Another Side of Cash

Another Side of Cash

There was an unbearably long line at Music Millennium Northwest on the busiest shopping day of the year. But the silent strangers in line weren't waiting to buy that Bowie box set or one of Ryan Adams' six or seven holiday releases. They were waiting to get a little closer to Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash by way of a small but impressive exhibit currently residing in the record store. As the new UnEarthed (Lost Highway) box set played overhead, fans peered inside glass hutches filled with artifacts provided by Johnny and June's daughter Tara and her husband, both Portland residents. The collection was put together in honor of the death of both Johnny and June and spans their careers as well as generations of the Cash family. While Johnny's Sunburst Gibson guitar, gold records and handwritten lyrics to "I Walk the Line" stand as museum-worthy pieces, the most intriguing and insightful parts of the tribute are the more personal. A number of family photos, seemingly pulled straight from the Cash scrapbook, show generations of the Cash family singing, goofing and posing. A series of shots from a photo booth show the Man in Black as a playful prankster, mugging for the camera and then exposing his belly in a profile shot. Handwritten letters are also scattered about the tribute, including one from Johnny to his daughter from the road, thanking her for the Christmas present (a "rock") she sent him. In his handwritten letters, his sentences are short and somehow seem to carry the gravitas of his voice. If anything, this tribute, which closes Thursday, Dec. 4, shows a human side that was lost early this year along with the superhuman talent fans knew.

Like a Drunk Old Country Star

Despite his recent run-in with the lawmen in Phoenix, the Rhinestone Cowboy will be fulfilling his concert duties Thursday, Dec. 4, at Spirit Mountain Casino (7 pm, $25-$35). That's right, country-music legend Glen Campbell will take a break from being drunk and disorderly to make musical love to you, his devoted fans. Expect hits including "Gentle on My Mind" and "Wichita Lineman," as well as "Rhinestone Cowboy," which he enjoys performing for most anyone lately, including the police who cuffed him.

The Sheriff of Dodge City

Are cyber-porn and online dating just not giving you enough to do at work? Do you need more information in your overloaded digital life? Of course you do. Especially when the thoughts you're processing are about the local music scene. That's why WW's very own freelancer Sam Dodge Soule has journeyed into cyberspace with his very own blog "Dodge City" (homepage.mac.com/sdsoule/iblog/B2130782145/index.html). Each day Soule sets out to dig up some bit of gossip, a concert review or a chunk of news, and so far he has been keeping up. Check it out for news on the Hunches' upcoming release, or a review of the opening of Slabtown.

Hiss wants you to want us: hiss@wweek.com

WWeek 2015

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