Eugene Weekly

If you had to pick a perfect opera for Halloween, Benjamin Britten’s 1954 The Turn of the Screw might be it. There’s definitely a haunted house, but in librettist Myfanwy Piper’s adaptation, as in Henry James’s 1898 novella, mastery lies in mystery. What really happened at scary Bly House? Ghosts? A more mundane human-perpetrated evil? Mere insanity?  Continue reading →

Formed in the UO dorms in 1990, the Sugar Beets ought to hold the all-time record for Band Fortitude: “A quarter-century of sustaining anything in this crazy world is a rarity,” says Marty Chilla, acoustic rhythm guitarist and Beets founding member. “It feels like destiny sometimes, and just plain persistence and work at other times. The Sugar Beets have just kept going step by step, song by song, show by show, and have grown up in front of each other and our audience.”  Eight years ago, the band introduced the “baby” of the group — jazz vocalist Halie Loren.  Continue reading →

Chicago-based Sidewalk Chalk is a hive of ingenuity and aspiration. From keys, drums, horns and bass to an emcee, powerful female vocals and a tap dancer, this eight-member crew thrums with talent. Despite the layers and complexities, the members of Chalk share a common passion — to transcend the norm, the expected, the known — resulting in a fluid sound that is equal parts jazz, soul, hip hop and funk.  Continue reading →

Standing apart in a genre as progressively popular as psych-rock isn’t an easy feat. With more and more artist elbowing their way into the mix, local band Snow White is angling to stand out among the crowd.  All the customary traits are there: a dream-like, experimental sound paired with passionate melodies. Not so customary is Lauren Hay. With hair glimmering every shade of blue and deep mauve lips, Hay reaches into your soul with her haunting yet tender voice.  Continue reading →

If it wasn’t self-described, machinery would seem too rough or inorganic a metaphor for the harmony, improvisation and trust that comprises the Dave Rawlings Machine, but the synergy among members —especially between Rawlings and Gillian Welch — makes for an undeniably powerful engine of sound.  The music of the Machine pays ancestral respect to the folk tradition, with its emotive lyricism and symbiotic musicality. Often having not rehearsed and finding themselves either on stage or in studio, members of the Machine lean on trust and intuition, following another’s lead.  Continue reading →

As a long-time Eugenean, I grow weary of Eugene jokes. On balance we’re bigger, hipper and more happening that our patchouli and tie-dye reputation. But since there’s often some truth in stereotypes, every so often I hear a tall-tale of the EUG and can’t help but think: “Only in Eugene.” Continue reading →