One might assume when the United States' first- and
second-ranked pinball pros hit the same tournament, it's all strobe
lights and smoke machines and Zoolander-esque ego. Not so, says Seattle's Cayle George, who never quite grabbed the crown from fellow Seattleite Keith Elwin.
"I wouldn't say I was
naturally competitive," George says. "But I'm the kind of person that
plays better under pressure." To simulate that pressure at home, where
George keeps about 15 machines, he sometimes holds tournaments...with
himself. In the busy season, he practices for about two hours a day.
The 31-year-old
Berkeley native, who honed his flipper fingers on pinball in bars and
laundromats around the University of Oregon before finding work—somewhat
scandalously—as a video-game designer, says he and the top-ranked Elwin
have similar games with subtle differences. "Keith, I would say, plays a
bit more of a relaxed game than I do. He has a better intuition about
where the ball is bouncing…I usually take more of a proactive approach
and brute-force the ball to get it to do exactly what I want."
At the end of the
day, both players—and other competitors from Portland and around the
world who will compete at this, the fourth annual Showdown—are monsters
of a game whose glory days are behind it. Stern Pinball's new
AC/DC-themed game premieres at the Goodfoot this week, but it's a blip on
the radar compared to the Showdown, which focuses on the golden-era
machines of the 1990s. "Every game that Stern has been releasing has
been worse than the one that came out before it," George says. "The
programming is awesome...but they aren't trying to be trendsetters. They
have had a couple of gems come out, but most of them are a bit
lacking."
George is currently building his own pinball machine. He estimates it will be completed in 2018.
SEE IT: Stern's AC/DC Tournament is Wednesday, Feb.
15, at the Goodfoot, 2845 SE Stark St. 6 pm. 21+. The Rose City
Showdown IV runs Friday-Sunday, Feb. 17-19, at Slingshot Lounge, 5532 SE
Center St. 21+. See rosecitypinball.com for info and full schedule.
Headout Picks
THURSDAY Feb. 16
THE COUP, BUCK 65, BUSDRIVER
[MUSIC] We wouldnât be surprised if songs
like â5 Million Ways to Kill a CEOâ and âMy Favorite Mutinyâ were
played throughout Occupy camps across the country. All three acts on
tonightâs bill are underground hip-hop royalty. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St. 9 pm. $18 advance, $20 day of show. 21+. FRIDAY Feb. 17
VIVA RIVA!
[MOVIES] Through the lens of first-time
director Djo Tunda Wa Munga, the Congolese capital of Kinshasa feels
like Las Vegasâa wasteland glowing with seedy glamourâexcept the casinos
and strip clubs are replaced with outdoor bazaars, whorehouses and
crumbling domiciles. The centerpiece film of the Cascade Festival of
African Films. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 493-1128. 7 pm. Free. FEARNOMUSIC DOES CAGE
[MUSIC] The terrific, local new-music
ensembleâs John Cage concert features Oregon Symphony music director
Carlos Kalmar intoning Cageâs famous Zen-inspired âLecture on Nothing,â
as well as the striking voice and piano piece âLitany for the Whale,â 20
harpists playing an improvisation based on Indian ragas, a
chance-derived work for strings and winds performed by the Portland
State University New Music Ensemble, the landmark 1942 âCredo in Usâ
(which uses Cageâs famous prepared piano, radio and various percussion),
a work for conch shells, an audio installation, a work to be performed
by the audience and moreâincluding, of course, those notorious 4
½
minutes that are not really about silence at all. YU Contemporary, 800 SE 10th Ave., 236-7996, yucontemporary.org. 8 pm. $12.50-$25. SATURDAY FEB. 18
ZWICKELMANIA
On this day, breweries across the state
will open their doors to beer lovers for tastings, classes, new
releases, tours and other festivities as part of the Oregon Brewers
Guildâs annual Zwickelmania brewery open house. For those who canât find
a designated driver and donât wish to die in some horrific
drunk-driving-related car accident, there will be several shuttle-bus
services driving around the Portland area. Check out
oregonbeer.org/zwickelmania for a full list of events and participating
breweries. 11 am-4 pm. Free. 21+. SUNDAY FEB. 19
FOOTNOTE
[MOVIES] In this Israeli academic comedy,
screened for PIFF, the dueling Shkolniks are basically the Archie and
Peyton Manning of Jewish studies, if Archie kept running back on the
field during Colts games. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 276-4310. 5 pm. $7-$10.
WWeek 2015
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