THURSDAY 12/7
Action Heroes
(DANCE) Dance troupe STREB (led by choreographer Elizabeth Streb) specialize in spending as much time soaring in the air as keeping their feet on the ground. Amplified noise makes the impact of landing or colliding into walls even more thunderous in this homage to such physical daredevils as Evel Knievel, Cannonball Richards (who had cannonballs fired at his substantial belly), and Annie Taylor (the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel). STREB aspire to rewrite the rules of movement, to argue that the dimensions of the floor are only a part of the space available to dance. Expect spectacular athleticism and some eye-popping stage images. BRET FETZER
Moore Theatre, Second and Virginia, 292-ARTS. Thurs-Sat at 8, Sun at 2; $25-$35.50. One week only.
One Day in the Life…
(FILM) Andrei Tarkovsky was the cinema’s most powerful spiritualist. He created films as meditations on metaphysics, as images meant to describe a complete philosophy of faith. In this critical documentary, One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenovich (Arsenovich is his middle name), Tarkovsky’s legacy is revered by the great Chris Marker, who, though lauded in Europe as a documentarian, is here mostly known for his short film La Jetée. A perfect introduction to the work of the late master–whose final masterpiece, Sacrifice, plays the two days following. JAMIE HOOK
Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 675-2055. See Movie Times for details.
00/01
(ART) The 11 artists in 00/01 are comfortable with the aesthetic and moral implications that the color white projects: from blankness to purity to denial to the work’s uneasy willingness to blend into the gallery walls. The choice to eliminate color (even though I might remind you that white is the presence of all colors, not their absence) means that the work will be more dependent on the artist’s depth of vision. All this might be just so much rhetoric if James Harris hadn’t chosen such topnotch artists, including Carlos Mollura, Yuki Nakamura, Patrick Holderfield, and Uta Barth. EMILY HALL
James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Opening reception 6-8 pm. Through Dec 16, then Jan 3-27.
Blue Art
(CABARET) Designer extraordinaire Curtis Taylor, in the guise of Vodvil Theater, has been producing a number of delightful cabarets around Seattle. His newest is called Blue Art, devoted to erotic melancholy. In addition to such pleasures as Combo Craig, Richard LeFebvre, and ancient “blue-vice musicals” from Shining Moment Productions, Blue Art spotlight the Rollvulvas, the greatest all-girl, post-vaudevillian troupe on the face of the earth, who will be debuting their latest rhythmic masterpiece, Aqua-Vulva. The Rollvulvas will also be performing their classics O Christmas Tree, The Bored Stripper, and Intensive Care. Not to be missed. BRET FETZER
OK Hotel, 212 Alaska Way, 624-9867, Thurs-Fri at 9, $12. One week only.
FRIDAY 12/8
The Clouds That Touch Us…
(FILM) A recent award-winner at the North by Northwest Film Festival, The Clouds That Touch Us Out of Clear Skies is a meditation on the sadness of miscarriage and a strange and lovely bird. Imagery of a frog blends with a poetic narration to create a mood of ethereal abandon perfectly suited for the subject matter. Never maudlin, the documentary feels as close as the inside of your eyes–which is very nice. Shown with Maren Monsen’s The Vanishing Line. JAMIE HOOK
911 Media Arts, 117 Yale Ave N, 682-6552, 8 pm, $4.
Marshall Crenshaw
(LIVE MUSIC) Since his self-titled debut in 1982, Marshall Crenshaw has carved out a career making music that mixes craft and conviction. In the early ’80s, Crenshaw was sometimes tagged as “the American Elvis Costello,” and while the comparison sometimes seemed valid–they both had a penchant for jangle, twang, and power pop–Crenshaw had more of a Buddy Holly fixation, and his love of Big Star infused his music with some great pop aesthetics. But it also seemed to doom him to critical darling/cult status like Alex Chilton. With songs like “Cynical Girl” and “Yvonne,” Crenshaw was always sweeter on romance than Costello, and worlds away from what was on the radio. And he has a knack for off-the-cuff live shows, with ripping versions of his originals and fun covers. NATE LIPPENS
Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave NW, 789-3599, 7 pm, $16.
Winter Wonderland
(SMUT) As an advocate for wanton sexual frolic, I highly recommend the Lusty Lady‘s annual holiday carnival of interactive smut. Dungeon rooms, lap dances, and slave training sessions make this day of festivities a treat for any man or woman with a firm purpose at hand. And your donation goes to a wonderful cause: the employees’ XXXmas bonus fund. C. EVERETT TREACLE
Lusty Lady, 1315 First Ave, 622-2120, 10 am-4 am, $3-$5 suggested donation.
SATURDAY 12/9
Gynomite
(SPOKEN-WORD EROTICA) From where else but Texas, the repressive state that spawns a Foucauldian emphasis on sex and death, could a group called Gynomite erupt? Begun as a women’s erotica reading series in 1994, Gynomite has evolved into a battle cry (Say it: “Gyn-o-MIIIIITE!”) for Bible-belted women who concentrate on underground, even taboo, subjects. Led by Liz Belile, who edited the resultant anthology, Gynomite: Fearless, Feminist Porn, members of Gynomite will strut their stuff tonight at the Speakeasy–featuring spoken word, art-punk, and visual art. Accompanying will be that ever-stellar poetry-on-demand union the Typing Explosion. It’ll be an evening of great writers, funk, and bell ringing. TRACI VOGEL
Speakeasy Cafe, 2304 Second Ave, 971-5100, 7 pm, $5.
Kinski
(LIVE MUSIC) Prepare for a brain-bending night of freaky psychedelia. Local trio Kinski open with their mesmerizing guitar drone and minimalist bass and drum propulsion, then they turn over the controls to Portland’s Jackie-O Motherfucker and their confluence of avant-garde electronic experimentalism, jazz-fusion, folk, blues, and God knows what else. But the real earsplitting begins when Japanese noisemaster Makoto Kawabata and the Acid Mothers Temple ensemble beat your brains out with blistering fuzz guitar and a bizarre accompaniment of psychedelic sounds. This trip comes with no acid required. DAVID SLATTON
Graceland, 109 Eastlake Ave E, 381-3094, 10 pm, $7.
SUNDAY 12/10
Black Dog Forge
(ART SALE) The black dog at the Black Dog Forge is Junkie, a Renaissance dog if ever there were one. Artist, poet, and muse to the wonderful metalsmiths of Black Dog, Junkie is, at this point, a Belltown fixture. Be sure to bring him a treat when you head down to this great holiday sale, where, in spite of your inability to think of a good present, you’re guaranteed to bump into a handsome array of strange things nobody could know they wanted–that is, until they get them. JAMIE HOOK
Black Dog Forge, 2316 Second Ave, 443-9413. noon-5 pm; Also Sat Dec 9, 10 am-6 pm.
MONDAY 12/11
Petroleum Museum
(MEMORABILIA) Few Capitol Hill denizens who trudge up the hill past the blazing neon Pegasus in the second-story window at Pine and Bellevue are aware of the staggering collection of “petroliana” that resides there: rows of vintage gas pumps, open cases displaying Flying A gasoline products, Shell Oil jewelry and cuff links, and much more. Around every nook and cranny are more delights: real men’s and women’s gas-station restrooms, the latter complete with a 5¢ Kotex feminine napkin dispenser and a sign with a flashing signal (“Please flip switch if restroom is found unclean or without necessary supplies”). Today’s gas stations could take a lesson or two from that. MELODY MOSS
General Petroleum Museum, 1526 Bellevue Ave, 323-4789. By appointment only.
TUESDAY 12/12
Eileen Myles & Lisa Robertson
(READINGS) With this inspired pairing of authors, Rendezvous Readings presents an evening that’ll knock you down and draw you out. Myles–poet, teacher, and 1992 presidential candidate–is best known for her cult novel Chelsea Girls; tonight she visits to read from a new novel destined for culthood, Cool for You (reviewed this issue). Robertson is a Vancouver poet–author, most recently, of Debbie: An Epic. Both intellectual and sensual, Robertson’s poetry rides rampant. She will read from The Weather, to be published in the spring; the work’s full of skin-flickers of language: “A slight cloud drifts contrary to the planet; the day might be used formally to contain a record of idleness.” TRACI VOGEL
Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7 pm, $3-$5 suggested donation.
WEDNESDAY 12/13
Hats of Meat
(WEBSITE) Some quick Meat Facts about me: (1) All-time favorite ground-meat combo? What I like to call the powerhouse “Meatball Troika”–beef, veal, and pork. (2) Absolute favorite solo meat? PORK: flavorful, sturdy, versatile. (3) Favorite form of meat entertainment? The straight-faced hatsofmeat.com, which cleverly combines a passion for meat with an enthusiasm for hats. Hatsofmeat.com features such carnal/millinery delights as the Porkpie, made from genuine Louisiana pork; the Canadian, a chic bonnet made from Canadian bacon with sausage-link chin straps; and, best of all, the Brisket Yarmulke, made from 100% kosher beef (complete with a horseradish Star of David)–effectively providing nice Jewish boys with a unique alternative to boring black, AND combining the two most fun words in the English language. MIN LIAO
www.hatsofmeat.com