News Let's catch up, shall we? It has been awhile since we've talked Blazers here at wweek.com, so welcome to part one (the ranty part) of my two-part season preview. The second part will feature Buck Williams talking about rookies and new acquisitions. But for now, settle in and I'll remind you of where the Blazers are this season.The long offseason is over. NBA TV has stopped broadcasting haphazardly ...   More

Movies & Television Despite Monday's exciting Sean Hayes tweet to the contrary, the Oregon Governor's Office of Film & Video insists there's still no deal with NBC to film the full run of Grimm in Portland. In the meantime, I've had a chance to watch the upfront highlight reel of the filmed-in-PDX pilot, and have to ask: Is this show going to cement Portland's reputation as a capital of child abduction?It's not the ...   More

Music You can't really screw up a Prince cover, as long as you don't mess with the formula. Try to do it as a punk tune or some thrashing electro thing, and the whole thing falls apart. But stick to the core tune—as John Heart Jackie does here—and you're golden.It's because up until around 1996, the guy knew his way around a pop song. He wrote dozens upon dozens, many of them stone-cold classics. He ...   More

Music Portland singer-songwriter Rebecca Gates will soon release her first solo album in over 10 years (she occasionally talks about that here), but the ex-Spinanes frontwoman would rather talk about surveys than new tunes. One survey, in particular: The Future of Music Coalition, an organization she works for, is attempting an ambitious project to identify US musicians' revenue streams. It may sound a touch ...   More

Music Just after 2 am on Saturday, Glass Candy took to the stage at noted Paris club night Flash Cocotte, to a rabid audience that rivaled the hometown crowds that gather at Rotture whenever the pair plays the Rose City. Opening with "Digital Versicolor," front-woman Ida No was nearly unrecognizable with her new brunette hair-do and heavy '60s-style makeup. Of course, the moment she slipped off her shoes ...   More

Music Stephen Malkmus has done a lot of interviews in his 20-odd years fronting Pavement and the Jicks. So when we talked on the phone in advance of the latter group’s Portland stop—it will be the first time the latest incarnation of the band, which features Jake Morris of the Joggers on drums in addition to longtime Jicks Joanna Bolme and Mike Clark, has played Portland—I wasn’t surprised ...   More

Music Radiation City's recent record release party at Doug Fir was one of the better local rock shows I've seen in a long time. The quartet plays with plenty of loose passion while keeping both the delicate and complex aspects of its songwriting wholly intact. They seem to me to be a band destined for some very big things. I'm not always right about these things, but my track record isn't horrible, either.Here's ...   More

Music “You guys want us to play," asks Josh Epstein, half of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. "Or do you want us to keep throwing you popsicles?" Perhaps it was a mistake to toss frozen treats into the crowd so early in the set, but it is 95 degrees and the masses are desperate for refreshment. It’s a bit like pigeons fighting over bread crumbs. Darwin’s survival of the fittest is on full display, as the strong ...   More

Music Every mention of our gig in Dorset drew the same reaction: “Oh you’re playing at The Square and Compass! That’s the best pub in the world!” The Square and Compass is the best pub I’ve ever been to, and I can’t imagine one that could be any better. I highly recommend a visit to Dorset, and more specifically the Square and Compass if you are anywhere near the south of England. We rolled ...   More