NEWS
WILLAMETTE WEEK PORTLAND’S NEWSWEEKLY
LANDLORDS GET THE FINAL SAY ON RENT CONTROL. P. 9
“R. KELLY. NEVA. EVA.” P. 32
CRUSH
WE’RE WITNESSING THE BIRTH OF A WILD AND WONDERFUL NEW OREGON WINE. B Y J O R DA N M I C H E L M A N
PAGE 13
VOL 43/16 2 .15. 201 7
WHAT BRIDGEPORT’S HUGE SALES SLIDE MEANS FOR LOCAL BEER. P. 23
NEW FORGET M O M ’ S P I N O T.
WWEEK.COM
FOOD
YO U R LY K E WE PERK
IT ’ S H FR E S
wweek.com
2
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
FINDINGS
PAGE 18
WHAT WE LEARNED FROM READING THIS WEEK’S PAPER VOL. 43, ISSUE 16.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, who was a hardcore Bernie Bro, is excited about at least one of Trump’s policy objectives. 7
The dude from Cloud Nothings is nostalgic for the era when bands accidentally got famous on the internet. 26
The elderly white man representing East Portland in the state Senate is begging (begging!) to get primaried. 9
The nice thing about DJing a party for Michael Moore is that if you’re not getting paid, you can bounce and he’ll hold you down. 32
We finally have sushi burritos. 22
Portland is now home to the CBGB of kindie rock . 33
BridgePort Brewing has lost nearly half its local sales in the past four years. 23
ON THE COVER:
You can have a really diverse lineup of black comedians. 34
OUR MOST TRAFFICKED STORY ONLINE THIS WEEK:
Brianne Day photographed by Christine Dong.
One of our senators read an old letter.
STAFF Editor & Publisher Mark Zusman EDITORIAL News Editor Aaron Mesh Arts & Culture Editor Martin Cizmar Staff Writers Nigel Jaquiss, Rachel Monahan, Corey Pein Copy Chief Rob Fernas Copy Editors Matt Buckingham, Nicole Groessel, Maya McOmie, Stage Editor Shannon Gormley Screen Editor Walker MacMurdo Projects Editor Matthew Korfhage Music Editor Matthew Singer
Web Editor Sophia June Books Zach Middleton Visual Arts Jennifer Rabin Editorial Interns Tarra Martin, Piper McDaniel CONTRIBUTORS Dave Cantor, Nathan Carson, Pete Cottell, Peter D’Auria, Jay Horton, Jordan Michelman, Jack Rushall, Chris Stamm, Mark Stock PRODUCTION Production Manager Dylan Serkin Art Director Julie Showers Special Sections Art Director Alyssa Walker Graphic Designers Tricia Hipps, Rick Vodicka
Our mission: Provide Portlanders with an independent and irreverent understanding of how their worlds work so they can make a difference.
Willamette Week is published weekly by
Though Willamette Week is free, please take just one copy. Anyone removing papers in bulk from our distribution points will be prosecuted, as they say, to the full extent of the law.
Main line phone: (503) 243-2122 fax: (503) 243-1115
City of Roses Media Company 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210.
Classifieds phone: (503) 223-1500 fax: (503) 223-0388
Photography Interns Julian Alexander, Aubrey Gigandet Design/Illustration Intern Rosie Struve ADVERTISING Director of Advertising Iris Meyers Display Account Executives Michael Donhowe, Kevin Friedman, Sarah Mason, Corinne Nelson, Kyle Owens, Matt Plambeck, Sharri Regan, Sam Wild Classifieds Account Executive Matt Plambeck Promotions Manager Alie Kilts COMMUNITY OUTREACH Events Director Steph Barnhart Give!Guide Director Mahala Ray
DISTRIBUTION Circulation Director Spencer Winans WWEEK.COM Web Production Brian Panganiban OPERATIONS Accounting Manager Chris Petryszak Credit Manager Shawn Wolf AR/Credit Assistant Rebekah Jones Accounting Assistant Kelsey Young Associate Publisher Jane Smith
Willamette Week welcomes freelance submissions. Send material to either News Editor or Arts Editor. Manuscripts will be returned if you include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. To be considered for calendar listings, notice of events must be received in writing by noon Wednesday, two weeks before publication. Send to Calendar Editor. Photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Questions concerning circulation or subscription inquiries should be directed to Spencer Winans at Willamette Week. Postmaster: Send all address changes to Willamette Week, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Subscription rates: One year $100, six months $50. Back issues $5 for walk-ins, $8 for mailed requests when available.
Willamette Week is mailed at third-class rates. Association of Alternative Newsmedia. This newspaper is published on recycled newsprint using soy-based ink.
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
3
SALEM’S HOLD ON RENT CONTROL
Do you want slumlords? Because this is how you get slumlords [“Out of Control,” WW, Feb. 8, 2017]. Rent control is one of those things that sounds convenient but ends up hurting renters more than it helps. Republicans and moderate Democrats are right to worry how close this is to socialism, as it most often leads to huge disparities between supply and demand. —Drew Millegan We are in a serious housing crisis. I just moved here from Salem, and it took me many months to find a decent place to rent. It seems like rent control is a solid start. —Beth Springer Rent control is so short-sighted and only scores political merit badges. Economists are virtually unanimous in their opposition to rent control. —“Coop”
PARKS FACING LEGAL LIABILITY
I appreciate trial lawyers’ work to compensate victims of negligence, but their arguments here are disgusting [“Adventure Time,” WW, Feb. 8, 2017]. A class action suit may be warranted against the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association for cases of childhood diabetes, obesity, heart disease and other negative health effects Portlanders will suffer from as a result of OTLA’s discouragement of outdoor activities. —“stephenomist” It sounds like we need to speak with our representatives to keep the ambulance chasers from ruining our recreational opportunities. —Craig Collins
“Rent control sounds convenient but ends up hurting renters.”
Don’t buy into the “rent control constricts supply and forces up prices for everyone else” argument. If a renter is constricting supply by staying long-term in a rental, then he is also constricting demand by not rejoining the renter pool. Equal offset. —“JS”
LATINOS PRICED OUT OF MARKET
We have more people wanting to live in Portland than there are housing units here [“Costly Sanctuary,” WW, Feb. 8, 2017]. Unless and until we fix that, we will continue to have a large number of people priced out of housing. —“Pdan”
THE CHEESE RUNS ALONE
I have a major issue with your best mac-and-cheese list [“Cheese, Pleez,” WW, Feb. 8, 2017]. Since the list was based on being stoned, I can grudgingly accept that you left off any health or environmental concerns with those products. I cannot, however, overlook the inclusion of Velveeta—in the top spot nonetheless! Everyone knows that stuff gives you terrible diarrhea. I have friends who have literally shit their pants on a bike ride after eating that stuff. As I assume you only took a single bite of everything on your list, I dare you to eat a whole bowl of Velveeta and prove me wrong. —Sam Nelson
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.
Who is responsible for my local dispensary not being able to sell me recreational weed? I know it’s because of the glacial OLCC permitting process, but who was the genius that set this rolling catastrophe in motion? —Michael D.
Some background: Up until January, Oregon’s long-standing cohort of medical marijuana dispensaries also sold recreational weed. This was a stopgap measure to shut you up until we could get the statewide network of properly taxed and permitted recreational pot stores up and running. Now that practice has ended—only there aren’t quite as many up-and-running stores as we’d hoped. They’re coming online, but it’s taking a while. Y’know, some people are never happy. For decades, pot advocates promoted state-controlled weed as a great social good: “Just make it legal,” they wheedled. “You can tax and permit it up the wazoo, then watch the money roll in for schools and hospitals and re-education camps.” Now that Mary Jane is finally legal, however, everyone seems to have forgotten that we promised to take her ugly sister Bureaucracy to the prom. Get used to it, bucko. Your weed connection is 4
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
now in the hands of the same folks who brought you the DMV. (It’s an open question whether rebellious teens of the future will think pot is even cool.) But don’t feel sorry for yourself; pity your poor neighborhood weed-shop owner. In my research for this column, I read a number of stories from other outlets about this transition. Not one mentioned the actual fees weed sellers are paying—and it turns out they’re taking it right in the 100 percent-organic-hemp cargo shorts. The state application fee (nonrefundable!) for a retail pot license is $250. If you’re approved, the licensing fee is $4,750. Annually. The city of Portland has its own set of fees: Initial application, $975. Annual license, $4,975. All told, that’s almost 11 grand before you’ve sold your first gluten-free space cake. Applicants could be forgiven for thinking they might have been better off dealing with the cartels. QUESTIONS? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com
426 SE GRAND AVE. PORTLAND, OR. 97214 NEXTADVENTURE.NET 503.233.0706 Deals gooD through 2/20
save some Washingtons for PresiDents Day! 9
$ 99
sAVE 75%
$999
COMpARe AT $25.00
70% OFF msrP
10999
$
ITEms UndEr $20
BUY OF THE WEEK
sAVE 45%
COMpARe AT $40.00
sAVE 60%
COMpARe AT $199.99
Men’s Ripzone Atlas Jacket
Waterproof, insulated snow jacket with removable fur trim on the hood!
2499
$
COMpARe AT $60.00
Liquid Outerwear
Men, women, youth boy’s and youth girl’s snow gear up to 70% off!
2499
$
sAVE 58%
COMpARe AT $60.00
women’s world Famous pod Rain Jacket
Waterproof, breathable rain jacket in purple and black!
3999
Toddler Becker Cire Ski Mittens
Kid’s Acadia Rain Suit
Keep the little one’s hands toasty with these insulated gloves! Boys and girls!
8999
Nylon back PVC rain jacket and pant set durable enough for all conditions!
9999
$
$
COMpARe AT $235.00
COMpARe AT $199.99
COMpARe AT $89.99
sAVE 62%
women’s Outdoor Research Aria Down Jacket
Ultralight down insulation with 650 goose down fill power!
3999
2599
$
$
COMpARe AT $89.99
COMpARe AT $59.99
700 fill packable down jacket comes in navy, black, and melon!
19
$
99
sAVE 50%
COMpARe AT $39.99
Mountain Trails weekender Duffel GET OUTTA TOWN! Pack your gear for less!
sAVE 56%
preschool and Toddler wilderness Technology Down Jackets
700 fill packable down jacket comes in navy, black, and melon!
39
$
99
sAVE 50%
LiST pRiCe $79.99
Seattle Sports navigator Duffel Water resistant and rugged!
55999
$
COMpARe AT $749.99
LiST pRiCe $345.00
sAVE 25% Roxa X Face 120 Ti
Features Intuition liner and techbinding compatibility!
The ultimate 75mm BC touring boot.
3999 sAVE 33%
Rossignol Fat FS pole
Ultra-strong freeride ski pole. LiST pRiCe $130.00
sAVE 31%
All remaining 2016/2017 G3 skis and bindings now 20% off MSRP!
Comes with 2 Happy Lenses. Enhances color, reduces eye fatigue.
Lewis n Clark Lightweight Travel Blanket MMMM... Cozy!
51999
$
25599
$
LiST pRiCe $320.00
sAVE 20% Flow Viper Snowboard Built for progression!
LiST pRiCe $649.99
14999
$
LiST pRiCe $190.00
sAVE 21%
Tubbs Flex RDG Snowshoes Women’s 22” and Men’s 24”.
sAVE 28%
Osprey Stratos 50
Osprey women’s Sirrus 50
Great for travel or trail!
SAVE!
sAVE 30% OFF msrP
sAVE 53% Lewis n Clark Featherlight Toiletry Bag Pack light and save cash!
Black Crows Ski Sale!
ALL 2016/2017 Black Crows skis now 30% off MSRP!
32999
$
sAVE 20% OFF msrP
LiST pRiCe $649.99
sAVE 20% Liberty Origin 106 ‘16/17
Always a good choice for Hood!
sAVE 49% head Big Joy w’s Ski
Scarpa Ski Boot Sale!
Light and nimble W’s ski. 110mm underfoot.
ALL remaining 2016/2017 Scarpa ski boots now 20% off MSRP.
5999
$
7999
$
LiST pRiCe $130.00
sAVE 50% Dragon nFXs Goggle
Three colors to choose from! Each model comes with 2 lenses. LiST pRiCe $50.00
sAVE 20%
sAVE 44%
Quick Dial sizing, MIPS technology, and an in-mold pro fit!
sAVE 28%
6
sAVE 60%
$
Rossignol Rh2 w/ MipS
Spy Ace Goggle
LiST pRiCe $180.00
LiST pRiCe $15.00
3999
8999
$
LiST pRiCe $160.00
12999
$
LiST pRiCe $25.00
sAVE 20% OFF msrP G3 Ski and Binding Sale!
12999
Insulated waterproof snow pant with growing features!
LiST pRiCe $180.00
$ 99
$
LiST pRiCe $59.99
8999
9
sAVE 56%
youth Boy’s Ripzone Strobe pant
$
$ 99
6499
$
$
Slim fitting stretch bottom pants perfect for rock climbing, yoga, running, and bouldering!
sAVE 54% Rossignol BC X 12
3999
COMpARe AT $89.99
youth Girl’s
women’s Black Diamond Levitation Capri
15999
$
sAVE 57%
Waterproof, breathable rain jacket in olive green, black and blue!
$
sAVE 56%
Soft and quiet high performance snow Ripzone Strobe Snow pant jacket with 20k waterproofing and Insulated waterproof snow pant with breathability! growing features!
COMpARe AT $89.99
youth wilderness Technology Down Jackets
sAVE 50%
Men’s Ripzone Camber Jacket
$
sAVE 56%
3999
$
sAVE 58%
Men’s world Famous pod Rain Jacket
Dakine Quick Tune Kit
Everything you need for a tune on the go!
LiST pRiCe $79.99
LiST pRiCe $100.00
sAVE 20%
pret Cynic helmet
In-mold design and adjustable fit dial ensures a great fit!
2499
$
sAVE 44%
LiST pRiCe $45.00
Dragon Lil D
High performance youth goggle with entry level price!
8999
$
$
LiST pRiCe $150.00
LiST pRiCe $80.00
Waterproof, leather and bright!
Bern Baker Team helmet
All brimmed, all season helmet.
4499
$
LiST pRiCe $65.00
sAVE 31%
Giro RG S5
Impact resistant polycarbonate outer shell.
3999
$
3999
sAVE 40% women’s Forsake patch
sAVE 25%
hi Tec hokkaido
sAVE 50%
200 grams of insulation!
LiST pRiCe $80.00
hi Tec niseko
sAVE 50%
200 grams of insulation!
*Deals subject to product availability. Some quantities may be limited.
STAy in The KnOw, GeT TO The SnOw!
Guided Cross Country Ski and Snowshoe trips all winter. Just $50 per person. Sign up at nextadventure.net/outdoor-school.
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
5
JOE RIEDL
MURMURS
KILLED: Quanice Hayes, 17, was fatally shot by a Portland police officer Feb. 9. Hayes’ death during a robbery investigation—police say he carried a fake gun—was the first killing of a black person by Portland police in nearly seven years, and has reignited questions about justice for people of color in this city. “We remember him as a vivacious, outgoing and loving soul who marched at the beat of his own drum,” said Venus Hayes, Quanice’s mother, at a Feb. 12 vigil.
Legislature Looks Into Acquiring Federal Land
Anti-government militant Ammon Bundy is awaiting trial in Nevada, but an Oregon Democrat is giving oxygen to one of Bundy’s favorite ideas: transferring federal lands to state ownership. Oregon House Bill 2365—which would create a task force on federal land transfers—gets a Feb. 16 hearing before the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, chaired by state Rep. Brian Clem (D-Salem). Ironically, the bill arrives at a time when the State Land Board is selling the 82,500-acre Elliott State Forest north of Coos Bay because it is incapable of managing the forest profitably. Clem acknowledges the paradox of contemplating acquiring federal lands while selling the Elliott. But he says the Oregon Board of Forestry, which manages most state forest lands, is more effective than the feds and the Department of State Lands, which manages the Elliott. “The Board of Forestry does a better job—maybe because they are apolitical,” Clem says.
Realtors Break City Lobbying Records
Real estate brokers shattered the record for highest quarterly spending on lobbying of Portland City Hall in the last quarter of 2016, 6
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
newly released disclosure forms show. The Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors spent $150,000 trying unsuccessfully to defeat a new city requirement that homeowners disclose their annual energy use as part of any home sale. The real estate lobby spent the money on a campaign that included polling and direct mail, to rally homeowners to defeat the policy, passed Dec. 14 as one of the final environmental priorities of Mayor Charlie Hales. Ride-hailing giant Uber set the previous lobbying record, spending $50,000 during the second quarter of 2015.
Gov. Kate Brown Cuts Costs on Chief of Staff
Two things that don’t often happen occurred when Nik Blosser replaced Kristen Leonard as Gov. Kate Brown’s chief of staff this month: The cost of government went down and a man got paid less than a woman for equal work. Leonard, who stepped down abruptly after WW raised questions about undisclosed potential conflicts of interest, made $180,552 annually. Blosser, a co-founder of the Oregon Business Association and Chinook Book, is making $168,276. Records show Brown requested a 6.6 percent pay premium for Leonard that applied only to her and not to her position. Brown spokesman Chris Pair declined to comment.
My So-Called Strike
WHO’S IN AND WHO’S OUT FOR AN ANTI-TRUMP DAY OFF.
Want a day off? Don’t like the president? Friday looks like your day. A coalition of activist groups has called for a nationwide general strike Feb. 17, in response to Donald Trump’s radical presidential decrees. Back when radical unions could shut down the entire West Coast, the phrase “general strike” meant something big. This strike, however, is basically a consumer boycott like Buy Nothing Day combined with a pick-an-action protest buffet. Still, it’s a sign of indignant times. COREY PEIN.
WHO’S OUT Organized Labor The most notable exception to the strike: labor unions. “There’s no official statement” on the Feb. 17 protests, Oregon AFL-CIO spokesman Russell Sanders says. Participating in a strike would almost certainly violate various collective bargain-
WHO’S IN Direct Action Alliance
Portland Indivisible
This local protest outfit aims to be a kind of umbrella organization linking disparate groups opposed to Trump. “All of us did learn a pretty good lesson from Occupy,” DAA’s Jacob Bureros says. “People are ready to fight back. What we learned is, we didn’t provide something specific for them to achieve.” Activists will hold a rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square at noon, followed by a “move your money” action targeting banks like Wells Fargo.
In December, a group of obscure Democratic staffer types published an online “Indivisible Guide” intended to reverse-engineer the Tea Party’s successful effort to conquer the Republican Party. A representative of the largest Portland Indivisible group says it supports the strike because it shows resistance to Trump, but the group is mostly focused on pressuring members of Congress.
National Lawyers Guild
Voz Hispana Cambio Comunitario This Woodburn-based immigrant rights group hopes that withholding purchasing power will catch the attention of state and local elected officials. “They say, ‘We love immigrants.’ If I want love, I call my mother,” political director Francisco Lopez tells WW. “They need to do their job. Their job is to protect and defend the residents of this state.”
ing agreements, which would allow employers to sue unions for damages—and win. This is why you may see union members supporting the Feb. 17 actions, but you won’t see any official union endorsement. At a packed Feb. 12 meeting of the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of
These are the people in green hats to call when you get arrested at a protest. “We see our role as to support the movement,” says J. Ashlee Albies, former and acting chairwoman of NLG’s Portland chapter. “If people are on the streets and demonstrating, we try to keep them safe.”
America, hosted at the Service Employees International Union Local 503 hall on Southeast Foster Road, skepticism also reigned regarding Friday’s so-called strike. The divide speaks to old tensions between labor and activist groups. “We’re all learning as
we go. Maybe the word ‘strike’ wasn’t the best,” Don’t Shoot Portland activist Gregory McKelvey tells WW. “But maybe because of President Trump, strikes look different now. Everything else looks different now. We all have a shared goal in resisting President Trump.”
JOE RIEDL
FOUR QUESTIONS FOR
Jeff Merkley U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) made news last week by reading a 30-year-old letter. The letter was penned in 1986 by Coretta Scott King, the civil rights champion and widow of Martin Luther King Jr. It asked the Senate to reject Jeff Sessions as a federal judge, because he had engaged in voter intimidation. That plea became newly relevant as the Senate debated Feb. 7 whether to confirm Sessions, President Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general. (It did.) Senate Republicans squelched Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) from reading the letter by claiming she had broken a rule against “impugning” the reputation of fellow senators.
But Merkley picked up where Warren left off—earning her thanks and cementing his place among the loudest anti-Trump voices on Capitol Hill. COREY PEIN. WW: How did you decide to read Coretta Scott King’s letter? Jeff Merkley: I said, “Can I get a copy?” I got a copy from [Warren]. The sentence she was accosted by the majority leader over was this sentence: “Mr. Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters.” After I talked to the parliamentarian, I realized they were on very thin ice. So when I read the letter, I skipped some of the direct references to Sessions. Are the protests against President Trump having an effect in D.C.? Absolutely. Republicans have seen a massive turnout in the streets, rejecting his policies. They’re saying, ‘Oh my goodness, we’d better not mess up our health care system.’ Take my office. Last week, we had 37,000 letters, and our phones never stopped ringing. That’s happening in every single Senate office. The calls are 90 percent-plus against the activities of the administration.
Are there any areas—any at all—where Trump might be good for Oregon? [Long, long pause] I agree with him that we need to level the playing field on trade. We have been deeply damaged not only by the loss of factories but the loss of supply chains for those factories. By the downward pressure on workers’ wages when they go overseas—the middle class has been savaged by that. He made that a big part of his campaign. And I share that view. If you were Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek, what would you focus on? I’d most worry about the enormous budget shortfall in Oregon, which is going to have a cataclysmic effect on health care. Almost everything the state does has some form of federal support. Until a couple of days ago, Trump said he was going to take the cost of drugs on. Then he spent an hour with the big pharmaceutical companies and said, “I’m going to be dropping the effort.” So much for draining the swamp. The things that resonated for much of America were his promises to help workers, take on Wall Street and drain the swamp. He’s been doing nothing but helping Wall Street, hurting workers and filling the swamp. You wouldn’t believe it if it were written in a novel.
This Week’s Lies
L O VAT T O
NEWS
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEK
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TRUMPIVERSE, FEB. 8-14. • New U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who last year said, “Good people don’t smoke marijuana,” cited a “dangerous and permanent” increase in the national crime rate, when crime has in fact declined for the past 25 years. • Intel CEO Brian Krzanich allowed President Donald Trump to take credit for a new semiconductor factory in Arizona, although construction actually began in 2012. • White House national security adviser Mike Flynn lied about discussing U.S. sanctions with the Russian ambassador prior to Trump’s election. On Feb. 13, Flynn resigned. • Tr u m p s a i d h i s i m m i g ra tion crackdown was removing “the criminals, the drug lords, the gang members”—but, in a change from past practice, I m m i g ra t i o n a n d C u s t o m s Enforcement agents began conducting sweeps that targeted people without criminal records for deportation. • White House press secretary Sean Spicer made up a terrorist attack in Atlanta. Previously, his counterpart Kellyanne Conway referenced a “massacre” that never happened, and Trump himself claimed the news media failed to report terrorism cases. • Trump again claimed he lost the nationwide popular vote due to a nonexistent wave of voter fraud. Incidentally, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University counted “at least 46 [pending] bills to restrict access to registration and voting” in 21 states—although not yet in Oregon (see page 11). • White House senior adviser Stephen Miller called the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against Trump’s Muslim ban a “judicial usurpation of power,” when it was Trump’s lawyers who took the unconstitutional position that the courts could not review executive decisions. Miller also said, “Powers of the president…will not be questioned.” The next day, Trump held a press conference. • Trump posted a fake Abraham Lincoln quote to Instagram.
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
7
GHT! IBUTE NIITS/ PUNK TRTHE / RAMONES CLASH// MISF // BLACK FLAG//
With:
Free show!
MACK FLAG PDX PUNK ROCK COLLECTIVE BROKEN BODIES MARONES
8
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
FRIDAY, FEB. 17 • 9PM @ THE HIGH WATER MARK 6800 NE MLK JR. BLVD.
E M I LY J O A N G R E E N E
Landlord of the Senate
SENATOR ROD MONROE
THE STATE SENATOR WHO COULD BLOCK RENT CONTROL OWNS AN EAST PORTLAND APARTMENT COMPLEX. BY R AC H E L M O N A H A N
rmonahan@wweek.com
State Sen. Rod Monroe (D-Portland) may soon cast a crucial vote on bills to allow rent control and ban “no-cause” evictions across Oregon. If that’s the case, Monroe will face a major conflict of interest. Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek is shepherding tenant-friendly bills through the House, where passage is likely. Democrats also control the Senate, 17-13. But lobbyists say one of Monroe’s caucus-mates, Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose), will probably vote against the tenant protections. Democrats can’t afford to lose even one other vote, and that puts Monroe, 74, on the hot seat. Monroe, a retired schoolteacher and longtime church deacon, represents a swath of East Portland hit hard by soaring rents. He’s a man of God—and also perhaps the biggest landlord in the Legislature. Monroe says he’s skeptical about the tenant protection bills, two of the most ambitious housing measures to appear before the Legislature in years. Earlier this month, Monroe told WW he opposes rent control. “It doesn’t work,” he says. And he thinks evictions without cause can be useful for getting rid of problem tenants: “Many of them are justified.”
Monroe has a hefty investment in the status quo: He’s the owner of a 51-unit apartment complex in East Portland. Monroe bought Red Rose Manor, a collection of three three-story blue-gray apartment buildings along Northeast Glisan Street near 160th Avenue, for $3.4 million in 2002. Monroe refinanced his mortgage in 2012, borrowing $2.25 million. Today, monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the complex runs $875. In the past five years, records show Monroe’s property manager has pursued at least a dozen evictions in Multnomah County Circuit Court. The property has also been the subject of complaints from tenants, including two last year that resulted in city violation notices for untreated mold. State ethics rules require legislators to disclose potential conflicts before they vote. Billie Monroe, the senator’s wife and spokeswoman, says owning the apartment complex isn’t an ethical problem. “It’s not a conflict,” she says, “when there are lots of landlords in the state.” (She adds that her husband addressed the mold problem by fixing the roof.) Tenant advocates disagree. “If Sen. Monroe wants to oppose these critical protec-
tions for tenants during a crisis, we believe he is abdicating his duty to represent his constituents, most of whom are renters,” says Timothy Marcroft, organizers for Portland Tenants United. “Given that he and his family hold large investments in local rental real estate, voters should take a long, hard look at the real reasons for his vote.” Monroe may be the landlord with the most at stake in the Senate. But he isn’t the only one. At least eight state senators—more than one-quarter of the chamber—either own residential rental properties or have immediate family members with financial stakes in such properties, according to the senators and the latest statements of economic interest that lawmakers are required to file with the state. None of the current senators appear to be tenants. “I am very concerned that renters do not have a strong voice or true representation in our legislature,” says City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, a tenant and fierce supporter of rent control. “I foresee it becoming a major issue in the 2018 election cycle.” Here are the Senate’s other landlords, and what they have to say about their potential conflicts of interest. WW intern Tarra Martin contributed to this story.
FRED GIROD (R-Stayton)
GINNY BURDICK (D-Portland)
Units owned: A fourplex in Northwest Portland. Stance on rent control and no-cause eviction ban: Undecided but skeptical. “I have concerns about no-cause and rent control. They may have unintended consequences,” she says. Burdick fears new regulations could add incentives to sell to out-of-state investors. Comment on potential conflict: “I declare the potential conflicts,” she says, “and then I vote for the tenants.” She points to her votes last year in favor of inclusionary zoning and extending the amount of advance notice landlords needed to provide renters to 90 days. “For a responsible landlord, they are not onerous things.”
Units owned: Three in Salem and Independence. Stance on rent control and nocause eviction ban: Declined to comment. Comment on potential conflict: Declined to comment.
MARK HASS
(D-Beaverton)
Units owned: Two single-family homes. Stance on rent control and nocause eviction ban: Undecided. He’s focused on transportation and revenue bills. “I’m not voting for anything else until I see a path for these two things.” Comment on potential conflict: “I don’t think you can compare people in this situation to out-of-state property owners who have a different out-ofstate property manager.”
BETSY JOHNSON (D-Scappoose)
Units owned: Husband owns two single-family homes in St. Helens. Stance on rent control and no-cause eviction ban: Declined to comment. Comment on potential conflict: “ With respect to the two ‘rentals’ listed on our [statement], they belong to my husband, John Helm,” Johnson writes in an email. “John has provided these houses rent-free to his employees for years.”
ALAN DEBOER
LAURIE MONNES ANDERSON (D-Gresham)
Units owned: A duplex in Gresham. Stance on rent control and no-cause eviction: She’s the sole Senate sponsor of the bills. “It is an acute issue in Gresham,” she says. Comment on potential conflict: “I’ve worked with low-income people all my life. I don’t see the need to make a buck off them.”
KIM THATCHER (R-Keizer)
Units owned: Three. Stance on rent control and nocause eviction ban: Opposed. Comment on potential conflict: She says her husband cosigned on the loan for rentals managed by her daughters. “I don’t believe my being a residential landlord on the small scale that I am would impact my views one way or another,” Thatcher says. “I would likely still be of the camp that these types of laws end up hurting renters more than helping them.”
Units owned: Two rental houses. Stance on rent control and no-cause eviction ban: Undecided but skeptical. “Rent control will actually hurt low income people,” he says. Comment on potential conflict: DeBoer says he bought one of the houses to help save the owners from having to leave when they were foreclosed on while their child was dying, he says. Four years later, they’re still there as his tenants. “I treat my tenants really well,” he says.
(R-Ashland)
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
9
10
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
harrison freeman
NEWS
Ballot Bashing A NEW BALLOT INITIATIVE WOULD REQUIRE OREGON VOTERS TO PROVE THEIR CITIZENSHIP BEFORE VOTING. By Nig e l Jaq ui ss
njaquiss@wweek.com
Conservative activists are currently gathering signatures for an Oregon ballot initiative that would require every voter in the state to provide proof of citizenship within two years. Initiative Petition 5, which has been approved for signature-gathering and could appear on the November 2018 ballot, would significantly increase the requirements to vote in Oregon. All Oregonians would need to re-register by providing state officials with a birth certificate, passport or other proof of citizenship by 2020. Currently, voters need only attest to their citizenship to be allowed to vote. (Many people do present birth certificates or passports to obtain driver’s licenses, the document typically used for Oregon voter registration.)
If backers gather 117,578 valid signatures, the ballot initiative could plunge Oregon into the center of national voter-suppression efforts that use unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud as a pretext. On Jan. 27, President Donald J. Trump took to Twitter with his claim that as many as 3 million votes in last November’s election were cast illegally, many of them by non-citizens. “We must do better!” Trump tweeted. His staff and political allies have repeated such claims widely, although the evidence they present is thin. Ari Berman, author of Give Us The Ballot, a 2015 book chronicling the 1965 Voting Rights Act, says the Oregon initiative is part of nationwide effort that has the effect of discouraging Latinos, young voters and poor people from voting. “There is a climate of hostility toward Latinos and others from people who seem to believe all these noncitizens are registered,” Berman says. “There’s just no evidence of that.” Oregon might seem removed from the risk of voter disenfranchisement. The state was the first to allow its citizens to vote by mail. And in recent years, Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, has led the charge to make registering to vote here easier than anywhere else in the nation. The “motor voter” law she sponsored and signed in 2015 added 283,000 registered voters to the rolls last year. But conservative activists aim to reverse those gains— with the ballot. On Jan. 17, just 10 days before Trump’s tweet, the Oregon secretary of state’s Elections Division cleared IP 5 for supporters to begin gathering signatures. James Buchal, a Portland lawyer, is one of two chief petitioners for the initiative; the other is state Rep. Mike Nearman (R-Independence).
Buchal says the measure is aimed at addressing what he calls the “low quality” of Oregon’s voter rolls. He says he believes the rolls include people who are dead, residents of other states and, most problematically, non-citizens. (Federal law allows only U.S. citizens to vote.) He cannot, however, point to documented evidence of fraud here. “There’s a variety of evidence on the subject that is not specific to Oregon,” says Buchal, a Republican who ran for Oregon attorney general in 2012 and for Congress in 2014. “One can make inferences from other states that there is enough non-citizen voting to make a difference in close races.” The examples Buchal cites include two small studies from Virginia and a smattering of anecdotal evidence from other jurisdictions. But the U.S. Department of Justice and groups such as the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University have repeatedly said there is no evidence of significant voter fraud in this country. Two groups raised legal objections to IP 5 during the qualifying process late last year: Causa Oregon, a Latino rights group, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon. Andrea Miller, Causa’s executive director, says the initiative would be a giant step in the wrong direction for Oregon. Miller says IP 5 is a voter-suppression effort because it relies on documentation, such as birth certificates and passports, that many voters don’t readily have on hand and that can be time-consuming and expensive to obtain. Miller says forcing everyone to re-register within two years could have a chilling effect on voters who are poor, old, unfamiliar with the law, or related to people who are undocumented. “This wouldn’t just affect Causa’s constituents,” Miller says. “It would impact every single voter in Oregon.” Jann Carson of the ACLU of Oregon says proponents of the measure appear to be emboldened by Trump’s rhetoric. Two years ago, Buchal and his allies proposed a similar measure that would have given voters 10 years to come up with proof of citizenship. Nobody has presented compelling evidence of voter fraud since then, but Trump has brought fringe theories into the mainstream. “We think this initiative is a solution in search of a problem,” Carson says. Trump lost Oregon to Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton by 50 percent to 39 percent. But Carson says it would be a mistake to assume a voter-disenfranchisement campaign would fail here just because Oregon is a reliably blue state. In 2004, Oregon voters approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage (later overturned by the courts) and, in 2014, rejected by a 2-to-1 margin a ballot measure that would have allowed undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses, even though many other states allow the practice. Carson says voter complacency in the past has led to election results that were at odds with “Oregon values” and the state’s Democratic registration advantage, such as when the Oregon Citizens Alliance placed anti-gay measures on the ballot starting in 1988. “People said, ‘Don’t worry, Oregonians will never pass this,’” Carson says. “That launched a series of attacks on gay and lesbian Oregonians, and it worked.”
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
WHY CAN’T YOU PEOPLE JUST STAY HOME? (OR, ARE PROTESTS EFFECTIVE?) Portland is just one of many cities in the United States to recently experience thousands of marchers on the streets and in the parks, part of an international Women’s March. Whether you agree with (or even joined) the protesters, are irritated at the disruption of your commute, or don’t think protests like these are effective, your life in greater Portland was likely affected by these marches. Why protests? What do they accomplish? Who even DOES that?
Historically, marches, demonstrations, and protests have played significant roles in the give-and-take that happens between government and the governed in America. These actions by citizens – whether to support or to oppose - have been one of the most powerful ways for Americans to join together in a single voice that’s loud enough to be heard all the way to Capitol Hill, even if the citizens themselves are in rural Oregon, icy Alaska, or the dusty plains of Kansas.
Humanists of Greater Portland recently joined with 70,000-100,000 fellow Portlanders to let the newly-elected administration know that there are important issues we will not let go unaddressed, such as secular government and women’s rights. Our parent organization, American Humanist Association, had a group who marched in Washington D.C. at the same time. Our message is clear: listen to humanists and don’t legislate against human rights.
Secular citizens are becoming more visible in America, and it’s important for us to create supportive communities where we can organize and mobilize. If you haven’t yet found Humanists of Greater Portland, march on over next Sunday to meet us! ~ Marsha Abelman Humanists of Greater Portland meet every Sunday at 10 a.m. for a humanism-related program and socializing. Join us at Friendly House on N.W. 26th and Thurman! Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
11
MUSIC MILLENNIUM
THE PORTLAND JAZZ FESTIVAL!
February 16th- 26th | visit pdxjazz.com for a complete schedule of events | Meet many of the artists at the Music Millennium booth following their performance!
FEBRUARY IS JA ZZ MONTH AT MUSIC MILLENNIUM! 20% Of f Impulse, Ver ve and Bluenote CD's from these ar tists!
JOHN ABERCROMBIE Up & Coming $14.99 CD
Guitarist John Abercrombie – who has recorded as a leader for ECM since 1974 – returns with a second album by his quartet featuring Marc Copland on piano, along with longtime rhythm partners Drew Gress and Joey Baron. Abercrombie’s liquid phrasing and glowing tone – enabled by the thumb technique he has honed since eschewing a plectrum in recent years – animate his five originals and the pair by Copland, as well as a take on the Miles Davis classic “Nardis”. Up and Coming has a twilight atmosphere, with melodic flow the guiding light.
TROMBONE SHORTY
DIANA KRALL
$11.99 CD
$11.99 CD
Say That To Say This
RALPH TOWNER
My Foolish Heart $14.99 CD
Wallflower
Performing at The Old Church on February 20th
Ralph Towner returns to solo guitar for My Foolish Heart. Whether on classical guitar or 12-string guitar Towner’s touch is immediately identifiable. ‘My Foolish Heart’ features finely-honed new compositions as well as a pair of tunes (“Shard” and “Rewind”) from the songbook of Oregon, a dedication to the late Paul Bley (“Blue As In Bley”) and a single standard – Victor Young’s “My Foolish Heart” which Towner first came to love in Bill Evans’s interpretation.
CRAIG TABORN
NORAH JONES
NORAH JONES
$7.99 CD
$11.99 CD
Come Away With Me
Daylight Ghosts $16.99 CD
Performing at The Old Church on February 23rd
Keyboardist Craig Taborn’s Daylight Ghosts is the Minneapolis-bred New Yorker’s third ECM release as a leader. Along with the questing Taborn, the quartet of Daylight Ghosts features luminaries from the New York scene – reed player Chris Speed and bassist Chris Lightcap – plus drummer Dave King, one-third of alt-jazz trio The Bad Plus. Each player draws from a broad artistic background, as informed by rock, electronica and world music as they are jazz improvisation. Dynamism and spectral ambience, acoustic and electric sounds, groove and lingering melody – all come together to animate Daylight Ghosts.
M ACK AVENUE IS THE ROAD TO GRE AT MUSIC!
Louis Armstrong Cannonball Adderley Count Basie Brian Blades Art Blakey Kenny Burrell Donald Byrd
Nels Cline John Coltrane Miles Davis Eric Dolphy Ella Fitzgerald Melody Gardot Robert Glasper Stan Getz
Day Breaks
Dexter Gordon Grant Green Charlie Haden Herbie Hancock Johnny Hartman Joe Henderson Billie Holiday Norah Jones
Diana Krall Hank Mobley Wes Montgomerey Lee Morgan Madeleine Peyroux Gregory Porter Nina Simone
Wayne Shorter John Scofield Horace Silver Trombone Shorty
CHRIS THILE & BRAD MEHLDAU CHRIS THILE & BRAD MEHLDAU Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau
CYRILLE AIMEE Let’s Get Lost
$13.99 CD
On the groove-spirited Let’s Get Lost, rising-star vocalist and bandleader Cyrille Aimée wonderfully displays her versatility as a sweet-sounding jazz songbird with a catchy repertoire.’
JULIAN LAGE
Arclight $13.99 CD
Arclight marks Julian Lage’s first recorded outing on electric guitar and in a trio format, backed by double bassist Scott Colley and drummer Kenny Wollesen.
CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE TRIO
JOHN BEASLEY
Presents Monk’estra 1 $13.99 CD
Live At The Village Vanguard $13.99 CD
This record is the fruit of McBride’s long association with the Vanguard, where his first appearance as a leader for the historic club was in 1995.
Performing at Revolution Hall on February 25th
Thelonious Monk is a Mount Rushmore figure in the creation of modern jazz. As the centennial of his birth approaches, John Beasley explores the complex composer’s songbook with irrepressible energy and swinging abandon.
CECILE MCLORIN SALVANT
YELLOWJACKETS
$13.99 CD
With its pockets of halcyon, buoyance, mystery, tumult and whimsy, Cohearence plays out as a multifaceted documentation of how far the once fusion band has come.
For One To Love
2016 Grammy Winner for “Best Jazz Vocal Album”
Cohearance $13.99 CD
Performing at Revolution Hall on February 19th
All Prices Good Through 3/15 12
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
$16.99 CD
Nonesuch Records labelmates mandolinist/singer Chris Thile and pianist Brad Mehldau, longtime admirers of each other’s work, first toured as a duo in 2013. At the end of 2015, they played a two-night stand at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom before going into the studio to record Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau, a mix of covers and original songs.
New Sounds Inspired By Jazz
CHILDISH GAMBINO
THUNDERCAT
Donald Glover returns with his third album under the Childish Gambino moniker, ‘Awaken, My Love!’, which finds Glover tipping his hat to influences like Funkadelic and Stevie Wonder, yet carving out a modern sonic territory all his own.
Performing At The Wonder Ballroom on 2/16
Awaken, My Love! $10.99 CD
Drunk $10.99 CD To be released on 2/24 With guests ranging from Kenny Loggins to Kendrick Lamar, you can expect the next epic from master bassist Thundercat to be nothing less than mind melting.
(503) 231-8926 | 32nd & East Burnside | Since 1969
new CRUSH FORGET MOM’S PINOT. WE’RE WITNESSING THE BIRTH OF
F
A WILD AND WONDERFUL NEW OREGON WINE.
BY JOR DA N MICHELMA N
Five years ago, Olga and Barnaby Tuttle couldn’t get invited to dinner in New York. The winemakers from Southeast Portland winery Teutonic flew east for a sales trip, after signing with a noted distributor, hoping to pour for influential big-city wine buyers. They had poured wine with several avant-garde, progressive winemakers from California, the ones famously dubbed “the New California Wine” by noted San Francisco Chronicle wine writer Jon Bonné. The Tuttles watched as people fawned over the California bottles. Around them, the winemakers and sellers made dinner plans—none of which involved the Tuttles. “It was made quietly clear to us that we, as Oregon winemakers, were not invited to dinner,” Barnaby Tuttle recalls. But five years later, if you go to New York’s hippest wine bars and bottle shops—places like Roberta’s in Brooklyn, or famed restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Gramercy Tavern—chances are you’ll see Teutonic on the list alongside other young-turk Oregon winemakers
@sprudge
like Bow & Arrow and Day Wines. Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have all written love letters to the Tuttles. “All the patrons of our wines come from Brooklyn or Brooklyn,” Tuttle says, referring also to his winery’s neighborhood in Portland. Those people aren’t drinking pinot noir, the grape Oregon has staked an entire industry on since 1979, when Oregon’s Eyrie Vineyards shocked the world by competing successfully against some of the greatest Burgundy vineyards in France. “Ask the younger generation walking out of the hip Brooklyn wine shops, ‘What does Oregon wine mean to you?’ Don’t be surprised if the answer is, ‘Gamay,’” says Michael Wheeler of MFW Wine Co., one of the most important wine distributors in New York. Oregon wine stands at an important juncture—a moment when the industry may change forever. There’s a shift underway, buoyed by the wider cultural moment in Portland. Oregon wine has never been weirder or wilder, and it’s finding a new audience tired of its parents’ pinot.
CONT. on page 14
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
13
CHRISTINE DONG
BRIANNE DAY
“IT’S TIME TO KICK THE TRAINING WHEELS OFF AND SEE WHERE WE GO.” —Jim Fischer of Fossil & Fawn From Eyrie Vineyards founder David Lett planting pinot noir grapes near Dundee in 1966 to wine critic Robert Parker Jr. helping start Beaux Frères in Newberg in the ’80s, pinot noir has long been synonymous with Oregon wine. The state’s premier wine event remains the International Pinot Noir Celebration, a global gathering of monied winos. Oregon sold $470 million worth of wine in 2015, with an estimated $3 billion impact on the Oregon economy, and most of that wine was pinot noir. In the Willamette Valley, where three-quarters of the state’s wine comes from, that single grape accounts for some 14,000 acres, triple the amount of all the other varieties combined. Pinot noir accounts for 70 percent of the value of Oregon wine sold, according to the Willamette Valley Wineries Association. But in our rush to tout ourselves as the new Burgundy, we ended up in golden handcuffs, selling expensive bottles marketed toward a wealthy clientele in faraway places. And in the process, Oregon wine lost some of its vitality and desire to experiment. Meanwhile, Oregon’s high-volume pinot production is being consolidated, with large winemakers in California and France going on buying sprees. The makers of California’s Kendall-Jackson wine alone have bought more than 1,300 acres in Oregon since 2013—snapping up 5 percent of the state’s total wine acreage. But there is a new generation of winemakers who are producing expressive, individualistic wines made from other grapes. They are inspired by wine cultures all over the world—a bit of Loire here, a splash of Basque Country there—all with an indie ethos. They’re willing to work with scraps and oddities—grapes neglected by the people purchasing sought-after blocks of pinot for $5,200 a ton. “Oregon has tried too long to establish its wines as being Burgundian or whatever else,” says Jim Fischer of Portland’s Fossil & Fawn wine label. “We can stand on our own merits without pretending to cop someone else’s style, and we need to start acting like it. It’s time to kick the training wheels off and see where we go.” Now’s the time to see what they have: The new vintage is done slumbering in tanks after the fall harvest, and exciting local releases are dropping each weekend. It’s been exactly 50 years since Oregon’s “first crop of any consequence” was harvested by the legendary Richard Sommer, and there’s never been a better time to drink Oregon wine. “We’re sitting around getting drunk or getting high or whatever, not asking ourselves, ‘What is the next thing?’ because we all know it,” says Barnaby Tuttle. “We’re on the precipice of this big thing, like Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. Or maybe it’s like punk rock. There’s a lot of punkers involved in wine.” Here are 10 people shaping the New Oregon Wine.
14
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
MEET THE NEW OREGON WINE. BRIANNE DAY DAY WINES If there’s a breakout star right now in Oregon wine, it’s Brianne Day. No other local winemaker can translate a penchant for wild experimentation into such approachable wines. And if you want a bottle from Day Wines, her 5-year-old winery, be glad you live here—buyers in California, London and New York are clamoring for more than they can get of the 5,000 cases she makes each year, of which 20 percent is reserved for Oregon. A 37-year-old Oregon native, Day has worked vineyards in Italy, New Zealand, Argentina and France. She cut her teeth at the enormously influential Brooks winery in Amity before starting her own small-yield winery using rented space in Philomath. Her big break came in 2013, when she was working as a server at Portland’s Little Bird restaurant to make ends meet. Two customers—flush with money from the water-heater business—saw the wine grape tattoo that covers Day’s left forearm and asked her about it. That conversation led to real money and a long partnership. Since 2014, she’s had her own 14,000-square-foot winery in Dundee, and she makes more than 10 times the wine she could produce just three years ago. Day is Oregon’s answer to the experimentalists of the famed Loire and Jura regions of France.
She makes wines that challenge boundaries while remaining eminently drinkable, in a kaleidoscope of styles. Her complicated, beguiling cab franc/ cot blend (that’s malbec to you gauchos) takes eons to unfold in the glass. Her sparkling Oregon lambrusco, dubbed “Papacito,” was one of the best Oregon wines we drank last year—fruit-driven but dry, savory and chock-full of minerals, evocative of blood and charcuterie. A new wine, Vin de Days Blanc, dropped just a few weeks ago, bringing together pinot blanc, pinot gris, riesling, muscat and Müller-Thurgau in a wine based on the field blends of Alsace. In Old World wine-growing regions, grapes are tightly controlled by the industry. But not here, Day says. “In many of the markets where I sell, I am the only domestic producer in the portfolio,” she says “And when I tell my European friends the breadth of what we are growing and making in Oregon, they are always surprised.” It means there’s no mother to her style, no rigid set of rules she must follow as a winemaker, bound neither by geography nor tradition. This is brave new Oregon wine. DRINK THIS: Taken together as a pair, Day’s sparkling Mamacita malvasia and Papacito sparkling red were the best expressions made in America last year of petnat style wine—that’s bottle-fermented peasant fizz, wine’s answer to farmhouse beer.
WINE
SCOTT FRANK BOW & ARROW Scott Frank moved to Portland after witnessing the twin towers fall in Manhattan on 9/11. “I was on the 47th floor of a skyscraper that day,” he says. “I watched that shit in real time live.” After being jobless and “bottoming out,” he says, he bluffed his way into a job at the wine department of New Seasons Market, then worked harvest at the influential Cameron estate winery in Dundee. “I never aspired to this, or had any point in my life where I desired to be in the wine industry,” he says. “But then I quickly realized that wine was one of those things in life that you could dive into and not touch the bottom.”
Frank—who looks like an indie-rock DJ and is married to Dana Frank, owner of the city’s hottest new wine bar, Dame, on Northeast Killingsworth Street—makes his Bow & Arrow wine deep in the basement of the Bindery on Northeast Sandy Boulevard. He has an excellent high-end pinot noir, but you get the feeling his heart is in the cheaper bottles he sells for about $20. “I didn’t drink much Oregon pinot when I moved here because I couldn’t afford it,” he says, “and the pinot I could afford was not good. I discovered that I could drink the best producer in Muscadet every day for $20 or thereabouts.” So he drank his way across France in the New Seasons wine section, getting stuff better and cheaper than the pinot grown just up the river. That informs what Frank does at Bow & Arrow, which makes wines of the people, ready to drink now, and at a price they’d be willing to pay at the corner store. “People here like me can be what I call ‘scrappy négociants,’” he says. “You buy a little fruit, you rent a little space, and you’re a winemaker. The obstacle of entry has been lowered, and that’s only going to continue. I think the Willamette Valley is the best growing region in the United States. I think it has the potential to make the kind of wines I want to make, without dicking around.”
DRINK THIS: Bow & Arrow’s Rhinestones is a blend of pinot noir and gamay sourced from Johan Vineyards, with which Frank has a long-standing relationship. Modeled on the wines of Cheverny, in the Loire Valley, the $20 wine is at once complex and nuanced yet simple, and begging for a place at the dinner table.
SCOTT FRANK
DAN RINKE ART + SCIENCE Dan Rinke leads a double life. By day, he’s the winemaker and vineyard manager at Johan Vineyards in Rickreall near Salem, one of Oregon’s premier biodynamic vineyards and home to the grapes squeezed by many of the winemakers featured in this issue. But Rinke’s labor of love at his nearby Roshambo ArtFarm—a rock quarry, music venue and working farm, with orchards in Willamina— might be even more interesting. Together with his wife, Kim Hamblin, who creates the distinctive hand-cut labels, Rinke, 40, has run a tinyproduction wine and natural cider outfit called Art + Science since 2011. Rinke is a special hybrid, at home in both vineyard and cellar. After getting excited about wine while working as a bartender in Milwaukee, Rinke nearly attended school to study winemaking, but had his mind changed by legendary French winemaker Michel Chapoutier at a dinner. “He suggested that I change my major and learn to grow grapes,” Rinke says. “The very next day, I did just that.” Rinke’s wines at Art + Science are the result of long-acquired knowledge, both school-taught and experiential. He makes some of the best bottle-conditioned bubbles in the state—farmy, pinkish sparkling pinots that challenge traditional notions of what Oregon pinot can be. And his ciders are glorious, cloudy, complex dry elixirs that taste miles away from most candy-bombed American ciders. As important as Johan Vineyards is to wine in Oregon, Art + Science is the most personal reflection of Rinke’s artistry. I can’t recommend these wines enough. DRINK THIS: Start with Rinke’s sparkling pet-nat of pinot noir ($24), then try his ridiculously good farmhouse perry ($14).
CHAD STOCK
CHAD STOCK MINIMUS WINES Chad Stock may have learned winemaking in California, but all he ever cared about was Oregon. “Seriously, I would like to say that Oregon is the greatest state in America for fine wine, hands down,” Stock says. “I am American; I should work to make the finest possible wines in my own country.” The fantastic variety of wines he produces at his Minimus winery in Carlton makes him one of America’s most avant-garde winemakers—think viognier fermented with Brettanomyces,
sauvignon aged in fragrant acacia barrels, or grüner veltliner aged in amphora. He does more than 20 tiny bottlings a year, with grapes from Johan or vineyards in Eola. Stock, 36, looks more like a linebacker than a winemaker. “I did not grow up around wine, nor have any real reason to gravitate toward it other than a gut feeling,” he says. “Since making the decision in 2003, I have never looked back.” He breaks and pushes rules in the cellar, but has a formal education in wine, majoring in enology and viticulture at California State University, Fresno. In his other gig, as the winemaker for Omero Cellars (he’s a partner), Stock is making lovely, if fairly conservative and conventional, expressions of Oregon chardonnay and pinot noir. Yet under the Minimus label, he proffers some of the weirdest wine anyone makes in North America. Wine geeks look at Minimus as a deep pool of individual expression to explore, coming from a dedicated and thought-provoking winemaker. Stock’s work is comparable to that of folks like Anton Von Klopper at Domaine Lucci outside Adelaide in Australia, or Laureano Serres in Spain’s Catalunya region— boundary-pushing natural-wine standard bearers who have global followings. DRINK THIS: Being obsessed with sparkling wine, I’m most in love with Minimus NV Experiment #17 ($33), aged 48 months and made from pinot gris and chardonnay. Think marzipan, Braeburn apples and oolong tea.
DAN RINKE
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
15
GABRIEL GREEN
THOMAS MONROE AND KATE NORRIS DIVISION WINEMAKING; GAMINE Without Thomas Monroe and Kate Norris, Portland’s exploding urban wine scene wouldn’t look anything like it does now. In 2012, they launched Southeast Wine Collective, an urban winery and wine bar that rents out time on every piece of winemaking equipment you could ever need as long as you aren’t looking for a centrifuge. And yet, the biggest story to come out of this off-Division Street warehouse remains that of the founders. Norris, 35, and Monroe, 38, are making wines far beyond their years. They pursue their Burgundian pinot druthers as well as any of the winemakers profiled in this issue while also experimenting with Loire and Rhone styles. Norris, whose website refers to her as a “child of the world,” has lived everywhere from Bahrain to Switzerland and was born to Malagasy and English parents. Monroe was a St. Louis banker. Their love of Oregon wine made them pack up a car and drive here from across the country to start a winery, but they got their start in wine after working in the vineyards of Norris’ family friends in France’s Haute-Loire region. “I had the fortune to have grown up around wine and winemakers,” she says, “spending time in cellars from the age of 5.” It’s a lifelong intimacy with wine that shows up in the bottle, with results that fuse France and Oregon with uncommon grace. DRINK THIS: The sparkling grenache blanc ($30) under Norris’ solo project, the Gamine label, is extraordinary, an Oregon wine inspired by her mom’s love of Côte-Rôtie that shows delicious versatility. Division’s Trois chardonnay ($35) is real-deal grown-up wine, and speaks to the promise of Oregon chardonnay, about which whispers are fast growing into a roar.
JOE SWICK SWICK WINES Every truly great wine scene can count among its ranks a few small, scrappy young winemakers whose bottles quietly outperform their modest origins. Joe Swick is no wine titan, but his wines—just 2,000 cases made last year—are some of the most impressive and enjoyable in the state.
KATE NORRIS AND THOMAS MONROE
“I got started with a cellar job at Owen Roe winery in 2003,” he says. “I knew [winemaking] was something I wanted to do, but it wasn’t something that came naturally to me. It took me 10 years and 15 harvests before I could wrap my head around it.” Swick, 37, is one of the few winemakers featured in this story who occasionally works with grapes from Washington, seeking out cold sites in the vast Yakima Valley AVA for forgotten plantings like verdelho, a littleknown Portuguese grape that’s beyond rare here. Swick’s no-sulfite bottlings are wine-geek candy, especially his wildly complex Hibernation pinot noir that’s macerated on skins for six months. Discerning sommeliers and wine drinkers are clamoring for Swick’s bottles around the world—in New York, his wines are sold by the bottle at Chambers Street Wines, arguably the most important natural wine shop in America, and poured at landmark lower-Manhattan wine bar the Ten Bells.
St. Reginald Parish, has been around since 2012. His party-ready bottles of the Marigny are light, chillable and chuggable—especially his carbonic pinot gris and pinot noir, which taste like something out of the natural wine bars of Paris and Barcelona. More serious are Young’s Congregation wines, which include a couple of adult pinot noirs in a small-batch, unstuffy Burgundian style. His first takes on Oregon chardonnay and two méthode champenoise sparkling wines are due for release this year. Drawing inspiration from progressive winemakers in places like Sicily and the French Alps is just one part of the equation here. St. Reginald Parish’s bottles are alive and perfect for people just getting into wine. Young’s production is among the smallest of any winemaker in Oregon—under 1,000 cases.
DRINK THIS: Hibernation pinot noir ($50). Swick’s tiny-production sparkling wines ($22-$24) are delicious as well—if you see them, buy them.
DRINK THIS: Because of its rarity, if you see a bottle of St. Reginald Parish wine, buy it and drink it immediately. The Congregation pinot noir ($20) astonished a visiting dinner companion who has a global palate.
ANDY YOUNG ST. REGINALD PARISH
JOE SWICK
16
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
Andy Young was taking a Louisiana community college class in winemaking when he heard the news. “I found out that a vineyard about 10 hours away in West Texas was willing to give away fruit to students,” he says. “I drove out there with my dog and 10 10-gallon buckets. I drove for hours and hours, rented equipment, and took chain saws to plastic bins that formerly held tomatoes to create fermentation tanks. In the end, I got two whole cases of wine out of the deal, and I loved every minute of it. So did my dog.” This is the spirit that makes Young’s wine feel so vibrantly new, even though the 39-year-old’s winery,
BARNABY AND OLGA TUTTLE TEUTONIC Somewhere between a Didier Dagueneau “wild man of the Loire” and a total hesher who likes listening to Black Sabbath in the auto shop, Teutonic’s Barnaby Tuttle seems larger than life. In his little industrial warehouse off Southeast Powell Boulevard, he’s as likely to pour a can of Rainier as he is a white-hot “riesling rocket fuel” eau de vie. Tuttle’s newest bottle of wine—an electric-orange gewürztraminer spiked with pinot noir—is probably the most singular Oregon wine we drank last year.
“I’ve got the full fucking deck of cards in my background,” says the 49-year-old North Portland native. “I worked in restaurants, back of house, worked in a wrecking yard, was an ironworker.” But the light bulb went off when he was forced into wine classes while working at Sellwood dessert spot Papa Haydn. “I was like, ‘You mean that Frasier Crane shit is real?’” Tuttle never looked back. “A year later, I was the wine buyer for Papa Haydn,” he says. “A year after that, I needed to buy some riesling, and so I called this guy who brought in 14 German rieslings. I came home after that tasting and told [my wife] Olga, “I have to quit my job and learn how to make this.” None of it would work without Olga Tuttle, who runs the business and oversees nationwide distribution of Teutonic—more than half of which ships to eager wine
buyers in California, New York, Minnesota and Texas. The specialty of the house is riesling from cold-weather sites in the Willamette Valley, inspired by the Tuttles’ obsession with (and partnerships in) the Mosel Valley in Germany. But Barnaby Tuttle’s style, like Tuttle himself, veers madly—his wines may include riffs inspired by Basque Country, eastern Italy, Switzerland, or Spinal Tap. “Oregon wine is out of the safe period,” he says. “Wine went through a softening here after the traditional pioneers—pinot, chardonnay and riesling have been the wines everyone has been making for so long. I think it’ll keep popping off. I wouldn’t be surprised if Felipe, the bartender here, starts making wine. Our assistant winemaker makes wine. The genie is out of the bottle—it’s not going to stop.”
HENRY CROMETT
WINE
BARNABY AND OLGA TUTTLE DRINK THIS: Teutonic’s range of bottlings is many-splendored, from riesling to light, clean takes on pinot noir in a German style—deep, blood-red wines with lots of teeth from Southern Oregon grapes—to Oregon homilies to wines from lesser-loved grapes like gamay and pinot meunier. Point at whatever looks good and drink it.
10 More New Oregon Wines to Know
Cowhorn Wines
Cowhorn is a Southern Oregon Rhone ranger—biodynamic and unafraid. Its savory, funky Spiral 36, a viognier-roussannemarsanne white blend, is a glorious changeup.
Fossil & Fawn
The motto of Fossil & Fawn winemakers Jim Fischer Jr. and Jenny Mosbacher is “get weird, suck less.” Their standout wines include a skin-contact pinot gris and a weird and wild pinot noirchardonnay blend called “Do Nothing.”
Holden Wine Company
Golden Cluster
Ambitious Oregon winemaker Sterling Whitted makes one of the state’s best chardonnays from grapes grown at Johan Vineyards—and that’s saying something.
Golden Cluster makes glorious smallproduction syrah and truly distinctive sémillon, with just a whisper of skin contact. Winemaker Jeff Vejr is also one of Portland’s best wine selectors at Holdfast Dining.
Jasper Sisco Wines
Kelley Fox Wines
This exciting young wine label is moving into its own facility following a stint at Southeast Wine Collective. Jasper Sisco uses mostly Washington grapes, and makes an intriguing range of rosé wines.
I’ve been hating on pinot noir a bit in this piece, but Kelley Fox makes lovely Oregon pinot in a soft, perfumed style evocative of Volnay. Early vintages are just starting to sing, and in five years this could be the best pinot noir in the state.
Cameron Winery
Fausse Piste
Statera Cellars
Ovum Wines
Cameron produces Burgundian indigenous-yeast wines, made to age and, for the most part, priced like it. But some bottlings, like the Friuli doppelgänger Giuliano and Radikon-tribute pinot gris, are in a more approachable price range. Winemaker John Paul is enormously influential and was mentioned by many of the featured winemakers in this issue.
Just two vintages in, Statera winemakers Luke Mathews and Meredith Bell are making exceptional Oregon chardonnay, pinot noir and pet-nat, with distribution in New York and beyond.
In his Southeast Portland winery—home to Holdfast Dining—chef-turned-winemaker Jesse Skiles makes convincing and affordable Pacific Northwest syrah, drink-it-now grenache from Southern Oregon fermented in a concrete egg, and raw and vibrant Oregon muscat blanc à petits grains.
Arguably more famous outside Oregon, this roaring new winemaker is pushing boundaries with an impressive range of rieslings grown from our state’s soil.
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
17
The Bump
ALREADY FAMOUS HOW DOES DAVID DUCHOVNY’S BAND STACK UP AGAINST OTHER CELEBRITY VANITY PROJECTS? BY MATTHEW SIN G ER
m singer@wweek .com
Macaulay Culkin
WORST
Of course David Duchovny has a band. Doesn’t he just look like the sort of actor who’d bust out an acoustic guitar at a Hollywood key party? And to be honest, it’s not bad. It’s perfectly acceptable heartland dad rock that fans of Wilco and Ryan Adams would probably be way into if it wasn’t being performed by Fox Mulder. It’s far from the worst artistic crime committed by an alreadyfamous person with delusions of rock stardom. When it comes to vanity projects, it falls somewhere in the middle. To get an idea of what to expect when Duchovny hits the Aladdin Theater this week, we’ve placed him in the proper context among some other recent celebrity musical ventures. Here are four that are better, and four that are much, much worse.
Corey Feldman
TRUTH MOVEMENT Y’all saw that Today Show performance that went viral, right? Yeesh. Really, it’s less a “performance” than a heavily processed, goth-breakdancing, wub-wubbing cry for help. Still better than the Pizza Underground, though.
THE PIZZA UNDERGROUND Here’s the concept: The kid from Home Alone and some dorks from the New York “anti-folk” scene play pizza-themed parodies of Velvet Underground songs (“I’m Waiting for the Delivery Man,” “Cheese Days,” etc.) with all the facility of fourth-graders on muscle relaxers. Either it’s some sort of meta-commentary on rock idolatry or a bored rich kid’s idea of a hilarious prank. Regardless, it manages to ruin two of humanity’s most unfuckwithable creations— and, by proxy, the “Black or White” video, Totino’s Pizza Rolls and heroin-fueled BDSM.
Johnny Depp
HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES Johnny Depp has always fancied himself a rock star, which in his interpretation means alternating through several different soul-patch variations while wearing an unnecessary number of scarves. So it makes sense that he’d team with two other aging over-accessorizers, Joe Perry and Alice Cooper, to play schlocky bar-band covers of rock-’n’-roll standards. The only question is, why isn’t Dave Navarro involved?
Zooey Deschanel
SHE & HIM When it comes to staying on-brand, Zooey Deschanel is the Etsy Beyoncé. Her commitment to living that twee life can be teeth-grindingly irksome—she named her daughter Elsie Otter, for God’s sake—but she knows her role, and maintains it well enough that there’s basically no separation between Zooey the Indie Dreamgirl and Zooey the Indie Pop Singer. That deserves a totally adorkable, mistimed high-five by itself. Honestly, would anyone still be checking for M. Ward if not for her?
Donald Glover
CHILDISH GAMBINO Some might quibble with classifying Childish Gambino as a “vanity project,” since Donald Glover’s music and acting careers have mostly drawn even. But before he emerged as a Serious Auteur with Atlanta,, critics dismissed his attempts at becoming a legitimate rapper as Lil Wayne cosplay. With last year’s Awaken, My Love!,, however, Glover took a sharp left turn, abandoning the Weezy fan worship and turning into a glorified Funkadelic tribute act. Though the homage is still a little too on-the-nose, it’s a well-studied pastiche. And anyway, more artists these days should be trying to rip off George Clinton. 18
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
Scarlett Johansson
Emboldened by her guest appearance with the Jesus and Mary Chain at Coachella in 2007, Scarlett Johansson recorded herself doing Nico karaoke on a set of Tom Waits covers, showing off the sort of pipes that makes one yearn for the dulcet tones of a man who sings like he’s trying to pass a Tonka truckload of gallstones through his throat.
David Duchovny
plays Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., on Friday, Feb. 17. 7:30 pm. Sold out. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian.
BEST
Jared Leto
THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS Everyone scoffed at Leto’s meth-andMountain Dew interpretation of the Joker in Suicide Squad, but he’s been successfully pulling off his yoga-pants version of Tool for almost two decades. Props for the longevity, if nothing else… and there’s definitely nothing else.
Ryan Gosling
DEAD MAN’S BONES You desperately want to hear that Ryan Gosling sucks at music, don’t you? No one can be that handsome, that good at acting and have a band that isn’t totally embarrassing, right? Well, sorry dudes, but Gosling’s spooktacular indie-pop band— think Grizzly Bear live-scoring the Haunted Mansion ride—is better than yours. Good news, though: He’ll be busy vying for an Oscar this month, so you probably don’t have worry about him bumping you off the opening slot at the local VFW hall.
Stree t “$41.”
“$0.”
“I’ve never bought a bottle of wine.”
“$10.”
WHAT’S THE MOST YOU’VE SPENT ON A BOTTLE OF WINE? OUR FAVORITE LOOKS THIS WEEK. PHOTOS BY CHR ISTOPHER GA R CIA VA LLE www.wweek.com/street
“$35.”
“$10.”
“$27.”
“$20.”
“$9.” Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
19
STARTERS
HILARy SANDeR
B I T E - S I Z E D P O RT L A N D C U LT U R E N E W S
ma� de��r�o se�t��be� 9
Ti�k��s O� s��e F�id�y, f��ru��y 17 More concert announcements coming soon! zooconcerts.com
DEAN POttLE
DEAN’S SCENE: Dean’s Scene is for sale—but there’s hope to keep it alive. The former residence of the late legendary bandit brewer Dean Pottle has been listed for $439,000. The house on Northeast Fremont Street is 1,500 square feet and includes a beautiful bar and homebrew system in the basement. Scenester Andrew Tappert and his domestic partner have been working with Sammy Sklover, Pottle’s right-hand man and the de facto general manager of the place, to buy it and convert it into a tax-exempt fraternal organization. “The idea is to take Dean’s Scene and sort of abstract it into a scene,” Tappert says. “Sort of like an Elk has a lodge or an Eagle has an Aerie.” He doesn’t know much beyond that. “We want something that’s still based on all the principles that Dean’s Scene worked on,” Tappert says. “We haven’t finalized our bylaws. We’re just hoping our offer is accepted.” If things work out, Tappert and his partner will live upstairs and have a space for the order downstairs, as Pottle did. That may involve a commissary-style brewery where homebrewers come to scale up their recipes, and a place to talk politics. “Dean was able to bring together a lot of different communities,” Tappert says. “There were a lot of homebrewers and people who maybe haven’t drank a homebrew before. It really brought beer to the people.” HOWLCKEY: Portland could be getting a National Hockey League team. The Arizona Coyotes, who play in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, are considering a move to the Pacific Northwest, as reported by Deadspin. The team was possibly moving to Tempe, Ariz., but late last week Arizona state officials backed out of the deal. In addition to the Coyotes having the third-worst average home attendance in the NHL, apparently taxpayers still owe $150 million on the team’s 14-year-old stadium, Gila River Arena. According to The Glendale Star, reps from the team have visited both Portland’s Moda Center and Seattle’s KeyArena, but a Coyotes spokesman denied it. rESiStANCE rOCK: One good thing about the Trump administration? It’s finally persuaded Sleater-Kinney to play its hometown again. The legendary indie-rock band will join the Decemberists’ Colin Meloy, Stephen Malkmus and drummer Janet Weiss’ other band, Quasi, for Hell No, a concert benefiting the ACLU and Unite Oregon, at Crystal Ballroom on Feb. 26. It’ll mark Sleater-Kinney’s second Portland performance since reuniting two years ago. The show is already sold out, so consider buying a copy of Battle Hymns, a protest record curated by Quasi and featuring new songs by many of Hell No’s performers that also benefits the ACLU. AWArD tOur: One of Portland’s own took home a Grammy this week. It wasn’t shown on the telecast, but producer André Allen Anjos—aka RAC, or Remix Artist Collective—won Best Remixed Recording for his reworking of Bob Moses’ “Tearing Me Up.” Originally from Portugal, Anjos started his career in Greenville, Ill. But the RAC project really took off after he relocated to Portland. He’s remixed everyone from Kings of Leon to Lady Gaga, earning a reputation for pushing beyond club bangers and into more textural and emotional territory. He was nominated in the same category last year, when he lost to Dave Audé’s remix of “Uptown Funk.”
20
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15 The Impossible Fortress In Jason Rekulak’s new novel, The Impossible Fortress, three teenage boys go on a quest to swipe a copy of a priceless periodical— periodical—Wheel of Fortune card-turner Vanna White’s 1987 Playboy spread. Rekulak will be joined in conversation by Ian Doescher, author of William Shakespeare’s Star Wars Wars. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323, powells.com. 7:30 pm. Free.
Cloud Nothings At age 25, Cloud Nothings frontman Dylan Baldi is a tad too young to have been cognizant of the great alt-rock collapse of the ’90s. This is a huge advantage on his band’s latest and greatest, Life Without Sound Sound, which plays like a tasteful mélange of Kurt Cobain’s best ideas before the dunderheaded masses ruined them for everyone. See profile on page 26. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-231-9663, dougfirlounge.com. 9 pm. $18. 21+.
THURSDAY, FEB. 16
Thundercat No one is doing more to drag jazz kicking and screaming into the future than L.A.’s Brainfeeder label, and in particular Thundercat, whose bendy, big-hearted bass explorations exist at the intersection of fusion, hiphop and cosmic soul. He kicks off the 11-day PDX Jazz Festival tonight. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 503-284-8686, wonderballroom.com. 9 pm. Sold out. All ages. See page 25 for more on the PDX Jazz Festival.
FRIDAY, FEB. 17
Get Busy
NW Black Comedy Festival Portland comedy production team Dirty Angel has created the Northwest’s first Black Comedy Festival. The twoday fest will feature more than 30 black comedians, and kicks off with showcases hosted by the likes of festival co-organizer the Real Hyjinx and Jeremy Eli of Minority Retort. Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th Ave., 503-841-6734. 7 pm. $10-$40.
WHAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT FEBRUARY 15-21
Spare Room Reading The Spare Room reading series offers a deep dive into poetry and poetry criticism with three new readers: Buddhist priest Norman Fischer, poet Jeanne Heuving and Portland’s Alicia Cohen, author of Oregon Book Awards finalist Debts and Obligations. Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, 523 SE Morrison St., 503-236-2665. 7 pm. Free.
Priests On their introductory 2014 EP, Priests proved themselves adept at delivering post-punk thrills. But debut full-length Nothing Feels Natural is a great leap forward, a punk-rock breakthrough on par with White Lung ’s Sorry and Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Fever to Tell. Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate Ave., 503-286-9449. 8 pm. $17.50. All ages.
SATURDAY, FEB. 18 The Crazy World of Arthur Brown Long before Scandinavian metalheads took up corpse paint and church burning as hobbies, Arthur Brown was wearing a flaming helmet onstage and proclaiming himself “the god of hellfire.” Though never commercially successful, the U.K. singer’s wildly theatrical prog rock influenced the likes of Kiss and Alice Cooper, and the iconography of metal in general. Now 74, he’s touring America for the first time since the ’60s. See profile on page 27. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., 503-248-4700, startheaterportland.com. 8 pm. $25. 21+.
Zwickelmania Ever wonder how your favorite IPA goes from grain to glass? An annual open house for hundreds of breweries statewide, Zwickelmania offers beer drinkers a sneak peak into the brewhouses they most admire, allowing them to shake hands with the people who often help them take the edge off. Various brewery locations, oregoncraftbeer.org/zwickelmania. 11 am-4 pm.
SUNDAY, FEB. 19 Songs of Love and War Portland Opera’s first-ever winter show features the work of Monteverdi before he created the modern opera. Songs of Love and War is a series of the composer’s proto-Baroque madrigals that were almost as controversial for their progressive musical style as they were for their sexual content. Hampton Opera Center, 211 SE Caruthers St., 503-2411802, portlandopera.org. 2 pm. $10-$65.
Revengeance Rod Ross—the One Man Posse—gets sucked into a world of bikers, strippers, cultists and corrupt politicians in 1970s Los Angeles. Think True Detective as animated by legendary ex-Portlander Bill Plympton, who returns to town for two screenings as part of the Portland International Film Festival. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave., nwfilm.org. 2:15 pm. Also screens at the Laurelhurst Theater, 2735 E Burnside St., laurelhursttheater.com, on Saturday, Feb. 18. 8:45 pm. Bill Plympton will attend both screenings.
MONDAY, FEB. 20
Clipping Four years ago, if you would have told fans of noise-rap crew Clipping that frontman Daveed Diggs would be halfway to an EGOT come 2017, they probably would’ve said, “Yeah right, and Donald Trump is gonna be president!” Crazy as it seems, Diggs now owns both a Tony and a Grammy for his role in Hamilton. But as last year’s Splendor & Misery proves, being part of a massive cultural phenomenon hasn’t softened his or his bandmates’ experimental approach one bit. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503-239-7639, holocene.org. 9 pm. Sold out. All ages.
Studio Ghibli Retrospective Encore OMSI’s January retrospective of groundbreaking Japanese animasters Studio Ghibli was such a smash success that it’s bringing some of the most popular films back for an encore showing. Catch Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke—which —which didn’t screen as part of the festival proper—on the biggest screen in town. Empirical Theater at OMSI, 1945 SE Water Ave., 503-797-4000. Feb. 17-21, see omsi.edu/ theater for full schedule.
TUESDAY, FEB. 21
John Darnielle Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle is one of those rare songwriters whose gifts transfer to prose. His new novel, Universal Harvester, is a folk horror story about a video store employee investigating what may be evidence of a crime hidden on the store’s tapes. Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 800-878-7323, powells.com. 7 pm. Free.
Bingo at Stag Kitschy or not, the favorite pastime of little old ladies across America is a damn good time, and we can only imagine how much better it is after this Pearl District gay strip club adds its own irreverent spin to it. Be sure to remember your good luck charms and a pack of Virginia Slims! Stag PDX, 317 NW Broadway, 971-407-3132. 7 pm. Free admission. 21+. Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
21
FOOD & DRINK REVIEW HENRY CROMETT
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. By MATTHEW KORFHAGE. Editor: MARTIN CIZMAR. Email: dish@wweek.com. See page 3 for submission instructions.
FRIDAY, FEB. 17 Super Beer Bros: Level One Release
Former Fat Head’s brewer Mike Hunsaker’s first official Grains of Wrath beer—a collab made in California with El Segundo Brewing— will be at N.W.I.P.A., alongside other El Segundo brews. So drink the shit out of it. N.W.I.P.A., 6350 SE Foster Road, 503-805-7342. 6-9 pm.
SATURDAY, FEB. 18 UKFest
Simple ApproAch
Bold FlAvor vegan Friendly
open 11-10
everyday
Be mild, be bitter, be soft. Bailey’s will bring you your under-carbed, warm and neglected English beer druthers, including Culmination’s brilliant Trumpet Major and dark milds from the Commons and Falling Sky. Bailey’s Taproom, 213 SW Broadway, 503-295-1004. Noon-midnight.
Toast
I
Toast is a liquor-tasting of mostly Oregon distillers—with options on, like, 120 of them. Two tips? Stop by the Stein table for some kickass rye—then go straight to Ransom for their new rye, Barley Wheat. Thank us later. Left Bank Annex, 101 N Weidler St., 503-928-6437. 4-10 pm. $15 designated driver, $45 general admission, $65 VIP.
Zwickelmania
500 NW 21st Ave, (503) 208-2173 kungpowpdx.com
Shandong www.shandongportland.com
An annual open house for hundreds of breweries statewide, Zwickelmania offers the public a sneak peak into the brewhouses they most admire. Shake hands with the people who help you take the edge off. Various brewery locations, ending with a party at Portland Brewing, oregoncraftbeer.org/zwickelmania. 11 am-4 pm (after-party until 9 pm).
Shandong MONDAY, FEB. 20 www.shandongportland.com
Natural Wine and Tamales
You know those cool-ass natural wines in WW’s cover package this week? Natural wine bar Ardor will pair six of them with tamales from Olympia Oyster Bar chef Maylin Chavez. Olympia Oyster Bar, 4214 N Mississippi Ave., 503-841-6316. 7-10 pm. $50.
Where we’re eating this week 1. East Glisan Pizza Lounge 8001 NE Glisan St., 971-279-4273, eastglisan.com. On Tuesdays, get the best Detroitstyle pies in town. $$.
2. Kim Jong Smokehouse 413 NW 21st Ave., 971-373-8990, kimjongsmokehouse.com. All barbecue should come with gochujang. $.
3. Grain & Gristle
1473 NE Prescott St., 503-288-4740, grainandgristle.com. Grain & Gristle’s $12 burger is a beautiful ode to simplicity—beef, pickles, mayo and buttery bun. $$.
4. Pollo Norte Sur
2935 NE Glisan St., 503-719-6039, pollonorte.com. The chicken is better than ever, the room is spacious but warm, and you can now drink margaritas. $.
5. Headwaters
1001 SW Broadway, 503-790-7752, headwaterspdx.com. Get the squid carbonara, the octopus and the double-decker pagoda of the seafood tower. $$-$$$$.
22
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
A LITTLE CRABBY: The Black Widow at Teppanyaki Hut.
The Sushi Burrito Cometh The sushi burrito is an abomination. And the sushi burrito is delicious. Less highfalutin food trend than hand roll gone wild-style and cylindrical, the sushirrito/makirrito fish-cannoned both Los Angeles and New York in 2016—already landing in the No. 1 spot on a BuzzFeed list of “Hipster Food Trends That Need Die in 2017.” (“Microbreweries” were also on that truly joyless list from suddenly hater-friendly BuzzFeed, if you want to know what you’re in for.) Well, the trend has barely grazed Portland—landing in sushi stands like Hissho and Wasabi that are geared toward the low-cost convenience of the burrito as a perfect protein delivery vehicle. But judging from at least one offering at Teppanyaki Hut, a new food cart in the North Mississippi Avenue pod next to beer bar Prost, the sushi burrito has the potential for fast-food brilliance, with none of the gut-bomb feeling caused by classic burritos. The $9 Black Widow comes rice-out—like the inside-out California roll—but that rice is lightly tempura-crisped for beautiful texture. The rice-nori burrito is then halved and garnished with black tobiko roe. Within is both crab salad and soft-shell crab, wrapped up with the crispness of lettuce, cabbage, cucumber and carrot. It’s like Chipotle sushi gone crustacean, or state-fair food for Nisei—a carnival-style crab roll that requires neither soy nor wasabi. The Volcanic Eruption sushi burrito ($8) is more an easy-to-eat, nori-out, tuna-salmon hand roll spiked with jalapeño, and the Mt. Fuji ($8) has the same ingredients but without the spice. Both amount to much more conventional takes on fast-food sushi. And the chashu-forward ramen Teppanyaki Hut serves isn’t quite at the level of serviceable Kayo’s Ramen Bar just blocks away. But damn, that Black Widow. That’s two cheap seats at the crab circus. MATTHEW KORFHAGE. EAT: Teppanyaki Hut, 4233 N Mississippi Ave., 503-383-4705. 11:30 am-4 pm Monday, 11:30 am-7:30 pm Tuesday-Saturday, noon-6 pm Sunday.
DRANK
New Moon Mandarin (REVEREND NAT’S)
The mimosa is a nihilist’s drink. The measure of its bland, effervescent sweetness is the hung-over selfloathing it’s meant to bubble away. The best-case scenario is that it leads to a nap—a reset button on a day gone wrong. But New Moon Mandarin ($6.99 for 500 milliliters), a new release from local cidermaker Reverend Nat’s, shows there’s a brunch drink good enough to make you excited for the rest of the day. An apple cider fermented with champagne yeast and a splash of orange juice, New Moon Mandarin goes down as easy as any other hangover buster, but the aromatics are what make it really interesting. Chamomile, fennel, cardamom and coriander strike a harmonious chord reminiscent of Chinese five-spice, while a touch of orange blossom honey adds complexity without making it too sweet. The Reverend has a soft touch here with the cardamom, and this drink is worth savoring. Recommended. ZACH MIDDLETON.
FEATURE
HILARY SANDER
Over a Barrel
PORTLAND BEER IS BIGGER THAN EVER, BUT OLD-SCHOOL BREWERIES ARE STRUGGLING. BY M AT T H E W KO R F H AGE
mkorfhage@wweek.com
A little more than 20 years ago, BridgePort Brewing changed Oregon beer forever. Back in 1996, it put out a near-extinct beer style made with tons of hops, originally to preserve it for the sea voyage from England to India. It was called BridgePort India Pale Ale, and since its meteoric popularity, Oregon has never shied away from IPA. But according to figures kept by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and a Nielsen beer report, Bridge’PORT IN A STORM: The taproom at BridgePort Brewing, whose Port’s sales are tanking in Oregon. The brewery declined reported Oregon sales have dropped in recent years. to comment, but the Nielsen report shows a 32 percent nosedive last year in Oregon sales volume. The OLCC’s numbers show a starker picture, with a 46 percent drop annual beer guide (the new edition will be published sales presence have often been the ones who’ve stayed since 2013. From brewing more than 20,000 taxable bar- March 1) will cover all 116 breweries within an hour’s closest to home. Widmer, whose hefeweizen remains the rels in the first 10 months of 2013, BridgePort fell to just drive of Portland. In 2013, that number was only 59. No. 1 craft beer in Oregon, still sells about 80 percent of over 10,000 during the same span in 2016. “In the past, there was enough growth to go around,” its volume on the West Coast, according to spokesman BridgePort isn’t alone in struggling this year, and it may says Brewers Association economist Bart Watson. “Now Brady Dalen, and the brewery concentrates its efforts be the result of a sea change in the Oregon beer industry, we’re seeing competition for tap handles. Growth of with sponsorships of both the Timbers and Blazers. one that puts established craft brands in a tough place your own sales comes at the expense of other brewers.” “We’d rather double down locally,” Dalen says. “It’s as drinkers gravitate toward the newest and most novel “We are in a fundamentally different market than we hard to break into markets when you don’t have local offerings—while breweries also face pressure from above were in 2012, when it seemed like the pie just kept being big- relevance and a large marketing budget—it was differas the largest beer companies buy into craft brewing. ger and bigger,” says Breakside Brewing’s Ben Edmunds. ent even five to 10 years ago, when there wasn’t as much “You see BridgePort is having the biggest drop,” says This has apparently soured the mood in Portland local availability of craft beer.” the New School beer blog ’s Ezra Johnson- Greenough, beer. “I’ve definitely heard it from brewers. There’s a lot Observers say that supermarkets and beer taps have who also contributes to WW. “But if you look at the guys of negativity going around,” says Johnson- Greenough. also become much more competitive as large companies around 10 years old, a lot of them are struggling. [The “It’s as rough as it’s been.” like AB Inbev and MillerCoors—who have more distrimarket] has moved toward what’s new and fresh.” Last year, six Oregon breweries closed, including bution clout—buy up craft brewers such as 10 Barrel and In the Nielsen data—which relies heavily on grocery Humble and Fire Mountain. Six more in the Portland Hop Valley. Both of those brewers’ sales are rocketing, store sales—craft-beer giants Portland Brewing and area have reportedly been put up for sale, including BTU up 10 and 50 percent, respectively, in the Nielsens. Deschutes have both seen double-digit drops in sales by in Portland and Amnesia Brewing in Washougal, Wash. “Who are the biggest winners?” asks Edmunds. “It’s volume, and Hopworks isn’t far behind “I think we’ll see more closures places like 10 Barrel and Hop Valley. There’s things like with a 9.8 percent decrease. In terms this year for sure,” says Johnson- shelf placement. [AB InBev] can push kegs at lower of total taxable barrels tracked by the “WE ARE IN A Greenough. “But more than closing, prices than a midsize brewery.” OLCC, sales by those three brewers you’ll see people getting out of the “It’s not just supermarkets,” says Watson, “but differFUNDAMENTALLY have remained approximately flat. business. You’ll see people selling.” ent channels. Stadium taps are a great example. Only a DIFFERENT This flies in the face of previous Some of the market insecurity, small number of brewers have the heft to place stadiums experience in Portland. Watson says, may come because mar- and chain retail. Through distributors, large brewers MARKET THAN For years, it seemed Oregon brewkets are nearing their top end for craft have advantages.” WE WERE IN 2012, eries couldn’t lose. Craft brewing in beer, considered a premium product But while the midsized craft breweries are squeezed the state has grown explosively of as compared to Coors or Pabst. by both new brewers and large distributors, there WHEN IT SEEMED late. For the five years leading up to “Not everyone can drink cham- remains a bright spot. Portland brewpubs are still doing LIKE THE PIE 2015, Oregon beer saw double-digit pagne,” Watson says. “High-end mar- very well, as anyone who’s squeezed into Sasquatch, growth every year. kets are never 100 percent. There’s Laurelwood or Great Notion for weekend beer brunch JUST KEPT BEING “For years, it defied logic,” says state only so much the high end can take.” can attest. BIGGER AND of Oregon economist Josh Lehner, In 2015, Oregon beer reached 22 “Take Sasquatch, my neighborhood brewpub,” says who conducted a study in November percent of beer consumed in the Lehner. “You can’t get a table for dinner. On the weekBIGGER.” tracking Oregon beer sales. “The most state, if grocery retail is included— ends, it’s packed. We can and do sustain and support a —Ben Edmunds, growth was where there were already but considering only draft sales, it huge number of brewpubs. The challenge lies for those Breakside Brewing the most breweries. We describe that accounted for 63 percent of the beer trying to do tens or hundreds of thousands of barrels.” as a self-propagating cycle.” Oregonians drank. Sasquatch, Hopworks and Breakside all have new For the first time in at least 15 Lehner says increased competition brewpubs open or on the way. Though Breakside’s yearly years, national alcohol consumption from out of state is partly to blame growth was over 25 percent, Edmunds says its forthcomwent down last year—and so did beer consumption per for local craft brewers’ retail woes. Oregon brewers who ing brewpub in Slabtown is partly a hedged bet against capita. And though craft brewing in Oregon has still used to be able to sell a lot of beer now face stiffer com- possible future downturns, since Breakside makes betgrown, it’s happening more slowly. Depending on whose petition for shelf space, he says. ter margins on beer at its taprooms. stats you look at, beer sales were up between 3 and 8 “When you stretch beyond your home market, that’s “We’re trying to read the tea leaves just like anybody percent the past two years—good for most industries, good,” says Lehner, “but brewers that have done that in else,” Edmunds says. “Part of it’s an insurance policy. but less than brewers were used to. the past few years have seen increased competition that We see competition for taps getting stiffer, retail space This comes as the number of Portland-area brewer- wasn’t there five years ago.” being stiffer. If the market contracts a little, we’ll offset ies has nearly doubled during the past four years. Our The breweries who’ve succeeded in maintaining their it with increased revenue from our new location.” Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
23
24
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
MUSIC FEATURE C O U R T E S Y O F A M I N A C L A U D I N E M Y E R S . C O M / P A L M A K O L A N S K Y / J U L I A W E S E LY
Mel Brown Big Band and John Faddis with Jimmy Mak’s All Stars
Drummer Mel Brown—the Godfather of Portland Jazz—debuts a big band comprising his many longtime Jimmy Mak’s bandmates, performing the music of Dizzie Gillespie. Famed New York trumpeter Jon Faddis plays the part of Diz, as the band rings in what would have been his 100th year. PH. Revolution Hall. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Feb. 22. $19-$49. All ages.
Bill Mays
Insiders have long esteemed Bill Mays as a composer, bandleader and arranger who’s worked with legends like Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan and even Frank Zappa. His solo piano recital, drawn from his brilliant new release, Front Row Seat, also reveals an inventive, almost orchestral interpreter of jazz classics. BC. Classic Pianos. 7 pm Thursday, Feb. 23. $20-$25.
FOR THE JAZZ ADVENTURER Thundercat PIANO, SAX, GUITAR: (From left) Amina Claudine Myers, Branford Marsalis and James “Blood” Ulmer will perform at the 2017 Portland Jazz Festival.
A Festival Supreme
Kneebody
A GUIDE TO THE PORTLAND JAZZ FESTIVAL FOR THE NEWBIE, THE PURIST AND THE ADVENTURER. 503-243-2122
FOR THE JAZZ NEWBIE Maria Schneider Orchestra
The phrase “big band” suggests “grandparent music,” but Maria Schneider’s jazz orchestra incorporates today’s global and contemporary jazz sensibility while drawing on the classic legacy of arrangers like Gil Evans. BRETT CAMPBELL. Newmark Theatre. 7 pm Friday, Feb. 17. $45-$75.
Amina Claudine Myers
Pianist and singer Myers has worked in off-Broadway theater and created original music deeply influenced by blues and gospel. The Arkansas-born pianist maintains that accessible sensibility in covering the music of the late Marion Brown, best known for his stint with Chicago’s 1960s avantgarde Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians but who also had a more approachable, even romantic side that Myers beautifully brings out. BC. Classic Pianos. 5 pm Sunday, Feb. 19. $20-$25.
Ralph Towner, Anja Lechner and François Couturier
Classical and world music fans looking to explore jazz might start with this double bill featuring stalwarts of the European ECM
record label. Trained in classical guitar at the University of Oregon, Towner embraced classical and world influences in his famous fusion band Oregon, and his new solo guitar album beautifully incorporates those influences in a stripped-down setting. German cellist Lechner and French pianist Couturier bring a similar spare, atmospheric sound to their classically influenced Eurojazz. BC. The Old Church. 7 pm Monday, Feb. 20. $30-$35.
Roy Ayers
Dubbed “The Godfather of Neo-Soul,” Roy Ayers is one of the most influential musicians of his time, and across far more genres than jazz. Pioneering the strong, infectious back beat and binary rhythmic groove we call jazz funk, Ayers continues to play unparalleled jazz for the dance floor. ISABEL ZACHARIAS. Revolution Hall. 7:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 23. $29-$59.
John Scofield
White-haired guitar virtuoso John Scofield shows his softer side tonight, performing selections from his recent album, Country for Old Men, which highlights classic country tunes made famous by everyone from Hank Williams to Shania Twain. PH. Revolution Hall. 7:30 pm Friday, Feb. 24. $29-$59. All ages.
Branford Marsalis Quartet with Kurt Elling Legendary singer Kurt Elling and saxophonist Branford Marsalis meld the smooth vocal stylings of the Rat Pack with jagged modern harmonies, satisfying both Sinatra die-hards and 21st-century modernists. PH. Newmark Theatre. 7:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 16. Sold out. All ages.
D
The Cookers
JAZZ
The Cookers are a supergroup that consists of seven jazz heroes, most of whom became known for their contributions to the heady music of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Still as dynamic and creative as ever, each fantastic post-bop original they perform serves as evidence of the members’ 1,000 collective recordings. PH. Winningstad Theatre. 10 pm Saturday, Feb. 18. $35-$45. All ages.
The Heath Brothers
Two of the most iconic elder statesmen in the jazz world today, 90-year-old National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master saxophonist Jimmy Heath and his 81-year-old brother, Tootie—a legendary Coltrane-backing drummer—still perform some of the most soulful interpretations of standards you’ll ever hear. PH. Newmark Theatre. 7 pm Saturday, Feb. 18. $29-$59. All ages.
Alan Jones Sextet’s Drum Battle
Unlike most instrumental ensembles with a “this, that and the other” approach to experimental music, Eastman-educated five-piece Kneebody amalgamates jazz, funk, rock and electric influences compellingly, making sounds you’ve never heard before but can’t stop listening to. IZ. Winningstad Theatre. 3 pm Saturday, Feb. 18. $30-$35. All ages.
In honor of what would’ve been seminal jazz drummer Buddy Rich’s 100th birthday, Portland native Alan Jones has programmed a tribute that also functions as a celebration of great Portland drummers: Jones’ own sextet, plus Portland jazz granddaddy Mel Brown, Brown’s son Chris, and Carlton Jackson, a favorite KMHD DJ and touted drummer in multiple genres. PH. Fremont Theater. 7 and 9:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21. $20-$25. All ages.
Ralph Peterson’s TriAngular, featuring the Curtis Brothers
Son of a New Jersey police chief and boxer, drummer and bandleader Ralph Peterson generates a tough, adventurous sound fueled by his health struggles, martial arts training, the youthful energy of the piano and bass sibling team that he recently added to his rebooted trio, and, lately, American racial injustice. It adds up to stylish, energetic jazz fired by black music and black struggle. BC. Winningstad Theatre. 9:30 pm Friday, Feb. 17. $30-$35.
MONTH
It seems a little weird to say, but jazz is having a moment right now. Later this month, Ryan Gosling might win an Oscar for mansplaining Thelonious Monk to Emma Stone. Meanwhile, in the real La La Land, artists such as Kendrick Lamar have helped turn the likes of Kamasi Washington and Thundercat—young musicians whose jazz roots grow into hip-hop, electronica and beyond—into crossover stars, with a fan base that has only a glancing awareness of Coltrane and Miles. After years of being told jazz is on life support, there is now a whole new generation beginning to dip into its rich pool of history. And if you live in Portland, the most convenient way for a newbie to sample the past, present and wigged-out future of the idiom is the annual PDX Jazz Festival. Stretched across 11 days, there’s a lot to take in. To help you out, we’ve broken down the highlights into three categories, depending on whether you’re a traditionalist, an adventurer or just a total noob.
FOR THE JAZZ TRADITIONALIST
RTLAN PO
BY BRE T T C A M P B E L L , PARK ER H ALL and I SABE L Z ACHA R IAS
“Those Brainfeeder troublemakers are at it again!” say the straight jazz hard-liners, noses in the air. “If only they didn’t sound so good!” Like it or not, artists like bassist extraordinaire Thundercat are the future of jazz—bendy, bighearted, weird and crazy talented. IZ. Wonder Ballroom. 9 pm Thursday, Feb. 16. $18 advance, $22 day of show. All ages.
James “Blood” Ulmer
An ideal gateway drug for the jazz-curious rock fan, James “Blood” Ulmer’s music looks just as much to the future as it does to the past, drawing on timeless blues progressions and rabid Hendrix-like soloing. And somehow, in between all that, he’s always reflecting astutely on politics, society and being black in America. IZ. Winningstad Theatre. 3 pm Sunday, Feb. 19. $30-$40. All ages.
Yellowjackets
Fusion pioneers collide as the Yellowjackets pair up with electric guitarist Mike Stern, whose tasteful rock-influenced sound hasn’t crossed paths with the band in over a decade. A special evening of funky grooves and synth tones, this is where you’re most likely to run into that long-haired KMHD listener from the record store aisle. PH. Revolution Hall, 7:30 pm Sunday, Feb. 19. $19-$49.
SEE IT: The PDX Jazz Festival is at multiple venues Feb. 16-26. See pdxjazz.com for a complete schedule and ticket information. Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
25
MUSIC = WW Pick. Highly recommended.
PROFILE COURTESY OF CLOUDNOTHINGS.COM
Prices listed are sometimes for advance ticket sales. At-the-door increases and so-called convenience charges may apply. Event lineups are subject to change after WW’s press deadlines. Editor: MATTHEW SINGER. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, go to wweek.com/submitevents and follow submission directions. All shows should be submitted two weeks or more in advance of event. Press kits, CDs and especially vinyl can be sent to Music Desk, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Please include show or release date information with all physical mailings. Email: msinger@wweek.com. Fax: 243-1115.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15 JoJo
[POP-LIFER] Though not quite a comeback, JoJo has been away for years. When she just 13, she became the youngest solo artist to ever top the U.S. singles chart. Her 2006 follow-up brought along platinum anthem “Too Little Too Late” and the sort of transcendent buzz that only truly horrific label mismanagement and extended litigation could stall. Mad Love, her just-released third album and first since escaping a full decade’s contractual purgatory, finds our chanteuse leaping back into the stadium pop/radio-friendly R&B game with new friends Wiz Khalifa, Remy Ma and Alessia Cara. If largely missing the experimental spark of the mixtapes recorded during her time in the wilderness, the former Joanna Levesque’s sensibilities have evolved to match those alwayspreternaturally-mature vocals. JAY HORTON. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 503-284-8686. 8:30 pm. $22 advance, $25 day of show. All ages.
THURSDAY, FEB. 16 Robby Krieger
[SINGLE DOOR] Living legend Robby Krieger started playing guitar at 17, and joined the Doors two years later in 1965. His flamenco-influenced finger style complemented the band’s bass-less, organ-driven sound. But after Jim Morrison was plucked away far too soon, the rest of the band was left in a difficult position. Drummer John Densmore was against reforming the Doors, though he did sit in on a 50th anniversary jam with Krieger, since Ray Manzarek had also passed by then. Now Krieger is bringing the music of his classic band back to the theater circuit, with his son, Waylon, on vocals. YouTube footage from January saw young Waylon reading lyrics off his iPhone. Hopefully he’s had time to learn the words by now. NATHAN CARSON. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 503-2349694. 8 pm. $35. All ages.
Billy Strings
[RISING PICKER] More often than not, bluegrass musicians stroll onstage wearing suspenders and tweed. It’s a stereotype, yes, but it holds a degree of truth when talking about old-time pickers. William Apostol, aka Billy Strings, isn’t the sort, though. His tattooclad exterior and excellent, selftitled debut showcase a 23-year-old Michigander who’s up to snuff with both the modern and the traditional, one raised on the fiddlelaced sounds of David Grisman as well as Dimebag Darrell’s most savage riffs. He can pick the acoustic guitar beside musicians thrice his age, and though his EP only contains three originals, hard-driving numbers like “Dust in a Baggie” will become standards in due time. BRANDON WIDDER. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave., 503-328-2865. 9:30 pm. Through Feb. 17. $12 one night, $20 both nights. 21+.
CONT. on page 28 26
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
Cloud Nothings WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15
Cloud Nothings is, for all intents and purposes, a punk band. If it were two decades ago, the sound and aesthetic of the Cleveland group would be closely aligned with the angsty guitar rock that dominated rock radio in the wake of Nirvana’s mainstream success. It’s fair to hear 25-year-old frontman Dylan Baldi’s unhinged and listless delivery and assume he honed his abilities by sweating it out in the basements and bars of Northeast Ohio. But any similarities in his path from obscurity to acclaim to that of his heroes quickly diverges from there. “I didn’t really go to a lot of shows,” Baldi says. “I didn’t have any money or a way to get to it, so I just stayed home and played guitar in my room and listened to CDs. That was my high school existence—very insular.” Without easy access to the local scene at large, Baldi did what’s second nature to most kids his age: He took to the web and built a scene of his own. Using the family computer, Baldi released a flurry of music under a variety of names to delineate between one project and the next. It could’ve been an ambient or dub project that caught the attention of the internet, but it happened to be the pop music he filed away as Cloud Nothings that grew legs. When Vivian Girls drummer Fiona Campbell reached out to him in 2009 to play a show in New York with Woods and Real Estate, Baldi was in utter disbelief that the offer was real. “Blowing up on the internet before even playing a show doesn’t seem like a thing that happens much anymore,” Baldi says. “It’s usually someone who pretty clearly knows what they’re doing, not someone like us who’s like, ‘Whoops! I’m in a band now!’” In addition to completely sidestepping the DIY salad days, Baldi was surprised to learn how accessible a blockbuster recording engineer can be if you just ask. Since enlisting famed In Utero producer Steve Albini to man the boards on Cloud Nothings’ 2012 album, Attack on Memory, the internet has been steadily buzzing about Baldi’s ability to hit the sweet spot between sleek and powerful production with raw punk energy. On this year’s Life Without Sound, Cloud Nothings enlisted John Goodmanson, whose work with artists as disparate as Hanson and Sleater-Kinney appealed to the group’s newfound interest in psyching out listeners with a record that’s glossy on the outside and chaotic on the inside. If you’ve been roped in by the bouncy hooks on cuts like “Internal World” or the lead single, “Modern Act,” Baldi offers caution to concertgoers expecting an easygoing experience. “When we just get together and play those songs, some of them are really heavy and noisy and scary,” he says. “The other stuff is like, ‘Yep, you heard the record. Come see us play it live, it sounds exactly the same.’ Whereas this one sounds really pretty until you see it live and think, ‘Wow, that’s really loud and annoying.’” PETE COTTELL. Dylan Baldi started a band by accident. It’s going pretty well.
SEE IT: Cloud Nothings plays Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., with Itasca, on Wednesday, Feb. 15. 9 pm. $18. 21+.
CourTESy oF ArThur-BroWN.Com
PROFILE
Arthur Brown SATURDAY, FEB. 18
As the cliché goes, innovators are often ignored in their time. But Arthur Brown’s problem wasn’t getting people to notice him. After all, it’s hard to ignore a singer with a four-octave vocal range screaming, “I am the god of hellfire!” while wearing demonic makeup and a helmet that shoots flames out of the top. His mistake was doing it back in the 1960s. At the height of flower power, Brown attempted to bring gonzo stagecraft to rock ’n’ roll. Reactions were, let’s say, mixed. “It varied from appreciation and applause to promoters throwing our equipment down stairs,” says Brown, now 74. “A lot of people found it quite shocking.” The sight of a mad Englishman dressed like a satanic Bic lighter would hardly cause modern audiences to look up from their phones. But if kids today aren’t so easily shocked, it’s because the ideas Brown introduced to outrage decades ago have, over time, become standard practice. Whether it’s Alice Cooper holding public executions onstage or Lady Gaga “diving” off the top of a sports arena, much of the spectacle we now expect from pop performance can be traced back to Brown and his most notorious outfit, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. So far, though, that hasn’t led to a widespread rediscovery of Brown himself. He hasn’t toured the United States since 1969; he’s only returning now, he says, because someone finally invited him back. His influence is undeniable—it’s literally painted on the faces of Kiss and King Diamond—but if the wider music world remembers him at all, it’s for his lone hit, the psychedelic groover “Fire.” But Brown insists he’s never felt cheated. “I just loved performing,” he says. He acknowledges, however, that time was never really on his side. Aside from assuming a willfully outlandish stage persona in the era of hippie earnestness, Brown’s complex stew of psych rock, prog and R&B was perhaps too hard to classify in a time when music was less eclectic. The theatrical aspects of Crazy World—the corpse paint, the costumes and his most infamous accoutrement, the flaming helmet—developed, in part, as a way of visualizing the heady lyrical concepts Brown feared were being lost on the audience. It earned the band a cult following, and influential admirers such as Pete Townshend, who’s credited as an associate producer on the group’s lone album, 1968’s The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. In retrospect, though, it was all too much to sustain. “We started out as an improvising band,” Brown says, “and as it got more successful and the costumes got more elaborate, it lost a lot.” After Crazy World dissolved, Brown formed Kingdom Come, which introduced the drum machine to rock. He continued to release solo albums and collaborative projects before reforming Crazy World in 2000. But he hasn’t stopped trying to innovate. In the past few years, Brown has worked to develop another unique piece of headgear—the “brain hat helmet,” which he claims will allow musicians to create songs using only their thoughts. Laugh now. But in 40 years, don’t be surprised if Brown ends up being responsible for a lot of how we perceive popular music. It’s happened before. MATTHEW SINGER.
Arthur Brown brought spectacle to rock ’n’ roll, right at the wrong time.
SEE IT: The Crazy World of Arthur Brown plays Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., with Danava, Electric Citizen and DJ JD Star, on Saturday, Feb. 18. 8 pm. $25. 21+. Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
27
MUSIC
COURTESY OF AMANDA MARSALIS
dates here
laid-back: angel Olsen plays crystal ballroom on Friday, Feb. 17.
Noname, Ravyn Lenae
[MUSIC-BOX RAP] If Chance the Rapper is the sound of pure joy and devotion to the Lord, then fellow Chicago rapper Noname preaches to a different audience: every black woman going through the labor of living day-today. Fatimah Warner’s debut as Noname, Telefone, is an intimate, immaculately constructed set of poetic hip-hop set to xylophones, pianos and pitter-patter drums. Despite the warm, jazzy textures and Noname’s conversational delivery, the music is anything but pure sunshine, filled with heartache, death and poverty. When she raps “Everything is everything/ But I still haven’t paid my rent,” she’s nodding to both Lauryn Hill and the millennial struggle. Like the best art, Telefone is thoughtprovoking and super catchy—and the voice of a future star. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-2319663. 9 pm. Sold out. 21+.
Nots, Patsy’s Rats, Piss Test
[TRANSCENDENTAL PUNK] While the freaked and haunted vibes veining Nots’ garage punk can be traced back to Memphis ancestors like Lost Sounds and Nervous Patterns, the band’s most recent LP, Cosmetic, hacks into a space all its own. Nots still provide a great soundtrack for epic panic attacks, but on songs like “Entertain Me” and “Cosmetic,” the quartet finds a groove inside the chaos and rides it into some weird zone between punk rage and psych sublimity. Is it a good idea to take speed and LSD at the same time? Probably not. So listen to Nots instead. CHRIS STAMM. High Water Mark Lounge, 6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 503286-6513. 9 pm. $10. 21+.
FRIDAY, FEB. 17 David Duchovny
[CELEBRITY DAD ROCK] See The Bump, page 18. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 503-2349694. 7:30 pm. Sold out. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian.
Gooo, Body Shame, the Social Stomach, Modal Zork
[ELECTRO-APOCALYPSE] Portland’s weirdo electronic duo Gooo has been wading through unimaginable sounds since relocating from New York City in 2013. The band’s name describes its sound perfectly—slimy, disgusting, hard to clean up after—with Beastie Boys-style raps deployed over floor-stomping, deconstructive beats. Latest release Deep Tube is a display of the band’s mastery of combining electronic and acoustic ideas into something completely organic and insane. Bring a poncho. HENRY SMITH. Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway, 503-281-0439. 8 pm. $5. All ages.
28
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
Angel Olsen, Chris Cohen
[CRÈME DE LA SADNESS] Once, Angel Olsen was a folk singer, with that baffling gift for translating four chords and hookless melodies into little monuments to human nature. The music of her music lives in the lyrics—inscrutable with flickers of frankness— and the open, quick-rippling pitch of her voice. “Oh my God, I need you close,” she’ll sing, right into her vocal breaks, or “Are you lonely, too? High-five, so am I.” After two immaculate LPs of Leonard Cohen-style melancholia, unhinged folk rock and soft-strummed romance, Olsen’s 2016 release, My Woman, feels in some ways like a loss. Its production is careful, its pieces fitting tightly together the way a bigdeal alt-rock album “should.” What it keeps, though, and what makes it one of last year’s biggest musical achievements, is its penchant for painful honesty. “There is nothing new under the sun,” Olsen sings on “Heart Shaped Face. “Heartache ends/and begins again.” ISABEL ZACHARIAS. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 503-225-0047. 8 pm. Sold out. All ages.
Priests, Stef Chura, Mr. Wrong
[POST-PUNK] See Get Busy, page 21. Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate Ave. 8 pm. $17.50. All ages.
Vetiver, Kacy and Clayton
[FREAK POP] About 13 years ago, Andy Cabic’s Vetiver project issued a self-titled album mainly focused on baroque folk songs, propped up by an array of strings. It was a salve, insulating listeners from a world being plunged into assorted international conflicts. All this time later, it’s startling to hear the gauzy production he sings through on 2015’s Complete Strangers. A few jangly, dancey cuts also crop up, along with “Current Carry,” a breathy love song, and “Confiding,” which shows a debt to traditional songcraft. So even after time with Sub Pop, it seems clear that Vetiver is adjusting its musical vision to better jibe with contemporary pop concerns. DAVE CANTOR. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895. 9 pm. $15 advance, $20 day of show. 21+.
Drab Majesty, Soft Metals, Tender Age
[TRAGIC WAVE] Deb Demure, the androgynous alter ego of Drab Majesty’s Andrew Clinco, is the gender-defying, neo-New Wave experience you’ve been lusting since you were a kid. A multiinstrumentalist, Demure evokes nostalgic facets of ’80s postpunk accented by the synthheavy downbeats of right now. Vocals are bold and sweeping, colored by a deeply majestic aura. When asked why she can’t accept praise for her music, she insists
DATES HERE she is but a vessel for outward ideas to flow inward and that “the songs [are] received from an [alien] source.” The vibe screams Lynchian. VANESSA SOZA. The Lovecraft Bar, 421 SE Grand Ave., 503-719-7384. 8 pm. $5 advance, $7 day of show. 21+.
SATURDAY, FEB. 18 Leonard Cohen: A Tribute
[RIP] We’d just about gotten through 2016 before it took Leonard Cohen. The hyperdynamic musician was a masterful poet operating in a creative environment that, while dark and often minimalistic, was also painfully relatable. And like the greatest of the greats, Cohen excelled from his 1967 debut right up to his final album, last year’s You Want It Darker. Tonight, an esteemed local cast of musicians take on the chimney-voiced crooner, including Amanda Richards, Eric Stern, Will West and Casey Neill. MARK STOCK. The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., 503-222-2031. 8 pm. $10 advance, $15 day of show. All ages.
The Staves, Mikaela Davis
[FAMILY AFFAIR] Sister acts are big in the folk scene right now. But while bands like the Oregonbred Joseph are doubling down on kick drums and a whole lotta pep, U.K.’s the Staves outfit their tunes of trauma and emptiness with hard-hitting orchestral punches. Chalk it up to the fact that Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon helmed the trio’s latest effort, If I Was, beautifully dressing the Watford sisters’ fragile folk rock with ambling guitars and the same haunting inflections he first melted indie nation’s hearts with. The ace songwriting only amplifies the effect. BRANDON WIDDER. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 503-284-8686. 9 pm. $15. All ages.
TUESDAY, FEB. 21 Tennyson
[BROTHER-SISTER TEAM] Luke and Tess Pretty, aka Tennyson, are siblings from Edmonton, Canada, who’ve become well-known for taking unexpected sounds and turning them into catchy—and sometimes weird—electronic music inspired by jazz fusion. Using keyboard and drum machines, Tennyson combines unique raw material—like the sound of coffee being poured and a baby’s cry, a carseat alarm and a burst of laughter—into tracks like “Beautiful World” off recent EP, Like What, and 2014 hit “Lay-by.” The duo plays around with inspirations from different, everyday sources—newest track, “Bon Appétit 2017,” blends the seemingly jarring sound of a drink being slurped through a straw from the bottom of a cup with tonguein-cheek retorts like, “Don’t you eat my lasagna/Get your hands off my steak” in a way that’s both ingenious and pleasing to the ear. MAYA MCOMIE. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St. 8:30 pm. $12 advance, $15 day of show. All ages.
CLASSICAL, JAZZ & WORLD Avi Avital, the Dover Quartet
[CLASSICAL MANDOLIN AND STRING] Even dedicated classical fans might not readily think of mandolin players when pontificating on the world’s most masterful classical instrumentalists. But in this case, they should. Avi Avital, an Israeli mandolinist and composer, is heralded broadly as one of the most skillful and nuanced performers of baroque and traditional folk music alive today. Much of what he plays was originally
written for other instruments and arranged for mandolin and accompaniment by Avital himself. His treatment of his instrument is muscular and vigorous, dodging the overdelicacy common of even the besttrained classical players, but it never overpowers the exquisite sensitivity of the music itself. This program, on which Avital is joined by the incomparable Dover Quartet, shows off the stunning range of Avital’s repertoire, with works by folk-influenced Georgian composer Sulkhan Tsintsadze and contemporary composer David Bruce, plus a few J.S. Bach classics. ISABEL ZACHARIAS. Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 503-828-8285. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15. $30-$50. All ages.
Lily Afshar
[GUITAR BANNED] Portland Classic Guitar’s latest touring artist, a student of Andrés Segovia, will play a few of the usual suspects for guitar virtuosi—an arrangement of one of J.S. Bach’s great cello suites and a couple of Spanish numbers by Granados and Albeniz. But what makes this program special is the other music on this globally diverse program: Afshar’s gorgeous arrangements of traditional Persian and Azerbaijani ballads; a major work by contemporary Italian composer Carlo Domeniconi; and South American pieces by Benito Canonico and Fernando Bustamante. Oh, there’s one more X factor: Afshar is from Iran, one of those countries on the verboten list, and also plays stringed instruments like the sehtar from that region. BRETT CAMPBELL. Marylhurst University, 17600 Pacific Highway, 503-636-8140. 8 pm Friday, Feb. 17. $32-$52. All ages.
For more Music listings, visit
ALBUM REVIEW
SUNDAY, FEB. 19 Marduk, Incantation, Svart Crown, Cemetery Lust, Tithe
[BLACKENED DEATH METAL] Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson formed Marduk in Sweden in 1990 with the goal of creating the most blasphemous band in the world. They draw influence from antiChristian themes, with a focus on the most violent scenes described in the Bible. Much of their music also focuses on war, especially the Third Reich. Musically, Marduk delivers an absolute assault of blackened death metal sure to melt morals and faces alike, with blast-beats that penetrate ear canals like a Panzer tank. CASEY MARTIN. Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside St., 503-206-7630. 6 pm. $20 advance, $25 day of show. All ages.
MONDAY, FEB. 20 Oregon Symphony presents The Music of Prince
[PURPLE STRINGS] Screwed up as it is to say, the death of so many beloved musicians over the last year has been a boon for the tribute concert industry. Tonight, the Oregon Symphony pays homage to Prince, playing the classiest renditions of songs about women masturbating in hotel lobbies and wanting to bang your own sister you’re likely to hear. Hey, if nothing else, “Take Me With U” should be pretty killer. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335. 7:30 pm. $35 and up. All ages.
Clipping., Baseck
[NOISE RAP] See Get Busy, page 21. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503-239-7639. 9 pm. Sold out. 21+.
Sallie Ford SOUL SICK
(Vanguard)
[OLD-TIME ROCK ’N’ ROLL] Sallie Ford’s second offering since parting ways with her Sound Outside dude ensemble is a meditation on themes of “insecurity, anxiety and depression,” according to the raison d’être on her website. You wouldn’t really know it by the jocular mood of Ford’s inimitable timbre—a brusque tone somewhere between Nellie McKay and Karen O. She still works primarily from a 1950s palette of rock ’n’ roll, blues and doowop, with the dramatic flair of an AM radio show performer, and though the subject matter might imply a downer, producer Mike Coykendall (She & Him, Bright Eyes) furnishes any lamentations with brawny barroom-blues riffs and sunny surf guitar evocative of a far lighter landscape. The latter half of Soul Sick especially shines because of the standout slow-dance “Unraveling” and the roomy, big-band brass of “Rapid Eyes.” Ford’s initial existential ailment may have sparked her efforts, but her emotional investment is spirited enough to spin that illness into a lively collection of quintessential, vintage rock ’n’ roll. CRIS LANKENAU. SEE IT: Sallie Ford plays Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Jenn Champion and Weezy Ford, on Saturday, Feb. 18. 9 pm. $14 advance, $16 day of show. 21+. Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
29
30
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
MUSIC CALENDAR WED. FEB. 15 Ash Street Saloon
225 SW Ash St B-Legit, Alaska Redd, Mooky, Mikey Vegaz, Nick B
Dante’s
350 West Burnside Def N’ Daft: A Night of Medieval Hip Hop & Contemporary Comedy
Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St. Cloud Nothings, Itasca
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St. Sama Dams, Heatwarmer, Reptaliens
LaurelThirst Public House 2958 NE Glisan St Zach Bryson, Benny Gilbert
LaurelThirst Public House 2958 NE Glisan St Love Gigantic
Mississippi Pizza
3552 N Mississippi Ave Tallulah’s Daddy
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Landlady, Cassandra Jenkins, Mike Gamble
Newmark Theatre
1111 SW Broadway Avi Avital, the Dover Quartet
The Goodfoot
2845 SE Stark St Yak Attack
The Old Church
1422 SW 11th Ave First Annual Till Ellis Music Foundation Concert; Harry Baechtel
Turn! Turn! Turn!
8 NE Killingsworth St CMG Outset Series: Tunneler, False Face Society
Valentines
232 SW Ankeny St Towers, Screaming Skull, Sillkeeper, Circle of Beings
White Eagle Saloon 836 N Russell St Pig Honey
Wonder Ballroom 128 NE Russell St. JoJo
THURS. FEB. 16 Aladdin Theater
3017 SE Milwaukie Ave Robby Krieger
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Nots, Patsy’s Rats, Piss Test
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St. Matt Pond PA, Flinn, Completions
LaurelThirst Public House
2958 NE Glisan St Lewi Longmire & the Left Coast Roasters; Jake Ray & Rachel Mann with The Cowdogs
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Jeff Austin Band
Muddy Rudder Public House 8105 Se 7th Ave. Sleepy Eyed Johns
Newmark Theatre
1111 SW Broadway PDX Jazz Festival: Branford Marsalis Quartet with Kurt Elling
Quarterworld
4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd The Toads, Radler
Star Theater
13 NW 6th Ave. Monsters of Mashup PDX: Bong-Ra, Shitmat, Enduser
The Analog Cafe
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Railer; The Deep Bass
The Firkin Tavern
1937 SE 11th Ave Firkin Songwriter Blowout
The Goodfoot
2845 SE Stark St The B-Side Players: Curtis Mayfield Tribute, McTuff
The Liquor Store
1422 SW 11th Ave 45th Parallel presents Voices of Innovation
The O’Neil Public House
6000 NE Glisan St. Wes Youssi and the County Champs
The Secret Society
116 NE Russell St Roy Zimmerman’s ReZist Trump Tour; Thursday Swing featuring Trashcan Joe, Pink Lady & John Bennet Jazz Band
Turn! Turn! Turn!
8 NE Killingsworth St Captain Vs. Crew, Viking Skate Country, Nautilus
Twilight Cafe and Bar
Bunk Bar
232 SW Ankeny St Talklow, Alien Boy, Hex Vision
1028 SE Water Ave. Billy Strings
Dante’s
350 West Burnside Too Ea$y, Lonely Child, Bad Hombres, DJ Mafia, DJ Tit Daddy
Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St. Noname, Ravyn Lenae
Duff’s Garage
2530 NE 82nd Ave Kingsborough
Fremont Theater
2393 NE Fremont Street Celebrating 100 Years Of Recorded Jazz
High Water Mark Lounge 6800 NE MLK Ave
Bunk Bar
1028 SE Water Ave. Billy Strings
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St Angel Olsen, Chris Cohen
Dante’s
350 West Burnside The Lovesores & The Exacerbators with Slutty Hearts & The Furies
Disjecta
8371 N Interstate Priests, Stef Chura, Mr. Wrong
Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St. The Lower 48 & Cedar Teeth
Duff’s Garage
2530 NE 82nd Ave Rick Emery, Jumptown Aces, The Dahlharts
Valentines
White Eagle Saloon 836 N Russell St PDX Jazz Presents: Quadraphonnes and JoyTribe
Wonder Ballroom
128 NE Russell St. Thundercat
FRI. FEB. 17 Aladdin Theater
3017 SE Milwaukie Ave David Duchovny
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1037 SW Broadway Experience Hendrix
Ash Street Saloon 225 SW Ash St
PINKERTONE: Noname plays Doug Fir Lounge on Thursday, Feb. 16.
Fremont Theater
2393 NE Fremont Street Meredith Axelrod
Hawthorne Theatre
1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd. Philthy Rich
Kelly’s Olympian
426 SW Washington St. Tumbledown, Matthey Lindley, Nathan Earle
LaurelThirst Public House
The Old Church
Ash Street Saloon
225 SW Ash St He Whose Ox Is Gored, Dust Moth
835 NE Broadway Gooo, Body Shame, the Social Stomach, Modal Zork
3416 N Lombard St Mads Jacobsen, Camille Rose, Maxwell Williams
1420 SE Powell The Toads, Ex-Girlfriends, Fruit & Flowers, Water, Water; Karaoke From Hell
1037 SW Broadway Tracy K. Smith
Black Water Bar
The Lovecraft Bar 421 SE Grand Ave United Void, U-NIX, Impulse Control
[FEB. 15-21]
Strictly Platonic, Griffin and Danny Howard, Rebecce McDade
2958 NE Glisan St Scratchdog Stringband, The Hillwilliams, Michael Hurley & the Croakers
3341 SE Belmont St, Sinless, Tender Age, Souvenir Driver
For more listings, check out wweek.com.
COURTESY Of BILLIONS
= WW Pick. Highly recommended.
Editor: Matthew Singer. TO HAVE YOUR EVENT LISTED, send show information at least two weeks in advance on the web at wweek.com/ submitevents. Press kits, CDs and especially vinyl can be sent to Music Desk, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Please include show or release date information with all physical mailings. Email: music@wweek.com.
Lombard Pub
Marylhurst University
17600 Pacific Highway Lily Afshar
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Vetiver, Kacy and Clayton
Muddy Rudder Public House 8105 Se 7th Ave. Terry Robb and Lauren Sheehan
Newmark Theatre
1111 SW Broadway PDX Jazz Festival: Maria Schneider Orchestra
Ponderosa Lounge
10350 N Vancouver Way, Britnee Kellogg
Revolution Hall
1300 SE Stark St #110 The Revivalists
Roseland Theater
8 NW 6th Ave Circa Survive, mewithoutYou, Turnover
Skyline Tavern
8031 NW Skyline Blvd Lagoon Squad; The Brothers Hampton
Starday Tavern
6517 SE Foster Rd Little Jazz Birds
The Analog Cafe
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Ramblin’ Rose; Shadows of the Revolution, Hammersmith Rock Institute, Timothy James Band
The Firkin Tavern
1937 SE 11th Ave Radio Hot Tub Showcase: Brotherman, Butter, Loveless Root
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Drab Majesty, Soft Metals, Tender Age
The Old Church 1422 SW 11th Ave Edna Vazquez
The O’Neil Public House 6000 NE Glisan St. Zach Bryson
The Secret Society
116 NE Russell St The Sportin’ Lifers; Glass of Hearts, Rock Gaga
Twilight Cafe and Bar
1420 SE Powell Anxieties, Titty Babies, Streakin’ Healeys, Acousta Noir
White Eagle Saloon
836 N Russell St Coco Columbia, Suenos
White Eagle Saloon 836 N Russell St Liz Coffman and the Revenue
Wonder Ballroom 128 NE Russell St. J Boog
SAT. FEB. 18 Aladdin Theater
Kastle
LaurelThirst Public House
2958 NE Glisan St Redray Frazier; Jawbone Flats (all ages); Far Out West, Wooden Sleepers
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Sallie Ford
Muddy Rudder Public House 8105 Se 7th Ave. Reverb Brothers
Newmark Theatre
1111 SW Broadway PDX Jazz Festival: The Heath Brothers
Ponderosa Lounge
10350 N Vancouver Way, Hang ‘Em High
Roseland Theater 8 NW 6th Ave Rebelution
Starday Tavern
6517 SE Foster Rd Solmanoth with The Spirit of 206
Star Theater
Alberta Rose Theater
13 NW 6th Ave. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown with Danava & Electric Citizen
Ash Street Saloon
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Waterparks, Too Close To Touch, Creeper; Garcia Birthday Band
3017 SE Milwaukie Ave Orgone & Monophonics 3000 NE Alberta St 29th Annual Winterfolk: Benefit for Sisters of the Road
The Analog Cafe
225 SW Ash St Michael BeatZilla Whitmore & The Store Of Funk
The Firkin Tavern
Bunk Bar
The Goodfoot
1028 SE Water Ave. The Shivas, Melt, Giantology
Dante’s
350 West Burnside Sham 69, The Creepshow & Gallows Bound
Doug Fir Lounge
1937 SE 11th Ave West Valley Shakers, Ginn & Tillyanna 2845 SE Stark St Life During Wartime (Talking Heads tribute)
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Sex Park, Parasols, Spirit Host
The Old Church
830 E Burnside St. John Brown’s Body
1422 SW 11th Ave Leonard Cohen: A Tribute
Duff’s Garage
The O’Neil Public House
2530 NE 82nd Ave Pin & Horn-its; bridgeCreek
Fremont Theater
2393 NE Fremont Street Von Wildenhaus, Ilyas Ahmed
Hawthorne Theatre
1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd. Ugly God & Wintertime
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St.
6000 NE Glisan St. Smut City Jellyroll Society
The Secret Society
116 NE Russell St The Libertine Belles, Pink Lady & The Tramps; James Mason & The Djangophiles
Turn! Turn! Turn!
8 NE Killingsworth St The Dovecotes, Norman, Paper Brain
White Eagle Saloon
836 N Russell St NEJ presents: Kontext, Human Ottoman; The Reverb Brothers
Winningstad Theatre
1111 SW Broadway PDX Jazz Festival: The Cookers; Kneebody; Ralph Peterson’s TriAngular featuring The Curtis Brothers
Wonder Ballroom
128 NE Russell St. The Staves, Mikaela Davis
SUN. FEB. 19 Agnes Flanagan Chapel at Lewis and Clark College 0615 SW Palatine Hill Rd, Portland Chamber Orchestra
Alberta Rose Theater
Sean McNally (all ages); Freak Mountain Ramblers
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Milemarker, Big Jesus
Revolution Hall
1300 SE Stark St #110 PDX Jazz Festival: Yellowjackets & Mike Stern
Rontoms
600 E Burnside St Emilie Weible, Philip Grass, Post Moves
The Analog Cafe
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Why Don’t We
The Liquor Store
3341 SE Belmont St, Electric Mud, Weird Fangs, Katt Cavallo
The Old Church
1422 SW 11th Ave José Antonio Rodríguez
3000 NE Alberta St Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project
Valentines
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
White Eagle Saloon
232 SW Ankeny St Roadkill, Biker Weed
1037 SW Broadway Tango Caliente
836 N Russell St Anthony Presti and Hayley Lynn & Friends
Ash Street Saloon
Winningstad Theatre
225 SW Ash St Mingus Uh-Oh, The Mercury Tree, Red Forman, Mouthbreather
Bossanova Ballroom
722 E Burnside St. Marduk, Incantation, Svart Crown, Cemetery Lust, Tithe
Bunk Bar
1028 SE Water Ave. Uniform, King Woman, Vice Device
Classic Pianos
3003 SE Milwaukie Ave, PDX Jazz Festival: Amina Claudine Myers
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St Alex & Sierra
Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St. Changing the Tune in 2017 Benefit Concert with JILT for DVSD
First Presbyterian Church 1200 SW Alder St. PHAME & Friends
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St. Self Group 7th Anniversary
LaurelThirst Public House 2958 NE Glisan St
1111 SW Broadway PDX Jazz Festival: James “Blood” Ulmer
MON. FEB. 20
Mississippi Pizza
3552 N Mississippi Ave Mr. Ben
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Cool American, Boreen, Perfume V
Muddy Rudder Public House 8105 Se 7th Ave. Lloyd Jones
The Goodfoot
2845 SE Stark St Sonic Forum
The Old Church
1422 SW 11th Ave PDX Jazz Festival: Ralph Towner with Anja Lechner & Francois Couturier
TUES. FEB. 21 Doug Fir Lounge
830 E Burnside St. Hurry Up, Split Single
Fremont Theater
2393 NE Fremont Street PDX Jazz Festival: Alan Jones Sextet
LaurelThirst Public House 2958 NE Glisan St The Harmed Bros. & Friends; Jackstraw
Mississippi Pizza
3552 N Mississippi Ave Baby Ketten Karaoke
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Mississippi Studios
Ash Street Saloon
The Analog Cafe
1037 SW Broadway The Music of Prince
3939 N Mississippi Ave. Chad Valley, Computer Magic, Leo Islo
225 SW Ash St Dwight Church, Dwight Dickinson
720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Garcia Birthday Band
Crystal Ballroom
2845 SE Stark St Jimmy Russell’s Party City 2034
1332 W Burnside St PDX Jazz Festival: Ezra Weiss & The Monday Night Big Band
The Goodfoot
The Liquor Store
Dante’s
3341 SE Belmont St, Killed By Health, Loveboys, The Tamed West, Dreckig
Hawthorne Theatre
The Old Church
350 West Burnside John “Elvis” Schroder 1507 SE César E. Chávez Blvd. Hazel English, A Certain Smile
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St. Clipping., Baseck
LaurelThirst Public House
2958 NE Glisan St Anita Margarita & the Rattlesnakes, Pete Krebs; Kung Pao Chickens
1422 SW 11th Ave Portland Youth Rock Orchestra
Valentines
232 SW Ankeny St The Love Movement
White Eagle Saloon 836 N Russell St Parsonsfield w/ Green Mountain Guild
Wonder Ballroom
128 NE Russell St. Tennyson
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
31
MUSIC courteSy oF DeenA Bee
NEEDLE EXCHANGE
Deena Bee
Years DJing: About 15 years, give or take a major surgery. Genre: Don’t really have a specific genre—I can mix 40 years of music in 20 minutes—but hip-hop mostly. Where you can catch me regularly: White Owl Social Club every first and third Tuesday and Friday; Jackknife every third Thursday; Century Bar every third Sunday; Do Right at Dig a Pony every last Sunday; The Soundbox on KBOO 90.7 FM, 10 pm to midnight every first and third Saturday. Craziest gig: I was hired to play records at a Halloween event that featured Michael Moore. After attempting to get paid, and realizing that wasn’t going to happen, I decided to leave. When I disconnected my equipment, Moore’s microphone was connected to it, so the mic stopped working in the middle of his speech. I didn’t feel bad—he would’ve backed me up. My go-to records: Reva DeVito, “So Bad”; Mr. Carmack, “Chillin’ With Your Girlfriend”; Bruno Mars, “Finesse”; Leikeli47, “Money”; Anderson .Paak, “Come Down”; YG, “FDT.” Don’t ever ask me to play…: R. Kelly. Neva. Eva. NEXT GIG: Deena Bee spins at Jackknife, 614 SW 11th Ave., on Friday, Feb. 17.
The Lovecraft Bar 421 SE Grand Ave Shadowplay (goth, industrial)
Whiskey Bar
WED. FEB. 15 Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave. Atom 13
Ground Kontrol
511 NW Couch St. TRONix: Proqxis (electronic)
Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave. Battles & Lamar (freestyle, electro, boogie)
FRI. FEB. 17 45 East
315 SE 3rd Ave Le Youth
Black Book
Double Barrel Tavern
20 NW 3rd Ave The Cave (rap)
Star Bar
Jade Club
736 SE Grand Ave. Jimbo (funk, rap, electro)
Killingsworth Dynasty
511 NW Couch St. DJ Nate C. (hair metal, anthem rock)
639 SE Morrison St. DJ Craceface
2002 SE Division St. DJ Easy Fingers
The Liquor Store
315 SE 3rd Ave DJ Honest John, Bitch Slap, DJ Meow Mix
The Lovecraft Bar
832 N Killingsworth St Post Punk Discotheque
Tube
3967 N. Mississippi Ave. Nik Nice & Brother Charlie (Brazilian)
3341 SE Belmont St, Wheelit! with Joe Nice 421 SE Grand Ave Event Horizon (darkwave, industrial) 18 NW 3rd Ave. Easy Egg
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
412 NE Beech Street Jared White
Sandy Hut
1430 NE Sandy Blvd. DJ Joey Prude
32
THURS. FEB. 16 Beech Street Parlor
31 NW 1st Ave The Narcoleptic
Moloko
Swift Lounge
1932 NE Broadway St Leftside Lean (funk, soul, beats)
Dig A Pony
Ground Kontrol
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St. Drunk In Love: Beyonce vs. Drake Tribute Night
Jade Club
315 SE 3rd Ave XOXO: Techno
Killingsworth Dynasty 832 N Killingsworth St Strange Babes
Where we’re drinking this week
1. Tin Bucket
3520 N Williams Ave., 503-477-7689, beercheesesouppdx.wix. com/tinbucketpdx. tin Bucket, quietly, has turned its tap list into one of the most exciting in town—if not the best. Stop in now for Block 15’s Juice Joint— an experiment in hop extracts.
henry cromett
BAR REVIEW
2. No Bones Beach Club
3928 N Mississippi Ave., nobonesbeachclub.com. the world’s second vegan tiki bar turns out to be delightful. Skip the mai tai for the piña colada, and get the Buffalo-sauced cauliflower “wings” that best most of this city’s sad set of Buffalo bones.
3. Bota Bar
606 NE Davis St., 971-229-1287, botabar.com. ever so softly since the snow fell, Bota Bar is already a great—if hidden—addition to a ’hood dominated by much louder bars, with beautiful wine, obscure beer and tapas that come with drinks as a surprise.
4. Cart Lab
1831 SW River Drive, 503-477-5577, cartlabpdx.com. Amid myriad upscale food courts, riverplace’s cart Lab combines Koi Fusion, pleasantly spicy Korean fried chicken from Fomo and full-sized PDX Sliders into a bluecollar sports bar.
5. Lombard House 7337 N Lombard St., 503-539-5889. Well, ho-lee shee-it. An actual, honest-toGod, truly great beer bar in St. Johns.
Moloko
3967 N. Mississippi Ave. Sappho & Friends (disco)
Quarterworld
4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd VCR TV
Spare Room
4830 NE 42nd Ave Winter Formal Dance Party
Star Bar 639 SE Morrison St. DJ Danava
Swift Lounge
1932 NE Broadway St Flavor (hiphop, r&b)
The Big Legrowlski
812 NW Couch St, DJ Makro & AL GO RHYTHMIC (hip-hop, funk)
The Goodfoot
2845 SE Stark St Soul Stew (funk, soul, disco)
The Liquor Store
3341 SE Belmont St, Booms & Claps
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Darkness Descends (classic goth, dark alternative)
Valentines
232 SW Ankeny St Decadent 80’s
KID’S CLUB: Portland has a lot of concert clubs but precious few spaces for storytelling, family music and jazz. Enter The Fremont Theater (2393 NE Fremont St., 503-946-1962, fremonttheater.com), a brand-new 120-capacity venue in the Alameda neighborhood. The theater’s tag line is “Something for almost everyone,” and that’s true if “everyone” means the people you know who listen to OPB and shop at New Seasons. Coming up, there’s an all-female a cappella group, Sunday-afternoon bluegrass and radio-ready indie rock from Australia. The room fits the music: bright, sparse and hospital-clean, with a blond-wood bar, concrete floors and a black metal staircase with narrow rows of cables to prevent the little ones from slipping through. If co-owners Johnny Keener and David Shur have any niche, it’s kindie rock. Keener, a longtime children’s musician himself, has created basically the CBGB of the Portland kindie-rock scene—everybody plays here, from Tallulah’s Daddy to Red Yarn. (When Caspar Babypants comes down from Seattle, we’ll be front row.) There’s a full bar for evening events, but at the Saturday-morning no-cover kindie show, almost everyone drank coffee while appreciating the acoustic stylings of the trucker-hatted, ukulele-strumming Mo Phillips. As the kids danced, a few brave party parents sipped $8 mimosas, with one gentleman obviously darting his eyes around to see if anyone was judging him (we were). Given all the young families in Portland’s inner neighborhoods, the Fremont is clearly filling a need. And if you like something a little more adult, it has a little of that, too. MARTIN CIZMAR. SAT. FEB. 18 45 East
315 SE 3rd Ave Sharam
Beech Street Parlor 412 NE Beech Street DJ Hell Books
Black Book
20 NW 3rd Ave DJ Ronin Roc
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St ‘80s Video Dance Attack: New Wave Edition
Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave. Maxamillion (soul, rap, sweat)
Ground Kontrol
511 NW Couch St. DJ “Showtime” Dylan Reiff
Killingsworth Dynasty 832 N Killingsworth St Max Capacity
Moloko
3967 N. Mississippi Ave. Montel Spinozza
Sandy Hut
1430 NE Sandy Blvd. DJ Billy Club
The Liquor Store
3341 SE Belmont St, Dance 4 Planned Parenthood
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Sabbath (darkside of rock, electronic)
The Paris Theatre
Lamar (boogie, edits)
Ground Kontrol
511 NW Couch St. Reaganomix: DJ Rockit (80s, kayfabe)
6 SW 3rd Ave Adiidas with LSV and Safety First
Star Bar
Valentines
The Lovecraft Bar
232 SW Ankeny St Signal 23 (dub, bass, dancehall)
Whiskey Bar
31 NW 1st Ave Keano
SUN. FEB. 19 Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave. Do Right Sunday (rap, electro, r&b)
Ground Kontrol
511 NW Couch St. Black Sunday: DJ Loraxe
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Super Aishiteru Kawaii Party (Jpop, Kpop, cosplay)
MON. FEB. 20 Dig A Pony
639 SE Morrison St. Metal Monday 421 SE Grand Ave Black Mass (goth, new wave)
TUES. FEB. 21 Dig A Pony
736 SE Grand Ave. Noches Latinas (salsa, merengue, cumbia)
Kelly’s Olympian
426 SW Washington St. Party Damage with AM Gold
Mad Hanna
6129 NE Fremont St. Bad Album Night 6: Old Sounds for the New End Times
The Lovecraft Bar
421 SE Grand Ave Mood Ring (electronic, dance)
Tube
18 NW 3rd Ave. Tubesdays w/ DJ Jack
736 SE Grand Ave.
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
33
PERFORMANCE TURBULENT TRANQUILITY PHOTOGRAPHY
PREVIEW
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. Most prices listed are for advance ticket sales. At-the-door increases and so-called convenience charges may apply, so it’s best to call ahead. Editor: SHANNON GORMLEY (sgormley@wweek.com). TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit information at least two weeks in advance to: sgormley@wweek.com.
THEATER OPENINGS & PREVIEWS
pen/man/ship
Pep Talk
Two years ago, the experimental Hand2Mouth Theatre gathered their audience in a community center gymnasium. Wearing brightly colored windbreakers and whistles on lanyards, the ensemble posed as the interactive show’s amped-up coaches and gave grandstanding speeches on the art of pep talks and prompted audience members to play foosball on stage. At the time, it was a meandering half-parody, half-genuine look at the culture of motivation. But Hand2Mouth’s productions are constantly evolving, and in those two years since it’s last had a long run in Portland, Pep Talk has been on the road: it’s hosted shows everywhere from theaters in Connecticut and San Francisco to a correctional facility in Wilsonville. For their return to Portland, they promise a more refined show honed through those years of touring. SHANNON GORMLEY. Coho Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., cohoproductions.org. 7:30 pm ThursdaySunday, Feb. 16-26. $20-$30.
Songs of Love and War
Opera season isn’t until late spring, but for the first time, Portland Opera is staging its winter show. Despite the fact that it will be Monteverdi’s work (who is generally recognized as the creator of the modern opera), the show won’t actually be an opera. Instead, Portland Opera will stage a series of vignettes from the Monteverdi’s fifth book of madrigals, which were almost as controversial for their progressive musical style as they were for their references to sex. SHANNON GORMLEY. Hampton Opera Center, 211 SE Caruthers St., portlandopera.org. 7:30 pm Friday, Feb. 17, Thursday, Feb. 23, and Saturday, Feb. 25. $10-$65.
ALSO PLAYING Astoria
Portland Center Stage has already been delving into Oregon history with their Northwest Stories series, but Astoria is the first in the series with an original script. PCS artistic director Chris Coleman adapted the play from Peter Stark’s New York Times nonfiction bestseller about John Jacob Astor’s attempt to create a fur-trading empire along the Columbia River, before there were any permanent U.S. settlements along the West Coast. It’s a two-part show that will premiere over the course of two seasons, and part one focuses on the expedition to Astoria. The plans for the play are epic in many ways: along with the fact that it’s a two-season show, it’s an originally written work by one of Portland’s biggest theater companies. SHANNON GORMLEY. Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave., pcs.org. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday, 2 pm Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 15-19. $25-$75.
Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue
Profile Theatre’s new resident playwright, Quiara Alegría Hudes, begins her season with a Pulitzer Prize Finalist play about Elliot, a 19-yearold soldier returning from the Iraq War. The play takes its narrative structure from fugues: it weaves together Elliot’s stories with those of his multigenerational military family. The poetic play looks not only at the emotional burden of war, but also its
34
legacy and tradition. Profile Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., profiletheatre. org. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, Feb. 15-19. $20-$36.
Portland Playhouse’s set for pen/ man/ship is almost surreal: A sail is looped from the ceiling over a desk and chairs sit in a sunken, shallow pool of water surrounded by heavy wood flooring. Written by contemporary playwright Christina Anderson, pen/man/ship is set in 1896 aboard a ship bound for Liberia for a reason expedition leader Charles Boyd (Adrian Roberts) keeps secret for most of the play. His son (DeLance Minefee) has snuck on board a stowaway, Ruby (Andrea Whittle), who’s escaping from the horrors of the Jim Crow South. Ruby is the only woman on the ship, and she’s a fiercely intellectual atheist who constantly comes into conflict with the religious and elitist Boyd. Ruby’s presence, along with the fact that the all-black crew and captain are sailing from Plessy v. Ferguson America, provides a set-up for racial and ideological debates delivered through formal, turn-ofthe-century-style dialogue. But it’s far from dry: The second act is action-packed, and it’s a witty script that features a mysterious, unraveling plot driven by some intense performances, particularly Whittle’s and Roberts’. SHANNON GORMLEY. Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott St., portlandplayhouse.org. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, through March 5. $19-$34.
THE REAL HYJINX: Comedian Tyrone Collins is a co-founder of the festival.
More Than Martin Lawrence PORTLAND’S FIRST BLACK COMEDY FESTIVAL WANTS TO SHOWCASE ITS DIVERSITY.
BY SHA N N ON GOR MLEY
sgormley@wweek.com
We’re All Mad Here
We’re All Mad Here takes you down the rabbit hole, Alice in Wonderlandstyle. Creators Samantha Van Der Merwe and Matthew Kerrigan employ Alice as their leading muse for this experimental show where Kerrigan plays a multitude of characters, including the Mad Hatter. The show is full of surprises: an interpretative dance routine involving juggling stacked pastel plates, a schizophrenic dialogue that acts as an ode to the formidable years of one’s repressed sexuality, and a curtain that doubles as an evening gown. Mad is an interactive fairy tale for adults, or perhaps an existential one-man circus. JACK RUSHALL. Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 SE Grant St., shaking-the-tree. com. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday and 2 pm Sunday, through Feb. 25. $10-$25.
DANCE Swan Lake
At first, a production of Swan Lake doesn’t seem that ambitious. Considering it’s one of the most famous ballets ever and features a Tchaikovsky score, Swan Lake is a natural choice for Oregon Ballet Theatre’s season dedicated to exploring ballet history and masterworks. But rather than just succumbing to the canon, OBT has made some changes to the classic choreography. For its production, artistic director Kevin Irving has beefed up the ballet’s narrative, particularly Prince Siegfried’s backstory. Irving intends to draw parallels between Siegfried and Tchaikovsky’s biography, and turn the usually supporting role into the ballet’s main focus. SHANNON GORMLEY. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., obt.org. 7:30 pm ThursdaySaturday and 2 pm Sunday, Feb. 18-25. Additional show 2 pm Saturday, Feb. 25. $29-$146.
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
It’s barely a week before the first NW Black Comedy Fest, and its creators still seem kind of surprised that it’s actually happening. “Last summer we were talking with [two other] black promoters in Portland,” says Courtenay Collins who, along with her husband, Tyrone, is running the festival. “They were like, ‘Sounds great,’ and then they just kind of fell away. It got to be November and [Tyrone] was like, ‘I really want to do this festival,’ and I was like, ‘OK, um, maybe February?’” Courtenay originally created a production company called Dirty Angel Entertainment to manage her husband’s standup career (his comedy moniker is the Real Hyjinx). Through Dirty Angel, they produced a weekly showcase hosted by the Real Hyjinx, as well as other showcases in Oregon and Washington. They’ve also put together seven comedy competitions whose winners have included Lance Edward and Adam Pasi, winner of WW’s annual Funniest Five comedy poll (“I remember Adam’s first jokes,” says Tyrone). But this is the duo’s first full-blown festival and multiday event, and without the two other promoters, it’s just the two Collinses putting it all together: They’re the festival’s producers, booking agents, publicists and ticket distributors. Plus, they don’t have any sponsors. “One thing we learned is that we really should have started this process in, like, August,” says Tyrone, as he and Courtenay laugh. Sure, they’re stressed, but they don’t seem particularly daunted. “It’s a labor of love, and I just think it’s time that we had this here,” says Courtenay. There have been other successful attempts in Portland to draw attention to nonwhite comics: Baron Vaughn’s Bridgetown Comedy showcase the New Negroes features black comedians from all over the country, and revered standup showcase and radio
show Minority Retort features POC comedians from the Northwest. But NW Black Comedy Fest is the first comedy festival in the region that’s local and entirely devoted to black comics, and that intends to become annual. That means the promise of a large space in the local scene dedicated to providing a platform for black comedians while showcasing the range of black comedy that’s already a part of the city. So it’s fitting that this year’s expansive lineup comprises previously existing black-comic-hosted and long-running showcases. Along with Jeremy Eli’s Minority Retort, the lineup includes Daniel Martin Austin’s Your Fault for Listening, Anthony Robinson’s Black Laughs Matter, Tyrone’s the Real Comedy Spot, and sets by more 30 comedians, including Curtis Cook, Lance Edward and Debbie Wooten. It’s a diverse lineup, which is something that was important to its organizers. “People think of black [comedy] and think they’re going to get like 10 Martin Lawrences,” says Courtenay. “We have shows [in Portland] that might book one black comic, but you can book three and you’ll still have three very different voices.” With the festival dates approaching, the Collinses (who have day jobs and four kids) have been devoting most of their off time to delivering tickets, coordinating with comedians, setting up catering, and making sure everything’s in the right order. But they seem OK with the fact that they’re overwhelmed. “We’re probably going to be in debt a little after this,” says Tyrone. “But it’s going to be so well worth it. At the end of the day, nobody can take this from us—‘They put on the very first NW Black Comedy Festival.’” SEE IT: NW Black Comedy Festival is at Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th Ave., on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 pm, and at Ford Food & Drink, 2505 SE 11th Ave., on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 pm. $10-$40.
Performance Works NW’s contribution to the nationwide Not My President’s Day is an expansive lineup of Portland performers from all across the experimental spectrum: There’s Anthony Hudson and his dragclown double Carla Rossi, PWNW’s own Linda Austin Dance, and vogueing-influenced performance artist Button Will. The massive lineup of over 20 performers (the tickets are revolving door) will be helmed by drag MC Pepper Pepper. The show is also a fundraiser for Don’t Shoot Portland, Q Center and El Programa Hispano, and naturally, many of the performances will be in the spirit of political resistance. SHANNON GORMLEY. Performance Works NW, 4625 SE 67th Ave., pwnwpdx.org. 7 pm Monday, Feb. 20. $5-$50
REVIEW ROSEMARY RAGUSA
UnPresidented Acts
COMEDY & VARIETY Alternative Acts
Bri Pruett may be leaving for L.A. next month, but she’s not coasting her way to the finish line. She just finished up a month-long residency of her touching part-standup, part-storytelling show Stellar, and now she’s co-hosting a showcase spread over three weeks with fellow Earthquake Hurricane host Katie Nguyen. For Alternative Acts, the two standup comedians put together three different lineups over three different days that feature standup as well as improv, storytelling and sketch comedy. SHANNON GORMLEY. Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th Ave., funhouselounge.com. 9 pm Thursday, Feb. 16. $10 advance, $15 at the door.
The Flipside
New sketch comedy duo D&D is getting a warm welcome to the Portland scene: Its debut is the centerpiece of Siren Theater’s The Flipside. For each of the four nights that the show runs, there will be an improv act followed by sketches from D&D. The duo is in good company: Along with the fact that The Flipside is directed by Siren Theater artistic director and Bad Reputations productions founder Shelley McLendon, it has several well-established improv groups as its openers. For the second of two weekends, it’ll be a duo featuring McLendon herself (Friday) and Siren Theater regular Tunnel (Saturday). SHANNON GORMLEY. The Siren Theater, 515 NW Davis St., sirentheater. com. 8 pm Friday-Saturday, Feb. 17-18. $10 advance, $15 at the door.
Funny Humans vs. the Wheel
Hosted by Adam Pasi and David Mascorro, a lineup of Portland standup regulars have to spin a wheel that determines how they’ll end their set—like if they’ll have to sing their jokes or deliver them after eating a hot pepper. SHANNON GORMLEY. Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave., portland.heliumcomedy.com. 8 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15. $12. 21+.
For more Performance listings, visit
PONDERING THE PATRIARCHY: James Dixon (writing) and Michael Jordan.
Generational Hatred
With their double feature, On the Edge, Defunkt Theatre isn’t messing around. The production links two historic one-act plays—1964’s Dutchman by Amiri Baraka and 1916’s Trifles by Susan Glaspell—that directly confront racism, gender roles and violence. First is Trifles, which portrays the battle between the sexes. When the men of a town begin to investigate a murder a strange woman is suspected of committing, two women (Elizabeth Jackson and Paige McKinney) decide to gather their own clues. It opens in a vague setting: wood paneling, a large metal garbage can, some mismatched furniture. The women wear hoopskirt frames over steampunky outfits. Mr. Henderson (James Dixon), Mr. Hale (Jess Ford) and Mr. Peters (Michael Jordan) constantly belittle the women with gender stereotypes: Women are supposed to be housekeepers, men should have all the power, women aren’t smart enough to be detectives. Neither party discusses its theories when the opposite sex is present, and the men don’t seem particularly interested in hearing what the women have to say. There are several moments when the male characters cut off the women midsentence. “Women are used to worrying over trifles,” Mr. Hale laughs. Post-intermission, Dutchman continues to hit hard with social imbalance. Among old van seats that symbolize a train car, Lula (Jackson) provocatively introduces herself to Clay (Dixon) in an attempt to “screw.” Her thin veil of innocence becomes even thinner as Lula, a white woman, makes suggestive racial remarks to Clay, a black man. The audience becomes like the other passengers on the train: silently watching and unable to avert the quickly escalating argument that takes place. The power dynamics are clear: “I lie a lot,” Lula says to Clay. “It helps me control the world.” That control is passed back and forth between Lula and Clay, and even to the silent train passengers, who capture the incident on their cellphones when it reaches its chilling ending. On the Edge may not leave you literally on the edge of your seat, but considering neither play resolves its tensions, it doesn’t exactly leave you at ease. Still, it’s not all bleak: It reminds you the theater has long been a space to deal with social justice issues, at a time when those kinds of spaces feel particularly precious. MORIAH NEWMAN.
On the Edge is a history lesson in social justice theater.
SEE IT: On the Edge plays at Defunkt Theatre, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., defunktheatre.com. 7:30 pm ThursdaySunday, through Mar. 18. No show Sunday, Feb. 26. $10-$25. Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
35
BRING YOUR KIDS MUSIC MILLENNIUM DAY!
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH FROM 10am - 4pm Featuring kid-friendly performances from SIMPLY 8 JOSEPHINE RELLI & (NOON)
(2PM)
Our 6th Annual ‘Bring Your Kids To Music Millennium Day”, an event focused on passing the torch of music appreciation to the next generation! Featuring live music from up & coming Portland area artists Josephine Relli and Simply 8. Both acts exemplify the tremendous talent and creativity of the young musicians in our community. The first 200 attendees under the age of eighteen will receive complimentary gift bags with music, snacks and passes for fun activities from local event sponsors. Join us for a day of musical fun for the whole family!
THANK YOU OUR GENEROUS EVENT SPONSORS!
Check out these great titles from MOANA
SOUNDTRACK $11.99 CD
SABRINA CARPENTER
ELENA OF AVALOR
SOUNDTRACK $7.99 CD
EVOLUTION $9.99 CD
Torrent Tea: Queer Space and Photographic Futures
Guest curator Ashley Stull Meyers has put together a group exhibition that celebrates blackness and queerness. Black-and-white candid photographs by Texas Isaiah document a revelatory dance party, while across the gallery, a series of elaborately staged portraits by Devin N. Morris use saturated color to present a stark look into the lives of its subjects. Much has been said about the female vs. the male gaze, but this show gives us potent examples of the queer gaze and the sense of creative agency that comes when artists represent themselves and their communities. This is the first time any of the photographs in the show have existed as prints, having all lived previously only in the digital realm. Seeing them as physical objects, made differently manifest in the world, feels strong, present and empowered. Newspace Center for Photography, 1632 SE 10th Ave., 503-963-1935. Through Feb. 25.
Self Destruct Mode
This two-person show takes place in what is perhaps my new favorite exhibition space in town. Actually, it’s a semi-industrial studio shared by multiple artists that smells deliciously of paint and leather and doubles as an exhibition space. One of the artists there, Bobbi Woods, curates the shows, and this month she has chosen to feature the work of heavy-lifters Heidi Schwegler and Christopher Russell. Schwegler’s conceptual sculptures speak to the disuse of found objects, so don’t be surprised to see a twig resting inside the bristles of a hairbrush, or a ceramic cat figurine face-planting into an old Stride Rite sneaker. Russell, the creator of the zine Bedwetter, who now shows at the Getty, makes abstract photographic prints into which he scratches intricate patterns and onto which he paints with semen. Strange and wonderful, all. Private Places, 2400 NE Holladay St., privateplaces.us. Through Feb. 25.
LION GUARD
SOUNDTRACK $9.99 CD MOTHER
DISNEY CLASSICS COLLECTIONS - $11.99 CDS
Disney Modern Classics • Disney Television Classics Disney Theme Park Classics • Disney Timeless Classics *prices valid through March 15th
NERVOUS JENNY(live performance)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH AT 6PM
News flash - Tight and urgent 3-piece rock is back! Influenced by British Blues Invasion to Modern and Americana rock these songs are lean and strong with stories and characters - from grocery store checkers to male strippers to midnight lovers. Nervous Jenny will have you singing along by the end of the first chorus.
ARI HERSTAND(Book reading and signing) SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH AT 5PM
In 2008, Ari Herstand turned in his Starbucks apron, determined to make a living off his craft as a singer/ songwriter. Since that time, he has become a founding member of the new DIY movement and a self-sustaining musician, all without the help of a major label. Now, drawing from years of experience, Herstand has written the definitive guide for artists who want to forge their own path. Incredibly comprehensive and brutally honest throughout, How to Make It in the New Music Business covers every facet of the “new” business
LOS CAMPESINOS!(live performance)
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND AT 6PM
Los Campesinos! write about smart people doing terribly irrational things – using a depressant like alcohol to beat depression, burning the skin off your hands before seeing a palmist, investing your emotional wellbeing in a far-flung football team. Everyone involved should know better and yet they keep doing whatever it is to wrest something out of life. For LC!, that means deciding whether or not to dedicate their energy to one of the most irrational past times someone in their 30s can pursue: being in a rock band.
36
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. By JENNIFER RABIN. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit show information—including opening and closing dates, gallery address and phone number—at least two weeks in advance to: Visual Arts, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Email: jrabin@wweek.com.
COURTESY OF THE ART GYM
TO
VISUAL ARTS
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
Mother
Roxanne Jackson’s and Julia Oldham’s two-person exhibition, centering around the duality of female power, is heavy with humor, horror and kitsch. Jackson’s ceramic she-beasts have iridescent horns and golden fangs, all the better to eat you with after getting back from the mall. In Oldham’s video, “The Birdmaker,” a benevolent witch stirs her blood into a cauldron until a murder of crows flies out. Oldham’s 2-D “beastiary”—a series of Goreyesque drawings of zombie brides and adorably murderous animals— rounds out the show. In all of its glorious, grotesque glory, Mother reminds us that any creature who is able to give life also has the power to end it. The Art Gym, 17600 Pacific Highway, 503-6996243. Through March 18.
Constructing Identity
This exhibition consists of 100 works by African American artists, offering a nuanced exploration of identity and self-representation. The museum has done something interesting by categorizing the works—which range from paintings to conceptual sculpture to textiles—into six categories: abstraction, gender, community, faces, spirit and the land. By doing so, we get a sense of the different scaffolds around which communities construct their identity and on which individuals hang their sense of isolation or belonging. Because artists of color are notoriously underrepresented and their work is largely left out of the art canon, it is a rare and overwhelmingly wonderful experience to stand in a museum gallery surrounded by voices we so rarely get to hear. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 503-226-2811. Through June 18.
Adrift
Photographer Magda Biernat documents the realities of climate change by pairing images of the melting ice caps in Antarctica with images of hunting lodges in the Arctic that have been abandoned, due to the dying off or the changing migration patterns of the game there. The photographs of the ice caps practically glow from the fugitive blue ache inside them. In contrast, the photographs of the snow-covered lodges in the bleak Alaskan landscape appear to be black-and-white, even though they are full color. The sloped roof lines of the ramshackle lodges mimic the jagged forms of the ice caps rising from the water. Looking at them side by side, you realize that man is responsible for the soon-tobe irrelevant construction of one, and the near-total destruction of the other. Blue Sky Gallery, 122 NW 8th Ave., 503-225-0210. Through Feb. 26.
Something Light
It is rare that I will write up a single piece in a show, but Hap Tivey’s large-scale light installation is worthy. When you walk into the back gallery at Elizabeth Leach, a color field washes over you, creating an unearthly calm. It emanates from a wood box, hollowed out at its center to create a luminescent cylinder framed by gold leaf. As you move around it, inspecting it from different angles, you see Venn diagrams, crescent moons, and glowing orbs. The light field changes color in a series of smooth transitions and fast pulses, and you needn’t understand any of it to feel it transport you. Elizabeth Leach Gallery, 417 NW 9th Ave., 503-2240521. Through March 11.
For more Visual Arts listings, visit
BOOKS WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15 Jason Rekulak
In Jason Rekulak’s new novel, The Impossible Fortress, three teenage boys go on a quest to find the 1987 Playboy spread of Wheel of Fortune card-turner Vanna White. A caper for the ages. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm.
Megan Kruse
With shades of Marilynne Robinson, Call Me Home, the debut novel by Megan Kruse, is told from the perspective of three of its characters. Amy moved to Texas at age 19 to be with a man she’d only just met. Her son, Jackson, is forced to leave town when it’s discovered that he’s gay, while his young sister, Lydia, must witness her parents’ abusive relationship. University of Portland Bookstore, 5000 N Willamette Blvd., 503-943-7125. 7:30 pm.
THURSDAY, FEB. 16 Tracy K. Smith
Tracy K. Smith, National Book Award finalist and Pulitzer Prize winner in poetry, will speak as part of Literary Arts’ Arts and Lectures series. Unfortunately, the event is already sold out. Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington St., 503-227-2583. 7:30 pm-9 pm.
David Osborne
Centered on Daytime Smoke, the redheaded son of William Clark and a Nez Perce woman, David Osborne’s novel The Coming tells the story of the discovery of gold on Nez Perce land, with broken treaties and betrayal witnessed through the eyes of a man with feet in both cultures. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm.
FRIDAY, FEB. 17 Emily McDowell
The central irony of greeting cards is that they are almost always meant to express something more important than any card could express. (The rain-wilted card from your long-estranged father isn’t meaningful because the tabby on the front says “Meowy Catsmas.”) Greeting card writer Emily McDowell took this assumption as the starting point for her new illustrated book, There Is No Good Card for This, which provides advice for developing empathy and connecting with our loved ones. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm.
SATURDAY, FEB. 18 Dick Cheney Shot Me in the Face
A former advertising entrepreneur, whose name (Timothy O’Leary) is only
a letter and an apostrophe away from the Harvard psilocybin guy, debuting his new collection of short stories, entitled Dick Cheney Shot Me in the Face, at Dig a Pony, a club for lost Californians, during an event presented by Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, which looks like it would belong in Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley? Sure, why not. Mother Foucault’s, 523 SE Morrison St., 503-236-2665. 7-10 pm.
MONDAY, FEB. 20 Ruth Tenzer Feldman
Seven Stitches is the newest installment of Ruth Tenzer Feldman’s Oregon Book Award-winning Blue Thread series. A year after the dreaded Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, Portland is trying to rebuild and Meryem is still looking for her lost mother. But after a mysterious stranger arrives, Meryem leaves the city, crossing time and space with the help of a magic prayer shawl, to save a girl from slavery in 16th-century Istanbul. Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm.
TUESDAY, FEB. 21 Meet Me at the Bamboo Table
Halfway between a globetrotting travelogue and a culinary pictorial, Meet Me at the Bamboo Table is the latest from Seattle-based writer A.V. Crofts. A communications professor by trade, Crofts has studied and taught everywhere from Alabama to Africa, China to Italy. Along the way, she discovered that words aren’t the only form of communication across cultures, and her new book acts as an exploration of how community happens around the table. Annie Bloom’s Books, 7834 SW Capitol Highway, 503-246-0053. 7 pm.
Unconditional: Older Dogs, Deeper Love
Photographer Jane Sobel Klonsky traveled the United States to collect images and stories of people and their aging dogs for her tearjerker of a new book Unconditional: Older Dogs, Deeper Love. This may be the only text on the planet that both you and your Trump-supporter uncle can agree on. Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway, 503-284-1726. 7 pm.
John Darnielle
Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle is one of those rare songwriters whose gifts transfer to prose. His new novel, Universal Harvester, is like a heardit-from-a-friend folk-horror story about a video store employee investigating a VHS with what may be the evidence of a crime spliced into its frames. Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 800-878-7323. 7 pm.
For more Books listings, visit
20
The Unsettlers Asks: Can you save America by Opting Out of it?
Mark Sundeen has made a career out of people who’d rather not have a career anymore. From his 2000 book, Car Camping, to his 2012 New York Times best-selling The Man Who Quit Money, about a man who lives in a Utah cave, Sundeen has been obsessed with the various ways people get away from it all. The Unsettlers (Riverhead Books, 336 pages, $26) follows three families of homesteaders—Ethan and Sarah Hughes of Missouri ecotopian commune Possibility Alliance, Detroit urban farmers Olivia Hubert and Greg Willerer, and ur-homesteaders Luci Brieger and Steve Elliott. We talked to Sundeen in advance of his appearance at Powell’s Books on Feb. 21. MATTHEW KORFHAGE. WW: Why did you write this book? Mark Sundeen: I guess it started with total despair that I was complicit in my own destruction and loss of freedom. One example would be watching the banking scandal, and feeling so angry about the 1 percent and Wall Street, and then writing a monthly check for my mortgage—and thinking, I’m their customer as much as I hate them. In the book, there’s no easy way to opt out. The working title had been Simple—and it came out so inaccurate I had to change it. We’ve created a society where it’s easy and cheap to get the worst possible products. It’s cheaper to eat fast food than go to Whole Foods and cook from the ingredients. How’d you decide which people to follow? I thought I was going to write a book on preppers— people who are preparing for the apocalypse. But it was pretty much all white people in rural America. The fear was always about cities—“inner city” is always code for talking about black people. But this collapse has already occurred in places like Detroit, and the people who are victims aren’t white people with permaculture gardens. It’s poor people of color. Meeting Olivia was a gift from God. I expected someone who grew up in Detroit to be jaded and hard. Olivia had maintained this love of beautiful things, and she had this sense of humor. With the Possibility Alliance, the problems weren’t subsistence—it was personality. That’s certainly part of a long tradition of idealistic
17
READERS’ POLL
IS BACK!
ISAN BRANT
HOTSEAT
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. BY ZACH MIDDLETON. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, submit lecture or reading information at least two weeks in advance to: WORDS, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Email: words@wweek.com. Fax: 243-1115.
MARK SUNDEEN
communities in America, dating back to Emerson and Thoreau. When you have such an individualistic society, it’s hard for people to let go and believe in consensus-building. Does the current political situation make the book seem naive, or more relevant? It looks like these people were prophetic. I thought these people might be looked at as Chicken Littles. You know, “We live in petro state, an unjust government controlled by oil companies.” That might have seemed extreme before. Some would say that by opting out, these people have refused to engage with the culture. These people are completely engaged. There are 1,500 visitors a year at the Possibility Alliance. At Standing Rock, I met six people from the PA who’d been trained there. They were taking what they learned and putting that stuff up against the barricades. Is Standing Rock a harbinger of what’s to come? I hope so. [But] I can’t get on board with “I’m glad that the world is terrible because it’s making us better people.” We’re in the midst of a historical tragedy. People will be hurt and people will die. No one will look back and say, “Oh, it was great.” Let’s say you’d live like one of the families in this book. Which one would you choose? In a sense, Detroit. It was so exciting. There wasn’t that sense of being in the middle of nowhere, being in isolation. You could have that homesteading life and be in the city. But realistically, I’m not going to move to Detroit and start farming. GO: Mark Sundeen will appear at Powell’s City of Books, 1001 W Burnside St., powells.com, on Tuesday, Feb. 21. 7:30 pm. Free.
Nominate your favorites from March 1—31 Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
37
courtesy of rushlake Media
MOVIES G et your r e Ps iN
Bad Education
(2004)
one of spanish auteur Pedro almodóvar’s best, Bad Education tells the story of a filmmaker (fele Martinez) and his childhood friend (Gael García Bernal) over the course of three decades, tackling love, sexual abuse and identity through a swirling lens of truth, fiction and memory. 5th Avenue Cinema. Feb. 17-19.
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976) in a rare baseball flick presented in 35 mm, Billy dee Williams, James earl Jones and richard Pryor star in this comedy about Negro league pitcher Bingo long (Williams), who starts his own barnstorming baseball team in the 1930s after persuading a bunch of talented players to quit their crummy contracts. Hollywood Theatre. 4:30 pm Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 18-19.
KATI KATI
Sunday Bloody Mary Sunday: The Godfather Part II (1974)
atteNtioN all dads! your favorite or second-favorite (you may prefer Part i) movie is playing at the Mission this sunday. this time, you can enjoy the masterful second chapter in the story of the corleone family with a bloody mary included in the ticket price and breakfast treats available for purchase. Mission Theater. 10:30 am Sunday, Feb. 19.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Michel Gondry and charlie kaufman were two definitive minds of mid2000s indie quirk, and this quietly tragic romcom, starring Jim carrey and kate Winslet as lovers who erase their memories of one another, is as indicative of the spirit of the decade as the iraq War. Academy Theater. Feb. 17-23.
Studio Ghibli Retrospective Encore
oMsi’s January retrospective of groundbreaking Japanese animasters studio Ghibli was such a smash success that it’s bringing some of the most popular films back for an encore showing. catch Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke—which didn’t screen as part of the festival proper—on the biggest screen in town. Empirical Theater at OMSI. Feb. 17-21. See omsi.edu/theater for details.
AlSo PlAyinG: Academy Theater: The Notebook (2004), feb. 15-16. Church of Film: cuba libre: the films of santiago alvarez, clinton street theater, 8 pm Wednesday, feb. 15; Invasion (1969), century Bar, 9:30 pm Monday, feb. 20. Hollywood Theatre: Our Hospitality (1923), 2 pm saturday, feb. 18; Sabertooth Dragon vs. the Fiery Tiger (1977), 7:30 pm tuesday, feb. 21. Mission Theater: Magic Trip (2011), 6:30 pm thursday, feb. 16; Dirty Dancing (1987), feb. 17-21; Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), feb. 17-18 and 20.
38
Portland International Film Festival: Oregon Style PORTLAND FILMS SHINE IN A FIELD OF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITORS. BY Walker MacMurdo
wmacmurdo@wweek.com
We’re in the thick of the 40th iteration of the Portland International Film Festival. There are sad Europeans just trying to find a companion in a lonely world (Aloys). In Tehran, we learn how tough it is to be a teenage girl—in prison (Starless Dreams). Legendary Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda’s last film explores avant-garde expression in a repressive Soviet state (Afterimage). Yet still, Portland filmmakers shine through. DIY hero Matt McCormick’s new documentary, Buzz One Four, is both a poignant look into family history and an exploration of how the Eastern seaboard was almost wiped out in a nuclear catastrophe. Trailblazing, Portland-raised animator Bill Plympton’s new animated feature, Revengeance, is a mind-fucking descent into ’70s Los Angeles scuzz. At the Made in Oregon collection of shorts, watch 10 films by locals, including a surreal exploration of Vietnamese-American identity by Vu Pham (The Cutting Shadow), a dark descent into sexuality from Mila Zuo (Carnal Orient) and a love story about Mexican food from Slater Dixon (Incendio). We watched every film screening this week that we could. Like last week, we’re going by our new four-star rating system. Here’s another run-through in case you missed it: : This movie sucks, don’t watch it. : This movie is entertaining but flawed. : This movie is good. We recommend you watch it. : This movie is excellent, one of the best of the year. This week we put some handy genre tags on the front of our reviews to make it a little easier for you to find what you’re looking for. Go forth and watch.
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
four stars Kati Kati (Kenya/Germany)
[suPerNatural thriller] Kati Kati is like a more daring episode of Black Mirror set at a safari lodge without any technology. kenyan director Mbithi Masya tells the story of a 28-year-old woman named kaleche (Nyokabi Gethaiga) who has mysteriously died and reawakened in a remote, Purgatory-like village. kaleche is as ignorant as the audience is, which Masya uses to thematic advantage by displaying a titillating minefield of emotional surprises and drawbacks for his characters. the ending is bleak, but then again, so was the beginning. the film’s overall mythology is unique, with enough blind spots that focusing on chewing a piece of popcorn feels disruptive. Jack rushall. Fox Tower: 2:45 pm Sunday, Feb. 19. Valley: 6 pm Wednesday, Feb. 22.
The Son of Joseph (France/Belgium)
[coMedy] With equal measures of solemnity and absurdity, this film recasts christ as misanthropic teenager Vincent, who plots to murder oily literature connoisseur oscar, the father who abandoned him. Laurelhurst: 3:45 pm Saturday, Feb. 18.
The Stopover (France/Greece)
[War draMa] the latest from french sister-auteur duo delphine and Muriel coulin (17 Girls) is flawlessly sensitive, frankly tragicomic and one of the most relevant movies of 2016. set at an opulent cyprian hotelresort where a unit of french soldiers has been sent for three days of post-combat “decompression” before flying home, its heroines are service-
women aurore and Marine. a visually colorful but verbally minimal film, The Stopover’s tensions live in its suffocated symbolism: When aurore is cornered into competing in a dance marathon, the navel orange held between her and her partner’s heads is crushed by the pressure. rendered as often in reds and purples as in sunny, clean whites and blues, The Stopover is less about war than about real people and real trauma. the experiences of its characters aren’t exploited for melodrama, nor are they placed in neat boxes; they simply are, and the result is stunning. isaBel Zacharias. Fox Tower: 6 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21; 3:30 pm Wednesday, Feb. 22.
three stars Buzz One Four (United States)
[docuMeNtary] the only feature at Piff from a Portland-based filmmaker, Matt Mccormick’s new hourlong documentary is as much personal history as it is exploration of near-nuclear apocalypse. Buzz One Four tells the story of the 1964 savage Mountain crash, in which a B-52 carrying two nuclear weapons crashed just outside of Barton, Md., after an equipment failure. here’s the plot twist: Mccormick’s grandfather flew the plane. using contemporary interviews and footage taken from official air force training videos and his grandfather’s home movies, Mccormick tells a bucolic story of mid-20th-century american life in the semi-deadpan tone that put the diy darling on the map. Walker MacMurdo. Laurelhurst: 5:45 pm Wednesday, Feb 15. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: Noon Saturday, Feb. 18.
[THRILLER] Set entirely in the back of a police van in 2013 Cairo, a paramilitary paddy wagon fills with argumentative protesters, journalists and bystanders, offering a unique sensation of war’s cruelty. Valley: 6 pm Saturday, Feb. 18.
Dead Slow Ahead (Spain/France)
[HORROR] Set aboard a freighter in the middle of the ocean, this almostsilent, almost-science fiction film is a lesson in cinematic sensory deprivation. Empirical Theater at OMSI: 8:30 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Fire at Sea (Italy/France)
[DOCUMENTARY] On the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, a major entry point for African migrants, director Gianfranco Rosi offers an up-close look at their attempts to make their way to Europe by sea. Fox Tower: 8:30 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Half Ticket (India)
[COMEDY] A pair of young coalgathering, nest-snatching slumdog brothers go to great lengths to somehow afford an impossibly expensive slice from the newly opened pizzeria. Laurelhurst: 12:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 18.
Hedi (France/Germany/Tunisia/ United Arab Emirates/Qatar) [DRAMA] On the eve of his wedding to a beautiful woman, Hedi is miserable. His job takes him out of town, where he strikes up a passionate affair. Laurelhurst: 3:45 pm Monday, Feb. 20.
Heidi (Germany/Switzerland/South Africa)
[FAMILY] Parceled off to the remote mountain cabin of her crotchety grandpa, our eponymous 8-year-old orphan needs only breathe in the rarefied air of the Swiss Alps to embrace a winsome wildness. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 12:45 pm Monday, Feb. 20.
The Invisible Guest (Spain)
[THRILLER] Successful CEO Adrian Doria stands to lose it all after he’s discovered inside a locked hotel room with the body of his dead mistress lying on the floor. Laurelhurst: 8:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 16.
Land of Mine (Denmark/Germany)
[WAR DRAMA] It’s 1945 and Denmark has turned its Nazi occupiers, many of them teenagers, into POW crews forced to clear thousands of landmines from the Danish coastline. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 5:45 pm Saturday, Feb. 18.
Life After Life (China)
[FANTASY] A spectral fable set within the rapidly industrializing Chinese countryside, Life After Life opens on a father and son gathering kindling for their fire. The boy, already at odds with the older generation’s dreary traditionalism, runs off chasing a wild hare. He returns possessed by the spirit of his late mother, beseeching her husband to transplant the tree that once sheltered their former home. As the reunited couple pushes forward through the noxious landscape, encountering ancestors reincarnated as animals and lingering relatives adrift in an inexpressive haze, there’s an unmistakable sense of traversing borderlands of the dead. The often breathtaking imagery of firsttime writer-director Zhang Hanyi distills the spark of magic from a rigorous austerity. JAY HORTON. Valley: 1:30 pm Sunday, Feb. 19. Laurelhurst: 6:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21.
Louise by the Shore (France)
[ANIMATED] Legendary French animator Jean-François Laguionie illustrates the seaside adventures of an elderly woman stranded in an otherwise deserted Breton resort town after missing the last bus of summertime. Laurelhurst: 3:15 pm Saturday, Feb. 18.
Nakom (Ghana/United States)
[DRAMA] Iddrisu Awinzor (Jacob Ayanaba) is an auspicious medical student studying at the Ghanaian capital of Accra. After his father dies, Iddrisu must return to his small village of Nakom. There, he can use his education and work ethic to settle his father’s financial debts, plant crops for the upcoming harvest, and persuade his hesitant family to abandon old traditions and adapt to changing times. Ultimately, Iddrisu must decide if he’s willing to sacrifice his promising future for the good of his village. Cast largely with non-actors, Jacob Ayanaba carries this film masterfully, with Ghana’s natural beauty standing out in every scene. CURTIS COOK. Valley: 7 pm Monday, Feb. 20. Laurelhurst: 9 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21.
The Olive Tree (Spain/Germany)
[ROAD MOVIE] How often do you come across a movie about a chicken farmer attempting to extract a tree from an office building in Dusseldorf? That’s the plot of this border-crossing odyssey in which Alma (Anna Castillo) travels from Spain to Germany to recover an olive tree that once belonged to her grandfather (Manuel Cucala). At times, Alma’s journey gets goofy, yet at its beautifully sentimental core, The Olive Tree is a tender tale about Alma revitalizing her fractured family. Director Icíar Bollaín doesn’t skimp on absurdities—she slips in a witty narrative detour about the theft of a Statue of Liberty replica. Don’t you just love it when that happens? BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 8:30 pm Monday, Feb. 20; 6 pm Thursday, Feb. 23.
Paradise (Russia/Germany)
[DRAMA] Paradise sets out to do the impossible by setting a love story inside a concentration camp. Andrei Konchalovsky’s film revolves around Olga (Julia Vysotskaya), a Russian aristocrat-turned-member of the French resistance who is arrested for hiding Jewish children. Helmut (Christian Clauss), her lover before the war, is now a powerful Nazi. We see their backstory, the rekindling of their romance at the camp where Helmut conscripts Julia as his personal servant, as well as sprinklings of meta docu-style interviews, out-of-place and reminiscent of The Office. Truthfully, the film owns its fair share of twists and turns, but Olga’s unbridled morality could afford to be more fleshed out. An eager transcendance from rags to riches makes sense. The other way around owes its audience a proper explanation. JACK RUSHALL. Cinema 21: 8:30 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15. Laurelhurst: 3:15 pm Monday, Feb. 20.
Raising Bertie (United States)
[DOCUMENTARY] Filmed over the course of six years, director Margaret Byrne’s feature debut documents the lives of three young black men fighting an uphill battle against generational rural poverty, educational inequality and lack of opportunity. Despite focusing on familiar themes associated with stereotypical depictions of black masculinity, Raising Bertie strays from Hollywood’s dismissive racial tropes. Instead, the documentary takes on a humanizing, realistic tone. There are no white saviors or moralizing tales with hopeful conclusions. There’s just three young men doing the best they can with what little they’ve got. CURTIS COOK. Laurelhurst: 8:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 5:45 pm Wednesday, Feb. 22.
thumpers, and bounty hunters—including Lujan mainstay Rod Rosse the One-Man Posse—the winking nods to blaxploitation tropes and drug-culture excesses feel pointedly reminiscent of underground cartoon icon Ralph Bakshi, but such frenetically disjointed plot lines and fever-dream scenarios actually prove ideal targets for Plympton’s trademark propulsive momentum and high-minded stroll between whimsy and lunacy. JAY HORTON. Laurelhurst: 8:45 pm Saturday, Feb. 18. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 2:45 pm Sunday, Feb. 19.
Starless Dreams (Iran)
[DOCUMENTARY] Starless Dreams is a compassionate documentary that offers an intimate look at the lives of teenage girls in a juvenile detention center in Tehran. Their legal guilt is never doubted, but the film takes an empathetic approach in exploring why they committed their crimes. Many of the girls were physically and sexually abused at home. In efforts to free themselves from their abusers, they turned to theft, drugs and even murder. Director Mehrdad Oskouei carefully crafts a sense of familiarity between the audience and the subjects. Starless Dreams finds a sordid sense of comfort and community within the prison, and an intense anxiety about what will happen upon the girls’ release. CURTIS COOK. Valley: 4 pm Sunday, Feb. 19. Laurelhurst: 9 pm Thursday, Feb. 23.
Tonio (Netherlands)
[DRAMA] Tonio follows a couple as they process the unexpected death of their 21-year-old son. Formed from a patchwork of flashbacks, the film functions as an illustration of grief, going over every detail of the son lost, muted in color and imbued with tenderness. The stutter and incoherence of grief is also present. At times, the narrative gets too lost in its own emotions. It struggles, too, with an obvious pitfall: It’s difficult to fully feel the loss of a character who isn’t alive long enough to truly be developed. Still, due greatly to the stunningly personal lead performances of Rifka Lodeizen and Pierre Bokma, Tonio earns a strong place among this year’s foreign-language Oscar submissions. ISABEL ZACHARIAS. Valley: 6 pm Friday, Feb. 17. Laurelhurst: 2:30 pm Sunday, Feb. 19.
TWO STARS El Acompañante (Cuba/ Panama/France/Colombia)
[SPORTS DRAMA] Los Cocos, a military-run HIV clinic operating outside Havana in the mid-’80s, functioned on several misconceptions about AIDS. Translating to “The Companion,” this film’s title refers to the designa-
tion given at Los Cocos to the paired individuals with whom patients were allowed to leave the premises—but whose true purpose was to inform authorities of patients’ habits. Director Pavel Giroud satisfies El Acompañante’s world-building potential, with patients’ matching blue number-printed uniforms and the separation of gay patients from straight ones eliciting wonderment at how recent this history is. But on the whole, as it traces scrappy, jokester patient Daniel Guerrero (Armando Miguel) and his assigned companionship with ex-champion boxer Horacio (Yotuel Romero), El Acompañante cannot successfully balance its bizarre dual identity as prison drama and Rocky-style sports comeback movie. ISABEL ZACHARIAS. Fox Tower: 7:30 pm Sunday, Feb. 19; 8:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21.
All the Cities of the North (Serbia/ Bosnia-Herzegovina/Montenegro)
[DRAMA] Two men find themselves living together in an abandoned hotel on the Albanian border of Montenegro. Laurelhurst: 8:45 pm Monday, Feb. 20.
After the Storm (Japan)
[DRAMA] Initially, After the Storm has an interesting case of arrested development on its hands. Shinoda Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) is a once-bestselling novelist slumming it as a detective, trying not to gamble away the alimony he owes. Too soon, though, the film gives up on his seedy universe and coops him up in an apartment with his ex-wife, mother and son. Hirokazu Koreeda’s script does offer some pearls of wisdom about families teasing and spurning each other. Ultimately, it hangs too much solely on the deadbeat Ryota. Like so many sad-bastard movies, it assumes he has a level of depth we never see. CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER. Valley: 4:15 pm Monday, Feb. 20. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 6 pm Saturday, Feb. 25.
Afterimage (Poland)
[BIOPIC] The 40th and final film by Andrzej Wajda, which premiered one month before the legendary director’s death last year at the age of 90, Afterimage showcases influential Polish avant-garde painter Władysław Strzemiński (Boguslaw Linda) during his slow surrender to the degradations of life behind the Iron Curtain in the years following World War II. A grim portrait recounting the deadening effects of the Soviet regime on creative freedoms—a struggle Solidarity member Wajda would face himself—the vicarious toll of successive small embarrassments and minor defeats forced on the artist proves difficult to bear. However thick the totalitarian gray suffusing Wajda’s last work, the very existence of his storied career offers a silver lining
all its own. JAY HORTON. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 8:30 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15. Laurelhurst: 6:15 pm Monday, Feb. 20.
Alive & Kicking (United States/Sweden)
[DOCUMENTARY] Thanks to the internet and viral YouTube sensations, the world has been inundated with absurd dance crazes that come and go in the blink of an eye. While most fade away, others remain timeless. Alive & Kicking explores the rise, fall, ’90s revival and modern world of swing dancing. Living dance legends like Frankie Manning share the screen with enthusiastic newcomers. This feel-good documentary tips its hat to swing dancing’s heyday and showcases modern dancers around the world who are still deeply passionate about everything from the Lindy hop to the Carolina shag. CURTIS COOK. Laurelhurst: 6:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 18. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 3:30 pm Monday Feb. 20.
Apprentice (Singapore/Germany/ France/Hong Kong) [DRAMA] Aiman (Firdaus Rahman) is a Malay correctional officer. He seems genuinely interested in rehabilitating inmates, but his fascination with the prison system stems from a dark family secret. After being transferred to the Singapore territory’s highest-security prison, Aiman developes a friendship with one of the region’s most renowned executioners, an elderly hangman named Rahim (Wan Hanafi Su). As their relationship intensifies, we learn that their lives have long been intertwined by death. Apprentice explores the divisive issue of capital punishment while questioning whether the death penalty could ever be seen as justified or compassionate. CURTIS COOK. Fox Tower: 5 pm Saturday, Feb. 18; 8:45 pm Thursday, Feb. 23.
Barakah Meets Barakah (Saudi Arabia)
[ROMCOM] Mahmoud Sabbagh’s groundbreaking debut applies the classic romcom blueprint to dissect the class distinctions, gender politics and cultural evolution (or lack thereof) guiding Saudi Arabian millennials. There’s an Old Hollywood universality to the story of awkward civil servant Barakah (Hisham Fageeh) falling for Instagram icon Bibi (Fatima al-Banawi), even if our 20-something swain has never before so much as held a girl’s hand. However unlikely the meet-cute inside a kingdom strictly prohibiting all unchaperoned singles’ encounters, the chasm separating antiquated social mores from 21st-century social media provides fertile ground for satire. Sabbagh’s witty, winning comedy of manners hurdles inexpert dialogue and
CONT. on page 40 KINO LORBER
Clash (Egypt/France)
Revengeance (United States)
[ANIMATED] Portland native Bill Plympton joined forces with L.A. indie animator Jim Lujan for his eighth feature, Revengeance—a sleazedrenched farce detailing scores of deviants on the trail of two-fisted nymphet Lana to garner the outsized reward offered by ex-wrestler Senator Deathface. Populating a decidedly ’70s-styled SoCal freakscape with this swirling mélange of bikers, Bible-
THE SON OF JOSEPH Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
39
MOVIES C O U R T E S Y O F F I R S T R U N F E AT U R E S
unpracticed performers for a DayGlo jaunt limning the inequities of theocratic rule, yet still thrilling to the vagaries of young love. JAY HORTON. Valley: 8:30 pm Friday, Feb. 17. Fox Tower: 3:30 pm Monday, Feb. 20.
The Commune (Denmark/Sweden/Netherlands)
[DRAMA] Nine elated new housemates prance through the streets of mid-1970s Copenhagen. They jump naked into a harbor, all scored by the Who’s “Join Together.” That’s how The Commune exuberantly sets up its bohemian living experiment. The players are all vivid, and a few great scenes of 50-year-olds arguing about beer money like it’s a parliamentary matter ensue. But the Danish writing-directing duo of Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm are at their best delivering zoomedin, tragic portraits of miscommunication (The Hunt, A War). By contrast, The Commune is broad and rudderless after its first act. The potential for a vignettedriven hangout flick or a sharp social critique are there, but the movie won’t commit to either. CHANCE SOLEMPFEIFER. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 5:45 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15. Fox Tower: 5:45 pm Friday, Feb. 17.
Daguerreotype (France/Belgium/Japan)
[HORROR] Hitchcock’s shadow looms over this French-language feature in which a young Belgian man takes a job as assistant to an eccentric photographer. The ingredients for a compelling film—a camera that takes daguerreotypes at life size, a greenhouse poisoned by liquid mercury, an old house haunted by a hanged bride—are ample. Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira) takes a patient approach, feasting on imagery of the photographer’s young daughter shackled to a steampunk apparatus that holds her in place as the camera slowly drains her life away. Unfortunately, this film is interminably long, draining the viewer’s life for 131 thought-provoking, frustrating minutes of ambiguous ghost story, doomed romance, unlikable characters and missed opportunities. NATHAN CARSON. Bagdad: 10:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 18. Valley: 5:45 pm Thursday, Feb. 23.
The Distinguished Citizen (Argentina/Spain)
[COMEDY] A pretentious Nobel Prize winner returns to his hometown and pisses off the locals. Fox Tower: 5:45 pm Thursday, Feb. 16.
The Dreamed Path (Germany)
[DRAMA] Set over the course of 30 years in Greece and Germany, two relationships fall apart through mundane life details like doctor’s visits. Laurelhurst: 6 pm Friday, Feb. 17.
The Eyes of My Mother (United States)
[HORROR] A severed cow head sits on a kitchen table. Isolated farm girl Francesca and her mother dissect one of its eyes as an anatomy lesson. Nicholas Pense’s artful, compact debut is all down the hill of European extremism from there. Francesca’s mother is murdered by a stranger—whom Francesca blinds, cordectomizes and chains up in a barn, feeding him and calling him her only friend. As Francesca grows to adulthood, each atrocity ups the ante, all shot in strikingly beautifully black-and-white. The Eyes of My Mother is all imagery and torture porn, a feast for the senses for those who can stomach a blinding or two. WALKER MACMURDO. Bagdad: 10:30 pm Friday, Feb. 17.
Forever Pure (Israel/United Kingdom/Russia/Norway)
[SPORTS DOC] Embattled Israeli soccer stars endure a racially charged backlash when the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team enrages a cluster of fans by hiring two Muslim players. Fox Tower: 6 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Kékszakállú (Argentina)
[DRAMA] A shade darker than the usual coming-of-age piece, this film is based on the Hungarian opera Bluebeard’s Castle, in which Bluebeard’s new wife comes home for the first time to brave room after progressively terrifying room. Director Gastón Solnicki reimagines this journey through the eyes of young women venturing toward maturity and womanhood in Buenos Aires. The characters within Kékszakállú are
40
THE STOPOVER primarily non-actors, capturing authentic giggles and tears during rites of passage and hints of the mundane real world ahead. Despite the improvisational pacing, Solnicki takes in their apartment buildings and poolside haunts with a photographic eye, framing the adolescents’ thousand-yard stares with stunning symmetry. LAUREN TERRY. Laurelhurst: 3 pm Sunday, Feb. 19. Fox Tower: 8:45 pm Saturday, Feb. 25.
Kills on Wheels (Hungary)
[CRIME DRAMEDY] On paper, Kills on Wheels sounds like it came from the era between Pulp Fiction and Snatch when video stores were stocked with low-rent Tarantino knockoffs based on quirky criminals and high-concept pulp. This is, after all, the story of two comics-obsessed, disabled 17-year-olds who befriend a wheelchair-bound hit man working for a Serbian thug with a thing for dogs. There are some fun bits here, but the tonal shifts—from dark comedy to crime caper to hyper-earnest comingof-age tale to generic family drama— jackknifes far too often for most of it to work. Still, it’d fit in just great sandwiched between Suicide Kings and Love and a .45 at the Budapest Walmart. AP KRYZA. Fox Tower: 2:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 18. Laurelhurst: 6:45 pm Monday, Feb. 20.
The King’s Choice (Norway)
[COSTUME DRAMA] Norway’s ceremonial, democratically elected King Haakon VII stands up to Adolf Hitler’s invading army. Valley: 3 pm Saturday, Feb. 18.
The Land of the Enlightened (Belgium/Ireland/Netherlands)
[DOCUFICTION] This film juxtaposes the real-life withdrawal of U.S. military troops from Afghanistan with a fantastical glimpse into the lives of Afghan children. Fox Tower: Noon Saturday, Feb. 18.
Life+1Day (Iran)
[DRAMA] This neorealist drama peers deep within the roiling entanglements of a south Tehran family ravaged by drug addiction in the weeks before their youngest daughter’s wedding to a wealthy Afghan. Cinema 21: 8:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 16.
Ma’Rosa (Philippines)
[CRIME DRAMA] The latest release from neorealist auteur Brillante Mendoza illuminates the corrosive effects of systemic poverty and widespread corruption on Filipino families struggling to survive. Despite dabbling in meth sales as a sideline, aging shopkeepers Rosa (Cannes 2016 Best Actress Jaclyn Jose) and Nestor (Julio Diaz) could barely keep doors open. A police raid pushes their children to desperate acts to afford funds sufficient to bribe authorities for the couple’s release. Filmed on location around Manila shantytowns during typhoon season, the minimal narrative resists tabloid melodrama and thereby risks emotional distance, but the handheld vérité technique imparts a relent-
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
less, bristling urgency throughout. JAY HORTON. Laurelhurst: 12:15 pm Monday, Feb. 20. Valley: 8:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 23.
One Week and a Day (Israel)
[DRAMA] Mastering the commercial, drive-thru indie feel, One Week and a Day is the first full-length feature by American-born Israeli director Asaph Polonsky. It follows Eyal (Shai Avivi, labeled the “Larry David of Israel”) and his wife, Vicky (Evgenia Dodina), at the end of their son’s shiva, the week of mourning following his death. How do they cope? Eyal enlists a neighborhood stoner (Tomer Kapon) to demonstrate how to roll joints, and Vicky commits to a series of incongruous acts: She steals a pot full of feral kittens and attempts to relocate them, goes jogging, and succumbs to smoking some of Eyal’s weed. The problem with One Week and a Day is not that it’s a slice of life. Even then, it’s too aimless. By the end, it attempts to get deep with a visit to the graveyard. By this point, you may have forgotten who died. JACK RUSHALL. Fox Tower: 5 pm Sunday, Feb. 19. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 8:30 pm Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Panamerican Machinery (Mexico/Poland)
[BLACK COMEDY] Every cheery detail in the first 15 minutes of Joaquín Del Paso’s debut foreshadows calamity. When the owner of a small factory suddenly dies, its bumbling accountant reveals to the distraught office and plant staff that the company is bankrupt and they’re all out of their jobs. This snapshot of working-class bliss—gleaming construction equipment, meticulously ordered parts—rapidly devolves into drunken chaos as varying factions of employees block the factory gates and party while halfheartedly trying to save their jobs. Del Paso’s excellent eye for detail drives home this sardonic, melancholy analogy for Central American politics. WALKER MACMURDO. Laurelhurst: 6 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21. Fox Tower: 8:30 pm Friday, Feb. 24.
Short Cuts 8: In Pursuit
[SHORTS] These must be the leftover shorts that PIFF had trouble lumping into any other category; the title given to the collection has little discernible meaning, and their range in subject matter is almost as striking as their range in quality. There’s the aptly named Indefinite Pitch from American James N. Kienitz Wilkins, 23 long minutes of black-and-white still photos of running water set to one dude’s vague, meandering pitch for a movie about a town called Berlin, N.H. There is also, though, Brazilian director Ana Vaz’s Há Terra!, or There Is Land!, an unnerving and gorgeous 16 mm cine-poem exploring themes of colonialism and predator and prey, obscuring boundaries between character and setting. ISABEL ZACHARIAS. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 8:45 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21.
Soul on a String (China)
[WESTERN DRAMA] In this pan-
oramic masterpiece, Director Zhang Yang weaves a tale of revenge and destiny across the diverse lands of Tibet, creating a Buddhist Western of epic proportions. Antihero Tabei is a gruff cowboy charged with the delivery of a sacred stone to holy lands hundreds of miles away. Joined by a spunky shepherdess named Chung (Quni Ciren) and a possibly clairvoyant munchkin, his makeshift family must survive the terrain and the murderous men out to avenge the sins of Tabei’s father. Striking widescreen shots of ochre deserts and verdant landscapes help blend the lines between magic realism and classic manon-the-run format, if you have patience for the two-and-a-half-hour viewing to take it in. LAUREN TERRY. Laurelhurst: Noon Saturday, Feb. 18. Valley: 6 pm Sunday, Feb. 19.
The Student (Russia)
[SCHOOL DRAMA] If you combined the DNA of Tracy Flick, Fred Phelps and Vladimir Putin, you might get something close to Yuzhin (Pyotr Skvortsov), the main character of the jet-black satire The Student. The agnostic high-schooler decides to declare swim class against his religion, then pores over Russian Orthodox scripture to pull out anything that might get him out of other classes. As he becomes more fiery and fanatical, he gains followers and enemies, primarily his biology teacher, whose sex-ed and Darwinism lessons draw the most ire. The tale of a sociopath using religious rhetoric selectively to his own ends has some real punch in the current climate. Still, half the film comprises a teenager screaming Bible verses, making it as much an endurance test as an invigorating cautionary tale. AP KRYZA. Valley: 8:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 18. Laurelhurst: 12:45 pm Monday, Feb. 20.
Suntan (Greece/Germany)
[DRAMA] Middle-aged doctor Kostis falls in love with a young woman and gets up to no good. Cinema 21: 5:45 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15.
ONE STAR Aloys (Switzerland/France)
[DRAMA] Ultra-close-up of forlorn protagonist staring into distance. Public transport whizzing by into the darkness. Lingering shots of sterile rooms. Folks, we have a film about Northern European ennui on our hands. The story of reclusive private investigator Aloys Adorn, who plays a game of telephone cat and mouse with a mysterious young woman who steals his equipment, turns from surveillance thriller into crippled love story at a glacier’s pace. Director Tobias Nölle’s pretty camera work can’t save this film from being an utter chore. WALKER MACMURDO. Laurelhurst: 6:15 pm Thursday, Feb. 16. Fox Tower: 3:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21.
The Death of Louis XIV (France/Portugal/Spain)
[COSTUME DRAMA] A two-hour, close-up view of the gangrenous death of Europe’s longest-reigning king. Laurelhurst: 8:30 pm Friday, Feb. 17.
Eldorado XXI (Portugal/France)
[DOCUMENTARY] Portuguese documentarian Salome Lamas takes a bleak look at the dangers and monotony of life in remote mining town La Rinconada, Peru. Laurelhurst: 5:45 pm Thursday, Feb. 16.
The Human Surge (Argentina/Brazil/Portugal)
[ENSEMBLE DRAMA] If you enjoy sitting slumped in a theater while an ambitious filmmaker attempts to bore you to death, you shouldn’t miss this stultifying feature debut from writer-director Eduardo Williams. Set in Buenos Aires, Mozambique and the Philippines, the film presents a series of vignettes involving a stroll through a flooded street, the filming of some amateur porn, and a search for internet access. We’re clearly meant to be entranced by this ordinariness, but Williams fatally relies on impersonal wide shots that swiftly demolish any hope of viewers forging an emotional attachment to his characters. The only human surge the movie is likely to cause is a stampede of moviegoers scrambling toward the exits. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Fox Tower: 8:30 pm Friday, Feb. 17; 6 pm Wednesday, Feb. 22.
I Am Not Madame Bovary (China)
[SATIRE] Li Xuelian (Bingbing Fan) and her husband get a “fake divorce” as part of a plan to cheat the government. But when her husband remarries another woman, Li begins a decadelong series of lawsuits in an effort to undo the fake divorce, remarry her ex-husband, and file for a real divorce. This ludicrous legal battle sets the stage for a cumbersome satirical take on China’s political bureaucracy. With some of the humor lost in translation, the story turns repetitive. Puzzlingly, the movie rarely inhabits the entirety of the screen. Instead, a small, centered square or circle serves as a window to the film, with the rest of the screen in black—a stylistic choice that makes for a difficult viewing experience. CURTIS COOK. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 5:45 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21. Fox Tower: 5:45 pm Thursday, Feb. 23.
The Ornithologist (Portugal/France/Brazil)
[ROAD MOVIE] Based on the spiritual transcendence of St. Anthony, ornithologist Fernando is swept away by a current and ominously encounters strangers who test him existentially and sexually. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 5 pm Sunday, Feb. 19.
Parting (Iran/Afghanistan)
[DRAMA] For a story about an Afghan immigrant couple attempting to move from Iran to Europe, these two refugees barely get their feet out the door. Though it’s technically a love story, Navid Mahmoudi’s gloomy, personal look at the endless pitfalls immigrants face on a daily basis from point A to point B has little room for tenderness. Unfortunately, this is the film’s fatal flaw. Though the couple is firm in their decision to make it across the Mediterranean, their determination to remain together shifts. Their love feels weak. Parting is slow, and the characters don’t end up anywhere particularly different from where the audience first encounters them. Though there must be some tragic, meaningful symbolism, this film feels pretty uneventful. JACK RUSHALL. Empirical Theater at OMSI: 6 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15. Laurelhurst: 6:30 pm Friday, Feb. 17.
Short Cuts 5: Made in Oregon
[SHORTS] In line with the tastes of our odd little corner of the country, these shorts are both ironic and intellectually heavy-handed, experimental to the point of their meanings being needlessly obscured for effect and never revealed. A few, like Leah Brown’s 4-minute Ascendant, are Kinfolk-pretty but empty. Others, like the inscrutable, existential hand-drawn 1 minute 18-second Individual from Nate Sonenfeld, want so badly to come off as sincere that they feel instantly insincere. One bright moment in the collection comes with Portland filmmaker Vu Pham’s The Cutting Shadow, the sinister, drug-addled story of two Vietnamese half brothers attempting to reconnect with their heritage. In sum: Some of this stuff is truly bad enough to recommend, but mostly it’s just plain bad. Go us! ISABEL ZACHARIAS. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium: 2:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 18.
= WW Pick. Highly recommended. Editor: WALKER MACMURDO. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR LISTINGS, send screening information at least two weeks in advance to Screen, WW, 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Email: wmacmurdo@wweek.com. Fax: 243-1115.
OPENING THIS WEEK A Cure for Wellness
Don’t concern yourself with the following spoilers, you don’t want to go see this movie anyway. A piece of pseudo-arty Euro-horror shlock, A Cure for Wellness boorishly appropriates motifs from movies much better than it—forced dental surgery, incest, Holocaust imagery, mad doctors, dungeons and long white hallways— and offers no narrative payoff whatsoever. An overworked businessman (Dane DeHaan) gets sent by his firm to a mysterious Swiss spa from which no one ever leaves. The rest you’ll piece together…except for one particularly upsetting sequence. To anyone producing media to be consumed by other humans: IF YOU’RE GOING TO INCLUDE CHILD RAPE IN ANY STORY, THERE MUST BE AN UNAVOIDABLE NARRATIVE NECESSITY FOR IT. It must be given the emotionally complex treatment it deserves. It is not a characterization technique to make your villain (Jason Isaacs) more villainous, nor is it a throwaway bit of horror-movie sideshow gore. It is baffling that after the 150-minute snooze that was The Lone Ranger, director Gore Verbinski (The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean) was given another movie in the first place. This assures—please, please, God—that he’ll never direct one again. R. ISABEL ZACHARIAS. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Tigard, Vancouver.
Fifty Shades Darker
Fist Fight
Hard not to imagine Fist Fight as a three-episode It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. First-time director Richie Keen earned his bones grinding out episodes of the long-running FX sitcom, and though slightly tempering his manic irascibility to play financially strapped English teacher Andy Campbell, Charlie Day shall forever be known for embodying ITSIP’s Charlie Kelly. With a narrative surrounding Mr. Campbell’s efforts to avoid the titular challenge demanded by another teacher he inadvertently gets fired, there’s a familiar momentum, built on successive misdeeds, as each cowardly quick fix furthers Campbell’s imminent danger. The array of glorified cameos stick to type (Christina Hendricks, Tracy Morgan), limning the comforts of idly clicking between reruns. Ice Cube, though, never got the memo. The hip-hop icon’s sheer presence carries a weight of moral authority that the film disastrously tries to balance through regular inserts highlighting our supposed hero’s devotion to his daughters and pregnant wife. For all the winning bursts of absurdity or deliciously inappropriate turns, the climactic and wholly unironic appeal for teachers’ rights flattens any comic charge lingering about the talented cast. As every kid knows, expecting anyone to learn anything on the last day of school is pointless…and sorta mean. R. JAY HORTON. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.
I Am Not Your Negro
Raoul Peck’s new documentary is a story of guilt. James Baldwin’s unfinished 1979 manuscript, Remember This House—a response to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X
CONT. on page 42
YO U R LY K E WE PERK
DOANE GREGORY
However you feel about E.L. James’ Fifty Shades trilogy of (essentially) softcore BDSM porn novels, the story examined as a cultural phenomenon is food for thought worth chewing. Just as much as the series has been heralded for normalizing consensual sub-dom sex, it’s been harangued for glorifying abusive relationships and sexual violence. But here, somewhat shockingly, director Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy, Love You More) has wrung out a perfectly watchable movie from James’ crudely written fantasy. Hot, nubile college grad Anastasia “Ana” Steele (Dakota Johnson) meets hot, “complicated” billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). They have lots of kinky sex and fall in love accidentally, but Christian’s naughty past gets in the way. While certainly no monument to feminism—Christian tells off Ana’s attractive male boss with the explanation “He wants what’s mine”—Fifty Shades Darker is ultimately centered on the female
experience of heterosexual relationships. The graphic, multitudinous sex scenes are aaall about Ana’s orgasm and make it clear that it takes more than penetration to get there. With unguarded humor and sometimes even something verging on wit, Darker discusses consent, sexual boundaries, trauma and relationship autonomy with a frankness that honestly makes it, despite soap-opera drama and predictability, a pretty good movie. R. ISABEL ZACHARIAS. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.
FIFTY SHADES DARKER
wweek.com Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
41
MOVIES
Ice Guardians
A one-time screening of Brett Harvey’s 2016 look into the role of the enforcer, the guys responsible for policing dirty play with their fists, in the NHL. A Q&A follows with Portland’s recently retired Paul Gaustad, who played for the Winterhawks, Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators. Kiggins Theatre. 7 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21.
John Wick: Chapter 2
John Wick Chapter 2 starts with a wild car-fu chase and climaxes with a stab-happy shootout in a hall of mirrors. In between, fresh bodies pile up in the Roman catacombs, New York’s homeless population reveals itself to be handy with weapons, an EDM show turns into a battleground and Keanu Reeves gets hit by approximately eight cars. It’s a film that’s as surreal as it is violent, and calling it violent is an understatement. Former Reeves stunt double-turneddirector Chad Stahelski keeps what worked for the first film—the minimal cutting, fluid action, wry humor, livedin mythology and bajillion headshots— and doubles down. This time, dog-loving assassin Wick is bound by a blood oath to murder the sister of a rival (Riccardo Scamarcio) seeking her seat at a powerful international assassins guild. That sends Wick to Rome, though not before a quick trip to the tactical tailor at the original film’s enigmatic Continental Hotel and back, leaving a sea of bodies in his wake. Stahelski shows influences as diverse as John Woo, Gaspar Noé, Jean-Pierre Melville, John Boorman, and Seijun Suzuki in Wick’s slick journey, but lest you get bogged down in the stylistic flourishes, don’t forget that this is a movie in which Reeves constantly kills people with pencils, shotguns and his fists. John Wick was a surprise hit that might just be the best action movie of the decade. Its sequel could end up becoming a contender for secondbest. AP KRYZA. R. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.
The Lego Batman Movie
Fast, funny and pleasingly drunk on the joys of mockery, this animated superhero spoof takes its not-so-dark knight on a zany adventure that should bring a smile to Adam West’s face. Like 2014’s The Lego Movie, Lego Batman is set in a world where everything is made of Lego bricks—people, buildings and even flashes of light. Here, Batman (Will Arnett) is a petulant and preening goofball who rocks out on an electric guitar and burnishes his ego by showering orphans with cool toys from his “merch gun.” Meanwhile, both the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and Batgirl (Rosario Dawson) seek to quash the caped crusader’s self-important vigilantism. Yet the spunk of both Batman and the movie proves irrepressible. Despite some pandering lectures on the importance of family—which will insult the intelligence of even the youngest moviegoers—the film is a speedy romp that’s so wacky that it finds a novel use for a new version of the “shark-repellent bat spray” from 1966’s Batman: The Movie. Unfortunately, a disturbing specter of reality intrudes during the end credits: Steven Mnuchin, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary
42
of the treasury, is listed as an executive producer. PG. BENNETT CAMPBELL FERGUSON. Bagdad, Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Milwaukie, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Roseway, St. Johns Twin Cinema & Pub, Tigard, Vancouver.
trip to the moon? PG. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Fox Tower, Living Room Theaters, Lloyd, Oak Grove, St. Johns Pub and Theater, Tigard, Vancouver.
The Lure
A Surprise, surprise: La La Land got nominated for 50 billion Oscars. PG-13. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Fox Tower, Hollywood, Lake Theater & Café, Living Room Theaters, Lloyd, Moreland, St. Johns Twin Cinema & Pub, Tigard, Vancouver.
Mermaids Golden and Silver (Michalina Olszańska and Marta Mazurek) left their shell bras on the seashore. After local band the Lure pulls the topless twosome from a beach in Poland, the psychedelic Abba-esque music begins. The pair join the band in an adult nightclub, where they flaunt their abilities both to carry a tune and transform their long legs into slimy fish tails with a spritz of water. But we quickly learn these alluring mermaids are at least part killer eel. The girls have several scenes lying alone, tails draped over the edge of a tub, singing sad Polish love songs as light gleams off their scales. Golden and Silver are seemingly irresistible to humans, but in true trashy thriller fashion, the over-sexualized murders they commit are more stomach-churners than enjoyable. If you can brave the cannibalism and flashy fantasy, The Lure has its entertaining parts. You have to praise this film for its originality, but sex and cannibalism never pair well, even above the ocean. NR. AMY WOLFE. Cinema 21.
Women Who Kill
This movie follows Morgan and Jean, two true-crime podcasters and former lovers whose relationship is thrown into tumult when Morgan meets Simone, who may not be who she says she is. Presented as part of the Hollywood Theatre’s Queer Commons series, Ingrid Jungermann’s debut won best screenplay at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Hollywood Theatre. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15.
STILL SHOWING Arrival
A Arrival inspires because of sorrowful linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams), who enters a spaceship hovering above Montana shrouded in grief but still has compassion for both aliens and humanity. PG-13. Bridgeport, Cinemagic Theatre, Clackamas, Fox Tower, Lloyd.
The Comedian
F Knock! Knock! Who’s there? A shitty movie. R. Bridgeport, City Center, Clackamas, Eastport, Fox Tower, Vancouver.
A Dog’s Purpose
B+ Filmgoers were barking mad when they thought the producers of A Dog’s Purpose had abused a canine on set. But this tale of doggy death and rebirth exploits every inch of furry adorability to blot critical faculties and fan the sparks of true emotion. Who’s a good movie?! PG-13. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Oak Grove, Tigard, Vancouver.
Fences
A- Denzel Washington swings for the fences with his adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a struggling African-American blue-collar family in 1950s Pittsburgh, hitting a home run and, uh, stealing third base? PG-13. Bridgeport, Clackamas, Lake Theater & Café, Living Room Theaters, Lloyd.
The Founder
B Amid the past few years’ McConaissance, did we fail to notice the Keatoning? Judging by his spot in this biopic about McDonald’s impresario Ray Kroc, he’s a “serious, important” actor now. PG-13. Bridgeport, Clackamas, Laurelhurst.
Gold
F Gold is like Wolf of Wall Street except with gold instead of junk bonds, unlikable Matt McConaughey instead of begrudgingly likable Leo, and 45 minutes of unncessary exposition instead of naked Margot Robbie. R. Clackamas.
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
B- How do you start over when your transgressions refuse to stay buried? According to director Kenneth Lonergan, you don’t, and that denial is one of too many reasons Manchester by the Sea, while admirably tough-minded, is also a drag. R. Bridgeport, City Center, Clackamas, Fox Tower, Lake Theater & Café, Lloyd, Tigard.
Moana
B+ If you were curious whether Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson could carry a tune, Moana is a ringing affirmative. PG. Academy, Avalon, Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Division, Empirical, Kennedy School.
Monster Trucks
C+ Monster Trucks is really good for a
children’s movie about a kid named Tripp (Lucas Till) who has a monster living in his truck. PG. Avalon.
Moonlight
A Moonlight follows Chiron, played by three different actors, coming of age over two decades on the rough Liberty City blocks of 1980s Miami. If you haven’t seen this film yet, do so: It’s probably going to get screwed at the Oscars, but it’s among the year’s absolute best. R. Bridgeport, Cinema 21, Cinemagic Theatre, Clackamas, Lake Theater & Café, Lloyd.
Oscar Nominated Shorts
They go underappreciated and mostly unseen by mainstream audiences during the year, but this week the Oscarnominated animated and live-action shorts make it to select Portland-area screens in preparation for the big show. Bridgeport, Hollywood, Kiggins, Living Room Theaters, Clackamas.
Portland Black Film Festival
Curated by former WW film editor David Walker, the fifth annual Portland Black Film Festival continues this week, headlined by Raoul Peck’s excellent new documentary, I Am Not Your Negro. Don’t miss that, or Walker’s new lecture, “Black Images Matter,” exploring AfricanAmerican representation in film and television. Hollywood Theatre. See hollywoodtheatre.org for a full schedule.
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
EIghT ISn’T Enough: Senator Deathface.
Revengeance Assembled Animator Bill Plympton returns home for his eighth feature at the Portland International Film Festival.
Although he’s collaborated on projects ranging from Kanye West’s “Heard ’Em Say” music video to elongated-couch gags to open episodes of The Simpsons, Bill Plympton’s own movies have been famously independent affairs. In 1992, the Portland State grad and native Oregonian made animation history by hand-drawing each image of his feature-length debut, The Tune. With his eighth feature, Revengeance, however, the 70-year-old animation legend sought out underground cartoonist Jim Lujan and entered into his first extensive creative partnership for this loose-limbed jaunt through a deranged ’70s SoCal freakscape revolving around a Trump-ish U.S. senator named Deathface (prophetically created in 2013). Prior to his appearance at the local premiere of Revengeance at a Laika-sponsored PIFF screening where Plympton has promised sketches for attendees, we spoke to Plympton about the experience. JAY HORTON. WW: Is Revengeance a full collaboration? Bill Plympton: Jim Lujan and I did the film together. He did the story and the voices and the music. I did the producing, directing, animation and storyboard. Usually, I have to do everything myself, which I like, but this was so much simpler. I just had to worry about the artwork. I love doing the artwork.
Silence
How did the process work between you two? Quite frankly, [Lujan] is not a great animator. I think he would admit to that. So, some of the stuff I had to clean up a little bit, but I thought his character designs were really excellent. All the details—the clothing, the hairstyles, the body builds, the facial hair—are just spot-on.
Split
Was it a mix of animation styles? Like I said, his drawings are a little bit more primitive. So, especially for the background and the cars, I had to stylize a little more—make it more, what should I say, professional looking. But Lana, Death-Face, all these character designs were really wonderfully drawn, so I copied them pretty closely.
Toni Erdmann
What’s the plot? It’s about the underbelly of Los Angeles society. All these druggies, outlaw bikers, wrestlers, religious fanatics and corrupt politicians, which is very timely. It’s a sort of film noir adult animated cartoon about how these crazy, wacko people mix together.
C+ Silence is the exact kind of lifelong passion project you’d expect a 74-year-old man to make about religion: a winding, sincere mess of heavy-handed symbolism and old-timey racism, set off with bad accents and worse voice-overs. R. Academy.
B+ James McAvoy’s stars as a guy with multiple-personality disorder who kidnaps a group of young girls, who must try to coax one of the good ones to set them free. Is this problematic? PG-13. Bridgeport, Cedar Hills, City Center, Clackamas, Division, Eastport, Lloyd, Oak Grove, Pioneer Place, Tigard, Vancouver.
B The jury is still out on whether Europeans are funny. R. Cinema 21.
XXX: Return of Xander Cage
B Do we need another Fast and Furious franchise? The new Vin Diesel flick answers that question by flipping double birds while hitting a stoppie into a villain. R. Clackamas, Eastport, Vancouver.
Hidden Figures
C Why does Kevin Costner get the biggest racism-busting line in a movie about underappreciated black women who contributed to NASA’s Apollo 11
HOTSEAT C O U R T E S Y O F B I L L P LY M P T O N
and Medgar Evers—serves as this film’s intellectual and emotional core. It begins with Baldwin’s 1957 return to the United States from France after he could no longer participate in the Civil Rights movement from a distance. Peck develops Baldwin’s personal story into his theory of American racism, which is articulated through a swirling procession of media: Clips of film, news and Baldwin’s debates are interspersed with his correspondence with publishers and overlaid by gravelly narrations of his written words by Samuel L. Jackson. But Peck’s film is more than a propositional telling of political philosophy. I Am Not Your Negro’s indirect, impressionistic construction mirrors Baldwin’s theory: White America’s refusal to confront history has metastasized into a dehumanizing psychosis that prevents the country from enjoying the privileges its exploitation of people of color let it reap. Rarely is a story so personal, so complex and so important told with such empathy that the audience can “see” it through the teller’s eyes. WALKER MACMURDO. Cinema 21.
For more Movies listings, visit
Sort of like a Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat) film? I’m a big fan of Bakshi. He was a guy who was really the vanguard of adult animation and broke all the rules. And he was successful, wildly successful. I’m friends with him, we talk occasionally and discuss each other’s projects. He was definitely a big influence. SEE IT: Revengeance screens as part of the Portland International Film Festival at the Laurelhurst Theater on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 8:45 pm, and at NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 2:45 pm. Plympton and Jim Lujan will attend both screenings.
end roll RICK VODICKA
#wweek
STREET ARMCHAIR FAMILY BOOKSTORE
Barred BY S OP H I A J U N E
sjune@wweek.com
You may need to stop at a couple of dispensaries if you’re buying recreational weed this month. Right now, almost 200 dispensaries statewide are temporarily barred from selling recreational marijuana due to holdups from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. On Jan. 1, dispensaries that had been serving both recreational and medical customers were faced with a decision: they could choose to either go through the Oregon Health Authority for a medical license or the OLCC to be recreational. Ka’ala L., who runs Marijuana Paradise on Southwest Barbur Boulevard, says she turned in her recreational application to the OLCC on Jan. 1, but wasn’t assigned an inspector until early February. She says there is still no date set for the inspection. Being shut out of the recreational market has been a disaster for her shop. “Ninety percent of revenue has been lost with this change,” she tells WW. “It’s been hard. We’ve had to cut the staff ’s hours and have temporary layoffs in order to keep the business going.” Ka’ala says she’s also spoken with other vendors and growers who have had to close their shops completely until their recreational licenses come through. She also says she’s heard from customers who had to go to several dispensaries before finding one where they could buy recreational weed. “We get a lot of upset customers about this law change, and how they’re just trying to get some cannabis and having a hard time finding it,” she says. “It’s been really hard and difficult and we’re trying to stay afloat.” According to the OLCC, as of 8 am on Feb.13, there were still 2,109 applications for labs, processors, producers, retailers and wholesalers to sell recreational marijuana in Oregon. Out of these, 892 have an active license, meaning
the approved applicant has paid the license fee and the OLCC has issued the license. Another 37 applicants have been approved, but have not paid the fee. Two hundred and forty-five applicants submitted an application, but have not submitted a completed Land Use Compatibility Statement signed by the applicant’s local government. That leaves 935 applications that are either assigned an inspector, or awaiting assignment. If we look at only retailers, that leaves 168 applicants that are assigned and another 20 that are ready for assignment—meaning there are 188 marijuana retailers in Oregon still awaiting OLCC approval to sell recreational marijuana. In comparison, as of Feb. 10, there were 110 retailers with approved licenses in Multnomah County. It isn’t necessarily only dispensaries converting; they could also be new companies, the OLCC says. The delay is due to many retailers not getting all of their paperwork in on time, or submitting applications in the last few days of 2016. “A lot of folks who applied at the very end of the year and were expecting they’d get a license within a day or two—it takes a couple of weeks for paperwork to be checked, to check their fingerprints, check they’ve got their documents in order and physically inspect their locations,” says OLCC marijuana program spokesperson Mark Pettinger. “There’s one story in the cannabis trade industry that lamented the case for two or three dispensaries. When we went back and checked, they’d either submitted incompletely or at the last minute—so Dec. 29 or 30, thinking they’d get a license on Jan. 1.” He went on to say that people often assume the OLCC is not prepared. “They could have applied in August, September, October, applied for a license, gone though the process of converting to an OLCC license, been approved, and waited until they wanted to flip the switch,” he says.
FOR OVER 45 YEARS
UNDER NEW OWNER NEW STOCK OF USED THINGS BOOKS • CDS • CLOTHES • DVDS • VIDEOS AND ADULT DVDS $5.00 ARMCHAIR FAMILY BOOKSTORE 3205 SE MILWAUIKE PORT. OR MON-FRI 11-6 SAT 11-5 503-477-5446
Presidents Day Special
Butlers Pantry
Made in Oregon Reg. $41595
Sale $349
21” W 72” H 13.5” D
7960 SE Stark St. • NFPDX.COM • 503-284-0655 Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
43
W W S TA F F
BY N a t e Wa g g o n e r
The Sad Fate of the Oyster Slug OR WHY WE DON’T SALT THE ROADS IN PORTLAND. BY DR. MITCHELL MILLAR
We Portlanders have suffered an unusually harsh winter, and have endured several inches of snow, which rendered our roads impassable and our city almost uninhabitable. But worse than the ordeal of the snow and ice has been the never-ending barrage of commentary from smug East Coast transplants. Even The Wall Street Journal has seen fit to report on our weather this winter: “Have you people never heard of salt?” Let me explain something: We leave our roads unsalted by design out of a sense of responsibility to our neighbors and future generations of Portlanders, not for lack of preparedness or misguided belief system. In fact, our beliefs could hardly be more well-guided. Rock salt is extremely dangerous for many reasons. If you have not personally had any run-ins with errant rock salt, consider yourself lucky. Do you know how easily a piece of rock salt can be kicked into the air by a car tire, a boot or a strong gust of wind? And how likely it is that one of these little pieces of airborne rock salt will land in your open mouth, your eye or an unbandaged wound? To prevent one of these ambushes, it is in our best interest to minimize the amount of rock salt on the ground at any one time. I haven’t yet mentioned the ecological havoc that rock salt has already wrought on Portland. Many years ago, Portland was the location of one of the biggest salt disasters in history. It was the end of a grueling winter where Portland had been battered by one snowstorm after another. Frustrated Mayor Fred Peterson decided enough was enough. So, he ordered rock salt deployed on a trial basis in a few carefully vetted areas of town. Unfortunately, the vetting process was not careful enough, and one of the salted areas in Northwest Portland was an area known to be the one and only habitat for a unique species of gastropod called the oyster slug. Eyewitnesses recall the salt trucks arriving one morning unannounced. The salt was applied, and the snow melted and disappeared almost immediately, but the writhing slugs and slug carcasses remained for weeks, sizzling like bacon. Portland was awarded the Guinness World Record for “Fastest Slug Extinction,” a glancing shot to the biodiversity of the region but a landed haymaker right smack into the solar plexus of the local economy. First, these remarkable slugs were prized by hunters who made a pretty penny selling them live at market to chefs and aficionados who enjoyed their exquisite, creamy flavor. Beyond that, the oyster slug was truly a biological marvel, the only slug species known to be able to produce pearls. For those curious, a collection of 19th-century slug-pearl jewelry can be seen by appointment at the Ancient Fossil Annex of the Oregon Historical Society. They’re slightly smaller than those from actual oysters, but to my discerning eye no less lustrous. Many hunters specialized in extracting the pearls within and selling to one of the several downtown clearinghouses that specialized in the ersatz slug-pearl trade. The sad fate of the oyster slug serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of over-seasoning our land. Though you may not have heard of the oyster slug before today, Portland honored the species with a fitting tribute by officially recognizing the part of Northwest Portland where the slugs once nested, along with the old warehouses where their hidden gems were extracted and processed, an area we now call the “Pearl District.”
Cat and Girl 44
2220 NW QUIMBY STREET, PORTLAND, OREGON
Willamette Week FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
CLASSIFIEDS
TO PLACE AN AD CONTACT:
MATT PLAMBECK
45 46 47
WELLNESS, SERVICES, MUSICIANS MARKET, BULLETIN BOARD EMPLOYMENT, LOCALLY OWNED, REAL ESTATE, MOTOR CHATLINES, ADULT, JONESIN’
FEBRUARY 15, 2017
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY, INSIDE BACK COVER
503-445-2757 • mplambeck@wweek.com
WELLNESS
BUILDING/REMODELING
COUNSELING
JOBS
REAL ESTATE
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Computer/IT: adidas America, Inc. - seeks Sr. Manager Platform Operations - eCommerce to work in Portland, OR. Plan, orgnz & direct IT pltfrm operatns & busnss processes for adidas & future sites, ensrng the platfrm is mangd, campgns & experncs are brought live as desird & the end-to-end expernc is perfrmng as expctd. Degree & commensurate exp. req’d. Apply online at https:// careers.adidas-group.com/jobs.
MUSICIANS MARKET REL A X!
INDULGE YOURSELF in an - AWESOME FULL BODY MASSAGE SHOCKMAN THERAPY, LLC COUNSELING SERVICES Extreme Stress Exposure Specialist Couple’s Therapy Rate: $85/hr
call
Charles
503-740-5120
lmt#6250
FOR FREE ADS in 'Musicians Wanted,' 'Musicians Available' & 'Instruments for Sale' go to portland.backpage.com and submit ads online. Ads taken over the phone in these categories cost $5.
INSTRUMENTS FOR SALE
AUTO PROCESSORS Drive new cars Men and Women 18 yrs up Must drive stick Full & part time day and swing 360-718-7443
HOSPITALITY/RESTAURANT
TRADEUPMUSIC.COM
Buying, selling, instruments of every shape and size. Open 11am-7pm every day. 4701 SE Division & 1834 NE Alberta.
MUSIC LESSONS Play what you want to play.
www.shockmantherapy.com 503-866-4806
MASSAGE (LICENSED)
SHAMANIC MEDICINE LEARN PIANO ALL STYLES, LEVELS
Janae Schiller, LMT
Beginners welcome.
With 2-time Grammy winner Peter Boe 503-274-8727
BULLETIN BOARD WILLAMETTE WEEK’S GATHERING PLACE NON-PROFIT DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE.
ADOPTION Specializing in deep tissue massage
“I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more elbow.” First time client special:
$70 for 90 minutes $50 for 60 minutes
For more info visit: www.janaeschiller.com 541.513.1834
PREGNANT? THINKING OF ADOPTION? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families Nationwide. LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions. 866-413-6293.
SERVICES
ANNOUNCEMENTS ALL AREAS - ROOMMATES.COM. Browse hundreds of online listings with photos and maps. Find your roommate with a click of the mouse! Visit: www.Roommates.com.
HAULING/MOVING LJ’S HAULING ANYTHING Removal of Metal/Cars free 503-839-7222
TREE SERVICES STEVE GREENBERG TREE SERVICE Pruning and removals, stump grinding. 24-hour emergency service. Licensed/ Insured. CCB#67024. Free estimates. 503-939-3211
MEETINGS
CLASSES Claim your power and be an ICTC Full Circle Doula! Train with legendary midwife Shafia Monroe in April 2017. Register at www.shafiamonroe.com, 503-281-1688.
LESSONS CLASSICAL PIANO/KEYBOARD ALL AGES. STANDARDS, CLASSICAL, MUSICALS. EUROPEAN TRAINED. PORTLAND 503-227-6557
lic. #21922
FOLLOW @ WWE E K ON TWITTER
DRINK SMARTER!
Moderation Management Mtgs: Mondays, Weekly, 6:30-7:30 PM @ Tabor Space • 5441 SE Belmont, 97215. A supportive environment for healthy decisions about drinking & life-style. More info: portland@moderation.org or www.moderation.org
MCMENAMINS GRAND LODGE
is NOW HIRING for all positions. Come to our hiring event! GRAND LODGE Thursday February 23rd Time: 11:00-4:00 We have both seasonal and long term opportunities available. Current openings include, Line Cooks, Breakfast Cooks, Dishwashers, Servers, Hosts, Catering Captains and more! What we need from you: An open and flexible schedule, including days, evenings, weekends and holidays; Previous experience is preferred, but we are willing to train; A love of working in a busy, customer service-oriented environment. Interested in a career in the hospitality industry? We offer opportunities for advancement as well as an excellent benefit package to eligible employees, including vision, medical, chiropractic, dental and so much more! Apply online 24/7 at mcmenamins.com or stop by any location, anytime to fill out an application. EOE.
LOCALLY OWNED
PETS
MOTOR
LOST AND FOUND
HONDA
REWARD $500 FOR LOST DOG (CHIHUAHUA) Our brown chihuahua went missing 1/25 in Portland. Please call if seen rather than approach him - he is likely very scared and skittish. There is a $500 reward for his safe return, no questions asked. If seen, please call 503-621-7975.
2004 HONDA ACCORD Buy it now $1789 2004 Honda Accord EX V-6, 3.0L, auto, 111,625 miles. Text or Call 412-228-0403
AUTOS WANTED CASH FOR CARS: Any Car/Truck. Running or Not! Top Dollar Paid. We Come To You! Call For Instant Offer: 1-888-420-3808 www.cash4car.com
Margie’s Pot Shop Just for the fun of it
• POT • WAX • SHATTER • VAPE PENS
• GLASS • EDIBLES • $5 JOINTS • $10 GRAMS
• $30 EIGHTHS • QUALITY BUDS and so much more! 509-493-0441
405 E Steuben /SR 14, Bingen, WA 98605 This product may be habit forming. Do not take over state lines. For use by adults 21 and over. Keep out of reach of children.
Willamette Week Classifieds FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
45
TO PLACE AN AD CONTACT:
MATT PLAMBECK
503-445-2757 • mplambeck@wweek.com
CHATLINES
JONESIN’
by Matt Jones
“Hide Your Kids”–they’re in there somewhere. 57 What each of the entries with circles reveals 61 To be in France 62 Lago contents 63 Country divided since 1948 64 Hair band of the 1980s 65 He played Clubber Lang in “Rocky III” 66 Gift on the seventh day of Christmas
Portland 503-222-CHAT Vancouver 360-314-CHAT
Salem 503-428-5748 I Eugene 541-636-9099 Bend 541-213-2444 I Seattle 206-753-CHAT Albany 541-248-1481 I Medford 541-326-4000 or WEB PHONE on LiveMatch.com
ALWAYS FREE to chat with VIP members
(Unlimited VIP membership $15/week. No worries about minutes.)
MAN to MAN
Free Live chatrooms & forums! 503-222-6USA
Across 1 Baker’s buy 6 Group of periods 9 Pet sounds? 13 Threepio’s mate 14 McDonald’s Corporation mogul Ray 15 “Dog Barking at the Moon” painter Joan 16 Maintain the same speed as 18 Tree of Knowledge garden 19 Converse with the locals in Rome, e.g.
21 NBC show since ‘75 24 Lilly of pharmaceuticals 25 Undersized 26 Size in a portrait package 28 It keeps going during the Olympics 31 “You’re not ___, are you?” 32 Guy with a lot of food issues? 33 “Chandelier” singer 36 What regular exercise helps
maintain 40 Layer of lawn 41 Mid-sized jazz combo 42 Blue material 43 Clunky footwear 44 Home of Titian’s “Venus of Urbino” 46 Muhammad Ali’s boxing daughter 49 Soundless communication syst. 50 U.K. tabloid, with “The” 51 “Hmmm ... I’m thinking ...” 56 Contends
Down 1 Chatter away 2 Poet’s palindrome 3 Brunched, say 4 Absorbs, with “up” 5 Unbelievable cover? 6 “CHiPs” costar Estrada 7 Bread at an Indian restaurant 8 Eight, to Ernst 9 Audrey Tautou’s quirky title role of 2001 10 Chamillionaire hit that doesn’t actually have “Dirty” in the title 11 Lose one’s mind 12 Cher’s partner 14 “The Bridge on the River ___” 17 Hit with a barrage 20 Concede 21 Exchanges 22 Cheesy chip flavor 23 Bridges of film 27 “Stacks of wax” 28 Cabinet contents 29 Departed 30 “Entourage”
agent Gold 32 Werewolf’s tooth 33 Long haulers 34 Onetime Trooper and Rodeo maker 35 John who was Gomez Addams 37 Acquired relative 38 Dove noise 39 Abbr. stamped on a bad check 43 Place for supplies, sometimes 44 “Back in the ___” (Beatles song) 45 The gold in Goldschlager, e.g. 46 What “-phile” means 47 Curly-tailed canine 48 Like xenon, as gases go 49 On the ocean 52 “Taken” star Neeson 53 Caltech grad, perhaps 54 Letter-shaped bolt link 55 Site with the tagline “Discover the expert in you” 58 Glass on the radio 59 “Steal My Sunshine” band 60 “___ Boot” (1981 war film) last week’s answers
©2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #JONZ819.
ENTERTAINMENT
Since 1955
REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN.
Try FREE: 503-416-7098 NEWS • RESTAURANTS • BARS • MUSIC • ARTS
WWEEK.COM 46
Willamette Week Classifieds FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
More Local Numbers: 1-800-926-6000
Ahora español Livelinks.com 18+
Open to 2:30 am 365 days a year Over 30 great dancers and a friendly all-female staff MORE TO LOVE ONLINE @ WWEEK.COM
129 SW Broadway
503-227-3023
www.marysclub.com
TO PLACE AN AD CONTACT:
MATT PLAMBECK
503-445-2757 • mplambeck@wweek.com © 2017 Rob Brezsny
Week of February 16
ARIES (March 21-April 19) By my estimates, 72 percent of you Aries are in unusually good moods. The world seems friendlier, more cooperative. Fifty-six percent of you feel more in love with life than you have in a long time. You may even imagine that the birds and trees and stars are flirting with you. I’m also guessing that 14 percent of you are weaving in and out of being absurdly, deliriously happy, sometimes without any apparent explanation. As a result of your generosity of spirit, you may be the recipient of seemingly impossible rewards like free money or toasted ice cream or unconditional tenderness. And I bet that at least ten percent of you are experiencing all of the above. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) I am launching a campaign to undo obsolete stereotypes about you Bulls. There are still backwards astrologers out there who perpetrate the lie that many of you are stingy, stolid, stubborn slowpokes. As an antidote, I plan to heighten everyone’s awareness of your sensual, soulful sweetness, and your tastefully pragmatic sensitivity, and your diligent, dynamic productivity. That should be easy in the coming weeks, since you’ll be at the height of your ability to express those superpowers. Luckily, people will also have an enhanced capacity to appreciate you for who you really are. It will be a favorable time to clarify and strengthen your reputation. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Will Giovanni surreptitiously replace Allesandra’s birth control pills with placebos? Will Camille take a hidden crowbar to her rendezvous with the blackmailer? Will Josie steal Jose’s diary and sell it on eBay? Given the current astrological omens, you may have an unconscious attraction to soap opera-type events like those. The glamour of melodrama is tempting you. But I’m hoping and predicting that you will express the cosmic currents in less toxic ways. Maybe you’ll hear a searing but healing confession after midnight in the pouring rain, for instance. Perhaps you’ll break an outworn taboo with ingenious grace, or forge a fertile link with a reformed rascal, or recover a lost memory in a dusty basement. CANCER (June 21-July 22) All naturally-occurring matter on earth is composed of 92 basic elements arranged in various combinations. Since some of these appear in trace amounts, they took a long time for humans to discover. In the 18th and 19th centuries, chemists were exuberant when they tracked down seven of the 92 in a single location: an underground mine on the Swedish island of Ytterby. That small place was a mother lode. I’m predicting a metaphorically similar experience for you, Cancerian: new access to a concentrated source that will yield much illumination. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) The next four weeks will be an excellent time to upgrade your understanding of the important characters in your life. In fact, I suspect you will generate good fortune and meaningful synchronicities whenever you seek greater insight into anyone who affects you. Get to know people better, Leo! If there are intriguing acquaintances who pique your curiosity, find out more about them. Study the oddballs you’re allergic to with the intention to discern their hidden workings. In general, practice being objective as you improve your skill at reading human nature. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) In 1787, English captain Arthur Phillip led an eightmonth naval expedition to the southeastern part of the continent now known as Australia. Upon arrival, he claimed the land for England, despite the fact that 250,000 Aboriginal people were living there, just as their ancestors had for 2,000 generations. Two hundred years later, an Aboriginal activist named Burnum Burnum planted the Aboriginal flag on the White Cliffs of Dover, claiming England for his people. I encourage you to make a comparably artful or symbolic act like Burnum’s sometime soon, Virgo -- a ritual or gesture to assert your sovereignty or evoke a well-deserved reversal or express your unconquerable spirit.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) The ancient Roman rhetorician Quintilian authored a twelve-volume textbook on the art of oratory. As ample as it was, it could have been longer. “Erasure is as important as writing,” he said. According to my reading of the astrological omens, that counsel should be a rewarding and even exciting theme for you in the coming weeks. For the long-term health of your labor of love or your masterpiece, you should focus for a while on what to edit out of it. How could you improve it by making it shorter and more concise?
BACK COVER CONTINUED... TO PLACE AN AD ON BACK COVER CONTINUED call 503-445-2757
The Ultimate Sports Bar
Buy More For Less 7am/2:30am Everyday
All Sports Packages • All Lottery Games • Free Ping Pong Table Internet Jukebox • Live DJ Fri/Sat • Over 20 HD TVs • Big Buck Hunter HD Check Out Our Facebook Page for Give Aways
1735 W Burnside • 503-224-1341
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Do you know about the long-running kids’ show Sesame Street? Are you familiar with Big Bird, the talking eightfeet-tall yellow canary who’s one of the main characters? I hope so, because your horoscope is built around them. In the Sesame Street episode called Don’t Eat the Pictures, Big Bird solves a riddle that frees a 4,000-year-old Egyptian prince from an ancient curse. I think this vignette can serve as a model for your own liberation. How? You can finally outwit and outmaneuver a very old problem with the help of some playful, even child-like energy. Don’t assume that you’ve got to be relentlessly serious and dour in order to shed the ancient burden. In fact, just the opposite is true. Trust blithe and rowdy spirits. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Your lessons in communication are reaching a climax. Here are five tips to help you do well on your “final exam.” 1. Focus more on listening for what you need to know rather than on expressing what you already know. 2. Keep white lies and convenient deceptions to a bare minimum. 3. Tell the truth as strong and free as you dare, but always -- if possible -- with shrewd kindness. 4. You are more likely to help your cause if you spread bright, shiny gossip instead of the grubby kind. 5. Experiment with being unpredictable; try to infuse your transmissions with unexpected information and turns of phrase. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) The meaning of the Latin phrase crambe repetita is “cabbage reheated, twice-cooked.” I urge you to avoid partaking of such a dish in the coming weeks, both literally and figuratively. If you’re truly hungry for cooked cabbage, eat it fresh. Likewise, if you have a ravenous appetite for stories, revelations, entertainment, and information -which I suspect you will -- don’t accept the warmed-over, recycled variety. Insist on the brisk, crisp stuff that excites your curiosity and appeals to your sense of wonder. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Here’s your mantra for the next three weeks: “I know what I want, and I know how to glide it into my life.” Say this out loud 11 times right after you wake up each morning, and 11 more times before lunch, and 11 more times at bedtime. “I know what I want, and I know how to glide it into my life.” Whenever you do this little chant, summon an upflow of smiling confidence -- a serene certainty that no matter how long the magic might take, it will ultimately work. “I know what I want, and I know how to glide it into my life.” Don’t let any little voice in your head undermine your link to this simple truth. Lift your heart to the highest source of vitality you can imagine. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) “We cannot simply sit and stare at our wounds forever,” writes Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. “We must stand up and move on to the next action.” That’s your slightly scolding but ultimately inspirational advice, Pisces. According to my astrological analysis, you have done heroic work to identify and investigate your suffering. You have summoned a tremendous amount of intelligence in order to understand it and further the healing. But right now it’s time to turn your focus to other matters. Like what? How about rebirth?
Homework Imagine you have time-traveled to one of your favorite places in the year 2020. What do you see? I’m at Truthrooster@gmail.com
SERVICES OFFERED • Pap smears and annual exams • Sexually Transmitted Infection testing • Contraception including IUD insertions • Irregular bleeding • Menopause Management • Herbal Consultations both western and traditional Mayan herbs • Nutritional counseling Referrals and coordination of care as needed
check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes & Daily Text Message Horoscopes
freewillastrology.com
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at
1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700 Willamette Week Classifieds FEBRUARY 15, 2017 wweek.com
47
BACK COVER
Now offering delivery throughout Portland!
TO ADVERTISE ON WILLAMETTE WEEK’S BACK COVER CALL 503-445-2757
Bankruptcy
Stop Lawsuits, Garnishments, Foreclosure Get Debt Relief Today! Call our Law office: 503-808-9032 Free Confidential Consultation. Affordable Payment Plans. Visit: Hutchinson-Law.com
CBD (Cannabidiol) Products For Your Pets! Pet Friendly!
A FEMALE FRIENDLY SEX TOY BOUTIQUE
for every body
Atomic Auto atomicauto.biz 2510 NE Sandy Blvd. (503) 969-3134
GLADRAGS’ NEW XO FLO MENSTRUAL CUP EVENT / SUN, FEB 19 - 7:15 - FREE / SHE BOP DIVISION PLEASURE, POWER, & PAIN: AN INTRO TO BDSM / WED, MARCH 1 -7:30 - $20 FULL- EMAIL FOR WAIT-LIST BJS W/ AJ: A FELLATIO WORKSHOP / THURS, MARCH 9 - 7:30 - $20 FULL- EMAIL FOR WAIT-LIST DROPPING THE HINT, NOT THE BALL: FLIRTING 101 W/ ANDRE SHAKTI / SUN, MARCH 19 - 7:30 - $20 FISTING & MANUAL SEX W/ ANDRE SHAKTI / WED, MAR 22 - 7:30 - $20 INTRO TO ROPE BONDAGE / SUN, APRIL 2 -7:30 - $20
$$$ CASH FOR DIABETIC TEST STRIPS $$$
Steps from the new Orange Line at Holgate Station. 1528 SE Holgate Blvd, Portland OR • (503) 369-8955 Mon-Thurs 10-9, Fri-Sat 10-10, Closed Sunday www.pakalolopdx.com pakalolopdx @pakalolopdx pakalolopdx@gmail.com
Workshops can be ASL INTERPRETED upon request
3213 SE DIVISION ST AND AT 909 N BEECH ST. PORTLAND AND SHOP ONLINE AT SHEBOPTHESHOP.COM
Paying up to $30/box. Help those who can’t afford insurance. Free pickup in SW WA and Portland Metro. Call 360-693-0185 ext 500
Guitar Lessons
Personalized instruction for over 15yrs. www.portlandguitar-lessons.com 503-546-3137
Comedy Classes
Improv, Standup, Sketch writing. Now enrolling The Brody Theater, 503-224-2227 www.brodytheater.com
Female models (18+) wanted
for adult fantasy BDSM/horror themed photo shoots. We are a long established professional production company. Base pay is 600.00 Please call for details. David or Emma 503 449-5341
Top 1% Portland Agent
Muay Thai
Self defense & outstanding conditioning. www.nwfighting.com or 503-740-2666
WHERE SINGLES MEET TO CHAT AND HAVE FUN! 18+ BROWSE AND REPLY FOR FREE 971-280-8436
ARE YOU BURIED IN DEBT?
Tired of creditors harassing you? I will kick their asses and help you get your financial life back on track Call Christopher Kane, Attorney at Law NOW! A debt relief agency kicking ass for 20 years. 503-380-7822. bankruptcylawpdx.com.
Marijuana Store & More *971-255-1456* 1310 SE 7TH AVE
4911 NE Sandy Blvd. Portland, OR 97213 503-384-WEED (9333)
Stephen FitzMaurice, Broker Home Selling Specialist 14+ Years Experience 4.5% Max Commission Premiere Property Group, LLC. 4300 NE Fremont St. 503-714-1111. RealEstateAgentPDX.com
$$$$ WE PAY CASH $$$$ For Diabetic Test Strips, also Lanclets Up to $50 per box Call Becky 503-459-7352 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$Cash for Junk Vehicles$
Ask for Steven. 503-936-5923
Eskrima Classes
Personal weapon & street defense www.nwfighting.com or 503-740-2666
AA HYDROPONICS
9966 SW Arctic Drive, Beaverton 9220 SE Stark Street, Portland American Agriculture • americanag.com PDX 503-256-2400 BVT 503-641-3500
CASH for INSTRUMENTS Tradeupmusic.com SE - 236-8800 NE -335-8800 SW - Humstrumdrum.com
Community Law Project Non-Profit Law Firm Sliding-Scale • Payment Plans Bankruptcy • Debt • Eviction Call 503-208-4079 www.communitylawproject.org
SO, YOU GOT A DUI. NOW WHAT?
Get help from an experienced DUI trial lawyer Free Consult./ Vigorous Defense/ Affordable Fees David D. Ghazi, Attorney at Law 333 SW Taylor Street, Suite 300 (503)-224-DUII (3844) david@ddglegal.com
1332 NE Broadway | 503-282-1214 NORTH WEST HYDROPONIC R&R
We Buy, Sell & Trade New and Used Hydroponic Equipment. 503-747-3624 ®
12302 SE Powell • 503-762-4219 Only 10 minutes from downtown
New Downtown Location! 1501 1501 SW SW Broadway Broadway www.mellowmood.com www.mellowmood.com
4119 4119 SE SE Hawthorne, Hawthorne, Portland Portland ph: 503-235-PIPE ph: 503-235-PIPE (7473) (7473)
503 235 1035
It's worth the drive!
Mention this ad for 20% off Dabs • Juice • Vapes • Butane Detox • Layaway
BOOKKEEPING SERVICES - MBS Portland Setup, Cleanup, Year End & Ongoing All Industries from Startups to Existing Firms, In Your Office or Remotely in Ours QuickBooks, Xero, We Support ALL Accounting Programs
Cannabis Business Specialists Jimmy Gadinas info@rec-books.com www.rec-books.com 503-454-6861
Northwest Tarot Symposium and
FREE PSYCHIC FAIR
March 3-5, 2017 www.NWTarotSymposium.com
MEDICAL MARIJUANA Card Services Clinic
503-384-WEED (9333) www.mmcsclinic.com 4911 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland Mon-Sat 9-6
Pizza Delivery
Until 4AM!
www.hammyspizza.com