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Stroll Downtown Springfield’s Second Friday Art Walk (5 to 8 pm) and see the abstract paintings of Connie Avery at City Hall, the expressionist works of Amber Stock at Hearts for Hospice and the fine Chinese Brush technique of Sandi Grubbs at the Emerald Art Center — Grubbs spent eight years in China where she studied both the spontaneous and Gongbi style of brushwork. Continue reading
If you have had a chance to check out singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop’s oddly beautiful 2010 release, Hunting My Dress, then you know what a unique talent she is. Hoop’s penchant for creating a wide variety of moods, sounds and storylines while keeping the music cohesive is an unusual feat of songwriting. And her 2012 release, The House that Jack Built, further demonstrates her significant skill in these areas as she culls together 10 songs that vary wildly in their sound yet remain distinctly Hoop tracks. Continue reading
Broken begins with loosely shuffled snippets of character and drama. When the film snaps into narrative focus, it’s with a sudden act of violence: On a quiet cul-de-sac, a young man washes his car. A passing neighbor girl says hello. The boy appears not quite all there: He has a hard time putting words in order, but he seems kind. As the girl departs, another neighbor appears, pulling his shirt off before knocking the young man halfway across the car. Continue reading
Ya got trouble, my friend, right here, I say, trouble right here in River City. Continue reading
EW’s Next Big Thing is one step closer to choosing a winner. Between curly fries and sno cones, judges at the Lane County Fair narrowed down the 16 semi-finalists to two talented outfits: the reggae-fusion Sol Seed and indie-grassers The Crescendo Show. Cheer on your favorite during the Eugene Celebration at the Eugene Weekly-KVRM stage 1 to 2 pm Saturday, Aug. 24, as the bands battle for first place. Continue reading
Beth Wood is a local singer-songwriter by way of Texas, and her brand of Americana, country and folk music has been getting people’s attention across the nation for nearly two decades. She has released eight albums, appeared on OPB’s Art Beat, received rave reviews from the likes of the Washington Post and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, won the 2006 Sisters Folk Festival Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest and been a finalist in the Telluride Troubadour Contest. Continue reading
The drive from San Francisco to Portland is more than 600 miles, and the inspiration to keep moving can range from energy drinks to mix CDs, but for Eric D. Johnson, frontman for the indie rockers Fruit Bats, the inspiration is Eugene’s Fisherman’s Market. “That is one of my favorite places ever,” he says. “I often find myself doing these really long, crazy, balls-out San Francisco-to-Portland drives all the time. That’s like my treat to myself on the home stretch. Continue reading
Nobody’s quite like Lyle Lovett. The Muppet-faced singer-songwriter plays, for lack of a better term, country music. But it’s a country must for A Prairie Home Companion fans, for Texans who vote Democrat and insist Austin is just different. Or to put it another way: Lyle Lovett plays adult-contemporary-country. But if you’re a Lyle-head I don’t need to tell you this; you are well familiar with his gentle tenor and literate take on American music — referencing Leonard Cohen, Kris Kristofferson and Townes Van Zandt. Continue reading
A brilliant politician who would be king is brutally stabbed to death by a group of senators … right in the middle of Amazon Park? Now that’s drama. With daggers at the ready and poetry popping from their lips, it is time again for Shakespeare in the Park’s annual show. This year they take on the bloody, ever-relevant The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. I managed to fire off a few questions to Artistic Producing Director Sharon Se’love as she raced about in the final week before production. Continue reading
Irish playwright Martin McDonagh is a fecking, foul-mouthed arsehole with a shite attitude, but he sure is one hell of a writer. McDonagh’s plays, the earliest of which take place in rural Ireland, tend toward high satire in low settings. His dialogue, laced with profanity and steeped in dialect, is whip-smart and viciously funny, and he has a keen eye for the absurd. Continue reading