Georgetown Music Festival
Georgetown Music Festival this Friday and Saturday. Be there or be square.
Tournament of Champions - Hell Yeah!
The Tournament of Champions - Round 2 is a night of great Seattle deejays and laptop deejays playing music while you kick your friends' butts at darts, ping pong, and many other games that give you carpal tunnel syndrome. My friend m.0 will be playing the event. m.0 has worked on more group and solo projects than I can list in one blog post, but to give you a little background, he created the theme for NCIS with numerik lab, and here is a song he recently created with Tekgnosis that rocks.
Other deejays playing the event:
- novaTRON - Innerflight/Space Island
- Space Ranger - Innerflight
- Michael Manahan - Starborne/Oracle Gatherings
- Recess - Shameless/Broken Disco
- Kadeejah Streets - Innerflight/Black Neon
- Packy - Innerflight
- J-Sun - Innerflight
- Night Train - Innerflight
You have a choice of several sports to choose from to compete in the tournament:
- Darts
- Ping-Pong
- Arm Wrestling
- Foosball
- Therapy Toss
Beat your friends at these games and win prizes. Sounds like fun to me.
Location: Hengst Studios - 1506 Franklin Ave E (map)
Time and Date: May 31, 10pm-6am
Admission: $10 21+
Proceeds from this event will go towards the ReGroove.A.Nation art project for Burning Man 2008.
The 10th Anniversary Final SubGenius Devival
I should have posted this earlier, but I have been slacking in a bad way and not a good way. Oh yes, there is a good way to slack. To learn the proper way to slack, you should attend the 10Th Anniversary Final SubGenius Devival tomorrow evening and let a Church of SubGenius expert advise you. Or just go for fun to check out the show.
Now, if you don't know anything about the Church of Subgenius, you can visit the subgenius website, but that will probably only give you more questions. Here is a summary from the subgenius website:
Church of the SubGenius: n. A mutant offshoot of {Discordianism} launched in 1981 as a spoof of fundamentalist Christianity by the `Reverend' Ivan Stang, a brilliant satirist with a gift for promotion. Popular among hackers as a rich source of bizarre imagery and references such as "Bob" the divine drilling-equipment salesman, the Benevolent Space Xists, and the Stark Fist of Removal. Much SubGenius theory is concerned with the acquisition of the mystical substance or quality of `slack'.
I used to go to Church of Subgenius events when I lived in the Bay Area, and they were always filled with interesting art, performance art, and live music. I swear it's not a real cult, even though it sounds like it's a cult. It's a bunch of liberal artsy types who hate working office jobs, that's all. I had so much fun at SubGenius events in the 1990s that I put a SubGenius bumper sticker on my truck 10 years ago and it is still there. My bumper sticker reads, "Quit Your Job For Bob." It's a confusing bumper sticker, because it's obscure and no one ever gets it. When someone does get it, he or she gets really excited and usually pulls up next to me to tell me to continue to "praise Bob." I swear it's not a cult.
I swear.
Not a cult.
But join us....
Slack.
Location: Transcendent Church of Bass (map)
Date and Time: Friday, April 18, 8pm
Price: $10 (21+ with ID) buy tickets online
Devival Hotline: (206) 339-7625
More Information
Danger Bees & Charts and Maps at the Comet
Danger Bees are coming all the way from LA and are going to perform at the Comet next Wednesday, March 19. You can sample their music on their myspace page. It's pretty cool; they definitely have talent. Their music makes me want to put on a mini-dress and go-go boots and dance groovy, man, like these guys:
I have been waiting for an oportunity to post that video on my blog for a long time. Thanks, Danger Bees! Charts and Maps will also be playing at the Comet on March 19. For a lengthy explanation of both bands' style of music, see the flier below. Normally I would mock this type of introspection on a band flier, but this time I find it totally adorable. I mean, they're from LA, they can't help it.
.png)
Event: This is a Process of a Still Life, Danger Bees, Charts & Maps, Brier Rose
Location: Comet Tavern (map)
Date and Time: March 19, 8pm
Price: ??
Jimmy Flame and the Sexxy Boys
.png)
One of the most fun local bands to see live in Seattle, Jimmy Flame and the Sexxy Boys, is playing tonight at King Cobra with Blackie, a Blondie cover band which includes members of Hells Bells. It promises to be a good time for all as long as no one attending is prissy.
100 Heartbreaks
If you don't already know what it's like to be a single lady in Seattle, I can tell you from personal experience that it can best be described as amusing. Imagine the stream of oddballs and eccentrics you see every day in the streets, restaurants, bars, and clubs of Seattle. Now imagine going on dates with those oddballs. Hilarity, of course, ensues.
The experiences of a single lady have now been transformed into a musical performed by one Charlane Tucker (played by Joanna Horowitz), but not just any kind of musical, a country musical.
After a year of single life in Seattle, Joanna Horowitz was inspired to create a one woman country musical based on her experiences called 100 Heartbreaks, premiering at CHAC on February 15.
Just in time for Valentine's Day, 100 Heartbreaks chronicles a singer's quest to get loved and left 100 times - all with the sole purpose of accumulating enough "country cred" to be taken seriously. As Charlane Tucker sees it, each failed relationship gets her "one man closer to Nashville." A little bit country music, a little bit theater, a little bit cabaret, 100 Heartbreaks combines quick-witted storytelling with live country music inspired by the likes of Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash, crafted under the musical direction of John Osebold (of the band "Awesome").
Ah, the humorous woes of a misguided woman... who wouldn't want to see that? Horowitz currently resides in Seattle, but she has attained her true country cred by growing up in Eastern Washington where she performed at some "suitable downhome venues" including fairs and farmer's markets. Teaser of Horowitz performing a song from the show in the video below:
"One Man Closer to Nashville"
The opening night "hoedown" on February 15 will feature musical guest Purty Mouth and country drag by Dusty Hauck.
Show Dates: Feb. 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and March 1, 8:30pm
Location: Capitol Hill Arts Center Lower Level (map)
Price: $15
New Years Eve
I must admit, I am not an expert on New Years Eve activities in Seattle proper because I have been celebrating New Years Eve and New Years Day at Crystal Mountain for the past 5 years. Personally, I like to get out of the city on New Years because people go nuts on New Years and I'm afraid of crazy people. At Crystal Mountain, the resort provides fireworks and a free champagne toast at midnight, live music and, of course, the Shot-Ski. Also, my favorite thing to do on New Years Day is get up early and go snowboarding while everyone else is sleeping off their hangovers.
If I were celebrating New Years Eve in Seattle, I would probably go to Science Friction at Youngstown in West Seattle. A lot of the deejays are part of the Decibel Festival crew and one of my favorite local deejays, Recess, will be playing. 4 rooms of good electronic music, not just any ol' techno crap.
.jpg)
There are also some other big parties happening, but, really, anywhere you go on New Years Eve is going to be rockin'. Seattle might shut down at midnight on non-holiday weeknights, but this town knows how to party on holidays and weekends.
Good-bye Crocodile Cafe
First the rumors started, and then it was confirmed: The Crocodile Cafe has closed its doors forever. Owned by Stephanie Dorgan, ex-wife of REM band member Peter Buck and a former attorney, The Croc apparently suffered over the past year or so with management and money issues and finally closed abruptly on Sunday.
I can't say that I've seen a show at The Croc in a long, long time, so maybe its demise is partly my fault for not supporting the club. A couple years ago I went there for a night of seeing several Northwest bands play The Smiths covers, including the adorable The Lashes, and some drunk Morrissey superfan kept loudly critiquing the performances of the bands. Good times typical of a night at The Croc. I went there to see New York punk legends The Dictators and got to meet them after the show, which was a really fun evening. I went to a number of fun shows there over the years and always had a great time, but I just stopped going, and I guess other people stopped going, too.
I liked The Crocodile. It was a small and convenient downtown place to see indie bands. It had a unique and awkward floor plan for a nightclub. The main door brought you into a long hallway-shaped diner. At the end of the diner was a small bar which was always packed during shows. Near the front door, there was another door which opened to a room with the stage. When I was low on cash, the trick I used to do (which I'm now really feeling guilty about because this action might have contributed to the closing of the venue) is walk in to the diner and bar section, which was free, and I wouldn't go into the room where the bands played. The trick was I could still hear the bands play when I sat in the diner. Ha ha, no cover charge for me and I could still enjoy live music! Although, then I had to sit in the diner, which was usually cold, dark, and vacant because it was usually closed for the evening.
Anyway, there is sadness spreading throughout Seattle because this important indie venue has closed, and that seems to be happening a lot this year. Another Seattle venue I thought would be around forever, The Vogue, closed its doors a year ago. Unlike The Vogue, The Croc closed because of reasons other than being pushed out by condo developers. And The Croc was a landmark where Nirvana and Death Cab for Cutie played, among many other great bands.
Does the closing of The Croc mark the beginning of the end of Seattle's indie music scene? Will there be a condo built in its place? Maybe, maybe not. We still have venues like Nuemos, The Comet, The Funhouse, The Sunset Tavern, which all support small indie bands. And perhaps in a few years some of the new luxury condo buildings which are taking over the city will go belly-up and be converted into indie clubs. One can only hope for the best.
Swingin' Utters
The Swingin' Utters show coming up this Friday would have totally slipped under my radar had it not been for my friend Ian. Ian is like a magical encyclopedia of music information, always ready to pop out of the shadows and share amusing first-hand anecdotes about bands and rock shows. Everyone should have a friend like Ian. If you don't, that's ok because I do and you're reading this blog so I'll just relay Ian's knowledge to you. The Swingin' Utters are playing this Friday with Naked Raygun, Shot Baker, Dreadful Children, and The Blanx and this is a show not to be missed.
The Swingin' Utters are good. That's all you need to know, but I'll still give you a little more information.
I first saw the Swingin' Utters on the scene in the mid 1990s in San Francisco, and they quickly signed with Fat Wreck Cords in 1996. They toured nationally, never reaching mainstream popularity, but they built a loyal fan base along the way. I was a college radio deejay in the Bay Area in the 1990s and I was thrilled to play their albums on my show instead of the lame-o pop-punk bands which played the popular alternative sound of the time. Swingin' Utters have an abrasive and meaty style lacking in a lot of "punk" bands. Just like you can't sing the blues without soul, you can't play punk without grit. Swingin' Utters have grit to spare, with every guitar strum fierce and purposeful with short bursts of vivacious vocals. Find out for yourself if you like them by listening to a few of their songs on their myspace page.
Ian, the music encyclopedia, told me the lead singer of the Swingin' Utters has another project called Filthy Thieving Bastards, described on their myspace page as "Billy Bragg as a crusty old punk on a bender." I'll be keeping an eye out for these guys when they go on tour.
When: Friday, November 30, doors at 7pm, show starts at 8pm
Where: El Corazon
Cost: $12 ADV, $15 DOS
SeaCompressionSix
SeaCompression is a party for Burning Man enthusiasts and people interested in getting a glimpse of what happens at the fire festival in Nevada. At this event on Saturday night, Burning Man camps will display art and art cars, deejays and live musicians play music, and there is a big slideshow of photos from past Burning Mans. And fire! There is always fire at this party, usually in the form of fire dancers.
From the description of the event at Brown Paper Bag tickets:
Come decompress from the great dust storms of '07 with over 25,000 square feet of performance, fire, music, and art! We expect major theme installations from Flight 2 Mars, Black Rock City Animal Control, Dead Letter Camp, just to name a few; dozen of DJs and live musicians on three sound stages; an expanded art gallery; chill spaces galore; a video festival; and more!
It is called SeaCompression because it is in Seattle and it rhymes with Decompression, which is a similar event held in San Francisco every year. The idea behind the party is that people have a hard time adjusting to real life after attending Burning Man, and this party revisits the euphoric party atmosphere of the festival. See pictures of some of the people who attended last year's Seacompression here. More pictures here. This is a fun event if you like dancing and techno. I like punk rock, but I have attended this event and I had a great time despite the techno. The crowd is generally liberal professionals and artists in their 20s - 40s. Wearing "burning man attire" is encouraged, so you will see a lot of neon fake fur and skimpy outfits.
When: Saturday, November 10, 7pm - 2am
Cost: $20
Where: Sand Point Magnuson Park, Hangar 30
7400 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
CARS, BOOZE, ART, ROCK & ROLL, JERKS
Sounds like a good time to me! The Seattle car club Rat Patrol is celebrating their one year anniversary this Saturday night. I heard about this event through friends, and I haven't been able to find anything online about this car club. But, I found a post on craigslist, posted by Neil:
A little more than a year has passed since AJ, Nick, Deuce, Kim, Aaron and I started the RAT PATROL car club. To celebrate this momentous occasion and to help earn money for a larger shop space, we’ve organized a benefit on November 10th. The event should be a rocking good time featuring awesome cars, great music, tremendous art and cheap booze. Invite your friends! Come support your favorite jerks and have a great time!
I love a party with jerks. And then the post goes on to mention, again, that there will be cheap booze. I'm not really sure what the rest of the bulletin means:
Featuring: Muscle Cars and Hot Rods Live Music: Cyanide Destruct, Oi Control, Shit Gets Smashed Hot Rod and Tattoo Art Cheap Booze
Is Shit Gets Smashed a band or will stuff actually get smashed? I will throw a hammer in my handbag, just in case, because a girl should always be prepared to smash stuff. And I cannot wait to find out what tattoo-art-cheap-booze entails.
I can't say that I know any of these folks personally, but I did meet one of them briefly in Home Depot a few months ago, and I dug his punk/rockabilly style. The rockabillies are OK in my book.
When: Saturday, November 10, 8pm
Cost: $5
Booze: Cheap
Location: Ouch My Eye 1021 Occidental Ave S (by Qwest Field)
Cineoke
After coming back from my weekend in Venice, CA, an area where people are horribly sensitive about how they are perceived by others, I'm so happy to be back in Seattle where we all occasionally sacrifice our cool facade for the pure enjoyment of our fellow Seattlites.
Next Monday, share in the silliness of Cineoke: a hybrid of karaoke and film that combines your voice and stage presence with your favorite musical. From the reviews I have read, this is nothing short of totally entertaining. Here is how it works: You can either bring your own DVD or select something from the Cineoke library, then wait for your turn, then get on stage and act out/sing out your favorite scene from your favorite musical while it plays on a screen behind you. You can skip performing and attend as a spectator, but these things are always so much more fun when you participate.
My musical dorkiness comes in the form of a movie called Grease. I know every word to every scene and every song of that movie. I can't help myself because I have no power over the woo of John Travolta's pants. I have generally kept my Grease musical outbursts to myself in an effort to spare those around me who do not share my enthusiasm, but now I have a place to go and sing along to my favorite musical... in public! I have to say that I'm so excited about this that I've got chills, and they're multiplyin'.
Where: Rendezvous (in Belltown)
When: Monday, November 12, 7pm - 10pm (that's one week from today, so you have time to prepare)
Cost: $5
Pyramid Snowed In Party
.jpg)
In the time that I have lived in Washington state, it has been a rare occasion that I have missed Pyramid Brewery's Get Snowed In Party. I love this event and I go every year because, aside from being just plain fun, it's a great way to rub elbows with people in the local ski industry. Patrons of this event include everyone from pro skiers and snowboarders, to reps from ski companies including local darlings K2, LibTech and Gnu, and across-the-boarder semi-local Option, just to name a few. You will see reps from local ski areas including my favorite, Crystal Mountain. Best of all, you will see your ski/snowboard buddies you love to ride with, and you can meet new friends to ride with this winter.
Oh yeah, and you will see bands.
This year's headliners are Presidents of the United States of America on November 9 and The Dandy Warhols on November 10, with DJ RAD'EM playing both nights. I have seen the Dandy Warhols too many times to count, so I'm going on Friday night to see the Presidents of the US of A.
This year there are over $10,000 in prizes from the sponsors, and these sponsors do not mess around with cheesy prizes, so you actually have a chance to win some really great gear.
The Get Snowed In party is happening next weekend, Friday - Saturday Nov. 9-10, at the Pyramid Alehouse. You can order tickets for Friday or Saturday's show now, and this event can sell-out, so I suggest getting your ticket early.
Happy Halloween! Now What?
I saw a post on The Stranger's forum by someone who is new in town and is looking for something to do for Halloween and does anyone from Seattle know of any parties? The first response made me laugh:
We'll just all go out and meet up with the same 10-16 friends we've known since Jr High and pretend that you're invisible. Welcome to Seattle!
Yes, that happens around here. But, I'm not from Seattle and I made friends despite not knowing one single person in the city, and I'm not any sort of super-awesome super-charmer. So, don't let the cliquey people scare you away. You don't want to be friends with them, anyway.
Back on track: what is happening tonight for Halloween? I'm going to see Henry Rollins, and then later, I might check out The Mercury. The Mercury is a member's only goth/industrial dance club, which means you have to be a member to get into most of their events, or be a guest of a member. What was I just saying about cliques in Seattle? Actually, the folks at The Mercury are really nice and if you're cool and are genuinely interested in events at the club (not just someone who wants to gawk at/harass the hot female patrons in corsets), then you won't have any trouble eventually becoming a member or getting in as a guest.
If I don't go to The Mercury tonight, I will go to The Funhouse. Local bands Millhous and Old Man Smithers are playing with a couple other bands. This show is a guaranteed good time if you like getting rowdy and having beer spilled on you while listening to live punk music. When I say it like that, it doesn't sound like fun, does it? Trust me, it's great.
If these suggestions are not your cup of tea, The Stranger created a list of what is happening for Halloween. My favorite picks of the list:
- Citizen Fish @ Hell's Kitchen in Tacoma - Members include Dick and Phil from the Subhumans. Yep, old punk rocker band, and it's all the way in Tacoma, but... I love this band!
WaMu Theater: Why I Hate It When Bands Are Popular
I hate it when the bands I like get popular. I don't hate their success itself, but I do not enjoy seeing a band in a large venue, which is inevitably the only way to see a band once they have reached mainstream popularity. A review of the recent Interpol show re-established my opinion of the annoyance of going to a large arena show. In his review of the show, the author uses a phrase which can describe how I feel about the overall experience of seeing a band in a large venue:
This is The Suck.
I almost attended the Interpol show. They are a great band and I have seen them live before. I came to my senses a week before the show because I knew I would not have a good time at the show. I would ultimately have a lame to mediocre time, despite Interpol's performance, because the show was at the super-sized WaMu Theater.
These are the things I hate about large venues:
- Unless you pay lots of money for front row seats, "general seating" means "generally crap seating"
- There is seating (it's hard to dance when there are a bunch of chairs in your way)
- Overpriced food and drinks
- Overpriced water
- Limited places where you can drink/eat (generally not in the vicinity of the stage)
- Always a long line for the ladies room
- No ins/outs so you cannot pee in the alley next to the venue when there is a line to the bathroom
- Too many* annoying drunk and sweaty people
- Event employees in headsets blocking off areas for "fire hazards"
- Expensive tickets
* I can handle annoying drunk people in smaller groups, especially if I am one of the drunk people. However, massive amounts of drunk people get on my nerves and no amount of whiskey can cure that.
Hive-Mind Halloween Party
This Saturday marks the 13Th Annual Hive-Mind Halloween Party. The theme this year is Xavier's School for Mutant Youngster, so if you still haven't gotten your costume together, you can participate in the theme and dress as an X-Men character, or some sort of superhero. Just make sure you show up wearing a costume.
The folks who put on this event are avid Burning Man enthusiasts who have been/are affiliated with the Seattle Burning Man camp called the Space Virgins, and they host several parties a year where they pull out all the stops to put on massive parties with theme rooms, deejays, art showcasing, and lots of dancing and socializing. Check out pictures of the 2006 Hive-Mind Halloween Party.
This party begins at 9pm and will continue into the wee hours, although they have to have the venue cleaned out on Sunday so I'm sure people will get kicked out at some point. More information on the website.
Broken Disco
Today is the second Friday of the month, so that means it is time for Broken Disco. Each month, Broken Disco hosts different electronic musicians, usually of varying styles, in 2 rooms at one venue, Chop Suey. Tonight at Chop Suey, enjoy cutting edge electronic music your grandparents don't think is real music. It is, indeed, music; music of the FUTURE, and future music is very good.
Tonight's line-up includes:
You can sample tonight's music on most of the links provided above. Recess' music makes me want to play hop-scotch, four-square, and the-ground-is-hot-lava on the jungle gym. I have raved about Recess before, too.
I'm also very excited to see Modeselektor, who just released an album, Happy Birthday!. Jacob London has a style and sound that will surely make folks do a happy stomping dance, so I am excited about him, too. More information on the deejays here.
Chop Suey will open its doors tonight at 9pm, the show is $12 adv, 18+.
The Weakerthans Play Tonight! At Last!
After taking a four year hiatus, the The Weakerthans released a new album and are playing tonight at Neumo's. They will be the headlining band, following performances by The Last Town Chorus and Jeremy Fisher.
Wikipedia, my favorite source of information, describes the band:
The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by John K. Samson, after he left the punk band Propagandhi to start a publishing company. Samson joined forces with bassist John P. Sutton and drummer Jason Tait, and created The Weakerthans as a vehicle for a more melodic and introspective brand of songwriting than that of Propagandhi.
Click the links below to listen to a few songs by The Weakerthans. You can also download songs from their website. I love it when bands provide free music, by the way. It makes me want to buy their albums to pay them back for their generosity.
Tonight's show is all-ages, doors open at 8pm.
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.
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.
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.
