There are only five months left to gear up for the annual Capitol Hill Block Party/Drunk in the Streets Music and Booze-a-thon. And considering what a colossal bust last year's party was (a boring-ass, nearly hidden beer garden and small-draw bands), five months might be just enough time to get it together. Party organizers are proposing some changes for this year's event, like a new location (Broadway and Pine Street, rather than Pike), multiple stages, and over 20 bands, including bigger-name acts such as Built to Spill as well as Seattle club favorites, DJs, and local politicians. (The Bad Juju Lounge, the Vogue, Barça, and the Comet will feature bands as well as karaoke.) Hell's Belles, Pedro the Lion, Carissa's Wierd, the Briefs, Botch, and Murder City Devils are all being considered for the main stage, and Aveo, the Catheters, Watery Graves, and S have already expressed interest in playing the club stages.
The biggest difference this year looks to be an admission charge to gain entrance to the rock and the booze (most of which will go to various charity causes and the bands). Organizers hope an admission fee won't be necessary at future Capitol Hill Block Parties, but they admit that last year's ill-suffered fiasco left them with few resources to offset this year's expenses. I don't know about you, but I'd pay a pretty penny to get a glimpse of the bizarre sight of Carissa's Wierd playing in the daytime, outside, in the sun.
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Kurt Bloch was hard at work last week at Egg Studios, where several area bands are recording songs for the forthcoming Kinks tribute album. The disc, featuring Bloch's band the Fastbacks, 764-HERO, Love as Laughter, Murder City Devils--why, that's nearly the entire Cha Cha employee list right there!--and others will come out later this year on Sub Pop. And speaking of the Cha Cha, yes that was Janeane Garofalo hanging out at the Capitol Hill bar last Saturday night. At the behest of her Seattle-loving pals from Mr. Show (who cavorted shirtless at the Cha Cha following their Bumbershoot experience last summer), Garofalo was in search of Fastbacks frontwoman Kim Warnick, whom she had been told owned the bar. Warnick, who merely tends the bar, graciously cleared a table for the social commentator and her small entourage, and noted that Garofalo nearly choked on the strength of her Jameson and water.
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He may sing the theme song to my favorite TV show, Ed, but I shall forever think former Seattle resident Dave Grohl to be a fool following his appearance on Craig Kilborn's late-night talk show last Friday. Grohl, who frankly only gets goofier-looking as the years pass, claimed in front of God and everyone that he never heard Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" until he saw it sung in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous last year. What?! Anyone Grohl's age who had an FM radio growing up heard two Elton John songs if they heard one, and they were "Levon" and "Tiny Dancer." Grohl offered this exasperating tidbit as an intro to his acoustic version of the song, and I'll warn you right now that I'm going to have a bloody seizure all over this column if he's even thinking about recording his crappy version, lowly B-side or not.
