Music I had an interesting talk about Pickathon with a local promoter who was hanging out at Pendarvis farm on Saturday night. I asked why there was such a market for festivals when the economy has gone to shit. He said, in a nutshell, that festivals like this are replacing trips to the grand canyon or Mount Rushmore. He said that the most valuable music fes...   More

Music Words by Jessi Brandhagen. Photos by Akira Okazaki.
The fact that Phantogram was greeted with obvious enthusiasm after a drawn-out gap between the opening act and the headliner speaks to both the mellow patience of a Portland audience, and the caliber of the music they stood for so long to see.
Wisely opting to skip any introduction, Phantogram immediately rocked the packe...   More

Music Some months ago, we asked Morgan Nicholson of Pictorials to do a tour diary for LocalCut. It came together slowly but surely (sorry), but now we present to you the complete beast. -Ed.
ORIGINS:
There was a whole mess of awesome energy surrounding this tour. This was our very first tour as PICTORIALS!! There was such an excitement around these shows that it f...   More

Music [Long intro by Casey Jarman. Photos and captions by Evan Neuhausen. Both of us got there a day late. -Ed.] 
I had never been to Sasquatch. Big outdoor concerts weird me out. They feel too much like a high school senior trip: Everyone is out-of-control and sunburnt and wasted, so no one seems to realize that their ass is grinding against the person behind them or that they just spill...   More

Music In honor of Public Radio Music Month, which wraps up today, Nate Query (Decemberists, Black Prairie) wrote an essay about the Portland public radio stations that he has grown up with and what they mean to him as a musician and member of the community. As big fans of both Mr. Query and public radio, we're thrilled to present it to y...   More

Music Clément Haslé wraps up his coverage from a week of Portland shows in Paris. Can you spot all five Voodoo Doughnuts? (Just kidding, there are not five Voodoo Doughnuts to spot...or ARE there?) Here's Clément:DAY 4"Friday night at Keep Portland Weird was curated by Music Festival North West, for an indie rock night including AU, Nurses, the Helio Sequence and the Thermals. AU was on...   More

Music And the Parisian Keep Portland Weird Festival continues! Another update (and slideshow) from Clément Haslé:
"Keep Portland Weird is still on in Paris, back at la Gaité Lyrique for Day 3, celebrating “Portland underground scene” with a night curated by Tara Jane O’Neil. Sun Foot played first, talking with the early crowd in a joyful and funny set. The lo-fi trio presented their deconstr...   More

Music Clément Haslé with more photos from Paris! Here's what he has to say about day two:
Part of night two of Keep Portland Weird took place yesterday at Le Centre Pompidou, one of the most prestigious contemporary art museums in Europe. The show took place in a 400-seat venue located in the basement of the Centre. There is always a lot of action going on the square of the museum, as you ca...   More

Music As you may know by now, music fans and culture geeks in Paris are in the midst of celebrating another great city with a long and romantic history—Portland. Wait, what? Was that a typo? PARIS is celebrating US???
Photographer Clément Haslé was there to capture day one of the festival. He had this t...   More

Music Portland photographer Megan Holmes is currently touring the country with Zola Jesus and Talk Normal. She's sending photos from the road.
I spent a lot of time in Cincinnati in my late teenage years. Its sort of an industrial wasteland, but that is precisely what I love about it. I mean, they do, after all, have the only two-lane White Castle drive-up layout that I have ever seen. And it'...   More