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WATCH: The Linda Lindas at the L.A. Public Library
Punk’s next feminist heroes are, as it reads on their Bandcamp page, “two sisters, a cousin, and their close friend” who are “half Asian/half Latinx” and not yet old enough to vote. It would seem L.A.’s Linda Lindas came out of nowhere just last weekend, going viral on the strength of a track called “Racist, Sexist Boy” played inside the Los Angeles Public Library. But young as they are, this is not the band’s first brush with fame: They opened for Bikini Kill at the Hollywood Palladium and subsequently landed a cameo covering “Rebel Girl” in Amy Poehler’s riot grrrl teen drama Moxie! The reverberations from the library performance have been something else: Within days, the group landed a deal with Epitaph Records. It’s not a case of “good for their age,” either—the band simply slays, and “Racist, Sexist Boy” isn’t even their best song, although the shouted bridge (“Poser! Blockhead! Riffraff! Jerk face!”) is one for the canon. Watch the full set on the L.A. Public Library YouTube page. Stream at thelindalindas.bandcamp.com.
STREAM: The Pearl Dive Project
There is a moment in the Pearl Dive Project when Ashley Roland, BodyVox’s co-artistic director, tries to convey the hallucinogenic wonderment of a dance piece called Photo Synthesis. “You can flip through the pages of a photography book,” she explains, “but in this case, it’s like going into the photography book and journeying through all these different moments and these different visions for dance.” The 2021 edition of the Pearl Dive Project is filled with visceral, enveloping imagery and unites BodyVox with collaborators ranging from legendary dance photographer Lois Greenfield, who conceived Photo Synthesis, to Simpsons creator Matt Groening. With two episodes available and three more on the way, the project is off to a ravishing start—and continues the company’s tradition of shattering dance orthodoxy. Episodes 1 and 2 of the Pearl Dive Project stream at bodyvox.com/performance/pearl-dive-project-2021. Episode 3 debuts Thursday, May 27. Tickets are $15 per installment or you can access all five for $50.
GO: Hemp Bar Grand Opening
Finally, Portland is getting its first cannabis cafe—kind of. Taking advantage of hemp’s murky legal status, East Fork Cultivars’ straightforwardly named Hemp Bar has all the markings of a Amsterdam-style weed bar, from infused drinks to pre-rolls and blunts, except every product contains 0.3% THC—the legal limit for hemp to be sold and consumed outside regulated dispensaries. Still, the owners swear the stuff will give you at least a mild high, depending on the makeup of your endocannabinoid system and just how much you smoke. Either way, it’s a unique experience in a state that typically allows public consumption only at private clubs. Plus, on opening day, Caesar the No Drama Llama will attend, and stroking a camelid while even lightly stoned is an unbeatable experience. 6258 SE Foster Road, 503-477-7183. 11 am-7 pm Tuesday-Sunday. Grand opening Saturday, May 29.
WATCH: The Age of Innocence and Le Bonheur
They say “April showers bring May flowers,” so before this month blossoms into June, start streaming some spring-y films that pay homage to the beauty of flora. In The Age of Innocence, a period romance directed by Martin Scorsese and adapted from Edith Wharton’s seminal novel, Daniel Day-Lewis plays a lawyer whose engagement to an innocuous young woman (Winona Ryder) is rocked upon meeting a more age appropriate and worldly countess (Michelle Pfeiffer). Featured plants include lily of the valley (connoting purity, for the fiancée) and yellow roses (connoting passion, for the countess). Le Bonheur, Agnès Varda’s bittersweet 1965 drama, follows a young couple with children who seem to be perfectly in love, until the husband begins an affair with a post office clerk. The film is loaded with sunflowers—it’s even been referred to as “a horror movie wrapped up in sunflowers.” Streams on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Criterion Channel and other services.
CATCH UP ON: Fast & Furious
There is a scene in Fast Five where street racer Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) sums up the soul of the series for his crew. “Money’ll come and go, we know that,” Dom declares. “Most important thing in life will always be the people in this room—right here, right now. Salute, mi familia.” For 20 years, the series has made heavy-metal poetry out of cars, airplanes and anything else that can go boom. Yet the reason we’re still watching is because it’s an adventure both kickass and heartfelt—and because the story of how it got that way is mesmerizingly bizarre. So in anticipation of the June release of F9, the next chapter in the saga, now is the time to recount that history and rewatch those films for free at select area theaters. Both AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas are offering free screenings of films in the Fast & Furious franchise every Friday. Visit amctheatres.com/fastfridays and regmovies.com/static/en/us/promotions/fast-friday for details on how to obtain tickets.
GO: University of Oregon MFA Thesis Exhibit
Thesis exhibits are always a great place to see boundary-pushing art. But this year’s final exhibit by University of Oregon MFA candidates should be especially interesting because of, you know, the pandemic. The eight artists in the show spent the last of their three years in the program experimenting in relative isolation, and the results are as bold and varied as you’d hope. Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate Ave., disjecta.org. Noon-5 pm Friday-Sunday, through May 30. Free.
GO: Driveway Jazz
Following last summer’s series of small pop-up concerts, Driveway Jazz is back for another season. Hosted by local jazz pianist Kerry Politzer in front of her Southeast home, the concerts took place every Friday last summer and featured some of the city’s best musicians. Politzer is kicking off the second season with Portland jazz legends the Mel Brown Organ Group. The season launch doubles as a fundraiser for this year’s Montavilla Jazz Festival, which is scheduled to take place in August. Politzer doesn’t give out the location of her house online; other than that it’s somewhere near Tabor Bread. If you’re not up for wandering around in search of the social distance concert, it’ll also stream on Driveway Jazz’s Facebook page. 5 pm Friday, May 29, at facebook.com/drivewayjazz. Tickets free, donations accepted.
LISTEN: Mayahuel by Sávila
Mayahuel, the first album from Sávila in three years, immerses itself in the sounds of the Mexican state of Oaxaca—not just musically but in the field recordings of local natural phenomena and city scenes that undergird its six tracks. Meanwhile, their “ancestral club” sound is as rewarding as ever: a vision of dance music’s future written in organic instruments and pre-Hispanic percussion, light as a feather even at its most formidable. Stream at savila.bandcamp.com.
VISIT: Raven’s Manor
Goths, ghost hunters and Halloween geeks: Here is your new hang. Raven’s Manor, a cocktail lounge designed to look like a haunted mansion, is now open in the historic Henry Failing Building, and the 135-year-old brickwork structure appears to be the perfect backdrop for quaffing horror-themed drinks. Some of the themed adornments include gargoyles, candelabras, and specimens of questionable origin preserved in glass jars. There is even a series of wall-mounted taps in the shape of human skulls that will dispense beer, cocktails and mocktails. If you picture a regal mansion straight out of the classic board game Clue that’s been gussied up for All Hallows’ Eve, you’ll begin to get the idea—complete with the appearance of at least one dead body in a corner. 235 SW 1st Ave., ravensmanorexperience.com. 5-11 pm Wednesday-Monday.