This week, The Stranger’s arts critics have recommended the best events for you in every discipline. See them all below, and, if that’s still not enough, check out our complete Things To Do calendar. Want this in your inbox every week? Subscribe to the Stranger Things To Do newsletter.
MONDAY
MUSIC
Gardens & Villa
“It is not often that you’re going to see a show featuring two bands who have recently released albums navigating the changing relationship between society and technology, but this is the one.” -Kathleen Tarrant
Ride
“Ride have no shortage of gorgeous, soaring rock to burst the hearts of their nostalgia-drunk following. I’m betting Ride don’t burn down our dreams.” -Dave Segal
Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs
“Crazy that a British woman sings and plays some of the best American music of current times, but that’s Holly Golightly for you.” -Dave Segal
ART
Clyde Petersen: Balls Deep: My Year in Florida
“Petersen is hilarious, smart, fierce, and perverse. Florida is outrageous, alligatorial, hotter than hell, and corrupt as can be. There is nothing about this combination that does not recommend itself.” -Jen Graves (Through Sun, by appointment only)
TUESDAY
FILM
SHRIEK: A Women of Horror Film & Discussion Series
This week, Scarecrow Video’s horror film series looks at the role of women in The Fly.
Web Crowell and Stacey Levine: Eclipse Tower I
Web Crowell won the first Stranger Genius award for film, and his new video installation in the Frye’s Genius exhibition is opening today.
MUSIC
Prof & Nacho Picasso
“In many ways, the sound of much Seattle rap in the wake of the Macklash was perfected by Picasso: smoky, purple-hued beats and blue language, drug-obsessed and undeniably nihilistic.” -Kyle Fleck
COMEDY
Comedy Womb Open Mic
The rules of this pro-lady stand-up night are refreshing in their simplicity: no misogyny and no heckling.
FESTIVALS
Earshot Jazz Festival: Hugh Masekela
“Come for the utterly joyous late-1960s hits ‘Up, Up and Away’ and ‘Grazing in the Grass,’ stay for the deep spiritual cuts like ‘Unhlanhia’ and pointed political commentary of ‘Stimela (Coal Train)’ and the free Nelson Mandela anthem ‘Bring Him Back Home.'” -Dave Segal
WEDNESDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Anthony Doerr
Doerr is the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner for All the Light We Cannot See.
Beacon Bards Poetry Reading Series
Jeanine Walker–poet, essayist, fiction writer, and doctor of Creative Writing and Literature–and Joseph Green–whose poems have appeared in such publications as The Bellingham Review and Cooweescoowee–will read poems.
MUSIC
Modern Baseball
“Philadelphia’s Modern Baseball create exactly the kind of wordy broken-heart-on-sleeve, emotional punk that I can’t help but fall for. The lyrics are the stuff of AIM away messages.” -Robin Edwards
The Misfits
“Sure, horror-punk icons Misfits might not be in peak form, but how about this: go into the show pretending they’re a well-oiled cover band and I guarantee you’ll have a solid night of sing-alongs.” -Kevin Diers
Elephant Stone
“Elephant Stone catalyst Rishi Dhir is a silky-voiced psych-rock classicist, a studious disciple of the mellow, fluid end of the genre’s spectrum, circa 1967-1969.” -Dave Segal
ART
Sondra Perry
New York-based Sondra Perry’s first solo exhibition is on view for its last week.
THURSDAY
DANCE
biograph, last year was pretty//sh*tty
“This show takes a ‘swipe at the age of selfies.’ Inspired by Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, it features contributions from Norwegian choreographer Marit Sandsmark, performer Joey Truman, composer Pål Asle Pettersen, theater iconoclast Young Jean Lee, and Artforum/New York Times critic Claudia La Rocco.”
MUSIC
Chance the Rapper
“Fuck objectivity: Chance the Rapper’s the dopest rapper out at the moment. Seeing him live will revitalize your belief in the power of hiphop, no joke.” -Kyle Fleck
ART
Susan Robb: In the Form of a Hummingbird
While she was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, Susan Robb composed some songs. Afterwards, she recorded them, and now they are going to be a part of the Frye’s Genius/21st Century/Seattle exhibit in the form of a listening party.
Electric Fields: 2015 Juried Exhibition
“Punch Gallery’s seventh juried group show, featuring works by a dozen West Coast artists selected by curator Julia Fryett from an application pool of more than 1,000, is remarkably strong and coherent. The show is all about fields of energy, visible and not.” -Jen Graves
Margot Quan Knight: Made Especially For You By
Margot Quann Knight’s exhibition (closing this Sunday) puts a spotlight on doilies and the alternate value system they represent.
FOOD & DRINK
Before Findlay//Sandsmark: Studio Supper with Rachel Yang
“Studio Suppers at On the Boards are Seattle civic treasures that manage to turn the dinner-and-a-show formula into something truly exciting. Tonight, chef Rachel Yang (Joule), whose Korean-influenced food is some of the most creative and boldly flavored stuff in town, cooks dinner for you before you watch biograph, last year was pretty//sh*tty.” -Angela Garbes
Guest Chef Night: Bill Ranniger
FareStart is a fantastic organization that empowers disadvantaged and homeless men and women by training them for work in the restaurant industry. This week’s three-course guest chef meal comes from Chef Bill Ranniger of Duke’s Chowder House.
Seattle’s Best Damn Happy Hour
On the third Thursday of the month, the “Best Damn Happy Hour” (their title) has live DJs, mini golf, board games, giant Jenga (TIMBERRRRR!), and deals on cocktails and food at the many places inside the Armory.
THEATER
Festen
“Based on Thomas Vinterberg’s 1998 film The Celebration, the play is about the impossibility and yet the necessity of speaking truth to power, even and especially in the house of power. New Century Theatre is known for their top-notch acting, and their reputation doesn’t falter here.” -Rich Smith (Through Nov 21)
Sgt Rigsby & His Amazing Silhouettes: The Ballad of Karla Fox
“This elaborate, wickedly funny shadow-puppet company starts with the golden age of radio as its aesthetic soil, then fertilizes that ground with the subversive comedy of bar theater and drag shows.” -Brendan Kiley
FRIDAY
FOOD & DRINK
Twilight Noodle Slurp
Let Wing Luke take you out to eat in the ID. This three-hour tour will take you around the neighborhood, sampling local restaurants with a special emphasis on noodles and the complicated history of the area.
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Transgender Day of Remembrance is hosting this event at City Hall to remember and celebrate the lives of trans* persons who have died. Captain Smartypants (an ensemble group from Seattle Men’s Chorus) and Diverse Harmony will provide live music.
DANCE
Mark Morris Dance Group
The celebrated post-Balanchine choreographer brings Cargo, A Wooden Tree, Whelm, and The.
READINGS & TALKS
Hugo Literary Series: Leslie Jamison, Roger Reeves, Alexis M. Smith, and Yves
“This iteration of the Hugo Literary Series features a bunch of youthful writers whose books have seen heaps of critical praise. All will present new works based on the cliche ‘Beggars can’t be choosers.'” -Rich Smith
Seattle StorySLAM
A live amateur storytelling competition much like The Moth, hosted by Lindy West, in which audience members who put their names in a hat are randomly chosen to tell stories on a theme (This week: “Gifted”).
ART
Saturday University: Experiments in Japanese Art & Photos, 1968-79
“This summer, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, mounted a major exhibition devoted to a fascinating period of radical change in Japanese art and history. That exhibition of some 250 works isn’t visiting Seattle, but the man who curated it is.” -Jen Graves
Pratt Holiday Art Sale
Take advantage of this free event to appreciate and observe a large, varied selection of art! Or better yet, make progress on your holiday shopping while supporting local artists.
MUSIC
Yo La Tengo
“Since the 1980s, most of their indie-rock peers have broken up, sold out, or hit the oldies circuit, but Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew have stayed true to their understated aesthetic.” -Kathy Fennessy
Youth Lagoon
“Summer is over. Everything is dark. Everyone you know is suddenly grumpy, introverted, and a huge bummer. WELL, CONGRATULATIONS, YOUTH LAGOON IS GOING TO MAKE IT WORSE. Or better? Did you want to cry?” -Kathleen Tarrant
Pony Time
“Fuck all the ‘grunge’ and Amazon™ bullshit, ’cause at this point, Pony Time’s fuzz-soaked yet stripped-naked rock and roll, SHOULD, currently, be what Seattle is known for.” -Mike Nipper
Simon Shackleton
“As a member of Lunatic Calm, Simon Shackleton played a crucial role in helping “electronica” make a medium-sized ripple in the US music industry in the ’90s.” -Dave Segal
SATURDAY
ART
The Harmon & Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art: Works on Paper
“Harriet and Harmon Kelley have one of the world’s best collections of African American art on paper, and 68 pieces ranging from the early days of the 20th century up through 2002 will be here.” -Jen Graves
POLITICS
Cary Moon: Future Seattle: A People’s Forum
Cary Moon, a landscape and urban designer as well as a Stranger Genius winner, leads this forum about how to make Seattle a better place.
FILM
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
How does a new generation of fighters for trans rights inherit Dr. Frank N. Furter of Transsexual, Transylvania, in this campy 1975 horror musical?
READINGS & TALKS
Finnegans Wake
Neal Kosaly-Meyer performs the dubious task of reciting Chapter 1 of James Joyce’s abstract masterpiece Finnegans Wake from memory.
MUSIC
Corrosion of Conformity, Brant Bjork, Saviours, and Mothership
“What a brutal lineup. It promises to be the fucking best.” -Mike Nipper
Strange Wilds
“Strange Wilds’ songs are wound tight as hell, but also seem like they could whirl out of control at any second. In that tension lays the band’s power.” -Dave Segal
Redwood’s 10th Anniversary
“The Redwood’s a fine, homey Capitol Hill bar that’s slated to close soon, so this 10th Anniversary Party will likely be tempered with sadness. What isn’t sad is the lineup, featuring Dræmhouse, Black Whales, Bod & Versing.
QUEER
Area 2181
“Who knows what twisted passions lurk in the dark recesses of the human heart? Kirk Calvo, that’s who—he’s the creator of Area 2181, a “twisted cruising party” that somehow manages to amplify the Eagle’s sleaze to festering heights.” -Matt Baume
SUNDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Patti Smith
“The punk-rock queen and author of Just Kids, for which she won the National Book Award in 2010, presents her new book, M Train.” -Rich Smith
MUSIC
Fall of Troy
“By far the biggest band to make it out of Mukilteo are post-hardcore-spazz-rockers the Fall of Troy.” -Kevin Diers
Low Tones
“Acid-jazz revivalists Low Tones have been plying their improvisatory, funky trade for some time now. It’s a fantastically non-zeitgeisty sound.” -Kyle Fleck
QUEER
Mimosas With Mama
The second act of each show of this drag cabaret/brunch buffet rewords a popular Broadway show in a mini-musical production. Today is the final performance of Little Shop of Horrors, before A Boob Job for Christmas starts next week.
