360 September 14 2017

Thursday, September 14, 2017 - E1

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

‘Forever Plaid’ celebrates classic pop songs This Weekend, Page 3

Skagit Valley Herald Thursday September 14, 2017

TUNING UP PAGE 9 Aaron Neville plays the Skagit Casino Resort this weekend MOVIES PAGES 14-15

‘American Assassin’ is hindered by gruesome violence

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Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

NEW ON DVD THIS WEEK parents. The series “Captain UnderUpcoming bounces between the pants”: The new DVD ‘80s, 90s and preset day is as childish as it is movie releases where the adult kids immature, silly as it is Following is a partial Kevin (Justin Hartley), infantile and juvenile as schedule of coming movKate (Chrissy Metz) it is puerile. Of course, ies on DVD. Release dates and Randall (Sterling K. anyone of the animatare subject to change: Brown) are the major ed feature film’s target focus. Every time frame audience who has read SEPT. 19 is a masterful examinaone of the 70 million n Wonder Woman tion of family, love, loss books sold around the n The Big Sick and hope. world featuring the n The Hero You can get caught rotund hero and the n Certain Women up on the first-rate elementary students n The Bad Batc series before the second who created him know n Arrow: The Complete season begins Tuesday, that already.

Fifth Season Sept. 26, on NBC. The important thing n Bates Motel: Season “Orphan Black: is that while the producFive Season Five”: The tion never reaches for n Cartels final episodes of the intellectual grandeur, it n Code Black: Season first-rate cable series is on a very basic level Two about a group of clones one of the funniest movn Lethal Weapon: are in this set. ies of the year. If you still Season 1 “Beatriz at Dinner”: giggle when someone n Madam Secretary: Selma Hayek stars in mentions the seventh Season Three this fish-out-of-water planet from the son is n Modern Family comedy.

Uranus, then get ready Season 8 “Veep: The Comto blow some laugh snot n Ransom plete Sixth Season”: bubbles. If that planetary n Starship Troopers: President Selina Meyer joke comes across as Traitor of Mars (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) crass, then either skip n Timeless – Season 1 is out of office after her the rental or lighten up — Tribune News Service loss in a Senate vote a little. to resolve an Electoral “The Mummy”: The College tie. scariest thing about “Secrets and Lies: Season One”: the new Tom Cruise action/horror/ Family man gets pulled into a murder travelogue film, “The Mummy,” is investigation. Juliette Lewis stars. that anyone would think releasing a “The Big Bang Theory: The production that’s such a muddled mess Complete Tenth Season”: Much of is a good idea. This tale of a wrapper the 10th season of the CBS comedy gone bad suffers from a script that focused on the growing relationship bounces around the Universal Studios between Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and creature feature library without rhyme Amy (Mayim Bialik). or reason, features the most uncertain “Scorpion: Season Three”: A performance by Cruise in decades and includes a majority of action scenes that group of geniuses manage to save lack originality and have been staged far the world while also dealing with the courtship and marriage of two membetter in numerous other movies. bers of the team.

“This Is Us: the Complete First “P. King Duckling: Seize the Season”: The only thing surprising Day”: A young duck has dreams of about this NBC family drama being nominated for 10 Emmys — including being everything from a magician to an astronaut in this animated series. outstanding drama series — is that it “Dead Again in Tombstone”: didn’t pick up more nods. This is one of the best written, best acted and best Devil’s outlaw (Danny Trejo) returns from the dead to protect a stolen relic. produced series to come to network “Decline and Fall”: Unfair expulTV in years. sion of Paul Pennyfeather from OxThe series follows the lives of the ford University triggers a disastrous Pearson family through the decades. chain of event. Eva Longoria stars.

It starts with a young married couple, — Rick Bentley, Tribune News Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Service (Mandy Moore), just as they become

YOUR ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION GUIDE TO WHAT’S GOING ON IN SKAGIT COUNTY AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS

AT THE LINCOLN / Page 13

Pee Wee Ellis Funk Assembly comes to the Lincoln Theatre

INSIDE

SUBMISSIONS Email features@skagitpublishing.com Deadline: 5 p.m. Friday for the following Thursday edition Phone 360-416-2135 Hand-deliver 1215 Anderson Road Mount Vernon, WA 98274

Out & About............................................ 4-5 Get Involved............................................ 6-7 On Stage.......................................................8 Tuning Up....................................................9 Travel..........................................................10 Hot Tickets................................................11 At the Lincoln...........................................13 Movies..................................................14-15 ON THE COVER Photo by Craig Parrish

Mailing address P.O. Box 578 Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Online events calendar To list your event on our website, visit goskagit.com and look for the Events Calendar on the home page HAVE A STORY IDEA? Contact Features Editor Craig Parrish at 360-416-2135 or features@skagitpublishing.com TO ADVERTISE 360-424-3251

Thursday, September 14, 2017 - E3

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

THIS WEEKENDin the area ‘Forever Plaid’ celebrates classic pop songs

T

he Broadway musical “Forever Plaid” will be performed at the Conway Muse for three weekends, running Friday, Sept. 15 through Oct. 1, according to a news release.

The musical tells the story of four young men who formed a “guy group” in the 1950s hoping to emulate their pop star heroes: the Four Freshmen, the Hi-Lo’s and the Brothers Four. Singing in close harmony and executing their choreography with precision, the “Plaids” will charm audiences with delightful patter and some of the greatest pop hits of all time.

Presented by Theater Arts Guild and directed by Julie Wenzel, the production features four talented singers: Matt Bianconi, who was featured last year in TAG’s “Mary Poppins”; Mark Wenzel, who was seen recently as Harold Hill in ACT’s production of “The Music Man”; Jason Leander, a terrific local singer who is reprising his role as Smudge; and T.J. Anderson, a Bellingham-based musician and singer who appeared in the show last year at the Mount Baker Theatre.

Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m., and there is one Thursday night performance Sept. 28. Tickets are $26 and are available only at brownpapertickets.com. For more information, visit theaterartsguild.org.

PHOTOS BY CRAIG PARRISH / SKAGIT VALLEY HERALD

Left and bottom, Jason Leander (left), Mark Wenzel, Matt Bianconi and T.J. Anderson appear in “Forever Plaid,” opening Friday, Sept. 15, at the Conway Muse. Right, Mark Wenzel (left) and Jason Leander appear in “Forever Plaid.”

Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m., and there is one Thursday night performance Sept. 28. Tickets are $26 and are available only at brownpapertickets.com. For more information, visit theaterartsguild.org.

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Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

OUT & ABOUT ART RIVER GALLERY: The River Gallery Fine Art show will feature artist Brooke Borcherding, plus the work of 40 local artists, including paintings, sculpture, glass and jewlery, at 19313 Landing Road, Mount Vernon. The opening reception is 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

23, and the gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sept. 23 to Oct. 22. rivergallerywa.com.

‘WHIMSICAL FELTED FANTASIES’: The Raven Rocks Gallery, 765 Wonn Road C-101, Greenbank, presents “Whimsical Felted Fantasies,” featuring the artwork of Kathleen Dodge-DeHaven, until Sept. 30. Dodge-DeHaven is an award winning felt artist from Coupeville. For information and gallery hours call 360-222-0102 or visit ravenrocksgallery.com.

EVIDENCE: A new art show, “Evidence,” features the work of David Blakesley and Kathleen Faulkner. It runs through the end of the month at the Smith & Vallee Gallery, 5742 Gilkey Ave., Edison. An artist talk is 4 to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 30. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

BLUE: A four-woman show, defining personal relationships to “Blue” will run through Sept.

30 at the Lincoln Theatre Art Bar, 712 First St. Artists are Carol Ann Anderson, Diane Learmonth, Sherry Shipley and Suzanne Perlmutter.

‘Whimsical Felted Fantasies’

The Raven Rocks Gallery presents “Whimsical Felted Fantasies,” featuring the artwork of Kathleen Dodge-DeHaven, until Sept. 30. Dodge-DeHaven is an award winning felt artist from Coupeville. For information and gallery hours call 360-222-0102 or visit ravenrocksgallery.com.

ART AUCTION: The eighth annual Art Auction for the Artists and Gallery will be 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

23, at the Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park, 2345 Blanche Way, Camano Island. Throughout the month, visitors can leave a bid or purchase the art. The auction is $25 a person. More than 90 pieces of artwork will be displayed. The gallery and sculpture garden are open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and weekdays by appointment. matzkefineart.com.

PASTEL SOCIETY: The Scott Milo Gallery welcomes back the Signature Member Group of the NW Pastel Society for the month of September. More than 30 distinguished members will exhibit

work in various styles, including landscape, seascape, animals and birds. Juror Craig Lemley of Dakota Art will give awards for the show. The gallery is located at 420 Commercial Ave., in Anacortes.

It is open Monday through Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or by appointment. scottmilo.com.

TEXTURE AND LIGHT: The Good Stuff Arts Gallery, 604 Commercial Ave., Anacortes, presents its new show “Texture & Light” with new works by 25 local artists. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

FESTIVALS HARVEST FESTIVAL & PUMPKIN PITCH: Watch medieval-type

machines hurl pumpkins, zucchini car races, a pumpkin painting contest and more from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 30, at Skagit River Park, 1100 S. Skagit St., Burlington.

Enjoy food vendors, a free kids’ zone and live music. Free. 360757-0994 or burlington-chamber.com.

MUSIC SUMMER JAMS: The Hotel Bellwether, 1 Bellwether Way, Bellingham, presents the 2017 Blues, Brews and BBQ series with live music, microbrews on tap and an outdoor barbecue at 5 p.m. each Thursday during the summer. 360-392-3100 or hotelbellwether.com/ featured/blues-brewsbbq. n Today – Baby Cakes.

FARM TUNES: The

BelleWood Acres Farm Tunes Summer Music Series is 6 to 9 p.m.

Fridays at BelleWood Acres, 6140 Guide Meridian, Lynden. Join in for food, spirits, lawn games and live music.

Information: 360-3187720. n Sept. 15: Lost at Last. n Sept. 22: Queens Bluegrass. n Sept. 29: Downtown Mountain Boys Barn Dance and season finale.

COUNTRY SHOWCASE: The E&E Country Showcase at the Marysville Opera House will feature Jones & Fischer from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at 1225 Third St., Marysville. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. and tickets are $10. Tickets at apm.activecommunities.com/marysvillewa/ Activity_Search/2600. marysvillewa.gov or call the Parks and Recreation Office at 360-3638400.

LIVE AT THE OH: Featuring the Jill Newman Band. The concert is 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Marysville Opera House, 1225 Third Street, Marysville. $5 at the door. The Jill Newman Band covers Chicago blues in the styles of Freddie King and Bonnie Raitt. marysvillewa.gov or call 360-363-8400.

RON JONES: Ron Jones and the Jazz Forest Band will perform from 7-9:15 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 26, at the Camano Center, 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island. $20, students are free. For

tickets and information, call 360-387-0222.

CITY AND COLOUR: City and Colour, aka singer, songwriter and performer Dallas Green, will perform at 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept.

28, at the Mount Baker Theatre, 104 Commercial St, Bellingham.

Tickets are $35. tickets@mountbakertheatre.com or 360-7346080.

LECTURES AND TALKS FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS: Mary Lou Sanelli, author and literary speaker, will share her memoir “Among Friends” at today’s meeting of AAUW (American Association of University Women).

Sanelli’s journey of self-discovery offers smart, funny, honest and undaunted observations of the varied realities of friendships in women’s lives as she tries to answer the question: What does friendship look like to you?

The public is invited for hospitality at 6:45 p.m. followed by the presentation at 7 p.m. in the Seafarers’ Memorial Park building, 601 Seafarers Way, Anacortes. facebook.com/Anacortes AAUW/.

MEET THE CANDIDATES: Get to know the candidates running for Anacortes City Council and port district positions at a forum at 6:30 p.m. today, Sept.

14, at Anacortes Public Library, 1220 10th St. Each candidate will have three minutes for a brief overview presentation at the beginning of the event.

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Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

OUT & ABOUT ARTISTS AND REAL ESTATE: Humanities Washington Speaker’s Bureau Lecturer Jane Richlovsky will present “When Artists Get Together They Talk About Real Estate” and discuss displacement and space issues facing artists today.

3 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

16, at the Museum of Northwest Art, 121 North First St, La Conner. The talk is free. monamuseum.org/ event/when-artistsget-together-they-talkabout-real-estate.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Learn how Skagit County citizens can help move our state forward in reducing climate pollution at a talk at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, at Burlington library, 820 E. Washington Ave. Hosted by Indivisible Skagit and the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy.

POWER OF HOME GARDENERS: Learn the roles pollinators play in the home garden, how to attract beneficial insects and when and how to use pollinator-friendly gardening practices at “The Power of Home Gardeners in the Pollinator Crisis” at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 20, at Island County Multipurpose Center, 141 N East Camano Drive.

Holli Watne, volunteer with the Skagit Conservation District and an amateur entomologist, has been developing and giving insect classes since 2011. The Camano Wildlife Habitat Project, sponsored by Friends of Camano Island Parks, hosts public presentations the third Wednesday of the

month. For information, call 360-387-2236, visit camanowildlifehabitat.org, or email camanowildlifehabitat@ gmail.com.

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE SPEAKER: On the fourth Tuesday of each month the Marysville Opera House will host an outdoor adventure speaker. This month is Maria Mudd Ruth presenting “A Sideways Look at Clouds and Other Natural Wonders” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at the opera house, 1225 Third St., Marysville. Admission is $3 at the door.

Maria Mudd Ruth is the author of more than a dozen books on natural history topics.

MEET THE CANDIDATES: Get to know the candidates running for city councils of Burlington, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley at a forum at 6:30 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 9, at Burlington Public Library, 820 E. Washington Way, Burlington. Each candidate will have three minutes for a brief overview presentation at the beginning of the event. Then, candidates will have the opportunity to mingle with the audience in a casual setting.

BE PREPARED FOR DISASTER: Mount Vernon City Library staff member Barb Hudson will present the steps and skills necessary to be prepared for many of the different emergencies people may experience in the Pacific Northwest at a talk at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, at the library, 315 Snoqualmie St.

Jill Newman Band

ed to those who attend.

MORE FUN

‌

The concert is 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Marysville Opera House, 1225 Third Street, Marysville. $5 at the door. The Jill Newman Band covers Chicago blues in the styles of Freddie King and Bonnie Raitt. marysvillewa.gov or call 360-363-8400.

NOXIOUS WEEDS: Laurel Baldwin, Whatcom County’s noxious weed program coordinator, will share a selection of the more notorious and invasive plants known to Northwest Washington, with a focus on attractive ornamental plants which have become problems, at a talk at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, at Mount Vernon City Library, 315 Snoqualmie St. SASQUATCH: “Sasquatch: Man-Ape or Myth?” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, at Mount Vernon City Library, 315 Snoqualmie St. Author David George Gordon evaluates the data gathered about Sasquatch, discusses the rules of critical thinking and explains how one can become an effective “citizen scientist” by gathering credible evidence. Gordon is the author of “The Sasquatch Seeker’s Field Manual: Using Citizen Science to Uncover

North America’s Most Elusive Creature.”

NATIVE PLANTS: Brenda Cunningham, Master Gardener and Garden Manager for Washington Native Plant Society, will talk about some of the lesser known native plants that thrive in Skagit County, as well as ones that can be used to solve landscaping problems, at “Native Plants in Your Home Landscape – Not Just for the Birds!” at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23, at Mount Vernon City Library, 315 Snoqualmie St. TOXIC PLANTS: Skagit County Master Gardener Diana Wisen presents “The Sinister Garden-Deadly Charms in Your Own Landscape” at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30, at Mount Vernon City Library, 315 Snoqualmie St. This talk is specifically about plants that grow well in the Pacific Northwest and are commonly found in our gardens. A handout will be provid-

WRITING AND PUBLISHING IN SCIENCE FICTION: The Skagit Valley Writer’s League will host a free seminar with Terry Persun called “Writing and Publishing in Science Fiction and Fantasy” from noon to 4 p.m. today, Sept. 14, at the Mount Vernon Senior Center, 1401 Cleveland Ave., Mount Vernon.

The course will cover things like how much technology to include in works of science fiction or fantasy, what element of the story to focus on and more. Register at www.skagitwriters.org.

GROUP SWING DANCE: A group swing dance lesson will be 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, at the Camano Center, 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island. All ages, $10 for adults and $8 for students at the door. Information: 360387-0222.

FIESTAS PATRIAS: The Northwest Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will host its 17th annual Fiestas Patrias (Hispanic Heritage month) at noon Saturday, Sept.

16, at 24538 Polte Road, Sedro-Woolley.

JOIN THE VOICES: The National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI) of Skagit and the North Sound Recovery Coalition have joined together to host the first ever five county event celebrating National Recovery Month “Join the Voices for Recovery” from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday,

Sept. 16, at First United Methodist Church, 1607 East Division St., Mount Vernon. Author, comedian and recovery champion Marti MacGibbon will be the keynote speaker. Food, entertainment, and number of mini educational sessions with local subject matter experts, door prizes and information booths.

Registration is not required. Eventbrite at bit. ly/jointhevoices.

CELTIC GENEALOGY INFORMATION SESSION: The Celtic Arts Foundation has partnered with the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society for a Celtic Genealogy Info Session from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Littlefield Celtic Center, 1124 Cleveland Ave., Mount Vernon. Learn more about resources in the community for researching Celtic heritage, including understanding different website subscriptions, DNA testing, local research options, and more. Admission is $20 to $25 a person.

For more information, contact the Celtic Arts Foundation at 360416-4934 or events@ celticarts.org.

SIPS OF THE SEASON: Bellingham Alive presents Sips of the Season, a pairing event of local craft brews and fresh flavors of the Northwest. Hosted by 13moons at Swinomish Casino & Lodge, 12885 Casino Drive, Anacortes. 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, and tickets are $45 each. eventbrite. com/e/sips-of-the-season-fall-brews-tickets-37081135675.

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Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

GET INVOLVED PRESENTATIONS, LECTURES, TALKS

SOCRATES CAFE: Join a moderated philosophical conversation at the Socrates Cafe from 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Anacortes Public Library, 1220 10th St. This month’s topic is “How does a person acquire a conscience?” Free.

Information: Ben McBroom at 360-299-0415 and benmcbroom@ yahoo.com.

SPANISH FOR ADULTS CLASS: Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation will offer an introductory Spanish for adults class from 6-7:15 p.m. Tuesdays, Sept. 26 through Oct. 17, at the Vaux Retreat Center. The cost is $50. Pre-registration is required. Information: 360-336-6215.

MONTHLY SPEAKER SERIES: The Hole in the Wall Paddling Club hosts a monthly speaker series at 7 p.m. second Wednesdays, September through May, at the Breazeale Interpretive Center, 10441 Bayview-Edison Road, Mount Vernon.

Information: HoleIn-

TheWallPaddlingClub. org. Next up: n Wednesday, Oct. 11 – “Dressing for Cold Water Immersion” with Karl Kohagen from Kokatat Paddle Gear Manufacturing.

ART

SKAGIT ART ASSOCIATION: The longest running art group in Skagit County will hold a re-organizational meeting from 5:30-8:30 p.m. today, Sept. 14, at Washington Federal Bank, 300 E. Fairhaven Ave., Burlington. Stop by for information or to share ideas on reorganizing.

Refreshments available.

DRAWING BOOT CAMP: Reboot your drawing skills with the basics in this four-week class, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Fridays, Oct. 6-27, at A Guilded Gallery, Stanwood. Cost is $150.

Information 360-6292787 and jlnichol@ wavecable.com.

2017 HOLIDAY GREETING CARD CONTEST: The Skagit Valley Hospital Foundation calls professional and hobby artists of the region to submit a digital image of original artwork, thematic of

the Christmas holiday or winter season, for the foundation’s annual year-end holiday greeting card. The winning artist will have their art featured on the foundation’s 2017 holiday greeting card. Deadline is Sept. 18. For contest guidelines, visit skagitregionalhealth.org/hospital-foundation.

CALL FOR ARTISTS: The Mount Vernon Downtown Association seeks artists from all media, including painting, photography, sculpting and fabrics, to show their art in downtown galleries and businesses during First Thursday Art Walks. The art walks are 5 to 8 p.m. April through September and include about a dozen venues. Information: Cathy Stevens at dep. mvda@gmail.com and 360-336-3801.

CALL FOR ARTISTS: The Anacortes Arts Commission is accepting applications for the 98821 Artist’s Studio Tour on Oct. 21 and 22.

Artists must live/have a studio in the 98221 zip code. Artists without a studio may be able to participate at the Depot Arts and Community Center. Applications

Skagit County Fairgrounds 25th Annual Fall

Garage Sale Antiques & More

Car Show on Saturday 140 Vendors • Live Music • Food For more information, visit our website at: www.skagitcounty.net/fairgrounds 360-416-1350 • fairgrounds@co.skagit.wa.us

1664904

September 22nd - 23rd, 2017 9am - 4pm

due June 30. Information: anacortesartscommission.com.

AUDITIONS

‘BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’: The Theatre Arts Guild and Skagit Valley College Drama present Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” the Broadway musical.

Auditions will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 9-10, at Skagit Valley College Philip Tarro Theatre. Information: theaterartsguild.org.

CANTABILE CHAMBER CHOIR AUDITIONS: Choral singers of all parts are wanted to create music under the expertise of music director Stephen Marshall-Ward. Rehearsals are 6:30-9 p.m. Mondays at Bethany Covenant Church, 1318 S. 18th St., Mount Vernon. Dues are $150 per year and the cost of music. Auditions are by appointment.

Information: Jennie Bouma at 425-312-4565 or cantabilechamberchoir@gmail.com.

DANCE

SWING DANCE LESSON: Get ready for the upcoming dance season at the Camano Center with Swing

Dance Lesson 7-9 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 15, at 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island. $10 per person/$8 students.

Class taught by Jon and Jen Keith. Information: 360-387-0222.

LINE DANCING: Line dancing classes for 13 years and older are 7-8 p.m. Tuesdays, Oct. 3-24, Nov. 7-28, and Dec. 5-26, at the Burlington Community Center, 1011 Greenleaf Ave. Cost is $20 for each four-week session. Instructor is Kim Hargrove of Happy Valley Dance. Information and to register: 360-755-9649.

MUSIC

LIVE MUSIC: The Ron Jones Jazz Forest Band will perform from 7-9:15 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at the Camano Center, 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island. $20. Students free with ID. Information: 360387-0222.

SKAGIT SOCIAL AT FARMSTRONG: Join us for a Fall Marketplace from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, at Farmstrong Brewing Company, 110 Steward Road, Mount Vernon. There will be numerous local businesses setting up shops,

displays, services, complimentary refreshments and fun. Information: 360-391-9684 and marlarenee26@yahoo.com.

UKULELE FUN & SONG CIRCLE: Have fun strumming and singing at the free Ukulele Fun & Song Circle from 1-2 p.m. Wednesdays at the Mount Vernon Senior Center, 1401 Cleveland St. Beginners welcome and loaner ukuleles available. Song sheets provided. Information: 206-790-4862 and yogaheartspace0@ gmail.com.

BARBERSHOP HARMONY: Join the AnO-Chords, a four-part barbershop harmony group that meets at 7 p.m. Thursdays, at Bethany Covenant Church, 1318 18th St., Mount Vernon. All ages welcome. anochords. org. 360-466-0109.

TIME FOR FIDDLERS: The Washington Old Time Fiddlers play acoustic old-time music at 6:30 p.m. the second and fourth Fridays of each month at the Mount Vernon Senior Center, 1401 Cleveland.

St. Free; donations accepted. Information: 630-1156.

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Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

GET INVOLVED SHELTER BAY CHORUS: Practices are held 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Thursdays at the Shelter Bay Clubhouse, 1000 Shoshone Drive, La Conner. New members welcome. No need to be a Shelter Bay resident.

360-223-3230.

SINGERS WANTED: Join the women of Harmony Northwest Chorus from 6:309 p.m. every Monday at the Mount Vernon Senior Center, 1401 Cleveland Ave. Seeking women who like to sing a cappella music. All skill levels welcome.

BRING YOUR OWN GUITAR: Bring your guitar and learn a wide variety of new songs from 6:30-8 p.m. first and third Wednesdays at North Cove Coffee, 1130 S. Burlington Boulevard, Burlington.

Information at 360707-2683 and jauman@ northcovecoffee.com.

BRING YOUR OWN UKULELE FOR BEGINNERS: Bring your ukulele and learn a wide variety of new songs from 6-6:30 p.m. second and fourth Wednesdays at North Cove Coffee, 1130 S. Burlington Boulevard, Burlington.

Information at 360707-2683 and jauman@ northcovecoffee.com.

RECREATION

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COACHED PLANNING: This comprehensive university-based forestry class will help you get the most out of the land from 6-9 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 5, through Nov. 30, at DNR Regional Office, 919 Township St. Se-

dro-Woolley. Cost is $165 to $200. Information: 206-263-1128 and kelsey. ketcheson@wsu.edu.

CHRISTIAN MOTORCYCLISTS ASSOCIATION: Christian Motorcyclists Association Morning Star Chapter 39 meets the first Monday of every month at Royal Star Buffet, 2300 Freeway Drive, Mount Vernon. Dinner at 6 p.m. (optional) with meeting at 7 p.m. First time attendees get a free dinner.

Information: President Dwight Kaestner at 425770-6154 or cmachapter39@gmail.com.

FRIENDS OF THE FOREST HIKES: Join the Friends of the Forest for scenic hikes in the forest lands around Anacortes. Dress for the weather and wear sturdy shoes. No pets. Free.

For information, call 360-293-3725 or visit friendsoftheacfl.org.

WORKSHOPS

REIKI: Reiki with Jushua and Hope is held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Center for Holistic Wellness, 609 Metcalf St., Sedro-Woolley. Joshua and Hope will speak about the practice and the Universal Energy of Reiki, what the benefits of Reiki can do for you.

Information: 360-4202630 and sedrowoolleyholisticwellness. wordpress.com.

AUTUMN SMALLPIPES & FIDDLES WORKSHOP: The Celtic Arts Foundation presents the seventh annual Autumn Smallpipes Workshop, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept.

29-Oct. 1, at Littlefield

Celtic Center, 1124 Cleveland Ave, Mount Vernon. Information: 360-416-4934 and events@celticarts.org.

ADULTING FOR TEENS: Are you looking to move out on your own or thinking of heading off to college in the future? This two-day class, for 14- to 23-year-olds, will cover all the basics from 5:307:30 p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 7 and 14, or Nov. 4 and 18, at Burlington Parks and Rec Center, 900 E. Fairhaven. Cost is $50. Instructor is Laura Fletcher. Day 1 includes how to sew on buttons, boil an egg, do laundry and healthy meal planning. Day 2 teaches creating a budget and savings plan, establishing good credit, understanding rental agreements and more.

Information and to register: 360-755-9649.

sEpT 11 OCT 23 NOV 13 dec 11

GAELIC LANGUAGE AND SONG WORKSHOP: Instructors Stacey Giermann and Rich Hill from Seattle-based Slighe nan Gaidheal will host a workshop to help beginners speak and sing in Gaelic from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 14, at Littlefield Celtic Center, 1124 Cleveland Ave. Mount Vernon. Cost is $20. Information: 360416-4934 and events@ celticarts.org.

DOTTIE BURTON COLLAGE WORKSHOP: A one-day collage workshop with Dottie Burton will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, at A Guilded Gallery, Stanwood. Cost is $85.

Information: 360-6292787 and jlnichol@ wavecable.com.

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E8 - Thursday, September 14, 2017

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

ON STAGE in the Skagit Valley and surrounding area September 15-24

CRAIG PARRISH / SKAGIT VALLEY HERALD

FRIDAY.15

”FOREVER PLAID” T.J. Anderson (from left), Jason Leander, Mark Wenzel and Matt Bianconi appear in “Forever Plaid,” opening Friday, Sept. 15, at the Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. 360-445-3000 or conwaymuse.com.

Friday.15

THEATER ”Forever Plaid”: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $26. 360-445-3000 or conwaymuse. com.

DANCE Group Swing Dance Lesson: 7 p.m., Camano Center, 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island. $10 adult. $8 student. 360-387-0222 or camanocenter.org.

Saturday.16

Thursday.21

Sawyer Brown: 7:30 p.m., Mount Baker Theatre, 104 N Commercial St., Bellingham. $22-$50. 360-734-6080 or mountbakertheatre.com.

Friday.22

THEATER ”Forever Plaid”: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $26.

360-445-3000 or conwaymuse.com.

Sunday.17

THEATER ”Forever Plaid”: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $26. 360-445-3000 or conwaymuse. com.

THEATER ”Forever Plaid”: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway.

Dress rehearsal, free, first come, first served. 360-445-3000 or conwaymuse. com.

THEATER ”Young Frankenstein”: 7:30 p.m., ACT Theatre, 918 M Ave., Anacortes. $20. 360-293-6829 or acttheatre.com. ”Forever Plaid”: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $26. 360-445-3000 or conwaymuse. com.

Saturday.23

THEATER ”Young Frankenstein”: 7:30 p.m., ACT Theatre, 918 M Ave., Anacortes. $20. 360-293-6829 or acttheatre.com. ”Forever Plaid”: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $26. 360-445-3000 or conwaymuse. com.

Sunday.24

THEATER ”Forever Plaid”: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $26. 360-445-3000 or conwaymuse. com.

Thursday, September 14, 2017 - E9

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

TUNING UP Playing at area venues September 14-21 Thursday.14

Thunder Creek: 8 p.m., Concrete Hub & Grill, 45914 Main St., Concrete. 360-8538741.

Baby Cakes: 5 p.m., Hotel Bellwether, 1 Bellwether Way, Bellingham. 360-392-3100 or hotelbellwether.com/ featured/blues-brewsbbq.

Sunday.17

Neon Stars: 5:30 p.m., The Old Edison, 5829 Cains Court, Bow. 360-766-6266 or theoldedison.com.

Trish Hatley: 6 p.m., Rockfish Grill & Anacortes Brewery, 320 Commercial Ave. Free.

360-588-1720 or anacortesrockfish.com.

Alicia Dauber Quintet: 5-8 p.m., Hotel Bellwether, 1 Bellwether Way, Bellingham. 360392-3100 or hotelbellwether.com.

Impressions: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway. $6. 360445-3000 or conwaymuse.com.

Eryn Bent: 7:309:30 p.m., Anelia’s Kitchen & Stage, 513 1st St., La Conner. aneliaskitchenandstage. com.

Friday.15

Aaron Neville: 8 p.m., Skagit Casino Resort Pacific Showroom, 5984 Darrk Lane, Bow. $55-65. theskagit. com/entertainment or 877-275-2448.

Polly O’Keary and the Rhythm Method: 8:30 p.m. to midnight, Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon. 360422-6411.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY.15-16

AARON NEVILLE 8 p.m., Skagit Casino Resort Pacific Showroom, 5984 Darrk Lane, Bow. $55-65. theskagit.com/ entertainment or 877-275-2448.

360-445-3000 or conwaymuse.com.

Deception Connection: 6 p.m., Mount Vernon Elks Lodge, 2120 Market St., Mount Vernon. Members and signed-in guests only.

360-848-8882.

Sammy Steele: 9 p.m., Loco Billy’s, 27021 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. $8. locobillys.com.

McPage and Powell: 8 p.m., Rockfish Grill & Anacortes Brewery, 320 Commercial Ave. Free.

360-588-1720 or anacortesrockfish.com.

Lost at Last: 6-9 p.m., BelleWood Acres, 6140 Guide Meridian, Lynden. 360318-7720 or bellewoodfarms.com.

MuseBird Cafe with Nick Nace, Denise Glover, Gary Baugh: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway. $10.

Knut Bell: 7:309:30 p.m., Anelia’s Kitchen & Stage, 513 1st St., La Conner. aneliaskitchenandstage. com.

J.P. Falcon: 8 p.m., Longhorn Saloon, 5754 Cains Court, Bow. Free.

360-766-6330.

Saturday.16

Aaron Neville: 8 p.m., Skagit Casino Resort Pacific Showroom, 5984 Darrk Lane, Bow. $55-65. theskagit. com/entertainment or 877-275-2448.

Polly O’Keary and the Rhythm Method: 8:30 p.m to midnight, Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon. 360422-6411.

The Mix: 8 p.m., H2O, 314 Commercial Ave, Anacortes. anacortesh2o.com or 360755-3956.

Daddy Treetops:

7:30-9:30 p.m., Anelia’s Kitchen & Stage, 513 1st St., La Conner. aneliaskitchenandstage. com.

colntheatre.org.

Tuesday.19

Christian Casolary Trio: 4:30-7:30 p.m., Hotel Bellwether, 1 Bellwether Way, Bellingham. 360-392-3100 or hotelbellwether.com.

Wednesday.20 Wayne Hayton: 6 p.m., Rockfish Grill & Anacortes Brewery, 320 Commercial Ave. Free.

360-588-1720 or anacortesrockfish.com.

Gary B’s Church of the Blues: open jam, 6-10 p.m., Conway Pub & Eatery, 18611 Main St., Conway. 360-4454733.

Thursday.21

Monday.18

Jill Newman Band: 5:30 p.m. Marysville Opera House, 1225 3rd Street, Marysville. $5 at the door. marysvillewa. gov or 360-363-8400.

Pee Wee Ellis Funk Assembly: 7:30 p.m., Lincoln Theatre, Mount Vernon. $20-35.

360-336-8955 or lin-

Jim Page: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $7. 360-445-3000 or conwaymuse.com.

Joe T. Cook Blues Band: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $10. 360-445-3000 or conwaymuse.com.

Jones & Fischer: 7:30 p.m., Marysville Opera House, 1225 3rd Street, Marysville. $10. Tickets online at marysvillewa.gov. 360363-8400. ”Ready for PrimeTime”: PrimeTime Quartet, 7-8:30 p.m., Salem Lutheran Church, 2529 N. LaVenture Road, Mount Vernon. Free; donations accepted. PattiBurklund@gmail.com.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY.15-16

POLLY O’KEARY AND THE RHYTHEM METHOD 8:30 p.m. to midnight, Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon. 360-422-6411.

E10 - Thursday, September 14, 2017

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

TRAVEL

Spain’s beguiling island of Menorca

By ALBERT STUMM The Associated Press

MENORCA, Spain — Locals say Menorca can be reduced to three words: water, fire and stone.

The Spanish island’s three essential elements are embodied in Cova d’en Xoroi, a natural cave that houses a sophisticated lounge halfway down a cliff. As the sun dips into the Mediterranean, waves crash on the rocks. Then the staff lights torches under the craggy roof, and the stunning yet laid-back venue transitions into a lively night club.

Although the scene may sound as summery as a frozen mojito, it’s repeated nightly well into autumn,

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This June 18, 2017, photo shows Cala Mitjana Bay on the island of Menorca, Spain. The calm waters are great for snorkeling.

when Menorca remains as beguiling as it is in peak season. Through much of October, it’s still warm enough to enjoy the spectacular beaches, but visitors will find the island has plenty to offer besides sun and transparent blue waters.

Here’s a quick look at Menorca and its vibrant cities, Mahon and Ciutadella, at a time of year when you just might have them to yourself.

NATURE VS. NURTURE Menorca is the farthest east of the Balearics, an archipelago between Spain and Italy that includes the better-known islands of Mallorca and jet-set Ibiza.

All three enjoy an enviably mild climate in a picture-postcard setting, but Menorca’s comes without the crowds or the 50-euro club cover charges. It has managed to hold on to an understated, calmer style by restricting development to a few existing, mostly lowrise resorts.

The entire 270-squaremile island was declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1993, and as a result,

most of the 125 beaches that encircle Menorca’s jagged coastline have very little, if any, development.

Along the south coast, walking paths that start at inland parking lots wind through forested ravines to the beaches. Cala Mitjana’s powdery white sand is surrounded by cliffs, and the calm, shallow water makes it easy to explore a cave and the rocky crags with snorkeling gear. In the north, Cala Cavalleria is a little easier to get to but no less unspoiled.

The water may feel warm into autumn, but visiting after the peak summer months also means paying half-price for activities like hiring a boat with a private captain. Just plan ahead and check the weather for wind as well as temperatures.

CULTURAL LEGACIES The ancient Phoenicians called it “Nura,” or the Island of Fire. Legend has it that passing sailors saw bonfires built along the southern cliffs, which the original inhabitants used to signal each other. Signs of those first settlers —

Iberian tribes that came from the mainland in the Bronze Age — are still apparent in more than 2,000 stone monuments spread throughout the island.

The Talaiotic society left stone temples, burial chambers and monuments that resemble smaller versions of Stonehenge. Some of the larger clusters require tickets and have English guides in high season, but there are so many monuments that most aren’t even marked.

Taken together, they comprise one of Europe’s largest open-air museums.

The following millennia brought ever more visitors and invaders, including the Greeks, Moors, French and Catalans, but no outside culture has left a more lasting stamp than the British. They ruled the island intermittently during the 18th century and moved the capital to Mahon from Ciutadella, which had been founded before the Romans arrived but was destroyed in the 16th century by the Turks.

The English legacy shines through in the sash windows of Mahon’s architecture and in the active gin trade. The Xoriguer gin distillery is a cool spot for a pre-dinner tasting in Mahon.

FARM TO TABLE Though beaches get all the limelight, much of Menorca’s economy is agricultural, evidenced by the fact that there are more cows than people. Small farms, separated into miniature parcels by dry stone walls, cover the rugged hills of the interior, producing a shocking variety of produce (40 types of apples, for instance), olive oil, wine and the delicious Mahon cheese.

Local travel briefs CRUISING SHOW: Explore the exciting world of cruising at the AAA Cruise Show, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Skagit Casino Resort, 5984 Darrk Lane, Bow. 360848-2090.

WHATCOM SENIOR TOURS: Whatcom Senior Tours offers trips for seniors. Sign up by calling 360-7334030, ext. 1015, or visit the tour office at 315 Halleck St., Bellingham. n Celebrity Hawaiian Cruise: Sept.

22-Oct. 2. $2,699 per double occupancy inside cabin, $3,099 per double occupancy of ocean-view cabin, or $3,599 per double occupancy balcony cabin. n Rhine & Mosel River Cruise: Sept. 21-Oct. 1. $4,549 per double occupancy outside cabin, $4,949 per double occupancy vista balcony, or $5,249 per double occupancy exterior balcony. n New Orleans and Cajun Country: Nov. 5-11. $2,399 per double occupancy, $3,049 single.

SHORT TRIPS: Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation offers travel opportunities for ages 8 and older (adult supervision required for ages 17 and younger).

Trips depart from and return to Hillcrest Park, 1717 S. 13th St., Mount Vernon. For information or to register, call 360-336-6215.

RECREATION WITHOUT BORDERS: The organization offers recreational trips, tours and adventures throughout the Northwest and British Columbia. 360-766-7109 or recreationwithoutborders.com.

OAK HARBOR DAY TRIPS: The Oak Harbor Senior Center, 51 SE Jerome St., offers fun day trips for members.

For details, call the travel desk at 360279-4587.

STATE VISITOR CALL CENTER: The Washington Tourism Alliance’s ExperienceWA Call Center is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. 1-800-544-1800 or tourisminfo@ watourismalliance.com.

Thursday, September 14, 2017 - E11

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

HOT TICKETS BEACH BOYS: Sept.

14, Washington State Fair, Puyallup. 888-559-FAIR or thefair.com.

ARTURO SANDOVAL: Sept. 14-17, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206441-9729 or jazzalley. com.

SALT ‘N PEPA, VANILLA ICE, COLOR ME BADD, TONE LOC: Sept.

15, Washington State Fair, Puyallup. 888-559-FAIR or thefair.com.

AARON NEVILLE: Sept.

15-16, Skagit Casino, Bow. 8777-275-2448 or theskagit.com.

GOO GOO DOLLS, PHILLIP PHILLIPS: Sept.

15, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville. 800-7453000 or livenation.com.

SAWYER BROWN: Sept. 16, Mount Baker Theatre, Bellingham. tickets@mountbakertheatre. com or 360-734-6080.

HANK WILLIAMS JR., THE CADILLAC THREE: Sept. 16, Washington State Fair, Puyallup. 888559-FAIR or thefair.com.

CASTING CROWNS, MATTHEW WEST: Sept.

18, Washington State Fair, Puyallup. 888-559-FAIR or thefair.com.

PEE WEE ELLIS FUNK ASSEMBLY: Sept. 14-17, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

THOMAS RHETT, MICHAEL RAY: Sept. 20, Washington State Fair, Puyallup. 888-559-FAIR or thefair.com.

MODEST MOUSE, BUILT TO SPILL: Sept. 21, Washington State Fair, Puyallup. 888-559-FAIR or thefair.com.

TAKE SIX: Sept. 21-24, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

LOVERBOY, SURVIVOR: Sept. 22, XFinity Area, Everett. 866-3328499 or xfinityarenaeverett.com.

VICTOR WOOTEN TRIO Sept. 28-Oct. 1, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

EARTH, WIND & FIRE: Sept. 22, Washington State Fair, Puyallup. 888559-FAIR or thefair.com.

GEORGE WINSTON: Sept. 22, Benaroya Hall, Seattle. 206-215-4747 or benaroyahall.org.

MARLON WAYANS: Sept. 23, Washington State Fair, Puyallup. 888559-FAIR or thefair.com.

JASON ALDEAN, KANE BROWN: Sept. 24, Washington State Fair, Puyallup. 888-559-FAIR or thefair.com.

SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA: Sept. 26-27, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

JANET JACKSON: Sept.

27, KeyArena, Seattle.

800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

VICTOR WOOTEN TRIO WITH DENNIS CHAMBERS, BOB FRANCESCHINI: Sept. 28-Oct. 1, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

COLIN HAY: Sept. 2829, Benaroya Hall, Seattle.

206-215-4747 or benaroyahall.org.

KIDZ BOP BEST TIME EVER: Sept. 29, Paramount Theater, Seattle.

800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

CITY AND COLOUR: Sept. 29, Mount Baker Theatre, Bellingham. tickets@mountbakertheatre. com or 360-734-6080.

SCORPIONS, MEGA-

DETH: Sept. 30, Tacoma Dome, Tacoma. 800-7453000 or livenation.com.

GORILLAZ: Sept. 30, KeyArena, Seattle. 800745-3000 or livenation. com.

EAGLES, DOOBIE BROTHERS: Sept. 30, Safeco Field, Seattle. 800745-3000 or livenation. com.

STANLEY JORDAN: Oct. 3-4 , Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-4419729 or jazzalley.com.

NAOMI WACHIRA: Oct. 5, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE: Oct. 6, White River Amphitheatre, Auburn.

360-825-6200 or livenation.com.

IMAGINE DRAGONS: Oct. 6, KeyArena, Seattle.

800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

BONEY JAMES: Oct. 6-8, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

EVIL DEAD — THE MUSICAL: Oct. 7, Mount Baker Theatre, Bellingham. 360-734-6080 or mountbakertheatre.com.

LAUREN HILL, NAS: Oct. 10, WaMu Theater, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

LUCKY PETERSON: Oct. 10-11, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206441-9729 or jazzalley. com.

ALT-J: Oct. 12, WaMu

LEWIS NASH: Oct. 19-21, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

DEPECHE MODE: Oct. 21, KeyArena, Seattle.

800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

GERALD ALBRIGHT: Oct. 26-29, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206441-9729 or jazzalley. com.

LEO KOTTKE: Oct. 31-Nov. 1, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-4419729 or jazzalley.com.

KARRIN ALLYSON: Nov. 2-5, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-4419729 or jazzalley.com.

HAUSHKA: Nov. 3, Benaroya Hall, Seattle.

206-215-4747 or benaroyahall.org.

YANNI: Nov. 3, Benaroya Hall, Seattle. 206215-4747 or benaroyahall. org.

Theater, Seattle. 800-7453000 or livenation.com.

SUN NIL MOON: Oct. 12, Benaroya Hall, Seattle.

206-215-4747 or benaroyahall.org.

DAVID SANBORN ELECTRIC BAND: Oct. 1215, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

EMMYLOU HARRIS: Oct. 13-14, Skagit Casino, Bow. 8777-275-2448 or theskagit.com.

LINKIN PARK, SNOOP DOGG: Oct. 14, KeyArena, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

ARCADE FIRE: Oct. 15, KeyArena, Seattle. 800745-3000 or livenation. com.

JOHN HAMMOND: Oct. 17-18, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE WITH BENNY GREEN,

JERRY DOUGLAS BAND: Nov. 8, Benaroya Hall, Seattle. 206-2154747 or benaroyahall.org.

HIROMO DUET WITH EDMAR CASTANEDA: Nov. 10-12, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206441-9729 or jazzalley. com.

HALSEY: Nov. 10, KeyArena, Seattle. 800-7453000 or livenation.com.

BOB SEGER AND THE SILVER BULLET BAND: Nov. 11, KeyArena, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

FALL OUT BOY: Nov. 12, KeyArena, Seattle.

800-745-3000 or livenation.com.

CONFUNKSHUN: Nov. 14-16, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle. 206-441-9729 or jazzalley.com.

— For complete listings, visit goskagit.com and click on “Entertainment”

McIntyre Hall Presents

THE JOHN WELSH BAND Saturday, September 30

7:30pm

LATIN I FOLK I SURF ROCK I REGGAE I CANADIANA

With a sound that blends high energy Latin, West African, reggae & folk rock rhythms, the John Welsh Band performs in both English and Spanish with feel-good songs that put one in mind of sunny beaches & happy times.

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E12 - Thursday, September 14, 2017

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

This ‘Sgt. Pepper’ is considered the worst. Why to watch it on Blu-ray

By HOWARD COHEN Miami Herald

Art’s greatest sin is to be “unmemorable,” pop culture historian Russell Dyball says on the commentary track of the Shout! Factory Blu-ray reissue of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

On that end, the 1978 Bee Gees-Peter Frampton musical that was built on Beatles songs from the landmark 1967 album of the same name, and “Abbey Road,” “Let It Be” and “Revolver,” is sin free.

Forty years after director Michael Schultz filmed the musical in L.A. in the fall of 1977, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is anything but unmemorable.

So does that make it great?

In July 1978, when the Robert Stigwood-produced musical opened in theaters with a George Martin-produced $15.98 double-LP soundtrack, the project was savaged.

Janet Maslin, film critic for The New York Times, summed up the prevailing view of the movie in her review where she called it “a business deal set to music.”

We reached out to Bee Gee Barry Gibb at his Miami Beach home, but he was unavailable.

It was his birthday and wedding anniversary.

Gibb probably wasn’t thinking of reliving the “Pepper” experience.

Leave that to Shout!

Factory, which is releasing the home video on Sept. 26 in the wake of June’s 50th anniversary restoration and reissue of the Beatles’ original 1967 album.

COURTESY OF AMAZON

The Shout! Factory Blu-ray reissue of the film “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

On Dyball’s informative audio commentary on the Blu-ray we hear of ego clashes on the set between its leads, Frampton and the Bee Gees. Frampton was hot from his “Frampton Comes Alive” LP in 1976.

Gibb and his late brothers, twins Robin and Maurice, were about to be Beatles-hot from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, which hit No. 1 as soon as filming wrapped in January 1978. Bee Gees singles, “How Deep Is Your Love,” “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever,” all topped the charts for the next six months.

Dyball calls the movie “absurd” and “delightful.” We get it. Now. In 1978, “Sgt. Pepper” felt like an abomination. The four Beatles were still alive then so many had hoped for a

reunion. Fans, instead, had to settle for a silly jukebox musical that didn’t replicate the success of earlier Stigwood musical productions like “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Tommy,” “Saturday Night Fever” or “Grease,” for which Barry Gibb provided the title tune.

But with the patina of nostalgia now going for it, Shout! Factory’s reissue reveals a peskily overlong film of, get this, some charm.

Here’s why unearthing the “Sgt. Pepper” film musical as it approaches its 40th anniversary isn’t such a bad idea.

THE SONGS Earth, Wind & Fire’s cover of “Got to Get You Into My Life” is better than the Beatles’ original from the “Revolver” album. Everybody knows that. Back

then we knew it — even if admitting this in the high school cafeteria led to a dunking in a bowl of steaming Chef Boyardee.

Aerosmith’s sleazy “Come Together” is less embarrassing than lead singer Steven Tyler’s late-career turn as an “American Idol” judge or reinvention as a country singer on his solo album.

The Bee Gees’ harmonies on “A Day in the Life,” “Nowhere Man” and “Because,” the latter with Alice Cooper (who was on a two day pass from rehab to film his part as a cult leader), were spot-on. Robin Gibb’s solo on the Top 20 single, “Oh! Darling” is arguably more soulful than Paul McCartney’s oversung original.

(John Lennon’s voice would have been better suited to the raw “Abbey Road” track in 1969 than Paul’s anyway.)

George Burns, clearly “Sgt. Pepper’s” highlight, played God in a hit movie a year earlier.

He’d get away with singing “Fixing a Hole,” too.

OK, Frampton’s thin, whiny voice reeked and his best scenes were the times his Billy Shears character was unconscious. Yet “Sgt. Pepper” didn’t kill his career as commonly believed. His “Comes Alive” follow up, the feckless “I’m in You,” managed that feat in 1977. “Sgt. Pepper” just confirmed his live album was a fluke.

THE COMMENTARY Pop culture historian Russell Dyball is having a good time telling tales of “Pepper” and you will enjoy sharing your living room with the born storyteller.

We knew that Olivia

Newton-John had been offered the role of Strawberry Fields, a part played by film novice Sandy Farina who earned the unfortunate nickname “16-take Sandy” because that’s how many takes it took for her to convincingly walk through a door.

Newton-John made the right choice. “Grease,” released a month earlier in June 1978, became that year’s biggest box office success. Farina never acted again but would go on to become a songwriter. In 1979, Barbra Streisand recorded Farina’s “Kiss Me in the Rain.”

We didn’t know, however, that Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks was offered the part, too. We’d have to wait 35 years for Nicks to make her acting debut on “American Horror Story: Coven.”

Donna Summer was offered the part of Lucy, played memorably by Dianne Steinberg, but she’d opt instead for a small role in the 1978 disco movie, “Thank God It’s Friday.” That film flopped but its hit song, “Last Dance,” won on Oscar. Even the Bee Gees were cheated out of an Oscar for “Saturday Night Fever” the year before.

A TIME CAPSULE “Sgt. Pepper” isn’t a defining film of the 1970s but it is a defining film of 1978. For better or worse, this is how pop culture rolled in 1978. And “Sgt. Pepper” was far from the worst film of its type of 1978.

That year also saw the TV release of “Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park” and “The Star Wars Holiday Special.”

“Thank God It’s Friday” wasn’t better. And “Roller Boogie,” “Xanadu” and “Can’t Stop the Music” were yet to come.

SEE STEVE MARTIN BEFORE HE BECAME ‘THE JERK’ The comedian scrubbed “Sgt. Pepper” from his filmography in favoring “The Jerk” in 1979 as his film debut.

Maybe Martin meant in a leading role where the whole movie hinged on his performance. But he did “Sgt. Pepper” (and a few other movies) first.

And we kinda like his wild and crazy guy take on “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.”

MEND A BROKEN HEART Bee Gee Maurice Gibb once said, “While we were filming ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ we wrote songs like ‘Tragedy’ and ‘Too Much Heaven’ and then ‘Shadow Dancing’ all in one day. That’s three hit singles in less than 24 hours. So the drugs must have been good that day.”

He even winks at the camera in a scene from the film. How can you mend a broken heart?

Cue up the late and beloved Maurice Gibb.

AND IN THE END …

Have fun playing spot the pop star of 1978 in the finale. We found plenty, including Tina Turner, Helen Reddy, John Stewart, members of Heart, George Benson, Carol Channing, Etta James, Steven Bishop, percussionist Joe Lala, Curtis Mayfield, Frankie Valli, Anita Pointer, Bonnie Raitt, Seals & Crofts, Hank Williams Jr., Al Stewart, Leif Garrett and Peter Allen.

Thursday, September 14, 2017 - E13

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

AT THE LINCOLN ‘An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power’ 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept 15 5 p.m. SaturdaySunday, Sept. 16-17

Mentally adrift the summer after graduating from college, suburbanite Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) would rather float in his parents’ pool than follow adult advice about his future.

But the exhortation of family friend Mr. Robinson (Murray Hamilton) to seize every possible opportunity inspires Ben to accept an offer of sex from icily feline Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). The affair and the pool are all well and good

2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17

Feast your eyes on the classic film inspired by Roald Dahl’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and treat your taste buds to delicious treats in goodie bags available for purchase.

Come along with Willy Wonka, Charlie Bucket and Grandpa Joe, as the last of five coveted golden tickets falls into the hands of a sweet but very poor boy. He and his

606 South First St. Mount Vernon, Wa

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We bring you authentic Greek cuisine, made with fresh ingredients every day. We offer gluten-free dishes.

Football Parties in the Lounge

7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18

Pee Wee Ellis’ remarkable story spans six decades, starting in the 1950s when he went to New York city to find his heroes Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and the great Sonny Rollins (who became his teacher and mentor).

A promising career leading jazz bands in Florida took an unexpected turn in the 1965 when he joined James Brown’s sensational Revue, playing alto. Within six months he was bandleader/musical director and was cowriting with James Brown. ‘Cold Sweat’, widely acknowledged as the first true funk record, and many of JB’s hits for the next four years were the fruit of this collaboration. $20-35.

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Cougs Saturday 2:30pm Seahawks Sunday 1:25pm 1585064 1474688

We take pride in cooking and serving you the finest.

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Pee Wee Ellis Funk Assembly

Lunch SpeciaLS! Monday-Friday

Tues-Sat 11-2pm and 4-8pm Call for reservations

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$7.99 BURGER SPECIAL Mon-Fri, 11:30am-4pm

Coming up at The Rockfish Grill and H2O:

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THURS. 9/14 6PM TRISH HATLEY FRI. 9/15 8PM McPAGE and POWELL WEDS. 9/20 6PM WAYNE HAYTON

FRIDAY ~ PRIME RIB SATURDAY ~ SEAFOOD THURSDAY NIGHTS:

ALL YOU CAN EAT PRAWNS RESERVATIONS REQUIRED PATIO IS OPEN!

Fri. 9/15 & Sat. 9/16 POLLY O’KEARY AND THE RHYTHM METHOD

422-6411 18247 State Route 9 Mount Vernon

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‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ in Smell-O-Vision

grandpa then get a tour of the strangest chocolate factory in the world. The owner leads five young winners, Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Veruca Salt, Mike Teavee, Arthur Slugworth on a thrilling and often dangerous tour of his factory.

Rated G. $10.50 general; $9.50 seniors, students and active military; $8 children 12 and under.

FRI. 9/15 10PM DJ CLINT WESTWOOD SAT. 9/16 8PM THE MIX SUN. 9/17 7PM KARAOKE

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7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16

until Ben is pushed to go out with the Robinsons’ daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross) and he falls in love with her.

With a score written

by Paul Simon and performed by Simon & Garfunkel, “The Graduate” opened to rave reviews in December 1967 and surpassed all commercial expectations. It became the top-grossing film of 1968 and was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Actor, and Actress, with Mike Nichols winning Best Director.

Rated PG. $10.50 general; $9.50 seniors, students and active military; $8 children 12 and under.

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‘The Graduate’

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Pee Wee Ellis Funk Assembly: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, Lincoln Theatre, Mount Vernon. $20-35. 360-336-8955 or lincolntheatre.org.

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A decade after “An Inconvenient Truth” brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy. Renowned filmmakers Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk have taken the baton from 2006 Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim. What started as a slide-show lecture has become a gorgeously cinematic excursion.

Rated PG. $10.50 general; $9.50 seniors, students and active military; $8 children 12 and under.

Sunday bargain prices: $9 general, $7.50 children 12 and under. $2 discount for Lincoln members.

anacortesrockfish.com / anacortesH2O.com

E14 - Thursday, September 14, 2017

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK

MINI-REVIEWS

Despite high-minded questions, ‘American Assassin’ is just more gruesome violence

Compiled from news services.

Ratings are 1 to 4 stars.

By KATIE WALSH Tribune News Service

What role does emotion play in violence? This is the rather high-minded philosophical question at the core of the rather schlocky spy picture “American Assassin,” though the film itself doesn’t offer any clear answers on that.

It’s difficult to puzzle out any morals about what motivates violence and how trauma manifests when the film just leans into more and more numbingly graphic images of human destruction.

Directed by Michael Cuesta with an efficient brutality, based on the book by Vince Flynn, with a script by Stephen Schiff, Michael Finch, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, “American Assassin” is like if the evening news threw up on a screenplay, or if every current event coalesced into a single nightmare.

It starts with a mass shooting, involves plenty of explicit torture, and ends with Navy destroyers in peril and nuclear bombs in play. Escapist, “American Assassin” is not.

The scrappily appealing “Teen Wolf” and “Maze Runner” star Dylan O’Brien stars as Mitch Rapp, a young man who loses everything in a terrorist attack and becomes hellbent on seeking revenge. The first third of the film, in which he poses as an American jihadi in order to infiltrate a terror cell, is rather fascinating, a

AP

This image released by Lionsgate shows Shiva Negar (from left), Michael Keaton, Neg Adamson and Dylan O’Brien in a scene from “American Assassin.”

portrait of reckless young male energy channeled in all the wrong ways for all the right reasons.

But soon, Mitch has been intercepted and recruited to the CIA, where he is taken to a top-secret, unlicensed training camp marshalled by special forces trainer Stan Hurley (an off-leash Michael Keaton). There, he molds his charges into killing machines via brutal bouts of fisticuffs in the woods, virtual reality taser shootouts, and extremely aggro macho posturing.

Hurley subscribes to an extreme form of training that’s intended to hammer out all emotion from his young proteges. He triggers Mitch’s trauma over and over again while shouting, “You let emotion cloud your judgment! Never let it get personal!”

In Hurley’s world, this toxic masculinity, which

shuns any expression of emotion or affect, is a way to get closer to reason and purpose through violence and dehumanization.

Mitch is just too emotional for that, going rogue on a mission in Istanbul, recklessly acting on impulse.

As we come to discover, Hurley’s methods have some pitfalls. The trauma he inflicts on others doesn’t always result in perfect killing automatons — sometimes it results in deeply damaged and dangerous men, like Ghost (Taylor Kitsch). And as it turns out, Mitch’s emotional motivations for his work do make him a better assassin, if that’s even a good thing.

Though moral questions tumble around “American Assassin,” the film itself relies on so many cliches it can never be trusted to give a truly profound statement.

Starting with a classic “dead wife” home video,

the film proceeds through training montages and “Bourne Identity”-style European ops missions, complete with a female comrade, Annika (Shiva Negar) to do the requisite empathy and gentle wound dabbing that’s so completely hackneyed by this point.

Watching O’Brien violently waterboard her later is not an effective way to upend any female stereotypes.

Ultimately, “American Assassin” proves to be yet another example of Hollywood’s continued valorization and legitimation of psychopathic men, murderers who are presented here as heroes doing official government work. It’s what “American Assassin” reflects about our culture that is far more chilling than anything in the story itself.

— 1:51. Rated R. H 1/2 (out of 4 stars).

“Home Again” — A recently separated mother (Reese Witherspoon) of two daughters moves into her luxurious childhood home and becomes involved with one of the young men crashing in the guesthouse. In this breezy bit of escapist fare, it’s hard not to feel a sense of disconnect with the characters in their bubble of upper-middle-class privilege. Comedy drama, PG-13, 97 minutes. HH “The Limehouse Golem” — This nasty little Victorian horror film — partly fictional, partly factual — benefits greatly from the performances of Bill Nighy as a Scotland Yard detective and Douglas Booth as a cross-dressing music hall performer who might just hold the key to a series of grisly murders terrorizing the city of London. Horror, not rated, 105 minutes. HHH “IT” — This R-rated interpretation of Stephen King’s masterful 1986 novel is a bold, intense, beautifully paced, wickedly hilarious, seriously scary and gorgeously terrifying period-piece work that instantly takes its place among the most impressively twisted horror movies of our time.

Horror, R, 135 minutes. HHHH “Gun Shy” — As a washed-up rocker ineptly trying to rescue his wife from a kidnapping in Chile, Antonio Banderas opted to go big or go home, and he would have been better off going home. This bombastic thriller is loud and dumb and irritating and forgettable. Action comedy, R, 86 minutes. H½ “Unlocked” — Enlisted to prevent a biological attack on London, an undercover CIA agent (Noomi Rapace) scrambles to survive as the mission is repeatedly compromised. It’s a mess of a thriller, but you may be amused by the cliched characters and spy-movie tropes. Thriller, R, 98 minutes. HH “The Layover” — Nothing can prepare one for how amateurish stars Kate Upton and Alexandra Daddario are playing best friends vying to impress a dopey hunk as their plane is diverted to St. Louis. This is less a movie than an excruciating, embarrassing, profoundly unfunny, poorly shot and astonishingly tone-deaf screech-fest. Comedy, R, 88 minutes. H “Leap!” — Elle Fanning does wonderful voice work as an 11-year-old orphan dreaming of dancing ballet in 1880s Paris. Aside from one murderous misstep, this lovely and breezy animated adventure is thoroughly enchanting. Animated adventure, PG, 89 minutes. HHH “Bushwick” — A college student (Brittany Snow) and Iraq War veteran (Dave Bautista) fight to reach their loved ones in a Brooklyn under siege by a mysterious militia. The tight, intense, relatively low-budget thriller plays like a video game, with Snow and Bautista as the two main avatars. Action thriller, not rated, 94 minutes. HHH

Sept. 8-10 An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (PG): Friday: 7:30 p.m.; Saturday: 5 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday: 5 p.m. Herald / goskagit.com Skagit Valley 360-941-0403

BLUE FOX DRIVE-IN Oak Harbor Sept. 8-10 It (R), Annabelle: Creation (R) First show starts at approximately 8:15 p.m.

360-941-0403

Thursday, September 14, 2017 - E15

* Times are subject to change

MOVIES

At area theaters ANACORTES CINEMAS Sept. 15-21 Kingsman: The Golden Circle (R): Thursday: 7:00 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) presented by TCM (NR): Wednesday: 7:00 It (R): Friday-Saturday: 1:00, 3:50, 6:35, 9:30: SundayThursday: 1:00, 3:50, 6:35 Logan Lucky (PG-13): Friday-Saturday: 1:10, 3:55, 6:45, 9:25; Sunday-Thursday: 1:10, 3:55, 6:45 The Glass Castle (PG-13): Friday-Saturday: 3:45, 9:15; Sunday-Thursday: 3:45 Wind River (R): Friday-Tuesday: 1:05, 6:30; Wednesday -Thursday: 1:05 360-293-7000 OAK HARBOR CINEMAS Sept. 15-21 Kingsman: The Golden Circle (R): Thursday: 7:00 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) presented by TCM (NR): Wednesday: 7:00 It (R): Friday-Saturday: 1:00, 3:45, 6:35, 8:50; SundayThursday: 1:00, 3:45, 6:35 Leap!

(Ballerina) (PG): Friday-Saturday: 1:10, 3:55, 6:40, 9:30; Sunday-Tuesday: 1:10, 3:55, 6:40; WednesdayThursday: 1:10, 3:55 The Hitman’s Bodyguard (R): Friday-Saturday: 1:05, 3:50, 6:30, 9:10; Sunday-Thursday: 1:05, 3:50, 6:30 360-279-2226 CASCADE MALL THEATERS Burlington For showings: amctheatres.com/showtimes/ all/2017-06-23/amc-loews-cascade-mall-14/all

“Logan Lucky” — In what plays like a biscuits-and-gravy take on “Ocean’s 11,”a couple of twang-talkin’dirt-kickers (Channing Tatum and Adam Driver) plan to steal the cash from a North Carolina speedway vault.

Steven Soderbergh’s breezy heist romp is great fun and one of the most purely entertaining movies of the year. Crime caper, PG-13, 119 minutes. HHH½ “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” — Should you really go to the theater and pay 2017 prices for the new 3-D version of a 1991 movie? Absolutely.

The 3-D is occasionally impressive, but what matters most is the brilliance of the film itself, a time-traveling sci-fi actioner with stunning special effects and a nifty, at times wonderfully, head-spinning plot. Sci-fi action, R, 130 minutes. HHHH “Marjorie Prime” — In this unique psychological journey, Lois Smith gives

CONCRETE THEATRE Sept. 15-17 The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (PG): : Friday: 7:30 p.m.; Saturday: 5 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday: 5 p.m.

360-941-0403 STANWOOD CINEMAS Sept. 15-21 Kingsman: The Golden Circle (R): Thursday: 7:00 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) presented by TCM: Wednesday: 7:00 It (R): Friday-Saturday: 1:10, 3:50, 6:30, 8:50; SundayThursday: 1:10, 3:50, 6:30 Leap! (PG): Friday-Saturday: 1:30, 4:10, 6:45, 9:25; Sunday-Wednesday: 1:30, 4:10, 6:45; Thursday: 1:30, 4:10 The Hitman’s Bodyguard (R): Friday-Saturday: 1:25, 4:05, 6:50, 9:20; Sunday-Thursday: 1:25, 4:05, 6:50 Logan Lucky (PG-13): Friday-Saturday: 1:20, 4:00, 6:40, 9:10; Sunday-Thursday: 1:20, 4:00, 6:40 The Glass Castle (PG-13): Friday-Saturday: 1:15, 3:55, 6:35, 9:15; Sunday-Tuesday: 1:15, 3:55, 6:35; Wednesday: 1:15, 3:55; Thursday: 1:15, 3:55, 6:35 360-629-0514 BLUE FOX DRIVE-IN Oak Harbor Sept. 14-18 Closed Saturday It (R) and Annabelle: Creation (R) First show starts at about 7:45 p.m.

360-941-0403 * Times are subject to change

a nomination-worthy performance as a woman near the end of her life who spends many an hour hashing over the past with a computer-generated hologram of her late husband. It’s one of the strangest, most disturbing and most thought-provoking films of 2017. Sci-fi drama, not rated, 99 minutes. HHH½ “Ingrid Goes West” — An obsessed stalker (Aubrey Plaza, alternately charming and sad and pathetic and absolutely insane) meets the internet trendsetter she worships (perfectly cast Elizabeth Olsen) and manages to become her bestie. It’s a smart and darkly amusing comedy that grows crazier and crazier. Comedy, R, 97 minutes. HHH½ “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” — Through a series of contrived circumstances, a security specialist (Ryan Reynolds) is enlisted to transport an assassin (Samuel L. Jackson) to a

war criminal’s trial. There’s nothing and no one to like in this blunt, ultraviolent, obnoxious empty vessel of a movie. Action comedy, R, 111 minutes. H½ “Good Time” — A bank robbery by a sociopath (Robert Pattinson) and his mentally challenged brother (Benny Safdie, also the co-director with his brother Josh) sets off a chain of bizarre and occasionally wickedly funny events. Ultimately, the sometimes clever story runs out of steam and limps across the finish line. Crime drama, R, 101 minutes. HH½ “Patti Cake$” — Danielle Macdonald is an absolute force as Patti, a New Jersey 20-something dreaming of hip-hop stardom against all odds, with Bridget Everett stunningly good as her bitter, hard-drinking, been-around-the-block single mother. This is “Hustle and Flow” and “8 Mile,” Jersey-style. Drama, R, 108 minutes. HHH

The architecture of attraction flourishes in ‘Columbus’

By MICHAEL PHILLIPS

Chicago Tribune

With its calm, careful attention to architectural detail and a fascination with the spaces between and around its characters, “Columbus” is a lovely feature debut from the writer-director who goes by the name Kogonada, starring John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson in two of the year’s subtlest and truest performances.

The film’s title refers to the Indiana city (population just under 47,000, and the birthplace of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence) boasting a considerable array of buildings, ranging from a bank branch to a house of worship, designed by a gallery of major architects including I.M. Pei, Cesar Pelli, Eero Saarinen, Harry Weese and many others.

Kogonada luxuriates in the surroundings created by these masters of the built environment. But “Columbus” transcends the realm of a conventional architectural tour. In other words, the people on screen matter, too.

Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight” trilogy exerts a strong influence here. In his work as a video essayist, Kogonada has paid tribute to Linklater.

(Much of his richly provocative work can be found on his website.) As in “Before Sunrise,” two strangers meet by chance, though in “Columbus” their respective stories are well underway before the meeting takes place.

Cho plays Jin, the translator son of a renowned architect. In the opening scene, in which the key moment remains just off-camera,

the architect collapses and soon falls into a coma. His son arrives from Seoul with an uncertain timeline and a conflicted, privately anguished sense of what to wish for regarding his estranged father’s recovery.

Meantime we’re introduced to Casey (Richardson), a recent high school graduate and Columbus resident who works in a local library. (Rory Culkin plays her passive-aggressively smitten coworker.)

Short for Cassandra, Casey has foregone any collegiate or travel plans in her role as unofficial caretaker for her recovering addict mother (Michelle Forbes).

Casey’s a champion and an untrained but highly perceptive expert regarding the local architecture. When she meets Jin, the groundwork is laid in a shrewdly sustained walk-and-talk exchange with one character on one side of a fence, and the other on the other. “Columbus” charts these intersecting lines, also known as characters, in a series of conversations, precise but flowing, in the Linklater vein. Visually, the rigor of the compositions pays homage to the films of Yasujiro Ozu, as if Ozu had somehow turned up in central Indiana.

As Jin puzzles through his relationship with his father; Casey, similarly, must sort out her obligation to her mother. Parker Posey slips artfully into the minimalist tone of the film, as the ailing architect’s longtime associate (an early crush of Jin’s, we learn). Jin is skeptical, even disdainful, of his father’s lifelong devotion to his work.

“That architecture has the power to heal — that’s the fantasy architects like to tell themselves,” he says to Casey.

His words, however, are

questioned by nearly every frame of “Columbus.”

The movie is beautiful without wasting its time on cliched beauty. Kogonada, who edited as well as wrote and directed, collaborates intuitively with cinematographer Elisha Christian, who’s as good with faces as he is with sharp modernist edges etched in concrete.

Above all, Cho and Richardson are wonderful.

Kogonada acknowledges their characters’ mutual attraction, as well as their considerable age difference, while steering the somewhat elliptical narrative away from predictable story beats.

Both leading performances revel in the in-between moments of stillness, when a character says one thing (Casey arguing her reasons for staying in Columbus, for example) while suggesting another non-verbally (Richardson’s a fantastically expressive performer, best when doing very little).

Cho’s an underplayer by temperament, but he has the unique skill of judging each pause a little differently, depending on the scene’s requirements. Jin is a tough nut, judgmental and self-critical, but Cho makes him interesting.

Here and there, the filmmaker cuts out the natural sound in a dialogue scene, letting the audience fill in the blanks. There are moments in “Columbus” when Kogonada’s transitional shots of various locations risk reiteration. But few contemporary American films operate on this level of aesthetic precision. In a first feature, yet. The two big things in Columbus, Casey wryly informs Jin, are “meth and modernism.”

E16 - Thursday, September 14, 2017

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