There should've been more kids there. While Blue Sky Mile poured their thick and turbulent rock over a "crowd" of 15 to 20 people, I wondered where the rest of Seattle's underage population was. (I also wondered where this band came from, because they were G-R-E-A-T!)
Granted, it's tough to fill a room with showgoers at eight o'clock on a cool summer evening, especially with all the other worthy competition in the city. Slender Means Society was holding their daylong art extravaganza, and the Paradox was hosting the hardcore-galore Power of Ten compilation show, the Vera Project had the weekend music conference Feeding Back: Young Women in Rock--there was a lot happening on June 28. But as 9:00 p.m. rolled around, there were still only about 20 people milling around the room, and that, sadly, included some of the musicians who were playing that night.
"I'm happy with the number of people that showed up. Our count was 68, but I feel there could have been more," said 19-year-old Katie "Kates" Izak, artistic director for the Y's all-ages concert program.
It was relieving to hear that the apparent lack of people was a bit deceiving, because tonight's concert was actually a benefit to make up for some lame-ass (or lame-asses) stealing $210 from the venue back in May.
When they realized the money was gone, they knew they'd have to replace it, so Kates and Burke Thomas, a volunteer, threw this show together. While Kates did much of the running around and organizing that night, the event couldn't have happened without the efforts of Burke and the bands that volunteered their time.
"I was talking with Burke about the money being stolen and how I wanted to do a benefit, and he offered to help. I told him the bands I wanted, and he said he would see what he could do," said Kates. "It feels pretty good knowing that the music community can get together and play a show for a good cause without thinking twice."
So thanks to the wonderful Blue Sky Mile, Dorkweed, Pris, Emery (pictured above), Tagging Satellites, the Cripples, and so many other great local acts, the Fusion Café made more than enough money to replace the stolen funds.
"The main reason the benefit was put on was to replace the stolen money," said Kates. After the show, she was very happy to report that the Y ended up making over $400.
"We'll use the rest of the money to put on more shows in the future--bring in some bigger bands, pay for the 'free' water the bands get, that kind of thing."
All in all, despite your lack of presence, it was a very fun and successful show. You should be sorry you missed it.
