Looking for a way to fill in that anticipatory Friday evening before Bumbershoot? You know, that time when you're practically vibrating with excitement for the impending magical music goodness? We have a suggestion that will leave you satisfied, at least until the next morning. The FunOfficial Bumbershoot kickoff party at the High Dive is filled with great local music acts and you can win stuff too. What could be better? more ›

MORE HORNS: If there's one motto consistent through the years of this Seattlest's life, it's "More horns!" It's similar to "More Cowbell," but inclusive of such excellent instruments as the trumpet, the french horn, the tuba, and--our favorite--the trombone. That's why we're recommending you attend HonkFest West this weekend, a three-day event in Ballard and Georgetown dedicated to horns and drums. See the schedule here. more ›

It's been a long time since Kim had a tourist to show around, so she's looking forward to giving her father a stellar tour of Seattle and its environs. On the agenda: Chateau Ste. Michelle, Bainbridge Island, the Fremont troll, and plenty of great food--finally an excuse to go to the Kingfish! Before pops arrives, she'll kick the weekend off right, with Sera Cahoone and Zoe Muth tonight at the Tractor. more ›

Katelyn's hitting up Wizdom's birthday show to catch Large Professor (aww yeah!) on Friday night. For Saturday, her calendar reads: Graffiti Rock, Sportn' Life Edition. MUST GO." She'll be hungover enough on Sunday to need homemade pomegranate mimosas, vegan guacamole, red velvet cake and coconut-crusted tofu at an undisclosed location while she hangs out with the ladies of 206Proof. more ›

We're sitting in Moe Bar, and the key word there is "sitting." After four different bands we needed to rest our sandaled feet, and so we retreated from the steadily darkening, crowded intersection of the Block Party. No photos to share (yet) but here's what we've seen so far! more ›

Friday: Catch Common Market (4:30) and U.S.E. (5:30) at the main stage, then skip over to King Cobra for the second half of Truckasaurus (6:00). Take a dinner break (may we suggest eating something protein-heavy?), then get yerself to Neumo's for Thee Emergency at 7:45. After that, we suggest Das Llamas (it's their last set...THEIR LAST ONE!) at 9:45 at the Cha Cha. To round out the night, buy yourself a fancy rum drink at Havana and party until the wee hours with DJ Curtis. more ›

"Thee Emergency" by Josh of Sound on the Sound
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G IS FOR GEORGETOWN: There are few parts of Seattle we love more and know less about than gritty and glorious Georgetown. We were smitten from the moment we walked into Jules Maes Saloon three years ago and have never looked back. Adding considerable wonderfulness to the neighborhood is the Georgetown Music Festival—Seattle's most under-appreciated music festival—happening this weekend. If you love local music like we do, you will be spending Friday and Saturday taking in rowdy performances from local bands such as Thee Emergency, Cancer Rising, the Lashes, and the Hands. We'd recommend wearing long pants to save your knees when you fall hard for Georgetown. more ›

CHARITABLE INDULGENCES: If you're not too hungover from tonight's couture cocktails with Jack Mackenroth at Product Runway, something beautiful involving imported beer and fine Scotch is happening in Fremont both tonight and tomorrow: the HopScotch Spring Beer and Scotch Festival. The festival's a benefit for NW Folklife, so think of your purchase of extra tequila tastings as an act of springtime charity. more ›

Seattlest is quaking in their boots (bought especially for the occasion) with excitement for this years SXSW in Austin, Tex. We're making our initial sojourn to the festival and are so pleased to see there will be a strong Seattle contingent joining us in Austin this year. more ›

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Portland's alt-country meets indie-electro sextet Blitzen Trapper has been hyped up the wazoo lately. They'll be playing a free show at the Croc tonight with Jennifer Gentle and Hypatia Lake. more ›

Seattlest caught the Hands at the Georgetown Music Fest a few weeks ago and their set inspired us to go out and get their disc "So Sweet" which we love, even though we could not deny it when a friend said it sounded like an updated Stones CD. The Hands and Thee Emergency are playing at the Funhouse on Saturday in a show where the Hipster Threat Level is "Very High." It should definitely be worth getting the boots out for, though. Here's Thee Emergency because we couldn't find any Youtube for The Hands: more ›

The five lads in British goth-garage rock band The Horrors describe their music as "psychotic sounds for freaks and weirdos." So they're a bit dramatic. Check out the creepy cartoon video for their latest single "She is the New Thing" from the band's debut full-length Strange House, distributed in the U.S. by Stolen Transmission. Sez mp3.com: "A raucous mixture of late-60's psychedelia, rockabilly, and malevolent indie splendor, the album is an assured melting pot of influences that proves The Horrors are a band that have so much more going for them than their image alone." more ›

The NME refers to British five-piece The Horrors as "big-haired, squid-flinging art school ghouls causing goth-garage chaos across the UK." Yes indeed. If you're a mite confused by the "squid-flinging" bit, the reference is to the above video, "Sheena is a Parasite," directed by auteur Chris Cunningham (he of Aphex Twin/Bjork/Squarepusher twisted vid fame), and starring Samantha Morton as the titular intestinal-spewing character. The video ended up being banned by MTV UK, not because of the gore (really just pounds and pounds of cephalopod carcasses), but because of the potential for seizures due to all that damn strobe. more ›

Now that there's a chill in the air, Seattlest has taken to closing our windows at night before curling up in a warm bed with some hot cocoa and earplugs. That's right, it's officially the fall tour season, and there's live music galore. Behold! more ›

Jose Gonzalez - Seattlest managed to find entry into the KEXP's live broadcast area featuring Bumbershoot artists. Jose Gonzalez's set was absolutely perfect, the smaller crowd (~30 people) and intimate staging perfect for his one man, one guitar formula. It was funny to watch some of the ladies get swoony over him, and we have to admit we were getting pretty starry eyed ourselves. more ›

What a great way to close out the summer: Beer, fried food on stick, irritatingly large crowds, great music, and a slight chance of rain (remember last year?). Seattlest loves us some Bumbershoot though, and we wouldn't let some pesky weather ruin our fun. This year looks to be a good one. A couple things we are digging right off the bat are the addition of good bands on the outdoor stages and ditching the Friday festivities before the weekend (we never went on that day anyway). more ›

The fourth annual KEXP BBQ took place on a day that couldn't have been much prettier. Not a cloud in the sky, so Seattlest was diligent about applying tons o' sunblock and sticking to the shade. This year, the event was all ages, meaning that the area in front of the stage was divided into drunk and sober sections, and the audience featured a lot of cute wittle babies. We witnessed a grand total of four breast-feeding sessions, which we found to be unnatural and borderline obscene. more ›