Speaking of the all-ages club, you may have heard the Vera Project is looking for a new space and a new director. To help fund all things happening in their future, they are holding their annual Drink for the Kids fundraiser May 17-22. The fundraiser has an expanded scope: You can now belly up to select bars in Belltown, Ballard, and Capitol Hill--and a percentage of the proceeds will go toward the nonprofit. Getting wasted is finally a charitable endeavor. But the big news this year is that for the benefit week's finale, May 20 and 22, David Cross will be doing standup with his Tinkle comedy troupe (which includes comedians Todd Barry and Jon Benjamin). Tickets for those final nights range from $20 to $1,000 (sponsorship tables) with guest bands the Thermals (May 20) and the New Pornographers (May 22) also on the bill. (To stay current on Cross' most recent work, you are hereby advised to watch my latest addiction, Fox's Arrested Development. Cross plays an in-law to a family so dysfunctional they actually have plotlines about incestuous crushes between cousins. Dark humor at its best--and available on DVD.)
Speaking of DVDs, mark your calendars: On Tuesday, May 10, the late, great Murder City Devils rise from the ashes, at least on DVD. The night marks the release of Director Ryan Short's Murder City Devils--The End: Final Show Halloween 2001, which combines live footage from the band's finale with bootlegs from earlier performances, a short trailer of random clips, and commentary from frontman Spencer Moody and "Merchbot." The heart of the DVD, though, is that final performance, which Short and company present with all the manic, passionate energy of the band intact, even as the members' speech, movements, and playing succumb to demon alcohol. The band's last hurrah at the Showbox is shown as an eventful night--and the camera work makes you feel like you're part of the crowd, as the vantage point jumps from the stage to the crush of kids and back. Highlights include Coady Willis setting his drums on fire (and then proceeding to play them), guitarist Dann Gallucci making out with Himsa's John Pettibone (not against the rules of straightedge), and Pretty Girls front- woman Andrea Zollo guesting on "Boom Swagger"--all that and seeing the frothing crowd spill over onto the stage one body at a time. A helmeted Nick DeWitt (Pretty Girls) stepped in on keyboards for Leslie Hardy, who sat out the band's final tour, but otherwise the video captures the intoxicating (in more ways than one) experience of watching the Murder City Devils fly off the rails live. The official unveiling party for The End happens at the Crocodile, with performances by Hell Promise and DJ Sammi Curr.
CD of the week: It's only two songs long, but Earthless' Sonic Prayer (Gravity) clocks in at over 40 minutes. That means a whole lotta guitar experiments and extended jams harking back to the mighty H's--Hawkwind and Hendrix--along the way. The San Diego band comprises Mario R. (Clikatat Ikatowi, Hot Snakes), Mike E. (Electric Nazarene), and Isaih M., signing off from their posts on terrestrial land to float gravity-free between constellations of methodical drone and squalling feedback. Turn on, tune in, drop out once again… speaking of which, I'm on vacation next week, so Live Wire returns May 12.
