Can't Miss It: Thursday

OBAMA! OBAMA!: No, not that Obama. In fact this event has nothing to do with the President-Elect and everything to do with art--really bad art, to be specific. Spend your Thursday night enjoying (or eviscerating) the Official Bad Art Museum of Art (acronym: OBAMA) at Cafe Racer. Drink some booze, hear a band (called "God's Favorite Beefcake", no less), and enjoy glitter paintings of Elvis...could anything be better? We didn't think so.

Band at 8p.m. // Cafe Racer, 5828 Roosevelt Way NE // Free

IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID: Local businesses aren't going to be seeing any billion dollar stimulus package from the government, so it's up to us locals to support them. That's the idea behind Seattle City Stimulus event which begins tonight. For the next three days and nights, local businesses are offering deals to encourage customers with a free membership card [pdf] to buy local. Tonight's portion of the event is one we can certainly get behind: supporting local bars and cocktail lounges.

12/4-12/7 // Seattle City Stimulus at Businesses All Over Seattle // Depends How Much You Want to Spend!

EVERYTHING THERMALS: The lone argument that has ever convinced us about Portland's music scene kicking our ass is the existence of The Thermals. Sure, they haven't released an album since 2006, but the band will change that in 2009 and it is certain to be worth the wait. Their punk protest album, The Body, the Blood, the Machine, remains powerful and enjoyable despite years passing and literally thousands of listens. The band's live shows are frenetic insanity and worth every sweaty shovey moment. Extra incentive to go? Neither of the opening bands suck. In fact, they're both quite good.

8p.m. Doors // Chop Suey with The Shaky Hands and Champagne, Champagne // $14

OBAMA logo courtesy of Cafe Racer.
"Thermals Set List" photo courtesy of the author's personal collection.