ENTERTAINMENT
Saturday, October 21, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3C
Elwood brings folk out of the Blue Mountains
E
lwood Haney’s debut solo album
has been a long time comin’. The
soulful folk singer-songwriter — who
performs under the mononym Elwood —
has been steadily performing around the
Pacific Northwest for nearly a decade. His
self-titled album is the culmination of all that
toil and is the work of a now more mature
and self-confident artist.
Prior to striking out as a
solo artist Haney co-fronted
the folk rock band Bitter-
root along with his cousin
Colton. Originally formed
in the Grande Ronde
Valley in 2009, Bitterroot
produced an EP and one
album and briefly resided
J.D.
in Portland before parting
Kindle
ways in 2014. Haney
Comment
relocated to Ukiah, which
he began using as a base for
touring as a solo artist and composing songs
that would ultimately make their way onto
Elwood.
Elwood was recorded intermittently over
the course of two years with folk musician
Bob Webb at his studio Mountain Views
in Joseph. It features a lineup of guest
musicians that Elwood has had the fortune
of meeting over the years: Sam Howard
(bassist with A Prairie Home Companion
regulars The Wailin’ Jennys), David Lipkind
(harmonica player with Portland alt-country
warhorses I Can Lick Any SOB In The
House), fellow singer-songwriters Kory
Quinn and Janis Carper as co-writers and
vocalists, and Bitterroot drummer Joey
Carper. Elwood himself contributes guitar,
mandolin, and flute.
The nature of the digital recording
process these days allowed for Elwood to
be produced in a piecemeal fashion. Elwood
“Elwood” by Elwood Haney
would lay down the basic tracks of vocals
and guitar with Webb and guest musicians,
when they happened to be in the area, would
contribute their parts. Often Elwood wasn’t
in the studio at the same time as his guests
so it would be a complete surprise as to what
they had played in his absence.
Part of the drawn-out recording process
can be attributed to Elwood’s relentless
BRIEFLY
WHAT TO DO
Festivals
Eastern Oregon
Film Festival
Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini
Erik Estrada, from the 1977-
83 TV show “CHiPs,” has fun
with a contestant during
“America’s Greatest Game
Shows” last fall at Wildhorse
Resort & Casino.
Live game show
features Estrada
MISSION — Visitors to
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
can win a seat to a live game
show and may be chosen as a
contestant.
Host Erik Estrada, a
Hollywood actor best known
for his role as Frank “Ponch”
Poncherello from 1977-83 on
NBC’s “CHiPs,” is the host.
Audience members will have a
chance to win $100,000 during
America’s Greatest Game
Shows. To get a seat at the
live show, people need to earn
entries with their Club Wild
card, including by swiping the
card daily at an eSTATION.
The show is Sunday, Oct. 29 at
5 p.m. in the Rivers Event Center
at the casino, which is located
near Interstate 84 at Exit 216,
Mission.
Fishtrap showcases
Wallowa writers
ENTERPRISE — Three
Wallowa County writers will
share their works during the
upcoming Fishtrap Fireside.
Featured writers include
Ester Bentz, Renee Mitchell
and Janie Tippett. Bentz is
the pen name and alter ego of
Cathy Sterbentz, a perennial,
revolving-door resident of
Wallowa County. Mitchell
expresses herself through poetry,
storytelling, grant writing,
teaching and creating multimedia
experiences. She spent 25 years
as a newspaper journalist and is
best known as a metro columnist
for The Oregonian, where she
was nominated twice for the
Pulitzer Prize. Tippett, who
was a columnist for Agritimes
Northwest for 31 years, is the
author of “Four Lines a Day: The
Life and Times of an Imnaha
Ranch Woman.” The event is
Friday, Nov. 3 from 7-9 p.m.
at 400 E. Grant St., Enterprise.
There is no admission charge and
light refreshments are available.
The fireside also includes
an open mic for audience
members to share their stories.
The Fishtrap Fireside meets the
first Friday of each month from
October through April.
For more information,
contact Mike Midlo at mike@
fishtrap.org, 541-426-3623 or
visit www.fishtrap.org.
touring schedule; he performed approxi-
mately 150 shows last year alone and had
very little time in between tours to devote
to his album, let alone tend to his personal
life. Consequently the troubadour lifestyle is
front and center on Elwood. The high energy
opening track “Road Song” is a lament on
the toll that touring takes on the psyche and
on relationships with those back home. That
sentiment is contrasted by the sombre ballad
“It’s Just Begun,” which explores numinous
nature of the irresistible “call of the road.”
We are indeed creatures of contradictions.
When Elwood isn’t waxing philosoph-
ically about life on the road his songs
tend to revolve around the Northwest.
“The Promise,” a song co-written with the
aforementioned Wallowa Valley-based Janis
Carper, is a tribute to his ancestors who
migrated from West Virginia to settle in
Promise, Ore. (named after “The Promised
Land”), in the late 19th century.
The landscape of northeastern Oregon
is inextricably tied to Elwood’s music. “I
was born and raised in Union and spent the
majority of my life in the Blue Mountains,”
says Elwood. “It’s definitely shaped the way
I see the world and the way my songs are
written. It’s always been a special place to
me so it comes out in my songs.”
Elwood is an extremely accessible album
that isn’t just for folkies. Many of the songs
on Elwood feature anthematic choruses full
of “woa-oa-oa-oah”s that sound reminiscent
of neo folk-pop groups like The Lumineers
and Mumford & Sons. The production is
crisp and clear but never feels stiff.
Elwood doesn’t have a release date yet —
Haney is in the midst of procuring funding
for the manufacturing of the album — but it
should definitely be on the radar for anybody
looking for music that is born out of the
Blues.
Elwood plays 40 Taps on Saturday,
November 4 as part of the Pendleton Animal
Welfare Shelter fundraiser.
■
James Dean Kindle is the East Oregonian’s
entertainment columnist, the executive
director of the Oregon East Symphony
and a Pendleton musician. Contact him at
jamesdeankindle@gmail.com.
•Oct. 19-21
•HQ, 112 Depot St., La
Grande
www.eofilmfest.com
$9.50/screenings at the
Granada; and $10/events at
McKenzie Theatre, HQ and af-
ter parties. Named one of the
top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in
the World by MovieMaker maga-
zine. Features nearly three doz-
en independent film screenings,
musical entertainment, filmmak-
er presentations and author/writ-
er discussions. A free live taping
of Oregon Public Broadcasting’s
“State of Wonder” is Saturday at
noon at HQ.
Echo Oktoberfest
•Saturday, Oct. 21; 4 p.m.
•Downtown Echo
w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m /
events/478893169141688
$15 (if purchased in ad-
vance, comes with an extra $5 in
event tokens). Features kids’ ac-
tivities, food (German sausage,
coleslaw, potato salad, hot dogs
and brats) and beverages, in-
cluding 16 varieties of beer from
Hermiston Brewing Co. Music by
Cruise Control. For info, contact
Michael Duffy at 541-303-5730,
echokiwanis@centurytel.net.
Dia de los Muertos
•Saturday, Oct. 21; 4:30
p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 22; 11 a.m.-
4 p.m.
•Downtown Walla Walla
www.shakespearewallawal-
la.org
Free. Recognizing Day of
the Dead tradition, event cele-
brates the Hispanic culture with
fun for the whole family. Includes
live music and dancing, kids’
activities, food vendors, art and
history.
Art, Authors
& Museums
Elizabeth Woody
•Monday, Oct. 23; 7 p.m.
•John Day United Methodist
Church, 126 N.W. Canyon St.
www.oregonpoetlaureate.
org/elizabeth-wood
Free. Oregon’s poet laureate
will share selections from her
poetry and stories. Reception
follows.
“Get Into the Spirit”
•Saturdays & Sundays;
noon-5 p.m.
•Arts Portal Gallery, 508 N.
Main St., Milton-Freewater
www.facebook.com/artspor-
talgallery
Free. Features the works of
Julie Culjak, who creates jew-
elry designs, abstract acrylic
paintings, upcycled wearable
art pieces and wreaths made
from old books. Runs through
Oct. 29.
“Places to Thrive”
•Monday-Thursdays, 9:30
a.m.-1:30 p.m.
•Betty Feves Memorial Gal-
lery, BMCC, 2411 N.W. Carden
Ave., Pendleton.
Free. Features professional
and emerging Pacific Northwest
artists. The annual invitational
art exhibit is organized by the
Oregon State University Col-
lege of Agricultural Sciences
through its Art About Agriculture
program. Gallery also open by
appointment by calling 541-278-
5952. Runs through Oct. 26.
“Stochastic Resonance”
•Monday-Fridays, 11 a.m.-4
p.m.
•Nightingale Gallery, East-
ern Oregon University, La
Grande
www.eou.edu/art/nightin-
gale-gallery
Free. John Whitten, a Port-
land-based artist and art instruc-
tor at Oregon State University,
explores the philosophical sig-
nificance of what it means to
wander. Runs through Nov. 3.
“Book Work:
Recent Excavations”
•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. James Allen creates
compositions with pages of dis-
carded books and fragments of
images. Also, local artist fea-
tured in Lorenzen Board Room
Gallery. Runs through Oct. 31.
“Fall Colors”
•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 artwork by regional artists de-
picting the fall season in Eastern
Oregon. Runs through Oct. 31.
“Parts of a Life”
•Thursday, Oct. 12, 5-7 p.m.
opening reception
•Monday-Saturdays
10
a.m.-5 p.m.
•Pendleton Art + Frame, 36
S.W. Court Ave., Pendleton
Free. Lorie Baxter will be
on hand Oct. 12 to discuss her
newest works; refreshments.
Runs through Nov. 18.
“Art of Survival - Endur-
ing the Turmoil of Tule
Lake”
•Monday-Saturdays,
10
a.m.-5 p.m., opens Nov. 3
•Tamástslikt Cultural Insti-
tute, near Wildhorse Resort &
Casino.
www.tamastslikt.org
$10/adults, $9/senior cit-
izens, $6/youths, free/5 and
under or $25/family of four. Ex-
hibit probes the complexity of
the Japanese-American con-
finement site in Newell, Califor-
nia, during World War II. Runs
through Jan. 7.
•Wednesday, Nov. 8; 7-9
p.m.
•Great Pacific Wine & Coffee
Co., 403 S. Main St., Pendleton
No cover. All ages. Country
singer-songwriter also is a re-
cording engineer in Enterprise.
Astro Tan
•Thursday, Nov. 9; 7-9 p.m.
•Great Pacific Wine & Coffee
Co., 403 S. Main St., Pendleton
No cover. All ages. A three-
piece Portland-based psyche-
delic R&B group.
Open Mic Night
Music
Raucous
•Saturday, Oct. 21; 8 p.m.
No cover.
•Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wild-
horse Resort & Casino, off I-84
Exit 216, Mission.
Molly’s Revenge
•Tuesday, Oct. 24; 7 p.m.
•Pendleton Center for the
Arts, 214 N. Main St.
www.pendletonarts.org
$15. An acoustic Celtic band
returns, offering a unique and
high-energy performance.
Open Mic at GP
•Thursday, Oct. 26; 7-9 p.m.
•Great Pacific Wine & Coffee
Co., 403 S. Main St., Pendleton
No cover. All ages are wel-
come during the last Thurs-
day of each month. Bring your
instrument, voice, family and
friends.
Live Music Thursday
•Thursday, Oct. 26; 7-9 p.m.
No cover
•40 Taps, 337 S.W. Emigrant
Ave., Pendleton
Big Font
•Thursday, Nov. 9; 7-9 p.m.
No cover
•40 Taps, 337 S.W. Emigrant
Ave., Pendleton
Jam Night
America’s Greatest
Game Shows
Karaoke w/DJ David
•Sunday, Oct. 29; 5 p.m.
•Rivers Event Center, Wild-
horse Resort & Casino, off I-84
Exit 216, Mission.
www.wildhorseresort.com
Win tickets for live show for
a chance to win game play/cash
prizes, including $100,000. Fea-
tures host Erik Estrada.
•Saturdays; 8 p.m.
•Riverside Sports Bar, 1501
Sixth St., Umatilla
Mac’s Trivia Night
•Tuesdays; 7 p.m. No cover
•Mac’s Bar & Grill, 1400
S.W. Dorion Ave., Pendleton
21-and-older. Eat. Drink.
Think. Teams of 2-8 compete in
trivia contest with other teams.
Live host and prizes, including
$50 gift card for winning team.
Wine tasting
Elwood
•Thursday, Nov. 2; 7-9 p.m.
No cover
•40 Taps, 337 S.W. Emigrant
Ave., Pendleton
Bart Budwig &
His Amperband
•Saturday, Oct. 21; 2:15 p.m.
•SAGE Center, 101 Olson
Road, Boardman
www.visitsage.com
$3/includes popcorn. The
museum’s regular hours are
Monday-Saturdays from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m.
Night life
Bleeding Tree
•Wednesday, Nov. 1; 7-9
p.m.
•Great Pacific Wine & Coffee
Co., 403 S. Main St., Pendleton
No cover. All ages. Vaga-
bond Americana-folk musicians
tour across the country in 16-
foot trailer with their 97-pound
dog.
“The LEGO
Batman Movie”
“The Addams Family”
Digital Karaoke
The Rough & Tumble
Theater, stage,
film & lectures
•Thursday, Nov. 9; 6:30-8
p.m.
•Pendleton Center for the
Arts, 214 N. Main St.
www.pendletonarts.org
Free. Join other local musi-
cians for an informal evening of
jamming the second Thursday
of each month. Runs through
December.
•Friday, Oct. 27; 6:30-9:30
p.m. No cover.
•Nookie’s/Hermiston Brew-
ing Co., 125 N. First St., Herm-
iston
•Friday, Oct. 27; Saturday,
Oct. 28; 8 p.m. No cover
•Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wild-
horse Resort & Casino, off I-84
Exit 216, Mission
•Virgil’s at Cimmiyotti’s, 137
S. Main St., Pendleton
No cover. Features martinis,
mixology and music.
•Thursdays and Fridays, 8
p.m.
•The Pheasant, 149 E. Main
St., Hermiston
•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/
pendletonopenmic
Karaoke w/DJ David
•Fridays; 8 p.m.
•Riverside Sports Bar, 1501
Sixth St., Umatilla
DJ and dancing
•Fridays, 8 p.m.
•The Pheasant, 149 E. Main
St., Hermiston
Cimmi’s Late Night Mar-
tini Lounge
•Fridays; 9 p.m.-midnight
•Oct. 21, 28; 2:30 p.m.
•Oct. 21, 27-28, 30-31; 7:30
p.m.
•Elgin Opera House, 104 N.
Eighth St.
www.elginoperahouse.com
Reserved
$17/$8.
The
kooky, upside-down world of
the Addams Family offers quirky
fun.
Hot tickets
•Garth Brooks. Nov. 3-5,
Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Wash.
Tickets ($65+) via www.ticket-
master.com
•Harlem
Globetrotters.
Nov. 12, Toyota Center, Ken-
newick. Tickets ($25-$300) via
www.ticketmaster.com
•Amy Grant & Michael
Smith. Nov. 16, Toyota Center,
Kennewick. Tickets ($37-$127)
via www.ticketmaster.com
•Mannheim
Steamroller
Christmas. Nov. 19, Toyota
Center, Kennewick. Tickets
($39-$65) via www.ticketmaster.
com
•Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Nov. 24, Spokane Arena; Nov.
25, Key Arena, Seattle; Nov. 26,
Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene.
Tickets ($35-$75) via www.tick-
etmaster.com
———
Want to get your event list-
ed in our calendar? Send in-
formation to community@eas-
toregonian.com, or c/o Tammy
Malgesini, 333 E. Main Street,
Hermiston, OR, 97838.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ takes the Marvel god to funny heights
By LINDSEY BAHR
AP Film Writer
n the stand-alone films of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Thor always seemed to get the
short end of the stick. The Thor
films were never as popular as
Iron Man, and didn’t gain steam
like Captain America. They
were perhaps a little too serious
and a little too dull — none of
which was the fault of star Chris
Hemsworth, whose performances
in the role have been so seamless
and charming that he almost
doesn’t get enough credit.
But “Thor: Ragnarok” has been
touted as a different take on the
God of Thunder. Marvel Studios
and The Walt Disney Co. signed
up a voice-y director in New
Zealand’s Taika Waititi, whose
riotous vampire mockumentary
“What We Do In The Shadows”
displayed a unique comedic
sensibility. They took away Thor’s
I
Marvel Studios via AP
hammer, gave him a haircut,
added some Led Zeppelin and told
the set designer the more neon
rainbows the better.
The results are pretty decent,
though perhaps not the total
departure that had been hyped.
The bones of the story are
preposterous as ever. It turns out
Thor has a long lost older sister,
Hela (Cate Blanchett), who his
father Odin (Anthony Hopkins,
who appears to have shot for
about two hours) locked away
because she was so dangerous. An
event happens that releases Hela
to the world. She’s really strong,
like stronger than Thor strong, and
really angry and basically punches
Thor into another dimension and
she heads off to Asgard to take the
throne.
I imagine “Thor: Ragnarok”
is one that might improve on
subsequent viewings, when you
have a chance to relax with the
jokes divorced from the pressure
of juggling the silly/serious plot.
But it’s a fairly flawed movie on
the whole with egregious tonal
shifts. Some of the gags go on
too long with the Hulk with too
little payoff and sometimes it
seems as though there’s a mandate
that every 25 minutes there will
be a big fight no matter what.
One particular army of the dead
sequence seemed like it could
have been lifted from a “Pirates of
the Caribbean” movie — which
is not the most flattering compar-
ison.
While Waititi’s energy and wit
is apparent in the film, it still feels
as though he had to operate from
the same Marvel “base flavor”
and was allowed on occasion to
sprinkle a few of his own original
toppings on.
“Thor: Ragnarok” is the most
fun of the Thor movies by a long
shot, but it is still very much a
Thor movie for better or worse.