Our mission ’round these parts is “bringing stories to life in unexpected ways. . .Theater brings us together, to sit near one another, to hear stories, to lift our voices in song. Theater creates worlds like no others; its immediacy cannot be duplicated; its intensity cannot be matched. A playwright’s miraculous words, directed with insight and acted with passion, elicit laughter, sorrow, astonishment, enlightenment, inspiration. Suddenly, we are not alone.”

Theater in that regard has a close cousin in Pop Music–which at its best shares that galvanizing, emotionally charged power. It’s mysterious and unpredictable, but beautiful when it all lines.

They’re playing our song, where were you when [insert life-changing moment] happened. . . .We are the champions, let it be, it’s all for you body and soul, Come as you are/as you were. . .

That’s why every First Thursday we invite musicians (as independent of spirit as the great playwrights we know and love) to share their stories and songs in this hearth we call the Gerding Theater at the Armory.

February brings us a rock-star. Yes, that’s right, rock-star (albeit in a lower-case, humble way). From Los Angeles, singer-songwriter WISELY .

A performer with seemingly bullet-proof critical raves, Wisely’s beautifully melancholy video featuring Jenna Fischer (of NBC’s The Office) recently brought Wisely to a new wider audience.

Fans of Michael Penn’s raw, reflective snapshots of the human condition (or those of Jason Falkner and Owsley for that matter) will appreciate Wisely’s exceptionally well-crafted songwriting ethic -–brimming with heartfelt immediacy, melody, with a finish that is deliciously hummable. According to Entertainment News, his is music “Like Lennon and McCartney, Ray Davies and others of that ilk, he knows how to weave his way through songs that are straight-ahead, and yet still sensuous and seductive.”

ALSO Visual Art on view on the Gallery and Studio levels, a spectacular array of visual art from Pulliam Deffenbaugh: recent paintings by JAMES BOULTON (Portland/San Francisco) and a fantastic oil, Dura-Lar, enamel wall piece by Ashland-based MATTHEW PICTON; and from Blackfish Gallery: KAREN EHLER’s encaustic paintings and ANGELA PASSALACQUA’s Twelfth Night-inspired oil paintings on wood. (Courtesy Jeffrey Butters and the members of the Portland Art Dealer’s Association)

WHEN: Thursday, February 7, 5:30-7 pm Free admission

WHERE: Lobby, Gerding Theater at the Armory (128 NW Eleventh Avenue, between Couch and Davis)

Every First Thursday in the Pearl, PCS revvs up the sustainable spaces of the Gerding Theater at the Armory with live music, visual art, cocktails and conversation. The art of the city is at the Gerding Theater at the Armory, First Thursdays and everyday.

Wisely’s appearance is sponsored by Magnificent Wine Company offering complimentary House Wine 5:30-6:30 pm, courtesy Precept Branding Company, Seattle