If you're anything like us, it's been quite some time since you've spent any time thinking about Canadian indie rock darlings Stars. Whether that's the case or not, if you count yourself as a fan, the good news is that you've got back-to-back chances to see the band this week at the Triple Door. The less than good news is that if you don't have your tickets in hand, you'll just have to try your luck on Craigslist. more ›

It's not hyperbole to say that Broken Social Scene is one of the best bands making music today; if anything, it's an underestimation to refer to them as a mere "band." Instead, they're a Toronto-based collective of musicians with prodigious output, both together and separately, with related bands including Feist, Stars, Metric, Apostle of Hustle, and Do Make Say Think. Since their 2005 self-titled release, Broken Social Scene hasn't made any new albums as a band, but have instead released solo efforts with full band support. The latest in the Broken Social Scene Presents... series is from BSS bassist Brendan Canning. We spoke with him last week in advance of the Broken Social Scene show tonight at the Showbox SoDo, where you can expect to hear his songs, as well as those from the band proper. Sorry suckers, it's sold out. more ›

This weekend offers a bevy of live music options. Tonight take your parents to see the Kingston Trio at the Moore, or leave mom and dad at home and head to the Comet to see the guaranteed awesome live performance of Monotonix. Sometimes the Tel Aviv punk trio lights the drum kit on fire, sometimes they play their instruments as the crowd lifts them into the air. more ›

Look up the definition of “hot-to-trot” and you’ll find two sets of meanings: (1) willing and eager and (2) sexually exciting. more ›

Saturday, Tera will give herself a VIP tour at the opening of Aritzia. She will follow this potentially hectic event by introducing a friend to her newest wine obsession - Twisted Cork. Sunday she will trek to Qwest and root for Chicago, uh, eh, oops...Seattle. Yes, root for the Seahawks. Jack's heading to the Showbox proper tonight to see Canadian indie pop band Stars. Sunday, he's hoping to see Rex Grossman slip into old... more ›

Jack has already mentioned Stars at the Showbox, and Katelyn's put the word out about Grayskul and Hangar 18 at Chop Suey. That leaves us to mention M.I.A. and the Cool Kids at Showbox SoDo, or, if you like things a little more old-school, Mudhoney is at El Corazon. Here they are playing "Hate the Police" in Prague: more ›

It was four years ago that we'd started falling in love with the woman who would one day be our wife. It was about that same time that she'd lent us an album called Night Songs by a band called Stars. And if memory serves us with any amount of clarity, our devoted attention to that album became one of the many things which cemented our infatuation with this woman. Night Songs (Stars' first LP)... more ›

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. more ›

Last night, in the middle of the movie round, Seattlest officially became old. "What Canadian actor, who died in Mexico, appeared in seven movies directed by John Hughes, more than any other performer?" we asked. more ›

Or we should have gone to see Brand Upon the Brain. Or stayed home to watch 30 Rock. Even Dancing with the Stars probably would have been more exciting than last night's show at Neumo's. Normally, we'd side with Donte, but we're going to have to go with Eric Grandy over at the Stranger on this one: Project Jenny, Project Jan fucking sucked. Perhaps they were casualties of a nearly empty house, which seemed odd considering that doors opened at 9 instead of 8, and they didn't even go on until after 10, all of which may have had something to do with the absence of Dirty Projectors. Regardless, their music was flat and uninspired. We went expecting dorky raps with handclaps and cowbell--maybe a smaller-scale Scissor Sisters--and after just one song spent the set chatting with another Seattlest contributor over beers back at the bar as the monotonous beats drizzled in from the main room. We agreed that maybe if we'd stumbled into their set a bit tipsy with a full crowd, we could have gotten into it, but weren't certain even that would save them. more ›

The trio of authors Akashic's showcasing includes the novelists Felicia Luna Lemus and Joe Meno, neither of whom we've read and therefore can't comment on. But trust us--it's worth going for Chris Abani alone. An exiled Nigerian playwright and novelist, Abani was such a thorn in the military regime's side that they even tried to assassinate him in London (prompting his move to the US, where he currently teaches at UCLA). more ›

About three lives ago, when we were living in a scientific research station in Ecuador, we watched The Postman (Il Postino) with a group of Westerners. After the movie, which is one of our favorites, we were sitting there, wondering why the room had suddenly gotten all dusty, when a privileged teenage British hipster/tourist named Aelys (pronounced like Alice, but her parents preferred the Welsh spelling) announced that she hadn't liked the movie because it was too slow. Charlie's Angels 2, she liked, but not this. more ›

Chicken broth-based soups are some of the ultimate comfort foods, and are especially good when sick. We love them all, from matzo ball soup (a.k.a. “Jewish penicillin”) to tortilla soup to good ol’ Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup (or, better yet, Chicken & Stars – our childhood favorite, though we shudder to think about the sodium content). more ›

Back in Emeril's pre-Katrina heyday, chefs and serious foodies used to dismiss it as the Bam! network. Now it's disdained as All-Rachael, All-The-Time. You know, the Food Network, not about cooking so much as lifestyle (travel, glitz), weaponry (knife-wielding, cake-frosting) and tours of candy factories. Deliberate programming choices, made to draw viewers too sedate for Housewives and too chicken for Survivor. more ›

Ichiro got a bunch of fantastic goodies along with his $90 million Mariner contract, according to the AP, including: more ›

The scene in the basement of Seattlest HQ last night when FOX showed Ichiro rounding third and heading home on his inside-the-park home run was what I imagine an old-time political convention looked like after they nominated the hometown candidate after 86 ballots. more ›

Laser Rocket Arms hates it when we call them "the new Husker Don't." more ›

Dustin and her racing partner Kandice (Dustin's the blonde...with the nice teeth...the one who doesn't kinda sorta resemble Maggie Gyllenhaal) achieved All-Stardom by coming in fourth place last season on Amazing Race 10, and also by being blonde, perky, upbeat, mutually supportive, and lightning rods for bitterness from other teams. They wanted to be the first all-female team to win the race, though surly long-time rivals "Bama" ended up coming a little bit closer. more ›

Atlas Clothing at the corner of Pike and Broadway has been having a lot of success with their all-ages music shows recently so they're stepping up to two nights a week. Tonight are the Young Sportsman and tomorrow is Central Services and Shorthand for Epic. If you've been to Atlas for the clothes but not the music and are wondering how it's set up, it looks something like this. Here's the Young Sportsman from last year sounding very GBV: more ›

Among the Q-List celebrities on the next edition of Dancing With the Stars? Seattle's own Olympic hero, speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, who we can only assume got a lowball offer from Ice Capades. more ›

ART: If your bachelor pad is depressingly bare of wall, catch the last day of the Seattle Print Fair. News to Seattlest, there's a variety of different print types and techniques: relief printing, intaglio printing, lithography, screenprinting, and monotypes. more ›

The Fanalyst, that awesome local blog of music fan crit, is hanging up the URL. The Fanalyst signed off this morning with a final post entitled "Tips for Rock Audiences" which comes close on the heels of the "Tips for Rock Stars" post of a week ago. Thank you, Fanalyst, for clinging to the belief that rock stars and rock audiences are not in opposition, are not locked in mortal combat and do not have mutually exclusive dreams and desires. You taught us that we and they can share venues, a love of the music and a live experience together in harmony and peace if we just work at it. more ›

Regarding Friday's Amy Millan show at the Triple Door, we draw a parallel between ourselves and Amy Millan's feet. Amy arrived on stage in a cute little black dress, with open toed black and white shoes. She spent much of the show shifting her weight, with the shoes' "cute" apparently not equating to "comfort." Likewise, we spent much of the show getting used to the Triple Door environment and the fact that we were at a show in something other than our unofficial jeans plus t-shirt uniform. As we expected it was a perfect venue for the show, but we have to admit to being more than a bit out of practice when it comes to playing grownup at such a nice venue. more ›

8PM, $15 more ›

Here's to the ice melting away because there are some good shows this week. more ›

Monday night Seattlest headed to Chop Suey for the Easy Star All-Stars performance of Radiodread, a dub-reggae version of Radiohead's OK Computer. We went in knowing of the group's previous reworking of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, filled with a morbid curiosity of whether this would be a regrettable showgoing decision (but also knowing that horrible shows are easiest to write about). We're happy to report that while the show is most definitely a bastardization of a classic, it's mostly harmless and disposable, so we don't wish for any accidents to befall their tour bus. more ›

Who would you think grows the best syrah in the world? A French guy in the Rhône Valley, no doubt. The celebrated wines of the Côte Rôtie and Hermitage are 100 percent syrah, after all. Or maybe a bloke from Australia, where syrah provides the backbone for the legendary Penfold's Grange Hermitage? Wrong! It's a one-time potato farmer from Pasco! more ›

Man, is there a LOT of Bumbershoot stuff on Seattlest right now. If you're anything like Editor Dan you're hoping for a break in the Bumber action; a contributor's recounting of a trip to Lake Chelan, a reaction to a dunderheaded Seattle Times editorial, or even some lame PR survey naming Seattle 16th Most Fashionable City West of the Rockies. Anything! Well, you can hope for something different, but your hopes will be dashed because this is another Bumbershoot post. more ›

This week Seattlest invites you to get your hand out of your pants and join us for some shows... more ›

Seattlest joined a subdued crowd of about 80 at Greenlake's Kiwi and Kangaroo for this morning's US-Ghana game. more ›