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Oregon State University's Cascades Campus in Bend might be near its last gasp, if our local state representatives are reading the signals in Salem right.
We’re not ready to call the Great Bend Restaurant Shakeout over just yet, but lately we’ve been hearing more about restaurants opening than closing. Following a wholesale massacre that brought down dining titans Merenda, Deep, as well as Volo, Bistro Corlise and, earlier, Blue Fish Bistro, the downtown scene is poised for a rebound of sorts. Over on the corner of Minnesota and Wall the former Merenda staff, led by Mike Millette, is putting the finishing touches on their new and retooled restaurant, dubbed 900 Wall. Millette said the business is tentatively scheduled to open its doors on May 6.
I was gonna lock the door, but then I got high…Easter Sunday. It's a day for crowded churches followed by crowded
brunches and topped off with a whole hell of a lot of ham followed by a
slow-moving Monday morning. This Easter in Bend you can add one more
thing to your holiday docket and that's the blunt-smoking, Colt-45
swilling goofball rapper Afroman.
That's right, the author of the
smash turn-of-the-millennium hit "Because I Got High" is just the
latest rapper to make a return appearance here in town. The party-hardy
rapper is touring in preparation of the release of his new album
Frobama (how can you avoid a golden pun opportunity like that?), slated
for a May release. The record is quintessential Afroman, plenty of
silly skits and boasting cuts about well, weed malt liquor and some
digs on his former label, Universal. And yes, most of this is hilarious.
Dylan Howe is eating what appears to be a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich at a table in a cramped Northwest Crossing coffee shop while
talking about his band, We Are Brontosaurus. In a few minutes, the
power trio's guitarist will also dig into a stick of string cheese - a
staple of any sack lunch - as he attempts to fit a meal into a life
that includes playing in one of Bend's most intriguing rock bands,
ultimate Frisbee practice, and being a junior in high school.
Across
the table from Dylan, the band's lead singer, Owen Quon, speaks acutely
about Bend's youth music scene in a soft yet deep voice that is a mere
whisper in comparison to the rampaging vocals he unleashes on the
band's indie rock recordings.
"It's amazing to see that the
music scene in Bend is starting to grow, especially in the youth music
scene there's a lot of kids starting to play in bands," says Quon, the
son of Mark and Linda Quon, who together play around town as The Quons.
The Source Fiction
Issue Reading Party
thursday 9
We thought
we'd say one more time, because we can, that we're having a reading
featuring all of the writers featured in our fiction issue. All five
writers will be in attendance and reading from their published pieces
and more. 7pm Thursday, Apr 9. Between the Covers, 645 NW Delaware Ave.
Northwest Hoop Gathering
friday-sunday, 10-12
According
to local hoop guru Mollie "Hoopdazzle" Hogan, Bend has become a hotspot
for this gyrating sport/artform, which is illustrated by this massive
gathering of hoopers from around the world. Hoopers of all ability
levels are welcome to attend this event that includes big names in
hooping like Hoopgirl, Hoopalicious, Spiral and Baxter. According to
Hogan, "This is equivalent to having Lance Armstrong teach a cycling
class during the Cascade Cycling Classic, or having Mick Jagger teach a
guitar class." Tickets available at hoopdazzle.com or at
northwesthoopgathering.com. Summit High School, 2855 NW Clearwater Dr.
The weather in Bend last Memorial Day wasn't ideal for being outdoors in any capacity. Actually, that's an understatement. Save a freak snowstorm, there wasn't much that could have made the weather worse than it was - cold temperatures, gusting winds, and downpours followed by a lingering drizzle erased any memory of the week prior, which saw record highs in our region.
But still, downpours and all, there was plenty of life to be found down at the Les Schwab Amphitheater where promoters had siphoned off some of the high-profile headliners of the Sasquatch Festival going down at Washington's Gorge Amphitheater to create a de facto three-day festival here in Bend.The lineup included a string of shows that included names like Michael Franti and Spearhead, Built to Spill, the Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse.
Sasquatch is taking place once again over the Memorial Day weekend, but we won't benefit from any Sasquatch run off here in Bend this time around. Promoters say that the options for bands playing Sasquatch either weren't a good fit for the Amphitheater or didn't make sense economically to produce. But they insist that the summer LSA lineup will remain strong in a time when our local music landscape-known throughout the region for the prolific amount of high-profile shows we attract despite our sub-100,000 population - seems to be in a state of flux. So far the only shows announced for the LSA are pop-country stars Sugarland (who cancelled their 2007 Bend appearance due to illness) in late July and an early September Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal gig on September 5. Monqui, however, says that two other shows have been booked and another booking - which would bring the total summer number of concerts to five - is in the works.
The American economy is in a miserable state, and Oregon is the most miserable state in the entire country - at least if you go by MainStreet.com's calculations.
It was a busy Friday night for the Sound Check team. First we caught some of the Elephant Revival show at the Silver Moon then it was off to the Summit Saloon and Stage where Sound Check’s partially bandana-adorned crew pumped fists to the sounds of Dirty Penny.
The Bulletin took off this morning on one of its editorial rampages, attacking Gov. Ted Kulongoski for backing legislation that would make it tougher to site destination resorts in Central Oregon and touting the supposed benefits of such developments. The result was a hash of sophistry and contorted logic.
While spending a few days on the Oregon coast, The Wandering Eye's eye happened to light upon a brochure left in our hotel room. Since the weather was too windy and rainy to venture forth to the beach and we had gotten bored with the book we'd brought along, we flipped through it and came across this passage:
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