42 52 willamette week, october 26, 2016

The somewhat ironically named SUPERBITE. P. 27

Why your EDIBLES now come in a weird plastic bag.

P. 50

The MAYOR’S BODYGUARD has an odd dossier.

P. 9

WILLAMETTE WEEK PORTLAND’S NEWSWEEKLY

“YOU’LL SEE ABRAHAM LINCOLN GETTING A LAP DANCE.” P. 25

by nige l jaq u iss

WWEEK.COM

VOL 42/52 10.26.2016

PAGE 14

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ELLENA ROSENTHAL

FINDINGS

PAGE 21

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM READING THIS WEEK’S PAPER VOL. 42, ISSUE 52.

Sage-rat hunter and former police chief Larry “Buckshot” O’Dea may be headed to jail. 6

If you would like to see Abraham Lincoln get a lap dance and then get shot, there is a place. 25

There are some reasons Portlanders might soon feel jealous of Nehalem’s progressive mayor, who would make it “the

If you would like to spend $100 on SpaghettiOs and fish sticks, there is a place. 27

best place in the world.” 7 Mayor Charlie Hales has his own private security force. 9

Cleveland High students asked the school to delay the homecoming dance because of harassment. 11

ON THE COVER:

The Sum 41 singer’s girlfriend left him for Chad, the singer of Nickelback. 34 At its peak, Oasis played a series of concerts that 5 percent of the U.K.’s population tried to buy tickets for. 49

OUR MOST TRAFFICKED STORY ONLINE THIS WEEK:

Photo by Christine Dong and WW staff.

Ghost strippers.

STAFF Editor & Publisher Mark Zusman EDITORIAL News Editor Aaron Mesh Arts & Culture Editor Martin Cizmar Staff Writers Nigel Jaquiss, Rachel Monahan, Beth Slovic Copy Chief Rob Fernas Copy Editors Matt Buckingham, Maya McOmie Stage Editor Shannon Gormley Screen Editor Walker MacMurdo Projects Editor Matthew Korfhage Music Editor Matthew Singer Web Editor Sophia June

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

3

POLICE-PROTEST ORGANIZER

I wish we had more people like Greg McKelvey who are willing to stand up to make the world a better place [Hotseat: Gregory McKelvey, WW, Oct. 19, 2016].

I am certainly willing to be a little late [in traffic] if it means we can help bring police reform, help make sure Portland is truly progressive and cares about black lives and homeless lives, and that we have a city that truly listens to the public.

I hope more people will join Greg and help bring about these reforms.

Keep fighting the good fight!

—Jeremy Likens

decades have started and am glad that adults and kids are able to talk more freely about death and grieving now.

—Geri Hoekzema This sounds like a healthy and necessary process for people who are ready for this conversation.

I wish them all well—those who are living and those who are dying.

—“Multnomah”

PSU’S NEW GENDER OPTIONS

Being recognized in these ways, even if it’s confidential, will be a big boost to the feeling of well-being for many students, which would be reaThis is not going to work well for Portland. I will not support [Don’t son enough [“PSU’s Nine Genders,” Shoot Portland] or what might turn WW, Oct. 19, 2016]. But on a practito rioting. All the protesting is not “I hope more cal level, there may be many useful working in your favor. implications as the years roll by. people will I wonder if Portland State UniSmart people in Portland will move away and jobs will disappear, join Greg and versity has also considered noncreating another Chicago, or Detroit. help bring traditional titles? I like Mx, which That’s how Democrats act, but they about these I’ve been using since 2002. Mx is a non-binary transgender title, pronever improve their lives. reforms.”

Just visit Chicago to see how fun nounced “mix,” and used by more it is living the Democrat Dream. and more individuals and organizations (includ—Steve Jay ing governments).

When people see or hear my title, they are immediately alerted to the fact that I’m some TALKING ABOUT DEATH Thank you for running this story [“Let’s Talk sort of non-binary transgender person, which is About Death, Baby,” WW, Oct. 19, 2016]. My really useful for them so they know how to intermom died of cancer when I was 14. This was back act with me. in 1974, when even admitting the possibility of —Mx Margaret D. Jones death was out of the question.

Up until several weeks before she died, adults LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. were still saying things like, “When your mom Letters must be 250 or fewer words. comes home” to my siblings and me.

Submit to: 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210.

I’m thankful for the changes these past four Email: mzusman@wweek.com.

What’s the story with the Morrison Bridge? Why the low speed limit and absence of buses and big rigs using it? Anything we should know? If so, who’s to blame?

—Seems Safe Enough

4

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

One of the great things about all this legal marijuana is that nobody remembers last year’s news, so I can keep reporting the same old facts over and over again. (It’s a little-known fact this column has been on a six-month continuous loop since 2013, when I was killed in a tragic French horn accident.)

Seriously, Safe, if you’d spent less time playing FarmVille and more time keeping up with current events, you’d know this story. Still, with the final phase of the project about to begin, a recap couldn’t hurt.

Up until 2011, the Morrison Bridge’s lift span deck (the part that goes up and down) was made of stupid old outdated steel grating, which just sat there, boringly doing its job and not breaking, for 50 years. How hopelessly antiquated, how drearily 20th century!

So we decided to replace the steel with a new, exciting Space Age material called fiberreinforced polymer, which was lightweight and high-traction and Instagram-ready.

(In fairness, the steel grating had been blamed for a number of accidents, especially when Coorsaddled yahoos insisted on pulling illegal lane changes on it. You know they didn’t signal, either.)

The new, Bluetooth-compliant deck was opened to traffic in March 2012, whereupon it promptly began disintegrating like a soggy paper towel.

Panicked county officials instituted those speed and load restrictions to try to keep the thing in one piece for a few years while they came up with Plan B. That plan, which involves a more traditional concrete-filled deck, will begin construction in the next few months. (The county whiled away the intervening hours by suing—successfully— the contractor who put in the whole furshlugginer mess.)

It’ll all be over before you know it, assuming you’re (a) in a coma, or (b) a glacier. (The project wraps in October 2017.)

QUESTIONS? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com

WILLAME T T E W E E K PRE S E N T S

at at

Grand Grand Central Central Bowl Bowl

Watch the Returns on the Big Screens Hear Cognitive Analysis Enjoy Candidate Cocktails - drink your vote with red and blue options

BOWLING BILLARDS ARCADE GAMES Show your I VOTED sticker for 1 free arcade token!

Tuesday, November 8 3:00 p.m. - Midnight Take your picture with the new President, cardboard cut out style.

Grand Central Bowl - 808 SE Morrison St.

Willamette Week October 26, 2016 wweek.com

5

Estate Jewelry

MURMURS

7642 SW Capitol Hwy AntoinetteJewelry.com 503-348-0411

Erious Johnson, director of civil rights for the Oregon Department of Justice, filed a lawsuit Oct. 26 against Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, her top aides and her agency, accusing them of denying Johnson his civil rights and discriminating against him because he is African-American. (Disclosure: Rosenblum is married to the co-owner of WW’s parent company.) The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, stems from a Sept. 30, 2015, “threat assessment” of Johnson prepared by a DOJ criminal investigator. That investigator, James Williams, allegedly targeted Johnson because of his use of the Black Lives Matter hashtag, and mistook his tweets about the rap group Public Enemy for more sinister communications. Johnson alleges that Williams’ supervisors and Rosenblum failed to train Williams properly or respond appropriately to the report he prepared. The DOJ lawyer who oversaw Williams, Darin Tweedt, was subsequently moved to an office three doors down from Johnson’s. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages and attorney’s fees, says DOJ officials’ “conduct toward Johnson demonstrated a wanton, reckless or callous indifference to the constitutional rights of Johnson.” The DOJ does not comment on pending lawsuits.

Portland Could Award Moving Costs to Evicted Tenants

Portland Mayor-elect Ted Wheeler’s campaign promise to ban no-cause tenant evictions faces roadblocks, including legal opinions issued this month by attorneys for the Oregon Legislature. But the city could pass a law to bill landlords for tenants’ moving costs stemming from evictions on month-to-month leases without cause. That legal opinion was issued by the Legislative Counsel to House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) in July—and the city is already acting on it. “There are likely parts of my vision 6

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

that we can implement now without legislative changes, and that’s part of what we are evaluating during our transition,” Wheeler says, noting he’s pushing for the Legislature to act in 2017 so he can “implement my full vision for ‘just cause.’”

John DiLorenzo, a lawyer representing large landlords, says a relocation fee could be challenged in court—and suggests he would do so.

Former Portland Police Chief Larry O’Dea Indicted

A Harney County grand jury on Oct. 25 returned an indictment for negligently wounding another—a Class B misdemeanor—against former Portland Police

PORTLAnD POLiCE BUREAU

Erious Johnson Sues Oregon Attorney General

O’DEA

Chief Larry O’Dea. WW first reported in May that O’Dea had accidentally shot a friend while on an April trip to Harney County. As the story unfolded, it turned out that O’Dea had told the Harney County deputy who responded to the shooting a different story from the one he subsequently told his boss, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales. The deputy wrote in his report that O’Dea and his friends had been sitting in a semicircle, drinking and shooting at sage rats. According to the deputy’s report, O’Dea said he did not know how his friend, who was hurt badly enough to be Life Flighted to a hospital, had been shot.

But when O’Dea, returned to Portland, he told Hales he had accidentally shot the man. The conflicting stories led to an Oregon Department of Justice investigation, to O’Dea’s resignation in late June, and to this week’s indictment. O’Dea’s attorney couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

T R AV W I L L I A M S

NEWS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEK

Motor Voter Index

In 2015, Oregon lawmakers passed the first motor voter law in the nation, as originally proposed by then-Secretary of State Kate Brown. The new law automatically registers to vote any eligible Oregonian who gets a new or replacement driver’s license or state identification card. Since the law went into effect Jan. 1, 2016, it has added about 250,000 voters to the rolls—10 percent of all Oregonians registered. NIGEL JAQUISS.

281,009 Oregonians who could have registered through motor voter.

247,501 Newly registered voters through motor voter.

9,292 Number of DMV-generated voter registration cards that could not be delivered.

24,216 Oregonians who opted out, choosing not to become registered.

10 Percentage of Oregon registered voters who are motor voters.

5 Percentage of motor voters who registered as Democrats.

39 Percentage of Oregon voters who are registered as Democrats.

4 Percentage of motor voters who registered as Republicans.

28 Percentage of Oregon voters who are registered as Republicans.

88 Percentage of motor voters who did not choose any party affiliation.

26 Percentage of Oregon registered voters who aren’t affiliated with a party.

84 Average percentage of voter turnout for the past four presidential elections.

54 Percentage of registered Oregon voters who cast a May primary ballot.

19 Percentage of motor voters who cast a May primary ballot.

S O U R C E : O R E G O N S E C R E TA R Y O F S TAT E

K AT U -T V

TIMELINE

45 Minutes Between Life and Death A TIMELINE OF THE PORTLAND BAGELWORKS EXPLOSION.

Last week a powerful gas explosion obliterated a three-story 1906 building at 500 NW 23rd Avenue. The building contained Portland Bagelworks, eyewear shop Fetch, and Art Work Rebels Tattoo Studio.

The fireball shook Portland and made national evening-news broadcasts—but didn’t kill anyone. That’s in part because of decisions made swiftly in the minutes after contractors dug into a natural gas line.

BETH SLOVIC AND AARON MESH.

8:55 am Wednesday, Oct. 19 Contractors with Loy Clark Pipeline Company call NW Natural to report hitting a gas line while doing excavation work for a new building at the intersection of Northwest 23rd Avenue and Glisan Street.

9:07 am The contractor calls Portland’s emergency dispatch center.

9:11 am Firefighters from Portland Fire & Rescue’s Engine 3 and Truck 3 units arrive on the scene. They detect dangerously high gas levels inside the Portland Bagelworks building, on the northeast corner of the intersection.

About 9:15 am Firefighters burst into the office of lawyer Tim Volpert on 23rd.

“Everybody out, now,” a firefighter says before ushering Volpert out of the building and down the block. “Those firemen, they saved our lives,” says Volpert. “They didn’t take no for an answer.”

S O U R C E S : P O R T L A N D F I R E & R E S C U E , P O R T L A N D B U R E A U O F E M E R G E N C Y M A N A G E M E N T C A L L L O G S , N W N AT U R A L , K G W -T V.

9:33 am Firefighters finish evacuating the block.

FAST FIVE

Micah White Five years ago, Micah White, now 34, made headlines for his role as an organizer of Occupy Wall Street, a protest movement that spread to 82 countries. Four years ago, White moved to the Tillamook County hamlet of Nehalem (population 280). He’s got a new book out (The End of Protest), and he is running for mayor, a volunteer position.

Here’s what you need to know about White.

NIGEL JAQUISS. 1. He’s considers the Occupy movement a “constructive failure.”

The movement made a lot of noise but didn’t change anything. “We failed to change the way power functions or to get money out of politics,” he says.

“We failed on all fronts.”

2. He’s now convinced that politics is the answer. He’s not affiliated with a party and says he doesn’t want to be a politician, but he does want to get elected. “If you want to make change, you have to win wars or win elections,” White says. “Wars don’t work, as you see in Libya or Syria.”

9:38 am The Portland Bagelworks building explodes three times, starting a four-alarm fire.

Eight people are injured. No one dies.

3. Nehelam is a microcosm of the larger world.

His goal is to make the five-member city council responsive to citizens— and to update the town’s comprehensive plan.

“Because it’s so small-scale, the problems that seem insoluble elsewhere can be solved here,” he says. “We can make Nehalem the best place in the world.”

4. Opponents tried to brand him a Satanist.

This fall, a parent at a Nehalem-area school announced plans to start an after-school Satanist club.

Entrenched interests tried to blame White. “People are saying I’m affiliated with that,” he says. “They are just making stuff up.”

5. He’s gone fishing once in Nehalem Bay, but he didn’t catch anything.

After Occupy failed, White and his wife decided to move to “the most beautiful place” they’d ever been.

“When it starts to rain and the mushrooms start coming up, it feels really magical. It’s like America was 50 years ago, before we took a wrong turn.”

9:42 am Portland Fire & Rescue Lt. Peter St. John, thrown 20 feet into the air by the blast, is found with a broken leg. He is soon rushed to surgery at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

9:51 pm Officials announce that St. John is out of surgery. “I’m not a hero,” he tells the Associated Press. “I just did what everyone else would have done.”

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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e m i ly j o a n g r e e n e

NEWS

STANDING GUARD: Michael D. Cohen (right) serves as a bodyguard to Mayor Charlie Hales. He was once a Los Angeles County police officer whose service record has been publicly questioned.

L.A. Confidential A BODYGUARD TO MAYOR CHARLIE HALES REPORTEDLY ADMITTED USING EXCESSIVE FORCE AS A COP AT LEAST 10 TIMES. By r ac h e l m o n a h a n

rmonahan@wweek.com

One of Portland Mayor Charlie Hales’ bodyguards is a retired Los Angeles County police officer who in 2010 reportedly admitted using excessive force at least 10 times.

That’s an admission the mayor’s office says it didn’t know about until informed by WW this month—even though the Los Angeles Times reported it nearly three years ago.

The allegations come at a time when Hales is under fire for his lax oversight of the Portland Police Bureau and when citizens are outraged at the concessions he recently made to the Portland Police Association in closed-door contract negotiations.

Protesters angry about a new police union contract have swarmed City Hall, leading to tense confrontations and arrests. The former L.A. County cop, Michael D. Cohen, has faced off against protesters as part of City Hall’s private security force.

Criminal justice activists are alarmed that a person with Cohen’s history works in City Hall—and carries a gun while doing so.

“There are so many things about it that strike me as wrong,” says Portland civil rights lawyer Ashlee Albies. “I don’t see how Hales or his staff could miss that this would be a major concern. I find that incredibly offensive.”

Cohen, 52, has worked on the City Hall security detail since early 2013. He rotates through posts guarding City Hall, the Portland Building and the mayor’s office.

Cohen served as one of two sergeants-at-arms for the City Council on the morning of the Oct. 12 police contract vote, which was held behind closed doors after Hales became concerned protesters would attempt to “occupy” the meeting.

In December 2013, Cohen was the subject of the report by the Los Angeles Times, which obtained his hiring records.

“Officer Michael Cohen […] admitted to knowingly using excessive force at least 10 times, obtaining official records for personal use at least 50 times and lying to supervisors or in reports at least 30 times, hiring records show,” the Times wrote.

Hales’ chief of staff, Tera Pierce, says her office can’t be expected to know the full histories of people working in City Hall.

“The process of hiring our security is not handled in the mayor’s office,” says Pierce. “We have processes in place to make sure a rigorous background check was done before putting them in place. We have to trust our systems.”

“there are so many things about it that strike me as wrong.”

—Ashlee Albies, civil rights lawyer Cohen’s job on Hales’ security detail is part of a larger contract the city has had since 2006 with G4S Security Systems, a London-based multinational security firm formerly known as Wackenhut.

Originally a one-year contract worth $1.1 million, it has grown over the past 10 years. The company currently has a five-year, $6.9 million contract for its work with the city.

In 2010, Mayor Sam Adams outsourced the work of his security detail, previously handled by the Portland Police Bureau. The mayor’s office says contracting out the work to a rotating crew of six or seven security guards provides a cost savings for the city.

As part of this detail, Cohen is responsible at times for keeping order in City Council sessions—which includes

calling the police to eject protesters who disrupt public hearings.

Cohen has used physical force against protesters at least twice while working for Hales. Video footage appears to show him shoving a protester at a parade last year, though it’s not clear from the footage who started the altercation.

Pierce defends Cohen’s record of service in the mayor’s security detail, where he has worked since early 2013.

“A few weeks ago, when we had a protest here in City Hall, he stood in front of our doors while getting shouted at,” says Pierce. “I couldn’t have handled it for five minutes. He stood there, calm and cool and collected.”

The mayor’s office also provided an email testimonial from Ronault “Polo” Catalani, who runs the New Portlander Policy Commission, the city’s immigrant and refugee integration program, and observed protesters’ recent interactions with Cohen. “[Cohen’s] demeanor is what folks in many if not most of our ethnic minority communities would call that of a kind elder uncle,” writes Catalani. “His professional conduct, his personal style are an ideal I believe we should all emulate in times of conflict between Portlanders.”

Cohen is tall and beefy, with a thick white mustache.

He moves slowly and cautiously. Video obtained by WW of him interacting with protesters last month shows him chatting pleasantly with a massive crowd packed in the hallway outside the mayor’s office door demanding to see the mayor.

“Why do you have gun on you?” asks one of the protesters.

“I’m one of the mayor’s bodyguards,” he says, fidgeting almost shyly, hands in his pockets. “You go to every city in United States. Usually, it’s a police officer. We’re the only city that uses retired police officers.”

“You’re a police officer?” cont. on page 10 Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

HANDS UP: Don’t Shoot Portland protesters have taken over City Hall and camped out at Mayor Charlie Hales’ house in recent weeks after Hales moved forward with a new police union contract.

“Retired,” Cohen corrects the protester, smiling and rubbing his nose. “I was not a police officer here in Portland. I was a police officer in Los Angeles.”

When the Los Angeles Times reported Cohen’s admission of using excessive force, the paper based its report on confidential hiring files from when Cohen applied to work for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which took over the duties of the county’s Office of Public Safety.

(The L.A. County Office of Public Safety, where Cohen worked, had been eliminated that year as part of a county workforce reduction.)

As part of that application process, Cohen and other officers underwent a polygraph exam, according to an age-discrimination lawsuit later filed by Cohen and other officers, most of whom were denied jobs in the sheriff’s office. In some cases, investigators for the sheriff’s office who handled the hiring process asked follow-up questions to officers who failed the polygraph, according to the Times story.

It’s not clear from the Times’ reporting why exactly Cohen acknowledged the reported misdeeds, or if he made the admission during the polygraph. Under California law, the hiring files are confidential. (The Times and the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department both declined to provide a copy of Cohen’s file to WW.) Cohen, who was never hired by the sheriff ’s department and retired from police duty after 21 years of service, declined WW’s repeated requests to talk about his reported a d m i s s i o n s. He wa s n e ve r p r o s e c u t e d .

“Cohen disputes a lot of the information in the report,” says Pierce, though she says Cohen acknowledges being disciplined two times for use of force within the first five years of becoming a police officer.

The information hid in plain view for nearly three years—a mere Google search away.

The mayor’s office pointed to multiple background checks that Cohen has gone through.

Between his retirement in Los Angeles in late 2010 and his services as the mayor’s bodyguard, Cohen first went overseas for a year with G4S, requiring a federal background check the mayor’s office cited as stringent and proof of the company’s own high standards. He then worked for a year as a manager in G4S’s Portland office

before starting at City Hall.

The Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training licensed Cohen as an armed and an unarmed security guard and as a trainer of unarmed guards beginning in early 2012. But DPSST doesn’t conduct full background checks on applicants.

“We don’t do Google searches on people,” says Suzy Herring, program manager at DPSST. “We don’t do reference checks or anything.”

John Chandler, who oversees the mayor’s safety detail for G4S, says he was also unaware of the allegations.

“Mike was part of the detail that was with the mayor when he met with the president,” says Chandler. “You don’t get through Secret Service unless you’ve been vetted very, very deeply.”

He says City Hall security guards also receive an annual background check from the Portland Police Bureau, which would include an assessment of Cohen’s job performance. But the background check conducted by the Portland Police Bureau is limited.

“It would not include researching Google, social media, etc.,” says PPB spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson. “All we are looking for is criminal information that would potentially prevent them from being in a secure area.”

The decision by the mayor’s office to downplay Cohen’s past could add to Hales’ reputation as detached from public concerns, particularly on policing.

This spring, when Portland Police Chief Larry O’Dea accidentally shot a friend in the back on a hunting trip, Hales failed to acknowledge the shooting for more than three weeks, until after WW broke the news of the incident. Last week, The Oregonian reported that the U.S. Department of Justice took the mayor to task for his failure to immediately launch an investigation of O’Dea’s hunting accident.

Mayor-elect Ted Wheeler, who takes office in January, declined to say whether Cohen would serve as one of his bodyguards.

“I have not decided if I will have a security detail, and I haven’t decided how it would be organized or who would be part of it,” says Wheeler. “I don’t know Mr. Cohen. I do know this: Integrity and honesty are of great importance to me, and I expect my team to reflect those values.”

CHRISTINE DONG

HOTSEAT

featuring

GUS VAN SANT

SCHOOL OF THOUGHTFULNESS: Ashley Lytle (left) and Carlin MacMillan, a student body president at Cleveland High School, were part of a student-led decision to call off the homecoming dance.

Ashley Lytle and Carlin MacMillan

TWO CLEVELAND HIGH STUDENTS EXPLAIN A CAMPAIGN AGAINST DANCE-FLOOR GROPING.

BY BE T H S LOV I C

bslovic@wweek.com

Last year, students at Portland’s Cleveland High School made international news after administrators declined to hold a winter formal for the second year in a row over concerns that included dancefloor grinding. This year, students flipped the Footloose script, deciding to postpone a homecoming dance set for Oct. 13 because students reported that groping at school dances made them feel unsafe.

This week, WW talked to two seniors from Cleveland’s student leadership who were part of the decision, Ashley Lytle and Carlin MacMillan, both 17. They talked about their efforts to address a school climate that has, in the past, allowed sexual harassment to persist—and the timing of their conversation amid a presidential election that has brought the subject of unwanted grabbing to the fore.

WW: How did students decide to postpone the homecoming dance?

Ashley Lytle: In leadership class, we were asked, “Are you guys going to the dance?” And most of us said no. That made our leadership teacher [Eric Mirsepassi] say, “OK, we need to look at this.

Why aren’t you going?” A lot of us said we didn’t feel safe or comfortable going. He wanted us to have a chance to address some of the issues. The administration agreed, and they decided to give us the control over whether to have it. But we had only two weeks [until homecoming]. So we said, let’s postpone it and try to address this culture and what’s taking place at the dance.

How did students respond?

Carlin MacMillan: It was relatively positive. We had an announcement go out prior to our homecoming assembly saying we’re postponing the dance and that it’s going to be in winter. We alluded to the fact that we’re going to reform it because of sexual assault, harassment and misconduct. A lot of people were in support of the fact that we were facing the issue head-on. It’s a very small percentage of people who are acting irresponsibly. Most of the student body, they go there to have fun.

Has there been any negative response?

Lytle: For every negative response we’ve received, we’ve had so much more support—10 times more positive responses.

Your decision predated the most recent revelations in the presidential election of Trump’s sexual misdeeds, right?

Lytle: Yes, Cleveland is really trying to address these issues this year. Freshmen are taking health classes, and these classes are talking about things related to sexual assault.

MacMillan: It’s not a new conversation, but I’m glad we’re taking the steps to go against it.

It’s there, and people know it’s there, but people don’t really talk about it. But it’s happening, and people are uncomfortable at a school event, which is exactly what you don’t want.

Do you think the comments from Trump about assaulting women are helping or hurting your discussion?

MacMillan: Helping. I think it just shows how prevalent the culture is in our society and how much of an issue it actually is. His comments definitely fuel a lot of the conversation around here.

Has his language emboldened classmates to mimic him?

Lytle: No, everything I’ve heard from students is against that. They can’t believe this guy could be our president.

TICKETS

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You guys have flipped roles with parents and administrators. How do you feel about that?

MacMillan: When we originally discussed it in our class, we just focused on how many people felt unsafe. We just wanted everyone to feel comfortable because it should be a really fun time.

But for a lot of people, it’s not.

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What’s your proposal for improving the homecoming dance?

Lytle: We want to address the culture of sexual assault so we want to make a video.

MacMillan: We are planning on linking the buying of tickets to watching this video. Or to buy a ticket you have to show us in some way that you understand the problem. We’re also planning on increasing the number of chaperones, parents and teachers. I don’t know how fun it will be at the dance itself, but I think it will really help.

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

11

12

Willamette Week October 26, 2016 wweek.com

WW’s Fall 2016 Endorsements

NEWS

BALLOTS HAVE ARRIVED. HERE’S HOW WE SUGGEST YOU CAST YOURS. District 29

N AT I O N A L

(Hillsboro, Cornelius and Forest Grove)

President Hillary Clinton (D)

U.S. Senate Ron Wyden (D)

U.S. House, District 1

Susan McLain (D)

Diego Hernandez (D)

District 30

District 48

(Hillsboro and North Plains)

(Outer Southeast Portland)

Janeen Sollman (D)

Jeff Reardon (D)

District 33

District 50

(Northwest Portland and Cedar Mill)

Suzanne Bonamici (D)

U.S. House, District 3 Earl Blumenauer (D)

Kurt Schrader (D)

S TAT E W I D E

Carla Piluso (D)

District 34

District 51

(Washington County, including Cedar

(Clackamas, Happy Valley, Damascus

Governor

Ken Helm (D)

District 35

District 52 Mark Johnson (R)

District 36

CITY OF PORTLAND

Jennifer Williamson (D)

Dennis Richardson (R)

District 37

Treasurer

(West Linn and parts of Tualatin)

Julie Parrish (R)

Tobias Read (D)

District 38

O R E G O N S E N AT E

District 21

(Parts of Southwest Portland and Lake Oswego)

r u o Y Luck d o o G har m C (Southeast Portland and Milwaukie)

Kathleen Taylor (D)

District 22

Ann Lininger (D)

District 39 (Canby, Clackamas and Boring)

Charles Gallia (D)

(Northeast and North Portland)

Lew Frederick (D)

District 25

(Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview and Hood River)

Laurie Monnes Anderson (D)

OREGON HOUSE

District 26

(Hood River, Sandy and Cascade Locks)

Margaret Doherty (D)

(Multnomah Village and Southwest Portland)

Secretary of State

and portions of Southeast Portland)

Janelle Bynum (D)

(Tigard, Metzger and Garden Home)

Kate Brown (D)

(Gresham)

Mitch Greenlick (D)

Hills, Tanasbourne and Rock Creek)

U.S. House, District 5

District 47 (Parkrose and outer Northeast Portland)

District 40 (Oregon City and Gladstone)

City Council, Seat 4 Chloe Eudaly

M U LT N O M A H C O U N T Y COMMISSION

District 1 Sharon Meieran

District 4 Lori Stegmann

S TAT E M E A S U R E S

Measure 95 (Public university investments)

Evon Tekorius (R)

Yes

District 41

Measure 96

(Milwaukie, Oak Grove, Sellwood and Eastmoreland)

Karin Power (D)

(Lottery funding for veterans)

Measure 99 (Lottery funding for Outdoor School)

Yes

Measure 100 (Endangered animal protections)

Yes

LOCAL MEASURES

Measure 26-178 (Renews Metro natural areas levy)

Yes

Measure 26-179 (Portland housing bond)

No

Measure 26-180 (Portland cannabis tax)

Yes

Measure 26-181 (Extends Multnomah County term limits)

No

Measure 26-182 (Allows Multnomah County commissioners to run for chair)

Yes

Measure 26-183 (Makes Multnomah County sheriff appointed)

No

Measure 26-184 (Multnomah County campaign finance limits)

Yes

Yes

Measure 97

Measure 26-185

(Wilsonville, Sherwood, parts

District 42

of Tualatin and Hillsboro)

(Southeast Portland)

Richard Vial (R)

Rob Nosse (D)

No

District 28

District 44

Measure 98

(Aloha and portions of Beaverton)

(North and Northeast Portland)

(Career and tech education in high school)

Jeff Barker (D)

Tina Kotek (D)

(Corporate tax increase)

No

(Charter review committee reforms)

Yes

For more WW endorsements, visit

WWEEK.COM/NEWS/2016/10/12/ WWS-NOVEMBER-2016-ENDORSEMENTS

Advertise with wweek!

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

13

C H R I S T I N E D O N G A N D W W S TA F F

COVER STORY

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

BY N IGEL JAQU ISS

njaquiss@wweek.com

Paul Mandabach slipped into Portland from Los Angeles early this past summer like an assassin.

He’d been summoned to the exclusive Arlington Club on Southwest Salmon Street for a contract job. It was a familiar assignment—much like the 160 jobs he had done in the past 30 years in Nevada, Washington and, especially, California.

That’s where Mandabach had developed a reputation for being professional, ruthless and, most importantly, deadly to progressive ballot measures.

His clients this time? An alphabet soup of business associations: the Oregon Business Council, the Oregon Business Association, the Portland Business Alliance, and Associated Oregon Industries.

They and the CEOs of their member companies waited eagerly for Mandabach to arrive.

A threat—Measure 97, a proposed $3 billion tax on corporations orchestrated by the public employee union-backed advocacy group Our Oregon—hung over them.

They needed Mandabach to make it go away. He calmed their fears.

“My impression at the time was that finally a slumbering giant was awake,” says one person who was at the Portland meeting and spoke to WW on condition of anonymity. “[Our Oregon executive director] Ben Unger managed to do what no one in the so-called business community had managed to do: unite business on a political endeavor.”

Six months later, Mandabach is squeezing the life out of Unger’s measure.

Polls show that since early September, support for the tax has plummeted 15 percentage points under a blizzard of negative television ads, from 60 percent in July to the mid-40s in three polls conducted this month.

Although it’s not yet certain, Mandabach appears on the verge of doing what nobody had done this century: beat Oregon’s labor unions on their home field, in the fight public employee unions have long wanted.

For more than 25 years, parents, teachers and labor unions searched for ways to raise new tax revenue in a state that had slashed and capped property taxes in the 1990s.

This year, they chambered their magic bullet: Measure 97.

Given recent history, it seemed like a safe bet. Our Oregon was undefeated in its past 19 ballot measures. (See sidebar, page 19.)

Its biggest advantage: a highly sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation that regularly mobilized Multnomah County’s Democratic army, and the additional benefits of high turnout for the presidential contest and 250,000 voters newly registered by the Oregon Motor Voter law.

Yet with less than two weeks remaining before Election Day on Nov. 8, Our Oregon and its allies are in danger of losing—not once, but twice.

Even as Measure 97 flounders, its biggest financial backer, the Oregon Education Association, is taking fire on another flank. The teachers’ union and its affiliates have poured millions into passing Measure 97, leaving them without the resources to knock down Measure 98, a seemingly innocuous initiative aimed at improving graduation rates.

Measure 98 is the pet project of Stand for Children, a billionaire-funded education advocacy group that wants to reform schools, in part by reducing the dominance of teachers’ unions.

The measure is something of a Trojan horse animated by the same source as the campaign against Measure 97: a flow of outside cash unparalleled in recent Oregon political history.

“We’ve never seen this kind of out-of-state spending before,” says lobbyist Len Bergstein, who first managed a statewide campaign in Oregon in 1974.

“We’ve always been kind of a cheap test market for things you might want to take to other states. But with the locus of power shifting away from the federal level, people can rationalize heavy spending at the state level.”

The twin challenges to union power on the November ballot suggest that Oregon has become a staging ground for a larger fight over who should pay for public services and what those services should be.

The hired guns and national funders shaking up this election may move on to the next state after the ballots are counted. But their work in November could significantly alter Oregon’s political landscape.

“Since at least 2000, Democrats have done well at the ballot, and Our Oregon has done very well,” says Bill Lunch, emeritus professor of political science at Oregon State University. “But the folks who have come in this cycle have been very effective.”

CONT. on page 17

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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16

Willamette Week October 26, 2016 wweek.com

THE CALIFORNIA KILLER

Paul Mandabach had been to Oregon before.

In 1996, he beat back an expansion of the Bottle Bill. In 2000, he experienced a rare defeat when Oregon trial lawyers defeated a measure that would have capped medical malpractice awards.

In its 31-year history, however, Mandabach’s firm—the aptly named Winner & Mandabach Campaigns—says it has racked up victories in 90 percent of the measures it contested. Its wins included a 1998 measure that legalized gambling at Native American casinos in California. It was an $88 million campaign, one of the biggest ballot measure campaigns ever in California.

Although Oregon’s initiative system is older and has generated more measures than California’s, California produces vastly more expensive measures.

Mandabach, 68, declined to be interviewed for this story.

People who have been around him say he favors tweed jackets and has a passion for race horses. He’s also methodical and disciplined in his approach to ballot measures “[Winner & Mandabach is] the gold standard of this kind of work,” says a veteran out-of-state political consultant who’s worked against the firm. “What they are the best at is message development.”

Winner & Mandabach has made a fortune defending corporate America at the ballot box. Firms typically earn about 15 percent of their clients’ total expenditures on a campaign.

In Oregon, the business community was tired of losing.

In 2014, Our Oregon stomped Measure 90, which would have created open primaries. Proponents, mostly business interests, were hoping the measure would reduce the power of the public employees’ election machine.

Our Oregon defeated a similar measure in 2008, and in 2010 it rammed through controversial income tax increases in the form of Measures 66 and 67. For good measure that same year, the organization helped beat the business community’s handpicked candidate for governor, Republican Chris Dudley.

Regardless of the issue, Our Oregon always won. The group is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization founded in 2005 that has a modest annual budget of about $1.5 million, most of which comes from public employee unions.

Its power derives from its ability to mobilize hundreds of thousands of union members and millions of their dollars.

“They’ve done very well on ballot measures, where a lot of law gets made in this state,” says Paul Gronke, a professor of political science at Reed College. “They are very powerful, and they are very well-funded.”

This year, Our Oregon set out to address its backers’ belief that Oregon’s government needs more money. Unger and his colleagues crafted a giant tax increase aimed at a relatively small number of very large companies—think Walmart, Comcast and Wells Fargo—that are relatively unpopular. Measure 97 would levy a tax of 2.5 percent on such companies with Oregon sales over $25 million.

When business leaders contemplated how to defeat Measure 97, Mandabach’s firm was the only one they considered.

They knew his work from a $32 million Oregon campaign in 2014 that narrowly defeated the labeling of genetically modified organisms. (Mandabach defeated GMO labeling in California and Washington before the Oregon contest.)

Western states are filled with political consultants whose measures have been defeated by Mandabach, and who mostly don’t want to discuss his tactics on the record.

Speaking on background, several consultants paint a similar picture: Mandabach first tells his clients what it’s going to cost to win. In the case of Measure 97, that number was north of $20 million. If clients can commit to that number, he rolls out a sophisticated polling and message-testing operation.

“He hires the best researchers and the smartest pollsters,” says one consultant.

An analysis of Measure 97 television spots—now as ubiquitous as Viagra ads during football games—shows remarkable similarity to spots he’s run in other states,

FAC E B O O K

THE MAN WHO COULD BEAT OUR OREGON

WINNING SMILE: Paul Mandabach’s firm usually comes out on top.

and even ads from the seemingly unrelated anti-GMOlabeling campaign in 2014.

In both campaigns, Mandabach promoted four basic messages: The measure would hurt small businesses.

Experts (often in lab coats or other professional garb) say it’s a bad idea. Proponents are lying. And, most importantly, it will cost you money.

One of the earliest ads Mandabach produced for the No on 97 campaign featured the clean-cut, silver-haired former president of the Oregon Medical Association, Dr. Colin Cave.

“The last thing Oregon families need is a state tax that would make the cost of prescription medicine and health care even higher,” says Cave in the ad. “But that’s exactly what Measure 97 would do. It would tax the sales of all types of goods and services, including medicine and hos-

pital care. That would increase the health care costs in our state by nearly $100 million per year.”

Paige Richardson, who ran Oregon’s pro-GMO-labeling campaign in 2014, says Mandabach usually has enough money to produce and air numerous ads at the same time, a luxury most campaigns can’t afford.

“He acts just like a defense attorney—he sows doubt in his audience,” Richardson says.

Our Oregon’s Unger, the person most responsible for Measure 97, says Mandabach’s approach amounts to a cynical manipulation of voters.

“The fact that they use the same messages over and over, no matter what the issue is, means you probably shouldn’t trust them,” Unger says.

One of the reasons Mandabach wins so often is that he almost always starts with a large financial advantage.

Mandabach’s fundraising advantage in the Measure 97 campaign is significant: He’s raised $22.5 million, compared to the Yes on 97 campaign’s $11 million. The biggest donors to the No on 97 campaign—Costco, Kroger and Albertsons/Safeway—are out-of-state corporations. Records show that the “no” campaign has paid Mandabach’s firm $1.1 million so far. The firm also earns a commission on ad purchases.

But the business community has typically outspent the unions in the past—it just hasn’t spent its money well.

“The level of discipline and research-based credibility Mandabach has brought to this campaign is something new,” says Ryan Deckert, president of the Oregon Business Association. “I’m really impressed.”

CONT. on page 18

Winning Argument The Los Angeles political consulting firm Winner & Mandabach Campaigns has mastered the art of communicating to voters the information that will most move them to vote against ballot measures: a threat to the voters’ wallets.

The firm has deployed that argument in two recent Oregon ballot measure campaigns. Measure 92, the 2014 GMO-labeling proposal, and Measure 97, a $3 billion tax on big corporations, would appear to have little in common—except that big companies don’t like them.

But Winner & Mandabach, which ran the “no” campaigns on both measures, has used the same warnings against both measures.

NIGEL JAQUISS. ARGUMENT: INCREASES FOOD COSTS NO ON 92 AD: “92 would increase food costs.” “[Measure 92] would increase the costs of selling food in Oregon, and those costs would get passed on to consumers, increasing grocery costs for Oregon families by hundreds of dollars per year.”

NO ON 97 TV AD: “The tax would increase every Oregon family’s cost for food, gas, electricity, insurance, even medicine and health care.”

NO ON 97 TV AD: “97 would increase costs for food, gas, electricity, phones, insurance, even health care. That would hurt all Oregon businesses and all consumers.”

NO ON 97 TV AD: “And it would hurt farm families even worse by making us pay more for farm supplies and equipment.”

NO ON 97 RADIO AD: “That would especially hurt Oregon families, small businesses, and farmers who can least afford higher costs.”

NO ON 97 RADIO AD: “That would especially hurt Oregon families, small businesses, and farmers who can least afford higher costs.”

NO ON 97 TV AD: “By increasing prices for food, electricity, medicine, health care and other essentials, 97 would hurt low- and middle-income families and seniors on fixed incomes the most.”

A R G U M E N T : H U R T S FA R M E R S F I N A N C I A L LY NO ON 92 AD: “Forcing farmers and food producers to spend millions for separate storage and packaging lines would hurt farmers and increase food costs for consumers.”

A R G U M E N T : H U R T S LOW- I N C O M E FA M I L I E S NO ON 92 AD: “The Oregonian said [Measure 92]…would actually mislead consumers and increase the financial burden on those least able to afford it.” “[Measure 92] would hurt all types of farmers and people on low and fixed incomes.”

SOURCE: AD TRANSCRIPTS

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

17

THE STEALTH BOMBER Toya Fick is a former teacher and political staffer who in 2014 quietly became one of the most influential people in Oregon education circles not drawing a public paycheck.

That when Fick, 36, whose accent retains the flavor of her Louisiana upbringing, became executive director of the Oregon chapter of Stand for Children.

Stand for Children is a little bit like Widmer Hefeweizen—often overlooked in its hometown of Portland, it’s a well-known brand in other parts of the country.

The K-12 education advocacy group opened its doors here in 1996 and now operates in 11 states, pursuing a mixture of grassroots organizing and high-level, bigdollar politics.

With Fick, a former policy adviser to then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), the local chapter of Stand for Children significantly elevated its profile this year. It’s sponsoring Measure 98, which would require the Legislature to offer districts $800 per high school student for dropout prevention and vocational education.

It is an apple-pie-and-motherhood measure—who would oppose raising Oregon’s graduation rate, the nation’s third lowest? And unlike Measure 97, which would simply commit the new tax dollars to the state’s general fund, Measure 98’s spending plan is specific.

There’s not a single argument against Measure 98 in the Voters’ Pamphlet.

Chuck Bennett, longtime lobbyist for the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, says the ballot measure is a brilliant way for Stand for Children to build political goodwill. “It is very attractive politically,” he says.

Very attractive to everybody except the one organization that matters most in any discussion of K-12 funding: the Oregon Education Association, the 45,000-member statewide teachers’ union, which opposes it.

“The way the details of Measure 98 are written could prevent local communities from deciding what’s best for their students, whether they need more community

programs, or language and reading support, or parental engagement programs, or substantially smaller classes, or more counselors,” OEA lobbyist Trent Lutz said in a statement. He calls it an unfunded mandate.

It’s true that Measure 98 does not include any funding— but Fick points out that her measure states that it would only be funded after the state budget grows by more than $1.5 billion. That means, she says, it will be funded with new money not currently allocated to existing programs.

But Measure 98 still eats into OEA’s control of school funding, because it reduces local control.

This year, Stand for Children has stepped into the open to form a relationship with voters, although the true source of the cash funding Measure 98 remains a mystery.

Stand for Children has contributed nearly $3.5 million of its own money to Measure 98, making the nonprofit the largest single donor to any Oregon campaign this year.

It’s impossible to know exactly where that money is coming from, however: The Stand for Children entity that contributed the money is organized as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization, which means it can make unlimited political contributions but does not have to identify its donors.

“THEIR FUNDERS ARE AMONG THE BIGGEST PROPONENTS OF CHARTER SCHOOLS AND ONLINE EDUCATION.” —Rep. Margaret Doherty (D-Tigard)

State Rep. Margaret Doherty (D -Tigard), a former teacher and OEA staffer who chairs the House Education Committee, dislikes Measure 98 and is suspicious of Stand for Children’s donors.

“Their funders are among the biggest proponents of charter schools and online education,” Doherty says.

The group earlier took a strong position in Oregon on the hottest of hot-button issues for teachers. In 2013, Stand for Children was a key part of a group called the Fix PERS Now coalition, which forced $4 billion in cuts to public employee retirement benefits (the Oregon Supreme Court later invalidated most of those cuts). But that effort was mostly behind the scenes.

Tax returns and news reports show that Stand for Children has previously raised money from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and many hedge fund and private equity tycoons.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg ’s eldest daughter, Emma, served as chairwoman of the group’s national board.

Those billionaires and foundations are critical of teacher tenure and seniority rules, while supporting greater school-choice options, including charter schools.

Measure 98, with its mandate for shop class and collegeprep programs, fits with that mission to reduce the power of teachers’ unions.

The Man Who Counts in Oregon Elections

HUMAN ABACUS: Multnomah County elections director Tim Scott.

Here’s a safe prediction for election night: When Oregonians go to bed Nov. 8, Measure 97 will be losing.

Whether it will still be losing when all the votes are counted Nov. 9 is another question.

That uncertainty—and the larger disconnect it represents—is the bane of Multnomah County elections director Tim Scott’s existence.

“The perception from the outside is something must be wrong,” he says.

“People are saying, ‘Why aren’t you telling us who won?’”

18

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

In 2008, when voters went to bed, incumbent U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R- Ore.) held a lead over Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley. In 2010, GOP nominee for governor Chris Dudley’s lead was comfortable enough that The Roseburg Beacon declared Dudley the winner on the front page of its Nov. 3 edition. Yet in both cases, the Democrat eventually prevailed on the strength of last-day voters in Multnomah County.

In 2014, election-night totals showed the GMO -labeling measure losing by 1.2 percent. But by the final count, it had failed by just 837 votes—five onehundredths of 1 percent.

The deluge of last-minute Democratic votes bothers some.

“I absolutely believe that voters’ confidence in the system is shaken when ballots that come in late change the outcome of elections,” says Bill Currier, chair of the Oregon Republican Party.

The cause of the late surge in each case was Multnomah County, where the vote always comes in late and always skews heavily to Democratic candidates and liberal causes, such as labeling GMO foods.

While cities such as New York and

Chicago can count millions of ballots on Election Day, the results in Portland come much slower, which plays into the skepticism of some participants.

Scott, 46, works in a bunkerlike structure at Southeast 11th Avenue and Morrison Street. He was new on the job in 2008 for the Dudley-John Kitzhaber gubernatorial contest. He knew even before the count started it was going to take a long time.

“I felt completely helpless in ’08,” Scott says. “We had a huge, 17-inch-long ballot because there were a lot of state measures, and we couldn’t start scanning them until Election Day.” Scott is painfully aware that the time it takes Multnomah County to report election results breeds suspicion. Scott says the explanation is simple: In most other big cities across the U.S., voters still go to the polls to cast their ballots, and typically use touch-screen terminals that tally votes automatically.

Under Oregon’s vote-by-mail system, only about half the ballots arrive at the county’s Elections Division by mail; the other half must be retrieved from 28 drop-off locations scattered across the county, right up until 8 pm on elec-

tion night. Then to tally the votes, two envelopes per ballot must be opened manually, signatures must be compared to those on file to verify voters’ identity, and the ballots must be scanned.

In 2008, Multnomah County could scan about 6,000 ballots per hour.

This year, that number will be 18,000 ballots per hour—if nothing breaks down. Because there are now 500,000 registered voters in the county, thanks to the Oregon Motor Voter law, and because Scott expects as many as 200,000 ballots to come in on Election Day, the count will continue well into Nov. 9, he says.

“Why does it take so long for us to count? Scott asks. “It’s because everybody waits so long to vote.”

Scott says he’ll pack his normal Election Day meal—his wife whips up a big batch of tuna noodle casserole—and settle in for a hectic 24 hours.

“It’s a bit like the Super Bowl and a bit like another day at the office,” he says of Election Day. “If we’ve done everything correctly, then it’s just a mechanical process. It takes as long as it takes.”

NIGEL JAQUISS.

JOE RIEDL

THE CALIFORNIA KILLER

PLAYING CHESS: Stand for Children’s Toya Fick has forced the Oregon Education Association into opposing a popular ballot measure.

For years, the teachers’ union has been among the biggest contributors in Oregon Democratic politics. But this election, OEA is otherwise occupied: It has contributed $3.3 million to the Yes on 97 campaign.

State Rep. Mark Johnson (R-Hood River), chairman of the Hood River County School Board and a Stand for Children ally, says he thinks the nonprofit is seeking to prove it can win even in a state where organized labor holds sway.

“In Oregon, we have one of the strongest teachers’ unions in the country,” says Johnson, who received a $15,000 contribution from Stand for Children this year. “[Stand] wants to do something significant here that they can build on in other states.”

Oregon’s ballot measure system has always made it a fertile testing ground for big ideas.

From 1990—when Measure 5, the property tax limitation measure, passed—until the early 2000s, Oregon’s ballot measures were chiefly the province of conservatives such as anti-taxer Bill Sizemore and Kevin Mannix.

Our Oregon rose up in response to their policies, first as a defense mechanism but later, especially with Measures 66 and 67 and now 97, as a vehicle for generating new tax revenue.

It’s too soon to say for sure, but if Measure 97 does sink beneath the onslaught of Mandabach’s assault, and Measure 98 passes easily (as polls say it will), the dynamics could change again.

Business executives and education activists could become the next generation to decide they’ll make public policy the Oregon way: at the ballot box.

“Folks in our coalition have seen how difficult the path is through the legislative arena,” Stand for Children’s Fick says. “We believe it’s a crisis and so it was time to go talk directly to the people.”

Undefeated Since its founding in 2005, Our Oregon, an advocacy group funded mostly by public employee unions, has defeated numerous statewide ballot measures and passed a few of its own.

Our Oregon wrote Measure 97, the $3 billion corporate tax increase on the November ballot, and is running the campaign to pass it. Polling shows the measure has lost ground quickly, and business groups could hand Our Oregon its first-ever loss.

Here’s the Our Oregon winning streak. NIGEL JAQUISS.

2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2010 2010 2010 2012 2012 2014

41 42 44 46 48 56 58 59 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 71 84 85 90

Cut income taxes Prohibited use of credit scores for insurance policies Opened prescription drug pool Allowed contribution limits Capped government spending Removed super-majority requirement for property tax increases Limited teaching English as second language Cut income taxes Based teacher pay raises on performance Mandatory minimum sentences for property crimes Lottery funds for public safety No public resources used to collect union dues Open primaries Increased personal income tax Increased corporate income tax Annual legislative sessions Phased out inheritance taxes Allocated corporate kicker to K-12 education Open primaries

Opposed Opposed Supported Opposed Opposed Supported Opposed Opposed Opposed Opposed Opposed Opposed Opposed Supported Supported Supported Opposed Supported Opposed

Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win Win

SOURCE: OREGON BLUE BOOK

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

19

LEGENDARY SONGWRITER

ROBBIE FULKS

FOLK, BLUEGRASS, VINTAGE COUNTRY

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

Stree t

“I’m from San Jose, California. I like how I blend in here, and that suits me. It’s a great place to be politically active.”

“I’m from Hood River. I came here to create beautiful things. I’m a graphic design major. That was my calling.”

PORTLAND STATE WHO WE MET ON THE SOUTH PARK BLOCKS. P H OTOS BY ELLEN A R OSEN THA L

“I’m from Houston, Texas. My dad got a job out here and he brought me. I’m studying education and health to teach middle-school kids.”

“I’m from Forrest Grove. I transferred from George Fox University. I’ve always wanted to be a part of a big city. “

“I’m from Ann Arbor, Michigan. I moved here two weeks ago. This is my first day of graduate school.”

“I’m from Southeast Portland. I’m an English major.”

“I’m from Budapest, Hungary. I moved here to go to college and my sister lives here, so it’s a bonus.”

“I’m from Bangkok, Thailand. I moved here for the masters program, beer, and the weather.”

“I’m from Clackamas. I came to Portland State for a post-baccalaureate program in science.”

“I’m from Olympia, Washington. I really wanted to experience life in the city.”

Advertise with WWEEK! Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

21

STARTERS

K I C K S TA R T E R . C O M

B I T E - S I Z E D P O RT L A N D C U LT U R E N E W S

CLEAN-PLATE CLUB: The Oregon Department of Justice has issued a cease-and-desist order to the organizer of a Kickstarter campaign to launch a new official Oregon license plate. Steve Barile’s plates would combine both the old PDX carpet design and Terry Currier’s famous “Keep Portland Weird” slogan. The Kickstarter promised that a $50 donation would get you a prepaid certificate for the Oregon DMV specialty license plate surcharge. According to the Department of Justice, Barile did not comply with state law when he neglected to apply for a new plate with the DMV, which provided him with information on state requirements. “I have no plans on taking down the Kickstarter project since I’ve done nothing wrong, and all of their accusations are incorrect,” Barile tells WW. The Kickstarter is still live.

ALBERTA LIVES: On Nov. 5, Whiskey bar Branch will close after six years on Northeast Alberta Street because owner Bruce Kaad is retiring. Alberta will not be without a whiskey bar for long, however. Former Irish TV actor Tom C. O’Leary—he played Dr. Brendan Daly on a soap called Fair City—will open a family-friendly Irish pub called TC O’Leary’s with his Portland wife, Siobhan. The pub will focus on Irish whiskey, a broadly international beer selection—local IPA, German lager, Irish stout and Czech Pilsner—and Irish food made with local ingredients that will include weekend-brunch rashers and black-and-white pudding, as well as a streetside Irish fish and chips window. >> Meanwhile, Alberta street punk bar The Know will also not be closed for long after shuttering Nov. 30. Co-owner Ryan Stowe will resurrect the venue on Northeast Sandy Boulevard at the location of former venues the Blackbird and Tony Starlight’s, The Portland Mercury reported.

TRUMP-BRAND BOLOGNA: Portland advertising firm Wieden+Kennedy set up a “Donald Trump BS” food truck at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Oct. 21 and 22, giving away eight different bologna sandwiches with eight different wrappers. Among the menu items was the Border-Security Hero bologna sandwich. The description reads, “This recipe changes all the time depending on which news station it’s being served to.” Another was the Middle-Class Hero, which was named for “four slices of bankruptcy along with 3,500 individual lawsuits regarding unpaid bills.” The message at the bottom of every gold menu read: “Enjoy your sandwich.

But more importantly, vote.”

RESTAURANT GUIDE: The annual Willamette Week Restaurant Guide, featuring a ranking of the top 50 restaurants in Portland, the 2016 Restaurant of the Year, Pop-Up of the Year and Pop-In of the Year, will drop Friday, Oct. 28. Contrary to published reports by Oregonian ACKER reporter Lizzy Acker, our Restarant of the Year will not be “The Year of the Pop-Up,” but an actual restaurant. Confronted with the inaccuracies in Acker’s report, Oregonian Editor Mark Katches mocked WW’s web traffic via Twitter. To read the guide or find out where to pick up a copy, stay glued to wweek.com/ restaurant-guide-2016 as our picks are revealed online.

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26 THE FAINT AND GANG OF FOUR The Faint wouldn’t exist without the ground laid by Gang of Four’s decadeslong discography. While the latter updated the genre with last year’s What Happens Next, it’s likely the Faint’s Capsule: 1999-2016 sparked this latest cross-country tour. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 503-225-0047, crystalballroompdx.com. 7:30 pm. $25 advance, $30 day of show. All ages.

LA LUZ If anyone is spearheading the current surf-rock resurgence, it would be La Luz. The tangled guitars and honeyed cacophony of “oohs” and “aahs” mask a volatile unease beneath last year’s Weirdo Shrine, further proving La Luz’s approach to ’60s pop is more than just a throwback. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895, mississippistudios.com. 9 pm. $3 with Red Bull Sound Select RSVP, $12 without. 21+.

THURSDAY, OCT. 27 PORTLAND FERMENTATION FEST Get stinky at this annual festival, where you can sample fermented food and drinks, like pickled vegetables, kraut, soy ferments, meats and fish. Plus, get advice from professional fermenters. Ecotrust’s Billy Frank Jr. Conference Center, 721 NW 9th Ave., portlandfermentationfestival. com. 6-9:30 pm. $10-$20.

FRIDAY, OCT. 28

THE LABYRINTH ALBUM RELEASE TOUR, PART 1 Since the early 2000s, Zion I’s socially conscious compositions have been largely influential on rising underground acts like G-Eazy and Nef the Pharaoh. Expect MC Baba Zumbi’s first solo record to address ongoing issues like gentrification and political injustice.

Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 503-284-8686, wonderballroom.com. 8:30 pm. $18 advance, $20 day of show. 21+.

Get Busy

CHANCE THE RAPPER Coloring Book, Chance the Rapper’s third and best mixtape, is a loving tribute to gospel, soul and funk that makes room for spirituality and getting high, both from weed and life.

Though the youthful nostalgia of 10 Day and Acid Rap is gone, this is still an incredibly fun album filled with trumpets and choirs and references to Outkast and The Lion King. Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 300 N Winning Way, rosequarter.com. 8 pm. $42.50-$49.50. All ages.

WHAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1

SATURDAY, OCT. 29 RIP: A HALLOWEEN TRIBUTE Four DJs will play music only by artists who have died, from all genres, including the hits and B-sides. Attendees are encouraged to dress like their favorite artist from the crypt. Sadly, this year leaves open David Bowie and Prince. East Portland Eagle Lodge, 4904 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 503-232-7505. 9 pm. $10.

STRIP CLUB HAUNTED HOUSE The strip club haunted house is coming back. This year’s theme is time travel, which means you’ll be able to see Vietnam War-, 1970s- and Salem witch trials-themed rooms—and Abe Lincoln getting a lap dance. See page 25. Haunted Strip Club Time Machine is at Spyce Gentlemen’s Club, 33 NW 2nd Ave., spyceclub.com. 9 pm. Oct. 26-31. $15 admission. 21+.

KILLER PUMPKIN FESTIVAL Even Typhoon Songda can’t keep a great pumpkin down. Live out your pumpkin-spiced fantasies with 40 pumpkin beers, pumpkin cocktails, and pumpkin smashing and bowling. Oh, and there will be a dog-costume contest. Green Dragon, 928 SE 9th Ave., pdxgreendragon.com. 11 am-midnight. $5 suggested donation.

SUNDAY, OCT. 30 THE EVERY 28 HOURS PLAYS Every 28 hours, a black person is killed by vigilantes, security guards or the police in the United States. This project is focused on the Black Lives Matter movement, exploring the statistic through more than 60 one-minute plays from artists across the nation. Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott St., facebook.com/ ConfrontationTheatre. 7 pm. Free. Also Oct. 31.

DEAN POTTLE MEMORIAL The Portland beer community has lost one of its most unique and lovable personalities, Dean Pottle, who passed away Oct. 13 at age 65 from heart failure. Pottle ran Dean’s Scene, a speakeasy in the basement of Pottle’s plumbing shop. Come share your favorite stories, and toast a great man. Alameda Brewing, 4765 NE Fremont St. 3 pm. Dress is “beer fest formal.”

MONDAY, OCT. 31 KING DUDE Formerly of Seattle gloom-metal band Book of Black Earth, TJ Cowgill brings his haunting goth-folk act King Dude to the Old Church just in time for the most macabre day of the year. See page 31. The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., 503-222-2031, theoldchurch. org, 9 pm. $13 advance, $15 day of show. All ages.

HALLOWEEN HOCUS POCUS PARTY With witchy sets from Cat Hoch, Fog Father and Wampire—while cult Disney hit Hocus Pocus plays on a big screen in the background—this dance party is a millennial’s dream. Plus, there will be candy, and if you wear a costume, you’ll be entered to win door prizes. Spooky. The Liquor Store, 3341 SE Belmont St., theliquorstorepdx.com.

9 pm. pm, $10. 21+.

TUESDAY, NOV. 1 THE SCIENCE OF GREAT CASCADIA EARTHQUAKES The Oregon State University marine geology professor and nationally published geophysicist cited in the The New Yorker’s apocalyptic “Really Big One” article explains his findings to a pub full of inebriated or recovering nonscience people for the City Club’s boozy lecture series. Chris Goldfinger predicts a 20 percent chance of a catastrophic earthquake in Portland within the next 50 years. He’ll explain why, unpacking records of marine earthquakes in the past 10,000 years while you unpack that stout.

Kells, 112 SW 2nd Ave., pdxcityclub.org. 5:30 pm. Free.

HORSE BRASS 40TH ANNIVERSARY There is no beer bar in Portland more storied than Don Younger’s Horse Brass. It turns a whopping 40 years old today.

Until Nov. 6, the pub will tap its Russian River Don the Younger beer and a Rogue Horse Brass anniversary ale, along with staff collaborations with Culmination, Rosenstadt, Solera and Sierra Nevada, plus pull crazy beers out of its 40-year-old cellars.

Horse Brass Pub, 4534 SE Belmont St., 503-232-2202, horsebrass.com. Opens 11 am.

Willamette Week SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 wweek.com

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Measure 97 is a tax on sales, not profits, that would hurt all Oregon consumers and all Oregon businesses.

Because 97 is a tax on sales rather than income, companies would have to pay the new tax even if they are losing money.

That would hurt hundreds of Oregon businesses of all sizes, especially many start-ups and high tech firms, which would have to pay the tax before they even make a profit.

for everything from food, gas and electricity to insurance, medicine and healthcare.

The study also found that Measure 97’s misguided policy would cause the loss of 38,000 private sector jobs in our state.

Moreover, the state of Oregon’s own study found that Measure 97 would increase costs for a typical family by $600 per year – through higher prices

Willamette Week

“

EDITORIAL – OCT. 12, 2016

There are a host of reasons why the new tax would be bad for Oregon.

Independent analysts say companies will pass a big chunk of the tax on to consumers, so it is, in effect, a sales tax.

And unlike the conventional sales tax that nearly every other state levies, Measure 97 grants no exemptions for food, medicine or other essential goods. That’s a double hit for low-income Oregonians.

”

“Taxing startup companies before they start to earn a profit makes no sense. Measure 97 should be defeated.”

Monica Enand, Portland Founder and CEO Zapproved Software

Vote NO on 97 Learn more at NOon97.com This voter information provided by Defeat the Tax on Oregon Sales • PO Box 5275, Portland, OR 97208 • www.NOon97.com • Phone (877) 575-9950 24

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

The Bump VIETNAM WAR ROOM JACK THE RIPPER ROOM

“There’s disembodied GIs in the forest, lots of foliage and camo netting, and there’s going to be basically a strip club in Vietnam— where things go horribly wrong.”

INSIDE PORTLAND’S STRIP CLUB HAUNTED HOUSE. Last year, 2,000 people attended Portland’s first-ever strip club haunted house at Old Town’s Spyce Gentlemen’s Club. As far as we know, it was the first of its kind anywhere.

This year, the strip club haunted house is coming back to Spyce for six nights, concluding Monday on Halloween night. Last year’s theme was Seven Deadly Sins. This year, it’s time travel.

Here’s a rubdown of the haunted house’s nine rooms, as told to WW by visionary strip club DJ and attraction creator DJ Dick Hennessy. SOPHIA JUNE.

“Ja c k h a s f o u n d a female victim and chases her and kills her in front of you.”

BAR-AREA ROOM

ABE LINCOLN ROOM

“The Shining bartender will serve up cocktails and chat up guests.

I’m looking forward to that one because that’s the one where people will be interacting the most with actors in the house.”

“You’ll see Abraham Lincoln getting a lap dance, and everything is all fun and games until someone comes and blows his head off.”

THAT ’70s ROOM SALEM WITCH TRIALS ROOM “ T h e r e ’s a h a l l w a y that will have a time machine, like timewarp background, then you traverse through a real entrance, and the first area is the Salem witch trials. A couple witches will be tied up at the stake being burned alive, and the stake is the stripper pole, so everything is strip club oriented.”

“There’s a girl sitting in a beanbag chair; she’s topless, and she has a huge ’70s bush. She’s smoking a joint and puts it down and prompts you to come closer.”

THE ’60s ROOM “Everything is black and white, even the dancer, painted in a grayscale.

There will be TVs with dramatic Twilight Zone things.”

BACK TO THE FUTURE/ALIENS ROOM “We’re trying to decide if the alien will have three or four breasts; regardless, more than two. And there will be an alien in the room potentially getting a lap dance.”

HYPNOX

“Elizabeth Báthory was [a countess in Hungary]—very notorious. She would bathe in virgins’ blood because she thought it would keep her youth. She would sacrifice virgins, so we’re going to have topless girls in cages off to the side about to be sacrificed, and she’s going to be in the bathtub. And there’s going to be hanging naked female corpses draining blood on her.”

THOMAS TEAL

BLOODY VIRGINS ROOM

Haunted Strip Club Time Machine is at Spyce Gentlemen’s Club, 33 NW 2nd Ave., on Wednesday-Monday, Oct. 26–31. 9 pm. $15 admission includes free gift. 21+.

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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Simple ApproAch

Bold FlAvor vegan Friendly

I

Horse Brass Pub

Portland, Oregon USA Est. 1976

40th Anniversary Celebration Begins November 1st Go to horsebrass.com for details

59 Craft and Specialty Beers on Tap TRADITIONAL ENGLISH PUB 4534 SOUTHEAST BELMONT STREET

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

open 11-10

everyday

I

500 NW 21st Ave, (503) 208-2173 kungpowpdx.com

Shandong www.shandongportland.com

Sha

www.shan

FOOD & DRINK thomas teal

REVIEW

things great and small: the salmon ceviche bite ($4, lower right) next to the rib-eye platter.

Superunknown

THE OX-OWNERS’ NEW SMALL-PLATES SUPERBITE IS BOTH AMBITIOUS AND BEWILDERING.

BY M AT T H E W KO R F H AGE

mkorfhage@wweek.com

SuperBite is the opposite of everything you’d expect from the people behind Ox. Chefs Greg and Gabrielle Denton conceived their 6-month-old West End small-plates spot as a counterpoint to their big-plates restaurant known for consistency, bone-marrow chowder and bone-in grilled meats. In the space that once housed staid middle-European eatery Grüner, the Dentons serve a collage of plates meant as flavor pops to the kisser.

During visits spanning months, we’ve found it ambitious, expensive, rewarding, disappointing and sometimes just plain confusing.

The menu is vast to the point of unwieldy—a 20-something-strong list of “bites,” “plates” and “platters” that ascends from $4 bites so small your server will warn you they can’t feasibly be shared, all the way up to a $78 plattered feast of grilled, pan-finished rib-eye steak and potatoes.

Each item is identified only by its ingredients: “Ramen egg, chashu sausage, ginger broth, Swiss chard, sesame chili oil.” It’s a form of suspense that will also leave you leaning on your server much harder than usual. Each diner is asked whether they’ve been in before, and firsttimers receive an introductory speech.

Among the reliable highlights, the “spaghettio” dish ($7) is a blast of truffled and Parmesan-cheese-topped richness I’d eat by the boatload, although it arrives by the cup. Each button-sized O is individually hand-chopped by the kitchen from housemade penne that has been dried overnight to make it more malleable, a Sisyphean labor that keeps the dish small. Alongside the single-bite shroom-on-shroom action of a shiitake splayed across a softly sweet porcini-miso marshmallow ($3), it more than lives up to the promise of the restaurant’s name: a tiny thing packed with crazy flavor.

But for a place named SuperBite, the bites are more

often subdued. The deconstructed salmon ceviche ($5) is a macaron-diameter layer cake of avocado and fish, with a roelike topper of crunchy quinoa whose aggressive crunch carries the jolt of pop rocks on a Jell-O shot. The mild citrus and fish-sauce vinaigrette didn’t provide enough acidity to balance that fatty double stack, however, leaving the flavor overwhelmed by the texture. A salmon-belly crudo ($4)—too small to be shared—is frankly beautiful, arriving as a tiny, spiral-blossomed cut of fish stuffed with shiso and topped with ginger, adrift in a pool of sweetly acidic hibiscus ponzu. Its flavor is as delicate as its appearance, however, drifting gently across the palate and out of memory.

A somewhat mushy mini-Twinkie of halibut-brandade fishstick ($5) is a badly landed joke that doesn’t transcend its 1950s namesake, even with the addition of a gochujanglike fermented hot sauce.

Much of the rest of the menu follows a similar pattern.

There are so many ideas, even individual plates can feel busy. Many dishes are collaborations between the Dentons and the numerous cooks in their kitchen, and often there’s one ingredient too many. So there might be distracting pumpkin seeds in an already complex sweetbread dish in green-apple-and-onion soubise, or a confusing piece of liver-mousse toast added to a rich coq au vin. The mousse, I learned later, was meant to be spread across the bread and used as ground for the coq au vin, like bruschetta on high-grade cocaine.

A similar scenario plays out in bar manager Beau Burtnick’s cocktail menu. Though his menu at adjunct bar Kask next door (see page 41) is free and easy, at SuperBite it contains both can’t-miss treats like a bourbon-mezcalmaple take on an Old Fashioned called the El Camino Royale ($13), and too-far-afield concoctions like a sagegarnished Nature and Nurture ($12). Based on an affinity between IPA and tart French liqueur Benedictine, the drink ended up washed in acidity, with lemon and Clear Creek plum brandy also onboard.

But still, the reduction on that coq au vin was impres-

sively deep in flavor, deepened still more by a duck-heart variation on the bacon-wrapped chicken-liver “rumaki” of old Trader Vic’s menus. A chicken-fried quail dish was pretty much perfect, a petite take on fried chicken set off with a light turmeric yogurt, citrus and vadouvan-curried shallot served on greens.

The aforementioned ramen egg ($16) turns out to be a playful Japanese take on scotch egg, an impressive feat of both engineering and whimsy. It looks like a ramen-spined sea urchin pregnant with a soft-boiled egg, not to mention tender chashu pork. But that pulverized-noodle breading with lo-mein-style “spines” steps heavily on its delicate contents. The dish’s biggest flavor punch was packed instead into the dashi it sits in, laden with lovely pickledginger stems of Swiss chard.

Two noodle dishes play with the fruits of the sea in surprising ways, but to opposite effects. A sea urchin fettuccine with Meyer lemon ($19) drowned in the urchin’s funky brine, while a dish of cuttlefish “noodles” and out-of-shell mussels ($14) was more satisfying, with cuttlefish and fennel strands delightfully mimicking each other in appearance and texture, but not flavor.

Dishes are brought to your table by a parade of cooks from the kitchen, which means the person bringing your food has an intimate understanding of the dish they’re laying down. But it may also mean that your small share plates and utensils don’t get replaced after six dishes’ worth of sauces, and then are swapped between each individual dish thereafter. While we were mid-dish on one visit—during which we’d received neither serving utensils nor clean plates—the hostess ceremoniously removed a single fork from within a folded napkin and wordlessly placed it onto the center of our table, for reasons I’ll likely never know.

But if you’d like, you can short-circuit the whole rollercoaster ride by ordering grill dishes like beef short ribs or lamb T-bone, or doubling down on one of the platters. That 20-ounce rib-eye—served atop potatoes soaked in beef jus, spiked with horseradish and served with a lovely Caesar side—is like something from a different restaurant altogether, a literal meat-and-potatoes dish with solid execution. Two could order only that, and be happily sated and ready for dessert.

Among those desserts, the maple-walnut tart ($8) includes a maple slab thick as a children’s book, a piece of beautiful excess that allows Greg Denton’s Vermont roots to show. It’s one of the most delectable desserts I’ve had this year, but only if you leave the unpleasant ethanol whiff of intense rum-raisin whipped cream to the side. Do so, and discover a new kind of sticky, crunchy decadence.

Still, the restaurant’s very steep price tag—it’s rare a person would get out under $75 and be full—demands reliable perfection SuperBite doesn’t deliver. This leaves it a bit like a Star Trek mission to a strange new world. It’s hellbent on discovery, but you might regret that you had to kill a couple dudes to afford it. eat: superBite, 527 sW 12th ave., 503-222-0979, superbitepdx.com. 5-10 pm sunday, tuesday-thursday. 5-11 pm Friday-saturday.

DRANK

Helles

The Commons is in a malt phase. A few years ago, brewmaster Mike Wright joked to us that his beers, like Urban (THE COMMONS) Farmhouse saison, were “yeast-forward.”

But a recent visit to the brewery’s large space on Southeast Belmont Street found that the Commons is exploring other, more basic classic European styles, like an English mild and German Pilsner. My favorite was the Helles, a restrained, balanced version mostly notable for its freshness. It offered all the bready warmth of a fresh-baked Bavarian lye roll. The Commons used only noble hops and German Pilsner malt in this beer, giving it round edges all around. Wright and his team have always been good with subtle flavors and tight focus, and it really shows with this lager. Recommended.

MARTIN CIZMAR. Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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Wordstock: Film to Page

In collaboration with Literary Arts’ Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival—November 5 at the Portland Art Museum—we present four screenings with nationally-renowned writers discussing films that have influenced their work over the years and represent a diverse array of cinematic styles and literary concerns.

All screenings will feature an introduction by the author and be followed by a wideranging dialogue with a member of the literary community.

dir. Allison Anders (101 mins., Drama, 35mm) Selected by novelist Alexis Smith (Marrow Island) in conversation with Fiona McCann. Small-town New Mexico daughters Shade (Fairuza Balk) and Trudi (Ione Skye) long to escape the day-to-day drudgery, but doing so is tougher than either of them realize—for very different reasons.

Friday, November 4, 7:30 pm Dead Ringers, Canada, 1988

dir. David Cronenberg (116 mins., Thriller, 35mm)

Japanese Currents

Like Japanese fashion and pop culture, the cinema of Japan remains in the international vanguard, blending traditional genres and classical forms with cutting-edge technology and dazzling imagery. This year’s 10th annual Japanese Currents series highlights recent noteworthy Nipponese films, ranging from anime to jidaigeki, documentary to comedy, all while exploring issues important to contemporary Japanese society. Collectively, these selections offer a fresh take on Japanese culture and showcase the wealth of creative invention at work in Japan today.

Select screenings feature a paired short film. Please see our website for further details.

Special thanks to the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles with additional support from Biwa Izakaya and Noraneko Ramen, Lane Powell PC, the Portland-Sapporo Sister City Association, and the Consular Office of Japan in Portland.

Friday, December 2, 7 pm Harmonium, Japan, 2016

Wednesday, December 7, 7 pm Love & Peace, Japan, 2016

Saturday, December 10, 9:15 pm Wet Woman in the Wind, Japan, 2016

An unassuming man and his pet baby turtle team up to conquer the world through rock ‘n’ roll after he’s bullied by his soul-suckingcorporate-job co-workers.

Exceedingly physical yet light-hearted sex romp in the “Roman Porno” tradition concerning a back-to-the-land writer who meets— under baffling circumstances—an enigmatic local woman.

Thursday, December 8, 7 pm The Actor, Japan, 2016

Sunday, December 11, 2 pm The Case of Hana & Alice, Japan, 2015

A deeply beautiful tone poem following a solitary blind professor whose only connection to the outside world is apocalyptic radio broadcasts—until a mysterious woman washes ashore near his beachfront home.

Bit-part actor Takuji Kameoka (Ken Yasuda) silently toils on the margins, but when a major offer comes along, it might be his chance to break out—of alcoholism, of self-loathing, of loneliness, and of the vicious cycles of control that pervade our day-to-day lives.

Exploring themes of hikikomori (social withdrawal) and teen friendship and featuring a highly inventive animation style, this “detective” story follows new transfer student Alice’s (voiced by Tetsuko Arisugawa) investigation into a student’s mysterious disappearance.

Saturday, December 3, 7 pm Oyster Factory, Japan, 2015

Friday, December 9, 8 pm Creepy, Japan, 2016

Sunday, December 11, 4:30 pm Assassination Classroom, Japan, 2015

dir. Kôji Fukuda (118 mins., Drama, DCP)

Unearthed secrets and familial rifts are subtly exposed when a mysterious man returns from prison and begins working with a former partner-in-crime. Winner of the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Saturday, December 3, 5 pm The Shell Collector, Japan, 2016

dir. Yoshifumi Tsubota (87 mins., Drama, DCP)

dir. Kazuhiro Sôda (145 mins., Documentary, DCP)

A complex observational portrait of the Oyster farming community of Ushimado (on “Japan’s Aegean Sea”) deep in the grips of recession, with globalization creeping in as the first foreign workers in the community’s history arrive.

Sunday, December 4, 4:30 pm The Sion Sono, Japan, 2016

dir. Arata Oshima (97 mins., Documentary, DCP)

An honest and searching documentary about the legendary filmmaker Sion Sono, who got his start with low-budget 8mm filmmaking in the 80s and has been extremely prolific, stylistically varied, and highly resourceful ever since.

Sunday, December 4, 7 pm The Whispering Star, Japan, 2015

dir. Sion Sono (100 mins., Sci-Fi, DCP)

A space-bound android is tasked with delivering seemingly inconsequential packages to far-flung humans across the galaxy in a post-apocalyptic, inter-planetary landscape devoid of much life.

dir. Sion Sono (117 mins., Comedy, DCP)

dir. Satoko Yokohama (123 mins., Comedy-Drama, DCP)

dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa (130 mins., Thriller, DCP)

In Kurosawa’s return to genre filmmaking, a broken ex-detective seeks to unlock the mystery of a missing family while navigating his relationship with the oddly disconcerting man who lives next door.

Saturday, December 10, 1 pm Happy Hour, Japan, 2015

dir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (317 mins., Drama, DCP)

Four 30-something female friends navigate daily life—and complicated questions we all face—in this subtly affecting, deeply riveting slice-of-life portrait of average women at a crossroads.

Saturday, December 10, 7 pm Lowlife Love, Japan, 2015

dir. Eiji Uchida (110 mins., Comedy, DCP)

Scathing, at times deeply disturbing, yet often hilarious depiction of the inner workings of the Japanese independent film production scene, focused on a self-centered director and those revolving around him in the search for fleeing fame.

dir. Akihiko Shiota (77 mins., Erotic Drama, DCP)

dir. Abbas Kiarostami (98 mins., Drama, 35mm)

Selected by poet Solmaz Sharif (Look) in conversation with John Freeman. Kiarostami’s path-breaking, true-or-false examination of an average Iranian man who impersonates a famous film director, intruding on a family’s solitude.

Sunday, November 6, 7 pm Contact, US, 1997

dir. Robert Zemeckis (149 mins., Sci-Fi, 35mm)

Selected by novelist Lily Brooks-Dalton (Good Morning, Midnight) in conversation with Dan DeWeese. Jodie Foster memorably stars as an extraterrestrial researcher thrust into space—terrifyingly alone— when alien life forms contact Earth and provide instructions for an initial meeting.

All screenings will feature a visiting artist

Sunday, November 20, 4:30 pm The Commissar, Russia, 1967

One of the most important and compelling films of the Soviet cinema, long banned, it tells of a female Red Army commissar who is forced to stay with a Jewish family near the frontlines of the 1920s battle between the Red and White Armies. Introduced by Reed college professor Marat Grinberg.

Sunday, November 20, 7:30 pm The Anonymous People, US, 2013

Williams’ deeply humane and tender documentary focuses on some of the more than 23 million Americans in long-term recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, offering an honest and hopeful portrait.

Co-presented with the Mental Health Association of Portland.

Monday, November 21, 7 pm Generation Found, US, 2014

Focused on alternative methods to teen drug addiction and recovery in Houston, Generation Found offers a roadmap for communities looking to engage with these issues beyond the simplicity and brutality of the “War on Drugs.” Co-presented with the Mental Health Association of Portland, the Alano Club of Portland, and 4th Dimension Recovery Center.

Tuesday, November 22, 7 pm Wednesday, November 23, 7pm Sunday, November 27, 3:30 pm Kate Plays Christine, US, 2016

dir. Robert Greene (112 mins., Thriller, DCP)

Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Greene’s film is a cinematic mystery that forces us to question everything we see and everything we’re led to believe.

Friday, November 25, 7 pm Saturday, November 26, 4:30 & 7 pm Tampopo, Japan, 1986 Spaghetti Western…think foodie Ramen Western.

Sunday, November 27, 6 pm Intolerance, US, 1916

dir. D.W. Griffith (170 mins., Cinema Classic, DCP) D.W. Griffith’s epic silent masterpiece still resonates.

Wednesday, November 30, 7 pm Bellissima, Italy, 1951 Dead Ringers The Shell Collector

dir. Joshua Bonetta (25 mins., Experimental, Digital)

2001 Colors Andy Never Thought of, US, 2015 dir. George Barber (6 mins., Experimental, digital)

Four kindred films with colo(u)r as their focus, featuring a student of color theorist Josef Albers (Serra), an homage to Kodachrome film stock (since expired), an exploration of Achromatopsia (inability to see color), and a remixing of Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe prints. Night two of Interaction of Formats; co-presented with Cinema Project.

Friday, December 16, 6 pm Saturday, December 17, 7 pm Sunday, December 18, 4 pm Don’t Blink: Robert Frank, US, 2015 A portrait of a legendary photographer and filmmaker.

Friday, December 16, 8 pm Saturday, December 17, 4:30 pm La Notte, Italy/France, 1961

dir. Michelangelo Antonioni (121 mins., Drama, DCP)

All screenings with English subtitles

All screenings will feature a visiting artist

Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau star as a novelist and his frustrated wife, who confront their alienation from each other and the empty bourgeois circles in which they travel.

Thursday, December 1, 7 pm Historias de Objetos, Portland, 2011

Wednesday, December 21, 7 pm Thursday, December 22, 7 pm Friday, December 23, 7 pm L’Argent, France, 1983

preceded by

An innocent man forced to become the criminal he is falsely accused of being.

Monday, December 12, 7 pm Torrey Pines, Seattle, 2016

dir. Various (38 mins., Documentary, Digital)

Heroes Magnificos, Portland, 2016

dir. Various (34 mins., Documentary, Digital)

dir. Robert Bresson (85 mins., Drama, DCP)

Tuesday, December 27, 7 pm Friday, December 30, 7 pm The Red Shoes, United Kingdom, 1948

dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger (133 mins., Drama/Musical, DCP)

In one of the classics of British cinema, romantic and artistic obsession play out in spectacular dance and music.

Wednesday, December 28, 7 pm Thursday, December 29, 7 pm The Tales of Hoffman, United Kingdom, 1951

dirs. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger (138 mins., Musical, DCP)

“The perfect combination of music, dance, song, acting, design and beautiful women.”—Michael Powell.

Latino teens and artists reflect on the everyday heroes and precious objects in their lives.

dir. Clyde Petersen (65 mins., Animation, Digital, Live Score)

Employing stop motion animation, Peterson’s autobiographical, queer, punk coming-of-age tale recounts growing up in Southern California in the early 1990s. Raised by a schizophrenic single mother, his life unfolds in a series of baffling and hallucinated events fueled by visions of political conspiracy, family dysfunction, and being kidnapped at the age of 12 and taken on a cross-country adventure that forever altered his family. The film will be presented with a live score by musicians Zach Burba, Jacob Jaffe, and Clyde Petersen.

Sunday, December 18, 7 pm Time and Tide: Portraits of Place,

Portland, 2016 dir. Alain LeTourneau (23 mins., Documentary, Digital)

LeTourneau’s observational film focuses on North Portland’s Kelley Point Park at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia. Here, man, nature, and industry coexist in delicate balance.

dir. Luchino Visconti (138 mins., Comedy, 35mm)

Created entirely from color-timing tapes—the unseen shadow of a release print—of an unnamed Hollywood studio film, Color Correction is both a meditation on what can be used or reused as source material for a feature film and an exploration of our personal relationship to color in film. Night one of Interaction of Formats; co-presented with Cinema Project.

Northwest Tracking

New work by regional filmmakers

Portland film critic and author Shawn Levy debuts his new book Dolce Vita Confidential and introduces an Italian film classic.

Tuesday, December 13, 7:30 pm Color Correction, US, 2015

Hôtel Monterey

dir. Laura Israel (82 mins., Documentary Portrait, DCP)

with

Run Lola Run

dir. Margaret Honda (101 mins., Experimental, 35mm)

dir. Hirokazu Koreeda (117 mins., Drama, DCP)

In Koreeda’s latest domestic drama, a novelist who struck it big with his first tome struggles to come to terms with being estranged from his wife and child, a gambling addiction, and the fact that he’s not finishing his second book.

Nihon Kyuukei, Portland 2016

dir. Nick Peterson (37 mins., Documentary, Digital)

Peterson’s film offers a cinematic gaze at nine locations in the Kanto prefecture of Japan. Like Kelley Point in style and theme, it seeks to explore a notion of place and the intersection of man and nature, work, and play. Filmmakers will be present for a Q&A post film.

Looking, Really Looking! The Films of Chantal Akerman surveys the work of the influential, groundbreaking Belgian/ French filmmaker and places it within a conceptual, thematic, and historical context at the intersection of film and contemporary art. Presenting us with a deeply autobiographical filmography that spans forty years—typically portrayed in long takes within the modest aesthetics of everyday life and often revolving around her personal family history, identity, memory, and displacement—Akerman (1950-2015) is often placed within feminist, queer, Jewish, and avant-garde circles, yet her expansive oeuvre freely moves across genres from the documentary/essay to the musical, psychodrama, structural film, and multi-media installation.

Akerman, fiercely independent and always working outside established production systems, was “a paradoxical personality, at once rootless and deeply rooted,” and, in the end, “arguably the most important European film director of her generation.”—J. Hoberman.

Looking, Really Looking!, a film and performative program, is presented by the Northwest Film Center and Zena Zezza, a Portland-based contemporary art project, and is curated by Sandra Percival and Morgen Ruff. Following these screenings, the program will pick up again in March 2017, continuing through May.

All screenings with English subtitles.

All films directed by Chantal Akerman.

Friday, November 18, 8 pm Rue Mallet-Stevens, France/Belgium,

1986 (7 mins., Digital)

Hôtel Monterey, Belgium/US, 1972 (65 mins., DCP)

Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher, France, 1989 (12 mins., Digital)

A trio of Akerman’s most musical films, two featuring longtime collaborator Sonia Wieder-Atherton.

Saturday, November 19, 7 pm Saute ma ville, Belgium, 1968 (13 mins., DCP)

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, Belgium,

1975 (201 mins., 35mm)

Two of Akerman’s most groundbreaking works: her first film, made at 18, and her legendary feminist treatise on the politics, realities, and psychology of domestic labor.

Don’t Blink: Robert Frank

The Northwest Film Center is a regional media arts resource and service organization founded to encourage the study, appreciation and utilization of the moving image arts; to foster their artistic and professional excellence; and to help build a climate in which they flourish.

subtitles visiting artist

Kate Plays Christine

dir. Juzo Itami (118 mins., Comedy, DCP)

dir. Eiichirô Hasumi (110 mins., Action Comedy, Blu-ray)

Sunday, December 11, 7 pm After the Storm, Japan, 2016

dir. Phyllis Baldino (19 mins., Experimental, Video)

American Colour, US, 2011

dir. Jeff Reilly (85 mins., Documentary, DCP)

Saturday, November 5, 7:30 pm Close-Up, Iran, 1990

dir. Shunji Iwai (100 mins., Animated Drama, Blu-ray)

A junior high school class is mentored in the art of assassination by a tentacled, smiley-faced creature responsible for destroying three-quarters of the moon. Their homework: eliminate their teacher before the year is up or his next target will be the earth.

dir. Richard Serra (36 mins., Experimental, 16mm)

Color Without Colour, US, 1999

dir. Greg D. Williams (88 mins., Documentary, DCP)

Selected by novelist and essayist Jonathan Lethem (A Gambler’s Anatomy) in conversation with Casey Jarman. No director is better with body horror than Cronenberg, and Dead Ringers is one of his most effective creations. Here, Jeremy Irons plays twin female fertility doctors who engage in nefarious partner-swapping, with disastrous results.

Looking, Really Looking!

The Films of Chantal Akerman

Thursday, December 15, 7:30 pm Color Aid, US, 1971

dir. Aleksandr Askoldov (110 mins., Drama, DCP)

Thursday, November 3, 7:30 pm Gas Food Lodging, US, 1992

Love & Peace

Special Screenings

FILM DESCRIPTIONS AND TRAILERS AT NWFILM.ORG

WATCH. LEARN. MAKE. NWFILM.ORG

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

MUSIC = WW Pick. Highly recommended.

PROFILE

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, OCT. 26 The Faint, Gang of Four, Pictureplane

[DANCE PUNK] The fact that Gang of Four, for the sake of this bill, is a supporting act for Omaha’s the Faint might seem off-putting at first, and for good reason. The Faint wouldn’t exist without the groundwork laid by Gang of Four’s infectious and seasoned decadeslong discography. Yet, while Gang of Four seemingly updated the world with last year’s What Happens Next, it’s this year’s retrospective release from the Faint that probably sparked this latest cross-country run. Capsule: 1999-2016 serves as the “VH1 nostalgic TV series” of song collections, reflecting on the highlights of its last 17 years and two new songs that show where its career is headed next.

CERVANTE POPE. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St. 7:30 pm. $25 advance, $30 day of show. All ages.

The Dillinger Escape Plan, O’Brother, Cult Leader, Entheos

[MATH METAL] Given their predilection for violence and chaos in both their live shows and song structures, it’s shocking that New Jersey’s Dillinger Escape Plan lasted this long. This year’s Dissociation serves as the curtain call for one of hardcore metals most fearless and noodliest stalwarts, and although several slogs on the Warped Tour have planted the seeds for a crop of math-monger imitators led by spastic ex-jock frontmen, this last chance to see the original in all its battered and bruised glory is not one to be missed. PETE COTTELL. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St. 7:15 pm. Sold out. 21+.

La Luz, Candace, Haley Heynderickx

[TARANTINO DOO-WOP] If anyone is spearheading the current surf-rock resurgence, it would be La Luz. Guitarist Shawna Cleveland’s mastery of the fretboard is unparalleled in the space, and like the group’s shimmering harmonies and funeral-style organ, it can be both charming and ill-tempered from one moment to the next. On last year’s Weirdo Shrine—a simmering beast of an album inspired by Charles Burns’ STD-centric graphic novel, Black Hole— Cleveland and company further proved their fuzz-heavy approach to retro ’60s stylings is not purely a throwback. The tangled guitars and honeyed cacophony of “oohs” and “aahs” mask a volatile unease beneath, one grounded in the darker corners of the human psyche.

BRANDON WIDDER. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895. 9 pm. $3 with Red Bull Sound Select RSVP, $12 without. 21+.

Yeasayer, Lydia Ainsworth

[DUBBY WORLD FUSION] I can only imagine this band’s name came from how many genres they said “yes” to—Dub? Yeah. Indie pop? I guess.

Psych rock? Belly dance? Syriac folk?

Caribbean zouk? Yes, yes and yes, and all from some New England boys who met when they sang in a barbershop quartet together. The results have been overwhelming—that is, until April’s Amen & Goodbye whittled Yeasayer’s mélange of influences down to what could be identified as “its” sound. A heavier dose of electro-pop carries the bizarre, biblical songs on a wave of—hallelujah!—danceable, stick-with-you melodies. ISABEL ZACHARIAS. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St., No. 110. 9 pm. $20. All ages.

The Naked and Famous, XYLØ, the Chain Gang of 1974

[NOT SO FAMOUS] On their third album, Simple Forms, the Naked and Famous have released a more mature and refined record that reflects how they’ve grown up from the angst of their debut album, Passive Me, Aggressive You. Since then, the New Zealanders

have come of age by moving to L.A. and, more recently, weathering the breakup of band members Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers. With indie music that’s sort of mainstream but mostly not, their electro dance pop will take most 20-somethings back to the college parties where everyone was trying to be a hipster, especially if they play the older stuff that gained them notoriety in the first place. MAYA MCOMIE. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave. 8 pm. $29.50 all ages general admission, $40 21+ balcony seating. All ages.

Buzzoven, Bongzilla, Wizard Rifle, Spacebeast

[SLUDGE WORSHIP] Many have claimed to be responsible for the creation of sludge metal—a subgenre designed to sound like Black Sabbath chugging through a blender full of molasses and bricks. North Carolina’s Buzzoven archives some of the earliest traces of doom and gloom dating back to its 1992 EP, Hate Box. Although Buzzoven hasn’t released any studio albums since 2007, it has certainly continued to pave the way for the still-thriving genre. Some of the more recent sludge patrons will be joining Buzzoven at the Star Theater, such as Bongzilla and Portland natives Wizard Rifle and Spacebeast. HENRY SMITH. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave. 9 pm. $18. 21+.

Meringue, Bryson Cone, the Wild Body

[WEIRDO POP] Portland music fans may recognize the talented Bryson Hansen from the excellent psych band Fog Father, but the songwriter has really hit his stride recently with the music he’s making as a solo artist under the new moniker “Bryson Cone.” Fans of synthpop bands like Tanlines will find a lot to like in the latest single, “Color of Love,” which is rooted in ’80s pop lore but just weird enough not to sound too nostalgic.

BLAKE HICKMAN. Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth St. 8 pm. $5. 21+.

THURSDAY, OCT. 27 The Sonics, the Pynnacles, And And And

[GARAGE] Legendary PNW growlers the Sonics stumbled upon their raw, rollicking sound accidentally while trying to imitate the bombast of ’60s soul and R&B and replacing swagger with volume. In the decades to follow, their strange counterfeit set the stage for the bazillion goony garage bands that copied the copy, so it’s only fair they get another go some 50 years later to share in some of the grimy glory that’s been getting all those mediocre musicians paid and laid this entire time. Though the current incarnation’s roster has few original members, the set list is strong enough to supersede any purist desire for a more authentic experience. CRIS LANKENAU. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St. 9 pm. $20. 21+.

Jethro Tull

[GRANGE ROCK] It took a few decades for them to get around to it, but British prog pioneers Jethro Tull are finally paying homage to the namesake whom they eclipsed in household recognition soon after their flute-centric 1971 single “Aqualung” became a hit. Touring in support of a play written by frontman and flautist Ian Anderson about the 17th-century agriculturist, expect a bonus of classics from Jethro Tull the band because, let’s face it, Jethro Tull the man did not rock very hard. PETE COTTELL. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St. 8 pm. $39.50-$95. All ages.

Hiss Golden Messenger, the Dead Tongues

[LILTING FOLK] M.C. Taylor is one of those remarkable artists who found his footing when he stopped looking for it.

CONT. on page 33

Gloom Abides THE KING OF GOTH FOLK ON THE SAFETY OF REVERB AND THE DANGER OF GUNS N’ ROSES.

BY PETE COTTELL

pcottell@wweek.com

For 8-year-old TJ Cowgill, Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction was a mindfuck. As much as he was drawn to the danger and aggression of the music, the message of the notoriously bleak record made him want to keep his distance.

“I think I was drawn to the bad elements of music,” says Cowgill, “but I was also afraid of it. I never wanted to play it. The video for ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ made a pretty big impression on me, because I thought maybe I wanted to be in a band, but then in the video Axl Rose starts off as a nice country boy who gets off this bus, and by the end of the video ends up looking like some heroin prostitute woman. It’s ous heaps of reverb and vocal overdubs on 2010’s very foreboding.”

My Beloved Ghost and the following year’s Love The gloomy folk dirges of Cowgill’s alter ego, as a way to mask bad takes and coarse talent. The King Dude, are the aesthetic opposite of the end product is captivating nonetheless, fusing hair spray and spandex of Guns N’ Roses, but touchstones from disparate genres like outlaw have no less menace. After his parents divorced, country and funeral doom into a singular whole Cowgill moved from Eastern Washington to the that’s curiously appealing to fans of both.

Seattle area about the time Hollywood pop metal dominated the airwaves. He recalls a childhood Cowgill’s sound has since evolved, with elespent getting in trouble for drawing pictures of ments of surf rock, blues and balladry having been surfing werewolves and being the “weird added to the mix since a backing band kid who loved Halloween a little too joined him in 2012. Fans of Seattle’s much.” Like many musicians Murder City Devils will feel right “I THOUGHT born in the ’70s, it wasn’t until at home on 2014’s Fear—King Nirvana broke through and Dude’s first decidedly hi-fi YOU HAD TO DRIVE killed hair metal that he record, which features a TO L.A. ON A BUS even considered using a healthy dose of queasy AND BECOME A HEROIN guitar as a conduit for his church organs and a WOMAN TO BE IN A BAND. dark impulses. vocal appearance from “At that point, I’d the legendary horror[MY BROTHER] WAS LIKE, pretty much forgotten punk group’s front‘NO, YOU IDIOT, YOU CAN about videos—I was man, Spencer Moody.

BE FROM ANYWHERE focused on comic books A pair of two-song EPs by then,” says Cowgill. “I with Chelsea Wolfe, the AND BE IN A BAND.’” saw Nirvana on TV with my L.A.-based goth-folk yin —TJ Cowgill brother, and he was like, ‘Hey, to Cowgill’s yang, finds the this band is from Seattle,’ and King Dude brand being careI remember wondering how that fully steered even further into the could be. I thought you had to drive to expanding realm of stripped-down roots L.A. on a bus and become a heroin woman to be music for metalheads who need a break from the in a band. He was like, ‘No, you idiot, you can be blast beats every now and then. from anywhere and be in a band.’”

When questioned whether he’s consciously towAt age 16, Cowgill moved out on his own and ing the line between homage and pastiche in his got a job at West Seattle’s Easy Street Records. latest work, the forthcoming Sex, Cowgill cites his After bouncing around the hardcore scene for move away from the deafening volumes of metal as most of the ’90s, he formed the cult-favorite the reason for broadening his sonic horizons. black metal-lite act Book of Black Earth. Its com“It’s not as conscious of a decision,” says bination of brutal tones and sinister harmonies Cowgill. “When you’re working with instruments afforded the outfit modest success in the metal like guitars and you’re not overdriving them into realm also populated by the likes of Mastodon distorted metal regions, they end up sounding and High on Fire, but it wasn’t until Cowgill took like classic rock ‘n’ roll. The changes in feeling his macabre sensibilities to the bedroom that his tend to come through in the tones of things.”

King Dude persona came to life.

Like many bedroom projects, the tone of early King Dude records is spare and haunting. By his SEE IT: King Dude plays the Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., on Monday, Oct. 31. 9 pm. $13 own admission, Cowgill accounts for the gener- advance, $15 day of show. All ages.

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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D AV I D F I T T

Prices listed are sometimes for advance ticket sales. At-the-door increases and socalled convenience charges may apply. Event lineups are subject to change after WW’s press deadlines.

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

MUSIC

CocoRosie, SORNE, Twin Rivers

[TWISTED LULLABIES] Sierra and Bianca Casady get a lot of flak, which is somewhat expected given the duo’s divisive catalog is strewn with moments that could be considered culturally insensitive to anyone who isn’t privy to their artistic motives.

To their credit, though, the two have carved a niche for themselves, which they dub “freak folk, experimental hip-hopera.” It’s an eclectic description, yet one rendered appropriate by the recently released Heartbreak City. The LP is a skeletal blend of guitar and spare, Fisher-Price-y electronics, built around Bianca’s Afrobeat delivery and haunting narratives that are teeming with Latin influences and the group’s queer aesthetics. The music can be off-putting at times, yes, but who’s to say that’s not the point? BRANDON WIDDER. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St., No. 110. 9 pm. Sold out. All ages.

Mic Check’s TeamBackPack Cypher feat. Illmac, Theory Hazit, Landon Larson

[RAP] Since its inception, Mic Check has functioned as a monthly showcase for the Portland hip-hop scene’s most established performers, making the event a perfect fit for the first ever official TeamBackPack Cypher hosted in the Rose City. Public cyphers all too often feature MCs performing pre-written bars to beats that are obvious or unmemorable, but having ace Portland producer Trox (whose beats were used for the TeamBackPack-hosted Legends Cypher featuring Ghostface Killah, Twista and Cassidy) on the decks and Portland stars Mic Capes, Jon Belz and Illmac set to freestyle promises a singular event that Portland hip-hop heads should not miss. BLAKE HICKMAN. White Eagle Saloon, 836 N Russell St. 10 pm. $7. 21+.

FRIDAY, OCT. 28 Holy Sons, Nurses, Blesst Chest

[SINGER-SONGWRITER] Emil Amos has maintained a strong footing just under the radar in the Northwest music realm. The Portland musician is the brains behind Holy Sons, a lo-fi singer-songwriter outfit that has turned out a dandy in its newest release, In the Garden. The record is the perfect pedestal for Amos’ earnest songwriting, seemingly heartfelt and private until hit with a steady dose of zigzagging alt-rock.

Like a strange Mark Lanegan side project, it’s tender and brooding all at once. Experimental pop masters Nurses and heady rockers Blesst Chest round out a mighty, all-PDX affair. MARK STOCK. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503288-3895. 9 pm. $12. 21+.

SATURDAY, OCT. 29 Blitzen Trapper, Sera Cahoone

[PORTLANDIACANA] Considering its well-worn wheelhouse of folk rock and alt-country, it’s no surprise that Blitzen Trapper has stories to tell. Billed as “Songbook: A Night of Stories and Songs,” expect Eric Earley and company to tear through a VH1 Storytellers-style set of burly Americana highlighting 2015’s All

Across This Land, perhaps the most accurate recorded documentation of the Portland quartet’s rollicking live sets. PETE COTTELL. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St. No. 110. 8 pm. $25 advance, $27 day of show.

All ages.

Sunflower Bean, the Lemon Twigs, Shannon Entropy

[INDIE-POP] You wouldn’t expect a resurgence of the twinkling, midtempo college radio of the early ’90s to be ushered in by a bunch of fresh-faced kids too young to buy beer, but Brooklyn’s Sunflower Bean offers up a dreamy composite of its best elements while adding something entirely its own.

With this year’s Human Ceremony, it juxtaposes an ethereal feminine howl akin to original Magnetic Fields vocalist Susan Anway with the shiny expanse of Real Estate’s pedal board and fuels the odd psychedelic breakdown with its dwindling teenage angst. CRIS LANKENAU. The Analog Cafe, 720 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 503206-7439. 6 pm. $10. All ages.

SUNDAY, OCT. 30 La Femme

[NEW FRENCH WAVE] La Femme is an infectious cocktail of pop, punk, experimental and New Wave. The French band keeps ears and music writers guessing, moving between obvious influences such as Kraftwerk, Air and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Its 2016 release, Mystère, encapsulates a confident band in good form.

When quiet and reflective, La Femme is haunting. When boisterous, the musicians are delightful purveyors of noise pop, often with surfy undertones.

Whatever form they show up in tonight, the chameleon-like band will probably shift a handful of times during the set.

MARK STOCK. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-231-9663. 9 pm. $12 advance, $14 day of show. 21+.

CONT. on page 34

5

TOP

The 41-year-old songwriter spent years struggling—namely within the Court & Spark, a lesser-known Americana stalwart—before introducing himself as Hiss Golden Messenger. When he did, his music only got better. The beautiful Heart Like a Levee, his sixth proper release, finds him winding countrified, Southern soul around blues squarely rooted in his own self-doubt and the inevitable throes of being a father who’s rarely home. The warm bed of acoustic guitar and ’70s-style organ might not be anything new, though it is welcoming, especially when capped with Taylor’s aching ruminations on what adulthood truly is. BRANDON WIDDER. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895. 9 pm. $15. 21+.

FIVE ARTISTS WHO MAY HAVE BEEN LOST WITHOUT AMBIENT HOUSE PIONEERS THE ORB Aphex Twin

Although Selected Ambient Works 85-92 was released less than a year after The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, it’s hard to imagine acid house mastermind Richard D. James’ seminal record being as warmly received without the breakout success of the Orb’s full-length debut, which paved the way for atmospheric electro music that’s tailor-made for the morning after.

2 Moby Moby would much rather you enjoy his music on a yoga mat than in the throes of a good ol’-fashioned drug bender, but there’s no mistaking where his marketable formula of fuzzy synth pads and weird samples atop shuffling dance beats is rooted. As great as “Porcelain” may sound while shopping for chinos, know that the Orb never intended its progeny to become millionaires by churning out background music for J. Crew stores in the suburbs.

3 Boards of Canada The lurking dread of detuned synths and melted-VHS-tape ambience is Boards of Canada’s calling card by now, but no feelings would be hurt if the Scottish IDM duo was to be reductively described as “the Orb with dying Moogs and even creepier samples.”

4 Tycho Starting as a shameless send-up of Boards of Canada’s more danceable numbers, Bay Area producer Scott Hansen’s audio-visual project Tycho has steered into more crowd-pleasing territory by dialing up the disco beats, adding shimmering U2 guitars and employing a band of Zoolander bros to make it work live. Throw in a trippy video reel—a component the Orb saw as vital to the immersive psychedelic overload of its early shows—and you’ve got a modern-day version of the Orb’s warm and groovy post-rave DJ sets that are beloved by stoners and clubbers alike.

5 Radiohead As the story goes, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke was downright sick of being in a rock band following the runaway success of 1997’s OK Computer. He fell deep into an IDM rabbit hole, emerging in 2001 with the sounds of Autechre and Aphex Twin in his head and a tasteful approximation of their austere electronica all over Kid A. Though tangible flourishes of the Orb’s spacey sounds are scarce beyond the Brian Eno homage “Treefingers,” a direct line can be drawn between the Orb and the artists whose influence saved Radiohead from rockist ruin. PETE COTTELL. SEE IT: The Orb plays Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., with Magic Sword, on Thursday, Oct. 27. 9 pm. $20. 21+ Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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MUSIC Sum 41, Senses Fail, As It Is

[DON’T CALL IT A SUMBACK] You’d be sad too if you lost your girlfriend to the lead singer of Nickelback, but beyond a brief spell in rehab for alcoholism, it appears Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley is back in peak form.

What this means to the spry teenagers who frothed over the Canadian pop-punkers during their early-2000s glory days is anyone’s guess, but the successful crowdfunding of comeback album 13 Voices must mean Sum 41 has more for fans to hang on to than just their small batch of buzzy TRL-era bangers. PETE COTTELL. Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd. 8 pm. $26 advance, $28 day of show. All ages.

Ra Ra Riot, Hannah Georgas

[CHAMBER CHAMPS] Ra Ra Riot is one of those bands that has been around long enough, but unless you’re already a fan, you might not really know what it’s been up to.

Some critics say it hasn’t really progressed in its sound since its inception, or that recent releases lack the uniqueness that originally set the band apart in the genre. Earlier this year saw its fourth album, Need Your Light, which highlights the chamberpop element of Ra Ra’s early sound over the synth-driven electro that characterized 2013’s Beta Love, which may welcome back original fans MAYA MCOMIE. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-2883895. 9 pm. $20. 21+.

MONDAY, OCT. 31 Nekromantix, the Loveless, Toxic Zombie [MONSTER MASH] Love it or hate it, psychobilly has always maintained one of the more self-sustaining and loyal fan bases—and no psychobilly devotee wakes up on Halloween without listening to the Nekromantix. Known for 24-inch pompadours and a coffin-

shaped standup bass, the Danish trio has committed to a horror-themed rock-’n’-roll aesthetic since 1989. To newcomers, the Nekromantix sound like Eddie Cochran’s zombie chugged a gallon of Mountain Dew Code Red and played a gig inside the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. The bottom line is, these guys are playing on Halloween—the one day out of the year when the Nekromantix are convenient. HENRY SMITH. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave. 9 pm. $16. 21+.

TUESDAY, NOV. 1 Pickwick, Young in the City

[JUST RAW-K] Going on the popularity and energy of their live shows and a series of self-released demos and EPs, Seattle’s Pickwick came together with Sharon Van Etten and Richard Swift to produce an indie folk record that’s as stirring as it is versatile.

There’s a rawness to the band’s sound that comes from its DIY approach to recording, something that translates to both an organic and approachable quality to its aesthetic. MAYA MCOMIE. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-231-9663. 9 pm. $15. 21+.

Balance and Composure, Foxing, Mercury Girls

[DREAMO] The careful interplay between introspection and aggression of Balance and Composure’s 2013 record, The Things We Think We’re Missing, is largely absent on their latest, Light We Made, but fans of scene veterans Thrice and Brand New are more than used to this bait-andswitch by now. Whether they’re shooting for maturity or a more polished sound is debatable, but the angst and yearning that endeared Balance and Composure to new-wave emo fans is still easy enough to find for those in search of it. PETE COTTELL. Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd. 8 pm. $16.50 advance, $18 day of show. All ages.

ZOE RAIN PHOTOGRAPHY

PREVIEW

Chance the Rapper, Francis and the Lights

[RAP-GAME JESUS] Chance the Rapper’s music is pure joy.

His very being radiates love and happiness: for his hometown of Chicago, for his baby daughter, for hip-hop, and, yes, for God. But this is not your usual church music. Coloring Book, his third and best mixtape, is a loving tribute to gospel, soul and funk that makes room for spirituality and getting high, both from weed and life. Though it features guest appearances from Kanye West, Young Thug, Future, and Justin Bieber, it’s Chance who steals the show, filling every track with so many beautiful rhymes and couplets that the only natural response is to hit replay on songs like “No Problem” and “Blessings” and tweet his name next to like 30 fire emojis. Though the youthful nostalgia of 10 Day and Acid Rap is gone, this is still incredibly fun grown-ass rap filled with trumpets and choirs and references to Outkast and The Lion King. Yes, Chance, I’m ready for my blessings. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 300 N Winning Way. 8 pm Friday, Oct. 28. $42.50$49.50. All ages.

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dates here

Tony Bennett

[POP-JAZZ STANDARDS] The first amazing thing about Tony Bennett is that he’s still alive. The second is that his voice has actually gotten better over time, like an expensive violin whose sound is just now peaking.

Google image searches show Bennett with his arms open, singing through a never-ending smile. Whether alongside Bill Evans or Lady Gaga, Bennett’s voice is unmistakable, but his staying power has much more to do with who he is: a gracious man who loves making people happy. ISABEL ZACHARIAS. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Oct. 26. Sold out. 21+.

Simrit

[WORLD MUSIC] There’s a timelessness and emotiveness to Simrit’s sound.

There’s a worldliness, too, the result of eclectic instrumental taste and an America-by-way-of-Greece upbringing.

The composer and producer’s latest LP, Songs of Resilience, floats through melodic phrases and rhythms that feel as old as music itself. Unlike many artists who cover these grounds, Simrit keeps things fresh and organic without being exotic simply for exotic’s sake.

It’s like bluesy R&B set to European and North African folk. MARK STOCK. The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Oct. 26. $20-$45. All ages.

Edgar Meyer and the Dover Quartet

[CLASSICAL] Probably the world’s most in-demand bassist for studio work, Edgar Meyer is a MacArthur “genius” grant award winner, a musical pal of Yo-Yo Ma, Bela Fleck and Mark O’Connor, and a serious composer. The young Dover Quartet, one of whose members hails from Oregon, has won some of the top chamber-music competitions and is considered one of the next great chamber ensembles. It will play Dvořák’s famous and tuneful

“American” quartet and a charming little Mozart divertimento, before teaming with Meyer for a Rossini duet and Meyer’s own popular Americanainfused String Quintet. BRETT CAMPBELL. Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 503-828-8285. 7:30 pm Friday, Oct. 28. $50. $30-$50. All ages.

Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán

[MARIACHI MAGICIANS] If ever a mariachi band deserved full reverence from the white-haired Schnitzer crowd, it’s Mariachi Vargas, the most famed performers of their genre in the world.

The result of five generations of traditional Mexican musicians, the ensemble has performed for over 100 years, astounding live, TV and film audiences the world over. Dedicated traditionalists whose vocals, guitar and strings layer together to form a gorgeous and classically hispanic musical tapestry, the songs are made even more impressive by the lifelong dedication of each embroidered member. PARKER HALL. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335. 8 pm Friday, Oct. 28. $25-$85. All ages.

Barber’s Violin Concerto

[HALLOWEEN THEMES] American violinist Joseph Swensen will no doubt do justice to this evening’s centerpiece, Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto composed for soap baron Samuel Fels.

It will surely feel squeaky clean juxtaposed against the more seasonal fare surrounding it, beginning with the prelude from Moldavian composer Leoš Janáček’s final work, From the House of the Dead. Continuing with the modern and the macabre is Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel.

The program ends with the phantom’s favorite—Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, perhaps the most iconic and definitive spooky organ song of all time. NATHAN CARSON. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335. 7:30 Saturday-Monday, Oct. 29-31. $23-$130.

All ages.

Plus Twelve: Catherine Feeny, Tahirah Memory, Johanna Warren, Haley Henderickx and Annalisa Tornfelt with the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble

COURTESY OF STUDIO HARCOURT

CLASSICAL, JAZZ & WORLD

[SINGER-JAZZWRITER] A dozen of the city’s finest modern jazz performers and five female singer-songerwriters coalesce as part of the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, performing a selection of originals written by the extremely poignant women. A world-meets-world collaboration that joins two of the strongest musical groups in town, powerful words will meet beautifully layered melodies, fusing to form complex and jazzy takes on normally solo fare. PARKER HALL. The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave. 7:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 29. $10 students with ID, seniors, PJCE members; $15 general admission. All ages.

NOUVEAU WAVE: La Femme plays Doug Fir Lounge on Sunday, Oct. 30.

Cappella Romana

[BYZANTINE SACRED SOUNDS] One of the great spiritual experiences of medieval times was said to be hearing Byzantine chant in Constantinople’s magnificent Hagia Sophia basilica, then the largest enclosed space in the world.

Now a museum, the basilica is considered one of humanity’s architectural treasures, having survived earthquakes, Catholic crusaders and Ottoman pillagers who turned it into a mosque. With help from Stanford scientists and Portland vocal ensemble Cappella Romana, we can again hear what the music sounded like under the great dome a millennium ago.

Unfortunately, to do so, you’ll have to hear them perform next month at Stanford with computers and microphones that digitally re-create the virtual reality of that famous space’s acoustics. Led by a soloist from Greece, male and female Cappella Romana singers will perform the same program in one of our own churches and cathedrals whose resonant sound is not so shabby itself, thank you very much.

BRETT CAMPBELL. St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1716 NW Davis St. 8 pm Saturday, Oct. 29. $22-$44. All ages. St. Stephen’s Catholic Church, 1112 SE 41st Ave. 3 pm. Sunday, Oct. 30. $25-$49. All ages.

Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Redray Frazier

[NOLA FUNK] New Orleans trombonist Big Sam first rose to jazz-world fame as part of the much-lauded Dirty Dozen Brass Band, where he spent 300 days a year entertaining audiences worldwide by blowing the steam off of funky musical gumbo. Now leading his own outfit, he and his Funky Nation blend more traditional second line with postBootsy funk—a vicious combination that will have even the most tepid and tatted on Mississippi Avenue breaking out of their red plaid shells. PARKER HALL. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895. 9 pm Saturday, Oct. 29. $15 advance, $18 day of show. 21+.

New Music in Disguise, Vol II

[NOT-SO-SCARY SOUNDS] For once, Portland new-music ensemble Fear No Music does want you to fear its music. Not because what it’s playing is the old thorny modernist sounds, but because it’s Halloween, and last year’s family-friendly show featur-

ing short contemporary works on that theme was a big success. Highlights include Michael Daugherty’s pop culture-referencing Viola Zombie duet, a haunting flute solo by a Japanese composer, and another solo that rhythmically evokes the fearsome Japanese storm god. Singers and musicians emit strange sounds in the theatrical Cannibal Caliban. FNM will also play music by British composer and charlatan Rohan Kriwaczek, who created an entire fictional history, genre and purportedly factual 2006 book about a nonexistent 19th-century genre called funerary violin that was allegedly exterminated by Vatican-ordered Great Funerary Purges. There’s a lot of fun to be had, and really nothing to fear here after all. BRETT CAMPBELL. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503288-3895. 1:30 pm Sunday, Oct. 30. $10 advance, $10-$20 sliding scale day of show. All ages.

For more Music listings, visit

Willamette Week SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 wweek.com

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

MUSIC

DATES HERE

COURTESY OF BANDCAMP

PROFILE

Post-Picket Line Punks When Preoccupations last headlined a show in Portland, picket lines greeted them outside Doug Fir Lounge. “It was the same guy who organized both the protests in Seattle and Portland,” multi-instrumentalist and co-founder Monty Munro says. “We went out for drinks with him after. They needed a drink as badly as we did.”

This was in October of last year, when the Canadian band, formerly known as Viet Cong, was touring exactly as that. “We started changing everything we could to ‘FKA Viet Cong’ until we had a new band name,” Munro says, “which we didn’t at that point.”

Viet Cong formed shortly after the dissolution of Calgary band Women, which wasn’t long after the death of Women guitarist Christopher Reimer. Lead singer-guitarist Matt Flegel and drummer Mike Wallace joined Munro and guitarist Danny Christiansen to figure out what grief and sea change sounded like. While Women made bright, damaged indie rock, Viet Cong became something darker and more fervent in that band’s wake.

Back in 2012, little attention was paid to their name while the group was playing to mostly empty houses, peddling the touronly EP “Cassette” and sharpening their sound into a menaceflecked arcana of motorik rhythms and Bauhaus goth. But by the time their self-titled full-length debut was released in 2015, whatever critical reputation they’d earned was quickly undercut by the backlash against their name. Promoters canceled festival dates, bookers turned them away, and as the band members waffled on how best to ditch the name they shared with a guerrilla army that murdered thousands of civilians during the Vietnam War, they were vilified for their seeming inaction.

“I wouldn’t mind being in a band with an offensive name if it was something I could defend. There just really wasn’t any good defense for it,” Munro says. “We had a bunch of conversations with people who actually fled the war. We knew that wasn’t our battle to fight.”

After many suggestions were emailed back and forth, a new band name was passively chosen, vetted to guarantee it would offend no one. As an objective third party, musician pal and early Women producer Chad VanGaalen christened the quartet Preoccupations.

“Ultimately [the name] was distracting from the music, which is all we really care about,” Munro says.

On their second album, also self-titled, Munro doesn’t see a new name as a fresh start. “We tried to make more of a pop record, I think,” he says, but considers Preoccupations a pretty natural follow-up. Look only to the LP’s 11-minute centerpiece, “Memory,” which features Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, to witness the brilliant tension between pop and opaque postpunk that’s part of Preoccupations’ primordial code.

After this tour, Munro plans to visit New Zealand in January to record with Flegel at the studio of Liam Finn, the son of Neil Finn from Crowded House. Already onto more, Preoccupations have moved way past clearing up any controversy.

“Once you look at enough band names, they’re all fucking stupid, anyway.” DOM SINACOLA. Preoccupations’ band name means nothing—and that’s how they prefer it.

SEE IT: Preoccupations play Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Methyl Ethel, on Tuesday, Nov. 1. 9 pm. $16 advance, $18 day of show. 21+.

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

MUSIC CALENDAR WED. OCT. 26 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

1037 SW Broadway Tony Bennett

Ash Street Saloon

225 SW Ash St Hayley Lynn & Friends

Crystal Ballroom

1332 W Burnside St The Faint, Gang of Four, Pictureplane

Dante’s

For more listings, check out wweek.com.

[OCT 26 - NOV 1]

LAST WEEK LIVE Chance Hayden; Mel Brown B3 Organ Group

HENRY CROMETT

= WW Pick.

Highly recommended.

Editor: Matthew Singer. 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.

Keller Auditorium 222 SW Clay St Jethro Tull

LaurelThirst Public House

Dwight Church, Dwight Dickinson; Jollymon, Dj Dirty Harry

Dante’s

350 West Burnside The Wanna Be-52’s

Hawthorne Theatre

1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd.

Sebastian Bach, Madame Tormet

2958 NE Glisan St Jack Maybe Project, Joel Medina, Charlie Moses; Lewi Longmire & the Left Coast Roasters

Jimmy Mak’s

Mississippi Studios

221 NW 10th Ave. Dan Balmer Trio

3939 N Mississippi Ave. Hiss Golden Messenger, the Dead Tongues

LaurelThirst Public House

350 West Burnside The Dillinger Escape Plan, O’Brother, Cult Leader, Entheos

Revolution Hall

Doug Fir Lounge

1300 SE Stark St #110 CocoRosie, Sonre, Twin Rivers

2958 NE Glisan St Portland Country Underground; Kung Pao Chickens

Roseland Theater

Mississippi Studios

830 E Burnside St. Jared & The Mill, Edison

Hawthorne Theatre

8 NW 6th Ave Bad Religion, Against Me!, Dave Hause

1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd.

Gnash, Goody Grace, Quin, Wrenn

13 NW 6th Ave. The Orb, Magic Sword

High Water Mark Lounge

720 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

An Evening With Shafty

6800 NE MLK Ave Lung, Vibrissae, When We Met, New Not Normals

Holocene

1001 SE Morrison St. The Doo Doo Funk All Stars, Eastern Sunz

Jimmy Mak’s

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

LaurelThirst Public House

2958 NE Glisan St Sean O’Neill, Sun Machine, Luke Buckley;Kory Quinn & the Quinntessentials

Mississippi Studios

3939 N Mississippi Ave. La Luz, Candace, Haley Heynderickx

Revolution Hall

1300 SE Stark St #110 Yeasayer, Lydia Ainsworth

Roseland Theater

8 NW 6th Ave The Naked and Famous, XYLØ, the Chain Gang of 1974

Star Theater

13 NW 6th Ave. Buzzoven, Bongzilla, Wizard Rifle, Spacebeast

The Analog Cafe

720 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

Kid Cadaver, Dwntwn, No Aloha, Advanture Galley

The Goodfoot

2845 SE Stark St Fresh Track does Michael Jackson

The Old Church 1422 SW 11th Ave Simrit

Turn! Turn! Turn!

8 NE Killingsworth St Meringue, Bryson Cone, the Wild Body

Twilight Cafe and Bar

1420 SE Powell Vivian K, Permanent Makeup, Dowager, Carrion Spring

THURS. OCT. 27 Ash Street Saloon

225 SW Ash St Uada, Helleborus, Death Fetishist, Panzergod

Dante’s

350 West Burnside The Sonics, the Pynnacles, And And And

Holocene

1001 SE Morrison St. Hayden James, Elderbrook

Jimmy Mak’s

221 NW 10th Ave.

3939 N Mississippi Ave. Halloween Cover Band Night with Michael Jackolantern and more

Star Theater

Star Theater

13 NW 6th Ave. Nekromantix, the Loveless, Toxic Zombie

The Analog Cafe

The Know

2026 NE Alberta St Ice Princess, Troll, Polygris

The Goodfoot

2845 SE Stark St Jaimeo Brown Band

The Know

2026 NE Alberta St Dealer, Pushy, Bobby Peru

The Liquor Store

3341 SE Belmont St, The Liq Record Club V2; Hollow Sidewalks, Chris Cheveyo

Twilight Cafe and Bar 1420 SE Powell Sunset Rollercoaster, Bermuda Love Triangle, Beatrix Sky

Valentines

232 SW Ankeny St Eaton Flowers, Body Shame, Dwoemer

White Eagle Saloon

836 N Russell St Mic Check feat.

TeamBackPack Cypher, Illmac, Theory Hazit, Landon Larson

Wonder Ballroom 128 NE Russell St. Zion I, Lafa Taylor

FRI. OCT. 28 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

1037 SW Broadway Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán

Dante’s

350 West Burnside Hell’s Belles - The World’s Greatest All-Female AC/ DC Tribute

Doug Fir Lounge 830 E Burnside St. Lewis Del Mar

Duff’s Garage

2530 NE 82nd Ave Star Witness

Hawthorne Theatre

1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd.

Niykee Heaton

Kenton Club

2025 N Kilpatrick St Revenge of the Nerds: A Rock and Roll Costume Ball

LaurelThirst Public House

2958 NE Glisan St Lowlight, Ashleigh Flynn & the Hazeltines; Lynn Conover & Little Sue

Mississippi Studios

3939 N Mississippi Ave. Holy Sons, Nurses, Blesst Chest

Moda Center

1 N Center Court St

The Liquor Store

MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST LOVE: In a configuration that was both purposeful and a problem for the Crystal Ballroom’s sound techs at Oct. 20’s sold-out show, Blind Pilot sounds best when everyone’s quiet. Part of the problem is that the band’s recent album, And Then Like Lions, is centered more on layers of acoustic stringed instruments, while 2011’s We Are the Tide focused on big, bright percussion and strumming. Seeing this change executed live highlighted Blind Pilot’s two best assets: the sweet sentimentality of frontman Israel Nebeker’s songwriting, and the underappreciated finesse of those playing behind him. In the post-Decemberists deluge of Pacific Northwest indie folk bands, the combination of eagerness and technical skill—shown in the seamless transitions of multiinstrumentalists Kati Claborn and Dave Jorgensen—has set up Blind Pilot with staying power. By the middle of the set, I was struck by how few people were there just to Snapchat the show. Frat dudes and drunk moms alike sang along to every word. When the band crowded around a single mic to sing “Just One,” people closed their eyes and smiled. “Let all things be as they should,” everyone sang. “Let my heart just drift like wood.” It was sort of disgusting. “I can’t believe we get just one,” the crowd continued. I assumed they were talking about lives, but what do I know? And then, something crazy happened: I started smiling, too. ISABEL ZACHARIAS.

3341 SE Belmont St, Wampire, Fog Father, Cat Hoch

The Old Church

1422 SW 11th Ave King Dude

Twilight Cafe and Bar 1420 SE Powell The Rocketz, Misfortunes of Mr. Teal, Schadenfreuders, Insignificunts

TUES. NOV. 1 Ash Street Saloon

225 SW Ash St The Dancing Plague of 1518, Peridot, Fleshh

Doug Fir Lounge Chance the Rapper, Francis and the Lights

Newmark Theatre

1111 SW Broadway Edgar Meyer and the Dover Quartet

Revolution Hall

1300 SE Stark St #110 MarchFourth Marching Band

Roseland Theater

8 NW 6th Ave Tim Reynolds (TR3), SeepeopleS

Star Theater

13 NW 6th Ave. Tauk, Aniana

The Analog Cafe

Alberta Street Pub

1036 NE Alberta St Tango Alpha Tango, Foxy Lemon, Hungry Skinny

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

1037 SW Broadway Barber’s Violin Concerto

Ash Street Saloon

225 SW Ash St Throw, Stay Up, Stolen Rose

Bunk Bar

1028 SE Water Ave. Boys Keep Swinging (David Bowie) w/ The Velvet Pumpkinground

Doug Fir Lounge

720 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

Trajectory, Earthling Alien, Bubo; Aaron Gillespie, Ace Enders Vinnie Caruana

830 E Burnside St. Worlds Finest & Yak Attack Halloween Show

The O’Neil Public House

2530 NE 82nd Ave BridgeCreek; Zydeco, New Iberians

6000 NE Glisan St. The Groovebirds & Bees In A Bottle

Tony Starlight Showroom

1125 SE Madison St, Tony Starlight’s & the Nu Wavers ‘80s Halloween Costume Party

Twilight Cafe and Bar

1420 SE Powell Lagoon Squad, The Zags, The Strange Effects

Wonder Ballroom 128 NE Russell St. Majid Jordan, DJ TJ

SAT, OCT. 29 Aladdin Theater

3017 SE Milwaukie Ave Kimock

Duff’s Garage

Fremont Theater

2393 NE Fremont Street Paul Brainard’s Fun Machine Orchestra

Hawthorne Theatre

1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd.

Sevendust, Red Sun Rising, Gemini Syndrome, Apophis Theory

Jimmy Mak’s

221 NW 10th Ave. Mike Phillips

Kenton Club

2025 N Kilpatrick St Stunning Rayguns, the Hugs, the Toads

LaurelThirst Public House 2958 NE Glisan St

Ramblin’ Years; Billy Kennedy; Santiam, Dan Sheron, Vicious Petals

Mississippi Pizza

3552 N Mississippi Ave Mr. Ben Halloween Show; Hip Hop Halloween: R & D, ADDverse Effects

Mississippi Studios

3939 N Mississippi Ave. Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Redray Frazier

N.W.I.P.A.

6350 SE Foster Rd,.

Disenchanter and Stoner

Revolution Hall

1300 SE Stark St #110 Blitzen Trapper, Sera Cahoone

Skyline Tavern

8031 NW Skyline Blvd STP Halloween Hoot

Star Theater

13 NW 6th Ave. Failure

Plus Twelve: Catherine Feeny, Tahirah Memory, Johanna Warren, Haley Henderickx and Annalisa Tornfelt with the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble

The O’Neil Public House

6000 NE Glisan St. Yur Daddy, The Ventilators; Harvest Gold (Neil Young tribute)

SUN. OCT. 30 Alberta Rose

3000 NE Alberta St The Nitemare B4 Xmas, The Tangled Threads

Al’s Den at Crystal Hotel 303 SW 12th Ave Brad Parsons

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

St. Mary’s Cathedral

1037 SW Broadway Barber’s Violin Concerto

The Analog Cafe

225 SW Ash St Bibster Beats

1716 NW Davis St. Cappella Romana

720 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

The Sunset Limited, Union Ave, Noddities

The Analog Cafe

720 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

Sunflower Bean, the Lemon Twigs, Shannon Entropy

The Know

2026 NE Alberta St Tragedy, Hellshock, Deathraid, Dead Hunt

The Old Church 1422 SW 11th Ave

Ash Street Saloon

Dante’s

350 West Burnside Supersonic Soul Pimps, Joytribe

Doug Fir Lounge

830 E Burnside St. La Femme, Wet Dream

Hawthorne Theatre

1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd.

Sum 41, Senses Fail, As It Is

Holocene

1001 SE Morrison St. Eyrst Halloween Party

LaurelThirst Public House

2958 NE Glisan St Freak Mountain Ramblers; Elbow Room

Mississippi Studios

3939 N Mississippi Ave. New Music in Disguise, Vol II; Ra Ra Riot, Hannah Georgas

Rontoms

600 E Burnside St Black Water (Holy Light)

Star Theater

13 NW 6th Ave. Rasputina, Vita and The Woolf

St. Stephen’s Catholic Church 1114 SE 41st Avenue Cappella Romana

The Liquor Store

3341 SE Belmont St, The Bricks, Tall Woman, Devy Metal

The O’Neil Public House

6000 NE Glisan St. Sky in the Road; Bilgerats & Pyrettes

Twilight Cafe and Bar 1420 SE Powell Melt, Stein and Fairlady

Valentines

232 SW Ankeny St BRÜT, Paper Gates

MON. OCT. 31 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

1037 SW Broadway Barber’s Violin Concerto

Ash Street Saloon

830 E Burnside St. Pickwick, Young in the City

Hawthorne Theatre

1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd.

Balance and Composure, Foxing, Mercury Girls

Holocene

1001 SE Morrison St. OPT, Big Big Love, Savila, Danza Azteca

Jimmy Mak’s

221 NW 10th Ave. Mel Brown Septet

LaurelThirst Public House

2958 NE Glisan St Jackstraw; Taylor Kingman & friends

Mississippi Studios

3939 N Mississippi Ave. Preoccupations, Methyl Ethel

Roseland Theater

8 NW 6th Ave Post Malone, Jazz Cartier, Larry June, Fki 1st

The Analog Cafe

720 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

Ultra Magnetic; Headphone, Hands Like Sticks

The Goodfoot 2845 SE Stark St Tyrone Hendrix and Friends’ Gumbo Funk

The Know

2026 NE Alberta St Suss Law, Violent Party, Franky, Prolix Destruct

Wonder Ballroom 128 NE Russell St. Wet, Demo Taped

225 SW Ash St

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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MUSIC

WED. OCT. 26 45 East

315 SE 3rd Ave HUCCI

Beech Street Parlor 412 NE Beech Street Freeform Portland: Cristina Trecha

Dig A Pony

736 SE Grand Ave. Atom 13 (kitchen sink o’ sonic excellence)

Ground Kontrol

511 NW Couch St. TRONix

Killingsworth Dynasty 832 N Killingsworth St DJ Nicolas

Sandy Hut

1430 NE Sandy Blvd.

DJ Hot Lips

The Embers Avenue

100 NW Broadway Knochen Tanz w/ DJ Tibin

The Lovecraft Bar

421 SE Grand Ave Event Horizon featuring Lol Tolhurst of The Cure (goth, industrial, alternative)

The Raven

3100 NE Sandy Blvd Wicked Wednesdays w/ DJ Wicked (hip hop, soul)

Tube

18 NW 3rd Ave. Easy Egg

Whiskey Bar

31 NW 1st Ave Stranger Beats: Halloween Party

THURS. OCT. 27 Beech Street Parlor 412 NE Beech Street Tony Remple

Dig A Pony

Crystal Ballroom

1332 W Burnside St 80s Video Dance Attack: Halloween Party

Dig A Pony

736 SE Grand Ave. Cooky Parker (music for dancing)

Gold Dust Meridian

3267 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

DJ Bad Wizard

Holocene

1001 SE Morrison St. Snap! 90s Dance Party Halloween Edition

Killingsworth Dynasty 832 N Killingsworth St Twerk (booty)

Moloko

3967 N. Mississippi Ave. Monkeytek & Friends (records from the Jamaican regions of outer space)

Quarterworld

4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd DJ Sappho (r&b, dance, retro)

Saucebox

214 N Broadway St Sidechain w/ Kendotronic (r&b, house, disco)

Spare Room

4830 NE 42nd Ave The Get Down (Halloween edition)

The Goodfoot

2845 SE Stark St Soul Stew w/ DJ Aquaman (funk, soul, disco)

The Liquor Store

3341 SE Belmont St, Spend the Night w/ Prosumer

The Lovecraft Bar

Double Barrel Tavern

700 NE Dekum St. A Haunted Ball!

Killingsworth Dynasty

SAT. OCT. 29

Moloko

3967 N. Mississippi Ave. Benjamin (international disco, synth, modern dad)

The Embers Avenue 100 NW Broadway Thursday Electronic w/ DJ Jens

The Lovecraft Bar

421 SE Grand Ave Shadowplay: Devil’s Night 11, featuring Lol Tolhurst of The Cure (goth, industrial, alternative)

The Raven

3100 NE Sandy Blvd Tetsuo: 2016 Portland DnB Battles - Round 1

FRI. OCT. 28 45 East

315 SE 3rd Ave Howl 2016 (bass, house, trap)

Beech Street Parlor 412 NE Beech Street DJ L-Train

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

20 NW 3rd Ave The Cave w/ Massacooramaan (rap)

421 SE Grand Ave Club Kai Kai: Gula’s House of Whores

832 N Killingsworth St Zero Wave Presents

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Black Book

736 SE Grand Ave. Happy Hour w/ Radiation City DJs; Void (soul, r&b) 2002 SE Division St. DJ Joel Jett

C O U R T E S Y O F S T O L L E R F A M I LY E S T A T E W I N E S

NEEDLE EXCHANGE

Village Ballroom

Jimbo

Years DJing: I had my first gig playing in the gym of my high school, Benson, when I was a senior before the freshman basketball game in the fall of 2000. Ever since then I’ve been DJing on the radio and in clubs in Eugene, Portland and Puerto Rico.

Genre: Anything that’s classic—funk, soul, rap, and all kinds of electronic music.

Where you can catch me regularly: I’ve had monthly residencies at Dig a Pony and Jackknife since they both opened. I’ve also been doing a lot of private parties and dinner events with John and Renee Gorham at Plaza del Toro.

Craziest gig: When I was in Puerto Rico in 2008, I was DJing and bartending at a tiny bar down the street from where I lived called Candela. One busy night at around 1 in the morning, this local character in his 60s who peddled pinchos (marinated Puerto Rican meat kebabs served with baguette) and who had taken to calling me “Portlandriqueño” showed up with his chekeré, an instrument used in salsa music made of a gourd and netted beads. He started playing along with all the tunes I was playing.

The place went wild and we partied all night.

Don’t ever ask me to play…: R. Kelly. That guy is a monster.

45 East

315 SE 3rd Ave Arty

Aalto Lounge

3356 SE Belmont St. Joshua Justice

NEXT GIG: Jimbo spins at the Eagles Lodge Halloween Party, 4904 SE Hawthorne Blvd., with Bobby D, Lamar Leroy and Cooky Parker, on Saturday, Oct. 29. 9 pm. $10. 21+.

Beech Street Parlor 412 NE Beech Street William Wilson

Bossanova Ballroom

722 E Burnside St. An Inferno Halloween

Killingsworth Dynasty

832 N Killingsworth St Halloween Goth Night

Moloko

Dig A Pony

3967 N. Mississippi Ave. Sir Kez (hip-hop, soul)

Double Barrel Tavern

4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd Haunted Arcade 80s Dance Night w/ DJ Gregarious

Gold Dust Meridian

Sandy Hut

736 SE Grand Ave. Anton (freestyle, electro, boogie) 2002 SE Division St. DJ Johnnie Spaceman

3267 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

DJ Big Ben

Hawthorne Eagle Lodge

4904 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

RIP - A Halloween Tribute w/ DJs Cooky Parker, Lamar Leroy, Bobby D, & Jimbo

Holocene

1001 SE Morrison St. Main Squeeze Dance Party

Quarterworld

1430 NE Sandy Blvd.

DJ Over Cöl

Saucebox

214 N Broadway St SleazeFox

The Analog Cafe

720 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

Bollywood Horror XIV Costume Dance Party w/ DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid

The Embers Avenue

100 NW Broadway Saturday Top 40 Remixed w/ DJ Jens

The Goodfoot

2845 SE Stark St Get On Up: Monster Mash-Up w/ Takima & friends

The Liquor Store

3341 SE Belmont St, Subsensory presents Truncate (techno)

The Lovecraft Bar

421 SE Grand Ave Blood Loss: Halloween Weekend Dance Party

The Raven

3100 NE Sandy Blvd Jai Ho! Bollywood Thriller Dance Party

Valentines

232 SW Ankeny St Just Wanna Dance Halloween

Where to drink this week.

1.

Saraveza

THOMAS TEAL

BAR REVIEW

1004 N Killingsworth St., 503-206-4252, saraveza.com.

After a remodel, Saraveza has a great food menu to match its great beer list, including—wonder of wonders!—squeaky Wisconsin-style fried cheese curds for game d ay.

2.

Patton Maryland

5101 N Interstate Ave., 503-841-6176, pattonmaryland.com.

The cocktails will get a Jersey girl drunk on milk and Coke—plus bourbon and coffee liqueur—while the great-times-three grandson of Queen Victoria will make you smoked brisket you can eat on a big ol’ patio.

3.

Breakside Brewery

5821 SE International Way, Milwaukie, 503-342-6309, breakside.com.

Oregon got 21 medals at the Great American Beer Festival—and three of those went to Breakside brews, including a gold medalwinning rye. What better excuse to hop the expressway down to Milwaukie?

4.

Dame

2930 NE Killingsworth St., 503-227-2669, damerestaurant.com.

The wine list at Dame already makes it Portland’s most interesting wine destination, home to the finest naturalwine list within 500 miles.

5.

Backyard Social

1914 N Killingsworth St., 503-719-4316, backyardsocialpdx.com.

Former staff of the Hop & Vine reopened the onetime eccentric back-patio beer bar as an eccentric back-patio beer bar. But check out the fall menu on that baby, including lobster mushroom crepes and fennel-stuffed calamari.

White Owl Social Club

1305 SE 8th Ave East Halloween Party w/ DJ Deena Bee

Wonder Ballroom

128 NE Russell St. Underdog’s Halloween Bash

SUN. OCT. 30 Beech Street Parlor 412 NE Beech Street DJ White Merlot

Star Theater

KASK, CONDITIONED: Back in 2012, West End cocktail bar Kask was a new concept. It was so explicitly designed as a fancy waiting room for now-closed Grüner restaurant, it might as well have put back issues of The Economist on the bartop. But after closing in 2015 and reopening this year under the owners of Ox, the new Kask (1215 SW Alder St., 503-241-7163, superbitepdx.com/ kask) feels more like the main event—if the main event is a light affair with your side piece. While everything at neighboring SuperBite is hyperambitious and groomed, Kask is a brickwalled hidey-hole so dim that the step-up between the door and bar acts as a particularly vicious eye test keeping the geriatric at bay. The mood is loose, the crowd insouciantly professional. Our bartender, who looked a little like the famously unkempt dude from those Trivago commercials, was nonetheless one of the most pro pourers I’ve witnessed in town. He threw down a killer tequila-coffee-vermouth Tijuana Speedball ($11, unfortunately soon going off menu)—complete with a precarious garnish of three coffee beans balanced atop a lemon peel—with such precision and alacrity you’d think he’d just downed a speedball himself.

The Kask-classic Alexander Wept ($13), which combines variations in cherry with variations on whiskey, was likewise note perfect, while the food menu casually picks up some of the SuperBite kitchen’s can’t-miss fare without slowing down the cocktail slingers. It’s like a downtown Expatriate for people with buttoned shirts: everything perfect, a little bit sordid, and kept like a secret. MATTHEW KORFHAGE. The Lovecraft Bar

421 SE Grand Ave New Wave Halloween Party w/ DJ Acid Rick & friends (spooky hunkwave)

Tube

18 NW 3rd Ave. Sundays w/ Hypham

MON. OCT. 31 45 East

315 SE 3rd Ave Dusky: Outer Us Tour

13 NW 6th Ave. HIVE Halloween w/ DJs Aurora & Skully (goth, industrial)

Beech Street Parlor

The Embers Avenue

2035 NE Glisan St. DJ Tiger Stripes

100 NW Broadway Latino Night w/ DJ Leo

412 NE Beech Street Taylor Hill

Club 21

Crystal Ballroom

1332 W Burnside St 90s Costume Dance Party

Ground Kontrol

511 NW Couch St. Reagan-o-mix (new wave, hip-hop, soundtrack)

Quarterworld

4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd 90’s Dreamland Halloween Dance Party w/ DJs Jonny P Jeweles & Chester JR

Sandy Hut

1430 NE Sandy Blvd.

DJ Atom 13

The Conquistador Lounge

2045 SE Belmont St. Dance!Dance!Die! Halloween Party w/ DJ Gregarious & DJ Disorder

The High Dive

1406 SE 12th Ave. Halloween w/ DJ Scruff

The Lovecraft Bar

421 SE Grand Ave

Black Mass Ritual: Halloween w/ MC Nikki Lev the Glitter Beast

The Secret Society

116 NE Russell St Salsa Halloween Dance with Lynn and Mark

TUES. NOV. 1 Black Book

20 NW 3rd Ave Pop Out (dance party)

The Lovecraft Bar

421 SE Grand Ave Coma Toast (future, glitch, electro)

The Secret Society 116 NE Russell St Tuesday Salsa with Lynn and Mark

Tube

18 NW 3rd Ave. Tubesdays w/ DJ Jack

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

41

PERFORMANCE REVIEW

= WW Pick. Highly recommended.

Most prices listed are for advance ticket sales. At-the-door increases and so-called convenience charges may apply, so it’s best to call ahead.

Editor: SHANNON GORMLEY. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit information at least two weeks in advance to: sgormley@wweek.com.

NEW LISTINGS The How and the Why

The How and the Why devotes a whole play to two things that don’t get that much cultural attention: women scientists and menstrual cycles. The play is based on a real scientist who wanted to know why women menstruate when most mammals don’t—a seriously interesting and complicated question that the patriarchy probably wouldn’t be too keen to investigate. It’s not short on science-y details, but even so, The How and the Why is not health class, and hopes to do more than just regurgitate history. The bigger picture deals with the way scientific knowledge affects cultural attitudes, particularly towards women. CoHo Productions, 2257 NW Raleigh St., cohoproductions. org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, Oct. 28-Nov. 19. $22.50-$28.

Coyote on a Fence

It’s notable when the Shakespeare devotees at over at Post5 decide to put on a play that the Bard didn’t write. It’s even more notable when that deviation is the second debatestyle play in Portland this month, asking its audience to sympathize with figures usually deemed unsympathetic. Coyote on a Fence comes on the heels of Third Rail’s production of The Nether, a play about virtualreality pedophiles. Coyote on a Fence deals with someone way harder to find sympathetic than a pedophile: a mass murdering racist. It profiles two men on death row: one who publishes a newsletter in which he praises his fellow inmates positive attributes and mentions none of their crimes, and one who burned down a church full of people in the name of white supremacy. Post5 Theatre, 1666 SE Lambert St., post5theatre.org. 7:30 pm FridaySunday, Oct. 28-Nov. 19. Additional show 7:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 17. $20 Friday-Saturday, pay what you will Sunday and Thursday.

My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer

It’s not often that monologues come with “extreme elements of story and behavior” warnings. Scary campfire stories are probably the closest monologues usually get to an association with horror, and when is the last time you heard a campfire story that was actually scary? But Shaking the Tree know how to do creepy, which makes the dual monologues in My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer right up their alley. Two sisters living in middle-of-nowhere farm country tell their stories of feeling trapped by a mother they have to care for, a pet sheep named Vicky, and a disturbing secret they both share. It’s the kind of Southern gothic weirdness you’d find in a Flannery O’Connor story, and plenty unsettling, even though there’s no jump scares and nobody holds a flashlights under their chin (hopefully). Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 SE Grant St., shaking-the-tree.com.

7:30 pm Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. 1-2.

Free, $5 suggested donation.

ALSO PLAYING Head. Hands. Feet.

Portland may be host to plenty of creepy theater, but few directors are as unafraid to get downright unsettling as Samantha Van Der Merwe. Her latest effort for Shaking the Tree is Head. Hands. Feet., a show comprised

42

of two ensemble-devised pieces based on myths and fairy tales about dismemberment. But despite its preoccupation with bloodbaths, the play is visually beautiful and dexterously imaginative: Van Der Merwe’s sense of the macabre is more poetic than gross. Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 SE Grant St., shaking-the-tree.com.

7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 5 pm Sunday. Through Nov. 5. $25.

S A R A H G AT T E N

THEATER

How I Learned What I Learned

How I Learned What I Learned recounts playwright August Wilson’s own life growing up in Pittsburgh, and shows through his personal experience not only the deeply rooted racial issue of our country, but also how it inspired him to create the body of work he is so esteemed for. The play is in good hands: Victor Mack, the sole actor in the play, has already acted in all but one of Wilson’s other plays.

Director Kevin Jones (and founder of The August Wilson Red Door Project) has dealt with his fair share of Wilson’s works, too, and is one of the strongest artistic voices in the effort to make Portland’s theater scene more inclusive. Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott St., portlandplayhouse.org.

7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday. Through Nov. 6. $5-$34.

DANCE BloodyVox: Blood Red Is the New Black

Just about every other theater stages a Halloween show, but BodyVox might be the only dance company in Portland to pay homage to the holiday. They start their season off every year with BloodyVox, their tribute to all things creepy. However, due to an incident where a kid was spooked to tears in the front row, the company has toned down the show’s creepiness over the years. BodyVox Dance Center, 1201 NW 17th Ave., bodyvox.com. 7 pm Thursday-Saturday Oct. 27-29. Additional shows 9 pm Thursday-Friday, Oct. 27-28, and 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 29. $25-$64.

Incipio

It’s been less than a year since PDX Contemporary Ballet put on their first show. Their first season, which kicked off last February, was somewhat shrouded in their origin story: members of Moxie Contemporary Ballet who banded together after Moxie collapsed in a money-centric scandal. But as they start off their second season, the troupe is clearly interested in figuring out their own place in Portland’s dance scene separate from their semi-political genesis.

That’s what the debut piece of their first full season Incipio will deal with.

Or at least, that’s what it sounds like when choreographer and artistic director Briley Neugebauer talks about the show’s “blank canvas” concept. Visually, it means all en pointe ballet in the round and on a similar level to the audience as supposed to high up on a stage. New Expressive Work, 810 SE Belmont St., pdxcb.com. 7:30 pm Friday-Saturday, 2:30 pm Sunday, Oct. 28-30. $15-$25.

COMEDY & VARIETY Scary (True) Tales with Don Frost

Don Frost, Helium Club’s veteran open mic host returns to MC this event. This night of frighteningly personal storytelling includes five other staples from the open mic, such as Lonnie Bruhn and Jacob Christopher. Though there will be zero female comedi-

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

BASIC CHEMISTRY: Bright Half Life tracks the demise of a 46-year relationship.

Love in the Time of Particle Decay BRIGHT HALF LIFE ’S DIRECTOR DISCUSSES THE CHALLENGING SCRIPT.

BY B EN N ETT CA MPB ELL FER GU SON

Rebecca Lingafelter’s first response to Bright Half Life was confusion. “I read it almost a year and a half ago, and at first I was like, ‘What’s happening?

What’s happening?’” she says of Tanya Barfield’s play, which she’s directing at Profile Theatre.

Her reaction isn’t surprising. Like a VHS tape being rewound and fast-forwarded over the course of 46 turbulent years, Bright Half Life journeys restlessly through time, forging a seemingly disjointed path from 1985 to 2031. Yet ultimately Lingafelter realized that “the puzzle pieces of the narrative that Tanya’s written start to come together. By the end, I was weeping.”

She probably won’t be the only one. Bright Half Life—which opens at Profile on Saturday—is about the ecstasies and agonies of a romance between Erica (Chantal DeGroat) and Vicky (Maureen Porter) that endures through both marriage and parenthood, only to collapse in divorce. It’s a daunting narrative for a director to tackle. “The script is one of the most challenging I’ve ever worked on,” Lingafelter says. “It asks for a kind of virtuosity that’s physical, mental and emotional.”

That virtuosity is demanded by Barfield’s decision to move fluidly through time, shuffling non-chronologically through key moments in Vicky and Erica’s relationship, whether they’re skydiving or standing in an elevator. To make sense of it all, Lingafelter relied on a timeline of events that Barfield created, although Barfield’s production notes on the play may have added as many challenges as they alleviated.

“She puts in the production notes that there should be minimal sets and no props,” Lingafelter points out. Cue scenic designer Peter Ksander, who dreamt up a set that was minimalist but still served the emotional trajectory of Vicky and Erica’s lives.

“The set is essentially a blue square in the middle of a void,” Lingafelter explains. “It’s as if a blue searchlight had just pinpointed this particular spot to find these two women and their story.”

Of course, like many of Barfield’s plays, Bright Half Life is also a politicized story that reaches beyond the inner lives of its characters. For Lingafelter and her team, that meant conducting research, “particularly on the gay rights movement.” Lingafelter also thinks Bright Half Life is political because it’s being performed during a volcanic election season. “In this time of divisiveness and vitriol…to spend an evening with two people who are doing everything they can to live in communion with another person is pretty special—and kind of radical right now,” she believes.

Bright Half Life also marks the beginning of the end of a journey for Profile—it’s the last full play of the theater’s season devoted to the work of Barfield, who grew up in Portland. But despite its focus on the withering of Erica and Vicky’s marriage, Bright Half Life is not a downbeat note, as the title’s reference to particle decay suggests. As Lingafelter puts it, with a metaphorical flourish that sums up Vicky and Erica’s compassion for each other: “The beautiful thing about particle decay is that as particles decay, they give off light.”

SEE IT: Bright Half Life plays at Profile Theatre, 1507 SW Morrison St., profiletheatre.org. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, Oct. 29-Nov. 13. Additional show 11 am Wednesday, Nov. 2. $20-$36.

ans present, which is always disappointing, one thing is for sure: comedians often have pretty horrifying personal lives. Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave., portland.heliumcomedy.com. 8 pm Wednesday, Oct. 26. $12. 21+.

Tinder Live!

Unless you have a rock-solid profile, you might want to deactivate your Tinder this week.

Otherwise, you risk becoming fodder for a team of traveling New

York City-based writers and comedians who will interrogate your profile pictures in front of a live audience. If you’ve ever wanted to swipe along with a live audience, you don’t have to wait to attend a busy Halloween party. The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell St., secretsociety.net. 8 pm Wednesday, Oct. 26. $15. 21+.

For more Performance listings, visit

COURTESY OF BEN MOORAD

REVIEW

JUST ANOTHER STORY: Ben Moorad reads newspaper clippings of suicides in his one-man show.

Between the Headlines

In some ways, From the Envelope of Suicides feels like a Sunday sermon without God. In his investigation of suicide obituaries, storyteller and showrunner Ben Moorad attempts to challenge the apathy of a readership who saw the deaths as little more than tragic headlines. Moorad humanizes the dead, but he stops short of honoring, or disapproving of, their exit route.

This six-show performance series explores suicide attempts from the point of view of archaic obituaries and news clippings from Connecticut newspapers collected between 1941 and 1948. Moorad reads a few of the clippings aloud while a couple of men dressed for a funeral play light, melancholic beats at his side, occasionally reading articles themselves. A projector screen resurrects the stories, accompanied by photos of the deceased, their houses, businesses and neighborhoods.

In the series’ second show, Moorad mainly invests his time in getting to know these strangers, having extensively researched their lives and subsequent rationales for death. In one story, a woman named Anna, depicted as an unstable housewife, attempts to swallow poison in her husband’s bar, and reactionary local police prescribe her a “milk chaser” in order to calm her system. In another article, Anna makes a different attempt on her life, slashing her arms, and police chalk it up to a “relationship squabble.” It’s hinted that this relationship was abusive, yet the town insists on seeing her as an overly emotional laughingstock, unfit for domesticity. Touches of misogyny ensue, in a way lending support for her actions.

Not all the highlighted suicide attempts were successful.

Moorad ends episode two with the story of a woman whose unsuccessful suicide attempt allowed her another 40 years of life. The failure is portrayed as a happy ending, which complicates Moorad’s attempts earlier in the show to legitimize what led the obituaries’ subjects to suicide. It creates a challenging dichotomy between the sanctity of life and the sanctity of the will to take it. Envelopes of Suicides seem to ask: Can suicide be both right and wrong? Since Moorad doesn’t provide an answer, the audience is left to answer this question for themselves.

JACK RUSHALL. From the Envelope of Suicides gets to know the subjects of suicide obituaries.

SEE IT: From the Envelopes of Suicides plays at Shout House, 210 SE Madison St., envelopeofsuicides.com. 7 pm Thursday, Oct. 27-Nov. 17. $10.

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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VISUAL ARTS C O U R T E S Y O F M E R Y L PATA K Y

= WW Pick.

Highly recommended.

By JENNIFER RABIN. 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: jrabin@wweek.com.

Analogue Skies

In the tiny back room at Eutectic Gallery, conceptual ceramicist Tim Kowalczyk creates a nostalgic reverie that will take you back in time. He has hand-built small hyperreal objects like matchbooks, carnival ephemera, and Polaroids out of stoneware. The work may elicit a double take from viewers who are slow to believe that a cardboard matchbook, seemingly bent and soggy from being in someone’s pocket, is made of ceramic. The show is inspired by Kowalczyk’s move to the country where he has taken up stargazing. “I now think of myself as a bizarre collector of objects who recreates relationships between mundane things and a sky filled with stars,” he says. The exhibition feels intimate and personal because it gives us the sense that Kowalczyk is searching for something, inviting us to search with him rather than telling us what he’s already discovered.

Eutectic Gallery, 1930 NE Oregon St., 503-974-6518. Through October 29.

Libra

Rich Rollins’ medium-format blackand-white photos were taken with a plastic toy camera, the Diana.

Rollins uses the Diana, famous for its light leaks, to great effect, making hazy dreamlike images that attempt to “reveal light in the darkness of being,” he says. What struck me about the compositions is that they home in on narrow and pointed subjects—the hand of a statue or the feet of another, a single stone marker in the middle of an open field. The glorious effect of this specificity is that it opens up our curiosity and imagination to so many questions.

It allows us to fill in the surrounding details, to create our own narratives and so, it feels like a participatory experience. Blue Sky Gallery, 122 NW 8th Ave., 503-225-0210. Through Oct. 30.

Foreigners

With the specter of xenophobia and the threat of forced deportation looming larger than ever, Nationale has invited four Portland-based immigrant artists—Modou Dieng, Bukola Koiki, Victor Maldonado, and Angelica Millán—to make work that speaks to otherness and in-betweenness. Dieng paints over the EU flag, obscuring much of it with his own gesture, but allowing some of the original symbolism to come through.

Koiki hand-dyes Tyvek in an indigo bath to create a Nigerian head wrap that marries traditional and industrial materials. Maldonado repeats imagery of the masked luchador to represent both heritage and the way that it can be caricatured. Millán stretches romantic floral fabrics over wooden frames. Look at them from the side, though, and you will see that they are studded with hundreds of thorns—the duality of softness and strength, of safety and protection.

Nationale, 3360 SE Division St., 503-477-9786. Through Nov. 13.

Colorways

Once you’ve seen artist Meryl Pataky’s show, you will never think of neon the same again. Pataky pushes the medium in multiple directions at once. First, her neon sculptures are all abstract, putting to rest any lingering impressions that neon’s sole purpose is for signage or text-based fine art.

Pataky encrusts the neon conduits in certain pieces with borax crystals, creating the impression that the loud, bright, sterile medium is organically growing something that

44

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

COLORWAYS may soon obscure it completely.

The most minimal pieces, beautifully succinct and moving, are gestures frozen in light. Stephanie Chefas Projects, 305 SE 3rd Ave., Suite 202, 310-990-0702. Through Nov. 5.

Hold

Painter Sarah Fagan’s white-on-white still lifes depict objects whose only purpose is to hold things. Glassine envelopes, paper lunch bags, tiny transparent vessels all wait quietly, in beautifully shaded relief, to accept whatever we choose to put inside of them. A piece of lined notepaper and a Post-it note are blank canvases for our words, thoughts and ideas. Fagan paints multiple iterations of white cardboard boxes, each unfolded, lying flat. In their deconstructed state, it is easy to mistake them for architectural floor plans, a visual representation of another object that will hold something precious: our hopes and desires for the future. The work is still and subtle and overwhelmingly optimistic. And with price points from $100-$400, it’s a perfect opportunity for first-time collectors to get in the game. Blackfish Gallery, 420 NW 9th Ave., 503-224-2634. Through Oct. 29.

Travellers

German photographer Birte Kaufmann chronicles the lives of outcast Irish nomads. Her color photographs have an Arbus-like quality, capturing moments that are both intimate and surreal, like twin sisters in the back of a camper van, made up like beauty pageant contestants. The series took four years to complete, most of which Kaufmann devoted to earning the trust of her subjects, traveling across an ocean to visit and revisit them.

The artist uses the passage of time to great effect, showing changes in people, places and objects. In one photograph, a portable clothesline is heavily burdened with a family’s laundry; later, it holds a dead rabbit waiting to become dinner. A sighthound leads the hunt in one composition and nurses a pack of hungry pups in another. Blue Sky Gallery, 122 NW 8th Ave., 503-225-0210. Through Oct. 30.

Ground Effects

If you’re a fan of sculpture, Malia Jensen’s show of new works will be a thrill. Working in materials as wideranging as bronze, glass, and plaster (shown alongside 2-D drawings), Jensen fills the gallery with objects that feel weighty and primordial. A glass vitrine atop a pedestal holds a collection of cast bronze ribs, pitted with a gorgeous verdigris. A similar display houses river rock cairns— made of an unknown material because the wall tags are desperately hard to locate—a testament to an artist’s ability to lovingly facsimilate the work of Mother Nature. Three tree limbs, cast in bronze with gloriously different patinas, lean against the wall, each one providing shelter for a different insect that constructs its nest among the knobby bifurcated branches.

Elizabeth Leach Gallery, 417 NW 9th Ave., 503-224-0521. Through Oct. 29.

Everything Real

Hap Gallery, which often hosts large installations and immersive expe-

riences, is doing something different with its current exhibition of 2-D and 3-D works. Guest-curated by Chase Westfall and Iris Williamson, the concept for the group show is a remarkable one. Each participating artist contributes two pieces, though only one is shown at a time. Every few days, one piece in the show is swapped out, so that each time you visit the gallery, you will see something new. The show, which acts as a mirror for our country and our culture, is in transition. It reflects the grayness, the uncertainty that exists between here and there, rejecting the binary.

When the show closes on November 10th, we will have a new president and the entire gallery will look different than it did when the show opened.

Hap Gallery, 916 NW Flanders St., 503-444-7101. Through Nov. 10.

On Democracy

Fourteen artists give us their take on the political foundation and degradation of our democracy. Rodney Durso’s digital pastiches paste together Trump’s most recognizable features in a grotesque cartoonish visual synecdoche, proving that a screaming mouth and an orange comb-over are all we need to understand the state of our elections. Dan Tague photographs crumpled dollar bills against a background so black it feels like an abyss. It takes a moment to realize that the bills are folded to bring forward certain letters, spelling out “AMERICAN DREAMING,” “MADE IN CHINA,” and “THE END IS NEAR.” There are subtler meditations, like the series by Francis Crisafio of an immigrant barber cutting hair well into his 90s, serving his loyal constituents.

And we are left to wonder what would happen to our communities if people like him were disallowed from entering our country. Newspace Center for Photography, 1632 SE 10th Ave., 503-963-1935. Through Oct. 29.

Andy Warhol: Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation

The largest-ever exhibition of Warhol screenprints is showing at Portland Art Museum. With 250 pieces spanning 35 years of the artist’s career (and two floors of the museum), the show provides an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate the entire trajectory of Warhol’s creative life, from his period of making childlike commercial illustrations to his pop notoriety. The exhibition can feel overwhelming and rambling at times, but it excels at showing us many of Warhol’s lesser-known works, giving us new windows into the mind of an artist we all thought we had a handle on. One entire room is devoted to a series of Mapplethorpian quasi-pornographic male nudes, while another displays a series of prints paired with Teletype text that chronicles the assassination of JFK. When an artist rises to the level that Warhol has, when their work has been deemed important, we stop asking if it is good. This is our chance to answer that question.

Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 503-226-2811. Through Jan. 1, 2017.

For more Visual Arts listings, visit

BOOKS = WW Pick.

Highly recommended.

SUNDAY, OCT. 30

BY ZACH MIDDLETON. 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.

Joel McHale

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26 Michael Copperman, Ashley Toliver, Margaret Malone

Reading from works partially funded by their winnings, three Oregon Literary Fellowship recipients will present their new books. Michael Copperman is the author of Teacher: Two Years in the Mississippi Delta, a memoir about his time as an elementary school teacher in a racially divided town. People Like You is the debut collection of short stories by Portland author Margaret Malone, and was a finalist for the 2016 PEN/Hemingway award. Ashley Toliver is a Portland poet and Brown University graduate whose new book is Ideal Machine.

Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington St., 503-227-2583. 7 pm. Free.

Community’s Joel McHale’s Thanks for the Money is said to contain a list of all of the actresses McHale has ever made out with onscreen, and also explains how he ascended to such roles as Wilbur Wilson on Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 800-878-7323.

2 pm. Free.

TUESDAY, NOV. 1 Andrés Neuman

After reading the dizzying itinerary for an upcoming book tour following his winning of one of the most prestigious Spanish-language literary awards, acclaimed novelist and poet Andrés

Neuman decided the scenario warranted a book unto itself. Sensing that the genre of novelist-cum-travel writer was somewhat played out as it stood, Neuman adopted an episodic format resembling flash fiction in How to Travel Without Seeing. Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm. Free.

Floyd Skloot

Portland author Floyd Skloot’s The Phantom of Thomas Hardy tells of an American author who goes to England to recover from a neuro-viral infection.

Once there, the feverish author goes back through his past à la A Christmas Carol, with the ghost of Thomas Hardy as his guide. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323.

7:30 pm. Free.

For more Books listings, visit

REVIEW

Robert Olen Butler

Perfume River, the newest novel from Robert Olen Butler, deals with the lingering costs of the Vietnam War on the families of soldiers. Butler’s prose here has already been compared to William Faulkner. But considering that he has won the Pulitzer Prize, he’s past the stage where he needs to be compared to other writers. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm. Free.

THURSDAY, OCT. 27 Carolyn Wood

At age 14, Portlander Carolyn Wood competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics as a swimmer. Years later, she came out as gay in a much less welcoming time. At age 65, Wood walked the Camino de Santiago to reflect on her life experiences on the arduous trek. Tough Girl is her memoir.

Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway, 503-284-1726. 7 pm. Free.

Nick Offerman

It can be difficult to tell where Nick Offerman ends and Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson begins.

Now, Swanserman offers Good Clean Fun, a mixture of memoir and DIY manual. Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 800-878-7323. 6 pm. Free.

Casey Jarman

You can run from death, or you can turn around and look it in the face. Or, if you’re Casey Jarman, you can interview people who might have seen it, like some obsessed Bigfoot hunter.

In his new collection of oral historystyle essays, Death, Jarman (a former WW music editor) interviews everyone from singer-songwriter David Bazan to former death-row wardens to get a good, clean look at the thing. Jarman will appear with Holly Pruett (Death Cafe organizer) and Jana DeCristofaro (coordinator of children’s grief services), both of whom were featured in last week’s WW cover story.

Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm. Free.

FRIDAY, OCT. 28 T.C. Boyle

The Terranauts, the newest novel from T.C. Boyle, tells the story of eight people who are locked in a sort of hemispheric terrarium, a “biological dome,” if you will, to study the viability of an off-Earth colony. With the characters trapped under a literal looking glass, Boyle delves into the hubris and ultimate fallibility of humanity’s attempts to pioneer. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm. Free.

Martha Grover

THE END OF MY CAREER Throughout The End of My Career (Perfect Day, 240 pages, $10), something is making Martha Grover very ill. The lack of a functioning thyroid gland causes her hormones to surge and abate, she can barely hold down a job, and she spends a hell of a lot of time on the toilet.

This collection of autobiographical stories and essays at times stirs up sympathy for a person who just can’t seem to catch a break. Along with romantic and financial woes, Grover suffers from a series of horrifying ailments—the majority of which are due to idiopathic Cushing’s syndrome, an endocrine disorder that lays waste to her most basic bodily functions. If she were to take a normal shit in the book, she would tell you about it. And it would be cause for celebration.

Grover spends much of the book watching the Portland she grew up in change, as Southeast Division Street is “altered beyond recognition” and the Chinese restaurant next to her laundromat gets bulldozed. Which is not to say this is another Portland ode to nativism. “I’ve lived here my whole life and I call them hazelnuts,” she says to a friend who insists real Oregonians say filberts.

Still, one minute she’s disgusted by the privilege of a New Yorker who buys a house only to leave it vacant most of the year, while the next she’s bemoaning her own hardly unprivileged options.

“I could move in with some kids in St. Johns or Montavilla,” she writes, “or with some uptight people my own age who are allergic to everything and require me to be spiritual or vegan.”

But her sense of loss is nonetheless palpable. Despite having a master’s degree and obvious writing ability, Grover has trouble holding down lasting work even as a house cleaner. Wherever she ends up, Grover acts as the detective—literally a private investigator, in one piece—with her dating life providing some of the best fodder. Early in the book, she meets a man from OkCupid, and ends up having casual sex she immediately comes to regret. After sex, she writes, “He got on his computer and started looking at photoshopped pictures of cats on Reddit, periodically tugging at his penis through his pajama pants.”

In the longest piece, “The Women’s Studies Major,” Grover begins dating a handsome older man who has a women’s studies degree and says all the right things. But one night when she gets high on edibles, she paranoically Googles his name and discovers he has a past of abusing women. Those narrative fragments make for some of her most moving work.

And as the book progresses, it becomes clear that what’s causing Grover’s illness may not be physical—or even quite emotional or spiritual. It’s seems as systemic as Cushing’s, something almost inherent to the world itself. ZACH MIDDLETON. SEE IT: Martha Grover reads at Tender Loving Empire, 3451 SE Hawthorne Blvd., on Thursday, Oct. 27. 5:30 pm. Free.

The Old Church Concert Hall Presents Amanda Richards & The Good Long Whiles Record Release!

Friday, Nov 4 @ 8pm - Door 7pm

A Special evening with Butch & Rory Hancock Sunday, Nov 6 @ 8pm - Door 7pm UPCOMING CONCERTS Dec. 3rd THE GOTHARD SISTERS • Dec. 9 J.D. WILKES

THEOLDCHURCH.ORG Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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SEAN D. BROWN

MOVIES GET YO UR R E PS IN

Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981)

You can’t celebrate Halloween without Michael Myers, the big daddy of classic horror, lurking around the corner. Another John Carpenter classic and it’s equally beloved follow-up from Rick Rosenthal play at the Academy in one hell of a double feature.

Academy Theater. Oct. 28-Nov. 3.

The Killing of America (1982)

Condemned as “graphic and obscene” by The New York Times, Sheldon Renan and Leonard Schrader’s shockumentary examining violence in American culture was never distributed or made available for sale in the United States. The Hollywood is presenting a restored and uncut copy as part of an especially deep Halloween week lineup.

Hollywood Theatre. 9:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 29.

Se7en

DEEP TROUBLE: Holden Goyette and Aida Valentine.

A Very Weird Wedding Movie

(1995)

David Fincher (The Social Network, Fight Club, Gone Girl) directed a dark, violent second movie after the less than stellar Alien 3. Se7en is an absolute classic for mid-’90s cool kids whose parents took them to R-rated movies when they were 12 years old. Se7en scared the shit out of those cool kids.

Mission Theater. Oct. 26-Nov 1.

Theatre of Blood

(1973)

Shakespearean actor Edward Lionheart (horror icon Vincent Price, in reportedly his favorite role) gets revenge on his critics with gruesome executions straight out of the Bard’s plays. Douglas Hickox’s horror comedy finishes off the NWFC’s Bending the Bard film series with a pound of flesh and more to spare. NW Film Center. 7 pm Sunday, Oct. 30.

The Wicker Man in Hecklevision (2006)

BY BENNETT C AM P BELL FER GU SON

ding in the film is a same-sex wedding, and the characters get a lot of grief about it from When director Jessica Scalise hypes her new some people. And everyone’s always telling film Zilla and Zoe, she doesn’t have to wax poetic Zoe, ‘Don’t make horror films, you’re being about her cast, her style or the movie’s autobio- weird, you’re a very strange child, you should graphical tint. Instead, she sums up the plot in be playing with dolls or something instead.’”

Portions of this narrative are inspired by one intriguing sentence: “It’s about a girl trying Scalise’s own life, including her depiction of to turn her sister’s wedding into a horror film.”

Zilla’s wedding.

“When I was in college, I used So you might guess that Zilla and Zoe, which premieres privately at the Mission to do wedding videography,” says Scalise, who studied creative writing and math at Theater on Friday, is a millennial Stanford and film at USC. “There’s splicing of Bride Wars and Carso much stuff that’s hilarious rie. Yet according to Scalise, or horrifying or touching that the film is something else you don’t put in there.” That’s entirely: a family saga set why she “thought it would be in Portland that’s joyous, really fun to make a movie realistic and eccentric. about this big, crazy, someZilla and Zoe trains its what disastrous Portland gaze on Sal (Greg James), wedding.” the patriarch of an emotionZ o e ’s e m e r g e n c e a s a ally embattled family that proto-Wes Craven also echoes includes his two daughters, Zilla Scalise’s experiences as a filmSCALISE (Sam Kamerman) and Zoe (Aida maker. While she was never as into Valentine). Sal, according to Scalise, horror as Zoe is, Scalise says that she “was is “pretty complex because he’s a struggling definitely that little kid with the camcorder, father trying to raise two little girls all by himforcing all my siblings and the neighborhood self, and he just wants to be a good dad.”

Sal’s parenting is questioned when one kids to put on a play or make a movie.”

That passion plays into “a scene in the daughter, Zoe, becomes obsessed with making her own horror films and the other, Zilla, movie where Zoe and her friends are about to plans to get married. “There are a lot of char- do this big, dangerous stunt for their movie,” acters in the film who are severely judged for Scalise adds. “A little boy says, ‘You could die who they are,” Scalise points out. “The wed- doing this. Are you sure it’s worth it?’ And Zoe’s like, ‘If I die, make sure this gets edited bferguson@wweek.com

C

O

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SY O F FAC E B

In one of the great shitty movies of the 21st century, a particularly amped-up Nic Cage stars as a detective sent to a mysterious island off the coast of Washington to find an ex-lover’s missing daughter. Get ready to see a man in a bear suit punch a woman in the face. Presented in Hecklevision, which lets the audience crack jokes via text message in real time. Hollywood Theatre.

9:30 pm Thursday, Oct. 27.

A NEW LOCAL DIRECTOR DEBUTS HER KICKSTARTER-FUNDED COMEDY, ZILLA AND ZOE.

OO

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Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

K

ALSO PLAYING: 5th Avenue Cinema: Cat People (1982), Oct. 28-30. Academy Theater: The Howling (1981), Oct. 26-27. Hollywood Theatre: Someone’s Watching Me (1978), 7:30 pm Thursday, Oct. 26; A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), 7 pm Friday, Oct. 28; The Phantom of the Opera (1925), with live organ, 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 29; Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Oct. 29-30; The Pit (1981), 7:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 31. Laurelhurst Theater: The ’Burbs (1989), Oct. 26-27; Let the Right One In (2008), Oct. 28-Nov. 3. NW Film Center: The Howling (1981), Oct. 26-27.

by Sunday.’ That is very autobiographical.”

After completing the Zilla and Zoe script— which was a quarterfinalist in a contest hosted

by San Francisco’s Zoetrope studio—Scalise filled out the cast of two dozen actors with the help of Portland’s Cast Iron Studios and raised money online to fund the movie. While Scalise gathered enough cash to shoot the film, she knew it wouldn’t power the production past the final day of shooting, which forced her to use Kickstarter to raise the funds necessary to complete the post-production process.

About 150 people pledged money to the film on Kickstarter, resulting in a total of $20,000. The result is a film that looks more expensive than it is, which is also thanks to cinematographer Sean D. Brown, who shot the film on a RED Epic Dragon camera.

With Zilla and Zoe now ending one phase of its journey, Scalise says, with a laugh, that she tries to suppress her recollections of the more stressful moments of making the film, which required her to stage a brawl in Brides for a Cause, a bridal shop, using child actors. And as far as the movie’s future beyond the horizon of its Friday premiere at the Mission Theater, Scalise is looking forward to screening the film at festivals before securing it a wider release.

For now, Scalise seems to relish not only having completed Zilla and Zoe, but having directed a movie that uses iconic Portland locations like Voodoo Doughnut and the Peculiarium. She may have grown up in Oakland, but Scalise seems enraptured by Portland and says that some of her favorite parts of the film to shoot were the scenes set in Sal’s truck, which gave her the opportunity to ride around the city. She even features a quintessentially Portlandian flourish in the film—a scene in which Sal walks grumpily past a guy who’s wearing a lemon-yellow beanie and a fur coat and carrying a “Keep Portland Weird” sign.

For Scalise, that motto is more than just a bumper-sticker slogan—it’s the theme of Zilla and Zoe. “I love the whole ‘Keep Portland Weird’ thing,” she says. “To me it means, ‘Be who you are.’ That really inspired the film. The whole theme of the film came from the city.”

SEE IT: Director Jessica Scalise will premiere Zilla and Zoe for a private audience at the Mission Theater on Friday, Oct. 28. No public screenings are scheduled.

= WW Pick. Highly recommended.

Editor: WALKER MACMURDO. 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: wmacmurdo@wweek.com.

Fax: 243-1115.

From Afar

B- A wealthy, middle-aged Armando

(Alfredo Castro) spends his spare time paying street kids for sex acts. When Élder (Luis Silva) assaults and robs him, Armando confronts and slowly develops an unusual relationship with the young man. Don’t get me wrong, Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas’ Golden Lion-winning debut is a beautiful film—Armando’s isolation in a deeply homophobic society is captured through lingering shots of apartments in muted tones and deep shots that turn a bustling Caracas into a faceless blur. And Luis Silva is absolutely stunning as Élder, whose raw, brutish masculinity appears to be constantly trying to burst from his body.

But From Afar fundamentally enforces a—goddamnit—problematic conception of homosexuality by portraying Armando as an effete, predatory older man preying on financially vulnerable teenagers. From Afar is thematically caught in a Catch-22: It doesn’t follow the same blueprint as other modern queer love stories (Tom Ford’s A Single Man, Andrew Haigh’s Weekend), but in so doing relies on a regressive portrayal of homosexuality that leaves the audience unable to empathize. Perhaps this film requires a deeper understanding of Latin American queerness than this reviewer possesses, but From Afar watches like an intimate film that lacks intimacy. NR. WALKER MACMURDO. Hollywood.

The Handmaiden

B+ With The Handmaiden, cele-

brated South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook (the Cannes Grand Prixwinning Oldboy, Thirst) provides the answer to the question: “What would happen if Anaïs Nin directed a revenge thriller?” In a loose adaptation of Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith culture-shifted to 1930s colonial Korea, Korean con man Count Fujiwara (Ha Jung-woo) hires a young pickpocket, Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), to help him rob vulnerable Japanese heiress Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) of a fortune controlled by her uncle Kouzuki (a brilliantly lecherous Cho Jin-woong).

Those familiar with Chan-wook’s oeuvre will have much to celebrate.

The Handmaiden is as methodical in its exposition of revenge as cinematographer Chung Chung-Hoon is in shooting the gloomy Anglo-Japanese

manor in which most of the film takes place. And Chan-wook’s penchant for deadpan humor, dark sexuality and violence takes on a new life through Sook-hee and Lady Hideko’s relationship, which quickly develops beyond one between master and servant. The Handmaiden is an undeniably lush, meticulously constructed film whose celebration of perversity is among the most artful you’ll see. But the film spends so much time on worldbuilding and sex you’ll leave feeling little is being said about these characters, queerness or revenge beyond their gorgeous visual portrayal. Is this a bad thing? Uncle Kouzuki tells us he’s just an old man who likes dirty stories. Surely, there’s a moral to some of them. R. WALKER MACMURDO. Cinema 21.

Inferno

Tom Hanks is back as Robert Langdon, the internationally renowned symbologist who, like most academics, has to save the world every couple of years from Catholic extremists. This time, he’s got amnesia. Ron Howard directs the newest film in Dan Brown’s (The Da Vinci Code) lucrative series.

Not screened for critics. PG-13. Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Vancouver.

The Lost Arcade

C+ When it first opened in 1944, Chinatown Fair (lovingly abbreviated by patrons and fans as “CF”) was a penny arcade in New York City that featured a live, tic-tac-toe-playing chicken. Later, the venue evolved into a video arcade that was adored by gamers, discussed on The Late Show With David Letterman, and seen in a Ol’ Dirty Bastard music video. This documentary chronicles the rise and fall of CF. But rather than focusing on the history of video games, the film shines a light on the small fraction of the NYC gamer scene that still prefers arcades to home consoles. These lost young men—ranging from social misfits to a runaway foster kid with nowhere else to sleep at night—once found comfort and community within the bright lights and incessant chatter of classic arcades. They’ve since been forced to bid adieu to many of the rapidly closing venues they once quite literally called home. The Lost Arcade is an endearing documentary, but at almost two hours, it’s significantly longer than it needs to be to effectively tell its story—no one needs to see close-ups of button mashing for 120 minutes. That said, this film provides a heartfelt look into a somewhat forgotten scene struggling to survive. NR. CURTIS COOK. Hollywood Theatre. 7 pm Wednesday, Oct. 26.

COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES

OPENING THIS WEEK

INFERNO

Michael Moore in TrumpLand

America’s most obnoxious liberal shortlister, Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine), is back, and this time he took his one-man show to small-town Ohio to tell it like it is to Trump-supporting Republicans.

NR. Hollywood.

Under the Shadow

B+ Shideh (Narges Rashidi) had aspirations of becoming a doctor, but those dreams are put to rest in the first few minutes of Under the Shadow.

At the height of the Iran-Iraq War in late-’80s Tehran, a medical school administrator explains that her history of radical leftist activism disqualifies her from readmittance. So when her husband leaves to work as an army doctor on the front lines, the prickly Shideh stays home with her daughter Dorsa (Avin Manshadi). Even away from the center of the fighting, though, Shideh and Dorsa aren’t shielded from the danger of the war zone: sirens, broken windows, air raid alarms that prompt manic sprints to the basement of their apartment complex. Mother and daughter (and audience) are surrounded by constant auditory reminders of their vulnerable status as women in a war zone. And to make matters worse, there is something very “off” about one of the neighborhood boys who just moved into their building.

What begins as a terse family drama veers sharply into the realm of supernatural thriller. Writer-director Babak Anvari employs only the cream of the horror-trope crop, from decapitated dolls to creepy mute children and a newly abandoned Cold War-era apartment complex. The effect is a gradual shift from the merely creepy to the utterly terrifying over the course of the film’s 80 minutes. PG-13. GRACE CULHANE. Living Room Theaters.

STILL SHOWING The Accountant

C A slick dud starring Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff, an autistic accountant who works for criminals on the sly. After being caught in a web of corporate treachery, Wolff beats and shoots a seemingly endless string of creepy thugs to survive, though the film’s fight scenes are too shadowy and clumsily choreographed to be exciting. Even more appalling are the attempts by director Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) to romanticize Wolff’s savagery. By constructing an inane subplot about a school for autistic kids that benefits from Wolff’s illegal earnings and exploits, O’Connor intimates that a dashing serial murderer with a machine gun can be an effective instrument of justice when pointed at the right target—a noxious flash of pessimism tempered briefly by the cheery presence of Anna Kendrick.

As Wolff’s would-be sidekick Dana Cummings, Kendrick brightens up the movie by rattling off a story about the black strapless dress she bought for her prom, hoping to “wow” her classmates. “You deserve ‘wow,’” Christian tells her. What she really deserves is a movie that isn’t infatuated with the sour spectacle of macho cruelty. R. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bagdad, Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Moreland, Oak Grove, Roseway, St. Johns Twin Cinema & Pub, Tigard, Vancouver.

American Honey

A We first glimpse Star (Sasha

Lane), the charismatic protagonist of Andrea Arnold’s (Fish Tank) coming-of-age drama, knee-deep in a dumpster, salvaging a shrinkwrapped chicken in the Texas heat.

What follows is a nearly three-hour road epic, a tapestry of booze, cornfields and dysfunctional romance that depicts American young adulthood in

CONT. on page 48

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S U PICK Advertise with WWEEK! Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

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CO U R T E SY O F PA R A M O U N T P I C T U R E S

MOVIES

PATINA

Friday, October 28th at 6pm

PATINA is a Portland based Americana band.

Loping ballads of words left unsaid, folk-country duets of both firearms and loving arms, and a galloping Motown-esque tune of hope in the face of broken love and twisted politics are a few thematic highlights from the band’s sophomore release.

BRUNO

Featuring musical guests SEAN CROGHAN (Crackerbash) & MONICA NELSON (The Obituaries)

Saturday, October 29th at 5PM Book Reading & Signing

Celebrate 30 Years Of

HERE COMES EVERYBODY Sunday, October 30th at 6pm

The dynamic Portland pop rock duo Here Comes Everybody turned 30 in 2016, and will release “Everything Is Here: 1986-1992,” a two disc collection of the band’s complete early recordings. HCE will perform a rousing set of new and classic material to celebrate 30 years of rock&roll marriage.

1599 SALE PRICED DVD

MUSIC MILLENNIUM RECOMMENDS

PORTLANDIA SEASON 6 Ease into fall with Portlandia‘s sixth season. Relive the latest exploits of Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein’s cast of characters, including Doug and Claire’s poignant breakup, Lance’s foray into intellectual society, and the terrifying rampage of a tsukemen Noodle Monster! Plus, guest stars The Flaming Lips, Glenn Danzig, Louis C.K., Kevin Cor Corrigan, Zoë Kravitz, and more stop by to experience what Portlandia is all about.

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2016 with such perfect and uncanny verisimilitude it sometimes feels like a documentary. R. Fox Tower.

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week

A The best reason to see Ron Howard’s new feature documentary on the Fab Four’s touring years is to witness the highest-quality versions of some exceptionally rare performances. NR. Academy.

The BFG

B- Like all Roald Dahl books, it’s an

Continuing what he started with 2014’s “Flashbax”, Bruno unveils the second installment in his serial autobiography, “Flashbax 2”. Formerly the bouncer at legendary Punk, Metal & DIY venue Satyricon, Bruno commits his unique story and perspective to paper, telling of his 2+ decades spent in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood.

$

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK

Willamette Week OCTOBER 26, 2016 wweek.com

ecstatic mix of the sentimental and cruel—the story of a young orphan named Sophie abducted by a lovable Big Friendly Giant who catches and releases dreams. PG. Vancouver.

The Birth of a Nation B

Nate Parker’s controversial first film plays a lot like Braveheart set in the antebellum South. R. Hollywood.

Bridget Jones’s Baby C

The third installment of the Bridget Jones franchise is wearily formulaic both in storyline and characterization. R. Living Room Theaters.

A

Captain Fantastic

Viggo Mortensen is mud-splattered, idealistic and good at killing things…again. But this time with six kids in tow. R. Fox Tower.

A-

Certain Womem

Drawing on three short stories

by Maile Meloy, Kelly Reichardt’s piercing slice of 21st-century life follows Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart and a masterful, relatively unknown Lily Gladstone skillfully embodying weary Montanans. Reichardt’s sensitive exploration of working-class anguish, old age and sexual identity makes the film feel both profoundly personal and ripped from the headlines. Even when Certain Women grows emotionally apocalyptic, you can’t turn away. R. Cinema 21.

Deepwater Horizon

C+ How do you make a movie about the worst oil disaster in U.S. history?

If you’re director Peter Berg (Lone Survivor), you condense an environmentally devastating oil spill into an incoherent action blowout starring Mark Wahlberg as Mike Williams, a BP employee who escaped the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster that ultimately killed 11 people. PG-13.

Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Fox Tower, Tigard, Vancouver.

Don’t Breathe

B+ A trio of serial burglars gets trapped in an isolated Detroit home after their mark, a blind vet played with quiet menace by Stephen Lang, turns out to be a brutally efficient badass. R. Eastport, Fox Tower, Vancouver.

Don’t Think Twice

A- The newest feature from come-

dian Mike Birbiglia has already been called Birbiglia’s Annie Hall, and with the help of Keegan-Michael Key and Gillian Jacobs, this movie brings together a group of talent on the verge of superstardom. R. Academy, Laurelhurst.

Finding Dory

B+ For 13 years, the entire world eagerly awaited the return of Ellen DeGeneres as the forgetful Dory.

There’s tears to fill a tide pool, wit to keep adults amused, and laughs for any audience with a short attention span. PG. Empirical, Vancouver.

Florence Foster Jenkins

B Making fun of terrible singing is cheap and easy, but Florence Foster Jenkins avoids cheap shots. PG-13.

Academy, Laurelhurst.

Ghostbusters

A Paul Feig’s reboot is maximal-

ist. It’s glorious, and if it ruined your childhood, sorry bro. PG-13. Avalon, Laurelhurst, Valley.

The Girl on the Train

Tate Taylor’s adaption of Paula Hawkins’ best-selling novel stars Emily Blunt as Rachel Watson, a divorced alcoholic who fantasizes about her neighbors’ relationship on her daily commute. Things take a turn for the thriller when Watson witnesses an incident in her neighbors’ house and the wife ends up missing. Not screened for critics. R. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, Cinemagic, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Fox Tower, Lloyd, Oak Grove, St. Johns Pub and Theater, Tigard, Vancouver.

Hell or High Water

B+ Was No Country for Old Men

too smart and slow for you? Loved the gunfights and the misanthropic cowboy glamour, but maybe Javier Bardem’s haircut made you uncomfortable? Try Jeff Bridges’ new Western genre vehicle. R. Fox Tower.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

B- If Never Go Back feels like a

curious choice for a sequel title, nothing about the Jack Reacher films really makes sense. Certainly, a mid-50s Tom Cruise seems too little and too late to embody the enormous slab of aggression drifting through Lee Child’s mystery novels—a dullish protagonist quite literally defined by his hulking physical presence—though at least 2012’s franchise launch had sense to interrupt his eterna-glower with scenechewing cameos for a nastily taut revenge yarn. Four years later, the righteous bloodlust of our rootless hero still percolates, but Never Go Back saddles the consummate loner with a love interest/falsely accused former colleague (Cobie Smulders)

plus a teenage girl believed to be his daughter. Edward Zwick (Glory, Defiance) and his longtime script partner Marshall Herskovitz took the reins from writer-director Christopher McQuarrie for this iteration, and the Thirtysomething and My So-Called Life vets linger over the comedic beats once Reacher takes his surrogate family on the lam. Blending fantastical stunts (Reacher can punch through windshields and, perhaps, fly) with off-kilter humor, Never Go Back approximates a brutalist take on the Marvel tropes, which may explain why Cruise continues to embrace this charmless pulp icon—a backdoor chance for the movie star of his era to climb aboard the 21st century’s signature genre. Jack Reacher isn’t the superhero we want, but he may well be the one we deserve. PG-13.

JAY HORTON. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, St. Johns Twin Cinema & Pub, Tigard, Vancouver.

Jason Bourne

A- Director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon deliver on-brand thrills via hand-held footage of riots in Athens and many scenes in which assassins splash cold water on their faces and reflect in a mirror.

PG-13. Academy, Avalon, Joy, Jubitz, Kennedy School, Laurelhurst, Valley, Vancouver.

Keeping Up With the Joneses

B For better or worse, Keeping Up With the Joneses’ poster is the movie—impossibly suave secret agents Jon Hamm & Gal Godot move next door to suburban schlubs Zach Galifianakis & Isla Fisher—infinitely derivative, clumsily constructed and brazenly commercial. But it’s also kinda sweet, drawing down the scope and extending each scene for lovingly etched performances to flesh out the creeping unease of marital doldrums and workplace anomie. PG-13. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.

Kevin Hart: What Now?

Everyone’s favorite pint-sized, astronomically successful standup comedian sold out the 50,000-capacity Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and made a movie about it, because of course he did. Not screened for critics. R. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Vancouver.

Kubo and the Two Strings

A Laika’s late-summer bid for

animation domination is an original story that feels lived in, a kidfocused fable with real stakes, and it’s a high-octane spectacle full of white-knuckle action and terrifying creatures that’s matched every step of the way by heart. PG. Eastport, Empirical.

The Magnificent Seven

Seed: The Untold Story

When an evil industrialist seizes control of a Wild West town, its residents enlist the help of gunslinging mercenaries played by Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and company to save the day. Not screened for critics. PG-13. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Fox Tower, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Tigard, Vancouver.

Snowden

A Man Called Ove

C- Oliver Stone’s biopic about

Hannes Holm adapts Fredrik Backman’s best-selling novel of the same name, in which a shitty old Swedish guy befriends a young family who moves in next door. Zany life lessons are learned all around. Not screened for critics. PG-13. Cinema 21.

Edward Snowden doesn’t offer any insights beyond what you can get from Wikipedia. Stick to 2014’s Citizenfour. R, Fox Tower.

Storks

Hilarity ensues when delivery stork Junior (Andy Samberg) is tasked to deliver an unauthorized baby to a human family. PG. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Milwaukie, Oak Grove,

Masterminds

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Suicide Squad

C- Suicide Squad rushes through an incoherent two hours of superhero mayhem, pureeing everything into a slush of clichés. PG-13.

Avalon, Jubitz, Kennedy School, Valley, Vancouver.

Sully

C- Clint Eastwood’s worst movie since 2011’s J. Edgar, his tale of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s 2009 emergency landing of a commercial jetliner in the Hudson River is weighed down by too many familiar actors and rote dialogue. PG-13.

Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.

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REVIEW COURTESY OF A24

When a work crush ensorcells armored-truck driver David (Zach Galifianakis) into a committing a heist, he stumbles his way into stealing $17 million, is promptly betrayed, and must hide from the cops and a hit man while trying to set up the crooks who set him up. Not screened for critics. PG-13. Bridgeport, City Center, Clackamas, Eastport, Vancouver.

Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.

Portland filmmakers Taggart Siegel and Jon Betz (Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?, The Real Dirt on Farmer John) appear in person to present their new documentary about the history of seeds and the impact of modern agribusiness on the global seed market. NR. Hollywood. 2 pm Sunday, Oct. 30.

B- Tim Burton’s adaptation of Ransom Riggs’ young adult bestseller nearly ignores the dull business of storytelling altogether via expository plot dumps crumpled in between ever more fantastical evocations of ghoulish Victoriana. PG-13. Beaverton Wunderland, Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Hollywood, Lloyd, Milwaukie, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.

Nerve

B+ A bookish girl (Emma Roberts) gets swept up in an online game of truth-or-dare with a mysterious stud (Dave Franco), and the film gets swept up in an EDM-tinged soundtrack, lots of desktop computer screen shares, and visuals that meet somewhere between Tron and Spring Breakers. PG-13. Vancouver.

Ouija: Origin of Evil

You may shake your head incredulously at the idea that a universally panned horror movie based on a goddamned board game got itself a prequel, until you learn that the first Ouija movie made over $100 million on a $5 million budget. Not screened for critics. R. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.

Pete’s Dragon

A Pete’s Dragon deserves the hype.

Effortlessly evoking the triumphant emotions of Disney’s best live-action outings, it also provides a somber examination of the death of innocence. Your kids will cry through the majority of the film, and you probably will too. PG. Academy, Avalon, Kennedy School, Tigard.

Queen of Katwe

B+ The irony of “based on a true story” preceding a live-action Disney film is that the movie to follow will probably feel like a fantasy. But Queen of Katwe’s finishing move is depicting Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi’s rise to a world-class master with levity and without pandering. PG. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Eastport, Fox Tower.

Sausage Party

A- Sometimes, a dick joke is just a

dick joke. But sometimes, a dick joke can be an existential meditation on atheism butting up against organized religion, false gods and politics. R. Laurelhurst.

The Secret Life of Pets

Louis C.K. voices a pampered terrier who gets sucked from his NYC home into a tough gang of pets set on punishing the people who’ve wronged them. PG. Clackamas, Empirical.

mop TopS: Noel and Liam Gallagher.

The Liam in Winter Oasis’ 1996 concerts at Knebworth Castle were always considered monstrous, and they now seem as eerily alien as the Pyramids. A quarter-million people attended, and 10 times that many (about 5 percent of the U.K.) vied desperately for tickets. While Oasis only painted from one small corner of the Beatles’ palette, its early albums just happened to master that most salable aspect—a nuanced swagger effortlessly rendered euphoric and universal—the Knebworth footage offers an unparalleled glimpse of the band as a sweeping social force. Even at the time, guitarist-songwriter Noel and frontman/younger brother Liam Gallagher recognized the concerts probably represented their peak, though they’d continue forward another dozen years.

As with producer Asif Kapadia’s 2015 Oscar-nominated Winehouse documentary Amy, the never-before-seen interviews in Oasis: Supersonic accompany an immersive multimedia mélange intended to convey a meaning beyond strict reportage. But Supersonic’s strict focus on Oasis’ finest hours hews more closely to its director’s 2012 feature Spike Island: a fictionalized, atmospheric coming-of-age tale set during the legendary Stone Roses gig. Put another way, Supersonic resembles a version of Amy that ends well before her death.

Oasis’ sudden ascent alongside the U.K.’s premillennial turn in the global spotlight deserves at least cursory recognition, and the doc’s avoidance of all Britpop contemporaries—Oasis’ era-defining rivalry with Blur an especially glaring omission—could only be justified by the presence of Liam and Noel as executive producers.

Although the filmmakers’ agreement to interview Liam and Noel separately minimizes the overlapping asides and unprovoked assaults, that comparative professionalism comes at the cost of spontaneity and fresh perspective from perhaps the purest incarnation of the songwriter-versus-singer dialectic dividing their genre since time immemorial. Whether or not each yarn’s worth the telling, three times as many assembled stories wouldn’t come close to providing the definitive portrait certain to eventually appear with or without the Gallaghers’ assistance. Future documentarians, please don’t put your films in the hands of a rock-’n’roll band. They’ll throw it all away. JAY HORTON.

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C+ SEE IT: Oasis: Supersonic is rated R. It screens Wednesday only at Cinema 21. 7 pm.

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FARMA

Exit Through the Bureaucratic Overreach THE OLCC SOLVES A PROBLEM THAT DOESN’T EXIST WITH A COSTLY, ENVIRONMENTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE RULE.

BY MIKE B IVIN S

Getting high just got a little more complicated.

On Oct. 1, new rules went into effect for Oregon’s marijuana stores. While most of the talk about these rules is centered on testing and labeling, you might have noticed some products are now required to leave the store in a new, heavy-duty plastic bag.

Here’s the deal: According to an administrative rule, cannabis and cannabis products except for seeds and plants must now be in an Oregon Liquor Control Commission-approved, child-resistant container. The OLCC has a list of approved containers on its website.

Some, like the screw-top containers that look like prescription pill bottles, are familiar. But any extract, concentrate or other product with more than 15 milligrams of THC must be placed in a package that is resealable and child-resistant.

The exit bags resemble the money bags businesses use. The product can’t be removed until the locking mechanism is triggered.

The exit bags provide companies a “workaround,” says OLCC marijuana spokesman Mark Pettinger. Perhaps in a nod to the somewhat complicated nature of the new rules, the OLCC has a website infographic suggesting that budtenders put anything they’re not sure about into an exit bag. And you might get it in an exit bag anyway, because it’s quicker to put an ounce into an envelope and then into an exit bag than it is to put the ounce into several child-proof containers.

While keeping weed away from kids is laudable, the bags are an attempt to solve a problem that doesn’t really exist. Data doesn’t lie: Kids in Oregon aren’t getting poisoned by pot in great numbers, with just 10 such cases involving children under age 6 reported to the Oregon Poison Center in the first quarter of this year. There were only 25 cases in 2015.

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And while the bags are designed to keep kids away from the goodies inside, they can be difficult for the frail to open, especially people suffering from ailments such as arthritis, according to Oregon Grown Gift Shop manager Joe Frackowiak. “ We get all kinds of complaints,” says Frackowiak, adding that since his shop started using the bags in January in anticipation of the new rules, he’s received “complaints from elderly people saying they’ve had to cut the bag open because they couldn’t get the zipper open.”

Frackowiak estimates that his shop uses 300 to 600 bags per month, which also eats into the bottom line. He says Oregon Grown has “absorbed the cost” but might have to raise prices.

The bags also raise environmental concerns.

Frackowiak says customers have refused to make purchases because they did not want their weed product in an exit bag.

Plastics are not progressive. Asked about exitbag-related environmental concerns, the OLCC’s Pettinger mentioned Hi Sierra-brand exit bags as approved and recommended. However, despite the bags’ green claims (“Eco-Responsible,” “Eco Clean Manufacturing,” “Green Packaging”), the bag’s inventor, Mike Greenfield, says they are not recyclable because of the plastics involved in the manufacturing process. This means that unless you save your bags, they could end up in the belly of a whale, or in a landfill for future generations to deal with.

But there is still hope. Caleb Tice, operations manager of Foster Buds and Glisan Buds, believes use of exit bags will eventually decrease as weed manufacturers adjust their packaging to meet requirements.

“I’m happy to do it in the short term,” he says, “knowing that the packages are ultimately going to get to the point where we aren’t going to use them much.”

W W S TA F F

BY N a t e Wa g g o n e r

Ye Olde Portland

My Man Mondale THE GREAT PRESIDENTIAL RALLY THAT ALMOST WAS.

Cat and Girl

BY DR. MITCHELL MILLAR

2220 NW QUIMBY STREET, PORTLAND, OREGON

The last time I supported a presidential candidate was 1984. Our nation had spent the previous four years in a trance, following that Pied Piper Ronald Reagan. I did not know if it was possible to return from as far astray as he had led us, but if I was going to trust anyone, it would be Walter Mondale.

I liked Mondale for too many reasons to count, but chief among them were three. One, his aquiline nose reminded me of the soaring ospreys that are native to our region. Two, he was a progressive who trusted science.

Third, his appropriation of the Wendy’s ad slogan “Where’s the beef?” resonated with me at a time when I was eating a lot of hamburgers.

I had an “Elect Mondale ’84” visor. For a few months, I wore it pretty much every time I went out, hoping to elicit a derisive comment so I could try rationalizing with the heckler. Fellow Oregonian, let’s punt that slicked-up Californian! Let’s put a halt to his dream of systematic nationwide gentrification!

I waited all summer for the Mondale campaign to announce a rally in Portland. Then one day late in September, I opened the calendar section and scanned it as usual. In the corner was a small notice: “Mondale/ Ferraro LIVE at the Oregon Theater.”

I put down the newspaper and dialed the number for Mondale campaign headquarters. A soft-voiced staffer answered. I explained: “I suspect that whoever booked the venue did a minimum of research. The name ‘Oregon Theater’ conjures a certain image. Maybe you’re picturing a small opera house or a neighborhood playhouse. It is not. Actually, it is primarily, well, a pornography theater. I just thought you should be aware of that if you weren’t already. And also, they don’t have much in the way of seating. They have a few comfortable couches, but you have to get there really early if you want one.”

“Can you hold on a moment?” the staffer said. The concern in her voice was noticeable. The line went quiet. Ten minutes later, a different person came on the line and thanked me for the tip. They asked for my phone number, but I don’t think anyone ever called me back.

As the days before the election dwindled, it became clear that Reagan would not only win, he would do so in landslide fashion. Even so, I was looking forward to the rally. I had no illusions about an impassioned speech that would change the complexion of the race, but I thought we had a shot at turning Oregon blue. I also figured it would be a good place to meet like-minded women.

On the day of the rally, I arrived at the Oregon Theater and handed my ticket to the usher. “Where’s the beef?” I chided playfully. I was early enough to claim one of the large, comfortable couches. Some others showed up, but not many. Then, an hour before the rally was supposed to start, the theater manager informed us that the Mondale camp had canceled and was not rescheduling. The Oregon Theater did, however, honor our tickets. It was a huge disappointment to all of us who came.

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“Small Furry Critters”–they’re so cute! anesthesia administered by a small monkey?

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Across 1 Crater’s edge 4 Airer of vintage films 7 Cold-weather phenomenon also known as pogonip 13 “What ___ you afraid of?”

14 Paris’s ___ de la Cit 15 Juliet’s family name 17 Rowboat implement 18 With 20-Across, Rocky Road ripple full of a nutty animal?

20 See 18-Across 22 Super Bowl on Feb.

3, 2019 23 “Homer came up with the drink, but I came up with the idea of charging $6.95 for it” speaker 24 Sang from the hilltops, maybe 28 European sports car marque 32 Love letters?

33 Distinctive historical period 34 Existentialist aquatic animal?

39 “You’re ___ party ...”

40 Tennis’s Bjorn and namesakes (but not

the “Star Trek” aliens, plural-wise) 41 “An idea!”

42 Poker hand that beats three field mice of a kind?

45 Common (and unimaginative) first episode title 47 Empty, as a mathematical set 48 It runs between “This American Life” segments 50 Battery terminal 53 Countless centuries 54 Romance/thriller novelist Hoag 55 With 60-Across,

Down 1 Country in Southeast Asia ...

2 ... and in the Middle East ...

3 ... and in South America 4 Actor central to the movie “Four Rooms” 5 Dry red table wine 6 Nothing other than 7 I, Freudian?

8 GoPro product, briefly 9 Gp. overseeing toxic cleanups 10 Problem for a parker, perhaps 11 Basic skateboarding trick 12 Imaginary surface coinciding with the earth’s sea level 16 Lead-in to light 19 Cagey 21 Nearly twenty-yearold Apple 25 You can’t live without it 26 “And all she wants to ___ dance, dance” (Don Henley lyric) 27 Endo- opposite 28 Classic TV nickname, with “The”

29 Plotting 30 Final purpose 31 “Sounds like a good plan to me” 35 “48 ___” (1982 action-comedy) 36 Fictional account 37 Website with lots and lots of instructions 38 Lab maze runners 40 Hacking tool 43 Drew in 44 “Could you put that in layman’s terms?”

45 Teen’s rental from a menswear store 46 “I’m ___ hurry ...”

49 Examine carefully 50 Craft tapered on both ends 51 Eugene O’Neill’s “___ for the Misbegotten” 52 Animal on Australia’s coat of arms 54 B’way box office purchase 56 August, in Paris 57 11 1/2 wide, e.g.

58 Dwarf planet that dwarfs Pluto 59 License plates 61 “The Jungle Book” snake 62 European designer’s monogram 63 “Popeye” surname

last week’s answers

©2016 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #JONZ803.

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Week of October 27

ARIES (March 21-April 19) I invite you to fantasize about what your four greatgrandmothers and four great-grandfathers may have been doing on November 1, 1930. What? You have no idea how to begin? You don’t even know their names? If that’s the case, I hope you’ll remedy your ignorance. Your ability to create the future you want requires you to learn more about where and whom you came from. Halloween costume suggestion: your most interesting ancestor.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) At any one time, over two million frozen human embryos are stored in tissue banks throughout Europe and North America. When the time is right, their owners retrieve them and bring them to term. That’s the first scenario I invite you to use as a metaphor for your life in the coming weeks. Here’s a second scenario: Scotch whiskey is a potent mind-altering substance. Any particular batch must mature for at least three years, and may be distilled numerous times. There are currently 20 million barrels of the stuff mellowing in Scottish warehouses. And what do these two scenarios have to do with you? It’s time to tap into resources that you’ve been saving in reserve -- that haven’t been ripe or ready until now. Halloween costume suggestions: a woman who’s nine months pregnant; a blooming rose or sunflower; ripe fruit.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) To create a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, a winemaker needs about 700 grapes. Compare this process with rainmaking. When water vapor that’s high in the sky becomes dense enough, it condenses into tiny pearls of liquid called cloud droplets. If the humidity rises even further, a million of these babies might band together to form a single raindrop that falls to earth. And what does this have to do with your life? I suspect that in the coming weeks, you will have both an affinity and a skill for processes that resemble wine-making and rain-making. You’ll need a lot of raw material and energetic effort to produce a relatively small marvel -- but that’s exactly as it should be. Halloween costume suggestion: a raindrop or bottle of wine.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Some Brazilians eat the heads of piranhas in the belief they’re aphrodisiacs. In Zimbabwe, women may make strategic use of baboon urine to enhance their allure.

The scientific name for Colombia’s leaf-cutter ant is hormiga culona, translated as “fat-assed ant.” Ingesting the roasted bodies of these critters is thought to boost sexual desire. Since you’re in a phase when tapping in to your deepest erotic longings will be healthy and educational, you may want to adopt elements of the aforementioned love drugs to create your Halloween costume. Here are other exotic aphrodisiacs from around the world that you might be inspired by: asparagus, green M&Ms, raw oysters, wild orchids, horny goat weed.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Do you know how to repair a broken zipper or patch a hole in your bicycle tire? Are you familiar with the art of caulking a bathtub or creating a successful budget? Can you compose a graceful thank-you note, cook a hearty soup from scratch, or overcome your pride so as to reconcile with an ally after an argument? These are the kinds of tasks I trust you will focus on in the coming weeks. It’s time to be very practical and concrete. Halloween costume suggestion: Mr. or Ms. Fix-It. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) In the film Terminator 2, Arnold Schwarzenegger played a benevolent android who traveled here from the future. As a strong, silent action hero, he didn’t need to say much. In fact, he earned $30,000 for every word he uttered. I’m hoping your speech will pack a comparable punch in the coming days. My reading of the astrological omens suggests that your persuasiveness should be at a peak. You’ll have an exceptional ability to say what you mean and mean what you say. Use this superpower with flair and precision! Halloween costume suggestion: ancient Greek orator Demosthenes; Martin Luther King Jr.; Virginia Woolf; Sojourner Truth; rapper MC Lyte, Winston Churchill.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) It’s the prosperity-building phase of your cycle. Let’s celebrate! Let’s brainstorm! Are there rituals you can create to stimulate the financial lobes of your imagination, thereby expediting your cash flow? Here are a few ideas: 1. Glue a photo of yourself on a $20 bill. 2. Make a wealth shrine in your home. Stock it with symbols of specific thrills you can buy for yourself when you have more money. 3. Halloween costume suggestions: a giant bar of gold, a banker carrying a briefcase full of big bills, Tony Stark, Lady Mary Crawley, Jay Gatsby, Lara Croft, the Yoruban wealth goddess Ajé.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) During this Halloween season, you have cosmic permission to be a bigger, bolder, and extra beguiling version of yourself. I trust you will express your deep beauty with precise brilliance and imagine your future with superb panache and wander wherever the hell you feel like wandering. It’s time to be stronger than your fears and wilder than your trivial sins. Halloween costume suggestion: the superhero version of yourself.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) I won’t offer you the cliché “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Instead, I’ll provide alternatives. How about this, from the video game Portal 2: “When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! Say, ‘I don’t want your damn lemons!’” Or you could try this version, from my friend Barney: “When life gives you lemons, draw faces on them like Tom Hanks did on his volleyball in the movie Cast Away, and engage them in sexy philosophical conversation.” Or consider this Brazilian proverb: “When life gives you lemons, make caipirinhas.” (Caipirinha is Brazil’s national cocktail.) Suggestion: Play around with these themes to create your Halloween costume.

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) All of us are creators and destroyers. It’s fun and healthy to add fresh elements to our lives, but it’s also crucial to dispose of things that hurt and distort us. Even your body is a hotbed of both activities, constantly killing off old cells and generating new ones. But in my understanding, you are now in a phase when there’s far more creation than destruction. Enjoy the exalted buzz! Halloween costume suggestions: a creator god or goddess, like the Greeks’ Gaia or Prometheus; Rainbow-Snake from the Australian Aborigines; Unkulunkulu from the Zulus; or Coyote, Raven, or Spider Grandmother from indigenous North American tribes.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) In 1938, a chef named Ruth Wakefield dreamed up a brilliant invention: chocolate chip cookies. She sold her recipe to the Nestlé company in return for one dollar and a lifetime supply of chocolate. Maybe she was happy with that arrangement, but I think she cheated herself. And so I offer her action as an example of what you should NOT do. During the next ten months, I expect you will come up with many useful innovations and intriguing departures from the way things have always been done. Make sure you get full value in return for your gifts! Halloween costume ideas: Thomas Edison, Marie Curie, Hedy Lamarr, Leonardo da Vinci, Temple Grandin, George Washington Carver, Mark Zuckerberg.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Speaking on behalf of the cosmic powers, I authorize you to escape dull realities and go rambling through the frontier. Feel free to fantasize twice as hard and wild as you normally do. Avoid literalists and realists who think you should be more like them. This is not a time to fuss over exacting details, but rather to soar above the sober nonsense and see as far as you can. You have permission to exult in the joys of wise innocence. Halloween costume suggestions: bohemian poet, mad scientist, carefree genius, brazen explorer.

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HALLOWEEN HAPPY HOUR WITH CLONE-A-WILLY! / THURS, OCT 27 - 7:30 - SHE BOP DIVISION — FREE - RSVP NASTY NAUGHTY NEGOTIATION! / THUR, NOV 17 - 7:30 - $15 SEX & CANNABIS / WED, NOV 30 - 7:30 - $20 PLEASURE, POWER, & PAIN: AN INTRO TO BDSM / THURS, DEC 8 - 7:30 - $20 BJS W/ AJ: A FELLATIO WORKSHOP / SUN, DEC 11 - 7:30 - $20 THE JOYS OF TOYS! / WED, DEC 14 - 7:30 - $15 Workshops can be ASL INTERPRETED upon request

NOW AT TWO LOCATIONS! 3213 SE DIVISION ST AND AT 909 N BEECH ST. PORTLAND SHEBOPTHESHOP.COM

Guitar Lessons

Personalized instruction for over 15yrs. www.portlandguitar-lessons.com 503-546-3137

Comedy Classes

Improv, Standup, Sketch writing.

Now enrolling The Brody Theater, 503-224-2227 www.brodytheater.com

Muay Thai

Self defense & outstanding conditioning. www.nwfighting.com or 503-740-2666

WHERE SINGLES MEET Browse & Reply FREE! 503-299-9911 Use FREE Code 2557, 18+

ARE YOU BURIED IN DEBT?

Tired of creditors harassing you?

I will kick their asses and help you get your financial life back on track Call Christopher Kane, Attorney at Law NOW! A debt relief agency kicking ass for 20 years.

503-380-7822. bankruptcylawpdx.com.

Marijuana Store & More *971-255-1456* 1310 SE 7TH AVE

4911 NE Sandy Blvd. Portland, OR 97213 503-384-WEED (9333)

AA HYDROPONICS

9966 SW Arctic Drive, Beaverton 9220 SE Stark Street, Portland American Agriculture • americanag.com PDX 503-256-2400 BVT 503-641-3500

CASH for INSTRUMENTS Tradeupmusic.com SE - 236-8800 NE -335-8800 SW - Humstrumdrum.com

Top 1% Portland Agent Stephen FitzMaurice, Broker Home Selling Specialist 13+ Years Experience 4.5% Max Commission Premiere Property Group, LLC. 4300 NE Fremont St. 503-714-1111.

RealEstateAgentPDX.com

Community Law Project Non-Profit Law Firm Sliding-Scale ï Payment Plans Bankruptcy ï Debt ï Eviction Call 503-208-4079 www.communitylawproject.org

Eskrima Classes

Personal weapon & street defense www.nwfighting.com or 503-740-2666

HIPPIE GODDESS

Models Wanted. Females 18+. Natural/ Hairy/Hirsute, Fit Bodies.

Hippiegoddess.com. $300.

503-449-5341 Emma

OMMP CARDHOLDERS GET 25% DISCOUNT!

Quick fix synthetic urine now available.

Kratom, Vapes. E-cigs, glass pipes, discount tobacco, detox products, Butane by the case Still Smokin’ Glass and Tobacco 12302 SE Powell 503-762-4219

NORTH WEST HYDROPONIC R&R

We Buy, Sell & Trade New and Used Hydroponic Equipment.

503-747-3624

WWEEKDOTCOM WWEEKDOTCOM WWEEKDOTCOM

SO, YOU GOT A DUI. NOW WHAT?

Get help from an experienced DUI trial lawyer Free Consult./ Vigorous Defense/ Affordable Fees David D. Ghazi, Attorney at Law 333 SW Taylor Street, Suite 300 (503)-224-DUII (3844) david@ddglegal.com

P ORTLANDIA F ORTUNE T ELLERS

Parties ~ Events ~ Private Appts.

PortlandiaFortuneTellers.com

MEDICAL MARIJUANA Card Services Clinic

New Downtown Location!

1501 SW Broadway www.mellowmood.com

4119 SE Hawthorne, Portland ph: 503-235-PIPE (7473)

503 235 1035

503-384-WEED (9333) www.mmcsclinic.com 4911 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland Mon-Sat 9-6

Pizza Delivery

Until 4AM!

www.hammyspizza.com