Recent Stories with tag fences

If you haven't been to the refurbished Columbia City Theater yet, what the hell are you waiting for? The venue hosts great shows in a cushy club, delivers tasty libations care of the bar, and the light rail can get you there on the cheap in no time. 

If you need another reason, Columbia City Theater has a big (and diverse) Halloweekend lined up, with Mash Hall's final (ever? or at least for a while) show on Friday, the orchestral pop of Hey Marseilles and the heavily tattooed, tiny dog-loving singer-songwriter Fences on Saturday (both of whom recorded Doe Bay Sessions with Sound on the Sound earlier this year), and the Cabaret Macabre on Sunday, with Bad Things, Baby Gramps, burlesque (natch), and more. COSTUMES HIGHLY ENCOURAGED--caps not mine, but I appreciate the sentiment, plus it gets you in for $2 cheaper on Saturday and Sunday.

The SunBreak has a pair of tickets to give away to Saturday night's show with Hey Marseilles and Fences.  The show is 21+, so you be that old too. We'll be drawing a winner on Friday at noon. Enter below for your chance to win.... (more)

You've long seen Slightlynorth's work in our Flickr pool. This year we brought him in-house for Sunday at Bumbershoot, and he delivered the goods. Then he went to get a new tattoo. Rock photographers. The life they lead.

doe bay festival image courtesy of doebayfest.com

What's that? You don't know what the Doe Bay Music Festival is? Why, it's a magical place where local bands converge to spread musical joy to a crowd of a little under one thousand fans basking in the mid-August sun. 

Okay, enough of that. Here's the lowdown: it's a two-day festival on Orcas Island comprised solely of Northwest bands that will blow your mind. It's at the Doe Bay Resort and Retreat, which opens their doors (and part of their 33-acre expanse) to campers and music-lovers alike for a two-day intimate music experience. It's a low-key alternative to the huge crowd-laden festivals that we know so well. The whole fest is limited to about 750 tickets, which go on sale this Monday at 9 a.m.

This year it's on August 13th and 14th, just in time for Seattle's weather sweetspot, that time of year when almost every day is heaven on earth: hipsters are puttering on their scooters, beach volleyball is an afternoon staple, and ice cream is an important part of every meal.  

Doe Bay Resort image courtesy doebayfest.com

You might be thinking to yourself, It starts on a Friday and ends Saturday night? Yes, it starts on Friday, but if it follows a similar schedule as last year's event, then the acts don't really get going till around 6 or 7 p.m. That leaves you just enough time to trek over to Orcas after work and catch the first act.

As for the logistics, there is really only one way to get over there, by ferry from Anacortes. Unfortunately it's pretty expensive: $44 for car and driver plus $13.45 per passenger, but at least it's free on the ride back! When it comes to sleeping accommodations, the cheapest option is camping out on the grounds, then there's a bed in the local hostel, a yurt that sleeps 5 to 25, or a cabin. If you'd rather have cushier arrangements, there are some beautiful B&Bs in the Doe Bay community.... (more)

The Visitors Center at Mount Rainier, during the Good Friday Storm of 2010.

The Good Friday Storm of 2010 has come and gone without sinking the 520 bridge, but Seattle is already looking ahead to July and fireworks. Turns out that after laying off thousands of employees the past two years, Microsoft and Starbucks had a little fun money for the Fourth. Tesoro Corp. and Anacortes made national news when a refinery explosion killed five. The refinery has a history of safety violations.

The Teamsters Local #174 came to an agreement with Allied Waste, but rejected Waste Management's "best, last, final offer" and it looks like a strike will take place. That's how this week was. People are not giving up their money without a fight. A woman on Capitol Hill pulled a knife on muggers, and a man apparently stabbed an aggressive panhandler downtown.

The Seattle Bubble noted a decline in Seattle-area home value, and a spike in foreclosures. The PSBJ reported that Seattle is ninth nationally in business bankruptcies. It was holy iPad week, so TechFlash did a round-up of Seattle's iPad apps. Publicola reported on the pro-Chihuly GOTV strategy at a Seattle Center meeting.

We balanced all this news with pictures of a cute little Pika and the Zoo's fuzzy baby penguin. In sports, Seth told the M's to stop kidding around and practice. Audrey told you to go to the Croc, Jeremy sent you to On the Boards, Seth said go see Fences at the Rep. And Columbia City Cinema needs your help, if you get down there.

Stephen Tyrone Williams as Cory, with a swing that could be better, in "Fences." Photo by Chris Bennion.

Why sourcoat it? I've never seen a better play than August Wilson's Fences, which runs from last night through April 18 at the Seattle Rep. Could be because no one's ever written a better play.

Just before curtain, former Seattle Rep actor and current deputy mayor Darryl Smith stood at the front of the house and, in the lead-up to delivering some mayoral proclamation, declared that Wilson is "America's Shakespeare." Smith added, "I really believe that." Me too, Mr. Deputy Mayor.

Like Shakespeare, Wilson's work ranges from good (Much Ado About Nothing, Gem of the Ocean) to excellent (Othello, Joe Turner's Come and Gone) to among the best things ever written in the English language. Wilson's Fences, like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, belongs in the latter category.

I will attempt to explain why. Not being 1/10-trillionth the writer Wilson was, I will fail. Still, as it's one a.m. and I'm so keyed up after seeing the play that I'm compelled to share, here goes:

Wilson draws us an unforgettable lead in Troy Maxson, a former Negro League baseball star struggling to rectify the gaping chasm between the life he's been handed and the one he wants.

Our theme is a timeless one: Human frailty, and the resultant necessity of learning to forgive. Maxson must forgive society's frailties--he was born in a time when talented African-American ballplayers like himself were denied opportunities granted to less talented white ones. His bitterness leads him to act in ways that wife Rose and son Corey must forgive.

You could watch ten dozen plays before encountering one containing a single scene crackling with as much drama, surprise, humor and reality as each scene in Fences. "You don't often get a chance to see deeply into the lives of real people like that," said my plus-one, my mother, as we walked back through Seattle Center after the show. Right on, mom.

You know you're in for a first-class experience when you get to your seats and see the set, an amazing replication of a poor urban 1950s front yard. "Did you notice the garbage under the porch," my Mom asked at intermission. I hadn't, but it's these small touches that lend even more reality to Wilson's text.

Further kudos to the performers. Minneapolis 2008 actor of the year James A. Williams walks a tightrope as Troy Maxson, a physically powerful but emotionally fragile man. Denver-based Kim Staunton is incredible as Troy's unexpectedly strong wife Rose. As son Corey, Stephen Tyrone Williams brilliantly manages what ends up being two roles--a painfully naive, exuberant teenager and, later in the play's timeframe, a world-weary, pent-up Marine.

I've never seen a Seattle audience (which included boldface name Bart Sher) interact with a play as they did with this one. After every scene: Applause. Well-deserved applause, I must add. Still, that's a first for me.

Now is the part where I nitpick. If your SunBreak editors wanted a reviewer who'd find fault with this incredible production, they chose correctly in selecting a baseball connoisseur. Both Troy and Corey Maxson take swings at a rag baseball during the play; I have never seen weaker cuts in my life. Wilson's text claims that Troy hit six home runs off of legendary pitcher Satchel Paige. Seriously? He couldn't hit Ellen Page's fastball with those hacks. Please, Seattle Rep poobahs: When the Mariners get to town, enlist Ken Griffey Jr. to give these guys some pointers.

Fences premiered at Yale Rep in 1985. Seattle Rep had it in '86, with Samuel L. Jackson in the supporting role of Troy Maxson's eldest son Lyons. The play hit Broadway in '87 with James Earl Jones as Troy, collecting both a Pulitzer and a Tony. A Broadway revival later this month will star Denzel Washington, with music by Branford Marsalis. The Seattle Rep's production travels to Syracuse next for a one-month run.

I was lucky enough to see Fences gratis, but I'll happily pay whatever they're charging to see the play a second time. Mom said she'll do the same. Get thee to the Internet and get your own pair of tickets; art like this is why you live in Seattle.