Recent Stories with tag photo gallery

Looking west on E. John St.

Here's the latest street closures from SDOT:

• Northbound and southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct
• West Dravus Street between 20 and 27 Avenues
• Battery St. Tunnel
• NE 5100 block of Latona Ave. N
• Denny Way between Melrose and Stewart Sts.

I would just add that the streets are sheets of ice, and an hour ago I watched two cars do full 360s down Denny over I-5. They were creeping along, not speeding--it's just extremely slippery out there. SDOT will be out salting roads, but they warn that bridges and elevated structures require an abundance of caution. The storm is supposed to finish its snow-dumping work by 10 p.m., but the morning commute will still be ice-tastic. Less stressful photos after the jump:... (more)

Monday at Bumbershoot was laid back and rainy, with a few noteworthy exceptions. My band hopscotch included The Clientele (Alasdair MacLean opened with a joke about bringing English weather), Greg Laswell (yet another singer/songwriter living down having a hit single on The Hills), The Meat Puppets (I don't need to explain this, right?), THEESatisfaction (the feel-good-yet-socially-aware set of the day), The Moondoggies (big crowd at the Mural Amphitheater for that one), Japandroids (two Canadian boys who rock the shit out of you), Bomba Estereo (a multi-culti dance fest), Jenny & Johnny (the cute was almost too much to bear, in person), Surfer Blood (power surf pop), and The Thermals (motherfucking tight).

On Saturday night I was lucky enough to be invited to join some friends on an 80-foot-long converted fishing trawler for a meandering circuit of Lake Union while musicians played on deck. The event was an annual tradition that began on a dock, graduated to a floating barge, and had finally grown into an occasion that required a real live boat. We converged at the designated meeting place, gingerly walked the plank onto the boat, and set off for an evening of musical adventure.... (more)

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday, but it was gorgeous inside, too, at the sold-out Arctic Summer Fashion Show held at the Nordic Heritage Museum. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (this was Sweden Week, after all) was the guest of honor, the vice honorary consul of Finland, Kristiina Hiukka, was the honorary chair, and Denmark's Ole Henriksen, of the skin care line, emceed. Freddie Ljungberg rushed over from a Sounders game, arriving late but in a tuxedo, so it evened out. 

Designers from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway were in the spotlight, including Moods of Norway, Nudie Jeans, 15x15, AOCO by Annika, Polarn O. Pyret, Molo Kids, Marimekko, Spaksmannsspjarir, Happysthlm, and Emami. Kids took the runway first--some reluctantly--but then it was all business.

While other members of Sigur Rós are using the band's indefinite hiatus for domestic things like tending to their children, lead singer and frequent bowed guitarist Jón ("Jónsi") Þór Birgisson teamed up with composer Nico Muhly to concoct a lush and surprisingly upbeat solo album. To coincide with the release of Go, he partnered with Fifty Nine Productions (who previously designed sets for the Metropolitan Opera Company and English National Opera) to create a a dramatic stage production to take on the road. The tour concluded its two-night stint in Seattle last night at the Showbox SoDo.

On his own record, Jónsi sounds regularly happy. Performed mostly in English (instead of the usual Icelandic), the songs trade just a little bit of Sigur Rós mysterious grandeur for a touch of pop accessibility. Wearing a fitted patchwork costume draped with multicolored fabric streamers and sprouting feathers, he led the band through most of the album without much chatter and a whole lot of enchanting otherworldly falsetto.

All the while, the set sprang to life in various ways: walls of greenhouse windows became animated with hummingbirds, prowling wolves, and timelapse vegetation; decaying taxidermy boxes sprang to life with fluttering butterflies and searing flames; trees and creepy owls appeared amid strobes on ragged burlap. (The Wall Street Journal, of all publications, has an excellent interactive article about it). My only minor complaint is that the whole spectacle might have been better served by a venue without a flat floor and more generous sightlines, yet it was nevertheless thrilling to behold.

With the close of the second encore, Jónsi donned a feathered headdress and used the set design to its fullest. Dancing wildly and occasionally crawling with projected fireflies, he seemed to summon the rainbow apocalypse with a swirling hailstorms, rolling clouds, and a thunderous wall of sound. Despite continuing applause, the show closed without another song. Instead, he and the band returned to endearingly clap back at the audience and take their bows. 

[When I learned Capitol Hill Seattle blog 's Justin Carder was leaving the Hill for a weekend trip to the Elwha River , it immediately occurred to me that I had a terrific chance at ruining his vacation by asking him to blog about it. He fell for it, hook, line, and sinker--ironic, because he was going on a fishing trip. But what a saga unfolded!--MvB]