Outlaw
(ART) In an interesting and perhaps unwitting slap to this month's confirmation of Seattle art status quo (the Glass Art Society Conference), there are a couple of shows that look at the illegal, the ripped-off, the downright disobedient. This is the one not to miss: organized by Austin Plann Curley (of Beware of the Walls) and Elias-John Swann, along with work by Lance Wakeling (known around town as wantbuyhave), dk pan, and others. With damn good music--including the Familiars, which Ms. Jennifer Maerz says is a damn good up-and-coming band. (Luscious, 321 S Jackson St, 622-4252. Thurs June 5, 6 pm until whenever.) EMILY HALL
Typing Explosion
(FUNDRAISER/PARTY) Tonight, the ladies of Typing Explosion Local 898 celebrate their upcoming appearance at the 50th Venice Biennale (June 10-18, along with performances at the Guggenheim's American Pavilion and the Olivetti Museum) with a sneak preview of their latest work in progress, This Is a Test, and by throwing a fundraising party featuring "live beehive hairdo performances," music from DJ Oral B, and of course highballs and snacks. For anyone who hasn't seen these literary ladies in town--who missed their King County library tour, BAM installation, performances at various venues, and 2001's Dear Diane at On the Boards--now's your chance to catch Seattle's bombshell poets before this labor union takes its office skills to Italy. (Little Theatre, 610 19th Ave E, 329-2629, 8 pm, $25 suggested donation; June 6-8 performances of This Is a Test are also at 8 pm, $12. www.typingexplosion.com.) MIN LIAO
FRIDAY JUNE 6
Sherman Alexie
(READING) Containing one novella and eight short stories, Ten Little Indians, which is mostly set in our city, is Sherman Alexie's latest contribution to that area of writing that, when all are in agreement, is called literature--English literature. And it is this that makes him so important--not that he is Indian, or that he often addresses the thorny current and historical problems of racism and poverty, but his exhilarating command of the English language. He is a poet in the truest sense of that word. (Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, $5.) CHARLES MUDEDE
Nortec Collective
(MUSIC) Nortec Collective's The Tijuana Sessions, Vol. 1 (2001) did for Tijuana, Mexico, what Suba's São Paulo Confessions (1999) did for São Paulo: It connected the old-world city and its traditional sounds (norteño music, ranchera guitars, sun-bright trumpets) with the global, sonic network generically called electronica (samplers, programmed drums, space effects). Also, as with São Paulo Confessions, the mix of the old (the acoustic) and the new (the electronic) was so thorough that it seemed natural rather than artificial. Suba, however, is dead, whereas the Nortec Collective are still around--and, from what I have heard, their shows deliver the goods. (Showbox, 1426 First Ave, 9 pm, $10 adv/$12 DOS, 21+.) CHARLES MUDEDE
'The Seagull'
(THEATER) Visualize Chekhov. What do you see? Droning dialogue? Delicate dramatic splendor? Either way, ditch the theater-major clichés and hustle on down to Theater Schmeater for some reeducation. Swapping Russian vodka and horses for Californian pot and SUVs, local playwright Wayne S. Rawley and his stellar cast inject some funny into this generally glum classic devoted to theater's three Fs--false love, frustrated ambition, and fucked-up family. (Theater Schmeater, 1500 Summit Ave, 325-6500. $12-$15. Thurs-Sat at 8 pm, Sun Jun 8 and 15 at 2 pm. Through June 21.) BRENDAN KILEY
Troy Mink Benefit
(COMEDY FOR A GOOD CAUSE) For years, improv whiz Troy Mink has delighted the pants off this town with his array of artful alter egos, most popularly the beloved Late Night Wing-Ding hostess Carlotta. Now it's time for one of us with type-A blood to give something back. Here's the deal: Troy Mink needs a kidney, and until he gets it, he needs regular dialysis--which costs a ton. Tonight's benefit, titled Just Kidney!, features the comedic wiles of the Mink-enhanced improv troupe Unexpected Productions along with a bevy of Wing-Ding regulars, with proceeds going toward Mink's medical bills. Go, have fun, and if you're a type-A philanthropist, do the right thing. (Unexpected Productions at Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 781-9273. $10. Mon at 8 pm.) DAVID SCHMADER
Spaghetti Westerns
(BRILLIANCE) The extended English-language version of Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly arrives here next month, and to gear up for it the Grand Illusion is offering you a chance to bone up on (to use poorly constructed fake French) "Westerns de Spaghetti." This week you can see both A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More (the latter of which is one of my all-time favorite flicks--just dig Gian Maria Volonté!), and next week you get Once Upon a Time in the West and Duck, You Sucker (AKA A Fistful of Dynamite, AKA Giù la Testa). This being Stranger Suggests, I humbly suggest you go, if for no other reason than to remember that Clint Eastwood may, in fact, be the coolest man alive. (Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, 523-3935, Fri-Thurs June 6-12, 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm.) BRADLEY STEINBACHER
Cassis
(DELICIOUS FOOD) Treat yourself to a fancy dinner at Cassis, where traditional bistro fare (steak frites, duck confit) is served alongside French-inspired seasonal dishes (Copper River salmon with celery root rémoulade and pickled ramps, or lamb shank with asparagus and morel risotto). Check out June's prix-fixe menu ($28 per person, includes three courses with glass of wine) if you're ready for summer food--like radish and beet salad with orange vinaigrette--or just get tipsy on house red and inhale the cheese plate ($12), which is usually laden with lovely, stinky artisanal cheeses. (2359 10th Ave E, 329-0580. Call for summer hours and prix-fixe details.) MIN LIAO
