Arts: Page 254

Synth-Pop Sunsets

I’d like to submit for consideration the quartet Parade of Lights

Music
Parade of Lights

What makes for a quintessentially L.A. band? History tells us the answer is always in flux, from the pristine sun-and-surf pop of the Beach Boys to the hairspray and whiskey-fueled sleaziness of Guns n’ Roses and the G-funk-laced bangers of Dr. Dre and Snoop.  As for the present, you could make a case for Lana Del Rey’s Hollywood torch singing or Kendrick Lamar’s Compton revivalism, but I’d like to submit for consideration the quartet Parade of Lights.  Continue reading →

Funny Girls

Local women’s comedy festival celebrates 10 years

Comedy

Look around and you’ll find the seeds of a comedy scene germinating in Eugene. More and more, nationally touring comics are stopping to perform locally, and several venues — such as Luckey’s, The Green Room and Sam Bond’s — are hosting comedy nights. A cornerstone of Eugene comedy is the NW Women’s Comedy Festival, now entering its 10th year.  Festival founder Leigh Anne Jasheway says that in the early years the event was the only women’s comedy festival between Seattle and northern California.  Continue reading →

Crack Your Nuts with Holiday Dance

A season of sugarplum fairies, Narnia adventures, dancing Dickens and more

Dance

It’s the holiday season, and all across town, stages start to sparkle with gyrating gumdrops, spinning snowflakes and leaping lions. So grab a hot cocoa in the lobby and settle in for a nice break from your to-do list as you take in some of this shimmery season of dance. This is the biggest time of year for dance recitals for local studios, and these hard-working young dancers are gearing up to strut their stuff. Continue reading →

The original riot girls

Film

Someday, a movie will be worthy of Carey Mulligan again. An Education deserved her; little else has, though her sharp performance in Inside Llewyn Davis was a highlight. Mulligan is so delicate looking, so fresh-faced, that filmmakers either underestimate her or don’t know what to do with her. Like Brie Larson, so prickly and good in Room, she hides a steeliness behind wide eyes. I want to see her play a superhero, but she’d probably get cast as the sidekick. Continue reading →

Such Great Heights

Tall Heights play with popular Portland folk duo Shook Twins

Music

Boston duo Tall Heights is comprised of childhood friends Tim Harrington and Paul Wright. The pair got their start as street performers.  “We were living on what we made out on the street,” Harrington tells EW. He says that playing music on street corners gave Wright and himself a unique opportunity to hone Tall Heights’ sound.  “It was four to six hours a day of performing,” Harrington continues, adding that intensive practice helped the musicians gel creatively.  Continue reading →