This weekend, the Expo festival returns for a second
year—Expo 87 this time—bringing its three-day DIY
art extravaganza to the Anne Bonny and Cairo Gallery on Capitol Hill, showcasing not only dozens of bands but also local
filmmakers and artists.
Opening night on Thursday at Cairo features screenings of two
collections of short films. The first, Pacific Open, is what the
schedule calls a collection of “miscellaneous musically driven
films,” and the second, Supervideografen, is a bunch of animated
films. Judging by some of the gems posted at the Supervideografen blog
at www.supervideografen.com (such as Patrick Duffy & the Crab—what the fuck
is that about?), there should
be a lot of odd/interesting clips in
that one. That night is free (though donations are appreciated) and
goes from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Then, Friday and Saturday evenings are filled with music. The full
lineup includes over 20 artists, ranging from beloved well-knowns like
Spencer Moody (Fri, Anne Bonny, 8:30 pm), Mount Eerie (Sat, Cairo, 9 pm), and John Atkins (Sat, Anne Bonny, 9:30 pm)
to promising acts like morbid rockers Constant Lovers (Fri, Anne
Bonny, 5:30 pm) and endearingly weird experimental duo Forrest
Friends (Sat, Anne Bonny, 4:30 pm). And with some brand-new bands
rounding out the bill—Tiny Light and Wet Paint, for
example, who play the Anne Bonny Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Cairo Saturday
at 4:00 p.m., respectively—there’s sure to be some stuff you’ve
never seen before.
The full schedule and set times are posted at
www.expo86seattle.blogspot
.com, and the organizers have
conveniently staggered everything so you can bounce back and forth from
one set to another.
Passes for Friday and Saturday are $10 each, and they get you
unlimited access to both venues all day. Though if you’re looking to
wind down come Saturday evening, be sure to make it over to Queen Anne
for the Fences/Hey Marseilles show at the Vera Project,
where tender, heart-string-tugging ballads will abound. 
Thurs Nov 19: Built to Spill, Disco Doom, Finn
Riggins at Showbox at the Market,
8 pm, $20 adv/$25 DOS.
Fri Nov 20: Kids and Animals, Colonies, Black
Whales, New Faces, Conservative Dad, Post Harbor at the Vera Project,
6 pm, $7 ($6 w/ club card).
Fri Nov 20: Mount Eerie, Cars & Trains, Naomi
Punk, Secret Colors at UW’s HUB (North Den), 7 pm, $8 ($4 w/ student
ID).
Sat Nov 21: Hey Marseilles, Fences, Mason Lindahl
at the Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $10 ($9 w/ club card).
