Sting is a legend, there's no denying that even if you don't like his music. The Police and his solo career have inspired countless musicians. Morgen had the chance to photograph him less than a month ago at the Paramount Theatre. She may have been nervous, but it was and incredible experience. more ›

It's day number two in the countdown of great concert shots in 2011. There were so many to choose from but the standouts are pretty obvious. Today Morgen will take you back to the Paramount for Bon Iver's sold out show. more ›

Rainn Wilson has way more friends in real life than Dwight, his alter-ego from The Office. He's bringing a slew of musicians, actors and just plain ol' good people to hang out with him this Saturday at the Paramount. It's bound to be a crazy night of fun that raises funds for the Mona Foundation to boot. more ›

Bon Iver creates music with a melancholy that is so sincere, his music is only relevant between the months of November and March. We're pretty damn giddy to see him with openers Other Lives tonight. Check back for a photo gallery later this week. more ›

Some of you may be rolling your eyes, but there are just some musicians who simply define a generation, and influence future generations of artists. In our opinion, Sting is one of those people. more ›

Can you say you've been rocking crowds for over twenty years? No? Then you've got nothing on Widespread Panic. more ›

Tonight's Decemberists show has been sold out for ages. Hopefully you grabbed your ticket long ago or have an inordinate amount of money to purchase a ticket (and get ripped off) from a post on Craigslist. We have a great reason for you to grab a drink at a nearby bar and head over to the Paramount early (other than grabbing that highly sought after front row position). The opening band, Mountain Man, is worth the early arrival. They don't seem to have much of a following, but it seems that the Decemberists have a knack for touring with unknown bands that are on their way up (a great example is the Portland band the Builders and the Butchers). more ›

If you're like us, you were shocked to hear that Ween was touring much less visiting Seattle. These guys have been around since the 80's; that's forever in music industry time. They have put out eleven albums and are said to be working on a 12th. These guys can still draw a crowd despite little to no publicity at all. Their show brought people of all types and large groups of people were getting together in what seemed like a Ween show reunion. Their following is undeniable and someone even compared their fans to that of the Grateful Dead. Whatever it is, they keep 'em coming back and loving every second. Through the thick fog machine mist we managed grabbed the shots below from the show. more ›

There's no other way to describe the 30 Seconds to Mars show but intense. Middle Class Rut put on quite a show to begin with. Typically the crowd is pretty sparse at the Paramount for the opener, but it was obvious that many attendees were there to see both bands equally. However, when Jared Leto jumped on stage the entire place went nuts. He had them chanting and fist pumping the entire night. We can say this for him, he really knows how to rally a crowd and boy does he like to jump and spin around on stage. more ›

Seattlest will be counting down to 2011 with a series of posts on our highlights of this year and what we're looking forward to in the next. Got a list to suggest? Send it our way. See the entire series here. more ›

What a fantastic night of eye candy. Of Montreal did not disappoint, as a matter of fact, they were much more outlandish than expected. Complete with pig sacrifice, skeleton fights, and eyeball dragons, there's really no show like Of Montreal. Janelle Monae brought the funk and sass with her amazing voice and James Brown-style moves. Here's just a taste of the fantastical show, but if you want more then check out the Flickr collection. more ›

Saturday brought an incredible night of talented musicians, comedians, and committed philanthropists to the Paramount Theatre. As we posted yesterday, it was a night that we'll remember for a long time to come and hopefully the MONA foundation will continue to succeed in their worthy cause. Luckily we were able to capture some fantastic moments throughout the night and share them with you here. For more shots from the night, check out the entire flickr set. more ›

DOOOO YOUU REAAALIZE?: that The Flaming Lips are in town tonight??. Woohoo x10! The Oklahoma based trio has been rock rock rocking since 1983, and if you've never seen them we strongly suggest you remedy that. They're a rock circus if you will, and along with Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, will be changing lives at The Paramount. more ›

The other reason there's been a buzz about the band - more recent and relevant to Seattleites - was the abrupt conclusion of their show at Marymoor Park nearly a month ago. The openers, Beach House and Dum Dum Girls played their sets. Eager fans sat impatiently for about an hour and a half waiting for the headliner (or for them to even show their faces). It was at this point that a representative walked out on stage and, surely fearing for his life, made the announcement that the headliner would not be performing. To add more mystery to the situation, the venue didn't explain why fans had to wait an hour to hear this info. As it always does, the music gossip routes opened up and it quickly came out that one of the band members had vocal chord issues and they were hoping to find a quick solution so that they would still be able to perform. That's where the hour of waiting came in. more ›

Often met with comparisons to The Hold Steady, The Replacements and Pavement, Joey Siara of the up and coming Southern CA band The Henry Clay People describes the group’s music quite simply. “I usually just call it rock and roll. Sloppier than most. Hopefully fun.” Don Yates of KEXP sums up the group’s sound a bit more fully, by offering that Joey and co’s songs are greater than the sum of their parts by “transforming everyday subject matter into raging, celebratory anthems for slacker rock 'n' rollers and other folks just trying to make ends meet.” Agreeing with both takes, we recommend checking the band out at the Paramount tomorrow night as they open for the Silversun Pickups and Against Me! As we’re always fans of bands that (at least lead us to believe that they) don’t take themselves too seriously, we’re eager to see how the band’s good-natured outlook translates to the crowd who will no doubt be gathered for the headliners’ bleaker fare. When we asked Siara about it, he responded with an expected humorous nonchalance indicating, to paraphrase a line from our favorite sloppy rock band, the bar is really too low to fail. “Typically people don't care much for the opening act. I guess I hope that people come with an open mind. It's not rocket science or anything. I hope they leave thinking that the opener wasn't so bad.” While our predictive chops don’t measure up to that eight-armed German, we’re confident things won’t turn out so bad after all. more ›

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR is what this lovely lady is! In such a crowded industry, it's often nice to find someone genuinely talented find some success, and the awesomely named Imogen Heap is one of those times. Catch some of her well crafted electronic pop tunes tonight at The Paramount! more ›

If you’ve spent any time in the presence of Stephin Merritt, you’ve most likely learned that the man behind cult-favorite The Magnetic Fields is about as warm (and conversational) as a giant squid. For fans of Merritt’s musical stylings and/or epic tales about giant squids, tonight’s your dream come true as the curmudgeonly mastermind will be performing the score to the 1916 silent classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Merritt will perform the score, which was originally commissioned for the 2010 San Francisco International Film Festival, with accordion and organ accompaniment by Daniel Handler (better known to many by his pen name, Lemony Snicket) and David Hegarty respectively. The spectacle is set to begin at 7:30 PM at the Paramount. more ›

These wonderful performers are in town for a short 3-show run kicking off tonight at the Paramount. The awe inspiring vocalists Lisa, Chloë, Lynn and Alex along with the mesmerizing Celtic violinist Máiréad continue to capture the hearts of fans across the country on a whirlwind American Tour. Along with their 6 piece band and the Aontas Choir the Celtic Woman perform unique renditions of Irish standards, classical favorites and contemporary hits. With a hint of Enya and a slice of Lord of the Dance; Songs from the Heart is sure to be a captivating performance with soaring vocal harmonies, exciting Celtic drumming and even a little bagpipe. more ›

Premiering Tuesday night at the Paramount Theatre, Dreamgirls shines with stellar performances, exciting costumes and a dazzling light show. Originally premiering in 1981 to rave reviews, this play had a long run on Broadway and was adapted into a movie of the same title in 2006 starring Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. The play won 6 Tony Awards in 1982 while the film added three Golden Globes, Two Oscars, a couple Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Grammy in 2007. With its wide-reaching appeal and entertaining presentation, this musical is a firsthand glimpse into the culture of fame. more ›

Overall the performance, despite some of its shortcomings was very enjoyable. The skill and athleticism of the dancers was on full display as the minimal costuming and body paint accentuated their strength, grace and beauty as they effortlessly performed some exceptionally technical movements. more ›

The Alberta Ballet's performance of Joni Mitchell's Fiddle and the Drum will be making its U.S Debut Tuesday night at the Paramount. First opening in 2007 to rave reviews this fusion of contemporary dance, visual art and music has traveled around Canada, most notably opening the Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver last year. more ›

Brian Miller over at the Weekly is covering the contretemps between organist Dennis James and the Seattle Theatre Group over who'll be helming the Mighty Wurlitzer during silent movie nights. STG has told James they won't need his services to fill out the rest of the current series; they're bringing in a San Francisco ringer named Jim Riggs to accompany 1927's Seventh Heaven on Monday, June 29. more ›

SILENT SCREEN: Trader Joe's Silent Movie Mondays at the Paramount is back and focusing on the speechless girls of black-and-white. Words fail you when discussing Cecil B. DeMille's The Godless Girl anyway--Judith and Bob are young atheists who naturally end up in a reform school run by sadists. This is an ur-Girls Gone Wild visual text and will count for credit if you are a student of this kind of counter-history. The important thing is, Judith and Bob learn that those fires of hell are real and they burn, thus making Christianity something more than an academic choice. more ›

It seems almost too perfect that technology is what ultimately derailed our interview with the famously technologically-wary Jason Lytle. With nothing but spotty cell phone reception as he traveled through Wyoming, the former frontman of Grandaddy was unable to find a signal that would last long enough to allow for a successful interview. more ›

This Friday and Saturday (7:30 and 2:30 p.m., respectively; tix $25-$105), Shen Yun/Divine Performing Arts brings their Chinese spectacular to the Paramount Theatre, a show billed as "five millennia in the making." But there's a twist: while Shen Yun and their sponsors note the group "is independent of China's political regime and proud to include artists who practice the Falun Gong meditation," it turns out, the family-friendly stage show is loaded with Falun Gong philosophy, the savvy group having hijacked the cause of Chinese culture to push their own beliefs. more ›

We didn't mention the atrocious sound in our review of Frost/Nixon because it was opening night and we were sure they'd fix it--on her way out, one woman shouted at a guy near a soundboard, "Fix the sound!" Unfortunately, he was a lighting technician. Throughout the evening, the play sounded like a shitty VoIP conference call--you really had to strain to hear around the tinny echoes. But we just noticed Michael Upchurch complaining about the same thing in his review of the Flight of the Conchords show. Acoustics are famously tricky in the Paramount--only the organ ever really sounds at home there--but what we heard sounded like bad tech. more ›

"I don't know that you can make him too sympathetic. I don't think that that's possible." more ›

We have to start here by jumping in and saying that this is easily one of the most exciting weekends of theatre we've seen in town in months--two festivals running, genre-breaking opera, ballet crossing over into Broadway show tune territory, two shows that have had their runs extended (, you've lost your bloody mind. It doesn't get better than this! more ›

OH THE HORROR: Every Monday in January is a different silent movie, complete with Dennis James on The Paramount's mighty Wurlitzer organ. This time around, Trader Joe's Silent Movie Mondays features scary silent classics from the '20s, kicking off with tonight's showing of Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. more ›

MvB can't decide if he's heading out early or late, but at some point he'll be at Uber Tavern drinking an assortment of "very rare" beers and snacking on Swedish meatballs. more ›