(Image, of course, by Shepard Fairey)

I can’t imagine that you haven’t heard, but just in case you’ve been hiding under a rock/still celebrating Obama: tomorrow is the national day of Join the Impact protesting against California’s Proposition 8 (and, by extension, Florida’s Prop 2, and so on…) Everything starts at 10:30 in Volunteer Park, and the march to Westlake starts at 12:00. At 2:00 the rally and speeches start at Westlake.

This will be a first for me–I’ve never done the whole march/rally thing before. Metroblogging readers, will you be joining in also?

The Buck, at 1498 Olive Way, is very clearly by the same people behind Bleu Bistro and Chez Gaudy. The layout is clustered in funny ways with bars stuck in awkward places, somehow managing to create a bunch of pretty private-feeling spaces in a little bitty room. It’s a lot more open than its siblings, though, without any claustrophobic curtains or fancy twists and turns, and it is hilariously Western-themed.

The staff was incredibly friendly, setting aside a table for us while the first of our party to arrive chatted with friends at another table, and not minding at all when we outgrew our space and invaded the large table when it emptied. When I sat down they plunked a glass of water and a giant bowl of buttons and Cowboy and Indian toys in front of me. We didn’t try the food–I’m sure it’s great, but a little pricey, and there were rabbit and lamb tacos right next door–but the cocktail menu is typically extensive and happily themed, everything that we sampled was good, and the beers are poured into giant frosty mugs. It’s a nice addition to the growing Olive bar scene.

But be warned–Bethany was not kidding about the terrifying mannequin in the lefthand-side bathroom. Even though we KNEW that it was there, not one of us managed to open that door without being startled by the damn thing. People who have trouble urinating with company would be better served by sticking to the bathroom on the right, because that bathroom is a truly uncomfortable experience. It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen in a bar bathroom.

I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but in case you’re new: Common Market are amazing. They’re frequently overshadowed by producer DJ Sabzi’s other project, Blue Scholars, and that’s a shame. Live, RA Scion prowls the stage, spinning his powerful words and punching you in the face with his passion for social justice over Sabzi’s incredibly danceable beats. They’re like no one else. Just yesterday I was walking home and listening to the track “Poison” from the group’s self-titled first album and thinking about how great they are, and how excited I am for this new album.

Their new album, Tobacco Road, came out yesterday, and the release party is tomorrow night at Neumos. And it’s going to be amazing. You’re lucky that I’m going out of town tomorrow, Metroblogging readers, because I would be so tempted to hoard these tickets for myself. According to the band, the show will have: “An AMAZING Bluegrass band instead of a House DJ, the amazing Feral Children opening - the HOT HOT Seattle band THee Emergency and then a Common Market set unlike you have EVER seen, including the Experience Gospel Choir, live drumming and instrumentation, THEATRICS (yes thats right) and even a bit of dance.”

Clearly, this is going to be the best show of the year, and I’m going to be on stupid vacation in stupid LA. But you don’t have to miss it! We have two tickets to give away! Email us at seattle.metblogs@gmail.com by tonight, and we will pick a winner in the morning.

If you are a Mariners fan and you’re female,  this one is for you.

The Savvy Girls of Summer are hosting a pre-game event next Tuesday for female Mariners fans and children under 14. Tickets are only $11 and include the game and a pre-game event w/ snacks, wine, and a Moose visit!

From Deidre Silva, one of the savvy girls, and author of It Takes More Than Balls: The Savvy Girls’ Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Baseball, “What makes this different from a Girls Night Out or Ladies Day event is that there will be a brief panel discussion featuring women who work in the sports industry. This is a good opportunity to expose your kids to a dramatically different sports perspective than we normally experience. Fox Sports commentator Angie Mentink will be on hand as well as a few women who are executives in the Mariners organization, including one of the player’s wives.”

More details, including the event schedule and online reservations, available here.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Carlson [flickr] via our group pool [#]

Picture it: it’s July 2004. A long-winded Senator for Massachusetts is trying to become president. Seattle still has dreams of a new monorail. Kathleen Wilson is writing for the Stranger. Blogging.LA was experimenting with cityblogging spin-offs. And so it was that Seattle Metblogs (or, as we liked to call it back in the day, Metroblogging Seattle) was born just in time for Independence Day fireworks [mb]. But a weblog doesn’t count until it survives for at least a month; so we’re celebrating our birthday at our August happy hour:

Last year we had a tea party that brought us cake, a box of walnuts, and vodka. This year, we’ll be at McLeod Residence from 6 to 9 pm and we’d very much enjoy it if you stopped in to say hello. A final schedule of events is still in the works, but there are rumors of cupcakes, dramatic readings of comments from the archives, and video games. We hope you’ll join us. After that, stay for Tiger Beat (a Contemporary/80s Mash Up Dance Party by Pity Party productions), so you can stick around and follow Lykke Li’s advice and dance, dance, dance.

Block Party, this may be a little indelicate, but we need to talk about your size. See, it seems that you’ve grown out of those pants you’re wearing, and it’s making you really difficult to be around. While it’s nice to have the mainstage in the middle and all, it makes it ridiculously difficult to get from one side to the other. I spent most of the weekend pretty stationary mostly because I was afraid of getting sucked into the crowd. If you keep this up, people are going to get hurt.

The best $2 I’ve ever spent were used to sit in that corner window at the Comet on Friday. The guy selling cans of PBR had put up a sign that said “Comet VIP Seating $2″ behind him, but I don’t think anyone believed him, so I watched almost everything at the mainstage perched in the window, getting high fives, and able to see everything, including a little too much of Tim Harrington when he came careening over to the hot dog stand during Les Savy Fav’s set. (The best $1 I spent was on a Creamsicle during the Fleet Foxes’ set–man, those things are delicious.)

The best dance party of the weekend came, unsurprisingly, during The Saturday Knights’ appearance as the super secret Neumos guest. (Told you so.) I feel like I’ve been practicing tantric record appreciation for the last few years, waiting for these guys to finally release something other than the EP I’ve had since they were giving them away at the Crocodile in 2005, and I’m so pleased that Mingle was the album I was hoping for. Most of the crowd in Neumos around us clearly were not Metroblogging readers, because they had no idea who was coming up, and when The Saturday Knights walked on with a full band and started in on “45″ the crowd sat in stunned silence for a second and then let loose. By the end of the set I was drenched in sweat and beaming, without once having been trampled to death by the crowd.

Image via Josh

More after the jump…

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A traffic reminder: All you eastsider’s who want to hang with the cool kids (or, for all you cool kids who want to slum it on the eastside): The 520 Bridge will be closed this weekend for the annual inspection starting at 11 PM on Friday, lasting to 5 AM Monday morning. So either plan to take the long way over 90, or spending a lot of quality time with whoever you’re visiting. And, in keeping with the 520 bridge: Enjoy this video of why they are inspecting it. Note: The opinions in this piece do not reflect that of Seattle Metroblogging, or even the author, but is merely a humorous method to impart useful information. Your humor intake may vary.

Back when Stix first opened in South Lake Union I went over and took a look and decided it wasn’t my scene [mb]. It went through a bit of a remodel and tried on a few new looks, but given a choice for where to go for an after-work drink, I will always pick the Mars Bar over anywhere else in the neighborhood.

It looks like I wasn’t the only one who never warmed up to the place, because The Southlake is pointing out that the joint is for sale. From the listing:

“BUSINESS CLOSED, SELLER MOTIVATED!!!! Rare opportunity to aquire a first class restaurant and billiards club facility, located on the shore of South Lake Union near downtown Seattle. Built out brand new just 2 years ago, this facility is located next to the south end station of the new South Lake Union Trolly line, and across from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center….The facility includes a full kitchen, multiple pool tables, a private room with deck, and a very large and contemperary bar. A new owner can easily convert to a full service restaurant, club, catering facility, or ??????.”

So I guess if you’re in the market for a pool hall with a view, this is your chance. I wish someone would come in and make it something that doesn’t match Joey’s and Chandler’s and all of those. Bonus points to the buyer if they sell piroshkis or turn it into a Chik-Fil-A franchise filled with pool tables. If you do that I will visit you all of the time.

_{photo courtesy of Metroblogging’s own Slightlynorth / Shawn [flickr]}

The New York Times published a short travel essay on Georgetown a couple days ago [nyt]. In it they describe the appeal of a neighborhood Fantagraphics curator Larry Reid calls the “last outpost of any blue-collar, bohemian arts culture in Seattle.” When put that way, the appeal is self-explanatory. For those reasons and more, I really enjoy Georgetown. There’s an authenticity (grittiness?) to it that is missing from many other Seattle neighborhoods. Lunch at Jules Mae’s Saloon is easily turned into a Seattle history lesson and a short walk along Airport Way always leaves me feeling fortunate that Georgetown exists (however precariously) and sentimental for a different Seattle.

And so, thanks to the TNT’s Grit City, the Tacoma comparison begins. Noting that among other things Tacoma (like Georgetown) has its own glass blowers, artists on scooters, and cheap rent, Grit City proudly declares that Tacoma is the new Seattle. Here I thought Portland was the new Seattle. Or Omaha. And if those cities are the new Seattle, what’s Seattle? Once again, an Internet poll comes to our rescue.

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Update: I just noticed that Grit City is not claiming Tacoma is the new Seattle. They’re claiming Seattle is the new Tacoma. All the sudden this meme became a lot more more sinister.