The Stranger

Check out this heee-larious new reality show in which normal, everyday Democrats are videotaped and forced to live together for days in a filthy convention center. Watch as they ramble on incessantly about politics while drinking and screwing themselves silly. But here's the twist! Instead of winning a million dollars, one lucky contestant is eventually chosen to leave the convention center and lead the country for at least four years! (ABC/NBC, debuts Mon Aug 25.) by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey

Link  |  Post Comment (0)

Robert Bresson's most famous movie that is not about a donkey is a thing of minimal pretense and maximal refinement. In it, there are acts of petty crime spelled out with thrilling precision. There is a bare Parisian garret. There is a girl so perfect and serene you expect her to pop out a second Son of God any minute. But the component parts add up to something far more basic and bracing, something like cold water, or a punch to the gut. (Metro Cinemas, 4500 Ninth Ave NE, 781-5755. 7 and 9 pm, $10.) by Annie Wagner

Link  |  Post Comment (0)

Five years ago, Mark Takamichi Miller began to make paintings of photos he'd stolen from the pickup counter at Costco. The paint he used for the people was so thick that the subjects sat separated from their backgrounds, like existential frosting decorations. Miller's latest series, Thieves, is based on a roll of film found on the seat of a car after it had been burglarized. The pictures are of pit bulls and gangsters. The roll of film had a business card rubber-banded around it that said, "Associated Counsel for the Accused." (Howard House, 604 Second Ave, 256-6399. 6–8 pm, free.) by Jen Graves

Link  |  Post Comment (0)

Drinking plus dancing equals Rords of the Froor, Seattle's infamous and heee-larious drunken breakdancing competition. Sixteen amateurs and 16 pros battle for the grand prize of $1,500, the dubious title of "World (Drunk) Breakdance Champion," one big-ass trophy, AND, if they choose, the option to puke on my shoes for a Drunk of the Week column. Whoop! (The War Room, 722 E Pike St, 328-7666. 6 pm registration and rooftop barbecue/9 pm battle, $10 before 10 pm/$15 after, 21+. Costumes required for battlers.) by Kelly O

Link  |  Post Comment (0)

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon famously recorded his breakthrough For Emma, Forever Ago while holed up for four frosty months in an isolated cabin in rural Wisconsin. (Bon Iver is a bastardization of bon hiver, French for "good winter.") It makes sense that this press-sheet backstory has become the album's defining detail: Vernon's spare arrangements of voice and acoustic guitar feel absolutely solitary; his voice, which wavers between soulful croon (with shades of TV on the Radio) and broken whisper, practically fogs up in your ears. A good winter, indeed. (Neumo's, 925 E Pike St, 709-9467. 8 pm, $12, 21+.)

Link  |  Post Comment (0)

I know it's tempting to curl up and pretend that Bumbershoot doesn't exist—the crowds, the heat, the piles of fried rice you inevitably step in—but Bumbershoot is a necessary evil. Especially this year. Today's lineup is littered with acts that are worth your trouble, like thrashcore locals These Arms Are Snakes and the delightfully weirdo experimental solo act Final Fantasy. And assuming your Depends® aren't overflowing by 9:00 p.m., you oldsters can stick around for Stone Temple Pilots. (Seattle Center, www.thestranger.com/bumbershoot. 11 am–11 pm, $40, all ages.) by Megan Seling

Link  |  Post Comment (0)

Bumbershoot isn't even over yet, and there's a new festival to attend. To celebrate the release of their new album, Villainaire, the Dead Science are presenting The Villainaire Festival of Culture, a weeklong celebration including lectures, film, and art. It begins tonight with a dance party at Waid's, the underappreciated Haitian dance hall and restaurant. If the band's past dance nights are any indication, you can expect lots of Wu-Tang Clan, Prince, and crazy, drunken dancing. (Waid's Haitian Cuisine and Lounge, 1212 E Jefferson St, 328-6493. 9 pm, free, 21+.) by Paul Constant

Link  |  Post Comment (0)