Whats-Happening: Page 706

SXSW 2011 Music: 20 Disjointed Thoughts About a Disjointed Friday

ArtsBlog

Nerds (said with love, people; I am one, OK?) sometimes come back from nerd conventions talking about having caught “con crud,” an unavoidable illness caught while in the company of so frakking many other people. I woke up on Friday with what I’ll call “festival funk.” I blame everyone, no one and my own late hours. Take your vitamins, SXSW campers. Or at least drink your vodka with orange juice. Festival funk will screw with your days. Continue reading →

SXSW 2011 Music: Thursday

ArtsBlog

What all the excited, giddy, half-drunken tweets from SXSW don’t tell you is how much time you’re likely to spend walking from venue to venue and/or waiting in line for shows you may or may not get into. I’m not complaining. I’m just telling you why I feel like a total slacker for how few bands I’ve seen the last two days. Goddammit! My scheduling powers are no match for the distance between the Cedar Street Courtyard and the Scoot Inn! Continue reading →

SXSW 2011 Music: Wednesday

ArtsBlog

You know what I would like? I’d like for St. Patrick’s Day not to fall during SXSW. I overheard my first “Where’s your green?” conversation before noon. Sixth Street doesn’t need this. Drunken music fans + drunken, green-garbed college kids = double the mayhem. I expect to see piles of green, and I don’t mean shiny green leprechaun money. Continue reading →

SXSW Film: ‘How to Die in Oregon’

ArtsBlog

How to Die in Oregon isn’t an easy film to watch. Peter D. Richardson’s documentary focuses not on the legal or philosophical issues and ramifications of Oregon’s Death with Dignity act, but on the personal stories of people who have chosen to use the option the act gives them. Or, to be more specific, they’ve chosen the possibility, the measure of control afforded by having in hand a prescription for life-ending medication. The result isn’t a balanced, political film, but it isn’t trying to be. Continue reading →

Make Charmingness Even, Uh, Cuter: The Ascetic Junkies’ new video for “Why Do Crows?”

BlogMusic

Some people use “cute” as a pejorative. I don’t. So when I say that the new Ascetic Junkies video is the cutest goddamn thing EVER, what I mean is it’s the cutest goddamn thing I’ve seen in some unspecified period of time. Just look at it! Look at the way the little animated Kali Giaritta goes all frowny and slightly evil when the song rocks out! Look at the way the music appears in squiggled lines! Look at the banjo player’s fluffy white cloud of a beard! JUST LOOK AT IT! Continue reading →

The Week of Wordstock: Kristin Hersh’s ‘Rat Girl’

ArtsBlog

This coming weekend, Portland’s convention center once again hosts Wordstock, a weekend (and more!) of readings, signings, discussions and other literary events. All this week on EW! A Blog, we’ll review books by authors appearing at the festival, which is super-affordable, should you happen to be a book-nerd with weekend plans that involve PDX: $7 per day, or $10 for both festival days. Continue reading →