We've got issues.
Three years ago I was laughing my gluteus maximus clean off, spellbound as kids wrestled with orthography. The Actors Cabaret of Eugene space was packed with everyone from hip 20-somethings to the pastor at my mom’s church to this critic, and we all raved. Continue reading
Léos Carax’s baffling, magical Rorschach blot of a film, Holy Motors, is a magic mirror: It gives you what you want from it. If you think it’s funny, you’ll be amused; if you think it’s serious, you’ll be somber. Continue reading
Go to a Casey Neill show and you never know what you might hear. One minute, he’s playing a Celtic-influenced folk song called “Paddy’s Lament;” next, an REM-esque country tune “Brooklyn Bridge;” and then, The Pogues-style punk rocker “Dancing on the Ruins of Multinational Corporations.” Some things remain constant: the influence of traditional music of the British Isles, and a fascination with where classic rock, The Clash and Bruce Springsteen intersect. Continue reading
The stockings are no longer hung by the chimney with care, Saint Nick has come and gone once again and January has fully set upon us. After hauling the tree to the curb and mentally recapping the last few exhausting weeks, a dose of folk music might be exactly what the doctor ordered. If the doctor was a merrymaking nomad, that is. Continue reading
There’s a certain sunny, sensual quality to Compassion Gorilla’s “gypsy fusion” beats that will vanquish the January doldrums and have you sashaying and samba-ing (can I get a one-uh-two, three-uh-four?) around the dance floor in no time. Or in their own words: “Eight pieces of swirling gypsy delight will tickle a giggle from even the grumpy, and catapult audiences into whole-hearted dance entrancement.” Continue reading
When Jenny Scheinman draws her bow across her fiddle strings Friday, Jan. 4, she’ll be the least famous member of the trio she’s leading at The Shedd. The other two musicians have graced that stage often as composers/bandleaders themselves. Seattle-based guitar master Bill Frisell remains one of the world’s most venturesome yet listener-friendly musicians, while Louisiana native Brian Blade is one of jazz’s most accomplished and inventive drummers. Continue reading
There’s no better time to reflect on family dynamics than after the holidays, for many a time of family harmony and family madness, and that’s exactly what artist Sarah Refvem is doing with her First Friday ArtWalk solo exhibit Familiar Dynamics at the Woodpecker’s Muse on Jan. 4. Refvem’s last show explored group dynamics through painting photographs of school classes or swim meets — her impressionist and expressionist style rendering the subjects just vague enough to be relatable to a wider audience. Continue reading
2013 will be the year of … more comic book-based films, more action flicks and more zombie apocalypse movies, not to mention sequels, more sequels and reboots: Man of Steel (another Superman reboot), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (the second film of the trilogy), Jack Ryan (a second reboot of the Tom Clancy franchise), A Good Day to Die Hard (Bruce Willis’ fifth time as Mr. McClane), World War Z (Brad Pitt fights zombies), Pacific Rim (robots vs. Continue reading
Remember that Gap commercial circa 1998 where a bunch of khaki-clad models jump, jive and wail to the stylings of the Brian Setzer Orchestra? One of the oddest fads that passed through the music world during the ’90s was this sudden rise in popularity of swing and ska music, which cheerily rose out of a sea of grunge, alternative and electronica music. Continue reading
The Floydian Slips’ Asher Fulero (keyboard, vocals) was “getting ready for the intergalactic mayhem” that some predicted for Dec. 21 when EW caught up with him. His plans must have included survival because the Slips have a big show lined up. After a four-year hiatus, the beloved cover band is taking the McDonald Theatre by storm on New Year’s Eve, transforming it into a psychedelic dreamscape. Continue reading