Results tagged “paramounttheater”

BAG OF HIPHOP TRICKS: We're told that there's a hiphop happening at the Rendezvous tonight, of epic proportions. A whole bunch of hiphoppers doing their hiphop thing: They Live has members of Cancer Rising and Massive Monkees. Wizdom and Akrish will be there. Seattlest Katelyn, our local hiphop guruess, says of Akrish, "I like his freestyles." We believe Katelyn because we wouldn't dare cross her. She's got those numbchucks.

BAILAMOS: Yes, yes, today is bright and sunny and lovely outside. But, the rains are coming, we're certain of it. And, if you want to beat the winter bummers this year, there are few things that could light up your life more than dancing all about. So, why not take a dance class through the UW's Experimental College? Tonight kicks off a nine-week class at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center, where you can learn Cuban folkloric dance. Fun!

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, we leapt at it. We're glad we did.

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 puts on a great show. If you're looking for some good live music tonight, she may just be the best thing going on.

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.

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 at the Paramount Theater this past weekend. Set to a lesser-known pastoral work by Handel, the already overwhelming treat of seeing this work in person was escalated by full accompaniment from the Seattle Symphony and Chorale members directed by maestro Gerard Schwarz.

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.

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 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.

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 here sooner." Then Sufjan came out, handsome devil that he is, and we forgot about everything until we realized that the "cheerleading captain" for Sufjan's band was none other than the woman who'd just finished warming the crowd.

"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, .

MUSIC: Sigh, the Shins. Curses, the Paramount. If tonight doesn't work, you get another shot on Tuesday.

Flickr photo by King Tufu