I'm also sorry that I missed the performance by Great Guy, a sensitive indie rocker who wears his heart on his superhero sleeve. (Literally. He was masked in a blue costume at the party.) He passed along a couple demo CDs, though, which displayed a mix of sweet, self-effacing humor and delicate expressions of earnest emotion, backed by acoustic and electric guitars. I did, however, catch Christmas covers and original material by a supergroup featuring members of the Catch and USE, by Verona, and by the Saturday Knights, all of whom launched into sets that could've had the whole room dancing on tabletops. Also on deck were musical performances by former and current members of The Stranger staff (including Everett True's bizarro "Doughnuts" duet). Thanks to everyone who performed that night--by choice or by drunken errors in judgment--to DJ El Toro and the French 75 ladies for DJing, to the Crocodile staff for hosting our little bash, to Killing Frenzy Visuals for the amazing film footage of Santa snowball fights, and to promoter Christian Quilici for helping pull the whole damn thing together.
I also must repent for the fact that we missed previewing the big Supersuckers benefit at EMP last week. The band played from both their country and punk rock canons to raise money for all the shit that was stolen from them a while back. The good news is that most of what was taken has now been recovered. The 'Suckers' van, trailer, and most of their gear were found, thanks to help from what frontman Eddie Spaghetti described as "a series of fortunate (for us) events involving a bumbling, idiotic drug addict, an electrician willing to be paid in music gear, Seattle's best vintage guitar shop, and the help of two detectives." Unfortunately, the van and trailer now need some hefty repairs, though, and the band is still out thousands of dollars' worth of merch. If you missed their benefit show, you can still give to the cause by bidding on an iPod filled with Supersuckers music up for grabs from the band on eBay. (Speaking of getting your music to the masses, local pop punks the Lashes have stepped up to the big time by recently signing to Columbia Records.)
Venue renovation news of the week: Fun House fans will have to make alternate plans for January, as the clown-face dive bar closes down for a month to perform building repairs. Hopefully they'll re-open with the club scene's most coveted basketball court revamped.
