Eugene Weekly : Calendar : 05.26.05

Twenty-one studios, galleries and businesses open their doors this month for the Last Friday Artwalk, which, as noted before, just keeps growing. The self-guided, free-form tour's stops cluster largely in the Whiteaker neighborhood, where Possum Place hosts work by members of the New Zone Art Collective and Firehouse Studio shows new work by Scott Boyes. Farther afield, check out work by Tsugaya Agata (Nera, pictured) at Fenario Gallery or stop by Monroe Street Café for a frosty beverage along with your music, poetry and art. Pick up a map around town, or download one at www.lastfridayartwalk.org See Friday Calendar.

In 1981, Manhattan Transfer made music history by becoming the first group to win Grammys in pop and jazz categories in the same year, with two songs from their fifth album, Mecca for Moderns, each taking a prize. Since Vocalese, their highly-lauded 1985 release, Manhattan Transfer has released an album just about every three years, from the South American-tinged Brazil to last year's Vibrate, each release continuing the band's tradition of pushing and redefining the boundaries of vocal music. Thirty years of touring seems not to have slowed them down at all. See Thursday, May 26 Calendar.

The Docs & Frocks music and art festival doesn't just pack five shows into three days — it packs five shows into three days and is held in conjunction with an art show featuring local and regional artists. The "2D Visual Heavyweights," as the press release describes the artists, are Jackie Holdstrom, Amjad Faur, Paula Rebsom, Adam Zeek, Doctor David Rose and Matt Brown. The festival is a celebration of independent and innovative art from the Pacific Northwest and includes performances by musicians, readings, short films, and the visuals of Eugene's own The JIRCS. Among the musicians are YACHT, the musical alter-ego of a Portlander named Jona Bechtolt with an incredibly charming website, and Two Ton Boa (pictured), whose debut EP was ranked #4 on The New York Times "Top Ten Obscure Albums of 2000" list. See Friday Calendar.

Right smack in the middle of the '90s, there was no escaping the Presidents of the United States of America. Their first album went double platinum (two million copies sold) and sent three singles to the Top 40, including the diabolically catchy "Lump." "She's lump/ She's lump/ She's lump/ She's in my head" went the nonsensical, goofy, polarizing chorus: You either loved it, or you reached for the radio (or remote control) in such a hurry that you injured yourself, trying to keep the blasted song from slipping into your subconscious again. Two Grammy nominations and a long list of appearances followed, as did a cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star" for The Wedding Singer soundtrack. "Cleveland Rocks," from the band's last major label release, Pure Frosting, was the theme to "The Drew Carey Show" for years. The band played a farewell concert in 1998 when Chris Ballew left to spend more time with his family, but two years later they reconvened and recorded Freaked Out and Small. While there was no tour for Freaked, PUSA are a real live band once again: Love Everybody came out last fall on the band's own PUSA Music label, and they're playing shows from Holland to Eugene. See Thursday, June 2 Calendar.