Arts: Page 319

Shacked Up

Music
Lonesome Shack

Once upon a time, record label Alive Naturalsound released the debut from a little band called The Black Keys. Now, that same label has released More Primitive from Seattle-based boogie-blues trio Lonesome Shack. Considering the Keys’ meteoric success, does Lonesome Shack’s Ben Todd (vocals/guitar) feel any pressure to live up to expectations? “I don’t feel any pressure but I do hope it does well,” Todd tells EW via email, “and I’m happy to be working with Alive. It seems like the most fitting label around for us.” Continue reading →

CyHi the Prynce is part of Kanye West’s GOOD Music crew

Music
CyHi the Prynce

Behind every great man is a great team. Hip-hop artist CyHi the Prynce is part of Kanye West’s GOOD Music crew; in fact, CyHi garners writing credits on nine out of 10 tracks on Yeezus. In February, he released his sixth mixtape via GOOD Music, Black Hystori Project, an 18-track meditation on civil rights and iconic figures including Nelson Mandela, Napoleon, Coretta Scott King and Jean-Michel Basquiat. The mixtape is drawing comparisons to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill for its social message. Continue reading →

Walk of Shame

No Shame Theatre celebrates five years of renegade performances downtown on First Friday ArtWalk

Performing Arts

Conversing with Jeff Geiger is an object lesson in the power of pure enthusiasm. As artistic director of No Shame Eugene, Geiger is a tireless advocate for the sort of populist, no-holds-barred participation in art that defines his outfit, which is less theatrical troupe than a renegade vaudeville venue in which anyone can participate. No Shame Theater, as Geiger describes it, approaches the planned chaos of flash mobs, where minimal rules harness maximum creativity. Continue reading →

Down the Rabbit Hole, Again

University Theatre stages an adaptation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for Generation Twilight

Theater
Sunil Homes, Mara Tandowsky and Lily Anne Smith in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

According to Dr. La Donna Forsgren, playwright and associate professor of theater arts at University of Oregon, there are three things newcomers should know when they sit down to enjoy her adaptation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at Hope Theatre: 1. Clap when you want. 2. Laugh when something funny happens. 3. Dance along if you like the music. (Oh, and there will be a bathroom break, too.) Continue reading →

The Healing Arts

Eugene’s Tibet Week uses the arts to spread a message of peace

Visual Arts
Monks from Drepung Loseling monastery perform sacred music sacred dance June 13.

“Looking at the world today, there is tremendous uncertainty in our lives,” says Venerable Jigme Rinpoche, founder and director at the Palmo Center for Peace and Education. “We’re confronted with difficulty, crisis and challenges. We urgently need the vision and courage to find ways to handle these difficulties, both individually and globally, with deeper acceptance, insight and compassion.”  That’s where the arts come into play.  Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

New Zone Gallery is never one to shy away from tough subject matter. Exhibiting 3D work by North Eugene High School sophomores, New Zone presents Strength and Resistance: Art of the Holocaust June 9-28 with an opening reception 4 to 6 pm Friday, June 13.    EW sat in on a soiree hosted by The Gallery at the Watershed at Noisette Pastry Kitchen May 28, where gallery owner Amy Isler Gibson unveiled the Watershed Arts Foundation, a new nonprofit devoted to local contemporary arts education.    Continue reading →

Alder Street Album Art – Magnifique

Music

Local rock-grass band Alder Street is hosting their CD release party Friday, June 6, for the new album Americannibal (read story on Alder Street here). Take a look at the album art when you get a chance because the front jacket of the CD was created by well known French illustrator Olivier Bonhomme. Bonhomme often illustrates political cartoons for Le Monde, perhaps the mostly widely read newspaper in France. Continue reading →

A Bright Future

Film

Days of Future Past opens in a dark future, a world devastated by war. A ragtag band of mutants, led by Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellan), puts up a decent fight against the Sentinels, but they have zero hope of victory against the shape-shifting, mutant-hunting robots. In a last-ditch effort, Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) sends the consciousness of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back into his ’70s self. Continue reading →