THURSDAY
4/20
Patti Smith
(LIVE MUSIC) Some people just have “it” — that pure, indescribable
essence that moves music out of the realm of the ordinary and into the transcendent.
Patti Smith is one of the chosen few. Call her a punk poetess, a high priestess,
or even a goddess and you won’t be exaggerating. There’s something purely magical
that happens when she takes the microphone. BARBARA MITCHELL
Moore Theater, 1932 Second Ave, 443-1744, 8 pm, $25.
Land as Visual Display
(LECTURE) UW prof Patricia Failing takes on the giants of earthworks art.
For Michael Heizer, Walter de Maria, and James Turrell, grandiosity is all,
and only the scale of the Southwestern desert proved large enough to contain
their visions, which often involved bulldozing big chunks of that desert. This
lecture is a perfect complement to the Henry’s current show, Shifting Ground,
which examines the ethics and politics of landscape art. ERIC FREDERICKSEN
Henry Art Gallery Auditorium, 15th Ave NE at NE 41st St, 543-2280, 7 pm,
$6.
FRIDAY 4/21
A Celebration of the Life of Terence McKenna
(MEMORIAL) It’s true: This publication has a well-documented disdain
for (to borrow from Wm.™ Steven Humphrey’s lexicon) “the dirty hippies.”
But never mind that right now. A deeply reverential exception must be made for
author/explorer/philosopher/world traveler/shaman expert/botanical advocate
and all-around brilliant guy Terence McKenna, who has inspired anyone — including
stodgy squares and haughty hipsters — who has ever read his books or attended
his lectures. Join friends and admirers (including Sub Pop’s Bruce Pavitt and
other luminaries) at this loving gathering for McKenna, who passed away in California
on Monday, April 3, after a long struggle with brain cancer. McKenna’s last
Seattle performance, “Shamans Amongst the Machines,” will be screened. MIN LIAO
The Kalakala, 2505 N Northlake Way (near Gasworks Park), 8 pm, donations
accepted; proceeds will benefit the Terence McKenna Estate and the Kalakala
Foundation. No alcohol, all ages welcome.
When I Grow up I’m Gonna Get Some Big Words
(THEATER) The Seattle Children’s Theatre has always had a truly classy
concern for the stories we choose to release into the world, a fact that lends
itself well to its latest production. When I Grow up I’m Gonna Get Some Big
Words explores through diary entries, essays, letters, and speeches the symbiotic
relationship between the courageous activists of the Civil Rights Movement and
their inspirational leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. An ambitious collaboration
between writer Deborah Lynn Frockt, director Linda Hartzell, and actor Barry
Scott (who plays King, and has conducted two decades of research on his subject),
the piece also features a cast of five, and several other voices raised in song:
The First African Methodist Episcopal Church gospel choir is on hand as a reminder
of the importance of faith and music to the Movement. STEVE WIECKING
Charlotte Martin Theatre, Second Ave N and Thomas St at Seattle Center,
441-3322, through June 11, Fri at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 and 5:30 pm, $13.50-$20.50.
Chac: The Rain God
(FILM) Milestone Film and Video’s latest lost film recovery project
is Rolando Klein’s elegant 1974 movie Chac: The Rain God, about a small village
seeking the proper spiritual guidance to help bring needed rain. Klein’s genius
stroke was to use classic narrative filmmaking techniques in a rural Mexican
setting almost wholly resistant to linear storytelling. The resulting tension
yields brilliant performances and several moments of unadorned beauty: beautifully
composed shots made up of mud and rock, and actors who had never seen a film
before hitting their marks and uttering lines in obscure, lyrical dialects.
TOM SPURGEON
Varsity Theater, 4329 University Way NE, 632-3131, Fri-Thur April 21-27
at (Sat-Sun 1:30, 3:30), 5:30, 7:30, 9:30 pm, $7.50.
SATURDAY 4/22
Talent Show Auditions
(ORGANIZED EXHIBITIONISM) Hey all you talented folks: Today and tomorrow are
your days to strut your stuff and see if you make the cut for participation
in PIZZAZZ!, The Stranger’s first annual, city-wide talent show. Curated and
hosted by yours truly, Mr. David Schmader, PIZZAZZ! will be held Thursday, May
11 at Consolidated Works, and will feature celebrity judges, fabulous prizes,
and a special guest appearance by the living embodiment of talent, Ms. Dina
Martina. From unplugged rock bands (that means you, Pearl Jam!) to fire-eating
contortionists, we’re looking for the very best talent this city has to offer.
DAVID SCHMADER
Consolidated Works, 410 Terry Ave, Sat-Sun April 22-23, 11 am-5 pm. Acts
must be under five minutes in length and require a minimum of set-up and take-down.
Piano and microphone provided. To schedule your audition, call 323-7101, ext.
3099.
Splendor in the Bash
(BENEFIT) The Henry’s annual spring party is always good, unstuffy
fun, and gives keen-eyed attendees a chance to score deals on work by well-known
local artists. More than 200 pieces will be hung anonymously, then sold at $200
or by silent auction. Pick out your favorites and get them cheaply. ERIC FREDERICKSEN
Henry Art Gallery, 15th Ave NE at NE 41st St, 616-9894, 9 pm-1 am, $50
gets you in, gets you fed, and gets you drunk.
Breaking the Bank
(FILM) Along with the WTO, the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank complete the clandestine, pro-corporate, anti-environment triumvirate
whose agenda of relentless globalization was at the heart of the now-famous
WTO protests in Seattle last November. Local filmmakers were in D.C. to document
the latest display of civil disobedience that drew such diverse participants
as labor, environmental interests, international law proponents, and indigenous
nations. In a feat of speedy editing, the Independent Media Center is ready
to screen its documentary, Breaking the Bank, just one week later. The film
will consist of two 30-minute segments followed by another hour of pre-produced
material focusing on global issues raised by the World Bank. MARK PINKOS
Independent Media Center, 1415 Third Ave, 262-0721, 8 pm, $5-$20 (sliding
scale).
SUNDAY 4/23
Croupier
(FILM) A bottle-blond exponent of God’s lonely man takes a job as a
(guess what?) in a private London casino and gets embroiled in some serious
heist-related trouble. Mike Hodges, who directed the semi-obscure British new
wave classic Get Carter (the Michael Caine-existential-cockney-hit-man one,
not the sacrilegeous Sly Stallone remake in the works), brings grace and severity
to what could have just been neo-pulp. Instead, like the best pulp, Croupier
becomes high lowbrow, thanks to a seasoned director’s eye for detail, pneumatics,
and sexy actors. SEAN NELSON
Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, 285-1022, Fri-Thurs April 21-27, call for
times, $4.50 (matinee)/$7.50.
MONDAY 4/24
Foolproof
(COMEDY) If laughter really is the best medicine, prepare to be healed.
Starting today, the Northwest Comedy Arts Festival begins in several venues
with a roster of talent guaranteed to be good for you. In addition to the grumpy
brilliance of Fran Lebowitz and the cutting political wit of Al Franken, Foolproof
features the local talents of folks like the hysterical Kevin Kent — who’s
bringing back Sister Windy, among other personalities — and our very own Straight
boy, David Schmader. Plus wide-eyed comedian Rita Rudner, Maus maestro Art Spiegelman,
a taping of Win Ben Stein’s Money — our comic cup runneth over. STEVE WIECKING
Various venues (the Moore, Paramount, Comedy Underground, Giggles, and
ACT’s Bullitt Cabaret), 628-0888, or call the venue of the show you’d like to
see, www.foolproof.org; runs
Mon-Sat April 24-29, various days and times, $5.50-$43.50, multiple-show passes
available.
TUESDAY 4/25
Denzil Hurley
(ART) Longtime Seattle painter Hurley gets a beautifully spare showing
at James Harris. The show is anchored by a sequence of similar small paintings
hung in a grid — each painting featuring a simple black dot loosely centered
on a white background. It looks great from a distance, and better close up,
when Hurley’s light brushwork and translucent surface, built of layer upon layer
of thin paint, become visible. It’s all very zen, very airy, and quite good.
ERIC FREDERICKSEN
James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220, through April 30.
WEDNESDAY 4/26
Trisha Ready
(READINGS) Appropriately named Stranger reporter Trisha Ready reads
from writings culled from her research and investigation of prisons. Ready has
an obsession with the joint — prisons appear in her fiction religiously, and
she has been an advocate of prisoner rights. Then, the absolutely delightful
and wonderfully intelligent Mary Martone lectures on her own collection of prisoner
art, placing it all in historical and stylistic context. This event is a benefit/book
drive for Books for Prisoners, sponsored by the Rendezvous Reading Series. Donations
of books — especially dictionaries — are encouraged. RICK LEVIN
The Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 323-3420, 7:30 pm, $5 requested donation,
$2 w/donation of a meaningful or useful book (no pulp trash, please).