photo by liquidnight [flickr] via our group pool [#]

If you’re not watching the Battlestar Galactica series finale or NCAA tournament action, a couple of items for your weekend:

• Take another look at the glossified new Crocodile for free as they stage their second Soundcheck show with Akimbo, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, and Patrol. Presumably they’ll have remedied the liquor supply situation tonight.
• Bizarre throwback rock with Big Head Todd and the Monsters at the Showbox [#] and Candlebox staging their second apparently in-demand night of shows at Neumo’s [#].
• Vegfest returns to Seattle Center for the weekend, complete with tons of vegetarian resources and loads of vendors with food to ready for you to taste.
• Rally against the war in Cal Anderson. [chs]
• Watch Chopra vs Driscoll in ABC’s battle over the existence of Satan. [bigblog]
• Listen to the new Decemberists album. [imeem]

11:00 AM – Christa Bell: Interview
Richard Hugo House, Cabaret
Local writer and performer Karen Finneyfrock interviews Christa Bell in this follow-up to last night’s “My Avatar” event at Town Hall Seattle.
[LINK]

12:00 PM – Caitlin Kittredge: Second Skin
Seattle Mystery Bookshop
Detective Luna Wilder tracks a killer who is targeting werewolves in the third novel of the Nocturne City series.
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Robert Bringhurst & Jan Swicky: Readings
Elliott Bay Book Co.
Elliott Bay Books is VERY VERY EXCITED about this event. Go read the website. Extraordinary, distinct, singular, distinguished… a whole lot of superlatives strewn through the event description. Could be an interesting time.
[LINK]

Have you seen the countless posters with a bald dude telling you there’s free music somewhere? I have and I finally did some interneting.

Songs of the Soul will most likely be a hippie love fest, but I figure that’ll be a perfect way to spend my 4-20.

Here’s what you do to get these free tix:

You need to reserve your free tickets, so just call the nice man who answers the phone and tell him how many you want. He’ll sound all confused when you say your name 3 times, but it’s okay because he’s so damn nice.

Songs of the Soul
206-446-9409
Monday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m.
Benaroya Hall
FREE!

It’s difficult to understate the degree of the transformation at the Crocodile. But at last night’s soundcheck and preview, there were at least two familiar sights from the Crocodile Cafe (RIP) among the otherwise extreme makeover that is the Crocodile:

new sound board

::

old pole

The (new) Crocodile is, as everyone else has already said in more and better words, a beautiful new showroom. Gone is almost every piece of dingy kitsch, hanging paper-mâché sculpture, worn-out furniture, neon sheep, and eerie black light. In exorcising them, the club’s new owners found miles of high ceilings (so much so that they could fit in a mezzanine poster paradise with a skylight) with exposed beams and wood everywhere, space for two green rooms (that have bands raving), spacious bathrooms with marble sinks, a makeout nook [!], a giant stage situated opposite a large bar. Except for the second level, the layout reminds me a lot of the club on the new web series Rockville, CA (which is really just the Echoplex). It feels warm and roomy and the higher stage means better sightlines from all over.
Oh, and the three bands — among booking agent Eli Anderson’s local favorites — sounded great in the new room. The only minor hitch was that due to late-breaking liquor permits, the bar started low on alcohol (beer only) and ran out fast. The crowd, a mix of die hards, music insiders, and curious onlookers, thinned appreciably after the wells ran dry. Luckily, 2nd Avenue has no shortage of bars. For instance, between sets Shorty’s seemed a whole lot like the Crocodile Cafe’s back bar that I loved so much, with bands, fans, and other less glossy Belltowners filtering in for drinks.

More pictures — including the Quiet Ones, Hypatia Lake, and the Kindness Kind — in the opening night photoset. [flickr]

7:00 PM – Aaron Silverberg, Laurie Scullin, and Mimi Allin: Poetry Reading
Fremont Place Books
Aaron Silverberg has written 2 books, Thoreau’s Chair and Diamonds Only Water Can Wear. Laurie Scullin is a local therapist, who writes because it’s in his Irish blood and writing is a relatively cheap addiction. A.K. “Mimi” Allin, the Poetess at Green Lake, has planned numerous urban maneuvers. Allin curates Untitled [Intersection]” a poetry and performance art series in Seattle’s Phinney Neighborhood Center.
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Elaine Showalter: A Jury Of Her Peers : American Women Writers From Anne Bradstreet To Annie Proulx
UW Bookstore, U-District
The groundbreaking feminist scholar and critic discusses her newest book, feminism, and no doubt many, many other topics with Seattle’s favorite librarian, Nancy Pearl. (Yes, I know she no longer works for the SPL, but while you can take the Librarian out of the Library, she is still a Secret Master of the Universe.)
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Matthew & Michael Dickman: Poetry Reading
Elliott Bay Book Co.
Elliott Bay’s website places this event at Benaroya Hall, as of 3/18, but I think that’s a mistake. In any case, the poetic twins are visiting from Portland to read from their respective debut collections.
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Miguel A. Ruiz, Jr.: Four Agreements, Mastery of Love
East West Bookshop, Seattle, $25 – $30
The author will speak about his family’s teachings and work with what they call “tools of transformation,” including the mastery of awareness and the mastery of love.
[LINK]

7:30 PM – My Avatar: Hugo Literary Series
Town Hall Seattle, Great Hall, $15-$25
The Richard Hugo Literary Series presents performance artist Christa Bell (CoochieMagic: A Spoken Word Musical Comedy), memoirist Jennifer Finney Boylan (I’m Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted and the Lambda Award-winning memoir She’s Not There), novelist Vikram Chandra (Sacred Games, Love and Longing in Bombay) and indy-country rock group The Maldives. A great venue for what promises to be a fantastic event!
[LINK]

photo by jay cox [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• We’re having a Metblogs meetup at Oddfellows at 6:30. [mb]
• the Crocodile‘s re-opening; showing off their wondrously renovated space with a free show starring Hypatia Lake, the Kindness Kind, and the Quiet Ones. [mb]
• the Helio Sequence is headlining at Showbox SoDo for Seattle Soundbite, where you can hear bands who have bandmates in the food service industry (which bands don’t? is a better question) while enjoying street food from some of Seattle’s finest restaurants. [mb]
• None of these suit your fancy? There are a dozens of alternatives. [tig]

I know this is way overdue, but I think I’m still processing just how awesome this event was. I was invited to attend the Rat City Rollergirls’ bout #2 at Key Arena back on March 7th and was even allowed to take photos from the floor. I had never been to a bout before so I really didn’t know what to expect. They used to have these out at a hangar in Magnuson Park over in Sand Point, but they were always sold out. Well, since the Sonics are gone and the Thunderbirds are now playing in their shiny new arena in Kent, there is a lot more room at the Key for the Rat City Rollergirls. While not every seat was filled, there were a LOT of people in the stands.

I’m not going to go into the details of how flat-track roller derby is played, you can read all about that on their website. I will say the action is pretty fast, but the game is easy to understand once you watch a couple of jams. They also spend a good amount of time at the beginning explaining how it all works to the crowd. I’m hoping they are just doing this because of all the new spectators and fans they are getting from being in a bigger venue. In fact, that is my only gripe about the game, there is a lot of talking between action. It isn’t a bad thing exactly, but it did make bouts seems like they took forever to get started.

Each team has their own theme and personality. For example, the Derby Liberation Front has an air of gorilla warfare, while Grave Danger is more of a horror-punk/undead themed team. The officials are all characters as well, which makes it seem more of a fun game and less of a “we’re only playing this game so we can get to the playoffs and win something” attitude that most other team sports have. And they do all of this while maintaining a family friendly event. In fact, most of the skaters seem to go out of their way to high-5 kids or talk to them as they pass by. Really cool.

I strongly encourage anyone who is even remotely interested in the sport to go to the next bout, which is on April 18th (that’s a Saturday) at Key Arena. Prices are $20 for adults and $13 for kids under 13. Day of the bout the prices go up to $28 and $17. You can buy tickets at the Key Arena box office, or through Ticketmaster if you feel like giving a horrible company an extra 40% (personally I would just take the time to drive over to the Key and buy them in person).

Many more pictures of the bout I attended after the jump:
(more…)

On April 8th, United Way of King County will be hosting its Community Resource Exchange at Qwest Field Plaza. This one day event provides direct service to King County’s homeless and their families. Previously, over 1,000 guests have received hot meals and had immediate access to housing referrals, health services, legal assistance, employment counseling, and public benefits.

With the local economy continuing to slide, these services are becoming more vital as more people require assistance. For example, currently there are 3-4 month wait lists at women’s transitional housing throughout the Seattle region, and these lists are 200-300 long, each person hoping for a chance at the one or two rooms slated to be vacant.

Community involvement for this event is highly encouraged. There are two ways people can contribute to the event: by organizing a supply drive and/or volunteering at the event.

People can host supply drives at their schools, churches, service organizations or community groups. United Way’s goal is to create 1,500 care packages with the following items: new socks and underwear, toiletries, blankets & backpacks.

Volunteers at the event work directly with the guests – checking them in and out, assisting them in locating services, translating, and making sure they have a positive experience. It’s a great experience for the volunteers and a big help for those experiencing homelessness in King County.

United Way’s website is here and contains links for people to sign up. If you have any questions, contact cre@uwkc.org.

We just got the e-mail. Culinary Communion has closed it’s doors. Their website has been updated with the contents of the email message they sent to subscribers earlier this morning.

Renovations they made to their building, coupled with permitting issues, and the downturn in the economy have resulted in no cashflow and so they have shut down effective immediately. Anyone who has registered (and paid for) a class will be contacted soon regarding the money put down for classes. The email is really rather dire and I feel for them.

The lunch counter will remain open and operated by The Swinery and The Swinery will remain operating.

They are having a CASH ONLY sale this Saturday to try to raise money to refund those who have paid for classes that just aren’t going to happen. The sale is from 2-6pm at 2524 Beacon Ave S., Seattle, 98144.