Recent Stories with tag mike mccready

Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter at McCaw Hall

There were a couple things I knew going in to the Conan O'Brien show Sunday night. It was at McCaw Hall, Conan would be there, and...that's about it. (Sunday also just happened to be Conan's birthday!) Not a lot was said about the show, and no one knew who the guests would be. Would he set it up like a talk show? Would he ride a unicycle for 90 minutes?

It turned out to be an interesting mix, more like a variety act than a comedy tour. There's been some positive and negative talk about the tour, but if you're a huge fan of his talk show, then you probably would have had a fantastic time. The show's opening act, Reggie Watts (formerly of Seattle and currently of Maktub), did a great job of working up the crowd and getting them ready for 90 minutes of hot Coco action. He brought on a lot of laughs with his great mix of electronic music, dirty jokes, and wacky lyrics. The Seattle-specific call-outs really perked up the audience as well as his dazzling voice. 

And then on came Conan with a bang, kicking off with a two-minute standing ovation by the awaiting audience. He started with a pretty typical introduction, talking about the tour and its purpose, with quite a bit of the complaints that we've gotten used to hearing from the ex-NBC host over the last three months. The Seattle crowd ate it up, and it must have felt good to have that many people behind him. Guests that joined the comedian onstage included his sidekick Andy Richter, one of his writers, Deon Cole, who did a short stand-up routine, La Bamba and his "Big Band," and that night's special music guest Dave Matthews....

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Okay, you donated $10 via text message. You called into the Hope for Haiti telethon and, thirty minutes later, gave a woman who wasn't Julia Roberts your debit card number. You're feeling pretty good about your efforts. As you should. So why not reward yourself by giving more—and enjoying some great tunes in the process? Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready, along with a host of local musicians, can help you with that.

For under a buck, you can score Vedder's beautiful rendition of The Boss' "My City of Ruins," performed last month for the latter's Kennedy Center Honors ceremony. (Proceeds benefit Artists for Peace and Justice Haiti Relief.) Springsteen's inspiring ode to Asbury Park, New Jersey ("Rise up!") has new, internationally apt meaning now. Vedder's take is faithful to the original while also a close sonic cousin to his Into the Wild work and the tear duct-punching "Just Breathe" from Pearl Jam's Backspacer. One dollar. One amazing song. One way to help your fellow human beings rise from tragedy.

Another way: buy tickets to next month's "Hootenanny for Haiti." The details:

Showbox and Seattle Theatre Group (STG) present “A Hootenanny For Haiti” at Showbox at the Market on Sunday, February 28th at 7:30pm.

Duff McKagan, Mike McCready, Kim Virant, Kristen Ward, Kim Warnick, Mark Pickerel, Star Anna, Chris Friel, Gary Westlake, Jeff Rouse, Justin Davis, Ty Bailie and friends perform together in an intimate setting to support the Haiti relief efforts of Partners in Health (www.pih.org).

“A Hootenanny For Haiti” is possible by the generous donations of the artists and venue with 100% of the ticket price going to Partners in Health.

That's right, this is a night with members of PJ; McKagan's Loaded; McCready's first band, Shadow; UFO tribute band Flight to Mars; the Fastbacks; etc. It's an eclectic and insanely talented mix of artists—and I wouldn't be surprised if "and friends" included the likes of Stone Gossard and Tim DiJulio. All for $15 donated bucks.

There are other local music-related outlets for Haiti support. They deserve your patronage, too. But will they rock you like these?

"As a thank you to the brave men and women that serve and protect us everyday," KISW put together a storied local rock lineup for tonight's "KISW Salutes the Shield" show at Snoqualmie Casino. One $20 ticket will get you in for Duff McKagan's Loaded, an acoustic set from Queensryche, and a special appearance by Pearl Jam/Flight to Mars/Shadow guitar virtuoso Mike McCready. Here's the man killing (and singing!) Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child." (Pardon the crappy visuals; I'm no pro.)

Get there early to bid on "autographed music and sports memorabilia." You won't be the only one benefiting from the riffs and swag, of course. All proceeds will benefit the Lakewood Police Independent Guild. That's the best part.

"I've actually never been to Bumbershoot," said Kristen Ward, somewhat matter-of-factly, sitting over mid-day drinks at the Matador in Ballard earlier this week. It was a somewhat surprising admission, considering that her performance this Saturday at noon—the first musical performance of the entire festival, as it happens—is her second appearance at Bumbershoot. "Even after I played last time, I just left. I had to go to work, or whatever I was doing. So, yeah. This is my second time going, but just because I'm playing."

In Ward's case, it all makes sense: Despite calling Seattle home since 2001 (she's lived in Ballard for the last five years), she's still more country than city, and just plain doesn't like being stuck in such a big crowd, though she relishes the chance to play for them. Raised in Eastern Washington, she prefers getting out of town on her days off, up to the Skagit Valley or the like, to sitting around cafes or bars, and even mentions some vague plans involving a vintage Airstream...

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