We've heard rumors of warm weather this weekend, and believe us-- our toes and fingers are crossed. Especially since this Sunday brings events involving picnic benches, newspaper and a whole lotta of summer tradition. A warning: get ready to suck. more ›

KAROKE MEETS MOVIES: Doesn't it seem like people are either not at all interested in karaoke, or really, really into it? Rendezvous has decided to take that, and add the fanaticism of show tunes. "You’re the star of your favorite movie musical. Pick any scene to sing along to, while the film and lyrics are projected onto the screen." Finally, an audience for your Sound of Music rendition! more ›

It's not often that you see an MC making his own beats. Being great at both is a challenge and it leaves you vulnerable to be criticized on two fronts. There's strength in numbers. That's why you see so many MCs and producers teaming up - Eric B & Rakim, Gang Starr, Run D.M.C., and Reflection Eternal, for example. Pharrell Williams, Swizz Beats, and Kanye West are recent notable producers who have tried to rap, but they generally come up short lyrically with weak rhyme schemes and poor storytelling capabilities. And then there's Detroit rapper/producer Black Milk. more ›

LAUGH LOVERS BALL: Seeing a comedy show on Valentine's Day at first seemed a little campy. Although, I guess anything on Valentine's day just seems kind of campy. But guess what? It's MARIA BAMFORD! She's with a bunch of people we don't really know, but that's okay. If your valentine doesn't think she rules, you need a new valentine. more ›

THE LIFE AQUATIC: The aspiring marine biologist in all of us owes a great debt to the achievements of Mr. Cousteau. His contributions to the development of scuba gear alone led to great advancements in underwater exploration. Vashon Island author Brad Matsen reads from Jacques Cousteau: The Sea King tonight. Let's hope that he doesn't leave out the pirate raid and revenge plot against the shark that killed his partner. more ›

CALL IT GOOF-HOP Kid Koala plays Nectar tonight. The Vancouver-born DJ makes relaxing hiphop/glitch-flavored songs. He’s one of those people whom it seems unfair to call a "DJ" because his records are more than remixes: his music is uniquely, goofily relaxing. His first record, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, sounds like a dance club on Sesame Street. Kid Koala is a rare thing: a DJ who just wants to make you smile. With Adira. more ›

CHILEAN NIGHT FEVER: It's Santiago in 1978, and even in the suffocating midst of the oppressive Pinochet regime, all that Raul wants to do is dance. Despite being middle-aged, the main character of Pablo Larraín's second film fantasizes that he's John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and performs his disco dance moves at the local bar. But soon Raul's fantasy becomes an obsession, especially after it's announced that there will be a Tony Manero impersonation contest throughout all of Chile. Tony Manero plays at the NWFF through Thursday. more ›

GET STIMULATED: All this week, through Saturday July 18th, it's the second annual Seattle City Stimulus, which encourages residents to spend money at small local businesses. Fill out the form to get your membership card, which affords you discounts at all kinds of establishments. Eat, drink, and shop your way around town--IT'S FOR THE ECONOMY! All week long // Participating businesses // prices vary more ›

FIRE GOOD: In his new book Catching Fire, Harvard biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham argues that it's the human need to cook our food that made us so smart and strong and socially organized. Take that, raw foods movement! Additionally, we have cooking to credit/blame for the male/female division of labor, so thank your great-great-great-to the nth degree-grandmothers for subjecting women to unequal pay for equal work. Anyone with any problems with the theories above can yell at Wrangham at his reading at Town Hall tonight. 7:30 p.m. // Town Hall // 1119 8th Ave. // $5 more ›

CRAWLING ZOMBIES : It's going to be quite a cryptic brain-eating kind of Friday night in Capitol Hill, as the army of zombies plan to take over the neighborhood for the Crypticon Zombie Crawl. The costumes of the gruesome group of undead are sure to turn (or spin) a few heads. The local zombie dwellers plan to gather in front of Metro Clothing Co. dressed to kill for brains as well as tickets to Crypticon's horror convention. Now if you encounter a zombie, head to high altitudes or a bar, we've heard that alcohol preserves rotting flesh. 5:00 p.m., Friday // Meet at Metro Clothing Co., 231 Broadway E // Dress to kill and pay as you go more ›

Gui Boratto's latest album, Take My Breath Away, is another entry marking the fortunate shift away from the strict confines of dancefoor-ready techno into more indie-friendly territory. Like recent albums from Telefon Tel Aviv, School of Seven Bells, and the less-recent full-length from Matthew Dear, the Brazilian Gui Boratto incorporates influences from outside the traditional confines of Berlin and Detroit. more ›

First of all, may we just say it's great to be back in the Seattlest saddle again after a somewhat extended absence! We actually...*sniff*...missed you guys. Alright, back to business. Thanks to Twitter, we now know about a neat local cooking site named, appropriately, CookLocal. They're covering the very important rutabaga and sunchoke baked chips beat this week. West Seattle Blog passes along news about South Seattle Community College's new scholarships, money set aside to help out anyone who's ever been in the U.S. foster care system. The Weekly's Sara Brickner reports on N.A.S.A.'s show at Nectar last night on Reverb, with photos and all ("go-go dancers, a giant visualizer screen and aliens" is part of the write-up, reason enough for you to click on that link). And over at the Seattle Post-Times, they're upset about the new, unsightly ads on Washington ferries. Of course, the pictured ad supporting the Post-Times' case is for the Woodland Park Zoo's flamingos exhibit--not exactly the devil incarnate. more ›

INTERNATIONAL TIPPLE TASTING: As a Pacific Rim port, Seattle should really be more broadly acquainted with saké than it is. Enter tonight's premium sake tasting at Umi Saké House in Belltown, a Saké Nomi event designed to familiarize attendees with thirty of the world's finest (and in some cases, rarest) brands. You and your fellow fermented rice enthusiasts will be able to sample a saké whose brand hails straight from 1505 as well as an igloo-brewed variety called "Divine Droplets." Kampai! more ›

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR LINDA'S: Capitol Hill mainstay and Linda Derschang's namesake bar celebrates its 15th birthday tonight, starting at 4 p.m. The first 100 people to show up get a free commemorative t-shirt, but for the rest of us, it's $2.99 cheeseburgers and 1994 beer prices all night. That's when beer was like, what, a nickel? Music care of DJ Damaged Goods. more ›

We received the following dispatch an hour ago, regarding electro hiphop group Yo Majesty's upcoming show at Nectar: "Unfortunately, Jwl. B of Yo Majesty will not be attending the tour commencing today due to personal reasons making it impossible for her to travel. Shunda K will continue on with the Yo Majesty show, as she has in the past to great reviews." WHAT? Only one topless Christian lesbian? Where's the fun in that? No word as to whether Mad Rad will still be opening, considering their (typical) douchebag hipster behavior recently got them banned from several clubs in town. more ›

JUST LIKE CLOCKWORK: This is your best bet for smooth grooving local hiphop this weekend. Clockwork probably make you very happy, but Macklemore is guaranteed to do so; his live show is unstoppably entertaining and his songs are both thoughtful and hilarious. This is his first show in town since July, people. Plus, XPerience might sing and Candidt might do "VooDoo." All of those prospects in combination are absolutely worth the rainy drive to Nectar. more ›

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition via the 21st Amendment, a.k.a. Repeal Day. It's hard to fathom that for thirteen sad, dark years (1920 to 1933), our fine country was dry (or at least, legally so). Considering earlier this week was also the 75th anniversary of the bloody mary, there's twice as much to celebrate this year. more ›

FUNNY OR DIE!: Canadian comedian Jon Lajoie joins forces with the certifiably crazy (and ergo super fun) Murder Dice and Righteous Trash, a.k.a. Colin Johnson, a.k.a. Nectar's booker, in creating a night of guaranteed off-the-wall hilarity and frenzied upper music to launch you into the week on the right foot. Check out FunnyOrDie.com for a taste of Lajoie before you go, and get to Nectar in plenty of time to buy one of those delicious deep(ish)-crust Greek pizzas. more ›

HALF-NAKED BOOTY GIRLS: The 2 Live Crew outta Miami is at Nectar tonight, and you know what that means: half-naked booty girls, according to local emcee Wizdom. "I believe it," he told us with anticipation. The 2 Live Crew has been holding down the sexually explicit end of hiphop since the '80s. Warning: there might be juggalos present. Locals Mad Rad, Champagne Champagne, and Jay Barz open for this promisingly profane and colorful evening. more ›

GENUINELY COOL, ARTSY FARTSY NIGHT: Go to the Filter release party at the Richard Hugo House tonight for readings, hobnob opps with writerly folks, and performances by Awesome!. The literary magazine celebrates the release of its second issue, and if you haven't seen this work of art yet, you may not know: this is a beautiful and well-crafted literary magazine, not only in content but in construction. more ›

Yes, there's other shows this weekend besides the Capitol Hill Block Party. more ›

Electro-Pop: Matmos released their new record, , to acclaim back on May 6. The Baltimore-based pop/electronica duo have moved away from the conceptual electronic compositions of their earlier work and deliver a record of "cosmic pop" deliciousness. Check out the song "Rainbow Flag" [mp3] here, and check out the band down at the Triple Door tonight. more ›

The Saturday Knights/Budos Band show at Nectar on Friday night was sold out by 9:30 p.m., as in guest lists closed, no further entrance, and crowds of people partying outside the gates. Seattlest arrived at a normally respectable hour of 10:45 p.m. to find the Budos Band's shiny brass horns blaring, congo drums thumping, and every inch of Nectar packed with happy people. more ›

THAT'S SO DOPE: Dope Emporium is a free festival of all things hiphop: DJs, MCs, spoken word artists, graffiti artists, and more. It's going down as part of Artopia, an arts extravaganza in the extremely dope neighborhood of Georgetown, so hop on a bus and experience some of the best Seattle hiphop has to offer. Our picks: Candidt, Orbitron, B-Girl Bench, Waves of the Mind and Dim Mak. Hot! more ›

It may not feel like summer in Seattle, but tomorrow afternoon is The End's Summer Camp II at Marymoor Park. It's a mix of the good (Nada Surf, MGMT), the bad (Flogging Molly, Pennywise), and the emo-ey (Armor for Sleep). Meanwhile, all weekend long Noise for the Needy marches on, raising money for Urban Rest Stop. Come tomorrow night, it's Matt and Kim, YACHT, and local band Feral Children at Neumo's. Here's a clip of the ferociously experimental indie Sarathan quintet. more ›

Tonight, if you're not already at a SIFF film or checking out "Awesome" with side projects Jose Bold and the Half Brothers at the Sunset, head to the Comet to see local Mazzy Star-on-psychedelics Half Light. They're touring off their new album Sleep More, Take More Drugs, Do Whatever We Want. more ›

REALLY GOOD DOCUMENTARY: Here's yet another reason that SIFF has won the loyalty of Seattle's filmgoers, , a terse, refreshingly un-preachy documentary that attempts to unravel the mystery behind the murder of an American nun in the Brazilian rainforest. more ›

If you're not spending this weekend SIFFing or Sasquatching or otherwise out of town for the three-day weekend, there's plenty of live music for those who spend the holiday in Seattle. more ›

Don't call it a comeback, but the Cherry Poppin' Daddies have a new album out (Susquehanna) after a nearly ten-year hiatus. The '90s swing revival band plays two shows tonight at the Triple Door. more ›

As previously mentioned, tonight's Wig Bash at the High Dive, as well as the second, final, and sold-out performance of Nada Surf at the Showbox. Also sold out: Springsteen at Key Arena Saturday. But never fear, there's still other options out there, like Golem at Nectar tomorrow night. We don't know much about them, but we've heard that the six-piece klezmer band play "Eastern European drinking songs" and that they're "fun as hell." That's enough for us to make a recommendation. more ›