Cover Story
East Side Rising
It is as cliché as a John Hughes film that every town has its two sides—the right and wrong side of the tracks, the greasers and the socios, the post code envy. But with more advanced city planning and increasing city densities, it is just as likely in the 21st century that gentrification… …and economic…
No Depression & Other New Music
The release of No Depression: Legacy Edition and our review of Pattern’s debut album Waking Lines.
Fear and Zombies in Las Vegas
Former Source film reviewer Jared Rasic, has written a screen play. It’s about zombies. He and a crew of local actors including co-writer Nick Saraceno, Prairie Carrie, Cletas Emrich, Todd Hanson, Amber Dawn Hanson, A.J. Cowan and Tori Miller will be performing said script at Tin Pan Theater tonight at 8 pm. Here’s what Rasic…
What in the World?
A roundup of the weekend’s news: The Grammy Awards go political: Yes, awards went to the Pacific Northwest’s own Macklemore, who sprung from obscurity to shift the center of hip hop, but it is probably the massive translation of his song “Same Love” which will be remembered: During the award ceremony, 33 same-sex couples were…
Jack Johnson Announced at LSA in August
The Les Schwab Amphitheater announced their second summer concert via Twitter: surf-worshiping acoustic pop singer/songwriter Jack Johnson on August 24—just two days before Dave Matthews Band. From bendconcerts.com Johnson played the amphitheater in 2003, 2005 and 2008. Tickets go on sale Jan. 31. More information at LSA’s website. Related Stories
On Snow
As reflected on in my recent Bend Newcomer posting, I’m realigning my norms to west coast ideals. Where I grew up, snow was a reason for freaking out, for rushing to the grocery store for toilet paper, milk, bread and other apocalypse survival tools. Here, the lack of snow brings people to wailing, crying and…
Friday Mixtape!
Some spacey music for your Friday.
Have You Seen the New Olympic Uniforms? They’re Made From Oregon Wool
The uniforms for the 2014 opening ceremony, designed by Ralph Lauren are made from Imperial Stock Ranch wool! Ralph Lauren An hour and 40 minutes into the cracked high desert northeast of Bend, eight miles past the barely recognizable “town” of Antelope, the Imperial Stock Ranch was established in 1871 and quickly developed into one…
Borderlands Performance
Literary readings haven’t been traditionally funny. Thought of less as light entertainment, and more as “high culture,” authors have a stigma of stuffiness to contend with. Like opera or the ballet, literary presentations aren’t expected laugh-heavy—after all, learning isn’t fun—they’re meant to expand minds, especially presentations from a highly respected, culturally aware, and decorated author…
Out of Town 1/22 —1/30
seattle friday 24 Krar Collective and Gabriel Teodros The krar is a lyre native to Ethiopia, its psychedelic, tinny-sounding six strings creating a smooth melodic background similar to its sitar cousin. The Krar Collective is a London-based trio with Addis Abada roots which creates what Seattle’s The Stranger describes as a “gorgeous tornado of Ethiopian…
Let’s Get Trivial
I learned two things talking to Ryan O’Shaughnessy and Simone Morris-Martin, the playful hosts of Bend’s newest trivia night at The Lot off Galveston in Bend. Number one, Dustin Diamond, (familiarly known as Screech from “Saved By the Bell”) hosted the Gathering of the Juggalos in 2011, and number two, Jubelale was Deschutes Brewery’s first…
It’s Tasting Better Out East
No, the east side does not have fine dining. Not yet. There is no slick décor Zydeco and no 5 Fusion top-grade sushi. But that doesn’t mean the east side is a diners’ wasteland. Hardly. Baldy’s offers scrumptious barbecue, The Phoenix is a bustling steakhouse, and the popular Jackson’s Corner plans to open its second…
No Float Summer?
Lazily floating down the Deschutes, past the Old Mill and, after a short portage, into Drake Park near downtown Bend, has for years been a Central Oregon summertime ritual. But this year that casual cool down may be interrupted. City councilor Victor Chudowsky worries that the leaking Newport Avenue dam will mean a shallower river…
Worthy Doubles Down
The men behind Worthy Brewery aren’t expecting to ride the crowded waves of the craft brewing boom. Instead, their eyes are on the horizon. Already they’re out in front of trends, busily preparing and planning for that next set. In the nearly one year that Worthy has been open (its anniversary is this February), the…
Not A Puff Piece
Last week, President Barack Obama declared in a New Yorker article he doesn’t believe marijuana is any more dangerous than alcohol “in terms of impact on the individual consumer.” “As has been well documented,” he said, “I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice. (But) I…
One Day at a Time
MONDAY 13 The early bird gets the worm—and while many celebrities are still snug and warm in their beds, Kanye West is out in the world, beating down 18-year-olds, and making the job for gossip columnists very easy indeed. TMZ reported that Kanye, perhaps justifiably, attacked a foul-mouthed teen today—for saying the n-word to Kim…
Letters 1/15-1/23
In reply to “Town Hall Talks” (1/9) If we folded the real cost of using highways and freeways into the price of cars, vehicles would come with a sticker price two to three times what we pay today. The “discount” to car buyers is made up with a legion of broad based taxes and fees…
Go East, Young Bendite
Snow scarcity: Global warming or just a weather trend? Either way, the severe lack of snow—we’re inching further toward record lows—has shut down traditional winter. But, if Mother Nature won’t give us white stuff, she’s kindly offering the next best thing—warm days, clear skies and cold nights. The desert trails have rarely been more inviting.…
Our Picks 1/22-1/30
thursday 23 Tango Alpha Tango MUSIC—Portland’s Tango Alpha Tango is a winning combination of blues, twang, distortion, sexy guitar solos and group jams that are just long enough, not Phish long, but still grove-worthy. The icing on the cake is well-written lyrics and the band’s lovely female bassist, Mirabai Trueb, who serves as the soulfully…
Here come the mooses!
It had to happen. If the wolves hadn’t chased the moose from Washington and Idaho into Oregon, some sportsman’s group would have suggested it. After all, we have a turkey shooting group, an elk hunter’s bunch; why not a moose-hunting club? But moose-hunting won’t be like so-called “wild” turkey hunting. Turkeys have never been native…
Welcome Back Fellini
The Great Beauty takes a while to take on a structure—and, with true Fellini dreaminess, rarely holds onto a cohesive storyline. The film opens with a seemingly unrelated scene—a lyrical and sun-dappled scene as Japanese tourists explore one of Rome’s hillside chapels, before one man drops dead from a heart attack—and then jumps to a…
Jack Ryan: Hot Idiot Recruit
Have you ever dated somebody who was super good-looking, but there wasn’t really a connection, and you were pretty sure they were straight-up dumb, but they got a pass because it’s fun to make out with hot people and you decided not to care about substance? And you knew in your heart that it was…
Dyslectics of the World Untie!
Harvey Hubbell V has created a humorous look on a serious challenge: dyslexia, a disorder he himself struggles with and chronicles in his latest film, Dislecksia: The Movie. At one point the screen fills with a montage of his childhood report cards written in teachers’ 1960s penmanship: “He can barely write his own name,” “He…
Blood is Thicker than Water
The Slaughter Daughters are simultaneously adorable and terrifying. The sister(esque) duo takes the stage in cowboy boots and sundresses with their hair tied up in pinup bandanas and proceed to grind out dark, up-tempo, yet downtrodden murder ballads and melodic but agonizing tales of lonely torment. It is confusing. A curious murmur slinks through the…
The Darkness Within
Like rolling tremors preceding a molten eruption, the agitated rock of Portland’s Scott Arbogast—who records as Rainstick Cowbell—is replete with hellish warnings of impending doom. Aptly, Arbogast will share those cautionary tales—mostly about greed and human mismanagement of things—Jan. 26 at Bend’s Volcanic Theatre Pub. On his latest album, 2013’s Damage Control Damage, Arbogast is…
Roots Rap
When Nappy Roots hit peak popularity in 2002, gas cost $1.67 a gallon. George W. Bush was in his second year of office. That same year, he had a choking incident with a pretzel. Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, P!nk and Ja Rule topped Billboard’s pop charts and Nappy Roots, a Southern-fried hip-hop crew following in the…
A Couple of Jammin’ Jazz-ish Tracks
Some jazzy, trance-like EDM
What in the World? Today’s News!
President Obama inhaled and isn’t shy about it. His “evolving” stance on marijuana legalization, as outlined in a recent interview. Welcome back, Governor—here’s a subpoena! Republican NJ Gov. Chris Christie was sworn in yesterday, amid the lane-closure scandal at the George Washington Bridge. Ukrainian anti-government protests turn violent. The protests stem from President Viktor Yanukovych’s…
Tool Will Play in Eugene March 7
CONFIRMED! After last week’s rumors, removed posts and speculation, both Tool’s official website and the Matthew Knight Arena webpage have announced that Tool will be playing in Eugene on March 7. The popular progressive art rock band has a new album in the works (read more from Rolling Stone here), their first since 2006’s 10,000…
