The Most Important Portland Culture News of the Week, From Best to Worst

Ontario, Ore., ain't got no love for Snoop Dogg?

Who Let the Dogg Out?

A small town in Eastern Oregon got a surprise visit from Snoop Dogg last weekend. The rapper traveled to Ontario, population 11,009, to celebrate the opening of cannabis retail shop Hotbox Farms—and his free, last-minute performance sparked panic among local police, who initiated "major incident response protocol," the Malheur Enterprise reported Friday. An estimated 3,000 fans showed up for the free concert. Officers responded to "complaints of fights in parking lots, traffic collisions, and ingestion of marijuana and alcohol in public places." Ontario police are weighing whether to fine Hotbox for failing to obtain a special event permit, but other business owners told the Enterprise they were thrilled with the unexpected uptick in sales from the Snoop Dogg visit.

Read more: A Free Snoop Dogg Concert in a Small Oregon Town Caused Police to Panic, and May Lead to Fines For Organizers.

(Liz Allan)

Raise a Glass

Oregon's brewers made a double-digit haul at this year's Great American Beer Festival in Denver—but it was still the lowest medal count for our homegrown beers in what's become an increasingly fierce competition. By snagging a gold for its saison Obeisance, Von Ebert Brewing made history as a first-entry, first-win producer, an honor fewer than 40 breweries have accomplished.

Read more: Oregon Breweries Brought Home 15 Medals from the Great American Beer Festival.

(Thomas Teal)

We’ll No Longer Have Paris

Downtown's Paris Theatre—the 100-year-old music venue and former porn theater, which announced its rebrand as a nightclub in 2017 with a marquee reading, "No longer a jack shack"—has permanently closed. The club canceled several events at the end of September, pending a safety inspection, before announcing via Facebook last Friday it was shutting down for good "due to a variety of structural, safety and liability issues." Earlier this year, a lawsuit alleging Paris co-owner Chris Lenahan enforced policies that discriminated against black patrons was settled out of court.

(Rachael Renee Levasseur)

Changing Tables

You know what they say—when one restaurant closes, another takes its place. So it goes in Portland, where a handful of established eateries have recently announced relocations into the shells of the less fortunate. Red Sauce, the much-loved Cully neighborhood pizzeria, is moving a few blocks south, into the former home of short-lived Hungarian cafe Anchor End. The Sudra, one of the city's best vegan spots, is leaving the Ocean complex on Northeast Glisan Street to take over the newly vacated Tapalaya space. And Top Burmese, which opened serving cuisine from Myanmar as a takeout-only "virtual restaurant," has settled into a dine-in brick-and-mortar on Northwest 21st Avenue previously occupied by the departed Kim Jong Smokehouse.

Read more: Popular Cully Pizza Spot Red Sauce Is Changing Locations.

Janet Weiss in 2015. IMAGE: Matthew Singer.

Game of Drum Thrones

Sleater-Kinney's first tour in decades without drummer Janet Weiss kicks off this week in Spokane, Wash. The Portland-bred punk band has enlisted Angie Boylan of the radical New York queercore band Aye Nako to replace Weiss, who left the band shortly before the release of their ninth studio album, The Center Won't Hold. The tour stops in Portland for a two-night stint at Crystal Ballroom on Nov. 19 and 20.

Read more: On Their New Album, Sleater-Kinney Faces Political Turmoil and Intraband Uncertainty.

IMAGE: Alysse Gafkjen

Club Thumping

Satyricon is Portland's greatest, most mythologized punk club—the place where Kurt met Courtney, and bands from the Wipers to the Dandy Warhols made their names. But not everyone was so enamored of its grimy charm. In the debut episode of The Road Taken, a new podcast hosted by Chris Tomson and Chris Baio of Vampire Weekend, Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney remembers playing the venue in the Ohio band's lean days: "It smelled like puke," he recalls. Carney goes on to describe their "worst show ever," opening for a speed-metal band 10 years their senior, playing for a single drunken couple, and watching a drug deal gone wrong.

Read more: Listen to the Black Keys Discuss Their "Worst Show Ever" at Portland's Legendary Punk Club Satyricon.

(Megan Nanna)

To Kill a Little Bird

James Beard Award-winning chef Gabriel Rucker is closing Little Bird, the sibling restaurant to his lauded East Burnside landmark, Le Pigeon. Rucker and co-owner Andy Fortgang announced the decision to shutter the bistro on Southwest 6th Avenue, which was first reported by The Oregonian, in an email. Rucker's third project, Canard, took off with critical acclaim after opening last year. Meanwhile the nine-year-old Little Bird briefly closed last winter for updates to the interior and a menu relaunch. Little Bird will operate during its normal hours through Oct. 27.

Read more: Little Bird, Gabriel Rucker's Second Restaurant, Will Close at the End of the Month

Cameron’s (Jay Horton)

New Chapter

For more than 50 years, Cameron's Books and Magazines has stood at the corner of Southwest 3rd Avenue and Stark Street. Beloved as much for its eclectic selection of pre-owned hardcovers and paperbacks as a breathtaking collection of past periodicals, the shop now stands as downtown's last independent bookstore open to the public. That won't be true for much longer, though. Shortly after Labor Day, owner Jeff Frase received notification from the building's new owners that Cameron's must vacate the premises by November 30. At age 67, Frase says he's inclined to just retire. But his longest-tenured current employee is less willing to walk away. Crystal Zingsheim, who oversees of Cameron's rare books department, has launched a Kickstarter campaign in hopes of relocating the store and its inventory before their eviction date.

Read more: Portland's Oldest Used Bookstore Is in Danger of Closing.

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