MONDAY 4/27
Choose Your Own Adventure
(I CAN’T DECIDE) There is so much good stuff happening on Monday that even Garfield would change his mind about the loathed day of the week. Famed avant-garde composer William Basinski is playing a tiny show at Substation. The Paramount is screening 1926’s Faust as part of their beloved Silent Movie Monday series, with live music from Christian Elliott on the Mighty Wurlitzer. Booker Prize-winning author David Szalay is stopping by Elliott Bay Books to chat about his latest novel, Flesh. The last day of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is this week, and Monday will be a great day for beating the crowds. Plus, Seattle Restaurant Week ends this Sunday, so don’t miss out on deals at some of the city’s best eateries. AUDREY VANN
TUESDAY 4/28
Jensen McRae: God Has A Hitman Tour
(MUSIC) If you ask me, Jensen McRae’s opening set was the best part of Noah Kahan’s 2024 Stick Season Tour (sorry not sorry). The California-based singer-songwriter mesmerizes with her soaring vocals and confessional folk-rock style, selling out dozens of venues supporting her sophomore album, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!, on tour last year. Drawing inspiration from pop greats like Alicia Keys and Stevie Wonder and modern indie artists like Phoebe Bridgers and MUNA, McRae’s catchy and emotional songs have earned her fans all over the world. Canadian artist Marie Dresselhuis—who’s a classically trained pianist—opens the show with her earnest folk-rock tunes. (Showbox, 8 pm, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH
WEDNESDAY 4/29
(FILM) This early film of Nagisa Ōshima (who later directed In the Realm of the Senses and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence) is a great example of why he’s called “the Godard of Japan.” Following four sexually ravenous high schoolers and their drunken teacher as they travel to Tokyo to take university entrance exams, Sing a Song of Sex is, on its face, about disturbingly horny teens, but beneath the surface, an allegory for Japan’s history of imperialism and silencing of women. If you’re familiar with Ōshima’s work—which almost always explores the intersection of sex, violence, and politics—you already know that this film won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. But if you’re in the mood for a challenging yet rewarding watch, I recommend catching it at the Beacon this week, where they passionately introduce films with their necessary historical context. (The Beacon Cinema, 4:30 pm) AUDREY VANN
THURSDAY 4/30
23rd Annual Seattle Black Film Festival
(FILM) Some festivals you just show up to, others you leave having truly experienced. The Seattle Black Film Festival is definitely the latter. Held at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, this year’s theme, “The Sound of Us,” centers on the music, rhythms, and cultural soundscapes that have carried Black communities across generations. Running in person for four days, then for another six online, between screenings, workshops, and even a beer garden, the fest is as much about the energy and community happening between films as the films themselves. The festival will kick off on Thursday with a free reception (promising hors d’oeuvres, refreshments, and “moments worth capturing”) followed by a screening of TCB – The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing, a documentary about the trailblazing Black feminist writer, filmmaker, and activist. (Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, 5:30 pm, free) LANGSTON THOMAS
FRIDAY 5/1
While the Garden Overgrew: Mya Kerner & Zak Helenske
(VISUAL ART) Welcome new kid on the (Madrona) block! Founded by designer Michelle Dirkse and artist Jeremy Prim, Dirkse/Prim Gallery is gearing up for a year-round program of solo and two-person exhibitions rooted in painting and centered on abstract and process-driven practices informed by the natural world. The inaugural exhibition aims high with the pairing of abstract-landscape painter Mya Kerner and Zak Helenske, whose statuesque, oversized flowers hand-carved from ash are tall as humans. Above the gallery, Dirkse’s design company has built out an experimental space that blurs the line between art installation and interior design, where they will host events with a variety of creatives, from ceramicists and painters to independent furniture makers. (Dirkse/Prim Gallery) AMANDA MANITACH
SATURDAY 5/2
Zookraught’s Two-Night Album Release
(MUSIC) Zookraught are meeting the moment. Reading the room. Picking up what we’re putting down. Stephanie Jones, Sami Frederick, and Baylee Harper are breathing in our collective rage and spitting it back at us in pulsating, raucous post-punk songs that provide an empowering soundtrack for anyone needing to dance on the bones of their enemies until they’ve turned to dust. Their new single, “Fly Fly,” throbs with a confident swagger that’s reminiscent of Black Eyes and Q and Not U, two bands who reached their artistic peaks during George W. Bush’s presidency. And as much as I’m looking forward to getting my hands on Zookraught’s new album, Pressure (out April 17), I’m even more excited about their two-night album release. Because those two nights at the Sunset won’t just be about releasing a record, it will be an opportunity for us to release our demons, too. On Friday, May 1, they play with Help, Ogre, and Miscomings; Saturday’s festivities feature Black Ends, LOOLOWNINGEN, and All of Our Cornbread. (Sunset Tavern, 9 pm, 21+) MEGAN SELING
SUNDAY 5/3
Brunch at Saint John’s Bar and Eatery
(FOOD) Weekend brunch has returned to one of my favorite spots in the city, Saint John’s Bar and Eatery. The reason for its six-year absence is simply found in the pandemic of 2020, whose economic crash was hard on a number of small businesses. Though my memory cannot recall what the brunch menu offered before the lockdown, the current one includes a Mexican/American dish appropriately called Linda Ronstadt (two eggs, cornbread, jalapeno butter, cumin black beans, smoked paprika sour cream, pico de gallo, cilantro), an $8 Croque Monsieur, and a $5 English muffin sandwich. Saint John’s also has an amazing wall devoted to the queer liberation movement. Assembled by Michael Lee (a musician and part-owner of the joint), it reminds us that a resistance is empty if it’s not joyful. (Saint John’s Bar and Eatery, 10 am–3 pm) CHARLES MUDEDE
