Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Portland is, of course, known for it's, ahem... unique residents. Perhaps this is the reason that I've always loved it here. Regardless of how weird or offbeat I feel, there's always someone else in the room who can beat me by a mile which makes me feel like I fit right in.

Among the geeks and freaks of this fair city there are characters who seem to keep popping up everywhere you look. Two of these Portland Famous Portlanders are the sassy and multi-talented Rocket Ship and the dark and sexy Nik Sin. (otherwise known as Mini Marilyn Manson and one of the owners of Lonesome's pizza; the only place that treats pizza boxes like Adult Happy Meals of Art and rad Music.)


 I had the opportunity to check out Nik and Rocket's new show called Portland Famous at the Star Theater last week. I didn't know quite what to expect, which is good since that's kind of the idea. It might be generally summed up as A variety/ talent show which gives Portlanders the opportunity to flaunt their abilities in front of a live audience on a fabulously vintage stage. But if you're expecting hacks and bad karaoke level performances... well, you obviously haven't lived in PDX that long. Coming into it's 4th week the stage has already hosted some of the cities hottest burlesque dancers, comedians, acrobats, circus freaks, chainsaw jugglers... yes, chainsaws... ventriloquists, gender illusionists and other live acts that defy definition.

I had a fantastic time and it wasn't just because of the alcohol being served by possibly the nicest bartender in Portland. If you have the opportunity... No, scratch that... MAKE the time to go catch this show! It will be the best Thursday night you've had in a very, very long time!

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

I love dressing up. I love costumes and theatrics and public performance and stage makeup and special effects and meeting new people and beer. So it stands to reason that I would love themed pub crawls. And aside from the few I host each year... like our Valentine's Day Zombie Crawl... we make it a point to attend at least a few others. And few things are more wonderful than a costumed pub crawl that I don't have to be in charge of!

SuperCon is delightfully super; with heros, villains, sidekicks and an abundance of nemesis to go around. Competitions in feats of strength, super knowledge trivia and a costume contest among chatting, muscle flexing and revelation of clever Super names and powers. Some of my favorites this year were Rain Man with his umbrella of justice, Door Man who was, indeed, super at making sure the door was always open for people entering and exiting and an adorable couple dressed as the villainous duo Paul and Ester. My friend Isaac wins an honorable mention for his obscenely fun Super Gay Logger.

A big thanks to Tom's Restaurant, The Hedge House, The Whiskey Soda Lounge and the Clinton Street Pub for accommodating our tomfoolery!

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