Gossip Should Have No Friends

[June 28th, 2006] PDX SCORES The only American team to bring home a trophy from Germany this summer is Portland's own MarchFourth Marching Band . The raucous ensemble won the Best Performance Award at a "Battle of the Carnival Bands" in Deutschland, beating out favorites from Brazil and Angola (despite a strategic "wardrobe malfunction" by the Angolan dancers). One Berliner told founding member Keith Vidos , "Everybody's smiling because you guys break all the rules." Vidos, though unsure if the comment referred to the band's unique style or its infraction of the local noise ordinance, was delighted either way.

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION Baton wielder Carlos Kalmar (right) high-tailed it outta town recently to take a summer conducting gig at Grant Park in Chicago . Word has it that our Oregon Symphony director has reinvigorated the reliable but dull festival orchestra and has drawn standing-room only crowds to Chicago's Millennium Park. Now Portlanders, too, can get an earful of the Windy City group: Kalmar and the Grant Park Festival Orchestra just released two CDs featuring tracks from their gigs.

WHISTLIN' DIXIE As reported in Saturday's Oregonian, one of P-town's musical own, Storm Large , is off to La-La Land to take part in a new reality-TV series that will pick the lead singer for former Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee 's new band, Supernova . In honor of the auspicious event, a newly slimmed-down and cinnamon-tressed Large belted out one last, late-night local gig on the occasion of her 37th b-day at the old-school piano lounge Wilf's . Scoop spied through Wilf's window (no press were allowed at the sold-out show) as Storm took her birthday spankings in stride and talked about how she'd already pulled a "Dixie Chick" during an interview with the British press prepping for the show's Wednesday, July 5, premiere on CBS. "They asked me what was the first thing I would buy if I won the contest," said Large. "I said healthcare, because in America you have to be a rock star to afford medical care...thank you very much, George Bush ."

WATER SPORTS Last week, in honor of the first day of summer, June 21, masculine hygiene merchandiser Old Spice compiled a pretty random—OK, just plain heinous—survey listing the Top 100 Sweatiest U.S. Cities. Drumroll, please: Portland was deemed one of the least shweaty towns, with the low ranking of 97. The sweatiest city? Phoenix. In fact, it's so sweaty that, according to the brainiacs at Old Spice, Phoenix's residents collectively produce enough sweat to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in less than three hours. Eeeww. But if the weather gods keep crankin' P-town's temp up to broil—this past Sunday was a record 101-degree scorcher—maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to hold our slippery, salty, sweaty heads a li'l higher when next year's list comes out.

POWER TRIP WW spouts off about what we think is freakin' hot—and what's utterly pointless—each week. Well, now it's your turn to be in control. Cast your vote in WW's 2006 Best of Portland Readers' Poll at wweek.com right now. Sure, you could win fabulous prizes like a Mount Bachelor getaway or a video iPod, but really, isn't the biggest prize of all the ability to share your picks for the city's best coffeeshop, bar, artist, car wash, City Council member and, of course, best lingerie shop (among other categories) with your fellow Portlanders? Better get votin', the polls close at midnight Sunday, July 16. Read the results in WW's annual Best of Portland issue, which hits newsstands Wednesday, Aug. 9.