March 1st, 2013
By WW Culture Staff |
|
BROADWAY CIGAR CO. - IMAGE: leahnash.com
Willamette Weekend: 11 Things to Do and See in Portland, Mar. 1-3
BROADWAY CIGAR CO. - IMAGE: leahnash.com
Friday, March 1
Fourplay
[FILM] Within the first 10 minutes of Fourplay, a woman receives oral sex from a dog—just so you know what you’re getting yourself in for here. Director Kyle Henry’s quartet of short films are “tales of sexual intimacy” (as the tagline goes), but they also feature Jesus fellating a man in a public restroom, a transvestite prostitute having sex with a quadriplegic’s foot and, yes, one very adventurous terrier. Yet for such graphic footage, it never feels pornographic, voyeuristic or deliberately salacious (I watched half the film in a cafe before it even occurred to me it might raise an eyebrow), thanks in no small part to a wonderful current of dark comedy running throughout. Instead, the films are funny and fascinating, and they capture a truth rarely explored on film (outside of teen gross-out comedies, funnily enough): Humans, caught in the in the clutches of lust and desire, are fucked-up, hilarious creatures. If you can’t identify just a little, maybe it’s your sex life that’s weird. RUTH BROWN. Clinton Street Theater. 8 pm Friday-Sunday, March 1-3.
Sapient
[HIP-HOP/ROCK] Is Marcus Williams a rapper with indie-rock aspirations or an indie rocker with a hip-hop jones? Maybe he’s something else altogether. As a producer and MC, Sape’s always pushed boundaries. On his latest album, Slump, he eliminates them entirely. As a member of the sprawling Sandpeople crew, he’s primarily known for his eclectic production style, stitching together cutup, Flying Lotus-esque beatscapes, neck-breaking G-funk and synth-driven indie electro. Slump, however, is something else, featuring strummed acoustic guitars and more singing than rapping, while still beating with a hip-hop pulse. It’s very much of-the-moment, as the rap and indie worlds are colliding and blending at a greater rate than ever, except the convergence of influences is embodied in a single, talented songsmith. MATTHEW SINGER. Branx, 320 SE 2nd Ave., 234-5683. 7 pm. $9 advance, $12 day of show. All ages.
Laura Gibson, Nick Jaina, Daniel Hunt
[FOLK] Laura Gibson is coming home. After spending the past year touring across the country, Europe and even South Africa in support of her uncharacteristically rough-and-tumble 2012 album, La Grande—and the past few weeks out near Sisters, Ore., performing a residency at Dan Wieden’s Caldera arts camp—the countryfolk singer-songwriter is returning to Portland for her first headlining solo gig in a while. Although she’s become something of a national artist, recognized for her fine vocals and delicately rootsy arrangements, she’s also solidified her position as a local institution, and one of the city’s standout talents. MATTHEW SINGER. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 9 pm. $15. 21 .
Saturday, March 2
Ski the Glade
[SKI] Long ago, skiers went from the Timberline ski area to Government Camp without taking off their boots. Once a year, the historic 3-mile Glade Trail is opened and groomed. $100 includes breakfast, lunch and shuttle. Register at 272-3301. mthoodmuseum.org.
Eight Bells, the Body, Sedan, Usnea
[METAL] Psych rock’s loss was black metal’s gain. The music world may have stung a bit from the breakup of the great SubArachnoid Space in 2010, but the blow was cushioned instantly by the emergence of Eight Bells, featuring SAS guitarist Melynda Jackson and drummer Chris Van Huffel. This new group allows those two, along with bassist Haley Westeiner, to get even heavier than their previous outfit, but with silvery bits of spaced-out rock curling around the edges of the trio’s smoldering sound. Tonight, Eight Bells plays in celebration of its first full-length, The Captain’s Daughter , recently released on local label Seventh Rule. ROBERT HAM. Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900. 8 pm. $7.
Portland as Fuck
[ART] How can you not like a show called Portland as Fuck ? This group exhibition is loosely themed around the reasons we love our fair city of stumps. Fortunately, the artists didn’t take the assignment too literally; this is no Portlandia retread, but rather an essence-isolating distillation of sometimes oblique references. Among the highlights are Ryan Bubnis’ abstracted mountains and rivers; Brett Superstar’s witty wool wall sculpture of Paul Bunyan; and Timothy Karpinski’s multicolored laurel wreath. And then there is Tripper Dungan’s depiction of a beer-swilling monkey on roller skates. Viewers will scratch their heads, say “What the...?” and then smile when the light bulb turns on. Who is that beer-swilling monkey? He is not in our stars, dear Brutus, but in ourselves. Through March 3. Compound Gallery, 107 NW 5th Ave., 796-2733.
B.B. King
[BLUES] You know you are a music legend when virtually any compliment anyone gives you tends to border on hyperbole. Such is life for B.B. King. Arguably the greatest blues guitar player ever (see?)—and certainly the most popular—he has done much to bring the genre into the mainstream throughout his 60-plus years as a musician. At age 87, he still plays more than 100 shows a year and feels the blues rattling around in his bones as deeply as ever. BRIAN PALMER. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 224-2038. 8 pm. Sold out. 21 .
Sunday, March 3
Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! Get the Sillies Out!
[EDUTAINMENT] Indoctrinating children into the hipster lifestyle since 2008, every alt-parent’s favorite kids show brings its colorful cast of characters (and Biz Markie) to the stage, educating youngsters in person about the things that really matter—namely, DJ-ing, indie rock and Biz Markie. Theater of the Clouds at Rose Garden, 1 N Center Court, 235-8771. 2 and 5 pm. $26-$46.
MarchFourth Marching Band’s 10-Year Anniversary Extravaganza
[FILM] Within the first 10 minutes of Fourplay, a woman receives oral sex from a dog—just so you know what you’re getting yourself in for here. Director Kyle Henry’s quartet of short films are “tales of sexual intimacy” (as the tagline goes), but they also feature Jesus fellating a man in a public restroom, a transvestite prostitute having sex with a quadriplegic’s foot and, yes, one very adventurous terrier. Yet for such graphic footage, it never feels pornographic, voyeuristic or deliberately salacious (I watched half the film in a cafe before it even occurred to me it might raise an eyebrow), thanks in no small part to a wonderful current of dark comedy running throughout. Instead, the films are funny and fascinating, and they capture a truth rarely explored on film (outside of teen gross-out comedies, funnily enough): Humans, caught in the in the clutches of lust and desire, are fucked-up, hilarious creatures. If you can’t identify just a little, maybe it’s your sex life that’s weird. RUTH BROWN. Clinton Street Theater. 8 pm Friday-Sunday, March 1-3.
Sapient
[HIP-HOP/ROCK] Is Marcus Williams a rapper with indie-rock aspirations or an indie rocker with a hip-hop jones? Maybe he’s something else altogether. As a producer and MC, Sape’s always pushed boundaries. On his latest album, Slump, he eliminates them entirely. As a member of the sprawling Sandpeople crew, he’s primarily known for his eclectic production style, stitching together cutup, Flying Lotus-esque beatscapes, neck-breaking G-funk and synth-driven indie electro. Slump, however, is something else, featuring strummed acoustic guitars and more singing than rapping, while still beating with a hip-hop pulse. It’s very much of-the-moment, as the rap and indie worlds are colliding and blending at a greater rate than ever, except the convergence of influences is embodied in a single, talented songsmith. MATTHEW SINGER. Branx, 320 SE 2nd Ave., 234-5683. 7 pm. $9 advance, $12 day of show. All ages.
Laura Gibson, Nick Jaina, Daniel Hunt
[FOLK] Laura Gibson is coming home. After spending the past year touring across the country, Europe and even South Africa in support of her uncharacteristically rough-and-tumble 2012 album, La Grande—and the past few weeks out near Sisters, Ore., performing a residency at Dan Wieden’s Caldera arts camp—the countryfolk singer-songwriter is returning to Portland for her first headlining solo gig in a while. Although she’s become something of a national artist, recognized for her fine vocals and delicately rootsy arrangements, she’s also solidified her position as a local institution, and one of the city’s standout talents. MATTHEW SINGER. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 9 pm. $15. 21 .
Saturday, March 2
Ski the Glade
[SKI] Long ago, skiers went from the Timberline ski area to Government Camp without taking off their boots. Once a year, the historic 3-mile Glade Trail is opened and groomed. $100 includes breakfast, lunch and shuttle. Register at 272-3301. mthoodmuseum.org.
Eight Bells, the Body, Sedan, Usnea
[METAL] Psych rock’s loss was black metal’s gain. The music world may have stung a bit from the breakup of the great SubArachnoid Space in 2010, but the blow was cushioned instantly by the emergence of Eight Bells, featuring SAS guitarist Melynda Jackson and drummer Chris Van Huffel. This new group allows those two, along with bassist Haley Westeiner, to get even heavier than their previous outfit, but with silvery bits of spaced-out rock curling around the edges of the trio’s smoldering sound. Tonight, Eight Bells plays in celebration of its first full-length, The Captain’s Daughter , recently released on local label Seventh Rule. ROBERT HAM. Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900. 8 pm. $7.
Portland as Fuck
[ART] How can you not like a show called Portland as Fuck ? This group exhibition is loosely themed around the reasons we love our fair city of stumps. Fortunately, the artists didn’t take the assignment too literally; this is no Portlandia retread, but rather an essence-isolating distillation of sometimes oblique references. Among the highlights are Ryan Bubnis’ abstracted mountains and rivers; Brett Superstar’s witty wool wall sculpture of Paul Bunyan; and Timothy Karpinski’s multicolored laurel wreath. And then there is Tripper Dungan’s depiction of a beer-swilling monkey on roller skates. Viewers will scratch their heads, say “What the...?” and then smile when the light bulb turns on. Who is that beer-swilling monkey? He is not in our stars, dear Brutus, but in ourselves. Through March 3. Compound Gallery, 107 NW 5th Ave., 796-2733.
B.B. King
[BLUES] You know you are a music legend when virtually any compliment anyone gives you tends to border on hyperbole. Such is life for B.B. King. Arguably the greatest blues guitar player ever (see?)—and certainly the most popular—he has done much to bring the genre into the mainstream throughout his 60-plus years as a musician. At age 87, he still plays more than 100 shows a year and feels the blues rattling around in his bones as deeply as ever. BRIAN PALMER. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 224-2038. 8 pm. Sold out. 21 .
Sunday, March 3
Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! Get the Sillies Out!
[EDUTAINMENT] Indoctrinating children into the hipster lifestyle since 2008, every alt-parent’s favorite kids show brings its colorful cast of characters (and Biz Markie) to the stage, educating youngsters in person about the things that really matter—namely, DJ-ing, indie rock and Biz Markie. Theater of the Clouds at Rose Garden, 1 N Center Court, 235-8771. 2 and 5 pm. $26-$46.
MarchFourth Marching Band’s 10-Year Anniversary Extravaganza
Marchin' in place at Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., on
Sunday and Monday, March 3-4. Multiple showtimes and ticket
prices. Call 225-0047 for information.
Kayla Newell
A rising star in Portland’s art constellation, Kayla Newell mounts a strong showing of mixed-media drawing/painting hybrids at Mark Woolley’s gallery at Pioneer Place Mall. In fantastical mountainscapes such as Stone Pile and Ascend , she uses paint drips to suggest waterfalls and majestic, Middle Earth-like vistas. Her work has a similar feel to that of fellow Portland artists Adam Sorensen and Anna Fidler, but with the addition of meticulously rendered geometric motifs, glitter and sludgy black paint covering up intricate structures beneath. Through March 10. Mark Woolley Gallery @ Pioneer, 700 SW 5th Ave., third floor, Pioneer Place Mall, 998-4152.
Why?
[BABBLING TO BABYLON] If the devil is in the details, Why? is downright satanic. From the Ohio outfit’s immaculately arranged bells and whistles to Yoni Wolf’s obsessive-compulsive vocal delivery—he spews a shopping list of worldly possessions, traumatic memories and crippling anxieties, all rolled up together—you’d be hard-pressed to discover a group more anal than this one. The tight focus and tighter musicianship usually hint at something majestic— as is the case on last year’s excellent Mumps, Etc.—and it’s easy to find oneself standing slack-jawed at the intersection of Wolf’s self-deprecating free-association raps and his band’s moody, baroque sound. CASEY JARMAN. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 284-8686. 7:30 pm. $14 advance, $15 day of show. All ages.
Kayla Newell
A rising star in Portland’s art constellation, Kayla Newell mounts a strong showing of mixed-media drawing/painting hybrids at Mark Woolley’s gallery at Pioneer Place Mall. In fantastical mountainscapes such as Stone Pile and Ascend , she uses paint drips to suggest waterfalls and majestic, Middle Earth-like vistas. Her work has a similar feel to that of fellow Portland artists Adam Sorensen and Anna Fidler, but with the addition of meticulously rendered geometric motifs, glitter and sludgy black paint covering up intricate structures beneath. Through March 10. Mark Woolley Gallery @ Pioneer, 700 SW 5th Ave., third floor, Pioneer Place Mall, 998-4152.
Why?
[BABBLING TO BABYLON] If the devil is in the details, Why? is downright satanic. From the Ohio outfit’s immaculately arranged bells and whistles to Yoni Wolf’s obsessive-compulsive vocal delivery—he spews a shopping list of worldly possessions, traumatic memories and crippling anxieties, all rolled up together—you’d be hard-pressed to discover a group more anal than this one. The tight focus and tighter musicianship usually hint at something majestic— as is the case on last year’s excellent Mumps, Etc.—and it’s easy to find oneself standing slack-jawed at the intersection of Wolf’s self-deprecating free-association raps and his band’s moody, baroque sound. CASEY JARMAN. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 284-8686. 7:30 pm. $14 advance, $15 day of show. All ages.
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