Burlesquefest
(TITILLATING PERFORMANCE) Following engagements in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Canada, this touring show of traditional burlesque arrives for a one-night stand at the Showbox. Burlesquefest features the old-school shake 'n' shimmy of such nouveau nubiles as Lana Landis (a Veronica Lake look- alike and trained opera singer) and Catherine D'Lish (she of the world-famous champagne-glass routine), along with the bawdy vaudeville humor of the Empire Burlesque Follies. (The Showbox, 1426 First Ave, 628-3151, $16.50, 8:30 pm, 18+.) DAVID SCHMADERHoward Dean Fundraiser
(EVENT) I don't believe in politics. I believe in beefcake. So you can be damn sure that I'll be attending would-be president Howard Dean's fundraiser because Danny Roberts (The Real World New Orleans) is the star attraction and Chad Allen (also a great big sexy famous gay Dean supporter) is rumored to be making a cameo, not because Dean is responsible for signing Vermont's civil unions law (which makes it okay for boys to marry other boys) and has a huge chip on his shoulder named George "The 'W' is for War" Bush. Hell, I don't even WANT to get married. (The Capitol Club, 414 E Pine, 5 pm, $25 suggested donation.) ADRIAN RYAN friday may 30
AY MAY 30
The Terror Sheets
(CD RELEASE) Every once and a while a band creates a moment. Everything stops, and you're enveloped in sheer, quiet beauty. Two years ago that band was the Terror Sheets--acoustic, spare, utterly stunning, and bursting with potential. Tonight the band--singer and guitarist Joe Syverson, drummer Brian Hoyne, and keyboardist Chris Early--celebrate the release of their long-awaited debut, Street Corner Fields, an album of moody pop so good and ready that it almost makes me cry. Seriously. (Crocodile Cafe, 2200 Second Ave, 441-5611, 9 pm, $8 adv.) KATHLEEN WILSON
Joseph Park
(ART) Animals have entirely replaced the humans in Joe Park's universe; the samurai, the pop musician, the cute secretary of a few years ago gave way first to elephants and rabbits inhabiting tableaux inspired by artists of old (both fine and pin-up), and now to pretty, glossy pop scenarios that never quite lose their unstable edge. All things, as it turns out, are never equal: The handsome pony with a pretty-boy sneer and rock-star mane of hair and the elephants studiously consulting their submarine instruments are nowhere near as silly as the serene surface suggests. (Howard House, 2017 Second Ave, 256-6399, opening reception Sat May 31, 6-8 pm. Through July 12.) EMILY HALL
Experimental Theology
(CONFLICT OF INTEREST) Books editor Charles Mudede has implored me for my assistance in promoting an event that he had a Machiavellian hand in organizing--and as it's sort of my personal hobby to test the lines of "conflict of interest" in these pages, I was more than happy to oblige. The event in question is a reading from Experimental Theology, a new collection featuring the likes of Rebecca Brown, Riz Rollins, Megan Purn, Robert Corbett, and Mr. Mudede himself. Composed of experiments in faith and its convictions, the evening should be provocative and, if nothing else, completely pointy-headed. (Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7 pm, $5.) ZAC PENNINGTON
MONDAY JUNE 2
LEIU Conference
(PROTEST) Two things will converge in downtown Seattle today--a huge gathering of cops and feds at the Red Lion Hotel, and good old-fashioned Seattle protesters at Westlake. What's the deal? It's the first day of the 48th annual Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit (LEIU) conference, and activists are itching to protest this cop club, which they've deemed an anti-civil-liberties spy group. LEIUers, meanwhile, will spend the week in (sold-out) sessions like "The Current State of Criminal Intelligence" and "Bioterrorism." So you've got three choices: infiltrate the conference, join the protest, or stand back and watch the inevitable clash. (LEIU conference, Red Lion Hotel, 1415 Fifth Ave; LEIU teach-in, Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, Sun June 1 at 7:30 pm, $5-$15 suggested donation; rally and march, Westlake Park, Mon June 2 at 7 pm, free.) AMY JENNIGES
Sorry Charlie's
(INSTITUTION) Sorry Charlie's, the Queen Anne piano bar that's been around for nearly 30 years, will be shutting its doors in about two weeks. For those who have stopped in on occasional drunken nights, bleating out show tunes while house pianist Howard Bulson patiently plays along, this is sad news: another sign that "old Seattle" continues to fade. But for those who are devoted regulars--who have adoringly watched Bulson play old-fashioned piano standards night after night; who have spent countless hours nursing whiskeys and listening to people belt out the songs they've practiced in the shower--this is heartbreaking proof that it is increasingly difficult for dark little rooms with cracked leather banquettes and chatty cocktail waitresses to survive. Go now, while you still can, and pay your respects to Bulson and the staff. (529 Queen Anne Ave N, 283-3245, Bulson plays Tues-Sun from 8 pm till close.) MIN LIAO
'Bloody Mama'
(OUTDOOR MOVIE) I've never seen Bloody Mama--the 1970 Shelly Winters movie that casts her as the real-life Ma Barker, the ringleader of a bunch of bank-robbing bandits from the Depression era--but I'll drink to the trashy flick anyway because the film marks the opening of Linda's ninth annual Summer Movie Madness series, where free movies and Linda's back porch go together like beer and a bottle. Every Wednesday between now and the end of August, you can watch under- and undiscovered cult classics while your drunky neighbors (hopefully) give their own running commentaries. Thank god for the summer months. (Linda's, 707 E Pine St, 325-1220, free, starts at dusk.) JENNIFER MAERZ
