Whats-Happening: Page 497

Trust the Unknown Thing

Post-marriage equality ruminations on what’s next for LGBTQ rights

Culture
Caitlin Mackenzie

On the morning of Friday, June 26, my girlfriend coaxed me awake, smiling, eager for me to hear the decision from SCOTUS that state-level bans on same-sex marriage were declared unconstitutional. In our groggy relief, we held each other quietly, then got ready for the day. It was hot — three-digits hot — and we were on our way to a friend’s wedding rehearsal dinner. Our phones buzzed with texts and updates. My ex-husband called, excitedly asking me if I heard the news.  It was a day of unadulterated positivity and a rainbow-ed Facebook. Continue reading →

God’s Grapes

Drink

In our lab at Wine Investigations, Mole and I were wilting. Temps outside, even at the 17th floor of the old high-rise, reached 105 degrees; inside wasn’t much cooler, though we keep all the wines comfy and cozy, in dark fridges, at 54 degrees, warming some, cooling others, before testing.  For months, we’ve been searching for growers in Oregon who are experimenting with Italian varietals — sangiovese, nebbiolo, dolcetto, barbera and others. Continue reading →

Positively Bipolar

Film

Anyone who has dealt up close and personal with mental illness will tell you it can be an unmitigated hell — a black hole that devours solutions faster than they can be hatched. Families wrecked by schizophrenia and manic depression discover, all too quickly, that frustrated applications of love and discipline and pills and despair tend to come up empty in the face of a condition that, by its very definition, defies all reason. Continue reading →

Pickathon 2015

Music

Another year, another hot (OK, really hot) Pickathon. This fest continues to be a top EW pick for its perpetually diverse lineup, from old-timey jams to metal. How many chances are you going to get to see Leon Bridges perform in a barn? ’Nuff said. 1. Kamasi Washington photo by Todd Cooper Continue reading →

Indie planet

Eugene’s rising indie-pop darlings get serious

Music
Elliott Fromm, Cameron Lister and Dylan Campbell of Pluto the Planet

After establishing a local following at University of Oregon house shows and small venues, Eugene indie-pop trio Pluto the Planet decided to take the summer off to regroup and plan their next steps.  “We wanted to scale back on shows,” guitarist Cameron Lister tells EW. “We’ve played so many shows in the past few months, we didn’t want to saturate the community.”  On Aug. 14, Pluto the Planet returns playing the In the Valley Below (see “New Rock Series” this issue) after-show in Hi-Fi Music Hall’s Encore Lounge.  Continue reading →

The Eyes of a Poet

Shane Koyczan

Music
Shane Koyczan

At 24, Shane Koyczan quit his job to become a spoken-word artist full time. He had discovered his voice. And not just any voice, but a voice people stop and listen to. Koyczan moves through line by line, transitioning like the ocean, with soft articulation and a powerful yet affable tone, speaking about the world and its shortcomings.  Continue reading →

Indie Gloom

Gloomsday

Music
Gloomsday

The Bangles called Monday “Manic” and Morrissey called Sunday “silent and grey.” Which day of the week do San Diego’s power-punk duo Gloomsday find the gloomiest? “Every day so far is Gloomsday,” Lori Sokolowski, Gloomsday drummer and back-up vocalist, tells EW. She concedes that her gloomiest day is “Sunday night when the fun’s over and you have to go back to real life.” The San Diego duo returns to Eugene, playing its brand of hard-hitting, punk-inspired indie rock.  Continue reading →