Sometimes, you just get on a roll. And, not to toot our own vuvuzelas, but, brutha, the Mission is on a roll. Or, perhaps it's better to say the Mission is, uh, on a mission to drop some serious live entertainment on PDX.
What, you thought the Mission was only for movies? OK, we'll grant you that it's called the Mission Theater, but if you know McMenamins you know we love to think outside the box. We've been lining up a seriously cool, wondrously varied lineup for the upcoming weeks, and, while there's plenty of screen-oriented goodness to check out, we'd like to point out some of the other goodies on their way to the Mission's live stage:
Notes from the Underground
Tuesday, February 1
Wednesday February 23
Local jazzheads are well aware that, underneath this town's layers of indie-hipster-rock, there lies a thriving, creative jazz scene. Within that jazz scene lies a substratum of wickedly creative jazz -a true Underground- formed by musicians with a great disdain for the normal parameters of music. I like to picture these guys and gals with knowing smiles on their faces, thinking, What, you say chamber music and jazz could never mix? Pffft. Watch this! Stretching the boundaries but still plenty accessible, this month's slate of edgy jazzsters will blow your mind without blowing your budget. (Check out the full lineup for Feb. 1 here, and Feb. 23 here.) The series is hosted by Portland's prodigious piano stalwart Ben Darwish. Also cool: Between sets, footage of classic jazz will be shown on the Mission's big screen. Expand your mind -check it out!
Dirty Martini
Saturday, February 12
Think three-part lady harmony, not in the fashion of that 1940s USO girl-group doo-wop, but rather voices roughly interlocked, surrounded by ragged standup bass, minor key melodies and electric guitars strummed with gusto. You'll dig 'em.
Miz Kitty's Parlour 
Saturday, February 19
Miz Kitty and her cavalcade of kooky cohorts transform the Mission into an old-time Vaudeville hall with a modern, tweaky twist. There's room under this tent for all sorts of off-the-radar entertainment: Puppet shows! Acrobats! Magic!
Need more?
We've got Science Pubs galore, starting January 18, and even a pair of national comics coming down the line, Michael Showalter in March and Michael McDonald.
Never fear, we'll still be putting the movie screen to good use at the Mission, with the Super Bowl, Portlandia screenings and a special series of screenings of the 2010 Pickathon fest (to benefit Buckman School). But in between we'll have a variety of events on which to feast. So don't forget-the Mission Theater: It's more than just movies!
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