The Stranger Suggests
January 7 - January 14
Caro, the Sight Below
Music
A weeknight in January: sounds kind of bleak. But on this second Thursday of 2009, two of Seattle's most accomplished electronic-music producers threaten to turn Nectar into a hot, throbbing simulacrum of a bustling club in Berlin. The Sight Below chills with gaseous, pulsating tracks that wed sublime shoegazer rock to subzero techno. Caro (aka Randy Jones) offers a warmer, funkier brand of tech-house, proving that Caucasian instrument/software-inventor types got soul, too. (Nectar, 416 N 36th St, 632-2020. 8 pm, $8, 21+.)
See what else is happening Thursday »
Black Stax
Music
The great singer Felicia Loud performs with the great rappers of Silent Lambs Project: Silas Blak and Jace ECAJ. What defines Loud, who is also an established actor, is her flawless command of the tones and textures of American soul. And what defines Silent Lambs Project, who’ve been recording music since the early ’90s, is their commitment to a hiphop that is complicated at the levels of ideas and expression, politics and language. Indeed: too black, too strong. (Electric Tea Garden, 1402 E Pike St, 568-3972. 9:30 pm, $5, all ages.)
See what else is happening Friday »
John Spalding Benefit
Music
In November, local musician John Spalding passed away after a long battle with lung cancer. To help Spalding's family pay off the remaining medical bills, at least half a dozen benefit shows have been organized in his honor. Tonight's impressive installment—which features Minus the Bear, the Cave Singers, Rocky Votolato, Past Lives, and Triumph of Lethargy—will be a bittersweet celebration of a beloved man and a reminder of the talent and generosity of Seattle's tight-knit music community. (Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave, 628-3151. 8 pm, $20, all ages.)
See what else is happening Friday »
'The Wrestler'
Film
Two reasons to watch this movie about a washed-up professional wrestler: its first 30 minutes and Mickey Rourke. Why the first 30 minutes? Because they are not chained to the machine of the Hollywood plot, but loosely explore the day-to-day world of a man who wrestles for a few bucks and who drinks—not to forget his glorious past but to enjoy the present. Why Mickey Rourke? Because no other actor could better understand the soul of a person who had a spectacular rise the '80s and a spectacular fall in the '90s. The wrestler and the actor are one and the same. (See movie times, thestranger.com, for details.)
See what else is happening Saturday »
2nd Sunday
Music
Sunday is a tough night to crack for a dance party, but the new monthly 2nd Sunday has the best shot of any since Flammable. Tonight's debut features NYC electro freak-funk duo Free Blood, who opened for Hot Chip here in April and feature John Pugh, aka that lanky, stomping, falsetto singer formerly of !!!. Future nights will feature equally ambitious out-of-town talent—promoters/resident DJs Ben Cook (proprietor of Rong Music) and H.M.A. (full disclosure: Dan Savage's babydaddy) have booked Tim Sweeney for next month and hinted at DFA-affiliated heavies for the spring. (Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000. 9 pm, $8, 21+.)
See what else is happening Sunday »
69
Film Fest
To kick off its "in-depth, yearlong exploration of the films of 1969," the Northwest Film Forum screens a pair of cultural heavyweights. Easy Rider stars Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, and Jack Nicholson along with tons of drugs and rock and an ending that mindfucked an entire generation. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stars Paul Newman, Robert Redford, bank robberies, and an ending that's an artful mindfuck in its own right. (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 869-7963. Easy Rider 6:45 pm, Butch Cassidy 8:30 pm, $9.)
See what else is happening Monday »
Goodwill and Sandwiches
Retail/Chow
The Goodwill Outlet (better known as "the bins") is like the regular Goodwill except that all the clothes are just dumped into gigantic wheeled carts and sold by the pound and sometimes there's, like, a tampon in there. But do not be deterred! You dig, you are diligent, and then you find it! An oversize sweatshirt with an airbrushed portrait of Aaliyah and "JAZMINE" in bubbly letters on the back! Or the best jeans you will ever own! Or a tampon! (Just ignore it.) Afterward, head to Saigon Deli in the ID for a crunchy, tangy, cheap-ass Vietnamese sandwich. Wash your hands first. (Goodwill Outlet, 1400 S Lane St, 860-5711, 9 am–9 pm. Saigon Deli, 1237 S Jackson St, 322-3700, 7 am–7 pm.)
'Color, Light, Time, and Place'
Art
The deepest, hottest rings of hell are reserved for the bad abstract painter. He harms us all, and his circle is crowded. By contrast, every single great abstraction is an angel, and Michael Dailey has made a few. Zoom right in on the 8-year-old acrylic painting Butterfield (right), a square of glowing pink-yellow with a curtain of lines around it—it's a stage for pure light. Two galleries are celebrating the Seattle artist's four decades of work. (Francine Seders Gallery, 6701 Greenwood Ave N, 782-0355, 11 am–5 pm. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, 624-0770, 10:30 am–5:30 pm.)
