LUCEY DEUCEY: Big news for the space that formerly housed the massive high-end restaurant Lucier, which took a spectacular belly flop on the South Waterfront
in 2008. Until recently, it was so well-preserved it looked as if the
$4 million restaurant had been cleared by a neutron bomb. Once the
priciest restaurant in town, Lucier was owned by the people behind Old
Spaghetti Factory and charged about $250 per couple for dinner. Now,
three of Portland’s most prominent African-American entrepreneurs—Frank
Taylor of Portland Prime, Bernard Foster of The Skanner and Roy Jay of Central Parking—have applied to open a new venture called Quartet
there. The application promises live music from 6 to 10 pm. Here’s
hoping they keep water flowing in the tiny lazy river running through
the space.
MALKY NIGHT: Stephen
Malkmus may have moved to Berlin, but the slacker god still casts a
long, gangly shadow over Portland, his adopted home of many years. Just
ask Michael Heald, owner of local small press Perfect Day Publishing, who’s about to release an entire book about how he wishes he was the former Pavement singer. Actually, in Goodbye to the Nervous Apprehension,
Heald compares himself to an array of male celebs, from Eli Manning to
Ryan Gosling, in a collection of bruising, personal essays. To celebrate
its release, Backspace will host a Malkmus cover night Nov. 29, with
Point Juncture, WA; Dave Depper; and Jared Mees, among others.
STREET SWEEP: Ella Street Social Club, the Goose Hollowmusic
venue formerly known as Towne Lounge, is closing Dec. 16. It will,
however, reopen in early 2013, under the name Shiny Music Hall. New
owner Samuel Thomas, curator of the Portland Queer Music Festival, promises an establishment the likes of which Portland nightlife has never seen before.
“Right now Portland has a lot of music venues, and a fair amount of
dance clubs,” Thomas tells Scoop. Along with a cosmetic remodel inspired
by Manchester’s famed Hacienda club, Thomas says he wants to book more
touring LGBT artists. But he insists the club will not be a “gay bar.” “I just want people across the board to know that this will be a safe space,” he writes. “Intolerance will not be tolerated.”
BANNED: The Portland Mercury has been denied press passes to review plays at Portland Center Stage. QuothMerc editor Bill S. Humphrey, the PCS board was “buttsore about a couple of reviews”
and had unsuccessfully attempted to secure preferential treatment
through the paper’s advertising department. PCS spokeswoman Cynthia
Furman says press passes are based on “qualifications of the writer,
validity of where the coverage is published, and whether coverage
actually appears when tickets have been issued.”
THE FORMER LUCIER - IMAGE: chrisryanphoto.com
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