WHAT’S
happening
Once upon a time, Jeff Tweedy co-founded Uncle Tupelo, a band
which a lot of people liked, and which may have had a lot to do
with the rise of what we now call alt-country. When co-founder
Jay Farrar quit Uncle Tupelo, Tweedy took the rest of the
band members and formed Wilco. Over the course of five
albums, Wilco lost its twang but picked up fans and
acclaim, including a Grammy for 2004’s A Ghost is
Born. Back in 1998, Tweedy and Wilco teamed up
with English folk-punk-protest singer Billy Bragg
and former 10,000 Maniacs singer Natalie
Merchant on Mermaid Avenue, an outstanding
two-album project that set unrecorded
Woody Guthrie lyrics to music. Though
Wilco is still going strong, Tweedy is
coming to town on his own for a solo
show at the McDonald Theatre.
Rumor has it he spends his solo
shows playing songs from mul-
tiple projects — hence the
brief history lesson. See
Saturday Calendar.
Every February, Readin’ in the Rain
invites the Eugene/Springfield (and
surrounding) community to read and
discuss one book. This year’s selec-
tion, Diana Abu-Jaber’s Crescent, is
an award-winning love story set in
Los Angeles’ Arab-American commu-
nity, which the Washington Post Book
World described as “a sensual feast.”
Abu-Jaber, a former UO faculty mem-
ber who now lives in Portland and
Miami, will be in town later in the
month to speak about her book, but
readin’ starts now! To kick off the
month, the Downtown Library hosts
Northwest Christian College professor
Beth Aydelott, who will discuss “The
Flavors of Crescent: Feeding the
Exile.” Before the speech, catch inter-
national bellydancer Astryd
deMichele performing to the music of
Ala Nar. See Friday Calendar.
No one is better than Austin’s James McMurtry at portraying
real-world America — small towns, suburbs, struggling working
people — while rocking out. Although his evocative songs have
always been more implicitly than explicitly political, his recent
anti-Bush anthem “We Can’t Make it Here” shows he can write
powerful protest songs when the times demand them. McMurtry
plays songs from his new album this week at the WOW Hall. See
Monday Calendar. — Brett Cambpell
Forgive us if we’re extra excited about this month’s
Lane Arts Council First Friday ArtWalk: It’s
being led by our own (well, we share him with other
places, including The Wall Street Journal) Brett
Campbell with community organizer and artist
Carolezoom Patterson. The tour begins at Opus6ix,
which features “Alter Ego,” work by Lindsay
Kennedy. Stop #2 is Jacobs Gallery, where
“Marquee Massacres: Native Americans in One
Hundred Years of Global Movie Graphics from
Oregon Passage to Battle of Rogue River,” curated
by Rennard Strickland, is on display. The exhibit,
which features vintage movie posters (like this
French poster for Fort Apache, right) and other
film-related images, explores the misrepresenta-
tion of Native Americans in mainstream film. The
third ArtWalk stop, White Lotus Gallery, presents
“Winter in Asia,” with work from local and gallery
artists. The walk winds down at La Follette Gallery,
featuring “Illuminated Visions” by Jean Denis. And
of course, other downtown galleries and business-
es are open late, but not part of the walk. See
www.lanearts.org and Friday Calendar.
FEBRUARY 2, 2006 21