Not that we need to feed his ego or anything, but John Roderick (of The Long Winters) is a funny dude. Whilst heating up our chicken pot pie from Trader Joe's, we perused a copy of the Weekly someone had left out. Starting from the back, it wasn't long before we saw a goofy cartoon Roderick giving us a great big toothy smile. With his column, entitled, "Exposing the Poker Skills of the Sasquatch! Class......

The choreographic genius of Spectrum's Donald Byrd makes God-fearing folk swear and the irreligious cry, "Oh my god!" Partly that's because his dancers present as solid, sweating people, rather than mysteriously gesturing messengers. He consistently brings ideas back to the body--his pas de deux can have an X-rated quality--so you feel the argument he's making. Last night he was perched on the Moore's stage pre-show, mic in hand, "Okay, so it's not a full house......

POETRY: This is a bit of a hike, but former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins is down in Tacoma at the Pantages Theatre. Collins is admired and reviled because people "get" his poetry, which is written largely in the key of sardonic. He sees his poetry as “a form of travel writing” and considers humor “a door into the serious.” Friday 7:30 p.m. // Pantages Theatre, 901 Broadway, Tacoma // Tickets: $24-$46 FILM: This......

Two ambulances pulled up outside the Showbox SoDo on Monday night, just as the doors were opening at 8pm. They attended to a very drunk young lady who no doubt missed out on the all-ages Diplo/Justice bill for that evening. Ah, the youth. Upon entering, we came face to face with a wall of said youth and unavoidable flat-screen monitors plastered everywhere running MySpace videos and ad spam. Up the stairs to the bar,......

Right on the heels of the announcement that the Mars Volta was added to the Sasquatch lineup, and right before tickets go on sale this Saturday, the three-day music festival has seen fit to delineate who will be playing on which day: Saturday, May 24th R.E.M. / Modest Mouse / M.I.A. / The New Pornographers / The National / Ozomatli / Beirut / Dengue Fever / Fleet Foxes / The Breeders / Okkervil River......

After months of wild speculation, the official 2008 Sasquatch lineup has finally been announced: R.E.M. / The Cure / The Flaming Lips U.F.O. Show / Death Cab For Cutie / Modest Mouse / M.I.A. / Flight Of The Conchords / Rodrigo Y Gabriela / Michael Franti & Spearhead / The Breeders / Built To Spill / The Hives / Tegan & Sara / The Presidents / Ghostland Observatory / Ozomatli / The New Pornographers......

Paul Weller may be MIA, but the rest of his first band play the Moore tonight under the moniker From the Jam. Or head to the Showbox to pump your fists with Cinder Road and Tesla. Actually, this show (along with the tour's upcoming dates in Portland, Spokane, and Boise) has just been postponed, due to inclement weather and road closures. Tonight's sold-out show has already been rescheduled to Sunday, March 9th at Showbox SoDo.......

Jack has already mentioned Stars at the Showbox, and Katelyn's put the word out about Grayskul and Hangar 18 at Chop Suey. That leaves us to mention M.I.A. and the Cool Kids at Showbox SoDo, or, if you like things a little more old-school, Mudhoney is at El Corazon. Here they are playing "Hate the Police" in Prague: Saturday, it's a Brit-pop double-header with Travis and openers Maximo Park at the Moore. There's also The......

Just this weekend, we were declaring that we would never set foot in the new Showbox SoDo. That the Fenix has always been a terrible venue, regardless of name, owner, or minor renovations. That it would take some big name to get us to attend a show there, say, Bjork, Sufjan, maybe Broken Social Scene.... And then we checked our email this morning. M.I.A.Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WAFriday, November 16, 2007 – all agesOn......

There were, however, 3:10 to Yuma t-shirts, which we gave away in addition to the regular pile of swag. (That was Jack Daniels-themed this week. Congrats, Greendoggs.) Scores ranged from a respectable low of 41 to an impressive high of 74, out of 81 possible points. Gag Me With a Smurf won for the second week in a row, inspiring a couple of other teams to ask me, on the QT, "Who are those guys?"......

Evidently, the vocoder will not have its vengeance until it has reconquered all of pop music. The saga continued earlier yesterday when M.I.A. dropped her much anticipated follow up to 2005's much anticipated and critically acclaimed Arular. So in case you missed Monday's listening party or you simply don't care, the album is called Kala and it's been quite the hot topic in the blogosphere, inciting outernational dance floor ecstasy while unnerving folks who fret......

Ah, the festival. The half-pound Gorge Burger, the ten-dollar beer, the fragrant smell of weed and clove cigarettes carried along by an occasional, much appreciated breeze. And of course, all that music. By the time our feet hit festival ground, Viva Voce were setting up at the Yeti Stage. We got our burger and a beer and settled in for a bit of Seattlest's favorite married rock couple. We hadn't seen Viva Voce live......

For once, it was actually nice weather at the Gorge for Sasquatch. Last year was all sturm und drang and the year previous was approximately the temperature of the sun, but the gods smiled down on all gathered in George, Washington yesterday afternoon, as it was a pleasant 80 degrees under partly cloudy skies. Our day started off at the Yeti Stage (where the Wookie stage used to be - when did that happen?)......

Dammit! From the Sasquatch site: Unexpected delays in the processing and issuance of M.I.A.’s artist visa have forced her to cancel her appearance at this year’s Sasquatch Festival. We apologize to our fans and to the promoters of the festival and look forward to returning to the U.S. as soon as possible. This ain't the first time the awesomely hot Sri Lankan-Brit street artist/electro-ragga singer/rapper hasn't been let into the country. We guess them's......

Last year's Sasquatch line up was good, but not good enough to get us to spend three days at the Gorge. We still prefer the festival in its one-day, all-in-one-fell-swoop form, but with the lineup that's been announced for this year's two-day fest, we may just have to make the trip. Out of the two days, it was Saturday that really made us coo. Bjork *and* Arcade Fire? Consider us sold. There are still......

Yes, it's Tuesday. And that doesn't just mean Dawn's in trouble -- it means Seattlest -- specifically, Seattlest James -- hosts trivia tonight at Ballard's Old Pequliar pub. The questions are difficult, the tacos are 3 for $2, and the Newcastle is just $3 per pint. Last week saw a record-breaking 19 teams show up, which meant the first place team won $130. We'd tell you who won, but David made off with the scoresheets......

Long intrigued by those screaming TV ads, we finally attended our first monster truck show two days ago (um, SUNDAY!!!) at the Tacoma Dome. The USHRA Monster Jam began with pairs of colossal five-ton trucks racing around the dirt track until an overall winner emerged: the pimped-out Escalade, with its six-foot tires, neon ground effects, spinning rims and Mohawk-having driver. Like pro wrestlers, each truck has its own uniquely ridiculous theme. We liked Jurassic Attack......

Besides raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, these were a few of our favorite things, at least in terms of live music during the past year. Audrey: Arcade Fire---May 28th @ the Gorge, September 21st @ the Paramount Though I am still kicking myself for missing their KEXP show at Neumo's last December (I chalk that up to "having my head up my ass"), I managed to see this powerfully emotive band twice......

The past year has been a good one for Seattle. The Decibel Festival, Red Bull Music Academy, and one-off shows brought in talent to a degree that's inconsistent with the actual size of our metropolis. Seattle's producers and DJs also managed to make waves outside the region, with well-received releases and appearances at world-reknowned festivals. Most importantly, the year is closing with strong momentum, setting up next year to further propel the Seattle scene. In......

As far as live music this weekend, may we recommend the crazy (or crazee, if you will) the Black Keys at Neumo's tonight. If you like the Liars or any noise rock band, etc, then they are for you. Tomorrow, Mercury Prize winner Antony & the Johnsons are playing at the Triple Door. Antony & the Johnsons have one of the most unique sounds you can imagine. Back in the day we saw them back......