Monthly Archives: April 2010

Arts & Entertainment

Marymoor Reveals Summer Music Plans

2 Comments

marymoor sunset via flickr cc user sunjaec

Nothing heralds the arrival of summer in Seattle more clearly than the combination of pollen-filled air, the overeager appearance of sandals, and announcements of outdoor music-watching opportunities. This week brought a slate of announcements for a season’s worth of concerts at Marymoor Park, some of which should have you running to pack your favorite picnic blanket while others may remind you that long forgotten bands still continue to exist.

Among the most noteworthy entries was the lineup for the second (now annual) No Depression Festival, to be be headlined this time around by Lucinda Williams and the Swell Season (Once darlings Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova). Sponsored by Seattle’s own roots music magazine that arose from the grave in 2008 as a community oriented website, the all-day event will also feature the Cave Singers, Punch Brothers, Alejandro Escovedo, Chuck Prophet, and Sera Cahoone. It takes place on 21 August with advance tickets running $45.

That said, the show most likely to have me setting aside disdain for convenience charges and scheming for a ride to the eastside is the dynamite pairing of the National and Okkervil River on 11 September.

Anticipation for the National’s upcoming release High Violet has been high, with tracks trickling out all year via official channels, late show performances, and fan videos. Last week saw the New York Times getting into the realm of full album streaming, with the full record playing alongside a long magazine profile of the band. With Matt Berninger singing about still owing money to the money that [he] owes (on “Bloodbuzz Ohio”) in his sad lion baritone, the whole thing has a feeling of gunning for (and achieving) “album of These Troubled Times” status. If their border-delayed 2008 performance at Sasquatch was any indication, the band outdoors on a cool summer evening will rank among my highest recommendations of the season.

Also highly worthy of your consideration are Rodrigo y Gabriella, the Mexican guitar phenoms by way of Ireland who must be seen to be believed, on 13 August. There are also throwbacks like the Doobie Brothers and Beatles tribute band called 1964, festival addicts like Michael Franti & Spearhead, and bands whose continued existence elicit surprise like Barenaked Ladies, Slightly Stoopid, and Train. On top of all of that, the Mountain hosts its own music festival on 14 August. Full calendar listed below, tickets for most go onsale on Saturday morning.

19 June: Slightly Stoopid / Steel Pulse / the Expendables
15 July: Barenaked Ladies
24 July: 1964
07 August: Michael Franti & Spearhead
13 August: Rodrigo y Gabriella / Xavier Rudd
14 August: Mountain Music Fest
21 August: No Depression Festival
26 August: The Doobie Brothers
11 September: The National / Okkervil River
19 September: Train

  • Concerts at Marymoor. Marymoor Park (Redmond, WA). Most summer weekend, ticket prices vary.
News

Rain Falls on the Just and the Unjust Strip Clubs

2 Comments

Just two weeks ago, the iconic downtown peep joint The Lusty Lady announced it would close, partly due to the recession (in 2001, the dancers reportedly made $27 an hour) and partly internet porn. The incessant punning of its marquee, the live nude girls–it all wraps up end of June.

While a few bluenoses were always certain Seattle could show itself to better advantage than with a strip show spitting distance from SAM, I think most people preferred to think of The Lusty Lady as a risqué marquee, and leave it at that, Erika Langley’s book aside. Ironically, that attitude may have helped do them in–marquee appreciation doesn’t pay the rent.

Now, in one fell swoop, the Colacurcio stripper empire that extended from Tacoma to Everett is being shut down, but this time no one’s wearing their public mourning face. Federal prosecutors says the strip clubs (and their management) were a 50-year-old “scourge on the community,” reports the Seattle Times. The charges, including prostitution, money laundering, and RICO, are right out of gangland lore.

(Of course, the news that one undercover officer “spent spent at least $16,835 buying more than 130 lap dances without making a single arrest” has also become legend, and “Strippergate” tarnished the reputations of City Council members Jim Compton, Heidi Wills, and Judy Nicastro.)

Everett’s Honey’s will be demolished, to the delight of city leaders, but Tacoma’s Fox’s, Shoreline’s Sugar’s, and Seattle’s Rick’s are slated to be sold, and could reopen. 

News

Glimpses: “Pike & Pine” (sic)

4 Comments

Nareshe brings one of Seattle’s vortexes where similarly named streets intersect to the Sunbreak’s Flickr pool. This one occurs at the Pike Place Market, where anyone befuddled by the city planning will be find themselves in the company of tourists and plenty of options for fresh snacks while regaining their bearings.

Visual Arts

Glimpses: "Pike & Pine" (sic)

4 Comments

Nareshe brings one of Seattle’s vortexes where similarly named streets intersect to the Sunbreak’s Flickr pool. This one occurs at the Pike Place Market, where anyone befuddled by the city planning will be find themselves in the company of tourists and plenty of options for fresh snacks while regaining their bearings.

Contests

SunBreak Giveaway: Liars Prize Pack

Post-punk trio Liars have become wily veterans of the noise scene, considering last month they just released their fifth (!) album, the dark, brooding Sisterworld (see track “Scarecrows on a Killer Slant,” performed at SXSW above). Since their first full-length, They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, was released in 2001, as Americans we’ve experienced two wars and six Brangelina children, while Liars have experienced one poorly received witch-themed concept album, a few band lineup changes, and one breakup with Karen O.

The experimental art-rock band’s playing a 21+ show at Neumo’s Saturday night, with openers Fol Chen and Flexions. To celebrate, The SunBreak has a Liars prize pack to give away, which includes a poster and a selection from the band’s catalogue: They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, Drum’s Not Dead, Liars, and a Sisterworld two-disc deluxe edition. We’ll be drawing the winner of the prize pack from all entries received this Friday at noon. Enter below for your chance to win.

Visual Arts

Sasquatch Posters Arrive at Vermillion

Every year Sasquatch commissions poster artists and graphic designers to create artwork to showcase the wide array of performers lined up to draw fans to the Gorge for a Memorial Day weekend. Tickets to the festival sold out weeks ago, but unlike previous years, a caravan to the dry middle of the state won’t be necessary to get a glimpse at the gorgeous screen prints. Instead, only a stroll to a friendly neighborhood wine bar and art gallery will be required.

Opening tonight at Vermillion, the collected posters will be on exhibit until May 8. On Saturday night, though, they’ll be getting the gala treatment from 6 to 10 p.m. DJ Darwin from Mad Rad will provide the soundtrack to graphic appreciation and either feelings of festival excitement or a sense of heartbreak over not having purchased passes.

  • “Sasquatch! Posters!” Exhibition and Gala. Vermillion Art Gallery & Wine Bar (1508 11th Ave). May 1, 6-10 p.m., free.