Seattlest has a very deep-seated thing for musical theater, so we're a little embarrassed that, until this weekend, we'd never seen Les Miserables or Phantom of the Opera on the stage. We have, however, spent hours (nay, months) getting intimate with the original cast recordings, but somehow Phantom never rose to the top of our list of musicals we simply had to see. Still, when the opportunity arose to see it at the Paramount,......

WHO WILL SAVE YOUR SOUL?: Wow, Seattlest really loved that song when Jewel first came out back in '96. When we went to Lilith Fair, Jewel's set was the one we thought we'd skip and go have dinner during. Then she started, and she was an absolutely captivating performer. We're not totally sure what she's been up to all these years since then, but we can vouch for the truth of the matter that Jewel......

"9 Block View Up Pine" by Seattle Daily Photo Kim, aka Seattle Daily Photo, shares this gorgeous view of summertime downtown bustle...at 9PM. This remains one of the chief reasons to love this city. Thanks for sharing!......

TALK ABOUT YOUR HEALTH: Founder of Bastyr University and chief science officer for Metagenetics, Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D., thinks we should be focusing on "biochemical individuality derived from genetic and environmental differences." Seems practical enough. He'll be speaking on the matter tonight and, if you're interested in the ongoing debate about how to fix our healthcare system, you should check out his talk, entitled Healthcare Reform 2008: Creating a True Health Care System. 7:30 p.m. //......

At the point that we realized all 24 dancers from the Mark Morris Dance Group were on stage simultaneously, we were struck by two thoughts. First: holy shit 24 dancers on stage at once in a delirious, joyous romp; and second: thank god dance companies can still exist that can put 24 dancers all on stage at once. Morris' company was celebrating the 20th anniversary of his early-career classic L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato......

Inside the Paramount Theater, we found our seats near the front and we waited. In the weeks and days leading up to this show, we'd scoured the web, made a few calls, looked for hints in recent reviews from other cities. Nothing. We had no idea who the opening performer was. It was to be a mystery. The lights came down, the applause came up and a man entered the stage. He was alone, save......

If you've never had the chance to see Broken Social Scene together, you've at least had, or have, ample opportunity to see current and former members roll through town during October/November. Last month, it was Metric (with BSS alumni Emily Haines and James Shaw), then Mr. BSS himself, Kevin Drew. Next week, Stars (with BSS alumi Millan, Cranley and Campbell ) come to the Showbox. But first, coming to a Paramount Theater near you --......

Tonight would be the night to dominate the jukebox at the Wildrose, because all the ladies (except for us) will be at the Paramount drinking a nice tall glass of alt.country goodness. Brandi Carlile's back in town with her hot twin-powered band and we understand she tends to pull traffic away from the corner of 11th and Pike (at least until 11 PM). We don't really get it, but whatever. We so don't get it,......

We shouldn't have to say much more about Rodrigo y Gabriela aside from "flamenco version of 'Stairway to Heaven'," but we will. They're young, they're hot, they're Mexican-Irish, and they're extraordinary guitarists. They don't need no stinking genre, as they dabble in everything from flamenco to psychedelia to pop and jazz, pretty much defying musical definition. Plus, they can fly and spit fireworks, have x-ray vision, and can regenerate. (We've been watching too much Heroes,......

When Seattlest made it to the Paramount last year for what would be an amazing performance from Sufjan Stevens, we were running a little late and needed a drink. Straight to the little bar we went, causing us to miss most of the opening act. We did settle, finally, in our seat for the last couple songs by said act and when it was done, we said to our company, "Wow. We should have gotten......

"Patty Griffin" and "Rock This Town" aren't generally two phrases that go together easily. But, as tree-hugger, festival-going folk fans, by "rock," we generally mean "musically woo," or "melodically enthrall." Which is exactly what Patty Griffin does on her latest album, Children Running Through. The CD is full of parables and gospel songs, inspired by Griffin's inner child and intense memories of childhood events. She attacks each song with the wide-eyed anticipation and wonderment......

MUSIC: Sigh, the Shins. Curses, the Paramount. If tonight doesn't work, you get another shot on Tuesday. 8pm // The Paramount Theater// $25 SOLD OUT, scalping starting at $35 on Craigslist MUSIC: The Octopus Project are poppy, noisy, and often a bit confusing, but they're always fun - their last release has a three eyed, three armed nun on the cover, which says plenty. 9:00 pm // Chop Suey// $8 adv., 21+ GRAPHIC READING: True......

Flickr photo by King Tufu Sunday, February 11th at The Paramount Theater Neko Case and Merle Haggard We can't say enough about shows at The Paramount. It's the whole experience that we enjoy; and the atmosphere of this show was amazing. Easily one of the best shows we have ever seen there. It was a crappy night out but the rain didn't stop people from lining up outside for a chance to see Neko......

You have likely heard the expression that begins "He has more talent in his pinky finger than..." and understood the metaphor as such: a well-used pop culture turn of phrase. However, on Tuesday night we saw a man who in truth has more expression in one finger than most others have in their entire bodies. Standing next to a field of lotus flowers, bathed in white powder and a simple white gown, Ushio Amagatsu enthralled......