As previously mentioned, Monday at Bumbershoot was heavily skewed towards the alt-country side of things. We're not sure if that's good programming or bad programming. On the one hand, if you're way into alt-country, just attend that one day of the festival and you're all set; on the other hand, you've got some tough choices to make among Blitzen Trapper, Langhorne Slim, Two Gallants, the Maldives, and Old 97s. We managed to catch some......

On Monday Bumbershoot was a smoldering guyville. And we have the photos to prove it. Who knows why the festival was so testosterone heavy, but if boys were your thing, you had a grab bag to choose from.......

Hollywood Knowledge: Tonight the Northwest Screenwriters Guild hosts a talk with special guest actor/screenwriter Walter Dalton. Dalton has written for TV (Laverne and Shirley, Barney Miller, Benson) and appeared on it (Rhoda, Mork and Mindy, Northern Exposure, and Millennium). He'll discuss a Hollywood career's ins and outs, then hang around for a Q&A session. Saturday he'll lead a workshop on pitching. Friday 7-9pm, Saturday 10am-2pm // NWSG, Clear Channel Bldg, 351 Elliott Ave W......

Last year's Sasquatch line up was good, but not good enough to get us to spend three days at the Gorge. We still prefer the festival in its one-day, all-in-one-fell-swoop form, but with the lineup that's been announced for this year's two-day fest, we may just have to make the trip. Out of the two days, it was Saturday that really made us coo. Bjork *and* Arcade Fire? Consider us sold. There are still......

MUSIC: Normally, we try to avoid El Corazon at all costs, but there’s an early show there today for a very good cause. During last week’s storm, Kate Fleming, a talented voice-over artist, died while attempting to save the audio gear in her home studio. Tonight’s show—featuring Speaker Speaker, Patience Please, Megasapian, In the Empty City, and more—is in Kate’s memory, with the money benefitting her family. 4:30pm doors, 5pm show // El Corazon //......

As unlikely as it may seem, it is the truth. Qingzhao Su of Guiyang, China dreamt about the Two Gallants and Langhorne Slim and the War Eagles show at The Crocodile yesterday. Two Gallants Plays to a Sleeping Qingzhao Although she speaks no English and had never heard of Seattle, Two Gallants, or Langhorne Slim, in her dream she knew exactly where she was and knew the lyrics to all of the songs. She could......

Actually, we heard Murder by Death (myspace) first, then Two Gallants (myspace). Both are remarkable for what we're going to inventively call "the new lyricism" -- a two-fisted Carver-esque stylistic concern for narrative produced by a mutant strain of whisky-slugging Decemberists from the wrong side of the tracks. Murder by Death, out of Bloomington, Indiana, has a song on their third album, In bocca al lupo, called "Sometimes the Line Walks You" -- which gives......