Halloween suure is scary (no, no it’s not), but what’s
scarier than that—if you’re
involved with or are a fan of
local music
at all—is a city that’s hostile to nightlife.
Helluva segue! Tom Carr, city attorney for the last
eight years, is responsible for such shenanigans as Operation Sobering
Thought—the bullshit 2007 nightclub-sting op that arrested
more than 20 bar staffers but resulted in zero convictions. Think of it
as the political equivalent
of Geraldo bum-rushing Al Capone’s
vault. Bravo, dickface—you’re no Mark Sidran, sir! As
you might’ve seen in last week’s cover story, now his office has the
punk po-lice grilling drunkasses in the street so he can shut
down the bars they came from. He aggressively prosecutes weed smokers
even though it’s the SPD’s “lowest law-enforcement priority.” Fuck
this dude.
One local promoter calls him “the most destructive individual in
Nickels’s anti–nightlife/youth culture regime” and says, “He’s
known as the most feared man in the club industry, with a
comic-book-villain-like vendetta against nightlife. His exploits speak
for themselves, but where I come from he’s known as the Karl Rove of
Seattle.” Look, you know I don’t get too political in this
motherfucker—but I know if you’re reading this, then you care
about
local music, in particular hiphop. And maybe you’re like me
and enjoy the occasional cocktail—well, the clubs and venues
where all of the above happens need you to vote for somebody who isn’t
trying to shit down their necks at all times. November 3, vote for
Pete Holmes, holmes. (Also: nightlife proponent Dow
Constantine for King County exec, if you’re still listening. My
name is Larry, and I approve this message.)
That said, there are plenty of places to get your nonpartisan party
on this week. October 29 at Nectar is looking crazy with a bill
headlined by Candidt, with Helladope, Clockwork,
Double Hockey Sticks, and DJ Marc Sense—expect a
performance of Candidt’s new Tay Sean–produced heater
“Imaginary Stereo,” Helladope owning, Clockwork getting ’em nuts. That
same night, Israel’s four-man DJ crew Soulico (aided by MCs
Axum) hit Chop Suey with Mr. Chatman aka DJ
Collage and WD4D. October 30, the War Room lets Mad
Rad back in—for a Zombie Apocalypse Halloween party they’re
headlining with Champagne Champagne, Sap’N, and DJ
Swervewon. If you need some chilling listening, grab that new
Avatar Young Blaze mixtape, From Russia with Love, up for
free download on Halloween.
But back to the politics—’cause I’d like
to cap this one
off with a big fuck-you to the UK border agents at
Heathrow who detained Gabriel Teodros for eight fuck-ing hours
before denying him entrance
and shipping him back to the colonies.
Sheer fuckery. 