The Stranger

Better Than Before

Kevin Diers — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 13:27:00 -0700

"Just like the Space Needle and Dick’s, Fastbacks are always around and just as iconic." by Kevin Diers

You don’t need me to tell you that Seattle has changed a lot since 1999. The meteoric ascent of Amazon and big tech has left parts of the city nearly unrecognizable as rent has skyrocketed, beloved music venues have come and gone, and hundreds of Northwest bands have risen to fame and broken up. Amidst this ever-shifting process, though, one institution remains strong: The Northwest pop-punk legends Fastbacks.

“Just like the Space Needle and Dick’s, Fastbacks are always around and just as iconic,” said Seattle musician Rick Friel, who’s played with the likes of the Rockfords and Goodness. “Their independent, playful spirit, can-do attitude, and sense of humor are what the Northwest is all about.”

On August 28, bassist and vocalist Kim Warnick, guitarist Kurt Bloch, guitarist and vocalist Lulu Gargiulo, and drummer Michael Musburger will release For What Reason!, the band’s first album in 25 years. And the songs are as good—if not better!—as they’ve ever been. The 11 tracks are chock full of catchy hooks, shredding guitar leads, and that signature Fastbacks sound that leaves your cheeks aching from smiling and singing along. Over the years, they’ve released albums on Sub Pop and Pop Llama, but this one will be self-released on Bloch’s label, No Three’s Records.

“The idea of trying to find a record label and somebody to put our record out just seemed ridiculous,” Musburger said with a laugh. “Ridiculous.”

Though never quite a household name compared to some of their late-'80s and early '90s contemporaries like Alice in Chains or Soundgarden (and, they say, that definitely was never their goal anyway), Fastbacks are a band’s band, whose power-pop-punk sound earned them a cult-like following among music fans and peers alike. (And before you get all, “There is no ‘The,’ It’s just Fastbacks,’” like the world’s most insufferable Pixies fans, please know that whether you call them Fastbacks or the Fastbacks, the band assured me there is no wrong answer—it’s interchangeable.)

“The Fastbacks are the most Seattle band ever,” said Ben London. As the Executive Director for Sonic Guild Seattle and a musician who’s performed with and worked on records by everyone from Alcohol Funnycare to the Gits to Stag to Saint Bushmill’s Choir, he’s heard his share of local rock. “They're as if the Island of Misfit Toys formed a band and wrote a million songs mocking everyone else for not being a misfit."

As a lifelong diehard fan of Northwest rock, meeting up for coffee with Fastbacks at the quirky West Seattle house-turned-coffee shop C&P was a dream come true.

Sitting down alongside these four, I immediately felt the sibling-like bond between the members. They finish each other’s sentences, tell self-deprecating inside jokes, and meander into wonderful stories, like that time back in 1979 when Bloch got to see a young Judas Priest open up at the Paramount, then raced down to the Seattle Center Coliseum to see Van Halen, only to sneak back into the Paramount to catch a headlining UFO set.

For founding members Bloch, Gargiulo, and Warnick, this bond goes back more than 45 years, to their days at Nathan Hale High School.

Even before their band started practicing in the basement in '79, Gargiulo and Warnick were friends. The two met Bloch a couple years later in class, and they started a small photo business together. Musburger joined the crew in 1992. He was a seasoned touring musician by that point, as an original member of the Posies and Love Battery. While Fastbacks are notorious for having a rotating cast of characters behind the drum set—Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan filled the role for a stint in the '80s—at this point, Musburger says he is the longest-tenured drummer in the band’s history.

“It’s like having a family that you've been with for your whole life,” Gargiulo says.

“Even without the Fastbacks, we’d all be friends,” Musburger adds.

When the topic of the Seattle rock boom of the early '90s gets brought up, Bloch immediately hops in with the jokes.

“I'm not saying that we were against any major label stuff, they just didn’t come knocking. There were plenty of them around. It would be interesting to talk to them now and ask, ‘Why didn’t you like this band?’”

Gargiulo jokingly made a case for a new reporting angle.

“‘So yeah, I'm calling on behalf of the Fastbacks and I just have this question… ‘Why not them?’ Yeah, maybe that should be the name of the next record. Why Not Them?”

"Yes, DGC Records? Why the fuck didn't you sign us back in 1991?"

So why, after 25 years, are Fastbacks putting out a new record? No one offered them absurd amounts of reunion money, and millions of fans aren’t clamoring for more after hearing an old song go viral on TikTok (yet).

Turns out it’s pretty simple.

Just over a year ago, the four friends all met up for lunch to pick up some LPs Bloch was reissuing. Things escalated quickly from there.

“Kim was like, ‘We should make a new album.’ Which is what those guys are always saying,” Bloch says. “I’m always like, ‘No, we shouldn’t make a new record.’”

But instead of leaving it at that, Musburger went ahead and called up a longtime friend of the band, Joe Reineke, to inquire about booking some time at his Seattle studio, Temple of the Trees. Coincidentally, he had a free couple of days in about a month. Surely enough time to write and record a Fastbacks record, right?

“That's when we had to do it,” says Warnick. “[We said] ‘Well, I guess we have two days of studio time booked now. We better.’”

In the past, Bloch had to do much of the work—“Because he has to do everything. If it’s gonna happen, it’s up to him,” says Musburger—but this time was different. Warnick brought some material with her, including the first single, “Come On”, and they had an unreleased B-side to work with. They even revived a song they recorded back in 2002 by re-recording the drums. That track, “The World Inside,” closes the album, and, clocking in at a little over seven minutes, it steps outside the band’s usual 120-second sonic blast of joyful pepped-up punk formula.

When we swerve away from the jokes and stories of Seattle’s rock ‘n’ roll past, you can tell the bandmates are sincerely excited about the final results. There are no media-trained and canned PR campaign answers, just real, raw energy and happiness.

“[For What Reason!] sounds just killer,” Gargiulo says. “Even though we're really old, there's that youthful sort of energy that sort of is infused.”

“The only thing different is the songwriting. I think it's gotten a little better,” Warnick adds.

While they don't plan on playing any more live shows—shows are stressful and just not as fun as they used to be, they say—you can still get a fix of that old-school Fastbacks feeling at their official album release party and signing event on August 29 at Easy Street Records. The band says it will feature a roundtable discussion hosted by McKagan and "questionable answers.”

Their enthusiasm for For What Reason! stretches out into the future, too. When asked if, after waiting 25 years for this album, it will take another 25 years for a follow-up, Warnick is optimistic.

“I certainly hope not.”

The Fastbacks will host a For What Reason! listening and signing event at Easy Street Records Thursday, August 29, at 7 pm. It's free and all ages.

Flying the Freak Flag

Kevin Diers — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 14:26:00 -0700

See Beautiful Freaks at Easy Street Records on Saturday, July 20, at 7 pm. by Kevin Diers

Controlled chaos. Those two words perfectly sum up the intensity brought forth by noisy Seattle DIY stalwarts Beautiful Freaks. The band’s pit-inducing live shows have earned them a die-hard following of young clown makeup-ed fans. While they’re known for their off-the-wall and energetic live performances at local punk houses and basements, they’re very aware that there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

“I’ll see people stage diving and going hard, but I never see people actively targeting each other,” explained guitarist and vocalist James Bonaci. “Over the years, being very outspoken about safety in the pit and having stopped a couple shows because somebody looked like they took a bad hit… When we’ve done that [during a show], I think it’s really set a precedent of a weird mix of people moshing and stage diving, but also taking care of each other and knowing that the band’s going to advocate for them. No matter how heavy a show is, you should feel safe.”

On occasion, though, the band members’ safety has been sacrificed. Given the nature of our Pacific Northwest weather patterns, sometimes playing a DIY show outdoors with full-sized amps can be dangerous. During one concert, Bonaci said, “The tarp [hanging overhead] caved in in the middle of our set, and out came this huge river of water onto the rig. It shocked me so bad that we had to stop because it split my lip open.”

That captivating balance of perilousness and control is well-represented on their new full-length, We Talk to Birds. Out July 19, We Talk to Birds is a big step for the group, as it’s their first time recording with an actual producer in an actual studio. And it’s not just any old studio. The band spent four days tracking at Seattle’s famed London Bridge Studio, where legends like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Brandi Carlile have made history. And they entrusted the talents of producer and engineer Lilian Blair, who, after being awarded Sonic Guild’s George Reiff Producer’s Grant in 2023, had a nice budget to work with.

“You could feel the iconicism when you walk in those doors,” vocalist Meg Hall said. “All the history that was made in there was really beautiful. As soon as we were out, I was like ‘I just want to go back.”’

After years of being described as a band you have to see live to fully appreciate, Beautiful Freaks finally have an album that truly captures both the fury and the fun of their sets.

“This is a band who transforms, which I think is one of the biggest strengths of any artist,” explained Kennady Quille, host of KEXP’s local music show Audioasis. “They’re not afraid to veer into any certain direction. I think this new record is definitely a different vibe than their previous releases and live performances, but it just works.”

“We’ve been really flying by the seat of our pants in the past and just trying stuff out by being loud, noisy, and chaotic,” drummer Peter Bryson said. “This was our time to really refine and revise parts and put on our smart musician caps and have better-recorded and better-written songs than we’ve ever really attempted before.”

<a href="https://fr3aks.bandcamp.com/album/we-talk-to-birds">We Talk to Birds by Beautiful Freaks</a>

At times, We Talk to Birds is glimmering, beautiful indie rock, and at others, it’s shrieking, full-throttle hardcore punk, though it doesn’t at all come off as disjointed or awkward. These are wildly talented musicians who can seamlessly blend a little Pavement with a little Slipknot.

“I feel like this record is simultaneously polished and an escalation of everything we’ve done in the past,” Hall said. “We’ve leaned further into the heavy, chaotic sound, and further into the softer, more vulnerable pop sound. But it is all tied together with a pretty little bow that is the London Bridge room sound.”

“It’s like a tree with multiple branches going in every direction,” guitarist and vocalist Cyra Wirth said. “We kind of have a song that’s going in every single direction, further than everything else we’ve done.”

Though confident in their evolution, as the bandmates sat at my dinner table, there was a collective nervous energy in the room as they discussed the album’s release, their upcoming 35-day US tour (which they will complete in a minivan), and the simultaneous hopes and frustrations that come with managing it all on a shoestring budget. We joked about goals as a band.

“I want a Ferrari—a pink one,” Wirth said.

“I want to be in the new Taco Bell commercial,” Bonaci added.

Jokes aside, the band has lofty goals. But a major part of the challenge ahead is having enough capital to embrace opportunities.

“We got offered to go down to La Bestia Radio in Mexico City, but we couldn’t afford to fly down there,” Bonaci said. “We’ve gotten other offers where we just don’t have enough money yet to be able to handle that. I just hope that we can reach a point as musicians where we’re able to get paid for our craft and be able to sustainably do that.

“We’ve gotten our punk points,” Bonaci added. “We have played the basements. We have DIY-toured. We have done the grinding. I don’t feel like we need to prove anything more. What I want to do is have a bigger platform to uplift younger DIY artists, so they can get into those support slots, and they can grow their careers. I want to be at a point where I can pick openers that I really believe in and really try to uplift them.”

“When you play a house show or a yard show at a college or wherever, you are playing to an audience that has people in it who have never been to a punk show before, or who have never been exposed to the punk ethos,” Quille noted. “That is powerful. You are potentially opening up new doors for people who would have never even thought that door was meant for them. When I was first introduced to punk music and shows, I was obsessed. I think some of that carries over to how this band interacts with their audience.”

They’re just looking to shout their Freak gospel to as large of an audience as possible.

“We have a lot of kids who really appreciate our music, and I think it provides a voice for them,” Wirth said. “We’re Beautiful Freaks. We’re freaks. There’s a lot of kids who are outsiders. I think something that’d be really wonderful is to become a bigger band, so we can do that for kids all over the place.”

See Beautiful Freaks at Easy Street Records, 4559 California Ave SW, on Saturday, July 20, at 7 pm.

Long Live Heavy Metal

Kevin Diers — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:40:00 -0700

3 Inches of Blood are back with catchy metal anthems with unapologetically nerdy lyrics straight out of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. by Kevin Diers

Twenty-one years ago, a 12-year-old kid from Seattle named Wyatt Olney stood outside the original Hell’s Kitchen location on Sixth Avenue in Tacoma, where 3 Inches of Blood were playing a show. Olney was too young to get inside, but his newfound love of the Vancouver, BC heavy metal heroes was enough to keep him glued to the back door, catching short glimpses of the band as metalheads left the club.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Olney, now a successful musician himself with his hard rock band Wyatt Olney and the Wreckage, saw his favorite band more than 50 times before they disbanded in 2015.

“I truly believe that 3 Inches of Blood is the greatest live metal band of all time,” Olney explains. “Absolutely untouchable in their genre. The performance is always intense, visceral, and triumphant.”

It was a no-brainer for Olney to make plans to travel to Vancouver, BC the second he heard 3 Inches of Blood announce that, after nine years away, they'd be playing a weekend of comeback shows at their hometown venue, the Commodore Ballroom in mid-January.

“I would be lying if I said that I didn't have tears in my eyes seeing my heroes return to the stage,” Olney says. “So much life has passed by. At the farewell show in 2015, I was a 24-year-old kid with a newborn at home. Now that baby is 9 years old. But the moment they took the stage, that time gap no longer existed. We were all transported to youth again. Full of passion and aggression. It reignited a fire that we had forgotten.”

On Friday, June 7, 3 Inches of Blood will bring their over-the-top brand of Judas Priest-meets-Lord of the Rings heavy metal wizardry to the Showbox. Much like those three Vancouver shows, it sold out almost instantly.

“It's pretty bonkers,” said vocalist Cam Pipes. “We've played the Showbox before, but we weren't the headliners. We were the opening band on that tour. We've never played a show this big in Seattle in the whole existence of his band. So, the reaction to the ticket sales has been… frankly, I’m just kind of floored.”

The band will be celebrating the 20-year anniversary of their Roadrunner Records debut Advance and Vanquish, which features fan favorites like “Deadly Sinners” and “Destroy the Orcs.”

Back in 2004, thanks to heavy rotation on MTV’s Headbangers Ball, a strong publicity push by Roadrunner Records, and a road-tested in-your-face live show, 3 Inches of Blood blew up from their successful regional act status. Their debut was a game-changer and completely opened up a new world, but Pipes remembers that time as a difficult one for the band.

“It was a pretty tumultuous period,” Pipes said. "We basically lost a drummer and bass player before we even recorded [Advance and Vanquish]. Then [we] recorded it. Then our two guitar players quit. Things were kind of in a state of flux pretty much from when we were recording through the whole touring cycle.”

During their 16 years as an active band, 3 Inches of Blood released six albums, toured the world extensively, took part in legendary rock festivals like Ozzfest and Wacken Open Air, and partied their asses off while writing some all-time catchy metal anthems with unapologetically nerdy lyrics straight out of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

Bassist Nick Cates recalls a particularly drunken date of the Ozzfest tour at the Gorge that reinforced his nickname, Liver of Steel.

“I drank way, way, way, way, way too much vodka and started Paul Stanley-dancing around the Gorge and up to people such as Zakk Wylde,” Cates said. “After flying around the Gorge all night, I ended up in my bunk and I got the spins. Somebody shoved me out the front door of the bus. Of course, I yacked everywhere. I woke up in that pond at the top of the Gorge and I heard the bus start. I was like, ‘Oh, shit, I gotta get back on the bus!’”

After nine years away from the band, preparation for their first shows back took close to a year.

“We want to make this not just like getting onstage and saying, ‘Okay, we're playing again, that's good enough,’” said Pipes. “We really wanted to step up the show in every aspect of it.”

Reflecting on the first few times they got back in a room together, drummer Ash Pearson knew it wouldn’t take long to get back into fighting shape.

“There's always gonna be rust, but it's like, once we jammed, I was like ‘We sound fine,’” said Pearson. “Everybody made mistakes, but I can just tell that it's not going to take us long to get back up to snuff.”

As far as the future plans for 3 Inches of Blood, the members assure me they have some things in mind, but they want to keep them special.

“It won’t be a great many engagements,” Pearson says. “We all have kind of stable normal lives now. And one surefire way to put a wrench in that is to get back in a van and disappear for six months.”

3 Inches of Blood play the Showbox Friday, June 7, 8:30 pm, 21+. The show is sold out but resale tickets were available starting at $74.95 at press time.

Person of Interest: TeZATalks

Kevin Diers — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:30:00 -0700

Let’s fucking mosh! by Kevin Diers

There is no doubt in my mind that TeZATalks is destined for greatness. Decked out in ripped-up fishnets and The Crow-like face paint, she certainly stands out onstage, but underneath the goth makeup and spikes is a fierce performer who was raised in a church choir. She has a powerhouse singing voice but isn’t afraid to get raw with it and belt out an ear-ringing scream. Did I mention she can rap her ass off, too?

TeZA won’t go into too many details on the precise launch date of her upcoming release Black Girl American Horror Story, but here’s what we do know: It’s recorded and ready to go, and during our interview, she mentioned that you’ll be able to play it both backward and forward.

“It’s to be horror, it’s to experience horror, and to know horror, and I find peace in that,” she said. “It’s not what you think it’s about; it’s about what you feel. And I hope that’s what makes you think.”

Regardless of the details, if the rollout of her stellar first single “SILYMI” is any indication, TeZA has a big year ahead of her.

You were recently awarded a grant from Sonic Guild. Congratulations! Do you have any plans for the money awarded to you?

I think that’s always the big question, right? I have plans to definitely work more with the people who have been pouring into me. I have friends who have selflessly given themselves to me artistically and I just want to make sure that with the ideas we have for the album... they are made whole. That I’ll be able to properly, for the first time in my career as an independent artist, have a rollout with my debut album, Black Girl American Horror Story.

I plan on showcasing some other mediums of art that I touched a little bit on during the pandemic with the Not Your Body campaign. Then the rest I’ve kind of left up to how the year goes. I definitely am not spending it quickly. I’m trying to just be intentional with everything. It’s not a million dollars, but for me, it’s life-changing.

When did you first fall in love with music?

The sound of my mother playing piano and the sound of my father singing to me as a kid. I grew up in a Baptist church on the island [Oahu]. I loved how the congregation was moved by this unseen energy. It was like magic to me. And I watched people change and become different. I was like “I want to do that.” That’s always been my happy place. That’s why the stage is my second home. It’s where I feel like I come the most alive because I feel like I am truly in my full purpose.

I could say your music is part industrial, part punk, part hip-hop, part pop. But how do you describe your sound?

I’m coining it as hardcore pop. You are not wrong, in all the things that you just described.

Hardcore pop? That’s awesome. I’ve never heard that before.

It’s because it’s not a thing. I mean, it is now. But it felt the most true to all my favorite things and even speaking to the explanations or the genres that pick up in other people’s minds when they hear the music. I think it kind of blankets it in a way where I’m like “Yeah, this is… this is the sandwich.”

What do you love about the Seattle music scene? And how would you like to see it change or improve?

What I love about the scene is people are unapologetically themselves. I love that there’s still this energy of... we really just enjoy music. It’s not a popularity contest, at least not to the people and the kids that are in the scene. There are pockets of the music scene that break off into these other realms, that if you are in the right place at the right time on a weekend, you can run into some really fucking great bands. It’s all over the state, but Seattle... because it has this magnetizing energy of bringing some of those bands together, you get a chance to see that.

What I think should change is we got to find a way to get kids to the shows. I mean, I love the fact that venues are coming back and they’re surviving. But it’s the kids, man. These all-ages shows... They’re next and they know what’s going on. There’s nothing that’s being hidden from them. They have the internet. So keeping them from the thing that I know healed me from every trial and tribulation I had in my fucking life is vitally important to the generations behind me. And as we do that, we need to make sure that the representation, inclusivity, and diversity match that. Like I said, kids are being exposed to a lot, which means they see exactly what’s going on.

You covered Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff.” What made you want to cover that song?

That song is timeless. It was one of those perfect storm moments where I think we all got sucked into the Woodstock '99 documentary. We were all inside for crying out loud. So I’m sitting here watching this documentary and I’m already upset because I’m inside. And that moment that they got on stage, I could taste it. It was so potent. I was like “Where is that happening? Where is this?” There are so many fucking rules at venues before there’s a chance to perform. I’m really trying to bypass that in the most respectful way. I love my friends who are talent buyers and friends who own venues. Thank you so much for having me. Love it, love it, love it. But like...

Let’s mosh.

Let’s fucking mosh! You know, I understand the controversy that comes with that documentary. I understand that there were some atrocities that took place. However, nobody forgot about that set. And I feel like whatever energy was intended, I wanted to take that, and as a Black woman, as a Black queer artist, as an anomaly in this whole situation, I wanted to transform it into now. I feel like it has. It’s doing the thing.

I highly respect Daddy Limp Bizkit. I wanted to continue the legacy and I wanted it to look different. Representation is so important. I’m a woman. I’m Black. Let’s fucking rage. What does that look like? Let me show you.

Scream of the Crop

Kevin Diers — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 12:43:00 -0700

Ahhhhhhh!!!!!! by Kevin Diers

Earlier this week Stranger writers told you about their favorite places to scream. If you need help warming up those vocal cords, here's a collection of some of the best throat-shredding singers in the Pacific Northwest.

Have your own favorite? Yell about them in the comments!

Blaine Cook

Toe Tag, the Accused, the Accused AD, the Fartz

Blaine Cook is an OG in Northwest hardcore as vocalist for the Fartz, the Accused, and now Toe Tag. He has an absolutely wild vocal style and his signature scream is one of the key things that made the Accused the legends they are. Never one to rest on his laurels, Cook is still out there screaming his face off into a microphone.

Angel Perry

Generation Decline

<a href="https://generationdecline.bandcamp.com/album/the-death-of-hubris">The Death of Hubris by Generation Decline</a>

Angel is the vocalist of Bremerton crust-punk/hardcore band Generation Decline and her style is nothing short of brutal, harsh, and unrelenting.

Dave Verellen

Botch

<a href="https://botch.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-the-romans-remastered-reissue">We Are The Romans (Remastered Reissue) by Botch</a>

After seeing Botch play two sold-out reunion shows this past year, there’s no doubt in my mind that vocalist Dave Verellen has one of the best all-time screams in hardcore music. He makes it seem so easy.

Hulder

<a href="https://hulder.bandcamp.com/album/benighted-in-blood">Benighted In Blood by HULDER</a>

Hulder is an absolutely phenomenal one-woman black metal project based in the Olympia area. Her high-pitched scream is the perfect companion for the driving, evil soundtrack her music provides.

Neil McAdams

Come Horrid Sigil, Black Breath, Vacuum

<a href="https://blackbreathsl.bandcamp.com/album/heavy-breathing">Heavy Breathing by Black Breath</a>

Most of us first discovered the power of Neil’s voice when he fronted the mighty Black Breath (RIP Elijah Nelson). This dude has an absolutely perfect metal scream—it’s nasty and raw but you can make out the majority of the words he’s screaming. Lucky for us, Neil is back on the mic as vocalist for Seattle d-beat hardcore band Vacuum and the brand-new melodic death metal project Come Horrid Sigil.

Vance Bratcher

Aethereus, the Devils of Loudun

<a href="https://thedevilsofloudun.bandcamp.com/album/escaping-eternity">Escaping Eternity by The Devils of Loudun</a>

Do yourself a favor and look up a song by either Aethereus or the Devils of Loudun and take a listen to vocalist Vance Bratcher’s high-quality throat-shredding skills. Vance is a powerhouse in the world of metal vocals and has been going at it hard in the underground scene for over a decade now.

“The Executioner”

Undulation

<a href="https://undulationdeath.bandcamp.com/album/an-unhealthy-interest-in-suffering">An Unhealthy Interest in Suffering by Undulation</a>

A relative newcomer to the world of screaming, “The Executioner” has come out swinging with the incredibly gnarly vocal performance on the band's debut EP An Unhealthy Interest In Suffering. I can’t wait to witness her hellish scream live.

John Pettibone

Heiress, Himsa, Undertow

Though you might characterize his vocal style as more of a howling yell, John Pettibone has been screaming into a microphone here in the Northwest for 30-plus years. His longevity is commendable and his voice is unmistakable.

Renae Betts

Skarp

<a href="https://inimical.bandcamp.com/album/bury-your-dead">Bury Your Dead by Skarp</a>

It’s been a long time since Seattle crusty grindcore band Skarp have played a show, but there’s no denying that Renae’s intense vocal style is 100% timeless.

Lis Di Angelo

Filth Is Eternal

<a href="https://filthiseternal.bandcamp.com/album/find-out">Find Out by Filth Is Eternal</a>

Though they have incorporated more tuneful singing on the debut Filth Is Eternal LP Find Out (released just last month) vocalist Lis Diangelo has a piercing scream that’s straight out of a slasher flick.

From Aberdeen to All Elite

Kevin Diers — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 11:05:00 -0700

An interview with wrestler Bryan Danielson. by Kevin Diers

When you close your eyes and picture the best professional wrestler in the world, there’s a good chance a huge muscle-bound, smack-talking, oiled-up, alpha-male hybrid of the Rock and Hulk Hogan comes to mind. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The best professional wrestler in the world is a humble, eco-friendly, five feet ten inches tall bookworm with a mainly plant-based diet who was born and raised in a small suburb just outside of Aberdeen. His name is Bryan Danielson.

Danielson has won multiple WWE championships, appeared twice on Sports Illustrated's top 10 wrestlers lists, and has millions of fans on Instagram. But a conversation with Danielson will make you push aside all preconceived notions and egotistical meathead stereotypes associated with those wrestlers of yesteryear. He speaks of his in-ring battles like an artist describes their process.

“I view it as my creative outlet,” Danielson said. “How I craft stories in my head is through this medium. That's essentially what it is. It's a medium for art. There's a million different stories you can tell. One of the things that I'm fascinated by with wrestling is the idea that it's kind of stupid. You'll have people tell you that it's stupid. They'll say, 'Professional wrestling…Oh, you mean the fake stuff? Why don't you just watch UFC?'

"I think you can take those same people and put them in an arena where they're watching great wrestling and, even knowing that it's not real and having these preconceptions about it, they will get caught up in it. You just get caught up. They talk about flow state. When I'm in a wrestling match, that's when I'm in flow. That's where I paint. That's my canvas.”

Danielson’s artistry will be on full display for his hometown crowd this weekend as AEW (All Elite Wrestling) returns to Climate Pledge Arena for a two-night stand featuring a broadcast of their Saturday night television show Collision and the debut of a brand new pay-per-view called WrestleDream on Sunday. Danielson will be headlining the latter against the technical wrestling wizard Zack Sabre Jr.

Just seven years ago, in that same building—then known as the Key Arena—Danielson was forced to retire. There wasn’t a dry eye in the building on February 8, 2016, as Danielson—then wrestling in WWE under the name Daniel Bryan—addressed the crowd for close to half an hour. It turns out the hundreds of hard-hitting in-ring battles he had engaged in prior to the fame and fortune of the WWE had taken its toll. He had accumulated a number of concussions. Those concussions, combined with the fact that Danielson admits he wasn’t exactly upfront about all the serious effects they had on him, forced the company’s hand and he had to step away from the ring.

After months of rehabilitation and countless visits to medical specialists, Danielson was ultimately cleared to return in 2018.

Danielson is headlining AEW's WrestleDream with Zack Sabre Jr. at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday, September 30. COURTESY OF AEW

“One of the things that escaped me my entire career was I've never felt like I've had a really great match in Seattle,” Danielson explained. “The whole time I was in WWE, whenever we'd come to Seattle, we would really just kind of be doing nothing. I'm really looking forward to this as being my first real chance to have a really great match and in front of what, to me, is my favorite crowd to wrestle in front of in the entire world.”

Danielson’s first glimpse of pro wrestling came back in Aberdeen, as a young school friend showed him a stack of magazines depicting ring legends like Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, and the Ultimate Warrior. He was hooked.

“Aberdeen is not by any means a wealthy area,” Danielson said. “It's a kind of a poor logging community. We didn't have very much money. But my mom and dad saw that I really loved wrestling. So, when we would go to the video store they would rent the VHS wrestling tapes for me to watch because that seems to be all I was interested in.”

This passion for pro wrestling resulted in him moving down to Texas right after graduating from Aberdeen High School in 1999 to learn the craft at WWE legend Shawn Michaels’s training academy.

“I had a wonderful high school English teacher named Dr. Carter,” Danielson said. “I was a pretty good student, but most of my teachers really did not like the idea of me trying to go be a professional wrestler. Dr. Carter was the one teacher who actually pulled me aside one day and said, ‘The best thing that I ever did was right out of high school I didn't go straight into college. I went into the Peace Corps. Going into the Peace Corps helped me have a better understanding of who I am as a person. So then when I went back to college, I went back with focus and I knew I wanted to be a teacher.’ He said, ‘You may never succeed in wrestling. But you'll learn a whole lot about yourself as you do it. If you go and you do it, you'll get all these amazing experiences. And then if you want to come back and you want to go to college, it's there for you. If you want to come back and work in a paper mill, that will be there for you. But go learn about who you are, learn about what you want to do.’”

At the beginning of this month, Danielson dropped a bombshell announcement on AEW television, explaining that he had promised he would retire from being a full-time wrestler when his daughter turns seven. Being that she is currently six years old, we are looking at the final stretch of a 23-year ride for the man known as the American Dragon. These next 12 months are a chance for Danielson to live out his dreams in the sundowning of his full-time in-ring career.

“Mostly, I want to have fun,” Danielson said. “I don't want anything to be kind of just by the numbers. When you put a finite limit on what you're doing, what you're saying is, ‘I only have X amount of these left.’ I do not want to take any of them for granted. It's not even necessarily to have the best matches. It's that this is my last full-time year of wrestling. Enjoy it. Don't take any of it for granted. Because that's what I felt like when I was forced to retire before. I didn't know that my last match would be my last match. When I was forced to retire, even though it was only three years, I missed the feeling of wrestling. I missed the excitement of diving through the ropes. I missed the excitement of going out there and you don't know what the crowds gonna be like, you don't know how they're gonna react. There's a certain excitement and during this whole last year, I don't want to miss out on any of that. I want to enjoy all of it.”

Rain, Witches, and Haunted Garage Punk: Sunday at Bumbershoot

Megan Seling — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 21:10:00 -0700

The music we heard, the art we saw, and the witches we met at Bumbershoot. by Megan Seling

We saw so much stuff at Bumbershoot this weekend we had to break it into two posts. If you haven't yet checked out our Saturday recap, click here! There are cute cats, a crying clown, and a goth singer being distracted by the Seattle Center's ejaculatory fountain.

Sunday's weather was Very Seattle—drizzly, a little chilly—but that didn't stop Stranger reporters from seeing True Loves, Beverly Crusher, Shannon and the Clams, Spirit Award, THEM, Temples, Descendents, and Jawbreaker, and also taking some time to hear some secrets from a few friendly witches.

Sunday True Loves CHRISTIAN PARROCO True Loves Christian Parroco True Loves Michael Jacobson/Bumbershoot

True Loves

The clouds hung low at the start of Sunday, and easing into a starting slot at a festival is tricky enough without the weather being a cockblock. No one typically goes to festivals to stare out at a slate-gray sky and brood. But this is Seattle! And maybe we do! Seems like something we would do! Regardless, Seattle’s funk and soul gold-standard True Loves isn’t a band deterred by a chill in the air. Not when Jimmy James could freeze lava with his guitar tone.

They were big and brassy and breathless, the crowd was relatively sober and moving semi-rhythmically in a way that some could say was dancing-adjacent (registers as a Class 3 Miracle in the Pacific Northwest), and True Loves ripped through a set that, if God was real, should have split the sky wide open. It occurs to me that we as a city, and probably as individual people, do not appreciate what we have when we have it. It’s not a new concept, I know. We, as a city, have a world-class group of musicians capable of and actively lighting a dismal dark afternoon’s ass on fire, and I don’t know if we’ve stopped and appreciated that? Just something to think about as we open another juice store. (KATHLEEN TARRANT)

King Youngblood Christian Parroco King Youngblood Christian Parroco

Beverly Crusher

Beverly Crusher are fast nearing their 10th anniversary as a punk band. Punk is a genre infamous for its ephemerality, so give it up for Cozell Wilson and the Stiles brothers, Max and Sam, for sticking around this long. Tenacity tends to be rewarded in time, and judging from the crowd size, Seattle knows by now about their chaotic, venomous approach to rock. In a Fast and Furious T-shirt and Dragon Ball socks, frontman Wilson slayed the hits, from the call-and-response of “Gimme the Power” to the siren scream of “Scared.” Drummer Sam played hypeman, yelping along with the ecstatic grin of a golden retriever as he thundered down on the toms, while bassist Max formed the safety net for Wilson’s death-defying leaps over the octaves. It takes a lot to get a 1:45 pm crowd on a cloudy day feeling loose, but by the last squealing notes—as Sam lept off his kit like Rodney Dangerfield for one last crash—they’d pulled it off. (ROB MOURA)

The Fashion District at Bumbershoot 2023 BRITTNE LUNNISS The Black Tones Michael Jacobson/BUMBERSHOOT

Shannon and the Clams

My friend pointed out that Shannon and the Clams has been a band since 2009, which according to Google was 14 years ago and not, as I was convinced, like a week ago maybe?

They’re relentlessly charming, always. You don’t get their balance of lo-fi garage scuzz and girl-group disco-ball-shine without dialing it in, and Shannon and the Clams are speed dialed-in. For an afternoon set, there were lots of Outfits happening and the subsequent documentation of those Outfits, which I personally love to see as part of a festival. People snapping photos and tapping feet, affirming each other’s hat choices (a lot of bold hat choices at Bumbershoot this year, yet another new feature from prior iterations). The outfits on stage were similarly fun and for their set they rode the line of sounding like if the Shangri-La’s were a little bit haunted but in a fun-not-murder way. This band is just forever fun, really. Apparently for 14 years. Fun for 14 years. I need to lie down. (KATHLEEN TARRANT)

Bumbershoot 2023 BRITTNE LUNNISS Pussy Riot CHRISTIAN PARROCO Pussy Riot CHRISTIAN PARROCO Spirit Award Christian ParRAco

Spirit Award

The thrum of distorted bass, the crack of 4/4 snare, and the smeared howl of Daniel Lyon's indecipherable vocals: on these elements, Spirit Award are recognizable from a mile away. Joined by Wild Powwers' Jordan Gomes on bass and Forest Ray's Nate Louis on drums, Lyon's long-running hypnotic rock project prepped for their upcoming European tour on Bumbershoot's Vera stage, and in top form. Louis's kit sounded massive from the pit, and it was kitted out with a few bells and whistles (like some sort of hanging electronic gong) that felt apropos to Lyon's battalion of guitar and vocal pedals. Effects-heavy krautrock is hard to mess up but equally difficult to get right, and Spirit Award have been in the game long enough to streamline the process. From a raucous cover of Suicide's "Ghost Rider" to a searing extended take on their new album's "Western Violence," the trio strummed and thrashed and undulated across the stage like they were performing a live reenactment of the sounds rippling off of their instruments. At its end, Lyon grabbed his microphone and swung it onto the crash cymbal, his guitar left screaming on its belly. (ROB MOURA)

Debby Friday BRITTNE LUNNISS Debby Friday BRITTNE LUNNISS SOL Brittne Lunniss

The Witches Temple

Bumbershoot this year asked the question: What if a music festival could tell you your future, read your fortune, and provide spiritual guidance? The Witches Temple featured a rotating team of local trans and queer witches reading tarot cards, astrological charts, bones, and doing energy work throughout each festival day. They brought their queering of spirituality to a mainstream audience.

Over 1,300 visited the Witches Temple on the first day of Bumbershoot, according to artists and “community witches” behind the multimedia art project “The Living Altar,” Ylva Mara Radziszewski and Kiki Robinson. Radziszewski said she only peed once during the whole day because she was so busy.

I tried to get a reading at the Witches Temple on Saturday, but everything was full up. I arrived when the temple opened on Sunday, signing up for a tarot reading since the bone reader was running late.

“The Temple is ready for you,” the text on my phone read minutes later.

I walked into the temple, another one of those geodesic dome tents. It smelled of freshly burned sage and incense. Small candles flickered on cocktail tables dotting the space. Various linens and fabrics covered each table. Some had flowers in the middle. The tent buzzed with conversation and shuffling cards. Bones clattered across one table—I guess the bone reader had arrived.

Meagan Angus read my cards. I asked things about my job, about my love life. We only had 15 minutes. I left feeling calmer, clearer. Everything she told me is private so I will not be telling you. Don't be nosy. (NATHALIE GRAHAM)

Benny the Butcher CHRISTIAN PARROCO Benny the Butcher Christian Parroco

THEM

“We played this at our high school graduation,” said Hudson (the second initial of THEM) before she and the rest of the band launched into a gorgeous cover of the Head and The Heart’s “Rivers and Roads” while a machine puffed a flurry of trichromatic, berry-colored bubbles over the heads of the crowd.

That high school graduation, of course, was three months ago. Not too long ago, the relative youth of the band would have implied novelty, but the fact that THEM started five years ago as a group of teenage girls is the interesting thing about them. On the Vera Stage, the West Seattle four-piece once again levied their power against a venue at capacity, a line of people out the door waiting to get in. Those who were lucky to be in the space were witness to simple, time-tested melodies graced with a dash of theatricality: perfectly executed three-part harmonies, constant instrument switching, intermittent slide guitar, and a heaping helping of confidence anchoring it all. (ROB MOURA)

Bomba Estéreo BRITTNE LUNNISS Descendents BRITTNE LUNNISS Descendents BRITTNE LUNNISS

Descendents

The enduring joy of Descendents is that vocalist Milo Aukerman is a dork and therefore has never been cool, which keeps someone’s inherent draw timeless. This is a feat for anyone, but definitely for a band that released its first EP in 1981.

Descendents energy is the same—matter-of-fact, loud, joyous, and sincere. Their songs, surprisingly because they all spit bratty teen bon mots, feel just as relevant being played by a bunch of aging dudes. I think it’s because they can be and should be sung from the Beginner’s Mind—from not knowing anything and wanting to know everything. From unfettered expression. They sing the parts of being young that never go away—am I different, am I okay, you’re annoying, what am I doing, what are any of us doing, I’m confused. It’s not hormonal, it’s insatiable. They remind all of us to touch that insatiable core, to forget about being a cool guy anymore (as if I ever was before).

Cool comes and goes, trends fade, but smash-banging your way through 30 2-minute songs in an hour while the world’s tiniest, happiest circle pit swirls in the middle of a rain-peppered crowd ranging in age from 15 to 55—that’s forever. Or at least it’s right now. And all we have is that. All we have is that and never wanting to grow up. As a bunch of the coolest dorks with the best songs yell at you if you want them to. (KATHLEEN TARRANT)

Bumbershoot 2023 BRITTNE LUNNISS Bumbershoot 2023 BRITTNE LUNNISS

Temples

Temples has been active since 2012, with Noel Gallagher once calling them “the best new band in Britain.” The last time they played Seattle was February 2020 at the old Crocodile, so they were due for a triumphant return.

At Bumbershoot, I overheard a man explaining to his friend, “They’re like neo-psychedelia-glam.” The crowd waiting for Temples includeed a silver-haired man in the front row getting high, and a young woman behind him in her 20s–if that’s not cross-generational appeal, I don’t know what is. Heck, I found Temples on their fourth album (Exotico, it came out this spring) and thought they sounded like a new band, which is impressive when they’ve been making music for over a decade. Their energy, their sound, is very now. When the band took the stage, they danced and sang and rocked out with an energy I wouldn’t expect from a group that’s been at it for so long. They’re excited: to play music, to be in this moment with us, to be alive.

At one point, frontman James Bagshaw remarked, “KEXP is like the best thing ever, even in England. Thanks for having us on this stage, and on your shows. We should do another live session.” (Their last was in 2017.) Between actually forgetting the names of their songs and jokes about doing so, the band reved up the crowd with the riffs of their 2020 single, “Paraphernalia,” which has actually never been on an album. They flow seamlessly into “Gamma Rays” off their most recent LP, and a mosh pit broke out near the front. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but the college kids rompped about as the older folks hold steady on the edges with bemused expressions. Even after two days of arts and music, this final set at the KEXP stage left the crowd feeling energized and wanting more. I'm looking forward to the return of both Temples and Bumbershoot for years to come. (SHANNON LUBETICH)

Bumbershoot 2023 Brittne Lunniss

Jawbreaker

Jawbreaker took the stage on the second night of Bumbershoot and vocalist and guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach said, “Hey what’s up everybody. We’re Jawbreaker, friends of the Northwest." Then they launched into an hour-long set of all the songs us aging punks in the audience were dying to sing along to one more time. Jawbreaker's history with our city goes all the way back to 1990, as the now-highly-influential band was just getting their start on self-promoted tours along the West Coast. In 1994, the band played the historic Capitol Theater in Olympia. That night must have made an impact on the band, as they returned to that very venue 23 years later for one of their first shows back after breaking up in 1996. Though you could never tell by how tight the band sounded live, apparently, they hadn’t practiced much lately. Could have fooled me. “This is great. We haven’t played in like a year,” Schwarzenbach said. “Welcome to Jawbreaker practice.” The Fisher Pavilion crowd damn near gasped as Jawbreaker busted out crowd favorites like “Jet Black” and “Kiss the Bottle” and then yelled the "Boxcar" lyrics in unison—“One, two, three, four / Who’s punk, what’s the score?” At one point I looked around me and saw moms and dads with their kids on their shoulders alongside middle-aged baldies like me circle pitting with youngsters. To the unfamiliar, Jawbreaker may seem like a fairly standard melodic punk band. I mean, that’s not entirely wrong. But dig a little deeper and what you’ll find are raw, honest lyrics, heavy-ass guitars, and a hell of a great hook. Jawbreaker absolutely killed it on Saturday night and proved why their catchy pop-punk songs have stood the test of time. (KEVIN DIERS)

Phantogram Brittne Lunniss Phantogram Brittne Lunniss Fat Boy Slim BRITTNE LUNNISS

Cute Cats and Crying Clowns: Saturday at Bumbershoot

Megan Seling — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 17:40:00 -0700

All the bands, art, cats, and clowns we saw at Bumbershoot 2023. by Megan Seling

Bumbershoot is officially back. The music and arts festival took over the Seattle Center over Labor Day weekend for the first time since 2019. Not only was it Bumbershoot's big return, but it was also its 50th anniversary.

As expected, this year was a little different. In March New Rising Sun, a collective founded by Neumos and Barboza co-owner Steven Severin, Museum of Museums and Vital 5 Productions founder Greg Lundgren, and McCaw Hall's general manager Joe Paganelli, announced they'd be producing a smaller, more art-focused event with the help of the local nonprofit education organization Third Stone. Ticket prices were lower, there were fewer music stages and more diverse art offerings, and no world-famous headliners packed the 12,000-capacity Memorial Stadium.

But it was still fun! New Rising Sun is "thrilled" with the turnout, they say, and they saw "approximately 40,000 attendees over the course of the weekend."

Here's everything we saw over the weekend, starting with Saturday. Cute kittens! A crying clown! An ejaculatory fountain! Legendary British shoegaze rockers! And more!

(Click here for Sunday's recap.)

Saturday The Dip. (RIP Jimmy Buffett.) CHRISTIAN PARROCO The Dip Christian Parroco

The Dip

Seattle septet the Dip are pretty much the platonic ideal of the early-afternoon summer-festival band. Earnest traditionalists indebted to popular '70s ensembles such as Tower of Power and Chicago, the Dip play tight, horn-intensive funk and green-eyed soul ballads with studious professionalism. “Slow Sipper” and “Fill My Cup” were simmering ballads with undercurrents of lascivious funk that showcased vocalist Tom Eddy's dulcet pipes. “Crickets,” from their album Sticking With It, opened with the provocative line “If it feels like the world's burning down, it's because it is,” an aptly astringent sentiment for the song's stark, politically conscious funk in the James Brown/Sly & the Family Stone vein. The Dip executed a couple of swift, motivational movers that would impress the latter's first and best drummer, Greg Errico, as well as Northern soul aficionados, but I had to cut out a bit early to catch Slift at the Mural Stage.

Side note: a drone was flying over the crowd during the Dip's set at the Fisher Stage. This shit is sinister and antithetical to the feel-good vibes that summer festivals such as Bumbershoot want to foster. DAVE SEGAL

Slift Brittne Lunniss Dancing to Slift BRITTNE LUNNISS Slift BRITTNE LUNNISS

Slift

Coming all the way from France, the trio Slift began their set eight minutes late and the guitarist's first words were “Good evening, Bumbershoot!” even though it was around 2:30 pm. Nevertheless, thoughts of these mild flubs were soon obliterated by a wild synth loop and shrieking feedback, a prelude to dour Stooges-esque riffing that gradually built to the sound of comets on fire streaking through Hawkwind-ian space.

Slift's second song began with oscillating synth drones and then shifted into shattering, Loop-like psych rock heavy on wah-wah guitar and end-of-tether vocalizing. I feared that the Space Needle—looming over the Mural Stage—might topple. The third track was a massive psych-prog explosion growing out of space-dusted synth whorls that Keith Emerson would've envied. This was followed by what sounded like a quiet, tender tune—wholly out of character for these guys. But no! The song quickly blossomed into a bulbous, wah-heavy sludge-funk opus of monstrous dimensions. The finale was a speedy anthem, a rocket-launched racket that threatened to fly off the rails, replete with synth freq-out at the end. Rapturous applause and “woo”s ensued.

This kind of beastly, lysergic rock has been AWOL from Bumbershoot for many years, and god damn, it felt good to have it back. (DAVE SEGAL)

Wimps Christian Parroco

Wimps

On Friday Wimps released their first new song since 2018, "Mom," a biting but bouncy punk rock number about motherhood. By the time the band took the stage at Bumbershoot on Saturday afternoon, the song had only been out for about 27 hours. I was surprised and delighted to see that when the fun-as-punk trio played the new single several people packed in the at-capacity Vera Project already knew all the words. Or, at least, most of the words. They know the chorus. And that's the great thing about Wimps! They keep things simple. The band's main songwriter Rachel Ratner finds inspiration in her everyday life and pairs her relatable thoughts with catchy and classic pepped-up punk rock. It's easy and fun. Plus, they closed their quick 30-minute set with the greatest quartet of Wimps tunes ever played: "O.P.P" into "Mom" into "Nap" into "Garbage People." Hell yeah. (MEGAN SELING)

Sweet Water Christian Parroco Sweet Water Christian Parroco Sweet Water Christian Parroco

Sweet Water

Sweet Water were hot shit in Seattle in the 90s. The guitar-heavy rock 'n' roll band rose from the ashes of SGM, a grunge band who shared stages with Nirvana and the Melvins. In an old issue of The Rocket, Sub Pop co-founder Bruce Pavvitt described SGM as "better than Soundgarden and Green River put together." You put respect on their name.

When SGM became Sweet Water and they released their album Superfriends in 1995, the single "Superstar" was played on 107.7 the End constantly. They had cocky rock 'n' roll swagger but paired it with Pacific Northwest's unique brand of humility. I was 15 years old and obsessed after seeing the band play Bumbershoot in 1995. I moshed. I lost but then found my shoe. It was amazing.

The band has continued releasing music, but they very rarely play shows. And at Bumbershoot, they knew exactly what the people wanted to hear. They opened with "Cake and Strychnine" and as soon as that big rock guitar riff kicked in it was 1995 all over again. Though they dipped into non-Superfriends material (and it became apparent that much of the crowd has stuck with them over the years, even when I drifted away) it felt as though there was a little extra spark when they played "Feed Yourself," "Big Rock Show," and, yes "Superstar." It was magnificent. (MEGAN SELING)

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Bumbermania

People were confused. As the first of four Bumbermania performances began on Saturday, the small crowd that had gathered around the ring outside MoPOP began mumbling questions to one another. Most folks seemed to be sitting there in the small bleachers and at the picnic tables to rest their legs, not catch a wrestling show. "Is it real wrestling?" "What do you mean they're gonna wrestle?" Those in the know tried their best to answer questions, but all was cleared up soon enough.

The crowd grew as people wandered over obviously intrigued by the chants and cheers and the sounds of bodies slamming against the mat. During one match I saw Ethan HD—I'm sorry, ETHAN HD ("ALL CAPS!")—nearly lost it all to Steve Migs and his bodyguards. It was a tough fight! But Ethan was able to turn it around at the last minute with some kind of move that involved BENDING MIGS IN HALF. More wrestling at Bumbershoot; wrestling at Bumbershoot forever! (MEGAN SELING)

Thunderpussy Brittne Lunniss Thunderpussy BRITTNE LUNNISS

Thunderpussy

Thunderpussy's show started at 4:20 pm. Both the bassist and the guitarist sauntered out with joints hanging between their lips. Lead singer Molly Sides came out wrapped in a dress made of white boa feathers. The whole band wore white. The theatrics were just beginning.

The band broke into their new single “Firebreather," a smoky, leathery, explosion of rock n’ roll that feels like it was born of a bygone era. As the tempo picked up speed, people dressed in all orange—I’m talking orange skin, beards, hair, clothes—tossed orange streamers across the crowd. They streaked through the sky like flames. The orange helpers squirted water, bubbles, and silly string at the audience as the show went on.

Props aside, the show was so immersive because Sides is maybe one of the best performers I’ve ever witnessed. She shakes, she shimmies, she backbends, and sings upside down, she writhes on the floor, she kicks her leg up higher than it should be able to go. She shook off her boa dress to reveal a slinky, sparkly mini dress. She oozed sex and talent. I fell in love with her. She coiled the audience around her fingers in the same way she toyed with the microphone wire like we were all one big game of Cat's Cradle. (NATHALIE GRAHAM)

Puddles Pity Party BRITTNE LUNNISS Puddles Pity Party BRITTNE LUNNISS

Puddles Pity Party

A sad Pagliacci clown wandered through the crowd. Meanwhile, the screen above the stage showed facts about adult loneliness and Kevin Costner. The clown climbed up on stage. This was Puddles Pity Party.

Puddles never said a word. He opened by inflating a balloon and then letting the air out into the microphone. It hurt my ears. Before I could resent him, Puddles broke into a heart-wrenching rendition of Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over.” The screen played clips of him looking longingly at milk.

Puddles’s mixed robust, velvety vocals with absurd visuals and clowning. He covered “Crazy Train” to clips of anti-ASMR (unsatisfying footage of people cutting tomatoes wrong, mixing Skittles and M&Ms, fragile objects dropping but never landing, etc.). Throughout his set, Puddles drank water, then spat half of it out. He strummed a cardboard guitar. He pulled an endless supply of guitar picks out of his pockets and flung them at the audience.

Puddles ended with a hard rock cover of the Gilligan’s Island theme to clips from “Water World.” When Kevin Costner pissed into a cup, Puddles pulled out a cup. Kevin and Puddles drank from their cups at the same time. I loved it. (NATHALIE GRAHAM)

Ride Christian Parroco Ride Christian Parroco Ride Christian Parroco

Ride

It appeared that British shoegaze legends Ride had gone through some travails in order to make it to the Fountain Stage on time... something about hassles with security, maybe? Anyway, they had to do a last-minute soundcheck, during which Loz Colbert's drums sounded painfully boomy. But everything got sorted out and Ride sounded anything but discombobulated as they replicated their brilliant 1992 sophomore album, Going Blank Again, with aplomb.

After the ambitious and noisy 1990 debut LP, Nowhere, Going Blank Again came across as a lighter-weight, more accessible work. I remember feeling underwhelmed at the time, but 31 years later, these songs sound amazing. The momentous synth burbles of “Leave Them All Behind” start before the band walks onstage, and it's clear that this is the “Baba O'Riley” of shoegaze, but funkier and more John Bonham-esque. Guitarist Mark Gardener and Andy Bell nailed the yearning “AAHH”s of this majestic epic, proving that their voices haven't diminished at all over the decades; their harmonies remain as velvety as ever.

“We haven't played these songs in a while, so bear with us,” Gardener unnecessarily announced after a positively buoyant “Twisterella,” one of Ride's catchiest songs. And so the set progressed, from feathery, melancholic rock (“Chrome Waves”) to morose power ballad (“Cool Your Boots”) to Pink Floydian psychedelia (“Making Judy Smile”) to dubgaze (“Time Machine”) and more.

The bonus songs included a strong new one called “Monica” (if I heard correctly) that recalled peak Siouxsie & the Banshees, sans gothitude, and the sadboi classic “Vapour Trail,” the epitome of 'gaze bittersweetness. Ride were a serious Bumbershoot highlight. (DAVE SEGAL)

A cat looking cute while not doing a trick at the Cat Circus. BRITTNE LUNNISS

The Cat Circus

Redmond-based animal rescue, Motley Zoo, hosted Bumbershoot’s mysterious “Cat Circus.” The event promised adoptable cats doing “death-defying acts.” My expectations? Sky high.

A line of around 100 people spilled out from the geodesic dome next to the Mural Stage. Someone walking by scoffed, “It’s like a three-hour wait to get into the 'Cat Circus.'” In reality, it took 20 minutes. A barefoot woman with a paw print tattoo on the top of one foot waved me into the tent. “This better be worth it,” a woman in a Tegan and Sara shirt said.

Inside, benches faced three circular stages. Planted in the stages were two cat trees connected by a “tight rope.” A stuffed tiger hung out of a cardboard cannon. A wooden “ring of fire” formed the backdrop. Unfortunately, by Saturday afternoon most of the cats were asleep or were so overstimulated by human interaction they’d been put away.

I stroked Cayenne, a sleeping tabby. Shoshito and Habanero hid inside a circus stool. Kittens Camembert and Gorgonzola snuggled together inside a carrier. Camembert licked my hand. There weren’t any tricks, death-defying or otherwise. But, taking a break from the festival's chaos to pet cats was so worth it. (NATHALIE GRAHAM)

AFI Christian Parroco AFI Christian Parroco AFI Christian Parroco

AFI

AFI took the stage at 7:30 on Saturday as the crowd started to erupt with chants of “Through our bleeding, we are one!” (A line that begins their 1999 album Black Sails in the Sunset). Over the years, AFI has evolved from a snotty East Bay DIY hardcore band who wrote lyrics like “I want a mohawk but my mom won’t let me get one” into the cult favorite Misfits-inspired goth-y Hot Topic heartthrobs who found major label and mainstream radio success with their melodramatic and oh-so-memorable whoah-oh choruses into their current, more post-punk and new wave sound. Though the diehards in the front chanting the band's late-90s anthem may have been disappointed that the band didn’t tread too deep into the old school waters—their oldest song of the set was 2000’s “The Days of the Phoenix”—the intensity at which these seasoned scene veterans perform is proof they still have all the energy of the youngsters who hit the RCKNDY stage with fury back in 1997. Ever a showman, vocalist Davey Havok swung the microphone stand as he jumped around the stage and even at one time during the set, spontaneously jumped into the crowd and incited a giant sing-along session. “I don’t know if this mic stand is gonna make it,” Havok said. “Toughen up, mic stand. Toughen up.”

The sun was going down and the space needle above us was illuminating in what was a pretty damn magical moment. Instead of focusing his attention on the needle, though, all Havok was fixated on was the fountain in front of him. “There’s a fountain that keeps erupting in ejaculatory fashion in front of me.” The purple smoke onstage billowed over the band as fans recited the lyrics to the final song of the set, AFI’s early-Aughts radio single “Miss Murder.” (KEVIN DIERS)

Sunny Day Real Estate BRITTNE LUNNISS Sunny Day Real Estate BRITTNE LUNNISS ZHU Christian Parroco ZHU Christian Parroco

ZHU

Bay Area DJ and producer ZHU has played Seattle a number of times, most recently at Climate Pledge last fall with Swedish House Mafia. As the middle-aged crowd of Sunny Day Real Estate thinned out at the mural stage on Saturday night, it was replaced by frat boys and people who might rather be at Burning Man (or maybe not, given the gorgeous weather in Seattle on Saturday and the flooding at BM). The crowd was absolutely buzzing when ZHU came out, and ready to dance.

Though ZHU held the mic to his lips for the first few songs, it was hard to know if he was actually singing. As if hearing my question, he came down to the lower level of the stage with the band, spoke into the mic, and sang the first few lines of “In the Morning,” a cappella. Turns out that falsetto on his dance tracks is really him. His set was a mix of vocals, beats, and live instrumentation from a guitarist, drummer, and saxophone player.

At the start of “Stormy Love, NM.,” the college boys next to me jumped for a minute straight and sang along offkey. This was immediately followed by “Guilty Love,” which featured a lot of blissed-out makeout sessions in my vicinity. ZHU transitioned into 2016’s “Hometown Girl,” even interjecting the city name in the final bars of the song: “There’s nothing like you, Seattle, nothing like this moment, nothing like my hometown girl.” The band left the stage for the end of the set, and he finished with arguably his most famous track, 2014’s “Faded." The crowd went crazy. Regardless of whether or not you’d consumed any mind-altering substances, you were transported. The song wrapped around 11:30 pm, and ZHU raised his hands in thanks to the crowd. I watched him turn back to the mic (presumably to thank the crowd again), but it appeared the sound was cut. Even EDM gods have to obey curfew. (SHANNON LUBETICH)

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Melvins Celebrate 40 Years Of Heavy Riffs

Kevin Diers — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 13:02:00 -0700

Melvins singer/guitarist King Buzzo dissects eight songs from the band's discography and shares stories about Captain Beefheart, monkey sounds, and industry dickheads. by Kevin Diers

For a guy whose riffs have influenced generations of musicians and helped spawn several genres, namely grunge and sludge metal, King Buzzo aka Buzz Osborne doesn’t spend too much time thinking about his legacy. Instead, Osborne is too busy continuing to churn out material at a truly impressive rate. Just last year, his band, Melvins, released their 27th studio album Bad Mood Rising and, according to Osbourne, they just finished up number 28.

Melvins just hit their 40-year mark as a band and are celebrating the milestone with a co-headlining tour alongside legendary Japanese rock band Boris. It’s a fitting match, as Boris took their name from a song off Melvins’ 1991 album Bullhead. The tour arrives in Seattle Friday, September 1, at the Showbox—it will be a night of loud amps to the face.

Instead of soaking up the glory and basking in the anniversary limelight, Osborne has a much more practical, down-to-earth take on Melvins' ability to stand the test of time. When I bring up the idea of being a band for four decades, he practically laughs it off.

“It's a big deal, I guess,” Osborne said. “I'm glad I'm still able to make a living at doing what I'm doing. And nobody's buying me out and firing me. So that's good.”

Melvins will be playing this tour without their longtime drummer Dale Crover, who joined the band back in 1984, just one year after they got their start. On August 23, Melvins posted an update to social media announcing Crover would be sitting out the tour to undergo immediate emergency spinal surgery. In his place will be Big Business and High on Fire drummer Coady Willis. A good majority of these songs won’t be anything new for Willis, as he played with Melvins for a number of years when they had two drummers.

Though Osborne has spent the majority of his music career outside Washington, he has strong ties to the Northwest—he grew up in the small town of Montesano and honed his craft practicing in an Aberdeen basement, the same town where Nirvana would later blossom. Kurt Cobain often praised Melvins as one of his main musical influences.

“Ideas we had and influence we had changed music on a global level. I don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about that kind of stuff, but it's the truth. People can rewrite history any way they want to, but just wouldn't be true. They think that since we haven't had gold albums and played arenas that what we did doesn't matter. But you know, for the vast majority of people that buy records by the millions, they wouldn't like our stuff.”

There was a period there where Melvins flirted with mainstream success. Back in 1993, Atlantic signed the band and released three of their albums Houdini, Stoner Witch, and Stag.

“I didn't think it would work,” Osborne said. “I thought they would do one album and we would be done. I didn't view it as our shot and then that's it. I didn't view it that way. I viewed it as just a little side road we were gonna go on for a little while. But surprisingly, they did three albums. No one was more surprised about that than me. I think they used us as, like, a kind of a badge of legitimacy. ‘Look, we're cool. We have this band.’ But I liked to be on the same label as the Stones and Zeppelin and Aretha Franklin. It was kind of nice.”

For most of their career, Melvins have done things their own way. Of course, with every band that’s been around for this long, there are bound to be a few exceptions. For Osborne, one of those exceptions, which he looks back on with nothing but disgust, was playing the 1998 Ozzfest.

“It was hideous. The people surrounding it and the people running it were a bunch of fucking assholes. I couldn't have felt less welcome by the powers that be on that thing. I would rather deal with dickheads at a country club golf course than have to deal with the bigger dickheads who work for gigantic rock and roll extravaganza stuff. They're there some of the worst people in the world.”

Osborne admitted this was back in a time when Melvins were trying something new and attempting to play in front of different crowds. He assured me he would never put up with something like that again.

“I write my own ticket now, as far as that's concerned, and have for a very long time,” he said. “You're not paying me enough to put up with this crap. Life's too short. Fuck you. Shove all your shit right up your ass. Punk rock taught me a long time ago to not have much patience for that sort of thing. You treat me right, I'll be your best friend. You treat me wrong and as far as I'm concerned, I would drown you in the bathtub.”

With such an immense body of work, it would be damn near impossible to break down every single song with Osborne, so I picked eight tracks from the past 40 years—some hits, some deeper cuts—to learn more about the stories behind the songs.

“At a Crawl,” Ozma (1989)

“I know I wanted to have a song that started with the drums. It was a fun one to do. We play it live once in a while. It’s fairly grinding. It's kind of the way I envision heavy metal should be, to some degree. It’s a really, really fun riff. Interesting. I look back on that stuff and I’m like, ‘Wow, I like that stuff a lot.’ That's a fun one. That's a good early song of ours that I probably will always enjoy playing.”

“Zodiac,” Bullhead (1991)

“I centered that song around the sound effect that I came up with by bending the string over the top edge of the neck of the guitar. And it makes this ‘reeeeeee’ weird sound. It's a fairly fast song, which is fun. I really dug the ending of the song, the riff I came up with for that was a lot of fun. I think I wrote that one fairly quickly. I remember I wrote that in San Francisco in my bedroom. I had a little guitar amp that I played stuff through and put it all on cassette tapes. I know I wanted to switch gears halfway through. It has a linear factor that doesn't really repeat much. The beginning and the ending don't have much to do with each other, which I kind of hear that in a way like Captain Beefheart… I've read that he has said stuff like, ‘If you repeat stuff too much it becomes corny.’ I don’t always do that, but I kind of understand what he means.”

“Goin' Blind” (KISS cover), Houdini (1993)

“I always thought that song was really creepy sounding. I think Gene Simmons… because of the odd way that he looks and how he acts onstage in his costumes… I think people have kind of not taken seriously what a talent he really is. He's a great bass player and he's an exceptionally good singer. You never hear anybody say that. I think he's got one of the best rock and roll voices that there's ever been. He's a fantastic singer and a really great player. All those guys are good players. Unfortunately, people don't see that, but he's far better than people imagine. Just on a musician level.”

“Revolve,” Stoner Witch (1994)

“Well we never really had any hits, but KISW tried to play it a bit, but I don’t know what it takes to get songs played on there. And the label obviously didn’t know what it takes to get songs played on there either. There's somebody there that played it for a minute. Then I saw it had this many plays. Then I saw the other bands that they were playing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times more than us and I was like, ‘Okay, it's not going to work out.' (Laughs) Thanks for the push. But that song was really fun. I came up with a guitar riff and the whole aspect of the song in San Francisco in a hotel. I remember sitting on the edge of the bed in a hotel that was near the San Francisco Zoo. I could hear the monkeys going crazy in their cages. That was kind of the backdrop. I'll never forget that. So, I wrote that weird riff to begin at the beginning and then go to a really long descending riff that kind of circled itself. It took me a couple passes to kind of figure out how to get it all melded together. But in the end, it came out pretty cool. I really liked that song. It's always fun to play and worked out really good. That's one of the better ones. But it's a little more conventional than what we normally do. So, I have to live with that.”

“Yuppie Cadillac,” Never Breathe What You Can’t See, Jello Biafra with the Melvins (2004)

“I wanted to work with Jello, as a fan. I always felt the music industry in general, whether people understood it or not, owed him a great deal just for his dealings with the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center). I thought he had kind of taken one for the team, which was cool. The way I looked at it was kind of a payback for everything he'd done for everybody else. We ended up doing two albums with him. But with 'Yuppie Cadillac,' I was like, ‘Jello, that's kind of corny. Can't we just can't do something like 'I Kill Children,' or 'Chemical Warfare’? If you work with somebody like that, you gotta expect them to do that. But he always wrote goofy songs. You know, like 'Winnebago Warrior' and stuff like that. So, I just went along with it. I haven't heard that one in a long time. If you work with somebody it's a lot of give and take."

“A History Of Bad Men,” (A) Senile Animal (2006)

“Yeah, that's a great riff that I wrote when I was working with Kat (Bjelland) from Babes in Toyland on a soundtrack. Some ill-fated soundtrack. That riff got used, but I didn't think it got used in a good way so I just recycled it into my own song. And Jared (Warren), when he was in the band, he played bass and he wrote the vocal melody which came out really good. I wrote the music. It's a really good one and a fun one to play live. We've been playing that live recently.”

“The Smiling Cobra,” Nude With Boots (2008)

“That's a fairly complex and complicated song. A lot of our stuff is far more complicated than people think. It's tough to play. We haven’t played that in eight years, probably. But it's complicated metal. I would say that song was like what Captain Beefheart would sound like if he had been playing heavy metal.”

“Evil New War God,” The Bride Screamed Murder (2010)

“Evil New War God is one we still play. I wanted to do something that had a big drum solo at the end. At the time we had two drummers and they were trading off drum solos. But our drummer now, Dale (Crover), he just does them all in a row, which is really fun. That's always really good. I've always thought in terms of how the drums work when I write songs. That one is I think one of our best songs. People go ‘Why do you guys always play that?’ I don't know. Why did the Who always play 'Won't Get Fooled Again'? Why? I don't know. It's a good song. I would say it's certainly in the top 10 of songs I've written.”

Melvins and Boris play the Showbox Friday, September 1 at 8 pm, $35-$40, 21+.

Eating Tacos (the Food) with Tacos! (the Band)

Kevin Diers — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 11:15:00 -0700

For fans of Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, and/or tacos. by Kevin Diers

Sitting around a table full of delicious food and shots of tequila at Tacos and Beer in Crown Hill with Donovan Stewart, Lupe Flores, and Hozoji Matheson-Margullis, and it’s obvious the trio of friends chose the perfect name for their band: Tacos!

It’s not some goofy name picked for the hell of it. This Seattle-based heavy rock power trio has some serious dedication to the hand-sized snack food. So serious that when she’s not playing drums, Flores has her own spot, Situ Tacos (Lebanese Arabic for Grandma) inside the Jupiter Bar in Belltown, where she serves up the “original crunchy taco,” a staple of her Grandma Delores Flores’s kitchen.

When it comes to tacos the food, all three members of Tacos! the band have their distinct go-to spots and preferences. Flores swears by Anita’s taco truck on 120 and Aurora while Matheson-Margullis calls herself a “crunchy shell motherfucker.”

Because Matheson-Margullis lives in Tacoma and Flores lives in Seattle, they often meet up halfway for tacos in Burien, at what Flores claims is the best family-style Mexican restaurant—which she made sure to point out is its own “genre” of Mexican food—Azteca.

“Azteca is top of the pops,” Flores said. “They make their own tortillas, they have a great happy hour. Some of their shit is actually really good.”

<a href="https://tacosband-nadinerecords.bandcamp.com/album/3">3 by Tacos!</a>

On Friday, August 4, Tacos! will release their third LP, appropriately titled 3, on Portland’s Nadine Records. The album is notable not just because it’s eight tracks of top-notch heavy, riff-centric stoner-metal-tinged rock ‘n’ roll fury, but it also marks the addition of Helms Alee drummer Matheson-Margullis on bass.

This is a big deal for the OG two. Because Flores plays also drums in the power pop band Wild Powwers and Stuart also plays in the experimental drone trio Gold Sweats, the two were content with keeping Tacos! a duo, despite the fact that many musicians have inquired about joining the team over the years.

“We were happy being a two-piece,” Flores said. “We weren't looking for another person. It took specifically Hozi.”

According to Matheson-Margullis, she knew she wanted to be in Tacos! while watching Flores and Stewart play shirtless at Bar House.

"You guys were just fucking ripping,” Matheson-Margullis said. “It was so good and I just kept envisioning playing bass. It was just coming into my brain like, ‘I want to play this riff and this is what I would do. This is what I would play to this part.’"

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All three members of Tacos! agree the new addition ushered in a new, but welcome shift in their sound.

“I add a little bit of classic rock,” Matheson-Margullis said.

To my ear, this sound comes through most notably on the fifth track, “Coug Snugz,” which lays a tasteful old-school, metal-ish guitar solo atop a driving Black Sabbath-ian groove.

“It's like Thin Lizzy, Heart, and the Melvins all together,” adds Flores.

<a href="https://tacosband-nadinerecords.bandcamp.com/album/3">3 by Tacos!</a>

This kind of ambition to join forces is nothing new to the Tacos! crew. As Flores tells it, the original idea behind the formation of the band came from her boozily approaching Stewart after hearing his former band, Mico de Noche, was calling it quits.

“I said, ‘How about I’m your drummer now and we can keep that band going?’" Flores recalled. “Then at 8 o’clock the next morning, I get a text from him being like, ‘When do you wanna practice?’ I was like, ‘Oh fuck.’ 'Cause I still didn’t really know how to play drums that well. Especially metal.”

While there’s nothing laughable about the hard-hitting music on 3—which was recorded by Matheson-Margullis's Helms Alee bandmate Ben Verellen—song titles like “Chin Up, Tits Out” show off the band's sense of humor, which is also on full display during our meal. It’s clear these three have a blast playing this sludgy style of what Matheson-Margullis calls “weird metal” together. It's impossible to not smile when you’re around them as they take shots and call each other by nicknames, recounting the many taco spots they’ve visited on the road.

“We love each other,” Flores said. “The best bands are the ones that love each other and have fun. It’s fun to shred, to get some shit out with people you love. It makes it feel like the world is less of a ‘we’re all gonna die place,’ at least momentarily."

Tacos!'s new album 3 is out Friday, August 4 on Nadine Records. It's available on Bandcamp here.

Rebecca Black! MUNA! Flesh Produce! And People Crowd-Surfing in Pool Floats!

Julianne Bell — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 16:27:00 -0700

Bands, bubbles, and Bob Ross. by Julianne Bell

Betweeen Taylor Swift, Barbenheimer, Bite of Seattle, Women's World Cup watch parties, and a Canadian baseball fan invasion—the Capitol Hill Block Party had a lot of competition this weekend. Still, every day inside the festival’s gates was full of enthusiastic music fans dancing, singing along, and crowd-surfing in pool floats. The Stranger was there, too! Here are the sights and sounds we managed to catch amidst the Busiest Weekend in Seattle. (Can we take a nap now?)

Rebecca Black performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. CHRISTIAN PARROCO FRIDAY

To answer the question you're all no doubt wondering, no, Rebecca Black did not play her polarizing 2011 anthem "Friday," despite having a Friday evening slot at the festival. Rude! But also not totally surprising—after all her entire debut album, Let Her Burn (released this past February), is about being reborn, rising from flames that tried to burn her alive. In the song "Destroy Me" she sings, "Feeling pretty cute until I ran into you / Chewеd me up and spit me out like gum on your shoе." Her set at Block Party was all about introducing the crowd—which was big enough to give Goth Babe's audience over on the Main Stage a run for its money, by the way—to who she is today, rather than riding that wave of tainted nostalgia. We respect that.

Rebecca Black performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. CHRISTIAN PARROCO Rebecca Black performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. CHRISTIAN PARROCO Channel Tres performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS Mooncakes' Drag Showcase at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS Mooncakes' Drag Showcase at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS The crowd at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS Empress Of performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS Goth Babe performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. Brittne Lunniss Goth Babe performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. Brittne Lunniss The crowd at Captiol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS Sofi Tukker performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS Sofi Tukker performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS The crowd at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS SATURDAY

We got to CHBP early on Saturday to avoid the crowds and were drawn in by the country-pop vibes of Eliza McLamb on the Vera Stage. The 22-year-old from North Carolina went viral on TikTok with her song “Porn Star Tits” in 2020 while she was working on a farm in Kansas, and the crowd was full of Gen Z-ers in cowboy boots. They all screamed loudly at how gracious she was playing her first-ever festival.

Eliza McLamb performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. SHANNON LUBETICH

“I’m sure a day will come when I will stop writing love songs about homoerotic female friendship, but today is not that day,” she quipped before launching into the title track of her EP Salt Circle on the Vera stage.

True to her word, about half of her songs were about sisterhood imbued with a deep yearning that could only be called sapphic. “Salt Circle” is addressed to her best friend and spiritual soulmate: “It doesn’t feel quite right to call you a friend/When we take on new bodies I will scour the earth to find you again.” Fittingly, she also introduced an unreleased number about when a friend’s controlling boyfriend is “your enemy” and harmonized with her friend and fellow CHBP performer and tourmate Hana Bryanne on a dreamy cover of “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer, punctuating the song with a platonic smooch.

Bubbles at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS

Her set on the Vera Project's stage marked a milestone of sorts: McLamb’s first-ever show was at the Vera Project two years ago. She’s definitely established herself as an act to watch, especially for fans of introspective indie pop like Lucy Dacus and Indigo de Souza.

Hannah Duckworth performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. SHANNON LUBETICH

We made our way to Barboza to cool off from the sun and see local pop-punk artist Hannah Duckworth, who could be the lovechild of Enumclaw and Taylor Swift (she was even wearing a sparkle-studded collar). You can get tickets to her show at Neumos on August 24 if you want to see what we mean. She played all three of the songs in her discography, all released this year, and some new ones, which we’re excited to hear again once they come out.

Bob Ross at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. SHANNON LUBETICH

Back to the Vera Stage for renforshort, a 21-year-old pop artist from Toronto who’s collabed with the likes of Travis Barker. She didn’t play that song, though, probably because she lacked a drummer, performing with just a guitarist and backing track. It was hard to hear her live vocals over the track, and lyrics were pretty simplistic, but sometimes “fuck, i luv my friends” is all you really need to hear at a summer music festival.

MUNA performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. CHRISTIAN PARROCO

“Listen, this is a song about queer joy, but we’re also here for queer motherfuckin’ rage,” MUNA’s Naomi McPherson declared before the band launched into their breakout hit “Silk Chiffon” over on the Main Stage.

If you’ve only heard the carefree cotton-candy pop anthem, you’d be forgiven for assuming the band, who recently supported Taylor Swift on her Eras tour, is all sunshine and rainbows. But MUNA has always embraced the ecstasy of queerness alongside angstier, thornier realities—oftentimes in the same song.

MUNA performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. CHRISTIAN PARROCO

While the group bounced around to the self-love ode “Number One Fan,” someone buzzed an illicit drone perilously close to the members’ faces, prompting lead singer Katie Gavin to say, “If that’s yours and you hit me with your fucking drone, I swear to God…” To whoever piloted that drone: Seriously?! Props to the band for still putting on an excellent performance amid what must have been incredibly frustrating and dehumanizing circumstances.

As Gavin mentioned onstage, the trio has over a decade of history together, which gives them a chemistry that is irresistible to watch. Guitarist Josette Maskin pogoed up and down and darted impishly around the stage, as Gavin twirled and McPherson nodded along. (In the grand tradition of Fleetwood Mac and Sleater-Kinney, Gavin and McPherson used to date in college but remain friends and bandmates.)

MUNA performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. CHRISTIAN PARROCO

With the release of their 2022 self-titled album, MUNA has also emerged as queer heartthrobs. The crowd shrieked and swooned as Gavin danced up against McPherson and gyrated before a kneeling Maskin during the horny bop “No Idea.”

Gavin addressed the “queer and trans cuties” in the audience before segueing into the song “I Know a Place,” which imagines a haven where LGBTQ+ people are all safe to express themselves—something that’s particularly poignant in this age of banned books and anti-trans legislation. Fans swayed as the sun sank behind the main stage and a gentle breeze blew, and for a moment, it felt like that place was within reach.

The crowd at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS More bubbles at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. CHRISTIAN PARROCO SUNDAY

Things were off to a sleepy start on Sunday as festival goers, some visibly nursing hangovers, started to trickle into Neumos at 4:15 pm to catch Seattle DIY psyche/post-punk trio Weep Wave as they took the stage.

"Sunday baby!" exclaimed vocalist/guitarist Dylan Fuentes to a subdued round of hoots and cheers. The bass-heavy dance ability must have caught some ears, though, as dozens started packing in the venue. The band's tight-as-hell sound is the product of their strong touring hustle, as they have busted their asses on the road—and it shows. After the trio finished up the set, which included a few songs from their yet-to-be-named upcoming LP, it was obvious by the amount of rump-shaking on the dance floor and the merch line after that that Weep Wave had earned themselves quite a few new fans.

Neumos all dressed up for Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS

Later on Sunday, as the majority of the crowd headed toward the exits and the vendors started tearing down their booths, it took every ounce of energy we could muster not to walk out the chain link fence along with them. After a long day soaking up the sun with loud EDM beats echoing every which way and a bit of human interaction overload, we were pretty spent. But we're so glad we decided to stay and catch one last group for the final day of Capitol Hill Block Party because Flesh Produce woke us the fuck up.

It was 10:15 pm when vocalist Myla Proffit and drummer Karl Fagerstrom took the Barboza stage and lit the crowd up with a furious thunderstorm of what we would call breakneck glitch pop gone hardcore with some nu-metal flavor.

“Who would have thought?” Proffit asked the crowd. “Fleshy P at the Capitol Hill Block Party. Tell your friends that's what we call ourselves. It's uncomfortable, but so is our music.”

Fagerstrom pounded his drums brutally while simultaneously triggering old-school Nintendo-sounding samples and trip-hoppy beats. The sweaty crowded room swayed as dozens in the front moshed and jumped along to Proffit’s energetic flows that live somewhere between Mindless Self Indulgence and Bikini Kill. It was a fitting end to an eclectic day of music because truthfully, Flesh Produce’s music mixes so many of the sounds from across the day—punk rock, hip hop, EDM, metal and pop. Make sure you don’t skip out early (like we almost did) the next time Fleshy P takes the stage.

Follow The Stranger on Instagram to see so many more photos and videos from this weekend's festival!

Appaloosa performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS Slayyyter performing at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS The crowd at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS The crowd at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS Binki at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS The crowd at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS MAVI at Capitol Hill Block Pary 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS Rawr at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023. BRITTNE LUNNISS

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Heading to Capitol Hill Block Party? Here are Eight Non-Headlining Artists You Need to See.

Megan Seling — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 15:10:00 -0700

Capitol Hill Block Party is Friday-Sunday, July 21-23. by Megan Seling

More than 130 artists, bands, and are performing at Capitol Hill Block Party this weekend—three days, eight stages, holy shit. Someone will be performing somewhere during second of the festival—there's no way you will get bored. Still, if find yourself with some time to kill between the bigger names on your must-see list, here are a few more artists worth checking out (many of whom are from right here in Seattle!).

Tickets to Capitol Hill Block Party are still available here.

Now, on to what's good!

Friday

Momma

Vera Stage, 5:45 pm

<a href="https://mommaband.bandcamp.com/album/bang-bang">Bang Bang by Momma</a>

I cannot, will not stop listening to Momma's newest song, "Bang Bang," a rock song that summons the spirits of Elastica and Cherry Glazerr. It's a bit of a shift for Momma. Vocalists Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten admit the song was the result of getting drunk while isolating with Covid and simply wanting to write a song about great sex—"just super literal and crude," said Weingarten in a press release. You could say the lyrics "I know that you fantasize / life is good between my thighs" are literal and a bit crude, sure, but also hot as fuck. MEGAN SELING

Fluung

Neumos Stage, 6:30-7:15 pm

<a href="https://fluung.bandcamp.com/album/satellite-weather-remastered-2">Satellite Weather (Remastered) by fluung</a>

Fans of Built to Spill's wirey, fuzzy guitar-jam moments will no double find something to love when local rockers Fluung hit the Neumos stage Friday evening. While listening to their remixed and remastered debut Satellite Weather I can't help but hear a slower, more syrupy Green River or a depressed Doug Martsch. MEGAN SELING

Taylar Elizza Beth

Neumos Stage, 10:15-11 pm

<a href="https://taylarelizzabeth.bandcamp.com/album/undercover-lovergirl">UNDERCOVER LOVERGIRL by Taylar Elizza Beth, WD4D</a>

Earlier this year Taylar Elizza Beth released UNDERCOVER LOVERGIRL, a fantastic dance record she wrote while coming out of a difficult breakup. In January she told Jas Keimig she made the record for anyone who has "gotten hurt and had really gotten hard against love in a lot of ways, but knows deep down that love exists and love is real because they’re full of it.” She's in the tough spot of going up against Sofi Tukker on the mainstage, but try to catch at least some of her set, especially if you have some heartbreak you need to work out of your system. MEGAN SELING

Saturday

Between Friends

Main Stage, 5:10-6:10 pm

Between Friends, the sibling duo Brandon and Savannah Hudson, dominated my summer playlist last year with their EP we just need some time together. They talk about situationships and falling into tragic romances, but through a hazy bedroom-pop sound that makes everything feel less urgent. I’m just starting to listen to their newest album CUTiE and I highly recommend people dig into both before their Saturday evening set because singing along to these relatable bops makes their performance all the more enjoyable. ASHLEY NERBOVIG

Lemon Boy

Neumos Stage, 5:15-6 pm

<a href="https://lemonboyband.bandcamp.com/track/puzzle-pieces">Puzzle Pieces by LEMON BOY</a>

Lemon Boy play Neumos at the same time Between Friends perform on the main stage, but because you can't be in two places at once, here's what to do: Go see Between Friends if you want some of that electro-tinged bedroom pop Ashley writes about above, and go see Lemon Boy if you're in the mood for tight pop songs with a bit more angst and occasional yelling. Bonus: The band tells me they plan to release new music next month—and record their full-length in the fall—so there's a good chance their Block Party set will include some new material. MEGAN SELING

Sunday

Mt Fog

Vera Stage, 2:45-3:15 pm

<a href="https://mtfog.bandcamp.com/album/spells-of-silence">Spells of Silence by Mt Fog</a>

Mt Fog released the witchy Spells of Silence in October and it was the perfect soundtrack for days full of fog, pumpkins, and ghouls. This week, though, I did some more listening and it turns out her experimental electro-pop—though moody, sometimes even haunting—sounds just as good on an 80-plus-degree summer afternoon. If you've been devouring Kate Bush's discography since first hearing "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" on Stranger Things, you'll no doubt hear something you like during Mt Fog's set.

Weep Wave

Neumos Stage, 4:15-4:45 pm

If you're looking for some loud amps to the face, make sure you take some time to check out Seattle psych-punks Weep Wave. These DIY heroes have been making noise by busting their collective ass, touring often, and dropping single after single after single. Their heavy post-punk borders on noise rock while keeping a distinctly danceable beat. Expect a fantastically sweaty mess of pure adrenaline and fun, the perfect escape from a Sunday spent out in the sun. Study up on the easily shoutable chorus to “War Boys” (hint: It’s “War Boys!” over and over) and get ready for some fun-as-hell gang vocal sing-alongs. KEVIN DIERS

Flesh Produce

Barboza Stage, 10:15-10:45 pm

<a href="https://fleshproduce.bandcamp.com/album/brute">Brute by Flesh Produce</a>

Flesh Produce is a gloriously freaky mess of glitching, ADHD-fueled fury with a chaotic combo of industrial, hardcore, electro-pop, and hip-hop. Their genre-bending mix of sounds on the 2020 full-length Brute alongside an in-your-face and unapologetically loud live show has earned them a buzz as a must-see band in the Seattle underground. Flesh Produce’s brain-mashing style is perfect for a high-energy outdoor music fest, as their aggressive blasts of adrenaline-induced ear candy will pair well with a handful of beers. Whether you’re shaking your ass or banging your head, just make sure you don’t miss Flesh Produce this time around. KEVIN DIERS

Stranger Suggests: Bob Log III, Building on Rest, Mama Bears, Seattle City of the Future, Kamp's Lesbian Night

Charles Mudede — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 14:01:00 -0700

One really great thing to do every night of the week. by Charles Mudede Wednesday 6/7

Bob Log III with FM Stereochild

<a href="https://boblogiii.bandcamp.com/album/happy-birthday-baby-vol-2">Happy Birthday Baby Vol. 2 by BOB LOG III</a>

(MUSIC) After he was done hell-raising as slide guitarist for ramshackle blues duo Doo Rag, Robert Logan Reynolds III launched Bob Log III in 1998 as a one-dude band. Over the last 25 years, BL3's shown an unstinting belief in the animal magnetism of his outhouse blues-rock and barnyard funk. Onstage, he dons a motorcycle helmet wired with a phone-receiver microphone, which frees his limbs to play guitar and drums. This he does with the ferocity of a backwoods shit-kicker who's just guzzled a bottle of Jack. Spitting lyrics that are often as filthy as his stripped-down sound, Bob Log III gets down in the goo-goo muck and makes his fellow blooz-lovin', Caucasian peers sound like risk-averse charlatans. Bob Log III has an inexhaustible supply of songs whose raggedy hooks snag you immediately, buttressed by fundamentally solid, XXX-rated rhythms. His 2009 album My Shit Is Perfect is no idle boast. With FM Stereochild. (Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave NW, 8 pm, $20, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Thursday 6/8

Seattle City of the Future

(TECHNOLOGY) Seattle was designated as a "City of Tomorrow" at the 1962 World's Fair in celebration of the Emerald City's forward-thinking nature and emphasis on technology. It's been 60 years, and a lot of development has occurred since then, for better or for worse. This interactive exhibition revisits the question "What does a city of the future look like?" with "a labyrinth of imaginative possibilities," aka installations by 43 local artists, technologists, and civic activists exploring the city's future. Expect a maze of new media and trippy, immersive works—the three-floor show includes inflatables, projections, robotics, a motion-activated light show, mapping software, and more. (Teal Building, 619 E Pine St, Wed-Thurs 6-10 pm, Fri-Sat 6 pm-midnight, Sun 5-9 pm, $10-$25, through June 25) LINDSAY COSTELLO

Friday 6/9

Building on Rest

Megan Harrison's Sleeping Garden, 2020, ink and acrylic on Yupo paper. On view at studio e. Charles Mudede

(VISUAL ART) The star of this superb show, assembled by the local artist and curator Tommy Gregory, is undoubtedly Megan Harrison's large painting, Sleeping Garden. It is the Jupiter around which the others—Kelsey Fernkopf's neon sculptures, Adam Harrison’s moody landscape paintings, Jessica Ramirez's psychedelic visions on wool—orbit. And if there is a theme here, it has to be our difficult, puzzling, much-troubled relationship with nature, the great outside. We find this theme in Steve Gilbert's noir-ish (or green gothic-ish) photography of a Fernkopf sculpture on a road leading into a haunting forest, and Harrison's Moon Lit Canyon. The show also moves between the heavy and a lightness exemplified by KT Hancock's ironic Are We Here Yet? All of this comes together to produce a mood that is difficult to describe but pleasant to feel. (studio e, 609 S Brandon St, Fri-Sat 1-5 pm, free) CHARLES MUDEDE

Saturday 6/10

Ascended Dead, Coscradh, and Autophagy

<a href="https://ascended-dead.bandcamp.com/album/ascended-dead-atomicide">Ascended Dead / Atomicide by Ascended Dead</a>

(MUSIC) Standing strong as a staple of Pioneer Square dating back to 1892, the Central Saloon has hosted shows for all of the city's rock royalty, and to this day it remains an institution for up-and-coming musicians. Recently, it’s been nice to see local purveyors of heaviness Hierophant Booking and Satanik Royalty use the space for some underground metal shows. For this one, our ears will be assaulted with the crushingly nasty riffs and breakneck blast beats of San Diego death metal crew Ascended Dead. Their recently released album Evenfall of the Apocalypse offers a strong dose of old-school-tinged chaos with more than enough personality to stand out amongst an ever-flowing stream of killer metal releases. On tour from Ireland, Coscradh plays an incredibly dense and vile brand of death metal that sounds all kinds of demonic and evil. Portland-based openers Autophagy play—you guessed it—death metal. Bring your earplugs, stretch your neck, and prepare for a night of cheap beer, loud amps to the face, and a whole lot of head-banging. (Central Saloon, 207 First Ave S #1, 8:30 pm, $18/$20, 21+) KEVIN DIERS

Sunday 6/11

Mama Bears

(FILM) Take care in how you approach and engage with Mama Bears—the documentary can be painful to watch, as it looks at the many corners of the country that have only grown more hateful. Diving into the particulars of how dominant religious ideologies in America continue to target LGBTQ+ people, Mama Bears is a portrait of a group of mothers who've begun unlearning their hate and helping others do the same. The film uncovers a real potential for change without patting its subjects on the back for doing the work, nor does it deify them for doing what should be the bare minimum. Rather, it takes a fly-on-the-wall approach to candidly observe the realities of everyday communities that strive to undo the trajectory of religiously motivated hate. (Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, 1 pm, $5-$11) CHASE HUTCHINSON

Monday 6/12

Eat Your Pride

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A post shared by molly moon's ice cream (@mollymoonicecream)

(FOOD) There's always an embarrassing deluge of cash grabs during Pride month, but one thing I won't tire of is the abundance of rainbow desserts. Every June local eateries offer vibrant ROYGBIV treats, often donating proceeds to vital LGBTQ+ organizations. Example: Molly Moon's has a rainbow of flavors—red raspberry crisp, yellow citrus sorbet, green matcha strawberry, purple vegan blueberry pie—and you can get a bit of each in the Pride Cone with a portion of proceeds going to Gay City. Queer-owned Cupcake Royale has been baking up the Gay cupcake for about as long as they've been open (so, like, 20 years), but this year they've expanded the menu to include Trans Pride, Lesbian Pride, and Bi Pride, which is an ube cake topped with raspberry coconut buttercream and blackberry jam. Yum! Lesbian-owned Kamp Social House is doing more than just updating their menu—every Monday in June is lesbian night, with themes, DJs, and drink specials. Tip: Start the party with their Roasted Rainbow Carrots. (Various locations, find more Pride-related parades, parties, and concerts on EverOut's comprehensive calendar) MEGAN SELING

Tuesday 6/13

Paris Is Burning

(FILM) Paris Is Burning is one of the seminal queer films, and you can catch it on the big screen at Central Cinema this week. The film chronicles seven years of New York ball culture during the 1980s and the Black, Latinx, queer, and trans people who ran the show, capturing their competitive exuberance and dazzling performance during the scourge of AIDS. This beautiful film is about surviving on the fringe—and looking amazing while doing it. If you've seen Pose, Paris Is Burning is the real deal. (Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave, June 9-14, various showtimes, $12) VIVIAN MCCALL

A Blaze in the Thurston County Sky

Kevin Diers — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 11:00:00 -0700

"I am very proud of the magic that we were able to conjure." by Kevin Diers

There has always been a sense of intrigue and mystery surrounding the world of black metal. Since the early days of Mayhem—the notorious Norwegian band often credited for catapulting the genre into the mainstream in the '80s with their headline-grabbing history of suicide, murder, and, alleged church burnings—the genre has become one of the most deeply fascinating underground subcultures in modern times. Adding to the mystique, some black metal musicians adopt monikers such as Frost, Necrobutcher, and Abbath in an effort to keep their true identities a mystery.

Down in Olympia lives one of the most talked-about names in contemporary black metal, the one-woman act known simply as Hulder. Just two and a half years ago, deep in the woods of Thurston County, Hulder played her first outdoor concert to about 350 fans. Since then, she has performed in sold-out rooms across the United States and now she's gearing up for a 10-day West Coast tour alongside fellow Northwest black metal stalwarts Wolves in the Throne Room.

Though internet sleuths have certainly tried to unearth tidbits of information to piece together Hulder’s entire backstory, not much is really known. At this point, it’s clear that she would like to keep it that way. Here’s what we’ve confirmed: she was born in Mechelen in Belgium, then moved to what she describes as the “Walmart meth mecca” of Apple Valley, CA when she was 12. After playing in a few garage and punk bands, she formed a short-lived, but badass metal band Bleeder, where she went by the name the Inquisitor. She later made her way up to Portland and finally Olympia.

After the release of her stellar debut full-length album Godslastering: Hymns of a Forelorn Peasantry in 2021, an influx of attention came her way. But instead of doing what’s natural to many up-and-coming metal musicians and immediately jumping in front of a camera or a microphone for a chance to promote their music, Hulder has carefully crafted her own narrative, choosing to only speak to journalists and media outlets via email.

Out of the woods, onto the stage. John Donovan Malley

Before moving to the United States, you lived in Belgium. What were some of your favorite memories from your childhood there?

I grew up in a small farm town nestled between Brussel and Antwerpen. My siblings and I spent the majority of our time exploring the surrounding farms and woods, which were a breeding ground for the imagination. As my grandmother was an antiques dealer with an affinity for the medieval and macabre, she was a well of information when it came to the history and lore surrounding the general area. She would take me around town to all the cathedrals and abbeys, telling stories while we looked at art and architecture. My grandfather was an actor with plays in local theatre, as well as some roles in film and TV. He is responsible for my love of classical composers and oxtail soup.

Who were the first artists or musicians that spoke to you as a kid?

I have very early memories of the moody synths and harmonies of Enya evoking strong emotions when I was very young. Some of her works remain favorites of mine to this day. As a kid, I found Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of The Moon and The Wall in an old CD bin in our attic, which would start my musical exploration.

What got you into underground metal?

I was around primarily punk and hardcore, as far as live shows go and what my peers were into, and I played in various punk bands as a teenager. Where I lived at the time was a dead zone for subculture, and it was nearly impossible to get around without a car, so I tagged along to a lot of not-so-great hardcore and garage rock shows out of sheer boredom. My introduction to metal was a binder filled to the brim with black metal classics an older friend handed down to me around age 13 or 14… I listened to Aske (Burzum), Transilvanian Hunger (Darkthrone), and Storm of the Light’s Bane (Dissection) back to back on my Walkman, and would have the contents of that binder on repeat throughout my teens and early 20s until I eventually got my hands on official copies of it all.

Did black metal immediately speak to you? What drew you in?

Those early years of being in the US sucked. I remember feeling extremely homesick most of the time. Discovering black metal filled a void nothing else could. It was an auditory portal to the dreary medieval surroundings I craved and invoked a sense of nostalgia that felt like coming home. It simultaneously matched and relieved the discomfort and aggression that was beginning to boil over internally.

Before moving to the Northwest, you played in a band called Bleeder. Was that your first time playing in a black metal project?

Bleeder can only be considered black metal in the first-wave sense. I had not played this type of music with anyone else at the time. That was also the first time I attempted guttural vocals, which, to my surprise, came fairly naturally. It was a good time and served as a way for me to get my foot in the door, creatively.

You’re now living in Olympia. What do you like about Olympia?

I do not live in Olympia, but rather 30 minutes or so outside the city in a small cabin near Mt. Rainier. I have no strong opinion on the city itself, but am enthralled with the vast nature that surrounds me. Foraging for our own food, fishing, hunting, supporting local farms and farmers, and soaking in glacial runoff are all things that are incredibly important to me. The opportunity for self-sustainability is nearly unmatched. The climate is similar to where I grew up, which is great considering I prefer the cold and rain.

<a href="https://hulder.bandcamp.com/album/benighted-in-blood">Benighted In Blood by HULDER</a>

When did Hulder officially start? Or when did you get the spark of an idea for Hulder?

I started working on the demo almost immediately upon relocating to Oregon. The concept was there, and I had an archive of riffs and lyrics at this point. I just needed to sit with it. My first winter in the Pacific Northwest was spent in an uninsulated garage in Portland. It was frigid, and since I did not have any friends or contacts in the area, I utilized that time to record the first demo tape.

Did you always envision it as a one-person project, or did you ever consider looking for bandmates?

I never envisioned Hulder as a full band and I still don’t. I have played in my fair share of bands, and there is a reason I decided to embark on this solo journey. Hulder is an extension of myself and thus ever-evolving. I do not have the time nor patience to explain to or wait for collaborators to understand and catch up, and I selfishly revel in the absolute control I have over all the project’s output.

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A post shared by HULDER (@hulder_official)

Your first live show was out in the woods in Olympia back in the midst of the pandemic. If COVID-19 wasn’t ever a thing, do you think your first show would have been in a traditional venue?

It may have been in a traditional venue had things not gone the way that they did, but I feel that it ended up working out for the best. The first performance was a special experience with 350 or so people in attendance. A lot of hard work went into making the entire thing happen and it would not have been possible without the help of a handful of very determined people. Thankfully everyone involved had the same vision so we were able to make it an experience to behold.

What were you expecting from the show? Did it meet your expectations?

The first show far exceeded my expectations. It took place in a small meadow on top of a hill in the forest. Attendees had to walk a quarter of a mile along a dirt path into the woods that was lit by torches in order to access the space. Once there, they were met with a bonfire, an outdoor stage framed with live edge timber, ritual altars, and a full bar that was stocked with homemade herbal concoctions. I have never experienced anything like it and I am very proud of the magic that we were able to conjure.

How important is corpse paint to you?

While I no longer utilize it in a traditional sense, the ritual of preparing for a live performance remains integral. Visually, it is all a part of stepping into the darkness that is Hulder.

Creature of demonic majesty. John Donovan Malley

There are people on message boards and social media who try to come up with your back story and try to create a narrative for you. Is this typically something musicians in black metal bands have to deal with?

I cannot speak to others’ experience with this, but I imagine it to be fairly similar across the board. We live in an age where people feel they are owed a glimpse into your life and past by any (sometimes quite impressive) means necessary, it is fucking bizarre. I am very deliberate and sparing about which information I am willing to share, both in regards to Hulder as well as my personal life. Unfortunately, social media is the way things are done these days, and there really isn’t a way around it.

When we met up in Olympia you mentioned how some people have gone as far as creating a rumor that men actually played on the album and you’re an industry plant. What would you say to someone who’s saying something like that?

I will never participate in corny “playthrough” videos as requested by some, so I am not sure there is any way to dispel this rumor. I suppose in a roundabout way this could be viewed as flattery. Again, people feel they are owed proof of some sort, but I just don’t see how that is my problem.

What can you tell me about your second LP? Are there any hints you can give us about the direction you’re going?

All I will say is there is an obvious and natural progression. The Eternal Fanfare served as a stepping stone and ultimately paved a clear path for what I would want to do with this next release. The vision is clear, and I am eager to bring this process to completion.

Earlier this year I was able to secure a warehouse space that I have converted to a studio. I track everything myself with the exception of drums, which were performed and tracked by Charlie Koryn, and bass, which was tracked by Necreon. This album will be sent off to Finland for mixing and mastering and I’m very much looking forward to how the final product will end up.

At this point, you’ve probably exceeded your goals for the band. What are your goals now?

The future of Hulder is yet to be seen. My goal is and always has been to take the music and performances exactly where they should go without sacrificing any of my artistic integrity. We shall see what the future holds.

Hulder opens for Wolves in the Throne Room Sun April 30 at Neumos, 925 E Pike St, 7 pm, $22-$25, all ages.

The Best Death Metal Fest in Seattle

Kevin Diers — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 12:13:00 -0700

"The community didn't die. Music didn't die." by Kevin Diers

An inflatable shark bounces atop a sea of sweaty headbangers who are all screaming along to the legendary New York death metal band Suffocation. Neumos is jam-packed and limbs are flying past my head as stage divers take flight every few seconds. Suffocation’s Terrance Hobbs, an absolute beast on the guitar, masterfully shreds technical riffs while bassist Derek Boyer only encourages the ceaseless energy.

On paper, lyrics like “Penetrate the minds of those misfortuned at birth / Murder is etched in the deepest chasms of the soul / Salvation stripped from the origin of existence” might seem a bit depressing and morbid, but as I look around, the room is all smiles. Though many fans in the crowd have just endured a whole weekend’s worth of distorted guitars and blast beats, there is an undeniably joyful energy.

That was the scene on Saturday, July 2, during the closing set of a three-day marathon of underground heavy music called Northwest Terror Fest. After two years of pandemic-related cancellations and delays, it was clear the Seattle metal scene was happy to finally have its premiere event back.

Joseph Schafer and Leah Solomon. John Donovan Malley

"There was this moment last year, when Ludicra started playing their first song,” said Terror Fest co-founder Joseph Schafer. “I grabbed Leah [Solomon] and gave her a very, very hard hug. I started bawling my eyes out. I think that was the first moment where it finally felt like we got out from under it. We survived. It was like, 'We can still do this.' We didn't lose the touch. The community didn't die. Music didn't die. That was one of the most seriously cathartic fucking moments in my entire fucking life."

Solomon recalled the teary moment, adding, "All I had on me for us to dry our sad little eyeballs with after we were done crying for two whole minutes was a Ludicra shirt in my back pocket.”

Schafer, Solomon, and No Clean Singing founder Islander are part of the small but mighty team of staff and volunteers who pour hundreds of hours into the planning and promotion of Northwest Terror Fest. If last year’s successful return to form is any indication, the fest’s 2023 installment May 25-27 will be nothing short of legendary.

As the seemingly endless gray starts to fade and we collectively tiptoe into what is hopefully a beautiful Seattle spring, you could almost feel the city's SAD melt away as lineups for Bumbershoot, Belltown Bloom, the Thing, and Capitol Hill Block Party got announced one at a time. But if you’re anything like me, and your music tastes lean more toward the brutally heavy sounds and you’re eternally banned from the aux cord, Northwest Terror Fest will likely be your shit.

Acephalix performing at Northwest Terror Fest. John Donovan Malley

No matter your micro-genre preference, if you have a taste for any sort of gnarly or extreme style of music, it’s a safe bet there will be a few bands you won’t want to miss come Memorial Day weekend. From the nasty, filth-soaked goregrind of Bay Area’s Impaled to the beautiful, punishing doom of Oregon natives YOB, the entire spectrum of all that’s heavy and hard is represented.

"I love almost every single sub-genre of heavy music, metal or otherwise,” Schafer explained.

“But to me, goddammit, if I'm gonna sit there for seven hours of straight, brutal death metal, by the end, I'm not even gonna fucking enjoy it. I think it's better to give people variety. There’s a lot of satisfaction to be derived from parsing through different things that might not make intuitive sense. Instead, they're things that make counterintuitive sense. But there, in that moment, they all lead you down the same path to a similar kind of ecstasy.”

<a href="https://yobislove.bandcamp.com/album/atma-deluxe-edition">Atma (Deluxe Edition) by YOB</a>

The trick up Northwest Terror Fest's sleeve is what Schafer calls the “seventh-inning stretch set.” On the third night, after fans have spent days enduring hours of punishing riffs and guzzling cheap beer, NWTF mixes things up and doses the crowd with something a little lighter. In the past, they’ve featured dark, gloomy singer-songwriters Marissa Nadler, Emma Ruth Rundle, and Leila Abdul-Rauf.

“You need a break,” Schafer said. “A lot of these folk singers, even if the format is different, they're tapping into the same collective unconscious darkness.”

While heavy metal has traditionally had a reputation to be a bit of a dude fest, the folks behind Northwest Terror Fest have done the work to showcase bands and musicians from a wide variety of backgrounds. But instead of making a statement about it, the team has chosen to lead by example.

Cartilage performing at Northwest Terror Fest. John Donovan Malley

“You should be able to put together a fest that has diverse people on stage without having to make the entire thing about that,” explained Solomon. “Not everybody that is not a white dude wants their entire band's life to be about the fact that their band has not just white dudes in it, you know?

“Every fucking year, someone, whether on Instagram, on the Twitter feed, or in person says, ‘Hey, I don't go to metal shows. But I come to this because I felt like I would be safe and I had a great fucking time,'” Schafer said. “That's the spark that keeps me doing this. I really do it for them. I love those people the most.”

Ludicra performing at Northwest Terror Fest. John Donovan Malley

Northwest Terror Fest is May 25-27 at Neumos and Barboza, 925 E Pike St, $70-$200, 21+.

So Rock n' Roll Fun

Kevin Diers — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 16:30:00 -0700

Sandrider says the course with their new album Enveletration. And that's a good thing. by Kevin Diers

As a radio host and music journalist, I've interviewed more than 500 heavy metal and hard rock bands over the past decade or so. When the subject of a band's new material inevitably gets brought up, the response is usually something to the effect of, “We really wanted to push the boundaries,” or “This is the best material we’ve ever recorded.”

So it was a bit refreshing when, sitting in a practice space on a Monday evening with the three members of Seattle band Sandrider, guitarist/vocalist Jon Weisnewski admitted the band's stellar new 10-song album Enveletration (a made-up word that combines envelope and penetration) was just more of what they do best.

“We just kind of do the same,” Weisnewski said. “The band is just chill. We’ve got this rhythm that just feels right.”

During practice the band is gearing up for their record release show on Saturday, April 8 at the Sunset alongside Dark Meditation and Museum of Light. For the release, they’ve teamed up with the popular heavy metal-loving brewery Holy Mountain for a limited run of Sandrider beer, complete with labels donning Enveletration’s artwork.

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A post shared by SANDRIDER (@sandriderseattle)

Much like the majority of stellar metal releases that have been flooding record store shelves, a good majority of Enveletration was a product of the pandemic, with just around half of the LP being written in the Before Times. As Weisnewski describes, pouring their creative energy into the album was essential.

“I was going fucking crazy,” Weisnewski said. “We've been going to band practice every week for our whole lives, right? Since we were 14. It took the pandemic for me to look back on it and realize this has been a heartbeat in my life. It's been a constant driver and outlet for my entire fucking life. Ever since I learned how to play an instrument. And then suddenly, the year I turned 40, it's just like, ‘Oh Jesus, I need this. Holy fuck.’ I had a really hard time with it.”

Enveletration finds the band at the height of their power, combining their knack for heavy, crushing riffs with furious blasts of straight-up rock ‘n’ roll fun. Looking back at the rest of their catalog, though, you understand exactly what Weisnewski is saying. Sandrider haven’t exactly strayed far from their OG formula, they’ve just perfected it. All four of their albums have been recorded by Matt Bayles and mastered by Ed Brooks. In fact, the band is so set in their way that the only thing they’ve really changed over the past 12 years is moving their practice space three times.

“That's really my favorite thing about this band,” bassist/vocalist Jesse Roberts said. “Everything happens really organically. It just works. You don't really have to talk about it. You just keep doing it until it doesn't work. Just assume the sail.”

But this is how it’s always been for the Sandrider guys. After meeting freshman year of high school in Bellevue, Weisnewski and drummer Nat Damm toured relentlessly with their band of almost 15 years, Akimbo. Looking for something a little more relaxed and less demanding, the longtime friends linked up with Roberts, who was playing with the Ruby Doe, for a project that was intended to be nothing more than a good time.

“We didn't have shirts—the whole thing was like, ‘No merch,’” Roberts said, laughing. “Nobody wants to sell merch. We had all worked really hard in other bands.”

“It was like, ‘Just shut and play,’” Weisnewski adds.

It’s difficult not to feel a real sense of comfort around the Sandrider guys, with the relaxed take on their writing process, their admittance to turning down a ton of cool tours to stay home with their families, and their self-deprecating humor. It’s immediately apparent that the band takes second place to their friendship.

“Band practice is usually half playing and then half, like, shooting the shit and talking about shows or books or whatever,” said Damm.

Even if it’s not a major change in the band's direction, Weisnewski pointed out they started shifting the vocal duties with this album by trading off parts with a bit of call-and-response.

“This is the first record where Jesse and I have sort of like, ‘Predator handshakes’ on every song,” Weisnewski said, describing the tag-team approach of dueling vocals.

<a href="https://sandrider.bandcamp.com/album/enveletration">Enveletration by Sandrider</a>

Since Sandrider released their 2018 album Armada, their original label Good to Die Records folded. So, wanting to keep it local, they released Enveletration on Northwest metal label Satanik Royalty Records, founded by deathCAVE vocalist/bassist and all-around local hero Michael Freiburger (who once graced the cover of The Stranger with his wonderful corgi Balrog— RIP).

“Our working relationship with Good to Die ended because [founder] Nik [Christofferson] was done,” Weisnewski said. “We just looked up and went, ‘Well, what next?’ Then Freiburger was right there like, ‘Hey, guys.’ It happened really naturally. It's just a really easy, easy transition.”

Now celebrating two years as a label, Freiburger’s Satanik Royalty Records has released albums by Seattle bands Heiress, Dark Meditation, and Old Iron, among others. Elevation,

“The first time we talked about doing a record, his passion and the excitement for making records with people is just, like, dripping,” Weisnewski said. “That's the kind of guy you want to work with.”

Sandrider's album release show is at the Sunset Tavern Sat, April 8, 8:30 pm, $17, 21+. They also play Southgate Roller Rink Fri, June 2, 9 pm, $15 cover/$5 to skate, 21+.

Stranger Suggests: 'Diary of A Country Priest,' Witch Ripper, Kkokio, Daffodil Day, 'Return to Seoul,' and Lia Kohl

Charles Mudede — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 13:57:00 -0700

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Charles Mudede Wednesday 3/15

Pick Up a Copy of The Stranger's Arts + Performance Magazine

Pacific Northwest Ballet rehearsal photo by Kristen Marie Parker.

(ARTS) Yes, you read that right. I said PICK UP a copy of The Stranger! We're back in print, motherfuckers! We've brought back our Art + Performance Magazine and, starting today, it's available both online and in print. It's packed with some of the season's most exciting happenings. This week Sigur Rós singer and guitarist Jónsi makes his US museum debut at the National Nordic Museum with FLÓÐ (Flood). The exhibit is a multisensory experience—video, sound, scented fog—that, he told Jas Keimig, is inspired by the big wave and how we’re all gonna die and everything is gonna flood." Also coming soon is the Pacific Northwest Ballet's spring production Boundless (at McCaw Hall March 17-26). Stranger Editor Rich Smith went behind the scenes with photographer Kristen Marie Parker to get a glimpse of the dancers' grueling rehearsals. Plus: Interviews with filmmaker Clyde Petersen, poet Paul Hlava Ceballos, and ceramicist Emily Counts! There’s nothing like print media. We love it, and we know you love it, too. It feels good to be back. (The Stranger's Arts + Performance Magazine is on stands now through June) MEGAN SELING

Thursday 3/16

Diary of A Country Priest and Pickpocket

(FILM) The 20th-century French director Robert Bresson might be the most spiritual filmmaker in the history of cinema. And with the Diary of a Country Priest, a film he completed in 1951, we find his superb spirituality in a state of crisis. Eight years later, Bresson would make a film, Pickpocket, that described spirituality in a state of perfection. The dour priest in Diary wants to be like the heavenly thieves in Pickpocket—so certain, so committed, so absorbed in the motions of their craft. If the country priest had even an ounce of this kind of dedication, he would save lives. But he can't. All he can do is offer a fascinating subject for a genius that has few matches, Bresson. (The Beacon, 4405 Rainier Ave S, Diary of A Country Priest shows March 16 and Pickpocket shows March 17-20, $12.50) CHARLES MUDEDE

Friday 3/17

Return to Seoul

(FILM) You may think that you’ve experienced a story like the one being told in Return to Seoul based on a description of its plot, but that is only the beginning of the journey it has in store. It is a film that immerses you in the life of the charismatic yet chaotic 25-year-old Frédérique "Freddie" Benoît who has returned to South Korea. She is there supposedly by chance but decides to seek out her birth parents who she has never met. With a mesmerizing debut performance by Park Ji-Min, it is a work that sees her character radically change over the years as she searches for some sort of tranquility. No matter how many immense leaps through time the film takes, it paints an intimate portrait that ensures even the quietest moments are bursting with emotion. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, various showtimes March 17-19, $14) CHASE HUTCHINSON

Saturday 3/18

Witch Ripper with Heiress, Into the Storm, and Void Dancer

<a href="https://witchripper.bandcamp.com/album/the-flight-after-the-fall-2">The Flight After The Fall by Witch Ripper</a>

(MUSIC) It's a special moment when artists fully embrace that there are absolutely no rules to any of this and go all in with experimentation. It's even better when the result is as good as The Flight After The Fall, the new five-song full-length album by Seattle band Witch Ripper. It's obvious these dudes used their pandemic time away from live shows to the fullest as they concocted this proggy, riff-centric beast of a heavy metal album that’s overflowing with soaring choruses. For this official album release show, they have stacked the lineup with three other crushing local bands: melodic death metal headbangers Void Dancer, underrated post-hardcore band Into the Storm, and one of the heaviest bands in the Pacific Northwest altogether, Heiress. Enjoy yourself a nice frosty glass of the limited Witch Ripper IPA by Future Primitive brewing (available at the show) as you bang your head to four of this city’s finest. (Substation, 645 NW 45th St, 9 pm, $15) KEVIN DIERS

Sunday 3/19

Kkokio Korean Fried Chicken Asian Fusion

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(FOOD & DRINK) And there it was. A new Korean fried chicken joint on Rainier Avenue. It's called Kkokio. It opened here four days before my birthday, February 4. Now was the time to stop everything I was doing and make a visit. The place was busy. The young man at the counter was polite. I ordered 10 drums and 10 wings of original "Krispy Fried Chicken" and kimchi fried rice to go. The result? The fried chicken hit the spot. It was not crusty like the shell of a crustacean or super salty like the sea. Also, the meat was of good quality. As for the kimchi with rice, which was under a fried egg, the best word to describe it in English is: yummy. The surprising thing was the lack of heaviness experienced after eating this meal. I always expect to be punished, gastronomically, for eating fast food. But in this case, everything went down. (Kkokio, 810 Rainier Ave S, open Wed-Thurs 11 am-7 pm, Fri-Sun 11 am-9 pm, and Mon 11 am-7 pm) CHARLES MUDEDE

Monday 3/20

Daffodil Day

Free! Courtesy of Pike Place Market

(SPRING) You made it. The clocks have jumped ahead, the thermometer is no longer stuck at 45 degrees. Spring is here. Today, while supplies last, celebrate your S.A.D. survival with a trip to Pike Place Market where vendors—Blong's Garden, Neng Garden, Nguyen Family Farm, and Shong Chao's Farm—are giving away free bunches of stemmed sunshine. The market is also celebrating Women's History Month by giving away free women! LOL, JK. There are no free women. But they are celebrating the fact that nearly 50% of all businesses are owned or co-owned by women. Go show them some love! A few of my favorites Piroshky Piroshky, Robot vs Sloth, Rachel's Ginger Beer (get the caramelized pineapple to match your daffodils!), and the Confectional (get the peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake because who cares if it doesn't match your daffodils!). (Pike Place Market, 1501 Pike Pl, 11 am-2 pm or while supplies last, free) MEGAN SELING

Tuesday 3/21

Macie Stewart, Lia Kohl, and Sheridan Riley

<a href="https://liakohl.bandcamp.com/album/the-ceiling-reposes">The Ceiling Reposes by Lia Kohl</a>

(MUSIC) Chicago-based cellist and performance artist Lia Kohl subverts conventional notions about how her instrument should sound. On 2022's Too Small to Be a Plain, she weaves field recordings (birdsong, burbling water, people's voices, crickets, etc.) into spare, methodical improvisations and introspective, sonorous drones that nibble at the peripheries of your consciousness like playful rodents. Kohl's new album, The Ceiling Reposes, deploys live radio samples captured primarily during a trip to Vashon Island. These lend a gently disorienting affect to the mutedly radiant and electronically glitched drones Kohl produces on her cello, as well as on kazoo, bells, synths, and other instruments. It's an engrossing headphone listen, and it'll be interesting to see if it translates to the stage. Kohl cut a record with tonight's headliner, Macie Stewart, Recipe for a Boiled Egg, that's even weirder and more jagged than her solo stuff. Seattle drummer/composer Sheridan Riley, whose Participant EP makes avant-garde music sound fun, opens. (Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave NW, 8:00 pm, $15, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

This story has been updated since its original publication.

Botch. Is. Back.

Kevin Diers — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 09:18:00 -0800

Holy shit, Botch is back. by Kevin Diers

On Friday, February 17, four friends in their 40s will take the stage in front of a sold-out crowd at Tacoma’s 700-capacity Spanish Ballroom to play songs they wrote in their late teens and early 20s. It will be the first time in 21 years these friends perform an entire set together, and as ridiculous as it may sound, there’s no doubt it will be an almost religious experience for many in the audience, with some fans flying in from as far away as Ireland to be there, as they witness the return of Botch.

Dave Knudson, Dave Verellen, Brian Cook, and Tim Latona formed Botch in the early ‘90s after meeting at DIY punk shows in South End community centers and all-ages spaces. They released their first full-length, the crushing, swirling ball of amplified madness American Nervoso, in 1998 and then went on to write one of the most iconic and influential metallic hardcore albums of all time, We Are the Romans, in 1999.

After touring the US and Europe with bands like the Dillinger Escape Plan and Murder City Devils and consistently selling out shows around the Northwest at venues like RKCNDY, DV8, and the Velvet Elvis, the band broke up three years later, at the height of their popularity.

The last time we saw these four onstage together was a sold-out sweat-drenched blowout finale at the Showbox on June 15, 2002, alongside scene staples Harkonen, Playing Enemy, and the Blood Brothers. Metal label Hydra Head released a DVD of the final show so fans could re-live the hilarity of a stage-diving man decked out in a gorilla costume.

<a href="https://botch.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-the-romans-remastered-reissue">We Are The Romans (Remastered Reissue) by Botch</a>

The band’s post-breakup legend grew as members went on to form Minus the Bear, These Arms are Snakes, Narrows, Sumac, and Russian Circles. As the years went on and the ease of sharing music increased alongside the global popularity of aggressive underground music, Botch’s name became that of legend. Embracing the genre’s reenergized popularity, Botch’s musical forefathers like Judge, At the Gates, Gorilla Biscuits, and damn near every other bucket list old-school hardcore and metal band started to dust off their guitars and come back for another round of tour dates. For many, there was always that lurking question—would Botch ever get back together?

“It seems like every year somebody from a festival would be like, ‘Is this the year?’” vocalist Verellen says while sitting alongside his band members at the Factory Luxe bar on a Friday afternoon. “And we'd be like, ‘No.’”

“We want to do it on our own terms,” adds guitarist Knudson. “We don’t need to play a festival. We'd rather play our own show with our own support bands that we're picking out. We're not trying to make new fans at this point. We don't need a huge banner behind us and play at 3 pm on the stage when it's still sunny out. That does not sound like the way anyone should experience a Botch show.”

Botch performing at RKCNDY, October 1999. MEGAN SELING

Fittingly, the seeds of what we will be witnessing Friday were planted in the most natural, no-pressure way one can imagine. No label rollout, no marketing meeting, no PR campaign. Botch came back together after one friend reached out to another friend with a song idea during the peak of pandemic boredom.

While working on music for his solo project, Knudson began experimenting with something a little more aggressive.

“I’m like, ‘I should find a heavy vocalist to sing on this’” Knudson recalls. “Like someone with a great voice. I will hit up Dimitri from Dillinger [Escape Plan] first.’ And then I was like, ‘Why would I hit him up when I know the best singer in hardcore?’”

“There was never any intention on my part to be like, ‘Oh, I'm gonna get the band back together,'” Knudson adds. “It was just like, ‘Hey dudes, here’s this song. You guys want to do shit?’”

“I think that's what made it fun,” says bassist Cook. “I think if there had been like a ‘Let's write a Botch song!’ It would have been like, ‘Why? Why are we trying to get this thing going?’ But he had this thing already mapped out and it sounded good to Dave singing on it. And then he was like, ‘Wanna play bass on it?’ ‘Sure.’ Then it’s like, ‘Why aren’t we having Tim drum on this?’ Then it’s just like, ‘Oh, we just wrote a Botch song by accident. Okay.’”

In August Botch released “One Twenty Two,” their first song in twenty years—the surprise drop lit the online metal world ablaze. The song is short and to the point, clocking in at just over two minutes, but it packs that same familiar gut punch of chaotic heaviness.

The way Cook casually discusses the beginning stages of this reunion almost makes you forget how momentous of an occasion it is. On October 20, one day after announcing they would be playing two back-to-back shows on February 24 and 25 at the Showbox, the band was shocked to see tickets for both nights sold out in just 13 seconds.

“I was like, ‘I think we're going to [sell out the show] in about two weeks or something like that,’” Verellen says. “And people were texting my wife, ‘What the fuck?’ And I came home from work and she was like, ‘Something's broken. It's all sold out already.’”

It’s obvious the band underestimated just how many people were dead set on seeing them one last time. A month later, the band announced another show, this time on their home turf at the Spanish Ballroom in Tacoma, with a large portion of the tickets set aside for in-person purchase only. The hometown crowd that nurtured them would get the first opportunity to scream the cutting lyrics to “C. Thomas Howell as the ‘Soul Man’” back at Verellen and company.

Botch performing at RKCNDY, October 1999. MEGAN SELING

Given the magnitude of these three shows—and the impact their music had across genres and generations—it’s safe to say Botch had their pick of openers. They could have easily asked any number of bands to reform for the occasion. Instead, they assembled a solid lineup of heavy up-and-coming Northwest acts—Denial of Life, Sandrider, Dreamdecay, Filth is Eternal, Haunted Horses, and Erosion.

For the past few months now, the four have gathered in a practice space in south Seattle, inside the old Rainier Brewery two or three times a week to prepare.

“I wasn’t confident,” Cook says with a laugh. “I was nervous, but I was surprised how quickly it came together. I thought it was going to be a lot more labor-intensive. It seems like it went pretty fast.”

Classic. Lisa Hagen Glynn

At a typical Botch show, during their prime, the band thrashed around frantically onstage, yet somehow they always managed to nail all the minute intricacies. Knudson wanted to make sure they could replicate what they became known for in the first place.

“We don't want to like, half-ass it, right?” Knudson says. “And we want to be fucking tight as we ever were, if not tighter. We want to have the energy, know the songs to be able to create this experience that we used to create back 20-plus years ago. We don't want it to pale in comparison and ruin someone's memory if they did see us. On the other hand, we don't want to disappoint a fan that's never seen us live. So, you know, it's all in or nothing.”

Drummer Latona is the only member who didn’t form another band when Botch disbanded. He started a family and pursued a love of traveling that was born from his time on the road with the band.

“I remember the feeling after a show,” Latona says. “I haven’t had this in 20 years and I’m so excited to have this again, of walking outside and it’s cooler outside and your body is just steaming and you feel spent. That was a catharsis in my life that I don’t know if I’ve had in any other way.”

Just this morning, Botch announced they're embarking on a US tour, hitting Chicago, Austin, Denver, New York, Los Angeles, and more on weekend stints from October through December. Label Sargent House added, "More shows may be added in other places and some point, or not." There will likely be more offers, more festivals promising the band obscene amounts of money. But with other musical projects, families, full-time careers, and kids, this time there’s a lot more that needs to be considered.

“Everyone in the band is having to make sacrifices to do this,” Cook says. “And I think everyone's stoked to be able to do it, and happy to make those sacrifices.”

Botch play Spanish Ballroom in Tacoma Fri Feb 17 and the Showbox in Seattle Fri-Sat Feb 24-25. All shows are sold out.

Bring the Noise

Kevin Diers — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 10:25:00 -0800

Excellent local bands making a ruckus. by Kevin Diers

The Northwest has a strong track record of producing game-changing heavy music. From polished but potent heavy metal acts like Metal Church and Queensrÿche that made their mark in the early '80s to the more abrasive underground artists like the Accüsed, the Melvins, and, later, Botch and the Blood Brothers, this region has a rich history of inspiring many influential riff masters.

But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a nostalgia piece. There are a dozen or so books, podcasts, and documentaries dissecting the value and significance of the Seattle scene through the past few decades, most of which focus their attention on the G word. Instead, let's shine a spotlight on the noise being made right now by artists who are meeting the challenge of shuttering venues and skyrocketing rent.

Every week it seems like a new demo from an upstart Northwest hardcore, punk, or metal band pops up on my Bandcamp feed. It would be damn near impossible to highlight every single excellent local band making a ruckus, so, for now, here are just a few to get you started down your path of ear-drum destruction.

Fake Hands

FAKE HANDS · FAKE HANDS

Judging by the comfort these noise rock newcomers display during their wildly self-destructive and unhinged live shows, you would never know that prior to 2021, the members of Fake Hands had never even met. In a recent radio interview, guitarist Aaron Wilson broke down the origin story to me. In an effort to release some of that all-too-familiar pandemic anger and frustration into a new abrasive music project, Wilson placed ads on Craigslist and Facebook. Fast forward a little under a year and this random assembly of newfound friends came together to release a six-song EP full of swagger and a whole lot of fun. Heads up: if you take the opportunity to catch them in person, make sure you stay out of the way of flailing limbs and projectile guitars.

For fans of: Metz, Refused, Idles

Excrescence

<a href="https://newstandardelite.bandcamp.com/album/excrescence-inescapable-anatomical-deterioration">Excrescence | Inescapable Anatomical Deterioration by New Standard Elite</a>

To the untrained ear, the ten tracks on Excrescence’s debut full-length album Inescapable Anatomical Deterioration likely sound like straight-up audio diarrhea. Unrelenting blasts of full-throttle drums accompany bludgeoning guitar riffs and vocals that could be mistaken as the voice of Satan himself. Forget the old standby comparison of “cookie monster” vocals, these are full-on toilet bowl vocals—gurgling, full-throated, and raw. The inside CD booklet reads “no fucking vocal effects were used on this recording.” Lead singer Matt Bailey went full-on Exorcist mode on this and it’s the perfect layer on top of a soundscape of pure unfiltered brutality. I caught Excrescence opening for long-time death metal veterans Internal Bleeding and Jungle Rot last year and they stole the entire show, hands down. Their live energy matches the precision and technicality of the music, acting as a potent shot of pure adrenaline. Don’t go into this expecting much nuance. This is pure and simple slamming death metal. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

For fans of: Deeds of Flesh, Dying Fetus, Nile

Cult Sickness

<a href="https://cultsickness.bandcamp.com/album/brief-peaks-and-self-loathing">Brief Peaks and Self-Loathing by Cult Sickness</a>

Seattle’s premiere three-day heavy music fest, Northwest Terror Fest, is just a few months away, so you have plenty of time to get acquainted with the rock 'n' roll-tinged hardcore pounding from the amps of Cult Sickness. I was a big fan of guitarist Billy Hamilton’s prior project, the fantastic post-hardcore band Post/Boredom, so I knew I had to check out what he was up to now. With just a year under their belt, this band has released a killer five-song EP Brief Peaks and Self-Loathing, and are in the process of writing a full-length album. I’m excited to hear what they come up with next, as vocalist Lauren Shepherd has a uniquely powerful voice, and the band's ferocious short and to-the-point approach of packing as much fury into two minutes keeps me wanting more. For now, though, I’ll be playing these five songs on repeat at full volume.

For fans of: Cursed, American Nightmare, Napalm Death

Re-Buried

<a href="https://re-buried.bandcamp.com/album/repulsive-nature">Repulsive Nature by Re-Buried</a>

The cover art for Re-Buried’s recently released debut full-length album Repulsive Nature portrays a close-up of a bloody ripped-open face. This is the perfect visual representation of everything this band embodies. Re-Buried has delivered 10 songs that pack a familiar old-school groove-centered death metal punch and drift into filthy dirges of crust-caked doom. Vocalist Chris Pinto spews deep, gut-churning growls while guitarists Eddie Bingaman and Paul Richards bring forth nasty riffs with just enough melody to make this album stand out from the pack. My favorite song from the album is the two-minute crusher “Planetary Obliteration,” with the immediate standout track “Smoldering Remnants” coming in as a close second. There are a handful of amazing Northwest death metal bands making waves right now: Fetid, Noroth, Cerebral Rot, and Mortiferum just to name a few. You would be a fool not to throw Re-Buried into that mix from now on.

For fans of: Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Carcass

Re-Buried play the Funhouse Sat Feb 4, 8:30 pm, $10.

Rainbow Coalition Death Cult

<a href="https://rainbowcoalitiondeathcult.bandcamp.com/album/united-states-of-amnesia">United States of Amnesia by Rainbow Coalition Death Cult</a>

Having no idea what to expect from this band, I was absolutely blown away by their raging live performance at Freakout Fest 2022. This is raw, uncompromising, and politically charged hardcore punk through and through. From the band name, which is a nod to the anti-racist Rainbow Coalition group founded by Fred Hampton, to the unapologetically direct album title United States of Amnesia, there’s no watering down their message. When this band gets going, their speed borders on straight-up power violence. One thing I love about this is their complete disregard of genre barriers, as Black Ends guitarist Nicolle Swim adds the occasional catchy rock guitar flourish to their thrashy assault. Aside from a couple live videos on YouTube and their album posted on Bandcamp, there’s not much out there on this band. All I can say is if my brief but immediately rewarding step into to the world of Rainbow Coalition Death Cult is any indication, there are a whole lot of circle pits to be formed in their future.

For fans of: Scowl, Infest, Dead Kennedy’s

The 46 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: February 3-9, 2020

Elaina Friedman — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 09:40:00 -0800

The Stranger's music critics' picks for the week. by Elaina Friedman This week, our music critics have picked everything from Dark Star Orchestra to Gregory Porter to the Westerlies Fest. Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips for all of their picks, and find even more shows on our complete music calendar. Plus, check out our arts & culture critics' picks for the 61 best things to do this week. Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday MONDAY ROCK/POP

Ben Ottewell & Ian Ball of Gomez
Ben Ottewell, the lead guitarist for Mercury Prize-winning crowd-pleasing rock band Gomez, will come to Seattle on an acoustic tour in support of his new solo album, Shapes & Shadows. He'll be joined by fellow Gomez guitarist Ian Ball.

TUESDAY CLASSICAL

Orlando Consort: The Passion of Joan of Arc
The Orlando Consort will perform a selection of 15th-century choral music to accompany a screening of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 silent film La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc.

ROCK/POP

Begonia, Guests
Straight outta Manitoba, Canada, Alexa Dirks (AKA Begonia) has made quite an impression here in the states after releasing 2019’s Fear, a collection of R&B-inspired songs that also touch on gospel, jazz, and indie rock—not surprising since it was produced by members of Royal Canoe. Blessed with powerful vocals, Dirks excels on songs like “Beats,” which soars with introspective, clever, and self-aware lyrics; as well as “The Other Side,” a gospel-infused howler that touches on the yearning vagaries of relationships without ever dipping into desperation. Dirks exposes her life and loves through music—and this heartfelt openness is something that’ll keep making Begonia a name to watch out for. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY

Chastity Belt, Loose Tooth
After nearly a decade, the all-women four piece is firing on all cylinders, making the kind of music they want to make and delivering a unique indie-rock sound that's earned them plenty of accolades and fans.

Lloyd Cole
Scottish singer/songwriter/guitarist Lloyd Cole shot out of the gate strongly with Rattlesnakes, his classic 1984 debut LP with the Commotions, and followed it a year later with another tantalizing collection of literate, ornate, and jangly rock songs, Easy Pieces. Throughout the decades, Cole has shown a real knack for smooth compositions that pack a deceptively potent emotional punch, abetted by a voice that suavely blends the sonorities of Edwyn Collins and Chris Isaak. This show will encompass Cole’s work from Rattlesnakes to his 2019 album, Guesswork, which glazes his high-IQ rock with a tasteful electronic sheen. Let’s hope the concert includes stuff from his exploratory synth LP, 1D Electronics 2012-2014, which was influenced by German geniuses Cluster. DAVE SEGAL

Sinead O'Connor
Sinead O'Connor needs no introduction, but in case you have a serious case of name and face evasion, she's a legendary Irish songstress who could slay a dragon with a single tear. She'll stop in Seattle on this much-anticipated North American tour.

SuperM: We Are The Future Live
Korean pop supergroup SuperM's We Are the Future Live world tour will be their tour since their formation in 2019. Their seven members include Taemin from Shinee, Baekhyun and Kai from Exo, Taeyong, Ten, and Lucas and Mark from NCT.

TUESDAY-THURSDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Reverend Horton Heat, The Buttertones, The Dusty 45’s, Bloodshot Bill
Polish your buckles and join real Texas legends the Reverend Horton Heat as they head up a country-rock show with the Buttertones, the Dusty 45’s, and Bloodshot Bill.

WEDNESDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Loudon Wainwright III
There's a whole generation of folks (myself included) for whom Loudon Wainwright III is more familiar as an actor (having appeared in M*A*S*H, three Judd Apatow productions, and G-Force—2009's Jerry Bruckheimer production about guinea pig secret agents). Wainwright the actor, while delightful, is nowhere near as interesting as Wainwright the musician, who's been recording and performing sardonic folk commentaries since his beatific 1970s self-titled debut. His long and storied career is still going strong, even if his new material is no longer about growing old (like his early stuff was) so much as it just plain sounds old (now he sings about things like "Cash for Clunkers"). Still, it would be worth it to hear some of Wainwright's older gems. JASON BAXTER

HIP-HOP/RAP

Young Dolph & Key Glock
Special in that he is probably one of the few people with a similar first name to that German dictator born in the last half century, Adolph Thornton Jr., aka Young Dolph, is major, bringing his syrup-drenched rhymes and Southern swagger to our rainy, gray corner of the country. Having been the target of not one but two shootings in 2017, and dropping several chart-topping albums, the Memphis rapper has experienced both the bitter and the sweet sides of life—and this comes out in his music. Dolph’s songs are catchy, and there’s really nothing like seeing an artist on the come-up. JASMYNE KEIMIG

METAL/PUNK

Queensryche
Back in 2012, Queensryche publicly feuded over the use of their name with former vocalist Geoff Tate. After securing the copyright to the well-established name, the remaining members made a risky move, hiring former Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre. Many feared this change, as Tate's voice was synonymous with Queensryche's prog-rock sound. What fans received was a love letter to the vintage Queensryche years, shying away from their softer, more ballad-driven material and embracing their original soaring, power-metal-esque anthems with 2013's self-titled album and 2015's Condition Hüman. There's no end in sight for this old-school Northwest rock institution. KEVIN DIERS

ROCK/POP

The Blank Tapes, Head Band, Smoker Dad
Los Angeles and Joshua Tree multi-instrumentalist Matt Adams has churned out more than a dozen albums as the Blank Tapes, exploring the psychedelic rock spectrum, and slathering his music in broad strokes of ’60s inspiration that sound like the sonic equivalent of paisley, or a surfboard. Adams takes a turn into desert, stoner, and hard rock territories in 2019’s Look Into the Light, and doses it with some feminine vocal energy via guest Veronica Bianqui. Standouts include the fuzzy/druggy “Took Too Much,” the spooky-warped psych-surf soul-pop of “Pure Evil,” Bianqui’s cooing vocal harmonies adding an extra element of eeriness to counter Adams’ lazy Tom Petty-evoking drawl, and the back-to-back tripped-out instrumental-heavy odes that are “Death” and “Don’t You Feel,” the latter of which feels like a CSNY bootleg (with extra Y). Good shit. LEILANI POLK

Genghis Barbie
Promising a "visceral and unadulterated musical adventure," Freedom Barbie, Alpine Barbie, Velvet Barbie, and Attila the Horn of NYC's Genghis Barbie will perform pop arrangements from the '70s to the present using brass instruments on their 2 Legit World Domination Tour.

THURSDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Dark Star Orchestra
Dark Star Orchestra keep the indomitable legacy of the Grateful Dead twinkling with their spot-on tribute concerts. They plunder the mother lode of the jam-band progenitors' vast output for Deadheads who miss the real deal or for those unfortunates who never had the chance to witness them live. DSO's MO is to replicate momentous Dead set lists from the group's deep archives, and then nail every facet of the music. Clearly, DSO have their inspiration's wonderfully tight/loose chops, fluid sense of time and space, and that all-important stamina to keep on truckin' through the transitive nightfall of diamonds. DAVE SEGAL

ROCK/POP

Dweezil Zappa
The foremost torch-bearer of experimental-rock musician/guitar iconoclast Frank Zappa, son Dweezil will resurrect poppa's second solo LP, Hot Rats, on this tour, along with highlights from the vast FZ catalog. Hot Rats recently received the deluxe box-set treatment for its 50th anniversary, and hardcore fans will delight in hearing that record's soaring jazz-rock convolutions (and the filthy blues-funk of “Willie the Pimp”) reanimated by the devoted Dweezil and his “rocking teenage combo.” Not sure who's going to be tasked with trying to replicate Captain Beefheart's lascivious growl for “Willie the Pimp,” but they have their work cut out for them. DAVE SEGAL

Goth Babe, Guests
LA slacker rocker/dream-popper Goth Babe (aka goth babe Griffin Washburn) will be welcomed with an opening set from the Reptaliens.

Left At London, VALENTINE, move.by.u
Seattle pop crafter Left At London has received internet acclaim for her smart satire videos and clever wordplay. She'll be joined by guest artists VALENTINE and move.by.u.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY ELECTRONIC

Ekali
Canadian instrumentalist and producer Ekali will return to Seattle once again with fresh and futuristic electronic tracks.

THURSDAY & SATURDAY CLASSICAL

Dvořák Symphony No. 8
Antonín Dvořák's Eighth Symphony, which plays with Czech pastoral themes, will be brought to life by world-renowned violinist Gidon Kremer, alongside pieces by Mieczysław Weinberg and Dmitri Shostakovich.

THURSDAY-SUNDAY JAZZ

Westerlies Fest 2020
Brooklyn-by-way-of-Seattle jazz, roots, and chamber-influenced brass quartet the Westerlies (trumpeters Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands, and trombone players Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch) have never forgotten their Emerald City roots. They’ll return this first full weekend in February to host their second eponymous music fest, which, according to press materials, was created “to give back to the musical ecosystem that raised them by engaging local students, highlighting local talent, and facilitating explosive collaborations between artists from Seattle and beyond.” Basically, workshops at area schools by day, and concerts that find the Westerlies performing with a different guest artist by night: singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Celisse at the Royal Room on Thursday; Seattle-based pianist, composer, and singer Robin Holcomb at the Chapel Performance Space on Friday; and NYC poet duo Phil Kaye and Sarah Kay alongside local spoken word artist Troy Osaki at Town Hall Seattle on Saturday. Sunday closes with the Westerlies Fest JAM-boree of workshops, activities, a listening session, and an open rehearsal followed by a late afternoon Westerlies concert, all at Nickerson Studios. LEILANI POLK

FRIDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Ward Davis, Josh Morningstar
Nashville singer-songwriter Ward Davis will bring his signature Americana and alt-country sound to Seattle after an opening set from Josh Morningstar.

CLASSICAL

Dvořák Untuxed
The Symphony's Untuxed series is great. They only play one piece, and the expectation is you just show up in jeans, or whatever you wear when you're just walking around picking up stuff at the grocery store. The iconic grandeur of Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony—a piece you'll recognize from any number of movies and TV shows (from The Joy Luck Club to Ren & Stimpy)—is a perfect fit for this casual concert. RICH SMITH

ELECTRONIC

STA Presents: Anjunabeats World Wide 09 Tour
Anjunabeats DJs will bring you a night of trance-based house and techno music.

EXPERIMENTAL/NOISE

Freakout Records Presents: Sessa, Guests
Most clued-in North Americans know about the brief but influential Tropicália movement that merged innovative music with rabble-rousing, leftist political views that sometimes drew the ire of Brazil's military government. Artists such as Jorge Ben, Caetano Veloso, Os Mutantes, Gal Costa, and Gilberto Gil proved that this genre could not only translate to other people worldwide, but excite the hell out of them decades after its halcyon era passed. Sessa, a bushy-haired singer/songwriter/guitarist from São Paulo, is in the tradition of those greats, and he's poised to be the next biggest thing from Brazil since Seu Jorge. Sessa's 2019 debut album, Grandeza, doesn't sound much like his recent activities in former Monotonix guitarist Yonatan Gat's band or the groovy garage rock of Garotas Suecas. (By the way, you should check out both of those units.) Instead, Grandeza—which means "Greatness"—abounds with placidly strummed nylon-string guitar, gently rolling hand percussion, shakers, and tangy backing vocals by a five-woman choir. DAVE SEGAL

HIP-HOP/RAP

J Dilla Birthday Party and Tribute with Vitamin D and The Carlos Overall Quartet
Tenor saxophonist Carlos Overall and his quartet will share a bill with local DJ and rapper Vitamin D at a birthday party for beloved Detroit hip-hop artist J Dilla.

Phora
If you can relate to young, emo-leaning hip-hop artists who are most certainly influenced by Drake, then you’ll likely enjoy the introspective, emotionally available rap of Phora, an MC from Anaheim, California, signed to Warner Bros. While I’m all set in that regard, the 25-year-old does have something going for him. I’m a sucker for a soulful chipmunk effect, which is utilized beautifully on his 2017 song “To the Moon,” with its well-placed sample of Alex Isley's “Into Orbit.” Another one that might ring true for understandably jaded millennials is “Fake Smiles,” which has racked up more than 36 million streams on Spotify. JENNI MOORE

ROCK/POP

International Clash Day: Clash Cover Night
Get ready for a bunch of obscure references and English puns with KEXP's Clash Cover Night. Naked Giants, Tres Leches, Duke Evers, and others will perform tracks from across the Clash discography.

Medejin, Power Strip, 2Libras, Black Ends
This will be a night of ethereal delights. Headliner Medejin revels in the swirling, reverby, guitar-driven melodies of dream pop. The project of Jenn Taranto (who plays keys and guitar and sings), the Seattle-based band creates hazy sonic landscapes for Taranto to sing against. Their most recent single—and one of their strongest songs—“World’s Fair” features a woozy guitar and Taranto’s echo-y vocals, which are bolstered by the sharpness of the drums. They will be joined by darkwave trio 2Libras, the bedroom-y Power Strip, and “gunk pop” band Black Ends. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Temples
Until last year’s fantastic Hot Motion, I hadn’t really listened to Temples since their 2014 debut, Sun Structures, an album of ’60s-soaked psych rock that I dug, though it didn’t knock my socks off (it felt a bit too derivative). Fast forward five years to the British quartet’s third and latest, the aforementioned Hot Motion, one of my favorites of 2019. Their sound has slipped naturally and easily into neo-psychedelia, an evolution that makes perfect sense, and finds them playing around with melody and sonic textures in vaguely vintage rock that is both catchy and trippy as hell. It’s hard not to compare them to their Aussie contemporaries in Tame Impala, especially in tracks like the fine, drug-fueled “You’re Either on Something,” or the urgent, doomy “Atomise,” but Temples definitely has their own distinctive appeal. LEILANI POLK

World Inferno Friendship Society, Bridge City Sinners, Vic Ruggerio, Window Smashing Job Creators
Genre knows no bounds at this show with headliners World Inferno Friendship Society, a lounge-y punk cabaret out of NYC, and supported by Portland folk-punks Bridge City Sinners, rocksteady artist Vic Ruggerio, and Olympia jazz-punks Window Smashing Job Creators.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY ROCK/POP

Western State Hurricanes, Nevada Bachelors
The Western State Hurricanes had a short-lived indie-rock career in Seattle in the '90s. Now they're back and ready to take Ballard by storm, which they'll do with support from fellow PNW rock vets Nevada Bachelors.

SATURDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

KPH & The Canary Collective, Mutual Benefit, Namii
Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm and her "people-power folk group" want to raise awareness and care for people with chronic illnesses struggling to afford healthcare and get access to safe drinking water, food, air, and housing. They'll play songs from their debut album with support from Mutual Benefit and Namii, with proceeds benefiting the Earth Pearl Collective.

ELECTRONIC

Minnesota
The only DJ/producer big enough to name himself after the land of a thousand lakes, Minnesota will take over the stage.

EXPERIMENTAL/NOISE

'The Tuba Thieves' Performance
This experimental trumpet and ASL performance directed Alison O'Daniel echoes themes of the artist's The Tuba Thieves video installation featured in the Henry's In Plain Sight exhibition. The performers will move about the space to render the best acoustics, and guests are invited to plop themselves down wherever they like.

HIP-HOP/RAP

Da Qween, Moon Palace, FRED
Currently occupying the throne of local queer rap is Da Qween, the hard femme with harder bars and a hunger to establish themselves as not only the queen of Seattle, but the queen of everything. They'll be joined by psychedelic quintet Moon Palace and FRED.

JAZZ

Gregory Porter
Gregory Porter's voice is a baritone that makes you feel right at home; as for his style of phrasing, it feels very familiar (Lou Rawls, Johnny Hartman, Nat King Cole), but it is also like nothing you have heard before. And this is why the greatness of Porter is not easy to describe. If you listen to him one way, he seems to be rooted deeply in the tradition of jazz song, but if you listen to him another way, you hear a big, warm, blue voice that moves about the music like some liberated balloon rising and falling in the wind. Porter is not conventional, yet he is, and for some reason he easily manages to be both without settling on one or the other. CHARLES MUDEDE

ROCK/POP

American Authors, Magic Giant, Public
Massive alt rock group American Authors will continue their hot streak with a tour stop supported by Magic Giant and Public.

An Evening with Pink Talking Fish
Pink Talking Fish are a self-styled “hybrid tribute fusion act” that perform set lists that stitch together the music of three mega bands from different but overlapping eras: Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Phish. Why am I writing about a bona fide cover band, you ask? Because the way they present these covers is extraordinary and lots of fun. The songs of each artist are distinctive and recognizable—and yet each one flows seamlessly into the next no matter who it’s by, like jumping from Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell” into Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” into Phish’s “Run Like an Antelope,” and then segueing back into “Run Like Hell” to close it all out. It all feels very organic, even though it’s quite the opposite. RIYL: Any of the aforementioned bands. LEILANI POLK

Mattiel, Calvin Love
At turns slacker, garage-y, with a dash of alt-country, Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Mattiel’s sound is unique. Initially signed to Burger Records, her most recent album Satis Factory is her first with ATO (home to Alabama Shakes and Old 97’s among many others). This move broadened her sound, outside the lo-fi, DIY sensibility of her self-titled debut and into a space that’s a bit more polished and assured, but still lovingly craggy. “Je Ne Me Connais Pas” channels the White Stripes while the heaviness of the guitars in “Keep the Change” is buoyed by a xylophone. Mattiel will be joined by the groovy Calvin Love, who has a strange, lounge lizard sort of charm that you definitely do not want to miss. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Seattle Women's Chorus: Revolution 2020
This rousing concert celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Though it recognizes how far women have come, Revolution 2020 also underlines just how much work is left to be done to ensure free and fair voting rights for all. Come support those rights and listen to stirring renditions of "The Times They Are A-Changin," "R.O.C.K. in the USA," "Revolution," and more.

SOUL/R&B

Grace Love with Michaud Savage
Grace Love's music is "mostly stripped down to just her soulful, rich vocal, often accompanied only by acoustic guitar or a minimal electro backing track," wrote Stranger staffer Mike Nipper. She'll be accompanied tonight by guitarist Michaud Savage.

SUNDAY ROCK/POP

Caspian
Heavy instrumental rock band Caspian will come through town with tracks from On Circles, their first album in five years that "may not have some grand concept driving it, but it’s just a great collection of songs, and there’s a nice amount of diversity too," according to a review from Brooklyn Vegan.

KEXP Presents: Caspar Adultpants, King of Hawaii
Ex-member of the Presidents of the United States of America Chris Ballew, who these days can be found playing music for children under the moniker Caspar Babypants, will change his game tonight with a show for adults that means to help you "get back in touch with the little kid version of your grownup self." He'll be joined by local instrumental surf band King of Hawaii.

Mustard Plug, The Toasters, Mister Blank, The Replicators
Take note, note takers: an original ska revival group, the Toasters, who formed in ’81 and are now considered one of the groups that influenced contemporary—well, third wave ska and onward, are playing tonight!!! So, Rudies, sort them porkpies, press them turn-ups, and get your braces braced ‘cause this throw down is guaranteed to get “Intensified”!!! And that ain’t all the Studio fun we're gettin', as Mustard Plug will be playing some “party music for punk rockers,” along with pop punk ’n’ ska from two of Seattle’s good timing bands, Mister Blank and the Replicators. Let’s skank, y’all! MIKE NIPPER

Snuff Redux
Seattle lo-fi garage-rock four-piece Snuff Redux are the kind of band that sings about Lou Reed. On the song “French Press,” off their most recent outing, Denim American, lead singer Skyler Ford recounts sitting on a bench with the aforementioned coffee brewing device on the day Lou Reed died, wishing that he was Paris again, thinking about love, etc. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Violent Femmes
Few rock bands have emerged on the scene with more raw vitality than did Milwaukee's Violent Femmes with their self-titled 1983 album. The platinum-selling Violent Femmes abounds with instantly catchy, immediately engrossing songs about young-person angst, all stripped down to their most crucial essentials. Front man Gordon Gano channeled Lou Reed and Jonathan Richman vocal tics and lyrical tropes with very relatable results. Tough act to follow, but 1984's Christianity-haunted Hallowed Ground proved the Femmes could go darker yet. I stopped following them after 1986's The Blind Leading the Naked, but one listen to 2019's Hotel Last Resort reveals that Gano and bassist Brian Ritchie's flair for spare, infectious folk rock hasn't diminished much over the last 37 years. DAVE SEGAL

The 43 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: January 20-26, 2020

Elaina Friedman — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 08:00:00 -0800

The Stranger's music critics' picks for the week. by Elaina Friedman

This week, our music critics have picked everything from NYC jazz trio Harriet Tubman to the Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival to an Art Martyrs Showcase helmed by Tres Leches. Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips for all of their picks, and find even more shows on our complete music calendar. Looking for more options? Check out our arts & culture critics' picks for this week.

Cursive, Cloud Nothings, Criteria
The top portion of tonight’s Midwestern emo romp (brought to you by the letter C) is worthy enough of your attention: Omaha-raised musician Tim Kasher has hit his stride with long-running post-hardcore outfit Cursive, and few bands have been more consistent over the course of the past decade than Cleveland indie rockers Cloud Nothings. That said, the main draw might be Criteria, the bill’s opener. Longtime Cursive fans will no doubt be familiar with Steve Pedersen, who shared the stage with Kasher in the influential heartland indie-rock band Slowdown Virginia and the first iteration of Cursive. His own band, Criteria, recently ended its 15-year hiatus with the release of Years, an album chock-full of the same arena-sized hooks that made them a force to be reckoned with in the early aughts. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

TUESDAY JAZZ

Olli Hirvonen, Dan Phelps
No less a jazz-fusion deity than Mahavishnu Orchestra leader/Miles Davis sideman John McLaughlin has praised Finnish jazz guitarist Olli Hirvonen, so you know he’s the real deal. The Brooklyn-based Hirvonen—who won the Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition in 2016—plays in a style reminiscent of another Scandinavian fusionist: Norway’s excellent Terje Rypdal. Hirvonen’s tone ranges from icy pointillism to dense clangor, with his fleet fingers finessing rococo filigrees in elegant compositions that will dazzle fans of forward-thinking jazz and prog rock. His virtuosity urges along songs with surprising swerves and thrusts, as exemplified by the 2019 album Displace. DAVE SEGAL

ROCK/POP

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Kinski , Beverly Crusher
Like a Smashing Pumpkins that never disgraced themselves, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead are still bringing that full-on fantasy orchestral rock to which we all imagine epic D&D campaigns or simply pump our fists. Their two most successful albums remain 1999’s Madonna and 2002’s Source Tags & Codes. Did Source Tags DESERVE that perfect Pitchfork 10? Who knows? Did it FEEL like it did at the time? Hell yes. More than 20 years later, Trail of Dead are still messing around with prog, punk chords, grave singing, and their band’s mystical mythos. Hearing their brand-new record, X: The Godless Void & Other Stories, in this midsize but intimate setting sounds flippin’ EPIC. SUZETTE SMITH

Amber Liu, Meg & Dia, Justice Carradine
K-pop star Amber Liu emerged from massively popular group f(x) to work on her solo career over the last few years. She'll perform tonight with guest sets by Meg & Dia and Justice Carradine.

Rex Orange County
Rex Orange County’s name is a bit confusing. The alias of musician Alex O’Connor evokes the warm, sunny region of Southern California, but the musician himself hails from the considerably grayer London, a whole ocean away. Despite this geographical disparity, O’Connor blends elements of jazz, hip-hop, and electronica to create bright, groovy tracks. His latest record, Pony, delivers the intimacy of bedroom electronica while also recalling the buttoned up-ness of Weezer. Go and pretend his tunes are playing out of a convertible’s stereo while you’re zooming down the Pacific Coast Highway. JASMYNE KEIMIG

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY JAZZ

Harriet Tubman
Named after the woman who helped hundreds of African American slaves escape from servitude in the 1850s, New York City trio Harriet Tubman embody in their music that heroic activist's irrepressible quest for freedom. Brandon Ross (guitar/banjo/vocal), Melvin Gibbs (electric bass), and J.T. Lewis (drums) have been jamming complexly and powerfully for the last 22 years, imbuing their technically brilliant pieces with a fiery soulfulness. Harriet Tubman are masters of improvised fusion, as they proved in a 2019 show at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, where they dazzled attendees with telepathic interplay, rhythmic sorcery, and a turbulent vibe that recalled Jimi Hendrix's strafing acid rock and the torrid jazz-funk of 1970s-era Miles Davis. DAVE SEGAL

WEDNESDAY DJ

Com Truise
Com Truise is the perfect music to smoke to. Well, all music is, if you really try—but hitting a joint while listening to “Memory” or “Existence Schematic” feels like you’re getting high inside of a really advanced computer. Tron-level advanced. Maybe I’m influenced by the fact that “Alfa Beach” off his 2012 album In Decay was used by HBO stoner comedy series High Maintenance in an old trailer for some of its webisodes. (Music supervisor Liz Fulton has great taste.) The LA-based musician’s chill, synthy sounds are a perfect way to spent a Wednesday night. JASMYNE KEIMIG

HIP-HOP/RAP

Trippie Redd
Atlanta-based rapper and singer-songwriter Trippie Redd—best known for his songs "Love Scars," "Poles1469," and "Dark Knight Dummo"—will headline on his Love Me More Tour.

ROCK/POP

Midge Ure
It was back in the 1990s that Scottish musician Midge Ure first presented his “theatre show”— which featured his music followed by an informal chat. He revisited the format last year and has been touring on and off ever since!!! Ure has a long pop history, what with Band Aid, his solo work, Silk, the Rich Kids, Visage, and, of course, Ultravox. Word is there will be some jams and a bit of a Q&A afterward—and, based on his discography, there will be A LOT to Q&A about. This show is mandatory for all y’all so-called “post-punks.” MIKE NIPPER

WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY-SATURDAY OPERA

Eugene Onegin
This Seattle Opera production brings together the genius of two great Russians: Alexander Pushkin, who wrote the novel in verse, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky (The Nutcracker), who penned the score. It's a simple but moving and melancholy story of a young woman who falls in love with a cold-hearted nobleman, an encounter that tragically changes the course of their lives.

THURSDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

The Lil Smokies
Wielding acoustic instruments but harnessing "electric energy," the Montana-bred bluegrass outfit Lil Smokies will get you moving and grooving.

CLASSICAL

Midori with Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Classical pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, whose music can be heard on soundtracks for films including Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, joins Grammy-winning violinist Midori for an all-Beethoven recital program in honor of the composer’s 250th anniversary.

ELECTRONIC

TeZATalks, Daym, Archie
Experimental singer-songwriter TeZATalks focuses on a singular winding narrative that unfolds with each track of her rawly emotional electronic-based music.

HIP-HOP/RAP

Larry June
Thraxxhouse-affiliated rapper and Bay Area maverick Larry June has appeared on notable Mackned releases and a seven-part mixtape series of his own, and excels in locating a bombastic Atlanta-hewn sound that promotes individuality above all else.

ROCK/POP

Greyson Chance
Ex-teen sensation Greyson Chance is now an adult and touring the country on the wave of his popular singles (notably, "Shut Up," "Yours," and "Timekeeper"). He'll be joined by additional guests on this stop for his Portraits World Tour.

ings, Tomo Nakayama
Former Stranger staffer Amber Cortes wrote, "If there are ever songs that can lull you into feeling as good as you do when you're watching cat videos, ings brings. But hidden behind her mellow, pretty pop reveries and Joanna Newsom–esque voice are deep ruminations on self-respect, time travel, and, of course, crushes on boys." ings will be joined by local folk artist Tomo Nakayama.

Seventeen
South Korean superstar crew Seventeen (who, despite their name, only have 13 members) will arrive in Washington for a stop on the North American leg of their Ode To You World Tour.

THURSDAY-SUNDAY JAZZ

Steve Gadd Band
Judged by his peers as one of the greatest drummers ever, Steve Gadd has played on a multitude of important records made by legions of legends, including Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Paul Simon, and Steely Dan. Virtuoso fusion keyboardist Chick Corea said, “[Gadd] has brought orchestral and compositional thinking to the drum kit while at the same time having a great imagination and a great ability to swing.” Steve Gadd Band’s self-titled 2018 album is a poised, polished slice of jazz-funk that shows the drummer has not lost his nimble sorcery, even in his 70s. For these shows, Gadd’s band will include Kevin Hays (keyboards), Michael Landau (guitar), Jimmy Johnson (bass), and Walt Fowler (trumpet/flugelhorn). DAVE SEGAL

FRIDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Wynonna and The Big Noise
Nashville country singing legend, famous redhead, and musical force of nature Wynonna Judd will throw down all the classics and some tracks from her latest release with her backing troupe the Big Noise.

CLASSICAL

Seattle Modern Orchestra — Inside Out
The Seattle Modern Orchestra will perform music that will "[urge] us to reexamine our reality," featuring works by Thomas Adès, Anthony Cheung, Ivan Fedele, Tristan Murail, and Alfred Schnittke.

Rat Fancy: A Lunar New Year Party
Give the International District favorite Dynasty Room a proper farewell and celebrate the Lunar New Year at the same time. DJs MK, Avi Loud, Houseplants, T.Wan, CAnh Solo, Yung Barong, and Marjane will keep the decks hot. (Do people say that?)

Stayin' Alive at The Monkey Loft!
If you're already a fan of Monkey Loft's frequent '70s dance party Stayin' Alive, this is excellent news: Zac Levine and the BeautyBoiz are teaming up to bring you all-night grooves with nine DJs (including Ajax, Ben Traxx, Derek Pavone, and Gold Chisme); disco drag performances by Angela Visalia, Bosco, Britt Brutality, LüChi, and Monday Mourning; and live music by saxophonist Spencer Edgers and drummer Ammo. Wear your silks and your sequins.

ELECTRONIC

Depth: Joey Beltram
I am shocked—shocked!—that Joey Beltram is performing in Seattle in 2020. The NYC producer/DJ was one of the totemic figures in early-’90s rave culture with catalytic techno bangers such as “Energy Flash,” “Mentasm,” “The Start It Up,” and “Mucho Acid.” Yet the last time he blipped my radar was when his Trax Classic best-of CD dropped in 2005. Beltram’s most recent posting on SoundCloud appeared two years ago—a brilliantly bruising Boiler Room DJ set in New York, which suggests a late-career lag. Whatever the case, Beltram is such a legend for his psychotronic, 140+ bpm dance-floor bombs, it seems unlikely he’ll disappoint, even at this late date. DAVE SEGAL

METAL/PUNK

Heiress, Witch Ripper, Deadkill
Thrash through the night with local metal bands Heiress, Witch Ripper, and Deadkill.

ROCK/POP

Brett Dennen
It should be said right away that redheaded Brett Dennen, who plays the guitar and sings and came from California, seems like a very nice man. He promotes deserving nonprofits on his website and his songs have conscience. They are best called "warm," which they are often called. It makes them sound slightly more generic than they are, but they are still slightly generic—but nice. Rolling Stone called him one to watch. JEN GRAVES

FRIDAY-SATURDAY ROCK/POP

Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival 2020
Former Stranger contributor Brittnie Fuller has written, "This event in Leavenworth—the infamous German-themed town/tourist attraction nestled in the Cascades—looks like the coziest mid-winter music festival, filled with beardo-magnet amenities like skiing and snowboarding, a hot-toddy garden, wine tastings, and festival-branded flannel shirts. The weekend's musical offerings are generally varied, with numerous local and national acts ranging from indie rock to hip-hop." This year's roster is no exception, boasting sets by Pedro the Lion, Bully, Bearaxe, Lisa Prank, Ivan & Alyosha, CarLarans, Bryan John Appleby, and many more.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY CLASSICAL

Seattle Chamber Music Society Winter Festival
Hear pieces from a variety of composers at the Seattle Chamber Music Society's annual six-day winter program. This year's theme is centered on a celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday. The second weekend of the festival will feature violin sonatas by Grieg and Mozart, piano trios by Schubert and Ravel, and both of Brahms’ string quintets, along with concluding concerti by Johann Sebastian Bach.

ROCK/POP

Cry & Roar X: 10 Years of Racer Sessions
Local indie label Table & Chairs will celebrate 10 years of Racer Sessions, a concert series at Cafe Racer highlighting its artists, with an entire weekend of sets from bands like Bad Luck, Amelia Porter, and Jocelyn Beausire (Fri); Ray Larsen, Gregg Keplinger, and Casey Adams (Sat); and No Baby (Sun).

SATURDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Bonny Light Horseman, Guests
Folk supergroup Bonny Light Horseman—the project of Tony-winning singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell, the National's Josh Kaufman, and Fruit Bats' Eric D. Johnson—will play their mercurial, down-tempo jams with support from pop singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels.

Diggin' Deep: Derrick Carter
If you’re not too exhausted from hitting the Joey Beltram show the night before, you should continue paying your respects to dance-culture immortals with this Diggin’ Deep appearance by Chicago house-music magus Derrick Carter. He has more than 30 years of disc-jockeying under his belt-drive turntables, and has become one of the most reliable optimizers of euphoria in clubland. Don't be surprised if Carter sprinkles in some synth-pop, soul, disco, or jazz amid his soulful, upful house selections. Hell, he may even slip in his remix of Tortoise’s “In Sarah, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven There Were Women and Men.” Yeah, that happened. DAVE SEGAL

METAL/PUNK

The Accused AD
Coffin Break, Dust Mob, and Dadbod accompany the night's headlining band for an evening of hard rock in Tacoma.

ROCK/POP

Art Martyrs Showcase: Tres Leches, Crystal Beth, Mantraband, Arson Nicki, Guests
The Art Martyrs Relief Society, which aims to bridge the gap between underfunded working artists in Seattle and those with the means to support them, will host a fundraiser with power trio Tres Leches, Crystal Beth (whose sound "falls somewhere between the grisly skronk-punk of Stickers and earthy freak-indie of tUnE-yArDs," as Stranger music contributor Todd Hamm once wrote), Mantraband, and avant-garde drag artist Arson Nicki.

DOPAPOD, Cycles
Boston jam Dopapod will lead you in spurts of frenzied dancing on this Seattle tour stop. Genre-spanning power trio Cycles will provide opening support.

Thrice, mewithoutYou, Drug Church, Holy Fawn
While they’re just now starting to get traction on commercial-rock radio, Thrice have been putting in work for the past 20 years, rising from the Southern California underground all-ages scene to release 10 albums. They’ve evolved from playing the breakneck metallic hardcore anthems of their early years to a much more straightforward, melodic rock sound. For a couple years, though, vocalist Dustin Kensrue called the Eastside home, as he was gospel leader for the Bellevue Mars Hill Church location before abandoning ship in 2014 as the controversy surrounding infamous pastor Mark Driscoll came to a head. KEVIN DIERS

Washed in Black, Stargazer
Pearl Jam tribute Washed in Black will have you longing for simpler, grungier times after a set from Stargazer.

SOUL/R&B

Xavier Omär, Parisalexa
R&B crooner Xavier Omär is all satin sheets, boxes of chocolates, and mood lighting. His most recent record, Moments Spent Loving You, was released late last year, and created with Seattle producer and frequent collaborator Sango. Pulling from a wide variety of sonic influences, Sango builds sensual soundscapes for Omär’s smooth voice to explore and sing over. Together, the pair’s record is perfect to reach for during peak cuffing season. The two will be joined by Seattle’s own Parisalexa, who will be bringing her smoky Brandy vibes to the evening’s proceedings. JASMYNE KEIMIG

WORLD/LATIN

Ozomatli
The Los Angeles-based band and multi-Grammy Award-winning outfit delivers a modern Latinx sound that encompasses hip-hop, funk, reggae and more. These "cultural ambassadors" are characterized by their creativity and festive spirit.

SUNDAY METAL/PUNK

The Distillers x Alexisonfire
Before they teased a reunion on social media back in January 2018, LA-based punk squad the Distillers had gone quiet for 12 years. Like many before them, they went at it hard and burned out fast, releasing three albums in just five years. Through it all, there was only one constant: the snarling howl and fierce guitar playing of frontwoman and founding member Brody Dalle. The Distillers’ final album, 2003’s Coral Fang, found the band arriving at a more mature sound, adding layers of melody to their formula of short, fast, and loud. KEVIN DIERS

ROCK/POP

Dermot Kennedy
Irish singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy flew in a day early for his NPR Tiny Desk concert to rehearse with Washington, D.C.'s Howard Gospel Choir, whom he brought along to the performance. Hopefully, this tour stop will also bring some fun surprises.

Forest Ray, Big Iron, Love, Fraser
Seattle band Forest Ray are lovingly analog. It helps that their psychedelia-drenched tracks also recall an era of shaggy hair, lava lamps, and paisley. Recording their music using analog technology, their sound falls somewhere between post-punk and psych with a Tropicalia flute thrown in for good measure. Pure fuzz. Their most recent release, Wedgwood Tapes, which came out during the last week of 2019, is pure positivity—it doesn’t rock the genre’s boat hard, but instead does exactly what it needs to do: deliver a perfect jangly time. It’s a good listen and a good trip. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Izumi, Guayaba, Nic Masangkay, Emma Lee Toyoda
Izumi, a "half-Japanese kid in Seattle letting it all out," will play America-tinged folk-punk with bill support from local all-stars Guayaba, Nic Masangkay, and Emma Lee Toyoda.

Wolf Parade In-Store Performance
Local rockers Wolf Parade will play new tracks off their brand-new LP, Thin Mind, while you shop for records at Sonic Boom.

VARIOUS

Guayaba, La Neve, Archie
Pulling from hella goth lineage (the horror and pleasure of 19th-century phantasmagorias), local musician Guayaba’s latest record, Fantasmagoría, reflects their Afro-Latinx roots as well as their keen eye for the world that runs just parallel to this one, that consists of our desires and deepest fears. As such, their album encompasses genres like horrorcore, bossa nova, psychedelia, and hip-hop, as Guayaba raps in both Spanish and English, creating a sonic world ripe enough in which to see your own soul’s surreal reflection. They will also be joined by Rhode Island musician La Neve and Seattle-based singer Archie. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Your Complete Guide to January 2020 Events in Seattle

Elaina Friedman — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 10:17:00 -0800

The 150 Biggest Arts, Music, Food & Culture Events to Know About by Elaina Friedman

We may be approaching the middle of winter, but the new year (and the new decade!) brings an endless array of performances, concerts, food and drink events, film releases, and more things to do to keep you going. As we do every month, we've compiled the biggest events you need to know about in every genre, from the world premiere of Darren Canady's Reparations to Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival, from the Seattle MLK Day March and Celebration to the Seattle Wine & Food Festival, and from an evening with Isabel Allende to Patton Oswalt. Want more ideas? Check out our complete EverOut Things To Do calendar.

More January guides:

Flavors of the Month: Seattle Food & Drink Specials in January

The Top Seven MLK Day Events in Seattle

The Top Nine Lunar New Year Events in Seattle

The Top 48 January Events in Tacoma

JANUARY 1-31

DRY January
Looking to decrease your alcohol consumption for January? The local botanical-bubbly-soda purveyors at DRY Soda have teamed up with 25 Seattle bars and restaurants (including the restaurants of Ethan Stowell, Tom Douglas, and Thierry Rautureau) to provide interesting zero-proof drink specials this month. See the full list of participating venues here, and check out our calendar of related events here.
JANUARY 2 FILM
'The Grudge' Opening
The gargly ghosts of Takashi Shimizu's J-horror films are back! The cast is good: Betty Gilpin, Andrea Riseborough, John Cho, et al. Nicolas Pesce (The Eyes of My Mother) directs.
JANUARY 2-19 PERFORMANCE
Hershey Felder as 'Monsieur Chopin'
After his stint as Beethoven, the protean musician and actor Felder embodies the composer/pianist Fryderyk Chopin in a one-man show set just after the 1848 Revolution in France.
JANUARY 3-4 MUSIC
Seventh Annual Big Ass Boom Box Festival
Early January is the live-music doldrums, so this free mini-festival of local bands, now in its seventh year, is a welcome respite. The lineup—which includes U.S.E., La Fonda, Powerbleeder, Moon Darling, Racoma, Güero Brown, Alicia Amiri, Antonioni, Bad Saint, and others—is sure to please those seeking local rock and electronic music as usual.
JANUARY 3-5 MUSIC
The Four Seasons
An exploration of color and beauty, Vivaldi's masterwork The Four Seasons will be paired with the uptempo The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires by renowned Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla.
JANUARY 3-FEBRUARY 1 VISUAL ART
Klara Glosova, Mya Kerner
This show brings us work by two Seattle-based artists. Klara Glosova is a Czech-born multidisciplinary artist who creates primarily through drawing and painting. Drawing inspiration from her history growing up in Eastern Europe, as well as her experiences as an artist and mother, Glosova’s work is bright, its figures draped in bold swatches of color. Mya Kerner—a multidisciplinary artist with a background in permaculture—works in mediums like paint and wire to create tranquil mountainscapes that seemingly exist outside of space and time. Her approach to her work is influenced by her Eastern European forester lineage, which aids in her exploration of place and memory. JASMYNE KEIMIG
THROUGH JANUARY 4 PERFORMANCE
Mrs. Doubtfire
It seems impossible, doesn't it, to make a good stage musical out of the 1993 Robin Williams movie Mrs. Doubtfire? Go in with low expectations like I did, and you will leave with the unmistakable impression that director Jerry Zaks has done the impossible. It is an exuberant, dazzling, imaginative, funny, and unbelievably good update of the film set in Trump's America. If you have a kid, take them. If you have a joint in your pocket, smoke it beforehand. It's fun for the whole family. This is your chance to see it before it goes to Broadway, where it will win Jerry Zaks even more Tony Awards. The guy's already got four; this musical's bound to win him a few more. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
WINTER HOLIDAYS
Lumaze
This year, Santa is enlisting the help of young princes and princesses in helping him find six hidden presents. In addition to the prize-bearing hunt, this kid-oriented indoor festival will also have a gift market (complete with fresh produce and seasonal treats) and a light display.
JANUARY 4 MUSIC
Beartooth, Motionless in White
Hardcore punk group Beartooth will journey from Columbus on this joint tour with Motionless in White.
Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven, Buffalo Jones
It’s the annual stop of nasally, craggy-voiced singer, songwriter, and guitarist David Lowery with his two bands. One is influential DIY garage/alt rock makers Camper Van Beethoven, which formed in 1983, featured members on harmonica and fiddle, and drew heavily on elements of folk and roots rock, punk, jangle pop, ska, and world music in an era when most other like bands generally remained within favored genre ranges. The other is twangy post-grunge alt rock side project Cracker, which Lowery formed in 1990 with guitarist John Hickman. (Remember “Low”? The video has Lowery losing a boxing match to Sandra Bernhard.) Cracker became his full-time gig when Camper V broke up later that year, though a reunion happened in 1999, and Lowery has juggled duties in both ever since. No new records from either group since 2014, though Lowery has 18 LPs' worth of material between the two, so they’ll have plenty to bust out in Seattle. LEILANI POLK
READINGS & TALKS
Tarryn Fisher: The Wives
Bestselling author Fisher will read from her new thriller about a woman in a polygynous marriage who's never met her husband's other wives, until one day her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers something disturbing about her man's other families.
JANUARY 4-FEBRUARY 1 VISUAL ART
Jacob Lawrence: Drawings and Prints
Perhaps one of the greatest artists of 20th-century Seattle, Jacob Lawrence depicted Biblical and historic themes through the lens of hardship and resilience in African American communities with boldly covered, color-blocked narrative compositions. Get familiar with his striking, kinetic work.
JANUARY 4-FEBRUARY 15 VISUAL ART
Shaun Kardinal: Present Tense
Using aerial photographs of forests, deserts, mountains, and polar ice culled from nature magazines, Seattle-based artist Shaun Kardinal creates compelling and interesting collages, reinterpreting the images by using colored thread. The result are compositions that explore space, time, and the disintegration of our environment, often juxtaposing “opposite” ecosystems to call attention to the effect that climate change is having on our home. The embroidered elements of his work bring a sense of order and precision to a world without either. A portion of the proceeds from sales will be donated to the Sierra Club Foundation, funding climate solutions and conservation. JASMYNE KEIMIG
THROUGH JANUARY 5 PERFORMANCE
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
The great disco diva Donna Summer gets the musical biography treatment, complete with a score full of her biggest hits—"Hot Stuff," "Love to Love You Baby," and more.
VISUAL ART
Prince from Minneapolis
Prince’s “If I Was Your Girlfriend” did to my erotic imagination what the flower revolution did to the earth millions of years ago—transformed a monochromatic vision of sexuality into one blooming with color. Listening to the song for the first time in 1986, I realized that sex was more (if not all) about play, rather than function, mission, or purpose. Many years later in college, I learned that this form of play was not specific to humans, but was the state of things in nature—most developed animals are not blind and efficient fuckers, but conscious wasters and abusers of sex. Fucking is mostly waste, wonderful waste. And lovers are only fully such when they are playful, when the borders between them are destabilized, when the sex is purely the energy of sex—a glowing substance that’s there to be exploited and explored. Prince will never die, especially with exhibits like this one at MoPOP that uses nearly 50 artifacts (instruments, photographs, artworks, clothes) to delve into what made the late soul-pop artist a superstar. CHARLES MUDEDE
WINTER HOLIDAYS
WildLights
The Woodland Park Zoo will light up with thousands upon thousands of (energy-efficient) LED lights that recreate wild scenes and creatures. You can also throw fake snowballs at your friends, get up close with certain animal residents, and sip hot chocolate.
Zoolights
Holiday traditions don't get more classic than strolling through the Point Defiance Zoo when it's transformed into a luminous wonderland of 3-D animal light installations. Displays from previous years have included hammerhead sharks and sea turtles, a majestic polar bear family, and a giant Pacific octopus.
JANUARY 5 EVERYWHERE
The Golden Globes
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association will present the Golden Globes for the 77th time, broadcasting live on NBC with Ricky Gervais hosting the proceedings. Find our guide to where to watch the nominated movies here.
JANUARY 6 FOOD & DRINK
Melissa Hartwig Urban - The Whole30 Friends & Family
Melissa Hartwig Urban is the cocreator and CEO of the Whole30, which started in 2009 as a 30-day “dietary experiment” Urban conducted on her blog, to transform her health, habits, and emotional relationship with food. Essentially, it’s a month-by-month method of practicing extreme food abstinence and habit-forming eating (eliminating real and artificial sugar from your diet, plus no alcohol, grains, legumes, peanut butter, soy, or dairy, and no baked goods, junk food, or treats even with “approved” ingredients, because that doesn’t help you change your habits), while avoiding the scale or taking any body measurements. Its success for her and the people who’ve followed her has led to a full-fledged program, and several best-selling cookbooks (It Starts with Food, The Whole30, Food Freedom Forever, and The Whole30 Slow Cooker). The Whole30 Friends & Family offers tips on honoring your health commitments amid enjoying time with family and friends at birthday parties, barbecues, office potlucks, and more. Urban will sign all copies of the cookbook purchased at the event. LEILANI POLK
JANUARY 7 READINGS & TALKS
EJ Koh: The Magical Language of Others
When EJ Koh was 15 years old, she and her brother were left in the United States when Koh's father took a job in South Korea and her mom went with him. The parents moved Koh and her 19-year old brother into a small house in Davis, California, where they more or less raised each other. Though her parents were physically absent, her mother asserted her presence in the form of two-page letters, which she sent to Koh every week. The letters are the heartbeat of Koh's memoir The Magical Language of Others, pulsing between chapters that reveal other details of Koh's life. Like any good poet, Koh uses up everything—every image returns, and every idea chimes with another, so that the book's short 200 pages contain the emotional and philosophical heft of a doorstop. RICH SMITH
JANUARY 7-MARCH 28 VISUAL ART
Ian McMahon: Aperture
New York-based artist Ian McMahon’s work deals with the oversized and overstuffed, the permanent and ephemeral. Upending expectations of material and form, McMahon creates steel structures stuffed with what look like voluminous down pillows. It appears inviting enough to hop onto. But instead of goose feathers, his puffy pieces are made of molded plaster that only mimics softer material. With MadArt’s mission to bring art into people’s lives in unexpected ways, McMahon’s site-specific work is sure to awe and inspire. JASMYNE KEIMIG
JANUARY 8-9 MUSIC
Shooter Jennings, Jaime Wyatt
If his father’s name opened a few doors, Waylon “Shooter” Jennings had to forge a career in his long, ornery shadow. Though he got his start as an industrial rocker with a fondness for Giorgio Moroder, Shooter found his niche as a practitioner of a particularly crunchy brand of country rock. Along the way, he released his father's records and even played him in the Johnny Cash biopic I Walk the Line. More recently, he and coproducer Brandi Carlile brought Tanya Tucker back into the limelight with While I'm Livin', which rightfully topped Rolling Stone's best country albums of 2019 list. KATHY FENNESSY
JANUARY 8-10 MUSIC
Los Lobos
January seems to be the month when all those artists that come to Seattle annually make their way north. Los Lobos land here pretty much every year right around the same time to deliver a multi-night stand at the Triple Door, and 2020 is no exception. You know the Chicano rock band, assuming you’re not too young to have seen the 1987 Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba (the music was Valens as covered and recorded by Los Lobos). These dudes are venerable pros, with longevity (est. 1973) and a huge catalog (21-plus albums) showcasing their distinctive brand of Tex-Mex and traditional Latin American music dosed heavily with elements of rock, country, folk, R&B, blues, Zydeco, and soul. Recent set lists encompass original material, the odd selections off 2019’s Llego Navidad (an LP of Mexican folk songs, holiday songs from Central and South America, and a new original by frontmen David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez), and covers by artists ranging from Grateful Dead to Vicente Fernández to the obligatory Valens nod. LEILANI POLK
JANUARY 8-FEBRUARY 2 PERFORMANCE
Reparations
Sound Theatre Company kicks off its 2020 season with the world premiere of Darren Canady's Reparations, a speculative drama about healing inherited traumas using a device that transforms your blood into a time machine. The cast features Allyson Lee Brown, whose turn as Serena Williams in Citizen: An American Lyric drew effusive praise from Stranger editor Christopher Frizzelle: "[Brown is] such a captivating presence onstage, it's hard to look away from her." Jay O'Leary, who did such a great job pulling the good acting out of the players in Washington Ensemble Theatre's B, will direct. This production is stacked with so much talent—it is certainly one of the most highly anticipated shows of the season. RICH SMITH
JANUARY 9 FILM
'Underwater' Opening
Kristen Stewart is working on the bottom of the ocean with Vincent Cassel and friends when something very mean emerges from the abysses.
READINGS & TALKS
Samuel Woolley: How Technology Will Break the Truth
Artificial intelligence and shady data collections powered a massive, targeted propaganda campaign on social media that worked in Donald Trump's favor during the 2016 elections. The extent to which those campaigns moved the needle is up for debate. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, that debate is quite heated on social media.) But Sam Woolley, a journalist and member of the European Research Council's Computational Propaganda investigation team, offers a more thorough, sobering, and enlightening view of the issue in his new book on the subject, How Technology Will Break the Truth. Bring your bots, and your questions about how fucked we'll be once those deepfakes starting hitting mainstream airways. RICH SMITH
Shawn Wong and Tara Fickle: Aiiieeeee!
University of Washington professor Shawn Wong has the distinction of being one of the four editors of the groundbreaking 1974 anthology Aiiieeeee!, which carved out the contemporary Asian American canon and helped articulate many of the conversations about Orientalism, racism, and classism that continue to animate literary scholarship today. The anthology has since been criticized for lacking the voices of women writers, queer writers, and writers with roots in East Asian countries such as Korea and Vietnam, a point likely addressed in literary scholar Tara Fickle's new foreword. Nevertheless, the historic import of this collection is undeniable, and, by examining the recent past, this reading should lead to a lively discussion about the future of Asian American literature. RICH SMITH
JANUARY 9-10 FILM
SEAxSEA: The 2020 Southeast Asia x Seattle Film Festival
Filmmakers will highlight issues and topics pertinent to Southeast Asia in this local film festival.
JANUARY 9-11 MUSIC
Beethoven Emperor Concerto
Beethoven's last and most audacious movement, his Fifth Piano Concerto—which is known as the Emperor and which was dedicated to his patron Archduke Rudolf—will be performed here following Mendelssohn’s jubilant Italian Symphony.
JANUARY 9-MARCH 7 VISUAL ART
Wa Na Wari's Winter Exhibition
The Central District gallery Wa Na Wari's winter show is another lineup of terrific black artistic talent: internationally exhibited film artist Amir George, narrative painter Ronald Hall, Afrocentric sculptor Shurvon Haynes, and Jaleesa Johnston. See non-linear video, dynamic painting, a symbolic mandala, and mixed-media sculpture about the black female body.
JANUARY 9-MARCH 12 FILM
French Pleasures: The Films of Eric Rohmer
This, for me, is the core pleasure of French director Eric Rohmer's cinema: the movement of (usually two) actors during a long (and usually heady) discussion. For example: As a man says something philosophical about love to a woman, he walks to a huge nearby rock and puts a hand on it; as the woman responds by saying something about how his ideas about love are self-serving, she steps away from the man and looks at some trees in the distance. The flow of words is sequenced with the motion of bodies. Rohmer also manages to keep these movements as realistic as possible. They never overflow from the zone between natural and artificial, walking and dancing. The art of this great French director, who died in 2010, is the ballet of a conversation. SAM and Alliance Francaise de Seattle are celebrating his centennial during this nine-film series. CHARLES MUDEDE
JANUARY 9-MAY 31 PERFORMANCE
Peacock
An ambitious young man in 1920s Paris works his way up in a ritzy nightclub in Can Can's latest kitschy-glam, flesh-baring, plot-driven revue.
JANUARY 10 FOOD & DRINK
Cloudburst Brewing Four Year Anniversary
In January of 2016, Steve Luke raised the turquoise garage doors of his Cloudburst Brewing and gave Seattle a new definition of hoppy beer. If you hear “hoppy” and think of one-dimensional, oppressively bitter IPAs, then you should pay a visit to Cloudburst, where “hoppy” means pale ale that tastes like strawberries, IPA that is juicier and softer than it is bitter, and lager that is as clean and grassy as your dad’s fresh-cut lawn. Celebrate their fourth trip around the sun with a birthday party that kicks off at noon with rare barrel-aged beer and fresh hoppy treats. Cloudburst’s small Pike Place Market taproom regularly hits capacity, so show up early and expect a line to get in. LESTER BLACK
JANUARY 10-12 GEEK
OrcaCon 2020
Set aside your consoles and VR headsets for two days of tabletop games including board and card games, role-playing games, and miniatures games. Novice and experienced players are welcome.
JANUARY 10-11 WEED
CannaCon Northwest
For the seventh year, the business-to-business cannabis conference CannaCon will come to Tacoma for its flagship expo featuring hundreds of exhibitors across the weed industry.
JANUARY 10–18 PERFORMANCE
14/48: The World's Quickest Theater Festival
True to its name, the 14/48 festival turns around 14 brand-new, theme-based, 10-minute plays in two days. The high-pressure nature of the event produces an evening of surprising theater for the audience, who arrive in their seats charged with expectation and anxiety for the performers. Though there are always a few experiments that don't quite come together, it's endlessly fascinating to see the way one theme filters through the minds of several very different theater artists. Expect shit to get weird. RICH SMITH
JANUARY 11 COMEDY
Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything
If there’s one sure bet in stand-up, it’s Patton Oswalt. He’s flexed his comedic skills in movies, TV, video games, books, and recordings—but onstage alone with a mic is where the real gold dwells. Whether tackling subjects mundane or profound, Oswalt constructs riveting, hilarious stories out of them with a keen eye for details, a good ear for vocal inflections, and unparalleled use of metaphors and similes. Rare for a comedian, his bits can withstand multiple hearings without losing their punch. Remember this one? “Food and beverage companies test out their new products in the Midwest… for side effects, let’s be honest. If the new venison-flavored Twizzlers are gonna make you grow a vagina behind your knee, it’s better to find out on an onion farmer than on Liv Tyler, isn’t it?” DAVE SEGAL
FESTIVALS
A Celebration of South Asian Resilience
Through dance, film shorts, and conversations, South Asian community members will recognize acts of resilience despite prejudice, isolation, and other challenges.
FOOD & DRINK
Samish Bay Night Tide Soiree
I like to start each year by randomly doing something I would normally avoid. When I saw the event listing for Taylor Shellfish’s Night Tide Soiree at their Samish Bay farm, my first thought was, “I would never do that.” Which is exactly why I decided I should. Whether or not you find the notion of harvesting oysters in Puget Sound at night appealing, adventurous, or eerie, you have to admit it is an exceedingly Pacific Northwest thing to do. For this event, a bus will pick you up from either Seattle or Bellingham and take you out to Samish Bay Farm, which is just outside of Bellingham. Wine and beer are provided (another draw), as is a shucking knife, and when you’re done, you get to slurp the fruits of your harvest right there on the beach, in front of a roaring bonfire. Headlamp, boots, and all-weather gear are suggested. DAVID LEWIS
READINGS & TALKS
Viet Thanh and Ellison Nguyen: Chicken of the Sea
Pulitzer Prize-winning Vietnamese writer Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer) and his little son Ellison have collaborated on this adorable-sounding book about brave sailor chickens who battle seasickness and the fearsome Dog Knights.
JANUARY 11-25 PERFORMANCE
Eugene Onegin
This Seattle Opera production brings together the genius of two great Russians: Alexander Pushkin, who wrote the novel in verse, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky (The Nutcracker), who penned the score. It's a simple but moving and melancholy story of a young woman who falls in love with a cold-hearted nobleman, an encounter that tragically changes the course of their lives.
THROUGH JANUARY 12 VISUAL ART
Emerge/Evolve 2018: Rising Talents in Kiln-Glass
The winners and some finalists of Bullseye Glass Company's competition, which has been going on for the past 18 years, have kiln-glass on display. Some take geometric vase-like forms, like Andy Plummer's ovoid I Moved on Her Like a Bitch; others are weirder, like Evelyn Gottschall Baker's eerily realistic Bones-Group.
JANUARY 12 COMEDY
Bruce McCulloch: Tales of Bravery and Stupidity
Comedian, screenwriter, and producer McCulloch (of the Canadian sketch team the Kids in the Hall) will riff on "some of the bravely stupid things that [he] has done, and things we all do as we get ourselves in and out of trouble as we 'throw ourselves at life.'"
JANUARY 12-14 READINGS & TALKS
National Geographic Live: Pursuit of the Black Panther
If we put aside all the politics and the bullshit for once, I think we would all agree that, technically, the black panther is the coolest animal on the planet. It's athletic and ferocious and wise, like a teenage god. It's also incredibly elusive and rare, which makes National Geographic cinematographer Shannon Wild's new documentary on the big black cat all the more impressive. In a stunning multimedia presentation, the aptly named Wild tells the story of the perilous, years-long journey she took through the Indian subcontinent just to get a peek at the world's coolest animal. RICH SMITH
JANUARY 13 MUSIC
IDER
I guess I was a little high the first time I came across IDER, so, for whatever reason, I thought they were sisters. They’re not—they met in college—but the chemistry Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville exude together in performances, and in the lithe harmonies dispersed among each thumping electro-pop track the duo drops shows off an almost genetic connection of mind and matter. IDER manages to be both emotionally resonant and danceable, a hard combo to find, and makes me want to make dark club music with my own sister. KIM SELLING
READINGS & TALKS
Pamela Paul and Maria Russo with Maria Semple: How to Raise a Reader
Obtain wisdom on how to raise kids who read something other than memes with Pamela Paul and Maria Russo's new book.
JANUARY 14 MUSIC
Nada Surf, Apex Manor
New York alt-rock band Nada Surf remind me of being in high school in the 1990s. There is something so era-specific about their sound to my ears, like Pavement and Breeders, that takes me right back to those intense, angsty years. Nada Surf had their come-up in that particular era, and while they never achieved the fame of peers like Weezer, they have remained relevant—releasing records and touring behind them without a break or hiatus since their formation more than three decades ago. (If you’ve heard anything by Nada Surf, it’s 1996 alt rock radio jam “Popular,” in which frontman Matthew Caws talk-rants through the verses and drones out the chorus, though his vocal can be more tuneful, too.) Ironic considering the title of their forthcoming LP, Never Not Together (out February 7 on Barsuk Records). They’ll be landing in Seattle with their power-pop-infused sounds and will be joined by LA rock quartet Apex Manor, who also have a vaguely ’90s-driving flavor. LEILANI POLK
Roddy Ricch
Armed with three Grammy nominations, Compton singer-rapper Roddy Ricch exploded onto the national stage after making a name for himself in South Los Angeles. A friend and collaborator of the late rapper and LA icon Nipsey Hussle, his voice appears in Hussle’s “Racks in the Middle,” which is nominated for both best rap song and rap performance. The third nod from the Grammys comes due to his contribution to prolific producer Mustard’s “Ballin’,” a track about stunting and the come-up. The 20-year-old rapper has a sound and vibe that suits trap beats as well as R&B riffs. You won’t want to miss this. JASMYNE KEIMIG
READINGS & TALKS
Chuck Palahniuk: Consider This
Your college boyfriend's favorite novelist will be signing his new book on the craft of writing, Consider This. There will be no reading.
David Kessler: Finding Meaning
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's co-author of the important psychological text On Grief and Grieving ventures beyond the five stages of grief—the attainment of meaning—in this new book.
JANUARY 14-19 MUSIC
An Evening with Chris Botti
Amidst career high points like playing alongside Sting and Paul Simon, Grammy Award winner and pop-jazz performer Chris Botti will head back to Seattle with his trumpet and backing band for ballads and jazz and Americana songbook standards.
PERFORMANCE
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical about… oh, you know what Fiddler on the Roof is. The important detail here is that this version is directed by Bartlett Sher, a former Seattle theater director who has gone on to fanciness and fame and Tony Awards with unbelievably brilliant restagings of musical classics, including South Pacific and The King and I. A Sher production of an old musical is always a good bet. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
JANUARY 15 MUSIC
Itzhak Perlman
Grammy- and Emmy-winning violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, who has played a concert at the White House to honor Queen Elizabeth II and who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, will perform an evening set.
Ski Mask the Slump God, Guests
Like seemingly every young rapper of note in 2018, Ski Mask the Slump God came up through SoundCloud. But while many in that world chase trends, Ski Mask has developed a singular style. Latest mixtape Beware the Book of Eli is defiantly strange, with murky production, absurdist lyrics, and protean flows. Each track is a whirlwind of voices and cadences, referencing Greek mythology, children's cartoons, and blowjobs with equal gusto. The Florida rapper knows his history, both old and recent—MF Doom, Wu-Tang, and Odd Future are clear forebears here—and his work is all the richer for it. ANDREW GOSPE
PERFORMANCE
Shin Lim
Card magic wiz Shin Lim (winner of America's Got Talent season 13 and America's Got Talent Champions) will perform impressive feats of sleight of hand.
READINGS & TALKS
Steve Inskeep: Imperfect Union
Steve Inskeep, NPR's Morning Edition co-host, will share the story of a 19th-century American power couple who greatly influenced the United States' push west. John Frémont, an explorer, writer, and Manifest Destiny-type army officer, was the Republican Party's first-ever presidential nominee. His wife Jessie acted as his top political adviser, and the two of them, while advocating westward expansion, also backed abolition and women's rights.
JANUARY 16 FOOD & DRINK
Spilled Milk Podcast Live - 10th Anniversary, Featuring Dewa Dorje
This podcast, created by local writers/comedians Molly Wizenberg (who wrote the book Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage, about opening Delancey, the acclaimed pizza restaurant in Ballard) and Matthew Amster-Burton (who wrote Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo), finds its inspiration in specific foods. They'll celebrate their 10th anniversary with a live show filled with "probably awkward small-talk."
MUSIC
Earthgang, Mick Jenkins, Wynne, Jurdan Bryant
EarthGang have that ATL hip-hop sound I love, keeping the spirit of Outkast (fun and freaky dirty South) alive without sounding much like that particular duo. EarthGang are a duo, too—rappers Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot. They’ve been buzzing since self-releasing their debut in 2013, their quirky, psychedelic rap eventually catching the ears of J. Cole; EarthGang signed to his Dreamville Records last year. Their major label first (and third full-length overall, excluding all the mixtapes and EPs and comp singles and guest spots in between), Mirrorland, is fucking banging. Johnny Venus told Pitchfork that the album is inspired by 1978 Wizard of Oz redux The Wiz: “It’s really colorful. It’s really dangerous. It’s really trippy. It’s literally Freaknik Atlanta in the summertime—folks riding around in cars with big rims with paint on their faces.” Johnny Venus has the gnarly, demented, Caribbean-flecked vocal quality, while Doctur Dot is a tad more straightforward eccentric, slicker, very slightly quicker—though both are lyrically agile, clever, witty as fuck, with the ability to be both odd and catchy. They’re edging toward stardom. Here’s hoping their quirky charm is intact when they arrive. LEILANI POLK
ECA Presents Mavis Staples
You know the Staple Singers from their R&B, soul, funk, and gospel-fused hits (“Respect Yourself,” “I'll Take You There”), so you’re already familiar with the youngest sibling of the family vocal group, Mavis Staples; she’s got that warm, deep, enveloping vocal quality that feels like a hug. Her sound gotten some modern polish over the last four albums, three with Wilco primary Jeff Tweedy at the helm, another tapping the talents of indie folk singer-songwriter M. Ward. Her 14th and latest soulful, R&B outing, We Get By, finds her hitting the studio with Ben Harper, who wrote and produced the 11-track LP, and lends his husky tenor to the title track. LEILANI POLK
YBN Cordae
YBN crew outlier and up-and-coming rapper YBN Cordae has expanded his reach tenfold over the last year with popular single drops and a coveted spot on the 2019 XXL "Freshman Class" list. He'll be joined by additional guests on his Lost Boy In America Tour.
PERFORMANCE
Stuff You Should Know
Stuff You Should Know hosts Josh Clark and Charles “Chuck” Bryant are taking their popular and informative podcast on the road. The live shows are much like the podcast: Josh and Chuck research the shit out of a subject (ayahuasca, the Satanic Panic, pizza) and tell you what you need to know, as well as what you didn’t really need to know but might find pretty interesting anyway. And it works: Everyone might have a podcast right now, but not everyone does it well. Josh and Chuck, who’ve been hosting this thing for more than 10 years, get the formula right. KATIE HERZOG
READINGS & TALKS
Daniel Levitin: Successful Aging
How does one age successfully? That’s the question Daniel Levitin tries to answer in his new book, Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives. Relying on brain studies as well as interviews with happily aging people, Levitin argues that people can have rich, fulfilling, and healthy lives into their 80s and 90s, but it takes both an individual effort, and accommodation and understanding on the part of society. KATIE HERZOG
JANUARY 16-26 PERFORMANCE
Bohemia
This "macabre and mystical" cabaret-style musical from Mark Siano and Opal Peachey, set in 1890s Prague, features the music of Dvořák and Chopin and art nouveau by Alphonse Mucha—plus "beautiful green fairies, aerial numbers, dance, burlesque, classical piano battles, comedy, and original songs."
JANUARY 16-FEBRUARY 23 PERFORMANCE
She Loves Me
Joe Masteroff, Jerry Bock, and Sheldon Harnick, progenitors of the deathless Fiddler on the Roof, also wrote this sweet musical about two perfume store clerks who butt heads constantly—not realizing that they're also in a romantic letter-writing relationship thanks to a classified. Yes, it's the plot of You've Got Mail.
JANUARY 16-MARCH 19 VISUAL ART
Exploring Passages within the Black Diaspora
In this massive link-up of the Frye Museum, Jacob Lawrence Gallery, Photographic Center Northwest, and independent curator Berette Macaulay, the cause célèbre is female-identifying photographers of the Black diaspora. This is courtesy of the MFON Collective (a journal and movement founded by artists Delphine Barrayn and Laylah Fawundu, and named after Nigerian American photographer Mmekutmfon “Mfon” Essien), which brings attention to photography rarely seen, celebrated, or critically engaged by the art world at large. At PCNW, work by these artists will be on display for viewers to take in. And cheers to that. JASMYNE KEIMIG
JANUARY 17 MUSIC
Big Head Todd and the Monsters, JD Simo
Bold and brassy rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters have been gigging across the country for the last three decades now, and will show off their stamina with a night of their latest tracks.
JANUARY 17-18 MUSIC
Cold War Kids
One of those indie-rock bands turned big-time alternative players you probably always forget about until you’re reminded of them when one of their tracks pops up on the radio, like “First” (“First you get hurt, then you feel sorry”), or “Hang Me Up to Dry” (“You wrung me out / Too, too, too many times”), or “Love Is Mystical” (that newish jam off sixth LP, 2017’s L.A. Divine). Frontman Nathan Willett has that sexy operatic urgency to his vocals, like he could just scream out at any moment, and with perfect pitch, and it would not only sound good, but you’d have to stop and pay attention. LEILANI POLK
JANUARY 17-24 PERFORMANCE
Xpress
Whim W'Him's first production of 2020 is composed of three world premieres by three award-winning choreographers: Sidra Bell, founder of an eponymous dance company in New York; Ihsan Rustem, a Swiss choreographer who's collaborated with Whim W'him dancers in the past, and Whim W'Him's own Olivier Wevers.
JANUARY 17-26 FESTIVALS
Lake Chelan Winterfest
Lake Chelan hosts two weekends of wintery fun for the whole family, including ice sculptures, live music, wine and beer tastings, a polar bear splash, snow yoga, a massive beach bonfire, and a fireworks show.
MUSIC
Seattle Chamber Music Society Winter Festival
Hear pieces from a variety of composers at the Seattle Chamber Music Society's annual six-day winter program. This year's theme is centered on a celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday. The first weekend of the festival will feature half of Beethoven’s string quartets, performed by the Ehnes Quartet, with each of the first three concerts featuring one work from the three eras of his life and career as a composer. The second weekend will feature violin sonatas by Grieg and Mozart, piano trios by Schubert and Ravel, and both of Brahms’ string quintets, along with concluding concerti by Johann Sebastian Bach.
JANUARY 17-FEBRUARY 16 PERFORMANCE
True West
America’s favorite masc4masc playwright Sam Shepard is dead. He passed away a few years ago, but the swaggering cowboy, called the “greatest American playwright of his generation” by New York Magazine, is continuing to get a retrospective on stages across the country. Now the celebration comes to the Seattle Rep, with the theater putting on True West, a gritty and funny play about two brothers and some identity theft. Expect brawls and belly laughs. CHASE BURNS
JANUARY 17-FEBRUARY 3 PERFORMANCE
Dance Nation
Bobbin Ramsey, who directed 2019's provocative The Arsonists, is back with Washington Ensemble Theatre to premiere Clare Barron's Dance Nation. The "unsettling, and at times terrifying, power of young women" is at the forefront of this play about a team of competitive dancers who'll stop at nothing to make it to the nationals.
JANUARY 18 FESTIVALS
Bavarian IceFest
Each year over MLK weekend, Washington's Bavarian-style village, Leavenworth, celebrates winter's bounties with twinkling lights and frosty activities like frisbee sweeping, ice cube scrambling, and "smooshing." You can also look forward to live ice carving, ice fishing, a fireworks show, and more.
FILM
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live
Those irrepressible connoisseurs of godawful movies, Joel, Crow T. Robot, Servo, and Gypsy, will head out on Joel's last tour promising live riffs on a cinematic stinker.
MUSIC
Dessa with String Quartet
Hailing from the lip-savvy land of Atmosphere, Minneapolis’s Dessa (aka Margret Wander) is blending mainstream and feminist rap in a provocative way that satiates both mind and body. For the mind, the 37-year-old strings together heartfelt anthems like “Fire Drills” and a spoken-word consciousness, and she uses her palpable lyricism to impart a more visceral listening experience. For the body, her suede-like melodies and trenchant cadence loosen you up, and before you know it, the polished, synth-driven beat is tingling down your spine. ZACH FRIMMEL
The Infamous Stringdusters, Yonder Mountain String Band
Somewhere between maintaining tradition and plumbing modernity, the Infamous Stringdusters strike a bluegrass balance influenced by the spirits of their forebears, like Bill Monroe, John Hartford, Earl Scruggs, David Bromberg, and other originators.
JAUZ
Up-and-coming pop-electronica hybridist JAUZ keeps climbing the ranks of EDM festival-crowders like Zedd and Skrillex. Join him on the Seattle stop of his Dangerous Waters Tour.
King Princess
Take in Brooklyn multi-instrumentalist King Princess' smooth vocals and pop beats as she performs tracks that explore queer independence and the complexities of youth.
RESISTANCE & SOLIDARITY
Womxn's March on Seattle 2020
Even with Donald Trump's impeachment underway, the rights and safety of womxn, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and anyone else who is not a wealthy white man are still at risk. For the fourth year in a row, join Seattle Indivisible, the Washington Immigrants Solidarity Network, and other local organizations in one of many marches happening around the country.
JANUARY 18-19 FILM
Seattle Wine & Film Festival
Get gussied up for a black-tie gala and festival featuring short films, documentaries, and features; a performance from classical guitarist Matt Palmer; and tastings from Eastern Washington wineries you might not know about.
THROUGH JANUARY 19 VISUAL ART
L. A. Ring: On the Edge of the World
On the Edge of the World is the first exhibition of Danish artist L.A. Ring’s work in the United States. Ring worked within the Symbolist and Realist tradition in the early 20th century, documenting the change in lifestyle occurring during that period in Denmark. Though extremely important to both Danish and Nordic culture, his work is relatively unknown outside his native land. The exhibit will feature 25 key paintings that best represents the work Ring did as a whole. The Nordic Museum will also be offering a special aquavit cocktail in their café, Freya, in honor of this exhibition—you can’t miss it. JASMYNE KEIMIG
JANUARY 19 FOOD & DRINK
7th Annual Robert Burns Supper
James Beard Award-winning chef John Sundstrom will create an exclusive menu centering around everyone's favorite Scottish delicacy, Haggis, paired with scotch and the poetry of Robert Burns. See other ways to celebrate Scotland's national poet here.
JANUARY 20 HOLIDAYS
2020 Seattle MLK Day March and Celebration
Garfield High School's annual day of events celebrates the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. with an opportunity fair, workshops, and pre- and post-march rallies.
MUSIC
Cursive, Cloud Nothings, Criteria
I've always thought of Cursive as the classy, venerable leaders of emofied post-hardcore realms. Tim Kasher's distinctive style of urgent whisper-singing and abrasion-free shout-singing has always rubbed me the right way, even as others of his ilk have turned me off completely. There's just something about his earnestness and the emotion he wrings from any one moment that just feels more authentic than what you hear from many of his peers. LEILANI POLK
PERFORMANCE
The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White
Join Deborah Frances-White if you've "ever felt like you should be better at feminism" for a live and lively recording of her hit podcast, which Phoebe Waller-Bridge (of Fleabag) has hailed as "genius."
JANUARY 21 MUSIC
Amber Liu, Meg & Dia, Justice Carradine
K-pop star Amber Liu emerged from massively popular group f(x) to work on her solo career over the last few years. She'll perform tonight with guest sets by Meg & Dia and Justice Carradine.
Rex Orange County
Now that Mac DeMarco is a music-biz underdog success story, expect plenty of others to follow his lead. One such spiritual disciple is Rex Orange County, a 20-year-old from South London whose real name is Alexander O'Connor. His sound is retro-leaning, jazz-inflected soft rock; his lyrics are earnest and frequently lovelorn. How he sings is crucial to his appeal among kids to whom Chicago is just a city in Illinois: with a relaxed, free-flowing cadence that draws from contemporary R&B. One fan is Tyler, the Creator, who featured him prominently on 2017’s Flower Boy, an early highlight of what looks like a promising career. ANDREW GOSPE
READINGS & TALKS
William Gibson: Agency
The master of cyberpunk will read from Agency, the sequel to his novel The Peripheral. The new book follows engineer Verity Jane as she's hired to beta-test a human-like AI with capacities beyond what its makers suspect. It weaves this narrative with one that takes place a century later in a post-apocalyptic future, when a tech worker named Wilf looks back into the alternative past to try to help Verity Jane and the AI to avert their own catastrophe.
JANUARY 21-22 MUSIC
Harriet Tubman
Improvised fusion attains several peaks in the dexterous hands and feet of New York’s Harriet Tubman. Brandon Ross (guitar/banjo/vocal), Melvin Gibbs (electric bass), and J.T. Lewis (drums) have been jamming complexly and powerfully for the last 21 years, imbuing their technically brilliant pieces with fiery soulfulness. The show at Langston Hughes Performing Center I caught by Harriet Tubman earlier this year bowled over the crowd with telepathic interplay, rhythmic sorcery, and a turbulent vibe that recalled Jimi Hendrix and ’70s-era Miles Davis at their peaks. DAVE SEGAL
JANUARY 22 MUSIC
Midge Ure: Songs, Questions, and Answers Tour
The only musician to play in both Thin Lizzy and Visage, Midge Ure is best known for fronting UK electro-pop prima donnas Ultravox in the ’80s and for co-writing the multi-platinum charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid. (Good cause, awful song.) As a vocalist, Ure projects large, utterly sincere emotions, and you either fall in love with him or laugh in his face. (I dare you to go up to him and belt out, “This means nothing to me!”) Still, there’s no denying this Scottish guitarist/singer’s ability to write a sweeping, blood-rushing tune that makes your every gesture seem terribly important while listening to it. Throughout his solo career, Ure has done nothing to rein in his melodramatic streak, but his capacity to write majestic, earworm melodies remains undiminished. DAVE SEGAL
Trippie Redd
Atlanta-based rapper and singer-songwriter Trippie Redd—best known for his songs "Love Scars," "Poles1469," and "Dark Knight Dummo"—will headline on his Love Me More Tour.
READINGS & TALKS
Adam Davidson
Davidson's acute analysis can be heard on the Planet Money podcast, which he co-created, and read in the New Yorker. Among other laurels, he's won a Peabody award for his coverage of the financial crisis, whose devastating effect on the housing market he addressed in the radio documentary The Giant Pool of Money. Seattle Arts & Lectures will bring him to share his economic insights.
Ericka Hart
Gather for intersectionally focused sexual health with black queer feminist Ericka Hart, a speaker who's been featured in international media as the face of racial reproductive health justice.
An Evening with Jonny Sun
Join Jonny Sun, author and illustrator of everyone is an aliebn when ur an aliebn and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and a writer for BoJack Horseman, for an evening in Seattle.
JANUARY 23 FILM
'The Gentlemen' Opening
Guy Ritchie's latest wisecracking shoot-em-up, about a British crime lord trying to make a deal with a rich Oklahoman pot kingpin, boasts a huge cast of likelies and unlikelies: Hugh Grant (!), Henry Golding, Colin Firth, Charlie Hunnam, Matthew McConaughey, and so on.
MUSIC
The Green
For almost a decade now, the Green has been gaining fans with their earnest, homegrown reggae sound. They'll play tracks off their latest album, Marching Orders.
Greyson Chance
Ex-teen sensation Greyson Chance is now an adult and touring the country on the wave of his popular singles (notably, "Shut Up," "Yours," and "Timekeeper"). He'll be joined by additional guests on this stop for his Portraits World Tour.
Midori with Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Classical pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, whose music can be heard on soundtracks for films including Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, joins Grammy-winning violinist Midori for an all-Beethoven recital program in honor of the composer’s 250th anniversary.
Seventeen
South Korean superstar crew SEVENTEEN (who, despite their name, only have 13 members) will arrive in Seattle for a stop on the North American leg of their Ode To You World Tour.
READINGS & TALKS
Peggy Orenstein: Boys, Sex, and the New Masculinity
Orenstein follows up Girls & Sex with a new book focused on the impact of toxic masculinity, media stereotypes, and gender-role-binary thinking on boys and young men. She addresses sexuality, emotion, empathy, consent, and violence in light of "locker-room talk," porn, sex education (or lack thereof), and other troubling influences.
Ron Rael: Notes from the Borderlands
Ron Rael, an architect with Rael San Fratello whose most recent creation was a bright pink "teeter-totter wall" on the US-Mexico border, will come to Seattle to talk about his work and his new book, Borderwall as Architecture.
JANUARY 23-25 MUSIC
Steve Gadd Band with Kevin Hays, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Landau, and Walt Fowler
Judged by his peers as one of the greatest drummers ever, Steve Gadd has played on a multitude of important records made by legions of legends, including Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Paul Simon, and Steely Dan. Virtuoso fusion keyboardist Chick Corea said, “[Gadd] has brought orchestral and compositional thinking to the drum kit while at the same time having a great imagination and a great ability to swing.” Steve Gadd Band’s self-titled 2018 album is a poised, polished slice of jazz-funk that shows the drummer’s not lost his nimble sorcery, even in his 70s. For these shows, Gadd’s band will include Kevin Hays (keyboards), Michael Landau (guitar), Jimmy Johnson (bass), and Walt Fowler (trumpet/flugelhorn). DAVE SEGAL
JANUARY 23-26 PERFORMANCE
Jaha Koo: Cuckoo
In Cuckoo, South-Korean artist Jaha Koo stands onstage and talks with a bunch of R2D2-looking rice cookers about "the last 20 years of Korean history," which is the strongest premise for any performance I've heard of in awhile. Press materials indicate that Koo is using his extremely advanced rice cooker reprogramming skills as a way to discuss the "tragedy of a lonely life in a thoroughly technologized society," a trenchant tale of caution for city-dwellers in South Korea and South Lake Union alike. RICH SMITH
JANUARY 24 MUSIC
Brett Dennen
It should be said right away that redheaded Brett Dennen, who plays the guitar and sings and came from California, seems like a very nice man. He promotes deserving nonprofits on his website and his songs have conscience. They are best called "warm," which they are often called. It makes them sound slightly more generic than they are, but they are still slightly generic—but nice. Rolling Stone called him one to watch. JEN GRAVES
Wynonna and The Big Noise
Nashville country singing legend, famous redhead, and musical force of nature Wynonna Judd will throw down all the classics and some tracks from her latest release with her backing troupe the Big Noise.
READINGS & TALKS
Carmen Maria Machado
She's done it again. Judging by the rave reviews of In the Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado has written another must-read. But rather than a collection of Borgesian short stories, this one is a harrowing memoir about her abusive relationship with her first girlfriend. Entertainment Weekly called it "the best memoir of the year." NPR says she's invented "a new kind of memoir." Seattle's own Kristen Millares Young said her review of the book in the Washington Post would have been easier to write if Machado wasn't "so good." Brace yourself for this one. RICH SMITH
Yangsze Choo: The Night Tiger
In Yangsze Choo's second novel (following The Ghost Bride), an 11-year-old boy searches for his dead master's finger, which sets him on a path to encounter a Malaysian dancehall girl and aspiring physician whose one-night partner left her a pretty gross memento.
RESISTANCE & SOLIDARITY
Youth Climate Lobby Day
Our Climate, Zero Hour Seattle, and other environmentally focused local organizations will host a breakfast and lobbying training session culminating in a rally in the Washington State Capitol to demand that local lawmakers pass "bold, equitable, and science-based climate policies this legislative session to protect our futures."
JANUARY 24-25 MUSIC
Seattle Pop Punk Festival
Shake off that winter chill and get your energy levels up for two days of double digits' worth of pop punk bands, both local and national, including the reunion of Sicko.
Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival 2020
Former Stranger contributor Brittnie Fuller has written, "This event in Leavenworth—the infamous German-themed town/tourist attraction nestled in the Cascades—looks like the coziest mid-winter music festival, filled with beardo-magnet amenities like skiing and snowboarding, a hot-toddy garden, wine tastings, and festival-branded flannel shirts. The weekend's musical offerings are generally varied, with numerous local and national acts ranging from indie rock to hip-hop." This year's roster is no exception, boasting sets by Pedro the Lion, Bully, Bearaxe, Lisa Prank, Ivan & Alyosha, CarLarans, Bryan John Appleby, and many more.
JANUARY 24-JUNE 14 VISUAL ART
Nicole Gordon: Altered States
Once again demonstrating their penchant for art that makes you feel like you're tripping balls, the Bellevue Arts Museum presents the lysergic paintings of Chicago-based Nicole Gordon, who remixes past, future, and alternate realities in eye-boggling colors.
Playa Made: The Jewelry of Burning Man
Taking place in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, Burning Man is the festival to end all festivals: crowds of people on hallucinogens? You got it. Lighting a giant wooden effigy on fire? Cool. Constructing a temporary city from scratch where radical self-expression runs free? Great, but I’m also tired. Playa Made is an exhibition that specifically focuses on and celebrates the jewelry of Burning Man, featuring over 200 objects by 60 artists of various backgrounds, from the very handmade to the professional. In addition to jewelry, the exhibition will also feature the photography of the Black Rock City by George Post. JASMYNE KEIMIG
JANUARY 25 COMEDY
Bill Maher
Bill Maher shares his steadfast opinions on politics and life on his HBO show, Real Time. Hear what he has to say in his live stand-up routine.
Kathleen Madigan
Midwest comic Kathleen Madigan, who skewers such subjects as the Southern school system, retirement villages, the news, and her parents, will bring her wonderfully deep, sardonic voice to the Seattle stage.
EVERYWHERE
Lunar New Year 2020
Celebrations of the Lunar New Year—which this time is the Year of the Rat—are as varied as the many countries that observe it, from China to Vietnam to South Korea and beyond. Find a full list of ways to celebrate on our complete Lunar New Year calendar.
FOOD & DRINK
10th Annual Belgian Fest
Brewing beers with Belgian yeast yields a range of ales with a distinctive fruity flavor. This festival featuring more than 100 Belgian-style beers crafted by Washington breweries is the perfect opportunity to taste them all, including funky lambics, tangy saisons, dubbels, tripels, abbeys, and wits.
MUSIC
BAYNK
Bedroom producer-turned-festival headliner BAYNK concocts tropical house, future bass, and tracks ready for all your summer parties.
Ozomatli
The Los Angeles-based band and multi-Grammy Award-winning outfit delivers a modern Latinx sound that encompasses hip-hop, funk, reggae and more. These "cultural ambassadors" are characterized by their creativity and festive spirit.
Poppy
Bizarro pop Barbie web artist Poppy has racked up hundreds of millions of views on YouTube for her many surreal Technicolor videos. She'll be performing tracks off of her last album on her I Disagree Tour.
Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra - Legendary Women
Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra will present the first U.S. performances of music by underrated women composers Mel Bonis and Ruth Gipps, as well as operatic selections including Ludwig van Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 and a sampling of French arias with mezzo-soprano Jenny Knapp.
Thrice, mewithoutYou, Drug Church, Holy Fawn
While they’re just now starting to get traction on commercial-rock radio, Thrice have been putting in work for the past 20 years, rising from the Southern California underground all-ages scene to release 10 albums. They’ve evolved from playing the breakneck metallic hardcore anthems of their early years to a much more straightforward, melodic rock sound. For a couple years, though, vocalist Dustin Kensrue called the Eastside home, as he was gospel leader for the Bellevue Mars Hill Church location before abandoning ship in 2014 as the controversy surrounding infamous pastor Mark Driscoll came to a head. KEVIN DIERS
Xavier Omär, Parisalexa
Chilled-out R&B thriller Xavier Omär lent his smooth-as-silk vocals to Hours Spent Loving You, a collaborative album with local favorite Sango, and he will bring similarly smoky hits to this evening set.
JANUARY 25-APRIL 19 VISUAL ART
Subspontaneous: Francesca Lohmann and Rob Rhee
Seattle-based artists Francesca Lohmann and Rob Rhee probe the boundaries between "the natural and the manufactured" with sculptures based on the concept of subspontaneous plant species, which spread through human meddling but continue to flourish without further help. Both artists experiment with unpredictability in their processes, like Lohmann's sprouting potatoes, moldy sausage casings, and liquid plaster sculptures hardened in woven fabric bags and tubes, or Rhee's gourds grown in welded steel receptacles.
THROUGH JANUARY 26 VISUAL ART
Donald Byrd: The America That Is To Be
Local Tony-nominated, Bessie-winning choreographer Donald Byrd's dance pieces confront the horrors of contemporary society: gay-bashing, war, racial terrorism, misogyny. This installation, Byrd's first solo museum show, uses archival footage and artifacts to advance the artist's idea of a future America, "multi-racial in every aspect."
Flesh and Blood: Italian Masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum
Flesh and Blood consists of 40 works by Spanish, Italian, and French Renaissance and Baroque master artists. These works are from the collection of Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, in the hills of Naples, Italy, and this is the first time many of them have traveled together. Perhaps the most exciting thing is the inclusion of Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi's Judith and Holofernes (1612–1613). It depicts the Old Testament story of Judith, a beautiful Jewish heroine, assassinating the Assyrian general Holofernes. Judith used her looks and Holofernes's desire to get into his tent, where he passed out after drinking too much. Judith used this opportunity to behead the general with a giant sword, absconding with his decapitated head and saving her city and the people in it. Gentileschi's Judith is clothed, and she shows absolutely no qualms about the task. The surety and determination on her face is matched by the way she grabs Holofernes's hair, holding him so that she can position the sword accurately. She's a butcher of tyrannical men. JASMYNE KEIMIG
JANUARY 26 FOOD & DRINK
All Star Truffle Dinner
Chef Mutsuko Soma of Kamonegi will prepare a six-course meal along with Misti Norris of Petra and the Beast (Dallas, Texas), Nite Yun on Nyum Bai (Oakland, California), and Caroline Glover of Annette (Aurora, Colorado)—all of whom were featured in Food and Wine's Best New Chefs for 2019, including Soma herself. The meal will showcase native Pacific Northwest truffles foraged by the chefs themselves, with the assistance of a truffle dog named Stella.
MUSIC
Dermot Kennedy
Irish singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy flew in a day early for his NPR Tiny Desk concert to rehearse with Washington, D.C.'s Howard Gospel Choir, whom he brought along to the performance. Hopefully, this tour stop will also bring some fun surprises.
The Distillers x Alexisonfire
Before they teased a reunion on social media back in January 2018, LA-based punk squad the Distillers had gone quiet for 12 years. Like many before them, they went at it hard and burned out fast, releasing three albums in just five years. Through it all, there was only one constant: the snarling howl and fierce guitar playing of frontwoman and founding member Brody Dalle. The Distillers’ final album, 2003’s Coral Fang, found the band arriving at a more mature sound, adding layers of melody to their formula of short, fast, and loud. KEVIN DIERS
JANUARY 28 MUSIC
Motion City Soundtrack
Minneapolis's Motion City Soundtrack will bring their Weezer-esque pop-punk to town on their Don't Call It A Comeback Tour.
READINGS & TALKS
Ingrid Newkirk: Animalkind
Ingrid Newkirk has spent her career advocating against animal cruelty. The President of PETA and co-author Gene Stone are out with a new book, Animalkind: Remarkable Discoveries About Animals and the Remarkable Ways We Can Be Kind to Them. An inspection of the inner lives of animals (“Animals love,” they write. “They grieve. They feel emotional pain. They worry. And they can anticipate pain.”), the text offers compelling arguments against animal testing and circuses and in favor of veganism and low-oil diets. They make less compelling arguments against leather, but you still may want to avoid wearing Birkenstocks to their reading. KATIE HERZOG
JANUARY 28-30 PERFORMANCE
Drama Tops, This Is For You
Prolific dancer Elby Brosch, seen in such innovative showcases as Northwest New Works and Next Fest, will present an expansion of his previous work for On the Boards, Falling Short. With two collaborators (non-binary dancer Jordan Macintosh-Hougham and cis male dancer Shane Donohue), this transmasculine choreographer will use elements of drag and cabaret to explore masculinity.
JANUARY 29 MUSIC
Jacquees
Initially notable for kicking Keith Sweat to the curb, the self-proclaimed "King of R&B" Jacquees is back in town to play tracks off his latest album.
Michael Kiwanuka
There’s an entrancing, deeply poignant appeal to the music of Michael Kiwanuka, the UK’s latest high-quality soul export. His vocals are rich, emotive, and resonant with a light scratchiness and a cadence that hints at his Ugandan heritage, while his sound has a funky 1970s feel, with extravagant instrumental accouterments (haunting, gospel-tinged backing vocals, dramatic organ, and swells of strings and brass). Danger Mouse was among the producers of his 2016 second full-length, Love & Hate, which is good from start to finish. (“Black Man in a White World” is straight-up Curtis Mayfield, and I say that with much love.) Fans of HBO’s Big Little Lies should know that Kiwanuka’s “Cold Little Heart” was tapped for the show’s opening theme. LEILANI POLK
READINGS & TALKS
Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker: A Very Stable Genius
These two Pulitzer-winning Washington Post reporters will read from their new book, fully titled A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America, for which they drew on many DC sources to reveal the "pattern and meaning to the daily disorder" in the White House.
Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
#MeToo heroes Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey were instrumental in the fall of Harvey Weinstein after their Pulitzer-winning expose of the Hollywood mogul and alleged rapist was published in the New York Times in 2017. In their new book, She Said, the journalists explain how, exactly, they managed to publish a story that had gone unreported, but whispered about, for so long. Washington Post called it “an instant classic of investigative journalism,” and the New York Times named it an instant bestseller. KATIE HERZOG
Stephanie Land: Maid
The author of Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive, a single mother, eked out a living cleaning houses while she attended college. She'll share her autobiography, now out in paperback, in an effort to destigmatize women who face the same challenges she did.
JANUARY 29-30 MUSIC
The New Pornographers, Diane Coffee
It’s really hard not to like the New Pornographers; “Letter from an Occupant” off their 2000 debut Mass Romantic still gives me feel-good goose bumps. The Vancouver faves churn out a pleasant mix of indie rock and power pop that’s gained them a relentlessly loyal fan base. If that weren’t enough, they’re also composed of talented music-makers who’ve gone on to fruitful solo careers and side projects, like Carl Newman (aka AC Newman, a quiet storm of lovely), Neko Case (badass alt-folk-rocker), and Dan Bejar (you know you love Destroyer). LEILANI POLK
JANUARY 30 MUSIC
Lil TJay
Having opened for other bigger-name PNW artists like Lil Mosey, Lil TJay is finally ready to headline on his own. He'll be back in town with new tracks and special guests on his True 2 Myself Tour.
Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1
One of the best things about having Thomas Dausgaard as Seattle Symphony's music director is that we now get to watch him conduct the music of his Danish compatriot, Erik Nielsen, all the time. His Symphony No. 1 is a thrilling epic, full of intense moments that could score a viking raid. With Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto also on the menu, the Nielsen work will add some much needed excitement. The program also features Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, which is one of those pieces of classical music you've heard a million times without knowing the name of it. Looney Tunes used the first movement, Morning Mood, extensively, so it's buried deep in your childhood brain. RICH SMITH
READINGS & TALKS
Isabel Allende: A Long Petal of the Sea
Now is the time to read and listen to the Chilean writer Isabel Allende. In the middle of October, protests exploded in Santiago, Chile. These demonstrations, which involved millions of Chileans, were sparked by a rise in the city’s subway fare. But the crisis is not isolated; it’s occurring against the backdrop of Chile’s early experiment with neoliberalism, which was imposed on the country by the brutal dictator, Augusto Pinochet. In her 1982 novel The House of the Spirits, Allende attempted to exorcize the ghosts of that exceptionally bloody dictatorship, which began with the murder of the novelist’s uncle, the democratically elected Salvador Allende. The ghosts of Pinochet still haunt the slim South American country. Allende will certainly have lots to say about how these ghosts have returned as the young protestors on the streets of Santiago, despite the fact that her latest novel shifts the time period backwards, to the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. CHARLES MUDEDE
JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 1 PERFORMANCE
Brian Brooks Moving Company
UW Creative Research Fellow Brian Brooks has developed dance pieces inspired by bodies on stage and within the realm of "immersive technologies." For this program, see three world premieres, including a solo by Brooks, a duet called MOTOR, the premiere of Torrent, and the ensemble piece Closing Distance, set to Partita for 8 Voices by Pulitzer Prize-winning violinist/singer Caroline Shaw.
JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 2 MUSIC
War
LA funk/soul ensemble War have split into two camps: One goes by the name the Lowrider Band, while original lead singer and keyboardist Lonnie Jordan has retained the War moniker. It’s not an optimal state of affairs, but War’s hit-laden 1970s catalog is so potent and redolent of greasily groovy good times and carefree summers (except for the ominous “Four Cornered Room,” which I consider one of War’s peaks) that you can be assured no matter which unit is playing them, they’re going to transport you to a better, warmer place. So, great timing for War to do a four-night run. DAVE SEGAL
JANUARY 31 FILM
'Rhythm Section' Opening
In this filmization of Mark Burnell's novel, a woman discovers that the plane crash that killed her family was not an accident.
MUSIC
Ben Lee
Sydney-born, LA-based singer-songwriter Ben Lee will make a stop in Seattle for some J Mascis- and Grateful Dead-inspired jams.
Emily King
Sexy-poignant R&B jam "Distance" has more than 11 million plays on Spotify, but I bet you've never heard it, and maybe you haven't heard of Emily King, either. "Distance" is about fighting and making up and making a relationship work when there's distance in the middle of it, about living apart and getting back together, with a rather sweet refrain ("Oh, love is always better / When we take time to get back to who we are / When we are apart / Distance makes the heart grow / Even when I'm lonely / Happy knowing that your love is never far"). The NYC singer-songwriter has soulful, breathy-husky yet sweetly melodic and confident vocals (I'm reminded of Tina Turner, if not in sound, then definitely in spirit). LEILANI POLK
Super Diamond
The Surreal Neil, Randy Cordeiro, is apparently a vocal dead ringer for Neil Diamond, who was impressed enough to perform twice with the tribute band named in his honor. Expect loads of glitter and throaty vibrato.
READINGS & TALKS
Spotlight Poetry: Sherwin Bitsui with Elee Kraljii Gardiner
Join acclaimed Diné poet Sherwin Bitsui (Dissolve) and Canadian writer Elee Kraljii Gardiner (Trauma Head) for a joint reading.
JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 1 MUSIC
Excision: The Thunderdome
This electronic music extravaganza boasts two days of artists from all over the place performing back-to-back sets, from 12th Planet, Tramp, and Champagne Drip (Fri) to Liquid Stranger, Sprag Heddy, and Lucii (Sat).
JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 9 PERFORMANCE
Cinderella
The quintessential fairy tale gets the Kent Stowell choreography treatment with music by Sergei Prokofiev performed by the great Pacific Northwest Ballet orchestra, a set by Tony Straiges, and fancy costumes by Martin Pakledinaz.
JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 23 PERFORMANCE
Bliss
The third of 5th Avenue's new musicals this season is Bliss, written by Emma Lively and Tyler Beattie and choreographed by Josh Prince (the Broadway choreographer of Shrek and Beautiful). It follows four sister princesses who sneak out of their castle, determined to be belles of the ball in their fairy-tale world.

The 43 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: Nov 18-24, 2019

Elaina Friedman — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 13:00:00 -0800

The Stranger's music critics' picks for the week. by Elaina Friedman This week, our music critics have picked everything from Sleater-Kinney to A$AP Ferg to the Black Keys. Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips for all of their picks, and find even more shows on our complete music calendar. Plus, check out our arts and culture critics' picks for the 52 best things to do this week. Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday MONDAY JAZZ

The Cinematic Orchestra
J. Swinscoe’s the Cinematic Orchestra have been among the fabled Ninja Tune label’s foremost purveyors of ornate jazz funk since 1998. Thankfully, their name is not misleading in the least. I recall seeing them perform at South by Southwest in the late ’90s or early ’00s, and was shocked by how much they evoked something of the Sun Ra Arkestra—not something you expect from a mostly white British ensemble. They were that telepathically in sync, that uproariously uplifting, that in love with density and elegant chaos. The Cinematic Orchestra’s 2019 album, To Believe, is loaded with guest vocalists and flirts with Hollywood sentimentality and a Sigur Rós–like spaciousness, but you can’t fault the exquisite skill and care with which it’s constructed. DAVE SEGAL

A Tuba to Cuba: The Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Yusa and Special Guests
Since its founding in 1961, storied New Orleans institution the Preservation Hall Jazz Band has bred well over 50 members in their lineup, culminating with the current cast that electrifies classic jazz with the vibes, sounds, and swing of the Big Easy.

SOUL/R&B

Allen Stone's Karaoke Extravaganza
Deeply divisive white boy soul singer Allen Stone has graced these pages often by fans and foes alike, and will now take over Seattle for two nights of what he's known for: neo-soul classics and probably a few grandpa sweaters.

Brittany Howard
Alabama Shakes powerhouse Brittany Howard will bring her celebrated soul music to Seattle on her solo tour.

TUESDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Cat Clyde
Deemed "a bluesy bright hope" by Fader, up-and-coming Ontario folk singer Cat Clyde will bring her smokey sound to Seattle.

A Night with The Milk Carton Kids in Very Small Venues for Very Low Ticket Prices
Talented folk duo the Milk Carton Kids will serenade you with their David Rawlings-esque finger-picking and Cohen Brothers-esque vocal harmonies.

METAL/PUNK

Cave In, Helms Alee, the Primals
Massachusetts metalcore vets Cave In balance brawn and beauty about as artfully as anyone in the scene. They often come across as a heavier-than-usual shoegaze-rock group, complete with those appealing, distant-sounding vocals from Stephen Brodsky. But they can also get fairly proggy with their baroque guitar riffing and florid atmospheres. Unfortunately, Cave In are rebounding from the tragic 2018 death of bassist/vocalist Caleb Scofield, but they're soldiering on, touring in support of this year's Final Transmission LP. It’s a majestic slab of melancholy, mountain-top rock that sounds like an elegy for their fallen bandmate. DAVE SEGAL

WEDNESDAY EXPERIMENTAL/NOISE

That 1 Guy
Experimental weirdo Mike Silverman takes the stage as That 1 Guy with a myriad of musical magic and bizarre hand-wrought techniques sure to surprise many.

METAL/PUNK

Liturgy, Kihalas, the Convictions
Hunter Hunt-Hendrix is a great name for a rock guitarist. It’s also a name of a musician you’d totally expect to describe his music as “transcendental black metal,” as HHH dubbed Liturgy in the New York quartet’s early days. Their brand of metal comes adorned with ostentatious guitar ululations, the requisite blast beats, and HHH’s tormented wails, which you can hear on LPs such as Renihilation and Aesthethica. My fave song by them might be “Generation,” which approaches Lightning Bolt levels of maniacal repetition and majestic power. The Ark Work (2015) starts a tendency toward prog-rock melodiousness, while Liturgy’s newest track, “God of Love,” finds them moving in a neoclassical direction, without losing their power and pomp. DAVE SEGAL

ROCK/POP

Chelsea Wolfe, Ionna Gika
Ah, how glorious. Sylvia Plath–winged seraph Chelsea Wolfe will descend upon us, parting our gray clouds like a sacrilegious Moses, and rain down metallic, doom-rock manna to feed us. The Californian's 2017 album Hiss Spun has enough dark magic to keep us mystified for another couple of her descents back to Seattle. ZACH FRIMMEL

Melanie Martinez, Lauren Ruth Ward
The Voice success story Melanie Martinez will bring her creepy doll charm to Seattle for a night of skewed pop music with Lauren Ruth Ward.

VARIOUS

(Hed) P.E., Blacklist Regulars, Homegrown Psychotherapy, The Pain Mob, The Head Choppa
Longstanding G-punk pioneers (Hed) P.E. will bring their gangsta rap and punk-rock fusion to Seattle with support from an appropriately eclectic lineup of openers: Chicago's Blacklist Regulars (who describe themselves as an "in-your-face rock band with an international twist"), Northwest rap groups Homegrown Psychotherapy and the Pain Mob, and the Head Choppa.

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY JAZZ

Joshua Redman Quartet with Aaron Goldberg, Reuben Rogers & Gregory Hutchinson
Famous jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman is a charismatic intellectual, having taken in genre influences across the board and translated them into sounds equally complex and accessible.

THURSDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

An Evening with Tim O'Brien Band
Tim O'Brien (not to be confused with the author of The Things They Carried... we think) goes heavy on the fiddle in his latest stylings. He and his band will play original acoustic songs and traditional folk standards.

HIP-HOP/RAP

G Perico, Azjah
West Coast G-funk revivalist and Wiz Khalifa collaborator G Perico will bring his "progressive gangster music" to Seattle on his Ten Eight Tour. He'll be joined by Compton rapper Azjah.

JAZZ

Kandace Springs, James Carter Organ Trio, James Francies
The prestigious, long-lived jazz label Blue Note Records presents two young, rising talents and a woodwind-blowing vet on its 80th anniversary tour. Nashville’s Kandace Springs leans to gospel-flecked, R&B, and soul-soaked jazz, her vocal quality is silky and pitch-perfect and lightly smoldering. Her latest Blue Note record, Indigo, was produced by Karriem Riggins (Common, Erykah Badu, Esperanza Spalding, Earl Sweatshirt). NYC-based jazz pianist and composer James Francies, who’s been tapped by artists ranging from Pat Metheny to the Roots, released his first album, Flight, on Blue Note last year; the New York Times has called him “a pianist with liquid dynamism in his touch.” Finally, Detroit’s James Carter is a saxophone virtuoso (tenor, soprano, bass) who works in soul-jazz domains with his trio, which features Hammond B3 player Gerard Gibbs and drummer Alex White; they’re on the road behind James Carter Organ Trio: Live from Newport Jazz. LEILANI POLK

Pete Leinonen Solo + Quartet
Enjoy an evening of improvised solo double bass with jazz composer Pete Leinonen.

METAL/PUNK

Nile
Who would’ve thought that a small group of longhairs from North Carolina would become so obsessed with Egyptian history that they would create a devastatingly brutal death-metal band solely dedicated to the folklore and culture of the area? Furthermore, who would have guessed that millions would eat it up? Since the release of Nile’s first demo, die-hards have successfully pushed that very band to the top tier of American death-metal bands, cementing them as much more than just a gimmick that happened to work. Only in the strange alternate world of death metal, my friends. KEVIN DIERS

ROCK/POP

Danny Denial’s BDAY BSH with DoNormaal & Guayaba
"Alt-gloom" indie rocker Danny Denial will head up a special birthday show with tried-and-true support from DoNormaal and Guayaba.

Julia Jacklin, Christian Lee Hutson
Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin will come to town with lyrically focused tracks about unrequited love from her latest album, Crushing. She'll be joined by LA folk-pop trio Christian Lee Hutson.

Nahko & Medicine for the People, Ayla Nereo
The Nahko Bear-fronted group Nahko & Medicine for the People will bring their worldly music to Seattle on their Take Your Power Back Tour with support from West Coast folk artist Ayla Nereo.

Nudity, Bad Blood, Advertisement, Azzy
Olympia’s Nudity, once a strict Krautrock group, have evolved into something sweatier and more rockin' and a rollin’. They still nod to the prog, but now they’re more liable to wear hot pants than kaftans! Seattle’s Bad Blood, aka Mr. Conor Kiley and company, has cool, um, “loner” stylings. Advertisement—also from Seattle—play sweet, fun, and catchy songwriter rock. Should be a grand ol’ Thursday evening in Tukwila. MIKE NIPPER

WORLD/LATIN

Jenny & the Mexicats, Guests
With their mix of flamenco, jazz, and cumbia, Mexico-based band Jenny & the Mexicats are known for their high-energy live shows. They'll take a break from the festival circuit and come to Seattle with support from Bay Area Latin hip-hop group Bang Data.

FRIDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Jesse Cook
“World music” is a nebulous and arguably heinous genre designation that’s too broad to truly carry any meaning whatsoever. That being said, the work of Canadian guitarist Jesse Cook would perhaps be best filed under this label. Most known for his proficiency and excellence playing the flamenco guitar, Cook has also expanded his knowledge into genres and musical traditions from cultures all over the world. After studying with musicians in seven countries on three continents, Cook’s 2017 album Beyond Borders is a blend of jazz, flamenco, R&B, and electronica that attempts to create a fluid sound between the disparate genres. Borders are just in our head! JASMYNE KEIMIG

ELECTRONIC

Mark Farina with Uniting Souls
House music great Mark Farina will head up this dance party with local support from Tokita, Pappa T. (who will celebrate his birthday on this night), DJ Mercedes, and Ramiro.

ROCK/POP

Blitzen Trapper
Blitzen Trapper's 2010 album, Destroyer of the Void, sounds like one of the best albums of the year—that year being 1971. But seriously... Destroyer of the Void is a fine collection of tuneful country and art rock that seems like it will grow on you over time (not that it doesn't transmit fairly immediate pleasures, but one senses that its proliferation of subtle details will become richer the more you play it). Blitzen Trapper have leveraged their sumptuous vocal arrangements and brazen song dynamics into elaborate tapestries of sound, like some unlikely Crosby Stills & Nash/Queen collaboration. (Note: "Evening Star" is, unfortunately, not a Fripp/Eno cover.) DAVE SEGAL

JAZZ

Evan Flory-Barnes, Afrocop, Shaina Shepherd
Local bassist and composer (and Stranger Genius) Evan Flory-Barnes will be joined by cosmic, spectral jazz trio Afrocop and BEARAXE's Shaina Shepherd.

WORLD/LATIN

Los Ángeles Azules
Iztapalapa-bred Cumbia band Los Ángeles Azules (who, as you might guess from their name, now reside in LA), will come to town on their Esto Si Es Cumbia Tour.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY ELECTRONIC

Big Wild, EVAN GIIA, Ark Patrol
Jackson Stell, the twentysomething who makes large-font-on-the-festival-poster EDM as Big Wild, is a member of the Odesza-founded Foreign Family Collective. It's no surprise, then, that Stell's music shares many typical headliners' hallmarks: "organic"-sounding timbres via softsynths; features for anonymous, mononymic vocalists; beats that induce head-bobbing more than dancing. Fans of Cashmere Cat, Pretty Lights, and Zedd will be equally sated. ANDREW GOSPE

JAZZ

TAUK + Jazz Is Phsh: Feed The Beast Tour
Four-piece band TAUK are a blend of funk, hiphop, prog rock, and jazz. They'll be joined by Jazz Is Phsh, who, as you might guess, play jazz renditions of Phish songs.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY JAZZ

Taj Mahal Quintet
Taj Mahal has a voice that makes me feel instantly warm, comforted, and content. Sometimes it’s low, gritty, easy, set against breezy, ambling grooves with vague island vibes (“Satisfied N’ Tickled Too”), other times it’s husky and booming over bright rootsy melodies (“Queen Bee”) or low-down, harmonica-piped R&B (“Leaving Trunk”), and often, it’s plain smoky and soulful and rambling (“Corinna”). Taj has been singing, finger-picking, and instrument-slinging (guitar, dobro, steel, kora, etc.) for more than five decades, heavily infusing his loose brand of blues with elements of rock, R&B, jazz, Americana, and world music (as for that last, go listen to Mumtaz Mahal and Kulanjan for some truly transcendent beauty). He’s also just a cool dude with an impressive collection of wide-brimmed hats, and he is a pleasure to see live. You'll have many chances on this Seattle run: He’s playing 13 shows over eight days with his quintet, which includes bassist Bill Rich, Bobby Ingano (guitar, Hawaiian lap steel), and drummer Kester Smith, plus special guest Roger Glenn on vibes. LEILANI POLK

SATURDAY ELECTRONIC

Audien
EDM party starter Audien will take a break from the neon festival circuit for a night downtown in support of his Escapism tour.

Vertex ft. IVVY & DJ Having Sex
This installment of Vertex promises another "euphoric, hypnotic techno trip," this time with DJs IVVY, Having Sex, and Later.

ROCK/POP

The Black Keys, Modest Mouse, Shannon & the Clams
Back in 2002, when I lived in Cleveland, I’d catch the Black Keys in small venues like the Beachland Tavern. Nothing about the scrappy Akron, Ohio, blues-rock duo screamed out “potential rock megastars”—not even their decent cover of the Beatles’ “She Said, She Said.” To be honest, nothing still screams out “rock megastars,” but there’s no denying these rust-belt muthas worked hard to reach their rarefied heights. They may seem ultra-meat-and-potatoes-y to me, but Dan Auerbach can sing with barrel-chested, Paul Rodgers–esque soul and grind out catchy guitar riffs all damn night, and drummer Patrick Carney’s perfectly functional and unflashy. DAVE SEGAL

The Helio Sequence, Hibou
The Helio Sequence have always been masters of texture. Guitarist/singer Brandon Summers and drummer Benjamin Weikel began their career in the deep end of the sugary-sweet pop pool, amid sparkling synths, heavily effected vocals, and whizzing bleeps and bloops. Over time, however, the Portland band’s dreaminess has darkened and become more thoughtful, its layering more restrained, its effects more minimal. On its sixth self-titled album, the band feels like it’s settling into the apex of its career, balancing just the right amount of dark to light, quiet to loud. It sounds gorgeous. KATHLEEN RICHARDS

SOUL/R&B

MistaDC, Alex Cade, U Moore
After dropping his fantastic debut album, Sorry We Lost You, last year, Seattle-based rapper MistaDC followed it up this year with the short and sweet HAPPYer NOW EP. His music can best be described as “wavy.” A blend of neo-soul, R&B, and rap, MistaDC’s tracks induce a body-high-like effect, pulling you into the beat and lyrics: Turn on the tropical “Brap” to move and the disco-infused “Pretty Pink” to groove. He’ll be joined by rapper and Sound Off! 2019 finalist Alex Cade and rapper-producer U Moore. JASMYNE KEIMIG

SATURDAY-SUNDAY ROCK/POP

Sleater-Kinney
Twenty-five years into their career, Sleater-Kinney have built a devoted fan base who would run through burning forests in gasoline suits in order to see them perform. Thanks to their strong, catchy, feminist music, Sleater-Kinney have become a Pacific Northwest rock institution. On albums such as 2005’s The Woods and 2015’s No Cities to Love, S-K blow out their songs to stadium-sized dimensions, but without sacrificing passion. However, drummer Janet Weiss left the band a month before they released this year’s St. Vincent–produced The Center Won’t Hold. Thankfully, S-K haven’t mellowed lyrically, addressing the toxic fallout following the 2016 presidential election. Musically, the new album bears surprising electronic elements, but still rocks with an anthemic panache. DAVE SEGAL

SUNDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Dan Bern, Rebecca Rego
Steeped in the contemporary American folk traditions of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Phil Ochs, LA's Dan Bern will come to Seattle in support of his latest album, Regent Street. He'll be joined by singer-songwriter Rebecca Rego.

HIP-HOP/RAP

A$AP Ferg, Murda Beatz, MadeinTYO
An affiliate of the sprawling Harlem-based A$AP Mob, Darold Durard Brown Ferguson Jr. (aka A$AP Ferg) is perhaps one of the best known solo rappers of the collective (save for Rocky, of course). And for good reason. Bursting into the mainstream with his infectious ode to the Jamaican dancehall musician in “Shabba,” Ferg has consistently put out an impressive roster of trap tracks to drink and turn up to. His 2019 release Floor Seats only furthers the rapper’s slick and boastful raps over frenetic, heavy, and club-forward sounds. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Mark Battles, Guests
Up-and-coming Indianapolis hip-hop artist Mark Battles names Eminem, Jay-Z, Big Pun, and LL Cool J among his influences. Catch him in Seattle with as-yet-unannounced special guests.

ROCK/POP

Black Midi, Ami Dang
On their 2019 album Schlagenheim, London quartet Black Midi display an exceptional affinity for loud/quiet/loud dynamics and smart, aggressive rock. However, the melodramatic, male-witchy vocals detract from the sonic excitement, although you may have a different reaction. I would encourage everyone to arrive at the Crocodile early for Ami Dang, a Baltimore-based sitarist/vocalist who also manipulates electronics in her artful East-West fusions. Check out her 2019 album Parted Plains on the great Leaving Records for an example of Dang’s eventful, ambient compositions; every track reveals an unconventional facet of sonic transcendence. DAVE SEGAL

A SMASH Benefit Celebrating the Music of Neil Young
A pantheon of Seattle musicians will join together to honor the music of Neil Young and to raise money for Seattle nonprofit SMASH (Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare). Performers for the evening include Dave Matthews Band, Dave Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Chris Ballew (Caspar Babypants, Presidents of the United States), Ron Nine and Kevin Whitworth (Love Battery), Carrie Akre (Hammerbox, Goodness), John Roderick (The Long Winters), Dave Alvin, Shelby Earl, The Naked Giants, Ian Moore, LeRoy Bell and Terry Morgan (LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends), Christy McWilson, Shaina Shepherd (Bearaxe), and additional surprise guests.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra 2019 Presented By Hallmark Channel
Yes, I know, they're cheesy in the extreme and not even actually from Siberia, but Trans-Siberian Orchestra's jolly blend of electric-guitar shredding and Christmas music is like the flu: It comes around every year and it's extremely catchy. That being said, if I'm going to be afflicted with pinch-harmonic-inflected cheer, then I'm at least going to focus on the upside. Which is, TSO formed from the remains of the excellent and under-appreciated power-metal outfit Savatage, whose interpretation of Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" probably sparked the whole classical-music-meets-metal fad. Now if only they still had Alex Skolnick from Testament in the band. JOSEPH SCHAFER

The 44 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: September 16-22, 2019

Elaina Friedman — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 16:00:00 -0700

The Stranger's music critics' picks for the week. by Elaina Friedman This week, our music critics have picked everything from English synth-pop outfit Hot Chip to Elton John's last Washington tour stop ever to Kremwerk's namesake festival Kremfest. Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips for all of their picks, and find even more shows on our complete music calendar.

Heading to Portland or Tacoma? Check out EverOut to find things to do there and in Seattle, all in one place.

Blanco White
London-based musician Blanco White blends American folk with Andean and Flamenco influences. Catch him in Seattle after an opening set from Shrewsbury singer-songwriter Dan Owen.

Charlie Cunningham, The Still Tide
Join London folk artist Charlie Cunningham in Ballard with Denver-based rock band the Still Tide.

METAL/PUNK

Russian Circles, FACS
For 15 years, Russian Circles have been exemplars of fusing austere heavy metal and high-impact post rock, all without relying on vocals to build their impressive anthems. The Chicago/NYC/Seattle trio’s latest album, 2019’s Blood Year, is a bludgeoning slab of heroic, dynamic rock that’s as brainy as it is brawny. Featuring former members of Disappears, Chicago trio FACS should make for an interesting contrast, as they throb in a more overtly post-punk vein. Their 2018 Capitol Hill Block Party set was a revelation, and their two albums—Negative Houses and Lifelike—boast songs that articulate a potent ominousness through minimal means. Rare is the group that can evoke both Pere Ubu and Hovercraft without paying blatant tribute to them. DAVE SEGAL

ROCK/POP

Brian Wilson & The Zombies
Beach Boy Brian Wilson and trippy '60s pop-rock icons the Zombies will pair up for their Something Great from 68 Tour. Sounds like a match made in heaven.

Night Moves, Hi Crime
The music of Night Moves glimmers: with nostalgia, with sensuality, with feeling. On the heels of releasing their third album, Can You Really Find Me, back in June, the Minneapolis-based band is bringing their psychedelic electro-pop to the Emerald City. “Strands Align” is a twangy, synth-powered soft banger, reminding me of the time of year when summer starts to slide into fall. “Colored Emotions” is a languid track that plays like an MGMT song on downers. Night Moves will be joined by Seattle’s sparkly bright indie-pop band Hi Crime. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Titus Andronicus, Control Top
In addition to being "a bunch of guys in beards and cool shades, standing around emoting," as Stranger contributor Andrew Hamlin described them (he also suggested making their single "Number One (In New York)" the new national anthem), Titus Andronicus are a Brooklyn-based indie-punk band with a gaggle of loyal followers. They'll come to Seattle with support from Philly's Control Top. ANDREW HAMLIN

TUESDAY METAL/PUNK

Druids, Rat King, Florida Man
Three-piece Iowan psychedelic stoner metal band Druids, whose sound brims with "acrobatic guitars, Circadian drumming, and power-driven vocal harmonies," according to Kerrang, will get loud in Seattle with local sludge-rockers Rat King and Florida Man.

ROCK/POP

Giuda, Bad Sex, Die Nasty
If you dig “Dyne-Mite” times or like to “Get Down and Get With It,” prepare to bust out yer braces ’cause Italy’s bovver boys, Giuda, are bringing us a proper fist-pumpin’ junk-shop stomp!!! I shouldn't forget Portland’s cool, very-late-’70s-style power-pop group Bad Sex, and Seattle’s Die Nasty, “a driving, sing-along street-punk trio” that’ll be up first! MIKE NIPPER

Incubus, Dub Trio
Incubus, a key rock group of the early '00s, will return to Seattle for a night of what will surely be some very intense high school recollections for everybody. They'll be joined by Dub Trio on their "20 Years of Make Yourself & Beyond" tour.

MUNA, Chelsea Jade
LA-based alt-pop trio Muna, who just released their synthy sophomore album Saves the World (which NPR called "an emotional excavation") on RCA Records, will make a stop in Seattle. They'll be joined by Chelsea Jade, who earned the title of New Zealand's "Accidental Dream Pop Hero" in 2017.

Sheer Mag, Tweens, Lysol
Sheer Mag embody the ethos of vintage classic rock in such a way that I understand “Sheer Mag” to be short for “Sheer Magnitude to Melt Your Face Off.” On their second album, A Distant Call, the Philadelphia-based band churns out raucous, 1970s-vibing numbers like “Steel Sharpens Steel” and “Hardly to Blame.” But it’s “Silver Line” that fucking kills. The tinny synths and catchy guitar riffs create the conditions for lead singer Christina Halladay’s distinct vocals to sear right through. It’s like listening to AM radio while on a road trip in the early 1980s. Sheer Mag will be causing trouble with Cincinnati “trash pop” makers Tweens and Seattle outfit Lysol. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Tropa Magica, Acid Tongue
Led by brothers David and Rene Pacheco, Tropa Magica is an East Los Angeles band that draws heavily on psych rock, surf, and Latin/South American folk music influences (their inspiration were those Roots of Chicha comps) to get to their self-styled “psychedelic cumbia punk” sound. It’s highly entertaining, eclectic, and kinda weird, in a good way, with a mix of Spanish and English lyrics. Check out the hilarious “Primus Sucks”; while I don’t agree with the sentiment, the song itself (off their debut self-titled LP) is a breakneck fast, hilariously fun jaunt, and a good representation of what these guys do. LEILANI POLK

Zara Larsson, Archie
Up-and-coming Swedish pop songwriter Zara Larsson (who was named Favorite Swedish Star by the kiddos on Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards three years in a row) will bop around the Seattle stage on this tour stop with Archie (formerly known as PSA).

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY ROCK/POP

Elton John
This is it for Elton John. And no, I’m not talking about death. The 72-year-old British rock star has decided to bid adieu to the touring life. And what better way to cap off a more than five-decades-long career than a three-year, 300-date world tour? On the third leg of the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, Elton will be treating Seattle to a two-night run, giving his fans one last chance to say goodbye to the performer behind such songs as “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” and “Your Song,” among so many others. And if you’re lucky, maybe you can even peep his gap tooth in person, too! JASMYNE KEIMIG

JAZZ

Sara Gazarek
Last time I caught Sara Gazarek here in town, at the Triple Door, I thought I knew what she was about: warm, elegant jazz vocals caught up in ever-novel and stimulating arrangements. Boy was I wrong! She was all about warm, elegant jazz vocals caught up in ever-novel and stimulating arrangements, but she sang high, she sang low, she sang heartbreak, she held notes for mystifying lifetimes. She dropped beats, added intros, swirled songs into medleys, blew notes out like candles, and let them die away like sustain-pedaled tones from Josh Nelson’s piano. Her last album with Nelson, Dream in the Blue, was 2016’s best album. Gazarek is already the best, and she just keeps getting better. ANDREW HAMLIN

WEDNESDAY ROCK/POP

Bryan Adams
Canadian singer Bryan Adams will bring his lovelorn lyrics and passionate facial expressions on his Shine A Light World Tour.

Foreigner, Night Ranger
Upon forming in 1976, Foreigner were a low-key supergroup featuring ex–Spooky Tooth guitarist Mick Jones and Ian McDonald—the guy who did much of the weird stuff on In the Court of the Crimson King. Like their peers Kansas and Styx, Foreigner was a well-oiled pop machine masquerading as a “serious” rock band. Their self-titled debut remains one of the more listenable relics of the AOR era precisely because of how poppy it is. The one-two opening punch of “Feels Like the First Time” and the McCartney-worshipping “Cold as Ice” is masterful sequencing, but even non-hits like the woozy “Starrider” and “The Damage Is Done” are significantly meatier than your average 1970s diet-rock filler. The real star, however, is Foreigner’s erstwhile lead vocalist Lou Gramm, who, along with Steve Marriott, could be classic rock’s most underrated singer. (Circus magazine famously remarked that Gramm possessed a voice “Robert Plant might envy,” and he probably did.) MORGAN TROPER

Jay Som, Boy Scouts, Affectionately
Though Melina Duterte (aka Jay Som) put a lot of effort into Everybody Works, her first proper album emanates the kind of ease that makes it sound as if it arrived fully formed. Some artists, like Juana Molina and Chaz Bundick, just give off that vibe. If Duterte’s lyrics reflect youthful feelings of hope and discovery, the sophistication of the 24-year-old’s music, a shoegaze-meets-lite-funk take on bedroom pop, belies her age. KATHY FENNESSY

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY ELECTRONIC

Hot Chip, Holy Fuck
I was in college when Hot Chip's infectious “Over and Over” became an indie party staple and I promptly lost my shit when I saw them in a dingy rock club in Boston. Here’s the English synth-pop outfit 13 years later, touring on the strength of their seventh album, A Bath Full of Ecstasy (which lead singer Alexis Taylor swears is not a drug reference, more about the state of mind), that ably keeps up the slinky house and disco influence—a reminder the early aughts never died. Does Hot Chip’s longevity make them the 21st century’s answer to New Order (who, it should be noted, are still playing out)? We can probably expect to hear them again at the Showbox 3.0 in 2030. GREGORY SCRUGGS

THURSDAY ELECTRONIC

GHOST, Nothing More
Take one glance at the skeleton face paint and pope regalia adorning lead vocalist Papa Emeritus and the spooky mouthless demon masks of the five nameless ghouls beside him onstage, and one might assume Ghost play brutal, deafening death metal. In reality, they have more in common musically with a band like Blue Öyster Cult than, say, Morbid Angel. Their melodic yet Satanic anthems have earned the mysterious Swedish band quite the following, as they’ve transcended their underground cult status, transitioning into their spot as the coolest damn thing on commercial rock radio. KEVIN DIERS

JAZZ

Alförjs, Bad Luck
If a Portuguese jazz ensemble makes it all the way to the Pacific Northwest, odds are they’re worth checking out. And one listen to Alförjs’s 2019 full-length, QorusQoros, proves that axiom true. The record sounds like a score for some kind of shamanistic ritual occurring far off the grid and on a microcosmic level of consciousness. The trio use myriad percussion tools, bass, voices, and electronics, but not in any way to which you are accustomed. Alförjs alter mind states like a European Residents, and the ensuing perplexity is its own reward. Fiery Seattle avant-jazz duo Bad Luck, judging by a recent show at Clock-Out Lounge, are moving in a more subdued but no less riveting direction. DAVE SEGAL

ROCK/POP

Yip Deceiver, Phone Call, Truckasaurus
This mighty fine Thursday night bill at Clock-Out Lounge is headed up by Of Montreal’s all-analog dance-pop side project Yip Deceiver, co-led by Nicolas "Dobby" Dobbratz and Davey Pierce. They are a whole lotta fun. Need proof? Look up the video for “Get Strict,” which includes, but is not limited to, a knock-down drag-out fight between Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, nuns executing a choreographed dance in a diner, and a bikini-clad hottie in a rhinestone-encrusted Storm Trooper helmet popping a bottle of champagne and then throwing a grenade. Oh, and Reggie Watts getting down throughout. Their 2018 single “Local Business” and new Koniec EP have a definitive 1980s R&B throwback appeal. LEILANI POLK

SOUL/R&B

The California Honeydrops
For their 10th anniversary and the release of their two-volume album Call It Home, the California Honeydrops will play a mix of Bay Area R&B, funk, Southern soul, and Delta blues.

THURSDAY-SATURDAY CLASSICAL

Mahler's Symphony No. 1
Thomas Dausgaard officially takes the reins as music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra with this interpretation of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1. Critics judge symphonies on their ability to handle Mahler's subtleties, grandiosities, and complexities, and Dausgaard knows his Mahler, so this program will be a good indicator of how well the orchestra and their (sort of) new conductor are jelling. Johannes Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto and Flounce by Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski will share the bill with Mahler. Flounce is full of jagged melodies and surprising bursts of brightness, which will start the season off on a lively, optimistic note. RICH SMITH

THURSDAY-SUNDAY ELECTRONIC

Kremfest 2019
Last year I described Kremfest as proof that the nightclub complex Kremwerk/Timbre Room is the “undisputed monarch of Seattle nightlife.” The Denny Triangle compound is going to defend its crown with a third edition of its namesake festival. I will proceed with the customary practice of enumerating exciting acts, but if you like house and especially techno, I'll just cut to the chase: Go. If you're pickier and choosier? Well, there are coast-to-coast dance-floor slayers like Dee Diggs and Jasmine Infiniti, overseas talents like Japanese producer Gonno and UK bass champion Fracture, and New York princeling Anthony Naples. Oh, and some guy named Derrick May... one of the Belleville Three who invented techno. Look it up. GREGORY SCRUGGS

FRIDAY HIP-HOP/RAP

Travis Thompson, Adé, Nyles Davis
Some say Seattle hip-hop doesn't have a sound, which absolutely isn't true—more often than not, it sounds something like Travis Thompson. The 21-year-old Burien rapper comes across as humble and good-natured, homing in on everyday struggles and self-doubt over laid-back, soul-inflected instrumentals. Even so, Thompson has a distinctive presence, a half-sung, half-rapped delivery that's slurred but verbose. It's necessary, of course, to bring up Macklemore, who featured Thompson on his "Corner Store" single and brought him along on a national tour. It remains to be seen if Thompson ascends to Macklemore levels of national fame, but he already has the makings of a hometown hero. ANDREW GOSPE

ROCK/POP

50th! Great Records of 1969 – Neil Young's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse by jamming to all the hits (like "Down By the River," "Cinnamon Girl," and "Cowgirl in the Sand").

Alice in Chains
Seattle grunge/heavy metal legends Alice in Chains will tear up their home turf like it's 1987.

Moon Palace, Mirrorgloss, Ex-Licks
Seattle quintet Moon Palace will bring their hypnotic, nature-focused psychedelia to Beacon Hill with support from Mirrorgloss (whose brassy vocals and punchy electronic backing earned them "Best New Band of 2014" from the Tacoma Weekly) and punky noise-pop band Ex-Licks.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY FUNK/REGGAE

Earth, Wind, and Fire
Earth, Wind, and Fire, the true soul of the funk revolution, will lasso all of the elements out in Woodinville this summer.

SATURDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Pokey LaFarge, Guests
Illinois-born folk artist Pokey LaFarge will strum his charmingly nostalgic, forlorn melodies steeped in American blues, country, and Western swing.

CLASSICAL

Berta Rojas
Internationally renowned classical guitarist Berta Rojas will show off the chops that led her to be thrice nominated for Latin Grammy Awards in this warm and joyous program.

ELECTRONIC

TUF Art Collective Takeover
The Seattle art and electronic music collective TUF will provide a platform for Seattle artists and performers who are marginalized on account of their race or gender. Through visual work and performances, they'll pose questions like "How do we build the spaces that we want to live in? Why is space needed in a city for art? How do we hold space for each other?"

EXPERIMENTAL/NOISE

Skeleton Flower, Fruit Juice, Tomo Nakayama, the Tiger Tails
Led by singer-songwriter Haruko Crow Nishimura, Skeleton Flower are a new group composed of fellow Degenerate Art Ensemble members Joshua Kohl, Scott Teske, Adam Koze, and Ambrose Nortness. If you're familiar with this Seattle multimedia performance troupe, you may be surprised by how conventional-sounding Skeleton Flower's self-titled debut is. They've created a seven-song collection that takes indie rock to art school in the manner of St. Vincent, Dirty Projectors, and Deerhoof. Nishimura’s endearingly quirky voice comes off like a Japanese Joanna Newsom, and Nortness’s bass clarinet and saxophone lines sometimes skew the songs into chamber-jazz territory. However, Skeleton Flower's final two tracks—“The Red Shoes” and “Mirrored Sky”—hint at Björk's phantasmal electronic songcraft, and are all the more interesting for that. DAVE SEGAL

HIP-HOP/RAP

PNW Super Soul All-Star Revue
Bellwether will present a night of local hip-hop and soul, with headliners Nile Waters, ParisAlexa, Sol, Travis Thompson, MistaDC, Laza, Otieno Terry, and others.

METAL/PUNK

Social Distortion, Flogging Molly, The Devil Makes Three, Le Butcherettes
Thrash to '80s-formed California punk-rock band Social Distortion on their Summer Tour with Flogging Molly, the Devil Makes Three, and Le Butcherettes.

ROCK/POP

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Like Kraftwerk, Bob Seger largely ignores and underrates his early work. However, last year saw the rerelease of those brutal, soulful garage-rock singles he cut with the Last Heard circa 1966–67 on the Heavy Music comp. So maybe the Motor City icon is realizing the serious hunger for music from his wild, youthful phase? Does this mean Seger and the Silver Bullet Band will rekindle that flame, or will they play it safe with the heartland stadium-rock and sentimental balladry that scored some of your least-favorite TV ads? With a fan base consisting mainly of folks who’ve probably written their wills, the latter seems more likely—although recent sets have included early barn burner “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” and the haunting troubadour move “Turn the Page.” DAVE SEGAL

mxmtoon, Alexander 23
Eighteen-year-old Chinese American bedroom-pop artist mxmtoon will sing about the woes of teenhood on her masquerade tour with support from Chicago's Alexander 23.

SISTERS, Super Sparkle, Guests
Electro-pop duo Sisters (Andrew Vait and Emily Westman) "make prog-infused, harmony-drenched pop music that is as surprising as it is pleasing," as Sean Nelson wrote. They'll come to Ballard with bill support from Spokane indie-pop outfit Super Sparkle.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY ROCK/POP

Adrian Belew with Saul Zonana
Adrian Belew is an exceptional axman, although he’s probably more renowned for his vast work as a sideman than his solo catalog. However, the latter is just as worthy of your attention, but not as commanding of mainstream respect as his recordings with (among many others) Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads (he played on the phenomenal Remain in Light), and, most notably, King Crimson. Robert Fripp welcomed him into that band’s cool prog-rock embrace beginning with 1981’s Discipline, and Belew continued to play a major role in King Crimson on eight more albums up to 2003, all the while releasing solo material. While Belew sings and plays many instruments, it’s as a guitarist where he shines, making superior use of a whammy bar and effects pedals, juggling shreds with subtler fretwork, pushing boundaries and remaining relevant because he embraces new techniques. LEILANI POLK

SUNDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

John Prine, Kelsey Waldon
Herman Melville once wrote “there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast.” You cannot savor warmth without knowing the cold. And you can’t really fathom happiness unless you’ve known the full depth of sadness. Folk legend John Prine appears to understand this principle. His charmingly sweet songs like “In Spite of Ourselves” set you up for heart-rending ballads like “Sam Stone” and “Hello in There.” It can be such a roller coaster that even the lyrically light “Long Monday” seems like a heavy-duty painkiller. You can keep your young sad-sucker minstrels with their endless string of minor chords. I’ll take the old guy whose upbeat demeanor belies a lifetime of genuine heartache. BRIAN COOK

ELECTRONIC

Shigeto, Flora FM
Shigeto’s beat-driven electronic tracks are both energetic and chill, but it’s even more incredible to watch how they play out onstage. Instead of being the mysterious DJ behind a tower of speakers and laptop screens, Shigeto composes his music live. The result is an electro set that feels organic, and that you can watch unfurl before you. The Detroit producer/drummer’s work has shades of IDM, jazz, hip-hop, and ambient music, but it also transcends all those boxy descriptions. Shigeto will be joined by Seattle electronic artist Flora FM. JASMYNE KEIMIG

ROCK/POP

Chastity Belt In-Store
Two days after the release of their self-titled album, post-party-punk quartet Chastity Belt will play a free, all-ages show at Easy Street while you shop for records.

SOUL/R&B

Lucky Daye
Lucky Daye (aka David Debrandon Brown) is everything I want out of a modern soul/R&B artist. His vocals are creamy and he can hit the falsetto notes (I’m lightly reminded of Curtis Mayfield). His music is imbued with throwback elements while remaining firmly planted in the present (see stripped-back PBR&B-flavored slow jam “Love You Too Much”), and it moves between sexy and romantic sounds and subject matter (“Real Games” is a hot head-bobber with a funky-wet bass groove that I’ve had on repeat—and it has a high-quality rap break that further highlights Brown’s talents). He lands in town behind debut full-length Painted. LEILANI POLK

Your Complete Guide to August 2019 Events in Seattle

Elaina Friedman — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 10:25:00 -0700

The 150 Biggest Arts, Music, Food & Culture Events to Know About by Elaina Friedman

The final month of summer is bittersweet, which is all the more reason to make the most of it (which, in part, means spending as much time in the sun as possible). Seattle is here for you this August—you'll find things to do every day of the month whether you're a music lover, a gamer, a wine-drinker, a film buff, or all of the above (and then some—you get the idea). As we do every month, we've compiled the biggest events you need to know about in every genre, from the South Lake Union Block Party to Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, from the new festival THING to the 49th annual Bumbershoot, from Hempfest to PAX West, and from Weird Al to the Rolling Stones. If all of that isn't enough, you can also look ahead to the rest of this year's big events, see our list of cheap & easy year-round events, visit our outside calendar, or check out our complete Things To Do calendar.

Found something you like and don't want to forget about it later? Click "Save Event" on any of the linked events below to add it to your own private list.

AUGUST 1

MUSIC

Toots and the Maytals, The Gladiators with Droop Lion
Toots and the Maytals have been around for a long time. Formed in the early 1960s, the Maytals were one of the most renown ska and rocksteady vocal groups to come out of Jamaica, dropping such biggie reggae hits as the storm-is-coming-for-you “Pressure Drop” (you might’ve heard the Clash version), tender wedding ode “Sweet and Dandy,” and “54-46 (That's My Number)," about the stint frontman Toots Hibbert spent in prison (the Clash’s “Jail Guitar Doors” has a shout out about it—they were big Maytals fans). Hibbert continues to produce new recordings minus his two old Maytals vocal-mates (Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" Matthias), although much of what comes lately is new renditions of old material or covers amid the few new tracks. Still, he’s pure musical joy materialized in short beaming Jamaican man form, his vocals are soulful and lightly raspy and warm like your favorite snuggly sweater, and his legacy speaks for itself. Plus, he turns 77 this year, so who knows how much longer he’ll be touring? In sum, get the hell out to this show. LEILANI POLK
AUGUST 1–4 FESTIVALS
Seattle Art Fair
The five-year-old international art fair has quickly become one of the most indispensable cultural events in the Northwest, gathering gallerists from Seattle, across the US and Canada, and cities in Asia and Europe. Among the most-anticipated events is Infinite Color & Sound (with a performance on Aug 2), a collaboration between Pearl Jam's Mike McCready and abstract artist Kate Neckel, who met during last year's Art Fair. Other attractions include an interactive exhibit featuring the Instagram ASMR star Bread Face, a talk by artist and videographer of mega-fires Jeff Frost (Aug 3) and a display of banners by autistic Seattle artist Gregory Blackstock. Plus, in addition to the regular free First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square (Aug 1), venues around town will conduct their own celebrations—Morgan Thorson's durational performance Still Life at Base (Aug 1–4) and the group show Forever Again at Specialist (Aug 1).
Summer Meltdown 2019
Nestled in the mountains of central Washington, Summer Meltdown aims to provide a weekend of high-energy live music performances in a lush woodland setting. Headliners will include Tipper, Umphrey's McGee, Gramatik, and Nahko and Medicine for the People, and there will also be "adventures" like rafting, helicopter rides, and kayaking.
AUGUST 1–11 PERFORMANCE
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Follow Charlie Bucket through the delicious but treacherous Chocolate Factory in this musical adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel, featuring songs from the 1971 movie with Gene Wilder.
AUGUST 1–31 VISUAL ART
Contemporary Northwest Print Invitational 2019
There are bound to be many treasures at this showcase of contemporary fine art prints and works on paper at Davidson and Seattle Print Arts' invitational fair, featuring pieces by 67 artists.
AUGUST 1–SEPTEMBER 22 VISUAL ART
Xenobia Bailey, Henry Jackson-Spieker, Marita Dingus, Nastassja Swift: Installations
The new Central District gallery Wa Na Wari is accomplishing something beautiful: nurturing the legacy of black creativity in the neighborhood, formerly a bastion of Seattle's African American culture, by, among other things, exhibiting the work of excellent artists. This group of installations should be an impressive demonstration of the possibilities of this approach, with four prominent black artists contributing new work. Crochet master Xenobia Bailey, who's had pieces exhibited in many museums, crafts marvelous trippy hats, mandalas, sculptures, and more out of textiles. Guggenheim Fellowship winner Marita Dingus produces mixed-media sculptures using salvaged materials. Accomplished sculptor Henry Jackson-Spieker, known for small- and large-scale sculptures, "explores tension, balance and symmetry" and innovatively interrogates gallery space. Rising Virginian artist Nastassja Swift creates felted fiber dolls as well as paint, print, and performance works. Any one of these artists would be worth seeing; taken together, they make up something unmissable.
AUGUST 2 COMEDY
Dave Chappelle and Joe Rogan: In the Round
Two comedians who hardly need an introduction will play to the crowds: Dave Chappelle, best known for the hilariously edgy Dave Chappelle's Show from the 2000s, and noted podcaster and opinion-haver Joe Rogan. Here's Stranger contributor and cultural writer Daudi Abe on Chappelle in 2017: "The direction and language of his current humor bring the in-group/out-group question into play. Although he goes out of his way to identify himself as an ally of gays, as a straight man, Chappelle represents an out-group member making LGBT jokes and using the word 'fag,' in the same way he is the in-group member when using the term 'nigga.' To make things more troublesome, this type of comedy, which completely disregards the premise of in-group/out-group dynamics, seems to fit right in with the tone and demeanor that won the most recent presidential election."
Tiffany Jenkins
Tiffany Jenkins is known for her funny, viral Facebook videos, but now she’s taking her show on the road. In this live stage show, Jenkins discusses her life as a wife, a mom, and a recovering addict. After spending nearly a decade secretly addicted to opioids, Jenkins hit bottom after getting busted stealing from her ex-boyfriend and going to jail, where she actually attempted to take her own life. Things are very different now, and Jenkins is healthy, happy, and has managed to turn darkest points in her life into something both inspiring and hilarious. KATIE HERZOG
FILM
'Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw' Opening
Luke Hobbs and outcast Deckard Shaw (Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham) face a genetically enhanced supervillain, played by Idris Elba.
MUSIC
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Lucius
I was surprised as anyone else to hear Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats’ “S.O.B.” on mainstream radio. Well, anyone else who listens to mainstream radio and is also familiar with the generally boring, hackneyed, predictable, and/or vanilla shit you find on there. Rateliff hums, sings, and bellows in a beardy, booming tenor, like he could be taking it to church, minus all the religion but plus all the powerful gospel feels. It’s not gospel, though there are shades of it amid the full-bodied mix of vintage and neo soul, rock, Americana, and blues. Rateliff and co. are in town behind their sophomore studio LP, Tearing at the Seams. LEILANI POLK
PERFORMANCE
This Might Get Weird
Listen to best friends "Grace, an introvert from Jersey, and Mamrie, a firecracker from North Carolina" gab about pop culture, their lives, and "other stupid things."
READINGS & TALKS
Oyinkan Braithwaite: My Sister, the Serial Killer
Nigerian debut novelist Oyinkan Braithwaite will read from My Sister, The Serial Killer, a surprisingly funny, pulpy noir-style thriller.
AUGUST 2–3 MUSIC
Pain in the Grass 2019
KISW's Pain in the Grass will take over Auburn for three days of rock and punk warfare thanks to massive headliners like Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, and Disturbed.
VISUAL ART
festival:festival
This multidisciplinary festival offers the chance for photographers, multimedia artists, dancers, and others to create artwork on intersectional identities. Among the participants are some of Seattle's most active and appreciated: singer-songwriter JusMoni, filmmaker/artist/musician Clyde Petersen, slam poet J Mase III, visual artist Ryna Frankel, queer indigenous hip-hop artist Dakota Camacho, choreographer Alice Gosti, and many others.
AUGUST 2–4 FESTIVALS
Seafair Weekend Festival
The summer-long Seafair Festival culminates in a three-day extravaganza of signature outdoor activities like the Blue Angels' air shows, hydroplane racing, the Graham Trucking Seafair Cup, and a wakeboarding championship.
Watershed Festival 2019
Watershed Country Music Festival will return to the Gorge for a wild weekend of twangin' goodness. Put on your "Shedder gear" (trucker hats?) and get ready for three whole days of down-home studs. This year's headliners include Jason Aldean, Maren Morris, Zac Brown Band, Miranda Lambert, the Pistol Annies, Kane Brown, Midland, Brothers Osborne, and many more.
AUGUST 2-23 FESTIVALS
KEXP & Seattle Center Present: Concerts at the Mural
In true KEXP summertime fashion, the station will be partnering with Seattle Center to provide another enjoyable round of free family-friendly concerts this year at the Mural Amphitheater, located within the heart of Seattle Center. Local and touring artists are included in each year's lineup, with Wolf Parade, Dumb, and Jock Tears kicking off the showcase, followed by Cherry Glazerr, Weyes Blood, and Helado Negro (among other exciting bill-sharers).
AUGUST 3 COMEDY
Brandon Wardell
Brandon Wardell is the kind of young comic whose rapid rise makes older comics hella jelly (gonna speak Millennial in this blurb, chill?). At age 22, he cut an album with Mr. Show’s Bob Odenkirk titled Amateur Hour. He’s also appeared on Comedy Central, MTV, and Viceland programs, and has hung out with Al Franken (who didn’t much like him, btw…). And of course, he co-hosts a podcast, Yeah but Still. In his stand-up, Wardell cracks cleverly about important issues such as period sex, dating women, coke, weed, and rap. He’s a Drake stan, but he makes up for it with this: “Do you think Christianity would be as big as it is if Jesus wasn’t hot?” DAVE SEGAL
Impractical Jokers: The Cranjis McBasketball World Comedy Tour
In truTV’s hidden camera show Impractical Jokers, four longtime BFFs from Staten Island (members of comedy improv troupe the Tenderloins) compete to embarrass each other in public via ridiculous dares that range from silly to downright mortifying. The joker who earns the most “thumbs down” during an episode is declared the loser and punished with the ultimate humiliating challenge. The show works because you just can’t help but like these guys—they are genuinely funny and play off each other with ease: Brian "Q" Quinn (your standard aging fratty John Belushi-if-he-made-it-to-his-40s type dude), James "Murr" Murray (short, scrappy, afraid of heights, most likely to turn down a challenge that involves looking bad in front of the ladies, gets the worst punishments when he loses), Joe Gatto (hilariously unhinged, will do almost anything on a dare and mostly succeeds because he’s just that good, and you can tell it all this from his wild eyes), and Sal Vulcano (germaphobe, awkward, adorable, statistically most likely to lose, my fave). The quartet promises plenty of live high jinks and new material during their current live tour. LEILANI POLK
Mo Amer
Not too long ago, Palestinian Kuwaiti American comic Mo Amer appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to talk about his childhood as a refugee, about spending 20 years trying to obtain US citizenship, about being taught to avoid politics in order to keep from getting deported... and while the topics weren't the most cheerful, he was quite funny. (He also recently endured a plane flight next to Eric Trump.) As one-third of the trio Allah Made Me Funny, Amer sought to defuse harmful stereotypes about Muslim Americans, and his solo work has a similar humane, cheeky charm.
MUSIC
Apple Jam: Off The White Album
Apple Jam are possibly the most arcane Beatles tribute band in the world. While most of these Moptop manqués are content to replicate the best-known songs from the Fab Four’s rich catalog (not that there’s anything wrong with that), Apple Jam dig way deeper. For example, their latest album, Off the White Album, finds Apple Jam tackling 11 songs that the Beatles cut when in sessions for 1968’s The Beatles, a fertile time of exploration. Some of the tracks were recorded by other artists (“Goodbye” by Mary Hopkin, “Step Inside Love” by Cilla Black, “Sour Milk Sea” by Jackie Lomax), while some outtakes simply eluded all but the most ardent Beatles fans. Thankfully for them, Apple Jam have the skills to recreate the Beatles’ melodic magic and vocal sonority in order to spotlight the obscure corners of their evergreen output. DAVE SEGAL
Double Vision Revisited, Billy Kilson & Larry Braggs
Jazz musicians Billy Kilson and Larry Braggs will revisit the genre classic Double Vision, which was originally composed by Bob James and David Sanborn in 1986.
Streetlight Manifesto
There’s nothing wrong with liking ska. Or is that just what I tell myself to make my enjoyment of third-wave ska less shameful, as I throw on a pair of checkered pants? Skanking out of New Jersey for the past 15 years, Streetlight Manifesto are one of the genre’s heavy hitters, giving life to a scene that’s often considered a passé novelty of the 1990s. Streetlight Manifesto’s last album, 2013’s The Hands That Thieve, broke into the Billboard Top 100, but they have yet to release anything in the last few years, partially due to public conflicts with their record label, Victory Records. KEVIN DIERS
SPORTS & RECREATION
Dead Baby Downhill XXIII
The details of the 23rd annual Dead Baby Downhill include a race start time of 6 p.m. sharp from Captain Black's and the assertion that you should definitely wear underwear and use a ride-share bike if you can't find your own. This wildly popular Mad Max-style bike race and party will end in Georgetown with a raucous evening throwdown with booze, live music, bike jousting, a circle of fire, carnival rides, and much more.
VISUAL ART
Lusio: A Night to Awaken
This is a free, family-friendly, inviting evening of light, art, and sound, featuring more than 30 light installations spread throughout the park. Expect to see LED sculptures, infinity mirrors, glowing textiles, crystal caves, and more, plus the weird music showcase Monster Planet and the immersive audiovisual show Modular Seattle.
AUGUST 3–18 FESTIVALS
Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire
Is your alter ego a hero or a villain? More importantly, which persona makes for a better costume? For the first portion of this annual three-weekend renaissance festival at Kelley Farm (aka the village of Merriwick), the real fun will be getting to dress up in your best 17th-century cosplay. When you’re not showing off your armor, your ominous cape, or your spindly fingernails (be creative), you can watch knights “vie for the favor of crown and court” in jousting duals, shop from an artisan marketplace, and feast like royalty on turkey legs and meat pies. The following weekend, take a journey through mystical realms alongside fairies, goblins, dragons, and other fantastical creatures. For the final weekend of the faire, plan to hunt for treasure with a crew of swashbuckling pirates.
AUGUST 3–25 PERFORMANCE
The Empire Strikes Back in the Park
You're used to seeing Star Wars characters battle with the dark side and run frantically through sand dunes, but how do they deal with issues like commitment, domestic drama, and business? Hello Earth's Wars Outdoors series will explore these relatable themes in this performance in the park.
AUGUST 4 COMEDY
Michelle Wolf
After writing for Seth Meyers and the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Michelle Wolf slayed at the 2018 White House Correspondents dinner. The money shots flew fast and furious, filleting politicians, journalists, White House staffers, and the traitor-in-chief with an astronomical hit-to-miss ratio, including this withering diss directed at the Trump Propaganda Network: “Fox News is here, so you know what that means, ladies—cover your drinks.” Wolf has ovaries of steel and caustic wit. Beyond politics, though, she offers hilarious observations about feminism, bathrooms, “nice ladies,” and some of the funniest barbs about testicles I’ve ever had the pleasure of wincing to. DAVE SEGAL
FOOD & DRINK
Summer Soif 2019
“Soif” means "thirst" in French, and yours will surely be quenched by the array of wines available at Vif’s outdoor summer tasting extravaganza, which the charming cafe/coffee shop/wine shop claims is the “largest local natural wine tasting in Seattle.” Vif has been at the forefront of Seattle’s growing natural wine scene, which focuses on wines made with minimal intervention (as opposed to more conventional winemaking methods), and you can bet this event will summon a range of exciting indie producers from Washington, Oregon, California, and beyond, many of whom will be present to chat about their process. Bring a sun hat, as Vif recommends, and spend a day basking and imbibing. JULIANNE BELL
MUSIC
Dillon Francis Loves Seattle Especially 'Cause His Brother Lives Here Presents: Hello Seattle, I Love You!
Billboard Dance Club-topping DJ and moombahton (house music and reggae) artist Dillon Francis will put on a dance party on his Hello Seattle, I Love You! Tour. What So Nots, Party Favor, Wax Motif, Nitti Gritti, and Kendoll will provide additional sets.
Young the Giant, Fitz & the Tantrums, Alice Merton
Los Angeles-based posi vibe alt-rockers Young the Giant will be joined by Fitz & the Tantrums and pop newcomer Alive Merton on this summer tour.
AUGUST 7 MUSIC
The B-52s, OMD, Berlin
As ’80s nostalgia package tours go, this one’s pretty all right. The B-52s’ party-centric new wave has influenced thousands of bands, enshrining them in rock’s canon. Who knew B-movie kitsch could endure so long in a musical context? OMD are masters of immaculately produced and arranged synth-pop, with emotion-laden melodies to swoon for. These poised Brits have influenced nearly as many artists as the B-52s—although not as many as their major inspiration, Kraftwerk. Berlin’s music typifies the romantic and alienated electro-pop that burgeoned on the West Coast during the Reagan era, and a lot of people like it. “Metro” still slaps. DAVE SEGAL
Counting Crows
In celebration of their 25-plus years gigging around the country, early '00s alt-rock stalwarts the Counting Crows will take over wine country for a summer evening of music.
AUGUST 7–12 FESTIVALS
Doe Bay Fest 12
Doe Bay Fest's grassroots festival weekend of camping, local music, food, and dancing in a little Orcas Island cove will return for its 12th year. Annie Ford, Beverly Crusher, Great Grandpa, NAVVI, Versing, and Tune Yards are just a few acts to look forward to on the 2019 lineup.
AUGUST 7–25 PERFORMANCE
The Bar Plays
The Williams Project, which is devoted to the plays of Tennessee Williams, will stage their favorite writer's Small Craft Warnings along with William Saroyan's comedy The Time of Your Life. As you might guess, both of these plays are set in bars, with folks finding comradeship and conflict among strangers. As artistic director Ryan Guzzo Purcell observes, "Bars function a lot like theaters. We go to both spaces to hear great stories, to laugh and sometimes cry, and to share an experience, whether with friends or complete strangers. Often, we accidentally expose our vulnerability and desperation."
AUGUST 8 FILM
National Cat Day Celebration Featuring 'Kedi'
Celebrate National Cat Day with a screening of Ceyda Torun's Kedi, a documentary about the multitude of cats that roam the streets of Istanbul. Stranger contributor Kathy Fennessy writes: "Enchanting! Kedi works triple time as a nature documentary, a travelogue, and a meditation on the human-animal bond."
FOOD & DRINK
Author Talk: Little Book of Jewish Sweets by Leah Koenig
Brooklyn-based author Leah Koenig has penned six cookbooks about Jewish cooking, and her writing and recipes have appeared in the New York Times, Bon Appétit, and Food52, among others. Her latest, Little Book of Jewish Sweets, applies her refreshingly modern approach to confections like cookies, cakes, puddings, pastries, and other treats, resulting in delights like fig baklava, orange-chocolate rugelach, cinnamon-almond babka, and mocha black-and-white cookies. She’ll appear at Book Larder for a chat about baking, and guests will get to sample a recipe from the book. JULIANNE BELL
Food Truck Taste Off
Taste signature dishes from a myriad of food trucks and vote for your favorite, and enjoy music, raffle prizes, and a beer and cider garden. Proceeds will support Solid Ground's mission to fight poverty.
Washington Mead Fest
Mead, the ancient fermented honey drink, was traditionally the beverage of choice for Vikings. Today, however, a rising number of craft producers are making the age-old brew their own. At this event, Ballard’s Scandinavian beer hall Skål (named for the Norwegian word for "cheers") will showcase mead from a variety of local makers, including Dragon’s Lair Meadery (Lakewood), Garden Patch Fermentation (Burlington), and Sky River Mead (Redmond). Don’t forget your horned helmet. JULIANNE BELL
MUSIC
The Drums, Tanukichan
Now just the solo project of frontman Jonny Pierce, the Drums will be bringing their particular brand of indie-pop to Seattle. Fresh-ish off the release of their fifth record, Brutalism, the latest tracks from the New York-based band are a mixed bag. At their best, the songs are bright, loud, energetic, and minimal, with Pierce’s near-British-sounding vocals singing breathily over it all like a “Pretty Cloud.” At its worst, the tracks are just boring and tedious—“626 Bedford Avenue” and “I Wanna Go Back” make me itchy. But it’s still good fun. If anything, definitely go see the opener, Oakland-based Tanukichan, whose fuzzy, shoegaze-inflected rock is dreamy and body-transporting. JASMYNE KEIMIG
George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Dumpstaphunk, Fishbone, Miss Velvet & The Blue Wolf
For real, this might be the last time you have a chance to see George Clinton, the Frank Lloyd Wright of funk, on a stage. Too freaky for Motown, Clinton spearheaded the Parliament-Funkadelic hydra of greasy grooves and libido-liberating psychedelia, illuminating the late ’60s through the early ’80s with world-historical party music for mind and body. Warning: The last P-Funk show at Neptune Theatre was a cosmically sloppy mélange of immortal favorites and newer material that didn’t measure up to the classics. Clinton’s never run a tight ship in concert, but the debauched mess more often than not yields aural pleasures that’ll get you on the good foot. DAVE SEGAL
READINGS & TALKS
Chuck Klosterman: Raised in Captivity
Traditionally, Chuck Klosterman keeps his wry writings in the nonfiction realm, like his collections of essays on pop culture matters ranging from internet porn to reality in films to progressivism in American football (ala 2003’s Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto), or his music-driven work, like his exploration of the relationship between death and rock stars (2005’s Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story), or even his more recent examination of modern perceptions in a thought experiment sort of book, 2016’s But What If We're Wrong? His latest outing, Raised in Captivity, is “fictional nonfiction,” which the press materials describe as “a collection of stories so true they had to be wrapped in fiction for our own protection.” Among the synopses: An obscure power-pop band wrestles with its newfound fame when its song becomes an anthem for white supremacists; a couple considers getting a medical procedure that will transfer the pain of childbirth from the woman to her husband; and a lawyer grapples with the unintended side effects of a veterinarian’s rabies vaccination. LEILANI POLK
VISUAL ART
Imminent Mode: FAST FORWARD
Celebrating its fifth anniversary, Imminent Mode is a yearly exhibition that brings together artists working in different mediums to create something that’s both wearable art and a gallery installation. This year, organizers have asked five teams of two artists to “imagine how society, politics, science, religion, and the environment will impact fashion in the next century—and beyond.” What will we see? Bejeweled air-ventilation helmets because air on Earth became so polluted that they’re necessary? Super tall boots because much of Earth’s surface is now swampland due to flooding? The possibilities are endless! At the opening reception, there will be, as always, an on-street fashion show. JASMYNE KEIMIG
AUGUST 9 FESTIVALS
South Lake Union Block Party
Every year, South Lake Union throws itself a party featuring diverse musical pleasures from local bands (this year's lineup includes the Dandy Warhols, Naked Giants, Whitney Mongé, Polyrythmics, and Sisters). There will also be food trucks, a beer garden, a free print-your-own-poster station, a "letterpress steamroller smackdown," and a "Community Village" featuring booths from local businesses. The event is co-sponsored by Amazon and will benefit FareStart, a James Beard Award-winning nonprofit that aims to empower people experiencing homelessness through job training and employment in the foodservice industry.
FILM
'The Art of Racing in the Rain' Opening
In this adaptation of Garth Stein's novel, a dog named Enzo learns life lessons from his racecar-driving owner, Denny (played by Milo Ventimiglia).
'The Kitchen' Opening
When three New York gangsters wind up in jail, their wives (Elizabeth Moss, Melissa McCarthy, and Tiffany Haddisch) step in to run their businesses. This 1970s-set crime drama is the first film by Andrea Berloff, who co-wrote the screenplay for Straight Outta Compton.
MUSIC
Digable Planets
There’s a Libra in my life that listens to “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” to calm down, requesting it at kickbacks and hangouts. I guess it makes sense—there’s a sense of balance within Digable Planets’ mellow, jazz-rap catalog that could appeal to Libras and non-Libras alike. The hip-hop trio, along with groups like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, laid the foundation for alternative hip-hop, combing steady flows over funky, jazzy tracks. Even though the trio—Craig “Doodlebug” Irving, Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira, and Seattle’s Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler—initially split in 1995, they’ve been intermittently reuniting ever since, and will be playing to an expectedly sold-out Neptune with a live band. JASMYNE KEIMIG
The Gipsy Kings with Nicolas Reyes and Tonino Baliardo
Fusion legends Gipsy Kings will showcase their decades of experience blending traditional flamenco styles with Western pop and Latin rhythms.
Mumford & Sons, Portugal. The Man
Massive British folk-pop band Mumford & Sons have toured the world with their four albums' worth of easy listening tracks since 2007. They'll be joined tonight by Portugal. The Man.
AUGUST 9–11 PERFORMANCE
The 19th Annual Festival of New Musicals
Be the first to hear staged, sung readings of five new musicals currently being workshopped, directed and acted by local and guest theater artists at Village Theatre. This year, the productions will be XY, a romance centered on an intersex man; Cold Turkey, in which a town tries to wean itself from cigarettes and win a huge sum of money; Eastbound, about twin Chinese brothers separated at birth; Modern, set among Amish teens during their rumspringa; and Cowboy Bob, about a woman with a decade-long bank-robbing streak.
AUGUST 9–14 FILM
Summer Trip Film Series
It's summer! Time to take a trip down to the shore (Us, Jaws), to a sunny woodland paradise (Midsommar, Mandy), or to a scrummy chocolate factory run by a psychopath (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)! Actually, not all of the films in this series about vacations and jaunts, which will be presented on Cinerama's gigantic screen, have to do with mayhem and death. Or rather, they do, but it's funny (This Is Spinal Tap) or fantastical (The Wizard of Oz). Grab a bag of chocolate popcorn and be whisked away to the dream or nightmare of your choosing!
AUGUST 10 FOOD & DRINK
Jack's Low & Slow Festival
Jack Timmons will commemorate a half-decade since his smoked-meat temple Jack’s BBQ opened the way any self-respecting barbecue nerd would: by smoking an entire steer. Besides heaps of succulent Texas barbecue, frozen margaritas, and Shiner Bock beer, the day will include such festivities as horseshoes and “chicken shit bingo” (which is exactly what it sounds like—chickens depositing their droppings on a bingo board). KEXP DJ Greg Vandy of The Roadhouse will provide bluesy tunes throughout the day, and the impressive lineup of live music features retro “doom-wop” crooner Prom Queen, alt-country rocker Brent Amaker's new DeathSquad, cosmic country quartet HYWAYS, Led Zeppelin tribute band Custard Pie, rootsy delta blues artist Brett Benton, and Texas singer-songwriter and “piano man” Robert Ellis. JULIANNE BELL
GEEK
Seattle Marauder's Scavenger Hunt
Gather your wizardly friends and explore Seattle on a scavenger hunt. At the finish line, hang out in Magnuson Park for games, food, and live music.
MUSIC
107.7 The End Summer Camp 2019
Summer Camp is 107.7 The End's version of Warped Tour: all the bands you hear on your favorite Seattle rock station, but actually in the flesh on stage at Marymoor Park, playing all the hits. This year's lineup features Walk the Moon, the Revivalists, Oliver Tree, Joywave, IDK How But They Found Me, SHAED, and Skating Polly.
The Avett Brothers, Lake Street Dive, Trampled By Turtles
Folk familiars the Avett Brothers will break out their woo-woo approach to Americana this summer, their years of work heavily driven by pleasant harmony-riddled messages of good and evil, banjo and fiddle. They'll be joined by Lake Street Dive and Trampled By Turtles.
Blondie, Elvis Costello & the Imposters
Blondie is, of course, the punk/rock/new wave ’70s/’80s-era band led by sublime cooer Debbie Harry and known for incorporating elements of pop, reggae, disco, and even a little rap (if you can call what Harry did “rap”). They originally broke up in 1982 after releasing six albums, reunited in the late ’90s, and have been enjoying repeat comebacks into the collective consciousness with each release since; the last outing to get Harry onto stages was 2017’s collaborative Pollinator. Venerable rock/power-pop songwriter Elvis Costello had a similar come-up, as least as far as the era goes, and while he never charted like Blondie—barely at all in the U.S.—he’s as well-known as an underground artist can be, is many times more prolific than his Harry-led peers (2018’s Look Now was his 30th studio LP), and more forward-thinking (“Pump It Up” and “(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea” were way ahead of 1978), and he’s just plain cool. This seems like a sure sell-out. LEILANI POLK
Mon Laferte, Ambar Lucid
Mon Laferte is a superstar—though most Americans wouldn’t know it. The singer (born Norma Monserrat Bustamante Laferte) is enormously popular in her native Chile. Her latest record, Norma, which was produced by Omar Rodríguez-López of the Mars Volta fame, finds the singer dabbling in Latin fusion, blending folk-pop with a rock sensibility. And after a stellar performance at Coachella this year, Mon Laferte is kicking off her U.S. tour here in the Emerald City. Bilingual bedroom pop singer-songwriter Ambar Lucid will be opening. JASMYNE KEIMIG
READINGS & TALKS
Literaoke Book Launch: Michelle Peñaloza’s 'Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire'
Michelle Peñaloza, a former local literary mainstay, has returned home with a debut full-length collection of poetry in tow. The book's called Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire, and in a series of powerful, straightforward, narrative lyrics, Peñaloza reflects on the loss of a father, a relationship, and the legacy of colonialism. Rather than merely read at us for 45 minutes, Peñaloza is throwing a big-ass karaoke launch party. Seattle greats such as Anastacia-Reneé, Troy Osaki, Quenton Baker, Jane Wong, and a few others will accompany her onstage, and if there is a god in heaven, they will sing as well. There is perhaps a surprising overlap between people who love karaoke and people who love poetry, though not so surprising when you consider that they're the two funnest things in the entire world so long as you don't think too hard about them. RICH SMITH
SPORTS & RECREATION
Obliteride
Walk, run, or bike to raise money to help fund Fred Hutch's cancer research.
VISUAL ART
'Simon Hanselmann: Bad Gateway' Signing
Seen the Bellevue Arts Museum exhibition on comic artist Simon Hanselmann and need more? Visit Hanselmann's publisher to hear from the artist, buy his books (starring the stoner witch Megg and her kitty boyfriend Mogg), and get his signature. Here's Jasmyne Keimig on Hanselmann's latest, Bad Gateway: "You know that moment when you're in the middle of a hangout with your friends—slamming beers, intermittently hitting a bong, shoving chips into your mouth, binging old episodes of Project Runway—and suddenly a drunk-stoned realization overtakes you. Maybe all this eagerness to get and stay intoxicated comes from a place of deep unhappiness and frustration with a perceived lack of control over your life. The characters in Simon Hanselmann's comics constantly wrestle with this moment. Instead of letting the smoke clear, going to bed, and shaking off this momentary recognition of existential anguish—they lean into it. With drugs, with drink, with darkness, with weird sex, with selfishness, with addiction, with a lack of empathy."
OPENING AUGUST 10 VISUAL ART
Natalie Ball: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Snake
Natalie Ball (Klamath) was last year's winner of the prestigious Betty Bowen Award, which means she gets $15,000 and a solo show at SAM. Cool! Ball makes sculptures out of found objects, cloth, and other unusual materials, Ball refashions perceptions of Native American history. When she showed work at METHOD in August 2018, Stranger contributor Emily Pothast called her pieces "enigmatic, potent, and visually stunning."
THROUGH AUGUST 10 PERFORMANCE
The Events
A handful of arts patrons and US Bank are funding free tickets for all who want to see Intiman's production of David Greig's The Events, directed by Paul Budraitis. Greig's play is a look at the aftermath of a deadly mass shooting. The show features two actors and a chorus, which, as in all the Greek tragedies, represents the figure of the general populace. (In this case, a rotating cast of local community choirs will play the chorus.) In this production, Claire is a lesbian choir director who witnessed the mass shooting, and "the Boy" plays the shooter and Claire's partner/psychiatrist (plus seven other characters). The shooting in the play, according to a favorable review in the New York Times, was inspired by the racist terrorism of Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in 2011. RICH SMITH
AUGUST 10–11 PERFORMANCE
Arc at 20: A Twentieth Anniversary Retrospective Performance
Revisit 20 years of the innovative Seattle dance company's programming during this retrospective festival, with different lineups every evening. Marie Chong, Wen Wei Wang, Edwaard Liang, Jason Ohlberg, Bruce McCormick, and Elizabeth Cooper are just a few of the choreographers featured, and there will be a special In Memoriam performance for Kabby Mitchell III, the first black dancer at Pacific Northwest Ballet. Lovers of the art of movement should make this event a priority.
AUGUST 10–28 PERFORMANCE
Rigoletto
You may have heard one of the most famous tunes of any opera, "La donna é mobile" (roughly, "woman is fickle"), long used in pizza and Doritos ads—but let's banish those bad memories, shall we? The origin of that song is Giuseppe Verdi's terrific Rigoletto, a tale of political machination, ruined innocence, and revenge, where its jaunty misogyny is undermined with devastating irony. Court jester Rigoletto jealously guards his daughter Gilda's virtue. But when his employer, the depraved Duke of Mantua, seduces the girl, Rigoletto fatefully vows revenge. No doubt Seattle Opera will hint at parallels to #MeToo and to certain powerful lechers we could name. JOULE ZELMAN
AUGUST 11 FILM
Everything Is Terrible!
The video and performance collective Everything is Terrible make truly bizarre videos on the Internet, including ones about the creepy yoga farmer Yogi Ogi Dogi, pubic hair dying, and the demi-child-god Duane. Witness their weird and wonderful mashups.
MUSIC
Feist, Rhye
Listen, the folky and introspective Leslie Feist could have taken her iTunes money (do you remember hearing “1234” every time you turned on the TV?) and run off to the Canadian wilderness somewhere, never to be found again. But she didn’t. Pleasure, which came out in 2017 and marked her first album in six years, is strongest when consumed as a whole, listened to on a long bus ride somewhere. The record ranges from the lush, fully-fleshed-out “Get Not High, Get Not Low” to the stark, hungry “I Wish I Didn’t Miss You.” Rhye will be supporting—prepare to plunge into the depths of your feelings. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Flying Lotus
Of all the international stars birthed from Los Angeles' flourishing ’00s beats hub Low End Theory, Flying Lotus reigns supreme. From the mutated post-hiphop he explored on his landmark Los Angeles LP or the manic and groovy prog heard on 2014's You're Dead!, his music has always been both banging and brainy. His past high-tech, immersive live shows have made for some of the most exciting electronic music events, but he's gone in on his last tour, a 3-D spectacle premiered at 2016's FYF festival and was raved about by fans and critics alike. Well, depending on whether you've forgiven him for his knee-jerk defense of the Gaslamp Killer... NICK ZURKO
Lord Huron, Shakey Graves, Julia Jacklin
LA’s Lord Huron have issued two albums of luminous folk pop that feels breezily effortless and expansive, their sweeping anthemic drive imbued with a Springsteenian/War on Drugs-like indie-rock appeal. Instrumentals are marked by cascading, Afrobeat-influenced guitar melodies and lush percussive textures, with an infusion of languid, salt-stained Cali sound qualities on 2015’s Strange Trails, while frontman Ben Schneider’s ethereal lead vocals soar over or intertwine with those of his bandmates to ascend in exquisite multi-voice chorales or stirring calls and cooing harmonies. LEILANI POLK
THROUGH AUGUST 11 PERFORMANCE
7th and Jackson
Three friends from different communities in the International District dream of having their own nightclub. Even when Pearl Harbor is bombed and the country gears up for war, they swear loyalty to their visions. Sara Porkalob's musical, scored to jazz classics from the likes of the Andrews Sisters, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald, takes place over three decades in one of the most fascinating parts of Seattle.
The Year of Magical Thinking
Many people know Joan Didion’s nonfiction book The Year of Magical Thinking, about the sudden death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne—it was a surprise best seller and won a National Book Award. And many people also know that Didion’s daughter died right after the book was completed. The daughter’s death is not mentioned in the book, but it’s discussed in the play adapted from the book, which Didion completed a few years later. For my money, the play is the better work of art. It tells the full story. It is a one-woman show, and for this production, Didion will be played by Suzanne Bouchard. The very talented Victor Pappas directs. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
AUGUST 12 FOOD & DRINK
Tyler Malek: Author Talk: Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook
When they first founded their Portland-based artisan ice creamery Salt & Straw, cousins Tyler and Kim Malek had no recipes to speak of. That changed when they developed a revolutionary base to serve as a canvas for their flavors, which range from traditional (Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons or Chocolate Gooey Brownie), to playful (Pots of Gold and Rainbows, made with Lucky Charms), to the downright outlandish (Salted Caramel Thanksgiving Turkey and Dracula’s Blood Pudding, the latter a Halloween special made with pig’s blood), and which frequently incorporate ingredients from local businesses. Now you can re-create the experience at home (sans lengthy queues!) with the Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook, which features recipes as well as ways to harness inspiration so that you can concoct oddball flavors of your own. Tyler will visit Book Larder to divulge his ice cream secrets and sign copies of the book. JULIANNE BELL
READINGS & TALKS
Beth Macy: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America
The opioid crisis is bad, and it's getting worse. Since 2014, opioid-related overdoses have steadily risen, along with ODs involving multiple drugs and meth. Last year, fentanyl-involved deaths doubled their 2017 total in King County, according to the University of Washington's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute. In her new book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America, Beth Macy, who's been reporting on this stuff for the Roanoke Times for a while, chronicles the complex of circumstances that led to this crisis with pathos and precision. She begins in the mid-1990s, describing Purdue Pharma's concerted effort to market OxyContin as a supposedly risk-free pain killer. She then shines a light on all the cracks in the local, national, and global health care systems that allowed the crisis to proliferate. If you've checked out of this story, check back in with Dopesick and get caught up. RICH SMITH
AUGUST 13 MUSIC
Charles Smith's 20th Anniversary: Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
The Charles Smith winery will celebrate its anniversary with a live performance from country-rock group Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. Dance while you sip a $5 glass of wine (or a beer from Georgetown Brewing) and tuck into food truck offerings.
Wiz Khalifa, French Montana, Moneybagg Yo, Chevy Woods, DJ Drama
I recently texted my brother—a huge Wiz Khalifa fan—asking why the Pittsburgh rapper is worth listening to. He hit me back with this: "Why is any music worth listening to?" Good point, bro, good point. He went on to explain that Wiz is "unique in this rap game" and that "all he raps about is weed and pursuing your goals." Wiz raps for the people who just wanna light up and have a good time. Which is most of Seattle. JASMYNE KEIMIG
AUGUST 13 & 22 READINGS & TALKS
Seattle Walk Report Book Launch
Seattle Walk Report is exactly what it sounds like: reports of walks in Seattle. Popularized on Instagram (@seattlewalkreport), the project was started in 2017 by an anonymous illustrator who prefers to simply go by Seattle Walk Report. Is she secretly MacKenzie Bezos? Nikkita Oliver? Her identity is so secret that I don't know her name, even though a few of the comics have appeared in The Stranger. Seattle Walk Report's 150-plus pages of twee, guidebook-style comics create an endearing collection of the small details that make Seattle a home. An abbreviated list of its findings: Churros. A scary teapot shaped like a sad dog. The Wedgwood Rock. A parking meter wearing a tie. The oldest building in Seattle (it's by the Capitol Hill Goodwill). A ground-level mailbox in Georgetown (maybe a mailbox for dogs?!). A starfish AND a crab chilling on Alki Beach. The terra-cotta on a West Roy Street apartment building. One confident duck. RICH SMITH
AUGUST 14 MUSIC
Dean Lewis
If you're looking for a musical outlet with which to nurse the open wound of your breakup, or if you just love Australian accents, singer-songwriter Dean Lewis is your guy. He'll return to Seattle for the second time this year on his A Place We Knew Tour.
O.A.R., American Authors
Jam-rock lifers O.A.R. will bring their summer festival-ready tunes to a downtown crowd with opening support from American Authors. Expect a lot of weed smoke and soft air guitar.
The Piano Guys
Four dads armed with pianos and camera phones have brought their eight hands of talent to the Internet, and now to Marymoor Park, with an evening of melded classical and pop hits.
The Rolling Stones
Over the last 57 years, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Charlie Watts have made the journey from rock & roll bad boys to affable elder statesmen with as much panache as musicians can muster. From about 1965 to 1974, the Rolling Stones were among the 10 best rock groups on the planet—some scholars say the best. To be sure, they've written enough classics in many styles—blues, soul, funk, country, disco, electro, etc.—to coast on their vast catalog till they can't walk anymore. And even then, Keef will probably find a way to coax out more of his indelibly raunchy and tender riffs. Come for “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction,” stay for “Heaven”—which they've never performed live, but maybe if you shout for it loudly enough, they'll comply. It's the least they can do for the hundreds of dollars you spent for this concert. DAVE SEGAL
READINGS & TALKS
Jennifer Dumpert: Dreaming on the Edges of Mind
I dream all the time. Sometimes I remember fragments, sometimes entire sequences, and sometimes I can’t tell if I am awake or asleep, and things can get pretty strange and hallucinatory. It might be liminal dreaming—also called hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations, those hazy dream states of transitional consciousness we pass through as we fall into sleep at night and rise towards wakefulness in the morning. Apparently, you can access and linger in these states, according to Jennifer Dumpert. Town Hall Seattle and Cascade Psychedelic Community welcome the San Francisco-based lecturer, author of Liminal Dreaming: Exploring Consciousness at the Edges of Sleep, and founder of the Oneironauticum—an international organization that explores “the phenomenological experience of dreams as a means of experimenting with mind”—for a talk on just how to do so with practical exercises and techniques, and how to “engage our dreaming minds to help us answer personal or intellectual questions or even encourage the healing process.”
LEILANI POLK
AUGUST 15 MUSIC
Lights, tiLLie
Canadian alt-pop project Lights is on tour promoting the acoustic version of her fourth record, Skin&Earth, and will be joined by support act tiLLie at this Seattle stop.
Taj Mahal, Marc Cohn, Blind Boys of Alabama
Listen to Taj Mahal sing “Celebrated Walkin’ Blues,” which he lifted from Robert Johnson. He starts out with nothing but shoes and proceeds to survey the landscape in those lyrics and a great deal about the universe with that mandolin. Macrocosm in microcosm. Joy from deep in a rut. We need those. ANDREW HAMLIN
READINGS & TALKS
Chavisa Woods: 100 Times
The author of the Lambda Literary Award finalist Things to Do When You're Goth in the Country, which contains the Shirley Jackson Award-winning novelette “Take the Way Home That Leads Back to Sullivan Street,” turns to the essay format. She meticulously documents 100 instances of sexist violence, harassment, and discrimination which she's experienced as a queer woman. 100 Times is an attempt to give an individualized face and voice to victims of perpetual, systemic sexism. Woods will appear with fellow author Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore.
AUGUST 15–17 MUSIC
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady’s boozy, swaggering, late-’70s radio rock has always been a bit of a tough sell for the general public. But their charm stems from Craig Finn’s boisterous storytelling, which manages to address sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll in a capacity that is neither glamorous nor cautionary. Over the course of their last three albums, the Hold Steady have gussied up their sound with bigger choruses and stronger production, tapering Finn’s revelatory rambling into more traditional songwriting. This bodes well for the band’s accessibility, but it also diminishes the impact of their strongest asset. Still, for listeners reading along with the lyric sheet at home, songs like “We Can Get Together” are as poignant as anything Finn did in their early years, provided you can see past the glare of the high-gloss production. BRIAN COOK
AUGUST 15–18 FILM
North Bend Film Festival
The hometown of many Twin Peaks shoots celebrates its second year with a new raft of strange, Northwest-themed movies.
AUGUST 16 FILM
'Where'd You Go Bernadette?' Opening
Irreverent local author Maria Semple’s hilarious and highly readable novel has been made into a movie directed by Richard Linklater and starring Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer, Laurence Fishburne, and newcomer Emma Nelson as Bee Branch, Bernadette’s 15-year-old daughter and the most sensible, and sane, person in the book. A true Seattle story, this one has it all: tech transplants, agoraphobic artists, private school, middling moms, and a hearty dose of both love and hate for the city in which it is set. KATIE HERZOG
FOOD & DRINK
Sunset Supper
One hundred of the region's favorite restaurants, wineries, breweries, and distilleries come together for this signature Pike Place Market Foundation summer evening event.
MUSIC
Herbie Hancock & Kamasi Washington
You have to be rich or well-connected to see Herbie Hancock perform live nowadays, but do make the effort. One of the most eclectic and innovative jazz musicians of the last 55 years, the keyboardist has traversed hard bop, modal jazz, fusion (with Miles Davis and his own Mwandishi band), funk, hiphop, electro, Joni Mitchell covers, myriad world-music tangents with artists such as Anoushka Shankar and Tinariwen, and has even concocted a radically rearranged cover of the greatest Beatles song, “Tomorrow Never Knows”—albeit with Dave Matthews. DAVE SEGAL
READINGS & TALKS
Erik Davis: Drugs, Weirdness, and Visionary Experience in the Seventies
Erik Davis's book High Weirdness delves into the writings of the tragic sci-fi maven Philip K. Dick, the ethnobotanist Terence McKenna, and the mystic author Robert Anton Wilson, who in the 1970s developed a "psychedelic spirituality" that profoundly influenced radical culture, particularly on the American West Coast. Publicity materials describe "Davis’ new theory of the weird" as a possible new "viable mode for a renewed engagement with reality."
AUGUST 16–17 MUSIC
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Since the day I first heard “Another One Rides the Bus,” I have had a deep love and respect for “Weird Al” Yankovic. And as time and pop music moves, um, forward, his parodies and the aural puns-ishment he produces have become a nice throwback to when AM radio and Top 40 charts welcomed novelty songs. I’d guess even into the 1980s, novelty, parody, and answer songs were still radio-friendly genres, but that was wiped away in the ’90s by contemporary pop radio’s homogenization and evident need to be taken seriously. Except maybe for Tenacious D, “Weird Al” is the last, and only, parody/novelty performer allowed on the radio. Anyway, I bet Al’s blistering accordion solos tonight will be most choice and the gargled solo in “Smells Like Nirvana” will be divine. MIKE NIPPER
AUGUST 16–18 COMEDY
Michael Che's Liberal But Gangsta Tour
Stand-up comedian, actor, and writer Michael Che is best known for his gig as co-anchor on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update." Come for political commentary, social/interpersonal observations, and some dark humor.
FESTIVALS
Seattle Hempfest 2019
The "premier flagship event of the global cannabis culture," Seattle's massive Hempfest, will return once again for three days of talks, pot-loving celebrity guests and congresspeople, and hundreds of vendors.
Seattle Tattoo Expo
Hidden Hand Tattoo hosts this three-day expo of permanently decorated flesh, where you can see displays, attend seminars, and even get yourself inked up from by the right artist for you. This year's featured artists include locals like Rich White and Mikey Sarratt (Action Tattoo) and Jose Camarillo, Sang S, and Mimi Hongvilay (Art Never Dies Tattoo), plus visiting artists from San Francisco's Castro Tattoo, Poland's Lukas Smyku, and Austin's Black Dagger Tattoo.
AUGUST 16–25 FESTIVALS
Seattle Design Festival 2019
Now in its ninth year, Design in Public's Seattle Design Festival explores how urbanism, architecture, and design can further justice, ecology, and community.
AUGUST 17 FESTIVALS
Hai! Japantown 2019
Celebrate Japantown at this neighborhood party that will span multiple venues.
Lagunitas Beer Circus
As if a regular circus isn't already a feast for the senses, this festival will combine the thrill of live acrobatics, burlesque, and aerial arts with the joy of beer-drinking—not to mention food trucks, games, face-painters, and more. Don't forget to wear your own circus-ready attire.
MUSIC
Nas: Celebrating 25 Years of Illmatic
Beloved at the time of its release, Nas’s lithe 1994 debut, Illmatic, has since earned a permanent place near the top of any list of best hip-hop albums of all time. Tonight, Nas takes the stage for a special live performance of Illmatic in its entirety, as well as all of his hits from his 25 year career.
SYML, EXES
Seattle-area musician/producer Brian Fennell, aka SYML, aka a former member of gentle indie-rock band Barcelona, will headline out in the U-District.
Tuxedo
Slick Ann Arbor, Michigan, R&B vocalist Mayer Hawthorne and Seattle hiphop beat maestro Jake One team up for some up-tempo party music ideal for people who find Chromeo to be too oleaginous. Tuxedo simply exude more class than their obvious antecedent, and they’re elevated by Hawthorne’s superior voice, one of our country’s most reliable conduits of suave soulfulness. Jake One’s production skews toward G-funk and Dâm-Funk, a style that allows no darkness whatsoever into its bottle-popping euphoria. If you even have a few drops of hedonistic blood in you, you’re gonna wanna, as their Snoop Dogg–enhanced jam of the same title puts it, “Fux with the Tux.” DAVE SEGAL
THROUGH AUGUST 17 FOOD & DRINK
Hawaiian Nights
Canlis knows how to throw a party. Seattle’s illustrious fine-dining institution is notorious for its extravagant New Year's Eve blowouts—this year’s Hawaiian-inspired luau featured real waterfalls, a koi pond, and live animals; the previous year’s glamorous 1950s-inspired affair boasted a period-accurate, Spady-family-approved re-creation of a mid-century Dick’s Drive-In; and a prior ski-chalet-themed soiree had hot tubs, real snow, and Saint Bernard dogs. A ticket doesn’t come cheap, though, so it’s all the more exciting that they’ve decided to throw an “unfancy, laidback, lowbrow” weekend bash in their parking lot this summer for the rest of us non-one-percenters. They’ll transform the lot into an island paradise with an actual pool, and have teased thatched tiki huts, a pig roast, a bar, pizza, kalbi ribs, shishito peppers, and mac salad. Bring your bathing suit. JULIANNE BELL
AUGUST 17–18 MUSIC
Daniel Caesar, Koffee
I'm inclined to root for any Toronto talent who isn't Drake, but Daniel Caesar sets himself apart anyway, with rich soul rippling through his vocals and a predilection for instrumental accompaniment that pulls from blues and Americana traditions. KIM SELLING
AUGUST 18 MUSIC
311, Dirty Heads, The Interrupters, Dreamers, Bikini Trill
Get that sun-drenched alt-reggae-rock sound from 311 and Dirty Heads as they tour through the Northwest this summer with support sets from the Interrupters, Dreamers, and Bikini Trill.
JoJo Siwa
JoJo Siwa, a Nickelodeon star and teenage YouTube sensation, will show an otherworldly level of human excitement at her D.R.E.A.M. tour stop, which will feature her latest sparkle-pop efforts.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
The Australian psych savants always deliver when you need a night of tingly acid rock crawling on your skin and throughout your nervous system. In the same garage-y genus as Ty Segall and Oh Sees, prolific rippers King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have dropped 14 studio albums in seven years. With a seven-piece polyphonic presence, their orgiastic shows are lush with 1970s levitation and act as an elevator to the 13th floor of your endorphins. ZACH FRIMMEL
Valerie June
Memphis multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter Valerie June has a voice that’s tenderly sweet and bright like liquid gold yet somehow imbued with a wise, old-soul quality. She had her national “coming out” with 2013’s Pushin’ Against a Stone, partially produced by Black Keys heavyweight Dan Auerbach; it landed on several year-end best-of lists, including that of Rolling Stone and American Songwriter. Its follow-up, The Order of Time is just as warm, effortless, and ethereal as you’d expect, and the mountain-hewn soul and rural-blues elements are still intact, though it’s definitely heavier on the classic country, bluegrass, and gospel-soaked folk influences. Additional cred: The hard-to-please Bob Dylan has given Valerie June his seal of approval. LEILANI POLK
AUGUST 19 READINGS & TALKS
Téa Obreht: Inland
The author of the celebrated The Tiger's Wife will return with her new novel, Inland, set in the Arizona Territory in 1893. A literally haunted outlaw and a frontierswoman whose husband and sons have vanished in the midst of a drought head towards a surprising encounter with one another. It's a magic-tinged take on the Wild West, rooted in real history.
AUGUST 19–25 FESTIVALS
Washington State International Kite Festival
Sometimes the best part of living in the city is leaving it, and there’s no better time to explore the Pacific Northwest than the summer. One excellent excuse to get out of town is the annual International Kite Festival in Long Beach. Called the "the greatest, grandest kite festival on the North American continent" by KiteLife.com, you’ll see kites here you’ve never imagined. There are competitions for speed, for beauty, and for the best photos. Over 10,000 kite lovers come from all over the world to commune together, kite, and look toward the skies. KATIE HERZOG
AUGUST 20 MUSIC
Lionel Richie
Veteran chart-topper Lionel Richie will grace Marymoor Park with his soft-rock royalty presence.
AUGUST 21 COMMUNITY
Candidate Survivor 2019
The 14 Seattle City Council candidates who pass the primary election on August 6 will fight their district opponent for a spot on the City Council in this year's Candidate Survivor, a political pageant presented by The Stranger and Washington Bus and hosted by Seattle drag legend Cookie Couture. After talking serious policy, the candidates will attempt to prove their worth even further by displaying their special talents, be it juggling, rapping, or vape-fluting (to cite some past examples). "Think a CNN Town Hall mixed with a vogue battle on Pose," says The Stranger's Chase Burns.
FILM
'Ready or Not' Opening
A blushing bride is forced to turn into a rifle-wielding badass when her bizarre new in-laws coerce her into a deadly game of hide-and-seek. Warning: The trailer (embedded here) seems to spoil everything.
MUSIC
Chris Brown, Tory Lanez, Ty Dolla $ign, Joyner Lucas, Yella Beezy
Often in the news for not great reasons, Chris Brown will buck the serious stuff and return to the region with additional guests Tory Lanez, Ty Dolla $ign, Joyner Lucas, and Yella Beezy on his Indigoat Tour.
Iration, Pepper, Fortunate Youth, Katastro
Alt-reggae enthusiasts Iration rise out of the college town muck of Isla Vista to share their low-key sunny day grooves with the rest of the West Coast on their tour with support from Pepper, Fortunate Youth, and Katastro.
ZZ Top, Cheap Trick
Classic rock relics and legendary beard connoisseurs ZZ Top will play an evening of hard-edged throwbacks and power chords on their summer tour with '70s radio rockers Cheap Trick.
READINGS & TALKS
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jeffery Robinson will discuss racism, the impacts of America's slaveholding history, and the consequences of US imperialism. According to the Rotary Club's description, Robinson "was one of the original members of the John Adams Project and worked on behalf of one of five men held at Guantanamo Bay charged with carrying out the 9/11 attacks."
AUGUST 22–25 FESTIVALS
Nordic Sól
Seattle loves a good opportunity to bliss out over Nordic culture, and this summer extravaganza (billed as a re-imagining of Viking Days) is no exception. For four days, stay cool with festivities geared toward Nordic regions with arctic climates, including short talks, dinners, a fashion show, and more.
AUGUST 22–26 PERFORMANCE
Pressure Cooker: O Succulent!
An entry in Nordo's nontraditional theater series, Butch Alice and Anya Knee's O Succulent treks along with Professor Archie McDinklethorn and Sister Sandwich in a tribute to LARP storytelling. McDinklethorn and Sandwich search for succulents and encounter adventure in the AridSun Desert as they search for succulent plants. As always, enjoy food that complements the themes of the show.
AUGUST 22–SEPTEMBER 14 PERFORMANCE
Bulrusher
Stranger Genius Award and Artist Innovator Award winner Valerie Curtis-Newton will direct Eisa Davis's 2007 Pulitzer finalist about a multiracial, clairvoyant orphan girl (Ayo Tushinde) growing up in 1950s California. Young Bulrusher feels out of place in her very white town, where the whimsical dialect of Boontling is spoken, but things change when she meets a newcomer—a black girl from Alabama.
AUGUST 23 COMEDY
JB Smoove
Did you know JB Smoove was in Pootie Tang? That movie is terrible, but Smoove is pretty funny in it. The actor, writer, and comic has been active since his break on Def Comedy Jam in 1995. He’s since appeared in and written for a range of films and TV shows (you likely know him best as Leon Black in Curb Your Enthusiasm), in addition to writing a book (The Book of Leon: Philosophy of a Fool came out last year), and continuing to deliver sets of his well-honed stand-up, a mix of physical comedy and his humorous perspective on how the world works. LEILANI POLK
MUSIC
Amos Lee
Perennial Starbucks-soundtracker Amos Lee will take his night of soulful singer-songwriter vibes to the next level by performing among the seductive groves of Woodinville.
Sammy Hagar's Full Circle Jam Tour
Rock legend Sammy Hagar has decades worth of classic material, and he won't hesitate to break it all out on his 2019 Full Circle Jam Tour.
VISUAL ART
SAM Remix
SAM Remix is a recurring and ever-changing art party that includes performances, tours, and dancing, all inspired by their current special exhibitions, in this case Victorian Radicals and Regina Silveira: Octopus Wrap.
AUGUST 23–24 PERFORMANCE
Scott Shoemaker's :Probed!
"A powerhouse and an incredible performer" is how drag star BendelaCreme describes Scott Shoemaker. The local mischief-maker behind Ms. Pak-Man and The War on Christmas will stage "an all-new supernatural comedy cabaret—emphasis on the super!", with as much UFO camp hilarity as you can take. We want to believe!
What the Funk?! Fest
Spend a whole weekend with POC burlesque talent like Egypt Blaque Knyle, Nox Falls, Tre` da Marc, the Luminous Pariah, and about 50 others at this festival of performances and classes.
AUGUST 23–25 MUSIC
Bass Canyon
Join up with your fellow celestial headbangers for three days of bass-heavy beats echoing through the Columbia River Gorge, featuring artists like Excision, 12th Planet, Boogie T, Blunts & Blondes, and many more.
AUGUST 23–31 PERFORMANCE
14/48: The World's Quickest Theater Festival
True to its name, the 14/48 Festival turns around 14 brand-new, theme-based, 10-minute plays in two days. The high-pressure nature of the event produces an evening of surprising theater for audience members, who arrive in their seats charged with expectation and anxiety for the performers. Though there are always a few experiments that don't quite come together, it's endlessly fascinating to see the way one theme filters through the minds of several very different theater artists. Expect shit to get weird. RICH SMITH
AUGUST 23–JANUARY 12 VISUAL ART
Emerge/Evolve 2018: Rising Talents in Kiln-Glass
The winners and some finalists of Bullseye Glass Company's competition, which has been going on for the past 18 years, will have kiln-glass (highly moldable, fusible glass) on display. Some take geometric vase-like forms, like Andy Plummer's ovoid I Moved on Her Like a Bitch; others are weirder, like Evelyn Gottschall Baker's eerily realistic Bones-Group.
AUGUST 24 COMEDY
Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross and Dave Attell
Two crusty vet comedians, who both have their own fuck-all attitudes and are worthy of respect in their own right, have teamed up to cohead the Bumping Mics tour. Dave Attell achieved his name recognition with a Comedy Central show, Insomniac with Dave Attell, that started with a clip of a set featuring his wry, observational humor followed by some late-night shenanigans and misadventures around whatever town he was performing in. Jeff Ross earned his standing by becoming the roastmaster general of all those Comedy Central Roasts, the ultimate lampooner whose sharp tongue cut hard and deep. (Remember when Trump was in the hot seat? Those were the days.) Seeing these gents in a single evening will be a rare treat. LEILANI POLK
FESTIVALS
HangarFest 2019
Aviation nerds can delight in aircrafts like the Concorde or the Boeing 787 Jumbo Jet, dance to classic rock, explore a futuristic transportation exhibit, and enjoy food and games.
AUGUST 24–25 FESTIVALS
THING
With Sasquatch! cancelled after a 17-year run, fest founder and STG chief programming officer Adam Zacks is attempting to fill that void with a new arts festival called THING, which will include music, comedy, film, visual arts, dance, podcasts, food, and a "mentalist." The full lineup includes pop, rock, and folk artists Jeff Tweedy, Calexico/Iron & Wine, Kurt Vile, Khruangbin, Phosphorescent, and Japanese Breakfast, plus celebrities like Todd Barry and Lindy West. According to the press release, inspiration for the festival's name derives from the medieval term "Ting," which was "an assembly of free people to reduce feuds and avoid social disorder." THING will host three main stages, including a decommissioned zeppelin hangar (McCurdy Pavilion), the art-deco Wheeler Theatre, and the Parade Grounds near Puget Sound. DAVE SEGAL
MUSIC
An Evening With Josh Groban
Operatic heartthrob Josh Groban takes his inexplicably successful "Bridges" tour on the road to the Chateau, providing two evenings rife with intimate lounge pop and showtune classics.
AUGUST 24–OCTOBER 5 VISUAL ART
Amanda Manitach: Mirrors
From afar, Stranger Genius Award nominee Amanda Manitach's block prints look like inner thoughts (or perturbing greeting cards) punched into colorful stains. Get closer, and you'll realize that these stains are elaborate patterns that may evoke Victorian wallpaper. Her latest project comments on the selfie by incorporating mirrors.
AUGUST 25 MUSIC
The Wood Brothers, Colter Wall
Chris Wood is the bassist of exceptional avant-jazz and space-funk makers Medeski Martin & Wood. But he also plays in a band with his elder brother, Oliver. Their sound differs greatly from MMW’s; it’s a mix of folk-blues and gospel-tinged Americana—warm, upbeat, and made for driving on dusty rural roads or nursing whiskey on a back porch at twilight, as crickets serenade you from the shadows. Chris’s fat, buoyant double-bass grooves complement his brother’s easy-going guitar strums, choppy slide work, and velvety country-soulful vocals, while drummer/percussionist Jano Rix holds down the rhythms, but also provides occasional accompaniment on shuitar (a guitar modified into a percussion instrument), keys, and vocal harmonies. The trio hit town last year behind their sixth full-length, One Drop of Truth, which Oliver calls “the most purely Wood Brothers’ album we’ve ever made.” LEILANI POLK
AUGUST 27 READINGS & TALKS
Nisi Shawl and Jack Skillingstead: Wastelands
If you're beset by fears of planetary doom, you're not alone, as this volume of post-apocalyptic fiction edited by the famed genre anthologist John Joseph Adams will demonstrate. Two esteemed contributors, Nisi Shawl (Everfair) and Jack Skillingstead (The Chaos Function) will appear to discuss the aftermath of whatever finally gives human civilization the boot. The book also includes new stories by such writers as Tananarive Due, Elizabeth Bear, Wendy N. Wagner, and others, as well as reprints by sci-fi/fantasy lights like Carmen Maria Machado, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Charlie Jane Anders.
AUGUST 28 MUSIC
Lost '80s Live
Experience the many hits of a colorful decade with performances by members of Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, Farrington & Mann, the Vapors, the Motels, Boys Don’t Cry, and even more special guests.
AUGUST 29 FOOD & DRINK
The Great Victorian Radicals Bake-Off
Seattle Art Museum has summoned bakeries from around Seattle to create show-stopping desserts inspired by the exhibition Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts & Crafts Movement. Participating pastry pros have one week to develop, create, and deliver their entries, which will be judged on taste as well as adherence to the theme. On your mark, get set, bake! JULIANNE BELL
MUSIC
The National, Alvvays
Beast gives us what the National have always given us: the musical equivalent of reveling in anxiety-depression, a mental condition common among urbanites. On the record, Bryan Devendorf's busy drums provide a foundation of nervous energy, Berninger's melancholy mumbles croon over the top, and then the twins (Aaron and Bryce Dessner) command the guitars to flourish in fits or else swell to bursting to release all the pent-up angst. In keeping up with the times, the Dessners incorporated into this record subtle, intricately arranged electronic sounds, but they didn't mess too much with the general formula. RICH SMITH
Stephen Marley
The winding road of musical history is paved with the sons and daughters of icons, who (often through nepotism, sometimes with talent) gave a shot at their own careers, never to step out from the shadow of their legendary parents (see: Sean Lennon, that poor so-and-so). What sets reggae icon Bob Marley’s brood apart is their undeniable hit-making abilities: Damian’s blistering 'Welcome to Jamrock' was pretty much inescapable the summer it was released, and Stephen’s a Grammy-winning, critically lauded artist in his own right. His is a dressed-up, omnivorous take on reggae, incorporating hiphop drum breaks, record scratches, and pop-leaning female backup singers, along with the requisite mentions of Jah. It’s sort of a globalized, millennial take on reggae, and while it lacks the rootsy charm of his father's classic records, it’s nice to see the Marley clan doing their own thing and doing it well. KYLE FLECK
AUGUST 29–SEPTEMBER 1 MUSIC
Maceo Parker
Soulful saxophonist Maceo Parker has spent decades exploring and rewriting the history of funk in collaborations with icons like James Brown, George Clinton, and Prince, while simultaneously honing his own brand of creative showmanship.
AUGUST 30 FILM
'The Nightingale' Opening
In 19th-century Tasmania, a young Irish woman and an Aboriginal tracker, united in hatred and a need for vengeance, pursue the British soldiers who committed vile deeds against them. The onslaught of sexual violence and brutality in Jennifer Kent’s second feature (after The Babadook) reportedly drove distressed festivalgoers out of the theater at Sundance. The Nightingale seems to be this Australian director’s unstinting reckoning with the abuse, exploitation, and genocide of the past. Those with a strong constitution and no expectations of a crowd-pleasing revenge arc may consider this a must-see. JOULE ZELMAN
No Man's Land Film Festival
No Man's Land Film Festival is a series of films about women exploring the outdoors. See bike riders, climbers, sailors, and other intrepid women explore stupendous natural environments. Come early for a social hour with $2 beer and cider.
MUSIC
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad, aka Billy Idol, is 63 years old, but you better believe that sneer hasn’t aged a bit. Coming up in the original English punk scene, Idol was a founding member of Generation X—the first band to play the iconic venue the Roxy (it was also their first show) and one of the first punk bands to play on the BBC’s Top of the Pops. I always admired that Idol and co.’s interpretation of the P-word was less militant and political than was fashionable at the time, and that they were unapologetically more into big-time rock ’n’ roll than their Beatles-and-Stones-dissing peers. This also factors into Idol’s solo career and penchant for showmanship, which lean toward something I think of as “Punk: The Musical.” Yes, it’s leather pants and cross earrings, but it’s also elaborate lights, costume changes, and well-done makeup. EMILY NOKES
AUGUST 30–31 FESTIVALS
Northwest Psych Fest 2019
Now in its sixth year, Peter Koslik and Nick Arthur’s Northwest Psych Fest does an excellent job showcasing local and international talent on a small budget. Their connections with the Mexican psych-rock underground again pay dividends with Dorotheo and Los Dug Dugs bringing their transportive, melodious songs to the Sunset. In the 1970s, this Mexican group (LDD) forged a canon ablaze with artfully brutal rock and gritty earworms. Their songs wield a galvanizing power combined with a melodic brilliance that’s rarely heard these days. Other highlights include polyglot avant-rock dynamos Diminished Men and epic outer-limits jammers WEEED. It’s a loaded bill to get loaded to, for sure. DAVE SEGAL
MUSIC
Steve Miller Band, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives
Steve Miller, the king of classic rock FM radio, brings his whole band to the rolling banks of the winery for a whole evening of flying like an eagle with Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives.
AUGUST 30–SEPTEMBER 1 FESTIVALS
Bumbershoot 2019
Bumbershoot, Seattle's biggest music, comedy, and arts festival, will take over Seattle Center for Labor Day Weekend 2019 for the 49th year. Major touring artists (Lizzo, Carly Rae Jepsen, the Lumineers, Taking Back Sunday, Bea Miller) will take the same sages as local talents (Y La Bamba, the Dip) across the music, art, and comedy spectrums, with a special food selection known as B-Eats.
MUSIC
Dave Matthews Band, Lettuce, Gov't Mule
Birkenstock-rock legend and #1 dad bod Dave Matthews performs all three days of Labor Day Weekend for the 28th anniversary of his band and in promotion of his latest studio album.
AUGUST 30–SEPTEMBER 2 FESTIVALS
PAX West
The first thing to know about PAX West—Seattle's annual Labor Day weekend convention devoted exclusively to gaming—is that it always sells out in minutes. The convention features dozens of panels with special guests, an exhibit hall, new game demonstrations, and video game-inspired musical performances. If you can't make it to the main event, there are always lots of fun affiliated parties going on around town.
AUGUST 30–SEPTEMBER 22 FESTIVALS
Washington State Fair
The hottest days of the summer coincide with the annual Washington State Fair in Puyallup, which brings family-friendly activities like rides and games, carnival food, free music and performances, baby animals, cultural events, produce contests, a rodeo, live concerts, and much more.
AUGUST 31 MUSIC
blink-182, Lil Wayne, Neck Deep
Pop-punk Peter Pans Blink-182 will join forces with booked and busy rap king Lil Wayne for maybe not the summer mash-up tour we wanted, but the summer mash-up tour we deserve. Welsh pop-punk group Neck Deep will support all tour dates.
David Crosby and Friends
I’d be okay if Croz just busted out the golden troubadour psychedelia of If I Could Only Remember My Name in its entirety, and then encored with some Byrds songs he wrote or cowrote (e.g., “Eight Miles High,” “Everybody's Been Burned,” “I See You,” “Draft Morning,” “Why?”). But of course he'll dip into the hit-heavy catalog of Crosby, Stills & Nash, because enough sweet, mellow jams reside there to keep a theater full of Boomers and their offspring content for hours. While he may not hit those high, silky notes as gracefully anymore, Crosby's voice has weathered the decades well. Come for the timeless, glowing melodies, stay for the tales of ye olde rock aristocracy from the '60s and '70s. DAVE SEGAL
Keith Urban, Russell Dickerson
Terrible pop country is the gas station coffee of music. Yeah, it doesn't taste great and that corn syrup creamer is going to make my stomach churn at some point, but on a long drive those cheesy sentiments beat you over the head with straight-forward lyrics about pickup trucks and pouring rain, and choruses I can sing along to before the song is over will keep me awake and entertained. Keith Urban deals in this much-maligned realm; the Australian celeb hubby of Nicole Kidman sings about falling in love in the back of a cop car ("The blue lights were shinin'/Bringing out the freedom in your eyes") and stands in a photo on his album cover in the middle of a cornfield. It's all a problematic fantasy world, a flawed fairy-tale version of the country sung by someone who didn't grow up here, but sometimes it feels good to sing along. ROBIN EDWARDS

The 35 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: July 29-Aug 4, 2019

Elaina Friedman — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 09:55:00 -0700

The Stranger's music critics' picks for the week. by Elaina Friedman

This week, our music critics have picked everything from Broken Social Scene to the Marías to Apple Jam: Off The White Album. Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips for all of their picks, and find even more shows on our complete music calendar. Plus, check out our arts & culture critics' picks for the 48 best things to do this week.

Found something you like and don't want to forget about it later? Click "Save Event" on any of the linked events below to add it to your own private list.

Backstreet Boys, Baylee Littrell
Now that their Vegas residency is over, the well-coiffed, nostalgia-pop-belting blood brothers of the Backstreet Boys will stop in Seattle on their DNA World Tour.

MONDAY-TUESDAY ROCK/POP

Broken Social Scene
Posted up at Neptune for two nights, Toronto’s Broken Social Scene are bringing their orchestral, many-fingered folky indie pop to Seattle. There’s, like, at least a hundred members—not to their detriment. Their soaring, grandiose harmonies benefit from all those warm bodies, who also play in other groups and solo projects including, but not limited to, Metric, Feist, and Stars. It makes for an interesting, healthy, and surprising smoothie of music. Also, for those of you who have never listened to BSS, don’t be thrown by their name—I avoided listening to them for many years because they were a scene band! Really makes you think. Though I can’t vouch for it personally, I’ve heard BSS give an incredible live performance that’s not to be missed, especially if baroque indie pop is your thing. JASMYNE KEIMIG

MONDAY & WEDNESDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Dave Alvin, Christy McWilson, Chris Miller
The title track of folk balladeer Dave Alvin's new album King of California—his first fully acoustic album—tells the story of an aspiring suitor who travels west to seek his fortune in the still-wild Golden State. The former member of roots-rock band the Blasters will come to Seattle with support from Christy McWilson and Chris Miller.

TUESDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Mountain Man
If you close your eyes during a particularly harmonious Mountain Man song, you will almost certainly be transported to the riverbank of your dreams. The Appalachian-tinged folk-pop trio is comprised of Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath.

HIP-HOP/RAP

Devin the Dude, G.A.S.
I once read a piece about Devin the Dude, aka Devin Copeland, called “Your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper,” and it opens, “Devin the Dude is probably the greatest hip-hop artist you’ve never heard.” It was written in 2000, and in some ways, it still rings true. In this case, you probably don’t think you know him, but you’ve damn sure heard him. See: Dr. Dre’s “Fuck You,” De La Soul’s “Baby Phat,” Devin the Dude’s own “What a Job,” which feels like an Outkast knockoff and actually features Andre 3000 along with Snoop Dogg. Devin has a healthy funkadelic swag to his productions, lyrics that often dwell on his favorite pastime (smoking weed), and a spacey soulful flow. He hits Seattle behind 10th LP Still Rollin' Up: Somethin’ to Ride With. Opening is G.A.S., the project of Grynch, Jesús Spades, and Stefo. LEILANI POLK

ROCK/POP

The Psychedelic Furs, James, Dear Boy
New-wave act the Psychedelic Furs exist in the same hazed, romantic dreamworld as 1980s contemporaries the Church or Echo & the Bunnymen. Also like those acts, the Furs have toured the past few years to the delight of fans not fortunate (or old) enough to have experienced their heyday. Best known for hits like “Pretty in Pink,” “Heartbreak Beat,” and “Love My Way,” the UK band is armed with exquisitely surreal lyrics, swirling, jangly guitars, soaring sax flourishes, and riffs that situate themselves firmly in your memory. Eccentric gem Robyn Hitchcock made his name with the Soft Boys’ delightfully off-kilter neo-psych in the 1970s and ’80s, helping to pave the way for the Paisley Underground movement and psych influence of early-’80s college rock. His extensive solo material and work with his band the Egyptians should also spark the interest of those intrigued by lyrics crafted with poetic whimsy paired with smart pop melodies. BRITTNIE FULLER

TUESDAY & FRIDAY-SATURDAY METAL/PUNK

Pain in the Grass 2019
KISW's Pain in the Grass will take over Auburn for three days of rock and punk warfare thanks to massive headliners like Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, and Disturbed.

WEDNESDAY ROCK/POP

Mayday Parade, State Champs, Mom Jeans., Just Friends
Florida quintet and standard-bearers for the pop-rock genre Mayday Parade are back in Seattle and riding the wave of their fifth studio release Black Lines. They'll be joined by State Champs, Mom Jeans., and Just Friends.

Stef Chura, French Vanilla, Zach Burba
Detroit alt rocker Stef Chura has been earning high praise since dropping her 2017 debut, Messes—from Rolling Stone (“15 Great Albums You Probably Didn’t Hear in 2017”) to Pitchfork (“Messes showcases her way with setting a twilit mood and her magnetic, mutable voice”). Her just-released sophomore follow-up (and debut outing on Saddle Creek Records), Midnight, seems to have critics on board, too. And it’s no wonder: Chura has one of those rasp-timbred voices that is at once fierce and compelling, and capable of issuing a full-throated scream without piercing the ears. Her music is pretty tight, too—rock that has a vague DIY indie quality. LEILANI POLK

THURSDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Keller Williams
There is a powerful moment in the movie To Sleep with Anger. It happens when Danny Glover, who is the bad guy, says something like: "I like my blues simple—just a man and his guitar." This is the kind of thing (or simplicity, or honesty) that Virginian Keller Williams strives for: a man and his guitar. Though he has made music with groups (like the Keels and the String Cheese Incident), a good part of his reputation rests on his solo performances of funk, bluegrass, and rock. CHARLES MUDEDE

FUNK/REGGAE

Toots and the Maytals, The Gladiators with Droop Lion
Toots and the Maytals have been around for a long time. Formed in the early 1960s, the Maytals were one of the most renown ska and rocksteady vocal groups to come out of Jamaica, dropping such biggie reggae hits as the storm-is-coming-for-you “Pressure Drop” (you might’ve heard the Clash version), tender wedding ode “Sweet and Dandy,” and “54-46 (That's My Number)," about the stint frontman Toots Hibbert spent in prison (the Clash’s “Jail Guitar Doors” has a shout out about it—they were big Maytals fans). Hibbert continues to produce new recordings minus his two old Maytals vocal-mates (Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" Matthias), although much of what comes lately is new renditions of old material or covers amid the few new tracks. Still, he’s pure musical joy materialized in short beaming Jamaican man form, his vocals are soulful and lightly raspy and warm like your favorite snuggly sweater, and his legacy speaks for itself. Plus, he turns 77 this year, so who knows how much longer he’ll be touring? In sum, get the hell out to this show. LEILANI POLK

ROCK/POP

The Beths, Girl Friday, Ariel View
New Zealand band the Beths manage to capture all the great things about pop punk and none of the bad. The yearning! The angst! (“I will go out tonight / I’m gonna drink the whole town dry / Put poison in my wine / And hope that you’re the one who dies.”) The power chords! The frenetic drumming! The fuzziness and how every song just sounds hot to the touch! Their 2018 record Future Me Hates Me was a riot, and I expect nothing less than the band burning the whole venue down (metaphorically!). JASMYNE KEIMIG

JJUUJJUU, WEEED
These bands are brash enough to brand themselves in all caps, which can backfire, as it raises expectations. But they mostly acquit themselves well within the parameters of modern psych-rock. Los Angeles’ JJUUJJUU are the more song-oriented group of the two on this bill, but they can get as hazy and trippy as a smog-clogged L.A. sunset when they want to. Check out 2018’s Zionic Mud for proof. WEEED—who apparently have moved from Bainbridge Island to Portland—have a name that’s murder to google, but their music makes you think more about the search for ultimate enlightenment than search engines. Their ability to jam at marathon lengths and keep you engrossed attests to their labyrinthine creativity. DAVE SEGAL

The Marías, Moon King
Imagine the feeling of slipping naked into silk sheets after a warm shower. Or being the perfect amount of stoned in a room bathed in red light. Or leaning against a cool marble wall. This is more or less what L.A.-based band the Marías sound like. Their music is equal parts lounge, soul, and smooth jazz, with a dash of psychedelia and huge helping of sex appeal. If that sounds corny, it really isn’t! “Cariño” serves up bilingual declarations of love over horns and their cover of “…Baby One More Time” is a fresh velvety take on a classic pop song. Composed of María on vocals and Josh Conway on drums, the duo conjures up a mood that’ll leave you feeling titillated. They’ll be joined by upbeat, fun, disco synth-pop act Moon King. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Summer Sounds: Hoop, Drench Fries
When I first saw Hoop, all that kept running through my head was a constant stream of "Wow, I love this band." Caitlin Roberts, Leena Joshi, and Pamela Santiago trade off singing on the dreamiest friendship-bracelet pop songs, full of tender harmonies and magical guitar lines and introspective lyrics that tug gently on my most sensitive heartstrings. ROBIN EDWARDS

THURSDAY-SATURDAY

Summer Meltdown 2019
Nestled in the mountains of central Washington, Summer Meltdown aims to provide a weekend of high-energy live music performances in a lush woodland setting. Headliners will include Tipper, Umphrey's McGee, Gramatik, and Nahko and Medicine for the People, and there will also be "adventures" like rafting, helicopter rides, and kayaking.

FRIDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Lucius
I was surprised as anyone else to hear Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats’ “S.O.B.” on mainstream radio. Well, anyone else who listens to mainstream radio and is also familiar with the generally boring, hackneyed, predictable, and/or vanilla shit you find on there. Rateliff hums, sings, and bellows in a beardy, booming tenor, like he could be taking it to church, minus all the religion but plus all the powerful gospel feels. It’s not gospel, though there are shades of it amid the full-bodied mix of vintage and neo soul, rock, Americana, and blues. Rateliff and co. are in town behind their sophomore studio LP, Tearing at the Seams. LEILANI POLK

FUNK/REGGAE

Ibibio Sound Machine
Nigerian singer Eno Williams fronts Ibibio Sound Machine, a London band that blends West African funk and disco with post-punk and electronica. The Guardian praises Williams for maintaining her own vocal character while "shape-[shifting] between conventional power-diva, sultry R&B singer, the feral frontwoman of a post-punk girl band and pidgin English-speaking yarn-spinner" on the band's latest album, Doko Mien.

JAZZ

50th! Great Records of 1969 - Miles Davis’ 'In A Silent Way'
One of the best things about the Royal Room is its dedication to spotlighting music of world-historical import. This tribute to Miles Davis’s fusion classic, In a Silent Way, is deep in RR owner and supremely versatile keyboardist Wayne Horvitz’s wheelhouse. While Miles’s sly trumpet motifs are obviously integral to the sublimely chill jazz moves here, In a Silent Way is a keyboardist’s paradise, with Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, and Chick Corea flaunting crystalline ambience, rococo ostinatos, aquatic swells, and the suave main theme from “It’s About That Time” on electric piano. There’s much room to improvise here, and Horvitz and his excellent cohorts will surely do this masterpiece justice. DAVE SEGAL

ROCK/POP

CATM 1: Wolf Parade, DUMB, Jock Tears
KEXP's Concerts at the Mural will kick off with a night of indie-rock from Montreal art-rock powerhouse Wolf Parade and Vancouver punk-rockers DUMB and jock tears.

General Mojo's, Glasys, Kate Olson
If you like your psych-pop equipped with fuzzy guitar, drippy (and trippy) synths, and vocal harmonies, local five-piece General Mojo's won't disappoint. They'll be welcomed with opening sets by Portland electronic artist Glasys and local saxophonist Kate Olson.

Mdou Moctar
Coming from a small village in a remote region of the Azawagh desert in Niger, Mdou Moctar and his band have become a huge hit across the globe. Playing left-hand electric guitar and combining the traditional polyrhythms of takamba and modern adaptations of Tuareg guitar music with lyrics sung in the style of old nomadic poems, Mdou Moctar sounds original and fresh. He at once captures the sound of wide-open sand-blown spaces and also makes me want to thrash around in my Vans. JASMYNE KEIMIG

FRIDAY-SUNDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Watershed Festival 2019
Watershed Country Music Festival will return to the Gorge for a wild weekend of twangin' goodness. Put on your "Shedder gear" (trucker hats?) and get ready for three whole days of down-home studs. This year's headliners include Jason Aldean, Maren Morris, Zac Brown Band, Miranda Lambert, the Pistol Annies, Kane Brown, Midland, Brothers Osborne, and many more.

VARIOUS

Pickathon 2019
Popular bluegrass-and-more festival Pickathon will return to Pendarvis Farm for some rootin'-tootin' and new-boot-scootin' and whatever else qualifies as country fun. Despite staying true to its bleedin' bluegrass heart for over 20 years, Pickathon has expanded its reach in recent iterations to include popular artists of all genres. This year's lineup is no exception, with key headliners like Phil Lesh, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Khruangbin, Mandolin Orange, Tyler Childers, Lucius, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Fruit Bats, and Mountain Man, and performers like Karma Rivera, Viagra Boys, Ora Cogan, and Reptaliens, among many others, to round out the bill.

SATURDAY DJ

Lusio Dance Garden
Spend the evening dancing in a plant- and light installation-filled beer garden in conjunction with Lusio: A Night to Awaken.

ELECTRONIC

XYLØ, Jane Holiday, ZOLITA
Chase and Paige Duddy, the brother and sister duo behind XYLØ, have been making music together on and off almost their whole lives. It wasn’t until 2014, when Chase was working on a song for a video advertisement, that the XYLØ project started. Chase needed a singer, and with the help of his younger sister Paige, finished the song and released the video, which resulted in utter pandemonium. To please their newfound fans, they released “America,” their eerie alt-pop, Lana Del Rey–esque debut single that critiques the state of the country. XYLØ have stayed political since, releasing “Fool’s Paradise” in response to Trump’s election and a slew of singles this year, all in their distinct corner of dark electronic pop. ANNA KAPLAN

HIP-HOP/RAP

Ayo Dot & The Uppercuts, INVICTVS
High-energy hip-hop fusion group Ayo Dot & the Uppercuts take the vocal power of Ayo and weave it into riff-shredding and bass-heavy throw-downs among the Uppercuts. They'll be joined by Seattle-based rock-hop group INVICTVS.

METAL/PUNK

Streetlight Manifesto
There’s nothing wrong with liking ska. Or is that just what I tell myself to make my enjoyment of third-wave ska less shameful, as I throw on a pair of checkered pants? Skanking out of New Jersey for the past 15 years, Streetlight Manifesto are one of the genre’s heavy hitters, giving life to a scene that’s often considered a passé novelty of the 1990s. Streetlight Manifesto’s last album, 2013’s The Hands That Thieve, broke into the Billboard Top 100, but they have yet to release anything in the last few years, partially due to public conflicts with their record label, Victory Records. KEVIN DIERS

ROCK/POP

Apple Jam: Off The White Album
Apple Jam are possibly the most arcane Beatles tribute band in the world. While most of these Moptop manqués are content to replicate the best-known songs from the Fab Four’s rich catalog (not that there’s anything wrong with that), Apple Jam dig way deeper. For example, their latest album, Off the White Album, finds Apple Jam tackling 11 songs that the Beatles cut when in sessions for 1968’s The Beatles, a fertile time of exploration. Some of the tracks were recorded by other artists (“Goodbye” by Mary Hopkin, “Step Inside Love” by Cilla Black, “Sour Milk Sea” by Jackie Lomax), while some outtakes simply eluded all but the most ardent Beatles fans. Thankfully for them, Apple Jam have the skills to recreate the Beatles’ melodic magic and vocal sonority in order to spotlight the obscure corners of their evergreen output. DAVE SEGAL

Summer Stag Party IV
Power-pop rippers Stag will throw their fourth annual summer party to celebrate the reunion of bluesy noise-makers Claw Hammer in their first show in Seattle since 1997. Plus, enjoy live sets by STAG (natch), Danny Newcomb and the Sugarmakers, Uncle Joe's Big Ol' Driver, Bearaxe, and Intercom, and DJ Kingblind.

SUNDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

John Prine, Amanda Shires
Herman Melville once wrote “there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast.” You cannot savor warmth without knowing the cold. And you can’t really fathom happiness unless you’ve known the full depth of sadness. Folk legend John Prine appears to understand this principle. His charmingly sweet songs like “In Spite of Ourselves” set you up for heart-rending ballads like “Sam Stone” and “Hello in There.” It can be such a roller coaster that even the lyrically light “Long Monday” seems like a heavy-duty painkiller. You can keep your young sad-sucker minstrels with their endless string of minor chords. I’ll take the old guy whose upbeat demeanor belies a lifetime of genuine heartache. BRIAN COOK

Puget Soundtrack: Postcard from the Badlands presents Naer Vaer
Atmospheric music ensemble Postcard from the Badlands will perform music composed for archival footage curated by the Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound (MIPoPS) and editing by visual projectionist Torin Kovach and MIPoPS archivist Libby Hopfauf that explores themes of "creation, community, conquest, migration, labor, and play."

ELECTRONIC

Dillon Francis Loves Seattle Especially 'Cause His Brother Lives Here Presents: Hello Seattle, I Love You!
Billboard Dance Club-topping DJ and moombahton (house music and reggae) artist Dillon Francis will put on a dance party on his Hello Seattle, I Love You! Tour. What So Nots, Party Favor, Wax Motif, Nitti Gritti, and Kendoll will provide additional sets.

ROCK/POP

Yacht Rock Revue
For "a trip down memory lane that skips all the bad neighborhoods," the Yacht Rock Revue will play soft-rock hits from the late '70s and early '80s ranging from Hall & Oates to Kenny Loggins—polyester shirts and bellbottom jeans included.

Young the Giant, Fitz & the Tantrums, Alice Merton
Los Angeles-based posi vibe alt rockers Young the Giant will be joined by Fitz & the Tantrums and pop newcomer Alive Merton on this summer tour.

The 52 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: June 17-23, 2019

Elaina Friedman — Sun, 16 Jun 2019 16:00:00 -0700

The Stranger's music critics' picks for the week. by Elaina Friedman

This week, our music critics have picked everything from Anderson .Paak & the Free Nationals, Earl Sweatshirt, and Thundercat to Seattle Men's Chorus: Summer of ’69 to Lucinda Williams. Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips for all of their picks, and find even more shows on our complete music calendar. Plus, check out our arts critics' picks for the 52 best things to do this week.

Found something you like and don't want to forget about it later? Click "Save Event" on any of the linked events below to add it to your own private list.

Ludovico Einaudi
Iconic Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi has topped the classical charts in 42 countries and recently released an album called Elements, which accompanied a video of him playing piano on an Arctic glacier. Before embarking on this North American tour, Einaudi additionally released a new seven-part album called Seven Days Walking (Decca Records/Universal).

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY ELECTRONIC

Empire of the Sun
When Empire of the Sun made their US debut with 2008’s Walking on a Dream, I thought they were a joke band—like, quasi-earnest in the vein of Gil Mantera’s Party Dream, where taking themselves super seriously and being outrageously flamboyant with it is a part of the shtick. Nope. Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore are earnest-earnest Aussies making catchy-great synth pop, the former in some of the most fantastic costumery and head-dressery you’ll find outside of drag. This tour celebrates the 10th anniversary special-edition vinyl reissue of the aforementioned LP and its platinum-certified title track. LEILANI POLK

WEDNESDAY ROCK/POP

Aly & AJ, Armors, Jena Rose
Aly and AJ Michalka are a sisterly duo who were a part of the early '00s Disney Channel pantheon of smiling blondes in recurring cheerleader-girl-squad-escapade movie and TV roles who pursue a music career for no reason other than that they can. They're back on the scene under their original "Aly & AJ" moniker to celebrate the release of last year's EP, Ten Years.

Third Eye Blind, Jimmy Eat World, Ra Ra Riot
Led by Stephan Jenkins, '90s pop-alt rockers Third Eye Blind (or 3EB if you're a real fan) achieved wide success during a bizarre time in the post-grunge music scene. They performed at the 2016 Bumbershoot, and will return to Seattle again for a night of classic singles with early '00s pop-punk-emo-rock hybrid group Jimmy Eat World and mid-'00s college radio favorite Ra Ra Riot.

SOUL/R&B

Lowdown Brass Band, Lucky Brown and the S.G.s
Lowdown Brass Band deliver a fine and fiery fusion of hip-hop and frontline brass band music—built on trumpets, trombones, sax, drums, and sousaphone acting as bass, with a vocalist and MC, too. According to their bio, the 10-piece ensemble “deftly synthesizes the gritty sounds of Chicago with the high energy street beat of the Crescent City.” They also draw on elements of ska, Latin music, funk, and soul; have recorded with Roy Ayers (a revival of “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” on their 2014 LP); and are currently on the road behind 2018’s LowDown Breaks, which combines hip-hop breaks with live soul samples and deep cut instrumental grooves, and includes originals as well as covers LEILANI POLK

THURSDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Great Women of Country Tribute Series: The Music of Patsy Cline & Linda Ronstadt
Tip your hat to two queens of country crooning, Patsy Cline and Linda Ronstadt, at this tribute show with artists like Annie Ford, Sue Quigley, Christy McWilson, Caitlin Sherman, Kelsey Sprague, and many other ladies.

Okkervil River, Christian Lee Hutson
Okkervil River’s third album, Black Sheep Boy, may not cut as deep as Big Star’s Third with its exposed-nerve laments about love, death, and love as death—but it comes close. Front man Will Sheff holds nothing back on the Austin sextet’s masterpiece, though what impresses some may merely exhaust others (one critic dubbed them “Overkill River”). It’s an understandable reaction, but for those drawn to Sheff’s destabilizing lyrics—“sometimes the blood from real cuts feels real nice”—and campfire-meets-concert-hall aesthetic, this show promises to be as revelatory as the new, extended version of the record with bonus tracks and covers of influences from Leadbelly to the Louvin Brothers. KATHY FENNESSY

Singer Sargent
Singer Sargent will "tell stories through music" at this acoustic set of rock and blues.

EXPERIMENTAL/NOISE

The Comet Is Coming, J-Justice
Another iteration of ascending London saxophonist/clarinetist Shabaka Hutchings’s fertile imagination, the Comet Is Coming—which also features Ibibio Sound Machine producer/keyboardist Dan Leavers and Sons of Kemet drummer Maxwell Hallett—have been injecting jazz with vital mutant energies for the past four years. As with a lot of the releases on the International Anthem label and those by fellow Brits the Heliocentrics, the Comet Is Coming’s output unconventionally fuses jazz with electronic, funk, Afrobeat, post-rock, and hip-hop elements. The title of their two transcendent albums—Channel the Spirits and Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery—could serve both as the Comet Is Coming’s MO and manifesto. This could be the show of the month. DAVE SEGAL

SIMF: Improvised Dance + Music
Stephanie Skura will curate a program of improvised dance and music featuring nine artists (including Linda Austin, Paige Barnes, Vanessa DeWolf, Nate Dryden, and Jordan MacIntosh-Hougham) using "minimal oxymoronic scoring."

HIP-HOP/RAP

Anderson .Paak & the Free Nationals, Earl Sweatshirt, Thundercat
This bill is stacked. At the top is the current darling of hip-hop/soul/R&B crossover (and among my current faves), Anderson .Paak. He’s got that warm, sandpapery rasp of soulful greats like James Brown or Wilson Pickett, but in a higher register, and he’s more prone to slick rhyme-slinging and swinging amid the singing. Last year’s Oxnard was one of my favorites of 2018 (“Who R U” and “Mansa Musa” are bangers), while just-dropped fourth album Ventura is great, too, heavier on the Motown feel compared to Oxnard’s distinct hip-hop swagger. Live, the multi-instrumental Paak leaves the playing to his tight-ass band, the Free Nationals, though he sometimes jumps on drums. Fusion bass master Thundercat is another favorite, his creamy, falsetto-reaching vocals set against an intriguingly idiosyncratic mix of funk, acid jazz, neo-soul, electro, and R&B. He is toight. Not so much a fan of Odd Future collective rapper Earl Sweatshirt, but the kids sure do dig his lethargic, monotone, off-the-beat style, so who am I to judge? LEILANI POLK

Yungblud, Saint PHNX
If I were walking down the street in 2007 and someone was blasting Yungblud’s “Loner” out of their car, I wouldn’t have batted an eye. The artist otherwise known as Dominic Harrison sounds so ska-meets-suburban-brat-from-the-UK that he almost transcends time. And before you ask, yes, Yungblud does love Arctic Monkeys. Despite the rather exhausting image he puts out, Yungblud fancies himself a socially conscious singer. A cut off his latest studio album, 21st Century, called “Machine Gun (F**k the NRA)” is a comment on his feelings about gun culture in the US. He swings mainstream pop as well, appearing on “11 Minutes” alongside trashy pop mainstay Halsey and Travis Barker (?). Yungblud is supported by Glaswegian fraternal pop duo Saint PHNX. JASMYNE KEIMIG

JAZZ

Donny McCaslin
You could pour everything I know about jazz into an airplane-size liquor bottle and still have room for enough bourbon to get a buzz going. And yet even my ignorant ass knows enough to know that Donny McCaslin coming to Seattle is an event. McCaslin and company were handpicked by David Bowie to help him create the sound of his triumphant final album, Blackstar—the majesty of which continues to deepen with age. And lest it seem gauche not to let more than two sentences of a McCaslin preview go by without mentioning the late great Mr. Jones, the band seems to have no qualms about embracing the association—their most recent album, Beyond Now, was dedicated to and inspired by Bowie. SEAN NELSON

METAL/PUNK

Buildings, Haunted Horses, Marriage+Cancer, Drose
Minneapolis noise-rockers Buildings will bring big Midwestern energy to Eastlake with support from local chillwave outfit Haunted Horses and Portland duo Marriage and Cancer.

ROCK/POP

Select Level, Spesh, Aesthetic Mess
Select Level is where drummer Andy Sells forgoes the cerebral improvisational convolutions of his other group, the magnificent Afrocop, and dips into yacht-funk and glam-disco hedonism. Singing with a breathy savoir faire, Sells straps on his bass and tickles his keyboards—along with Afrocop bandmate Noel Brass Jr. and other top Seattle musicians—to create songs that beckon you to the dance floor and the boudoir with a suavity that splits the difference between Siren-era Roxy Music and the Sea and Cake at their swankest. This is the release party for Select Level's buoyant self-titled debut album, which should be soundtracking parties all summer. DAVE SEGAL

VARIOUS

World Refugee Day Celebration with Ayron Jones, Ethan Tucker, Whitney Monge, Naomi Wachira
We're in for a treat from excellent local acts Ayron Jones, Whitney Mongé, Ethan Tucker, Naomi Wachira, and Kimo Muraki at this benefit concert for the NW Immigrant Rights Project, Refugee Women's Alliance, and Refugees NW.

THURSDAY-SUNDAY CLASSICAL

Ludovic Morlot Conducts Debussy
This is your last chance to see Ludovic Morlot conducting live onstage at Benaroya Hall, at least in his capacity as Seattle Symphony's music director. Couldn't ask for better exit music, though. As a French conductor whose intellectual/artistic lineage traces back to Debussy, Morlot is the only person I ever want to hear painting with the watery colors of the French composer's Nocturnes. The evening also features a composition from Leoš Janáček called The Eternal Gospel. The dramatic piece is shot through with golden moments of pastoral tranquility. The Northwest Boychoir will join the Seattle Symphony and the Seattle Symphony Chorale onstage for different parts of the party. RICH SMITH

Summer of Light Premieres
Take in an entire weekend of laser shows set to music you definitely know the lyrics to, including Ariana Grande (Fri) and the Beatles (Sunday).

FRIDAY DJ

Wonder-Full: A Tribute to the Wonder of Stevie
During his 1960s and ’70s peak, Motown superstar Stevie Wonder infused soul, R&B, and funk with melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic complexities while still appealing to millions, filling dance floors, and enhancing romantic scenarios. The world has been basking in his audacious innovations—aided by the synthesizer/production wizardry of Tonto's Expanding Head Band members Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil—for more than 50 years. And the appreciation continues with this night helmed by DJs Spinna and Supreme La Rock. You can expect to hear dozens of Stevie hits and—let's hope—deep cuts such as the mutant-disco oddity “Race Babbling,” the fusion ripper “Contusion,” and the spectral ballad “Black Maybe,” written for the great vocalist Syreeta. DAVE SEGAL

ELECTRONIC

Research: Octo Octa, Physical Therapy
Seattle can’t get enough of Octo Octa (aka New Hampshire producer/DJ Maya Bouldry-Morrison) as she makes frequent stops at our city’s electronic-music mecca, Kremwerk, to flaunt her vibrant, eclectic dance music. On the decks, she’s a skilled selector of high-quality, sensuous house music, while live she heads into more challenging territory. In Octo Octa’s productions, sumptuously dreamy atmospheres coexist with complex beat science, giving equal weight to dance-floor imperatives and emotional resonance. Check out 2019’s sublimely vaporous “I Need You” for exemplary proof. DAVE SEGAL

HIP-HOP/RAP

Kool Keith, GLENN, Bruce Leroy
Bronx-residing underground rap legend Kool Keith, the founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, will grace Tacoma with his presence with additional support from GLENN and Bruce Leroy.

Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan concluded the most important and innovative period of hip-hop that began with Run-DMC’s 1984 eponymous debut. That movement—which includes albums by Eric B. and Rakim, Public Enemy, NWA, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and Gang Starr—closed in 1997 with Wu-Tang Clan’s "Triumph"/Wu-Tang Forever. After that, hip-hop innovation went either downhill or into the underground. If Wu-Tang Clan had appeared in the first decade of the present millennium, their commercial success would have been that of LA’s Lootpack—mad-innovative but with no mass appeal/appreciation. Wu-Tang Clan represent a moment in hip-hop when black genius was rewarded as much as black stupidity. Those days exist, sadly, only in the past. CHARLES MUDEDE

METAL/PUNK

Judas Priest, Uriah Heep
Picture this: rural Northern California in the mid-1990s. A passel of children tangled together in the back seat of a minivan, slowly cruising up a wooded interstate. They’re on their way to a church youth camp; it’s been an overly hot and dusty summer, and restlessness reigns. Each child is screaming at the top of their tiny lungs. Are they, perhaps, possessed by the majesty of the Holy Spirit? Nope—they’re gang-shrieking the lyrics to Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law.” The reach and influence of the British band, widely claimed to have originated heavy metal itself (alongside Black Sabbath, of course), is such that it hits even the hearts of doe-eyed youngsters, and it hits hard. Almost 50 years into their career, Judas Priest can still wrangle a fiendish, otherworldly energy from even the most unexpected of listeners, like 10-year-old me and my young covenant group. KIM SELLING

ROCK/POP

Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Swing revivalists and zoot suit lifers Cherry Poppin' Daddies, gathering their sound through combining Tin Pan Alley, swing music, and glimpses of the great American songbook, will roll through Seattle.

Finn Andrews of the Veils
If you watched the 2017 Twin Peaks reboot, you'll recognize Finn Andrews and his band the Veils as one of the groups that play at the Roadhouse during the closing credits. The New Zealand-raised musician was also commissioned by the Belgian government to write a 20-minute orchestral piece to commemorate the Antipodean dead of World War I. He'll come to town in support of his debut solo album, One Piece at a Time.

Little River Band
Melbourne rockers Little River Band achieved modest success in their home country of Australia, steadily gigging since 1975. Now they're back to tour the United States with a renewed sense of vigor.

Ramonda Hammer
Leave it to non-Seattle band Ramonda Hammer to bring back grunge with their modern Los Angeles take on the movement, churning out swift, exciting tracks that both bark and bite. KIM SELLING

Sera Cahoone, Bryan John Appleby, Lana McMullen
Sera Cahoone's innate language is that of heartbreak, of knowing what you have in this life is perfect, or as perfect as humans can access, and there's no way it could ever last. No matter how many fairy circles you happen upon or gentle brooks lapping at your Chaco-nestled feet, this love will end, and in that finale lies your inevitable destruction. The soft, throaty Cahoone will bandage your wounds while examining her own fault lines, drawing attention to each facet of surface tension. We could all be better, we could all be more pure and good, and Cahoone's willowy, honest attempt to understand human nature uncovers more than you thought of your own experiences at first blush. KIM SELLING

WORLD/LATIN

Malaikat dan Singa, Afrocop, UbuludU
Malaikat dan Singa of worldly punk-rock band Arrington de Dionyso will bring you "trans-utopian world music that exists in fever dreams and hallucinations."

FRIDAY-SATURDAY FUNK/REGGAE

Ziggy Marley, Michael Franti & Spearhead
The honest, upbeat rhythms and lyrics of Ziggy Marley are more on-point than ever with his last album, Rebellion Rises. With a list of tracks dedicated to the struggle, strife, and salvation of social justice (and the world at large) in 2018, such as “See Dem Fake Leaders” and “I Am a Human,” Marley’s harmonic voice carries through with powerful vulnerability. However, these songs are not all about what Marley thinks—he wants you to be a part of this too, offering songs that invite the listener to push back against the status quo. With a menagerie of musical textures supporting each message of resistance, you’ll sway and dance along to a shared truth with Ziggy. SOPHIA STEPHENS

MUSICAL THEATER

Seattle Men's Chorus: Summer of ’69
Look, I didn’t live through 1969, but I’ve sure heard about that year my entire life. There was Woodstock and Vietnam. And, as you’ll be hearing about all Pride Month this year, there was Stonewall. It’s now been 50 years since the Stonewall uprising that is often credited as launching the modern gay-rights movement. The Seattle Men’s Chorus will celebrate the anniversary by singing through all that rebellion and change, featuring the year's chart toppers and also introducing new musical theater work Quiet No More, about the Stonewall riots. CHASE BURNS

ROCK/POP

LANY
If we’re talking surface-level critique, LANY’s name alone (which stands for, you guessed it, Los Angeles New York) made me melon-ball my own eyes out of their sockets and throw them into the ocean. One level below that, their softboi charm extends further, to some malleable electro pop almost entirely cookie-guttered into oblivion. Tethered to some mythically dense assumption of what early-20s sentiments should sound like in song, each track on their record kinda reeks of exactly that: an entrenched effort to seem attainably cool, as relevant and earnestly mature as possible but with wide post-teenage eyes backlit by summer fireworks. Real talk, is this like a Noxzema commercial or what? KIM SELLING

SATURDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan has a deep, warm, gentle baritone that feels like a cozy sweater of sound curling around your consciousness, and his stripped-bare folk songwriting is acoustic-guitar-driven relaxation. You just want to snuggle up in it and take a siesta. He’s been around a real long time, formerly performing under the Smog moniker (you’ve heard "Cold Blooded Old Times"—it was tapped in the High Fidelity soundtrack), until re-assuming his given name with 2007’s Woke on a Whaleheart. This tour falls behind his new Drag City full-length and 17th studio outing overall, Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest. LEILANI POLK

The Felice Brothers, Johnathan Rice
All the way from the Catskills, the Felice Brothers play folk and country rock. They'll roll through town in support of Undress, their first album since 2016's Life In The Dark, with support from Scottish-American singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice.

Raffi
Beluga-entrancing, rape-culture-hating, ukulele-ing Raffi upholds his many decades of creating foundational children's music for his 42nd anniversary on the road.

HIP-HOP/RAP

Dave B, Jak Knight, U Moore
Listen, y’all, Dave B is good—really fucking good. Hailing from Renton, the rapper won MoPOP’s Sound Off! competition in 2013, performed Macklemore’s hit “Corner Store” alongside Travis Thompson on The Tonight Show in 2017, and dropped a new album in June called Bleu. Dave B’s third LP finds the rapper doubling down on what makes him such a standout: witty lyrics, a flow that alternates between soulful singing and incisive rapping, and excellent production. Be sure to listen to “CPU LUV,” a funny rumination on love in the digital age. He’ll be joined by Seattle-born, LA-based comedian Jak Knight. JASMYNE KEIMIG

JAZZ

Evan Flory-Barnes Trio
Local bassist and composer (and Stranger Genius) Evan Flory-Barnes leads a trio with pianist Jeremy Bacon and drummer Chris Patin. Join them for a night of jazz.

ROCK/POP

Charly Bliss, Emily Reo
Brooklyn's Charly Bliss describe their sound as "bubble-grunge"—muddy guitars with candy-pop vocals and melodies. They'll pass through Seattle on their Young Enough Tour with support from Emily Reo.

Clyde Petersen: Drone Butch Blues
Drone Butch Blues, the latest release from Your Heart Breaks (a pop project fronted by queer/trans artist Clyde Petersen) takes its inspiration from LGBTQ+ writers from throughout history, from David Wojnarowicz to Joan Nestle. Stretch out on the grass and hear the album in its entirety.

Coheed and Cambria, Mastodon, Every Time I Die
Move over Rush—Coheed and Cambria could very well be the nerdiest band on the planet. How else would you describe a progressive-rock band that writes concept albums based on a science-fiction story line? The albums are but a gateway to the “Amory Wars” tales that lead vocalist/guitarist Claudio Sanchez portrays in both comic- and full-length book form. Sanchez’s distinctive high-pitched voice is a unique characteristic of Coheed and Cambria, especially when partnered with their often huge, Zeppelin-like riffs. Regardless of how much commercial success C&C attain, their die-hard fans will keep this wonderfully quirky band going as long as the story line permits. KEVIN DIERS

David Gray
Although he's released several critically acclaimed records and is an immensely talented and downright charming performer, British singer-songwriter David Gray seemed destined for "huge in Ireland, invisible in America" status—until Dave Matthews stepped in. Gray's album, White Ladder, was released on Matthews' label, According to Our Records. BARBARA MITCHELL

Deep Sea Diver, Sloucher, Ben Von Wildenhaus
Catch Seattle doo-wop revivalists Deep Sea Diver in Tacoma with Sloucher and Ben Von Wildenhaus.

Goth Babe, Sea Salt
LA slacker rocker/dream-popper Goth Babe (aka goth babe Griffin Washburn) will be welcomed with an opening set from shoegaze-y local pop band Sea Salt.

Rooney
Rooney's harmless retro-rock sounds like the Strokes if they'd cut their teeth playing beach parties, whereas solo, Schwartzman indulges in more ELO-styled keyboard and synth flourishes. (Fun fact: Schwartzman also played Michael, Anne Hathaway’s love interest in The Princess Diaries, in which the band also had a cameo role as fictional band Flypaper.)

Three Dog Night
Sixties-bred pop-rockers Three Dog Night are back on tour, and Jimmy Greenspoon, Joe Schermie, Michael Allsup, and Floyd Sneed will be stopping in Tacoma to bring you hits like "Easy to be Hard" and "Pieces of April."

SUNDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, Penny & Sparrow
Renaissance man Josh Ritter manages to be both a celebrated singer-songwriter and a New York Times bestselling novelist. Join him and his Royal City Band as they play songs from their latest album Fever Breaks, which Rolling Stone called "classic Ritter on Muscle Shoals-bred steroids."

Lucinda Williams, Cass McCombs
“You wait in the car / On the side of the road,” Lucinda Williams sang, and we all agreed that she had a voice like rusty velvet. “Let me go and stand a while / I want to know you’re there / But I wanna be alone.” And another friend said how apropos, how important, that she wanted her own space. She promised to return. But “don’t go and try to find me.” Then another friend quit returning phone calls. He quit returning e-mails. When his child was born, he took the mother home but refused to hold his baby. I know he’s alive, but we had to quit trying to find him. On the new album, Williams sounds drunk. But I can’t tell if she drinks to find someone or to refuse. ANDREW HAMLIN

Sonny Landreth
Storied bluesman Sonny Landreth will play a two-night residency downtown.

FUNK/REGGAE

Sublime with Rome, SOJA, Common Kings
Put on your baja and longboard down to Redmond for a Sublime reunion show (R.I.P. Bradley), with Rome, SOJA, and Common Kings.

METAL/PUNK

The Messthetics, Hurry Up, Time Pieces
Fugazi's rhythm section—bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty—compose two-thirds of the Messthetics. Now that I have your attention, you need to know that the DC trio’s self-titled 2018 debut album instantly asserted itself as one of the greatest releases in Dischord Records’ storied history. Bolstered by the fiery, intricate riffing of jazz/experimental guitarist Anthony Pirog, the Messthetics mostly purvey whirlwindy math-rock instrumentals that’ll have you banging your head in 7/4 time—although “Your Own World” and “The Inner Ocean” are slowcore beauties. These guys transmute Fugazi’s anthemic energy into more cerebral, but no less intense, expressions of rock bravado, sans the declamatory vocals. DAVE SEGAL

ROCK/POP

Soundgarden: Live From the Artist's Den
In advance of the release of their first studio album in 16 years, be the first to see Soundgarden perform King Animal in its entirety at a screening of their 2013 Live from the Artists Den performance.

SOUL/R&B

Lion Babe, Sebastian Mikael
New York duo Lion Babe is composed of performance artist Jillian Hervey and instrumentalist and producer Lucas Goodman, who take inspiration from everyone from A Tribe Called Quest to "Sergeant Pepper-era Beatles." Join them on their Cosmic Wind Tour with Swedish R&B singer Sebastian Mikael.

Your Complete Guide to June 2019 Events in Seattle

Elaina Friedman — Tue, 28 May 2019 10:00:00 -0700

The 175 Biggest Arts, Music, Food & Culture Events to Know About by Elaina Friedman

June is here, which means summer has (basically) arrived! Most of the things you normally do inside you can now do outside, from concert-going to movie-watching to late-night snacking. As we do every month, we've compiled the biggest events you need to know about in every genre, from the Seattle Pride Parade to the Fremont Solstice Fair, from the Vashon Sheepdog Classic to the Georgetown Carnival, and from Wicked to Wu-Tang Clan. Plus, you'll find ways to celebrate this month's major holidays, like Father's Day and Juneteenth. If all of that isn't enough, you can also look ahead to the rest of this year's big events, see our list of cheap & easy year-round events, or check out our complete Things To Do calendar.

MAY 29–JUNE 1

FESTIVALS

Ballard Jazz Festival 2019
The 17th Annual Ballard Jazz Festival, which highlights both the historic neighborhood and Seattle's vibrant jazz scene, is happening this year at locations including the Conor Byrne Pub and the Nordic Museum. Enjoy three days of live sets from local and national acts, a jazz walk down Ballard Avenue, and more.
MAY 30–JUNE 23 PERFORMANCE
Don't Call It a Riot!
Local playwright Amontaine Aurore's new work, Don't Call It A Riot!, takes audiences on a tour of black activism in Seattle—from the beginnings of the Black Panther Party up to the WTO protests—as seen through the eyes of a character named Reed. Reed has to figure out how to raise a kid, maintain a relationship with her new husband, and build a burgeoning movement, all while the culture at large conspires against her at every turn. RICH SMITH
MAY 31–JUNE 1 FOOD & DRINK
Summer Solstice Beer Festival
Ring in the new season by choosing from over 25 local and regional craft beers, ciders, seltzers, and more on tap, plus over 175 makers selling handmade wares.
MAY 31–JUNE 2 FESTIVALS
HONK! Fest West
This family-oriented festival gets you in on the brass, percussion, and street band "global renaissance." Twenty-five or more bands will jam in streets and parks around Seattle as they celebrate this democratic and ebullient musical genre.
FOOD & DRINK
Bite of Greece 2019
At this free festival, stuff yourself with gyros, slow-roasted lamb sandwiches, grilled souvlaki, Greek salad, spanakopita, and other authentic Mediterranean delights prepared by the community of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption. Pair your eats with a cold Mythos beer or Greek wine, and enjoy a marketplace, dancing, music, and special performances. Cap it all off with pastries like baklava with hot coffee or a Greek-style iced frappe. JULIANNE BELL
MAY 31–JUNE 9 PERFORMANCE
Themes and Variations
See masterpieces by George Balanchine (Theme and Variations and Tarantella), Jose Limon (The Moor's Pavane), and Price Suddarth (Signature) at this Pacific Northwest Ballet production.
MAY 31–JUNE 23 PERFORMANCE
Pass Over
Antoinette Nwandu's Pass Over combines Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot with the biblical story of Exodus, and sets the whole thing in a world where two black guys, Moses and Kitch, cannot hang out on a sidewalk without getting harassed by a white cop. Spike Lee liked the play so much that he filmed a performance and screened it at Sundance to great acclaim. Chicago Sun-Times critic Hedy Weiss had a different take, which led to an uproar in the theater world. She generally praised the acting but slammed Nwandu for her "simplistic, wholly generic characterization of a racist white cop (clearly meant to indict all white cops)." She then criticized Nwandu for ignoring "black-on-black" crime. The theater world rightly flipped, and Nwandu responded in American Theatre, saying Weiss's review "perpetuates a toxic discourse in which black lives do not matter and white lives remain unburdened by the necessary work of reckoning with white privilege and the centuries-long legacy of violence by which it is secured." You'll get the chance to see Pass Over in Seattle under Tim Bond's direction. RICH SMITH
JUNE 1 COMMUNITY
Talk of the Town: Welcome Home
The doors of Town Hall's historic original home are reopening at last, and to celebrate they'll throw a cocktail party with a killer lineup. Look forward to live entertainment from their very first Artist-in-Residence, comedian and musician Ahamefule Oluo; music from experimental folk artist Tomo Nakayama; and dinner by James Beard Award winner John Sundstrom.
FESTIVALS
Inscape Arts Bash
Join Inscape—the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service building that was turned into artist studios—for a night of live music (with acts like Whitney Ballen, Ah God, Spesh, drama Bahama, and the Fabulous Downey Brothers), local beer on tap, and food trucks.
FOOD & DRINK
Anna Banana Milk Fund Fundraiser
Molly Moon's Ice Cream founder and CEO Molly Moon Neitzel's younger sister Anna, who loved milk, passed away in 2009. In her memory, the local ice cream parlor chain created the Anna Banana Milk Fund in 2011 to provide milk and dairy to the FamilyWorks food bank. Now, the fund is becoming an official nonprofit and will support food banks in all six neighborhoods with a Molly Moon's location. To celebrate, they're throwing a "milk and cookies" party with ice cream, milk, and cookies from Hello Robin, Hood Famous Bakeshop, Trophy Cupcakes, Theo Chocolate, Sugar + Spoon, Nuflours, Dahlia Bakery, and Smith Brothers.
Charles Smith's Third Annual Jet City Rosé Experience
Taste varieties of pretty-in-pink wine from 25 different wineries, including Charles Smith's CasaSmith ViNO Rosé, K Vintners Rosé, and Charles & Charles Rosé, dance and thrash to tunes from vet psychobilly trio Reverend Horton Heat, soulful experimental performance artist/rocker Har Mar Superstar, and KEXP DJ Kid Hops, and enjoy noshes from five food trucks. JULIANNE BELL
MUSIC
Brandi Carlile, Emmylou Harris, Neko Case
The experience of listening to Brandi Carlile’s 2018 album By The Way, I Forgive You is similar to that of listening to Carole King’s Tapestry or Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks; it’s a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, and a lot of hard truths about the human race. Carlile’s talents lie in her tone, a dusky alto that swims around confessions of heartbreak and lifelong efforts to love and be loved with the deftness of a much more senior troubadour. Her star has only recently begun to rise, but it’s her obvious staying power that’s impressive. KIM SELLING
Joe Russo's Almost Dead
My friends can’t stop talking about Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, aka JRAD, which was supposed to be a one-off show featuring interpretations of Grateful Dead songs but turned into a full-time touring powerhouse selling out shows nationwide. Joe Russo was originally the drums-and-percussion half of Benevento Russo Duo with Marco Benevento—also a member of JRAD—and his post-Duo efforts include work with Gene Ween, Cass McCombs, and Furthur, a Dead spin-off featuring Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. JRAD was conceived in 2013 after Russo’s stint with Furthur ended, and in addition to Benevento on keys, its current incarnation features Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz, and Scott Metzger and Tom Hamilton on vocals and guitars. By all accounts, they put on an epic, must-see show—recognizable as Grateful Dead music, but with its own heavier bend and heady persuasions. LEILANI POLK
New Kids on the Block, Salt-N-Pepa, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Naughty by Nature
I was a closet non-fan of New Kids on the Block when they came bursting into my adolescent life more than three decades ago. I wasn’t all that into their shtick, but all my friends were, and it was just easier to squeak along with them than admit I just didn’t get it. The early boy band’s Mixtape Tour is a 30th anniversary celebration of Hangin’ Tough with some guests of the era. Tiffany and Debbie Gibson make sense—vanilla pop stars of the era with saccharine hits that were fine. (I still get a little teary-eyed when I hear “Lost in Your Eyes,” and “Electric Youth” is a jam.) But Naughty by Nature and Salt-N-Pepa feel kinda like head-scratchers, both renowned for nasty, down-and-dirty hiphop jamz. (“Push It”? “O.P.P.”? “Shoop”?). This should be a night of people-watching gold. LEILANI POLK
PERFORMANCE
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Live!
At least one Stranger staffer totally thought Dax Shepard and Zach Braff were the same person, but they're not—one major difference between them is that, unlike Braff, Shepard (who played Crosby on NBC's Parenthood) hosts a podcast called Armchair Expert, wherein he explores "the messiness of being human." Join him in Seattle for a live taping.
JUNE 1–2 VISUAL ART
Annual San Juan Island Artists’ Studio Tour 2019
Head out to the lovely islands and tour 22 local artist studios, home to more than 50 creators, as they sell etchings, kaleidoscopes, garments, glass, and more.
JUNE 1–23 SPORTS & RECREATION
Seattle Mariners 2019 Home Games
Seattle's MLB team's 2019 home season includes games this month against the Los Angeles Angels (June 1–2), Houston Astros (June 3–6), Kansas City Royals (June 17–19), and Baltimore Orioles (June 20–23).
JUNE 1–30 VISUAL ART
Look How Far We've Come: A Queer Art Show 902 Feet in the Air
Photographer, curator, and Stranger contributor Timothy Rysdyke has chosen works of art by fellow talented queers to grace a gallery high over the city. Check out pieces by the celebrated Anthony White, Billy Bacacalii, Casey Curren, Clyde Peterson, Coco Spadoni, Frank Correa, Gordan Christenson, Julian Pena, Kade Marsili, Lamb, Loren Othon, Mary Ann Carter, Sequoia Day O’Connell, Ralph Houser, and Stephen Miller.
JUNE 1–SEPT 1 VISUAL ART
Cauleen Smith: Give It or Leave It

In her latest show, Give It or Leave It (which riffs off the phrase “take it or leave it”), black feminist multimedia artist Cauleen Smith emphasizes generosity and selflessness. She weaves together films, banners, and site-specific light installations from four distinct historical universes: Alice Coltrane and her Californian ashram, Bill Ray’s 1966 photo at Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers, Noah Purifoy and his desert assemblages, and spiritualist Rebecca Cox Jackson and her Shaker community in Pennsylvania. To Smith, these spaces embody a “spirit of speculation, self-determination, and radical generosity between artist and community.”
JASMYNE KEIMIG
Jane Wong: After Preparing the Altar, the Ghosts Feast Feverishly
I love how poets use space. I think it has something to do with the way their minds wrap around words, arranging them into something familiar yet strange, that lends itself well to curating spaces. This will be poet and artist Jane Wong’s first solo exhibition. Exploring the themes of hunger and waste and their meaning for immigrant families, Wong’s show will consist of altars, sculpture poems, and belongings alongside texts that evoke her childhood in New Jersey where her parents ran a Chinese American restaurant. JASMYNE KEIMIG
JUNE 2 FOOD & DRINK
Author Talk: Pok Pok Noodles by Andy Ricker
Portland- and Brooklyn-based chef (and Instagram cat whisperer) Andy Ricker—whose Thai restaurant Pok Pok was named the eighth most important American restaurant by Bon Appétit in 2013 and whose empire has since expanded to include drinking vinegars and charcoal logs—has earned a devoted fan following for his insightful voice. In his newest book, Pok Pok Noodles, he shares recipes for comforting, slurpable dishes like fried noodles, noodle soups, and khanom chin alongside beautiful photography from his travels. JULIANNE BELL
MUSIC
Billie Eilish, Denzel Curry
Her sultry, silky, dulcet vocals have an old-soul quality, and her songwriting feels catchier and more mature than her 17 years would suggest. Which is likely why LA pop maker Billie Eilish has jetted to the top of charts worldwide with five singles off her debut full-length, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, that preceded its release (it peaked at No. 1 in 20 countries, and debuted at the top of our own Billboard 200, with the third-largest streaming numbers for an album by a female artist ever). She’s like the American version of Lorde, but her music belongs more on the late-night spectrum with dark, moody, grooving and thumping production qualities. LEILANI POLK
SPORTS & RECREATION
Big Backyard 5K
This annual 5K benefits all the public backyards (also known as parks) in King County. In honor of the event's 10th anniversary, there will also be a 10K option this year.
Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Puget Sound Walk
Seattle will be one of 26 locations across the country participating in the new More Than Pink Walk, a new and improved version of the ever-popular Race for the Cure, which will champion the goal of reducing the number of breast cancer deaths by 50 percent.
JUNE 3 PERFORMANCE
'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 11 Tour
Watch the Season 11 queens strut their stuff and show off their wildest looks.
READINGS & TALKS
Neal Stephenson: Fall: or, Dodge in Hell
It feels like Neal Stephenson has been around forever—or at least for as long as I’ve been reading science-fiction, cyberpunk, and speculative fiction. (My first intro was one of his early works, the coming-of-age intrigue of The Diamond Age: or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer.) He’s won numerous awards, made the New York Times best-seller list many times (for Seveneves, Anathem, Reamde, Cryptonomicon, and The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.), and will be in town behind his latest, Fall: or, Dodge in Hell, a sci-fi thriller about an afterlife of sorts in which humans continue to exist as digital souls. LEILANI POLK
Solmaz Sharif
Unless you're getting your news from Democracy Now!, or you have family in the Middle East/Central America/Afghanistan, or you're detained in a tent at the border, the disastrous consequences of America's foreign policy may be escaping your daily life. But that news stays news in Solmaz Sharif's Look, a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award and one of the best books of contemporary poetry published in the 21st century. Look shows us how easy and seductive it is for people to see others as objects, enemies, or props to generate fear for the sole purpose of gaining a small bit of power. It shows us how governments use language to achieve those ends, and it offers a different kind of language that we might use to short-circuit that mechanism. Don't miss this Seattle Arts & Lectures event. RICH SMITH
JUNE 4 MUSIC
A R I Z O N A
Despite their name, the members of electro-dance-pop trio A R I Z O N A are in fact from New Jersey. They'll come to Seattle with their summery tunes.
JUNE 5 MUSIC
Imogen Heap
She’s more than an early-aughts obsession! Over the past decade, Imogen Heap has written the soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, helped produce Taylor Swift’s album 1989, and cofounded Live 4 X, an online charitable concert series. Her current tour serves to launch a project called Creative Passport, a music-sharing system designed to promote fairer pay and contract standards for artists. But the most enthralling part of this Moore Theatre performance will likely be the use of her high-tech Mi.Mu gloves, which turn hand gestures into music (and are currently on sale for a cool $2,800). AJ DENT
READINGS & TALKS
Ronan Farrow
Somehow, in the middle of helping to redefine the way journalists report on sexual assault, Ronan Farrow finished up a book about the decades-long decline of American influence around the world. In War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence, Farrow, who worked for Barack Obama's State Department for several years, takes a look back at American diplomacy through the eyes of the weary and disaffected public servants who saw their dreams of working toward peace darken as administrations cut budgets and closed embassies. As he tracks America's turn toward isolationism following the end of the Cold War, Farrow shows how another world power—China—is filling the diplomatic gaps the United States is leaving open. RICH SMITH
JUNE 6 FOOD & DRINK
Café Campagne’s 15th Annual Drink Pink!
The French rosé will be flowing while Chef Daisley Gordon serves up Provence-inspired street food.
MUSIC
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, RVG
Australian five-piece Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have received recent acclaim thanks to their Sub Pop EP release, French Press. Glowing reviews from Spin, Stereogum, and Pitchfork have all praised their snappy riffs, clever wordplay, and precise instrumentals.
JUNE 6–9 FESTIVALS
Vashon Sheepdog Classic
The only thing better than taking the ferry to Vashon Island is the promise of seeing athletic Border Collies chase adorable ruminant creatures around a field. In addition to the competition, this annual herding extravaganza—now in its 10th year—brings local fare, a spirit garden, a fiber arts village, bagpipe performances, shearing demos, and more to the charming island. Celebrity animal behaviorist Temple Grandin was the special guest a couple years back, but this time you can look forward to a visit from zoologist and author Patricia McConnell, who you may have heard doling out expert advice to dog and cat owners on her radio show Calling All Pets. If you need even more incentive to go, know that all proceeds from Thursdays pay-what-you-can tickets will benefit the Vashon Community Food Bank.
PERFORMANCE
Danses des Cygnes
Natascha Greenwalt and Coriolis Dance's Danses des Cygnes has already been performed as a work-in-progress at the Seattle International Dance Festival. Now, you can see the finished production, a reversal of Swan Lake that emphasizes female power.
JUNE 6–30 PERFORMANCE
The Agitators
Concerns about the intersectionality of civil rights movements is not a new phenomenon, as Mat Smart's dramatization of the longtime friendship between Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass will attest. Anthony and Douglass hung out on weekends at a farm in Rochester, New York, for several decades. While both civil rights leaders supported voting rights for women and black men, they butted heads on timing. Anthony thought women should get the right to vote before black men. Douglass thought men would grant women suffrage, but only after black men got the vote. Considering the fact that America has clearly achieved universal suffrage, I'm sure the conversation between these two great thinkers won't at all resonate with current conversations about the best strategies for securing inalienable rights for all. But it's worth a go on the off-chance that it does. And, if not, watching Douglass (played by Reginald André Jackson, who's fresh off his incredible performance of Capulet in ACT's Romeo and Juliet) intellectually duke it out with Anthony (played by Carol Roscoe) under Valerie Curtis-Newton's direction will be worth the price of admission. RICH SMITH
Behold the Dreamers
A small Cameroonian family is trying to make it in America when the economy takes a dive. Imbolo Mbue's novel (which the author will read from on June 7) will be adapted for the stage by Myra Platt, who'll also direct.
JUNE 7 FILM
'Dark Phoenix' Opening
Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) begins to turn into an insanely powerful and destructive being, and the other Marvel heroes have to weigh her life against the entire world's welfare.
FOOD & DRINK
National Doughnut Day!
National Doughnut Day was originally created to honor the Salvation Army volunteers who distributed doughnuts to soldiers during World War I. You can, and should, get your fill of glazed goods and yeasted treats at many spots around town today—including Top Pot, which will have the biggest doughnut-eating contest in the city.
MUSIC
Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer, the cabaret punk star who is also known for writing bad poetry about the Boston Marathon bombings, will perform a night of new music from her first solo album in over six years, THERE WILL BE NO INTERMISSION.
Chromatics, Desire, In Mirrors
Though I'm sure they'd be annoyed to hear me say it, Chromatics always felt like the closest I'd ever get to the amphetamine genius of the Fall's infancy. Like the Fall, they sounded like nothing at all--not in the sense that they were without parallels, but insomuch as their sound was that of an absence--a propellant, ominous nothing that relied more on what it lacked than what it held. A word like "minimalist" seems fitting in form, but it hardly does justice to their powerful, ghostly gestalt--like Mark E. Smith's bitter nothings--those impossible gaps that held such compelling respiration. ZAC PENNINGTON
JOHNNYSWIM
Veterans of the Nashville scene, poppy folk duo Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramierez make waves as Johnnyswim. Their recent album, Georgica Pond, keeps the sweet melodies of hyped acts like the Lumineers, “millennial woo” and all, but never lose sight of the confessional songwriting core at the heart of the Americana tradition. JOSEPH SCHAFER
Train, Goo Goo Dolls, Allen Stone
Nondescript radio rockers Train will share their posi alt vibes with a gorge full of '90s revivalists, as well as their tour partners, rock legends the Goo Goo Dolls and soul/R&B singer Allen Stone.
PERFORMANCE
Cherdonna's Hard Ca$h Cabaret
Help raise cash for Cherdonna Shinatra's DONNA troupe by getting boozy, eating snacks, and watching performances by the hosts plus Queen Shmooquan, Buttrock Suites, The Stranger's Christopher Frizzelle, and others.
JUNE 7–8 MUSIC
Alice Smith
Talented vocalist Alice Smith takes on jazz, blues, rock, pop, soul, and R&B in her sultry and intoxicating work.
Dead & Company
For whatever reason, John Mayer catalyzed a folksy rebirth of American music in order to relive all of jam band extraordinaire the Grateful Dead's best moments. The whole crew will be present for two long nights in Central Washington.
SPORTS & RECREATION
Questival
In this 24-hour outdoor adventure race, teams of two to six earn points by submitting challenges (which range from watching a sunrise to mailing a postcard to a senator to catching a fish) to the Questival app. When it's over, prizes will be awarded to the top teams.
JUNE 7–9 FESTIVALS
Seaprog 2019
Progressive rock refuses to die! That’s right, folks: Dennis Rea and company’s Seaprog fest offers three days of all the key-change blizzards, tempo-shift typhoons, arcane meters, in-your-face-down-your-esophagus soloing, and hymns to the ethereal a solitary consciousness could possibly snork. Seaprog 2019 artists will include Yesod, Dust Mice, TROOT, Moon Letters, District 97, Trettioariga Kriget, and many more. ANDREW HAMLIN
JUNE 7–22 PERFORMANCE
Seattle International Dance Festival 2019
For 16 days, dancers from around the world (and some local stars) will perform in indoor and outdoor venues, brought to you by this long-running festival organized by Khambatta Dance and Cornish College of the Arts. This year, the international guests will be Alessandra Corona Performing Works and Equilibrio Dinamico, Tchekpo Dance Company with Elisabeth Masé, Tara Brandel, and Sumeet Nagdev Dance Arts; they'll perform alongside Seattle dance troupes like HYPERNOVA and Arc as well as other American companies like ka●nei●see | collective (San Francisco) and Molissa Fenley and Company (NYC). Some events will be free and all-ages. The focus is on innovation and diversity—expect to be inspired and occasionally unnerved. RICH SMITH
JUNE 7–29 VISUAL ART
RELISH Seattle
Locally cherished artists like Anthony White, Electric Coffin, Brandon Vosika, Blake Blanco, Mary Coss, Drie Chapek, and many others are featured at this show presented by RELISH magazine. Buy their work and pick up a copy of RELISH, and head to the closing reception to meet the curator.
JUNE 7–30 PERFORMANCE
'War in Heaven' and 'The Waste Land'
ACTLab and New City Theatre have teamed up to stage two short masterpieces, Sam Shepard's War in Heaven (about an innocent angel who crashes to Earth and witnesses societal turmoil) and T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. New City's Mary Ewald plays both the angel and Eliot's myriad characters. Directed by John Kazanjian.
The Champagne Widow
Opal Peachey and Annastasia Workman's brand-new musical, paired with a four-course meal by Erin Brindley and a champagne flight, should be a tasty summer treat. Peachey will star as the quintessential "Champagne Widow," introducing you to Veuve Clicquot, Veuve Pommery, Veuve Bollinger, and Veuve Laurent-Perrier and their indomitably bubbly spirits as they go into the champagne business.
JUNE 7–SEPT 29 PERFORMANCE
Legend of El Dorado
Three women on a summer trip turn into sexy, fishnetted robbers on motorcycles in the cozy Can Can cabaret's latest production, featuring all-new choreography and a soundtrack with singing by Brent Amaker.
JUNE 8 FESTIVALS
Georgetown Carnival
The wonderfully gritty and industrial backdrop of Seattle’s oldest neighborhood will get awash with color as carnival games, Hazard Factory’s power tool drag races, live music, beer gardens, arts and crafts, and vendors take over Airport Way South for the Georgetown Carnival, the annual bulked-up version of the monthly Georgetown Art Attack. Live acts this year include Spencer Moody and the Blind Seekers, Seattle Drum School, Girl Trouble, and Knights of Trash, just to name a few. While you’re there, be sure to check out the Recycled Arts Festival, which features a fashion show, a sculpture garden, a roundup of artsy cars, and an art market of rescued resources.
Lard Butt 1K Seattle
With the "below-average" athlete in mind, the Lard Butt 1K replaces boring water stations with doughnut stations every 250 meters along its 0.62-mile course. There's also a beer, cider, and mimosa garden at the finish line, and proceeds benefit the University District Food Bank.
Volunteer Park Pride Festival
For another year, a slew of local bands will set the tone for Pride month with a full day of live sets at Volunteer Park. This year's lineup is stacked, with acts like fierce speed queens Thunderpussy, singer-songwriter J GRGRY, alt-soul artist and former busker Whitney Mongé, neo-soul/funk hero Sassyblack, and many others lighting up the bill.
FOOD & DRINK
Brewshed Beer Fest
Tipple over 40 beers from local breweries and help out the Washington Wild environmental nonprofit, which helps establish permanent wilderness and wild and scenic river designations.
MUSIC
Tacocat
It’s been pretty dark lately, huh? Weeks (months, years…) of deeply impactful, negative news plastered everywhere you look can really drag a person down. I think we all deserve to feel lighter, more mobile, more buoyed by the season. Tacocat can raise you to that level. I’ve been attending their shows for a decade now, and I can attest to the health benefits of witnessing their neon-candy punk-pop explode through an ecstatic crowd. Join them for a wild night out, and don’t forget your party outfit—these bands will surely be decked out in some Technicolor fantasy looks. KIM SELLING
Wynonna and The Big Noise
Nashville country singing legend, famous redhead, and musical force of nature Wynonna Judd will throw down all the classics and some tracks from her latest release with her backing troupe the Big Noise.
JUNE 8–9 COMEDY
Hannah Gadsby: Douglas
Stranger writer Katie Herzog has praised the Tasmanian comic Hannah Gadsby for her "strange, affecting, and exceedingly vulnerable" Netflix special Nanette. Now Gadsby is back with new material in a show called Douglas, so-called in honor of her dog.
SPORTS & RECREATION
St. Jude Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon & 1/2 Marathon
Whether you choose to run a 5K, half marathon, or full marathon, you'll get to enjoy live bands, DJs, drum lines, and other musical entertainment to keep you going along the way. Plus, you'll be supporting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
JUNE 8–JULY 10 VISUAL ART
'Book of Weirdo' Exhibition Featuring Peter Bagge
This exhibit at alternative comics bookstore and gallery Fantagraphics is held in honor of the release of The Book of Weirdo: A Retrospective of R. Crumb's Legendary Humor Comics Anthology. The book’s focus is Weirdo, the Robert Crumb-helmed comics anthology series that was published from the early ’80s to 1993, acted as a “low art” counterpoint to the modern higher-brow Raw, and tapped the talents of a wide swath of untraditional cartoonists. Among those was Peter Bagge, who was featured in Weirdo, then served as its editor for three years. (You know Bagge from memorable satires in exaggerated cartoon form, like his Pacific Northwestern-set Apocalypse Nerd, about two average dudes trying to survive in a world destroyed by nuclear fallout, or maybe Hate, one of the best-selling alternative comics of the 1990s, which featured antihero Buddy Bradley as the slacker hipster mouthpiece of Generation X.) Bagge is also among Book of Weirdo’s three editors, and works related to the anthology and book will presumably be on display alongside other Weirdo artists. LEILANI POLK
JUNE 8–JULY 27 VISUAL ART
Claire Partington: The Hunting Party
Fresh off the debut of her two-year installation Taking Tea in the Porcelain Room at the Seattle Art Museum, British ceramicist Claire Partington is back in Seattle showing new work. Instead of focusing on the tea trade, her Winston Wächter exhibit is a playful dissection and sendup of a European hunting party. Each figure in the group has a removable head that can be swapped with an animal one (bear, warthog, etc.). And the Roman goddess of the hunt, Diana, is depicted with gold hoops and pubes to match. Partington’s work is equal parts exquisite, fun, timeless, and modern. JASMYNE KEIMIG
JUNE 8–AUG 17 VISUAL ART
20/20: A 20th Anniversary Survey
Twenty artists—among them Viola Frey, Akio Takamori, Fay Jones, and Mary Anne Peters—who've participated extensively in the James Harris Gallery's 20-year history are celebrated in this anniversary exhibition.
JUNE 9 READINGS & TALKS
Angela Garbes: Like a Mother
One of the finest writers who ever worked at this newspaper, Angela Garbes (author of “The More I Learn About Breast Milk, the More Amazed I Am,” the 2015 story that broke our website’s traffic records) presents her first book, an investigative reflection on an aspect of childbirth that receives surprisingly little attention from the medical establishment or the baby book publishing industry: the mental and physical health of the mother. "Your OB will cautiously quote statistics, online sources will scare you with conflicting and often inaccurate information, and even the most trusted books will offer information with a heavy dose of judgment," Garbes writes. SEAN NELSON
SPORTS & RECREATION
2019 Furry 5K
You and your dog can help raise money for the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation's Help the Animals fund at their annual Furry 5K fundraiser.
THROUGH JUNE 9 FESTIVALS
Seattle International Film Festival 2019
The 45th annual Seattle International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the United States, with more than 400 films (spread over 25 days) watched by around 140,000 people at nine theaters across the city. It's impressively grand and one of the most exciting and widely attended arts events Seattle has to offer. Top films this month include Carmen & Lola, Halston, International Falls, Late Night, The Farewell on closing night, and many others.
JUNE 9–10 MUSIC
Cowboy Junkies
The first time I ever heard Cowboy Junkies was on a dirty, beer-stained couch at the radio station I used to help run in college. My friend and I were supposed to be studying, but we ended up just lying around listening to music. She put on their cover of Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane,” which seemed to fit every mood I could ever have at 21—melancholy, meditative, cautious, ready to yield to the good things in life. Like the rest of the band’s work. Cowboy Junkies are now celebrating 30 years together as a band. Cheers to that. JASMYNE KEIMIG
JUNE 10 READINGS & TALKS
William Shatner
Find out what William "Not-Really-James-T.-Kirk" Shatner has to say about his life and career in film, television, music, and publishing as well as, possibly, his allegedly bronyism. (Okay, he might not actually touch on that last one.)
JUNE 11 MUSIC
Father John Misty, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Jade Bird
Three things I’ll give Papa John: he’s got a voice like an aged oak barrel, spot-on cool uncle dance moves, and an excellent head of hair. Other than that, his swirling cult of personality is a bit much for me — as it stands in its current form of traveling-preacher-bard-probably-axed-from-the-Big-Fish-script. His 2017 effort, Pure Comedy, comes up against that classic thematic crossroads of utilizing memory versus instilling nostalgia — as expressive and plainspoken-poetic as Tillman’s work can be, it falls so heavily on the sword of nostalgia, it prevents itself from making anything memorable. The problem with too much nostalgia is that its very existence prevents newness and growth, and allows only for music to be made about what straight white people would refer to as “a simpler time.” He touches on that point in “Leaving LA” by invoking “another white guy, 2017 / who takes himself so seriously,” but then writes solely from that perspective for the entire album. Hopefully in his next piece, he can move from repeatedly mansplaining cultural irony to actual introspection. KIM SELLING
JUNE 11–13 PERFORMANCE
The Price Is Right Live
I'm recommending this show only for the opportunity to remind you that Bob Barker, at 95 years old, is still alive. The former host of The Price Is Right, a show where contestants spin a giant wheel and guess how much products cost so that television audiences essentially get hit with double the commercials, still walks this earth. In any event, comedian Drew Carey now hosts the show, and he's kind of funny for a libertarian—although the host for the touring iteration of Price is a TBA "celebrity guest" that apparently changes depending on the city. Go on there, guess $1 for everything, and try to win a jet ski. RICH SMITH
JUNE 12 MUSIC
Nick Murphy
Nick Murphy has returned to his actual name after years of making swirling electro-soul under the name "Chet Faker." With a new album and an extensive tour, he'll continue to soundtrack elitist music festival after-parties the world over for years to come.
JUNE 12–JULY 7 PERFORMANCE
Wicked
Anticipate another return of the megapopular musical that presents another perspective on The Wizard of Oz.
JUNE 13 MUSIC
Rob Thomas, Abby Anderson
Relive the most earnest moments and deeply alt sounds of the '90s and '00s with slick Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas and opener Abby Anderson on their Chip Tooth tour.
JUNE 13–16 PERFORMANCE
NW New Works Festival 2019
As Rich Smith has written, once a year, "On the Boards transforms into an open studio for the most gifted theater-makers, dancers, and performance artists in the region." For their 36th edition, over a single weekend, the invited artists—among them Au Collective, Stranger Genius Award-winning HATLO, Arson Nicki, and Body Home Fat Dance—will grapple with some of the changes disrupting the Pacific Northwest.
JUNE 13–SEPT 8 VISUAL ART
Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement
You may have seen Pre-Raphaelite paintings, those opulently romantic depictions of medieval lords and ladies that evoke a dreamy Middle Ages without grime and shit. This exhibition, featuring 145 paintings, crafts, sculptures, and more, focuses on the small group of artists who rebelled against the aesthetics of industrialization and drew on the past: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, Edward Burne-Jones, and William Morris.
JUNE 14 COMEDY
Theo Von: Dark Arts Tour
The host of the comedy podcast This Past Weekend has recently come out with a Netflix special, No Offense. He was voted Guest of the Year on The Fighter and the Kid in 2017.
FILM
'Men in Black: International' Opening
F. Gary Gray, director of The Fate of the Furious and Straight Outta Compton, steers this resurrected franchise about secret agents who fight alien baddies and keep the very existence of extraterrestrials out of the news. Tessa Thompson stars as a new hire who teams up with Chris Hemsworth to take on the Hive, a particularly sinister (and body snatcher-y) alien threat. The trailer makes it seem as though it's aimed at pre-teens, but should have charm enough for anyone who likes their blocks busted (cinematically speaking).
The Dead Don't Die
So...Jim Jarmusch has made a deadpan zombie comedy? With Bill Murray, Adam Driver, and Chloë Sevigny as three underwhelmed cops and Iggy Pop, Carol Kane, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, RZA, and oh my god we can't even list all the indie darlings rounding out the cast? Yeah, you don't want to miss this.
MUSIC
Mudhoney, The Fucking Eagles, The Droves
When I think about Mudhoney, I always think about Citizen Dick. Matt Dillon’s fictional band in the 1992 grunge rom-com Singles parodies the Mudhoney hit “Touch Me I’m Sick” with a song called “Touch Me I’m Dick.” There’s a reason Cameron Crowe chose that song to poke fun at: Mudhoney are Sub Pop’s flagship band, and that 1988 single remains a fiery, headbanging classic. And so does the band. While so many groups associated with that six-letter G word have gone the way of Dillon’s long locks, Mudhoney have continued to shred with sinister distortion, Mark Arm’s piercing vocal howl, and plenty of feedback that never diminishes with each new album. Unlike Crowe’s film, Mudhoney aren’t a charmingly dorky time capsule—they’re a band that’s remained effortlessly cool and still totally rocks. ROBIN EDWARDS
PERFORMANCE
PNB NEXT STEP: Outside/In
The Pacific Northwest Ballet's annual showcase of new dance works will spread outside onto Seattle Center's yards. Outdoor performances are free to view from 6-7:30 pm, while indoor dances afterward—choreographed by Nancy Casciano, Christopher D’Ariano, Steven Loch, Amanda Morgan, Sarah Pasch, and Calista Ruat— are $25. Purple Lemonade Collective and REACH! (featuring Spectrum) will join the PNB's company for these site-specific and onstage performances.
READINGS & TALKS
Eve Ensler: The Apology
"My vagina is pissed off!" begins one memorable diatribe in Eve Ensler's 1996 feminist theater classic The Vagina Monologues. In Ensler's new book, she deals with a less localized but no less urgent anger: the fury of women waiting for overdue apologies from their abusers—in Ensler's case, her own father.
Robert Macfarlane: Underland
We live for a geologically insignificant amount of time, so how can we think on the scale of nature? Robert Macfarlane will read from his Underland: A Deep Time Journey, a journey into myth, literature, and science that ranges from "Arctic sea caves" to "Bronze Age burial chambers" and from Parisian catacombs to a deep subterranean nuclear waste dump.
JUNE 14–15 FESTIVALS
Paradiso Festival
Paradiso is the PNW's premier festival of WUB-WUB-WUB, colloquially known as brostep, also called EDM, which is short for "electronic dance music" (you're welcome, grandpa). Headliners include Benny Benassi, Alison Wonderland, Kaskade, Elephante, and Skrillex. Trust that glow sticks will be wielded, hearts broken, and vape pens smoked.
JUNE 14–16 FOOD & DRINK
14th Annual Washington Brewers Festival
Maximizers who thrive when presented with a dizzying array of choices should enjoy this festival from the Washington Beer Commission, which will offer 500 beers from more than 100 Washington brewers. Besides beer, there’s also a specialty root-beer garden for designated drivers and the 21-and-younger crowd to enjoy, plus food vendors, a kids' playground, and music and entertainment all weekend.
JUNE 15 FESTIVALS
Sweet Tooth Pop-Up
Sate your bottomless need for sweets at this South Lake Union pop-up, which will provide a selection of confections, including cookies, ice cream, macarons, doughnuts, pastries, and other sucrose-laden treats, from a range of artisan vendors.
GEEK
Seattle Urban-X
Explore the city scavenger-hunt style by crossing off various checkpoints from your list. At the finish line, you'll be rewarded with pizza, beer, and prizes.
MUSIC
Patty Griffin
Chances are you've already heard the music of Patty Griffin. Her songs have been recorded by Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Dixie Chicks, even Bette Midler. But you haven't really, truly experienced Griffin until you hear her perform her own stellar originals. And her fifth album, Children Running Through, is a perfect place to start, showcasing a voice as strong and versatile as her compositional chops. Griffin waxes jazzy on the opening "You'll Remember," lets loose with a fiery blues/gospel number on "Up the Mountain (MLK Song)"—which no less a personage, the King of Rock 'n' Soul Solomon Burke, recently cut, too—and whips through the kiss-off ditty "Getting Ready" with hell-raising fervor. She's every bit as gifted as any of her A-list patrons, and deserves just as much public recognition. KURT B. REIGHLEY
RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles
RAIN - A Tribute to the Beatles is a celebration of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band's 51st anniversary. In addition to early Beatles tunes, the show will highlight all the songs from Sgt. Pepper in a psychedelic multimedia performance.
Yungblud
English rock-hiphop-punk musician Yungblud (aka Dominic Harrison) makes "genre-bending protest songs" for the suburban teen.
PERFORMANCE
Massive Monkees Day
Massive Monkees Day is a true Seattle institution that is both entertaining and drenched in positivity. The focal point of this breakdancing holiday arranged by Seattle’s legendary B-boy/B-girl crew Massive Monkees is the Pro Breaking Tour–sanctioned battle royale, which this year has moved to the Showbox. The world-class dancers (who will be traveling from all over North America, Asia, and Europe to compete) and the DJs who accompany them create an impressive musical/athletic spectacle, and the familial vibe that has helped to keep the breaking community intact runs strong throughout. TODD HAMM
READINGS & TALKS
Elizabeth Gilbert: City of Girls
Gilbert's career has been defined by one book: Eat, Pray, Love, a runaway bestseller about self-discovery and meeting her now ex-husband—the man she would, years later, end up leaving for Rayya Elias. She was wildly open about this development in her life, announcing on Facebook in September 2016 that she'd fallen in love with her best friend, who'd been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Gilbert was a successful magazine writer before Eat, Pray, Love and has now written 10 books, including City of Girls, which comes out in June. The book, which is largely set in the 1940s, follows a 19-year-old Vassar dropout who gets involved in a major scandal in the New York theater world. It's light and—in typical Gilbert fashion—funny, but Gilbert wrote it from the depths of her grief over Elias's illness and death. KATIE HERZOG
JUNE 15–16 GEEK
Washington State Summer Con
Here you can meet a lineup of comic book creators, shop from vendors, visit interactive exhibits, and play all sorts of video games (not to mention LEGOs). Cosplay is most welcome.
JUNE 15–SEPT 29 VISUAL ART
End of Day: American Oil Painting Around 1900
Around the turn of last century, American artists who enjoyed new prospects for travel and education were inspired by European masters and contemporaries to depict natural landscapes in their own land. This exhibition captures a particular moment in American history, in which painters were poised on modernity and mass industrialization and longed to capture the comforts and beauties bucolic countryside.
JUNE 15–DEC 8 VISUAL ART
Recent Acquisitions: Toyin Ojih Odutola
In Toyin Ojih Odutola’s portraits, skin moves, glows, shines, and radiates. The way she renders black skin—at the beginning of her career in ballpoint pen—gives her 2D drawings a dimension that I’ve never quite seen before. Her work is dynamic, beautiful, and challenging. The Frye recently acquired a suit of prints by the Nigerian born, New York-based artist and plans to show them in the inaugural exhibition of Recent Acquisitions. Though Odutola’s practice has expanded beyond ballpoint pens and into painting and printmaking, all of her work is informed by a sense of the tactile, the topographical, the subversive. JASMYNE KEIMIG
JUNE 16 EVERYWHERE
Father's Day
If you know a loving dad, be it your own or someone else's, this is a good day to show him your appreciation. Check out a full list of ways to celebrate in Seattle on our complete Father's Day calendar, including the 14th Annual Washington Brewers Festival and the Bell Harbor Classic Weekend.
FOOD & DRINK
Atlas Obscura Society Seattle: An Insect Feast with The Bug Chef
David George Gordon (also known as the "Bug Chef") will whip up a creepy crawly feast of farm-raised mealworms, grasshoppers, and seasoned crickets, including insect-topped pizza and insect-based cocktails.
MUSIC
Duff McKagan, Shooter Jennings
Ex-Guns N' Roses bassist and beloved PNW resident Duff McKagan will hit the stage with his backing band alongside a support set by Shooter Jennings.
Indigo Girls, Sera Cahoone
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are still Indigo Girls (the band's approaching 34!) and still folk-rockin'.
Kishi Bashi, Takenobu
Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Kishi Bashi will perform music from his latest album Omoiyari, in which he reckons with the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.
JUNE 17 READINGS & TALKS
Lawrence Lessig: Fidelity and the American Constitution
Famed legal scholar Lessig will present his new book Fidelity and Constraint, which is about the complex process of "translating," or interpreting, the very old, arguably outdated Constitution. Hopefully, you'll come away with an understanding of “fidelity to role”—" a practice by which judges determine if old ways of interpreting the Constitution have become illegitimate because they do not match up with the judge’s perceived role"—and other issues of constitutional limitations.
JUNE 18 FOOD & DRINK
Summer Flavor Tasting
Be the first to try Molly Moon's upcoming flavors for summer, including pink lemonade, vegan "bumberberry," s'mores, lemon blueberry custard, peaches and cream, honey and cornbread, and more. Plus, the chain's head chef will demonstrate how to make their strawberry shortcake flavor.
MUSIC
Ludovico Einaudi
Iconic Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi has topped the classical charts in 42 countries and recently released an album called Elements, which accompanied a video of him playing piano on an Arctic glacier. Before embarking on this North American tour, Einaudi additionally released a new seven-part album called Seven Days Walking (Decca Records/Universal).
READINGS & TALKS
Adam Gopnik: A Thousand Small Sanities
Criticize him if you must, but Adam Gopnik, staff writer for the New Yorker, is a talented essayist, and he’s also a talented speaker. I saw him give a talk for Town Hall a year or two ago that was phenomenally arranged and presented, seemingly off-hand, undoubtedly practiced, edifying, funny, etc. (By the way, if you do decide to criticize Gopnik—for being an apologist of bourgeois culture or whatever your argument is—you should know Renata Adler beat you to it. She wrote a stirring, almost convincing takedown of his work in her stirring, almost convincing attempted takedown of the New Yorker itself, a strange and fascinating book called Gone.) Anyway, Gopnik. He’s good. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
JUNE 19 EVERYWHERE
Juneteenth
Juneteenth marks the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1865—the Emancipation Proclamation was signed into law in 1863, meaning some former Confederate states ignored Abe Lincoln’s executive order for more than two years—and as such, it’s a day to celebrate and learn about black culture in Seattle and around the world. See a full list of things to do—including the inaugural resource-sharing festival We Out Here—on our Juneteenth calendar.
MUSIC
Aly & AJ, Armors, Jena Rose
Aly and AJ Michalka are a sisterly duo who were a part of the early '00s Disney Channel pantheon of smiling blondes in recurring cheerleader-girl-squad-escapade movie and TV roles who pursue a music career for no reason other than that they can. They're back on the scene under their original "Aly & AJ" moniker to celebrate the release of last year's EP, Ten Years.
Larry June, Oranj Goodman
Thraxxhouse-affiliated rapper and Bay Area maverick Larry June has appeared on notable Mackned releases and a seven-part mixtape series of his own, and excels in locating a bombastic Atlanta-hewn sound that promotes individuality above all else.
Third Eye Blind, Jimmy Eat World, Ra Ra Riot
Led by Stephan Jenkins, '90s pop-alt rockers Third Eye Blind (or 3EB if you're a real fan) achieved wide success during a bizarre time in the post-grunge music scene. They performed at the 2016 Bumbershoot, and will return to Seattle again for a night of classic singles with early '00s pop-punk-emo-rock hybrid group Jimmy Eat World and mid-'00s college radio favorite Ra Ra Riot.
READINGS & TALKS
James Ellroy: This Storm
The best blurb for crime fiction patriarch James Ellroy's new novel probably comes from the man himself: "This Storm is chock-full of my trippingly trenchant crime shit, political shit, racial shit, cop shit, sex shit, and passionate men and women in love shit!!! It’s gonna bite the boogaloos of worldwide readers, en masse!!!!!" It's set in 1942 and concerns a corpse, a crooked vice cop, a Japanese forensics genius threatened by internment, a disgraced female Navy lieutenant, and a fascist officer who clash in Los Angeles in 1942.
JUNE 20 FOOD & DRINK
Author Talk: Every Day Is Saturday by Sarah Copeland
Award-winning cookbook author and former Real Simple magazine food director Sarah Copeland will discuss her new book Every Day is Saturday, which provides inspiration on how to bring laidback weekend energy to your weeknight cooking, in conversation with local author and photographer Aran Goyoaga.
Magnuson Park Night Market
This evening market brings food truck fare and goods for sale from vendors.
MUSIC
Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Earl Sweatshirt, Thundercat
Rapper, singer, producer, and instrumentalist Anderson .Paak infuses his style of hiphop with varied strains of '70s soul, gritty Americana, and lively funk for a whole new sound. He'll be joined by Earl Sweatshirt and Thundercat for this tour stop promoting his last two albums.
PERFORMANCE
Ask Me Another
Experience NPR/WNYC's radio game show live with host Ophira Eisenberg, satirical musician Jonathan Coulton, and special VIP Nicole Byer of Nailed It and The Good Place.
Justin Vivian Bond: Summer Solstice Benefit Performance
One of the most critically acclaimed and awarded cabaret stars today, Justin Vivian Bond, will fill the evening with song, snark, and "real glamour."
READINGS & TALKS
Ocean Vuong: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
When he toured with his recent collection of poetry, Night Sky With Exit Wounds, Ocean Vuong's powerful readings would turn roomfuls of cynical adults into crying children. His use of cinematic imagery in poetry was enthralling. The gentle intensity of his reading style was mesmerizing. And though he was writing about all the old subjects—loneliness, family, pain—every poem seemed fresh and alive. Expect similar results with his first foray into fiction, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, which centers on a son writing a letter to his illiterate mother. The book seems like a fictional extension of the incredible personal essay he published in the New Yorker, "A Letter To My Mother That She Will Never Read." Vuong's mother couldn't read, but he expresses himself best through writing. The piece explores the ways in which language shapes our identities and limits (or enhances) our ability to communicate. "I am writing because they told me to never start a sentence with because. But I wasn’t trying to make a sentence—I was trying to break free," he writes. RICH SMITH
JUNE 20–23 FESTIVALS
MagicFest Seattle
Attention, Magic the Gathering players: Don't miss your chance to geek out over your favorite card game with a whole weekend of tournaments.
JUNE 20 & 25-26 READINGS & TALKS
Ted Chiang: Exhalation
The lauded recent sci-fi film Arrival was based on Ted Chiang's short fiction "Story of Your Life," which combined a gorgeously nerdy and profound examination of alien grammar with a sad and equally profound exploration of love and fate. Which is to say, Ted Chiang is a genius, and "Story of Your Life" should be viewed as a gateway to his body of literature, not a companion to Denis Villeneuve's (admittedly pretty cool) movie. Better yet, catch up with the author at this reading of his new collection, Exhalation. JOULE ZELMAN
JUNE 20–JULY 28 PERFORMANCE
The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion
Gregory Award-winning local playwright Justin Huertas (Howl's Moving Castle) penned a play inspired by Puget Sound stories and myths, about a high school girl who discovers her mother's secret and very unusual sports trophy and must cope with new revelations about herself and her family.
JUNE 21 COMEDY
Chelsea Handler: Life Will Be the Death of Me...and You Too!
There seem to be two schools of people when it comes to comedian, TV producer/host, writer, and activist Chelsea Handler: those of us who love her sarcastic, acerbic wit and brash outspokenness on topics ranging from sex to parenthood to politics; and those who find her abrasive as fuck. She’s definitely become far angrier and more vocal about her discontent with American politics following the election of Donald Trump, and she explores this and various other self-involved subjects in her sixth book of memoir-style nonfiction, sold as the “funny, sad, super-honest, all-true story of Chelsea Handler’s year of self-discovery,” and which includes but is not limited to the content of her therapy sessions with neuropsychiatrist Dan Siegel, and her (not-so) newfound relationship with edibles. Every Handler book reads like she talks, and I imagine this one will be no different. Tickets to this “Sit-Down Comedy Tour” include a copy of the book. LEILANI POLK
FILM
'Toy Story 4' Opening
Woody, Buzz, and the gang welcome a newcomer, a rather crude and fragile plastic assemblage named Forky, and go on a road trip. As usual, the animation will be superb, your heartstrings will be twanged, and you will love it. Will Toy Story 4 also address the single-use plastic crisis?
MUSIC
Judas Priest, Uriah Heep
Picture this: rural Northern California in the mid-1990s. A passel of children tangled together in the back seat of a minivan, slowly cruising up a wooded interstate. They’re on their way to a church youth camp; it’s been an overly hot and dusty summer, and restlessness reigns. Each child is screaming at the top of their tiny lungs. Are they, perhaps, possessed by the majesty of the Holy Spirit? Nope—they’re gang-shrieking the lyrics to Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law.” The reach and influence of the British band, widely claimed to have originated heavy metal itself (alongside Black Sabbath, of course), is such that it hits even the hearts of doe-eyed youngsters, and it hits hard. Almost 50 years into their career, Judas Priest can still wrangle a fiendish, otherworldly energy from even the most unexpected of listeners, like 10-year-old me and my young covenant group. KIM SELLING
La Santa Cecilia
LA-based Mexican American band La Santa Cecilia play a sunny blend of cumbia, bossa nova, and boleros. Catch them on this Seattle tour stop.
Little River Band
Melbourne rockers Little River Band achieved modest success in their home country of Australia, steadily gigging since 1975. Now they're back to tour the United States with a renewed sense of vigor.
Wu-Tang Clan
Don't miss your chance to see Ghostface Killah, Method Man, RZA, and other original members of Staten Island legends Wu-Tang Clan as they come through Seattle on their 36 Chambers 25th Anniversary Celebration Tour.
JUNE 21–22 MUSIC
LANY
If we’re talking surface-level critique, LANY’s name alone (which stands for, you guessed it, Los Angeles New York) made me melon-ball my own eyes out of their sockets and throw them into the ocean. One level below that, their softboi charm extends further, to some malleable electro pop almost entirely cookie-guttered into oblivion. Tethered to some mythically dense assumption of what early-20s sentiments should sound like in song, each track on their record kinda reeks of exactly that: an entrenched effort to seem attainably cool, as relevant and earnestly mature as possible but with wide post-teenage eyes backlit by summer fireworks. Real talk, is this like a Noxzema commercial or what? KIM SELLING
Ziggy Marley, Michael Franti & Spearhead
The honest, upbeat rhythms and lyrics of Ziggy Marley are more on-point than ever with his last album, Rebellion Rises. With a list of tracks dedicated to the struggle, strife, and salvation of social justice (and the world at large) in 2018, such as “See Dem Fake Leaders” and “I Am a Human,” Marley’s harmonic voice carries through with powerful vulnerability. However, these songs are not all about what Marley thinks—he wants you to be a part of this too, offering songs that invite the listener to push back against the status quo. With a menagerie of musical textures supporting each message of resistance, you’ll sway and dance along to a shared truth with Ziggy. SOPHIA STEPHENS
PERFORMANCE
Seattle Men's Chorus: Summer of '69
Look, I didn’t live through 1969, but I’ve sure heard about that year my entire life. There was Woodstock. Vietnam. And, as you’ll be hearing about all Pride month this year, there was Stonewall. It’s now been 50 years since the Stonewall uprising that is often credited as launching the modern gay movement. The Seattle Men’s Chorus will celebrate the anniversary by singing through all that rebellion and change, featuring the year's top charts and also introducing new musical theater work about the Stonewall riots. CHASE BURNS
JUNE 22 COMEDY
Esther Povitsky
Esther Povitsky’s Twitter bio sums her up in three words: “Cute but gross.” It’s doubtful anyone in stand-up is more adorable and petite than Povitsky, who appears to be about half of her 31 years. Intractable biases may lead you to underestimate her, but Povitsky’s sharply funny, working her looks and Jewishness into many jokes, including one that’s relatable to this lapsed Jew: “My dad is so Jewish I didn’t go to Hebrew school because he didn’t want to pay the dues to belong to a temple.” With popular roles on the sitcoms Crazy Ex Girlfriend and Alone Together (which she also co-created), Povitsky is on the ascent. DAVE SEGAL
FESTIVALS
Seattle Women's Pride 2019
Pride month in Seattle wouldn't be complete without the Seattle Lesbian's womxn-focused event, which this year includes an award ceremony honoring community members, a comedy show with Monisa Brown, Tambre Massman, Val Nigro, and more fun.
FILM
Seattle Outdoor Cinema
First Tech Federal Credit Union's outdoor movie series will also feature a night market, yard games, and beer, and proceeds go to charity. You have to be over 21 to partake.
MUSIC
Bill Callahan
During his multidecade tenure under the name of Smog, Bill Callahan perfected the art of disquieting and uncomfortable folk music. His lo-fi recording process and stone-faced delivery of dissociative, introspective lyrics felt intensely voyeuristic, like stumbling across someone's stash of private Polaroids. By the end of Smog's run, Callahan had moved away from the dirty and murky implications of his chosen moniker and on to smoother recording techniques. Now operating under his own name, he's gravitated even further from his early entry-level four-track production and cheap-second-hand-gear aesthetic. One would think this sonic refinement would make his stoic tales of doubt and forlornness all the more naked, but instead it highlights his capacity for deceptively sophisticated melodies, deadpan cleverness, and seductively unusual arrangements. He's a man with nothing to hide. BRIAN COOK
Coheed and Cambria, Mastodon, Every Time I Die
Move over Rush—Coheed and Cambria could very well be the nerdiest band on the planet. How else would you describe a progressive-rock band that writes concept albums based on a science-fiction story line? The albums are but a gateway to the “Amory Wars” tales that lead vocalist/guitarist Claudio Sanchez portrays in both comic- and full-length book form. Sanchez’s distinctive high-pitched voice is a unique characteristic of Coheed and Cambria, especially when partnered with their often huge, Zeppelin-like riffs. Regardless of how much commercial success C&C attain, their die-hard fans will keep this wonderfully quirky band going as long as the story line permits. KEVIN DIERS
Dave B, Jak Knight, U Moore
Seattle MC Dave B will be joined by Jak Knight and U Moore for a night of excellent local hiphop and showing off exactly how he rose from Sound Off to the Showbox.
David Gray
Although he's released several critically acclaimed records and is an immensely talented and downright charming performer, British singer-songwriter David Gray seemed destined for "huge in Ireland, invisible in America" status -- until Dave Matthews stepped in. Gray's album, White Ladder, wa released on Matthews' label, According to Our Records. One of those rare artists who is more engaging live than on record, this is Gray's first visit in forever -- so don't miss it. BARBARA MITCHELL
Raffi
Beluga-entrancing, rape-culture-hating, ukulele-ing Raffi upholds his many decades of creating foundational children's music for his 42nd anniversary on the road.
THROUGH JUNE 22 PERFORMANCE
Take Me Out
A star outfielder for the "New York Empires" (more Yankees than Mets in appearance) named Darren Lemming comes out of the closet—or, I guess, the locker—in this Tony-winning comedy from Richard Greenberg, put on by Strawberry Theatre Workshop. His straight teammates have a lot to say about it, and they mostly do so while barely covered in towels, a sartorial situation where homophobia and hypocrisy are so often laid bare. Lamar Legend, who has been great in everything I've seen him in, especially in Intiman's production of Barbecue and most recently in Strawshop's production of Everybody, plays Lemming. In addition to being a hilarious exploration of masculinity, the play also offers an opportunity for the audience to take part in a drinking game based on ball puns. How you could pass that up, I do not know. RICH SMITH
JUNE 22–23 FESTIVALS
Bacon Eggs & Kegs
This festival revolving around the combination of savory, gut-busting breakfast foods and heady booze promises concoctions like fried chicken waffle nuggets, cornbread bacon Benedict, biscuits with bacon-fat gravy, and beer-battered pancakes. Day drinking is encouraged with more than 80 brews from 40 breweries and cideries, plus mimosas, boozy root-beer floats, Irish coffee, and a 30-foot Bloody Mary bar with dozens upon dozens of toppings (including tater tots, mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers, veggies, herbs, pickles, puffed Cheetos, bacon, and pork rinds). You’re probably going to want to clear your schedule for that requisite post-brunch nap.
Fremont Fair
Fremont loves its weird celebrations, and this two-day outdoor urban festival is arguably its biggest event of the year. From its gigantic parade composed of costumed participants to its craft market and live music events, the tradition has something for hippies, families, foodies, and artists alike.
Urban Craft Uprising 2019 Summer Show
Urban Craft Uprising bills itself as "Seattle's largest indie craft show," and it ain't lying. Now in its 15th year, the two-day event boasts a wide variety of handcrafted goods from local vendors, from jewelry to clothing to housewares to food.
JUNE 23 MUSIC
Lucinda Williams, Cass McCombs
“You wait in the car / On the side of the road,” Lucinda Williams sang, and we all agreed that she had a voice like rusty velvet. “Let me go and stand a while / I want to know you’re there / But I wanna be alone.” And another friend said how apropos, how important, that she wanted her own space. She promised to return. But “don’t go and try to find me.” Then another friend quit returning phone calls. He quit returning e-mails. When his child was born, he took the mother home but refused to hold his baby. I know he’s alive, but we had to quit trying to find him. On the new album, Williams sounds drunk. But I can’t tell if she drinks to find someone, or to refuse. ANDREW HAMLIN
Sublime with Rome, SOJA, Common Kings
Put on your baja and longboard down to Redmond for a Sublime reunion show (R.I.P. Bradley), with Rome, SOJA, and Common Kings.
THROUGH JUNE 23 PERFORMANCE
Tiny Beautiful Things
Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) has adapted Cheryl Strayed's story of writing an advice column under the pseudonym Sugar, yielding a play about empathy, healing, tough love, and kindness.
JUNE 23–30 COMEDY
Seattle International Festival of Improv
Improvisors from Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the USA will come to Seattle to participate in the 23rd annual Seattle International Festival of Improv, which lasts for a week. The theme this year will be "maps": landscape maps, road maps, life maps, and more.
JUNE 24 MUSIC
Cécile McLorin Salvant and Sullivan Fortner
In 2016, Cécile McLorin Salvant won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her record For One To Love. She is celebrated for her ability to bring together the connections between jazz, vaudeville, blues, and folk music with her strong tone.
Jim James and Claypool Lennon Delirium
Louisville, Kentucky, mountain man Jim James (aka Yim Yames) has an unassailable transcendentalism about him. He's rootsy and Zen, and he has a resonant, yodel-throated mine shaft of a singing voice. With James's first solo full-length, Regions of Light and Sound of God, the My Morning Jacket frontman has become a bit of a Southern mystic. His songs swim through expansively altered folk and gospel, each possessing its own calm, rich, tidal sensation. TRENT MOORMAN
JUNE 24–30 FOOD & DRINK
Negroni Week
The refreshingly bitter, glowing-crimson aperitif, made with equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth and garnished with an orange peel, is so beloved, it now has its own week. Bars all over Seattle will be shaking up their own variations of the ruby-red cocktail to benefit charitable organizations. If the concept of gulping Negronis to combat the world’s ills sounds too good to be true, you’re probably right: As Stranger food writer Angela Garbes wrote in 2016, “Started in 2013 by Campari and Imbibe magazine, Negroni Week is most definitely a marketing ploy benefitting a global corporation. Feel free to plot the overthrow of our corporate power regime as you throw back another Negroni.”
JUNE 25 READINGS & TALKS
Clarion West Presents: A Reading by Elizabeth Hand
Elizabeth Hand has been granted scads of horror, sci-fi, and speculative fiction prizes, including such prestigious accolades as the World Fantasy Award (four times!), the Nebula Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and more. The sci-fi/fantasy writing program Clarion West will invite her to read, and if you love genre fiction, you should go.
JUNE 25–JULY 1 MUSIC
Mechanismus Festival
Put on by the city’s preeminent industrial concert promotion organ, the four-day Mechanismus Festival is the first festival of its type in the city, set to occupy the Highline, where Mechanismus produces most of its gloomy synthesizer-and-laptop onslaughts. While the genre hasn’t had a commercial peak in some time, or had the kind of indie-publication-sanctioned revival that many of its adjacent genres have, industrial is thriving thanks to the proliferation of production software and the general drop in equipment costs, meaning the city’s digital musical resistance has more surprises in store than the Metropolis Records sampler you got in Hot Topic a decade ago. JOSEPH SCHAFER
JUNE 25–SEPT 13 VISUAL ART
The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China
A curatorial team of Wu Hung, distinguished professor and adjunct curator of the University of Chicago's Smart Museum, and Orianna Cacchione, Smart Museum Curator of Global Contemporary Art, has assembled this collection of Chinese contemporary art. Spanning four decades, it focuses on these artists' uses of diverse material, "from plastic, water, and wood, to hair, gunpowder, and Coca-Cola." The Allure of Matter has already been shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Smart Museum, and it will go on to the Peabody Essex Museum.
JUNE 26 MUSIC
Jamila Woods
This “Blk Girl Soldier” spins anthems of resilience for the melanin-blessed—Jamila Woods’s work in social justice and her beliefs take a stand in her music with tender but informed songs like “VRY BLK” (featuring Noname) and “LSD” (featuring Chance the Rapper) that don’t shy away from the hard topics. Woods’s mastery of R&B, hiphop, and soul will have festivalgoers hooked, while doses of acoustic-folk and pop sounds are sure to top off the party. SOPHIA STEPHENS
READINGS & TALKS
Ed Levine: Serious Eater
The founder of the popular blog Serious Eats will chat with Kenji Lopez Alt about creating a publication about "the best of everything edible."
JUNE 27 READINGS & TALKS
The Moth Seattle GrandSLAM
Listeners of The Moth know the deal: each storyslammer has a short period of time to tell a compelling story, whether poignant, funny, tragic, or edifying. This night's raconteurs are the top slammers from the previous 10 months, so they're sure to be unmissable.
JUNE 27–29 MUSIC
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert
If you do not know who John Williams is, do not bother reading what I have to say about him in this blurb. John Williams’s greatest achievement as a film composer is his love theme “Han Solo and the Princess” for Han and Leia in The Empire Strikes Back. (You, the pop-culture ignoramus, are still reading! Yes, Williams composed the music for the Star Wars series, and also Jaws, Indiana Jones, and so on, and so on.) This love theme has all of the sensitivity and cheap beauty that made “Spartacus: Love Theme” a jazz standard. If the great jazz pianist Bill Evans were alive today (why don’t some people live forever?), he would have made pure magic out of Williams’s “Love Theme.” CHARLES MUDEDE
JUNE 28 FILM
'Yesterday' Opening
A down-on-his-luck musician wakes up one morning to find out he's the only person on Earth who remembers the Beatles existed in the latest crowd-pleaser by Danny Boyle.
MUSIC
Jeff Lynne's ELO, Dhani Harrison
Nimble pop producer and songwriter Jeff Lynne is the genius behind expansive '70s and '80s pop/rock outfit Electric Light Orchestra. The current iteration of ELO will be led by Lynne on their 20-date summer 2019 tour.
Lyle Lovett & His Large Band
Remember when Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett were married? That was weird. Anyway, here's prolific country crooner Lyle and his massive band. They'll be playing a full set, with charm enough that's sure to please even the most cynical of old school country music enthusiasts.
PERFORMANCE
BeautyBoiz Queer AF
Live large with a gaggle of queer talent and see aerial, burlesque, and drag performances by the likes of Thadayus, Kimber Shade, LüChi, Karmen Korbel, Beau Degas, Angela Visalia, Cody James, Faggedy Randy, Gunner Field, and Brandon Lentz.
QUEER
Trans Pride Parade
Gather with UW Q to celebrate the Seattle trans community with a neighborhood march for family, friends, and allies, followed by a fair in Cal Anderson Park.
READINGS & TALKS
Charles Fishman: One Giant Leap
If you enjoyed the thrilling documentary Apollo 11, you should attend this talk by the author of One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon, which goes over more of the story—namely the technology behind the space program flight and the people who worked on it.
JUNE 28–29 MUSIC
Eric Church
With no support act on his tour (aptly titled the Double Down Tour), 2016 CMA Album of the Year winner Eric Church (and the Eric Church Band) will play two full and unique sets, with an intermission in between if you need a break from all that country-rockin'.
JUNE 28–30 ART
Rally for SAM
Attend a Gala Dinner and drink and eat fancy foods around extremely fancy classic cars at this fundraiser for the Seattle Art Museum.
GEEK & GAMING
ACE Comic Con Seattle 2019
If you missed the Emerald City Comic Con this year, here's another chance to meet all your favorite on-screen superheroes (like Chris Evans, Lee Pace, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, and Don Cheadle), plus over 60 comic creators and over 100 vendors and exhibitors.
QUEER
Queer/Bar's Queer/Pride Festival
A bedrock of Capitol Hill Pride weekend is the Queer/Pride Festival, a three-day affair with nightly performances from RuPaul's Drag Race-famous queens like Vanessa "Vanjie" Mateo (aka "Miss Vaaaaaaanjie") and Miz Cracker (repping Seattle), plus musical performances from hometown heroes like DoNormaal.
JUNE 29 FESTIVALS
Dragonfest
Seattle's Chinatown-International District plays host to the annual Dragonfest, a day filled with cultural performances, dragon and lion dances, Korean drumming, martial arts demonstrations, and chances to taste local bites at the $3 food walk.
Seattle Cheese and Meat Festival
The world is your cheese plate at this celebration of all things cured meat and fromage. At the door, you’ll be greeted with a tasting glass and charcuterie board, and then left to your own devices to wander around curating the platter of your dreams with samples from vendors. Then pair your picks with wine, cider, beer, spirits, or kombucha. There will also be seminars on cheese, chocolate, and beer and the farm-to-table and slow food movements.
MUSIC
Rebelution, Collie Buddz, Durand Jones & the Indications
Old-school Californian reggae boys Rebelution bring their dawn patrol vibes to the only sometimes sunny Redmond area on their Good Vibes Summer Tour with additional special guests Collie Buddz and Durand Jones & The Indications.
Santana, The Doobie Brothers
Guitarist Carlos Santana—who's featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—will come to Seattle with his band on his Supernatural Now Tour. They'll be joined by "roots-based, harmony-laden, guitar-driven rock and roll" band the Doobie Brothers.
PERFORMANCE
Countess LuAnn and Friends
Catch up with Luann de Lesseps of Real Housewives of New York, whom TV Guide apparently recently named "the #1 Housewife by TV Guide, topping all 46 housewives across all franchised cities." It looks like she'll be touring with a musical cabaret show about her experiences on TV.
QUEER
PrideFest Capitol Hill
The sixth year of PrideFest Capitol Hill and the 50th anniversary of Stonewall will collide on this merry occasion. Spend all day skipping across the rainbow crosswalks in the company of fellow LGBTQ+ Seattleites and allies, stopping along the way for drag shows, family activities, karaoke, and so much more.
Pride Is For Everyone 2019
Go mad with love for the LGBTQ+ universe and its limitless expressions at this 28-hour bash brought to us by Bottom Forty and produced by NARK magazine. Nathan Micay, Bottom Forty, Wesley Holmes, Sean Majors, and others will queer the consoles and dancers will keep the movement going all night long.

Seattle Dyke March
For the 25th year, this Pride event will celebrate all identities, with a special focus on queer womxn. Start by rallying in Capitol Hill with speakers and performers before being led in a march by the Seattle Dykes on Bikes.
SPORTS & RECREATION
Seattle Sounders vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
Seattle's Major League Soccer team will play their only home season game this month against the team from our Canadian neighbor city.
VISUAL ART
Artful Evening
Fill yourself up with food and booze at this art party, but not so much that you'll be too drunk to look at (and bid on!) paintings and other pieces to raise money for Bellevue Arts Museum.
JUNE 29–30 FESTIVALS
Arts in Nature Festival
The Arts in Nature Festival presents a series of acoustic, unplugged performances by musicians, dancers, actors, and other performers across several stages, plus participatory art happenings set against the most beautiful backdrop: Mother Nature. Also come for artsy hikes, food, and a beer garden.
JUNE 30 MUSIC
Dido, Ria Mae
Electronic pop chanteuse and gentle soul Dido has returned with her first new album in five years, Still On My Mind. She'll play tracks from this new collection, which is reportedly full of emotional dance music, on this tour stop.
Greensky Bluegrass
Rowdy bluegrass group Greensky Bluegrass have been seen in venues across town and headlining Summer Meltdown in Darrington many times. They're known for their comingling of traditional instruments with original sounds that showcase '70s musical touches with current genre trends.
QUEER
Seattle Pride Parade
The month of June plays host to many great PrideFest events throughout the city, all of which culminate in the gigantic procession that is the Seattle Pride Parade, which trails from Fourth Avenue to Seattle Center, where a fun party ensues. Years past have seen scantily clad Batmen, drag queens, people in assless chaps, leather daddies, and families in matching hats.

The Two Lives and Deaths of Owen Hart

Kevin Diers — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 04:00:00 -0700

Tacoma Hardcore Quintet Owen Hart Issued Cease and Desist Order by Kevin Diers

Owen Hart is dead. No, not the underrated professional wrestler, once known as the Blue Blazer, who plummeted to his death in front of a live audience due to an equipment malfunction. That's old news. Twelve years old, to be exact. I'm talking about the Tacoma band that's been grinding ears with their self-described "meth metal" for the last six years under the same name. After six years of playing locally with the occasional small tour, Owen Hart released their debut LP, Earth Control, last December. They quickly received more media attention, along with glowing reviews, including a 9/10 rating in Decibel. Just as they got home from their first major US tour, a letter from the Owen Hart Foundation arrived at their record label owner's doorstep. The Stranger recently spoke with vocalist Timm Trust, guitarist Tony Wolfe, and drummer Brian Skiffington about the news.

Why did your band initially call itself Owen Hart? Why did you adopt the name of a dead pro wrestler?

Timm Trust: From the beginning of the band, everyone tried to come up with ideas that I would hate. I think that was one of the main premises of the band since its inception. The original name of the band was Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart Equals the Power of Misogyny. They told me that and I was like, "You've got to be fucking kidding me. There's no way that any band, let alone a band I'm going to be in, is going to be called that. Why don't we just shorten it to Owen Hart?" And everybody's like, "Okay." So it wasn't anything we put much thought into, it's just something they did to enrage me.

Brian Skiffington: We are weird goofballs that rely solely on word association and shouting nonsense. We have always spoken in a language that literally makes no sense, but we could convince anyone we knew what we were talking about.

Tell me a bit about the cease and desist -order your record label received.

TT: We were on tour and we kept getting messages that the WWE message board was going nuts about our band name and how disrespectful it is, and how they couldn't believe someone could do that to his legacy. They didn't like that I had a song called "My Grandma's Fucking a Tranny from Alaska." About a month later, we got a letter from the [Owen] Hart Foundation, and they actually cited that song individually, saying it wasn't in good taste; it wasn't how Owen Hart would have envisioned his legacy or whatever. I didn't get to read it. I was mostly just laughing, saying, "We finally got a cease and desist order after seven years of being a band?"

BS: We got back [from tour] and our record label [Vitriol] was on board saying they wanted a second press of this, and three days later I got this really panicked phone message that said, "You've got to call me right the fuck now. We have to deal with this." What ended up happening was he sent me scans of the cease and desist order to my e-mail. It stated the name of the band, every name of every band member including first, middle, and last, and Justin from Vitriol Records.

So this will be your last show as Owen Hart?

BS: The September 10 show with Pig Destroyer is going to be the last Owen Hart show. After that, we will be a new band called Earth Control that has all the same members, all the same music—basically everything except for the name Owen Hart. But if people want to call us Owen Hart, that's fine with us.

Coming from a wrestling fan's perspective, what does it feel like to be going up against Vince McMahon and the Owen Hart family?

Tony Wolfe: It's amazing, because I know Vince McMahon has listened to Owen Hart at least once. I'm pretty stoked. That's like the pinnacle of my life. Owen Hart has impacted Vince McMahon's life in some way, shape, or form. I can die happy.

Did you ever think there would be a trademark issue?

TW: I never thought we would be big enough for anyone like that to hear it.

So, in a way, it's like you made it.

TW: Yeah! [Laughs] Plus, I'm really glad we have to change our name. It was a goofy name that stuck.

This story has been updated since its original publication.

"Amps Are Your Tanks and Artillery"

Kevin Diers — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:00:00 -0700

Pentagram Singer Bobby Liebling on Drugs and Doom by Kevin Diers

Take one quick glance at Pentagram vocalist Bobby Liebling and you'll know he's been through some shit. His trademark deranged stare haunts you as he stands onstage at the age of 58, road-worn but sober and alert after decades and decades of drug abusing, demon chasing, and doom-metal debauchery. Long before the Electric Wizards and YOBs of today were rattling bongs worldwide, one very crucial Virginia crew dared to tune low and play slow. Now, 40 years later, Pentagram bring their skulldozing brand of sonic heaviness to the unsuspecting and soon-to-be-deaf Bumbershoot masses. The Stranger recently spoke with the godfather of doom.

There are a lot of metal bands out there that play fast and there are a lot of metal bands that try to dazzle by playing as technical as possible. Pentagram, on the other hand, have always been known for their sheer heaviness. Why so heavy?

I think that draws from spawning off the whole Blue Cheer thing I'm still hung up on. The first time I heard Blue Cheer, I said, "That's what I want to do." I wanted to be so excruciatingly loud like the bands that I loved, like Mountain and the Groundhogs and Grand Funk. I loved the wall of amps and I loved the force behind it all. It's sort of like your amps are your tanks and artillery, the guitars are your weapons, and the people onstage are the soldiers.

You've been involved in music through the '70s, the '80s, the '90s, and onward until today. Which era of music do you prefer?

I'd actually have to say the '60s. I've been playing professionally since '64, when the Beatles came out. I just went along with it and along with it, and after a while, along came all the Marshalls and the stacks got bigger and we tuned heavier. Also, there was a lot of emphasis on keeping melody throughout songs back then. A lot of the stuff I hear today—well, I can see the positive force in the route that they're taking, in that they're not taking out their violence by hurting people. They're not actually going down the street and killing people or committing heinous crimes. Instead, it's all channeled into so much boned-out, full-on aggression live. I mean, like "GAHHHHHHHHH!" with complete Cookie Monster singing and beating the hell out of everything as it if were people. If you've got hostility for someone, beat the hell out of the guitar. Like, actually hurt it. But I don't get it. I guess I'm a throwback. I still like having a melody in a song. I love guitar harmonies.

Your latest album, Last Rites, is the first to feature both you and guitarist Victor Griffin playing together since 1994. What's it like being back together?

Well, it's like being back with my flesh-and-blood brother. It's the closest thing I've ever had to one. Victor did an interview and hit the nail on the head when he said, "It's like a marriage without the sex."

Which is actually like a lot of marriages anyways, you know.

Yeah, well, not mine. You have to remember I have a 1-year-old kid and a 25-year-old wife [laughs]. But that's where it's at with us. It's at that ground level. We both love each other like brothers, and I would die for the guy.

There are a ton of contemporary doom bands playing globally today that cite Pentagram as a major influence. What's it like to play alongside bands adopting this sound 40 years later?

Well, of course I'm flattered. I'm not too good at taking that stuff a lot, though, because I was a fuckup for so many years that my inner self says, "Why in the hell would anyone want to be like you, Bobby?" [Laughs] My entire life was immersed in sex, drugs, and rock and roll, where the sex and the drugs were a continuing saga for... well, it's like the guy says, "I screwed somebody once... for a solid 30 years." It's like, "I shot dope once, yeah. I shot dope once, for 40 years." It was a big shot.

In the end, how do you want Pentagram to be remembered?

I just want to be respected and not seen as a bunch of noise with no talent. I want us to be seen in a good light and not just dismissed as a "drug band." And that we made a lot of people happy.

Rain Out

Kevin Diers — Wed, 25 May 2011 04:00:00 -0700

Rain Fest Comes to Seattle, Everyone Else Leaves by Kevin Diers

"Lowest of the low. Now sink into your fucking hell," scream the five dozen or so sweat-drenched kids brave enough to stand up front and sing along, all the while dodging the swinging fists and spin kicks of the crazed pit warriors surrounding them—not to mention the torsos, knees, and skulls of the midair stage divers. The microphone is fumbled, but seconds later picked up by a member of the crowd who knows each and every word. There is no disconnect between band and audience here. The packed room is one big family of angry kids yelling angry lyrics. This is the scene during LA hardcore band Terror's headlining set last year at Rain Fest. With each passing year, the fest gets bigger. In 2007, Rain Fest transpired at two different VFW halls during Memorial Day weekend and featured Northwest and California bands. For its second year, the fest moved to the Viaduct, a now-defunct all-ages venue based in south Tacoma, and drew bands from as far out as Australia. For the next two years, the inmates ran the prison and called the shots. I spoke with the festival's organizers about selling out three days at Neumos.

How much control do you have over what goes on during Rain Fest at Neumos?

Brian Skiffington: Every show runs the same. They have a formula. It runs on time and it's professional. It's not like we don't have any control over it; it's just that we don't need to. We don't need to be taking tickets, we don't need to be doing security, and we don't need to be running sound.

You can focus on the other important thing...

BS: Actually enjoying the fest.

Zack Ellis: That was one of the selling points of moving it to a "professional" venue. It takes all of that out of our hands. We had to worry about the volunteers and how everything was running, and now they'll handle all that stuff and we can just focus on relaxing and having a good time.

Did you guys expect the fest to sell out? What are your thoughts on people scalping the tickets for way over the $70 original price?

ZE: We expected it to sell out, but none of us expected it to sell at the rate that it did. I definitely never thought it would sell out in four days. As for kids selling the tickets, I don't really care.

Have you seen any of them go on eBay?

BS: I saw one going for 300 bucks, straight-up. [Laughs]

Well then, I guess the question should be, how does it feel to put on a fest people are willing to spend $300 on?

BS: Stupid. [Laughs]

ZE: Not worth it. One hundred dollars a day. Woof.

Matt Weltner: I'm just jacked-up that anyone would pay that much for this hardcore show I'm putting on. I can't even imagine. On that level, I guess it's flattering. On the other hand, I think there's got to be a limit on it. I think hardcore is a community and it's a lot of passionate, like-minded people, and I don't think it's fair to profit too much off people's passion like that.

BS: I actually kept tickets for myself and I'm selling them for $300 apiece.

After four years, there's still never been a fight at Rain Fest.

MW: Which is just crazy, considering all the people crammed into the Viaduct. It always seems like when you go to a big hardcore show and there are kids from all over, things tend to get a little weird with different hardcore scenes...

ZE: Different mosh styles. [Laughs]

BS: Yeah, it depends who your teacher was on YouTube. [Laughs]

MW: Zack is my teacher.

BS: More like sensei. The mosh sensei.

MW: That's the thing. I don't know if you guys know this, but we've been training for Rain Fest. Zack's been doing P90X, and I've been hitting the weights, like squats and deadlift-style.

Expectations?

MW: I'm expecting 800 hardcore kids to descend onto Capitol Hill and stay there for three days. I'm expecting to run every restaurant and every bar within five blocks of here. [Laughs] I'm expecting to see so many Black Flag shirts, Minor Threat shirts, Champion shirts, and Have Heart shirts.

ZE: I'm expecting more Black Flag bar tattoos than any other weekend.

It just so happens that a large amount of the neighborhood will be out of town at Sasquatch!.

BS: They abandoned the fort, and now it's ours.

ZE: I expect to sweat an insanely high amount and to be out of breath the entire weekend.

BS: I don't even know.

ZE: Whatever. You're going to be drunk the entire time.