH. Hollywood Theatre.
NEW
The Next Three Days
College professor Russell Crowe has three years to appeal wife Elizabeth Banks’ conviction for smashing her boss’s face in with a fire extinguisher. When he fails, he has three months to bust her out of jail before she’s transferred to a maximum-security prison. When the process is expedited, he has three days to spring her and flee the country with their young son. With The Next Three Days, writerdirector Paul Haggis (Crash) has a mere two hours to make this remake of French flick Anything for Her interesting. Both barely make it. Crowe 67
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REVIEW MAGNOLIA PICTURES
Hereafter
SCREEN
Monsters
56 Last summer, District 9 proved to be a science-fiction film palatable for audiences outside the nerd domain. Like Cloverfield, it employed political allegory and that Blair Witch-y handheld camera effect that can make the fantastical seem relatable and turn run-of-the-mill sci-fi films into classics. At first glance it seems that Monsters, written and directed by newcomer Gareth Edwards, aspires to be in the vein of those films, but it becomes apparent the movie’s low equipment budget (a staggeringly small $15,000) hasn’t provided the resources to wow the way a sci-fi film is expected to; instead, the movie does a weak imitation of Lost in Translation, only with giant octopuses wandering around. Simply put, a movie called Monsters should not skimp on the monsters— especially when the two leads are not nearly engaging enough to make up for the lack of action. Hollywood Theatre.
Morning Glory
51 Morning news shows are made tolerable only by the grogginess of a pre-work stupor, and they grow more irritating with each sip of coffee. As such, they’re ripe for skewering, and at times Morning Glory nails the parody while getting at the heart of why people watch this tripe every day. Rachel McAdams is a plucky producer steering a fourth-place Today Show knockoff back into relevance. To do so, she hires a disgraced journalist (Harrison Ford, playing a grumpy Harrison Ford-y cross between Mike Wallace and Dan Rather) as lead anchor. Sparks immediately fly between Ford and co-anchor Diane Keaton, a Katie Couric type whose crowning achievement is a story in which she has her pap smear filmed. This should sound familiar to anyone who has ever watched Regis Philbin come close to slapping Kelly Ripa, and there’s some biting satire in the mix (like Broadcast News for teenage girls). But director Roger Michell (Notting Hill) dumps all sorts of NutraSweet into the mix, forcing in a dull romance and loads of McAdams acting quirkily. Morning Glory eventually becomes the equivalent of watching a two-hour morning show—one that gets more obnoxious with each sip of cheap pandering and sentimental sludge. PG-13. AP KRYZA. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Cinema 99, CineMagic, Cinetopia, Cornelius, Living Room Theaters, Lloyd Center, Movies on TV, Oak Grove, Sandy, Sherwood, Tigard.
Never Let Me Go
64 How apt that Never Let Me Go, a dystopic fable about clones raised on a tony organ farm, features two
THEY TRIED TO MAKE ME GO TO IMAGE REHAB: Eliot and Silda Wall Spitzer.
CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER If you’re looking for a definitive answer to why former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the crusading prosecutor many believed would become America’s first Jewish president, was dumb enough to get caught visiting $1,000-an-hour prostitutes in 2008, napalming his political career in the process, don’t watch Client 9. Alex Gibney’s detailed and damning documentary is far more interested in why the federal government went after “the sheriff of Wall Street” for his sexual transgressions with such ferocity— spending the kind of money and resources usually reserved for building terrorism cases on nailing a NYC prostitution ring. The answer? Spitzer was winning. The tall, balding lawyer ferociously targeted Wall Street’s white-collar criminals, overpaid CEOs and environmental polluters during his eight years as New York’s attorney general and, as governor, was making headway in reforming New York’s capital city of Albany, that “bog of waste, double dealing and graft.” According to Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Taxi to the Dark Side), a handful of ridiculously powerful men the prosecutor had burned, including former AIG head Hank Greenberg and Home Depot founder and former New York Stock Exchange director Ken Langone, wanted to shut Spitzer down; to punish him for changing the way the political system worked. They won. Spitzer was never charged with any crime (except stupidity) but a series of lurid media leaks turned him into a tabloid joke and torpedoed his ambitions. The two-hour doc plays out like a lost season of HBO’s The Wire, complete with a passionate and flawed do-gooder lead whose legendarily violent outbursts were termed “visits” from his “evil twin Irwin” by his staffers. There are scheming business tycoons, a terminally cheerful madame and a Republican fixer/swinger with a tattoo of Richard Nixon’s face between his shoulder blades, and dialogue Aaron Sorkin would give his eyeteeth for. (Spitzer refers to himself as a “fucking bulldozer” and issues declarations of war against his enemies. Boardroom titan Langone rasps out that he hopes Spitzer’s “own private hell is hotter than anybody’s.”) But what’s devastating is that these characters are real and continue to affect America’s economy with their actions. Gibney nabs interviews with all of them, including Spitzer; even hiring an actress to reenact his transcribed interview with the pol’s favorite call girl, “Angelina,” who later traded in her negligees to become a day trader. “Those whom the gods would destroy they make all powerful,” Spitzer says, calmly comparing himself to the Greek myth of Icarus flying too close to the sun. That’s seems fitting for a man who was taken down by the world’s oldest profession. R. KELLY CLARKE.
You’ll root for the guy who can’t keep it in his pants.
88
SEE IT: Client 9 opens Friday at Living Room Theaters. Willamette Week NOVEMBER 17, 2010 wweek.com
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NOV. 19-26
spends his time studying maps, procuring fake passports from shady gangstas and learning, in alarming detail, how to make fake keys and break into cars. Haggis spends his time lingering on bland subplots, shots of Crowe crying, and montages of his hero tacking bits of his plan to the wall of his study. But just when the whole thing seems a bust, the director amps up the finale with a satisfyingly elaborate and extended chase sequence that manages to be white-knuckle despite its harried pace. It’s a nice payoff. It’s just a shame it seemed to take three years to get there. PG-13. AP KRYZA. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Cinema 99, Cornelius, Fox Tower, Hilltop, Lloyd Center, Movies on TV, Oak Grove, Sandy, Sherwood, Tigard, Wilsonville.
a celebration of the cowboy, as Diamond seems to assume—so it’s nice to have interviewees like Jim Jarmusch and his glorious bouffant around to put a little spin into the revisionist project. CHRIS STAMM. Hollywood Theatre. NEW
Spektor concert film. Hollywood Theatre. 7 pm Friday, Nov. 19.
Saw 3-D: The Final Chapter
Jackpot dismembers in an additional dimension. Not screened for critics. R. Clackamas, Eastport, Movies on TV.
Regina Spektor: Live in London
[ONE NIGHT ONLY] A Regina
REVIEW WA R N E R B R O S . P I C T U R E S
SCREEN
Paranormal Activity 2
36 How many Paranormal Activities does it take before they become…normal? Paranormal Activity 2 is a prequel, which rather hurts the illusion that, once again, this is “real footage” of a “real family” tormented by “real horrormovie clichés.” Characters from the first Paranormal Activity drop in, maybe so you’ll buy that one on DVD. But I got the idea: Dad and Stepmom bring home a new baby, and then, a bunch of security cameras. There’s a decent slow burn. The cameras show nothing much happening. In the big suburban kitchen, something rattles the pots and pans. The doggy starts barking. “We can’t let this affect us that much,” says Dad. “If we do that, the terrorists win.” I wonder whose side the filmmakers are on. Like M. Night Shyamalan and Christopher Nolan, they’re exploiting American dread and decadence for a few cheap scares. R. ALISTAIR ROCKOFF. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Cornelius.
Red
Turns out the AARP Team of Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich is as contrived as The A-Team. You know the drill: Retired CIA spook Willis is marked for death and spends two hours “getting the band back together” to kill people. Yet the biggest surprise of Red is how much fun the familiar can be. From its opening shootout to its final punch line, the action comedy plays conventions for laughs, with zingers and bullets spraying everywhere. Most of the joy in Red (“retired, extremely dangerous”) comes from watching the cast let the ham juice fly. The hysterical Malkovich steals the show as a paranoid nutjob whose triggerhappy brain is addled from daily doses of LSD administered by the military. PG-13. AP KRYZA. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Cinema 99, Forest, Fox Tower, Hilltop, Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV, Oak Grove, Sherwood, Tigard, Wilsonville.
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NEW
Reel Injun
“We don’t wear feathers or ride horses,” explains director-narrator Neil Diamond by way of introduction, “but because of the movies, a lot of the world still thinks we do.” Diamond’s corrective does get a bit wobbly when we see him proudly mount a horse a mere five minutes later and then interview a man sporting a deeply unironic feather headdress a few minutes after that, but his point emerges clearly enough: Cinematic representations of American Indians perpetuated myths of noble and/or ravening savages and buttressed very real crimes against humanity in the process. Diamond’s tour of this nation’s ignominious past is most effective when he takes the side streets into those corners of America that are shockingly oblivious to their own silliness, places like an Indian warrior-themed summer camp where pasty, pudgy white boys use so-called Native rites as an excuse to act like totally obnoxious fucking assholes. As film history, Reel Injun can be infuriatingly simple—The Searchers wasn’t exactly 54
NEXT FLOOR, PLEASE: Daniel Radcliffe’s elevator is stuck.
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 1 Everybody has tough teenage years, but damn does Harry Potter have issues. Sure, we’ve all dealt with shifty relatives and hormonally imbalanced friends with mean streaks. But we didn’t have the lord of all that is evil breathing down our necks, gigantic snakes trying to eat us, or a crazed government hunting us down in the midst of a genocide attempt on wizardhuman lovechildren. But maturing with their audiences is something the Harry Potter films have always done well: The movies have aged in themes, tones and maturity with their protagonists—following the kiddie romp Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001, the series hit puberty with Alfonso Cuaron’s rollicking Prisoner of Azkaban, which married dark themes with a bubbly joyride for kids. It hasn’t looked back since. Now, we near the end of the road with Deathly Hallows, Part 1, the first half of the final chapter, wherein Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) must get all Frodo on Lord Voldemort (the terrifically menacing Ralph Fiennes) by destroying a series of gems possessing fragments of his soul. To do so, he and BFFs Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) go on the road, abandoning Hogwarts and all the fine British thespians who reside there. The series’ child actors have spent the past decade in these roles, and it’s refreshing to see them mature. Each young actor shows chops, from Radcliffe’s tortured chosen one to Watson’s peppy Nancy Drew type. But it’s Grint who shines here, breaking away from comic relief to show serious skill as Ron is seduced with darkness and jealousy. Of all the actors in the series, the goofylooking Grint emerges in Deathly Hallows as the standout. Director David Yates, a veteran of three Potters, starts the affair with a dazzling airborne motorcycle-vs.-broom chase and keeps the action and scares coming. The director doesn’t shy from Rowlings’ darker themes and violence both psychological and physical, including a startling Red Scare-inspired trial, a pair of intense torture scenes, and a wonderfully macabre animated sequence. That’s what many will find difficult. This is, after all, a family film, but one featuring the deaths of now-beloved characters and hints of genocide. Gone are the rotten-egg jellybeans and Quiddich games. There’s humor, but it’s buried in themes as dark and heavy as the burdens carried by its protagonist. They’re sure to get darker with the all-out war promised by the series finale, set for July. But Hallows manages to make what is essentially half a movie thrilling. Despite some lull time in the middle, the film moves briskly along with dazzling effects and gorgeous cinematography. Like its characters, the series has matured under Yates’ direction. The only trouble with Harry is that his torments may have matured beyond the young minds that brought his saga into the spotlight in the first place. PG-13. AP KRYZA.
Down here, it’s Ron Weasley’s time.
77 SEE IT: Harry Potter opens Friday at Broadway, Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, Cornelius, Division, Hilltop, Lake Twin, Lloyd Center, Lloyd Mall, Moreland, Movies on TV, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Sandy, Sherwood, St. Johns Twin Cinema-Pub, Tigard and Wilsonville.
NOV. 19-26
An inspirational horse-racing picture directed by Randall Wallace from a script by Beaverton’s Mike Rich that might have been called The Blinder Side. Here again is a blond steel-magnolia matriarch (Bullock is replaced by Diane Lane) who summons her Christian largesse to support a dependent athlete (Quinton Aaron is replaced by a horse). It requires a certain mindset to make the beneficiaries of charity so interchangeable, just as it takes some chutzpah to find nonsectarian religious uplift in the sport of degenerate gamblers and broken animals. It takes an ability to keep your eyes heavenward, press on toward the goal, and not be distracted by unpleasant facts. PG. AARON MESH. 99 Indoor Twin, Forest, Lake Twin, Movies on TV, Wilsonville. 38
Skyline
19 Imagine Cloverfield stripped of anything enjoyable—its pseudo-amateur device, its slow, peripheral reveal of raging space reptiles, its doomed romantic heart—and what you’re left with is Skyline, an alien-invasion picture that is both deeply boring and aggressively unpleasant, like being cornered by a foul-breathing drunk at a party. Directors Greg and Colin Strause (“The Brothers Strause,” they bill themselves) dedicated most of their attention to designing their grim beasties, which are intent on harvesting human brains— plucking them right off the stems like ripe strawberries. Unfortunately, the aliens chose Los Angeles, and no brains are in evidence: The characters, all appallingly acted, are a collection of tank tops and lip gloss. You might be tempted to root for the bluebeam invaders, except they are disgusting—like cockroaches filled with carburetors. “This can’t go on forever, can it?” one besieged victim moans, and while it feels like an eternity, it’s only 100 minutes, and the last five are so skin-crawlingly vile—featuring the outer-space performance of back-alley
abortions—that Skyline takes on a level of perverse interest before skidding to a halt. PG-13. AARON MESH. Broadway, Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, Cornelius, Hilltop, Lloyd Center, Movies on TV, Oak Grove, Sandy, Sherwood, Tigard, Wilsonville.
PHIL CARUSO
Secretariat
SCREEN
The Social Network
The early critical dispute over The Social Network, the Facebook origin movie (directed by David Fincher! Script by Aaron Sorkin!), is whether it is a cyberpunk Citizen Kane or a geek Gatsby. These comparisons do the movie no favors, but they fairly precisely identify the film’s themes of prodigy, ambition and loneliness—the bone-aching lonesome that comes from outrunning everyone you know, then castigating them for not keeping up. Then there’s this: The Social Network actually is superior entertainment. It is the most intellectually electrifying cinema of the year. It’s fundamentally an Angry Young Man movie—like Room at the Top, except that when Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) sees a room he’s not allowed in, he has the ability to move the room. Say what you will about Sorkin, who seemingly hits the “like” button on himself daily, but his script recognizes that rage is our culture’s prevailing mood. Even the haves feel themselves to be have-nots. PG-13. AARON MESH. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Lake Twin, Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV, Pioneer Place. 94
Unstoppable
Tony Scott’s last two films starred Denzel Washington, as a righteous ATF agent who travels back in time to stop the terrorist bombing of a ferry (Deja Vu) and as a kindly subway dispatcher who foils an armed robbery in a remake of a ‘70s thriller (The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3). They were both terrible. So it doesn’t come as a great shock to find Scott’s new movie, Unstoppable, 90
THE NEXT THREE DAYS starring decent Denzel foiling a transportation disaster, and it’s even less surprising that the picture is a throwback. It could have been released in 1973 under the title Runaway Train. It is nothing more than a runaway-train picture. But—against all expectations and its own dreadful marketing campaign—it is a really good runaway-train picture. In its direct, steaming way, it is the most satisfying genre exercise Scott has ever made—easily the equal of The Last Boy Scout or Enemy of the State. If you are the slightest bit intrigued, let me add that there’s a scene where a guy is lowered from a helicopter down to a train chugging along at some 80 mph, and another scene in which Denzel tells a sneering corporate flunky he is going after that train, but “not for you…I’m not doing it for you,” and both scenes are clichés that made me feel a little better about the state of contemporary moviemaking. PG-13. AARON MESH. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Cinema 99,
Cinetopia, Cornelius, Hilltop, Lloyd Center, Movies on TV, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Sandy, Sherwood, Tigard, Wilsonville.
Waiting for Superman
61 The documentary from Davis Guggenheim, director of An Inconvenient Truth, introduces viewers to five cute kids on the precipice of academic failure and follows them and their struggling parents as they try to enroll in what they think are better schools. The solutions the film offers are too limited, too neat. (They involve charter schools, luck and Bill Gates—a college dropout.) But the real-life drama that unfolds onscreen is affecting. PG. BETH SLOVIC. Fox Tower, Hollywood Theatre.
Welcome to the Rileys
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: James Gandolfini walks into a strip club. Wait, wait—it’s not the Bada Bing, and Gandolfini isn’t Tony Soprano. 68
He’s Doug Riley, a plumbing-supply salesman from Indianapolis, and his first instinct when confronted in New Orleans with a foul-mouthed, propositioning-happy hooker (Kristen Stewart) is to move onto her couch and take care of her as the daughter he lost to a car wreck. Instead of a Bad Lieutenant, he’s a Good Plumber. Somehow the movie, directed by Tony Scott’s nephew Jake Scott, skips past or directly addresses most of the creepiness and schmaltz in this scenario, and it also offers a wonderful concurrent movie, a slow-motion comedy of Doug’s wife, Lois Riley (Melissa Leo), emerging from her shut-in existence to find her husband. As for Stewart, she refers to her “cooter” a lot, and her dark, glowering performance will be a revelation to anybody who hasn’t seen a Kristen Stewart movie in the past four years. Still, she’s never uninteresting to watch sulk, and Gandolfini shows an authentic decency no director has allowed him to reveal before. R. AARON MESH. Fox Tower.
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DOWNTOWN 1000 SW Broadway, 800-326-3264 DUE DATE 12:45, 3:30, 7:15, 10:15 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 12, 6:30, 9:45 SatThu 3 SKYLINE 12:30, 7, 9:30 Sat-Thu 2:45 Fri 3:15 THE TOWN 12:15, 2:45, 6:45, 10
HALLOWS: PART 1 MonTue 12:30, 3:45, 7, 10:05 Fri-Sun 1, 4:15, 7:30, 10:45 LOVE&OTHER DRUGS Wed-Thu 1, 4, 7:30, 10:15 MEGAMIND 3D Fri-Tue 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 9:50 TANGLED 3D Wed-Thu 1:30, 4:15, 7:15, 9:50 THE SOCIAL NETWORK Fri-Tue 12:40, 4:30, 7:40, 10:25 UNSTOPPABLE Fri-Tue 12:50, 4, 7:20, 10:35
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510 SW Hall St., 503-725-3551 EARTH Fri 7, 9:30 Sat 7, 9:30 Sun 3
Fox Tower Stadium 10
IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19!
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846 SW Park Ave., 800-326-3264 127 HOURS Fri-Tue 12:05, 12:40, 2:15, 2:55, 4:40, 5:20, 7:05, 7:45, 9:35, 10:05 FAIR GAME Fri-Tue 12, 2:25, 4:45, 7:10, 9:40 FOUR LIONS Fri-Tue 12:10, 2:30, 4:55, 7:30, 9:50 HEREAFTER Fri-Tue 12:45, 4:10, 7, 9:45 INSIDE JOB Fri-Tue 12:35, 3, 5:25, 7:50, 10:10 RED Fri-Tue 12:15, 2:45, 5:10, 7:35, 10:05 THE NEXT THREE DAYS FriTue 12:50, 4:15, 7:15, 10 WAITING FOR SUPERMAN Fri-Tue 12:05, 2:35, 5, 7:25, 9:55 WELCOME TO THE RILEYS Fri-Tue 12:25, 3:05, 5:30, 7:55, 10:15
Living Room Theaters 341 SW 10th Ave., 971-222-2010 CATFISH 12:10, 2:40, 4:50, 9 Fri-Sun, Tue-Thu 7 CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER 1:40, 4:10, 6:50, 9:20 ENTER THE VOID 4:30, 8:35 HEARTBREAKER 11:40am, 2:10, 7:30 LAST TRAIN HOME 12:30, 3, 5:15, 7:45, 9:45 LEAVING 12:20, 2:25, 4:20, 6:40, 9:40 MORNING GLORY 11:50am, 2:20, 4:40, 7:15, 9:30
Pioneer Place Stadium 6
340 SW Morrison St., 800-326-3264 DUE DATE Fri-Tue 1:20, 4:20, 7:50, 10:10 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY
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1219 SW Park Ave., 503-221-1156 CARLOS Sat-Sun 4 Fri 6
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8704 N Lombard St., 503-286-1768 DUE DATE 1:30, 3:30 Fri-Sun, Tue-Thu 5:30, 7:30, 9:30 Mon 8 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 1:30, 4:40, 7:50
NORTHEAST Hollywood Theatre
4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-281-4215 FAIR GAME Wed-Thu 7, 9:15 GENIUS WITHIN: THE INNER LIFE OF GLENN GOULD 9:30 Fri-Sun 4:50 MONSTERS Fri-Tue 9:45 Sat-Sun 12:50 NEVER LET ME GO Wed-Thu 9:45 FriTue 9:15 Sat 5, 7 Sun 5, 7 Mon 7 Tue 7 REEL INJUN Sat-Sun 1, 3 Fri 5 REGINA SPEKTOR: LIVE IN LONDON Fri 7 THE LAW 7:30 FriSun 5:10 Sat 2:50 Sun 2:50 WAITING FOR SUPERMAN 7:15 Sat-Sun 12:40, 2:45
5736 NE 33rd Ave., 503-249-7474 DESPICABLE ME 5:30 Sun 12:30 INCEPTION 7:40 IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY Tue-Thu 2:30 Fri-Sat 10:40am TOY STORY 3 FriMon 2:45
Laurelhurst Theater
2735 E Burnside St., 232-5511 NO SHOWS THURSDAY, NOV. 25. SCOTT PILGRIM Fri-Wed 9:15 WINTER’S BONE Fri 4:30, 7 Sat-Sun 1:30, 4:30, 7 Mon-Wed 7 THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE Fri-Sun 4 GET LOW Fri-Wed 6:45 INCEPTION Fri 9 Sat-Sun 1, 9 Mon-Wed 9 COOL HAND LUKE Fri 7:15 Sat-Sun 1:10, 7:15 Mon-Wed 7:15 LET ME IN Fri-Sun 4:10, 9:45 Mon-Wed 9:45 DESPICABLE ME Sat-Sun 1:40 IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY Fri-Wed 7:30 MACHETE Fri-Sun 4:40, 9:55 Mon-Wed 9:55
Lloyd Center Stadium 10 Cinema
1510 NE Multnomah Blvd., 800-326-3264 DUE DATE Fri-Tue 11:55am, 2:30, 5:05, 7:50, 10:15 FriSun 9:20 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 Fri-Tue 12:50, 4:10, 7:30, 10:50 Fri 9:30 MEGAMIND 3D FriTue 11:40am, 2:10, 4:40, 7:10, 9:40 Fri-Sun 9:15 MORNING GLORY Fri-Tue 11:30am, 2:05, 4:55, 7:40, 10:25 SKYLINE Fri-Tue 12:05, 2:40, 5:15, 8, 10:30 Fri-Sun 9:40 THE NEXT THREE DAYS Fri-Tue 12:10, 3:30, 6:40, 10:05 Fri-Sun 9:10 UNSTOPPABLE Fri-Tue 11:35am, 2:20, 4:50, 7:20, 10 Fri-Sun 9:05
Lloyd Mall 8 Cinema 2320 Lloyd Center Mall, 800-326-3264 DUE DATE Fri-Tue 6:25, 9:10 FOR COLORED GIRLS Fri-Tue 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 9:30 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 12, 3:05, 6:10, 9:15 Fri-Tue 12:25, 3:30, 6:35, 9:40 JACKASS 3D FriTue 12:10, 3:25, 6:20, 9:25 MEGAMIND Fri-Tue 12:35, 3:35 MEGAMIND 3D FriTue 11:55am, 3, 6, 9 RED Fri-Tue 12:05, 3:15, 6:05, 8:55 TANGLED 3D Wed
SOUTHEAST Academy Theater
7818 SE Stark St., 503-252-0500 DESPICABLE ME Fri-Wed 4:25 Sat-Wed 2:10 Sat 12:05 Sun 12:05 GET LOW Sat-Wed 2:35, 7:30 Sat 12:25, 7:45 INCEPTION Fri-Wed 6:30, 9:30 INKUBáTOR Sat 5 IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY Fri-Wed 7 THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE FriWed 9:15 TOY STORY 3 Fri-Wed 4:40 Sat-Wed 2:20 Sat 12 Sun 12 WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS Fri, Sun-Wed 4:45, 9:40 Sat 9:50
Avalon Theatre
3451 SE Belmont St., 503-238-1617 DESPICABLE ME 12:10, 4:35 INCEPTION 1:55, 6:20 RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE 9 THE OTHER GUYS 3 TOY STORY 3 1, 5 WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS 7, 9:20
Bagdad Theater
3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 503-249-7474 DESPICABLE ME Fri 5:15 Sat 1, 5 INCEPTION TueWed 6 IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY TueWed 9:15 Fri 7:35 THE WALKING DEAD Sun 10am
Century at Clackamas Town Center 12000 SE 82nd Ave., 800-326-3264 DUE DATE Fri-Tue 10am, 11:05am, 12:25, 1:35, 2:55, 4:10, 5:25, 6:45, 7:55, 9:20, 10:30 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 Wed-Thu 11:30am, 3, 6:20, 9:50 Fri-Tue 12:10, 3:40, 7, 10:30 JACKASS 3D Fri-Tue 10:35am LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE 3D Fri-Tue 11:40am, 2:30 LIFE AS WE KNOW IT Fri-Tue 1:55, 7:30 MEGAMIND Fri-Tue 10:45am, 1:20, 3:50 MEGAMIND 3D FriTue 10am, 11:35am, 12:30, 2:10, 3, 4:40, 5:30, 7:10, 8, 9:45 MORNING GLORY Fri-Tue 11:10am, 1:50, 4:35, 7:15, 10am PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 Fri-Tue 6:25, 8:55 Fri-Sat 11:15 RED FriTue 11:20am, 2:05, 4:55, 7:45, 10:25am SAW 3D Fri-Tue 5:15, 7:50, 10:15 SKYLINE Fri-Tue 10:05am, 11:15am, 12:35, 1:45, 3:05, 4:15, 5:35, 6:50, 8:05, 9:25, 10:40 THE NEXT THREE DAYS Fri-Tue 10:20am, 1:25, 4:30, 7:35, 10:40am THE SOCIAL NETWORK Fri-Tue 10:55am, 4:40, 10:20am UNSTOPPABLE Fri-Tue 11am, 11:45am, 1:30, 2:15, 4, 4:50, 6:30, 7:20, 9:05, 9:55 SUBJECT TO CHANGE. CALL THEATERS OR VISIT WWEEK.COM/MOVIETIMES FOR THE MOST UP-TODATE INFORMATION FRIDAY-THURSDAY, NOV. 19-25, UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED