Results tagged “rufuswainwright”

Are there memories in particular that stand out when you think about playing Seattle or just memories about Seattle in general? I remember seeing some very straight but totally homoerotic lumberjacks at four in the morning somewhere. And it was one of the most enthralling visions of my West Coast existence. I always remember Seattle as a very sexy, rough and tumble town.

For some reason we have only just now heard that The Cult will be playing at The Moore Theatre on August 26. They're performing their Love album, so round up Brother Wolf and Sister Moon, it'll be an evening like no other. And Seattle Gay Blog tells us that Rufus Wainwright will be swanning into Benaroya Hall on November 8. His site says tix will go on sale August 8.

Volume One was pretty cool. Two was better. Three was great. Volume Four is hands down the best. Is it simply because it's new? Because the songs are still fresh? We don't think so. There's more more to it than that.

It's safe to assume that Sharon Jones is cooler than you. The current queen of neo-funk/soul grew up in Macon, Georgia and Brooklyn, singing in church before ending up doing session work in the '70s as the anonymous vocals on dance and disco records. Without a solo contract of her own, she left the industry and took odd jobs like corrections officer at Rikers Island and Wells Fargo armored car guard.

If you would've told us back in the golden days of Heart, back in the "Barracuda" days, that Ann Wilson would one day record a version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" featuring guest vocalists Shawn Colvin and Rufus Wainwright, Seattlest would've told you to shut the hell up. But now here we are in 2007, when Mandy Moore and Babyface have gone and recorded folk music records, or at least records that show off as folkie as Mandy Moore and Babyface can possibly be.

Fate, karma, kismet -- call it what you will but the week before A Fine Frenzy came to town a friend in Switzerland sent us a YouTube video of her song "Rangers." We listened, found the album, and two days later noticed she was coming to town that Sunday. Here is the video, just so you can follow along:

This is a big weekend due to the Esurance® Capitol Hill Block Party alone. Tickets are not sold out yet; if nothing else, just by 'em at the door. But what to do if you want to avoid the Hill and the confluence of all those hipsters?

First things first: Where the shit does one get something to eat in Downtown Tacoma? Seattlest spent yesterday evening wandering around the "Theater District" looking for a place to fill our bellies. We must've walked about a mile in all directions, only to find a McDonald's, a Pita Hut, a pizza-by-the-slice place, a couple sketchy pubs, lots of boarded-up storefronts, and approximately nine million coffeeshops. It was only when we got back in the car that we were able to find a half-block stretch of downtown with a few places that didn't look so bad. We settled on Meconi's for dinner and then Tacoma's version of Matador for dessert and drinks. When you don't have a row of restaurants, bars, and bistros catering to your captive audience of theater patrons, that's a problem.

That said, while 25-year-old Brazilian Céu [myspace] is what's known in some circles as a "smokin' hottie," the metaphorical orgy we're talking about includes the whole band: Bruno Buarque (percussion), Lucas Martins (bass and guitar), Serginho Machado (percussion), Guilherme Ribeiro (keyboard), and DJ Marco. Yep, whole band, or we just -- well, no need for ultimatums. We walked in expecting Brazilian samba, and we got so much more: soul and R&B, "afrobeat" and "electrojazz," two genres we treat with quotes to indicate: "existence, our shocking ignorance of." They are good words, though, so we'll use them. On ballads, Céu might sound a little like Sade (okay, with more vocal agility); but "Concrete Jungle" [listen at myspace] sounds like Jimmy Cliff singing with a '70s funk back-up band. She kept encouraging the Triple Door audience to get up and dance and if there had been any room to do that, this crowd just might have. We kept coming back to the bass lines the tunes hung on, the physicality of the percussion, that glorious electric organ sound. There was even a sing-along encore. Céu, come back soon.

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico.

SNOW: Alpental got 4 inches at the base Saturday while we were up there, and the snow was light, with plenty of wind fill if you know how to seek out the good spots. We were jealous of our friends staying up in Lot 3, whose alarm clock this morning was the rumbling, gun-shot sounds of avalanche blasting.