With the growing number of film and video artists popping up in Seattle, each with an expanding catalog of titles, it'll only be a matter of time before we start sending out emissaries to microcinemas across the country. But how does one set up a tour? That would be a good question to ask Kyle Harris, who just set up his first DIY tour around the western United States. On Sunday, June 8, he'll be at Aftermath Gallery (928 12th Ave, which is a delightful space a block south of Madison St) with his Anarcho Country Cinema tour.
There are two types of good video art nowadays: the type that grabs you intellectually, and the type that you need to let wash over you. Though Harris has a bit of both, his stuff veers toward the latter. Several pieces work like a hypnotic assault, lulling you into a trance state with flurries of abstract images, while others are only slightly more political, and none are truly narrative. Not everything is pleasant to watch, but what is impressive is that most every piece utilizes a different visual style. I'd recommend that the pot smokers go ahead and get loaded before the show, but only if they're ready to sit through some stuff that's more confrontational than his quad-screen meditation on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Did somebody say assault? Friday, June 6, brings a punk rock double feature at the Independent Media Center (1415 Third Ave). With the Seattle International Film Festival's focus on South Korean film right now, the timing couldn't be better for Our Nation: A Korean Punk Rock Community, which will be teamed up with Mas Alla de los Gritos (Beyond the Screams), which looks at Latino/Chicano punk communities and captures several live performances.
As far as live performances are concerned, the Grand Illusion is the place to be late night on Friday, June 6. Last week, Jennifer Maerz reported the rumor of a possible breakup of Teen Cthulhu, which should give you even more reason to head out to the Grand Illusion to hear them play before the screening of John Carpenter's masterful The Thing. Of course, the Grand Illusion knows that not all audiences want to hear music so black before their John Carpenter movies, so the Saturday show will be Teen Cthulhu-free.
One of the most popular theme songs to cover is, of course, the one from Shaft. On June 11, the back patio of Linda's will be the place for those who want to see Shaft's Big Score, with the option to sing along with the soundtrack for anybody who's drunk enough. There is one other event taking place in town that doesn't fit in with the theme of this week's column, but I want to mention it anyway, and that's the screening of a handful of local films at the Greenwood branch of the Seattle Public Library on Monday, June 9. The ones I've seen are good, and if you get the itch, you could always sing along with Herbert Bergel's See You in Spokane.
