Arts: Page 351

Do the Hustle

Film

David O. Russell’s new film, American Hustle, is a shaggy, shambolic love story masquerading as a period crime drama. Loosely based on the ABSCAM operation of the late 1970s, the movie follows the exploits of a pair of charming con artists, Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), who end up getting popped by an ambitious FBI agent, Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), and thereby enlisted in a sting that seeks to bring down, among others, Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), the mayor of Camden, N.J. Continue reading →

Travel by Crain

Singer-songwriter Samantha Crain

Music
Samantha Crain

Singer-songwriter Samantha Crain decided to take a different tack with the creation of her most recent album, Kid Face, which came out in early 2013.  “I wanted to do something autobiographical,” Crain explains. “Most of my songwriting has been based on my love for stories and characters, even if some of those songs were based on things that have happened in my life. When I started writing this album, the first few songs were much more personal, so I decided to take the whole album in that direction.” Continue reading →

REVving Up

Psychobilly legend Reverend Horton Heat

Music
Reverend Horton Heat

On Tuesday, Jan. 7, psychobilly legend Reverend Horton Heat arrives at WOW Hall to promote the band’s new album, REV. They’re here to preach the “Gospel of Rock and Roll,” and you’ll be sure to hear a few new songs, including, “Victory Lap,” “Smell of Gasoline” and “Let Me Teach You How to Eat.” But don’t expect a cooking lesson. Jim “Reverend Horton” Heath says, “That song is basically about sex.”  Continue reading →

The cool sounds and sights of 2014

American Luminosity, the Harvard Glee Club, Irish pipes and more

Music
London Haydn Quartet

Classical music people are always fretting about how to keep the genre from declining along with its aging audience by getting hip to the 21st century. That means, at a minimum, doing what popular music, dance and theater have always done, and what classical musicians themselves did until the last few generations: perform the music of their own time, i.e., now. But sometimes it also means rethinking the presentation to suit today’s more visually oriented culture. A cool concert at the UO’s Beall Concert Hall Friday, Jan. 10, does both. Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

First Friday ArtWalk opens 2014 with bright colors and natural themes. Hosted by arts writer and photographer Bob Keefer, the walk starts at 5:30 pm at The New Zone Gallery, which is hosting Natural Connections featuring the mixed-media art of David Race and Kathleen Howard Piper. Then to Urban Lumber for Wood Turnings Inspired by Nature, with the exquisite wooden bowls and plates of Tom Borener from Muse Woodcraft. The next stop is EW’s top pick: Do not miss the acrylic and oil paintings of Philomath-based artist Carolee Clark at Out On A Limb. Continue reading →

All in the Family

Film

Sam Bond’s Garage bookends Sol Seed’s year quite well, and what a difference a year makes. On Dec. 31, 2012, Sol Seed played its first New Year’s Eve show at Sam Bond’s; the reggae fusion band will be reprising its role of ringing in the New Year with laid-back, back-beat cheer for 2014. Continue reading →

The Red Market

Film

Can we talk about Jared Leto for a while? There’s a reason the internet likes to joke about Generation Catalano, referring to those neither-Gen X-nor-Millenial folks who identify with My So-Called Life, the excellent, short-lived TV show whose stars are now stars again. Claire Danes, now all angles and coolness, is on Homeland, while Leto, who played her crush, Jordan Catalano, is mostly a rock star. Every so often he turns up in a movie. Continue reading →

The Motet Life

Music
The Motet

For Jans Ingber, vocalist for The Motet, Eugene is where it all started. “Eugene was an awesome place to grow up and be a high schooler,” Ingber says. “I was in this band called The Boogie Patrol Express, and we were an original disco band. We sold out the WOW Hall a few times and did that for a few years, so that started my love of music and was my foot into the music biz.” Continue reading →