Bad things happen to good people. Dedicated all-ages music advocate and Old Redmond Firehouse booker Kate Becker's house burned down Tuesday July 11, leaving her and her housemate homeless. Luckily, Becker was home at the time and was able to get her cats out of the blaze, but not much else. There is talk among the music community of staging several benefits for Becker to help her pay her hefty deductible. In the meantime, those who just want to contribute some cash should contact me at The Stranger, and I'll give you the contact info pronto.

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Here's some news about good things happening to good people: More babies! Tireless local music booster Susie Tennant and her husband Chris have been chosen to be adoptive parents, only two weeks after applying. The couple welcomed Ella Edelia Tennant Swenson to the world on Monday, July 10. Congratulations!

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The annual Capitol Hill Block Party, which took place Saturday, July 15 in the blazing hot sun (anything over 80 degrees is an oven to me) was a bit of a disappointment this year. Kinski, as always, sounded great, as did Voyager One. However, the stage was nearly an ENTIRE BLOCK away from the beer garden, so one had to choose between drinking cheap beer on a hot fucking afternoon, or sitting on the broiling pavement while thirstily trying to pay attention to the band. Naturally, because the Capitol Hill Block Party is all about getting shitfaced in the streets in broad daylight in your own goddamn glorious neighborhood, most of the folks attending (and their dogs--Hoax, Willy the pug, and all the rest of you furry cuties: Mamie says "woof") opted to cram into the beer garden and to hell with the bands. Which is a shame. Maybe it was because, for the first time, former organizer Jen Gapay of Thirsty Girl had nothing to do with the event, having recently moved to New York City. Or maybe it was because the squarer-than-square Seattle Weekly sponsored the event. Surely that weekend marked the first time many of their crusty old asses had been in the vicinity of Broadway and Pike since the WTO protests. Oh, how I long for the days when the beer garden--furnished with thrift-store couches and coffee tables and cute gay boy bartenders--was a mere footstep away from the bands, and the whole place felt like the greatest club in the world, even if it existed only for a day.

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Here's a heads up to what might be the biggest festival blast of the summer: August 11-13, I am so there for the Las Vegas Shakedown! Three nights of "punk, broken blues, and primitive rock," with more than 60 bands scheduled to play at the Gold Coast Casino & Hotel. Local bands include the Catheters, Dead Moon, Monkey Wrench, Murder City Devils, and Valentine Killers; other bands confirmed are Dictators, New Bomb Turks, Nashville Pussy, Andre Williams, Wayne Kramer, Yo-Yo's, Cheater Slicks, Donnas, Holly Golightly, Leaving Trains, Pearl Harbor, Real Kids, Gimmicks, and about 40 more. Shows start at 2:00 p.m. and go till 7:00 a.m., and guess what? There's a 72-lane bowling alley at the Gold Coast, so don't forget to pack those fancy vintage bowling shoes! The cost for all three days (not including lodging, of course) is a mere $85. The Gold Coast is already booked up, but check out www.vegasshakedown.net or call Tom at 562-433-1332 for more information about lodging and the festival in general.