- Comedian W. Kamau Bell is recording his Seattle gigs for a new album.
W. KAMAU BELL
Sat Jan 24 at 7 and 9 pm at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
Back in 2005, the marvelously prickly comedian W. Kamau Bell became the first to tell an Obama joke on Comedy Central. âThat dude is cool,â Bell said, but his name is âtoo blackâ for America. âWhoâs running for president? âŚBlack Osama?!â Bell was just signed to Kill Rock Stars, which will record his Seattle gigs for a new album. From Ferguson to Selma, Americaâs conversation about race is spiking. Few comedians are better poised to make sense of it all than W. Kamau Bell.
ITâS GONNA BLOW: SAN DIEGOâS MUSIC UNDERGROUND 1986â1996 SCREENING
Sat Jan 24, 8:30 pm, at the Grand Illusion
A feature-length documentary that explores the scene rumored to become âthe next Seattleâ and birthed cult acts like Drive Like Jehu, the Locust, Rocket from the Crypt, Clikatat Ikatowi, and No Knife. Following a Q&A with director Bill Perrine, chill math-rockers Physics will inundate the space with their sweeping, electronically infused post-rock sagas. With influences ranging from the Melvins to Tangerine Dream, Physics fuse elements of krautrock, drone, and math rock.
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Thurs-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. Jan 2 through 25 at New City Theater
There is one big flaw in the Civic Rep production of A Streetcar Named Desire, and a train car of virtues. The guy who plays Stanley is not good. Other than that, there are only things to love: the spare and perfectly claustrophobic set, the timelessness of Tennessee Williamsâs textual torture devices (the dialogue, stripped of Southern dialects for this production, is more devastating than you remember), and phenomenal performances by Robin Jones (as Blanche DuBois) and Kelli Mohrbacher (as Stella).
THE VASELINES AND LOCH LOMOND
Sat Jan 24 at 8 pm at Neumos
The Vaselines had already made their name before Sub Pop came callingâone listen to 1987âs âSon of a Gunâ and it was clear they were contendersâbut the label helped them to reach a wider audience (famous fans like Kurt Cobain didnât hurt). Then, just as new listeners were discovering their fuzz-pop gems, Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee broke up. After they reunited, Sub Pop released their second full-length, Sex with an X. Not long afterward, band and label quietly parted ways. Did they jump or were they pushed? No matter. The Vaselines are back with a new album (V for Vaselines) and a label (Rosary Music) of their own. Better yet, these foulmouthed John Waters devotees donât sound as if theyâve aged a day.
TACOS!
Sat Jan 24 at 7 pm at Barboza
Originally coined by a writer for Beastie Boysâ short-lived Grand Royal magazine, a taco riff is a riff so meaty and crunchy that, to quote MetalSucks contributor Justin Foley, âthe Taco Riff does not need the rest of the song⌠the rest of the song is usually just window dressing.â With that in mind, Tacos! actually have the perfect moniker. There isnât a single song on their self-titled album that isnât a Macyâs Thanksgiving Day Parade of taco riffsâthe cataclysmic crescendo of âSexy Nap,â the relentless pounding of âWood Elf,â the bottom-feeder lurch of âLoopsss.â Even the exclamation point is well deservedâtaco riffs!
Why are you still catching up on Orange Is the New Black? There's so much more out there. Check out The Stranger's Things to Do calendar for all of Saturday's recommended events.