Skip to main content

Pop-Up Magazine is a Must-See Live Multi-Media Storytelling Event

Portland-Pop-Up-5
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Humans have been telling each other stories for thousands of years. Before the advent of writing, this was one of the only ways we knew to pass down our culture’s morals, values, and crucial information necessary for survival. Most great stories from the past started out in the oral tradition: The Odyssey, The Iliad, Gilgamesh, heck, even The Bible. But today, with access to stunning images, 4k super-hi-def videos, streaming television, music, and even books with just the swipe of a finger, our time spent simply telling stories to one another has fallen by the wayside. The closest we get to this today is the daily bedtime reading to our children–and even that falls short, since someone else wrote the words and did the imagining.

Recommended Videos

Before this week, I couldn’t help but feel that this lack of interpersonal communication and creativity might be a major contributing factor to my paranoia revolving around an impending social collapse.

Thankfully, I attended Portland, Oregon’s showing of Pop-Up Magazine and immediately felt a sense of relief wash over me.

Portland-Pop-Up-1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

But, you might be thinking, what the hell is Pop-Up Magazine?

Well, quite simply, it’s just what it says it is–a pop-up magazine. Instead of reading text and viewing images on a page, the stories you would normally peruse in a general interest magazine are brought to life with live-music and multi-media accompaniment. Authors read their work right in front of you, while animations, orchestral performances, and videos play along with them as they progress throughout their story. Rather than feeling physically removed from the moment (like you feel when reading an actual magazine), at a Pop-Up Magazine showing, you’re brought in right alongside the author–you hear his or her voice, feel it’s strain at emotional parts, its volume at moments of power, and recognize the implied communication in his or her body language. In a sense, it’s an exercise in being present and in-the-moment.

Portland-Pop-Up-2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

And it’s that personal, close, in-the-moment connection that truly brings these stories to life. From a story of a an Alaskan fishing port invaded by bald eagles, to an almost-noir description of a Food Police officer involved in ‘Horsegate,’ to the true tale of a man who worked tirelessly for decades to pass the 27th Amendment to the US Constitution, this year’s Pop-Up Magazine offered up a deeply satisfying, real-life experience of community and communication. And the best part? None of this is recorded. There is no record of the event or the performances. No Youtube videos, no audio–nothing. The event is as fleeting and impermanent as those first oral stories passed down from generation to generation while sitting around a fire. You’ll never see a Pop-Up Magazine performance in any way other than live–and that makes it truly unique among live entertainment today.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

And, to be clear, most of the performers are not professional actors or speakers–they’re regular people just like you and me. In fact, just like you and me, some of these performers are struck by a bit of stage fright prior to the show and so Pop-Up Magazine has a tradition of taking a shot of Bulleit bourbon (one of our favorites here at The Manual) before each performance. It’s for this reason that Bulleit graciously sponsors the show and provides a fun and live ‘commercial’ between acts to promote their culture creator collaboration program, #frontierworks.

Alas, this year’s tour is about to come to a close, but have no fear, there’s always next year. To stay up to date on Pop-Up Magazine’s latest shows and projects, head to their website and sign-up to receive the latest news and ticket information.

Chase McPeak
Former Former Digital Trends Contributor, The Manual
Chase McPeak is the former Lifestyle Editor. Chase regularly appeared on Beards, Booze, and Bacon: The Manual Podcast where…
Jeremy Allen White was born to run in the first trailer for Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
The movie follows Springsteen as he makes his album 'Nebraska.'
Jeremy Allen White in Deliver Me From Nowhere

Music biopics are all the rage these days, and Bruce Springsteen is the latest icon to get the treatment. The first trailer for Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere sees The Bear star inhabiting the role of The Boss. The film is based on Warren's Zane's book of the same name, which focuses on the period when he was making his 1982 album Nebraska.

The film is directed by Scott Cooper, who also directed Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart. In the trailer, we see White embodying Springsteen as he sings "Born to Run," and we also get a lengthy monologue from Jeremy Strong's Jon Landau as he explains why Springsteen feels the need to make this album.

Read more
Tony Soprano vs. Walter White: Who is the ultimate antihero?
TV's biggest heavyweights duke it out for the antihero crown
Breaking bad season 4 screen shot

Sports fans often debate between two heavyweight legends. For basketball, it's LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Switching to tennis, you have Roger Federer fans and Rafael Nadal diehards. Debates like these are ingrained in the culture of athletics, but TV fans have their own version of this sparring match.

Tony Soprano from The Sopranos and Walter White from Breaking Bad are the two characters who still send shockwaves through every drama in the 21st century. These men were the perfect mix of good and evil. They navigated family life and the criminal underworld with cunning intelligence and ruthless risk-taking. Every show with morally gray characters at the center owes its storyboard to Walter and Tony, but which character deserves the antihero crown? This is Tony Soprano vs. Walter White for all the marbles.
Who was the more complex character?

Read more
Learn how to smoke a pipe the proper way with our guide for beginners
Let us show you the classy way to smoke a pipe
Packing a pipe

Pipe smoking is the most aesthetically distinguished way to enjoy tobacco, but you lose the classy effect if you don’t know how to smoke a pipe properly. Smoking a pipe has become a lost art, and these days, most people who engage in pipe smoking do so to achieve a sense of nostalgia. Perhaps your grandfather enjoyed a puff now and again paired with a good stiff whiskey, or maybe your goal is to emulate a pipe-smoking artist.

I know that I enjoy a good puff on a pipe now and then, and knowing the right way to enjoy a pipe has made the experience much more pleasurable for for me. Whatever the case, if you intend to take up the time-honored tradition of unwinding with a pipe like me, you should learn how to smoke a pipe the right way. And smoking a pipe is very different than smoking a cigar (except you shouldn't be inhaling either).

Read more