Marty Isenberg's Wes Anderson Playlist

Thu Mar 20 2025 at 08:00 pm to 11:00 pm UTC-07:00

Alberta Abbey | Portland

Alberta Abbey
Publisher/HostAlberta Abbey
Marty Isenberg's Wes Anderson Playlist
Advertisement
Explore Wes Anderson’s music, aesthetic, and media through a modern jazz performance that’s as funny and heartfelt as his films.
About this Event

Doors at 7:00 | Show at 8:00

All ages welcome.

Free parking is available in the lot across the street until full.


“I’ve always resonated deeply with Wes Anderson’s movies,” muses Isenberg. “There was something so familiar about the way he captured the ache of adolescence.” He appreciated how Anderson’s cinematic language always seemed to juxtapose our local vastness with our cosmic tininess. Of course, Isenberg loved the off-kilter mixtape quality of the soundtracks and how perfectly they mirrored the plot lines. So he set out to put his own spin on songs by artists like David Bowie and the Velvet Underground, but through the lexicon of jazz orchestration and improvisation. The resulting album is a sonic storyboard, a soundtrack to the wonder, loneliness, and nostalgia of life in the modern world. Downbeat Magazine’s glowing review says, “Movies for your ears are somewhat cliched, but Isenberg has gone way beyond that. This is a movie.”


Event Photos

The title track, “The Way I Feel Inside,” is an intimate portrait of unrequited love, though Isenberg reads it more as a song about the burning desire to be seen: “Should I try to hide / the way I feel inside.” Before recording the album, he came out as queer and left his marriage after ten years together. The album, like Anderson’s oeuvre as a whole, portrays how acting on the fantasy of a different life leads you from loss to liberation and, eventually, acceptance. It’s an arc Isenberg knows intimately. While Anderson’s films are not queer-coded, they were nonetheless a secret decoder ring for his own experience as a newly divorced, queer jazz musician navigating life in Brooklyn.


All ticket sales are final.


Event Photos
Advertisement

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Alberta Abbey, 126 Northeast Alberta Street, Portland, United States

Tickets

USD 30.51 to USD 38.94

Sharing is Caring:

More Events in Portland

The Winery Comedy Tour at Fullerton
Thu, 20 Mar, 2025 at 07:00 pm The Winery Comedy Tour at Fullerton

Fullerton Wines

KANE BROWN: THE HIGH ROAD TOUR
Thu, 20 Mar, 2025 at 07:00 pm KANE BROWN: THE HIGH ROAD TOUR

Moda Center at the Rose Quarter

Kane Brown, Mitchell Tenpenny, Dasha in Portland
Thu, 20 Mar, 2025 at 07:00 pm Kane Brown, Mitchell Tenpenny, Dasha in Portland

Moda Center

Dot by Colman Domingo
Thu, 20 Mar, 2025 at 07:30 pm Dot by Colman Domingo

Brunish Theatre

Garrison Starr at McMenamins White Eagle Saloon and Hotel
Thu, 20 Mar, 2025 at 07:30 pm Garrison Starr at McMenamins White Eagle Saloon and Hotel

McMenamins White Eagle Saloon and Hotel

Oregon Symphony - The Music of the Rolling Stones at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Thu, 20 Mar, 2025 at 07:30 pm Oregon Symphony - The Music of the Rolling Stones at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Jakki and the Pink Smudge with Grooblen + Grrlband + Grolixes
Thu, 20 Mar, 2025 at 08:30 pm Jakki and the Pink Smudge with Grooblen + Grrlband + Grolixes

Lollipop Shoppe

Oregon Symphony - The Music of the Rolling Stones
Fri, 21 Mar, 2025 at 02:30 am Oregon Symphony - The Music of the Rolling Stones

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

GameStorm - Friday
Fri, 21 Mar, 2025 at 08:00 am GameStorm - Friday

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland - OR

Gabriel Iglesias
Fri, 21 Mar, 2025 Gabriel Iglesias

Moda Center at the Rose Quarter

Alabaster DePlume
Fri, 21 Mar, 2025 at 04:00 pm Alabaster DePlume

Daily Bread in Portland
Fri, 21 Mar, 2025 Daily Bread in Portland

Wonder Ballroom

Portland is Happening!

Never miss your favorite happenings again!

Explore Portland Events