SUCK IT: Pizza Schmizza founder Andre Jehan has taken down a sign that said “Schmizza doesn’t suck anymore”
after complaints from his building. Jehan resumed control of the pizza
joint at the Pearl District’s tony Gregory building and wanted to
announce that the pies were again up to his standards. Unfortunately,
the word “suck” scandalized his neighbors who claim their bylaws prohibit “offensive” materials.
“At first I thought I would just white out the ‘S’ and...let people
figure it out, but I left the sign up for about 10 days after the
warning and figured that was enough,” Jehan says. The Gregory’s bulletin
boards are now decorated with fliers that say “The only thing that
sucks now is your straw....”
THAT TIME AGAIN: The
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art has announced a partial lineup
for its 10th annual Time-Based Art Festival. Among the local, national
and international performers appearing this year: Mexican theater
company Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol, premiering two political docu-dramas; musician Aki Onda, curating a showcase of Japan’s avant-garde sound artists; experimental filmmaker Sam Green, screening his documentary on R. Buckminster Fuller with a live soundtrack from indie-rock bigwigs Yo La Tengo; and, in a solo storytelling performance, Laurie “O Superman” Anderson. TBA takes place Sept. 6-16 at various locations.
MFNW KNOWS DRAMA: MusicfestNW—owned
and operated by this very paper—has finally announced the initial
lineup for this year’s festival, which runs Sept. 5-9. Of special note
are the Pioneer Courthouse Square shows: one featuring mash-up
mastermind Girl Talk (does the city have any idea what it’s in
for?), another headlined by the excellent worldly folk-pop outfit
Beirut, and yet a third downtown show with L.A.’s Silversun Pickups.
Other headliners include Dinosaur Jr., the Tallest Man on Earth, Passion
Pit, Lightning Bolt and Yelawolf. Being in the journalism biz when
we’re not in the festival biz, though, it’s the storylines that grab our
attention: Will returning sissy-bounce queen Big Freedia finally
just move here? Will there be tears of joy during a DJ set from
Jonathan Toubin, who was nearly killed in Portland last year when a taxi
struck his room at the Jupiter Hotel? Why did Pete Krebs and company
choose this year to reintroduce the city to two of their classic
bands—Hazel and the Gossamer Wings? Stay tuned, Portland.
LOG RIDE: Portland is now home to the West Coast’s first indoor bike park.
After nine months and eight contractors, the 60,000-square-foot
Lumberyard is open for business and will host a launch party all day on
June 9. “We rehabbed an old bowling alley that had been squatted in by
non-residents of 82nd Avenue for years,” says employee Joshua Hutchens.
“They’d extracted some of the plumbing and a lot of the copper.” He
wouldn’t say how much it cost on the record, but did say “it’s the kind
of place you just have to come and see, and wonder how much we spent.”
GIRL TALK
