Nothing makes you feel young again like throwing a few guys around in a pit!
crowd report by Ryan Molenkamp
Friday night at the Comet Tavern saw the last show ever by The Abodox...and those boys brought the metal! Although, after eleven years of double-kicks and frantic riffs, calling them boys might not be accurate. Even still, the whole bar that night felt like a high school basement thrash show, except the music sounded great.
Despite all the controlled violence, the show felt like a celebration, and it was. The Abodox have been championing a metal/grindcore sound in Seattle for eleven years. Alas, due to a medical condition of one of the members, they are calling it quits. However, these talented musicians live on in several other, less physically-demanding musical projects, including The Marrying Type, Lesbian, BLOUSE and others.
What a sad but fun night – definitely a 4 Molo performance! RIP, The Abadox.
p.s. Leaving the Tavern after the show, I overhead this quote, spoken on the street by a couple of slightly intoxicated hipsters. Perhaps you can decipher it for me: “She tongue kissed the holy-hell out of him cause she wanted to savor the fermented eel in his beard.”
(The Molo Scale: 1 Molo = garbage water; 2 Molos = blarg; 3 Molos = solid; 4 Molos = a really good massage; 5 Molos = spine tingling.)
I felt brave walking up The Varsity stairs to see The Messenger, having heard it was a tightly-wound, well-acted picture that told an important story (all claims that turned out to be true, by the way). Everything was fine until I reached the theatre door and saw the film’s poster. Right there, under the enticing names Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton, I saw “Jena Malone” and fell into a flashback of her epically bad Into the Wild voiceovers. But, in the not-yet-heard words of Harrelson’s Capt. Stone, I grabbed a “double-handful of balls” and continued inside. Luckily Malone and her crimped Cleopatra haircut (she is what the kids call a “friend with benefits” to Foster’s Sgt. Montgomery) appear and then quickly fade to the background so the film can really begin.
For the last three months of his tour, Montgomery is assigned to work with Stone on “bereavement notification” missions. The baby-faced Foster and blockheaded Harrelson share a great meeting scene in the cafeteria, with both parties eating five words for every one that comes out (I’m going to guess that Woody now owns the award for Most Aggressive Watermelon Eating in Film).
The first time the pair approaches a front door to notify the next of kin for a dead soldier, director Oren Moverman shifts to a handheld camera shot from behind the protagonists. Variations on this bumpy, unsettling scene recur throughout the film — and the viewer is a shaken third party on all these trips. At the outset I sympathized with Stone and Montgomery as they are slapped, shoved and spit on, but, as the bereavement notifications piled up, the actions of the parents, wives and husbands of the dead soldiers felt more and more necessary.
The most neutral reaction to the worst news comes from Olivia, played by the always-beguiling Samantha Morton. She floats through the film with a distracted numbness, one earbud often hanging down her chest. Some of her dialogue highlights the only problem I had with the film — it tries to do too much at times. In a crucial scene, she explains to Montgomery that one of her husband’s shirts “smelled of rage,” which is a metaphor beyond her character. But she closes her speech with the much more realistic line that she needs to leave and pick up her son early from school (because he loves it when she does). It’s one of the small, touching details that power The Messenger.
Still, the more interesting relationship is between the two veterans, who look great together slamming beers and displaying profane army tattoos under white tank tops. Their friendship begins with almost shy, insomniac phone calls (from indistinguishable beige army apartments) and spreads into loud bars and bedrooms. The more verbose Stone picks Montgomery so raw it seems cruel, but it’s only from that place that the younger man can share the revelation we’ve been waiting for all film. Moverman mostly shows the men in obscure darkness or bright light, so that we squint along with the beleaguered characters through the subtle shifts of their male bonding. The film explores differences I’d never considered, like how the Persian Gulf vet Stone could feel a strange mix of shame, envy and pride in the actions of Montgomery, coming off a decorated tour in Iraq.
In a contest of brutishness, the more human Harrelson (preening his eyebrows with a fork) probably deserves the Supporting Actor Oscar over Christoph Waltz’s showier, mincing Nazi in Inglourious Basterds, though the hype for the latter rivals that of Heath Ledger’s posthumous triumph. I am pleased that The Messenger will be represented at the Academy Awards though. Of allthe films I’ve seen from 2009, it does the most difficult job — taking soldiers’ deaths away from the brief glory of the battlefield and laying their bodies at the feet of American audiences.
Read more movie reviews by Kirk Michael on his personal blog, White Tank Top.
Support student exploration and commitment to the difficult art of theatre: see North Seattle Community College students take on Aphra Behn's The Rover, a restoration comedy that explores all the possible combinations of mistaken identities, unbridled lust, tested virtue, unchecked ego, base humor, violent defense of virtue and incessant gender-bashing. The language is tough -- for both the actors and the audience, I think -- but you're sure to enjoy several laughs.
Aphra Behn was a 17th century British writer and spy for Charles II. Truly a cut above.
Highlights include a few actors who do "over-the-top" fearlessly, well-staged swordfighting, comedic costume choices and a particularly committed stagehand who makes every scene change entertaining.
It’s always a treat to see how people really work. Follow artist-spy Erin Shafkind and her camera into the lofts, living rooms and breakfast nooks where you can see how some of Seattle’s most interesting visual art is being created.
text and photos by Erin Shafkind
If you have never met Warren Dykeman, I hope you get to. He’s a gentle, unassuming person who loves to draw.
For the summer of 2009, Warren created the Bumbershoot poster and just recently he showed work at Grey Gallery in Seattle.
He lives and works out of his Ballard townhouse, into which he invited me to meet Halo — the biggest cat I have ever seen — and to see his work, talk about his process and sip tea.
Greg and Chris recently rallied to their favorite watering hole in Ballard, The Sloop, to interview born-and-raised Seattle painter, photographer, and filmmaker, Andrew Miller.
From the cell phone camera of Brother Chris: Andrew Miller poses with a print of his inked photograph of The Sloop.
Super 8 Brothers: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Andrew Miller: I’m 32, and I’ve lived in Seattle 32 years. When I was 8, I took my first trip to Yellowstone and was happy as hell to take pictures, get them developed, and just look at them.
But, later in life, and a lot of photographs later, I realized that my pictures were just mementos, and I wanted to make art. I wanted to make art pieces, put them on canvas. My aunt gave me a set of oil paints and pencils made for painting on top of film. She had already been using that medium for years. Her work inspired a lot of my future work.
An example of one of Andrew Miller's inked photographs
So this gave you the idea to paint on top of super 8 film, too? A while back I started shooting a lot of footage from the Alaskan Way Viaduct, out the window of my car. I wanted to see what the oils I was using on photographs would look like on the film. With the Viaduct footage, I used a lot of purple, oranges, yellows, and scratching with toothpicks or whatever I had available.
But, my very first Super 8 experience was shooting with filmmaker and friend, Jason Reid (sonicsgate.org). We merged digital video with 8 mm film. We shot in Georgetown and West Seattle and put an M. Ward song on top of the footage. Jason shot the digital, and I shot all of the 8 mm, and this led to shooting more and more films. Eventually, a lot of this initial work was shown at the Christoff Gallery in Georgetown for a show entitled, The Color of Black and White. After that experience, I realized I wanted to use film exclusively.
What do you like about Super 8? I love the grain and industrial-style of the film. It has a classic look, and there’s something to be said about that. With manual cameras, you have to mess with the light, mess with the aperture, get the exposure right, mine for shadows. You get film back that is either right or isn’t right. And when it isn’t right you can look at that film and say, “I can do something with that.”
All of that said, the one thing that really allows us to do the film work now is the digital transfer. I can’t discount the value of digital media and the editing latitude it gives us.
What are you doing right now? Is there anything you’ve done recently with Super 8? One of my latest 8 mm films is Balladen. I coupled parade footage from the 2008 Nordic Heritage Festival with an extra roll of film colored with Sharpies, which have a surprisingly diverse amount of colors.
I’ve also helped out with a lot of films found under youtube.com user “Reidsterreid”, such as "You Are My Sunshine." That is another example of my hand-painted films, and has had a lot of hits. For a complete listing of my work, check out mantisart.com.
Any parting thoughts? There are so many people around me that are so creative. I get support from friends and family. My family has been as supportive as anyone to me. I’m lucky as hell.
Hey super 8 fans, be sure to keep an eye out for one of Andrew’s latest projects at the Georgetown Super 8 Film Festival. His film, tentatively titled, Ode to Viaduct, will be a main feature.
Mark Baumgarten, Robert Ham, Todd Hamm and Kim Ruehl on Pop Music
Vince Mira: 3rd Annual Johnny Cash Spectacular No one does Johnny Cash like Vince Mira does Johnny Cash. Though the young performer (he’s all of seventeen!) is now focusing on writing his own material, and doing a fine job of it, he started his career covering Cash. If you’ve never seen him before, this is the show to see. — MB February 26 Neumos
Damien Jurado With straightforward lyrics delivered on simple melodies, Damien Jurado’s work is solidly rooted in folk music. But his creative impulses pull from far outside the scope of traditional Americana. At the end of the day, it’s all about the songs, and Jurado is happy to deliver whatever they call for. Onstage, his between-song banter is nearly as memorable as his music is stirring. This night, he’ll be joined by the Robinsons, a stripped-down version of Portland’s always-rocking Viva Voce. — KR February 26 Sunset Tavern
Vic Chesnutt Memorial Jason Moore of the Maldives, Erin Jourgensen, Marc Olsen and others perform tonight to raise money for the family of the beloved folk/Americana singer/songwriter who passed away this past Christmas. — KR February 28
Zach Carstensen on Classical
Jane Coop Often overlooked, the University of Washington music department brings some of the most talented instrumentalists to campus for concerts and recitals during the academic year. Jane Coop is one such performer. A professor of piano at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Coop plays a recital with music by Mendelssohn, Bach and Beethoven. February 26 7:30pm Brechemin Auditorium School of Music Building University of Washington
Rosie Gaynor on Dance
Man on the Beach No umbrella drinks for this beached boy. Salt Horse has expanded its twenty-minute, hypnotic, magical-realism meditation on memory (presented at OtB’s 2009 Northwest New Works Festival) into an evening-length piece. February 26–March 6 Erickson Theater Off Broadway 1524 Harvard Ave.
The Legend of the Butterfly Lovers
The Beijing Dance Academy’s company uses folk, classical and contemporary dance — plus spectacle — to tell this tale of parted lovers. In the end, the lovers become butterflies and fly off together happily ever after. February 27–28 Paramount Theatre 911 Pine St., 877.784.4849
Lelavision This best-of-Lelavision program includes the Volcano, the Orbacles, and the Teetertone. Watch the creative duo play their mysterious, surprising “Physical Music” at Lelavision.com. February 27 Shorecrest Performing Arts Center 15343 25th Ave. NE, Shoreline, 206.417.4645
Joey Veltkamp on Visual Arts
Closing this week: Unring the Bell For the second installation of Cornish’s Alumni Retrospective Series, Dan Webb will present a body of work emphasizing his maturation from student to one of Seattle’s most beloved artists. Through February 26 Cornish Main Gallery 1000 Lenora St. 206.726.5066
Closing this week: Polychrome I love Susan Dory’s layered paintings of pulses of color. For her third solo show with Winston Wächter, Dory has remixed her traditional style and palette and experiments with transparency. Through February 26 Winston Wächter 203 Dexter Ave. N. 206.652.5855
Atlanta-based Goodie Mob has been one of the heaviest influences on Southern hip-hop since their first album released in 1995. Members have regularly collaborated with other artists such as OutKast. After a long hiatus, during which member Cee-Lo founded Gnarls Barkley, the group has reunited and begun touring again.
Been to a cool show? Seen some great artwork? Upload your photos to our "Around Town" Flickr pool.
Typical American doughnuts appear to have pledged themselves to maple syrup, either by way of the classic maple bar, or, more recently, through the ultra-hip maple bacon doughnut. But try doughnuts and honey together in one of these three ways, and you may be converted permanently:
Scanning this year’s Sasquatch lineup, I am impressed by the myriad genres (and eras) represented in the crazy-quilt lineup. I’m a little concerned about how some acts will translate to the festival stage, but I can hear the flow already...
Not just horizontally, from the heartbreakingly hopeful narrative of the Mountain Goats, to the eyelash-batting-inducing Long Winters, or Phantogram’s smooth/seductive synth-y goodness, to the Temper Trap’s lovely mellow catchy happiness — but a diagonal zig-zag, like from Midlake’s dreamy Grizzly Americana to LCD Soundsystem’s effect on the collective dance-gene to Minus the Bear’s smarty math-rock.
The festival curator either lives in my head or is a dedicated KEXP listener like me. There isn’t one band listed that I don’t like (a few, perhaps, I have grown out of), but here’s what I’m looking forward to the most (after the jump):
A large-scale survey of John Buck's body of work in woodcarving, printing and sculpture, titled Iconography, has three days left at Bellevue's beautiful contemporary art museum, a vital cultural chamber that balances out the commercial heart of Bellevue Square shopping center.
From the museum's press release:
A master carver, all of the artist’s work is grounded first in wood carving, and then expands toward large and unique woodblock prints, monumental wood sculpture and unusually colorful, shadowbox-like wood panels.
The show is up through Sunday, February 28. Don't miss it.
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the demise of Tacoma's Warehouse music and arts space. Does that name ring a bell? It should, as City Arts spent considerable real estate in our February issue covering the lively incubator and its forward-looking young managers. Sadly, as the email that came in to City Arts earlier today attests, these entrepreneurs are now going to have to look forward in a different direction.
The warehouse formerly known as the Warehouse | photo by Andrew Waits
Now, you might think that we — like Sports Illustrated — are cursed. But not so fast. As Warehouse manager Adam Ytsie explained in his email, we had nothing to do with this one. "We really wanted to thank you for the support that City Arts showed to us," he wrote. "It was great publicity for us and hopefully publicity we can further use in the future. Unfortunately (NOT due to the article) we have been shut down and asked to vacate by our landlord."
We don't mean to downplay the sadness of this news; we just want David Boeand our other future cover subjects to know that they have nothing to worry about.
New video coverage is popping up on our Multimedia page, from our coverage of Rocky Votolato's recent performance in Reno to the latest installment of Chamber vs. Chamber at the Sorrento Hotel. Check back frequently for updates.
Have your Seattle Public Library card handy? Show it off at Seattle Art Museum this Sunday (February 28) and get in for free. That's right, you lover of good books and high culture, step into the exhibits and collections without cost. You can even check out the new Alexander Calder exhibit if you'd like (pictured above: a detail shot of Calder's Eagle at SAM's Olympic Sculpture Park). The Seattle Public Library's Shelf Talk blog has more info. See you there.
Donald Byrd’s newest work for Spectrum Dance Theater (Feb. 18 – 20) came with an agenda neatly spelled out in the title: “Farewell, A Fantastical Contemplation on America’s Relationship with China.” It is the second part of a three-year program called Beyond Dance: Promoting Awareness and Mutual Understanding. Last year Byrd addressed the Middle East and next year he takes on Africa.
Setting out to make art that is political, that has a stated meaning or intention beyond what it is itself, raises some itchy questions. Why “beyond” dance? Is he saying that dance itself is inadequate? A work created by a choreographer of Byrd’s ability, long famed for his punchy, fraught vision, and performed by talented go-for-broke dancers such as he has assembled at Spectrum, is going to “promote” some “awareness” and some “mutual understanding” despite itself -- by human beings moving through space in incredibly complex patterns and rhythms, pushing their physical limits while interacting with each other, the music, and the scenery in formal and theatrical ways.
“Farewell” is at times a fascinating, gorgeous piece, especially when it is not striving too hard for attached meanings. Yes, the human rights abuses that came after 9/11 were similar to some of the repressive policies of China, but we don’t need it underlined; we can safely be left to draw these kinds of conclusions ourselves from what Byrd shows us. We see it in the dancer’s suffering dreamlike cadences, or their regimentation, how they sit straight-backed in a row, or the desperately hopeful way they take turns shouting propaganda through megaphones. The ways government can blight personal freedom is lovingly touched on for us when the dancers break into a contemporary, pared down version of a Chinese folk dance as a traditional melody breaks through the cacophony of recorded voices.
The hyper-frenetic sound score by Byron Au Yong, (who also recently composed a score for Whim W’him “3Seasons” at On the Boards) used a mix of recorded sounds, including an onslaught of mostly unintelligible words in English and Chinese and the music of onstage performers Paul Kikuchi and Tiffany Lin, who played various instruments, including drums and bicycle wheels. Christine Joly De Lotbiniere’s costumes conveyed the drab uniformity of the clothing of the Mao era without being drab themselves, their light material and varying shades of khaki moving well with the dancers. Byrd reconfigured the Moore Theater for this piece so that the audience sat on platforms surrounding the stage, creating an intimate and intense experience of the dance. Scenic designer Jack Mehler suspended an evocative web of photographs from the rafters, including images of the tanks of Tiananmen square, 9/11, and a gigantic image of Chairman Mao.
The dancers performed the lightning fast shifts of choreography with the exhilarating, all stops pulled freedom that is a Spectrum trademark. Joel Myers drifted in and out of a coma in a waking dream. (“Farewell” was loosely inspired by “Beijing Coma,” a 2008 novel by dissident author Ma Jian, about a man left in a waking coma following the protests in Tiananmen Square.) Myers was partnered by a compellingly cool-edged Catherine Cabeen, a last minute stand-in for injured dancer Kylie Lewallen. In one terrifying sequence, the heavy benches that the dancers move throughout the evening to re-shape the performance space were dropped with a stage-shaking bang, dangerously near his sleeping form. The high-stakes dancers included Geneva Jenkins, Vincent Lopez, Kelly Ann Barton, Ty Alexander Cheng, Marissa Quimby, Amber Nicole Mayberry, Patrick Pulkrabek, and Tory Peil.
Throughout the piece Byrd sat upstage under the picture of Mao, occasionally shouting “Go!” at the dancers. He himself became a formal element in the scene, but was also a tongue-in-cheek reminder that we are all capable of creating various forms of tyranny. Watching this exhilarating, although sometimes sprawling work, made me feel once again grateful that the form of tyranny Byrd chose to follow was dance itself, and not something else, something “beyond” it
It's the middle of the work-week, and it's rainy, dark and bleak again after the teasingly glorious spring-like weather of the weekend. So to cheer you up, we recommend attending a performance set in Hell.
In this case, "Hell" is actually contained safely inside of the Triple Door. Sponsored by Seattle Sinner Magazine, the spectacle branded Hellfire Variety Show features burlesque, cabaret, circus acts, experimental, fire and performance art.
From the Triple Door's website:
"Part circus, part burlesque, part variety show, HELLFIRE takes a devilishly playful approach by exploring the full range of human morality. The show brings to life playful humor, startling beauty, and physical prowess."
You can catch the show at 7:00pm or 10:00pm, tonight and tomorrow night. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 day of show. (Note: the 7:00pm shows are 17 and older; the 10:00pm shows are 21+.)
You can’t find yourself where you are. It is for this reason that the restless spirits have trouble staying and eventually drift. I have known these people and I am one of them. We are always looking at pictures of the outside, usually the far outside, wondering when we will climb that mountain, walk down that street, herd those sheep, witness that depravity, and, most importantly, learn how to be new in the process. Out there, wherever the pictures lead, we are more perfect. Our bodies, minds, and souls are moving together without contradiction. Things are easier because we love what we are doing to the extent of forgotten hardship. We are better, much better, and happiness is a non-issue. We are resting our feet on some perfect table.
Out Here:
The people are mostly regular. They are construction workers and their wives and kids. They are the sighing and unemployed mocha drinkers. Conversation sticks to matters of fact. “Pretty today?” “Yep, might move some wood.” “You got the time?” “Little past four.” “How’s business?” “It’s been steady.” “Just picking up some soda for later.” “Where’d you get that tattoo?” “My horses are going to love these.”
As an outsider, I can’t help but be entertained by these people.
When I turn on to Dexter Avenue, I feel as if I've exited the highway during a long road-trip through the empty part of a state. It's mostly quiet; and it never leads you to believe you're heading in or out of town. With four spacious lanes, two dedicated bike lanes, and two parking lanes — just on the outskirts of downtown Seattle — Dexter almost dares you to take up space.
I probably would have skipped Beth Fleenor’s January 31st show at the Rendezvous JewelBox Theater in Belltown if the night’s lineup began with her experimental band, Figeater.
Anacortes-based indie rock heroes, The Lonely Forest, have just signed on with Chris Walla's new label Trans. Walla, known famously as the guitarist for Death Cab for Cutie, has produced numerous local indie acts and the Lonely Forest will be the first to his new label (Megan Seling at The Stranger has details on Walla and Atlantic).
The Lonely Forest has seriously had this coming. The band has been a local favorite for the last couple of years, with many Web sites and publications offering some variation on the theme: "Why aren't these guys famous?" In fact, in one of the last issues of Sound magazine (before merging with City Arts) the band was featured on the cover, along with the tag line: A Band on the Brink.
The Lonely Forest is undoubtedly going to gain even more fans and earn greater industry respect. With the signing out of the way, that's now just a matter of time.
Canadian stars Joni Mitchell and Jean Grand-Maître, artistic director of Alberta Ballet (below), bring their contemporary dance collaboration, The Fiddle and the Drum, to the Paramount tonight.
Mitchell is the creator of some of the best national anthems for the woebegone. Grand-Maître choreographed the opening and closing ceremonies for the winter games in Vancouver. Together, they bring you an emotional and sensual contemplation on the bipolar tendencies of human nature: love and hate, war and peace — all set to songs by Mitchell and complemented by the songwriter's original artwork.
Scanning this year’s Sasquatch lineup, I am impressed by the myriad genres (and eras) represented in the crazy-quilt lineup. I’m a little concerned about how some acts will translate to the festival stage, but I can hear the flow already...
A large-scale survey of John Buck's body of work in woodcarving, printing and sculpture, titled 
