Michael Gira @ the Doug Fir

Is there a direct correlation between aging, going solo and wearing a cowboy hat? Are the three mutually exclusive? Perhaps not, but Michael Gira's set last night at the Doug Fir would show evidence strongly in favor this.

The night started with Larkin Grimm, a strong bisexual female singer/songwriter. Go ahead, google “strong bisexual female singer/songwriter,” then scroll down a few, you might find her. She wears her sexuality on her sleeve, or she would, but sleeves are probably a function of patriarchal fascism, so she doesn't have any. Her best song, for instance, was about a distant galaxy where everyone has their own spirit orgasm.

“The female orgasm is outlawed in Georgia, where I'm from,” she began, and went on to preach the gospel of some ethereal orgasm wormhole. Very enlightening. Another highlight of her set was a lyric about sleeping with other women, where she describes a lover's legs “open like scissors.” Scissors? Really? I mean, its just too damn easy.

Perhaps I was all singer/songwritered out by the time Gira got on stage. Perhaps I just don't hold him to the same level of genius as a lot of Swans fans do. All I can say, and I say it because this is blogging and I can blog any opinion I have whether is valid or not, is that I was terribly bored by his set from the start.

What it comes down to, for me, is that while Gira has an amazing voice and great stage presence, his songs are one-dimensional when stripped this bare. Even when, in groups like Angels of Light, his instrumentation is minimal, the other musicians, in very subtle ways, flesh his simple chord structures into dynamic, moving songs.

Whether he's a legend or not, I gotta calls it like I sees it: When you're bored, you're bored.

--Jeff Guay

Oh man, who else is jonesin' for another CAT COMPILATION?

At least this one starts off with bonsai-kitten antics.

Free Agency '09 (or how Dan Snyder lost his damn mind)

by Vanguard Sports writer, Allison Whited

The first weekend of free agency for the NFL is a roller coaster ride like no other.

It's one of those times when in one minute your heart is so swollen with joy it could burst in and in the next you're on your knees crying and trying hold back the knot of nausea in the pit of your stomach.

There have been some great signings, things I really believe are good moves. Bart Scott to New York is a fine move by a fine head coach who seems to have the class and defensive wisdom of his father. Scott is truly one of those additions that is worth it at any price.

I do not like, as you can guess, the 'Skins free agency moves.

No, no. I know what you're thinking. I can get past the Haynesworth deal. Personally, I think he's overrated. He only performs when it's a contract year and he is injury prone, even if it is small injuries. Being without an important piece of your defense like that for even a couple of games each season is like missing a puzzle piece, but not an inconspicuous edge piece.

It's like missing the piece in the middle of the puzzle. Also, I would like to remind everyone that the man cleated Cowboys center Andre Gurode's face. Very rude and speaks loudly about his inner character. Despite the $100 million on his contract, Haynesworth will more likely see about $48 million, which while still a lot, is not $100 million.

My biggest problem is with the DeAngelo Hall deal. Six years and $54 million. Really? Really??? This is a man that was cut midway through the season by the hapless Raiders last year before being picked up by the Redskins. Really?

The deal includes $22.5 million guaranteed. It's astounding. He was not a presence in Atlanta where he began his career. He had a whopping two picks in eight games for the Skins this past season. This contract is almost on par with Raider's cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha's $15 million per year contract and his skill level is something Hall could never dream of replicating.

You cannot buy championships, can you Cowboys, Jets, and Redskins teams past? Dan Snyder should know better than to make these deals by now. Talent is inherent in players and throwing more money at them won't increase their production. All Snyder has done is lock the team into more salary cap crises in the future.


I think all the time he spent with Tom Cruise at home games in the owner's box last season must have had an adverse effect on his rational thinking... DeAngelo Hall... Really???

Vikings grab No. 2 seed in conference tourney and something special for the second week in a row...

After four straight wins to close the regular season, the men's basketball team earned a first round bye in the Big Sky Tournament and will not open the tournament until the semifinals next Tuesday night.

If the chalk holds out, and its a safe assumption, you can bet that PSU will likely take on Montana in that semifinal game. My feelings about the squad not playing until nine days from now are mixed.

Another home game and you obviously have the chance to keep improving and continue perfecting the offensive scheme of working inside-out. But of course there is always the possibility that the Vikings could lose that game and given the fact that they got beat by Montana State (who would have been their opponent) in Bozeman earlier in the year, it might be a good thing.

Anyhow, we will definitely have a more thorough breakdown of the Big Sky Tournament later this week. As for now, on to other things...

Last week our guest commentator, a Portland State student and fan, made known his feelings about the fans that made their presence known in front of the ESPN cameras... This week he is ranting about another itch: the possible renovation of the Stott Center.

Feelings around campus are mixed. As any observer could tell you, the student section is hardly full and rarely boisterous. Why should we quadruple the seating capacity of the gym when it does not sellout currently?

Well our man Marnix has a solid take on it.

There are many who feel that the Stott Center Renovation is a pointless and wasteful project that Portland State shouldn’t waste there time with. To those “nay sayers” I would like you to think about the following…

As the men’s team wraps up their 2008-2009 season with a 12-1 home record and the women’s team going 13-2, I don’t see any reason why the athletes that represent the PSU colors on the hard-court don't deserve to play in a legitimate gymnasium.

If money is the issue maybe we should take some money from “high-profile” but under-performing coaches (Glanville) or programs (football).

If your complaint is that Portland State should focus on academics, I would propose the notion that investing and building a national athletics program is the road to such an idea. Think about it, outside of the Ivy League schools, all the national powerhouses in either football or basketball are considered to have highly reputable academic institutions.

For example, USC with Football, Duke or North Carolina with Basketball, or Texas that dominates in just about every athletic event are all highly regarded academically in addition to being powerhouses in sports.

Whether or not they are good at academics because they are good at sports is not a concrete correlation, but the fact that its works more times than not is a compelling idea.

With that said, I guess I look forward to coming back to campus in a couple of years and seeing the new beautiful stadium the athletic department is working so diligently to build.

Then again, actually filling the new, larger stadium will be a different story (see my posting from Tuesday, Feb. 24).

A decent effort from Marnix in his second such posting of the year... We'll leave you today with a pretty solid youtube video of Northern Idaho Junior College point guard Melvin Jones hitting an impressive shot to help his current squad defeat CSI, which I believe stands for College of Southern Idaho and not something else.

Who is Melvin Jones? Possibly the man who will replace Jeremiah Dominguez as the Vikings starting point guard next season.

The Ravishers debut at the Doug Fir

Last night was the premier of local Portland group The Ravishers at the Doug Fir. Or at least the premier of the band performing under their new name, formerly hailing as Dominic Castillo and the Rock Savants. For more information regarding their name change, and other info, check out their interview in The Vanguard.

The Ravishers, are a sigh of relief from quite a few bland performances I’ve seen. They put on a great show. Whether you were following them from the Rock Savant days, or just being introduced, all spectators were exceptionally entertained.

Each member has a personality on stage that melds well together. Beyond having fun, it really did just seem that they were in their element, a vibe forwarded onto the audience. The Ravishers seem to have a handle on the show while working the stage, and just go with the flow. In the end, their performance was much like their music, keeping it simple so that the song can catch you up with it.

And that was really their greatest selling point. While The Ravishers appear fun, easy going and comfortable, it is their music that sets the foundation for a live show. A trait many live bands can learn from. There is nothing more annoying than a band that loves to jerk-off to themselves on stage, with forced poses, half-tolerable sound experimentation and awkward banter with the crowd.

With their own approach of indie-rock dabbling in the pop realm, they remind you of Phantom Planet’s early energy, and gives you the feel of bands such as the Lemonheads or a pinch Elvis Costello, that predate the gimmicky trend of indie-alternative riding the radio waves today.

There should be more shows to follow, so leave your dorm, house or back-alley cardboard box to support a local band that is one to watch, and won’t leave you disappointed.


Though bearing their former name of the Rock Savants, this video is of The Ravishers performing their song "Keep You Around."

Drop it in the sauce bottle up the sauce

Mike Doughty just debuted his music video for "Put it Down" off his latest album Golden Delicious over at IFC. I like the low-fi aspects and the part where he tries jamming with the sirens. It's nice to see some personality in a music video these days.

Does UCONN not have anybody working in media relations?

By now most of you have seen this video of UCONN men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun fielding a difficult question from a writer after the Huskies game last Saturday.

What we were wondering is why someone in media relations didn't either, A: redirect the question and encourage the writer to ask it at a more 'appropriate' time, or B: attempt to calm down Calhoun before he went off and brought a ton of attention to his fat salary and egotistical attitude.

My thoughts about the situation are mainly with the writer. Many have said that because he is a freelance conservative writer that semi-snuck into the game by using a photographer's media credential, the writer, Ken Krayeske, is to blame.

The fact is that writers, regardless of what their publication or motive is, do not get all the access to coaches to ask them questions like the kind that Krayeske was asking. They are often told that coaches are only available after practice or after games and neither of those situations are ideal for asking difficult questions.

I certainly do disagree with Krayeske's badgering of Calhoun with a follow-up question, but Calhoun, or a media relations person for UCONN should have been able to give him a more appropriate answer.

The topic of the question and Calhoun's financial issue has little to do with the situation. Many writers would love to use postgame interviews for questions about things not necessarily pertinent to the game that was just played.

Most of us however, think better of it and when we don't coaches or media relations people are there to somehow deflect the crap from actually hitting the fan. UCONN might want to think about that.

Of course, this is not Calhoun's first press conference blunder.... Check this out...