Gossip should have no friends

[July 30th, 2008]

• ESKIMO MELTS: No. Absolutely not. We can’t let this happen. One of Portland’s favorite band of indie wunderkinds, Eskimo & Sons, is going on indefinite hiatus after playing MusicfestNW (Saturday, Sept. 6, at Towne Lounge). The group of early-twentysomethings fronted by Danielle Sullivan’s jaw-dropping voice and Dhani Rosa’s honest, visual lyrics will be going into hibernation for a while to reinvent their sound. “We’re going to start writing a new album that is going to be a lot different than our current music. And with the new style, we might give ourselves a new name, ” says pianist Thomas Himes. But fear not, E&S are not breaking up, they’re just taking a breather. Drummer Dylan Reed assured WW that “it’s a very positive hiatus. It’s not like there’s any bullshit going on.” Phew, now we can breathe easy. E&S have three performances before the hiatus begins. And if you get a bad itch for some Eskimo during the break, go see the band members perform with their respective side projects : Doubledutch, TKYK, Day of Lions and a few unnamed groups still in their formative stages.

• COMINGS & GOINGS: Make room on the stage, Whitebird Dance. In a major coup for The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art and the contemporary dance scene, Cathy Edwards has been chosen as the new guest artistic director for the 2009 and 2010 Time-Based Art Festivals. Edwards is currently the director of programming for the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, Conn., as well as a longtime and much-loved artistic director of NYC’s critically acclaimed Dance Theater Workshop.

On the cultural flipside: Howie Bierbaum (a.k.a. Howie Baggadonutz) is leaving his gig at the Wonder Ballroom. A longtime general manager, event producer and—for a period—co-owner of the North Portland club and restaurant, Bierbaum told WW the time has come for him to step down from the time-consuming post. “I just turned 50,” says Bierbaum, who plans to travel before he looks for a new job. “I need six months to myself, and I know I deserve it.” Bierbaum will stay on with the Wonder at least through August. No word on who will replace him, but it’s safe to assume a national search will happen before a new manager is announced.

• CORRECTION: In last week’s Best of Portland readers poll, we listed Anna Bannanas as runner-up to Vivace for Best Place to Drink Coffee in El Dorado. The two coffeehouses, in fact, tied for first place. Also, we misprinted the address and phone number of Sock Dreams. The correct location is 725 SE Powell Blvd., 234-0885. Also, in our July 16 cover story “Lean, Mean, Meat-Free Machine” WW incorrectly implied that Casa Diablo, a vegan strip club in Northwest Portland, had closed for business. It remains meat-free, smoke-free and most definitely open. WW regrets the errors.