Dawes Tonight in Bend, with Jonny Corndawg
Perhaps the coolest show of this young 2011 is tonight’s gig by folky Americana rockers Dawes at the Silver Moon. The Los Angeles band first played Bend back in May of 2010 when they opened a Les Schwab Amphitheater show for Band of Horses and She & Him, but are here headlining what I’m hoping…
127 Hours and Blue Valentine Open in Bend on Friday
Isn’t it fitting the day the Oscar’s are announced we find out both 127 Hours and Blue Valentine are opening at Pilot Butte this weekend? Finally, at long last, we can feast our eyes and minds on the critically acclaimed films.
Concert Review: Amos Lee at The Crystal Ballroom
This past Friday night, Portland’s Crystal Ballroom welcomed the Pacific Northwest return of Philadelphia’s soulful singer/songwriter Amos Lee… and it was a great return! Known for bringing solo acoustic guitar acts with him as his opening act, Amos stayed true to form and invited South African folk singer, Visu Mahlasela to start the night off.…
2011 Oscar Nominations Announced
After months of speculation, the 2011 Oscar nominations were announced this morning. Just like last year Morgan P. Salvo and I will be making our Oscar picks in the issue that comes out the week of the Oscars, which air on ABC Sunday, February 27 at 8pm. There don’t appear to be too many surprises,…
Oregon Drug Bust of the Week: Look at all that Meth
We haven’t heard much about meth arrests in Central Oregon over the last few years, but that changed this week with the announcement of a major bust up in Madras. A total of six Madras residents were arrested as the result of three different search warrants, according to the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team. Following…
Shakespeare in the Park Comes to Bend
It’s been in the works for a few months now, but we’ve finally been able to confirm that there will be a large-scale production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Billy Shakespeare classic, this summer in Drake Park. The Shakespeare performance will take place between August 26 and 27 and is produced by Lay it…
Hal Sparks to Perform at The Tower Theatre on Saturday, April 30
It seems lately Bend has started to make a name for itself as a comedy hot spot in Oregon. With the success of last fall’s Last Comic Standing contest, comedy has been on Bendites’ minds and with recent additions to the comedy scene like the Saturday Nite Jokers & Jams at the Bend Performing Arts…
Mosley Wotta to Play at the Sundance Film Festival
That’s right, Bend’s own Mosley Wotta is playing at the iconic Sundance Film Festival on Friday night, marking the band’s biggest out-of-town gig to date. The show was sort of a last-minute booking for the hip-hop band, thanks to their locally based booking company, In the Pocket Artists.
Got a relationship problem? Yo, we’ll solve it
Having money disputes? Is your significant other’s eye wandering too far for your liking? Does your husband snore really loud? Does your HGH-using boyfriend make out with other girls at clubs in front of you?
Mickey Avalon On Friday Night: Call Him Mr. Right Out the Door
When it comes to picking up ladies, many men lament the fact that “nice guys always finish last.” They defend their logic by explaining that the meaner a guy is to a girl, the more she’ll want him. These guys would hate Mickey Avalon. When it comes to picking up the ladies, Avalon knows a…
Darkside of the Rainbow: Oz meets Floyd at the Tower tonight
As we mentioned on this blog earlier in the week, BendFilm and the Tower Theatre are presenting The Wizard of Oz with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon playing over the soundtrack. If you don’t know already, these two pieces of art (allegedly) sync up perfectly for the most cosmic hippie freak out of…
One Man Band: Boy Eats Drum Machine Opens for Empty Space Orchestra Tonight
Tonight, Empty Space Orchestra enters its third straight week of Friday night shows at the Silver Moon and like the other nights, this show features another rad opener in Boy Eats Drum Machine. This Portland-based band is comprised solely of Jon Ragel, who spins the turntables, hits the drums, shreds the guitar and uses other…
Sasquatch 2011 Wish List
Editor’s note: This is Ethan Maffey’s first post for Bent. He’ll be writing once a week or so about music from the Northwest and beyond, but you can also catch him over at his own website, eightythreemusic.com. The lineup announcement for the 10th anniversary edition of the Pacific Northwest’s premier outdoor music festival is just…
Bend’s Police Chief, Sandi Baxter, to Retire
After more than two years as the head of the Bend Police Department and 34 years with the department, Police Chief Sandi Baxter announced today that she will be retiring this summer. Baxter has been with the department since 1977 and retired briefly in 2007 before coming back to the force when she was appointed…
Portlandia, a Comedy all About Portland, Premiers Friday
You’ve probably heard about this television show for a while now, but Portlandia, a vignette comedy show about life in Portland, is finally premiering on Friday night on IFC. The show is the brain child of Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, the Portland resident who was the guitarist for the punk band,…
Enough Already: Tuning out and turning off in the electronic age
A modern day social outcast has to be anyone who doesn’t text, doesn’t own a smart phone, doesn’t Tweet and more than likely finds, like Betty White, Facebook a colossal waste of time. So excuse me while I post that last paragraph on the “walls” of my 5,000 Facebook friends. That and I’ll ask them…
Most Awesome Pizza Ever!
Two things will happen when you watch this video — you’ll either lust after a piece of this junk food pizza, or you’ll want to vomit. Or maybe both.
Death Penalty Isn't The Answer
On Monday, January 24, Judge Thomas Hart will enter a Marion County courtroom and carry out his duty as the Judge in the Bruce and Joshua Turnidge case. He will pronounce the final death sentence for the two men. The final sentencing is not the end, rather a new beginning. Judge Hart's January 24 sentencing…
Quick! Get Your Lust List Votes In!
The Source Weekly’s 2nd Annual Lust List voting is soon coming to a close. Friday will be the last day you can exercise your right to decide who are the hottest hotties to ever step foot in Central Oregon.
Kayo’s Lounge Gets a 1950s Makeover with the Marilyn Room
Kayo’s Dinner House, the longtime Bend eatery that moved to Third Street last year, has rebranded its lounge, which is now known as The Marilyn Room. The lounge, which will be hosting live music on most Friday and Saturday nights, is decorated with Marilyn Monroe paraphernalia from the late 1950s/early 1960s.
Pass the Bug Spray: Unoriginal banter destroys more than crime fighting in the abysmal Green Hornet
The Green Hornet arrived after a ton of negative buzz in the notorious mid-January cinematic dead zone and raked it in as the biggest box office moneymaker of the week. Based on the 1930s radio show and 60’s TV series of the same name, The Green Hornet features Seth Rogen as Britt Reid, playboy heir…
Driving on the Road to Equality: Women go on strike in hopes of equal pay in Made in Dagenham
Made in Dagenham is the kind of movie that makes most, if not all, women feel some degree of gratitude. Additionally, anyone who has ever had to, or wanted to, stand up for what they believe in will walk out of the theater inspired by this film, which is based on a true story.
Let's Go Nowhere
World travel: I'd prefer to do something else, thankyouverymuch! There are those who say, “Travel broadens the mind as well as the soul,” and to those people I say, “APPLE CRAP!!” While I'll admit there are certain upsides to world travel (easier access to illegal pharmaceuticals, totally insane strip bars, more enthusiastic prostitutes), there are…
The Glory of Newberry: A new look at the biggest volcano in Oregon
No matter how many times you visit the Newberry National Monument, south of Bend, you’ll see something new every time, and probably something you wonder about, muttering to yourself, as I do so often, “Now, how did that happen?” I’ve been cross country skiing, hiking, logging – and now that I’m older – driving through,…
Somehow, it Werks: Great pub food and atmosphere keep Old Mill Brew Werks from blending into its business park surroundings
Bend's newest brewpub is a little different. First , it hasn't released any beers yet – in fact, it just started brewing last week, although the restaurant has been serving food for nearly two months. And the pub is run by a couple who, until recently, worked in nonprofits.
Little Bites: Turning Up the Heat: 20 restaurants compete in second-annual Chili Cook-off
Chili is a simple dish combining beans, meat and spices. Yet it seems that everyone from most grandmothers to every man who's ever watched a football game has the ultimate chili recipe. This, in my humble opinion, is why a chili cook-off is the world's great equalizer. No matter your reputation as a chef, no…
Bend is the Champion
Are you tired of arguing with your Portland friends about how Bend's beers can measure up to any of their city's brews? Well, now you've got some evidence, thanks to Saturday's Beer Olympics at Old Mill Brew Werks, which featured a series of blind tastings that paired Bend beers against their Portland counterparts in 10…
Weiner Jokes! Mickey Avalon isn't really a jerk, he just plays one when he's rapping
Mickey Avalon raps that he has a “dick like Jesus” (whatever that means) and he's not afraid to let his listeners know things like this about him. That's because the self-dubbed “Mr. Right” – a gaunt 35-year-old rapper, brings an inimitable fusion of glamour, sleaze and guyliner to a music scene that he never could've…
In the Long Run: Greg Willits of Sisters on his first-place finish at the Baja 1000
As rattlesnakes and scorpions slumbered, Greg Willitts and his Honda CRF-450X motorcycle hauled ass beneath the pale moonlight, racing across remote miles of Mexican desert during the brutal Baja 1000 off-road event. “It’s a trip. I saw distant taillights winking red in the fog and dust. You worry about breaking down and letting your teammates…
Our Picks for 01/19-01/27: Fine Line Comedy Showcase, Cicada Omega, 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off and Rail Jam, and more!
Mickey Avalon friday 21 This glam rapper is super, super raunchy – and is actually quite hilarious, whether intentionally or unintentionally – and you can learn about the man behind the potty jokes in this week's Sound section. $20/adv at Bendticket.com, $25/door. All ages. 9pm. Domino Room, 51 NW Greenwood Ave.
The Soap Opera on the Hill: With meetings underway between student government and the college, the political drama at COCC may be coming to a close
It's possible to live in Bend and never set foot on the Central Oregon Community College campus. The college sits on the far west side of the city, closer to the National Forest than downtown. Perched atop one of the city's steepest inclines in an area that gets little through traffic, it's nearly invisible to…
Whisnant Tries an End Run Around the DLCD
Laws can be a real pain in the ass. They often make you do things you don't want to do, or stop you from doing things you want to do. But without laws, society would be in one hell of a mess. Which is why state Rep. Gene Whisnant's effort to eviscerate the Urban Growth…
The County's Senseless Preamble
The county planning commission has been wrestling for literally years with a long-overdue update of the county's comprehensive planning document.
The Poop, the Straight Poop and Nothing But the Poop
Monday, Jan. 10 We're Number Three: University of Oregon Ducks lose BCS National Championship to Auburn 22-19 on a last-second field goal, drop to third place in the polls behind Auburn and TCU. Just a little too much Cam Newton and Nick Fairley, not enough LaMichael James … Class act: John Kitzhaber sworn in to…
A Sea Bass By Another Name
Please pass this along to restaurant reviewer Liz Reich: Enjoy that pricey Patagonia Toothfish while you can. That’s the real name of that endangered “Chilean sea bass” you raved about, renamed exclusively for marketing purposes by upscale fishmonger Lee Lantz because he knew he could charge a lot more money for it that way.
A Spelling Lesson
This letter is in response to “Ellen's” letter of a few weeks ago. She advocated not giving dog people a spot in either Virginia Meissner or Swampy Lakes [sno-parks.]
Dog Concerns Are Valid At Swampy
Dog owners and DogPAC want to be seen as the victims in this debate. They dismiss the valid concerns of most skiers about conflicts and the real danger of mixing dogs, both on and off-leash, with skiers in already crowded areas. They repeatedly assert that few problems would occur because the vast majority of dog…
Keep Up the Good Work, Milton Bradley
Since I didn’t have a Left Field column in this week’s paper — which will be hitting the web in about two hours and the streets a few hours after that — I need to unload some of the sports idiocy currently boiling my brains. And there’s no source of idiocy more reliable than Seattle…
Pho Viet & Cafe Is Open, Serving, and We’re Eating
I just got back from the new pho place on 1326 3rd Street, Pho Viet. The Rico’s Taco’s sign is still up, but that didn’t stop Pho Viet and Cafe from opening this Monday.
Obama's Homeowner Plan a “Colossal Disappointment,” Merkley says.
Announcing a new more aggressive push to save millions of financially strapped American homeowners from foreclosure, Sen Jeff Merkley said Tuesday in Bend that new legislation is needed to replace Obama's Making Home Affordable program, which has failed to stem the tide of defaults. Speaking in front of a map that showed foreclosure rates across…
Darkside of the Moon + Wizard of Oz = Wild Night at the Tower
Remember when you were 17 and in the basement of some friend’s house late at night when one of your comrades got you hip to the theory that Pink Floyd’s Darkside of the Moon synced up with The Wizard of Oz in ways that could under no circumstances could be mere coincidence? Then, you’d dig…
All That Jazz: A triple-header for local fans
Never has so much live jazz been played in Bend than this past weekend. A total of five gigs at three different venues brought the music to not only longstanding fans and but also to many new audience members. The weekend started on a high note both in the venue and the music with the…
