Arts: Page 377

Swallowed by a Circus Heart

Music

Rebecca Loeb is a fresh-faced and breezy songwriter with the voice of a pop star. Her sound ranges from indie Americana to confessional ballads to cabaret-style waltzes — encompassing the quirky whimsy of Regina Spektor, the rootsiness of Patti Griffin and the dry wit of Randy Newman, who is an all-time favorite of the young musician. “I love the way he puts himself into his characters,” Loeb says, “and writes so authentically from so many different voices.” Continue reading →

Back Beat

Music

It’s been six months since Seattle hip-hop outfit Macklemore and Ryan Lewis played their sold-out show at the McDonald (pictured above) and they’re already back, headlining at Matthew Knight Arena on May 4. Is the thrifty (“Thrift Shop”) duo aware of the campus controversy this booking ignited after the ASUO originally allocated over 100G to Mallard Madness (a student-run concert series) to nab the show? Continue reading →

That 1 Guy

Music

There are many instruments out there, each with its own timbre, tuning and technique of play. You’ve probably seen or heard some of the weirder ones — dulcimer, tanpura, whamola, etc. — but the Frankenstein creation That 1 Guy brings to the stage will knock your socks off. It’s affectionately known as the “magic pipe,” and it ain’t hard to see why. Bashing at the thing with drumsticks makes a percussive drone, which Mike Silverman, the “1 Guy” in this project, uses to great effect in his fuller, more bass-heavy, freak-metal sound. Continue reading →

It’s a Wilde World

UO makes frivolous fun with The Importance of Being Earnest

Theater

Pithy, witty and wise, Oscar Wilde remains the toast of the sniff set. Though dead all these long and tedious post-industrial years, Wilde, the foremost icon of soft-soap Victorian sabotage, is always good for a sharp, stinging rebuke to the narcissistic pretensions of the bourgeoisie or some feisty fillip about sexual hypocrisy of the straight crowd. His aphorisms, with their subtle swish and sting, trip oh-so trippingly off the tongues of would-be wags everywhere. Morrissey, Truman Capote and Paul Lynde, Wilde’s closest modern kin, ain’t got nothing on the master. Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

Eugene Fashion Week (see 4/25 issue) wraps up this weekend with the Ready-to-Wear (May 3) and Avant-Garde (May 4) runway shows at The Shedd. EW is excited to see this culturally symbiotic relationship; EFW is exactly the kind of youthful shot-in-the-arm The Shedd needs to attract a younger demographic, and The Shedd provides the kind of institutional recognition that EFW needs to keep growing.   Continue reading →