Best Performing Films in Eugene 2013
Bijou Art Cinemas 1. Philomena 2. Blue Jasmine 3. Nebraska 4. Enough Said 5. Chasing Ice 6. Inside Llewyn Davis 7. 20 Feet From Stardom 8. Quartet 9. Much Ado About Nothing 10. Amour Continue reading
Arts: Page 343
Second Chances
Happy returns for Metheny, Marsalis and others
It’s easy to miss some of the many excellent musicians who swing through town, thanks to conflicts with other shows, a skimpy entertainment budget or simply an overabundance of awesomeness. This month offers numerous second-chance opportunities to catch some highly recommended performers you may have missed last time around — or didn’t, and want to catch again. Continue reading
Folk Is Not A Dirty Word
Songwriter Ari Shine met his wife, Adrienne Pierce, in L.A.; the two immediately connected over shared interests like Canadian folk-rock band The Grapes of Wrath. Shine says the two worked in the music business together for years as an “undercover duo.” “We co-wrote Adrienne’s records,” he explains. “We were doing a lot of music together [for soundtracks] but we weren’t a band.” Eventually Shine and Pierce struck out on their own, forming The Royal Oui. Continue reading
Music Is Medicine
Even though Elephant Revival released its latest offering, These Changing Skies, in 2013, the album was largely conceived before the band had even finished its previous release, 2012’s It’s Alive. Continue reading
Leimert Park, What’s Cool
Despite never writing lines over three beats long, Dom Kennedy works a pretty contagious game. In interviews, the California-born rapper sounds like Muhammad Ali, toting himself as the hardest-working, most prolific, sensational, fresh, badass artist in hip hop today. While most of these claims can be taken with a gargantuan grain of salt, “hard-working” lands with great accuracy. Continue reading
Straight-A students: The A3 Group
Straight-A students: The A3 Group, an advanced nine-piece instrumental music ensemble from the Springfield Academy of Arts and Academics, will fill the Wildish Theater with the sounds of “Bass Folk Song,” “Django’s Castle” and other music by A3 student composers 7:30 pm Friday, Feb. 28; $5 students and seniors, $7 general. Local favorite Mood Area 52 takes the stage next, performing its signature blend of jazz, American folk, Brechtian cabaret and classical music. The groups will cap off the night with a joint performance of “St. Continue reading
Rock ‘n’ Roll Mermaids
The Phoinix Players have made it their ongoing — and often lonely — mission to single-handedly revive musical theater in Eugene, and they do an admirable job at conjuring the sort of song-and-dance productions that sent Broadway hellzapoppin’ from the era of Tin Pan Alley to the Great Depression. The troupe, a clutch of talented 20-somethings, is adept at mounting small-scale floorshows that oftentimes achieve a kind of retro grandeur. When they’re on, they hit the mark beautifully. Continue reading
Arts Hound
Golden Girl: With Eugene Opera’s The Girl of the Golden West performances fast approaching (March 14 and 16), several complementary exhibits are throwing the saloon doors open. The White Lotus Gallery is hosting an artists’ reception with Lynda Lanker and Gary Tepher 2 to 5 pm Saturday, March 1, for the show Women of the Gold Rush West, with works on display (and for sale) by Lanker, Tepher, David Butler, Rich Bergeman and Charles Search. Continue reading
Family Feud
Happy families are all alike, but every fucked-up family is fucked-up in its own way. Continue reading
La Femme, Le Jazz
Jazz star Cécile McLorin Salvant comes to The Shedd
Cécile McLorin Salvant has gone from rising to shooting star in the world of jazz. The New York Times has heaped praise on the vocalist, declaring her the heir to the legacy of the “Big Three,” Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. The 24-year-old French-American jazz singer won the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in 2010, and her first distributed album, 2013’s WomenChild, was a 2014 Grammy nominee. Now, she comes to Oregon for the first time, performing her debut concert at The Shedd Feb. 21. Continue reading