Culture Fiend - February 2012

Four Concerts to Catch This Weekend

Two CD release parties, one rock orchestra, and the return of G. Love and Special Sauce.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 29, 2012 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

The Lonely Forest

Despite being a bit bummed that all three nights of the Cold War Kids at Columbia City Theater have sold out, there are other ways to get a live music fix this weekend.

G. Love and Special Sauce
Mar 2, Showbox at the Market, 8pm
The bluesy hip-hop band provided the soundtrack to many lazy days—a commitment to “just sitting around strummin’ guitar/wasting time.” But on their 11th album, they drop the hop and retreat to covers of time-honored blues. $25.

Vagabond Opera CD Release Party
Mar 2, The Triple Door, 7 & 10pm
Portland’s “bohemian steampunk operatic cabaret” delivers comedy, Balkan belly dancing, and gypsy-jazz odes to Marlene Dietrich—complete with an accordion solo by a man with the slickest of ’staches. $18-$28.

Grynch: Perspective Album Release
Mar 2, Neumos, doors at 8pm
Seattle hip hop is one of the strongest scenes in the city thanks to acts like Macklemore, Blue Scholars, Shabazz Palaces, THEESatisfaction, and rising star Grynch, a 21-year-old MC whose new album of party tracks drops Friday. $10, all ages.

The Lonely Forest with Seattle Rock Orchestra
Mar 3, Neptune Theatre. Special guest: Black Whales, 9pm
The Anacortes-born indie rockers play behind 2011’s Arrows, their debut on Trans Records (the label imprint of Death Cab guitarist Chris Walla); they’re backed by the city’s only orchestra that prefers Beck to Bach. $15–$17.

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Tags: Concert, Triple Door, Neptune Theatre, Neumos, Showbox at the Market

Intiman Theatre Names New Managing Director

UW World Series’ Keri Kellerman starts March 12.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 29, 2012 at 11:45AM 0 Comments

Keri Kellerman

Beleaguered regional theater Intiman is looking for a fresh start. The overhaul started with the appointment of 28-year-old artistic director Andrew Russell last August, and progressed with a $1 million fundraising blitz to support an abbreviated 2012 season—a four-play summer festival that nods at the theater’s classical roots, but also includes new work by Dan Savage.

Now the board has announced its latest big change: Keri Kellerman will step in as managing director. She’s no stranger to the Seattle arts community; after graduating from Pacific Lutheran University with an art/art history degree (followed by a law degree from Temple), she’s gone on to work for Seattle Repertory Theatre and Pacific Northwest Ballet, and served as development director for On the Boards. As of late, she’s been director of advancement for UW World Series (which has also undergone some major changes lately, notably the appointment of new executive director Michelle Witt), and serves on the board of local dance company zoe | juniper.

Kellerman faces the daunting task of getting Intiman’s books in order. After former managing director Brian Colburn left abruptly in November 2010, reports of long-term mismanagement arose: inaccurate accounting; months of bookkeeping backlog; unauthorized transfers of endowment funds to the operating budget by the managing director; lapsed payments to unions. But when Kellerman shows up for her first day of work on March 12, the new leadership team—with all its fresh faces—will officially be in place.

“Intiman has always had a special place in my heart and I’m blown away by all the love and support that the community has shown for it,” Kellerman said in a statement. “I can’t wait to be a part of it all and help make Intiman a brilliant, fearless and riotous home for Seattle artists and the people who love them.”

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Tags: Intiman Theatre

Free Sounders Preseason Game Tonight

It’s a Leap Day miracle!

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 29, 2012 at 10:30AM 1 Comments

Sounders v. Jaguares de Chiapas

Have you heard the legend of Leap Day Williams? Once every four years in February, he comes out of the Mariana Trenches to trade children’s tears for candy and bring joy to overworked adults (thank you, 30 Rock). Which means today’s ticket deals aren’t just midweek discounts—they’re Leap Day miracles.

Seattle Sounders FC play Jaguares de Chiapas (Mexico) tonight at 7 at CenturyLink Field in their final preseason friendly match before the CONCACAF quarterfinals (March 7) and the MLS home opener (March 17). Tickets are free, but donations at the door will benefit the club’s five community partners: America Scores Seattle, Boys and Girls Clubs of King County and Bellevue, Special Olympics Washington, Washington Global Health, and Washington Youth Soccer.

Also got word of a one-day deal at ACT Theatre: Tickets to this season’s mainstage performances (excluding First Date) are on sale for $29, or about $20 less than the regular price. Call 206-292-7676 or visit acttheatre.org for the schedule.

Any other Leap Day specials we should know about? Mention them in the comments section below.

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Met Pick: Portland Dance Troupe Teeth at On the Boards

The 2011 A.W.A.R.D. Show! winners have a new multimedia piece to show off.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 28, 2012 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

Portland dance company Teeth ­dominated last year’s A.W.A.R.D. Show! competition with Home Made, an electrifying interpretation of a long-term relationship, from lust to languish. At the time, I think I called it the dance equivalent of Blue Valentine. Dancers Keely McIntyre and Noel Plemmons engaged in flashlight foreplay beneath a sheet, using a handheld camera to trace each others’ naked bodies while projecting close-ups of elbows, feet, and chins onto a screen behind them. A foot caressed a head; it was… sweet.

Ever since choreographer Angelle Hebert and sound designer Phillip Kraft teamed up 11 years ago, Teeth has explored the boundaries of contemporary dance. This isn’t just about movement—it’s finely crafted theater, with an appreciation for dark comedy, improvisation, and creative multimedia. The group returns to On the Boards this weekend with the local premiere of Make/Believe, a new piece about obsession and anxiety featuring Plemmons, Philip Elson, and Seattle’s Molly Sides and Shannon Stewart draped in microphone cords—a sort-of modern Marley’s ghost bound by chains.

On March 3, Hebert and Kraft will co-teach a master class at Velocity Dance, covering material from Make/Believe, as well as dance technique, improv, and composition. All levels welcome.

Make/Believe
Mar 1–3 at 8, On the Boards, $20

Teeth: Master Class
Mar 3, noon–1:45, Velocity Dance Center, $15 ($7 with ticket stub)

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Tags: Velocity Dance, On the Boards

Nirvana Auction to Benefit Susie Tennant

Sale of rock paraphernalia supports the family of a beloved Seattle music veteran.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 27, 2012 at 12:00PM 0 Comments

Auction item: two framed archival photos of Kurt Cobain.

As Seattle Weekly reported late last week, there’s a great collection of rock memorabilia being auctioned on eBay right now to support local music industry veteran Susie Tennant, who’s been battling ovarian cancer since last spring. Susie started out as a rep for Geffen Records in the ‘90s and was Nirvana’s onetime publicist, but she’s long been a champion of local music (and a friend to many). Family and friends organized a Nevermind benefit concert at EMP on her behalf in September, and they’re rallying again now.

Spread the word: Auction items include framed Nirvana photos by Charles Peterson, archival Pearl Jam images, Soundgarden screenprint tour posters, signed Ozzy Osbourne and Strokes posters, and Sasquatch! tickets.

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Tags: Benefit, Nirvana, Seattle Music

Decemberists Side Project Black Prairie Is Playing Wintergrass

The bluegrass band will play two sets, tonight only.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 24, 2012 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

Blinded by the bluegrass Black Prairie

As we mentioned yesterday, the annual Wintergrass bluegrass festival is one of our top picks for this weekend —and the four-day banjo binge just got more interesting. String band Black Prairie, which includes three-fifths of the Decemberists, is playing a double header tonight at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue: a happy hour concert at 5:45, and the last show of the night at 11:10. Tickets are available at the door, and according to Wintergrass’s Facebook page, there were still plenty of Friday passes available as of this morning.

Black Prairie spun off from the Portland folk-rock band in early 2007, when guitarist Chris Funk decided he wanted to spend more time with his square-necked dobro guitar. (Why does this sound like a sketch in Portlandia?) Funk, bassist Nate Query, and accordionist Jenny Conlee teamed up with Portland musicians Annalisa Tornfelt (violin) and Jon Neufeld (guitar), and released their debut album of mostly instrumental bluegrass, Feast of the Hunter’s Moon, in 2010. They’re planning to cut a new record in April, and will debut a few new songs tonight.

Before you go: Know that the 520 bridge will be closed Friday, February 24, 11pm through Monday, February 27, 5am.

Wintergrass Bluegrass Festival
Feb 23–26, Hyatt Regency, Bellevue, $35–$140

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Tags: Bellevue, Concert, Bluegrass, Wintergrass

Easy Street’s Founder Reviews Theaster Gates’s Record Store as Exhibit

His appraisal? “For everything? About $200.”

Posted by: Seth Sommerfeld on Feb 24, 2012 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Theaster Gates, a selection from the “Dr. Wax Archive” at Dorchester Projects, Chicago, 2009.

Matt Vaughan’s first instinct is to get his hands on those records. The Easy Street Records founder makes a beeline for the shelf of worn LPs lining the wall of The Listening Room, a new exhibit by Chicago artist Theaster Gates that opened in December at Seattle Art Museum, and starts flipping through the collection. Sly and the Family Stone. Stevie Wonder’s Greatest Hits. Tina Turner. The collection—remnants of Chicago’s now defunct Dr. Wax record store—doubles as a history lesson on music in America, all that blues and jazz and soul from the 1960s through the ’80s. Vaughan is in search of gems when a museum guard rushes over to stop him. No touching! Though apparently people touch this exhibit all the time.

“Yeah, they should change that policy,” Vaughan says.

It certainly contradicts the vibe in this corner of the museum, where funk is pumped in through speakers. The rest of the layout is as minimalist as a shack: a few rustic chairs and a couple of wooden crates housing records (that you can actually touch) litter the floor, and old fire hoses line the walls—“civil tapestries” from Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1960s, when the fire department was asked to restrain civil rights demonstrators. “What is the relationship between music and the political?” asks Gates, a visual artist/activist, in his exhibit introduction. “Where are safe spaces and cultural spaces of Seattle?”

Despite a handslap from a museum guard, this space does feel welcoming; it encourages chatter, and in this case, a chance for a record store owner to appraise the goods. “For everything? About $200,” Vaughan says within four minutes of being in the room. “A lot of these are represses or were budget releases when they came out.”

Then there’s the artistic value in these vinyl relics that goes beyond any sticker price. “This 12-by-12-inch square is almost like a 12-by-12 canvas,” he says. “You’re not going to see someone painting on a 5-by-5 frame, like a CD, very often. It’s clear what the cover art is saying to you at this size, but if it was shrunk down it really wouldn’t hold the same way or speak to you the same way.”

To make his point, Vaughan rummages through the crates and picks out a copy of Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions, which features a sepia-toned painting of Wonder against a mountain backdrop. “Here’s a perfect example of a great album art. As an album, it’s telling you to come inside.” He opens the album gatefold. “It’s got the lyrics readily available; it’s right there. It’s not like you’re opening up liner notes or having to get on the Internet to pull up lyrics. It’s all one piece. It’s all one gift.”

With The Listening Room, Gates wants the viewer to explore the social and political history that can be found in a dead record shop. And while Vaughn thinks Seattle might be the wrong city to host such an exhibit because of its abundance of thriving record stores, the exhibit’s irony isn’t lost on him.

“It’s funny because people often say record stores are turning into museums, and here you’ve brought the record store into the museum. I hope Easy Street doesn’t wind up here one day.”

Theaster Gates: The Listening Room
Thru July 1, Seattle Art Museum Downtown

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Tags: Visual Art, Seattle Art Museum, Easy Street Records

Met Picks: Noir City, Wintergrass Bluegrass Fest, SAM Remix

The top 10 things to see or do this weekend.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 23, 2012 at 03:00PM 0 Comments

SIFF screens a new 35mm print of The Great Gatsby for Noir City.

CONCERTS

Feb 23–26
Wintergrass Bluegrass Festival
Break out the banjo: Nearly 30 bluegrass, gypsy jazz, and old-timey bands descend on the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue for the annual festival. Ricky Scaggs—now in his 53rd year making music—and his band Kentucky Thunder headline Friday night. $20–$170.

Feb 24
Craig Finn of the Hold Steady
On a four-month break from his indie band, front man Finn teamed up with producer Mike McCarthy to craft a solo album of storytelling guitar rock that hints at pre-mumbles Bob Dylan. Alt-country quartet Mount Moriah opens. The Crocodile, $15.

CLASSICAL & MORE

Feb 25–Mar 10
Seattle Opera’s Orpheus and Eurydice
A distraught Orpheus, played here by strapping tenor William Burden, journeys to the underworld to rescue his bride in Gluck’s classical drama, first seen in Paris in 1774 and last seen in Seattle in 1988. McCaw Hall, $25–$203.

FILM

Feb 24–Mar 1
Noir City 2012
Gangsters. Femmes fatales. Backstabbing and plunging necklines. It’s the return of SIFF’s annual film noir binge hosted by the “czar of noir” Eddie Muller. Each double feature boasts a new 35mm print—including 1949’s The Great Gatsby —or a rarely seen mid-century American noir. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, $11–$12 double features; series pass $60.

THEATER

Feb 23–Mar 11
Pygmalion
Seattle Shakespeare Company takes its first crack at a George Bernard Shaw work—his much beloved, oft adapted story of Professor Henry Higgins and Cockney flower seller Eliza Doolittle. The show is in previews tonight, with an official opening Friday night. Intiman Playhouse, $22–$48.

Feb 24–Mar 18
Red
Theater and art collide at Seattle Rep when John Logan’s Tony-winning drama opens. Denis Arndt stars as abstract impressionist Mark Rothko, stuck in the midst of his 1958 mural commission for the Four Seasons’ new restaurant; rising Seattle actor Connor Toms costars as Rothko’s young protégé, Ken. In previews, opens February 29. Seattle Repertory Theatre, $12–$64.

FAMILY

Thru Feb 27
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
The Broadway musical takes its dancing candlesticks and teapots on the road; even if you’ve outgrown Belle and her hirsute suitor, the Alan Menken score keeps things lively. Paramount Theatre, $25–$95.

Feb 23–Mar 18
A Single Shard
In this adaptation of the Newbery Medal–winning novel set in 12th-century Korea, a 12-year-old orphan named Tree Ear tries to prove his worth to master potter Min, whom he greatly admires, by delivering Min’s fragile work to the emperor. For ages eight and older. Seattle Children’s Theatre, $29–$26.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Feb 24
SAM Remix
Seattle Art Museum’s late-night art party returns with longer hours and a blockbuster Gauguin exhibit to check out. First 50 wearing yellow get in free. Note: This event is sold out, but you have until 5 today (Feb 23) to enter to win two tickets. Seattle Art Museum Downtown, $12–$25.

Feb 26
84th Annual Academy Awards
It’s been an eventful Oscar season—and the awards show hasn’t even aired yet (remember Oscargate?). Now safe bet Billy Crystal is hosting for the ninth time, and The Artist is all but assured trophies with 10 nods, including best picture. Spice up the evening at any of these Seattle area Oscar-viewing parties. Oscars start at 7e/4p, ABC.

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Tags: Met Picks, Weekend

Hunger Games Cast Coming to University Village

Said the Kaiser Chiefs: “I predict a riot.”

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 23, 2012 at 11:45AM 10 Comments

Jennifer Lawrence, armed with every girl’s favorite accessory, is Katniss in The Hunger Games.

America’s moving on from boy wizards and hipster vampires to darker fare. In The Hunger Games—Suzanne Collins’s book trilogy newly anointed the Next Big Film Series—teenagers fight to the death in a postapocalyptic version of Survivor. And stuck snugly in the center of the bloodbath is a love triangle. (Naturally.) Ever since the first book came out in 2008, fans of all ages— we’re looking at you, Tina Fey —have been predicting whether bow-slinging heroine Katniss Everdeen will end up with the hunter (best friend Gale Hawthorne) or the gatherer (breadmaker and Games competition Peeta Mellark). And if any of that really matters when you’re trying to dodge a swarm of mutant hornets.

But now we have faces to put to the names: Jennifer Lawrence, who played a strangely similar role in Winter’s Bone, stars as Katniss; Liam Hemsworth (aka brother of Tron Thor star Chris Hemsworth) will play Gale; and Josh Hutcherson of The Kids Are All Right steps in as Peeta. And all three are coming to Seattle on March 10 as part of their nationwide mall tour leading up to the film’s release on March 23.

Though a horde of screaming teenagers sounds like a Hunger Games obstacle in itself, here are the event details:

Hunger Games Mall Tour
Saturday, March 10, University Village, free
Q&A starts at 3:30 in parking lot in front of Microsoft Store

Let the games begin.

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Tags: Film, University Village, Celebrity Appearance, Hunger Games

Oscar Viewing Parties in Seattle

Where to watch the awards with fellow cinephiles—red carpet and limo ride optional.

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Feb 23, 2012 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Bring on the Clooney lookalikes.

Three Dollar Bill Cinema and Gay City Health Project’s 7th Annual Academy Awards Party
Feb 26, 5–10, Seattle Cinerama, Downtown

There’s a red carpet in Cinerama, but the big draw here is watching the awards on the theater’s insanely big screen while nibbling hors d’oeuvres you didn’t have to make. Plus: They’re raffling off a trip to Cabo. VIP guests get early entry, champagne, and reserved seating. Hosted by and in support of Three Dollar Bill Cinema and the Gay City Health Project. $30–$65.

TheFilmSchool’s Oscar Night Celebration
Feb 26, 4–10, The Triple Door, Downtown

The Triple Door makes for a smart venue: There isn’t a bad view in the tiered dinner-theater, and they serve up Wild Ginger (mmm, satay). The event doubles as a FilmSchool auction and fundraiser, with proceeds supporting low-income students and fledgling filmmakers; dress is “Hollywood chic.” $150, RSVP first come, first served.

Moe Bar Oscar Party (and Uber Giveaway)
Feb 26, 4-10, Moe Bar, Capitol Hill

New driving service Uber is dedicated to keeping things classy. Instead of just arriving at Moe Bar like some…pedestrian, enter to win a round trip in one of Uber’s luxury sedans, a bottle of champagne, and a seat in the least sticky booth in the bar. To win: Follow @MoeBarSeattle and @uber_sea on Twitter and tweet “I want to win the VIP Oscar treatment this Sunday at @MoeBarSeattle & get there in an @uber_sea. #UbertoMoeBar.” A winner will be picked at random Friday at 6.

Evening with the Stars
Feb 26, 4–10, Hotel 1000, Downtown

Hotel 1000’s swanky bash includes Ciroc cocktails, heavy appetizers by Boka Kitchen + Bar, live entertainment, and, of course, the swag. Prizes go to the best dressed and best celebrity lookalike, which we hope means a variety of Gary Oldman lookalikes. This party could use a dose of Sid Vicious. Proceeds support Reel Grrls. $75–$145.

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Tags: Party, Party, Oscars 2012

Win Tickets to SAM’s Sold-Out Remix Party on February 24

Because there’s no better way to kick off Lent.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 22, 2012 at 12:00PM 3 Comments

“All the joys—animal and human—of a free life are mine.” —Paul Gauguin

Seattle Art Museum’s late-night art party Remix returns this Friday with longer hours—7:30 to 12:30—and a blockbuster exhibit to check out. To gear up for the event, SAM will stay open until 9 all week and is offering $3 off Gauguin tickets between 5 and 9. Sounds like a good time…for all those ambitious planners who already bought their tickets. Remix is sold out, but we have a pair of passes to give away.

These fine tickets get you:

—Entry into the new Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise exhibit.
—A traditional Polynesian welcome (“Marquesan haka”) at 8.
— DJ Supreme La Rock spinning hip hop, soul, and world tunes, and DJ Riz spinning in The Listening Room.
—Traditional Tahitian dance and drumming performance by Te Fare O Tamatoa at 8, 8:30, 10:15, and 10:30.
—“Highly opinionated tours” of the galleries by SAM curators Pam McClusky and Chiyo Ishikawa, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, artist Allyce Wood, the Rat City Rollergirls, and more.
—Work on a cut paper paradise with artist Celeste Cooning.
—The usual assortment of beer, wine, and cocktails (cash bar); Taste restaurant will also be open late.

To enter to win, email SeattleMetTix@gmail.com with “Remix” as the subject, and a reason why you want to go, by Thursday, February 23, at 5. The winner will be notified by email shortly after the deadline.

SAM Remix
Feb 24, Seattle Art Museum Downtown, 7:30–12:30
First 50 people wearing yellow get in free.

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Tags: Visual Art, Seattle Art Museum, SAM Remix, Party

Art Wolfe Gallery Is Leaving SoDo—and Everything’s Half Off

Yes, everything: prints, books, posters, DVDs, even the furniture.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 22, 2012 at 10:00AM 1 Comments

Image courtesy asmp.org.

What are you looking at? Art Wolfe’s Mongolia

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Image courtesy asmp.org.

What are you looking at? Art Wolfe’s Mongolia

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Image courtesy Art Wolfe Gallery.

Globe-trekking Seattle photographer Art Wolfe —the man who captures the spirit of tribal villages and convinces cheetahs to look at the camera—won’t be selling his wares in SoDo for much longer. The gallery at 1944 First Avenue S will shut at the end of February and move up the block to the Florentine (520 First Ave S), with a grand opening slated for this spring. Which means this is the last week to snag a Wolfe print, DVD, book—or, you know, a file cabinet or IKEA desk—for 50 percent off. The moving sale ends February 26; email info@artwolfe.com for a lightbox of images on sale.

Wolfe also recently coauthored the book Dogs Make Us Human: A Global Family Album. Read about it in our 2011 Fall Arts Preview.

Art Wolfe Gallery Moving Sale
Thru Feb 26, 1944 First Ave S, 206-332-0993
Mon–Fri 9–5; Sat 10–4; Sun 11–4

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Tags: Visual Art, SoDo, Gallery Sale

Tonight’s Beauty and the Beast Performance Postponed

Bad weather at Stevens Pass = no sets in Seattle.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 21, 2012 at 03:55PM 0 Comments

Just got word that tonight’s opening of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at the Paramount Theatre has been postponed due to bad weather out by Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass. Turns out the trucks carrying the sets and equipment couldn’t get through, according to a representative for Seattle Theatre Group. Tonight’s show has been rescheduled for Monday, February 27, at 7:30, and tickets will be honored then for the same seats. If you can’t attend next Monday’s performance, you can request a refund at the point of purchase.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
Feb 21–27, Paramount Theatre, Seattle

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Slideshow: Susie J. Lee Makes it Rain at the Frye

The Seattle artist and Taiwanese sculptor Li Chen have their U.S. museum debuts.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 21, 2012 at 03:30PM 1 Comments

Susie J. Lee, Still Lives: Exposure, 2010, HD video portrait in framed, matted LED monitor. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrimore Project. Photo: Ryan K. Adams.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Susie J. Lee, Still Lives: Exposure, 2010, HD video portrait in framed, matted LED monitor. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrimore Project. Photo: Ryan K. Adams.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Li Chen, Earth Piercing Fire, 2008, cay, rope, wood structure. 35 7/16 × 33 11/16 × 51 3/16 in. Courtesy of the artist.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Li Chen, Visual Perception, 2008. Clay, rope, wood structure. 19 11/16 × 18 7/8 × 48 in. Courtesy of the artist.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Li Chen, Eternity, 2012, wood, clay, and sand. Dimensions variable.Collection of the artist.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Li Chen, Sky Breaking Gale, 2008, clay, rope, wood structure. 33 7/8 × 33 1/16 × 50 3/8 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Two new exhibits just opened at the Frye, each with its own blockbuster element: a 12-foot-high wooden god, an indoor rain shower. But it’s the quieter pieces that leave the greatest impression. At first glance, Susie J. Lee’s Still Lives: Exposure looks to be a simple, striking photo portrait of an elderly woman napping. All that’s visible of “Annie” are the wisps of hair atop her head; she slumps in a chair with her head tucked into her chest, like a bird that’s fallen asleep.

Then Annie starts to move. She takes small, silent breaths, her body rising and falling almost imperceptibly. Exposure is actually one of 13 real-time video portraits of residents of the Washington Care Center in Rainier Valley, which Lee completed as the nursing home’s artist in residence. Each film in the Still Lives series, framed and screened on an LED monitor, shows 30 unbroken minutes of the person sitting for the portrait—something akin to Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests. But while Warhol was fascinated with the fleeting nature of celebrity, Lee’s work captures the ephemerality of life itself. This is as real as it gets: no second takes, no slow motion. Life is passing in high definition. I stood in front of Annie (the lone film on display) for a few minutes, watching her sleep off the pain of dental surgery from the day before, and couldn’t help feeling moved.

“It asks for your time, and if you give it a little, it’ll give you a lot,” said curator Robin Held. The same holds true for Rain Shower, Lee’s immersive digital storm that debuted at the former Lawrimore Project space in 2007, and has been reimagined here for the Seattle artist’s first museum exhibit. Inside a darkened gallery, 512 LED bulbs flicker on the ceiling, sprinkling drops of light on the ground; the sound of bamboo tapping and drums-as-thunder complete the virtual experience. It’s a space for meditation, and ironically, a way to escape the dreariness of the nonstop winter showers outside.

In the back of the Frye is Li Chen’s Eternity and Commoner. For his first U.S. museum exhibit, the Taiwanese sculptor transitions from monumental bronze Buddhas to more fragile, figurative bodies made of clay, rope, and wood. He regards his sculptures as living bodies, keeping them alive by moistening the clay over the wooden skeletons. When the clay dries—exposing the "bones"—the life passes from the body. Through a translator, Li Chen emphasized how “very, very fragile” his pieces are, as fragile as a single breath, even the exhibit’s centerpiece: a towering 12-foot-high wooden “modern god” surrounded by its entourage. Despite the sheer size of this piece, dubbed Eternity, it’s little more a hollow figure, said Frye director Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker. “If you strip away the symbols of power and wealth, all that’s left is the skeleton.”

Li Chen: Eternity and Commoner
Thru Apr 8

Susie J. Lee: Of Breath and Rain
Thru Apr 15

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Poll: What Concerts Do You Want to See at Waterfront Park this Summer?

The City of Seattle is looking for ideas.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 17, 2012 at 11:00AM 16 Comments

This is Waterfront Park. Now imagine the Head and the Heart playing on a floating barge…

As part of the grand plan to revitalize Seattle’s central waterfront, the city is considering a summer concert or event series at Waterfront Park in 2012. That lonely pier between Miner’s Landing and Seattle Aquarium hosts a handful of free Out to Lunch concerts each year—a crowd of about 40 (happily) stood in the rain to watch Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs in July —but the new proposal is bigger, better. It involves a barge.

Waterfront Seattle tweeted a request yesterday for ideas —they’re looking at you, Seattle bands/dancers/theaters/artists. One suggestion, for a concert series, would stage shows on a floating barge parked just off the pier. The audience would hang out on said pier, possibly with a beer in hand (alcohol is permitted in certain parts of the park). So… Concerts at the Mural on Fridays, and Concerts at the Barge on Thursdays? I could get into that.

What shows would you want to see at Waterfront Park this summer?

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Tags: Waterfront, Outdoor Concert, Seattle Summer Events Guide

Met Picks: THEESatisfaction, Seattle Festival of Improv Theater, Pina (3D)

The top 10 things to see or do this weekend.

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Feb 16, 2012 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

Photo: courtesy David Belisle.

THEESatisfaction’s new album Awe Naturale is out March 27 on Sub Pop.

CONCERT

Feb 17
Damien Jurado’s Album Release Party
In many ways, Seattle’s indie folk boom started with Damien Jurado. Since the mid-’90s, he’s been turning out record after record of delicate, understated folk ballads. But his latest album, Maraqopa, is both a farewell to his singer-songwriter past and a step toward psychedelic fare and a fuller rock sound. Neptune Theatre, $15.

Feb 18
Saturday Family Concerts: THEESatisfaction
See it to believe it: Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White, one of Seattle’s top hip-hop acts, are playing a family show. Their sci-fi rhymes and space beats should have those kids bouncing around Town Hall. $5–$25.

Seattle Rock Orchestra Performs Muse
In the midst of a season that includes a tribute to the Beatles and original music inspired by Hunter S. Thompson, the 50-piece orchestra covers hits from the British rock band’s entire catalogue; expect to hear “Uprising” and “Starlight.” Moore Theatre, $18.

BOOKS & TALKS

Feb 17
Hugo Literary Series: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Is ignorance bliss? Hear new work that explores denial by poet and MacArthur fellow Heather McHugh; Portland author Lidia Yuknavitch; performance artist Chad Goller-Sojourner, star of Sitting in Circles with Rich White Girls: Memoirs of a Bulimic Black Boy; and violist Alex Guy of Led to Sea. Richard Hugo House, $25. This event is sold out.

FILM

Thru Feb 17
Pina (3D)
In this visually stunning documentary, director Wim Wenders pays tribute to the late German dance pioneer Pina Bausch with excerpts of her most elaborate pieces— The Rite of Spring performed on a stage covered in dirt. Bonus: On February 17, Wenders will attend a Cinerama screening, followed by a Q&A with Spectrum Dance’s Donald Byrd. Seattle Cinerama, $13–$30.

THEATER

Feb 15–19
10th Annual Seattle Festival of Improv Theater
Let’s break it down: 27 improv comedy troupes from around the world. Twelve shows (plus comedy workshops). Two theaters. Four days of laughs. Wing-It Productions, $15–$18; $50 festival pass.

Thru Feb 18
The Bells
Last chance to see the latest Strawshop production. In Theresa Rebeck’s drama, secrets haunt the miners and loners trying to survive Alaska’s Yukon Territory during the gold rush. Erickson Theatre Off Broadway, $15–$30.

VISUAL ART

Feb 18–Apr 8
Two solo shows open at the Frye—the final exhibits curated by Robin Held before she moves on to Reel Grrls. Check back for our writeup.
Li Chen: Eternity and Commoner
For his first U.S. museum exhibit, the Taiwanese sculptor transitions from monumental bronze Buddhas to more fragile, figurative bodies made of clay and rope. The exhibit’s centerpiece is a towering 12-foot-high wooden “god” surrounded by his entourage. Frye Art Museum, free.

Feb 18–Apr 15
Susie J. Lee: Of Breath and Rain
In Lee’s museum debut, one of Seattle’s most innovative mixed-media artists restages an immersive electronic rainstorm originally shown at the former Lawrimore Project space in 2007. Also on display: a selection from Still Lives, a series of emotional half-hour video portraits of local nursing home residents. Frye Art Museum, free.

Feb 17–Apr 7
Devouring Time
Western Bridge hosts a massive group show—one of the gallery’s last before shutting later this year—with mixed-media works by Kutlug Ataman, Walead Beshty, Raymond Boisjoly, Matt Browning, Roger Hiorns, Alex Schweder La, Amanda Ross-Ho, Matt Sheridan Smith, Kara Tanaka, Mungo Thomson, Dan Webb, Mark Wyse, and Amir Zaki. Western Bridge gallery, free.

P.S. Don’t forget that Fat Tuesday is next week, and Havana is hosting a ‘pretty epic’ Mardi Gras party. Thanks to Sauced for the heads-up.

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Tags: Met Picks, Weekend

Game On: Seattle Opera Treasure Hunt Begins

Tickets to Orpheus and Eurydice are hidden around town. Only heroes will prevail.

Posted by: Stephanie Rubesh on Feb 15, 2012 at 03:00PM 0 Comments

Orpheus journeyed to the underworld to recover Eurydice. You might have to go to Fremont.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Orpheus journeyed to the underworld to recover Eurydice. You might have to go to Fremont.

Orpheus knows a thing or two about quests. With his wife a “guest” of Hades, our Greek hero travels to the underworld—with lyre in hand, naturally—to fight the Furies and retrieve his lady love.

This past Monday, Seattle Opera launched its own hero’s quest: a four-week “treasure hunt” for tickets to SO’s upcoming production of Orpheus and Eurydice. Every Monday at 10am, now through March 5, opera staffers will stash a pair of tickets at a Seattle business and post clues to their whereabouts on the Seattle Opera blog, Facebook, and Twitter (@SeattleOpera). The Furies will be standing guard at the final location—don’t let the business casual fool you. They demand a password, provided each week with the clue. No password, no (Eury)dice. (Groan.)

The first round started with the clues “Allegedly inspired during a flight of the ‘I’m-on-a-rolla-Gay’” and “She laid down the law to Orfeo in Vienna,” and password “Green Mountain.” The winner found tickets at That’s Amore! Italian Cafe in Mt. Baker. (Eh? Amore, aka Cupid, is a character in the opera who sends Orpheus/Orfeo to the underworld.)

If, by the end of four weeks, you’re still empty handed, Seattle Opera will give away a fifth pair of tickets to the person who can solve the riddle of the passwords, strung together, and deliver the answer—musically—to the box office muses at 1020 John Street.

Game on.

Orpheus and Eurydice
Feb 25–Mar 10, Seattle Opera, McCaw Hall, $25–$203

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Tags: Art Events, Seattle Opera

A Fiendish Conversation with Damien Jurado

In our new Q&A series, we chat with local artists and performers about their craft. Up next: Seattle’s “folk-boom godfather.”

Posted by: Seth Sommerfeld on Feb 15, 2012 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

Damien Jurado moves into psychedelic territory with new album Maraqopa.

In many ways, Seattle’s indie folk boom started with Damien Jurado. Since the mid-’90s, he’s been turning out record after record of delicate, understated folk ballads. But he’s done with that sonic realm now. His latest album, Maraqopa, acts both as a farewell to his singer-songwriter past and a step toward psychedelic fare and a fuller rock sound.

We talked to Jurado as he prepares for the Maraqopa record release show on Friday at the Neptune Theatre.

Maraqopa’s opening track (“Nothing is the News”) has such a massive sound—with psychedelic guitar reminiscent of Pink Floyd—compared to your typical work. Where did it come from?
I think the new record is progression. The first song definitely makes that known. It’s sort of a signal for a new direction I’ll be taking from here on out. I think side B is my goodbye to the whole singer-songwriter genre. I’m done with it now… [I’m] never looking back.

For years I was being lumped in with so many other singer-songwriter types. I don’t even listen to that kind of music, so why in the hell am I making records like that? It’s not that those records weren’t heartfelt, it just wasn’t really who I was. There’s no telling what kind of record I’ll make next; I think it will just surprise people. I think it’s gonna surprise me.

What’s the significance behind the album title?
Maraqopa is the name of a fictional town. I had a dream where I was seeing someone else who came upon a town in the middle of nowhere; the terrain looked like anywhere between northern Arizona and Wyoming. It’s a fictitious setting.

Do you have any pre-show routines?
The only routine I really have is to find my wife, give her a kiss, take two deep breaths and I walk on stage. Anything else would just be overthinking.

Are there any up-and-coming Seattle musicians you’re taking note of?
Bryan John Appleby, who is opening up the show for me, is a great songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Pickwick is a great band I think you’re gonna hear a lot from this year. Obviously the Head and the Heart. Kaylee Cole is another really talented songwriter. Kevin Long, he writes these lyrics that I feel are just like hurled daggers being shoved into your chest.

That’s kind of what I mean when I say I’m over the whole singer-songwriter thing. In some ways I feel like I’m passing the torch. If anything, I want to set an example. It’s not money or fame, but having a chance to inspire somebody—that’s priceless.

Damien Jurado’s Album Release Show
Special guests Gold Leaves and Bryan John Appleby
Feb 17 @ 9pm, Neptune Theatre, $15

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Tags: Concert, Neptune Theatre, Seattle Music, Fiendish Conversation

Little Big Shows: Seattle Concerts that Give Back

The new concert series gives proceeds to local nonprofits.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 14, 2012 at 12:30PM 1 Comments

This is the best news we’ve heard from Starbucks since they started serving beer: The coffee giant has teamed up with KEXP and Seattle Theatre Group to hold a quarterly concert series, Little Big Shows, that brings in rising local and national acts and donates 100 percent of ticket sales to arts-related nonprofits. Thursday’s inaugural concert at the Neptune has already sold out—even we waited too long to get tickets to see Seattle soul men Pickwick and electro-soul duo Fly Moon Royalty—but we won’t miss the next show.

Brooklyn-based indie-pop band Real Estate and Sub Pop’s Poor Moon will play April 20 at the Neptune; tickets go on sale next week. We’ll update as soon as we have more details on the concerts slated for July and October.

Little Big Show: Pickwick
Feb 16, $15, Neptune Theatre. Sold out.
All proceeds benefit Arts Corps.

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Tags: Concert, Starbucks, KEXP, Guilt-Free Fun, STG

Seeing Red at Seattle Rep

Denis Arndt stars as abstract impressionist Mark Rothko in the Tony-winning drama.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 14, 2012 at 10:20AM 0 Comments

Photo: Seattle Repertory Theatre

Originally published February 2012. A shadow was cast on Seattle Rep’s 49th season when its father-protector, Bagley Wright, died of a heart attack on July 18, 2011, at the age of 87. Flags flew at half-staff across Seattle in honor of the game-changing arts patron and philanthropist, whose influence radiates from the top of the Space Needle (which he cofunded) to the depths of the modern art collection at Seattle Art Museum (which he and his wife Virginia supplied). And over at the House that Bagley Built, Seattle Rep has dedicated its current season to his memory.

But an even more fitting—if unintentional—tribute is the upcoming production of John Logan’s Red, a Tony-winning drama about abstract impressionist Mark Rothko and his young protege, Ken, in the midst of Rothko’s 1958 mural commission for the Four Seasons’ new restaurant. “I hope to paint something that will ruin the appetite of every son of a bitch who ever eats in that room,” Rothko famously said. He was both brilliant and irascible—words oft used to describe a certain Mr. Wright—and a man whose rage was the same shade of vermillion as his canvases. Rothko’s bold block paintings made people question their definition of art, and that extended debate plays out between mentor and mentee on stage.

Theater and art collide in the Bagley Wright Theatre, where Denis Arndt will star as Rothko, and rising Seattle actor Connor Toms makes his Seattle Rep main-stage debut as Ken. Though it’s exciting to see Arndt back on a local stage—stints on primetime TV have kept him busy lately—it’s Cornish alum Toms we’re keeping an eye on. Rep artistic director Jerry Manning handpicked Toms to play Ken after seeing him as Homer Wells in the grueling seven-hour stage adaptation of The Cider House Rules. Toms is both the fictional representation of the next generation of artists, and the future of Seattle theater itself. “It’s almost like when Monet took on Manet—[Manet] almost becomes the master,” Toms said of the relationship in Red. “At the end of the day, you have to shine on your own.”

Red
Feb 24–Mar 18, Seattle Repertory Theatre

For more top theater picks this season, read our Spring Arts Preview.

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Tags: Seattle Repertory Theatre, Theater, Seattle Center, Spring Arts 2012

Seattle Celebrates Same-Sex Marriage at Downtown Rally

Local choirs, actors, and politicians will be on hand for the festivities.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 13, 2012 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

Seattle Men’s Choir kicks off the party.

Calling it the “civil rights issue of their generation,” Gov. Christine Gregoire signed into law today a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state of Washington—and the Seattle Men’s and Women’s choruses feel like celebrating. The 300-plus performers will lead a round of huzzahs tonight at Plymouth Congregational Church in downtown Seattle; they’re slated to cover songs from their upcoming concerts, which means a little Beatles, a little k.d. lang, and a lot of joyful noise. Actor Nick Garrison will also perform a scene from I Am My Own Wife, which is currently on stage at Seattle Rep.

Sen. Ed Murray, an openly gay Seattle Democrat who has long advocated gay marriage in Washington, will attend the festivities, along with Seattle City Council President Sally Clark, and members of Washington United for Marriage Equality and Seattle Gay News. All are welcome.

As of today, Washington becomes the seventh state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. The law takes effect June 7, but opponents could delay it with a referendum or by putting the issue to a vote in November.

Washington Marriage Equality Rally
Feb 13, 7:30pm, Plymouth Congregational Church
Sixth and University, downtown Seattle

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Pop Culture Sunday: Did Downton Abbey Trump the Grammys?

And has anyone in Seattle heard of “Linsanity”?

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 13, 2012 at 12:40PM 0 Comments

Via Twitter: “Who the F is Bonny Bear?”

“I love Bon Iver because he makes great music but kind of looks like he’d do your taxes, too.”

If any legitimate hard news broke this weekend—say, a despot died, or Mitt Romney’s hair moved—I would have missed it. I was too busy watching Jeremy Lin highlights on ESPN…or my friends one-upping each other with Whitney Houston tributes on Facebook. It was a Linsane pop culture weekend, but did anyone care? We conducted a very scientific Seattle Met poll to find out.

Out of 14 magazine writers and editors polled…

All 14 heard that Whitney Houston had died. (Phew.)

Five knew what Linsanity was, plus .5 for an editor who knew the name Jeremy Lin, but none of the creative headlines (Lincredible!).

Four “sort of” watched the Grammys on Sunday night (quote: "Ehh")…but three out of four switched over to Downton Abbey at 9.

Half the Met people polled tuned into Downton. One editor admitted to thinking it was “Downtown” Abbey.

Two thought Grammy’s best new artist Bon Iver was being a brat for refusing to perform last night, and probably deserves this Who Is Bon Iver? Tumblr.

Two watched The Walking Dead midseason premiere.

Three Facebooked about one of the above topics this weekend.

One editor tweeted: @alleciav “Matthew Crawley looks like he’s been hitting the Sun-In a little too hard.”

What stories did you follow this weekend?

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Tags: Television, Pop Culture News, Grammys, Linsanity

Oklahoma! in Color

An interracial cast gives new meaning to the musical at 5th Avenue Theatre.

Posted by: Kathryn Robinson on Feb 10, 2012 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

Curly (Eric Ankrim) goes for broke to court Laurey (Alexandra Zorn) in Oklahoma! at 5th Avenue.

I grew up singing the songs of Oklahoma!. My dad, an old soldier, used to croon the opening lines to “People Will Say We’re in Love” not as “Don’t throw bouquets at me,” but as “Don’t throw grenades at me.” But never having seen it performed, I didn’t know the plot. I relied on 5th Avenue Theatre’s production for that.

To wit: A goofball white cowpoke, Curly, competes with the surly black farmhand, Jud, for the affections of the beautiful farmgirl, Laurey. She gives enough thumbs-up signals to Jud and enough hard-to-get nonsense to Curly to encourage them both in their romantic pursuit of her—but as the musical unfolds we learn that Curly is earnest and cheerful and hard working, and Jud is angry and increasingly menacing, with a chip on his shoulder and a disturbing interest in pictures of naked women.

Laurey is attracted to both; a dilemma her psyche attempts to work out in the famous dream ballet scene at the end of the first act. Laurey’s danced courtship with Curly is all pirouettes and rainbows. Her dream dalliance with Jud, however, is a darker thing entirely: a rape, or something close to it, thanks to the brilliantly, violently physical choreography of Spectrum Dance Theater’s Donald Byrd.

The 5th Avenue’s most significant update to the beloved 1940s musical was to make it a reflection of the racial dynamics of the Oklahoma Territory at the turn of the century. As a result, this production of Oklahoma! could make a person think it was a play about the tragedy of the black experience in America—which renders the whole giddy last scene of the show offensive and off-putting; almost part of another play.

Because—spoiler alert!—when Jud-as-black-man brings all his years of frustrated serfdom and unrequited lust to a last violent encounter with Laurey, he’s no longer just some isolated loner/loser; now he carries the African-American experience of forced servitude and presumptively threatening sexuality onto the stage. Considering Jud’s destiny in the next scene, and the trumped-up trial that follows—the plot, if Jud is black, has entered the realm of tragedy.

All of which message would be fine— great even—if it weren’t trapped in a musical where everyone gathers for a few laughs from the show’s clowns and a big showy reprise of the victory song, “Oklahoma!” at the end.

Oklahoma!
Thru Mar 4, 5th Avenue Theatre, $29–$139

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Tags: Theater, 5th Avenue Theatre

Is Pina One of the Greatest Dance Movies Ever Made?

The director dissects his Oscar-nominated documentary at Cinerama.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 10, 2012 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Pina isn’t just a dance movie in the same way The Red Shoes wasn’t about footwear. In this Oscar-nominated documentary, director Wim Wenders (Buena Vista Social Club) composes a visually stunning eulogy of German dance pioneer Pina Bausch, who died of cancer shortly after she and Wenders started preproduction on the film in 2009. Wenders, in turn, pays tribute by documenting four of Bausch’s most elaborate pieces, performed by Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch company members. In The Rite of Spring dancers crisscross a stage covered in dirt; for Vollmond they splash through a sheet of water. They also take Bausch’s choreography outdoors, spinning through meadows and in front of factories.

Now imagine all that…but in 3D. Impossibly long limbs look even longer—it’s a much better use of the technology than, say, Piranha 3D. “This is a stunning work of art, and we are proud to introduce it to our community," said Seattle Cinerama operator Greg Wood in a statement. Cinerama screens Pina (3D) for a limited run starting today; after that, it moves to SIFF Cinema at the Uptown. And the best part: On February 17 at 8pm, Wenders will attend a Cinerama screening, followed by a Q&A with Spectrum Dance’s Donald Byrd. It’s the director’s first appearance in Seattle in 15 years, and sure to be mobbed with dance and film fans alike. Tickets ($30) are on sale now.

Pina (3D)
Feb 10–16, Seattle Cinerama
Feb 17, 8pm, screening and Q&A

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Tags: Dance, Film, Seattle Cinerama, Oscars 2012

Met Picks: Gauguin at SAM, An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert

The top 10 things to see or do this weekend.

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Feb 09, 2012 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

The art of video games See Ken Taya’s Elly Robo at the Wing.

SPECIAL EVENT

Feb 11
An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert
These celebrity chefs and unlikely friends will dish about the restaurant industry in their one-night stand at the Paramount. It’s being billed as “good versus evil,” but how do they really stack up? Read our Chef Showdown to find out. Paramount Theatre, $55–$200.

THEATER

Thru Mar 4
I Am My Own Wife
Playwright Doug Wright (Quills, Grey Gardens) tells the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transvestite in East Germany who proudly cross-dresses during Nazi and Communist occupation. Who better to play Charlotte—plus 30 other characters—than Seattle’s own Hedwig, Nick Garrison. Seattle Rep, $12–$59.

Oklahoma!
Those familiar Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes are still intact (“O-k-l-a-h-o-m-a!”), but in this updated production of the 1940s musical, Jud Fry will be played by a black actor (Kyle Scatliffe), and Spectrum Dance’s Donald Byrd has infused the dance numbers with a bit of grit. 5th Avenue Theatre, $29–$139.

CLASSICAL & MORE

Feb 10 & 12
Unstrung Hero
Clarinettist Sean Osborn, who debuted at 17 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, joins the ensemble for Brahms’s brooding Clarinet Quintet and his own Beatles-inspired composition for clarinet and strings. Fri at Q Cafe, Sun at Mt Baker Community Center, free–$30.

DANCE

Feb 11 & 12
Chop Shop: Bodies of Work
Eleven of the Northwest’s modern dance masters—including Spectrum’s Donald Byrd and founding Mark Morris Dance Group member Penny Hutchinson—head to the Eastside for this fifth-annual festival of dance performances, master classes, and lectures. Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, $20–$25.

FAMILY

Feb 10–June 17
Asian American Arcade
Hit the pause button and examine the creativity of video games; this new exhibit showcases paintings and 2D imagery by seven local artists, and an installation inside a play station, naturally. Wing Luke Museum, $9–$13, opening reception Feb 9 is free.

FILM

Opens Feb 10
Oscar-Nominated Short Films
Starting this Friday, Varsity Theatre screens this year’s Oscar-nominated short films for a limited time. Get a leg up on your office Oscar pool with our handy guide. Live-action and animated shorts are separated into two feature-length events. $7–$10.

Bonus! Oscar-nominated dance documentary Pina opens at Seattle Cinerama on February 10.

PARTY

Feb 11
Girl Walk // All Day Premiere and Dance Party
Mashup king Greg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, now has a feature-length music video set to his album All Day. It makes its local debut at Neumos this weekend—dance party included. $12 advance, $15 at the door.

BENEFIT

Feb 12
Beer and Chocolate for Charity
What better than chocolate and beer to sooth a lonely heart on Valentine’s weekend? Georgetown Brewing Company promises live bluegrass music, Macrina baked goods, Theo Chocolate, and the debut of Lisa’s “The Sun Is Trying to Kill Me” Chocolate Stout, brewed with 15 pounds of cocoa. Makes a mean beer float. Proceeds support Autism Speaks. $50.

VISUAL ART

Feb 9–Apr 29
Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise
Despite the lushness of his Tahitian paintings, Paul Gauguin never found that idyllic paradise he sought in 19th-century Polynesia. Examine nearly 60 of the master’s works—and 60 by Polynesian artists—at Seattle Art Museum. (It’s the traveling exhibit’s only U.S. stop.) $18–$23.

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Tags: Met Picks, Weekend

Win a Four Pack of Tickets to Oklahoma!

5th Avenue Theatre updates the 1940s musical with an interracial cast and gritty choreography.

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Feb 09, 2012 at 01:00PM 1 Comments

Eric Ankrim stars as cowpoke Curly in Oklahoma! at 5th Avenue Theatre.

Oklahoma! officially opens tonight at 5th Avenue Theatre, and we have a four pack of tickets to give away to an upcoming performance on Thursday, February 23, at 8pm.

Dare we say it, these seats are good: row P, dead center, orchestra level (a value of about $400). It’s a close encounter with the updated Broadway musical, whose familiar Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes are still intact (“Surrey With the Fringe On Top,” anyone?), but now features Jud Fry played by a black actor (Kyle Scatliffe), and gritty, emotionally charged choreography by Spectrum Dance’s Donald Byrd.

To enter to win, email SeattleMetTix@gmail.com with “Oklahoma” as the subject, and a reason why you want to see the show, by Thursday, February 16, at 5pm. The winner will be notified by email shortly after the deadline.

Oklahoma!
Thru Mar 4, 5th Avenue Theatre, $29–$139

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Tags: Theater, 5th Avenue Theatre, Ticket Giveaways

Girl Talk Movie and Dance Party at Neumos

New York gets its groove back in this feature-length music video from Jacob Krupnick.

Posted by: Brian Colella on Feb 09, 2012 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

It’s hard not to be charmed by Girl Walk // All Day, the feature-length music video that follows Anne Marsen (“the Girl”), Dai Omiya (“the Gentleman”), and John Doyle (“the Creep”) as they dance their way through New York City with Girl Talk album All Day as a soundtrack. Hints of formal dance training shine through, but the really good moments are very informal—Omiya and Marsen get jiggy on Dance Dance Revolution, three women dressed as flowers break it down with Doyle in a cemetery, Omiya chases a thief in a high-speed parkour pursuit, and a man in his briefs pole-dances on the subway. It takes Christopher Walken’s Fat Boy Slim video and blows it out of the water.

The film is about dance as a “personal expression of ecstasy,” says director Jacob Krupnick, but also about people living in their own little worlds. “When you see the film you realize it’s unbelievable how little people care that we’re doing this in public,” he told The New York Times. It’s true. In one ironic scene, the music demands “everybody pay attention” as Omiya dances in front of a cafe, but only two people watch before returning to their menus.

Kicking off a West Coast tour, Girl Walk // All Day premieres in Seattle this Saturday at Neumos, in a film screening and dance-along with Marsen, Krupnick, and producer Youngna Park in attendance. Greg Gillis’s (Girl Talk) eclectic-but-always-kickin’ mashups ensure it’ll jump off right. After the film, the party continues with DJs Tigerbeat and Radjaw.

Girl Walk // All Day
Feb 11, 8pm, Neumos, $12 advance, $15 at the door. 21+

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Tags: Neumos, Dancy Party, Seattle Premiere

A Quick Guide to the Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts

Catch them all at once at the Varsity, along with the five live-action nominees.

Posted by: Brian Colella on Feb 09, 2012 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”

View Slideshow » Illustration:

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”

View Slideshow » Illustration:

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”

Starting this Friday, Varsity Theatre screens the (often elusive) Oscar-nominated animated shorts in a special engagement prior to the awards ceremony on February 26. In preparation, we watched them all and picked our winners.

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg
USA, 15 minutes
A fierce windstorm—the kind begging someone to cry out “Auntie Em!”—lands Morris Lessmore and his beloved collection of books in an Oz of flying, piano-playing novels. Animated by William Joyce, formerly of Pixar and Dreamworks, this whimsical short has trademark Pixar heart and wit: “Why does the weasle [sic] go ‘pop’?” Lessmore writes in his journal. “Does it matter?”
Where else? An iPad app turns the film into an active storybook (don’t test its flight capabilities, though).

“Wild Life”
Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby
Canada, 13 minutes
This beautifully handpainted short tells the story of a remittance man—a wealthy young Englishman sent to rustic Alberta in 1909 to be a rancher—with documentary-style comments from the folks who know him. Each still deserves its own frame and a wall to hang it on.
Where else? Download it—for a small fee—from the National Film Board of Canada (Canadians can watch for free).

Runners-up:

“A Morning Stroll”
Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe
UK, 7 minutes
Like one long gag, an extended “Why did the chicken cross the road?” joke, a chicken moseys down a New York sidewalk and turns heads in 1959—but can’t compete with a smartphone in 2009. It’s sharp and funny, but lacks the narrative depth of the other films.
Where else? It’s making appearances at film festivals around the world, but we don’t know when Seattle will have another chance to see it.

“Dimanche/Sunday”
Patrick Doyon
Canada, 10 minutes
First-time filmmaker Doyon tells the story of a young boy trying to entertain himself on a dreary Sunday as he is dragged to church and his grandparents’ house. Unfortunately, the film conveys his boredom a little too well with its sluggish pace. The few moments of action are, strangely, the deaths of animals—a rabbit is run over by a car, and a fish loses its head in the kitchen.
Where else? Like “Wild Life,” this one is available from the National Film Board of Canada.

“La Luna”
Enrico Casarosa
USA, 7 minutes
In Pixar’s submission, written and directed by Casarosa, a boy is taken out in a boat in the middle of the night by his father and grandfather and initiated into the family business—custodians of the moon. The underlying coming-of-age plot feels stale, which, despite a few truly clever moments, knocked it down our list; however, the film might snag a solid grip on the Academy’s heartstrings.
Where else? Attached to Pixar’s Brave, out June 22.

Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2012
Out Feb 10, Varsity Theatre

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

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Tags: Film, Varsity Theatre, Oscars 2012

City Promises $1.6 Million to Seattle Arts

Mayor McGinn announces grants for 137 local arts organizations.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 08, 2012 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

5th Avenue Theatre, now part of a historic theater district in downtown Seattle, will receive a boost in city funding this year.

Seems yesterday was a big money day for Seattle arts. First Intiman Theatre announced that it had secured enough funding to reopen this summer. Then the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs announced a $1.6 million commitment to Seattle-based arts, heritage, and cultural organizations in the coming year. Through the Civic Partners program, the city will provide grants for 137 different arts organizations—up from 130 last year—that are both established and emerging, as long as they’ve been in Seattle for at least three years.

The top grant recipients are:

Seattle Symphony / $166,950
Seattle Opera / $161,705
Pacific Northwest Ballet / $147,870
Seattle Art Museum / $135,945
Seattle Repertory Theatre / $95,400

While these top sums are down slightly from last year, smaller organizations received a boost, and in some cases, funding doubled, notably for 5th Avenue Theatre, Northwest Folklife, One Reel (which puts on Bumbershoot), Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle Theatre Group (which organizes events at the Paramount, Moore, and Neptune theaters), and SIFF.

“In the last five years, more arts organization have qualified for funding, but the dollar amount to invest has remained relatively flat,” said Lori Patrick, public relations manager of the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs. “This shift it to move to more balance and equity across the portfolio.” To make the cut, organizations are rated on several criteria—public impact, artistic excellence, and organizational strength among them—by a peer review panel. The city has the final say.

Here’s the complete list of funded organizations.

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Tags: Theater, Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs

Slideshow: Gauguin and Polynesia at Seattle Art Museum

The exhibit opens February 9—here’s a sneak peek.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Feb 08, 2012 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

All images courtesy Seattle Art Museum.

Paul Gauguin, Vahine no te Tiare (Tahitian Woman with a Flower), 1891, oil on canvas, 27 3/4 × 18 5/16 in.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

All images courtesy Seattle Art Museum.

Paul Gauguin, Vahine no te Tiare (Tahitian Woman with a Flower), 1891, oil on canvas, 27 3/4 × 18 5/16 in.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Paul Gauguin, Faaturuma (Melancholic), 1891, oil on canvas, 37 × 26 7.8 in. Courtesy Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.

Though Gauguin is famously known for his seductive portraits of Tahitian women, his early paintings featured them in conservative western dress, looking forlorn. People “can remain hours and days sitting immobile and gazing sadly at the sky,” Gauguin wrote to his wife.

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Gauguin, Te raau rahi (The Large Tree), 1891, oil on fabric, 29 1/8 × 36 9/16 in. Courtesy the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Gauguin left Tahiti’s capital and ventured 45km away to the village of Mataiea, where he sought out authentic daily life.

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Paul Gauguin, Parahi te Marae (The Sacred Mountain), 1892, oil on canvas, 26 × 35 in. Courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art.

When Gauguin didn’t find the paradise he was looking, he made it up, said Pam McClusky, curator of Art of Africa and Oceania at SAM. The yellow hillside could invoke yellow feathers, which are a sacred element in Polynesian culture.

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Moal Kavakava (Cadaverous Male Figure), Easter Island, early- to mid-19th century; wood, bone, obsidian.

This handsome fellow with obsidian eyes is similar to the artwork Gauguin saw at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1889—a collection of pieces that inspired his desire to see both the savagery and beauty of “the Promised Land.”

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Paul Gauguin, Arearea no Varua ino (Words of the Devil, or Reclining Tahitian Women) , 1894, oil on canvas, 23 5/8 × 38 9/16 in. Courtesy Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

Constantly plagued by wanderlust, Gauguin continued to paint Tahiti even when he was back in Paris from 1893–1895. It doesn’t help that he contracted syphilis and only sold nine of 47 works while he was home.

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Paul Gauguin, Three Tahitians, 1899, oil on canvas, 28 3/4 × 37 in. Courtesy National Gallery of Scotland.

Gauguin returned to Tahiti from 1895 to 1901, where he was both prolific—abandoning ethnographic portraits for lush, seductive paintings—and frustrated by syphilis, a lack of cash, and run-ins with local authorities.

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Photo: Laura Dannen. Pota (Tiki Figure), late 18th to mid-19th century, stone, Marquesas Islands.

This tiki comes from the island of Hiva Oa, where Gauguin lived at the end of his life in the early 1900s. “It was the Tahiti of former times that I loved,” he once said.

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Photo: Laura Dannen.

En route to Tahiti for the second time, Gauguin passed through New Zealand, where he became engrossed with a collection of Maori carvings at the Auckland Museum. This piece (pictured) covered in fine spirals is one of the oldest on display (ca. 1865), but was sadly turned into a collection basket (note the key hole).

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Photo: Laura Dannen.

Don’t forget to say hello to Pou (ca. 1840). This figure typically welcomes visitors to a Maori meeting house, and you’re expected to greet it when you pass by.

Originally published December 2011. Compared to the Impressionists, Paul Gauguin was something of a wild card. His painting career was preceded by stints in the merchant marines and the financial sector. Then, rather than paint flowers in rural France, he trotted off to the South Pacific.

Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise, on display from February 9 through April 29 at Seattle Art Museum downtown, traces the rich relationship between the 19th-century artist and his adopted country. The exhibit’s a near-even split: almost 60 pieces by Gauguin, 60 by Polynesians. Gauguin’s own fascination with ethnographic art started early, so some works in the show make references to Breton folk culture and date back to before his first South Pacific trip in 1891. “He was always looking for something raw and authentic…primordial and basic and real,” says SAM curator Chiyo Ishikawa.

Before he went tropical, the artist toyed with forming a kind of hippie art commune with his painting buddy, Vincent Van Gogh. But, says Ishikawa, Van Gogh’s “ethic of self denial” didn’t mesh with Gauguin, who “wanted to eat everything and take advantage of everything and impregnate everybody.” So the hedonist was off to Tahiti.

The French territory wasn’t exactly the virgin paradise he sought. Gauguin was bummed to see the “bourgeois trappings” of Western dress, says Ishikawa. “His idea of paradise as a free place of flowers, where you can pluck the fruit from the trees? That went out the window quickly.” In his portraits, young women have melancholic expressions, a stark contrast to the bright colors of the lush island.

A century later, his works may have steamrolled local style; Google “Tahitian art” and it’s mostly Gauguins and bare-breasted knockoffs. But in SAM’s show, dozens of elaborate carvings and ornamental jewelry show off the Tahitian, Marquesan, and Maori styles that inspired the troubled artist. In the tour’s only U.S. stop, the museum shows off not merely the dissatisfied Frenchman who craved authenticity, but the paradise lost that was so hard for him to find.

View the slideshow for a preview of the exhibit. Photo captions by Laura Dannen.

Gauguin and Polynesia: A Elusive Paradise
Feb 9–Apr 29, Seattle Art Museum
When the museum opens at 10am on Feb 9, the first 100 people wearing sunshine yellow get in free.

In the Studio with Hotel 1000: A Curator-Led Talk on Gauguin and Polynesia
Feb 15, 5–6:30pm, Hotel 1000

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Tags: Visual Art, Seattle Art Museum, Slideshow, Preview

Madonna to Play KeyArena in October

And tickets are already going on sale.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 07, 2012 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

Madonna previewed new single “Give Me All Your Luvin’”—featuring M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj (pictured)—during the Super Bowl.

Turns out Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime show was just a warmup for a year of stadium concerts. Madge and Live Nation announced today that she’s hitting the road on Memorial Day, touring behind her new album MDNA (due out March 26)—and she’ll be in Seattle on October 2. (UPDATED 2/13/12. A second show on October 3 has been added; tickets go on sale February 21 at 10am.) Her KeyArena show is bound to be a high point of Seattle Center’s 50th anniversary celebration of the World’s Fair, which runs April through October and already includes appearances by Radiohead, Coldplay, and the Black Keys.

But if we had to hold out for one show, it’d be the Material Girl’s. Who else will bring along an army of backup dancers dressed as gladiators? She’s still got it at 53—and she can draw a larger audience than the biggest game in American sports. According to the Nielsen ratings, more than 114 million tuned into her halftime show on Sunday night, while Manning v. Brady drew 113.3 million viewers. Madonna, 1. Football, 0.

Madonna World Tour 2012
October 2, KeyArena; tickets go on sale February 13, 10am, at ticketmaster.com

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Tags: Concert, Ticket Alerts, Seattle Center, KeyArena

Intiman Raises $1 Million—The Show Will Go On

The regional theater will reopen this summer with a four-play festival.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 07, 2012 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Photo courtesy Ali Mohamed el-Gasseir.

Back in business (From left) Directors Allison Narver, Andrew Russell, and Valerie Curtis-Newton take the reins of Intiman’s 2012 summer festival.

With the help of 1,000 investors, Tony-winning regional theater Intiman met its $1 million goal —enough to go forward with a 2012 summer festival. Intiman’s board of trustees voted unanimously last night to reopen the theater after a budget crisis crippled its 2011 season nine months ago.

“We’ve taken the last nine months to regroup, reorganize and strategize on how best to seize this opportunity, and we’re so thrilled this community has rallied to help us blaze towards the finish line,” artistic director Andrew Russell said in a statement. “We’re here because of them, no question."

With the funds in place, Intiman will relaunch under Russell with a four-play summer festival slated for July and August. The 2012 season is the group effort of the company’s new multidisciplinary collective and 12-actor repertory, featuring an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, staged within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, starring Marya Sea Kaminski with choreography by former PNB principal Olivier Wevers; a contemporary two-act play by director Valerie Curtis-Newton set inside the theater and in the courtyard; and an original show by Dan Savage.

The theater still has sizable debt, which it will pay off over time, but the $1 million pledges will go toward the festival. Subscription tickets from 2011 will be honored this year.

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Tags: Intiman Theatre, Seattle Center

Five Ways to Keep Busy on Valentine’s Day

There’s the obvious way, but we’re talking about going out on the town.

Posted by: Stephanie Rubesh on Feb 06, 2012 at 02:30PM 0 Comments

And ZinZanni said, “Let it be pink! And sparkle!”

Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday this year, and last time we checked, there’s nothing sexy about a Tuesday. But we did a little sleuthing and found five viable options for a lively celebration.

Beer and Chocolate for Charity
Feb 12, 4pm, Georgetown Brewing Co
Okay, technically this is on Sunday night, but what better than chocolate and beer to sooth a potentially disheartened soul? Georgetown Brewing Company promises live bluegrass music, Macrina baked goods, Theo Chocolate, and the debut of Lisa’s “The Sun Is Trying to Kill Me” Chocolate Stout, brewed with 15 pounds of cocoa. Makes a mean beer float. $50; proceeds support Autism Speaks.

Caliente
Feb 14, 6:30pm, Teatro ZinZanni
The go-big-or-go-home option includes a five-course meal, champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a zany cirque act with acrobats, comedians, singing wait staff, and a hula-hooping salsa duo. It’s hard not to be entertained under the spiegeltent. $126–$176.

Love Songs: A Valentine’s Day Evening at Columbia City Theater
Feb 14, 7:30pm, Columbia City Theater
Three of the city’s top vocalists—Hey Marseilles’ Matt Bishop, Tim Wilson of Ivan and Alyosha, and soul-stirring pianist Kaylee Cole—set the mood by crooning a selection of their favorite love songs. $10 advance, $15 day of.

Round 81: Valentine’s Special
Feb 14, 8pm, Fremont Abbey Arts Center
Fremont Abbey is bringing in some top-notch talent for the 81st edition of the Round, an evening of music, slam poetry, and live painting. Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger, indie-pop guitarist Alexandra Niedzialkowski of Cumulus, and painter Skye Graves will perform, and the hosts will provide tables for two (or four), chocolate, wine, Seattle beers—the works. $8; $50 reserved table for four.

Wine and Chocolate Tasting
Feb 14, 5pm, Volunteer Park Conservatory
Things will get steamy during this Valentine’s Day happy hour—literally. It’s a balmy 75 degrees inside the Volunteer Park Conservatory. Sample four vinos from Wilridge Winery and Vineyard paired with Theo Chocolates, and support the stately glasshouse during a critical fundraising period. $10.

Prefer a quiet dinner for two? Nosh Pit is keeping tabs on V-Day specials at local restaurants.

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Tags: Valentine's Day 2012

Sasquatch! 2012 Festival Lineup Announced

Beck, Bon Iver, Girl Talk, and Jack White headline the four-day festival.

Posted by: Brian Colella on Feb 03, 2012 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

Tickets go on sale next Saturday for the 2012 Sasquatch! Music Festival, returning to the Gorge May 25 to 28. Following up on last year’s record-shattering 10th anniversary festival (the first to add a fourth day) the lineup—just released yesterday—has plenty of names to draw your attention.

Beck, Bon Iver, Girl Talk, Jack White, the Roots, and Feist lead a list packed, as always, with indie rock, folk, pop, and electronic acts. Fans of local hip hop have a lot to look forward to this year, with Dyme Def, the Physics, Grynch, THEESatisfaction and Fatal Lucciauno all on board.

Comedians will be having the best week ever (eyeroll), led by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, plus a bit of crossover music/comedy action from Tenacious D, Childish Gambino (Troy from Community ), and Portlandia (Wild Flag will be there, too).

Four-day, all-inclusive festival passes ($315) go on sale February 11 at 10am PST.

In the meantime, here’s the full lineup:

Music Jack White, Beck, Bon Iver, Pretty Lights, Tenacious D, The Shins, Beirut, Girl Talk, The Roots, The Head & The Heart, Portlandia, Feist, Silversun Pickups, Metric, Explosions In The Sky, The Joy Formidable, Mogwai, Nero (DJ), M. Ward, John Reilly & Friends, Childish Gambino, St. Vincent, The Civil Wars, Jamey Johnson, Little Dragon, Tune-Yards, Wild Flag, Blind Pilot, Wolfgang Gartner, Beats Antique, Apparat, The Walkmen, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Mark Lanegan Band, Spiritualized, Blitzen Trapper, The Cave Singers, Shabazz Palaces, Fun., Grouplove, Tycho, Sbtrkt, Strfkr, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Deer Tick, Imelda May, Alabama Shakes, Dum Dum Girls, The Helio Sequence, Kurt Vile, Cloud Cult, We Are Augustines, Ben Howard, Here We Go Magic, Zola Jesus, The War On Drugs, Shearwater, Cass McCombs, Active Child, Trampled By Turtles, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Araabmuzik, Star Slinger, L.A. Riots, Com Truise, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, I Break Horses, Walk The Moon, Dry The River, Allen Stone, Pickwick, Hey Marseilles, Gary Clark Jr., Purity Ring, Electric Guest, Yellow Ostrich, Nobody Beats The Drum, Coeur De Pirate, Lord Huron, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, Beat Connection, The Sheepdogs, Hey Rosetta!, Said The Whale, Howlin Rain, Gardens & Villa, Felix Cartal, Craft Spells, Vintage Trouble, Poor Moon, Black Whales, Gold Leaves, Greylag, Awesome Tapes From Africa, THEESatisfaction, Dyme Def, Fresh Espresso, The Physics, Sol, Metal Chocolates, Grynch, Spac3man, Don’t Talk To The Cops, Scribes, Fatal Lucciauno, Fly Moon Royalty, Katie Kate Comedy Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Todd Barry, Beardyman, Rob Delaney, Pete Holmes, Howard Kremer.

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Tags: Festivals, Music Festival, Gorge Amphitheatre, Sasquatch! 2012

In Chronicle, Should We Have Sympathy for the Devil?

Today’s antihero is a teen with superpowers who ransacks Seattle.

Posted by: Matthew Halverson on Feb 03, 2012 at 09:15AM 0 Comments

Mad teenager.

It’s hard not to feel for Andrew, the angsty, hoodie-wearing, Seattle high schooler at the center of Chronicle. (More on the local angle in a minute.) Played with brittle intensity in this new found-footage sci-fi flick, he drifts through life unnoticed by everyone—except the meatheads at school who remind him daily of his place in the pecking order, and his alcoholic father who uses him nightly as a punching bag. And it’s that blatant attempt to play on the audience’s sympathies that makes the flick such a confounding mess.

Things start out promisingly enough: Andrew and two other partygoers stumble (literally) upon a glowing, subterranean crystal formation in the woods, and then discover days later that they’ve developed telekinetic powers. Watching them experiment with their newfound abilities by playfully terrorizing shoppers at a toy store is a trip, because pulling pranks is exactly what you’d expect a trio of reckless and suddenly supercharged teenagers to do. It’s even enough to distract from director Josh Trank’s failure to capitalize on the in-the-moment immediacy that found footage (done well) can offer.

But instead of mining the kids-undergoing-massive-transformation scenario to explore the pinballing emotions of young adults, Chronicle devolves into disturbing wish fulfillment for anyone who’s ever been picked on. When Andrew realizes that even his ability to fly can’t make him cool or fix his relationship with his dad, he lashes out—as only a guy capable of crushing cars with his mind can. But because Andrew’s life is so god-awful, we’re left to wonder whether Trank wants us to actually root for Andrew as he brings a city to its knees.

And about that city: The Space Needle is a constant presence in Chronicle, poking out of the background in multiple shots and even serving as the backdrop for some of Andrew’s ragey exploits. But the Emerald City is just a setting and hardly a character, raising a question about its inclusion that could also be directed at the movie itself: Why bother?

Chronicle
In theaters nationwide Feb 3

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Tags: Film Review

Met Picks: Bond and Beyond, Belgianfest, Sasquatch! Launch Party

The top 10 things to see or do this weekend.

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Feb 02, 2012 at 12:00PM 0 Comments

“I am a banana!” See more of Don Hertzfeldt’s Rejected cartoons at SIFF Cinema at the Uptown.

FILM

Feb 2
An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt
Go inside the mind of the Oscar-nominated animator whose stick-figure cartoon shorts are the stuff of cult legend, particularly the Rejected series (“I am a banana!”). He’s in house for a Q&A following the Seattle premiere of his new animated film It’s Such a Beautiful Day. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, $10–$15.

Opens Feb 3
Coriolanus
Free of Lord Voldemort makeup (but still terrifying), Ralph Fiennes makes his directorial debut in this update of the Shakespearean tragedy. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, $5–$10.

EAT & DRINK

Feb 4
Belgianfest
Dubbels. Tripels. Lambics and saisons. There are over 70 regional beers to sample at this weekend’s Belgianfest, and tickets are going fast. Bell Harbor International Conference Center, $30.

CONCERTS

Feb 2
Sasquatch! Launch Party 2012
The rumors have been flying: Lana Del Rey and Girl Talk to headline Friday night? The Shins on Saturday? The official lineup of the 2012 summer music fest at the Gorge is finally revealed tonight. Podcaster Luke Burbank hosts the kickoff party, featuring performances by Junip (with Jose Gonzalez), the Physics, and Matthew Caws of Nada Surf. Neptune Theatre, $16.

Feb 3
Gimme Shelter
We’ve seen Billy Joel Huels of swing band the Dusty 45s set his trumpet on fire. Imagine what he’ll do in a benefit to end homelessness. The Maldives, the Young Evils, Lazy Susan, and more play this fundraiser for homeless adults center DESC. Showbox at the Market, $15.

VISUAL ART

Feb 2–Mar 17
Guy Tillim: Second Nature
The South African photographer captured both the natural beauty and poverty of contemporary Polynesia during his 2010 catamaran trip from New Zealand. He shows the dual sides of paradise at the same time Seattle Art Museum features Gauguin’s lush Polynesian paintings, on display starting February 9. James Harris Gallery, free. First Thursday reception Feb 2, 6–8.

DANCE

Feb 2–4
Shen Wei Dance Arts
Shen Wei is known for choreographing the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, but his smaller-scale company performances are equally thrilling. In Limited States his dancers in flesh-toned bodysuits slink and intertwine, like tangled statues come to life; the fluid motion is punctuated by Daniel Burke’s minimalist soundscape. UW World Series, Meany Hall, $39–$42.

Feb 3–12
Don Quixote
The matador soars when Pacific Northwest Ballet premieres a new version of this classical ballet, updated by star Russian-born choreographer Alexei Ratmansky. Actor Tom Skerritt steps in as the tragicomic Don. McCaw Hall, $28–$168.

CLASSICAL & MORE

Feb 2–5
Bond and Beyond: Celebrating 50 Years of 007
For all the talk of Bond women, cars, and gadgets, it’s that theme song that’s truly iconic. Seattle Symphony samples from 50 years of Bond soundtracks. Benaroya Hall, $17–$89.

Seattle Chamber Music Society: 2012 Winter Festival
Grammy-winning violinist and SCMS artistic director James Ehnes leads the charge in this annual weekend of chamber music, performing nearly a dozen pieces by Brahms, Beethoven, and Bartók. And that’s just the Bs. Benaroya Hall, $10–$45.

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Tags: Met Picks, Weekend

Behind the Scenes of Don Quixote, the $3 Million Ballet

Pacific Northwest Ballets presents the U.S. premiere of this updated classic.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 02, 2012 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Photo: Courtesy Dutch National Ballet.

What’s your story? Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky chants this like a mantra, asking it of each dancer during a recent Pacific Northwest Ballet rehearsal for Don Quixote. In this case, principal Seth Orza is being coached on the story he’s telling with his oversized red cape—a surprisingly unwieldy prop he bears in the role of Espada, a self-satisfied toreador. He whirls it up and over his head, once, twice, three times.

“And up! And up!” Ratmansky urges. Orza looks like he’s going through a CrossFit workout. “Use more of a swing, see how it flies… You should look like you’ve been doing this your whole life!” Clap, clap, clap, clap. Ratmansky signals Orza to stop, and the dancer doubles over, panting.

“I just whipped myself,” Orza says, laughing. They’ve been doing cape work for about 20 minutes, and though spirits are still high, this speaks to the ambition of Ratmansky, the former artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet and the man behind this $3 million update of the classical Petipa and Gorsky ballet (originally created for the Dutch National Ballet). The devil’s in the details—a story to be told with every whirl of the cape and flutter of the fan.

So when PNB presents the U.S. premiere of Don Quixote this weekend, the attention isn’t solely on actor Tom Skerritt, who’ll play the tragicomic hero, or the five different principal couples, or the lavish sets and costumes by Jérôme Kaplan. It’s a package deal. This is one of the most opulent productions in PNB’s history, with 46 company members and 24 PNBS students performing, 280 costumes, 46 wigs and hairpieces, one smiling moon—and one very discerning choreographer who’s breathing new life into the classics.

Don Quixote
Feb 3–12, Pacific Northwest Ballet, McCaw Hall

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Tags: PNB, Dance, Seattle Center, McCaw Hall

Final Week: Master Class with Isaac Layman

Artist boot camp comes to an end.

Posted by: Adriana Grant on Feb 01, 2012 at 03:00PM 0 Comments

Isaac Layman, Basement, 2009.

Editor’s note: For this new four-week series, Culture Fiend’s art writer Adriana Grant has enrolled in a master class with Seattle photographer Isaac Layman at the Frye. This is her story.—LD

Our final class is in session, and it feels a bit like the white walls of the Frye’s classroom are closing in. Eleven students sit behind plastic banquet tables shoved into a U, nervously waiting for their turn to present. After a month of master class with Seattle photographer Isaac Layman—when we worked one-on-one on our artistic discipline of choice, be it photography or (in my case) poetry—it’s time to show our final product. Now he’ll really know if we spent 20 hours a week creating art (our homework).

I stayed up late the night before to finish my eight-poem chapbook, and woke early to make copies for class. No dice: I couldn’t find a copy shop open before 10am on a Saturday. I rushed home to snatch the mockup so I’d have something to show for my month of labor.

With the class seated in a small, tight circle, I read my newest poems aloud for the first time.

“I know nothing of poetry,” Isaac said, “but I like how they all seem very hard core: just that moment forever. It’s that soft thud. And it’s not fluttered; it’s not off balance either. It sits with a concern.”

Yes, that’s how he talks. Isaac offers unabashedly subjective feedback: He’ll discuss the mood a piece evokes, and whether it works for him or not. He does the same thing with his own photography. He speaks candidly of feeling “temporary,” and how his photography doesn’t document things; they’re more like self-portraits of decisions he makes. In his latest exhibit at the Frye, he examined paradise in the mundane, spending hours photographing an ice cube tray or a pile of soggy tissues. He looks at our work the same way he views his own—emotionally, and critically. I’m happy that he appreciated the seriousness within the playful language I used.

The group responded warmly to both my work and process. A teacher commiserated with my desire to do something original instead of write about other people’s work. And I’m grateful to this class for kick-starting my writing habit after months of inertia. Eight new poems is by far the most I’ve written in a single month. For me, the bigger accomplishment is taking my work seriously—sitting with it for hours at a time, even when I’m not sure where it’s heading.

“Even if you have no idea,” explained Isaac, “that second and third [step] will unpack the first step.”

As for my next steps? This class gave me permission to take several self-styled poetry retreats, and, perhaps most significantly, has prompted me to apply for an MFA in poetry this fall. After a few short weeks under Isaac’s tutelage, my future is new.

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Tags: Visual Art, Master Class , Isaac Layman