Bellingham jazz funksters, Megatron, had a few impressive solos, but for the most part, their songs were fairly simple and somewhat repetitive. But we're not here to harsh on Megatron. They did a good job warming the cold December crowd and getting everyone excited for our lady of the evening, the illustrious Ms. Sharon Jones and her acclaimed backing band, The Dap Kings. If Megatron had the crowd warmed up, The Dap Kings got them......

It's safe to assume that Sharon Jones is cooler than you. The current queen of neo-funk/soul grew up in Macon, Georgia and Brooklyn, singing in church before ending up doing session work in the '70s as the anonymous vocals on dance and disco records. Without a solo contract of her own, she left the industry and took odd jobs like corrections officer at Rikers Island and Wells Fargo armored car guard. Fate intervened in......

Seattlest has been making some semblance of a living writing about music for a few years now. During that time, we've tried to put into words performances by some truly great artists (Chris Thile comes to mind), and it never gets easier to verbalize music. Talking about music really is like dancing about architecture, although we have felt the inexplicable desire to dance inside extraordinary buildings before. Our point is that we headed off......

We recently asked friends and strangers if hosts of popular television shows “Devine Design”, “Flip This House” and “House Hunters” were real-life designers and real estate agents before network giants “discovered” them. We were starting to feel a moment of mental weakness on the subject when we, rather randomly, received a lovely note inviting us and you to see Than Merrill and Paul Esajian of A&E’s “Flip This House” during their real estate marketing tour.......

This weekend there are a lot of shows that we recommend you avoid, not that you're going to listen to Seattlest and tear up your tickets or anything, but if you previously had no idea these were happening this weekend you can pat yourself on the back for successfully avoiding any mention of them so far. First Fishbone is playing Studio 7. Stay away. Second, Jello Biafra is in town. Not there's anything wrong with......

Gem of the Ocean at Seattle Repertory Theatre Through May 6, tickets $10-$48 The lights go down, a hymn starts up, and we're back in Wilson's fabled Hill District in Pittsburgh, at the house at 1839 Wylie Avenue. It's supposed to be 1904 -- and Wilson loaded up on historical detail -- but this play is talking about things right now. It's evangelizing about the price and worth of freedom, and that, along with......

MUSIC: Carrie Clark & The Lonesome Lovers. Memphis Radio Kings headline this show, but we're here for Carrie Clark all the way. Clark's been wooing Seattle crowds with her superb voice -- both playful and brooding for over ten years now. Backed by her band, The Lonesome Lovers, things seem to be coming together beautifully for Miss Clark; her new album, Seems So Civilized, produced by Darryl Neudorf (Neko Case, Kinnie Starr, The Sadies, The......

Wednesday, January 17 >>> West Side Story at Central Cinema. When we first saw the opening sequence to West Side Story, we were convinced our English teacher was playing some kind of joke. Then the Jets vs. Sharks fight sucked us in, and since then we've known the joke was on us for ever doubting the Greatest Musical Ever Made. 7pm; $10 (plays through the 21st) Thursday, January 18 >>> Carrie Clark & The......

Wednesday, January 3 >>> The Intelligence at Chop Suey. We're still waiting for a new album from these local guys - hopefully one that's more Google-able than their 2005 Icky Baby. This show also includes Partman Parthorse and our personal faves the Pleasureboaters. 8pm; $6. 21+ Thursday, January 4 >>> Kled at the High Dive. Tonight's lineup boasts some of our favorite band names in town, including A Gun that Shoots Knives and We......

Citizen Cope is playing three times at the Showbox this weekend, and the only one that still has tickets available is Sunday. Let's look at the reasons why, shall we? #1: Alice Smith. Damn Alice Smith! It's hard to say anything else about this gal. She's got pipes on her that would make Halliburton jealous. And, keeping in the same class of metaphor, when her set was over last night, the audience crowded around her......

As unlikely as it may seem, it is the truth. Qingzhao Su of Guiyang, China dreamt about the Two Gallants and Langhorne Slim and the War Eagles show at The Crocodile yesterday. Two Gallants Plays to a Sleeping Qingzhao Although she speaks no English and had never heard of Seattle, Two Gallants, or Langhorne Slim, in her dream she knew exactly where she was and knew the lyrics to all of the songs. She could......

In the wild, salmon are carnivores; unlike, say, vegetarian cattle, they eat smaller fish on the road to our dinner plate. So here's the conundrum: should Seattlest buy a fish that's literally eating up the ocean's resources? What's the alternative? Farm-raised fish fed on an inexhaustible supply of soy pellets, a burger from a feedlot steer, an industrial chicken? These musings prompted by an op-ed in today's NYTimes by novelist Paul Greenberg. Yeah, fish......

Day one's been largely covered, so here Seattlest will just fill in some gaps, bullet-style, so we can try to catch the tail end of Dengue Fever's set. Funnel Cake - There's funnel cake to be had. 'Nuff said. Jamie Lidell - If you've seen Lidell before, you already know how engaging a performer he is. Well, he certainly didn't disappoint this time around, doing his patented show filled with improvisation, jokes, some beautiful soul......

Seattlest may have spent Saturday sweating our asses off and getting seriously sunburned, but we managed to catch some of the best of the best of what that Bumbershoot thing had to offer. The first thing we did was head over to the mainstage to check out Olympia-based supergroup Gossip (we hear they dropped the "The"). Gossip rocked so hard we forgot to take notes - we were too busy thinking "hells yeah!" Then......

Q: What's better than a night in Seattle, having some drinks, and listening to some live music? A: A night in Seattle, having some drinks, and listening to live music that doesn't blow ass. Tuesday 15th >>> The French Kicks at Neumo's. What's post post-rock? Pop, it turns out! However, few bands have been hated on more for missing their scene's success then these scenesters. 8pm, $12 Wednesday 16th >>> Seattle Secret Music Showcase......

By now it’s no secret that Seattlest is all ga-ga over local showmasters, Awesome. We’ve recommended numerous times that you, John and Jane Q.P., experience for yourselves this strange and wonderful ensemble, and well, here we are once more. As if there wasn’t enough going on this weekend, Awesome will be playing two shows. First, Saturday July 1st at the High Dive, Awesome will kick things off for another broadcast of KEXP’s live local music......

We 'Merkins are a devout lot. We remember our nation's dead in May, venerate fireworks in July, celebrate the arrival of a boatload of Yerpeen settlers in November. What we don't honor, strangely, is the first demonstration of nature's annual generosity: the salmon run. (Helpless mankind, sacrificial fish. They've taken care of us for centuries, now it's our turn to take care of them. More on this soon.) But if there's no official thanksgiving, there......

That disturbance in the water? It's Seattle's iconic wild salmon, swimming onto our plates just in time to rescue our souls from the long, dark winter. The concept of Redemption by Salmon is central to our civic religion, our Northwest Faith. We venerate the salmon: it dies for us, we eat it and are saved. In gratitude, we expend a fair measure of our riches to assure its immortality. Okay, maybe that's layering a bit......

The Sonics continued their frontcourt youth movement, signing 24-year-old forward Noel Felix from the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the CBA. They waived recently acquired Bryon Russell. 6-9, 240lb Felix was with the Sonics in training camp. He was averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds a game for the first-place Skyforce. A shotblocker, Felix made last year's CBA all-defensive team. Sonics Central and the site's many commenters are impressed. Coincidentally, by taking Sioux Falls' starting forward,......

Tonight, if you aren't going to see DJ-AM (you fool!), your best bet is Beck and Le Tigre at the Paramount. We know that Beck is a Scientologist, but at least he didn't yell at Matt Laurer (or if he did, it was in private). If you're feeling nostalgic for 1993, then Evan Dando at the Tractor is your thing. We don't know if Evan is as dreamy as he was back then, but here's......

The Seattle P-I today passes along a rumor that Seattle Prep basketball star and NBA prospect Martell Webster, who has committed to play next year for the University of Washington, signed a contract with an agent. If true, this would disqualify Webster from playing college ball. The unlikely source of the rumor? Webster's own guardian, his great aunt Beulah Walker. The agent in question, Eric Goodwin, denies the rumor. Webster, who NBAdraft.net projects as......

Ray Allen tied a team record for points in a playoff game with 45, and the Sonics overcame an early 19-point deficit to beat Sacramento last night. Allen's best shot (not pictured) came with barely a minute left. Holding the ball at the right-side three point line with the 24-second clock about to expire, Allen leapt backwards for a fallaway jumper over the Kings' seven-foot center Brad Miller. Miller anticipated the shot perfectly, and......

Literature is rife with portrayals of descents into madness. It's rarer in sports, but the Sacramento Kings' performance in their first-round playoff series with the Sonics is an exception. Coming into the series, the Kings were a trendy upset pick. Few pundits gave the Sonics a chance. But the Kings have crumbled. During a game one comeback that fell short, Cuttino Mobley made an obscene gesture at Sonics fans, resulting in a $15,000 fine.......

Until Saturday, the most memorable moment Jerome James provided as a Sonic was the time he was suspended for falling asleep during a team film session. "I wasn't asleep, I just nodded off," he later said. Or when he was late for practice when he couldn't get his car--a Hummer H2--out of his driveway after a Seattle "snowstorm." But last Saturday night, in Game 1 of the Sonics' first-round playoff series, James played the best......

After ending an ugly six-game losing streak with a win over the lowly New Orleans Hornets on Friday, the Sonics posted an impressive 15-point victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon. Friday's win, on fan appreciation night, clinched the Sonics' first ever Northwest Division Championship. Actually, it was the first ever Northwest Division championship for anyone, since the NBA created the division this year. The post-game celebration was cursory. Rookie center and season-long......

Horse racing is known as "The Sport of Kings." Once, perhaps, its fans were mostly royalty. But based on our visits to the track, it seems that the current audience is primarily discontented middle-aged men in pleated pants. Do not mourn the downmarket trend in horse racing. It's one of the great things about visiting Emerald Downs, which begins its six-month season tonight. Just like any gambling venue, it's one place where you can......

Okay, we're bummed we didn't get Slint tickets for Saturday night. If you did, we hate you and would like to point out we'll undoubtedly be having a great time watching Mansquito on the SciFi Network at 9pm. We are sure watching a show about a half-man/half-mosquito is way better than seeing a legendary indie band take the stage after years apart. As an aside, we wish we were in the pitch meeting for......