Music I had every intention of spending the entire weekend at PDX Pop Now’s Refuge-hosted shindig. I’ll definitely be there on Sunday at 1pm, when Batmen, possibly Portland’s best punk band, plays its last show before going on an indefinite (read: probably permanent) hiatus. But I’m gonna have to pass on the rest of the sprawling three-day festival. As much as I appreciate the chance to get a su...   More

Music The significance and sheer beauty of the empire Calvin Johnson built didn't really sink in for me until I was on the cusp of my twenties, when I burned out on punk, went to college and began cultivating my slightly more sensitive side, that affected melancholic half first illuminated by Elliott Smith when I was a barely legal teen with a plastic bag full of punk patches I didn't want pinned to my ...   More

Music East End's third annual Smashed Block Party, which goes down this Saturday and Sunday, features a daunting line-up of Portland's finest punk and metal bands, in addition to Big Deal headlining sets by wizened luminary Redd Kross (Saturday) and Cleveland's scummy Midnight (Sunday). A thorough rundown of the impending intensity would requir...   More

Music Before I got sick earlier this month and shut down both this space and the part of my brain that craves loud sounds, I'd been making an effort to attend more shows. I was aiming to snap myself out of a home-bound listening routine that generally involves staring at a wall with headphones on, my hands on a keyboard and my body at a sort of rest that looks like death. I was missing collective joy, s...   More

Movie Reviews & Stories In the early 2000s, former Clinton Street Theater owner Seth Sonstein founded the Portland Underground Film Festival. His mission...   More

Music [This issue of Upper Extremities was meant about a month ago. Instead, it runs now! -Ed.] Portland, I miss you. No I don't. I'm in Los Angeles this week. It's impossible to miss anything here, because everything is here. But I envy you a little bit, because there are some killer shows happening inside of you this weekend, and I wish I could be there to get down with you. No I don't. But I s...   More

Music Screw the solstice. Summer has begun. My teacher friends are putting the finishing touches on another batch of nincompoops. Tender, pale flesh, unsheathed and glowing in the May light, is likely being strutted up and down various sidewalks as you read this, or will be tomorrow or the day after. A hint of hope and maybe even happiness grows in my chest. I am writing this shirtless. Yup: Life is onc...   More

Music Today marks the beginning of the Know’s stacked Memorial Week series, which will find Portland’s punk hub hosting seven essential shows in as many days. Drafting a comprehensive rundown would have been a fool’s errand, but trust that you could throw a dart at the Know’s concert calendar this week and hit something you need to see. For the more discriminating among you, I’ve attempted a s...   More

Album Reviews [CRUST PUNK] Tragedy is justly revered the world over for its dense and crepuscular take on crust punk, but an album-length masterpiece has eluded this staunchly DIY Portland quartet since its 2   More

Music I interviewed San Diego-based musician-writer-entrepreneur-provocateur Justin Pearson last year, when I profiled Retox, the band with whom he is currently raising a glorious racket. Since then I’ve been wanting to put together a little Pearson primer, because getting a grasp on Pearson’s contributions to punk ...   More