The initial weekend of the NCAA Tournament laid further waste to my bracket. As of the Sweet Sixteen, only ten of the spots are occupied by winners I picked. The East Regional was the worst, where I picked only one of the four winners. I’m sure I have a lot of company here, though, since …
My perfect bracket is already history with Day 1 not even half over—#12 Princeton lost to #5 Notre Dame, though the tightness of the game suggests the reasonableness of the pick. Oh, well. Maybe there’s a consolation prize out there for me. Also saw that my alma mater, UC Davis, won their play-in game to …
Detroit Michigan’s finest multimedia sensation, Flint Eastwood, has released a video for her song “Queen.” Talking about the video, Eastwood says: “it was made with a bunch of friends in Detroit, MI. I wanted to create a feeling of empowerment and confidence in unused spaces. Queen is about taking charge and owning up to your …
Monday Night: 3/13/17 – Most of the interest in NCAA basketball, I suspect, comes from the gambling opportunity offered by the March Madness Tournament. It also doubles as a free lottery ticket if you take one of the many free online bracket challenges, in this case Yahoo Sports. Only a few days remain before the …
Last Friday evening, my wife held a ladies’ bunco party at my house. Needing to make myself scarce, I paid a return visit to the Kings in Sacramento to see them play the Washington Wizards, who have been a rising team in the NBA’s Eastern Conference as recently described in The Ringer: https://theringer.com/nba-washington-wizards-scott-brooks-john-wall-bradley-beal-33e6a60ed931#.4j9ntquc1 The Wizards …
Last Sunday I visited the new arena for the Sacramento Kings, the Golden One Center, and what I found made every other NBA venue look like a D League gym. On the outside, the building resembled with its aluminum skin an alien spaceship that happened to land downtown—the roof has enough solar panels to render …
February 11, 2017 was a day I looked forward to for several weeks. Reel Big Fish were headlining a show with Anti Flag at Seattle’s Showbox (the good Showbox, not the Showbox Sodo). I don’t know when I last saw Anti Flag but it’s been at least six years. Reel Big Fish I’ve seen many …
Those of you who have heard about the problems at Oroville Dam in northern California may wonder if I am among the 180,000 people that have had to be evacuated. Fortunately, I live about 50 miles north of the affected area, so I have been able to stay put. It was reported that the Tehama …
In the wake of the New England Patriots’ recent come-from-behind victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, many commentators have seen the game correctly as a final exclamation point for the legacies of quarterback Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick, and the current New England Patriots sports dynasty: seven championships, two additional Super Bowl …
Their publicist assured me Dune Rats are closing in on a No. 1 record way down over in Australia. To this I said, “What’s a record?” At any rate, Brisbane, Australia’s Dune Rats play rock’n roll with unnaturally tasty hooks, the like of which we haven’t heard for a long time. They seem like solid …
On Feb 1, Seattle’s Funhouse hosted a night of ska this time with New York’s the Toasters headlining. Aside from bass player Tim, and of course front man Bucket, the members of the Toasters change with every tour. This doesn’t discount the level of musicianship in every member every show. This time the horn section …
On January 31st the Showbox Sodo hosted ska masters Less Than Jake From Gainesville, FL. This five-piece are punk/ska/pop all mixed together with a heavy dose of energy and fun. Though the show wasn’t well attended, those who came were very enthusiastic. There was a bit of crowd surfing throughout and the entire dance floor …
#45 announced his nomination for the Supreme Court earlier this week. From what I’ve heard, Neil Gorsuch is Antonin Scalia 2.0. If confirmed, Gorsuch will be the youngest (49) Court Justice, seven years younger than Justice Elena Kagan. On November 13, 2016, I went to my local library to hear The Fat Babies, a jazz …
I’ve been thinking about lyrics to a song or an album that fits the current state of the nation with its new president. Like other politicians, Donald Trump made some bold pledges and promises on the campaign trail. He promised the return of manufacturing jobs to “Make America Great Again.” He wanted to tear up …
This week the awesome Canuck superband Austra released the video for “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself.” The song is haunting. The clip was filmed in Portland during this past holiday season and is based on the story of American astronaut Lisa Nowak. On Austra’s Facebook page, Katie Stepnoski describes the vid in …
Freedom Fry just released a B-Side to “Awake.” It’s a beautiful song titled “Songbird” and they hope you enjoy: “Songbird is for anyone who feels like their voice isn’t being heard. It’s about never giving up, even when the battle seems lost.” – Bruce & Marie http://www.freedomfrymusic.com/
ROSIN is a band of wolves dressed in formal attire. Drawing on elements of bluegrass, rock and jazz, these classical deviants create their own version of a string quartet. From upbeat Americana with orchestral accompaniments to classical arrangements with rock guitar riffs, members Jake Armerding (violin, mandola, guitar), Annie Bartlett (violin, viola), Mina Kim (cello) …
This is a luminous and lovely bluegrass gospel song with some nice production touches. Imagine Pure Prairie League on the island of Patmos singing the song of the redeemed and you might get an idea where this is going.
On Saturday January 21 people from all over the world marched in solidarity with marchers in Washington D.C. The march was to protest the newly sworn in 45th president of the United States and his statements about and behavior toward women. It’s been no secret that Donald Trump says he divorced his first wife because …
On Friday January 20, the United States got its first fascist president. (Miriam Webster defines fascism as a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition) …
K’Valentine will be opening for Talib Kweli on his Seven tour, coming through Portland on 1/26 at Wonder Ballroom. On a cold snowy day at a downtown Chicago hospital, K’Valentine made her entrance into this world. She served as an early Christmas gift for her mother. The news of her birth also excited her father, …
On Friday the 13th Seattle hosted another night of top notch ska. This time it was at the High Dive and the headliners were Seattle legends Easy Big Fella. They came on stage introducing themselves as Puttin’ On the Ritz. This eight-piece lineup shared a few members from Natalie Wouldn’t and a three-piece horn section …
Written and Produced by Maggie Gottlieb and Julie Pearson and featuring (amongst other talented performers) Kyle Glenn Johnson, a longtime friend of East Portland Blog, this is the latest from Cursed Champagne Productions: Comedy with teeth…
Last Sunday, writers and activists gathered at Writers Resist, an event held in over 100 venues in cities across the nation to commiserate and find ways to respond to the unthinkable turn of events from last November 8. In Portland, about 600 people came to the Aladdin Theater to see Cheryl Strayed and other local …
Freedom Fry’s last single, “Shaky Ground” has just about reached 6M plays on Spotify. Now, this transatlantic duo is back with “Awake,” another catchy and thoughtful tune which their fans are going to love. This shiny new ditty has already been synced in a handful of places including the Netflix show Love and the film …
On Tuesday January 10 Seattle’s El Corazon hosted the return of the Voodoo Glowskulls. With a stellar ska lineup playing that night. Hailing from Riverside, California, the Voodoo Glowskulls returned to Seattle after more than a two-year absence. The Skulls were the fifth band of the night and though the intimate El Corazon was sparsely …
The recent video above from Communist Daughter features a great new song reminiscent of the best of The National. Titled, “Balboa Bridge,” the song is about the namesake bridge in Balboa Park in San Diego, a lovely, bittersweet spot where I used to jog for exercise in my younger days. Definitely worth a listen. Communist …
On Saturday night January 7th I headed to Seattle’s Funhouse to see Die Nasty. This time they were headlining their own show with other Seattle punk bands. Die Nasty was just as energetic as always. Singer Lauren Goffin strutted about the stage, leaning into the crowd often as if personally serenading everyone in front. Bass …
Dexter Filkins, the primary Middle East correspondent for The New Yorker, has written a genuinely terrifying story about the Mosul Dam in Iraq. The terrifying part is not that the dam was temporarily occupied by ISIS, but that it sits on a foundation of soluble rock and requires a constant flow of concrete to be …
Hundreds Gather In Seattle’s Freezing Temperatures to Protest Dakota Access Pipeline, by Holly Homan
On a chilly Sunday evening I ventured downtown to join a protest in front of Seattle’s Federal Building. The event this time was to draw attention to the plight of the water protectors fighting against the Dakota Access Pipeline. For those of you unaware, this particular pipeline is slated to be built right through Sioux …