Sold-Out-a-Thon @ The Showbox

Today is Day One of the Modest Mouse Sold-Out-a-Thon (and you can interpret that title however you want) at the Showbox. For the very eager and very commited there's a potential four days of MM and openers Mason Jennings, Headphones, and The Thermals in store for you. The masses that couldn't get it together in time to purchase a ticket or a four-day pass are left to sort through the leavings at Craigslist and, no doubt, overpay.

Isaac Brock and the boys are far beyond "Local Hero" status, as evidenced by this foursome of Showbox sellouts and our claim on them is growing more tenuous by the day. That they still come home from time to time and hog the Showbox for days on end instead of just playing the Paramount like they would if they were from, say, D.C. or Chicago is about all the city can hope for. However, the question remains, are Modest Mouse able to sell so many tickets in Seattle because they're just that big and that good, or is it because so many remember identifying them as a "Seattle band" and getting down with them in the city's smaller venues back in the day? Seattlest thinks it's a weird combination of the two. It's not until our local acts are accepted across the country that we can truly embrace them ourselves, as if we need Saturday Night Live performances and MTV to validate our own tastes.

Anyway, instead of moping around outside the Showbox Tuesday through Friday, maybe you should take the opportunity to catch some bands that haven't quite made it to four-in-a-row at the Showbox. Check the threeimaginarygirls.com schedule for alternatives.