Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival

While I spend a lot of time with Portland's cocktail and micro-distillery world for DrinkSpirits.com, I can't help but be drawn to all the amazing wine and beer festivals and events that take place in Portland year round.  One event which has always been on my radar screen is the Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival. Now in its sixth year, this home-grown event has blossomed into one of Portland's more notable culinary expos.

The festival features 40 of the top wines selected from a pool of Oregon craft wineries which produce no more than 2,500 cases or more. This year they've added a special section to spotlight top scoring reds under $25 and whites under $15. Judges for the 2010 festival include Claud Mann of TBS’ Dinner and a Movie, journalist and author Alice Feiring, James Beard nominated Chef Cathy Whims of Nostrana, and Bernie Sun, Corporate Beverage Director at Jean-Georges Management, LLC. Portland’s top chefs will join the selected 40 craft producers and serve up sophisticated wine-friendly bites.

The 2010 Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival will take place at the Bison Building (19 NE 10th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232) on Saturday, May 8th from 2 – 6 p.m.   Tickets are $75/person and include one tasting glass, festival passport and access to pours from all wineries and food from all the featured restaurants.

Legally Blonde The Musical

It's refreshing, from time to time, to treat yourself to a night of entertainment that is simply fun and lighthearted. This is what you can expect from Legally Blonde The Musical. The 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon has been adapted for the stage, infused with music and dance, and is touring February 16-21 here in Portland as part of the Broadway Across America series.

The premise is simple: college sorority president and blonde bombshell Elle Woods has everything going for her – perfect clothes, perfect friends, perfect boyfriend/future husband Warner Huntington III, until said boyfriend heads to Harvard Law and dumps Elle for someone more "serious", Vivienne Kensington. Determined to get her man, Elle manages to get herself into Harvard and sets a plan into action to get Warner back. It never occurs to her that she could fail, that no one will take her seriously, or that she might fall for someone else.

The role of Elle Woods is played, for the majority of the Portland run, by Becky Gulsvig. She keeps up with the high energy demands of the role and has a striking resemblance to Reese Witherspoon. For those of you planning to see the show later in the run, I would shoot for one of the performances on February 20 and 21 to see Portland native and Tigard High grad Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleone in the role of Elle. I wish I could have seen a show with her to see some local talent.

Most of the rest of the cast are what you would expect from a traveling show. The vocals vary, some performances are stronger than others, and they double and triple up on actors playing multiple roles (not my favorite). When it comes down to it, however, this is a musical based on a fairly silly romantic comedy, so you have to keep that in mind and just enjoy the spectacle. The show does have some very funny and cute moments, like the first time Elle's chihuahua, Bruiser, runs on stage and delivers "lines", the marching band and cheerleaders at Elle's admissions interview at Harvard, the "Take It Like a Man" number during which Elle's law school friend, Emmett Forrest (played by D.B. Bonds) changes clothes on stage behind a tiny changing room door, and the courtroom scene with the entire ensemble singing "Is He Gay or European".

An upbeat, spirited production, and dizzying number of pink costumes, Legally Blonde The Musical is entertainment that lets you just turn off your brain and enjoy.

Legally Blonde Runs at The Keller Auditorium 2/16-2/21. Get more info from the Legally Blonde The Musical National Tour Site.

- @PDXHeather

A contemplative Yoda onscreen over the orchestra during Star Wars™: In Concert.

Everything about Star Wars in Concert is done on an epic scale. An 86 piece orchestra is combined with a huge choir and backed by a 100-foot LED high-def screen, which is one of the largest, clearest high-def screens I've ever seen. The massive screen is surrounded by three other textured screens which envelope the entire back of the stage. This all is combined with a dizzying array of lighting and special effects which include full stadium lasers, smoke, huge fire and steam jets, providing some explosive exclamation points to the music.

The show opened appropriately enough with "Star Wars (Main Theme)", the iconic piece which filled the Rose Garden with a palpable excitement. The crowd roared and cheered throughout the song. It was an amazing experience to hear a stadium full of people respond so enthusiastically to a piece of orchestral music. This is part of the magic of Star Wars in Concert, behind all the flash of all the staging, the real star of the evening was John Williams's legendary score.

Yoda brandishes a light sabre onscreen over the orchestra during one of the musical segments of Star Wars™: In Concert.

As the orchestra played, montages of clips from the Star Wars Saga were projected on the huge screens behind them. I've never seen these films look better; the crisp clarity, the deep color, even footage from the original series is literally jaw dropping. Seeing the films presented this way really accentuated the fact that the Star Wars Saga still isn't available in Blu-Ray. I really hope that Lucasfilm will piggy back the excitement of this tour with a high-def release. The film montages combined clips from all six Star Wars movies (including original character concept drawings), often interspersing segments from the original series with the three prequels. The occasional clip had the sound from the film, usually featuring one of the many legendary quotes.

For the hardcore Star Wars fan I'm sad to report that the footage from the original Star Wars trilogy is the revised footage from the special edition releases (including things like the new approach to Mos Eisley Cantina). Also you'll probably cringe when you see Han Solo and Greedo in their cantina duel and realize that Lucas is standing strong with Greedo now shooting first (for more on this see Han Shot First). But these minute details are easily forgiven, contexted in the absolute Star Wars love fest that is Star Wars in Concert.

Actor Anthony Daniels narrates a portion of the story from the films onstage during Star Wars™: In Concert.

After the theme song came to an end and the crowd finished their uproarious applause, Anthony Daniels (who played C3PO) was introduced. Daniels immediately began narrating the over-arching story of Star Wars, not as if it were some fairytale or fiction, but as if it were a real story with real people. Daniels was the perfect choice for this role, as his humor and enthusiasm provided the connecting point between the audience, the orchestra and the clips from the movie. While Daniels's narration is infused with the occasional quip, it never droned on too long and was never cheesy.

STAR WARS: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back key art onscreen during Star Wars™: In Concert.

STAR WARS: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back key art onscreen during Star Wars™: In Concert.

Each number of the evening was accompanied by a themed segment looking at each aspect of the Star Wars Saga including the story of Anakin and his transformation into Darth Vader, Pod Racing, Droids, Luke and Leia, Yoda, The Death Star, The Rebel Alliance triumph over the Empire, and Vader's redemption. I really enjoyed how each segment focused on a specific aspect of the saga. Pulling some of these themes out of the context of the individual films enables them to be viewed from a new perspective. I especially enjoyed the segment on Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. It's a really nice portrait of their relationship across the original trilogy films and seeing their relationship chronicled in this way really gave me a new appreciation for it. The biggest benefactors of this style of presentation are the three prequels. Divorced from some of their baggage they really shine. I found a real sense of fondness for the core story from the prequels, which was both a surprise and a delight.

C-3PO onscreen with lights and lasers during Star Wars™: In Concert.

With so much to experience on the gigantic high-def screen, it's easy to overlook the phenomenal performance of the orchestra and conductor Dirk Brosse, who tackles the monstrous task of performing music so ingrained in the audience's mind that even the slightest deviance would be noted. Brosse does an exceptional job conducting a pitch perfect orchestra with an extraordinary level of comfort and ease. Brosse was never showy and seemed dedicated to presenting the orchestration that really honored John Williams's score. His work was a real partnership with the video segments and Daniels's narration and the three elements worked in perfect harmony, a real credit to Brosse's talent.

I really can't imagine a better tribute to the Star Wars Saga than Star Wars in Concert. It's an event which can be equally enjoyed by fans of the series both old and young. The fact that it can draw so many people to come together to celebrate and enjoy classical orchestral music is simply amazing. The Star Wars series and John Williams's score both deserve to be celebrated and Star Wars in Concert is the most profound celebration possible. I highly recommend the Star Wars in Concert tour and hope that it will return to Portland again in the future, because I would absolutely go see it again.

Here is the formal Star Wars in Concert Set list:

Star Wars (Main Title)
Duel of the Fates
Anakin's Theme
Moisture Farm
The Flag Parade
Across the Stars
Battle of the Heroes
The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)

INTERMISSION

The Asteroid Field
Princess Leia's Theme
Tales of a Jedi Knight
Cantina Band
Yoda's Theme
TIE Fighter Attack
Luke and Leia
The Forest Battle
Light of the Force
Throne Room/End titles

Encore: The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)

In addition to the main show, Star Wars in Concert features a number of costumes and models from the Star Wars Series.  If you go to the show be sure to allow extra time prior to enjoy these displays. They were swarmed by people at the Rose Garden and so picture taking was very difficult.

For more information about Star Wars in Concert:

• Star Wars in Concert site
• Star Wars in Concert Event Page at the Rose Garden

Photos: Courtesy Lucasfilm LTD. © 2009 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM where indicated. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.

Star Wars in Concert in Portland

It's unnecessary to exalt the virtues of Star Wars, it exists as one of the most influential series of films of the 20th century (well at least the original trilogy). One of the things which helps make the Star Wars franchise so amazing is John Williams’ legendary score.

Almost anyone who hears just a few notes of any of John Williams’ music from the series should be able to easily identify it as Star Wars.

Now,  the music from all six films have been combined with a multimedia spectacular into a live show that will surely thrill even the most casual Star Wars Fan (if there is such thing as a casual Star Wars Fan).

Star Wars In Concert arrives at the Rose Garden on Wednesday October 14th and On Portland is giving away 4 pairs of tickets to this once in a lifetime event. This two-hour musical event that features scenes from the movies projected on massive high-def screens, a full symphonic orchestra with choir, and live narration by Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO.

In addition, audiences will be able to view an exhibition of STAR WARS original memorabilia, props, costumes and artwork from all six films from the Lucasfilm Archives.

Enter for your chance to win one of 4 pairs of tickets we're giving away. Enterting is simple, just post your favorite Star Wars line, quote, memory or ancedote in the comments and you're entered. Winners will be picked at the end of the day on Monday October 12th.

My The Force Be With You :)

For more information about Star Wars in Concert:

• Star Wars in Concert site
• Star Wars in Concert Event Page at the Rose Garden

Congrats to the winners:  Monica Drake, Kimberly, Brenton Hunting and Lyle McNaughton!

Professional Bull Riders in Portland

It takes a lot of guts to be a professional bull rider. Over a season with 30+ stops a bull rider takes a tremendous amount of physical damage (including broken bones, dislocated shoulders and a ton of bashes and bruises).  Somehow these bull riders pick themselves up and hop back on those bulls for another ride.

On Portland had the opportunity to speak with Ross Coleman, a 12 year vet of the sport, from Molalla Oregon who is set to ride this weekend as Professional Bull Riding comes to Portland in the Professional Bull Riders Godaddy.com Invitational (Friday Oct. 2nd & Saturday Oct 3rd).

Ross gives some insight into what it's like being a bull rider and what it takes to tame some of those monstrous beasts.

Watch our interview:

If you needed other enticement, Go Daddy Girl, Erin Kalin will be singing the National Anthem at the event. Tickets start as low as $10.

For more info on Professional Bull Riding in Oregon:

• Ross Coleman
• Professional Bull Riders Event Announcement
• Tickets for PBR in Portland
• Professional Bull Riding Giveaway

locust crused at TBA:09

After the massively disappointing Meg Stuart show, I had a pretty large unfulfilled craving for good modern dance. That craving was more than met with locust, whose energetically explosive performance 'crushed' swept me up and left me wanting more.  Locust mixes many styles and mediums to bring together a collection of non-narrative dance segments that connect through patterns of movement and theme.  Accompanied by a beat boxer, music (both live and recorded) and video, locust blends classical and modern moves with explosive energy.

What struck me the most about locust and their piece 'crushed' was just how talented all the dancers in the company are. The dancers seamlessly transition between pirouettes and Michael Jackson crotch grabs, and then back to full balletic spins. This talent is combined with great group chemistry which results in ensemble dance numbers that are in equal balance to the individual ones. Video, when used wrong, can be quite a distraction from a modern dance piece, but locust has a strong sense of its place and the opportunity it can provide.  My favorite use of video came midway through the piece with a static shot down a long dim hall. The dancers use this video to create an environment on stage and then build on it. Shadowy video dancers mimic the movements on stage, sometimes in time, sometimes out of time, creating a fantastic bending of time and expectations. The piece toys with the concept of live and recorded with so much explosively live energy it stands as an exclamation point on any sentence, exalting live performance.

I enjoyed locust's 'crushed' so much I'd not only recommend it, I'd definitely consider seeing it again.

For more info on locust 'crushed':

• TBA:09 locust 'crushed'
• locust web site
• locust's Amy O'Neal at Ten Tiny Dances

TBA 09: Time Based Art Festival

Going over this year's TBA:09 (Time Based Art) Festival catalog I was struck by just how many of the events at Portland's premiere arts festival are free.

In addition to the free events, there are also a number of options that provide pretty hefty bang for the buck.

Top of that list is the Works Pass. For $75 ($50 for PICA members) you get access to all the late night programming at the Works (Washington High School – 531 SE 14th Ave) running from September 3rd – September 10th.  In all 16 shows!

Some of the highlights from The Works (531 SE 14th Ave)  include:

• Ten Tiny Dances –  Sat. Sept. 5th @ 10:30pm
• Afrobeat Tribute to Michael Jackson – Mon.  Sept.  7th @ 10:30pm
• Neal Medlyn's Britney Spears/Hannah Montana Extravaganza – Wed. Sept. 9 @10:30pm
• Rush-N-Disco – Thurs. Sept. 10 @ 11pm
• Quasi – Sat. Sept. 12 @ 10:30pm

Totally free TBA:09 events:

• PNCA Opening Reception – Thurs Sept. 3 6-8pm featuring:  Robert Boyd and  Brian Lund
• TBA On Sight Art Installations – Opening  Thurs. Sept. 3 @ 8-10:30pm  at The Works featuring Peter Coffin, Jesse Hayward and Ethan Rose.
• Gang Gang Dance – Thurs. Sept. 3 @ 10:30pm at The Works.
• Hitoshi Toyoda – Fri. Sept. 4 @ 8:30pm  & Sat. Sept. 5 @ 8:30pm outside at The Works.
• Younger with Ethan Rose, Laura Gibson and Ryan Jeffery – Sat. Sept. 6 @ 6:30p-10p PDX Contemporary Art (925 NW Flanders)
• Planted! Labor Day Picnic – Mon. Sept 7 @ 12:30-4pm at The Works.
• Tyler Wallace & Nicole Dill "Between Us" - Mon. Sept 7 @ 9-10pm and Wed Sept 9 @ 9-10pm at The Works (with a webcast prelude starting at 1pm @ BetweenUsLive.com)

Top TBA Picks to shell out dough for:

• Back to Back Theater "Small Metal Objects" (our TOP PICK) – Wed. Sept 9 @ 6:30, Thurs. Sept 10 @ 12:30 and 6:30pm, Fri. Sept 11 @ 12:30 and 6:30pm, Sat. Sept 12 @ 12:30 and 6:30pm.  We recommend the 12:30 shows as actors are interspersed with the regular crowds in the area. This show is not to be missed! $20 Members/$25 General
• Young Jean Lee's Theater Company "The Shipment" – (Highy Recommended – Read our Review) Fri. Sept. 4 @ 6:30pm, Sat. Sept. 5 @ 12pm, Sun. Sept 6 @ 8:30pm. Portland Center Stage (128 NW Eleventh Ave)  Yong Jean is known to offend anyone and everyone, so be prepared. $15 Members/$20 General
• Pan Pan Theater "The Crumb Trail" – Wed. Sept. 9 @ 8:30pm, Thurs. Sept 10 @ 6:30, Fri. Sept 11 @ 6:30p and Sat Sept 12 @ 6:30pm. Winningstad Theater Portland Center for the Performing Arts (1111 SW Broadway)  $20 members/$25 General
• Locust "Crushed" – Mon. Sept 7 @ 6:30p and Tues Sept 8 @ 6:30pm – The Works. $15 Members/$20 General
• Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods & Philipp Gehmacher/Mumbling Fish – Fri. Sept 4 @ 8:30p and Sat. Sept 5 @ 8:30p. Newmark Theater Portland Center for the Performing Arts (1111 SW Broadway)  $20 members/$25 General (Read our review of this, short take – not worth the dough)

On Portland plans to bring you complete coverage of TBA 09 with up to date recommendations on shows, pictures and reviews.

Sunday Parkways Aug 16

I've lived in Portland for seventeen years, and of all the events, activities and festivals I've attended in the city, one of my absolute favorite is Sunday Parkways. The event is extraordinarily simple: several miles of urban roads are closed to cars and become the playground for bikes, pedestrians, strollers, roller bladers, unicyclists, anything BUT motorized vehicles.  This year the Portland Office of Transportation in conjunction with ORBike and Metro have set three Sunday Parkways in three different neighborhoods of Portland. I missed the first one on June 21st in North Portland (and am now kicking myself for missing it), but did manage to attend the one on July 19th in North East Portland and it was exceptional.

In addition to over 7 miles of closed streets the Sunday Parkways also features mini park fests along the way with food, entertainment, activities and free bike servicing.  The third and final Sunday Parkways of the year takes place in Southeast Portland on Sunday August 16th from 9am to 4pm.  Unlike other cycling events in Portland (like Providence Bridge Pedal) the Sunday Parkways event is completely free.

The Southeast route is by far the best of the three parkways with a 9 mile closed course which includes a "5 mile relatively flat loop through portions of the Buckman, Kerns, Laurelhurst, Richmond, Sunnyside neighborhoods." and it connects to a " second, more challenging, 4-mile Mt Tabor loop will be optional to summit the only volcano in the City limits. The route will also cross the SE Hawthorne, Division and Belmont business areas"

There is not start or finish spot for the event. You can join in at any intersection and loop in either direction.  A detailed map of the Southeast Sunday Parkways can be found here. There's also a complete breakdown of all the vendors and events at each Sunday Parkways park (the main park stops are: Laurelhurst Park, Mt. Tabor Park, Colonel Summers Park and Sunny Side Park).  The Southeast Sunday Parkway also intersects the Hawthorne Street Fair creating one of the most unbeatable combinations of events I've seen in Portland.

Not only is this event free, it features a ton of goods and services which are offered free, including:  Bike Empowered complimentary bike safety checks and repairs, BTA/Safe Route To Schools kids bike fitting and training  (both at Colonel Summers Park), REI free climbing Wall and Portland Wheelman flat tire repair classes (at Laurelhurst Park).

I'm hard pressed to come up with a better example of an event that illustrates why Portland is such an amazing city, it's absolutely not to be missed. So do yourself a favor and make your way on Sunday to this amazing event.

For more information on Sunday Parkways:

• Sunday Parkways Site
• Detailed map of the Southeast Sunday Parkways
• Vendors and Events at Southeast Sunday Parkways
• Hawthorne Street Fair
• ORBike

Reporters were given just 5 mins to ask questions and with two idols to cover it was tough to try to fit a lot in.  Meeting the Idols in person I was struck by how closely they mirrored their 'personas' on the screen. What you saw on TV is pretty much what you see when you talk to them in person. Of the group I enjoyed Allison Iraheta's rambunctious humor, Adam Lambert's ultimate humility and Anoop Desai who seemed to have the best take on the event.

The biggest surprise was Megan Joy who talked about the challenges she faced during the show. She was a much more grounded and down to earth person than I had expected and her playfullness with Matt Giraud was fun to watch.

The thing that stuck me the most was how exhausted the Idols seemed. It was clear that they've been working extremely hard to prepare the tour and I'll be interested to see the results of all that effort.

Here are the interviews:

Kris Allen and Anoop Desai

Adam Lambert and Lil Rounds and

Danny Gokey and Michael Sarver:

Allison Iraheta and Scott MacIntyre

Matt Giraud and Megan Joy

For more information about American Idol Live see:

• American Idol Live Site
• The Rose Quarter

Storm Large Joins Super Project Lab 11/22

Some of the best stuff going on in Portland this weekend could easily be under most people's radar screen… but not ours!

Friday 11/21: Twilight Prom – Dance under the stars at the View Point Inn and pretend you and your date are Edward and Bella. This kicks off what will sure to be an absolute frenzy over all things Twilight. (The Viewpoint Inn is located at 40301 East Larch Mountain Road in Corbett, Oregon.)

Saturday 11/22 Super Project Lab: Meet Your Force of Nature (8pm @ Portland Center for Performing Arts – 1111 SW Broadway). Storm Large is the special guest for Super Project Lab, whose run at PCPA has been a smash hit. Super Project Lab will be joined by one of my (other) favorite improv groups The Liberators. This is a not to be missed show!

Melissa Ferrick (8pm @ Wonder Ballroom -128 NE Russell) if improv isn't your thing, don't miss the extraordinarily talented Melissa Ferrick. Indie inspired acoustic folk, Ferrick falls soundly between Ani DiFranco and Patty Griffin. Check out her cover of Bush's Glycerine and you'll understand why she's on our radar screen.

Sunday 11/23: OPB Music presents: Super XX Man Record Release party (7pm @ Someday Lounge – 125 NW 5th) featuring works by comic illustrator and album cover artist Brian Oaster and Chad Crouch.  The evening will feature a rare performance from Team Evil, (featuring members of both>Point Juncture, WA and Blind Pilot) and Super XX Man performing songs from Vol. XII "There'll Be Diamonds" which was inspired by his work as a musical therapist at an Oregon State hospital. Tickets are $6. Also check out the Super XX Man video on Youtube for Collecting Rocks – it's a trip!

Got an event you'd like us to cover? Be sure to let us know about it so it's on our radar screen!

Twilight Prom in Corbett, Oregon

Twilight is one of the most anticipated movies of the holiday season. Based on a run away best selling series Twilight is the first installment in what looks to be a new major movie franchise (and the launch of Summit Entertainment).

Interest in all things Twilight are so high that one of the locations, Viewpoint Inn has been beseiged by series fans, who want to see where one of the film's climatic scenes was filmed.

To celebrate the film's release Viewpoint Inn is throwing a Twilight Prom to give fans a chance to relive Edward and Bella's prom date.

The Twilight prom runs November 20th and 21st. Admission is $47 and includes:

• Admission to The Prom
• A Movie ticket to a midnight showing of Twilight
• Food and non-alcoholic beverage
• A Twilight T-shirt
• A Twilight Poster
• Pictures from the filming of Twilight

Given the success of the Twilight series it's possible that not only will Twilight break the Oregon box office curse, but it will more than likely supplant The Goonies as Oregon's premiere film destination for fans.

Twilight Prom tickets are are on sale now and reservations can be made via phone at 503-695-5811 or email admin@theviewpointinn.com.  The Viewpoint Inn is located at 40301 East Larch Mountain Road in Corbett, Oregon. Twilight opens in theaters on November 21st.

Storm Large Sings at The Selfless After Party

Storm Large has had a number of phases of her career: local lounge buzz singer, international television superstar (on Rock Star: Supernova),  and local celebrity.  Recently Storm has opened a new chapter to her career, almost literally.  With a novel in the works, a successful run in Cabaret and an upcoming one woman show entitled Crazy Enough Storm Large is expanding her universe and redefining herself as a performer.

Last week Storm appeared as a surprise guest in the much talked about Super Project Lab. She treated the crowd to renditions songs which artists had asked McCain to stop using in his campaign. It was a buzz worthy performance that snagged her another spot in the Super Project Lab November 22nd show.

On Thursday Storm played at the Pander Brothers's Selfless after party. Storm appears on the Selfless soundtrack, a film which won top honors at this year's Bend Film Festival.  Dressed in a long skin tight black dress, Storm sang soulfully with a depth of emotion and sophistication that counterpoints her often in-your-face larger than life style.

I spoke to Storm about her new direction and upcoming one woman show Crazy Enough. "I really hope people connect with it," commented Storm, "there's a lot of really dark and personal stuff in the show, and I don't want people to just feel sorry for me."

Last fall Storm played Sally Bowles in the Portland Center Stage production of Cabaret. "Researching the play and its context historically really impacted me, I was surprised how deep I got into the role," Storm recalls, "and it popped my theater cherry and set me up for my show."

In addition to preparing the show, Storm is also working on a novel. "I started blogging around all the election stuff, and it got me my first death threat…from a guy in Gresham!" explained Storm, "but I found that I loved writing, and there have been a number of authors who are really pushing me to write."

Crazy Enough is set for Portland Center Stage 3/31/09 and will run 3 months. In the mean time Storm is singing up a storm, appearing at many key Portland events as well as providing the entertainment for private functions.

Storm's single Ladylike made it all the way to  #5 on the Billboard charts, and so now the big questions is will Crazy Enough land her on Broadway?

Ignite Portland 4

Last night the Legion of Tech delivered another successful installment of Ignite Portland. If you're not familiar with the event it's an evening of presentations from people who are passionate about their topic, any topic. Presenters are given a set amount of time to talk with a predetermined number of slides which advance automatically as they speak.

Ignite typically hits a wide range of topics and subjects and is often peppered with Top 5 ways to do this, or the 10 commandments of that. Ignite moves along so swiftly it's like watching  a stand up comedian telling spitfire jokes, some of them are sure to hit and make you forget about the ones that don't.

The highlights of Ignite Portland Were:

• Five Things Portland Can Learn From Kentucky in Five Minutes – Jeff Hardison was fast, articulate, funny and entertaining. His presentation was a template for how to do an Ignite presentation.
• Dating Rules for the Actual World – Alexis Rehrmann gave one of the best talks on dating I've ever seen. Her brutally honest take on the realities of dating was so well done, I could see her turning it into a book.
• Story as Bloodsport: Battling to craft narrative - Melissa Lion showed that even with a technical glitch, having intelligence and poise means you can talk about anything to anyone, anywhere. It's no surprise that Melissa heads one of Portland's top storytelling functions
• 10 Karaoke Commandments – Alex Williams's finale proved to be the most useful presentation of the night. His 10 commandments of Karaoke should be printed out and pasted up anywhere that people do Karaoke in Portland.

The biggest failure of the evening was KGW's reporting.  KGW has been getting its toes wet with social networking and so they decided to try to get involved by covering the event. While it's easy to forgive Stephanie Stricklen for not knowing how to use the @Reply function on Twitter, Joe Smith's coverage of Ignite Portland is almost unforgiveable. In some of the worst bumbling reporting on Portland Television so far this year, Joe Smith clearly had no idea where he was or what he was sent to cover. The reporting was so bad, no words can really do it justice, it really just speaks for itself. (View KGW's reporting of Ignite Portland).

Ignite Portland 5 is scheduled for Feburary 19 and submissions are open now for talks. I'd really like to see the event reach out deeper into the Portland creative community and have a stronger representation from outside the close nit Portland Tech Community.

Sean Penn in Milk - Portland Premiere

This Friday, Hollywood comes to Portland with a red carpet premiere of Gus Van Sant's latest film Milk.  The event will be held at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (1037 SW Broadway) as a benefit and celebration of the 40th anniversary of Outside In (a local charity which serves homeless youth and low-income adults)

As with any red carpet premier the list of people expected to attend can change, but early word is that Gus Van Sant, Sean Penn and James Franco are all expected to be there. PDXPipeline is reporting that Mayor-elect Sam Adams and The March Forth Marching Band are also expected to be in attendance.

Milk is one of Gus Van Sant's highest profile films in years and it tells the story of prominent gay activist and San Francisco city politician Harvey Milk during the years leading up to his assassination in 1978.  Early buzz from some select critics who have seen the film is very very good, and this is a fantastic opportunity to see the film early and support a really worthy cause.

Tickets for the Milk red carpet debut are available for purchase online (via Ticketmaster) and at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA) box office (1111 SW Broadway). Prices range from $37.75 – $71.75. The event starts at 8:30 pm.


Here is the Milk Trailer:

Scott Simon - Voicebox

Karaoke is very popular in Portland, and as a result some find it very difficult to get up and belt out their favorite tunes in front of so many people.

Enter Voicebox, a brand new Karaoke 'complex' which just opened near NW 21st (2112 NW Hoyt St). Rather than a traditional Karaoke bar, Voicebox is divided up into six private rooms. Each room has the capacity for a different number of people (as few as 2 and as many as 24) and has its own private karaoke system.

Voicebox's systems are all high end, with Samsung flat screen TVs and Yamaha speaker systems. The acoustics in each room are also ideal, one of the rooms has the feel of a recording studio and with the doors closed no one can hear your singing outside.  You won't find a better sounding Karaoke experience in Portland

The karaoke systems are easy to use and let you queue up songs so you can spend less time picking songs and more time singing them. The the library of songs is pretty extensive but had some some notable holes (including Violent Femmes and Metallica).

All the rooms Karaoke connect to a center bar area that serves wine, beer, sake and light food with in-room waitress service so you don't have to go out to the bar to get your drinks if you don't want to. The staff at Voicebox is extremely friendly including owner Scott Simon, a former electrical engineer who got the bug to open Voicebox after a trip to Korea. Karaoke complexes are more common in Asia and Simon imported the idea while adding a decidedly North West twist.

Private rooms are rented by the hour with rates varying per room (the average is about $7 per hour per person) and Voicebox holds special events like an upcoming Karaoke Clinic for people to brush up on their karaoke skills.

Voicebox is a fantastic addition to the Portland nightlife scene. I had an absolute blast singing a ton of songs, many more than I'd ever be able to sing at a regular karaoke bar. I enjoyed taking risks and singing songs I'd never consider singing in front of a crowd (including Avril Lavigne's Sk8ter Boy).  I really appreciated the fact there was no smoking inside Voicebox as going out to karaoke often means coming home reeking of smoke. Voicebox is an idea place for a birthday or bachelorette party and I can absolutely see going back with a group of friends.

Voicebox is at 2112 NW Hoyt St. (503) 303-8220. They do take reservations and I expect them to fill up on key nights very fast.

Here are pictures from the Voicebox opening event:

And Videos: