Culture Fiend

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. 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

Coming Soon: Esperanza Spalding at the Paramount

Portland’s jazz phenom shows off her new album, Radio Music Society.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jan 30, 2012 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

Bieber’s hair can’t compare.

Sadly, some know Esperanza Spalding simply as that girl who took Justin Bieber’s Grammy for best new artist in 2011. But Bieber couldn’t even out-hair the Portland-born jazz bassist, a charismatic bandleader who’s nine inches shorter than her instrument but larger than life when she performs. Ever since her self-titled debut in 2008, the 27-year-old phenom has emerged as “the hottest pop-jazz crossover artist since Norah Jones,” to quote our sister publication Portland Monthly. She’s brainy, setting William Blake to music, and appeals across borders, switching easily from English to Spanish to Portuguese.

And she has a new album out March 20, Radio Music Society, which comes with 12 concept videos shot in New York City, Barcelona, and Portland. She’ll show off her latest work at the Paramount Theatre on April 24. Tickets ($30-$42) are on sale now at stgpresents.org.

Esperanza Spalding
April 24, 8pm, Paramount Theatre

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Tags: Paramount Theatre, Concert, Ticket Alerts

Coming in June: Hugh Laurie and the Copper Bottom Band

Dr. House is now a piano man—see him at Benaroya Hall.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jan 23, 2012 at 10:30AM 0 Comments

The Hollywood triple threat is back.

Seems there’s a new genre of music on the rise: Hollywood’s leading men play the blues. Cynics might call it “aging white men and their midlife crisis band,” but a few of these acts are legitimate. Steve Martin won the top bluegrass prize of 2011 with the Steep Canyon Rangers (but then again, we knew the Renaissance man had musical chops ever since he payed tribute to King Tut). And Woody Allen, now touring with his New Orleans Jazz Band, has been playing the clarinet since his teens. Jeff Bridges has gone Method, living out his folk hero role from Crazy Heart in real life, and Tim Robbins? Well, let’s just say he was getting over Susan Sarandon with a really talented backing band…

The latest leading man to reinvent himself is House star Hugh Laurie, who released his debut New Orleans blues album, Let Them Talk, in September. We’ve seen Dr. House at the piano every now and then, but that’s only an inkling of all the pent-up jazz riffs that have occupied Laurie’s ‘gawky English frame’ since he was little. With his backing Copper Bottom Band, he warms up with a little Thelonious Monk or Louis Armstrong; the Brit even takes us down the “Suwannee River.” And he’s not half bad (watch the clip below). The best part about actor/comedians-turned-musicians? A serious upgrade in audience banter.

Hugh Laurie and the Copper Bottom Band
June 4, Benaroya Hall, tickets ($35–$75) are on sale now.

Watch Hugh Laurie: Let Them Talk on PBS. See more from Great Performances.

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Tags: Concert, Benaroya Hall, Ticket Alerts, Celebrity Appearance

Radiohead to Play KeyArena on April 9

Tickets go on sale this Saturday.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jan 11, 2012 at 10:30AM 0 Comments

Thom Yorke and crew come to Seattle this spring.

Very interesting. First Coldplay announces an April 25 concert at KeyArena. And now Radiohead is coming on April 9 as a warmup to their mid-April headlining gig at Coachella Music Festival in California. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of ‘90s arena rock—this is good news all around. It means that KeyArena bookers, in the thick of planning a spring/summer concert season to coincide with the 50th anniversary celebration of the Seattle World’s Fair, are getting the big national acts over Tacoma Dome.

And with Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and the Rolling Stones considering a North America tour this year—in addition to the Black Keys, who already have a Portland date on the calendar (UPDATED and now a local date!) —Seattle could be in for a very big spring. Here’s hoping.

Tickets ($70) to see Radiohead at KeyArena on April 9 go on sale this Saturday at 10am at ticketmaster.com.

KeyArena shows confirmed:

Blake Shelton, Mar 9
Lady Antebellum, Mar 20
Coldplay, April 25
UPDATED The Black Keys with Arctic Monkeys, May 8, tickets on sale Jan 20 at 10am
Roger Waters: The Wall Live, May 24
Neil Diamond, July 23

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Tags: Concert, Ticket Alerts, KeyArena

Hear David Sedaris Read from His Diary at Benaroya Hall

Tickets are on sale now.

Posted by: Allie Oosta on Dec 01, 2011 at 10:30AM 0 Comments

David Sedaris, the humorist and best-selling author of Me Talk Pretty One Day, has visited Seattle annually for the last few years to read from his latest work, and we never miss it. He’s as candid on stage as he is in his essays about self-described “humiliating asshole things” he’s done (who can forget his story about being an elf at Macy’s Santaland?). It’s part book tour, part stand-up.

But when he comes to Benaroya Hall on April 29, he won’t have a new book to tout. We’re told he’ll be testing out new work and reading from (among other things) his diary. Fact: Sedaris was discovered by This American Life host Ira Glass while reading his diary at a Chicago club. This isn’t like your childhood lock-and-key journal—his autobiographical (well, semi-autobiographical) works are snarky, witty gems, tied up nicely with insightful commentary on the human condition. Even his story about buying his boyfriend a skeleton for his birthday. Or was it for Christmas?

Tickets ($38–$47) just went on sale this morning at 10am at benaroyahall.org. They typically sell out, so put this on your to-do list.

In the meantime, enjoy an old clip of Sedaris sharing one of those humiliating experiences with David Letterman.

David Sedaris returns to Benaroya Hall on April 29, 2012, at 7.

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Tags: Benaroya Hall, Ticket Alerts, Books & Talks, David Sedaris

Cyber Monday Ticket Sales

Get concert, symphony, theater, and ballet tickets for a whole lot less today.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Nov 28, 2011 at 10:15AM 0 Comments

As I plowed through my inbox this morning, I found no fewer than 32 Cyber Monday offers, for everything from DVDs (67 percent off on Amazon) to gutter cleaning and roof inspection (85 percent off on Groupon). I don’t have a house, let alone a gutter.

But these A&E ticket sales might interest Culture Fiend readers:

15 percent off the rest of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s season

40 percent off early bird passes to the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival

50–75 percent off tickets on Goldstar for area theater productions

STG’s Give Thanks sale: 50 percent off shows hosted by Seattle Theatre Group at the Paramount, Moore, and Neptune theaters

$25 orchestra seats to the following Seattle Symphony concerts:

Canadian Brass (Dec 12 & 13)
Bond and Beyond: Celebrating 50 Years of 007 (Feb 2–5)
The American Beauty Project celebrating the Grateful Dead’s Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty (Mar 6)
The Count Basie Orchestra (Mar 29–Apr 1)
The Matrix Live: Film in Concert (June 28 & 29)

Any I missed? Just add them to the comments section below.

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Tags: Ticket Alerts, Cyber Monday

’Tis the Season: 10 Holiday Events to Plan For

Concerts, caroling competitions, tree lightings, and more.

Posted by: Seattle Met Staff on Nov 23, 2011 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Start the holiday celebration at the Seattle tree lighting and parade on Nov 25.

Whether you prefer caroling competitions, tree-lighting ceremonies, A Christmas Carol, or the Nutcracker, we’ve found something for everyone this holiday season. Here are our favorites:

Tree Lighting Celebration and Holiday Parade
Seattle starts the season right with the Macy’s holiday parade in the morning followed by live entertainment, festive music, and the tree lighting in the early evening. Fireworks to follow, weather permitting. Free. Parade at 8:45am; tree lighting at 5pm. Nov 25.

Great Figgy Pudding Street Corner Caroling Competition
Wassailing gets serious in this annual (friendly) competition, as 40-plus caroling teams compete for bragging rights. All proceeds benefit the Pike Market Senior Center and Downtown Food Bank. Team registration $75. Dec 2 at 5.

The Snowman Performed by the Seattle Symphony
Watch the cartoon adaptation of Raymond Brigg’s beautifully illustrated children’s book on the big screen as the symphony plays the score live. $15–$20. Dec 3 at 11am.

Jose Gonzales Trio Performs A Charlie Brown Christmas
Strawberry Theatre Workshop convinced vocalist/guitarist Jose Gonzales and gang to perform our favorite Christmas soundtrack in its entirety, for one night at Erickson Theatre Off Broadway. Thanks, Strawshop. $15–$20, Dec 5 at 7:30.

Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant
Book-It adapts a chapter of John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany, when the child-size hero plays baby Jesus in the most disastrous Nativity play his small town’s ever seen. $22–$44. Nov 29–Dec 23.

A Christmas Carol
For 36 years, ACT’s production of the Dickens tale has been the most reliable yuletide entertainment in Seattle, especially when Marley’s ghost rises, clanking, from beneath the stage. Gets us every time. $27–$49. Nov 25–Dec 24.

Black Nativity
Though Intiman is on hiatus, its holiday show goes on. Spectrum dancers interpret Langston Hughes’s vibrant retelling of the Christmas story, while Pastor Patrinell Wright and her gospel choir raise the rafters at the Moore. $25–$55. Dec 8–24.

Brandi Carlile
The singing, songwriting pride of Ravensdale, Washington, plays a special New Year’s Eve set: just Brandi, her guitar and piano, and a midnight champagne toast for all. $124. Dec 31 at 9.

And of course, a couple Nutcrackers:

Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Nutcracker
Of all the regional Nutcrackers, this is the most storied thanks to Maurice Sendak’s elaborate sets; the touchstone is a Boeing-engineered Christmas tree that grows to twice its height in the first act. $28–$123. Nov 25–Dec 27.

Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker
Find out what sugarplum fairies do on their days off. It’s a blur of burlesque, ballet, and swing—with Waxie Moon as the Rat King—in this racy rendition of the wintertime show. $28–$45. Dec 14–Dec 24.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Culture Fiend will be back on Monday, Nov 28.

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Tags: Holiday Events, Ticket Alerts, Christmas 2011

On Sale Saturday: Fitz and the Tantrums Tickets

January just got less dreary—the LA soul band plays two nights at the Showbox.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Nov 18, 2011 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

I recently tried to request Fitz and the Tantrums’ "MoneyGrabber" at a wedding reception in Rhode Island, and the DJ blew me off. Two likely reasons why:

1. “MoneyGrabber” sounds like “MoneyGrubber,” which is the last thing a new bride wants to hear at a wedding. Exception to the rule: Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.”

2. The six-piece LA soul band isn’t as recognizable as a Gaga, Spears, or Perry—yet. Front man Michael Fitzpatrick and his crew have been packing clubs in Southern California with their dance-friendly ‘60s retro since 2008, but it wasn’t until the release of their 2010 debut album, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, that they started picking up steam. This year they were late-night regulars (Jimmy Kimmel, Conan, and Leno) and did a tour of summer festivals that would have exhausted James Brown. Hopefully by 2012, they’ll be in rotation with “Edge of Glory” and “Billie Jean” at a wedding reception near you.

Until then, see Fitz and the Tantrums at Showbox at the Market on January 20 and 21. Tickets ($20-$25) are on sale Saturday, November 19, at 10am at showboxonline.com.

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Tags: Concert, Ticket Alerts, Showbox at the Market

Prince to Play Tacoma Dome This December

It’s the last show of his Welcome to Canada tour. Huh.

Posted by: Allie Oosta on Nov 16, 2011 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Is that some purple rain showering down?

Prince, or the artist formerly known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, hasn’t played the Seattle-Tacoma area since 2004—but thanks to scheduling conflicts, that’s about to change. A concert slated for Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (uh, where?) has been canceled and Prince will now end his Welcome to Canada tour in Tacoma on December 19. Close enough, eh?

Over the past year, Prince has consistently invited superstar guests to perform—Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, and Chaka Khan among them—though no news yet about any special voices joining him in Tacoma. Either way, we still get his falsetto, a lineup of his greatest hits, and those crazy legs, as fantastic as ever. So treat yourself to a little flamboyance this season.

Tickets ($20–$199) go on sale this Saturday, November 19 at 10am at ticketmaster.com.

As a warmup, watch this video, and maybe drink a Purple Rain (and we do mean just one—that drink is no joke.)

Prince will play Tacoma Dome on Monday, December 19, at 8pm.

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Tags: Ticket Alerts, Tacoma Dome, Prince

Gauguin and Polynesia Tickets On Sale at SAM

A troublesome artist goes tropical in this winter’s biggest exhibit.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Nov 14, 2011 at 11:00AM 3 Comments

Paul Gauguin, Vahine no te Tiare (Tahitian Woman with a Flower), 1891, oil on canvas

Photo courtesy Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen/Seattle Art Museum

When painter Paul Gauguin went to Tahiti, what he found was his new muse. His work might ring a bell—bright colors, Tahitian women, the lush tropics. But what about the art that was already on his adopted island? Seattle Art Museum pairs native South Pacific pieces with the Frenchman’s best in the show Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise, opening February 9. This is gonna be a big one, folks, and tickets are on sale now.

Seattle is the only American stop for the show, which shows how Gauguin was influenced by Tahitian, Marquesan, and Maori works. The museum expects lines to be long; book now for events like In the Studio with Hotel 1000, a curator-led talk about the exhibit on February 15 (with free hors d’oeuvres!).

Gauguin was always a bit of a troublemaker, so no wonder that he supplemented his painting with wood and ceramic sculpture—"things that resist," says SAM curator Chiyo Ishikawa. “He liked materials that push back,” she says. “He wanted to be contrary to pretty much everything. He needed to have conflict.” In Tahiti, Gauguin was charged with libel, fathered children with local mistresses, and died of syphilis—sounds like he got what he was looking for.

Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise is at Seattle Art Museum February 9–April 29.

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Tags: Seattle Art Museum, Ticket Alerts, Art Events, Art Exhibits

China Forbes Rejoins Pink Martini for a Holiday Show with Seattle Symphony

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Nov 07, 2011 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

China Forbes (right) returns. And the band rejoiced.

Fans of Portland’s infectious “little orchestra,” take note: Lead singer China Forbes, who announced in June that she was taking a year off to recover from vocal cord surgery, is making her comeback earlier than expected. She’ll rejoin the 12-piece band on December 3 for a holiday concert with Seattle Symphony at the Paramount; tickets go on sale this Saturday, November 12, at 10am.

Since Forbes went on hiatus, Pink Martini has relied on jazz sirens Lucy Woodward and Portland’s Storm Large as its frontwomen, and they’ve helped deliver a strong cocktail of classical, jazz, and multilingual pop. (The band’s also been busy Occupying Portland.) For Forbes’s welcome back party, they’ll perform selections from their 2010 album of multicultural holiday covers, Joy to the World. Bonus points for anyone who can sing along to “Elohai, N’tsor.”

The album includes:

“White Christmas”
“Shchedryk (Ukrainian Bell Carol)”
“Santa Baby”
“Elohai, N’tsor”
“Little Drummer Boy”
“Congratulations (A Happy New Year Song)”
“Do You Hear What I Hear?”
“La Vergine Degli Angeli”
“We Three Kings”
“A Snowglobe Christmas”
“Ocho Kandelikas (Eight Little Candles)”
“Silent Night”
“Auld Lang Syne”

Tickets ($41.24–$121.25) will go on sale at stgpresents.org, tickets.com, the Paramount box office (877-784-4849), and the ticket kiosks at the Paramount and Moore theaters.

Pink Martini joins the Seattle Symphony (led by conductor Eric Garcia) Dec 3 at 8pm at the Paramount Theatre.

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Tags: Paramount Theatre, Ticket Alerts, Pink Martini

Plan Ahead: The Long Winters’ Only Seattle Show of 2011

It’s October 20 at the Showbox, and we hear it’s going to be “special.”

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Sep 21, 2011 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Thanks to Jess Voelker (over at Sauced) for this update: The Long Winters front man John Roderick (@johnroderick) tweeted last night that his Seattle-based indie band is playing “our only show of 2011 in Seattle at the Showbox Oct 20. It will be a special show. Get your tickets.”

Technically, the band’s been seen around town lately: playing short sets at Bumbershoot, and covering “Something in the Way” at the EMP Nevermind concert last night. But you heard the man. Tickets ($20–$23) are on sale now at showboxonline.com.

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Tags: Concert, Showbox, Ticket Alerts, Seattle Music