“I really dislike popular culture in most cases,” Mike Kelley told a PBS camera crew in 2001. “I think it’s garbage, but that’s the culture I live in and that’s the culture people speak. I’m an avant-gardist. We’re living in the postmodern age, the death of the avant-garde. So all I can really do now […]
TBA
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Works Video: Au and Ethan Rose
Here’s AllenInk’s video from the Works last night, Ethan Rose and Au. Tonight at the Works, Occurance, hosted by Reggie Watts. Which I will be attending, because damned if I don’t love the guy, even though my critical confidence was shaken to the core this morning by an email from Watts’ co-producer informing me that […]
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Video from the Works
Here’s AllenInk’s video from the Works last night, Ethan Rose and Au. Tonight at the Works, Occurance, hosted by Reggie Watts. Which I will be attending, because damned if I don’t love the guy, even though my critical confidence was shaken to the core this morning by an email from Watts’ co-producer informing me that […]
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Women and Men Chat (and argue sometimes)
The TBA noontime chats are often bizarre clusterfucks, but at least they are interesting in their unpredictability. I’ll use today’s chat on gender issues as an example. “And another thing…” Does this look like a man who’s concerned with gender isues? photo courtesy Ian Goodrich Today’s panel included Neal Medlyn, with Lee Sher and Saar […]
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Au at TBA’s The Works
Au’s Luke Wyland Au‘s appearance at TBA’s The Works last night was an exciting celebration of music for music’s sake, in front the requisite TBA crowd of art snobs and culture scenesters. Au’s 2008 album Verbs has already garnered heaps of critical acclaim, but to see its multi-part compositions performed live–with a drum corps and […]
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Pronounced “Ae-You”
Chamber-folk-classical-gospel band Au is more or less unique in my mind, but they can fit into many different categories: rock, folk, indie, experimental, potentially even jazz. And in some ways, it is performance art, and Au’s appearance at TBA’s The Works last night was an exciting celebration of music for music’s sake, in front the […]
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Today in TBA
TBA coverage is proceeding briskly over at our TBA blog. No art-induced breakdowns yet, though it is only day 5. Some higlights: Marjorie introduces us to new Portlander Ice Rod in a dispatch from the irony vortex that was the Works on Friday. I grumble a bit because Reggie Watts doesn’t do exactly what I […]
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Noontime chat with (mostly) Jerome Bel
What was supposed to be chat about how artists are changing dance, became a storytelling session with Jerome Bel explaining to rapt attendees how he created the performance Pitchet Klunchun and Myself. I saw Pichet Klunchun and Myself last night and I would say it’s the most charming performance I have seen at the festival […]
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Culture Clashes and Slammed Doors in Pichet Klunchen and Myself
The staged dialog between avant garde French choreographer Jerome Bel and traditional Thai dancer Pichet Klunchen takes place on a stage empty save for two chairs, stage lights up. The two men sit, facing one another; one clad in simple black, compact and lithe, the other unshaven and kinda schlubby, wearing a green windbreaker and […]
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The Electric Mike Daisey in Monopoly
Last I saw the storyteller Mike Daisey perform was the last time he came to Portland: for a run of the monologue that put him on the map, 21 Dog Years, at Portland Center Stage. 21 Dog Years was entertaining enough, if on the fluffy side. It found Daisey wandering about the stage, waxing about […]
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Neil Medlyn as Beyonce!
There was little doubt that the pasty white Neil Medlyn recreating Beyonce’s concert DVD would be hilarious — the question was would it be hilarious after the first fifteen minutes? Happily, the answer was yes, as Medlyn knocked the crowd dead at Friday night’s edition of The Works, starting with his fairly spastic rendition of […]
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Ice Rod
After Friday night’s feel-good performance from Neal Medlyn, next up was Ice Rod. He’s come through before, first catching my attention by playing a show at Stand Up Comedy in November, plus a gallery show the same week. I forget what was happening at the time, but although I was curious (based entirely on SUC’s […]