By Bob Hicks
With Mrs. Scatter on the road eating fresh pineapple and downing margaritas with childhood friends, Mr. Scatter and the offspring have been batching it the last few days.
While that’s led to a somewhat more relaxed sense of structure (oh, my goodness: is it midnight already?), the basics have been covered: boys showered, sheets [...]
By Bob Hicks
When we talk about culture here at Art Scatter, we like to think it’s almost as wide as life. It could be historical, or political, or social, or personal, or purely aesthetic. It might be Madame Butterfly, Puccini’s opera about a fatal clash of moral sensibilities, which returns to the Portland Opera stage [...]
By Bob Hicks
Something’s Got a Hold on Me. Etta James, that incredible American voice, died today from cancer at age 73, and although she urged us to “Don’t Cry Baby,” a few collective tears are going to tumble down.
Etta touched on blues and country and rhythm & blues and soul – pretty much most of [...]
©Portland Opera/Cory Weaver
By Bob Hicks
Mr. Scatter is just getting around to letting you know that he and Mrs. Scatter joined the opening-night throng on Friday for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte’s opera buffa The Marriage of Figaro, based on Pierre Beaumarchais‘ stage comedy of the same name, at Portland Opera. (It also happened [...]
By Laura Grimes
The season’s pickle swaps are in full swing. These things sneak up and before you know it, you have hot peppers in the cupboard and elk meat in the freezer.
A few jars of piccalilli flew out the door the other night in return for promissory notes for bread-and-butter pickles and honey.
An email popped [...]
25 candles for First Thursday
BodyVox leans horizontally
William Hurt and Harold Pinter duke it out
Wordstock throws a bookapalooza
Oregon Arts Watch puts on a show (times three)
A double feature at Oregon Ballet Theatre
Portland Open Studios’ peek behind the scenes
By Bob Hicks
Good lord, what a weekend. Used to be, a person who really tried could actually keep up [...]
By Bob Hicks
Bless me, reader, for I have sinned.
For 40 years Moses wandered in the wilderness. And for roughly the same amount of time I have stumbled through the landmines of contemporary culture, wearing the sackcloth of the most extreme form of penitent journalist.
I have been a critic.
Well, apparently I have. That’s what everyone tells [...]
By Bob Hicks
At Oregon Music News, Dot Rust has been shouting an alarm over what she considers an administration/board attempt to shut down or severely curtail the internationally lauded music program at Mt. Hood Community College. She’s written two long posts about it (the one above is the second, and links to the first), and [...]
The royal whatzis
The Cherry Orchard at Artists Repertory Theatre
Noble Viola on Opus at Portland Center Stage
Brian Libby on the failed Columbia River Crossing
Portland Taiko tells a tale
James E. McWilliams on eating locally and globally
Portland Taiko. Rich Iwasaki/2009
By Bob Hicks
We’re given to understand some sort of white-tie wedding is taking place [...]
Anne Mueller in Eyes on You. Photo: Blaine Truitt Covert
By Bob Hicks
“Oh, look!” Mr. Scatter said, glancing up from his program. “The music is by Wiwaldi and Corelli. You’ll like that.”
The Small Large Smelly Boy snickered. “Why do you always say ‘Wiwaldi’ for ‘Vivaldi‘?” he asked.
“Because sometimes you need to do things just for the [...]