WILLAMETTE WEEK PORTLAND’S NEWSWEEKLY
“WE’RE NOT JUST BUMS.” P. 10
A QUAINT PORTLAND NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS TO KEEP THE HOUSING CRISIS OUT. PAGE 13 BY RACHEL MONAHAN
BARBARIA NS AT T H E L AU R E L H U R ST G AT E S
WWEEK.COM
VOL 43/34 6. 21 . 2017
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Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
HENRY CROMETT
FINDINGS
PAGE 24
WHAT WE LEARNED FROM READING THIS WEEK’S PAPER VOL. 43, ISSUE 34.
For $84 per night, a dude in Arbor Lodge will let you smoke pot in his house and serve you cake. 11 There is at least one New Seasons cook living in a pickup truck on the streets of Laurelhurst. 13 The third-best cider of the year uses pears planted over 130 years ago. 25
ON THE COVER:
If you got married in Portland in the ’80s, you could’ve hired a kickass Cambodian rock band to play your wedding. 27 Corey Feldman was not happy Dante’s made him open for a burlesque show. 33
The co-founder of Portland’s first weed pop-up came up with the idea while high at Seder. 43
OUR MOST TRAFFICKED STORY ONLINE THIS WEEK:
Jared White of Clinton Street Record & Stereo photographed by Christine Dong.
City officials denied a permit for the Portland Marathon.
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Here’s what readers said about two men fighting for public access to Oswego Lake (“Crooked Lake,” WW, June 14, 2017). Kevin Ferguson, via Facebook: “Can you blame ’em for wanting to keep people out? Look at what happens to Oneonta Gorge or the Clackamas River every year. Maybe if the all the nimrod transplants that claim to love nature didn’t crap all over it.”
one of the largest sources of funding for the state’s Medicaid program. Every year since its inception in 2004, hospitals have supported the provider tax because of Medicaid’s importance to the health of the patients and communities we serve. Jim Mattes Chairman OAHHS Board of Trustees
WW responds: Mattes suggests that WW incorrectly described a contract between Oregon hospitals and their trade association. In f act, the story “How dare describes the contract correctly, statTroy Broders, via Facebook: “I hope people use ing that “for helping administer the Lake Oswego gets a toxic algae bloom Medicaid payments, the hospitals public land pay a for-profit affiliate of Davidson’s and the entire lake has to be drained and/or poisoned. Then all the rich, who aren’t association nearly $6 million a year.” selfish, elitist homeowners can look at Mattes says there is no connection me and my between Davidson’s compensation an empty, muddy lake bottom.” and the contract. WW’s reporting friends!” simply stated that the hospital assoLETTER TO THE EDITOR ciation’s net assets nearly tripled The article entitled “A Rich Vein” (WW, June 14, 2017) asserts that the Oregon Asso- since the contract was signed and Mr. Davidson’s ciation of Hospitals and Health Systems profits to compensation doubled during the same period. the tune of $5.5 million annually from providing services relating to the Medicaid provider tax. CORRECTIONS In fact, a separate affiliate organization, Last week’s Potlander column misstated the Apprise Health Insights, is contracted to do this process by which medical marijuana became in work in a private party arrangement with the Ohio. It was a law passed by state legislators and hospitals that are part of the program. This con- signed by the governor in June 2016. tract with the hospitals does not cost the state A story about access to Oswego Lake (“Crooked Medicaid program a dime. If the hospitals chose Lake,” WW, June 14, 2017) misidentified one of to cancel the contract, there would be no savings the parties to the lawsuit. Local attorney Mark for the state or the Medicaid program. Kramer is also a plaintiff while law professor Also misleading is the inference that hospital Michael Blumm is an adviser to the suit. association CEO Andy Davidson’s compensation WW regrets the errors. is linked to an increase in the Medicaid provider tax program contracts which Apprise Health LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Insights services. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. The Medicaid provider tax brings in $3.2 bil- Submit to: 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. lion in federal matching funds, making hospitals Email: mzusman@wweek.com Eric Hagen, in response: “How dare people use public land who aren’t me and my friends!”
BY MA RT Y SMIT H
Oregon’s Public Employee Retirement System is $22 billion short. Could we restructure PERS under bankruptcy without affecting other state services? —Curious, Furious Taxpayer
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Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
Depends on whom you ask. Some people believe this, or something a lot like it, is the only solution to states’ pension liability woes. Others say even talking about it is to invite a financial apocalypse that, overnight, would reduce our once-proud nation to a smoking ruin. (So, if you’re reading this from an underground bunker while trying to cook a dead weasel over a tire fire: Oops.) To be clear: Under current law, the answer to your question is no. U.S. states may not declare bankruptcy. However (depending on state law), municipalities within a state may file bankruptcy (e.g., Detroit), and recently, there’s been speculation that other intrastate entities—like, say, the Chicago Public Schools—might also count as “municipalities” for this purpose. What’s Chicago got to do with it? Well, while we’ve been fuming at how poorly Oregon is managing her liabilities, most of us haven’t noticed that
almost every other state has been doing as poorly or worse. As recently as 2013, Oregon was ranked fifthbest in the nation at handling this problem. We’ve dropped a few places since then, but we’re still well above average. Pity Illinois, whose unfunded liability tops $111 billion, or Connecticut, whose investments need to return 14 percent a year for the next 30 years just to break even. All told, U.S. states are in hock for somewhere between $1.75 and $5 trillion. Of course, states’ presumed inability to declare bankruptcy is what makes them good credit risks. Once we start whispering about ways to get around that rule, investors get nervous, states’ borrowing costs rise, and the whole problem is made even worse. Myself, I’m planning to die before the shit hits the fan, but you kids have fun! QUESTIONS? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com
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One Kitzhaber Inquiry Ends, Another Resumes
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission on Tuesday announced it will reopen its investigation of complaints against former Gov. John Kitzhaber and former first lady Cylvia Hayes. Oregon ethics laws prohibit public officials from using their positions for private gain. Whether Hayes did so and whether Kitzhaber benefited from her contracts were the subjects of ethics complaints filed against the pair in 2014. Oregon law requires that ethics probes be suspended if there’s a criminal investigation on the same matter. The long-running federal investigation into alleged influence peddling in Kitzhaber’s administration officially ended last week with U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams’ announcement that he would not bring charges against either Kitzhaber or Hayes. The investigation began shortly after a WW cover story in October 2014 reported that Hayes was both serving as an official adviser to Kitzhaber on clean energy and economic development and seeking private consulting contracts on those topics (“First Lady Inc.,” WW, Oct. 8, 2014). Hayes obtained contracts worth more than $225,000. Kitzhaber, 70, the longestserving governor in state history, resigned Feb. 18, 2015. Last week, he blamed the media for his demise. “As I have said from the beginning,” Kitzhaber said June 16, “I did not resign because I was guilty of any wrongdoing, but rather because the media frenzy around these questions kept me from being the effective leader I wanted and needed to be.”
The city of Portland’s new investigation into allegations of violent hazing and mismanagement in the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s maintenance department produced its first result this week. Russ Wilkinson, a PBOT employee, was fired just short of finishing his six-month probationary period after he cooperated in an earlier city investigation (“Little Shop of Hazing,” WW, May 31, 2017). On Monday, Wilkinson got his job back—although not in PBOT but in the Water Bureau. Brendan Finn, chief of staff to Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who oversees PBOT and ordered the investigation reopened in response to WW’s story, confirmed Wilkinson’s hiring. “I’m happy to be back working for the city again,” Wilkinson says.
HERRANZ
Court Official Cleared in ICE Escape
Judicial referee Monica Herranz of the Multnomah County Circuit Court has been cleared of wrongdoing in a state inquiry into the help she offered an undocumented immigrant who eluded arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“The Great Escape,” WW, March 1, 2017). Herranz was not aware the ICE agents outside her courtroom were specifically seeking Didier Pacheco Salazar when she allowed him to exit through a side door of her courtroom. “At no time did [the four ICE agents] have any contact with Judge Herranz or notify anyone that they were in the courthouse to detain Pacheco Salazar,” Barbara Marcille, a court administrator, wrote in her investigative report, as first described in The Oregonian.
NEWS
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEK
Total number of people who were homeless in Multnomah County, including those on the streets, in shelters and in transitional housing 5000
Number of people in shelters vs. number of people sleeping on the streets
4,177
4,655 4,441
1,895
2000
1,591
4,112
1500
4000
1,009
2009
2011
2013
2015
1,668
974
864
1000
3,801 3000
1,752
1,887
1,718
872 500
2017
2009
2011
2013
People in shelters
2015
2017
Homeless people on the street
Camp Stories
46%
CHRISTOPHER ONSTOTT
city’s previous mayor, Charlie Hales, and the policies of some shelters that send people outside during the day. Percentage of homeless people on the streets who reported having been homeless for upward of two years But perhaps the strongest clue is found in other numbers from the new count, conducted the week of Total number of people who were Feb. 22. People sleeping the street Number of people in on shelters vs. number o homeless in Multnomah County, are more likely than ever to have sleeping on the streets including those on the streets, in been homeless for two years or more, shelters in transitional BY and JESSICA POLLARD housing The statistic flies in the face of and more likely to report a disabling and RACHEL MONAHAN 503-243-2122 condition—a category 1,895 that includes1,887 conventional wisdom in Portland, 2000 5000 4,655 1,718 and drug addiction. where homelessness has for two mental illness 2009* 2011 2013 2015 2017 1,591 4,441 WW compiled the data in five Who are you going to believe: the years vexed and infuriated citizens key categories from the past five like no other public policy question. 4,112 latest homeless count or your own 1500 lying eyes? Yet city people and county officials agree homeless counts—and found pat*Included in shelters According to the official tally on some basic facts: More people terns that1,009 support the theory that, 4000 974 released June 19, there’s been a siz- are homeless in Multnomah County even as fewer people sleep outdoors, 864 1000 ge of homeless on the streets who “reported having a disabling condition, which could include health years. problems, able decrease in the number of people than in previous Officials are those who do are in greater distress. hysical disability, cognitive/developmental disability, substance abuse, mental healthofissues, or shelter HIV/AIDS” finding for more of those sleeping each night on the streets 872 Multnomah County since 2015, the people than ever before. Yet home- Note: In 2015, Multnomah County 500 last time there was an official count. lessness is more visible. changed its methodology for determin3000 2009 2011 2013 2015 20 2009 2013 2017 “This2011 demonstrates slivers2015 of Local leaders point to several rea- ing whom it counted as homeless; that People in shelters Homeless people on the stree hope,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler sons for this—including a loosening same year, the count also began includsays, “or at least some progress.” of rules against tent camping by the ing the city of Gresham.
36%
46%
LOCAL OFFICIALS TELL A MIND-BOGGLING TALE: THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE SLEEPING ON LOCAL STREETS IS ACTUALLY GOING DOWN.
4,177
27%
55%
3,801
46%
55%
2009
2011
64%
59%
72%
2013 people on the streets2015 2017 Percentage of homeless who reported having been homeless for upward of two years
46%
46%
36%
27%
55%
2009*
2011
2013
2015
2017
*Included people in shelters
Percentage of homeless on the streets who “reported having a disabling condition, which could include health problems, a physical disability, cognitive/developmental disability, substance abuse, mental health issues, or HIV/AIDS”
46%
55%
64%
2009
2011
2013
59% 2015
72% 2017
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C O U R T E S Y O F FAW N L E N G V E N I S
NEWS “IT’S BEYOND RARE. I DON’T RECALL A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT POSTING BAIL BEFORE, AND IT’S EXTREMELY UNUSUAL TO POST $100,000.” —Edward Jones, Multnomah County chief criminal judge
BIRTHDAY GIRL: Fallon Smart celebrates her 15th birthday. Last August, she was killed by a car driven by Abdulrahman Noorah (below).
Hit and Still Running
THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT POSTED AN ASTRONOMICAL BAIL FOR AN ACCUSED KILLER. HE FLED ANYWAY—JUST AS AN OFFICIAL PREDICTED. BY NIG E L JAQ UI SS
njaquiss@wweek.com
Last week, Abdulrahman Noorah, a young Saudi national facing first-degree manslaughter charges for a 2016 hitand-run that killed a teenage girl in Southeast Portland, slipped off his ankle bracelet and fled. Noorah, 21, was awaiting trial on charges that he struck and killed Fallon Smart, 15, last August while allegedly speeding on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard. “It broke our hearts again,” says Shane Smart, Fallon’s uncle. “There’s no question whether he did the crime—for him to have escaped really pisses us off.” Noorah’s escape was remarkable, and made headlines across Oregon. But to one expert, it was no surprise at all. A confidential document obtained by WW shows that the Multnomah County sheriff’s deputy responsible for evaluating Noorah after his arrest considered him a strong flight risk. “[The sheriff ’s office] recommends that the defendant, Abdulrahman Noorah, remain in custody pending the outcome of his criminal case,” wrote Deputy Kari Kolberg of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Close Street Supervision unit in a seven-page assessment dated Aug. 31, 2016. “This decision is based on the protection of the community, the nature of the charges, a lack of ties/ stability in the community and potential flight risk.” Yet local authorities had no power to keep Noorah from running—because of Oregon bail laws and the involvement of a foreign government. On Aug. 19, police arrested Noorah at Hawthorne and Southeast 43rd Avenue, where his vehicle allegedly struck Smart. (He is accused of driving away after hitting her, and
then returning to the scene.) Noorah, who has been in Oregon since 2014, is a student at Portland Community College. After his arrest, he asked for a court-appointed attorney, claiming poverty. But the Saudi Arabian consulate soon hired two experienced criminal defense lawyers, Ginger Mooney and David McDonald, to represent him. (Both lawyers declined to comment.) Initial bail was set at $280,000—well beyond the reach of a student living on what documents say was a $1,850-a-month stipend. Then, when a grand jury indicted Noorah, elevating the charge against him to first-degree manslaughter, Judge Cheryl Albrecht raised his bail to $1 million. Part of the rationale was Kolberg’s report declaring Noorah a flight risk. “We were adamantly opposed to his release,” says Christopher Larsen, an attorney representing Fallon Smart’s mother. In Oregon, the only crimes for which a judge may deny bail are murder and treason. (Manslaughter is a lesser charge than murder.) But a judge may still set a high bail amount, and Albrecht set it at $1 million to make it unlikely Noorah would be released. Little did Albrecht know the Saudi government would soon get involved. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regularly posts bail for its citizens arrested in the U.S. In Utah, for instance, the Saudi consulate posted $100,000 bail for a Saudi national accused of rape in 2015 (he also fled but was later caught and convicted). The Saudis posted a $2 million bail in 2013 in Missouri for a Saudi student who was accused of murdering a bar owner (the charges were dropped). In
California, in 2013, a Saudi princess was accused of human trafficking; the government covered her $5 million bail (charges in that case were also dropped). On Sept. 11, 2016, which would have been Fallon Smart’s 16th birthday, the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles posted a $100,000 bond for Noorah. (In Oregon, defendants may be released when they post 10 percent of the bail amount. Should they flee, whoever posted bail may forfeit the deposit and be on the hook for the full amount.) Edward Jones, the chief criminal judge in Multnomah County Circuit Court, says he can’t recall a similar occurrence. “It’s beyond rare,” says Jones, who’s been on the bench for 18 years and practiced criminal law before that. “I don’t recall a foreign government posting bail here before, and it’s extremely unusual for anybody to post $100,000 bail.” Officials at the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles did not respond to WW’s calls seeking comment. It is unclear whether the kingdom’s posting bail for Noorah was standard practice. His parents do not appear to be influential: His mother is a kindergarten teacher, according to Deputy Kolberg’s report, and his father owns a trailer business. A Saudi consular official Kolberg interviewed at the time said the nation’s officials “do not believe Noorah is a flight risk and will be in contact with him ‘all the time.’” As a condition of his release, Noorah turned his Saudi passport over to federal authorities and agreed to remain at home and wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. But those restrictions didn’t address another of Deputy Kolberg’s warnings about releasing Noorah. “All three of the defendant’s passengers on the afternoon of this incident reside in the home [where Noorah was living],” Kolberg wrote. “Release conditions prohibit any contact with state’s witnesses. These witnesses are the defendant’s primary support system here locally.” Noorah’s case proceeded slowly. In pretrial motions, Noorah’s defense team challenged the video and physical evidence presented by the prosecution and sought to get Noorah’s statements to police thrown out on the basis that he doesn’t speak English well or understand how the U.S. legal system works. “The record demonstrates that Mr. Noorah did not understand the constitutional rights he was waiving when he responded to interrogation by police,” wrote Mooney, one of his defense attorneys, in a May 31 motion. Shawn Overstreet, the deputy district attorney handling the case, says he thinks Noorah became nervous after a series of plea negotiations failed. Noorah’s trial was scheduled for later this month, and Overstreet says he thinks Noorah simply panicked at the prospect of a long prison sentence. The mandatory minimum sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 10 years. Noorah faced possibly even more time for charges that he failed to stop immediately, drove recklessly, and recklessly endangered others. “That’s frankly why I think he took off,” Overstreet says. “It’s getting to be time to go to prison. Either he was going to take a plea or we were going to trial June 26.” Shane Smart says after all the breaks Noorah received, it’s unfair the victim’s family now has to wonder if he’ll ever be caught. “I can’t believe that he ran,” Smart says. “He took a life. There’s got to be some sort of justice for Fallon.” Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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NEWS
DOWN AND OUT IN PORTLAND, OREGON @thacherschmid KEVIN J. SALISBURY
BY THACHER SCHMID
BIKE WORK: Dignity Village resident Scott Layman (left) works as a flagger at Thursday Night Motocross at Portland International Raceway (right).
Why don’t homeless people just get jobs? The refrain of “Get a job!” is as old as poverty and panhandling. But one of the hard truths of homelessness is that many people who qualify as homeless work hard and still can’t afford rent. There’s Shorty, camping along the I-205 bicycle path, who last month showed a reporter a cellphone image of his 2016 income, from Quest Staffing and two office furniture stores. “I only made $14,138 last year,” Shorty says. There’s Jerry Vermillion in Slabtown, who works at the Astro gas station on Northwest 21st Avenue while sleeping on the streets nearby. And there are Marne and Heather B., also living along the I-205 path, housekeepers at a local motel. “I work full time,” Marne, 44, says. “I worked 10½ hours yesterday.” “We’re not just bums,” Heather B. added. “We work our asses off.” Statistics on homeless people who work are elusive. “Unfortunately, we [do] not have data for people who are working but homeless,” says Andrea Fogue, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Employment Department. But a few numbers do exist. In Dignity Village, Portland’s oldest organized homeless camp, in deep Northeast Portland, about 20 of the 53 village residents have a job, spokesman Rick Proudfoot says. That figure doesn’t include homeless people who work part time. People like Scott Layman, Niki Booze and Heather Hill, who work a job that would scare the piss out of most people. It’s a Thursday night in North Portland, and motorcycles are buzzing across dirt hills in a race for cash prizes. A rider wipes out in the third race, in a deep gully going into a turn. Few spectators or other riders notice, but a “flagger” immediately runs onto the dirt path and starts waving a large yellow flag to redirect the others. The job of flagging isn’t for everyone. It’s loud and dirty and can be dangerous. For Layman, Booze and Hill, though, it’s just another shift of Thursday Night Motocross at Portland International Raceway. “We’ve all danced with [the motorcyclists] at one point or another,” Hill says. “Niki got hit once.” 10
Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
Dignity Village residents have worked the gig for 15 years, according to Rick Wylder, a former pro rider who co-sponsors TNMX. “Talk about loyalty,” Wylder says. “Those guys are here rain or shine. They’re always the first ones here, and the last to leave.” Wylder says word about the crew has leaked to other motocross tracks in the area. “They’re all trying to recruit our guys,” he says. Layman, 54, grew up riding motocross as a youth near Madras. His eyes shine when he talks about flagging, even though he once broke his ankle on the job. “Somebody’s got to jump out and protect the kids when they’re down,” he says. Layman and other flaggers typically get paid $35 for a TNMX shift. It’s not much, but it’s part of his savings goal: to purchase a home in a motor park. The irregular pay of the “gig” economy, combined with the challenges inherent to houselessness, can make getting back a Herculean effort. “I feel like [work] is the most misunderstood aspect of homelessness,” says Shari Dunn, executive director of Dress for Success Oregon, a nonprofit that helps disadvantaged women with professional attire, networking and skills. “There are many homeless people who are working, but there are all these barriers to employment, and it makes it hard to keep that job.” Marne, living along the I-205 trail, says she earns $111 a day housekeeping, but June 14 she called her boss and begged off because her campsite was being swept by the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. Her boss knows she’s homeless, she says, and Marne doesn’t expect to lose her job. Still, she says, not being able to shower and being awakened “all night” are hardly a recipe for success. “The hardest part,” she says, “is being afraid every day that I’ll have no place to come back to.” Down and Out in Portland, Oregon is a weekly column that answers the city’s most pressing questions about homelessness by taking them to the people who know the issue best: those living on the streets. Look for a new installment weekly throughout the summer.
HENRY CROMETT
NEWS
“IF THEY HAVE POT, THEY CAN SMOKE IT ANYWHERE IN THE HOUSE THEY WANT.” —John Mealy
NICE DREAMS: A night at an Arbor Lodge home available on Airbnb comes with a container of cannabis and a corncob pipe (above). John Mealy has been renting out rooms to weed tourists for three years (below).
Smoke-Filled Rooms AS CANNABIS TOURISTS FLOCK TO PORTLAND, THEY HAVE FEW PLACES TO LEGALLY SMOKE UP. WE STAYED IN ONE OF THOSE RARE, WEED-FRIENDLY ROOMS. eherron@wweek.com
John Mealy has something rare that lots of people want: a legal place to smoke weed. “People come from all over—Nepal, Romania, Australia,” he says, standing on the porch of his North Portland home. “If they have pot, they can smoke it anywhere in the house they want.” For three years, Mealy has been renting out two rooms of his baby blue Arbor Lodge home on the website Airbnb. He’s part of a burgeoning “bud and breakfast” industry that’s taken up a sliver of Portland’s short-term rental market—more than 25 rentals now allow pot smoking either in the guest room or elsewhere on the property. Mealy didn’t break into the cannabis tourism sector because he saw dollar signs. He and his partner, Katy, liked to smoke pot, and they needed renters who weren’t, in his words, “deadbeats.” But the service Mealy provides is rare—and he won’t face new competition anytime soon. The future of cannabis tourism in Oregon took a hit June 6, when a bill that would have made marijuana lounges legal died. Senate Bill 307 was the proposed solution to a conundrum for tourists visiting legally green Oregon: You can buy the pot, but there are few places you’re allowed to smoke it. “We have a lot of people come in thinking Portland is like Amsterdam,” says Sean Wilson, owner of the Northeast Portland marijuana dispensary Ascend. “They think they can just go to a coffee shop and smoke, and we have to tell them no, that’s not the case.” Amsterdam, of course, is known for its open attitude to marijuana consumption. Some U.S. cities are starting to follow suit. Denver approved an initiative last November that allows for social marijuana consumption in designated areas, like clubs or lounges. Las Vegas passed a similar bill in April. Current Oregon law states that adults over 21 can use recreational marijuana at home or on private property, but not in public. Those marijuana products include edibles and extracts. While eating a brownie in public is much less conspicuous than lighting a joint, Wilson points out that cannabiscurious tourists are more prone to buy pre-rolled joints
for price and comfort reasons. SB 307 would have given the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, the agency that regulates the marijuana industry, the authority to issue licenses for cannabis lounges and events. More than 15 organizations and individuals supported the bill—including Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly. HENRY CROMETT
BY E L I S E H E R R O N
In a letter to lawmakers, Wheeler and Eudaly pointed out the bill would encourage people to visit Oregon. “The city appreciates the need to balance the business interests of the cannabis industry, the needs of cannabis consumers, and the safety and livability issues that affect Oregonians and Oregon’s visitors,” the letter read, “and the city of Portland believes that balance is appropriately struck with SB 307.” But anti-smoking forces from medical groups won the day. “The burden should be on the marijuana industry to
demonstrate why marijuana smoke is vastly different from tobacco smoke in terms of public health and safety,” the Oregon Nurses Association wrote in its letter of opposition to the bill. Because opponents of SB 307 won, there are still few options for places to legally smoke weed in Portland. Portland’s Jupiter Hotel does offer a “420 Package”: a room with a “Munchie Kit,” an “Everything but the Weed Kit” and other cannabis-related swag included. But there is a significant caveat: You may not actually smoke in your room. “Smoking of marijuana can be odorous and lingering,” says hotel spokesman Al Munguia. “At this point, we don’t find designated smoking rooms a feasible option for many reasons.” The Portland Police Bureau takes a notably hands-off approach to cannabis enforcement. “We do little to no marijuana enforcement and haven’t for many, many years,” bureau spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson says. Tourists caught smoking marijuana in a city park could expect, “at most, a ticket.” Although SB 307 failed to get enough votes this session, members of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Marijuana are still pushing to make social, public marijuana consumption legal. “If we can’t get something across the finish line this year, I hope we can revisit the issue in 2018,” says Rep. Ann Lininger (D-Lake Oswego), a committee co-chairwoman. “If we want to have a cannabis tourism sector like our wine tourism sector, it makes sense to give people a safe and legal place to consume.” In the meantime, there are weed-friendly short-term rentals. At least 20 people list cannabis-friendly Portland rentals on Airbnb. Another website, Bud and Breakfast, markets rooms that are open to weed smokers—including a renovated camper van and a Columbia River houseboat. All the Bud and Breakfast rentals allow smoking on the property. Five let you smoke in your room. The rooms Mealy rents on Airbnb are advertised as “Romancing the Stoned.” They start at $84 a night, tax included, and they’re usually booked up all summer. This week, we stayed in one. The rentals are, to put it lightly, very cannabis-friendly. Guests get a “stoner survival kit” when they check in, with snacks, lighters, a gimmicky corncob pipe and a tiny pop-top container of weed. Several cats roam the house. Mealy is a quiet and hospitable host, checking in to offer pineapple upside-down cake and homemade pot brownies from time to time. Mealy recalls fond memories of international travelers bringing gifts, like kimonos and teapots, for him and Katy. But the best part of renting out “420 rooms”? Mealy is blunt: “The money is the best.” Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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JUNE 24–25
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! OOF FANT R E ASTIC ROOMS UNDER ON
CHRISTINE DONG
BA R BA R I A N S AT T H E L AU R E L H U R ST G AT E S A QUAINT PORTLAND NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHTS TO KEEP THE HOUSING CRISIS OUT.
BY RAC H EL MON A HA N
rmonahan@wweek.com
On the leafy streets of the Laurelhurst neighborhood, the natives are very, very restless. At the end of last month, residents of Laurelhurst turned out in record numbers to vote in their neighborhood association election for one reason: to get protection from developers. The winning candidates pledged to bypass City Hall and ask the National Park Service to declare much of the 425-acre eastside neighborhood a historic site. Laurelhurst would be the third Portland neighborhood to request such a designation within a year. (Eastmoreland and Peacock Lane have already filed requests, which have not yet been granted.) Getting a historic designation means that demolition permits would be much more difficult to obtain for old houses, and the neighborhood would probably get a say in designs for new houses. Conversations with a number of residents make clear they have no interest in teardowns or gaudy McMansions or new apartment buildings for renters. “Laurelhurst is unique. Every house is unique,” says John Liu, who bought his 1911 Portland foursquare in 2006. “If we can’t stop redevelopment, this piece of Portland history will basically go away.” Laurelhurst is one of many central eastside Portland neighborhoods where housing values have soared since the recession, and where developers are snatching up scarce vacant lots and a few modest homes they can demolish and replace. The average home price here is now $750,000—and one house sold this month for $1.6 million.
By seeking to make the neighborhood a historic district, Laurelhurst residents are taking aim at what they see as the neighborhood’s greatest enemy: a real estate developer with a backhoe, bent on tearing down 100-year-old houses to replace them with apartments, a duplex or a huge new house. “The whole street—it will look like Beaverton by the time they’re done,” says John Deodato, a longtime Laurelhurst homeowner who says he gets 20 letters a month from developers seeking to buy his home. “The city won’t do anything about it unless we do.” But Laurelhurst’s effort may be for naught: The state Legislature is currently considering a bill that would deny neighborhoods the right to use historic designations to block housing developments. Laurelhurst is a progressive Portland neighborhood, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 14 to 1, Bernie Sanders won 46 percent of the vote last spring, and where, in theory, residents share values that are part of the Oregon liberal DNA: smart land-use planning and dense neighborhoods. Yet Laurelhurst’s biggest opponents are those who share the same politics but think that neighbors are being selfish. “We are facing a housing shortage with dire consequences,” Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) said last month, “and frankly I am disappointed that this bill has run into some of the same old NIMBYism that helped create this crisis.” CONT. on page 14
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Critics charge that by trying to save Laurelhurst from the wrecking ball, its residents are in fact erecting a wall to keep out newcomers, renters and people of modest means—making Laurelhurst an oasis of money in the midst of a housing shortage. Former Metro Councilor Robert Liberty, who once headed 1000 Friends of Oregon, perhaps the state’s leading land-use advocate, says Laurelhurst’s agenda is contrary to that of progressive politics. “The consequence [of seeking a historic designation] is pretty clear: It isolates those neighborhoods from shared responsibilities to be a more welcoming community and to accommodate the housing that’s needed,” Liberty says. Whoever wins the fight for Laurelhurst, this much is clear: Your neighborhood may soon be next.
THOMAS TEAL
THE LAURELHURST NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKS AS if it’s in the middle of an election year. Nearly every block is littered with yard signs. Some read “Love Wins”—an anti-Trump, protolerance slogan—or “Black Lives Matter.” But the most common sign says, “Laurelhurst: Historic Character, Progressive Vision.” These are historic designation campaign signs. Last month, Scott Pratt won the presidency of the Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association while warning of an impending dystopia. “The Laurelhurst of the future,” he said in a campaign video, “will feature towering multifamily units on every block, fewer small, more affordable historic homes, fewer mature trees, and increased congestion on streets and in schools.” Pratt, 61, is trim man with a mop of white hair, who most days still bikes to work downtown, where he has a small private law practice. For years, he volunteered as chairman of the board of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. He fidgets as he talks sitting on the patio of the modest, periwinkle blue home that his wife bought in 1988 for $75,000. Pratt argues historic preservation isn’t really at odds with addressing Portland’s housing costs. In his view,
stopping demolitions keeps small homes available for less wealthy buyers. Pratt says he could support more density if it didn’t change the neighborhood’s look. “I’m not saying we can’t absorb some more density,” he says, “but every neighborhood should not be equally dense. You don’t get diversity if you make everything look alike.” Pratt warns that if Laurelhurst isn’t allowed to decide what gets developed within its boundaries, the neighborhood will indeed become cheaper eventually—because it will become hideous. “Nobody will want to live here,” he says. “It could lead to a place where people who own the [houses] want to move out and turn them into rentals. They’ll be more affordable. They’ll have more problems at the same time.” The problem that Laurelhurst residents say they face is a relatively new one. The neighborhood hasn’t changed much in a century. Since 1909, when developers bought more than 300 acres of an old dairy farm for $2 million and divided them into lots, Laurelhurst has been a relatively wealthy eastside neighborhood— one of the few dedicated exclusively to TINA KOTEK single-family houses, and which has never allowed even modest “garden apartment” complexes. But last June, the city Planning Bureau suggested changing the zoning code for Laurelhurst (and most of the inner eastside and parts of the westside) to promote more density through a “residential infill plan,” which would allow duplexes on city lots now zoned for singlefamily homes. (Single-family lots account for more than 70 percent of the city’s residential land.) On Dec. 13, the City Council voted to endorse RIP, as it is called, and the Planning Commission is now writing the code and drawing a map for where it would apply. A vote for approval is expected next year. City planners say they expect to see RIP lead to the construction of 4,500 new housing units citywide by allowing duplexes and triplexes—though few in Laurelhurst. In that neighborhood, residents fear RIP would cause demolition numbers to rise.
BOXED IN: “The developers are actually building like crazy,” says Laurelhurst resident John Liu. “The problem is, they’re not building anything affordable, because they don’t want to.”
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NINO ORTIZ
“There’s two things Oregonians hate: density and sprawl.” Demolitions are reviled in Portland for many reasons: The noise is irritating, the environmental hazards such as lead and asbestos are alarming, and the prospect of a McMansion or two ugly modern duplexes next door is infuriating. And residents view historic designation as a way to block them. “We have an ace card to play that almost no other neighborhoods have,” says Mike Parrott, a Laurelhurst resident, in the historic district’s promotional materials. “It will add one more barrier against my street becoming filled with duplexes and my corner lots becoming triplexes.” NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION ELECTIONS are usually sleepy affairs. This year’s election in Laurelhurst on May 30 was anything but. The association, which typically organizes neighborhood picnics and garage sales, and tends to the historic stone gates of Laurelhurst, has a dozen board members who come up for election every year. Almost without exception, incumbents have no opponents. This year, the slate of candidates running on a historic district platform ran against a nearly full slate of opponents, and it got ugly. An ally of the pro-historic group bought up website domain names—KeepLaurelhurstFree.com and LaurelhurstForward.com—that the anti-historic group might want and used them to direct visitors to the pro-historic site, HistoricLaurelhurst.com. The other side threatened to sue. The anti-historic district slate also accused opponents of conducting opposition research on foes—and publishing it on another website. It listed five people’s names and identified their alleged professional connections to development, real estate and contracting. “When people care a lot, there will be missteps,” says Liu. “It really energized people.”
—Jon Chandler
More than 800 people voted in the election—a ONE OF THE MORE INTERESTING DEVELOPrecord for the neighborhood, and more than 10 times MENTS in the battle over Laurelhurst is the strange the number of voters in the previous election. The bedfellows it has created. vote went overwhelmingly for the historic district Jon Chandler and Mary Kyle McCurdy, for example. candidates. Pratt, the pro-historic district candidate Chandler is a profane Santa Claus lookalike with a for president, won just under 80 percent of the vote. sharp sense of humor and a folksy style. Oregon born The new board members say they will seek historic and bred, Chandler, 60, drives an Audi and is executive status, first with the state and then with the National director of the Oregon Home Builders Association. Park Service. The process is likely to be successful— In other words, he’s the point man in Oregon’s the agencies in charge rarely turn down neighbor- Capitol looking out for the interests of developers. hoods that can make it through the laborious process McCurdy, also 60, is Chandler’s foil in most politito show their area contains buildings that are archi- cal fights. The slight, intense policy nerd is deputy tecturally interesting or are early director of 1000 Friends of Oregon, the examples of house styles. storied nonprofit founded after Oregon The designation will make it more Gov. Tom McCall shepherded passage of difficult—perhaps impossible—to the 1973 land-use laws that require citdemolish historic homes. It is also ies to build densely rather than sprawl likely to require design review for into surrounding forest and farmland. new houses built in the neighborMcCurdy and Chandler have battled for hood, which adds to the cost. Both are decades over land-use issues. all but certain to discourage outside But today, Portland’s housing crisis developers. has made allies of the two. Both are supNeighborhood associations porting House Bill 2007, which would have long played a powerful role in strip neighborhoods of the power to veto Portland politics. But the use of hisdemolitions, and force them to accept as JON CHANDLER toric district status to get around the much density as city zoning allows. citywide planning process is a new “The reasons we are involved with this approach. bill has nothing to do with whether the home builders “In the early ’60s, the problem was, how do you are involved with it,” says McCurdy. “The bill increases keep the inner city vibrant?” says Chris Smith, who housing opportunities—diverse housing opportunities served on the Northwest District Association before and affordable housing opportunities—all of those inside joining the Portland Planning and Sustainability our towns and cities, which is part of the land-use deal Commission. “You get to today and some of the neigh- that we as Oregonians have had in place for 40 years.” borhoods want to take what they’ve built and cast it in McCurdy believes what’s happening in Laurelhurst amber.” is a “misuse of historic district designation to prevent The most formidable opposition to their effort change.” comes from Salem. CONT. on page 17
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CHRISTINE DONG
Critics of the bill call 1000 Friends’ and the home builders’ support an unholy alliance. “Gov. McCall would be spinning in his grave to see his beloved 1000 Friends of Oregon organization working sideby-side with the Home Builders Association, buying into the alt-right, fake-news theory of demolition as the cure for affordability,” wrote Tracy Prince, vice president of the Goose Hollow Foothills League, in a May 17 letter to legislators. But the pair see the merit of their alliance as obvious. Chandler says his fight is to get Oregonians to recognize the consequences of their land-use policies, and the sentiment in Laurelhurst is not uncommon. Chandler calls it the “we thought you meant density someplace else” argument. “People are squawking about the implications of their policy choice,” he says. “[Gov. John] Kitzhaber said there’s two things Oregonians hate: density and sprawl.” Kotek, who sponsored HB 2007 with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, says the outcry from neighborhoods is disingenuous. “I’ve heard concerns about preserving neighborhood character,” she said during a recent committee hearing. “But underlying some of these arguments is a desire to make sure that certain neighborhoods—often higher-income neighborhoods—are treated differently than others. Certain neighborhoods, some argue, should be off-limits even though we’re facing a housing crisis. That is not acceptable.” The bill’s prospects aren’t good. Salem insiders say HB 2007 is waiting in line behind other housing legislation, which is in turn bogged down in a session in which Democrats are having trouble passing their agenda. (But the mere threat of the bill has already had an effect: Historic preservationists around the state have asked for a change in state regulations that would more easily allow homes to be divided into up to four apartments.) If the bill doesn’t pass, Portland City Hall would be faced with a new threat: neighborhood associations with the power to override city policy.
HOME SWEET LAURELHURST: Scott Pratt wants to create a historic district in the neighborhood he’s lived in for 30 years.
“I don’t think the solution is that every neighborhood looks the same.” —Scott Pratt
NINO ORTIZ
MAYOR CHARLIE HALES SPENT FOUR YEARS IN CITY Hall waffling whether to make reluctant neighborhoods swallow more housing. He changed his mind on apartments without parking, and failed to pass a half-baked tax on home demolitions. But for all his casting about for solutions to the housing crisis, Hales left the city with a mandate for density. Before leaving office in January, he rushed the RIP concept to the City Council—the proposal that would double the number of homes that can be built on single-family lots in much of the city.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Tents on the sidewalks of Laurelhurst Park are one sign of Portland’s housing crunch.
Making sure the plan is carried out? That’s up to the new mayor, Ted Wheeler. Wheeler ran for office on a platform of creating more housing, more easily, across the city. Fights like the one in Laurelhurst will test his commitment to that campaign pledge. In an interview last week, Wheeler told WW he continues to support increasing density, including in the neighborhoods—Laurelhurst, Eastmoreland and Multnomah Village—most likely to want to fight it off. “We made a decision a long time ago to protect land outside the urban growth boundary,” Wheeler says. “The reality is, if we don’t consider those options, our city will increasingly become more unaffordable than it is today.” But Wheeler has chosen to stay quiet on House Bill 2007, citing city protocols that require unanimous support by the City Council for legislation in Salem. He declined to make an exception for this, and wants to keep the city, not the state, in charge of density and demolition rules. If the Legislature doesn’t pass Kotek’s bill, Wheeler and his colleagues will have to grapple with neighborhood associations wielding new power and a grudge against City Hall. Yet the mayor says he still views the threat of historic districts as “hypothetical.” His colleagues on the City Council are no more eager to head into battle with neighborhood associations. “There is no need to confront neighborhoods on this, at least not yet,” says Commissioner Nick Fish. “This issue should be framed and debated before the city takes a position on a change in state law. The bill in Salem came out of left field.” Both City Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Chloe Eudaly say historic districts and density can co-exist. “Many Portlanders are experiencing shock at the rate of change going on in our city, and historic preservation is one of many legitimate concerns,” says Eudaly. “I don’t believe the goals of historic preservation, and increasing
density and affordability are necessarily mutually exclusive. In fact, our residential infill policy provides existing homeowners with lowimpact opportunities to create more housing through internal divisions, accessory dwelling units, and adaptive reuse.” ON A DRIZZLY MORNING THIS MONTH, a new resident of the Laurelhurst neighborhood was making pancakes. Greg Black, 59, stood over a camp stove along the sidewalk on Southeast Oak Street. Black works as a cook at a New Seasons Market—and lives out of his pickup truck. He makes a decent wage, $12 an hour, but hasn’t been able to afford his own apartment for five years. “I would not be living here,” he says, “if I could find an affordable place.” There’s little hope of Laurelhurst becoming that place. A Craigslist ad posted last week shows a restored attic in this neighborhood renting for $1,000 a month. Yet every neighborhood that adds new apartments is helping to ease the housing shortage, even in other places. So Laurelhurst residents are making a decision about housing for the working poor. They’re saying that other values, like the beauty of a century-old home or a tall tree, shouldn’t be sacrificed to ease the housing shortage. Pratt, the neighborhood association president, knows plenty about homelessness. A couple years ago, he served on the board of social services agency JOIN, which coordinates shelter beds. Pratt acknowledges Portland needs to build more housing. But not too much of it in Laurelhurst. “Everybody says the solution to homelessness is housing,” he says. “I don’t think the solution is that every neighborhood looks the same, and every neighborhood has everything, and your neighborhood [has] no uniqueness anymore.” Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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The Portland Craft Beer Festival opens with extended hours at The Fields Neighborhood Park!
Over 100 locally crafted beers, ciders, and wine will be pouring soon
Friday & Saturday, June 30 & July 1: 12pm-10pm, 21+ ONLY | Sunday, July 2: 12pm-7pm FAMILY DAY 18
Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
Announcing
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GIVE!GUIDE Visit giveguide.org for more details Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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The Bump
Portland Vs. Seattle in Everything BECAUSE SOCCER SHOULD NEVER BE USED TO SETTLE DISPUTES. WW STAF F
Call it a lack of better options, or little-sister syndrome, or just call it what it is: narcissism of petty differences. Whatever way you want to frame it, Portland and Seattle are desperate to have a rivalry. But Seattle has no basketball team, and Portland has no football or baseball. And so we’ve resorted to soccer. When the Timbers and Sounders face off on Sunday, June 25, it’s the only time we actually get to keep score between the two cities. But soccer, unlike other sports, isn’t a good measure of an American city’s worth: There are ties, and all the really good players are in Spain. And so we conducted an impartial battle between the things we each hold dear.
Minor League-Quality Baseball Team
SPACE NEEDLE VS. STAG SIGN
WINNER: THE SPACE NEEDLE It’s cooler than you expect, actually. You can drink at the top!
Oversized Book Shop
Impractical Mass Transit Showpiece
AMAZON.COM VS. POWELL’S BOOKS
MONORAIL VS. THE STREETCAR
WINNER: PICKLES
When’s the last time you met a hot date on Amazon? On second thought, don’t answer.
Whose useless railway is better? The one that needs half as many rails and actually moves faster than someone on foot.
Most Significant Musical Export
Sports Team Owners
’Grammable Tourist Trap
WINNER: PAUL ALLEN
WINNER: PIKE PLACE MARKET
MARINERS VS. PICKLES
C H R I S S TA M M ; J P A R A D I S I ; S H A R O N P A L M E R ; M A X I N E B U I L D E R ; C H A N E L A R R O W ; AT O M I C TA C O ; A L A N S Y LV E S T R E / O P B ;
Iconic, Useless Landmark
The Mariners are having a AAA season, but the hot dogs still cost major-league prices.
NIRVANA VS. EVERCLEAR WINNER: NIRVANA
Kurt Cobain never had an “AM Radio” phase.
WINNER: POWELL’S
PAUL ALLEN VS. PAUL ALLEN
The Paul Allen who won a Super Bowl.
WINNER: MONORAIL!
PIKE PLACE MARKET VS. SATURDAY MARKET The fish fly.
Macklemore vs. Amine
WINNER: AMINÉ If Macklemore got the Grammy, he’d tell you Aminé deserved it more, and then he’d write a “song” about how guilty he felt.
Best Java
Most Prominent Suburb
WINNER: STUMPTOWN
WINNER: BEAVERTON
STARBUCKS VS STUMPTOWN Two words: Unicorn Frappuccino.
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TACOMA VS BEAVERTON
The ‘Tron has very nice food. Tacoma is made of gray crayon.
Public University
THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON VS. PORTLAND STATE
WINNER: THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
They have a mall with a Din Tai Fung right off campus.
WINNER: SEATTLE in a 6-to-5 shootout. This is approximately 10 more goals than we expect this Sunday! GO: Portland Timbers face the Seattle Sounders at Providence Park Sunday, June 25.
Stree t
“I’m visiting from California.”
“Northeast.”
WHERE DO YOU LIVE? OUR FAVORITE LOOKS THIS WEEK. P H OTOS BY CHR ISTIN E DON G
“Northeast, Lloyd District.”
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“Inner Southeast, Divison area.”
“Southeast, out near 87th and Division.”
“We both live in Beaverton.” “Inner Southeast Hawthorne.”
Shandong www.shandongportland.com
“Southeast, Glenfair neighborhood.”
#wweek
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Simple ApproAch
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STARTERS
SARAH GIFFROW
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
SUPREME SLANTS: After an eight-year legal fight, Portland band the Slants won a unanimous 8-0 victory in the U.S. Supreme Court allowing them to trademark their own name. The trademark office had ruled that the Asian-American dance-punk band could not trademark their name because it was disparaging—to themselves. (“Slant” is a slur against people of Asian descent.) The Slants lost a long series of legal battles until 2015, when they won a surprise victory in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, precipitating their trip to the high court. Slants bassist Simon Tam calls the Supreme Court victory a win for people of color, telling WW that although the Washington Redskins are a famous example, the ban on “disparagement” has disproportionately been used against oppressed groups, citing Seattle rock band Thunderpussy and San Francisco activist group Dykes on Bikes. “It’s become a popular notion you can shut other people down because you disagree with them,” Tam says. “The government should not be allowed to make that call.” KIMYE SLAPPED BY TRIMET: TriMet has forced Kanye West and Kim Kardashian to stop selling clothing bearing what appears to be the agency’s old logo. As first reported by KGW, the tri-arrow design—which TriMet phased out in 2002 but still adorns 175 active buses and MAX trains—was appropriated on a sweater in the celebrity couple’s Kids Supply line. According to KGW, the company has complied with TriMet’s requests to stop using the logo, and representatives for West said he had no idea he lifted the logo from TriMet. The sweatshirt is currently listed as “sold out” on the Kids Supply site. Old Portland iconography is apparently hot in the fashion world right now: A few weeks ago, Russell Westbrook appeared onstage at a Lil Wayne concert rocking a shirt for classic Portland punk band Dead Moon. MEMORY FADES: Thara Memory, the Grammy-winning Portland jazz musician and educator, died on June 17. He was 68 years old. A fixture of the Portland jazz scene, Memory came to Portland from Florida in the 1970s. Though known as a virtuoso trumpet player, he achieved his greatest fame as a mentor. He taught at Wilson High School and established the American Music Program at King Elementary School. In 2013, he won a Grammy for his arrangement of “City of Roses,” which appeared on an album by his bestknown protege, Esperanza Spalding. In February, Memory was indicted on charges of third-degree sexual abuse involving four alleged female victims, two of whom were under the age of 18. The alleged crimes had not yet been adjudicated at the time of his death. While a cause of death has not been announced, Memory had been in failing health for several years, suffering from diabetes and kidney problems. BIG WIN: Starting July 3, Oregon drivers will be given the opportunity to mark their gender as “not specified” on their license, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced last week. Instead of an F or an M, an X will appear under Sex. Oregon will be the first state to give drivers a non-binary option, a major civil-rights win for those who don’t identify as either male or female. The announcement comes a year after a landmark case in which a judge ruled a Portland person could legally identify as non-binary, making Jamie Shupe the country’s first legally genderless person on state identification. 22
Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Last time Australia’s poet laureate of sleaze played the Schnitz, he spat on the stage, crawled across audience members’ heads and defiled Portland’s classiest venue with songs of murder and degradation. He must’ve had fun, because he’s bringing his Bad Seeds back for the second time in three years, touring in support of last year’s sparse, harrowing Skeleton Tree. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335, portland5.com/arleneschnitzer-concert-hall. 8 pm. $59.50-$99.50. All ages.
Seu Jorge Eschewing the usual mix of Huey Lewis and random Marley relatives, this year's Oregon Zoo Concert Series is actually kind of…cool. It starts tonight with the return of Brazilian singer-songwriter and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou star Seu Jorge, reprising his David Bowie tribute that sold out the Schnitz last year. Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Road, 503-226-1561, zooconcerts.com. 7 pm. $35-$200. All ages.
THURSDAY, JUNE 22
Jay & Silent Bob Get Old To make their weekly podcast work, Clerks mastermind Kevin Smith breaks character from the traditionally taciturn Silent Bob to play foil to Jason Mewes' incessant shit-talking, yielding hilarious results. Snoochie boochies! Helium Comedy Club, 1 5 1 0 S E 9 t h Av e . , 888-643-8669, portland.heliumcomedy. com. 9:45 pm. $30. 21+
FRIDAY, JUNE 23
26 Miles Road trips are a pretty standard self-discovery plot. But in the hands of playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes, it’s far from cliche. 26 Miles tells the story of Beatriz and her estranged daughter embarking on a spontaneous drive to the West Coast, and it is never anything less than poetic. Profile Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 503-242-0080, profiletheatre.org. 7:30 pm through Saturday; 2 pm on Sunday. $20-$38.
Get Busy
Portland International Beerfest From imported German helles to Japanese espresso stouts, 200 of the world's rarest beers complete a lengthy journey to the North Park Blocks this weekend, in an event that always ranks among the year's best drinking excursions. Northwest Park Ave. and Everett St. 4-10 pm. Continues noon-10 pm Saturday and noon-7 pm Sunday, June 24-25. $25, includes a glass and 10 drink tickets.
JIMY SOHNS OF THE SHADOWS OF KNIGHT
Nuggets Night Started as something of a lark 10 years ago, the annual Nuggets Night—named after the sanctifi ed box-set collection of one-hit wonders from “the First Psychedelic Era”—has grown into a two-night affair, attracting not just descendents of obscure ‘60s garage rock, but some of the originators as well. This year’s celebration features expert revivalists like the Pandoras and the Woggles, but the guests of honor are Chicago’s the Shadows of Knight, who landed in the Top 40 in 1969 with a strutting cover of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah.” Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., 503-248-4700, startheaterportland.com. 7 pm. $25 per night, $40 weekend pass. 21+. Through June 24. See nuggetsnight.com for complete lineup.
EVENTS WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT
SATURDAY, JUNE 24
Naked Bike Ride Bikes and naked people are two of Portland's defining features. Ride around with your clothes off and enjoy striking views of both your fellow riders and the city— not to mention the sensation of feeling the breeze through your pubic hair. Fernhill Park, 6010 NE 37th Ave., 503-823-2525, pdxwnbr.org. 8 pm. Free. All ages.
JUNE 21-27
Head Cat Between Motorhead tours, the late Lemmy Kilmister would get together with Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom and guitarist Danny B. Harvey to play faithful Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry songs as Head Cat. Now that he’s gone, his bandmates have recruited David Vincent of Morbid Angel to carry on in tribute to one of rock’s true legends and the music he loved. Dante’s, 50 W Burnside St., 866-777-8932, danteslive.com. 9 pm. $17. 21+.
SUNDAY, JUNE 25
The Tempest In the summer, theater season slows down in every way except one—outdoor productions of Shakespeare. Original Practice Shakespeare, one of the city’s most prolific producers of park plays, ends its first week of programming with the Bard’s trippiest play. Kenton Park, 8417 N Brandon Ave., opsfest.org. 1 pm. Free.
Portland Cider Invitational If the Cider Summit is Cider Week's industry show, the Invitational is the nerdfest—a bunch of rare and limited and weirdball ciders from Nat’s, Baird & Dewar, Wildcraft and others, and especially a bunch of ginger, plum or spruce ciders from host Cider Riot. The Timbers-Sounders game will, of course, be on the TV. Cider Riot, 807 NE Couch St., ciderriot.com. 1-8 pm. Starts Saturday.
MONDAY, JUNE 26
!!! Why's everyone creaming themselves over the LCD Soundsystem reunion when !!! (commonly pronounced “Chk Chk Chk”) never went anywhere? Other bands from the early aughts dance-punk wave might've received more critical affection, but none understood the pulse and groove of actual dance music better than these guys. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-231-9663, dougfirlounge.com. 9 pm. $18 advance, $20 day of show. 21+.
TUESDAY, JUNE 27
Notable Women of Portland Most histories of Portland only touch on the dudes who got streets named after them. In Notable Women of Portland Portland, authors Tracy Prince and Zadie Schaffer trace the line from Native Americans like Polly Johnson and Josette Nouette to modern fi gures like Abigail Scott Duniway and Portland’s wealth of female writers, including Beverly Cleary and Jean Auel. Annie Bloom’s Books, 7834 SW Capitol Hwy., 503-246-0053, annieblooms.com. 7-8 pm. Free.
Sous Nami Smackdown You'd be surprised how much of the food you love is made by your favorite restaurants’ sous chefs. Each year, St. Jack invites three of the best right-hand kitchen gals and guys, whose names you don’t know, to face off in an IIron Chef-style smackdown. This time, they’re the sous from Le Pigeon, Cafe Castagna and Beast. St. Jack, 1610 NW 23rd Ave., stjackpdx.com. 9 pm. $15 tickets include one cocktail.
Scout Niblett British-born Portland transplant Scout Niblett isn’t the most prolific singer-songwriter, but she is a damn powerful one. Her latest release, the ultra-personal It’s Up To Emma, came out in 2013, but its aching grunge ballads haven’t gotten any less startling over time. In fact, the moments when she yells like she’s performing an exorcism might be exactly what we need right now. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895, mississippistudios.com. 8 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+. Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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FOOD & DRINK EAT MOBILE HENRY CROMETT
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. By MATTHEW KORFHAGE. Editor: MARTIN CIZMAR. Email: dish@wweek.com. See page 3 for submission instructions.
FRIDAY, JUNE 23 Portland International Beerfest
From imported German helles to Japanese espresso stouts, 200 of the world’s rarest beers complete a lengthy journey to the North Park Blocks this weekend, in an event that always ranks among the year’s best drinking excursions. Northwest Park Ave. and Everett St. 4-10 pm. Continues noon-10 pm Saturday and noon-7 pm Sunday, June 24-25. $25, includes a glass and 10 drink tickets.
SATURDAY, JUNE 24 Portland Cider Invitational
If the Cider Summit is Cider Week’s industry show, the Invitational is the nerdfest—a bunch of rare and limited and weirdball ciders from Nat’s, Baird & Dewar, Wildcraft and others, and especially a bunch of ginger, plum or spruce ciders from host Cider Riot. The TimbersSounders game will, of course, be on the TV. Cider Riot, 807 NE Couch St., ciderriot.com. 1-8 pm. Through June 25.
Oregon Distillers Festival
What a drunk weekend! Edgefield will host over a hundred kinds of booze from over 20 Oregon boozemakers—including the new Oregon single malt from Bull Run, and the new brandy from McMenamins, who makes some of the best brandy in the state. McMenamins Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey St., 503-669-8610, mcmenamins.com. 4 pm. $25-$25 nets 10 tasting tokens.
MONDAY, JUNE 26 Sous Nami Smackdown
Each year, St. Jack invites three of the best sous chefs in the city to face off in an Iron Chef-style smackdown. This time, they’re the sous from Le Pigeon, Cafe Castagna and Beast. St. Jack, 1610 NW 23rd Ave., stjackpdx.com. 9 pm. $15 tickets include one cocktail.
SOUTH-KOREAN FRIED: Chicken and sides at FOMO.
FOMO Makes Fine Southern-Fried Korean Who knew Southern and Korean food were made for each other? If you’d mentioned that idea to me a year ago, I would’ve shrugged. Sure, they both make good use of grills and pickled things. But it seems like a bit of a forced mash-up—maybe even the Brad Paisley featuring LL Cool J’s “Accidental Racist” of fusion cuisine. Then we got Kim Jong Smokehouse, a collaboration between Han Ly Hwang of Kim Jong Grillin’ and BJ Smith, which took Smith’s smoked meats and teamed them with Hwang’s bibimbap to glorious effect. Now it’s Sun Kim’s FOMO Chicken, a new cart at the pod behind Crema at Southeast 28th and Ankeny. FOMO has been around for about a year in pop-up form. In May they went full-time with their own cart serving up Korean fried chicken, katsu and Southern sides. The menu is chicken-centric. I’d advise you to get a half bird ($14, more than enough to feed two), half spicy and half sweet garlic. The pieces, which are cut smaller than an American butcher does by default, are dredged in a Korean blend of corn starch and potato starch. Both sauces are sticky and mildly sweet with a tiny prickle of heat. Both come coated in sesame seeds, adding a little nuttiness and umami to the juicy flesh and sticky sauce. The sides (all $2) are the sort of standards you’d expect from a Southerner like Kim, who is from Atlanta, and all very good. A little bowl of corn is rich and buttery. The pickled daikon is slightly acidic with a nice crunch. The mashed potatoes are some of the best I’ve had in recent memory—red-skin potatoes made rich with a healthy dose of butter and milk. You can get rice ($1) instead. But after you’ve had the spicy Korean chicken with mashed potatoes, it’s hard to go back. MARTIN CIZMAR. GO: FOMO Chicken, 113 SE 28th Ave., 503-308-0258, fomochicken.com. Noon-8 pm daily.
DRANK
Where to eat this week.
3-Way IPA (2017)
1. Han Oak
FORT GEORGE, REUBEN’S BREWS AND GREAT NOTION
511 NE 24th Ave., 971-255-0032, hanoakpdx.com. Sunday and Monday dumpling and noodle nights are more on point than a credit union. $-$$$
2. Marukin
609 SE Ankeny St., A, 503-894-9021, marukinramen. Hello, summer! There’s now cold ramen at Marukin with house shichimi togarashi. $
3. Doe Donuts
b Cakes a r C 5 2 June
8201 SE Powell Blvd., 503-333-4404, doedonuts.com. Portland’s first vegan doughnut shop. $
4. Tienda de Leon
16223 NE Glisan St., 503-255-4356. The beef head barbacoa is outstanding, beefy and rich. $
5. Los Alambres D.F.
Los Alambres D.F., 1134 SE 82nd Ave., 503-213-0085, losalambresdf.weebly.com. Alambre is like a fajita speedball— meats, cheese and peppers served up with a grip of tortillas. $
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Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
Jack Harris was a late and reluctant comer to the hazy IPA trend. But the Fort George brewmaster also has a way of tapping the zeitgeist with his annual 3-Way collaboration IPA. So this year, he brought Portland’s Great Notion and Seattle’s Reuben’s Brews out to Astoria to make a hazy. “When’s the last time you heard somebody super excited about a West Coast IPA?” Harris asks. “We’ve kinda done that style every way we can now.” 3-Way is primarily a packaged beer, and doing a cloudy New England-style IPA required a lot of attention to the logistics. Alberta Street’s Great Notion brought passion to the style, and Fort George made more test batches of this year’s 3-Way than they have any other beer, with Adam Robbings from Reuben’s providing pages of analysis on each one. Fort George has long been proud of their supply chain, but putting a hazy out is what Harris calls “their biggest challenge.” Hazy IPAs are notoriously brittle, so Fort George brews the beer three times a week to keep it fresh, then allocates the cans in small batches to specific accounts to make sure it’s as fresh as possible. So far, so good: The two cans of 3-Way I’ve had have been excellent, with a beautiful golden haze, a soft, satisfying citrus character and a nice bite of hoppiness on the finish. Recommended. MARTIN CIZMAR.
COURTESY OF 1859 CIDERS
FEATURE
seemingly everybody is trying their hands at a perry. It is startlingly pure and bold, with sweet pear flavor tempered and deepened with yeast notes. This perry is like the distilled essence of pear made lightly boozy, a startling shock of flavor that almost seems to contain the granular sugar-crystal texture of pear meat. It promptly won medals in seemingly every contest it entered, but to get it you’ll have to order from Eden Valley’s website: They’re still on the hunt for a distributor.
FINE APPLE WINE: The taster tray at 1859’s Salem taphouse, still the only place you can reliably get 1859’s startlingly excellent ciders.
We Like Them Apples TOP 5 OREGON CIDERS OF 2017 BY MATTHEW KORFHAGE
AND
PARKER HALL
In honor of Oregon Cider Week, which closes out this weekend, we tried hundreds of ciders released in Oregon this year—culminating in an epic tasting of over 30 contenders with a panel of seven tasters this June. These are our five favorite new ciders in Oregon.
CIDER OF THE YEAR:
HUNTER’S MOON (1859 CIDERS, SALEM)
But the rich complexity of Hunter’s Moon comes from a process almost unheard of in American cider: They age it for eight months in eight different tanks, using eight different yeast strains— including three wild ones—and blend the result to get the flavor they want. “Sometimes you get stone fruit, sometimes earthiness, sometimes cinnamon and the rest,” says Patricia. Hunter’s Moon is also a whopping 8 percent ABV, because the Foxes allow it to undergo secondary conversion like many red wines, moving from tart malic acid to soft lactic acid. “ I l i ke t o t h i n k o f i t a s a c l e a n scrumpy,” says Patricia, referring to the old-time farmhouse style of cider. “It’s not just left on your back porch like they used to do. It’s more purposeful.” The result was an extraordinary cider— free of sugar but still full of the feeling of sweetness, a controlled wildness with bracing spice and depth that arises only from flavors of fruit and yeast. Their other ciders—from a balanced and apple-y Batch 13 to a peachy Impeachment named for our nation’s president—are equally singular. But don’t expect to ever get the same batch twice—and sadly, they’ve already blown t h r o u g h l a s t y e a r ’s Hunter’s Moon. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever,” Patricia says. “It was wonderful, wasn’t it? Now we’ll see what the next one’s like.”
Out of a little back-alley cidery that doesn’t even have a sign, Salem’s 1859 is making cider like no one else in Oregon. Hunter’s Moon, our 2017 Cider of the Year, is like a vintaged red wine made of cider fruit. And though it’s made from only a single varietal of tart heirloom winesap apples, from a secret source in Hood River—”I don’t even tell my sister!” laughs 1859’s cofounder Patricia Fox—the dry cider takes on startling complexity, bursting with apple flavor alongside distinct tastes of apricot, clove, cinnamon and good, oldfashioned funk. It’s like down-home Christmas in a glass. “Cider is wine to us,” says Patricia, who started the cidery with her husband Dan in 2016. “It’s an expression of the land.” The Foxes got wine degrees in 2010 after switching careers from environmental science, and they’re putting that to use on wine-like ciders made without added water or sugar. DAN FOX (RIGHT)
2. CIDRE BOUCHÉ (2 TOWNS, CORVALLIS) The best new traditional French-style cider we tasted this year was born in Corvallis. A lush and vibrant blend that’s composed of juice pressed from hard-to-find heirloom bittersweet and bittersharp apples, 2 Towns’ wild-fermented Cidre Bouché comes across your tongue with a perfect accent of oak tannins and sweetness on the finish. It offers a heady, full-apple bouquet rare in dry cider, with Normandy funk on the finish. That depth didn’t come easy. The slight sweetness is from a difficult fermentationstalling technique called keeving, a method 2 Towns employed for its first time ever in this 2015 batch. Information on keeving is so scarce that 14 Oregon cidermakers went to France this year to learn it—including 2 Towns cidermaker Dave Takush. But nearly two years after he began his 15-barrel experiment with keeved cider, Takush tasted the finished product and knew they’d gotten it right. It’s not just the finest French-style cider made in Oregon last year, but some of the finest cider made in Oregon—period. “It felt like, ‘Yes, we did it! We made a traditional French-style cider in America,’” says Takush of that first sip. “There’s not too many people doing that.” 3. PEAR HARD CIDER
(EDEN VALLEY ORCHARDS, MEDFORD) Eden Valley’s perry was a long time coming. The pears they used were planted by the father of the southern Oregon pear industry, Joseph Stewart, in 1885, the first commercial pear trees planted in the region. But though Anne Root started a winery on those historic pear orchards all the way back in 1999, Eden Valley’s 2017 spring release is the first year Root’s daughter, Ashley Campanella, put her winemaking skills to use on all those pear trees to make cider. Well, holy shit—Eden Valley’s is the best perry we’ve had in the state, in a year when
4. SIDRA BRAVO (REVEREND NAT’S, PORTLAND) Reverend Nat’s Spanish-style cider has nothing to do with Spain—and yet, it’s the best we’ve had that wasn’t made in Asturias or the Basque country. In 2015, when Toro Bravo’s John Gorham asked for a Spanish cider for his new Pollo Bravo restaurant (now under new ownership), cidermaker Nat West didn’t try to recreate the traditional techniques used to make famously wild, funky, intense style of cider. He simply didn’t have the materials to do the job: the microflora Spaniards have cultivated over hundreds of years. Instead, he pulled out a secret weapon— ciderkin, a rare and funky cider made by soaking and fermenting pressed apple skins from English and French apples like those used in Cider Riot’s Kingston Black and 1763 ciders. “That skin contact time, plus the fact that it wild-ferments, results in these huge flavors for ciderkin,” West says. When Gorham tasted it, that crazy Band-Aid funk reminded him of Spain. But the flavors in that ciderkin are too intense for most, West says. So he mixed it with his apple-y Newtown Pippin to make a quaff with just enough funk and just enough fruit. It’s still poured at Pollo Bravo, but you can also just wander down to Nat’s taproom north of North Broadway. The bottles, released this May, can be found only there. 5. LULLABY OF LONDON (CIDER RIOT!, PORTLAND)
Lullaby of London is an ingenious solution to a vexing problem: How do you get the beautiful flavor of gin botanicals into cider without overpowering it? The answer? Put beer in the middle. In order to prop up the flavors on a cider they thought was a little boring—a batch of apple juice fermented with Australian wine yeast—the Cider Riot crew threw that cider into three Ransom distillery gin barrels that had also been used to age Gigantic Brewing ’s Oregon Beer Award-winning Pipewrench IPA. They released the result this year for Belmont Station’s month-long anniversary party as Lullaby of London. The Lullaby is a lullaby of gin flavors that could have been boozy and overpowering. The juniper, coriander and hop in the barrel teamed up to provide the bitter character and spice that balance out the sweetness of the initial dessert-apple fruit juice. Lullaby is complex and subdued, tempered by the time the barrels spent soaking in beer. Goldman-Armstrong figures the barrels aren’t done yet. “First these were pinot noir barrels,” says Goldman-Armstrong. “Then they had gin in them, and then beer, and then cider. I feel like it’s my duty to find a sake maker and pass them along.” Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
MUSIC COURTESY OF TONY REMPLE
FEATURE
Immigrant Songs A PAIR OF NEW REISSUES SHINE A LIGHT ON TWO OVERLOOKED CORNERS OF PORTLAND MUSIC HISTORY. BY M AT T H E W S I N G E R
msinger@wweek.com
in the Portland area proved difficult, even though there were 10 of them at one point. When Hill finally found former members of Wimeanacas running an auto repair business in the Mount Scott neighborhood, they reacted with bemusement. “I think they were a little wary of me,” Hill says, “like, ‘What is this guy’s deal?’” In the wider story of Portland music history, One Kind of Love and the Wimeanacas album seem like footnotes—obscenely rare curios that barely made it past the artists’ bedrooms. Neither act toured; in Mekwunye’s case, he never even played a live show. Nonetheless, they are revelations—proof that the spirit of artistic freedom and D.I.Y. resourcefulness that mythologized Portland as a creative haven extends not just to the punks and indie rockers who get most of the press. Coming from immigrants working in non-Western idioms, the reissues seem especially well-timed given the current political climate. As high-order music geeks with an interest in the ultra-obscure, though, both Remple and Hill agree that the most crucial thing is the quality of the records. “We’re not apolitical. That is important,” Remple says. “But first and foremost, really, I’ll say the reason to put it out is as simple as it brought us enjoyment, and we want to share that enjoyment.” WA R R E N H I L L
When Peter Mekwunye’s phone rang this past winter, he could’ve let it go to voicemail, as he typically does when he sees a number he doesn’t recognize. Something, though, told him to answer this time. Unseen forces had compelled him to act against his natural inclinations before, often with life-altering results. So he complied. The voice on the other end asked for Pedro. It wasn’t a mistake. In 1993, Mekwunye put out an album under that pseudonym, titled One Kind of Love, recorded alone in his tiny downtown Portland apartment near what’s now Providence Park. He only made a handful of copies, which he distributed to local consignment shops. He hadn’t heard it in years, nor did he even own a copy himself. But he knew that if someone was calling him by that name, they must have somehow tracked one down. “I just went, ‘No way,’ talking to myself,” Mekwunye says. “‘That tape must be sitting in front of him right now.’” The caller identified himself as Tony Remple, owner of Musique Plastique, a small record store on Northeast Alberta Street. Indeed, he and his business partner had found the cassette in a personal collection they’d recently purchased. Remple was so intrigued by what he heard— homemade African Tall and shaded pop, inspired by the with light traces music Mekwunye of grey around his heard during his temples, Mekwunye youth in Nigeria but has the demeanor of played with the loosea particularly introness of someone with spective guidance little formal musical counselor. training—that he Growing up in wanted to re-release Nigeria, Mekwunye the album through had little interest in HOLICA AND SOVANN YOEUN. music as a career. his label, also called Musique Plastique. Though he admired For Mekwunye, it couldn’t have happened fellow countrymen Fela Kuti and William at a better time. The winter snowstorms had Onyeabor, as well as Chuck Mangione and cut into his income as an Uber driver, and Beethoven, he came to the United States then a fender-bender halted it completely. in the early ’90s in hopes of going to law A deeply spiritual man, Mekwunye took the school. Living first in Texas, then San phone call as a sign—a divine message of Francisco, Mekwunye says he didn’t feel hope arriving at a trying moment in his life. like truly happy in America until he decid“You have no idea what his call meant ed, almost at random, to give Portland a to me,” he says from Remple’s backyard in try. It was in California, though, that he Northeast Portland. “If it had gone to voice- initially felt the strange, sudden compulmail, it wouldn’t have had the same impact as sion to start writing songs. taking it right at that time and talking to him. “I didn’t choose music,” he says. And I’ve been thanking him since then.” “Somehow, music chose me.” Around the same time, the owner of Despite having no experience, another Portland record label walked into a Mekwunye rented time at a studio in body shop on Southeast 82nd Avenue on his San Francisco and recorded a few mostly own fact-finding mission. Two years earlier, improvisatory tracks. Looking to continue at a grocery on Southeast Powell, Little Axe pursuing music in his new home, despite Records’ Warren Hill had come across a tape limited funds, Mekwunye purchased a of authentic, Portland-made Cambodian cheap Casio keyboard and a eight-track pop, made by a group called Wimeanacas in recorder soon after arriving in Portland. 1987. He too hoped to reissue their music. Reworking some of the older songs he felt Tracking down any band members still were “too gloomy,” the resulting One Kind of
Peter Mekwunye on the cover of his One Kind of Love album in 1993.
Love reflects the rush of joy Mekwunye felt driving across the Burnside Bridge the first time. While certainly lo-fi—it is unmistakably the sound of one man alone in his bedroom, though Mekwunye included fake musician credits in the liner notes to make it seem like he had a band—the sincerity of Mekwunye’s soft voice overrides the sometimes cheesy digital presets he was working with, elevating the music to an almost spiritual level. Few songs follow conventional structures, which is precisely what drew Remple in after fishing the cassette out of the pile he and his partner bought—it sounded like an amateur defying the rules simply because he didn’t yet know them. “You’re hoping to hear something new,” Remple says. “It sounded similar to some things we heard, but it definitely sounded like someone making their own language with music.” By contrast, Holica and Sovann Yoeun, the husband and wife duo who led Wimeanacas in the ’80s, were working musicians long before leaving Cambodia for America. Holica played the bar circuit around the city of Siem Reap, while Sovann toured the country as a singer. Fleeing the Khmer Rouge in 1975, the couple bounced from Thailand to Camp Pendleton, eventually settling in Portland near the end of the decade. A few years after arriving in town, they put together Wimeanacas—which loosely translates to “castle in the sky”— with other Cambodian nationals, mostly to make extra money playing weddings and other community gatherings. To open up another revenue stream, the band home-recorded two tapes, in 1983 and 1987, primarily to sell at their concerts. The music should be familiar to anyone who’s come across the semi-famous Cambodian Rocks compilation—a mix of fuzztone guitars, Farfisa organ and distinctly high-
pitched vocal melodies, with rhythms that range from jumpy to hypnotic. (Some songs incorporate accordion and a cumbialike groove.) Like Mekwunye, the Yoeuns hadn’t heard the recorded music, or even really thought about it, in years, until Hill wandered into their garage in January, asking for permission to re-release it. “It’s strange,” Holica says, “but at the same time exciting.” In the intervening years, both Mekwunye and the Yoeuns kept making music, albeit in more private settings. Wimeanacas gradually disbanded in the ’90s as various members started families and moved away, but Holica and Sovann still perform live on special occasions—not too long ago, they played at their former guitarist’s wedding. Discouraged by the initial lack of interest in One Kind of Love, Mekwunye says he fell into a “spiral” that lasted several years, but he eventually returned to music, recently uploading a pair of albums under a new alias, John Clis, to Bandcamp. Neither Mekwunye nor the Yoeuns are holding out hope that these reissues will rekindle their careers, nor are they under any delusions that they’ll make them rich. For them, the recognition, however slight, is enough. And for Remple and Hill, the hope is that the recognition remains with the people who made the music, not those who found it. “This project, for me, is really not about what I have to say,” Hill says. “This isn’t about me finding something and being like, ‘Here it is.’ This is about these people who made incredible, beautiful music back then gaining a wider audience that I think would appreciate them.” SEE IT: The Wimeanacas album release party is at Little Axe, 4142 NE Sandy Blvd., on Friday, June 23. 7 pm. Free. All ages. Peter Mekwunye’s One Kind of Love is available at musique-plastique.com. Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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MUSIC = WW Pick. Highly recommended. Prices listed are sometimes for advance ticket sales. At-the-door increases and so-called convenience charges may apply. Event lineups are subject to change after WW’s press deadlines. Editor: MATTHEW SINGER. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, go to wweek.com/submitevents and follow submission directions. All shows should be submitted two weeks or more in advance of event. Press kits, CDs and especially vinyl can be sent to Music Desk, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Please include show or release date information with all physical mailings. Email: msinger@wweek.com. Fax: 243-1115.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
[GOTH-MAN CHRONICLES] Last time Australia’s poet laureate of sleaze played the Schnitz, he spat on the stage, crawled across audience members’ heads and defiled Portland’s classiest venue with songs of murder and degradation. He must’ve had fun, because he’s bringing his Bad Seeds back for the second time in three years, touring in support of last year’s sparse, harrowing Skeleton Tree. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335. 8 pm. $55.50-$99.50. All ages.
Tengger Cavalry, Felix Martin, Helsott
[FOLK METAL] Tengger Cavalry is often referred to as Mongolian metal, but that’s slightly misleading. The band was founded by guitarist and throat-singer Nature Ganganbaigal in Beijing back in 2010, but these days Tengger Cavalry is based in New York City. It has enjoyed international acclaim for its blend of Mongolian folk music and mythology, incorporating traditional instruments with melodic, anthemic heavy metal. NATHAN CARSON. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St., 503-226-6630. 9 pm. $15. 21+.
White Reaper, Ron Gallo
[GARAGE ROCK] The ballsy title of White Reaper’s second album, World’s Greatest American Band, would be enough to denounce them as an overtly pompous, Spinal Tapesque act if they didn’t back it up with some of the catchiest pop-rock imaginable. The Louisville quartet plays high-voltage, feel-good rock ‘n’ roll that walks a fine line between arena-friendly and punkishly unhinged. It’s highly transportive stuff that sends you straight back to the days of stuffed leather pants, pyrotechnics and flashing groupies. You shouldn’t miss them here, but if you do, they’ll be back this summer for MusicfestNW presents Project Pabst. MARK STOCK. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-2319663. 9 pm. $14 advance, $16 day of show. 21+.
The Shins, Pure Bathing Culture
[LANDFILL INDIE] With new album Heartworms, it’s becoming apparent that James Mercer is nearing the “fuck it, why not?” phase of his career. Gone are the days of haunting, lo-fi folk anthems about slang and celibacy. In their place is a boondoggle of sonic curiosity replete with bouncy synths, processed guitars and samples that can only be properly described as “Mothersbaughian.” Whether he’s coasting on goodwill or making a sincere attempt at hacking his way out of the mid-2000s swamp of Pandora-friendly indie is a mystery. But his voice and vision are still unique and powerful enough to keep plenty of fans riding along in hopes of seeing if he’ll ever unplug all the (broken) bells and whistles and get back to the basics. PETE COTTELL. Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey St., Troutdale. 6:30 pm. Sold out. 21+..
Chuck Ragan, the American West
[FOLK-PUNK] As one half of the haggard vocalist-guitarist tandem that led post-hardcore powerhouse Hot Water Music, Chuck Ragan taught an entire generation of punk kids that melody and harmony needn’t take a backseat to vocal ability. Ragan couldn’t help but learn to sing in the process, eventually yielding a ballsy croak that
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pairs perfectly with both distorted chords and the rootsy strumming of Americana and trad-rock. On his latest, last year’s The Flame In the Flood, Ragan has gone all-in on the swampy Southern-gothic storytelling that must have been lurking the whole time. Hot Water Music transformed Gainesville from a boozy, football-obsessed college town into, uh, a boozy footballobsessed college town that now has a sizeable DIY punk scene. PETE COTTELL. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-2883895. 9 pm. $20 advance, $25 day of show. 21+.
Seu Jorge Presents The Life Aquatic: A Tribute to David Bowie
[BOSSA BOWIE] Eschewing the usual mix of Huey Lewis and random Marley relatives, this year’s Oregon Zoo Concert Series is actually kind of…cool. It starts tonight with the return of Brazilian singer-songwriter and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou star Seu Jorge, reprising his David Bowie tribute that sold out the Schnitz last year. Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Rd. 7 pm. $35$200. All ages.
Jurassic 5, Epic Lloyd
[THROWBACK RAP] Even in their early aughts heyday, L.A.’s Jurassic 5 seemed like an anachronism, albeit a purposeful one. Harking back to formative hip-hop crews like the Furious Five and Sugarhill Gang, the misnamed sextet—four MCs who, with the exception of baritone-voiced Chali 2na, were virtually indistinguishable from one another, plus DJs Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark— kicked rhymes back and forth like a hackysack over warmly nostalgic production. It was a sound situated in direct opposition to the shiny-suit materialism of the era. Following a six-year hiatus, the group reconvened in 2013, and while they’ve yet to get back in the studio together, their playful live shows should definitely work as an antidote to today’s trap-rap nihilism, if that’s something you’re in the market for. MATTHEW SINGER. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 971-230-0033. 8 pm. $27.50 general admission, $40 reserved balcony seating. 21+.
THURSDAY, JUNE 22 (Sandy) Alex G, Japanese Breakfast, Cende
[TWEE] Alex G constructs homespun slacker symphonies with raw imperfections that only add to their charm. Following a template made famous by icons of classic indie like Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel and Guided By Voices, his newest LP, Rocket, features an eclectic array of sonic flourishes like orchestral interludes, feel-good singalongs and cushy stoner anthems, all of which maintain a familiar, untrained appeal. His ramshackle opus earned him a Best New Music nod from Pitchfork and stoked the fervor from an already devoted fan base, while his instrumental contributions to Frank Ocean’s acclaimed 2016 album Blonde brought him to a new audience. Opener Japanese Breakfast’s Soft Sounds From Another Planet, meanwhile, drops July 14 and is primed for a similar shower of accolades, with lead singles “Boyish” and “Machinist” revealing an expansion of the disco-pop melee of last year’s Psychopomp. CRIS LANKENAU. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503239-7639. 8:30 pm. $14 advance, $16 day of show. 21+.
Isenordal, Mania
[CASCADIAN METAL] Isenordal is an old English word for “ordeal by iron,” which is fitting for a band making such epic, melancholic metal music. This new and loudly buzzing band hails from Seattle, but calls its home “Cascadia” without blushing. After a well-received 2014 demo and a few years of shuffling membership, their debut album was finally issued on cassette in March. The six long songs on Shores of Mourning are offset by folky, classical interludes so beautiful they could stand on their own. Even when the black-metal blasting begins, it’s often accompanied by violin and soaring female vocals. The disparate influences in Isenordal’s cauldron make for a fantastic listen recalling the dangerous geographic terrain of the mountains and barrowlands as often as the tranquil elven
valleys between. NATHAN CARSON. Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-238-0543. 9 pm. $6 advance, $8 day of show. 21+.
FRIDAY, JUNE 23 S.M.A.R.T. Collective: The Last Shows 1
[LAST HURRAH] The S.M.A.R.T. Collective has been a beacon of the city’s all-ages culture for the last four years. Many young kids in Portland grow up without the chance to experience live music in a safe environment, but the skate shop and venue offered a place where the skate and music communities alike could come together. S.M.A.R.T. Collective is closing, so it’s going out with a two-day bang, with sets from Pacific
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DAN FRANCO
PROFILE
Golden State Warrior
Paulo Rodriguez isn’t one to get hung up on labels. When it comes to breaking into hip-hop as an AsianAmerican, the 26-year-old rapper-producer known as P-Lo believes his music is neither limited to his ethnicity nor catered only to people of the same background. “I never wanted to take that route and use that Asian thing as a crutch,” says Rodriguez, who’s Filipino. “People are already going to identify with me ’cause I look like them. I never wanted to use that as a crutch to get where I wanted to be.” P-Lo’s idea of letting his music speak for itself is one of the pillars of HBK Gang, the Bay Area rap collective Rodriguez cofounded while still in high school. Led by charismatic MC Iamsu, the diverse crew of producers, rappers and multidimensional creative types has helped spark renewed interest in the Bay Area’s colorful hip-hop culture due to the success of members Sage the Gemini and R&B singer Kehlani. Now, P-Lo is beginning to break out himself. He developed his sound and swagger at a young age, emulating his influences like Kanye West and NorCal producers Droop-E and Traxmillion. He met Sudan Ameer Williams, the future Iamsu, in high school, first making beats together, then eventually uniting other artists in their circle to form the HBK (short for “Heartbreak”) Gang. Rodriguez credits Williams not just with his own success as a rapper, but for making the whole Bay Area pop again. “Iamsu really inspired a whole region,” says Rodriguez, who grew up in Pinole, Calif. “For a second, it was pretty dead...And now, there’s so many new people coming out. I don’t know if Su will ever get credit for that, but I’m giving him his credit. He taught me a lot.” On his own, P-Lo has consistently worked the mixtape circuit, putting out projects that put a spotlight on the region that raised him. More Than Anything, his latest album, is heavy in bass and perfectionary rapping, mixing go-dummy anthems (“Put Me on Somethin’” with E-40) with uplifting songs (“Look at Me Now”). The title track is P-Lo in the moment—reflective, thankful and cognizant of his future. “More than anything I want it all,” he sings. “Watch me, watch me, watch me, go get it.” “I wanted to get more in-depth in what I wanted to put in the universe as far as positivity and self-belief,” he says. ERIC DIEP. P-Lo’s HBK Gang helped revive Bay Area hip-hop. Now he’s breaking out on his own.
SEE IT: P-Lo plays Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th Ave., with Rexx Life Raj, on Tuesday, June 27. 8 p.m. $15 advance, $16 day of show. All ages. Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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COURTESY OF RADKEY
DATES HERE
TWENTYSOMETHINGS FROM MARS: Radkey plays Bunk Bar on Sunday, June 25. Northwest bands old and new. Day One’s entertainment features glamadjacent rockers Gary Supply and Sacramento indie band Simpl3Jack, along with the hardcore tendencies of locals Ruined It. Activist punks Longclaw headline the second night, with accompanying sets from the reverb-heavy garage rock of Husky Boys and Tom Ghoulie’s super lo-fi “sand rock.” The allages scene is taking a hit with this one. CERVANTE POPE. S.M.A.R.T. Collective, 6923 SE Foster Rd., 503-946-8134. 5 pm. $5. All ages. Through June 24.
Nuggets Night
[ESSENTIAL GARAGE ROCK] Started as something of a lark 10 years ago, the annual Nuggets Night—named after the sanctified box-set collection of one-hit wonders from “the First Psychedelic Era”—has grown into a two-night affair, attracting not just disciples of obscure ‘60s garage rock, but some of the originators as well. This year’s celebration features expert revivalists like the Pandoras and the Woggles, but the guests of honor are Chicago’s the Shadows of Knight, who landed in the Top 40 in 1969 with a strutting cover of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah.” Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., 503-248-4700. 6 pm. $25 per night, $40 weekend pass. 21+. Through June 24.
SATURDAY, JUNE 24 Dru Hill, Chante Moore, Howard Hewett
[‘90S R&B] Before Sisqo got famous for singing out about women’s underwear, he was the frontman for Dru Hill, the late ’90s R&B powerhouse best known for the hits “Tell Me,” “In My Bed,” “Never Make a Promise” and “How Deep Is Your Love.” Since James “Woody Rock” Green left the group to do gospel, Sisqo, Nokio and Jazz have been joined by various replacement members, most recently Antwuan “Tao” Simpson, who performed on the band’s last studio album, InDRUpendence Day, in 2010. Reliving the ‘90s is still nostalgic fun—we are getting a TLC comeback album this year, after all. ERIC DIEP. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 503-225-0047. 8 pm. $25 advance, $35 day of show. All ages.
Head Cat
[OLD-TIME ROCK’N’ROLL] While the late Lemmy Kilmister’s heavydrinkin’, hard-druggin’ punk metal made him a saint among headbangers, as a fan he held great affection for rock ’n’ roll of an older, sweeter vintage. Between Motorhead tours, he would get together with Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom and guitarist Danny B. Harvey to play faithful Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry songs as Head Cat. Now that he’s gone to the Great Whiskey Bar in the Sky, his bandmates have recruited David Vincent of Morbid Angel to carry on in tribute to one of rock’s true legends and the music he loved. MATTHEW SINGER. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St., 503-226-6630. 9 pm. $17. 21+.
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Pickwick, Cataldo
[NOCTURNAL GROOVES] Seattle six-piece Pickwick hasn’t released an album since 2013, but “In Time” and “Turncoat,” the teaser singles from upcoming sophomore album Lovejoys, show a promising pivot from backyard indie rock to latenight electronica. The sound is slinkier, with gooey harmonies augmented by booming trumpets— less Dr. Dog and Milky Chance than Unknown Mortal Orchestra, but poppier. Opener Cataldo also hails from Seattle, and on his just-released third album, Keepers, he shows off an electro-disco record and singing style defined by as much enunciation as the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle. Darnielle is not on the album, but several Pacific Northwest musicians are, including Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard and members of both Fruit Bats and—prepare to have your mind blown—Pickwick. SOPHIA JUNE. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-231-9663. 9 pm. $15 advance, $18 day of show. 21+.
SUNDAY, JUNE 25 Radkey, Piss Test
[TWENTYSOMETHINGS FROM MARS] Radkey is like if your teenage punk band stayed together past high school and, y’know, didn’t totally suck. The three young brothers from Missouri channel the Misfits in their horror-inspired lyrics, whoa-oh-oh choruses and singer Dee Radke’s demonic bellow, but play with an instrumental muscle their forebears couldn’t muster until their devil locks started to go grey. New album Delicious Rock Noise—actually a reissue of 2015’s Dark Black Makeup—doesn’t mess with the formula established on the band’s introductory EPs. Arctic Monkeys producer Rob Orton does beef the sound up a bit, but the radio-ready sheen is never so polished that it glosses over the adolescent exuberance that gives Radkey their spark. MATTHEW SINGER. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave., 503-328-2865. 9 pm. $10. 21+.
Roger Waters
[NEW PIGS] Former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters has spent recent years touring with his recreation of The Wall, but it’s been a long while since he released a new record. This month, he dropped his first new album in 25 years, and it’s exactly what you’d expect. Is This The Life We Really Want is unapologetic old-man music, dripping with disgust for the greed of the modern world, and at times sounding remarkably similar to certain Floyd songs thanks to Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. Waters is fired up about Trump in particular, and has made enough anti-corporate statements that both CitiBank and American Express have quit sponsoring his tours and charity efforts. If that’s not proof that Waters has still got it, tonight he’ll perform a handful of the new songs in between two spectacular sets culled from his back catalog—a gamut that runs from Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and Animals to, you guessed it, The Wall. NATHAN CARSON. Moda Center, 1 N Center Ct. St., 503-2358771. 8 pm. $35-$199.50. All ages.
DATES HERE
!!! (Chk Chk Chk), Master Bedroom
[DANCE-PUNK] Why’s everyone creaming themselves over the LCD Soundsystem reunion when !!! (commonly pronounced “Chk Chk Chk”) never went anywhere? Other bands from the early aughts dance-punk wave might’ve received more critical affection, but none understood the pulse and groove of actual dance music better than these guys. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 2319663. 9 pm. Free. $18 advance, $20 day of show. 21+.
INTRODUCING COURTESY OF SHANNON ENTROPY
MONDAY, JUNE 26
TUESDAY, JUNE 27 Scout Niblett, Sam Coomes
[SINGER-SONGWRITER] Britishborn singer-songwriter and wig aficionado Scout Niblett likes to take her time. She’s been slowly releasing music since 2001, making her name on a steady stream of wry, melancholy grunge ballads. She’s lived in Portland since 2005, but her music brings to mind dark Midwestern plains and heavy, heartsick catharsis. Her latest release, the ultra-personal It’s Up To Emma, came out way back in 2013, but its fuzzed-out breakup songs have aged well. In fact, the moments where she yells like she’s performing an exorcism are kind of exactly what we, as a country, need right now. SOPHIA JUNE. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 8 pm. $10 $12. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
CLASSICAL, JAZZ & WORLD Poncho Sanchez, Mattson 2
[CONGA KING] The thick conga tone of Mexican-American percussionist Poncho Sanchez is a torrent of perfectly accented rhythms and unmistakable to drummers. A powerful band leader who has released over 30 solo albums since the early ’80s, Sanchez and his group always put on a highenergy live show, playing classic salsa and Afro-Cuban music with a jovial but extremely virtuosic approach that will entice both newcomers and longtime listeners. Sanchez and his band are joined at Portland’s newest jazz club this evening by the drum-guitar surfjazz duo Mattson 2, a pair of identical twins who recently released a collaborative record with Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bundick. PARKER HALL. Jack London Bar, 529 SW 4th Ave., 503-228-7605. 7 pm and 10:30 pm Wednesday, June 21. $35. 21+.
Resonance Ensemble presents Only in Falling
[HEALING MUSIC] When Portland composer Renée Favand-See lost her newborn son days after his birth in 2012, she turned to music and the poetry of Wendell Berry—“a mysterious oracle” that helped her heal and inspired her five-movement 2014 choral work, Only in Falling. The piece deeply moved many audience members at its 2015 premiere, and with good reason. Knowing the composer’s backstory added poignancy to Berry’s words and images invoking finches, woods and water, imbuing them with metaphorical meaning, but the stirring music— even when venturing into stratospheric soprano range—covers such a range of feeling that the backstory isn’t necessary. The composition is less a lament than a coming to terms with loss, and even operates as a celebration of a brief but unforgettable life and the process of bringing it into being. This performance, featuring many of the city’s top professional singers, also includes contemporary music by American composers Dominick DiOrio, Jake Runestad, Nikole Potulsky and Steven Sametz. BRETT CAMPBELL. Yale Union, 800 SE 10th Ave., 503-236-7996. 7:30 pm Saturday, June 24. $15 students, $25 seniors, $30 general admission. All ages.
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Shannon Entropy WHO: Jesse and Libby Hamlin (guitars, vocals), David Hickey (vocals, keys), Kevin Wilbanks (drums), Roman Buermann (bass) FOR FANS OF: Minus the Bear, Phoenix SOUNDS LIKE: Robert Smith’s math-rock side project Shannon Entropy is a collision of tradition and irreverence. Jesse and Libby Hamlin, the band’s two guitarists, follow in the great tradition of songwriting couples like Jack and Meg White or pretty much anyone involved in the halcyon days of Fleetwood Mac. The pair relocated to Portland from Yakima, Wash., with their high school band’s rhythm section eventually following in pursuit of a more vibrant musical scene—all of them tenured in a musical relationship, two of them in a romantic one—and a determination to broaden their sonic horizons. “I went into this band thinking it needed to appeal to more people than just me,” Jesse Hamlin says. “A lot of the music I’d written before this was just me. It sounded just like me. Every part, every composition sounded like me.” In order to incorporate a wild-card element that could disrupt their long-established dynamic, they set out to cast a lead vocalist. After auditioning several potentials, they eventually elected David Hickey, a classically trained transplant with a SoundCloud page full of demos, recorded at home and posted with the hope of finding like-minded collaborators unburdened by the rigid confines of classical composition. “Coming from classical music, I met a lot of people who are great writers, can read anything, but it’s hard for them to really improvise or play organically with other people,” Hickey says. “You know, making eye contact, really feeling that change. And these guys have that. They’re not losing sleep over an unresolved dominant chord.” The final roster in place, Shannon Entropy began the long process of refining the core duo’s ideas into democratically composed songs. The finished product, Far Out Ideas, is the culmination of several years spent poring over details and fine-tuning. As is the case with many debut albums, there’s a wide breadth of stylistic signatures at play, with the Hamlins favoring the funk-indebted, percussive click of palm-muted chords against Kevin Wilbanks’ frigid, metallic backbeat. It’s a dark, minor-chord exercise in dissonance. But for all the murky melancholia, Hickey’s shamelessly fey tenor pairs well with the brainy instrumental tone that, at times, seems hell-bent on cramming as much dynamic drama into a single song as possible. Shannon Entropy’s dogma is likely sourced from a math-rock text, but their frontman is firmly rooted in a pop vocal tradition of ’80s discotheque denizens like Pet Shop Boys or Erasure. “We’re sort of melding two worlds,” Hamlin says. “We have the sort of theory and tradition behind us, but then we also know that if something sounds cool, it sounds cool. I’m not gonna resolve that dominant chord no matter how much sleep you lose.” CRIS LANKENAU. SEE IT: Shannon Entropy plays Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., with Mood Beach, Shears and The Wild War, on Sunday, June 25. 8 pm. $7 advance, $8 day of show. 21+. Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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DATES HERE
ALBUM REVIEWS
TALK:
5am 7am – 2pm
MUSIC:
2pm – 5am
RADIO IS YOURS
Dave Depper EMOTIONAL
FREEDOM TECHNIQUE (Tender Loving Empire) [SOFT FUNK] Dave Depper might be the most polite musician in Portland. This is by no means a knock on his musical prowess, as his stint replacing Chris Walla in Death Cab for Cutie is evidence of Depper’s abilities as a multi-instrumentalist. It’s an unlikely ethos to build a dance-pop album upon, though. Similar to equally understated dance-floor practitioners like Hot Chip or Pillar Point, his new solo album, Emotional Freedom Technique, finds Depper gently nudging listeners toward the dance floor with plunking sequencers, pillowy synth pads and an artillery of soft-rock keyboards. With a few exceptions, the mix is mostly flat, ostensibly to service tender, easy listening rather than rattling speakers. The few tracks that deviate from Technique’s blueprint of slight build-ups and carefully resolving progressions—especially the throbbing breakup jam “Never Worked So Hard” and the appropriately sunny “Summer Days”—make an immediate impact. For the most part, though, the album’s nine tracks blend together in an unobtrusive sameness. There are no duds, per se, but aside from the brilliantly cheesy slow jam “Lonely With You,” you’d be hard up to explain why any of them would be your favorite. While Depper’s commitment to a unified, retro-futurist aesthetic makes Technique an enjoyable record for unengaged listening, you’re left wondering what he could do if he left the comfortable confines of polite bedroom pop in favor of something more emotionally raw. PETE COTTELL. SEE IT: Dave Depper plays Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Cardioid and Ritchie Young, on Thursday, June 22. 9 pm. $5. 21+.
Abronia Obsidian Visions SHADOWED LANDS (Self-Released)
[DESERT MUSIC] While backpacking in the Utah desert, Eric Crespo had a dream. In that dream, he and five friends surrounded a single, massive drum. As the indefatigable brains behind long-running Portland psych-folk act Ghost to Falco, Crespo dedicated himself to this new vision, building a new band around an instrument simply referred to as “the Big Drum.” On Abronia’s debut album, Obsidian Visions Shadowed Lands, the lack of a proper kit doesn’t seem to hold the band back in any way— if anything, the thudding percussion anchors the music to its primitive inspirations. Sprawling instrumental intro “The Great Divide” showcases the group’s nimble ability to mix spaghetti-Western soundtrack music with Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd psychedelia. “Smoke Fingers” showcases saxophonist Keelin Mayer as the band’s de-facto lead singer, giving him plenty of room to stretch out over a bed of tremolo guitars and heartbeat drumming. Later, on “Glass Butte Retribution,” Mayer doubles the guitars once more, this time with vocal incantations, answering the question, “What would early Sonic Youth sound like if Kim Gordon could sing on key?” The album’s finale, “Waning Wand,” builds for five full minutes before reaching a fever pitch of swirling lap-steel lines that coalesce into a single, dam-breaking final riff. For a new band, Abronia has pulled off a nifty trick—crafting a self-assured album that already sounds pleasantly weathered by the sands of time. NATHAN CARSON. SEE IT: Abronia plays Rontoms, 600 E Burnside St., with BlackWater HolyLight, on Sunday, June 25. 9 pm. Free. 21+. 32
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MUSIC CALENDAR WED. JUNE 21 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1037 SW Broadway Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Ash Street Saloon 225 SW Ash St Mr. Pink, J. Graves, Pacific Fire
Bunk Bar
1028 SE Water Ave. Flaural, Animal Eyes at Bunk Bar
Corkscrew
1665 SE Bybee Blvd Colescott Rubin
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St. Theo Katzman
Dante’s
350 W Burnside St. Tengger Cavalry, Felix Martin, Helsott
Director Park
815 SW Park Ave. Make Music Now PDX
Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St. Slow Dancer; White Reaper, Ron Gallo
Edgefield
2126 SW Halsey St. The Shins, Pure Bathing Culture Eric John Kaiser (Winery Tasting Room)
Fremont Theater
2393 NE Fremont St. Abacus
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St. Kulululu, Ghost Frog, Telephant
Jack London Revue
529 SW 4th Ave. Poncho Sanchez, Mattson 2
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Chuck Ragan, the American West
Edgefield
Fremont Theater
2393 NE Fremont St. EPV, Sarca,Pastel Motel
High Water Mark
6800 NE MLK Ave. Elephant Gun, Droids Attack, Sweeper, Old Kingdom
The Goodfoot
Edgefield
4847 SE Division St, Mayeux and Broussard
2126 SW Halsey St Groovy Wallpaper with Rob Wynia
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Dave Depper
Hawthorne Theatre
1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd. Austin Mahone
The Fixin’ To
The Liquor Store
3341 SE Belmont St, Eleven PDX Magazine’s 7th Volume Launch Party: Minden, Daughter Talk, Coati
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave HexHeart, Voicecoil, Blackglass
The Secret Society
Tonic Lounge
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Hail the Sun, Capsize, Eidola, Limbs; St. Cinder, How Long Jug Band
830 E Burnside St. !!!, Master Bedroom
Landmark Saloon
Roseland Theater
The Analog Cafe
Doug Fir Lounge
2025 N Kilpatrick St Sól, Abrams, Menin
4001 SW Canyon Rd. Seu Jorge 8 NW 6th Ave Jurassic 5
350 West Burnside Corky Laing Plays Mountain, Ape Machine
Kenton Club
3728 NE Sandy Blvd. Satanarchist, Intercision, Burials
3100 NE Sandy Blvd. Isenordal, Mania
Twilight Cafe and Bar 1420 SE Powell Foresteater, Luke Messimer, Shoring
Velo Cult
LOST BOY: If Corey Feldman is taking his music seriously, he and his band—five women about half Feldman’s age, playing guitar, bass, drums and, occasionally, fiddle, dressed in skimpy outfits—are bad. During their hourlong set at Dante’s on June 18—which mixed stuff off his new album, older originals and oldies covers—only the guitar player and the drummer were even audible. There’s also the fact that Feldman and his angels were not even the headliner, but the opening act for the weekly Sinferno Cabaret burlesque show, which Feldman complained about onstage. But given that the somehow around-the-block line had mixed into the stragglers from Pride, Feldman’s performance was comprehensible from another perspective. As kitsch, wherein hilarity and outrageousness are the only virtues, Feldman is an incredible performer. That he covered “Stand By Me” and “Tutti Frutti” is novel. That his guitarist took a solo that segued from “Seven Nation Army” to “Rock You Like a Hurricane” to “Sunshine of Your Love” to “Smoke on the Water” to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to “Crazy Train” to “Cowboys From Hell” to “Enter Sandman” to “Symphony of Destruction” before ending in “Eruption” is exceptional. It’s easy to forget in other parts of town, but Feldman played in Old Town, where it’s hard to forget that fun is the point. And Sunday night, Feldman brought it in spades. JAMES HELMSWORTH. 2126 SW Halsey St. Ziggy Marley, the Grand Yoni (DJ set); Michael Berly and The Yellers (The Winery Tasting Room)
Fremont Theater
2393 NE Fremont Street Eric Taylor, Thad Beckman
White Eagle Saloon
Mississippi Studios
Twilight Cafe and Bar 1420 SE Powell Thrones, Toim, Pink Muscles, Gooo
White Eagle Saloon
836 N Russell St Animal Throat, The Ornery, Science Slumber Party, C. Lipski
White Owl Social Club 1305 SE 8th Ave East Aceyalone
THURS. JUNE 22 Bunk Bar
1028 SE Water Ave. The Weather Machine, Ezra Bell at Bunk Bar
Doug Fir Lounge 830 E Burnside St. Reeve Carney
White Owl Social Club 1305 SE 8th Ave East Vinyl Williams, Wet Dream
FRI, JUNE 23 American Legion Hall 2104 NE Alberta Hemingway, Longclaw, Phantom Family, Riled, Planet Damn
Bossanova Ballroom 722 E Burnside St. Vow of Volition
Dante’s
350 West Burnside Metalachi
Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St. Chris Margolin & The Dead Bird Collection, Falcon Heart
The Fixin’ To
8218 N. Lombard St Blesst Chest, Deathlist, WL, Secret Drum Band
The Know
The Secret Society
The Know
421 SE Grand Ave Violetta Crush, Shadow Fashion
1937 SE 11th Ave Introvert, Pretty Apocalyptic, Anna Coogan
529 SW 4th Ave. Jungle Fire
Kenton Club
The Lovecraft Bar
The Firkin Tavern
3728 NE Sandy Blvd. Souvenir Driver, Male Gaze, Plastic Pinks, Campfires
Jack London Revue
1969 NE 42nd Ave. The Great Big Fais-DoDo: Square Dance and Cajun Dance 836 N Russell St Ellis Pink, Eugene Marie, Sea Caves, Courtney Noe, Heavy Hustle
The Firkin Tavern
1937 SE 11th Ave Doug Loghry, Jake Decker, Colin Cavasher
The Goodfoot
2845 SE Stark St Sonic Forum
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave The Blood of Others
TUES. JUNE 27 Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St. Knower ft. Dennis Hamm, Sam Gendel, Sam Wilkes
Edgefield Edgefield
2845 SE Stark St The Goodfoot All-Stars Quartet 3728 NE Sandy Blvd. Layperson, Surfer Rosie, Clovver
3728 NE Sandy Blvd. Drunken Palms, Natural Sway, Lida Husik, the Toy Surprise
Dante’s
529 SW 4th Ave. Mel Brown B-3 Organ Group
The Know
The Know
MON. JUNE 26
Jack London Revue
2845 SE Stark St Foxy Lemon, Cambrian Explosion, AKA Faceless
2845 SE Stark St The Sextet, Farnell Newton & The Othership Connection
1420 SE Powell Symbolik, Accidentally Murdered, NihilistNation, RottingSlab
1001 SE Morrison St. (Sandy) Alex G, Japanese Breakfast, Cende
The Goodfoot
The Goodfoot
Twilight Cafe and Bar
Holocene
116 NE Russell St Thursday Swing! Featuring The Newport Nightingales, Stumptown Swing
Oregon Zoo
LAST WEEK LIVE
2126 SW Halsey St Brian Copeland (The Little Red Shed)
8218 N. Lombard St Mammoth Salmon, Wolflaut, The Misery Men
[JUNE 21-27]
For more listings, check out wweek.com.
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.
2025 N Kilpatrick St Stress Position, Born A Lot, Ssold 3939 N Mississippi Ave. Tango Alpha Tango, Holiday Friends, The Lower 48
Oregon Zoo
4001 SW Canyon Rd. John Prine, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
Smart Collective
6923 SE Foster Rd. Smart Collective: The Last Shows 1
Spare Room
4830 NE 42nd Ave The Great Fais Do-Do: The Bow Ties, the Lucky Stars
Star Theater
13 NW 6th Ave. Nuggets Night Festival: The Pandoras, The Shadows of Knight
The Analog Cafe
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. mustrd., Hate Drugs, Wee Beasties, Rosebuds, Mortal Thing; School of Rock
116 NE Russell St Pete Krebs and his Portland Playboys
The Tonic Lounge
3100 NE Sandy Blvd Hair Puller, Dead Tropics
Twilight Cafe and Bar 1420 SE Powell Zander Schloss
White Eagle Saloon 836 N Russell St Floating Pointe
SAT. JUN. 24 45 East
315 SE 3rd Ave Fenix 4 Rob Finity. Solovox, Mason Roberts, Ryan Walz
Black Water Bar
835 NE Broadway Past Haunts presents Troller, Vice Device, Public Eye, R. Barrows
Bossanova Ballroom
722 E Burnside St. Vicious Rumors, Motorbreath, Axecrack
Bunk Bar
1028 SE Water Ave. Homiefest Benefit
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St Dru Hill, Chante Moore, Howard Hewett
Dante’s
350 West Burnside Head Cat
Doug Fir Lounge
The Fixin’ To
Bunk Bar
8218 N. Lombard St The Bandulus, Heavy City
1028 SE Water Ave. Radkey, Piss Test
The Goodfoot
Crystal Ballroom
2845 SE Stark St Jujuba
The Know
1332 W Burnside St Nathan Ehline and Special Guests
3728 NE Sandy Blvd. And And And, Grey Waves, Deep Tissue, Animal Throat
Doug Fir Lounge
2126 SW Halsey St The Side Project (The Winery Tasting Room)
The Lovecraft Bar
2126 SW Halsey St Kris Deelane (The Winery Tasting Room)
Fremont Theater
The Old Church
830 E Burnside St. Pickwick, Cataldo
Edgefield
2393 NE Fremont Street The Desert Kind, Huck Notari
Hawthorne Theatre
421 SE Grand Ave Cult of the Volt 1422 SW 11th Ave Cindy Alexander
The Secret Society
1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd. Jacob Whitesides
116 NE Russell St The Ukeladies; Donnie Emerson, Kyle Craft, House Of Angels
Jack London Revue
Twilight Cafe and Bar
529 SW 4th Ave. Becca Stevens
Smart Collective
6923 SE Foster Rd. Smart Collective: The Last Shows 2
Spare Room
4830 NE 42nd Ave. The Great Fais Do-Do: Courtney Granger, The Caleb Klauder Band featuring Jesse Lége and Joel Savoy
Star Theater
13 NW 6th Ave. Nuggets Night Festival: The Woggles, The Loons
The Analog Cafe
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. The Brevet
The Firkin Tavern
1937 SE 11th Ave Challenger 70, When We Met, This Fair City
1420 SE Powell Second Sleep, Salvo Idly, Programmes, Lightning Rules
830 E Burnside St. Fort Atlantic
Edgefield
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St. Shannon Entropy, Mood Beach, Shears, the Wild War
Jack London Revue
529 SW 4th Ave. Soul Cypher Showdown hosted by Soundstage 1 & MC Rich Hunter
2126 SW Halsey St Na Rósaí (The Little Red Shed)
Hawthorne Theatre
1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd. P-Lo
Jack London Revue 529 SW 4th Ave. Farnell and Friends
LaurelThirst Public House
2958 NE Glisan St David Dondero, Pat Hull
Mississippi Pizza
3552 N Mississippi Ave Karaoke from Hell
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Scout Niblett, Sam Coomes
The Analog Cafe
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Rose Room Swing Dance
Mississippi Studios
The Goodfoot
White Eagle Saloon
Moda Center
The Liquor Store
Yale Union
Moon and Sixpence Pub
The Ranger Station
836 N Russell St Chasing Ebenezer & Camp Crush
800 SE 10th Ave. Resonance Ensemble presents ...Only in Falling
SUN. JUNE 25 Aladdin Theater
3017 SE Milwaukie Ave Sara Watkins & Langhorne Slim
Beeswing
4318 NE Cully Blvd, The Great Fais Do-Do: Zack Bryson and the Meat Rack, Jesse Lége, Joel Savoy
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Ex Eye 1 N Center Ct St, Roger Waters
2014 NE 42nd Ave, The Great Fais Do-Do: The Fais Do Do All-Star Jam
Rontoms
600 E Burnside St Abronia, BlackWater HolyLight
Skyline Tavern
8031 NW Skyline Blvd Jezebel’s Mother
Star Theater
2845 SE Stark St Boyz II Gentlemen 3341 SE Belmont St, Wrinkles, Paper Gates, Friends in Love 4260 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Bluegrass Tuesday
Twilight Cafe and Bar
1420 SE Powell Hot Wont Quit, To Be Astronauts (Denver), Val Bauer
Valentines
232 SW Ankeny St Cool Schmool, Tender Age, Mr. wrong
13 NW 6th Ave. Easy Star All-Stars
Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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MUSIC CO U RT E SY O F D R . T R OY
NEEDLE EXCHANGE
Dr. Troy (SEATTLE, MEDICAL RECORDS)
Years DJing: I started mixing on big, clunky CD decks, turntables and iPods with a noisy Radio Shack mixer when I was in medical school, starting around 1999. I guess that makes it about 18 years. Genres: I basically wear two DJ hats. The first hat is worn by a DJ who obsesses over obscure new wave, Italo and any other synth oddities that may cross his path. The other hat is worn by a DJ who only plays pummeling techno. Where you can catch me regularly: In Seattle, Medical Records has a monthly party every fourth Thursday at Pony. You may also hear Dr. Troy at a new night called Transfusions at Kremwerk, which is also the namesake of the Medical Records sub-label. Craziest gig: I don’t know how crazy, exactly, but definitely odd. I was once DJing at the Dallas Art Museum, playing some new wave, when a patron asked me if I would play his private house party. I obliged and was told the theme was “’80s.” Well, I played my favorite ’80s music, which turns out wasn’t quite what they had in mind. Respectfully, they wrote me a nice check and sent me on my way after about 30 minutes. My go-to records: For my Italo/wave DJ bag, you will commonly hear me playing the track “Catch” by Sun-La-Shan, as well as the Patrick Cowley edit of Tantra’s “The Hills of Kathmandu.” I also fancy Severed Heads and Human League, so odds are they will make an appearance. On the techno side of things, you are almost always going to hear a ø [Phase] track (perhaps “Dirtro II”) or “Modular Framework” by CtrlS. Don’t ever ask me to play…: In the words of the great Bill Hicks, “Do I look like a jukebox?” No, seriously, it’s fine, but odds are I won’t have what you want to hear in my bag unless we happen to be on the same wavelength. NEXT GIG: Dr. Troy spins at Killingsworth Dynasty, 832 N Killingsworth St., on Friday, June 23. 10 pm. 21+. Sandy Hut
1430 NE Sandy Blvd. Nuggets Night Blast Off Party
The Lovecraft Bar
WED. JUNE 21 Beulahland
118 NE 28th Ave Wicked Wednesday (hip-hop)
Jade Club
315 SE 3rd Ave Subduction Audio Presents: Current Value
Killingsworth Dynasty
832 N Killingsworth St Ghoul Summer w/ DJs TarMan Dan & Rockit
Lay Low Tavern
6015 SE Powell Blvd. Heavy Metal Horror Nites
Sandy Hut
1430 NE Sandy Blvd. VJ Gregarious
The Lovecraft Bar 421 SE Grand Ave Event Horizon
Tonic Lounge
3100 NE Sandy Blvd. Death Throes (death rock, post punk)
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Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
Tube
18 NW 3rd Ave. Dubblife
Whiskey Bar
31 NW 1st Ave Stop Grinding To Dubstep
421 SE Grand Ave Shadowplay (goth, industrial, 80s)
Tonic Lounge
3100 NE Sandy Blvd. DJ Smooth Hopperator
FRI, JUNE 23 Black Book
THURS. JUNE 22 Black Book
20 NW 3rd Ave Ladies Night (rap, r&b)
Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave. Roane Namuh, Gwizski & Matt Nelkin
Killingsworth Dynasty 832 N Killingsworth St Zero Wave presents
Moloko
3967 N. Mississippi Ave. Nik Nice & Brother Charlie (brazilian)
20 NW 3rd Ave The Cave (rap, r&b, club)
Century Bar
930 SE Sandy Blvd. DJ Lamar Leroy
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St 80s Video Dance Attack
Ground Kontrol
511 NW Couch St. DJ Nate C. (rock, metal)
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St. The Way Up: Afro/ Caribbean Dance Party
Jade Club
315 SE 3rd Ave Sander Kleinenberg
Where to drink this week.
NINO ORTIZ
BAR REVIEW
1.
Wayfinder
304 SE 2nd Ave., 503-718-2337, wayfinder.beer. Guess who’s finally brewing their own beer? Wayfinder is, and that brand-new helles tastes especially good on a very sunny patio.
2.
Grand Army Tavern
901 NE Oneonta St., 503-841-6195, grandarmytavern.com. This new Dekum spot is now an elegant woodslatted hall of refreshing citrusy cocktails and seriously delicious pork rinds and sliders.
3.
Upside Down
3318 Se Milwaukie Ave., 971-373-8607, facebook.com/ upsidedownpdx. The folks from Uno Mas now have a chile-verdeand-cheeseburger beer patio in Brooklyn, and it’s great—with 30 taps including root beer for the kids, and a 4-6 pm happy hour that goes all day Sunday, with burgers for a mere $5.
4.
Bar Casa Vale
215 SE 9th Ave., 503-477-9031, barcasavale.com. Bar Casa Vale is a dream of Spanish cocktails, tapas, hearth fire and ham straight off the hock— and is also our 2017 Bar of the Year.
5.
Century
930 SE Sandy Blvd., centurybarpdx.com. Weekends it’s a nightclub, Sunday morning it’s drag queen bingo and on Monday it might host obscure Czech film, but every day there’s a sunny rooftop.
NEWER PORTLAND: When Eugenio’s closed to make room for Gestalt Haus, it was hard not to see some symbolism. Eugenio’s featured live music by middle-aged white guys playing jazz on acoustic guitars while drinking lattes and eating pizza topped with avocado. Eugenio’s (established in 2002) held a funeral procession for Old Portland on its way out, then became a bikey lagerhaus spin-off run by transplant San Franciscans. So what does it mean that the space is now Sessionable (3588 SE Division St., 503-501-4663, sessionable.com), a beer bar ostensibly focused on low-ABV ales where the gender-neutral restrooms are equipped with fancy Japanese toilets that have bidets? I wish I knew. While the crusty Gestalt Haus seemed to take pride in repurposing the decor of the previous tenant in the manner of a punk house, Sessionable has redone everything. The bar now has barley grains under glass. Behind the bar, a shiny new digital taplist displays Hop Valley Blonde and Fremont Lush. On the back wall is a silvery curtain, as though you’re backstage at an insurance conference awards show. But despite the full makeover, the summer menu isn’t fully committed to the concept, with seven of the 23 taps coming it at 5% ABV or above. All of these beers are available in 10- or 20-ounce pours, the former mostly running $3 each. The food menu includes a $3 “melange of olives,” a cheese plate and house-seasoned pretzel sticks, which are pleasantly spicy and a buck a bowl. Some pretzel sticks, a sessionable beer from Eugene and maybe a turn on the bidet—a nice little Saturday on present-day Division Street. MARTIN CIZMAR.
Killingsworth Dynasty
Bit House Saloon
Moloko
Black Book
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. ANDAZ Bhangra Bollywood Dance Party
Crystal Ballroom
421 SE Grand Ave Electronomicon (dark dance)
832 N Killingsworth St Max Capacity
3967 N. Mississippi Ave. Monkeytek & Friends (records from the Jamaican regions of outer space)
The Goodfoot
2845 SE Stark St Soul Stew (funk, soul, disco)
The Liquor Store
3341 SE Belmont St, BAD! Michael Jackson (and all things Jackson)
The Lovecraft Bar
727 SE Grand Ave 11: Body Service (house, r&b) 20 NW 3rd Ave The Ruckus (rap, r&b, club)
Valentines
Eastburn
Whiskey Bar
1800 E Burnside St, Soulsa! (merengue, salsa, cumbia)
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St. Main Squeeze Dance Party (house, disco, club)
Tryst
Jade Club
Whiskey Bar
31 NW 1st Ave CharlestheFirst, Benjah Ninjah, SubDocta, Art Of Fact
315 SE 3rd Ave Honesty: DJ Manny Teklife
Killingsworth Dynasty 832 N Killingsworth St Dynasty A Go-Go! (60s soul, r&b, garage)
Moloko
SAT. JUNE 24 Beech Street Parlor 412 NE Beech Street DDDJJJ666 & Magnolia Bouvier
The Lovecraft Bar
1332 W Burnside St 80s New Wave Video Dance Attack: The Cure
421 SE Grand Ave Club Kai Kai (queer & drag) 19 SW 2nd Ave, Decadent 80s w/ DJ Non
The Analog Cafe
3967 N. Mississippi Ave. Lamar Leroy (jams of all types)
Quarterworld
4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd ElecTRON (80s dance)
232 SW Ankeny St It’s LIT 31 NW 1st Ave United We Dance
SUN. JUNE 25 Black Book
20 NW 3rd Ave Flux (rap, r&b, club)
Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave. Do Right Sunday (rap, electro, r&b)
The Liquor Store
3341 SE Belmont St, Love American Style
The Lovecraft Bar
Greener Pastures (house, old school)
MON. JUNE 26 Ground Kontrol
511 NW Couch St. Reaganomix: DJ Robert Ham
Sandy Hut
1430 NE Sandy Blvd. Hot Shot Presents Oh! In Colour!
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Black Mass (goth, new wave)
TUES. JUNE 27 Kelly’s Olympian
426 SW Washington St. Party Damage: DJ El Dorado
The Embers Avenue 100 NW Broadway Recycle (dark dance)
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave BONES (goth, wave)
421 SE Grand Ave Softcore Mutations w/ DJ ROCKIT (new wave, hunkwave)
Tonic Lounge
White Owl Social Club
18 NW 3rd Ave. Tubesdays w/ DJ Jack
1305 SE 8th Ave East
3100 NE Sandy Blvd. Toxic Tuesdays (goth, spooky)
Tube
Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
PERFORMANCE K K E L LY P H O T O G R A P H Y
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 (sgormley@wweek.com). TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit information at least two weeks in advance to: sgormley@wweek.com.
THEATER OPENINGS & PREVIEWS How to Do a One Person Show
CoHo Productions’ Summerfest—five one-weekend-only runs of contemporary theater oddities—continues with a show by New York performer and comedian Kelly Kinsella. At last year’s Summerfest, Kinsella performed When Thoughts Attack, a solo show about anxiety. This time, she’ll perform her long-running comedic piece, How to Do a One Person Show, whose subject matter is pretty much explained by the title. SHANNON GORMLEY. CoHo Productions, 2257 NW Raleigh St., cohoproductions.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Sunday, June 22-25. $20.
Original Practice Shakespeare
This week, OPS is staging three different Shakespeare plays in three different locations. They’ll all be outdoor and free, starting with an audiencecast Midsommer Night’s Dream on top of Mt. Tabor, All’s Well That Ends Well in Gabriel Park and The Tempest in Kenton Park. SHANNON GORMLEY. Mt. Tabor, 9 pm Wednesday, June 21. Gabriel Park, 2 pm Saturday, June 24. Kenton Park, 1 pm Sunday, June 25. opsfest.org. Free.
The Romeo & Juliet Project
Enso Theatre’s interpretation of the first Shakespeare play everyone is forced to read in high school is cut to about half the length of the original. The Romeo & Juliet Project will sample the Bard’s script and mash it up with soundbites from network news. SHANNON GORMLEY. Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 SE Grant St., ensotheatre.com. 7:30 pm ThursdaySaturday, 5:30 pm Sunday, June 23-July 29. $25.
ALSO PLAYING 26 Miles
26 Miles tells the story of Olivia (Alex Ramirez De Cruz), a sheepish but philosophical 14-year-old, and her spontaneous road trip with her estranged mother, Beatriz (Julana Torres). The scenes transition back and forth from highway to hotel room: In the sparse set, wooden chairs become the driver’s and passengers’ seats, and two rectangular peninsulas that extend from the back of the stage become beds. Their dynamic hints at complex cultural issues (Olivia is half Jewish, half Cuban, and playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes is Jewish and Puerto Rican), but feels entirely natural and is deeply engrossing. As Olivia, De Cruz shuffles around the stage in sweatpants and sneakers, but she also gives you a subtle sense that Olivia is hardly passive. Torres as Beatriz is effortlessly radiant yet endearingly vulnerable. Even though road trips are a fairly standard plot for self-discovery, it’s a deeply poetic script that the four actors in Profile Theatre’s production flesh out to its fullest potential. SHANNON GORMLEY. Profile Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., profiletheatre. com. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, through June 25. $20-$38.
Avenue Q
Triangle’s production of Avenue Q has everything you’d expect from a dirty puppet show. The Tony-winning musical is feisty, proudly profane and includes a scene of wiggly puppet sex. The joy of Avenue Q is generated partly from the spectacle of chubbycheeked puppets swearing and
singing songs like “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.” But there’s also a tender beauty to the play as the puppets love, yearn and bumble their way through messy, all-too-human lives. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. The Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza, 1785 NE Sandy Blvd., trianglepro.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, June 8-July 1. $15-$35.
The Reunion
The Reunion is full of cringe-worthy moments including an absurd scene that involves a pair of angel wings, an unintentionally hilarious deathbed farewell or one of the show’s many lackluster musical performances. Written by Imago Theatre cofounder Carol Triffle, it’s an awkward blend of farce and tragedy. The farce part of that equation comes from the play’s setting: an uncomfortable high school reunion whose attendees include the cancer-stricken Dolores (Danielle Vermette), her husband (Jerry Mouawad) and the peppy and pompous Brittany (Megan Skye Hale). Yet while you would expect the clashing of these characters to yield some prickly laughs, the actors never gel as an ensemble or make sense of the script. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th Ave., imagotheatre.com. 7:30 pm Friday-Saturday, through June 24.
Good With People
Helen (Devon Allen) owns a hotel in the strange Scottish town Helensburgh, which hosts seaside tourism, a nuclear weapons facility and a peace camp. Evan (Matt DiBiasio) grew up on the nuclear base and went to school with Helen’s son, whom he brutally bullied. When he returns to his hometown for a visit, Evan unwittingly books a room at Helen’s inn. Not surprisingly, they don’t get along. But the play manages to have a sense of humor, which Allen in particular plays up in a way that occasionally stands out from the script’s stark lack of dramatism. The play’s vague resolution doesn’t seem in favor of one point of view over the other. Somehow, that’s more hopeful—it makes it feel like things aren’t that serious. SHANNON GORMLEY. Performance Works NW, 4625 SE 67th Ave., ourshoesarered.org. 8 pm Thursday-Sunday through June 24. $15-$10.
COMEDY Wonderland
The absurdist sketches in Wonderland’s new show seem to be spun from “what if” style humor: What if there are two uptight jury duty administrators who have a dance routine to “Cocomo?” What if a couple got into a domestic argument at a fancy restaurant while their dessert is constructed at their table with heaps of colorful ice cream, confetti and a toy train? Those questions manifest to varying degrees of success, but the show is worth it for its strong points. The cast wholeheartedly dedicates itself to Wonderland’s nutball ethos and its delightful ability to exaggerate everyday oddities. SHANNON GORMLEY. The Siren Theater, 315 NW Davis St., wonderlandportland.com. 8 pm Friday-Saturday, through June 24. $15-$20.
For more Performance listings, visit
MUSICAL JOURNEY: Jim Vadala plays the ukulele.
Tremendous Dick Jokes SPECTRAVAGASM GOES FOR LOW-HANGING FRUIT BY SHA N N ON GOR MLEY
sgormley@wweek.com
If there was going to be a holdout against the tendency to make everything about Donald Trump, you’d think it would be the proudly tasteless sketch comedy of Spectravagasm. After five years and 10 shows, writer and creator Sam Dinkowitz has established his affinity for fart jokes and Monty Python-style animated interludes over anything remotely topical. That hope is in vain. Spectravagasm X starts with a compilation of network news clips set to a string quartet rendition of “We Didn’t Start The Fire.” Then, the cast of nine comes onstage to sing a song with the hook “Hey Mr. Trump, eat a bag of dicks,” in which ensemble members Jessica Tidd and Phillip J. Berns leap across the stage, smiling and singing “Dicks! Dicks!” Thankfully, the interest is dick jokes, not social commentary. The sketch that follows makes it even more clear that Spectravagasm isn’t particularly interested in topical humor. Berns, Tidd, Jim Vadala and Jessi Walters play “Portland zombies” who only eat vegan brains. There are some amusing one-liners, like when Vadala tells us in a menacing zombie voice that while he doesn’t exclusively eat the brains of vegans, “it’s easier to catch up to them because they don’t eat complete proteins.” But as a whole, the sketch feels better suited for a time before the world was saturated with seven seasons of Portlandia. Still, Spectravagasm’s lack of interest in any kind of message is one of their strengths. In one sketch, Walters walks onstage in a bathrobe, hunched over and moaning from menstrual pain. When a leather jacket-clad
Berns tells her to get over it, Walters wishes into existence a wizard (Dinkowitz) who casts a spell on Berns that forces him to feel her pain. It feels momentarily righteous to see Berns doubled over in agony while a cackling Walters throws tampons at him. But Spectravagasm doesn’t pick sides—Dinkowitz then inflicts onto Walters the pain of getting kicked in the balls. Eventually, Berns and Walters muster the strength to rise to their knees and reach out to one another with outstretched hands. “We understand now,” they say in unison. In one wordless sketch, Walters, wearing a giant foam hand, dramatically wanders onto the stage to sad music. Afte r f ai li ng to use the giant hand to pull a silk robe onto her shoulder, she waltzes off the stage while staring longingly at the audience. Dinkowitz follows with a similarly dejected interlude, except his foam hand prevents him from using his smartphone. Later, a group of men start harassing Walters and hitting her with her own giant hand. Dinkowitz comes to the rescue and uses his own giant foam hand to fend the bullies off in slow motion. It’s totally absurd, but it’s hard not to appreciate the triumph-of-the-underdog sentimentality. Spectravagasm is crude in a way that’s almost childlike, which is why it feels so good-natured. The foam hand scene is immediately followed by a recurring fingering joke complete with sound effects that range from motorboating to something like scatting. Thankfully, in Spectravagasm X, nonsense is still the highest order. SEE IT: Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th Ave., funhouselounge.com. 10 pm Friday-Saturday June 23-24. Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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VISUAL ARTS C O U R T E S Y O F C 3 : I N I T I AT I V E
REVIEW
ALMOST INTIMATE: A collage from Jaleesa Johnston’s Territories of (E/e)nlightenment.
Quiet Disruption THE NAT TURNER PROJECT WANTS TO CREATE LITERAL AND METAPHORICAL SPACE FOR ARTISTS OF COLOR. BY SHA N N ON GOR MLEY
sgormley@wweek.com
Sitting in sagging vintage chairs at Anna Bannanas in St. John’s, the two curators behind the Nat Turner Project explain why their collaboration is named after the 1831 slave rebellion leader. “We wanted to make noise” says maximiliano, co-founder of NTP, which is dedicated to works by artists of color. “We wanted to disrupt.” So it’s strange how empty and almost serene their new show at c3:initiative’s gallery space initially seems. In the main gallery, there’s a TV mounted on a wall playing a video installation; hanging from the ceiling in a far corner, there’s a bag of blood-red apples sagging from a net made of hair. But the rest of the works in Jaleesa Johnston’s Territories of (E/e)nlightenment—six sparse collages on white and beige canvas—almost blend into the walls. Sharyll Burroughs’ interactive Reintegration, is tucked behind a heavy black curtain in a small room off the main gallery space. But the bareness is kind of a meditative— you can give each work your full attention without running out of brain juice before you’ve reached the end of the exhibit. Plus, it’s totally intentional. “How much space a work gets I feel like speaks to the value of that work and the gravity it’s considered with,” says NTP’s other founder Melanie Stevens. According to Stevens and maximiliano (both recent graduates of one of PNCA’s MFA programs), artists of color in Portland don’t usually that kind of space. “When you’re an artist of color, there’s this idea that identity art has to be packaged a certain way,” says Stevens. As Steven puts it, NTP formed out of a desire to “create this environment so that one artist of color does not have to represent an entire barrage of voices.” That means giving the artists of color they work with as much freedom as possible, and not exclusively presenting their art as 38
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“identity art.” So the odd location of their first show (which opened last August), was almost ideal—the works were displayed in a PNCA bathroom. An upperclassman started the tradition, and when he graduated, NTP took over. “He tried to imitate a white box gallery,” says maximiliano. “We wanted to be like ‘Here’s this unconventional space, what can you do with it?’” In honor of Juneteenth (the celebration of the abolition of slavery), both of the artists in the first of NTP’s two shows at c3 are black women. Burroughs’ Reintigration has a simple premise: Participants can walk into to the dim room one at a time, where Burroughs sits at a table with a chess clock on it. Projected on the wall behind her is a photo of two figurines constructed according to Plantation-era South stereotypes, gilded in gold and enlarged to take up half the wall. She instructs the participant that they’re going to say one word back and forth for two minutes, and shows them the word on her phone screen: “nigger.” The chess clock is for those who choose to tap out. Johnston’s series of collages of two bodies fucking are at first unassuming and almost surreal: The bodies are headless, and sometimes just reduced to just legs and arms. But they begin to feel like they’re giving off a kind of desperation. They’re so close to being vibrant and intimate, but the bodies are fractured in a way that seems to intentionally deprive them of the humanity they’d otherwise achieve. On one of the canvases, two disembodied arms reach out to touch hands. When the duo behind NTP talk about creating space for artists of color, they seamlessly transition from talking about physical space and conceptual freedom. “Discomfort is our mission,” says maximiliano, “But I don’t know if I would necessarily say that all our shows are about discomfort, because it’s still the artist’s agenda and what they want.” “Stripping away the pressure to be one voice representing all of the voices,” adds Stevens, “is I think the biggest disruption that you can make in this environment—letting works by an artist of color stand on their own.” SEE IT: The June Show is at c3:initiative, 7526 N Chicago Ave., c3initiative.org. Through July 1.
BOOKS = WW Pick. Highly recommended. 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.
THURSDAY, JUNE 22 Mary Roach
America has shown there are more than enough people interested in figuring out how to take soldiers’ lives. But in Mary Roach’s new book Grunt , the popular science writer goes into the industry of those who try to keep troops alive. Roach demonstrates how diarrhea, hearing loss, and boredom can in their own ways be dire threats, and speaks to the people who want to combat them. Alberta Rose Theater, 3000 NE Alberta St., 503-719-6055. 7 pm.
Jeremy Robert Johnson
Jeremy Robert Johnson has developed something of a local cult following thanks to his pioneering “bizarro” fiction, earning praise from the likes of Chuck Palahniuk and David Wong. With his newest short story collection Entropy in Bloom, Johnson channels Lovecraftian horror and empathic character writing in what some believe will vault him into (conventional) literary acclaim. Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 800878-7323. 7:30 pm.
Gabe Habash
Martial arts in general and highlevel wrestling in specific have a tendency to attract loners, seekers, and the intellectually eccentric. Publishers Weekly editor Gabe Habash renders this dynamic of obsession and isolation in his debut novel Stephen Florida, which centers on a collegiate wrestler as gifted as he is disturbed. Habash will speak with Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever author Justin Taylor. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm.
FRIDAY, JUNE 23 David Sedaris
David Sedaris doesn’t need to pen the occasional cocktail party-wit articles from his picturesque West Sussex, U.K., home anymore—his success is fully mature. That’s a different life than is revealed in his new collection of journals Theft By Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) in which a wayward young gay man struggles to hold jobs and fights addiction. You might like this unguarded Sedaris even more. Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 800-878-7323. 6 pm.
TUESDAY, JUNE 27 Curtis C. Chen & Jason Hough
Vancouver-based author Curtis C. Chen used to write the dystopian present as a Silicon Valley software engineer. Now he writes the dystopian future through his speculative fiction. His new novel, Kangaroo Too, follows up on his debut Waypoint Kangaroo, centering on a space-galavanting secret agent with his own interdimensional portal. He will be joined by Jason Hough, author of Injection Burn and Escape Velocity. Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 800-878-7323. 7 pm.
For more Books listings, visit
PROFILE
Teruo Portland ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR GUIDEBOOKS IN JAPAN IS ABOUT PORTLAND. WE TALKED TO ITS MAKERS ABOUT THE NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION. BY MATTHEW KORFHAGE
mkorfhage@wweek.com
If Japan seems to love Portland, one of the biggest reasons is Teruo Kurosaki. The Tokyo-based designer, curator and artsworld figure began visiting our city in 1985 to see his brother Toshio, a developer here in town. Over decades, Kurosaki fell in love with what he saw as a different vision of the world, and he brought what he found back to Tokyo. The first edition of his 2014 guide to our city, True Portland, became the best-selling guide of any kind on Amazon Japan, and was at the forefront of a Japanese travel boom to Portland that’s been obvious to anyone hanging out in the Pearl District. Now True Portland is coming out in English (Hawthorne Books, 303 pages, $24.95), offering a rare opportunity—invaluable for a city whose favorite hobby is gazing into our own navels—to see what another culture has made of us. The book digs deep into underground cool-kid spots still unknown to many in Portland—Hoodoo Antiques in Old Town, Solabee Flowers on Killingsworth—in part because of the authors’ extensive network of connections throughout the city, whether Departure’s Gregory Gourdet or the staff of the Ace Hotel. Kurosaki and one of the books’ editors, Akihiro Matsui, will be in Portland this Thursday launching the English translation of True Portland at Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider. We talked them in advance about gentrification, the dreams of hippies and breathing the free Portland air. MATTHEW KORFHAGE. WW: Tokyo is an older and much more cosmopolitan city than ours—why is Portland interesting? Why not New York or L.A.? Teruo Kurosaki: It has an indie kind of feeling, you know—the hippie generation. In America, the most important thing is the dream of the hippie generation, from the ’60s to the ’90s, like 1968 Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. I saw that happen around the world, but I saw a really good result in Portland. Portland can have a different attitude to life and nature. In Japan, this has been denied: We have become really normal and standard, like a German society. But people looking to chase their dreams? I can find that in Portland. Akihiro Matsui: Portland has something we don’t really have. We have 13 million people, but we don’t have craft DIY culture—or we didn’t until the past 10 years, craft beer and tattoos and all those things. We always get inspired by something we don’t have.
A lot of people here think Portland has been ruined by money. Kurosaki: Still compared to other cities, you have a sense of beauty. The attitude to life is really Portland. Portland is way of thinking or of acting, a lifestyle. Everything there has a special meaning to me. It’s still OK. In these seven, eight years it’s become a little bit more normal, or a little bit commercialized from too much appreciation. But Portland still has unique points. Matsui: People say Portland is gentrified, it’s getting more expensive to live and it pushes people to move away. But Portland attracts Japanese. It’s hard to put into words. It’s a combination of things.
Teruo Kurosaki
Why translate True Portland into English? Kurosaki: Many American people have asked us to put it in English. That’s why. Of course, we changed it for these people, who are maybe Portlanders. It will make a different impression on an American audience. Matsui: I’d been living in Europe for a few years, and then I started to realize Tokyo is amazing. There are things you can find out or see only when you have a distance. The point of us doing True Portland [in English], it’s
something like that. Someone who lives outside the city can have a fresh perspective. We are outsiders—Japanese—who made a book about Portland, Oregon. What’s the first place you tell someone from Tokyo to visit in Portland? Matsui: Powell’s. I tell them to first go to Powell’s. The important thing is you walk around and find something you like. Being in the city is more important than the information. I tell them to go to Powell’s and find books, and start from there. Kurosaki: There’s no specific place. Just breathe the air of Portland, just get the feeling of the trees in Portland, the independent lifestyle. Portland has been establishing its own culture, different from Seattle or San Francisco. It’s more carefree, you can go out in the wild, eat the food, take a bicycle. I was asked by many Japanese people: Where should we visit in Portland? I say, “Oh, you just walk around.” Go to any coffee shop. Not some fancy hotel, or the Ace Hotel. Anyplace, you can feel that. Open up your eyes and feel the five senses more sharply. That’s what I say to those people. What do you want to visit next when you’re here? Ku r o s a k i : T h e n e w h o t e l h a s b e e n opened, the Hi-Lo. I’m meeting [former Wieden+Kennedy creative director] John Jay next week, and he’s suggested a few places. Every day in Portland almost, a new restaurant is opening. There are always new people, new things happening all the time in Portland. I just want to keep on going there. That’s my goal now. GO: Kurosaki and Matsui will attend the True Portland Launch Party Thursday, June 22, at Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider, 1813 NE 2nd Ave. There will be a Japanese-PDX marketplace, a Japanese collaboration beer from Portland’s Culmination Brewing, and cider made with Japanese apples. 6-10 pm. Free. 21+. Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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BETH DUBBER
MOVIES GET YOUR R E PS IN
Batman (1966)
Hard to believe that there was a time when Batman was defined as a goofy masked crime fighter rather than an insane libertarian billionaire hellbent on revenge. In honor of Adam West, who passed away on June 9, the Hollywood screens the first Batman film starring West as the Caped Crusader and Burt Ward as Robin, who take on the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman and the Riddler. Hollywood, June 23-24.
The Breach (1970)
Unfortunately, the Church of Film collective’s time at the North Star Ballroom has come to an end for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, you can still catch their weekly screenings of films like The Breach, an Italian thriller about a working-class woman fighting the family of her aristocratic husband for the custody of their child, at the Clinton Street Theater and Century bar. Clinton Street Theater, 7 pm, Wednesday, June 21.
SILVER FOX: Sam Elliott.
With Apologies to Sam Elliott
To Be Or Not To Be (1942)
People were not happy when, in the middle of World War II, Ernst Lubitsch released this comedy about a troupe of Polish actors who outwit the Nazi occupiers of Warsaw. Today, it’s considered a pitch-black comedy classic. Starring Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, it screens as part of the 25th Portland Jewish Film Festival. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, June 24 and 26.
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Mission celebrates the 20th anniversary of Luc Besson’s absolutely batshit, ultra-camp sci-fi, starring Bruce Willis, a villainous Gary Oldman and Milla Jovich as childlike alien/living element Leeloo. Prepare your mind before Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets releases next month. Mission, June 26-30.
Rolling Thunder (1977)
Written by Paul Schrader, who wrote Taxi Driver during the same period, Rolling Thunder is an ultraviolent revenge film from the 70’s starring William Devane and a young Tommy Lee Jones as former POWs who return home from Vietnam to trauma and violence. One of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite films, it screens on 35mm as part of the ongoing Grindhouse Film Festival at the Hollywood. Hollywood, 7:30 pm, Tuesday, June 27
ALSO PLAYING: Academy: Labyrinth (1986), June 23-29. Church of Film at North Star Ballroom: Three Good Friends (1930), 8 pm, Wednesday, June 14. Clinton Street Theater: Fame (1980), 7 pm, Monday, June 26. Hollywood: Pollyanna (1920), 2 pm, Saturday, June 24. Laurelhurst: The Maltese Falcon (1941), June 23-29, Sabrina (1954), June 21-22. Mission: Overboard (1987), 5:30 pm, Monday, June 26, Casablanca (1942), June 28-30.
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THE HERO GIVES PORTLAND-RAISED ACTOR SAM ELLIOTT A CHANCE TO SHINE, BUT IT DOESN’T ANSWER ITS OWN QUESTIONS. BY WALKER MACMURDO
wmacmurdo@wweek.com
Sam Elliott’s acting career of almost 50 years has been as steady and respectable as one could hope for in Hollywood. But the Portland-raised actor seems less associated with his actual body of work than with his bushy, silver horseshoe mustache and the timbre of his voice—so sonorous it’s like Father Time dressed as a cowboy and willed his way onto the big screen. They define even his most memorable performance as the bowling-alley spiritual advisor to the Dude in The Big Lebowski. But what does that say about Elliott as an actor? The Hero asks if one’s achievements are overshadowed by, say, timbre of voice or bushiness of mustache, does their career—and by extension, their life—mean anything at all? Written and directed by indie up-andcomer Brett Haley (I’ll See You in My Dreams, The New Year), The Hero initially answers the question with a dour “no.” We’re introduced to Lee Hayden (Elliott), a 71-year-old actor, as he delivers the line “Lone Star barbecue: it’s the perfect pardner for your chicken” with enough dejection to make Eeyore blush. Hayden is a man who waits for phone calls—from his agent who’s been failing to scrounge up work for him, his estranged daughter Lucy (Krysten Ritter) or, more pressingly, his oncologist, who soon delivers a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Hayden is too overwhelmed with ennui to make a move toward life-lengthening procedures, hospice care or even telling anyone he’s sick: Not even his only friend Jeremy (Nick
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Offerman, who brings the hilarious stern of Ron Swanson to a hoodie-swaddled former child actor-turned weed dealer), let alone his daughter or ex-wife (Katharine Ross, Elliott’s actual wife). Instead, he tells them, and flirtatious new acquaintance Charlotte (Laura Prepon of Orange Is the New Black) that he’s making a movie. Then, after a chance encounter, Hayden invites Charlotte to a lifetime achievement award ceremony, where a video of his MDMAfueled acceptance speech goes viral. As his career gets a surprise jolt and his relationship with Charlotte deepens, Hayden must confront both his mortality and his insecurities.
visits to the beach, where waves recede into the Pacific to the sounds of plinky-plonk piano music. The Hero even treats an old-man-balls joke from Charlotte as a grievous wound to Hayden’s pride. If old-man balls aren’t funny, may God help me, I don’t know what is. This isn’t to take away from Elliott’s performance. As Hayden, Elliott gets to have his mustache cake and eat it too, navigating his now-archetypal cowboy drawl toward tenderness and self doubt. Elliott has a wonderfully expressive face that doesn’t just burst into stoned grins, but quietly sinks into disappointment and retreats into embarrassment. Haley, who wrote this script specifically with Elliott
“IF ONE’S ACHIEVEMENTS ARE OVERSHADOWED BY, SAY, TIMBRE OF VOICE OR BUSHINESS OF MUSTACHE, DOES THEIR CAREER...MEAN ANYTHING AT ALL?” And they’re confronted with as much seriousness and few smiles as possible. The Hero fully buys into Hayden as being “a sad, old pothead,” as Charlotte calls him, treating his every fit of pique and “why me?” self-loathing with utmost seriousness. This becomes tough to reconcile with Hayden’s exploits: a moneyed life filled with hanging out and smoking weed and taking molly and receiving awards from adoring fans and—spoiler alert—having sex with a beautiful woman. The film somberly nods along through bluefiltered, artfully framed shots of the back of Elliot’s luxurious steel-gray mane and several
in mind, makes a strong argument that he is a leading man who never was—an outsized avatar of vulnerable masculinity never properly utilized in a cowboy hat. Unfortunately, Haley substitutes Elliott’s performance for an answer to the big questions he asks in the first act. By never challenging the terms of Hayden’s self-imposed misery, The Hero never resolves whether Hayden needs a second chance when he, perhaps, had a very good first one. SEE IT: The Hero opens at Cinema 21 and Kiggins on Friday, June 23.
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. : This movie sucks, don’t watch it. : This movie is entertaining but flawed. : This movie is good. We recommend you watch it. : This movie is excellent, one of the best of the year.
NOW PLAYING 47 Meters Down
In this shark thriller, a recently dumped Lisa (Mandy Moore) thinks an Instagram post during a trip to Mexico will get her boyfriend back. That gives you a pretty solid idea of the movie’s depth. Still, 3D rendering of some massive sharks and impressive special effects does provide some scare value to compensate for the surreally awkward dialogue between Lisa and her adventurous sister, Kate (Claire Holt). Kate convinces her sister that a sharkdiving selfie will show her ex what he’s missing. Once the rope holding the protective cage snaps, the sisters tumble into the ocean’s depths, as does the remaining feasibility of the film. Director Johannes Roberts makes redeeming efforts with the visuals on the ocean floor, using tight shots on their masks within the claustrophobic cage, and expanding to the vast open ocean around them when they make a break for it. Nothing but little specks show movement in the blue abyss, until a pair of gnashing, open jaws suddenly appear. Regardless of the eyebrow-raising leaps, like Lisa’s underwater air tank swap, those seeking the heart-pumping adrenaline of a summer shark flick won’t be disappointed. PG-13. LAUREN TERRY. Bridgeport, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Oak Grove, Tigard, Vancouver.
The Bad Batch
In director Ana Lily Amirpour’s follow-up to A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Suki Waterhouse wanders around a post-apocalyptic desert inhabited by the like of cannibals and a psychedelic cult leader played by Keanu Reeves Coincidentally, the gory, surreal horror movie features music by Portland band Federale. R. Hollywood Theatre.
The Beguiled
Sofia Coppola’s Civil War-era tale of amorousness and limb-severing vengeance has a beautifully haunting opening: a scene where a young girl (Oona Laurence) happens upon the wounded Union soldier John McBurney (Colin Farrell). With its aura of quiet menace, that moment sets the style for the movie, which follows McBurney back to a Southern all-girls seminary, where his hosts (including Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning) both vie for his affections and subject him to ghastly torment. Coppola—who adapted the film from a Thomas Cullinan novel—may have packed the movie with intimations of repressed rage and sexuality, but she suffocates The Beguiled with monotonously pretty scenery and the tiresome spectacle of awful people doing awful things to other awful people. Only rarely does the film flicker with emotional life, which usually happens when the effortlessly charismatic McBurney is onscreen. He declares that he’s “easily amused,” which begs the question: Why doesn’t Coppola try amusing us for a change? R. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bridgeport.
The Book of Henry
Directed by Colin Trevorrow’s (Jurassic World), The Book of Henry tells the story of Henry (Jaeden Lieberher), a cute, dying, 11-year-old genius who lives next door to Christina (Maddie Ziegler), another cute kid with an abusive stepfather (Dean Norris). It’s the kind of movie where anything that’s not “nice”—alcoholism, mourning the death of a child, buying a gun—is made to look quirky and magical, including the frazzled scenes where Henry’s mother (Naomi Watts) plots to murder Christina’s stepfather. And while this bout of vigilantism yields some sweat-worthy suspense, the film’s mashing of whimsy and skin-crawling terror is grating and seem to cynically milk tragedy for entertainment. PG-13. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bridgeport, City Center, Clackamas, Eastport, Fox Tower.
STILL SHOWING Alien: Covenant
Casting Danny McBride as the alien was a ballsy gamble that paid off. Sadly, nothing else in Ridley Scott’s frenetic follow-up to the underrated Prometheus comes together as it should. R. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, Cinema 21, Cinemagic Theatre, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Hollywood, Living Room Theaters, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, St. Johns Pub and Theater, Tigard, Vancouver.
Baywatch
I am pleased to report that this movie is exactly as unnecessary and idiotic as you think it is. R. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.
Beauty and the Beast
Did we need this remake? Probably not. Is is pretty good? Yes. PG. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Eastport, Living Room Theaters, Vancouver.
The Boss Baby
Somehow, this movie isn’t a terrifying monstrosity. PG. Clackamas, Division, Vancouver.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Giddy satire gives way to lazy bombast in this animated adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s children’s book series, which has too much of its titular under-dressed superhero and too little of its prankster protagonists, two elementary schoolers (voiced by Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch) at war with the tyrannical Principal Krupp (Ed Helms). PG. Beaverton, Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Milwaukie, Oak Grove, Tigard, Vancouver.
Cars 3
Cars 3 is a tribute to the bonds shared by teachers and students, albeit with a slapstick demolition derby scene dominated by a comically sinister school
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MOVIES
Colossal
Nacho Vigalondo’s new monster flick follows Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis drunkenly rampaging through the friend zone as down-andout yuppies whose angst somehow controls gigantic kaiju. PG. Academy, Laurelhurst.
Everything, Everything
This young adult movie about a girl (Amandla Stenberg) who lives in a bubble is just as devoid of logic,
storytelling or disability rights as it sounds like it is. PG-13. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Fox Tower, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Tigard, Vancouver.
The Fate of the Furious
Sadly, Paul Walker was the key ingredient missing in the eighth iteration of the Fast and the Furious franchise. At least there’s still a bunch of cool explosions and shit. PG-13. Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Vancouver.
Get Out
Yes, this movie is as good as everyone says it is, enough so that it makes you ask why other horror movies aren’t better. R. Fox Tower, Vancouver.
Gifted
Every time I read the name of this movie, I think of that T-shirt you’d see at Spencer’s Gifts, emblazoned with a stick figure with three legs and the word “GIFTED,” implying the wearer has a large penis. PG-13. City Center, Living Room Theaters.
Going in Style
Zach Braff’s Going in Style acts as a bitterly honest ode to aging, ageism and existentialism—themes that are always spry. What one might not expect is a plot that’s fairly heinous, both morally and logistically, with characters who remain justified and likable throughout. PG-13. Academy, Avalon, Kennedy School.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
When the first Guardians debuted, its irreverent, hilarious, bizarro tone came out of nowhere, making audiences fall in love with Marvel’s D-list heroes at the confluence of Star Wars, The Ice Pirates and Buckaroo Banzai. Vol. 2 isn’t the jolt that the first one was, but between all the action and its surprisingly poignant finale, it’s a welcome addition. We’d follow this band of charismatic assholes anywhere at this point. PG-13. Bagdad, Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Moreland, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Roseway, St. Johns Twin Cinema & Pub, Tigard, Vancouver.
COURTESY OF DAMANI BAKER
REVIEW
I, Daniel Blake
ADVENTURE TIME: Damani Baker (far right) in Grenada.
Paradise Lost
Wh en A me ri ca n fi l mma ke r Damani Baker talks about the power of meeting his “first black president,” he isn’t talking about Obama. He means Maurice Bishop, who led a bloodless coup on the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada and, for a hot minute in the early ’80s, worked to turn it into an Afrocentric socialist paradise. In The House on Coco Road, Baker sets out to recall his brief and largely idyllic experience on the island. In 1983, Baker’s mom Fannie Haughton abruptly uprooted her young family from Oakland to seek a better life in Bishop’s vision for a new society. But the documentary ends up painting a far broader picture of the woman who brought them there and her role in the history of black activism. Home movies reveal Baker’s family’s ongoing quest for a sunnier future—from segregated Louisiana, where his great-grandparents were sharecroppers, to California in the Great Migration, to college campuses for his mom’s political awakening and then to his boyhood home of Oakland, the birthplace of the Black Panther Party that gave way to the crack epidemic. Through this lens, we start to understand his mom’s seemingly wild plan to move their family to a tropical island in the wake of a revolution. “To live in a country where there is a black prime minister and black folks taking care of their own. I thought, what a good experience for my children,” Haughton tells her son, still smiling as she thinks back on that year. “It was a utopia.” The utopia was short-lived. Bishop was deposed by his right-hand man. Reagan then sent in troops to take down what he claimed was “a Soviet Cuban colony being readied as a major military bastion to export terror and undermine democracy.” Baker says this is a lie, and his film places the episode in the larger narrative of black oppression at the hands of white America. Still, it’s a remarkably hopeful film. Baker’s intimate family portrait makes a compelling case that, even in the darkest times, moms and dads should still strive toward a brighter future where their kids can play carefree in the sun. RUTH BROWN.
A documentary remembers a short-lived Afrocentric utopia.
SEE IT: The House at Coco Road screens at Clinton St. Theater on Thursday, June 22 at 7:30 pm. $7-$10 suggested admission. 42
Willamette Week JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
An “I” precedes the name Daniel Blake in Ken Loach’s (The Wind That Shakes the Barley) 2016 Palme d’Orwinning film because its protagonist will eventually be driven to testimony. But Daniel doesn’t start out an evangelist for the English commoner, and neither does the film. Played as a grouch with a heart by comedian Dave Johns, we follow Daniel through a welfare system’s circles of hell in the former industrial hub of Newcastle. You’d be hardpressed to find a more sobering portrayal of a losing streak taking over a life. R. Living Room Theaters.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Guy Ritchie has a gift for making fantasy warfare breathtakingly boring. PG-13. Bridgeport, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.
Kong: Skull Island
Following the original film’s blueprint, Kong: Skull Island sends a boatload of explorers past the permastorm that’s hidden the titular archipelago for millennia. The similarities end there. Shifting to Southeast Asia just after the fall of Saigon, Skull Island replaces Age of Discovery heroics with wartime ambience. PG-13. Avalon, Joy, Jubitz, Vancouver.
The Lego Batman Movie
Fast, funny and pleasingly drunk on the joys of mockery, The Lego Batman Movie is as fun as the 2014 original but stars Will Arnett as a petulant, preening goofball who rocks out on an electric guitar and showers orphans with cool toys from a merch gun. PG. Academy, Clackamas, Vancouver, Vancouver.
Logan
Turns out having Hugh Jackman and cute child Dafne Keen perform Mortal Kombat fatalities on robot-armed mercenaries is a cool idea for a movie. R. Academy, Avalon, Joy, Jubitz, Kennedy School, Laurelhurst, Vancouver.
The Lovers
The Lovers would be a black comedy if writer-director Azazel Jacobs pushed a tone more, but this story about sad middle-aged Californians Michael (Tracy Letts) and Susan (Lesley Fera) cheating on each other is more drab irony searching for chuckles. R. City Center, Clackamas, Hollywood, Living Room Theaters, Tigard.
Megan Leavey
Portland Jewish Film Festival
The Portland Jewish Film Festival returns to the Northwest Film Center for the 25th year, showcasing films exploring Jewish perspectives that aren’t commonly seen in mainstream American film. Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, June 11-25. See nwfilm.org/calendar for full schedule.
Snatched
With a more expressive star and a more experienced director, this Iraq War tale of a U.S. Marine and her German shepherd could have been more than what it is: a glossy, facile and TV-ready tribute to a heroic woman who deserves a much better movie. PG-13. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Tigard.
Picture the worn-out gimmick of the hapless character on a mission, walking in slow motion while gangsta rap ironically scores their strut. Picture a film unimaginative enough to use that gag three separate times and you have Snatched. R. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Fox Tower, Living Room Theaters, Vancouver.
My Cousin Rachel
T2: Trainspotting
Spooky, sexy and gleefully menacing, this fresh rendition of Daphne du Maurier’s novel is a terrific showcase for its stars, Sam Claflin as dunderhead lord of a coastal estate in Victorian-era England who seeks vengeance against the cousin of title, and said cousin (Rachel Weisz), whose masterful performance blends anguish, toughness and terrifying rage. PG-13. Bridgeport.
The Mummy
The Mummy is a bunch of haphazard action sqeunces hastily constucted a one-sided romance between an Egyptian zombie princess (Sofia Boutella) and Tom Cruise’s goofy daredevil Nick Morton. Still, it’s almost wonderous in its stupidity. PG-13. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Living Room Theaters, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer
As a wannabe American-Israeli fixer, this is Richard Gere’s finest performance since Chicago. If you’re into pretty compelling nonsense, call anytime day or night; ask for Norman. R. City Center, Fox Tower.
Obit
One wouldn’t assume a documentary about New York Times obituary columnists would be laughout-loud funny. This dying art is practiced by an aging bullpen of wry hunters-and peckers who strive to immortalize striking details in the lives of people who made a quantifiable impact on the world—on deadline. NR. Cinema 21.
It’s been 21 years since Trainspotting turned a blackly comic druggie caper into generational touchstone, and the follow-up posits that if you can survive the first rush of freedom and weather the inevitable hangover of crashing dreams, nostalgia becomes the last true habit. R. Fox Tower.
Their Finest
’Ello, love! It’s what seems to be the thousandth period romance this year, this time revolving around a screenwriter (Gemma Arterton) in the British film industry in 1940, marred by needless plot hiccups that make this film dissonantly depressing. R. Fox Tower.
The Wedding Plan
This pleasantly peculiar Hebrewlanguage rom-com from director Rama Burshtein (Fill the Void) follows Michal (Noa Koller), an Orthodox Jewish woman who’s abandoned by her fiancee and must find a new one by the last night of Hanukkah. PG. Living Room Theaters.
Wonder Woman
I never thought I’d get a lump in my throat watching a superhero movie but here we are. Patty Jenkins’ telling of Diana Prince’s (Gal Gadot) WWI origin deftly balances action, romance, comedy and emotional heft like no other in genre has. PG-13. Bagdad, Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, Cinemagic Theatre, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Moreland, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Roseway, St. Johns Twin Cinema & Pub, Tigard, Vancouver.
For more Movies listings, visit
Paris Can Wait
Would a lighter version of Eat, Pray, Love even be a film at all? PG. Cinema 21.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Ahoy matey! Johnny Depp is washed! PG-13. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Milwaukie, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, St. Johns Twin Cinema & Pub, Tigard, Vancouver.
The Lost City of Z
This supremely entertaining tale of exploration and obsession unfolds in the early years of the 20th century to chronicle the storied search of Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) for an ancient city he believes lies hidden deep within the Amazon. With a buildup of suspense that would have made Hitchcock crack a sinister smile, and intoxicating images— men hacking their way through foliage with machetes, ramshackle boats floating toward elusive destinations—from director James Gray (Two Lovers), the movie hypnotizes completely. PG-13. Bridgeport, Fox Tower.
C O U R T E S Y O F WA R N E R B R O S .
bus. Yet it’s Pixar’s gift for imbuing inanimate objects with humanity that makes you care when Cruz and Lightning lean into the curves. G. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.
Wonder Woman
ASHLEY DELLINGER
end roll
Cannabis Culture by Invitation Only
POP-UP DINNER SERIES ARCANE REVELRY IS WHAT TRUE POT CULTURE COULD LOOK LIKE. BY M AT T STA N G E L
Except for the labels on the cannabis, it looks like a Soho loft party. Natural light colors the city-block-long room in Southwest Portland, occupied by a snaking arrangement of tables set for 75 dinner guests. Nearby, a DJ spins downtempo, clubby beats, and a caterer holding a tray of petite glassware approaches and offers me the evening’s amusebouche, a white gazpacho—delicious and thick with an aromatic, garlic kick. At the center of the room, attendees mingle at the long hardwood bar, where Coalition Brewing runs taps of their new CBDinfused beers, while an array of vendors from the cannabis industry give hands-on tours of their products. A man whose name I never catch passes me a finger-wide cone of Lemon Skunk as I inspect from a distance jars of flower produced by Holy Child Farms. The growers, noting my hesitation, assure me: “It’s not a dispensary.” Down the bar is a tasting area for High Desert Pure cannabis extracts, where a dab station is in full swing and cartridge-based oil pens are lined up for sampling. Adjacent is Hive, serving up sticks of honey infused with either THC or CBD. This is Arcane Revelry, a pop-up dinner series branded as “cannabis culture by invitation only.” Tickets are $75, and everything—the flower, the dabs, the infused beer, the white gazpacho—is all-inclusive. Tonight is the second-ever event in the series, featuring a four-course meal by Pozole to the People’s Chris Bailey and speakers from organizations like the Oregon Innocence Project, a nonprofit that provides free legal help to Oregonians they believe are falsely imprisoned. Arcane Revelry co-founder Crystal Feldman hatched the idea for her cannabis dinner during a religious dinner—a Seder celebration that featured cannabis instead of sacramental wine. This is in keeping with tradition, she says. “Ancient Jewish law and tradition speaks specifically about cannabis consumption in rituals for the purpose of connecting with spirit,” says Feldman. That Seder ceremony was a sort of coming out for many in attendance. People who would never break out a joint in other settings for fear of professional or social repercussions suddenly found themselves sharing the sacred herb and discover-
ing their mutual adoration for humanity’s oldest, favorite plant. Feldman realized that the cannabis industry itself could benefit from a similar safe space for people to connect, hang out and finally share an opportunity to legally consume weed as a community. It sounds like a no-brainer—gathering cannabis professionals in a place where they can comfortably smoke together—but it’s not as easy as it sounds. Presently, Oregon’s Indoor Clean Air Act makes it so, just like tobacco, cannabis cannot be consumed at public venues like bars and social clubs. Additionally, the way cannabis laws are currently written, smoking outside in public view is a no-go, and therefore, the only legal option is to consume in a private residence. This raises issues not just for people looking for social spots to consume and mingle, but for tourists staying in places subject to the Indoor Clean Air Act, and for people living in buildings where smoking is prohibited. Oregon Senate Bill 307 aims to rectify the situation by creating a legal framework for licensed cannabis consumption venues, but the law hasn’t yet been approved and many consumers are presently without provisions for safe spaces to smoke. Feldman and other proponents of SB 307 say it’s not just an issue of equitable access; it’s also a matter of managing public image. If the only ways to smoke weed are to do so either as a shut-in or as a criminal, naysayers can politicize and manipulate that perception to block cannabis reform. Arcane Revelry is designed to offer an alternative to those images, and a vision of what a future cannabis culture might look like. Of course, Arcane Revelry is as utopian as it is exclusive, but without events of this nature it could be hard to imagine what responsible public weed use could look like, given some regulatory and infrastructural development. And without an example to work toward, garnering the support and advocacy of community influencers can be an abstract task. “If we set the example of the change we wish to see, we better our community and promote tolerance for our children and future generations,” says Feldman. And if that means beginning with Le Pigeon so someone can start a dive bar for the little guy, then bring on the fancy.
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ARMCHAIR FAMILY BOOKSTORE FOR OVER 45 YEARS
UNDER NEW OWNER NEW STOCK OF USED THINGS BOOKS • CDS • CLOTHES • DVDS • VIDEOS AND ADULT DVDS $5.00 ARMCHAIR FAMILY BOOKSTORE 3205 SE MILWAUIKE PORT. OR MON-FRI 11-6 SAT 11-5 503-477-5446
GREY FICTION THURSDAY, JUNE 22 AT 6PM
With On Your Way to Earth & Back, the 14 song debut album from Grey Fiction, the band serves up an energetic batch of indie rock jams. Based in Portland by way of Salt Lake City, Grey Fiction have been making waves playing their unique brand of emotional rock across the west coast.
MIKE STAX READING AND SIGNING
SATURDAY, JUNE 24 AT 3PM Musician and author Mike Stax spent fifteen years piecing together the strange and tragic story of Craig Smith a.k.a. Maitreya Kali in his 2016 book “Swim Through The Darkness”. Stax is also the founder and editor of “Ugly Things” magazine. Based in La Mesa, California, “Ugly Things” brings its readers unparalleled coverage of the best lost, unknown and overlooked music of the 1960s.
KING BLACK ACID SATURDAY, JULY 1 AT 4PM
Daniel John Riddle has been recording and performing under the pseudonym King Black Acid since the late 1980s. Riddle’s prolific output has been featured in several film and TV soundtracks including “The Mothman Prophecies” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”.
44
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Removal of Metal/Cars free 503-839-7222
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Pruning and removals, stump grinding. 24-hour emergency service. Licensed/ Insured. CCB#67024. Free estimates. 503-939-3211
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FUN FACT: MATT PLAMBECK LOVES SALT WATER TAFFY. Willamette Week Classifieds JUNE 21, 2017 wweek.com
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JONESIN’
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by Matt Jones
“That’s Not a Word!”--not entering the dictionary anytime soon.
challenged) in the second-ever episode of “The Simpsons” 62 *May 2017 mistweet that won’t go away
35 Arthur ___, inventor of the crossword in 1913
69 17th-century Dutch philosopher who wrote “Ethics”
36 Old photo shade
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15 Player seen in bars 16 Raw material used to make steel 17 *Mork’s epithet on “Mork & Mindy” 18 *Second word of “Jabberwocky” 19 Flynn of “Captain Blood” 21 “___ friend!” 22 Tax prep pros 26 Typeface embellishment
29 Sound 31 “The Wizard of ___ Park” 33 “Science Guy” Bill 34 *Creatures questioned by Mr. Salt in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” 37 Disreputable, slangily 38 Accompany to the airport, maybe 42 *Scuttle’s guess at naming a human artifact (really a fork) in “The Little Mermaid”
46 Sony handheld console since 2005, briefly
8 Brother or sister
49 Big bankruptcy of 2001
10 “Hop ___!”
50 Seven on “Sesame Street,” sometimes 51 “Only ___” (Oingo Boingo song) 53 Ranks above viscounts 55 Got all the questions right on 56 “___ the Wind” (Garth Brooks album) 58 “Super!” 60 *Scrabble play by Bart (which Homer
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44 Collected wisdom 45 Intertwines
9 Musical adaptation abbr. 11 Lacking guidance 12 Allergen with its own index 13 The Who’s “Baba ___”
47 Decelerate
52 City known for mustard 54 Walk hard 57 Kia hybrid SUV since 2016 (what, you expected “Robert De ___”?) 59 Finished 61 “Moulin Rouge!” director Luhrmann 63 TGIF part 64 Id ___ (that is) 65 Moriarty, to Holmes 66 Low-ranking USN officer last week’s answers
14 Turn on its head 20 ___ Ishii (“Kill Bill” character) 22 “Mangy Love” folkrocker McCombs 23 Genre for the Ramones
24 “Whiles, like ___, I go to find my fawn”: ©2017 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 #JONZ823.
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43 Munchable morning mix
48 Ancient scroll materials
7 Minima and maxima, in math
8 Used, as a saddle
41 “SNL” alum Armisen
3 Musical genre from Jamaica
6 Beer from Golden, Colorado
1 Newspaper revenue source
40 Outdoor gala
46 Winter coats
5 Xavier Cugat’s exwife Lane
28 Chemical that makes a flea flee
39 Oil-producing gp.
2 “That’s, like, preschool level”
4 Candy with collectible dispensers
Across
30 Harriet’s TV spouse 32 Creme-filled cookies
1 Racecar driver Foyt and Backstreet Boy McLean, for two
Vancouver 360-314-CHAT
27 “It’s just a ___ wound!”
68 Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo
Down
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25 Fitted for a ring, e.g.
67 Dawn-related
70 7UP alternatives
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Week of June 22
© 2017 Rob Brezsny
ARIES (March 21-April 19) There are places in the oceans where the sea floor cracks open and spreads apart from volcanic activity. This allows geothermally heated water to vent out from deep inside the earth. Scientists explored such a place in the otherwise frigid waters around Antarctica. They were elated to find a “riot of life” living there, including previously unknown species of crabs, starfish, sea anemones, and barnacles. Judging from the astrological omens, Aries, I suspect that you will soon enjoy a metaphorically comparable eruption of warm vitality from the unfathomable depths. Will you welcome and make use of these raw blessings even if they are unfamiliar and odd? TAURUS (April 20-May 20) I’m reporting from the first annual Psychic Olympics in Los Angeles. For the past five days, I’ve competed against the world’s top mindreaders, dice-controllers, spirit whisperers, spoon-benders, angel-wrestlers, and stock market prognosticators. Thus far I have earned a silver medal in the category of channeling the spirits of dead celebrities. (Thanks, Frida Kahlo and Gertrude Stein!) I psychically foresee that I will also win a gold medal for most accurate fortune-telling. Here’s the prophecy that I predict will cinch my victory: “People born in the sign of Taurus will soon be at the pinnacle of their ability to get telepathically aligned with people who have things they want and need.” GEMINI (May 21-June 20) While reading Virginia Woolf, I found the perfect maxim for you to write on a slip of paper and carry around in your pocket or wallet or underwear: “Let us not take it for granted that life exists more fully in what is commonly thought big than in what is commonly thought small.” In the coming weeks, dear Gemini, I hope you keep this counsel simmering constantly in the back of your mind. It will protect you from the dreaminess and superstition of people around you. It will guarantee that you’ll never overlook potent little breakthroughs as you scan the horizon for phantom miracles. And it will help you change what needs to be changed slowly and surely, with minimum disruption. CANCER (June 21-July 22) Now that you’ve mostly paid off one of your debts to the past, you can go window-shopping for the future’s best offers. You’re finally ready to leave behind a power spot you’ve outgrown and launch your quest to discover fresh power spots. So bid farewell to lost causes and ghostly temptations, Cancerian. Slip away from attachments to traditions that longer move you and the deadweight of your original family’s expectations. Soon you’ll be empty and light and free -- and ready to make a vigorous first impression when you encounter potential allies in the frontier. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) I suspect you will soon have an up-close and personal encounter with some form of lightning. To ensure it’s not a literal bolt shooting down out of a thundercloud, please refrain from taking long romantic strolls with yourself during a storm. Also, forgo any temptation you may have to stick your finger in electrical sockets. What I’m envisioning is a type of lightning that will give you a healthy metaphorical jolt. If any of your creative circuits are sluggish, it will jumpstart them. If you need to wake up from a dreamy delusion, the lovable lightning will give you just the right salutary shock. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Signing up to read at the open mike segment of a poetry slam? Buying an outfit that’s a departure from the style you’ve cultivated for years? Getting dance lessons or a past-life reading or instructions on how to hang-glide? Hopping on a jet for a spontaneous getaway to an exotic hotspot? I approve of actions like those, Virgo. In fact, I won’t mind if you at least temporarily abandon at least 30 percent of your inhibitions.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) I don’t know what marketing specialists are predicting about color trends for the general population, but my astrological analysis has discerned the most evocative colors for you Libras. Electric mud is one. It’s a scintillating mocha hue. Visualize silver-blue sparkles emerging from moist dirt tones. Earthy and dynamic! Cybernatural is another special color for you. Picture sheaves of ripe wheat blended with the hue you see when you close your eyes after staring into a computer monitor for hours. Organic and glimmering! Your third pigment of power is pastel adrenaline: a mix of dried apricot and the shadowy brightness that flows across your nerve synapses when you’re taking aggressive practical measures to convert your dreams into realities. Delicious and dazzling! SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Do you ever hide behind a wall of detached cynicism? Do you protect yourself with the armor of jaded coolness? If so, here’s my proposal: In accordance with the astrological omens, I invite you to escape those perverse forms of comfort and safety. Be brave enough to risk feeling the vulnerability of hopeful enthusiasm. Be sufficiently curious to handle the fluttery uncertainty that comes from exploring places you’re not familiar with and trying adventures you’re not totally skilled at. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) “We must unlearn the constellations to see the stars,” writes Jack Gilbert in his poem “Tear It Down.” He adds that “We find out the heart only by dismantling what the heart knows.” I invite you to meditate on these ideas. By my calculations, it’s time to peel away the obvious secrets so you can penetrate to the richer secrets buried beneath. It’s time to dare a world-changing risk that is currently obscured by easy risks. It’s time to find your real life hidden inside the pretend one, to expedite the evolution of the authentic self that’s germinating in the darkness. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) When I was four years old, I loved to use crayons to draw diagrams of the solar system. It seems I was already laying a foundation for my interest in astrology. How about you, Capricorn? I invite you to explore your early formative memories. To aid the process, look at old photos and ask relatives what they remember. My reading of the astrological omens suggests that your past can show you new clues about what you might ultimately become. Potentials that were revealed when you were a wee tyke may be primed to develop more fully. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) I often ride my bike into the hills. The transition from the residential district to open spaces is a narrow dirt path surrounded by thick woods on one side and a steep descent on the other. Today as I approached this place there was a new sign on a post. It read “Do not enter: Active beehive forming in the middle of the path.” Indeed, I could see a swarm hovering around a tree branch that juts down low over the path. How to proceed? I might get stung if I did what I usually do. Instead, I dismounted from my bike and dragged it through the woods so I could join the path on the other side of the bees. Judging from the astrological omens, Aquarius, I suspect you may encounter a comparable interruption along a route that you regularly take. Find a detour, even if it’s inconvenient. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) I bet you’ll be extra creative in the coming weeks. Cosmic rhythms are nudging you towards fresh thinking and imaginative innovation, whether they’re applied to your job, your relationships, your daily rhythm, or your chosen art form. To take maximum advantage of this provocative luck, seek out stimuli that will activate high-quality brainstorms. I understand that the composer André Grétry got inspired when he put his feet in ice water. Author Ben Johnson felt energized in the presence of a purring cat and by the aroma of orange peels. I like to hang out with people who are smarter than me. What works for you?
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AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL OREGONIANS – AN OPINION PIECE The Oregon Death with Dignity Act – A Seriously Flawed Piece of Legislation A Call for Analysis, Public Debate and Legislative Review
Tolle and Teno in a recent New England Journal of Medicine Sounding Board discuss the unusually high percentage of elderly patients in Oregon that die at home or use hospice in comparison to the other states.(1) The medical browser might assume that this is the result of Oregon’s well known Death with Dignity Act (DWDA). Unfortunately that is not the case. Oregon’s current physician assisted death legislation is seriously flawed and has been unevenly implemented.
stance. Surely some of the 166 suicide victims would have chosen a gentler method to exit this world if one was accessible.
In 1994 Oregon voters passed the DWDA and this was first implemented in 1997 following defeat of a repeal ballot initiative. The law has been successfully used, has not been abused and has been copied in Washington, California, Colorado, DC, and Vermont. With passage of the law Oregonians assumed they could peacefully end their lives on their own terms when pain, disability and loss of dignity became too much to bear. Unfortunately this is the case for only a small subset of patients – namely those already moribund with metastatic cancer.
Furthermore, the DWDA is highly discriminatory. The Oregon Health Division reports (2015) that 96.2% of 132 patients self-ingesting a lethal dose were white and 50% had a baccalaureate degree. Zero Af African-American and only four Hispanic patients were included in the (5) 132. In the first 18 years only one African-American was included in the cohort of 1,127 patients who successfully ended their lives.(5)
The law rightly protects the frail elderly and the chronically ill from coercion and abuse. However, the administrative details put in place to protect patients preclude its use by the majority of those who would seek its comfort. Namely, 1.The patient must make two oral requests to their treating physician spaced two weeks apart. In addition one request in writing must be submitted. 2.To qualify for a lethal prescription two physicians must certify in writing that the patient’s certain prognosis is six months or less. 3.Two letters certifying the patient’s mental competence must be submitted and one of these must be from a person unrelated to the patient. 4.The lethal dose must be self-ingested.(2) This administrative burden precludes use of the law by most chronically and severely ill individuals who must have help from family or friends. Oregon ballot measure 16 which was passed by referendum in 1994 and sustained in 1997contained no language requiring a less than six month prognosis nor did it mention a second physician consultant.(3) However, the 1994 Oregon Voters’ Pamphlet did include the full text of the proposed law including the two items mentioned above. The 1994 Oregon ballot read: “16. ALLOWS TERMINALLY ILL ADULTS TO OBTAIN PRESCRIPTION FOR LETHAL DRUGS QUESTION: Shall law allow terminally ill adult patients voluntary informed choice to obtain physician’s prescription for drugs to end life?”
Considering that ~65% of Oregon deaths were at home or attended by hospice personnel one intuitively feels that the DWDA is not meeting its objective.(1) So dire is the situation of many declining patients that one well known web site lists “Voluntarily Stopping of Eating and Drinking (VSED)” as a possible end of life solution.(9)
In 2013, Eli Stutsman, an attorney and the lead author of Oregon’s DWDA, published an article detailing the legal and legislative history of the DWDA and commented on the increased use of hospice and death at home as noted by Tolle and Teno.(10,1) He concludes “Twenty years after we founded our political committee, we are in the midst of another Oregon summer, and the Oregon Death with Dignity Act is working as expected, with nothing new to report.” He fails to note that of the 77 patients who died under the auspices of DWDA in 2012, 75 were white with one Asian and one Hispanic. The great majority (75%) were ill with a malignant neoplasm and 43% had received a baccalaureate degree.(11) If the Death with Dignity Act is to meet its promise and treat all Oregonians fairly then changes must be incorporated so that patients with severe cardiac disease, complicated diabetes, COPD, chronic renal failure and neurodegenerative disorders can receive its benefit. Of interest is the fact that society has no qualms about achieving death with dignity for our 13-year-old cat with renal failure or our old Labrador whose arthritis confines him to his soiled bed. We have pet home euthanasia services that allow our old best friend to die in his favorite bed surrounded by his people. If only our human patients were always treated with such love, thoughtfulness and respect. What must be done to assure that the DWDA keeps its promise to Oregonians? 1.The Oregon legislature must simplify the patient application and modify or delete the “less than six months to live” requirement. In most cases of severe chronic illness the clinical course is difficult to predict. The requirement for a second physician opinion in the face of documented terminal illness needs to be debated. 2.The Oregon legislature must pass a law prohibiting employment contracts that require physicians not to utilize the DWDA.
The current version of the DWDA has survived numerous federal and state court challenges and federal congressional opposition. In 2006 Oregon’s law was finally upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in Gonzales v. Oregon.
3.The State must insure that an adequate supply of secobarbital USP is available at a reasonable price. If need be the State should join others and contract with a good manufacturing practice facility for non-commercial production.
In addition to the challenges listed above, one of Oregon’s largest health plan employs hundreds of physicians who are prohibited from using the Death with Dignity Act by a provision in their employment contract. Consider also that the typical secobarbital USP prescription utilized by a DWDA patient costs ~$3,000.00.(4)
4.An extensive educational program for health care practitioners and the lay public needs to be undertaken. The creation and dissemination of the Oregon POLST program by the Oregon Health and Science University Center of Ethics is an excellent example of the major effort required to honor a patient’s end of life wishes. The same must be done for the Death with Dignity Act.
Consider a 67 y/o woman who has been diabetic since age 11 and is blind and has suffered two lower extremity amputations. Despite her helplessness and loss of dignity she does not qualify because it is uncertain her life expectancy is less than six months. Or a 24 y/o male motorcyclist who is rendered quadriplegic by a severe accident. Not eligible to participate in DWDA because his prognosis is not less than six months and the lethal dose must be self-administered. Finally a 72 y/o widow with no family and suffering from severe chronic renal failure requiring hemodialysis. Despite her loneliness, dependency, loss of dignity and exhausted resources she is not eligible because her prognosis is not less than six months. The Oregon Health Division records and publishes data on utilization of the DWDA. In the year 2016, 78.9% of self-administered lethal doses were ingested by patients with malignancy while amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and heart disease each represented 6.8% of patients. Only 21.1% of lethal doses were utilized by patients with a diagnosis other than cancer.(5) On the other hand in 2015 22.7% of deaths in Oregon were caused by cancer while 19.2% were secondary to cardiac disease. One has to conclude that the DWDA is heavily skewed toward those with advanced malignancy with lung, breast and colon leading the list. In Oregon in 2015 there were 35,709 deaths with 27,246 (76%) of patients being age 65 or older. In the same year a mere 132 deaths were recorded secondary to physician assisted death. The median age of DWDA patients was 73 with 102 being age 65 or older. Thus only 0.37% (less than 1%) of elderly decedents were positively affected by the DWDA.(6) Suicide is not uncommon among the elderly and in 2014 166 Oregonians over age 65 committed classic suicide while 105 died by utilization of the Death with Dignity Act.(7, 8) The latter deaths are not classified as suicide. The primary methods of suicide were firearm, suffocation/hanging or poisoning with medicine or other toxic sub-
References: 1. Tolle, S.W. and Teno, J.M. Lessons from Oregon in Embracing Complexity in End-of-LifeCare. N Engl J Med 2017; 376: 1078-1072. Visited 5/10/17 2.public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Documents/requirements.pdf Visited 5/15/17 3.deathwithdignity.org/oregon-death-with-dignity-act-history/ Visited5/16/17 4.Personal conversation with two senior Oregon licensed pharmacists. 5.public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Documents/year19.pdf Visited 5/16/17 6.public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Documents/year18.pdf Visited 5/12/17 7.public.health.oregon.gov/DiseasesConditions/InjuryFatalityData/ Documents/NVDRS/SummaryDataTablesByYear16.pdf Table 3B Visited 5/12/17 8.public.health.oregon.gov/BirthDeathCertificates/VitalStatistics/ annualreports/Volume2/Documents/2014/table633.pdf Visited 5/12/17 9.compassionandchoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/End-ofLife-Options-Dec.2016-1.pdf Visited 5/13/17 10.Stutsman,www.americanbar.org/publications/gp_solo/2013/ july_august/twenty_years_living_the_oregon_death_dignity_act. html Visited 5/14/17 11.public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Documents/year15.pdf Visited 5/14/17
What were the circumstances in which you were most amazingly, outrageously alive?
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If you have a strong opinion about Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, either pro or con, be heard. Write a respectful note to Oregon’s Governor, the Honorable Kate Brown at the Oregon State Capital, 900 Court Street NE, Salem, OR, 97301 and let government know your feelings and experience.
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