41 11 willamette week, january 14, 2015 by Willamette Week Newspaper

leahnash.com

NEWS CHARLIE HEBDO INSIDE. FOOD SPINNING BIRDS AT POLLO NORTE. MUSIC DECEMBERISTS VS. SLEATER-KINNEY. p. 11

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“WE’RE IN OUR UNDERWEAR, SO WE SHOULD MAKE THE RULES.” P. 7 wweek.com

VOL 41/11 01.14.2015

WILLAMETTE WEEK PORTLAND’S NEWSWEEKLY

o T s t n a W th i m S e l o r Ca f e i t? I h C o D s l e o h S o h n c a S C . d l n o a o l h t c r S 13 d e Po o g a o p h r ic o v hb slo g i e h t N e e b h y t b t Reinven

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Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

FINDINGS

PaGE 11

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM READING THIS WEEK’S PAPER VOL. 41, ISSUE 11.

Strippers are the reason

strip clubs exist. 7

that

Portland has one fancy-pants public middle school where students take futsal, cartooning, screenwriting and personal finance classes. For now. 13 If you want to stay on the mountain from first to last chair with no lunch break, maybe try skiboards. 24

ON THE COVER:

Pigs will bite off your fingers and attract tweakers with rakes. 27 Ferdinand VII is the man to

blame for the fact that Portland’s Mexican food isn’t as good as San Francisco’s. 31

The new Daft Punk is from Boise, and has a druid thing going. 36 If you want to see movies made by Matt Groening’s dad, there is a place. 50

OUR MOST TRAFFICKED STORY ONLINE THIS WEEK:

Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith by leah nash.

the FbI is investigating oregon’s first lady, Cylvia Hayes.

STAFF Editor-in-Chief Mark Zusman EDItorIal Managing Editor for News Brent Walth Arts & Culture Editor Martin Cizmar Staff Writers Nigel Jaquiss, Aaron Mesh, Beth Slovic Copy Chief Rob Fernas Copy Editors Matt Buckingham, James Yu Stage & Screen Editor Rebecca Jacobson Web & Projects Editor Matthew Korfhage Music Editor Matthew Singer Books Penelope Bass Dance Kaitie Todd

Visual Arts Richard Speer Editorial Interns Lucas Chemotti, Gabriella Dunn, Parker Hall, Anna Walters ContrIbutorS Nathan Carson, Rachel Graham Cody, Pete Cottell, Jordan Green, James Helmsworth, Jay Horton, AP Kryza, John Locanthi, Grace Stainback, Mark Stock ProDuCtIon Production Manager Dylan Serkin Art Director Kathleen Marie Special Sections Art Director Kristina Morris Graphic Designers Mitch Lillie, Xel Moore

Our mission: Provide Portlanders with an independent and irreverent understanding of how their worlds work so they can make a difference.

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Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

INBOX

All events are free unless otherwise noted. Parking is free after 7 p.m. and all day on weekends. Sign up for our monthly events email at www.lclark.edu/events/email. January 20 7-8 p.m. Agnes Flanagan Chapel

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CELEBRATION

“We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For” College community members will read from King’s writings and speeches, paired with jazz music from Devin Phillips.

January 21 4-6 p.m. Templeton Campus Center, Council Chamber

January 22-March 15 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday Hoffman Gallery

SCREENING AND DISCUSSION

Anne Braden: Southern Patriot Hailed by Martin Luther King Jr. for rejecting her segregationist upbringing, Anne Braden recalls 60 years of activism in this hour-long documentary. EXHIBITION

Reinventing Documentary: The Art of Allan Sekula Allan Sekula was a renowned photographer whose artistic output centered on the political consequences of maritime commerce and global trade. Opening reception is January 22 from 5 to 7 p.m.

January 29 6 p.m. Albany Quadrangle, Smith Hall

POETRY READING

February 2 5 p.m. Templeton Campus Center, Council Chamber

52ND ANNUAL THROCKMORTON LECTURE

February 3 5:30-8:30 p.m. Graduate Campus, South Chapel

WORKSHOP

Oregon: Cylvia Hayes’ little plaything [“Double Dip,” WW, Jan. 7, 2015]. Little did the honorable first lady of Washington state know she was hanging out with Tonya Harding II. —“HuckleberryHound”

Good luck to this joint legislative committee charged with figuring out how to implement the sale of recreational pot [“Into the Weeds,” WW, Jan. 7, 2015]. We all want them to get it right. They should simply regulate—and regulate simply. Simply regulating means ending criminal penalties for marijuana. Violations should be a civil matter and punished with fines, not jail. We must end prohibition. Regulation must be simple and taxes low if Measure 91’s purpose of eliminating the black market is to be successful. —“John Sajo”

Please name the previous first ladies who used taxpayer money to generate an income or to pay for other job-related expenses? Most first ladies take on a cause and use their position to promote that cause, which does cost taxpayers, but the first ladies didn’t make money off the cause. That’s a big difference with what Hayes has done. —“John Retzlaff ” This is Gov. John Kitzhaber’s strategy—to release the public records he should have released weeks ago slowly, in dribs and drabs, so people can be accused of rehashing old news. If he doesn’t like successive follow-up articles on Hayes, he should actually release all the remaining requested public records at once. Of course, he’s not going to do that. —“reaalistx” If Kitzhaber were a Republican, the whole Oregon Democratic machine would be baying for blood. —“Skepti-Cal” Isn’t this part of the reason all politicians (and their girlfriends) get into positions of power? For personal gain? Seems like the only thing Cylvia Hayes did differently was be dumb enough to email this information to WW. —“ThatOneBrownGuy”

Marijuana shouldn’t have an extra tax…period. It’s not an unhealthy burden on the system like alcohol and cigarettes. It heals. It doesn’t harm despite the propaganda, so there should be no opportunistic taxes beyond what we already shell out. —“Mick Jagger”

GETTING WITH HEALTH GOTH

So what you guys are really saying is 2-decadeold raver fashion is hip again? Ooookay. [“The Health Goth Issue,” WW, Jan. 7, 2015]. However, I am on board with black, tech-y and stretchy outfits, especially for tactical purposes such as covert night bike rides or riding the bus, so hats off to this new trend. —“Tom Mcroy” LEttErs to thE Editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Fax: (503) 243-1115. Email: mzusman@wweek.com.

Nuñez is a professor at Kenyon College and a celebrated writer of Spanish and English poetry. He has also been active as a cultural journalist in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Colombia.

Historical Research: The Indian Career of a European Ideal Professor Dipesh Chakrabarty of the University of Chicago will discuss some of the processes through which ideas about historical research and telling the “truth” about the past found a home in British India.

Restorative Justice: An International Overview

ADDRESS

An Evening With Sister Helen Prejean Sister Prejean was the spiritual advisor to death-row inmate Patrick Sonnier and wrote the book that was the basis for the 1995 Oscarwinning film Dead Man Walking. Advance registration required at go.lclark.edu/prejean.

www.lclark.edu 4

SELLING POT IN OREGON

Victor Rodríguez Nuñez

After viewing the film Long Night’s Journey Into Day, attendees will discuss the extent to which justice may be served through a restorative justice process. Advance registration ($30) is required at go.lclark.edu/restorative_justice. February 4 7 p.m. Agnes Flanagan Chapel

THE FIRST LADY’S DEALINGS

Lewis & Clark 0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Road Portland, Oregon 97219

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

Like a lot of folks, i have the flu. the news says oregon poultry is also having a flu epidemic. i recall a fuss about deadly “bird flu” a few years ago, so i assumed that’s what i have. My roommate says no way; if i had bird flu, it’d be big news. how? —NyQuil Queen The middle of a flu epidemic is a great time to check in with the anti-vaccination activists of the world—you know, the folks who resist such insidious conspiracies as the seasonal flu shot I got in November. Here I sit—gullible, science-trusting fool that I am—comfortably breathing through both nostrils at the same time, while these defenders of reason wallow, semiconscious and miserable, in pools of their own snot. How could I have been so wrong? I’m not implying that you’re an anti-vaxxer, Queen. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume instead that you were too busy smoking

meth and turning tricks to make it to Rite Aid for your shot. That said, it is human nature not to believe in things you don’t understand. (My Uncle Manny insisted there was no such thing as a clitoris till the day he died.) And when it comes to helping folks understand the various flu viruses, we in the media haven’t helped. The “bird flu” we’re all scared of is a strain from Asia. People can get it from birds, but it can’t spread from person to person—yet. Epidemiologists think it could easily mutate into a humantransmissible form, though. If that happens, it will be big news; it could kill a shit-ton of people. But “bird flu” is also thrown around in reference to any of a jillion other strains of flu birds get, like the one that’s currently ravaging Northwest poultry. This one is completely harmless to humans. Sure, it sucks if you’re a chicken, but what doesn’t? QuEstions? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com

GIVE!GUIDE GOES WILD

has been underscored by letters and emails from development directors noting how this year’s G!G brought them a wealth of new donors. • 3,043 (29 percent) of you are 35 or under. That’s a 47.7 percent increase from last year—and is likely attributable to the incredible generosity of McMenamins, whose eponymous Challenge provided $1,000 apiece to the nonprofits garnering the greatest number of donations by the under36 crowd in each category. The winners: Pongo Fund Food Bank, PDX Pop Now!, Street Roots, Right Brain Initiative, Friends of Trees, Growing Gardens, Raphael House, and New Avenues for Youth. • On the fi nal day, the G!G website processed donations at the rate of nearly one per second—they zipped across the Wow, WW readers, you just blew the socks (and the giveguide.org screen like reports from a stock exchange. shoes, pants and shirt) off the goals we set for our 2014 Huge thanks to Grady Britton (especially master coder Give!Guide. Joey Yax) for making significant improvements to the G!G We had hoped as many as 7,500 of you would give as site this year. much as $2.6 million to 136 local nonprofits (and the • Southwest Portland has finally overtaken Northeast in Oregon Cultural Trust) between the day this all kicked terms of total donations. Northeast led all 10 years of G!G’s off—Nov. 5—and midnight New Year’s Eve. first decade. Instead, to our great joy and astonishment, 10,277 of • Big Give! Days brought in over $713,000. For them, we you gave $3,145,015. Whatever the superlative of amaz- thank Powell’s City of Books; the Timbers, Thorns, and ing is, you are it! Trail Blazers; Salt & Straw; Bike Gallery; and Rogue Ales & The most important thing we can do right now is thank Spirits. you with everything we’ve got. We must • Other giving statistics, as well as names also thank the nearly 250 local businesses of sponsors and business partners, can be DONATIONS BY YEAR that contributed to this effort. Finally, we found at giveguide.org. 2004: $22,000 must recognize the incredible work per• Thanks to your example, we have helped formed by the participating nonprofits. jumpstart Give!Guides in other parts of the 2005: $80,044 I cannot imagine what this place would country—Colorado Springs, Monterey, Napa 2006: $248,397 be like without you, without so many genValley, and the Triangle of North Carolina. 2007: $534,084 erous local companies, and without our You have shown how effective this form of 2008: $806,582 truly incredible nonprofit community. It giving can be, and we hope to help create 2009: $918,094 just wouldn’t be…Portland. similar efforts in one or two additional comThe flood of warm, supportive emails munities in 2015. 2010: $1,163,688 and letters we receive shows your true There are way too many people and orga2011: $1,588,689 colors. My favorite went like this: nizations to thank for G!G’s success, but I 2012: $1,967,423 “Our children joined my wife and me have to give a special shout-out to the team 2013: $2,453,083 last night—as we do each year—to work at WW: Chris Petryszak, Iris Meyers, Brent 2014: $3,145,015 our way through the easily navigable Walth, Steph Barnhart, Sam Cusumano, Give!Guide website to choose among Jane Smith, Mark Zusman—and, especially, TOTAL: $12,927,099 a bunch of worthy organizations. The our indomitable executive director, Nick choices are always tough, but our kids Johnson. look forward to this each year as they decide where their WW’s Give!Guide will be back in November. We have donations should go, followed by my wife and me match- a house rule that at least 30 percent of the participating ing their donations with our choices. Thanks again for nonprofits be new each year. So if you know any local nonhelping families like ours inculcate early on in our chil- profit you’d like to see participating, send their name and dren the value of giving.” a contact person to Nick (njohnson@wweek.com). We will Along with so much generous correspondence, we’ve be accepting applications in June at giveguide.org. also assembled an array of tantalizing analytics. There is a fundamental principle behind all of this, • Fully 54 percent (5,583) of you are new this year. That inscribed on the Skidmore Fountain in Old Town: “Good

THOMAS TEAL

2014 RESULTS GIVE GUIDE 2014

GIVEGUIDE.ORG

citizens are the riches of a city.” You are those citizens, and Portland is fortunate to have so many of you playing an active part in her life. Thank you,

Richard H. Meeker PUBLISHER P.S. This week and next WW is publishing a Volunteer Guide. (See pages 18-23.) Its purpose is to help guide you to give something in addition to your hard-earned cash to local nonprofits. Your sweat equity is just as valuable.

RESULTS, BY PARTICIPATING NONPROFIT 1000 Friends of Oregon .................................$39,135 4 Worlds United Soccer Alliance................. $3,337 AC Portland............................................................$2,995 Adelante Mujeres.................................................$17,610 Adventures Without Limits ..............................$5,174 Artichoke Community Music ..........................$4,831 Audubon Society of Portland ....................$40,335 Baby Blues Connection ................................... $8,840 Bicycle Transportation Alliance ..................$41,902 Big Brothers Big Sisters ....................................$6,103 Bradley Angle..................................................... $22,250 BRAVO Youth Orchestras.................................$7,770 CASA for Children............................................. $22,461 Cat Adoption Team ......................................... $47,690 Central City Concern ......................................$33,540 The Children’s Book Bank .............................$19,504 Classroom Law Project...................................$22,329 CoHo Productions................................................$9,319 Columbia Riverkeeper..................................... $14,796 Community Cycling Center ......................... $67,946 Community Warehouse .................................$23,937 Crag Law Center................................................. $13,841 The Dental Foundation of Oregon ............$13,892 Depave ...................................................................$15,580 Disjecta Contemporary Art Center..............$4,981 Donate Life Northwest ....................................$4,050 The Dougy Center .............................................$10,610 Ecology in Classrooms and Outdoors .....$12,570

Ethos, Inc............................................................... $10,040 Family Dogs New Life Shelter......................$13,225 Farmers Ending Hunger.................................. $10,621 Farmers Market Fund ........................................$6,889 FearNoMusic..........................................................$5,333 Fences For Fido ..................................................$14,410 Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon ....................$42,495 The Forest Park Conservancy .....................$31,043 Friends of Family Farmers ............................. $4,950 Friends of Outdoor School........................... $28,431 Friends of the Children - Portland ...........$20,068 Friends of the Columbia Gorge...................$74,281 Friends of Trees .................................................$25,574 Girls Inc. of the Paciﬁc Northwest...............$9,365 Growing Gardens ...............................................$22,815 Habitat for Humanity-Metro East................. $59,953 Hacienda CDC........................................................ $8,195 Harper’s Playground ........................................$10,505 Hells Canyon Preservation Council ...........$14,446 HomePlate Youth Services ...........................$13,430 Hoyt Arboretum Friends ..................................$11,170 Human Solutions ...............................................$20,415 “I Have a Dream” Oregon...............................$18,901 IRCO ..........................................................................$9,399 Impact NW .......................................................... $16,685 IPRC .........................................................................$13,380 John Callahan Memorial...................................$5,345 JOIN ......................................................................... $43,791

Late Night Library .............................................. $3,860 The Library Foundation..................................$38,014 LiteraryArts ........................................................... $18,120 Live Wire Radio ................................................... $8,054 Living Yoga..............................................................$7,547 Marathon Scholars ..............................................$6,842 Meals on Wheels People................................$45,160 Mercy Corps Northwest ..................................$59,179 Miracle Theatre Group ......................................$7,340 Museum of Contemporary Craft ................. $9,690 My Voice Music....................................................$17,250 Neighborhood House ......................................$31,804 New Avenues for Youth ................................$23,344 NE X NE Community Health Center ........ $36,916 Northeast Emergency Food Program....... $11,210 Northwest Mothers Milk Bank ......................$18,100 On-the-Move Community Integration........$8,415 Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center ..............$7,883 Operation Nightwatch ......................................$21,691 Oregon Cultural Trust..................................$295,680 Oregon Food Bank..........................................$133,301 Oregon Humane Society ...............................$45,021 Oregon Humanities ..............................................$8,174 OLCV Education Fund..................................... $11,348 Oregon Museum of Science & Industry ...$21,046 Oregon Tradeswomen Inc............................. $16,507 Oregon Walks .......................................................$6,975 Oregon Wild ........................................................$23,837

Outside In ............................................................$33,696 p:ear ..........................................................................$39,152 Partnership for Safety and Justice .............$11,252 PAW (Portland Animal Welfare) Team ..$23,700 PDX Pop Now! ................................................... $15,000 Pendulum Aerial Arts ........................................$2,625 PHAME ......................................................................$5,018 Planned Parenthood ..................................... $131,980 PlayWrite, Inc. ........................................................$9,610 Polaris Dance Theatre ........................................ $2,213 The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank .............. $151,573 Portland Fruit Tree Project ........................... $21,443 Portland Gay Men’s Chorus ............................. $5,718 Portland Homeless Family Solutions ......$23,920 The Portland Kitchen..........................................$8,610 Portland Playhouse ........................................... $11,590 Portland Tool Libraries ....................................$6,635 Portland Women’s Crisis Line (PWCL) ...$21,004 Portland YouthBuilders..................................$28,605 Potluck in the Park ........................................... $13,250 Pride Foundation................................................. $2,767 Project POOCH, Inc.......................................... $21,730 Raphael House of Portland .........................$32,443 REACH Community Development...............$9,981 Restore Oregon....................................................$3,803 Returning Veterans Project ...........................$15,393 The Right Brain Initiative .................................$19,912 Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls .........................$10,820

Rose Haven .......................................................... $13,399 Schoolhouse Supplies ...................................... $16,180 SCRAP .......................................................................$7,339 The Shadow Project........................................ $20,733 Sisters Of The Road ..........................................$58,158 SMART (Start Making A Reader Today)$25,554 Southwest Community Health Center ... $10,080 Staged! Musical Theatre................................... $5,257 Street Roots ........................................................ $33,987 Tavern Books .........................................................$3,564 The Tucker-Maxon School................................ $9,721 Transition Projects ...........................................$28,850 Urban Gleaners.................................................. $26,795 Vibe of Portland ...................................................$16,315 Village Gardens, Janus Youth Programs ..$6,336 Virginia Garcia Foundation ........................... $19,033 Volunteers of America ...................................... $5,765 Voz Workers’ Rights Education Project ..$5,404 Wallace Medical Concern ............................. $23,835 West Women’s and Children’s Shelter .... $14,233 White Bird ..............................................................$5,526 Willamette Riverkeeper...................................$14,745 Write Around Portland ...................................$13,466 XRAY.fm..................................................................$19,544 Young Audiences ..................................................$7,142

TOTAL: ...................................................$3,145,015

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

GIVE!GUIDE 2014: A report on how your giving blew us away. COURTS: Two dancers sue a strip club over wages and harassment. POLITICS: Democrats in Salem look at 40 ways to tax citizens. MEDIA: Why Charlie Hebdo angers people—and why that’s good. COVER STORY: PPS Chief Carole Smith seeks to remake the city.

5 7 8 11 13

WHERE WE TAKE OLD NEWS AND MAKE IT NEW AGAIN. As first reported on wweek. com, multiple sources have told WW that the FBI is investigating Oregon first lady Cylvia Hayes. An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment; the governor’s office says neither Gov. John Kitzhaber nor Hayes has been contacted about any such investigation. “Clearly, if contacted they will fully cooperate,” Kitzhaber spokeswoman Amy Wojcicki says. Hayes and Kitzhaber face complaints filed HAYES against them with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. Hayes is under scrutiny for allegedly using her position as first lady and adviser to the governor to land $85,000 in private consulting contracts (“First Lady Inc.,” WW, Oct. 8, 2014). Hayes and Kitzhaber have lawyered up. Wojcicki says they’ve hired Steve Janik and Jim McDermott of the Ball Janik law firm to represent them before the ethics commission. She also says the commission is scheduled to complete its preliminary review of the complaints by its March 13 meeting.

! P U R BATTE

Rumblings of police reform are making their way from the streets of Portland to the halls of the Oregon Legislature. Protests against police violence jammed Portland streets this winter as young African-American activists call for stricter cop oversight in the wake of the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City (“Bring the Noise,” WW, Dec. 10, 2014). Now state Rep. Lew Frederick (D-Portland) has introduced 11 bills in Salem to toughen the rules for local police forces. Among his proposals: requiring body cameras on officers, codifying the right of citizens to film the police, and requiring police shootings to be investigated by an outside district attorney. In a Jan. 12 column in The Skanner newspaper, Frederick says his legislation stems from distrust within the black community. “If that officer could shoot that other guy for no reason that I can make sense of, then he could shoot me this time, no matter what I do,” Frederick writes. “The more that fear penetrates into the community, the less legitimate our policing function seems, and that is a true breakdown, and should concern us all.” Members of United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 290 have re-elected Fritz “Al” Shropshire as their business agent, the top position in the 4,000-member union. Dissidents said Shropshire’s past convictions on drug charges, and the hiring of his wife to oversee Local 290’s apprenticeship program, were reasons to oust him in favor of challenger Lou Christian (“Steaming Mad,” WW, Dec. 24, 2014). But union membership voted Shropshire to another three-year term by a margin of 670-546. Read more Murmurs and daily scuttlebutt.

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

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TOP: RACHELLE HACMAC, INSET: ROSNAPS.COM

NEWS

THE NEXT STAGE: Matilda Bickers (left) and Amy Pitts are taking Casa Diablo to court, alleging the strip club owes them back pay and damages for harassment. “This is my job and my income, and I’m scared to ruin it,” Bickers says, “even though I know that what is happening is a violation of our rights.”

THE DEVIL’S DUE TWO DANCERS SUE STRIP CLUB CASA DIABLO FOR UNPAID WAGES AND HARASSMENT. BY ANNA WALTERS

awalters@wweek.com

Last July, Matilda Bickers decided she’d had enoug h of Ca sa Diablo. She had danced at the Northwest Portland strip club for more than 2½ years and was tired of grab-ass bouncers and unchecked harassment by customers. But the everyday financial cost of doing her job also added up. Casa Diablo—billed as the world’s first vegan strip club—charged dancers $20 for every 30 minutes they were late to work, $70 for missing a shift and $10 for not undressing quickly enough onstage. “At the end, I don’t even know how much I owed. Probably like $500,” Bickers says. “That was why I finally quit.” Most dancers in Portland are treated as independent contractors. They’re paid in tips, and clubs don’t have to guarantee a minimum wage or pay overtime. It also means dancers don’t qualify for sick leave, unemployment benefits or protections against harassment or retaliation.

Bickers, who’s danced in Portland as Red for more than 10 years, found a lawyer. On Jan. 11, Bickers and another ex-Casa Diablo dancer, Amy Pitts, took what might be an unprecedented step in Oregon: They sued Casa Diablo in U.S. District Court, demanding lost pay and damages for harassment—including unwanted touching—by customers and employees. Considering her role in Casa Diablo’s business, Bickers feels robbed. “We are the reason the bar exists,” Bickers says. “Our labor is the cornerstone of the business.” The lawsuit also names as defendants Casa Diablo manager Johnny Zukle; Zukle’s booking company, Devil Dancer LLC; and Casa Diablo managing member Carol Lee. In response to the lawsuit, Zukle tells W W he believes the “harassment was non-existent.” He also says the club isn’t required to guarantee a minimum wage. “These dancers were clearly independent contractors in charge of their own business,” Zukle says. “This whole lawsuit is frivolous and ridiculous.” Dancers in Nevada and New York have sued for wage theft, and have won or settled their cases out of court. In October, the

Daily Beast reported that Portland dancers and social workers are crafting legislation to clarify employee status for strippers. Elle Stanger, who has been dancing in Portland for more than five years, is part of the group working to set industry standards for Oregon. “People feel entitled to mistreat women or men in the sex industry,” she says. “If you show these entertainers and sex workers that they do have rights, that they set the boundaries, you will empower them. We’re

FACT: Casa Diablo ran into legal trouble in 2012 for inking the edges of $2 bills to look as if they had been dipped in blood (“Blood Money,” WW, Oct. 24, 2012).

ZUKLE

the ones in our underwear, so we should be able to make the rules.” Bickers and Pitts allege they had to shell out more than 30 percent of their tips to DJs, bouncers and managers in the form of kickbacks and various “fees,” such as stage rentals. They’re also claiming in court Casa Diablo failed to pay them minimum wage. In all, Bickers is seeking $111,958; Pitts, $96,318. “When we start to look at the control the club exerts over the dancers,” says Pitts, who performed under the name Rose, “it’s really clear that we’re not actually indepen-

“WE’RE THE ONES IN OUR UNDERWEAR, SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE THE RULES.” —ELLE STANGER dent contractors.” In their suit, Bickers and Pitts allege Casa Diablo told dancers to lure female patrons onstage and encourage them to take off their clothes. Pitts and Bickers also allege they endured mistreatment and harassment from customers and Casa Diablo bouncers. “The bouncers would touch us constantly,” Bickers says. “I had a particular problem with one bouncer that would grab my boobs, untie my outfits and spank me. And it was just this wear and tear of not feeling like I had any personal autonomy or integrity. Nothing I did would stop him.” Bickers says she complained to management, but nothing changed. What’s more, Bickers says, is she could have been fined $100 if she touched a bouncer. She says other clubs in Portland may also have similar problems, but she and Pitts are suing Casa Diablo because they say the problems are more serious there. “It’s easy to forget that actually, what’s happening isn’t normal and would be seriously condemned in any other line of work,” Bickers says. “But it is work. It’s hard work. We deserve at the very least a basic level of respect.” Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

POLITICS

TODD SAUCIER

OPENING THE TAX FLOODGATES

NEWS

HOLD YOUR WALLETS. OREGON DEMOCRATS RULING SALEM WANT TO RAISE YOUR TAXES. BY NIG E L JAQ UI SS

njaquiss@wweek.com

Lawmakers convened in Salem on Jan. 12 to attend Gov. John Kitzhaber’s inaugural address and start the business of making new laws. Many states saw Democrats wiped out in the 2014 elections. But Oregon gave its Democrats more muscle. The House and Senate have bigger Democratic majorities and, with a friendly governor, they can push through pretty much whatever they want. What they want to do is raise taxes. If there’s a way state government has missed collecting more money from Oregonians, Democrats seem willing to find it. Democrats have introduced bevies of bills that would raise taxes, hike fees, trim deductions or otherwise replumb the state’s tax system. The bills could impact people who buy gas, get a tax break on their mortgage, or pay income tax. In other words, practically everyone. Democrats make a good case: Oregon is still coming out of the Great Recession and needs to strengthen its schools, social services and the delivery of health care. Republicans worry that too much of Oregonians’ money will be washed away by an unchecked Democratic majority. The Senate Republican caucus has forecast a “tax tsunami.” There’s a tension bigger than partisan sniping, however. Underlying everything is the question of tax fairness and redesigning Oregon’s income-tax dependency so the state budget doesn’t get slammed every time the economy sours. On those questions, Democrats are not of one mind. “I want to talk about ways to bring stability to a system that is far too volatile,” says Sen. Mark Hass (D-Beaverton), chairman of the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee. “Some of my colleagues want to find ways to raise $2 billion in new revenue. Those are two totally different mindsets.” Some tax ideas are familiar. Others are simply odd. Here are five places where the debate about taxes in Oregon will land.

Otherwise known as the state gas tax, which now stands at 30 cents a gallon. (The feds add another 18.4.) Gas taxes raise $500 million a year and are the primary source of transportation funding, but they largely go to bailing out the Oregon Department of Transportation, which is essentially broke after years of heavy borrowing for construction projects. One of the takeaways from last week’s Oregon business summit, which brought together politicians and business leaders, was a bipartisan commitment to fund the building of new roads and the fi xing of old ones. Gas prices are in free fall, which could make a tax hike more palatable. “That makes people think they can increase the gas tax,” says pollster Adam Davis of DHM Research. “It’s something they think they can do because of the price drop.” Jason Williams, executive director of the Taxpayer

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Association of Oregon, which is opposed to a higher gas tax, acknowledges his group tried and failed in 2009 to stop a 6-cents-a-gallon gas-tax increase by referring it to voters. Williams says his group will be better prepared if lawmakers repeat the move. “We were told then a gas-tax increase would fi x our transportation problems,” Williams says. “In reality, they spent it all and now they are back for more.” Business leaders like transportation taxes, and that will embolden legislative leaders and Kitzhaber to increase them.

WHAT’S LIKELY TO HAPPEN:

The American Dream Subsidy Tax Also known as the home mortgage interest deduction. Reformers such as the group Tax Fairness Oregon don’t CONT. on page 10

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NEWS

POLITICS

like this federal and state deduction, which disproportionately benefits high-income earners by subsidizing the loans they take out to buy homes. The mortgage deduction costs the state’s general fund $650 million a year in forgone taxes. The rationale for the deduction is that it encourages home ownership. But studies have shown that in countries such as Canada that don’t allow homeowners to deduct their interest payments, home ownership is just as high as in the U.S. “The home-interest deduction does not promote home ownership,” says Jody Wiser of Tax Fairness Oregon. “What it does is support the purchase of everlarger homes and increases our carbon footprints.” One legislative proposa l would limit mor tgage interest deductions to $10,000. That’s dead on arrival because 62 percent of Oregonians own homes. Another proposal ending the vacation-home interest deduction for those earning over $125,000 is an easier target—but has powerful patrons. Impassioned pleas from social-service and schools advocates, who will glow afterward from this politically radioactive idea.

WHAT’S LIKELY TO HAPPEN:

The Save-the-Polar-Bears Tax Better known as the low-carbon fuel standard. The standard requires sellers to lower the carbon content of transportation fuels, either by blending with biofuels, incorporating renewables or purchasing credits. Lawmakers in 2014 couldn’t muster enough votes to renew Oregon’s standard, which expires by the end of 2015. The Oregon League of Conservation Voters played a big role in Democrats’ November victories.

Now the OLCV and other enviros want the standard extended. It’s also a big priority for Kitzhaber. “The practical effect would be to reduce carbon emissions by 4 percent overall statewide,” says OLCV executive director Doug Moore. Critics say the standard would drive up gas prices to cover the high cost of alternative fuels. “The lowcarbon fuel standard is a hidden gas tax,” says Paul Romain, a lobbyist for the Oregon Petroleum Association. “Our polling says people don’t like it.” Romain says he also doesn’t like the idea of a carbon tax, which taxes fossil fuels. But he says at least that’s more transparent. There are a couple of carbon-tax proposals pending. The idea is that the state would levy taxes on fuel suppliers and utilities to compensate for the environmental damage fossil fuels cause. But most people who love the idea of a carbon tax concede Oregon is not yet ready for one. WHAT’S LIKELY TO HAPPEN: The carbon tax will fail. The low-carbon fuel standard will breeze through the Senate, where it died in 2013, but faces slower going in the House, whose members are less familiar with it.

The Boot-the-Kicker Tax The kicker is the state’s unique constitutional moneyback provision that refunds taxpayers, but only if tax receipts exceed state estimates by more than 2 percent. The last time Oregonians saw a kicker was in 2007, when taxpayers got an average refund check of $609. The kicker—when it comes around again—will be as a credit on your state tax return. Williams of the Taxpayer Association of Oregon

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says scrapping the kicker would allow government to spend every dime it gets—even money that hasn’t been budgeted. “Taxpayers should be very afraid,” he says. Democrats hate it as a money-sucking 1970s dinosaur of tax reform gone haywire. Plus, keeping kicker money funds education and social services. “We would definitely support getting rid of the kicker,” says Wiser. Ending the kicker requires a vote of the people, nearly all of whom benefit from the sporadic windfalls. Democrats may see too much risk for too little gain.

WHAT’S LIKELY TO HAPPEN:

The High-School-Dropout Tax No, lawmakers aren’t planning to tax that dude holding a cardboard sign by the freeway exit. Instead, this concept, sponsored by the House Revenue Committee, would raise personal and corporate income taxes if high-school graduation rates fall below set levels. Ta xes would fall proportionately when graduation rates rise. The proposed tax would be triggered in either direction when then state superintendent of instruction releases figures annually for the state’s 198 school districts. Davis, the pollsteer, says that Democrats may be mista king their strong November performance as voter enthusiasm for more taxes. Asked how he thought they ’d feel about linking taxes to graduation rates, Davis was nearly speechless. “Oh, my God,” he says. WHAT’ S LIKE LY TO HAPPE N :

lowed by crickets.

A courtesy hearing fol-

media

NEWS

NOUS SOMMES TOUS CHARLIE These are the images cartoonists and others at Charlie Hebdo died to publish. The French satirical weekly had for three decades poked a finger in the eye of the powerful and the pious with scabrous cartoons mocking politicians, celebrities and religious fundamentalists—especially Muslims. As the world knows, on Jan. 7 two militant Islamist gunmen opened fire in Charlie Hebdo’s Paris offices, killing 12 people: eight staffers, two visitors and two police officers. The newspaper returned this week with the kind of

cover that made it notorious: a drawing of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, holding up a placard reading “Je Suis Charlie.” That slogan—which translates to “We Are Charlie”— has been echoed around the world. But many news outlets, including The New York Times and the Associated Press, have shied away from showing Charlie Hebdo cartoons, saying the images are too vulgar and might be hard to explain to readers unfamiliar with European politics. WW is running them. We’ve provided translation, and a limited explanation

of the context behind the Charlie Hebdo drawings. But we are mostly letting them speak for themselves. As you can see, Charlie Hebdo doesn’t spare anyone. And make no mistake: These cartoons will offend. They are designed to offend. They are sacrilege: They profane the holy images of the devout, as a reminder that no one’s beliefs are above argument, criticism and even lampooning. WW doesn’t endorse these cartoons’ messages. But we stand with Charlie Hebdo on the fundamental idea we should have the right to say what we want, and not die for it. AARON MESH.

Above, covers of the French weekly Charlie Hebdo. TOP LeFT: A 2011 cover after a firebombing of the magazine’s headquarters. Headline translated: “Love is stronger than hate.” TOP CeNTeR: The issue that led to the 2011 bombing, “guest-edited” by the Prophet Muhammad, who says, “100 lashes if you are not dying of laughter.” TOP RiGHT: The prophet made another appearance on a cover last October, being beheaded by an ISIS executioner. “I am the prophet, asshole!” Muhammad says. “Shut up, infidel,” replies the masked killer. BOTTOm LeFT: A 2010 cover showed Pope Benedict XVI advising a pedophile bishop, “Go into movies, like Polanski.” BOTTOm CeNTeR: After Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, the cover declared the King of Pop was “finally white.” BOTTOm RiGHT: A Christmas 2014 cover: “The real story of the little Jesus.” Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

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the equalizer PORTLAND SCHOOLS CHIEF CAROLE SMITH WANTS TO REINVENT THE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL. CAN SHE DO IT? By B e t h s l ov i c

bslovic@w week .com

arole Smith is the most powerful woman in Oregon education. As superintendent of Portland Public Schools, she makes tough decisions every day regarding the district’s $535 million annual budget, 80-plus schools and 3,200 teachers—all in the service of 48,000 kids. She’s also a hugger. Smith, 60, likes to throw her arms around staff and parents. Employees who have just given a PowerPoint presentation get an embrace. She even tries to hug the president of the district’s teachers union despite strained contract talks that nearly triggered a strike last year. Her approach has made Smith beloved in some quarters, but her style exudes a desire to be liked. Critics say she too often steers away from anything controversial. But not now. In March, Smith will launch the district on what could be the most divisive chapter of her seven-year tenure as superintendent: She wants to change where thousands of children attend school. Here’s why. For decades, students in Portland Public Schools have inhabited a twotiered system divided by black and white, and by rich and poor. Today, economically disadvantaged students are still far less likely than their middle-class peers to hit third-grade reading targets and graduate high school on time. And students from poor families too often end up in small schools that lack the money to provide a robust education. A new analysis by WW shows that middle schools with high rates of poverty offer far fewer electives than those whose students come from wealthier families (see sidebar). Smith is challenging the status quo to fulfill a commitment she made to offer poor and minority children the same education PPS offers white, privileged children. The superintendent proposes to achieve that goal by redrawing school boundaries and shifting enrollment patterns. Public schools largely get their funding based on how many students they have. Smith’s plan would shift millions of dollars a year from bigger, more well-off schools as

it sends more kids to smaller, often less successful schools. It will be a move unlike anything in the district’s recent history. “How we approach the boundary changes will shape the future of our city,” Smith says. In that sense, she isn’t just the most powerful woman in Oregon education. She’s also one of the city’s most influential leaders whose decisions go far beyond the schools to weave a new social fabric in Portland’s neighborhoods and communities. Many Portland parents, teachers and community members are applauding PPS’s Robin Hood act. “It’s not fair that the kids at my school aren’t getting the same education as kids at another public school,” says Lauren Andronici, whose children attend Vernon K-8 School near the Alberta Arts District. WEB EXTRA: But parents who might otherwise embrace the notion Check out our online comof equity often change their minds when it’s their kids parison of electives at PPS middle schools and K-8s who stand to lose out. “One reason,” board member Matt at wweek.com/equitymap. Morton says, “is the level of resistance to change that you the map also includes see from those who have benefited from a system that has Beaverton, David Douglas and Parkrose schools. in many ways protected them.” It’s impossible to know at this point which schools’ boundaries will be redrawn or which students will be affected. Families who chose to live in a particular neighborhood so their kids could go to a highly sought-after school—Grant High, for example—may soon learn PPS is shuffling their kids elsewhere. Given the controversy, the superintendent may have a bigger worry. Smith’s track record of improving equity in the district has been uneven at best. If her history on equity is any judge, the results will fall far short of her ambitions. Smith has heart. But she will need far more than hugs to get things right. Here are six big questions city leaders, parents, educators and students need to ask as Smith begins to shake up Portland. Cont. on page 14 Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

1. When will Smith and Portland Public Schools explain the reasons—and the consequences— of what’s about to happen? School district officials started letting parents know in 2013 that PPS was considering realigning attendance boundaries. Smith says redrawing the boundaries will help the district account for growth. Ten years ago, enrollment was shrinking, but now it’s on the rise, and the district needs to adjust now that some schools have too many kids and some have too few. PPS, she says, lacks a clear, understandable system for making enrollment among schools more even. “We’re now facing growth challenges,” Smith told WW in an interview. “Having to adjust boundaries to have healthy-size [enrollments] that fit the buildings and can sustain programs is going to be part of what we have to do as just a matter of being able to serve our kids.” School officials also want to redraw boundaries to erase old lines that have historically divided the district by race and economics. And as students shift from one school to another, money shifts as well. That might help poorer schools gain ground, but it could also weaken schools that have become models for success. Take Beverly Cleary School in Northeast Portland’s Grant Park neighborhood. Named for the celebrated children’s author, the K-8 school has earned the Oregon Department of Education’s highest rating three years in a row based on test scores. Parents give generously to the school’s foundation—$200,000 last year, making it one of the richest in the district. Middle-school students there can take drawing, cartooning, futsal, personal finance and screenwriting. No other K-8 in Portland offers such a generous menu of choices. “We built it together,” says James Robertson, a Beverly Cleary parent. “No one wants to lose it.” The school is bursting at the seams—its enrollment has grown 50 percent in five years, while the district’s has grown only 4 percent. PPS officials assume some parents cheat—temporarily renting an apartment near the school or lying about their address—to get their kids in. The growth in Beverly Cleary’s numbers has helped fuel the school’s programs. PPS officials say they’ll use boundary changes to move kids out. Robertson and his wife, Irina, chose to live in the nearby Rose City Park neighborhood because it feeds into Beverly Cleary and they had heard great things about the school. But they also were thinking ahead and wanted their daughter, Nataliya, now a first-grader, to eventually go to Grant, one of the district’s most coveted high schools. The Robertsons now realize their home on Northeast 52nd Avenue sits at the edge of Beverly Cleary ’s boundaries. Their daughter could be shifted elsewhere if the lines change. They worry that could mean she’ll be destined for Madison High rather than Grant. Now, Robertson says he watches PPS 14

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cont. machinations more than most parents and believes many will soon wake up to the uncertainty his family faces. “A lot of people are going to want to know as soon as possible how they’re going to come out of this OK,” he says. “That’s what I want.”

2. When it comes to shifting students between schools, do Smith and PPS know what they’re doing? Controversy over redraw ing school boundaries has blown up on Portland Public Schools in the past. This time out, school officials sought help. In November 2013, the district hired the Hatfield School of Government’s Center for Public Service at Portland State University to suggest ways to carry out boundary changes. The resulting report published last May found that PPS “lacks internal clarity” about the reasons the district wants to redraw school boundaries. The report also found that PPS’s equity agenda—not just uneven enrollments between schools—was really driving the district’s plans. PSU’s experts recommended that the district come clean with the community. If not, they warned, the district “risks undermining PPS’s credibility with the community and potentially fails to make the changes that will positively impact both enrollment and equity.” The district in March will send out surveys to test the public’s attitude toward its plans. “PPS doesn’t have a vision,” says Rita Moore, a schools activist who has worked on equity issues. “So it’s crowdsourcing a vision.” The district has asked 23 employees and citizen volunteers to come up with a way to redraw school boundaries that is, as PPS puts it, “equitable, inclusive [and] transparent.” When the group met Jan. 8, district officials employed an approach to decision making that crossed the Occupy movement with The Office. They offered statements like “schools should reflect the broader diversity of the district.” Members held up green cards if they agreed, red if not, or yellow if they didn’t know. But committee members had questions: What exactly was the committee supposed to accomplish—actually redraw

WALKING THE TALK: James and Irina Robertson walk daughter Nataliya (in yellow) and a neighbor’s child to Beverly Cleary K-8. James Robertson worries about PPS’s approach to boundary changes. “I don’t think they know how to get where they want to go,” he says.

boundaries or simply propose yet another process for PPS to follow next? District officials had no answers. Pam Knowles is a member of the Portland School Board as well as a member of the committee. At the end of the meeting, Knowles said the group needed clarity. “There seemed to be a lot of confusion in the room,” Knowles says. WW asked Smith about the committee’s lack of focus. Smith sent a written answer, in which she said it takes time for a new group to find its way. “I have confidence the committee will come together and complete this important work,” she said in the statement. One big risk of district officials improvising their way through such an impor-

tant change is the danger of unintended consequences. Prudence Carter, professor of education at Stanford University and co-editor of the book Closing the Opportunity Gap, says Portland deserves credit for trying. Any school district that ’s working toward equity, she says, “is bound to be more forward-thinking and have better results.” But Ca r ter says simply cha ng ing boundaries isn’t enough. “You cannot assume you have the political will among your more-affluent families to go to school with their less-affluent brethren,” Carter says. “You just can’t assume that.” Parents here are already expressing alarm at that prospect. leahnash.com

THE EQUALIZER

SMITH BELIEVERS: A majority of members on the Portland Public Schools board support Smith’s plan to change school boundaries to advance PPS’s equity goals. Board member Matt Morton (second from right) says he expects resistance. “Portlanders really say that they want opportunity for everyone in their city,” he says, “but there hasn’t been a demonstration of that.”

CONT.

NO MUSIC CLASS FOR YOU Middle schools and K-8s with low rates of poverty still oﬀ er far more electives than those serving poor students. The gap has narrowed only slightly since 2009-10.

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SCHOOLS WITH HIGHEST POVERTY RATES

SCHOOLS WITH MEDIUM POVERTY RATES

shift boundaries and limit transfers is intended in part to even out these wide differences in school enrollment numbers. Portland Public Schools doesn’t have to look far to ensure middleschool students from all economic backgrounds have an ample choice of electives. Alice Ott Middle School in the David Douglas School District boasts the state’s highest ranking, based on test scores. David Douglas’s two other middle schools—Ron Russell and Floyd Light— both rank above average. All three schools face similar challenges. Alice Ott is a high-poverty school—almost 75 percent of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. But in terms of the classes it offers students, it more than matches the biggest, wealthiest PPS middle school, East-West Sylvan Middle School in Portland’s West Hills, with a free-and-reduced lunch rate of 11.6 percent. Alice Ott offers three levels of band and orchestra, multiple choir classes, yearbook, art, drawing, painting, keyboarding,

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AVERAGE NUMBER OF ELECTIVES

the West Hills—with one of the lowest poverty rates among its students—can take Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, French or Spanish. At Creston K-8 School in Southeast Portland’s Foster-Powell area, students can study only one foreign language: French. “I’d like to learn a language I see myself using,” says Zane Bledsoe, a seventh-grader at Creston, “and I don’t see myself using French.” At Beverly Cleary K-8 school, in the uppermiddle class Grant Park neighborhood, students can choose among more than a dozen options: drawing, drama, futsal, screenwriting, kung fu and guitar. At Astor K-8 in North Portland, choices are much more limited. They include art, library, music and P.E. “My students know they’re missing out,” says Astor teacher Suzanne Germaneri. WW asked PPS Superintendent Carole Smith to offer an explanation. Spokesman Jon Isaacs, responding in a statement, said PPS is setting aside 8 percent of its budget for teachers to pay for more staff at poor schools. Schools also lean on their individual foundations to fund programs. “Unfortunately, these strategies have not had the capacity to fill the gap,” Isaacs wrote. Michele Arntz, whose daughter attends Northeast Portland’s Beaumont Middle School, says she feels angry and guilty when she thinks about what her child gets that others don’t. “It’s frustrating,” she says. “As parents, we seem powerless to turn this around.” The district funds schools based largely on how many students they enroll. It makes sense, then, that bigger schools can offer more. WW’s analysis found that bigger schools also tend to have more students from wealthier families. Smith’s proposal to

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Nowhere are the inequities in Portland Public Schools more glaring than in middle school. Grades 6, 7 and 8 are a critical period for preteens to test their independence and explore new interests—music, drama, languages. That means electives. Electives may seem like fl uff as education offi cials shift more attention to high-stakes testing. But electives help reinforce core subjects. Music helps students develop mathematical reasoning, for example, while drama helps students hone language skills. Today, students in Portland Public Schools can explore technology, films, cartooning and personal fi nance. Music options include concert band, jazz band and a survey class called “Bach to Rock.” Artsy students can pursue drama, ceramics and creative writing. “Being engaged in things you want to do is really important,” says James Catterall, professor emeritus of education at UCLA, who founded and directs the Centers for Research on Creativity. “It makes you want to come to school.” Or as 13-year-old Jake Cushman, an eighthgrader at Beverly Cleary puts it: “You’re still learning, but it’s more fun.” Yet for all its talk about equity, PPS has created a system that favors rich students over poor. An analysis by WW of 33 middle schools and K-8s shows a big gap in electives between schools with low and high rates of poverty. The situation hasn’t improved significantly since the last time the newspaper looked at the problem five years ago (“Left Out,” WW, Oct. 21, 2009). Look at the course offerings themselves and you can see the disparities. Students at East-West Sylvan Middle School in

SCHOOLS WITH LOWEST POVERTY RATES

computers, weights and a food-and-fitness class. It does not offer a foreign language, however. It offers 21 electives in all. By comparison, East-West Sylvan offers 18. How does David Douglas do it? The district’s three middle schools have about 800 students each and similar poverty rates. But David Douglas, unlike PPS, makes electives a top priority. “If you’re really looking at equity,” Superintendent Don Grotting says, “all of those kids should have the same opportunities.” Beaverton’s eight neighborhood middle schools offer a nearly identical list of electives. Neisha Saxena serves on two volunteer boards advising Smith—on student transfers and school boundaries, respectively. Equitable access to programs should be the right of all students regardless of neighborhood, she says. “We see it in Beaverton, we see it in David Douglas,” she says. “There’s no reason we shouldn’t see it in Portland.” BETH SLOVIC.

NOTE: WW used Oregon public records law to request first-quarter master schedules from all Portland Public Schools with grades 6-8, including K-8s and traditional middle schools. We compiled all of the elective classes into a database, then assigned points to schools based on how many electives they offered. We made some subjective decisions in the process. For example, we gave one point for each level of a foreign language the school offered. We didn’t score support classes that help students catch up in core subjects. The database, available online in searchable format at wweek.com/equitymap, also includes information on the nearby Beaverton and David Douglas school districts, which do a far better job than Portland of offering students across schools similar programs. Poverty rates are based on the number of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunches. PPS did not calculate the rates for 2014-15; WW’s analysis uses 2013-14, which would be substantially similar.

“They don’t actually know what upper- and middle-income parents are going to do,” says Christina Davidson, who lives in Northeast Portland’s Sabin neighborhood but sends her children to the Japanese program at Southeast’s Richmond Elementary. “They feel that people will automatically enroll in their neighborhood schools, but people who have other options—people who are by definition privileged—will tend to look at other possibilities.”

3. Does Smith’s spotty track record on equity portend failure here? No one doubts the superintendent’s commitment to equity. Early in her career, she worked in Boston to help desegregate that city’s schools. In Portland, she spent 23 years overseeing a small alternative school, Open Meadow. She served as chief of staff to then-Superintendent Vicki Phillips and moved to the top job when Phillips resigned in 2007. Smith has made raising the number of kids meeting third-grade reading targets, reducing racial disparities in discipline, and increasing Portland’s abysmal graduation rate her top goals. Last year, PPS’s overall graduation rate stood at 67 percent, up from 59 percent three years earlier. White and middle-class students saw big RONITPHOTO.COM

THE ELECTIVES GAP

THE EQUALIZER

“IF WE’RE GOING TO SEE PROGRESS ON EQUITY, WE NEED TO SEE SOME REAL LEADERSHIP.” —PAUL ANTHONY, WHO IS RUNNING AS A CHALLENGER FOR THE PPS BOARD gains. But the district saw racial and economic gaps widen. Graduation rates for both black and poor students barely budged, hovering between 58 percent and 53 percent. PPS officials can’t say how boundary changes will translate into meeting any of these goals, either in the short run or over time. “This by itself does not achieve equity,” Smith told WW. “It’s one of multiple levers needed.” Parents have reason to worry, though. The district’s efforts to achieve equity have sometimes produced results opposite of what officials intended. Disparities in the way Portland schools discipline black and white students still grew, for example, even after Smith spent $2.5 million on racial sensitivity training for employees. Another example of an equity effort backfiring: PPS’s transfer system—also known as “school choice.” For years, the district has allowed parents CONT. on page 16 Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

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THE EQUALIZER

91 and 61 semesters of International Baccalaureate classes, respectively. Wilson, Madison, Roosevelt and Franklin have no IB classes and offer only 25 to 38 semesters of AP classes each. Frank lin mom Lisa Zuniga threw herself wholeheartedly into the work of helping PPS pull off the high-school redesign. Disillusioned, she later joined other parents in filing a complaint against the district in 2013 for failing to provide the minimum number of high-school instructional hours. The Oregon Department of Education found the district out of compliance and ordered reforms. “I was a big fan of high-school redesign,” she says. “I went to almost every meeting, and I said, ‘Let’s do this thing!’” But she adds: “The rich curriculum we were promised is not a reality.”

5. Why doesn’t the school district’s math add up?

OVER/UNDER: Beverly Cleary K-8 in Northeast Portland is so overcrowded that it is spread across three campuses, including the formerly mothballed Rose City Park Elementary.

to apply to transfer their kids to schools outside their neighborhoods. The idea was simple: A family’s ZIP code shouldn’t consign a child to an inferior education. The school-choice movement took off in the 1990s. In 2002, district officials introduced a lottery after noticing that the system favored more-affluent white parents seeking to send their kids to more popular schools. But PPS now says the lottery has perpetuated inequity. White, upper-income families use the lottery disproportionately, leaving behind schools that are smaller, poorer and weaker as a result. In some gentrifying areas, schools are more segregated than the neighborhoods that surround them. About 28 percent of children in the neighborhood around Northeast Portland’s Woodlawn K-8 are white, but they make up only 15 percent of the school’s population. By comparison, 37 percent of neighborhood kids are black, but they represent 51 percent of the school. “If you keep doing the same thing, the unintended consequences are no longer unintended,” Moore says. To address this, the district wants to abolish the lottery for transfers between neighborhood schools. (The School Board was set to vote on the plan Jan. 13.) Ron Herndon, former leader of the Black United Front, helped PPS shape the policies that led to school choice. He says the district is going about it all wrong. It’s not where kids attend school, he says, but about preparing teachers in those schools to do a better job of teaching the kids they have now. 16

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“Now you’re saying, ‘Woopsie, we made a little mistake, we have to make sure that the white parents stay in neighborhoods where they have poor-performing schools,’” Herndon says. “The problem is not the economic status of the community. It’s having people in those classrooms and people who are leading those schools who have had success in educating those populations.”

4. Will Smith have the courage it takes to follow through on her plan? In 2009, PPS launched a sha keup of high-school attendance boundaries to increase equity in enrollment. Smith and the School Board promised bold changes. They didn’t deliver. At the time, high-school enrollment was lopsided, leaving poor and minority students shut out of the larger schools offering better programs. In Northeast Portland, for example, Jefferson had 435 students. Four miles away, Grant had 1,610. The city’s whitest, wealthiest and biggest schools—Cleveland, Grant, Franklin, Lincoln and Wilson—all offered at least three foreign languages. The other four high schools—Roosevelt, Madison, Marshall and Jefferson—offered just one. Smith and the School Board paid an outside consultant $75,000 to reimagine new high-school boundaries for the district. Rumors circulated that the plan called for closing a central school such as Grant or Cleveland that served middle- and upper-middle-class students. Lawn signs soon sprouted up in front of

$600,000 bungalows in Northeast Portland’s Grant Park neighborhood. “Close the gap,” the signs read, alluding to achievement results, “not the schools.” PPS left the richer schools alone and turned instead on the one with the city’s least-affluent, least-powerful parent constituency, Marshall High, in Southeast Portland’s working-class neighborhood of Lents. Then-School Board member David Wynde (now director of the district’s budget office) called the decision to close Marshall “wrong, wrong, wrong.” Jefferson—which served far fewer students than Marshall—became a “focus” school that neighborhood students no longer had to attend, and PPS put an 850-student cap on enrollment at career-oriented Benson Polytechnic, even though it was one of the district’s success stories. Smith says the plan, which went into effect in 2011, was a success based on 2014 measures. “Three years of growth in enrollment, growth in student achievement and growth in graduation rate,” she says. By its own measure, though, PPS has failed to meet one crucial objective. By 2014, district officials pledged, the enrollment gap between high schools would be no more than 300 students. But Roosevelt still has 640 fewer students than Lincoln. Other gaps remain. Roosevelt now teaches t wo foreign lang uages—Spanish and Japanese—but the disparity persists. Lincoln now offers French, Spanish, German, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. Gaps also persist in the number of advanced placement classes offered. Lincoln and Cleveland, at the top end, offer

If PPS wants to do something about equity, middle schools are a great place to start. Ten years ago, the district decided to move away from stand-alone middle schools and create more K-8s. ThenSuperintendent Phillips sold the shift as a way to address declining enrollment and stubbornly low academic achievement at some middle schools. But something else happened. Most middle schools f lourished, while most K-8s didn’t. The changes hit poor and minority students harder. WW ’s analysis of PPS records shows that the wealthier you are, the more likely your kid is to attend a middle school. In other words, the district has pushed K-8s where poverty rates are relatively higher. Why does this matter? Because PPS’s middle schools tend to offer students richer, more diverse electives than K-8 schools with higher rates of poverty. WW’s analysis of district programs shows middle schools offer an average of 13 electives—68 percent more than K-8s (see sidebar.) Smith’s boundary change plan is one response to this inequitable trend. In 2009, PPS set a target of enrolling 160 students in the sixth through eighth grades at each K-8 school. Today, the district has fallen short of this goal in 18 of 25 schools—some to a shocking degree. Boundary changes are supposed to fix the problem. That’s where the district’s bad math comes in. PPS can send more students to these K-8s. But several of the schools can’t handle the number of kids they have now. Take Scott K-8 School in Northeast Portland’s Roseway neighborhood. It has 120 students in grades 6 through 8. But the school is already overcrowded and running out of classrooms. So are Lee K-8 in the Madison South neighborhood and Woodlawn K-8 in Northeast Portland. In response to WW’s questions, Smith said in a written statement that PPS may have to unwind its policies on K-8s by reverting them to elementary schools. “This is a problem that we are aware of and we expect to address directly with district-wide boundary review,” she said in her statement.

THE EQUALIZER

LEAH NASH

CONT.

WILLIE WEED P.G. 52

SUPER INTENTIONS: Smith knows the School Board lineup could change after the May election. “It is one of the most difficult elected jobs in Oregon,” she says of the PPS board.

6. Even if she has the nerve to pull off her plan, will Smith have the clout? Smith took the top job at PPS pledging to stay at least 10 years. She still has more than two years left—her current contract expires in 2017. But as with any superintendent, Smith serves at the pleasure of the seven-member School Board. Until now, the board has been a fairly soft touch when it comes to Smith. She gets strong marks in her job evaluations, which put a lot of weight on closing racial gaps that Smith has not erased. (The evaluation criteria for Smith include the word “equity” 15 times. The word “achievement” appears three times.) In August, the board voted to give Smith an unprecedented 28 percent pay raise, bumping her annual salary to $247,000, plus benefits. Co-chairwoman Knowles says Smith deserves the big bump, noting she helped the district pass a $482 million bond issue for construction and delivered a new contract for teachers that won significant improvements. Six of seven board members agreed to talk with WW about the changes. The majority of the board agrees with Smith’s approach and applauds her steps. Ruth Adkins, who’s up for reelection in May, declined to be interviewed, saying she wasn’t ready to talk about the plan. Tom Koehler, one of the board’s newest members, expressed skepticism that Smith’s boundary-change strategy will get better equity results for students. “I don’t know where she’s headed,” Koehler says. In May, four of the seven seats on the Portland School Board are up for election—and all the incumbents are Smith believers. Paul Anthony and Mike Rosen, two of the challengers stepping forward to run for School Board, have both raised serious questions about Smith’s leadership and board members they say have rubber-stamped her policies. “Everyone seems very happy saying nice things, passing nice policies,” says Anthony, CFO of a Beaverton financial services company who has children in North and Northeast Portland schools. “Very few people seem to want to follow through.” WW asked Smith how she would respond to a shifting majority on the board. She offered a written statement that said in part: “I have seen a near complete turnover of the School Board since I became superintendent and have enjoyed working with new members as they have joined the board.” Such tact is in character for Smith. But her track record— and what many see as the School Board’s compliance with her decisions—will frame the May board elections. “Parents are done with aspirations,” Rosen says. “I want to know what you’re going to accomplish, how you’re going to accomplish it, and how long it’s going to take until we can provide the right resources for students, teachers and even central administration to make that happen.”

GUS MODERN

WW news intern Gabriella Dunn contributed to this story. Support for this article was provided by the Equity Reporting Project: Restoring the Promise of Education, which was developed by Renaissance Journalism with funding from the Ford Foundation. Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

ADVERTORIAL

ANIMALS

ARTS

COMMUNITY

EDUCATION

Willamette Week’s

Welcome to WW’s 2014 Volunteer Guide. The idea here goes something like this: You were generous financially with our 2013 Give!Guide. Now, as the new year begins, you may want to invest some of your valuable sweat equity in a local nonprofit, but you’re not sure where to start. That’s why we publish this guide, to help you further the causes you support and to help make Portland an even greater city than it is now: a city that works for everyone. More than 60 worthy nonprofits have identified their needs in the pages of this guide. If you can fill one of them, terrific! If you know someone else who can, point that person in the right direction. Let’s get started.

ENVIRONMENT

ambassadors raise awareness about our work and the importance of re-homing shelter dogs. We are looking for animal-loving individuals interested in staffi ng Project POOCH information tables at area pet stores, street fairs and farmers markets, as well as at outreach and fundraising events. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: The right person is friendly, outgoing and comfortable speaking with the public. You must be able to lift lightweight displays and be available evenings and weekends. If you love animals, have time to share and want to help homeless dogs in need, we’d love to hear from you! CONTACT: DeVida Johnson

devida@pooch.org 697-0623 pooch.org

MUST LOVE DOGS NW

THE PIXIE PROJECT WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteers

are the backbone of the Pixie Project. We are looking for volunteers in the following categories: veterinarians, veterinarian technicians, lobby greeters, event volunteers, kennel assistants, foster homes. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: We are looking for caring, responsible, reliable animal lovers who want to have a positive impact on the Portland community and our pets. CONTACT: volunteer@pixieproject.org

pixieproject.org

CAT ADOPTION TEAM WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Make purr-

fect matches as an adoption counselor, foster a litter of kittens, represent CAT at events, provide daily care for shelter cats, assist clients or help with office tasks all while knowing your work saves lives. You’ll get paid in “cat currency”—cuddles and purrs! IDEAL VOLUNTEER: If you’re passionate about cats and care about people, we need you. Whether you’re great at customer service, skilled with animals or excellent at data entry, we can fi nd a volunteer position that’s right 18

for you. Bring your compassion and skills to CAT and help save lives! CONTACT: Nancy Puro

nancyp@catadoptionteam.org 925-8903, ext. 258 catadoptionteam.org

FIDO—FRIENDS INVOLVED IN DOG OUTREACH WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: We are a

100 percent all-volunteer organization that helps seniors and lowincome families keep their pets at home by providing food and other supplies. We need people to package and deliver pet food, help with fundraising, and work in our warehouse Wednesday mornings. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: A warehouse worker must be able to lift 50 pounds repeatedly to unload pallets. Drivers must be insured and able to pass a background check. The love of dogs and cats and the willingness to help others is a plus. No skills necessary, but being a team player is a must. CONTACT: Linda Cloud

animeals.clackamas@gmail.com 971-678-6940 fido-clackamas.org

PROJECT POOCH, INC. WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Be a Project

POOCH ambassador! POOCH

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

WELLNESS

YOUTH

4th Annual

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Must Love

ANIMALS

SOCIAL ACTION

Dogs NW is deeply committed to ending pet homelessness in our community. We strive to educate the public on responsible dog ownership, behavior modification and training assistance. We work to re-home dogs that are abused, neglected, homeless or about to be homeless, and those in shelter settings. We provide spay/ neuter and microchip assistance to animals in need. We are seeking volunteers interested in fostering dogs, as well as those with an interest in community outreach events, event planning, fundraising, grant writing or marketing. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: We are seeking vol-

unteers who are confident, reliable, compassionate and patient. Those interested in community outreach events and fostering must be comfortable speaking to the public and have experience with dogs, including basic handling skills. Volunteers interested in fostering must also have a fenced yard or an apartment, and the time and willingness to assist in any socialization or training a foster dog may need. Interested volunteers are asked to complete an application available atmustlovedogsnw.org. CONTACT:

incoming@mustlovedogsnw.com 866-990-3647 mustlovedogs.org

ARTS PDX POP NOW! WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: As an all-vol-

unteer organization, PDX Pop Now! owes its success to the many individuals who have generously and enthusiastically donated their time. Areas for involvement include administration, development, fi nance, art, marketing, technology and events. Specific positions include: festival event staff, compilation-selection listeners, grant writers, fundraising and sponsorship coordinators, fi nance and media coordinators, Web developers and volunteer coordinators. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: A self-motivated professional with a passion for music and learning, who understands how to communicate thoughtfully while also efficiently managing his or her time. The desire to analyze any issue from a leadership perspective and personal commitment to proactively improving some aspect(s) of the organization. CONTACT: Beth Martin

pdxpopnow.com volunteer@pdxpopnow.com

DISJECTA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: We have

many ways you can get involved with Disjecta, including positions as gallery attendants, exhibition workers, technical sound and lighting personnel, special-event staff, and event bartenders. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Applicants should have a background or interest in contemporary art, studio art or arts education. Candidates should be prepared to make time commitments and attend an orientation.

We have volunteer positions for the whole family, including distributing programs at our shows, selling concessions, ushering, checking tickets, work parties and more! IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Individuals and families who understand the importance of creative expression and education. Our mission at NWCTS is to educate, entertain and enrich the lives of young audiences. An ideal volunteer shares these values and is patient in a customer-service environment with children and adults alike. CONTACT: Kat Shepard

kat@nwcts.org 222-2190 nwcts.org

VIBE OF PORTLAND WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Vibe of

Portland is looking for teaching assistants in our Vibe @ School classes in North and Southeast Portland. Commitment is 1-3 hours weekly for an 8-week session. Duties include helping teaching artist, encouraging and helping students with projects, and positively impacting a child’s life through the arts. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our ideal volunteer has some background in either art or music (or both) and is excited about working with children and working with a local teaching artist to make our classes exciting and fun for all involved. One area of great need is volunteers with experience in ceramics. CONTACT: Laura Streib

info@vibepdx.org 503.560.3592

COMMUNITY COMMUNITY WAREHOUSE WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Sorting and

NORTHWEST CHILDREN’S THEATER AND SCHOOL

redistributing donated home goods to low-income folks in our community who are transitioning into stable housing. Volunteers also sell higher-end, nonessential items in our retail stores. Additionally, volunteers help with special events and community outreach. We are Portland’s only volunteerdriven, nonprofit furniture bank.

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: From usher-

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: If helping low-

ing at our Mainstage theatrical productions to assisting with fundraising efforts, our volunteers are a welcome and vital part of NWCTS.

income folks fi nd furniture and goods to outfit their homes, checking out the one-of-a-kind treasures before they go to our estate store, and meeting

CONTACT: Jessica Nickel

volunteer@disjecta.org 286-9449 disjecta.org

advertorial

CONTACT: Jessica Thompson jessica@communitywarehouse.org 891-7400 communitywarehouse.org

UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY OF OREGON & SW WASHINGTON WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: United

Cerebral Palsy of Oregon & SW Washington has been advancing the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with disabilities since 1955. We are pleased to announce the opportunity for volunteers to serve on our board of directors. Board service provides a unique opportunity to “give back” and use your professional expertise and personal experience to help shape the organization. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: The following

characteristics are desirable for our board: experience with committee work, comfort in communicating ideas in a group setting, a parent of a child experiencing developmental disabilities, and interest and dedication in working with persons with cerebral palsy and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. We have particular interest in gaining members who are competent in the following areas: accounting, law, financial management, community organizing, development/fundraising, and public relations/marketing. CONTACT: Ann Coffey acoffey@ucpaorwa.org 777-4166 ucpaorwa.org

COMMUNITY VISION, INC. WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Community

Vision’s Home Ownership Independence Program hosts work parties throughout the year to accomplish home-based repair and house painting for individuals with disabilities living in their homes. We also host a large cycling event, Harvest Century, each September, and we need more than 200 volunteers for that one-day event. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: The ideal volunteer

for Community Vision would enjoy working with a small group of community volunteers, in three-to-fourhour increments to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities in Portland. CONTACT: Valerie Plummer

The ideal JOIN volunteer should be comfortable working with people experiencing poverty and homelessness. CONTACT: Sydney Linden slinden@joinpdx.org 232-7052, ext. 103 joinpdx.org

ON-THE-MOVE COMMUNITY INTEGRATION WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteers to

work as reading tutors for adults with developmental disabilities. Tutors support diverse students who are working to improve independence through increased literacy skills. Working in a celebratory environment, volunteers can form new relationships and discover the rewards of creating an inclusive community of Portlanders with and without disabilities. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our ideal volunteer

is fun, flexible, compassionate and reliable, and believes that the contributions of all unique community members are valuable. Volunteers should be good readers and able to make a two-month commitment. We provide disability/diversity training and guidance on best practices in special education and community integration. CONTACT: Leah Gagliano

info@onthemoveonline.org 287-0346 onthemoveonline.org

BICYCLE TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteers

strengthen the work of the BTA every day. Volunteers get involved by helping at events, assisting in the office, researching bike legislation, attending meetings, stuffing envelopes, leading community rides, fixing bikes for our youth classes, and more. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Ideal volunteers

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Experience working

REACH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

kinds of people to volunteer at JOIN, and do not require any specific skills.

with youth and/or families, and with diverse and disadvantaged populations. We’re seeking volunteers who are proficient in a skill or talent to teach, have strong communication and leadership skills, and are approachable and friendly.

CONTACT: Amanda Lee Harrison

JOIN

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: We welcome all

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Experience working

CONTACT: Cynthia Luckett cluckett@reachcdc.org 971-277-7067 reachcdc.org

amanda@btaoregon.org 226-0676x24 btaoregon.org

can (1) help in the JOIN Basic Service Center, open Monday through Friday, 10am-3pm; (2) help with administrative tasks like filing, data entry and mailings; (3) help with one-time projects as needed.

success. Volunteers get hands-on experience by working one-on-one with our residents and homeowners, leading workshops in buildings, executing events, completing office projects, and performing home repairs for senior citizens. Residents have expressed an interest in the following activities, although we are open to any skills or talents volunteers bring to the table: art, drawing, sports, writing, reading, photography, music, cooking for kids, and computers.

should be interested in helping us create healthy, sustainable communities by making bicycling safe, convenient and accessible. Skills necessary include good attitude, attention to detail, and an enthusiasm for our vibrant bicycling community. Possible opportunities include office volunteer nights, wrench on bikes, special-event assistance, commuter stations, and outreach events. Join us and help make an impact for better cycling in Oregon. Visit btaoregon.org/join/#volunteer for more information.

valerie@cvision.org 292-4964, ext. 124 cvision.org

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteers

courtesy of project pooch

lots of great people sounds like your idea of the perfect day, then this is the volunteer gig for you! We need positive, friendly volunteers who want to make a difference in the lives of our neighbors in need.

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: REACH is

looking for creative and energetic individuals to lead workshops and activities for residents in our affordable housing. Do you have a particular skill or talent you could share? Join REACH in our efforts to build community and create opportunities to help our residents realize personal

STREET ROOTS WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Dedicated

volunteers needed for help with the vendor program and copy editing. Work the front desk and get to know the vendors or be a part of a great editorial team. For more information, go to streetroots.org/volunteer and fill out a volunteer application. with people in poverty; good multitaskers; copy-editing experience. CONTACT: Grace Badik grace@streetroots.org 228-5657 streetroots.org

PORTLAND MITZVAH NETWORK WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteers

seeking a meaningful experience with a Jewish perspective can find exactly what they are looking for through the Portland Mitzvah Network. With a variety of short-term

and ongoing volunteer opportunities and organizations seeking volunteers, PMN is your one-stop shop for doing good in the Jewish community and beyond. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Organizations can

use the network to seek volunteers and volunteer opportunities for their constituents. Individuals and families can learn more about one-time and ongoing volunteer opportunities. All users of the network can take advantage of the resources related to volunteering more generally and volunteering in a Jewish context more specifically. One-day and ongoing opportunities promoted and available for volunteers of all ages. CONTACT: Caron Blau-Rothstein

caron@jewishportland.org 245-6449 jewishportland.org

TRANSITION PROJECTS WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Our largest

need is for groups to provide dinner for the men or women staying in one of our three residential programs. Volunteers can facilitate computerlab access, assist programs in an administrative capacity, or lead classes, activities and other opportunities to engage participants. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Volunteers with

Transition Projects should have a desire to play a role in helping individuals while they pursue their path to housing. Knowledge of barriers to housing and factors leading to homelessness are beneficial. Consistent and reliable volunteers are crucial to ensure the success of the participants in our programs. CONTACT: Sam Haffey volunteer@tprojects.org 280-4741 tprojects.org

VILLAGE GARDENS-FOOD WORKS FARM WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Village Gar-

dens welcomes volunteers to Food Works Farm, a youth-run farm on Sauvie Island. This business focuses on building leadership and job skills for youth as well as creating fresh and nutritious produce for the community. There is always work to do on the farm! From transplanting seedlings in our greenhouse to weeding and harvesting vegetables, we can use your help to keep our farm running smoothly. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: We are looking for

individuals who are interested in youth leadership, farming and food security, and community engagement. Volunteers would work closely with our youth leaders and crew in farm tasks, which can sometimes be physically demanding. At Food Works, we like to play games and work hard. We are looking for volunteers who want to join the fun! CONTACT: Leslie Heimer lheimer@janusyouth.org 943-5633 janusyouth.org

HANDS ON GREATER PORTLAND WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Tutor a

child. Clean books for low-income kids. Spruce up a school. Hands On Greater Portland makes it easy to connect with volunteer opportunities that fit your schedule and interests— and that empower you to make a meaningful, rewarding change in the Portland area. Check our online calendar to find a one-time project, or dive deep and explore an issue that shapes our region. Hands On Greater Portland is a program of United Way of the ColumbiaWillamette, which works to break the cycle of childhood poverty in our cont. on page 20

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

advertorial

c o u r t s e y o f m e t r o p o l o t a n f a m i ly s e r v i c e

They will need to be available to read for one hour per week during publicschool hours through mid-May. CONTACT: Staci Sutton

ssutton@getsmartoregon.org 971-634-1628 getsmartoregon.org

PORTLAND AFTER-SCHOOL TENNIS & EDUCATION WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Want to

impact a young child’s life? Learn from our experienced coaches/tutors how to use your skills to help at-risk children from low-income families in North Portland. Our volunteers mentor K-12 youth in year-round programs, building scholar athletes who are healthy, excel in athletics, and love learning! IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Volunteers play a

dual role as coach and tutor. Coaches/ tutors assist our certified coaches in tennis and fitness activities and help our scholar athletes stay focused on completing their homework. Every volunteer must be willing to take initiative, respond to challenges, and be positive. No tennis experience is needed. CONTACT: Izzy Borris

Stephanie Haas program@pastande.org 823-3629 pastande.org

INNOVATIVE CHANGES

are provided. We are looking for volunteers who can support youth by encouraging development opportunities, actively listen to their ideas, and help them extend their understanding of the broader community. CONTACT: Tonya Parson Tparson@humansolutions.org 208-3618 humansolutions.org

“I HAVE A DREAM” OREGON WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: We attempt to

match your talents, interests and time availability with a Dreamer student who would best benefit. Spend one-onone time tutoring students, aiding in the classroom and mentoring middleschool students. We also have exciting and engaging one-time opportunities. We are located in East Portland. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: No special skills are

needed—just be willing to jump in and help. One of the key factors of success for students is having a positive adult role model who gives their time. Your time and attention with students can make an enormous impact and difference in their lives. CONTACT: Emily Gaither emilyg@dreamoregon.org 804-513-6586 dreamoregon.org

ENVIRONMENT

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Our volun-

region. Volunteering is a great way to make a difference and change the odds for kids and families living in poverty. Do good. Find a volunteer opportunity now at handsonportland.org. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: All volunteers are

welcome! Most of our opportunities do not require prior experience. Special opportunity: Do you want to grow your leadership skills? Consider becoming a volunteer leader. You’ll take responsibility for one of the projects on our calendar and help other volunteers have a fulfilling experience.

SILVER HOME REPAIRS WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Our mission

is to provide free, basic home repairs for lower-income senior homeowners. Repairs include plumbing, electrical and more. Volunteers can lend their expertise to perform repairs, provide materials or simply tell others about our mission. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Ideal for a retired

contractor or handyman, or someone who networks with other seniors or senior programs. Also, we need people who have access to materials, or connections with those who do.

CONTACT: Dannon Raith dannon@handsonportland.org 200-3373 handsonportland.org

CONTACT: Joe Russo jr@silverhomerepairs.com 810-5366 silverhomerepairs.com

TOOLS 4 TROOPS

METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICE

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: T4T collects

tools both new and old, refurbishes them and distributes them to veterans at no cost. Vets use those tools as workers, entrepreneurs and hobbyists. You can help by donating tools, refurbishing tools, collecting tools, distributing tools, or by helping us get the word out. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Would you like the chance to help those who have served? Do you enjoy repairing tools? Do you love hunting at estate sales? Do you have a car? Do you have social-media expertise? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, give us a call! CONTACT: Patricia Bilow

patt@tools4troops.org tools4troops.org 20

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteers

are needed to provide transportation services, shopping assistance or visiting support for older adults and people with disabilities, enabling them to remain independent in their own homes. If you can drive—even if it’s only for an hour or two a month— you can make a huge difference in the life of an isolated older adult. For volunteers wanting to develop a more meaningful ongoing relationship with a senior, consider serving as a community visitor or shopping assistant, meeting with the same person on a weekly basis. Visiting activities may include reading, playing games, walking or other shared interests. Our volunteers help make it possible

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

for people to age with dignity and to feel connected to their community. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our transportation

volunteers can set their own schedules each week, are available during the workday, and can drive their own car or our van (on a set schedule). A good driving record is a must. Shoppers must be able to transport groceries and be personable. Our community visitors are able to commit to an ongoing regular schedule, have pleasant personalities, are patient and caring, and are dedicated to brightening the day of a senior. No experience is required: We provide full training and support. CONTACT: Deborah Shimkus

volunteer@metfamily.org 688-1782 metfamily.org

EDUCATION SMART (START MAKING A READER TODAY) WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteer

with SMART and help children discover the joy of reading. We are an early-literacy nonprofit that engages community volunteers to help prekindergarten through third-grade children become confident readers by providing one-on-one literacy support, valuable adult mentorship, and books to take home and keep. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Volunteers should

have an enthusiastic love of books and enjoy working with young children.

teers help people to become more financially stable. Financial-coaching volunteers work one-on-one with individuals to set and achieve goals related to budgeting, saving, debt management and credit. Other opportunities include co-facilitating financial-education workshops, writing for our newsletter and assisting with program administration. We provide training and support. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: A commitment to

our mission of helping people build their long-term financial health, a willingness to learn about financial education and resources, strong intercultural communication skills, flexibility, reliability, a sense of humor and an interest in working with diverse clientele. Spanish language skills are a plus. CONTACT: Andrea Kerwin andrea@innovativechanges.org innovativechanges.org

HUMAN SOLUTIONS WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Guide youth’s

academic goals and support them in their quest to achieve them. Share knowledge, provide encouragement, and hopefully inspire a young learner. The LearnLinks tutoring program provides after-school academic assistance to low-income youth. Volunteer tutors assist with homework, support supplementary literacy, and help with math-skill building and language fluency. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: We need dedicated volunteers to help our students achieve. Training and peer-to-peer coaching and support from staff

AUDUBON SOCIETY OF PORTLAND WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: As one of the

Northwest’s leading conservation organizations, Audubon offers a wide range of natural history and environmental activities to members, the community and volunteers. Whatever your interests, there’s a volunteer position for you. These include weekly opportunities like those in the Nature Store and Wildlife Care Center, as well as special events and less frequent positions. Learn more at www. audubonportland.org, and complete a volunteer application. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Volunteers are engaged in caring about and for the environment in a variety of capacities. Some benefit from an outgoing personality, but all volunteers should be detail-oriented and able to follow directions well. CONTACT: Deanna Sawtelle

dsawtelle@audubonportland.org 292-6855, ext. 108 audubonportland.org

EAST MULTNOMAH SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteer to

help with our two biggest events each year—our native plant sale and our Naturescaped Yards Tour. In February, volunteers help package and sort thousands of native plants for our annual plant sale. In late spring (May, June), volunteers help welcome guests to the homes on the Naturescaped

advertorial

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our volunteers are

enthusiastic and passionate about gardening and native plants, but no plant expertise or technical skill is necessary. Be prepared to get a little dirty, but you are sure to have fun! CONTACT: Angela Previdelli

angela@emswcd.org 935-5371 emswcd.org

FRIENDS OF TREES WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Give back

to the community by planting trees! We plant every Saturday, October through April, from 9 am to 1 pm across the metro region. Simply show up dressed for the weather. We provide gloves, tools and guidance, as well as snacks and coffee. We’re family- and group-friendly—come join the planting-day fun! IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our ideal volunteer

likes being outdoors in the Pacific Northwest winter, meeting new friends and neighbors, and laughing a lot, as well as learning about trees, how to plant them and why they’re amazing for our community. All ages are welcome. We can’t wait to work with you! CONTACT: Jenny Bedell-Stiles volunteer@friendsoftrees.org 595-0213 friendsoftrees.org

OUR UNITED VILLAGES WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteers

help with a variety of assignments at Our United Villages. The ReBuilding Center is actively seeking volunteer leaders to guide our newer volunteers. Volunteers also take part in skilled activities like writing, designing, editing, construction, deconstruction and more! Volunteer leaders work at the ReBuilding Center, and throughout Portland on various deconstruction sites. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Volunteers leaders

are dependable and enthusiastic— past that, let your passions drive us! Volunteer leaders should be willing to take on a mentorship role and be able to maintain a steady schedule over a prolonged period or commit to short-term projects. CONTACT: David Lowe volunteer@ourunitedvillages.org 467-4985 ourunitedvillages.org

FRIENDS OF TRYON CREEK WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: The mission of our volunteer program is to create ultimate access for members of our community to this unique green space, inspiring them to cultivate an appreciation for nature and giving them the tools to share that passion with others. There is a variety of ways to volunteer with the Friends, from stewardship and restoration to environmental education to office support to special projects. Jobs for volunteers include: everyday support; educational support; assistant counselor; event support; trails, ivy

and restoration committees; special projects; opportunities for youth; court-ordered community service.

courtesy of northwest veg

Yards Tour.

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: We are looking for enthusiastic nature lovers who wish to contribute to our mission of instilling a value of stewardship in the community. We have a variety of opportunities that suit many skill sets. From the loner who enjoys working on restoration in the forest to the most social of people, we have jobs for all types of interests! CONTACT: Sarah Kreisman

sarah@tryonfriends.org 636-4398 tryonfriends.org

SOLVE WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Love Oregon?

Join 35,000 SOLVE volunteers who feel the same! Volunteer projects cover the entire state and include cleaning up litter, removal of invasive species, planting native plants and more. No experience necessary. Join a project or start your own to improve our environment and build a legacy of stewardship. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: SOLVE volunteers come in all shapes and sizes, young and old, in groups or on your own. From one-day events to leadership roles, SOLVE has a spot for you. The only qualification is a passion for Oregon and the environment. Get in touch today to learn more. CONTACT: Kaleen Boyle

kaleen@solveoregon.org 844-9571, ext. 332 solveoregon.org

FOREST PARK CONSERVANCY WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Forest Park

Conservancy volunteers preserve and enhance Forest Park’s trail network and native forest habitat. Stewardship projects include trail maintenance and repair, removal of invasive plant species, and planting of native trees and shrubs. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Ideal volunteers are passionate about the environment and interested in getting to know Forest Park more intimately. A willingness to get dirty working and hiking in the great outdoors is a must. Forest Park Conservancy provides all necessary training and welcomes family participation. CONTACT: Mikala Soroka

mikala@forestparkconservancy.org 223-5449, ext. 106 forestparkconservancy.org

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY RESTORE WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: There are

short-term and long-term volunteer opportunities for those 16 and over. Most volunteer positions in our warehouse involve assisting with donation intake, stocking and pricing items, and keeping shelves organized and clean. Volunteer help at the customer service counter by answering phones, directing customers and running our cash register. We also have an extensive recycling program that is managed by volunteers, and a small

deconstruction operation. There are opportunities to serve in our development department by representing Habitat at various community outreach events. If a volunteer has a specific skill (accounting, writing, design, research, public speaking), we are happy to find or create a project that will benefit the mission of our organization.

needed; gloves, tools, beverages and snacks provided. Great for gardeners or families with children who are able to work on projects together that require fine motor skills and patience.

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: No previous experience required. We are happy to train anyone who is willing to learn. The warehouse environment is ever-changing, so volunteers who are flexible and have a positive attitude tend to have a more successful experience. One-time volunteers are great, but we are looking for those who are willing and able to serve on a more regular basis. We also have on-call opportunities for individuals who are interested in our deconstruction and outreach programs.

METRO NATURAL AREAS PROGRAM

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: We are especially interested in volunteers who have event-planning, tabling (a background in plant-based and vegan living preferred), public-relations, marketing, public-speaking and graphic-design experience.

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Enjoy explor-

CONTACT: Chelsea Davis

CONTACT: Janell Watt

janell.watt@gmail.com 517-0720 pdxrestore.org

METRO’S NATIVE PLANT CENTER WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Our volun-

teers care for rare seeds and plants that are used in restoration projects at regional parks and natural areas. Volunteers help with nursery activities, such as harvesting and cleaning seeds, harvesting and planting bulbs, repotting and maintaining seedbeds. Volunteers work Saturdays at the Native Plant Center in Tualatin. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: No experience is

CONTACT: Jennifer Wilson

jennifer.wilson@oregonmetro.gov 319-8292 oregonmetro.gov

ing nature? Metro’s volunteer site stewards visit a natural area at least twice a month to ensure the area remains in good shape. Site stewards report any issues to Metro crews and can also report wildlife sightings or pull invasive plants. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: No experience is

needed; record-keeping training provided. Great for frequent hikers and walkers who want to explore natural areas whether close to home or far from busy neighborhoods and downtowns. A number of the sites are not officially open for public access, giving site stewards a unique opportunity to connect with nature. CONTACT: Bonnie Shoffner

bonnie.shoffner@oregonmetro.gov Stacey Triplett stacey.triplett@oregonmetro.gov 797-1653 oregonmetro.gov

NORTHWEST VEG WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Want to help

animals and the environment? Want

to help encourage people to move to a healthy, plant-based diet? Visit nwveg. org/volunteer for information on how you can get involved with our large community events like Portland VegFest and other ongoing outreach projects.

volunteer@nwveg.org nwveg.org

SOCIAL ACTION BUS PROJECT WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: The Bus Proj-

ect is the place for young people to get inspired, organized and empowered to participate and make a difference in local and statewide politics. We’re volunteer-driven democracy for the millennial generation. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: We’re looking for enthusiastic, excitable young folks who want to learn what it takes to win progressive public policy, from City Hall to Salem. Whether you like knocking on doors, doing research or making phone calls, we’ll have a use for you. CONTACT: Aaron Brown aaron@busproject.org 830-8577 busproject.org cont. on page 22

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

advertorial

c o u r t s e y o f m e t r o p o l o t a n f a m i ly s e r v i c e

You’ll be amazed at how much we can do! Shifts run throughout the week in Portland and Beaverton, including weeknights and weekends. Volunteer instructors are also needed for our garden and nutrition education programs. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: No special skills are

required, and training occurs onsite for garden and food-repack shifts. Many shifts are available for ages 6 and up, and we can accommodate large groups. Passion, enthusiasm and willingness to sweat preferred! It’s easy to sign up. Visit www.oregonfoodbank.org to learn more and see the schedule.

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Assistance

League’s member volunteers serve the local community in various programs. Operation School Bell® will provide 2,900 children in need with new clothes this year. Assault Survivor Kits® offers emergency outfits for victims who surrender clothing as evidence. Life story books are crafted for foster children. At a residential treatment facility, we support the recovery of youth with enrichment activities. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Assistance League

members put caring and commitment in action, working together to raise funds and operate community service programs. Members pay annual dues and are invited to volunteer in our thrift and consignment shop and participate in one or more community service programs. Orientation is provided. Meet new friends and discover new talents. CONTACT: Debbie Coryell alpdxnews4u@aol.com 526-9300 portland.assistanceleague.org

VOZ WORKERS’ RIGHTS EDUCATION PROJECT IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Volunteers can help

our organization in many capacities. They can assist in the worker center with checking in day laborers, managing database entries, and interacting with employers. They can teach ESL classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday. They can intern 22

in the main office under the executive director, development director or internal organizer. They will be entering data, helping with event planning, and assisting the directors with daily tasks. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: They should have experience working with different cultures, as well as data entry. Enthusiasm and interest in immigrant and day-labor rights are also crucial. Activism is an important part of our organization, as is dedication to our mission as a worker-led organization. Spanish skills are a plus. CONTACT: Melissa Gittelman

volunteercoordinator@portlandvoz.org 233-6787 portlandvoz.org

RETURNING VETERANS PROJECT WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Returning

Veterans Project asks licensed and insured mental-health practitioners, massage therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors and naturopaths to open a pro bono slot in their practice to provide free, confidential services for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and their families across Oregon and southwest Washington. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: We welcome

providers who want to work with us to help support and heal our veterans and their families. You must be insured, licensed and have a professional office space. Supervised interns working toward their licenses may be eligible. For more information and to apply,

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteers

support executive and clinical staff by providing office help, board membership, fundraising and event planning, social media, recovery mentoring, outreach marketing and computer tech support. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Ideal volunteers

CONTACT: Jeff Horne volunteer@oregonfoodbank.org 972-2993 oregonfoodbank.org

have personalities and characters that naturally produce the compassion and motivation necessary to support people who are seeking recovery services. People who work as computer technicians, health professionals, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, writers, accountants and those who work from home can easily transfer their skills to our mission.

ALBERTINA KERR: ALBERTINA’S PLACE

CONTACT: Phil Broyles info@terasinc.org 719-5250 terasinc.org

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: From archi-

ASSISTANCE LEAGUE® OF GREATER PORTLAND

TERAS INTERVENTIONS AND COUNSELING INC.

vists to zucchini slicers, your talents will always have a home with us. Make lifelong friends at Albertina’s Place volunteer-run restaurant and shops. Albertina’s Place supports the programs of Albertina Kerr, strengthening Oregon families and communities by helping children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges. Flexible schedules available.

PORTLAND FOOD PROJECT

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: We offer fun and

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Care about children,

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteers

can help in two ways. Neighborhood coordinators organize a group of their friends and neighbors to become food donors. Their job generally takes a few hours a month. Food donors provide a bag of nonperishable food items every two months for the coordinators to pick up.

CONTACT: Mike McCarrel mail@returningveterans.org 503-954-2259

meaningful volunteer opportunities, including; cooking, cashiering, serving, sales, display, leadership roles and more. The restaurant and shops are entirely staffed and managed by volunteers dedicated to supporting the mission of Albertina Kerr and providing the best customer experience.

seniors and families struggling with issues of hunger? Convert your compassion into filling the empty shelves of local food pantries. Great activity for a family to do together on your own time schedule. Neighborhood coordinators must have access to a vehicle and be able to drive.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

CONTACT: Meghan Anderson meghana@albertinakerr.org 262-0187 albertinakerr.org

CONTACT: Richard Nudelman info@portlandfoodproject.org 775-2110 portlandfoodproject.org

HOUSECALL PROVIDERS

GROWING GARDENS

CENTRAL CITY CONCERN

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Providing

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: You can

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Whether by

visit returningveterans.org/forproviders.

companionship to hospice patients and homebound people in your area. A short weekly visit can make a huge impact in the lives of people who cannot easily interact with others. Be part of a team that is changing health care by caring for our most underserved neighbors in their homes. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Strong listening

skills and compassion. Ability to be patient with people who have difficulties communicating or dementia. Must attend four training sessions and pass background check and tuberculosis test. Availability one to four hours a week. Volunteers are especially needed in Gresham, Milwaukie, West Linn, Beaverton, Lake Oswego and south Portland. CONTACT: Todd Lawrence tlawrence@housecallproviders.org 971-202-5515 housecallproviders.org

OREGON FOOD BANK WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: We can end

hunger! Join one of our fun, energetic two-to-three-hour food-repack shifts.

help build garden beds, wait tables at summer fundraising dinners, stuff envelopes, do data entry, help design outreach materials or explore other volunteer opportunities. Spanishspeakers are needed to help with programs and translation needs. There’s something for every interest and schedule.

teaching diverse wellness classes, cofacilitating groups, assisting patients entering our clinics, or assisting with clerical duties, volunteers at CCC provide our housing, health and employment programs and staff with valuable time and flexibility, while they also allow our clients to receive the best care and attention possible.

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our volunteers want

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: CCC’s ideal volun-

to help people learn how to grow their own food and enjoy a healthier life. They should like digging in the dirt, have a passion for fresh, organic vegetables and want to make a difference in their community. Some opportunities require a two-to-three-hour, biweekly shift while others are more seasonal. New volunteer orientations happen monthly. CONTACT: Cristy Morales cristy@growing-gardens.org Lynn Fitch lynn@growing-gardens.org 284-8420, ext. 100 growing-gardens.org

teer is flexible, friendly, able to commit for six months, 18 or over, and enthusiastic about helping. Whether you love interacting with others or like to stay “behind the scenes,” we want to find the best fit for both you and us so that everyone has a positive experience! CONTACT: Eric Reynolds eric.reynolds@ccconcern.org Paul Park paul.park@ccconcern.org 200-3893 ccconcern.org

MEALS ON WHEELS PEOPLE WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Our single

greatest need is for Meals on Wheels

advertorial

YOUTH

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Volunteers must

MARATHON SCHOLARS

be at least 18 years old and have their own car, a valid driver’s license and insurance. Or deliver on a bike! Must like seniors. CONTACT: Diana Creitz diana.creitz@mealsonwheelspeople.org Julie Piper Finley julie.piperfinley@mealsonwheelspeople.org 953-9101

CLACKAMAS VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: We are an

all-volunteer-operated free clinic for Clackamas County residents without health insurance or access to medical care. Active and retired doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, medical or nursing students, lab techs and administrators donate quality care and education. We also need outreach volunteers at community events to publicize the clinic. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: If you are passion-

ate about building healthy communities, find meaning in serving those who have slipped through the cracks by providing compassion, resources and quality medical care. Licensed, active or retired medical providers wanted. Spanish speakers needed. Flexible schedules, events and special projects available. CONTACT: Karen Shimada

karen.shimada@clackamasvim.org 722-4400 clackamasvim.org

THE LOTUS SEED WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Volunteers

are the heart of our organization. The Lotus Seed’s volunteers teach classes, run reception, work events, clean and help with public relations. Volunteer hours are much appreciated. Help with putting up fliers, social media, and graphic and Web design are ideal ways to aid the Lotus Seed’s mission: to bring yoga, movement and art to underserved populations through outreach programs and continuing education. All volunteers have access to the daily yoga classes offered by donation. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: The most important

qualification of a volunteer at the Lotus Seed is an attitude of inclusivity. The Lotus Seed does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. Various groups use the community space, which explains the importance of volunteers displaying compassion and understanding. In addition, we are always on the lookout for multimedia specialists who can help us achieve our print, website, video and audio goals. Grant-writing skills are always a plus! CONTACT: Wren deVous wren@lotusseed.org 839-4155 lotusseed.org

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Marathon

Scholars serves the Portland metro area by helping to remove obstacles for low-income children striving for a college education by providing relationships with caring adults who serve as role models, coaches and cheerleaders to expand our scholar’s view of what is possible. Our volunteers change lives! IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our Marathon

Coaches spend four hours a month creating and nurturing a mentoring relationship with a Marathon Scholar. These volunteer coaches/mentors make a four-year commitment to a child and typically work with that child from the fifth through eighth grades. Volunteers should ideally feel passion for educational access and a desire to work directly with children. Marathon Coaches should expect to remain in the Portland metro area for at least four years and have time to connect with their scholar either in person or via email or telephone at least monthly. Comfort with diverse cultures and backgrounds is a plus. CONTACT: Ulla Dosedal

ulla@marathonscholars.org 235-2500 marathonscholars.org

bold. They are dynamic and diverse individuals who enjoy working with and making a difference in the lives of Portland’s girls. Our Girls Guides play a pivotal role in the impact of our programming. CONTACT: Grace Dyer grace@girlsincpnw.org 230-0054 girlsincpnw.org

GIRL SCOUTS OF OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Girl Scout

volunteers introduce girls to new experiences that show them they’re capable of more than they ever imagined. Whether you can give a day, a few weeks, or the whole year, it all starts with you. Be the role model she’ll always remember! IDEAL VOLUNTEER: The ideal Girl Scout

volunteer has a desire to help girls dream big and tackle new challenges. Whether you’re ready to be a troop leader who regularly meets with girls, or have a skill (like coding or bouldering) to share short-term, we’ll work together to find the right opportunity for you. CONTACT: Carol Hickman membership@girlscoutsosw.org girlscoutsosw.org 977-6800 girlscoutsosw.org

ROCK ’N’ ROLL CAMP 4 GIRLS CASA FOR CHILDREN OF MULTNOMAH, WASHINGTON WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Join Rock Camp in our mission to build girls’ AND COLUMBIA COUNTIES self-esteem through music creation and performance. Anyone interested in fundraising, gear repair, events, afterschool programming and more is welcome year-round. We are also looking for instrument instructors, counselors, workshop leaders and mentors for our 2015 summer camps.

IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our volunteers are

energetic, cooperative, empathetic, passionate about the Rock Camp mission, and put our campers’ physical and emotional safety above all else. No musical experience is necessary for many volunteer positions. Opportunities exist for responsible adults of all gender identities. Learn more and apply at girlsrockcamp. org/volunteer. CONTACT: Blue Crow blue@girlsrockcamp.org 445-4991 girlsrockcamp.org

GIRLS INC. OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Girls Inc.

seeks enthusiastic female volunteers to facilitate our afterschool Girls Groups for ages 6 to 18. Groups meet once a week for eight to 10 weeks across the Portland metro area. Don’t worry, we provide training, curriculum and supplies—you make the magic happen! IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our volunteer Girls

Guides are passionate about empowering girls to be strong, smart and

courtesy of oregon food bank

drivers on weekdays. It takes just 90 minutes, and we have 22 pickup locations to choose from.

WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Our trained

and empowered volunteers advocate for the health, safety, stability and well-being of children who have been abused or neglected and are under court protection. CASAs (court-appointed special advocates) get to know each child and contact those involved in the case, providing an objective opinion to the court to ensure necessary safety, care and permanence for the children. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our most effective

advocates are conscientious, thorough, reliable, and able to maintain perspective, objectivity and confidentiality. They have strong written and oral communication skills and flexibility to attend daytime visits, meeting and hearings. No special professional background is needed, but volunteers do need to be 21 or older. CONTACT: Susan King sking@casahelpskids.org 988-6528 casahelpskids.org

NEW AVENUES FOR YOUTH WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Our volun-

teers make it possible for foster, at-risk and homeless youth to overcome barriers and realize their potential. Volunteers are needed for meal service in our drop-in day service center, tutoring and teaching in our education center, interviewing and résumé skill building in our employment programs, and providing artistic lessons in our artist mentorship program. We also

have a variety of exciting annual events that serve as great one-time commitments. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Direct service

volunteers work directly with our youth, building trust and functioning as an important role model in their lives. Support volunteer roles are great opportunities for people wishing to gain experience in the nonprofit field, or simply share their talents in administration or development. Group and corporate volunteer opportunities like our Empower meals and Scooper Hero program are a great way to engage your employees in one-time or recurring volunteer service. Volunteers must be at least 23 years old and commit to at least two hours per week for six months.

programs, special events and adult education classes. IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Our volunteers are

passionate about helping children realize their full potential. Being comfortable in the public school setting and able to commit to ongoing involvement is important. Mentors in our intergenerational program must be age 50 or older. We provide full training and support for all volunteers. No experience is necessary—just a desire to truly make a difference. CONTACT: Deborah Shimkus volunteer@metfamily.org 688-1782 metfamily.org

BETTIES360 WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Betties360

CONTACT: Sama Shagaga

volunteer@newavenues.org 517-3900 newavenues.org

MFS MENTORING AND AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM WHAT WE NEED HELP WITH: Metropolitan

Family Service provides volunteers with a multitude of ways to help children succeed in school and life. Whether it is in our SUN or CAFE afterschool programs or our AARP Experience Corps intergenerational mentoring program, volunteers are actively engaged with children. Volunteers ages 50 and up are needed to work one on one with kindergartenthrough-third-graders, helping them become active readers. Adults of all ages are needed to lead enrichment activities in recreation, art, music or your special area of interest at all grade levels. Help is also needed in our onsite food pantries, school meal

is looking for a “few good women” to help achieve our mission of inspiring confidence, well-being and community in girls through action sports and outdoor adventure. Volunteers are needed in the following areas: assistant instructors for 10-session afterschool programs, board members, marketing and promotion, and trip volunteers (we typically run four to six daytime or overnight trips per year). IDEAL VOLUNTEER: Women with a

sense of adventure, a love for the outdoors, and a passion for seeing girls build strength and self-confidence. Volunteers should be enthusiastically committed to creating safe, positive and enjoyable outdoor experiences. No expertise needed, but humor, flexibility, patience and reliability required. CONTACT: Erin Fitzgerald info@betties360.org betties360.org

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

snow report

p h o t o s c o u r t e s y o f J a m e s c l e av e n g e r

CULTURE

What’s the history of those things? I remember them being huge in the ’90s, but it seems like they all but disappeared. They still make these bad boys—the most prominent manufacturers today are Summit and Snowjam. In fact, there are about 20 different models to choose from if you venture online. A brand-new pair retails for a mere $300. And that is the maximum you’d have to shell out, which is way better than the insane prices we’ve seen for decades for “normal” skis. But you certainly don’t have to buy new, because the design has not changed much over the years, especially in regard to the original “snowblades” style. I own four pairs—I rotate them based on conditions, just like everybody else.

SWITCH BLADES: James Cleavenger makes a compelling case for skiboards.

GET SHORTY DON’T TAKE THOSE SKIBOARDS TO GOODWILL UNTIL YOU HEAR FROM JAMES CLEAVENGER. By martin cizmar

mcizmar@wweek.com

Remember the ’90s? Back when skiers wore hot pink snowsuits and weird stocking hats with dinosaur spikes, when lift tickets still hung from wire wickets and some snowboarders had stiff boots with click-in bindings. This is back before the X Games and ubiquitous city-operated skate parks—an era of roller blades and of the slopeside equivalent, ski blades. Remember ski blades? The first time I saw the Bigfoot, my brain popped. Circa 1992, I was skiing on huge Elans when some kid with the sides of his head shaved skated up on what looked like bare boots. Under his boots were the first popular skiboards— pink toes on two feet of black laminate, with raised tips and flat tails. I bought my own pair a few years later, double-tipped Salomons that were about twice the length, with little bulb-headed aliens (remember aliens?) on the tails. I used them just a few times—as far as I know, they’re still in my mom’s basement. I hadn’t thought much about them until I watched James Cleavenger jump off a cliff last spring. I looked down from the upper lift at Mount Hood Skibowl to see a guy in a leisure suit bombing Calamity in what looked like bare boots. In fact, he had a pair of Salomon Snowblades not unlike my own rusty-edged set. 24

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

A pro skier celebrating a late Gaper Day in disco garb and vintage equipment? Nope. “Although I’m often mistaken for one, I’ve never been a pro skier,” Cleavenger says. “I did race for two years on the University of Oregon ski team when I was in law school. If I could do my life over again, that would certainly be the goal.” Cleavenger is actually a 30-something lawyer who works for the U.S. District Court in Eugene. Turns out, he skis in that leisure suit throughout the winter. And he does it on the descendants of Bigfoot. When I caught up with him at the bottom of the hill, he made a compelling case for living the dream of the ’90s here in Oregon. WW: How long have you been skiing on stubby skis? James Cleavenger: First of all, we have to define what we’re talking about when you say “stubby skis.” I call them “shorties.” But there are a lot of names for the type of skis I use. The overarching term in the industry for these things has become skiboards. But there are really two different categories, which I would describe as the traditional skiblades versus the newer and much wider models that I would call skiboards. I’ve been skiing since high school, but I’ve only been rockin’ what I like to call “shorties” for about five years. It started quite by accident. I bought my first pair—which I still have because you can’t really “outgrow” them—in Chicago on a lark. I call them my “candy canes,” but their brand name is Salomon Buzz 90 Freeglide Snowblades.

What are the advantages? I firmly believe that shorties are the optimal skis for our wet and heavy Pacific Northwest snow. With shorties, you can bust right through the crud that you would otherwise try to avoid on regular skis. This is because with shorties, you are cutting a much deeper groove and are literally skiing at a deeper level. Also, there’s no torque. Although most of the bindings are nonreleasable, you don’t have to worry as much about twisting a knee because the skis are so light and you can correct really quickly. Because of their light weight, your legs don’t get tired on the lift or when carving, since turning them is almost effortless. I don’t mean to brag, but I ski first chair to last chair every day I go up; I don’t eat lunch, I don’t ski anything less than a black diamond and I don’t get tired. And as much as I’d like everyone to think this is due to my vampirelike prowess, the real credit goes to the equipment Plus, trees are easy. I always say that I feel like I’m cheating in the trees because I can turn or stop on a dime. The same goes for moguls. This allows me to ski the trees at much faster speeds because I don’t have to worry about whether or not I’m going to have enough room to make a turn, have enough time to slow down or stop. So while it may sometimes look like I’m skiing out of control, I’m really not because I can stop in an instant. Because I’m skiing deeper, whenever I’m in what others would describe as “a few inches” of powder, I’m always up to my knees in it. And yes, I’m having a better time too! What are the disadvantages? Are there times you won’t ski on them? The nemesis of skiboards is deep powder. By “deep,” I mean anything over a foot of fresh snow. When it gets that deep, I’m pretty much stuck and have to dust off my normal skis.

But we live in the Pacific Northwest, so how often does that actually happen? At first, most skiers find them to be quite “wobbly” because the shorter length provides less stability and every twitch of a muscle can start a turn. But once you get used to them, they are amazing. Another drawback is that it is hard to actually land big jumps. By “big jumps,” I really mean cliffs, which I love to do. When you land from a jump of 20 feet or more— or my favorite, that 30-plus-foot cornice at the summit of Mount Bachelor—you tend to go so deep into the snow that you often flip head over heels. But this is OK! Because you are landing so deep, you are also dispersing so much powder into the air that it acts like a cloak, disguising your actual landing (or lack of ). The trick is to just continue rolling until you find your feet again, and then just carry on down the mountain like nothing happened, or that you meant to do those somersaults! Sound impossible? Remember these have nonreleasable bindings, so anything is possible. Why the leisure suit? I’ve been skiing in vintage 1970s leisure suits for about as long as I’ve been using the shorties. It seemed as ridiculous as snowboading, so the two seemed a natural fit. And to be clear: I always wear a leisure suit, even when it is minus-20 degrees, snowing, raining, whatever. But the number of layers I wear under my leisure suit varies based on conditions. And it’s not that crazy. Take a look at the tag inside your new North Face jacket. What does it say it’s made out of? I’m guessing it is 90 percent polyester. Well, ha! I ski in 100 percent! It actually is pretty incredible material. The only drawback is that it is highly flammable, which I learned the hard way a couple years ago when I used two lit tiki torches as ski poles during a session of night skiing at Willamette Pass.

STREET

TROLLINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; PORTLAND MERCURY STAFF PARTY OR TOLKIEN BIRTHDAY BASH? PHOTOS BY B R IA N A CER EZO wweek.com/street

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

FOOD: Pollo Norte vs. Stella Taco. MUSIC: Sleater-Kinney vs. the Decemberists. BAR REVIEW: Bar Maven vs. FoPo. MOVIES: Police vs. black people in Portland.

30 33 39 46

SCOOP speak softly: The 1920s-era house once home to Schondecken coffee roasters in Westmoreland is undergoing renovation to become a 100-percent period-appropriate Prohibition speakeasy called the Bible Club. Ricardo Huelga, designer of Starlingame jewelry and a number of California bars, spent years amassing period fixtures from the 1850s to 1920s—“right down to the picture frames and light switches and hinges and glasses,” he says—to make a Prohibition-era cocktail bar whose drinks will feature high-density ice hand-carved with a vintage chisel. Expect marble tabletops, a century-old bar top, no cellphones, no guns for mixers, and no sign whatsoever. A ship lantern will signal whether the bar’s open: Red means closed (or private), and green means come on in. “It takes kind of an obsessive, idiotic personality to do something like this,” says Huelga.

D Av I D A C K E R M A N

portland is over: Well, it looks like the future of fallen bars is T-shirts. Doug Rogers, Slabtown’s last owner, has made one last run of T-shirts to memorialize the bar, with the old Johnny Thunders line, “You Can’t Put Yr Arms Around a Memory.” In December, Chopsticks owner David Chow told us for our “Closing Time” cover story that patrons were driving hours to buy T-shirts from the bar before it closed. Design company Sundholm is now making T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Portland Is Over!” citing the passing of the Matador, Pal’s Shanty and other bars. And as for Magic Garden’s septuagenarian bartender, Patty Wright? According to a bartender on the strip bar’s final night, she has gotten a job working in the office at the company that made Magic Garden’s T-shirts. come as you were: A rare audio recording of Nirvana playing at Satyricon has surfaced online. The band performed at the iconic Old Town punk club several times before achieving megastardom, but there’s one show in particular that stands out in local lore: a headlining gig Jan. 12, 1990, the night Cobain allegedly met Courtney Love. Twentyfive years later, YouTube user cobain WY97212 uploaded the set to his video channel. “I was there,” he writes in the description. “I recorded their set. And I put it away in a box of tapes.” Beyond the Kurt-and-Courtney love connection, the recording is also notable for allegedly featuring the Melvins’ Dale Crover on drums before the group recruited its seventh and final drummer, Dave Grohl. word awards: The finalists for the Oregon Book Awards were announced Monday on the Literary Arts website. Four of five fiction nominees are Portlanders—Smith Henderson, Lindsay Hill, Cari Luna and Amy Schutzer. The same is true for poetry, where Wendy Chin-Tanner, Emily Kendal Frey, Endi Bogue Hartigan and Zachary Schomburg were nominated.

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

JOHN BINDER COLLECTION

O-H?

HEADOUT Ah, the genteel art of truffle hunting. Since Roman times, an enterprising truffle hunter must merely strap himself to a rutting sow of three or four hundred pounds, and then keep worried pace as she hunts down chemicals in the tender white truffle that purportedly mimic the sex cologne of a horny male, which she can sniff within the radius of your average Tinder search. But now, dogs. Dogs are the new pigs. A s t he Oregon Tr u f f le Festiva l approaches—Oregon tr uf f les being every bit the local growth industry that hemp is—we asked area truffle-hunting experts Jeannine May of Pacific Truffle Dogs and Charles K. Lefevre of New World Truffieres precisely why dogs kick pigs’ asses so hard their tails curl up. MATTHEW KORFHAGE.

1. PIGS WILL EAT THE DAMN TRUFFLES.

OK, so you don’t have to spend a couple months training the pig, like you do the dog. And some dogs might eat the truffles, too—though some will drop them at your feet! Nonetheless: Those pigs really, really like the truffles. For sex reasons.

2. PIGS ARE LAZY AND HAVE ADD. Just like a bad lover, pigs get what they want

and then roll over. “You can’t use a pig for half a day,” Lefevre says. “They lose interest. While they’re very good at finding truffles, they’re doing it for different reasons. The dog has a job, while the pig is doing it for their own regard.”

3. DOGS ARE BETTER FRIENDS TO MAN. “They’re easier to live with, easier to get in and out of your car, and easier to keep,” May says. Pigs are huge. “You gotta go over and under logs,” she says. “I just imagine them dragging me through the woods.” 4. PIGS MIGHT BITE OFF YOUR FINGER. Yeah, that’s right. Your finger. You ever seen a British mob movie? You don’t want to stick your pinky between a sow and her sex truffle. “The lore is,” Lefevre says, “people who use pigs don’t tend to have all their fi ngers.” Dogs just don’t do that. Why? Because they’re your best friend, and your best friend doesn’t fucking eat your fi nger. 5. PIGS ARE EUROTRASH. Americans basically just don’t use pigs. Maybe you find this better in some way, the way some prefer soccer to basketball. But maybe you also ate french fries instead of freedom fries the day after 9/11. Oui, comrade?

6. PIGS GIVE AWAY YOUR SECRETS. Mushroom sites are top secret,

and it’s pretty hard to hide what you’re doing when you drag a goddamn hog into the woods, Lefevre notes, as there’s no other reason to have a hog in the woods. And then you know what happens to your prime spot? It gets scoped, and meth-addled biker gangs with rakes roll up on your plot and till the ground and take truffles whether they’re ripe or not. “I have a site, rakers go in there and they rake the hell out of the place,” May says. “It looks like they’ve gone in with rototillers.” Goddamn rakers. Goddamn pigs giving away the game. Use dogs. Dogs are your friend. GO: The Oregon Truffle Festival takes place Jan. 15-24. Details available at oregontrufflefestival.com. There will be a truffle hunt with dogs Jan. 17 in Yamhill County, and a truffle-dog competition, the Joriad, on Jan. 21 in Eugene.

J E N WA N G

WILLAMETTE WEEK

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK IN ARTS & CULTURE

WEDNESDAY JAN. 14 TOPE [HIP-HOP] Tope is the rapper next door—the kind of down-to-earth dude you end up having a conversation with on the MAX or at the coﬀee shop—a quality that, along with his dogged promotional skills, has made him Portland’s most visible hip-hop artist. Tonight, he celebrates the release of his new album, Broke Boy Syndrome. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 2397639. 8:30 pm. $7. 21+.

THURSDAY JAN. 15 AVIARY VEGGIE TAKEOVER [FOOD] A place known for chicken skin and pig ears goes full vegetarian for one night, with a sevencourse dinner that includes silken tofu with hot bean paste and cantaloupe, chawanmushi custard with gingko nuts and wood ear mushrooms, and chanterelle ravioli. Aviary, 1733 NE Alberta St., 2872400, aviarypdx.com. 5-10 pm. $45.

FRIDAY JAN. 16 THE SNOWSTORM [THEATER] In this original piece [THEATER of dance theater—inspired by an Alexander Pushkin story about a woman left at the altar during a snowstorm—pianist Eric Nordin plays Rachmaninoﬀ as an eightmember cast performs a tale of loss and romance in 19th-century Russia. CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 220-2646. 7:30 pm. $15-$25. MAGIC SWORD [HEAVY ELECTRO] Who are these masked druids, last seen in Portland going rogue during MusicfestNW? Beats us. All we really know is the two-person production crew plays epic sci-ﬁ electro-pop that sounds something like John Carpenter producing the next Justice album, and that’s good enough for us. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 2319663. 9 pm. $10. 21+.

SATURDAY JAN. 17 HOMER GROENING RETROSPECTIVE [MOVIES [MOVIES] Homer Groening wasn’t just the namesake for everyone’s favorite doughnut-loving dad—he was also a (doughnut-loving) ﬁlmmaker, producing everything from commercials for Timberline Lodge to experimental shorts about water. Catch a selection of his short ﬁlms tonight, introduced by legendary animator Bill Plympton. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. 7 pm. $12-$15.

SUNDAY JAN. 18 MIC CRENSHAW, MAZE KOROMA, GRAPE GOD [RAP GENERATION GAP] The Know wraps up its 10-day anniversary party with artists from Portland rap’s old and new school, all three of whom are bonded by radical creativity more than anything else. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., 4738729. 8 pm. $5. 21+. Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

Monday–Saturday 4–6pm & 8pm–close

• BREAKING NEWS • GEO-LOCATING BAR AND RESTAURANT REVIEWS • CITY GUIDES

TIO PA

FOOD & DRINK = WW Pick. Highly recommended. By MATTHEW KORFHAGE. Editor: MARTIN CIZMAR. Email: dish@wweek. com. See page 3 for submission instructions.

THURSDAY, JAN. 15 Oregon Truffle Festival Walk-Up Window 11am - 2pm

La Calaca Comelona 2304 SE Belmont | 503-239-9675 4-10pm Mon–Sat

Friday’s $165 dinner at the Forestry Center features truffle dishes from the likes of Elias Cairo and Gregory Gourdet, while the $550 weekend package includes a truffle hunt with a hound. See oregontrufflefestival. com for a full schedule of events.

Aviary Vegetable Takeover

The often ﬂesh-happy restaurant— chicken-skin salad and pig ears, anyone?—will oﬀer a seven-course all-vegetarian meal with inventive takes on veggie salad, leek soup, silken tofu with hot bean paste and cantaloupe, chawanmushi custard with gingko nuts and wood ear mushrooms, and chanterelle ravioli. Aviary, 1733 NE Alberta St., 287-2400. 5-10 pm. $45.

SATURDAY, JAN. 17 Go Shuck Yourself!

Jaret Foster of Oyster Social will teach patrons at swanky bubbly bar Ambonnay to shuck their own oysters. Apparently lessons involving knives pair well with Champagne, and so the fee includes three glasses of sparkling wine. Ambonnay, 107 SE Washington St., 575-4861. 3-5 pm. $65.

SUNDAY, JAN. 18 Northwest/Northeast Dinner

After a raw-oyster reception, Urban Farmer chef Matt Christianson will team up with a chef from Boston for a culinary version of West Side Story. Each course has a dish from each coast. So West Side brings the heavy Dungeness crab and truffles, and East Side rolls in hard with the baked stuffed lobster. Word. Urban Farmer Restaurant, 525 SW Morrison St., 8th floor, 222-4900. 6 pm. $80.

Where to eat this week. 1. HK Cafe 4410 SE 82nd Ave., 771-8866. “Now you know where to go for Chinese food and u will come back soon because quality and price is best in town,” their Facebook says. This is all 100 percent true. $. 2. Muscadine 1465 NE Prescott St., 841-5576, muscadinepdx@gmail.com. The cochon is a brilliant take on pulled pork: a meat-stuﬀed fritter with slaw and that beautiful tomatovinegar-mustard Appalachian North Carolina sauce. Perfect. $. 3. Trifecta 726 SE 6th Ave., 841-6675, trifectapdx.com. Trifecta has perhaps the best upscale happy hour in town, with a $10 decadent pimento double cheeseburger on fresh ciabatta. $$. 4. Umai Southeast 33rd Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard, 502-4428, umaipdx.com. This ramen cart mixes salt broth with tender pulled pork to create a light-headed ecstasy amid probable brain dehydration. $. 5. Eb & Bean 1425 NE Broadway, 281-6081, ebandbean.com. Get cocoa-rich froyo with cold-brew coﬀee and bourbon sauce, whipped cream and butterscotch crumbles. $.

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Happy Hour

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

NEWARK STYLE: American wit’.

MONK’S DELI Nobody ever thinks of Delaware when they say “cheesesteak.” Forgive them—they don’t know nothing. The Mid-Atlantic’s bestloved sandwich travels downstream on the Pepsi-sugared waters of the mighty Delaware River, down the valley from Philadelphia through Camden, N.J., where Walt Whitman died, and into Wilmington and Newark. A guy rolled up to Monk’s Deli food cart with the words “Newark, Delaware,” and sandwich slinger Andrew Heckcrote gave him a buck off, just for knowing what’s what. Because that’s where he’s from. The cheesesteak comes on appropriately rubbery Italian hoagie bread, complete with neon-orange Whiz ($8.50) if that’s who you are. Instead, get it with white American cheese ($8) that’s melted until you can hardly see it. The steak just looks like a pile of wet Order this: American wit’ shredded beef and fried onions (wit’ is and some tots. a default here) until you bite into goopy I’ll pass: The Cubano’s a distraction. American richness, with more umami per square inch than MSG and ketchup combined. The presentation is strictly old-school minimalist, and the meat tastes like the grill itself, like something you should be getting from a bodega no bigger than the cart after six Yuenglings and a Bud Light. Which is to say, it’s heaven. Sure there’s a serviceable pressed and seared Cubano ($9) that’s basically a hammed-up grilled cheese with pickles and mustard. There’s also a nice version of that great South Philly special, a pork tenderloin ($8.50) loaded with earthy broccoli rabe greens (although he is currently subbing spinach). Still, each of these sandwiches has a rendition you might better get elsewhere in the neighborhood, at Hawthorne’s El Cubo de Cuba or Stark Street’s Italian Market, respectively. But at Monk’s, the cheesesteak stands alone. MATTHEW KORFHAGE. EAT: Monk’s Deli, Southeast 43rd Avenue and Belmont Street, 302-545-0708. 11:30 am-8 pm Wednesday-Monday.

DRANK

HOP-A-WHEELIE (BONEYARD) We’re witnessing the extinction of the Oregon pine. Not long ago, Northwestern IPAs were just as likely to have green, resiny flavors as citrusy bite. In the last year, the most talkedabout new IPAs (Lompoc’s Pamplemousse, Coalition’s Space Fruit) have gone fruity, with citrus-forward hops and, sometimes, juicy adjuncts. Now, even Bend’s Boneyard has a brighter, lighter new IPA. Hop-a-Wheelie is actually bigger than the brewery’s flagship RPM, weighing in at a borderline-Imperial 7.5 percent ABV. But you’d never guess that from the Pilsner-light body, which comes from nothing but pale malt. Wheelie gets four hops—Centennial, CTZ, Bravo and Cascade—and more dry-hopping than RPM. Those Cascades are Oregon-grown on Crosby Hop Farm, and have a lighter, more delicate flavor than their acidic cousins from the high desert of Yakima. I’m not one to geek out on head retention or “lacing,” but it’s hard not to take notice of the pretty marshmallow of froth on top of my pint from Saraveza. Wheelie’s flavor is lightly sweet and citrusy, like lemon water and peach fuzz. Recommended. MARTIN CIZMAR.

FOOD & DRINK JASON DeSOMER

REVIEW

PLATO BUENO: Pollo Norte’s chicken, pinto beans and coleslaw.

THE RECONQUISTA POLLO NORTE AND STELLA TACO BRING EXCELLENT REGIONAL MEXICAN. BY M A RT I N C I Z M A R

mcizmar@wweek.com

I blame the Adams-Onís Treaty. In 1819, Ferdinand VII agreed to sever the Viceroyalty of New Spain at the 42nd parallel. Instead of the stock that settled Yerba Buena, Oregon got the Brits. And so, 196 years later, it remains difficult to obtain satisfactory Mexican cuisine at the conflux of the Rio de San Roque and the Willamette. Well, it’s getting better. Portland has a handful of excellent working-class taquerias (Santa Cruz, Chavez, Taqueria Portland) and a few excellent upscale Mexican restaurants, including Nuestra Cocina amd Taqueria Nueve. Mi Mero Mole is sopping tortillas with authentic guisados. Even Montavilla will soon have highend Baja Californian fare. And Northeast has just been blessed with two ambitious new Mexican spots offering up a regional twist. Beyond tortillas and proximity, there’s no obvious tie between Stella Taco and Pollo Norte. But look closer and you’ll note that Cully’s bodega-sized rotisserie chicken restaurant and the airy, modern taqueria on Alberta both get good mileage from dishes that start to become more common just three degrees south of here. Norte is the runaway hit, already selling out of birds before dinner hours and inspiring a deafening have you been? whisper chorus. With different spices and sides, spit-roasted chickens are popular throughout Latin America and locally represented by downtown Gresham’s Pollos a la Brasa el Inka, which makes a killer Peruvian version paired with a rainbow of that nation’s unique salsas. No, Norte’s birds aren’t as good as El Inka’s— yet. That might be because they’re being pulled off the imported Valmex rotisserie before the skin can get a nice toasty crunch. Norte’s birds get a light coat of nutty achiote powder, lime juice, chili powder and sea salt, seasonings that sit lightly on the skin while birds ($18 for a whole bird cut into eight chunks, $24 with two sides) leak their juices onto a bed of leafy cabbage that cooks under the rotating grill, collecting the drip-

pings as the birds slowly spin over gas. As in Mexico, the chicken is to be pulled apart and made into little tacos, and Norte serves up its own housemade rustic corn tortillas, thick with rough edges and nice lines of crust from the press. Grab a michelada (an extra $1 with any beer, but stick to $2.50 Tecate tallboys) and liberally apply the bright tomatillo and you’re pretty much set. Side-wise, you want frijoles charros and the coleslaw. The bowl of charros is a hearty stew of plump pintos and shredded pork shoulder with a kiss of chili heat. The coleslaw is my new favorite in town, crunchy cabbage with lime juice, cilantro and red onion. Down on Alberta, in a bright space with high stools and a children’s table stocked with crayons, sits Stella. The menu they’ve Sharpied onto white paper is massive by comparison, running from classic lengua ($3 taco) and chile colorado ($2.50 taco, $7 torta) to vegetarian fried avocado and vegan mole (both $2.75 tacos). Everything I’ve had is solid—recipes seemingly have a home cook’s singular perspective, usually heavy on favored ingredients and light on others—though the real gems are the dishes rooted in the owners’ hometown of El Paso. Breakfast tacos alone are a reason to go. Texas-style brunch comes on corn, and Stella has three offerings available until 3 pm. The first and best comes from Chihuahua, stringy machacastyle beef ($3) with scrambled eggs and soft white cheese. A spicy housemade chorizo ($3) taco with earthy grilled green onions, eggs and crispy little potato sticks is also wonderful. If you’ve been under the weather, go for the muy rica posole ($9.50 with a mini cheese quesadilla), which I’ll credit with shaving a few days off a recent cold. The soup is stuffed with plump hominy and stewy shredded pork, each spoonful of broth swimming with flecks of spice. There are two other must-tries, both of which are addictively spicy. First is the horchata, a cinnamon bomb with Big Red bite, served on rocks in a pint glass. The other is the special extra-spicy hot sauce. You have to specifically request that little squirt bottle, a pistachio-green concoction that packs blinding heat. It’s certainly the spiciest thing I’ve ever come across in a Portland Mexican restaurant—blame Ferdinand. EAT: Pollo Norte, 5427 NE 42nd Ave., 2870669, pollonorte.com. Stella Taco, 2940 NE Alberta St., 971-407-3705, stellatacopdx.com. Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

THE BATTLE FOR THE WILLAMETTE

SLEATER-KINNEY AND THE DECEMBERISTS ARE RELEASING ALBUMS ON THE SAME DAY. WHO YA GOT?

JOHN CLARK, COURTESY OF SUB POP

MUSIC

PREVIOUS RELEASE SLEATER-KINNEY: 2005’s The Woods, which rendered riot grrrl as classic rock so explosive it’s no wonder the band needed a full decade to recover. THE DECEMBERISTS: 2011’s The King Is Dead, which for longtime fans came off as just another Decemberists record but ended up launching the band to the top of the Billboard charts and earning them an invite to the Grammys.

PRE-RELEASE PROMOTION BY M AT T H E W S I N G E R

msinger@wweek.com

Blur vs. Oasis. Jay Z vs. Nas. Mark Kozelek vs. everybody. Now, Portland finally has a pop feud of its own: Carrie vs. Colin. Granted, this beef started by sheer coincidence, when Sleater-Kinney and the Decemberists both decided to release long-awaited new albums on Jan. 20, and the participants are much too polite to fire invective at each other through Twitter and magazine articles. But c’mon, how often do two of the biggest bands in our area code put out records on the same day? So just allow us in the media to blow this up into a localized version of the Kanye West-50 Cent sales war of 2007, OK? Admittedly, it’s easy to predict how this particular competition will play out: Sleater-Kinney’s No Cities to Love will earn more critical attention, the Decemberists’ What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World will move more units. But which album is actually better? Here’s the tale of the tape.

SLEATER-KINNEY: Sub Pop stashed copies of the band’s new single in a remastered box set, then announced the reunion, album and tour a few days later. THE DECEMBERISTS: Colin Meloy “busked” on a street corner in Williamsburg, performing new songs in front of a mural of the cover art.

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS SLEATER-KINNEY: Miranda July appears in the “Bury Our Friends” video, wearing a creepy mask and doing whatever it is Miranda July does. THE DECEMBERISTS: Nick “Ron Swanson” Offerman, sporting a turtleneck and a German accent, appears in the “Make You Better” video as a lovesick ’70s variety-show host.

OPENING SONG SLEATER-KINNEY: Revisiting one of the themes of 2002’s One Beat, “Price Tag” finds Corin Tucker in a domestic panic, struggling to raise a family in a time of no good jobs. Alarms buzz, eggs are scrambled, drums skitter, the devil lingers and the coda brings the thunder. THE DECEMBERISTS: Like Eminem’s “Stan,” if Em rhymed “bridal processional” with “televised confessional,” “The Singer Addresses His Audience” ponders the relationship between fan and artist once a band’s been around long enough to cede ownership of itself to the public. The tone is apologetic, though it’s mostly satirical, unless the Decemberists have a shampoo commercial coming out soon.

AUTUMN DEWILDE

CLOSING SONG SLEATER-KINNEY: “Fade,” a lighters-up, arena-worthy finale—which, with lyrics about dimming spotlights, swan songs and enjoying the moment, suggests the band might not be back to stay. THE DECEMBERISTS: “A Beginning Song,” a big,

hopeful send-off that ends with Colin Meloy being enveloped in light and strings, and is probably playing over the credits of a romantic indie drama already.

OTHER KEY TRACKS SLEATER-KINNEY:

“Bury Our Friends” announced the return of Sleater-Kinney with a Valhallan Carrie Brownstein riff and burly Janet Weiss stomp, and remains powerful enough to peel your wig back even after the shock of hearing a new Sleater-Kinney song has subsided. “A New Wave” rides live-wire guitars, an appropriately pogoing rhythm and great harmonizing from Brownstein and Tucker. The title track, meanwhile, contains the album’s most anthemic chorus (and that’s saying something), which, in the aftermath of Barmageddon, should help reassure Portland that buildings aren’t what make a city great, it’s the people inside them (and the weather, too). THE DECEMBERISTS: The sweet jangle and gentle chug of “Make You Better” is unassuming to the point of inducing drowsiness, but the melody has a sneaky way of burrowing into the part of your brain that makes you hum things without even realizing it. By contrast, “Cavalry Captain” bounds along with soulful buoyancy, powered by an instantly hooky trumpet line. “Till the Water’s All Long Gone” is a moody, slow-rolling tumbleweed of border-town blues. And the sparse, harmonica-tinged “12/17/12,” from which the album gets its name, is a subtly crushing rumination on grief and joy, inspired by a speech given by President Obama in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

WORST SONG SLEATER-KINNEY: There isn’t much fat among these 10 tracks, but the terse “Gimme Love” feels like a bridge into “Bury Our Friends” rather than a song meant to stand on its own. THE DECEMBERISTS: At a solo show last year, Meloy

assured the crowd that the ballad “Philomena” was written before the Judi Dench film of the same name, but just try getting her out of your head as he sings, “Open up your linen lap and let me go down.”

OVERALL ASSESSMENT SLEATER-KINNEY: Don’t call it a comeback, a return

to form or any other cliché typically applied to reunion albums. This is how Sleater-Kinney would have evolved without the decadelong hiatus, with its songwriting, ambition and passion not only intact but heightened.

THE DECEMBERISTS: After enduring a crisis of identity

on 2009’s prog-rock excursion The Hazards of Love, the Decemberists appear to have settled comfortably into inhabiting their adult-alternative niche. No one is going to be converted by anything here, but the previously initiated will hardly be let down.

HEAR IT: No Cities to Love and What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World are out Tuesday, Jan. 20. Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

MUSIC

jan. 14–20

= WW Pick. Highly recommended.

PROFILE

tonY AnDREWS

Prices listed are sometimes for advance ticket sales. At-the-door increases and so-called convenience charges may apply. Event lineups are subject to change after WW’s press deadlines. Editor: MAttHEW SInGER. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, go to wweek.com/submitevents and follow submission directions. All shows should be submitted two weeks or more in advance of event. Press kits, cDs and especially vinyl can be sent to Music Desk, WW, 2220 nW Quimby St., Portland, oR 97210. Please include show or release date information with all physical mailings. Email: msinger@wweek.com. Fax: 243-1115.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14 An Evening with Nels Cline and Julian Lage

[DAD JAZZ] Wilco fans may find the idea of nels cline’s abilities being “dangerous” a bit silly, but the free-jazz-noodler world thinks just that of the chicago-based axe man. Beyond the dulcet tones and understated fretwork cline has added to Wilco’s records of the past decade is a twisting, knotted world of gnarly improvisation and classical compositions alike. With the young jazz shredder Julian Lage at his side, expect fireworks. PEtE cottELL. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 8pm. $16 advance, $18 day of show. 21+.

The Know’s 10th Anniversary: The Estranged, Divers, Lunch

[UP tHE PUnX] As the dust settles on Barmageddeon 2014, it’s time to pick ourselves up, tell the people close to us that we love them, and keep on living. there’s no better way to do all three than the Know’s 10-year anniversary celebration, which runs through Jan. 18. tonight’s bill is a stacked lineup of Portland punk’s heavy-hitters. Headliners the Estranged formed out of the ashes of crust outfit Remains of the Day in 2007, turning out post-punk tunes reminiscent of Stumptown legends the Wipers. In the supporting slots are Lunch and the ever-anthemic Divers, both of which will be releasing albums this year. JAMES HELMSWoRtH. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., 4738729. 8 pm. $5. 21+.

THURSDAY, JAN. 15 Rustie, Nadus

[cRYStAL MAXIMALISM] there is nothing subtle in the world of Rustie. the Scottish producer makes hyper, flashy electronic music, neon bursts of post-dubstep augmented with synthesizers that gleam brighter than city lights. All of which makes the innocuous bird song and brief guitar riff that lead off “A Glimpse,” the second song of his new record Green Language, that much more jarring. But dude obviously knows what he’s doing, and “A Glimpse” is just that—an intentional quick left turn before the sense-numbing attack of “Raptor” knocks you into an alien world filled towering crystal castles, twisted trap drums, and a titanic drrrrroooooppppp sick enough to justify all those kids still rocking Skrillex hair. MIcHAEL MAnnHEIMER. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 236-7639. 9 pm. $12. 21+.

Slutty Hearts, Suicide Notes, the Rotties

[nEWESt WAVE] Full disclosure: Slutty Hearts features WW’s own Dr. Know, Marty Smith, on guitar. But even before he was answering your questions about poop in the Willamette and floating brothels,

cont. on page 36 34

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

MAGIC SWORD FRIDAY, JAN. 16 Last year, on a balmy night in mid-August, a trailer rolled up in Old Town carrying a bunch of gear and two masked men in full-length druid cloaks. Signs posted on walls and telephone poles around town, emblazoned with a cryptic message that included the date and an illustration of a medieval weapon, had prophesied the arrival of a group named Magic Sword. Those in the know tracked the duo’s movements via social media as it traveled from its hometown of Boise to Portland. It was a sight to behold: two Ghosts of Christmas Future cloaked in LED masks, playing heavy-metal electronica by way of a nostalgic gamer. While the members of Magic Sword prefer to maintain their anonymity—its founding member prefers to be referred to only as “the Keeper”—he is fairly forthcoming when it comes to the origin of the project. It began, rather innocuously, on a retreat in Washington. “It was like this 10-day thing where you take a vow of silence and just meditate all day,” the Keeper says. On the seventh or eighth day, he experienced an “epiphany,” visualizing a blueprint for not just the band’s sound but its look and mythology, which extends to its albums and accompanying comic books. While it might be easy to pigeonhole the group as a gimmicky theater troupe, between the Keeper and his partner, the Seeker, Magic Sword comprises years of industry toil, from DJ and production gigs to time spent in several other bands. The costumes, the Keeper admits, were just a fun afterthought that stuck. Magic Sword’s debut record, Volume One, does a couple of things brilliantly. First, it proves the band’s ability, embracing ’80s movie soundtracks, electro-rock warriors such as Ratatat and metal masters like Dio in equal measure. It also demonstrates the band’s awareness of its own hyperbolic creation. “We’ve got a couple mottoes, but one of them is like, ‘Let’s take it to the point where it’s just way too cheesy, and then just pull it back slightly,’” the Keeper says. That near overindulgence can be heard in the colossal EDM builds and ghostly effects of “Only Way In” and the cinematically eerie “In the Face of Evil.” This is a band that likes to throw on old movies, hit the mute button and compose its own score. “I think we try to make everything seem a little bigger than it is,” the Keeper says. It’s also a band with a short but growing history of pop-up performances. Last October, Magic Sword played five action-packed minutes in downtown Boise before getting shut down by the cops. There are more shows like this in the works, the band says, planned to take place between the recording of its second album and an East Coast tour. Throughout, the plan remains to be over the top in presentation, but not so much that it becomes overbearing. “We don’t pull up on the trailer with signs that say, ‘Magic Sword: Follow Us on Facebook!’” the Keeper says. “It’s more like, you see an image of the sword, and if you feel you want to search us out, then that’s great. And if you don’t, maybe you’ll catch us next time. And I like it when we pull away and people are like, ‘What the hell was that?’” MARK STOCK. Who are those masked men?

SEE IT: Magic Sword plays Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., with copy and cuff Lynx, on Friday, Jan. 16. 9 pm. $10. 21+.

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

thursday–tuesday/classical, etc.

C O U R T E S Y O F WA R P R E C O R D S

MUSIC

Big Haunt, Old Wave, Luz Elena Mendoza

rustie never sleeps: rustie plays Holocene on thursday, Jan. 15. Smith was playing alongside singer Marisa Laurelle in this project that’s gradually evolved from cabaret to twee-pop to garage rock. The Hearts’ latest album, No-Tell Motel, is a jumpy collection of keyboardsparked, ‘80s-gazing new-wave with a dark underbelly and hooks galore, and you can get it at tonight’s show on an era-appropriate cassette tape. Sandy Hut, 1430 NE Sandy Blvd., 235-7972. 9 pm. $5. 21+.

The Know’s 10th Anniversary: Danava, Fell Woods, Holy Grove

[ROCK DEMONS] And on the seventh day of the Know’s 10thanniversary celebration, no one rested at all, for a rock-’n’-roll demon known as Davana unleashed its volcanic rock upon the huddled masses crowded into the tiny showroom full of steam, sweat and beer. NATHAN CARSON. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., 473-8729. 8 pm. $7. 21+.

FRIDAY, JAN. 16 Tom Paxton, Kate Power and Steve Einhorn

JAIME LEOPOLD & THE SHORT STORIES RECORD RELEASE EVENT

Saturday, January 17th at 3PM Jaime Leopold spent his early years in the Haight-Ashbury as a part of the youth culture movement; rubbing shoulders with Allen Ginsburg, Neal Cassady, Jerry Garcia to name a few. Formerly the bass player with Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Jaime formed The Short Stories four years ago. ‘Live at O’Connors’ is the new record.

Wednesday, January 21st at 6PM

THE HILL DOGS

The Hill Dogs have been serving up their own unique blend of Folk Rock since forming in Newberg, Oregon in late 2010. Having self-released their 15-song debut album “Ghosts of Champoeg” in March 2013, The Hill Dogs are ready to share a newly collected batch of songs with the world. “Hang in There” is the new record.

BARBARA LUSCH Saturday, January 24th at 3PM Barbara Lusch has a unique and compelling way with a song that goes straight to your heart. She is an interpreter of both jazz and pop, with a gorgeous vocal instrument that recalls singers such as Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, and Doris Day. Her new recording, “Rock Me Sweet”, is a surprising and magnetic reinterpretation of some of the best loved rock anthems of the 80’s.

[TALKIN’ FOLK] Rhyming “Johnson” with “escalation” isn’t something that occurs to most writers, but Tom Paxton isn’t just another folkie. The singer-songwriter was around in Greenwich Village during the 1960s and hasn’t relented in his quest to even the score between average Americans and the forces of government and exploitative business. Fifty-eight years after the release of his first album— I’m the Man That Built the Bridges was reissued in 2014—it should be difficult to remain a significant anti-establishment voice, Paxton’s voice and message still resonates as strongly today. DAVE CANTOR. Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., 7196055. 7:30 pm. $28-$45. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian.

Tennis, the Shilohs

[INDIE POP] Husband-and-wife duo Tennis has been responsible for producing exceedingly precious indie pop since Cape Dory was released in 2011. It’s only since 2013 EP Small Sound, however, that the Denver duo has really found its footing. Newest record Ritual in Repeat, produced by Jim Eno (Spoon), echoes this trend of growing confidence and sound. Tennis’ infectious but often repetitive early melodies have taken on extra depth through varied pacing, added electronic layers, improved guitar hooks and more percussion. MARK STOCK. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 2848686. 7:30 pm. $14 advance, $15 day of show. Tickets from postponed Oct. 22 show will be honored. All ages.

SATURDAY, JAN. 17 Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express, the Parson Redheads

[NOR-CAL ALT-ROCK] Chuck Prophet loves his Bay Area home so much he once agreed to do a series of gigs at San Francisco International Airport. The alt-rocker

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

pays homage to his native California like Lou Reed did New York, with a fondness for what lies beneath the surface of a big, vibrant city. Prophet’s latest record, Night Surfer, is a bit bigger than his past efforts, fit with strings and brass, but maintains Prophet’s core inclusion of British Invasion and alt-country elements. MARK STOCK. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 2319663. 9 pm. $13 advance, $15 day of show. 21+.

Trick Sensei, Fells Acres, Atlas and the Astronaut

[GARAGE BLEND] Tonight, Trick Sensei releases its new set of songs, No Mesmerizer, the latest local record to open with a beach-rock track off a Quentin Tarantino film soundtrack and end with Pavementlike vocals and prominent finger cymbals. The songs in between are at points reminiscent of the Cold War Kids, at others 1980s theremin rock. If that amalgamation of sounds doesn’t pique your interest, then perhaps Portland garage rock isn’t for you. PARKER HALL. Kenton Club, 2025 N Kilpatrick St., 2853718. 9 pm. Free. 21+.

The Know’s 10th Anniversary: Paul Collins Beat, Mean Jeans, the Rich Hands, Psychomagic

[POP PUNK] If you need proof of Paul Collins’ legacy, look no further than the other bands on the bill: Mean Jeans and the Rich Hands owe a lot to Collins and his late-’70s power-pop contemporaries, and even Psychomagic’s lighthearted psychedelic punk is indebted to Collins more than aggro strands of punk. SHANNON GORMLEY. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., 4738729. 8 pm. $8. 21+.

Chung Antique, Dovecotes, Moon Debris

[INDIE POP] Humdrum, the new album from Dovecotes, is among the first fantastic Portland records to come from a relatively unknown act in 2015. With a gentle Dirty Projectors-like vocal style but less aggressive rhythmic hooks, Dovecotes meander rather than rocket into the musical cosmos. They play tonight with Seattle postrock trio Chung Antique and fellow locals Moon Debris. PARKER HALL. Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth St., 284-6019. 8 pm. $5. 21+.

SUNDAY, JAN. 18 Charts, LiquidLight, Autonomics

[GIMME INDIE ROCK] Though Charts, the prom-pop trio that’s become one of Portland’s more underrated bands, is the deserved headliner here, the cause for celebration is the release of the new EP from LiquidLight, whose harmonic psych-pop has taken a significant leap forward since 2012’s seven-song debut. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 236-7639. 8:30 pm. $6. 21+.

[SPOOKY FOLK] Local three-piece Big Haunt’s new EP, Immolations, is as eerie as the name suggests. The tracks are thick with beautiful, delicate darkness, formed by layers of chilling three-part harmonies and rolling clouds of atmospheric guitar. Meanwhile, pop quartet Old Wave—formerly known as the Adam Brock 4—are set to debut some new tunes at this show as well. “Indian Summer” is sure to break up Big Haunt’s darkness with a bright beam of synthy, harmony-driven sunshine, as bright and playful as Big Haunt is foggy and doomy. KAITIE TODD. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 9 pm. $5. 21+.

The Know’s 10th Anniversary: Mic Crenshaw, Maze Koroma, Grape God

[HIP-HOP] One of Portland hiphop’s grizzled vets, Mic Crenshaw, meets two of its trippiest newcomers, Maze Koroma and Grape God. All three are bonded by a deep sense of radical creativity, making this an ideal bill to bring the Know’s 10th-anniversary week to a close. MATTHEW SINGER. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., 473-8729. 8 pm. $5. 21+.

TUESDAY, JAN. 20 Patti Smith

[PUNK POET] At 68, the Godmother of New York Punk is showing no signs of slowing down. When your résumé reads like a best-case scenario for being a human, getting older doesn’t change a thing. The iconic best-selling author, Hall of Fame inductee and institution will play to a packed house, and I’d bring roses to try and chuck up there, not only as a gesture of adoration, but so you can tell your kids you did when you’re her age. CRIS LANKENAU. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 225-0047. 8:30 pm. Sold out. All ages.

CLASSICAL, JAZZ & WORLD ARCO-PDX

[ROCKIN’ THE CLASSICS] Last year, Amplified Repertory Chamber Orchestra of Portland’s electrifying debut concert showed that classical music doesn’t have to be boring. ARCO-PDX brings classical music into the 21st century by performing in rock clubs and using stage presentation techniques common to rock ’n’ roll for decades. Like rockers, the musicians also memorize their scores, keeping them from being separated from the audience by security-blanket music stands, just like historians tell us the composer of three concertos on this program, the charismatic Tony Vivaldi, did when he was dazzling Venetians with his shredding solos. BRETT CAMPBELL. Refuge, 116 SE Yamhill St. 8 pm Saturday, Jan. 17. Sliding-scale donation. 21+.

Yuval Ron Trio

[MIDDLE EASTERN] Oud player and singer Yuval Ron sees music as a way to bridge cultural divides, so he’s worked with Bedouins, preserved sacred music of Andalusian Jews, Yemenis and Moroccans. This concert of Moroccan, Yemenite and Hebrew devotional music shows how spiritual music traditions can not only peacefully coexist but also make a satisfying whole. Ron will be joined by Portland world-music percussionist David Reihs, dancer Jane Archer, and singer Maya Haddi. BRETT CAMPBELL. Euphoria Studios, 1235 SE Division St., 2307784. 8 pm Sunday, Jan. 18. $5 advance, $20 day of show. All ages.

For more Music listings, visit

MUSIC ALBUM REVIEWS

JANUARY CLEARANC E S ALE

TOPE BROKE BOY SYNDROME (SELF-RELEASED)

STOREWIDE 10-50% OFF!

[RAP CONVO] Tope is Portland’s rappernext-door. He isn’t an abstract word-scrambler, political activist or LARPing gangsta but the guy you fall into conversation with on MAX or in the coffee shop. That rare personableness has helped make Tope the city’s most visible MC, and with each release, the image of the skinny kid born Anthony Anderson comes more into focus. Broke Boy Syndrome, his third full-length, is grounded in a familiar hip-hop narrative, of how growing up with nothing shaped him and sharpened his grind. But Tope fills it with enough personal details to make the theme resonate anew. “I remember when my mama got them lights cut off/And the church came through with that food in the box,” he recalls over the title track’s splashy cymbals and organ. An unabashed nostalgist, Tope throws his reedy flow over the “Funky Drummer” break, samples Biggie’s “more money, more problems” interview and, on the inspirational “UCouldDo,” borrows a line from Nas, declaring, “The world is yours.” But those reference aren’t meant as clickbait for ’90s babies. They’re the building blocks of his life, a story he’s telling one album at a time. MATTHEW SINGER.

Birch Bookcase 32”W 84”H 12”D Reg $26395

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CRAIG CAROTHERS 1/30 SHOOK TWINS 2/27 BODYVOX-2 3/13 CHRIS SMITHER 4/10 Purchase tickets at brownpapertickets.com or at the Walters box office 527 E Main St. Hillsboro, OR 503-615-3485

503-284-0655 • NE Broadway-open 7 days

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For a full concert listing visit us online at www.Hillsboro-oregon.gov/Walters

SEE IT: Tope plays Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., with Illmaculate, Thaddeus David, Blossom and Verbz, on Wednesday, Jan. 14. 8:30 pm. $7. 21+.

AND AND AND THE FAILURE (PARTY DAMAGE) [THE NEW WORKING CLASS] Technically, The Failure is billed as And And And’s official debut full-length, but anyone following the local music scene since 2010 has probably heard at least a few recorded songs; there were more than 50 out there. This is a different band now, though. Co-songwriter Tyler Keene left to focus on his excellent Log Across the Washer project in 2011, and I can’t help but miss his urgent, punch-drunk missives. What’s left behind is less unique but still undeniable. On first listen, I was taken aback by how heavy the record is—the breezy, shout-along pop is gone, replaced by distorted power chords and the furious pounding of drummer Bim Ditson. The Failure carries on the great tradition of molten, midtempo Northwest indie rock—think Mudhoney with the occasional trumpet flourish, or Modest Mouse minus the nervous tic. The 10 songs here, from the galloping “A Real Case of the Blues” to the majestic closer, “Losing Team,” offer encouraging new signs of life. The Failure is more of a reimagination, and one that hints at promising things in the future. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. SEE IT: And And And plays Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., with Hosannas and Ah God, on Thursday, Jan. 15. 9 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.

EZZA ROSE WHEN THE WATER’S HOT (SELF-RELEASED) [PLUGGED -IN FOLK] If Ezza Rose’s dreamy, delicate vocals weren’t so recognizable, one might not realize that her latest album, When the Water’s Hot, is the product of the folk songstress who’s been playing across Portland for the past eight years. Her music, previously built on gentle, minimalist melodies and eerie harmonies, takes a different tone on her new LP. More electrified and slightly more ominous than the simple, lilting sound she previously established, this is Rose at her best so far. Highlights come in the laid-back, doo-wop swing of “Tie Me Up,” the rolling electric guitar on “Under Your Teeth” and the deep, scissoring cello that breaks up the easy flow of “Sailboat Land.” Standout track “Amelie” brings back the vibes of her previous album, Poolside, which she recorded in an abandoned hotel pool—only this time, her gentle sparseness is enlivened by rich punches of instrumentation and creates a striking mixture of Rose’s past, present and possible future. KAITIE TODD. SEE IT: Ezza Rose plays Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Nick Jaina and Water Tower, on Saturday, Jan. 17. 9 pm. $10. 21+.

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

MUSIC CALENDAR

[JAN. 14 - 20] Branx

= ww Pick. Highly recommended. Editor: Mitch Lillie. TO HAVE YOUR EVENT LISTED, send show information at least two weeks in advance on the web at wweek.com/submitevents. Press kits, CDs and especially vinyl can be sent to Music Desk, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Please include show or release date information with all physical mailings. Email: music@wweek.com.

320 SE 2nd Ave. No Vacancy 012: The Bixel Boys

Clyde’s Prime Rib Restaurant & Bar

LAST WEEK LIVE

dante’s

8 NE Killingsworth St. Post Moves, Little Star, Jeremy Lee Faulkner

RACHELLE HACMAC

350 W Burnside St KD & The Hurt, Major Love Event & Chris McFarland

doug Fir Lounge

830 E Burnside St. Magic Sword

duff’s Garage

2530 NE 82nd Ave Kevin Selfe and the Tornadoes Big Band

edgefield

2126 SW Halsey St. Sloan Martin (of Steelhead)

Hawthorne Theatre

wed. Jan. 14 al’s den

303 SW 12th Ave. Bird Courage

Blue diamond

2016 NE Sandy Blvd. The Fenix Project

Boon’s Treasury

888 Liberty St. NE The Folly

Cadigan’s Corner Bar

LaurelThirst Public House

2958 NE Glisan St. Dust & Thirst, Darlin’ Blackbirds, the Backsliders (9 pm); The Student Loan

Mississippi Studios 3939 N Mississippi Ave. Cline & Julian Lage

The Know

5501 SE 72nd Ave. Danny Hay Davis & The Rat Pack

2026 NE Alberta St. The Know’s 10th Anniversary: The Estranged, Divers, Lunch

dante’s

white eagle Saloon

350 W Burnside St The Small Axe Ensemble

duff’s Garage

2530 NE 82nd Ave Blues Jam, Arthur Moore’s Harmonica Party

Holocene

1001 SE Morrison St. Tope, Blossom, Verbz

836 N Russell St. The Hill Dogs

white eagle Saloon 836 N Russell St. Joytribe

wilf’s Restaurant & Bar 800 NW 6th Ave. Ron Steen Band

Jade Lounge

2342 SE Ankeny St. The Famous Haydell Sisters Jaded Variety Show

Jimmy Mak’s

THuRS. Jan. 15 al’s den

303 SW 12th Ave. Bird Courage

221 NW 10th Ave. The Christopher Brown Quartet, Mel Brown Quartet

Calapooia Brewing

Landmark Saloon

830 E Burnside St. And And And, Hosannas, Ah God

4847 SE Division St. Miller and Sasser’s Twelve Dollar Band

140 Hill St. NE Rough Jazz

doug Fir Lounge

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

duff’s Garage

2530 NE 82nd Ave Brandon Campbell’s Combo Diabolique, Tough Love Pyle

edgefield

2126 SW Halsey St. A Horse Named Glue

Hawthorne Theatre

1507 SE 39th Ave. Raise the Bridges, Alliance, The Pavelows, The Big Bad Wolf, Oceanside Static, Harken

Holocene

1001 SE Morrison St. Rustie

Jade Lounge

2342 SE Ankeny St. Jamie Leopold’s ‘Salon de Musique’

Jimmy Mak’s

221 NW 10th Ave. Mel Brown B3 Organ Group

Landmark Saloon

4847 SE Division St. Shuggie B Goode

LaurelThirst Public House

2958 NE Glisan St. Super Saturated Sugar Strings, Michael Howard (9 pm); Lewi Longmire Band, Edward Connell (6 pm)

Magnolia’s Corner

4075 NE Sandy Blvd The Big North Duo

Mississippi Studios

3939 N Mississippi Ave. Ben Miller Band

Rotture

315 SE 3rd Ave. Sublimate With Tony Rocky Horror

The Know

2026 NE Alberta St. Danava, Fellwoods, Holy Grove

The Muddy Rudder Public House 8105 SE 7th Ave. Sleepy Eyed Johns

The Secret Society 116 NE Russell St. The Ukeladies

303 SW 12th Ave. Bird Courage

alberta Rose Theatre

3000 NE Alberta St. Tom Paxton, Kate Power, Steve Einhorn

Biddy McGraw’s

6000 NE Glisan St. Counterfeit Cash

white eagle Saloon

836 N Russell St. Mexican Gunfight, Reverb Brothers

wonder Ballroom

128 NE Russell St. Tennis, The Shilohs

SaT. Jan. 17 al’s den

303 SW 12th Ave. Bird Courage

3017 SE Milwaukie Ave. Shoot to Thrill (AC/DC Tribute), Steelhorse (Bon Jovi Tribute)

1503 SE Cesar E Chavez Blvd. The Show Ponies, Wooden Sleepers, Pretty Gritty

Holocene

1001 SE Morrison St. RockBox, Matt Nelkin, DJ Kez, DJ Ronin Roc, DJ Mas y Menos

Jade Lounge

2342 SE Ankeny St. The Hollerbodies

Jimmy Mak’s

221 NW 10th Ave. Ken DeRouchie, Chris Baum

LaurelThirst Public House

2958 NE Glisan St. Lynn Conover & Grave (9:30 pm); Michael Hurley & The Croakers (6 pm)

Mazza’s Restaurant and Bar 3728 NE Sandy Boulevard Mont Chris Hubbard Bonus Show

Ponderosa Lounge

10350 N Vancouver Way Whisky Union

Portland State university, Lincoln Recital Hall

1825 SW Broadway Jane Austen’s Dance Party

Rotture

315 SE 3rd Ave. Zeke Beats

The Firkin Tavern

The Know

al’s den

1530 SE 7th Ave. The Sean and Fred Show

Hawthorne Theatre Lounge

white eagle Saloon

FRi. Jan. 16

Vie de Boheme

al’s den

3100 NE Sandy Blvd. Wally Callerio 836 N Russell St. Pretty Gritty, Sam Densmore

Turn! Turn! Turn!

1507 SE 39th Ave. Jar of Flies, Outshined, 13 A Salute To Black Sabbath, $intax

1937 SE 11th Ave. Atlas and The Astronaut, Walking Stalking Robots, Stiff Other Lip

The Tonic Lounge

Crystal Ballroom

1332 W Burnside Street Big Head Todd and the Monsters

OH, JESUS: The great unveiling came just before Zola Jesus’ headlining set at Mississippi Studios on Jan. 9, when a resourceful stage manager ascended to the balcony and lifted a tarp to reveal a crystalline cardboard pyramid lit from within. The thing looked like it had been damaged in shipping, with the tip top bent at an odd angle. Much like that stage prop, Zola herself disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, Nika Danilova is a hell of a singer, but she maintains so much control of her voice that it’s almost a detriment live. The only time she truly comes unhinged is when she dances, moving like an awkward alien, spazzing and cavorting, thrashing her hair and running up to the balcony and back with her wireless mic. She performed her new album, Taiga, in its entirety, with only a handful of her older, gothier and better tunes peppered in. I get that this was an album tour for a new record, and I understand that artists progress and leave old material behind. But unfortunately, while Danilova’s talent and popularity soars—the show was sold out well in advance—her style has become increasingly banal. NATHAN CARSON. Read the full review at wweek.com/lastweeklive.

116 NE Russell St. Ghost Towns, The Carlton Collective, Altadore, The Sportin’ Lifers 3100 NE Sandy Blvd. Bell Witch, Hallow, Ephemeros, Druden

5474 NE Sandy Blvd. Randy Starr

For more listings, check out wweek.com.

The Secret Society

2026 NE Alberta St. Worship, Sol, The Seige Fire

The Lovecraft

421 SE Grand Ave. Eastside Industrial

The Muddy Rudder Public House 8105 SE 7th Ave. Never Strangers

The Ranger Station PdX

4260 SE Hawthorne Blvd Habits String Band

The Refuge Portland 116 SE Yamhill Ill Esha, Amp Live

303 SW 12th Ave. Bird Courage

aladdin Theater

alberta abbey

126 NE Alberta Street African Dinner & Dance Party

alberta Rose Theatre 3000 NE Alberta St. Karen Lovely, Lisa Man

alhambra Theatre

4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Garcia Birthday Band, Lewi Longire

arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

1037 SW Broadway Clarinet Swing Kings

LaurelThirst Public House

2958 NE Glisan St. Redray Frazier (9:30 pm); Jimmy Boyer Band, Ian Miller, Sam Henry & Tim Acott (6 pm)

Mississippi Studios

3939 N Mississippi Ave. Ezza Rose, Nick Jaina, Water Tower

Plews Brews

8409 N. Lombard St. Neil Darling Band, Elliott Young

Ponderosa Lounge

10350 N Vancouver Way Jessie Leigh

Refuge PdX

116 SE Yamhill St ARCO-PDX

Star Theater

13 NW 6th Avenue Yung Gunz NW, Tommy Gunna, Wes Guy, Mikey Fontaine, J-Lew

The Firkin Tavern

1937 SE 11th Ave. Tribe Mars, Gabby Holt, Twitch Silverback

The Know

2026 NE Alberta St. The Know’s 10th Anniversary: Paul Collins Beat, Mean Jeans, the Rich Hands, Psychomagic

Branx

320 SE 2nd Ave. Embody, Androcell, Kill Smth, Living Light and more

dante’s

350 W Burnside St Dirt Nasty

doug Fir Lounge

830 E Burnside St. Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express, the Parson Redheads

duff’s Garage

2530 NE 82nd Ave Way Downs

Hawthorne Theatre

3100 NE Sandy Blvd. Taint Misbehavin’, Life Well Wasted

The world Famous Kenton Club

Lincoln Performance Hall 1620 SW Park Ave. Philharmonia Quartet Berlin

Mississippi Studios

3939 N Mississippi Ave. Big Haunt, Old Wave, Luz Elena Mendoza

The Know

2026 NE Alberta St. The Know’s 10th Anniversary: Mic Crenshaw, Maze Koroma, Grape God

The Ranger Station PdX

4260 SE Hawthorne Blvd Hot Club Time Machine 1530 SE 7th Ave. Chuck Israels Jazz Cafe 836 N Russell St. Rob Johnston, Forest Beutel

Mon. Jan. 19 al’s den

303 SW 12th Ave. The Punishment Brothers

Trail’s end Saloon

Landmark Saloon

Turn! Turn! Turn!

white eagle Saloon 836 N Russell St. Soul Saturdays with DoveDriver

white eagle Saloon 836 N Russell St. The Druthers

winningstad Theatre 1111 SW Broadway Carpe Diem String Quartet

Sun. Jan. 18 al’s den

303 SW 12th Ave. The Punishment Brothers

alhambra Theatre

4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Affiance, Kingdom of Giants, Ghost Town Grey, She Preaches Mayhem, Raines to Ruin, Within the Pyre

Blue diamond

Jimmy Mak’s

doug Fir Lounge

4847 SE Division St. Oregon Valley Boys

2958 NE Glisan St. Open Mic, Jeff Haigerty (9 pm); Freak Mountain Ramblers (6 pm)

Jimmy Mak’s

Holocene

Landmark Saloon

LaurelThirst Public House

2025 N Kilpatrick Trick Sensei Album Release Party

arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

221 NW 10th Ave. Andrew Paul Woodworth

4847 SE Division St. Ian Miller and Friends

The Tonic Lounge

1507 SE 39th Ave. Poison’Us, Heart Beat, TouchN, LoveN, SqueezeN

1001 SE Morrison St. Gaycation: Mr. Charming, DJ Snowtiger

Landmark Saloon

white eagle Saloon

116 NE Russell St. Supercrow, Pony Village, Dedere, Everything’s Jake

Biddy McGraw’s

888 Liberty St. NE The Dublin Sessions: Geraldine Murray and the Retired Popes

1001 SE Morrison St. Charts, LiquidLight, The Autonomics

The Secret Society

8 NE Killingsworth St. Chung Antique, Dovecotes, Moon Debris

Boon’s Treasury

Holocene

Vie de Boheme

421 SE Grand Ave. Brit Pop Dance Night

1320 Main Street Global FM

6000 NE Glisan St. Blue Lotus, Stomptowners

1507 SE 39th Ave. Gorilla Music Presents: The Best of Portland

The Lovecraft

artichoke Music

3130 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Jaspar Lepak & Rebecca Cohen

Hawthorne Theatre

1037 SW Broadway Clarinet Swing Kings 2016 NE Sandy Blvd. Kevin Selfe and the Tornadoes Jam Session 830 E Burnside St. Changing the Tune: Jilt

duff’s Garage

2530 NE 82nd Ave The Rhythm Renegades

edgefield

2126 SW Halsey St. Billy D

221 NW 10th Ave. The Dan Balmer Trio 4847 SE Division St. Sagebrush Sisters

LaurelThirst Public House

2958 NE Glisan St. Kung Pao Chickens (9 pm); Copper and Coal (6 pm)

Lincoln Performance Hall 1620 SW Park Ave. Takcs Quartet

TueS. Jan. 20 al’s den

303 SW 12th Ave. The Punishment Brothers

Crystal Ballroom

1332 W Burnside Street Patti Smith

doug Fir Lounge

830 E Burnside St. My Brothers + I, Dean, Common, Dear

duff’s Garage

2530 NE 82nd Ave Mac & Dub, Wingtips

Jimmy Mak’s

221 NW 10th Ave. Vinyl Gold, Mel Brown Septet

LaurelThirst Public House 2958 NE Glisan St. Folkslinger (9 pm); Jackstraw (6 pm)

Lincoln Performance Hall 1620 SW Park Ave. Takcs Quartet

Mississippi Studios

3939 N Mississippi Ave. Willa, Coco Columbia

jan. 14–20

MUSIC CALENDAR thomas teal

BAR REVIEW

Where to drink this week. 1. McMenamins Edgefield 2126 SW Halsey St., Troutdale, 669-8610, mcmenamins.com. of all the mcmenamins, this is the one you should make a pilgrimage to: Its vast array of cigar bars, distillery bars, pubs, restaurants and weird adjunct bars all have different seasonal, nitro, and especially barrel-aged beers courtesy of the edgefield brewmaster. It’s like a treasure hunt and a bar crawl at once, in an english countryside. 2. Wilder Bar Cafe 5501 NE 30th Ave., 704-8332. this little “bar cafe” has aged into a lovely hangout and 31st-date spot. the cozily domestic bar offers a curated array of elevated comfort food, craft beer and cider—and has perhaps the best tV placement we’ve seen in a bar, with no seat quite facing it. 3. Habesha 801 NE Broadway, 284-4299. this bar above an ethiopian restaurant has been bringing the ruckus this year, from underground shows to one of the most raucous karaoke nights in town. 4. Loowit 507 Columbia St., Vancouver, 360-566-2323, loowitbrewing.com. Vancouver has really blossomed as a beer town in the last year, and downtown’s most happening spot on a saturday night is this cavernous brewery, which smells like a hop farm and has live music. 5. Brannon’s 3800 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 567-8003, brannonsbrewery.com. Beaverton’s “steampunk” brewpub ain’t quite steampunk—a bit more tV-anddarts bar—but its Neapolitan pizzas would be impressive even in Portland. they’re perfect with a fine arch Rock lager, on tap.

MO FO: Given most passersby are flying at 40 mph, it takes some time for a new bar to build a crowd in Foster-Powell. At least that’s the word at Bar Maven (6219 SE Foster Road, 384-2079, barmaven-pdx.com), which has been open 18 months but only recently rounded into one of the neighborhood’s best bars. Maven’s sleek black exterior looks a little bro-y, but the inside is a faded rainbow of reclaimed wood to deaden speakers playing “Tighten Up” with all the clarity of a subwoofer rattling from the trunk of an ’87 Cutty Supreme. On a recent Saturday, the crowd was mostly late 20-somethings, drawn more to an eccentric tap list of pineapple cider and Barley Brown’s hefeweizen than the newfangled digital shuffleboard table or cocktails ($6.50 gets you cucumber and Bombay, $7 buys a cocktail with brandy and a grove of pulpy, muddled citrus). Maven’s pubby food menu has a Mediterranean twist, including a gyro burger ($11) that’s a delightfully sloppy mess of beef, bacon and sliced gyro meat. Coincidentally, just down the street there’s another new FoPo bar doing Middle Eastern food. That’s the newer, less-polished and so-far empty FoPo Tavern (5902 SE Foster Road, 771-2377). FoPo also has burgers and gyros, cooked by the solo bartender after she blends a ginger ale stand-in from 7 Up, Coke and bitters. It’s easier to hear the music—Ed Sheeran, the Weeknd—and the house-fried potato chips are tasty, but for now, the party’s down at Maven. MARTIN CIZMAR.

fri. Jan. 16 Moloko Plus

3967 N Mississippi Ave. DJ Maximillion, Hans Fricking Lindauer Rhythm and Soul Review

wed. Jan. 14 Ground Kontrol Classic arcade 511 NW Couch St. TRONix

Moloko Plus

3967 N Mississippi Ave. King Tim 33 1/3

Thurs. Jan. 15 Crush Bar

1400 SE Morrison St. Club Pop

dig a Pony

736 Southeast Grand Ave. Aan DJs

Moloko Plus

The Lovecraft

Mon. Jan. 19 dig a Pony

736 Southeast Grand Ave. Emerson Lyon

Ground Kontrol Classic arcade

421 SE Grand Ave. Electronomicon

511 NW Couch St. Metal Mondays, Metal Kyle and DJ Shreddy Krueger

Valentines

The Lovecraft

232 SW Ankeny St. DJ Theo

saT. Jan. 17

421 SE Grand Ave. Departures, DJ Waisted and Friends

Tues. Jan. 20

Cruzroom

8409 N. Lombard St. Full Spectrum

3967 N Mississippi Ave. Brazilian Night, Nik Nice & Brother Charlie

The Lovecraft

dig a Pony

720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Boombox

rotture

6605 SE Powell Blvd. DJ Easy Finger

Plews Brews

421 SE Grand Ave. Event Horizon, Industrial Dance Night

421 SE Grand Ave. Shadowplay

2338 NE Alberta St. DJ Alonzo 736 Southeast Grand Ave. Mikie Lixx and Dirty Red

analog Cafe & Theater

The Lodge Bar & Grill

315 SE 3rd Ave. Bearracuda, DJ Ryan Jones & Matt Stands

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

jan. 14–20 FEATURE

= WW Pick. Highly recommended.

WILL CORWIN

PERFORMANCE

Most prices listed are for advance ticket sales. At-the-door increases and so-called convenience charges may apply, so it’s best to call ahead. Editor: REBECCA JACOBSON. Theater: REBECCA JACOBSON (rjacobson@wweek.com). Dance: KAITIE TODD (dance@wweek.com). TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit information at least two weeks in advance to: rjacobson@wweek.com.

THEATER OPENINGS & PREVIEWS NT Live: John

In November, London’s DV8 Physical Theatre premiered this work, based on dozens of interviews with men about love and sex. Some of the dance-theater piece has to do with the goingson—both explicit and sociological—at a gay sauna, but the narrative heart is with a man called John, whose traumatic story involves abuse, addiction and crime. Reviews quibbled with the show’s structure but generally deemed it startling, unsettling and unforgettable. “Audience reactions must surely vary from horror to illumination,” wrote The New York Times, “and the discussion that should emerge from John is as important as the production.” It’s presented in Portland as a high-def screening. World Trade Center Theater, 121 SW Salmon St., 235-1101. 2 and 7 pm Sunday, Jan. 18 and Saturday, Jan. 31. $15-$20. 18+.

Playback Theater

Audience members tell stories, which Playback’s actors and musicians improvise on the spot. This month’s theme, “Celebrating Our Shadows, Celebrating Our Light,” is about contradictory and complex emotions. The show is for ages 16 and up. Hipbone Studio, 1847 E Burnside St., 358-0898. 7:30 pm Saturday, Jan. 17. $15.

The Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents

Another year, another play about sex from Theatre Vertigo. After last winter’s The End of Sex—about a wonder cream that remapped sexual sensation—the feisty theater company presents a play by the Swiss-born Lukas Bärfuss. The dark comedy follows a highly medicated teenage girl who’s taken off her drugs and promptly develops a voracious erotic appetite, much to the panic of the adults around her. Shoebox Theater, 2110 SE 10th Ave., 971-244-3740. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays and 2 pm Sundays through Feb. 14. $20; Thursdays “pay what you will.”

Sidekicks: Season 2

Action/Adventure presents a second season of its semi-scripted serial comedy about those who play second fiddle to the big-shot superheroes, set in a comic book-inspired land called New Cascadia. Each weekend features a new episode, but it’s pretty easy to catch on if you miss a show. Action/ Adventure Theatre, 1050 SE Clinton St. 8 pm Thursdays-Sundays through Feb. 8. $12-$16.

Skippyjon Jones

Oregon Children’s Theatre stages a musical about a Siamese cat who realizes his alter ego is a sword-fighting Chihuahua named Skippito Friskito, who must contend with a humongous bee, Alfredo Buzzito El Blimpo Bumblebeeto Bandito...because this play is nothing if not linguistically and culturally unimpeachable. (Parents, don’t worry too much: The show apparently offers up some feminism alongside its over-the-top accents.) Best for ages 4 and up. Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 228-9571. 2 and 5 pm Saturdays and 2 pm Sundays through Feb. 15. $15-$30.

The Snowstorm

Pianist Eric Nordin and choreographer Jessica Wallenfels collaborate on an original piece of dance theater, inspired by an Alexander Pushkin story about a woman left at the altar during a snowstorm. Nordin will play a live piano score by Rachmaninoff as an eight-member cast performs a tale of loss and romance in 19th-century Russia. CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh

St., 220-2646. 7:30 pm ThursdaysSaturdays and 2 pm Sundays through Feb. 7. $15-$25.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Portland Center Stage kicks off the new year with Christopher Durang’s 2012 comedy, a sendup of Chekhovian tropes set in present-day Pennsylvania. The play follows a group of middleaged siblings who all share names with Chekhov characters and who prove, as Tolstoy said, that all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way. Productions elsewhere have gotten mostly loving reviews—Charles Isherwood of The New York Times called it “uneven but intermittently delightful,” while The New Yorker’s John Lahr said the play “provides a clever parallel to the seismic upheaval of industrialization.” Others haven’t been so kind: The Stranger’s Brendan Kiley deemed its ’50s nostalgia “clickbait for wealthy geezers” and criticized the play’s “magical Negro.” Oh, and it won the Tony for best play. Fight! Fight! Fight! PCS associate artistic director Rose Riordan helms this production. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 7:30 pm TuesdaysSundays (excluding Jan. 25 and Feb. 3 and 8); 2 pm select Saturdays and Sundays; noon select Thursdays. Through Feb. 8. $20-$69.

Winnie the Pooh

Metropolitan Performing Arts Academy presents a family-friendly musical about the honey-loving bear. Brunish Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 2484335. 7:30 pm Friday, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturday and 2 pm Sunday, Jan. 16-18. $13.50.

Woman on the Scarlet Beast

Post5 Theatre presents a drama, based on a novel by local author Caroline Miller, about three generations of Catholic women grappling with guilt, love and forgiveness. Post5 Theatre, 1666 SE Lambert St., 971-258-8584. 7 pm most Thursdays-Fridays and 5 pm most Saturdays-Sundays through Feb. 8. Preview shows 7 pm Tuesday and Thursday, Jan. 20 and 22. For additional showtimes see post5theatre. org. $15.

NEW REVIEWS Searching for Aztlán

Searching for Aztlán starts off in Tucson, but about 10 minutes in, one thing is clear: We’re not in Arizona anymore. The hourlong show, written and directed by Lakin Valdez, opens with Dolores (Alida Holguín WilsonGunn), a Tucson teacher fighting an Arizona law that bans MexicanAmerican studies in local schools. It’s a battle she’s hopelessly losing. Dolores wears braided pigtails, strapped sandals and carries around a stuffed dog, but it’s not until a violent sandstorm blows through town that the Wizard of Oz references become headsmackingly obvious. After that, the nods to the classic story are hard to miss as Dolores finds herself magically transported to an alternate reality, where she must find the mythical land of Aztlán, ancestral home to the Aztecs. In this retelling, the wicked witch is a pantsuit-clad senator shouting into her cellphone. Played by Ana Silva with an exaggerated drawl and obnoxious cackle, she’s one of the show’s highlights. Dolores’ companions, meanwhile, are various caricatures from the past 50 years of the Chicano movement. Miracle Theatre plans to tour Searching for Aztlán to schools around the country, and its simplicity and heavy-handed metaphors are definitely better-suited for a younger crowd. For what it’s worth, though, the show takes a familiar formula and transforms it into some-

CONT. on page 42

cHRISTmAS IN jANUARY: Seattle comedian Emmett montgomery at a house show in North Portland.

THE HAHA HOUSE STANDUP COMEDY INVADES THE LIVING ROOMS AND GARAGES OF PORTLAND. House shows have been a staple of the music scene forever. But there’s a different art form encroaching onto this turf: standup comedy. In a town with more comics than there are open slots at standup showcases, comedy has expanded from clubs and bars to basements and living rooms. Sometimes the jokes happen alongside Bob Dylan covers. Other times, standup is the sole draw. Guests huddle on couches and smoke spliffs on the back porch. Beer and wine are for sale in the kitchen. We hit three house shows—here’s what we found. THE PARENT TRAP White Tiger Lounge is not a lounge. It is a refurbished backyard mancave gone suddenly public, missing only a pool table and beer light. This quality is made more apparent by comic Amy Miller, who calls out cave owner Jack Miller for talking about blowjobs the moment they met. The polite fabric among the mostly professional couples— Miller jokes later that they cleaned Northeast Portland out of babysitters—is briefly ruffled. But it’s an oddly polished house party, and it can recover. There’s an actual stage, sound insulation and podcast recording equipment, with three other comics booked besides Miller: Christian Ricketts, Whitney Streed and Jacob Christopher. It’s pretty much BYOB at White Tiger, and because it’s cold out, everybody leaves their alcohol on the table outside the door like an offering to Cthulhu. There’s some good stuff, like the barrel-aged cider from a couple who drove down from Seattle. Shanon Emerson, the host, is a real-estate broker who does capable standup only in this very room, among friends—mostly about meth heads and parenthood. The night is like a pressure-release valve from the passive-aggressive politesse of Portland’s professional set. “Why did the dog suck its own dick?” asks Ricketts, as the room goes briefly silent. “Because I was wearing a dog costume!” MATTHEW KORFHAGE. FREE PERRIER “It’s like I went to my grandma’s house and someone handed me a mic,” mumbles Seattle comedian Scott Losse. It’s not the most precise description—this

spic-and-span living room in inner North Portland favors twinkly lights and framed posters of midcentury noir films over needlepoint pillows and fragile feline knickknacks—but it feels homey and safe, like if you took a nap someone would toss a crocheted blanket over you. Izzy, a 15-year-old fuzzy white dog in a bow tie—breed unknown—does just this, shuffling at comedians’ feet before falling asleep in the front row. A few attendees pop open bombers clearly purchased with ABV in mind, while others shell out for $1 cans of PBR or $3 glasses of boxed wine. There is also free Perrier (ballerrr!). As for the lineup, it’s stacked: a few duds, sure, but also some of Portland’s better standups, including Nathan Brannon, JoAnn Schinderle and Christian Ricketts. Seattle’s Emmett Montgomery—clad in red footie PJs, his ginger beard reaching halfway down his chest—does a fever-dream bit as Sugar Plum Gary, soliciting questions about Christmas and giving existential answers about the naughtynice binary, Frosty the Snowman and the fluidity of gender. There’s much made of the fact that this is a room full of mostly young white people in what was previously a black neighborhood: Ms. Lo Rain, who blares Beyoncé’s “Video Phone” from her purse as she comes onstage, cracks a studded belt and riffs on reparations. As we shuffle into the night, Toto’s “Africa” plays us out, with Izzy the elderly dog still slumbering on his chair. REBECCA JACOBSON. PRETTY YOUNG THINGS This Cully spot is way more of a band house: It has a fire pit, a pot-smoking shed warmed only by a space heater, and a basement catacomb with an actual bar. A guy in a derby hat sings a Bob Dylan cover like Jack Johnson might, with lots of attention paid to his own voice. Partygoers discuss where they live, and their houses all have names, the same way somebody might name their bicycle Shirley. Amid the music, the house had booked comic Anthony Lopez, who bagged out, and so Amy Miller is slotted in. She seems wigged by the youth of the crowd and so she bothers them affectionately about drugs, and being jobless and vegan, and about their parents giving them money, and about how they’re really pretty. The audience moves from back chatter to laughter, and then to rapt attention. Everybody loves to be paid attention to, and Miller pretty much owns the place for the next 20 minutes. Later, in the pot-smoking shed, someone asks me my philosophy—as if there’s only one for everybody—and listens with equal attention. MATTHEW KORFHAGE. Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

jan. 14–20 R U SS E L L J. yO U N G

PERFORMANCE

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WIGGING OUT: Searching for Aztlán plays at Miracle Theatre through Jan. 17. thing both satirical and educational, with a particularly strong performance by Wilson-Gunn, who plays Dolores with sass and enthusiasm. KAITIE TODD. Miracle Theatre, 525 SE Stark St., 236-7253. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays through Jan. 17. $16-$24.

ALSO PLAYING Dirty Dancing

No really, if you squint it’s just like Patrick Swayze has been brought back to life. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., 241-1802. 7:30 pm Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturday and 1 and 6:30 pm Sunday, Jan. 13-18. $30-$95.

THIS SATURDAY!

JAN. 17 7:30 PM

Boundary-breaking ensemble pushing the limits of the classical string quartet.

SPANISH BRASS

spanishbrass.com

The Man Who Could See Through Time The Nutz-n-Boltz Theater Company, which usually performs in Boring, travels to the big city to present a show about the clash between science and art. In the 1984 play, by Terri Wagener, a physics professor and a sculptor go head-to-head in a philosophical debate. Expect polarized conversation about love and reality—and apparently several actual physics lectures. The Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 593-1295. 7:30 pm FridaysSaturdays and 2 pm Sundays through Jan. 25. $11-$15.

NT Live: Skylight

Broadcast in high-def from London’s West End, David Hare’s drama centers on two former lovers unexpectedly reunited in a frigid, shabby flat. The show, starring Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy, has received massive praise on both sides of the pond. World Trade Center Theater, 121 SW Salmon St., 235-1101. 2 and 7 pm Sunday, Jan. 11 and Saturday, Jan. 17. $15-$20.

COMEDY Comedians & Comedies

JAN. 23 7:30 PM

Emcee Jenna Zine unites standup and cinema, with this installment featuring a set by Sean Jordan— who recently topped WW’s Funniest 5—followed by a screening of Animal House. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 8 pm Monday, Jan. 19. $8. 21+.

One of the world’s top brass ensembles, never before heard in Portland.

Comedy Womb Tour

For more information & tickets visit portland5.com

800.273.1530 | Portland’5 Box Office | TicketsWest outlets 42

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

Seattle’s Comedy Womb began about two years ago as small weekly standup showcase with mostly (though not exclusively) female comedians. In the time since, it’s snagged some big names—Cameron Esposito, Aparna Nancherla— and occasionally ventured beyond Seattle. Tonight, as part of True Brew’s twice-monthly comedy showcase, Danielle Gregoire hosts a long slate of comedians: Rachel Walls, Christan Leonard, Andy Iwancio, Madeleine Gauger, Isabela de Campos, Connie Burk, Nick Sahoyah, Natalie Holt, Casey Middaugh and

Aisha Farhoud. True Brew, 3370 SE Milwaukie Ave., 231-9992. 8 pm Saturday, Jan. 17. Donation.

Control Yourself: A Showcase of Funny

JoAnn Schinderle —a Midwest transplant with a high-energy, engaging style—hosts a free, twice-monthly standup showcase, followed by an open mic at 10 pm. Alberta Street Pub, 1036 NE Alberta St., 284-7665. 9 pm every first and third Sunday. Free. 21+.

Demetri Martin

If you like your standup more as a variety show—replete with very large drawings, glockenspiel and ukulele—then Martin is for you. He hits Portland for two nights as part of his Persistence of Jokes tour. Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave., 888-643-8669. 7:30 and 9:45 pm Wednesday-Thursday, Jan. 14-15. $35-$42. 21+.

Earthquake Hurricane

An army of impressive Portland comedians—Curtis Cook, Alex Falcone, Bri Pruett and Anthony Lopez—host a weekly standup showcase with some of the funniest people you’ll ever see in the basement of a bike shop. Up tonight are Phil Schallberger, Randy Mendez, Barbara Holm and Katie Nguyen. Kickstand Comedy Space, 1969 NE 42nd Ave., 937-219-1334. 8:30 pm every Wednesday. $5 suggested.

Faizon Love

Back in November, comedian Faizon Love—notable for playing the Gimbels manager in Elf, the pot dealer in Friday and little else— defended Bill Cosby on Twitter. When people criticized him, he in turn called them “porch monkeys.” That’s all you really need to know, right? Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave., 888-643-8669. 7:30 and 10 pm Friday-Saturday and 7:30 pm Sunday, Jan. 16-18. $22-$33. 21+.

Fly-Ass Jokes

The Brody hosts a standup showcase featuring five comics from Portland and farther afield. Brody Theater, 16 NW Broadway, 224-2227. 9:30 pm Friday, Jan. 16. $8.

Funny Humans vs. the Wheel

If you go to enough shows around town, you start to memorize comedians’ sets. Think of this weekly show as an antidote to all that repetition: Comedians start out with a planned set, but halfway through, they have to spin a wheel to determine what comes next—crowd work, one-liners, maybe even a heckle battle. Bar of the Gods, 4801 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 232-2037. 9 pm every Sunday. Free. 21+.

Garbage People

Brodie Kelly and Lewis Sequeira host the inaugural installment of a storytelling show that features comedians spinning tales about people being, well, garbage. Tonight’s raconteurs are JoAnn Schinderle, Iris Gorman and Dan Weber. Kickstand Comedy Space, 1969 NE 42nd Ave., 937-219-1334. 9 pm Thursday, Jan. 15. $5 suggested.

Here’s the Thing...

All-lady improv ensemble Girls! Girls! Girls! puts on a performance combining off-the-cuff comedy with personal stories. Brody Theater, 16 NW Broadway, 224-2227. 7:30 pm Saturdays through Feb. 7. $9-$12.

It’s Gonna Be Okay

Hosted by the ever-chipper Barbara Holm, this twice-monthly showcase is a prime spot to catch Portland’s top comics, as well as the occasional out-of-towner. The cozy basement room is almost always packed (especially impressive for a Monday night), and Holm often tosses out prizes—plastic dinosaur figurines, comic books—to audience members. Also: free skeeball afterward. EastBurn, 1800 E Burnside St., 2362876. 8:30 pm every first and third Monday. Free. 21+.

Picture This!

In a show that mashes standup and Pictionary, comics perform while artists illustrate their sets live. There’s a predictable tendency toward penis drawings, but also an offbeat play between the visual and the verbal. Andie Main hosts. Curious Comedy, 5225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 477-9477. 9:30 pm every second Friday. $7-$10; $5 with the purchase of a ticket to the 7:30 pm show.

Random Acts of Comedy

Curious Comedy puts on a freewheeling show that brings together sketch, standup and improv. Curious Comedy, 5225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 477-9477. 9:30 pm every Saturday. $7-$10.

Theatresports

Two improv teams riff on audience suggestions, attempting to outwit each other and impress the panel of judges. Brody Theater, 16 NW Broadway, 224-2227. 9:30 pm Saturdays through Jan. 31. $8.

Tig Notaro

In 2012, comedian Tig Notaro shot from relative obscurity to national attention with a show at the Largo in Los Angeles. The 30-minute set detailed the hellish series of events she’d endured over the course of four months: developing a lifethreatening intestinal disease, losing her mother to a freak accident, breaking up with her girlfriend and being diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. Louis C.K.

jan. 14–20 hailed it as masterful. Notaro— known previously as an oddball comic who would push around a chair on Conan for two minutes or deliver deadpan one-liners about Chaz Bono—suddenly had a name. She was originally slated to hit Portland in November, but had to reschedule several tour dates due to illness. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 234-9694. 8 pm Wednesday, Jan. 14. Sold out.

DANCE Burlescape

Mixing ladies and gentlemen, this monthly show produced by Zora Phoenix features the contemporary dance/striptease stylings of Tod Alan. Guest performers include Hyacinth Lee—known for her fierce and expressive performances— and Bettie Velo bringing the tease. Crush, 1400 SE Morrison St, 2358150. 9:30 pm. $10. 21+.

Keep Portland Weird: A Sexy Sideshow

Celebrating the things that keep Portland weird, Miss Kennedy and Jay Lieber host a circus-inspired night of the strange and spectacular. Lieber lies on a bed of nails— and performs a mysterious act called “Mental Floss”—while Miss Kennedy swallows swords, Ivizia plays with fire and duo Deadlurk Dollymops bring their classic vaudeville entertainment. Expect a sprinkling of burlesque as well, from such performers as the Infamous Nina Nightshade, Karlie Lever du Soleil and Jon Dutch. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St., 226-6630. 9 pm Sunday, Jan. 18. $12-$20. 21+.

PERFORMANCE

Gerding Theater at the Armory 128 NW Eleventh Avenue

503.445.3700

pcs.org

Meshi Chavez

In Japan, kintsugi is an art form that takes broken pottery and pieces it back together with a golden resin that, once dry, shows the break and how it’s been mended. This past November, local butoh choreographer Meshi Chavez hosted a nine-week workshop called “Being Moved.” Once a week, Chavez gathered six dancers to focus on movement inspired by kintsugi—the word means “golden joinery”—and the beauty of things once broken. The result is a two-night event showcasing the Japanese dance-theater performances that developed over those two months, performed by Sara Alizadeh, Brenna Jagne, John Johnson, Anita Kress, Tanya McCoy and Joe McLaughlin. Headwaters Theatre, 55 NE Farragut St., No. 9, 971-258-0748. 7:30 pm ThursdayFriday, Jan. 16-17. $18-$25.

Small Win

For its fourth full-length evening show, local circus troupe Tempos focuses on the support we give each other throughout life’s everyday obstacles, joking that the show is “group therapy.” The troupe includes aerialists, dancers, clowns and a handful of acroyoga practitioners, who’ll all act, play music and attempt various stunts for the audience. Echo Theater, 1515 SE 37th Ave., 231-1232. 7:30 pm Friday-Saturday and 2:30 pm Sunday, Jan. 16-18. $12. Andrew Sellon, Nick Ballard, Carol Halstead and Sharonlee McLean in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Photo by Patrick Weishampel.

For more Performance listings, visit

SEASON SUPERSTARS

SEASON SUPPORTING SPONSORS

SHOW SPONSORS

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

TrIuMPH PHOTOGrAPHy

REVIEW

Keith and Sharon Barnes

LUCK OF THE IRISH: The Seven Wonders of Ballyknock aren’t too impressive. “The eighth is my arse!” says Mag (Marilyn Stacey), proprietor of the Cap ’n’ Bells pub. But her lumbering, amiable son Jonty (Heath Koerschgen)—the only boy from this sleepy Irish town to return from the recently ended World War II—is obsessed with them. So when Cordelia (Louise Chambers), a New York blue blood with a mysterious connection to Ballyknock, shows up, Jonty jumps at the chance to play tour guide. As you might expect from a play about Ireland by an American— in this case, Oregonian C.S. Whitcomb—there are a lot of jokes about drinking and a lot of grating pronunciations of “tea.” But there’s also another Irish tradition: quick wit. Set entirely in the bar—the lights go dim for the outdoor scenes—with a fairly small cast, this Lakewood Theatre production is carried instead by expert timing and sassy punches. “I’ve never stole in my 60 years,” says town drunk Old Bailey when asked to watch the bar. “Put it on my tab.” Director Stephanie Mulligan helps the cast find a careful balance between jaunty humor and the play’s darker elements. Jonty’s geniality betrays the scars he bears from war, and Cordelia harbors dark secrets of her own. Maybe the eighth wonder is the townspeople themselves. Or, y’know, Mag’s ass. JAMES HELMSWORTH. SEE IT: The Seven Wonders of Ballyknock is at the Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State St., Lake Oswego, 635-3901. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 and 7 pm some Sundays; 7:30 pm Wednesdays, Jan. 21 and Feb. 4. See lakewood-center.org for full schedule. Through Feb. 15. $30-$32.

V i s i t O re g o n H u m a n e . o r g t o f i n d yo u r s . ADOPTIONS

PET TRAINING

EDUCATION

CRUELTY INVESTIGATIONS

RESCUE

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

VISUAL ARTS

jan. 14–20

= WW Pick. Highly recommended. By RICHARD SPEER. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit show information—including opening and closing dates, gallery address and phone number—at least two weeks in advance to: Visual Arts, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Email: rspeer@wweek.com.

Emily Hanna Wyant: Gotta Make Money to Make Money

Earlier this year, as artist Emily Hanna Wyant tells it, she was pitching her conceptual artwork to local galleries. She kept getting the same polite “no thanks” from gallerist after gallerist. “We love what you do,” they said, “but it’s not work we could sell in a gallery.” So Wyant decided to turn the metaphorical lemon into lemonade, creating a new body of work critiquing the object- and sales-obsessed gallery system. Tongue firmly in cheek, she has churned out dozens upon dozens of faux gold bricks, as if to flip galleries a collective bird. “Here you go,” the installation seems to shout, “a pile of tangible objects with a fixed monetary value—will that do?” This installation, entitled Counterfeit Gold Bricks, is comprised of “gold bullion” made out of spray-painted wood and cement. Other pieces, such as Wu-Tang Clan, continue the anti-materialist riff via imagery drawn from the bling-flaunting world of hip-hop music. Through Jan. 16. Nisus Gallery, 8371 N Interstate Ave., Suite 1, 806-1427.

Forbidden Fruit: Chris Antemann at Meissen

In a long-overdue follow-up to her delightful installation at the 2011 Contemporary Northwest Art Awards, Chris Antemann stages a rococo bacchanal in the Portland Art Museum. Her porcelain figures fill a mirrored antechamber, engaging in all manner of languid frivolty. In the sprawling sculpture Love Temple, they sit around—and in some cases, crawl on—a lavishly appointed dining table, some of them naked, some clad only in the skimpiest suggestion of diaphanous fabric. Antemann accents the figures’ white skin with delicate golden lines. Although her revelers, with their powdered wigs and rouged cheeks, are a little too one-note in their appearance to sustain the viewer’s attention, perhaps that is on purpose. After all, 24-hour party people, whether in the 18th century or the 21st, begin to all look the same after the ninth or 10th flute of champagne. Through Feb. 8. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 226-0973.

Hap Tivey: Surface of Light

The LED lights in Hap Tivey’s sculptures seem to reach out beyond their aluminum contours to claim the wall behind them. They seep into your own personal space, too, until you begin to feel all woo-woo, like you’re becoming one with the light. The colors are delectable—soft greens, pinks, yellows and blues. Most of the pieces are triangular in configuration, such as Bella Donna and Corner Flavor, while the rectangular sculpture RGB Goldbogen basically looks like a Barnett Newman

painting that somebody plugged into the wall socket. The metal armatures in which the lights are embedded are not smooth, as one might expect; they’re nubby and distressed, making for a powerful contrast between the lights’ cool modernism and the surfaces’ organicism. Through Jan. 31. Elizabeth Leach Gallery, 417 NW 9th Ave., 224-0521.

Long Tone

Frequent collaborators Ellen George and Jerry Mayer have done it again. These two can be counted on to take the simplest of materials and transubstantiate them into gorgeous sculptural installations. In their latest, room-filling exhibition, Long Tone, tall planks of wood stretch, gently bent, from floor to ceiling, bracketing one another like parentheses. Five sets of these brackets define the space, with varying numbers of planks on either side of a central opening, creating differing visual rhythms. The shapes and the apertures in their middle are allusive; to walk through them is like emerging from a stylized birth canal. Unlike in previous collaborations, Mayer and George didn’t include dramatic lighting or a sound element this time. It’s just about the wood, which kicks the minimalist impact of the piece into an even more austere plane. Through Feb. 1. Nine Gallery, 122 NW 8th Ave., 227-7114.

Passage

There’s a new gallery in Northeast Portland called Verum Ultimum (Latin for “ultimate truth”). It’s a humble space open only on weekends (12-5 pm Saturdays and Sundays or by appointment), but this kind of decidedly nonslick exhibition space is the sort of small gallery that makes Portland so delightfully, well, non-San Francisco. The January exhibition, entitled Passage, is a juried show with work by 30 artists. The opening reception is from 6-8 pm on Saturday, Jan. 10. So hey, come out and support a brand spankin’ new gallery that’s the freshest blip on the city’s cultural radar. Through Jan. 31. Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, 3014 NE Ainsworth St., 493-4278.

The Spaces Between

This thoughtful group show is curated by painter Elise Wagner. Among the highlights are Lorraine Glessner’s Pink Tornado, with its big ovals of wax and paint. It looks like a curio cabinet that got dunked in a vat of wax. Lisa Pressman’s The Plan also incorporates wax. Bisected into two panels of equal size, it alternates graphite scrawls with edible-looking passages of aqua, sunflower and seafoam green. Linda Ethier’s “pate de verre” glass sculptures incorporate thin glass wafers shaped like leaves. Ethier also includes

sundry elements such as bones, feathers and twigs. Brenda Mallory is known for her sculpted wax cloth pieces, which are often hooked together by hog rings, as in the piece Porous Borders. But she’s been making works on paper lately, which is an invigorating departure, especially in the complex and elegant piece titled Rifts #2. Through Jan. 31. Butters Gallery, 520 NW Davis St., 2nd floor, 248-9378.

REVIEW

Victoria Haven: Subtitles

Victoria Haven’s arid conceptual show has some moments that make you scratch your head thoughtfully, but not much of anything to entertain your eyes. In about a hundred works on paper, Haven counterposes two words atop or beside one another. These words were randomly lifted from Haven’s text conversations, then arbitrarily linked by a computer program. It’s mildly interesting to imagine stories that would connect the words: “opposable/friend,” “dog/pathos,” “monologue/over,” and my personal favorite, “vanquish/blueberries.” But the idea loses steam pretty quickly, and it’s hard to imagine that anyone would linger in such an exhibition, much less want to buy any of these pieces. There are also anomalies in the printing that leave white tracers on the black ink. Visually, these imperfections read as sloppy printing. The show as a whole is overhung and undercooked. After the conceit wears thin, you’re left looking at rows upon rows of black and white paper, wondering why you’re supposed to give a shit. Through Jan. 31. PDX Contemporary Art, 925 NW Flanders St., 222-0063.

Untitled by DIana MarkoSIan

DIANA MARKOSIAN, INVENTING MY FATHER Traveling to armenia to reconnect with an absentee father.

In light of the brouhaha surrounding Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg’s film, The Interview, it’ll be intriguing to see artist Jim Riswold’s latest series, which parodies North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. A gifted satirist, Riswold in the past has trained his sights on figures such as Adolf Hitler, Jesus Christ, Leonardo da Vinci and Frida Kahlo, often skewering them in photographs, figurines and diagrams. Through Jan. 31. Augen DeSoto, 716 NW Davis St., 224-8182.

Diana Markosian’s father would fit well in an Everclear song. During her childhood, he would vanish without explanation for months at a time, then return as if nothing had happened. His stormy relationship with her mother ended when her mother fled to the United States from Moscow, taking the then-7year-old Markosian and her brother to California. They never told her father goodbye and didn’t see him again for 15 years. Her mother painstakingly cut his image out of every picture in which he appeared in the family photo album—a detail that adds poignancy to Markosian’s new photo series, Inventing My Father. In 2013, Markosian flew to Armenia to reunite with her father, an event she documented in black-and-white portraits and still lifes. Because he had been a cipher to her during all the intervening years, the experience of visiting him was not so much “getting to know you” as it was inventing him from scratch: inferring the contours and features of a phantom. From these untitled photographs, you can sense how surreal the experience must have been for Markosian. In one image, the man gazes at the camera through two windows, the glass panes blurry with reflections and glare. Knowing the backstory, it’s impossible not to see these distortions as metaphors for the time and distance that have warped the man’s image in his daughter’s mind. Another photo shows one of the man’s shirts on a hanger in the dying light of early evening— an empty garment filled only with shadows. In another dramatically lit shot, the man sits on his sofa, his white hair aglow in sunlight, his face and torso completely obscured by shadow. To the artist’s credit, she allows these multiple layers of meaning to play out gently. She doesn’t hit you over the head with treacly symbolism; she doesn’t need to. As a subject, her father doesn’t give much. If he has a personality, he’s keeping it very close to his vest. You get the sense that Markosian still harbors a good deal of anger toward him but is doing her damnedest to understand and forgive—hoping that just maybe, all these photographs might begin to fill up the hole his absence left inside her. RICHARD SPEER.

For more Visual Arts listings, visit

SEE IT: Blue Sky Gallery, 122 NW 8th Ave., 225-0210. Through Feb. 1.

Window: A Dialogue

A bracing blast of color is always good for combatting the drabness of January. And there’s plenty of saturation to be found in Blackfish’s group show. Lynda Ater’s painting, Orange Frames, weaves together acidic color fields of orange and chartreuse. Michael Knutson’s cumbersomely titled Four-Layered Rotational Symmetry III, with its ovals overlapping like a Venn diagram, is a riot of purple, orange and fuchsia. Finally, Rory ONeal’s untitled acrylic painting on paper is a bright flash of orange, red and white, the planes pushing and pulling in what amounts to a spirited ripoff of the late Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann. Through Jan. 31. Blackfish Gallery, 420 NW 9th Ave., 234-2634.

Winter Group Show

WEED Advertise in WW’s annual homage to all things herbal! We’ll cover the ins and outs of legalization, an update on local ganjapreneurs, extensive strain reviews, and more! Call: 503.243.2122 Email: advertising@wweek.com

FEATURING THE CANNABIS COLLECTION

January 28, 2015 Space Reservation & Materials Deadline: Thursday, January 23 at 10am 44

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

BOOKS

JAN. 14–20

= WW Pick. Highly recommended. By PENELOPE BASS. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit lecture or reading information at least two weeks in advance to: WORDS, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Email: words@wweek.com. Fax: 243-1115.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14 William Stafford Birthday Celebration

Continuing the month of William Stafford birthday parties, Broadway Books will host novelist and poet Joanna Rose (Little Miss Strange) to lead a reading and discussion with Turiya Autry, Mark Pomeroy and Harold Johnson. Each writer will share favorite Stafford poems and then pieces of their own influenced by the work. Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway, 284-1726. 7 pm. Free.

Cathy Camper

Portland writer, librarian and comic creator Cathy Camper will give a presentation on her new book, Lowriders in Space, with debut illustrator Raul the Third. Will Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack and Elirio Malaria win the best car in the universe contest and get the money to open their own car shop? Tune in to ﬁnd out. Floating World Comics, 400 NW Couch St., 241-0227. 5-7 pm. Free.

Fred Venturini

Inﬂuenced by the events that shaped his own life (such as being set on ﬁre by a bully at age 10), Fred Venturini’s new novel, The Heart Does Not Grow Back, is a twist on the superhero story. Smalltown nobody Dale Sampson discovers he has the ability to regrow his own limbs and organs, but can he use the power to help a girl from his past? Venturini will be joined in conversation by Chuck Palahniuk, who recently included one of Venturini’s stories in the anthology he edited, Burnt Tongues. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800878-7323. 7:30 pm. Free.

FRIDAY, JAN. 16 Graeme Simsion

Following up with the characters from his acclaimed novel The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion’s new book, The Rosie Eﬀect, ﬁnds Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman married and living in New York and, now, she’s pregnant. From industrial refrigeration to brushes with the law, Simsion crafts a smart love story with captivating characters. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm. Free.

SATURDAY, JAN. 17 Playback Theatre PDX

Using improvisational acting, music and dance, Playback Theatre PDX creates a live performance from stories told by the audience. Guided by the theme “Celebrating Our Shadows, Celebrating Our Light,” participants are invited to share tales of both hate and love, fear and conﬁdence. Hipbone Studio, 1847 E Burnside St., 358-0898. 7:30 pm. $15.

An Evening of Trans Writers

Canadian novelist, maker of short ﬁlms and storyteller Ivan Coyote has spent nearly two decades sharing imaginative and emotional landscapes with audiences across the globe. Coyote will read along with Portland trans authors Sara Woods and Cooper Lee Bombardier as they share poetry and creative nonﬁction about subverting the traditional roles of gender and identity. Independent Publishing Resource Center, 1001 SE Division St., Suite 2, 827-0249. 7 pm. $7-20 sliding scale.

TUESDAY, JAN. 20 Seth Grahame-Smith

What classic piece of literature or history lesson isn’t improved by the

addition of mythological monsters? It’s a strategy that has handsomely paid oﬀ for Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). His newest installation is a sweeping alternate history of the 20th century as he follows The Last American Vampire through Reconstruction to the dawn of the electric era, both World Wars, the Hindenburg crash, the JFK assassination and any other historical events that will ﬁt. Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 800-878-7323. 7 pm. Free.

David Shields and Caleb Powell

We all make decisions about how we want to live our lives. Caleb Powell wanted to be an artist but became wrapped up in fatherhood. His former professor, David Shields, longed for a family but devoted his life to his art (with five books being released in the next year). So for four days, Shields and Powell holed up in a cabin in the Cascades discussing everything from marriage, sex and happiness to drugs, death and betrayal in an effort to find the difference between art and life. The result is the book I Think You’re Totally Wrong: A Quarrel. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm.

For more Books listings, visit

REVIEW

KELLY SUE DECONNICK, BITCH PLANET Bitch Planet is an uncomfortable title to ask for over the phone, given that 50 percent of it is an insult fortified by a millennia of sexism. But for the new Image Comics series, written by Portland author Kelly Sue DeConnick, whose magical-realist Western Pretty Deadly was nominated for an Planets are the new prisons. Eisner Award, an uncomfortable title is appropriate. Bitch Planet is set on an Earth where women who deviate from gender norms are dubbed “noncompliant” and sent through space to a prison planet. Women in prison have, of course, drawn comparisons to Orange Is the New Black. But the prison world is even less hospitable than Piper’s Litchfield. A doting Jason Biggs isn’t waiting outside—some of these women’s husbands had them sent to Bitch Planet. There are no dance parties, just brutal guards in Dr. Doom-like masks; a giant, pink hologram in a nun’s habit and a bodice that demands their confessions; and a pair of wardens that control and quip over the action like a sadistic Statler and Waldorf. “Women and girls are still raised to prioritize the well-being and comfort of everyone else over themselves,” DeConnick says. “There is something very appealing to me about the metaphor of women in cages, women in boxes. Femininity must be defined in this particular way, and if you don’t fit in this neat little box, then you are aberrant.” A fan of Japanese prison exploitation films, DeConnick says she’d been trying to put her own spin on the genre. “They would set up these salacious situations and put the viewer into the position of the predator or the abuser and only transfer that point of view at the point when the women would be allowed to get their revenge,” she says. “I wanted to see if I could play with the exploitation trope and do it in a way that didn’t make my tummy hurt.” When she sent a list of ideas to illustrator Valentine De Landro, he latched on. Though it deals with material that’s certainly sobering, Bitch Planet isn’t devoid of humor or life. “EAT MORE, POOP LESS,” reads a sign at a busy intersection on Earth. True to its pulpy influence, that back page is full of mail-order items like X-ray specs and personality modifications. The art is visually striking: It’s full of Lichtensteinian dots and bracing pinks and greens. At their “intake” to Bitch Planet, its newest prisoners float suspended in liquid, wires in their noses and light coming up from below, casting shadows on their wrinkles, curves, muscles and flab. “I’m not sitting down to write a flier,” says DeConnick. “At the same time, I am certainly sitting down to vent my spleen. I’m also of an age where if by not prioritizing your comfort makes me a bitch, I’m OK with that.” JAMES HELMSWORTH. READ IT: Bitch Planet No. 1 was published in December. Issue 2 goes on sale in comic-book stores Jan. 28. Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

jan. 14–20 HOTSEAT

= WW Pick. Highly recommended.

COuRTESY OF NW FILM CENTER

MOVIES

Editor: REBECCA JACOBSON. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, send screening information at least two weeks in advance to Screen, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Email: rjacobson@wweek.com. Fax: 243-1115.

OPENING THIS WEEK Altman

B [THREE DAYS ONLY] At the beginning of Altman, the new documentary from Ron Mann, “Altmanesque” is defined as “characterized by naturalism, social criticism, subversion of genre.” With the help of voiceovers from his children and his widow, Kathryn Reed, the doc traces Robert Altman’s career from his stint in Kansas City making industrial safety shorts to his work in television and his time as one of the most influential and critically acclaimed American filmmakers in history. Altman is known by many film buffs for one simple innovation: He allowed his actors to talk over each other. You know, like in real life. And Altman makes clear that one of the greatest charms of an Altman film—of M*A*S*H and The Long Goodbye and The Player—is its verisimilitude. The best parts of Altman are the clips from Altman’s impressive repertoire. Otherwise, the film lacks energy and urgency. The voice-overs are oddly wooden and the stakes— will Altman recover from a colossal flop like Popeye? Will his move toward live theater serve his career?— are low, even for a film about a man famous for turning low stakes into high art. DEBORAH KENNEDY. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium. 7 pm Friday, 4 pm Saturday and 7 pm Sunday, Jan. 16-18.

Blackhat

Chris Hemsworth takes a break from playing Thor to hack some computers in a new thriller directed by Michael Mann. Screened after WW press deadlines, but look for AP Kryza’s review at wweek.com. R. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Mill Plain, Cornelius, Oak Grove, Cinema 99, Bridgeport, Evergreen Parkway, Fox Tower, Hilltop, Lloyd Center, Movies on TV, Sherwood, Tigard, Wilsvonille, Sandy.

Exit Marrakech

[ONE NIGHT ONLY] German culture organization Zeitgeist Northwest screens Caroline Link’s drama about a teenager who takes a trip to Morocco with his estranged theater-director father. Clinton Street Theater. 7 pm Wednesday, Jan. 14.

Little Accidents

C [THREE NIGHTS ONLY] In the small coal town of Beckley, W.V., people expect things to go from bad to worse. Following a fatal mining mishap, lone survivor Amos Jenkins (Boyd Holbrook)—an almost-farcical name for the small-town everyman—finds himself in the middle of the knotty investigation. Soon after, the teenage son of a mining exec goes missing, leaving the mother, Diana (Elizabeth Banks), distraught. Death, infidelity and deceit ensue, with lives intertwining dramatically. Little Accidents is Sara Colangelo’s feature debut, and it’s emotionally ambitious. At times, though, the slow-paced misery is a bit much, with the thick spread of sadness taking the place of deeper character development. Adding to the hefty sense of drama is the knowledge that, despite any potential conflict resolution, these characters are trapped, forced to bear their losses in a deadend Appalachian town. But the film is not without its strengths. Colangelo allows for slow-building tension, as when Diana’s marital grief crescendos. Altogether, Little Accidents is a pretty good film about how the truth won’t set you free, but in the face of imminent doom, it’ll at least make you feel a li’l better. And Diana proves that, despite all adversity, attractive blondes will always find their way. Clinton Street Theater. 7 pm Friday-Saturday and 9 pm Sunday, Jan. 16-18.

Paddington

Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Coprnelius, Oak Grove, Cinema 99, Bridgeport, Hilltop, Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV, Pioneer Place, Sherwood, Tigard, Wilsonville, Sandy.

Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour

[ONE DAY ONLY] Eight shorts from last year’s Sundance Film Festival hit the Hollywood Theatre for a single afternoon. The showcase includes both documentary and fiction, with films about Zambian exiles trying to travel to the moon, love, haircuts and jaded lawyers. Hollywood Theatre. 2 pm Saturday, Jan. 17.

The Wedding Ringer

After failing to launch his singer-songwriter career, Adam Sandler turns to ringing bells for the Salvation Army. Wait, what? Kevin Hart stars as a best man for hire? Oh. OK. Screened after WW press deadlines, but look for John Locanthi’s review at wweek.com. R.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner star in a Disney adaptation of the popular kids’ book. PG. Kennedy School, Mt. Hood.

Annie

C+ Rebooting a franchise can shed new light on a story. Take Annie: In director Will Gluck’s version, the plucky, white orphan is now a plucky, African-American foster kid, played by 10-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis. Cruel orphanage caretaker Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz) is now an abusive ex-C C Music Factory member/foster-home runner. Daddy Warbucks is Michael Bloomberg—er, a wildly wealthy cellphone mogul named Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) who’s running for mayor of New York. Stacks and Annie run into each other (literally), she falls down, and he pulls her out of the street. His campaign team persuades him to take Annie in to pad his paltry polling numbers. Such references to the Machiavellian state of American politics make this Annie feel necessary. At the end of the day, however, Annie needs to entertain kids. Whether the fault of the director or her own inexperience, Wallis’ performance is onenote, and she delivers every line with the same stiff cadence and twee defiance. And save “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” which borrows the beat of Jay-Z’s 1998 version, the singing and dancing are lukewarm. Annie’s updates are smart and fun, but with the iconic songs whittled to husks of their former selves, they’ve got nothing to stand on. PG. JAMES HELMSWORTH. Clackamas, Sherwood.

The Babadook

A- Dressed in a flowing trench coat

and tattered black hat, the apparition in the superb Aussie creeper The Babadook immediately lodges itself in your nightmares. First glimpsed in an Edward Gorey-esque pop-up book, the titular monster is like an unholy combination of a vaudevillian clown and Jack the Ripper. But what sets director Jennifer Kent’s debut film apart from standard creature features—and elevates it into the realm of horror art—is that even if this ghostly menace never appeared, The Babadook would still be a gorgeous, heartbreaking exercise in dread. Kent allows much of her film to play out in the shadows, creating a sense of claustrophobic paranoia and lunacy that make The Babadook one of the most emotionally affecting pieces of macabre cinema in years. AP KRYZA. Living Room Theaters, Hollywood Theatre, Academy Theater, Laurelhurs Theater.

The cuddly, floppy hat-wearing bear gets his own live-action feature. PG.

THE maRCH GOES ON: Portlanders protest the killing of Lloyd “Tony” Stevenson, 31, who died after a police chokehold in 1985.

STILL SHOWING

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

CONT. on page 47

DON’T SHOOT A NEW DOCUMENTARY EXAMINES THE HISTORY OF POLICE BRUTALITY IN PORTLAND. BY ReB ecca jacoB son

rjacobson@wweek.com

Long before the Trail Blazers warmed up in “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts, another group of Portlanders wore a very different message across their chests. Thirty years ago, after a man died in custody following a police chokehold, officers designed shirts with their own catchy slogan: “Don’t Choke ’Em, Smoke ’Em.” That’s just one bit of history explored in Arresting Power, a new documentary charting nearly 50 years of police brutality in Portland. The film—co-directed by Julie Perini, Jodi Darby and Erin Yanke—reaches back to the late ’60s to examine numerous police killings as well as robust community resistance. Perini spoke to WW about cycles of violence, the Black Panthers in Portland and what it would mean to abolish the police. WW: Because of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, police brutality has re-entered the national conversation. How did recent events affect you as you were completing the film? Julie Perini: Suddenly, many more people want to hear what we have to say. We’ve been working on this for years. Police brutality in Portland, and in every city, is not a new issue. The fact that there’s this sustained national attention is sad—it’s a reality that a lot of communities feel unsafe around police—but it’s good there’s energy in a social movement that’s been building for many years. There’s a hunger for it, an openness to it. How do you sustain that hunger? History shows us change is possible. It can feel like people are interested in an issue for a while and then it dies down and then a new issue comes up and then it dies down. But the energy doesn’t ever just disappear. As long as there are police brutalizing communities, there will be people fighting back, whether or not it’s in the nightly news. One thing we found in looking back as far as the late ’60s is that it’s a cycle. That can be depressing, but can also point to the fact that this kind of tactic of excessive use of force is not an isolated thing. It’s a

routine thing, just like giving out parking tickets. The film discusses the social activism of the Black Panthers in Portland, including their free breakfast programs and health clinics. What lessons can we learn from the Panthers? One lesson is to question official histories. If the main thing people know about the Black Panther Party is that they were aggressive or threatening, that’s really unfortunate, because it’s a massive distortion of the truth. They were working to improve their communities by themselves, using the resources they had available. They recognized that black communities needed more health support, more education, more access to good nutrition. Since then, the government has kind of co-opted— in a good way—those ideas. Now there are breakfast programs for children at schools all over the country. That’s directly inspired by what those organizers were doing for black communities. You interview some people who advocate for abolition of the police. Some do talk about how a world without police could look. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways that communities are being kept safe—it just means they don’t involve people armed as if they’re at war. The idea of abolition might just mean abolishing the idea that we need to have constant surveillance and the threat of violence to feel safe. As three white women, how did that shape your experience of making the film? We might seem like outsiders, but in other ways we’re insiders in the activist community. Jodi and Erin have been here almost 20 years. They’re old friends with Kent Ford of the Black Panther Party. I’ve only been here seven years, but those two provided access to a lot of community organizers—there’s a longtime trust built up. People would sometimes remark, “Oh wow, an all-woman film crew!” We never got up in the morning and said, “Today’s our day to go be women filmmakers and break down the barriers.” But yes, the fact that we were white people making this film means we made a different film than someone from impacted communities. Poor communities, homeless communities, black communities—they would have made a different film. I would really like to see that film. It’s not too late. SEE IT: Arresting Power is at NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium at 7 pm Thursday, Jan. 15. $8-$9. Directors in attendance. Full interview at wweek.com.

JAN. 14–20

B- For Margaret Keane, “eyes are

the window to the soul.” At least, that’s the drivel the artist (a blondwigged Amy Adams) has to deliver in Tim Burton’s Big Eyes, a biopic that winds up wanting for both vision and soul. It’s got the makings of a rich story: In the late ’50s and early ’60s, Keane churned out hundreds of paintings of sad, saucereyed waifs. Art critics lambasted the work as sentimental kitsch, but the public adored it. And Margaret got none of the credit. Her husband, Walter (Christoph Waltz) presented himself as the artist. It wasn’t until years later, when Margaret sued Walter for slander, that the truth emerged. As he did in Ed Wood 20 years ago, Burton has fashioned a portrait of an earnest artist producing work of dubious value. But unlike in that ﬁlm, the director won’t let himself sink into strangeness. PG-13. REBECCA JACOBSON. Living Room Theaters.

with real-world consequences. R. MICHAEL NORDINE. Living Room Theaters, Kiggins.

Dumb and Dumber To

B Twenty years after Dumb & Dumber entrenched the Farrelly brothers as keepers of a frat house of filmic offense, the directors return to their first heroes for the sequel just about nobody demanded. As if there were any doubt, Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) and Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) remain resolutely unchanged. By means of a longmislaid postcard, Harry finds out he has a daughter, and, as happens, he needs a kidney while Lloyd wants to bone her. What results is a fusillade of absurdist puns and scatological taunts amid a Lifetime picture

about two mildly disabled friends on an amiable, misguided quest. PG13. JAY HORTON. Kennedy School, Mission Theater, Mt. Hood, Valley.

Exodus: Gods and Kings

C- Ridley Scott’s spin on the tale of Moses and Ramesses is what a parody of a biblical epic might look like on Entourage. PG-13. MICHAEL NORDINE. Kennedy School, Mission Theater, Mt. Hood, Valley.

Force Majeure

A- A family ski vacation in the

French Alps, unfolds with chilly menace, and a welcome shot of caustic humor, in Swedish director

CONT. on page 48

REVIEW C O U R T E S Y O F WA R N E R B R O S .

Big Eyes

MOVIES

Big Hero 6

A Shelving wordy cleverness for its

own sake, ignoring parental intrusion, and allowing moral lessons to develop organically through a simpliﬁed storyline, Big Hero 6 is that rarest thing: an animated children’s adventure designed purely to delight its target audience. PG. JAY HORTON. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Empirical Theater at OMSI, Indoor Twin.

Birdman

B- If Birdman’s message is that the theater, speciﬁcally Broadway, is the home of high art and Hollywood a place of debased, greed-driven entertainment, director Alejandro González Iñárritu doesn’t make a convincing—or even amusingly satirical—argument. R. REBECCA JACOBSON. Hollywood Theatre, Lake, Fox Tower.

Boyhood

A Boyhood took 12 years, in ﬁlm as

in life. For 12 years, director Richard Linklater shot the movie for a few weeks each summer as both the main character, a boy named Mason, and the actor, Ellar Coltrane, came of age, from 6 to 18. The epic undertaking has resulted in one of the most honest and absorbing representations of growing up ever put to ﬁlm: all the tedium, all the wonder. R. MATTHEW KORFHAGE. Laurelhurst Theater, Fox Tower.

The Book of Life

B- A transcendent flourish of fourcolor splendor and kinetic verve, new animated feature The Book of Life arrives overstuffed with artisanal delights, including the world’s grandest piñata. But, while the picaresque drollery will surely draw crowds, the film is still hollow, disposable and a shameless waste of candy. PG. JAY HORTON. Lake, Mt. Hood.

The Boxtrolls

C+ As in Laika’s previous two eﬀorts—the fantastical Coraline and playfully supernatural ParaNorman— The Boxtrolls boasts a scrupulously crafted world. But its overstuﬀed screenplay lacks humor, and it could use a great deal more fun. PG. REBECCA JACOBSON. Academy Theater, Empirical Theater at OMSI, Laurelhurst Theater, Valley.

Citizenfour

B History happens in real time in

Citizenfour, a behind-closed-doors account of Edward Snowden’s decision to reveal the dizzying extent of U.S. government surveillance programs. Much of Laura Poitras’ documentary consists of long interviews with Snowden in the Hong Kong hotel room where he was holed up in June 2013, divulging everything he knew to Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald. The result is a portrait of the whistle-blower as neither hero nor traitor. Citizenfour’s ground-level vibe and Poitras’ necessary cloakand-dagger tactics make the documentary like a ’70s paranoia thriller

HIRED GUN: Bradley Cooper takes aim.

AMERICAN SNIPER Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) lies with his gun on a rooftop in Iraq. In his sights is a boy holding a grenade, approaching American troops. It’s up to him: kill a child or see his friends slaughtered. Before he decides, director Clint Eastwood cuts away to Kyle as a child, hunting with his father. The real-life Chris Kyle killed more than 250 people as an “overwatch” sniper—he sat on roofs and shot people who posed threats to U.S. troops. In February 2013, at a gun range in his home state of Texas, a Marine with PTSD—whom Kyle was trying to help rehabilitate—shot and killed him. American Sniper provides a chance to explore the man behind these facts, starting with Kyle’s childhood, moving to the anger and patriotism that drove him from being a reckless rodeo rider to a Navy SEAL, and finally exploring the struggles of being a married man serving abroad. But Eastwood is uninterested in nuance, and the result is an irresponsible movie that steamrolls its themes: Military training is hard. Americans are righteous. Iraqis are bad. Kyle is very good at shooting. As Kyle, Cooper keeps a constant stiff upper lip. He shrugs off other soldiers’ compliments in Iraq—he’s just doing his job. On the phone to his wife, he’s unwavering—he needs to be there, and she needs to tough it out. A stoic protagonist is fine and good, but it means dynamism must come from elsewhere. That doesn’t happen here. The movie’s color palette is soft and bright, the Middle East as imagined by Thomas Kinkade. Cheap tricks abound. Time slows as we watch a bullet fly from Kyle’s rifle, warping the air. The pacing is breakneck: With an entire life to cover, no scene gets room to stretch. The ensemble cast, meanwhile, is flat. Other soldiers feed Kyle lines, like proxies for audience doubt. Is Kyle worried the war isn’t justified? No, “they” attacked “us” first. Does he feel bad about killing? No, everyone he killed is bad. In one scene, higher-ups tell him a man he shot was carrying a Quran. “I don’t know what a Quran looks like,” he says, defiantly. It looked like ammo to him. A scene like this offers the perfect chance to explore war’s moral ambiguities. Eastwood, with his infinite jump cuts across time and space, doesn’t bother. Kyle’s post-traumatic stress disorder is reduced to a few minutes, as he hears ominous sounds in public places after returning stateside. Before long, he’s grinning again. As with the opening scene, the movie resolves every complication as soon as it’s raised. Kyle pulls the trigger every time. JAMES HELMSWORTH.

Shoot ﬁrst, ask questions never.

D SEE IT: American Sniper is rated R. It opens Friday at most major Portland-area theaters.

Paddington (PG) 11:20AM 1:50PM 4:25PM 7:05PM 9:35PM Penguins Of Madagascar, The (PG) 11:00AM 4:30PM 10:00PM Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb (PG) 10:55AM 4:35PM 10:20PM Woman In Black 2: Angel Of Death (PG-13) 9:55PM Into The Woods (PG) 10:45AM 1:40PM 4:40PM 7:35PM 10:30PM Selma (PG-13) 10:45AM 1:40PM 4:40PM 7:40PM 10:40PM Wedding Ringer, The (R) 11:55AM 2:35PM 5:15PM 7:55PM 10:35PM Wild (R) 10:55AM 1:45PM 4:35PM 7:25PM 10:15PM Unbroken (PG-13) 12:45PM 4:00PM 7:20PM 10:30PM Spare Parts (PG-13) 11:25AM 2:15PM 5:00PM 7:50PM 10:35PM

Taken 3 (PG-13) 11:30AM 12:55PM 2:20PM 3:45PM 5:10PM 6:35PM 8:00PM 9:25PM 10:45PM Inherent Vice (R) 12:00PM 3:30PM 7:00PM 10:25PM Annie (2014) (PG) 1:30PM 7:05PM Big Hero 6 (PG) 10:50AM 1:30PM 4:20PM 7:10PM Interstellar (PG-13) 11:40AM 6:40PM American Sniper (R) 11:50AM 3:10PM 6:30PM 9:45PM Blackhat (R) 10:45AM 1:45PM 4:45PM 7:45PM 10:45PM Hunger Games: The Mockingjay, Part 1 (PG-13) 3:35PM 10:25PM Imitation Game, The (PG-13) 10:50AM 1:35PM 4:25PM 7:15PM 10:10PM Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies (PG-13) 12:20PM 3:40PM 10:10PM Foxcatcher (R) 1:25PM 7:10PM Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies 3D (PG-13) 7:00PM

Inherent Vice (R) 12:10PM 3:35PM 7:00PM 10:15PM Into The Woods (PG) 10:50AM 1:45PM 4:40PM 7:35PM 10:30PM Wild (R) 11:05AM 1:50PM 4:40PM 7:30PM 10:25PM Imitation Game, The (PG-13) 11:15AM 2:00PM 4:45PM 7:30PM 10:20PM Paddington (PG) 12:10PM 2:35PM 5:00PM 7:25PM 10:00PM Unbroken (PG-13) 12:35PM 4:00PM 7:10PM 10:20PM Wedding Ringer, The (R) 12:00PM 2:35PM 5:10PM 7:45PM 10:20PM Selma (PG-13) 1:15PM 4:15PM 7:15PM 10:15PM Taken 3 (PG-13) 11:20AM 2:00PM 4:40PM 6:00PM 7:20PM 8:40PM 10:00PM

Big Hero 6 (PG) 11:30AM 2:15PM Blackhat (R) 10:45AM 1:40PM 4:40PM 7:35PM 10:40PM I (Telugu) (NR) 2:40PM 10:00PM American Sniper (R) 11:15AM 1:00PM 2:25PM 4:05PM 5:35PM 7:15PM 8:45PM 10:15PM Foxcatcher (R) 1:10PM 7:20PM Hunger Games: The Mockingjay, Part 1 (PG-13) 4:15PM 10:25PM I (Tamil) (NR) 11:00AM 6:20PM Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies 3D (PG-13) 3:40PM 10:15PM Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies (PG-13) 12:20PM 7:00PM

Selma R 12:30, 3:45, 6:55, 10:10, 2:30 3:00 6:15 9:25 12:40 I-Telugu NR 12:00 8:00 3:20 11:20 I-Tamil NR 4:00 3:20 7:20 Big Hero 6 PG 11:10 2:05 4:45 7:30 10:10 2:10 1:20 4:15 6:55 9:40 12:20 Interstellar PG13 11:00 5:15 3:10 2:10 8:25 Night at the Museum PG 2:40 9:00 2:00 4:40 11:00 Inherent Vice R 11:30 3:00 6:30 10:00 2:50 2:20 5:50 9:20 12:50 Blackhat R 12:45 4:00 7:15 10:25 2:30 3:15 6:30 9:45 12:55

American Sniper R 10:50 2:00 5:15 8:30 2:35 1:25 4:35 7:50 11:05 Taken 3 PG13 12:40 3:30 6:15 9:15 2:10 2:50 5:40 8:25 11:25 Paddignton PG 11:05 1:40 4:20 7:00 9:40 2:00 1:05 3:40 6:20 9:00 11:40 American Sniper 2pr R 12:15 3:45 7:00 10:20 2:35 2:50 6:20 9:35 12:55 Taken 3 PG13 11:20 2:00 5:00 7:45 10:25 2:10 1:30 4:10 7:10 9:55 12:35 Wild R 10:55 1:45 4:30 7:25 10:15 2:25 1:15 4:10 7:05 10:00 12:55 An Ode to My Father (Korean) NR 7:30 10:30 2:30 10:00 1:00 Annie PG 11:00 1:50 4:40 2:20 1:20 4:10 7:00

American Sniper (XD) (R) 1:00PM 4:15PM 7:30PM 10:40PM

FRIDAY Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

jan. 14–20

COURTESY OF SPHINx PRODUCTIONS

MOVIES

deep end. Let’s hope it never crests. R. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Cinema 21, Mill Plain.

Interstellar

C+ Christopher Nolan is Hollywood’s most masterful huckster: a blockbuster auteur who uses incredible sleight of hand to elevate into art what other directors would leave as garbage. Interstellar finds former pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) raising his kids and crops on a blighted Earth who’s enlisted to captain a space expedition to prevent the extinction of mankind. But Nolan overcomplicates things with indecipherable equations and endless exposition. Add a twist ending that’s ludicrous and self-important to the point of hilarity and you’ve got a lot of strained goodwill. PG-13. AP KRYZA. Clackamas, Fox Tower, Sherwood.

The Interview

A Some people take a strong dislike

ALTMAN Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure. Early in the trip, during lunch at an outdoor cafe, an avalanche comes rumbling down the mountain. Tomas (Johannes Bah Kuhnke) insists it’s a controlled slide. But when it doesn’t seem to stop, he grabs his iPhone and darts away, leaving his wife (Lisa Loven Kongsli), to shield the kids and scream after him. Turns out Tomas was right, and once the cloud of snow clears, the family resumes their meal. And turns out Force Majeure is a disaster movie after all, only with casualties emotional rather than physical. Many have seen the film as a commentary on gender roles, and Östlund indeed told The New York Times he wanted to create “the most pathetic male character on film.” But Mars/Venus debates aside, Force Majeure is an incisive exploration of shame and cowardice. R. REBECCA JACOBSON. Living Room Theaters.

Foxcatcher

B Foxcatcher is a brutal grind of a movie, which fits the subject matter. In 1987, John du Pont contacted Mark Schultz, who’d won an Olympic gold medal three years earlier, and offered him room, board and a hefty paycheck to assemble a team of wrestlers to compete in the upcoming world championships in Seoul. What unfolded over the next decade was so bizarre that a grayscale mood piece of the sort crafted by director Bennett Miller is the only way it would translate to the screen. It is an unpleasant two hours, spent with two impenetrable, broken characters. But it is also too intense, and too profoundly strange, not to recommend trudging through it at least once. R. MATTHEW SINGER. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Fox Tower.

The Gambler

C Mark Wahlberg really, really wants

an Oscar. And with The Gambler, he pursues it by employing every Academy-baiting trick short of transforming himself into a little black girl with a mental disability. Wahlberg lost 60 pounds for Rupert Wyatt’s remake of a 1974 James Caan vehicle because, well, acting. He plays Jim Bennett, an eccentric college professor by day and compulsive gambling junkie by night. He has a strained relationship with his mother (Jessica Lange) and a romance with a precocious student (Brie Larsen), to whom he reveals there’s more to him than his hard-living, suicidally risk-addicted exterior lets on. Trouble is, despite Wahlberg’s best efforts, it’s impossible to care about Bennett. He’s a horrible piece of shit who gets off on taking risks with other people’s money. So when he gets in over his head, you hope he gets whacked rather than redeemed. It’s possible to make a great movie about terrible people: Just look at Nightcrawler. But with no real motivations to back up its slick production values, The Gambler is a rudderless

film notable only for Wahlberg’s performance. R. AP KRYZA. Fox Tower.

Gone Girl

B+ Gone Girl might be David Fincher’s

battiest work. The director has taken a lurid suspense yarn—the wildly popular novel by Gillian Flynn—and emerged with a film that deftly straddles the line between brilliant and stupid. It’s a media satire and a meditation on a volatile marriage that masquerades as the kind of plop you’d find Ashley Judd starring in back in the ’90s. It’s mesmerizing. R. AP KRYZA. Academy Theater, Laurelhurst Theater, Valley.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

B+ Prior to The Battle of the Five Armies, it would have been fair to say the Hobbit movies at their best were inferior to the Lord of the Rings films at their worst. This may not have been much of an issue for anyone whose fictional universe of choice is Middleearth, but even apologists had to admit the first two installments were often sluggish, if enjoyable. There’s finally a genuine sense of breathless urgency to the concluding chapter, which pits man against dwarf against elf against orc in an elegantly crafted, altogether glorious skirmish for supremacy over the Lonely Mountain. PG-13. MICHAEL NORDINE. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Mill Plain, Cornelius, Oak Grove, Sherwood, Sandy.

The Homesman

B+ Mary Bee Cuddy is an eligible

bachelorette, and not just for the 1850s. She owns land in the Nebraska Territory, has a fine singing voice and can fry up a delicious chicken dinner. But, as cruelly noted by a man she proposes to in the opening minutes of Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman, this frontier woman is also “too bossy and too damn plain.” So Mary (Hilary Swank) remains single. When her town needs an intrepid volunteer to transport three mentally ill women to Iowa and none of the men step forward, she takes on the task. Gone Girl has inspired much debate over its particular brand of feminism and the twists and turns of its narrative, but the more low-key Homesman outshines that pulpy thriller in both aspects. R. MICHAEL NORDINE. Academy Theater, Laurelhurst Theater.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1

B- When last we met Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), the bow-wielding heroine was being rescued from the eponymous death match and thrust into the role of reluctant revolutionary. Now, in the first half of The Hunger Games’ concluding installment, Katniss’ outlying District 12 has been reduced to ashen rubble. The Games are conspicuous in their absence. The latent cruelty of that tournament is responsible for

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

nearly all of the franchise’s most indelible moments: That feeling of lambs going to slaughter is both exhilarating and tragic, and shorn of this, the new film has no real hook. PG-13. MICHAEL NORDINE. Fox Tower, Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Indoor Twin.

The Imitation Game

B As geniuses often are, British math-

ematician Alan Turing was an odd duck. And, as Oscar-season biopics often are, The Imitation Game is a resolutely traditional film. Full of childhood flashbacks, handsome sets, sharp zingers and a careful dash of devastation, it takes a prickly prodigy—Turing pioneered the field of computer science and helped crack Nazi codes— and places him in an eminently (and sometimes overly) palatable picture. But the story packs natural dramatic wallop, and Norwegian director Morten Tyldum tells it with the brisk pacing of a thriller. As Turing, Benedict Cumberbatch is detached but pained— it’s a wonderful performance. The film also gives us scenes set after the war, when Turing was interrogated for homosexuality, an illegal activity at the time. Tyldum, though, presents Turing as a gay martyr but never as a gay man, an elision more frustrating than the film’s many historical tweaks. And yet there’s something to be said for a drama as sturdy and watchable as The Imitation Game. With a story this compelling and a cast this good, it’s difficult not to play along. PG-13. REBECCA JACOBSON. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Moreland, Fox Tower.

Inherent Vice

A In Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas

Anderson’s rollicking adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s 2009 novel, the beaches of ’70s Los Angeles are populated with human flotsam. Hippies, Nazis, bikers, junkies, whores, Manson acolytes, dentists, cops, criminals and all manner of freaks commingle in the grimy tide pools. It’s a magnificent film. It’s also not for all tastes, but hey, that’s Anderson—he’s always defied genre. Here, though, Anderson is working in one of the most timeworn genres of all: the detective story. Only with Inherent Vice, said private detective is less Sam Spade than Wavy Gravy, a pot-addled former doper named Doc Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) whose ex, Shasta (Katherine Waterston), disappears before tipping him off about a plot to overthrow a powerful construction magnate. That takes Doc on a journey through the stony underworld of the 1970s. All the while, he’s feverishly dogged by police detective Christian “Bigfoot” Bjornsen (Josh Brolin) a flat-topped wannabe actor who takes great pleasure in stomping over hippies and brags about his myriad civil rights violations. The key to enjoying Inherent Vice is to roll with the punches. This is a director riding high on a wave he himself created by cannonballing into the

to Katy Perry. There are a variety of stupid reasons for this, and it’s mostly pointless to argue with anyone who believes such a perspective indicates you’re a wizened iconoclast rejecting useless pink fluff. There’s some symmetry between Perry and The Interview, the new movie from Pineapple Expressionists Seth Rogen and James Franco. A lot of symmetry, actually. Enough that I don’t think it’s a stretch to call director Evan Goldberg’s use of “Firework” in the movie’s memorable death scene a masterstroke of meta-narrative. As you’ve heard by now, The Interview follows Franco’s douchebaggy talkshow host and Rogen’s Columbiaeducated producer into North Korea, where they’ve been assigned to assassinate newish dictator Kim Jongun. After all the studio-hacking and release-pulling, it’s not easy to unfreight the film of the controversy. So is The Interview funny? I laughed, hard. Like so much of Ms. Perry’s work, The Interview’s best moments are about the universal thirst for validation. The moral, too, is plain: Ignite the light, and let it shine, or else evil wins. R. MARTIN CIZMAR. Living Room Theaters.

Into the Woods

B+ Stephen Sondheim’s much-

loved musical has finally made it to the big screen, living somewhere between the stage original, with its shattered happy endings and higher death count, and the more sanitized, shortened version that’s long been making the rounds in school productions. Though timid—it waters down forest sex to an agonized make-out scene in the pines—Disney’s longshelved adaptation is still a beautiful compromise. And hell, the mash-up of cautionary fairy tales is fun. And it’s Sondheim! Meaning that, for the most part, this production is scored by show tunes more erratic than earworm. PG. SAUNDRA SORENSON. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Cornelius, Oak Grove, Sherwood, Roseway, Sandy, St. Johns Theater.

John Wick

A- John Wick treads familiar ground:

A retired hit man (Keanu Reeves) is roped back into the life. But this is the rare film that excels as much for what it puts on display as for what it holds back. It oozes style, yet avoids showy slow-mo and CGI. It’s birthed from cliché, yet populated with unpredictable characters. And it’s bloody terrific. R. AP KRYZA. Laurelhurst Theater.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Ben Stiller spends more time sprinting through a museum. PG. Clackamas, Empirical Theater at OMSI, Oak Grove, Sherwood, Sandy.

Selma

A- Movies about humanity’s failures

tend to flatter their audiences. Look at yesterday’s folly, they say, and be proud of our relatively democratic present. Too rare are movies that shine a retrospective light strong enough to throw long, cold shadows into the now. Such is Selma, Ava DuVernay’s

drama about three 1965 civil rights marches in Alabama. It’s not perfect, but it arrives at a historic moment that will leave only the most blinkered viewer feeling chuffed about the superiority of the present to the past. Selma is not only a vital missive, though. It is also expertly crafted entertainment. The film begins with a quiet moment of domestic dilly-dallying between Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo). While DuVernay returns to such pensive stretches, her film is mostly intent on examining the nature of collective action. Violence here is never aestheticized for its own sake, but brought to life so that we might understand its escalation and impact. Selma magnifies these moments to subvert the notion that the civil rights movement was some monolithic, autonomic historical force whose time had simply come. The film is transfixing, but not easy to watch. And it should not be easy to watch. PG-13. CHRIS STAMM. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Mill Plain, Cornelius, Hollywood Theatre, Living Room Theaters.

The Skeleton Twins

C Some twins can finish each other’s sentences, or guess what number the other is imagining with to-the-decimal-point accuracy. In The Skeleton Twins, Maggie and Milo’s sibling ESP manifests in simultaneous suicide attempts. Despite living on different coasts and having had no contact in 10 years, the twins, played by Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader, try to take their own lives at practically the same moment. Neither succeeds, but the incident brings them back under the same roof, in the town in upstate New York where they grew up. If this sounds like typical Sundance-baiting indie stuff, well, it is. But if there’s one thing writer-director Craig Johnson gets right, it’s the casting. As former Saturday Night Live castmates, Hader and Wiig come with built-in brothersister chemistry. One can only imagine how insufferable it would be with anyone else. R. MATTHEW SINGER. Academy Theater, Laurelhurst Theater.

St. Vincent

B- Freshman director Theodore Melfi is a very, very lucky man. Under most circumstances, his debut, St. Vincent, would be blasted for its contrived, overwrought plot. Does the world really need another story about a mean old bastard who finds redemption and purpose thanks to a kid? But luckily for Melfi, that crusty bastard is played by Bill Murray, who takes what could have been a geriatric riff on About a Boy and turns it into a showcase of his ever-evolving comedic prowess. PG-13. AP KRYZA. Academy Theater, Laurelhurst Theater, Valley Theater.

Taken 3

Somehow, there are still some ambiguously ethnic throats left in the world that Liam Neeson hasn’t chopped. He completes his hammer-punching campaign in this final (praise be!) chapter in the Taken franchise. PG-13. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Mill Plain, Cornelius, Oak Grove, Sherwood, Sandy.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

From Studio Ghibli cofounder Isao Takahata comes a hand-drawn adaptation of a 10th-century Japanese folk tale about a girl who emerges from a stalk of bamboo. PG. Laurelhurst Theater.

Top Five

A- Chris Rock took way too long to

play himself in a movie. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say he took far too long to make a movie that sounds like he does. That’s the immediate thing to leap out about Top Five, the third film the comic has written, directed and starred in but the first to come across as a true Chris Rock joint: The dialogue has the tone, pacing and detonation of his standup. For most of the film, it’s a loose, engaging walk-andtalk, something like Before Sunrise meets Seinfeld, energized by interjections of hip-hop brashness. R. MATTHEW SINGER. Fox Tower.

JAN. 14–20

Unbroken

B Early directorial eﬀorts from

movie stars typically exploit every advantage of the Hollywood ﬁlmmaking apparatus, so it should come as no surprise that Angelina Jolie’s second feature, Unbroken, looks terriﬁc. Some would argue that the harrowing story of former Olympian Louis Zamperini’s torturous ordeals—40-plus days lost at sea and the unending abuse of a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp— needn’t resemble a Tom Ford catalog. Nevertheless, Jolie stirs up a darkly passionate, powerfully strange love story within an otherwise boilerplate docudrama. PG-13. JAY HORTON. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Mill Plain, Cornelius, Oak Grove, Sherwood, Sandy, St. Johns Cinemas, Living Room Theaters.

Wild

A- Here’s some good news for

Oregonians: Wild, the film adaptation of Portlander Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling memoir about hiking 1,100 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail, gets our state right. It’s also a rich and affecting piece of filmmaking, independent of any book. Strayed’s memoir recounts how, at age 26, she undertook a solo trek on the Pacific Crest Trail. Her mother had died of cancer a few years earlier, her marriage had crumbled, and she was selfdestructing with the help of heroin and promiscuous sex. Like the book, Jean-Marc Vallée’s film is punctuated by flashbacks. What keeps us engaged isn’t fear about whether Strayed will survive, but the alchemy of physical toil and emotional turmoil, and the way past traumas and current challenges illuminate one another. R. REBECCA JACOBSON. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Cinema 21, Edgefield, Forest, Hollywood Theatre, Lake, Oak Grove, Sandy.

MOVIES

Winter Sleep

B- If you’re itching to spend three hours with a misanthropic mansplainer, Winter Sleep is just the ticket. A 196-minute meditation on marriage, class politics and narcissism, Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Palme d’Or-winning film is an exercise in endurance: both in its sheer length, and in viewers’ ability to withstand the prick at the center of it all. That would be Aydin (Haluk Bilginer), a former actor who now runs a hotel carved into the craggy landscape of Cappadocia. Much of the film unfolds in turgid conversation, with a few hibernation-inducing exchanges stretching longer than the average sitcom (but you don’t have to read Seinfeld). The cast is formidable—Melisa Sözen gives a finely tuned performance as Aydin’s wife, and Bilginer, with his derisive snorts and haughty laughs, is justifiably infuriating. His character doesn’t scream or rage or hurl cruel epithets: He’s a justbelow-boil asshole, which is definitely the worst kind of asshole. But the script, inspired by two Chekhov stories, spells out every bit of moral minutiae. It fights itself for the last word—as unable as its characters to let anything be. REBECCA JACOBSON. Living Room Theaters.

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death

Alas, Daniel Radcliﬀe isn’t back in this supernatural horror sequel, presumably because he’s spent more than enough time in creaky countryside houses. PG-13. Clackamas.

For more Movie listings, visit

YA R O N S C H A R F

REVIEW

ARMY BRATS: Israeli comedy Zero Motivation has been breathlessly hailed in reviews and promotional materials as everything from M*A*S*H* meets Orange Is the New Black to an episode of Broad City as directed by the Coen brothers. But Talya Lavie’s debut feature earns these comparisons only by virtue of portraying young women who fabricate entertainment and drama in a restrictive institutional setting. (New York City not excepted.) Lavie’s story, inspired by personal experience and presented in three separate “episodes,” chronicles the adventures and misadventures of female soldiers—in particular, best friends Zohar (Dana Igvy) and Daffi (Nelly Tagar)—working the administrative department on a remote military base. They play Minesweeper on a bulky desktop PC. They lobby for transfers. They try to get laid. There’s a subplot about a ghost, and some genuine drama involving both a paper shredder and a staple gun, but for the most part we care no more about the women after 97 minutes than we did when they first stepped onto the base with their pink backpacks and shared earbuds. Still, it’s worth watching if only for a glimpse at life in a country where compulsory military service plays as much a role in coming of age as pop songs and dorm posters. KAT MERCK. C

SEE IT: Zero Motivation opens Friday at Living Room Theaters. Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

MOVIES

AP FILM STUDIES

A HOMER GROENING RETROSPECTIVE REVEALS AN OVERLOOKED GENIUS. BY AP KRYZ A

apkryza@wweek.com

It’d be fair to assume that when Matt Groening named Homer Simpson after his father, he also gave the cartoon buffoon his dad’s personality. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Because the senior Groening was something Homer Jay isn’t: brilliant. Born in Saskatchewan in 1919 and raised in Albany, Ore., Homer Groening was a bomber pilot, Mad Men-era ad man, surfer and prankster. He was also a highly respected filmmaker, but his work has long gone unrecognized. The Midcentury Oregon Genius film series aims to change that with a retrospective of Homer Groening ’s work, beginning at 7 pm Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Hollywood Theatre. Curated by Matt and Lisa Groening— the latter will moderate a post-screening panel—the event unearths short films by a man with droll wit and a keen eye. The wide-ranging program includes commercial films for Jantzen and Timberline Lodge, experimental short A Study in Wet (which boasts an enthralling soundtrack composed of water sounds), and another short called The Story, shot in Washington Park and starring Matt and Lisa as kids narrating a bedtime story to younger sister Maggie. But who was Homer Groening to those who knew him? AP Film Studies spoke with the event’s organizers and panelists— among them daughter Lisa, Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton and other friends and colleagues—to find out. On Groening’s World War II experiences, which included the bombing of Paris: “Dad never referred directly to his war experiences, at least not with me. He was of that generation that didn’t blab about their feelings. I thought he was indestructible and that no real harm would ever come to me while he was around. I was about 14 when The Exorcist came out, and I wanted to go see it. But Dad wouldn’t let me, saying there was too much ugliness in the world without paying money to go see it at a theater.” —Lisa Groening, daughter “He was a hell of a nice guy. A great sense of humor. A great sense of empathy. Everybody will say—and it’s absolutely true— that he was one of the nicest guys that you would ever know. Except, like many of my friends growing up, he had killed people. He talked about the fact that there’s no way he could ever perform an act of violence, but during the war he did.” —Ted Mahar, friend and former Oregonian film critic 50

Willamette Week JANUARY 14, 2015 wweek.com

COURTESY OF LISA GROENING

HOMER’S ODYSSEY On his filmmaking style: “I never heard Homer Groening say ‘action’ or ‘cut.’ What he’d do is put the camera in his lap and start talking to somebody, and he’d silently flick the on switch. The person would be talking, and he’d get these great off-the-cuff sound bites. Then they’d say: ‘All right, I suppose you want to film this now. Start asking me questions.’ He’d say: ‘Nope. We’ve got it all. We’re done.’ And he’d have the best off-the-cuff and fromthe-heart quotes he could use. “He was really quiet, and a really good listener. He never shot from storyboards. He wasn’t following a script. So it was incumbent on him to listen to see how the fabric would tie together. He had a natural curiosity. He was absorbing things all the time. The fabric of the story would often evolve as he was shooting. You hired Homer because he would see it with his eyes.” —Tom Shrader, friend and advertising colleague On his humor: “Droll, dry, appreciative of brief and intelligent use of language. He would have loved Stephen Colbert. Having a sense of humor was very, very important in our family, which came from both Dad and Mom. It’s a big reason why they fell in love in the first place.” —Lisa Groening “One thing I love about his films is that they were very deadpan. To me, he was in kind of a Monty Python school, very absurd and surreal. They weren’t slapstick. They were ironic. He fit in very well in the Portland humor scene. He certainly influenced my humor a lot, and I’m sure his son’s too.” —Bill Plympton, Oscar-winning animator who met Groening while studying at Portland State On sharing his wisdom: “Homer said: ‘Always lead with your best stuff. Always put your best shot up there first.’ It’s great advice. He was a mentor for a lot of guys.” —Richard Blakeslee, filmmaker “One of the absolute greatest things I have ever heard about the artistic impulse came directly from Homer. He just kind of tossed it off as a whimsical remark, but it stayed with me: ‘The object of painting is not to cover the wall. It’s to empty the can.’ It’s the perfect impression of the artistic impulse and love. The object is to get this thing out of you. Neither Sophocles nor Shakespeare could have put it better.” —Mahar On parenthood: “Dad was a soft-spoken, gentle guy who sang ‘Beautiful Dreamer’ to us on the way to school and changed the words to put our names in the song. He took Maggie and

THE DIRECTOR AT WORK: Homer Groening in an undated photo.

me to Macleay Park to have Cheerios and milk in bowls he brought from home to give Mom a break. I adored him when I was little, and I wanted his approval always.” —Lisa Groening

ALSO SHOWING: Dennis Nyback presents The Eﬀect of Dada and Surrealism on the 1930s, featuring sections of Duck Soup, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break and other movies that thrust weirdness on unsuspecting viewers. Hollywood Theatre. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Jan. 14.

On his legacy: “Dad would not have liked being called a genius. Mom told me someone once asked her at a cocktail party what it was like being married to a genius, and she said, ‘Oh, you’ll have to ask Homer.’ —Lisa Groening

Groening isn’t the only artist getting love from Midcentury Oregon Genius. The series also presents Heaven and Earth Magic, a 1961 cutout-animated feature by Harry Smith, which will be presented with a 16 mm ﬁlm and two 35 mm slide projectors to create the layered images Smith pioneered. Hollywood Theatre. 7 pm Friday, Jan. 16.

“He took something commercial and hard-sell, and made it entertaining. That was a real key. You look at a lot of the Wieden+Kennedy ads—ESPN and Nike— and they have a very similar sense of humor. In a way it’s tragic he never became a true filmmaker, in the sense that he never made a Hollywood film or a feature film.” —Plympton

Back to the Future II takes place in 2015. So why do I still not have a fucking hoverboard? Academy Theater. Jan. 16-22.

On the similarities between Homers Groening and Simpson: “Doesn’t everybody love doughnuts? Other than his pure devotion to his wife, his unquestioned role as a universal patriarch, his name, and his dad’s name, Abe, there are no other similarities between Homer Groening and Homer Simpson. Dad never said, ‘D’oh,’ and never went bald. He was also very proud of his son, who found such success in doodling.” —Lisa Groening

Bill Murray was at his lunatic best in Stripes, a movie that just makes you miss Harold Ramis more. Laurelhurst Theater. Jan. 16-22. The NW Film Center celebrates the release of the documentary Altman with one of the director’s most beloved ﬁlms—noir classic The Long Goodbye—and one of his most overlooked, 1977 drama 3 Women. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium. The Long Goodbye: 7 pm Saturday, Jan 17. 3 Women: 4:30 pm Sunday, Jan. 18. The Clinton Street pays tribute to MLK with King: A Filmed Record…From Montgomery to Memphis. Clinton Street Theater. 7 pm Monday, Jan 19. You don’t need to be high to enjoy psychedelic animated freakout Son of the White Mare. But keep in mind it’s based in Hungarian folklore and features the human sons of horses ﬁghting the forces of Hell while also glowing neon. So yeah, get super-high. Hollywood Theatre. 9:30 pm Monday, Jan. 19.

MOVIES

COURTESY OF COLUMBIA PICTURES

JAN. 16–22

IN THE ARMY NOW: Stripes plays Jan. 16-22 at the Laurelhurst Theater.

Regal Lloyd Center 10 & IMAX

Bagdad Theater

3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 503-249-7474 AMERICAN SNIPER Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 12:00, 03:15, 07:00, 10:30

Cinema 21

616 NW 21st Ave., 503-223-4515 WILD Fri-Sat-Sun-MonTue-Wed 03:30, 04:00, 06:15, 06:45, 08:40, 09:10 INHERENT VICE Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 03:45, 07:00, 09:55

Clinton Street Theater

2522 SE Clinton St., 503-238-8899 LITTLE ACCIDENTS Fri-SatSun 09:00 THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW Sat 12:00 KING: A FILMED RECORD... MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS Mon 07:00 SIT STAY RIDE: THE STORY OF AMERICA’S SIDECAR DOGS Fri 07:00

Laurelhurst Theatre & Pub

2735 E Burnside St., 503-232-5511 GONE GIRL Fri-Sat-SunMon-Tue-Wed 06:45 ST. VINCENT Fri-Sat-SunMon-Tue-Wed 09:30 THE SKELETON TWINS Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 07:00 BOYHOOD Fri-Sat-SunMon-Tue-Wed 06:15 JOHN WICK Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon-

Mission Theater and Pub

1624 NW Glisan St., 503-249-7474-5 THE MATRIX Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 08:45 EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed 05:15 DUMB AND DUMBER TO Sat-Sun 02:30

Moreland Theatre

5th Avenue Cinema

6712 SE Milwaukie Ave., 503-236-5257 THE IMITATION GAME FriSat-Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed 05:30, 08:00

510 SW Hall St., 503-725-3551 FULL METAL JACKET Fri-Sat 07:00, 09:30 Sun 03:00 UNDERGROUND Fri 07:30

Roseway Theatre

Hollywood Theatre

7229 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-282-2898 INTO THE WOODS Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 01:30, 04:45, 08:00

St. Johns Cinemas

8704 N Lombard St., 503-286-1768 UNBROKEN Fri-Sat-SunMon-Tue-Wed 04:50, 07:55 AMERICAN SNIPER Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 04:15, 07:00, 09:45

CineMagic Theatre

2021 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 503-231-7919 AMERICAN SNIPER Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 04:15, 07:00

Edgeﬁeld Powerstation Theater

2126 SW Halsey St., 503-249-7474-2 WILD Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon-TueWed 03:45, 07:00, 10:15

Kennedy School Theater

5736 NE 33rd Ave., 503-249-7474-4 ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon-TueWed 05:30 GONE GIRL HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 DUMB AND DUMBER TO Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 02:45, 10:30 EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS Fri-Sat-Sun-MonTue-Wed 07:30

4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-281-4215 SELMA Fri-Sat-Sun-MonTue-Wed 06:45, 09:15 WILD Fri-Sat-Sun-MonTue-Wed 07:15 BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed 09:30 THE BABADOOK Sun-Mon-Tue 09:45 VAMPYROS LESBOS FriSat 09:45 HEAVEN AND EARTH MAGIC Fri 07:00 SUNDANCE SHORTS Sat 02:00 SELECTED SHORTS FILMS BY HOMER GROENING Sat 07:00 KOCHUU Sun 07:00 THE SON OF THE WHITE MARE Mon 09:30 MISS LESLIE’S DOLLS Tue 07:00

Regal Fox Tower Stadium 10

846 SW Park Ave. THE GAMBLER Fri 09:15 BLACKHAT Fri 11:50, 03:15, 07:00, 10:00 TOP FIVE Fri 03:50, 09:45 THE HOMESMAN THE IMITATION GAME Fri 11:40, 12:40, 02:15, 03:40, 04:50, 06:40, 07:20, 09:20, 09:50 FOXCATCHER Fri 12:30, 03:30, 06:30, 09:30 INTERSTELLAR Fri 12:15, 06:15 THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING Fri 12:00, 03:20, 06:20, 09:00 NIGHTCRAWLER Fri 03:00, 09:10 BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) Fri 11:30, 02:00, 04:40, 07:30, 10:10 WHIPLASH Fri 11:30, 02:10, 04:00, 06:50 BOYHOOD Fri 12:20, 04:30, 07:50 THE HUNGER GAMES Fri 11:45, 06:00

1219 SW Park Ave., 503-221-1156 ARRESTING POWER: RESISTING POLICE VIOLENCE IN PORTLAND, OREGON Thurs 07:00 ALTMAN Fri-Sat-Sun 07:00 PATHS OF GLORY Sat 02:00 3 WOMEN Sun 04:30 MR. TURNER Wed 07:00 OUT OF THE ARCHIVES: YOUTH-MADE FILMS FROM ACROSS OREGON Fri 05:30 KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS Fri 07:00 THE LAVENDER HILL MOB Fri 09:15

Regal Pioneer Place Stadium 6

MUSIC PG. 33

1510 NE Multnomah St., AMERICAN SNIPER: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 12:50, 04:00, 07:10, 10:20 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES -- AN IMAX 3D EXPERIENCE THE WEDDING RINGER Fri-SatSun 11:50, 02:25, 05:05, 07:45, 10:25 BLACKHAT Fri-Sat-Sun 12:30, 03:40, 06:50, 10:00 TAKEN 3 INTO THE WOODS SELMA UNBROKEN THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES INHERENT VICE WILD THE IMITATION GAME INTERSTELLAR THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: THE MERRY WIDOW Sat 09:55 PATTERNS OF EVIDENCE: EXODUS Mon 07:00 THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: THE MERRY WIDOW ENCORE Wed 06:30 MORTDECAI Fri 01:00, 03:50, 06:40, 09:30 STRANGE MAGIC Fri 11:30, 02:10, 05:00, 07:40, 10:20 THE BOY NEXT DOOR Fri 11:50, 02:20, 04:50, 07:20, 09:50

Tue-Wed 09:05 TRACKS STRIPES Fri-Sat-SunMon-Tue-Wed 09:20 THE BABADOOK Fri-Sat-SunMon-Tue-Wed 09:45 THE HOMESMAN Fri-Sat-SunMon-Tue-Wed 06:30 THE BOXTROLLS Sat-Sun-Mon 01:15 THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA SatSun-Mon 01:00

1945 SE Water Ave., 503-797-4000 WALKING WITH DINOSAURS 3D Fri-SatSun 03:30 WILD OCEAN Fri-Sat-Sun 02:30 BEARS Fri-Sat-Sun 12:00 FLIGHT OF THE BUTTERFLIES Fri-Sat-Sun 11:00 DDAY: NORMANDY 1944 Fri-Sat-Sun 10:00 BIG HERO 6 Sat-Sun 04:30 ADRENALINE RUSH: THE SCIENCE OF RISK LEWIS & CLARK: GREAT JOURNEY WEST THE BOXTROLLS Fri 06:30 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB Fri-Sat-Sun 06:30 JAMES CAMERON’S DEEPSEA CHALLENGE 3D Fri-SatSun 01:30 PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR Sat 04:30 MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL Sat 10:00

NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium

340 SW Morrison St., PADDINGTON Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 01:20, 04:20, 07:15, 10:10 THE WEDDING RINGER FriSat-Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed 01:30, 04:30, 07:35, 10:15 TAKEN 3 THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2: ANGEL OF DEATH AMERICAN SNIPER Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed 01:00, 03:45, 07:00, 09:45 INTO THE WOODS ANNIE THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 3D THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, PART 1 STRANGE MAGIC Fri 01:00, 03:45, 06:45, 09:30 THE BOY NEXT DOOR Fri 01:45, 04:30, 07:30, 10:10

St. Johns Theater

8203 N Ivanhoe St., 503-249-7474-6 INTO THE WOODS Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 01:00, 04:00, 07:00, 10:00

Academy Theater

7818 SE Stark St., 503-252-0500 ST. VINCENT Fri-Sat-SunMon-Tue-Wed 02:05, 07:20 FURY GONE GIRL Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 02:15 THE BOXTROLLS Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 04:20 THE SKELETON TWINS Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed 09:40 BATMAN RETURNS THE BABADOOK Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 05:15, 09:30 THE HOMESMAN Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed 01:55, 06:50 BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II Fri-SatSun-Mon-Tue-Wed 04:30, 09:20

STREET PG. 25

Empirical Theater at OMSI

SUBJECT TO CHANGE. CALL THEATERS OR VISIT WWEEK.COM/MOVIETIMES FOR THE MOST UP-TODATE INFORMATION FRIDAY-THURSDAY, JAN. 16-22, UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED

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END ROLL

THE BANALITY OF BIG WEED. Green Man is coming for you. He’s coming for your money, Oregon. Christian Hageseth, owner of Colorado weed giant Green Man Cannabis, makes this fact damn clear. He wants Green Man to be the Coca-Cola of pot, the clean and accessible face who’s just as dull and quotidian as your accountant neighbor, if maybe a little more relaxed. Weed is legal and corporate enough these days that they’re holding tax workshops in Keizer, with lessons in keeping audit-proof records. But Hageseth’s forthcoming book, Big Weed (Macmillan, 256 pages, $26), is still a new twist. It’s the weed industry’s very first mass-marketed inspirational biz book—the sort that tops the coffee tables of the cufflink set—an Iacocca or Jack Welch Winning for the toker trade. My God, it’s boring. It’s ghostwritten by a guy who’s made books about life lessons culled from Paul Newman’s organic empire. The book interleaves a stuttering tale of business success with long passages proving Hageseth is just like you, America—hard-working, but still funloving!—and humble-brags about hanging with NBA stars and legendary weed pioneers. But after plugging away through multiple near-bankruptcies with the kind of dedication inveterate only to real entrepreneurs—the sort that eat your average weed grower for breakfast and don’t even spit out the seeds—Hageseth has found himself on the moneyed forefront of what weed is likely to become in America. We went

ahead and read his dull, self-aggrandizing book so you don’t have to. Here are the takeaways. Colorado has a weedery where you can gaze on fields of weed while smoking it. Kind of like a Columbia River winery, Green Man Cannabis Ranch & Amphitheater lets weed smokers tour the weed fields, see how it ’s harvested, smoke pot, watch crappy bluegrass shows and eat restaurant food. Middle-class stoner field trips for everybody! Weed will split between craft growers and Big Tobacco-style corporations. Against the probable pot overlords from Big Pharma and Tobacco, Hageseth credibly gets to place himself in the artisanal camp—just like large craft brewers Widmer or Deschutes—especially on the strength of his preternaturally gifted grower, Corey Buffkin, who keeps winning blind-judged Cannabis Cups for Green Man. The guy who runs the marijuana business will look like the guy who beat you up in high school. Christian Hageseth is a former financial and real-estate executive with the general bearing of a football coach or bruising federal agent, who writes on his website that his book is intended for “investors who have heard from their friends, attorneys, and accountants that cannabis is the hot new thing.” The sad thing about America is that the new boss and the old boss always play golf together. You can’t name your weed strain after the Hell’s Angels, even if you think it’s a tribute. Just go ahead and trust him on that one. ROBERTO JAMÓN.

For more information on John Callahan’s memorial, see ffojohncallahan.tumblr.com. 52

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CHATLINES

Find your Flame on

JONESIN’

by Matt Jones Getting Carried Away–and feeling like you’re at the top. 59 King Kong’s hoped-for response? 67 Paste alternative 68 Constellation with a belt 69 Bring under control 70 “The camera ___ 10 pounds” 71 Becomes liquid 72 Christian Louboutin item

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Across 1 Affected mannerisms 5 “The Munsters” son 10 Dollar bill’s weight, roughly 14 Abbr. on a bottle of Courvoisier 15 New, in Nogales 16 2000s sitcom starring a country singer 17 Response to King Kong after being carried away? 20 Depression Era agcy. 21 Checks out

43 Mighty tree 44 Meteorologist’s tracked prediction 45 Parallel, e.g. 46 Retreating 47 “___ favor!” 48 Breakfast fare where you might take your lumps? 51 Catch forty winks 52 Earth orbiter until 2001 53 Punctured tire sound 54 Corrective eye surgery 57 “Dawson’s Creek” actor James Van ___ Beek

suggestively 22 Big song 25 Type 27 Urban blight 29 Haifa resident, e.g. 31 Roofing material 32 Castellaneta, the voice of Homer on “The Simpsons” 35 Low poker hand 36 One-eyed character on “Futurama” 38 Bob Hope’s entertainment gp. 39 King Kong’s act of barroom generosity?

Down 1 Beginning for the birds? 2 Patriot ending 3 “Ruh-___!” (Scooby-Doo gulp) 4 Disgorge 5 Final purpose 6 Penn & Teller, e.g. 7 “Slumdog Millionaire” actor ___ Patel 8 “So, ___ been thinking...” 9 Musical taste 10 Allman brother who married Cher 11 Slot machine spinner 12 Up to the task 13 ___ movement 18 “Four and twenty blackbirds baked in ___” 19 “Yay, team!” 22 “Hungry Hungry ___” 23 Washington dropped from “Grey’s Anatomy” 24 Deceptive 26 East Texas city or college 27 Parent not related by blood

28 ___ liquor 30 Boat full of animals 32 Job description list 33 Yoga postures 34 Prestigious prizes 37 Iberian Peninsula’s cont. 40 “Looks like ___ too soon” 41 File cabinet label for the latter half of the alphabet 42 “A Nightmare on ___ Street” 49 Actors Quinn and Mitchell 50 Uno + dos 51 Small change? 54 Annika Sorenstam’s gp. 55 “___ Lang Syne” 56 Poker option 58 Charlie Brown utterance 60 Burt Reynolds co-star DeLuise 61 Hematite, e.g. 62 “Star Trek: TNG” alum Wheaton 63 Forget-me-___ 64 “Boo-___!” 65 Music genre with a lot of guyliner 66 “What’d I tell ya?”

last week’s answers

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Week of January 15

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): You will never make anything that lasts forever. Nor will I or anyone else. I suppose it’s possible that human beings will still be listening to Beethoven’s music or watching The Simpsons TV show 10,000 years from today, but even that stuff will probably be gone in five billion years, when the sun expands into a red giant star. Having acknowledged that hard truth, I’m happy to announce that in the next five weeks you could begin work in earnest on a creation that will endure for a very long time. What will it be? Choose wisely! TAURUS (April 20-May 20): What does your soul need on a regular basis? The love and attention of some special person? The intoxication provided by a certain drink or drug? Stimulating social interaction with people you like? Music that drives you out of your mind in all the best ways? The English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins said that the rapture his soul needed more than anything else was inspiration -- the “sweet fire,” he called it, “the strong spur, live and lancing like the blowpipe flame.” So the experience his soul craved didn’t come from an outside stimulus. It was a feeling that rose up inside him. What about you, Taurus? According to my analysis of the astrological omens, your soul needs much more than usual of its special nourishment. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In 1987, California condors were almost extinct. Less than 30 of the birds remained. Then the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched an effort to capture them all and take emergency measures to save the species. Almost 28 years later, there are more than 400 condors, half of them living in the wild. If you act now, Gemini, you could launch a comparable recovery program for a different resource that is becoming scarce in your world. Act with urgency, but also be prepared to practice patience. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Daniel Webster (17821852) was an American statesman who served in both houses of Congress. He dearly wanted to be President of the United States, but his political party never nominated him to run for that office. Here’s the twist in his fate: Two different candidates who were ultimately elected President asked him to be their Vice-President, but he declined, dismissing the job as unimportant. Both those Presidents, Harrison and Taylor, died after a short time on the job. Had Webster agreed to be their Vice-President, he would have taken their place and fulfilled his dream. In the coming weeks, Cancerian, I advise you not to make a mistake comparable to Webster’s. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In one of his poems, Rumi writes about being alone with a wise elder. “Please,” he says to the sage, “do not hold back from telling me any secrets about this universe.” In the coming weeks, Leo, I suggest you make a similar request of many people, and not just those you regard as wise. You’re in a phase when pretty much everyone is a potential teacher who has a valuable clue to offer you. Treat the whole world as your classroom. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Have you been tapping into your proper share of smart love, interesting beauty, and creative mojo? Are you enjoying the succulent rewards you deserve for all the good deeds and hard work you’ve done in the past eight months? If not, I am very upset. In fact, I would be livid and mournful if I found out that you have not been soaking up a steady flow of useful bliss, sweet revelations, and fun surprises. Therefore, to ensure my happiness and well-being, I COMMAND you to experience these goodies in abundance. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran engineer Robert Goddard was the original rocket scientist. His revolutionary theories and pioneering technologies laid the foundations for space flight. Decades before the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, he and his American team began shooting rockets aloft. Members of the press were not impressed with his unusual ideas, however. They thought he was a misinformed crank. In 1920, The New York Times sneered that he was deficient in “the knowledge ladled out daily in our high schools.” Forty-nine years later, after his work had led to spectacular results,

the Times issued an apology. I foresee a more satisfying progression toward vindication for you, Libra. Sometime soon, your unsung work or unheralded efforts will be recognized. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In the plot of the TV science-fiction show Ascension, the U.S. government has conducted an elaborate covert experiment for 50 years. An outside investigator named Samantha Krueger discovers the diabolical contours of the project and decides to reveal the truth to the public. “We’re going full Snowden,” she tells a seemingly sympathetic conspiracy theorist. She’s invoking the name of Edward Snowden, the renegade computer administrator who in the real world leaked classified information that the U.S. government wanted to keep hidden. It might be time for you to go at least mini-Snowden yourself, Scorpio -- not by spilling state secrets, but rather by unmasking any surreptitious or deceptive behavior that’s happening in your sphere. Bring everything out into the open -- gently if possible. But do whatever it takes. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In 1939, author Ernest Vincent Wright finished Gadsby, a 50,000-word novel. It was unlike any book ever published because the letter “e” didn’t appear once in the text. Can you imagine the constraint he had to muster to accomplish such an odd feat? In accordance with the astrological omens, I invite you to summon an equally impressive expression of discipline and self-control, Sagittarius. But devote your efforts to accomplishing a more useful and interesting task, please. For example, you could excise one of your bad habits or avoid activities that waste your time or forbid yourself to indulge in fearful thoughts. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Most plants move upwards as they grow. Their seeds fall to the ground, are blown off by the wind, or are carried away by pollinators. But the peanut plant has a different approach to reproduction. It burrows its seeds down into the soil. They ripen underground, where they are protected and more likely to get the moisture they need to germinate. The peanut plant’s approach to fertility might be a good metaphor for you Capricorns to adopt for your own use. It makes sense for you to safeguard the new possibilities you’re incubating. Keep them private, maybe even secret. Don’t expose them to scrutiny or criticism. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In his poem “The Garden,” Jack Gilbert says, “We are like Marco Polo who came back / with jewels hidden in the seams of his ragged clothes.” Isn’t that true about you right now, Aquarius? If I were going to tell your recent history as a fairy tale, I’d highlight the contrast between your outer disorder and your inner riches. I’d also borrow another fragment from Gilbert’s poem and use it to describe your current emotional state: “a sweet sadness, a tough happiness.” So what comes next for you? I suggest you treat yourself to a time out. Take a break to integrate the intensity you’ve weathered. And retrieve the jewels you hid in the seams of your ragged clothes.

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