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WILLAMETTE WEEK PORTLAND’S NEWSWEEKLY
“WE WILL OPEN OUR EYES AND LOOK AT THE DAY.” VOL 44/06 12.06.2017
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IF PORTLAND WANTS TO FIX ITS HOUSING CRISIS, THESE TOWNS SHOW THE WAY. BY RACHEL MONAHAN PAGE 13
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PORTLAND HAS ITS OWN LI’L TRUMP.
AN AWESOME INDIAN BUFFET IN BEAVERTON.
LOCAL BOOKS TO GIVE AS GIFTS.
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Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
CHRISTINE DONG
FINDINGS
BOTTLE ROCKET PAGE 29
WHAT WE LEARNED FROM READING THIS WEEK’S PAPER VOL. 44, ISSUE 6.
Rich people should use their tax break to buy a car alarm. 3
Tater tots are so much better with fish sauce. 29
Donald Trump would have loved Omertà. Too bad it closed. 7
Want to live in a Coos Bay trailer park with the Traveling Wilburys? Try the new Blitzen Trapper record. 36
Mountain Dew won’t be taxed for
at least a year. 11
With one easy fi x, Portland could have ramen shops 10 stories in the air. It would be awesome. 16 We found a Hanukkah gift for your schmendrick cousin. 21
ON THE COVER:
Thanks to one amazing cookbook, our critic has started giving a shit about rutabagas. 43 You do not want to work at a lake resort in Umpqua National Forest. 44
OUR MOST TRAFFICKED STORY ONLINE THIS WEEK:
This cover brought to you by the number 6. Photo illustration by Mike Teal.
Bill Murray was here.
STAFF Editor & Publisher Mark Zusman EDITORIAL News Editor Aaron Mesh Arts & Culture Editor Martin Cizmar Staff Writers Nigel Jaquiss, Rachel Monahan, Katie Shepherd Copy Editors Matt Buckingham, Nicole Groessel Stage & Screen Editor Shannon Gormley Projects Editor Matthew Korfhage
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DIALOGUE Last week, WW’s cover story examined Portland’s spike in car thefts, and the Oregon Court of Appeals decisions that allow people to steal cars repeatedly without being prosecuted (“Car Jack City,” WW, Nov. 29, 2017). Readers had plenty to say, and fresh memories of their own pinched rides.
but make sure it’s a nicer one’ and ‘Car theft is a hobby not a crime here.’ The police wouldn’t even remove the drugs and syringes.” Casey Holdahl, via Twitter: “My sister-inlaw’s car got stolen from in front of my house three times. Got it back twice, ended up parked out in Washougal the third and final. Obviously no consequences.”
Wilma4ever, via wweek.com: “Bad decisions all the way around, starting with the appellate judge. Guess what? It is cruel and unusual punishment to enable car thieves to engage in this Mike Stanojev, via Facebook: “The article says anti-social behavior. Enablers keep the miscre- old Hondas and Subarus are easy to hot wire. ant going by helping him/her to Most thieves are using an even simpler evade the logical consequences “The rich technique (on old Toyotas too). When of their actions. If one is serious don’t care. the locks and ignition wear from age, about treatment over punishment, they will often accept a dulled-down They have one should investigate methods of key. In other words, a worn key can rehabilitation—and the concepts good car be used to unlock and start these cars. that support rehabilitation. This alarms.” This is widely known on the streets. If means that defense attorneys who you have one of these, apply a secondget their clients released without ary security measure to make it harder logical consequences are striving to steal.” to make their clients more sick, more mentally ill, less rational.” Hydrodynamicman, via Reddit: “I’m uncomfortable with the article’s impliFriendlessLiberal, via wweek. cation that the solution to the problem com: “The rich don’t care. They is a lessening of evidentiary requirehave good car alarms and secure parking. If ments for criminal convictions. Sure, that’d be judges and surgeons had their cars stolen (as convenient for nailing a couple of these folks. opposed to service workers who need their It’d also be really handy when pressing charges cars to survive), the law would change. The rich against other people when the police have less refuse to pay 1 cent more in taxes for jails or drug than stellar real evidence.” treatment. We are a failed state.” EricPDX, via wweek.com: “I would gladly pay Megan Madsen, via Facebook: “My car has more in taxes to have these people locked up.” been stolen three times in the past 18 months. I even had a steering wheel lock, but they cut off parts of my steering wheel to get it off. Each LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. time it was stolen, I had to pay out of pocket over Letters must be 250 or fewer words. $1,000 in towing and repairs. The police joked Submit to: 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. to me that I should ‘just go steal a car for myself Email: mzusman@wweek.com
Dr. Know BY MART Y SMITH
All this past summer, I saw packs of people riding stupid motorized two-wheeled Segways across the Hawthorne Bridge or along the Vera Katz Esplanade. Now they’re gone. Was this just some kind of fad, or should I brace myself for more? —Sarah I’m not going to go so far as to say you need to be American to truly understand the concept of “cool/uncool.” That said, there are few people who miss the entire hipness boat with more blissfully ignorant gusto than German tourists on their first Wanderwoche in the Rose City. We’ll never know for sure if the pale riders you saw were German tourists (maybe it was an instance of wilding by the world’s lamest street gang). But Segway tours are all the rage in Germany itself, and German travel sites pimp them for both European and American destinations as though it were a perfectly normal thing to do— and there’s no reason to think that will change any time soon. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. When it comes to raw efficiency, we all know no one beats the Germans, and it’s undeniably true that seeing a city by Segway—faster and less taxing than walking, more leisurely and intimate 4
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
than taking a tour bus—is a very practical way to do it. Then again, does the world begin and end with practicality? At what point does “looking like a complete ass” enter the calculation? If we were going to go strictly by what’s practical, everyone in Portland would wear one of those novelty hats that folds out into an umbrella every day from October till June. One hand for your coffee, one for your phone—what’s not to like? There are a lot of things that are practical— drawstring pants, Velcro-fastened sneakers, those giant Terminator-style sunglasses that old people wear over their regular glasses. But if you actually go around like that, you lose all self-respect, eventually sinking into a joyless torpor that can only be assuaged by some grand, impractical gesture, like invading Poland. Do yourselves a favor, tourists: See Portland by bike. QUESTIONS? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com
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A planned $50 million Rothko Pavilion at the Portland Art Museum looks like a done deal, despite criticism of closing a bicycle and walking path. WW reported the museum had raised $27 million for the expansion without securing the permission of the City Council to take over the city-owned right of way (“The Rothko Job,” WW, May 3, 2017). But on Dec. 7, the council is expected to approve the pavilion, after the museum promised people would be able to walk through the building where the walkway currently sits. “What sealed it for me was, they have a chance to be one of the most accessible art museums on the West Coast,” says City Commissioner Nick Fish.
Attempt to Block New State Lawmaker Fails
Oregon’s newest state legislator, Rep. Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River), will be sworn into office this week, despite the best efforts of unknown forces inside Multnomah County to block him from taking a seat that Democrats hope to win in next year’s election. Helfrich was one of three candidates to replace Rep. Mark Johnson (R-Hood River), who resigned for another job. But somebody at Multnomah County—the county attorney’s office will not say who—asked for a last-minute legal opinion on whether Helfrich could serve as both a sheriff ’s deputy and a lawmaker. “I believe a deputy sheriff is likely…barred from serving as a state legislator,” wrote senior assistant county attorney Carlos J. Calandriello. That opinion is
Business owners in Old Town are urging Mayor Ted Wheeler to abandon a city effort to trademark the “Portland Oregon” sign. The city’s federal trademark applications have been denied in the past for use on beer and alcohol because a local brewery, Old Town Brewing, already owns a confusingly similar trademark for the leaping stag image (“Oh, Deer,” WW, Nov. 8, 2017).“Tell your city staffers to stop filing trademark application after trademark application for an image that
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the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has repeatedly determined is confusing,” Dan Lenzen, president of the Old Town Hospitality Group, wrote to the mayor last week. “It is wrong and an abuse of power to attempt to bury Old Town Brewing in legal fees.” Wheeler’s office says the city is working toward a solution to the trademark dispute that is “mutually agreeable” to both the city and the brewery.
Give!Guide Tops $1 Million in Donations
WW’s annual Give!Guide is live and accepting donations at giveguide.org. Giving has topped $1.2 million. If attendees make a donation at this week’s happy hour (Siren and the Sea, 6:30 pm at White Owl Social Club), they’ll have a chance to win a Poler tent, $75 to Mississippi Studios or a case of Brew Dr. Kombucha.
1 THE BIG NUMBER
AUBREY GINGADET
NICE WOOD: Omertà produced tasty food during its brief, stylish existence.
Breaking Omertà GORDON SONDLAND’S NEW HOTEL STRUGGLED. RECORDS ALLEGE HE STOPPED PAYING HIS CONTRACTORS. BY NIG E L JAQ UI SS
njaquiss@wweek.com
Portland’s leading hotelier, Gordon Sondland, has spent heavily to curry favor with President Donald Trump, including a million-dollar donation to inaugural parties. New public documents suggest Sondland is modeling himself on Trump in another way: by stiffing the contractors remodeling his downtown hotel. One of those contractors says Sondland’s refusal to pay for woodwork at the Portland hotel, called the Dossier, put his mom-and-pop contracting firm out of business. Rob Slattery, whose carpenters did all the woodwork for the Dossier’s bar, restaurant and lobby, says his firm recently closed after Sondland refused to pay him the last $76,000 he was owed. “It may not sound like a lot of money, but it was make or break for us,” Slattery says. “He put us out of business. It’s been devastating.” Jim McDermott, an attorney for Sondland’s company, says contract disputes are routine in multimillion-dollar projects like the Dossier remodel. “Ninety percent of the money has been paid,” McDermott says. “This is a run-of-the mill dispute between a subcontractor [Slattery] and the general contractor [J.E. John Construction].” The dispute between a high-profile hotelier and his contractors echoes the 2016 presidential race, during which reporters treated voters to numerous accounts of Donald J. Trump, the nation’s best-known hotel magnate, failing to pay contractors on time or in full. After Trump’s victory last year, Sondland contributed $1 million to the president-elect’s inaugural festivities, giving the money through obscure businesses unfamiliar
to most Portlanders. Now, as the Trump administration considers whether to bestow an ambassadorship on Sondland—The Oregonian reported in October he was being vetted—Sondland is allegedly emulating the president by short-paying his contractors. Earlier this year, Sondland’s company, Provenance Hotels, which owns or operates the Lucier, the Sentinel, the Benson and the Heathman, rebranded the Westin Hotel at 750 SW Alder St., renaming it the Dossier. Inside his new hotel, Sondland’s company splurged on five-star, New York-style glitz. Sondland scrapped the Westin’s nondescript restaurant and bar, replacing them with Opal, a luxurious cocktail lounge, and a basement Italian restaurant, Omertà—an Italian term that means “code of silence.” The woodwork alone cost $380,000, according to a construction lien Slattery Inc. filed last month against Sondland’s Portland Hotel LLC seeking payment for the last $76,000 of that total. Despite some positive reviews (WW was less kind), Omertà closed in November, just three months after opening. That failure led to questions of whether the Dossier’s management misread Portland tastes. Slattery says he’s not the only one who didn’t get paid. “I know there are significant disputes with others,” he says. Other contractors who worked on the Dossier remodel, including J.E. John and restaurant management company Chef’s Table, are honoring the code of silence: They declined to comment.
l Li’m p u r T
That’s the number of amendments Democrats in the U.S. Senate successfully offered to the Republican tax plan. The author of the lone amendment? Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). He managed to eliminate an endowments tax break tailored for Hillsdale College, a conservative college in Michigan with close ties to the family of President Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos. Merkley’s small victory brought him little comfort. “If this horrific bill is allowed to become law, it will haunt America for decades to come,” he says. “The House will still need to act on the Senate bill. It’s up to every American who believes in the ‘We the People’ vision of our democracy to stop this bill before it gets to the president’s desk.” RACHEL MONAHAN.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
W W S TA F F
NEWS
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEK
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Congress wants to cut a $375 million check to the top 1 percent in Oregon and add it to our national debt. That kind of money could effectively end homelessness—statewide— by paying for 46,000 housing choice vouchers.” —Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury, responding to Republican tax reforms approved by the U.S. Senate on Dec. 1. The plan would represent a huge tax cut for the richest Oregonians.
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JOANNA GORHAM
NEWS
City of Lost Children HOW A SHELTER TO HELP SEXUALLY TRAFFICKED TEENAGERS INSTEAD DROVE THEM INTO THE STREET. BY KATIE SH E P H E R D
kshepherd@wweek.com
For 18 months, county officials tried to persuade executives at Janus to make changes at the house. None came. Last month, three Portland teenagers trying to rebound When Janus Youth Programs executive director Denfrom sexual exploitation found themselves back out on the nis Morrow reported in November that several managers street. had gone on indefinite leave and many other staffers had The teenagers had been living at Athena House, a resi- quit all at the same time, county officials pulled funding dential recovery program for victims of sex trafficking. But for Athena House and told Morrow to close its doors. the shelter closed Nov. 21 as Multnomah County officials In a termination letter to Morrow on Dec. 1, the county cut off funding amid questions about its management cited six reasons for ceasing its funding of services by the nonprofit Janus Youth Programs. provided by Janus to teenage victims of human The immediate result: The three teenagers trafficking. Most were connected to short living at Athena House became homeless. Two staffing that undermined the goals of the have since found temporary housing. Another program. lost contact with the social workers who pro“With so many people quitting at one vide services through Janus. No one at the time, you can no longer guarantee the safenonprofit knows where that teenager is now. ty of the youth,” says Rose Bak, co-director “The youth are getting tossed off of the of youth and family services at Multnomah ship, and they’re the ones who continue to be County. “It seemed like the safest thing to do exploited,” says Kristen Lang, who worked at was to shut the center down.” ATHENA HOUSE the shelter until it closed. Morrow tells WW the county moved the goalBut county officials and former staffers say Athena posts for the program and betrayed Janus’ employees. House wasn’t much more effective open than closed. “They feel very angry and also very traumatized by the The shelter received $554,905 from the county last process,” he says. “That is what is hitting me the most on year to manage seven beds and serve 21 teenage and young all of this.” adult clients. But the county is still giving Janus money: $7 million Athena House and its eight full-time staffers were for other services aimed at runaway teenagers, and $1.1 supposed to provide a safe landing spot for the most vul- million for new-parent counseling. nerable teenagers in the city. Yet interviews with county Child sex trafficking became a big issue in Oregon in officials and former Janus staff describe the shelter as a 2013, with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and then-Multplace that instead drove teenagers away. nomah County Commissioner Diane McKeel champion“Athena House wasn’t operating in a safe and healthy ing programs like Athena House. While the issue has been way,” Lang says. “This was not a new thing. For years, the a political priority, studies comparing sex trafficking in working conditions, and therefore the healing conditions Portland to that in other cities are hard to find. for the youth, were poor.” 8
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Athena House was Portland’s only long-term residential program specifically for teenagers and young adults under 21 who have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Records show county officials began warning Janus in mid-2016 that the program wasn’t reaching enough clients, and had failed to meet goals to get most of the home’s residents in school, job training and stable housing. “We’ve been concerned about whether they’re doing everything they can to reach the youth,” Bak says. “The number served has been extremely low. And we’ve had a lot of concerns about turnover in the staff and what that means for the children in care at Janus.” Most of the problems at Athena House were caused by lean staffing and poor training. But a few dramatic structural problems highlighted the trouble. In January, a raccoon crawled under the house into one of its heating ducts and died there. According to employees, the smell of the animal’s rotting carcass filled the home, and staff had to turn the heating off. The stench was so extreme that young people living in the home left their windows open to let in fresh air, employees say. The house was chilly for weeks before Janus had someone come out and remove the raccoon, Lang says. Staffers also describe peeling carpets, exposed wires and nails, a broken dishwasher that wouldn’t latch and a layer of grime covering most of the house. Janus was supposed to hire professional cleaners to scrub the home a few times a year, but Lang and other staff say the nonprofit rarely did. Morrow says cleaners were scheduled to visit Athena House one week after the shelter closed, but the appointment was canceled after the county halted the program. Other problems at the house stemmed from a lack of training in how to work with exploited youth. “I made it pretty well known that I didn’t think that we had the appropriate training for the job we were doing,” says Russell Brown, another former Janus employee. “Most of these youth have had adverse childhood experiences. A lot of them are dealing with a lot of substance abuse. I’ve dealt with finding needles in bathrooms. My co-workers have found needles in washers and dryers.” The window of opportunity to help a teenager find a way out of exploitation is short. Many clients who came to Athena House were already 17 or 18—they could participate in the program only until they turned 21. “We need to stabilize them before they’re 21,” Lang says. “Otherwise, we just create adults who continue to struggle, continue to do drugs, continue to do sex work as survival work.” The county ran out of patience last month, because two managers went on indefinite leave and more than five of the staff quit at one time—an event former employees say is not uncommon at Janus. At the same time, county officials questioned spending by a Janus subcontractor, the Sexual Assault Resource Center. According to records provided by the county, SARC paid its executive director’s salary with taxpayer funds, which was not allowed by the county’s contract with the nonprofits. In addition, executive director Erin Ellis could not provide receipts for $38,000 in county funds. (Deanna Seibold, chairwoman of SARC’s board of directors, says the money will be accounted for and that the board “fully supports” Ellis.) Janus Youth Programs is responsible for repaying the county the $38,000, because it was the lead contractor hired to provide services to sex-trafficked teenagers. Employees say the lack of funding, staffing and training harmed the kids living at Athena House for years. Alan Smith, who worked at Janus until last week, says teenagers living at the house would sometimes become so frustrated with staff running the place they would leave. “A lot of the time, we don’t know where they go—some go back to the work they were doing before,” Smith says. “That’s more enticing because we’re not giving them the support they need.” Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
DANIEL STINDT
NEWS
THE REAL THING: Passing a Multnomah County soda tax has proven elusive.
Milking the Soda Tax POLITICAL CONSULTANTS ARE BETTER AT WORKING OUT-OF-TOWN BILLIONAIRES THAN TAXING SWEET DRINKS. BY NIG E L JAQ UI SS
njaq uiss@wweek.com
For nearly a year, two billionaires have been throwing money around Portland to raise the price of soda. The billionaires: former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and John Arnold, a Houstonbased former energy trader. Their cause: a tax on sugary drinks that would have added 18 cents to the price of each 12-ounce can of Coke. The two men spent $915,000 to gather signatures to place the $28.4 million-a-year tax on the Multnomah County ballot in May 2018. But last week, the soda tax backers admitted they needed a do-over. The pro-tax committee, the Coalition for Healthy Kids and Education, announced it would delay going to the ballot until at least November 2018. That means starting from scratch to gather 17,381 signatures for a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax. There are plenty of reasons to change the date on a ballot measure. For one, November voters tend to look more favorably on taxes. But observers say Bloomberg and Arnold failed to do the kind of groundwork that marks a successful campaign. Although they spent big on political consultants, most of them were either from elsewhere or politically inexperienced. “Soda taxes are a hard thing to just pour money into because both sides have a lot,” says Carol Butler, a Portland political consultant not involved in the campaign. “The way they passed a tax in Oakland was instructive: lots of earned media and serious coalition-building with advocates. That goes better if you have local consultants with relationships and a history.” One sign of how ineffective the soda tax backers were: Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury, who oversees Oregon’s largest county health program and has long advocated local taxes to promote wellness, never received a phone call from them. “They didn’t do the basics, like lining up support from community members and elected officials,” Kafoury says. “I have never talked to anyone from the campaign.” The campaign’s top consultant, Christian Sinderman, lives in Seattle. His team—Washington, D.C.-based Fieldworks and Portland’s Brink Communications—have a short track record
in local races. Nonetheless, Fieldworks made $400,000, and Brink, a PR firm, made $104,000— its top campaign payday ever. Terri Steenbergen, campaign manager for the pro-tax effort, says the issue was simply timing. “We always felt May would be favorable for our campaign, and continue to believe this,” she says. “However, the watershed elections this November demonstrate that future electorates provide even better landscapes for success.” Sinderman and Brink declined to comment. The new delay marks the latest setback for an idea that’s been kicking around Multnomah County since at least 2010. In the meantime, leftleaning cities like Berkeley (2014); Philadelphia, Oakland and San Francisco (2016); and Seattle (2017) have passed their own soda taxes. Last year, Upstream Public Health, a Portland nonprofit, revived the idea but then collapsed under financial mismanagement. Bloomberg and Arnold have stubbed their toes in Oregon before. In 2014, they spent nearly $5 million on a measure to make primaries nonpartisan. It got 32 percent of the vote. The billionaires should expect massive spending by Big Soda here: Insiders say $6 million to $10 million. Even without a set date for a vote, the “no” campaign polled heavily, papered low-income and minority neighborhoods with fliers, and skewered the tax on social media. “As long as the tax is a possibility, we are going to want to talk to every Multnomah County resident we can,” says Felicia Heaton, a spokeswoman for the “no” side. “That’s going to take a lot of resources and a lot of boots on the ground.” The prospect of a big payday led one political consultant, Jake Weigler, to seek work with the “yes” side—then go to work for the “no” camp. Though he’s long worked on progressive issues, Weigler says the proposed tax is unfair. “Beverage taxes place a larger share of the tax burden on people who can least afford it,” he says, “and the latest iteration of this tax is no different.” For now, there’s no way of knowing how much Big Soda paid Weigler or his successors. Campaign finance rules don’t require an opposition group to disclose spending until a measure qualifies for the ballot. Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
MIKE TEAL
CITIES SMARTER THAN PORTLAND IF PORTLAND WANTS TO FIX ITS HOUSING CRISIS, THESE TOWNS SHOW THE WAY. BY R AC H EL M O NAH AN
rmonahan@wweek.com
In Portland, housing costs are like the weather: Everybody complains, but nobody does anything about it. Nearly a year ago, Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly entered City Hall on platforms promising to tackle Portland’s affordable housing shortage. Soon, the City Council will wade into its latest plan. It looks like treating a heart attack with a Band-Aid. The program, called the “residential infill project,” will receive public hearings next year. Wheeler wants to allow duplexes and granny flats in city neighborhoods set aside for single-family homes. His plan has infuriated neighborhood associations and historic preservationists. Even if successful, the infill project would barely address Portland’s housing shortfall. The city Planning Bureau projects the program would add 4,700 duplexes and triplexes by 2035. That’s a fraction of the 120,000 new units of housing Portland will need over 25 years, according to a 2015 analysis by the regional planning agency Metro. Wheeler and Eudaly have done other things: They passed a requirement that landlords pay tenants’ moving expenses after rent hikes and “no-cause” evictions. They’ve also tried to speed up the process for issuing construction permits, and they’ve legalized tiny homes and allowed RVs to park in people’s driveways. But even the mayor acknowledges his latest plan is insufficient.
“As a stand-alone [plan to increase housing], it wouldn’t make a difference,” Wheeler says. “It’s a small number. It will not solve the problem.” Portland has to do more—and observers who have watched the crisis deepen say this is no time for half measures. “In light of our city having declared a housing state of emergency over two years ago, City Hall could be moving a lot faster,” says Madeline Kovacs, who coordinates Portland for Everyone, a group advocating landuse reforms and more affordable housing. “We continue to expect big things out of the mayor, especially since he ran his campaign with the idea of solving the homeless crisis and making housing his No. 1 priority,” says Israel Bayer, departing executive director of Street Roots. If Wheeler wants to do big things, he’ll have to look outside Portland. In fact, he’ll have to look beyond the West Coast. From Los Angeles to Seattle, housing supply has failed to keep pace with new residents flocking to desirable cities. “All of our West Coast cities confront severe housing shortages,” says Alan Durning, executive director of the Sightline Institute, a Seattlebased think tank. “All of our West Coast cities have political debates that ignore real lessons. The current dialogue ignores places that have built abundant [housing] supplies and do not have rising costs.” Six cities around the globe have tried solutions on a far more ambitious scale. Some are bold, some are small, some are dubious, and others may be impractical. But each of them has demonstrated the kind of outside-the-box thinking that Portland badly needs. HERE THEY ARE.
MONTREAL P. 14
PITTSBURGH P. 15
TOKYO P. 16
SINGAPORE P. 17
NEW ORLEANS P. 18
CHICAGO P. 19
ILLUSTRATED CHARTS THROUGHOUT BY TERRA DEHART Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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MONTREAL THE BIG IDEA: ALLOW MORE ROW HOUSES. Imagine the side-by-side walk-ups you see on Sesame Street. Such buildings flourish in East Coast cities: brownstones in Brooklyn, row houses in Philadelphia, townhouses in Washington, D.C. Houses with shared walls cost less to build and are a more efficient use of space. In Montreal, row houses abound. “People are much more comfortable living in apartments,” says urbanist blogger Simon Vallee, a Quebec native who lives in Montreal. “Montreal is a city of low-rise apartment buildings. They’re much cheaper to build than high-rise apartments. You can build it fast, and you can build it cheap.” Montreal is now the second-most densely populated large city in Canada. And average monthly rent last year in the city of Montreal was $658 U.S., according to the latest Canadian census data. The average in the city of Portland is $1,347, according to the city’s 2016 State of Housing report. HOW IT WORKS:
WOULD IT WORK IN PORTLAND?
Allowing row houses on the scale of Montreal would require massive rezoning. There is no current plan by the City Council to do that. In Portland neighborhoods, the backlash to residential infill has long been intense. In the 1980s, developer Phil Morford began tearing down old houses in Northwest Portland and replacing them with row houses. The “Morford houses” were greeted with protests and arson. Opposition today is nonviolent but no less passionate. The Laurelhurst and Eastmoreland neighborhoods are pursuing federal historic designations to block cottage clusters and garden apartments in singlefamily neighborhoods. “We believe [infill] does nothing to address our near complete lack affordable housing, which has risen to the level of humanitarian crisis,” reads an online petition from the Multnomah Neighborhood Association. Imagine the complaints about parking if row houses were to go in next door.
WHEELER SAYS: “No. No. I wouldn’t
advocate that for neighborhoods, because we don’t have to do that yet. Fifty years from now, it might be a different story.”
Percentage of Montreal’s housing units in townhouses or apartment buildings that are four stories or less: 75 Percentage of Portland’s housing units in townhouses or apartment buildings that are 19 units or less: 25
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PITTSBURGH THE BIG IDEA: TAX LAND TO SPUR DEVELOPMENT. As a general matter, property taxes are based on the value of land and the buildings on it, in equal measure. But in Pittsburgh, one of the early and few American cities to adopt a “land value tax,” property taxes were heavily weighted toward the value of the land over the improvements on the land. This taxing system nudges owners of vacant lots or underdeveloped property to build and build sooner. In short, a vacant property became a tax burden: It produces no revenue (or, in the case of a parking lot, little revenue) but is taxed as if it did. So the owner is spurred to build or sell. “It incentivizes more intense development and takes pressure off the urban growth boundary,” says Tom Gihring of Common Ground OR-WA, which has long advocated a land value tax. In one of the most definitive studies of the subject, a 1997 article in the National Tax Journal, Pittsburgh, which ultimately repealed its citywide land value tax in 2000, saw a 70 percent increase in building permits in the decade following the adoption of the land value tax as a vast majority of similar Rust Belt cities without such a tax saw dramatic declines in permits. HOW IT WORKS:
Property tax paid by the owners of a 10,000square-foot vacant lot on Portland’s Northeast Alberta Street: $469 Estimated tax the owners would pay under a system like Pittsburgh’s: Upwards of $25,000 WOULD IT WORK IN PORTLAND?
If there’s anything Portland hates more than skyscrapers, it’s a wasteland of parking. Portland could call this plan the Goodman tax. The Goodman family is among the largest land owners in the central city. Roughly 5 of their acres consist mostly of parking lots, which they have just begun to develop. “It’s flipping the script on how the property tax works,” says Joshua Vincent of the Philadelphia-based Center for the Study of Economics, noting that regular tax structures have perverse incentives. “If you do the right thing, if you build affordable housing, you are putting a lot of money and providing housing, you’re going to be punished by really high taxes. We reward the vacant lots.” W H E E L E R S AY S : “It’s really interesting what [Pittsburgh] is trying to do—put the tax on the land, not on the construction. You want to discourage large landholdings in your central core that don’t have housing. It makes really good sense from the logic perspective. “Now the reality check: I’ve been advocating for property tax reform for how long? The chances of a complete radical reframe of the property tax system in Oregon is somewhere between zero and zero.”
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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TOKYO THE BIG IDEA: MASSIVELY INCREASE BUILDING HEIGHTS DOWNTOWN. In Tokyo, government officials place much fewer restrictions on developers and homeowners. And Tokyo has been able to keep housing prices in check. It costs 4.7 years of the median annual salary to purchase the average home in Tokyo. In Portland, that number is 5.5 years, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey. For decades, Tokyo was a low-slung city, much like Portland. But unlike Portland, property owners can tear down old houses as they please. And in recent decades, Tokyo has eased its rules in some trendy downtown districts to allow for much taller skyscrapers. “Tokyo is fascinating place,” says Daniel Kaven, a Portland architect. “They’re really vertically developed. You can go into a tall building, go up 10 floors and there’s a restaurant.” HOW IT WORKS:
Tallest residential towers currently planned for Tokyo: Two 770-foottall, 65-story apartment buildings in Shinjuku’s business district. They’ll replace 1,000 housing units with 3,200 new apartments on a 12-acre lot. The height of Portland’s biggest planned residential development: 400 feet at the U.S. Post Office site, where 2,400 apartments are planned on 24 acres.
WOULD IT WORK IN PORTLAND?
The maximum height limit in Portland is 460 feet. That’s a lower height limit than in any other major West Coast city. Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles all have buildings in the works that will rise higher than 1,000 feet. Because the Portland area, unlike most other parts of the U.S., limits sprawl—the urban growth boundary restricts development outside the boundary—one might think that if you can’t grow outwardly, you should grow upward. 16
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
But height has long been delicate subject in Portland. Residents get agitated at the thought of apartment buildings blocking their view of Mount Hood. “Portland is known for its historic vistas, most of which disappear in this plan,” said West End resident Wendy Rahm, objecting to Portland’s central city plan in September at City Hall. In the Pearl District, residents oppose an apartment building that could block views of the Fremont Bridge. “It’s an eyesore, and it’s problematic for a lot of people,” said board member Ed O’Rourke of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association in the NW Examiner. “I’m in the north end of the Pearl for one reason, and that’s the view.” Kaven, the architect, recently floated constructing the West Coast’s tallest building at the Post Office site in the Pearl. The idea wasn’t taken seriously at City Hall—because it would be 50 stories taller than the cap allows. But pressure to go higher is getting some traction in Portland. In October, developers proposed a 400-foot tower along the South Waterfront, designed with help from internationally renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. The project’s investors, Portland-based NBP Capital, have asked City Hall to raise the height limit along the waterfront. WHEELER SAYS: “If price is your only
consideration, height is a great strategy.” Wheeler has said he favors height increases along transit corridors and in the central city, but said he’d take a wait-and-see approach to the Post Office site. He has no appetite for eliminating all height caps: “You could put it under livability. We get feedback from everything from view corridors to shadows on public spaces and appropriate levels of density.”
SINGAPORE THE BIG IDEA: INCREASE PUBLIC HOUSING DRAMATICALLY. This is Portland—a leftist hotbed. What if we bypassed capitalism altogether? In Singapore, 80 percent of the housing is developed by the government. The small, autocratic nation-state builds the housing and sets the prices, sells homes and condos to citizens, and places heavy restrictions to limit real estate speculation. “On average, buyers can expect to use less than a quarter of their monthly household income to pay for the mortgage installment of their first flat, a figure lower than the international benchmarks for affordable housing,” says the Singapore government’s Housing and Development Board. The price of an average home is 4.8 times the average annual income, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey. That’s in line with Tokyo, and cheaper than Portland.
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HOW IT WORKS:
Percentage of Singapore residents who live in public housing: 80 percent Percentage of Portland residents who lived in some kind of public housing or publicly subsidized housing in 2015: 8 percent WOULD IT WORK IN PORTLAND?
There’s certainly political will for some public housing: Portlanders passed a $258 million housing bond last November to subsidize apartments for people who can’t pay market rates. And to be sure, affordable housing advocates are fans. “We cannot begin to climb out of this crisis without securing large-scale investments in deeply affordable housing,” says Kari Lyons, director of the Welcome Home Coalition, which advocated for the housing bond. “Public housing is an infrastructure that we should think about just like our roads and bridges and our parks to have a healthy society,” says Street Roots’ Bayer. That said, public housing represents 8 percent of the living units in the city right now. It’s hard to imagine that number growing by more than a few percentage points.
WHEELER SAYS: “It’s a
completely different form of government. They built tall and they built dense, and that’s what we’re trying to do in the central city. We should be building more public housing.”
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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NEW ORLEANS THE BIG IDEA: BAN AIRBNB, AT LEAST IN SOME NEIGHBORHOODS. In 2016, New Orleans legalized the short-term rental marketplace Airbnb, just like Portland did two years previously. But New Orleans kept a ban on short-term rentals in one part of the city, the French Quarter, where the city wanted to retain the historic character and longtime residents in its most iconic neighborhood. Before then, shortterm rentals had flourished illegally in the French Quarter. “They’ve done a great job of enforcing the ban in the French Quarter,” says Meg Lousteau of Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents and Associates. “The impact of the ban has been hundreds of housing units are being returned to the market as actual units. Those are options for people who live here.” New Orleans has a powerful hotel industry, which lobbied for the Airbnb crackdown. But it is also keenly aware of how hard it is to pay rent in a city where median incomes are in decline. And it isn’t the only city to place restrictions on Airbnb. New York City has simply banned renting out entire apartments in large buildings. HOW IT WORKS :
That’s roughly the size of Laurelhurst or the King neighborhood.
Area of New Orleans where Airbnb is banned: Most of the French Quarter, roughly 423 acres.
WOULD IT WORK IN PORTLAND?
A recent estimate shows short-term rentals remove up to 1,391 units from the city’s housing market, according to June 2017 data from Inside Airbnb, an industry watchdog. Portland has struggled to regulate Airbnb. The city has rules for short-term rentals, but Airbnb hasn’t agreed to ban scofflaws from its website or hand over addresses of homes being rented out. Portland doesn’t have one particular tourist destination where Airbnb is wreaking outsized havoc. But New Orleans provides a useful model of what might happen if Portland took enforcement seriously: More apartments would go back on the market. Airbnb spokeswoman Laura Rillos says the company has voluntarily removed 500 illicit listings—but is open to further discussions with City Hall about reforms. WHEELER SAYS: “I’m not prepared to
do that. But as Airbnb grows, we reserve the right to regulate.”
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CHICAGO
The Betterness Issue 2017
THE BIG IDEA: CUT RED TAPE. By speeding up the permitting process, it takes Chicago as little as 90 days to approve building permits for highrises, according to city figures. Part of Chicago’s process is overseen by private contractors. In Portland, it’s at least seven months. Neither figure takes into account the design review process, which is far less onerous in Chicago—as little as two months, according to a consultant. Greater central Chicago grew the number of housing units by 50 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to Daniel Kay Hertz, senior policy analyst at the Chicago’s Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, and in one neighborhood, South Loop, condo prices didn’t keep pace with inflation.
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HOW IT WORKS:
Standard time for a high-rise building to be permitted in Chicago: 5+ months Standard time for a high-rise building to go through design review and permitting in Portland: 12 to 18 months WOULD IT WORK IN PORTLAND?
Everyone agrees Portland’s permit system is slow: politicians, architects and, of course, developers. Jeff Smith, founder of J.T. Smith Companies, told the Portland Tribune last month he would no longer build in the city. The reason: He’s waited more than two years for various city bureaus to approve new lot lines in East Portland. (Bureau of Development Services officials say some delays are J.T. Smith’s fault.) “It takes less time to change the Oregon state constitution,” says another builder. BDS director Rebecca Esau says Portland differs from Chicago because state law gives neighborhood a say on design. “That does add time to the process,” says Esau, “but it also helps enrich the process.” If no one disagrees the system is broken, they can’t agree why: whether it’s finding qualified employees in the midst of a housing boom or years of bureau mismanagement. Eudaly, who now oversees the bureau, says she’s made some reforms and is trying to get city bureaus to work together. “Unfortunately, our form of city government doesn’t encourage cooperation,” she adds. WHEELER SAYS: He wants reforms. “Time is money for developers. The longer their permit stays hung up in the bureaucracy, the more risk there is the project will never be started.” Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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STREET
“I’m from Minneapolis, and the city is trying to provide low-cost housing for working artists, and a lot of people who aren’t really artists are lying about how much they make just so they can get cheap housing. It’s really frustrating.”
(Left) “I live in Brooklyn, I see so much gentrification. The housing prices are rising dramatically, forcing people out to make room for the wealthy.” (Right) “I’m from Portland, and to be honest, I’ve never had a bad experience.”
“Portland needs to provide more affordable options for people that don’t make a lot of money. It’s a youthful city, and younger people are seeing this as a good/fun place to move to and be creative, but the housing prices make it impossible for most.”
PHOTOS BY SAM GEHRKE @samgehrkephotography
DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE HOUSING MARKET.
(Left) “It’s probably not something a lot of people enjoy, but I think retail spaces being included underneath a lot of housing is really helpful in providing variety and livening up the city. The streets are more crowded, things seem safer and there’s more to do.” (Right) “As a third-generation Portlander who has lived in Portland my entire life, I think there has been no better time than now to live here!”
OUR FAVORITE LOOKS THIS WEEK.
(Left) “I work full-time and barely make rent. I get about $50 from each paycheck because of what I pay for housing and living expenses.” (Right) “I’m a student with two jobs, and I would definitely not be able to afford rent without help.”
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Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
“Oddly enough, I’ve had a great experience in Portland. Luckily I found a house, and it turned out to be my favorite house ever. Having a home that you cherish and love is really important.”
“My experience has been that Portland rent is out of control. I’ve always had the desire to move to New York, and now we’re almost as expensive as they are in some places, without the amenities of a city like New York. Portland is becoming such a desirable place to live, but the experience that a lot of people want is lost on the expense of living.”
(Left) “I have only had good experiences since moving here. Portland has been pretty inviting in all senses being an East Coast Canadian. We may have to be here a little longer to really develop a more nuanced opinion. (Right) “I’d say the same thing. It’s been an easy transition for the most part, housing included. We are definitely the outsiders coming in, but it’s been OK.”
something nice?
WW Style’s Holiday Gift Decision Tree BY WA L K E R M AC M UR D O,
STYLE
candles!
Some people are easy to shop for: They tell you exactly what they want—including size, shape and color and exactly where to get it. Some people fucking suck and say and you’re left not only having to spend money on this person, but solve a Sphinx’s riddle to figure it out.
Thankfully, Portland has a lot of nice shops, and I know about most of them because I edited WW’s Finder guide to the city, which you can and should buy from Powell’s. Here’s my guide to helping you shop for your difficult loved one, based on their interests and aesthetic preferences, who wants “a throw pillow” or “a good book” or some shit.
wmacmurdo@wweek.com
Where should you shop for your loved one in Portland? Use this handy decision tree to find out.
Even though Powell’s (1005 W Burnside St.) is obvious, I don’t want to deal with the holiday crowds.
What is your gift recipient’s “personal brand”?
Fine. What kind of books do they like?
New titles indie bookstore Annie Bloom’s Books (7834 SW Capitol Hwy) not only maintains all of the hot new titles, but each staff member maintains a running list of their favorites, which they’ll happily share with you.
Chill mom who still smokes weed a couple of times a year Noun (3300 SE Belmont St.) and Ink & Peat (3808 N Williams Ave.) are full of eclectic, won-
derfully adorned gifts for your mom who is laughing really hard at your throwaway Trump impression for some reason (“You could be an actor!”).
Comics and art Floating World Comics (400 NW Couch St.) is stocked with an enormous
selection of mainstream and indie comics, art books and zines, many from Portland artists. They also have a kickass selection of weird records.
Old and/or weird Mother Foucault’s (523 SE Morrison St.) is Portland’s headquarters for classic literature, European and lefty philosophy and more radical small-press stuff, perfect for your artsy cousin.
Sleek, minimal and modern Canoe (1233 SW 10th Ave.) carries all kinds of designy home stuff that prioritizes sleek lines and functionality over embellishment. And if that doesn’t do it for you, check out Spartan (1210 SE Grand Ave.)
LEAH MALDONADO
Vases or pillows or candles or other home shit
Books
Crafty and cute Portland Tried-and-true Tender Loving Empire (3541 SE Hawthorne Blvd., plus two other locations) keeps the spirit of quirky late-2000s Portland alive with records and locally made housewares and gifts. Ideal for people who like souvenirs.
Crafty Portland, but more “serious” If your loved one likes artisan-made stuff but perhaps isn’t so big on cartoon birds and hedgehogs, Beam & Anchor (2710 N Interstate Ave.) and Lowell (819 N Russell St.) are within walking distance of each other and offer curated vintage and objets d’art that are fit for design mags. Failing those, check out Mantel (8202 N Denver Ave.) up in Kenton.
They are a
music snob, clothing snob, wine snob, tech snob or any other kind of snob who likes expensive things and is going to visibly wince if you get them “the wrong thing” despite your best intentions.
Don’t be shy Just press them for what they specifically want, and make them tell you where to get it. EASY.
My cousin has 4,000 Instagram followers and appears to literally believe in magic.
Thankfully, magic is real Altar (3279 SE Hawthorne Blvd.) carries stark, gothic womenswear and jewelry, crystals and tarot cards, while The Wild Unknown (1829 NE Alberta St.) is fully dedicated to the esoteric arts, offering tarot, books on magic and witchcraft, incense, crystals and everything else you need to have a beautiful Saturnalia.
Fuck man, I don’t know...stuff?
Cargo (81 SE Yamhill St.): They’ve got (fairly sourced) stuff from all over the world, and they constantly change inventory. You’re bound to find something that you think they’ll think is cool.
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
The Bump
HILLARY
By M a rt i n C i z m a r
mcizmar@wweek.com
Instead of serving as the best president this country ever had, Hillary Clinton is visiting Portland this week to give a talk at the Schnitz. It will be a nice talk, given to a crowd of good and decent people united by grief for what this nation might have been. But what if it’s not too late? Like most die-hard Clinton supporters, I believe in the sacred wisdom of a song called “Don’t Stop” by a band named Fleetwood Mac. We will not look
back. We will not stop thinking about tomorrow. We will open our eyes and look at the day, we will see things in a different way. Yesterday’s gone—but I will not be satisfied until Hillary Clinton is president of these United States. Turns out, our Constitution provides a simple seven-step process to making Hillary president in 2018. Because of gerrymandering and low-information voters, it’ll be more difficult than it should be. But with a little help from the judicial system, and the handful of Republicans out there who did not engage in treason, it’s doable without any wild Hail Marys involving a change to the Constitution.
HILLARY
illustr a ti o n s : T rici a H ipps
Hillary 2018
It’s Not Too Late To Make Hillary Clinton President. Here’s How To Do It.
Start
“If” he’s guilty, jail Trump
for treason and/or espionage and/or solicitation of Russian prostitutes paid to administer golden showers. If special prosecutor Robert Mueller can present probable cause that Donald J. Trump engaged in treason, he’ll need to be arrested. To avert a constitutional crisis, the wise move is to spirit him away to Guantanamo Bay for a military trial, along with any members of his immediate family who also face charges. Treason and espionage both offer the possibility of the death penalty: This gives Trump a reason to talk.
Get Hillary into the House of Representatives. Sadly,
this can’t be done with an appointment, as governors do not get to name a replacement for a House member who leaves office mid-term. Instead, Hillary would need to run for the House of Representatives in a gimme race. Hillary’s home in Chappaqua is in New York’s 17th congressional district, currently represented by Democrat Rep. Nita Lowey. Lowey is a loyal Clinton supporter and has been in office for nearly 30 years. She may be willing to step aside—especially as this plan could result in Hillary having plum cabinet assignments and ambassadorships to hand out. (Do you like Paris, Nita? Paris is beautiful, right? How’d you like to spend a few years there, courtesy of Aunt Sam?) If not, perhaps Hillary is willing to move a few miles into the neighboring district of Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a former Bill Clinton staffer, who could also be asked to make a small sacrifice for his country by spending four years in Rome or London.
Get Trump to roll on Pence. “If ” Trump is guilty,
Pence was surely involved. I’m someone who went on the record observing Russian collusion early in 2016, when many of my friends and colleagues thought the idea was crazy. I was actually mocked when I pointed out that Bernie memes we now know were literally paid for in rubles were obviously Russian propaganda. When the hostile foreign powers do this type of deal, they get kompromat on everybody—Pence isn’t qute as brazen and stupid as Trump, and therefore it’s unlikely he committed treason via Facebook messenger, but he’s “possibly” gettable. Roll Trump on him by letting him or someone from his family off with life in prison. Get Trump’s testimony in an affidavit and get a sealed indictment of Pence. If the president and vice president are both removed or they resign, then the speaker of the House of Representatives becomes the president.
Win control of the Senate, for Bernie. This is important
because of fucking Bernie—Bernie has to become the president pro tempore of the Senate, and therefore fourth in line of presidential succession, or the whole thing falls apart. “It’s his turn!” the bros will squeal.
Elect Hillary C l i n to n a s t h e speaker of the House.
This, of course, requires winning a majority of the House in an era where sophisticated data modeling is used to draw safe Republican districts. But “if” Trump faces charges of treason, maybe some Republicans could pick country over party? Sure, a good chunk of Alabama will support a child molester over a Democrat. But in the Atlanta suburbs, where stability is prized, there’s reason to vote the bums out.
Unseal the Pence indictment, fly him
to Guantanamo to face justice.
7 Inaugurate Hillary Clinton.
GO: Hillary Clinton will speak at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, on Tuesday, December 12, at 7:30 pm. $165-$600.
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STARTERS
B I T E - S I Z E D P O R T L A N D C U LT U R E N E W S .
TRUMP BUSTER: Best-selling comic fantasy author Christopher Moore (You Suck: A Love Story) tweeted that for the first time in his career, he would not stay at Portland’s famously author-friendly Heathman Hotel when he visits Portland this April on a book tour. The reason? Hotel operator Gordon MOORE Sondland’s covert $1 million donation to Donald Trump last year, as first reported on website The Intercept. “For the first time in 20 years, I will not be staying at the Heathman Hotel in Portland on book tour,” Moore tweeted Dec. 3. “Their management is a major Trump supporter.” Moore tells WW that the Heathman was a favorite, but the Trump-backed tax bill passed while he was planning his book tour. He’s been retweeted by 1,800 people at press time, and several other authors joined Moore’s pledge not to frequent the Heathman. GROCERY BEER: A much-anticipated brewery on Southeast Stark Street from former Laurelwood brewer Steve Balzer will open in spring of 2018, says co-owner Charlie Hyde IV, but it’ll have a new name. The former Bodega Beer is now West Coast Grocery Co. and the theme will involve a cold case with sandwiches and soaped-in specials on the windows. The name harkens to the local grocery distribution company Hyde’s family ran for three generations. Hyde changed the name from Bodega after hearing from people in Portland that the word was associated strongly with Latino culture. Hyde also took note of the outraged response to the Bodega vending machine app started by two former Google employees. “It was sort of an interesting test case,” says Hyde. VOLE-ITION: Last week, PETA accused OHSU of unethical treatment of prairie voles used in a recent experiment. As The Oregonian first reported, PETA sent a letter to OHSU criticizing a study in which voles were fed ethanol to test the effects of alcohol on fidelity in long-term relationships. The study found that alcohol lowered the partner preference of voles, which are a monogamous species. At the end of the study, the voles were euthanized. PETA referred to the experiment as a “curiosity-driven boondoggle with a serious body count.” OHSU released a statement in response that said their practices are industry standard, and that the results of the experiment could “inform the development of pharmacological and molecular approaches to prevent or possibly reverse the negative effects of alcohol in humans.” BLOCK BUSTED: The Portland area’s last Blockbuster is closing. The Sandy, Ore., Blockbuster announced via Facebook that it will close at the end of the year. “We want to say THANK YOU to all of our customers, the city of Sandy and all our wonderful staff over the years for this incredible journey,” the post said. Until now, there were three Blockbusters in the state of Oregon, and 10 nationwide. The Sandy Blockbuster survived as long as it did because of internet speeds in the rural areas of the Hoodland. As we wrote in an August feature on the store, the Blockbuster franchise filed for bankruptcy in 2010, and the interior was frozen in time, with signs advertising seven-year-old Xbox 360 games. Since 2000, the Sandy Blockbuster has been owned by Andy Anderson. When he bought the location, there were over 9,000 Blockbuster stores.
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12/6
W E D N E S D AY
CONTACT WITH JILL TARTER
PUERTO RICAN COFFEE TAKEOVER
The only thing cooler than Jody Foster in Contact is the real-life space scientist her character is based on—Jill Tarter, co-founder of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute. Tarter will introduce Hollywood’s screening of the philosophical sci-fi film and sign copies of her new memoir after the movie. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., hollywoodtheatre.org. 7 pm. $9.
The entire Puerto Rican coffee industry was wiped out by Hurricane Maria. But as part of a six-day benefit for the island, Foxy Coffee is serving up 180 churros, Puerto Rican music and some of the last bags of P.R.-grown coffee you’ll likely taste for years. See deets on other PDX Feeds Puerto Rico events at pdxfeedspuertorico.com. Foxy Coffee, 3640 SE Belmont St., foxycoffeeco.com.
T H U R S D AY
12/7
THE KILLERS, FRANZ FERDINAND
For NW Dance Project’s winter show, the prolific contemporary dance company is reviving its ultra-goofy but still technically spectacular Bolero and premiering a new work set to Billie Holiday songs. Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 SW Park Ave., nwdanceproject.org. 7:30 pm. $34-$58.
It’s like 2004 all over again! Return to the halcyon days of the Iraq War, swiftboating and the early aughts “rock revival” with two of the era’s most stylish hitmakers. Theater of the Clouds at Moda Center, 1 N Center Court St., 503-235-8771. 7 pm. Sold out. All ages.
12/8
SHOW SHOW F R I D AY
BOLERO
Get Busy
At Show Show, comedians perform sets alongside animated videos based off their jokes. For the W H E R E W E ’ LL B E next edition, Show Show is stepping up its already strange and wonderful formuTH O RO U G H LY R E LI V I N G TH E la. There’ll still be sets by some of the funniest M I D -2 0 0 0 S TH I S W E E K . standup comedians in the city, but instead of videos, there’ll be VR games based on jokes. PNCA, 511 NW Broadway, facebook.com/showshowlab. 7 pm. Free.
ROSENSTADT TAKEOVER
All weekend, OP Wurst will pair its fine sausages and dogs with a rare collection of seven different German-style beers in the same spot—whether altbier, dunkel or the brand-new schwarzbier. OP Wurst, 3384 SE Division St., 503-384-2259, opwurst.com. Through Dec. 10.
D EC . 6 -12
S AT U R D AY
12/9
GRIZZLY BEAR
HUMBUG LAGER FEST
While often thought of as one of the key bands of the Great Indie Rock Explosion of 2007, Grizzly Bear’s otherworldly mastery of texture, ambiance and harmony places them outside any particular timeframe or genre. This year’s Painted Ruins is another headphone masterpiece worth sinking into. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 971-230-0033, roselandpdx.com. 8 pm. Sold out. All ages.
In a sort of anti-Holiday Ale Fest in St. Johns, Occidental will play host to 16 breweries—including Kloster Andechs, Arch Rock, and Seattle’s stunningly good Holy Mountain—serving up lagers and more lagers all weekend. $10 gets you a glass and six 4-ounce samples. Occidental Brewing, 6635 N. Baltimore Ave., 503-719-7102, occidentalbrewing.com. Through Dec. 10.
S U N D AY
12/10
NAT TURNER PROJECT AT INTERSECT FEST
OH, ROSE
Intersect Fest, the artist-run festival dedicated to POC artists, is back for a third year. This time, it will culminate in an exhibit featuring multimedia artists Tyler J.T. White and Vanessa Barros Andrade. It’ll be curated by the Nat Turner Project, which has been creating show after show this year that have all been thoughtful and surprising. Portland Institute For Contemporary Art, 15 NE Hancock St., facebook.com/ PDXPOC. 3-7 pm. Festival starts Friday.
Olympia cult favorites Oh, Rose have spent the years since the release of their 2015 dark-pop triumph Seven touring their asses off. With all that mileage under them, the band’s mix of throwback ’80s pop and vintage punk should sound especially sharp. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503-239-7639, holocene.org. 8:30 pm. $8. 21+.
M O N D AY
12/11
A WORLD WITHOUT "WHOM"
THE DISASTER ARTIST
You know that one friend you’ve got on Facebook who keeps writing the single-word comment “*whom” and gets mad about ultimate prepositions? Turns out they’re an asshole. BuzzFeed’s copy chief Emmy J. Favilla wrote a book arguing for language as flexible and fun, and she’ll be here to talk about it. Powell's on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, powells.com. 7:30 pm.
A biopic about the making of The Room, starring James Franco as Tommy Wiseau isn’t going to be anything less than interesting. But The Disaster Artist is not only absurdly funny, it’s also genuinely empathetic toward Wiseau and his bafflingly bad movie. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., cinema21.com. Various times. $9.25.
12/12
T U E S D AY
FINEHOUSE: A TRIBUTE TO AMY WINEHOUSE Portland has paid homage to English neo-soul’s most tragic badass before, but this is something else—a full re-creation of her 2006 classic Back to Black, helmed by a 10-piece all-star band, with Lola Buzzkill powerhouse Justine V. stepping into Winehouse’s formidable stilettos. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., startheaterportland.com. 8 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
MODERN FRENCH PASTRY Aside from being one of the city’s foremost resources for champagne and sherry, Pix’s Cheryl Wakerhauser made her name throwing wild modern twists into French dessert. Her new book of French pastry teaches you how to do the same. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., powells.com. 7:30 pm. Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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An evening of local shopping, festive cocktails, and food carts!
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5–9 PM
DISTRICT EAST 2305 SE 9th Ave.
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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FOOD & DRINK REVIEW
ABBY GORDON
!!!
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. By MATTHEW KORFHAGE. Editor: MARTIN CIZMAR. Email: dish@wweek.com. See page 3 for submission instructions.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 6 PDX Feeds Puerto Rico
Get Busy
All this week, different Portland restaurants will serve up the fare of Puerto Rico to benefit the hurricane-ravaged island. Today that’s a coffee takeover at Foxy Coffee with churros from 180, Thursday is a party at the Nightwood space on Northeast Broadway, Friday is at Rue and Saturday is Puerto Rican brunch at Ataula. pdxfeedspuertorico.com. Through Dec. 10.
SATURDAY, DEC. 9 Humbug Lager Fest
Sign up for our gET BuSY nEwSlETTEr! Sign up for Get Busy to receive WW’s weekly music + entertainment picks!
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In a sort of anti-Holiday Ale Fest in St. Johns, Occidental will play host to 16 breweries—including Kloster Andechs, Arch Rock and Seattle’s stunningly good Holy Mountain—serving up lagers and more lagers all weekend. $10 gets you a glass and six 4-ounce samples. Occidental Brewing, 6635 N. Baltimore Ave., 503-719-7102, occidentalbrewing.com. Through Dec. 10.
Whiteout with Steve Lieber, Greg Rucka At Handsome Pizza, comics legends Steve Lieber and Greg Rucka will be on hand to sign their classic Whiteout book, released by Portland’s Oni Press 19 years ago. There’s already a “Steve Lieber” pizza at Handsome. Today there’ll also be a “Whiteout” pizza. Handsome Pizza, 1603 NE Killingsworth St., 247-7499, handsomepizza.com. 3-5 pm.
Eastburn Ciderfest
Eastburn’s annual pre-holiday Toys for Tots benefit will bring in 15 taps of ciders including Wandering Aengus, Carlton Cyderworks and Tumalo at $10 for five four-ounce tasters. If you bring a toy for the kids, you get five more tasters. Nothing justifies five drinks like a good deed. Eastburn, 1800 E. Burnside St. 503-236-2876, theeastburn.com. 4-10 pm.
TOP 5
HOT PLATES Where to eat this week.
1.
Oui! Wine Bar
2.
Bar Casa Vale
3.
Beeswing
4.
Rue
5.
Revelry
2425 SE 35th Pl., 503-2082061, sewinecollective.com/ oui-wine-bar-restaurant. SE Wine Collective’s bar is doubling down on food with a new name, a $35 prix-fixe, and really amazing whipped butter with espelette peppers and maple syrup. $$. SE 9th and Pine, 503-4779081, barcasavale.com. Bar Casa Vale has a new chef and a couple of killer new items, including a beautifully savory lamb neck cooked while swinging on twine across the mammoth hearth. $$. 4318 SE Cully Blvd., 503-4777318, beeswingpdx.com. The heavenly biscuit and Stilton pie all by themselves make this charming scratch-made brunch-and-dinner spot well worth a drive to Cully. $-$$.
1005 SE Ankeny St., 503-231-3748, ruepdx.com. Stop in Tuesdays at Rue for a pig roast dinner, and one of the best natural wine lists in town. $$-$$$.
210 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 971-339-3693, relayrestaurantgroup.com. One of the best deals in town is Revelry’s $5 fried chicken and Rainier deal on hip-hop Tuesdays. $-$$$.
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OH, GOLLY: Thali
Super Super
THERE’S A GREAT INDIAN SPOT HIDING INSIDE A BEAVERTON INDIAN SUPERMARKET. BY MA RTIN CIZ MA R
mcizmar@wweek.com
How do you know you’re dealing with seriously authentic Indian food? In the case of Beaverton’s India Supermarket, I knew when I came across candelabra bearing an ancient symbol that’s verboten in Western culture. Indians have used the swastika for thousands of years, and don’t share our associations. Seeing it was shocking to me and, I imagine, to most Americans. But should Westerners ask Indians to discontinue its use because white people appropriated it as a symbol for evil? It’s a lot to think about while you eat at Indian Connection, the buffet and restaurant that opened in the corner of this supermarket last year, and came to my attention through a friend who crawls the metro area looking for great Asian food. The sale of those candelabra at the supermarket may be debatable, but the vegetarian food at Indian Connection is not. This is my new answer to the age-old question of the city’s best Indian buffet, and the maker of my new-favorite dosas in town. The thali-plate buffet runs at lunchtime, and it’s highly recommended for anyone not totally averse to hot plates. Expect a dozen offerings, half of which were different on my two visits. My favorites were a pair of rich curries, a soft yellow gujarati kadhi served on weekends with nice heat and a bright orange paneer butter masala with firm chunks of cheese that are a little farmier than typical. Get a few triangles of the hot and fresh butter naan and a scoop of the mixed vegetable fritters known as pakoras, and you’re in business. But depending on the day, you can expect to also find a few lessfamiliar offerings, like gobi manchurian, a popular Indian dish. The dish was invented by Chinese expats in Kolkata, and is essentially deep-fried cauliflower in a Chinese style, using corn-based batter and chiles. It was new to me and I’ve been craving it since. It’s one of several dishes that show Chinese influence, including a bhel poori (a snack made with puffed rice and crunchy noodles) and a Szechuanspiced dosa. Speaking of the dosas ($8.99-$10.99): The ones at Indian Connection, which are not on the buffet, are everything I want from the super-thin fermented pancake from Southern India. The mysore masala dosas are the size of a folded bandana and served overflowing the plate, with delightfully crispy dough and a hearty filling of potatoes, onions and spicy chutney. The Szechuan-spiced version has a pleasant numbingness. The next time I want dosas, this is where I’ll get them. The same for an Indian buffet. The a la carte menu is very broad, including 10 variants on chaat frybread and four different stuffed paratha breads, not to mention a world of paneer. If anything, you could argue that the selection of goods available here is, ahem, wide to a fault. GO: Indian Connection, 17235 NW Corridor Ct, Beaverton, 503617-9999, indianconnection.us. 10 am-9:30 pm daily. Thali buffet: 11 am-2 pm Monday-Friday, 11 am-4 pm Saturday and Sunday.
REVIEW CHRISTINE DONG
Fubonn
An International Marketplace. Food from Japan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, America and MORE!
RIDE THE ROCKET: The Bacon Cheeseburger with fish-sauce tots.
Lit AF
CARTOPIA FOOD CART BOTTLE ROCKET IS MAKING SOME OF THE BEST DAMN BURGERS IN TOWN. BY M AT T H E W KO R F H AGE
mkorfhage@wweek.com
The first time I ordered from Bottle Rocket, I used a food-delivery app. When the driver arrived, she handed over my order with joyful approval. “Really good choice,” she said. She seemed almost embarrassed at her own enthusiasm, but also unable to contain it. “Those fish sauce tots—I eat them every single day.” At Bottle Rocket, a Hawthorne Boulevard beer and burger cart opened this July by Chicken and Guns’ Dustin Knox and Potato Champion’s Mike McKinnon, those fish-sauce tots taste exactly as their name would lead you to expect: Ike’s Wings at Pok Pok gone budget Americana. Five dollars nets a generous basket of crispy fried taters brimming with chili spice and the sticky-sweet brine of fish sauce. They’re junky, delicious and naggingly addictive. Modeled loosely after a fireworks stand, Bottle Rocket is like a parallel-world imagining of a burger joint in East Asia. Those tots are joined by a hodgepodge of $5 Asianinflected sides from spicy cauliflower tempura to a basket of blanched, flash-fried Brussels sprouts that might even outshine the tots. Knox says everything on the cart’s menu is designed to survive delivery on the Caviar app, a bonus in the cold, wet winter months when food carts often struggle to pick up customers, which is why we’re writing up at least one excellent food cart each week during Food Cart Preservation Month. But as good as those tots are at Bottle Rocket, the real fireworks come from the hamburgers themselves, cooked by the finest burger chef at Sandy Boulevard dive bar Club 21 before it got crushed by a steam shovel to make way for apartments. When Knox used to stop in at 21, he would always peek his head around the corner to see who was in the kitchen. If he saw Spencer Bone’s big, red beard, he’d order a burger. “The burgers weren’t good unless he was cooking,” Knox says. “I mean
they were good, but he always made them exceptionally better than the competition.” So after Club 21 closed and the two food-cart owners wanted a place they could sell beer and burgers at their Cartopia pod, Bone was the first guy they wanted to talk to. The guiding light for the cart was simple: “Just make the best burger possible without getting stupid about it.” The burgers at the new Bottle Rocket cart aren’t cheffy. They also aren’t fancy, and they’re definitely not stupid. They are, quite simply, some of the best damn burgers in Portland. The basic burger ($9) is five ounces of salt-and-pepper-seasoned, hand-formed chuck from Nicky Farms down the street—the same people who serve up bison, boar and elk to restaurants all over the city. The lettuce is green lettuce, the pickles are kosher and the onions come both raw and grilled to mix crunch and depth. The mayo is mixed with Sriracha for a little bit of spice and tang, a secret sauce that’s really no secret at all. Cheese is cheddar and it costs a buck more. Two strips of Nicky Farms bacon is a buck more than that. And for $3 more, you can make it a meal deal with lightly sweet house-made lemonade and whatever side dish you want. And that’s it. That’s the end of the burger menu. Each one arrives juicy, tangy, crisp, slightly spicy, and beefy as fuck on a toasted bun. Sriracha aside, it’s a burger recipe that could have been written in 1953, except the sourcing on the ingredients is much better. Since ordering delivery the first time in late October, I’ve been back to Bottle Rocket four more times in the intervening month. I think about the burger when I’m not eating the burger. I’ve thought about the burger while eating other burgers. It is a very good burger.
ONE STOP SHOPPING
Groceries · Housewares · Gifts · Clothing · Jewelry · Dining · And MORE
2850 S.E. 82nd Ave. · Portland OR 97266 · 9AM—8PM seven days a week
503-517-8877 · www.fubonn.com FOLLOW US @fubonnpdx
GO: Bottle Rocket, 1207 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 971-279-4663. 11-12:30 am daily. Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
MUSIC PROFILE
= WW Pick. Highly recommended.
PAC K A R D B R OW N E
Prices listed are sometimes for advance ticket sales. At-the-door increases and socalled convenience charges may apply. Event lineups are subject to change after WW’s press deadlines. 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, DEC. 6 Jhené Aiko, Willow Smith, Kodie Shane, Kitty Cash
[SMOOTH JAMS] Jhené Aiko is one of the more underrated pop singers out there right now. The L.A. musician possesses a keen ability to bounce back and forth between soulful R&B crooning and rap-like storytelling without skipping a single beat. Better still, Aiko’s lyrics carry the depth and resonance of an experienced poet. Aiko has yet to relive the supreme catchiness of 2013’s Sail Out, but her latest album, Trip, has more hooks than a fishing vessel. Fans of Rihanna would be wise to hunt around online for tickets. MARK STOCK. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 971-230-0033. 8 pm. Sold out. All ages.
THURSDAY, DEC. 7 Hundred Waters, Banoffee
Skrillex’s record label. In reality, they’re almost the exact opposite of what you’d expect from that description. Frontwoman Nicole Miglis exudes tranquility with her gentle, unhurried phrasing, and her bandmates follow suit with their minimal marriage of IDM beats and wood-nymph tones. Gaining prominence with their entrancing 2014 sophomore album, The Moon Rang Like a Bell, Hundred Waters released their more melancholy follow-up, Communicating, earlier this fall, on which they continue their deft studio wizardry that renders acoustic sounds mechanical and digital textures organic. PATRICK LYONS. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St, 503-231-9663. 9 pm. $16 advance, $18 day of show. 21+.
BY MATTHEW SIN GER TIM SLUSARCZYK
TOP
MYKE BOGAN
THE FIVE BEST SETS OF THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF THE THESIS. BY DJ VERBZ
Myke Bogan
(April 2015)
Just a few months into our run as the Thesis, [WW contributor] Blake Hickman brought up the idea of throwing a party on the Portland Spirit. Myke Bogan brought that extra element that made it the most memorable night yet. Between his pirate hat and fake parrot and the raucous party that ensued, this is the set that let me know we had something special.
2. 3.
(Jan. 2016)
Cassow was one of the first artists to come to us with a true vision. His set brought together an array of flashing lights and fog, with interludes and tonal shifts corresponding to colors. He brought a professional energy we’ve tried to impart on all performers since.
Mic Capes
(March 2017)
In 2017, we teamed up with MOGO Fest, a music festival focusing on artists from all around Oregon. We were asked to curate two shows, so we dreamed big. For our first showcase at Star Theater, we wanted an artist that truly represented Portland, and no one does that better than Mic Capes. With a packed house, Capes smashed his set with awesome guests and a commanding performance. Northside really did come up.
4. 5.
PORTLAND’S ORIGINAL RAP FESTIVAL RETURNS TO A SCENE IT HELPED CHANGE.
CONT. on page 32
5
Cassow
Run It Back
The Killers, Franz Ferdinand
[CASINO STADIUM ROCK] See Get Busy, page 25. Moda Center, 1 N Center Ct St., 503-235-8771. 7 pm. Sold out. All ages. In Theater of the Clouds.
[ANDROID DOWNTEMPO] On paper, Gainesville’s Hundred Waters are an electronic group signed to
1.
THE NUTZY PROFESSOR: POH-Hop co-founder Cool Nutz.
The Last Artful, Dodgr
(Dec. 2016)
Some of our best shows were created out of chaos. After losing our headliner for our second anniversary last-minute, we called in a hired gun. Dodgr comes to steal any show she is on. A magnetic performer with the confidence of a queen, she had the crowd eating up her every word.
Donte Thomas
(Oct. 2016)
One of the highlights of the Thesis has been watching young artists grow and find themselves. Donte Thomas turned his set into a community event, with a mass of special guests including some of his STRAY compatriots and other Portland staples. He took his first-ever headlining show and turned it into a celebration of Portland hip-hop.
SEE IT: The Thesis Third Anniversary Show is at Kelly’s Olympian, 426 SW Washington St., with Ty Farris and Trox, Kung Foo Grip, Cool Nutz and more, on Thursday, Dec. 7. 9 pm. Free. 21+.
Portland hip-hop is in the midst of a boom period. With Aminé and the Last Artful Dodgr receiving national attention, and monthly showcases like the Thesis (see Top 5, this page) and Mic Check giving emerging artists a regular platform to perform, there isn’t a more exciting music scene in the city right now. And if you ask Terrance “Cool Nutz” Scott, part of that is due to the foundation he helped lay 20 years ago. In 1995, the Portland rap ambassador—along with David Parks, now a member of the Beyoncécollaborating New York busker funk trio Too Many Zooz—launched the Portland Oregon Hip-Hop Festival, or POH-Hop for short. Acting as a rapfocused precursor to PDX Pop Now, the annual multi-day festival gave a stage to local talent at a time when Portland was much less hospitable to hip-hop culture. It was a big stage, too—the first iterations took place at La Luna, then one of the city’s premiere music venues. After La Luna closed in the early 2000s, the festival spread out across town, but the financial strain forced a hiatus in 2011. Now, Scott is bringing POH-Hop back, with two nights of performances and panel discussions. With the Portland rap landscape completely changed, we asked Scott about the festival’s legacy, and where it fits in today. Willamette Week: What did POH-Hop mean for the hip-hop community in Portland when it originally started? Cool Nutz: That first year, people didn’t really know what to expect. But the second and third years, it would light the city up. One of the main goals was to present to the city that there was a hip-hop scene, and to give artists a platform to play in the prime venues, on good sound systems, and have the promotion be top-notch. POH-Hop was the start of a lot of things that are still going on in terms of artists and the ability to book shows, to promote shows, to know how to properly put a show together. It created the landscape. What were the challenges of running the festival in those early years? Dealing with artists’ egos. The whole point of the event was about showcasing the talent and the
culture, and not just one artist. Those were probably the biggest issues—people not being able to put themselves to the side to say, “I’m not tripping over what time I go on. I’m not tripping on how big my name is on the flyer.” Why are you bringing it back now? One of the important things this year is the Ash Street is closing. It’s a venue that’s been so good for us in the hip-hop scene, in terms of giving us a place. We already had two nights booked there. Instead of doing two hip-hop shows, we might as well do POH-Hop there to honor that venue and let people know Ash Street has been a big catalyst by giving artists a place to promote shows. Tell me about the booking. Aside from you and Mic Capes, a lot of the acts are fairly under-the-radar. There’s a lot of different scenes happening and evolving in Portland. For instance, Luxury Jonez, on the second night, he just came home from doing six years in the penitentiary. When he got out, he released three mixtapes, and he’s been trying to promote his music. Rich James, he’s a singer that’s been featured on a lot of stuff around the city. And Liquid Anthrax, he’s been putting on a lot of his own shows. He’s an older dude, so he’s into pop-locking and breakdancing. So there’s a lot of artists who are doing things that might not typically get to play on a show like this that I wanted to also give an opportunity to. With monthly showcases like the Thesis and Mic Check giving more opportunities for local rappers, has the mission of POH-Hop at all? POH-Hop is a brand, and that name is synonymous with something. And I think sometimes, we tend to look at stuff and go, “Portland didn’t have this, Portland ain’t a city for that.” But you’ve had monumental things that have occurred in Portland. There aren’t many things hip-hop related in the city that transcend a legacy. People still understand the importance of it, that says a lot, because we’re talking about something 20 years in. SEE IT: POH-Hop is at Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash St., on Thursday-Friday, Dec. 7-8. $10 advance, $12 day of show. See ashstreetsaloon. com for complete schedule and start times. Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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MUSIC Unsane, Plaque Marks, Maximum Mad
[DEAF WISH] One gets the feeling that New York noise-rock vets Unsane won’t stop playing until their hearing gives out completely, and might continue for a while after that. The trio is nearing its 30th anniversary and hasn’t drawn back a single decibel from its decidedly unartsy approach to pigfucked punkmetal. Sterilize, the band’s latest, finds them just as ugly and vicious as they were on day one, playing less like musicians than demolition experts tasked with tearing down an entire city block using only guitar, drums, bass and a stack of amps. But in a world increasingly deserving of a full-scale flattening, Unsane has probably never been more relevant. MATTHEW SINGER. Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy Blvd., 971-271-8464. 8 pm. $14 advance, $16 day of show. 21+.
FRIDAY, DEC. 8 Valerie June, Gill Landry
[AMERICANA] After quickly selling out the Aladdin Theater earlier this year, Tennessee folk crooner Valerie June is bringing her understated glam, unique voice and towering dreadlocks back to Portland in support of her highly praised second LP, The Order of Time. Four years in the making, the follow-up to her critically acclaimed first album, 2013’s Pushin’ Against the Stone, loses some of the old-time country spirit and energy that originally won fans over, leaving an album full of enchanting, soul-filled gospel songs that blends a small army of various string instruments and horns with June’s haunting Southern drawl. SHANNON ARMOUR. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 503-234-9694. 8 pm. $27.50 advance, $29 day of show. All ages. Through Dec. 9.
Billy Joel
[THE PIANO MAN COMETH] Back in February, the Rose Quarter made a big deal out of announcing this show, teasing the “grand return” of a “Rock and Roll legend” who hadn’t played Portland “in over 10 years” and holding a press conference at the airport to make the reveal. When that mystery legend turned out to be Billy Joel, the reaction was a collective “meh.” Because yeah, Joel is technically a legend, but he’s never been particularly exciting— which, perhaps, is part of his appeal. He’s the normcore Springsteen, the Boss of divorced middle-class dads. Someone’s gotta fill that role, and he’s done it for decades. That’s certainly worth something. Maybe not a press conference, but something. MATTHEW SINGER. Moda Center, 1 N Center Court St., 503-235-8771. 8 pm. $150. All ages.
SATURDAY, DEC. 9 Dandy Warhols’ Cowboy Christmas with Federale
[YEE-HAWROIN!] Long-running Portland psych-rockers the Dandy Warhols host their now-annual holiday costume party, this year with a country-and-western theme. It’s all-ages, which means all three teenage Dandies fans will finally get the chance to see their heroes live. It’s an early Christmas miracle! Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 503-225-0047. 8 pm. $20 advance, $25 day of show. All ages.
Witch Mountain, Hound the Wolves, Saola
[DOOM] Founding Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward’s new band, Day of Errors, was supposed to play this show as part of their West Coast tour, but a sudden medical emergency forced him to cancel. That isn’t stopping the other two acts slated for the Portland show. Our city’s own doom vets Witch Mountain will be playing their first show in seven months, though they’ve still been
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Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
up to business behind the scenes, as Adult Swim debuted a new track from them earlier this month. Though playing with Day of Errors would’ve been another great opportunity for Witch Mountain—not to mention sludge young’ns Saola—they’ve got enough under their belt to warrant this new headlining slot. CERVANTE POPE. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St., 503-226-6630. 8:30 pm. $10. 21+.
Metz, Moaning, Deathlist
[CONTROLLED CHAOS] Toronto’s Metz is the kind of punk godsend that’s so heavy, so precise yet dissonant that all you can do is listen to them repeatedly and anticipate how apeshit you’ll go when they play anywhere near your hometown. Imagine Nirvana’s Bleach getting the Albini touch that made In Utero so enthralling. Or when the singer of Refused started the garage-funk outfit International Noise Conspiracy and pied-pipered all the hardcore kids over to soul. That’s the kind of legendary attraction we’re dealing with on Strange Peace, Metz’s third LP. Get ready to be lead toward eternal devotion. CRIS LANKENAU. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-231-9663. 9 pm. $16.50 advance, $20 day of show. 21+.
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton
[INDIE INGÉNUE] Prior to their 2009 breakout Fantasies, the albums of Toronto pop quartet Metric were still hospitable places for frontwoman Emily Haines to park the occasional power ballad or torch song, provided some dinky electronics occupied space in the mix. Now that her primary gig is famous for the kind of massive electro-pop synonymous with modern alt-rock radio, she’s once again gone solo on this year’s Choir of the Mind. The title is fitting, with choruses of overdubbed vocals washing over Haines’ sparse piano ballads revealing the frequent Broken Social Scene collaborator as one of the strongest songwriters in her peer group. PETE COTTELL. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St. #110, 503-2883895. 9 pm. $21 advance, $26 day of show. All ages.
Grizzly Bear, Serpentwithfeet
[ART POP FOR THE STREAMING AGE] See Get Busy, page 25. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 971-230-0033. 8 pm. Sold out. All ages.
Cindy Wilson, Sarah Jaffe, Mini Blinds, Strange Babes DJs
[DRIFT THIS MESS AROUND] Well, you certainly can’t accuse Cindy Wilson of false advertising. On her recently released solo debut, Change, the B-52’s vocalist indeed changes things up quite a bit, stepping away from the Technicolor New Wave of her main gig and reinventing herself as a dreamy electro-pop doyenne. Some songs have enough of a pulse to get fans swaying, but for the most part, Wilson operates in the same vein as Beach House or Portland’s Pure Bathing Culture, with vaporous arrangements draping her breathy voice like early morning dew. While it’s certainly an interesting 180, it doesn’t leave much of an impression. But hey, maybe we’ll get a dream-pop reworking of “52 Girls” in the live set. MATTHEW SINGER. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave. 9 pm. $20-$30. 21+.
SUNDAY, DEC. 10 Julien Baker, Half Waif, Adam Torres
[BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA] Every few years, a singer-songwriter comes along who is so obviously brilliant and appealing enough for mainstream success that those who caught on early know they only have a few years before they go huge. Julien Baker is one such artist. On her acclaimed new LP, Turn Out the Lights, Baker uses a mostly sparse template of her gorgeous voice accompanied by one or two instruments to create deceptively simple songs that amp up the gravitas of
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COURTESY OF POPGOJI.COM
INTRODUCING
POPgoji WHO: Renata Austin, Vaughn Kimmons, Michael Galen, Peter Fung, Aaron Peterson, Hans Barklis, Drew Danin, Pyata Penedo. SOUNDS LIKE: An American indie-pop band hopped up on caipirinhas and Carnivale. FOR FANS OF: Bebel Gilberto, Ozomatli, Radiation City. At a POPgoji show, you won’t hear blast beats, screeching banshee vocals or even many amplified instruments. But that doesn’t mean the Brazilian music tradition the band draws from isn’t extreme. “I love the energy and power,” says founding member Michael Galen. “It’s really unapologetic, the way Brazilians play music, on these drums that are so loud—they’re made to be heard from so far away. Or even if they’re playing quiet instruments, they’re playing so fast sometimes, with such syncopation and swing, it’s relentless. If you get lazy, it doesn’t work.” A musician and dancer who studied jazz at the University of Oregon, Galen first encountered the rhythms of samba while attending his first Burning Man. A year later, he immersed himself in the real thing, spending six months in Brazil, where he participated in massive street parties driven by dozens-strong percussion ensembles. Coming back to Portland, he began attending local pagode jam sessions—house parties thrown by Brazilophiles where everyone is expected to either pick up an instrument or sing along. It reflected, on a much smaller scale, the overwhelming sense of community Galen saw in Brazil. But he noticed a problem: Outside of the native Portuguese speakers, few attendees seemed to know the lyrics to the Brazilian pop tunes they were jamming on. In an effort bring more people into the party, Galen formed POPgoji with the idea of “Brazilifying” popular English-language songs. Recruiting singer Renata Austin and other musicians, the band set out reinterpreting mostly classic American soul songs, such as Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” and Sam Cooke’s “Cupid,” playing them on traditional instruments like the four-string cavaquinho and tambourine-like pandeiro. At the time, Galen’s only goal was to fill a niche within the Brazilian house party scene. But the blend of angelic R&B melodies and shuffling pagode beats caught on, and the band quickly picked up regular gigs at venues like the Goodfoot and Mississippi Pizza. “Because it grew out of a need in the community, it was received well immediately,” he says, “and we jumped to big parties in no time.” Personnel has expanded and contracted in that time, and it continues to shift—singer Vaughn Kimmons is leaving after their upcoming fourth anniversary show to focus on her buzzing R&B project, Brown Calculus. But with a debut EP arriving next year, Galen is hoping to finally take POPgoji on the road, and introduce a wider audience to music that he sees as some of most powerful on earth. “Brazil just has this really high energy. It’s the same energy you feel in New York,” he says. “There’s a ton of people. There’s this shadow to the city, this contrast of really rich and really poor, and an element of danger and an element of joy. You’re just living to the max. And I think that comes out in the music.” MATTHEW SINGER. SEE IT: POPgoji plays Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., with DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid, on Thursday, Dec. 7. 9 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+. Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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NEW YEARS EVE PART Y! No Cover 2 Pool Tables and Pingpong
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Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
MUSIC
DATES HERE
her lyrical content. It’s the kind of unabashed sincerity that burrows into the emotional response mechanism of your brain and slams the receptors into overdrive. CRIS LANKENAU. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 503-234-9694. 8 pm. Sold out. All ages.
Boys and Rooney. The album actually contains a track titled “Beach Boys,” so there’s no way they’re joking. Good for them. PETE COTTELL. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 503225-0047. 6:30 pm. Sold out. All ages.
Finehouse: A Tribute to Amy Winehouse, Prom Queen, DJ Listen Lady
Slug Christ, Chxpo
[BACK TO BACK TO BLACK] See Get Busy, page 25. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave. 8 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension, Jimmy Herring & the Invisible Whip
[TWILIGHT OF THE GUITAR GOD] He may or may not be the most virtuosic guitarist England ever produced, but 75-year-old John McLaughlin has contributed mightily to his instrument’s legacy. From his searing elec-
CONT. on page 36
PROFILE M A R I A D AV E Y
[ART TRAP] Known for his flat, affectless intonation and warbling, singsong flow, the music of Slug Christ is like trap music with an art-school degree. Slug is the rat-tailed, mustachioed member of Awful Records, a squad that oozes cool and whose roster look like models for a Yeezy fashion show. Slug, in particular, is arresting—he resembles a young, scrawny version of Don Mattingly dressed like a character from Gummo. While it’s true Slug raps about smoking heroin and popping Xans, last year’s The Demiurge is full of the sort of internet-fueled ennui that feels so pitch-perfect in the nightmare of our present world. And one of his latest singles, “Supernova/Reflection,” features a nihilistic verse from the late Lil Peep. If nothing else, this show will improve your fashion sense by 15 percent. JUSTIN CARROLL-ALLAN. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave., 503-328-2865. 9:30 pm. $15. 21+.
CLASSICAL, JAZZ & WORLD
Oh, Rose, Boone Howard, Wet Dream
[OLYMPIA POP] See Get Busy, page 25. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503-239-7639. 8:30 pm. $8. 21+.
SUNDAY, DEC. 10 Patterson Hood
[KEEP TRUCKIN’] While Jason Isbell’s popularity has eclipsed every other Drive By Truckers alum—and maybe even the band itself—when it comes to smart, affecting, Southernfried songwriting, Patterson Hood is no slouch. The Alabama-born, Portland-transplanted singer hasn’t put out a solo record in five years, but he’s made intimate local performances an annual event. Isbell might command bigger rooms, but Hood knows how to make the small gigs feel huge. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-231-9663. 9 pm. $18 advance, $20 day of show. 21+.
MONDAY, DEC. 11 Alex Lahey, Dude York
[RELATABLE POP] In an era where millennial pop songs are filled with pompous lyrics that only focus on late-night partying and unspeakable sex acts, Australia’s Alex Lahey is different. Focusing on her own life experiences, the 25-yearold singer-songwriter takes a nobullshit approach to songwriting, creating tunes that not only make for great sing-alongs but are also relatable—sometimes a little too much for comfort. Her semi-sarcastic tone and sometimes dark take on love, money and relationships really hits home on the catchy, poppunkish break-up song, “I Haven’t Been Taking Care of Myself,” when she belts out, “I’ve gained weight and I drink too much/Maybe that’s why you don’t love me as much.” SHANNON ARMOUR. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895. 9 pm. $12. 21+.
TUESDAY, DEC. 12 Weezer, Courtship
[CALIFORNIA SCHEMIN’] Rivers Cuomo refuses to let Weezer die. It’s debatable as to when exactly the goodwill of their classic first two records ran dry, but everyone agrees the self-awareness Cuomo leans on in latter-era tracks like “Beverly Hills” and “Eulogy for a Rock Band” is a bad look, considering Weezer cover bands are now more reliable than the real thing. Regardless, the gang is back at it yet again with this year’s aptly-titled Pacific Daydream, perhaps their most unabashed swing at the elusive sweet spot between the Cars, the Beach
A Modest Success Story JOHN CRAIGIE ISN’T AFRAID OF GETTING INTIMATE. John Craigie learned an important lesson while on his first U.K. tour earlier this year. It involved his pants. “In the U.K., they speak English, but it’s different—their word for pants is ‘trousers,’ and ‘pants’ means ‘underwear,’” says the 37-year-old Portland-based singer-songwriter. “I wear bellbottoms, and I like embroidered stuff. Lately, I’ve been finding that I have to buy women’s pants because they just don’t make men’s pants like that anymore. I was onstage, it was my first show and someone yelled out, ‘Nice bellbottoms!’ I said, ‘Yeah, I only wear ladies’ pants.’ Everyone got really uncomfortable. Someone told me after the show, ‘That means you’re wearing ladies’ underwear.’” As mildly embarrassing as that story is, that’s the kind of interaction Craigie prefers to have with his audience, and he likes to keep his shows small and intimate enough for it to happen. But that might not be possible for much longer. He spent the summer touring with Jack Johnson, and his latest record, No Rain, No Rose, is his most successful yet. It was probably inevitable that Craigie would eventually find a bigger audience. His music is in the lineage of classic folk singers like John Prine and Arlo Guthrie, with a focus on melodic storytelling. He has a deep, soothing voice, and an appealing songwriting style that’s at once poetic and hilarious. See his song “Naked Skype,” an examination of modern dating rituals. No Rain, No Rose is a tribute to Portland, where he moved to from California two years ago. The title plays off a Buddhist saying, “no mud, no lotus,” which Craigie altered to “make it more appropriate for the Northwest.” He recorded in his Southeast Portland living room, in front of his friends, and you can hear their commentary and conversations between tracks. “I don’t really like recording,” Craigie says. “It feels lame and forced. I like having an audience there that I can play off of and talk between the songs. Having all of them there let me do just that. It couldn’t have worked out better—having an album about that new community in Portland and then having them all be there for the recording.” Craigie is looking to release two records within the next six months. Appropriately, one of them will be a live recording. As for No Rain, No Rose, while happy with it, Craigie makes sure to keep his pride in check. “Never trust a musician who is too stoked on their new record,” he says. SETH SHALER. SEE IT: John Craigie plays Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Hollis Peach, on Thursday, Dec. 7. 8 pm. Sold out. 21+. He also plays Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., on Friday, Dec. 8. 9 pm. Sold out. 21+. Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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MUSIC tric jazz in Miles Davis’ early fusion bands to the psychedelic and Indian music that colored his Mahavishnu Orchestra in the ‘70s, McLaughlin has taken the guitar to places no one else imagined. His current 4th Dimension band, which adds funk and electronica to the basic jazzIndian-rock formula, just dropped a new live album, but arthritis is bringing McLaughlin’s touring days to an end. These farewell shows revisit and reimagine his Mahavishnu music and more. BRETT CAMPBELL. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St. #110, 503-2883895. 8 pm Wednesday, Dec. 6. Sold out. All ages.
Portland Chamber Orchestra
[MULTICULTI HOLIDAY] As Portland grows more diverse, so does its holiday celebrations. Instead of concerts limited to familiar carols from Northern European tradi-
tions, more classical concerts now look abroad for sources. Portland Chamber Orchestra’s holiday shows feature a Spanish folk song in Ladino (an ancient Sephardic Jewish language once spoken in Spain and other Mediterranean lands), a French Moroccan folk song, a Kurdish medley, and a Swedish setting of an old Christmas carol—all woven into the thematic framework that underlies that holiday perennial, Handel’s Messiah. It’s a musical metaphor for how so many cultures find common ground in older traditions while also enriching them. BRETT CAMPBELL. New Song Church, 2511 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., 503-493-1301. 7:30 pm Friday, Dec. 8. $15. All ages.
For more Music listings, visit
ALBUM REVIEW
Blitzen Trapper
WILD AND RECKLESS (LKC Recordings) [TAME AND CAREFUL] There’s a common joke about country albums that says if you play them backward, the singer gets his truck, dog, house and girlfriend back. In the case of Wild and Reckless, Blitzen Trapper’s ninth full-length album, the outcome would be much less exciting. Ostensibly a “rebels on the run” album, singer Eric Earley hangs his hat on the tired mysticism of the dusty road to redemption, spinning a yarn about a Hollywood coke dealer who convinces a reluctant lady friend that it’s time to get gone. Hijinks involving trailer parks near Coos Bay and the “lights of an old Trans Am” occupy the album’s first half, while ruminations on romance and the good old days punctuate the second. Regardless of whether or not Blitzen Trapper is the twangiest band in your library, you’ve definitely heard this one before. Blitzen Trapper’s greatest strength has been their pleasing synthesis of mixed-bag Americana, but on Wild and Reckless, their reliance on pastiche nearly turns them into an alt-country version of “rock revival” also-ran Jet. That band’s ticket to fame was sounding just a little bit like a lot of familiar heroes, and in that regard, Wild and Reckless succeeds astoundingly. There’s the outlaw shuffle of the album’s opener “Rebel.” There’s the stomping, Petty-esque title track, an ode to youth. There’s the painfully earnest Steve Miller sendup, “When I’m Dying.” A smattering of mid-career Bob Dylan ditties fills the gaps. The end result is a cohesive and pleasant whole that tells a colorful story. But Blitzen Trapper should know better than to play it so safe this late in their career. PETE COTTELL. SEE IT: Blitzen Trapper plays Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St. #110, with Lilly Hiatt, on Friday, Dec. 8. 9 pm. $26 advance, $29 day of show. All ages. 36
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
MUSIC CALENDAR WED. DEC. 6
Moda Center
No Fun
Dante’s
Pop Tavern
303 SW 12th Ave Garcia Birthday Band 350 W Burnside St LiquidLight, SFSC, The Adio Sequence, Fighting Casper
Doug Fir Lounge 830 E Burnside St The Stone Foxes
Jack London Revue 529 SW 4th Ave Quincy Davis and SSL
Justa Pasta
1336 NW 19th Avenue Anson Wright Duo
Revolution Hall
1300 SE Stark St #110 John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension, Jimmy Herring & the Invisible Whip
Roseland Theater
8 NW 6th Ave Jhené Aiko, Willow Smith, Kodie Shane, Kitty Cash
Star Theater
13 NW 6th Ave Nasty Disaster: A Puerto Rico Benefit
Teutonic Wine Comapny
3303 SE 20th Ave The Thomas Barber Quartet
The Goodfoot
2845 SE Stark St Tommy Alexander, Toothbone
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Odonis Odonis, Chasms, DJ Straylight
Turn! Turn! Turn!
8 NE Killingsworth St Lorka Scher, Mamai and IDK
THU. DEC. 7 Al’s Den at Crystal Hotel
303 SW 12th Ave Garcia Birthday Band
Ash Street Saloon
225 SW Ash St POH-Hop Night 1
Black Water Bar
835 NE Broadway Songs from Under the Floorboard: Over, Vibrissae, Walking Scarlet
Dante’s
350 W Burnside St Nikki Hill
Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St Hundred Waters, Banoffee
Edgefield
2126 SW Halsey St, Troutdale Bottleneck Blues Band (Winery Tasting Room)
1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd Greg Ashley, Hollow Sidewalks
8 NW 6th Ave San Holo
LaurelThirst Public House
The Secret Society 116 NE Russell St The Not-So-Secret Family Show featurng Mo Phillips, Little Sue
The Know
3728 NE Sandy Blvd Mr. Wrong, Boink!, Galaxy Research
White Eagle Saloon 836 N Russell St Biddy on the Bench
The Secret Society
836 N Russell St Courtyard Bluegrass Jam; Rainbow Electric’s 4th Annual Big & Twisted Holiday Jam
FRI. DEC. 8 Aladdin Theater
3017 SE Milwaukie Ave Valerie June, Gill Landry
Alberta Street Pub
1036 NE Alberta St Phil Ajjarapu and His Heart Army, Faded Pages, Hayley Lynn
Al’s Den at Crystal Hotel
303 SW 12th Ave Garcia Birthday Band
Anarres Infoshop
7101 N Lombard St Waterfronts, Raygun Jones
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1037 SW Broadway Gospel Christmas with the Oregon Symphony
Ash Street Saloon
225 SW Ash St POH-Hop Night 2
Bossanova Ballroom 722 E Burnside St Lee Dewyze
Bunk Bar
Doug Fir Lounge
Edgefield
2126 SW Halsey St, Troutdale The Resolectrics (Winery Tasting Room)
Hawthorne Theatre
1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd Snow Tha Product
2958 NE Glisan St Nick Caceres, The Hugs (acoustic), Those Willows
Jack London Revue
Mississippi Studios
LaurelThirst Public House
3939 N Mississippi Ave John Craigie, Hollis Peach
1422 SW 11th Ave Lucy Kaplansky
2845 SE Stark St Last Call: The Green Room, Sunday Bump, Subconscious Culture
Kelly’s Olympian
2025 N Kilpatrick St Shrill Tones, The North Wind, Honeybender
The Old Church
The Goodfoot
830 E Burnside St John Craigie, Hollis Peach
Kenton Club
10390 SW Canyon Rd, Beaverton Big Horn Brass Holiday Concert
Roseland Theater
Holocene
426 SW Washington St The Thesis Third Anniversary
St. Matthew Lutheran Church
13639 SE Powell Blvd Michale Graves
White Eagle Saloon
529 SW 4th Ave Sabroso
2958 NE Glisan St
8105 SE 7th Ave Dan and Fran
600 E Burnside St Rontoms Sunday Session: Bryson Cone, Surfs Drugs, Secrets
Rock Hard PDX
3100 NE Sandy Blvd Unsane, Plaque Marks, Maximum Mad
Muddy Rudder Public House
Rontoms
1300 SE Stark St #110 Big Head Todd & The Monsters
Tonic Lounge
3939 N Mississippi Ave Nicole Atkins, Thayer Sarrano
1300 SE Stark St #110 Wizards of Winter
Revolution Hall
116 NE Russell St Thursday Swing featuring Becky Kilgore and the Cowhands, James Mason & The Djangophiles
Mississippi Studios
Revolution Hall
825 N Killingsworth St Drunken Palms, Collate & Tino’s Dream
1028 SE Water Ave Skull Diver, This Patch Of Sky, Eclisse
1001 SE Morrison St POPgoji
LAST WEEK LIVE
1 N Center Ct St The Killers, Franz Ferdinand
Al’s Den at Crystal Hotel
[DEC. 6-12]
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.
LOUDMUDDYLOUD: The Pixies never struck me as a studio band. Frank Black’s songs work because of the pop hooks buried inside his noisy compositions, and you’d expect that to translate onstage. But on the first night of their trio of Portland dates, I longed for the studio versions. The loud-quiet-loud dynamic that makes the Pixies’ material work was underplayed, instead leaving a monotonous and muddy punk show without the youthful exuberance that makes punk shows work. The problem? A big part of it is new bassist Paz Lenchantin, a very competent player who nonetheless lacks Kim Deal’s innate feel for the rhythms that drive Black’s songs. She’s more than capable of playing the notes, but couldn’t seem to find the grooves. Another problem was the nature of a three-night stand, which meant that the first night’s set was short on the hits, with duds like “Crackity Jones,” “Cactus” and “Brick Is Red” all making appearances. And then there’s the rhythm of the show, which is unnatural because of Black’s long-standing reluctance to provide any banter between songs, instead just charging through 30 songs as though he’s racing to finish his chores. Black’s band played both versions of “Wave of Mutilation,” opening with the original and playing the slowed-down “U.K. Surf” version toward the end of the night. The effect didn’t work for me—with the muddy sound and lack of interaction with the crowd, the second take just felt like a deflated version of the first. MARTIN CIZMAR.
MON. DEC. 11 Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St The War on Drugs
Dante’s
350 W Burnside St. Karaoke From Hell
Edgefield
2126 SW Halsey St, Troutdale Groovy Wallpaper (Winery Tasting Room)
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave Alex Lahey, Dude York
Muddy Rudder Public House 8105 SE 7th Ave Lloyd Jones
The Liquor Store Arthur C. Lee, Chez Stadium, Small Souls
Forest Grove Outlaws, Hearts of Oak, Trujillo
Milwaukie High School Auditorium
The Know
11300 SE 23rd Ave Big Horn Brass Holiday Concert
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave Kuinka, Lenore., Planes on Paper
Moda Center
1 N Center Ct St Billy Joel
3728 NE Sandy Blvd King Who, Murderbait, Vibrissae
The Old Church
1422 SW 11th Ave The Gothard Sisters Christmas Tour
The O’Neill Public House
New Song Church
6000 NE Glisan St Alexa Wiley & the Wilderness
Revolution Hall
116 NE Russell St Pete Krebs and his Portland Playboys
2511 NE MLK Blvd. Portland Chamber Orchestra
1300 SE Stark St #110 Blitzen Trapper, Lilly Hiatt
Rock Hard PDX
13639 SE Powell Blvd RAR, Sabateur, Bad Ellie, American Bastard
Roseland Theater
8 NW 6th Ave Big Gigantic, Brasstracks
SouthFork
4605 NE Fremont St The Domo Branch Trio
Star Theater
13 NW 6th Ave Hillstomp, T Sisters
The Analog Cafe
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd Vendetta Red; The Ongoing Concept, Fallstar; From The Petrified Forest, Honeybender
The Fixin’ To
8218 N Lombard St
The Secret Society
Turn! Turn! Turn!
8 NE Killingsworth St Months, Miss Rayon, Wet Fruit, Bohr
Walters Cultural Arts Center
527 E. Main St, Hillsboro Oregon Mandolin Orchestra
Wonder Ballroom
128 NE Russell St The California Honeydrops, Crow and The Canyon
Zarz On First
814 SW 1st Robbie Laws Band
SAT. DEC. 9 Aladdin Theater
3017 SE Milwaukie Ave Valerie June, Gill Landry
Al’s Den at Crystal Hotel
Kelly’s Olympian
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Revolution Hall
303 SW 12th Ave Garcia Birthday Band
1037 SW Broadway Gospel Christmas with the Oregon Symphony
Bluehour
250 NW 13th Ave Jessie Marquez
Bunk Bar
426 SW Washington St Angry Moofah and the Joints 1300 SE Stark St #110 Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton
Rock Hard PDX
13639 SE Powell Blvd Lewd and Crued: The Motley Crue Experience
Roseland Theater
1028 SE Water Ave CF25 with Rocketship, Kites at Night, Lida Husik
8 NW 6th Ave Grizzly Bear, Serpentwithfeet
Crush Bar
SouthFork
1400 SE Morrison St Tess & Linus and Queen Bead: An Evening of Music
Crystal Ballroom
4605 NE Fremont Devin Phillips
Star Theater
1332 W Burnside St Dandy Warhols’ Cowboy Christmas with Federale
13 NW 6th Ave Cindy Wilson, Sarah Jaffe, Mini Blinds, Strange Babes DJs
Dante’s
The Analogue Cafe
350 W Burnside St Witch Mountain, Hound the Wolves, Saola
Doug Fir Lounge
720 SE Hawthorne Smoochknob
The Firkin Tavern
830 E Burnside St Metz, Moaning, Deathlist
1937 SE 11th Ave Manx, Moon Debris, New Not Normals
Edgefield
The Fixin’ To
2126 SW Halsey St, Troutdale The Whiskey Darlings (Winery Tasting Room)
Hawthorne Theatre
1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd Joypress, fins., Swamp Boys
Jack London Revue 529 SW 4th Ave Ants In The Kitchen
8218 N. Lombard St Lord Master, RLLRBLL, Lucky Tigers
The Know
3728 NE Sandy Blvd Dolphin Midwives, Caspar Sonnet, Arrington de Dionyso, Floom
The Lovecraft Bar 421 SE Grand Ave Volt Divers
Wonder Ballroom 128 NE Russell St Shook Twins
SUN. DEC. 10 Aladdin Theater
3341 SE Belmont St Slow Caves, Husky Boys
Turn! Turn! Turn!
8 NE Killingsworth St I Hate Mondays #3: Benoît Pioulard, Felisha Ledesma, Amulets
TUE. DEC. 12
3017 SE Milwaukie Ave Julien Baker, Half Waif, Adam Torres
Crystal Ballroom
Al’s Den at Crystal Hotel
Doug Fir Lounge
303 SW 12th Ave Cyber Camel
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1037 SW Broadway Gospel Christmas, with the Oregon Symphony
Bunk Bar
1028 SE Water Ave Slug Christ, Chxpo
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St Joywave
Doug Fir Lounge 830 E Burnside St Patterson Hood
Edgefield
2126 SW Halsey St, Troutdale Anita Lee Elliott (Winery Tasting Room)
Hawthorne Theatre
1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd Adelitas Way
Holocene
1332 W Burnside St Weezer, Courtship 830 E Burnside St Fringe Class, Arlo Indigo, DoublePlusGood
Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St The Builders And The Butchers
Edgefield
2126 SW Halsey St, Troutdale Jet Black Pearl (Winery Tasting Room)
LaurelThirst Public House
2958 NE Glisan St Melodie Ayres, Yard Gypsy
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave Esmé Patterson, SUSTO
Raven and Rose
1331 SW Broadway Na Rósaí
Star Theater
13 NW 6th Ave Finehouse: An Amy Winehouse Tribute, Prom Queen, DJ Listen Lady
1001 SE Morrison St Oh Rose, Boone Howard, Wet Dream
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MUSIC COURTESY OF VINCENT DE FRANCE
NEEDLE EXCHANGE @WillametteWeek
@WillametteWeek
@wweek
Vincent de France Years DJing: I started “DJing” back in 2010 on a program called “Virtual DJ.” My first real gig was in 2014 at a small bar in my college town—shout out to Impulse Bar and Grill! Genres: I love to play a little bit of everything in my sets to keep things interesting. But if I had to choose my main four, it would be U.K. garage, bass house, tech house and techno. Where you can catch me regularly: You can catch me playing Verified at Holocene every second Saturday of the month. I also play at 45 East and Jade Club every once in a while. Craziest gig: The craziest gig I have played so far would be Bacon Ball. Savory Events does an amazing job at curating a fun, interactive and welcoming party. The crowd was wild and so responsive, which made it that much more fun. It was crazy to look up and see almost 800 people out on the dance floor. I shared the decks with my good friend Ca$h Only, which was also a treat, because our sets are always a little crazy.
R E V NE S MIS A BEAT
My go-to records: “Money and Drugs,” Notion + Young H featuring Dread MC; “Utopia (Born Dirty Remix),” Dombresky; “Fuerza,” Tony Quattro; “Sick,” Dr. Fresch; “Stop It,” Fisher. Don’t ever ask me to play…: Miley Cyrus, “Party in the USA.” NEXT GIG: Vincent de France plays Verified at Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., with Gang$ign$, Dirty Deeds and Purple Scott, on Saturday, Dec. 9. 10 pm. $5 before 11 pm, $10 after. 21+. Ground Kontrol
511 NW Couch St Community Library DJs: DJ Brokenwindow & Strategy
WED, DEC. 6 Beulahland
118 NE 28th Ave Wicked Wednesday (hip-hop)
Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave El Dorado (rock & roll)
Elvis Room
203 SE Grand Ave DJ Sarah Delush
Ground Kontrol
511 NW Couch St TRONix: DJ Metronome (techno)
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St Noche Libre: Dance Party for Latin Sounds
#wweek
Killingsworth Dynasty
832 N Killingsworth St Finite Plane: Nishkosheh | Reid Stubblefield
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Event Horizon (darkwave, industrial)
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Killingsworth Dynasty The Paris Theatre
6 SW 3rd Ave Ladies Only!!! - Wayback Wednesdays
Tonic Lounge
3100 NE Sandy Blvd Death Throes (death rock, post punk)
832 N Killingsworth St Dynasty Goth Nite w/ DJ Miz Margo
Moloko
3967 N. Mississippi Ave Sappho Digs Deep (disco)
The Lovecraft Bar
Tube
421 SE Grand Ave Shadowplay (goth, industrial, 80s)
Whiskey Bar
The Paris Theatre
18 NW 3rd Ave Dubblife 31 NW 1st Ave Jackson Whalan & Honeycomb
THU, DEC. 7
6 SW 3rd Ave Ethereal Thurdays
White Owl Social Club 1305 SE 8th Ave East Taken by Force (rock ‘n roll)
45 East
315 SE 3rd Ave Dash Berlin
FRI, DEC. 8
Black Book
45 East
Dig A Pony
Black Book
20 NW 3rd Ave Ladies Night (rap, r&b) 736 SE Grand Ave Jen O (of Strange Babes)
315 SE 3rd Ave Herobust & Yultron 20 NW 3rd Ave The Cave (rap, r&b, club)
BUZZ LIST Where to drink this week.
BAR REVIEW HUNTER MURPHY
TOP 5
1. Opal Bar
614 SW Park Ave., 503-294-9000, opalbarpdx.com. Omerta nextdoor is closed, but downtown cocktail-happy hotel bar Opal is one of the most stylish new bar spaces in town.
2. Great Notion
2204 NE Alberta St., 503-548-4491. greatnotionpdx.com. Great Notion has a hell of a tap list going at the moment—first and foremost an impossibly fruity I Love it When You Call me Big Papaya sour.
3.
Alderman’s Portland Tavern 71 SW 2nd Ave., 971-229-1657, aldermanspdx.com. In the former Thirsty Lion space, the new owners have put together a muchimproved beer list and much-improved food menu.
4. Saraveza
1004 N Killingsworth St., 503-206-4252, saraveza.com. Through December, Saraveza is tapping a different barrel from the larders each and every week: cool stuff, rare stuff, old stuff. Cool.
5. The Trap
3805 SE 52nd Ave., 503-777-6009. Karaoke dive the Trap, on Foster, has gotten itself a makeover, with a new enclosed patio and marble-topped bar. But don’t worry: It’s still the Trap.
BEERSTOCK: Until recently, Woodstock has been uniquely resistant to change—a place where the sausage shop, the dive bar and and the hardware store are all old enough to collect Social Security checks. But even with last year’s addition of a Double Mountain Taproom, it’s shocking that Proper Pint (5965 SE 52nd Ave., 971-544-7167, facebook.com/ProperPintTaproom) is the neighborhood’s first real craft beer bar. Located next to a new minimalist outpost of Woodstock’s first third-wave coffee shop, Proper Pint is surprisingly homey for a beer spot, with patterned-cushion seats and cluttered bookshelves forming its back wall and a sliding door leading out to a friendly patio shaded by Japanese maples. Even the barstools here—a strip of leather stretched across the chair frame—are more comfortable than expected. The rotating 24-tap beer list is analog rather than digital, made with strips of printed vinyl. Though the brews on our visit included deep cuts like a Cryo IPA from tiny Trap Door in Vancouver and a blueberry gose from New Mexico’s Marble, owners Sean Hiatt and Casey Milligan have made the place into less geek haven than cozy hang. “I just put on the stuff I want to drink,” Hiatt told us, while sitting with regulars at the bar. It’s the sort of neighborhood-oriented spot that installs a red phone in the back, hardwired to order Chicago-style thin crust from Bridge City Pizza down the street. And even in a shiny new mixed-use building, the four-month-old bar already feels a bit lived in. Apparently the way to open a beer bar in Woodstock is to make it feel like it was always there. MATTHEW KORFHAGE.
Crush Bar
The Paris Theatre
Killingsworth Dynasty
Star Theater
Crystal Ballroom
Tryst
Moloko
The Lovecraft Bar
1400 SE Morrison St Catastrophic Christmas 1332 W Burnside St 80s Video Dance Attack
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St Dance Yourself Clean
Killingsworth Dynasty
832 N Killingsworth St Cake Party w/ DJ Automaton
Moloko
3967 N. Mississippi Ave King Tim 33 1/3 (aqua boogie and underwater rhymes)
Quarterworld 4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd Quarter Flashback (80’s)
Spare Room
4830 NE 42nd Ave The Hustle
The Goodfoot
2845 SE Stark St Soul Stew (funk, soul, disco)
The Liquor Store
3341 SE Belmont St Believe You Me presents: Afriqua
The Lovecraft Bar 421 SE Grand Ave NecroNancy: James Majesty
6 SW 3rd Ave Fuego Fridays with DJ Krucial 19 SW 2nd Ave Ugly Xmas Sweater pub crawl w/ DJ Wicked
Whiskey Bar
31 NW 1st Ave BOT, Mienne, Drexler, Wolfymausen
SAT, DEC. 9 Black Book
20 NW 3rd Ave The Ruckus (rap, r&b, club)
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St 90’s Dance Flashback
Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave Montel Spinozza
Ground Kontrol
511 NW Couch St DJ Chip (hiphop, r&b)
832 N Killingsworth St DJ Maxx Bass
3967 N. Mississippi Ave Klavical (modern soul, heavy breaks, hip-hop)
The Paris Theatre 6 SW 3rd Ave Balkan Night
Tryst
19 SW 2nd Ave DJ F (90’s jams)
Whiskey Bar
31 NW 1st Ave Global Based: JSTJR
SUN, DEC. 10
MON, DEC. 11 Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave Motown Mondays w/ Rev Shines, ATM
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Black Mass (goth, post-punk)
TUE, DEC. 12 Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave Bad Wizard (50’s & 60’s)
Kelly’s Olympian
Black Book
426 SW Washington St Party Damage DJs: DJ Moodytwoshoes
Dig A Pony
Killingsworth Dynasty
Ground Kontrol
Sandy Hut
Holocene
Jade Club
736 SE Grand Ave El Chingon (hip hop)
315 SE 3rd Ave Cazzette
421 SE Grand Ave Infinity Mirror (occult techno, esoteric ambiance)
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Musick For Mannequins w/ DDDJJJ666, Magnolia Bouvier & DJ Acid Rick (creep-o-rama)
20 NW 3rd Ave Flux (rap, r&b, club)
1001 SE Morrison St Verified (rap, trap, twerk)
13 NW 6th Ave Hive (goth, industrial)
511 NW Couch St Reaganomix: DJ Nate C. (80s)
832 N Killingsworth St Final Report 1430 NE Sandy Blvd DJ Montel Spinozza
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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ARTS D AV I D K I N D E R
PERFORMANCE
FULL OF SECRETS: Shannon Mastel, Ben Newman
Wet ’n Wild
PERICLES WET IS A BEGUILING REVISION OF SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY. BY B EN N ETT CA MPB ELL FER GU SON
Late in Pericles Wet, there’s a sword fight where one of the combatants carries both a blade and a baby. Murri Lazaroff-Babin plays a cranky sailor who wears a turquoise bandana and speaks in a baffling Johnny-Depp-meets-Liam Neeson growl. In one of his most ridiculous moments, he attempts to duel a fearsome pirate (Andrea White) while clutching a sword in one hand and a newborn in the other. It’s a strange and uproarious moment of slapstick madness—one of many in a play that basks in wild absurdities. Portland playwright Ellen Margolis’ new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre is premiering with Portland Shakespeare Project under the direction of Michael Mendelsohn. Pericles Wet is a delightfully bizarre tornado of tragedy, comedy and seafaring misadventures. Its mood and tone shift rapidly as the story shuffles from rape and incest to mistaken-identity shenanigans. Pericles Wet doesn’t always make sense, but never fails to keep you engrossed and entertained. The voyage begins with Pericles (Ben Newman), the prince of Tyre, struggling to solve a riddle. If he succeeds, he’ll wed Hesperides (Alex Ramirez de Cruz); if he fails, her father, Antiochus (David Bodin) will execute him. When Pericles realizes that the answer to the riddle is a dark secret, he manages to talk his way out of an early death and opt for exile instead, beginning a strange ocean journey. Margolis peppers her version of Shakespeare’s story with distinctly non-Elizabethan exclamations like, “No speako the lingo.” The loose, linen costumes initially suggest that the narrative is unfolding in a vaguely ancient past, but that possibility is blurred by a character who’s a taxi-driving nun (also played by Lazaroff-Babin). 40
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
Amidst the strangeness, at least one concrete theme emerges—the contrast between the cruel oppression of Hesperides and Pericles’ freedom to lackadaisically wander the globe. But attacking male privilege never seems to be the play’s chief purpose. Pericles Wet is best savored as surrealist entertainment. From the crash of waves to the cries of infants, every decibel of the sound design immerses you in the play’s wondrous set: a barren, blue-tinged stage that makes it seem as if the drama is unfolding in a vast, sunlit sea. Equally delightful is Newman, who effortlessly tackles both the play’s comedic and tragic moments. Within the 90-minute production, he goes from howling absurd interjections like “Poseidon’s member!” to finely sketching Pericles’ transformation from a young man to a father to a lonely, blinded old man. Margolis’ rewrite hints that Pericles’ downfall is karmic punishment for his refusal to help Hesperides escape her monstrous father. From the death of his wife to the disappearance of his daughter (both of whom are played with soulful spunkiness by Shannon Mastel), his misfortunes are framed as the consequence of his cowardice. The only way he can redeem himself is by attempting to make peace with Hesperides in a chilling scene that brings the play’s rage against the patriarchy into focus. In that fraught reunion, Newman and Ramirez de Cruz create a delicate duet of shame and rage. Somehow, Margolis and Mendelsohn have created landscape in which both magnificent caricatures like Lazaroff-Babin’s sailor and disturbing abuses of power can coexist. SEE IT: Pericles Wet is at Artists Repertory Theatre, 1516 SW Alder St., artistsrep.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday. Through Dec. 17. $30.
REVIEW
Editor: SHANNON GORMLEY (sgormley@wweek.com). TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit information at least two weeks in advance to: sgormley@wweek.com.
JINGZI ZHAO
= 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.
THEATER OPENINGS & PREVIEWS A Christmas Carol
In Portland, you have many annual options if you want to see Charles Dickens’ classic tale about three ghosts teaching a man the true meaning of Christmas. But if you’re looking for the most traditional, pristinely produced version, the Portland Playhouse show is probably the way to go. Its annual production manages to use enough creative staging to satiate adventurous theater-goers without throwing off traditionalists. Hampton Opera Center, 221 SE Caruthers St., portlandplayhouse.org. 7 pm TuesdaySunday, through Dec. 30. $34-$59.
New Age
Alicia Cutaia and Brent Luebbert
ALSO PLAYING
BODYVOX MERGES DANCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN LEXICON.
Act of God
Lexicon is contemporary dance in a very literal way—technology is omnipresent in BodyVox’s new show. There are two different pieces shown through projectors, and another that’s accompanied by animation. There’s even an interactive section in which the audience can use their phones to call the dancers as they’re performing. Choreographed by BodyVox’s artistic directors Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland, Lexicon starts the company’s 20th season. Over those two decades, they’ve created hundreds of dances, toured dozens of shows internationally and established themselves as one of Portland’s most innovative companies. But they’re clearly not interested in resting on their laurels. Lexicon is a lighthearted, bizarre exploration of the possibilities technology can provide. The multimedia doesn’t distract from the dancing, it’s a means for BodyVox to tests its creative limits. There are vibrant pieces performed by so many dancers that they fill up every corner of the stage, and others that are somber, introspective duets. In “Figments,” the dancers wear leotards that are half black, half green, and perform in front of a green screen. On the other side of the stage, the half of their leotards captured on the green screen are projected onto the backdrop. It creates a bizarre, floating effect: flailing, half bodies performing humorously nonsensical movements. But Lexicon doesn’t sacrifice genuine emotion for flare. That’s particularly clear in an intimate duet danced by Brent Luebbert and Anna Marra. The piece begins with Luebbert dancing alone to staticky, solemn music while a black-andwhite animated video is projected on the stage behind him. When Marra comes on stage, the animation changes to bubbles and pink and blue fish, and upbeat piano music begins to play. The duet they dance is like a fight for control. Luebbert and Marra push each other away and then pull each other close. In the background, the two animated videos mimic their struggle for power. When Luebbert leads the dance, his static animation takes over the screen. When Marra gains her power, the screen is overtaken with bright hues. Eventually, the conflict revolves. Marra and Luebbert embrace each other as if they’ve both been defeated, and then dance in sync. Lexicon isn’t trying to say anything in particular about technology, but its lack of focus is why it’s wholly able to give itself over to experimentation. YESENIA RAMOS.
Instead of the expected Christmas play, Triangle Productions is producing something more difficult to categorize. In the 2015 play, God decides to assume physical form, come down to Earth and clear up humanity’s misconceptions about him. Act of God is an irreverent comedy that, in its most recent Broadway iteration, starred Sean Hayes of Will and Grace as God. For its Portland premiere, the play will be produced by the equally irreverent but good-natured Triangle Productions. The Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza, 1785 NE Sandy Blvd., trianglepro.org. 7:30 pm ThursdaySaturday, 2 pm Sunday, through Dec. 16. $15-$35.
Marisol
In José Rivera’s 1993 play, God begins to lose his mind. So all of Heaven’s angels are forced to wage war against their creator to prevent him from destroying the world. That means main character Marisol loses her guardian angel at the beginning of the play, forcing her to navigate the dying, treacherous world without her protector. Portland Actors Conservatory will take on the bizarre yet beautifully poetic script. Shoebox Theatre, 2110 SE 10th Ave., pac.edu. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday through Dec. 17. $20.
DANCE Bolero
See Get Busy, page 25. Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 SW Park Ave., nwdanceproject.org. 7:30 pm. $34-$58.
COMEDY Show Show
See Get Busy, page 25. PNCA, 511 NW Broadway, facebook.com/showshowlab. 7 pm. Free.
For more Performance listings, visit
SEE IT: Lexicon is at BodyVox Dance Center, 1201 NW 17th Ave., bodyvox.com. 7:30 pm. Through Dec. 16. $24-$56. Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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#wweek
VISUAL ARTS
THE FIVE GALLERY OPENINGS WE’RE MOST EXCITED TO SEE THIS MONTH. BY SHA N N ON GOR MLEY
sgormley@wweek.com
In 2015, Portland artist and filmmaker Ezekiel Brown had a beautifully simple idea. He asked his friends and family to select a personally meaningful song, record themselves reciting the lyrics and write a “song story”—a description of why the song was meaningful to them, whether it was because of a specific memory or simply a vague feeling. Then, he created short films not based off of the song, but the subject’s relationship to it. The resulting 12 short films that make up the first season of The Lyric Project capture something about music as much as contemporary art—our appreciation of a work of art usually grows from an abstract, knee-jerk reaction. When it comes to pop music, that’s something most of us intuitively understand. But many of us feel a pressure to pin down contemporary art with a heady explanation, when often, the art is asking us to react first and think later. That makes a preview of The Lyric Project’s a welcome addition to this First Thursday. Usually, our preview of monthly gallery openings also includes First Friday shows. But since First Friday was last week, we’ve included an eastside gallery that’s holding an intriguing opening reception on Saturday.
Night Lights: Ezekiel Brown
From October to April, Open Signal participates in First Thursday with multimedia exhibits that are open for one just one night instead of a whole month. This time, they’re premiering episodes from Brown’s unreleased second season of the The Lyric Project. The six episodes that will be screened include films set to lyrics by Fiona Apple and Jeff Buckley. For the new works, Brown made films not just for the audio recordings, but also for each participant’s song stories. Regional Arts & Culture Council, 411 NW Park Ave., Suite 101. 5-7 pm Thursday, Dec. 7.
Lorna Simpson
Almost 30 years after she became the first AfricanAmerican woman to exhibit at the Venice Biennale, Lorna Simpson’s photography is still as challenging as it is profoundly simple. So it’s deeply exciting that Blue Sky will host a solo exhibit that will include two of Simpson’s most iconic works, Wigs and Details. Wigs is a collection of lithographic prints of hair hanging from hooks on walls that looks like illustrations in a field guide. Then there’s Details, which is portraits of hands instead of faces—cropped photos of relatives’ hands clutching phones, touching flowers or simply hanging by their side with fingers curled. Blue Sky Gallery, 122 NW 8th Ave., bluesky.org. Reception 6-9 pm Thursday, Dec. 7. Exhibit through Dec. 31.
Gingham \ Ensō
In the last few years, Michelle Grabner has become one of the most influential voices and conceptual art’s most influential curators. Her current project 42
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
ENSŌ: A SENSE OF UNITY
is concerned with the most banal material: burlap and gingham. Instead of letting it fade into some domestic background, she paints the dense, picnic blanket print on burlap canvases that hang on white gallery walls like an expressionist painting. Anne Crumpacker’s series, Enso, is also concerned with intricacies of the everyday. Crumpacker makes airy, circular wall-hanging sculptures by tying together thin rings of cross-cut bamboo. The sculptures are intricate patterns down to the miniscule air pockets in the inner flesh of each piece of bamboo. They might as well be an illustration of the line from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Pale Fire that was sampled in the new Blade Runner: “Cells interlinked within cells interlinked within one stem.” UPFOR, 929 NW Flanders St., upforgallery.com. Reception 6-8 pm Thursday, Dec. 7. Exhibit through Jan. 27.
Some Assembly: A Remediated Exquisite Corpse
Palmarin Merges and Mary Krell’s collaborative exhibit is the product of an internet-age verison of the game “Telephone.” Merges is based in Portland and Krell in England. So for the past year, they’ve been building upon and altering each other’s ideas that were exchanges over weekly Skype sessions. Some of the resulting works are straightforward collages, but others are more subtle, like a bluetoned image of feathery trees that, in a seemingly nonsensical twist, is labeled with the word “earthquake” in giant, bold letters. Blackfish Gallery, 420 NW 9th Ave., blackfish.com. Reception 6-9 pm Thursday, Dec. 7. Exhibit through Dec. 30.
Can you handle me?
Killjoy Collective’s group show will include everything from performance art, to sculptures, to paintings and illustrations. That includes Panteha Abareshi’s vibrant illustrations of women looking bored as they maim themselves. Loose and brightly colored, the gory portraits are so placidly disturbing, it’s hard to look away: a woman letting blood gush from giant holes in her hands into a cup of wine, another who’s just removed her tooth with a pair of pliers, all while wearing unaffected expressions. If nothing else, they’re beautifully expressionist—it’s hard not to react to a drawing of a woman jabbing a knife through her tongue. Killjoy Collective, 222 SE 10th Ave. #102B, killjoypdx. com. 7-9 pm Saturday, Dec. 9. Through Jan. 9 by appointment. Killjoy Collective, 222 SE 10th Ave. #102B, killjoypdx.com. 7-9 pm Saturday, Dec. 9. Through Jan. 9 by appointment.
C O U R T E S Y O F A N N E F. C R U M PA C K E R
STREET
Don’t Kill the Vibe
BOOKS
A Portland Book Gift List NINE REMARKABLE NEW BOOKS BY LOCAL AUTHORS YOU SHOULD GIVE TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. BY S HA N N O N G O R M L EY, M ATTH E W KO RFH AGE AND
WA L K E R M AC M U R DO
FOR THE MISCHIEVOUS KID... Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid,
story by Colin Meloy, art by Carson Ellis. $17.99. Better known for his nasal baritone and historical fetish with the Decemberists, Colin Meloy has quietly become one of the smartest kids’ book authors out there. Whiz Mob is a book I would have killed for at age 11, a step-by-step induction into the world of international pickpocket thievery and intrigue through the bright eyes of young Charlie Fisher, son of a diplomat. Wrapped up in a tense moral education is a gorgeous, detail-obsessed set of instructions on the glorious legerdemain of thievery that should be wonderful prep for life in the kleptocracy to come. MATTHEW KORFHAGE.
FOR THE NEXT-LEVEL BAKER... Modern French Pastry,
by Cheryl Wakerhauser. $25. Despite being a book of recipes, this book is some of the most effective pornography I’ve ever encountered—sumptuous full-page tarts and petits fours exquisite in their majesty, drenched in colors so rich they’re almost tactile. It’s a bit like the pastry case at Pix Pâtisserie, the Burnside Street bakery and hall of champagne Cheryl Wakerhauser helms. True to her style, the book begins with an argument that most American dessert is a dull parade of cloying, ugly, oversimple awfulness. And then with page by page of lovely macaron, cascading raspberry topper and rainbow-layered canelé, she makes her very convincing case. MATTHEW KORFHAGE.
FOR THE TRUMP-VOTING OR TRUMP-FEARING... American War, by Omar El Akkad. $26.95. A former Globe and Mail journalist born in Cairo and raised in Canada, Omar El Akkad is painfully familiar with the American War on Terror—and in his dystopian novel, American War, he maps its effects on a no-longer united set of States. American War is set in the aftermath of a second Civil War in a now-splintered North America, told through the eyes of a young girl raised in a time when Trump would be a pleasant memory. It’s a chilling education in what war brings home. MATTHEW KORFHAGE.
FOR THE VEGGIE LOVER...
FOR MAKERS AND POETS…
Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables,
Receipt: Poems
Organization is 90 percent of a cookbook: Can’t find the recipe, can’t cook the recipe. Six Seasons, from Ava Gene’s head chef Joshua McFadden, organizes its vegetable-centric collection of recipes first by season, then by ingredient. I never gave a shit about rutabagas, turnips and parsnips until I came across this book. Now, I’m looking forward to braving sideways ice-rain at winter markets, because McFadden’s hearty recipes have blown away my approach to home cooking, and his insights into seasoning has changed the way I treat my meals. This cookbook is distinctly Portland, and my favorite all year. WALKER MACMURDO.
This book is such an odd and lovely thing. Like a Winesburg, Ohio for poets and whittlers, Receipt is a book devoted to a colorful menagerie of alarmed-looking wood-carved people, a Little People playset of the flawed and ordinary. And for each one, there is a poem by Oregon Book Award-winning poet Carl Adamshick, whose work is uniquely concerned with the oddness and unlikely depths of friendship. Adamshick is becoming a defining voice of poetry in Portland—absurdist and warm, natural-voiced amid surprising abstraction, with a heart-filled sincerity that comes barreling in chipped-toothed from left field. MATTHEW KORFHAGE.
FOR THE SQUARE PEG...
FOR YOUNGER BROTHERS OR OLDER SISTERS…
by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg. $35.
The Misfit’s Manifesto, by Lidia Yuknavitch. $16.99. Oregon Book Award-winning Portland author Lidia Yuknavitch’s theoretical self-help book contains no lifehacks, no simple takeaways and no self-congratulatory redemption narratives. The book’s project is a series of essays about what it is to fuck up all the time and never quite belong, including stories of mostly Portland misfits, whether transgender writer Zach Ellis or former mayoral candidate Sean Davis. The hope of the misfit is the hope of America, and it’s not a hero’s triumph. It’s the refusal to surrender, the unbending will to live that defines life itself. To anyone who has ever felt they don’t belong, this book will feel like it belongs to them deeply. MATTHEW KORFHAGE.
FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO CRY AT MOVIES... The Child Finder, by Rene Denfeld. $25.99. In a world that now seems painted into cartoonish heroes and villains, Rene Denfeld’s novel The Child Finder renders atrocity with depth and heart—a compassion made even more credible by her career as an investigator in death-penalty cases. In the book, five-year-old Madison is abducted by a deaf, illiterate pedophile named Mr. B. Denfeld renders her horrifying three years in Mr. B’s cabin with lucid empathy: Madison makes everyone else seem more human. The Child Finder’s moral lesson is not new—that hope and humanity can be found in even the darkest places. But the extent to which Denfeld practices that belief is deeply touching, if not even remarkable. SHANNON GORMLEY.
by Carl Adamshick, art by Adam Buck. $21.
Shutter,
story by Joe Keatinge, art by Leila Del Duca. $19.99. Drawn by Portlander Leila Del Duca and published by Portland-based Images Comics, Shutter follows the perilous adventures of explorer Kate Kristopher. Kate is human, but lives on an alternate earth populated by the likes of gorilla doctors, a skeleton who’s a butler, and a hitman cat who rides a triceratops. Drenched in dramatic jewel tones and dark shadows, every panel is stuffed with imaginative details from Kate’s bizarre world. Plus, in the first of five collected editions (the final one was just released this fall), Kate teams up with her little brother. So it counts as a sentimental gift if, like me, you’re giving a copy to your younger brother. SHANNON GORMLEY.
FOR ANYBODY WITH A BEATING HEART... My Absolute Darling, by Gabriel Tallent. $27. Debut novelist Gabriel Tallent is a local author only in his education—he’s a Lewis and Clark kid who spent two years in Oregon forests leading youth trail crews. But we should want to claim him as our own. His debut novel is nothing short of remarkable, a work of natural lyricism, savagery and painful empathy. My Absolute Darling tells the story of young Turtle Alveston, uniquely attuned to wildness of North California forests Tallent clearly knows to their needles and roots—and terrorized body and soul by a monstrous father she loves to her aching core because she can’t know different. Turtle already feels like a character that should be known to every American by heart. This novel will break you open. MATTHEW KORFHAGE. Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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CO U R T E SY O F PA M M I N T Y
MOVIES Screener
GET YO U R REPS IN
Contact
(1997)
The only thing cooler than Jody Foster in Contact is the real-life space scientist her character is based on—Jill Tarter, a founder of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute. Tarter will introduce Hollywood’s screening of the philosophical sci-fi film and sign copies of her new memoir after the movie. Hollywood, Dec. 6.
Die Hard
(1988)
Yippie-ki-yay motherfucker. Laurelhurst, Dec. 5-7.
Home Alone
(1990)
It’s Die Hard for kids. Mission, Dec. 6.
Coming To Terms
Diamond in the Rough HIGH LAKES DEPICTS WORKING-CLASS DESPERATION THROUGH AN OREGON RESORT. BY BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON
Nestled in Southern Oregon’s Umpqua National Forest, there’s a homey, 1920s fishing lodge called Diamond Lake Resort. Surrounded by old-growth pine trees, it sits on the north shore of a mountain lake. In the lobby, there are brown leather chairs in front of a stone fireplace, and outside, there are mountain views and a lake full of rainbow trout. But for Portland-based experimental filmmaker Pam Minty, Diamond Lake isn’t an idyllic vacation destination—it’s the place where, at age 24, she did laundry, cleaned motel rooms and cabins and covered shifts at the resort’s restaurant. Now, it’s also the subject matter of her 20-minute documentary, High Lakes, which beautifully captures the universal experience of having a job from hell. It premieres this week on a double bill with a film by Minty’s idol and sometimes Oregonian, Jon Jost. Minty’s desire to create High Lakes was rooted in a desire to highlight under valued corridors of American society. Minty perceived a link between the monotonous work undertaken by the resort’s staff with the barriers facing women directors. “I’m part of a smaller group that is at this point in time that is starting to become more actively a part of the conversation, seeking ways to have our experiences reflected in the images that we see,” says Minty. “So I really wanted to investigate that in this portrait of this place.” 44
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
To sketch that portrait, Minty needed a budget of roughly $18,000 and the participation of at least some members of the current Diamond Lake cleaning staff. “I think their knowledge of me being a past employee, doing the same work that they were doing might have opened up their comfort level with me being there a little bit,” she says, “more than if I had shown up and said, ‘I want to tell your story.’” Minty shot the film on gorgeous Super 16 film, and often keeps the camera stationary, forcing you to stare for prolonged periods of time at women immersed in the monotonous work of sprucing up a bedroom or a kitchen. It’s a technique that can rigorously test an audience’s patience, but also ushers the viewer into a state of heightened awareness. “I think we’re trained to have an expectation for the camera to track us to where the story wants us to have our focus—and I feel the opposite,” says Minty. “I prefer works that allow me to make the decision about where I want to focus and give me the time to take in all the elements of the image and the landscape.” High Lakes is by turns reassuring and melancholy. For the film, Minty interviewed friends, family, colleagues and members of the resort’s staff about their work experiences, some of which are recounted in the film’s many voiceovers. The most memorable of these comes from a woman who remembers consistently coming up short when she counted money
at her job and taking $5 out of her tips each time to compensate—only to later realize that the missing money had been stolen. High Lakes also reflects the economic upheavals since Minty worked at Diamond Lake in 1994. The film begins with her explaining that “while the work was rigorous and the wages low, room and board was included.” Now, she says, “the women working here mostly live in nearby Roseburg. With the cost of room and board now coming out of the wage, it must be more difficult to save for things like education, health care and retirement.” In that way, High Lakes isn’t just about Minty, or even Diamond Lake—it’s about a rise in working-class desperation. It’s a topic that’s certainly too big to tackle in one film, so perhaps it’s just as well that Minty plans to take High Lakes beyond the big screen. Minty has continued to collect interviews with people about their work experiences and can even imagine turning High Lakes into a museum exhibit. Minty says that she’s appreciative of the staff of Diamond Lake’s ongoing cooperation. “I don’t know how I’d feel if someone showed up to my job and started filming me,” she says, before adding, “I wouldn’t like it. I would make them stop.”
Christmas Evil
(1980)
In the movie that set the precedent for other Yuletide slashers like Silent Night, Deadly Night, a man has a nervous breakdown that turns him into an axe-murdering Santa. Hollywood, Dec. 9.
ALSO PLAYING: Academy: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), Dec. 8-14. Clinton: The Snow Queen (2005), Dec. 6. Little Women (1994), Dec. 11. Hollywood: KonTiki (1950), Dec. 7. A Christmas Story (1983), Dec. 9. Laurelhurst: Lethal Weapon (1987), Dec. 8. Mission: Scrooged (1988), Dec. 6. Love Actually (2003), Dec. 10-13. NW Film: The Long Day Closes (1992), Dec. 8. Heroes for Sale (1933), Dec. 8. The Black Stallion (1979), Dec. 9. Kill, Baby...Kill! (1966), Dec. 9. Ikiru (1952), Dec. 9. Employees’ Entrance (1933), Dec. 10. WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971), Dec. 11.
COURTESY OF TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
Diamond Lake Resort
(2013)
Ever since he started making films in the ’60s, independent filmmaker Jon Jost keeps finding new rules to break. He’s also a sometimes Oregon resident who’s set several of his films in the rural corners of our state. Jost will attend Hollywood’s screening of his totally non-linear story about a dying man who decides to reunite with his estranged family. Hollywood, Dec. 11.
SEE IT: High Lakes screens at the Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd, hollywoodtheatre.org. 7:00 pm Friday, December 8. $9.
Die Hard
COURTESY OF A24
Killing of a Sacred Deer Editor: SHANNON GORMLEY. 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: sgormley@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 American Made
American Made is like a blackmarket Forrest Gump—just slick and loose enough to outweigh its historical foolishness. It tells the hyperbolized story of pilot Barry Seal (Tom Cruise), who flew covert smuggling missions for the CIA and Medellín drug cartel in the early ’80s. Seal’s wild brushes with figures like Oliver North, Manuel Noriega and George W. Bush are rendered with narration and montage. Director Doug Liman doesn’t just make Tom Cruise act, he makes him sweat and stumble through the action sequences. The director-star dynamic made a hit of their first movie together (Edge of Tomorrow), and it’s what makes American Made work, too. R. CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER. Laurelhurst, Vancouver.
Battle of the Sexes
Battle of the Sexes had every excuse to be a straightforward biopic. It retells the epic 1973 tennis match between rising women’s tennis star Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and aging legend Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell), who publicly proclaimed he could beat King because she is a woman and he is a man. It’s already an epic premise that could have just piggybacked on Emma Stone’s post-La La Land high. But it goes further, creating multidimensional characters and taking a nuanced look at gender dynamics in the ’70s. PG-13. LAUREN TERRY. Living Room Theaters.
Blade Runner 2049
With an overwhelming dissonant, bassy score by Hans Zimmer, 2049 looks and sounds spectacular. But as a testament to the influence of the original, there isn’t much 2049 has to add about how technology blurs our sense of self and soul. 2049 seems less concerned with tiny moments of emotion than big reveals from a twisty plot that seems to define 2049’s imaginative boundaries rather than expand them. Still, it’s one hell of a spectacle. R. SHANNON GORMLEY. Bridgeport, Eastport, Living Room Theaters, Lloyd.
Coco
Pixar’s transcendent fable follows a young boy named Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) who lives in Mexico and dreams of becoming a musician like his long-dead idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). Miguel’s family disapproves of his guitar-filled dreams, but Coco isn’t Footloose for musicians—it’s a Dia de los Muertos odyssey that sends Miguel on a trippy trek to the afterlife, where he seeks validation from de la Cruz’s fame-hungry ghost. Nestled beneath the film’s cheery mayhem, however, is an overwhelmingly powerful meditation on memory, mortality and familial love. Miguel may make some extraordinary discoveries in the great beyond, but the most beautiful thing in Coco is his realization that the only place he wants to journey to is the home he left behind. PG. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bagdad Theater, Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Living Room Theaters, Lloyd, Milwaukie, Moreland, Oak Grove, St. Johns Twin Cinema & Pub, Tigard, Vancouver.
Dunkirk
In Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, we get to follow a few soldiers and pilots and civilians at sea, but they’re more like stand-ins for the other 400,000 like them marooned on the beach or assisting in the rescue effort. That’s fine, though. This movie doesn’t really need characters, and wasting time on distracting details like what’s waiting at home for these boys would only slow down the headlong pacing of the operation. I don’t think this film will win Best Picture at next year’s Oscars, but it’s a shoo-in a handful of technical nominations. PG-13. R. MITCHELL MILLER. Empirical, Vancouver.
The Florida Project
Six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Kimberly Prince) lives in a harsh, impoverished world. The Florida Project’s heroine resides in a budget motel. Her mother, Halley (Bria Vinaite), is so strapped for cash that she has to work as a petty thief and a prostitute to make rent. The movie makes you worry that both mother and daughter will either starve, go broke or, given their delightful but dangerous recklessness, be dead by the time the end credits roll. Yet director
Sean Baker’s luminous odyssey overflows with wit and joy. That’s mainly because of the happiness Moonee finds with her friend Jancey (Valeria Cotto) as they frolic across the sun-soaked outskirts of Orlando, Fla. Rather than begging us to pity these pint-sized scoundrels, Baker (Tangerine) lets us bask in the joy of their parent-free adventures. Most of all, there’s the wild image of Moonee and Jancey sprinting together, laying claim to a world that may be brutal and imperfect, but is still theirs. R. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Fox Tower.
Happy Death Day
A sorority girl named Tree (Jessica Roth) wakes up in the dorm of a guy she met the night before. She can’t remember anything from the night before when she was blacked out. It’s her birthday, and by the end of the night someone will have brutally murdered her. But then, as the knife drives into her, she wakes up—in the same dorm. She’s doomed to re-live the same day, Groundhog Daystyle. That may sound funny in a kitschy way, but really, it’s just an unrewarding slog. PG-13. R. MITCHELL MILLER. Vancouver.
Killing of a Sacred Deer
Steve Murphy (Colin Farrell) is living the American dream. He’s a successful cardiologist who lives in the suburbs with his wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and their two children. But it doesn’t take long into The Killing of a Sacred Deer, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ follow-up to The Lobster, before we realize that something is off. We meet an awkward teenager named Martin (Barry Keoghan). When Martin is revealed to be a sinister supernatural presence, the tension of the psychological thriller begins to build. Ultimately, Sacred Deer disrupts your understanding of familial love and loyalty so much that by the end of the movie, you’re forced to succumb to a world where logic cannot survive. R. SETH SHALER. Academy, Laurelhurst.
Lady Bird
In Greta Gerwig’s writer/director debut, Christine, who insists on being called Lady Bird, is a high school senior growing up in Sacramento, which she loathingly refers to as the Midwest of California. Desperate to break free from mediocrity, Lady Bird slowly abandons her theater-kid friends for a group of rich kids. With that familiar premise and warm, faded lighting, Gerwig has crafted a sprawling story in which every character is subject to Gerwig’s absurd humor as much as her deep empathy. Lady Bird comes alive in its moments of teenage freedom. But what makes the movie so uniquely touching is Lady Bird’s tense interactions with her mom—It’s rare to see a relationship between two complicated women portrayed with such care
and empathy. Still, Lady Bird is endearing because of her boldness, not in spite of it. R. SHANNON GORMLEY. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Fox Tower, Hollywood, Lloyd, Tigard, Vancouver.
Last Flag Flying
Larry (Steve Carrell), Sal (Bryan Cranston) and Richard (Laurence Fishburne) served together in Vietnam. Larry seeks out his two old war buddies and enlists them to help him transport his son’s remains to New Hampshire for burial. We’ve known for a while now that Carrell is more than just Michael Scott, but his acting here hit me like a grenade. The only gunshots fired in the two-hour runtime are ceremonial. Yet I left the theater feeling emotionally battered like I had just sat through a war movie. R. R. MITCHELL MILLER. Living Room.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
A year ago, Mildred Hayes’ (Frances McDormand) daughter Angela was raped and murdered. Now, the case has stalled for the hothead Ebbing police department. So she decides to rent the billboards so that they display three messages: “Raped While Dying”; “And Still No Arrests?”; “How Come, Chief Willoughby?” But the billboards divide the town. The residents of Ebbing are forced to choose between the mother whose daughter was brutally killed and the popular Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), who’s dying of pancreatic cancer. It would be easy to imagine the premise as a seriously dark and thoughtful drama. But in the hands of writer/director Martin McDonagh, what emerges is a seriously dark and thoughtful comedy. The townspeople of Ebbing are all a little (or a lot) off. Still, each character does their own small part to breathe life into their town, which on one hand is creepy and on the other is compassionate and quick to forgive. R. R. MITCHELL MILLER. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, Cinemagic Theatre, City Center, Clackamas, Fox Tower, Hollywood, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Vancouver.
Thor: Ragnarok
The film pits Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the forever-buff God of Thunder, against yet another apparently indestructible menace: his genocidal sister Hela (Blanchett), who wears a creepy, antler-covered helmet. She has good reason to despise Thor, but any hint of pathos is squashed by lazy writing— the movie expects you to giggle every time someone says the word “anus.” It’s a glorified commercial for next year’s Avengers: Infinity War. PG-13. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.
Victoria & Abdul
Even the power of Judi Dench’s fearsome gaze isn’t enough to redeem Victoria & Abdul, a white-savior fantasy from director Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen). At the center of the plot is Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), an Indian prison clerk who travels to England to present Queen Victoria (Dench, who also played Queen Victoria in 1997’s Mrs Brown) with a ceremonial coin. We learn little of Abdul’s life, family or personality. Instead, the film uses him as a means for Victoria to prove her nobility. It’s meant to be a tender story of an unlikely friendship, but it’s hardly about friendship at all. PG-13. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bridgeport, Fox Tower.
Wind River
Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation is as sprawling as it is empty. It’s prone to blizzards except for when it’s too cold even for snow. It’s a hell of a place to examine an ignored America and a fitting setting for a noir thriller. In the directorial debut from Taylor Sheridan (writer of Sicario and Hell or High Water) a game tracker (Jeremy Renner) discovers the frozen body of a young Native woman. A hardscrabble investigation unfolds, and the tracker joins forces with an FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen), the tribal police chief (Graham Greene) and myriad snowmobiles. Sheridan excels at simple turns of phrase and leading us into a rat’s nest of violence. But Wind River meditates on loss more than it burns through plot, and it occasionally feels heavy handed. We get it—Renner’s character has a backstory that makes this crime personal. There are constant references to predators and prey, and it’s fueled with male aggression and female pain. But while those pitfalls are common, Wind River’s unexplored geography, depth of spirit and honoring of survivalism are not. R. CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER. Fox Tower
Wonderstruck
Wonderstruck interlocks heartfelt storylines about two deaf children who run away to New York City, Ben (Oakes Fegley) and Rose (Millicent Simmonds). The eighth movie by Portland-based director Todd Haynes (I’m Not There, Far From Heaven) is unabashedly sentimental. Eventually, Ben and Rose’s connection is explained through a lengthy, didactic monologue. It pulls the loose ends a little too tight, and some previously miraculous moments lose their magic once they’re revealed to serve a plot summary. But even when its symbolism is more on the nose than evocative, Wonderstruck’s message about finding wonder in daily life is still vivid. PG. SHANNON GORMLEY. Academy.
Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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#wweek #wweek
POTLANDER RUBI
C I S U M HONEST BLUNT
LINX GAIA
New Riffs for Rips potlander potlander newsletter newsletter wweek.com/follow-us wweek. com/follow-us
THREE GREAT NEW CANNABIS PRODUCTS THAT AREN’T TRYING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL. Innovation is great. Everybody loves the industry leader that changes the game with a fresh idea. But what happens next? Well, when an idea is good, hopefully the less-innovative entrepreneurs out there fine-tune it, making better, cheaper or better and cheaper products that do the same thing. In the cannabis world, we’re seeing a lot of this now, as upstarts refine existing designs and give consumers choices. Here are three new products that stand out. RUBI $50, vaping360.com/kandypens-rubi. I’ve previously noted how much I love the Era, the new oil cartridge pen from industry-leader PAX. Well, here’s a competitor that doesn’t shy away from a direct comparison. The RUBI, from Kandipens, is sort of the Skechers version of the Era, which itself is an adapted version of Pax’s nicotine vape, the Era. Unlike the Pax products, though, the RUBI uses a refillable cartridge, and will hold both nicotine salts and cannabis oil. The small design is just as sexy and pockable, and while I generally don’t like filling my own cartridges, I found that the RUBI’s design is pretty much foolproof—there’s a small rubber stopper that fits neatly in the side of the cartridge, and then slips tightly into the battery. The interface isn’t quite as slick—there’s no Bluetooth app or motion sensor—but the big battery, one-milliliter capacity and ability to refill are all nice. So is the fact that this baby is leakproof. In my testing, not a drop leaked after lots of pocket jostling. MARTIN CIZMAR. HONEST BLUNT $50 for a pack of six, honestmarijuana.com. The glory of the cigarillo is in its rich, savory sweetness. And so it is with the Honest Blunt, a new product from Colorado’s Honest Marijuana Company, which is a machine-rolled blunt wrapped in organic hemp. Honestly, it’s pretty excellent. I was never really a champion of the blunt in my adolescent days—it was rare I had the sheer volume needed to fill it, the amount of time and space needed to roll it, and the amount of spit needed to keep the thing together. But when my
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Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
friends and I got the Dutchie right, and peeled through the shire-like byways of rural New Jersey, it almost seemed worth it. There’s a reason the cigar has more dignity than the cigarette, and this blunt ranks with the best of my memory. Though the machine-wrapped roll was a little loose at the tip—I had to wet it and smooth out the creases, which otherwise funnel air between drags—it burned evenly and nicely. It’s surprisingly smooth, mellow, and tasty like a light tobacco. The whole thing is a 100 percent organic marijuana, and doesn’t pinch in your chest like a traditional blunt rolled with tobacco leaf. SPENCER WINANS. LINX GAIA $159, linxvapor.com. When it comes to loose-leaf vaporizers, everyone wants convection—the ovens get a more even toast on the flower, avoiding the common problem of opening the chamber to find a black spot and a bunch of burnt-smelling but untapped weed around it. The problem is that convection ovens tend to be either large, like the classic Volcano, or expensive, like the $300-plus Firefly. Enter the Linx Gaia, a budget-friendly vape that’s mostly convection and has a quartz chamber that’s a dream to clean. Also nice is the familiar modbox design, which makes this palm-sized device look like a nicotine vape. Unlike other vapes in this range, there is no hint of cheapness to the build quality. The Gaia is solid, with reassuring heft and a glass mouthpiece. The only real issue I have with it is the air insulation, which helps keep the size small by not using insulation. It works pretty well, but the area near the vent runs a little hot if you’re on the upper end of its temperature spectrum. The other features are by now familiar—five clicks to power on, temperatures arrow up or down—but, most impressive is how Linx got the little things right, by building the pick into the base and including a micro-USB charger that also has an iPhone-friendly Lightning adapter on it. This is a huge bonus for those us still allergic to non-Apple devices. If you’re looking to get a new loose-leaf vape under $200, this is what I recommend. MARTIN CIZMAR.
RICK VODICKA
SUDOKU PUZZLE
You know the drill.
Fill in the numbers so that every row and column has one of every digit from 1 to 9.
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SKIP
two lattes
GIVE
three months of medication to a low-income patient.
Visit giveguide.org to learn how. Follow @GiveGuide Illustrations by LEAH MALDONADO
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Willamette Week DECEMBER 6, 2017 wweek.com
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SERVICES, BULLETIN BOARD, MUSICIANS MARKET, 49 WELLNESS, EMPLOYMENT, PETS, REAL ESTATE, RENTALS 50 CHATLINES, ADULT, JONESIN’ 51 FREE WILL ASTROLOGY, INSIDE BACK COVER
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES SECURITY F.T. & P.T. Patrol Drivers (Officers), paid training/ hiring bonus. EEO Harbor Security, Inc. (503) 262-5538. harborsec@yahoo.com
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West Side Locations Include West Linn Pub, John Barleycorn’s, Sherwood Pub, Wilsonville, Old Church and Pub, and Cedar Hills New Pub! What we need from you: An open and flexible schedule, including days, evenings, weekends and holidays. Previous cooking experience preferred, but we are willing to train the right person! Management experience is required for Kitchen Management positions. A love of working in a busy, customer service-oriented environment; Seasonal and Long term positions are available. Interested in a career in the hospitality industry? We offer opportunities for advancement as well as an excellent benefit package to eligible employees, including vision, medical, chiropractic, dental and so much more! Apply online 24/7 at mcmenamins.com OR stop by any of these McMenamins locations, and fill out an application. EOE.
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Martinelli Vineyard Management, located in Windsor, California, is seeking 19 temporary Agricultural Field Workers (Wine Grapes & Apples) to work with grape & apple crops in the field & at harvest. Contract period is from January 4, 2018 to October 21, 2018. Must have 3 months work exp. w/apples & wine grapes in vineyards & orchards, pre and post-harvest. Work exp. must include 3 months exp. apple pruning. Wage offered of the highest of $12.57/hr or applicable piece rates depending on crop activity. Piece rates apply during harvest. 3/4 of the work hrs. guaranteed. Tools & equipment are provided at no cost to the worker. Free housing is provided to workers who cannot reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day. Transportation & subsistence expenses to the worksite will be provided or paid by the employer upon completion of 50% of the work contract or earlier. Apply for this job at the nearest Oregon State Employment Department (SWA), or directly in person at the Klamath Falls office of the OR State Empl. Dept., 801 Oak Avenue, Klamath Falls, OR, 97601. Please reference this ad or CA Job Order #15652405.
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Willamette Week Classifieds DECEMBER 06, 2017 wweek.com
Across 1 Put on ___ of paint 6 Carmaker based in Munich 9 Former world power, for short 13 It's formed by small droplets and shows white rings (unlike its colorful rainy counterpart) 15 "Go team!" cheer 16 Part of some organs 17 As an example 18 Party table item
20 Peace offering 22 Dir. opposite of WSW 23 Get up (get on up!) 24 Lout 25 "Just a sec" 27 Homer Simpson exclamation 28 Scone topper 29 August, in Avignon 30 Frolicked 33 Mary, Queen of ___ 34 Kitchen gadgets
that really shred 37 Faker than fake 38 Gadget 39 Bygone Italian money 40 According to 41 Marshawn Lynch and Emmitt Smith, e.g. 44 Latent 47 Reznor's band, initially 48 Pickled vegetable 49 Fin. neighbor 50 Scale on a review site that determines
if movies are "Certified Fresh" 53 Amateur broadcaster's equipment, once 55 Treat table salt, in a way 56 Sherlock Hemlock's catchphrase on "Sesame Street" 57 Shady tree 58 Grade that's passing, but not by much 59 1040 IDs 60 Go slaloming 61 Collect together Down 1 Be able to buy 2 "Gangsta's Paradise" rapper 3 Monstrous, like Shrek 4 None of the ___ 5 Subdue, with "down" 6 "___ City" (Comedy Central series) 7 'Til Tuesday bassist/ singer Aimee 8 Question of choice 9 Network merged into the CW in 2006 10 Sneaky way into a building 11 Racecar mishaps 12 Feels contrite 14 Monitor-topping recorders 19 "What have we here?" 21 Increased, with "up" 26 Tied, in a way
28 Baby kangaroo 30 "Same Kind of Different As Me" actress Zellweger 31 I strain? 32 "End of discussion" 33 Touchtone keypad button 34 Gossip sessions, slangily 35 BoJack of an animated Netflix series 36 Lymphatic mass near a tonsil 37 Some stuffed animals 41 Part of the eye with rods and cones 42 Ramona's sister, in Beverly Cleary books 43 Put emphasis on 45 Flight info, briefly 46 Computer network terminals 47 "The Book of Henry" actress Watts 48 Make shadowy 51 Cereal partner 52 Home of Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans," for short 54 Some city map lines, for short last week’s answers
©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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Week of December 07
Just for the fun of it
• POT • WAX • SHATTER • VAPE PENS ARIES (March 21-April 19):
You may get richer quicker in 2018, Aries -- especially if you refuse to sell out. You may accumulate more clout -- especially if you treat everyone as your equal and always wield your power responsibly. I bet you will also experience deeper, richer emotions -- especially if you avoid people who have low levels of emotional intelligence. Finally, I predict you will get the best sex of your life in the next 12 months -- especially if you cultivate the kind of peace of mind in which you’ll feel fine about yourself if you don’t get any sex at all. P.S.: You’d be wise to start working on these projects immediately.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
The members of the fungus family, like mushrooms and molds, lack chlorophyll, so they can’t make food from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. To get the energy they need, they “eat” plants. That’s lucky for us. The fungi keep the earth fresh. Without them to decompose fallen leaves, piles of compost would continue to accumulate forever. Some forests would be so choked with dead matter that they couldn’t thrive. I invite you to take your inspiration from the heroic fungi, Taurus. Expedite the decay and dissolution of the worn-out and obsolete parts of your life.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
I’m guessing you have been hungrier than usual. At times you may have felt voracious, even insatiable. What’s going on? I don’t think this intense yearning is simply about food, although it’s possible your body is trying to compensate for a nutritional deficiency. At the very least, you’re also experiencing a heightened desire to be understood and appreciated. You may be aching for a particular quality of love that you haven’t been able to give or get. Here’s my theory: Your soul is famished for experiences that your ego doesn’t sufficiently value or seek out. If I’m correct, you should meditate on what your soul craves but isn’t getting enough of.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
The brightly colored birds known as bee-eaters are especially fond of eating bees and wasps. How do they avoid getting stung? They snatch their prey in mid-air and then knock them repeatedly against a tree branch until the stinger falls off and the venom is flushed out. In the coming weeks, Cancerian, you could perhaps draw inspiration from the bee-eaters’ determination to get what they want. How might you be able to draw nourishment from sources that aren’t entirely benign? How could you extract value from influences that you have be careful with?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
The coming months will be a ripe time to revise and rework your past -- to reconfigure the consequences that emerged from what happened once upon a time. I’ll trust you to make the ultimate decisions about the best ways to do that, but here are some suggestions. 1. Revisit a memory that has haunted you, and do a ritual that resolves it and brings you peace. 2. Go back and finally do a crucial duty you left unfinished. 3. Return to a dream you wandered away from prematurely, and either re-commit yourself to it, or else put it to rest for good.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
The astrological omens suggest that now is a favorable time to deepen your roots and bolster your foundations and revitalize traditions that have nourished you. Oddly enough, the current planetary rhythms are also conducive to you and your family and friends playing soccer in the living room with a ball made from rolledup socks, pretending to be fortune-telling psychics and giving each other past-life readings, and gathering around the kitchen table to formulate a conspiracy to achieve world domination. And no, the two sets of advice I just gave you are not contradictory.
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
In accordance with the long-term astrological omens, I invite you to make five long-term promises to yourself. They were formulated by the teacher Shannen Davis. Say them aloud a few times to get a feel for them. 1. “I will make myself eminently teachable through the cultivation of openness and humility.” 2. “I won’t wait around hoping that people will give me what I can give myself.” 3. “I’ll be a good sport about the consequences of my actions, whether they’re good, bad, or misunderstood.” 4. “As I walk out of a room where there are many people who know me, I won’t worry about what anyone will say about me.” 5. “I will only pray for the things I’m willing to be the answer to.”
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
To discuss a problem is not the same as doing something practical to correct it. Many people don’t seem to realize this. They devote a great deal of energy to describing and analyzing their difficulties, and may even imagine possible solutions, but then neglect to follow through. And so nothing changes. The sad or bad situation persists. Of all the signs in the zodiac, you Scorpios are among the least prone to this disability. You specialize in taking action to fulfill your proposed fixes. Just this once, however, I urge you to engage in more inquiry and conversation than usual. Just talking about the problem could cure it.
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
As far back as ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece, people staged ceremonies to mark the embarkation of a new ship. The intention was to bestow a blessing for the maiden voyage and ever thereafter. Good luck! Safe travels! Beginning in 18th-century Britain and America, such rituals often featured the smashing of a wine bottle on the ship’s bow. Later, a glass container of champagne became standard. In accordance with the current astrological indicators, I suggest that you come up with your own version of this celebratory gesture. It will soon be time for your launch.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
You may feel quite sure that you’ve gotten as tall as you’re ever going to be. But that may not be true. If you were ever going to add another half-inch or more to your height, the near future would be the time for it. You are in the midst of what we in the consciousness industry call a “growth spurt.” The blooming and ripening could occur in other ways, as well. Your hair and fingernails may become longer faster than usual, and even your breasts or penis might undergo spontaneous augmentation. There’s no doubt that new brain cells will propagate at a higher rate, and so will the white blood cells that guard your physical health. Four weeks from now, I bet you’ll be noticeably smarter, wiser, and more robust.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
You come into a delicatessen where you have to take a numbered ticket in order to get waited on. Oops. You draw 37 and the counter clerk has just called out number 17. That means 20 more people will have their turns before you. Damn! You settle in for a tedious vigil, putting down your bag and crossing your arms across your chest. But then what’s this? Two minutes later, the clerk calls out 37. That’s you! You go up to the counter and hand in your number, and amazingly enough, the clerk writes down your order. A few minutes later, you’ve got your food. Maybe it was a mistake, but who cares? All that matters is that your opportunity came earlier than you thought it would. Now apply this vignette as a metaphor for your life in the coming days.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
It’s one of those bizarre times when what feels really good is in close alignment with what’s really good for you, and when taking the course of action that benefits you personally is probably what’s best for everyone else, too. I realize the onslaught of this strange grace may be difficult to believe. But it’s real and true, so don’t waste time questioning it. Relish and indulge in the freedom it offers you. Use it to shush the meddling voice in your head that informs you about what you supposedly SHOULD be doing instead of what you’re actually doing.
Homework In your imagination, visit the person you’ll be in four years. What key messages do you have to convey? FreeWillAstrology.com. check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes & Daily Text Message Horoscopes
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