I hate it just as much as you do, trust me: The fact that you’re
under 21, the fact that you can’t get into any bar in the city without
a fake ID, and the fact that there’s no place in the city to get a
decent fake ID. You’re fucked until your 21st birthday, kid.
You can’t go to the Jeremy Enigk show on January 16. It’s at Chop
Suey and it’s 21+. You can’t go to the Saturday Knights show with Dyme
Def and Cancer Rising on January 11, either. It’s at the High Dive, and
the High Dive is 21+.
You’re a kid. Sigh. But, you’re a kid in Seattle. Your life
doesn’t completely suck. Despite the current changing of the guard
everywhere else in the music scene (the Showbox got sold, the Comet
recently changed ownership, and the long-standing Crocodile Cafe closed
down), Seattle’s all-ages music community is still going strong.
There’s Vera, and everyone knows about the Vera Project, but
there are a few other spaces you may have forgotten (or don’t even
know) about…
The Fusion Cafe on Fourth Avenue in downtown Seattle has a
killer show on January 11 with This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb, the Pharmacy,
Vena Cava, Pleasureboaters, and Ima Gymnist. It’s a weird little room
to see a show in (there’s carpet, chairs in the back, and a fireplace),
but with the DIY lighting (generally some kind of Christmas lights) and
a shoddy-but-loud sound system, it’s the perfect place to see the not
easily defined punk (for lack of better term) rockers Pleasureboaters
lose their shit. And the Pharmacy have a new record coming soon, and
some new material that’s a little sloppy (in their unique, charming
way) but boasts stronger songwriting. Seeing them play at the downtown
YMCA will feel like you’re watching them play in your living
room.
Just a few miles down I-5, Tacoma is home to the
Viaduct—one that isn’t in danger of falling down any given
second. The club found a new home on South Tacoma Way, and it’s being
run by the same guys who ran the Junkyard and the Frameshop (I’ve
written about ’em before). Their winter calendar has a bunch of rad
shit like ex–Blood Brothers outfit Wild Orchid Children
(January 19), Tacoma’s own Ghosts and Liars (January 25), and an
all-ages Valentine’s dance party (February 15). Visit its MySpace for
all the info and lineups—www.myspace.com/viaductvenue.
So maybe you’re still just a kid. It’s okay—the 21+ scene
is kinda fucked up right now and the kids appear to have their shit
together. Whattaya know? The kids are alright. 
