We've got issues.
In between the breakout 2012 album Look Out Mama and an upcoming release, the New Orleans-based Hurray for the Riff Raff took a nice, long pit stop in covers country. My Dearest Darkest Neighbor (2013), a beautiful and mellow collection, hosts songs by a motley crew of musicians: Lead Belly, Joni Mitchell, Billie Holiday and George Harrison to name a few. Continue reading
Veteran songwriter Sean Scolnick, aka Langhorne Slim, says people are looking to get messy. “People want to dance,” he says. “People want to be freaks.” The Nashville-based musician feels this goes a long way to explain the recent chart-topping revival of “roots” music like The Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons. “People want to strip things back,” Slim concludes. Continue reading
Composer Steven Mackey was honored by the commission to write a new work for his longtime collaborators, the celebrated Brentano Quartet, but daunted by the subject matter: a quartet that commemorated one of the most tragic days in American history, the assassination of President John Kennedy half a century ago. How could he write music that was true to what happened that terrible day, without reproducing its ugliness and thereby distressing listeners? What could instrumental music add to our understanding of, or feeling about, that dark day in Dallas? Continue reading
The Knights Who Say “Ni.” The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog and the Gorge of Eternal Peril. A three-headed giant, a sorcerer named Tim and that petulant French sentry who threatens to “fart in your general direction” before vowing to “taunt you a second time.” Continue reading
OSU’s 5th annual International Film Festival runs Oct. 14-20 at the Darkside Cinema in Corvallis. There’s pretty much something for everyone, from Student, a Crime and Punishment adaptation from Kazakhstan, to Parada, a Serbian comedy about a “crime boss who recruits his war buddies to provide protection for a gay pride march.” For show times, see http://wkly.ws/1ky. Continue reading
Behavior Castle presents Peach Kelli Pop's Kids Only show live at Paper Moon Photo Studio Continue reading
“Spin the windmill,” yells out Tim Matteson, the caller for Eugene’s Spin City Square. He adds, “Flip the hourglass,” “Horseshoe turn” followed by “Split the outside couple.” As he calls out steps, eight dancers move about the floor, switching partners and sharing laughs. Continue reading
Make no mistake: The new movie by Joe Swanberg is not a romantic comedy. If you waltz into Drinking Buddies expecting the formulaic satisfaction of a rom-com by Nora Ephron, you will be violently disappointed. You will throw your popcorn at the screen and demand your money back. Continue reading
On Oct. 5 The Majestic Theatre in Corvallis will host one of America’s best contemporary singer-songwriters: Dar Williams. Touring for her 2012 Greek mythology-inspired album, aptly named In The Time Of Gods, Williams mines the stories of our Mount Olympus ancestors for triumphs and tragedies that parallel our own modern-day plight. Continue reading
“I like to paint a picture of a modern woman who’s sexual and who can do the same things as a man,” Sallie Ford tells me over the phone. Sift through her lyrics, her throaty rock vocals or the imagery in her band’s music videos, and it becomes clear that Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside is not just paying lip service. Continue reading