REBEL SPRING “I'M A DOCTOR, NOT A LAWYER. (ALSO, I'M NOT A DOCTOR.)” P. 4
Portland artists defy the limits of genres, borders and the pandemic. Page 13
Heavy metal flutist Maxx Katz
NEWS: Mayor Fires Leaky Cop. P. 11
P. 14
MUSIC: WWEEK.COM VOL 48/17 03. 02 . 202 2
Turning It Back Up at Turn! Turn! Turn! P. 27
2
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
FINDINGS AARON LEE
TURN! TURN! TURN!, PAGE 27
WHAT WE LEARNED FROM READING THIS WEEK’S PAPER VOL. 48, ISSUE 16
Your next governor will be vaccinated. 9 Dan Ryan hasn’t asked for Jo
Ann Hardesty’s endorsement.
10
Mayor Ted Wheeler fired the police officer who once ran the cops’ union. 11 A heavy metal flutist founded a choir that yells musically. 14
The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire inspired a symphony called Smoulder. 26
CBDA is a thousand times more potent than CBD alone. 29
It’s the 40th anniversary of a Eugene-filmed track movie obsessed with legs. 31
OUR MOST TRAFFICKED STORY ONLINE THIS WEEK: Brother of MAX train murderer Jeremy Christian is suspected in fatal shooting.
Masthead EDITORIAL
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YOUR BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE WWEEK NEWSROOM
The city of Keizer paid hackers $48,000 to unlock its data. 8
Milagro Theatre is transplanting Antigone to Arizona. 17
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A Russian oligarch owns a share of an Oregon steel mill. 6
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Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
3
DIALOGUE
• •••• ••••
A T R E A LRBO S ER E T •••• A E H T
Last week, WW published the results of a three-month investigation into real estate sales by the R.B. Pamplin Corp. Several companies long owned by the family of Robert Pamplin Jr. sold properties to the pension fund for former employees. Experts say those deals could violate federal labor law and threaten the pensions of 2,400 people who worked for the Pamplin family empire. Here’s what our readers had to say:
MAR 2
Oregon billionaire industrialist biting the dust and taking down thousands of exploited workers along with him. Hopefully the people who made his family rich get some recompense, but I doubt it.”
anyone can allege anything about anyone. [The U.S. Department of Labor] has a field office in Seattle, they have responsibility to investigate allegations of violations of fiduciary duty, and they can certainly have at this one whenever they want.… The only persons who have standing to complain are the plan’s vested participants. I think you’re a ‘stakeholder’ in your own political beliefs and what you find most offensive is Dr. Pamplin’s religious and political beliefs. Prejudice of every color and flavor is an offense against us all; somehow people have decided that prejudice against the beliefs of others is acceptable when in opposition to their own.”
KURT CHAPMAN, VIA WWEEK.COM: “Shirt-sleeves
SKEPTIC (D), VIA WWEEK. COM: “Bitter irony that Andrew
an evening with
LÚNASA
FLOGBLORGLE, VIA REDDIT:
MAR 3
TONY STARLIGHT Will Lift Your Spirits MAR 4
MAR 5
PERT NEAR SANDSTONE +
LANEY LOU & THE BIRD DOGS + Taylor Kingman MAR 6
MORGAN JAMES MAR 10
NPR radio show live taping
JELANI MEMORY PATTERSON HOOD AND MORE
MAR 13
dervish
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RACHEL BAIMAN + VIVIAN LEVA & RILEY CALCAGNO MAR 14
PETER MULVEY MAR 16
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PORTLAND YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA + THE SHANGHAI WOOLIES DANCE BAND
Consider This
DAVID F. WALKER + DOUGLAS WOLK
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with
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3/18 • DAPPERLESQUE 3/19 • JOHN MCCUTCHEON 3/22 • ON A WINTER’S NIGHT feat. PATTY LARKIN + JOHN GORKA + CHRISTINE LAVIN + CLIFF EBERHARDT
•••••
albertarosetheatre.com
3000 NE Alberta • 503.764.4131 4
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
“Whoa. A lot of huge red flags here. Failure to deposit payroll withholding? Self-dealing transactions with the pension fund to free up cash? Unwillingness to disclose environmental testing reports when marketing CRE? Liens and missed payments to third parties? This is really, really, really bad.”
DUBIOUS, VIA WWEEK.COM:
“Trump has shown us how easy it is to misrepresent the value of real property to meet your financial needs. “Why is no one holding him accountable or limiting what WW claims is unlawful behavior? If I got caught stealing a six-pack from Fred Meyer I’d probably be in jail now, but as we see, in America, the larger the crime the smaller the consequence.”
SUDDENLYTURGID, VIA REDDIT: “Another spendthrift
to shirt-sleeves in three generations appears to be an apt saying here. Maybe this will end similar to another (in)famous Oregon company. Evergreen Aviation, owned and run by Del Smith, met a similar string of unpaid bills, tax liens and issue before bankruptcy and complete shutdown of the entire conglomerate 2013-2014.”
JONATHAN HOWELL, VIA FACEBOOK: “In the ‘legacy’
media and social media today,
Dr. Know
Wiederhorn and the Robert Pamplins are in the news at virtually the same time.”
PDXSEAN, VIA REDDIT:
“Those buildings in Shaniko weathering into dust aren’t going to pay for themselves!”
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must include the author's street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210 Email: mzusman@wweek.com
BY MARTY SMITH @martysmithxxx
In 2003, I got a ticket for drinking a beer in the park blocks. Being young and dumb, I ignored it and got on with life. Now I get a letter saying I owe $1,000! Can I keep ignoring it? Should I request a trial and point out that getting only one notice, 19 years after the fact, is pretty annoying? Or shut up and pay? Also, it wasn’t even a real cop; it was Portland State University security. —Janey R. I’d like to help you, Janey, but it’s a tall order: Like the creature in Alien, the state’s debt-collection apparatus—aka “The Man”—has no weaknesses. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility, all unclouded by conscience, remorse or delusions of morality. You’re doomed. OK, maybe it’s not quite that bad—it’s not like we’re talking about the student loan people here. Still, nobody tops The Man (and his power to make the rules) when it comes to crapping all over a person’s best-laid excuses. Requesting a trial? There already was one, in 2003—can The Man help it if you didn’t show
up? As for the late notice: In the eyes of the law, you actually received extremely prompt notice— hand-delivered by an officer of the court, even— in the form of the ticket itself. Finally—not to rub it in—PSU Campus Police are real cops, sworn and certified. If it’s any consolation, however, you’re not alone. According to news reports, several other Portlanders have received collection notices in recent weeks for violations from a bygone decade. (The Oregon Judicial Department is on record saying, essentially, it’s just a coincidence.) What to do? Virtually every purveyor of legal advice will tell you that your best bet is to contact the agency who billed you and try to work out a fine reduction and/or payment plan. This is obviously what you should do. That said, I can’t help noticing that ORS 18.180 does seem to set a time limit of 20 years for the execution of garnishments, liens, etc., to collect fines. You still owe the money, but it might blunt the collections guillotine a bit. Or not! I’m a doctor, not a lawyer. (Also, I’m not really a doctor.) If you want to try to split legal hairs, hire a legal hair-splitter. Otherwise, pay The Man. Questions? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com.
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EVRAZ STEEL RUSSIA FALLOUT HAMMERS EVRAZ STEEL: North Portland is a long way from Ukraine, but fallout from Russia’s siege of Kiev hammered the stock of Evraz Steel. Evraz was founded in Russia and is now headquartered in London. Its North Portland plant is the only steel sheet mill west of the Rockies. On Feb. 25, the company announced massive profits for 2021 and saw its shares soar on the London Stock Exchange. As the prospect of international sanctions set in, however, investors have fled, knocking the stock down 85% for the year, despite strong earnings. That’s painful for the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who owns 29% of Evraz’s stock (along with the U.K. soccer team Chelsea FC). One of the goals of sanctions is to pressure investors such as Abramovich, who may have influence with Putin. In the meantime, Evraz’s U.S. operations said in a statement they expect business as usual. GOP BASHES BETSY JOHNSON ON TOLLING: Former state Sen. Betsy Johnson, an unaffiliated candidate for governor, has emphatically opposed highway tolls on the campaign trail, telling WW last week in Dr. Seuss style: “I do not like tolling, I do not like it here or there.” But the trouble for any legislator running for office is the long record that follows them around. Former Rep. Christine Drazan, a Republican candidate for governor, pointed out last week on Twitter that Johnson voted for the transportation package that used tolling to fund the I-205 and Interstate Bridge projects. The Oregon Republican Party went further yesterday, noting Johnson sponsored a bill that would have allowed local governments to create tolls as a means of building more roads; didn’t sign onto a bill that would have prohibited tolling on I-205; and supported a bill that would allow the Oregon Department of Transportation to toll all of Interstates 5 and 205 in the metro area. “This is exactly the kind of flip-flopping and gaslighting you’d expect to see from a career politician like Betsy Johnson,” said Republican National Committeewoman Tracy Honl in a statement. “She can’t hide from her record. The truth is, Betsy sided with Kate Brown and Tina Kotek in support of tolling on at least four
separate occasions.” Johnson responds: “The more I have learned about tolling and its implementation, the more I oppose it. If you like tolling, you probably should support Tina Kotek.…The party attack dogs are going to continue to try to use me as a chew toy, and I will continue to tell people the truth and try to move this state.” SELF-SERVICE GAS POSTPONED AGAIN: Never bet against Oregon exceptionalism. A bill that would allow gas stations to offer self-service faces a hurdle that will be hard to jump in the short legislative session that ends March 7. House Bill 4151, which “authorizes self-service dispensing of Class 1 flammable liquids at retail dispensaries” in Oregon has been delayed because the Oregon Fire Marshal says the agency needs $543,376 in the state’s2021-23 budget to regulate consumer pumping. The request means the bill has a “fiscal impact” and must be sent to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, a move that will delay work and likely doom the bill, says Gabriel Zirkle, president of the Oregon Fuels Association, which has been lobbying for it.“We didn’t see this coming,” Zirkle says. “Now we have to come up with a fee to answer the question of how do we pay for the fire marshal.” Oregon and New Jersey are the only states that don’t allow self-service fueling statewide. JOINT OFFICE SEES TURNOVER: Marc Jolin, who has led the Multnomah County Joint Office of Homeless Services since its founding as A Home for Everyone in 2015, resigned March 1. Jolin has overseen a massive increase in funding for his agency, from virtually nothing to more than $160 million this year. He will stay on temporarily to help his interim replacement, Shannon Singleton, learn the ropes. Singleton, who has an extensive housing background, has been working as an aide to Gov. Kate Brown and was also running for Multnomah County chair. She will now drop out of that race to assume her new duties. “Shannon is the person who asks, ‘Where can I be best be of service at this time?’” County Chair Deborah Kafoury said in a statement. The county said it will conduct a nationwide search for Jolin’s permanent successor.
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
7
NEWS
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEK
MAPPED
Hostage Negotiations
City of Keizer Tillamook County
June 17, 2020
March 12, 2020
Centennial School District April 26, 2021
A bill to protect local governments against ransomware attacks dies in Salem. BY N I G E L J AQ U I S S
Linn County: The county detected that hackers were encrypting its system on Jan. 24 in hopes of collecting ransom, the Albany Democrat-Herald reported. County officials restored the system Feb. 2. They declined to disclose whether they paid a ransom.
njaquiss@wweek .com
A cybersecurity bill with generous federal matching funds and unusually broad support appears destined for the scrap heap as the February legislative session grinds to a close—and as the feds issue a warning to local governments across the U.S. “Rapidly escalating tensions in Eastern Europe have increased concerns about the risk of cyber threats that can disrupt essential services in the United States and potentially result in impacts to public safety,” the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned last week. Oregon House Bill 4155 would have established a Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at Portland State University. The center, in conjunction with University of Oregon and Oregon State University, was supposed to train students and provide resources to local governments, which are frequent targets of cyberattacks but lack the resources of large state agencies and private companies hackers often hit. Most cyberattacks take two forms: the theft of personal information and ransomware attacks, in which hackers encrypt systems and charge owners ransom to unlock them. Last year’s federal infrastructure bill earmarked $1 billion for cybersecurity, with 80% of that set aside for local governments, provided they supply matching funds. HB 4155,
Linn County January 24, 2022
Indeed, on Feb. 28, lawmakers began consideration of the spending bill that will conclude the short, even-year session. The “go home” bill contains $5.8 billion in new spending ($1.5 billion in general and lottery funds and $4.3 billion in federal and other funds). It features $20 million for fairground infrastructure in 14 rural counties and $2 million for the Portland Japanese Garden. But for HB 4155, nothing. State Sen. Brian Boquist (I-Dallas), a member of the technology committee who’s normally loath to approve new spending, lamented the bill’s demise. “Seems strange to me,” Boquist says. “[It] needed to pass.” Here’s are five of the dozens of examples of previous cyberattacks on local governments that supporters of the bill invoked:
Treasure Valley Community College August 25, 2020
which would provide that match, was the top priority of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Information Management and Technology, which passed the bill out Feb. 21. But the bill has moved no further. Oregon League of Cities lobbyist Jenna Jones told a broad coalition of government, university and private-sector supporters in a Feb. 24 email that the bill was unlikely to pass. “The message that the bill [is] dead came from the Senate President’s Office,” she wrote. (That office did not respond to requests for comment.) Bills proposing new spending often die for lack of funding (HB 4155 would cost the state about $6.5 million for the next two years but could yield $15 million in federal matching funds). There’s no shortage of money this year. Because of far higher than anticipated tax receipts and federal pandemic-related funding, Salem is awash in cash.
Centennial School District: The East Multnomah County district canceled two days of classes after being hit by a ransomware attack April 26, 2021, The Oregonian reported. City of Keizer: On June 17, 2020, the city paid $48,000 to unlock access to its data, according to Keizertimes, and regained control after a week. Treasure Valley Community College: The Malheur County community college learned Aug. 25, 2020, that hackers had penetrated its systems, the college said in a news release. Rather than seeking ransom, the hackers collected personally identifying information, such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth. Tillamook County: The Bend Bulletin reported March 12, 2020, that Tillamook County had paid $300,000 in ransom after hackers took over part of its computer systems. Restoring the systems without paying ransom, county officials said, could have been far more costly and taken up to a year.
THREAD
THE KILLING NEXTDOOR A neighborhood watch app grapples with a vigilante homicide. On Feb. 19, a man left his apartment in the Rose City Park neighborhood in Northeast Portland and shot five people directing traffic away from a protest march, paralyzing one and killing 60-year-old June Knightly. In the following days, mourners turned a picnic shelter in Normandale Park into a memorial shrine packed with candles and graffiti messages. By Feb. 23, neighborhood residents using the social media platform Nextdoor began voicing their dismay and confusion—over the graffiti. “There are a lot of options for temporary public memorials,” wrote Melissa H. “It’s too bad graffiti seems to be the go-to around here. It might be ‘temporary’ in some sense, but it costs the people of the city to clean up and it contributes to the downfall of yet another park that people won’t take their children to.” For months, a narrative has grown among Oregon conservatives that Portland is filthy 8
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
and needs to be cleansed. That idea has also found purchase among neighborhood associations, whose members on several occasions have threatened to take the law into their own hands. And it thrives on Nextdoor, the app that functions as a virtual neighborhood watch. By several accounts, similar obsessions drove Benjamin Smith, the man charged with murdering Knightly last week. So the actions of a lone gunman had a destabilizing effect: People on Nextdoor in the neighborhood where the killing happened struggled to fit the violence into their worldview. Two lengthy threads started on the Rose City Park page of Nextdoor each drew dozens of comments. One focused on the shooting, the other on spray paint. WW has selected some representative comments. In both cases, the original posters grew so frustrated by the discourse that they shut the thread down. A A R O N M E S H .
Rob Vance: Several homeless campers live on the south end of the park by the baseball stadium. Wonder if it was a territorial dispute, gangs, or dope dealers fighting. Either way the [Portland Police Bureau] needs to be beefed up to reduce these events in Portland—pathetic situation in the city. Mel L: I know when I lost my brother to cancer and was going to go to his funeral and memorial, the first thing that I did was buy 12 cans of spray paint so that I could tag up the church and funeral home in order to express my grief. Isn’t that what is acceptable now? Destroy public property in order to mourn? My heart goes out to all of the victims in this tragic incident. Destroying public property is not appropriate or acceptable. What if all the parents that have experienced school shootings all gathered with spray paint to destroy the schools? Mary Thi: The vandalism in question is such a small incident compared to the shooting that it hardly seems worth mentioning. Are people trying to impugn the character or morals of those doing the supposed vandalism? One person was murdered, one was paralyzed for life, and three others injured, and all you can complain about is
how people are memorializing the tragedy. The pettiness and small-mindedness is unbelievable. Christina L: I understand the flowers and chalk messages, such a tragic event. She deserves to be remembered. But you don’t destroy property to remember someone You can’t just paint over it when it is brick and sandblasting will destroy the brick over a period of time. Maybe contact the city about something more permanent to remember all the victims of this mass shooting. Shaneya R: Nothing brings a community together more than complaining about their murdered neighbor’s memorial. Suzan R: I don’t understand why people have gotten so off track. I am shutting this thread down. I am shaking my head in disbelief that so many of the posters here have completely misunderstood the gravity and horror of the actual events. It makes me so sad to know many of you just want to rant and are not paying attention. Maybe that is the problem with Portland. I urge you to go back and read about what happened.
DONOR
COSTS
EXPENDITURE OF THE WEEK
ONE QUESTION
Save It for a Sunny Day
Did You Get Vaccinated?
A state solar mandate is still producing very spendy electricity.
All leading candidates for governor got the COVID-19 vaccine—including Republicans.
A new report to the Oregon Legislature shows that a solar power mandate for publicly funded building projects continues to generate some very costly electricity. In 2007, to promote solar energy, legislators mandated that public agencies must spend 1.5% of construction or renovation costs on solar power generation. They have tweaked the bill several times since. Jerry Milstead, a project manager who has advised local governments on such projects, says the requirement can result in “very expensive” projects with little environmental benefit. The new $325 million Multnomah County Courthouse, as WW previously reported, includes a $1.47 million solar energy system that produces savings of $13,424 a year. That means the solar equipment will pay for itself in 109 years, an investment Milstead calls “ludicrous.” Other assessments of the program are more measured. Ryan Vandehey, a spokesman for Portland Public Schools, which completed two big projects last year, says changes to the original law have improved it. “The mandate is good policy in theory,” Vandehey says, “and the Oregon Department of Energy has made updates and revisions recently to make it more reasonable.” John MacLean, the finance and procurement manager at Portland Community College, which completed four projects last year, also applauds the principle of the law but says it might be better to set efficiency goals rather than mandate expenditure levels. Milstead agrees. “Public dollars are precious,” he says. “We should treat them that way.” The good news: Some of the payback periods in the 2022 Oregon Department of Energy report are shorter than in the past. The new solar installation at Portland’s Kellogg Middle School, for example, will pay for itself in less than 22 years. (That’s still far longer than commercial installations, which, with incentives, can pay off in five years.) Here are three large 2021 projects with long payoffs. N I G E L J AQ U I S S .
That means the solar equipment will pay for itself in 109 years, an investment Milstead calls “ludicrous.”
OGDEN MIDDLE SCHOOL, OREGON CITY TOTAL COST
$41.5 million
SOLAR COST
$634,000
YEARLY ENERGY VALUE
$6,000
YEARS TO PAY BACK
106
MCDANIEL HIGH SCHOOL RENOVATION, PORTLAND TOTAL COST
$142 million
SOLAR COST
$2.14 million
YEARLY ENERGY VALUE
$33,000
YEARS TO PAY BACK
65
PCC WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER, PORTLAND TOTAL COST
$33.8 million
SOLAR COST
$551,000
YEARLY ENERGY VALUE
$8,640
YEARS TO PAY BACK
64
Source: Oregon Department of Energy
HOW MUCH? $1.37 million WHO SPENT IT? Protect Our Future PAC, a political action committee funded by the cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried.
Your next governor will be vaccinated. In an era when partisanship divides the Democrats and Republicans on nearly every issue, the leading contenders for Oregon governor all agree on one thing: All tell WW they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. On some level, that’s not surprising. More than 85% of American adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and the unvaccinated are likely to be younger and less educated. On the other hand, the Republican base has given even former President Donald Trump a hard time about promoting the vaccine—which means GOP candidates are risking some support by admitting they got the “Fauci ouchie.” R AC H E L MONAHAN.
WW asked: Are you vaccinated against COVID-19?
YES
Bridget Barton, conservative writer, Republican I’m 68. Due to my age and evidence that serious complications to COVID most often occurred in those over 60, I chose to get vaccinated, despite the experimental status of the vaccine. Christine Drazan, former House minority leader, Republican Drazan confirmed she’s been vaccinated without elaborating. Betsy Johnson, former state senator, unaffiliated I’m a three-shot girl. I chose to get vaccinated and boosted. As an adult, I am responsible and capable of making my own decisions. Tina Kotek, former House speaker, Democrat I was relieved to get my COVID-19 vaccine and booster, the first happening late in session last year. I was relieved because I know this medical advance helps protect me, my family and friends, and others. I believe each of us should be doing everything we can to keep our communities safe as we learn to live with the virus. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated and boosted if they can. Bud Pierce, doctor, Republican As a physician, I’m constantly looking at statistics and acutely aware of the realities we’ve faced during the pandemic. Our governor turned this into a political issue. She contributed to citizen anxiety and confusion at the end of 2020 when she wanted a local panel to “review” vaccine safety. It’s the elderly/immunocompromised, not children, who faced serious risk. Gov. Brown should have given seniors vaccines first. Stan Pulliam, mayor of Sandy, Republican It should not be the business of anyone whether their neighbors are vaccinated, and it absolutely is NOT the business of state government to force anyone to get vaccinated. I’m eager to answer questions about issues that matter to voters. I don’t think my personal vaccination status is high on their list. Tobias Read, Oregon state treasurer, Democrat Elected leaders should lead by example. I’m grateful to everyone who did their part by getting vaccinated to protect their fellow Oregonians. We must do whatever it takes moving forward to keep our schools and businesses open. Bob Tiernan, former state representative, Republican I look after my 92- and 94-year-old parents. For their safety, I did not want to take a chance.
FOR WHOM? Carrick Flynn, a political newcomer running for Congress in Oregon’s new 6th District. WHY DOES IT MATTER? A TV ad buy of more than half a million dollars is a notable sum, especially 13 weeks out from the primary. If the biweekly expenditures keep pace, that will mean more than $3.5 million by primary day, just on TV ads. The filings by the super PAC last week also show a digital ad buy of more than $800,000. Protect Our Future PAC introduced Flynn to voters as someone who grew up poor and ready to serve and who would protect Medicare and Social Security. “Progress. Not Politics,” the tagline reads. But that might be misdirection: Bankman-Fried’s interest in politics has more to do with whether he has to pay taxes or can keep his Bitcoin profits offshore. The richest man in cryptocurrency, whose business is based in the Bahamas, is seeking to influence regulation of the new industry in D.C., Politico reported earlier this month. WHAT DOES THE CANDIDATE SAY? The Protect Our Future PAC is “supporting candidates who take a long-term view on policy planning especially as it relates to pandemic preparedness and prevention,” The Texas Tribune reported last month. It’s an issue the Flynn campaign is emphasizing. “Carrick’s background and experience make him a leader on pandemic and disaster preparedness,” says campaign manager Avital Balwit. “He is running for Congress because we need representatives with the expertise to ensure we never go through another pandemic like this again, and to make sure that we are getting ready for the effects of climate change— like flooding and wildfires.” R AC H E L M O N A H A N .
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NEWS
A Dan for All Seasons As Portland voters sour on City Hall, incumbent Commissioner Dan Ryan is linking arms with the backlash.
BY S O P H I E P E E L
speel@wweek .com
In 2020, Dan Ryan won a seat on the Portland City Council with a pledge to disrupt business as usual. “I’m a status quo buster and a reformer,” Ryan told WW in his endorsement interview. “So people in power are sometimes irritated with people like me.” As protests swelled against the Portland Police Bureau that year, Ryan pledged to make substantial cuts to the police budget and invest in alternatives to cops. He promised to accelerate the pace at which affordable housing units were being built and get people off the streets with new programs. Eighteen months later, Portland voters are apoplectic at the state of the city—and local government’s response to it. In recent polling, 76% say Portland is headed in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, Ryan can’t point to a policy achievement of note—his flagship project, the creation of six “safe rest villages” for unhoused people, hasn’t yet sheltered a single person. That should spell political death for an incumbent. Yet Ryan, who won election in August 2020 to complete the term of late Commissioner Nick Fish and is now running for his first full term, faces thin opposition in the May primary. Perhaps that’s because Ryan has shifted away from his progressive agenda and instead taken up positions that more closely resemble those of a law-and-order candidate. His flexibility appears to be paying dividends in what many observers expect to be a brutal year for incumbents: He faces only light opposition for reelection. The man who ran as a reformer in 2020 now pledges to make public rights of way accessible again by getting people sleeping on sidewalks into shelters. He supports hiring more police officers and opposes cutting the police budget. In fact, Ryan was one of two candidates at a town hall Feb. 24 hosted by People for Portland, the business-backed advocacy group pushing for urgent action to clean up the city’s streets. The shift accelerated after Ryan’s early polling numbers were dismal and the majority of Portlanders signaled they wanted a stronger approach to getting tents off the streets. Former City Commissioner Mike Lindberg says Ryan has adapted to the will of Portlanders. “People for Portland has demonstrated how the public feels about the [homeless] state of the emergency,” Lindberg says. “Dan has responded to that.…[He] feels like more of the money ought to go to getting people off the street right now into safe shelters.” Ryan contends he hasn’t changed his values or turned his back on his pledges. “I was an outsider when I ran two years ago,” he says. “And I remain an outsider.” Ryan’s most publicized project has been trying to find locations for safe rest villages: clusters of sleeping pods that he says will act as an onramp to eventual permanent housing. 10
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
Last week, in the latest in a series of press conferences announcing potential village locations, he described his philosophy as a break with orthodoxy: “For too long we have taken a housing-first, housing-only approach.” Katrina Holland, executive director of JOIN, a housing nonprofit, is critical of Ryan’s new focus on shelter rather than housing first. “He’s stated very clearly that he wants to focus on immediate options that solve the humanitarian crisis. To him, that’s shelters,” Holland says. “To say housing first doesn’t work, that’s just not true.”
“In my probationary period, I played well with others and was finding my own voice.” Ryan claims he still wants to shake up the status quo: “I’m a disruptor, so I’ve been disrupting internal systems to be a champion for services on the ground.…It wasn’t in the plans of the county to do something like this.” But he hasn’t always been so laser-focused on temporary shelter. In 2020, Ryan pledged to speed the pace and reduce the price of affordable housing: “We have to make sure existing housing money is being used and units are getting built,” Ryan said then. The number of units built from two housing bonds passed in 2016 and 2018 remains low—350 total. Ryan’s campaign points to a higher number of affordable housing units built since he was elected, totaling 1,200 units. Ryan’s office also says he helped secure two zoning code changes last year that “will facilitate affordable housing development” in historic districts and certain areas of the city. As the commissioner in charge of the Bureau of Development Services, Ryan has launched a task force to streamline the city’s permitting process. He says his reforms should reach the City Council for preliminary discussion in the next several weeks. Maurice Rahming, president of O’Neill Construction Group and a member of Ryan’s permit task force, says the commissioner is poised to reduce bottlenecks that slow construction of new housing. “I honestly feel like it’s going to be a net positive for our city,” he says. If homeless advocates feel perplexed by Ryan, police critics think he’s abandoned his pledges. In November 2020, he voted alongside Commissioner Mingus Mapps and Mayor Wheeler against cutting the Police Bureau’s budget by $18 million. That night, some 50 protesters stormed his property, smashing a window and throwing objects at his North Portland home. The attack was widely condemned. But some police reformers say Ryan voted against the very budget cuts he campaigned on. “It was easier for Ryan to say he was going to be a part of that [budget cut] wave when he was
M O T O YA N A K A M U R A
running, but he gets in office and it’s a different tune,” says Juan Chavez, a lawyer with the Oregon Justice Resource Center. “I think this tracks with the rightward shift of the council.” The best evidence of what’s changed: City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty endorsed Ryan enthusiastically in 2020 and was his first supporter named in the Voters’ Pamphlet. One leader he hasn’t asked for an endorsement this year? Hardesty. “If Dan Ryan is interested in our endorsement, I would certainly talk with him about it,” she says. Ryan voted last spring against expanding Portland Street Response, an alternative to armed police officers that Hardesty championed. He said the program lacked enough data, and he has since voted to expand the program citywide. Ryan also voted with the rest of the City Council to invest more than $4 million in organizations that combat gun violence. Ryan says he has taken a consistent position: better police officers, not fewer of them. “It includes getting the right people in uniforms to protect all of us,” he says, “and to have the community investments as part of that relationship.” That emphasis matches the public mood. February poll results released by the Portland Business Alliance showed enthusiasm for robust policing and fewer tents and trash. Ryan says the poll validated his positions rather than creating them: “If you look at how I was behaving prior to that poll, it was in touch with the voter sentiment.” The PBA poll showed low support for Ryan and Hardesty: 10% and 18%, respectively. But John Horvick, president of DHM Research, the firm that conducted the poll, says that’s not the critical number.
Fifty-four percent of those surveyed said they would vote for a generic challenger to Hardesty. Ryan’s number was 34%. Ryan faces only one significant challenger: AJ McCreary, who runs the Equitable Giving Circle, a social justice nonprofit focused on economic equity. McCreary has raised $56,000 so far compared to Ryan’s $196,000. “Dan’s focus has been hiding visible houslessness rather than housing people or creating long-term solutions,” McCreary tells WW. “His focus on opening safe rest villages instead of permanent supportive housing fails to address the root cause of houselessness.” Hardesty, by contrast, faces competition from two more moderate candidates: Rene Gonzalez and Vadim Mozyrsky. They’re likely to take away a chunk of each other’s support. But neither wants to challenge Ryan instead. One reason Gonzalez might have chosen to go after Hardesty: Ryan and Gonzalez have retained the same political consulting firm, CN4 Partners. Another: Ryan has room to maneuver closer to where voters are. “Hardesty’s challengers have positioned themselves rhetorically and on the issues closer to the median voter in Portland,” Horvick says. “Ryan’s challengers are further to his left…and they aren’t representing where the voters are right now.” Ryan says he’s been watching and learning in his brief time on the City Council, and if voters reelect him, they’ll get a Dan in full. “I tend to like to hear all perspectives, and then how can we actually move work forward to get something done?” Ryan says. “In my probationary period, I played well with others and was finding my own voice.”
NEWS
COMMENTARY: The mayor said Hunzeker’s actions “harmed Commissioner Hardesty and harmed the community’s trust in the Police Bureau.”
Fired
Mayor fires Portland Police Officer Brian Hunzeker, former union president who leaked false hit-and-run report. BY T E S S R I S K I
tess@wweek .com
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has fired Officer Brian Hunzeker after an internal affairs investigation found that the former police union president violated bureau directives last March, when he leaked a report that mistakenly identified Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty as the suspect in a hit-and-run crash. Wheeler and Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell notified Hunzeker that he had been terminated in a Feb. 28 letter, obtained by WW through a public records request. It says Hunzeker violated two bureau directives: dissemination of information and discrimination, harassment and retaliation. City Hall sources confirm to WW that Hunzeker received the letter Tuesday. “While you did not agree that your actions were retaliatory,” the letter says, “based upon the information and statements contained in the record, I find that your actions violated the retaliation policy because of your admission in the investigation that you were motivated in part because of Commissioner Hardesty’s comments about the police during the 2020 protests.” WW has also obtained an email that Wheeler sent to Lovell on Monday afternoon. In it, Wheeler argued that suspension was an insufficient level of discipline. “You and I agree about this matter in all points, except that in balance, I think that the seriousness of the conduct warrants termination rather than a 12-week suspension,” Wheeler wrote. “With all respect to you as the Chief, I cannot support a suspension in this case due to the harm caused by his conduct and the egregiousness of his actions. I therefore must direct you to change the outcome from a lengthy suspension to termination.” That email appears to be a response to the Feb. 25 determination letter written by Lovell in which he recommended a 12-week suspension without pay rather than termination. The mayor’s decision brings a conclusion to a yearlong investigation into the actions of a high-ranking union official that damaged the reputation of the first Black woman elected to the
HUNZEKER WATCH 360 DAYS: That’s how much time elapsed between the Police Bureau’s launch of an internal affairs investigation into the leak that wrongly implicated Commissioner Hardesty in a March 3 hit-and-run crash, and the mayor’s signing of Hunzeker’s termination letter. The city has now released the results of its inquiry.
Portland City Council. The firing triggered the public release of the most substantive information to date about that internal affairs investigation. The impending election also heightens the stakes: Wheeler fired Hunzeker 11 weeks before Hardesty faces a contested race for reelection. The Police Bureau’s inquiry probed the genesis of the leak. The internal affairs unit concluded that Hunzeker sent a photo of the computer-aided dispatch record in which the initial complaint was logged to a reporter at The Oregonian. An attorney for Hunzeker did not respond immediately to WW’s request for comment. In a Feb. 24 letter, Hunzeker explained his actions and said he regrets “the decisions I made on March 4, 2021.” “I did not make this phone call with any form of malice toward Commissioner Hardesty,” he wrote. Like many Portland Police Bureau officers who’ve been fired before have done, Hunzeker is entitled to appeal the decision to an arbitrator, who could overturn the firing and order him reinstated. It is not clear at this time whether Hunzeker intends to pursue arbitration.
The termination follows an investigation by PPB’s internal affairs unit that began nearly a year ago, on March 5, 2021. Investigators probed which city employee or employees leaked information about a faulty tip that the bureau had received two days earlier. On March 3 last year, a Portland woman reported to police that she had been rear-ended hours earlier by a driver who fled the scene. The woman told police that she was “starstruck” because she recognized the driver as Hardesty, the first Black woman to serve on the Portland City Council. By the end of day on March 4, police announced they had ruled Hardesty out as a suspect, and that the complainant had mistaken the actual driver—also a Black woman—for the commissioner. But by then, multiple right-wing outlets, as well as The Oregonian, had reported the allegation. Then, on March 16, less than two weeks after the inciting incident, the Portland Police Association announced Hunzeker had resigned as police union president due to a “serious, isolated mistake” related to the leak. The PPA declined to elaborate on what exactly spurred the resignation. Hunzeker’s tenure as union head was short-lived. He had been elected to the role months earlier in the fall of 2020 in anticipation of longtime president Daryl Turner’s retirement. In the months that ensued after Hunzeker’s resignation, and in the absence of a president, Turner served as executive director of the PPA. In November, the union elected Hunzeker’s successor: PPB Sgt. Aaron Schmautz. He issued a statement Tuesday afternoon after news of Hunzeker’s firing broke, describing his predecessor as having a decorated career and no prior history of disciplinary action. He also indicated the PPA might seek arbitration. “He has owned his mistake and held himself accountable by stepping down as union president,” Schmautz said. “The city’s own investigation does not support the allegation that Officer Hunzeker retaliated against Commissioner Hardesty; he was not motivated by malice or bad intent. In firing Officer Hunzeker, the city has inappropriately turned accountability into punitive sanctions. That is a step too far; one that is unsupported by facts, reason and objectivity.” In an Oct. 26 letter addressed to Hardesty, internal affairs investigator Scott Konczal summarized the findings of North Precinct Commander Kristina Jones, who sustained two of the three allegations against Hunzeker: that he disseminated confidential information to the media, and that he did so in retaliation for Hardesty’s criticisms of the Police Bureau—namely the incorrect claim she made in a Marie Claire magazine interview in the summer of 2020 alleging PPB officers were setting fires at protests. (Hardesty later recanted and apologized.) “Officer Hunzeker acknowledged sharing information about an ongoing criminal investigation to a member of the media in a phone conversation he initiated,” Jones said, “then later by providing a screen shot of the CAD call to the reporter, which he admitted was a violation of this directive.” Jones determined that the third allegation against Hunzeker— that he leaked the information because of Hardesty’s race—was not sustained. That letter also named two other PPB officers who were involved in the leak: Kerri Ottoman and Ken Le. The investigators determined that Ottoman leaked the allegation to Gabe Johnson of the Coalition to Save Portland, a rightwing political action committee that broadcasted the allegation during a Facebook Livestream on the morning of March 4. They also found that Le gave it to a friend at the Bureau of Emergency Communications, which fields 911 calls for the city. As WW first reported in August, BOEC disciplined three employees for sharing the allegation with colleagues. Meanwhile, Hunzeker is also a defendant in a $5 million civil lawsuit filed by Hardesty in December. Hardesty is seeking $3 million from the PPA and $1 million each from Hunzeker and Ottoman. Hunzeker has been on administrative leave since late May. WW’s reporting later revealed he was earning overtime pay while on leave pending the internal affairs investigation. It is unclear what impact Hunzeker’s firing might have on the civil case, if any. It also remains unclear whether Hunzeker plans to appeal his firing to an arbitrator. Statistically speaking, this is a promising avenue for an officer who’s been fired. In a June 2020 interview, Turner told WW that during his decadelong tenure as PPA president, just four officers had gone to arbitration after being fired for misconduct. All four were reinstated. Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
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Musical Masterpieces. Masterful Performances. Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Popular Music An African American Requiem
with the Oregon Symphony
thur, mar 31
World premiere presented by Resonance Ensemble and the Oregon Symphony.
tickets start at just $29
sat, may 7 Presented in partnership with
Joshua Bell with the Oregon Symphony
apr 23, 24 & 25 tickets start at just $25
For tickets: orsymphony.org | 503-228-1353 | 909 sw Washington, Portland, or 97205 12
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
Alebrije’s
REBEL SPRING Shutdown. Resurgence. Limbo. Remember briefly last spring and summer, when Portland’s arts scene was animated by the possibility of normalcy? Audiences packed long-dormant music clubs and venues, projectors flickered to life at theaters, and stages were suddenly filled with actors and real, rather than virtual, audiences. Then came Delta and Omicron. Some in-person events continued, but others, like the Fertile Ground Festival of New Works, went virtual—again. Now, facing the spring of 2022, the world of arts in Portland feels as if it’s entering a time of creative rebellion—against COVID ennui, conventional wisdom, borders and boundaries. In this issue, we’ve put together a package of stories
that capture the imagination, dedication and visionary fervor of some of the individuals and groups seeking to reshape and revitalize the arts in Portland. • Maxx Katz, the mastermind behind Yelling Choir and Floom (page 14), is shredding classical music norms with heavy metal ferocity. • Tenebrous Press (page 19) is taking graphic novels to progressive, cosmopolitan heights. • Fennesz, KRMU and Patricia Wolf (page 23) are ushering ambient music out of side rooms and into the spotlight. • And at a time when Portlanders are craving cinema—the pandemic failed to put even one independent movie theater in the city out of business—The 4th Wall (page 20) is reimagining the moviegoing experience for
anyone that believes that a medium as vast and varied as film deserves better than impersonal multiplexes. All of the artists in this issue were influenced by the pandemic—and some of their creations exist because of it. As Tenebrous Press founder Matt Blairstone tells WW, “I figured I’d be isolated in a cabin writing novels. Instead, I’m isolated in Portland and, hopefully, paying people to write.” If Blairstone has his way, that hope will survive the inevitable onslaught of new variants. But that’s tomorrow. Today, we have a season of vibrant performances and creations to salivate over—and that’s cause for hope in and of itself. —Bennett Campbell Ferguson, Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
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To Survive On This Shore Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults
Feb 8 – April 30 By Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre
presents
By Charlayne Woodard Directed by William Earl Ray PREVIEWS: OPENING NIGHT
April 15-17, 20-21 at 7:30PM
APRIL 22 MAY 8, 2022 CLOSE
Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (IFCC) Tickets at 5340 N Interstate Ave, Portland, OR PASSINART.ORG Proof of COVID vaccination, photo ID, and mask required.
14
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
SAM GEHRKE
MAXX KATZ How a heavy metal flutist and composer perfected the art of the yell. BY BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON
@thobennett
For Maxx Katz, yelling is a multilayered act of self-expression that manifests itself in many forms. “There’s a Cookie Monster death growl,” she says. “And then there’s more of a middle-range [yell]. Also, there’s a super-high one. It can take a couple years to get your technique down so that you’re not harming yourself if you practice regularly.” Yelling is at the heart of Katz’s work as a performer and composer. Best known for her flute-guitar-vocals experiment Floom—the name is a portmanteau of “flute” and “doom”—she has leapt across the boundaries that divide classical, jazz and heavy metal. “God, I just feel like I’m so weird,” says Katz, who has an M.A. in critical and comparative studies in music from the University of Virginia. “Doing a metal set with flute…when people ask me, ‘What kind of music to you play?’ I get so boggled.” Audiences who want to get boggled can see Floom at the High Water Mark in March and the Old Church in April. Katz is also attending the American Choral Directors Association Convention in Spokane, where Yelling Choir—her femme and nonbinary group of shouting singers—will perform. WW spoke to Katz about Floom, Yelling Choir— which is currently seeking donations to fund the trek to Spokane through a GoFundMe campaign—and the empowering artistry of creating a musical yell. WW: When did you first start playing the flute, and when did you first start playing the guitar? Maxx Katz: As a kid, I was a little flute wiz. And at some point, I kind of went bad. I embraced the dark side. I felt really constrained by the prettiness of the flute, gender roles, and being quiet and nice. You’ve called the flute an instrument of radical transformation. The flute, to me and a lot of other people, it’s a pretty gendered instrument. It’s frustrating to me. I love making it sound horrible, either through processing it with electronics or just playing it in unorthodox ways.
FLAUTING CONVENTION: Maxx Katz with her musical weapons of choice, the flute and the guitar.
Could you tell me how the idea of Yelling Choir came to be? It was actually at an art residency in Florida. I did a short Floom video and there was some yelling involved. And afterwards, completely independently
of each other, these six women came up to me and they were like, “Will you teach me how to yell?” So I put them all together in a workshop. And I was like, “This could be a thing.” I think that the average person doesn’t think of yelling as something you learn, even though there is an art to it, as you have proved to incredible effect. One of the beautiful things [I’ve gained] hanging out in the heavy metal scene for so long is an appreciation of the art of the various kinds of yells—and also the experience of the sheer joy of it. When I yell, I feel connected to the vastness of existence in a way that feels amazing. And also, in our culture, there’s not a lot of room, in my experience, for expressions of big emotions or even acknowledgment of big emotions. Doing it publicly feels liberating. I think that’s especially valuable for those who have historically or personally, for whatever reason, had less of a voice in our culture or in their life. You have a couple of Floom performances coming up in the next few months. Could you talk about what audiences can expect? I have these two pedalboards when I do the Floom set. There’s one for flute and one for guitar, and they both have these rocker pedals that affect the volume of various things. So I started really playing with those to combine sounds and movement in this performative way that’s been very entertaining for me, at least. So much of our cultural work and anti-oppression work is seeing these almost invisible pressures of society that are molding us. And so doing it with music and art, it feels like I’m physically leaning against some constraints from the inside—and when I actually strike through with some foul swoop of the flute or something, there’s the freedom and clarity of being able to move more freely. SEE IT: Floom plays with Rezn and Young Hunger at the High Water Mark, 6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., quadspace.tv. 9 pm Tuesday, March 22. $12. Floom plays with Rick Maguire at the Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., 503-222-2031, theoldchurch.org. 8 pm Tuesday, April 5. $15-$18. Yelling Choir performs at the American Choral Directors Association Convention in Spokane, Wash. Saturday, March 12. Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
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GRAND OPENING SPRING SEASON 20 2 2
“An exceptionally brilliant piece of writing...” –Time Out
APPROPRIATE WRITTEN BY
BRANDEN JACOBS-JENKINS DIRECTED BY
2014 AWA -15 OB RD: IE B E AME S RICA T NEW N PL AY
JERRY RUIZ
at IMAGO THEATRE 17 SE 8th AVENUE
•••••••••••••
MAY 5-22, 2022
TICKETS at 503.242.0080 & PROFILETHEATRE.ORG
PROFILE T H E AT R E
thereser.org THE RESER PRESENTS Nobuntu The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra NASSIM Lea Salonga Gabriel Kahane – Magnificent Bird with the Oregon Symphony Oregon Symphony – Be As Water Colin Meloy DakhaBrakha Sea Sick Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana Mariachi Garibaldi De Jaime Cuéllar Kenny Endo Okee Dokee Brothers and Sonia De Los Santos
AND MEXICAN MODERNISM from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection
Through June 5 portlandartmuseum.org 16
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
M I L AG R O T H E AT R E
SPRING ARTS CALENDAR Your guide to the most exciting arts events of the season.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show
UN-DEFERRED ACTION: Antigone at the Border reimagines Greek tragedy for a post-Trump America.
ANTIGONE AT THE BORDER Playwright Marc Pinante discusses his contemporary update of Sophocles, which will have its Portland premiere at Milagro. BY S O P H I A J U N E
Greek mythology has been adapted into modern-day tales that include everything from Disney’s Hercules to Gal Godot’s Wonder Woman. Yet Marc Pinante, the playwright who wrote Antigone at the Border, which will have its Portland premiere at Milagro Theatre on March 10, believes that Greek mythology is especially well suited to Chicano culture. Pinante’s version of the Greek tragedy by Sophocles is set in the fictional city of Thebes, Arizona, whose history and culture are somewhere between the Southwestern United States and ancient Greece. Antigone is a DACA recipient and humanitarian worker, while her uncle Creon is a Border Patrol agent. Pinante says he was partly inspired by Antigone’s desire to bury her dead brother in the original story, which reminded him of the bodies of migrants left near the border. “Mainstream pop culture is very secular and individualistic and it’s on you to make something of yourself or change something,” he tells WW. “There is something there in Greek tragedies that appeals to the Latinx sensibility of tragedy, like mariachi songs. All of these things feel very dramatic and tragic and very Greek to me.” WW spoke to Pinante about the political conditions in the country when he wrote Antigone at the Border and what he hopes audiences will take away from the play. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. WW: Where did you get the idea for Antigone at the Border? Marc Pinante: I run Borderlands Theater in Tucson, and one of our ensemble and staff members was undocumented. She had DACA status, and there was a moment in 2017 when there were a few months where nobody could reregister, so there was this gap and I couldn’t legally pay her…and it just really kind of brought to light the predicament that undocumented people face. I started thinking about dead bodies in the desert with the migrants…and I started thinking about what if Antigone is a humanitarian aid worker and a DACA recipient and Creon is enforcing policy where you can’t retrieve undocumented migrants from the desert? And, little by little, I started seeing how that play could correspond to that issue at the border.
Can you talk a little more about why Greek tragedy translates so well into Chicano culture? In Greek plays, there’s a lot of attention paid to the gods and abiding by their rules and commandments. There’s a lot of talk about fate and the language is very heightened. There’s something similar from my own culture, this idea of my grandmothers who have dreams or intuition. Other cultures do this too, certainly. There are no bigger forces at play in mainstream popular culture, whereas I think within Mexican culture there’s a little more thought to the role of God or the Virgin Mary. What do you want audiences to take away from the play? I think for folks that are not around immigrants or don’t know too much about the experience of immigrants except for what they see in news reports, they can gain a deeper appreciation of the situation a lot of these child arrivals find themselves in. There are a lot of mental health problems and deep trauma that is caused by being criminalized as a child, as well as not knowing if you’re ever going to see your parents. For Hispanic audiences, the other theme is about assimilation and belonging and membership and what people are prepared to do to belong and to be a citizen of the American dream. Creon represents that assimilationist route, going into the military first and then into law enforcement, whereas Antigone represents a more activist route. Both characters are trying to get a piece of the pie and do it in the way they think is the best. I think it’s a conversation amongst Brown communities. There’s so much diversity within the Latinx community. I want to start a conversation amongst Latinx communities because we need to get on the same page about certain things. SEE IT: Antigone at the Border plays at Milagro Theatre, 525 SE Stark St. 503-236-7253, milagro.org. Premieres 7:30 pm Thursday, March 10. 7:30 pm Friday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, March 11-26. $27.
The hand-painted layers and die-cut pages of Eric Carle’s illustrations have defined many young readers’ earliest conceptions of storytelling. From Feb. 26 through April 24, the Oregon Children’s Theatre will run its production of Carle’s most famous work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Stills from the production reveal puppets that remain true to Carle’s vivid and tactile aesthetics. In addition to the classic metamorphosis of Caterpillar, this hourlong play draws on Carle’s Brown Bear, Ten Little Rubber Ducks and The Very Busy Spider. Specific performances during the two-month run will be livestreamed, sign language interpreted, and performed in Spanish. CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER. Winningstad Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, octc.org. 11 am and 2 pm Saturday and Sunday, through April 24. Tickets start at $15, but $5 options are available for low-income patrons.
Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Mexican Modernism The iconic eyebrows, torrid affairs and stray self-portrait can’t begin to tell the full story of how Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera spearheaded a Mexican art movement in the early 20th century. Now through June 5, the Portland Art Museum will place these legends and their craft in context with over 150 works from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Included is work from other key contributors to Mexican Modernism, such as Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Miguel Covarrubias, Gunther Gerzso, María Izquierdo, Carlos Mérida, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Juan Soriano and Rufino Tamayo. This globe-trotting collection also features period clothing and photographs related to the renowned artists. Visiting the special collection does require the purchase of a timed ticket (which includes general admission). CSP. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 503226-2811, portlandartmuseum.org. 10 am-5 pm Wednesday-Sunday, through June 5. $22-$25.
NW Dance Project Spring Premieres The second Portland show by NW Dance Project’s new company brings to the Newmark Theatre a trio of global premieres by far-flung choreographers. Joseph Hernandez, a Black-Indiginous-Latino choreographer residing in Dresden, incorporates a wide range of influences and playful sensibility within challenging, strenuous works. London-born, Zurich-based Ihsan Rustem has served as resident choreographer of NW Dance Project since 2015 and thrilled audiences around the globe with pioneering pieces that test the boundaries of contemporary dance. Pieces by Chinese native Yin Yue, founding artistic director of New York City’s YY Dance Company, draw upon her trademarked FoCo technique—an inventive blend of classical training and contemporary movement. JAY HORTON. Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335, nwdanceproject.org. 7:30 pm Friday-Saturday, March 4-March 5. $29-$65.
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BEV GRANT, Denise Oliver (detail), 1968. Fred Hampton Assassination Protest, Midtown, NY, 1968
BEV GRANT PHOTOGRAPHY
1968 – 1972
MARCH 31, 6:30 pm BEV GRANT & CAY SOPHIE RABINOWITZ TALK ABOUT ART, LIFE, AND CHANGE REED CHAPEL, ELIOT HALL Reservations necessary: email cooley@reed.edu to save a spot. 45 spots available in the chapel. Reed requires guests to mask and show proof of vaccination and booster shot. Thank you!
REED COLLEGE 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd. Portland OR 97219
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TENEBROUS PRESS
Leading Ladies The Lakewood Theatre Company’s production of Leading Ladies promises to be a wonderful way to reimmerse yourself in the world of in-person entertainment. The play is set in 1958 York, Pennsylvania, where two struggling Shakespearean actors, Leo Clark and Jack Gable, discover a sick older woman in search of her sister’s children. She plans to leave them a sizable inheritance, so naturally Leo and Jack masquerade as the children, taking on the roles of their lives for an all-or-nothing payday. The play was written by Ken Ludwig, the prankster behind the medieval satire Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood. RAY GILL JR. Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State St., Lake Oswego, 503635-3901. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, March 4-April 10. Additional show 7:30 pm Wednesday, March 23. $34-$36.
Cinema Unbound Awards CINEMA UNBOUND
MONSTER MASH: The creatures of Green Inferno.
BURN BEFORE READING How wildfires and the pandemic inspired Matt Blairstone’s eco-horror comic anthology Green Inferno and sowed the seeds of his new indie imprint, Tenebrous Press BY J AY H O R TO N
@hortland
“As millions of other people will say, it was definitely inspired by COVID,” Matt Blairstone says of the origins of Tenebrous Press’ debut collection, Green Inferno. “Comics had ground to a standstill—basically pencils down across the industry—so I got all rah-rah cheerleadery with these homebound artistic friends: ‘Strike while the momentum’s hot!’” Though eager to throw himself into a new venture, Blairstone only landed upon the specific terrestrial-horror focus of Green Inferno—an anthology subtitled The World Celebrates Your Demise (Tenebrous Press, 200 pages, $18)—after narrowly escaping the wildfires setting Oregon ablaze in September 2020. “My wife and I were stuck in Lincoln City one very hairy day as the fires came sweeping in,” he says. “We made it back safe just before the smoke really descended, and I wrote a 3,000-word story that set me down the path of doing something climate related with people from all over the world—gathering their stories, their perspectives.” A self-taught polymath responsible for every aspect of his ongoing comics series Mad Doctors, Blairstone initially envisioned Green Inferno as a more typical graphic novel, until economic practicalities led the fledgling publisher to incorporate works of illustrated prose among comic book-styled stories. In the wake of Inferno’s success, Blairstone continued along the same path, pairing artists with pieces of short fiction for Tenebrous’ sophomore compendium, In Somnio, and three novellas scheduled for a 2022 release. “My strengths are in writing,” he admits. “So, once I started doing comics more regularly, I wanted to work with artists who actually knew what the fuck they were doing. I started expanding my reach and had already put together a good stable of people when I decided to create Inferno.” As word spread beyond Blairstone’s circle of collaborators, pages arrived from a variety of far-flung talents. He eventually selected a truly global (Romania, Japan, Italy) roster of 18 creators—and was so pleasantly surprised by the quality of the unsolicited submissions that he maintained the same process for In Somnio.
By this stage, Blairstone had brought in longtime colleague Alex Woodroe as editrix—and, following their mutual desire to amplify female (alongside nonbinary and femme-identifying) voices, the pair conceived In Somnio as an update of traditional gothic horror. “We’re playing with some of the tropes from Mary Shelley and Shirley Jackson and dragging them into the modern era,” he explains. “Same as everywhere else, there’s been a kind of tidal change in horror. More progressive voices are speaking up, and truly exceptional work’s coming out from the queer and trans communities.” Summer release Crom Cruach also takes a distinct creative approach. Instead of an illustrator, the free-verse epic poem chronicling the recent history of an alternate Ireland’s near-future will employ a mapmaker and include incidental pieces (dossiers on suspected cultists, say) to enhance the reading experience. In addition, Blairstone wants MP3s to be available for accompaniment. “It’s that little indie label mentality, you know?” he says. “I can’t get out of my mind that music has to be involved in some way. My dream project’s a horror-driven sword and sorcery anthology with a doom metal soundtrack featuring unsigned artists from around the globe.” For now, Blairstone hopes primarily to shave down the time required to launch each volume. Tenebrous Press is currently capable of publishing three projects a year, and by 2023 he hopes to put something out every two months. When combined with Blairstone’s day job—handling the business affairs of his wife Kate, an acclaimed designer whose custom wallpaper adorns iconic interiors from the new coffeehouse at Powell’s City of Books to Seattle’s State Hotel—the demands of Tenebrous Press leave little time for his own creative pursuits. Yet he has few regrets about his change of direction. “I still flex my own artistic muscles here and there,” he contends. “I’m drawing the cover for one of the novellas coming up. Honestly, I’m so wracked with fears of dropping the ball—what angles am I missing?—that all of my waking energies go toward thinking about promotion. I don’t want to release a book and have nothing happen.”
The Portland International Film Festival may be postponed until 2023, but its awards centerpiece continues as normal this March. With the goal of honoring artists who transcend cinematic convention, the 2022 Cinema Unbound Awards will recognize Portland icon Carrie Brownstein, King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Greene, animators Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, UTA Artist Space creative director Arthur Lewis, and filmmakers Roger Ross Williams and Shirin Neshat. The presenters are arguably even more recognizable, including Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Isabella Rossellini. Matinee screenings Feb. 26 through March 5 corresponding with the honorees’ work also mark the long-awaited reopening of the Whitsell Auditorium. On March 6, the Whitsell will also host a pay-what-you-wish screening showcasing artists from the 2021 NW Film Center Sustainability Labs. CSP. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 503-226-2811, portlandartmuseum. org. In-person awards ceremony 6 pm Tuesday, March 8. $125-$2,500.
Duma, MSHR, Avola Nairobi, Kenya, is increasingly looking like a major mover and shaker on the international music scene, boasting not only a thriving experimental scene (KMRU, Nyokabi Kari ki, Slikback) but a close-knit heavy metal community as well. Self-described “sinister force” Duma (“darkness” in Kikuyu) bridges both scenes, their shrieked vocals and relentless polyrhythms often ensconced in a layer of harsh, ragged noise. Fresh off an acclaimed self-titled album on Uganda’s Nyege Nyege Tapes, they’re stopping at Holocene for their first North American tour, with opening performances by local multimedia artist Avola and synth-sculptors MSHR. Portland, with its deep heavy-music roots and predilection for noise-influenced metal bands like the Body and Thrones, seems a good town for this band to touch down in. DANIEL BROMFIELD. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503-239-7639, holocene. org. 8 pm Monday, March 14. $15.
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innocent N e wmar k T h e atr e
T ic ke ts from $35
TICKETS AND INFO: PORTLANDOPERA.ORG
Ma rc h 18– 26
THE 4TH WALL At a cinema-themed lounge on Hawthorne, the moviegoing experience is being reimagined for a post-multiplex age.
THE C ENT R AL PA RK FIV E Composed by Anthony Davis Libretto by Richard Wesley 20
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BY C H A N C E S O L E M - P F E I F E R
@chance_ s _ p
Five years ago, Jason Thompson and Asa Fager were the oddball staffers at the iconic (now shuttered) Seattle theater Cinerama. The two 30-something fathers had lived more life and seen more movies than their average co-worker, and they bonded often over formative ’80s and ’90s popcorn fare, stoking the fires of that eternal theater employee fantasy: “What if we could pick the movies?” That question eventually built The 4th Wall, Thompson and Fager’s movie-themed lounge on Southeast 15th and Hawthorne. From “comfort classics” (think Spielberg or John Hughes) to Saturday morning cartoons to slashers to the random barista’s choice, movies are on tap from open to close on the lounge’s 150-inch screen while customers work, watch or imbibe. Depending on the hour and clientele, the role of the on-screen entertainment can vary: decoration, discovery, welcome distraction. Less than four months into business (and only weeks into having its liquor license), The 4th Wall is trying to embrace spontaneity. Despite an Epson projector and regular Blu-ray rentals from Movie Madness, screening fidelity isn’t the goal so much as unforced community. “It’s like watching a movie in your friend’s living room,” Fager says. On the afternoon of this interview, the 2005 biopic Capote illuminates the cafe’s literal fourth wall. Philip Seymour Hoffman, lost in character as Truman Capote, looms over coffee drinkers and laptop hunchers. The subtitles are on (as always),
T H E 4 T H WA L L
In the Name of Forgotten Women The most recent stage work from the pen of Portland playwright and educator Cindy Williams Gutierrez pays gripping testament to female resilience in the face of oppression from unyielding forces around the globe by examining women at the center of 15 separate incidents in as many countries. Adapted from her award-winning poetry collection Inlay With Nacre, In the Name of Forgotten Women takes the form of a choreopoem blending music and dance with spoken word and projected footage to deepen the theatrical experience via multimedia flourishes. Presented by Coho Theatre in conjunction with Gutierrez’s Grito Productions, the play’s harrowing reflections on actual tragedies are intended to spur activism among observers. A series of engagements open to the public will follow each performance. JH. CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 503-220-2646, cohoproductions.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday and 2 pm Sunday, March 25-April 16. Pay what you will. Alebrije’s
Bowling With Heart INDUSTRY
BEAN COUNTER: The coffee shop and cinema collide at The 4th Wall.
and sound-dampening foam covers five of the shop’s plate glass windows to reduce concrete echo. Meanwhile, a striking Bride of Frankenstein mural by Seattle artist Danielle Mapes meets Hoffman’s gaze on the far wall. Between them, a bartop offers Sisters coffee and alcohol options, including the Georgetown Bodhizafa IPA, Mac & Jack’s African Amber and Seattle Cider’s Semi-Sweet. “Portland has a devout film desire,” Thompson says. “We’re more of a complement to that. We’re definitely not a movie theater and don’t claim to be. We’re more of a place for appreciation of film, discussion and events. People will be on their phones; the dishwasher will be running.” The notion that The 4th Wall could pleasantly split the difference between exhibition and white noise was buoyed by Fager’s previous bartending gig, after he was laid off by Cinerama in February 2020. As the lone day-shift bartender at Seattle’s Reservoir Bar & Grill, Fager instituted a movies-only policy on the bar TVs. With no live sports and no good news at the dawn of the pandemic, the regulars were quickly won over. “We’d be halfway through Sixteen Candles and people would come up and say, ‘Ah, I fucking love this movie,’” Fager says. “That realization helped lead us to the point where we are now.” Cultivating movie-inspired shop culture has taken on multiple dimensions at The 4th Wall. The lounge hosts trivia nights based on beloved franchises like Star Trek and Twilight. Local comedian Ross Passeck spearheads Reel Roasts, a live skewering in the vein of many bad-movie celebration podcasts. Non-cinematic events include Magic: The Gathering and Mario Kart. Looking ahead,
Thompson and Fager just recently met with the Portland film studio Video Is the Future about hosting a monthly short film showcase. Even though the Seattle theater that brought Thompson and Fager together is closed indefinitely and the larger exhibition industry struggles for financial footing, The 4th Wall owners don’t detect any decline in conversational movie interest. One of Thompson’s favorite trends is observing a 4th Wall visitor become accidentally engrossed in a movie and lose track of time. He’s seen it happen with titles as disparate as Encanto and Not Another Teen Movie. “The era of the multiplex is over, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Fager says. “We just have to figure out what the new experience is. I also don’t think that means the art form of cinema is at all in danger.” The 4th Wall seeks to combat the loneliness and exhaustion of selecting home entertainment, an experience that rarely encourages the viewer to look beyond their Netflix filters. Thompson and Fager have created a world where outside curation can feel novel—even if it’s just two scenes on a Wednesday afternoon. On quiet days, Thompson will sometimes ask customers what they’d like to see on the projector. The most common response? “No, you choose.” GO: The 4th Wall, 1445 SE Hawthorne Blvd., the4thwallpdx. com. 8 am-8 pm daily. See the website for a full schedule of events and screenings.
Big Al’s Bowling With Heart fundraiser for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital always offers a great time for a good cause, but this seventh annual bowlathon teases a newfound level of artistic engagement. For this year’s silent auction held at the Beaverton bowling alley, local creative consultancy and brand management agency Industry donated its imagineering talents to realize the visions of children receiving inpatient care at Doernbecher for a series of alebrijes: wildly colored, fantastical creatures that have become a staple of Mexican folk art. In a true collaboration, the beasties were shaped according to kids’ specifications, designers further personalized the alebrijes to highlight aspects of their young creators’ personalities, and PDX-based visual artist Tekpatl hand-painted the resulting toys for eventual sale to the highest bidder. JH. Big Al’s, 14950 SW Barrows Road, Beaverton, 503-748-6118, ilovebigals.com. 10 am-2 pm Sunday, May 1.
Queens Girl in Africa Postponed from last autumn as a result of COVID, Queens Girl in Africa returns director Damaris Webb and star Lauren Steele to Clackamas Community College’s Osterman Theatre following their triumphant 2019 run of Queens Girl in the World. This second installment in Caleen Sinnette Jennings’ semi-autobiographical trilogy of one-woman shows again asks Steele to embody dozens of distinct characters, as titular teen heroine Jacqueline Marie Butler goes on a coming-of-age journey from a racially divided homeland to a new life (and new loves) in wartorn Nigeria. Reed College professor of English and humanities Pancho Savery will speak about the era’s politics and pop music before each Friday and Sunday performance. The production is a collaboration with CCC’s theater department. JH. Osterman Theatre, 19600 Molalla Ave., Oregon City, 503-594-6047, clackamasrep.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday and 2:30 pm Sunday, March 31-April 24. $30-$40.
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EVERYBODY READS 2022
MIRA JACOB March 10, 2022 7:30 p.m. ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
Get tickets at literary-arts.org
FENNESZ, KMRU, PATRICIA WOLF DJ SET Holocene is bringing ambient music out of chill-out rooms and into the spotlight. BY DA N I E L B R O M F I E L D
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@bromf3
Ambient music has historically thrived in the side rooms and chill-out rooms of clubs, where zonked partyers can stare at lights and pet the wall once they’ve danced enough for the night. But at Holocene’s March 28 show, ambient will take center stage with an international lineup: legendary Austrian producer-guitarist Fennesz, young Kenyan artist KMRU and a DJ set by Portland’s own Patricia Wolf. “It’s not just a side room, it’s not just like an art gallery or a museum, which happens a lot with ambient music,” says Philip Sherburne, a Portland-born DJ and music journalist who’s performed often at Holocene and will release Wolf’s next album on his Balmat label. “Here’s a club, and this is what you’re gonna see, and it’s three ambient artists. I think that’s really cool.” It’d be unfair to anyone whose livelihood has been put on hold by COVID to say that ambient music has had a great couple of years, seeing as this show wouldn’t have even been possible a year or even two years ago. But in the absence of social events since 2020, a lot of listeners have found themselves gravitating toward lonelier, more contemplative sounds. Wolf’s new album, I’ll Look for You in Others, is the product of such a transition. Following a number of personal tragedies, plus the closure of her gallery Variform and the isolation imposed by the pandemic, she found herself leaning into quieter, more contemplative sounds in both her own work and her daily listening. During this time, Wolf discovered KMRU and his 2020 breakthrough album Peel, based on field recordings from his hometown of Nairobi. Since then, the two have become fast friends over the internet, working one another’s tracks into DJ mixes. “Not only do I really love his music, but he’s transporting
HOLOCENE
Art Have you ever looked at an abstract expressionist painting in a museum and thought to yourself, “I could do that”? Art, of course, is as much about context as it is technical skill, but in Yasmina Reza’s play, which kicks off the Ten Fifteen Theater’s Mainstage Series, the question of what is art confounds a group of friends after one of them buys an all-white painting with white diagonal lines to the point that their arguments turn from theoretical to personal and threaten to destroy their friendships. SOPHIA JUNE. The Ten Fifteen Theater, 1015 Commercial St., Astoria, 503-298-5255, tenfifteentheater. com. 7:30 pm Friday-Saturday, 3:30 pm Sunday, March 18-26. $20.
To Survive on This Shore The most powerful art is often found where no one is looking, and that’s exactly where Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre went. The two spent more than five years traveling across the United States, seeking to capture the lives of older transgender and gender-nonconforming seniors, daring to create what could be one of the most cathartic and enlightening exhibitions of the season. RGJ. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 1855 SW Broadway, 503-725-8013, pdx. edu. 11 am-5 pm Tuesday-Saturday through April 30. Free.
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts PAT R I C I A R E S E R C E N T E R F O R T H E A R T S
BOWLED OVER: Fennesz. KMRU
PAT R I C I A W O L F
INTO THE WILD: Patricia Wolf.
me to the part of the world that I’ve never been to, where he’s from,” says Wolf. “I found that to be such a wonderful trip and a wonderful escape, and it came at a time for me when I was already exploring field recordings.” “There’s this whole cliché of ambient music being for contemplation or isolation,” says Sherburne, who profiled KMRU for Pitchfork last year. “But it is true, especially in those early days. The KMRU album felt grounding in a way, and I spent a lot of time listening to that.” According to Sherburne’s piece, Peter Rehberg, late founder of the legendary Editions Mego label, was struck by the Kenyan’s music in a similar way. Stuck in Berlin during the pandemic with little to do but go through demo submissions, Rehberg clicked immediately with KMRU’s music and signed him to Mego that year. All three participants in this show were acquainted with Rehberg, who died last year. Fennesz put out several albums for Rehberg’s label, including 2001’s beloved Endless Summer, and collaborated with Rehberg in the supergroup Fenn O’Berg alongside onetime Sonic Youth member Jim O’Rourke. And while still running Variform, Wolf helped bring Rehberg to Portland for a performance at the Oregon Center for Contemporary Art, then known as Disjecta. “Peter Rehberg was always someone who was really excited for new talent,” Wolf says. “It’ll be really cool to see these two artists continuing on and knowing that, in a way, he’s living on through them. I’ll be slipping some music from Peter into my set too, just to nod to that.” SEE IT: Fennesz, KRMU and Patricia Wolf perform at Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503-239-7639, holocene.org. 8 pm Monday, March 28. $27.
There will soon be another reason besides the Nike store to visit Beaverton. The city is about to get a massive arts center: the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, which is the first space of its kind to be built in the Portland area in more than three decades. We’re talking about a major arts center, which will open this spring, with a 550seat theater, art gallery, rehearsal, workshop and meeting space, a lobby covered in quintessential Doug fir and an outdoor plaza…let’s just keep our fingers crossed for low COVID numbers so we can enjoy it all. The grand opening season begins Friday with the free gallery artist reception Celilo, Never Silenced, which will feature the work of Indigenous artists Don Bailey, Rick Bartow, Joe Cantrell, Jonnel Covault, Ed Edmo, Joe Fedderson, Analee Fuentes, Sean Gallagher, Lillian Pitt, Pah-tu Pitt, Richard Rowland, Sara Siestreem, Gail Tremblay and Richard York. SJ. 12625 SW Crescent St., Beaverton, 971-501-7722, thereser.org. UNDER THE HOOD: KRMU. Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
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PORTLAND, OR
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SATURDAY NIGHT LIFE Photos by Sean Bascom On Instagram: @Baaascom
“I went downtown Saturday night with a roll of film and a white piece of cardboard strapped on my flash to see what kinds of pictures there were to be made. I met new friends, heard a sermon, witnessed a fight, rendered first aid, and made some portraits. It was a pretty average downtown Saturday night, despite the rain, cold and COVID.”
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GET BUSY
STUFF TO DO IN PORTLAND THIS WEEK, INDOORS AND OUT.
STARTERS
T H E MOST I MP ORTANT P O RTLA N D C U LTU R E STORI E S OF T H E W E E K—G RA P H E D .
R E A D M O R E A B O U T TH E S E STO R I E S AT WW E E K .CO M .
RIDICULOUS
ALEC LUGO
Funhouse Lounge reopens its musical parody of Pulp Fiction.
Fabled film studies instructor Elliot Lavine brings another round of classes to Cinema 21.
WATCH | Gem of the Ocean One of the final plays from Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson, Gem of the Ocean is about Citizen Barlow, a man whose quest for redemption leads him to the City of Bones, a metropolis in the Atlantic Ocean created from the bones of African slaves. In Portland Center Stage’s production, Henry Noble plays Citizen Barlow and Treasure Lunan plays Aunt Ester Tyler, the 285-year-old healer who inspires Citizen’s journey. The play is an installment in the Pittsburgh Cycle, Wilson’s 10-part chronicle of 20th century Black lives. Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave., 503-445-3700, pcs.org. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Sunday, 2 pm Saturday-Sunday, 2 pm select Thursdays, March 5-April 3. $21-$87.
The Portland Craft Beer Festival and SheBrew both return in person this year.
�GO | Abya Yala With vision and verve, Resonance Ensemble has repeatedly proved that choral music can work under pandemic restrictions—they even sounded sublime when they wore masks for their Under the Overpass concerts. Abya Yala, which will showcase the music and visual art of Indigenous artists, promises to be one their ambitious and imaginative ventures, not least of all because it features the world premiere of the Abya Yala Choral Suite, which was composed by the Chilean-born Portland composer Freddy Vilches. Cerimon House, 5131 NE 23rd Ave., 503307-9599, resonancechoral.org. 7:30 pm Saturday and 3 pm Sunday, March 5-6. $10-$35. �GO | Leslie Odom Jr. with the Oregon Symphony In a season that runs the gamut from Beethoven to Ben Folds, the Oregon Symphony’s buzziest move might be collaborating with Leslie Odom Jr., who won a 2016 Tony Award for his performance as Aaron Burr in Hamilton. Norman Huynh conducts the concert, which will feature both jazz and Broadway songs. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335, orsymphony.org. 7:30 pm Thursday, March 3. $45-$125. 26
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Oregon has nine semifinalists in the 2022 James Beard Foundation Awards. AW F U L
�GO | Smoulder It’s hard to imagine something as devastating as the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire inspiring anything beautiful, but the blaze is exactly what prompted a new musical work. Smoulder, written by award-winning Portland composer Andrea Reinkemeyer, underscores how fragile the Pacific Northwest’s treasured natural settings can be in an age of increased wildfire danger. The production is a partnership between Friends of the Columbia Gorge and the Metropolitan Youth Symphony to help educate the public about climate change and elevate young voices. Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335, playmys.org. 7:30 pm Sunday, March 6. $11-$38.
AW E S O M E
EAT | Beer and Chili Festival If you want to ignite a passionate debate, start talking about chili. Meat only, beans or bust, spicy, chocolaty, or in a Frito pie—everyone has a preference and thinks that every other style is an abomination. There’s no better place to take your strong opinions about chili than Uptown Beer’s annual festival, where seven Portland-area breweries will be trying to win you over with their take on the dish. Each bowl will be paired with a beer, and once you sample them all, you’ll get to vote for your favorite. Uptown Beer, 6620 SW Scholls Ferry Road, 503-336-4783, uptownbeer.co. 3 pm Saturday, March 5. $45 includes a glass, sticker, 4-ounce samples of each beer paired with 2-ounce samples of each chili, and a pint. 21+.
Christine Walter, owner of Bauman’s Cider Co. in Gervais, is appointed to the American Cider Association. Hayden’s Grill, a Tualatin dining staple for 23 years, shuts its doors, but Brix Tavern is opening a spinoff there this spring.
Applications are being accepted for an artist-in-residence program at Yaquina Head.
Forest agencies are tweaking the Central Cascades Wilderness permits program following last year’s rollout.
Vista House—one of the Columbia River Gorge’s crown jewels—will reopen in March after being closed for most of the past two years.
Drivers visiting the Columbia Gorge’s waterfall corridor will need to purchase timed-access permits this summer. SERIOUS
Top 5
Hot Plates WHERE TO EAT THIS WEEK.
1. PACIFIC CRUST PIZZA COMPANY
400 SW Broadway, 503-719-5010, pacificcrustpizzaco.com. 11 am-10 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11 am-11 pm Friday-Saturday. The pies at this outdoors-themed pizzeria blur the line between New York and New Haven styles, which is a delightful hybrid for those who like to fold their slices as easily as a book yet appreciate a hefty rim for its chew and crunch. However, Pacific Crust’s greatest strength is its ability to allow each topping to have its moment. Nowhere is that better exhibited than in the Traverse, a crimson-and-gold disc of lightly smoked tomato sauce and corn kernels adorned with a tuft of peppery arugula. The flavors come in welcome waves: first, the fusel-like truffle shavings, then the sweetness of the black pepper honey rolls in followed by ripples of blue-cheese funk.
FOOD & DRINK
Editor: Andi Prewitt | Contact: aprewitt@wweek.com
New owners, new menu, new missions, but Turn! Turn! Turn! is still the same DIY-minded music venue, record store and community event space.
2. PICCONE’S CORNER
3434 NE Sandy Blvd., #400, 503-2658263, picconescorner.com. 9 am-7 pm Tuesday-Saturday, 9 am-5 pm Sunday. This combination butcher shop-restaurant continues to fill a hole in the city’s dining scene that was left when Old Salt Marketplace closed. Now, Piccone’s Corner is serving all-day breakfast, setting our ham-loving hearts awhirl. The updated menu includes a substantial plate of two eggs, polenta cakes and bacon or sausage links, mushroom toast, and an obligatory grain bowl. But our eyes are set on the breakfast sandwich topped with your choice of house-cured pork from Wallow & Root farms.
3. NICO’S ICE CREAM
5713 NE Fremont St., 503-489-8656, nicosicecream.com. 3-9 pm Wednesday-Friday, noon-9 pm Saturday-Sunday. Ice cream in February? Where do you think we are, New Zealand? At Nico’s Ice Cream, yes. The Northeast Portland shop’s only item, vanilla ice cream blended with berries, has its roots in the land of kiwis. It also requires its own appliance that combines plain vanilla Tillamook with your choice of frozen fruit. Once the ice cream is finished mixing, you have something with the butterfat richness of hard-pack, but the airiness and mouthfeel of soft serve.
4. SUNSHINE NOODLES
2175 NW Raleigh St., Suite 105, sunshinenoodlespdx.com. 5-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-3 pm and 5-9 pm Friday-Sunday. Diane Lam, the former chef de cuisine at Revelry, is back in full force with Sunshine Noodles, a relaunch of her pandemic popup that now has a brick-and-mortar home in Slabtown. Snag a seat at the countertop, where you can watch the kitchen team work the wok station, then dig into the catfish spring rolls. Though not a noodle dish, it’s the current standout. The fish is blackened, rolled into rice paper with herbs, vermicelli noodles, a slice of watermelon radish, and then topped with a citrusy nuoc cham sauce that’s a mixture of bitter, sweet, salt and funk.
5. SEBASTIANO’S
411 SE 81st Ave., 503-841-5905, sebastianospdx.com. 11 am-3 pm Wednesday-Saturday. Montavilla’s Sicilian deli, Sebastiano’s, has launched a take-and-bake dinner program to keep you cozy through the tail end of winter. Specials rotate, but the extra-large, Catanese-style arancini are a must-have. Each order includes two goose egg-sized fried balls of rice mixed with Olympia Provisions mortadella, Tails & Trotters ham, and mozzarella. Add a radicchio salad, a bottle of wine, and a slice of olive oil cake, and you’ve got yourself a nice little weeknight meal.
Turning the Page PHOTOS BY AARON LEE
BY JA S O N C O H E N
When the COVID-19 shutdown began in 2020, Turn! Turn! Turn! owner Scott Derr, like a lot of bar, restaurant and music venue owners, did a little online fundraising to help support his laidoff staff. Among the Kickstarter-like incentives he offered at the time: Name a food or drink special after you! $10 Free hot dog (or veggie dog!) at any show you attend for a year! $25 Host a private party! $100 Assume ownership of the bar! (Not as much as it might have been two weeks ago!) With that last one, Derr was joking but not joking: Going out of business seemed like a real
Top 5
Buzz List
WHERE TO DRINK THIS WEEK.
1. SUCKERPUNCH
1030 SE Belmont St., 503-2084022, suckerpunch.bar. 6-11 pm Thursday-Sunday. Suckerpunch, the locally based business that started as a no-booze cocktail kit vendor in 2020, has launched an experimental pop-up in the Goat Blocks—further proof the alcohol-free trend is gaining steam after a well-documented spike in pandemic drinking. Here, you’ll find a regular rotation of zero-proof, seasonally inspired cocktails along with events like tasting flights and dessert pairings.
possibility. But thanks to a combination of rent forgiveness and COVID relief grants, the experimental gathering place on North Killingsworth Street survived, partially reopening for takeout and record shopping over a year ago, and then fully launching with live shows in October 2021. Still, Derr was ready to let someone else have all the fun and deal with less pleasant responsibilities like clogged toilets and after-hours break-ins. So, on the first day of 2022—exactly eight years after signing his first lease to take control of what had been the Record Room—he turned over Turn! Turn! Turn! to three friends and regulars. New owner Elizabeth Venable and her partners, Geoff Soule and Clarence Jacobs, have been
2. 503 DISTILLING LOUNGE
4784 SE 17th Ave., Suite 150, 503-975-5669, 503distilling.com. 3-9 pm Thursday-Saturday, 1-7 pm Sunday. Portland has a new outlet where you can sample draft cocktails right next door to the source. 503 Distilling recently opened a lounge adjacent to its distillery inside the Iron Fireman Collective building. That’s where you’ll find six rotating cocktails on tap, plus made-to-order mixed drinks, beer and wine. The draft options offer visitors first tastes of some of the newest concoctions coming out of the distillery, acting as something of a laboratory. And once you’ve had your fill of spirits, Ruse Brewing is a short stumble away.
3. BOXER
1668 NW 23rd Ave., 503-954-3794, boxerramen.com. 11 am-9 pm, Wednesday-Sunday.
a part of the TTT family since day one. Venable and Soule’s band, Sad Horse, broke in the venue by playing its first show in February 2014. And Soule leads the Grand Style Orchestra, which has become something of a house band at TTT. Jacobs is not a musician but brings, perhaps, an even more important skill to bar ownership: He’s in construction. “It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to have a space to host various events, from music and art to pop-up social services, lectures and educational programs,” says Venable, who’s curated her own variety-style parlor series, Variable, out of homes and businesses for 15 years. CO NTI N U E D O N PAG E 2 8
This popular Portland fast-casual restaurant brand has finally reemerged following a lengthy pandemic closure. Boxer—formerly Boxer Ramen—welcomed back customers this month to its new Slabtown location. Though not previously a drinking destination, the noodle shop has doubled the size of its menu, which includes an exciting lineup of sake and cocktails.
4. PUNCH BOWL SOCIAL
340 SW Morrison St., #4305, 503-334-0360, punchbowlsocial. com/location/portland. 11 am-11 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11 am-1 am Friday-Saturday. If you’re looking to spend an evening trying to rack up the high score on The Simpsons arcade game and then pick up spares in a bowling alley, head to Punch Bowl Social. Sure, the 32,000-squarefoot gaming palace may be in a
mall, but it fills a wonderful niche in downtown Portland—there’s something on the menu for everyone, a deep beer list and creative cocktails, to boot. You can also count on at least one special punch to be offered during holidays.
5. BRASA HAYA
412 NE Beech St., 503-288-3499, brasahayapdx.com. 5:30-9 pm Tuesday-Thursday, 5:30-10 pm Friday-Saturday. Though only open since June, Brasa Haya serves a traditional Spanish coffee that’s already one of the best in town. Rich chocolate vies for dominance with locally roasted Junior’s brew and a cool cloud of amaro whipped cream. Start your meal with a glass and have a second at the end—you’ll be justified because the decadent drink appears on the dessert menu, too.
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
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CO NTI N U E D F RO M PAG E 27
“It just seemed like the perfect fit to move forward,” says Derr. “They’ve been playing there since we opened, and we have a shared philosophy to some extent, musically and artistically.” Sad Horse also played the bar’s last pre-pandemic New Year’s Eve show, then wound up becoming a last-minute addition to the lineup to ring in 2022. Now they’re scheduled to play their first show since the ownership change March 4 (opening for the Gutters), while the Grand Style Orchestra will occupy a regular slot during the last Sunday of each month. The new TTT will evolve into more of a community event space than ever before by hosting not only live music, but also open-mic comedy, happy hours, a monthly craft market and a first Thursday charity dance party. Moreover, Venable is actively pursuing more inclusive and diverse musical acts. “While the space has accommodated many different genres, it has been primarily white, male-led,” she says. “On our booking inquiry page we ask bands to be thoughtful about this when building their bill.” There are still records and CDs for sale (though not as many as before), as well as food and drink. However, the offerings have changed. Where there was once a toaster oven and hot dog-centric dishes, there is now an Instant Pot, a rice cooker and a slow cooker for preparing an intentionally simple menu of brown rice and black bean bowls with various garnishes, plus salads and, for the carnivorous, a side of meatballs. “The motto here is ‘Scoop, scoop, give,’” Venable says. One thing did survive from the old menu: nachos, “made with Hot Mama [Salsa] because they are local 28
and the best,” says Venable. “We hope the menu offers something to everybody, whether you want something healthy or you want some trashy nacho cheese sauce.” The beer on Turn’s six taps all hail from Oregon and Washington and include familiar brands like Double Mountain, Matchless and Wild Ride. A two-door refrigerator case that Derr installed during the pandemic is stocked with canned and bottled beer and cider, as well as kombucha, cold brew and CBD sodas. Behind the bar there’s also liquor, though no cocktails per se—order as you would in a dive bar or most rock clubs. TTT Version 2.0 may also end up at a new location in the next few years. That’s because the building formerly known as the Albina Arts Center, which has been home to the feminist bookstore In Other Words, the recent Soul Restoration Project pop-up, and Chinese medicine co-op The Vital Compass (which is still there), is currently being held in trust by the Oregon Community Foundation and ultimately meant to be owned by a Black nonprofit. Don’t Shoot Portland, another previous tenant, has been campaigning to reclaim the property. According to OCF spokeswoman Maureen Kenney, “an equitable community engagement process” to determine the future of the site is scheduled to begin in March. “We signed a two-year lease with the knowledge that the owner’s intention is that the building be gifted to a Blackowned nonprofit,” Venable says. “We absolutely support this decision.” GO: Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth St., 503-284-6019, turnturnturnpdx.com. 4-10 pm Wednesday-Monday. Open later on event nights.
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
POTLANDER I N E S A P O N O M A R I O VA I T E
Curative Compounds CBDA and CBGA are getting buzz for their potential to block COVID infection. We asked an expert about their usefulness for treating other conditions. BY B R I A N N A W H E E L E R
New research may have discovered that hemp compounds have the potential to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells, but don’t expect to find the magic cure in your nearest bottled infusion—at least not yet. In January, the results of a study led by Oregon State University researcher Richard van Breemen were published in the Journal of Natural Products and concluded that CBDA and CBGA can bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, blocking the virus’s ability to infect people. Cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) and cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) are both precursors to their respective cannabinoids, meaning they exist only in preprocessed cannabis and hemp plants. Which is to say, they are the living components of the plant and not likely to be present in your average hemp or cannabis wellness product. That doesn’t make these newly lauded cannabinoids any less worthy of the attention of the average cannabis user, or even the average wellness enthusiast. According to Inesa Ponomariovaite, founder of CBDA extraction company Nesa’s Hemp, cannabinoids in their acid state, as well as other bioavailable medicinal herbs, are a cornerstone of holistic wellness. To learn more, WW asked Ponomariovaite to describe the difference between living and dead hemp, the more recently discovered human endocannabinoid system, and why cannabis needs to be grown and processed with therapeutic intention in order to be effective.
WW: You founded Nesa’s Hemp in 2018. How did you discover the therapeutic benefits of CBDA and CBGA? Inesa Ponomariovaite: My mom’s cancer was the starting point. When I compared CBD products, I started seeing reverseengineered CBDs and complaints about side effects: They didn’t work, or they weren’t bioavailable. But when I looked at the living plant, I realized this is all acidic; CBD happens in the plant when the plant is dead. The whole country is selling the dead version of the plant. As a consultant, I deal with very sick people, their bodies and their cells already dying. From a common-sense perspective, how could the dead version of the plant help people who are already dying? How does CBD differ from CBDA in terms of its interaction with the endocannabinoid system? We have endocannabinoid systems, so there shouldn’t be any problem; cannabinoids should fit like a puzzle. I really don’t want to trash the industry, but why are they doing all this nanosomal/liposomal—trying to force what doesn’t absorb well? And why doesn’t it absorb it well? It’s because if the plant is destroyed, it doesn’t function. CBDA from living hemp is
already bioavailable. Most people are not even aware hemp plants are capable of being alive after you harvest them. What about synthetic CBDA? I met some people who are already producing chemical synthetic versions of CBDA, and it’s not the same. Something isn’t right. These products extract, isolate and abuse the ecosystem of the plant’s structure. They take the CBDA out and label it as a CBD, like, “here’s your cure,” or whatever, but now the CBD is not going to function the same because cannabinoids are meant to function together. When it comes to cannabis or hemp, one little plant covers so much when it’s given to people the way it’s meant to be. Aside from the newly discovered SARS-CoV-2 blocking properties, what other health benefits do users get from CBDA? CBDA is found to be a thousand times more potent than CBD alone. It can promote healthy mood balance and prevent nausea and vomiting, preventing complications caused by met-
abolic imbalances, and promoting the self-healing process. Like I said, I work with a lot of sick people, and when I say sick, I’m talking about Stage IV cancers. And we have nothing but success. So why do we have success? Well, we must be doing something a little bit different than most people. Because not just any CBDA will produce results, is that right? That’s right. What happens is, a lot of companies try to do the cold press kind of style, but what happens if the molecule is not healthy itself? Now you’re grinding these two metal machines, and metals go into that sick plant. What kind of final product will that be? First, the cannabis must be grown correctly. That’s critical. You have to have the right sky, the right air, the right soil, the right everything. And the second critical point is these plants, they need to be kept alive during the process. And if they’re not alive, they’re not going to be able to do that magic. That’s the bottom line.
Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
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PERFORMANCE
Editor: Bennett Campbell Ferguson | Contact: bennett@wweek.com ADAM LIBERMAN
MUSIC Now Hear This Listening recommendations from the past, present, Portland and the periphery.
BY DANIEL BROMFIELD // @BROMF3
SOMETHING OLD
ALONG FOR THE RIDE: Eliza Frakes and Ken Yoshikawa in Maz and Bricks.
The Irish Hello The uncomfortable companionship of Maz and Bricks. BY M O R G A N S H AU N E T T E
It’s 2017 and two 20-something strangers are riding the Luas light rail train through Dublin. Maz (Eliza Frakes) is a sardonic activist coming to the city to protest in hopes of repealing Ireland’s Eighth Amendment, which criminalizes abortion. Bricks (Ken Yoshikawa) is an aimless hooligan looking forward to taking his daughter to the zoo. There’s an obvious divide between these two very different people, but there’s a connection, too—something unspoken that’s leading them both toward introspection and heartbreaking revelations. Written by Eva O’Connor, Maz and Bricks—currently onstage at Corrib Theatre—is, above all else, a plea for empathy and understanding among disparate people. It was written in the run-up to Ireland’s repeal of the Eighth Amendment, but director Melody Erfani has drawn a clear line between the play and the efforts by certain American lawmakers to overturn Roe v. Wade any way they can. “Being set in Ireland,” she writes in the show’s program, “I feel the play gives us the distance to really experience the fight for bodily autonomy without so directly addressing the reopened wounds of our current turmoil.” After departing the Luas and going their separate ways, Maz and Bricks deliver monologues that give the audience a play-by-play of their respective paths. They describe, in rhyming verse, going about their business while reenacting the conversations they have with other people. 30
Willamette Week DECEMBER 22, 2021 wweek.com
Frakes and Yoshikawa are the only actors who appear onstage, but the audience never feels underwhelmed or left in the lurch. The two demonstrate a clear understanding that their characters are more than just words on a page. They ably bring Maz and Bricks to life with pathos, humanity and chemistry that feels real and grounded in spite of the play’s abstractions. The set—a weathered brick road that ramps upward at one end, a park bench with a faded teal paint job, yellow bars and railings, and an ordinary trash can—is a character in its own right. There’s a lived-in quality that scenic designer Kyra Sanford brings to the show, offering just enough detail to make the set instantly recognizable, but malleable enough to act as a light rail train, a Capel Street pub, or the Rosie Hackett Bridge. If there’s a misstep in Maz and Bricks, it’s that the abortion debate takes a backseat in the story as the play goes on. Maz is a vocally pro-choice feminist, having had an abortion herself shortly after her 17th birthday, and O’Connor never questions or doubts her beliefs or her convictions. Bricks, by contrast, is vaguely pro-life and casually dismisses the protesters at first, but is quickly drawn in by their passion and their creed. There’s never any real debate between the two characters about bodily autonomy because, according to the play, the debate isn’t worth having: Maz is right and the other side isn’t. I can’t say I disagree with the sentiment, but it doesn’t make for the most compelling and nuanced social commentary. Maz and Bricks mostly focuses on the eponymous pair’s trauma and the different
ways they deal with it. Maz is a powder keg of raw anger ready to burst at any injustice, and while her rage against a backward system is clearly justified, it’s also a defense mechanism. Without her anger, all Maz is left with is the lingering pain of the abusive home she ran away from. It’s all too easy for her to succumb to self-loathing and desperation. Bricks, on the other hand, is doing his darndest to bury his trauma by ignoring it completely. He attempts to go on, business as usual, partying and sleeping around while maintaining his commitments to sobriety and his role as a parent, but it’s clear his grief over a brother’s suicide still weighs him down and he can’t escape it, no matter how hard he tries. Maz and Bricks isn’t really about the debate over abortion rights. Rather, it’s about how we deal with pain and with whom we deal with it. Whenever one of the youngsters launches into a monologue, the other freezes in place, awkwardly standing still as a statue while separate, internal conversations play out around them. Despite their differences in location, in motivation, in ideology, Maz and Bricks aren’t alone in their anguish. Whether they realize it or not, these two kids need each other, because nobody makes it through this thing called life on their own. SEE IT: Maz and Bricks plays at the Boiler Room, Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, 1620 SW Park Ave., 503-389-0579, corribtheatre.org. 7:30 pm Thursday Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, through March 13. $30.
Twenty years ago, Boards of Canada put out Geogaddi, a dark, frightening ambient-electronic classic that seems to embody all the dread secrets of the world. The Scots’ abiding interest in cults, numbers stations, UFOs and secret military projects seems to have less to do with fringe paranoia than the understanding that in a world as vast as ours, you can hide just about anything. If you’re ever driving down a highway past big, mysterious radar dishes, put on this album and let your mind inflame with possibilities.
SOMETHING NEW
Stranded in the U.S. during the pandemic, young Kenyan artist Nyokabi Kariuki used field recordings and dramatic vocal layering to create an audio impression of her home country. Peace Places: Kenyan Memories is one of the most idyllic-sounding electronic albums in recent memory, calm and peaceful while still brimming with all manner of life. Dialogue in several Kenyan languages washes together with outdoor ambience, the chirping of local fauna and Kariuki’s whimsical melodic sensibilities.
SOMETHING LOCAL
Yeat might be the only white rapper out of Lane County who sounds like he’s never heard a Tribe Called Quest album—or anything before 2020, when Playboi Carti put out Whole Lotta Red. The 21-year-old’s vocal-frying delivery and grayscale beats are drawn directly from that album, though Yeat’s a little less nihilistic and more of a straight-ahead party-starter. His new album 2 Alivë might not change anyone’s mind who claims “hip-hop doesn’t live in Lake Oswego,” but at least he’s having fun with it.
SOMETHING ASKEW
High school culture meets high culture on Teenage Lotano, comprising two pieces by Marina Rosenfeld performed by teenage vocalists on phones—a much-maligned image that Rosenfeld shows remarkable empathy by centering in her work. The title track adapts Ligeti’s Lontano, with the teenagers’ voices distorted and bounced around by a rotating loudspeaker. “Roygbiv&B,” meanwhile, consists of disembodied lines from R&B songs that these kids might sing to each other in high school hallways.
SCREENER
MOVIES
Editor: Bennett Campbell Ferguson Contact: bennett@wweek.com
G ET YO U R R E P S I N
Hayward Hopes Forty years after its release, the Oregon track drama Personal Best has a fascinating and unsettling legacy.
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
In indie cinema pioneer John Cassavetes’ masterpiece, a woman (his real-life wife, Gena Rowlands) is…under the influence. Of alcohol, mental health issues, the Problem That Has No Name, etc. Her blue-collar husband (Peter Falk) has her committed for the sake of their children, irrevocably changing their marriage. Screens as part of the Clinton’s John Cassavetes Retrospective. Clinton, March 3.
BY C H A N C E S O L E M - P F E I F E R @chance_ s _ p
For better and worse, there are no other sports movies like Personal Best. Released 40 years ago last month, the 1982 Oregon-set track drama is both progressive and regressive, exhilarating and aimless— and obsesses over leg muscles with both worship and perversion. Featuring key scenes at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, Personal Best follows teenage hurdler Chris Cahill (Mariel Hemingway), who is caught between the influence of her pentathlete lover Tory (Patrice Donnelly) and her domineering coach (Scott Glenn). Despite having legendary Hollywood scribe Robert Towne (Chinatown, The Last Detail) at the helm and raves from Siskel and Ebert, the film face-planted upon its release in 1982. It’s not hard to retrace why. The film is an overly long remnant of meandering, character-driven New Hollywood dotage, born into a steroidal sports movie era epitomized by Rocky III that same spring. With a production addled by cocaine, lawsuits and overspending, Personal Best is a frenzy of contradictions. Towne was an unparalleled writer who struggled mightily to direct. The film treats its central queer relationship between Chris and Tory with affectionate calm but soon abandons it. Its track scenes are breathtaking (emphasis on the *breath* that resonates unforgettably in the sound design) but with meager stakes. To top it off, the movie’s best performance comes from the charmingly natural Donnelly, a world-class pentathlete who’d never acted. Then there’s the messy business of Personal Best’s favorite character—legs. When famed Oregon track coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman initially rebuked the production and the university deemed the script “objectionable” (as reported in a 1982 Sports Illustrated article by marathoner-turned-Personal Best actor Kenny Moore), they couldn’t have had any idea its most provocative element would be the camerawork. On the one hand, cinematographers Michael Chapman (fresh off Raging Bull), Caleb Deschanel and Rey Villalobos capture athletic motion as nothing short of empyrean. Hurdlers suspend midair like condors. Quadriceps gleam and ripple in close-ups. A crucial shot-putting sequence is directed flip-book style, cutting across six throwers at different stages of tension and release, like Da Vinci’s anatomy sketches come alive. Simultaneously, the movie’s objectification of these same women is absurd, akin to the skeeziest possible version of ESPN The Magazine’s The Body Issue. The worst offender is a high-jump montage viewed from between the jumpers’ legs directly at the crotch. Furthermore, nude steam room scenes meant to convey bodily comfort and camaraderie appear imagined
Fallen Angels (1995)
Wong Kar-Wai directs this Hong Kong-set crime drama split into two mostly unrelated stories (much like Chungking Express, one of his earlier films). One is about a hit man named Wong Chi-ming looking to leave the business, and the other follows a prison escapee who lives in Wong’s partner’s apartment building. Clinton, March 4. TAKING FLIGHT: Mariel Hemingway and Patrice Donnelly in Personal Best.
by a teenage peeper with his eye to a keyhole. Perhaps not coincidentally, Peter Biskind reports in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls that Towne and the actresses spent ample time using cocaine in steam rooms during the production (which the director denies). What Towne does capture credibly is the endless monotony, anxiety and conflict of training. Portrayed here, amateur athletics is a breeding ground for abuse of the body and soul. Coach Tingloff (Glenn) emotionally and sexually manipulates Chris and Tory for the alleged purpose of on-track dominance—a theme still resonating today. Last year supplied two acclaimed indie films on the subject, The Novice and Slalom. And four decades later, one doesn’t even have to leave Oregon to find a track coach, Alberto Salazar, banned for physically and sexually abusing female athletes. Of course, the movie would deserve more credit for this foresight if it weren’t shot through the gaze of an obsessive, covetous coach. With yet another paradox in tow, Personal Best has aged into an Icarian artifact—betrayed by the height of its appreciation for bodies. It’s worth nothing Towne’s directing style gradually changed. By the time he returned to Oregon to direct the Steve Prefontaine biopic Without Limits 15 years later, the druggy, voyeuristic fixations of Personal Best were sanded off. Perhaps the film’s legacy lies in one anticlimactic line, just after its brilliant 800-meter finale. As Chris and Tory ascend the podium at the 1980 Olympic trials, commentator Charlie Jones offers an ironic insight. With the United States boycotting the Moscow Olympics, these victorious pentathletes are “all dressed up with nowhere to go.” Any glory for Chris and Tory was merely in the athlete’s war against herself and the toxic rigors of her sport. Forty years later, Personal Best should know that feeling. It’s the best-looking, occasionally riveting sports movie you’ll ever see trapped in a dead heat with its own ugly faults.
Girlfriends (1978)
Before Girls and Greta Gerwig probed the highs and lows of New York City women and their relationships, there was Claudia Weill’s dramedy Girlfriends. When her best friend moves out of their apartment to live with her boyfriend, photographer Susan grapples with her newfound loneliness, as well as her Jewish identity. 5th Avenue, March 4-6.
Ran (1985)
Akira Kurosawa reimagines Shakespeare’s King Lear (and, unofficially and anachronistically, Succession) as a historical epic set in medieval Japan. When an aging warlord decides to retire, he divides his kingdom among his three sons, but the sudden shift in power causes them to turn on each other, and him. One of three Kurosawa films the Hollywood is screening this weekend—see the others (in 35 mm) below! Hollywood, March 4 and 7.
The Beaches of Agnès (2008)
This penultimate documentary by Agnès Varda, the Godmother of the French New Wave, is a thoughtful autobiographical reflection on her wholly unique and colorful life. Features photographs, film clips, interviews, reenactments, and droll, playful contemporary scenes of Varda herself narrating her story. Clinton, March 7.
ALSO PLAYING: Academy: Purple Rain (1984), March 2-3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), March 2-3. Clinton: Phantasm (1979), March 3. Juliette of the Spirits (1965), March 4. Jubilee (1978), March 6. Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (2015), March 8. Hollywood: Dersu Uzala (1975), March 5-6. Kagemusha (1980), March 5-6. Shaolin vs. Lama (1983), March 8.
SEE IT: Personal Best streams on Amazon, Apple TV+, Google Play, and Vudu. It is also available to rent at Movie Madness. Willamette Week MARCH 2, 2022 wweek.com
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MOVIES OUR KEY
TOP PICK OF THE WEEK
: THIS MOVIE IS EXCELLENT, ONE OF THE BEST OF THE YEAR. : THIS MOVIE IS GOOD. WE RECOMMEND YOU WATCH IT. : THIS MOVIE IS ENTERTAINING BUT FLAWED. : THIS MOVIE IS A STEAMING PILE.
he tore into the Batman mythos with fervor, whereas Reeves just seems to be lackadaisically marinating in misery—especially when the film attempts an embarrassingly halfhearted critique of Bruce and the rest of Gotham’s 1 percent. What’s dead all over? The Batman. PG-13. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bagdad, Cedar Hills, Cinema 21, Cinemagic, City Center, Eastport, Fox Tower, Laurelhurst, Lloyd Center, Pioneer Place, St. Johns, St. Johns Twin, Studio One, Tigard.
CYRANO
Drive My Car After you see Drive My Car, you will never look at snow, suspension bridges or stages the same way again. When you see the world through the searching eyes of director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, there is no such thing as mere scenery. There is only the living fabric of the places and objects that envelop Yûsuke (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Misaki (Tôko Miura), whose compassion and complexity are a world unto themselves. Most of the film is set in Hiroshima, where Yûsuke is directing a production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Misaki is assigned to be his driver, but their relationship transcends the divide between the front seat and the back. During drives, conversations and surreal yet strangely believable adventures, their reserve gradually erodes as they reveal their losses and their inner lives to each other, building to a cathartic climax that leaves you at once shattered and soaring. The film, based on a novella by Haruki Murakami, isn’t afraid to face the agony of grief and loneliness, but Hamaguchi’s obvious love for his characters suffuses the entire journey with life-giving warmth. A tender, hopeful coda set during the pandemic could have been cringe-worthy, but like every moment of the movie, it’s worth believing in because Hamaguchi’s sincerity is beyond question. “We must keep on living,” Yûsuke tells Misaki. With those words, he speaks not only to her but to us. NR. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Fox Tower.
DOG
Dog follows the basic road-trip structure that audiences have known since The Odyssey, but when you like who you’re riding with, that’s irrelevant. The film stars an infectiously charming Channing Tatum as Jackson Briggs, a former Army Ranger, and a beautiful Belgian Malinois dog named Lulu (played by three different dogs) who accompanies Briggs down the Pacific coast to the funeral of a fellow soldier. Along the way, they encounter a colorful collage of characters and misadventures that strengthen their bond. In contrast to some cringeworthy scenes featuring on-the-nose political commentary, the matter-of-fact way the film handles the effects of trauma is extremely powerful—there’s no pandering as you watch both man and dog deal with their pain in the quiet way that so many are forced to. As the co-director of Dog, Tatum proves that no one knows how to use him as well as he does— and makes the film a treat for anyone who’s ever had a pet with a lot of “personality” and a fun ride for anyone else who wants to come along. PG-13. RAY GILL JR. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Evergreen Parkway, Lloyd Center, Mill Plain, Pioneer Place, Progress Ridge, Studio One, Tigard, Vancouver Plaza.
32
KIMI
The latest from director Steven Soderbergh, Hollywood’s most prolific shape-shifter, opens with a swipe at relevance. Locked in her Seattle apartment with crippling pandemic anxiety, tech worker Angela Childs (Zoë Kravitz) discovers a Kimi recording (think Siri or Alexa) of a possible violent crime. By reporting it, she’s thrust into a spiral of tech malfeasance: shady IPOs, hackers and surveillance. But once the movie’s thriller elements accelerate, David Koepp’s script resorts to tired tropes, borrowing shamelessly from Rear Window, Blow Out, The Firm and even Koepp’s own Panic Room screenplay. No points for originality, but Soderbergh’s eternal wit and curiosity elevate the material. He portrays Kimi (voiced by Betsy Brantley) as both latent and central—a paradoxically powerful MacGuffin—while visually and thematically capturing Angela’s domestic existence. She’s curated a stylish, spacious, gentrified apartment (complete with untouched vinyl, guitars and gathering areas), but for all her elegant taste, the animating force in her world is Kimi, a pink gadget identical to millions of others. Clear-eyed tech observations suit Soderbergh, who’s traded Ocean’s romps and Oscars for intelligent, inexpensive streaming efforts (No Sudden Move, Let Them All Talk)
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that drop without fanfare every eight months or so. If Kimi’s best moments keenly probe the behavior of the housebound, it’s no wonder. In 2022, that’s where Soderbergh finds us all. R. CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER. HBO Max.
THE BATMAN
“What’s black and blue and dead all over?” In The Batman, the Riddler (Paul Dano) poses that question to the Dark Knight (Robert Pattinson), but blacks and blues don’t figure into the film much—visually, morally and emotionally, it’s a gray movie. While director Matt Reeves brought a majestic mournfulness to the Planet of the Apes series, he seems utterly lost in Gotham City. His nearly threehour film is less a narrative than a mechanistic survey of a political conspiracy that the Riddler wants to expose—the story starts after the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents not just because we’ve seen it before, but because Reeves is more interested in plot than pathos. Even the soulful, sultry presence of Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman can’t liven up the film—she and the Batman flirt so chastely that if it weren’t for a few F-bombs and clumsily staged fight scenes, Reeves could have easily gotten away with a G rating from the Motion Picture Association. When Christopher Nolan was directing the Dark Knight trilogy,
Cyrano de Bergerac, 19th century French playwright Edmond Rostand’s soul-devouring saga of wit and beauty, is a tragedy, but not because it ends with a death. It’s about the tragedy of things unsaid, which is why it’s bizarre that playwright Erica Schmidt and members of The National reimagined it as a stage musical. A play about characters failing to express themselves hardly suits the most expressive of all genres, but that didn’t stop director Joe Wright, who has transformed Schmidt’s baffling revision into a baffling film. Peter Dinklage perfectly embodies Cyrano’s swashbuckling flair and punishing selfdoubt, but he’s no match for the deadening lyrics of the songs, which feature flimsy platitudes like “I need more!” and unintentionally laughable laments like “So take this letter to my wife and tell her that I loved my life.” What little power the film possesses comes from its cast, which includes Haley Bennett as Roxanne, who Cyrano loves in silence. Almost 15 years ago, Bennett stole the spotlight from Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore with her portrayal of an ethereal pop princess in Music and Lyrics, but her charisma harmonizes seamlessly with Dinklage’s in Cyrano. The songs may stink, but with dialogue and emotions, the actors create a duet of yearning and regret that could make Rostand’s ghost weep. PG-13. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Cedar Hills, Cinema 21, Eastport, Clackamas, Laurelhurst, Living Room, Progress Ridge, Studio One.
DEATH ON THE NILE
Movies based on Agatha Christie’s novels always disappoint. However elegantly constructed her puzzles, the quiet pleasures of identifying the murderer from a trifling detail rarely survive cinematic adaptations for the same reason that crosswords aren’t turned into feature films. To that end, director and star Kenneth Branagh somewhat miraculously wrung global commercial success from the ponderous, antiseptic tedium of Murder on the Orient Express (2017) through little more than relentless mustache-twirling and a
rogue Belgian accent so lovingly showcased that it practically deserved separate billing. He’s back in the lead role and the director’s chair with Death on the Nile, which crams an enviable, ill-used cast of suspects (Russell Brand, Gal Godot, Annette Bening, Arnie Hammer, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders) into another archaic emblem of colonial travel. For reasons unclear, Branagh’s semi-depraved epicurean twinkle has curdled toward an oversated misanthropy—even his joy upon spotting dear chum/eventual murder suspect Bouc (Tom Bateman, also reprising his Orient Express role) seems like a practiced affect. Should he return for a third whodunit—Slaughter Aboard the Burmese Dirigible or some such—this dark new Poirot (Noirot?) ought to be interested in why. PG-13. JAY HORTON. Bagdad, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Eastport, Evergreen Parkway, Fox Tower, Laurelhurst, Living Room, Lloyd Center, Mill Plain, St. Johns, Tigard, Vancouver Plaza.
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
In the most memorable scene in The Worst Person in the World, Julie (Renate Reinsve) farts in front of Eivind (Herbert Nordrum). It’s not an accident—the two are engaged in an erotic game fueled by embarrassment—or a mere bodily function. The scene is a cornerstone of Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s quest to create a romantic comedy that scorches the fairy-tale sheen off the genre, much as he cut against horror-movie sadism with the satisfyingly soulful Thelma (2017). The Worst Person in the World follows Julie, who works in a bookstore in Oslo, as she wavers between two suitors—Eivind, a perky barista, and Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), a pompous cartoonist. Like her go-nowhere career, her love life is perpetually in limbo, which is both Trier’s point and his problem. He has made a film about aimlessness that is also an aimless film, complete with an unwieldy screenplay divided into chapters—what will it take for filmmakers to abandon that cumbersome gimmick?—and a twist that suggests he secretly wants the entire film to be about Aksel, whose cringeworthy sexism is ultimately overshadowed by a tragic revelation. Trier works mightily to make us understand Aksel’s all too human contradictions, an act of empathy that allows the character to hijack the film. Neither Julie nor Aksel is the worst person in the world, but only one of them has Trier’s full attention. R. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Cinema 21, Clackamas, Laurelhurst, Living Room, Progress Ridge.
JONESIN’
FREE WILL
B Y M AT T J O N E S
“It’s Getting Dark”--but it’s supposed to do that.
ASTROLOGY ARIES
(March 21-April 19): Aries author Isak Dinesen defined “true piety” as “loving one’s destiny unconditionally.” That’s a worthy goal for you to aspire to in the coming weeks. I hope you will summon your deepest reserves of ingenuity and imagination as you cultivate a state of mind in which you adore your life just as it is. You won’t compare it negatively to anyone else’s fate, and you won’t wish it were different from what it actually is. Instead, you will be pleased and at peace with the truth of exactly who you are right now.
TAURUS
(April 20-May 20): As author Mary Ruefle points out, “In the beginning, William Shakespeare was a baby, and knew absolutely nothing. He couldn’t even speak.” And yet eventually, he became a literary superstar—among history’s greatest authors. What happened in between? I’m not exaggerating when I attribute part of the transformation to magic. Vast amounts of hard work and help and luck were involved, too. But to change from a wordless, uncoordinated sprout to a potent, influential maestro, Taurus-born Shakespeare had to be the beneficiary of mysterious powers. I bring this up, Taurus, because I think you will have access to comparable mojo during the next four weeks.
GEMINI
ACROSS
55. “American Dad!” employer
and Gasteyer
1. They’re part of the vinyl solution?
57. Primary impact
31. Company shake-up, for short
4. Young of AC/DC
61. Layer discussed in “An Inconvenient Truth”
9. “Guernica” painter Picasso
62. Pull some strings?
14. Alley-_ _ _ (basketball maneuver)
64. Maryland home of the U.S. Army Field Band
15. Million-_ _ _ odds
66. Kitchen range
16. “I speak for the trees” speaker
67. Like Lamb Chop or Shaun
17. Win-win deal
68. Chess’s _ _ _ Lopez opening
19. Still around
69. Hurting more
20. Conclusion of “Hamilton”
70. Chimney deposits
21. Discussion need
71. Refreshing resort
23. Grandma, across the Atlantic
DOWN
24. Seasonal reason to get a shot
1. Like some yogurt, informally
26. Quite
3. “In _ _ _ of it all ...”
28. Not built in a home workshop, perhaps
4. Leader of the Huns
33. _ _ _ Spaghetti (Detroit restaurant co-owned by Eminem) 36. Bard’s instrument 37. 2021 singer of “Easy On Me” 39. “Xanadu” rockers 40. Film editing technique, or what the edges of the theme answers represent 42. “Bloody _ _ _!” (Cockney outburst)
2. Cook eggs, in a way
5. “Conjunction Junction” conjunction 6. First-ballot Hall of Famer, presumably 7. Go back, in a way 8. Move like groundwater 9. It may get colored in at dinner 10. “You’ve got mail!” ISP 11. Where pirate ships sink, poetically 12. Obsidian source
43. Florida critter
13. “Oregon Trail” creatures
45. Guitarist Benjamin and hockey player Bobby
18. Jazz motifs
46. It may be trapped in a filter
25. Stanford rival
47. Old-timey emergency service provider 50. Go off course 51. Comes along
22. Climbing vine 27. “Excellent” 29. Henry VII or Henry VIII, for instance
32. Self-titled 1969 jazz album 33. Former eBay chief Whitman 34. Current chancellor of Germany Scholz 35. Person who gets you going 38. Street of horror fame 40. Part of a pub concert promotion, perhaps 41. Insurance provider to mil. families 44. Bauxite, e.g. 46. Jump on, as an opportunity 48. “It’s too chilly!” 49. Suffixes that go with stadiums 52. Gets really high 53. Reach a conclusion 54. “Byeeee” 55. Utter some discouraging words 56. Keen on 58. Tabloid craft 59. Porto-_ _ _ (capital of Benin) 60. Small music group 63. “_ _ _ Been Everywhere” 65. Sticks around for a real blast? last week’s answers
(May 21-June 20): As talented and financially successful as Kanye West is, the Gemini singer-songwriter experiences a lot of emotional suffering. But no one lives an ideal life, right? And we can learn from everyone. In any case, I’ve chosen quotes by Kanye that are in rapt alignment with your astrological omens. Here they are: 1. “I’m in pursuit of awesomeness; excellence is the bare minimum.” 2. “You’re not perfect, but you’re not your mistakes.” 3. “I’m not comfortable with comfort. I’m only comfortable when I’m in a place where I’m constantly learning and growing.” 4. “Everything I’m not makes me everything I am.”
CANCER
(June 21-July 22): “Any real ecstasy is a sign you are moving in the right direction,” wrote philosopher Saint Teresa of Avila, who was renowned for her euphoric spiritual experiences. So is there any such thing as “fake ecstasy,” as she implies? Maybe fake ecstasy would be perverse bliss at the misfortune of an enemy, or the trivial joy that comes from realizing your house keys aren’t missing. Real ecstasy, on the other hand, might arise from a visceral sense of the presence of God, or the rapture that emerges as you make love with a person you care for, or the elation you feel when you commune with your favorite animal. Anyway, Cancerian, I predict that in the coming days, you will have an extra rich potential for the real kinds of rhapsodic delight and enchantment.
LEO
(July 23-Aug. 22): Leo actor Jennifer Lawrence portrayed a rugged, fierce, resourceful champion in The Hunger Games film trilogy. In real life, however, she has few resemblances to that stalwart hero. “I have the street smarts and survival skills of a poodle,” she has confessed. But I’ve got potentially good news for her and all the rest of you Leos. The coming months will be a favorable time for you to cultivate the qualities of a rugged, fierce, resourceful champion. And right now would be an excellent time to launch your efforts.
VIRGO
(Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Each of us periodically has to deal with conflict. There come times when we must face the fact that a specific situation in our lives isn’t working well and needs to be adjusted, fixed, or transformed. We might prefer to pretend the problem doesn’t exist. We may be inclined to endure the stressful discomfort rather than engage with its causes. But such an approach won’t be right for you in the coming days, dear Virgo. For the sake of your mental and spiritual health, you have a sacred duty to bravely risk a struggle to improve things. I’ll provide you with advice from novelist John Fowles. He said, “I must fight with my weapons. Not his. Not selfishness and brutality and shame and resentment.” Fowles goes on to say that he will offer generosity and gentleness and no-shame and forgiveness.
WEEK OF MARCH 10
© 2022 ROB BREZSNY
LIBRA
(Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A blogger named MysteryOfWhat expressed appreciation for her errors and wrong turns. “I love all my mistakes!” she exclaimed. “I had fun!” She has a theory that she would not have been able to completely fulfill her interesting destiny without her blunders and her brilliant adjustments to those blunders. I won’t encourage you to be quite so boisterously unconditional in celebrating your fumbles and miscues, Libra. My inclination is to urge you to honor them and feel grateful for them, but I’m not sure I should advise you to shout out, “I love all my mistakes! I had fun!” But what do you think?
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio poet Norman
MacCaig wrote, “Ask me, go on, ask me to do something impossible, something freakishly useless, something unimaginable and inimitable like making a finger break into blossom or walking for half an hour in twenty minutes or remembering tomorrow.” I hope people say things like that to you soon, Scorpio. I hope allies playfully nudge you to stretch your limits, expand your consciousness, and experiment on the frontier. To encourage such a development, you could do the same for your beloved allies: nudge them to stretch their limits, expand their consciousness, and experiment on the frontier.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Look at your
body not as a source of physical attraction but as a shrine,” wrote teacher Sobonfu Somé. Personally, I have no problem if you regard your body as a source of physical attraction—as a gorgeous, radiant expression of your life energy, worthy of inspiring the appreciation of others. But I agree with Somé that you should also treat your body as a sacred sanctuary deserving of your reverence— especially now. Please boost your intention to provide your beloved organism with all the tender care it needs and warrants.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “It’s surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time,” writes author Barbara Kingsolver. Yes! I agree. And by providing you with this heads-up from her, I’m hoping that the subtly potent events unfolding for you in the coming weeks will not go unnoticed. I’m hoping you will be alert for seemingly small but in fact crucial developments—and thereby give them all the focus and intelligence they deserve. Later, you’ll remember this delicately pivotal time with amazed gratitude.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): What’s more
important: to learn or to unlearn? The answer, of course, is they are equally important. But sometimes, the most crucial preparation for a new learning phase is to initiate a surge of unlearning. That’s what I’m recommending for you right now. I foresee you embarking on a series of extravagant educational experiences in a couple of weeks. And the best way to ensure you take maximum advantage of the available lessons is by dumping useless knowledge and irrelevant information and numbing habits.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Singer-songwriter
Jill Scott has earned one platinum and two gold records. She approaches her craft with diligence and intensity. On one occasion, she was frying a burger at her boyfriend’s house when she sensed a new song forming in her imagination. Abandoning the stove, she ran into the next room to grab pen and paper. Soon she had transcribed the beginning of a melody and lyrics. In the meantime, though, the kitchen caught on fire. Luckily, she doused it. Later Jill testified, “His cabinets were charred, and he was furious. But it was worth it for a song.” I don’t think you’ll have to make as big a sacrifice as hers in the coming days, Pisces. But you should respond robustly whenever inspiration arrives.
Homework: Every day for three days, seek out three experiences that will make you laugh a lot. Report results: Newsletter. FreeWillAstrology.com
30. “SNL” castmate of Ferrell
©2021 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 #JNZ990.
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