Spin Slayer!
This weekend begins on Thursday – at least for gays and dykes in this queer, queer town, and this little guide will help you win it and not hit the net too early. So get your sweatbands on and pull on those short shorts, because it’s gonna get hot and sweaty! Not only is it Beartown 15 all this weekend, it’s also a grab bag of fun stuff to do from sports to art and dancing.
Kaia Wilson kicks things off on Thursday, serving up some hot shots and killer teams to raise money to send her to the Gay Games in Cologne, Germany. Kaia’s Ping-Pong Pandemonium will feature star-studded teams (Donna Dresch, Carrie Brownstein, Explode into Colours and more) and local Portland DJs Permanent Wave (Jenny Hoyston) and Dan Moe. The winner will face Kaia in the final round. Bone up on your Ping-Pong knowlege here, and read the history of Kaia’s shot at Gay Games glory here. There will also be an exhibition match by pro table tennis players. More info 21+/$5-? sliding scale. 8pm. Point.
But thats just the warmup round!
Mendy's Big Gay Beach Bash at The Red Cap Garage in Portland
Friday night brings you to the brink of your first real decision of the weekend: Which of the myriad of parties to pick to get your feet moving. Hit up the new, piss-and-vinegar but oh-so-lovable queer night up north, BENT, or head to downtown funzone that is Red Cap for Mendy’s Gay Beach Bash.
BENT gives you sweaty, gritty queers packed into the indie little Blue Parrot bar in NoPo, and Red Cap gives you beach party themed fun, free beach gear for the first 100, muscly go-gos, Dj Adam West on the decks and drinks specials!
If you feel like staying closer to the SE, stop by BABE CAVE, the new queer night at Holocene. Groove some new tunes spun by DJ Girlfriends, DJ Mani (crave), and Chelsea Starr, and sip on a tight drink while enjoying the view and the crowd.
But before you head to either of the above, make a stop-off at the Q Center Gender Free For All! Carnival Fundraiser from 7-11pm. Carnival games, amazing prizes donated from local queer-friendly businesses, and Coyote Grace will be performing. Friday is also Dirty Queer, the country’s only queer x-rated open mic, at In Other Words. That’s two quality pre-game opportunities. Keep it between the lines, and aim for the break.
BENT: 21+/$3 @ The Blue Parrot, 3416 N Lombard, party o’clock
Mendy’s Big Gay Beach Bash @ Red Cap Garage, 21+/$? party o’clock
Dirty Queer @ IOW, 8th and K’worth, 630-830ish, $1-? sliding scale donation at the door, 18+
BABE CAVE @ Holocene. 21+/$3. 10th and SE Morrison. Party o’clock.
Girl Crush at Crush Bar, Portland Lesbian Dance Night
Saturday is a little more relaxed. Get up, do some yoga, have a coffee, go to the farmer’s market, and then tosp by one of our local gay bars for a cool drink (it’s supposed to be 81 degrees!)in the afternoon, thenhit up local artist and performer Myriah J. Day’s Art Opening @ The Waypost on your way before heading to a dance floor or house party of your choice. Maricon @ Matador would be a good pick! Maricon @ Matador, 19th and NW Burnside, 21+/FREE. It’s also a big night for the bears @ Beartown 15.Woof. Check out our beary full schedule here. Game!
Sunday gives you plenty of opportunities to tie up some loose ends if you haven’t had enough yet. Check out Crush for some gay brunch (14th and Morrison) and Girl Crush, another dance night primarily for the ladies, later that evening, same location. Sunday @ Aalto (21+, 11-late) is also a good choice, or take a breezy stroll with your sweetie to detox, as the balmy weather is supposed to stick around all weekend.
And if you’ve got a hardier constitution you can join other queers in a metaphorical (I think) circle jerk with Savory Pink‘s Queer Porn night at In Other Words (8 NE Killingsworth). In a world of fetishized trans people Doing it Ourselves promises to be a hot collection of trans women and their partners of all genders engaging in sex the way they want to be represented.
Set, game, match! And don’t forget it’s PRIDE next weekend! Be safe!
it’s also “fresh meat” tonight. Their blurb:
Fresh Meat presents the newest, freshest, LGBTQI bands from around the area. We showcase up and coming bands, musicians, singers, & vocal artists.
Slim and The Competitive Eater are made up of two hip and cool kids. They bring the rock – you bring the rolls, baby.
Look for more completed songs posted here in the coming months as we’ll be recording all lo-fi ‘n shit. We should also have a few spring shows posted soon.
Gone Against Blue is a local band made up of four members. One could argue that Gone Against Blue formed almost by accident, when Lily-Rygh Glen (guitar, vocals) and Amy Pederson (drums, formerly with Fatty and the Ham-Slappers) met in a public bathroom and immediately struck up a conversation about the absurd normality of Vince Neil’s latest wedding. (“What? You mean there was no topless fire-dancing midget jumping out of a cake? What a rip off!”) That conversation eventually lead to the realization that while Lily-Rygh and Amy have wildly different musical influences (Lily-Rygh is obsessed with Kristin Hersh and Throwing Muses while Amy is a die-hard Judas Priest fan), their musical joint effort amounted to more than the sum of its parts. They played their first show 13 days later. Eventually, Russell Clark (bass, also the keyboard player for Panda) was asked — okay, begged — to join the band, solidifying their line-up and bringing a slightly darker, fuller, and slightly creppier sound to the now-trio.
Gone Against Blue’s music is most easily described as Indie Rock, but then, that doesn’t really say a whole lot anymore. Imagine what would happen if Throwing Muses, The Geraldine Fibbers, and Jen Wood all hooked up for a torrid week-long orgy of sex, guitars, and ice cream, and you’re probably getting somewhere close. Their music, dominated by Amy and Russell’s rhythmic interplay, is fast and sometimes ugly, while the lyrics bristle with honesty and twisted poetics. Gone Against Blue isn’t always polished and is almost never cool, but they always, always mean it.
Gone Against Blue is currently putting the finishing touches on their first EP, titled “The Rock Bottom Chronicles,”
It’s at the Blue Parrot, 21+/$5
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