Gossip Should Have No Friends

[July 11th, 2007]

ORDER OF THE DOUGHNUT In a break from their usual library-rockin' gigs, Harry and the Potters slipped into Portland last Thursday night for a secret MySpace-friendly show at Voodoo Doughnuts . The crowd, large enough to force the junkies off their favorite stretch of downtown sidewalk, was a bit prettier and a bit older than the usual toddling audience, and (not surprising for a group devoted enough to check their MySpace bulletins on the Fourth of July) sang along to every word. Still, the spectacle of Harry Potter consuming a massive, cock-shaped doughnut with the word "Lumos!" scrawled down its length was the real showstopper. Now that's what I call a Fizzing Whizbee. Psst: For WW's review of the real Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, see page 73.

THE GREAT PUMPKIN Portland's Stars of Track and Field are on a seemingly endless tour (the band left Portland in February) in support of its major-label debut, Centuries Before Love and War. If all that hard work hasn't paid off yet, perhaps a pair of gigs with the Smashing Pumpkins will make the hometown space-pop outfit's nomadic lifestyle worth living. SOTAF was hand-selected by the recently reunited Pumpkins for July 27 and 28 shows at the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco. If that isn't a confidence builder (and boon to the ol' fanbase), Scoop isn't sure what is.

MY LITTLE (PARANOID) PONY He's baa-aack. Filmmaker Gus Van Sant held a special screening of Paranoid Park last Friday, sharing the not-yet-released film with family and friends—and Byron Beck, who knew! First reaction to the Cannes Film Fest fave? It lives up to the hype: The lyrical film—shot both here and in Gearhart—tells what happens to a teen skater after he makes (what should've been) a harmless mistake. From the sped-up opening sequence overlooking St. Johns to the slo-mo looping images of the skate-park under the east end of Burnside, this sure-to-be cult classic gives its audience a peek into a teen mind without giving away its secrets. Also at the screening was the film's Paris-based executive producer, Nathanael Karmitz, 28, of MK2 Productions. From the department of bizarre horse-related kismet, Karmitz, an accomplished equestrian, is in town to participate in this week's Country Classic Horse Show in Wilsonville. He'll be jumping Socrates, a Dutch Warmblood Gelding owned by Brenda Enyart, of Sauvie Island. (That's the first time we've ever gotten to write a sentence like that.) "It's a great way to combine business and pleasure and to celebrate the end of the Paranoid Park production that was successful in Cannes and we hope will be as well in the United States," said Karmitz prior to the competition.