- HUGS AND KISSES: âThis is so much better than SXSW.â Scoop must have heard this at least a dozen times during last weekendâs new arts and technology festival, XOXO. Indeed, while the Kickstarter-funded festival sounded similar in premise to SXSW Interactiveâa bunch of big-name Internet people get together to talk about doing cool shit on the Internetâit couldnât have been more different. XOXO was small (400 attendees), friendly and inclusive (no exclusive parties), without a single logo or corporate sponsor in sight. It was vocally anti-greed and pro-social responsibility, and most important, focused on people eschewing big business, large sums of money and the establishment to follow their creative passions. Prediction: XOXO 2013 will be the hottest ticket in all of geekdom.
- JARMAGEDDON: Remember Casey Jarman, ex-Willamette Week music editor? Though gone from these pages, he still wields great influence over the Portland music scene. For instance: Heâs getting the Shaky Hands back together! For one night, anyway. On Friday, Oct. 5, the beloved Portland jangle-rock group is reuniting its classic lineupâwhich performed its last show in 2008, though a version of the band continued until 2010âto play Backspace for Jarmanâs 32nd birthday party. Other groups on the bill, which stretches to neighboring Someday Lounge, include the Chicharones; Point Juncture, WA; and Illmaculate. âIt didnât feel like playing old songs. It didnât feel weird or nostalgic,â says Shaky Hands bassist Mayhaw Hoons of the groupâs rehearsals. âIâm surprised we remembered them all.â
- NEW NAANY: Metro Portlandâs best Indian restaurant, Chennai Masala, is doubling in size and quadrupling in atmosphere. Discreetly tucked away in a Hillsboro strip mall, the restaurant has a notoriously drab dining room, with chairs and tables fit for a fast-food joint. Owner Sumathi Raj gave Scoop a tour of the impressive new space, which has banquettes and wood floors, last weekend. >> Earlier this year, we reported Korean-Mexican food-truck fleet Koi Fusion bought the former Stadium Flowers space at 2010 W Burnside St. near Jeld-Wen Field, with the intention of building an indoor dining room and serving beer. Now, Koi has finally filed for a beer-and-wine license for the space. >> Profile Theatre at 3430 SE Belmont St., which performs only the works of one playwright every season (this season itâs Athol Fugard), has applied for a beer-and-wine license.
- CORRECTION: Last weekâs Scoop had a photo of OB Addy instead of his uncle, legendary Ghanaian drummer Obo Addy, who died Sept. 13 at age 76 after a five-year battle with liver cancer. This is especially unfortunate as WW made the same mistake in 2009, and because the men were involved in a bitter legal dispute over their names in 2003. Our apologies to OB and condolences to the family of Obo.
WWeek 2015