FEBRUARY 11-17, 2015 I VOLUME 40 I NUMBER 6
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8
VAX ATTACKS
BY NINA SHAPIRO | The controversy comes to Vashon Island. Plus: The SSO gets a Grammy and a socialist gets wet.
SPACE RACE
BY KELTON SEARS | Underground
artists search for new venues in a tough real-estate market.
arts&culture
11 SPRING ARTS
BY SW CRITICS | The new season
begins in church, and in a sports stadium, along with crowd-sourced sculpture and mystical artists. And cows of course, too. Our events calendar starts on page 22. 36 | THE PICK LIST 37 | OPENING NIGHTS | Two towns,
old and new. 38 | PERFORMANCE & VISUAL ARTS 39 | BOOKS
40 FILM
OPENING THIS WEEK | 50 shades of
Japanese S&M, Russian corruption, and Brooklyn hipsters venture upstate. 41 | FILM CALENDAR
43 MUSIC
BY DAVE EINMO | A Cursive reissue,
48 | THE WEEK AHEAD
food&drink
49 SALMON SAYS
BY JACOB UITTI | Langdon Cook talks
about his new book on the Northwest’s iconic fish. Plus: V-Day tips for singles, and the end of the Swingside era. 49 | FOOD NEWS 49 | THE WEEKLY DISH 51 | THE BAR CODE
odds&ends
34 | BEER PAGES 53 | HIGHER GROUND 54 | CLASSIFIEDS
»cover credits
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Editor-in-Chief Mark Baumgarten
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EDITORIAL Senior Editor Nina Shapiro Food Editor Nicole Sprinkle Arts Editor Brian Miller Music Editor Gwendolyn Elliott Editorial Operations Manager Gavin Borchert Staff Writers Ellis E. Conklin, Matt Driscoll, Kelton Sears News Intern Shawn Porter
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news&comment
Taking Shots
Profiles in Protest The Interloping Socialist
With the recent measles outbreak, concerned parents are getting tough with the anti-vaccination crowd. Will that help?
BY SHAWN PORTER
BY NINA SHAPIRO militant. On websites around the country, some have even called for non-vaccinating parents to be reported to child protective services or excluded from pediatricians’ offices. Jeffrey Duchin, immunization section head for King County’s health department, says he isn’t in favor of outright hostility. On the whole, though, he sees the new tenor of conversation as positive. After all, he points out, anti-vaccine activists have long and stridently expressed their views—centered on a belief, contrary to scientific evidence, that vaccines can harm kids rather than protect them. One such activist on Bainbridge Island named Michael Belkin is part of an anti-immunization band whose repertoire includes the song “Vaccine Gestapo.” Says Duchin: “I think it is important to understand that people who support vaccines have equally strong views.” You might think Celina Yarkin
would agree. She’s a Vashon parent and farmer who has worked for the past five or six years to increase the island’s vaccination rate, in large part through educational posters put up in the schools. Yet she worries: “People feel alienated if they’re pushed too hard.” Rather than change their minds, she says, they’re likely to “shut down.” Day, the district nurse, who has been coordinating with Yarkin on educational materials, agrees: “I think people stop listening when they get mad.” As a result, she says, “I’ve tried to do as much research as I can about positive messaging.” Still, illustrating just how hard it is to get a pro-vaccine message across, Yarkin and Day, along with public-health officials they’ve been working with, stirred resentment even before the latest measles outbreak turned up the heat. Last June, two women wrote an article for an island publication called The Loop that portrayed pro-vaccine advocates as “bullies.”
» CONT. ON PAGE 6
DONALD LEE
grace note » Seattle Symphony Takes Home a Gramophone While the rest of the world focused on Kanye West’s dis of Beck at the 2015 Grammys—and Beyonce’s innumerable collaborators—we were zeroed in on a moment of much greater importance. Alaska composer John Luther Adams took home a Grammy Sunday for Become Ocean, a work the Seattle Symphony commissioned, premiered, and recorded (it’s the orchestra’s first win for a recording after 18 total nominations), and which also earned Adams a Pulitzer Prize last year. The Internet seemed to have no problem with the fact that dozens of musicians were involved in this recording. “Terrific to see @seattlesymphony and other local WA talent win Grammys on Sunday. Congrats all!”
•
•
—Jay Inslee, via Twitter “You made #Seattle proud.” —Jim McDermott, via Twitter “ . . . it wouldn’t have happened without the Pacific Ocean, and this beautiful, beleaguered planet that is our one and only home.” —John Luther Adams, via seattlesymphony.org
A
s the Walking While Black demonstration winds down Saturday afternoon, protesters disperse to the various rain-slicked streets surrounding Cal Anderson Park. For hours they had listened to speeches and marched alongside 70-year-old veteran William Wingate, who was arrested while out for a walk in July. After most of the crowd has left, Mike Drummond still holds his protest sign, which reads “Demand Community Control Over the Police.” Have you marched before? I was out on the first Monday before Thanksgiving for the Mike Brown protests and met a lot of the people that were here, actually. I’ve been with the Freedom Socialist Party for a few years now through the Occupy movement. What is the Freedom Socialist Party doing here today? Well, we’re here supporting the
cause of [William Wingate], a black man, who was falsely arrested by a Seattle police officer, and we’re calling for her firing and possible arrest. We’ve been involved in actions and we’ve been meeting a lot of folks. We’re trying to inject our politics into it. We’re against the nationalist viewpoint that maybe white people shouldn’t be a part of this movement. We’re all here and we’re all Americans and we need to work together on even footing whatever we do because that’s what’s really going to make a strong movement, not replicating the class structure on the outside inside the movement. Do you see lots of your peers here? I think this is very similar to the Occupy movement, because there are lots of young people out here. There are new people rising up in the community and they have good ideas too, and need to be heard and involved in the decision-making process of whatever we do. What do you hope to gain from marches like this? Well, you can only do so much with
marches. They’re rallying points, kind of motivators. Especially on a day like this when we’re getting rained on but people are still out here. It shows they really care and that they have a certain level of commitment towards the organizing. I don’t think marches alone are going to end this racist system, and we need to organize on a bigger scale and dream bigger. It’s not that marches are bad or anything, they’re great, but it needs to be followed up with organizing towards some concrete goals that can actually change the quality of life for people. E news@seattleweekly.com
Profiles in Protest is an ongoing series spotlighting local activists involved in the Black Lives Matter protests.
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
“There is a growing culture of shaming and judgment with regard to vaccine choices,” read the June piece by March Twisdale and Karen Crisalli Winter. So nervous has it made people about discussing the subject, the piece continued, that “a secret, invitation-only Facebook group has been formed for parents who are seeking support and information in a safe environment.” Twisdale and Winter had recently held a Vashon screening of the documentary The Greater Good, which features three families who believe their children were harmed by vaccines. In conversation before and after the screening, according to the Loop article, several parents “experienced significant fear during casual conversation, stopping mid-sentence and visibly shaking.” Reached last week by phone, Twisdale, who for years has raised questions about the safety and effectiveness of immunizations, and has given her children some vaccines but not others, says the parents were scared that their reputations around the island would be compromised if they were identified as holding antivaccine views. If so, it’s far from clear that “bullying” is the reason why. One example cited by Twisdale and Winter is a school poster noting that breast milk has as much aluminum as vaccines. The poster, according to Day, was meant to allay fears of danger-
SHAWN PORTER
J
ake Reagan never thought his Facebook post would blow up the way it did. Sure, the onetime executive chef at Seattle’s Ponti Seafood Grill, now residing on a farm and event venue on Vashon Island, was characteristically blunt. “I know there are parents here against immunization,” he wrote late last month on a community-wide page called VashonALL. “Tell me why and who you are so we can stay away from you. Not something to risk now that measles is back.” An avid watcher of the news, he had been alarmed by the nationwide measles outbreak that began in Disneyland in December and has now spread to more than 100 people in 15 states, including Washington, where four residents have come down with measles. He also knew that Vashon has one of the highest vaccine refusal rates in the state—indeed in the country. This year, 27 percent of students in the island’s school district are not fully vaccinated, according to district nurse Sarah Day. Among kindergarteners, 43 percent are not. That’s more than three times last year’s rate for Seattle (although nearly two dozen individual Seattle schools have a similarly high percentage of unvaccinated kids, according to a map released last week by Public Health-Seattle and King County.) Both Reagan and his wife Megan worried that Vashon’s low immunization rate could endanger their 15-month-old. They had particular insight into what the world was like before the development of vaccines: Megan’s mother contracted polio in her late 20s and has spent the past 50 years in a wheelchair. Yet Reagan was taken aback by the response to his post—so much so that he didn’t want to talk about it on the record, although his wife would. Within a week, 267 responses rolled in. Many were not only blunt. They were angry. “What word would you use to call someone intentionally risking the lives and health of others?” one islander posted in reference to non-vaccinating parents. “I think ‘murderer’ is the word you might be looking for,” replied another. Other words that popped up in comments, referring to vaccine refusers, as the days went on: “stupid,” “irrational,” “self-centered,” “myopic” and “batshit.” “Oh calm down everyone. I regret starting this,” Reagan interjected. His plea went unheeded. In a new twist to the vaccination debate, parents who support immunization are becoming
5
2014-15 FEATURED FALL & WINTER LECTURES
University of Washington PUBLIC
LECTURE
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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
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED, please register online at
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As a courtesy, stand-by seating will be offered. It doesn’t guarantee admission.
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ALL LECTURES WILL TAKE PLACE IN KANE HALL ON THE UW SEATTLE CAMPUS
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news&comment» » FROM PAGE 5 ous “toxins” in vaccines and show that the body produces some of these same chemicals. A student, however, interpreted that to mean that breast milk was actually dangerous and conveyed that information to his mother, who complained to Twisdale. Day expresses dismay that even factual information like that was misconstrued and seen as inflammatory. As a result, she says, “we’re flummoxed about what we can do in terms of education.” Meeting one day last week, she and Yarkin planned to plod on with their materials—one of which will be a projection showing the impact of a hypothetical measles outbreak on the Vashon student body. (Unvaccinated students would be excluded from school for what could turn into months, given the 21-day incubation period of measles, which would be multiplied many times over if a number of kids came down with the disease.) Yet, Day says. “We need to be really careful. We’re kind of walking on eggshells here.” Researchers and public-health officials have long been perplexed about how to overcome resistance to vaccines. One particularly depressing study last year, by Dartmouth political scientist Prof. Brendan Nyhan, showed that provaccine messages—even those based on a wealth of scientific data—can backfire and make parents less likely to vaccinate. Nyhan has said he isn’t exactly sure why, although others have speculated that a conspiracy mindset among some vaccine skeptics may have something to do with it. So where do vaccine advocates go from here? One tactic is to stop relying on persuasion and lean more forcefully on parents. An Everett state representative named June Robinson, who works as a manager for the county health department, last week introduced a bill that would no longer allow parents to opt out of vaccination for reasons of “personal belief.” The state has already had some success with curtailing the opt-out option. In 2011, the legislature passed a law requiring parents who wish to bypass vaccination requirements to turn in a form signed by a physician. That was a couple of years after a national ranking showed Washington had the highest vaccine-exemption rate in the country for kindergarteners—7.6 percent. The rate now stands at 4.6 percent, putting us “in the middle of the pack” among states, according to Washington Department of Health spokesperson Paul Throne.
A Seattle-based nonprofit called Within Reach is trying another approach. Working for the past few years on pilot programs in north King County and Bellingham, it has recruited parents to talk to other parents about the importance of vaccines. The nonprofit is targeting people who are “on the fence” rather than diehard vaccine refusers whose minds may never change, according to Mackenzie Melton, a coordinator of the program. “We’re really focusing on the positive,” she stresses. “We don’t want to pit parents against each other.” To that end, the nonprofit tells its volunteers to “work on empathy and trustbuilding,” to perhaps share their own “journey” with vaccine decision-making and to avoid “bludgeoning” other parents with science. It’s too early to judge whether this approach is proving persuasive, according to Group Health Research Institute’s Clarissa Hsu, who has been evaluating the data. Yet Melton feels that the program is making headway. Bellingham’s Kathy Hennessy had been working on vaccine education for some time on her own before joining Within Reach. A stay-at-home mom married to a scientist, she set up a Facebook page called Informed Parents of Vaccinated Children because she believed that “there weren’t a lot of places people could ask questions and get a respectful answer.” She doesn’t insist that parents follow the exact vaccine schedule recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention— a schedule that includes many more shots than when most of today’s parents were kids. If parents are worried about getting a bunch of them at one time, she says she’ll encourage them to talk to their doctor about spacing them out. And she’s willing to engage parents at length. She remembers one mom she went back and forth with over the meaning of a federal database of suspected adverse reactions to vaccines. The mom was worried about the alarming cases reported. Hennessy explained that they were reports only; no link to vaccines had been confirmed. A little while later, she says the mom posted to her Facebook wall that she had just gotten back from getting her child vaccinated for the first time. E
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news&comment»
DIY Will Never Die
As real-estate options for underground artists dwindle, one beloved club closes and a hopeful new spot opens.
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
KELTON SEARS
BY KELTON SEARS
8
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Timothy Firth and the future home of Common Area Maintenance.
M
alaki Stahl woke up to some very bad news last Tuesday. After quietly building a case against the underground DIY performance space Stahl had spent six years running, The Josephine, the City of Seattle cracked down. At 7 a.m. they came with an order to cease all shows immediately. Stahl was told that neighbors fresh to the Ballard venue’s block had lodged noise complaints, giving the city a reason to play its hand and apply fatal pressure to the building owner. Stahl had propped up the fringiest of Seattle’s musical warblings, hosting private parties showcasing thunderous noise bands, performance-art punks, international freak folks, and beyond—but then suddenly the welcoming mutant arms of The Josephine were severed. “When we started The Josephine, there was no opportunity for all-ages stuff without a massive investment and the ability to take a giant loss,” Stahl tells me over the phone. “The hoops you have to jump through make it very prohibitive. The Josephine was a really positive, communitydriven thing—it was a super-grassroots DIY thing, made from scratch.” The crew of crafty humans who live in The Josephine, a space that is first and foremost a legal mixed-use live/work space for artists, aren’t being evicted. And they’re already investigating how and where they might continue the spirit of The Josephine. But it’s an uncertain journey for real estate, one many artists are embarking on in Seattle—a city that’s found itself bleeding arts space at a rate that’s turning the most optimistic of creatives into doomsaying fatalists. But despite The Josephine’s sudden demise, Stahl hasn’t thrown in the towel on Seattle. “The DIY community here is really tight and resilient,” Stahl says. “Hopefully we won’t be missed for too long. I’ve got my ear to the rail, and I’ve heard some new DIY spaces might be opening up this spring. The scene here will compensate and heal and make a new space to continue this very important thing.”
“For God’s sake, there’s so much fucking
development in this town,” multidisciplinary artist Timothy Firth laments. Look at Capitol Hill. Not to go down this tired road, but what is left on Capitol Hill!? Really! All this social change in Seattle, all these shifts just pushed
me over the edge—this is a big reason I set out on this mission.” Pushing his bold white frames up his nose, Firth reaches in his pocket for his keys and unlocks the door to a former appliance-repair shop in Belltown for which he has just signed the lease. The walls are dingy, covered in decades of scuffs and cracks. Our footsteps echo as we walk in. “It’s just this massive, raw, wild space,” Firth says, arms outstretched, stomping his foot on the ground and sending bits of dust flying up around him. “You start thinking about, OK, performance, where’s the audience? We’re installing these articulated walls heeeeeere,” he says, running across the front of the room, gesticulating wildly. “The walls will move to accommodate flexible public gallery space. Over the next three months, Firth and a crew of volunteers will transform this beautifully dilapidated building into a refuge for the arts community, slated to open in the spring, that he’s calling Common Area Maintenance. Like The Josephine, Common Area Maintenance will serve as a workspace for a crew of artists during the daytime and a community performance and event venue at night. Unlike The Josephine, it won’t exist in a legal grey area—it will be a city-approved space. In just a couple of weeks, Firth managed to raise more than $20,000 on an Indiegogo campaign to fund the renovations, a testament to the community’s hunger for this type of venue. A fundraiser planned at another underground DIY venue last weekend held a strong, audibly excited crowd throughout the whole evening. And before Firth had even finished procuring the funding for Common Area Maintenance, simple word-ofmouth had elicited more than 65 artist queries and an onslaught of pitches for programming from curators, some of whom had already incorporated the space’s unique planned spatial divisions into their proposed shows. “Think about all this weird emotional energy around projects like this,” Firth says, picking at a crumbling drywall crack in one of the building’s central pillars. “It’s super-scary taking risks on spaces like this, but then all of a sudden you find this huge, massive community there to support you. You worry about spaces like this failing, but then you go, ‘Of course they won’t fail. They can’t fail.’ ” E
ksears@seattleweekly.com
and activism, expressed through arts and science, politics, and community action. Town Hall is 400 events annually, collectively representing dozens of independent artists, speakers, and organizations. Town Hall is local and grassroots voices, and national and international voices. Town Hall is a commitment to access and inclusion, through inexpensive rental rates and ticket prices.
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
CIVICS
Town Hall is curiosity, creativity,
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Mark Morris Dance Group
“The most prodigiously gifted choreographer of the post-Balanchine era.”
and Music Ensemble
—Time Magazine
March 5-7
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
URBAN BUSH WOMEN
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DELFOS at Meany Studio Theatre
SIMONE DINNERSTEIN
February 12-14
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Setting a New
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BY BRIAN MILLER
PHOTO BY NATE WATTERS
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
Hanna Benn (left) will be the lead performer in Alice Gosti’s extravaganza at Saint Mark’s.
nce upon a time, readings were held in bookstores, not bars; dance and classical music were confined to concert halls, not performed in the street; and the visual arts were restricted to museums and galleries, rather than being displayed in vacant city lots and abandoned buildings. Traditional venues still exist, of course, but more artists are pushing against the old boundaries of presentation and even provenance. In the pages ahead, we see how John Grade crowd-sourced the production of his latest large-scale sculpture, inaugurating a new space in South Lake Union that isn’t just for passive art-gazing. As our Sandra Kurtz relates on page 13, choreographer Alice Gosti (pictured here with musician Hanna Benn) is staging a multimedia spectacle in a cathedral, not an auditorium, to honor the Italian partisans of World War II and inspire new artists. At the venerable Frye, Rodrigo Valenzuela offers video testimonials from voices far outside the art world: maids, janitors, and day-laborers. Emily Pothast tries to draw the divine and render the mystical in concrete form—or maybe she’ll just talk about it—at Hedreen Gallery. Pianist Craig Sheppard looks for the political push-back in the Cold War canon of Dmitri Shostakovich. Also pushing against orthodoxy, environmentalist authors Dennis and Gail Boyer Hayes are tipping against that sacred cow—the cow. And as always, we offer a comprehensive calendar of events across all media, including movies, through Memorial Day. E
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WORLD PREMIERE AT EMP MUSEUM
H E N R YA R T.O R G
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
Ann Hamilton. Digital scan of a specimen from University of Washington’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture Mammalogy Collection. Courtesy of the artist.
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UPCOMING FRI, FEB 20, 7 PM Bull Roarchestra with Stuart Dempster, UW School of Music Professor Emeritus Join Dempster and his specially assembled Bull Roarchestra for a performance that responds to the atmosphere and sounds created from the bullroarer installation in the common S E N S E
A N N H A M I LT O N
the common S E N S E PRESENTED BY:
ON VIEW THROUGH APRIL 26 HENRY ART GALLERY
SUPPORTED LOCALLY BY:
Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen: Star Wars™ and the Power of Costume was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in partnership with the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and in consultation with Lucasfilm Ltd. © & ™ 2015 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.
OPEN NOW
Not Ruled by History Alice Gosti and her band of art partisans are preparing to storm the cathedral with a five-hour performance. BY SANDRA KURTZ
memorate Italy’s April 25 National Liberation Day (the formal end of World War II), likewise promises to buck convention. The piece launches Gosti’s planned multiyear TO|GET|HER project and draws inspiration from her nation’s history. As Gosti explained during a recent sit-down, she traveled back to Italy to interview the aging few former WWII resistance fighters who had the courage to battle Mussolini and the Nazis. What made you decide to act?, she asked. And How did you know what to do? These elderly survivors had risked their lives; and Gosti, as an artist, was interested in learning how they summoned such deep
CELEBRATING YEARS
Seven men. One brave therapist. Tons of baggage.
Seven Ways to Get There
A world-premiere play, based on a true story.
By Bryan Willis and Dwayne Clark Directed by John Langs
dance@seattleweekly.com
HOW TO BECOME A PARTISAN Start: 3:30 p.m. Sat., April 25, Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave. Performance: 4 p.m., St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. E. $12–$20. 351-3238, velocitydancecenter.org.
Feb 24–Mar 15
Buy tickets today or see it with an ACTPass!
acttheatre.org 206.292.7676
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
How to become a partisan, meant to com-
personal commitment. Then, here in Seattle, she queried friends and colleagues about their daily struggles: What do you fight for? How do you resist in everyday life? These are big questions, and Gosti wanted a big space to address them. After her audience walks over from Velocity Dance Center, they’ll settle in for a five-hour show at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. There, instead of dancing, Gosti will be directing the event. Her interview texts become a libretto of sorts for the music, composed and performed by Hanna Benn (of the group Pollens and the St. Mark’s choir). Around Benn, an ensemble of dancers will respond to the interviewees’ answers. The processes those partisans describe—deciding the moment when a diverse group of individuals becomes an organized force—will structure some of the ensemble movement that Gosti is presently crafting. In rehearsal, Gosti has been looking for the kinetic cues that bring people together into a group. So we see a twitch or other initiation pass from dancer to dancer until it gathers momentum, leading to some kind of tipping point. Much like a flock of birds swooping and scattering in unison, Gosti’s dancers—the exact number still pending— burst into organized movement that disperses after a few moments. Her performers will be hidden throughout the cathedral as the event begins—perhaps like the Italian resistance fighters lurking in the countryside, later to coalesce and act. As the performance unfolds around them in the contemplative space, viewers can come and go as they wish. By avoiding some of the conventions of traditional theater, Gosti gives more responsibility to the audience. Your experience of the performance will start and stop when you decide it does. Serendipitously, Gosti tells me, St. Mark’s offered her a performance date that happened to coincide with Italy’s National Liberation Day. The cathedral was also a good fit because of its long history of social-justice work. And, by odd historical coincidence, St. Mark’s was used as a temporary barracks and anti-aircraft gun training center during WWII! Months before the premiere, all these elements are still in flux; some holes still need to be filled. (Gosti is still looking for a choir of senior citizens.) Like anyone planning a project this big, she’s spending as much time with her notebook and phone as she is in the studio. But that’s where her background—dancing in airports, improvising in restaurants—has prepared her well for this thoughtful, deliberate work. E
© Tim Durkan
F
or 36 years, On the Boards ran a new works showcase called 12 Minutes Max—the title determining the runtime. Annex Theatre restricts its monthly Spin the Bottle cabaret to 10 minutes, sometimes even insisting on 60-second acts. Time is money, in theater as in business. Yet for every aphorism there are exceptions. Robert Wilson’s acclaimed 1976 production of Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach lasted a glacial five hours. More recently, performance artists like Marina Abramović have staged extra-long-form events under the general category of “durational art.” But what is becoming commonplace in New York and other art capitals is still unusual in Seattle, and that’s the challenge for dancer/choreographer Alice Gosti and her planned April staging of How to become a partisan. In dance especially, most artists hew to the axiom of famed dancemaker Doris Humphrey: “All dances are too long.” But Gosti isn’t interested in following such dictates. Since she arrived in Seattle from her native Italy in 2004 to pursue a BA in dance at the UW, she’s been defying expectations and remaking conventions. “I always ask myself, ‘Are the rules necessary to the project?’,” says Gosti. The child of architects, she’s particularly intent on the rules supposedly dictated by a given location. More often than not, you’ll see her work in a space where you wouldn’t expect dance to be happening—like Airport Project, a solo she performed at airports in Reykjavík, Detroit, Frankfurt, and Seattle from 2006–08. She’s also produced dance revues on the tiny stage at The Pink Door (where she waits tables). Her rule-breaking further extends to food, with she and her Spaghetti Co. dancers wearing as much pasta as they eat during a performance. (Their 2010 audience at Northwest Film Forum was even issued plastic ponchos to keep themselves unspattered; later at On the Boards, Gosti built a little house with Visqueen walls and performed inside it to contain the mess.) And in curating the summer Yellow Fish festival at Seattle U’s Lee Center, she invited performances with the stipulation they last between one and 48 hours. Gosti is no stranger to long-form.
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
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Slowgirl BY GREG PIERCE
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Talley’s Folly
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Shostakovich 24, Stalin 0 Why Craig Sheppard is performing a Cold War-era piano marathon. BY GAVIN BORCHERT
I
n the through-the-looking-glass world of the Soviet Union under Stalin, Dmitri Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano were politically incendiary because they were politically noncommittal. Inspired by a music festival in Berlin commemorating the bicentennial of Bach’s death, Shostakovich decided to emulate the older composer’s Well-Tempered Clavier with a similar set of piano pieces—a project as far as a musician could get from the glorify-theMotherland Socialist-Realist style mandated for art at the time. In her book Shostakovich: A Life Remembered, Elizabeth Wilson quotes a vivid contemporary account of Shostakovich’s May 1951 premiere of his collection for the Union of Composers. As writer Lyubov’ Rudneva recalled it, the gathered functionaries— “ungifted, envious, and all too ready to make judgments”—pounced, “accusing Dmitri Dmitryevich of sinning against ‘surrounding reality’ and of failing to reflect the image of his contemporaries.” One comrade, baffled, asked of the cycle, “Are they the images, I ask, of Soviet reality?” Another advised the composer “that he should not waste himself on compositions with so little ideological significance.” What offended them so? The cycle’s seeming abstractness. This set of 24 fugues (works that present and develop musical themes via the layering of in[ter]dependent melodic lines), each in a different major or minor key and each prefaced by a free-form prelude, was condemned as “formalist”: more concerned with musical architecture or procedure than with the simplistic surface descriptiveness and overt pro-Communist messages that put art (even instrumental music) at the service of reinforcing official Soviet ideology. But what perceptive listeners at the time noticed, and what has engrossed pianists and audiences ever since, is the extraordinary wealth of expression Shostakovich evoked within structures of such dazzling complexity and craftsmanship—namely, “the irony, the sarcasm, the tragedy,” as UW pianist Craig Sheppard describes it. On April 25 he’ll play the entire set of 24—two and a half hours of music—which he unhesitatingly calls “the greatest solo piano pieces of the 20th century.” For Sheppard, the strength and expressiveness
of these pieces is not straitjacketed by their rigorous construction, but stems from it. (He quotes Goethe: “In limitations he first shows himself the master/And the law can only bring
JOANNE DE PUE
ONLY
Sheppard: “I’m amazed by his genius.”
us freedom.”) Between the affecting gentleness of the first prelude—a sort of bittersweet minuet—to the imposing, almost frightening wrought-iron massiveness of the 24th fugue, what moods and emotions does Shostakovich not explore? Especially interesting are the pairs in which the prelude and fugue seem to clash, to confound your expectations. No. 2 follows rippling perpetual-motion figuration in the prelude—a wonderful finger workout—with a fugue that sounds like one of the madcap polkas in Shostakovich’s ballets. No. 8 juxtaposes a tin-soldier march with a songful, languishing fugue full of the two-note “sighing” motive Bach himself used to connote emotional pain. (These “sighs” become obsessive in the 22nd prelude, like a bad dream you can’t wake from. Maybe Shostakovich’s music did reflect Soviet reality, more than any of his critics would have dared to admit.) In no. 13, a blithe pastoral scene leads to the quiet, restrained grief of the five-voice fugue. The most manic fugue of all, no. 15—a jumpy,
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spiraling theme and constant time-signature changes, all at top speed—is preceded by an energetically, even grotesquely, cheerful waltz, a sly example of the what-does-he-really-mean irony and satire prevalent in nearly everything Shostakovich wrote. (Sheppard points out that its seeming resemblance to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” may not be coincidence: It was finished on Dec. 30.) My personal favorite, and one of Sheppard’s, is the seventh fugue: Its main theme is built entirely on the notes of the A-major chord, A, C#, and E, allowing for a sparkling euphony yet no dearth of harmonic sideswipes and surprises.
Box Office: (425) 392-2202 VillageTheatre.org
January 22 - March 1
This concert will be another total-immersion
gborchert@seattleweekly.com
CRAIG SHEPPARD Meany Hall, UW campus, 543-4880, music. washington.edu. $12–$20. 7:30 p.m. Sat., April 25.
On Stage in Issaquah January 22 - March 1
VillageTheatre.org (425) 392-2202
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Choose Your Country of Service
ISSAQUAH (425) 392-2202 EVERETT (425) 257-8600 VillageTheatre.org
Lunchtime Information Session Thursday, February 19 12 to 1 p.m. Peace Corps Seattle Office Westlake Tower Building 1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 605
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Amber Gomes will discuss the new shorter application process and how applicants can now choose their assignment and country of service using our interactive website.
Life is calling. How far will you go?
855.855.1961 | www.peacecorps.gov
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
experience for Sheppard—his earlier traversals of the complete Beethoven sonatas, Debussy’s preludes and etudes, and Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier have been highlights of recent Meany Hall seasons. “If I hadn’t played the Bach,” he says, “I’m not sure I would have had the courage” to tackle Shostakovich’s even more challenging cycle. An early interest in Russian literature, learning the language, and a visit to Moscow in 1970 (“I’ll never forget the lack of color”) made him a devotee of the composer. He’s played parts of the 24 but never the whole set; even Shostakovich himself recorded only 18 of them. (Some of these are hearable on YouTube.) Leading up to his April 25 recital, Sheppard will take them on the road, playing them in several cities in China and at Rice, Oberlin, and the San Francisco Conservatory. (About this last venue: Sheppard mentions that in 1993, Shostakovich’s friend Tatiana Nikolayeva, dedicatee and champion of the 24, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage onstage while playing them at the Conservatory and died nine days later. Was it the curse of Stalin’s angry ghost?) The other music Shostakovich was writing around this time (propagandistic film scores, a cantata titled The Sun Shines on Our Motherland, and other works he could dash off before breakfast to placate the Union of Composers) suggest that his homage to Bach, his adoption of the classic prelude/fugue format, was for him an escape—a chance to compose with a motivation purer than cheerleading for the regime. And more personal: Speculating on what this cycle meant to the composer, Sheppard says, “You’re working out your entire life in that fugue,” making even this strict form a vehicle for heartfelt confession. That’s what makes the 24 so compelling, despite their challenges to a pianist’s technique and stamina. “Every single one of them is a masterpiece,” Sheppard says. “Every time I turn around, I’m amazed by his genius.” E
15
Inside the Rings
John Grade found inspiration for his crowd-sourced tree sculpture in North Bend. Amazon-land provided the labor. BY BRIAN MILLER
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PHOTOS BY JOHN GRADE
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
ohn Grade has long made sculpture that reflects the history and origins of its source material (most often wood). He recently incorporated the salvaged lumber from an 1897 schooner into his towering Wawona, a work installed as the centerpiece in the atrium of MOHAI’s new home when it opened in late 2012. Now, a few blocks north, right in the heart of booming South Lake Union, he’s showing a new arboreal-inspired work that was built on site by volunteers (mostly) at MadArt, where the finished product has been on display since late January. Middle Fork, as Grade recently explained to me during a tour of the space, is both a cast, or representation, of a living tree near North Bend (and the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River) and a clever repurposing of discards from his South Seattle studio. The tree in question is a 140-year-old Western hemlock. Middle Fork is a three-dimensional lattice made of little cedar blocks—like units of time, their thickness corresponds to the tree’s annual growth ring. There’s a translation at work here, from one wooden medium to another. “All the cedar is scrap. It’s this mongrel project,” says Grade, an ever-friendly and outdoorsy-looking
Looking into the base of Middle Fork.
fellow with public-art commissions all over the Northwest (and increasingly beyond). MadArt approached him, says Grade, who had no prior notion for a sculpture before viewing the expansive, pedestrian-oriented space. “It’s the interaction with the public” that drew him, he says. “That was the compelling thing for me—can we really pull them off the street to participate?” The MadArt space was thus inaugurated last year as Grade’s workshop for Middle Fork, its prominent storefront location intended to attract volunteers—as it did, more than 100 of them, contributing thousands of hours of labor, according to MadArt director Tim Detweiler. The 3,400-squarefoot space was originally a Nash automobile dealership during the ’20s; today, though not technically a gallery, the place is somewhat reminiscent of Suyama Space or the now-closed Western Bridge. It’s well-suited to large, ambitious artworks, though MadArt—until recently known for its temporary public art installations—has more of an interactive mission. Founded by Alison Milliman (also the building’s owner), MadArt’s stated goal “is to support emerging artists in our community, to bring art into our lives in unexpected ways, and to create community involvement in the arts.” In other
tomorrow exchange buy * *sell*trade sell*trade words, passive art-gazing isn’t the objective. (Detweiler says plans for a second show—or call it what you will—are currently underway for summer.)
Why did he choose and cast this particular hemlock? He liked the shape and the limb pattern, its burls and imperfections. “The tree ended up being special. It’s got that story,” he says. Grade wanted to avoid the solitary “romantic, beautiful” tree you might see on a wall calendar. This one is a little battle-scarred and misshapen, as he prefers. It’s base is misshapen by rot (and its early years sprouting from a nurse log), then the century and a half of varying weather, the seasons, and all the stresses recorded annually on its growth rings. Unlike this region’s old-growth titans, exported in the late 19th century for ship’s masts and every other commercial purpose, “This is a tree that would be a junk tree 100 years ago. This is wood that survived because it wasn’t valuable.” The grain and strength of hemlock didn’t compare to Douglas fir and other native trees we so relentlessly cut and milled (the old ship Wawona being one such beneficiary). And, Grade notes, “There’s a nice little conversation going on”
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Grade and crew up in the hemlock.
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
However, before the tiny little cedar blocks could be sanded and assembled into Middle Fork’s sectioned, horizontally suspended carapace, there was the fieldwork: the actual casting of the hemlock. Dangerous and messy, this job was undertaken by Grade himself with a small crew, no volunteers. Using tree-climbing rigs, the artist and his helpers wrapped the tree in foil, then plaster, and later cut away the hardened molds for the future re-creation of a 40-foot section (roughly the tree’s lower half ). It was an arduous job, documented in a short video playing at MadArt. Why not use lasers instead? “It would’ve been easier!,” Grade laughs. “We could scan this. We could’ve [3-D] printed the sculpture, and it would’ve been no one but me.” But the point is of course to be more labor intensive and to enlist the community for that labor. Grade or his assistants were often in the MadArt workshop to supervise volunteers, he adds. (As he and I chat, one proud former volunteer is leading a small party to inspect his handiwork. And other viewers are indeed wandering in from the sidewalk—the time being about lunch hour.) You very much get the sense in talking to him that Grade, unlike some artists, doesn’t want to be a solitary guy at the easel or keyboard. “We make these assumptions about people who walk on these streets,” says Grade, referring to the stereotype that the average tech or Amazon worker isn’t interested in art (or more likely has no time for art). Yet “the majority of people who participated came in off the street.” (Detweiler is certain a few came from Amazon, but volunteers weren’t filling out employment forms.) More to the point, says Grade, a guy accustomed to creating with his hands, “This is such a tangible thing. I think that’s pretty meaningful” for the code-writing crowd.
between Wawona and Middle Fork—two uses of wood, though bound for different fates. After Middle Fork visits the Smithsonian (this fall), London, and beyond, Grade explains, it’ll return to the Northwest in a few years to be recycled at the original hemlock site—where, barring a forest fire, that tree will still be standing. Since his art often deals with the environment and notions of decay, Grade has previously planted pieces out in the open to let them weather. Some are permanent and others not. With Middle Fork, however, “This is the first time I’ll return it to the starting place.” There, a short walk from a logging road (on private land), the sculpture will gradually decompose, feeding the forest floor and its ecosystem. Grade envisions periodic art tours to inspect both the source tree and its crumbling representation. “I have no idea how long it’ll take to degrade,” he says—savoring the pun on his name (actually pronounced “Grah-day,” as if with an accent on the second syllable.) By then, of course, the source tree will be taller and will have added a few more growth rings, its history likely to continue far beyond Middle Fork’s short lifecycle. E
17
SAY GOODBYE TO PAINFUL VARICOSE
Where’s the Beef?
The authors of Cowed cast a critical eye on the national herd.
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The numbers are certainly big. Cowed relates that it takes 840 gallons of water to create one pound of grain-fed beef. The Ogallala Aquifer, running from South Dakota to Texas, has been so depleted that it may run out of usable water by 2020, according to geologists cited in the book. And those industrial cattle operations using the aquifer also pollute it with associated wastes, pesticides, and fertilizers. Closer to home, Denis cites the recent Cow Palace decision in Yakima, where a federal judge ruled—posEat less cow, sibly setting a precedent—that one of say the Hayeses. Yakima Valley’s largest dairies posed “imminent and substantial endangerment” to the public by polluting hough such an iconic feature of the groundwater with manure. Gail adds, “We don’t American landscape, cows are more think that factory farms can continue when you than just a symbol of rural life, say keep 10,000 cows or 70,000 cows or whatever in one Denis and Gail Boyer Hayes, coplace. There’s just no way to get rid of the waste.” authors of Cowed: The Hidden Impact of 93
T
Million Cows on America’s Health, Economy, Politics, Culture, and Environment (Nor-
ton, $27.95). In their exhaustive and thorough account, to be published in March, the writers examine the many ways our lives and those of cows—animals Gail calls the “second most important mammal in the United States”—are bound together, for better or worse. The couple’s findings are bolstered by their combined experience and credibility—both are longtime advocates for ecological stewardship and sustainability. Denis is CEO of the Bullitt Foundation and coordinator of the first Earth Day. Gail, an environmental lawyer and writer, says of their six-year undertaking, “It was a big decision at this stage in our lives—we’re both past 70—to spend so much time on a book.” Why cows, why now? Sitting down for coffee recently at Caffe Migliore with her husband, Gail explains that the mammal is an ideal prism for viewing everything from agricultural practices to the obesity epidemic. “I think that most people in the United States know that cows aren’t treated well, but they don’t want to think about it. You’re hungry, and there’s that wonderful hamburger with all the works,” she says. “What we didn’t know was how many cows there were in the United States, what a huge amount of natural resources they demand, [and that] we are using the best farmland in the world . . . to grow food for cows. When you put everything together, we thought, ‘Wow. This is a big story that hasn’t been told.’ ”
Unless and until federal laws are changed, says Denis, it’s up to the consumer to internalize such environmental and macroeconomic concerns. “If you’re motivated by your personal health, eat less beef and leaner beef, even no beef. But if you’re going to eat beef, grass-finished and organic is better on your health.” That’s also better for the cow’s health, he notes, to be “eating grass as opposed to the stuff [like corn] they didn’t evolve to digest.” The cow’s health is our health, says Denis. “The antibiotics that we feed to cows are to fatten them up. The grain that we feed them is to fatten them up. Fattening up makes them obese; and in the process of making them obese, we are making ourselves obese.” From that broader public-health argument, Cowed also delves into specifics including foodborne illnesses like e. coli, inhumane slaughterhouse conditions, and USDA regulatory loopholes. The book further provides balanced profiles of modern ranchers and dairy farmers, and the possibility of smaller, sustainable, responsibly run farms. Vegetarians and vegans will champion Cowed, but so will those with ethical concerns about the future of sustainable American agriculture, soon placing it on the same shelf as Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation and Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals. E
gelliott@seattleweekly.com
UNIVERSITY BOOK STORE 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, bookstore. washington.edu. Free. 7 p.m. Mon., March 16.
Job History Rodrigo Valenzuela explores the underside to boom times. BY BRIAN MILLER The artist prepares Hedonic Reversal.
MAT CLEARY
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us prosperous Seattleites—something unusual to be scrutinized and oddly savored. “I walk around the city all the time,” says Valenzuela, looking for signs of decay and new development (the latter surely outpacing the former these days). He calls it “searching for sadness in order to feel a little more human” and compares it to watching an old Hollywood tearjerker. Frye director Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker more explicitly compares his show to the old English notion of the folly—a new-built ruin of the Romantic era that was meant to sentimentally contrast the bustling present and the idyllic past. In early 19th-century England, steam power was poised to remake the economy. Ersatz ancient castles, fallen into rubble, seemed the more poignant for their irrelevance. Today in Seattle, Valenzuela sees a weird dissonance between the construction workers who erect new Amazon buildings in South Lake Union (and the janitorial crews who clean them at night) versus the legion of fresh-scrubbed young office workers, key cards dangling from their belts, who write all that invisible, precious code. “They’re not making anything tangible,” says Valenzuela tartly.
(DAY OF ARRIVAL W/ SEA-SUN BOARDING PASS)
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As for those unseen—or willfully ignored—folk
who actually make things, or remove them, with their hands, Valenzuela has collectively dubbed them The 13th Man. An example of their labor is seen in the new three-screen video El Sisifo, which depicts workers cleaning up the football stadium at Rice College in Houston (where Valenzuela is a visiting instructor). Their Sisyphean labor never ends, since there’s always a new game, a new season ahead. Two prior videos, Maria TV and Diamond Box, draw from inter-
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
nderstandably, many young artists turn to their own training (or mistraining) as a subject. Contemporary art often takes itself as a subject, much for the same reason that writers write campus novels about writers or filmmakers seem drawn to Hollywood lampoons. But what if an artist’s background is far removed from the academy? What if manual labor, not figure drawing, defines him? In his first solo museum show, 32-year-old Chilean artist Rodrigo Valenzuela reflects indirectly on his early struggling years as an undocumented immigrant in Canada and the U.S. His was not the easy, direct path to art school, as he explained during the opening of Future Ruins late last month at the Frye. “All my 20s, I was doing construction,” says Valenzuela, a slim, friendly figure who greeted the press wearing a natty gray suit. “I cleaned offices in Montreal,” where he first settled in part because he spoke French but not English. Without proper work or immigration papers, he bounced from Boston to Olympia, where he did landscaping and moving work while studying philosophy at Evergreen State College. “I did pretty much every job,” he recalls of those lean years before moving to Seattle in 2006—just in time to witness the Great Recession. (Here also he earned an MFA at the UW.) The past couple of years have been boom times in Seattle, but in three videos and a roomfilling installation of construction scaffolding and photos (called Hedonic Reversal ), Valenzuela wants to direct our attention to what he calls “the aesthetic of ruins without the social or economic failures that accompany them.” Unlike downward-spiraling Detroit, in other words, ruins are a kind of anomalous luxury to
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
Hedonic Reversal (detail)
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views Valenzuela conducted among maids and day laborers here in Seattle (he paid them $15 an hour for their time, he explains). The Marias—not their real names—of Maria TV represent a distilled and abstracted account of life on the margins. Valenzuela’s intent in the video is to foreground those generic maids, always named Maria, you see hovering around the edges of a glamorous telenovela, to give these overlooked women a voice. In conventional media, at least, “There is no room for working-class women,” he says. Here, in heightened, rewritten form, he’s eliciting that familiar melancholy ache—again, think of the folly—and crossing it with a bit of TV melodrama. What he’s teasing out is that “something about your everyday life that is beautiful and mysterious,” no matter what drudgery that everyday life might entail. The men of Diamond Box meanwhile speak more directly of their hardships crossing the border, performing menial work, and avoiding la migra. Their experiences are concrete—like Valenzuela’s own past work history. In those interviews, he says, “I’m looking for me,” albeit at an earlier stage in life. (Though none of these day laborers are likely to become artists.) Collectively, his show intends “the construction of a counter-narrative for and about the working class,” says Valenzuela. His videos are fairly direct in that regard, while Hedonic Reversal is more of a challenge for the viewer. The scaffolding and painter’s tape suggest construction, of course, and 17 rather similar black-andwhite photos depict a process of building or collapse. (Whether the intention is toward order or disorder isn’t clear.) The impression is of a dusty construction site hastily abandoned, a project stalled—possibly for years or decades. If there’s a piquant sadness to his workers, Valenzuela’s photos convey a sense of gnawing incompletion (again: Sisyphus). There’s no pleasure in a job that never ends, in a mess never cleared away, yet we stop and stare at the rubble. And why? Says Valenzuela, “We have this aesthetic of ruins within us.” E
bmiller@seattleweekly.com
FRYE ART GALLERY 704 Terry Ave., 622-9250, fryemuseum.org. Free. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Sun., 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Thurs. Ends April 26. Valenzuela gives a talk at 2 p.m. Sun., March 1.
The Infinite Inside Us
Artist Emily Pothast surveys depictions of divine experience, aided by William Blake and seven-eyed lambs.
BY KELTON SEARS
M
KELTON SEARS
Left: an image by Augustin Lesage. Right: Pothast.
philosophy, and art history at Midwestern State University in Texas.) For two years, she felt like“an orphan in the void”and made little art. “I had this experience where I had to rebuild myself,” she recalls. “It was this feeling of not being connected in any way with humanity. I definitely started to identify with these people I knew about through history who had these catastrophic events in their lives and then started these visionary paths. William Blake, also a Sagittarius and a printmaker, lost his brother when he was 24 years old.” Blake was a master of what Pothast calls “resonant forms,” visual cues that seem to suggest metaphysical activity: ovoid shapes; motion that indicates matter being devoured and reborn; a multiplicity of form that attempts to represent time. Trying to explain this latter concept, Pothast runs to the back of her Central District home to fetch a giant tapestry of the Buddhist god Yamantaka, whose countless arms are fanned out before a giant wheel of flame. Even though Blake (1757–1827) didn’t have access to Eastern art, the similarity is striking to Pothast, perhaps suggesting a deeper shared undercurrent. She continues,“You see all these arms, and they suggest this sense of the infinite possibilities in a moment . . . all existing at once. It’s striking when you compare it to this concept of simultaneously existing parallel universes in modern theoretical physics, these ideas that Stephen Hawking believes in. I feel like these are the kinds of realities Blake was experiencing. He’s going, ‘This is the best way I know how to draw this thing I’m experiencing.’ ” Pothast compares that ecstatic state to video feedback—a handy tool she uses in her lecture to suggest the idea of perception turned inward, a
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concept she believes Blake and other visionary artists have in common. With a video camera, feedback produces an infinite chain of images. When human perception feeds back, Pothast theorizes, it might not be so different. One of the most interesting figures Pothast will
discuss in her opening lecture is the relatively unknown French artist Augustin Lesage. In 1911, the 35-year-old coal miner heard otherworldly voices tell him to start painting, which he’d never done, informing him that he would be their vessel. Lesage then became a “dot-matrix printer of eternity,” in Pothast’s wonderful words, creating over 800 intricate, geometric large-scale paintings. Their intense symmetries and repetitions do suggest a kaleidoscopic feedback loop, perception turned inward on itself. “It’s interesting that we don’t have traditions of modern ‘sacred art’ to put these artists in,” Pothast says of Lesage and company. “We have to collect them and put them in a folder called ‘visionary artists/avant-garde/psychedelic art.’ They lack a context, and while I’m aware I’m definitely not an expert, I feel like it’s part of my calling to attempt to give these artists some context in this deep trajectory of human tradition that’s been mowed down by modernity and secularism and imperialism.” E
ksears@seattleweekly.com
HEDREEN GALLERY Seattle University, 901 12th Ave., 296-2244, seattleu.edu. Free. 1:30–6 p.m. Wed.–Sat. Opening reception & lecture: 6 p.m. Sun., Feb. 22. Ends April 4.
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
“I grew up in Iowa, Lutheran, in the middle of a farm, very isolated,” says Pothast. “At Sunday school I always had a weird relationship with the old men [singing] about Jesus. I’d always think, ‘Do you really believe this? . . . [or are you] feeling it right now when you sing?’ I’ve sung in plenty of church choirs. The question ‘Is God real?’ is meaningless when you are singing in a room full of hundreds of people doing amazing choral work. You don’t even have to call it God. It’s an activity . . . that transcends the sum of its parts. That’s what I’m interested in.” When performing with Midday Veil, Pothast claims to experience her own version of eternity, which has informed her studies in mystical art. Pothast’s interest in such notions deepened after a car accident killed both her parents in 2005, the year she earned her MFA in printmaking at the UW. (She previously studied psychology,
COURTESY OF EMILY POTHAST
y people are spread out over centuries in dusty books full of creatures with infinite eyes and many-headed serpents,” Emily Pothast tells me, handing me a dusty, thick green book. It’s titled, appropriately enough, Many Heads, Arms and Eyes. This particular book, the first of many that Pothast will ecstatically hand me from her library during a two-hour conversation in her home, explores the “multiplicity” convention in the Vedic art traditions of India. Next comes The Secret Book of Revelation, one of her favorites, filled with esoteric, apocalyptic Christian art. She flips through the pages, stopping to point out a seven-eyed lamb sitting at the feet of Jesus, various levitating wheels covered in eyeballs, and seven-headed snakes. “There’s the many-headed serpents in The Secret Book of Revelation, the seven-headed nagas across Buddhist and Hindu art—there’s even sevenheaded serpent depictions from South America. It’s pretty ubiquitous,” she says. “When I found all these images, I found myself.” No, Pothast doesn’t mean she self-identifies as a seven-headed serpent, although she does have a large (single-headed) snake tattooed on her arm. However, the printmaking scholar, visual artist, founder of local record label Translinguistic Other, and lead singer for psych-voyagers Midday Veil does feel a certain kinship with such fringe spiritual visionaries and artists. These intricate, rapturous representations of the infinite serve as the basis for her upcoming exhibition Drawing God From Direct Observation. Along with her own drawings, the show will feature a curated selection from her sprawling, arcane library of spiritual, religious, and ritual art books. Its intent, says Pothast, is to explore how artists throughout history have been compelled to engage with God and the infinite, driven not by religious texts or philosophical discourse but by their individual, experiential visions.
21
BY DIANA M. LE, SANDRA KURTZ, AND SW STAFF
ONGOING
Art of the American West: The Haub Family Collection Paintings and sculpture from the
German family bequest to TAM depict the Old West. Fall end date TBD. Tacoma Art Museum,
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
tacomaartmuseum.org • BAM Biennial 2014: Knock on Wood Not
just carving, but furniture and other creations by Northwest artists and craftsmen are featured. Ends March 29. (Also: Jason Walker’s On the River, Down the Road offers social criticism on the impact of humanity on nature. Ends March 1.) Bellevue Arts Museum, bellevuearts.org • City Dwellers Artists pay tribute to contemporary urban Indian culture, from glamorous Bollywood to the slums of Delhi. Ends Feb. 16. Also on view: The Duchamp Effect (through Aug. 16).
Seattle Art Museum, seattleartmuseum.org the common S E N S E A museum-wide exhi-
bition of American artist Ann Hamilton’s newly commissioned works, some of which you can touch and take home with you. Ends April 26.
Henry Art Gallery, henryart.org Imagining the Arctic Three women explore the
impact of climate change on West Greenland. Ends Feb. 22. Nordic Heritage Museum, nordic
museum.org Live On: Mr.’s Japanese Neo-Pop Fifteen years
of Mr.’s art is displayed, the central work being the massive installation made of debris suggesting the 2011 tsunami and nuclear accident at Fukushima. Ends April 5. Also on view: Indo-Persian Art at the Crossroads and Conceal/Reveal, a survey of Chinese art, both ending June 21. Seattle Asian Art Museum, seattleartmuseum.org • Sol LeWitt: Seven Cubes His wall drawing,
conceived for SAM in ’97, explores cube and grid
22 structures, while you enjoy coffee in the PAC-
CAR Pavilion. Ends March 8. Olympic Sculpture Park, seattleartmuseum.org Star Wars and the Power of Costume Look at the iconic costumes from the sci-fi franchise, to be continued on December 18. Ends Oct. 4. EMP Museum, empmuseum.org
FEBRUARY
12–15 Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers
Having performed with Aerosmith and Bruce Springsteen, and appeared on American Idol, she’s a versatile sax player and band leader. Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, jazzalley.com • 12–May 17 Indigenous Beauty Native
American tribes from across the continent are represented through 110 artifacts and objects. Running concurrently: Seattle Collects Northwest Coast Native Art, a collection of some 60 works from local collections. Seattle Art Museum • 13 Kingsman: The Secret Service Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Caine star in a comic-book movie that lampoons 007 and his ilk. Early word is strong. Opens wide 13 Fifty Shades of Grey Plan the perfect Valentine’s Day date with lowbrow erotica, followed by a feminist discussion equal to the running time. Early word is poor. Opens wide 13 Capsula The Spanish psych-rock band derives its name from Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” With The Knast. Sunset Tavern, sunsettavern.com 13 Billy Idol The legendary English rocker, and one of MTV’s first stars, has a new biography: Dancing With Myself. The Paramount, stg presents.org 13–14 Jamie Kennedy He’s still Malibu’s most wanted to us. Parlor Live Seattle, parlorlive.com 13–14 Heather McDonald She wrote for Chel-
sea Lately and is also a New York Times bestselling author. Parlor Live Bellevue
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS
A Tlingit tunic and leggings, at SAM’s Indigenous Beauty show.
14 Brian McKnight Let his smooth and sexy R&B voice set the tone for your Valentine’s night.
Emerald Queen Casino, emeraldqueen.com • 14 Seattle Symphony Don’t miss Roméo et
Juliette, Berlioz’s rarely performed masterwork about Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers.
Benaroya Hall 14–15 Chop Shop An annual local showcase of diverse dance styles. Meydenbauer Center, chop shopdance.org 15 Harlem Globetrotters The iconic team
brings its ball wizardry and comedy in this family-friendly show. KeyArena, keyarena.com 15 Tony Orlando The 1970s pop singer reprises his hits, looking surprisingly youthful.
Snoqualmie Casino, snocasino.com 15 Jim Henson’s Dinosaur Train Live! Buddy’s Big Adventure Little Buddy is a T. rex in the
Pteranodon family who sets out on an adventure to figure out where he belongs. The Paramount • 16–May 2017 Seeing Nature Artists explore land and sea in this big survey exhibition. Seattle
Art Museum 17 Hundred Waters The indie band raised
heads and gained popularity by teaming with Skrillex’s label, OWSLA, and the way they blend electronic and organic sounds. With Moses Sumney, Dutty Wilderness. Neumos,
neumos.com 18 Midday Veil Fronted by Emily Pothast [See
feature, page 21], the Seattle experimental rock group juxtaposes dramatic performances with subtle and nuanced recordings. With Sister Girlfriend. Neumos 18 RiFF RAFF A member of rap group Three Loco performs alongside Andy Milonakis and Dirt Nasty. He is also friends with Justin Bieber and Drake. (Don’t judge!) The Showbox, showboxpresents.com
18 Gov’t Mule, aka “The Mule,” formed as a side project of the Allman Brothers Band. They perform with special guest John Scofield. The Moore, stgpresents.org 18 Little Big Show: St. Paul & the Broken Bones The 11th annual benefit concert features
Birmingham’s highly lauded soul band, with all proceeds going to Rain City Rock Camp for Girls. The Neptune, stgpresents.org 18 Videoasis A celebration of music videos and the people who made them, with a mix of new, local, and throwbacks. Northwest Film
Forum, nwfilmforum.org 18–22 Seattle Festival of Improv Theater Five nights and 31 groups. Jet City Improv, seattle improv.com 19 Austen Ever After Ten UW experts each
lead a short discussion on topics related to the beloved English novelist. ACT Theatre, act theatre.org 19 Giraffage is a producer from San Jose,
known for his remixes of pop and R&B tracks. With Spazzkid, DJ HOJO. Neumos 19 Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Men in tights! It’s not only entertaining, but the show may turn your kids (of either sex) onto dance. Edmonds Center for the Arts, edmonds centerforthearts.org 19 Tommy Emmanuel Honored by Chet
Atkins, he’s best known for his complex fingering technique and onstage energy. The Moore 19 Kyle Boelte The Seattle memoirist makes his fiction debut with The Beautiful Unseen. Elliott Bay Book Co., elliottbaybook.com 19 Gareth Moore lectures on critical issues in contemporary art. Henry Art Gallery • 19 Jerusalem Quartet Haydn, Bartok (his
ever-unsettling Fourth Quartet), and Schubert. Meany Hall, uwworldseries.org
19 Date Night With Erin & Tanner Erin McSmith and Tanner Todgeson are two goofballs and partners in love (and in comedy). Join them for a night of sketches and more. The
themselves and try to make it big in Japan after almost calling it quits in their hometown.
Northwest Film Forum 20–28 The Devils From 1971, Ken Russell’s
satire of 17th-century France features shocks and sex aplenty. Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave star. Did you know Derek Jarman did the sets?
Rendezvous, jewelboxtheater.com 19–20 Ari Shaffir He hosts This Is Not Hap-
pening on Comedy Central and appears on Delivery. Parlor Live Seattle 19–22 Richard Maxwell Three denizens of a dive bar loop back and forth in time in The Evening, from the avant-minimalist New York playwright. On the Boards, ontheboards.org 20 Brandi Carlile An alt-country singer/songwriter from Ravensdale, Wash., best known for her 2007 single “The Story.” The Moore 20 Hot Tub Time Machine 2 The sequel to the film you really have to see to believe is good.
Grand Illusion 20–March 14 The God of Hell Sam Shepard’s
dystopian drama pits Wisconsin farmers against malevolent corporate interests. (Are there any other kind?) Stone Soup Theatre, stonesouptheatre.org • 20–March 15 Next to Normal A “typical” American family is anything but because of the mother’s 16-year battle with manic depression. The musical won a Tony in New York and has its roots at Issaquah’s Village Theatre, where playwright/lyricist Brian Yorkey got his start.
Opens wide 20 Wild Tales The six stories in this Argentinian
SecondStory Rep, secondstoryrep.org 20–June 14 Emerge/Evolve 2014 Finalists from
Portland’s Bullseye Glass Company’s “Emerge” competition in kiln-glass. Bellevue Arts Museum 21 Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman The coauthors share book two in the Accelerati Trilogy, titled Edison’s Alley. University Book Store (Mill Creek), bookstore.washington.edu 21 Tudor Choir A new setting, by Gabriel
Jackson, of The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed Sacrament Church, tudorchoir.org 21 Borgore Asaf Borger, the Israeli dubstep
producer, has found commercial success in less than one year. With Ookay, Juaz. Showbox
SoDo, showboxpresents.com • 21 Kevin Smith A lively and humorous Q&A
DAN KVITKA
anthology film are connected by the theme of vengeance. Seven Gables, landmarktheatres.com 20 The Duff After finding out she’s the Designated Ugly Fat Friend (or “DUFF”) in her group of prettier friends, a high-school student revolutionizes the social pecking order. Opens wide 20 Jay Leno Insert your top 10 reasons to see Jay Leno here. Anyone? Anyone? Snoqualmie Casino • 20 What We Do in the Shadows Jemaine Clement (of Flight of the Conchords) stars as a vampire in this well-reviewed ghoul-com.
with @ThatKevinSmith, sure to range from movies to politics to comics and beyond. The Neptune 21 The Grizzled Mighty celebrate their album release with Smokey Brights, Constant Lovers, Cabana. Neumos
21 Alton Brown Live! The Edible Inevitable Tour is a mix of stand-up, food experimentation, talk show, lecture, and live music. The Paramount 21 The Pop Ups Enjoy a fresh take on children’s music from this Brooklyn duo. Town Hall, townhallseattle.org • 21–March 7 Seattle Opera promises spectacle
(lasers and glittery costumes) and relevance (a
1250085
Terri Grant’s Kathryn, at BAM’s Emerge/ Evolve show.
• 20 Bull Roarchestra With Stuart Dempster
The renowned composer performs with his ensemble in response to Ann Hamilton’s bullroarer installation. Henry Art Gallery 20–21 Tom Green Laugh your bum off with this Canuck comedian and ’90s survivor. Parlor Live Bellevue • 20–23 Hard to Be a God Set on a distant
planet, this Russian film offers a sci-fi critique of Stalinism. Northwest Film Forum 20–26 The Last: Naruto the Movie Don’t miss the final chapter of the popular epic Japanese anime! Grand Illusion, grandillusioncinema.org • 20–26 Big in Japan Members of Tennis Pro, a popular Seattle band, play versions of
A scene from Girlhood, at SIFF.
An Art and Fine Craft Show produced by Northwest Art Alliance
look at celebrity culture) in its production of Handel’s Semele. McCaw Hall, seattleopera.org
21–May 3 Pan: A Graphic Arts Time Capsule of Europe 1895–1900 The fin de siècle arts journal
Pan featured artists including Rodin, Seurat, and Toulouse-Lautrec. (Also running during the same span is the jewelry show 1900: Adornment for the Home and Body, drawn from the local collection of Wayne Dodge and Lawrence Kreisman.) Frye Art Museum, fryemuseum.org • 24 Music of Today Fearless pianist Cristina Valdes plays Lachenmann and Scelsi. Meany
March 28th & 29th
Hall, music.washington.edu 24–March 1 Cinderella A contemporary take
on a classic tale from the creators of Oklahoma!
The Paramount 24–March 15 Seven Ways to Get There
Seven men attempt to work through their issues in group therapy. John Langs directs this new comedy (we think) by Bryan Willis and Dwayne Clarke. ACT Theatre
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 25
art by Kate Larsson
Spring 2015 nwartalliance.com Hangar 30 • Magnuson Park
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
infuses elements of Persian, Indian, and Eastern European music. With Missionary Position, So Pitted. Neumos 20 Cold War Kids tours in support of their fourth album, Dear Miss Lonelyhearts—their first release with Dann Gallucci, former guitarist for Modest Mouse and Murder City Devils. With Elliot Moss. The Showbox 20 Girlhood From French director Celine Sciamma (Tomboy), another gritty coming-of-age tale in the banlieues. SIFF Cinema Uptown
SIFF
Sundance Cinemas, sundancecinemas.com 20 Rose Windows Seattle’s psych rock band
23
THREE WEEKS. FIVE PROGRAMS. ONE COMPOSER.
SIBELIUS FESTIVAL. MAR CH 1 3
MAR CH 1 9, 21 & 22
SIBELIUS’
SIBELIUS’
SY MP HONY U NT U X E D
D E LTA A I R L I N ES M AST E R WO R K S SEAS O N
SYMPHONY NO. 2 Don’t miss this special Sibelius–themed Symphony Untuxed performance! This short, no–intermission concert features Sibelius’ grandiose Symphony No. 2, and the rousing and turbulent Finlandia, featuring community choirs and a sing-along.
J E A N S IB E L I U S
M A R C H 12 & 14
SIBELIUS’
SYMPHONIES 1 & 2 SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
DE LTA A IR L I N E S M AST E R WO R K S S E AS O N
24
SYMPHONIES 3 & 4
MAR CH 1 5
Sibelius’ Violin Concerto has been compared to the image of a “warm-blooded animal dancing in a frozen landscape.” Indeed, that phrase captures perfectly the humane spirit of this great composer of the north, whose complete symphonies we’ll explore this season.
SIBELIUS’
Pekka Kuusisto’s performances generously underwritten by the Hot Chocolate Fund.
PIANO QUINTET C HA MBE R SE R I E S Seattle Symphony musicians and friends continue the Sibelius celebration as they perform the Finnish master’s chamber works.
Newly appointed Principal Guest Conductor Thomas Dausgaard uncovers the “intimate voices” of Jean Sibelius as the orchestra begins its celebration of the famed and beloved Finnish composer.
P E K K A K U U S I STO
MAR CH 26 & 28
SIBELIUS’
SYMPHONIES 5, 6 & 7 D E LTA A I R L I N ES M AST E R WO R K S SEAS O N
Sibelius said his Sixth Symphony reminded him of the “scent of the first snow.” Experience the craggy landscape and spiritual vastness of the Nordic world yourself with the final three symphonies of Finland’s national composer.
T H O M AS DAU S GA A R D Festival Sponsors:
Media Sponsor:
FOR TICKETS:
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206 .2 15 .4747 | SEATTL ESYMPHONY.ORG
SPRING ARTS CALENDaR » FROM PAGE 23
• 24–March 24 Blowing Up Cinema Five films from Italian great Michelangelo Antonioni, copresented by Northwest Film Forum: Blow-Up, La Notte, L’eclisse, Red Desert, and The Passenger. Seattle Art Museum 25 Tom Varner & Friends An evening of
“Meditations and Improvisations for Brass Ensemble, Percussion, and Field Recordings” promises sonic surprises, even astonishments.
Chapel Performance Space, waywardmusic.org 25 John Benditt discusses The Boatmaker, a
novel about history, religion, and manhood, with Nancy Pearl. University Book Store, bookstore. washington.edu 25 Bo Burnham went from performing and
uploading satirical songs from his bedroom onto
GORGE O P E N S T U D I O S in the Columbia River Gorge ARTISTS 9th Annual
27 Everly Salma Hayek beats down assassins
sent by her ex while hiding out in her apartment.
Opens wide 27 Shredder Orpheus Seattle’s one and only
skate-rock opera, featuring guitar-slinging skaters, ’80s camp, and a seriously cool punk soundtrack. Northwest Film Forum 27 Carly Anne West discusses The Bargaining, a follow–up to her YA hit The Murmurings. University Book Store 27–28 C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce The
producers of The Screwtape Letters adapt this story about a bus ride to heaven for the stage. The Moore 27–March 1 Salad Days A comprehensive and insightful documentary about the D.C. punkrock scene, featuring Ian MacKaye, Bad Brains, Rites of Spring, Fugazi, and Minor Threat.
April 10, 11, 12, 2015 10am-6pm Tour studios of 38 Artists
Grand Illusion
gorgeartists.org FOCUS WORLD
Moore in Maps to the Stars.
YouTube as a teenager to having his own TV show on MTV and a New York Times bestseller.
The Moore • 26 THEESatisfaction The fem-powered local
Theaters TBD
Northwest Film Forum 28 Sync Music Video Festival Celebrating the
craft and form of music videos, or something like that. SIFF Cinema Uptown, siff.net 28 Puget Sound Symphony All-Tchaikovsky, including the “Pathetique” Symphony. Town Hall, psso.org
MARCH
1 First Russian Comedy Show Michail Oganov, Dmitriy Alekseyev, Eugene Mogilevsky, and more. Parlor Live Bellevue 1 Seattle Symphony “Celebrate Asia” includes music from Slumdog Millionaire and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, plus a koto concerto and other new music. Benaroya Hall • 1–June 7 Eloquent Objects Over 60 paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe and her contemporaries. Tacoma Art Museum • 2 Metropolis Fritz Lang’s 1927 expressionistic sci-fi classic, with an original score performed live by the Degenerate Art Ensemble. The Paramount • 2 Kim Gordon The feminist icon and found-
ing member of Sonic Youth discusses her new memoir, Girl in a Band, with Sub Pop cofounder Bruce Pavitt. The Neptune
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 27
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http://www.seattle.gov/tech/tmf Get more info at: www.seattle.gov/getonline or call (206) 233-7877
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
hip-hop duo (and SW contributors) releases its new album, EarthEE. Neumos 26 Leighton Meester Best known as Blair Waldorf on the CW’s Gossip Girl and the lucky girl married to Seth Cohen (Adam Brody). With Duke Evers. The Showbox 26 Rob Delaney is a stand-up comic with more than a million followers. The Neptune 26–28 Shawn Wayans The actor and standup comedian of White Chicks and Scary Movie appears without his brothers. Parlor Live Seattle 26–28 Bryan Callen Known for his roles in The Hangover, Old School, and most recently as the lead in Ride Along. Parlor Live Bellevue 27 Focus Will Smith is a seasoned con artist who takes a young, beautiful woman (Margot Robbie from The Wolf of Wall Street) under his wing . . . and possibly into his heart? We’re guessing yes. Opens wide 27 Little Boy A 7-year-old will do whatever it takes to end World War II if it means he can bring his father home. Opens wide 27 The Lazarus Effect Things get spooky when a group of medical students find a way to bring patients back from the dead. Does this involve Obamacare? Opens wide 27 Maps to the Stars David Cronenberg delivers the story of a fame-obsessed Hollywood family. Julianne Moore and Mia Wasikowska star. Sundance Cinemas 27 ’71 A young British soldier has been left behind by his unit after a riot in Belfast in 1971.
27–March 5 A Fuller Life Twelve directors/ admirers of Samuel Fuller each interpret his autobiography, A Third Face. Grand Illusion • 28 The Henry Gala A fundraiser with cocktails, a gourmet dinner, an auction, and a dance party. Henry Art Gallery 28 Princess Angeline The story of the Duwamish people is filtered through the life of Princess Angeline, daughter of Chief Sealth.
Barbara Murphy
25
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
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SPRING ARTS CALENDaR » FROM PAGE 25
2 Cara Black signs Murder on the Champ de Mars. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, seattlemystery.com 2 Robin McCabe The UW pianist and her
students offer fireworks for two pianos eight hands. Meany Hall
ing and inevitable. (Alongside the performances, Morris himself will deliver a March 4 lecture at Kane Hall.) SK Meany Hall, uwworldseries.org 5–April 4 The Flick Annie Baker’s play scored a Pulitzer last year. In it, three small-town employees at a dying cinema hash out their lives and dreams. MJ Sieber directs. New Century
Iris are faced with a tough decision after Bette’s reputation is put in question, in a new play by Laura Schellhardt (The K of D). Seattle Reper-
tory Theatre, seattlerep.org 7 Leslie Budewitz Her Assault and Pepper is a new series set in Pike Place Market. Seattle Mystery Bookshop 7 Space immaterial/Immaterial place The
Theatre Company, wearenctc.org
films of Jeremy Moss feature The Blue Record, (un)tethered, Those Inescapable Slivers of Celluloid, Chroma, Cicatrix, That Dizzying Crest, and The Sight. Northwest Film Forum 7 Seattle Rock Orchestra Performs Beck A retrospective of Beck’s career, with a 50-pluspiece orchestra and Chris Cunningham (of Ravenna Woods) on vocals. The Moore • 7–8 Seattle Pro Musica Sacred music by women covering nearly a millennium, from Hildegard of Bingen to a premiere by director Karen P. Thomas. St. James Cathedral, seattlepro musica.org 7–May 17 Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well & Living in Paris A revue of the powerful and
Town Hall 3 Patricia Briggs and Anne Bishop The urban
fantasy authors’ books Dead Heat and Vision in Silver, respectively, drop on the same day. Univer-
sity Book Store 3 Glen Erik Hamilton’s debut, Past Crimes, is a detective story that takes place in Seattle. Seattle Mystery Bookshop • 4 Adam Devine Best known as a co-creator/
SANDRA KURTZ The Moore
• 5 Cheryl Strayed Seattle Arts & Lectures presents the Portland memoirist behind Wild, recently adapted into the hit Reese Witherspoon movie. (Sold out.) Town Hall, lectures.org 5 Festival of (In)Appropiation Films that can be classified as collage, compilation, found footage, or recycled cinema. Northwest Film Forum • 5–7 Judah Friedlander The 30 Rock star still iconically, and possibly ironically, sports the trucker-cap look. Parlor Live Seattle • 5–7 Mark Morris Dance Group This most musical of choreographers is back in Seattle, with three works new to us (Jenn and Spencer, Crosswalk, and Words) and one more familiar (Pacific, also in the PNB repertory). Few people working today are as able to show us the internal logic of a dance as Morris—his choices feel both surpris-
Uptown • 6 Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been creat-
ing happy and uplifting music, rooted in South African traditions, for 50 years. The Neptune 6 Queen and Country John Boorman’s followup to Hope and Glory, with the Korean War as a backdrop to ’50s England. Sundance Cinemas 6 Smokey Robinson Bob Dylan has vouched for him as “America’s greatest living poet.” Emer-
band picked back up in 2008 after a 10–year hiatus. With Gateway Drugs. Neumos 8 ArtVenture With Jessixa Bagley The children’s-book author and illustrator explores the stories and books in Ann Hamilton: the common S E N S E. Henry Art Gallery 8 Celtic Thunder tours with a collection of the group’s most popular songs from the past seven years. The Paramount • 8 Byron Schenkman & Friends Chamber music by Clara Schumann, finally in the spotlight equally with husband Robert. Benaroya Eric Ankrim (left) and Louis Hobson in Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well & Living in Paris.
ald Queen Casino • 6 Chappie is the adopted son of a strange and other theaters 6 The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
venues, theesoterics.org 6–TBA Buzzard “Albert Camus meets Freddy
Krueger” in this comedy about the American working class. Grand Illusion 6–29 The Comparables Strong and glamorous high-end real-estate agents Bette, Monica, and
theater finally takes residence with a new show in the long-vacant former Elliott Bay Book Co. space in Pioneer Square. Ending date TBD. Cafe Nordo, cafenordo.com 12–14 Michelle Ellsworth This is the third in
her Clytigation series of performances that tries to answer the question of how environment influences performance. On the Boards 12–14 The Rising Star Project The 5th Avenue gives students the opportunity to produce and perform a show on the mainstage, namely Carousel. 5th Avenue Theatre 12–15 Ms. Lisa Fischer and Grand Baton The backup singer for acts such as Luther Vandross, Tina Turner, and the Rolling Stones was featured in Twenty Feet From Stardom and now headlines her own show. Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley • 12–28 Seattle Symphony A three-weekend festival celebrates Jan Sibelius’ 150th with his seven symphonies and chamber music too. Benaroya Hall 12–July 26 Finland: Designed Environments
Humanist philosophy and minimalist aesthetics come together in Finnish design. Nordic Heritage Museum 13 Katie Kate An impressive force and all-around
bad-ass multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and singer. With Vox Mod, Murder Vibes. Sunset Tavern 13 The Parent Trap Three authors (Tiphanie Yanique, Jess Walter, and Megan SnyderCamp) discuss changes in the parent/ child relationship. Richard Hugo House, hugohouse.org 13 Ballet 422 This
new documentary goes backstage at New York City Ballet, following choreographer Justin Peck.
family. He is also a robot. The film’s directed by Neill Blomkamp of District 9 fame. Cinerama
The ensemble in this geezer sequel features Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and Richard Gere. Opens wide 6 Unfinished Business Vince Vaughn and Dave Franco are businessmen who travel to Europe to close a huge deal. Everything you can imagine going wrong does. Opens wide 6 The Coup Owen Wilson stars in a thriller about an American family caught up in a dangerous overseas coup. Opens wide 6–8 Rodgers and Hammerstein The golden age of Broadway is celebrated with selections from Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, and more. Benaroya Hall • 6–8 The Esoterics This chorus commemorates the 100th anniversary of Rachmaninoff ’s popular and gorgeous All-Night Vigil. Various
series.org • 12 Don Nordo del Midwest The restaurant/
Sundance Cinemas 13 Cinderella It’s
Recital Hall, byronschenkman.com 9 Faust A silent-movie adaptation of Goethe
from F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu), with live organ.
The Paramount 10 Seattle Early Dance The Early Music
Guild supplies the accompaniment for medieval footwork. Trinity Church, seattleearly
dance.org 10 Broods Brother/sister (so cute!) indie-pop
duo from New Zealand. With Mikky Ekko. Neumos 10 UW Campus Philharmonia Mozart,
Schubert, and Rossini from this young and enthusiastic group. Kane Hall, UW campus, music.washington.edu
time for the servant stepdaughter to get her live-action Hollywood treatment. Lily James stars, surrounded by talents like Cate Blanchett, Stellan Skarsgård, Helena Bonham Carter, and the latter’s ex, Kenneth Branagh, who directs. Opens wide 13 Run All Night Liam Neeson is now a protective father and hitman who must face his former boss in order to protect his family. Didn’t we just see that movie? Opens wide 13 Northwest Sinfonietta Cuban jazz with pianist Aldo Gavilán and the Harlem quartet. Benaroya Hall, northwestsinfonietta.org • 13–22 The Vertiginous Thrill of Forsythe
Two Pacific Northwest Ballet premieres: The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude and In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated. McCaw Hall, pnb.org
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
writer/star of Comedy Central’s Workaholics, he is quickly becoming a highly sought-after comic actor. The Neptune 4–5 Caribou Dan Snaith is focusing on music full-time now that he’s completed his Ph.D. in mathematics. With Koreless. Showbox • 4–5 Kyle Abraham Plenty of interesting dances aren’t about anything in particular, but they aren’t by Abraham. With his company, ABRAHAM.IN.MOTION, he’s created a body of work that examines big, controversial issues and small, human-scale ideas, usually at the same time. When the Wolves Came In focuses on two anniversaries: the 150th of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 20th of the abolishment of apartheid in South Africa, both filtered through the music of Max Roach.
• 5–April 26 Goodnight Moon Based on the bedtime book by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd, this musical had its debut staging here in 2007. Now a new wave of kids can enjoy it. Seattle Children’s Theatre, sct.org 6 The Salvation Denmark’s handsomest actor, Mads Mikkelsen, stars in this unlikely Western with former Bond girl Eva Green. SIFF Cinema
Theatre, 5thavenue.org 8 Swervedriver The alternative/shoegazer
MARK KITAOKA
3 Liz Carlisle’s Lentil Underground discusses the way sustainable food can save agriculture.
ELAINE MAYSON
Mark Morris dancers perform Crosswalk.
emotional songs that inspired artists like David Bowie, Nirvana, and Celine Dion. 5th Avenue
11 The Dodos Meric Long and Logan Kroeber embark on their first North American tour as a duo since 2007. Let’s see if they’ve still got it. With Springtime Carnivore, Posse. Neumos 12 Olga Kern From this pianist, music by 19thcentury oddball hyper-virtuoso Charles-Valentin Alkan, plus the usual suspects (Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff ). Meany Hall, uwworld
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 29 27
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
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SPRING ARTS CALENDaR 13–June 7 Read My Pins An exhibition showcasing over 200 political campaign pins from former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s personal collection. Bellevue Arts Museum • 14 Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea Over five decades, the two have reaped 14 Grammy Awards. The Paramount 14 Northwest Symphony Sean Osborn soloes in Gerald Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto. Holy Rosary Church, northwestsymphonyorchestra.org 14 “The Rolling Stones” Members of Seattle’s
finest fringe punkers join forces to form the raddest Rolling Stones cover band. With Fancy Lads, CODEPENDENCY. Sunset Tavern 14 MxPx The Bremerton punkers have nine studio albums and a whole lot of diehard fans to show for their two-decade career. With Five Iron Frenzy. The Showbox 14 Maria Tallchief A documentary about the life and art of the ballet great. Northwest Film
Forum 14–15 International Ballet Theater Alice in
Wonderland is guaranteed to enchant your kids. Meydenbauer Center, ibtbellevue.org • 14–22 Seattle Jewish Film Festival More
than 30 titles are screened, along with related Jonathan Porretta and Carrie Imler in PNB’s all-Forsythe program.
16 Denis Hayes & Gail Boyer Hayes In their new book Cowed, they discuss sustainability and America’s long-running relationship with cows. [See feature, page 18.] University Book Store • 17 Talib Kweli & Immortal Technique Two big names in hip-hop come together. With NIKO, IS, CF, Hasan Salaam. The Showbox 17 Teen Cat This band parties like their catmoms and cat-dads are gone for the weekend. With Def Leprechaun, The JV. Sunset Tavern 17–18 Dana Fuchs just released Songs From the Road, a live concert album featuring a cover of the Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down” that she also performed in the movie Across the Universe. Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley 17–April 12 Tartuffe It’s not iambic, but Molière’s enduring farce features plenty of laughs. Seattle Shakespeare Co., seattle
Girl,” he’s become an author and continues to make music. The Neptune 18 Bayside Its fans call themselves a “cult,” which is what the band has appropriately titled its new release. With Senses Fail, Man Overboard, Seaway. The Showbox • 19 Catalyst Quartet American quar-
tets, including Barber, Glass, and Ives.
The popular TV comic returns to the Northwest. Snoqualmie Casino 19–20 Jimmy Dunn The actor and
comedian co-stars on the hit CBS show The McCarthys. Parlor Live Bellevue • 19–21 Los Lobos
The rock band from East L.A. has enjoyed a career over three decades, with a huge back catalogue of hits and covers. Triple
© ANGELA STERLING
ing a day in the life of a group of young Berliners (before Hitler came to power), with live organ accompaniment. Billy Wilder was among the creators of the unique anthology project. The
Paramount
Mamma Mia! returns to Seattle.
A French animated film, based on a Hans Christian Anderson story, that inspired Hayao Miyazaki.
Northwest Film Forum 19–26 No Way to Treat a Lady A publicity-
obsessed actor turns serial killer. William Goldman’s source novel was adapted to film, and now it’s a musical. (May 1–24 in Everett.) Village
Theatre, villagetheatre.org • 20 Also Like Life: the Films of Hou Hsiao– hsien The great Taiwanese filmmaker hasn’t
been treated to a retrospective here in about a decade (back when NWFF ran the Grand Illusion). Through April (date TBD), here’s a welcome chance to revisit titles like Flowers of Shanghai, Dust in the Wind, and A Time to Live and a Time to Die. Northwest Film Forum
20 Insurgent Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort return in this highly anticipated sequel to Divergent. Opens wide 20 The Gunman Suffering from PTSD and on the run across Europe to clear his name, an ex-soldier is trying to reconnect with his longtime love. With Idris Elba, Sean Penn, and Javier Bardem . . . but who stars? Opens wide 20 Kumiko the Treasure Hunter A Japanese woman (Rinko Kikuchi of Babel) travels to Minnesota in search of a fortune, which may or may not be an urban legend. SIFF Film Center 20–21 Walk the Moon is known for their
infectious music and interactive live shows.
The Neptune 20–21 Seattle Choral Company Music from
Sweden, traversing the wide gap (stylistically if not alphabetically) from Alfvén to ABBA. St. Mark’s Cathedral, seattlechoralcompany.org 21 Zulaika Tour the vibrant traditions of the Middle East through dance. Town Hall • 21 Amy Schumer She’s the profane,
unapologetic star of Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer. Her much-anticipated movie Trainwreck, directed by Judd Apatow, opens July 17. Emerald Queen Casino • 21 Mike Foley Tales From Wrestling Past draws from the WWE champion and fivetime New York Times bestseller’s 28 years of travel. Parlor Live Bellevue 21 Pacific MusicWorks This early-music group turns its attention to America—where “early” can include the mid-1800s. Stephen Foster, for instance. Benaroya Recital Hall, paci-
ficmusicworks.org 24 OK Go Its live show is sure to be as impressive as its music-video theatrics. The Neptune 24 Jacqueline Winspear Masie’s journey
home takes a strange turn in A Dangerous Place.
Seattle Mystery Bookshop 24–29 Mamma Mia! On the night before her
wedding, a woman’s desire to find her father
on the book by Osha Gray Davidson. Taproot Theatre, taproottheatre.org 26 Luís Alberto Urrea The prolific author (The
Hummingbird’s Daughter, The Devil’s Highway, etc.) discusses his craft. Richard Hugo House 26 Hamsaz Ensemble Over 700 years of Iranian history explored through music. Town Hall 26 Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield perform songs from their new collaboration, a tribute to Elliott Smith. The Neptune 26 Marilyn Manson Hide your children and come out for a night of freaks and theatrics. The Showbox 26–27 Colin Hay The former Men at Work
frontman is gaining new acclaim for his troubadour-style solo career. Benaroya Hall 26–28 Bert Kreischer Known for his frat-boy manners and humor. Parlor Live Seattle 26–April 12 Slowgirl The always arresting Hannah Mootz stars as a wastrel visiting her even more messed-up uncle in Costa Rica. Greg Pierce directs the drama by Kelly Kitchens. Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, seattlepublictheater.org 27 Paige McKenzie is the teen star of the
popular web series Haunting of Sunshine Girl; this is her eponymous debut book. University Book Store 27 J.A. Jance’s new book Cold Betrayal is
about a woman facing two very strange and dangerous crises. Seattle Mystery Bookshop 27 Get Hard Will Ferrell gets nailed for fraud and calls on Kevin Hart to prep him for life in jail. Opens wide 27 Home Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, and Jennifer Lopez lend their voices to this animated children’s film. Opens wide 27 A Little Chaos Alan Rickman directs himself and Kate Winslet in this period drama, set in the gardens of Versailles, overseen by King Louis XIV (Rickman). We’re sold. Theaters TBD
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
Door, thetriple door.net 19–22 The King and the Mockingbird
Place and other venues, seattlejewishfilm festival.org 15 Widespread Panic American jam rock from Athens, Ga. The Paramount 16 Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday) A 1930 silent German documentary follow-
brings three men from her mother’s past into their lives. With the music of ABBA, like you didn’t know that. The Paramount • 25 Deviant Septet Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale and other works for the same curious instrumentation. Town Hall 25–April 25 The Best of Enemies A KKK member and a civil-rights activist are forced to integrate a school in 1971 North Carolina. Based
shakespeare.org 18 Timothy Williams He signs The Honest Folk of Guadeloupe. Seattle Mystery Bookshop 18 Rick Springfield Long after “Jessie’s
Meany Hall, uwworld series.org 19 Mario Cantone
cultural events. Opening night is Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli rom-com about millennials from those two nations falling in love. Pacific
20 Lament for the Makers Ten local poets read the work of 10 others who passed away this last year. Cheerful! Richard Hugo House 20 Starbucks Hot Java Cool Jazz A benefit concert by award-winning jazz bands from five local high schools. The Paramount 20 Zakir Hussain blends Indian and Celtic music and has performed with George Harrison, Van Morrison, and Yo-Yo Ma. The Moore
STG GROUP
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30
Pictured: Amelia Zirin-Brown • Photo: Michael Doucett
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
L
n e h W “
o z i R y d a , s g n si d cracks
un er feet.” o r g the under h e agazin open — City Arts M
SPRING ARTS CALENDaR » FROM PAGE 29
27 Serena Everyone’s favorite onscreen couple, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, are together again in this Depression-era film, long delayed after its filming by director Susanne Bier (Open Hearts). Guild 45th, landmarktheatres.com
30 Guster The veteran alt-rock band has made a stylistic departure with its new record, Evermotion. The Neptune • 30 Barney Frank The firebrand former congressman from Massachusetts, now retired, has authored Frank: A Life in Politics From the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage. He talks about it
4 Twerps The band has been championed in the lo-fi world, having toured with Yo La Tengo, Deerhunter, and the Black Lips. Sunset Tavern 5 Trio Pardalote 12 down, three to go: Their journey through Shostakovich’s 15 string quartets combines the 13th with Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff. Royal Room, triopardalote.com 6 The Sing-Off Live Tour NBC’s top-rated a cappella music competition performs with VoicePlay and Street Corner Symphony. The Moore 7 America’s Test Kitchen Live! Christopher Kimball offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the popular TV cooking show, with onstage chocolate tasting and a sniff test for the audience. The Moore • 7 Belle and Sebastian The Glasgow indiepop band emerged in the ’90s and founder Stuart Murdoch recently made a movie, God Help the Girl. The Paramount 7–8 Willie Jones III This highly appreciated jazz drummer is known for his speed and control. Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley • 8–11 Through the Looking Glass: The Burlesque Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll’s
being fired from SNL, but he’s an able Canadian comic. Parlor Live Bellevue • 27–29 Emerald City Comicon Get out your Lumpy Space Princess costume because you won’t want to miss this year’s celebrity guests, including John Barrowman, Julie Benz, LeVar Burton, Charisma Carpenter, and Stan Lee.
Washington State Convention Center, emerald citycomicon.com 27–April 26 Lizard Boy A monster with strange
powers emerges from the ashes of Mt. St. Helens. Is he a superhero or a freak? Justin Huertas reprises his one-man cabaret show. Seattle
Repertory Theatre 28 Films for One to Eight Projectors Experimental cinema from Roger Beebe. Northwest Film Forum 28 Caspar Babypants, aka Chris Ballew of the
with local political writer Eric Liu. University
Temple United Methodist Church, brownpaper tickets.com 30 Northwest Chamber Chorus Mozart’s operatic Mass in C Minor. Benaroya Hall, northwestchamberchorus.org
APRIL
ters and imaginary spirits appear through stark black-and-white graphics. Olympic Sculpture Park 29 Sabbatical A professor comes back to his
hometown after his mom has a stroke. Director Brandon Colvin will be in attendance. North-
west Film Forum 29 Luis J. Gomez He’s appeared on Last Comic
Standing, Gotham Comedy Live, and MTV2’s Guy Code. Parlor Live Seattle
think of Glass and his radio show This American Life, dance is not the first thing that jumps to mind. Yet Barnes’ eccentric choreography, which has been described in The New York Times as “Buster Keaton in Vegas,” seems to fit well with Glass’ quirky narrative style. SK The Paramount 14 Ariana Grande The breakout pop star headlines her first North American tour. With Rixton. KeyArena 15 Eric Church The country-music sensation performs with special guest Brothers Osborne. KeyArena 16 David Shields He discusses the concept of
collage in his co-written book, Life Is Short—Art Is Shorter. Richard Hugo House • 16–18 Lyon Opera Ballet This company has always pushed the edge of what might qualify as “ballet,” performing works by some of the most groundbreaking postmodern choreographers. The repertory they’re bringing includes William Forsythe’s seminal Steptext and Sarabande by Benjamin Millepied, who went from dancing with New York City Ballet to running the Paris Opera Ballet via Hollywood, choreographing for Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (and marrying its star, Natalie Portman). SK Meany Hall • 16–18 Seattle Symphony Shostakovich’s massive Seventh Symphony (1942) is a requiem for Leningrad—as destroyed by Stalin or by Hit-
Hugo House 3 Roy Rogers The acclaimed slide guitarist Triple Door 3 Happyness Like its spelling, the South
London band’s music has a subtle strangeness. Sunset Tavern 3 Furious 7 Paul Walker appears in his final
role, having died midway through filming. Vin Diesel sheds gasoline tears. Opens wide 3 Desert Dancer In Iran’s politically conservative climate, Afshin Ghaffarian risks it all to start a dance company in his home country.
Theater TBD 3–5 Relay Dance Collective The local troupe’s
third showcase features a dozen performers.
Velocity Dance Center, velocitydancecenter.org
Lyon Opera Ballet comes to Meany Hall. • 10–19 Swan Lake Kent Stowell’s thoughtful staging of this classic is always worth seeing, but this time the prize ticket will be for any performance with Carla Körbes, who’s retiring at the end of the season. Her approach to the double role of Odette/Odile is highly naturalistic and detailed—qualities that will be intensified by her imminent departure. SK McCaw
Hall, pnb.org • 11 Seattle Modern Orchestra Violinist
Graeme Jennings plays virtuosity-stretching solo works. Chapel Performance Space, seattle modernorchestra.org
ler, take your pick—and became a wartime cause célèbre for the Allies. Benaroya Hall
16–19 & May 7–10 Complex Movements Beware of the Dandelions is an interactive “pod”
performance, in which small audiences become survivors in a post-apocalyptic community.
On the Boards • 16–May 17 Robin Hood The evergreen
adventure tale promises not to be too intense. But will it turn your kids to socialists with all that talk of robbing from the rich? Seattle
Children’s Theatre
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
performs with the Delta Rhythm Kings.
seattlemenschorus.org 28–March 2016 Sam Vernon Hidden charac-
KeyArena 11 Seattle Baroque Orchestra Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” plus flute concertos. Town Hall, early musicguild.org • 11 Ira Glass & Monica Bill Barnes When you
The Neptune 2 Emily Nagoski The woman behind the pop-
Meany Hall, philharmonianw.org • 28–29 Seattle Men’s Chorus Honoring two
martyrs, Tyler Clementi and Harvey Milk, with the premieres of new works. Benaroya Hall,
Northwest Film Forum
conducts favorites by Britten, Gershwin, and Shostakovich. Benaroya Hall 2 Stuff You Should Know The award-winning podcast, with episodes covering Oujia boards, termites, and disco, is recorded for a live show.
Hall, seattlephil.org • 28 Philharmonia Northwest Will Haydn’s
1796 Mass in Time of War ever not be relevant?
8–26 Fail Better: Beckett Moves UMO Ensemble delivers their interpretation of Samuel Beckett’s themes. ACT Theatre 9–12 Goapele just released Strong as Glass.
and fonts, with associated panels and seminars.
1 London Symphony Michael Tilson Thomas
ular sex blog “The Dirty Normal” brings us Come as You Are. University Book Store 2 Gladys Knight brings her jukebox of hits, though maybe not the Pips. Snoqualmie Casino • 2–5 Kate Wallich/The YC Splurge Land investigates the post-Internet generation through an über-contemporary lens. On the Boards 2–18 SecondStory Originals Three plays from three local writers are staged over three weekends. SecondStory Rep 3 Rae Armantrout The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet reads from her new collection, Itself. Richard
Presidents of the United States of America, he writes simple, fun sing-alongs for children and their parents. The Neptune 28 Seattle Philharmonic Exploring two tragic heroes: Hamlet (via Shostakovich’s incidental music) and Petrouchka (via Stravinsky’s ballet score). Adam Stern conducts. Benaroya
SK Triple Door
Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley 10 Stars on Ice Olympic gold-medalists show off their moves. KeyArena 10–14 ByDesign More films about architecture
JAIME ROQUE DE LA CRUZ
27–28 Norm MacDonald’s best known for
MAGNOLIA PICTURES
Lawrence and Cooper in Serena.
adventurous stories for his young Victorian friend are almost too perfect a fit for burlesque artist Lily Verlaine. From the Queen of Hearts to Alice herself, they barely need any translation to serve as a framework for her saucy choreography.
11 Keith Sweat The R&B and soul singer left his day job on the New York Stock Exchange and found success in music. Emerald Queen Casino 11 Chris Tomlin This Grammy Award– winning Christian artist reliably fills arenas.
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 31
SPRING ARTS CALENDaR » FROM PAGE 31
23 Mac DeMarco The cult singer, beloved by chain-smoking hipsters for his dreamy guitar riffs, bizarre persona, and VHS-style music videos. The Neptune • 23 Simone Dinnerstein Seattle last heard her playing Purcell and Leonard Cohen with Tift Merritt; here she offers Debussy, Poulenc, and Schubert. Meany Hall, uwworldseries.org 23–25 Seattle Symphony A premiere by Sebastian Currier. Benaroya Hall 23–26 NFFTY The largest film festival for young, emerging filmmakers is in its ninth year.
17 Selfless A dying wealthy man has his consciousness transferred to the body of a young healthy dude (Ryan Reynolds), who begins to uncover the mystery of the body’s original owner. Opens wide 17 Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 At a security-guard
expo in Las Vegas, Kevin James discovers a heist. Opens wide 17 Child 44 A military garb-clad Tom Hardy
investigates a series of child murders in the Stalin-era Soviet Union. Opens wide 17 Monkey Kingdom Disney presents a nature documentary about a newborn monkey and its mother trying to survive in a competitive social group. Opens wide • 17–18 Cornish Dance Theater Kitty Daniels, chair of the Cornish dance department, has continually set big performance challenges for her students. Her last trick before retiring this spring is to present them in excerpts from Crystal Pite’s Dark Matters, a stunningly kinetic work. Pite’s own company knocked local audiences flat with the dance in 2011. It should be fascinating to see this group of young dancers stepping up. SK Broadway Performance Hall,
SIFF Uptown, Cinerama, nffty.org
includes SNL, Inside Amy Schumer, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Louie. Parlor Live Seattle 17–19 World Rhythm Festival Free workshops and performances for drum enthusiasts of all skill levels. Seattle Center 17–19 Simple Measures Classical meets jazz with the Turtle Island String Quartet. Various
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
TTL SEA
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&
venues, simplemeasures.org • 17–May 17 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Tennes-
LY’S K E WE
ARD W A D FOO
see Williams’ classic is a theater mainstay. Kurt Beattie directs. Main casting not yet announced. ACT Theatre 17–August 16 Jana Brevick Her first solo
S
2015
Brevick shows her wares at BAM. 23–26 Spectrum Dance Theater reimagines Carl Orff ’s Carmina burana as a minimalist production. The Moore, spectrumdance.org 24 Lake Union Chamber Orchestra Danzon no. 2 by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez. Town Hall, luco.org 24 The Age of Adaline A woman is left
exhibition showcases work ranging from jewelry to environmental installations. (Running concurrently is The New Frontier, celebrating the new maker movement in craft and design.) Bellevue
immortal after an accident. Is a man worth her mortality? Theaters TBD 24 Rock the Kasbah Almost Famous co-stars Kate Hudson and Zooey Deschanel are back in this comedy about music. Opens wide
tours to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Eightball. Get there early if you want your copy signed. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery,
As the ever-eloquent Rory Gilmore put it, “I’m talkin’ LEGOs!” Theater TBD 24–May 16 Bunnies Inspired by the true events of the Woodland Park bunny infestation is a strange tale of revenge and cannibalism. Annex
Arts Museum • 18 Dan Clowes The creator of Ghost World
fantagraphics.com 18 Kate Dyer-Seeley signs her new book Slayed on the Slopes. Seattle Mystery Bookshop 18 Billy Gardell The lesser half of the CBS hit Mike & Molly. Emerald Queen Casino 18 Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra With guest trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. Benaroya Recital Hall, srjo.org 19 Speakeasy With Alice Gosti The Italian-
American choreographer is having a busy spring; here she emcees an omnibus show. [See feature, page 11.] Velocity Dance Center 19 Thalia Symphony Beethoven’s Third, plus Tchaikovsky, Verdi, and Weber. Town Hall, thaliasymphony.org 21 Seoul Symphony Bringing Beethoven and Brahms across the Pacific. Benaroya Hall • 21 Emerson Quartet The greatest of them
OON! SALE S N O S T ts.org TICKE presen at STG
ROGER SCHREIBER
cornish.edu • 17–18 Dave Attell His expansive resume
all, playing Beethoven, Shostakovich, and a new work by Lowell Liebermann. Meany Hall,
uwworldseries.org 22 Kaiser Chiefs has overcome the departure
of drummer and founding member Nick Hodgson, yet is still going strong. The Showbox
24 Beyond the Brick: A LEGO Brickumentary
Theatre, annextheatre.org 24–May 17 Outside Mullingar Lovelorn and
single, Anthony and Rosemary are forced to let go of a longtime land feud, and romantic hesitancy, to find happiness in John Patrick Shanley’s recent Tony winner. Seattle Repertory Theatre • 25 Craig Sheppard The pianist tackles
Shostakovich’s formidable 24 Preludes and Fugues. [See feature, page 14.] Meany Hall, music. washington.edu 25 Massy Ferguson Seattle’s own roots rock-
ers offer an interesting blend of roadhouse and country twang. With Vaudeville Etiquette.
Triple Door 25 Welcome to Night Vale A podcast about a
small desert town with mysterious lights in the sky and dark-hooded figures, related in the form of community updates. The Neptune 25 Chanticleer Music old and new (well, newish) from this male chamber choir. Town Hall, earlymusicguild.org
velocitydancecenter.org 25–26 Auburn Symphony The bassoon’s in the spotlight, via Elgar and Vivaldi. Theatre at Auburn Mountainview, auburnsymphony.org 25–26 City Cantabile Choir Their Earth Day concert includes gospel and Brazilian music. University Christian Church, citycantabilechoir.org. 26 Mastodon The heavy-metal outfit injects
some fun into the genre’s usual doom and gloom. With Clutch. Showbox SoDo • 26 Elvis Costello performs solo in a show sure to sell out early. The Paramount 28–May 13 H.P. Lovecraft: Stand-Up Comedian! The cult horror author gets a comedy-club spin. Annex Theatre • 29 Kathleen Hanna The legendary Riot Grrrl
lectures on the movement’s history and reimaginings. The Neptune 29–May 17 Othello Again with the Moor, the jealousy, the murder, and Iago whispering in our ears. Seattle Shakespeare Co. 30–May 10 The Phantom of the Opera
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s touring musical features all the hit songs, plus revamped stagecraft. The Paramount
MAY
• 1 Seattle Symphony A new work by Trimpin combines live SSO musicians with the
miere of Tom Cipullo’s chamber opera After Life. Benaroya Recital Hall, musicof
2 iFest Gaming An expo for indie game developers to learn about the latest trends and technologies. Seattle Center 2–10 The Ghosts of Tonkin Steve Lyons’ play dramatizes the origins of the Vietnam War, with Gray Eubank as LBJ. ACT Theatre • 2–16 Seattle Opera Richard Strauss’ playwithin-a-play comedy Ariadne auf Naxos.
remembrance.org • 11 & 26 Harry Partch Instrumentarium Two
opportunities to see/hear the weird and wonderful musical constructions, acquired by UW, by the maverick composer. Meany Hall 13 UW Chamber Orchestra Curiosities by, and inspired by, Mozart. Brechemin Auditorium
McCaw Hall 3 Seattle Symphony Yo-Yo Ma plays Schumann’s Cello Concerto. Benaroya Hall 6 All Time Low The One Direction of every
scene girl’s dreams. With Issues, Tonight Alive, State Champs. Showbox SoDo • 7 They Might Be Giants Formed in 1982, when CDs were new, the band itself is a giant in the nerd-rock world. The Neptune • 7–9 Sleater-Kinney The Riot Grrrl legends reunite and release their first album in 10 years. Good luck finding tickets! The Showbox 7–9 Gilbert Gottfried With his inimitable growling voice (employed in Aladdin and countless other animated flicks), he’s also quite the canny Borscht Belt survivor. Parlor Live Seattle 8 Hot Pursuit A prisoner and a police officer are on the run together in Texas. Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara star. Opens wide 8 Dorianna Laux The poet discusses the musicality of poetry. Richard Hugo House 8–10 Kaleidoscope It’s a mixed bill of dance! Anything can happen! Broadway Performance
Taproot Theatre 14–16 Joe Bonamassa An acclaimed guitarist
MusicWorks, Mozart’s a-bit-of-everything fairy tale The Magic Flute. McCaw Hall
with 12 #1 albums on the Billboard blues chart.
The Paramount 14–16 Tom Arnold Seen in True Lies and Rose-
anne, he’s become a venerable, friendly stage act. Parlor Live Bellevue 14–16 Pilobolus Always an audience favorite,
the New York dance troupe returns to flaunt its athleticism and skin. Meany Hall
• 14–June 7 Seattle International Film Festival
the New York Times columnist, lately transitioned from food to culture. Town Hall, lectures.org • 1 Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers band together with quippy dialogue to save the day. All the masked warriors are back, along with director Joss Whedon. Opens wide 1 Far From the Madding Crowd An independent woman in Victorian England has her pick of three suitors. Carey Mulligan (of An Education) stars in this adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel. Theaters TBD 1–2 Full Tilt An array of local choreographers and dancers strut their stuff. Velocity Dance Center 1–18 The Tall Girls Young women seek to escape the Dust Bowl via basketball in WET’s presentation of a new play by Meg Miroshnik (The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls). 12th Avenue Arts, washingtonensemble.org
8–31 Legally Blonde Seeing this musical revival is a no-brainer, like Elle’s getting into Harvard Law. What, like it’s hard? SecondStory Rep 9 Octava Chamber Orchestra Schumann, Respighi, and more. Maple Park Church,
Lynnwood, octavachamberorchestra.com 9–10 Seattle Rock Orchestra Celebrate
Mother’s Day with two great Beatles albums, Let It Be and Abbey Road. The Moore • 10 Neil Diamond A legend in his own time; Uptown will be swarming with women of a certain age. KeyArena 10 American String Project Chamber music (Brahms and Mendelssohn) adapted, excitingly, for string orchestra. Brechemin Auditorium,
music.washington.edu • 10 Seattle Youth Symphony Mahler’s Song of
the Earth and favorite bits from La traviata and La bohème. Benaroya Hall, syso.org • 11 Music of Remembrance Picasso and Gertrude Stein debate art and morality in the pre-
auction paddle and enjoy a three-course dinner at this gala to support OTB. On the Boards
The largest fest in the U.S. spans 25 days and typically includes 200 to 250 features and docs, plus countless shorts, visiting talent, secret screenings, and sundry parties. We publish our comprehensive SIFF Guide on May 13, to help you separate the wheat from the chaff. Multiple venues, siff.net • 14–July 3 Cabaret From the team behind Chicago (Kander and Ebb) comes the iconic musical about debaucherous happenings in preNazi Berlin. Village Theatre 15 Cappella Romana Schnittke’s Verses of Repentance. Trinity Parish Church, cappella
romana.org 15 Saigon’s Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre A seven-member orchestra blends rural
and contemporary Vietnam to bring Saigon’s famous water puppets to life. Town Hall 15 Pitch Perfect 2 University a cappella group Barden Bellas go after an international competition. Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson are back, though at a much higher pay scale. Opens wide • 15 Mad Max: Fury Road Tom Hardy takes over as Max (originally played by Mel Gibson), with George Miller returning to the director’s chair. Charlize Theron co-stars. Opens wide 15–16 Seattle Symphony On their “Baroque & Wine” series, Vivaldi’s festive Gloria. Benaroya Hall 15–31 Talley’s Folly Lanford Wilson’s 1980 Pulitzer winner features interfaith romance, rural poverty, racism, and war. Did we mention it’s a comedy? Shana Bestock directs. Rebecca Olson and Mike Dooly star. Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse
22 Tomorrowland A teen and a former boy genius look for secrets to a place that exists in their collective memory in this sci-fi flick. We think this is somehow based on the Disneyland ride. Clooney stars, Brad Bird (of The Incredibles) directs. Opens wide • 22 Spy Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks, Bridesmaids) directs. Melissa McCarthy stars as a paper-pushing CIA analyst sent out into the dangerous field. Opens wide 22–24 Rain Fest There will be no flower crowns, ironic bucket hats, or neon at this hardcore fest—the punk’s answer to Sasquatch! and Folklife— featuring Chain of Strength, All Out War, Turnstile, and more. Neumos • 22–25 Sasquatch! Though acts like Kendrick Lamar, Robert Plant, and Lana Del Rey are headlining, the annual fest at the Gorge is more region-centric this year, with celebrated Seattle bands like Perfume Genius, Jenn Ghetto, and Porter Ray rounding out the lineup. Performing comedian Chris Gethard reminds attendees to “avoid a particular friend named ‘Molly.’ ” sasquatchfestival.com • 22–25 Northwest Folklife Seattle’s longest-
running outdoor music and culture event, this free, family-friendly weekend festival offers music, dancing, and more. A special focus this year will explore the roots of hip-hop in the community. nwfolklife.org
23–June 21 MFA + MDes Thesis Exhibition
The artists and designers of tomorrow show their work today. Henry Art Gallery 29 Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra
Schubert’s zippy Third is just the kind of symphony you’d guess an 18-year-old boy would write. Chapel Performance Space, seattle
metropolitanchamberorchestra.com 29–30 Bellevue Jazz Festival Concerts and
events usually extend outside and over to Bellevue Square and BAM, too. Meydenbauer
Center 30–Sept. 6 Leo Saul Berk: The Uncertainty of Enclosure The local artist has previously docu-
mented his childhood in the very odd Illinois home designed by maverick architect Bruce Goff. We presume this is a larger installation. Frye Art Museum E
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
JASIN BOLAND/WARNER BROS.
composer’s usual whimsical machine/sculptures.
Benaroya Hall • 1 Frank Bruni Seattle Arts & Lectures presents
this pianist also plays Beethoven and Liszt.
Meany Hall, uwworldseries.org 21 Spectacle Spectacular 10 Come raise your
Pilobolus returns to Meany Hall.
13–June 13 Jeeves Intervenes The misadventures of upper-crust nitwit Bertie Wooster are again averted by his manservant Jeeves, as adapted from the P.G. Wodehouse stories.
Hall, creativedance.org • 8–10 UW Opera Co-producing, with Pacific
Mad Max rides again.
17 Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers Copland and more from mid-century America. First Free Methodist Church, osscs.org 18 Angela Hewitt Renowned for her Bach,
ROBERT WHITMAN
• 25 How to become a partisan Choreographer Alice Gosti presents a five-hour immersive performance, combining dance, choral music, and an outdoor procession. Musician Hannah Benn (of Pollens) is her featured performer. [See feature, page 11.] Saint Mark’s Cathedral,
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[ ADVERTORIAL ]
2015 Spring Beer Preview
The Art o By Geoff Kaiser
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
Y
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ou might not think of the word “art” when polishing off a second pint of your favorite locally-brewed IPA, but art is all around the world of beer. Like it or not. You’ve probably heard the term “craft beer” before. The meaning of the “craft” in craft beer can vary depending on who you talk to, but the simplest interpretation is that the beer is an artisanal product that was crafted carefully with time, care, and thought invested in the process. It wasn’t just churned out of a huge, push-button brewery in St. Louis. If you ask local brewers if they consider their beer to be art, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find one that says “no.” Even when following a recipe, each individual brewer’s skill and experience has a huge impact on the resulting beer. Beyond the beer itself, take a look at the labels, tap handles and branding for beer. There are some very talented people that focus on that part of the business. Having a brand and artwork that helps your product stand apart from the rest is essential to the success of any product, including beer. Some breweries will source tap handles from woodworkers and metalsmiths who create truly one-of-a-kind expressions of their brand. Many others rely on companies like Seattle-based Taphandles LLC, one of the global leaders in beer branding. They have a team of designers that help breweries create tap handles and brands that fit their custom needs. Spring is the perfect time to contemplate the creative impulse behind beer. But it’s also a great time to drink it. While winter seasonals tend to be dark, malty styles, breweries have a lot of flexibility with spring seasonals. Releases can range from traditional Belgian and German styles, to brown ales, farmhouse ales, IPAs and more. One of the older traditional spring seasonals is the Maibock, or Helles Bock. This German-style lager is typically lighter in color than other bock beers, and it often has a significant hop profile and noticeable alcohol. The best examples of the style are German imports, including Hofbräu Maibock, from the famous Hofbräuhaus in Munich. While not an overwhelmingly popular style here in the Northwest, there are several breweries that typically release one each year. Look for the Maybock from Maritime Pacific Brewing later this spring. This long-time favorite from Maritime is aggressively dry-hopped to give it a pronounced floral aroma. Another spot to find a locally-brewed Maibock is in downtown Seattle at the Gordon Biersch (GB) brewpub on the top floor of Pacific Place. GB brewmaster Kevin Davey is making the best lagers in town, and his take on a Maibock is sure to impress. For those who like Belgian-style beers, Spring Fever from Snoqualmie Falls Brewing is a unique take on a spring seasonal. It combines a solid base of malt with spicy hops, Belgian yeast and coriander. It is already available in 22oz bottles and on draught and it should stick around through April. While they seem to have stopped calling it a spring seasonal, another favorite of mine is the Fremont 77 Select, a session IPA weighing in at just 4.0% ABV. 77 Select should be available through April.
Holy Mountain Brewing Offers Unique Beers in Interbay
Choosing a lineup of beers is no small task for a brewery. Most new breweries play it safe and stick to styles that have short production cycles and are likely to sell well. But, with so many breweries operating in Seattle, it’s really hard to make yourself stand out with a basic lineup of IPA, pale ale, porter, stout and maybe a single seasonal. Holy Mountain Brewing doesn’t have that problem. This new brewery opened its taproom in Interbay in January with a lineup of beers that included several farmhouse ales, a Belgian-style strong ale, a German-style gose (a tart, barrel-aged wheat beer) and more. The brewery also had approachable styles, such as a pale ale and a golden lager. It offers a little bit of something for everyone, and the quality of the beer is top-notch. Head Brewer and co-owner Colin Lenfesty has brewed professionally at several places around Seattle and his experience shows. Holy Mountain will be focusing much of its attention on barrel-aged beers and saisons. You will find the beer pouring in the taproom, which is open from Thursday through Monday. Holy Mountain also distributes to finer beer bars across the city. It plans to sell some of its specialty beers in bottles, and this spring you should look for the brewery to release the first of its bottle-conditioned saisons.
The Last Word on Elysian
Over the past couple of weeks, many beer drinkers across the city have been lamenting the fact that our beloved Elysian Brewing is now owned by Anheuser-Busch (AB), which is in turn owned by international conglomerate AB-InBev. There are understandably some very upset people that will no long support Elysian due to its being owned by such a monster of a company, which is certainly their right. There are also people that could care less that Elysian is now owned by AB; they are just worried that the quality of the beer will go downhill. Wherever you end up in that discussion, please understand that when we talk about “The Art of Beer,” that Elysian head brewer Dick Cantwell and his crew pretty much embody what we are talking about. Elysian has always excelled at making weird beers that take a lot of artistic expression to even consider making. The brewers frequently gets together as a team to talk about ideas for future beers, and even non-brewing staff members sometimes get a shot at contributing to a recipe and learning how to brew on one of Elysian’s smaller systems. If that’s not an artistic process, then I don’t know what is. Regardless of how you feel about it being owned by AB, please keep in mind that the many great people working at Elysian were just as confused by the announcement as you. Some of those people will leave for other opportunities, but many will stay. I plan to support them as I always have, even if the profits do end up in in Belgium. Geoff Kaiser enjoys writing about and drinking beer in Seattle. Check out his website at http://seattlebeernews.com.
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arts&culture»
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
Matt Zoller Seitz
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If you can’t get enough of Wes Anderson or The Grand Budapest Hotel, Seitz is your man. They previously collaborated on The Wes Anderson Collection, and now comes The Grand Budapest Hotel (Abrams, $35) a coffee table-cum-scrapbook devoted to that movie and all its fabulous intricacy. Besides three long interviews with Anderson, countless set photos, scholarly essays, storyboards, costume illustrations, and arcana (because there will be arcana), Seitz collects the thoughts of Ralph Fiennes. (The latter claims Anderson is not a fussy perfectionist . . . hmmm.) But the book is all about Wes, who says, “The movie is all about seeing things from another time.” His trifold timeframe is 1985, 1968, and 1932 (each with its own aspect ratio), and the constant (re)framing reflects the as-told-to literary style of Stefan Zweig (1881–1942), whose writings inspired Anderson’s plot and characters. (Though intriguingly, Anderson says Fiennes’ Gustave is based on an unnamed friend of his.) Still, this is a real movie-lover’s book, designed to within an inch of its life, like Anderson’s own films. It’s a lovely, indispensible companion to the DVD (released last June), no matter how Budapest scores at the Oscars this month. Anderson is generous in his nods to other movies and influences (including On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, I was gratified to note, prompting the Willem Dafoe “snow-globe version” sled-ski chase). Like any good book, this one has footnotes and an index, lending meticulous support to Anderson’s stated goal of creating “a sad comedy.” Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. 7 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
Issa Rae
If you haven’t heard her name yet, take note. Since starting her “Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl” series on YouTube on 2011, Rae has attracted more than 20 million views and 150,000 subscribers. She’s even gotten attention from Pharrell Williams, Lena Dunham, and Mindy Kaling. Her webisodes chronicle life, love, and everything in between with humor and sass. In the same fashion, Rae’s now written an autobiography, Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl (Atria, $26). And while Rae is proud of her heritage and
See cinerama.com for showtimes. BRIAN MILLER
Lynsey Addario
Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., 324-9996, siff.net. $7–$12. 1:45 & 9:15 p.m. ROBERT HORTON SATURDAY, FEB. 14
Inner City Romance
Cultural Center, 3931 Brooklyn Ave. N.E., 6343400, Free. 6:30 p.m. BIANCA SEWAKE
Urban Bush Women
Thirty years ago, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar founded Urban Bush Women to “explore the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change,” which is pretty heady stuff. Fortunately, she’s managed to do this by creating and collecting a repertory that’s known for its kinetic excitement as well as its powerful commitments. Drawing from a broad mix of dance traditions, from the African diaspora to current postmodern developments, the work combines enlightenment and entertainment. The company will perform Zollar’s Hep Hep Sweet Sweet, set in a club during the Great Migration, and Walking With ’Trane, Chapter 2, inspired by John Coltrane’s astonishing “A Love Supreme” (performed live by pianist George Caldwell). Nora Chipaumire’s haunting Dark Swan, a meditation on Mikhail Fokine’s seminal Dying Swan, finishes the program. (Through Sat.) Meany Hall, UW campus, 543-4880, uwworldseries.org. $41–$46. 8 p.m. SANDRA KURTZ FRIDAY, FEB. 13
Eight Days of Oscar
The Academy Awards, as you doubtlessly know, will be bestowed on Sunday, February 22. So far as Best Picture is concerned, some of the hallowed eight nominees have been out of theaters for a while. So Paul Allen is doing us a favor— beyond that recent Super Bowl fervor—by reprising all the contenders at the city’s finest single-screen cinema (to which he recently added even more upgrades, plus that nifty new mural by Don Clark). True, you could see Selma, The Imitation Game, American Sniper, and The Theory of Everything someplace else. But the seats are nicer at the Cinerama, the screen and sound are better, and you can now enjoy the show with beer and wine. More critically, I would argue, this mini-fest offers you the opportunity to watch (or rewatch) the nominees in short succession, so as to better assess their odds and win your office Oscar pool. Whiplash, which I loved, has been out of theaters for a while; and its star turn for J.K. Simmons—as the bullying band leader of a jazz conservatory group—is sure to win him a statuette. But what of Wes Anderson’s The Grand
Addario in self-portrait.
Oh, poor Brian Williams. So he lied about being shot down in a military helicopter during the early Iraq War? Boo-fucking-hoo. New York Times photojournalist Addario has been there— the real there—and done that a dozen times over, with no need for embellishment or self-pity. She was even held hostage by pro-Qaddafi forces during Libya’s violent revolution; and she’s also shot memorable frames in Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, and Congo. Her memoir It’s What I Do (Penguin, $29.95) is frank about the dangers of her job (colleague Tim Hetherington was killed in Libya), but sanguine about the appeal. She chose the profession and makes no apologies, even when trying to balance romance, pregnancy, and motherhood. Not long out of college, Addario ventured abroad—first to Argentina— and never really went home again to her splintered Connecticut family. Despite the specter of IEDs and AK-47s here, It’s What I Do is fundamentally a career memoir: how a single young woman breaks into a male-dominated trade, lives independently in a variety of foreign cultures, and survives as a globetrotting freelancer. And, as you’d expect, the book is well supported by Addario’s photos. There are corpses, battle scenes, and starving refugees, but the image that that really sticks with you is the red-lit interior of an Army cargo plane, ferrying wounded soldiers home. Since she embedded with U.S. troops several times, Addario’s respect for them is total: It’s what they do, too. Seattle Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., 386-
4636, spl.org. Free. 7 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
Citizenfour
Fugitive leaker Edward Snowden has invited documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (The Oath) and The Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald into his Hong Kong hotel room. In this absorbing character study, likely to win the Oscar on Sunday,
FANTAGRAPHICS
THURSDAY, FEB. 12
February 22, they debate how and when to spill the information he took from his job at the National Security Agency. Clicking the SEND button carries as much weight as Bob Woodward meeting Deep Throat in All the President’s Men. This straightforward documentary may be smaller-scaled than a political thriller, but it has similar suspense: Everybody in the room realizes the stakes—and the dangers—of exposing a whistleblower to public scrutiny. One man’s whistleblower is another man’s traitor, a debate that Poitras doesn’t pause to consider, so confident is she of Snowden’s cause. Having this access to Snowden in the exact hours he went from being a nonentity with top-secret clearance to a hero/pariah is a rare chance to see a now-historical character in the moment of truth. By the end of the film, we get a scene that suggests that Snowden is not alone in his whistleblowing status—a tantalizing hint (scribbled by Greenwald on pieces of paper) of another story to come. (The film moves to SIFF Film Center on Thursday.) SIFF
claims to hate talking about race all the time, race is as central to her memoir as her unique voice. She’s contributing to a larger conversation on ethnicity, gender, and self-acceptance. UW Ethnic
© LYNSEY ADDARIO
ThisWeek’s PickList
MARTIN SCALI/FOX SEARCHLIGHT
Anderson (right) directs Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Budapest Hotel, released in the spring and the top pick of our Robert Horton on his 10-best list for last year? It got nine nominations, so has to win for something, right? (I’m guessing script and production design.) Then there are Birdman (my top film of 2014) and Boyhood (#2), which are neck-and-neck for Best Picture among the prognosticators. All these films are worth a second—or first—viewing, and all deserve a setting like this. Don’t wait for Netflix, your threadbare couch, and microwave popcorn. (Through Feb. 21.) Cinerama, 2100 Fourth Ave., 448-6880. $15.
Although he hails from Berkeley and made a name for himself in San Francisco, underground comix artist Guy Colwell actually has some history here in the Pacific Northwest—he spent a formative 17 months at the McNeil Island Penitentiary in the late ’60s. His crime? Draft-dodging, of course. Yet prison was where he developed his signature style, “figurative social surrealism,” an approach he would perfect in his comic series Inner City Romance (now collected by Fantagraphics, $24.99). Although Colwell was inspired by R. Crumb and the Zap comix crew who at the time were mixing cartoons with social commentary in the hippie-laden Bay Area, Colwell’s work was rarely what you might call “funny.” He purposefully shied away from bushy-eyed peacenik idealism and instead boldly confronted racial inequality and the harsh realities of low-income urban life (drugs, prostitution, addiction, etc.). His depiction of black urban life was so accurate that African-American cartoonist Grass Green apparently bet money with a colleague that Colwell was black—a bet he lost. (Though Colwell won’t attend tonight’s opening, part of the Georgetown Art Attack, images from this new collection will remain on view through March 11.)
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 1201 S. Vale St., 658-0110, fantagraphics.com. Free. Opening reception 6–9 p.m. KELTON SEARS E
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Opening Nights Natural ANNEX THEATRE, 1100 E. PIKE ST., 728-0933, ANNEXTHEATRE.ORG. $5–$10. 8 P.M. TUES.–WED. ENDS FEB. 18.
DANGERPANTS PHOTOGRAPHY
Winsome, full of flair, but but not terribly edgy, Marcus Gorman’s comedy Natural reminds me of Singles, the 1992 ensemble movie that partly inspired my future move to Seattle. In that Cameron Crowe flick, you may recall, a half-dozen Gen-Xers were searching for love and stumbling toward adulthood. Here, essentially, a half-dozen millennials do the same thing.
Retail hell? Dustyn Moir (left) and Turner.
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Our Town 12TH AVENUE ARTS, 1620 12TH AVE., 800-838-3006, STRAWSHOP.ORG. $18–$36. 7:30 P.M. THURS.–SAT., 2 P.M. SUN. ENDS FEB. 21.
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Condo MLS #734785 On the surface, Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is 1 bed 1.5 bath 1,015 sq. ft. View Condo MLS #734785 bland and dreary. When it debuted in 1938, VariCompletely updated and remodeled ety called it an “extravagant waste of fine talent.” in 2007. View of City, Stadiums, Completely updated and remodeled in 2007 Despite this, it went on to Broadway, garnered Bay, Mt. Rainier, Great Wheel in a "Rob" Brodie Wilder his second of three Robert Pulitzers, and became ViewRobBrodie.com of City, Stadiums, Bay, Mt. Rainier, Great Wheel fantastic downtown location! one of the most-performed works in theater RE/MAX Eastside Brokers Inc. in a fantastic downtown location! history. (Some avoid it for just that reason; I hap2030westernave.view24hours.com teamrealtynw.com WATCH pened to be an Our Town virgin.) Robert “Rob” Brodie • RE/MAX Eastside Brokers Inc. THE Our Town is quintessential meta-theater. RobBrodie.com teamrealtynw.com VIDEO > Wilder’s stage directions are simple: “No curtain. 2030westernave.view24hours.com CALL (206)-790-9162 No scenery.” When we enter the show, we walk Robert "Rob" Brodie RobBrodie.com onto the stage. The play’s stage manager (Amy Thone) matter-of-factly tells us where we are RE/MAX Eastside Brokers Inc. WANT TO WIN DVDS, CONCERT TICKETS &teamrealtynw.com MORE? and who we see; she informs us this is a play. (206)-790-9162 She takes us back in time to 1901, to FOR MORE DETAILS, VISIT US AT: Rob@RobBrodie.com the provincial town seattleweekly.com/promo/freestuff of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, where things are slowly changing (and America, by implication, along with it). We’re introduced to the locals: Dr. Gibbs and his wife (Rob Burgess and Marianne Owen), Mr. Webb and his wife (Greg LyleNewton and Sheila Daniels), their children, and their neighbors. We hear histories and gossip. We are witness to blossoming love between sporty young George Gibbs ( Joe Cummings) and the bookish but beautiful Emily Webb (Anastasia Higham). And finally we see the inevitable loss. Our Town has a clear arc that symbolizes in microcosm the life cycle of a community: daily life, love and marriage, and finally death. What is doesn’t have, however, is much dramatic action. Protagonists, antagonists, plot points, and dénouement are muddled together. What’s left is mainly milieu. Our Town was Wilder’s reaction to the theater around him. He felt this “theater was not only inadequate, it was evasive.” Yet today the result is theater that’s almost invasive—a condescending reminder of things we already know, a guiding hand that makes decisions for us and tells us how to think. As a result, though well cast and directed (by Greg Carter), this Strawberry Theatre Workshop production makes a better case for the company than for the text itself. Efforts have been made to connect Our Town with our town—including local celebs taking the role of Professor Willard, who describes the anthropological history of Grover’s Corners. The stage also nods to our present flush times: a construction set replete with Spackle, ladders, sawhorses, etc. But Seattle is booming while Grover’s Corners, at the fin de siècle, was fading. By 1938, amid the fatalism of the Great Depression, Wilder and his audience knew that. The old America was gone. In 2015, the poignancy of Our Town does still resound. For this critic, however, the only thing that made it novel was watchtttttttt 7titi tttitttttt titttitttttttt tttt tttttttttt tt tttttttttttttttttttttttt ing it for the first time. IRFAN SHARIFF E
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Professionally closeted Art (Shane Regan) and his live-in milksop boyfriend Theo (Sam Turner) share a snug though sexless life until brazen bartender Samantha (Allie Pratt) comes along, causing confusion about sexual orientation between the pair. Another disruptive force is Chloe (Pilar O’Connell), Theo’s disgruntled customer-service co-worker, an erotica blogger who arouses attention every time she enters the stage. Dating and career woes drive the plot, though it oddly lags behind the times. First, while the rules of dating get updated as quickly as your OS, we hear no mention of social media or sexting. When Jeremy (Jaryl Draper), the poor man’s Barney Stinson, wants an escort, he uses the phone. Seriously? There’s an app for that. Natural sometimes feels like it was written by someone who hasn’t dated since MySpace. Second, three of Gorman’s characters work for a chain bookstore with a coffee shop; and as a former cafe manager of a major retailer, I know that such a workplace should offer a hotbed for comedic rants. Yet instead of exploring retail hell, Natural languishes in big-box limbo at best. I don’t buy the notion that Art, in modern liberal Seattle, would have to hide his sexuality at work, another reason that Natural seems both topical and dated. But, like Singles, this comedy is eager to please. Gorman writes some adroit dialogue, as in a riveting scene when Chloe scorns the ex-stripper Samantha. Director Jen Moon keeps the action moving expeditiously in this properly minimal production. And Harry Jamieson’s subtle sound design suitably underscores each scene, bringing background sonorousness from stores to sports bars. The marketing for Natural implies rather more Seattle specificity than it delivers. But at least there aren’t any Bertha jokes. ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE
1 bed 1.5 bath 1,015 sq. ft. View Condo MLS #734785
Tired of Renting? Decided to stay in Seattle?
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arts&culture» Stage & Visual Arts Stage OPENINGS & EVENTS
THE ATOMIC BOMBSHELLS “J’Adore! A Burlesque
Valentine!” is their seventh annual burlesque, drag, and dance spectacular. The Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333, thetripledoor.net. $27–$45. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 11, 7 & 10 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12–Sat., Feb. 14. BRASS BASH A fundraiser/preview for Brass, Battleground Productions’ upcoming multi-platform steampunk adventure serial. Theater Schmeater, 2125 Third Ave., 800-838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. $10. 7 p.m. Sun., Feb. 15. THE DOG OF THE SOUTH Book-It presents Charles Portis’ modern-day picaresque. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center, 216-0833. $25. Previews Feb. 11–13, opens Feb. 14. Runs Wed.–Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends March 8. FAMILY AFFAIR Jennifer Jasper’s “hilarious, twisted, and ultimately relatable” cabaret on the theme of family. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., jenniferjasperperforms.com. $10. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 18. I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE Joe DiPietro’s long-running off-Broadway hit. Burien Actors Theatre, 14501 Fourth Ave. S.W., Burien, 242-5180, burienactorstheatre.org. $7–$20. Opens Feb. 13. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends March 22. KYLE KINANE “The cult hero of stand-up comedy,” sayeth Grantland. The Vera Project, Seattle Center, theveraproject.org. $15–$18. 8 p.m. Sun., Feb 15. LETTERS ALOUD A theater piece built from billets-doux by Frida Kahlo, Mozart, Slash, and many others. 12th Ave. Arts, 1620 12th Ave., 800-838-3006, brownpaper tickets.com. $20–$30. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 13, 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14. MATT & BEN The comedy that launched Mindy Kaling’s career: her sendup of the Hollywood bromance that gave us Good Will Hunting. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., seattlestageright.org. $10–$22. Opens Feb. 13. 7:30 p.m. Fri–Sat. plus Thurs., Feb. 19 & Mon., Feb. 23. Ends Feb. 28. SAVAGE/LOVE More vagaries of love, by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaiken, with original music by Michael Owcharuk. The Pocket Theater in Greenwood, 8312 Greenwood Ave. N., thepocket.org. $10–$14. 8:30 p.m. Feb. 14, 20, 21; 7 p.m. Feb. 15, 22, 27. SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM A revue showcasing the greatest theater composer of the past half-century. Bainbridge Performing Arts, 200 Madison Ave. N., Bainbridge Island, 842-8569, bainbridgeperformingarts. org. $19–$27. Preview Feb. 12, opens Feb. 13. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Feb. 22. SWEET CHARITY A dance-hall girl looks for love in this classic. Seattle Musical Theatre at Magnuson Park, 7120 62nd Ave. N.E., Building 47, 800-838-3006, seattle musicaltheatre.org. $20–$35. Opens Feb. 13. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. plus Thurs., Feb. 26; 2 p.m. Sun. Ends March 1. TREASURE ISLAND A musical adaptation of Stevenson’s archetypal pirate adventure. 425-881-6777, secondstoryrep.org. $5–$10. Opens Feb. 14. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.–Sun. (except Feb. 15). Ends March 8.
CURRENT RUNS SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS Five actors take
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on a total of 39 roles in this madcap adaptation of Jules Verne’s adventure novel. Village Theatre, 303 Front St., Issaquah, 425-392-2202. $35–$67. Runs Wed.–Sun.; see villagetheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends March 1. (Runs at the Everett PAC March 6–29.) THE BLACK LODGE Design your own Twin Peaks episode at this improv show. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 587-2414, unexpected productions.org. $12–$15. 8:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends March 7. CAROUSEL Threats of violence in Oklahoma!, racism in South Pacific, slavery in The King and I, Nazis in The Sound of Music: How did Rodgers and Hammerstein ever get a reputation as Broadway’s premier dispensers of corn syrup? Perhaps the darkest of their shows, though also the most elegiacally romantic, is 1945’s Carousel. In addition to some of Rodgers’ loveliest music (that Ravellian opening waltz and the duet “If I Loved You”), it also includes a suicide and—most problematically, because the book seems to rationalize it—spouse abuse. “But is it possible, Mother, for someone to hit you hard like that—real loud and hard—and not hurt you at all?” “It is possible, dear—for someone to hit you—hit you hard—and not hurt at all.” Eeew. But in another homegrown production in 2012, the 5th tackled the issues of Oklahoma! head-on, and even added a few, so it’s hard to imagine them shying away from this one. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., 6251900. $29 and up. Runs Tues.–Sun; see 5thavenue.org for exact schedule. Ends March 1.
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CIRQUE DU SOLEIL “KURIOS—Cabinet of Curiosities”
asks “What if by engaging our imagination and opening our minds we could unlock the door to a world of wonders?” Marymoor Park, 6046 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy. N.E., Redmond, 800-450-1480, cirquedusoleil. com/kurios. $35–$156. 8 p.m. Tues.–Sat., 4:30 p.m. Sat. (& some Fri.), 1:30 & 5 p.m. Sun. Ends March 22. DEAR ELIZABETH Sarah Ruhl’s portrait of Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell is built on their correspondence. Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Center, 4432222. $17–$67. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Sun. plus some Wed., Sat., & Sun. matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends March 8. A DELICATE BALANCE Albee’s drama about troubled, brittle people in close quarters. Trinity Parish Church, 609 Eighth Ave., 332-7908. Pay what you can. Runs Thurs.–Sun.; see theatre912.com for exact schedule. Ends Feb. 14. THE EXPLORERS CLUB In Nell Benjamin’s comedy, an intrepid woman shakes up Victorian society. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., 781-9707, taproottheatre.org. $15–$40. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat. Ends Feb. 28. 4,000 MILES The 20-something Leo (Adam Standley) bikes from Seattle to New York in Amy Herzog’s play, there becoming a roomate with his acerbic widowed grandmother Vera (Susan Corzatte). Safely ensconced in the comedy-of-manners genre, we spend a fun 100 minutes (with no intermission) watching these lovable Odd Couple roomies offend, oblige, and predictably re-offend each other with relatively little at stake. All four performances are delicious, including those of Adria LaMorticella (as Leo’s enigmatic girlfriend, Becca) and the typhoon-like Sara Porkalob (as his new love prospect, Amanda). This 2012 comedy is a mostly sweet stroll on the High Line, warm as a July breeze, studded with harmlessly withering one-liners and darkened only by the shadows of Leo’s best friend’s death on the bike trip and Vera’s fading memory. In terms of heartspace, director Mathew Wright’s 4,000 Miles covers a lot of ground. MARGARET FRIEDMAN ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, 4711 California Ave. S.W., 938-0339, artswest.org. $15–$46.50. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Feb. 15. HUMBLE BOY Loosely lifted from Hamlet, Humble Boy starts with pantywaist astrophysicist Felix Humble (Jason Marr) returning home for his father’s funeral. There his vainglorious mother Flora (Macall Gordon) has rid their countryside house of her late husband’s belongings, including a beloved batch of bees. Moreover, even before his death, she took up with boorish neighbor George Pye (Mike Dooly). From there, Jones explores love, loss, and letting go of the past via much passive-aggressive arguing and humor. Excursions into physics and references to Stephen Hawking’s “theory of everything” also give the proceedings a brainy, Stoppardian tinge. English playwright Charlotte Jones’ 2001 comedy features a long first act that languishes with lagniappe language; then the second shifts to amusing alacrity. Director Marcus Goodwin and a talented cast create an elegant topiary maze of the script, but it ultimately leads to a feeling of meh. If Hamlet was ineluctable tragedy, Humble Boy is more ragged, unkempt comedy. ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Greenlake Dr. N., 524-1300, seattlepublictheater.org. $5–$32. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Feb. 15. I MAY HAVE SEEN THE DEVIL Alejandro Stepenberg’s take on Hamlet “transplants the action to a New England asylum circa 1946, and rewrites the lead role . . . to be played by a woman who is locked in a lesbian relationship with Ophelia.” $10–$15. 800-8383006, brownpapertickets.com. 8 p.m. Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat. Runs Feb. 13–14 & 20–21 at the Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., and Feb. 27–28 at Theatre4, fourth floor, Seattle Center Armory. LOCALLY GROWN This festival promises “5 weekends. 9 productions. 32 performances” of new works by K. Brian Neel, José Amador, Jennifer Jasper, and others. New City Theater, 1404 18th Ave., 800-838-3006. $12–$15. Shows run Thurs.–Sat.; see radialtheater.org for full lineup. Ends Feb. 28.
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THE MODERN ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES The audience takes the place of Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle in this improv mystery. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E., 352-8291, jetcityimprov.org. $12–$15. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Fri. Ends Feb. 13. MWINDO Cheryl L. West’s new play, based on a Central African tale, sounds roughly Lion King-y: the exiled son of a chief goes on a coming-of-age quest. Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Center, 441-3322. $20–$36. Runs Fri.–Sun. plus some Thurs.; see sct.org for exact schedule. Ends Feb. 15.
NATURAL SEE REVIEW, PAGE 37. OUR TOWN SEE REVIEW, PAGE 37. THE SECRETARIES A black-comic satire of gender
stereotypes set in an Oregon lumber mill. Theater Schmeater, 2125 Third Ave., 324-5801, schmeater.org. $22–$29. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. Ends Feb. 14. TEATRO ZINZANNI: THE HOT SPOT Frank Ferrante and Dreya Weber return for TZ’s new show, in which “love and magic in the digital age collide.” Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., 802-0015. $99 and up. Runs Thurs.–Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends June 7. ZAPOI! Quinn Armstrong’s imaginative fantasia on Soviet life. Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike St., 728-0933, annex theatre.org. $5–$20. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. plus Mon., Feb. 9. Ends Feb. 21.
Dance
Openings & Events collec• THE ART OF THE INTRUDER The localThecomix Intruder,
tive showcases work from old issues of as well as new pieces from the upcoming publication. Push/Pull, 8537 Greenwood Ave. N., 384-3124, pushpullseeattle.weebly.com. 6-10 p.m. Fri., Feb. 13. JOHN CRISCITELLO One day a giant dick appeared on a Jägermeister ad on Capitol Hill, and nothing has ever been the same. Criscitello’s long running guerilla wheatpaste street-art project has become emblematic of the struggle against gentrification by skewering the woo girls and bros whose puke floweth bountifully through the streets. Opening reception 7 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12. Vermillion, 1508 11th Ave, 709-9797, vermillionseattle.com. 4 p.m.-midnight. Tues.-Sun. Ends Feb. 26. GEORGETOWN ART ATTACK The monthly neighborhood art walk is back for a special Valentine’s Day edition featuring art from Guy Colwell’s ’70s social surrealist comics Inner City Romance, Valentine’s Raku pottery firing, kitty paintings, love-themed art auctions, and more. And for those seeking love, the bars will be hopping afterwards. Downtown Georgetown, georgetownartattack.com. 6-9 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14. CINDY HINANT Kendra Exposed examines pop culture’s relationship to female celebrities through the lens of modern feminism, using sex tapes and tabloid photos. Opening reception, 6 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14. Interstitial Theatre, 6007 12th Ave. S., 3rd floor., interstitialtheatre.com. Noon-7 p.m. Sat.-Mon. Ends March 8. INDIGENOUS BEAUTY A collection of traditional Native American artwork from the Diker Collection, with a Northwest sidebar. Opens Thurs., Feb. 12. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., 654-3121, seattleartmuseum.org. $12.50-$19.50. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun. (Open to 9 p.m. Thurs.) Ends May 17. JUNK Works based on male genitalia from artists John Criscitello, Benjamin Gazy, Kelly O’Neil, Jess Wamre, and more. Pony, 1221 E. Madison St., 324-2854, ponyseattle.com. 6 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12. JASON LAJEUNESSE In Echoes, Lajeunesse explores his pursuit of sobriety through a collection of paintings. Opening reception, 5-9 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12. Ghost Gallery, 504 E. Denny Way, 832-6063, ghostgalleryart. com. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tues.-Fri. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends. March 9. NERDGASM An erotic nerd-art show that sexes up themes from geek culture. Artful Dodger Tattoo and Comics, 1715 E. Olive Way, 323-4657, adtc.com. 7-10 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12. POWER SCRIBBLES Seven local artists celebrate the simple yet bold medium of doodles and sketches. Opening reception, 6-10 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12 True Love Art Gallery, 1525 Summit Ave., 227-3572, trueloveart. com. 1-9 p.m. Tues.-Sat. 1-8 p.m. Sun. Ends March 8. VALENZINES Love themed zines from local and international artists. Art Primo, 415 E. Pike St., 365-4083, artprimosea-.tumblr.com. 6-9 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12. WILL YOU BE MINE? A Valentine’s Day-themed photo show focusing on the importance of “self-love.” Opening reception, 7-9 p.m., Thurs., Feb. 12. Cupcake Royale, 1111 E. Pike St., 883-7656, cupcakeroyale. com. 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Sun. Ends Feb. 28.
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CARMONA FLAMENCO Traditional music and dance.
Cafe Solstice, 4116 University Way N.E., 932-4067, carmona@comcast.net. $15–$20. 8 & 9:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14. CHOP SHOP: BODIES OF WORK The Eastside’s contemporary-dance festival welcomes dancers from Philadelphia, Brussels, and elsewhere alongside locals like Coriolis Dance and the Stone Dance Collective. Meydenbauer Center, 11100 N.E. Sixth St., Bellevue, chopshopdance.org. $23–$28. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14, 3 p.m. Sun., Feb. 15. URBAN BUSH WOMEN SEE THE PICK LIST, PAGE 36.
Classical, Etc.
• SEATTLE SYMPHONY Ludovic Morlot conducts Roméo
Berlioz’s extravagant symphony/oratorio/thing et Juliette. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave. & Union St., 2154747, seattlesymphony.org. $20–$122. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12, 8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14. SYMPHONY “Love Stories” includes • NORTHWESTValse sur le Boulevard plus music by Brent Irwin’s Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky. Highline Performing Arts Center, 401 S. 152nd St., Burien, 242-6321, northwest symphony.org. $12–$15. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 13. UW MALLETHEAD SERIES Percussion music from UW prof Tom Collier, Susan Pascal, and Ted Poor. Meany Studio Theater, UW campus, 543-4880, music.washington.edu. $12–$20. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 13. Messiaen’s powerful Quartet • SIMPLE MEASURES for the End of Time, plus music by Franck, Schulhoff, and Muczynski. Chapel Performance Space, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., 7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 13; Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 2 p.m. Sun., Feb. 15. $15–$30. 8535672, simplemeasures.org. NORTHWEST BAROQUE MASTERWORKS Theodora, Handel’s oratorio about forbidden Roman/Christian love. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 325-7066, earlymusic guild.org. $20–$45. 8 p.m. Fri., Feb. 13. • THE MET: LIVE IN HD Opera from NYC at a moviehouse near you. This week, a double bill of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle. See fathomevents.com for participating theaters. 9:30 a.m. Sat., Feb. 14, encored 6:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 18. • SEATTLE PRO MUSICA Music by 10 area composers, including director Karen P. Thomas, in ”New Sounds Northwest.” Church of the Redeemer, 6211 N.E. 182nd St., Kenmore, 800-838-3006, seattlepromusica. org. $5–$15. 3 p.m. Sat., Feb. 15.
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Ongoing
DAVID ALEXANDER The artist, an avid environmental-
With violist Melia Watras, romantic music for strings (Dvorak, Rachmaninoff, et al.). Chapel Performance Space, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., 800-838-3006, seattlemetropolitanchamberorchestra.com. $10–$15. 8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14. DUO ROMANTIQUE Beethoven, Chopin, and more from cellist Page Smith and Tamara Friedman on fortepiano. Queen Anne Christian Church, 1316 Third Ave. W., 7266088, galleryconcerts.org. $15–$30. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14, 3 p.m. Sun., Feb. 15. THALIA SYMPHONY Music by Alfven, Tchaikovsky, and Wieniawski. $15–$20. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., thaliasymphony.org. 2 p.m. Sun., Feb. 15. PHILHARMONIA NORTHWEST Smoochy bonbons (like Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana), plus the premiere of a violin concerto by Andrew Waggoner. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 4805 N.E. 45th St., philharmonianw.org. $15–$20. 2:30 p.m. Sun., Feb. 15. BANG ON A CAN MARATHON SEE THE WEEK AHEAD, PAGE 48.
ist, portrays his landscapes in a highly fluid, melty paint style, prodding at the fact that the subjects are in danger of slipping away thanks to climate change. Foster/ White Gallery, 220 Third Ave S., 622-2833, fosterwhite.com. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Feb. 28. ANNUAL JURIED EXHIBITION Scott Lawrimore sorted through 1,500 submissions and picked his favorites for this exhibition. Gallery 110, 110 Third Ave. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 624-9336, gallery110.com. Noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. Ends Feb. 28. BAM BIENNIAL: KNOCK ON WOOD Again, there’s a very materials-focused emphasis to this biannual group show. Clay and fiber art were featured in 2012 and 2010, respectively; now it’s the chisel-and-mallet set’s turn to display their creations. Some of the three dozen artists featured you know or have seen before at BAM (or local galleries), like Rick Araluce, Whiting Tennis, and W. Scott Trimble. BRIAN MILLER Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way N.E., 425-519-0770, bellevuearts.org. $5-$10. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sun. Ends March 29.
B Y G AV I N B O R C H E R T
B Y K E LT O N S E A R S
SEATTLE METROPOLITAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
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Send events to stage@seattleweekly.com, dance@seattleweekly.com, or classical@seattleweekly.com
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Send events to visualarts@seattleweekly.com See seattleweekly.com for full listings = Recommended
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» Literary Arts Author Events •
DANIEL HANDLER The author also known as Lemony
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BY D IA NA M . LE
Send events to books@seattleweekly.com See seattleweekly.com for full listings • = Recommended
A Reader’s Guide
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
Snicket discusses his new novel We Are Pirates. Seattle Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., 386-4636, spl.org. 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 11. RICHELLE MEAD The Ruby Circle: A Bloodlines Novel is the conclusion of the Bloodlines series. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, bookstore. washington.edu. 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 11. MARY SZYBIST The poet reads from her work, including Incarnadine, in the Art Center Gallery. Seattle Pacific University, 3214 Fourth Ave. W., spu.edu. 6:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 11. KATE E. THOMPSON She makes her literary debut with Bigfoot Hunters Never Lie. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way N.E., 366-3333, thirdplacebooks.com. 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 11. DAVID TREUER His new novel Prudence has already received high praise from Toni Morrison. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 11. ANN HEDREEN Her new memoir, Her Beautiful Brain, is about motherhood, Alzheimer’s, and loss. Ravenna Third Place, 6500 20th Ave. N.E., 523-0210, ravennathirdplace.com. 7 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12. RANDY HENDERSON The Seattle native presents a new story about freedom and exile in Finn Fancy Necromancy. Eagle Harbor Books, 157 Winslow Way E. (Bainbridge Island), 842-5332, eagleharborbooks.com. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12. JEANNE MATTHEWS Where the Bones are Buried is another installment in the Dinah Pelerin mystery series. Third Place, 5 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12. SCOTT MCCLOUD He discusses his graphic novel Sculptor. University Book Store, 7 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12. RILKE CELEBRATION Poets Kary Wayson, Deborah Woodard, and Shin Yu Pai read to honor the influence of Rainer Maria Rilke. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., 322-7030, hugohouse.org. 7 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 12. SHANNON GALPIN She discusses her social activism in her memoir Mountain to Mountain. University Book Store, 7 p.m. Fri., Feb. 13. DAVID J. MORRIS The Evil Hours: a Biography of PostTraumatic Stress is his meoir of PTSD. Elliott Bay, 7 p.m. Fri., Feb. 13. (Also Third Place, 7:30 p.m. Sat., Feb 14.) BUSHWICK BOOK CLUB The rotating musical ensemble performs new songs inspired by Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain. Stone Way Cafe, 3510 Stone Way N., 420-4435. $10-$20. 9 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14. DAVE RICHARDS His new novel If I Could Give You a Day raises interesting moral questions. Eagle Harbor, 3 p.m. Sun., Feb. 15. MARIANNE APOSTOLIDES In Wyckoff Auditorium, she reads from her novel Book Thug. Discussion follows with Seattle U prof Jason Wirth. Seattle University, 901 12th Ave. 7 p.m. Mon., Feb. 16. CHRISTIAN G. APPY The University of Massechussetts, Amherst history professor discusses his new book, American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $5. 7:30 p.m. Mon., Feb. 16. KELLY LINK The author of Magic for Beginners and Pretty Monsters discusses her new Get in Trouble. Elliott Bay, 7 p.m. Tues., Feb. 17. CARMEN BOULLOSA Texas: The Great Theft is the new book from Mexican novelist, poet, and playwright. Elliott Bay, 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 18. MARTIN FROST & TOM DAVIS The two former congressmen discuss their Partisan Divide and offer solutions to bipartisan cooperation from their 40 years of experience. Town Hall, $5. 6:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 18. JEANINE WALKER The local writer reads excerpts from her play Polarities, set in 1993 and based on her youthful experiences. Hollow Earth Radio, 2018 E. Union St., 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 18. KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR Stealing the Game is the second in a children’s book series from the basketball legend. Seattle Central Library, 7 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 19. KYLE BOELTE The Seattle memoirist makes his fiction debut with The Beautiful Unseen. Elliott Bay, 7 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 19. ROBERT LEVY His new work, The Glittering World, has been compared to Neil Gaiman. Third Place, 7 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 19. DAVID AXELROD The Chicago journalist became a political consultant and trusted advisor to future President Obama, as detailed in his memoir Believer: My Forty Years in Politics. Town Hall, $38.05. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 20.
GOOD BOOKSTORES
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arts&culture» Film Lilya (Liadova) sees prospects for life outside the village in Leviathan.
ANNA MATVEEVA/SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
Hits
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
OPENS FRI., FEB. 13 AT SUNDANCE CINEMAS. NOT RATED. 96 MINUTES.
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David Cross is a smart, seasoned performer who typically gets cast in supporting roles where a splash of peevish wit is required (see: Arrested Development). He came up through the alt-comedy ranks during the ’90s, though he tours less frequently now on the stand-up circuit. (He’s 50, and it’s a grind.) Back during a Bumbershoot visit in 2009, the crowd loved him, but I also remember how he’d regularly dip into a simmering, spiteful well of liberal derision at those ignorant Red State voters. (Obama versus McCain was still a fresh, glorious memory.) Some jokes were just a little too easy, too knee-jerk in a sympathetic room; his clutch material for a go-to laff felt like pandering. But again, the crowd loved him. Six years later, I mention all this because Cross has written and directed his first movie. And though it’s not explicitly about politics, Hits ends with a kind of Tea Party media shit-storm that allows us to laugh not only at misguided Brooklyn hipsters but—more important—those incorrigible upstate New York rednecks, like some distant cousins of the Palin clan. The movie aspires to satire, but it’s mostly cheap mockery as we meet fame-obsessed Katelyn (Meredith Hagner), an untalented would-be contestant on The Voice, and her grumpy father Dave (Matt Walsh). Just as Katelyn is fixated on Ellen, conducting imaginary interviews with the host in her car, Dave is fixated on local politics (potholes first seeming to be the source of his ire). His regular haranguing of the city council makes him an unwitting viral-video star on YouTube (the “hits” of the title meaning Web traffic), which brings the cameras of a hapless Brooklyn media collective. (Wyatt Cenac plays one of their members, but I refuse to list all the other cameos by Cross’ famous friends, because they’re so brief.) Brooklyn stereotypes are tediously trotted out, because the 718 demo will always laugh at another Greenpoint-versus-Bushwick gag. The upstate situation is richer, with Katelyn’s discounted crowd well aware of Instagram and Etsy—all those tantalizing
PLeviathan OPENS FRI., FEB. 13 AT GUILD 45TH. RATED R. 141 MINUTES.
No shocker that Leviathan is one of this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie is ambitious and serious and takes on issues of society, all ingredients for nominee status. The surprise is that Russia officially submitted it to the Oscar committee in the first place (each country gets to choose a single title for consideration). That act is not quite at the level of Kim Jong-un sponsoring free screenings of The Interview at the Pyongyang 12-plex, but clearly somebody in Moscow messed up: Leviathan is a furious portrait of Russian bureaucracy at its most corrupt. At the core of the plot is a simple land-grab, but the implications are far-reaching. Kolya (Aleksey Serebryakov) is a rough handyman who’s managed to carve out a livelihood on the seafront near Murmansk. His house sits on a rocky piece of oceanfront property that is being claimed by the town’s crooked mayor, who arranges for Kolya to get a tiny fraction of what the land is actually worth in exchange for the place. Kolya’s old Army friend Dmitriy (Vladimir Vdovichenkov), now a lawyer, has just arrived from Moscow to help in the case; his big-city sophistication is in stark contrast to Kolya’s country ways, a fact that Kolya’s wife (Elena Liadova) notices. As we sink into the situation, every strand of life is revealed to be rigged. The shady mayor is blatant in his greed, and the legal system is a comically wordy charade. (A fast-talking judge who spews gobbledygook for minutes on end is straight out of a Dickens novel.) The church provides cover for the politicians, assuring the population that their reward for enduring all this unfairness will come in the afterlife. Leviathan is a much bigger bowl of borscht than director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s previous films The Return and Elena, which established
Monk With a Camera RUNS FRI., FEB. 13–SUN., FEB. 15 AT SIFF FILM CENTER. NOT RATED. 90 MINUTES.
Every outsider who takes Buddhism seriously enough to become a monk must have an interesting story. I once spent a night in a Buddhist monastery that had been established in a jumble of very old farm buildings in the north of England, and the personalities of the shorn-headed novitiates there suggested a variety of difficult paths and tangled backgrounds (the abbot was an American who’d gotten fascinated with spirituality after his Vietnam war service). Monk With a Camera takes an alluring shortcut to telling one of those stories; instead of focusing on a random Westerner who falls into the saffron robes of the East, it profiles a socialite and onetime jet-setter whose family name conjures the high glamour of a bygone era. Vreeland (right) with an assistant.
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signs of life beyond their reach. Hagner is actually better during her non-Tracy Flick moments, when weary defeat slackens her pretty smile. And Walsh, usually a specialist in moronic bluster— which Cross fully employs, of course—likewise shows some genuine pathos as a loving father, abandoned by his wife, who knows no more certainties than what he hears on talk radio and gleans from right-wing websites. And for that he must be punished. So remind me again—why did this film have to be a comedy? BRIAN MILLER
him as an important voice. The new movie’s sheer heft makes it fascinating—it might be unwieldy at times, and weighed down by a Russian ponderousness, but you never lose the exciting sense that you’re watching a filmmaker go for broke. Some well-chosen Philip Glass music adds to the mood, and repeated shots of the stormy sea crashing against the rugged coastline give the sense that nature is just waiting around for all this petty human nonsense to eventually subside. The film’s success has brought Vladimir Putin’s minions, Russian nationalists, and religious authorities out in force to condemn it as “evil,” “a cynical and dirty parody,” and “a cinematic anti-Putin manifesto.” In other words, it needs to be seen. ROBERT HORTON
In photos from the ’70s, Nicholas Vreeland looks as though he ought to be running around London with Michael Caine and Paul McCartney—except he’s better dressed. The grandson of famed Vogue magazine editor Diana Vreeland and son of a well-traveled diplomat, Nicky grew up with privilege draped around his shoulders and a camera hung around his neck. He stopped being a playboy—and, for a while, taking pictures—when he devoted himself to Tibetan Buddhism in the late 1970s; he become a monk some years later. In other words, directors Tina Mascara and Guido Santi (Chris & Don: A Love Story) had some close-to-surefire material to work with here, given the incredible distance
between Vreeland’s origins and his current status as abbot of the Rato monastery in India. The documentary is straightforwardly and handsomely done, with approving appearances from Vreeland’s brother and father (the latter is the kind of upper-crustie who perpetually looks as though he’s just stepped off one Kennedy yacht or another). They seem delighted by Nicky’s life story, although one would like to hear about past worries or misgivings—there must have been some. The Dalai Lama also drops by for cameo appearances, his customary giggle very much in place, and Richard Gere is his usual important self. With his long nose and singsong mid-Atlantic voice, Nicky at first resembles the latest Steve Carell transformation, but generally comes across as sincere and super-focused. Monk With a Camera has a placid air about it, an air of acceptance, perhaps. That it embodies a certain Buddhist calm is appropriate, although it doesn’t make for the most exciting movie-watching experience. ROBERT HORTON
R100 RUNS FRI., FEB. 13–THURS., FEB. 19 AT GRAND ILLUSION. NOT RATED. 100 MINUTES.
R100 actually seems like a normal movie for 40 minutes or so, even if its setup is a little outthere. A man leads a quietly desperate life, working as a store salesman and tending his young son, while his wife lies in a long-term coma. He signs on with an unusual escort service, one that provides an outlet for his hidden masochistic fantasies: For a year, a series of leather-clad women will show up unexpectedly to dole out physical punishment or public humiliation. He can’t get out of the contract once it begins, and he quickly learns that a dominatrix is likely to pop up at the most awkward moments. Like I said, a normal movie. But then Hitoshi Matsumoto’s film begins to stretch out into fullon gonzo nuttiness, starting with the first of a series of scenes of state censors exiting a screening room. They are evidently in the midst of watching R100, and they’re not pleased about the film’s outrageous content. A film rep helpfully explains that the director has stated that the movie is not meant to be understood by anyone under the age of 100. (The title is a play on the Japanese movie rating system, in which R18—for movies not meant for people under 18 years old—is the most restrictive.) Back in the movie proper, as our main character Takafumi (Nao Ômori) tries to get out of his agreement, he uncovers growing revelations about the true nature of his bondage contract. A particularly grotesque session with an unlucky dominatrix ends with an accident, and the S&M service responds with a backlash against its hapless client. Matsumoto was a hugely popular comedian in Japan before he turned to film directing (his Big Man Japan played here in 2009), and R100 never stops being wildly, broadly comic. Some of the jokes are good, some obvious, but the whole thing escalates into considerably more than 50 shades of weird. There’s a strain in Japanese movies that wants to be more bizarre than anything that came before it, and R100 comes close at times—its final few images are defiantly surreal, even if they have a satirical point. I think the film veers off too far into such strangeness (could there be a Japanese TV game show spun off from all this?), but connoisseurs of this kind of thing will find the ripeness hard to resist. ROBERT HORTON E
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"Like Fight Club directed by Luis Bunuel." Indiewire
Local & Repertory • DEAR WHITE PEOPLE Justin Simien’s smart new
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AMERICAN SNIPER Clint Eastwood’s deliberately
neutral take on this real-life war tale is a measured approach likely to disappoint those looking for either a patriotic tribute to the troops or a critique of war and its effects. Chris Kyle (ably played by a hulked-up Bradley Cooper) was a sharpshooter whose action in four Iraq War tours reportedly made him the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history. His life had a lurid ending—a terrible irony that reframes his story in a larger context of troubled veterans and PTSD. The film,
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college satire forthrightly addresses race, and it feels like a follow-up—though not a rebuttal—to Spike Lee’s School Daze, made a generation ago. Like Lee, though with a lighter comic touch, Simien is interested in the stereotypes that black and mixed-race kids apply to themselves. The movie’s title comes from the provocative campus radio show hosted by Sam (Tessa Thompson), who calls out all races for their shallow assumptions. In her orbit are a seemingly perfect high achiever, a savvy, sexy social-media queen, and the nappy-haired freshman nerd Lionel (Tyler James Williams, from Everybody Hates Chris) who’s trying to navigate his way among cliques and not-so-coded expectations of What It Means to Be Black. In his debut feature, Simien stuffs the plot with rather more stock elements than needed (a venal dean, racist frats, even a reality TV show come to mint/exploit new stars). But as with his characters, everything typical here gets comically upended. Dear White People reminds you how lazy most American comedies are. (R) BRIAN MILLER SIFF Film Center (Seattle Center), 324-9996, siff.net. $7-$12. 7 p.m. Mon. MOULIN ROUGE! Baz Luhrmann’s flamboyant, cartoonish, often headache-inducing Moulin Rouge! (2001) has maybe a thousand musical cues that trigger samples, cover versions, and bits of original songs, yet he does his cribbing with a loving wink. In 1899 Paris, a naïve aspiring writer (Ewan McGregor) is enchanted by a glamorous chanteuse (Nicole Kidman). Purportedly a film about love, Moulin Rouge! is really about Luhrmann’s love of show biz (which outlasts both love and life). (PG-13) B.R.M. Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 686-6684, central-cinema.com. $7-$9. 7 p.m. Fri.-Tues. & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. SATURDAY SECRET MATINEE Hosted by The Sprocket Society, this Saturday matinee series (through March 28) features the 1941 serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel, preceded by various vintage cartoons and shorts. Total program length is about two hours. (NR) Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th St., 523-3935, grandillusioncinema.org. $5-$9. 1 p.m. Sat. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD For all of Scott Pilgrim’s adherence to the graphic novels upon which it’s based, it goes even deeper, conveying the ache pulsating between the lines in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s original comic. Edgar Wright’s 2010 film version is simply boy meets girl and has to fight to keep her. And the boy—Michael Cera—is a stunted mess stranded in deep-freeze Canada. He’s got himself a high school girlfriend, plays bass in a decent-but-never-gonnamake-it pop-punk trio, and shares an apartment with gay roomie (Kieran Culkin). At first, Scott’s but another in a looooong line of mopey, tousled kidults played by Cera, who seems to have a range from A to A. But as soon as Scott meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), the kid sprouts some fuzz on his peaches. (PG-13) ROBERT WILONSKY SIFF Film Center, $7-$12. 9 p.m. Sun. SEATTLE ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL Over three dozen films are screened, most of them shorts, in this weekend mini-fest. (NR) Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave. Tickets and info: seattleaff.org. Runs Thurs.-Sun. TRUE ROMANCE The late Tony Scott directs this very colorful, wish-fulfillment crime caper about a comicbook store clerk (Christian Slater) who falls for a lovely hooker (Patricia Arquette) while falling even deeper into the company of drug dealers and killers. Written by Quentin Tarantino, the famously self-educated former video store clerk, the 1993 True Romance is full of long monologues, pop-culture references, and some fairly delicious acting. Look for Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Samuel J. Jackson, and Brad Pitt among the eccentric and highly entertaining criminal crew. (R) B.R.M. Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 6866684, central-cinema.com. $7-$9. 7 p.m. Fri.-Tues. & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. VHSEX Scarecrow packages up a program of vintage video. (NR) Grand Illusion, $5-$9. 9 p.m. Sat.
scripted by Jason Hall from Kyle’s memoir, has some standard-issue military bonding and uneven dialogue. What really works is the way it’s structured around parallel sequences, nowhere more intensely than the repeated images of the sniper at his gun, scanning the world for insurgents. One such sequence is the film’s most unnerving: As Kyle idly looks through his gunsight at passersby on the street below, he talks to his wife (Sienna Miller) on the phone, half a world away. Their conversation could be taking place in an Applebee’s, or a suburban backyard, but the finger stays on the trigger and the eye searches for threats. In other places in the film, Eastwood’s uninflected approach has a flattening effect. Here it creates one of the most chilling scenes in recent American film. (R) ROBERT HORTON Sundance, Bainbridge, Pacific Place, others BIRDMAN A movie star in a career skid since he stopped playing a masked superhero named Birdman back in the ’90s, Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is preparing his big comeback in a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver stories, funded and directed by himself. Obstacles abound: Riggan’s co-star (Andrea Riseborough) announces she’s pregnant with his child; his grown daughter (Emma Stone) is his assistant, and not his biggest fan; a critic plans to destroy the play. And, in the movie’s funniest headache, Riggan must endure a popular but insufferable stage actor (Edward Norton, doing a wonderful self-parody) who’s involved with the play’s other actress (Naomi Watts). This is all going on while Riggan maintains a tenuous hold on his own sanity—he hears Birdman’s voice in his head, for one thing. To create Riggan’s world, director Alejandro González Iñárritu and Gravity cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki present the film as a continuous unbroken shot (disguised with artful digital seams). Birdman serves so many heady moments it qualifies as a bona fide happening. It has a few stumbles, but the result is truly fun to watch. And Keaton—the former Batman, of course—is a splendidly weathered, human presence. Ironically or not, he keeps the film grounded. (R) R.H. Sundance, others THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY Peter Strickland’s film is mostly set in and around a beautiful old house in the countryside (Hungarian, though the film’s in English). We first meet the professor, Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen), as she cruelly bosses around Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna), a younger woman who appears to be her maid. It turns out this ritual of humiliation is not only mutually accepted, but mostly dictated by Evelyn, who enjoys being punished. Cynthia is tired of these, but she looks terrified of losing her pretty young companion, and goes through the paces accordingly. However weirdly it might present itself, and whatever Cynthia and Evelyn’s S&M tastes might be, the relationship issues between the two women are pretty mundane: One is getting bored; one is needier than the other; one has money and the other has youth. Dressing these everyday anxieties in bondage gear gives the movie an undercurrent of droll humor, which becomes part of its appeal. (NR) R.H. SIFF Film Center THE IMITATION GAME A ripping true story can survive even the Oscar-bait effect. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the brilliant English code-breaker Alan Turing as a borderline-autistic personality, a rude brainiac who during World War II fiddles with his big computing machine while his colleagues stand around scratching their heads. Turing’s homosexuality only gradually enters the picture, and even when he proposes marriage to fellow code-breaker Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), it isn’t treated as a really big deal. Even if the movie sketches simplistic conflicts among its principal characters, the wartime world is so meticulously re-created and the stakes so compelling that it emits plenty of movie-movie sparks. (Morten Tyldum, of the ridiculously entertaining Headhunters, directs.) But the real reason to like this movie is that it’s so diligently pro-weirdo. Especially in Cumberbatch’s truly eccentric hands, Turing stays defiantly what he is: an oddball who uses rationality to solve problems. The film suggests that Turing does not have to become a nicer person—he beat the Germans’ Enigma code and won WWII, so let him be. (PG-13) R.H. SIFF Cinema Uptown, Sundance, Lincoln Square, Thornton Place, Lynwood (Bainbridge), Kirkland, others MR. TURNER Must the great man also be a nice guy? Mike Leigh’s comprehensive biopic tempers our admiration for the English painter J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851), unquestionably a genius, and recognized as such in his day. Turner (Timothy Spall), when we meet him, is famous, prosperous, and possessed of a nice London home. His cagey old father (Paul Jesson) aids in the family business, as does the devoted maid Hannah (Dorothy Atkinson), who’s plainly, painfully in love with her indifferent master. (He is by turns tender and terrible to the women who surround him.)
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During the last 25 years of his life, Turner and his art—in late career tending toward abstraction—are mutable. He travels under an assumed name to the www.SONYclaSSicS.cOM coastal village of Margate, where he eventually takes a new lover, Sophia (Marion Bailey), to replace poor Hannah. Yet the film’s no melodrama. Leigh and his Oscar-nominated cinematographer Dick Pope periodically pause for us to see 19th-century views as Turner did: lambent light on a Flemish canal, the sun filtered through sea mist near the shore, or locomotive steam view the trailer at www.leviathaNMOvie.cOM bursting into a halo above the green countryside. As for the final nature of this selfish, sensitive, uncompromising artist, Leigh simply frames him in a portrait, leaving us to grope for psychological shapes and colors. (R) B.R.M. Sundance, others STILL ALICE Adapted from the 2007 bestseller by Lisa 4.81" X 2" WED 2/11 Genova, a neuroscientist turned novelist, Still Alice is like experiencing only the second half of Flowers for SEATTLE WEEKLY -SUNDAY TIMES Algernon: high-functioning start as Columbia professor, DUE FRI 12PM wife, and mother of three grown children; then after Alzheimer’s diagnosis at age 50, the brutal, inexorable mental degradation and loss of self. An academic, Alice (Julianne Moore) plays word games and selftests her memory. She types constant reminders into her iPhone, which soon becomes her adjunct memory and, eventually, her intellectual superior—even the ® auto-correct feature seems poignant. And finally she AE: (circle one:) Artist: (circle one:) ART APPROVED records a video on her laptop addressed to her future Angela Maria Josh self, conveying detailed instructions, that will later Heather Staci AE APPROVED allow Moore to play both sides of a scene with herself: Tim Jane Emmett Steve Ronnie CLIENT APPROVED crisp professionalism versus foggy incomprehension. JULIANNE MOORE ALEC BALDWIN KRISTEN STEWART Directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland Deadline: Confirmation #: (Quinceañera) mostly avoid the sap, despite the score’s twinkly piano pathos. The filmmakers do add gauzy, sunny beach flashbacks to soften the sting, but written for the screen and directed by RICHARD GLATZER & WASH WESTMORELAND mainly we’re left with the relentlessly linear narrative of decline, which isn’t very interesting to watch. (In WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM read the novel STARRING PETER CAPALDI Hollywood, Alzheimer’s isn’t so fruitful a disease as, from gallery books insidethemindofleonardo.com say, bipolarity or alcoholism.) There’s a bit of tension Siff Cinema uptown AMC LOEWS OAk TREE 6 AMC PACIfIC PLACE 11 GRANd CINEMA LINCOLN SquARE CINEMAS SuNdANCE CINEMAS SEATTLE as her family—led by husband Alec Baldwin, playing a 511 Queen Anne Avenue North, 10006 Aurora Ave N, Seattle 600 Pine Street, Seattle 606 South Fawcett Ave, 700 Bellevue Way NE, 4500 9th Avenue NE, Seattle fellow Ph.D.—tries to cope with Alice’s predicament, (888) AMC-4FUN (888) AMC-4FUN Tacoma (253) 593-4474 Bellevue (425) 454-7400 +21 All Shows sundancecinemas.com Seattle yet the Howlands’ rifts aren’t terribly dramatic either. (206) 324-9996 www.siff.net VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.STILLALICEfILM.COM (PG-13) B.R.M. Sundance, others THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING The Stephen Hawking biopic opens with our hero (Les Miz star Eddie 2.31"Best X 3"Movie WED 2/11 Redmayne) as a young nerd at university, where his Voted Theater geeky manner doesn’t entirely derail his ability to woo SEATTLE WEEKLYY F By Seattle Weekly Readers! future wife Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones). Hawking is 2014 DUE FRI 12PM diagnosed with motor neuron disease at age 21 and 4.81" X 2" WED 02/11 Thank You!! W given a two-year prognosis for survival—one of the INNER SEATTLE WEEKLY film’s sharpest ideas is to allow time to pass, and pass, without pointing out that Hawking is demolishing the DUE MON 12PM expectations for someone with his condition. James AE: (circle one:) Artist: (circle one:) ART APPROVED Marsh’s movie is officially adapted from (now ex-wife) AngelaSE Maria Heather Staci Jane Hawking’s memoir, so the love story has its share ATJosh TLE AE APPROVED of ups and downs. This is where Theory manages to Tim Jane Emmett Steve Ronnie 4500 9TH AVE. NE • 206-633-0059 CLIENT APPROVED distinguish itself from the usual Oscar bait. Whether AE: (circle one:) Artist: (circle one:) ART APPROVED dealing with Jane’s closeness to a choirmaster, or Deadline: Angela Maria Josh Confirmation #: Heather Staci AE APPROVED Stephen’s chemistry with his therapist, the film catches a frank, worldly view of the way things happen someTim Jane Emmett Steve Ronnie CLIENT APPROVED times. No special villains here—you might say it’s just the way the universe unfolds. Redmayne’s performance Deadline: Confirmation #: is a fine piece of physical acting, and does suggest some of the playfulness in Hawking’s personality. From now until Oscar night, you will not be able to get away from it. (PG-13) R.H. Varsity, Kirkland, others TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT Sandra (Marion Cotillard) has been on medical leave from her workplace, owing Monday is $6 ORCA Day to depression. She has a low-level job in a manufacturShow Your Orca Card and ing plant in Belgium. She’s ready to go back to work, but management has decided to cut her position. ALL Seats are $6 ($7.50 for 3D). According to labor laws, her 16 fellow employees can Tickets Avail at Box Office Only. Not good on holidays. vote to keep her on the job—but the boss has offered Tuesday is Girls Movie Night Out! them each a 1,000-euro bonus if they agree to lay off Sandra. She has a weekend to plead her case to each ll 2 or more ladies get $5 ($6.50 for 3D) Admission All Day. a g n i co-worker. Every few minutes we are reminded of the Play Tickets Avail at Box Office Only. S K W cruelty of being put in this position, and the humiliaSEAHAMNF tion of having to repeat her argument. Throughout, the FIFTY SHADES OF GREY MR. TURNER and es! deglammed Cotillard is more than up to the task of conGam vincing us of Sandra’s modest place in the world. The KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE very human stories of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have always had a political purpose, and this film’s porSTILL ALICE THE IMITATION GAME trait of the power of manipulation and greed is one of their clearest. Many of the employees casting votes for BIRDMAN TIMBUKTU HITS or against Sandra could really use 1,000 euros. They’ve got problems of their own, stories comparable to hers. AMERICAN SNIPER That’s what is so devastating about this superb film. (NR) R.H. SIFF Cinema Uptown JUPITER ASCENDING IN 2D/3D -Todd McCarthy, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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A Cursive Class
The reissue of Cursive’s pivotal The Ugly Organ shows how emo is done.
BY DAVE EINMO
SW: In a radio.com interview, you said you have a love/hate relationship with this album because of the memories from the time of its recording. Why?
Kasher: Oh, I don’t know. I was probably just rambling on about something. [Laughs.] I recall feeling dissatisfied with it, but it was also extremely important to me at the time, as any record is while I’m working on it. I was/am certainly proud of it striking a chord with people, yet it also used to concern me, that perhaps I was guilty of trying to write something overtly commercial. I was just being hypercritical of myself, which is fairly par for the course.
Sure. I had felt, at the time, that we had gone too far down our own rabbit hole of ideas and that they wouldn’t translate to others. I also felt a bit grossly solipsistic, and assumed that wouldn’t resonate with anyone. I’m ecstatic to this day that people get a kick out of that record, though I’m still a bit puzzled by it. In retrospect, it’s sort of funny you questioned how fans would react. The album ended up influencing a generation of musicians and fans. Did putting out a critically successful album increase expectations for the follow-up, Happy Hollow? Have you felt like you’ve had to live up to The Ugly Organ for the rest of your career, and how has that affected the band?
Sure, I think putting out a larger success puts pressure on following releases, though it can be all in your head, and I would discourage falling for
those pressures. I have felt pressure to follow up every record I’ve done, despite its success, merely because I want to keep writing what I (and, hopefully, my friends and curious listeners) consider to be quality work. I’ve learned not to concern myself with a larger success such as The Ugly Organ, as I have no expectations to release an album that resonates with that many people again. Talk a bit about the Omaha scene in the early 2000s. Bright Eyes, The Faint, and all the Saddle Creek bands were bringing the city more attention. What was it like living in a place that was exploding nationally?
Not sure I can relate to other experiences, as I haven’t had those experiences. I’ve lived in other cities, but haven’t gone through that same experience in other cities. My hunch is that bands in larger cities may have been more aware of what was going on around them. We felt fairly oblivious, which I think is great. It was also a time before excessive social media inundating all facets of our lives, so perhaps we were still able to live under the proverbial rock, at least a little bit. Did that help nurture your music by insulating you from external influences and allowing you to focus on your music?
I can’t really be sure; I’d assume so, as we are influenced by practically everything in our respective environments. I appreciate growing up in a smaller city. What has it been like revisiting this period with the reissue of The Ugly Organ? You don’t strike me as someone stuck on nostalgia.
I look forward to the tour, as it is the rare opportunity to simply go out and play without the anxiety of whether people are interested or
Driving between the lines: Cursive.
responding to a new album or not. And you’re correct: I’m not particularly interested in nostalgia. Cursive hasn’t toured in a couple years, so for us, this is just a chance to get together, to get out and play. Most likely we would have toured right now regardless. This reissue just gave us something to rally around. We are still playing our entire catalog. It’s just more heavily focused on songs from the reissue.
A deep, resonant cello is juxtaposed against aggressive guitars on The Ugly Organ, creating a unique dynamic. At times, your cellist builds tension; at others, the yearning of the cello brilliantly softens the mood. How did you decide to make that instrument such a prominent part of the record?
Bringing in cello was a way for us to differentiate ourselves from the two-guitar/bass/drums style that seems to be the root formation of rock ’n’ roll. It was just how I was feeling at the time. Post-Domestica, we felt we needed to push in a different direction.
Throughout your career with Cursive and as a solo artist, your lyrics have always told stories that seem personal yet relatable to your audience. They feel like short films. “The Recluse” from The Ugly Organ is a great example. You whisper the words about waking up in the bed of someone you hardly know. Your voice sounds vulnerable like the character in the song. When you write lyrics, do you write a story first and then pen the song’s words to match your melody?
It varies per song. Most often I’m trying to fit lyrics into a melody, then trying to shape those lyrics into a cohesive idea/story. Other times I do
have a story in mind, and have to plug that story into the parameters of the verse.
Even the album’s title sounds like a short story. Where did it originate? Rumor has it your lung collapsed shortly before recording the album. Were your lungs the “ugly organ?”
My lung collapse was a funny coincidence. I can’t remember for sure, but I think the title came prior to the collapse occurring. I recall not relating the two, not until others started piecing it together. It felt a bit like life reflecting art and vice versa. All this said, I’m comfy with a title such as The Ugly Organ being up for interpretation.
Sex organs are certainly prominent on the record. The characters face frequent sexual tension and sexual misadventures. You guys play Seattle on Valentine’s Day. Will it be weird to sing about “the ugly organ” on this day of affection, or is it the perfect coincidence?
Every day is like Valentine’s Day for us. [Laughs.] There have been a few folks reaching out to mention that they are coming to the show with their significant other. I think that’s pretty funny and fun. With any luck, they can end the night with a big blowout fight. Do you have any special Valentine’s Day surprises for the show?
I don’t, but I guess I should, huh? Flowers for the audience? Chocolates? Is this a date?
Yes. A date it is. E music@seattleweekly.com CURSIVE With Beach Slang, Slow Bird. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442, neumos.com. $17. All ages. 8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14.
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
The Ugly Organ took big chances in production and songwriting. It’s alleged that when you recorded it, you felt Cursive had gone too far and might alienate listeners. Rumor has it you gave the band a pep talk so members wouldn’t be discouraged if fans didn’t respond to the album. Why did you feel that way?
TONY BONACCI
I
n 2003, Omaha emo band Cursive released the pivotal album The Ugly Organ. The New York Times had just crowned the Nebraska city the indie capital of the world, and Cursive was about to quadruple the number of eyes upon it. Its Saddle Creek labelmates Bright Eyes and The Faint had recently become tastemaker darlings; now it was Cursive’s turn to shine. With its hush-to-roar dynamics and wounded howl dueled with an introspective cello, Rolling Stone called The Ugly Organ a “brilliant leap forward.” Alternative Press gave it a perfect score, and MAGNET said it was “the best punk record you’ll hear all year.” The album was a landmark for Saddle Creek, peaking at #9 on 2003’s Top Independent Albums chart while being the label’s second album to break 100,000 copies sold. Twelve years later, those who missed The Ugly Organ the first time are getting a second chance. Saddle Creek recently announced a deluxe reissue, to include eight additional tracks. We spoke with frontman Tim Kasher to talk about why he originally doubted the album would be critically successful, what it was like playing in Omaha’s vibrant music scene in the early 2000s, and how the album’s sexual tension will unfold during the band’s Seattle Valentine’s Day show.
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ANDY GRAMMER ALEX & SIERRA 8PM
LEIGHTON MEESTER
AUGUST BURNS RED with MISS MAY I + NORTHLANE + FIT FOR A KING + ERRA
2/16
7PM
COMMIT THIS TO MEMORY 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR
with WILLIAM BECKETT BRICK + MORTAR
RIFF RAFF
2/18
7:30 PM
8PM
with
DAN+SHAY
9PM
F IL M
8PM
SHOWBOX AND CAPITOL HILL BLOCK PARTY PRESENT
LORD HURON with LEON BRIDGES
4/18– ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10AM
with PAN ASTRAL
8PM
9PM
JJ GREY & MOFRO
9PM
LOTUS 2/22
with CANAAN SMITH
5/28
8PM
SHOWBOX SODO THE MISSING LINK TOUR
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
IRATION
44
2/20
with STICK FIGURE + HOURS EASTLY
8PM
RODEO TOUR
YOUNG THUG + TRAVI$ SCOTT
3/31
MASTODON +CLUTCH 4/26 with BIG BUSINESS
7PM
THE FUTURE HEARTS TOUR
ALL TIME LOW with
8PM
THE CROCODILE
5/6
ISSUES + TONIGHT ALIVE + STATE CHAMPS
6PM
PARAMOUNT THEATRE
KATE VOEGELE THE REPLACEMENTS
2/18
with
LEROY SANCHEZ
9PM
4/9– ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10AM
SHOWBOXPRESENTS.COM
8PM
JIMMY WEBB WED, FEB 11
E VE NT S
PR O M O
”Few singers blend grit and grandeur like Jimmy Webb.. [his] voice is like an old Mustang heading through a treacherous yet often gorgeous landscape.” - Rolling Stone
MINDI ABAIR AND THE BONESHAKERS FEATURING SWEET PEA ATKINSON THURS, FEB 12 - SUN, FEB 15
9PM
3/28
FLIGHT FACILITIES BEAT CONNECTION
ECHOSMITH
MUSIC
”Abair’s sax growls, grunts and grinds like it’s a smoky joint in Lafayette, Louisiana, with more gristle than a T-Bone steak at The Pantry.” - Jazz Weekly
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN TOUR
SHOWBOX AND KEXP PRESENT
2/21
W EEK LY
3/21
KARL DENSON’S TINY UNIVERSE featuring VOKAB KOMPANY with BROWNOUT
8PM
with THE COLOURIST
RUN DMC REMIXED
2/19
with DUKE EVERS
2/26
MOTION CITY D I N I NG SOUNDTRACK
2/17
JAZZ ALLEY IS A SUPPER CLUB
with PARADISE FEARS
2/24
2033 6th Avenue (206) 441-9729 jazzalley.com
W W W. S E AT T L E W E E K LY. C O M / S I G N U P
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HAPPY HOUR
The inside scoop on upcoming shows
and the latest reviews.
CECILE MCLORIN SALVANT TUES, FEB 17 - WED, FEB 18
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AR T S AND E NT E R TAI NM
NETTWORK TRIO
FEATURING CHARNETT MOFFETT, STANLEY JORDAN AND JEFF “TAIN” WATTS FEATURING SPECIAL GUEST PHARAOH SANDERS
THURS, FEB 19 - SUN, FEB 22
all ages | free parking | full schedule at jazzalley.com
arts&culture» Music
(1/28) The YAMS Collective Race, Art, and Being Black
Electric Youth
(1/28) Nazila Fathi The Evolution of Iran (1/30) James K. Galbraith Understanding Inequality in America and the World
Introducing the underage bands of Sound Off! 2015. BY ALEXA TEODORO
Semifinals 1 • Friday, Feb. 13
Bleachbear BLEACHBEAR This all-girl ensemble—two sisters, Tigerlily and Annabella Bird, and their cousin, Emiko—came together as a band after a summer of music lessons when Tigerlily discovered her love for guitar, Annabella gravitated toward drums, and their brother decided to stick to Minecraft. In need of support, the sisters called the more outgoing Emiko to “shake a shaker egg and sing some harmonies” for them, and Bleachbear was born, Emiko on bass. Bleachbear is one of the youngest acts in this year’s fest, but don’t let that fool you. These girls are sure to deliver, with a breezy sound they like to call “dream-pop grunge.”
(1/30) Michael Shermer The Scientific Approach to Morality
Nightspace
PHOTOS COURTESY OF EMP
F
or 14 years, EMP’s Sound Off! has served as a platform for 21-and-under artists hoping to share their work and connect with the local music scene. Starting this week, the all-ages fest will host three rounds of semifinals each Friday leading to the finals. There, the semifinal winners and one wildcard band will compete for the 2015 title and the chance to perform at a major regional music festival. In the past, Sound Off! has featured then-up-and-coming acts including The Lonely Forest, Sol, and Sam Lachow. This year, the event presents a whole new batch of semifinalists:
ing electronic performances. Under the moniker NIGHTSPACE, he crafts music that’s a direct product of his own emotions in a sound that varies from soft and slow to aggressive and distorted, staying sincere throughout. The term “Nightspace,” though originally the result of “just putting two words that [he] liked together,” has taken on a life of its own for both him and the audience. Through dark vocals and ambient instrumentals, Skye’s sound is reminiscent of that moment when you’re lying in bed on the edge of slumber, reflecting on your life, right before you drift into the dreamscape. Friends Kevin and Joe have been practicing music together since high school; their original band dwindled slowly, leaving just the two most devoted members as SUPER SOAKED. Initially inspired by garage-rock acts such as Fuzz and Thee Oh Sees, the duo has come to find inspiration in a wider array of music. Joe says their music’s bouncy energy is meant to be contagious: “We just want [listeners] to dance. If you’re not moving, what’s the point?” They envision themselves touring in a van with their “only responsibility for the day [being] getting to the next show,” according to Joe. That happy-go-lucky attitude will likely be stirred within listeners after hearing their music.
Semifinals 2 • Friday, Feb. 20
Champagne Babylon
Childhood friends from Orange County, Calif., the guys of CHAMPAGNE BABYLON didn’t become a band until members Cody and Paul figured they should try to learn to play the guitars they had lying around. After recruiting Ryan from their middle-school music class and Bryce from down the block, the band was in full force. Now based in Seattle, you can find them jamming out in the old Rainier Brewery. Drawing on influences from Harry Nilsson to Kanye West, Champagne Babylon creates a synthy kind of disco pop that sets a rhythm for groovin’. Their name, inspired by a sons-and-dads camping trip involving popping champagne at Joshua Tree, fits their sound: natural yet luxurious. From production to vocals, lyrics to album art, Bailey Skye single-handedly creates an experience for all the senses through his haunt-
(2/2) Nikil Saval The Past and Future of Our Workplaces (2/2) Penny U Imagining Tomorrow’s Work (2/3) Norman Doidge How the Brain Heals the Body (2/4) Seattle Arts & Lectures: Sherman Alexie
in This Bring geT And George n (2/4) Friedman o p Cou er TizPending e p p Europe’s Catastrophe A one ! 2 oFF For 1/
(2/5) David Linden Unraveling the Science of Touch
(2/8) Elliott Bay Book Company: Nick Hornby (2/10) Seattle Arts & Lectures: An Evening with Sheri Fink (2/10) Loretta Napoleoni The Islamic State, ‘Redrawing the Middle East’
TOWN HALL
CIVICS
SCIENCE
ARTS & CULTURE
COMMUNITY
(2/12) Seattle Architecture Foundation presents Cultural Landscapes Building a Narrative with Seattle (2/13) Early Music Guild: Northwest Baroque Masterworks Handel’s ‘Theodora’ (2/13) Kekuhi and Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole Hula: Our World Consciousness (2/14) Valentine’s Day Special Hawaiian Music with KEKUHI AND KAUMAKAIWA KANAKA’OLE & Traditional Hawaiian Feast (2/15) Thalia Symphony Orchestra: The Virtuoso Violin (2/15) Simple Measures: Messiaen Around with Time
Charlie and the Rays
The band’s music is as down-to-earth as its members, channeling the likes of the Beatles and Elvis Costello to create an oldies vibe with a new-school twist. A self-described underdog in the Sound Off competition, they’ve come a long way from their improvised mikes to make it to the semifinals.
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 46
(2/16) Christian Appy Vietnam’s Lasting Legacy (2/18) Tom Davis & Martin Frost Two Former Representatives’ Plan to Fix Congress (2/18) Ignite! Seattle Enlighten us, but make it quick TOWN HALL
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
After a summer of busking at Pike Place, sisters Jordan and Rebecca and their childlhood friend Gracia had so much fun making music, it was only natural to continue as a band, which they dubbed CHARLIE AND THE RAYS. All with musical backgrounds, they went on to teach themselves guitar, practicing in the bathroom for the “better acoustics,” says Gracia: standing in the shower to rehearse their harmonies and using a vacuum as a mike to practice their stage presence.
(1/31) Seattle Arts & Lectures: Patton Oswalt Off the Page
(2/19) Jane Charles, Nature WWW.TOWNHALLSEATTLE.ORG Carter, and Peter Qualliotine 45 Human Trafficking in Seattle and Abroad (2/20) Jonathan Moreno The Father of Psychodrama
arts&culture» Music » FROM PAGE 45
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
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46
Hailing from Oregon, HEMLOCK LANE’s music brings a distinct PNW vibe, evoking those of the Decemberists, Death Cab, and Minus the Bear. According to drummer Nate, “there’s a commonality that musicians from the Northwest have,” and this is evident in the band’s bright yet fuzzy sound. All four members are in school for nonmusic-related fields, managing to work across the distance from Portland to Eugene to create their music. One of the last times these guys were in Seattle, their van broke down after what turned out to be an eerily prophetic photoshoot: The members posed as stranded kids around a broken-down van. This time, Hemlock Lane hopes to make it to Sound Off ! in one piece and share its sound.
Honcho Poncho
1231831
228 Park Lane Kirkland, WA 98033 425-828-2000
Emma Lee Toyoda
The members of HONCHO PONCHO feel the band is something worth returning to. Though busy with individual pursuits and split between Seattle and Walla Walla, the guys still regularly meet halfway in a small town called Tieton to practice “in this warehouse overlooking the Yakima Valley in the middle of nowhere,” according to lead singer Sam. Through working on their music, the artists hope people come away from one of their songs thinking, as Sam puts it, “That wasn’t an unbearable way to spend five minutes.” Fortunately, listeners have more than that to look forward to, with Honcho Poncho’s dreamy sound inspired by Euro-psych and ’60s folk music.
Naked Giants
VALENTINE’S EVE
Grant and Henry have been friends since preschool, but as 5-year-olds, they probably wouldn’t have predicted they’d start a band in high school. When bassist Gianni joined them, they became NAKED GIANTS, named for a sighting of Henry’s big brother wearing “tiny underwear,” as Grant tells it. With a blues-infused garage-rock sound, the band is reminiscent of artists like Ty Segall and Jack White. A Barboza bouncer once deemed Grant’s vocals “a mix between Mick Jagger and Prince” before giving the guys a hard time about being underage, escorting them to and from their show.
Semifinals 3 • Friday, Feb. 27
presented by
+ MAMMA’S CAVE
Lo-Fi Performance Gallery | Friday, February 13th, 9 pm | 21+ $7
Music has always been in the family for singer/songwriter EMMA LEE TOYODA; she can remember piano and violin lessons with her older brothers dating back to elementary school. Since then, Toyoda has gone from learning music to making it, using the process as an outlet for her personal feelings and experiences and compos-
ing heartfelt lyrics atop an intimate, nostalgic sound. She’s taken this dedication to the next level, taking a break from school to do music full-time. “I’ve recently had a point that’s been a rediscovery of who I am and what I’m doing,” she explains. With a spot in the semifinals, her commitment seems to have paid off. MYSTERY MACHINES It should come as no surprise that this group of punk rock-loving guys from Gig Harbor makes music with an intense energy similar to that of kids trying to escape the suburbs. Vocalist/bassist Jacob says he and guitarist Peter connected after becoming close in high school, forming a duo that had “failed geometry class” together. With the addition of drummer Austin, Mystery Machines was born. What they lack in mathematical knowledge they make up for in musical skill, inspired by genres from heavy metal to R&B to ’90s rock—flavors which come together to form an accessible brand of punk.
One Above Below None
The guys of ONE ABOVE BELOW NONE have known each other since Renton High School, gathering at an afterschool program that linked them with a music studio. Since then, they’ve been cooking up beats and lyrics inspired by legendary artists from Nirvana to Hendrix to Daft Punk. They thus intend to create a sound that transcends and evolves past the strict hip-hop realm while staying true to hip-hop culture. “In the Northwest in general, we don’t really have a hip-hop sound,” notes rapper/producer Devante. “We want [people] to hear that this is Seattle.” Hip-hop isn’t just music for Vancouver-based collective RIGHTEOUS MINDS, it’s a lifestyle. The members treat their music like a whole other job, starting practice right after work until about 2 a.m. almost every night for the past year and a half. Driven by the desire to switch the focus of mainstream rap and disprove the misconception that “rap is ignorant,” Righteous Minds brings forward what they call a conscious style of hiphop, loaded with clever rhymes and hard-hitting instrumentals intended to help the audience realize the importance of staying true to one’s self and to “solidify the individuality” of listeners, says rapper Dob. That’s what Righteous Minds sees as a step toward change in the hip-hop game. E
music@seattleweekly.com
SOUND OFF! FINALS EMP Museum, Sky Church, 120 Sixth Ave. N., 770-2700, empmuseum.org. $8 EMP member and youth/$12. 8 p.m. Sat., March 7.
Dancing With Himself Highlights from Billy Idol’s new memoir.
BY DAVE LAKE
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music@seattleweekly.com
BILLY IDOL With Broncho. The Paramount, 911 Pine St., 682-1414, stgpresents.org/paramount. $40 and up. 8 p.m. Fri., Feb. 13.
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!
& Clive Carroll
thursday february 19 moore theatre COCKTAILS • TASTY HOT DOGS • LOTSA PINBALL
1932 2nd Ave · SeAttle, WA 7:30pm ShoW · All AgeS ticketS AvAilAble At ticketS.com chArge by phone 1-800-225-2277
2222 2ND AVENUE • SEATTLE
206-441-5449
OUR SEASON
Create. Perform. Share.
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE A 21st CENTURY MUSIC PROJECT
Friday, January 9
Featuring new works by Sean Osborn and Wayne Horvitz
Friday, March 13*
TORCH - original contemporary quartet compositions. * At the Good Shepard Center Chapel
Friday, May 15/ Saturday May 16
Featuring the premiere of Jovino Santos Neto’s piece for Narrator and Dance
INAUGURAL SEASON 2015 Find out more at UniversalLanguage Project.com
VELOCITY DANCE CENTER 1621 12th Ave. Seattle
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
kicked out of the Sunset Marquis hotel in Los Angeles, Idol moved across the street to the Chateau Marmont, where, as he continued partying, so did John Belushi, who overdosed on a deadly cocktail of coke and heroin that same night. • After being broadsided by a car on his motorcycle in 1990, Idol was rushed to Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, where doctors rushed to save his leg. They succeeded, but not without seven surgeries and a steel rod. Ron Wood sent a congratulatory case of get-well Guinness. • During Idol’s recuperation, Sammy Davis Jr. and Sarah Vaughan were in the adjacent hospital room suffering with cancer, and Vaughan’s daughter would often come over to visit the pop star. • Idol’s son is named Willem Wolfe Broad— the Willem inspired by actor Willem Dafoe, who had just played Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ, and Wolfe after the way Mozart’s wife called him “Wolfie” in the film Amadeus. • Idol got busted cheating on his long-term partner after she overhead him on their baby monitor making a call to his mistress. • At one time it looked as if Idol might have a burgeoning film career, but his accident derailed James Cameron’s plans to have him play the T-1000 robot in Terminator 2. He did eventually appear in a small role in Oliver Stone’s The Doors, and later, as himself, in The Wedding Singer. • Long before David Fincher directed Gone Girl, he directed Billy in the racy clip for “Cradle of Love.” • “Rebel Yell” got its title from the brand of whiskey of that name, which came to the singer’s attention after he noticed that Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ron Wood were each drinking from their own bottle at a party. E
MICHAEL MULLER
B
illy Idol survived New Wave, heroin, and a motorcycle wreck, and lived to tell about it all in his new memoir Dancing With Myself (Touchstone, $22.95), a sudsy tome focused on what else: sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. The bleached-blond Brit is also back on the road, supporting a new album, Kings & Queens of the Underground, with an upcoming stop in Seattle, where he, now 59, will sneer, snarl, and pump his fist to “Rebel Yell.” Here’s a look at some highlights from his book, in stores now: • Born William Broad, the rocker took his new name from the note a frustrated chemistry teacher wrote on his report card, “William is idle!” With a slight tweak (due to Monty Python’s Eric Idle), Billy Idol was born. • Idol claims to have a large, um, idol. “It’s like his last name,” he hears a teenage girlfriend tell a group of his school friends. “Broad!” • Idol’s signature bleached hair was an accident. He was intending to strip the color and dye it black with blue highlights, but when a girlfriend forgot to bring the colors, he decided to leave it peroxide blond. • The song “Dancing With Myself ” was inspired by a trip to a Japanese disco, where Idol witnessed an army of Asian youths shimmying to the sight of their own reflections on the club’s mirrored walls. • On the night before shooting the video for that song, Idol nodded off while getting his hair bleached, which completely fried it and forced the video’s director to use creative lighting to hide the accident. • Idol credits Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott as the first person to turn him onto heroin, although, he writes, he thought he was snorting a line of coke at the time. • “Mony, Mony,” a 1968 hit for Tommy James and the Shondells, was the first song Idol shagged to, which inspired his 1987 version, which also became a hit. • After going on a tequila bender and getting
From London to Tokyo, Idol is never without a snarl.
47
arts&culture» Music
TheWeekAhead Thursday, Feb. 12
Since the release of its self-titled debut in 2013, local experimental group HEATWARMER has lost two members but gained a recently completed sophomore album. There has been no mention of a title, release date, or even a new single, but based on a 42-second teaser the band posted, the album is going to be as eclectic as its predecessor. On Heatwarmer, the trio jumps from circusinspired rock (“Magic Hearts”) and instrumental arrangements (“My Life Is So Random”) to Parisian cafe vibes via accordion (“You Move”) and jazz (“Jungle of Mystery”). With Industrial Revelation, McTuff. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442, neumos.com. 8 p.m. $12. 21 and over.
Friday, Feb. 13
While I can’t guarantee that DANCING ON THE VALENTINE X will be completely flower- and chocolatefree, the show, which benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, looks to make good on a hefty lineup of local acts (Evening Bell, Exohxo, Gibraltar, Goodbye Heart’s Sam Ford, Jupe Jupe, Katie Kate, Lazer Kitty, Strong Suit, the Service Providers, the Swearengens, 3rd Base, Thunderpussy, Trick Candles, and DJ Mike Steves) performing the music of The Cure, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Joy Division, New Order, and Madonna. Neumos. 8 p.m. $15. 21 and over.
Saturday. Feb. 14
El Corazon www.elcorazonseattle.com
109 Eastlake Ave East • Seattle, WA 98109 Booking and Info: 206.262.0482
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11TH
SHIRIN
with Waking Things, Dumpster Baby, The Good Weird Doors at 7:00PM ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $8 ADV / $10 DOS
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13TH
48
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15TH PENT UP RELEASE & EL CORAZON PRESENT:
IPROLONGED NOSTALGIA II
Featuring: Abyssinian Flag, Husere Grav (TX), Swollen Organs (NY), FRKSE (MA), Spiteful Womb (NY), Interracial Sex, BLSPHM, PRISONFOOD Lounge Show.
Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 8:00 21+. $7
MONDAY FEBRUARY 16TH
EL CORAZON’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW FEATURING:
THE FREEWAY TOUR FEATURING:
with Wreckless Freeks, Johnny Sonic Doors at 8:00PM / Show at 8:30 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $20 ADV / $15 DOS / $18 VIP
with The Muzes (Kelly Mac & Jaeda), Ripynt, Young Love Lounge Show. Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 7:30 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $8 ADV / $10 DOS
SUPER GEEK LEAGUE SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14TH KISW (99.9 FM) METAL SHOP & EL CORAZON PRESENT:
PIRATEFEST 2015
Featuring: Alestorm, Swashbuckle, The Dread Crew Of Oddwood, Perception, Noel Austin’s Phreaks Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 7:30 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $18 ADV / $20 DOS
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15TH
CANCERSLUG
with No Buffer, Hades Machine, The Famished Doors at 7:30PM / Show at 8:00 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $8 ADV / $10 DOS
CORINA CORINA
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 17TH
SET YOUR ANCHOR
with Redeem The Exile, PROJECTIONS, Darkmysticwoods, This Vast Ocean Lounge Show. Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 7:30 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $8 ADV / $10 DOS
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 18TH
HAIL THE SUN
with The Ongoing Concept, Brent Walsh (of I The Mighty), A Taste Of Daylight, From The Futures Lounge Show. Doors at 7:00PM / Show at 7:30 ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $10 ADV / $12 DOS
JUST ANNOUNCED 3/4 LOUNGE - WYLDSKY 3/13 - AVOID THE VOID 3/22 - BRIEF LIVES 3/27 LOUNGE - SLUMS OF UTOPIA 3/31 - TANTRIC 4/2 LOUNGE - SAVIOURS 4/9 - GRIND (ALICE IN CHAINS TRIBUTE) 4/13 - MUSHROOMHEAD 4/16 LOUNGE - PEELANDER-Z 5/3 LOUNGE - MADROST 5/12 - CARTEL 5/13 LOUNGE - GRAYSON ERHARD 5/14 LOUNGE - EVE TO ADAM 5/16 LOUNGE - LORIN WALKER MADSEN & THE HUSTLERS 6/13 - DR. KNOW UP & COMING 2/20 - SUICIDE SILENCE 2/21 - REAGAN YOUTH 2/22 - IPL @ THE EL 2/22 LOUNGE - SHINE BRIGHT BABY 2/24 - ENUFF Z’NUFF 2/27 LOUNGE - BLACK PUSSY 2/28 - SUBJECT TO DOWNFALL 3/3 LOUNGE - CHEAP GIRLS 3/5 LOUNGE - NATHAN KALISH & THE LASTCALLERS 3/6 LOUNGE - MENTAL REX 3/7 EARLY - FALLUJAH 3/7 LATE - EDIE SPAGHETTI (SUPERSUCKERS) 3/7 LOUNGE - THE DREAMING 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
Admit it. We’ve all had at least a puppy-dog crush on a musician we’ve seen onstage. This Valentine’s Day, the DREAM BOATS ARTIST AUCTION will let you tell a few local musicians/cuties just how much you like them, with proceeds benefitting the North Helpline Food Bank. Ten Americana, folk, and bluegrass artists will be on the auction block as they perform sets of (what else?) love songs. The highest bidder gets a one-on-one lesson or a private concert with their chosen dreamboat. And who knows? If these “dates” go well, you could be the inspiration for a new song. High Dive, 513 N. 36th St., 632-0212, highdiveseattle.com. 8 p.m. $10. 21 and over. Whether you viewed MEGHAN TRAINOR’s “All About That Bass” as a body-positivity anthem or thought it missed the mark, the song and Trainor’s debut, Title, have been nearly inescapable since their release. Trainor’s blend of bubblegum pop, doo-wop, hip-hop, and R&B, plus Millennial-centric lyrics, helped the album knock Taylor Swift’s 1989 out of the top spot to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200—an impressive feat for anyone, especially a newcomer. And with Trainor’s second single, “Lips Are Movin,” holding its own on the charts, it looks as if Taylor may have even more competition on her hands. With Sheppard. The Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 682-1414, stgpresents.org/ neptune. 8 p.m. $25 and up. All ages. International acclaim has been a long time coming for Irish singer/songwriter HOZIER (full name: Andrew Hozier-Byrne). The singer’s breakthrough hit, “Take Me to Church,” first appeared in 2013 on his EP of the same name, but it wasn’t until almost a year later, and the release of Hozier’s self-titled debut full-length, that North American audiences caught on to his bluesy-soul mix and lyrics that deal with heavy subject matter like the hypocrisy he sees in the Catholic church. He’s making up for time lost: the songwriter just performed at the Grammys with Annie Lenox, and most dates of his current U.S. tour are sold out, including this one. With As geir. The Paramount, 911 Pine St., 682-1414, stgpresents. org/paramount. 8:30 p.m. SOLD OUT. All ages. Texas (by way of New York and Missouri) musician ISRAEL NASH might be a bit of a Luddite. He did away with modern technology when it came to tracking his latest album, Rain Plans, and instead chose to use an analog tape machine for the entire project. According to Nash, he did this so the album would sound like the 15 acres in Dripping Springs, Texas, he now calls home. Judging by Rain Plans, his third full-length, Nash’s stretch of land must be an Americana artist’s dream. There’s a dusty feel to Nash’s mid-tempo strumming that makes each lyric come across as a bit of old Western folklore. With Wild Reeds. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880, sunsettavern.com. 9 p.m. $10. 21 and over. After listening to its latest release, Never the Place, I’m fairly certain the members of dance quintet THE WEST have Red Bull flowing through their veins. Energetic doesn’t even begin to cover it. The band takes the brightness of ‘80s synth-pop and combines it with the thumping drive of Foals’ “My Number” and the funky grooves of just about any Fitz and the Tantrums cut. Call-and-response vocals from lead singer Anthony Darnell, who also handles rhythm guitar and synth, and
backing vocalist Adrienne Clark, also on synth, give off a B-52s vibe, which adds to the liveliness. FYI: Peter and the Tribe, Dacha, Intisaar Jubran, and Johndus Beckman will be playing the Back Bar tonight, too. With Ever So Android, Dead End Friend, Goodbye Heart. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-4618, thecrocodile.com. 8 p.m. $5/ back Bar, $10/showroom, $12/both rooms. All ages.
Sunday, Feb. 15
Ohio native JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD is a genre chameleon. She grew up performing in her family’s bluegrass band before taking an alt-country turn for her first two solo releases, both of which were produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. On her latest full-length, Make My Head Sing . . . , Mayfield pairs her pure voice with thick guitar riffs for a darker, grungier feel. Most recently, the singer teamed with the Avett Brothers’ Seth Avett for a forthcoming collection of Elliott Smith covers aptly titled Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith. The Crocodile. 8 p.m. $15. All ages. Every Sunday, Seamonster Lounge hosts MONSTER JAM, which invites members of different local bands to share the stage in an epic jam session. Tonight’s Monster Jam is hosted by Joe Doria, who has been composing for and playing on the Hammond Organ for years. Doria plays in McTuff, alongside Andy Coe and Tarik Abouzied, and as one-third of the Joe Doria Trio. Doria has also worked with the likes of guitarists Carlos Santana, Johnny Lang, and Orianthi, members of Critters Buggin, the Headhunters, the Screaming Trees, and Fitz and the Tantrums, and bands like Kinski and the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra—there’s no telling who might drop in. Seamonster Lounge, 2202 N. 45th St., 992-1120, sea monsterlounge.com. 10 p.m. Free. 21 and over. THE BANG ON A CAN MARATHON folks aren’t kidding about that marathon part. This six-hour show from the eclectic New York–based contemporary classicalmusic collective begins with a signature performance of Brian Eno’s Ambient 1: Music for Airports and ends with the Seattle premiere of Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians,” performed by Bang on a Can All-Stars and UC San Diego’s red fish blue fish. In between, composer Jherek Bischoff, Scrape Ensemble, and composer Jim Knapp will collaborate on a piece; viola/voice duo Eyvind Kang and Jessika Kenney and piano/percussion duo Gust Burns and Greg Campbell will perform; and much, much more. Rest up, folks. The Moore, 1932 Second Ave., 877784-4849, stgpresents.org/moore. 4 p.m. $45. All ages.
Monday, Feb. 16
Seattle-born singer/songwriter JUDY COLLINS has a knack for making a tune her own. Her 1961 debut, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, featured covers of folk classics like “Wild Mountain Thyme,” “Pretty Saro,” and “A Sailor’s Life”; and her latest, Bohemian, includes her take on “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Jimmy Webb’s “Campo de Encino,” Woody Guthrie’s “Pastures of Plenty,” and more, plus a few originals (“Wings of Angels” and “In the Twilight”). With Rachael Sage. The Neptune. 8 p.m. $45. All ages.
Tuesday, Feb. 17
There’s a simplicity to The Weatherman, the latest from Johannesburg-born, Colorado-based singer GREGORY ALAN ISAKOV, that gives the album a real sense of folk authenticity. That could be because it was recorded outside a Colorado mountain town, or because Isakov recorded The Weatherman with analog gear and mixed it on tape. His storytelling manner of singing plus minimal backing instrumentation only adds to the genuine folk vibe. It will be interesting, then, to see how that simplicity transfers to this show, as Isakov will be backed by the Wesley Schulz–conducted Seattle Symphony. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., 215-4800, seattlesymphony.org. 7:30 p.m. $20 and up. All ages. For Houston-based 10-piece THE SUFFERS, slow and soulful wins the race. The band’s latest, a four-song EP called Make Some Room, is soul-pop at its finest. Frontwoman Kam Franklin, who is backed by fantastic rhythm and horn sections, is the epitome of a powerhouse vocalist, able to belt it out one minute and sweettalk listeners with a softer lilt the next. “Do you want a sandwich?/I’ll make one for you . . . Do you want some lovin’, baby?/I’ll give that to you,” she sings on the title track. The band gets a little funkier on “Gwan,” but for the most part, the Suffers stick to sensual slow jams, especially the closing track “Giver.” With Tess Henley, Sam Russell. Sunset Tavern. 8 p.m. $8. 21 and over. BY A Z AR IA C . P O D P LE S K Y
Send events to music@seattleweekly.com. See seattleweekly.com for more listings.
food&drink
The Wild One
FoodNews BY JASON PRICE
PNW adventurer Langdon Cook talks about his upcoming book on salmon.
Local alternative craftbeverage maker Jones Soda has officially launched their Cane Sugar Fountain program, and is expanding rapidly nationwide. No longer will you be forced to drink mysteriously blended soda you choose from a digital screen; nor will you have to make your own high-fructose-corn-syrup-laden version of the “suicide,” which tastes like some sickly sweet concoction that should be consumed by My Little Ponies. Now you can be your very own soda jerk in 21st-century style while consuming a pure-canesugar alternative to those old-school colas.
BY JACOB UITTI
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nown best for his work foraging—his book The Mushroom Hunters won the 2014 Pacific Northwest Book Award and was an Amazon “Best of the Year” pick—Langdon Cook is working on a new book on the culture of wild salmon. Forthcoming from Ballantine Books next fall, it covers the commercial and tribal fishermen who hunt them, recreational anglers, chefs, backyard barbecuers, scientists, environmental activists, and more. “Like my other work,” Cook says, “it’s about the intersection of food and nature—but really, it’s about people, and I’ve enjoyed meeting a lot of different people, all of them bound by a love of salmon.” Right in the thick of his research, he took time to talk about the dangers of overfishing, how salmon contributed to our old-growth forests, the return of the legendary 100-pound king, and the best way to enjoy a meal featuring the famous fish of the Pacific Northwest.
For those wishing to indulge in chocolaty goodness without competing for a table on Valentine’s Day, head to Hot Cakes in Ballard on Saturday, Feb. 14. Any purchase of a dessert gets you a glass of wine or Valentine’s Day punch for $3, or non-alcoholic butterbeer for the kiddos. Plus, Bling Blings— Hot Cakes’ version of Ding-Dongs—will be available on Friday in limited quantities for $5.
Cook: I’m drawn to the subcultures that surround both. Fishermen and mushroom hunters are birds of a feather—they have a tendency to be cagey, to relish the “treasure hunt.” They whisper of secret spots and honey holes. Don’t trust either a fisherman or a mushroom hunter. They’re tellers of big tales. But to their credit, both are optimistic. Heard any “big fish” stories lately that you
Top: reef nets hauling in the catch. Bottom left: reef nets off Lummi Island. Bottom right: Cook releasing a wild Rogue River chinook.
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TheWeeklyDish
couldn’t corroborate?
Could you recommend one or two wildsalmon dishes?
Salmon doesn’t play well with others. You don’t see it very often as part of a composed dish, the way you would with a white fish like halibut or cod. The key with salmon is not overcooking it; you want it tender and moist inside, but not raw like sushi. These days a lot of cooks are slow-cooking salmon in the oven or using sous-vide methods. If I’m grilling it, which is probably the most popular way to cook salmon at home, I’ll often give it a spice rub. With fillets that have spent a wee bit too much time in the freezer, I make a spicy Asian marinade with soy sauce, sesame oil, and hot oil that seems to wake the fish up before it hits the grill.
Bakery Noveau’s Kringler
NICOLE SPRINKLE
BY NICOLE SPRINKLE
Are you more of a smoked-salmon eater or a bagel-and-lox guy?
I happen to have a batch of Oregon chinook in my smoker right now. I love smoking salmon. Get a six-pack, make a fire, throw some wet wood on like apple or cherry or alder, and take a seat in a lawn chair, poking the coals every so often. This batch will be smoked-salmon candy. I brined it overnight in a 1:4 ratio of salt to brown sugar, and now it’s taking an applewood smoke at about 125 degrees, with a glaze of Grand Marnier, maple syrup, and brown sugar, which I’m brushing on every hour or so. That said, I love a bagel with a smear of cream cheese and some lox! What important scientific facts about salmon, or fish at large, did you learn in your research that we should know?
There’s too much to even know where to start, so here’s a little tidbit: Our beautiful old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest have literally grown on the backs of dead salmon. When salmon recolonized our region after the last Ice Age, they brought necessary ocean isotopes—like nitrogen—to a barren land. Salmon are the great
all-natural fertilizers. When you start messing with that process—building dams and so on—you’re interrupting a process that has been perfected over millennia. What is the one thing you want readers to
come away knowing about wild salmon?
Hah—good question. It’s more like what I want the reader to come away feeling. I want them to feel love for and connectedness to these totem animals. This is salmon country. Entire civilizations have formed around the salmon, dating back at least 10,000 years. We should be honoring that relationship. Are wild salmon are in danger of being overfished?
Short answer: Yes. Any wild fish you see in the fish market is in danger of being overfished.
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 50
There’s a lot of pressure on Valentine’s Day to snag a coveted spot at a romantic restaurant (with romantic prices). While we love the menus that local chefs cook up for this holiday, there’s an intimate alternative that isn’t wallet-busting and won’t cause you to spend hours stalking opentable.com: Pick a favorite bakery and bring home a decadent treat to share with the object of your affection. My recommendation, though perhaps not as beautiful as others, is Bakery Nouveau’s Kringler. Sure, it looks like a pretzel, but there’s a lot more going on than meets the eye. Beautifully flaky brioche dough pulls apart softly in your hands and releases a sweet interior of blackberry jam and almond butter. Since those elements are woven into the dough, you won’t see gobs of purple, but that fruity flavor is subtly but surely there. It’s finished with a glaze and sprinkled with almonds. Supple, sweet, and eaten with your fingers, it’s got love written all over it. E� nsprinkle@seattleweekly.com
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
Fishermen love the “big fish” story. It’s part of the mystique. There’s always the hope that a big one is lurking unseen below, ready to make a mistake. . . . Speaking of big fish, I sure would like to see the return of those legendary hundred-pound kings to the Elwha River. A lot of us are watching that grand experiment with interest. The largest dam-removal project in U.S. history is already yielding fruit as salmon begin to recolonize pristine habitat upstream of the former impoundments. It’s an exciting time to be a fan of wild salmon, and hopefully the beginning of a more enlightened approach to managing our river ecosystems. Wouldn’t it be nice to look back on the Elwha as a turning point?
Chef Mutsuko Soma is celebrating two years of success at Wallingford’s Miyabi 45th this week. You are the lucky duck here, as there will be $2 specials through Thursday, Feb. 13, including kushi katsu (on a stick), shiso miso baked oysters (dinner only), Sapporo, and house hot sake. Come in for some handmade soba and foie gras tofu while you’re at it. E
LANGDON COOK
SW: What are the similarities between foraging mushrooms and catching wild salmon?
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food&drink » FROM PAGE 49
VDay Day
That’s why we have regulations and science and all the various checks built into the system. We also need to start valuing other species besides the marquee ones like kings and sockeye. This summer could be the summer of pinks. There are a number of commercial fishermen and restaurateurs trying to bring the lowly pink, the smallest and least appreciated of our Pacific salmon, to the public’s attention. We’ll see. Cook in the wild.
from
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LANGDON COOK
RESTAURANT
Do you ever feel like you’re working upstream with all your writing?
Writing is hard. Maybe not as hard as fighting against the current for hundreds of miles and losing half your body mass in the process, but sometimes it feels like that. At the same time, I’m thankful every day that I have this opportunity to do it for a living, or sort of a living; besides the books and magazine articles, I’m also teaching wild foods and foraging classes, plus the occasional writing workshop. I’ve had a chance to travel to some magical places in the course of my work, from Alaska to California to Idaho and beyond, and meet people with great stories to tell. I feel very fortunate. What is the most beautiful place you traveled to in the research of this book?
R MENU!! HAPPY$3.00HOU SUSHI & BEER
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
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$3.99 PUPUS, SUSHI & HANDROLLS $4.00 COCKTAIL SPECIALS, SAKE & WINE $15.00 SAKE MARGARITA PITCHERS MON & TUES ALL NIGHT, WED & THURS & FRI 5-7PM LATE NIGHT: SUN-THURS 9-11:30PM HEATED DECK IS OPEN!!!
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I can’t pick one. Here’s a sampling: Cordova, Alaska. Lummi Island, Washington. Redfish Lake, Idaho. Kispiox, B.C. Why does the intersection of food and nature inspire you so? How do people come into play?
I’ve always been a nature boy, since I was little. Food came later, although my parents will tell you I always had a big, sometimes extravagant appetite. It happens that the people I enjoy being around live at this intersection of food and nature, and I discovered they had good stories to tell about the foraging and fishing life. Wild foods are charismatic and fun to write about, but ultimately it’s about the human dimension. What is it about the Pacific Northwest that drives you?
We’re a mobile society. It’s part of the American mythology to go looking for the place where you belong. I was lucky enough to find it early on when I landed, somewhat through happenstance, in Seattle in my early 20s. It took a year or two before I realized I’d found my home. E
food@seattleweekly.com
W W W. S E AT T L E W E E K LY. C O M / S I G N U P
A Bittersweet Valentine’s Day Guide for Singles Cozy up with a cup of coffee and a kitten, water-gun PDAs at Canon, and more. BY BIANCA SEWAKE
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he entire city of Seattle will be crawling with couples carrying flowers en route to some fancy dinner reservation on America’s most romantic day of the year. And then there’s you. But perk up, singles! Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a total drag. If no one else will give you gifts today, go ahead and treat yourself.
Meowtropolitan’s Cat Cafe Pop-Up
Flutter Studios, 114 Alaskan Way S. Get a peek at Seattle’s first cat cafe, Meowtropolitan, at its pop-up this weekend; its forthcoming permanent Capitol Hill location opens later this year. Book a reservation online to receive a complimentary cup of coffee and a 30-minute slot to hang out with a dozen cats— available for adoption—that are sure to warm your heart. Who needs humans anyway? seattlemeowtropolitan.com/blog Queen Anne Pool With Your Dog
1920 First Ave. W. Speaking of furry friends, show yours just how much you love them by taking them out. The Queen Anne Pool will be open to dogs on Valentine’s Day evening. Bring a toy for your pet to fetch in the water, and spend quality time while providing them with exercise. They’ll love you even more for it. seattledogspot.com Second Saturday Art Walk
Ballard, Central District, Georgetown It may be Valentine’s Day, but it’s also another art walk for these neighborhoods. Only this time, you may score some chocolate from Fran’s. Get lost among the crowd as you wander and peruse the creative work. Best part? When you’re alone, you can do everything at your own pace. ballardart walk.blogspot.com; seattleartists.com
Canon, 928 12th Ave. Welcome to your sanctuary, singles. Continuing their tradition of honoring the Valentine’s Day Massacre, Canon will not tolerate any lovey-dovey PDAs. Should any couples be brave enough to walk in holding hands, play footsie at the bar or exchange kisses, bartenders will shoot them with one of the many water guns on premise. Perk: Singles receive a discount on bitters. canonseattle.com Kitchen Surfing
Your place Want to enjoy a fancy meal too, but don’t want to be the odd one out at a restaurant? Hire your own chef! Select your menu and the chef will take care of everything—including cleanup. Just point them to the kitchen, and before long you’ll be enjoying a restaurant-quality meal in the comfort of your home. Don’t want to eat alone? Round up your other single friends and make a party of it.
kitchensurfing.com/seattle/valentinesday E food@seattleweekly.com
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rom the outside, a craft bartender is one part wizard, one part magician, and one part scholar—able to pull obscure cocktails out of the ether and combine esoteric ingredients in ways never seen, all while serving eight other guests. The reality is a bit less glamorous, though still impressive. To find out more, I spoke with Dave Kaplan, co-owner of legendary NYC bar Death + Company, who’s in Seattle this week to promote BY ZACH GEBALLE the recently published Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails (they staged a “takeover” at Rob Roy Tuesday night to showcase drinks from the book). “It’s OK for it to seem like a bit of a magic show,” Kaplan explains. “As long as every step has practice and thought behind it.” That ethos is superapparent in the book, which walks through virtually every aspect of setting up a bar, from the obvious (which spirits to stock) to the arcane (a discussion of tap-icers. Google it). The level of detail can be intimidating to even a fairly experienced home bartender, but years of rigorous testing have gone into the advice that permeates the pages. Nowhere is that certainty more needed than when confronted by one of the more vexing challenges facing modern craft bartenders: the ubiquitous and pernicious “Dealer’s Choice.” It might be popular with patrons, but it’s always a headache for whomever’s behind the stick. Guests have a hard time explaining what they want, and while it might not seem like it, just throwing random ingredients together rarely if ever results in an enjoyable experience. The way to avoid that crapshoot is to have done all the creative work well before the bar opens for the evening, and that’s the model that Death + Company follows. “Every drink that goes across our bar has been tested,” Kaplan assures me. “Or if it’s a classic cocktail, we’ve at least discussed it and figured out what our house style is.” That degree of control and precision is a hallmark of all of Kaplan’s bars. While staging pop-ups at bars in 13 cities besides Rob Roy, he’s also getting to see just how much craft-cocktail culture has spread beyond the incubators of New York and San Francisco. “Every city I’ve been to on this tour has had their own style and scene,” Kaplan says. “They’re pulling together all these different threads, from New York and L.A. and San Francisco, and mixing it with their own local influences to create something unique and exciting.” You can’t learn to bartend from a book, but Death & Co aims to be both an enjoyable read and an authoritative source for recipes, technique, and style. While personal tastes might vary a bit (they lean heavily on Rittenhouse rye, which I’ve never loved), few bar books can match its combination of verve and veracity. E
“Go for the authentic Oaxacan food, offered at a good price and soak up the fun atmosphere.” -Zagat
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DINING NEWSLETTER The inside scoop on openings, hotspots and offers. WeeklyQuarterPages_Print.pdf
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Mezcaleria Oaxaca on Capitol Hill 422 East Pine Street at Summit Avenue, Seattle 206.324.0506 Sunday–Thursday, 5 p.m.–Midnight Friday–Saturday, 5 p.m.–2 a.m. www.mezcaleriaoaxaca.com
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
Canon’s Valentine’s Day Massacre Party
Drinks With Death & Co.’s Dave Kaplan
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food&drink
Arrivederci, Baby A eulogy for Brad’s Swingside Café, which gave its all for 25 years
SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
KAIA D’ALBORA
BY ROGER DOWNEY
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Brad Inserra outside his soon-to-close Seattle institution.
F
irst time I saw Brad Inserra in the ’80s, he was behind the deli counter at DeLaurenti, pushing prosciutto. He was a classic Italian-American punk, grinning, jiving with the customers; I figured him for Louis D.’s nephew or some other scion of the family. Next time I recall seeing him, he was a budding entrepreneur, sole proprietor of the Swingside Café in Fremont. It wasn’t “Brad’s Swingside Café” yet. I didn’t know it at the time (circa early ’90s), but the little house/restaurant had been struggling along amateur-style under the Swingside name for a number of years. But after a first meal or two there, it became impossible to imagine the place under any other management. It wasn’t Seattle’s best Italian restaurant, as the sign above the door has long claimed, though it may have been the smallest: about 12 tables in two basement rooms of a modest single-family house, with a kitchen the size of a walk-in reefer and the reefer outside in back. The food sure wasn’t traditional Italian either. From the beginning, Brad’s version of Mediterranean cuisine was strongly flavored with Greek and Levantine and North African ingredients and spices. And surely no other Italian eatery centered on a shrine to Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente. What was the Swingside, then? Surely more than just a restaurant; it functioned as a hangout, a clubhouse, a sanctuary where Fremont funk found its most perfect incarnation. Not always announced ahead of time, live music performances sometimes interfered with couples expecting intimate conversation. (The addition of a backyard performance and dining area solved that problem.) As Brad’s passion for jazz, folk, and ethnic music got to be known, the Swingside became a home away from home for touring bands. Over the years, Brad welcomed musicians including Pearl Jam, Joe Henry, R.E.M., Counting Crows, and Kurt Cobain.
Inside the restaurant, the date was forever
1975-ish. A generation or so of Fremonters and their soul brethren came to regard dinner at the Swingside as part of their lifestyle. The place kept its customers’ loyalty despite its idiosyncratic
schedule (“We’ll be closed for the month of April for vacation”) and sometimes spacey service from a constantly turning-over semi-pro staff. Yet how could you find fault with an operation that so closely resembled your own ideal notion of a laid-back life? A place that sometimes opened late because the staff had been playing basketball at the neighborhood court? A place where a yuppie diner once got 86’d for complaining about the restaurant cat climbing into his lap? A place where a varying ragtag of not-quite-fans, not-quite-freeloaders clustered near the kitchen, enjoying Brad’s easily triggered tendency to comp meals and drinks for friends (and friends of friends and friends of friends of friends)? God knows that after 25 years of almost total one-man operation, Inserra deserves to retire, but I wish he was leaving the location of his own volition. A 12-table house restaurant doesn’t stand much chance in this real-estate market, even one on the unfashionable border between Fremont and Wallingford. From an outside perspective, it’s astonishing that the operation has managed to hang on this long. And at least the townhouse developer who’s taking over the site has a rep for humane design. What will I miss most about the Swingside? The feeling of membership in a community, the sense of belonging that was as potent an attraction as the food (above all the standby pasta agli’olio and the occasional tripe soup). And the wine, a lavish lineup of mostly little-known vintages. And the music. Together they created a kind of consecrated atmosphere. Nobody spends six or seven 12-hour days in a sweltering kitchen for 25 years without a masochistic streak. The need to give to others, even by catering to a basic sensual appetite, marks Brad Inserra and dedicated restaurateurs in general as secular cousins of St. Francis. They generate a spiritual charge and, sometimes, manage to share it with the rest of us. E
food@seattleweekly.com
BRAD’S SWINGSIDE CAFE 4212 Fremont Ave. N. Call 633-4057 for reservations, closing events, and concerts through March 1 (or thereabouts).
odds&ends» The First Hit: A Marijuana Machine Arrives, and the Feds Hint That Weed Is Not Evil
M
Sorry, no Doritos.
AMERICAN GREEN
to join a mandatory registry (I can see the NSA drooling now), but pay taxes on their meds. In addition to addressing these ongoing issues, this column will ponder what it means to be high. It will explore the ways people are getting high (Weed-of-the-Month Club!), making money on people getting high (Marley Natural), and using cannabis for medicinal purposes, as well as an occasional rant about how hundreds of thousands of (mostly African-) American citizens are still being arrested every year for marijuana-related offenses. In short, I hope to elevate the dialogue on the legalization movement. Let’s start with the latest on the weed watch.
• Last week the new Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, said that for certain medical conditions, marijuana may be helpful. The reason this is noteworthy is that marijuana’s therapeutic properties are news to the federal government, which still believes cannabis has zero medicinal value, listing it as a Schedule 1 narcotic along with meth and LSD. • Washington got its first pot vending machine! Located in the Seattle Caregivers medical dispensary, the ZaZZZ machine contains edibles as well as bags of weed (but no Doritos). The high-tech contraption scans not only your medical-marijuana card (the automats are not yet in recreational stores), but also your driver’s license, then cross-checks the data with the biometrics from the machine’s camera. According to ZaZZZ’s maker, American Green, they’ll soon add security that will require customers to provide fingerprints or retinal scans, and track all purchases. Intrusive databases and speedy, anonymous, machine-distributed weed? Yeah, that’s not gonna set off any pothead paranoia alarms. But what does the ZaZZZ portend? I worry that as we move from bud-tenders selling organic flowers to machines spitting out disposable vape pens, THC-infused energy drinks, and GummyBear edibles, the more this new era will look like fast food, Big Pharma, and cigarette machines of old. E higherground@seattleweekly.com
For more Higher Ground, visit highergroundtv.com.
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any of us seek an elevated state of mind. Our jobs stress us out, our relationships are challenging, world news is depressing, and we just want something to take the edge off. A glass of wine. A Valium. Or, in my case, a few hits of this funny weed called cannabis. I’m not apologizing; I’m overjoyed. Shockingly, the citizens of my fair HIGHERGROUND state voted BY MICHAEL A. STUSSER to legalize marijuana for recreational use, and, in addition to the massive tax revenue it’s generating for our political pinheads to spend wildly, it’s giving the rest of us yet another way to ease the pain—and occasionally burst out in uncontrollable laughter. The prohibition on marijuana will come to an end. That’s a fact. While Washington is ahead of the curve, nationally a majority of our citizens support legalization of both recreational (54 percent) and medicinal (78 percent) marijuana. The real question will be what side you were on when the pot leaves came tumbling down. As with civil rights, gay marriage, and gun control, there are resistant, plodding, dimwitted late adopters who will oppose legalization just as the Temperance Movement (know as “drys” in their time) did while propping up the 18th Amendment. I try and be nice to these modern teetotaling crusaders. Maybe they just need a hug. Or a push. Or a puff. Wonderful things are happening in the world of legal kush. Cartels are losing money and splitting town, domestic violence and teen drug rates are plummeting in legal states, and in places like New York that have decriminalized cannabis, arrests are down 75 percent. Best of all, as I write this, I am stoned to the bejesus on legal herb. And while it’s great that Washington got the ball rolling with Initiative 502, our weed laws have serious deficiencies. Unlike the other four jurisdictions that legalized ganja—Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia—our stupid-ass statute doesn’t allow citizens to grow their own. While you and I may not want to devote our entire basements to grow lights and stinky Mary Jane plants, if we’re going to legalize an herb, we might as well allow citizens to be poticulturists. (DIY home brews got nuthin’ on the ganja-thumbs!) Initiative 502 also did not address the medical-marijuana system that has been in place since passage of the Medical Use of Marijuana initiative in 1998. The resulting unregulated collection of dispensaries and collective gardens not only helped thousands of citizens cope with a wide variety of ailments, but opened the door to fly-by-night operators who don’t card, don’t pay taxes, and don’t look any different than the black market we’re attempting to snuff out. Hearings intended clean up this Wild Weedy West are underway in our dysfunctional state legislature, with proposals ranging from the ridiculous (Sen. Ann Rivers originally wanted to eliminate smokeable pot) to the moderate (Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Wells envisions a single tax structure, home grows for all, and allowing well-established, rule-abiding dispensaries to get licenses). It’s looking as though the medical market will be folded into the recreational system (read: screwed), and patients may not only have
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Employment General
Employment General
Multi-Media Advertising Consultant SEATTLE
D I N I NG hreast@soundpublishing.com
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 position available in Bellevue, WA: • Staff Software Engineer/ Core BSP: Proficiency in C/C++; and Device Driver Development req’d (FR-JB30-P) Mail resume w/job code to QUALCOMM, P.O. Box 919013, San Diego, CA, 92191-9013. EEO employer: including race, gender, disability & veterans status CALENDAR ASSISTANT Seattle Weekly Seattle Weekly, one of Seattle’s most respected publications and a division of Sound Publishing, Inc. has an immediate opening for a calendar assistant. This is a Part-Time position, working approximately 16 hours over 3 days per week. The calendar assistant will assist both the arts and music editors in the creation and upkeep of Seattle Weekly’s extensive events listings. He/she must be detail oriented, able to comb press releases and online calendars and manually transcribe mind-numbing information with great accuracy and gusto. A proven ability to write succinct, lively copy is a must, as is a working knowledge of most art forms and familiarity with Seattle’s arts and music scenes, from the high-art institutions to the thriving underground. Obsessive knowledge about one or two particular disciplines (Appalachian folk songs and Kabuki, say) is not required, but is definitely a plus. If you have trouble meeting deadlines, don’t apply. Applicants must have a working knowledge of Microsoft Office. The successful candidate will possess excellent communication and organizational skills and the ability to juggle several projects at once. Qualified applicants should send a resume, cover letter, and a few samples of your writing to: hreast@soundpublishing.com Be sure to note ATTN: HR/CASEA in your subject line. Sound Publishing, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) and strongly supports diversity in the workplace. Visit our website at: www.soundpublishing.com to find out more about us!
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DONT SETTLE FOR SEASONAL WORK YEAR-ROUND We are looking for motivated, independent, individuals who don’t mind talking to people. No sales involved just short conversations face to face with home owners. Work outdoors around your own schedule. Earn $500-$750 per week/ top reps make $1200+ Allowances for Cell phone, travel, medical compensation can be earned Company provides all market areas, apparel & training. Vehicle, DL, Cell phone & Internet access req. Email resume to recruiting@evergreentlc.com or apply online at www.tlc4homesnw.com
Employment Computer/Technology SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER ServiceNow Inc, provider of enterprise IT cloud services, has job opening in Kirkland, WA for Software Development Engineer (2585): Build scalable and reliable cloud computing solutions to support our Software as a Service systems. Mail resume to ServiceNow Inc 3260 Jay St, Santa Clara, CA 95054 Attn AB Global Mobility Ref 2585
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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
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • FEBRUARY 11 — 17, 2015
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, resultsdriven 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. 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 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 Driver’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 proactive part in impacting your local businesses’ 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! www.soundpublishing.com
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