gossip should have no friends

[September 12th, 2007] HERE’S HERB! Kiki and Herb are back! Oh, wait…it’s just Herb…Kenny Mellman , the piano-playing half of NYC-based cabaret act Kiki and Herb, is back in town to take in PDX’s TBA-ness (he’s graced the fest before both with Kiki and without). When restaurateur Bruce Carey heard Mellman could squeeze in a little ivory-tinkling, he quickly booked him for a gig at 23Hoyt —which has recently added late-night cabaret action to its menu. It’s a one-night-only gig—tonight, 9 pm Wednesday, Sept. 12. Get there early for dinner , stay for the kismet that is Kenny (that’s free!), and stalk him as he jets to the Wonder Ballroom to catch Brooklyn-based BARR (a.k.a., Mellman’s pal Brendan Fowler).

GOT MILK? According to Reuters, Gus Van Sant will direct Sean Penn and Matt Damon in Milk . The film tells the story of Harvey Milk (Penn), the gay San Francisco politician who was murdered by Dan White (Damon). Van Sant, who has wanted to tell this story for years now, will work from a script by Big Love scribe Dustin Lance Black (Scoop’s heard he’s also working on Van Sant’s upcoming Merry Prankster-filled Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test ).>>In other PDX director news: Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There is pickin’ up awards across the globe. Cate Blanchett just won best actress (or actor?) for her turn as Dylan at the Venice Film Festival.

DEAD AIR After years as one of the most listened to radio shows in the local market, looks like the geniuses atZ-100 (KKRZ-FM, 100.3) are outsourcing their most valuable asset. According to a recent Seattle Post-Intelligencer story, Rob “the T-Man” Tepper , who Seattlites hear up north on KUBE-FM (93.3), is now simulcasting his show on Z-100 . According to the P-I , “Tepper...has long had one of the Seattle market’s top-rated morning shows...[and] added a San Francisco station a year ago.” Both stations are owned by Clear Channel. As already reported by WW , T-Man replaced Buckhead , who earlier this year “was named by Edison Media, as one of the ‘30 under 30’ promising talents in radio. But Scoop’s quick listen of Monday’s show on the way to work proved that Tepper is no Buckhead (or, hell, even PK from Jammin 95.5).

BAD OYSTER As reported first on wweek.com last Thursday, lauded Northeast Portland restaurant the Alberta Street Oyster Bar&Grill has closed . Scoop heard that owner Peter Hochman fired the entire staff and refused daily deliveries. And the notoriously experimental restaurant’s answering machine message says, “We will be closed until further notice, and we apologize for any inconvenience.” Hochman spilled to The Oregonian last Friday that the restaurant is indeed kaput and the closure is due to a big ol’ pile of debt.