Critical Mass
Critical Mass happens once a month in Seattle and all major cities in the U.S., and it's happening tonight. The last Friday of every month, bicyclists gather downtown and take over the streets normally ruled by cars.
How did this all begin? According to wikipedia:
In Seattle in the summer, there are often hundreds of cyclists on a Critical Mass ride. However, according to faithful attendees of this event in Seattle, there are fewer bicyclists on the ride this time of year, due to rain and bad weather, and it will be a more mellow ride tonight than a ride in the summer.
How did this all begin? According to wikipedia:
The first ride took place on Friday, September 25, 1992 at 6 P.M. in San Francisco. At that time, the event was known as Commute Clot and was composed of a couple dozen cyclists who had received flyers on Market Street.This is a social gathering and a protest. The thing that bothers me about Critical Mass is sometimes some of the bicyclists get all riled-up and pick fights with people in cars, or vice versa. Critical Mass blocks motor vehicle traffic, and this often causes tension between motorists and bicyclists. I love how Critical Mass is a huge presence and makes people who do not ride bicycles aware of bicycles on the road. However, I feel that when cyclists get aggressive towards motorists at bicycle protests, it only angers motorists and, thus, makes them even more disrespectful of bicycles on the road, which is very dangerous for cyclists.
Shortly after this, some participants in that ride went to a local bicycle shop for a screening of Ted White's documentary Return of the Scorcher, about bike culture overseas. In that film, American human powered vehicle and pedicab designer George Bliss noted that, in China, both motorists and bicyclists had an understood method of negotiating intersections without signals. Traffic would "bunch up" at these intersections until the back log reached a "critical mass" at which point that mass would move through the intersection. The term caught on and replaced Commute Clot as a name at the time of the second event.
By the time of the fourth ride, the number of cyclists had increased to around 100 and participation continued to grow dramatically, reaching about 1,000 riders, on average.
The name was soon adopted as a generic label by participants in similar but independent mass rides that were either initiated in various locations around the world at around the same time, or had already existed before 1992 under other names. It is estimated that there are Critical Mass-type rides in more than 325 cities to date. The term "Masser" is sometimes applied to frequent participants.
In Seattle in the summer, there are often hundreds of cyclists on a Critical Mass ride. However, according to faithful attendees of this event in Seattle, there are fewer bicyclists on the ride this time of year, due to rain and bad weather, and it will be a more mellow ride tonight than a ride in the summer.
Volunteer: Seattle Works
Noelle and I met for a beer at Victory Lounge (formerly The Lobo) last Saturday afternoon with an intention to talk about snowboarding. However, we spent our time talking about Noelle's volunteer experience with Seattle Works.Seattle Works is non-profit which coordinates volunteers to work on long-term and short-term projects, ranging from education and learning, environment/green spaces, health and wellness, and connected communities. There are several projects you can sign-up for when you volunteer, so you have a lot of freedom to pick something to work on which will be the most fun for you, as well as doing something for the community.
Through Seattle Works, Noelle has not only helped clean-up Seattle, but she has also gone to New Orleans, LA., twice to help rebuild homes and schools, and she has another trip planned this winter. Noelle published a blog about her experiences and feelings concerning the situation created by Hurricane Katrina, and it is definitely worth reading.
I asked Noelle how she got involved with Seattle Works. She told me she was looking to volunteer somewhere, and she liked how she was not obligated to give up all of her free time with Seattle Works. Noelle explained:
It's really low commitment. You only have to go one Saturday morning a month.
Seems to me like Noelle is being modest about her commitment to volunteerism, after receiving Seattle Works Volunteer of the Year 2007 award.
Her stories have inspired me to do something, too, and I'm sure I'll be volunteering with Seattle Works very soon.
If you are interested in volunteering, please visit the Seattle Works website.
Salon of Shame
Salon of Shame tonight, Tuesday September 25, at the Lower Level in Capitol Hill. Here is a chance to embarrass yourself in public by exposing your innermost thoughts as a teenager immortalized in your old journal entries. It is free to attend if you read, otherwise the cost is $7. This event almost always sells-out, so get there when the doors open at 6:45pm if you want to get a seat, unless you are reading, and then you are guaranteed entrance.
Although most sign up ahead of time to read, spontaneous readings are also encouraged, so if you show up with your old journal entries, you will be warmly welcomed on stage.
Although most sign up ahead of time to read, spontaneous readings are also encouraged, so if you show up with your old journal entries, you will be warmly welcomed on stage.
Irish Folk Music: Songs About Broke Folks Gettin' Drunk
Last night, I spent 3 hours making nonsensical noise come out of my mouth while pretending to sing along to Irish folk songs everyone but me seems to know. A night of traditional Irish music and bluegrass at the Rendezvous, my Sunday evening was filled to the rim with songs about beer and whiskey.
3 bands played, and the band I specifically went to see was Trenchmouth, who I saw last St. Patrick's Day at a bar in Ballard where foot stomping was strictly prohibited by the time I had arrived 3 songs into their set. Apparently, the band had roused the audience to the point of vigorous foot stomping in a questionably unstable loft portion of the bar.
Last night was Trenchmouth's first paid gig, and they had a stage presence more entertaining than other more versed performers I have seen. Their musical skill was obvious, yet they maintained a very casual demeanor during their performance. They made no effort to hide their mistakes and were nonchalant about "do-overs," but their mistakes turned out to be a fun part of their show. Laughing, cracking jokes, and finally abandoning their totally unnecessary mics for the last song which they sung at the top of their lungs with the help of the audience, also singing at the top of our lungs.
The special treat of the evening was getting to experience a local "drinking band with an Irish problem" called The Boys of Greenwood Glen. Hailing from the shire of Greenwood, I mean, originating from the Greenwood district, these boys have played festivals and Irish pubs up and down the coast of the Northwest. You can check out their upcoming shows here. Also, feel free to listen to a song by the Boys of Greenwood Glen, Bury Me Beneath the Weeping Willow Tree.
The band Whiskey Galore had the ultimate secret weapon: an accordion player! There is something about the accordion that makes people shut-up and listen, regardless of their state of inebriation, or maybe that just happens to me. I developed a secret instant crush on Whiskey Galore's accordion player who had a quirky sense of humor making him seem like a tough guy. You really have to admire a man who can make himself seem tough while playing the accordion. My favorite part of the Whiskey Galore set was when they invited the members of the other 2 performing bands to sing a well-known Irish diddy with them on stage which I, of course, do not know but everyone else knew at last night's show.
I still did my best to sing along, anyway, which was just as fun as actually knowing the words.
3 bands played, and the band I specifically went to see was Trenchmouth, who I saw last St. Patrick's Day at a bar in Ballard where foot stomping was strictly prohibited by the time I had arrived 3 songs into their set. Apparently, the band had roused the audience to the point of vigorous foot stomping in a questionably unstable loft portion of the bar.
Last night was Trenchmouth's first paid gig, and they had a stage presence more entertaining than other more versed performers I have seen. Their musical skill was obvious, yet they maintained a very casual demeanor during their performance. They made no effort to hide their mistakes and were nonchalant about "do-overs," but their mistakes turned out to be a fun part of their show. Laughing, cracking jokes, and finally abandoning their totally unnecessary mics for the last song which they sung at the top of their lungs with the help of the audience, also singing at the top of our lungs.
The special treat of the evening was getting to experience a local "drinking band with an Irish problem" called The Boys of Greenwood Glen. Hailing from the shire of Greenwood, I mean, originating from the Greenwood district, these boys have played festivals and Irish pubs up and down the coast of the Northwest. You can check out their upcoming shows here. Also, feel free to listen to a song by the Boys of Greenwood Glen, Bury Me Beneath the Weeping Willow Tree.
The band Whiskey Galore had the ultimate secret weapon: an accordion player! There is something about the accordion that makes people shut-up and listen, regardless of their state of inebriation, or maybe that just happens to me. I developed a secret instant crush on Whiskey Galore's accordion player who had a quirky sense of humor making him seem like a tough guy. You really have to admire a man who can make himself seem tough while playing the accordion. My favorite part of the Whiskey Galore set was when they invited the members of the other 2 performing bands to sing a well-known Irish diddy with them on stage which I, of course, do not know but everyone else knew at last night's show.
I still did my best to sing along, anyway, which was just as fun as actually knowing the words.
Fremont Oktoberfest
People say the best town in the Northwest to go to for beer is Portland, OR. Most of the people who say that are from Portland. Portland has NOTHING on the Fremont Oktoberfest, which takes over the wacky Fremont District for 3 days starting at 5pm on Friday, September 21.
I checked out their website, and it commanded me to RUN, DRINK, and PLAY:
I checked out their website, and it commanded me to RUN, DRINK, and PLAY:
- Run. The Brew HA HA 5K Run & Walk is a 5K race on Sunday morning. Registration is at 8am and the race begins at 9:30am. It seems to be the Seattle spirit to attach some sort of athletic activity with drinking beer. It's the Seattle way. You can even run with your dog.
- Drink. You will have a choice of over 70 beers to sample. You can view the list of beers that will be available here.
- Play. There will be vendors, kids have a designated play area and can enjoy activities like Lederhosen making, and no one will want to miss the Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving Contest which takes place on Saturday and Sunday at 1pm.
Decibel Festival
The Decibel Festival seems to finally be getting the publicity it deserves, although it has a different feel from previous years. Going on its fourth year, the festival has grown to an international performer line-up in 9 venues over 4 days, starting Thursday Sep. 20 - Sunday Sep. 23. This festival was created by the same group of friends and colleagues who host the super fun Laptop Battle annually. Unfortunately, there will not be as many laptop performers at the festival this year as in previous years, including one of my favorites, m.0. But, there are some great deejays to check out.
The music you will be exposed to at the Decibel Festival is not the typical electronic music you hear after-hours at cheesy dance clubs. These musicians have taken everything annoying about electronic music (repetition of annoying sounds, excessive heavy bass, samples of bad vocals, etc.) and thrown all of that out, taken what we know about music theory and thrown that out, too, and they have created something that sounds entirely new. And it's good. No, it's great.
Attention World: Seattle is way beyond grunge and, hopefully, finally shedding this outdated stereotype of the Northwest music scene. Being a town filled with talented musicians, it makes sense to be a city on the forefront of the next music revolution. Why is Seattle such a mecca for great musicians, consider its population is fairly small? I'll tell you why: the weather sucks in Seattle. There are plenty of rainy days to sit inside a warm and dry home studio and drink coffee/beer and create awesome music. It also makes sense that Seattle is a city gaining recognition for innovative electronic music, considering Seattle is home to many tech companies, including a company you might have heard of called Microsoft. The Seattle-based tech companies draw a huge population of tech savvy employees who influence the culture of the city. Third graders in this town do not beat up kids for wearing glasses and being computer geeks.
Tech Geeks + Crappy Weather = DECIBEL FESTIVAL!
The artists I will be purposely checking out are Recess and Jerry Abstract. These two have been an integral part of the Seattle electronic music scene, and they are fantastic musicians. In fact, the first time I heard Recess, I actually stopped talking to my friend mid-sentence, and said, "Oh my god, who is THIS?" Sunday night I will also be checking out The Raster-Noton Showcase because I personally just can't get enough of German influenced electronic music.
To get the line-up, check out the Decibel Festival Schedule.
Although I am disappointed to not see as many local Seattle artists on the festival schedule this year, I am happy this event continues to happen every year.
Blog Update
You will notice a change with this blog over the next few days. I have decided to expand the topic of this blog to be more broad, no pun intended. I will now be covering more than just burlesque. I will be discussing offbeat entertainment and activities of all sorts in the part of the world where I live, Seattle, WA. The offbeat entertainment will include everything from music to theater to fun activities and hobbies of creative people.
I decided to expand the topic of my blog and narrow the location because I have found that my personal interests reach far beyond burlesque, and I would like to share those interests in this blog. It is a horrible thing not to update a blog regularly (at least one post a week) and I have not been able to focus on burlesque to keep up this blog. I will still continue to write about burlesque in this blog, but it will be a category instead of the main topic of this blog.
Please look forward to seeing a new name for this blog as well. Say "good-bye" to Burlesque-ology and "hello" to Seattle on the Fringe!
Also, please note there is a new URL for this blog: http://seattleonthefringe.com
I decided to expand the topic of my blog and narrow the location because I have found that my personal interests reach far beyond burlesque, and I would like to share those interests in this blog. It is a horrible thing not to update a blog regularly (at least one post a week) and I have not been able to focus on burlesque to keep up this blog. I will still continue to write about burlesque in this blog, but it will be a category instead of the main topic of this blog.
Please look forward to seeing a new name for this blog as well. Say "good-bye" to Burlesque-ology and "hello" to Seattle on the Fringe!
Also, please note there is a new URL for this blog: http://seattleonthefringe.com
Can Can at Bumbershoot
The second my foot landed on the ground at the airport in Seattle last Monday morning I called my friend Erin to make sure she was comfortable staying at my house. I was exhausted and still dusty from the Nevada desert after enjoying a week of camping at the Burning Man festival. Actually, I was beyond exhausted and I had that sticky feeling that comes from lack of sleep and lack of regular bathing for many, many days. I felt like I needed to shave my tongue."Hey, wanna go to Bumbershoot?" chirped my San Franciscan visitor through the phone.
Duh. Of course I do.
Bumbershoot is an annual music festival held for the three days of Labor Day weekend at the Seattle Center in Downtown Seattle, where you will find famous Seattle landmarks including the Space Needle and EMP. Although there are usually some big names at the festival, including Wu Tang Clan and comedian Janeane Garafalo this year, most of the artists who perform at Bumbershoot are college radio darlings, rarely touched by mainstream media regardless of how awesome they are. My favorite this year was Lyrics Born, a band whom I had previously only heard one song.
The performers of The Can Can did an abbreviated version of their show on an outside stage late in the afternoon by the big fountain in Seattle Center where kids frolic in the water. Moms and dads, don't worry, the show was as G-rated as a Disney cartoon. The Can Can band was really amazing, and I was in awe of the flexible female dancer's... flexibility. There were also male performers, which is generally not typical for modern burlesque performances unless the man is an emcee. Very cool.
The one performer who seemed to be lacking any skills to keep my attention was a woman who simply shimmied up and down the stage. I am guessing her performance was limited to the fact that she couldn't do a striptease in a G-rated atmosphere, but burlesque has evolved into more than just stripping. Burlesque involves a talent of, if nothing else, dance and movement, and the only thing this girl could do was wiggle her hips as if she learned everything she knew about dance from taking one belly dance class.
Overall, I was impressed with The Can Can's performance and I recommend checking out one of their shows located in Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA.
I Learned How To Ride a Tall Bike
Now I know why there are bicycle clubs nationwide that do this: It's so much fun!
I got the courage to ride a tall bike at Burning Man, and once I was on it, no one could get me off.
Friends, tall bikes are so fun! I encourage you to seek out your local mutant bike chapter (Dead Babies are in Seattle) and find someone who has a tall bike and give it a go. It's actually quite easy to ride a tall bike, except for getting on and getting off. That requires some dexterity and guts. However, after spending just a few minutes crashing into things and people, I managed to figure out how to get on and off without too much commotion.
I got the courage to ride a tall bike at Burning Man, and once I was on it, no one could get me off.
Friends, tall bikes are so fun! I encourage you to seek out your local mutant bike chapter (Dead Babies are in Seattle) and find someone who has a tall bike and give it a go. It's actually quite easy to ride a tall bike, except for getting on and getting off. That requires some dexterity and guts. However, after spending just a few minutes crashing into things and people, I managed to figure out how to get on and off without too much commotion.
