The Stranger Suggests
November 18 - November 25
Jabon
Music
Seattle sound engineer Scott Colburn has gained notoriety for his studio sorcery with Animal Collective, Mudhoney, and others, but his most interesting work occurs under his Jabon guise. Dressed in a "dark wizard robe and weird harlequin mask" and manipulating a stack of analog keyboards, Jabon subsumes his ego—and his surrounding environs—in chthonic tone poems written in ectoplasmic free verse. It's chilling, immersive stuff that deftly jumps beyond the horror-film audio corn to which much "dark ambient" music stoops. (Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave NW, 784-4880. 9 pm, $6, 21+.)
See what else is happening Thursday »
'Stingray Sam'
Film
The American Astronaut is the world's best space-Western movie musical. A black-and-white masterpiece, the movie is like Jules Verne with a rock 'n' roll soundtrack, where space is filled with roughnecks and kooks, and men and women are segregated to their own planets. Cory McAbee, the mastermind behind The American Astronaut, has made a sequel of sorts called Stingray Sam. It has many of the same actors (playing different intergalactic desperados), the same obsession with bars and criminals who save children, and equally great songs. Presented as a six-part serial, Stingray Sam will not disappoint members of the American Astronaut cult. McAbee will be here to introduce the film. (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 829-7863. 7:15 and 9:15 pm, $6–$9.)
See what else is happening Friday »
Not Pants
Theater
This late-night storytelling party, thrown by Annex Theatre, brings you true—and probably embarrassing—tales from some of Seattle's funniest tale-tellers: comedians Emmett Montgomery and Lizzy Pilcher, solo performer Keira McDonald, writer of smut and plays Gillian Jorgensen, our very own David Schmader, and a few others. Schmader promises a story recalling his experiences touring a one-man show about Hitler to a high school in North Carolina in the early '90s. Because nothing's funnier than Hitler. (Annex Theatre, 1100 E Pike St, www.brownpapertickets .com. 11 pm, $5–$10.)
See what else is happening Friday »
Hudson
Brunch
Down East Marginal Way, in the middle of the warehouse district, is the best place to recover from your Friday night. The menu at Hudson is pleasantly surly (the stern mug of an ancestral horse thief stares out from the cover), but the staff and clientele are all charm. It's the kind of place where young bucks show off their new back tattoos and half-deaf old men shout at each other about diodes. Their cheesy grits are the thick, yellow kind with sautéed shrimp on top. They taste like roux and herbs, a little smoky and a lot savory. It's a steaming plate of hangover manna. (Hudson, 5000 E Marginal Way S, 767-4777. 8 am–midnight, brunch until 3 pm.)
Burning Fuse Festival
Film
All this week at the Grand Illusion, it's Burning Fuse, a touring film festival composed of six documentaries, including Pussycat Preacher (a stripper turns evangelical), Sliding Liberia (Liberian surfers, brah!), Soldiers of Conscience (how we condition our children to bypass their morals and turn other children into wet piles of stuff), and Faubourg Tremé (a look at black New Orleans). Your brains are hungry. Go feed them. (Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, www.grandillusioncinema .org. Nov 20–26, $8–$20.)
See what else is happening Sunday »
'Precious'
Film
Over the next few months, you'll be reading a lot about Precious, Lee Daniels's stylish, shocking drama about a New York teen making her way through a life of violent abuse and oppression. Don't let the "Oprah-endorsed Oscar bait" hype stop you from experiencing a tremendous new movie. Precious is far from perfect, but this is a world that's never seen the screen before, brought to life by an extraordinary cast, including Gabourey Sibide, Mariah Carey, Xosha Roquemore, and Mo'Nique. (See Movie Times: thestranger.com/film.)
See what else is happening Monday »
The Books
Music
NYC duo the Books write the kind of songs that give McSweeney's readers mindgasms; who else sings words like "therein" and "capitulate"? Beyond clever lyrics and track titles, the Books generate a distinctly arch yet oddly moving strain of folktronica. Their gently ruptured, collagist songs come adorned with digital glitches, acoustic-guitar plangencies, and cryptic dialogue. The Books' forthcoming album reportedly samples self-help cassettes and deals with new-age concepts. Expect visuals just as stimulating as the audio. (Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333. 7 [all ages] and 9:30 pm [21+], $15.)
See what else is happening Tuesday »
Akio Takamori, Danny Lyon
Art
Seattle artist Akio Takamori made small porcelain figures from images by Danish photographer Rigmor Mydtskov, then made large photographs of the figures that hang behind them on the wall. Each face, each outfit, goes through multiple translations. Another strategy of capture-and-release takes place in famed shooter Danny Lyon's photographs of the civil rights movement, of the Texas prison system, of a motorcycle gang he joined and rode with. Those images have become part of how we see backward toward the 1960s; how do they look now? (James Harris Gallery, 312 Second Ave S, 903-6220. 11 am–5 pm, free.)
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