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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2017)
ENTERTAINMENT Saturday, March 18, 2017 East Oregonian Page 3C Cow punk band features semi-native Eastern Oregonian T he Treefort Music Festival in Boise is always a joyous time of year for Eastern Oregon because of the cavalcade of bands passing through the region on their way to and from the festival looking for gigs to pick up along the way. An exciting act passing through Pendleton this year is the cow punk band Jenny Don’t and the Spurs. Their performance at the Great Pacific on Friday, March 24 is of particular J.D. importance Kindle because the Comment Spurs features a semi-native Eastern Oregonian in their ranks: guitar and slide guitar player Jeremy Terry, who performs under the alias JT Halmfilst. JT has developed a reputation as one of Portland’s most active musicians. His resume includes a long list of punk, country, and rock and roll bands to which he adds a lead guitar style heavily influenced by Link Wray, Nokie Edwards of The Ventures, and Japanese surf guitarist Takeshi Terauchi. For many of the musicians that he works with, JT is their first semblance of an encounter with Eastern Oregon. Born in Bremerton, Wash., and briefly raised in Alaska, JT’s family moved up the Umatilla River canyon, just short of the Bar M Ranch, when he was four years old. He would be bussed up to Athena to attend school where he played saxophone in the music program. The summer after eighth grade he formed a garage band with his friend Keith Lavadour that was dedicated covering Ramones tunes and writing original material. “That seemed pretty wild for us at the time,” JT reflects, “because we didn’t know anyone on the river that played music.” Jenny Don’t and The Spurs Friday, March 24, 7 p.m. at the Great Pacific 403 S. Main St, Pendleton Contributed photo Jenny Don’t and The Spurs: (left to right) Sam Henry, Jenny Don’t, JT Halmfilst, Kelly Haliburton Halmfilst gives a lot of credit to the Lavadours (including painter James Lavadour) for stimulating his creative impulses. “That family was a huge access to culture that I wouldn’t have got any other way. I was aware of a larger world outside of the Umatilla River canyon because of them. Keith and I were artists too. We were into drawing and they were very encouraging.” His first garage band and aspirations to play in Athena’s beloved drums and bagpipes marching band were sidelined when his mother remarried and relocated the family to Portland during his sophomore year of high school. “It was really bummer at the time too because I was leaving all these people I grew up with to that point, and I didn’t really like the guy my mom had married either, but it was at the right time because I was getting into all this music that was going on in the late ’80s, early ’90s, so it was actually the perfect place to be. I could see some of the bands I was into at the time.” It didn’t take JT long to form a new band with his high school classmates. His first project there, Darwin’s Grab Bag, played grunge punk style that was in vogue in the early ’90s. By lying about their age they were able to play a couple shows at the legendary Satyricon. Though they never toured the band played plenty of shows around Portland, made a few recordings, and as JT puts it, “it definitely shot me down the trajectory for what I wanted to do the rest of my life.” Thought Darwin’s Grab Bag was short-lived, JT began to play in a series of bands that eventually veered towards country music. Among the many bands JT joined was the raucous and aptly named Party Country. The band was looking for a slide guitar to round out their lineup so JT picked up a vintage Supro model from Old Town Music. It was also during his tenure in Party Country that JT received his moniker. The band already had one Jeremy in the band, so JT seemed like an appropriate nickname, though he felt he needed a surname for album credits. JT originally settled on Hamfist, but add l’s to make it sound more Scandinavian and reflect how Buck Owens might pronounce “Hamfist” in his signature over affected drawl. Following a romantic breakup in the late ’90s, Halmfilst moved to Austin for six years. While there he joined the Juanita Family, a roots-country offshoot of the San Diego math rock band The Last of MOVIE REVIEW Festivals WHAT TO DO Night life Wee Bit O’ Ireland Celebration •March 16-19 •Heppner, various locations www.heppnerchamber.com Free. Get your green on and get ready for some Irish fun. Live music, Irish brogue contest, parade, sheep dog trials, Cruz-In car show, Welly Toss, Road Bowling, meals, vendor displays, fund- raisers and fun for youths. Echo Red 2 Red XC •April 1 •Intersection Main/Dupont streets, Echo www.echored2red.com $45/adults, $20/youths. In its ninth year, riders start and finish in downtown Echo. Includes all ages and skill levels with awards and a raffle after the race. Race postponed from March due to trail conditions. Art, Museums Terrific Tuesday: Sheep and Sheep Ranching This image shows Dan Stevens as The Beast, left, and Emma Watson as Belle in a live-action adaptation of the animated classic “Beauty and the Beast.” •Tuesday, March 28; 7 p.m. •Heritage Station Museum, 108 S.W. Frazer Ave., Pendleton Free. John Doherty will guide listeners through the history of the Doherty sheep ranch near Gur- dane. A sheep ranching exhibit also is on display in the main gallery. A ‘Beauty and the Beast’ with a new dimension •Tuesday-Sundays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. •Peterson’s Gallery and Chocolatier, 1925 Main St., Baker City www.petersonsgallery.net Free. Features a collection of bright and col- orful artwork by favorite artists. In addition, new spring chocolate line is available. Opening recep- tion held in conjunction with the First Friday Art- walk. Runs through March 31. Disney via AP By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer T he Disney “live-action” remakes, of which the new “Beauty and the Beast” is but one in an assembly line, are starting to resemble an iPhone software update. Click a button and that old cartoon interface changes Belle into Emma Watson, the Beast into Dan Stevens and maybe fixes a few bugs in the system. “Beauty and the Beast,” that “tale as old as time” (or, to pinpoint it, 1740, when the French fairy tale was published), could certainly use a few tweaks. It is, after all, a fable about finding beauty within that ends, curiously, with the once superficial prince falling for a beautiful woman he’s kidnapped, whose name literally means beauty. If you’d like to untangle those ironies, please, be our guest. Director Bill Condon’s film — let’s call it “Beauty and the Beast 2.0” — often feels in search of a purpose beyond the all-but-certain dollar signs. Much of the live-action/digital effects makeover is less lifelike than the Oscar-winning 1991 animated film: It’s gained a dimension but lost a pulse. The merely fine acting and the lavish production design (the sumptuous sets nearly swallow the performers whole) dutifully strive to make this a worthy enterprise. Opposites attract, of course. And this “Beauty and the Beast” is equal parts dispiriting and enchanting: overflowing in handsome craft, but missing a spirit inside. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s songs still have their infectious kick, but most of the big musical moments feel more like very good covers of the originals. And yet “Beauty and the Beast” finds its own verve — or, to quote Lumiere, “reason d’etre” — late. Condon (having helmed much of the “Twilight” saga, knows a thing or two about young love and monsters), working from a script by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos, has taken many of the old tale’s more cringe-worthy gender roles and Let’s Call It Spring Chuck Close: Portraits “Beauty and the Beast” ★★★☆ PG, 129 minutes mixed them up in the movie’s bright swirling medley. Belle’s bookishness is more pronounced, thanks partly to the “Harry Potter” credentials of Watson. Her performance is a little minor key, still, but Watson lends Belle an intelligence and agency that she has lacked. She’s less of a Stockholm syndrome Victim and more deserving of young girls’ admiration. And the Beast, a pile of horns, makeup and effects on top of the former “Downton Abbey” star Stevens, is more haunted and melancholy. But as the film nears its celebratory coda, a buoyant pluralism bursts forth. Characters — large parts and small — are freed from their prescribed roles in a glorious dance, shortly after Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson), Cogsworth (Ian McKellen), Lumiere (Ewan McGregor) and the rest come to life. Josh Gad, the MVP of many a Disney movie, plays LeFou, the doting sidekick of the caddish Gaston (Luke Evans), the dopey pursuer of Belle’s hand. LeFou spends much of the movie hinting at his affection for his lecherous friend, but LeFou, too, earns a chance for redemption toward the end. That’s all it is — an easy to miss suggestion that LeFou might find another love. And yet this slightest wink of homosexuality has drawn the ire of some who, it’s worth noting, raised no concerns over a romance between an imprisoned girl and a beast or, for that matter, a candelabra and a feather duster. In fact, “Beauty and the Beast” would be better if it dared more such moments and went further with them. Nevertheless, the uproar suggests even this must count as progress. Perhaps we’ll be ready for a truly up-to-date “Beauty and the Beast 3.0” in another few decades. The Juanitas. The Juanita Family eventually relocated to Portland (and even made an appearance at the Main Street Cowboys’ Greatest Free Show in The West during the mid-’00s). Two years ago JT happened to walk into a bar being tended by Jenny Don’t. Her backing band The Spurs had just lost their lead guitar player. When asked if he knew of any available guitar players JT modestly replied that the would be up to the task. With The Spurs Halmfilst is in perfect company with a lineup of veteran Portland players: singer and guitarist Jenny Don’t of the rock band Don’t, bassist Kelly Haliburton of Pierced Arrows, and Sam Henry, drummer of legendary Portland punk bands The Wipers, The Rats, and Napalm Beach (among countless others). Their sound is what one would expect from Portland punkers who’ve taken a shining to country music: rough, unrefined, and embracing the outlaw aspects of the genre (“Trouble With The Law” and “Take Me To Jail” are a few of their song titles). With a freshly released live album “Live from Bonn, Germany” and a forthcoming album entitled “Call Of The Road,” it is expected that Don’t and The Spurs (with Halmfilst in tow) will blow through Pendleton like a tumbleweed. This will be the perfect time to catch them and Halmfilst’s guitar work, which was born of the Umatilla River. ■ James Dean Kindle is a Pendleton musician and executive director of the Oregon East Symphony. Contact him at jamesdeankindle@gmail.com. •Tuesday-Fridays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturdays, noon-4 p.m. •Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St. www.pendletonarts.org Free. Selections of Close’s work from the col- lection of Jordan Schnitzer. Eastern Oregon Regional High School Exhibit •Monday-Fridays; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. •Nightingale Gallery, Loso Hall •Eastern Oregon University, La Grande www.eou.edu/art Free. Features talented high school artists from across the region, including art students from Pendleton and Echo high schools. Runs through March 21. “The Path of Totality” •Monday, April 3; 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m., art accept- ed •Friday, April 7; 5:30-8 p.m., opening reception •Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, 2020 Auburn St., Baker City www.crossroads-arts.org $15/members, $20/non-members. Up to three pieces accepted by amateur and professional art- ists depicting the theme inspired by the upcoming Aug. 21 total solar eclipse. Show and sale runs April 7-29. DJ music •Saturdays, 8 p.m. •The Pheasant, 149 E. Main St., Hermiston Karaoke w/DJ David •Saturdays; 8 p.m. •Riverside Sports Bar, 1501 Sixth St., Umatilla Lock, Stock & Lipstick Ladies’ Night •Saturdays; 8 p.m.-2 a.m. •Sub Zero Restaurant & Lounge, 100 W. High- way 730, Irrigon No cover. Drink specials from 8-10 p.m. Live DJ with female-friendly music. Whiskey Wednesday Game Night •Wednesdays; 3-7 p.m. •The Pheasant, 149 E. Main St., Hermiston No cover. Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo 64. Digital Karaoke •Thursdays and Fridays, 8 p.m. •The Pheasant, 149 E. Main St., Hermiston LOL Comedy Jam •Thursdays; 8 p.m. •Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wildhorse Resort & Casino, off I-84 Exit 216, Mission. No cover. March 23: Mike Wally Walter; March 30: Julian Michael Mac’s Trivia Night •First Thursday of month, 8 p.m. No cover •Mac’s Bar & Grill, 1400 S.W. Dorion Ave., Pendleton 21 and older. East. Drink. Think. Teams of 2-8 compete in trivia contest with other teams. Live host and prizes. Wine tasting •Fridays, 4-8 p.m. •Sno Road Winery, 111 W. Main St., Echo. Open Mic •First/third Friday each month, 8 p.m.-midnight •The Packard Tavern, 118 S.E. Court Ave., Pendleton www.facebook.com/groups/pendletonopen- mic Karaoke w/DJ David •Fridays; 8 p.m. •Riverside Sports Bar, 1501 Sixth St., Umatilla Cimmi’s Late Night Martini Lounge •Fridays; 9 p.m.-midnight •Virgil’s at Cimmiyotti’s, 137 S. Main St., Pend- leton No cover. Features martinis, mixology and music. Theater & film “Treasure Island” Auditions •Monday, March 27; 10 a.m. •A.C. Houghton Elementary School, 1105 N. Main Ave., Irrigon Free. Auditions for the Missoula Children’s Theatre production is open to ages 6-18. Rehears- als will be held throughout the week with a perfor- mance scheduled Saturday, April 1. “Moana” •Friday, March 31; 7 p.m. •Vert Auditorium, 480 S.W. Dorion Ave., Pend- leton www.pendletonparksandrec.com Free. Family-friendly movie. Concessions available for purchase. Music Hot tickets Live Music Thursday •Dave Stamey: (award-winning cowboy enter- tainer). April 7, Liberty Theater, Dayton, Washing- ton. ($20) via www.libertytheater.org •2-Day Midget Wrestling Fiesta!: (Micro Wrestling Federation). April 14-15, Midway Bar & Grill, Hermiston. VIP, front row and general admis- sion ($20-$40) via thepheasant.ticketleap.com •Chippendale’s. April 29 at Wildhorse Resort & Casino. Tickets ($34-$54) available via www. wildhorseresort.com •Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend: April 13-16, Las Vegas. Early bird four-day pass ($140) through March 15 via www.vivalasvegas.net •What the Festival: June 16-19, Wolf Run Ranch, near Dufur. Three-day music, art, film and interactive festival. Features 90 electronic music DJs on eight stages and the largest splash pool in North America. Camping options available ($300- $2,500) via www.whatthefestival.com •Northwest World Reggae Festival: (music, camping, food, vendors) July 28-30, Marcola, 20 miles northeast of Eugene. Early bird prices ($120) via www.nwwrf.com ——— Want to get your event listed in our calendar? Send information to community@eastoregonian. com, or c/o Tammy Malgesini, 333 E. Main Street, Hermiston, OR, 97838. •Thursdays 7-9 p.m. No cover •40 Taps, 337 S.W. Emigrant Ave., Pendleton 4More •Saturday, March 18; 8 p.m. No cover •Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wildhorse Resort & Ca- sino, off I-84 Exit 216, Mission Dufur Hoot •Saturday, March 18; 6:30-9 p.m. •Historic Balch Hotel, 40 S. Heimrich St., Dufur www.balchhotel.com No cover. Featuring an evening of Central Or- egon Bluegrass. Jam Night •Friday, March 24; 6:30-9 p.m. •Historic Balch Hotel, 40 S. Heimrich St., Dufur www.balchhotel.com No cover. Brewers Grade •Friday, March 24; Saturday, March 25; 8 p.m. No cover •Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wildhorse Resort & Ca- sino, off I-84 Exit 216, Mission Jamie & Luke •Friday, March 31; 6:30 p.m. No cover •Sno Road Winery, 111 W. Main St., Echo
