Cover Story
A Portrait of Portland
— I. — On a typically gray, overcast February afternoon, my mother and I sit in her van across the street from a vacant residential lot on North 29th Street. “There it is,” she says, tapping the driver-side window. “Five-sixteen. It was the first home we owned. My dad bought it for $10,000, I think,…
The Wonder Show of the World
If Bonnie “Prince” Billy met up with, say, Andrew Lloyd Weber or Diane Warren, then the universe might cease, in one of those “matter vs. anti-matter” doomsday scenarios. That’s how totally unlike the industrialists of ear-candy hooks is our bonnie Mr. Will Oldham. He just won’t exploit musical gifts. Delicious moments are scattered in his…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: AVATAR 2010; $29.95, PG-13 Everyone — including us — was expecting this to be the greatest flop in movie history. We were all wrong. Yeah, it’s just a big fancy cartoon, but it’s also the most imaginative, beautiful and perfectly executed fantasy flick we ever saw — and if you missed…
Written rules
Outside of Amarillo, Texas sits a ranch. It’s fairly unassuming and so remote, you could hear a whisper coming a mile off. “There’s nothing, nothing else out there for sure,” says Bryan Simpson, lead singer for roots ensemble Cadillac Sky. As you travel by, the only landmark you’ll see are the seven or eight Cadillacs…
Film: ‘The Runaways’ is the ch-ch-cherry bomb
The Runaways Starring Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon. Directed by Floria Sigismondi. Rated R; 1:45. LEO Report Card: A- I’ll admit my bias upfront: Joan Jett is hot. She doesn’t just love rock ’n’ roll, she is rock ’n’ roll — from her shaggy, jet-black hair to her raspy growl. “The Runaways,” which…
Bad Mojo
After graduating from college, Louisville native John LaFollette returned home as a bumblebee freelance reporter. The 23-year-old Xavier University grad had served as editor of the school’s newspaper, but he admittedly struggled to find consistent work in the field of journalism. “I spent a lot of time waiting on return phone calls. It can be…
This Blind Pig’s no visually impaired porcine
When I heard The Blind Pig in Butchertown, just down the street from that bacon-makin’ factory the neighbors are trying to run out of town, was ready to open last month, I was right there. And so were about 5,000 other foodies who’ve kept this charming new spot slammed since day one. Now, The Blind…
Tables’ turn
Louisville is a place where you have to make your own fun. I moved here in 1981, and the first memory I treasure is spying the words “NO FUN” spray-painted across the orange and blue panels of a grimy, downtown sex arcade called the Camera’s Eye. By then, I knew “No Fun” was the name…
Wings
Kimbrough, in his new album, the title of which fittingly reminds me of the nauseating post-Beatles McCartney, has managed an Olympic feat. Not only does his writing, to be conservative, leave a lot to be desired, his production and melodies are as predicable as a politician who forgets promises made. The lyrics, at best, remind…
Staffpicks
April 14-17 Record Store Week ear X-tacy 1534 Bardstown Road • 452-1799 www.earx-tacy.com ear X-tacy and independent record stores nationwide continue to emphasize the nexus between customer and band, booking a series of in-stores leading up to Record Store Day on April 17. A Mourning Rain kicks off the free rock at 7 p.m. today.…
B-Sides: Music & Other Ephemera
If you think Rush Limbaugh is hard to understand, try reading Czech. That is Dustin Edge’s day job. Edge, a St. X graduate, became an English translator after emigrating to the Czech Republic. A lifelong musician whose bands include Section 8 and later Cast Iron Filter, Edge’s material for By The Numbers took shape overseas.…
Option Paralysis
Same tricks, new riffs. That’s satisfaction as far as I’m concerned when it comes to metal in general. The slight problem — I don’t like Dillinger for the metal, but for everything else that was hinted at by Miss Machine, their first album with current vocalist Greg Puciato. Honestly, I haven’t been too terribly struck…
The Grape Escape: What’s in a (wine) name?
Wine appreciation can be an entrancing hobby for those who are into it and a frustrating source of confusion for those who just want a drink. Here’s why: Once you start paying attention, it can get complicated. Consider the wine shop: Some organize their collection country by country: France here, Italy there, Australia over there…
Gimme some truth
I recently ran across a copy of “Love All the People: The Essential Bill Hicks,” a collection of articles and profiles that I hadn’t seen, as well as transcriptions of what seems to be every recorded performance from the late comedian’s astonishingly brief career. Who would have thought a “mere” comedian would warrant such a…
Inbox — April 14, 2010
LEO Treasure Trove I’m an avid reader of LEO and have been as long as I can remember. I just feel compelled to send to you this e-mail. Since I have made a career of working in the advertising/marketing industry for the last 40 years in this community running a design firm, you and your…
Art: A portrait of endless interpretations
Daniel Pfalzgraf had a good idea (I’m sure he’s had plenty, but we’re only going to talk about this one): a portrait exhibition with local “all-star” artists. That’s a fairly ambitious idea for a novice curator. From that seed, “LoCAL Portraits” was born. The “LoCAL” of the title means Louisville Contemporary Art Lounge, Pfalzgraf’s curatorial…
With friends like these …
I recently unfriended my first Facebook “friend,” and it was truly liberating. In fact, the only shame stems from the fact that it took so long. It all started several months ago when a former grade school classmate requested my friendship. Having no negative memories of this person as a young lad, I accepted without…
First world diary
Day One: We’ve arrived in the United States on our mission trip. We are in a state called Kentucky in a village called Louisville. It is a land of plenty. It is hard not to become tourists in such a shiny and fast-moving society, but we are focused on our mission to help these people…
See ’n’ Spin
The amphitheatre of Central High School was, in retrospect, an apt location for the first live televised forum in Louisville’s ongoing, sometimes cringe-inducing mayoral primary. Featuring a cast of 10 characters, malfunctioning microphones and sound bite-friendly platitudes, the event was more of an amateur-hour production of “Pygmalion” than anything resembling a cogent political dialogue. Broadcast…
Film: What, who is tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE?
Describing tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE is tricky. For starters, Tent — as he is known — is a veteran filmmaker who identifies himself as a Neoist, and trying to define Neoism is a little like watching a dog chase its tail. But let’s take a crack at it anyway. At its core, Neoism is a lampoon…
Jerry’s kids
Whenever the Ohio River Bridges Project comes up at a mayoral forum, there is a noticeable opposition in the audience despite the fact that the establishment candidates in both primaries favor the $4.1 billion plan. And if the project remains the juggernaut in the room, then expect the beneficiary to be Democratic mayoral candidate Tyler…
Plugged In
Readers are strongly encouraged to call ahead to verify these listings. To get your club, comedian, musical act or karaoke listed, please send e-mail to mherron@leoweekly.com with PLUGGED IN in the subject line. The deadline is NOON THURSDAY the week before the show happens. We do not accept listings via social networking sites. Wed Apr.…
Theater: ‘Holy Tolle’ doesn’t plunge too deep
Holy Tolle Swallow That Ego Presented by Bunbury Theatre. Directed by Kerk Fisher. Continues through April 25 at the Bunbury Theatre in the Henry Clay Building, 604 S. Third St. For tickets and more information, call 585-5306 or visit www.bunburytheatre.org. One does not read Eckhart Tolle’s writings lightly. He suffered through tremendous bouts of depression…
Bar Belle: A brush with pirates and vampires
Every now and then, my soul is beckoned to a city that doesn’t sleep. A city where I roam the streets with the undead in search of my next kill, which is usually a 23-ounce plastic cup that has “Huge Ass Beer” stamped on the side. Or perhaps it’s a succulent hurricane from the house…
Papercuts Theater
Burning Star Core main man C. Spencer Yeh of Cincinnati embodies a mutant combination of musicians Tony Conrad, Yamatsuka Eye and Klaus Schulze with his sophisticated violin, electronics and vocal histrionics filtered through his own distinctly 21st century sense of angst. On this collage of live recordings spanning more than a decade, Yeh is joined…
Are The Roaring Night
Canadian champions of atmosphere, The Besnard Lakes, deliver an infusion of ambient guitars, vocal harmonies and echo that is sure to tickle the brain’s pleasure centers. On Are The Roaring Night, grinding guitar drones and soaring riffs combine with flute, mellotron, omnichord and layers of vocals to form a record that is strikingly beautiful from…
