ElevenPDX February by Scotty Scott Media

contents

ELEVEN PDX MAGAZINE ISSUE NO. 9

THE USUAL 3 Letter from the Editor 3 Staff Credits Columns 5 Aural Fix Foxygen Millionyoung Beach Fossils

new music 7 Short List

VOLUME 2

FEATURES National Scene 15 Portland’s own The Helio Sequence are champions of west coast indie-rock. With a new album and a new tour, the PDX natives invite ELEVEN over for tea, and even share some of their own “black crack.”

FILM Watch Me Now 19 And The Little Gold Man Goes To... Sundance Film Festival Instant Queue Review

7 Album Reviews On An On Darwin Deez Unknown Mortal Orchestra Veronica Falls

LIVE MUSIC 9 Musicalendar An encompassing overview of concerts in PDX for the upcoming month. But that’s not all - the Musicalendar is complete with a venue map to help get you around town.

11 Previews 13 Reviews Shy Girls

Local Visual Arts 21 Portland painter Anna Magruder

PDX Paragons 23 Magic Mouth Stay Calm

Neighborhood of the Month 24 SE Belmont

The Local Biz 25 ELEVEN’s favorite local business directory

more online at elevenpdx.com

HELLO PORTLAND! There are a few basic functions necessary for humans to exist, and to do so happily. They are, in my humble opinion, sustenance, shelter and the opportunity to create. In Portland, we have it good. We have the widest array of food selections, from pods to patisseries; how vast a selection for dining and drinking! If you’re culinarily blessed, you have endless ingredient options, Fubonn to Zupan’s to Groce Out. To cover your head, you can find a suitable, accommodating room with a view starting at about $300 a month. That’s quite modest. And perhaps, most importantly, the opportunity to pursue the creative, however you define it. For me, fine art and music are my most favored outlets, and it’s something that I was not only allowed but encouraged toward in my upbringing. For today’s generation, that creative outlet is at risk. Elementary and high-school music and art programs are being cut like construction paper in kindergarten. [Wait, paradox alert!] It’s tragic, that the most beautiful flowers of creation are being squelched before they have a chance to blossom. We can help. If you believe that these programs are worthwhile, speak out. Make a difference by supporting pro-art programs like Music in the Schools. Wait, you’re telling me I can go see a concert by this month’s featured artist, The Helio Sequence, for less than I would pay to see them normally, AND I will be helping save school music programs? Yes, yes you can. That’s what we call a win-win. »

- Ryan Dornfeld, Editor in Chief

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SENIOR STAFF Ryan Dornfeld EDITOR IN CHIEF Dustin Mills CREATIVE DIRECTOR EDITORS Charles Trowbridge Dane Johnson senior writer Wendy Worzalla GRAPHIC DESIGN Dustin Mills Cover design DjM cover PHOTO Mercy McNab CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Aaron Colter, Brandy Crowe, Billy Dye, Gabriel Granach, Kelly Kovl, Rachel Milbauer, Aaron Mills, Rob de la Teja, Morgan Troper, Charles Trowbridge, Stephanie Young

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P.O. Box 16488 Portland, OR. 97292 get involved getinvolved@elevenpdx.com

GENERAL INQUIRIES info@elevenpdx.com ADVERTISING sales@elevenpdx.com online www.elevenpdx.com twitter.com/elevenpdx facebook.com/elevenmagpdx online editor Kim Lawson kim@elevenpdx.com eleven west media group, llc Ryan Dornfeld Dustin Mills

photographers SPECIAL THANKS Justin Cate, Michael Herman, Amy Kettenburg, Mercy McNab, Aa Mills Kev, Jim, Steph, Matt, Tali, Vargas fam, EastBurn fam, M.W., research assistant Tixie fam, Meeses, Pub Dom Katherine Benedict fam, Vincente’s championship softball, Skot and Karla, our DISTRIBUTION / PROMO partners, families and friends! The Redcoats

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columns

AURAL FIX

(Every month, our expert team seeks out the newest and most exciting musicians in the world. After searching high and low, we’re proud to bring you the result of our concentrated efforts.)

FOXYGEN

While listening to Foxygen’s new full-length album, We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic, I had a serotonin surge and a long-lasting warm wave ripped through my body, a temporary peace from my seasonal affective disorder. Ambassadors Jonathan Rado and Sam France have been refining their craft since Foxygen’s inception in 2005, and just recently their hard work has taken them to the next level: being signed to the Jagjaguwar label. These guys are recognized for correctly taking the carefree essence of the 1960s and creating an amalgam of indie psychedelic funk rock for today’s generation. This new material is a little louder and more commanding than last year’s Take the Kids Off Broadway, but it’s still oozing with retro coolness and fun, easy vocals (mostly) from France. The first single, “San Francisco,” was chosen for its poppy, sun drenched lullaby-type instrumentation and catchy refrain: “That’s okay, I was born in L.A.” Imaginative use of keyboard, piano and period guitars create messy arrangements akin to being on acid. Give these baby-faced Californians extra points for recording their album right here in Oregon. Their talent was first professionally recognized by Richard Swift (of The Shins) who owns National Freedom, a recording studio in Cottage Grove. His production is helping them rise above the local scene very quickly. If you enjoy MGMT, Rolling Stones and/or Belle and Sebastian, Foxygen will be your next reward. » - Kelly Kovl

MILLIONYOUNG

Under the moniker Millionyoung, Mike Diaz began recording music as a project in his southern Florida bedroom. After sharing his work online, he quickly gained attention, later signing with Old Flame Records. Now, with the back-up of a drummer and bassist, Millionyoung is a band. This month marks the release of new LP, Variable. The first single,”Lovin,” is a combination of synths, soul guitar, and harp strums for a love-lorn walk on some windswept beach. Diaz cites his influences as film scores, the 10th dimension, and lucid dreaming. His sounds echo New Order, and fall in line with the chill-wave set, but with warm tones of surf and exotic calypso. Last year’s Amanecer (meaning “To wake”) begins with a base of tribal beats and percussive shakers. Spanish guitar is present, and from the gentle melody, swirling coils of electronic DNA burst forth, vibrating with reverb. Diaz manages the textures with the emotion of his washed vocals. With songs titled “Weak Ends” and “Desperate Measures”, there is an element of darkness within paradise. The momentum of “Sunndreamm” is suspended before an eerie score, accented with sonic pulses and “coinup” video game noise. “Quasar” is ambient; a choppy outer space signal amidst relaxing guitar and repetitive loops. The lyrics of “Youthless” breath “I can’t bear to see you fall” (the video features a woman repeatedly eating dirt after falling from her flying skateboard). » - Brandy Crowe

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columns

Photo by John Pena

BEACH FOSSILS Beach Fossils formed in Brooklyn

challenge, and Payseur, along with

in 2009 and has had a rotating cast of

bassist John Peña, succeeded in making

members since. The formative constant

a record that was cohesive, consistent,

is Dustin Payseur, who started the

and catchy.

band as a solo project, and built it to

The record, due out February 19

the surf-rock sensation that it has

on Captured Tracks, sounds more

become. Clash The Truth, the band’s

fully realized both instrumentally

third studio album, debuts this month,

and conceptually. Dustin Payseur

and illustrates Payseur’s growth as a

and Tommy Gardner do the studio

songwriter and individual. While the

recordings, and performances include

album isn’t anything revolutionary, it

a full band. With this lineup, the album

continues in the logical progression

is composed and confident, displaying

that the band has been developing over

newfound intention and maturity.

the past four years. Payseur made a huge splash with

Clash The Truth maintains a yearning, reminiscent feel throughout

his initial self-titled release: a lo-fi,

its entirety. The album feels nostalgic

spacey record which fell somewhere

for the past without being overly

between psychedelic-laced rock,

sentimental. It is a nod to the surf-pop

and shoe-gaze pop. The music has

path the band has taken so far, and

a timeless sound that is instantly

an acknowledgement to whatever the

familiar, but wouldn’t necessarily

future may hold. The record doesn’t

stand up to the test of time. The

take any giant risks, but is certainly a

follow-up, What A Pleasure, faced the

step forward. » - Rachel Milbauer

QUICK TRACKS A “TAKING OFF” A standout track that illustrates Beach Fossils’ songwriting strengths. Starting with a catchy bass line that punctuates the whole song, Payseur croons of nostalgia for a slower pace. It’s a love song of remembering the simpler times.

B “IN VERTIGO” Featuring Kazu Makino, from Blonde Redhead, this is a definite highlight of the album. Airy, whispered vocals create a fluid, dreamy sound, and distorted, melodic guitar give the song a sense of urgency.

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reviews

NEW MUSIC This Month’s best R Reissue

L Local release

Short List Eels Wonderful, Glorious Frightened Rabbit Pedestrian Verse Foals Holy Fire Parenthetical Girls Privilege LL Cool J Authentic Hip Hop MillionYoung Variable The March Divide Music For Film The Little Ones The Dawn Sang Along Jamie Lidell Self-Titled Major Lazer Free The Universe Starfucker Miracle Mile

Buy it

Steal it

Toss it

facebook.com/elevenmagpdx @elevenpdx

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On An On Give In Roll Call Records Jason and Baron Harper decided last winter they would be leaving Scattered Trees. The remaining members were left with studio time and a decision to make. They decided to continue making music under the moniker On An On. Looks like the Harpers dodged a bullet. The first track, “Ghosts,” was released

Darwin Deez Songs For Imaginative People Lucky Number Records “(800) HUMAN” - the first track off Darwin Deez’s new album, Songs For Imaginative People, is immediately agitating, and in the context of the record feels like an extremely peculiar sequencing decision. “Are you sick of not existing?” frontman Darwin Deez (like Bon Jovi and Van Halen, the band name is eponymous) asks his listeners rhetorically in the beginning of the song against a torrent of confusingly independent, laptop-generated

months ago and takes a different route than the rest of the album. “Ghosts” could have done without the addition of the poorly crafted drum intro, but once the driving guitar part hits, the song rides it until the end, and in this instance, repetition is welcome. After “Ghosts,” any sense of magic disappears and what’s left is a monotonous, arid, mush of dance songs for kids who don’t like to dance. Rhythmically, nothing seems to change and even though arrangements are revised and synth voices change, it feels like watching someone try on 10 different colors of the same shirt. Give In feels defeated, devoid of life, and it is lukewarm through and through. The “subdued-but-still-rock” aesthetic the group chases throughout the album is played out and lacks gravitas because there isn’t one ounce of emotion in the lyrical content or any sudden change in musical arrangement. » - Gabriel Granach

rhythms. This line alone sort of sums up the adolescent-philosophy, gravitybong “spirit” that permeates the entire record. From a critical standpoint, this can’t be received as “pop music” because obviously it looks at itself in the mirror and sees something so much more. The quirky but selfreflexive “Constellations” and “Radar Detector”–the two near-exquisite singles off Darwin Deez’s debut album –exemplified pop music like this done “correctly,” but virtually every track on this new record lacks the qualities that made those two cuts so endearing and infectious (although “You Can’t Be My Girl” comes close to being an exception). It appears Darwin Deez set out to make a darker, more “mature” record and ended up losing their way completely. There’s a fine line between authentic experimentalism and desultory chaos, and this time around Darwin Deez generally lands squarely on one side of the divide (guess which?). Ironically, Songs For Imaginative People lacks imagination, and more importantly, good songs. » - Morgan Troper

reviews

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

L II

Jagjaguwar

Unknown Mortal Orchestra has the privileged problem many bands can only dream of: after unanimous praise for their self-titled debut, the group has had to balance a nearly endless touring schedule with creating a follow-up tasked with the

Veronica Falls Waiting For Something To Happen Slumberland Records

Veronica Falls are up to their old tricks again. It’s a new year, and just like you’ve aged with the grace of a fine wine, so too, have Veronica Falls. Their sound will always be distinct, so the question lies in whether they can continue to take that sound and

impossible job of being just as good as the work that launched them into the trendy nexus of the indie underground. Fitting, then, that the opening to II features the chorus, “I’m so tired; I can never lay down my head.” Frontman Ruban Nielson wrote much of II while on tour with bassist Jake Portrait and a variety of drummers, and the weariness of the road seems to have worn on the songwriter’s creative soul in some regards. Gone are the blistering guitar-solos seen on the band’s first album in tracks likes “Nerve Damage!” The lack of such riffs, however, doesn’t make the comparatively somber songs on II like “So Good at Being in Trouble” any less worthwhile. Those looking for an album with as high of an impact as UMO’s debut will be disappointed. Still, the incredibly focused psychedelic grooves that

define the band are as strong as ever on II. “One At A Time,” “No Need For A Leader,” and “Faded in the Morning” are all up-tempo tunes with catchy melodies that stop just short of straying into the jammed-out lengths lesser groups often attempt. Inevitably, the laid-back soul sounds of II will cause some fans to wander back into the more rock-heavy tunes they’re familiar with from the first album, but they should be grateful a band like UMO is releasing any material, even the short Blade Runner soundtrack-style song “Dawn,” on top of playing shows around the world and back again. And with a stack of new material, those live shows will be better than ever. » - Aaron Colter

allow it to cut a path through the pop world while still maintaining their accessible, ingestible song crafting skills. Waiting for Something to Happen is a notch back on the volume scale compared to 2011’s self-titled fulllength debut, but it’s definitely a step forward on the quality scale. This step forward is exactly what you want from a follow-up album. Roxanne Clifford and James Hoare still play off each other nicely with the lead vocals, maintaining a balance that keeps Clifford’s airy voice just slightly more prominent. The guitar work still elicits favorable grunge comparisons, notably on “Shooting Star” – a song that sounds like an acoustic Nirvana riff wandered onto a Dum Dum Girls vocal track, and was then tamed, just a little bit. A solid majority of the tracks clock in under the three-minute mark, and

really, that’s when Falls are at their best: short, sweet, peppy (but not frenetic), and measured. Contrarily, though, the last track on the album, “Last Conversation,” is nearly four minutes, but it comes out as one of the best. It’s not that the other tracks don’t sound complete, but “Last Conversation” feels like it was given time to grow into its full potential. Waiting for Something to Happen will not blow you away on a single listen, but it will give you just enough that first time around to come back for seconds. The future for Veronica Falls could be bright, as long as they can keep this forward motion. » - Charles Trowbridge

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february crystal ballroom

Ellie Goulding Super Diamond | Under A Blood Red Sky Cherry Poppin’ Daddies | Dr. Theopolis Pusafest ‘13 The Mowgli’s STS9 The Neighbourhood Galactic | LATYRX Gold Fields Patti Smith

15TH AVE.

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POW

ELL B

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22-23 Sally Ford & The Sound Outside

28 Toro Y Moi

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SSEELL LLW WOOOO DD

128 ne russell

6 Big Freedia 9 Ra Ra Riot | Cayucas 17 Red Fang | Federation X | Dog Shredder

MILWAUKIE AVE.

wonder ballroom

LVD

28TH AVE.

BROOKLYN

Camper Van Beethoven | Casey Neill & Norway Rats

Steelhead | The Resolectrics | Jeffrey Martin & Anna Tivel

24TH AVE.

PEARL

LOVEJOY ST.

12TH AVE.

3939 n mississippi

GRAND AVE.

mississippi studios

WILLIAMS AVE.

Tango Alpha Tango | Worth | The Horde & The Harem

TA VE .

KNOTT ST.

NORTHWEST

830 e burnside

FREMO

BROADWAY

Doug fir

Buke & Gase | Ahleuchatistas | Incredible Yacht Control

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VANCOUVER AVE.

8 nw 6th

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Roseland Theater

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1332 w burnside

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600 e burnside

bunk bar

1028 se water

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kelly’s olympian 426 sw washington

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Here Come Dots The Silent Numbers | Kingdom Of The Holy Sun The Phoenix Variety Review Mount Mazama Kelly’s Olympian Anniversary (15 bands) Baby Ketten Karaoke Wizard Boots Gordon Avenue | Frame By Frame | Crown Point Wizard Boots

eastburn

1800 e burnside

28TH AVE.

2026 NE ALBERTA

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RD .

52ND AVE. WOODSTOCK BLVD.

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Pagan Jug Band Kenchuckey Darvey Closely Watched Trains DJ Zimmie | The Keplers Giraffe Dodgers Boy And Bean Andrews Ave.

THE KNOW

STEELE ST.

82ND AVE.

WEL

MONTAVILLA

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Ape Machine | Adam Bones | Throwback Suburbia 3

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BELMONT ST.

HORNE BLVD.

Technicolor Caterpillar | City Squirrel | Verner Pantons

HAWTHORNE

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Eye Candy VJ’s (every Monday)

47TH ST.

NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE MONTH

dantes

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X Monsters Of Rock PDX 3 I Can Lick Any S.O.B. In the House Kultur Shock | Chervona Hot 8 Brass Band

LAURELHURST 31

The Tumblers | Ruby Feathers Wake Owl Ninja Turtle Ninja Tiger | Adventure Galley Mrs. Magician

330 w burnside

NSIDE ST.

ODD

1001 se morrison

BEAUMONT

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live february SHINY MUSIC HALL

13 714 sw 20th place backspace 14 115 nw 5th 1 2 11 12 16

PREVIEWS Big Freedia - Photo courtesy of Ballin’ PR

WITH

Are you tired of the endless waves electro-indie pop? Or perhaps it’s the scuzzy rock’n’roll you just can’t choke down anymore. Either way, the scene has gotten a little saturated, no? Known to some as the big little band from Portland, The Tumblers may just have the cure for what ails you with their brand of Western Country. If you’re in the mood for a little whiskey drinking, bring your boot-stompin’, belt-buckled, country-lovin’ friends along for a good ol’ time—you might just be surprised with how much you’ll enjoy it. » - Wendy Worzalla

2. BIG FREEDIA

FEBRUARY 6 | WONDER BALLROOM

Matthew Lindley Commission | The Lonesomes The Hill Dogs | Black Black Things | Annie Dang

Big Freedia and his peculiar blend of hip hop probably wouldn’t have gotten out of New Orleans for quite awhile if it hadn’t been forcibly removed by Katrina. After evacuating to Houston, Freedia turned the slabtown Texas city on to the wonders of bounce 1033 nw 16th music, one of which is the overwhelming Thrones | Megaton Leviathan | Winter In The Blood New York City Queens urge to bounce around in masses of Boats! | Therapists | Chemicals | Youthbitch unknown people to heavy bass and pumped The Valley | Bubble Cats up beats. Big Freedia definitely isn’t your You Knew Me When | Roselit Bone Whales | Blind Pets | Cower typical Portland show, but they say variety A Volcano is the spice of life, and your life could Privatized Air Black Snake | Machine | Young Dad | Truth or AAAAA! maybe use a lil’ dose of bounce. » Random Axe | The Kilowatt Hour | Debrailer - Charles Trowbridge

Nicodemus Snow Add Love Showcase Bitterroot The Defendants

16 1 2 8 9 13 16 19 20 22 27

mt tabor theater 17 4811 SE HAWTHORNE 1-2 8 9 15 16 18 22 23 25 28

Joey Porter’s Tribute to Stevie Wonder The Lower 48 | Eidolons | Bike Thief Garcia Bday Band | Cats Under The Stars Sugarcane | Jeff Crosby & The Refugees

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4. HEY OCEAN! WITH

THE ECSTATICS, THE LOW HAUNTS

FEBRUARY 12 | BACKSPACE

From Vancouver, Canada, this trio offers classic, feel-good indie pop with harmonious duets and acoustic merriment. Several songs do, indeed, have references to water, drawing from a well of genres HAWTHORNE THEATRE 1507 SE 39TH that include the sticky-sweet (“Big Blue D.R.I. | Rendered Useless | Guillotine | American Roulette Wave”), sorrowful sea-folk (“Islands”), and Sisyphean Conscience | When They Invade | Censure tracks that flirt with sole ... soul (“Fish”). Jee Sick | The Resistance | Parckard Browne | Das Leune The childhood friends are known for a Hot Water Music | La Dispute | The Menzingers Poison’Us | Unchained | Dr. Love playful stage presence and that front-girl The Portland Battle of the Bands and blonde cutie with a flute -- Ashleigh Sabaton | Nemesis | Forbidden Symphony Ball – lends her vocal talents to cartoon C-Money & The Players Inc. | Agent 22 | The Sindicate The Sonics series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic NoMeansNo (Bronies take note). » - Brandy Crowe

RUBY FEATHERS

FEBRUARY 5 | BUNK BAR

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1. THE TUMBLERS

3. OM WITH

SIR RICHARD BISHOP

FEBRUARY 9 | DOUG FIR Rhythm. These boys got rhythm. The duo meshes a trifecta of vocals, bass and drums. No bullshit, just epic grooves and a voice that will surface the ghouls of your subconscious. Perhaps this can be contributed to the front man’s roots in stoner doom metal. Regardless, after four albums with well-endowed reviews, the band’s jams are not just something you can then put on toast, but are articulate and professional–a talent which is rare in a lot of rhythm oriented bands who are more interested in making cool sounds than making legitimate art. OM is a real band. A real good band. » - Billy Dye

5. UUVVWWZ WITH

WHAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS, AINA HAINA

FEBRUARY 13 | MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS This psychedelic rock band from Lincoln, Nebraska, may have a tendency to take up residence in your head, but they won’t wear out their welcome. They are definitely far from normal but come up just short enough to keep from being too freaky. Lead gal Teal Gardner’s solid and voluptuous tongue holds tight the reigns of the disorienting guitars and sporadic drum beats to maintain order and danceability. Be forewarned. This band may just blow you away and then put you back together in a manner not covered by your warranty. » - Aaron Mills

live

PREVIEWS 6. THE NORTH WIND WITH

TOY, QWONG

FEBRUARY 13 | THE KNOW

7. THE GROWLERS

FEBRUARY 15 | STAR THEATER

For mellow mood people, local trio The North Wind will provide a time and space for their instrumental-only display of progressive post-rock. This space will be full of people who like closing their eyes at shows and going to wherever the music takes their minds. Erin Leonard, Terry Burch and David Hoover master the steady buildup in each of their songs, pulling you in for gratifying finales. Curious? Give “12 Left Feet” or “She Said” a listen on their website, enjoy, then step out to witness and hear the aural goodness live. » - Kelly Kovl

First things first: The Growlers have an awesome band name, and thankfully they make music good, too (I’m always disappointed when this isn’t the case The Sick Puppies are an example of an absolutely insipid band with a creative name). Additionally, they’re one of those bands whose name sort of reflects the music they make: there’s something about their take on Nuggets-era psychedelia that sounds uniquely menacing and guttural. By the time you’re reading this, hopefully their oncedelayed, hotly-anticipated new record, Hung At Heart, will finally be available. » - Morgan Troper

8. KELLY’S 111TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW

9. THE WAILERS

TALKATIVE, SOUVENIR DRIVER, WOW + FLUTTER, DONOVAN BREAKWATER, FANNO CREEK, THE WE SHARED MILK, AND AND AND, OLD AGE, + MORE WITH

WITH

ROGER STEFFENS

FEBRUARY 21 | HAWTHORNE THEATRE

february hawthorne theatre 1507 se 39th (continued)

VALENTINES

232 SW ANKENY

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LOVE2LOVE Music Festival 10-12

aladdin theater 3017 se milwaukie

Suzanne Vega The Wood Brothers | Seth Walker Mark Kozelek Shawn Mullins | Max Gomez Victor Wooten Eels Robben Ford

6 8 9 11 16 18 26 Dave Alvin & The Guilty Ones | Marshall Crenshaw 27 Marc Maron | Ian Karmel 28

east end

203 se grand

FEBRUARY 15-16 | KELLY’S OLYMPIAN

At this point, if you don’t know who The Fontaine Classic | The Autonomics Wailers are, there’s a solid chance this show The World Radiant | A Breakthrough In Field Studies What better way to celebrate Calvin Wright’s Ultimate Visions | Bi Marks will in no way affect your life. Carry on. To The Hugs | Sexy Water Spiders | Blacklights an indispensable Portland music the rest of you: It’s not every day you have Acoustic Speakeasy | Vintage Vaudville Band establishment than to invite some of the Orchids | Party Foul the privilege of hearing one of the all-time town’s best bands and have a two-night White Murder | Youthbitch | Piss Test | Lunch great reggae groups, so this show should party? I can’t think of any. If you aren’t Privatized Air | God Bless America | Erik Anarchy Old Man Stares familiar with Fanno Creek’s infectious folk- probably affect you. Straight-up reggae has, Iommi Stubbs | Crag Dweller | The Gnash unfortunately, fallen into the mainstream’s rock anthems, Souvenir Driver’s dreamy Peroxide | Elegy conscious as music for lovers of ganja. pop tunes, or And And And’s awesome new Black Marble | Lighthouse | Vice Device While that is obviously an identifying Danny Dodge album, now would be a good time to get on Kingston Club | The Israelites | Long Shot characteristic, a far more important the bandwagon. I don’t think there is any Soul Night other city that offers free shows with bands characteristic is the music’s ability to put The Caste that you actually want to see as much as you in a life-loving frame of mind. Both are Ghostfoot | Vernor Pantons Sweat It! w/ Noah Sweat Portland, so why not celebrate at a venue important, but the latter is better. » that helps to make this possible? » - Charles Trowbridge The Goodfoot - Rachel Milbauer 2845 se stark

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The Real | Laser Piss McTuff | Skerik Tracorum | The Lesser Bangs The Polyrhythmics Goodfoot 12 Year Anniversary Party

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10. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD FEBRUARY 22 | CRYSTAL BALLROOM The Neighbourhood is a catchy rock band from Los Angeles with British motifs written throughout their musical DNA. Their song “Sweater Weather” has gained a lot of internet buzz citing them as the next band to watch (not only nationally but also internationally in the UK). Once upon a time similar bands like BRMC and Kaiser Chiefs must have reached this exciting new step in their success and the people are probably still talking about when they saw them in an intimate bar-venue setting. Why should this show be any different? It’ll be a rare, good rock show you’ll remember throughout the year. Start strong. » - Billy Dye

11. BLUES CONTROL

WITH

PLANKTON WAT, FANG MOON

FEBRUARY 28 | MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS Having built their sound out of minimal means such as a cheap electric guitar, electric piano and synthesizers, pedals and loops, and percussion, Philadelphia-based duo of Lea Cho and Russ Waterhouse are intriguingly unclassifiable. Although pianodriven, the pair combines new age with Krautrock and classic rock, emphasizing meditative-like noodling and rhythms that roll like hills in a valley. With their unique mixture of keyboards, guitar, and tape manipulation, Blues Control is a sonic treat for the ears. Mark this show on your calendar–you won’t want to miss this unparalleled experience. » - Wendy Worzalla

SOMEDAY LOUNGE 125 NW 5TH

Whiteout 2 80s Video Dance Attack Valentines Party 14

Star theater 13 nw 6th

Cody Chesnutt | Radiation City Just People Federale The Growlers ZZ Ward | Delta Rae 9 Muses Pole Cat | The Quick & Easy Boys Rangda

1 2 8 15 16 21 22 26 Want to have your show listed? E-mail listings@elevenpdx.com

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live february ash street saloon

REVIEWS

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SHY GIRLS

JANUARY 18 | DOUG FIR

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BOSSANOVA BALLROOM

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ROOM 29 RED 2350 SE 82ND WAYPOST 30 THE 2120 N WILLIAMS PUB 31 LAURELTHIRST 2958 NE GLISAN Freak Mountain Family | Dan Haley & Tim Acott (Sun) Portland Country Underground | Kung Pao Chickens (Mon)

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Jackstraw (Tuesdays) Tree Frogs | Baby Gramps James Low Western Front | Pagan Jug Band

James Low Western Front | Palace Fiction

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Seeing Shy Girls is about the sexiest thing you could do on a Friday night. The appeal here is Dan Vidmar (vocals/guitar/songwriting), who leads the band and captivates the audience, while successfully remaining modest. His music is so passionate and sultry that it could warrant a lead singer who is more of an exhibitionist, but his reservation is part of his charm. His inspiration by classic R&B and Prince was striking as soon as he began to sing. I was immediately consumed by the urge to dance like I was in the video for Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It.” I wasn’t the only one who was overcome with this desire; the Doug Fir crowd loosened up immediately. There was more grinding taking place in the front row than at your typical high school dance. Shy Girls’ music appeals to a basic instinct that most 90s music aficionados have, whether it is an active emotion or not. We want to be serenaded with these slow, seductive jams about love overcoming all obstacles, secretive affairs, and getting down. Shy Girls awoke a desire that feels ancient to me, like listening to

the Ten at 10 on Z100 as a kid when I was supposed to be asleep. It brings life to a form of music that became so overdone it wasn’t good anymore, music that could sound cheesy and cliché, but is expertly put together. Shy Girls nails the formula of keys and synth, electronic drums and soprano saxophone, and smooth harmonies between Vidmar and his backup singers, culminating in a sexual lullaby-groove. It’s the perfect musical tease: intensely familiar, yet fresh and exciting. Some highlights from their January 18 show include their recently released single, “Under Attack,” which is characterized by a K-Ci & JoJo-like chorus and an amazing saxophone solo. “No Money,” expected on their upcoming album, got the crowd jumping and chanting along instantaneously. “Zone In,” off their EP Sex in the City, definitely stood out as some baby-makin’ music. While their recorded tracks are a great introduction to the suaveness that is Shy Girls, the live show is where it’s at. » - Rachel Milbauer (photo and text)

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Photo by Mercy McNab

features national scene

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features national scene

or the chorus or something,” but “Negotiations” seemed like a lot more is a well-stocked music laboratory for the homegrown duo The Helio Sequence. Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel are not quite in scramble mode, but are definitely on the move. Between tours, they have few opportunities to sit down for a cup of tea and muse on music, but that’s exactly what happens. Their influences are hard to pin down. Summers is a fancier of

of a complex song, that there was more going on in it and there wasn’t necessarily a repeated line to grab, and in thinking about it, that song seemed to sum up the overall tone of the record the most, that it’s more like a linear conversation going on or something that you would have pulled from a letter that you’d written to somebody and that back and forth was the inspiration for the title, Negotiations. That kind of set the path for the entire record’s concept.

jazz, lately that of 70s artists like Freddie Hubbard, after following the rabbit trail of the sample from a favorite A Tribe Called Quest track. Weikel engrosses himself in ambient electronic music, from Conrad Schnitzler to Steve Roach, and is giggling about his success in recently finding a “super-duper-duper rare” pressing of the latter, shipped to their Portland studio from Brazil. They are both hooked on what they call “The black crack.” Hot on the heels of their fifth studio album, Negotiations, the guys from Beaverton are preparing for another long road trip, but not before letting us know how they roll. ELEVEN: Do you listen to mostly vinyl? Would you claim to be audiophiles? Brandon Summers: In the last few years, especially. We’ve always had good sized record collections, each [of us], but over the last few years it’s just exploded. Benjamin Weikel: Well, we got really nice turntables, and it went from being kind of a cool thing to being, “OK, this is our high-fidelity” [setup], it actually makes it way worse because I’ll buy three or four pressings of some old record just to find the perfect copy and it’s horrible. 11: What was the inspiration for the album title, Negotiations? BS: The title was actually first for the song, which is now the title track, the last song on the record, and it was one of those things where we typically write a song and then I’ll think of a title afterwards, or we’ll talk about it and see if one of us has an idea. A lot of times it happens to be a line that you pick out from it that seems to be a dead ringer, “OK, this is what it’s about, this is the repeating line

11: Besides getting older and having more life experience to draw from, what’s different about the new album? BS: There’s a lot of things going on when Benjamin and I write a record. There are different levels; there’s what we are into sonically, which is a huge component of what we’re writing at any given time. We were both listening to a lot of vinyl. I was listening to older jazz/ vocal music and he was listening to a lot of old electronic or really ambient music, so that is a factor that goes into it that accounts for the sonic identity, and then there’s the concept, too, lyrically, [of] everything that is going on. I write the lyrics and I think that you’re just kind of following what is being given to you at any time. I don’t sit down and say, “I’m going to write a record about this and then make every song fit into this overall idea that I have.” In terms of concept, I let it create itself. BW: The bookends were “One More Time” and “Negotiations,” and those are two of the first three songs [we wrote], and early on we knew that would be the beginning and the end, and it definitely gave an identity of what could be in the middle. BS: Filling out the story is like the idea of writing letters to somebody or filling out a diary. It’s a very personal record. It’s a record of the heart; it’s not a statement record or a big political record or a social dance party; it’s a personal record. In my life, I had two kids. Literally, right as we stop touring with Keep Your Eyes Ahead, my first daughter was born, and so there’s this tension of being a really

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features national scene happy time in my life, because I have this new life. Then I had another

and the drums, and once you find that place for a song then it just

daughter, [but] I would find myself alone at the studio and it would

becomes this thing you can go to to help find the ocean of the song

be a lot more introspective and pensive, and I’d be alone working,

and trying to channel that to whoever is there, and even that is weird

and it was this time to actually go back through the past and sift

because every audience is so different, and the feeling and how much

through memories and conversations that I would have with people

you put out or don’t put out just depends on the crowd and the feeling.

and addressing a lot of the things that happened in my life before this point. 11: I like that phrase “sonic identity.” How do your different sonic identities combine into one? BW: It’s weird because a lot of each Helio Sequence record, the sound will be inevitably defined by the synth work on the record

11: This lovely little old lady that bartended in La Grande

because it’s not real, and it’s always weird to fit in something that

forever, she’s 5’1” and her name is Genie, and she really kind of is

is totally synthetic with something that is real like a drum set or a

[one], but she would call it being in the bubble, the moment where

guitar, and we start writing songs and I’ll just start messing around

you do connect, whether it’s two people or six people or fifteen

with the synths, and I was just really into ambient music and just

people and you’re all just in the bubble, and the crowd can feel it too.

trying to relax and especially coming off of Keep Your Eyes Ahead.

BS: Yeah, I had a friend talking to me last night about this very

It was a lot of touring and really hectic and just wanting to be in a

thing. He was saying that he had never seen us live until the show

more meditative state. Helio Sequence is not an ambient group, and

we played at the Crystal Ballroom in September. He had heard our

it wasn’t ever going to be an ambient record, but it definitely came

records before that but he was saying, “It’s so different live.” and I

through in this way, and I think we both just found ourselves in

was telling him, it almost doesn’t matter — we could have recorded

this more meditative state and we ended up just stretching out the

that very show that you saw and I could play that for you right now,

process and hunkering down and digging in and once we had those

and I don’t even know if you would [get that] from listening to a live

first two songs, I laid down the synths and we had this sound and it

recording of it. There’s something about having to be there, be a

wasn’t what we were really expecting. We weren’t really sure that

part of this experience for everybody involved, from us, playing the

that was what was being created, and we just kind of went with it.

music, for the audience, the feel of the room, the amount of volume,

BS: Again, you run with what you’re given. And I think, too, that

the amount you probably drank [laughs]. All these things that go into

the music that we were both listening to, that it’s something that you

it that make the experience so much bigger than just music being

immerse yourself in, and pay attention to for long stretches of time

played or listened to. You’re just trying to get there all the time.

— you know when you put on an ambient record, you don’t listen to it for two minutes and skip the next track. You immerse yourself in it. It’s long and it’s an experience. I was really into these concept records that Frank Sinatra had done in the 50s and there are these long 45 minute records where all of the lyrics had the same recurring themes, and a lot of these are late night, essentially breakup records, so I

11: Let’s hope we all can get there on your upcoming tour! Where are you guys headed? BW: We [just] did the West Coast and the East Coast and a bunch of the Midwest, and this tour is the South and the Southeast. BS: Mainly the reason that we’re going out is we really wanted

think both of us were in that headspace when writing Negotiations,

to go back to Florida. Not only for the weather, this time of year, but

sonically and conceptually from beginning to end.

we did our first tour ever there with Modest Mouse, a bunch of years ago, and it was a really amazing experience. They obviously have

11: How do those emotions come through when playing on stage, live? BS: [Playing] live, I’m always trying to find that place where I was

really amazing fans, and the shows were electric, and then we went there again for a few shows with Minus the Bear and some of our own shows, and it’s always so great to play there. There’s just some

when the song was written or what was happening when I recorded

–strangely, for being on the opposite, adjacent side of the country–

the vocal takes, and it does help, yes, I’ll find myself thinking of

there’s some connection there.

people that I’m actually singing to in some instances, or there’s some songs that you can just locate this certain feeling. You’re always

11: And you’ll be touring with fellow Sub-Pop artist Shabazz

looking for that, and I think it’s the whole point of playing live is that

Palaces. Lately, you’ve been remixing each others’ songs. Can you

sometimes you don’t get there and sometimes you hit everything and

talk a little about how that happened?

it’s right in front of you. I think that’s the amazing thing about playing live: it’s never the same at all. BW: Every show I feel [that] I have this place to get to, and so it’s

BS: We were both really excited about it from the get-go. I think, was it our A&R at Sub-Pop that suggested it? [Yeah] Originally the idea was to put out a twelve inch, an A-side, B-side thing, but that

trying to find that place. That’s kind of the benefit about being a

didn’t happen in time, but we were both still so excited about it that

drummer is you can kind of confuse your body and get into a runner’s

we traded tracks and are going to put it out as MP3s before the

high just from movement, you know? I usually just try to focus on

tour. Our relationship with Shabazz goes way back in a certain way,

finding … Every song will have a movement to it, between my body

because during a recording of Young Effectuals (our second record

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features national scene that we released in 2001) and even our record before that, we were really big fans of Digable Planets’ Blowout Comb record, their second record. It’s a really cool record with all these cool R&B Jazz samples — it was one of the big records we were listening to then, and a year later, we were starting to play a lot in Seattle, and there was this guy that kept coming to all our shows, and it came out over a couple years, three or four years … we find out way, way later that it was Ish. And it turns out that he’s a Helio Sequence fan, of all things! BW: It connected a lot of dots. I remember, at one point, the girl in Digable Planets [Lady Bug], I remember her contacting us on MySpace and being possibly interested in working with us–this is years ago, and now it makes sense, “Oh, she found out about us from Ish.” BS: I didn’t even know Shabazz Palaces was Ish until the record came out, and our A&R, Tony, from Sub-Pop, was like, “You know that’s Ish, right? From Digable Planets? That’s his new project.” And we’re like “Oh.” And now it’s really come full circle. We’re label mates, and we both respect and love each others’ music, and the next step was, our booking agent was like, “You guys should tour together,” and no matter how strange that might seem on the outside–an indie rock band and a hip hop band–it’s going to be amazing. 11: Being on a major label, your band is viewed by some as being torch bearers for Portland’s indie-rock scene. Does that add any pressure when making a new album? BW: I never think of things like that. Obviously, we love Portland, but there’s so many bands here and musicians that we looked up to that are still going. BS: I think our view is a little different, too. We’ve been a band for over ten years. Twelve years ago is when our first record came out, so we’ve been in Portland itself for such a long time. When we were coming up there were all these amazing bands that we looked up to at that point: King Black Acid, Hazel, Quasi, you know? And in my mind I don’t feel that any of those bands have necessarily gone away, or at least the power of their music hasn’t gone away at all. BW: Most of the musicians have just moved on to other projects. At a certain point, for a band to survive they have to exist on some greater national or international level, if you want to continue going and quit your day job. That was a big, huge concern for us probably in 2001, 2002, when we were just trying to get out of Portland and escape only being focused on this little city. I think, since then, when we started touring and got fired from our jobs and just had to make it work, it’s always, you see things on a bigger picture and not just in Portland. BS: If someone thought that we were the torch-bearers for Portland, that’s very flattering; it’s really humbling to think that anybody would think that, but we’re always just trying to make the

that takes the money that they earn from putting on different events and puts it back into the band programs and music education for Portland Public Schools. It’s really an important thing to Benjamin and I, especially, because we grew up as band geeks, essentially. We grew up in Beaverton in marching band, concert band, I was in jazz band, so looking at that and realizing that I had the opportunity to start band in fifth grade and looking at it now and seeing that it’s either something you have to pay for or there isn’t the option to start learning an instrument so early, it was really an important thing that put me on the path of first loving music and then actually playing it, and then later picking up the guitar and playing in a rock band, meeting Benjamin, everything. It’s a really good thing. I did play flute, though. 11: You’ve come a long way. BW: You may not have noticed but there’s flute on almost every Helio Sequence record. BS: There is a lot of flute on Helio Sequence records. People think it’s keyboards, but ... [laughs] »

next record that we make the best record we’ve ever done and move forward and not do what we know we can do already. 11: Last question, could you tell us what you’re doing on February 9th? BS: Saturday, February 9th, we’re going to be doing a benefit show where all of the money (minus a really small hall rental fee) will be going towards “Music in the Schools,” which is a really cool program

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film

WATCH ME NOW FILM EDITORIAL

AND THE LITTLE GOLD MAN GOES TO... Every year I go through the same film geek ritual. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell myself it won’t make a difference. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell myself that it’s all a matter of politics. It certainly doesn’t matter what my genuine opinions are. Every year I have to try to predict the winners in every category at the Academy Awards. If Roger Ebert can do it, why can’t I? This year was different. This year I didn’t feel like wasting my time. Academy politics have changed. Some critics have called these nominations the best and most deserving in years. I certainly find that debateable, if not outright wrong. The reason I didn’t feel like I could genuinely predict it this year lies in one category: Best Director. The snubs were widely-reported: Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow. Prior to the announcement of the nomination, Argo and Zero Dark Thirty were considered neck-in-neck for the Best Picture trophy, making the nominations of their respective directors, Affleck and Bigelow, all but a sure thing. The snubs pretty much guarantee Stephen Spielberg’s victory in the category and a night jam-packed with wins for Lincoln. In Spielberg’s defense, maybe he deserves the trophy regardless of what wins Best Picture. He did manage to make something watchable out of Tony Kushner’s sanctimonious, over-expositional mess of an Oscar-nominated screenplay. As far as the acting snubs go, things cut a little deeper. With Bernie, Jack Black gave the best performance of his career. He wouldn’t have won, not up against Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln again!), but the nomination would have been a big reminder to Hollywood that Black does consistently well in darker, less comic roles on the rare occasion they get tossed his way. As for the lady-snubs, there was one big surprise and another smaller one. The big one was the exclusion of Marion Cotillard for her sexy depiction of a double amputee in Rust and Bone. This can be chalked up to voters not wanting two French-language performances in the Best Actress category. It seems fair. Not only does Emmanuelle Riva’s devastating performance in Amour rightfully deserve its nomination, but Cotillard already won the first-ever Oscar for a French-language performance in 2008, so calling it a snub is a bit much. The real snub was dealt to Compliance star Ann Dowd, who financed her own campaign for a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Looking at the film may explain the snub. Dowd carries the movie on her back. If there is anyone in Compliance who could be called the main character, it would be Dowd’s simultaneously well-meaning and heartless fast-food manager, Sandra. With the role, Dowd took on the herculean task of making the viewer empathize with a character whose behavior merits nothing but disdain. It’s a subtle performance, the kind the Academy typically overlooks, but it is remarkable nonetheless.

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film Still, I tell myself, none of this really matters. Ultimately it is no more important than who wins the Super Bowl. While the Oscars are really no more than a bureaucratic exercise in the democracy of self-congratulation, it’s hard to forget that they are considered the most prestigious film awards in the world. It’s an annual reminder that from the dawn of cinema, America has always been the largest exporter of movies in the world. A few thousand reels of film shipped overseas can bring billions back into the American economy. We are the largest exporter of media, and on top of that, the capital behind our entertainment industry ensures that our best offerings are unparallelled in quality. From that point of view, the little gold man on a pedestal will always be more than just another award. » - Rob de la Teja

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

JANUARY 17-27 | PARK CITY, UTAH

Instant Queue Review The Academy has a long history of huge, head-scratching snubs. Check these more recent ones out and judge for yourself whether there really is no justice in

PDX Film Society maven Stephanie Young has a ticket to the most famed American film festival of the year: Sundance. As a first year volunteer, Stephanie will be privy to the party on and off screen in Park City, and will be reporting directly to Elevenpdx. com. Check throughout the month for updates, brushes with greatness, and what you should be looking out for in the next year of independent cinema. Here is a short preview of Stephanie’s experience: Walking around Park City,Utah in January: clear skies, biting cold, and a town filled with film lovers---this Portland girl’s dream. For 10 days I’m a citizen of a town where no one needs to explain why they’re spending the entirety of a sunny day in dark cinemas or staying out until 4 A.M. on a Monday night (or, well, every night). As a first time volunteer you go through some pretty rigorous training, but for that boredom they compensate with parties, special screenings and high energy. The 2013 line up consists of returning directors, numerous premier showcases, and films that may never hit another projector after their run at Sundance. Excitement is in the air of this village of cinema on this first night, and I’m right here eagerly awaiting what this festival will bring. » - Stephanie Young (photo and text) Experience ELEVEN’s full Sundance adventure at: www.elevenpdx.com/film/stephanie-at-sundance

Hollywood. » - Rob de la Teja

BLUE VALENTINE

(DEREK CIANFRANCE, 2010)

Michelle Williams garnered a nomination for her performance of a young woman falling in love and the bitter, hollow shell marriage turned her into, but her costar, Ryan Gosling, wasn’t recognized by the Academy at all. His performance is equally strong, and it is the devastating dynamic he creates with Williams that turns Blue Valentine into one of the most genuinely heartbreaking depictions of marriage of the decade. It’s the perfect antithesis to The Notebook.

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

(MIKE LEIGH, 2008)

When Sally Hawkins didn’t get a nomination for her flawless performance in Happy-Go-Lucky, it came as a huge surprise to anybody who was paying attention—she had just, after all, won the Golden Globe for Best Actress. Hawkins’ effervescent Poppy is still probably the best manic pixie dream girl character to date, and you can’t help but smile watching her. Ironically, director Mike Leigh picked up a nomination for best original screenplay despite his movies starting with no script, heavily dependent on improvisation from his actors.

MARY AND MAX

(ADAM ELLIOT, 2009)

This universally-beloved claymation film was probably cursed for not having much appeal to children. Yes, it may look on the outside like a children’s movie, but the tale of an overweight man with Aspergers who becomes penpals with a lonely girl from Australia is far too depressing to show to your kid. Nevertheless, it is top-notch animation that deserves far more recognition than it got.

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local

VISUAL ARTS Portland painter Anna Magruder

Photo by Mercy McNab

ELEVEN: Where do your characters come from? Anna Magruder: I love faces. I love painting people and they do become characters. As I am painting them I create little stories in my head for them. And sometimes those stories are depicted in the surroundings or background, but sometimes they just stay in my head. I definitely am inspired by looking through old photographs and faces; I collect old yearbooks. Then I do the ones that speak to me–I create a story as I paint them. 11: A lot of your characters seem to have a contemplative or reflective disposition. AM: That’s because I try to avoid teeth and smiles. There’s one gal over there [points to a painting in her studio], but painting smiles–that’s fine I’ll paint smiles every once in a while–but I like painting them when they’re not quite at a smile. When they are smiling, you already know the mood; they are happy. But when they are not, when they are more contemplative, you don’t know what they are thinking, and it leaves more room for interpretation. Maybe they are just content, maybe there is something brewing under the surface. Like this gal [points at another painting], something is brewing, something is about to break, I don’t know if she just yells or what. I like that. I like leaving it a little more mysterious, I like leaving it up to the viewer.

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11: I don’t see many of them here, but you do a lot of work with painting animal heads on human bodies. AM: Oh yes, painting animal heads on human bodies! You don’t see many of them here because I sold most of them. I did a series a year ago for a show where I painted these animals; it was really fun and came at a good time. I do so many faces; I wanted to explore something else, so I started doing the animal faces because it was the next best thing and really loved it. 11: What’s your creative process like? AM: Yeah, when I’m not feeling very inspired I will go to my old box of photos or old yearbooks, then go through them. I go into this place of curiosity and exploration; things will start popping out at me. I really just enjoy doing that. If it’s really not working for me then I will go down to the thrift shop or an antique shop. I really just love anything old. 11: What is unique about the art culture in Portland? AM: I don’t know if it’s unique because I’ve never done it anywhere else. I do really enjoy the community and the comradery. I want to see the art community. One of the really great things about this place is you can do anything, you can just put it out there and it’s very encouraging. People are drawn to art here. 11: A lot of room for courage or fearlessness, maybe? AM: Yeah, yeah. That is interesting. It takes courage to put yourself out there, but I am so encouraging to friends or other artists. There are so many artists! And so many group shows you can just partake in. Even as a casual artist. It does take courage, but it’s just fun. You get to meet a lot of new people. 11: How is your imagination stimulated? AM: That would be the old photos and thrift shops or antique shows. Also, seeing other people’s art. When I’m out looking at other artists I get the urge to go home and start exploring. 11: How can we stimulate the imaginations of young people in our culture? AM: Oh, I’m all about that. It’s extremely important. In fact, I just got a book that talks about kids learning specific skills they’ll get through the arts and not anywhere else you won’t get through a typical school’s curriculum. It teaches leadership skills. For me it’s about developing the imagination because you can lose that, and it is really hard to learn as an adult. Children are just naturally imaginative, creative and curious. Those qualities are so important that we instill in them. The arts are a great way to do that. That’s something I want to explore for me and see if there is a role for me in the world that can actually encourage children. 11: Do you think there is a correlation between art programs getting cut and the growing violence in our culture? AM: That would be really interesting to find the correlations. That’s another thing it talks about in this book are the cognitive skills, the “stick-to-it-ness” quality. With problem solving, typically those children with experience in the arts, they learn to learn to stick with it. Obviously, you can’t learn to play the piano the first few times you put your fingers on it, or at least it won’t sound like a real song but if you stick to it, “Oh my gosh,” you can play a song! Now after a few more weeks you can do something a little more. They learn that skill of sticking to something, so in life when they come across something where they have to problem solve, they are more likely to give up quickly if they don’t have that background. That’s so important for life in general. » - Billy Dye View Anna’s paintings in person this month at The Peoples Art of Portland Gallery as part of the “For The Love Of Portland” group show, starting Feb. 16. Please enjoy Anna’s painting “Father & Child” (oil on canvas) on the following page.

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local

PDX PARAGONS Local bands on the radar

Photo by Megan Holmes

MAGIC MOUTH

FEBRUARY 6 | HOLOCENE These days, it can be hard to find bands that approach things from a positive and uplifting point of view that don’t sound sappy or sugary. Local funky soul punk quartet Magic Mouth take having fun and enjoying life very seriously, and it comes across in their music. The group originally consisted of Ana Briseño (drums) and Peter

STAY CALM

Condra (guitar, vocals) and later added Brendan Scott (bass) and Stephfon Bartee (vocals, percussion). Their latest album Believer, released last April, has been stirring murmurs throughout our local scene. Boiling together a meaty stew of soul, funk, and just a dash of the revivalist movement, the band has been nurturing an increasing notoriety for high energy and dynamic live performances. There are a lot of bands today where the pieces merely play next to each other as opposed to with each other, and Magic Mouth definitely falls in the latter category. The music invites you to get your groove on without being too pushy about it. If you like being bombarded by positive electrons (and who doesn’t?), then I highly recommend you give them a try. » - Aaron Mills Photo by Michael Cooper

FEB 21 | MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS You’ll probably recognize the front woman of Stay Calm, Claudia Meza, from her previous band Explode Into Colors. She started the band with a friend upon the disbanding of the former and beloved group. While Meza claims the solo project was meant to be more laid back, in my humble opinion, it is the next stage in her evolution in creating music. So, you’re asking, “What do they sound like?” In “I Couldn’t Sleep” the band sounds like the Dum Dum Girls surrendering their punky attitude and supplementing it with more ambient rhythms used by artists like Sharon Van Etten or the soft side of Phantogram. It is a seductive song with sorrow in the marrow of its bones. At least it feels that way–exploiting the

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precariousness of restless and late night contemplation. Other songs break open in heavier percussion and hip-thrusting melodies. Gracing yourself with a live performance of Meza plus company would probably guarantee at least one spilled beer (so bring $4 extra in cash) and the merit of seeing another great band from a great city. » - Billy Dye

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NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE MONTH:

SE BELMONT Location photos by Mercy McNab

37TH AVE

34TH AVE

30TH AVE

29TH AVE

27TH AVE

26TH AVE 3

SE MORRISON ST 11

SE BELMONT ST. 7

35TH AVE

33RD AVE

32ND AVE

31ST AVE

28TH AVE

SE YAMHILL ST

2. VEGAN HEAVEN

1. RECORD STORE

Sweet Hereafter - 3326 SE Belmont

Sonic Recollections - 2701 SE Belmont

1. Hookah: Pied Cow Coffeehouse- 3244 SE Belmont St 2. Biscuits and Gravy/or When in PDX: Pine State Biscuits-3640 SE Belmont 3. Arcade!: Avalon Theater- 3451 SE Belmont St 4. Record Browse: Hall of Records 3342 Southeast Belmont Street 5. Basement Jazz: Blue Monk 3341 Southeast Belmont Street

3. GET POKED PROPER

Adorn Tattoo & Body Piercing - 2535 SE Belmont

BEST OF SE BELMONT

6. Coffee and Study: Bare Bones Cafe- 2908 Southeast Belmont Street 7. For the Kids: Saint Cupcake-3300 SE Belmont 8. Unique Boutique: Noun- 3300 SE Belmont (same building as Saint Cupcake). 9. Tea Date: Tao of Tea- 3430 SE Belmont 10. Authentic Slices: Straight From New York Pizza 3330 SE Belmont 11. Fruit Smoothies: Sound Grounds- 3701 SE Belmont

4. HOOKAH IT UP

Pied Cow - 3324 SE Belmont

5. VIDEO ARCADE

Avalon Theater - 3451 SE Belmont

6. COFFEE ZONE

Bare Bones - 2900 SE Belmont

7. FOR THE KIDS

Saint Cupcake - 3300 SE Belmont

8. VINTAGE SHOP

White Rabbit Vintage - 916 SE 29th

9. TEA DATE

Tao of Tea - 3430 SE Belmont

10. DIVE BAR

Triple Nickel - 3646 SE Belmont

11. MUSIC VENUE

Blue Monk - 3341 SE Belmont

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THE LOCAL BIZ EXTRACTO

At Extracto Coffeehouse & Roastery each coffee is carefully selected, craft-roasted in small batches, and brewed with love by friendly people who are crazy passionate about your cup of goodness. MAGIC CORNER | NE PORTLAND 2921 NE Killingsworth | 503.281.1764 1465 NE Prescott, Ste B | 503.284.1380 www.extractocoffeehouse.com

HOVERCRAFT AMPS

The TLE shop houses handmade gifts from Portland’s thriving DIY scene. It is also the record label headquarters, a screen printing studio and art gallery—fostering TLE’s love of art and music through community exchange and good ol’ conversation.

DOWNTOWN 412 SW 10th Ave (97205) 503.243.5859 | tenderlovingempire.com

LOUNGE LIZARD

Unused, unloved music gear with great potential, rebuilt into ICONS OF TONE. Available at Old Town Music for a lot less than you’d think! Each amp is uniquely tailored with components and cosmetics to make them very special. No two are alike!

We buy and sell VINTAGE FURNITURE, LIGHTING as well as OTHER COOL CONTEMPORARY furniture and lighting. We strive to keep our prices affordable and realistic for our local market. We love what we do!

SE PORTLAND hovercraftamps.com info@hovercraftamps.com

SE PORTLAND 1310 SE Hawthorne Blvd 503.232.7575 | twitter.com/loungelizardpdx

BEACON SOUND

Carrying a broad spectrum of new and used vinyl including classical, folk, soul, jazz, indie rock, psych, as well as an excellent selection of contemporary electronic music. They pay well for your used vinyl (cash or trade), host in-stores, and generally rule. MAGIC CORNER 1465 NE Prescott (97211) 503.360.1268 | beconsound.net

MOLOKO

Taste the nightlife of Mississippi. Over 40 house infused liquors. Specialty absinthe cocktails. Open until 2am every day.

N PORTLAND 3967 N Mississippi (97227) 503.288.6272 | molokopdx.com

BEECH STREET PARLOR

Offers a cozy environment, tasty drinks, nightly DJs, an amazing selection of beers, delicious food, a lovely porch, The New York Times... and allows minors until 9pm. Open Monday-Saturday, 5-Late Happy Hour 5-7pm NE PORTLAND 412 NE Beech St (97212) 503.946.8184 | beechstreetparlor.com

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TENDER LOVING EMPIRE

THE FIRKIN TAVERN

Located on the west side of Ladd’s, the Firkin Tavern features an astounding selection of craft beers to enjoy inside or on our patio. Art enthusiasts will enjoy a variety of local artwork on display and sold comission-free! SE LADD’S 1937 SE 11th Ave (97214) 503.206.7552 | thefirkintavern.com

SOLID CABLES

The new GT Cable from Solid Cables, available at Pro Guitar Shop & East Side Guitar Repair on Hawthorne. All Solid Cables are handmade in Portland to sound great and not break. SE PORTLAND solidcables.com info@solidcables.com

HOLLYWOOD THEATRE

A not-for-profit organization whose mission is to entertain, inspire, educate and connect the community through the art of film while preserving an historic Portland landmark. NE HOLLYWOOD 4122 NE Sandy Blvd (97212) 503.493.1128 | hollywoodtheatre.org Paid Advertising