The Stranger

Our Favorite Bowls of Hot Soup in Seattle

Julianne Bell — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 16:20:00 -0800

Don’t worry, we’ll start yelling at politicians again soon. by Julianne Bell

It’s cold. Earlier this week we saw a few tiny flurries of snow, even! And while some weather reports suggest we might soon break out of this chilly, mid-40s prison we’ve been locked in, it’ll be by just a few degrees. And probably rainy. It’s the perfect weather for soup. So we took a break from screaming about Trump and City Hall, and switched gears for a minute to appreciate some of our favorite warm and comforting bowls of soup. Don’t worry, we’ll start yelling at politicians again soon.

Isarn’s Chiang Mai

Look, this whole soup is fucked up. The curry noodle soup from Northern Thailand comes out looking like a sculpture, with a nest of fried noodles perched on top of perfectly poached chicken and surrounded by a thick curry broth—creamy and spiced so it feels like it warms you from the inside out. When it’s served, you’ll get three things on the side: raw red onion, chopped pickled veg, and a deep red chili oil. After your first bite, you’ll be tempted to roll up your sleeves and forget about these little treats. Do not be that fool. These bits and bobs are what turn each bite into its own experience. Is your palate feeling a little tired of the richness of the broth? Add a little pickle on top of that spoonful of noodles. Repeat until you see the bottom of the bowl. HANNAH MURPHY WINTER

Situ Tacos’ Soup of the Day

Yes, the Ballard oasis Situ Tacos is primarily known for its fried Lebanese Mexican tacos, but soups are one of owner Lupe Flores’s favorite things to make, and it shows. As the shop’s resident animatronic parrot, Armando, occasionally squawks: “Don’t sleep on the soups…uh, don’t sleep in the soup. Uh, the soup is super!” They rotate weekly, and there’s a meat and veggie option each day, so you might encounter molokhia (Lebanese seven-spice chicken and rice stew), chorizo potato kale, Lebanese veggie stew, fideo con bistec, vegan pozole rojo, zuppa toscana, pumpkin curry, broccoli cheddar, chicken tortilla, or something else altogether. Whatever it is, it’s sure to be soul-soothing and seasoned to perfection—you really can’t go wrong. Get a combo with tangy, crunchy slaw and/or a couple of tacos for dunking. JULIANNE BELL

Halcyon Brewing's Vegan Butternut Bisque

I first happened upon Halcyon Brewing’s vegan butternut bisque by chance. Well, sort of. I was attending Ravenna Brewing Company’s annual “Soup Battle,” where local bars and breweries go head-to-head with their best soups, mostly because my good friend runs the event. Saddled with four delicious soups, I didn’t know where to begin. But Halcyon’s yellow-y orange soup with a swoop of coconut milk and a crack of black pepper on the top beckoned. I finished my bowl. It was sweet, it was savory, and it had a nice kick of spice—the brewery’s homemade chili crisp— that warmed my insides. Something vegan had no right to be so good and so creamy. Everyone at my table agreed that it should take the top prize.The rest of the Soup Battle patrons thought so, too—Halcyon’s vegan butternut bisque won the coveted Golden Ladle. NATHALIE GRAHAM

Pho Than Bros’ Veggie Pho with No Mushrooms and No Cilantro and Extra Broccoli

I’m not about to tell you how to order pho. And I’m not going to try to convince you that Pho Than Bros is the best pho in Seattle, even though every bowl comes with a sweet little custard-stuffed pastry puff. Pho is personal, pho is sacred. How I pho and how you pho can be—and should be!—very different experiences, each one custom-tailored after years of slurping and experimenting and learning the hard way that your sriracha threshold isn’t nearly as high as you thought it’d be. And, at Than Bros, I have perfected my order. I get a small veggie pho with no mushrooms, no cilantro, and extra broccoli, then I load it up with black pepper, a fat ring of hoisin sauce, a delicate squeeze of sriracha, and as many of the bean sprouts that I can manage before my husband says, “Stop taking all the bean sprouts.” I finish it off with a squeeze of lime and dig in.

This isn’t an invitation for you to try what I think is the best pho in Seattle; this is an invitation for you to find your own. But if you’re looking for a place to start, or a change up from your usual, to me, Than Bros is perfect. It’s my happy place. And it comes with a cream puff. MEGAN SELING

Metropolitan Market’s Cioppino

Metropolitan Market’s cioppino has been there for me since I was a child, when my parents would bring home a pint of the hot seafood stew on chilly winter nights when they didn’t feel like cooking. The rich, tomato broth, seasoned with white wine, and filled with a potpourri of shrimp, mussels, salmon, and white fish, will always feel like a luxurious treat, despite coming from a grocery store’s hot food buffet. Considering that cioppino was created as a way for fishermen to use up unsold seafood at the end of the day, I would advise not making it yourself. Not because it’s difficult, but because it will cost you approximately $5 million to buy four types of fresh seafood. Instead, buy a 16-ounce cup from your nearest Metropolitan Market store for a mere $7.39, and buy yourself a nice warm cookie while you're at it. AUDREY VANN

Biang Biang Noodles’ Curry Tofu Dry Mix

Massive Chinese hand-pulled noodles boiled to a perfect chewiness texture, doused in a delectable yellow curry sauce and flavorful broth with chunks of tofu and cabbage, in a bowl so massive you might need two people to finish it. It’s the hearty Asian noodle dish you dream of on a frigid evening. It’s Biang Biang Noodles’ Curry Tofu Dry Mix.

If you’ve been to Biang Biang, you might be thinking, Seriously? This isn’t soup, it’s a quart of hot oil. Well, to that I say: 1) oil is a liquid, and Managing Editor Megan Seling said we could write about “anything served in a bowl that is at least 50 percent liquid,” and (2) this oil is delicious.

Call it soup, call it hot oil, call it a bowl of molten comfort—the Curry Tofu Dry Mix does exactly what the best soups are supposed to. It satisfies your savory tooth and warms you up when the weather’s unforgiving. So if you’re asking me to grab a casual dinner with you on a dreary winter day, gimme those chopsticks and a Chinese soup spoon and find me at Biang Biang. MICAH YIP

Gorditos’ Vegan Pozole

The biggest mistake I’ve made in my life was going to Gorditos for years and only ordering one thing from the menu: A veggie burrito, wet, with a side of chips and salsa. It’s no Veggie Nolasco from Mama’s, but I love it, and I have probably eaten hundreds of them in my 45 years on the planet with zero regrets. Well, zero regrets until one fated day in December. On that day, I was finally turned on to other parts of Gordito’s menu. Did you know they have tacos! And enchiladas! They even serve breakfast! What have I been doing all my life!? And, most importantly on a cold winter’s day such as the ones we’ve been experiencing this week, they have soup. Their current soup is a vegan pozole that is an explosion of flavor in your mouth. A savory red base that tastes not unlike a brothier version of the red sauce they ladle over my beloved burrito is loaded with onions, zucchini, corn, mushrooms, and hominy, which gives each spoonful a toothsome, meaty bite. The broth is salty and rich, in a craveable way, and while eight-ounces with a side of chips is definitely enough to be its own meal, I recommend opting for the four-ounce cup, adding a taco to your order, and then proceeding to use every curved chip in the bag as your spoon. MEGAN SELING

Ooink’s Spicy Vegetarian Miso Ramen

If I am going to pay to eat soup outside of my home, it’s going to be ramen. And the best ramen I’ve found, for a vegetarian such as myself, is from Ooink. There’s a Fremont location, but I can only speak for the Capitol Hill spot—the one in the strip-mall above the lit QFC on Broadway and Pike.

My order is the Spicy Vegetarian Miso Ramen (it can be made vegan, and there’s a version without “spicy” in the title). Not to worry: it has a warm kick, but is not the kind of spice that will make you cough or harsh your tastebuds.

The sturdy buckwheat noodles have just the right amount of tooth, and the miso broth has depth without being too salty or greasy—common traps that many vegetarian broths fall into when trying to overcompensate for something they do not need to overcompensate for. The toppings are correct: a springy pile of kikurage, little heaps of corn and green onions, a few sheets of seaweed, and a handful of happy baby bok choy that are blessedly not soggy and therefore retain a hint of peppery mustard flavor. This ramen also features a pat of melting corn butter, and a subtle sesame dressing drizzled onto the greens. I get mine without the tofu skin, but that’s just a personal preference (or aversion, maybe, that has something to do with its resemblance to, um, the second word there).

The star of the bowl is the house-made chili crisp. I sometimes wait until I absolutely have to stir it in because it’s such a banger taste all on its own; it’s crunchy and a little smoky and a little sweet, and the sesame seeds and spicy peanuts keep it interesting as you make your way to the bottom. Vegetarian ramens can get weird, and feel half-assed, but Ooink’s well-balanced version is the way to do it. EMILY NOKES

Seattle, Please Stay Open Later

Emily Nokes — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 09:56:00 -0800

A city this big that grinds to a halt by 9 p.m. feels like a sad HOA-run diorama. by Emily Nokes

I’m not asking for a 24-hour city. I mean, I am, eventually. But first, I’m simply asking that a city of nearly a million people does not keep the same hours as a small-town bank.

Disclaimer: Seattle businesses, I know you are doing your best. Most of you, at least. The world is against you. From our city being uniquely warped by tech, to our inability to care for folks in crisis on a systemic level, to the fact that Seattle is crazy fucking expensive, to the many other variables that need progressive taxation and a good-for-something Legislature to solve, I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for business owners to make it work.

But this is the Complaints issue, and I do have a Complaint to file. This city closes too fucking early. This is not just my grievance, it seems to be everyone’s. Not a week goes by that we don’t play Seattle’s favorite game: “Is anything open right now?”

The lights go out hours before the light rail skids to a 1 a.m. halt. Our parks shut down so early they seem like they don’t actually want to be parks (see here); we don’t have a lot in the way of late-night non-bar spaces or events, and our cafes, bakeries, and other daytime shops seem to close earlier and earlier. For a city this big and this expensive—we rank ninth most expensive in the U.S., woof—it should be easier to find restaurants open past 7 p.m. outside of a bar setting.

We’re a music city (right, everybody?), a restaurant city, a theater and art city. We’re also a dark, wet, and winter-heavy city. If anyone should understand the value of having more late-night indoor options and reasons to leave the house, it’s a town that spends nine months of the year auditioning for the role of “bleak exterior” in an A24 movie, and still losing to Vancouver.

A multiplicity of later-night options—transit, culture, errands, gatherings—lets us live fuller days without forcing our lives into a narrow window of daylight built entirely around work and sleep, where only productivity is considered a legitimate use of time. A city this big that grinds to a halt by 9 p.m. feels like a sad HOA-run diorama. Is it depleted vitamin D making us SAD, or boredom?

I want to live in a city where I can get off work late, exit a show, or just leave the house at night, and have a plethora of food options. Perhaps a 24-hour diner situated in a part of town close to venues and theaters. Perhaps a 24-hour diner anywhere. Imagine the trains and buses are still running frequently and on a real schedule that won’t strand you, and helps make exploring other neighborhoods feel less like a major life decision potentially entailing a $70 Uber ride. What makes a 24-hour or 18-hour (can I get 14-hour?) city appealing isn’t the promise of nonstop excitement—we’ll get there—it’s simply having normal, useful options for spontaneity. Pharmacies and grocery stores open late; museums, theaters, galleries, and other spaces holding events on the later side so people who work irregular hours can attend. Even one or two spots in the image of the old Cafe Presse or Vito’s—both of which served ambience and food late into the night, RIP—might help Seattle feel a bit like her old self again.

I know folks are fighting the good fight to stay open at all. I’m just hoping that it’s something we could just think about, together.

While writing this piece, I polled friends and strangers: “What’s your favorite spot for food—or literally anything—open past 10 p.m. in Seattle?” The response was overwhelming. Not necessarily in the amount of tips I received, but in message after message saying “PLEASE, WE NEED THIS, SHARE WHAT YOU FIND.” (I did! See list below.) I will say, the tips I did receive came with exuberant recommendations, which I found heartening, and reminded me that there are bits of hope here yet.

Even with the anecdotal enthusiasm, I know there’s still the big looming question of: What if it’s us? If the city itself got its groove back and fostered a late-night vibe, would the people come out and actually enjoy it? We’re weird and anxious and vitamin-D deficient, but I think we can get it together. If you build it, we will come (out past 10 p.m.).

On the last kinda-nice autumn night, I realized it was 10 and I hadn’t planned ahead for dinner. Because Hell Is a Grocery Store and because I have to remind myself not to waste this one precious life doom-scrolling and paying $28 in fees for a $12 burrito on Grub Hub, I walked down to Hot Mama’s (open until 11 p.m.) and bought two slices at the window. The workers inside were projecting a movie onto a sheet on the wall inside where there used to be indoor seating. They’re always so nice.

I sat at one of their metal tables outside; the guy next to me, also solo, nodded in solidarity and set down some sort of large instrument case he was lugging. I was surprised Break Away Vintage across the street was still open; I hadn’t checked it out yet. (Turns out they go until 11 p.m. on weekdays, and until midnight on weekends). Their music was soundtracking the whole corner, and they had good taste. People passed by in good outfits, giggling. It wasn’t even the weekend. This shouldn’t have felt like a big deal, but here, it did. A city dweller in a real city.

What Is Open Late in Seattle

An incomplete list of places that serve food until at least 11 p.m.

* That isn’t strictly bar food

Adot Ethiopian & Restaurant

Al Bacha Restaurant

Al Basha Mediterranean Grill

Alem Restaurant

Alibi Room

Baba Yaga

Bait Shop

Bangrak Market

Beth’s Cafe

Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant

Cafe Ibex

Casablanca Express

Cedar Tea House

Cinnaholic

Dick’s Drive-In

Donna’s

Falafel King

Fort St. George

Harry’s Bar/ Olympia Pizza House III

Hattie’s Hat

Honey Court Seafood Restaurant

Hong Kong Bistro

Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery

Hot Mama’s Pizza

Il Bistro

Insomnia Cookies

Le Caviste

Lost Lake

Massawa Eritrean & Ethiopian Restaurant

Mr. Gyros

Neighbor Lady

New Luck Toy

North Star Diner

Ocho Tapas Bar

Orient Express

Pacific Inn Pub

Purple Dot Cafe

Roxbury Lanes

Spice Bliss

Sunset Cafe

Taqueria El Sabor

Taqueria Juarez

Twilight Exit

The Ballard Smoke Shop

The Unicorn

Yetenbi Bar & Restaurant

Zig Zag Cafe

13 Coins

Album Review Revue

Julianne Bell — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 14:30:00 -0700

Featuring releases from Alcapulco Lips, Tullycraft, Emi Pop, and more. by Julianne Bell ACAPULCO LIPS

Now

(Killroom Records)

July 14

On their 2016 self-titled debut album, Seattle trio Acapulco Lips nailed the reverb-heavy surf-/garage-rock moves that have fired so many imaginations over the last 60 years. Their special talent is not sounding like tedious museum docents for these vintage styles. That’s down to the songwriting and instrumental chops of bassist/vocalist Maria-Elena Herrell and guitarist Christopher Garland, both consummate pros. Now, AL’s first album in nine years, finds them going for a more straightforward modern rock approach (Jordan T Adams joins on drums and Stefan Rubicz adds keyboards for this release). Everything sounds bigger, brighter, and more danceable, thanks partially to Killroom Records cofounders Ben Jenkins and Troy Nelson’s production (which perfectly captures Acapulco Lips’ manifold charms), and Kurt Bloch’s mastering. Album-opener “Welcome to the Other Side” sets the tone in the form of danceable rock with expertly layered vocal interplay. And it’s been ages since I’ve heard Phil Spector–esque rock that’s as majestic and beautiful as “Fuzzy Sunshine.” The lone instrumental, “Pas d’echappatoire,” is a roaring surf-rock opus that goes way harder than expected. “See You on the Other Side” overflows with optimism... then fades out and—shocker!—a (faux?) tamboura drone enters the frame and heavenly bliss is attained. What a brilliant way to end the album. Over the last 25 years or so, conventional rock has rarely impressed me, but Acapulco Lips’ songwriting is so tight and well-contoured, it would be foolish to resist. DAVE SEGAL

KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH

Gush

(Nettwerk Music Group)

Aug. 22

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith’s new album, GUSH, could simultaneously soundtrack a euphoric night at a dance club and a meditative afternoon at the lake. The album is lush and free-flowing with an undercurrent of tense ballroom beats that bubble beneath the surface. Smith’s expertly layered vocals shimmer and bounce off the electronic bleep-bloops like the sun reflecting on a body of water, or like her glitter-cloaked skin on the cover of her 2017 album, The Kid. While composing GUSH, Smith, who is a longtime yogi and acrobat, expanded her movement practice to voguing and ballroom culture. She told Fest Magazine, “It was really helping me untangle my own identity as a queer, female-bodied person, and feelings about objectification.” While I am somewhat hesitant to compare the album to vogue-inspired pop queen Madonna, there are some undeniable similarities to Madge’s 1994 Bedtime Stories, particularly the Björk-written title track. Madonna and Smith’s approaches are different, but their goal is the same: to make your body move. AUDREY VANN

TULLYCRAFT

Shoot the Point

(Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records)

Aug. 22

The seminal twee band Tullycraft is extremely near and dear to my heart—I discovered them as a high-schooler who pored obsessively over the Three Imaginary Girls blog and instantly fell in love with their sugary, sparkling melodies. So when I listened to Shoot the Point, their first new album in six years, it felt like unwrapping a gift to my inner teen, and I couldn’t stop smiling. This is classic Tullycraft, packed full of cheeky references, rhinestones, sweet “sha-la-la-la” harmonies, evocative storytelling, and, of course, tambourines. The album recalls the band’s 2007 indie-pop vampire concept album, Every Scene Needs a Center—the lyrics conjure a vivid picture of the goth, punk, and New Wave world, with songs like “Jeanie’s Up Again and Blaring Faith by the Cure” (an ode to a morose, born-too-late Robert Smith fangirl) and “Love on the Left Bank” (the story of a tumultuous fling that begins at a Libertines show). The Stranger’s own Art Director and Renaissance man, Corianton Hale, has been a member of the band since 2005, a fact I somehow remained oblivious to until now—he designed the cover and contributed guitar, vocals, tambourine, melodica, ukulele, and accordion! JULIANNE BELL

(BEN) VON WILDENHAUS

Dark Von Universe

(Globos)

Sept. 2

Tacoma guitarist/vocalist Ben Von Wildenhaus is a debonair director of nocturnal melodic splendor, a patient explorer of deep emotions in song. His music sounds best in the wee morning hours, while you’re alone, contemplating your most regrettable decisions. Sophisticatedly tuneful and lyrically poetic, (Ben) Von Wildenhaus’s releases are kilometers away from the agitated, blue-collar rock of his old group, Federation X. You can call that “maturity,” but it’s not the staid kind; rather, he and his bandmates enjoy going on exploratory jaunts in myriad styles. Having a singer the caliber of Billie Bloom elevates these meticulously crafted songs to sublime levels. Bloom’s perfectly poised, jazz-tinged delivery would melt David Lynch’s heart. Von Wildenhaus’s new album, Dark Von Universe, collects nine tracks from the band’s extended play singles. There are plenty of deviations from the norm. “Mice Helium” is undulating, Middle Eastern–inflected electro-pop with warped vocals that bring to mind the title. The lighthearted, dulcet pop of “Spishal” possesses the buoyant bonhomie of McCartney II’s quirkier selections. The spangly melancholy drift on“Garbage Day” is as poignant as the best Yo La Tengo brooder. The spacey “How to Draw a Galaxy” has the slightly disorienting, valedictory air of a Grandaddy anthem. DAVE SEGAL

FAN CLUB

Stimulation EP

(Feel It Records)

Sept. 5

I happened to catch Fan Club for the second time at Linda’s Fest while I was taking a break from editing the newspaper you’re reading right now. I was on a walk and heard the racket from two full blocks away. Fan Club (formerly known as Lysol) shows are notoriously incendiary and punk as fuck, so I had to stop in. Each band member—guitarist Chad Ringo Bucklew, bassist Ken Maddy, drummer Anthony Gaviria, and singer Noah Earl Fowler—is a total ripper with the chops to play fast and loud while exuding maximum charisma and flair; Fowler is especially compelling, strutting and stalking the stage, climbing the speakers, whipping the mic around before nearly swallowing it. Their Stimulation EP (the first under this band name) keeps it very real with five blistering hardcore songs, the entire thing clocking in at under six minutes. Right on. EMILY NOKES

NEKO CASE

Neon Grey Midnight Green

(ANTI-)

Sept. 26

Good things come to those who wait, and for me, that good thing is Neko Case’s first album in seven years, Neon Grey Midnight Green. She has only released two singles from the album so far, but, between the breezy, Virginia Astley–esque “Winchester Mansion of Sound,” which is an ode to her dearly departed friend/collaborator Dexter Romweber, and the cinematic love song “Wreck,” it’s already in the running to be my favorite album of the year. Before I had even heard the singles, I was immediately drawn to the album’s cover, which features Case swathed in green fur beside a fallen chandelier with a puff of smoke in her hand, evoking the 20th-century surrealist artists Leonor Fini and Leonora Carrington. The album was recorded at her home studio in Vermont, Carnassial Sound, and is her first produced by her alone. Case, who identifies as gender fluid, writes: “People don’t think of us as an option. I’m proud to say I produced this record. It is my vision. It is my veto power. It is my taste.” AUDREY VANN

ALBUMEN

Albumen

(Eiderdown Records)

Oct. 3

Trumpeter Greg Kelley spent much of the 2010s weirding up Seattle’s underground-music scene with his extreme techniques and improvisational wit. His discography’s loaded with collabs featuring giants in the field such as Chris Corsano, Kim Gordon bandmate Bill Nace, Lori Goldston, and the late Wally Shoup. Albumen—a long-distance summit meeting with ex-Minutemen bassist Mike Watt, violist Noel Kennon, and Seattle avant-fusion trio Hound Dog Taylor’s Hand—stands as one of Kelley’s most exciting releases. On the gorgeous chamber-jazz reverie “Rose of Shannon,” Kennon channels Velvets-era John Cale as the track gradually builds to an agitated climax that recalls Seattle psychonauts Hovercraft. “No Wine Before Its Time” sloshes in subterranean mystique as Kelley’s ring-modulated trumpet sounds like a wounded wildebeest moaning in a cave and Jeffery Taylor’s guitar squeals in tongues. The hit single, nightmarish rocker “Be That as It May,” menacingly stalks a blasted wasteland, marked by Taylor’s ferocious wah-wah guitar and anchored by Watt’s mesmerizingly cyclical bass line. Although most of the parts on Albumen were recorded remotely, there’s a combustible chemistry here that makes me want to witness these musicians do their high-strung, inspirational thing live. DAVE SEGAL

EMI POP

No Te Voy a Extrañar

(Fink City Records)

Fall 2025

Local pop-punk artist Emi Pop grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the birthplace of Latin-influenced underground punk. She cut her teeth playing in Puerto Rican bands like Mely y Los Poppers as well as Seattle acts like On the Make, Famous Lizards, and 38 Coffin. Her debut album, No Te Voy a Extrañar, which is entirely in Spanish, goes down like a cold, crisp cherry cola, full of hard-hitting drums, crunchy guitars, and addictive hooks. “Amor de Verano” and “Lo Sé” capture the wistful, bittersweet sentiments of a short-lived summer romance, while “Psicópata” shows off her dark side. “Quiero bailar rock ’n’ roll,” Emi sings on the bouncy track of the same name, and you’ll definitely find yourself wanting to do the same. JULIANNE BELL

EVEN MORE ALBUMS TO LOOK OUT FOR!

July 17: Gabriella Assante Marie, Joan of Arc Page-Fort 7-inch (Hex Enduction)

Aug. 26: Faerie Born, Morally Grey (self-released)

Sept. 5: Scott Yoder, Lover, Let Me In (self-released)

Sept. 7: Low Hums, Sub Mission / Sugarcube 7-inch (Baby Lemonade)

Sept. 26: Smokey Brights, Dashboard Heat (Share It Music)

Oct. 10: Glass Egg, visions & ecstasies (Den Tapes)

Oct. 18: Leandrul, Choose (self-released)

Oct. 4: Stargazr, Unheard Stories (self-released)

Fall 2025: Trash Panda Go Kart, RACCOON GODS (self-released)

NOV. 7: *Pansy, Skin Graft EP (Earth Libraries)

*Everyone who works at The Stranger is a multifaceted diamond glittering with talent, which means we often have rich artistic lives outside of our roles at the paper. Vivian McCall, our News Editor, is also a musician, and this is her project! Like Tullycraft, we would not include it if we didn’t genuinely recommend it.

The Stranger's 2025 Fall Arts Issue Is Here

Emily Nokes — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 10:00:00 -0700

There is still so much art in this stupid wonderful city. by Emily Nokes

Hello and Welcome to The Stranger's Fall Arts Issue!

It’s my first Fall Arts Issue as Arts Editor, and I could not be more thrilled to show you what we’ve done with the place.

When trying to plan this paper, I couldn’t help but wonder: What makes an Arts Issue an Arts Issue, when every issue we make has a big, fantastic Arts Section in it already (if I do say so myself)?

For one: It’s all art, baby. We gave our lovely news team a break. (Just kidding, we politely made them write about art, plus the funniest Last Month This Month to date.) And of course if you need it, our website is still never not news-ing; the news just won’t quit!

But back to THE ARTS. We say it a lot, and we say it because it’s true: Seattle struggles with rising rents and vanishing funding. We suffer, like many cities (and eras throughout history), from the people with the most money often having the wackest taste; some of our best buildings lie vacant for years while some of our best artists (or those wishing to even be able to begin that journey, to take that chance) don’t have space to work, experiment, or thrive.

But there is still so much art in this stupid wonderful city. Artists here keep building, keep inventing whole worlds outside those constraints.

There is a quote from the late, great D. Boon of the Minutemen: “Punk is whatever we made it to be.” I think of that line often because it’s less about a genre than it is about permission—the freedom (inspiration?) to build something on your own terms.

Not that anyone is asking me to define art (yikes), but I think art, too, is like that. Art is whatever we make it to be: not a set of rules or boundaries, but a practice of claiming, shaping, and expanding what matters to us. With whatever we can, however we can.

Art is creating a meaningful space for your community in Chinatown, and art is cultivating a fresh jazz scene in Pioneer Square. Art is freestanding neon glowing in unexpected landscapes, films starring homegrown legends, and drag kings finally getting their crown.

Art is baking for the Latin American diaspora. Art is writing memoirs from within heavy circumstances. And if a fabulous local diva living in a loft behind a stage isn’t the embodiment of art, then I don’t know what is.

We also have guides to help you choose your own art adventure when it comes to: NWFF’s Local Sightings film fest, all the neat things local theaters have in store for fall, the best visual art happening outside of galleries, local record releases that rip, upcoming local(ish) books we’re excited about, and the very best late-summer-in-Seattle eats because don’t forget, summer ain’t over until the strike of September 22. And even then, I say the line between summer and fall is also whatever you make it to be, rebel.

I don’t want to break the fourth wall too much or reveal how the paper sausage is made, but on a personal note, this issue was difficult to put together. Pieces morph and change and fall through, decisions must be made quickly, deadlines are finite, perfectionism is not an option, and personal lives have lives of their own.

But making a newspaper is an art form, too. Huge thanks to our production team, to our writers, and to you, dear reader, for giving this work meaning.

Okay, get out of here. You’ve got a lot of arts reading to do.

Love Actually,

Emily Nokes

COVER ARTWORK

Jason Grube

Father, husband, friend, Stranger contributor

1977–2025

This Issue Brought to You By....

Crying

Bruce Harrell’s Primary Election Cake Mistake

TS12

Butches

Emergency vets who don’t lecture or scold you after your dog accidentally ingested weed (he’s fine)

Petting piglets

Being marooned in Lake Union

Having a Spindrift at exactly
4:00 p.m.

Every government worker’s out-of-office email reply

Bad arch support

Imagining two sloths telecommunicating

The bunion on my left foot

BLTs

Having a tiki bar at home

“We got a wee machine that be’s cleaning our dishes”

These fucking sunsets

Missing Mike McGinn

Unabashedly singing Matchbox Twenty songs at the top of your lungs while tipsy with a bestie

Pocket kazoos

A wedding ring at the bottom of Lake Washington

Raw sewage

Finding God in REI

All of the cats I see in windows on my daily walk

Aunt Gladys from Weapons

Watching Buffy from the beginning for the first time

September Things to Do: This & That

Emily Nokes — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 -0700

The best community events happening this month. by Emily Nokes

Want more? Here's everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, This & That.

R-Day

Sept 6
R-Day is quintessential Seattle: It’s fun, it’s free, it’s outdoors, there’s live music, and of course, there’s Rainier. (Is it just PBR in sheep’s clothing? Maybe, but we love it anyway.) In addition to the wacky one-of-a-kind Rainier merchandise, eclectic art, mini-golf, and grub from Dubsea Fish Sticks, there will be live music from truly incredible bands. Check out local legends like grunge heroes Mudhoney, psychedelic surf trio La Luz, and Latin punk favorites Tres Leches. KEXP DJ Jewel will keep the party going between sets. (Georgetown, 4 pm, free, 21+) AUDREY VANN

Shout Your Abortion’s 10th Birthday Bash

Sept 6

CW: This entire blurb is a giant conflict of interest. But if you trust me, I think this event and this cause are relevant (and fun!) enough to legitimately put in these pages. If you don’t trust me, then move those eyeballs along. All right, before I returned to The Stranger, I was Shout Your Abortion’s Creative Director. SYA founder Amelia Bonow has been a close friend and neighbor since before she got pregnant and had the abortion heard ’round the World Wide Web (via viral tweet), sparking a grassroots movement that has been helping people find “thoughtful, impactful ways to normalize abortion and support access” for the last 10 years. To celebrate the milestone, this party will feature music (DJs Larry Mizell Jr., Stas THEE Boss, and JusMoni), fashion (SYA x Prairie Underground x Free Witch Quarterly), screen printing (Ink Knife Press), musical fortune-telling (Corey J. Brewer), tarot (Lisa Prank and Bree McKenna), tattoos, cake, and more. Yes, I am in community with all of these people, if not in bands with them. A final reveal: I just illustrated a beautiful children’s book called Abortion Is Everything (written by Bonow and Rachel Kessler) that will be debuting at the party. All proceeds support the work of SYA. (Washington Hall, 7–11 pm, sliding scale, all ages) EMILY NOKES

More

Bicycle Weekends 2025 Saturdays & Sundays through Sept 21, Seward Park, free

Sound Bath with Semi Woo Wednesdays through Sept 24, Pier 62, 7:15 pm, free

Washington State Fair 2025 Through Sept 21, Washington State Fair Event Center, all ages

Seattle Mariners 2025 Home Games Through Sept 28, T-Mobile Park

Seattle Reign FC 2025 Home Games Through Oct 17, Lumen Field

Faith in the Time of Monsters: An Evening with Dr. Cornel West Sept 6, Great Hall, 6 pm

Waterfront Park Grand Opening Celebration Sept 6, Waterfront Park, 11 am, free

MEXAM NW Festival Sept 15–Oct 15, various locations, various times

Monster Jam Sept 19–21, Tacoma Dome, various times, all ages

Bainbridge Record Show Sept 20, Bainbridge Island Rowing Club, 9 am–4 pm (8 am early admission)

Seattle Got Sole Sept 20, Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, noon, all ages

Washington State Parks Free Day Sept 27, various locations, free

The Italian Festival Sept 27–28, Seattle Center, free

Early Warnings

Collections Spotlight: Bicycles Opens Oct 18, Museum of History & Industry

Diwali: Lights of India Oct 18, Seattle Center, time TBD, all ages, free

BOO Seattle Oct 21–Nov 1, WaMu Theater, 5 pm, 18+

Daft Disko: Halloween Oct 31, The Crocodile, 10 pm, 21+

The Official Halloween Bar Crawl Oct 31–Nov 1, various locations, 5 pm, 21+

Día de Muertos Festival Nov 1–2, Seattle Center, all ages, free

Kickstands Up! 125 Years of Motorcycling in the PNW Opens Nov 28, Museum of History & Industry

Stranger Suggests: Free Burgers, D&D-Loving Drag Queens, and a Horror Classic with a Live, Haunting Cello Soundtrack

Julianne Bell — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 13:15:00 -0700

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Julianne Bell

We're posting next week's Stranger Suggests a few days early, since Monday, September 1, is a holiday. Go do something fun!

MONDAY 9/1

Lil Woody’s Free Burger

(FOOD) As is yearly tradition, the ever-popular local burger joint Li'l Woody's will dispense free burgers for Labor Day. Note that "extras cost extra," so you'll have to pony up if you want additional toppings like house-made queso, a fried egg, pickled fig jam, or an onion ring, but it's still a great deal. The "labor of love" will be available at Capitol Hill, Ballard, White Center, and Green Lake locations from 2–5 p.m. and there a one burger per person limit. (Multiple Lil Woody’s locations, 2–5 p.m.) JULIANNE BELL

TUESDAY 9/2

Wet Leg

(MUSIC) Wet Leg burst onto the indie rock scene in 2022 with a debut self-titled album packed with guitar riffs and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. They were initially slated to play the Sunset Tavern for their first Seattle show that year, but it sold out almost immediately and was moved to the Crocodile, which also sold out lightning fast (and fucking rocked). This time around, the British band plays two nights at the Paramount after putting out their sophomore album moisturizer in July, which they wrote by asking themselves the question, "Is this going to be fun to play live?" The shows are supported by fellow female-fronted experimental rock trio Mary in the Junkyard, once again proving that women can go toe-to-toe with men in the indie rock scene (or, in my opinion, take the lead). (Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH

WEDNESDAY 9/3

‘The Florida Project’

(FILM) The September installment of the SIFF Movie Club brings a screening of the 2017 indie cut The Florida Project. Sean Baker’s affecting humanist depiction of central Florida strip mall heartland has become a bit of a cult classic, and for good reason; those who found Baker’s award-sweeping Anora lacking in subtlety and resolve will find the opposite here. The film follows Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), a joy-seeking 6-year-old, as she befriends a rotating cast of long-term motel residents, the only constants being her exotic dancer mom (Bria Vinaite) and hotel manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe), the latter of whose goal of being taken seriously is often undercut by a paternalist affection for his tenants. As a character, the neon purple motel stands out as a glaring metaphor for an unmoored life at the hands of economic uncertainty. It’s up to Bobby to hold things together, his unwashed traits not able to shine elsewhere, but in a chaotic environment that swallows others, he is allowed to emerge, while flawed, as a protector of virtue. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, 6 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

THURSDAY 9/4

‘Vampyr’ with Lori Goldston

(FILM/MUSIC) This event combines three of my favorite things: early horror movies, solo cello, and unsettling contemporary art. Local experimental cellist Lori Goldston—known for her solo ambient work, as well as her collaborations with PNW rock bands like Earth and Nirvana—will perform a live original score to Carl Dreyer’s eerie 1932 masterwork Vampyr. The silent film is a classic vampire tale that follows a young occult enthusiast as he gets entangled in dark forces and forbidding living shadows. This screening will accompany the Frye’s current exhibit, Jamie Wyeth’s Unsettled, and I predict that Goldston’s tense strings will echo beautifully through the gallery walls. Plus, the hauntedness of the whole thing is a great way to get in the mood for dark and rainy autumn. (Frye Art Museum, 6 pm) AUDREY VANN

FRIDAY 9/5

‘Hells Canyon’

See 'Hells Canyon' at 12th Avenue Art Sept 5–21. RICH RYAN

(THEATER) In award-winning actor, playwright, and screenwriter Keiko Green’s comedic horror-thriller Hells Canyon, five friends, including the seven-months-pregnant protagonist Ariel Lim, gather in a remote cabin in the woods in Eastern Oregon. What could possibly go wrong? A lot, it turns out: long-simmering resentments bubbling to the surface, tensions ratcheting up in the close quarters, and a sinister force that’s attempting to break through the front door to swallow them all. The play references the real-life history of 1887’s tragic “Snake River Massacre,” in which 34 Chinese gold miners were murdered by a gang of seven white men in Hells Canyon, Oregon. Its themes of racism, trauma, and the exploitation of non-white bodies prompted Minnesota Public Radio to liken its world premiere in Minneapolis last year to “the films of Jordan Peele, especially Get Out,” so don’t miss its West Coast debut produced by Washington Ensemble Theatre and directed by Amber Tanaka. (12th Avenue Arts, times vary) JULIANNE BELL

SATURDAY 9/6

Shout Your Abortion’s 10th Birthday Bash

(PARTY) CW: This entire blurb is a giant conflict of interest. But if you trust me, I think this event and this cause are relevant (and fun!) enough to legitimately put in these pages. If you don’t trust me, then move those eyeballs along. All right, before I returned to The Stranger, I was Shout Your Abortion’s Creative Director. SYA founder Amelia Bonow has been a close friend and neighbor since before she got pregnant and had the abortion heard ’round the World Wide Web (via viral tweet), sparking a grassroots movement that has been helping people find “thoughtful, impactful ways to normalize abortion and support access” for the last 10 years. To celebrate the milestone, this party will feature music (DJs Larry Mizell Jr., Stas THEE Boss, and JusMoni), fashion (SYA x Prairie Underground x Free Witch Quarterly), screen printing (Ink Knife Press), musical fortune-telling (Corey J. Brewer), tarot (Lisa Prank and Bree McKenna), tattoos, cake, and more. Yes, I am in community with all of these people, if not in bands with them. A final reveal: I just illustrated a beautiful children’s book called Abortion Is Everything (written by Bonow and Rachel Kessler) that will be debuting at the party. All proceeds support the work of SYA. (Washington Hall, 7–11 pm, sliding scale, all ages) EMILY NOKES

SUNDAY 9/7

Dungeons and Drag Queens

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(DRAG) For years, troupes across Middle-earth have been marrying high fantasy with high heels in the hit comedy drag show Dungeons and Drag Queens. Now, fans can experience it live at Emerald City Comedy Club, where Dungeon Master Paul Curry and improvisational musician Carson Cutter guide three queens through a brand-new D&D adventure packed with danger, snark, and audience participation. Grab a drink and get ready for some high-rolling hilarity! (Emerald City Comedy Club, 1 pm, 21+) LANGSTON THOMAS

Bumbershoot Pick: Fleetwood Snack

Emily Nokes — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 14:41:00 -0700

Thrive in Chaos

by Emily Nokes

Let’s hit up a little dissonance at the festival, as a treat. I’m drawn to intriguing noise projects, so the other day I asked a friend how Fleetwood Snack’s set was when their bands had shared a bill. I was sent three videos of a person covered in what appeared to be moss, standing in front of a gear table (also covered in moss). In one clip, the frondose figure is playing a saxophone over an ominous, warbling backing track. In another, they’re setting off chaotic drum loops and demonic-sounding samples.

Like Dave Segal mentioned in his J.R.C.G. recommendation last week, I’m also in the mood to “confront life's darker aspects” and “diverge from typical outdoor-music-festival fare.” I can do breezy escapism with the best of ’em, but sometimes it’s okay not to be able to hear yourself think.

Fleetwood Snack is adept in the dark arts of noisescapes and chopped ’n’ screwed sample-mancy. Tracks range from what can only be described as humid static to shrill static; the cacophony is often stapled together with strange audio fragments (cartoon noises, freaky sermons). To do something I never thought I’d do and quote Hunter S. Thompson: “When the going gets weird, the weird go pro.”

And with that, here are 10 questions with pro weirdo Fleetwood Snack:

1. Respectfully, what is your deal?
A local novelty.

2. How did Fleetwood Snack come to be?
I ran a house venue in the CD, and when I was throwing shows there, I felt bad that the openers weren’t playing to many people, so I would create a new project for every show and be the opener. Fleetwood Snack was the one that stuck.

3. You know your way around chopping up a sample. How do you decide what to use? Do you have a library you pull from?
My voice memos, YouTube folders, and Insta saves are chock-full of nonsense from over the years.

4. Let’s talk about the noise of it all.
Noise gets a bad rap, man. It’s an everyday life thing and you can either be turned off by it and ignore it, or take it in—there’s noise everywhere, in every moment, and you just choose to focus on whatever but you’ll be missing part of the picture. I try to hit every corner of the room to make it unignorable.

5. The mossy foliage costume. I’m a fan. Please tell me about it.
The need to hide on stage came out of stage fright, the foliage part was inspired by the North Florida swamp I grew up in.

6. Many of your tracks strike me as kind of sinister but also sort of absurd. Some of it feels like surreal commentary on the modern condition (or whatever the fuck is going on right now). Would you say you have a message or overall theme you’re thinking about, or trying to convey?
We live in a world so fraught with chaos, so it’s easy to only seek sound, media, entertainment that makes us feel good, feel safe at home. I don’t expect a lot of people to like what I do—I understand people can be turned off by overtly loud and absurd things. But I thrive in chaos. I use this project as a high-energy outlet for chaotic good. There’s a sweet spot where you’re freed from reason (positive), your mind is blank, and you’re just enveloped in the environment. Check the alignment chart, there has to be a balance and I’m physically unable to make lawful music.

7. Besides presumably being able to witness the foliage/moss-covered set in real life, what can we expect from a live Fleetwood Snack Bumbershoot performance?
People walking in and walking right out.

8. Anything you’re hyped to see at the festival this year?
All the homies. J.R.C.G., Zookraught, TeZATalks, Biblioteka, and stoked to see Foot Ox—It’s Like Our Little Machine is a ripper of an album for fans of Casio-key folk punk.

9. I don’t want to typecast you, but do you have a fave Bumbershoot snack? Mine used to be those strawberries on a stick but I think they discontinued them and I'm upset.
Never been to Bumbershoot, so I’ll go with the strawberries too.

10. And now for the most important question: What’s your astrological sign?
Full-fledged Capricorn.

Bumbershoot is Saturday, August 30 & Sunday, August 31 at the Seattle Center. Tickets are available at bumbershoot.com. We're counting down to Bumbershoot 2025 by featuring a different participating musician or artist every day for the two weeks leading up to the festival—see all our picks here.

Stranger Suggests: Two Dozen Burgers, a Swole Person, and an Art Show that Makes You Turn Off Your Phone

Audrey Vann — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 14:06:00 -0700

One really good thing to do every day of the week. by Audrey Vann WEDNESDAY 6/4

Author Talk: Casey Johnston, ‘A Physical Education’

(BOOKS) In the age of Ozempic and rampant misinformation promoted by the likes of RFK Jr., we are living in a dangerously regressive time when it comes to wellness and body image, but voices like Casey Johnston’s might just be the antidote we need. I’ve followed Johnston, a cultural critic and veteran weightlifter, since she was writing the column “Ask a Swole Person” for the site The Hairpin (RIP), which led me to her “couch-to-barbell” fitness program LIFTOFF and her newsletter She’s a Beast. In her new memoir, A Physical Education, Johnston shares how her weightlifting journey empowered her and helped her to escape the nefarious clutches of diet culture. You don’t need to be a protein-shake-swilling gym rat to be interested in her story, either: As one Vanity Fair writer put it, “This book is about exercise in the way that Friday Night Lights is about football.” Johnston will be joined in conversation by Cat Bohannon, author of Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 7 pm, free) JULIANNE BELL

THURSDAY 6/5

Anthony White: Somethin' Somethin’ Opening Reception

"The Limit Does Not Exist," by Anthony White. COURTESY OF GREG KUCERA GALLERY

(VISUAL ART) From the end of May to the end of June, the Greg Kucera Gallery will exhibit the art of Seattle-based queer Black artist and curator Anthony White. Painting with glossy and textural polylactic acid, White crafts unique still lifes and portraits that combine cultural critique, nostalgia, and humor, that aim to disrupt, he explains, “hierarchies of status and wealth by placing seemingly trivial, low-brow accoutrements in palatial and referential environments.” Some of the things you can expect to see in his paintings are Silly String, Flintstones vitamins, Bratz dolls, Smucker’s Uncrustables, and credit card company logos, all in an I Spy-style arrangement. (P.S. Galleries are basically just art museums with no admission, so don’t feel like you have to be Mr. Monopoly to step inside.) (Greg Kucera Gallery, opening reception is 5–8 pm, show hangs Tues–Sat through June 28, free) AUDREY VANN

FRIDAY 6/6

Lobby Sessions: Tres Leches

(MUSIC) Did you know that there is a boutique hotel above the Crocodile (cue Lana Del Rey's "Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd")? The Hotel Crocodile’s intimate Lobby Series is back this week with local trio Tres Leches. If you’re a fan of ’90s punk bands like Babes in Toyland, 7 Year Bitch, the Gits, or the Pixies (at their most chaotic), then you must attend this show. And, considering that the band hasn’t released new music since 2022’s Fósil, it’s very likely they’ll debut some new unreleased material. (Hotel Crocodile, 8 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

SATURDAY 6/7

Artists Doing: Nothing

(VISUAL ART) Love this premise: a group of artists across disciplines show up at 9 a.m. and work together on a “festival of performance” that they’ll be putting on at 8 p.m. the same day. Artists will include Jéhan Òsanyìn, Nia-Amina Minor, Alyza DelPan-Monley, and Adrienne Mackey, and the theme is doing nothing, as in: “slow attention, and unplugging from algorithms.” This happening is put on by the Feast, a local theater company that “prizes virtuosic artists working in extremes; pays those artists really well; and builds maximalist, collectivist, welcoming events.” Communications Director Jesse Roth says, “Facebook and Instagram are making money off our attention and supporting fascist policies. People say these platforms are essential for succeeding in the arts, but we don’t think that’s true. We want to divest our time, money, and attention from these algorithms and draw focus back to community: sharing space together, in real life.” Preach! (Actualize Art Space, 8 pm) EMILY NOKES

SUNDAY 6/8

Fiber Fusion Northwest

Celebrate all things fiber at Fiber Fusion Northwest June 7–8! ANDREY ZHURAVLEV/GETTY

(CRAFTS) Whether you are an expert knitter who regularly whips up intricate Fair Isle cardigans or have never touched a needle or crochet hook in your life, this Monroe festival dedicated to fiber arts promises plenty of entertainment. I’m excited to see 2025’s featured sheep breed, the adorable Shetland, but rest assured there will be lots of other fuzzy, fiber-producing animals present, including alpacas, goats, and Angora rabbits. Admire beautiful fiber arts show entries, participate in raffles, check out food and drink vendors, and watch live demos on spinning, weaving, felting, knitting, sheep milking, and more. (Evergreen State Fairgrounds, 9 am–6 pm on June 7; 9 am–5 pm on June 8, free) JULIANNE BELL

MONDAY 6/9

The Stranger's Burger Week

Alpine Diner's Smash Burger. COURTESY OF ALPINE DINER

(FOOD) It's Burger Week! Starting June 9, 25 restaurants around Seattle are offering a limited-edition specialty burger for just $12 (and many of them come with fries!). Galbi Burger's offering is the Ssamjang Twist Galbi Burger with a galbi-marinated patty, grilled garlic, and ssamjang mayo; at Attic Alehouse and Eatery, you can get a burger topped with chili and a fat onion ring. For something a little different, check out Loretta's Northwesterner's Burger Dog. Yup, a hot-dog-shaped burger patty is stuffed into a bun along with bacon pepper relish, secret sauce, mustard, ketchup, onions, pickles, and cheese. The folks at Athenian Seafood Restaurant and Bar in Pike Place Market are skipping the red meat and instead stacking their burger high with blackened salmon and Jack Daniel's green-apple chutney, along with all the usual fixins. Vegetarian? Check out FareStart, Galbi Burger, and Rough & Tumble's offerings. Vegan? Head to Georgetown Liquor Co. for a totally plant-based mushroom and Swiss burger. There's something for everyone who likes food. (See the full list of participants here.) MEGAN SELING

TUESDAY 6/10

Wendy Elisheva Somerson (Wes) with Ijeoma Oluo

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(BOOKS) This conversation will foster a "liberatory model for Jewish healing firmly rooted in Jewish spiritual values," led by Dr. Wendy Elisheva Somerson (Wes), PhD, who has written extensively on Palestinian solidarity and Jewish ritual, and Ijeoma Oluo, who penned the powerful tomes So You Want To Talk About Race, Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America, and Be A Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World — and How You Can, Too. If you're feeling a sense of despair over the genocidal violence of the last year, head to the talk for thoughts on healing and activism opportunities to fight for a free Palestine and "a Jewishness beyond Zionism." (Third Place Books Seward Park, 7 pm, free, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

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ROCKING
with William Shatner & Neil Degrasse Tyson
June 18, McCaw Hall

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Contest ends June 13 at 10 am

SEATTLE PRIDEFEST
June 29, Seattle Center

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Contest ends June 26th at 10 am

Stranger Suggests: A Breakfast for the Bach-Curious, the PNW’s Crunchiest Festival, and a Talk About Rocks

Audrey Vann — Wed, 21 May 2025 14:30:00 -0700

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Audrey Vann WEDNESDAY 5/21

Dean Wareham with Jess Cornelius

(MUSIC) When I read Dean Wareham's memoir Black Postcards in high school, it changed the course of my musical life, turning me onto twee pop originators like Jonathan Richman, the Feelies, and the Dream Syndicate. For that, I am eternally grateful to Wareham and Galaxie 500's three flawless studio albums that have soundtracked many a good cry in my broken-down car. The New Zealand-born heartthrob will take a break from touring with his projects Luna and Dean & Britta for a solo tour supporting his new album, That's the Price of Loving Me. The album is his first collaboration with prolific producer Kramer since Galaxie 500’s This Is Our Music (1990). My fingers are crossed that he'll also play some songs from his debut EP, Anesthesia. Fellow New Zealand-born, LA-based indie rock artist Jess Cornelius will open. (Sunset Tavern, 8 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

THURSDAY 5/22

Alison Jean Cole: 'A Rockhound’s Guide to Oregon & Washington'

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(ROCKS) Rock are cool and all, but I'll be honest: I wasn't losing sleep thinking about them until I started following Alison Jean Cole's Instagram account. Cole's enthusiasm for rocks brings up all sorts of questions. What is a thunderegg, really? And have I missed my calling? Should I have been a professional rockhounder, traversing the orangey badlands and desert canyons wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a bolo tie?? I am still wondering these things, and maybe you are, too. If so, head to this talk, where Cole will chat about her new book, A Rockhound’s Guide to Oregon & Washington. The book covers all things rockhounding, including how to read geologic maps, the ethics of rock collecting, and "how to develop your personal tastes in rocks and build a collection." (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 7 pm, free, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

FRIDAY 5/23

Northwest Folklife Festival

(COMMUNITY) Folklife started in the ’70s, and it shows, in large part because it has somehow escaped the jaws of capitalism to remain a free community festival that’s open and welcoming to all. It's also full of buskers, drum circles, impromptu jam seshes, barefoot dancing, and faded tie-dye. You can explore dozens of stalls selling foods and crafts from around the world, check out workshops and lectures, or just hang out and soak up the atmosphere. It's a very PNW granola vibe, and I love it. (Seattle Center, May 23–26, suggested donation, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH

SATURDAY 5/24

Radio Gaza

(MUSIC/ARTS) The bombs are still falling. The children are still dying. And the lives of 14,000 starving babies in Gaza hang in the balance this week alone. Intisaar Jubran, a local musician, has organized an event, Radio Gaza, to raise money for Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, which provides support "for sick and injured children in the Middle East, regardless of their religion and without political affiliation or purpose." The event will include a DJ set by I.S.H., art by Hala Saleh, and music by, of course, Intisaar Jubran, whose voice has the kind of strength and grace that's called for during a time the people of Southern Africa describe as "mfecane." (Mosswood Loft, 7 pm, 21+) CHARLES MUDEDE

SUNDAY 5/25

Bach & Pancakes Extravaganza

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(FOOD/MUSIC) If you haven’t had the pleasure of listening to Bach while eating pancakes, you’re in for a treat. Seattle marimba star Erin Jorgensen has been putting on Bach & Pancakes as low-key solo events around the city for the past 5 or so years. The ones I’ve attended have been lovely and mellow (I cannot claim to be a morning person, but if I was greeted with gentle live marimba melodies and pancakes before noon, it would certainly help). For this Sunday’s iteration, Jorgensen has expanded her special series to include over 20 rotating players and instruments—cello, organ, various strings and woodwinds, and more—for 3 hours of Johann Sebastian Bach (perfect, I’m told, “for Bach lovers and the Bach-curious”). Pancakes will be whipped up by West Seattle’s Locöl Kitchen, and you can drop by any time during the event. Bring a pillow or blanket if you’d like! My intel says: While the pre-sale reservations say “sold out” on the site, they’ll still be accepting walk-ups since people are encouraged to come and go as they please. (Kenyon Hall, 10 am–1 pm, suggested donation, all ages) EMILY NOKES

MONDAY 5/26

Stream SIFF Movies All Day

(FILM) The in-person portion of the Seattle International Film Festival ends May 25, but the fun doesn't have to end! You can still stream some of their selections at home through June 1. And what better way to spend a day off than loading up on snacks, building yourself a couch fort, and watching a marathon of movies? A few films available for streaming that we loved include New Jack Fury, which Stranger editor Hannah Murphy Winter says, "starts with someone getting hit with a dirty 18-inch dildo, and it ends with a dance off, swords, and betrayal"; Cat Town, USA, a sweet documentary about a Florida couple's elderly cat sanctuary; and Under the Volcano, a film about a Ukrainian family who is "stranded in a paradise turned hellscape" after Russia invades Ukraine while they're on vacation. Michael McKinney says it's "grim, visually gorgeous, and timely as ever." Read through our full list of streaming movies here. (Your couch, all ages) MEGAN SELING

TUESDAY 5/27

Susan Dory: Slipstream

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(VISUAL ART) Way back in 2012, Jen Graves (The Stranger) wrote, "Susan Dory's color combinations have always been luscious.... It's as if each painting were a set of open jaws, or many sets of jaws, each vying for space in a fractured horizon. It is an exhilarating break." Since then, Dory's style has evolved even further, with solo shows that offer labyrinths of geometric compositions. The artist envisions "the tension between the visible and the hidden," from the growth and movement patterns of flora and fauna to the support systems in our own lives. Color takes on both personal and collective meanings in Slipstream. (Winston Wächter Fine Art, 10 am–5 pm, free) LINDSAY COSTELLO

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Jimmy Carr
May 27, 9:30 pm, Moore Theatre

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Seattle’s Prettiest Book Fair, a Newly Restored Queer Arthouse Classic, and the Legendary Nick Cave

Audrey Vann — Wed, 07 May 2025 12:12:00 -0700

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Audrey Vann WEDNESDAY 5/7

Pink Narcissus (New 4K Restoration)

(FILM) Watching James Bidgood's 1971 queer arthouse classic Pink Narcissus is like opening up a gaudy pop-up valentine—it’s an explosion of candy colors, glitter, and idealized romance. The story, which follows the fantasies of a gay male sex worker, isn't as much about the plot as it is about the aesthetics of the whole thing: surreal sets, extravagant costumes, creative lighting, and tender eroticism. If you don't believe me, just take it from John Waters, who once called the movie “as beautiful and timeless as The Wizard of Oz." Don't miss this stunning new 4K restoration at the Crocodile's cozy Here-After theater, programmed by the beloved (and currently closed) Grand Illusion Cinema. (Here-After, 7:30 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

THURSDAY 5/8

Brandon Vosika: Self Help

(VISUAL ART) Salvaging book-shaped scrap wood from a previous Factory show, Seattle artist Brandon Vosika carved and painted the blocks into the books he wanted to see in the world. Titles include How to Be a Worm, How to Paint Like Philip Guston, and my favorite: How to Hold a Cigarette and What It Says About You. I enjoy “things that look like other things” themes in art (in baking, too, though I resent that cake show’s shark-jumping gimmickry), and books have always held a special place in the genre—from bookshelves that are actually doors to books that are actually hollow so you can hide maps and money and drugs in them. Vosika’s books (that are actually sculptural paintings) aren’t necessarily attempting to trompe l’œil, but there is a satisfying attention to detail (bookmark ribbons; the heart-shaped lock on the child’s diary) and the medium lends itself well to Vosika’s style: a little bit whimsical and a little bit melancholy. These books seem like they’d be nice to hold. (The Factory, May 8–June 7) EMILY NOKES

FRIDAY 5/9

Dreaming in Analog: In Memory of Charles R. Cross

(MUSIC) When author and music journalist Charles R. Cross died in August, he left a huge hole in the heart of Seattle’s music community. “People think of Charles as a biographer of Seattle legends, but every time he and I got together, all we talked about was all the new bands we loved,” radio DJ Marco Collins told The Stranger last year. “He was a tireless champion of our music scene, old and new.” On Friday, May 9, Cross’s family and friends will keep the beloved author’s commitment to the city’s music scene moving forward with Dreaming in Analog, a celebration of life and fundraiser featuring performances from some of Cross’s favorites—Nancy Wilson, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Chris Ballew, Pete Droge, Mary Lambert, Eva Walker, Molly Sides, Shaina Shepherd, and many more. What’s more, net proceeds from the evening will support the newly established Charles R. Cross Music Writer’s Grant to help fund the next generation of music writers and journalists. For Charley. (The Moore, 7 pm, all ages) MEGAN SELING

SATURDAY 5/10

Seattle Art Book Fair

Seattle Art Book Fair is May 10–11 and it's totally free. COURTESY OF SEATTLE ART BOOK FAIR

(BOOKS/VISUAL ART) There are few things more special and satisfying than a well-designed book. I could hold, look at, read, and think about books (zines, paperbacks, chapbooks, hardcovers, you name it) all day, but art books are a particularly special tier. The Seattle Art Book Fair broadly defines them as books that: “...often combine type, images, and materials in thoughtful ways that push the possibilities of what books can be. They can feature narrative, poetry, photography, and illustration. They can be handmade, offset-printed, letterpressed, photocopied, screen printed, or risographed. Or, they can take some surprising new form and feature an unexpected medium that allows one to experience the world in a wholly new way.” The fair is free and will include an impressive 85-plus exhibitor lineup of artists, designers, and makers, as well as talks, art installations, and workshops. More tactile, thoughtful, well-designed everything, please! (Washington Hall, 11 am–5 pm, free, all ages) EMILY NOKES

SUNDAY 5/11

Rebecca Solnit

Rebecca Solnit reads at Town Hall Sunday, May 11. AUTHOR PHOTO BY TRENT DAVIS BAILEY

(BOOKS) If you've visited a bookstore anytime in recent memory, you've likely spied a copy of Rebecca Solnit's smash-hit essay collection Men Explain Things to Me—or perhaps Recollections of My Non-Existence, or Hope in the Dark, or The Mother of All Questions. The longtime writer and activist is the closest thing to a literary household name we've got right now, and in No Straight Road Takes You There, she delves into themes of climate change, feminism, democracy, hope, and the abuse of power. If you're like "Whew, okay, I don't know if I need more of that at the moment, I'd rather read Ariana Madix's cocktail book," first of all: I get it. But consider this: Solnit has a way of making even the heaviest topics feel expansive rather than crushing. It might be just what you need to survive the next few years. (Town Hall, 7:30 pm, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

MONDAY 5/12

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

(MUSIC) When you think of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ music, words like "joyous," "life-affirming," and "uplifting" might not come to mind; likely because they have album titles like The Firstborn is Dead, Your Funeral...My Trial, and Murder Ballads. However, the long-running post-punk band has done the impossible—they've created an optimistic album which the Guardian has claimed "will make you fall back in love with life." Don't get me wrong, the band's eighteenth album, Wild God, is not straightforward—the songs are narratively complex and lyrically poetic. But the lush strings, choral vocals, and waves of crescendos make for a highly cinematic and emotionally moving listen. Don't miss Cave and company on tour supporting the new album, which I predict will sound really fantastic live. (Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

TUESDAY 5/13

Slowdive, Creepoid

(MUSIC) England's Slowdive began life as one of the most insular and diaphanous groups of shoegaze's first wave. They were archetypal bedroom dreamers, their sound pale and fading into the ether in cascades of shimmering guitars, as Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead cooed melancholily. Slowdive had gained a devoted cult following, but after 1995's bold, ambient departure, Pygmalion, they took a 19-year hiatus. Reunited and rejuvenated, Slowdive greatly increased their fanbase with 2017's Slowdive and 2023's Everything Is Alive. Their newer music is slightly more robust, but it retains their earlier work's majestic calm. And live, Slowdive crank up the energy levels, belying their rep as supreme chillers. Riding shoegaze's resurgence in popularity, with help from the algorithmic gods, Slowdive have accrued many new fans who weren't even born when the band launched. They must feel seriously vindicated. (Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL

Stranger Suggests: A Rave in Outer Space, Fat and Flour, and Your Favorite Drag Queen's Favorite Things

Audrey Vann — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 14:52:00 -0700

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Audrey Vann WEDNESDAY 4/16

Cherdonna's Favorite Things

(PERFORMANCE) Self-described “movement artist who works in persona,” Stranger Genius Award winner, and beloved Seattle drag-theater icon Cherdonna Shinatra is not one to be slept on. The dancer-slash-comedian-slash-chanteuse took the stage with the Bearded Ladies for last year's Threesome, and 2022's Goodnight Cowboy delved into the myth of Western conquest, heroics, masculinity, and domination. This time around, Cherdonna will bless us with "run-on sentences, story derailments, and surprise audience gifts," so expect to be bombarded with love, generosity, and something a touch more bizarre. (Erickson Theatre Off Broadway, multiple showtimes, through April 20) LINDSAY COSTELLO THURSDAY 4/17

Author Talk: Nicole Rucker, Fat & Flour

See Nicole Rucker at Book Larder Thursday, April 17. Author Photo by Alan Gastelum

(FOOD/BOOKS) You may have spied Los Angeles-based "pastry queen," James Beard semifinalist, and Fat + Flour chef/owner Nicole Rucker's glorious baked goods in your Instagram feed or flipped through her debut cookbook Dappled (a paean to fruity desserts). Now, she's unveiling her follow-up Fat + Flour: The Art of a Simple Bake, which celebrates the alchemical magic that happens when the two title ingredients collide. I, for one, can't wait to recreate treats like lemon meringue chess pie, boozy banana snickerdoodles, and Abuelita milk chocolate brownies in my own home. Rucker also imparts secrets like her signature "Cold Butter Method," a "low-effort technique for melding fat and flour that produces perfect cookies and the tenderest pie dough every time." (Book Larder, 6:30 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

FRIDAY 4/18

Space Is the Place Fest

(MUSIC) Seattle, this is the energy. Back in the day, the Naf warehouse was the go-to for raves/early EDM, as well as a home to the ’90s underground music scene. Space Is the Place Fest is reviving that huge capacity venue to bring you two all-nighters full of music/raving/performance. Astro-jazz legends the Sun Ra Arkestra and lo-fi synth queen the Space Lady will be in town; expect a multimedia spectacle from the Fabulous Downey Brothers, and instrumental noise offerings from Diminished Men. Don’t forget we’re going all night: DJs Donald Glaude, Slantooth, Sherman, Riz Rollins, and Space Otter are bringing the old-school house, drum & bass, and more. Rumor has it there will also be modular synth work, live glass-blowing, some circus action, and “all things cosmic and wild!” (Naf Studios, April 18: 8 pm–4 am; April 19: 8 pm–6 am, 18+) EMILY NOKES

SATURDAY 4/19

The Wedding Banquet

(FILM) Remakes can be the scourge of modern cinema, but that makes the films that actually do something new with old material worth celebrating. The Wedding Banquet is a Seattle-set romantic comedy that does just that. Andrew Ahn takes the broad story of the original Ang Lee film about a fake marriage and gives it a distinctly modern twist. Specifically, it taps into a whole host of deeply felt, though still plenty silly, emotional beats about the families we make for ourselves, the power of community in a world that cares little for people, and the healing properties of a burger from Dick’s after a long night out. Yes, it isn’t shot here as fully as one would hope (instead having neighboring Vancouver stand in for Seattle as many productions do), but it manages to capture the heart of the city all the same. Plus, it co-stars former Seattleite and Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone, who proves once more she is one of the greatest working performers today, with a scene near the end that steals the whole show. It’s the exact type of film you’ll want to gather all your friends together to go see with a crowd. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, various showtimes) CHASE HUTCHINSON

SUNDAY 4/20

Sakura-Con 2025

Sakura-Con 2025 is April 18–20 at Seattle Convention Center. COURTESY OF SAKURA-CON

(FESTIVAL) Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom, but for a weekend in Seattle every year, it represents one the largest anime conventions in the country. Don't miss cosplay chess, voice actor appearances, a live performance from Japanese alt rock band Hitsujibungaku, and panels on topics ranging from furries to aging in cosplay. Entrance to the three-day con requires a membership through the nonprofit Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association, and grants you access to everything from the manga library to the mahjong room and masquerade ball. I'm in awe of the folks posting their three-day cosplay lineups on socials; I can barely come up with one Halloween costume. (Seattle Convention Center, April 18–20, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH

MONDAY 4/21

Ichiko Aoba

(MUSIC) The word "ethereal" tends to be overused when describing music. That said, Ichiko Aoba's music is actually ethereal. The Japanese singer-songwriter finds a sweet spot between folk, jazz, and classical music, employing swirling strings, ocean waves, windchimes, and delicate vocals to tell whimsical, and often fictional stories. She will support her new album Luminescent Creatures, which serves as a sequel to her critically acclaimed 2020 album Windswept Adan. (Moore Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

TUESDAY 4/22

Juanita & Juan

(MUSIC) Juanita & Juan is the new project of LA punk pioneers Alice Bag (the Bags) and Kid Congo Powers (the Gun Club, the Cramps, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds). Since the release of their first two singles ("Put Down Your Weapons" and "Aftertaste"), the goal of the project is clear: to harness their shared passions for boundary-pushing music. The project's genre-defying sound, which they define as "loud lounge," cradles anti-fascist lyrics with reverbed guitars and electronic drum beats. They support their debut album, Jungle Cruise, after an opening set from garage rock band Graveyard of the Pacific. (Clock-Out Lounge, 8 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

Stranger Suggests: A Bonkers Titanic Parody, Poppers-Loving Punk Rockers, and the Crappiest Doughnut in Seattle

Megan Seling — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 15:10:00 -0700

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Megan Seling WEDNESDAY 3/26

The Linda Lindas, Be Your Own Pet

(MUSIC) The Stranger’s social media manager, Christian Parroco, was there the night cat-loving and racist boy-hating punk band the Linda Lindas opened for genre legends Rancid and Green Day. The Linda Lindas were enamored by the crowd of thousands despite performing in the most unpunk circumstances, on Green Day’s world-tour-sized stage, yards away from the barricaded front row of fans in the middle of a Major League Baseball field. They were “unapologetically fierce, blending their fresh take on punk with a DIY attitude that calls back to the genre’s early days,” wrote Parrocco in his review. If they can get a whole stadium vibing off their pop-kissed punk gems like “Racist, Sexist Boy” and “All in My Head,” imagine how much fun it will be to mosh and sing and dance and scream along in the much smaller Showbox. And don’t worry, openers Be Your Own Pet, fronted by vocalist Jemina Pearl, open the show, and Pearl gives Karen O a run for her money on the energy scale. They’ll help you stretch all your thrashy dance muscles so you don’t pull anything in the pit. (Showbox, 8 pm, all ages) MEGAN SELING

THURSDAY 3/27

Amyl and the Sniffers, Sheer Mag

(MUSIC) On their third album, Cartoon Darkness, the Aussie quartet opens with commanding, bratty lyrics: “You’re a dumb cunt.” The brash, critic-hating anthem “Jerkin’” sets the tone for the album, which explores modern terrors like climate change, war, A.I., and internet politics through pithy confrontational punk and hard rock (à la X-Ray Spex or the Runaways). Fresh off of a stadium tour supporting the Foo Fighters, the band will drop by the Paramount Theatre with tracks from the album. (Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

FRIDAY 3/28

Dynasty Handbag: Titanic Depression

Dynasty Handbag: Titanic Depression is at On the Boards March 27 through March 29. Walter Wlodarczyk

(PERFORMANCE) I caught Dynasty Handbag (aka award-winning performer, visual artist, and producer Jibz Cameron) at one of her monthly Weirdo Nights in Los Angeles a few years back, and it was one of the surreally funniest things I’ve ever seen, and that is saying something (humble brag). Dynasty Handbag is a sight to behold. Her shows often feature drastic makeup (think microwaved Tammy Faye Bakker), a fright wig, and at least one ghastly unitard choice. You may come for the piled-on camp and physical comedy, but do stay for the deceptively brilliant timing and writing. Titanic Depression is described via her website as: “A bonkers parody of James Cameron’s 1997 Hollywood hit, sending it up as a bleak parable of human arrogance in today’s era of runaway, consumerism-driven climate change.” I have a sinking feeling it’s going to be great. (On the Boards, March 27–29, 8 pm, all ages) EMILY NOKES

SATURDAY 3/29

Alton Brown

(FOOD) Are you normal, or was bonding time with your sibling watching episodes of Alton Brown’s show Good Eats together? His aversion to “unitaskers” and use of yeast puppets belching CO2 to explain bread-making live rent-free in my head. In the promo video for this “farewell tour” of his food-filled variety show, people in hazmat suits wheel a model of a cow out of a smoke-filled warehouse as Brown promises comedy, music, science, and “an epic yet potentially dangerous culinary demonstration.” (Paramount Theatre, 2:30 pm & 7:30 pm) SHANNON LUBETICH

SUNDAY 3/30

How Did This Get Made?

(PODCASTS) For 15 glorious years, actor-comedians Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas have been gleefully picking apart horrible movies for their podcast How Did This Get Made? with a special guest on hand. (Their excoriation of the bizarre musical The Apple with Andy Richter is one for the ages.) And, as with all good podcasts, they’ve taken it from the studio to the stage with live episodes recorded around the US. The film they'll be dissecting during Sunday's taping Surf II should you want to watch before the show. (Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) ROBERT HAM

MONDAY 3/31

U District Cherry Blossom Festival

(FESTIVAL) It's spring, which can only mean one thing: It's time once again to admire gently wafting pink cherry blossoms in full bloom at the University of Washington Quad. To celebrate, over 80 U District businesses have come together to offer cherry blossom-themed food and drink specials and discounts on retail items. Before or after your petal-gazing excursion, stop by and enjoy treats like cherry blossom frappes from Sip House, cherry blossom mousse and mini blossom "croffles" from Cafe Canuc, glazed cherry cake from Donut Factory, sakura ice cream from Sweet Alchemy, chewy sakura mochi cakes from Saint Bread, and more. (University District, through April 6, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

TUESDAY 4/1

Mighty-O Dookie Donuts

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A post shared by Mighty-O Donuts | Seattle, WA (@mightyodonuts)

(FOOD) I have come to loathe April Fool's Day. Idiots on social media make fake pregnancy or divorce claims and #brands fool news outlets into sharing bullshit press releases about nonexistent products like Butterfinger mayonnaise. The world is already full of fake news! Influencers are constantly being outed as con artists or worse. Taco Bell's Mountain Dew Baja Blast pie is real. Every day is Fool's Day in America. Thankfully Mighty-O Donuts still understands classic April Fool's Day fun. For years now, they've celebrated April 1 with deliciously disgusting poop donuts, their fantastic (and vegan!) yeast-raised donut swirled into a cute little, uh, pile, and covered with rich chocolate glaze. So gross! So funny! I promise your friends will appreciate these little shits so much more than whatever dumb social media scam you've been contemplating. (Various Mighty-O Donuts locations, pre-order for pick-up March 31 and April 1 at mightyo.com) MEGAN SELING

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Capitol Hill Block Party Announces Lineup, Scales Back to Two-Day 21+ Festival

Emily Nokes — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 09:56:00 -0700

The festival will be 21+ for the first time ever. by Emily Nokes

It’s happening: the 27th annual Capitol Hill Block Party is scheduled for July 19-20 with a notably scaled-back lineup (which honestly seems fine given the pink-and-rhinestone beating the Pike/Pine corridor took from the glorious Chappell Roan show that dominated last year's CHBP; a beating I personally loved, but I was um, having a psychedelic experience and didn’t have to work there, or clean anything up afterwards!). The festival will also be 21+ for the first time, “in an effort,” the production company Daydream State says, “to optimize the festival layout, providing a better customer, fan and neighborhood experience.”

Here's what we have cookin' this year:

SATURDAY JULY 19

Thundercat * DJ Pee.Wee (aka Anderson .Paak) * The Dare * Slayyyter * Jordan Ward * Dora Jar * Zulan * Fcukers * Lexa Gates * Dua Saleh * Sam Austins * Chanel Beads * DJ Mandy * Stella Mar * Lazā * Art Gecko * Love So Deep * Morgan Paris Lanza * Hard Maybe * Aurora Avenue * Jesse Desean * Heavy Bloom * Rylan * Fischer * West of Eden * The Cosmic Neighborhood * MYXA * Hockey Teeth * Justin Harden

SUNDAY JULY 20

Porter Robinson * 100 gecs * Yaeji (DJ Set) * Snow Strippers * Maude Latour * G Flip * Jockstrap * INJI * Hana Vu * Alemeda * Urika’s Bedroom * Caroline Kingsbury * Taylar Elizza Beth * Lemon Boy * Topoh Chica * Swavy * Dining Dead * Vanilla Abstract * n8vboy * Yellacatt * Joyla Red * Moving In Slow * CymaticZ * waltzerr * Magenta Wave

Two-day general admission passes ($180), and VIP passes ($250) for CHBP will be available for presale beginning RIGHT NOW (Tuesday, March 18 at 10 a.m. PT). A public on-sale of all ticket types—including single-day general admission for $105 and single-day VIP tickets for $149—begins Friday, March 21 at 10 a.m. PT. Two-day general admission passes increase to $200, and two-day VIP passes increase to $270 starting Friday.

Visit the CHBP website for complete pricing and programming information.

Stranger Suggests: Joy Oladokun, Emerald City Comic Con, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Here to Pee: A Trans Comedy Protest Tour

Audrey Vann — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 14:00:00 -0800

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Audrey Vann WEDNESDAY 3/5

Joy Oladokun

(MUSIC) Ever since Nashville-based singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun saw Tracy Chapman on TV at age 10, she has been under the spell of the acoustic guitar. Now, she churns out folky R&B, rock, and pop songs about her experiences as a queer woman of color. She will support her critically acclaimed fourth album, Proof of Life, which features guest appearances from Mt. Joy, Manchester Orchestra, Chris Stapleton, Maxo Kream, and Noah Kahan. (The Showbox, 8:30 pm, $28.50-$31, all ages) AUDREY VANN

THURSDAY 3/6

Emerald City Comic Con

Maybe you'll see swordfighting dogs at ECCC! COURTESY EMERALD CITY COMIC CON

(FESTIVAL) It doesn't matter if you're a gamer, sci-fi nerd, anime fan, fantasy fairy, or cosplay artist, Emerald City Comic Con is for you! Don't miss this jam-packed weekend of panels, meet-and-greets, cosplay, comics, fanfic, and screenings. As part of this year’s “Return to Grunge” theme, the con is teaming up with 107.7 the End to throw a Grunge Prom powered by a live cover band. The welcoming con also offers youngling lightsaber training, furry meetups, and panels on topics like “cats in comics” and “warrior women of fiction.” Celebrity guests include everyone's favorite rebel stormtrooper (John Boyega), Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame, queer icon Katy O'Brian from Love Lies Bleeding, and many more. Plus, there’s good news for Firefly fans: six of the show’s actors will make appearances, including the charming Nathan Fillion. (Seattle Convention Center, March 6–9, $35-$440, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH

FRIDAY 3/7

Here to Pee: A Trans Comedy Protest Tour

(COMEDY) One of the most powerful ways to deal with a bigot is to laugh directly in their face, so the Here to Pee Tour just makes sense. Queer and trans performers from across the country have come together for this fearless showcase, which has taken the stage in every state that has passed anti-trans bathroom legislation. A portion of proceeds supports regional grassroots queer advocacy, ensuring local communities benefit directly. Resistance can be fun! (Rendezvous, 6:30 pm, $20, 21+) LINDSAY COSTELLO

SATURDAY 3/8

Instant Noodles: 24-Hour Asian American Play Festival

(PERFORMANCE) When over 50 writers, actors, directors, musicians, and designers are randomly paired up to produce plays with brand-new music, set design, props, lights, and costumes, what could go wrong? Well, probably a lot of things. But a lot of things could go right, too. Enter Instant Noodles: 24 Hour Asian American Play Festival, which will showcase the Asian American-led plays resulting from this funky experiment. (Theatre Off Jackson, March 8–9, times vary, $10–$50, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

SUNDAY 3/9

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will be at Neptune Theatre Sunday, March 9. COURTESY OF Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

(READINGS & TALKS) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s impact on contemporary literature is difficult to overstate—the Nigerian artist, author, poet, and playwright, who penned the book-length essay “We Should All Be Feminists” and the 2013 novel Americanah, has had her work translated into 55 languages. That sort of massive international readership is rare these days, putting her in the company of Gabriel García Márquez, Haruki Murakami, and Elena Ferrante. Adichie’s latest, Dream Count, follows a Nigerian travel writer in the United States. It was deemed the “major publication milestone of 2025” by The Guardian. (Neptune Theatre, 7:30 pm, $52.50, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

MONDAY 3/10

Collide-O-Scope

(FILM) Collide-O-Scope is the brilliant brain baby of Shane Wahlund and Michael Anderson, two local filmmakers and pop culture know-it-alls who cut, clip, and splice their way through hours and hours of music videos, movies, television shows, old commercials, and other footage to piece together spellbinding video collages. It’s not a slapdash memeification of vintage clips to get an easy laugh from 13-year-old YouTube addicts, Collide-O-Scope is an art form, a thoughtful and smart curation of strange, hilarious, surprising, and at times even touching moments of our history. And I’m not just saying all these nice things because Wahlund is The Stranger’s director of video production. I liked Collide-O-Scope long before knowing Wahlund, as its been a Seattle staple for more than 15 years! They’re at Here-After every second Monday. Follow along on Instagram to get a peek at their monthly themes. (Here-After, 7 pm, $15, 21+) MEGAN SELING

TUESDAY 3/11

A Conversation with Natasha Lyonne

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(READINGS & TALKS) I could watch Natasha Lyonne all day. Come for the gruff bravado and brash ginger wit (Bette Midler meets Joe Pesci?), stay for the surprisingly endearing aura. The actress/producer/director grew up in front of the camera, but Lyonne’s post-sobriety era has been especially generative: After her breakout role as Nicky Nichols in Orange is the New Black (2013–2019), she co-created/starred in the existentially compelling Russian Doll (which debuted in 2019), starred in 2023 film His Three Daughters, and can now be found on the “case-of-the-week” show Poker Face (which also debuted in 2023, damn!). Lyonne will be interviewed by award-winning sci-fi author Ted Chiang (whose writing I appreciate so much I could write a separate Suggests for him; please at least read Stories of Your Life and Others)—their conversation will close out the “Love, Hope, and Other Four Letter Words” series he’s been directing. (Benaroya Hall, 7:30 pm, $31–$76, all ages) EMILY NOKES

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Introducing Our New Arts Editor, Emily Nokes!

Emily Nokes — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Welcome to our Spring Arts issue! by Emily Nokes

Hello. It’s me, I’m back. My name is Emily Nokes. I’m a musician, artist, writer, and now, The Stranger’s new Arts Editor. Yay!

Welcome to our Spring Arts issue!

Once upon a time, I was the Music Editor here. I left in 2015, then nothing much happened in the world in the decade since. Unless you count this country’s bonkers descent into actual fascism, a steady diet of the cruel and incomprehensible, and the pandemic we never really processed—all against a backdrop of pervasive cultural context collapse aided by devices that make us deeply unhappy, but that we still have to use for almost everything. And now it’s 2025, a year that feels exactly like you’d expect a year to feel that was kicked off by an exploding Cybertruck!

Whoa boy. I may have abandoned some of my old methods of understanding the world we live in, but I have not abandoned all hope. In fact, part of my reason for returning to a local print publication was not based in nostalgia (okay, not entirely, my first Stranger era did rip), but in a deranged optimism for this thing we call the future.

I don’t know about you, but I feel a hint of something new in the air. We’re due for a proper revolt, but we’re also due for some joy, some humor, and some fucking human-being-ness. Humans are FREAKS, and one of the freakiest things about us is that we make art. Curiosity and creativity are our superpowers. My views on arts coverage in a city like ours are so strong they verge on civic duty. If people are making things, we should talk about them, experience them, help contextualize them, and be interested in them outside the churn of revenue and promotion. Community for community. I believe in Seattle, even when Seattle sucks!

I also believe in print—in making something that lasts for a while, that you can sit with, and that won’t slide into the ether when you put it down. I believe in real reporting, and taking a beat before reacting (also known as “responding”). I believe in nuance, and in differences in opinion, long conversations, and the art of existing in the discomfort of coming to the conclusion that there is no conclusion. I also believe in having some fucking fun in this life. I want to see more of everything in print. Hell, if it were up to me, I’d bring back personal ads. I want those I Saw U’s blazing like it’s a god damn dating app! I want to hear about your cool band or pop-up or performance piece or art project or mime night or whatever the fuck, let’s gooo!

Anyway, back to the task at hand, which is now to tell you about this issue. We're rolling the stories out online, so the best way to see it all is grab a copy in the wild. On page 49, Megan Seling describes watching songs get made out of thin air, which is not dissimilar from watching this very newspaper come together. I almost forgot how much of it relies on teamwork, rapid decision-making, and a secret third thing on par with conjuring. It is such a profoundly human effort, from brainstorming to writing to the editing process… And that’s before it even gets set on a beautiful page.

Now that The Stranger is back in print single every month, I’m hellbent on expanding the full “Things To Do” arts calendar (find a copy and flip to page 61). In a world full of janky bots that regurgitate press releases, and AI-fed apps that exist only to monetize every single aspect of an event, emphasizing this effort feels important. We humans labored over the hot stove of choice here—combing through barely functional venue websites, reading copious PR emails—to choose things we think are interesting and noteworthy, from a twisted reenactment of The Titanic to Annual Daffodil Day. Algorithms could never. Our collective taste is INSANE and cannot be PREDICTED!

Also on these pages are wormholes, portals, bagel holes, and… hot butts (I can’t take that joke to its natural conclusion). We’ve got seafood boils, music to look forward to, DADS dadding, and moms giving heartfelt advice. And babe, we answer the question on everyone’s lips: Does the billionaire die?

I would tell you about each piece, but I am running out of time (shout out to the angels waiting for me to type this before the paper can go to press! It’s 12:47 a.m.!), but I trust you’re going to read every word anyway because we worked really hard and made you something. See you next month!

Love Actually,

Emily

plz invite me to your ren faires.

COVER ARTWORK by Johanna Goodman, from the show Force of Nature at AMcE Creative Arts

Typography by Corianton Hale

The 44 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: August 26-Sept 2, 2019

Elaina Friedman — Sun, 25 Aug 2019 14:00:00 -0700

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

This week, our music critics have picked everything from English punk and leather pants icon Billy Idol to Portland singer-songwriter Kyle Craft to Lizzo and Carly Rae Jepsen at Bumbershoot. 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.

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.

Drab Majesty, Xeno & Oaklander, Body of Light
Last night my girlfriend was telling me about a certain ill-fated coworker campout she attended last year that devolved into group hysterics for the exact variety of reasons that you’d expect from a 10-person camping trip of over-served and under-supported restaurant employees. She said she weathered their group drama by doing coke and reading vampire fiction alone in her tent. There is truly no better environment I can imagine for listening to the dark tinkling of Drab Majesty than a coked-up fantasy tent, unless you can get your hands on Morgana’s ice cave from The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. DM pound their linked string and percussion tracks into metallic chimes—smooth, chilly renderings of what electro-goth-shoegaze music could look like in and outside of '80s pop culture restrictions. And what’s more '80s-gaze revival than icy, churning beats amid an extra line and a tale with some teeth? KIM SELLING

TUESDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Ghost Town Whistlers, Jessie Thoreson, Bart Budwig, Hannah Abrams
Seattle psychedelic folk-rock five-piece Ghost Town Whistlers will share a bill with fiddle-playing solo artist Jessie Thoreson, "cosmic country lawn gnome" Bart Budwig, and piano-pop groover Hannah Abrams.

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY JAZZ

Otis Taylor Band
My introduction to Otis Taylor was his third album, 2001’s White African. He’s from Colorado, but he took hill-country blues to heart, droning wickedly and refusing to change chords, except exactly where it would break the listener’s mind. He sang in the voice of a black man framed for a murder, lynched, doomed to roam railroad tracks and the wilderness alongside them as a ghost, trying in vain—and already losing hope—that anyone would ever hear. Well, that cost me a few winks. The more recent album is called Fantasizing About Being Black, so his humor is still obstinately corrosive, and over the years he’s added drums, trumpet, and a few other not-strictly-blues touches. But he’s still singing about death. About running, running, and don’t look back unless you want to see your last muzzle flash. ANDREW HAMLIN

WEDNESDAY OPERA

Rigoletto
The powerful men charged with sexual assault in the #MeToo era are doing just fine. Seattle Opera's production of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto is here to show us it was ever thus, and that it shall ever be so long as we continue to uphold longstanding social and political norms around consent, harassment, and male power. Rigoletto is a classic opera based on a Victor Hugo play called Le roi s'amuse. The story follows the Duke of Mantua on his various sexual conquests. He loves cuckolding courtiers while his court jester, Rigoletto, mocks the cucks. But shit hits the fan when the Duke goes after Rigoletto's own daughter, Gilda. To exact revenge, Rigoletto puts out a hit on the Duke, but it all goes horribly wrong. Director Lindy Hume updates Verdi's opera by replacing jolly old misogynists in codpieces with men in suits in executive offices, calling greater attention to the violence against women and the power imbalance. The aesthetics and tone of Hume's production, she says, were inspired by Silvio Berlusconi's "bunga bunga" sex parties, which were detailed by national outlets in 2013. RICH SMITH

ROCK/POP

Generationals, Pure Bathing Culture
Generationals make music that could easily soundtrack a car commercial (a shiny-new Subaru snakes through desert roads without getting dusty as the sun sets on the horizon), but that's not a snub; the power-pop, New Wave-y duo are masters of hooks and will have you dancing into your second summer wind. They'll be joined by elegant indie-pop group Pure Bathing Culture.

Molly Burch, Jackie Cohen
Earlier this year, Texas singer Molly Burch came through Seattle on tour with Australian lounge lizard Alex Cameron. It makes sense—his slick, seedy persona pairs well with her dusty, Americana melancholy. But now, Burch is back with a tour of her own! There’s a certain husky, yearning, and haunted quality to her voice that, if you’re not listening closely, you might think she’s Angel Olsen. Her most recent record, First Flower, is a dreamy listen—“Wild” has a bright, slightly surf-rock mood; “First Flower” unfurls in front of you like a winding, spindly road along the rocky coast with its reverb-y guitar and soaring melodies. God, everything good just sounds like California to me, sometimes. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Skillet, Sevendust, Pop Evil, Devour the Day
Tennessee-formed Christian rock band Skillet will bring their zealous power chords to town on their Victorious War Tour. Michigan's Pop Evil and Devour the Day will provide additional support.

Valley Queen
The organizers say, "Valley Queen front woman Natalie Carol leads a band reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac and My Morning Jacket with vocals evocative of Florence Welch." If any of those artists make your ears perk up, don't miss the LA quartet in Seattle with local indie-pop band Coach Phillips.

THURSDAY FUNK/REGGAE

Stephen Marley, DJ Shacia Payne
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

METAL/PUNK

The Varukers, Generation Decline, Open Veins, Nightfeeder
Though they formed in 1979, the Varukers are a proper early-1980s UK hardcore band. They play fucking LOUD and FAST while hollering the basic truths about “Another Religion Another War” and asking “How Can Your Conscience Allow This to Go On?” Welp, since not much has changed, 40 years on, they’re still angry and they’re still playing loud and fast!! Sorted as openers tonight are Bremerton’s killer thrash group Generation Decline, whose sound lovingly leans into sweet, classic late-’80s Raw Power–era Stooges riffage; Open Veins, local dual-guitar shredders who’ll kill it, early-’80s hardcore style; and Nightfeeder. MIKE NIPPER

ROCK/POP

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

Seattle Sounds Summer Concert Series
Sip wine and listen to live music from Tomo Nakayama amidst Dale Chihuly’s glass creations.

SOUL/R&B

Electric Circus
Eclectic keyboardist Wayne Horvitz’s hydra-headed, all-star ensemble will be recording a live album and video shoot at his Columbia City venue the Royal Room. Joining the award-winning virtuoso will be avant-garde saxophonists Skerik and Kate Olson, clarinetist/vocalist Beth Fleenor, percussionist Thione Diop, Diminished Men guitarist Simon Henneman, and others. Electric Circus’s raison d’être is covering the music of important artists from decades past. For this special occasion, they’ll be ingeniously interpreting songs by Miles Davis, Sun Ra, James Brown, Funkadelic, the Clash, Dr. John, Captain Beefheart, Bob Marley, and several others. DAVE SEGAL

THURSDAY-FRIDAY ROCK/POP

Kyle Craft & Co.
Portland-based singer-songwriter Kyle Craft purveys Southern-flavored glam rock that falls somewhere on the spectrum between Elton John and Ty Segall (the spectrum is wide, okay?). There’s a grandness to his music, but it still retains a sort of garage sensibility. Like a hand on which jeweled rings adorn every finger, gripping a glass full of the cheapest Kentucky whiskey in the bar. If that makes sense. His third and latest release, this year’s Showboat Honey, is full of gems like “Broken Mirror Pose” and “2 Ugly 4 NY”; both songs possess the sort of charm that’s best enjoyed while driving with the windows down. During his two-night Tractor Tavern run, he’ll be playing his 2016 debut, Dolls of Highland, in its entirety the first night, and Showboat Honey on the second. JASMYNE KEIMIG

FRIDAY DJ

100% That Queen
Local drag performers will join you for a dance party paying tribute to Lizzo and her divine contemporaries.

ROCK/POP

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

Of The Heavy Sun, Asterhouse, PHOOD
Roam the deserts of your mind with Seattle psychedelic rockers Of the Heavy Sun. Or, just sit comfortably in reality while you dance to new songs from their sophomore release at this show with Kenmore's Asterhouse and fellow local rockers PHOOD.

Shonen Knife, Me Like Bees, Ichi Bichi, The Fucking Eagles
Shonen Knife have always been the coolest of the cool and super fun, like the MOST SUPER FUN. They started in the 1980s as a bright, pristine, contemporary underground articulation of a pop-art-inspired 1960s girl group; they were catchy and raw, yet sweet and slightly bubblegum, but earnest. They’re the band the Ramones wanted to be if the Ramones had been able to literally morph into the girl groups they worshiped. Shonen Knife are the fucking best, so go see them and buy all their records, because everyone wants a Shonen Knife to love them. MIKE NIPPER

somesurprises, Darto, Bad Luck
Dreamy local electro-folk quartet somesurprises will headline after opening sets from moody, psychedelic shoegaze outfit Darto and saxophone-heavy duo Bad Luck.

SOUL/R&B

Aloe Blacc
Remember How to Make It in America, that HBO show about pants? The theme song, "I Need a Dollar," is from hip-hop/R&B artist Aloe Blacc's popular sophomore album Good Things. Since then, the artist has collaborated with Pharrell Williams and has earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album. Catch him at the Evergreen State Fair.

VARIOUS

PAX West Nerd Music Showcase
Stretch out your PAX mood beyond the confines of the festival with a night of nerdy live music and performances from Schaffer the Darklord (who describes himself in his Facebook bio as "a Frankenstein-esque monster assembled from equal parts Bill Hicks, Adam Yauch, Joey Ramone and Prince, stitched together inside the shell of a maniacal heavy metal ex-patriot"), Lex the Lexicon Artist, Miss Eaves, Techno Mage, D&D Sluggers, Death*Star, MC Ohm-I, and Nikola Whallon.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY ELECTRONIC

Depth 3-Year Anniversary: Zenker Brothers
The banging techno monthly Depth celebrates its third year of partying hard and smart with Munich, Germany’s Zenker Brothers, who will be making their Seattle debut. Dario and Marco purvey deep, heady techno, in keeping with Depth’s aesthetic. For this 12-hour blowout, Depth’s brain trust has also booked Denver-based master of zoned techno Alex Whittier, and several local luminaries from the secondnature, Tremulant, and TUF crews. Rest up, hydrate, and prepare for an onslaught of transportive electronic music till brunchtime. DAVE SEGAL

ROCK/POP

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

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 Chateau Ste. Michelle for a whole evening of flying like an eagle with Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

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.

JAZZ

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.

VARIOUS

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 stages as local talents (Y La Bamba, the Dip) across the music, art, and comedy spectrums, with a special food selection known as B-Eats.

SATURDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

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 Wild Feathers, Racoma
Neon cowboys the Wild Feathers will bring their lush harmonies and '70s-style eerie twang to town after a warm-up set from sunny Seattle alt-rockers Racoma.

JK POP! PAX Party
Bop around to Japanese and Korean intergalactic pop music over PAX weekend with DJs Hostboi, Mooncakes, Yung Futon, and Toya B. Kylie Mooncakes, Ümlaut, and Rylee Raw will also be performing some cute and nerdy drag numbers.

Pink Party 11
This is it: the boss fight of queer geek parties, and one of the main reasons we look forward to PAX every year. Relax in the "Gayming Lounge" with geek-themed drink specials, participate in a massive cosplay contest with serious cash prizes, and dance all night long with host Arson Nicki.

ELECTRONIC

Quantic, J-Justice
I am kind of in love with Quantic. The music is classy, rich, and lovely while maintaining a danceable grooviness. Will Holland—the DJ, producer, and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, double bass, piano, organ, saxophone, accordion, percussion) who leads the project—draws on elements of funk, jazz, soul, cumbia, salsa, bossa nova (the latter three likely from the seven years he lived Colombia before relocating to NYC), plus some trip-hop, lounge music, and electro. It’s bright and heady and fun, but also feels like what you might hear at a late-night cannabis lounge in Amsterdam. The prolific artist’s new album, Atlantic Oscillations, was recorded with all live musicians, has a vague, pleasant disco feel in songs like “September Blues” (although “Motivic Retrograde” feels straight out of West Africa), and is just as sublime as I’ve come to expect from Quantic. LEILANI POLK

JAZZ

Jovino Santos Neto Quinteto
Join Brazilian pianist and composer Jovino Santos Neto and his quintet for an evening of jazz.

ROCK/POP

Coley Mixan, World Record Winner Izaac Mellow, Superstar Watcher
Don't miss a night out with queer musicians Coley Mixan, World Record Winner, izaac mellow, and superstar watcher, who will all apparently be "exploring themes of sports."

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

Friend Fest 2
Local bands, artists, and vendors will gather for an all-day benefit for Colectiva Legal del Pueblo, a non-profit organization that provides legal assistance to families at risk of deportation. Music acts so far include jo passed, Whitney Ballen, Tomo Nakayama, iji, and many more. Featured vendors will include art, vintage clothing, and Ingo Bingo's Vegan Ice Cream Emporium.

The Intelligence, Constant Lovers, Quid Quo
Lars Finberg refuses to stop pumping out great rock, 16 years into his tenure as the Intelligence’s mastermind. The 2011 Stranger Music Genius—now a California resident—keeps his winning streak going with Un-Psychedelic in Peavey City, a typically sardonic title for songs that find Finberg and company purveying alluringly prickly music and wry lyrics. LP opener “L’appel Du Vide” sets the bar high with a funky rhythm nicked off Billy Squier’s “The Big Beat” and caustically spangling guitars that recall the mighty This Heat. It represents a new peak for the Intelligence’s 10-album catalog, and leads a collection of songs that, against the odds, make rock seem barbed and mysterious. DAVE SEGAL

Sponge, Purusa, Stereo Embers
Rooted in '70s glam-rock and their Motor City contemporaries like the Stooges and the MC5, Detroit rock band Sponge are back on tour for the 25th anniversary of their first major album, Rotting Piñata. They'll stop in Seattle with support from Purusa and Stereo Embers.

VARIOUS

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.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY ROCK/POP

The Intelligence, Steal Shit Do Drugs
Lars Finberg refuses to stop pumping out great rock, 16 years into his tenure as the Intelligence’s mastermind. The 2011 Stranger Music Genius—now a California resident—keeps his winning streak going with Un-Psychedelic in Peavey City, a typically sardonic title for songs that find Finberg and company purveying alluringly prickly music and wry lyrics. LP opener “L’appel Du Vide” sets the bar high with a funky rhythm nicked off Billy Squier’s “The Big Beat” and caustically spangling guitars that recall the mighty This Heat. It represents a new peak for the Intelligence’s 10-album catalog, and leads a collection of songs that, against the odds, make rock seem barbed and mysterious. DAVE SEGAL

SUNDAY ROCK/POP

Weezer
Twenty-five years after you destroyed their sweater, Weezer’s path as a band has unraveled (with a string of awkward, lackluster albums in the early-mid ’00s) and re-raveled (with a 2014 redemption for their album Everything Will Be Alright in the End). But you’ll probably just go to sing along to “My Name Is Jonas” and “Island in the Sun”—and that’s okay! We won’t judge you. AMBER CORTES

MONDAY ROCK/POP

The Beach Boys
Are the Beach Boys past their prime? That's up for debate (we're leaning towards yes), but how could you pass up an opportunity to sway along to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Good Vibrations" in the sleepiest, haziest part of the summer? The legendary pop band will grab some set time at the Washington State Fair.

The Posies
However dark things may seem, there is still a light somewhere—however small, and however lost you may be—and the Posies have delivered that surviving light throughout their three decades as a band and in their discography. Celebrate the survival of your emotional, vulnerable self in all its glory at this show—and if you do cry, make them tears of joy. You made it. SOPHIA STEPHENS

Southern Culture on the Skids, Johnny 7 and the Black Crabs
Southern Culture on the Skids have been holding down the fort of surf, rockabilly, R&B, and psych-garage stomp for going on 32 years now. I used to write about the cheeky North Carolina trio on the reg when I lived in the Tampa Bay area (they came through frequently), but you don’t see their name much up in these Northwest climes. Their subject matter is definitely heavy on sex, food, drinking, and getting down—seedy Southern gothic backwoods hick culture is on full display, along with plenty of cheekiness. (You’ve likely heard their sole known hit “Camel Walk”—"You make me wanna walk… like a camel.”) This feels like a perfect Labor Day show. LEILANI POLK

How Tacocat Made the Most of the Worst Year Ever

Emily Nokes — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 04:00:00 -0800

2016 was a nightmare, but it was also a good year for Seattle's Tacocat. Their singer explains how weird that feels. by Emily Nokes

What. A. Fucking. Year.

It's difficult to summarize the past 12 months within the frame of "So how was all that touring and being a musician and stuff?" Time is a bizarre frenemy, and reaching backward into 2016 feels heavier than it would have, say, one month ago.

Tacocat, my band, has been with me longer than any pet, partner, job, or hair color. This was the year we were able to do it bigger and better than before. We have toured at least once a year for the past nine years—nearly a third of my life—including about 110 days of 2016. (Before I continue, I want to acknowledge the obvious fact that the opportunity to do any of this is pure privilege.)

Memories mush together. In nearly a decade, bands we've played with and loved have broken up and/or become different bands. The punkest people you ever saw had to hang it up for a job with insurance or other forms of stability not often offered to artists. Good venues become artisan weed dealerships (and much worse). House parties have grown scarcer as rents continue to skyrocket. We owe so much to DIY spaces—particularly the ones that provided refuge for people across the LGBTQ spectrum, people of color, and women. They teach us how to be better musicians and better people.

While I am indebted to these communities, taking the step to do our band full-time has involved certain uncomfortable realities. If you want to reach a bigger audience, eventually someone else needs to book your tours, which has changed the scenery quite a bit for us in the last few years. Instead of playing Jimmy Misogyny's Famous Leaking Flea Basement or the Terrifying Hardcore Heroin Bunker, you might find yourself suddenly playing Club More Than One Working Toilet, or even hitting the jackpot at Inclusive Radical Feminists' Place. We've had a lot of luck, but it's still bittersweet.

The reason for all this touring was the release of Lost Time, our third full-length album, on April Fools' Day. Putting out an album takes a loooong time. We wrote the songs in the summer of 2015. Making a piece of art and then sitting with it for six months is anxiety purgatory. Should I have sung that differently? Are these lyrics too dumb? Is this song too serious? Too slow? Can everyone hear the Sudafed? Is this even good?

A month before the record came out, we took a 10-day trip to South by Southwest to practice our new songs live and remind people that we were still a band or whatever people are supposed to be doing there (the lowlights of SXSW are too numerous and widely reported on to bother with, but two main highlights stick out in my mind: drinking Topo Chico fizzy water and meeting the band Daddy Issues). Later in March, we played a Bernie Sanders rally at Safeco Field in Seattle. I wore a sweatshirt with "79/100" written on it over and over in puffy paint. I cried when he spoke. I wish we could have played Hillary Clinton's rally, but Macklemore beat us out.

A week later, we played two album-release shows in one day—one all ages and one 21+ evening show—at Chop Suey. Both were sold out. It was the most fun. I cried then, too. We all cried. I was so overwhelmed by the sheer number of people in the room that night that I didn't even have a chance to talk to my own sister. Two days later, we left on a monthlong US tour, followed by a monthlong European one, followed by two more tours in the United States.

Memories from the first US leg are scattered. Lisa Prank joined us on the first half and charmed everyone at every show. Far too few gas stations in the US carry Schweppes black-cherry carbonated water. Shout-out to my bandmate Bree (bass, Libra, Chihuahua enthusiast) for taking the time to insist that we play with like-minded bands as much as possible—a task we realized most venue bookers kind of suck at. ("How about this dudely rockabilly band with a grudge against every girl who never dated them?")

In New York, I had a dream that Bree and I got to interview Kathleen Hanna in an extreme hangover scenario where we met up at Bed Bath & Beyond and talked about feminism, music, tour tips, and coupon scams. AND THEN IT WASN'T A DREAM—AHHHHH. (At least I hope not.)

Right before our show in North Carolina, they passed HB2, the awful transphobic bathroom law. Lots of bands decided to cancel their North Carolina appearances, but we didn't, reasoning that doing so would have deprived the folks there who actually needed community the most a chance to be around like-minded people. Also, it's not like Tacocat bailing on the Pinhook in Durham would've had the same economic impact as Pearl Jam or Bruce Springsteen pulling out of a stadium show. Instead, we played to a crowd that was so full of love, and then we donated a bunch of the proceeds to Trans Lifeline.

In Richmond, Virginia, I sang along to a Prince song and made a buddy at the venue who told me how much he LOVED Prince, and proved it by showing me a photo album of himself dressed up as the Purple One. The resemblance was pretty striking. Two days later, Prince passed away. I cried in the booth of a diner in Nashville and found the Richmond kid on Facebook to send him my condolences.

There is more crying in this than I thought there would be.

Since American bands likely don't know what they're doing driving around Europe, it's usually a good idea to get a driver. We were assigned Rafael. All we knew about Rafael before meeting him was that he was Brazilian, loved hardcore music (like, he toured with the Cro-Mags whooaaaa), and sent enthusiastic text messages that nearly matched our own for excessive use of emojis and exclamation points. After about two days into tour, we knew he was an actual angel. He told us that while a life of tour and tour management was ruining his health and romantic relationships back home, he simply loved it too much to quit. When the constant rain and homesickness started to seep in, Raf's unstoppable optimism, advice, and commitment to our sometimes-weird and sometimes-awful shows was life-saving.

Touring Europe is as bipolar as it gets. One minute, you're feeling like a rad witch who sold out a decent-sized show in England. The next minute, you're ready to jump off the "stage" at the squat you're playing in Germany (to 12 people) to confront the sound guy who is literally hiding—ducking down behind the mixing board—because he gave up on getting your microphone to work. At all. Throughout the entire show. (The best part, though, is when a man e-mails to tell you how bad the show was and that "next time you should play somewhere else.")

One day, you're meeting young women in Glasgow forming their first feminist collective to fight back against the violence and misogyny within their music community. The next, you're shielding yourself from verbal and physical confrontations hurled by drunk Englishmen (the ur-bros).

One day, you're playing a magical show in France where a crew of rad femmes surprises you with homemade Dana Scully masks. The next, you're peeing in a public park on your period because the Twizzler-shaped venue you're playing has one bathroom all the way in the back and no one will let you through the crowd.

One day you're whining and the same day you're somehow simultaneously bragging. This is a weird piece to write.

Four days after barely making our flight home (this story would require its own article) we played Sasquatch! at the Gorge. We were slotted to open the main stage, but the wind created a safety issue. All dressed up with no show to play, we sipped warm beer and waited. A stage tech asked me if I was "one of the dancers." I literally thought he was kidding and laughed in his face. A half hour later, a man who worked with the Cure saw my armpit hair and told me: "I like that. Most men wouldn't say that, but I think it's all right." I knew he wasn't kidding, unfortunately. We ended up playing a slot at the rave tent, which was more our (drunk) speed anyway.

In California, we played a few shows with the Regrettes (adolescent punk mixed with 1950s pop, the sweetest band ever). I can't imagine what life would be like if I had been that talented, confident, or smart when I was that young (the singer is 16). Being that they're a major-label band with three young female members, I wondered about their experience of sexism: Did they already encounter it regularly? Would they eventually experience it more or less than we did, given that they have a support system? They definitely dealt with age issues on the regular—a super aggro bouncer wouldn't let them stay and politely watch our San Diego show, even with Xs on their hands, even though none of them care about drinking and their very wonderful dad was there! Underage venue laws are also the topic for another piece altogether...

Our final tour of 2016 started off pretty rough. Eric (guitar, Libra, poodle enthusiast) woke up the day before we were supposed to leave for tour with searing shoulder pain that wouldn't allow him to sit up straight, let alone play guitar. Since we would be touring the first leg with Dude York, we decided to call "Peter 911" and ask if their guitarist (who is Peter) would please learn all our songs in 24 hours and join us for as many shows as Eric could not do. He agreed and learned our set list in one practice. What a guy.

Since we had to cancel our first date in Spokane, the three gals of Tacocat took off. Lelah (drums, Gemini, Pomeranian enthusiast) and I—the only licensed drivers—each took 10-hour shifts until we hit Minneapolis. The show ruled. I met a bunch of incredible abortion-care providers who came to our show because of the #ShoutYourAbortion connection. It was a lovefest.

We got Eric back two days later when he flew to Chicago with some edibles and a chiropractic device that looked like a giant cheddar Combo. We said good-bye to our loves Dude York and took up with Daddy Issues for the rest of the tour. Sometimes I think about the wonderful bands we've played with and feel anxious about all the people who might not ever hear them.

I'm rambling. My linear memory is horrible. How was tour? It was everything. To us, anyway. I can't deny the weird irony that our band had "a pretty good year" during a year that will most certainly go down in history as The Actual Worst. All I can say is that spending as much time as we did outside our Seattle bubble gave us the perspective that the world is not as balkanized as Fox News would have you believe, nor is it as homogenous as your Facebook feed looks. There are real, live progressive communities everywhere, all in different stages of figuring it out. Maybe they have a lot to learn, maybe they have a lot to teach—either way, dismantling oppression includes reaching out and nurturing one another as like-minded freaks. It might be absurd to say that the act of singing songs while being a woman and touring in a band (cringey cringe cringe) feels important during times like these. But in a small way, it kind of does.

The High List, Bumbershoot 2016 Edition

Emily Nokes — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 04:00:00 -0700

Stoned at Bumbershoot? Of Course You Are! Recommended Events and Snacks for Vape-Dawgs and Bong-Riders by Emily Nokes

See The Stranger's complete guide to Bumbershoot.

FRIDAY

NAKED GIANTS

MUSIC 3:10 pm, Starbucks Stage

Seattle's most explosive boy band, Naked Giants, will get you right into *~*FESTIVAL MODE*~*!!! Or at least into a mode more energetic than the bong rip you rode in on. Their exuberant rock/punk sets are a near-constant whirlwind of shredding, thrashing, and grinning like they could play all weekend and genuinely enjoy every second of it.

DONORMAAL

MUSIC 5:30 pm, KEXP

Enter a dreamlike state with Seattle-based (by way of Southern California) artist DoNormaal, aka Christianne Karefa-Johnson, whose poetic, otherworldly hiphop (she describes her genre as "morbid emotional prayer") might be potent enough for you to lay off the THC for a minute—but don't feel like you have to. Spend time with her 2015 album Jump or Die if you haven't yet.

HUGO HOUSE PRESENTS THE ORACLE

WORDS & IDEAS 7:30 pm, Center Theater

"Am I too stoned to be here? Is everyone looking at me all weird? Am I going to lose my phone and wallet by the end of this weekend?" Ask the oracles (aka writers Ijeoma Oluo, Kristiana Kahakauwila, and Garth Stein) your deepest questions and they'll do their best to help you out. Like much of the programming in the Words & Ideas realm of Bumbershoot, the premise is a bit confusing here, but as long as Ijeoma Oluo is involved, you're bound to learn something.

FETTY WAP

MUSIC 7:35 pm, KeyArena

Fetty's quadruple-platinum single "Trap Queen"—the most uplifting anthem ever written about love (and cooking dope) at first sight—solidified his recipe of upbeat rap studded with lots of watery "yaaaahhhhh baby" and gratuitous Auto-Tune. It's true, Fetty might be a bit of a one-trick pony, but it's a pretty great trick, and I suspect you won't mind.

SATURDAY

PONY TIME

MUSIC 3 pm, KEXP

I don't want to get all hysterical on you, but this could very well be your LAST TIME to see Pony Time [sob]! I don't know if there has ever been a catchier Aries/Libra duo in the history of music, but I do know that in order to properly celebrate the seven-ish years of joy that Stacy Peck (drums) and Luke Beetham (bass, vocals) have given Seattle, you better bring the right vape pen.

HINDS

MUSIC 7:20 pm, Starbucks Stage

While it might be difficult to describe Hinds without mentioning, say, garage rock in the very tapped vein of the Black Lips (or various bands on the Burger Records roster), Hinds' lo-fi fuzz-pop floats this Madrid quartet into their own lane with surreal lyrics and the very chill blend of Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote's voices singing in unison. If you feel compelled to close your eyes to gently sway during their set, I won't judge you.

RUN THE JEWELS

MUSIC 7:20 pm, Main Stage

Okay, this starts at the same time as Hinds, but goes 40 minutes longer, so you'll have time to see both! Write it on your hand if you have to. Run the Jewels are El-P and Killer Mike, who have been known to put on exceptionally high-powered shows propelled by their politically charged bangers (do pre-funk to Run the Jewels and Run the Jewels 2... and stay tuned for a third installment, slated for release sometime this year).

SUNDAY

THIRD EYE BLIND

MUSIC 6:50 pm, Fisher Green

Whoa! Third Eye Blind played Bumbershoot in 1998, aka my first Bumbershoot and festival ever, thank you for asking! Though nothing else they did quite reached the success of their self-titled 1997 debut (the one with "Semi-Charmed Life," "Losing a Whole Year," "Jumper," "Graduate," and "How's It Going to Be" on it), the fact that singer/guitarist Stephan Jenkins recently trolled right-wingers who attended their benefit show in Cleveland (it landed during the Republican National Convention) by yelling things like "Raise your hand if you believe in science" and "You can boo all you want, but I'm the motherfucking artist up here" makes me love them as much as I did when I was 13.

SHERMAN ALEXIE, ROBERT LASHLEY, AND EJ KOH

WORDS & IDEAS 7:30 pm, Center Theater

Now that they've finally started labeling marijuana, perhaps you can fine-tune your buzz to the "you know, I could go for some poetry right now" setting and let some of the Seattle area's best poets (who also happen to be gifted performers), one of whom is a Stranger Genius nominee this year, massage your brain with their words.

BILLY IDOL

MUSIC 8:30 pm, Fisher Green

I've referred to Billy Idol's penchant for showmanship as "Punk: the Musical," and I stand by that. You've got the leather pants, the sneer, and the cross earring, but you've also got exceptional hair and makeup, costume changes, and elaborate lighting design! What more could you ask of him in 2016? Unrelated: Remember when Billy Idol came out with that Cyberpunk concept album in 1993? Just checking.

PORTER ROBINSON WORLDS LIVE TOUR

MUSIC 10 pm, KeyArena

Porter Robinson is a mainstream EDM producer and DJ, and I know you were wondering when and where you could possibly find more of that! Yes, the music generally sounds something like a shiny bundle of Passion Pit, Forever 21, and soft robot voices cooing positive affirmations, but the multimedia live show promises to be something to feast your bloodshot eyes upon. According to Robinson's bio, "It's a hyperreal, video-game-fueled dream come to life..."

ALL WEEKEND

LASER DOME

LASERS Fri–Sun, various times, Pacific Science Center

Laser dome! LASER DOOOMME! Laser domes are lit-er-al-ly what weed was made for. Kick back and enjoy the music of such legendary artists as Nirvana, David Bowie, MGMT, Daft Punk, Michael Jackson, Prince, Pink Floyd (guess which album), Outkast, and the Beatles, WITH LASER ACCOMPANIMENT. You might want to ingest an edible for this, but only if you know for certain it won't make you want to lock yourself in a porta-potty and cry. Because then you will miss the LASERS.

B-EATS

FOOD Fri–Sun, 2:30–9:30 pm, B-EATs tent

B-EATs is Bumbershoot's "Sizzling New Local Food Program" (LOL, KING 5's words, not mine) created by restaurateur Dan Bugge. Participating restaurants include Bugge's own Radiator Whiskey (for brisket and other "meat creations") and Matt's in the Market (po'boys), with Gracia (tacos and tamales), Little Uncle (classic Thai), Pike Place Fish Guys (I think these are the guys who throw the fish?), Bok A Bok (Korean fried chicken), and more. Hit the tent on Friday to get the full schedule of sit-down meals throughout the weekend, laminate it, and pin it on your shirt.

REIGN SUPREME BREAKING & STREET DANCE COMPETITION

DANCE Fri, 4 pm; Sat, 5:30 pm; Sun, 6:30 pm; Exhibition Hall

I suggested this last year, and since I haven't had any negative breakdance experiences since then, I'm totally suggesting it again... Especially since there is probably nothing more mind-melting to watch while you're stoned than ultra-talented B-girls and B-boys from all over the world twisting and spinning like they have no bones, or maybe bones that can snap into different various geometric shapes at will.

THE IMPROVISED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

COMEDY Sat, 5 pm; Sun, 7 pm; Bagley Wright Theater

Based on an audience suggestion for a fictional play title, this group will riff Elizabethan as an entire Shakespeare-ish play unfolds before your very (glazed-over) eyes! Seems legit.

SHISHKABERRY'S

FOOD Fri–Sun, Shishkaberry's stand

If you do just one thing at Bumbershoot, this is the thing: SHISHKABERRY'S. Shishkaberry's make the perfect snack—strawberries on a stick (so healthy!) dipped in white, milk, or dark chocolate, with toppings like sprinkles, Oreos, and whipped cream.

ONE REEL FILM FESTIVAL

FILM Fri–Sun, various times, SIFF

Hot tip: Watching films indoors at a festival is a great way to forget that you're at a festival and/or wait out that awkward "too high to talk anyone" feeling.

SILENT DISCO

DISCO Fri–Sun, 7:10–11:40 pm, EMP Sky Church

Now here's something we're really going to wow future generations with: a silent dance party at which everyone wears wireless headphones and dances to one of two DJs. Learn what a DJ Gotek is and whether or not you like it more than a CHVSM!

FLATSTOCK 56

ART Fri–Sun, Exhibition Hall

But wait, have you ever really, like, looked at a bunch of music posters?

Advice for When You're 18-ish

Emily Nokes — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Illustrated Advice for When You're 18-ish by Emily Nokes

The High List

Emily Nokes — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Bumbershoot High List: Recommended Events & Nearby Snacks for When You're High as the Space Needle—AT the Space Needle! by Emily Nokes SATURDAY 9/5

Babes in Toyland

MUSIC 5 pm, #NeverTamed Stage

Recently re-formed after a 14-year hiatus, Minneapolis, Minnesota's totally ripping Babes in Toyland have reportedly picked up the raw punk rock right where they left off. If Kat Bjelland's vocals are even half as ferocious as they were in the '90s, you're in for a delightfully brutal time. Wear your best doll-dress/combat-boots combo. (Update: Mid-reunion-tour, BiT have replaced bassist Maureen Herman with 22-year-old Clara Salyer from the excellent bands Prissy Clerks and Whatever Forever. Daaanng!)

Nearby snack: Ben & Jerry's knows you have the munchies and is always there for you with decadent ice cream loaded with stoner-approved flavor combos. Mmmm, combos. They should make Combos ice cream, right?? Trademark copyright.

Flying Lotus

MUSIC 9 pm, KeyArena

LA's Flying Lotus (aka Steven Ellison) weaves cosmic hiphop, future jazz, and experimental electronic music into astral tapestries that J Dilla would surely approve of. Go ahead and time that edible with this (I mean, only if you like edibles, I'm not going to be responsible for some Bumber-freak-out over here).

Nearby snack: Peanut Butter Goodness may be terribly named ("goodness" shall hereafter only be accompanied by "gracious" and even then only by the geriatric demographic), but they serve DEEP-FRIED PB&J SANDWICHES! Other items they've been known to throw into the molten oil: brownies, cinnamon rolls, and pickles.

SUNDAY 9/6

Lee "Scratch" Perry and Subatomic Sound System

MUSIC 4 pm, Starbucks Stage

Now nearly 80 years old, the Jamaican-born "Ganja Man" Lee Perry is a highly (LOL) influential dub/reggae figure whose career began in the late 1950s during the first wave of ska. He's also a gloriously freakadelic sight to behold—Perry can usually be found dressed in a wild garment-collage with his hair/beard dyed neon.

Nearby snack: Smokey's BBQ Grill for sausages, pulled pork, and other things you might find on a, um, barbecue or grill.

MONDAY 9/7

Peaches

MUSIC 7:15 pm, KeyArena

Hotbox (or dance or whatever) to Peaches, the reigning spandex king of all things provocative and fantastically filthy. Peaches has a new album, RUB, out later this month—one single, "Close Up," features the unmistakable sandy voice of Kim Gordon, and the second, "Light in Places," is accompanied by a music video featuring aerialist Empress Stah performing with a laser-light butt plug.

Nearby snack: Dancing Zorba for gyros and other Greek fare. And lemonade. Most stands at Bumbershoot have lemonade.

Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals

MUSIC 9:15 pm, #NeverTamed Stage

BEN HARPER IS THE OFFICIAL MASCOT OF THE HIGH LIST. He is SO High List–approved, he practically transcends the list altogether and would be a main character in the High Bible, if we weren't too marijuana-addled to sit down and write such a thing out. For only a prophet would write these words: "If you don't like my fire/Then don't come around/'Cause I'm gonna burn one down."

Nearby snack: For this glorious show, I shall recommend the most sacred snack of Bumbershoot: Shishkaberry's. Strawberries (and, in one case, bananas) on a stick, dipped in regular or white chocolate (or both, if you know what's good for you), and rolled in toppings like sprinkles or cookie crumbs.

ALL WEEKEND

Between Garage & Grunge: Glitter, Glam, and Proto-Punk in Seattle's Subversive '70s

VISUAL ARTS & SPECTACLES International Fountain Pavilion

Before grunge but after garage rock, the 1970s in Seattle's underground saw guerrilla theater troupe Ze Whiz Kidz and synth-punk/glam/drag/proto-punk bands like Telepaths, Tupperwares, Screamers, Lewd, Friends of the Rag, and more making weird music and weirder art from Seattle to LA. Posters, photos, film, costumes, zines, albums, and other evidence of our best-looking era of counterculture will be on display.

Nearby snack: Hawaii's Donut for regular or cream-filled doughnuts (you know what the correct choice is here) and Italian sodas.

Ijeoma Oluo: Why This Why That Why Now

WORDS & IDEAS 2 pm, Words & Ideas Stage

Daily conversations on topics ranging from internet hoaxes and trolling to satire and hipster racism with Ijeoma Oluo, an ace local writer whose words on race, feminism, and basically anything else she talks about are funny, smart, and worth your attention. Oh yeah, furries might come up, too.

Nearby snack: Kaleenka Piroshky serves piroshki (meat, veggie, dessert) and little potato dishes that aren't bad.

Reign Supreme Breakdancing Competition

DANCE Dance Stage

Breakdance competition! Crews like Massive Monkees and BC1 Allstars face off with other talented street-dance competitors from across the globe for a three-day "high-stakes breakdance competition." Winners get cash money and the satisfaction of knowing that their bodies transcend what we know about gravity and rhythm.

Nearby snack: Ziegler's Bratwurst Haus not only has, as you may have suspected, all kinds of tubed meat like sausage and bratwurst, but they also serve up curly fries and blooming onions. For those who know their limits/are not competing in any dance competitions today.

Best of SIFF 2015

FILM SIFF Film Center

Audience favorites and award winners from SIFF 2015! Films during festivals are actually a great way to duck out of the commotion for a sec. Like at California Adventure, where you can sit in an air-conditioned theater to see the Muppet*Vision 3-D movie with almost no line and it's actually so funny you leave with your face hurting and it's hands-down the best 3-D you've ever seen. Ummm. So yeah. Film is tight.

Nearby snack: Fried dough with sugar and honey, aka the elephant ear. Bumbershoot is legally obligated to offer at least one elephant-ear stand every year, right? RIGHT? If not, shut it down.

Hari Kondabolu

COMEDY Comedy at the Playhouse

Hari Kondabolu's stand-up is funny even when you're not high or at a local festival, so imagine how hard/loud you're going to laugh during ALL THREE DAYS OF BUMBERSHOOT! He also is really smart, is a Libra, and released a comedy album on Kill Rock Stars last year called Waiting for 2042.

Nearby snack: Roasted corn! Roasted corn! Roasted corn!

Silent Disco

DISCO EMP Sky Church

"Silent Disco" (a silent party where attendees wear wireless headphones and tune into one of two live DJs and dance it out from there) has its own category on the schedule this year. If you've been hesitant to try this trend (I can't imagine why), I'm going to say that there may be no better or less-inhibited time than while brain-meltingly stoned on marijuana and festival tiredness! The DJs on deck include Dr. Fresch, Candyland, Dieselboy, and lots of top-notch local talent.

Nearby snack: If you're gonna dance all evening, get that water. Sparkling water, water-fountain water, Vitamin Water, bottled water. It's good for cottonmouth and for not passing out from dehydration.

See The Stranger's Things To Do calendar for our complete guide to Bumbershoot.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events & Nearby Snacks for Stoners: Psych Rock, Wild Sharks, Cryptozoology, and More! by Emily Nokes

Northwest Psychfest

MUSIC July 30–Aug 1, Sunset Tavern (5433 Ballard Ave NW)

Three days of psychedelic music—a genre that has grown to include all that is reverberating and/or trippy, from heavy rock freak-outs to mellow pop haze. Whatever you're into, man, doing some weed will accentuate the rich tapestry that is music. Can you dig it or whatever?

Nearby snack: Señor Moose Cafe (5242 NW Leary Ave) for glorious Mexican food. Start with the esquites—fresh corn with epazote and cream and fried tortillas for dipping.

'A Curious Bestiary: Chimeras and Cryptozoology from American Print Makers'

ART Through Aug 1, Davidson Galleries (313 Occidental Ave S)

You have only a few more days to catch this show of peculiar prints. There's a lot to wonder about: detailed creature hybrids, pets that are actually meat, anthropomorphic beasts hanging out with animalized humans, and a few different takes on animals that are falling apart.

Nearby snack: The London Plane (300 Occidental Ave S) has a thorough menu of daytime tasties, right down to the comprehensive toast section. They also serve themed dinners Wednesday (chicken), Thursday (pasta), Friday (seafood), and Saturday (couscous). Seems like that could cut down on marijuana-induced menu panic.

'Dan Webb: Break It Down'

ART Through Aug 31, Olympic Sculpture Park (2901 Western Ave)

Pop down to the Olympic Sculpture Park to visit sculptor Dan Webb's performance/project/whittle-a-thon, during which he sits on the porch of a summer shack he built, carving a fir tree into tinier and tinier sculptures until they are nothing but sawdust. The entire tree will eventually be whittled away by Webb; seeds from the tree will be planted.

Nearby snack: THE OLD SPAGHETTI FACTORY (2801 Elliott Ave) IS SHUTTING DOWN SOON. :(

Wild Sharks!

SHARKS Through Aug 2, Seattle Aquarium (1483 Alaskan Way)

Coooool! Wild sharks! Did you know there are wild sharks that live IN PUGET SOUND? The Seattle Aquarium will tell you all about them during their daily shark talks and activities. Don't forget to visit the octopuses, tropical fish, and underwater viewing dome! (I knew someone who swore that the aquarium was best visited while stoned, alone, and listening to Air in headphones at top volume.)

Nearby snack: It seems kind of weird to go to the aquarium and then go eat seafood, but the pier has a Crab Pot (1301 Alaskan Way), Elliott's Oyster House (1201 Alaskan Way), Ivar's (1001 Alaskan Way), and more if all those little buddies made you hungry.

Not Going to Capitol Hill Block Party?

Emily Nokes — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Not Going to Capitol Hill Block Party? Here's What Else Is Going On This Weekend by Emily Nokes

It's tiiiime! Seattle's summer months are a nonstop music explosion with festivals and shows of all sizes happening left and right, from Central District Punk House Basement™ to the Tacoma Dome. This year's Capitol Hill Block Party boasts a nice dose of local bands, plus great second-tier support from outta-towners like Shannon and the Clams, Girlpool, and Protomartyr. But if your bank account can't swing CHBP this year or you're simply looking for options that include less underbutt, you've come to the right place. I've compiled a list of other shows happening this weekend, just for you.

Cock Block Party (Fri—Sun, 8:30 pm, Unicorn/Narwhal, 1118 E Pike St, free, 21+)

Happening so close to the actual Block Party you can practically taste the vape pens, Cock Block Party brings you three days of free, air-conditioned music! Cumulus, dræmhouse, Sir Coyler & His Asthmatic Band, the Boss Martians, Black Wizard, and more will keep you company in the hyper carnival of the Unicorn (upstairs) and the Narwhal (basement). PSA: They have a menu section specifically for drop shots.

West Seattle Rock Party (Fri—Sat, 7 pm, Skylark Cafe, 3803 Delridge Way SW, $10 per day, 21+)

I applaud the West Seattle Rock Party for their take on the CHBP poster branding—teal photo blobs and golden squiggles! Their tagline is "No Block, Just Rock," and the lineup includes Suction (melodic hard rock, inspired by the likes of Bob Mould and Killing Joke), Mind Vice (hard-edged funk), Echo Ravine (sweetly melancholic pop, the only band of this two-day fest to include a female), and more.

Not Block Party (Fri—Sat, 9 pm, Lo-Fi, 429 Eastlake Ave E, $6 Fri/$7 Sat, 21+)

This subtly named mini-fest features music in the pop/psych/rock realm from Black Nite Crash, Radar, Solvents, Kay Odyssey, and other guests. As Things to Do's music editor, Kyle Fleck, puts it: "There's a bit of pop-culture apocrypha that Huey Lewis once claimed all pop/rock records in the '80s sounded the same because they were ripping off the production on his band's record Sports, down to the last keyboard effect and over-compressed drum. Something similar is afoot these days, seemingly, though its origin remains a mystery: Seattle is inundated with bands in thrall to the reverb and gauze of shoegaze, cut with a bit of grungy non-fuck-giving crunch. It's near inescapable. Point being, Black Nite Crash have it pretty much mastered, and some of their stuff aims for the pomp of vintage Oasis, which is intriguing on an intellectual level, if nothing else. Other bands on the block for the Not Block Party do things a bit differently, with Solvents rocking a K Records–influenced DIY folk-punk sound and Austin's Kay Odyssey taking you on a honey-sweetened trip through girl-group pop and psych. All of which is a long of way of saying you have solid local choices this weekend, if Capitol Hill Block Party's not your cup of iced tea."

Spock Party (Fri, 9 pm, Black Lodge, ask a punk for the address, all ages; Victory Lounge, 433 Eastlake Ave E, donation, 21+)

Dress as your fave Starfleet officer (Dr. Leonard McCoy or Dr. Beverly Crusher, if you're taking suggestions) and beam down to this double-whammy show. Bands include X SUNS, Heavy Petting, the Ditch and the Delta (Salt Lake), Post/Boredom, Noyes (LA), Audrey Horne, and a few surprise additions.

Music Under the Stars (Fri, 7:15 pm, Freeway Park, 700 Seneca St, free, all ages)

Bring a blanket, snacks, white wine La Croix sparkling water cans, and a date you can tolerate to this evening of outdoor music at Freeway Park! Tonight's programming begins with chamber music performed by a student ensemble and continues with a live broadcast direct from Benaroya Hall. Two shows in one that cost exactly nothing!

Nail Polish, Twat Trap, Old Man, Mordant (Fri, 8 pm, Hollow Earth Radio, 2018 E Union St, $10 suggested donation, all ages)

Hollow Earth's live shows are intimate and interesting, and never include harassment from Red Bull girls (stop enabling me!). Tonight, Twat Trap bring you queer feminist hardcore from Idaho with Bellevue-based whippersnapper noisemakers Old Man, the intense wailing hardcore of Mordant, and Nail Polish (members of Smiling)—a new local band that makes dissonant, angular, melodic punk ideal for future-alien dance moves and your best lavender lipstick.

Out to Lunch: Craft Spells (Fri, noon, Westlake Park, 401 Pine St, free, all ages)

The Out to Lunch concert series returns for its 37th year, bringing live music to your lunch break (or your getting-out-of-bed-now break if you're over the whole "job" thing right now). Today's band is the subdued and sweet Craft Spells, playing floral-print introvert-pop at Westlake Park—which is less of a park and more of an extended walkway, lined with a fountain and the city's best bucket drummers. Bonus: It's dangerously close to See's Candies (who'll give you a sample if only you'd ask).

Afrocop, Jerry Zimmerman (Sat, 6 pm, Vito's, 927 Ninth Ave, free, 21+)

Afrocop's self-described "improvised soundscapes of soul, Afrobeat, breakbeat, sci-fi, and jazz" and Jerry Zimmerman's excellent piano skills can be experienced up close and personal at Vito's, my favorite hidden old-school bar/lounge (check that gold-flecked mirror).

Barenaked Ladies, Violent Femmes, Colin Hay (Sun, 6:30 pm, Marymoor Park, 6046 West Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE, Redmond, $44.50—$54.50, all ages)

Okay, okay, this isn't necessarily the CHEAPEST thing (compared to free), but if you're looking to weird-splurge, this Last Summer on Earth tour contains the curious lineup of Colin Hay (he was the lead singer of Men at Work, his solo stuff is acoustic folkie, his Wikipedia photo is hilarious), Violent Femmes (remember when they sold "Blister in the Sun" to a Wendy's commercial?), and Barenaked Ladies ("Hold it now and watch the hoodwink"). All three of these acts have new music out this year, so come prepared for literally anything.

Around the Block Party (Kill the Keg) (Sun, 4 pm, Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, free, 21+)

Not only free and early, but with drink specials (for when you just want to pass out by 10 p.m.)! Chop Suey continues its "Around the Block Party" tradition, offering a Capitol Hill–based show with no wristbands necessary. Enjoy local boy talent: Sayonara (putting the two extra 6s in 206 hardcore), Big Trughk (sludgy roghck), Trash Fire (pop/punk charred to perfection), and Boyfriends (sorry, they're taken).

Honorable mentions: Fri 7/24, For the 99 and the 2000s at Columbia City Theater; Sat 7/25, Stiff Little Fingers at El Corazon; Sun 7/26, Mavis Staples at Woodland Park Zoo; Every day of the year, Buskers Trying to Get Back to Olympia at Pike Place Market.

The High List

Emily Nokes — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events & Nearby Snacks for Stoners: Cereal Sculptures, Spock Amok, and Outdoor Cinema by Emily Nokes

'John O'Donnell: Cereal Cave'

ART Through Aug 2, Glass Box Gallery (831 Seattle Blvd S)

Cereal sculptures! This exhibition of sculptures, video, and prints focuses on "nostalgia, failure, fantasy, and ideas surrounding the construction of mystery." Whatever that means! Cereal sculptures! (But seriously, this guy makes some wonderfully weird pieces that skew toward the colorful and discombobulated.)

Nearby snack: In the food-court area of Uwajimaya (600 Fifth Ave S), you will find Beard Papa's—the BEST place to get cream puffs. They also serve 420-friendly fare like the cheesecake bar and the mango ice shower (condensed milk and mango nectar over shaved ice and mango chunks).

'Outdoor Trek'

THEATER Through Aug 9, Blanche Lavizzo Park (E Yesler Way and 22nd Ave S)

YES. Here we have an opportunity to see an outdoor play based on the "Amok Time" episode of Star Trek. Basically, Spock starts acting irrationally and must return to the planet Vulcan for a brutal mating ritual. Like salmon, during certain periods in their lives, Vulcan men must mate or die trying. But like, who wouldn't mate with Spock? Set phasers to STUNNING, amiright? Whoooeee. Er, anyway, this is a great idea for an outdoor play. I'd maybe even do an edible for this. Oh, and there's a preshow going down one hour before!

Nearby snack: Moonlight Cafe (1919 S Jackson St) has two menus: one vegan, one meat. I don't fux with the meat, but even my carnivorous pals swear by the veg menu. The sesame "beef" is your best introductory dish.

Block Party Alternatives

MUSIC July 24–26, Various locations

If you spent your summer allowance on that elaborate vaporizer (worth it) and can't afford a CHBP ticket (sheeeeeeeiit), you still have options! From the Unicorn's Cock Block Party (Friday through Sunday) to Music Under the Stars in Freeway Park (Friday), I've laid out some free or cheap, elaborate-vaporizer-approved shows to hit this weekend here. Hit. Get it?

Nearby snack: I'm desperately, hopelessly in love with Starburst sorbet bars. They're perfect squares that taste like frozen strawberry clouds on a stick. Available at most gas stations and other places with freezers.

Outdoor Movies

SUMMER Through Aug 29, Various locations

Outdoor movies and marijuana go together like melted chocolate on a Hot Pocket (sweet 'n' savory is so IN)! This week, see Predator (7/24) and/or Monty Python and the Holy Grail (7/25) at Fremont Outdoor Cinema, Big Hero 6 (7/23) at Magnuson Park, The Goonies (7/25) at Seattle Center Movies at the Mural, Singles (7/25) at West Seattle Outdoor Movies, Speed and Drive (7/26) at the King's Hardware patio, or, obviously, Dazed and Confused (7/23) at Moonlight Cinema at Redhook Brewery.

Nearby snack: Many of these movies include food trucks and other snack ops, but it's my duty to inform you that Taco Bell has a new menu item: Cap'n Crunch Delights (Cap'n Crunch cereal–coated doughnut bites with gooey icing filling). I love that Taco Bell doesn't even pretend like their demographic is anything but 100 percent stoned people.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events & Nearby Snacks for Stoners: Male Strippers, Kawaii Faces, and Aural Immersion. Bonus: Slurpee Recipe by Emily Nokes

The Spits, Wimps, Gazebos

MUSIC Thurs July 16, Chop Suey (1325 E Madison St)

Spits shows are a rad pile of sweaty punk rock no matter what drug you're on, but this particular Spits show will be opened by two of the best local bands going right now—Wimps! Gazebos!—plus hot jams from DJ MF Cake and DJ Danger Nun. Most importantly, this night is a memorial for Libra drummer A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister, who died this past March of a heart attack and whom no one on this bill knew personally. I don't think. Condolences anyway.

Nearby snack: Walk up to Central Co-op (1600 E Madison St) and buy a Sin Dawg [guitar solo] made by Dave's Killer Bread [harmonized guitar solo]. It's a squishy whole-grain bread log with cinnamon goo and seeds rolled into it. It looks weird, but it tastes exactly like rock 'n' roll. What am I even talking about?

Substrata 1.5

MUSIC July 16–18, Chapel Performance Space (4649 Sunnyside Ave N)

For the discerning among us, the fifth annual Substrata experimental/electronic fest brings immersive aural experiences from sound makers like Kentucky composer/pianist Rachel Grimes, Bay Area ambient techno artist bvdub, and Panabrite (Seattle's Norm Chambers), to name a few. Do be mindful that this is an intimate setting (as in, not the right place to try out dabs or extreme edibles for the first time).

Nearby snack: Wallingford's Diggity Dog Hot Dog & Sausage Co. (5421 Meridian Ave N) has one mission: "Show the world how delicious and satisfying a truly great hot dog can be." They also have burgers, sandwiches, and a menu for vegetarians, which is very sweet of them.

'Chiho Aoshima: Rebirth of the World'

ART Through Oct 4, Seattle Asian Art Museum (1400 E Prospect St)

The surface of Chiho Aoshima's artwork is colorful and cute—buildings personified with sweet kawaii faces, friendly UFOs, a woman who is also a peninsula—but closer inspection reveals a surreal darkness humming in the background. Like waking up from a dream so strange it hurt your stomach and left you feeling a bit off the rest of the day.

Nearby snack: Smith (332 15th Ave E) serves mac and cheese, poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy), and other rustic stoner fare for your heart to attack.

'Magic Mike XXL'

MOVIE/ABS Wide release

I haven't seen this glistening hunk of a film yet, but I received an emergency text recently at 2:35 a.m. (from someone on the East Coast, no less) that simply said: "Please see Magic Mike XXL. It is the best." Yes! I'd already planned to get unbelievably stoned and hit that, even before I read Elinor Jones's great review in The Stranger, which ends with: "Magic Mike XXL is the most pro-woman, anti-homophobia film I've seen in a long time. The fact that it's loaded with hot dudes and dance numbers... well, that's nice too." A male-stripper flick that's pro-lady and anti–gay jokes? #yaskween.

Nearby snack: I know "we" have been talking about Slurpees a lot (oh, "SORRY"), but have you ever dumped a box of Nerds and a packet of Pop Rocks into one? HAVE YOU?

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events for Stoners: Myth and Magic Faire, Noise Yoga, and Free Slurpee Day by Emily Nokes

Wii Wednesday

BOOZE/GAMES Wed July 8, Sake Nomi (76 S Washington St)

Pioneer Square's best (only?) sake bar/shop, Sake Nomi, hosts a weekly Wii battle for those of us who have that kind of skill. Wii games are kind of hard, right? RIGHT? If worse comes to worst, you can just drink and watch!

Nearby snack: Delicatus (103 First Ave S) is self-described as "a Seattle delicatessen," and they boast a huge menu of sandwiches (and soups and salads) (but mostly sandwiches) (many, many sandwiches).

Myth & Magic Faire

FAIRE July 10–12, EMP Museum (325 Fifth Ave N)

Hark! Three days of wonder and whimsy await thee at the Myth & Magic Faire! Friday: a 30th-anniversary screening of the 1985 fantasy adventure film Legend (Tim Curry!). Saturday: a medieval-style wizard's feast with unlimited drink, followed by a masquerade ball. Sunday: family-friendly daytime activities from sword fighting to crafts to unicorn care. A great costume op if there ever was one.

Nearby snack: WIZARD'S FEAST, I SAID.

Seattle Outdoor Theater Festival

THEATER July 11–12, Volunteer Park (1247 15th Ave E)

Shakespeare and other fine theater, in the park, for free! Outdoor plays are cool because you can (politely) vape up a storm and it's less panic-inducing if you have to (politely) get up to pee.

Nearby snack: Saturday, July 11, is FREE SLURPEE DAY at 7-Eleven! Piña colada is the finest of the flavors, followed by Dr. Pepper and Sour Patch Kids Watermelon. Since we're already here, the 7-Eleven brand s'mores ice-cream sandwiches are also a delight, and this is off topic (or is it?), but the 7-Eleven brand toilet paper is actually kinda fancy. It's called 7-Select®.

Noise Yoga

YOGA Sun July 12, Frye Art Museum (704 Terry Ave)

Explore meditation and movement in a unique sonic environment with Noise Yoga, a twice-a-month summer program that pairs live experimental music with gentle Hatha yoga—all inside of the Frye Art Museum! The classes are led by ace yogi Emily Denton (of Poseurs yoga series and zine, the band Stickers, and apparel company Actual Pain), accompanied this week by ambient synth master Jason E. Anderson. Register in advance on the Frye website to secure a spot! Namaste, kind bud.

Nearby snack: Kafe Berlin (613 Ninth Ave) serves sandwiches, pastries, coffee, and a selection of wursts and other tubed meats (for after yoga)

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events for Stoners: Clear Eyes, Full Toilet, Can't Lose. Plus: Scared of Chaka Reunion! by Emily Nokes

'The Destroyer Has a Master Plan'

ART Through Aug 1, Speckled & Drake (1355 E Olive Way)

Local artist/musician/fortune-teller Corey J Brewer makes slide collage prints using film negatives and transparencies from home movies, mainstream cinema, educational films, etc. in 35-mm slide casings. He manipulates the slides using paint, bleach, and other wizard tools—the resulting pieces are appealingly eerie and very worthy of your bloodshot eyeballs.

Nearby snack: I'm sure we've talked about Pie Bar (1361 E Olive Way), we must have (my memory is a smoldering landfill), but y'all, it's a place whose only function is to sell pie and booze. You can get a slice of pie, or a martini, OR, if you're feeling frisky: a PIETINI—pie-inspired drinks that come with a crumbled piecrust rim. It sounds kind of gross, but then you're drinking one like, where has this been all my life?

'Freedom Fantasia'

THEATER/QUEER July 1–3, Triple Door (216 Union St)

I could watch season six of RuPaul's Drag Race over and over and never get sick of Seattle's own BenDeLaCreme. Though our terminally delightful DeLa didn't win first prize (guh!), she was voted Miss Congeniality and also queen of my heart. DeLa hosts this Fourth of July spectacular, which also features star-spangled talent from Kitten LaRue, Cherdonna Shinatra (who's up for a 2015 Stranger Genius Award!), Lou Henry Hoover, and many more. [Heart-eyes emoji.]

Nearby snack: You're in luck! The Triple Door has a full menu of food from pan-Asian restaurant Wild Ginger. I like the Sichuan green beans, as they are the most efficient salt-delivery system.

Scared of Chaka, Full Toilet, Prison

MUSIC Thurs July 2, Chop Suey (1325 E Madison St)

Whoa. Albuquerque, New Mexico, punk band Scared of Chaka (formed in '93) are playing a reunion show! Their first Seattle show in 14 years! Also on the bill are Seattle's own Full Toilet, fronted by the ill-tempered Don Sheets, who is sure to blow a gasket. The last time Full Toilet played at Chop, they left behind an actual toilet, which was then made into a giant outdoor ashtray (for butts!). This was viewed by the band as a hostile act and resulted in a rant/rave–filled e-mail claiming that the toilet was Sheets's own home shitter and demanding an ice sculpture, among other things, by way of reparations. Do go to this show.

Nearby snack: Have you ever had the dessert chimichanga at El Gallito (1700 20th Ave)? Just wondering.

Fireworks! Everywhere!

EVENT Sat July 4, Various locations

The jury's still out on whether we should be particularly "proud" of our "nation" at the "moment," but patriotism aside, FIREWORKS FUCKING RULE. You know they do. They are so cool. Who designs them? How the hell do they get those shape-making ones to make those shapes? So beautiful! So fleeting! No matter where you live in the Seattle area, there is probably a fireworks show you can hone in on because the sky is still free, like you. (For now.) Check our handy Fourth of July calendar for details: thestranger.com/events/julyfourth.

Nearby snack: The most Fourth of July snacks are: Bomb Pops/Firecrackers (those red, white, and blue Popsicles), the flag cakes that your neighbor always makes with raspberries/blueberries/Cool Whip, and... hot dogs, I guess? Knock yourself out.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events & Nearby Snacks for Stoners: Put the High in Pra-hide with Gayzer Laser and George Michael Sing-Along by Emily Nokes

Washington's First Dinosaur

SCIENCE Mon–Sun, Burke Museum (University of Washington, 17th Ave NE & NE 45th St)

Washington's embarrassing lack of dinosaur bones was remedied last month, when a dino femur was found underwater by scientists who know about that sort of thing. They're pretty sure it's from a two-legged carnivore, which I guess is okay (a flying one would have been better, if you ask me). But seriously, when's the last time you really wrapped your brain around DINOSAURS?

Nearby snack: Araya's Place (5240 University Way NE) for the vegan Thai lunch buffet. Under the right circumstances, I could probably eat my weight in their friend spring rolls and peanut sauce.

Totally Gay Sing-Along

QUEER Thurs June 25, Central Cinema (1411 21st Ave)

I was just going to tell you that George Michael is a huge stoner, but when I looked online to confirm, several news articles popped up breaking the news that the "Club Tropicana" heartthrob has checked himself into WEED REHAB because, as International Business Times reports, "Michael was smoking nearly 25 joints a day before he decided to enter rehab." (I don't wanna miss it when you hit that high.) Um, so go sing along with Wham! songs (and all kinds of other rainbow-approved hits) tonight and spark a fatty for GM, who I hope gets well soon?

Nearby snack: I think we've talked about Central Cinema's popcorn options, but, to review: Get the curry popcorn WITH the butter. Then trick your date into ordering the brewer's yeast one (which is almost as good) so you can eat all of yours and most of theirs.

Quiet Music Festival

MUSIC Thurs June 25, All Rise Site (1250 Denny Way)

Now in its fifth year, the Quiet Music Festival of Portland is tiptoeing into Seattle, bringing you tranquil sounds from Sun Foot, Amenta Abioto, Irma Vep, Sonny & the Sunsets, and HITS. "Tuning in and zonking out are equally encouraged as this year's lineup takes you through soft sets tailored to the festival's ethos." Can do!

Nearby snack: Lunchbox Laboratory's (1253 Thomas St) experimental menu adds over-the-top flair to burgers, mini corn dogs, jalapeño poppers, totchos, shakes, and other foods inspired by that one kid whose house you could never go to for dinner because his mom let him eat whatever.

'Fantasia'

CLASSICAL June 26–27, Benaroya Hall (200 University St)

Get def high for the high-def presentation of Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 footage that will be accompanied live by the Seattle Symphony! I'm partial to the original (Disney: I liked their early stuff better), but watching/listening to Fantasia via any other setting than a tiny, tinny laptop is tiiiiiight.

Nearby snack: My big summer goal is to get dressed up and take a bong ride down to Metropolitan Grill (820 Second Ave) for the bananas Foster. They flambé it next to your table!!! Talk about a hot date.

Gayzer Laser

FESTIVAL June 27–28, Pacific Science Center Laser Dome (200 Second Ave N)

Laser light shows: for weed, by weed. Celebrate Pride weekend with Gayzer Laser's colorful visuals with a queer soundtrack! I know we already talked about George Michael, but... just saying. Gayzer Laser is part of Seattle's first annual PFFF: PrideFest Film Fest (queer film showings at various locations, June 23–27, tickets and info at strangertickets.com).

Nearby snack: I have no idea why I know this, but McDonald's (222 Fifth Ave N) has a strawberries-and-cream pie now, in addition to the apple pie we all know and sort of love in a guilty-pleasure way. Guilt sucks. Go for it.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events & Nearby Snacks for Stoners: The Illusionists, Black Lizard, Divas Take the Hill, and Solstice? Yes! by Emily Nokes

'The Illusionists—Witness the Impossible'

THEATER/MAGIC June 16–21, 5th Avenue Theatre (1308 Fifth Ave)

*GASP* The Illusionists—Witness the Impossible is everything I love about everything! Magic, Vegas-style shows, groups of men with distinct and highly stylized personalities! The seven flamboyant magicians are: the Anti-Conjuror (shock magician, Hot Topic goth), the Warrior (weapons, butt chin, human equivalent of brocade), the Manipulator (the shy one, elegant card tricks), the Futurist ("Justin Timberlake meets David Copperfield"), the Inventor (steampunk David Crosby/Colonel Sanders hybrid), the Trickster (adorable in a British-ish way), the Escapologist (is named the Escapologist).

Nearby snack: Frol!k (1415 Fifth Ave) is home to downtown Seattle's largest outdoor patio with over-the-top modern decor (fire troughs encased in glass and lined with crystals, translucent plum chairs, neon ping-pong tables). They serve food and drinks and are serious about fun.

Divas Take the Hill

QUEER Thurs June 18, 12th Ave Arts Center (1620 12th Ave)

Kick off Pride 2015 with the annual Divas Take the Hill party—a night of burlesque, drag, and LGBTQ talent, hosted by Seattle's premier Tupperware-consultant drag queen, DonnaTella Howe! Not only will the night be crazy, sexy, AND cool, but proceeds will go to benefit Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets.

Nearby snack: Momiji (1522 12th Ave) is probably the best sushi on Capitol Hill with a Japanese courtyard.

'Black Lizard'

FILM Thurs June 18, Northwest Film Forum (1515 12th Ave)

Directed by Kinji Fukasaku, Black Lizard is a 1968 Japanese detective film based on a 1934 novel by Edogawa Rampo (dialect version of Edgar Allan Poe's name) and its 1962 theatrical adaptation by Yukio Mishima, who, at the time, was the lover of the film's star: writer/drag performer Akihiro Miwa. Got it? The plot involves a jewel thief who plans a kidnapping in order to obtain a prized diamond and who also turns people into dolls. Or something. Just go see it. As no less an authority than Charles Mudede puts it: "There is not one flaw in this movie."

Nearby snack: I've been meaning to try Gnocchi Bar (1542 12th Ave) because only monsters don't like gnocchi and this place also boasts a strong dessert menu (gelato!).

Fremont Solstice Music Festival

FESTIVAL June 19–21, Fremont Neighborhood (Phinney Ave N and N 35th St)

WHAT? Deltron 3030 are playing the Fremont Solstice Music Festival? Where have I been? I thought Fremont's solstice celebration was just a thinly veiled excuse for nudity, body paint, and generally "keeping it weird," but this looks pretty okay. The weekend's lineup includes music from the Presidents of the United States of America, Ayron Jones and the Way, RA Scion, and much more. There will also be an art car blowout, buskers, yoga, and a dog parade... because what did I tell you?

Nearby snack: This guy I know who trims weed for a living says that Revel (403 N 36th St) is really good. When asked to elaborate, he said, "They have this salad that's just arugula and corned lamb, and it's spicy—it's my favorite salad in Seattle. They have stupid art, though."

Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll: A New and Exciting Culture Lost

Emily Nokes — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll: A New and Exciting Culture Lost by Emily Nokes

As Cambodia modernized, the nation’s culture-hungry youth of the 1960s/’70s created a new and wonderful music scene. French, South American, Afro-Cubanist, and Western influences resonated heavily—musicians mixed various foreign rock ’n’ roll styles with traditional Khmer music. The individual stories are fascinating and the songs are mesmerizing; the war, genocide, and eventual eradication of this happy history is heart wrenching.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events for Stoners: The Finest of Theater, Dance, Painting, and Air Guitar Championships by Emily Nokes

Northwest New Works

THEATER/DANCE June 12–14, On the Boards (100 W Roy St)

Interested in getting into local theater/dance, but not sure if you have the attention span? Or simply don't know where to start? Now in its 32nd year, Northwest New Works brings you a performance buffet! Each showcase features four 20-minute tastes of experimental or in-progress works from Northwest artists.

Nearby snack: Caffe Ladro (2205 Queen Anne Ave N) for the apple pie. The really good, really big apple pie.

'Rhythm Sections and the Groove of Color'

ART Through July 18, METHOD Gallery (106 Third Ave S)

For his vivid paintings on pieces of wood that have been "bent, curved, warped, and reinforced with color," Chicago artist Michael Finnegan was inspired by "sound waves and messages from the subconscious, light waves and the bounce and catch of color, ocean waves and a fluid soul groove." Feel free to read that last quote in the style of David Attenborough from the Planet Earth series, or Otto from The Simpsons.

Nearby snack: Visit Il Corvo (217 James St) for the best kale salad of your life (don't roll your eyes at kale) and handmade pasta dishes from a small menu. Note: They hold very limited hours (Mon–Fri 11 am–3 pm), and the seating is tight/confusing (it's one of those wait-in-line-to-order-then-find-a-seat-if-you-can systems that make my palms sweaty but always end up working out).

US Air Guitar Championships: Seattle Qualifier

MUSIC Thurs June 11, Highline (210 Broadway E)

Duuuuuuude. Seattle hasn't sent a wind shredder to the Air Guitar Championships since 2012! Let's overcome that embarrassment tonight at the official Seattle qualifier, where the winner will go on to compete at the semifinals in San Francisco. Hosting the show will be Tony Tapatio, Portland's air champ and member of the country's most famous air band, Airpocalypse (did your brain just melt?). Expert guest judges include The Stranger's own Kelly "Slayer Forever" O, along with the dude from the Accused (aka Blaine Cook—he also owns Zippy's Giant Burgers).

Nearby snack: I'm told you can get food across the street at Nacho Borracho (209 Broadway E). Hell, I'm told I've eaten food at Nacho Borracho. Their website confirms that Neon Taco's tasty Mexican street food is served inside, but what I'm getting at is that they also serve tequila.

Georgetown Carnival

FESTIVAL Sat June 13, Georgetown Neighborhood

A carnival in Seattle's oldest, most rockabilly neighborhood! This is going to be awesome because: beer gardens, acrobats, art, live bands up the yin-yang (is that still cool to say?), power-tool races, PEOPLE ON STILTS, the oddmall (20 booths of curious wares such as soap sculptures and magik with a K jewelry), and much more. For best results, wear a costume and fly that freak flag high.

Nearby snack: Georgetown is home to a diverse selection of food joints worth your skrill, and, like any good carnival, there will be food trucks!

Bubble Fütbol

SPORTS Sat June 13, Cal Anderson Park (1635 11th Ave)

TWIF (The World Is Fun—a volunteer-run, charitable social club) is hosting a fundraiser for its programs with a bubble fütbol tournament. The game is not unlike soccer, except everyone is wearing an inflatable ZORB-ESQUE BUBBLE that makes them look like transparent sea aliens with athletic legs!

Nearby snack: Saint John's (719 E Pike St) serves weekend brunch that you don't even have to wait 50 minutes to be seated for, and the French toast is legit. (About me: pretty into French toast.)

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events for Stoners: Yes to Equal Rights, No to Shrimp Chips by Emily Nokes

Black Box Festival

ART Through June 7, various locations

Black Box—the art, film, and technology festival—features works from more than 70 ultratalented international artists and is free and open to the public! I spent, oh, I don't know, four hours (seven hours? Forty minutes? Who could know?) having my brain melted by the Fullscreen portion of Black Box—the online program that features one new work per day on the homepage. Get to it.

Nearby Snack: Have you been to Uwajimaya (600 Fifth Ave S) recently? Its snack aisles are legendary and fully worth spending an afternoon perusing, but don't leave without a box of the adorably delicious mushroom-shaped cookies—little chocolate caps on biscuit stems! (Hot tip: hard pass on the shrimp chips.)

Queer Vision 20/20: 'Different from the Others'

FILM Thurs June 4, Northwest Film Forum (1515 12th Ave)

Let's take a moment to thank dog that we're able to be more gay and more stoned than ever before. While weed is cool and all, rights for each and every one our queer friends should still be prioritized and celebrated. This Pride month, Queer Vision 20/20 brings you four Thursday screenings honoring 20th-century queer cinema. The first is Different from the Others, which was filmed in Germany in 1919 and one of the first sympathetic depictions of homosexuality on film (and this is the only copy to have survived the idiot Nazis). This screening will feature live accompaniment by local musician Jess Wamre.

Nearby Snack: Octo Sushi (1620 12th Ave) for not-too-fancy-but-definitely-not-gross sushi served by very friendly people.

Weeed, All Them Witches, Fox and the Law

MUSIC Thurs June 4, Barboza (925 E Pike St)

A band on this bill is called Weeed. Three Es. What more do you neeed? Get your stoned ass into Barboza and then get that very same ass blown away by an evening of stoner rock. From beginning to end, this bill will get you where you want to go.

Nearby snack: Get a hot dog on the corner of Pike and 10th, why don't you? It's right there.

'Rhythm Repetition Ritual'

ART Reception Fri June 5, Pottery Northwest (226 First Ave N), through June 27

"Artists selected for this exhibition were aligned in various ways with the themes of rhythm, repetition, and ritual. Most ceramic processes require a capacity for persistent repetition. What is the gain in relentlessly repeating an action? While repetition is the main vehicle for developing skill with the hands, it may also provide a sense of comfort and control or even deliver transcendence through an altered state of being." I know what you're thinking—Ghost, Ghost, Ghost—but the detail, precision, and strangeness in these pieces are actually more satisfying than Patrick Swayze's upper body. Maybe they'll play "Unchained Melody" at the gallery, though?

Nearby snack: The Old Spaghetti Factory (2801 Elliott Ave) for Italian food you don't have to look nice for because "factory" is in the name.

No Lights, No Lycra

DANCE Mon June 8, Fremont Abbey (4272 Fremont Ave N)

Do you love to dance but hate when you're the only person flailing around at a show while frozen-solid rows of arms-crossed Seattleites give you the stare? Welcome to No Lights, No Lycra—a rad, casual, free-form weekly dance night held in the dark, so you don't even have to dress up! (Disclaimer: NLNL is drug/alcohol free, so I'm recommending this only if you use marijuana for medicinal purposes, for instance, the medical purpose of chilling out and dancing. Dance prescription! As always, be respectful.)

Nearby Snack: Despite the name, Uneeda Burger (4302 Fremont Ave N) is a quality burger shack with a large menu beyond burgers: chili, grilled cheese, hand-dipped shakes, and more. Am I the only one who thinks "hand-dipped," in the context of milkshakes, doesn't make any effing sense?

Beyond the Pink Flag: Wire's First Three Albums Are Classics. I Just Listened to their 11 Other Albums

Emily Nokes — Wed, 27 May 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Beyond the Pink Flag: Wire's First Three Albums Are Classics. I Just Listened to their 11 Other Albums by Emily Nokes

The first three Wire albums—Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, and 154—make up a masterpiece trilogy of art-punk/experimental pop. Hailing from England, the original lineup of Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert (guitar), and Robert Gotobed (drums) set the post-punk bar, influencing everyone from the Cure to Sonic Youth.

My post-154 Wire timeline was vaguely aware that the band had re-formed in the late 1980s and made music that people (stoned girlfriends, snobby ex-boyfriends, know-it-all uncles, amused record-store clerks, et al.) shrugged off as being "pretty bad." I assumed they'd fallen like an underground Weezer parable. The band refused to play their older albums, instead hiring a Wire cover band—the Ex-Lion Tamers—to open their sets. But SHIT, did everyone else realize that there were 11 full-length albums after 154 (not EVEN counting the massive amounts of singles, EPs, and other collections) spanning the late 1980s to the early 1990s before starting back up again in the early 2000s?

Last month, I saw that Wire released a self-titled album and were touring. So I tackled this later portion of their discography. Here's my synopsis. Buckle up.

The Ideal Copy (1987): On the first full-length album post-154 hiatus (1980–1985), Wire are getting their '80s on. Newman's unmistakable voice is the only thing that relates this shimmering electro-pop to late-'70s Wire, except for tracks like "Ambitious" where Lewis sounds like a melodramatic Bowie. There are some experimental sound bits floating around, but at the end of the day, the shadowy synth and saucy drum machine are pretty New Order. The version I'm listening to is the reissue, which means it contains the "bonus" tracks from their 1986 EP Snakedrill.

A Bell Is a Cup Until It Is Struck (1988): More of the refined, heavily-eye-shadowed sound. I could ride an escalator to the layers of synth and mid-tempo shrugging. The landscape is breezy '80s-goth-lite with non sequitur lyrics. "Kidney Bingos" stands out as a wistfully sweet summer song. I'd like the slightly faster "Come Back in Two Halves" if the gentle overdubbed guitars hadn't already lulled me to sleep.

It's Beginning to and Back Again (IBTABA) (1989): Fuck. We're still in a John Hughes movie. "German Shepherds" is satisfying in a moody way, but two songs later, they are giving tinny hiphop a shot on "Illuminated." NO. This album is a reconstruction of live recordings mushed into a stern dance computer. "Over Theirs" is an awful song that I only kind of like because it's SO odd.

Manscape (1990): I can't even with this title. And the first song is called "Life in the Manscape"—do tell! "Unfamiliar letters/Anagram situations/Silence please!/Poets at work." Slipping weird lyrics over brainless, subdued dance junk? I'm not falling for it. My boredom turns to claustrophobia. Tell the drum machine to change it up a bit, PLEASE. In the immortal words of James Hetfield, "It sounds stock to my ears."

The Drill (1991): More Wire covering Wire. Drill has been citied as being an early precursor to minimal techno. According to Wire nerd Wilson Neate (author of Read & Burn: A Book About Wire, and Wire's Pink Flag 33 1/3), the monotonous, manufactured beat is called "dugga." There's even a compilation album of other people covering this cover called Dugga Dugga Dugga. The sheer ridiculousness of it all is bringing Wire back into my good graces. "I want to drill you. (I want to drill. You.)"

The First Letter (1991): This is credited to Wir instead of Wire. They changed their name after drummer Robert Gotobed left. It's one hell of an uneven album—some parts are flat, like we're still living in a Patrick Nagel print; others are completely strange soundscapes. As a whole, I'd describe it as a cup of half-carbonated pastel dance soda with a couple black patent-leather Krazy Straws in it.

Send (2003): The dudes are back from another breather. This release contains tracks from Read & Burn 1 and 2 EPs (2002), plus four new tracks. (Sigh.) BUT HEY! Real guitars! Tense buzzing and fuzzing! Sneering vocals! It's mostly okay rock 'n' roll. Comparatively, I'm so relieved, I could cry.

Object 47 (2008): At this point, if you add the prior full-lengths, singles, EPs, and compilations, this is the 47th item in the band's discography! It's more inviting, outward-facing rock with distortion and bass lines I want to wrap around me like a friendly snake. "Circumspect" is brooding soft rock, and "Perspex Icon" has me bobbing my head around, feeling like someone finally opened the window in the suffocating synth closet.

Red Barked Tree (2010): Melodic and sweet with more depth, the guitars crisply jangle and the vocals possess a clean and catchy sincerity. "Two Minutes" gets Fall-esque with tin-can-talk/shout vocals, "Smash" is catchy and buzzing, and my favorite on the album, "A Flat Tent" starts with handclaps and—dare I say—sorta sounds like a caustically upbeat Ramones/Wire puree.

Change Becomes Us (2013): No one wants their favorite band to keep making the same albums (unless you're the aforementioned Ramones, who get a rock 'n' roll high school hall pass), but Change reaches back to the melodic, frazzled post-punk of Wire's earliest albums. Yet it's still innovative with blobs of watery guitars, fancy production, and clean synth intermissions between the more punk-leaning jams. There's a face slap of arena rock, too.

Wire (2015): We made it! I like this album. I feel like both Wire and I have really earned this moment, you know? But the first song is called "Blogging," and its lyrics bug me. The technology argument seemed dated when it began—from the people who refuse to look up from their smartphones, to the people who call people out about their smartphones, to the very word SMARTPHONE.

Anyhoo, in our current era where a lot of angsty art-punk sounds like old Wire, Wire would get tsk-tsked for sounding like old Wire, so they're doing the best that Wire can do in this situation. AND THESE ARE ALL NEW SONGS! The second song, "Shifting," has Newman's voice tuneful and sweet. "Burning Bridges" is sunny and dazed, "In Manchester" brings up the energy a few tracks before the foreboding "Sleep-Walking," and "Joust & Jostle" quickens with a sort of Billy Idol urgency in its pants. The penultimate "Octopus" snapped me back to attention with vaguely industrial noise injections and weird and watery vocal distortion. It's as catchy as anything on Chairs Missing.

I'm not in a hurry to revisit most of their work, but I respect Wire's dedication to not giving a fuck. It takes true weirdos to enthrall the art punks before dancing off to the beat of their own drum machine, refusing to cannibalize their most respected work.

Wire are dead, long live Wire!

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 27 May 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events for Stoners: Drone Rock! High Art! Trike Race! by Emily Nokes

Music Movies

(MUSIC/ART) Thurs May 28, Northwest Film Forum (1515 12th Ave)

Debacle Records musicians—drone master Garek Druss, free-form folk guitarist Marisa Anderson, and experimental electronic wiz Marcus Price will massage your ears, their sounds enhanced by visual pairings from Nick Bartoletti, Jodi Darby, and Coldbrew Collective.

Nearby snack: If you're done being a dick about vegan food, Plum Bistro (1429 12th Ave) has really bomb Cajun mac 'n' yease and other animal-free delights. (P.S. It's still cool to make fun of gluten free.) (JK, JK.)

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

(MUSIC) Fri May 29, Sunset (5433 Ballard Ave NW)

You can read the recommendation I wrote for this show in this very issue. What's that you say? Hands too tired? Page numbers too complicated? Fine—I basically said that this show will make you feel like you finally took the right amount of acid to not get all sweaty or ate the right amount of pot brownie to not get all sleepy. New Orleans's finest eccentrics Quintron and Miss Pussycat will melt your brain with organ-heavy swamp rock, fantastical puppet shows, and musical inventions that react to light and weather.

Nearby snack: The specialty at Hot Cakes (5427 Ballard Ave NW) is a cake in a mason jar (so handy!), but they also serve grilled cheese sandwiches, cookies, s'mores, and other shmancy treats.

'Construct\s'

(ART) Through April 17, 2016, Wing Luke Museum (719 S King St)

Reflect upon/explore installations made by six Asian Pacific American women artists. Jen Graves describes one particularly interesting-sounding work: "Kaili Chun's small metal cages are double-locked, and you must unlock both (keys are given) to release the voices of birds and people and musical instruments recorded and just waiting to play from interior speakers." Release them!

Nearby snack: It's a five-minute walk to Shanghai Garden (524 Sixth Ave S) where I insist you try the pan-fried, hand-shaven green barley noodles.

Trike Race

(SPORTS) Sun May 31, Targy's Tavern (600 W Crocket St)

Grown-ass adults riding tricycles (basically anything with three wheels and no motors; wagons and skateboards also welcome, brah) down the hilly hills of Queen Anne! Disclaimer: It's unofficial and unsanctioned, so unless you're a trike ace (don't ever call yourself that) or have generally decent coordination, motor skills, steepness tolerance, and attention span, and also enjoy being safe while you're stoned, you should probably just watch. Ain't no shame in spectating!

Nearby snack: Macrina Bakery (615 W McGraw St) for their Nutella brioche or pretty much anything on the menu within your budget.

Maria's No-Bake Hempseed Cookie Class

(HEMP) Mon June 1, Hempfest Central (12351 Lake City Way NE)

Hemp History Week is June 1–7, and any hippie will tell you (and tell you and tell you) that hemp is a versatile plant that can be refined into oil, wax, resin, cloth, paper, fuel, and sick unisex necklaces. Oh, and it's also food! Because anything is food if you eat it. According to hempfest.org, "The hemp seed is the single most nutritious food on earth." And while I'm not sure who Maria is, she can teach you how to make hempseed cookies without even turning the oven on!

Nearby snack: If you're still hungry, head over to Thai One On (12343 Lake City Way NE)—a restaurant I'm recommending based solely on the name.

Sunburned Knees, Hugs from Killer Mike, and Kendrick's Exclusions: Emily Nokes Reports Back from Sasquatch! 2015

Emily Nokes — Tue, 26 May 2015 19:58:27 -0700

by Emily Nokes

Come for the Michael Bolton shirt; stay for the crucified piñata, the Jesus belt buckle, and the Rasta socks.

Fine, I'll explain why I wasn't able to see Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters. Sunday evening, there was a snafu upon entering Sasquatch! Music Festival that involved one member of our party being unable to obtain a wristband until the following morning. (The computer was off-line?) Not wanting to ditch anyone to fend for themselves in the Porta-Potty parking lot, we did the only thing we could do. We drove back to our hotel in Quincy, Washington, took acid, and sang YouTube karaoke at the only open alcohol-serving business within walking distance: a cavernous Mexican restaurant that appeared to be running on a generator. All in all, it was the best day of Sasquatch! 2015 ever.

The second-best day of Sasquatch! was Monday—the day with the most music I wanted to see in one 12-hour period, from THEESatisfaction to Run the Jewels and Kendrick Lamar. Plus, the last day is totally sparse-Squatch. There are still more people in one area than seems humane, but they don’t seem as interested in puking on you.

The breakdown's just below!

HIGHLIGHTS:

• The overwhelming beauty surrounding the Gorge. As GOD’S GIFT pointed out, “Eastern Washington is the shit.”
Crushing on Courtney Barnett <3
• Courtney Barnett and her band playing a no-bullshit rock set under graying skies and light rain. The audience included a crowd-surfing blow-up doll and a woman holding up a GIRL CRUSH sign written on the back of a Franzia box.
• Sharon Van Etten’s woozy, salty voice lulling the smiling, exhausted-looking crowd into cocoons of emotion.
• Killer Mike allowing me to hug him. My friend told him how important his words on police violence are, to which he replied, “We’re all on this spinning rock so we might as well try to get along. (Sob.)
• Speaking of Killer Mike and Run the Jewels, El-P’s best quote from their rad, positive set was something like, “Some people wonder how we did it. How a year or two ago, no one knew who we were. Well, we went to the invisible pawnshop and we got these invisible golden 36" chains around our necks. You can wear that shit too! Fuck it!”

LOWLIGHTS:

• The gatekeeper who grimly scanned our wristbands and said, “These scans are tracking your every move around the festival.”
• Managing to sunburn only one part of your body while everything else remains pasty. KNEES. Fucking SUNBURNED KNEES.
• Tweenage audience members and their ability to slyly worm their way in front of you, arms locked with 16 of their friends.

FASHION MINUTE:

• Still with the flower crowns, but more with the blankets and ponchos made out of blankets.
New face-paint trend alert: Vaguely Native American designs inspired by Etsy coffee mugs.
• Drunk and sunburned win for most timeless festival looks.
At every festival, until the end of time.
Hot coral Patagonia man is everything a Northwest musical festival could and should be (bonus points for whatever is going on next to him).

ABOUT KENDRICK LAMAR, THOUGH:

Make no mistake—“King Kunta” boomed from the campground this weekend, reminding everyone that Kendrick Lamar would be Sasquatch! 2015’s closing superstar.

My festival mates and I had been discussing Kendrick’s Sasquatch! show for about a month prior—specifically the new album, To Pimp a Butterfly, and how it would be performed at Sasquatch! To quote Larry Mizell Jr.’s excellent review of the album, “Kendrick has made the definitive statement in black music of this era... addressing the deepening ugliness of where we're all at in America.” Technical challenges aside, this is a majorly complex album.

The idea of Kendrick performing To Pimp a Butterfly to a crowd made predominantly of white dudes who can afford a $450 wristband—screaming the n-word because it’s in the lyrics—held the potential for him to be understandably abrasive.

But Kendrick came out (dressed in all denim—ssshhh, he can do whatever he wants) and put on an excellent show. As vivid, homemade-looking videos played, he seemed to genuinely exude kindness and respect for the crowd. The show focused heavily on Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City, with hits like “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” and “m.A.A.d City.” He played the latter three times—once on his own, then twice more after offering the mic to two audience members who pulled it off without even peeing their pants in the process.

Near the halfway mark, he played “Alright” from Butterfly before promptly returning to his older stuff. Then it dawned on me, like holy shit, he’s not going to play the new album. Problem solved. It made so much sense. He acknowledged the fans and put on a fun, super entertaining show for everyone to party to. It didn’t come across as a “fuck you,” but it was a powerful statement nonetheless.

Of course, we could chalk it up to some kind of “studio albums are too hard to reproduce in a live setting” excuse, but I think it’s worth it to ask, “Why didn’t Kendrick Lamar perform To Pimp a Butterfly at Sasquatch!?” Perhaps he's hoping the crowd might connect the dots and reflect upon this question themselves.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 20 May 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events for Stoners: Slick Rick, SIFF Picks, and Hey, Who Put These Beats in My Folklife? by Emily Nokes

Slick Rick, Jarv Dee, Gifted Gab, Kung Foo Grip

MUSIC Wed May 20, Neumos (925 E Pike St)

Hon, you need to get your ass on the dance floor this minute! Slick Rick—rightfully billed here as "The Legendary Slick Rick"—shall lay his filthy storytelling elegance and expert jewelry-wearing skills on your ears and eyes this evening. With Moor Gang excellency from Gifted Gab and Jarv Dee, plus future-leaning hiphop from Kung Foo Grip.

Nearby snack: If you’re on the prowl for an actually cheap happy hour, Lost Lake (1505 10th Ave) offers deals like hot dollar beers and $2.99 grilled cheese and fries from 4 to 6 p.m.

Seattle International Film Festival

FILM Through June 7, various theaters

Dude, there is so much crazy shit to watch at SIFF this year! The films I've seen so far can be measured on a scale of "confusing bro-meets-broette plot, in French" to "BASE jumping documentary that made me cry even though I never cared even a little bit about BASE jumping." Check the comprehensive schedule and recommendations at thestranger.com/siff and get to it!

Nearby snack: Sometimes I go see a movie just so I have an excuse to dump a box of Milk Duds over hot popcorn—a meal that’s far less appealing/socially acceptable to make at home.

Sculpture Pop-Up

ART Fri May 22, Cal Anderson Park (1635 11th Ave)

Wearable sculptures! The poster for this Paul Kuniholm Pauper–created event shows women wearing monochromatic spandex bodysuits with mod-looking stiff circular skirts and hats that look like primary-colored lampshades. They look very pleased to be wearing such great outfits, and I do not blame them.

Nearby snack: Cured meats, fine cheeses, and other tasties (plus drinks!) can be found mere feet away from Cal Anderson at the cozy little bar Cure (1641 Nagle Pl).

Northwest Folklife Festival

MUSIC May 22–25, Seattle Center (305 Harrison St)

This year, Folklife sets its busking fiddle down for five seconds (just kidding, Folklife, you know I luh you!) to put the cultural focus on Beats, Rhymes, and Rhythms programming—specifically, an examination of the roots of hiphop—via panels, spoken word, film, theater, dance, visual art, and music.

Nearby snack: It’s time for my bimonthly ode to Shishkaberry’s, which can be found on the Seattle Center grounds during big events. Shish-kebabed strawberries, dipped in chocolate, dipped in toppings!

'Feast for the Eyes'

ART Through June 5, Push/Pull (8537 Greenwood Ave N)

Here we ponder food-inspired pop artwork from Rich M Stevens that is very detailed and vaguely sci-fi/psychedelic. A man with a bacon-cheeseburger-on-English-muffin head is eating a classic-looking hamburger against a circuit-board background. A different hamburger-headed man holds up his hamburger-headed baby against oversaturated water pipes and yarn geometry. I mean, what else do you want to look at ever?

Nearby snack: A trustworthy source tells me the $7 steak at Bill's on Greenwood (8560 Greenwood Ave N), available every Tuesday, is "mostly worth it." Plus, it comes with grilled veggies and a potato side. Bill's also offers all-you-can-eat spaghetti (every Wednesday) for $5. Both feeding frenzies take place from 6 to 9 p.m.

Psychocandy at 30: Insolent Masterpiece or Boring Dirge?

Emily Nokes — Wed, 13 May 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy at 30: Insolent Masterpiece or Boring Dirge? A Point-Counterpoint by Emily Nokes

DAVE SEGAL: To best appreciate the nuclear-bomb-like impact of the Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy, you needed to hear it upon release during 1985 pop/rock's gaudy malaise. (Better yet, you should've heard JAMC's urgent, caustic 1984 debut single, "Upside Down.") But failing that happy accident of birth, you should put the album's emergence in the context of the era's landscape, dominated as it was by MTV faves like Bruce Springsteen, Duran Duran, Don Henley, Tears for Fears, and Thompson Twins. Then along came these sullen, brutish Scots, sneaking wild-honeyed, Beach Boys–like melodies into the sort of noise tsunamis that made the Velvet Underground's "I Heard Her Call My Name" seem placid. Psychocandy was the enema rock direly needed in the middle of the Reagan dynasty. Brothers William and Jim Reid proved that paint-peeling cacophony could coexist with super-sweet tunes in a rock context, and even get major-label backing while doing so (Blanco y Negro was a UK subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd.). There was nothing quite like it in that decade—or in any previous one, for that matter.

EMILY NOKES: DON'T TELL ME WHEN TO BE BORN, DAVE SEGAL. Just kidding, I know you're just trying to help me not be an idiot, but I have to respectfully disagree: While there may have been nothing like it in 1985, there has been much like it since, and... and... Oh! I'm sorry, did I just fall asleep while trying to type about dudes playing loud/distorted music?

Before the torches and pitchforks (and Pitchforks) come after me, let me first say: I don't hate Psychocandy—hell, I like amphetamines and bad attitudes just as much as the next guy. I don't even necessarily dislike it, but this album especially represents a tricky sliver that gets caught in my foot from time to time with music that is my same age or older: CONTEXT. You're right—I lose out on the first foundation of the album's "ideal listening conditions" because I was a dumb 1-year-old when the Jesus and Mary Chain spewed their grating opus onto the hungry, 'Steen-hating youth of the USA. (Worse still, I was an even-less-brilliant 1-month-old when the mushy/prickly "Upside Down" came out.) Normally, I love a shapeless mess, in terms of music (and dresses), but to my ears, Psychocandy sounds commonplace and boring—which unfortunately comes with the territory of being considered verrrrrry influential/verrrrry groundbreaking. Disaffected drug dudes plus distortion? No way! Sorry I saw the future, guys, but it's already pretty full of guitars.

True, the "had to be there" argument is deafening here, but is that all you've got?

DAVE SEGAL: Oh, I've got more. But let's deal with the gravest accusation. You mean "commonplace and boring" like a hurricane that carries traces of Phil Spector's girl groups, the Velvets, the Beach Boys, Suicide, and Lee Hazlewood, I presume? Okay, Emily: I guess if that's your definition of "commonplace and boring," you'll probably "Never Understand." [Rim shot] Speaking of: That song represents the Reid bros' pinnacle of capturing teen angst, fucked-up love situations, and (im)pure sonic catharsis. JAMC could've retired after dropping "Upside Down" and "Never Understand" and still deserved canonization. But Psychocandy keeps delivering greatness throughout. Its magic lies in the contrast—and combination—of sweetness and harshness (again, "Never Understand" is the apotheosis). I mean, "Cut Dead" is the best bubblegum Leonard Cohen number ever, and cool moms worldwide can swoon to it. Yet on the other pale, bony hand, JAMC can prick up the ears of Motörhead fans with a burner like "In a Hole." That kind of range is rare (see also: Velvet Underground & Nico). Even if you were to assemble an orchestra of harps, theremins, and glockenspiels to play all 15 songs off Psychocandy, they'd still sound insolent.

EMILY NOKES: No accusations, Dave, only feelings. "Pinnacle of capturing teen angst"? Believe me, I wish I could feel that instead of playing the millennial foil here (so we could just get back to arguing about Phil Collins or whatever). My giant shrug for this album is odd even to me, because I love noise in pop and pop in noise! And Psychocandy's contrary elements are there ON PAPER. The sweet girl-group sensibility is there. The harsh hiss is there (and there, and there, and there). But where's that magic? "Taste the Floor" and "In a Hole" get there—discordant enough to be defiant, melodic enough to be interesting—but the album doesn't scream "canon" for me, it slurs "pretty good."

I'll take your (and everyone's) word that this once qualified as bona fide insolence, but again, I'm only hearing a "time and place" argument—yet another album that requires a thesis statement and timeline attached as a prerequisite for appreciating it. Suicide's first album is a glorious stomachache—uncomfortable, saccharine, monotonous, melodic, terrifying—and you could hear that in a vacuum, in any decade. Psychocandy's shtick just kinda makes me tired, and toward the end of the album I want to physically peel back the static noise (which was never that brutal to begin with, just omnipresent—"hurricane" my foot) to get some idea of what's going on under there. Which is precisely what they did on Darklands, and precisely why that album is better JAMC. Blasphemy, I know, but after being told for so long that I HAD to genuflect to Psychocandy, I suppose I'm rebelling against the rebellion.

DAVE SEGAL: Emily, I respect your shrug for the Jesus and Mary Chain's masterwork, This could be nostalgia talking, but time has only cemented Psychocandy in my heart and mind, as undeniable a landmark as Marquee Moon or Entertainment! For best results, don't listen via earbuds/iPhone.

EMILY NOKES: While I think we all know who had it harder here—the rock 'n' roll encyclopedia defending a universally praised album versus the upstart earbuds lady (AS IF, Dave) wondering if anyone else can see the emperor's junk—but thank you for indulging me. While every other musician and album you've mentioned in this piece deserves every bit of worship, I'll just chalk Psychocandy up to requiring a gramophone and an ear trumpet to enjoy. (Sickest burn!)

DAVE SEGAL: Oh, Emily.

EMILY NOKES: Oh, Dave.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 13 May 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events for Stoners: Bong Rips with Philip Glass, Anyone? Also: Brown Derby Does Jurassic Park, and More! by Emily Nokes

Philip Glass

READING Wed May 13, Town Hall (1119 Eighth Ave)

The repetitive structures in Glass's symphonies and soundtracks changed the way we think of classical music, music for concentrating, or music simply to soak your brain in after a bong ride to Contemplation Nation. The 78-year-old composer has written a memoir called Words Without Music and will be discussing it with Rajan Krishnaswami of the Seattle Symphony. He may not be getting high beforehand, but you should.

Nearby snack: Potbelly's (1208 Madison St #121) PB&J is everything you didn't know you needed.

Mariners vs. Red Sox

SPORTS Thurs May 14, Safeco Field (1250 First Ave S)

Listen to this story my friend told me. Between innings at a recent Mariners game against the Texas Rangers, the Jumbotron focused on a man dressed as the Lone Ranger playing an acoustic guitar. A booing crowd gathered, and out popped the Mariner Moose, who took the guitar and smashed it, then picked up an electric guitar to play Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" while the words SEATTLE ROCKS flashed across the screen. Now imagine watching that while pot gummy bears take over your brain!

Nearby snack: Safeco Field is basically a snack paradise lined with Shishkaberry's, garlic fries, pretzels, cheesecake, pizza, burgers, and refreshments galore.

Ian Bell's Brown Derby Series: 'Jurassic Park'

THEATER May 14–16, Re-bar (1114 Howell St)

Ian Bell's Brown Derby Series is "ridiculously staged readings of your favorite screenplays." Next up: the 1993 classic Jurassic Park (!!!). Hold on to your butts!

Nearby snack: Being a vegetarian means I have no idea what Market House Meats (1124 Howell St) has in store for you, but someone told me it was good and it's super close to Re-bar. I'm not even judging you.

'Seacats Forever: A DIY Stage Play'

MUSIC/THEATER Fri May 15, Hollow Earth Radio (2018A E Union St)

I've always liked those Seacats—a pop band formed by two brothers originally from Kelso, Washington. Their songs are catchy and danceable, and they could leave it at that, but there's also a theatrical side to the Seacats empire that includes several hilarious videos, spoken-word/jamming experiments, and now a play, which combines a comedic narrative with live music. (Elch and Sun Dummy are also on the bill.)

Nearby snack: Up the street, Katy's Corner Cafe (2000 E Union St) has cookies and other coffee-shop fare.

'I Want to Believe'

ART Through May 29, Eight and Sand Gallery (5840 Airport Way S, Suite 212)

Works from local and national artists cover subjects in the vein of "cryptozoology, aliens, metaphysical beings, lizard politicians from another dimension wearing human suits, and secret societies." Yes, obviously.

Nearby snack: Flying Squirrel Pizza (5701 Airport Way S) for casual pizza, salad, and appetizers. They have a pizza called the R.E.M., which sounds half good.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 06 May 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events & Nearby Snacks for Stoners: New Kids, New Kitties, and FINALLY, a National Coconut Cream Pie Day by Emily Nokes

New Kids on the Block, TLC, Nelly

MUSIC Wed May 6, Tacoma Dome (2727 East D St, Tacoma)

OMG, my grade-school, middle-school, and high-school selves are ecstatic right now—not only because this lineup represents very important songs, posters, and music videos from each of those eras, but also because seventh-grade me still cannot wrap her mind around the joys of legalized marijuana. Belly-button rings and copious amount of shiny denim are encouraged.

Nearby snack: Southern Kitchen (1716 Sixth Ave, Tacoma) serves down-home faves like fried catfish, fried chicken, and, most deliciously, hush puppies (fried cornbread)! AND they've been visited by the Food Network's human hedgehog/schnauzer hybrid GUY FIERI, so you know it's legitimately caloric.

An Evening of Edgy Culture

MUSIC Thurs May 7, Vermillion (1508 11th Ave)

Dig this night of sounds informed by/assisted by/best enjoyed with marijuana—free jazz, natch—featuring local legends SUBDUCTION ZONE (Wally Shoup on alto sax, Dennis Rea on electric guitar, Tom Zgonc on drums), plus solo trumpeter Greg Kelley and poet Doug Nufer.

Nearby snack: What Rancho Bravo (1001 E Pine St) lacks in decor, or even a sign, they make up for in satisfying tamales, nachos, tacos, and more.

National Coconut Cream Pie Day

PIE Fri May 8, Dahlia Bakery (2001 Fourth Ave)

National Coconut Cream Pie Day is today (which stoned-ass mayor approves these cah-raaazy holidays?), and Dahlia Bakery—makers of the best coconut cream pie in town—are hosting a pie-eating contest "to see how many mini pie bites 25 contestants can eat in two minutes." TGINCCPD, amiright?

Nearby snack: Oh what the hell, Serious Pie (316 Virginia St) is directly next door to Dahlia. Slap some gourmet pizza pie on that gourmet coconut cream pie. You deserve it.

Average Joe Cat Show

CATS Sat May 9, Spartan Recreation Center (202 NE 185th St, Shoreline)

Enough of these highfalutin purebred model cats with perfect fur—it's time we celebrate regular felines! The Average Joe Cat Show includes categories like "loudest purr," "best cat in a box," and "most impressive ear hair" and is hosted by Purrfect Pals, Washington's no-kill cat shelter. Pro tip: There will be friends available for adoption at this event, which is a decision you should make before you pick up the bong.

Nearby snack: If you love eating in your car, Burgermaster (9820 Aurora Ave N) will bring a hormone-free burger and fancy shake out to your vehicle, just like the olden days before people knew about sitting inside restaurants.

'Henry Horenstein: Racing Days'

ART Through June 13, Photographic Center Northwest (900 12th Ave)

Contemplate the strange sport of people betting money on (smaller) people riding very fast horses. This exhibit features Henry Horenstein's black-and-white photographs chronicling characters—bettors, trainers, jockeys, clockers—found at racetracks across the US in the 1970s and early '80s.

Nearby snack: For Vietnamese street food, Ba Bar (550 12th Ave) has a pretty tasty happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m.

Kathleen Hanna's Very Funny, Very Real Lecture at the Neptune

Emily Nokes — Sat, 02 May 2015 05:30:00 -0700

by Emily Nokes

So much laughing and also crying.

Kathleen Hanna delivered a lecture last Wednesday evening at the Neptune Theatre on the topic "Riot Grrrl Then and Now." The lecture was more like an oral memoir from her time in the Riot Grrrl movement (when I interviewed her a few weeks ago, she said she actually planned to talk more about herself and her experiences). And that's what made it work. The tone was very real—she was charming and effervescent and so funny—like having a conversation with a smart, enthusiastic girlfriend who is quick to tease, but also quick to self-deprecate.

As she spoke, slides of zines and old photos were projected behind her on a screen. I'll never see that iconic photo of Hanna with "SLUT" written on her stomach in lipstick and not feel something. It's still powerful stuff, but she was quick to diffuse the urge some of us might have to idolize/idealize her and Riot Grrl with humor (of the aforementioned photo, she said something along the lines of, "That was at a time when people were wearing crop tops—Chris Cornell knows what I'm talking about") and frequent reference to the movement's shortcomings. She was careful to narrate the "story of Riot Grrrl" by reiterating that it was her own experience, and not something she expects women (or anyone) to identify with wholly or at all.

She spoke on the serious issues of violence, rape, and street harassment that spurred her ideas, but also did an Ian MacKaye impression, sang a few lines to the song "Olympia" by Hole (duuude), and generally disarmed the audience (which seemed a little shy, or maybe just nervous, to interact with this person)—even coming out into the crowd to “meet everyone” and hand out zine pages.

I'm going to say something now that some may feel goes against the ethos of the evening, but with all due respect: Kathleen Hanna looked fucking great. She had one these huge flatform shoes on and a boxy shirt dress I immediately wanted to borrow. Actually, no apologies—it's okay to be feminist and also into fashion. I know what I'm doing and where it's coming from.

The lecture ended with Hanna singing Le Tigre's “Hot Topic” as photo and word collages flashed on the screen; everyone around me was crying. Afterward she held a thoughtful Q & A that mainly encouraged the audience to help answer each others' questions (one person was struggling with issues surrounding booking shows that get out of hand; Hanna responding by asking other people to chime in since she didn't have the current experience to address that struggle in the present tense).

No, Riot Grrrl was not perfect. Far from. And Hanna herself is an imperfect feminist, like everyone. But I think her faults, and her eagerness to address the "Then" with the "Now" make for really important conversations. It's true, as a feminist icon of sorts (whether she wants the title or not), she commands attention and it would be rad to hear her take more outspoken stands on the current state of things (for instance, the fact that our country is festering with so much institutionalized racism that we're basically running backwards into the dark ages...). But for education sake, Riot Grrrl's impact, flaws and all, is an important idea to keep alive. An important foundation to build on. And important movement to argue about.

Don't stop.

iji Goes Pro

Emily Nokes — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 04:00:00 -0700

After 12 Years of DIY, Zach Burba's Lowercase Weirdo Pop Band Iji Has Made a Record in a Studio by Emily Nokes

Zach Burba started making music as iji (pronounced "eeh-hee") 12 years ago, when he was 15 years old. Burba moved to Seattle from Phoenix in 2008 and has been involved in the local underground and DIY scene ever since, putting out numerous singles, cassettes, splits, and something like 11 full-length albums as iji, with an ever-changing carousel of bandmates and collaborators. He has also toured as much as possible. "I've been around the country probably like 20 or 30 times, and it's just been great," Burba says. "I don't really expect anything out of it, I just like to do it."

Naturally, the music has changed over time—endearing bare-bones bedroom indie, dance-party synth-pop, tropical dub-dipped smooth rock laced with the sincerest of sax solos. Burba's voice warbles out cuddlesome lyrics ("I love music so much and I always will, I know!") like pastel tennis balls bouncing off Jell-O. Themes include dancing, friendship, music, seltzer water, and snacks ("Food is a big influence—whenever there's one line of a song missing, I always go to a food lyric," Burba says). It's genuine and unabashed—Daniel Johnston and Jonathan Richman influences are present, but so are Steely Dan and Luther Vandross. Burba's current infatuations include Arthur Russell, Kevin Ayers, and Laurie Anderson, whom he credits with "pushing me in a weirder direction. Not just her music, but everything she's done."

Iji songs are usually some combination of Burba tracking every instrument himself or enlisting musician friends on his DIY recordings. But the forthcoming Whatever Will Happen was recorded at The Unknown in Anacortes, the first iji album made in a proper studio. The aesthetic breadth suits the band's dexterous, poly-instrumental approach as they venture deeper into avant easy-listening pop, shimmying groove fountains, and wacky/freaky experimental tracks. "To me, hi-fi or lo-fi isn't that important," Burba explains. "I would like to make really hi-fi recordings that are incredibly strange in other ways."

Whatever Will Happen is also iji's first release on a pro label (it comes out June 2 on Team Love Records—cofounded by Conor Oberst). Burba describes the process of how the signing occurred as "kind of an incredible story," which is something a lot of musicians say, though in this case, it happens to be true. It all started while iji were on tour in New Paltz, New York, where Team Love is based. After a great show at the label's record store, the band went for a night swim at a closed pool and invoked a disproportionately severe police response. "We were being very respectful, wearing swimsuits, not trashing the place, not being super loud, just appreciating the pool. The cops came, but we thought we were so fine," Burba says. But before they could apologize, the whole band was handcuffed and taken to the station where their fingerprints and mug shots were taken while they were still freezing in wet bathing suits.

"They didn't let us get our clothes or towels," Burba says, "They were just like, 'You can get one thing out of your car and that's any money you have to pay bail.' And so I grabbed our tour fund. When it was time to make bail, they asked, 'Okay, how much cash do you have on you?' And I'm like, wait, we could have just had like 15 bucks each on us, but now we actually have an envelope full of $700. They flipped through it and said 'That'll probably do' and took it."

The tour was rerouted to accommodate their New Paltz court date the following week (charges were dropped after additional fines were paid), leading to a chance second encounter with one of the Team Love guys on the street. Burba says, "He asked what we were doing back in town, and we're like, 'Well, let us tell you all about it.' He couldn't believe it and just felt so bad that he had to put out our record [laughs]."

Of course iji has more music in the works—Burba explains his current idea, "I want it to be, in its own weird way, kind of a punk album. I'm not sure how that's going to be yet, but that's the idea."

The next tour starts in June.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events & Nearby Snacks for Stoners: Jinkx Goes Hollywood(er). Plus: Art Beasties, Art Beasties! by Emily Nokes

'Drag Becomes Him' Premiere

FILM Wed April 29, Cinerama (2100 Fourth Ave)

Everyone's favorite Jewish narcoleptic drag superstar—Jinkx Monsoon (aka Jerick Hoffer), of course—is the subject of this feature-length documentary that offers an intimate glimpse into the life of the RuPaul's Drag Race winner, Stranger Genius Award nominee, and, well, best fucking performer in Seattle.

Nearby snack: We've already bonded over the popcorn options at Cinerama (right, guys?), but if you're looking for something a little more flamboyant, Icon Grill (1933 Fifth Ave) has quite possibly the most lamps and doodads per square inch of any Seattle restaurant and serves an equally obnoxious giant hot-fudge sundae in a cookie-dough bowl with your choice of toppings (you tell them you want them all).

'Art Beasties: Time Difference : Seattle–New York–Tokyo'

ART Through May 2, Soil (112 Third Ave S)

I can barely deal with how delightful the name "Art Beasties" is. Art Beasties (Art Beasties! Art Beasties!) are a Japanese art collective based in NYC. Their exhibit Time Difference explores communication and perception through three different time zones using live music performance, photography, installation, video, and painting. Related-ish: Have you ever been so jet-lagged you felt like you were on acid?

Nearby snack: Mexican fare is always good when you're in the mood to get very full—Tenoch Mexican Grill (208 Fifth Ave S) has a family-style menu of all the classics.

[UNTITLED] 3

CLASSICAL Fri May 1, Benaroya Hall (200 University St)

The person known simply as Trimpin is a renowned local "sound sculptor" (yeah, okay, I'll allow it), and it looks like he'll be doing some cool/weird shit with Seattle Symphony musicians for the final [Untitled] of the season. The show will feature "a piano that can be played and conducted without being touched, suspended chimes, a wandering soprano, and strategically placed Symphony musicians."

Nearby snack: Gelatiamo (1400 Third Ave) not only serves delicious gelato and sorbetto, you can also get a GELATO CAKE, which is two flavors of gelato layered on top of a sponge cake lightly soaked with marsala wine. [Insert heart-eyes emoji here.]

Independent Bookstore Day

READING Sat May 2, Various locations

Support independent bookstores, you big jerk! Wander into three or more participating stores—including Book Larder (4252 Fremont Ave N), Elliott Bay Book Company (1521 10th Ave), Fantagraphics (1201 S Vale St), Mockingbird Books (7220 Woodlawn Ave NE), Open Books (2414 N 45th St), and Phinney Books (7405 Greenwood Ave N)—and you could win $25 gift cards to every participating store. Or take the Independent Bookstore Day Challenge by visiting all 17 stores and win 25 percent off at every store for a whole year!

Nearby snack: Have you noticed the new Snickers Rockin' Nut Road bar? It may be an afterthought of a name, but a Snickers bar with almonds and marshmallow is what dreams are made of. Available at some gas stations I can't remember where.

ggnzla Karaoke

KARAOKE Every Monday, Chop Suey Den (1325 E Madison St)

Friendly, low-stakes karaoke with a well-curated song book is entertaining when you're stoned, whether you're singing or chickening out just watching. The newly renovated Chop Suey front lounge—now called the Den, and now featuring a rustic wall of chains—is the spot for ggnzla Karaoke every Monday night. Don't forget to tip your karaoke host, especially after you mangle Toto's "Africa."

Nearby snack: Little Uncle's (1509 E Madison St) pad thai is some of the best pad thai of all pad time.

Kathleen Hanna, Then and Now

Emily Nokes — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Kathleen Hanna Talks About Face-Lifts, Fake Optimism, and the Feminist Continuum (Oh, and Furious 7) by Emily Nokes

Faced with the opportunity to interview Kathleen Hanna, my main goal was not to hyperventilate. Between her involvement in the riot grrrl movement, her music projects (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, the Julie Ruin), her importance to Northwest punk culture for the past 20 years, and the reality of a limited word count, there seemed to be an impossible amount of ground to cover. So I started by asking about the lecture she's presenting here next week, and edited out the many times I said "Yeah, totally!" and/or laughed way too hard.

"Riot Grrrl Then and Now" seems like it covers a lot of ground. What can we expect?

It's weird that I picked that title because I'm going to talk a lot about myself [laughs]. I am not riot grrrl, and riot grrrl is not me; I think I'm more going to talk about my overall career.

It's nice, I think, when you're young, and maybe you're going through some of the same stuff that I went through, to hear someone say, "Oh, this isn't just something you're going through, this is something a lot of activists encounter—it's just part of the gig." Or, for musicians who stick their necks out and say, "I actually care about stuff"—you're going to face harder criticism and get asked more questions just about politics, never about your music. If you're a woman, it's constantly going to be about your hair or your clothes or do you look older? Have you had a face-lift? [Laughs] Yeah. I'm in the face-lift chair right now. I'm getting my face lifted just for the lecture! No, I would be so scared to get a face-lift. I would look so weird. I have learned that the high, tight ponytail is kind of the natural face-lift [laughs]. I wasn't trying to go for that look, but every time I put my hair up really tight, it's sort of that same thing they used to use in the '50s, that tape behind the ears. Yeah, everybody's always like, "You look a lot better with your hair up," and I'm like, "That's so messed up!" Maybe I'll wear my hair down and just look like myself.

Excellent choice. You've said many times that you hoped riot grrrl could be something for younger activists to build upon, rather than imitate. Do you think that's happening? What are you excited to see from future generations?

In the very first manifesto I wrote about riot grrrl, I encouraged other people to write their own manifestos, because, you know, I can't speak for everybody. It was really contradictory, because I also started every single phrase with "Because We" as if I was speaking for everyone. I think a lot less of that in the future would be good, a lot less universalizing one person's experience or a few people's experiences... I really always just felt like riot grrrl was a tiny little branch of feminism that was trying to expand punk rock to include feminist ideas. When I say "build upon," I mean we're a part of the feminist continuum... In the '90s, there was a backlash against feminism. For me, it just made more sense to go on the road and not just tell people that feminism still exists, but be the fact that feminism still exists. And in showing that, hopefully inspire other women to do the things that they wanted to do.

I don't want to see a riot grrrl part two. It's like, there's a Furious 7 now. We don't need it [laughs]. But I think it's important that each generation can learn from each other's successes and failures. And oftentimes the failures—while they're painful, and awful, and they hurt people—can lead to really great things because they piss people off and make it so people can say, "Fuck you, I'm going to make something 10 times better." I have to credit a lot of the things in my career to the fact that I met with a lot of resistance, and told myself, "That just means I'm on the right path."

Where do you think the current discussion about feminism, at least in music, fits on that continuum? Like Beyoncé's "FEMINIST" sign. Did you ever foresee something like that during the backlash you mentioned?

I definitely think Beyoncé's performance at the VMAs being so all over the place was interesting and important. And I'm happy to see people being upset about things like the Robin Thicke song a year ago, and just talking about feminism in pop culture again. But I kind of knew it was coming—it's usually a 20- or 25-year cycle. I think a lot of it has to do with high-school kids having a nostalgia for when they were first born—what they missed. I'll always have a thing about the '60s because I was born in 1968, so the '60s are endlessly fascinating to me because it was the era when my parents were cool. Or kind of cool. So I think kids now are having a nostalgia for the late '90s and that's bringing back a lot of stuff. Also, a lot of people who were involved in punk-rock feminist stuff in the '90s are now feeling at a safe enough distance from it to talk about it and to talk about the damage that a lot of us went though. Because sometimes doing group activism can be really damaging when you're young and insecure. Even though people might think, "Oh, you were this tough, strong-ass feminist," it's like, I was still in my early 20s and totally insecure, just like everybody else. And I had a hard time, especially speaking up to other women when I disagreed with them. That's a big message I always try to have—it's really important that we argue.

Speaking of arguing, the internet. What's your impression of the culture of online harassment? It seems related to issues raised during riot grrrl, but it also seems really new.

That's definitely a big topic right now. And I know last year Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches wrote an article about being really frustrated, saying that she wants to be able to keep in touch with her fans on the internet, but when people are sexualizing her and writing about her body and threatening to rape her, she was like, how can I stay in touch with people when I have to wade through all of this crap?

She brought up a point with me in a group interview we did. I'm like, "Just don't read it." Just don't scroll down into the comments. And if you happen to accidentally see something that says you're a stupid asshole, it has no merit to it. It's not an actual critique that's smart. I've read plenty of critiques about things that I've been involved in that have been totally smart and that I thought were totally right on. And that's really different than someone making jokes about your body and making jokes about raping you. That's the problem—you want to read the valid critiques, but you don't want to deal with this abusiveness. So I was like, "Just don't read the comments," and her point was "Well, why should we have to put up with this?" It's almost like street harassment. In a way, I'm being a jerk because I'm saying just ignore it. But it's like no, we have to fight against this. We have to make this a part of a public conversation. So I actually agree with her more than me [laughs.]

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Psychedelic Drawings, Disco Overalls, Sea Puppies, and More! by Emily Nokes

'Emily Ann Pothast: Works on Paper'

ART Through May 10, Cairo (507 E Mercer St)

The artwork of Emily Ann Pothast explores beautifully psychedelic and spiritual realms without falling into the cheesiness often associated with those two words. The rich textures and colors of her drawings of eyes, patterns, and geometric shapes are a perfect portal for your metaphysical ponderings.

Nearby snack: There's a Top Pot Doughnuts dangerously close to Cairo (609 Summit Ave E).

ABBA Night

MUSIC/NIGHT OUT Fri April 24, Swedish Cultural Center (1920 Dexter Ave N)

Celebrate fashion's finest moment—i.e., the skintight satin bell-bottom disco overalls—and Sweden's pride, aka the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music, with a night of all things ABBA! The sixth annual ABBA night will include an ABBA cover band, an ABBA DJ, and an ABBA costume contest. You're sure to ABBA great time!

Nearby snack: ABBA-appropriate food will reportedly be available in-house, but don't rule out China Harbor (2040 Westlake Ave N), especially if you like your Chinese food to be illuminated by epic chandeliers.

Blood Drugs Record Release Party

MUSIC Fri April 24, Chop Suey (1325 E Madison St)

Local punks Blood Drugs are releasing their self-titled debut album tonight on Good to Die Records. It's concentrated, rhythmic rock 'n' roll, a jittery skeleton wrapped in measured chaos and scraped-up manic vocals. If it's been a while since you thrashed yourself sweaty at a show, this one's for you.

Nearby snack: Hit Old School Frozen Custard (1316 E Pike St) for a Concrete (like a Blizzard, but made with frozen custard and half the attitude of the average DQ employee).

Active Listening Without Limitation, a New Awareness

CLASSICAL Sat April 25, Chapel Performance Space (4649 Sunnyside Ave N)

I can't pretend to understand exactly what the premise of this show is (discussion? Performance? Awareness?), but I'm intrigued nonetheless, because fuck limitation. The Chapel website says that part of the programming this evening will include William Kiesel discussing hermetic enigmas in his presentation on the language of the birds, and Garek Jon Druss performing a new piece for meditative listening, architecture, and sculpture. In my experience, nothing goes better with a discussion of hermetic enigmas than a vape pen.

Nearby snack: Are you familiar with the Coca-Cola Freestyle drink machines found at Taco Time? (The closest one is at 2212 N 45th St.) You can just stand there making up your own infinite soda flavor combinations! I like Dr. Pepper with a shitload of vanilla syrup in it and a little cherry, but I'm not going to tell you how to live your life.

Marine Mammal Mania: Sea Otters

CUTE! April 25–26, Seattle Aquarium (1483 Alaskan Way, Pier 59)

Otters are basically the puppies of the sea—adorable, charming, outgoing YouTube sensations. Meet Seattle Aquarium's otter friends—Adaa, Lootas, Aniak, and Sekiu—and learn about their fastidious grooming habits, what it means when they hold paws (AWWW), and how otters are slowly making a comeback from the brink of extinction.

Nearby snack: I've mentioned my guilty pleasure spot before: the Hard Rock Cafe (116 Pike St). Feel free to tune out the Zeppelin soundtrack, because eating and drinking on a rooftop with fire pits and a view of Pike Place (!) is the only stairway to heaven you'll need. (ZING.)

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck's Emotion Collage Will Completely Drain You

Emily Nokes — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck's Intimate, Spastic Collage Will Completely Drain You by Emily Nokes

Montage of Heck is an intimate view of a person we all like to believe we kind of knew. The more it shows us of Kurt Cobain—son, loner, artist, band leader, husband, father, icon—and it shows us a lot, the more the film proves us both right and wrong.

Though grounded by interviews (his parents, sister Kim, ex-girlfriend Tracy, bandmate Krist Novoselic, and widow Courtney Love all help piece him together), its dominant building block is a highly stylized collage that brings the pages of Cobain's fucked-up, witty journal to noisy, spazzy life. Drawings and words wriggle and explode on the page as Nirvana songs play. More conventional animations illustrate never-before-heard spoken-word entries that detail Cobain's extremely gnarly attempt at losing his virginity (TRIGGER WARNING), the isolation he felt, and his generally unmoored sense of self.

Three qualms: (1) The visual ADHD can get exhausting, in terms of both pace and intensity. (2) I'm never that keen on animated reenactment footage. (3) Oh my god, the cringeathon that is a choral rendition of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" playing over slo-mo outtakes of the video shoot. However, Montage is—or at least feels—honest. It frames Cobain as a fairly normal, sensitive, self-conscious guy with a chronic stomachache who did, in fact, want to play good music and succeed on some level.

Fame comes late in Montage, which is an advantage, since we know it's coming. But no sooner has it arrived than the film's focus shifts to the loving, childlike, sweet, haggard marriage of Kurt and Courtney, who hide out from the Nevermind whirlwind by playing house. The home-video footage—much of it shot by Love's bandmate Eric Erlandson—is a LOT to take in. It includes clips of the couple joyfully bathing and playing with their new baby, Courtney's boobs, Kurt's sores, a close-up of kissing that basically puts the viewer inside of their mouths, Kurt in a dress pantomiming as Courtney reads hate mail, and most heartbreakingly, Kurt nodding out as Courtney attempts their daughter Frances's first haircut. This part of the film shows a long-forgotten/oft-denied aspect of the Kurt-and-Courtney saga: They are obviously in love. They're also surprisingly hilarious together. And so young. And so fucked. Heroin lurks, but is neither glamorized nor demonized. Love comes off more positively than usual—which isn't hard, considering how she is usually portrayed. They both become way more human as we linger on their weird, goofy drug cocoon, where Cobain seems happier than any other time we see him. Which makes everything more complicated than it already was. And then it gets even heavier.

During his infamous last concert, Cobain jokes around during sound check, looks better than he has in a while, and performs beautifully. Back in Aberdeen, baby Kurt Cobain blows kisses while attempting to feed a cracker to a ceramic turtle, shining under the attention from the camera. And then the film ends, abruptly, and you're left with all this new information about all these old feelings.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Recommended Events & Nearby Snacks for Stoners: Raekwon, Ghostface, Snoop, and Clowes. Also: Don't Forget 4/20! by Emily Nokes

Raekwon and Ghostface Killah

MUSIC Wed April 15, Showbox (1426 First Ave)

Raekwon and Ghostface Killah both made some of the best early solo albums post-'Tang—Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (on which Ghostface extensively guest-starred) and Ghostface Killah's Ironman (on which Raekwon extensively guest-starred). Together, Rae's crime-heavy dramas and Ghost's vivid storytelling are a force to be reckoned (Raekwon'd?) with. The original weed-smoking music for weed-smoking people.

Nearby snack: French bakeries (try Le Panier at 1902 Pike Pl) are really just purveyors of elegant stoner food—giant slabs of Brie on baguette, various pastries with jam in them, and cookies in so many flavors.

Peelander-Z

MUSIC Thurs April 16, El Corazón (109 Eastlake Ave E)

These Japanese outer-space punks (now based in New York) are NOT fucking around. They come in colors (Peelanders Yellow, Red, Green, Pink, and Black) and look like microwaved, raved-out Power Rangers playing Ramones songs with three times the energy. Peelander-Z live shows have been known to include wrestling antics and a giant squid prop; sing along to "So Many Mike" (it's about the large number of people named Mike the band has met in the United States).

Nearby snack: There's a Subway—HEAR ME OUT—at 1220 Howell Street. Their cookies, especially the chocolate with white-chocolate chip, are not half bad.

Daniel Clowes

READING Sat April 18, Fantagraphics (1201 S Vale St)

Alt-comic hero Daniel Clowes will be AT Fantagraphics, reading from The Complete Eightball, a two-volume anthology of all 18 issues of his full-color, fully entertaining Eightball series (which includes the first Ghost World, Art School Confidential, and much, much more).

Nearby snack: Katsu Burger (6538 Fourth Ave S) has the most obnoxiously large deep-fried hamburgers in Georgetown and possibly Seattle.

Sweet Lo's Ice Cream Mania

EVENT Sat April 18, Pike Place Market Atrium Kitchen (85 Pike St)

Sweet Lo's ice cream IS fancy, yes, but it's fancy done correctly. Flavors like Lemon Bar (lemon ice cream with chunks of lemon bar) or Munchies (salted-pretzel ice cream with candied potato chips, pretzels, Ritz crackers, Whoppers, and Kit Kats) are literally what I'm talking about.

Nearby snack: If you need to add something savory to the dose of sweet you just had (the impossible-to-equalize stoner dilemma), hit up Copacabana's (1520 Pike Pl) rooftop for Pike Place people-watching and Bolivian food.

Snoop Dogg

MUSIC Sun April 19, WaMu Theater (800 Occidental Ave S)

It's 4/19—GOT A DAY? (Ha-ha-ha.) I don't know what happened to the whole "Lion" thing, but Snoop D-O-double-G is heading back to Seattle again for a Wellness Retreat repeat, joined by E-40 (!!!), G-Eazy, and Ty Dolla $ign.

Nearby snack: Since you're probably not getting into the Snoop show without dropping at least $50, stop by the nearest Grocery Outlet (1702 Fourth Ave S) for cheap and weird snacks in discontinued flavors like "peanut butter cheesecake Pop Tart Oreo Popsicles."

4/20

WEED Mon April 20, Everywhere

HAPPY FOUR-TWENTY, EVERYONE! Keep it together, go support Seattle's fine pot stores, treat yourself to a fancy new vape pen or a bag of weed gummies, and have a fantastic day.

How to Be High in Public

Emily Nokes — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 04:00:00 -0700

How to Be High in Public by Emily Nokes

10 Record Store Day Exclusive Releases Worth Lining Up For

Emily Nokes — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 04:00:00 -0700

10 Record Store Day Exclusive Releases Worth Lining Up For by Emily Nokes

David Bowie/Tom Verlaine

"Kingdom Come" 7-inch

Television frontman Tom Verlaine and David Bowie, each performing their own version of "Kingdom Come," one of the best tracks from Verlaine's self-titled 1979 debut album, which Bowie covered on Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) the following year.

D'Angelo

"The Charade"/"1,000 Deaths" 7-inch

If D'Angelo's December 2014 release Black Messiah wasn't the best album to have sex to surprise album in recent memory, I don't know what was. Here are the second and third songs from that wonderful record—"The Charade" b/w "1,000" Deaths.

The Dead Milkmen

Beelzebubba

Own the fourth album from Philly's best irony-wielding punks for the first time in more than 25 years. Beelzebubba contains the Dead Milkmen classic "Punk Rock Girl," plus 16 other tracks of unhinged satire on topics like trailer parks, jerks with nicer stuff than you, fraternity brothers, and what happens when Ringo Starr gets fed up.

J Dilla

"Fuck the Police" 7-inch

The late, great rapper/producer J Dilla on an especially relevant topic. The record is shaped like a police badge.

Rocky Horror Picture Show

"Time Warp" 10-inch EP

Just imagine how much nerd cred you'd get if you whipped this out during your DJ set. In fact, come to think of it, if I invited you to DJ my party and you didn't play this, I would be pissed. It also contains a karaoke track, thank god.

ESG

The Moody EP

Early 1980s polyrhythmic post-punk/art-funk from the Bronx's Scroggins sisters: "Moody" (and the spaced-out edit), "You're No Good," and "UFO," pressed onto three-color (emerald, sapphire, and gold, of course) splatter vinyl.

The Lemonheads

Bored on the Fourth of July

Four tracks from alt-punk/power-poppers the Lemonheads' John Peel session, recorded July 4, 1989— "Mallo Cup" and "Circle of One" from the album Lick, "Clang Band Clang" from the album Creator, and "(The) Door" from Lovey.

Run the Jewels

"Bust No Moves" EP

Four tracks from El-P and Killer Mike—aka Run the Jewels, aka makers of one of the best albums of 2014, Run the Jewels 2—"Pew Pew Pew" (the UK bonus track on Run the Jewels), "Love Again" (Run the Jewels 2), "Blockbuster Night Pt. 2" (Run the Jewels 2 bonus track), and "Bust No Moves," which has never been released.

Shocking Blue

"Love Buzz"/"Boll Weevil" 7-inch

You may recognize "Love Buzz" as a Nirvana single, but it was written by Netherland psych band Shocking Blue (first released on their 1969 album At Home). Their version features sitar and Mariska Veres's striking voice. Side B is the more up-tempo "Boll Weevil."

Electric Wizard

Time to Die

England's best contemporary stoner/doom-metal band's latest album, released as a specially numbered double LP with silver vinyl.

Neko Case

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

A special red-vinyl pressing of Neko Case's 2006 heart-squeezing, clear-voiced folk album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Also includes a special RSD slipmat with the album's whimsical artwork.

Brian Eno

My Squelchy Life

The mythical "lost" Eno album, My Squelchy Life—slated for, but then pulled from, Warner Bros release in 1991—can now be yours on deluxe gatefold vinyl with an additional, never-before-heard track from the original recording session.

Belle and Sebastian, Perfume Genius at the Paramount

Emily Nokes — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 12:22:00 -0700

by Emily Nokes

Seattle's Perfume Genius opened for Glasgow's twee-hearts Belle and Sebastian at the Paramount this past Tuesday. Photographer/show-seeer extraordinaire Josh Bis was kind enough to send us some beautiful shots from the show.

A night of feelings! Josh Bis

Mike Hadreas AKA Perfume Genius (those tights!). Josh Bis

Those shoes! Josh Bis

Belle and Sebastian started their set with "Nobody's Empire." Josh Bis

Stuart Murdoch's still go it! (And by "it" I mean a closet full of cardigans!) Josh Bis

Belle and Sebastian Keyboardist/vocalist Sarah Martin and... whatever those projections are behind her? Josh Bis

Fans were invited onstage to dance to “Electronic Renaissance." Josh bis

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Let's Play Master (Painter) and Servant. Plus: 3-D Printing and 3-D Dancing! by Emily Nokes

Artist Talk: Does 3-D Printing Publish Art?

(ART) Wed April 8, Central Library (1000 Fourth Ave)

Welcome to the future! Will 3-D printing ever be considered art? How exactly does that shit even work? See it happen in real time, before your very eyes, with examples on display, a slide show, and a lecture/Q&A with visual artist ReMike (aka Mike Leavitt). Truly an event to tell your friends' grandchildren about.

Nearby snack: Right inside the library you will find Chocolati Cafe for all your urgent handmade-chocolate needs.

The Jam

(DJ/MUSIC) Fri April 10, Vermillion (1508 11th Ave)

Every second Friday of the month, check out The Jam—a collaborative classic hiphop DJ night featuring live, MPC-powered beats from Specs Wizard with A.Madman and Able Fader holding down four turntables. They promise it'll be "old skool, undergrimy, and local to the bone!" Can't argue with that.

Nearby Snack: A giant plate of nachos at Bimbo's Cantina (1013 E Pike St) is where it's at.

Emerald City Soul Club

(DJ/DANCING) Sat April 11, Lo-Fi (429 Eastlake Ave E)

If you're in the mood for another happening monthly—and you are—every second Saturday of the month, you can rely on the talented Emerald City Soul Club DJs to spin the hottest, most soulful 45s for your blissed-out dancing pleasure. Both rooms fill up and it gets h-a-w-t—there's no better place for you to bust out your best spins on the baby-powdered floor!

Nearby snack: Row House Cafe (1170 Republican St) serves a crazy-extensive menu of drinks, plus a (thankfully) simpler supper menu with offerings like ribs and potpies for the carnivores and succotash and cauliflower kale for the veggies among us.

'Warner Sallman: The Master Painter'

(EVENT) April 11–21, Nordic Heritage Museum (3014 NW 67th St)

You know that Jesus painting Head of Christ? The portrait where Christ is looking really serene and babely, and the colors are all warm and golden? If you saw it, you would totally know what I'm talking about. Chicago's Warner Sallman is the master painter who masterfully painted that (the New York Times once called Sallman one of the most recognized artists of the 20th century), and a selection of his work will be on display until April 21. You know what they say... "He has resin."

Nearby snack: Walter's Cafe (6408 32nd Ave NW) serves Top Pot doughnuts and Snoqualmie Ice Cream. Just saying.

'Fifty Shades of Grey'

("FILM") Various theaters

Oh come on. Who doesn't like a ridiculously dumb movie based on a ridiculously dumb book? I haven't seen it yet (I need to score the strongest of edibles in preparation), but if it's half as funny as the book, you're getting your money's worth. At least it passed the Bechdel Test?

Nearby snack: If it's Monday, stop by Cafe Lago (2305 24th Ave E) for wood-fired, thin-crusted pizzas for $10, pints of Pike Pale Ale for $4, and $5 glasses of Chianti.

The High List: Recommended Events for Stoners

Emily Nokes — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:00:00 -0700

No Talking, Art Walking, Very Old Records, and More! by Emily Nokes

Silent Reading Party

READING/SILENCE Wed April 1, Sorrento Hotel (900 Madison St)

You could get a little stoned and crack open a book at home, by yourself, but wouldn't you rather read in a lavish hotel lounge surrounded by other reading humans? This event involves zero social-anxiety-inducing small talk, just mellow live music like cello, harp, or piano.

Nearby snack: Piroshki on Madison (1219 Madison St) offers a full menu of piroshkis (very adorable Russian meat or vegetable turnovers) and desserts. (Plus, the Sorrento has a very good kitchen and cocktail menu.)

First Thursday Art Walk

ART Thurs April 2, Pioneer Square

Walk around, visit several galleries, look at so much art. Easy. Nice. Bring a friend! Or don't! No pressure.

Nearby snack: If you're in the mood for seafood, Taylor Shellfish (410 Occidental Ave S) and Gaba Sushi (220 First Ave S) are both in the art walk zone.

Sakura-Con

FESTIVAL April 3–5, Washington State Convention & Trade Center (800 Convention Pl)

Now in its 18th year, Sakura-Con (presented by Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association) celebrates the glorious, colorful world of anime. This year's programming is packed with cultural panels, dances, industry guests, and gaming, but everyone knows the cosplay is what's going to be the most fantastic!

Nearby snack: My colleagues tell me that MOD Pizza (1302 Sixth Ave) is pretty good because you "don't have to make really hard decisions about toppings" (add or subtract toppings for no charge) and "the crust is exactly the right gauge" (not too thick, not too thin—perfectly baby-bear).

'Dirk Staschke: Executing Merit'

ART Through April 15, Winston Wachter Fine Art (203 Dexter Ave N)

Dirk Staschke's sculptures are intricate and polished and look like (lightly satirized) three-dimensional still-life paintings—opulent cakes, birds, meat—but with unfinished and raw elements that reveal the ceramic craft and process. Apparently, Staschke's usual style is immaculate and this is his attempt at "relinquishing control." The juxtaposition is pretty effing bananas to look at.

Nearby snack: La Parisienne French Bakery (2507 Fourth Ave) for the meringues, éclairs, macarons, baguettes, and tarts of your dreams.

78 rpm DJ Night

MUSIC Sat April 4, Bottleworks (1710 N 45th St #3)

Listen to very old records—so old, they're played at 78 rpm—and enjoy a beer (or mead, or cider) from a menu of more than 950 options. DJ Jeffery Taylor (co-owner of Wall of Sound and coauthor of Victrola Favorites) will be spinning from his collection of jazz, hillbilly, gospel, and ethnographic 78s from the 1920s through the 1950s.

Nearby snack: The pasta at Bizzarro Italian Cafe (1307 N 46th St) is very delicious. Get the Forest Floor Frenzy and try not to fill up on the garlic bread.