This week, our arts critics have recommended the best events in every genre to help you beat the monocloud blues—from the continuing run of The Book of Mormon to Jeremy Pelt’s jazz tribute to Eric Garner to the First Thursday Art Walk. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete Things To Do calendar.
Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday
MONDAY
FOOD & DRINK
Meatless Monday
“If you, like nearly everyone else, have spent the better part of the holiday season overindulging in cookies, champagne toasts, and honey-glazed hams, now’s the time to think about reining it in. Tallulah’s, the neighborhood cafe on Capitol Hill whose menu leans toward lighter, vegetable-centric fare, is here to help.” -Angela Garbes
MUSIC
Run Forever
“Run Forever is the kind of band that keeps you company when you’re alone. The Pennsylvania group creates the kind of sprawling, moody guitar music that perfectly soundtracks the don’t-wanna-get-outta-bed feeling of waking up on a gloomy day.” -Robin Edwards
TUESDAY
THEATER
The Book of Mormon
“Has there ever been a better time to see a musical send-up of organized religion? Is there anything funnier than watching Mormon missionaries tap-dancing?” -Christopher Frizzelle
MUSIC
Jeremy Pelt Power Quintet
“Jeremy Pelt is a 39-year-old American trumpeter. … Many of his albums explore the jazz modes of the past with the seeming goal of mastering the technique and innovations of those times. His latest album, Tales, Musings and Other Reveries, does, however, contain a tribute to Eric Garner, a black man who was choked to death by the NYPD last year. As the purpose of the performance tonight is to support Pelt’s new album, we can expect to hear his reflective, angular, and deeply felt tribute to Garner.” -Charles Mudede (Through Wed)
WEDNESDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Silent Reading Party
Invented by Stranger editor-in-chief Christopher Frizzelle, the reading party is when the Fireside Room at the Sorrento Hotel goes quiet and fills with people with books tucked under their arms. There’s even free music from 6 to 8 pm.
MUSIC
Meridian Arc
“Better than most in the region, Meridian Arc applies his own forbidding take on Goblin and John Carpenter-esque horror- and sci-fi-film soundtrack styles.” -Dave Segal
IAMNOBODI
“Berlin’s IAMNOBODI is a relentlessly prolific producer of jazzy soundscapes, chilled exotica, and triphop throwbacks. While the sound isn’t exactly the most in-fashion at the moment, his style has a lived-in confidence that almost makes you wish you were bopping to your Café Del Mar CDs in 1998 all over again.” -Kyle Fleck
Ice Sword
“Flagstaff, Arizona’s Ice Sword are the kind of band to write a song about Dungeons & Dragons, but that might be a plus. In Seattle especially, fantasy metal has been experiencing a small but potent resurgence of popularity.” -Joseph Schafer
COMEDY
The Gay Uncle Time
“It’s an avuncular variety show starring Santa-esque comedian Jeffrey Robert and a rotating cavalcade of local stars, drag queens, storytellers, and weirdos. Get a healthy dose of history, comedy, and song from the gay uncle you always wished you had and his friends you always suspected were up to no good.” -Matt Baume
THURSDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Ishmael Butler and Nep Sidhu
“The two collaborated on Malcolm’s Smile, a huge sonic/architectural/textile altar for Malcolm X that’s hanging at the Frye right now. Be sure to check it out before their artists’ talk, which should leave you feeling pretty cosmic.” -Rich Smith
Seattle StorySLAM
A live amateur storytelling competition, hosted by Lindy West, in which audience members who put their names in a hat are randomly chosen to tell stories on a theme—this week: dedication.
ART
First Thursday Art Walk
Exhibit openings, people watching, and (generally) free wine at the city’s central and oldest art walk.
MUSIC
Dead Tosa
“New Hampshire’s Dead Tosa creates chilly, desolate ambient music and Labradford-esque post rock that could soundtrack lonely walks on winter nights in the extreme Northeastern US.” -Dave Segal
Beatles Cover Night
“Now that the Beatles’ catalog’s on Spotify, why do you need to see this show? Well, for one, listening to music on your mobile device or computer is an awfully diminished experience. For two, it’s always interesting to hear some of the best rock songs ever written interpreted by other artists.” -Dave Segal
Archivist
“I was unfamiliar with the work of Archivist until last year’s Decibel Fest, when he and his cohorts in the secondnature crew dominated decks with minimal, eerie, and propulsive techno. Now I’m a devotee, and he’s surrounded tonight with like-minded, experimentally inclined Northwest weirdoes.” -Kyle Fleck
G-Eazy, A$AP Ferg
“Inexplicably, Bay Area bro G-Eazy continues to book openers far more talented than he. Last time he was in town, it was E-40; this time, it’s A$AP Squad standout A$AP Ferg, whose work, while uneven, is consistently more interesting than that of label mate Rocky.” -Kyle Fleck
FRIDAY
THEATER
14/48: The World’s Quickest Theater Festival
“True to its name, the 14/48 Festival turns around 14 brand-new, theme-based, 10-minute plays in two days. The high-pressure nature of the event produces an evening of surprising theater for the audience, who arrive in their seats charged with expectation and anxiety for the performers.” -Rich Smith (Through Sat)
King Kirby
King Kirby, written by Crystal Skillman and Fred Van Lente, takes on the story of comic book creator Jack Kirby, from his childhood in New York, to his army service in World War II, and finally, to his moment standing accused on the Senate floor. (Through Jan 23)
MUSIC
Shabazz Palaces
“If there’s a headier, more sonically and lyrically advanced way to bring in 2015 than with Seattle hiphop innovators Shabazz Palaces, then I don’t know what it is. … Unlike many hiphop acts, Shabazz excel live, where they cut the crowd participation bullshit and flaunt their skills. What a concept.” -Dave Segal
Le Shat Noir
“If you prefer your bands to hold nothing sacred, you’re going to love Le Shat Noir. Like ’80s-era Butthole Surfers and Big Black, these Seattle goons run roughshod over musical decorum with caustic, crunchy synth surges and reckless, ram-rodding rhythms.” -Dave Segal
Natalie Wouldn’t
“Ska’s not dead; it’s just a lot easier to ignore than it was in its ’90s heyday of bands like Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake. There are a handful of bands in the Northwest scene courageous enough to carry on with the horns amid a landscape of people likely to consider their ska fandom just a deep dark secret—one of which is Natalie Wouldn’t.” -Kevin Diers
QUEER
Bootie Seattle: New Year’s Eve Do-Over Party!
“This Friday, the everything-sexual mash-up party Bootie is New-Year’s-Eveing all over again, complete with countdown and balloon drop and, of course, mash-ups aplenty.” -Matt Baume
FILM
The Revenant
“In this movie, which Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman, Babel, Amores Perros) directed, the actor Leonard DiCaprio plays a fur trapper who is almost killed by a bear, and then by people whom he thought were his friends. The film promises to have lots of snow, lonely moments in desolate locations, and DiCaprio’s determined eyes, as he seeks a 19th century form of revenge.” -Charles Mudede
SATURDAY
ART
Julia Freeman: Quiet Alter Opening Reception
“For Quiet Alter, curated by Vignettes, Freeman ‘confronts and indulges in the history of psychopharmacology, the pharmaceutical industry and their hidden but understood effects on our culture….’ Taking on the drug industry sounds heavy-handed, but Freeman’s style is as light (in a good way) as a leaf.” -Jen Graves
Georgetown Art Attack
Once a month, the art that resides in the tiny airport hamlet of Georgetown ATTACKS all passersby. In more literal terms, it’s the day of art openings and street wonderment.
MUSIC
Car Seat Headrest
“Five years and 11 albums ago, Bandcamp superstar Will Toledo brought Car Seat Headrest to life in the family car, his makeshift version of a home studio. In 2014, he relocated from Virginia to Seattle in time to form a band, sign to Matador (the label behind 2015’s Teens of Style), and appear on an impressive number of top 10 lists.” -Kathy Fennessy
Pony Time
“Because I’ve never been in a band, nor do I know how to play a musical instrument, I’m always super impressed at the music and sheer noise just two people can make. One of Seattle’s most beloved two-pieces, garage punks Pony Time, make an excellent racket with Luke Beetham on bass, guitar, and vocals, and Stacy Peck smashing the drums.” -Kelly O
SUNDAY
MUSIC
Weeed, MTNS
“The three junior heshers in Weeed made quite the statement with 2014’s Feng Shui Capital of the World, an alternately meditative and bone-crushing collection of psychedelic metal whose peaks rivaled any other ambitious stoners in Seattle. Their followup is an even more accomplished batch of grass-fed, beefy jams and non-sequitur vocals.” -Kyle Fleck
COMEDY
Wine Shots: Comedy’s Happiest Hour
This all-female comedy variety show comes complete with an all-female Michael Bolton cover band, Lightning Bolton. Organized by the very funny Elicia Sanchez, it’s every second Sunday of the month in the Grotto at the Rendezvous, and every audience member gets a free shot of wine.
ART
Vermillion Makers Market
Enjoy live music and a full bar while you scope out beautiful paintings and jewelry from local artists and designers.
