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The Shook Twins live a charmed life. Whether performing their quirky brand of indie folk pop solo, opening for Blitzen Trapper or the Carolina Chocolate Drops or partaking in side projects like Morning Ritual with Portland jazz luminary Ben Darwish, people love them to death. Focusing on variety has certainly helped, especially with regard to their content. Continue reading
The Eugene-based Breakers Yard band says it best on the back of its latest release, Raise Some Bacon: “Legend has it Breakers Yard formed when both [band members] Greazy and Hot Coppa were simultaneously visited in a dream by the ghost of Cab Calloway.” Then there’s their ReverbNation bio: “We all play lots of instruments, so you never know what you’re going to get when it comes to instruments with strings, and suitcases.” Continue reading
Lyrics like: “bridges hold a sky of tired birds”; “come October we’ll fill our blankets up with leaves”; and “we sway until the moon is on our shoulders” go to show Anna Tivel, known on stage as Anna and the Underbelly, has arrived as a songwriter. Dripping with imagery, the Portland-based singer-songwriter’s first album, Brimstone Lullaby, whisks listeners away to the gray rainy streets and golden-brown autumns of the Pacific Northwest, Tivel’s main muse. Continue reading
In the words of Samuel L. Jackson’s character Ray Arnold in Jurassic Park, “Hold on to your butts.” Futuristic alternative hip-hop supergroup Deltron 3030 lands in Eugene Friday, Nov. 22. Hot off the September release of second album Event II — 13 years after Deltron 3030’s first — group members Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien and Kid Koala bring their masterminds to WOW Hall. Continue reading
As any owner of a house cat knows, it’s difficult to get cats to do anything — much less perform for an audience. But award-winning performer Gregory Popovich of The Popovich Comedy Pet Theater thinks he knows the secret: “You cannot push a cat to do something,” says Popovich, whose act has been voted Las Vegas’ Best New Family Show. “As a trainer I have to see what [the cats] like to do and then create tricks” based on the natural habits of the animal. Continue reading
Not many captured Sid Vicious in intimate moments like photojournalist Eileen Polk, a friend of the punk icon. See her ’70s-era photography with images of Sid Vicious, Deborah Harry, The Ramones, New York Dolls and more at the Punk Icons: Images of the Original Scene 1974-1979 exhibit now through Jan. 14 at Cowfish, 62 W. Broadway; opening reception 6 to 9 pm Friday, Dec. 6. Continue reading
Three forces drive How I Live Now: Meg Rosoff, on whose award-winning young adult novel the film is based; Saoirse Ronan, who has managed to make watchable everything she’s been in, even Hanna; and Kevin Macdonald, whose track record as a director is spotty at best. Continue reading
It’s unfortunate that, for a good percentage of Gen Y, first interactions with the Phoenix-born rock group Meat Puppets come via Kurt Cobain and not, as would be proper, the band members themselves. Nirvana’s 1993 MTV Unplugged performance featured a handful of covers, and some of the most memorable were Meat Puppets tunes (“Lake of Fire,” “Oh, Me,” “Plateau”). Now, before things get a bit too sassy, let’s pump the brakes and slam it into reverse. Continue reading
When I spoke to alt-country singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier (pronounced “go-shay”), she was in Los Angeles on the first day of a nearly month-long cross-country tour. I joked that because she was just getting started, she wouldn’t be burned out by the time she got to Eugene 10 days later. Gauthier responded quickly and insistently: “I don’t get burned out. This is my job and I love it. This is a privilege. I may get tired but I would never call it burned out.” Continue reading
The Decline of Western Civilization: Tease your hair and squeeze into skintight leather because glam metal band Faster Pussycat plays with Red Light Saints on Diablo’s last night open to the public 10:30 pm Friday, Nov. 15; $10. Goodbye Diablo’s — it’s been quite the 13 years. Don’t miss: Grrrlz Rock at Oak Street Speakeasy with world funk band Maca Rey playing Ween tunes 10:30 pm Nov. 15, and the grrrlz continue for the Cozmic Pizza Music Extravaganza 4 to 11 pm Nov 16. Continue reading