this caucasian quintet will be bringing to funny to seattle on monday

the Whitest Kids U Know graduated from live sketches to YouTube to a television show on IFC. While laughing at their absurdist antics from your couch or desk (depending on how work-appropriate your office considers skits featuring, for instance, a corporate executive forced through bondage gone awry to bring an asian prostitute to a board meeting) has its own appeal, laughing at them on stage as part of an audience of other laughing people while servers bring you cocktails is far more classic.

They’ll be taking their show on the road and stopping at the Triple Door on Monday. We’ve got a pair of tickets so that one of you can experience the hilarity live and in person for free. Hurry and send and e-mail to seattle.metblogs at gmail.com with “wkuk” and I’ll pick a winner by Monday morning.

// 9 February, 21+, doors at 7, show at 9pm $15 [tripledoor]

the zipcar reservations interface

Zipcar, the car-sharing service that merged with Flexcar last year, is opening a real life office in downtown Seattle. In an interesting twist of fate, they’re taking over the storefront formerly occupied by the Department of Licensing office on Union Street (below 4th Avenue).

The grand opening is today and in addition to free snacks they’re also rewarding drop-in visitors with free Zipcar memberships. If you’ve been intrigued by short-term car rental but have been weary of the $50 annual fee, this is a great time to take the plunge. When you sign-up you’ll get a chance to spin a prize wheel for a chance to earn “driving credit, ski passes and other goodies.”

Today also marks a new partnership with the City of Seattle granting all city employees access to Zipcar. In their press release, they cite survey data showing that about half of Zipcar users increased their public transit usage and that membership is associated with reducing vehicle miles traveled by nearly 40 percent. When they extrapolate this data to Seattle, this represents an annual reduction of 2,623,620 gallons of gas and 25,449 tons of carbon dioxide.

I’ve been a member since they were Flexcar, and while my use has been infrequent it has always been convenient enough to reduce temptation to buy a car to occupy my parking space.

Previously in car sharing:

• “I Like Zipcar, too” [mb]
• Flexcar 101 [mb]

photo by Matthías Árni Ingimarsson via the album leaf [myspace]

I’m not sure if you Sunday plans involve guacamole, advertisments, Bruce Springsteen and celebrating the Superb Owl, but if you think that all of that will leave you with enough energy to be relaxed by some post-rock daydreams, then you’re in business. Gearing up to record a new album, the Album Leaf , Jimmy LaValle’s name for his mostly solo endeavor (that picks up helpers on the road) is playing a show at Neumo’s that night. To me the band has always sounded a lot like an exploration of landscape features through richly layered technology, making for gorgeous soundtracks for everyday living. The last time I saw them, they were performing a freshly-composed accompaniment to Sunshine at the Seattle International Film Festival.

The thought of hearing what they’ve been up to and getting a peek at what’s in store for this fall’s new record is enough to make you want to exercise football watching in moderation. Want a chance to go for free? We have a pair of tickets that could have your name on them. Send a note to seattle.metblogs @ gmail.com and you’ll be entered to win. Those who include their favorite gametime snack might improve their odds; a winner will be chosen by Saturday morning.

// The Album Leaf with Black Mamba, Anomie Belle; 8 pm , $12 adv [neumos]

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

(originally posted 12 january; last update: thursday 15 january)

George W. Bush held his very last press conference this morning [wonkette] and in a week you’ll be going to sleep preparing to spend the next morning watching onetime Capitol Hill resident [chs] Barack Obama getting himself inaugurated. If, like most of us, you got turned down for tickets, thought it was ecologically or financially unfriendly to fly to D.C. to stand out in the cold on the Mall while watching on a distant big screen television, you’re probably still in the market for a morning party.

Here’s an incomplete list of what I’ve seen floating around so far:

MORNING/WATCHING THE INAUGURATION:

• the Stranger’s party/brunch at the Triple Door is SOLD OUT, but if you have a connection to some secret tickets e-mail me. [slog]
• the Paramount is hosting a free party in partnership with KOMO. It’s free with a bunch of Obama-themed concessions from Tom Douglas like “Malia Scones “, “Banana-bama Bread”, and “Sasha’s Carroty Goodness Muffins” paired with the “Obama-Mama” specialty cocktail for sale in the lobby. [theparamount].
• Party with Jean Godden while feasting on selection from the Dahlia Lounge’s new brunch menu at the Palace Kitchen Ballroom. [voracious]
• Central Cinema parts with their usual pizza party theme for a champagne toast with various brunch options. [capitolhillseattle]
• the party at the SLU Discovery Center is free, though you might leave tempted to buy a condo. [thesouthlake]
• Kerri Harrop and WorldChanging are hosting a free Seattle Weekly party at Spitfire. [dailyweekly]
• AM1090 is hosting a $10.90 brunch with 10 television screens and dueling pianos. [88keys]
• The Baltic Room will have big televisions, a bloody mary bar, and breakfast buffet. [baltic room]
• There are 40 televisions at Sport playing the inauguration. [moveon]
• The City of Seattle is hosting a “Celebration of Hope” viewing party from 8 am until the inaugural parade at the Center House; the audio will also be broadcast from the International Fountain, which should make for a trippy experience if kids are playing in the water and fog. [seattlecenter]
• Brunch at Martin’s Off Madison. [seattlegayscene]
• Starbucks is simulcasting the inauguration to 650 of its stores, including some in Seattle. Perfect for latte liberals! [nytimes]
• MSNBC is commandeering Lincon Square Cinemas to show their coverage of the event. [msnbcevents]
• MOE kicks off the new era in style with twelve happy hours beginning at 8 am: $2 Wells, $2 PBR & High Life, 2 flat screen TVs on all day, breakfast from Pike Street Fish Fry, Mimosas and Bloody Marys in the morning, Whiskey and Jager at night. And biznik will be there; so maybe you’ll network your way into a new economy job? [moe]

I’m sure there are others (for instance a search of online political type sites [moveon][pic2009] yields many events large and small all over the place); leave a comment or send a note to seattle.metblogs at gmail.com and I’ll keep updating this list.

Mark your calendars, people. Portland indie pop duo, Blind Pilot, has rescheduled their show after they weren’t able to weather the floods for their previously scheduled show on Jan 8th. They are slated to play at 7:30 pm on Monday, Jan 26th at the Triple Door.

If this eco-minded, toe tappin’, bike tourin’ duo doesn’t do it for you, maybe 3 Leg Torso will. This opener is a five-piece band who has scored for independent filmmakers like Academy Award winning animator Joan Gratz and will be sure to entertain any crowd.
 

A taste: Blind Pilot- “Go on Say it” ; 3 Leg Torso

Tickets are $12 and can be purchased here, or by calling the Triple Door box office: 206 838 4333  

Triple Door // 216 Union st (between 2nd and 3rd) // 26 January // 7:30pm

photo by katharine moriarty [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• There’s a Tumblr Meetup tonight at Oddfellows. I can’t make it, but will someone please steal me a sticker? [tumblr/daryn.net]
• Cary Moon and the People’s Waterfront Coalition say that DeepBore is a win and a loss. At least there won’t be a new viaduct. [seattlest]
• A handy timeline of proposed massive construction projects could be replaced with “now until forever“. [capitolhillseattle]
• Vaguely relevant to our own slice of the impending death of print: the internet in newsprint form turns out to strangely beautiful and not all that expensive to produce. [magculture via distorte]
• Taco Gringos are on vacation in Mexico. [helloseattle]
• The explanation for Viceroy’s change of name to Rob Roy? The new name sounds more cockatil, less “belltown”. [voracious]

P.S. previous posts announcing and reminding you of our Metblogs meetup this week incorrectly identified Thursday’s date. The meetup will still be held on Thursday, which, contrary to my initial perception, will be the 15th of January at Oddfellow’s Cafe. Chat about stuff, including special focus on the future of Seattle news.

for an updated list, see : http://seattle.metblogs.com/2009/01/15/list-of-lists-inauguration-parties-tuesday-morning-drinks/ or http://seattle.metblogs.com/2009/01/19/celebrating-the-inauguration-in-seattle/

(more…)

photo by david hogan [flickr] via our group pool [#]

still scrambling for ways to say goodbye to 2k8? options abound:

• dinner, dancing, and mysteries. [capitolhillseattle]
• something animated GIFtastic. [capitolhillebrities]
• dirty dancing. [threeimaginarygirls]
• eating and singing along with swedes. [scc]
• in west seattle. [wsb]
• protesting, dancing, on a 39 hour bender. [seattlegayscene]
• stalking the seattlests. [seattlest]
• in a cathedral, with the symphony, watching improv, sweating to the eighties, under the space needle. [bigblog]
• having a meaningful time [lineout] at a show, seeing whether Monotonix burn down the Parmount or whether E.S.S. remains jackass-free [lineout]

Anything else? I’ll add more as they turn up.

thao with the get down stay down at bumbershoot.

The year is drawing to a close, but before wintry weather makes touring too difficult the local show calendars are closing 2008 with a bang. As usual, listener-powered radio heartthrob KEXP is celebrating the season with a pair of delightfully indie showcases. This year, they’re putting on a double-header Yule Benefit on Friday and Saturday (the 12th and 13th) at Neumo’s.

Sandwiched in the middle of both evenings is Shearwater, a mellow Okkervil River spinoff from Austin , Texas. On Friday, they’ll be joined by local luminaries Grand Archives (who we still can’t say enough good things about, though we have certainly tried) and the Dutchess & the Duke (recently “reformed” punks from the Intelligence, the Fallouts, and the Fe Fi Fo Fums who are plying folksier wares on Hardly Art) . Saturday finds adorable indie pop charmers Thao with the Get Down Stay Down on headlining duties with Seattle-based hip hop stars Cancer Rising in the opening slot.

Tickets for each show are $15 each (or $25 for both) with the proceeds benefitting KEXP (whose memberships, by the way, might make a nice, compact, environmentally-friendly gift [kexp]). However, we’re giving away pair of tickets for each night. Send a note to seattle.metblogs @ gmail.com with your full name and a preference for which show you’d like to attend. I’ll pick a winner on Saturday afternoon. While not required, fun facts about the yule log, the winter solstice, or hilarious holiday traditions might improve your chances of success.

// Grand Archives, Shearwater, The Dutchess and The Duke. Friday 12 December, $15 adv, 8p [neumos];
// Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Shearwater, Cancer Rising. Saturday 13 December, $15 adv, 8p [neumos]

photo via stephen malkmus [myspace]

Once upon a time there was a band called Pavement that gave college indie-rock geeks (before being an indie rock geek was a primetime drama character trait) something to obsess over in the nineties that wasn’t grunge. Now, of course, they have faded into the mists of record shop legend, but frontman Stephen Malkmus lives on with his merry band of heroes, the Jicks. Who, by the way, feature one Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney fame on drums.

They’ll bring their sprawling, noodling, rocking all the way from Portland to Neumo’s this Saturday night. You can buy tickets right away ($17 plus fees) or try your luck and win a pair by sending a note to seattle.metblogs @ gmail.com. (please include your name and mailing address, since the tickets are “real” and not “will call”). I’ll pick a winner by the end of the day. A winner was already chosen; thanks to all for entering.

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks + guests; $17; 6 December, 8pm, [neumos]