This seems to be a back-to-the-future moment of confluence, when the forces of history, music and government converge into a meatloaf sandwich time machine. It is a triumph of the old gang, the long-haired grungers over the well-coiffed anchors and well-pressed suits. Concert promoter Dave Meinert (Cap Hill Block Party, One Reel, Blue Scholars, The Presidents) and his girlfriend Mandy Park (longtime waitress at the 5 Point Café) have taken over Belltown's longest-running dive bar. The announcement came from music-PR gal Kerri Harrop, who's also tied in with Neumos (and the whole Mike McConnell music-pizza-coffee organization; Caffe Vita will now supply 5 Point customers with bottomless cups of java). Meinert, whose bands perform regularly at Neumos and who also ran the old Mirabeau Room on Lower Queen Anne, was an early and enthusiastic supporter of both Dow Constantine and Mike McGinn. more ›

The Program (Dec. 18-22) will be way cooler than we initially thought, folks. Not only will some of the biggest names in NW hip-hop be on stage for your entertainment five nights in a row, but the latest news is that there are all kinds of technological tie-ins that will make this event very, very 21st-century. more ›

When we first moved here three years ago, an old restaurant called Sorry Charlie’s was still open on lower Queen Anne opposite one of our favorite bars, Mecca. Our friend Joe McGinty, who runs the Loser’s Lounge in New York City, had tipped us off that at night, Sorry Charlie’s transformed into a piano bar, and we absolutely had to see Howard Bulson, who played piano there. (Howard, who is now 71, has been playing piano in Seattle for 44 years. He’s not only an institution here, but he is legend even back in New York.) more ›

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