SEPTEMBER 17-23, 2014 I VOLUME 39 I NUMBER 38
SEATTLEWEEKLY.COM I FREE
SOUL-SEARCHING AFTER MARS HILL » PAGE 10 DAMN THE WEATHER: A REVIEW IN TWO ACTS » PAGE 42
BREAKDANCE FUSION, INTERNET ADDICTION, PIANO MARATHONS, AND MISERY MEMOIRS: THE NEW SEASON BEGINS WITH A BANG. »PAGE 17
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
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SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
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visitsam.org/citydwellers This exhibition is organized by the Seattle Art Museum. All works are from the Collection of Sanjay Parthasarathy and Malini Balakrishnan. Exhibition support provided by Vijay and Sita Vashee, Mandira Virmani and Ajay Wadhawan, and Microsoft. Image: Reassurance, from the Definitive Reincarnate series, 2006, Nandini Valli Muthiah, Indian, b. 1976, color photograph, 30 x 30 in., Collection of Sanjay Parthasarathy and Malini Balakrishnan. © Nandini Valli Muthiah
inside» September 17–23, 2014 VOLUME 39 | NUMBER 38
» SEATTLEWEEKLY.COM
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news&comment 6
ROAD WORRIERS
BY ELLIS E. CONKLIN | What will it
take to fix Seattle’s streets? And is mass transit making the problem worse? Plus: Murray steps up to fight homelessness, and more.
10 CROSS-EXAMINED
BY NINA SHAPIRO | Disgruntled former
Mars Hill parishioners ask how it all went so wrong so fast.
food&drink
42 WEATHER OR NOT? BY ZACH GEBALLE AND NICOLE SPRINKLE | The pluses and minuses
of a new Pioneer Square hotspot. 42 | FOOD NEWS/THE WEEKLY DISH
arts&culture
17 FALL ARTS 2014
BY BRIAN MILLER | The new season
begins with local memoirs, dance mashups, piano marathons, scissor art, and more. Plus our huge-ass calendar of events (see page 32). 46 | THE PICK LIST 47 | OPENING NIGHTS | Aspiring
48 | PERFORMANCE 49 | VISUAL ARTS
51 FILM
OPENING THIS WEEK | Jennifer Aniston tries Elmore Leonard, Kristen Wiig tries drama, and Tina Fey just wants to bury her father and fly home already. 55 | FILM CALENDAR
61 MUSIC
BY STIRLING MYLES | Alice Gerrard’s
66 | CLASSIFIEDS
»cover credit
PHOTO OF BRYSEN “JUST BE” ANGELES FROM AMY O’NEAL’S OPPOSING FORCES BY NATE WATTERS
Arts Editor Brian Miller Entertainment Editor Gwendolyn Elliott Editorial Operations Manager Gavin Borchert Staff Writers Ellis E. Conklin, Matt Driscoll, Kelton Sears Editorial Intern Terrence Hill Contributing Writers Rick Anderson, Sean Axmaker, James Ballinger, Michael Berry, Jay Friedman, Margaret Friedman, Zach Geballe, Chason Gordon, Dusty Henry, Megan Hill, Robert Horton, Patrick Hutchison, Seth Kolloen, Sandra Kurtz, Dave Lake, John Longenbaugh, Jessie McKenna, Jenna Nand, Terra Clarke Olsen, Brian Palmer, Kevin Phinney, Jason Price, Keegan Prosser, Mark Rahner, Tiffany Ran, Michael Stusser, Jacob Uitti
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dancers and Islamic terrorists (not in the same play, of course).
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news&comment
Roads of Ruin
SDOT report: More than a third of Seattle’s arterial streets suck.
Three Ways the City Can Better Fight Homelessness
BY ELLIS E. CONKLIN
BY MATT DRISCOLL
etter make sure your morning coffee has a lid on it. What with the burgeoning number of roadways afflicted with broken, rutted, and cracked pavement or plagued with potholes the size of tiny ponds, it’s likely you’ll get scalded. A new Seattle Department of Transportation report has found that about 36 percent of the city’s 1,574 lane miles of arterial streets were in some stage of poor condition last year—and 10.2 percent of those heavily trafficked streets were in “seriously poor or failed condition,” almost triple the percentage in 2010. These troubling numbers have increased the bill accordingly. Four years ago, 26 percent of our arterials were ranked poorly, and the cost of SDOT’s backlog of deferred paving maintenance was in the neighborhood of $570 million. By the beginning of this year, that figure had rocketed to nearly $970 million. “We need to do a better job investing in our streets,” says Scott Kubly, on the job as SDOT’s director for just five weeks. “We have really struggled with our infrastructure. It is always cheaper to maintain something than it is to replace it.” Up on the 31st floor of the Bank of America building, home base for SDOT’s street maintenance team, director Elizabeth Shelton—like Kubly, also new to the position—is hunched over a swirl of color-coded city maps depicting arterials that pass muster and those that don’t. “What we are seeing here, really, is that some of these roads are from the 1920s, and that the rate of deteriorating pavement is moving faster than what we are spending on repairs,” says Shelton. The worst of the arterials, paving engineer Benjamin Hansen joins in, are 24th Avenue, south of the 520 floating bridge; 10th Avenue East, through Capitol Hill; the stretch of Greenwood Avenue north of 105th Street; and 35th Avenue Southwest in West Seattle.
ver the past week, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has unveiled several key aspects of his forthcoming 2015–16 budget proposal, including a pledge to increase human-services funding by $2.75 million, $1.5 million of which will be earmarked specifically to improve homeless services. “The 3,000 people in Seattle who are now homeless on my watch are my responsibility,” a resolute Murray said from the City Hall podium Friday. It’s a good time for such a declaration, but it will take more than words. We reached out to Real Change publisher and longtime Seattle homeless advocate Tim Harris to get his thoughts on Murray’s proposal. Here are three key takeaways.
with this problem. The state of road decline is evident across the country. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has found that America’s infrastructure has gotten worse, compared to other countries’, over the past decade. In 2010, according to a WEF study, America ranked 23rd for overall infrastructure quality, between Spain and Chile. Its roads, railways, ports, and air-transport infrastructure were all judged mediocre against networks in northern Europe. Closer to home, a national nonprofit transportation research group called TRIP last fall placed
SDOT eventually fixed this stretch of 15th Avenue Northeast—but can they keep it up?
Seattle 12th among 20 metropolitan regions of more than 500,000 people for the number of locally and state-maintained roads in bad condition. In March 2013, TRIP reported that driving on deficient roads costs each Seattle driver $625 annually in extra vehicle operating expenses. That basically means we’re rumbling down roads so rough that they can cause costly repairs for a broken tie-rod or a busted ball joint, or maybe knock a car out of alignment. Particularly eye-opening in SDOT’s assessment is the report that the city’s arterials are crumbling even though overall traffic volume has declined. In fact, the average amount of traffic in the city, believe it or not, dropped 7 percent between 2006 and 2012. Heavy vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, cement trucks, garbage trucks, and buses are the chief culprits in accelerating the wear and tear on roads. Larry Gatehouse, director of the National Center for Pavement Preservation at Michigan State University, told Crosscut’s Bill Lucia earlier this month that one loaded tractor-trailer can cause the same amount of road wear as approximately 9,600 automobiles. Says Seattle city traffic engineer Dongho Chang: “The pavement was never built to withstand these loads, and a lot of the problem is coming from the buses.” Pavement deteriorates in two ways, explains paving engineer Ben Hansen: environmentally or
structurally. “And most of the damage we are seeing is structurally, from the massive loads,” he says. Ironically, Seattle-area residents are increasingly being encouraged to take mass transit, mainly buses, but it is the buses—there are 1,450 buses and trolleys in King County’s fleet—that are playing havoc with the city’s well-traversed arterials. Metro Transit tells us that the average weight (without passengers) of an articulated 60-foot bus ranges from 42,780 to 47,980 pounds—about 17 times the weight of a 2014 Honda Civic. What has kept road conditions barely tolerable is the 2007 voter-approved “Bridging the Gap” levy, used to pay for major repaving jobs. The $365 million property-tax levy has, among other transportation needs and improvements, paid for the resurfacing or replacement of 205 lane miles of arterial streets. The levy is set to expire at the end of 2015. “I am very concerned about our roads, because the more they deteriorate, the greater the cost will be to fix them,” says Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the City Council’s Transportation Committee. “I think it is likely we are going to have to go back to the voters next year for more money. We need ‘Bridging the Gap.’ It has filled a real need.” Now it can only fill a few more potholes. In the interim, careful with that coffee. E
econklin@seattleweekly.com
wage war » The Mayor Plans for Enforcement
On Monday, Mayor Murray announced plans to create an Office of Labor Standards to help city employers and employees better understand and comply with Seattle’s paid sick-leave law and upcoming minimum-wage increase. Our readers had a few thoughts on the matter. “When
•
will he establish the ‘Small Business Owners Subsidy Office’ for those of us that don’t make $15 an hour and have to cover all the paid sick leave ourselves?” —Tim McConnell, via Facebook “This is right out of the Obamacare handbook! Create a new law and then hire 25,000 new IRS agents to enforce it—Congrats Seattle you’re on the cutting edge.” —Victor Lombardi, via Facebook “Haha. Ain’t gonna happen. This is such a joke. By the time this BS is in effect, natural inflation will cause the 15 an hour. Just Crazy.” —Matthew Murray, via Facebook
•
1
Drop in the bucket It doesn’t
take a math major to realize that making a difference in Seattle’s homeless situation is going to take more money than Murray’s budget offers, which focuses on increasing shelter capacity and moving shelter regulars into permanent housing. These are worthy goals, of course, but only so much can be done with the limited funds being proposed. “Given the depth of the need, it doesn’t feel like very aggressive action at all,” Harris says of Murray’s proposal. “It strikes me as ridiculously inadequate.” Safety first The 2014 OneNight Count identified 2,303 unsheltered homeless individuals living on the street in Seattle. The truth of the matter is, the number is likely far greater. According to Harris, the city needs to take a more active role in ensuring the safety of these vulnerable citizens—including recognizing that chasing away homeless encampments does more harm than good. “How do we make things safer for the people who are on the street? It comes down to a more productive relationship with encampments, that gives them a little bit of support and offers them a place to go that is legitimate,” says Harris.
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BUCKET BY ANAND A NAIR FROM THE NOUN PROJECT
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Seattle, of course, is not the only city grappling
O
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
B
3
Count the cars Statistics show that the number of homeless individuals and families living in vehicles continues to grow. In 2014, the One-Night Count identified 730 individuals living in a car or truck in Seattle. Despite this, according to Harris, the city has failed to address the issue meaningfully. That’s got to change, he says. “The numbers of car campers are going up, and they just chase people around,” says Harris. “People get their cars towed, and people get tickets. . . . It’s not resolving the problem. [Seattle] needs to find a way to deal with the problem in a more realistic way that acknowledges how much need there is.” E
mdriscoll@seattleweekly.com
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hile the Seahawks have been amazingly good at home, the Mariners have been bafflingly bad. Sunday’s crushing loss to Oakland—which left the team one game out of the final wild-card spot—dropped the M’s to 38-40 at Safeco Field this year. Of the 16 MLB teams with an overall winning record, the M’s are the only one with a losing record at home. What gives? The easy answer is to say that the Seahawks have such a big advantage because they have such big crowds, and the Mariners BY SETH KOLLOEN don’t have an advantage because they don’t. And you know what? That may be exactly right. According to the recent book Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports are Played and Games are Won, the natural homefield advantage seen in every sports league worldwide exists because of officiating bias brought on by crowd noise. One example of the many studies the authors cite: Researchers asked two groups of soccer referees to look at video of tackles and determine whether the tackles should’ve been called fouls. One group watched the video with the crowd noise muted, the other group saw the same tackles with crowd noise. The refs who could hear the crowd noise called fewer fouls against the home team, and more against the visitors. The psychological term for this is “social influence.” In the same way that you’re more likely to think a joke is funny if lots of people laugh at it (the thinking behind sitcom laugh tracks), a referee can’t turn off the subliminal bias that causes him to be more likely to think a play is a foul if thousands of people are screaming at him that it is. Studies show that home-field advantage dissipates the smaller the crowd gets, and even the further away it gets! In Germany, soccer teams that played on fields surrounded by running tracks got half as many calls in their favor as teams who played at stadiums where the stands were closer to the field—a result that bodes well for UW football in their second year at newly trackless Husky Stadium. Back to the M’s. Research on ball-and-strike calls in baseball indicated that the effect of umpire bias was worth about seven runs over the course of the year to a home team. Because the Mariners didn’t have the benefit of loud crowds all season, they didn’t get those seven runs. It’s not much, but definitely enough to swing the result of a game the Mariners might end up having needed to sneak into the wild-card game. I hold myself personally responsible for only getting to about 15 games this year and spending most of them out in the ’Pen, about 200 yards from the nearest official. If the Mariners are still in the race when they get back home September 26, I’ll plop myself in Field Level for the final three games and try to get those seven runs back. For your sake, I hope you’re not sitting in front of me. E
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Seahawks Get Domestic Violence Message . . . Now
U
up charged with misdemeanor assault, and was given a deferred sentence for hitting his baby’s mother. He sat out one game as ordered by the league, and after completing that season—the final year of a $13 million, three-year contract— moved on to the New York Giants. He’s currently a free agent, as is former Seahawk Leroy Hill, who left the team before the start of last season. The eight-year linebacker, who played on the 2005 Super Bowl team, was arrested in January 2013 on two counts of domestic violence. His girlfriend claimed Hill threw her across the room, then stood on her chest. The victim “stated she ‘thought [she] was going to die,’ ” stated an Issaquah police report. But prosecutors ended up dropping the case, feeling they couldn’t prove assault. In 2010, his girlfriend also claimed Hill assaulted her, and he received a deferred sentence. (He was suspended by the NFL for one game, but that was for marijuana use.) As recently as May, Seattle signed linebacker A.J. Jefferson, although he had been released by Minnesota after being charged with felony assault. He was accused of strangling his girlfriend—picking her up off the bed by the throat. “She said she did not fight back because she was having a hard time breathing and he is a lot bigger than her,” a charging complaint alleged. Jefferson, currently on the Hawks’ injured reserve list, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence and received a suspended sentence. In 2011, Carroll defended the hiring of assistant coach Tom Cable, who, while head coach at Oakland, was accused of breaking the jaw of an assistant coach in a fight. According to a report on ESPN, he earlier had abusive relationships with his wife and a girlfriend. Cable denied the claims and was never charged, but admitted to “slapping” his then-wife after she had an affair. (Said the ex-wife: “There was never any infidelity on my part. And he did not slap me, he punched me.”) Pete Carroll, pre-enlightenment. Carroll was ready to move on. “Tom has dealt with all of that in a very professional manner and taken care mother of his child in the face but merited only of business,” he said then. “We’ve done our due a one-game suspension. diligence to understand the background and all of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admitted that, and I feel that this is a good time for him to he originally got it wrong by suspending Rice for come to us. He’s going to get supported.” a mere two games. Likewise, the Ravens were Of course, professional football teams are dealcompelled to release Rice last week after video ing with employees who have to turn off the vioof the brutal elevator knockout hit the airwaves, lence within them upon leaving the field of play. causing a public uproar. Contrast that with, for example, the nonaction Some do it better than others. And some teams handle it better than others. That’s what the world Seattle took in 2008 when 300-pound star tackle champions say they plan to do—starting now. Rocky Bernard punched his ex-girlfriend at a “Unfortunately we had to see an incident that downtown nighclub. “The suspect [Bernard],” elevated our awareness to really get it to the right said a police report, “walked toward the victim place,” Carroll said last week. “It’s unfortunate we and punched her one time with a closed fist, have to learn the hard way sometimes.” E striking her forehead, causing her forehead to hit a glass divider.” The woman and a friend then randerson@seattleweekly.com fled to their car and Bernard chased them, bangRick Anderson writes about sex, crime, money, ing on the windows as they drove off. and politics, which tend to be the same thing. His But there was no video of the incident for the latest book is Floating Feet: Irregular Dispatches public to see. Bernard, despite his size, wound From the Emerald City.
nfortunately, I’ve got to admit my awareness is different than it was,” Pete Carroll said last week. This was after the Seahawks coach had seen the video of Baltimore running back Ray Rice punching the mother of his child in the face, leaving her unconscious in an Atlantic City elevator. “I don’t think it’ll ever be the same as it was.” The Super Bowl champs will now deal differently with domestic-violence incidents involving team members, Carroll said after Rice’s twogame suspension was increased by the league to an indefinite period and he was fired by the Ravens. “I’m glad that I can say that now,” he added, “because hopefully BY RICK ANDERSON we can prevent or head off any kind of issue that could come up in the future.” Of course that also effectively writes off any past mishandlings of DV cases by the team. Thus the franchise moves forward without any apparent regrets about employing a player convicted of assaulting his girlfriend and a coach once accused of violence toward women. Also left in the dust are past incidents involving a player who departed last season after being accused the second time of domestic violence, and another player who, like Rice, punched the
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The Reckoning of Mars Hill
As an allegedly abusive megachurch implodes, former members and other Christians ask: What can we learn from this? BY NINA SHAPIRO
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force behind these gatherings. n a sprawling backyard in Everett last “Yeah, extremely vulnerable,” Forehand says. Wednesday, a dozen or so former Mars “Since then, I haven’t been that vulnerable with Hill Church members gather around a anyone.” large firepit offering warmth and light as Hopefully, Smith asks whether Forehand darkness falls. “In many ways, this has actually feels that he’s at least allowed himself to be vulbecome like a church for us,” a bearded young nerable at these gatherings. The truth, Forehand man named Joel Thoen explains. confesses: “No.” He’s referring to these weekly gatherings of Mars Hill exiles—usually male-only “beer and cigar” affairs. But on this night, given a People are just beginning to divine lessons reporter’s presence and recent dramatic events, from the Mars Hill saga. “This is going to be the men have invited their wives and are holda fascinating case study, especially for socioloing off on cigars for a couple hours. A few days gists,” Rose Madrid-Swetman, lead pastor of before, Mars Hill had announced that it was the Vineyard Community Church in Shoreline, slashing staff and closing branches as a result of tells me later by phone. A book, by University of poor giving and attendance. Several thousand Washington anthropology lecturer Jessica Johnmembers had left the church, the attendance son, is already in the works. Having become of which once numbered 13,000. Just weeks close to the people she’s studying, Johnson’s before, the church’s swaggering, charismatic come to the Everett gathering, where she disleader, pastor Mark Driscoll, stepped down for a closes that her working title is Biblical Porn. six-week sabbatical following various calls from There’s chuckling at that, but on a deeper former pastors and members for him to resign level there’s a palpable sense of trauma among and his expulsion from Acts29, the network of those assembled, which offers at least one leschurches around the son from Mars Hill: A country he founded. church can inflict “Some of us were abused beloved The crisis followed profound psychologia tsunami of damag- and ostracized. So for some cal damage, and not just ing revelations about through glaring transgresof us, it’s not safe to walk sions like the sexual-abuse Driscoll, including allegations that he of the Catholic into a building with ‘church’ scandals plagiarized another Church. Former Mars pastor for one of Hill members commonly on the front door.” his books, misused talk about Driscoll’s church money for personal ends, made crass “abuse”—but it’s of a different sort, one they and misogynistic statements, and cruelly cast describe as “spiritual” because of his use of reliout anyone who dared question him. With gion to entrench his own power and repudiate astonishing speed, the church that had known those who fall out of favor. nothing but explosive growth over the past 18 “I’m not a therapist, but it feels to me like years has begun imploding. people have PTSD,” says Madrid-Swetman, For those here tonight, the downfall has been who has sharply criticized Driscoll for his views long coming. Many left years ago, some volunon women, which she terms “evil,” and become tarily, others after being ousted. And yet the scars a magnet for struggling Mars Hill outcasts seem fresh, the effect lasting. seeking guidance. Paul Petry, a leading pastor “Some of us were abused and ostracized,” at Mars Hill until Driscoll fired him in 2007, Thoen continues. “So for some of us, it’s not speaks of “Mars Hill stress syndrome.” safe to walk into a building with ‘church’ on the Karen Schaeffer, who served as Driscoll’s front door.” Thoen himself isn’t one of them. assistant in the early aughts, speculates that Warily, after leaving Mars Hill two years ago, “thousands” have been hurt by the pastor, he and his wife soon joined a new church. Yet including herself. After she told some in the his reference to these weekly gatherings as church that Driscoll needed other strong men analogous to “church” hints at an unwillingness around him, the pastor accused her of “heresy.” to devote himself wholly again to a religious “I was terrified,” she recalls while sitting by organization—an attitude shared by Dwayne the fire. Forehand, owner of this backyard. In an open letter to Driscoll posted recently “I think it’s hard for me to trust the church on WeLoveMarsHill.com, one of many webI’m at, and I’ve been there for five years,” Foresites that have sprung up recently to follow hand says. He attempts to explain: “Mars Hill and expose the goings-on at the church, she was one of the only places in my whole life where elaborates: “I was in desperate need of God’s I was . . . ” Forehand casts about for words. reassurance that I had not deeply grieved him. “Vulnerable?” asks Rob Smith, a generation To some degree, I was in shock and, with tears older than many of these men and the instigating » CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
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The Reckoning of Mars Hill » FROM PAGE 10 streaming down my face, I lay prostrate on the floor of my office and prayed.” Out of all these emotions have come soulsearching and wrenching questions. “How in the world could something like this happen?” asks Petry, talking by phone the morning after the fireside gathering, which he attended. “How could something that started out so good, so full of promise and so full of fresh-scrubbed young people, go so sideways?” Others are still trying to figure out how a conservative, “neo-Calvinist” church with
facebook.com/seattleweekly vibe—“They know how to dress; they know what cool music is,” Forehand says of parishioners—and its strong and accepting community. Thoen, who walked into Mars Hill for the first time a decade ago as a meth-addicted 20-yearold, describes the way Mars Hill members greeted him: “Hey, you’re super-jacked up. Welcome!” Like a few others here, still wrestling with the Mars Hill experience, he doesn’t want that good side of the church to be forgotten. And then there was Driscoll’s view of the sexes. “Can I say for the record that I don’t agree with Mark’s view of women?” says Liam McPherson, expressing an opinion shared by those around the fire. McPherson says the
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pastor adopted an extreme, Fight Club type of machismo that was not Biblical. He laughs about the time that Driscoll convened a meeting of male parishioners at the Paradox nightclub, which the church founded. As Driscoll handed out rocks, he said, “Here’s your masculinity back.” Actually, those were among the tamer words to come out of Driscoll’s mouth. The pastor also liked to talk about our “pussified nation” and once wrote, as his alter ego William Wallace II, that God created women to be a “home” for the penis. McPherson admits, however, that there was something appealing about Driscoll’s masculinity. “It felt like I could be a man and love God at the same time, where at most churches I felt that I had to castrate myself,” he says. Pressed to explain, he tells of how he became a Christian in 1995. “I’m a construction worker. I was pretty rough around the edges.” Most churches, he says, took a “really effeminate view” and expected him to be a “wishy-washy, milquetoast kind of guy.” “I don’t know what ‘milquetoast’ means,” probes Joy Forehand, who is married to Dwayne.
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anachronistic views on women became so powerful in the first place, especially in liberal Seattle. Driscoll was only in his 20s when he started the church in his home in 1996 with the blessing of his mentor, the now-deceased evangelical leader Ken Hutcherson. Yet he quickly rocketed to Christian stardom, eventually launching 15 branches in five states, founding Acts29 and drawing recognition from national religious leaders like Rick Warren. Madrid-Swetman says she still can’t understand it: “Somebody please tell me how this got so big.” One answer comes from Seattle Pacific University sociologist Jennifer McKinney: It’s likely because Seattle is so liberal that many were drawn to Mars Hill. “Evangelicals thrive when they are seen as embattled,” says McKinney. (Not all evangelicals found Driscoll’s view palatable, however, she notes. As a religious sociologist at an evangelical school, she observes that many Christians were resentful of what they considered Mars Hill’s outsized and embarrassing voice.) Other answers come from around the Everett fire, where former Mars Hill members speak of the church’s incredible energy, its cool, hipster
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Rob Smith, pictured with his wife Merle, is bringing former parishioners together.
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The Reckoning of Mars Hill » FROM PAGE 13
zation” that he’s able to destroy both himself and the organization. At Mars Hill, that came to pass in 2007, when Driscoll steamrolled a new set of bylaws through the church that gave him almost complete authority. That was the point at which Petry, who had given up his law practice to work for the church, challenged Driscoll and found himself unemployed and formally “shunned.” Petry wonders at the number of “good people” who went along with this, something he attributes in part to a “very strong behind-the-scenes campaign to dehumanize” Driscoll’s challengers.
“Soft?” “Tender?” others ask. “My Biblical definition of masculinity includes being soft and tender to the right people—wives and children,” McPherson responds. “Not men, though?” asks Joy. “If I’m talking to a man, I want him to act like a man,” McPherson responds. One gets the sense that the men’s thinking on the matter is not done, that they are still trying to reconcile the appeal they found in Driscoll with the pastor’s offensiveness. Some still believe in the But there was another phenomenon going on notion of “complementarianism” that Driscoll too, several observers have noted. Dee Parpreached, which relegates men and women to sons—the North Carolina co-founder of a different, “complimentary” roles. blog, The Wartburg Watch, that writes often At one point, Smith asks the women presabout Mars Hill—says that even prominent ent if they have a female counterpart to these evangelical leaders around the country looked beer-and-cigar nights. “It’s harder for ladies,” the other way because Driscoll was attracting his daughter, Corinne Wisniew, says, because large crowds in “godless Seattle.” “Therefore, they have kids to look after. Her husband, we have a success story,” she says they reckoned. Dusty, promptly volunteers to watch them, An evangelical herself, she says, “I think the but it’s clear that the women bear the primary evangelical community needs to take a good, responsibility in this regard. Although they’ve hard look at themselves and how they view turned out tonight, the women are quieter success.” It is not, she asserts, “big money, big than the men. Still, Wisniew offers this stab at spaces, and hipster pastors.” Nothing less than Mars Hill’s appeal for her. “At first, I felt diga re-evaluation of the megachurch movement is nified as a woman,” she says. “What I wanted called for, she argues. to do was to get marSmith agrees. A ried and have kids.” megachurch—a model “I think the evangelical That wasn’t the life that took root in the late ambition of most of her ’70s following the rise of community needs to peers, though. By the Illinois’ Willow Creek take a good, hard look at Community Church— age of 30, already married for 10 years, she “a business,” themselves and how they becomes often felt out of step. Smith says. What’s really Not at Mars Hill. important is the money view success.” That sense of ease that churches can raise didn’t last, however. She doesn’t mention to expand their stamp on the world. Leaders, he Driscoll’s demeaning vulgarity, but instead cites maintains, are chosen not for their character but her feeling that women weren’t being honfor their ability to take charge, in the mode of est with each other in an apparent attempt to CEOs. Whether Driscoll was a good CEO is appear the perfect wife. open to debate—as a recently unearthed memo Schaeffer, Driscoll’s former assistant, adds from an executive elder reveals, the church was that she’s had a lot of debriefing sessions with constantly running in the red despite raking in women—including one that lasted eight hours tens of millions of dollars in donations—but he just the day before—who felt under agonizing certainly knew how to take charge. pressure at Mars Hill to bounce right back Mars Hill now says, in a statement, that after giving birth. It didn’t help that Driscoll, it is investigating the allegations against according to McPherson, let it be known that Driscoll and reflecting on “past sins and mishis wife underwent Caesarian sections because takes. . . . As a church we are evaluating every he didn’t like wide hips. Nor, one presumes, aspect of our ministry and operations for ways that Driscoll once seemed to suggest that the we can improve.” reason evangelical leader Ted Haggard dallied Smith contends, however, that even such with a male prostitute was because his wife let a reckoning is driven by business. Despite herself go. Even single men worried whether countless stories of people hurt over the years, women they were interested in would “let it’s only the drop in donations that has finally themselves go,” according to Smith, who once caused Mars Hill to act, he says. led a Mars Hill ministry that attempted to A South African immigrant and businesshelp men having trouble finding a wife. man who was shunned by a church once Petry, staring into the fire, looks a little glum. before, Smith seems resolved to publicly air “I don’t think this is necessarily all about Mars the grievances of the Mars Hill community. Hill being anti-woman,” he says at last. “That’s He spearheaded a protest outside a Mars Hill part of it, but it’s not 80 percent or 70 percent Bellevue branch last month. Now, he says, he’s or even 60 percent.” There’s a larger lesson to thinking about finding a church or other venue be drawn, he insists, although he declines to to gather a larger group of former church name it now, saying that he wants to let other members so that they can talk through their people talk. experiences. The next day, though, he’s more forthcoming. “We’re going to keep forcing the questions,” “The issue,” he says, is having “somebody who’s he says. “What did we learn from this?” E able to amass so much control over an organinshapiro@seattleweekly.com
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Working outside the academy, how choreographer Amy O’Neal has embraced hip-hop dance.
BY SANDRA KURTZ
W
hen Amy O’Neal came to Seattle to study dance at Cornish in the ’90s, she arrived with a polyglot movement education, a disdainful attitude toward ballet, and an interest in the social dances she’d seen in clubs and on television. After two decades of performing and choreographing, that experience is broader. Hip-hop and breakdancing are now part of her repertoire. O’Neal may have begun her education in a fairly conventional way, but after Cornish she pursued dance outside the traditional studioand-company model. Between stints dancing for Pat Graney and Mary Sheldon Scott and
making some of her own early choreography, she began incorporating breakdancing into her practice. Today, she says, it’s become the core of her personal aesthetic. As a white woman working in a style first developed by black men, O’Neal found herself challenged from multiple sides. Was she authentic? Was she respectful? Was she working sincerely or just another white artist appropriating African-American culture? Disturbed by the controversy, she turned to Rennie Harris—a nationally known artist based in Philadelphia and one of the first breakdancers to create work for concert venues (he’s per-
BY BRIAN MILLER
formed here at On the Boards)—whom she considers a mentor. His advice was to “know her history” cold—to be able to demonstrate where her influences came from and explain how she learned them. From there, she tells me, her apprenticeship became even more intense. “I would stalk dancers at The War Room” and other clubs, she says, absorbing as much of the vocabulary and the style as she could. Alongside this detective work, she started deconstructing music videos to find the actual kinetic throughline behind the edited versions of the movement we see on the screen.
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Feet in Both Worlds
NATE WATTERS
O’Neal’s dancers, clockwise from top left: Michael O’Neal Jr., MozesLateef, Alfredo “Free” Vergara Jr., Fever One, and Brysen “Just Be” Angeles.
n an institutional level, the Northwest arts and culture scene is booming like Amazon. Tacoma Art Museum is opening a new wing in November devoted to the art of the American West. The Egyptian reopens next month under SIFF’s auspices. Café Nordo will begin dinner-theater productions in the vacant former Elliott Bay Book Company space in November. And January will see the opening of two theater stages in the new 12th Avenue Arts building, serving Washington Ensemble Theatre, New Century Theatre Company, and Strawberry Theatre Workshop. Filling those new venues, as well as Seattle’s established arts havens, will be the artists who continue to serve this city’s cultural ascension. In the pages ahead, we meet a few of them, including fusion choreographer Amy O’Neal, marathon pianist Jonathan Powell, theatrical impresario Linda Hartzell, memoirists Elissa Washuta and Domingo Martinez, artist Nikki McClure, and filmmaker Shaun Scott. All have notable new works during the new season, which is also packed full of highlights that can be found in our calendar of fall events. For all the talk of books, film, and music moving to the cloud for private at-home consumption, there are promising signs for the city’s arts and culture scene—being written in bricks and mortar, where people actually gather and discuss what they’ve seen.
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FALL ARTS 2014 Feet in Both Worlds » FROM PAGE 17 A good part of this research showed up in The
Most Innovative, Daring, and Original Piece of Dance/Performance You Will See This Decade—a 2012 work that was as packed with references as its title was long. As a theatrical experience, it was almost too much to take in on a single viewing. Between the video and scrolling text projected on multiple screens, the spoken narration, the props (from a stripper pole to Lucite platform heels), and the audience participation section (not to mention the actual dancing), the work left audiences vibrating, but wishing they’d had a set list for all the components. In retrospect, it felt more like a massive thesis project—a survey of everything O’Neal had learned—or a feverish night in a bar with an old friend, catching up on their life and their passions.
dancers she shadowed in the past, creating a talented cast of five. Fever One, Alfredo “Free” Vergara Jr., Brysen “JustBe” Angeles, Mozeslateef, and Michael O’Neal Jr. are award-winning performers, but they’re hardly ever seen in concert dance settings. (They represent crews including Massive Monkees and Circle of Fire and studios like The Beacon and Fever One.) During a recent rehearsal, all mentioned how unusual this project was for them, and that it was their respect for O’Neal that brought them to the project. And it’s a tricky task she’s set for both dancers and choreographer. The difficult part is finding a balance between using breakdancing like so much material (cut and stitched into a theatrical dance) and simply replicating traditional club and competition settings. Opposing Forces aims for a middle way, to respect the integrity of form while showing it as both art and competition.
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O’Neal practices her moves.
Since then, O’Neal seems to have been honing the movement, going deeper into the kinetic life of breaking. During last season’s Northwest New Works Festival, her solo piece Something Light for the Sake of the Dark took the physical control that is at the heart of much breakdancing and used it to focus our attention on detailed isolations and frozen, exquisite moments. It was a tour de force for her as a performer and choreographer, bringing the full toolkit of postmodern construction to bear on the task. Her newest project , debuting at On the
Boards next month, is another challenge in that direction. O’Neal won’t be dancing Opposing Forces; instead she’s enlisted some of those
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O’Neal is at a high point in her career right now: traveling to teach and stage works around the country, then squeezing in rehearsal time with her dancers, who all have busy schedules, too. More to the point, her professional life is now a fusion between dance forms that, in the past, were thought to be separate and not very equal. And in an environment where we still sometimes put our feet in just the wrong place, here’s a chance to see collaboration done right. E
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The Seven-Hour Solution How an English pianist is introducing marathon music to new ears. BY GAVIN BORCHERT
A
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of this renaissance, not only as a performer of Sorabji’s music but as a transcriber of his scores, slowly becoming available after years of languishing in manuscript. Like Sorabji himself, Powell as a young music student was drawn to the offbeat, first encountering the composer’s work at age 13. “I heard a broadcast on BBC Radio 3 (long gone are the days when they would play something like this) of Sorabji’s First Sonata, played wonderfully by the excellent pianist Yonty Solomon,” he tells Seattle Weekly in an e-mail. “Then I found scores in libraries and started trying to play them. “I once sent him a letter, and [Sorabji] replied very briefly, very courteously and warmly. So that was our only actual contact . . . I’ve heard that with people he knew well—and these ranged from
Powell at the keys.
of the year and played it early in 2000. Several others followed. It takes time, but if you do a page or two a day, larger projects get completed in months.” “Larger projects” is an understatement. Powell’s first recital, at Cornish College on October 28, will include that First Sonata (1919) that piqued his adolescent interest, plus Sorabji’s Le Jardin Parfumé (1923)—challenging works both, but his November 1 recital will be the real tell-yourgrandkids event. He’ll play Sorabji’s 1949 Sequentia cyclica super Dies irae, a set of 27 variations on the Gregorian requiem chant—377 pages long, seven hours of music in all, deployed in bouts of roughly three, two, and two hours with two intermissions. This will be Powell’s third performance of the complete cycle, following one in Glasgow in 2010 and another this week in the Netherlands. He modestly downplays the grueling feat; asked about his process of learning the Sequentia, he says, “I gave partial performances during the previous years, as I learned chunks. But all the time I was working on other stuff and doing the usual round of concerts, so there was no hurry.” So what does Sorabji’s music sound like? It’s
not hard to hear resemblances to the music of his coeval avant-gardists. There’s the hothouse
lushness of Scriabin, but with a greater sinewy severity; the chaotic ecstasy of Messiaen, but with blurrier outlines; the formidably complex rhythms and saturated textures of Ives’ “Concord” Sonata—all mixed with rigorous contrapuntal structures that pile on further difficulties. It seems to stand outside what we think of as the mainstream of the piano literature: the formally organized suites, sonatas, and concertos by composers from Bach through Schoenberg (German, most of them) that form the bulk of the instrument’s familiar concert repertory— the Apollonian tradition. But the Dionysian approach is even older: Treating the keyboard as a vehicle for the freewheeling, the fantastical, and the extreme dates back to its very earliest works. This road, as it happens, starts in Sorabji’s homeland, England, with the pioneering fantasias of Renaissance composers like William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons. It runs through Bach’s free-form toccatas and the improvisatory glitter of the harpsichord cadenza in his Brandenburg Concerto no. 5; the eccentric, even precious character pieces from 18thcentury France; the extraterrestrial vistas of Beethoven’s late works; the rainbow of new Sorabji at the staves. and expressive harmonies conjured by Chopin; the thunderous, unprecedented technical demands of Liszt; the near-unplayable flamboyance of Charles-Valentin Alkan, who conceived of the piano as a one-man mini-orchestra; Leopold Godowsky, for whom Chopin’s etudes weren’t quite difficult enough, so he rearranged them to be played by only one hand; Debussy and Ravel, colorists who deployed the piano’s 88 keys like so many paintbrushes; and Ferruccio Busoni, whose unfettered, libertarian approach to Bachian counterpoint directly inspired Sorabji. Seen this way, it’s the Apollonian line that seems like the side street—a cul-de-sac lined with clipped hedges and lovely Parthenons, but set apart from the thoroughfare where the piano feels most at home, on which Gothic castles, the Watts Towers, and the Experience Music Project all jostle one another. The vastest and most aweinspiring constructions of all are Sorabji’s, and this fall brings a very rare opportunity to visit one of his superhuman edifices. E gborchert@seattleweekly.com
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Powell has been one of the chief advocates
well-known writers and musicians to the local blacksmith—he was very warm and generous, though maybe with a tendency to be very sensitive to real or perceived slight. I first played a piece in public shortly after Sorabji died, maybe in 1990.” Driven to explore further, Powell moved on to the unpublished pieces. “I came back to Sorabji in 1999, and I realised that the composer thought most of his published pieces to be immature and not indicative of his real style, so it would be worth trying later ones. I’d had copies of manuscripts of later pieces for some time, but it wasn’t possible to give decent performances from them (even though that didn’t stop some people from trying). “Around that time, typesetting software like Sibelius had become sophisticated enough to deal with the complex demands of Sorabji’s music, so I got hold of some and started off with a 50-page piece, Rosario d’arabeschi. I finished that by the end
SIR JEREMY GRAYSON COURTESY THE SORABJI ARCHIVE
t first contact, you might be tempted to dismiss him as an eccentric, even a crank—an understandable response to a composer who wrote a piano work lasting seven hours (which isn’t even his longest). But two upcoming recitals of the music of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892–1988) by British pianist Jonathan Powell will not only expand your idea of what a piano can do, it may make you rethink the instrument’s history and repertory altogether. More on that in a moment; first, some background. Born in England of Parsi descent, Sorabji’s musical tastes from an early age lay mainly in the innovative modernism of his time, an interest he carried into both his composition and his career as a fearsomely sharp-tongued music critic. He did occasionally play his own works in public—including his 12-part, 285-minute Opus clavicembalisticum—and got a few pieces published, but their intimidating length and difficulty made them a tough sell in conservative interwar Britain, and Sorabji returned the disdain. It’s said that a poor performance of a movement of his Opus in 1936 so distressed him that he abandoned hope of ever hearing his music played as he conceived it. So for decades Sorabji became a kind of artistic hermit—not only making no effort to disseminate his music, but discouraging those few musicians who expressed interest in it. As he put it, “No performance at all is vastly preferable to an obscene travesty.” Yet Sorabji kept composing, and slowly relented. In the 1970s and ’80s he at last met pianists with the technique, devotion, and stamina to meet his standards.
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FALL ARTS 2014
No Patience With Patience
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Beginning its 40th season, Seattle Children’s Theatre has thrived—unlike other local stage companies—by catering to the short-attention set. BY JOHN LONGENBAUGH
L
inda Hartzell, artistic director of Seattle Children’s Theatre, is both an anomaly and an exemplar in the local stage scene. Her company, founded in 1975, is thriving. She’s been on the job for 30 years and shows few signs of slowing. But the institutional success of SCT depends both on her management skills and her goofball rapport with its intended audience. With her tendency to crack wise, Hartzell admits to a drifting attention span. “I’m silly and playful,” she says. “I lead with my heart and my body, and that’s where kids are. Adults are cynical, and I can be. But it’s hard for me. Maybe that’s why I’m good at my job.”
YOUNG LEE
Hartzell embraces the silly.
Back in the late ’70s, Hartzell explained during
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SEATTLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE 201 Thomas St. (Seattle Center), 441-3322, sct.org. $15–$36. Runs Sept. 25–Nov. 9.
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Art and Fine Craft Show
art by Dennis Brady
A Two Act Show:
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SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
Indeed she is. Under her tenure, SCT has grown to become one of the 20 largest regional theaters in the country. It has produced over 100 world premieres, 35 of which she’s directed. Despite the wavering economy, SCT has thrived while sister companies like ACT have staggered and others, notably Empty Space Theatre and Intiman, have fallen or faltered. (It’s also a union shop.) And the nonprofit SCT hews to its mission by keeping ticket prices at a level where low-income kids and their parents can attend their shows. Part of Hartzell’s talent is an instinctive insight into what kids want to see. Years ago, playwright Y York—whose Kipling adaptation, The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi, opens SCT’s 40th season next week—told me that Hartzell’s understanding of her audience is almost uncanny. “She was able to identify in rehearsal what bits would make the kids fidget,” York said, “and in previews I saw that she had called it, right down to the specific line.” (Rita Giomi directs the coming show.) “It really bothers me,” says Hartzell of youththeater artists who don’t trust their audience. “It’s about having a well-written story where you care about the characters. When a play’s redundant, or didactic, or meaningless, you lose them. My own attention span is that of a 9-year-old. I’m a reader; I read lots of essays and articles, but it’s hard for me to try with a novel. Emotionally, it takes a lot to keep me connected. If they’re losing me, they’re going to lose the kids.”
a recent sit-down, she was newly divorced with an infant son when she joined SCT. For three years she did shows at the theater’s rental venue in Woodland Park Zoo, while also in grown-up productions at Empty Space. As a director, her breakthrough success was emphatically for adults, not kids: She helmed Angry Housewives, A.M. Collins’ and Chad Henry’s legendary local musical, which opened at the Pioneer Square Theater in 1982 and ran for eight years. This satiric take on punk at the dwindling end of first-wave feminism had an inauspicious beginning, she tells me. “They thought it was a disaster and didn’t want to open it. But I pleaded with the company to let us run the show for two weeks so we could pay the actors.” Instead the performers, the material, and the punk zeitgeist led to a smash hit, and Hartzell found herself in demand as a director. (The show later played New York and other markets.) Assuming the leadership of SCT in ’84 was a considerably less punk-rock experience, she recalls. “When I started with the theater, we had a big deficit. I have never forgotten what it’s like to be worried about money; and so when other companies were ignoring them in the ’90s, we weren’t. Even as we moved into our new venue [in Seattle Center], one custom-built for us, we were keeping an eye on budgets. Despite our commitment to being a professional company, we’ve never been irresponsible, and that’s led to some tough choices.” Those have included a series of staff and talent cuts throughout the last recession-impacted decade, and Hartzell worries that the audience decline isn’t over yet—it’s a nationwide phenomenon. “I thought we were done. But I don’t think we’re there yet. Since we have to keep ticket prices low, our answer is the same as Walmart’s: volume.” The result is 11 shows a week—a tough schedule for both performers and staff but one that Hartzell believes is a sustainable model. But is it sustainable for Hartzell? A couple of years ago she took an unexpected extended leave, and there were rumors that she was considering stepping down. She admits that the break was a vital one. “I did what I needed to do: I wiped the blackboard clean. I spent time in my garden, read some books I wanted to read. I found some serenity and some peace, and then the ideas started to come again.” With her return came renewed purpose, and she now sounds as enthusiastic as ever. “We laugh because we have to be strong,” she says. “Every day, there are kids around us. That 6- or 11- or 15-year-old deserves to find some hope in their lives, and they need to be challenged. So the only answer is to recommit yourself to the work.” For now, Hartzell is adamant that she has no plans for stepping down. It just might be that she’s irreplaceable. E
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
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SOMETHING EVIL’S LURKIN’ IN THE DARK
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FALL ARTS 2014
The New Rules
2014-2015
TOWN
Elissa Washuta’s stunning new memoir will make you rethink mental illness. BY GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT
T
RED HEN PRESS
here’s a passage in Elissa Washuta’s devastating debut memoir, My Body Is a Book of Rules (Red Hen Press, $16.95), that strikes at the heart of the disconnect between those struggling with mental illness and those who live unencumbered by its terrors. It’s a question someone like Washuta, who has bipolar disorder, has fielded over and over—one she dubs the “acquaintance’s innocent question”: “Don’t
Washuta wants to start a conversation.
With a few names changed, much of her story
takes place after Washuta leaves her parent’s New Jersey home, while attending college in Maryland and later pursuing a MFA in creative writing at the UW. Alone she navigates a world of manic highs, promiscuity, sexual trauma, adverse drug side-effects, weight gain and loss, grief and depression. It’s an exquisitely poignant chronicle, captivating in the author’s vulnerability. In one passage, Washuta writes, “The wreckage of my early twenties looked like a battlefield littered with partners’ bodies, and for years, I wielded my anger like a sword, making my hate count, keeping the gash open. With the rapist out of my world, I carried out those duels against myself, a poor sparring partner, beatendown and humbled.” Washuta further reels the reader into her world through chapters structured as annotated bibliographies, term papers, IM transcripts, and prescription drug lists. “I started playing around with forms that were in my world,” she explains. “I felt that that was a more accurate representation of my world that trying to jam things into the traditional memoir structure.” In this way, she says, she hopes “the reader would be OK going into dangerous territory.” My Body Is a Book of Rules is acute, raw, and cathartic, an account that carries you along with Washuta’s many setbacks and final progress. There’s no ultimate cure, of course, but Washuta says her goal is to help readers understand “what it’s like to be in so much terror and to have such an ill brain. I want my book to get a good conversation going.” E
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you ever think about not taking those nasty chemicals?” “People definitely don’t get it, and that’s why I wrote that,” Washuta says over a recent coffee near her Madison Park home. “I got that question so many times. Of course, I think constantly about not talking all the meds. Every time I take a pill, it’s a reaffirmation that I need to take them; the side effects are so horrible. [But] because [many of us] can pass in society, it can seem like we don’t need them.” It certainly does. In person, Washuta, 29, is reserved and accomplished: an award- and grant-winning writer, the UW’s Undergraduate Advisor for American Indian Studies, and a resident writing mentor for the Institute of American Indian Arts, among other distinctions. Yet the portrait of the narrator presented in the book is self-destructive, self-medicating, and self-loathing. It’s a harrowing and deeply revealing account examined not only through the lens of mental illness, but with the added identity crisis of growing up part American Indian and, later, being a survivor of sexual assault. “I wanted to create something that was as true to my memory as possible,” says Washuta, “because I found doing that made me really press on things that were really uncomfortable. If I had tried to bend the truth a little bit to make a convenient plot line, then I would be letting myself out of some
things that were hard and needed to be examined.”
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
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2014-2015
FALL ARTS 2014
The Catastrophist
University of Washington
BY BRIAN MILLER
FEATURED FALL & WINTER LECTURES
In his new memoir, Domingo Martinez turns from Texas troubles to Seattle turmoil.
A
few short years ago, Domingo Martinez had the wolf at the door. His graphic-design clients were disappearing. The newspaper biz where he also worked—including at Seattle Weekly, where he was once a colleague—was contracting. He spent too much time holed up in his apartment, binge-watching cable TV, looking for love on the Internet, drinking, and writing random scraps of a future memoir about his hardscrabble youth in Brownsville, Texas. “I managed to scrape by. I borrowed money. I delivered pizzas,” he recalls of that dark period.
he flees Texas, stops speaking Spanish, and models himself on the late-’80s Anglo culture of bohemian authors, indie music, and movies. Seeing Hayek’s quote, he says, “Like a shark, I smelled blood in the water.” His agent passed Boy Kings to her people, and eventually “she asked to meet. It’s all about making your own luck.” He and Hayek clicked, and she took the project to HBO. “On its own, the book was developing some clout of its own,” says Martinez of Boy Kings’ prospects in Hollywood. “[It] was making the rounds. It dealt with a part of the country that was unmined. But HBO has recognized that at some point in the future, 25 percent of the U.S. will identify as Hispanic.” The experience of outlining Boy Kings into a possible miniseries is “a total trial by fire . . . completely beyond what I expected for my first book,” says Martinez. “Hayek became the chief champion and proponent” of the book; and when her people or HBO calls, he laughs, “I drop everything. I figure that’s gonna be my future. I’m certainly getting away from memoir after this.”
DAMIAN GREEN
That’s partly because Martinez split the baby
Martinez says he’s now done with memoirs.
bmiller@seattleweekly.com
RICHARD HUGO HOUSE 1634 11th Ave., litcrawl.org/seattle. Free. 6 p.m. Thurs., Oct. 23.
LECTURE
SERIES
November 6th | 6:30pm
OLYMPIA SNOWE
U.S. Senator from Maine (1995-2013)
Anything is Possible: How to Overcome Obstacles and Make a Difference
November 20th | 7pm
MARC ROTENBERG
President of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Watching the Watchers: Fighting back in an age of ubiquitous surveillance
December 4th | 6:30 PM
MICHAEL LEVITT Robert W. and Vivian K. Cahill
Professor of Cancer Research in the Department of Structural Biology, Stanford School of Medicine
Birth and Future of Multi-Scale Modeling of Macromolecules
January 27th | 6:30pm
ERIC AVILA
Professor of History, UCLA
Chocolate Cities and Vanilla Suburbs: Race, Space and American Culture After World War II
February 24th | 6:30pm
CHRISTOPH BODE
Professor and Chair of Modern English Literature at LMU Munich
From Event to Node: How ‘Future Narratives” Impact on the Way We Can Imagine and Shape the Future
March 3rd | 6:30pm
JILL CORNELL TARTER
Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) at the SETI Institute
SETI: Past, Present, and Future - Finding Aliens and Finding Ourselves
March 4th | 6:30pm
MARK MORRIS
Founder, Mark Morris Dance Center
Mark Morris: Dancing Beyond Boundaries
ON-LINE REGISTRATION OPENS 9/29 REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED, please register online at
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ALL LECTURES WILL TAKE PLACE IN KANE HALL ON THE UW SEATTLE CAMPUS
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
Since the 2012 publication of his bestselling The Boy Kings of Texas, life has taken a different turn. Martinez now has other problems—problems like making deadlines for HBO, problems like meetings and conference calls with Salma Hayek, problems like getting back on the road to promote his mostly Seattle-set second memoir, My Heart Is a Drunken Compass (Lyons Press, $26.95), to be published in November and launched next month at Hugo House. “I’m very tired of Texas,” says Martinez during a recent morning chat at Caffé Ladro, near his Uptown apartment. Though he hadn’t lived there for some 20 years, “Texas sort of adopted me as one of its own writers.” He toured his first book extensively in Texas, and his second is being excerpted in Texas Monthly. Martinez now admits to a letdown after Boy Kings, which was nominated for a National Book Award but fell short of the prize. “I was feeling disappointed with the whole process of publishing,” he says. “It was all about numbers and figures. It removed the illusion of success, and I was dealing with the stark reality of trying to survive as a writer.” There was no going back to graphic design, running a comically doomed print shop—as described in Drunken Compass—or even delivering pizza. Like a poker player, Martinez was all in. Then, reading an online interview in German Vogue, where Hayek said that “I no longer feel Mexican,” he made his next big bet. Martinez could relate to her complaint, since in Boy Kings
with his life story, and no third installment is planned. (He’s got a collection of short stories in the works.) Boy Kings ended with Martinez seemingly safely escaped to Seattle, where he’s now lived for over two decades. Drunken Compass loops back to Brownsville to tell the sad tale of his younger brother Derek’s alcoholcaused catastrophe. That medical crisis, which Martinez guiltily kept at arm’s length, is followed by another horrific accident in Seattle involving his troubled former fiancée—resulting in more hospital time, self-reproach, and life assessment. Compared to the fitful, uncertain process of writing Boy Kings (itself part of the narrative in Drunken Compass), Martinez says, “I couldn’t stop writing. This [book] was like a cork.” He estimates it took him eight years to write the first and eight months for the second. “I was much more confident in the writing and in my language.” In part, he acknowledges, that’s because the success of Boy Kings meant “I was actually being taken seriously as a writer,” validating his second career. Also, “I wasn’t drinking” during that process; and a family legacy of alcohol abuse becomes especially evident in his very frank new book. After “all this mental anguish and depression” involved in the writing of the two books, plumbing his family’s strengths and his own weaknesses, Martinez is enough the entrepreneur to understand how an uplifting outcome makes for a good memoir. “It is a happy end,” he says. “My parents are incredibly chuffed. A series of anxieties in my head were quieted. I didn’t feel so much an outsider anymore.” E
PUBLIC
27
FALL ARTS 2014
2014/2015 BROADWAY SERIES AVAILABLE NOW “
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Taking a Goddamn Walk Through the Woods Why the paper-cut art of Nikki McClure is always in season. BY KELTON SEARS
ASTONISHING.
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A PIPPIN for the 21st Century.”
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ZAKIR HUSSAIN’S CELTIC CONNECTIONS: THE PULSE OF THE WORLD
McClure at her cutting board.
N
ikki McClure was never trained as an artist, but she did draw in college. “I didn’t study art at all,” she laughs while walking me through her small new sylvan show at Stonington Gallery, Look Closely. “I did biology and natural history, so I just got good at drawing insects and plants, never people.” But one day in 1996, an art-school friend of hers suggested she try paper-cutting. Discovering the medium was an “a-ha moment,” says McClure, one that her brain subconsciously “knew it should’ve been doing all along.” The highly directional, hands-on art form clicked, and suddenly she became Olympia’s unofficial resident “picture maker,” doing art for company logos, greeting cards, and her friend’s K Records album covers. (Much of this work was seen during her solo retrospective at Bellevue Arts Museum in 2012–13.) Although the Kirkland-born McClure initially came to Olympia for the punk-rock scene of the late ’80s (she cites The U-Men and Green River as draws), she ended up staying after attending Evergreen College, citing the small-town vibe and the beautiful scenery. The environment figures heavily in her intricately cut work, which bursts with leaves, branches, grasses, and tides. (Remember: She trained as a biologist, after all).
“My art [is] about being a part of the world, and recognizing your part in it,” says McClure. “I live by the water, and I always think about how my body is mostly water too. Or dirt—there’s dirt under my fingers. It’s a part of me; it’s a part of you; it’s a part of everyone; but we forget it when we drive around in these bubbles. Although Stonington is a gallery for NativeAmerican art, McClure says her work feels at home there: “Here they go, ‘Oh! That’s Indian plum!’ They understand it’s the first thing to leaf out in the spring, and that that’s why I incorporated it in an image. In another gallery they’d be like, ‘Oh, I notice you have floral motifs’ or something.” Look Closely comprises paper-cuts McClure made for her new 2015 calendar Love (on sale now and through buyolympia.com). She’s made calendars for years, initially pairing her images first with haiku, then with shorter phrases and now single words. Often the connection between word and image are cryptic, like one image of her son by the fireplace with the word “Myth” above him. The texts’ fortune-cookielike brevity is what interests McClure—especially the ensuing conversations people have to discern the connections she intended. She makes them to “bolster people’s spirits,” she says.
Puzzle Break Can you and your friends
In that vein, she describes her work as a modern-day version of the Works Projects Administration posters federally commissioned from artists to survive the Great Depression. “At that time, the images were, like, ‘Drink Milk!’ or ‘Protect Your Hands! You Work With Them!’ ” McClure chuckles. “Those are the images people needed then, and I’m making the images I think people need now. Now it should be more like, ‘Take a Goddamn Walk in the Woods.’ ” She points to another image on the gallery wall of her and her son dredging up a tire from a favorite Olympia beach. It’s one of the most emblematic pieces in the series for McClure, one born of a poignant, unexpected moment of reflection, she says. “There’s always a theme that underlies the calendar work. This series is thinking about the fact that humans have been in the Northwest for about 15,000 years, so it’s about a sense of time and scale. There’s this image—it’s of a tire that was always exposed during winter low tide and storms on the beach, and we decided one day to deal with this tire because it would just be there forever otherwise. But we thought, you know, this tire has only been here for what, maybe 40 years? Cars have only been around maybe 100. Just thinking about how much has happened since that is amazing, let alone the fact that humans were here for 15,000 years.”
find the clues, solve the puzzles, and escape
J O I N U S F O R T H E O P E N I N G C E L E B R AT I O N O F A N N H A M I LT O N : T H E C O M M O N S E N S E
HENRY ART GALLERY S AT, O C T O B E R 1 1 11 AM – 8 PM
within one hour? Puzzle Break is a liveaction puzzle game for up to 12 people, located in Capitol Hill. Tickets available now! Reservations are required. For more information, go to:
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PAC IF
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September September 26 25 –– October October 12, 12, 2014 2014
COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
Slip/Shot
by JACQUELINE GOLDFINGER directed by KELLY KITCHENS
One of McClure’s nature scenes.
H E NRYA RT.O RG Ann Hamilton. Digital scan of a specimen from University of Washington’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture Mammal Collection. Courtesy of the artist.
ksears@seattleweekly.com
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SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
When McClure speaks, her voice leaps and jumps and flutters—she’s a great storyteller. Her wonderment at the natural world, which has long defined her art, intensified with the birth of her son, now 10, who mirrors that wonder back at her daily. She calls him a “life model,” like a magical human specimen seen after years of studying plants and bugs in college. Look Closely is also inspired by these somewhat new observations she’s gathered about the beauty and growth of a person—the strange, wild shape of the ears or the childlike musings her son delivered one day on the inherent goodness of bird feathers found on the beach. “We don’t notice these small things,” she says. “You don’t notice unless you go outside and look.” E
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OCT 9 – JAN 11 SEATTLE ART MUSEUM visitsam.org/pop
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See the hot hits of Pop art and its departures this fall at the Seattle Art Museum. GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY! The exhibition is organized by the Seattle Art Museum and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Special exhibitions at SAM are made possible by donors to
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Images (clockwise from top left): Baked Potato, 1966, Claes Oldenburg, American, (born in Sweden), 1929, cast resin, paint, and varnish with ceramic plate, 4 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 7 in., Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Sidney and Anne Gerber, 86.274.4. © 1966 Claes Oldenburg, Photo: Elizabeth Mann. Marilyn, 1967, Andy Warhol, American, 1928–1987, screenprint on paper, 36 x 36 in., Seattle Art Museum, Bequest of Kathryn L. Skinner, 2004.119. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Photo: Paul Macapia. TV Legs, 1987, Lynn Hershman Leeson, American, b. 1941, gelatin silver photograph, 24 x 20 in., Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Rod Slemmons, 95.79. © Lynn Hershman Leeson. Kiss V, 1964, Roy Lichtenstein, American, 1923-1997, magna on canvas, 36 x 36 in., Collection Simonyi. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein, Photo: Eduardo Calderon.
FALL ARTS 2014
Past and Present
Young filmmaker Shaun Scott fuses the archival and the personal in his new romance. BY BRIAN MILLER
Y
ou get the sense that filmmaker Shaun Scott can’t stop talking about history, yet he also wants to shift the conversation to the psychology of the lovers in his new movie, Pacific Aggression. (It opens next month at the Grand Illusion.) Sitting for an afternoon beer at Linda’s on Capitol Hill, not quite 30, Scott is brimming with charm and intelligence. He’s made four low-budget films to date, and none fall into the usual indie pitfalls and clichés. Instead of self-absorbed, whiny slackers, his characters are millennials with a healthy sense of history and their place in a socioeconomic system that bounds their choices. His characters Meryl and Frank, whom we suspect will hook up, must first hash through
mining near Spokane—that’s something of a signature in Scott’s movies. “The last four to five years have been so doc-
umentary-minded,” says Scott of his quartet of films. The first two were docs, and 100% Off: A Recession-Era Romance, which played the Grand Illusion in 2012, is a hybrid like Pacific Aggression. “History’s always gonna be an underlying appeal for me. That impulse will always show up,” he says. “Documentary and drama—it never occurred to me to keep those streams separate.” Regarding Frank and Meryl’s history-mindedness, he adds, “These characters are preoccupied with it. That’s their narcissism. Both have to look at the world with this historical lens.” Still, Scott says he’s now
COURTESY SHAUN
Frank (Martin) atop Mailbox Peak.
hoping to lean more toward fiction in coming projects (while also juggling MBA studies). With his vintage watch and buzzing iPhone, Scott is no technophobe—unlike Frank, who’s more the dead-ender in print, an inky romantic holdout against the new technological generation represented by Meryl. Her case is extreme, but instead of simply decrying the cyberobsessions of youth in Pacific Aggression, Scott says he sought “a more subtle approach to how someone could get into addiction and get out of it.” For Meryl, that means the patented “digital cleanse” method of her shrink (local stage actress Marya Sea Kaminski, the ringer in the cast), a woman hiding some issues of her own. And whether the debates here are past-versuspresent or technology-versus-print, Scott isn’t taking sides. “There are as many characters on one side as the other,” he says. Scott describes himself as being “really, really interested in how the city and state were developed” (essentially what Frank is learning), and he casually cites local history and culture books by the likes of Roger Sale, Fred Moody, and Timothy Egan. He’s clearly a guy with a bulging bookshelf at home, yet one who’s comfortable with the digital age—a dialectic that Frank and Meryl need to reconcile if their romance is to happen. E
bmiller@seattleweekly.com
GRAND ILLUSION CINEMA 1403 N.E. 50th St., 523-3935, grandillusioncinema.org. $5–$8. Fri., Oct. 3–Thurs., Oct. 9.
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
their views on Washington state history, the displacement of Native Americans from their land, the symbolism of John Wayne and old Western movies, the making of the A-bomb’s payload at Hanford, the legacy of its damage in Japan, and the overload of impersonal Internet culture versus the old-time halo of the written word. And since our two would-be lovers spend at least half the movie apart, much of that debate is expressed in voiceover—not conventional dialogue scenes. None of which sound remotely daunting or intimidating as Scott touches on those themes in person. Raised in Shoreline and a history major at the UW, he says he hoped to make Pacific Aggression “a story of self-reinvention, a really old story” that nonetheless has as its conceit the Internet and screen addiction of Seattle college student Meryl (Libby Matthews), who’s cyber-stalking the New York author she met two years prior. Frank (Trevor Young Martin) is meanwhile stalled out on a new book proposal; and eventually his editor pushes him toward travelogue—a road trip back to Washington state (mostly on the east side) on which he’ll also file dispatches for the Web. He’s disdainful of the new medium and sends Meryl a long, handwritten letter—to which she eventually jabs a few characters and emoticons in reply. How could these two possibly end up together? He loves cowboy movies; she’s of Native-American descent. They’re opposites lugging the cultural baggage of different traditions, which are often expressed via the archival footage—Western movies, cartoons, educational films, old newsreels of Hiroshima and uranium
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FALL ARTS 2014
Calendar of Events BY DIANA M. LE, SANDRA KURTZ, AND SW STAFF
September
18 Caitlin Doughty The mortician discusses Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, her new memoir about the funeral industry. University Bookstore 18 Seattle’s Favorite Poems Read by Robert Pinsky, Heather McHugh, Lynn Shelton, and others. Town Hall, townhallseattle.org 18 Jeremy Jones’ Higher A film about a big mountain snowboarder. The Neptune, stg presents.org 18 What the Griot Said Stories told through oral tradition. Northwest African American History Museum 18 Heart Expect Seattle’s original sister act
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©Tim Durkan
goes “Crazy on You” in celebration of the Showbox’s 75th anniversary. The Showbox 19 Meshell Ndegeocello The renowned bassist and collaborator returns to the Triple Door. the
Now–Sep 28
See it with an ACTPass or purchase tickets today (206) 292-7676 • acttheatre.org
tripledoor.net 19 90 Minutes With Will Ferrell Roughly. With
some other people, too. A charity event benefiting Cancer for College. Meany Hall, meany.org 20 Gay Romance Conference Panels, workshops, and pitch sessions to support LGBTQ romance authors. Seattle Public Library, spl.org 22 Joshua Wolf Shenk & Jess Van Nostrand
They discuss their book How Collaboration Fuels Creativity. Town Hall 22 Die Antwoord Ninja and Yo-Landi are the South African freaky hip–hop equivalent of the ’80s boy/girl synth-pop duo. The Paramount 22 Childbirth Members of Chastity Belt, TacocaT, and Ponytime join to sing humorous songs about sexual empowerment. Neumos,
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neumos.com 22 Night Moves In a one-night return engage-
ment, Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning star as Oregon environmental activists who plot the bombing of a hydroelectric dam. SIFF Film Center 23 Nancy Kress In her new Yesterday’s Kin, aliens have descended upon Earth. University
SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
Bookstore 23 David Bowie Is A theatrical retrospective of the pop legend’s life. SIFF Cinema Uptown 23 Bob Mould Band The songwriter and
ami is curated by anese American nal Arts & Artists, E. Rhodes &
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Hüsker Dü frontman has a new one, Beauty and Ruin. The Neptune 24 Frank Portman The author discusses his darkly funny cult-popular teen book, King Dork. University Bookstore 24 Dave Rawling Machine Gillian Welch’s
famed collaborator tours with his own project.
The Moore 24–28 Decibel The annual festival of electronic music, visual art, and new media. dbfestival.com 24–Oct. 4 Local Sightings Film Festival
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This showcase for cinema from Washington and the Northwest has been extended to eoncompass even more screenings and panel discussions.
Northwest Film Forum, nwfilmforum.org 25 Taylor Davis This violinist took her love for
video games and film music to the Internet and became a YouTube sensation. The Triple Door 25–Dec. 18 Live by Night SAM’s annual noir series noir series begins with The Maltese Falcon and includes The Big Combo and Out of the Past.
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Seattle Art Museum, seattleartmuseum.org
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STAFF PICK
25 Taking Back Sunday The emo revival continues. With The Used. Showbox SoDo, show-
boxpresents.com 25 The Universality of Noh: Crossing Borders on Stage Traditional Japanese Noh theater. Seattle Japanese Garden 25 David Mitchell The author of Cloud Atlas discusses his new The Bone Clocks. Town Hall 25 Christopher Sandford Harold and Jack
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draws on letters and telegrams to give readers a look at the interesting relationship between JFK and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. University Bookstore 25 Kazu Kibuishi & Raina Telgemeier The
authors discuss their YA graphic novels, Amulet #6: Escape from Lucien and Smile. University
Bookstore 25 Sam Smith The 22-year-old soul singer/
songwriter released his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, earlier this year. The Paramount 25–27 Twisted Flicks Live improvised redubbings of old B-movies. This month’s film is Westworld. Jet City Improv, jetcityimprov.org 25–28 Germinal Four actors begin on a black stage and rebuild life using things like microphones, guitars, and harmonies. On the Boards, ontheboards.org 25–28 Gifts of War A play about a weekend
of debauchery celebrating the end of the 10-year Trojan War. Velocity Dance Center, velocity
dancecenter.org 25–28 Schack–toberfest With a glass pump-
kin patch, pumpkin carving, and glass-blowing.
Schack Art Center, schack.org 25–Oct. 13 Slip/Shot In 1963, a white security
guard accidentally kills an innocent young black man. Plus ça change, amirite? Seattle Public The-
ater, seattlepublictheater.org 25–Nov. 9 The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi
Friendship and cooperation are the messages in this classic tale. SEE RELATED STORY, PAGE 23. Seattle Children’s Theatre, sct.org 26 Old Crow Medicine Show This group’s gone from busking on the streets of New York, through Canada, to a pharmacy in North Carolina where it got discovered, to a residency at the Grand Ole Opry. The Paramount 26-Oct. 2 20,000 Days on Earth Nick Cave stars in an echt-memoir of sorts. Grand Illusion,
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grandillusioncinema.org 26 First Look Gala A lavish cocktail party, din-
ner, and dance party to celebrate the PNB’s 42nd season. Pacific Northwest Ballet, pnb.org 26 The Equalizer Denzel Washington stars in an adaptation of the old TV series. Opens Wide 26 Mark Wilson This guitarist’s annual latesummer recital at St. James Cathedral 26 Stefan Litwin Ives’ “Concord” Sonata, his grand pianistic evocation of the New England transcendentalists. Brechemin Auditorium, UW
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campus, music.washington.edu 26–28 Tomoe & Yoshinaka A Noh double-
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bill: a traditional opera and a modern take on the form by Seattle’s Garrett Fisher. ACT Theatre, fisherensemble.org 26–Oct. 5 George Balanchine’s Jewels
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Three separate ballets (Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds) are linked by gestures and themes, set to music by Fauré, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky. Pacific Northwest Ballet
26–Jan. 31 Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday The comedy duo returns for a slapstick holiday adventure. Teatro ZinZanni, zinzanni.com 26–Oct. 5 Men in Dance The only rule for
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this biannual event is that men need to be involved in some aspect of each work, as performers, choreographers, or producers. Everything else—from style to substance—is up for grabs, so that you can get a slick Broadway number next to an esoteric kinetic exploration. It’s the movement equivalent of a really great potluck. SANDRA KURTZ Broadway
Performance Hall, menindance.org 27 Octava Chamber Orchestra Handel,
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Beethoven, and Greg Bartholomew’s Sunshine Music. Maple Park Church, Lynnwood, octava
chamberorchestra.org 27 Elton John The iconic piano man will play just 10 cities on his All the Hits tour. Key Arena, keyarena.com 27–28 Caspar Babypants Chris Ballew of
the Presidents of the United States of America performs children’s music under this silly moniker.
Town Hall 27–Jan. 4 #SocialMedium Paintings from the
Frye’s collection that get the most likes on its social media, with accompanying comments. Frye Art
Museum, fryemuseum.org 27–June 21 Pomp & Circumstance: The Clothing of Transformation Washington’s rich history
through the significance of ceremonial clothing and accessories, starting in the 1800s. Washington
State History Museum, washingtonhistory.org 28 Last Comic Standing Showcase Local
comedians compete for a chance to be on the next season of Last Comic Standing. Parlor Live Seattle
28 17th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival A cinematic celebration that occurs simultaneously around the world. Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, biartmuseum.org 28 Gayle Forman & Jandy Nelson discuss their
books If I Stay (now a film) and I’ll Give You the Sun. University Bookstore 29 The Kooks Self-described as pop and drawing influences from bands of the British Invasion.
Lilienthal and Ben Zamora will fill the atrium with a new site-specific instalation. Suyama
Space, suyamaspace.org. 29 Palo Alto Directed by Gia Coppola, based
on James Franco’s collection of short stories; a onenight return engagement. SIFF Film Center 30 Puddles Pity Party “The sad clown with the golden voice” gets his own show. Teatro ZinZanni 30 Pam Binder She sets her love The Inscription near mysterious Loch Ness. University Bookstore Bellevue 30 Lauren Oliver The best-selling young adult
author tries her hand at adult fiction with Rooms.
University Bookstore 30 Tavis Smiley If you’re not getting enough
of him on Dancing With the Stars, he’ll discuss his new book, Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year. Town Hall 30 Conor Oberst Gone solo for a few years, the musician’s recently released Upside Down Mountain. The Showbox
October
1 Diane Muldrow Everything I Need to Know About Christmas I Learned From a Little Golden Book offers cheeky advice for having fun and making it through the holidays. University Bookstore 1 Chris Taylor discusses his book How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, chronicling the franchise’s origins and why it’s here to stay.
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not only learning about “I’m nutrition, I’m learning about treating people with integrity and care.
Town Hall 1 Justin Townes Earle The roots rock revivalist
”
just released his fifth album, Entitled Single Mothers. The Neptune 1–4 Burlesco DiVino: Wine in Rome It’s hard to imagine an over-the-top version of Federico Fellini, but burlesque artist Lily Verlaine has managed to channel La Dolce Vita in this fantastical combination of 1960s Italian indulgence and classic “sword and sandal” epic films. With her producing partner Jasper McCann, Verlaine’s work is an homage to vintage burlesque, a combination of irony and sweetness. SK
Ellie Freeman, MS (2013)
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Create a Healthier World Degrees Include: • Naturopathic Medicine • Psychology • Herbal Sciences • Midwifery
The Triple Door, burlescodivino.com 1–5 REPRESENT A festival celebrating playwrights of color. ACT Theatre 2 Broken Bow Ensemble This new-music
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chamber orchestra premieres John Teske’s min.
Chapel Performance Space, waywardmusic.org 2–4 Seattle Symphony Ludovic Morlot
conducts Korngold’s luscious violin concerto, derived from his Warner Bros. film scores. Benar-
oya Hall, seattlesymphony.org 2 Bishop Allen Seen onscreen in Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, catch the band offscreen. The Lo-Fi, thelofi.net 2 Ladies Musical Club Kicking off a full season of recitals with vocal and flute music. Seattle Art Museum, lmcseattle.org 2 Jon Lovitz of Saturday Night Live and NewsRadio performs. Parlor Live Seattle 2–29 George Rodriguez: Here After Seattle–
Learn more: Info.BastyrUniversity.edu • 425-602-3330 Kenmore, Wash. • San Diego ON SALE NOW!
based ceramic artist showcases Day of the Dead artwork. Foster/White Gallery, fosterwhite.com
2–31 Qwalsius Shaun Peterson: A House, the Moon and the Salish Sea New works in various
media (laser-cut aluminum, limited-edition prints, and wood and glass sculpture). Stonington
Gallery, stoningtongallery.com 3 Scrape New music for strings from this cleverly named group. Chapel Performance Space 3 The Dandy Warhols They gained mainstream
exposure through cult television shows Veronica Mars and The O.C. The Showbox 3 Gone Girl David Fincher directs this thriller based on Gillian Flynn’s bestseller, with Ben Affleck accused of murdering his wife, Rosamund Pike. Opens wide 3–9 Pacific Aggression Local filmmaker Shaun Scott makes a love story infused with history. SEE PAGE 31. Grand Illusion 3–5 The Esoterics From this adventurous choir, music evoking the air and sky. Various ven-
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OCT 17, 18, 24 & 25 SAINT MARK’S CATHEDRAL ON SALE SEPT 27
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ues, theesoterics.org 3–March 1 Jason Walker: On the River, Down the Road He explores nature and the city with new ceramics created for this show. Bellevue Arts Museum, bellevuearts.org • 3–5 SIFF Cinema Egyptian Opening Weekend SIFF comes to Capitol Hill, taking over the
lease on the Egyptian. The weekend is packed with the biggest films from the historic theatre’s history (My Neighbor Totoro, Amelie, O Brother Where Art Thou, etc). SIFF Cinema Egyptian
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
SAT SA SAT
JJUNE UNE 1 14 4 8 8:00 :00 PM PM NOV 29-DEC 22
THE T HE P PARAMOUNT ARAMOUNT T THEATRE HEATRE BENAROYA HALL
Tickets.FlyingHouse.org or call 206.388.1400
Opening Weekend Guest
LINDA EDER
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
The Showbox, showboxpresents.com 29 Slow Club A charming English duo that plays indie pop with pretty harmonies. Barboza, thebarboza.com 29 Living Colour ’80s band best remembered for its hit “Cult of Personality.” The Triple Door 29-Dec. 19 Never Finished Local artists Etta
NURTURE • YOUR • CALLING
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O C TO B E R 23 – N O V E M B E R 22, 2014
FALL ARTS 2014 » FROM PAGE 33 3–13 The Wolf and the Witch Classic fairy tales mashed up with details (painful, we hope) from your life in this improv show. Ballard Under-
tory, secondstoryrep.org 3–Nov. 1 Supraliminal Seattle Immersive The-
Recital Hall, srjo.org 4–Jan. 18 Pan Gongkai: Withered Lotus Cast in Iron The master ink painter is showcased in his first solo exhibition in the U.S. Frye Art Museum 5 Seattle Symphony Chamber Music Mahler and Brahms from SSO players. Benaroya Hall 6 The New Pornographers The Canadian indie rockers play with Neko Case. The Showbox 6 Steven Pinker The Sense of Style: The
seattleimmersivetheatre.org 3–Nov. 2 The Vaudevillians Two 1920s
Seattle University 6 Nicholas Carr The journalist and Pulitzer
ground, seattleexperimentaltheater.com 3–18 The Pillowman An author’s short stories
contain creepy resemblances to a series of child murders in this edgy drama. SecondStory Reper-
Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul Book by Peter Duchan Based on the Warner Bros. film and screenplay by Bob Comfort
206-938-0339 www.ArtsWest.org A Co-Production
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atre’s interactive tale about the paranormal, both set in and staged at the Georgetown Steam Plant,
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musicians are frozen in time and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag.” Seattle Rep 4 Do You Know Bruce? An exhibition on Bruce Lee’s life and role in Seattle played. Ends next year. Wing Luke Museum, wingluke.org 4 Brandon Boyd The frontman of Incubus mixes media in So the Echo. University Bookstore
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4 The Thurston Moore Band with Sebadoh
Sonic Youth’s man-child and Lou Barlow’s lo-fi alt-band. ’90s nostalgia forever! Neumos 4 Byrd Ensemble Choral music from the Spanish renaissance. St. Mark’s Cathedral, byrd
ensemble.com
OCTOBER 7-28TH
4–5 Basie Bash The 17-piece Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra honors Count Basie. Benaroya
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Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century is the new manual by the cognitive scientist.
Prize finalist discusses his new book The Glass Cage: Automation and Us. Town Hall 6 Ryan Adams He emerged from the altcountry scene and blurred genres. The Paramount 6 Waiting in the Wings The Endangered Species Project features a funny and bittersweet story about former stage actresses living in a not-sofancy retirement home. ACT Theatre 6 King Crimson The definitive prog-rock band. The Moore 7 Bombay Bicycle Club Dubbed by NME “the
hottest band to come from North London for quite some time.” The Showbox 7 Ignite! Seattle A fast–paced speaking series where presenters are limited by time. Town Hall
Univ. Heights Community Center, Rm 207 5031 University Ave NE This class will introduce basic aikido techniques, and the art of safe falling and rolling. The course also covers the basic exercises of ki training: Centering/Balance and Movement Relaxation Focus and Energy Extension Intro to Breathing and Meditation Techniques Completion of this course prepares the student to participate in any of Seattle Ki-Aikido’s ongoing classes (currently Tu/Th/Sat). TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION $20-$40 suggested
Instructor Steven Li has practiced
ki-aikido for over 25 years in the northwest, holding a 4th Dan (black belt) rank
34
MATTHEW MURPHY
SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
info@seattlekisociety.org • voicemail: 206-782-7877 (instructor)
CALL FOR
4 Branford Marsalis From this sax master, baroque works with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. Meany Hall, uwworldseries.org 4 Trio Pardalote Their ongoing series of Shostakovich’s 15 string quartets (they’re up to #12) makes room for Britten and Irving Fine too.
ARTISTS
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Kenyon Hall, triopardalote.wordpress.com 4 Garfunkel and Oates This comedy/folk
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duo—Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci—slays with cuteness and wit. The Neptune
DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 17
THE 2015 ANNUAL WASHINGTON STATE JURIED ART COMPETITION Open to all Washington State artists
enter: CallForEntry.org info: CVGShow.com 360.551.7526
Kinky Boots, coming to the 5th Avenue.
4 Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers
Over $9000 in Awards! sponsored in part by:
7 Katherine Applegate Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla is an ageappropriate introduction for children to issues of captivity and the welfare of animals. University
Bookstore 7 Queer Russia LGBTQ figures who shaped the country’s culture and destiny. ACT Theatre 7–26 Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie), with a score by Cyndi Lauper. 5th Avenue Theatre 8 Sara Farizan & Rebea Brown discuss issues
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An odd miscellany; Bach, Wagner, Johann Strauss, etc. First Free Methodist Church, osscs.org 4 Lily Allen English pop singer who looks tough but sounds like an angel. The Paramount 4–5 Clarinettissimo Recitals, master classes, vendors, and more. Seattle Pacific University,
of sexuality and identity in their new books, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel and Gifts of the Body. UW Q Center 8 Tai Murray From this violinist, Pärt’s Fratres and sonatas by Debussy and Corigliano. PON-
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Agent of Hel, part of an urban fantasy series about a paranormal tourist town. University Bookstore
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osbornmusic.com STAFF PICK
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CHO Concert Hall, cornish edu. 8 Jacqueline Carey returns with Poison Fruit:
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8 DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist Cult hip-hop djs play vinyl culled from Afrika Bambaataa’s historic collection. The Neptune
8 The Color of Time: The History of Early Photography and Process Tod Gangler discusses his
success in carbon printing and early photography after 20 years. Nordic Heritage Museum 8 Sheila Weller The News Sorority draws on interviews with close friends and colleagues to weave a narrative of how Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, and Christiane Amanpour broke into the boys’ club of news. Simpson Center for the
Humanities, bookstore.washington.edu 8–26 A Lesson From Aloes Set in South Africa
during apartheid, the play explores the psychology of survival and politics. Taproot Theatre 9 Cornel West He analyzes six influential people from the 19th and 20th centuries and the revolution in black society in Black Prophetic Fire. Town Hall, 9–12 UW Chamber Dance Company The
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mission of this resident company is to explore the history of modern dance, but sometimes they’re looking at very recent developments. This time out they’re starting in 1983, with Nacho Duato’s ballet and modern hybrid Jardi Tancat and finishing in 2011 with excerpts from Susan Marshall’s postmodern classic Cloudless. Shapiro and Smith’s 1989 To Have and to Hold sits in between, for a trio of works exploring what it means to find support from your community during hard times. SK
Meany Hall, dance.washington.edu/events 9 Antoinette Wills & John D. Bolcer University
of Washington provides a comprehensive history of the institution. University Bookstore 9 Marcelo Gleiser His book The Island of Knowledge questions and explores whether there is an “ultimate truth.” Town Hall 9–12 The Man Who Can Forget Anything A blend of film, music, theater, from Greg Lachow and Megan Murphy. On the Boards
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9–19 Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
The 19th year of showcasing the latest and best in queer cinema. Northwest Film Forum (and other
venues), threedollarbillcinema.org 9–Jan. 11 Pop Departures An exhibit on
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may have changed his luck when he befriends a carnivorous plant from space. Bainbridge Performing Arts, bainbridgeperformingarts.org 10–26 A Lesson From Aloes Athol Fugard’s drama is set in South Africa in 1963. Taproot Theatre, thaliasumbrella.org 10–Nov. 26 Earshot Jazz Festival Celebrat-
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ing the “Masters, Monsters, and Mentors” of the genre at venues across town. earshot.org 10–Feb. 1 Nick Mount From Australia, he shows an array of new works in glass. Bellevue
Arts Museum 10–Feb. 1 John Economaki Quality Is Conta-
gious displays the fanciful tools created in his studio Bridge City Tool Works. Bellevue Arts Museum 11 Gabriel Campanario Seattle Sketcher is a selection from the Seattle Times column of the same name: essays on everyday moments and people in Seattle. University Bookstore 11–Dec. 7 American Art Masterworks New additions to SAM are featured, including Raphaelle Peale’s Still Life With Strawberries and Ostrich Egg Cup and Winslow Homer’s Lost on the Grand Banks. Seattle Art Museum 11 Whose Live Anyway? Games from the improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway, with many new ones. The Moore 11 Opus 7 Choral works by Northwest composers. Trinity Parish Church, opus7.org 11 Cuong Vu Trio Innovative jazz from this trumpeter. Meany Hall, uwworldseries.org 11–12 Auburn Symphony Mendelssohn’s atmospheric The Hebrides, plus Prokofiev and Beethoven. Theatre at Auburn Mountainview,
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auburnsymphony.org 11–April 26 Ann Hamilton: the common sense
Her new works that explore human and animal relationships. Henry Art Gallery, henryart.org
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12 WORDLESS! Art Spiegelman and Philip Johnston Slides, talk, and musical performance
covering the pair’s first graphic novels and silent picture stories. The Moore 12 Shonen Knife have been around since the ’80s, and are heavily influenced by ’60s girl groups and early punk. Tractor Tavern 12 Philharmonia Northwest Pärt, Sibelius, and Peteris Vasks’ flute concerto with soloist Paul Taub. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church,
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philharmonianw.org 12 Tri Minh Quartet A modern take on traditional Vietnamese music. PONCHO Concert Hall 12 Angus & Julia Stone If you haven’t heard
The cult film based on the off-Broadway hit returns with free tambourines and gummy bears for all attendees. Costumes and big hair encouraged! SIFF Cinema Egyptian 10 Wetlands An eccentric teen with strange attitudes toward hygiene and sexuality longs for the reunion of her divorced parents. Sundance
Seattle Center, nwfolklife.org 12 of Montreal has evolved from psychedelic pop to funk/glam/afrobeat. The Neptune 13 Beckett on the Radio The radio plays of
10 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Sing-Along
Cinemas, sundancecinemas.net 10 Mammoth Mania Your last chance to see Lulu’s tusk before it gets sent away. Burke Museum, burkemuseum.org 10 Lodro Rinzler The author of The Buddha
Walks Into a Bar is back with The Buddha Walks Into the Office, giving advice on applying Buddhism in the workplace. University Bookstore 10 twenty one pilots Indie-pop duo known for electrifying live performances. The Neptune 10–19 Seattle Polish Film Festival One of North American’s oldest and largest. Polish film festivals, that is. SIFF Cinema Uptown 10–26 Little Shop of Horrors Dweeby Seymour
this brother/sister folk duo’s cover of “You’re the One That I Want,” you need to. Neumos 12 Seattle Children’s Festival Free music, workshops, and international dance performances.
Samuel Beckett, with an all-star cast, from Seattle’s Sandbox Radio LIVE! ACT Theatre 13 Greg Bear He discusses his new sci-fi book War Dogs, about humans partnering with an alien race. University Bookstore 14 Nas: Time Is Illmatic Tour In celebration of Illmatic’s 20th anniversary, there will be a screening of a new Nas documentary followed by a live performance of Illmatic in its entirety. The Moore 14 Marlon James A Brief History of Seven Killings fictionalizes an attempted assassination of Bob Marley. University Bookstore 14 Mark Bittman The New York Times
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» CONTINUED ON PAGE 37
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
the decades following the pop art of the 1960s and what it says about consumer culture and the cult of celebrity. Seattle Art Museum 10 Justin Wadland Trying Home is his new nonfiction book about the town of Home, Washington. University Bookstore
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
“The voracious sweep of postmillennial jazz has plenty of exemplars but few truer than the trumpeter Cuong Vu.” —The New York Times
36
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Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley · Northwest Arts Alliance · Book It Repertory Theater Seattle Theatre Group · Experience Music Project · Seattle Art Museum Seattle Men’s & Women’s Chorus · Bellevue Arts Museum · F+W Media Broadway Across America · Teatro Zinzanni · UW Meany Hall · Arts West
SCAN HERE TO ENTER:
FALL ARTS 2014 » FROM PAGE 35 columnist’s Cooking Quickly in a Fast-Paced World offers time-saving tips. Town Hall
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14 Mary Randlett and Frances McCue: Images of the Northwest The PNW photogra-
pher shares her collection of photographs, Mary Randlett Portraits, with essays by the founding director of Hugo House. Town Hall 16 Nick Swardson Known for his work on Reno 911! and his sketch-comedy series Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time. The Moore 17 Cory Doctorow In Real Life is a graphic novel, with a female protagonist, about adolescence, gaming, and poverty. University Bookstore 17 Dear White People A satirical comedy about race, set in colleage. Opens wide 17 Big Freedia The New Orleans sensation made Bumbershoot twerk its butt off. Neumos 17 Seattle Symphony The first “Untitled” concert of the season (new music in the Benaroya lobby) includes excerpts from Ligeti’s Dadaist opera Le grand macabre. Benaroya Hall
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17–18 The Mutant Diaries: Unzipping My Genes A funny musical comedy about cancer. Stone Soup Theatre, stonesouptheatre.org 17–19 Bob Dylan For more than five decades,
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the singer/songwriter has influenced music and social movements. The Paramount
17–26 The Cherdonna Show: Worth My Salt
The LGBTQ, burlesque, and drag icon’s first evening-length solo show. Velocity Dance Center 17–31 All Monsters Attack! The GI’s annual Halloween tribute indcludes Cat People and I Walked With a Zombie, plus a healthy handful of oddities chosen by the folks at Scarecrow Video.
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Grand Illusion 17–26 New Play Festival Seattle Rep’s show-
case of new work by Denis O’Hare, Lisa Peterson, Cheryl L. West, and Arlitia Jones. PONCHO The-
ater, seattlerep.org 18 Lena Dunham Not That Kind of Girl, a
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collection of personal essays, is the first book from the star and creator of HBO’s Girls. University
up millions of hits with their covers—all recorded in the tour van—of songs like Hall and Oates’ “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do).” Showbox SoDo 18 The Not–Its! The Seattle–based “Kindie Rock” band teaches children about haircuts, love, bugs, and cat videos. Town Hall 18 Sing It Forward Soiree Support Village Theatre’s Youth Education and Outreach Program at this elegant evening. Village Theatre 18 Ensign Symphony & Chorus Beethoven’s joyful Ninth. Benaroya Hall, seattleensign.org 18–19 Showtunes Theatre Company Try to remember what a hit The Fantasticks was when this musicals-in-concert troupe revives it. Benaroya
Recital Hall, showtunestheatre.org 18–Nov. 1 Seattle Opera Mozart’s gran seduttóre is back in Don Giovanni. McCaw Hall, seattleopera.org 19 Barry Lieberman and Friends Double-bass
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solos from the Tacoma Symphony’s Chris Burns.
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STAFF PICK
Play, the story follows four siblings, commenting on age and entitlement. ACT Theatre 20 MO She’s causing a stir in the blogosphere for prompting a bidding war with no albums and only two online tracks. The Neptune 21 Bonobo The British producer and DJ tours his latest album, The North Borders, and will be recording it for a live album. Neumos 21–26 Beauty and the Beast Disney’s animated classic–turned–hit Broadway musical comes to Seattle. The Paramount
21–Dec. 27 Appalachian Christmas Homecoming A touching story of three generations warms hearts for the holidays. Taproot Theatre 22 The Psychedelic Furs and the Lemonheads
The two alternative bands come together for a nostalgia-laden tour. The Showbox 22 Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness From Something Corporate to Jack’s Mannequin, he now performs under his own name. The Neptune 22 Jacky Terrasson “The most widely traveled of all jazz pianists” and trio. PONCHO Concert Hall 22 Seattle Philharmonic An all-American program with music by Gail Kubik, Bernard Herrmann, and others. Benaroya Hall, seattlephil.org 23 Ballard: Best Place Ever Come together for a community event celebrating the best of old and new Ballard. Nordic Heritage Museum
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23–25 Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenco
Barrio is reaching far beyond the standard flamenco presentation for this tour, turning instead to Sophocles’ Antigone for a dramatic framework that can stand up to the heightened theatricality of the dance form. The innate power of flamenco should be a wonderful match for Sophocles’ examination of honor and duty. SK Meany Hall, meany.org
23 Jess Walter with Mary Ann Gwinn: LitCrawl Seattle The Spokane author of The
Financial Lives of the Poets joins the books editor of The Seattle Times. Town Hall, litcrawl.org 23 Domingo Martinez Also part of the same citywide LitCrawl schedule, the local memoirist (SEE PAGE 27) will read from his My Heart Is a Drunken Compass. Then his brother Derek, prominent in the book, gets to read a rebuttal of sorts.
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Richrd Hugo House 23 Chris Kattan Of Saturday Night Live and A Night at the Roxbury. Parlor Live Seattle 23–Nov. 1 Ghost Game VIII The purveyors of
strange stage magic continue their explorations. Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, cabiri.org 23–26 Opposing Forces Choreographer
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Amy O’Neal gets her B-Boy on. SEE PROFILE, PAGE 17. On the Boards 23–Nov. 16 The Pride A play about self-discovery in the midst of a love triangle. ArtsWest 23–Nov. 22 Dogfight A musical based on the 1991 film about three young Marines on the night before their deployment to Vietnam in 1963, produced by Balagan Theatre and ArtsWest. ArtsWest 24 Chris Guillebeau The Happiness of Pursuit suggests that the key to lifelong happiness is undertaking a quest. Town Hall 24 Alejandro Escovedo & Peter Buck They play a special one-night-only performance. Benar-
RISE AND SHINE Elevate the Conversation Join us at the Space Needle for breakfast and conversations on topics that matter most to women. Diverse speakers will present compelling stories and experiences that will inform and inspire you.
Takes place at SkyLine, the 100’ level of the Space Needle 7:30am-9:30am
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35 single seminar $ 90 package of four seminars
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spaceneedle.com/elevate-the-conversation
oya Hall, benaroyahall.org 24 Jodi Picoult She reads from Leaving Time,
a story about love and loss that incorporates her
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 38
$
PURCHASE ONLINE AT
UPCOMING SPEAKERS October 21 Jade Beall
A world-renown Photographer specializing in truthful images of women. Her recent work "A Beautiful Body Project" has touched 100,000's of women's lives and garnered global attention from media outlets including the BBC, The Huffington Post & beyond. Jade will speak about body image and empowering women to love themselves as they are.
November 18 Jennifer Shea Owner of award-winning Trophy Cupcakes
December 9 J. A. Jance
New York Times best-selling author
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
Temple United Methodist Church, bookstore. washington.edu 18 Phish Its new Fuego, was produced by Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, etc.). Key Arena 18 Ex Hex All-girl D.C. punk band. Barboza 18 The Horrors English garage/shoegaze/postpunk band. The Neptune 18 Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers have racked
Brechemin Auditorium, UW campus, music. washington.edu 19–Nov. 16 Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best
37
FALL ARTS 2014 » FROM PAGE 37 research on elephants. Seattle Public Central
Library, elliottbaybook.com 24 Lake Union Civic Orchestra Premiering
PLU student Taylor Whatley’s Fanfare Giocoso.
Town Hall, luco.org 24 Cappella Romana Sacred choral works from the Serbian Orthodox tradition. St. Joseph’s Parish, cappellaromana.org 24 Patty Griffin This folk singer/songwriter has
been covered by musicians including Emmylou Harris and the Dixie Chicks. The Moore 24 Laggies Lynn Shelton filmed her latest comedy right here in Seattle; it stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Keira Knightley, and Sam Rockwell. Theater TBD 24 Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn Jack Black’s
character in High Fidelity would have a serious problem with you if you said you hadn’t seen Evil Dead 2 yet: “Because it’s a brilliant film. It’s so funny, and violent, and the soundtrack kicks fucking ass.” SIFF Cinema Egyptian 24–26 Simple Measures Celebrating 10 years of top-notch chamber music in informal places with Mendelssohn’s thrilling Octet. Various
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venues, simplemeasures.org 24–26 Seattle Symphony Lots of Bach and Handel, led by Nicholas McGegan. Benaroya Hall 24–26 Servant of Two Masters Double the
pay and double the hijinks in Goldoni’s comedy.
Seattle Public Theater 24–30 Irish Reels Film Festival The annual fest
offers a sampler of contemporary Irish cinema, usually with a few guests. SIFF Film Center 24–Nov. 1 Stories for Bad Children Cautionary tales from the Vox Fabuli Puppets and others.
Richard Hugo House, voxfabuli.com 25 Perfume Genius Mike Hadreas is a Seattle– based solo artist. The Neptune 25 Loudon Wainwright III 20 albums, three Grammy nominations. Benaroya Hall 25 HOME: Leaning on a Moment Left Behind
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The life of dancer Kate Lounsbury is celebrated through a performance of solo dance and poetry.
SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
Washington Hall, deborahbirranedance.org 25 Paula Poundstone Stand-up known for her on-the-spot observational comedy. The Moore 25 Metronomy This English electronic music
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group has remixed artists like the Gorillaz and Franz Ferdinand. Neumos 25 Northwest Symphony Holst’s Planets (with high-def space images) plus Hovhaness and Wagner. Highline Performing Arts Center,
northwestsymphonyorchestra.org 25 Paul Kikuchi Chamber music from this Seattle composer. Chapel Performance Space, paulkikuchi.com 25 Cabin in the Woods From the mind of Joss
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Whedon. You think you know horror films, but you have no idea. SIFF Cinema Egyptian 26 Music Northwest Vocal chamber music from Northwest composers. First Lutheran
Church of West Seattle, musicnorthwest.org 26 Onyx Chamber Players Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. First Church Seattle, onyx chamberplayers.com 27 Jane Smiley Some Luck follows the lives of an Iowa farmg family. Seattle Public Library 27 Trader Joe’s Silent Movie Mondays The
original 1925 Phantom of the Opera in celebration of the upcoming musical. The Paramount
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STAFF PICK
28 William Gibson His suspenseful novel The Peripheral alternates between the near and distant future. University Bookstore 28 Heatwarmer This indie group collaborates with musicians from UW’s DXARTS. Meany
Hall, music.washington.edu 28 & Nov. 1 Jonathan Powell From this
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British pianist, outragesouly challenging works by Sorabji. SEE PREVIEW, PAGE 21. 30–Nov. 9 5 By Beckett Five short plays: Act Without Words I and II, Rough for Theatre I and II, and Catastrophe. ACT Theatre 30 D.L. Hughley of The Original Kings of Comedy and The Hughleys. Parlor Live Seattle 30 UW Symphony Strauss’ jaunty Horn Concerto no. 1 (with the Seattle Symphony’s Jeff Fair) plus Dvorak and Mendelssohn. Meany Hall, music.washington.edu 30–Nov. 2 Seattle Symphony Mozart’s
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Requiem and Strauss’ Metamorphosen—a requiem in its way, too, written in Germany as WWII was ending. Benaroya Hall 31 Global Rhythms Los Texmaniacs with Flaco Jimenez. Town Hall 31 Halloween Organ Concert An anuual tradition from students of Carole Terry. Kane Hall,
music.washington.edu 31 Courtney Barnett Something like Australia’s Cat Power, with pipes to match. The Neptune 31–Nov. 20 Endgame/NDGM Ghost Light
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Theatricals expands on Beckett’s one-act with their own new work. Ballard Underground, ghost lighttheatricals.org 31–March 29 BAM Biennial 2014: Knock on Wood Two dozen artists, including John Grade, mess with timber. Bellevue Arts Museum 31 Nightcrawler Jake Gyllenhaal is getting
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strong buzz for his portrayal of a bottom-feeding L.A. paparazzi. Opens Wide
November
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1 Lewis Black Comedian and social critic known for his angry face and comedy style. The
Paramount 1 Seattle Baroque Music from colonial Boston, . Town Hall, earlymusicguild.org 1 The Black Keys Rock duo with a raw blues sound. Key Arena 1 Minus the Bear Seattle indie-rock band formed in 2001. The Crocodile, thecrocodile.com 1 Pissed Jeans Sub Pop’s hardcore punk band help will help you rage, but in a good way. Barboza 1 Jeffrey Lewis Singer/songwriter of the antifolk genre; kind of the male Kimya Dawson. Chop Suey, chopsuey.com 1 Bjork: Biophilia Live A concert film capturing her multidisciplinary project. The Neptune 1–2 Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra
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“Quincy and Ray on Jackson Street” salutes 1940s jazz on the Seattle street where Jones and Charles got their starts. Benaroya Recital Hall 1–22 Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Theatre Off Jackson, porkfilled.com 2 Dia de los Muertos Community Festival
Celebrate the traditional Latin American holiday honoring life and death. Tacoma Art Mueseum,
tacomaartmuseum.org 2–Feb. 22 Leo Adams: Eastern Light A show-
case for the renowned Yakima-based artist and designer. Whatcom Museum
4 The Lives of the Great Russian Composers
Music and prose is blended to celebrate Pushkin,
Lermontov, and Shakespeare. ACT Theatre 4 Mary Black Catch this acclaimed Irish singer in her Benaroya debut. Benaroya Hall 4 Yoram Bauman Learn while you laugh with The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change. Uni-
versity Bookstore 5 Jana Harris You Haven’t Asked About My Wed-
ding or What I Wore is a reconstruction of the lives of North American pioneer women based on their letters and diaries. University Bookstore 5 Deltron Conceptual hip-hop supergroup Del The Funky Homosapien, Kid Koala, and Dan “The Automator” Nakamura reunite for the longanticipated Deltron 3030: Event II. The Showbox 5 NOW Ensemble Music by Judd Greenstein and Derek Bermel, part of the Town Music series at Town Hall, townhallseattle.org 6 Inverted Space UW’s new-music ensemble plays Steve Reich, Alvin Lucier, and more. Jones
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Playhouse, music.washington.edu 6-8 Three Yells Moon Falling is the local dance troupe’s new work. Velocity Dance Center, velocitydancecenter.org. 6 Cafe Nordo The projected opening date
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for their new culinary/theater show (a lampoon of Don Quixote is promised) in their new home, the former Elliott Bay Book Co. cafenordo.com 6–8 Seattle Symphony Conductor/composer Esa-Pekka Salonen’s violin concerto, plus Barber and Tchaikovsky. Benaroya Hall 6–29 Joan Tenenbaum: 50 Playful Things
A showcase of her new non-indigenous jewelry.
ity Dance Center 7–16 Pacific Northwest Ballet: Director’s Choice PNB’s November production is usually
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designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa,join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. SK McCaw Hall, pnb.org 7–22 tick, tick . . . BOOM! Jonathan Larson’s semi-memoirish precursor to Rent tels of a young composer of musicals. SecondStory Repertory,
secondstoryrep.org 7 Rosewater Jon Stewart directs his first
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movie, a true story about journalist (Gael García Bernal) detained and tortured in Iran. It’s based on the memoir by Maziar Bahari, who was a guest on The Daily Show. Opens Wide 8 King Corn This food doc combines the best parts of King Lear, Children of the Corn, and The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Seattle Public Theater 8 Chris Hadfield The famed Bowie-singing Canadian astronaut discusses his new book Around the World in 92 Minutes: Photographs From the International Space Station. University Bookstore 9 Music of Remembrance Spectrum Dance Theater premieres new dances set to Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht to mark the 76th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Benaroya Hall 10 Elissa Washuta My Body Is a Book of Rules
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Center Northwest, pcnw.org 7 Relient K Commercially successful and prolific Christian rock/pop punk band. The Neptune 7 Seattle Composers Salon A bimonthly newmusic open-mike night. Chapel Performance Space, composersalon.com 7 Pacific MusicWorks Monteverdi madrigals in “Songs of Love and War.” Benaroya Recital Hall, pacificmusicworks.org
“Ahm goin’ to space, y’all!” McConaughey in Interstellar.
is a memoir that weaves pop culture and neurobiology with memories of sexual trauma. SEE PROFILE, PAGE 25. University Bookstore 11 Hardworking Americans Singer/songwriter Todd Snider’s new project. The Showbox 11 Fidelio Trio This Irish piano trio plays works by local composers as part of the Washington Composers Forum’s “Transport” series. Chapel
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» CONTINUED ON PAGE 40
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
PARAMOUNT/WARNER
Stonington Gallery, stoningtongallery.com 6–29 Scott Jensen: Masks New human faces in alder and cedar. Stonington Gallery 6–27 Allison Collins: Another Turn The Northwest artist’s timeless landscapes. Foster/White Gallery 6–Dec. 20 Well Read: Visual Explorations of the Book Explore the conceptualization of the book and its internal landscapes. Photographic
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7 Interstellar Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain ventur through a wormhole in space (or something) in this highly anticipated sci-fi movie from Chris Nolan (of the recent Batman movies). Opens Wide 7–8 Moon Falling Catch an opening rehearsal for the anticipated new work of Lee-Baik. Veloc-
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29,000 FANS AND COUNTING facebook.com/seattleweekly
» FROM PAGE 39
November 7 to 9
independent
festival 2014
FALL ARTS 2014
COLUMBIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS 215 Cascade Ave. Hood River, OR Opening Reception Friday Nov 7th at 7:00pm Closing Ceremony Sunday Nov 9th at 6:00pm $35/3 days • $15/day www.columbiaarts.org Sponsored in part by Oregon Arts Commission
Performance Space, washingtoncomposers.org 12 GWAR Outfitted in grotesque costumes, this
thrash-metal band is themed around an elaborate sci–fi mythology. Showbox SoDo 13 David Alan Grier of In Living Color et al.
Parlor Live Seattle 13 Anthony de Mare Rethinking Sondheim songs as piano solos. PONCHO Concert Hall 13–16 Seattle Symphony A musical voice
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new to Seattle: Colors of the Southern Cross by Argentina’s Esteban Benzecry. Benaroya Hall 13–23 Fail Better: Beckett Moves UMO A play based on the prose of Samuel Beckett deals with existential questions of life and love. ACT Theatre 13–Dec. 23 Dick Whittington and His Cat Poor orphaned Dick finds himself in the big city of London, where he meets a remarkable cat. Seattle Children’s Theatre
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15 Shakey Graves He’s a one-man band from Austin known for his bluesy guitar work. Ladies think he’s pretty cute, too. Neumos 15 Cat Winters The Cure for Dreaming follows a young suffragist in 1900’s Oregon. University
Bookstore 15 Play Date A husband-and-wife children’smusic duo. Town Hall 16 Grand Expansion at Tacoma Art Museum The museum’s new wing and renovations
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showcase the Haub Family collection of Western American Art. Tacoma Art Museum 16 John Cleese The actor and comedian reads from his new memoir So Anyway. University
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Temple United Methodist Church, bookstore. washington.edu 16 Cornish Early Music Faculty Baroque sonatas and opera arias. PONCHO Concert Hall 16 The 1975 These English art-rockers thrill critics and fans alike. The Paramount
SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
JENNY GRAHAM
Jack Willis (left) as LBJ and Kenajuan Bentley as MLK in All the Way.
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14 Joan Baez Ever the voice of the ’60s, the singer/songwriter/activist still advocates for social and political causes. The Moore 14 Dumb and Dumber To Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels search for long-lost children 20 years after the first adventure. Opens wide 14 The Symphony Guild Mateo Messina’s annual benefit concert for Children’s Hospital. Benaroya Hall, thesymphonyguild.org 14 Northwest Sinfonietta Julian Schwarz
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plays the cello concerto written for him by Seattle composer Samuel Jones. Benaroya Recital Hall, nwsinfonietta.org • 14 Jon Kimura Parker Beethoven’s “Moon-
light” Sonata, plus piano fantasies based on Hitchcock scores and The Wizard of Oz. Meany Hall,
uwworldseries.org 24 Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra Bach, Elgar, and Mozart’s 35th. First Free Methodist Church, seattlemetropolitanchamber orchestra.com 14 Mudhoney A big player in Seattle’s grunge roots. Neumos 14–Jan. 4 All the Way A play chronicling
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LBJ’s tumultuous first year in office. Local playwright Robert Schenkkan won a Tony for the recent production starring Bryan Cranston. Seattle Repertory Theatre, seattlerep.org
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STAFF PICK
18 Flying Lotus Music producer/electronic musician/rapper from L.A. The Neptune 18 Miró Quartet Haydn and Beethoven, plus a new piece by American composer Gunther Schuller. Meany Hall, uwworldseries.org 18 Gordon Mumma A lecture/demo from this electronic-music pioneer and Merce Cunningham collaborator. PONCHO Concert Hall
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19-25 PULP: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets The ’90s British rockers reonvene for a concert in Sheffield. Grand Illusion 20 Makana Singer, activist, and pioneer of “slack–rock.” Benaroya Hall 20–22 Bleed, Poem, and Secret Mary Cho-
reographer Tere O’Connors blends three dance pieces into one singular fluid piece. On the Boards 20–22 Seattle Symphony Beethoven’s Fifth, plus Rossini and Respighi. Benaroya Hall 20–22 Touch Me Here Dancers Peggy Piacenza and Scott Bell join forces. Washington Hall, squidmgmt.com/events 21 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Katniss Everdeen reluctantly becomes the symbol of a rebellion against the Capitol. Opens wide 22 Adam Carolla Podcast Catch a taping of the comedian/host’s new gig. The Neptune 22–March 29 Live On: Mr.’s Japanese NeoPop The contemporary Japanese artist known as Mr. delves deeply into anime and manga. Seattle Asian Art Museum
21 Funky Turns 40: The Black Character Revolution Classic cartoons of the 1970s. Northwest African American History Museum 21–30 Taj Mahal Trio Prolific and award-
winning blues musicians for almost 50 years.
Jazz Alley, jazzalley.com 23 Seattle Youth Symphony Scheherazade,
Rimsky-Korsakov’s colorful evocation of A Thousand and One Nights. Benaroya Hall, syso.org 23 Thalia Symphony Arias by Gounod, Lehar, and others. Town Hall, thaliasymphony.org 23 Byron Schenkman and Friends Chamber music by Mozart and Weber. Benaroya
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Recital Hall, byronschenkman.com 23 Cornish Piano Trio Pianist Cristina Val-
des, cellist David Requiro, and violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim. PONCHO Concert Hall, cornish.edu 23 Auburn Symphony Chamber Series
Schoenberg’s ravishing Verklärte Nacht for string sextet. St. Matthew Episcopal Church, auburn
symphony.org 23 John Oliver You love this Brit (now an
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American citizen, actually) on HBO; now see him live. The Paramount 25–26 King Lear Broadcast from the Globe Theatre, Shakespeare’s tragedy. The Moore 25–Dec. 28 Pride and Prejudice A stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s comic novel about courtship, decorum, and not making snap judgments. Book–It Repertory Theatre 25–Dec. 31 A Christmas Story This year, instead of TBS’ 24-hour broadcast, see the musical version onstage! 5th Avenue Theatre 26 Usher The soulful singer/songwriter promises special guests and surprises on the UR Experience tour. Key Arena 28 Noah Gundersen This Olympia singer/ songwriter has released three EPs and one studio album as a solo artist. The Moore 28–30 Brandi Carlile returns to her hometown with the Seattle Symphony. Benaroya Hall 28–Dec. 28 A Christmas Carol He may be a miser onstage, but Scrooge’s been very generous to ACT over the years. ACT Theatre
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28–Dec. 28 Pacific Northwest Ballet: Nutcracker Catch the much-loved Maurice
Sendak production in its final season after 31 years. McCaw Hall 29–Dec. 22 Seattle Men’s Chorus For many, it wouldn’t be Christmas without their holiday show.
December
2–7 Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! the Musical Based on the original animated
special? Or the Jim Carrey vulgarization? Guess we’ll find out. The Paramount 4–7 Now I’m Fine An experimental pop opera led by comedian/musician/storyteller Ahamefule Oluo. On the Boards 4–21 Ham for the Holidays: Fear the Bacon
Celebrate the absurdity of the holidays with this gender-bent holiday sketch show. ACT Theatre 4–24 Christmastown A holiday noir. Seattle
Public Theater 5 Meat Puppets Blending punk, country, and psychedelic rock since the ’80s. Neumos 5 Wild Reese Witherspoon stars in this hik-
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ing/rehab tale, based on the bestselling memoir by Cheryl Strayed. People are already saying nice things about her performance. Opens wide 5 UW Symphony Puccini’s comic one-act Gianni Schicchi in concert. Meany Hall, music.
washington.edu
LBJ’s life as a politician and fall from grace, the sequel to local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s All the Way. Seattle Repertory Theatre 6 Couch Fest 2014 Take part in a film crawl throughout the living rooms of your Seattle neighbors. couchfestfilms.com 6 Rufus Wainwright Touring in support of Vibrate: The Best of Rufus Wainwright. The Moore 6 & 13 Seattle Pro Musica French Christmas music. Various venues, seattlepromusica.org 7 Gamelan Pacifica Cornish’s resident Indonesian percussion orchestra. PONCHO
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10.25.2014 the
Seattle Erotic Art Festival presents: Seattle’s sexiest Halloween party
Concert Hall, cornish.edu 9 Tim Federle Hickory Daiquiri Dock: Cocktails
With a Nursery Rhyme Twist is perfect for new parents. University Bookstore 9 A John Waters Christmas Spreading holiday fear with his one-man show. The
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Paramount 10 Steve Hackett: Genesis Extended Classics and fan favorites. The Moore 11–13 Seattle Symphony Joshua Roman
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premieres Mason Bates’ cello concerto.
Benaroya Hall 11–27 Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker The ninth annual staging of this festive and titillating tradition. The Triple Door 13 Metropolitan Opera It still aches that
Seattle Opera had to cancel the Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg they’d planned as Speight Jenkins’ send-off—but you can see this Met production in a movie theater near you. fathomevents.org 13–24 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Six
9pm - 2am Seattle Center Exhibition(ist!) Hall tickets available via strangertickets.com
delinquent children take over and tell the Christmas story. Seattle Public Theater 17 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The Company of Thorin has reached the lair of Smaug; will they reclaim the treasure? Opens wide 17–18 The Piano Guys gained popularity through posting videos of piano and cello renditions of popular songs. The Paramount 19–31 It’s a Wonderful Life The GI screens Frank Capra’s holiday classic for the 44th year. (Exact dates still pending.)
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Grand Illusion 20 Duke Ellington Sacred Music Concert
Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra recreates the Sacred Music jazz concerts that began during the 1960s. Benaroya Recital Hall 25 The Interview Seth Rogan and James Franco star as two journalists who attempt to assassinate Kim Jong–un. Opens wide 25 Paddington A young bear and British travel enthusiast seeks a home in London. Opens wide 25 Unbroken Angelina Jolie directs the true story of runner/war hero Louis Zamperini, the subject of Laura Hillenbrand’s bestselling book, which relates an almost incredible tale of WWII hardship. (Fun fact: the Coen brothers helped write the screenplay.) Opens wide 25 Into the Woods Sondheim’s dark collation of fairy tales reaches the big screen, after a few aborted attempts. Opens wide 25 Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Lou becomes the “father of the Internet.” When he gets shot, his friends fire up the time machine. Opens wide 26 Straight No Chaser The 10-member a cappella group sings Wonder, Mraz, and more. The
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Paramount 31–Jan. 4 Seattle Symphony The traditional
year-end Beethoven’s Ninth, prefaced by Mozart’s “Paris” Symphony. Benaroya Hall
Sexy performances! Seattle’s top DJs! Enticing costumes! Erotic art! and more Brought to you by the Foundation for Sex Positive Culture The producers of SEAF http://seattleerotic.org/seduction/
we’ll put a spell on you
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
Benaroya Hall, flyinghouse.org
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5–Jan. 4 The Great Society A look into
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food&drink Convergence Zone
FoodNews BY MEGAN HILL
Roberto’s Venetian Trattoria is open in Pike Place Market. The northern Italian trattoria with water views will serve dishes like braised veal shank with saffron-infused risotto and many pasta dishes. We featured the restaurant earlier this year in a piece on restaurant architecture.
BY NICOLE SPRINKLE AND ZACH GEBALLE
D
amn the Weather in Pioneer Square opened early this summer to maximum buzz from local media—unsurprisingly, since former The Walrus and the Carpenter chef Eli Dahlin helms the kitchen and Jay Kuehner (Sambar) and Bryn Lumsden (Rob Roy) crafted the expansive drink menu. As a result, this ultrahip cocktail bar, serving small plates in an airy room with exposed brick befitting the neighborhood, is slammed on Thursday and Friday nights. As in: Get there by 5 or expect to wait at least 15 minutes. Since it bills itself first as a bar, table seating is limited to about six tables (with just a couple two-toppers, one of which is a cozy, romantic loveseat that I’ve coveted on both my visits). Given that cocktails are paramount to the experience, my drink columnist, Zach Geballe, and I decided to tag-team this one. Here’s what Zach has to say about that cocktail menu:
Joule and Revel chefs Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi have launched Trove on Capitol Hill. Their four-in-one restaurant includes a noodle counter, a parfait window, a bar, and Yang’s version of Korean barbecue. Theo Chocolate has released its fall confections, available for a limited time in the factory store only. They include apple cider caramel, pear balsamic ganache, and fig and fennel ganache. E morningfoodnews@gmail.com
TheWeeklyDish
Willapa Bay Grilled Oysters BY NICOLE SPRINKLE
Top left: a Yellow Daze. Top right: a sea-urchin omelet.
gle I mentioned above: both the cocktail and the dish were respectable, but they absolutely didn’t work together. The salty elements of the tartare (the sea beans and the crackers) clashed violently with the sweetness of the cocktail. Truthfully, the dish made we want a beer, which is exactly what Kuehner wisely brought me midway through, and I saved the rest of the cocktail for afterward. A decent compromise, but not what I wanted. While I didn’t try any other food, I’d imagine that problem arises with more than just the tartare. Flavors like sea urchin, octopus, and escargot don’t exactly have natural pairings in the cocktail world, yet the paltry wine and beer options do tend to steer you right back to spirits. It’s a challenge that stumped one of Seattle’s best bartenders, and it’s one that might need some serious thought before Damn the Weather proves that it has successfully married craft cocktails and contemporary cuisine. And speaking of cuisine, I’m going to hand the keyboard back over to Nicole for a focus on the food:
While I’m not as conscious of cocktail and food pairings as Zach—I choose my cocktail with little to no thought about what I’m going to eat—I do think that the ambitious snacks and small plates that are the conceit of the kitchen here beg for more beer and wine selections. But, as Zach has pointed out, this is ultimately a cocktail bar. So about that food. First of all, don’t come here expecting to leave full without dropping at least $80 (including a couple drinks). All things are created equal on this menu of small plates, which are either $10 or $12—whether a simple spaghetti with beef Bolognese or a sea-urchin omelet. Sizes are uniform too, so while you might infer that, say, a pasta dish or a pastrami burger will fill you up, think again. In a nutshell, two people need at least five to six dishes to make it a dinner. But that’s OK: This menu is designed either to help you soak up some of the alcohol or have a few bites before heading on to a proper meal. The bites I had ranged wildly from ho-hum to
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 44
If this Indian summer finds you driving south on scenic route 101, stop at River View Dining in South Bend, Wash., for some grilled Willapa Bay oysters. There’s a peek of river from this little shack but the real “view” is of owner Moreno standing over the massive grill/smoker on which he places the bivalves, occasionally squirting them with his sublime secret sauce. I’ve been there many a time before when he barely grunts out a hello. But when I caught him on this gorgeous Sunday, he was all in for a chat. “So what goes into that sauce,” I ask, trying to be nonchalant. “A whole lotta love,” he fires back. “Well, I taste garlic for sure. And white wine, is it?” I try. He chuckles. “It’s a 13-spice mix and it cooks slowly for a long time, like apple butter. I’ve been making it for 19 years.” That’s all he’s giving me. I ask about the type of oysters (plump and deep-cupped). He replies, “I just call ‘em Willapa oysters. I know a lot of folks from Seattle know all about the different varieties, but this is just what I get here. This is one of the last protected waterways, so I think that’s what makes them taste so good.” Internet research indeed reveals that the estuary has some of the cleanest water in the country, and that the oysters, though delicious in flavor, aren’t often found in restaurants on the half shell because they’re not pretty enough. That’s just more for Moreno. Bathing in that garklicky broth, these babies come out ever-so-slightly charred. Bite into one and juices come pouring out and fill the shell; slurp them fast while they’re hot and fresh.
NICOLE SPRINKLE
42
MORGEN SCHULER
SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
Pairing food with cocktails is surprisingly dif-
ficult. As the great Kingsley Amis once wrote, “Food is the curse of the drinking class,” and given his clear preference for spirits, it’s easy to understand what he meant. Cocktails have strong and complex flavors, not to mention a much higher level of alcohol than wine or beer, and as a result they tend to do best when consumed on their own. Yet with the current craze for craft cocktails not showing any signs of slowing, bars throughout Seattle are struggling with how to offer creative and interesting food while maintaining the level of cocktail complexity drinkers have come to expect. Damn the Weather is no different. The menu is heavily slanted toward spirits, so it’s clear they expect you to head in that direction. The limited beer and wine selections only reinforce that this is a cocktail bar first and foremost. It’s a well-built list, to be sure. The drinks are unique and diverse, with thoughtful choices within each category of spirit. I was excited to see calvados and genever (Dutch gin) get top billing, two spirits that I particularly like, and in each case the drink built around that base highlighted it well. I’m a fan of gin Old Fashioneds, but you definitely need a sturdier gin to stand up to the bitters and sugar, and Bols Genever is perfect for that application. Meanwhile, my calvados cocktail, the Yellow Daze, also used gin to draw out the natural apple flavors in the fruit brandy; it remained respectful of that base while complementing it nicely. Both cocktails, enjoyed on their own, were expertly made and discerningly constructed. The problems arose on the third drink, as they often do. I was curious to try a dish I’d heard about from a few friends, the beef-heart tartare. I asked my bartender, the very experienced Kuehner, to make me a drink to pair with it. I ended up with a blend of rye whiskey and an Italian amaro (Sibilla, if you’re keeping track at home). While it was very good, it underscored the strug-
LEE-ANN FROST CORRY
Cocktails and small plates collide at Damn the Weather—and the results are mixed.
nsprinkle@seattleweekly.com
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food&drink» Convergence Zone » FROM PAGE 42 pretty good. Expect to see all the buzzy verbiage of cool menus: lots of poached eggs, raw stuff, sea urchin, beef heart, oxtail, chanterelles, mostarda, and so on. However, the dishes often suffer from too much pomp and too little circumstance. Melons with speck, nasturtium, and 30-year balsamic, while refreshing and pleasant, have only three pieces of speck, little perceivable taste of the lauded balsamic, and a throwaway nasturtium garnish. Sweet-potato dumplings—essentially gnocchi—with brown butter, marjoram, and pecorino are good, but didn’t bring the sweetpotato forwardness I wanted. (Though anything drowned in enough brown butter and cheese is going to be tasty.) The pastrami burger, which I was particularly excited about, didn’t taste at all like pastrami (I’m not sure what it actually tasted like; a turkey burger, maybe?), and the “thousand island” dressing was also oddly bland. The worst offense: the stale brioche bun it was served on. I did like the pickled celery on top, though. The split-pea orecchiette with Italian sausage, rapini, tomato, chili, and parmesan is literally pasta (gluten-free and terribly textured) made from split peas. (I found that out by asking my waiter, who had to go and ask someone else, which happened two other times). Fortunately, however, the flavorful sauce helped make the pasta edible. What I did like: the tuna merguez sausage, literally tuna meat stuffed in a sausage casing and served over a zesty bulgur salad with roasted pepper, apricot (wish I could have found more than one tiny piece of it), and parsley; I loved the red-meat look and slight fishiness of the tuna. The sea-urchin omelet? Hands down my favorite item on the menu. It’s cooked in that wonderful rolled French style; ultra-thin and light as air. The uni flavor comes through beautifully, and the side of diced baby squash and squash blossoms is a fine touch. I saw no evidence of the squidink butter, though, until I got home and found a speck of it under my nail. The zucchini carbonara is admirable in concept and works on one level. Ribbons of zucchini cut to resemble a tagliatellelike pasta are wonderfully sauced with ham, mint, onion, chili, and parmesan. The problem is that the raw egg, a hallmark of carbonara, combined with the very slippery, smooth zucchini makes for a too-slimy texture. Dessert? I couldn’t pass up the chance to try a crab-apple tart. Crab apples are bracingly sour— but even for a girl whose mother constantly reprimanded her for sucking on lemons, it was just too much. The chocolate crust is obviously chosen to mitigate that tartness, but doesn’t quite do the job. The choice to pair it with plain Greek yogurt (even sourer) is incomprehensible. Still, there’s plenty to like here, if not love, so I’ll be back again to try other items—like the Caesar-salad sandwich and the crab risotto—and see if things that weren’t particularly successful get tweaked. If not, I imagine I’ll return for the ambience, a superior cocktail, and—I’ve saved the best for last—some of the most delicious fries you’ll find in Seattle. I’m pretty sure they’ll pair well with just about any drink. E
nsprinkle@seattleweekly.com
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arts&culture
remember and doesn’t want to remember his irresponsible past—and one traumatic event in particular—back during his punk-rock days. That music scene has a strongly ’70s vibe reflecting the era when Burns grew up in Seattle (he’s now based in Philadelphia). Readers might naturally expect closure amid the fumblings of Doug and the parallel quest of his avatar Johnny; and their journeys do in
FRIDAY, SEPT. 19
Women in Cinema
Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., 3249996, siff.net. Opening night: $20–$25. Regular tickets: $7–$12. Passes: $40–$60. BRIAN MILLER
Doug goes looking into his past in Sugar Skull.
SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
THURSDAY, SEPT. 18
In the Heights
Considering how word-intensive hip-hop is, you’d think building theater pieces around it would be the most obvious step in the world. Yet only Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegría Hudes (book) have had any significant success along these lines, serving rap with plenty of salsa in their 2008 Best Musical Tony-winner, set in Manhattan’s heavily Dominican Washington Heights neighborhood. Its innovativeness is admirable (if not immediately hummable), but what really thrills me about this tale of a bodega owner, the abuela who raised him, a hairdresser, a cab driver, his conflicted daughter, and others is a couple of old-fashioned plot twists. You may see them coming; I didn’t. Bring Kleenex. (Through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31–Nov. 23.) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N. (Issaquah), 425-392-2202, village theatre.org. $35–$67. 7:30 p.m. GAVIN BORCHERT
Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!
Ebola, ISIS, Ukraine, #Gamergate. More than usual, it seems, the news is really depressing right now. It’s times like these that we need Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!, the charming NPR quiz show that manages to cover the week’s news in a daffy manner, free of trauma or cynicism. During this live stage recording, longtime host Peter Sagal will test listeners’ knowledge with the help of a surprise panel of personalities. Missing, as any fan of the 16-year-old show knows, will be Carl Kasell, the accomplished newsman who delivered judgments and scores every week in a baritone Voice of God. Kasell retired from the program this past spring, earning on-air accolades from the likes of Stephen Colbert, Katie Couric, and even President Obama. Since then, veteran journalist Bill Kurtis has been filling the role of official scorekeeper, but Kassel continues to record voice-mail greetings for the show’s winners. It’s another nice distraction from the world burning outside. The Paramount, 911
Pine St., 877-784-4849, stgpresents.org. $35– $125. 7:30 p.m. MARK BAUMGARTEN
Knightley doesn’t like the fit of her wedding dress in Laggies.
Spectrum Dance Theater
Donald Byrd has an intense and rigorous approach to dance, with even the most light-hearted topics, and so LOVE is a powerful exploration of emotional connections, performed to Benjamin Britten’s Suites for solo cello. This revival of the 2012 work is a showcase for Byrd’s high-tension aesthetic and his dancers’ extraordinary skills. Magnuson
Park (Hanger 30), 7400 Sand Point Way N.E., 325-4161,spectrumdance.org. $25–$30. 8 p.m. (Repeats Sat.) SANDRA KURTZ
Charles Burns
Sugar Skull (Pantheon, $21.95) completes the saga of troubled Doug from X’ed Out and The Hive, his dream-world alter ego trapped in a phantasmagoric realm of lizard-people, surly mutants, and ovoid imagery. Doug both can’t
BARBARA KINNEY/A24 FILMS
46
ThisWeek’s PickList
MARK KITAOKA
In the Heights choreographer (and performer) Daniel Cruz.
some sense converge. At the same time, as with any interior passage through distorted memory, the catacombs, sewer pipes, and rock clubs may only lead to an inconclusive present. Like the faded old family photos that Doug studies or the arty Polaroids he—as a younger artist— takes of himself and his girlfriend, that supposedly stopped moment in time bleeds forward and back. The colors and chemicals degrade, like memory itself. The image is never fixed; its mutable meanings keep nagging at Doug like the buzzing of a certain intercom. Sugar Skull demands you go back to the prior two books, just as Doug goes back to the same moment of waking into confusion. The beginning, in other words. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery,
1201 S. Vale St., 658-0110, fantagraphics.com. Free. 6 p.m. BRIAN MILLER TUESDAY, SEPT. 23
Hari Kondabolu
Before his comedy career took off in his native New York, Kondabolu got his start here in Seattle. While he worked at an immigrantrights organization, he started doing stand-up at Chop Suey and the Comedy Underground until he got his big break on Jimmy Kimmel Live, which has since launched him on nationwide tours. Kondabolu’s politically charged humor, which skewers heady topics like colonialism, racism, and social justice, probably couldn’t have found a better breeding ground than civic-minded Seattle—all the more reason to check him out tonight and swell with a little hometown pride. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., 628-0303, comedyunder ground.com. $7–$10. 8 p.m. (Repeats Wed.) KELTON SEARS E
© CHARLES BURNS/PANTHEON
Though the Egyptian won’t formerly reopen under SIFF’s management until next month, the festival-opening Laggies, Lynn Shelton’s coming October release, offers an advance glimpse at what upgrades have been made there (chiefly the audio system; the 7 p.m. screening is followed by an after-party at Capitol Cider). After Keira Knightley embraces her inner slacker (this in Shelton’s first comedy she didn’t write herself ), screenings shift back to the Uptown through Sunday. Notable highlights on the 14-film program include Rocks in My Pockets, an unlikely animated account of mental illness within Latvian filmmaker Signe Baumane’s family (9:30 p.m. Fri.); Monk With a Camera, about the improbable making of a Buddhist monk from an American fashion photographer who happens to be the son of Diana Vreeland (11:30 a.m. Sat.); and Stray Dog, a documentary about a Vietnam War vet (and dog lover) trying to cope with the legacy of that conflict and help his fellow vets from more recent wars (4 p.m. Sun., with introduction by local producer Anne Rosellini). SIFF
Opening Nights
The leads—pulled from national talent—are good but not great. Katrina Asmar, as Morales, proves flexible enough to provide moments both serious and comic, though the latter are at times too hammy. Both Palermo and Chryssie Whitehead, as the fallen starlet Cassie, were brought in to help carry the romantic heft of the play, and they do sound work at that. You believe it. Whitehead’s solo, “The Music and the Mirror,” is a bit of a manic mess. But it’s a fitting portrayal of an actress desperate to return to a stage that has shunned her. How much of it was the choreography, the acting, or Whitehead’s own humanity? Who cares? This Chorus Line works just fine as it is. MARK BAUMGARTEN
PA Chorus Line 5TH AVENUE THEATRE, 308 FIFTH AVE., 625-1900. $29 AND UP. RUNS TUES.–SUN.; SEE 5THAVENUE.ORG FOR SCHEDULE. ENDS SEPT. 28.
Whitehead as Cassie.
COUNTRY ICON
The Invisible Hand
TRACE ADKINS
ACT THEATRE, 700 UNION ST., 292-7676. $55 AND UP. RUNS TUES.–SUN.; SEE ACT THEATRE.ORG FOR SCHEDULE. ENDS SEPT. 28. MARK KITAOKA
MARGARET FRIEDMAN E
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The opening number of A Chorus Line ripples with imperfection. This is how it is supposed to be, of course. The legendary musical, which opened on Broadway in 1975, offers a view of the unrefined side of musical theater. Framed in a day of auditions, aspiring stage performers desperately vie for a spot in the chorus line. So it goes in “I Hope I Get It” (one of the famous numbers from Marvin Hamlisch’s score), as we see the performers on a bare stage missing their steps, falling out of rhythm, fading into the background, and comically overacting to move to the fore. It’s all expertly plotted, of course, since the 5th’s mostly native production relies on the original Michael Bennett choreography. Still, you feel real empathy for these artists struggling under the critical eye of director Zach (the very commanding, stentorian Andrew Palermo). A Chorus Line is and was a radical departure from traditionally polished Broadway fare, since it concentrates on backstage drama. Director David Bennett manages that messy process with aplomb, though some flaws show here. Almost all 17 performers are treated as equals, pretty much requiring that each be a triple threat: able to sing, dance, and act. It’s a nearly impossible standard, but A Chorus Line reminds you, over and over again, that these performers are fallible human beings. The large ensemble cast keeps the show moving, swinging effortlessly from the comic to the tragic. As Mike, Gabriel Corey, saddled with the unenviable task of the first solo number, performs “I Can Do That” with an expert light-comic touch. Richard Peacock as Richie dazzles with fluid dance moves that, more than any other performer’s, recall the musical’s era—though his voice was often lost in the large room. Sarah Rose Davis is fittingly unremarkable as modest Maggie until she opens her mouth and delivers the show’s most striking vocal performance (“At the Ballet”). And at the production’s heart is Stephen Diaz as the gay Puerto Rican Paul, who in a devastating monologue reveals his most closely held secrets.
There are many reasons to go to the theater, but to see something that feels like a film or a TV episode usually isn’t one. That’s the main problem with Ayad Akhtar’s new play about a bright young money guy, Nick (Connor Toms), who has been kidnapped in Karachi by Islamic terrorists. Because his employer doesn’t negotiate with terrorists, Nick offers to earn his ransom by trading on the volatile Pakistani financial markets. Tense setup? Check. Dense background details about the worlds of finance and Pakistani politics (albeit clunkily exposited)? Check. A sense of emotional investment and caring about the outcome? Strangely, not much in Akhtar’s follow-up to his Pulitzer-winning Disgraced. Nick’s captors include Dar (the boyish Erwin Galan), Dar’s ambitious supervisor Bashir (the apt Elijah Alexander), and their commander Imam Saleem (William Ontiveros), an older cleric. Though Akhtar’s given each one an affable side as well as a ruthless one, they still come off as cartoonish, probably because they spend so much time in well-coached accents explaining things you would learn in The Economist. Because the script chops the action into dozens of tiny scenes spaced over many months (identified by wall monitors, e.g., “Ten weeks later”), director Allen Nause usually hasn’t got more than a few beats per scene to work with. For example, the subplot of Nick’s progressive efforts to file the mortar out of a chunk of Matthew Smucker’s cinderblock cell set is neither plausible nor interesting, especially since there’s no plot payoff for these efforts. To compensate for a lack of momentum, the production leans on Brendan Patrick Hogan’s Bollywood-style musical blasts in the interscene breaks, as boisterous as a one-day sale at the bazaar. Akhtar’s topical engagement with the world is important enough that audiences can probably forgive some theatrical shortcomings. For fans of shows like Homeland, this didactic, issue-exposing play may hit the spot; others may groan at the exposition. And Michael Lewis devotees may enjoy the bits in which Nick explains to Bashir how to game the market. But for those seeking a deeper psychological exploration of the characters themselves in crisis, The Invisible Hand misses the target.
47
(9/17) Environmental Perspectives Cultural Diversity in the Environment CIVICS
SCIENCE
ARTS & CULTURE
COMMUNITY
(9/18) Laurence Steinberg Adolescence, the ‘Age of Opportunity’ (9/18) Seattle’s Favorite Poems Robert Pinsky (9/19) Global Rhythms ARGA BILEG Fusing Modern & Traditional Mongolian Music (9/20) Early Music Guild: Carlos Nuñez A Celtic Musical Pilgrimage to Santiago (9/22) Joshua Wolf Shenk with Jess Van Nostrand How Collaboration Fuels Creativity (9/23) Town Music Piano Quartets Brahms, Andres, Sharlat (9/23) Ramita Navai Tehran’s Darkest Secrets TOWN HALL
CIVICS
SCIENCE
ARTS & CULTURE
COMMUNITY
(9/24) Seattle Speaks WWW.TOWNHALLSEATTLE.ORG Universal Pre-K (9/25) Michael Backes An Expert’s Guide to Medical Marijuana (9/25) Elliott Bay Book Company: David Mitchell (9/26) David Brewster’s Birthday Bash (9/27 & 28) Caspar Babypants ‘Rise and Shine’ MEDICINE MAN CD Release Party
Stage
BLOOD RELATIONS Sharon Pollock brings the saga
OPENINGS & EVENTS
THE BUNNER SISTERS The Athena Theatre Project’s
inaugural show is this Edith Wharton adaptation. Theater Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S., 800-838-3006, athenatheatreproject.org. $15–$22. Preview Sept. 18, opens Sept. 19. 8 p.m. Wed.–Sat. plus Mon., Sept. 29, 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5. THE FABULOUS LIPITONES When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., 781-9707. $15–$40. Previews Sept. 17 & 18, opens Sept. 19. Runs Wed.–Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. FAMILY AFFAIR Jennifer Jasper’s “sick, hilarious, and ultimately relatable” cabaret on the theme of family. JewelBox/Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., jenniferjasper performs.com. $10. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Sept. 17. HARI KONDABOLU SEE THE PICK LIST, PAGE 46. I AM OF IRELAND Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center, 216-0833. $25. Previews begin Sept. 17, opens Sept. 20. Runs Wed.–Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. IN THE HEIGHTS SEE THE PICK LIST, PAGE 46. MARY’S WEDDING New Century Theatre Company presents Stephen Massicotte’s reality-blurring play about a WWI romance. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., wearenctc.org. $15–$30. Preview Sept. 18, opens Sept. 19. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sun. plus Mon., Oct. 6. Ends Oct. 11. SEATTLE FRINGE FESTIVAL 22 companies offer 88 performances (at press time) in five venues (Annex, Eclectic, two stages at Northwest Film Forum, and Calamus Auditorium at Gay City). See seattle fringefestival.org for complete info. All performances $10. Sept. 17–21.
of Lizzie Borden to the stage. Center Theatre at the Cornish Playhouse Studio, Seattle Center, 800-838-3006, soundtheatrecompany.org. $15–$25. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.– Sat. plus Mon., Sept. 22; 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 27. BRAINSTORM One word launches a whole show from Improv Anonymous. Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, unexpectedproductions. org. $5–$7. 8:30 p.m. Thurs. Ends Sept. 25. THE BREAK OF NOON Neil LaBute’s seriocomic story of the survivor of a mass shooting. Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way S.W., reacttheatre. org. $9–$20. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat. 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. A CHORUS LINE SEE REVIEW, PAGE 47. DEATH AND THE MAIDEN In Ariel Dorfman’s play, a former political prisoner confronts her captor. Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., latinotheatreprojects. org. $14. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28.
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DON QUIXOTE & SANCHO PANZA: HOMELESS IN SEATTLE eSe Teatro’s update of Cervantes is “dedi-
cated to all the gentlemen and gentlewomen who roam the streets with dignity.” ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676. $25–$30. Runs Thurs.–Sun.; see acttheatre. org for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 28. EDUCATING RITA Willy Russell’s May/December romance comedy. Renton Civic Theatre, 507 S. Third St., Renton, 425-226-5529, rentoncivictheatre.org. $17–$22. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 20. EVERYTHING BUT THE PAPER Relationships, arranged and otherwise, among Indian-Canadians are explored in Sonal Champsee’s new comedy. Bellevue Youth Theatre, 16661 Northup Way, Bellevue, pratidhwani.org. $10–$15. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.–Sun. Ends Sept. 21. HITCHCOCK Improv in the style of the master of film suspense. Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, unexpectedproductions.org. $5–$7. 8:30 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 12. HOUSE OF INK In this improvised murder mystery, authors get bumped off one by one.Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, CURRENT RUNS unexpectedproductions.org. $5–$7. 10 p.m. Fri.–Sat. ANGELS IN AMERICA The messier, more actionEnds Oct. 4. THE INVISIBLE HAND SEE REVIEW, PAGE 47. packed second half of Tony Kushner’s epic arrives MAN OF LA MANCHA Another take on Don Quixote, with a whole panel of angels, talking Mormon statues, even worse sickness, and death. Part I’s rather this time in musical play-within-a-play form. Seattle unconvincing flirtation between runaway lover Louis Musical Theatre at Magnuson Park, 7120 62nd Ave. (Quinn Franzen) and closeted Mormon Republican N.E., 800-838-3006, seattlemusicaltheatre.org. $20–$35. Joe (Ty Boice) has morphed into a full-blown affair, 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. plus Thurs., Sept. 25; 2 p.m. Sun. with substantial sexual heat and nudity. Likewise, the Ends Sept. 28. THE MOUNTAINTOP Katori Hall’s portrait of Martin AIDS-afflicted Prior gains depth from Adam Standley, Luther King Jr. imagines him on the night before his who awkwardly stepped in and out of his illness in Millennium Approaches. And the unraveling houseassassination. ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., wife Harper—abandoned by Joe—finally finds a hard, 938-0339, artswest.org. $15–$34.50. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Sat., defiant voice in Alex Highsmith’s performance. The 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5. SEASCAPE Two couples—one of them lizards—discuss intensity of Perestroika benefits them all; as stakes rise and their characters fall, these performers meet “humanity, evolution, and the concept of time” in Albee’s the challenge. Getting a twitchy viewer like me to sit play. Theater Schmeater, 2125 Third Ave., 324-5801, through such a long show, and raptly, is a feat. The schmeater.org. $18–$25. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. Ends Oct. 11. STARSTRUCK A movie-homage musical revue from tight acting propels the plot forward, with each scene Captain Smartypants, the Seattle Men’s Chorus’ building momentum, so that even Kushner’s metaphyscomedy troupe. The Triple Door, 216 Union St., ical-intellectual passages are entertaining (thanks captainsmartypants.org. $25–$35. 8 p.m. Sat., Sept. also to Marya Sea Kaminski’s well-played Angel). 20, 7 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21. Credit ultimately belongs to director Andrew Russell TEATRO ZINZANNI: WHEN SPARKS FLY Maestro for this fast-paced, well-oiled production. Otherwise, Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. the four-hour Perestroika could’ve felt like a millenNew Hours: M-FCornish 12:00Playhouse, – 7:00 Seattle nium. NICOLE SPRINKLE Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., 802-0015. $99 and up. Millennium Center, Saturday 441-7178. $25 10:00 and up. – Runs Thurs.–Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/ 5:00 Approaches and Perestroika run Sept. 3–21. See intiman.org for seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Sunday 12:00 – 5:00 WAITING FOR GODOT Samuel Beckett’s 1953 complete schedule. BLACK COMEDY Back 1965, this10% one-actoff farce absurdist tragicomedy has two guys (Estragon and Bring this ad for anin extra was a hit, though playwright Peter Shaffer later said Vladimir) waiting for the arrival of a third. Estragon (aka For weekly specials, follow us on Facebook that “there really was no play, merely a convention.” Gogo, played by Darragh Kennan) has a mind and feet BlackAurora ComedyAve. opensN. in complete We can that are failing him. He and Vladimir (aka Didi, played 4023 Seattle, darkness. WA 98103 only hear the action until Brindsley Miller’s apartment by Todd Jefferson Moore) pass several days as painwww.samcollective.org suffers a short circuit. The stage lights up for us, but fully as the kidney stones Didi squeezes into a bucket it’s a blackout for struggling artist Brindsley (Richard offstage. The line “Nothing to be done” hangs in the (206) 632-4023 Nguyen Sloniker) and his guests. (Shaffer borrows air, as does the famous motif of giving birth directly into A non-profi t organization in accordance with chapter RCW 69.51A the device from Chinese opera.) The blown fuse betothe grave. Didi and Gogo’s push-me-pull-you dynamkens disaster for Brindsley and his paltryspecials, apartment ics define hell and the solace of friendship. For weekly follow us both ontheFacebook on what ought to be an important occasion: meeting Beckett isn’t shy about inflicting the kind of tedium on his spoiled fiancée’s father and an important art colaudiences that his characters have to endure. But he lector. Complicating matters further, he and fiancée also gives us slick lazzi opportunities, a few tender gestures, and merciful interludes with Pozzo, played Carol (Brenda Joyner) have “borrowed” his neighbor’s past the hilt by the captivating Chris Ensweiler as a furniture, guaranteeing a future twist in this comedy wide-eyed, craven psychopath. Despite the lumpy of errors. Soon to arrive are Carol’s father, the stuffy camaraderie of Moore and Kennan, the greatest emoColonel Melkett (Michael Patten); the rich collector; tional effects emerge between Didi and the unnamed an electrician (MJ Sieber); and other unannounced boy (Alex Silva) Godot sends to postpone the meeting. guests. After a slow start, Black Comedy devolves into A deftly non-profi t organization with chapter havoc, yet ends (if arbitrarily), as if amusedin byaccordance George Mount directs aRCW Seattle69.51A Shakespeare Company itself. Director Kelly Kitchens brings to her Strawberry production that carries an unapologetic aura of “life’s Theatre Workshop cast a comic synergy that evokes a stage” theatricality. MARGARET FRIEDMAN ACT tears of laughter. IRFAN SHARIFF Erickson Theatre, Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676. $25–$43. 7:30 p.m. 1524 Harvard Ave., 800-838-3006, strawshop.org. Wed.–Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattle $18–$36. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. Ends Sept. 20. shakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21.
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SPECTRUM DANCE SEE THE PICK LIST, PAGE 46. CARMONA FLAMENCO Traditional music and dance,
with guest dancer Ana Montes. Café Solstice, 4116 University Way N.E., 932-4067. $15–$20. 8 & 9:30 p.m. Fri., Sept. 19. GRETA MATASSA & JOVON MILLER Dance cabaret from this jazz singer and tap dancer. Century Ballroom, 915 E. Pine St., centuryballroom.com. $20–$25 ($55 w/ dinner). 7:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 20. DASSDANCE Lights Camera . . . ACTION!, the new show from Daniel Wilkins’ troupe, includes LED lights attached to the dancers, green screen, and other film effects. Martin Luther King F.A.M.E. Community Center, 3201 E. Republican St., 800-838-3006, dassdance.org. Donation. 8 p.m. Sat., Sept. 20, 7 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21.
Classical, Etc.
• SEATTLE SYMPHONY Opening a three-weekend
look at the symphonies of Dvorak with the Seventh, plus Tchaikovsky’s popular Piano Concerto no. 1 and Wagner. Ludovic Morlot conducts. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave. & Union St., 215-4747, seattlesymphony.org. $20 and up. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 18; noon Fri., Sept. 19; 8 p.m. Sat., Sept. 20. (THE) NATURE (OF) SOUND An artist talk by S. Eric Scribner about his installation combining environmental and human-made sounds. Jack Straw New Media Gallery, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., jackstraw.org. Free. 7 p.m. Fri., Sept. 19. TUDOR CHOIR Music in remembrance of Peter Hallock, longtime St. Mark’s Cathedral choirmaster who died in April, and John Tavener. Blessed Sacrament Church, 5041 Ninth Ave. N.E., 323-9415, tudorchoir.org. $20–$30. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 20.
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arts&culture» Performance
Peter Hallock’s life and music are celebrated Saturday by the Tudor Choir.
AMJAD ALI KHAN This sarod master and his two sons
perform Indian classical music. Kirkland Performance Center, 350 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland, 425-893-9900, kpcenter.org. $30. 8 p.m. Sat., Sept. 20. SEATTLE OPERA SEASON KICKOFF Performances, makeup and technical demos, and other interactive activities to preview the new season. McCaw Hall, Seattle Center, seattleopera.org. Free. Noon–5 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21. MUSIC NORTHWEST Russian chamber music, including Shostakovich’s searing Piano Trio no. 2. Olympic Recital Hall, 6000 16th Ave. S.W., 937-2899, music northwest.org. $16–$18 (free for students 25 and under). 3 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21. MEG BRENNAND & DAVID WHITE This cellist and pianist present the complete works by Beethoven for that duo in three concerts (also in January & June). First Church Seattle, 180 Denny Way, 800-838-3006, onyx chamberplayers.com. $10–$25. 5 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21. PUBLIC OPERA Arias and ensembles, with dinner. Hilton Bellevue, 300 112th Ave. S.E., Bellevue, 425-452-4848, publicopera.com. $49. 5:30 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21. JIUTA: VOICE OF LONGING “The music of Kyoto’s pleasure quarters” for shamisen, koto, and kokyu. PONCHO Concert Hall, Cornish College of the Arts, 710 E. Roy St., jaclab.org, cornish edu. $15–$25. 7 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21. BYRON SCHENKMAN & FRIENDS 17th-century works—with violinist Ingrid Matthews and the ensemble Gut Reaction—open a season of lively chamber music. Benaroya Recital Hall, Third Ave. & Union St., 215-4747, byronschenkman.com. $10–$42. 7 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21.
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B Y G AV I N B O R C H E R T
Send events to stage@seattleweekly.com, dance@seattleweekly.com, or classical@seattleweekly.com See seattleweekly.com for full listings. = Recommended
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» Visual Arts Openings & Events • CHEMTRAILS Did you know that the feds are employ-
ing airplanes to spray airborne chemicals on civilians in order to brainwash us/construct a malevolent New World Order/conceal the one and only, totally-not-dead Tupac Shakur from the public eye? Seven painters, illustrators, and photographers take on the world’s most out-there conspiracy theory in this group show, which will likely land you on a government watch list. Opening reception 1-5 p.m. Sat., Sept. 20. Wikstrom Gallery, 5411 Meridian Ave. N., 633-5544, bromwikstrom.com. Noon-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Oct. 24. EAFA VOLUNTEER SHOW A collection of work from people who volunteer with local arts group Evergreen Association of Fine Arts. Opening reception 5-9 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 18. EAFA Gallery (Seattle Design Center), 5701 Sixth Ave. S., 821-0841, eafa.org. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Ends Oct. 31. INFLORESCENCE Six stylistically distinct Washington artists present work all stemming from a common theme: the world of plants. Opening reception 6-8 p.m. Fri., Sept. 19. Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market St., 822-7161, kirklandartscenter.org. 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Nov. 25. MARBLING WITH CLAY Local art and fashion desinger April Brimer teaches this workshop on marbling techniques with clay, where participants will shape and mold planters and cups. Cairo, 507 E. Mercer St., templeofcairo.com. $125. 2 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21. MEN’S RIGHTS-A-PALOOZA 2 This gloriously named feminist festival invites you to “come party against the patriarchy” with a visual arts lineup including Shana Cleveland, Sierra Kohler, Isabel Blue, Amy Traut, MKNZ Porritt, and many more. Accompanied by poetry readings, bands and DJs. 7 p.m. Sat., Sept. 20, 6726 Corson Ave. S., facebook.com/ events/340367866121908. Free. 7 p.m. Sat., Sept. 20.
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Ongoing
THE ART OF GAMAN The subtitle of this group show
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• SALLY CLEVELAND AND GABRIEL FERNANDEZ
These two artists deal in lonely landscapes and scenes of humble and forgotten places and objects. Fernandez often paints empty chairs and diner booths, like a Hopper setting emptied of people. Linda Hodges Gallery, 316 First Ave. S., 624-3034, lindahodgesgallery.com. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sept. 27.
ists are represented in this show organized by SAM and originating entirely from the private local collection of Sanjay Parthasarathy (a Microsoft millionaire) and wife Malini Balakrishnan. Scenes and icons from Mumbai to New Delhi are represented via photography and sculpture, from an all-native perspective. As tourists know, India is ridiculously photogenic, from its colorful idols and deities to the slums and beggars. It all depends on what you want to see. Photographer Dhruv Malhotra, for instance, takes large color images of people sleeping in public places—some because they’re poor, others because they simply feel like taking a nap. Nandini Valli Muthiah opts for more stage-managed scenes, posing a costumed actor as the blue-skinned Hindu god Krishna in contemporary settings; in one shot I love, he sits in a hotel suite, like a tired business traveler awaiting a conference call on Skype. Sculptor Debanjan Roby even dares to appropriate the revered figure of Gandhi, rendering him in bright red fiberglass and listening to a white iPod. Apple never made such an ad, of course, but this impudent figure tweaks both India’s postcolonial history and the relentless consumerism that now links us all, from Seattle to Srinagar. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., 654-3121, seattleartmuseum.org. $12–$19. Weds.-Sun. Ends Feb. 15. CHRIS CRITES & SAMANTHA SCHERER Crites displays his signature mugshots and crime scenes painted on brown paper bags. Scherer shows her tiny, fine-lined ink drawings in We Are OK Here, lovely and intricate works that have a hard time competing with the room. G. Gibson Gallery, 300 S. Washington St. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 587-4033, ggibsongallery. com. 11 a.m-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. Ends Oct. 11. DECO JAPAN This is a somewhat unusual traveling show in that it comes from a single private collection: that of Florida’s Robert and Mary Levenson. The specificity and period (1920–1945) are also unusual. Among the roughly 200 items on view—prints, furniture, jewelry, etc.—we won’t be seeing the usual quaint cherry-blossom references to Japan’s hermetic past. By the ’20s, there was in the big cities a full awareness of Hollywood movies, European fashions, and streamlined design trends. Even if women didn’t vote, they knew about Louise Brooks and her fellow flappers. We may think that, particularly during the ’30s, the country was concerned with militarism and colonial expansion, but these objects reveal the leisure time and sometime frivolity of the period. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Asian Art Museum, ends Oct. 19. REIN DE LEGE Based in Spain, the Dutch artist shows his large paintings on linen in a show called Face to Face. Hall Spassov Gallery, 319 Third Ave. S., 2230816, hallspassov.com. Ends Sept. 30.
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Workspaces For Hobby, Art & Business Starting at $155 month! Ballard 206-706-6606
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FOLDING PAPER: THE INFINITE POSSIBILITIES OF ORIGAMI An exhibit that examines the evolution of
origami as an art form around the globe from its origins all the way up to today. Bellevue Arts Museum, through Sept. 21. JUSTIN GIBBENS He creates his own zoology and natural history, some influenced by Japanese and Indian art, in the watercolors presented in Avatars and Shapeshifters. Punch Gallery, 119 Prefontaine Pl. S. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 621-1945, punchgallery. org. Noon-5 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sept. 27. LAUREN GROSSMAN Ghost Variations invokes the spectral nature of the show’s primary medium—glass. Transparent, light, and requiring breath to mold it, the material allows Grossman to draw comparisons between glass and “giving up the ghost,” he says. Platform Gallery (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 114 Third Ave. S., 323-2808, platformgallery.com. Weds.Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Ends Oct. 11. FEMKE HIEMSTRA & CASEY WELDON Hiemstra paints on found objects in Warten am Waldrand. Weldon tweaks nature scenes with bright, artificial colors in Novel Relic. Roq La Rue Gallery, 532 First Ave. S., 374-8977, roqlarue.com. Ends Sept. 27. ETSUKO ICHIKAWA AND YUKIYO KAWANO One Thousand Questions—From Hiroshima to Hanford is a joint exhibition examining the nuclear history of Japan and Washington State. In conjunction with the show’s opening, the artists will release floating lanterns on Green Lake (6 p.m. Weds, on the northwest side of the lake) to memorialize the A-Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII. Columbia City Gallery, 4864 Rainier Ave. S., columbiacitygallery. com, 760-9843. Ends Sept. 21.
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B Y K E LT O N S E A R S
The Zoo 206-632-6100
Designed for you by the artists behind Cloth Paper Scissors and Quilting Arts, CREATE Mixed-Media Retreats offer a tempting array of workshops to inspire your mixed-media art.
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Send events to visualarts@seattleweekly.com See seattleweekly.com for full listings = Recommended
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SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
reveals its sad starting point: Arts & Crafts From the Japanese-American Internment Camps, 1942–1946. Over 120 objects are on view, many of them humble wood carvings, furniture, even toys made from scrap items at Minidoka or Manzanar. The more polished drawings come from professional artists like Ruth Asawa and Henry Sugimoto. Some of the more touching items—like a samurai figurine made from wood scraps, shells, and bottle caps—come from family collections, not museums. As for the show’s title, gaman roughly translates as “enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity.” BRIAN MILLER Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way N.E., 425-519-0770, bellevuearts.org, $8-$10, Tues.Sun., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Through Oct. 12. AT YOUR SERVICE Ariel Brice, Gésine Hackenberg, Molly Hatch, Giselle Hicks, Garth Johnson, Niki Johnson, Sue Johnson, Emily Loehle, Caroline Slotte, and Amelia Toelke mess with crockery and other tokens of the domestic table. Bellevue Arts Museum. Ends Sept. 21. LEONARD BASKIN Fierce Humanist collects multimedia work created as an ode to mankind. Davidson Galleries, 313 Occidental Ave. S., 624-7684, davidsongalleries.com. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Sept. 27. EVAN BLACKWELL The local salvage artists makes hypnotic, spiraling shapes out of cut-up old picture frames, saw blades, and cheap galvanized hardware fittings. Foster/White Gallery, 220 Third Ave. S., 6222833, fosterwhite.com. 10 a.m.-6 p.m Tues.-Sat. Ends Sept. 27. ROMSON REGARDE BUSTILLO In his show Dugay na, the Filipino artist creates brightly colored works on paper, intricately cut and designed with patterns, some of them narrative. The title of the show translates as “no longer new.” Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, 550 Winslow Way E., 842-4451, biartmuseum.org. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Daily through Sept. 24. CHEN SHAOXIONG The contemporary Chinese artist shows new video works and their source drawings in the exhibit Ink. History. Media, which is inspired by historical photos of major events from 1909-2009. Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E. Prospect St. (Volunteer Park), 654-3100, seattleartmuseum.org. $5-$7. Weds.-Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Through Oct. 19.
• CITY DWELLERS A dozen contemporary Indian art-
49 9/12/14 12:45 PM
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
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arts&culture» Film
Opening ThisWeek The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them OPENS FRI., SEPT 19 AT GUILD 45TH, PACIFIC PLACE, AND LINCOLN SQUARE. RATED R. 122 MINUTES.
One of Saura’s dancers.
Chastain’s Eleanor (with McAvoy in background).
PFlamenco, Flamenco OPENS FRI., SEPT 19 AT VARSITY. NOT RATED. 96 MINUTES. THE WEINSTEIN CO.
in the art form, but doing so from a position of incredible facility. His command of tempo and shape is phenomenal in his solo “Silencio,” where his eccentric timing and unusual choices—e.g., tapping a rhythm on his teeth!—just underlines his total mastery. But probably the sweetest moment in the film is an appearance by guitarist Paco de Lucía, who died last year. We’re close enough to see his phenomenal technique, but the rapport he has with the other musicians eclipses the pyrotechnics. Like the others who perform with him, we’re just thrilled to be there. SANDRA KURTZ
Life of Crime OPENS FRI., SEPT. 19 AT SUNDANCE CINEMAS. RATED R. 99 MINUTES.
The best thing about Life of Crime is the cast, a lively combination of character types, scenestealers, and one slumming superstar. And yet the movie feels like a community-theater walkthrough. Despite the tentpole presence of Jennifer Aniston and its roots as an Elmore Leonard adaptation (it shares characters with Leonard’s Rum Punch, which Quentin Tarantino shot as Jackie Brown), Life of Crime is dialed-down and low-rent, lacking the bravado that might boost it a notch or two. Aniston plays Mickey, weary trophy wife to Detroit bigwig Frank Dawson (Tim Robbins plays the role with greasy bonhomie and a Donald Trump haircut). Petty criminals Ordell (Yasiin Bey, who used to be called Mos Def ) and Louis ( John Hawkes, late of The Sessions) conspire to kidnap Mickey and collect a cool million off the secret stash Frank’s been skimming from his realestate chicanery. Ordell and Louis were previously incarnated by Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro in Jackie Brown. Nothing against those stars, but Bey and Hawkes are at least as cued-in to the lowlife rhythms of Ordell and Louis’s haphazard scheme as the bigger-name actors. Among the problems with this movie is that Leonard’s story has an ironic, Ruthless People-like stall built into the middle of it, which is easier to
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One of the first films director Carlos Saura made was a short about flamenco, in 1955, and throughout his long career he’s continued to return to dance. He’s probably best known for the ’80s trio of flamenco films he made with choreographer Antonio Gades (Blood Wedding, Carmen, and El amor brujo), all with a strong narrative thread. But more recent films have treated dance and music separate from story, highlighting the kinetic drama without additional narrative. Flamenco, Flamenco (2010) is a series of individual performances reflecting the state of the art form PThe Guest OPENS WED., SEPT 17 AT PACIFIC today, from the traditional to the avant-garde. PLACE. RATED R. 99 MINUTES. The structure of the film is quite simple—it’s just a series of numbers, some featuring only musicians or dancers, some more elaborate. Apart from section titles, there’s no description or explanation; the dancing simply speaks for itself. Instead of filming in a studio or a club, Saura built a platform in a soundstage and filled it with portraits of dancers—some from the past, others a figment of his imagination. Vittorio Storaro’s hyper-mobile camera slides through that gallery and around the performers. We rarely get the feeling that we’re watching from a theater seat. Instead we’re right next to the dancers, sometimes the direct focus of their attention. Traditional flamenco is performed in small quarters; Storaro and Saura have found a way to match that intimate feeling. The film is rich with stellar performances by some of the Stevens as most renowned people in the enigmatic stranger. field, including Eva Yerbabuena (who dances a heart-wrenching solo in a downWhatever Adam Wingard is drinking, please pour) and the teenage El Carpeta (the stage name keep ’em coming. The director’s most recent two of Manuel Fernández Montoya, who rips through features are uneven but brimming with nerve and the footwork and turns of a bulerias like a fully invention: You’re Next (released here last year) mature artist). Israel Galván works in a very difupends the conventions of the home-invasion ferent vein, challenging almost every convention slasher movie and let viewers laugh through their
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The name: It’s explained that Eleanor’s parents are Beatles fans. That’s cute, although it’s hard to understand what the gimmick lends the movie other than gravity-by-association with the Fab Four’s plaintive song. And although Chastain continues her strong run of performances, Eleanor has less meat on her bones than some of the other characters here. El goes to live with the folks, so we see how she’s been shaped by her distracted father (William Hurt), a psychiatrist, and her wine-swigging mother (Isabelle Huppert), who likes reminding Eleanor what she sacrificed for family. Conor has more life: he’s managing a restaurant that is quietly failing, leading to charged encounters with his best pal/head chef (SNL stalwart Bill Hader) and bartender (Nina Arianda). This is happening in the shadow of his celebrated father (Ciarán Hinds), a restaurateur who hangs with the Rolling Stones when they’re in town. Ned Benson, making his feature debut as writer/director, is nothing if not sincere in tracking this grief-sodden situation. More sincere than coherent, perhaps, as a number of scenes seem so much like real life they’re actually pretty stock. And there’s something too easy about casting the great Viola Davis as a professor who doles out worldly wisdom to El along the way. All this comes with an asterisk. Benson’s project bowed at the Toronto Film Festival last fall as two separate features: The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her and Him. (Am I the only person recalling the 1970s Liz Taylor/Richard Burton TV movies Divorce His and Divorce Hers? I am? Well, fine.) This film is a 122-minute compilation of Benson’s two features. The Weinstein Company has taken pains to let everyone know that Benson assembled Them himself, but its existence is puzzling: Surely the intriguing point of the original project was that the twin movies (which I haven’t seen) reflected on each other from contrasting perspectives. We’re told those films will be released this fall as well, but don’t hold your breath. In the meantime, Them is a lessthan-convincing in-betweener. ROBERT HORTON
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A suicide attempt, hauntingly staged: Eleanor ( Jessica Chastain) walks across a New York City bridge on a pleasant day, and at one point abruptly dodges out of frame. The startled reaction of a passerby tells us where she goes. The rest of the movie is an attempt by Eleanor—and her family, friends, and husband Conor ( James McAvoy)—to figure out what happens after she survives her fall. This is the backbone of a film with an earnest disposition and a complicated release history.
gasps; and The Guest works increasingly daffy variations on the mysterious-stranger subgenre. In this case the stranger is an Afghanistan vet, David (Dan Stevens, a Downton Abbey refugee), who shows up at the front door of the Peterson home in Small Town, U.S.A. The Petersons have lost a son in battle, and David was with him at the end—indeed, David’s here looking in on the family because of a promise made at the hour of death. Or so he says. How many mysterious strangers can be trusted on such things? We won’t give away the answer to that question, but Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett are clever at playing a certain kind of audience-engagement game. They know they’re working in a cheesy vein of ’80s-style storytelling. They know that we know that, too. So along with generating some creepy suspense and a handful of shock effects, they’re going to chuckle around the edges. It’s a tricky mix to get right, but for much of The Guest Wingard and Barrett hit a giddy note. Super-competent David wants to help the Petersons, to an alarming degree: He befriends adolescent Luke (Brendan Meyer) and stands down some bullies; he allows his hunkiness to bewitch teenage Anna (Maika Monroe); he instantly fulfills surrogate-son status for the dead man’s parents (Sheila Kelley and Leland Orser). The comic timing is right on, and the action scenes are potent. Wingard may be a smartypants, and he pushes the movie’s climax over the top, but give him credit for getting a lot right. Casting, for one thing. The robotically handsome Stevens is ideal; Monroe looks like a future star; and Kelley and Orser are amusingly recognizable as early-’90s character actors. And the film’s subtext is going to look good 20 years from now, when people consider the pop culture spawned during the War on Terror. Whatever its surface fun, The Guest is also about what happens when you create a monster that spirals out of control. ROBERT HORTON
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savor on the page than in a film. Life of Crime’s circa-1978 trappings also pale next to the juicy period blitz of American Hustle. And director Daniel Schechter works in such a modest key that his fondness for actors doesn’t get the structure it deserves. Other players include Will Forte as Mickey’s lily-livered secret admirer (whose surprise appearance in the middle of the kidnapping leads to a funny subplot), Sons of Anarchy hair-beast Mark Boone Junior, and Isla Fisher as Frank’s conniving mistress. As for Aniston, the film doesn’t make enough room for her particular comic talents— and having to spend part of her role with her face covered by a mask doesn’t help. Hawkes and Bey are the core of the picture, and it would be fun to see them again in something underhanded again—an update of Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, perpetually one step behind the smarter people in the world. ROBERT HORTON
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Beal now resides near Lacey, Wash.
It isn’t until 20 minutes into Tim Sutton’s movie that we actually hear the music of its main character, an enigmatic blues singer adrift in the titular city. Until then, we hear only the sounds of Memphis interspersed with disjointed snippets of songs, at most a creaky and catchy guitar riff building the slightest bit of momentum and then stopping suddenly. It’s an unnerving way to illuminate a story, but fitting, since Sutton’s
protagonist appears to be dealing with creative block, unable to follow past success. When the music does finally flow, it’s one of the aching songs of Willis Earl Beal, an actual musical outsider (here also named Willis). Subject of our July 9 cover story, now based in Lacey, Wash., Beal has become famous for his recalcitrant ways. Since the success of his debut album, 2012’s Acousmatic Sorcery, he rejected the music industry, dropped his record label, and moved from New York to the Northwest woods. The Willis of Memphis seems poised to do the same. “Sometimes I wish I was a tree,” he tells two men urging him to get into the recording studio. This is the tension of the film. The larger world, seeing Willis’ “Godgiven” talent, urges him to make more music. As Sutton’s lingering camera reveals, the city of Memphis is filled with enough spirituality, vice, and love to serve as muse for this reclusive artist. But Willis—who tells us early that it is he alone who willed his success into being—is unable to focus long enough to make new music. Or maybe he just doesn’t want to give God, booze, or women the credit. It’s irresistible to ponder but difficult to tell, since the film offers only glimmers of context. It isn’t just the shared name and withheld talent here that give this strange film the patina of documentary. Its style is raw and the camera unmoored—jumping indiscriminately, arrhythmically from scene to scene; training itself on nameless characters with unknown motivations; then wandering into the trees, as Willis would like to do. (The meandering, almost serial structure will be familiar to those who saw Sutton’s debut feature, Pavilion, at Northwest Film Forum last year.) There is also a dip into insanity in a scene with Willis drunk, rolling in the street, screaming. But otherwise Memphis’ madness is confined within the mind of its hero: a disjointed mess containing some true genius, much like this film. MARK BAUMGARTEN
D I NI NG
My Old Lady Most of My Old Lady is set in the kind of apartment you have dreams about after eating Camembert late in the evening: old, rambling, with a garden view through big upper-floor windows in the back. And, oh yes, it’s in Paris. The film is based on a play by Israel Horovitz, and no wonder Horovitz (making his feature-film directing debut—at age 75) chose not to open up the stage work; that’s one great pad. There are shots of characters strolling along the Seine to Mark Orton’s wistful accordion music, but mostly we’re indoors. The apartment is at the heart of the story, anyway. A failed-at-everything 57-year-old blowhard named Mathias Gold (Kevin Kline) has arrived in Paris without a penny to his name. It’s all right, though, because he’s there to take ownership of the apartment his much-reviled father bequeathed him. Problem: The place was purchased, some 40 years earlier, in the French contract called viager, which means the seller gets to live in it until she dies, as the buyer pays a monthly stipend in the interim. And she—in this case 92-year-old Madame Girard (Maggie Smith)—is still very alertly alive. So is her daughter Chloé (Kristin Scott Thomas), and so are various ghosts from the past, many of which come staggering to life as Mathias moves into an empty room and schemes a way to undercut these entrenched ladies. Horovitz makes feints in the direction of comedy early on, but despite Kline’s long track record in that arena, these are among the film’s least successful moments. (It’s always fun to hear this master of sarcasm get loose and begin putting quotation marks around his most pointed phrases, however.) Halfway through, the stakes get more serious, the behavior grittier, and the performers—especially Smith, who gets to act instead of relying on her tricks—pick up their game. Another plus is the absence of something shoehorned in for a younger demographic. The people onscreen have lived lives, and Horovitz doesn’t care that none of them is under 55. Is this enough to salvage the proceedings? Not quite— the pace is rocky, and everybody speaks as though they’re in a play. This is partially mitigated by the fact that if you’re going to have people running off at the mouth, you could do worse than this hyper-eloquent trio. ROBERT HORTON
The Skeleton Twins OPENS FRI., SEPT 19. AT HARVARD EXIT. RATED R. 91 MINUTES.
This is the kind of movie that congratulates itself for casting a comedienne in a dramatic role and a straight male comic as a gay guy. Maggie and Milo are fraternal twins who are estranged (for 10 years), living on opposite coasts, and seriously
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Why is this film not being released at Christmas? The sacred tradition of Jews and Chinese food and going to the movies on December 25 must be upheld! And if the fractious Altman clan is to gather for an awkward and altogether irreverent weeklong mourning period (sitting shiva) for its deceased patriarch, your family might well find some familiar types among them. The widowed mother (Jane Fonda) wears her conspicuous boob job with blithe pride, making her four grown children distinctly uncomfortable. Among them, Corey Stoll is the son who stayed to run the family business; Adam Driver is the ne’er-do-well youngest son who fled to the West Coast; Tina Fey is the unhappily married wife and mother, also visiting;
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depressed for reasons that seem dissimilar but boil down to past family trauma. That Maggie and Milo are played by Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader will get this mediocre dramedy more attention than it deserves. That their performances are good oughtn’t be surprising (the two SNL pros have plenty of experience with the comedy of awkwardness). That their script is so tonally sad-happy yet familiar, one has to attribute to the inexperienced writers. At NYU film school, Mark Heyman and Craig Johnson started scripting something about a student/teacher sex scandal, then shelved the project for years. After Heyman co-wrote Black Swan and Johnson directed True Adolescents here in Washington state (he being a Bellingham native and UW grad), they reconceived the project to focus on the damage wrought on Maggie and Milo many years later, as adults. And from that, God help us, come healing and forgiveness and confronting the unpleasant past. What Skeleton Twins attempts, but fails, to bring to this sentimental game is against-thegrain novelty. You see, Maggie and Milo are catty, sardonic misanthropes, angry at the world because they haven’t lived up to their youthful potential. (When Milo says “We’re both fuckups,” it’s a badge of honor, really.) A failed actor, he returns home to New Jersey, where she’s a dental hygienist married to a doofus (Luke Wilson) whom she treats with gentle contempt (as does the film). Milo seems to have been jilted by some guy back in L.A., but the real problem (Ty Burrell of Modern Family) is waiting in his hometown. Why’d he come back? Perhaps Milo has a misguided notion of love—as opposed to Maggie’s inability to love. (Drunken bathroom sex with strangers is a different matter.) Skeleton Twins tries very hard, too hard, to leaven the pathos in the Dean family’s past with Maggie and Milo’s insular humor. Still, the snark bogs down in melodrama, and no amount of ’80s pop montages can really change the film’s trajectory. (When even the bitter Maggie can declare “We’re supposed to be there for each other,” you know the cause is lost.) If the jokes were there, a spirit of wrist-slitting dark comedy might emerge. But Heyman and Johnson aren’t from the SNL or Apatow combines. Nor does Skeleton Twins compare well with straight sibling dramas like The Savages or You Can Count on Me. Perhaps the lesson to this heartfelt misfire is that mixing genres is very, very difficult. And if you don’t get the balance right, it’s like kissing your sister. BRIAN MILLER
OPENS FRI., SEPT. 19 AT SUNDANCE AND ALDERWOOD 16. RATED PG-13. 104 MINUTES.
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From left, Driver, Stoll, Fey, and Bateman as disparate sibs.
and Jason Bateman is the New York radio producer whose marriage just imploded (not that he’s telling anyone, not just now, not on this trip, no way). Now there’s a lot of ground to cover in this cluttered adaptation of Jonathan Tropper’s 2009 novel (he did the adaptation), directed with no great subtlety by Shawn Levy, who helmed all those wildly popular, family-friendly Night at the Museum movies. Clearly the studios are in his debt; he had money to spend on his starry cast, and he shows them all to maximum benefit (though none have to work very hard in so many short scenes). This Is Where I Leave You is A-material, originally attached to Steven Spielberg, which brings us back to the mid-September release date. It’s not coming out on Christmas for a reason. Scene by scene, performer by performer, there are moments that work well here. Fey shows tender lost love for her old boyfriend (Timothy Olyphant), a guy who never left town owing to an accident; how culpable she was, the script is reluctant to spell out. (All parties must be treated fairly and sympathetically.) Driver, of Girls, brings a welcome jolt of energy to a feckless, underwritten character; I particularly liked his smilingly uncontrite reading of “I’m ashamed” when confronted with eavesdropping on sibling sex; the guy doesn’t know the meaning of the word. Bateman’s beleaguered, dry delivery is as effective as ever, though he can’t save lines like “I have spent my entire life playing it safe.” Outside the Altman family are some interesting women: Rose Byrne (pursuing Bateman), Connie Britton (tiring of Driver), and Kathryn Hahn (married to Stoll, also Bateman’s ex). You want to see more of them—especially Hahn’s guerrilla-comedy aggression (as demonstrated in Bad Words with Bateman) and Britton’s old-school glamour (she’s got such a poised, classic quality you could imagine her as a creature of the studio era). On the whole, however, Levy is fatally wed to a formula of tears, outbursts, wise counsel, and reconciliation—repeated often. I lost track of the number of times Bateman and Fey sat on the roof discussing their siblings; one scene would’ve sufficed, and fewer but longer scenes might’ve allowed them to present full characters. But Levy cuts for comedy, regularly interrupting the pathos—remember the dead father? that guy?— with pooping toddlers and antic fistfights. But if you like a nice buffet after the funeral, This Is Where I Leave You offers something for everyone: adultery, surprise pregnancy, and sudden declarations of sexual orientation. And maybe that’s your family, too, or how you spend the holidays. Says Fonda, prophetically, “It’s gonna be hard. It’s gonna be uncomfortable. And we are all gonna get on each other’s nerves.” Oh, wait, were we not talking about the movie? BRIAN MILLER
Basing a film on a podcast, or even a single extended joke within a podcast, isn’t the worst grounds for picking up a movie camera. Books, plays, comics, famous figures from history or sports, news stories, whatever—the inspiration doesn’t matter. Execution is what counts. (What’s the old saw about paying to hear Orson Welles read the phone book?) So if Kevin Smith wants to spin a Gothic tall tale out of an urban legend, fine—swing away, boys. The challenge for Smith, who can write pages of wonderfully meandering, inquisitive dialogue when so inclined, is to develop this riff into a solid script. On their podcast, he and Scott Moser were tipped to a British online ad for a roommate posted by a guy with a walrus fixation (a put-on, as it turned out), which he then expanded—stretched is more like it—into a whimsical horror yarn. And so eager is Smith to get to the big, spooky house with its strange Canadian owner (an ancient mariner, no less!) that he rushes past the most fertile ground for satire. Los Angeles podcaster Wallace ( Justin Long) was once a decent if geeky human being, as his girlfriend reminds him, but his podcast has become a mean-spirited freak show and he its cruel barker. Yet here Smith does not dwell. Wallace and Teddy (Haley Joel Osment, now a chipmunk-cheeked young adult) are the obnoxious hosts of what they call The Not See Party, a pun they will later have cause to regret. Their stock in trade is assembling viral videos and various Internet schmoes to ridicule; their tone is more TMZ than I Can Haz Cheezburger. They’re the sons of Howard Stern, who reflexively disparage everything and everyone below them on the celebrity food chain, not the actual powers on high. And thanks to our shameless share-all culture, people keep putting things on the Web for them to mock. Traveling to Winnipeg, where one podcast story abruptly dies out, Wallace stumbles onto another: a roommate-wanted flyer posted above a urinal, written in briny cursive on yellowed parchment. He’s intrigued, so he drives to the remote mansion of old, wheelchair-bound Howard (Michael Parks, from Smith’s Red State), who turns out to be a gold mine of story material (some of which Smith illustrates in black-andwhite flashbacks that show the influence of Winnipeg’s leading auteur, Guy Maddin). Howard met Hemingway, collects curios in trophy cases, and regularly quotes Coleridge and Kipling. Wallace is enchanted, then sleepy, and he will soon wake into horror, like The Human Centipede meets Edgar Allan Poe. Wallace’s girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez) and Teddy eventually fly up to Canada to find him, aided by a slumming A-list star with a FrenchCanadian accent. (Give that Guy LaPointe a TV show already, and some better lines to deliver.) Their rescue mission comes too late, however, and Smith spends far too much of the movie in long, static scenes at the mansion. You want Tusk to develop into an Abbott and Costello comedy, with more gags, monsters, chases, and pratfalls. Instead, Smith doggedly clings to the punishment theme in this one-note stunt movie. BRIAN MILLER E film@seattleweekly.com
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• BOYHOOD Richard Linklater’s Boyhood was shot
in the director’s native Texas in short bursts over a 12-year period—Linklater knew the shape of the film, but would tweak its script as time marched on, incorporating topical issues and reacting to his performers. This means that unlike most movies, which remake the world and impose an order on it, Boyhood reacts to the world. Protagonist Mason (Ellar Coltrane), tracked from first grade to high-school graduation, is learning that life does not fit into the pleasing rise and fall of a threeact structure, but is doled out in unpredictable fits and starts. Linklater doesn’t reject melodrama so much as politely declines it, opting instead for little grace
notes and revealing encounters. Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke are terrific as the parents, and Linklater’s daughter Lorelei is distinctive as Mason’s older sister. Other folks come and go, like people do. As we reach the final stages, there’s definitely a sense of rounding off the story, and a few appropriate nods toward lessons learned—the movie’s not as shapeless as it might seem. Let’s also appreciate how Linklater calls for us to reimagine how we might treat movies and childhood: less judgment, less organization, more daydreaming. (R) ROBERT HORTON Sundance CHEF There is nothing wrong with food porn or the happy camaraderie of a restaurant kitchen. Nor can I fault writer/director/star Jon Favreau for making a midlifecrisis movie that lets slip his Hollywood complaints. The commercial pressures in directing formulaic blockbusters like Iron Man must surely be great, and film critics are surely all assholes. Chef is the simple though overlong story of a chef getting his culinary and family mojo back, and my only real criticism—apart from the constant Twitter plugs—is that absolutely nothing stands in the way of that progress for chef Carl (Favreau). Dustin Hoffman barely registers as a villain (as Carl’s gently greedy “play the hits” boss, who goads him into quitting); Robert Downey Jr., as the prior ex of Carl’s ex (Sofia Vergara), briefly shadows the scene—but no, he’s only there to help. If you like endless scenes of chopping vegetables, salsa montages, and juicy supporting players (John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, Amy Sedaris, Scarlett Johansson), Chef is an entirely agreeable dish. Just expect no salt. (R) B.R.M. Crest THE DROP Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) adapted this screenplay from his short story, in which two initially unrelated incidents make the plot go: the rescue of a wounded dog and the closing-time robbery of a Brooklyn tavern called Cousin Marv’s. The bartender, Bob (Tom Hardy, late of Locke), is walking home one night when he hears the pathetic mewling of an abandoned pit bull. The abused dog is on the property of Nadia (Noomi Rapace), and these two strangers strike up a friendship around the dog; it is just possible they might be interested in each other. The robbery, meanwhile, puts hapless Cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) in a tight spot; he’s already lost ownership of the bar to Chechen gangsters. We surmise early on that not all is as it seems, and the storyline has some effective revelations along the way. But the painting of a culture is the real draw here; not only are Lehane’s underworld denizens unable to escape, it doesn’t even occur to them to imagine escaping. Bullhead director Michaël R. Roskam has his actors sunk into this defeated world: Rapace gives her best English-language performance yet; and Hardy’s softspoken turn is another step on the road for this eerie actor. Gandolfini, of course, owns this turf, and the late actor goes out strong—he can suggest a lifetime’s frustration just by the way he shoulders his bulk out of a car. (NR) R.H. SIFF Cinema Uptown, Sundance, Cinebarre, Kirkland Parkplace, others FRANK Michael Fassbender spends most of this unlikely band comedy inside an oversized papiermâché head, which ought to make Frank the world’s worst musical frontman. Instead he inspires fierce, cultish devotion among his his band, the Soronprfbs, who may have no actual fans. Part of the suspense here for viewers is when or if Frank will ever remove his fake noggin. For new keyboard player Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), the suspense is whether Frank’s suspicious acolytes will ever truly accept him; and further, if Frank will ever acknowledge Jon as a musician likewise possessing genuine talent. This is a fundamentally sad film, yet one full of slapstick, silliness, and laughter. Frank is essentially unknowable, so his band willingly accepts every humiliation and ridiculous challenge to earn—or at least guess at—his good favor. (The most hilariously protective of Frank, and scornful of Jon, is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s fierce Clara—a kind of muse and ninja.) English journalist Jon Ronson really did play in a band led by a guy like Frank. However, he and director Lenny Abrahamson have greatly embellished the tale, which now makes you think of any number of outsider artist-savants and the thrall they exert over their insecure followers. Is Frank cult leader or charlatan, genius or insane? It’s hard to decide, since he never breaks character—or can’t, really, given the mask. (NR) B.R.M. Varsity GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Give thanks to the Marvel gods for Guardians of the Galaxy. If you’ve ever had to suppress a giggle at the sight of Thor’s mighty hammer, this movie will provide a refreshing palate-cleanser. First, understand that the Guardians of the Galaxy tag is something of a joke here; this is
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» CONTINUED ON PAGE 56
STARTS FRIDAY, SEPTMEBER 19 AT A SELECT THEATER NEAR YOU Check your local listings for Thursday Night sneak peeks
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
film scholar introduces and screens the Coen brothers favorite. (R) SIFF Film Center (Seattle Center), 3249996, siff.net. $6-$12. 11 a.m. Sat., Sept. 20. EXCINEMA This evening of shorts, found footage, and other oddities includes works from local filmmakers Rafael Balboa, Jon Behrens, Caryn Cline, Scott Fitzpatrick, Salise Hughes, Reed O’Beirne, and Eric Ostrowski. (NR) Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th St., 523-3935, grandillusioncinema.org. $5-$9. 7:30 p.m. Tues., Sept. 23. I DREAM OF WIRES A decade ago, Hans Fjellestad trained his camera on instrumental pioneer Robert Moog and gave a face to the analog synthesizer that bore his name. Unfortunately, while that film did bring some attention to the form, it was less a expository doc than a tribute to the man, who died the next year. Those wanting more will find it in this excellent documentary, a deep dive that traces the evolution of the analog synthesizer, going all the way back to the installation of the first electricity-generating turbines at Niagara Falls and including contemporary practitioners. Narrated by Patti Schmidt, and deftly soundtracked by Ghostly International artist Solvent— aka Jason Amm, who wrote and directed the film with Robert Fantinatto—I Dream of Wires explores the most minute details of these instruments and their origins. But between the talk of voltage-controlled filters and sequencers is a dramatic story of warring musical inventions, pitting Don Buchla’s free-form West Coast synthesizer philosophy against Moog’s more pragmatic East Coast approach. Moog won the popularity contest, earning the patronage of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, as well as the 2004 tribute doc. But there is far more to the story than that. (Note live performance following Friday’s 7 p.m. screening by Kaori Suzuki and Chris Davis.) (NR) MARK BAUMGARTEN Grand Illusion, $5-$9. See website for showtimes. Runs Fri.-Thurs., Sept. 19-25. NIGHT MOVES Directed by Kelly Reichardt (Old Joy, Wendy & Lucy), the highly anticipated Night Moves stars Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Sarsgaard, and Dakota Fanning as three eco-terrorists determined to bomb an Oregon dam. No thriller, the movie turns out to be a slow and deeply undercharacterized study in alienation. You find yourself rooting for the dam, hoping they’ll blow themselves up instead. (R) BRIAN MILLER SIFF Film Center, $6-$12. 7:30 p.m. Mon., Sept. 22. REAL GENIUS/TROLLHUNTER Val Kilmer stars in the 1985 geek-com, fondly recalled by a few. About the less seen 2010 Norwegian horror-com, our Nick Pinkerton wrote, “Trollhunter dispenses with skepticism as a suspense element—trolls are spotted early, nakedly viewed. In place is the film’s (one) joke: draining the magic and thrill out of trollhunting.” (NR) Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 686-6684. $7-$9. See central-cinema.com for schedule. Run Fri.-Weds., Sept. 19-24. SOME LIKE IT HOT This is a gala fundraiser screening for the GI, with drinks, food, and a raffle. Billy Wilder worked with Marilyn Monroe twice, which is twice as much as most directors could stand her. Famously late and unreliable on the set of 1959’s brilliant drag-gangster farce, she required countless takes with her more professional co-stars Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, giving Wilder fits in trying to cut the picture together. And yet. Some Like It Hot represents Monroe’s saddest, greatest, most damaged and vulnerable performance precisely because all her foibles show through in the part of chanteuse Sugar Kane. “It’s the story of my life. I always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop,” she says—and that’s pretty much the way Hollywood treated Monroe, too. No matter how fast, furious, and irreverent the script, Monroe’s fragile character gives Some Like It Hot a heart that was worth all Wilder’s exasperation. (NR) B.R.M. Grand Illusion, $30. 6 & 8:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 20.
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arts&culture» Film » FROM PAGE 55
tipping giddily over into the next. Guardians isn’t exactly great, but it comes as close as this kind of thing can to creating explosive moments of delight. (PG-13) R.H. Sundance, Thornton Place, Majestic Bay, Kirkland Parkplace, Bainbridge, Cinebarre, others THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY In the South of France, the zaniness begins when the Kadam family, newly arrived in France from India, fetch up with car trouble in a small town. Restaurateurs by trade, they seize the opportunity to open an Indian place—in a spot across the street from a celebrated bastion of French haute cuisine, Le Saule Pleureur. This Michelin-starred legend is run by frosty Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), whose demeanor is the direct opposite of the earthy Kadam patriarch (Om Puri, a crafty old pro). It’s culinary and cultural war,
a painfully fallible batch of outer-space quasi-heroes. Their leader is an Earthling, Peter Quill (Lake Stevens native Chris Pratt, from Parks and Recreation, an inspired choice), who calls himself “Star-Lord” even though nobody else does. In order to retrieve a powerful matter-dissolving gizmo, he has to align himself with a selection of Marvel Comics castoffs, who will—in their own zany way—end up guarding the galaxy. (His costars, some voicing CGI creatures, are Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, and the pro wrestler Dave Bautista.) Director James Gunn (Super) understands that getting character right—and keeping the story’s goals simple—can create a momentum machine, the kind of movie in which one scene keeps
JOHN LITHGOW ALFRED MOLINA
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“A WISE AND LOVELY FILM.”
LOVE IS STRANGE -A.O. Scott, THE NEW YORK TIMES
WRITTEN BY
IRA SACHS & MAURICIO ZACHARIAS DIRECTED BY IRA SACHS
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bill hader
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4.81" X 2"
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“smart really funny. kristen wiig and bill hader are fantastic. their chemistry is infectious.” “bill hader and kristen wiig are effing uproarious! and(circle one:)
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the comic and dramatic range of their performances will
SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
blow you away!”
“a wonderful delight!”
SEATTLE select engagements start BELLEVUE Cinemark Lincoln Square Cinemas Landmark’s Harvard Exit (800) FANDANGO #2172 (206) 323-0587 friday, september 19 56
SEATTLE WEEKLY WED 9/17
but will the cooking genius of Papa’s 20-something son Hassan (Manish Dayal) be denied? Madame Mallory can recognize a chef’s innate talent by asking a prospect to cook an omelet in her presence. You can already hear the eggs breaking in Hassan’s future—the movie’s like that. Daval is a good-looking and likable leading man, so it’s too bad he’s given an unpersuasive love story with Madame Mallory’s souschef, Marguerite—Charlotte Le Bon, a pretty actress who doesn’t look convinced by the love story, either; her facial expression perpetually conveys the silent question, “Are you sure this is in the script?” Mirren hits her marks, and the food is of course drooled over. Director Lasse Hallström (Chocolat, The Cider House Rules, etc.) knows how to keep things tidy, and Journey is pleasant product, even if it seems as premeditated as a Marvel Comics blockbuster. (PG) R.H. Bainbridge, Cinebarre, others THE IDENTICAL This story springs from classic alternate-history stuff. We all know—I certainly hope we all know—that Elvis Presley had a twin brother who died at birth. What if the twin had actually survived and led a parallel existence to his famous sibling? The Identical isn’t about the Presleys by name; its fictional Elvis is called Drexel Hemsley, born to a hardscrabble cotton-pickin’ family in the Depression. The elder Hemsleys give away the infant twin to a traveling preacher (Ray Liotta) and wife (Ashley Judd), who raise the child as their own son. He’s stuck with the prosaic moniker Ryan Wade, and it’s his story we follow (Drexel’s rise to fame happens offscreen). Ryan’s got music in his blood, so there are many “But I don’t feel the callin’, Papa” scenes to get through. Ryan achieves his own musical success by becoming a Drexel Hemsley impersonator, which is a pretty decent plot twist. The best thing about this faith-based movie is Blake Rayne, who plays Ryan and Drexel. This strapping, slyly humorous fellow was working as an Elvis impersonator when tapped for the project, and he’s got an easy, non-actory appeal. Everybody else is overacting, so this is especially welcome. (PG) R.H. Meridian, Oak Tree, others LOVE IS STRANGE Meet Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina), whose cohabitation stretches back long before same-sex marriage was a realistic goal. Their new legal bond means that music teacher George is fired by the Catholic school where he has long worked—everybody there likes him, but they have to obey their bylaws. Manhattan is sufficiently expensive that Ben and George have to give up their place, and financial complications dictate a few months of couch-surfing before they can settle. George moves in with tiresomely younger, hardpartying friends; Ben takes a bunk bed in the home of relatives Kate and Eliot (Marisa Tomei and Darren E. Burrows), who already have their hands full with an awkward teen son (Charlie Tahan). It’s one of those sad situations in which everybody generally means well, but things just aren’t working out. Yet director Ira Sachs (Keep the Lights On), who has charted an intriguing course for himself through the indie world, is confident enough to leave out the expected big scenes and allow us to fill in the blanks. The movie’s about a great deal more than gay marriage, if it is about that. It’s about how nobody has any time anymore; and how great cities have priced ordinary people out of living in them; and how long-nurtured dreams have to be gently refocused. True to Sachs’ style, the movie isn’t designed as an actor’s showcase. We’re not supposed to notice the acting here— just the people. (R) R.H. Harvard Exit, Sundance A LETTER TO MOMO Goblins are disconcerting, even if their worst offense (in this case) is stealing food. For an 11-year-old girl named Momo, they are more annoying than terrifying, just another tiresome aspect of moving to the countryside with her mother. Not only is Momo expected to meet new friends and make nice with her grandparents, she’s also trying to get over the death of her father. Hiroyuki Okiura’s gently fantastical animation approach proves apt for this familiar little story. It’s an earnest combination of a realistic setting and a crazy supernatural streak, with the three goblins providing the latter. They’ve been summoned by some obscure bit of hocus-pocus; really, their function is to tease Momo, but also protect her and ease her toward reconciling her unhappiness. In short, they’re doing what everybody’s inner goblins should be doing. Even with the slow buildup, there’s no reason the audience that responded to something like Spirited Away shouldn’t fall under the sway of this one, too. (NR) R.H. Varsity MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT Set during the interwar period in the South of France, Magic in the Moonlight isn’t Woody Allen’s worst picture (my vote: The Curse
CHECK DIRECTORIES Theatre FORNOSHOWTIMES PASSES ACCEPTED
of the Jade Scorpion), but it’s close. Colin Firth plays a cynical magician, who keeps repeating Allen’s dull ideas over and over and fucking over again. Emma Stone, in her first career misstep (Allen’s fault, not hers), plays a shyster mentalist seeking to dupe a rich family out of its fortune (chiefly by marrying its gullible, ukulele-playing son, Hamish Linklater). The recreations of this posh ’20s milieu seem curiously literal, like magazine spreads, so soon after seeing Wes Anderson’s smartly inflected period detail in The Grand Budapest Hotel, which both revered and ridiculed the past. Magic feels like Allen’s re-rendering of a thin prewar British stage comedy he saw at a matinee during his youth, now peppered with references to Nietzsche and atheism. It’s dated, then updated, which only seems to date it the more. Period aside, no one wants to see Firth, 53, and Stone, 25, as a couple. The math doesn’t work. It’s icky. (PG-13) B.R.M. Seven Gables THE NOVEMBER MAN Sometimes a genre needs no excuses. This is not a great movie, nor perhaps even a particularly good one, it’s a straight-up spy picture with distinct attractions. One of those is Brosnan, who makes a much better James Bond now than he did when he actually carried the license to kill. He plays Peter Devereaux, a retired secret agent much surprised when his former apprentice (Luke Bracey) and old boss (bullet-headed Bill Smitrovich) get caught up in a botched rescue mission. It’s all connected to a corrupt Russian politician and Chechen rebels, tied together with an enjoyably wild conspiracy theory. The mystery woman, because there must be one, is a social worker (Olga Kurylenko, recently seen twirling in the nonsense of To the Wonder). The political intrigue distinguishes it from a Liam Neeson vehicle, even if the story line actually pulls a chapter from Taken in its late going. This film’s very lack of novelty is an attribute—it’s neither better nor worse than the average spy flick, and those terms are agreeable to this fan of the genre. (R) R.H. Meridian, Bainbridge, Cinebarre, others THE ONE I LOVE It’s almost impossible to describe the fanciful sci-fi plot here without resorting to significant clues, so let’s be vague about things. Sophie (Elisabeth Moss) and Ethan (Mark Duplass) are a bickering L.A. couple making no progress in marriage counseling. (Ethan’s affair will be revealed later.) Childless and confortable, they’re studies in yuppie self-absorption, neither one willing to concede ground to the other. Their smooth therapist (Ted Danson) sends them to a weekend retreat that’s worked well for other clients, he says. There, Sophie and Ethan wonder what became of their fun, Lollapalooza-going, X-dropping days. What happened to their kinder, cooler selves? In a very big story twist, writer Justin Lader and director Charlie McDowell cleverly filter that feeling of past/present discontent through a refracting lens. (Duplass actually gave them the movie’s premise to develop.) Just how well do you know your spouse? You want to be a better partner, but it takes so much damn effort. And The One I Love forces Ethan and Sophie to make that effort; their very freedom depends upon it. Thus their weekend lesson may be this: A successful relationship requires you to be a very good actor. (R) B.R.M. Sundance THE TRIP TO ITALY Director Michael Winterbottom reunites with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon for another eating-kvetching tour, this time ranging from Rome to Capri and the Amalfi coast. Coogan and Brydon are playing caricatures of themselves (who also co-starred in Winterbottom’s 2005 Tristram Shandy), not quite frenemies and not quite BFFs: two guys anxious about their personal and professional standing at midlife. Joking about the classical past and the stars of Hollywood’s golden age, they constantly worry how they’ll rate against the greats. Though it didn’t occur to me when I saw the movie during SIFF, their constant nattering about the permanence of art versus the fleeting pleasures of the now makes them fellow travellers with Toni Servillo in The Great Beauty. He could almost be their tour guide, and they need one. Now I grant you that newbies may find less to appreciate in the dueling Roger Moore impressions and crushed hopes of middle age. This is not a comedy for the under-40 set. Still, the gorgeous locations and food may inspire happy travels of your own. Go while you’ve got time remaining. (NR) B.R.M. Sundance, Kirkland, others
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including a rotating lineup of 20 fresh hop beers. Another one of my favorite bars in town, The Pine Box in Capitol Hill, will be throwing a 2-day Fresh Hop Fest on October 5 & 6. They will have at least 25 fresh hop beers pouring from their taps, and they will also have 12 Randalls (infusion devices) set up on the patio with the same beer pouring through all of them, but with different fresh hop varieties in each. It’s a great way to geek out and taste what different flavors the various hop strains impart.
Time for Oktoberfest
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2014 SMALL BREWERY OF THE YEAR at the Washington Beer Awards
Brewmaster, Kevin Davey We’re tapping
Fresh, handcrafted beer and premium, made-from-scratch our “Festbier” food...all served up in a friendly and fun atmosphere - that’s what the Gordon Biersch experience is all about. Oktoberfest
Lager TODAY at 5:30pm, Sept. 17th! Come on over for food sampling & live German music.
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SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
Oktoberfest is upon us, with the official festival in Munich kicking off on September 20 and lasting through October 4. If you can’t make the trip to Germany, the popular Fremont Oktoberfest returns for its 18th year from September 19-21. This festival takes place right in the heart of Fremont and offers more than 100 different craft beers, as well as full liter steins of German beers in their beer garden. Local breweries always bring some special treats to this festival, including fresh hop beers and seasonal releases. If you really want to pretend you are in Munich, the Leavenworth Oktoberfest might be your best bet. This Bavarian-themed village celebrates Oktoberfest over the first three weekends in October. If you drink enough, you just might be able to convince yourself that you’ve teleported to the real festival. You’ll really have to drink a lot, though. That Bavarianthemed Starbucks is a dead giveaway that you haven’t left WA. When it comes to German-style lagers made by local breweries here in Seattle, the best place to find a quality pour is at Gordon Biersch on the top floor of Pacific Place. If
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know a lot of you are sad that summer is on its way out, but cheer up. We have a lot to be happy about this time of year. Our Seahawks are back and trying to work their way into another Super Bowl, and the Mariners are actually fighting for a spot in the postseason (seriously). This time of year is also perfect for hitting the trails for a hike, which means stopping for a rewarding pint of something local afterwards. A part of me hates to admit it, but I personally look forward to the end of summer and the turn of the seasons. The biggest reason is that it means fresh hop beers are on their way. Around 75% of the country’s hops are harvested in the Yakima Valley. The large majority of hops are dried for use throughout the year, but many breweries these days make beers using fresh, wet hops pulled straight off the vine (technically called a “bine”). Using fresh hops can give a beer unique earthy, and “green” hop flavors that many of us have come to crave. Keep your eye out for releases from local breweries on draft, and you’ll even be able to find some of these in bottles at local retailers (Two Beers Brewing already has theirs out). The Yakima Fresh Hop Ale Festival on October 4 is a great experience, but closer to home is the Fresh Hop Throwdown at The Noble Fir on Saturday, September 27. The Throwdown will feature around 15 fresh hop beers on tap, mostly from Washington & Oregon. The doors will open to the public at 4pm, but there will be a private judging earlier in the day and the top beers will be announced at the event. Also, hopheads should’t miss Hopfest at Brouwer’s Café in Fremont starting on October 8 and running through the weekend. They’ll have 50+ hoppy beers on tap,
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
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FALL Beer PREVIEW continued from page 57
barrel of beer. There will be live music, food specials, giveaways and more.
Flying Lion Brewing Coming to Columbia City
Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood is a perfect spot for a brewery, and Flying Lion Brewing hopes to be open soon on Rainier Ave S in a small space right next to the popular Full Tilt Ice Cream. Flying Lion will be located right on the main business drag of the neighborhood, making it a great addition to those in search of a beer in South Seattle. They will be operating on a small 3-barrel brewing system with the goal of making enough beer to keep patrons in their 25 seat taproom happy. The owners and brewer are big fans of stouts and porters, so you should see plenty of roasty, dark beers perfect for the season. Their dog and kid friendly taproom will be open every day of the week, except Tuesday, to start, and beer will be available for purchase in pints and to-go in growlers.
FRESH & WONDERFUL BEER!
Geoff Kaiser enjoys writing about and drinking beer in Seattle. Check out his website at http://seattlebeernews.com. Your neighborhood pub at
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SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
you haven’t been paying attention, head brewer Kevin Davey (formerly of Chuckanut, Firestone Walker) has been turning out lagers that rival any in town. Earlier this year, they won Small Brewery of the Year at the 2014 Washington Beer Awards by taking home four medals. Now would be a perfect time to visit, as they are tapping their seasonal Festbier, an Oktoberfest lager, on September 17 at 5:30pm. In addition to the new beer release, they will have live German music and appetizers to sample. Seattle’s largest German-style beer hall will also be embracing the season with its own Oktoberfest celebration. The fun starts at Rhein Haus (formerly known as Von Trapp’s) on Thursday, September 18 with a kickoff party from 6pm to 9pm. They will have seven Oktoberfest beers on tap and live Bavarian-style music to sway your beer to. The big party at Rhein Haus will be on Saturday, October 4 from 3pm to 6pm when Jürgen Knöller, the owner of Bayern Brewing, former Master Brewmeister for Spaten, and creator of the Rhein Haus Lager, will be in attendance to do the honor of tapping a special
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SEATTLE WEEKLY PROMOTIONS
Live at El Corazon Sun. 9/21
WIN TICKETS TO bREW AT ThE ZOO
Join Woodland Park Zoo for the 4th annual Brew at the Zoo beer-tasting event on Thursday, October 2. Sample imports, domestics, microbrews and even ciders from over 30 different breweries. 21+ years only!
TICKET GIVEAWAY CONOR ObERST
Showbox presents: Conor Oberst, Tuesday, Sept. 30 Doors at 7 pm, Showbox. Conor Oberst continues to create lovely and emotionally stimulating songs.
TICKET GIVEAWAY Dj ShADOW / CuT ChEMIST
STG presents: DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist Wednesday, October 8, 8 pm, The Neptune Theatre Music fans are in for a once-in-a-lifetime experience when turntablists supreme DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist.
CD N O SALE $8.99
SEATTLE 2930 1st Ave S (206) 283-3472
WIN TICKETS TO ThE hORRORS
STG presents: The Horrors, Saturday, October 18 9 pm, The Neptune Theatre. Luminous was recorded over 15 months in the band’s east London studio-laboratorybunker with co-producer Craig Silvey. NORTHGATE 9560 1st Ave NE (206) 524-3472
BELLEVUE Crossroads Mall (425) 643-3472
TICKET GIVEAWAY juNGLE
Showbox presents: Jungle, Wednesday, October 15 Doors at 8 pm, Showbox. Half recorded at home and finished in the studios of their new label XL, Jungle’s intoxicating self-titled debut delivers all that and more.
A LT S TAD T bierhalle & brathaus
TICKET GIVEAWAY!
ThE bEST 80’S hALLOWEEN PARTY EVER! Showbox presents: The Best 80’s Halloween Party Ever! Saturday, October 25, 8 pm, Showbox. Performances include: Nite Wave (80’s New Wave, For The Masses, Voyager (80’s Hard Rock), PLUS MORE!
SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
TICKET GIVEAWAY! MØ
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STG presents: MØ, Monday, October 20, 8 pm, The Neptune Theatre. Her unique mix of indie, pop, hip-hop, electro and soul is hella fresh sounding
WIN TICKETS TO KARRIN ALLYSON
Dimitrou’s Jazz Alley presents: The three-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated artist has been playing everywhere jazz can be heard or seen since 1992.
Oktoberfest Sept 20th Raffles, Beers, & Special Bavarian Menu 209 1st Ave South Pioneer Square, Seattle
TICKET GIVEAWAY ThE KILLS
STG presents: he Kills, Monday, October 27, 8 pm , The Neptune Theatre. The Kills formed in 2000 when a boy from Andover, England and a girl from Florida, USA met in a South London hotel.
FOR MORE DETAILS AND TO ENTER TO WIN, VISIT US AT:
www.seattleweekly.com/promo/freestuff
arts&culture» Music
Go Ask Alice
Alice Gerrard’s beautiful new folk album has wisdom to share.
BY STIRLING MYLES
E
ditional musicians travelling the South. She took part every year from 1969 to 1982, singing and playing banjo and guitar. Between tours, she gravitated toward the Northeast. “I’m always influenced by what’s around me,” she says. “My influences started from the times during the 1950s and ’60s when I met people who liked traditional music, played it, and knew others who played it. When I moved to the Washington-Baltimore area, it was a hotbed of musical growth, being a crossroads of young, middle-class kids who were interested in mainly bluegrass music and Southern transplants who were playing mainly in bars all over the area.” There she began to collaborate with Dickens and other celebrated folkies, like Jeremy Foster (her first husband), Pete Kuykendall, and Dick Spottswood, along with songwriter and folkmusic historian Mike Seeger (whom she married after Foster died in a car accident). In 1989, making her way down to Durham, she found her own sense of place to write and tour from. She hasn’t been idle since then. 2013 brought forth the excellent Bittersweet, and Follow the Music is produced by fellow Durham resident MC Taylor of cult folk-rock group Hiss Golden Messenger, who approached her to do a project. “He was my graduate-student assistant when I taught one semester at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University,” Gerrard says. “He was recording for [record label] Tompkins Square (TS) at the time, and said he wanted to produce a recording of me for TS. He has a definite idea of what he wanted for the album, and I just sort of gave over to that and trusted him for the most part.” Backed by an amazing ensemble comprising brothers Brad and Phil Cook of psych-folk group Megafaun as well as Taylor himself, Gerrard’s voice on opening track “Bear Me Away” captures a sincerity in every recorded breath over a worn, mournful fiddle. Her banjo playing is also a force to be reckoned with. In the traditional song “Boll Weevil,” each stringed instrument weaves an impeccable sonic tapestry, rustic, haunting, and steeped with dusty charm. Gerrard seems satisfied with it, and hopes others will be too. Her desire is that listeners will “enjoy the music, [and develop] a desire to explore traditional music further and be open to other worlds of music, a sense that imperfection is perfection in this world of AutoTune.” That’s sage advice from an artist, on the folk circuit from Seattle to Baltimore, who’s always followed the sound herself. E IRENE YOUNG
music@seattleweekly.com
Follow the Music is out Sept. 30 via Tompkins Square, tompkinssquare.com.
El Corazon www.elcorazonseattle.com
109 Eastlake Ave East • Seattle, WA 98109 Booking and Info: 206.262.0482
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH
JESSE DENARO
with Animal Flag, Raven Zoe, Riley Olson, Young Love Lounge Show. Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 7:30 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $8 ADV / $10 DOS
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH MIKE THRASHER PRESENTS:
LACUNA COIL
with The Devil You Know, The People Now, Pacific Drive Doors at 6:30PM / Show at 7:30 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $20 ADV / $25 DOS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST MIKE THRASHER PRESENTS:
YOU ME AT SIX
with Young Guns, Stars In Stereo, Downtown Fiction Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 8:00 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $15 ADV / $18 DOS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD
INDIGO EYE
with Perry Porter, The Man From Somewhere Else, Professor Anarchy Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 7:30 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $8ADV / $10 DOS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH
PAIN OF SALVATION
with Vangough, The Devils of Loudun, Children of Seraph, As Kingdoms Divide Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 8:00 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $20 ADV / $25 DOS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH KISW (99.9 FM) METAL SHOP & EL CORAZON PRESENT:
SONATA ARCTICA
With Delain, Xandria, Last Bastion Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 7:30 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $20 ADV / $23 DOS/ $25 VIP
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH
RAISE IT UP! FIGHT FOR $15 IN ALL 50 A BENEFIT CONCERT FOR 15 NOW FEATURING:
SOLD OUT THANK YOU! Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine, Chris Cornell (of Soundgarden and Audioslave), Special Guest: Kshama Sawant, Subject To Downfall
Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 8:00 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $20 ADV / $25 DOS / $25 VIP
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH MIKE THRASHER PRESENTS:
TRAPT
with Darling Parade, First Decree, The Nixon Rodeo, Stoic FB Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 7:30
ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $16 ADV / $20 DOS
JUST ANNOUNCED 10/14 - EDDIE & THE HOT RODS 10/23 - ZNI 10/23 LOUNGE - LIONFIGHT 10/29 - EYEHATEGOD 11/3 - 36 CRAZYFISTS / SKINLAB 11/11 - MARIACHI EL BRONX
11/19 - THE GHOST INSIDE / EVERY TIME I DIE UP & COMING 9/28 - TWIZTID 9/29 - CROWBAR 9/29 LOUNGE - TOTAL SLACKER 9/30 - AMON AMARTH 10/1 - PARACHUTE 10/2 LOUNGE - LOSE CONTROL 10/3 - AARON CARTER 10/3 LOUNGE - UKE-HUNT (FEAT. SPIKE SLAWSON (ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES AND SWINGIN’ UTTERS) 10/4 - THE PRETTY RECKLESS 10/5 - RICHARD MARX 10/6 - SUFFOKATE 10/6 LOUNGE - EMPIRE! EMPIRE! (I WAS A LONLEY ESTATE) 10/7 - ELUVEITIE 10/8 - JACOB WHITESIDES 10/8 LOUNGE - GIGAN 10/9 - PRONG / WITCHBURN 10/10 - HELLION 10/10 LOUNGE - HAIL THE SUN 10/11 - FRIENDS LIKE ENEMIES 10/11 LOUNGE - RAGS & RIBBONS 10/12 - GUTTERMOUTH 10/13 - HEAD NORTH 10/13 LOUNGE - THIRA 10/14 LOUNGE - PUP 10/15 - UNDER CITIES 10/16 - AB-SOUL
Tickets now available at cascadetickets.com - No per order fees for online purchases. Our on-site Box Office is open 1pm-5pm weekdays in our office and all nights we are open in the club - $2 service charge per ticket Charge by Phone at 1.800.514.3849. Online at www.cascadetickets.com - Tickets are subject to service charge
The EL CORAZON VIP PROGRAM: see details at www.elcorazon.com/vip.html and for an application email us at info@elcorazonseattle.com
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
ven in its most traditional forms, music is elusive. It’s boundless in nature, yet tethered to the place where it’s written. With her beautiful new bluegrass album, Follow the Music, singer/songwriter Alice Gerrard offers a work that speaks to the many intersecting roads of the folk narrative. For Gerrard—born in Seattle, raised in California, and now based in Durham, N.C.—music was always a family member. She was influenced by her parents: “My mother was a singer and classical pianist and my father was a singer,” she told Seattle Weekly recently on the phone. “I grew up with a sense of music as being something you could do yourself for yourself, with friends. That played right into the folk-traditional scenario. Love the sound, listen to the sound, learn it by ear, and play it with friends.” Simple, bare, and powerful, Follow the Music could only have been written by someone as experienced as Gerrard, who at 80 can look back on a career of 13 albums and multiple entries in the revered Smithsonian Folkways catalog. A number of recordings she made with music partner Hazel Dickens are considered some of the most influential in folk-music history and have touched the likes of Emmylou Harris, who said earlier this year, “[Alice] is the real deal with the right stuff, and hasn’t forgotten where country music came from.” Gerrard started playing professionally during the ’60s folk revival, and took up with the famed Southern Folk Cultural Revival Project, a biannual tour, founded by Anne Romaine and Bernice Johnson Reagon, of tra-
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arts&culture» Music 1303 NE 45TH ST
LOCALRELEASES It’s September 2014 and the Seattle sound has tentacles far and wide. Our town has inspired and continues to nurture a range of artists, from locals like Motopony and Shaprece to L.A.based Kaylee Cole and even Sweden’s GOAT (via Sub Pop, of course). As we move forward into the fall, Seattle Weekly takes a moment to reflect on the latest releases from these artists and as many others as we could fit into the paper.
tremolo guitar for “Words,” and either “To Travel the Path Unknown” or “Hide From the Sun” could rank as GOAT’s calmest moments. Somehow the band’s ability to move from meditative sedateness to unhinged wah-wah work out is what makes it such a unique troupe, regardless of its background. DAVE CANTOR
Join us in the Trophy Room for Happy Hour: Thursday Bartender Special 8-Close Fridays: 5-8pm RESERVE THE TROPHY ROOM FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT!
The Gods Themselves, The Gods Themselves
Caspar Babypants, Rise and Shine (out now,
COCKTAILS • TASTY HOT DOGS • LOTSA PINBALL
2222 2ND AVENUE • SEATTLE
206-441-5449
2033 6th Avenue (206) 441-9729 jazzalley.com
JAZZ ALLEY IS A SUPPER CLUB AMINA FIGAROVA SEXTET
WED, SEPT 17
Jazz composer and pianist who knows how to swing
Aurora Elephant Records, babypantsmusic.com) As a soon-to-be dad, I’ve been dreading having to suffer through endless cycles of banal kids’ songs. Fortunately, Chris Ballew’s cheeky sense of humor and clever lyrics result in music that I’ll happily put on repeat. After the rousing title track, we’re introduced to “The Littlest Worm,” “The Girl With the Squirrel in Her Hat,” “John Mousey” (a retelling of the John Henry tale), and a brave baby barnacle (“Hold Fast Baby Barnacle”). Repetition, call and response, and familiar melodies (“The Littlest Worm” borrows the melody from “Walk the Line”) encourage participation from both parents and children. Per usual, help from the likes of Rachel Flotard and Jen Wood (Postal Service) fill things out. (Sat. Sept. 27 & Sun. Sept. 28, Town Hall) MICHAEL F. BERRY
(Sept. 23, self-released, wearethegodsthemselves. com) When you share your band and record name with a novel by acclaimed science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov, certain adjectives jump to mind: trippy, unique, mysterious, whimsical, and dark, to name a few. The album is truly eclectic in a way that doesn’t stray from the band’s larger identity as a power/psych-pop outfit. From the Ramones-meets-B-52s opening track “Last Chance for Love” to the unbridled, sludgy bludgeoner “Thunderbird” to the gritty cover of the Ginuwine classic “Pony,” The Gods Themselves seem quite comfortable exploring the disparate realms of sonic possibility. (Sat. Sept. 27, Lo-Fi)
CORBIN REIFF
EARL KLUGH
THURS SEPT 18 - SUN, SEPT 21
SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
Grammy-Award Winning contemporary crossover jazz guitarist and composer.
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LISA FISCHER
TUES, SEPT 23 - WED, SEPT 24
Grammy and Oscar winning R & B vocalist an unsung hero featured in the documentary Twenty Feet From Stardom.
ELIANE ELIAS
King Tuff, Black Moon Spell (Sept. 23, Sub Pop,
THURS, SEPT 25 - SUN, SEPT 28
Blending Brazilian roots, a sensuous voice and impressive instrumental jazz, classical and compositional skills.
KENNY LATTIMORE
TUES SEPT 30 - WED, OCT 1
R&B soulman with unique contemporary flair, transcending boundaries! LARRY CORYELL, VICTOR BAILEY AND LENNY WHITE
THURS, OCT 2 - SUN, OCT 5
“A mix of jazz, funk and rock... infectious, especially when played with such incendiary inspiration.” - Allmusic.com
all ages | free parking full schedule at jazzalley.com
GOAT, Commune (Sept. 23, Sub Pop, goatsweden.
blogspot.com) Whatever the unfathomable story behind Sweden’s GOAT actually is—a centuriesold religious sect from the northern climes of a Nordic country or some grand hoax—the ensemble’s returning with a follow-up to its 2012 debut, World Music. As the first disc displayed both in name and music, GOAT again mixes African rhythms into a krauty stew of psychedelia. Commune ramps up the polyrhythms, but also makes sure to throw in some overwrought ’80s-style
kingtuffworld.com) Magic, mystery, love: King Tuff, aka Kyle Thomas, handles it all on his third full-length. Titles like “I Love You Ugly” and “Demon From Hell” may seem a bit harsh, but Tuff ’s lyrics, sung in a slightly whiny, love-itor-hate-it voice, are often more sweet than sour. And a heavy dose of psychedelic shimmer (like that of Portugal. The Man) and garage-rock riffs add to the album’s brightness. “Sick Mind,” for example, is so full of peppy vocal harmonies that the condition seems appealing. Several songs barely pass the one-minute mark, but these mini-tunes don’t seem like throwaway tracks. Rather, they add quick bursts of energy to an already spirited album. (Wed., Oct. 22, Neumos)
AZARIA C. PODPLESKY
dinner & show
mainstage WED/SEPTEMBER 17 • 7:30PM
rising appalachia
w/ theresa davis & morning ritual Motopony, Idle Beauty EP (out now, Entertain-
ment One, motoponymusic.com) Motopony’s Daniel Blue is a beat poet trapped inside an indie rocker. On the group’s eponymous debut, his surrealist imagery and warbling vocals showed hints of this, and on the group’s latest release, it’s in full force. Motopony is at its best at its weirdest and bleakest. Over warped acoustic chords on the brooding “She Is Spirit,” Blue shakily coos cutting lines like “ ’Cause the truth is you can’t live inside your heart/And to be alone is worse than being dead.” Though tracks like the bright opener “Get Down (Come Up)” and the blissful “About a Song” show that the band can handle indie pop just fine, they never quite match the intensity of the EP’s darker moments. Bonus track “Breakthru” is the realization of the brilliance in Blue’s dreariness. Over trip-hop beats and ambient guitars, he emphatically rants about having an epiphany on a night out with friends in Tacoma, dancing and smoking joints. His lyrical flow is casually cool, marked by the song’s coda: “Oh my God, I think I’m about to have a breakthrough.” Within the descriptions of a monotonous evening, Blue creates a lush atmosphere and beauty. (Fri., Sept. 19, Neumos) DUSTY HENRY
Various artists, Rudy’s x Vita Buzzed Cuts (out
now, rudysbarbershop.com) During a late-night
conversation at a Rudy’s Barbershop think-tank retreat, two employees discussed that they were both also musicians, as are many of their coworkers in the chain. Soon this mixtape was born, a compilation of all-employee acts from Rudy’s and Caffé Vita locations in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, and Portland. Comprising 17 songs in genres from alt-country and hip-hop to metal and electronic, it’s a nice mix that shows the variety of talent within the group. While songs by Sunmore Son and Seattle’s Sailor Mouth are instantly grabbing, there’s something for everyone here. Available as a T-shirt/download package, $35 might seem a little steep, but all proceeds go to the Seattle/Bellevue music-education and therapy nonprofit Music Works Northwest, which is worth some of your hard-earned cash. (Noddy, Thurs., Oct. 9, Chop Suey; Hearts Are Thugs, Fri., Oct. 3, High Dive) JAMES BALLINGER Seacats, Songs From the Box (out now, Garbage
Town Records, seacats.bandcamp.com) Kelso, Wash.’s Weezer-worshipping Seacats bill themselves as “NW rock n roll’s funny guyz.” Case in point: They like to post videos about how much they “like” Korn. That’s why Songs From the Box is such an interesting departure; yes, there are still Korn jokes, and the album ends with a 10-minute jam/freestyle rap, but suddenly somewhere in the middle they start singing thoughtful songs about
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 64
THU/SEPTEMBER 18 • 8PM - SHOWBOX PRESENTS
justin furstenfeld FRI/SEPTEMBER 19 • 8PM
meshell ndegeocello SAT/SEPTEMBER 20 • 8PM & SUN/SEPTEMBER 21 • 7PM
captain smartypants in “starstruck”
MON/SEPTEMBER 22 • 7PM & TUE/SEPT 23 • 7PM & 9:30PM
the bad plus
THU/SEPTEMBER 25 • 7:30PM
taylor davis
FRI/SEPTEMBER 26 • 8PM
sean hayes w/ eric and erica
J
enn Ghetto decided to name her band S long before Internet searching had become the dominant means of information-gathering. By the time she realized the simple name she’d chosen could be troublesome, it was too late. She’d unintentionally selected an un-Googleable band name. “You can’t even put S into iTunes,” she says with a laugh. But a lot has changed since the late ’90s, and not just with the Internet. S, which started as a bedroom side project while Ghetto was fronting Seattle sadcore stalwarts Carissa’s Wierd, has become her main musical focus now that that group’s breakup is more than 10 years in the rearview. Cool Choices, out this week, is the first S record to feature a full band and the first to be produced outside her bedroom. Though the songwriting for the album began after a breakup, Ghetto decided she wanted to make a big record. She started playing with a drummer and began e-mailing her old friend
next • 9/27 decibel fest/optical 5: ghostly international • 9/28 decibel fest/ optical 6: erased tapes • 9/29 living colour • 10/1 - 4 burlesco divino: wine in rome • 10/5 rust on the rails • 10/6 masters of hawaiian music: george kahumoku jr, ledward kaapana, “uncle” richard ho‘opi‘i • 10/7 three below (michael manring, trey gunn, arreola) • 10/8 brazilian nights! filó machado w/ jovino santos neto • 10/9 & 10 nearly dan
happy hour every day • 9/17 jd hobson • 9/18 sam marshall trio • 9/19 supersones / shiftless layabout • 9/20 jelly rollers • 9/21 hyw 99 blues presents: jaime nova • 9/22 crossrhythm sessions • 9/23 singersongwriter showcase featuring: kelley mcrae w/ whitney mongé and olivia de la cruz • 9/24 goessl/pereira/van batenburg trio TO ENSURE THE BEST EXPERIENCE · PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY DOORS OPEN 1.5 HOURS PRIOR TO FIRST SHOW · ALL-AGES (BEFORE 9:30PM)
thetripledoor.net
216 UNION STREET, SEATTLE · 206.838.4333
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
Jenn Ghetto’s Cool Choices
Chris Walla (of Death Cab for Cutie) to produce it. “I think I was in a manic state for a while,” she explains, which sparked her enthusiasm to collaborate, especially with Walla, whom she deemed the ideal candidate to keep things intimate while increasing the scope. She was right. Crisp, clear guitar tones provide the perfect foundation for Ghetto’s vocals on Choices, with the rest of the band given plenty of room to breathe. Despite its overall somberness, the album is beautiful. “Pacific”—just Ghetto and a piano—is the kind of delicate heartbreaker Cat Power does so well, while “Vampires” is a jangly rocker that makes her melancholy downright danceable. Ghetto, it seems, relishes such dichotomies, like with the title Cool Choices. “You can say it in any circumstance,” she offers, “Good or bad. ‘You’re making a lot of cool choices there, I see.’ Or it could be like, ‘Oh, cool choices!’ ” Out now via Hardly Art Records, hardlyart. com. Sonic Boom Records, 2209 N.W. Market St., 297-2666, sonicboomrecords.com. Free. 6 p.m. Tues., Sept. 23. DAVE LAKE
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arts&culture» Music
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» FROM PAGE 64 God, finding peace, dealing with personal anxiety, and confronting feelings of self-deceit. And lo and behold, they’re some of the best songs the band has ever written. Who would’ve thought sincerity suited Seacats so well? KELTON SEARS
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Shaprece, Molting EP (out now, self-released via Noisetrade, shaprece.com) One listen to this album makes it clear that Shaprece is one of the most innovative artists in Seattle. Negotiating the boundaries between trip hop and chamber pop, each of its six tracks (five new songs, one remix by Blue Sky Black Death) is a world unto itself, with atmospheric electronics, orchestral strings, deep bass, and layers of vocals. Amid it all, Shaprece’s voice—restrained and intimate, with a quiet power—weaves a tale of unrequited love and loss. “Her Song” stands out for its straightforward storytelling, lush orchestration, and beautifully harmonized chorus: “Stop sabotaging her song for you/Why won’t you let it play?/Such a beautiful melody interrupted by the rain.” (Sat., Nov. 22, McCaw Hall, TEDxRainier) MFB
SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 17 — 23, 2014
The inside scoop on upcoming shows and the latest reviews.
F I LM
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WE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU...
HA P P Y H OU R
released, iheartsisters.bandcamp.com) This new duo—Andrew Vait (Eternal Fair) and Emily Westman (Lemolo)—came out of the gate
Kaylee Cole’s Sleepless Nights, Lifeless Days
A R T S A N DI EN TER TA I NM E NT
WIN $2000 TAKE OUR SURVEY AT PULSEPOLL.COM SURVEY CODE:174
Wimps, Couches EP (out now, self-released,
thesewimps.bandcamp.com) Despite what you’ve heard from us in the past, “punk rock is” [not] “bullshit,” and Wimps are living proof. The local slack-happy trio’s newest is full of odes to the supermoon, sitting around and feeling weird, and not wanting to brush your teeth (because it’s too hard). All of them are backed by some of the catchiest, no-bullshit punk riffs in town. Recorded on cassette for the band’s summer tour, the EP coats Wimps’ minimalist shred in a satisfying natural tape hiss that lends to the lo-fi vibe. It sounds especially great when the tape breaks up a little, like when the band shouts “Octopus! Snakes!” over and over two songs in. (Mon., Sept. 22, Neumos) KS
P R OM O T I ONS
Sisters, Diamonds of Gold EP (Sept. 23, self-
MUSIC NEWSLETTER
running, lining up several enviable live gigs (like Everett’s Fisherman’s Village Fest) and releasing this roller-coaster of an EP in no time. You’re excited as it starts down the track; you sway along enjoying yourself; then it takes a 90-degree turn and BAM! whiplash, what just happened? From the silly, lighthearted electro-pop of “Green” and the plucky piano of “Chickens Fatten” to the poppy closer “Buzzard,” there’s no cohesive style pulling it all together. While it’s hard to know where Sisters is coming from, keep a steady eye on them; good things are coming wherever they go. (Fri., Sept. 19, Neumos) MORGEN SCHULER
t’s no surprise Seattle-by-way-of-Spokane songwriter Kaylee Cole has ended up in L.A. Besides the fact that her bleached-blonde locks and vintage dresses fit the picture of L.A. cool, it’s actually a town where she can get a lot of work done. “I hustle more down here,” she says. “There are so many more people down here trying to make their dream come true. My productivity is better. I work faster, and get more accomplished.” It’s just the scene the 28-year-old songwriter needed. Since 2009, she’s been steadily at work on a long-awaited full-length LP. Five years on this past June, listeners got a sneak peek when she released three preview tracks on Bandcamp—a brooding, synth-heavy collection highlighting her ethereal vocals, produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek. Cole connected with the sought-after producer by e-mailing him. “Somehow he miraculously saw [it] and said, ‘Let’s work together,’ ” she recalls. The two have been slowly piecing the album together since, but it hasn’t been easy. “The creative process took that long,” she
says. “In that time, I was married, then divorced. Then a band member [Gerard Smith] from TV on the Radio died. Dave was producing all this different stuff; he was really busy.” Then there was a botched record deal. Along the way, Cole contracted with music publishing company Chrysalis, which was acquired by BMG in 2010. Her album was nearly finished, but the red tape of the merger made licensing a problem. “I had all this material, and [Chrysalis] was supposed to find me a label. They owned everything I had made,” Cole says. In limbo, she moved around and lived in Nashville for a while before finally settling in L.A., where she was frequently checking in with Sitek. In June, feeling antsy, she released the tracks. Besides, she says, she had “waited out the clock” of her contract. “There was a clause in [it] that stated if nothing comes to fruition in five years, everything kind of comes back to me.” Whether she signs with a label or releases it herself is still up for grabs. But Cole seems happy just to have put something out there. “I’ve been waiting for the right moment. I wanted to not hold on to this so tightly anymore.” Out now at kayleecole.bandcamp.com. GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT
W W W. S E AT T L E W E E K LY. C O M / S I G N U P
A New Dawn for the Sunset The venerable Ballard venue reopens this week. BY DAVE LAKE
D I N I NG
W EEK LY
MUSIC
E VE NT S
PR O M O
DAVE LAKE
T
music@seattleweekly.com
THE SUNSET TAVERN 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880, sunsettavern.com. Grand re-opening shows: • Thurs., Sept. 25: the Maldives, The Dutchess and the Duke. 9 p.m. $10. • Fri., Sept. 26: Grizzled Mighty, Gazebos, Legendary Oaks. 9 p.m. $10. • Sat., Sept. 27: Katie Kate, Jarv Dee. 9 p.m. $10.
F IL M
MUSIC NEWSLETTER
HAPPY HOUR
The inside scoop on
IN THIS BRING T AND GE N O P COU TIZER E P P A ONE 2 OFF! FOR 1/
AR T S AND E NT E R TAI NM
upcoming shows
and the latest reviews.
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEMBER 17 — 23, 2014
he Sunset Tavern is a piece of Ballard history. In its current location since 1976, the live-music venue is one of just a handful of Ballard Avenue drinking establishments to have predated the area’s recent gentrification. Coowner Max Genereaux, who also has a stake in that street’s Hattie’s Hat and Wallingford’s Al’s Tavern, recently renovated the space—its first major overhaul in 15 years—and he’s hoping the place will retain a sense of its history. Here’s a look at what to expect when it reopens this week: As at the old Crocodile or the now-defunct Sit & Spin, the remodel will divide the Sunset into two rooms: a bar up front and a band room in back, providing non-showgoing patrons a place to drink and hang out without paying a cover. The new front bar will be called Betty’s Room, named for a family friend of Genereaux whose husband built her a bar in the basement of their home after returning from World War II. The space will have Hawaiian and Pacific Rim motifs and will include artifacts from Betty’s actual basement bar, which existed from the late 1940s until the early ’90s. The performance space, known as The Dragon Room, will see changes as well. Though the capacity will remain the same, the overall footprint will change as new walls go up and some come down. The space that once housed the green room will be transformed into a corner bar. The room’s stage will also get an upgrade and be slightly expanded. Other modifications to the rear part of the space involve removing the venue’s kitchen, which means no more Flying Squirrel Pizza. Food will still be served, however, with Genereaux promising “old-school-Ballard cheap, cheap, cheap happy-hour appetizers”—like $1 hot dogs, tacos, and pot stickers. E
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ADULT PHONE ENTERTAINMENT Free FORUMS & CHATROOM 206-753-CHAT 253-203-1643 425-405-4388
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University District 3 bedroom apts available for rent. 206-441-4922 9am–2pm
WA Misc. Rentals Rooms for Rent Greenlake/WestSeattle $400 & up Utilities included! busline, some with private bathrooms • Please call Anna between 10am & 8pm • 206-790-5342
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Commercial space avail perfect for office. 880sqft. Rent $1,760 + NNN. Call (206) 441-4922 Daniel
13985 Interurban Ave., Suite 200 Tukwila, WA 98168
Real Estate for Sale Island County 7
Apartments for Rent King County
180’ OF LOW BANK Lagoon / waterfront. Crab, mussels & clams in your front yard! 2 BR property on beautiful Whidbey Isl! Relax on your deck with a gorgeous sunrise view of Mt. Baker & Penn Cove! Features rock faced fireplace, 357 SF day light basement & dbl detached grg. $525,000. 360-678-4089.
3.98 AC IN PARADISE Well, septic & garage on site. Perfect site for establishing a 3 BR, 2 BA residence $200000 Harriet 360-317-5745 Real Estate for Rent King County SEATTLE, 98112.
Real Estate for Sale Whatcom County MAPLE FALLS / MOUNT BAKER
3 BR MAKE OFFER; ILLNESS FORCES Sale. 1700 SF with 2 bath in quiet area. 2 story shop on large lot. Near skiing!! $80,000. Call 5pm - 9pm 360-599-9350.
CAPTIOL HILL ROOM for rent. Near colleges, on bus line. FEMALE STUDENT only. No pets/ No smoking. Utilities included. $450/mo. 206-412-6451.
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NORTHEND MASSAGE FOR YOUR HEALTH LAURIE LMP #MA00014267 (206) 919-2180
Appliances AMANA RANGE Deluxe 30” Glasstop Range self clean, auto clock & timer ExtraLarge oven & storage *UNDER WARRANTY* Over $800. new. Pay off balance of $193 or make payments of $14 per month. Credit Dept. 206-244-6966
KENMORE FREEZER
U-DISTRICT $450-$550 All Utilities Included! Call Peir for more info (206) 458-0169
Firewood, Fuel & Stoves
NOTICE Washington State law requires wood sellers to provide an invoice (receipt) that shows the seller’s and buyer’s name and address and the date delivered. The invoice should also state the price, the quantity delivered and the quantity upon which the price is based. There should be a statement on the type and quality of the wood. When you buy firewood write the seller’s phone number and the license plate number of the delivery vehicle. The legal measure for firewood in Washington is the cord or a fraction of a cord. Estimate a cord by visualizing a four-foot by eight-foot space filled with wood to a height of four feet. Most long bed pickup trucks have beds that are close to the four-foot by 8-foot dimension. To make a firewood complaint, call 360-9021857. agr.wa.gov/inspection/ WeightsMeasures/Fire woodinformation.aspx agr.wa.gov/inspection/WeightsMeasures/Firewoodinformation.aspx
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Announcements
Repo Sears deluxe 20cu.ft. freezer 4 fast freeze shelves, defrost drain,
interior light *UNDER WARRANTY* Make $15 monthly payments or pay off balance of $293. Credit Dept. 206-244-6966
KENMORE REPO Heavy duty washer & dryer, deluxe, large cap. w/normal, perm-press & gentle cycles. * Under Warranty! * Balance left owing $272 or make payments of $25. Call credit dept. 206-244-6966
NEW APPLIANCES UP TO 70% OFF All Manufacturer Small Ding’s, Dents, Scratches and Factory Imperfections *Under Warranty* For Inquiries, Call or Visit Appliance Distributors @ 14639 Tukwila Intl. Blvd. 206-244-6966
REPO REFRIGERATOR Custom deluxe 22 cu. ft. sideby-side, ice & water disp., color panels available
UNDER WARRANTY!
was over $1200 new, now only payoff bal. of $473 or make pmts of only $15 per mo. Credit Dept. 206-244-6966
STACK LAUNDRY Deluxe front loading washer & dryer. Energy efficient, 8 cycles. Like new condition * Under Warranty * Over $1,200 new, now only $578 or make payments of $25 per month
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Firearms & Ammunition
Professional Services Music Lessons
ENUMCLAW GUN SHOW King County Fairgrounds Sat. 20th 9am - 5pm Sun 21st. 9am - 4pm 206.753.7956 Big Top Promotions
GUITAR LESSONS Exp’d, Patient Teacher. BFA/MM Brian Oates (206) 434-1942
Under New Management #KERLEDI510DN
Garage/Moving Sales King County SEATTLE, 98416.
MULTI FAMILY Garage Sale! Sept 20th & 21st, Sat 8 am - 6 pm and Sun 8 am - 4 pm located at 2652 SW 110th Street, Burien / Shorewood area VASHON ISLAND, 98070.
9/20 SAT., HUGE ART SUPPLIES SALE! One Day only, 10-3. Assemblage Arts, Artist books, Art and Soul, Artist Trading cards, Scrapbooking, Ranger, Stampington, Creative Memories & so many more! 29821 131st Ave SW. Come have fun! Cash only. Auto Events/ Auctions
BIG D TOWING Abandoned Vehicle Auction Friday 09/19/14 @ 11AM. 4 vehicles. Preview 10-11am. 1540 Leary Way NW, Seattle 98107 Automobiles Classics & Collectibles
46TH ANNUAL Monroe Swap Meet, October 11th & 12th, Evergreen State Fair Grounds, Monroe Wa. Vendors $40 per stall per weekend. Car Corral, $40 per stall per weekend. Free Admission. Saturday 8am - 5pm. Sunday 8am - 3pm. Autos, Motorcycles, Tractors, Stationery Engines, Parts, Antiques & Collectibles. www.aarcbellingham.com Pickup Trucks Ford
1981- Ford pickup F150, 4 speed, original miles. $995.00 Cash. 253-6315824
Home Services Lawn/Garden Service
Plant, Prune, Mow, Weed, Bark, Remove Debris Henning Gardening Call Geoff Today:
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Everest College Programs and schedules vary by campus
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WANTS TO purchase minerals and other oil & gas interests. Send details to P.O. Box 13557, Denver, Co 80201
Employment General
MULTIMEDIA CONSULTANT
Seattle Be a part of the largest community news organization in Washington! *Do you have a proven track record of success in sales and enjoy managing your own territory? *Are you competitive and thrive in an energetic environment? *Do you desire to work in an environment which offers uncapped earning opportunities? *Are you interested in a fast paced, creative atmosphere where you can use your sales expertise to provide consultative print and digital solutions? If you answered YES to the above, then we are looking for you! Seattle Weekly, one of Seattle’s most respected publications and a division of Sound Publishing, Inc. is looking for self-motivated, results-driven people interested in a multi-media sales career. This position will be responsible for print and digital advertising sales to an eclectic and exciting group of clients.
hreast@soundpublishing.com
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Employment General
ADVERTISING OPERATIONS/ SPECIAL SECTIONS ASSISTANT Sound Publishing Inc.’s three Olympic Peninsula newspapers (Peninsula Daily News and two weeklies, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum) seek a candidate to assist with scheduling and production of our awardwinning special sections and advertorial products and work on multimedia projects with our advertising sales team to meet revenue goals and our customers’ needs through a combination of respected print, digital and social media products. This position requires someone who is a goaloriented and organized self-starter with proven skills in teamwork, customer relations and sales. Prior newspaper sales/editorial experience are preferred. Must relocate to Clallam County/Jefferson County, Wash. This is a full-time position that includes excellent benefits: medical, dental, life insurance, 401k, paid vacation, sick and holidays. EOE. No calls, please. Send resume with cover letter and salary requirements to to hr@sound publishing.com hr@soundpublishing.com
and indicate whether you are available for interview via online video services (e.g., Facetime or Skype).
Community Support Specialist Puget Sound Regional Services offers a rewarding opportunity for individuals to provide residential and community support to adults with developmental disabilities. Generous Benefits! $10.50/hr. FT/PT available. in Seattle, Federal Way, Renton and Kent areas. To apply: Call 206-772-5700x121 cmartin@gopsrs.org or visit us 149 Park Ave N., Renton 98057 Flexible Hours No Experience Necessary Work with Homeowners face to face scheduling free estimates Set your own schedule week to week. Our reps average $500-$750 /week Top reps average $1,000-$1,500 /week Paid In-field orientation. All materials and company apparel are provided. Employees are required to have a vehicle, Driver’s License and Cell phone $500 Bonus after 60 days of employment. Apply at www.tlc4homesnw.com OR, Call our Corporate Office at 855-720-3102 Ext 3304 or 3308 Climber Climbers needed in King County for established company. Full time, year round Work. Must have min. 2 yr. Climbing exp. Vehicle and DL Required. Send email with Work Exp. to recruiting@evergreentlc.com or call 800-684-8733
WEEKLY
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Employment Architecture
W W W. S E AT T L E W E E K LY. C O M / S I G N U P
Architectural Designer (Global Commercial): Design development and resolution for Callison’s global projects, primarily in China. Requires Master’s in Arch or FDE & 3 yrs specific exp incl commercial mixed use projects in North America & China or Bachelor’s in same & 5 yrs progressive post-bac exp in same. Position with Callison LLC in Seattle, WA. 50% travel to China. For complete description and requirements & to apply, go to: www.callison.com/careers.
FILM
As the world leader in next generation mobile technologies, Qualcomm is focused on accelerating mobility around the world. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm,has the following positions available in Bellevue, WA:
Senior Software/Systems Test Engineer/ SW RED: Proficiency in C/C++; and Python scripting
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Employment Social Services
VISITING ANGELS Certified Caregivers needed. Minimum 3 years experience. Must live in Seattle area. Weekend & live-in positions available. Call 206-439-2458 • 877-271-2601
Health Care Employment
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Mail resume w/job code to QUALCOMM, P.O. Box 919013, San Diego, CA, 92191-9013. EEO employer: including race, gender, disability & veterans status
CNA’s Needed! Caregivers needed all shifts and weekends! Live in & Hourly.
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Programs and schedules vary by campus. For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program and other important information, please visit our website at www.everest.edu/disclosures.
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hreast@soundpublishing.com No phone calls please. Sound Publishing is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) and strongly supports diversity in the workplace. Check out our website to find out more about us! www.soundpublishing.com
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The Daily Herald, Snohomish County’s source for outstanding local news and community information for more than 100 years and a division of Sound Publishing, Inc. is seeking a Marketing Coordinator to assist with multi-platform advertising and marketing solutions of print, web, mobile, e-newsletters, daily deals, event sponsorships and special publications as well as the daily operations of the Marketing department. Responsibilities include but are not limited to the coordination, updating and creation of marketing materials across a range of delivery channels, social media, contesting, events, house marketing, newsletters and working closely with the Sr. Marketing Manager to develop strategies and implement the marketing plan. The right individual will be a highly organized, responsible, self-motivated, customer-comes-first proven problem-solver who thrives in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with the ability to think ahead of the curve. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package including health insurance, paid time off (vacation, sick, and holidays), and 401K (currently with an employer match.) If you meet the above qualifications and are seeking an opportunity to be part of a venerable media company, email us your resume and cover letter to
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As part of our sales team you are expected to maintain and grow existing client relationships, as well as develop new client relationships. The successful candidate will also be goal oriented, have organizational skills that enable you to manage multiple deadlines, provide great consultative sales and excellent customer service. This position receives a base salary of $24k plus commission; and a benefits package including health insurance, paid time off, and 401K. Position requires use of your personal cell phone and vehicle, possession of valid WA State Driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s License and proof of active vehicle insurance. Sales experience necessary; Media experience is a definite asset. Must be computer-proficient. If you have these skills, and enjoy playing a pro-active part in impacting your local businessesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; financial success with advertising solutions, please email your resume and cover letter to: hreast@sound publishing.com, ATTN: SEA. Sound Publishing is an Equal Opportunity Employee (EOE) and strongly supports diversity in the workplace. Visit our website to learn more about us!
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