Audrey Hendrickson

Wednesday, September 1

• Turtle Island Quartet performs a suite of four Jimi Hendrix pieces (taken from Electric Ladyland) @ the Triple Door
• FREE: It's TV Dinner night, with four episodes of The Golden Girls @ Central Cinema
• Just two more nights of the un-pc animation extravaganza @ Grand Illusion

Thursday, September 2

• It's first Thursday, and among other showings, Joe Vollan has an exhibition of his "surreal, steam-punk landscapes inhabited by skeletal figures, animals and robots" @ Flatcolor Gallery
• Cyndi Lauper thinks you're beautiful, like a rainbow, so go see her on her Memphis Blues tour @ Zoo Tunes
• The not-for-children puppet show Frankenocchio ends its run on Saturday @ Seattle University's Lee Center for the Arts
• Hopefully it won't be during The Kora Band's lunchtime afro-jazz concert @ City Hall

The running of the nerds at PAX past, care of Penny Arcade

Friday, September 3

• "Your arm's off!" Be warned, it's a Monty Python & the Holy Grail quote-along @ Central Cinema
• You also have your choice of Pasolini's Mamma Roma (with Anna Magnani) or Wheedle's Groove (chronicling "Seattle's oft-overlooked history as a hotbed of soul music") @ the Northwest Film Forum
• The Bumbershoot visual arts free preview allows you to check out the art before the crowds descend. It follows the afternoon Mayor's Arts Awards ceremony, and the exhibits feature an improvisational jamming robot! @ Seattle Center
• Roll the twelve-sided die to get a +3 on agility at PAX through Sunday @ Convention Center
• The Tango Lesson doesn't sound like a very good movie, but we'll take any excuse to hit up the new free Friday night dance film series @ Century Ballroom

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Saturday, September 4

• Bumbershoot tips off with Bob Dylan, Neko Case, The Decemberists, Ozomatli, Solomon Burke, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Jamie Lidell, The Raveonettes, Civil Twilight, Atlas Sound, and more @ Seattle Center
• A mystery Warp Recording Artist (there's only one booked for the fest and his name kind of rhymes with riddle) is headlining a Bumbershoot afterparty @ the Crocodile
• It's the best of the worst videos with Everything is Terrible live and in-person @ Central Cinema

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Sunday, September 5

• Bumbershoot keeps right on going with Weezer, Hole, Rise Against, LMFAO, Billy Bragg, The Dandy Warhols, Motion City Soundtrack, Ra Ra Riot, The Bouncing Souls, Crash Kings, Horse Feathers, and more @ Seattle Center
• You can never quarantine the past, but you can see a reunited Pavement @ the Paramount
• Today it's the artist's reception for the 6th annual Onyx Fine Arts Exhibit, celebrating the work of Northwest African American artists, ongoing through September 29 @ Art/Not Terminal Gallery (The Subterranean Room)

Monday, September 6

• Bumbershoot's happy ending finally arrives with Jenny & Johnny (Jenny Lewis & Johnathan Rice), The Thermals, The English Beat, Booker T., Surfer Blood, Japandroids, Anvil, Baroness, Meat Puppets, The Whigs, The Moondoggies, The Clientele, and more @ Seattle Center
• And there's the official post-Bumbershoot show with Surfer Blood and Dead Confederate @ the Hard Rock
• Or the non-official Bumbershoot after-party with Coliseum, Heiress, and Burning Love @ the Funhouse
• If you're not Bumbershooting, catch some free music with this month's edition of The Rumble, featuring Detroit duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. [stream their EP] and Mesita @ Havana

Tuesday, September 7

• Issac Delgado sings timba ("sometimes called Cuban salsa") @ the Triple Door
• It's the first six nights of "funky swamp rock" with Dr. John and the Lower 911 @ Jazz Alley
• Opening reception for the multimedia Merce Cunningham retrospective, Cunningham in the Northwest (through October 22) @ Cornish Main Gallery

Do not think about heading to Downtown right now, unless you're going on foot.  And if you're already Downtown, well, you're gonna be there a while.  A Seattle police officer shot and killed a man armed with a knife near the intersection of Boren and Howell, so several streets are shut down, meaning traffic and buses are being re-routed.  It is not pretty.

(Thanks as always to Seattle 911 blog for being a reliable go-to resource in just these situations.)

You know it's a week full of quality movies on DVD when the biggest release is a television show. Yes, the biggest DVD for the week was the sixth and final season of Lost, which includes (zomg) another eleven minutes of never-before-seen bonus scenes of Ben and Hurley on The Island. There's also a new crazy-ass box set of the whole series.

Besides that, the next biggest release is The Back-up Plan, Jennifer Lopez's getting knocked up and then meeting the man of your dreams rom-com. There's also City Island, a family-with-secrets comedy that's actually one of the top box office earners amongst indie films this year. There's a mediocre movie version of Dorian Gray and the latest zombie installment from George A. Romero, Survival of the Dead.

Ajami is well-reviewed, but to me the intersecting storylines just sound like Crash in the Middle East. Shirin is an experimental film with Juliette Binoche, in which a theater audience watches a film based on a poem, while The Square is a noir thriller from Australia. Nightfur is a sci-fi romance with a soundtrack by Band of Horses, and Abandoned looks to be the final (direct-to-DVD) release with Brittany Murphy.

In terms of special editions, there's the 30th anniversary release of Shogun Assassin, the Bluray of cult British comedy Withnail and I, and 1969 gangster flick Machine Gun McCain, starring John Cassavetes, Peter Falk, Britt Ekland, and Gena Rowlands. This week also marks the release of three silent films by Josef Von Sternberg from Criterion: Docks of New York, The Last Command, and Underworld.

And in the realm of documentaries, there's La Danse, which follows the rehearsals and performances of seven ballets by the Paris Opera Ballet. Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg covers the life and work of TV pioneer Gertrude Berg, who created The Goldbergs, one of the first sitcoms, which also helped to introduce Jewish culture to the American mainstream. The Age of Stupid is a quasi-documentary in which forty-five years from now, on a scorched earth, one man watches news footage from our time to understand what went so wrong.

Chuck Close is a portrait of the photo-realistic painter, while The Comeback studies washed-up German boxer Jürgen "The Rock" Hartenstein. Generation Rx is a look at the side effects of the unmitigated prescription of psychiatric meds in children. And for something completely different, Legends of the Canyon tells the story of all the great music borne of Laurel Canyon in the late '60s, from Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, The Mamas and the Papas, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, and many more.

The Swan (at Artattack Theater most Thurs-Sun through September 25th) is one of those plays where the central conflict is introduced from the get-go, and then you sit back and watch as the cast of characters have to deal with it.

In this case, the conflict surrounds the title bird (played by Martyn G. Krouse) who crashes into Dora's (Tracy Leigh) living room window. The thrice-divorced/widowed nurse plans on caring for the wounded creature, who she dubs Bill, only until he's healed, much to the disapproval of her married milkman boyfriend Kevin (Daniel Wood). But eventually the animal won't leave—and then he starts to turn into a man. 

So it's your standard love triangle; it just so happens that one of the parties is an animal. And in a way, Elizabeth Egloff's play is a lonely woman's wish fulfillment. I mean, what girl wouldn't take the needy, shirtless hunk programmed to mate for life over the dopey guy who's already cheating on his wife?

Depending on your frame of reference, The Swan is either a fairy tale or magical realism, and the script (along with Selby's direction) allows each of the three actors a chance to shine. Leigh's Dora is homespun without being hackneyed and neurotic while still having genuine underlying emotion. Even Wood, whose kind and persistent yet frustrated and befuddled Kevin is the most one-note, is able to stretch his acting legs in the second act.

But it's Krouse who really has to hustle as an actor, playing both animal and man without it coming off as a joke. Throughout the swan's metamorphosis, Krouse squawks, preens, hisses, and then gets dressed, learns to speak English, to play checkers, and to fall in desperate love. His swan, after he learns to talk, speaks in poetry, and the word pictures he conjures are downright dreamy. And Krouse does it all so convincingly tenderly that he makes the absurdist conceit feel real. Same goes for the simple, practical set by Selby and Justin Lockwood, as well as Lockwood's sound design.

A final note on the Art Attack Theater: I love the space. It's intimate (by which I mean tiny), which only adds to the intensity and tension of performances there. It also means that sound travels really well, so the audience needs to keep the comments to themselves (especially now that the theater is competing with customers at Harem above). Audience noise was an issue at the last show I saw there, and it was again at this show, which I think says less about the space and more about common courtesy. You're not at home watching the Kardashians, so shut yer yap during the play. Or next time I'm bringing an air horn.

Wednesday, August 25th

• Get summery and lo-fi and bored with Wavves @ Neumo's
• Rufus Wainwright gives one Lulu of a performance @ the Paramount
• It's your chance to boat around with the World Affairs Council @ Lake Union
• Grammy Award-winning guitarist Lee Ritenour and collaborator pianist Dave Grusin are making the sweet jazz music (through August 29) @ Jazz Alley

Thursday, August 26th

• Say goodbye to Carly Nicklaus (The Catch, United State of Electronica), whose off-to-NYC bash is @ Havana
• Dancer/choreographer Asimina Chremos begins a series of performances for audiences of one @ Gallery 1412
• Mobile City, a kick-off party-on-wheels for the Capitol Hill Summer Sale, goes down from 6 to 9 @ the BofA parking lot at Broadway & Thomas
• No, we haven't said enough about this series already: it's your last night of Vincent Moon music movie goodness @ Northwest Film Forum

Friday, August 27th

• Check out the final Blonde But Not Forgotten flick with a young tomboy Jodie Foster in Candleshoe @ Cal Anderson
• Yet another sure-to-be fashionable night when SAM Remix takes the party outdoors @ Olympic Sculpture Park
• Dreamy troubadour James Apollo brings his dark and melancholy sounds @ Vermillion
• KEXP Concerts at the Mural series closes with Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band, The Head and the Heart, & Yuni in Taxco @ Seattle Center
• Vince Mira joins the Dusty 45s for what should be a lively-ass night @ the Triple Door
• Around a Small Mountain is "a short, late minor gem" from Jacques Rivette, that's "as transporting and graceful as a ride in a balloon" so go see it @ the Northwest Film Forum

Saturday, August 28th

• It's a little bit of everything--food, shopping, costume contest, movie, family fun, and more--@ Chinatown-ID Night Market
• Another opportunity to go totally '80s, with Crowded House @ Chateau Ste Michelle Winery
• Put on a helmet and ride over to the 5th Annual Bike-In, screening Pee-Wee's Big Adventure @ Cal Anderson
• It's a Cave Singers show in a secret location under the stars, care of JanSport.  Only the first 100 people get on the bus somewhere @ Capitol Hill
• If you don't go for the Japanese horror classic Hausu, how about Breakfast at Tiffany's, both playing this weekend @ Central Cinema

Sunday, August 29th

• There's a Bumps & Babies fair (a boutique and consignment sale from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.), cash only @ the Roosevelt Ale House parking lot (8824 Roosevelt Way NE in Maple Leaf)
• You just can't go wrong with a lovely summer night and Vampire Weekend, Beach House, and the Dum Dum Girls @ Marymoor
• Or a lovely summer night and Herbie Hancock @ Woodland Park Zoo
• It's the last day of the UW School of Music's piano sale (call 206-616-3456) @ UW Music Building
• Celebrate what would've been Michael Jackson's 52nd birthday with a ten-piece indie-jazz-Afrobeat band led by Ben Darwish @ Tractor

Monday, August 30th

• The Seattle Public Library system is closed for a whole week beginning today.
• San Francisco's The Kinsey Sicks present an evening of politics, TMI, social criticism, and nasty, nasty proclivities in four-part harmony@ the Triple Door
• You only have a few days left to catch Looking for Eric, Ken Loach's middle-aged soccer (aka football) fan comedy @ the Northwest Film Forum

Tuesday, August 31st

• Quincy Jones presents Cuban piano sensation The Alfonso Rodriguez Trio @ Jazz Alley
• There's no better reason to get multi-culti lounge-y than Stereo Total @ Chop Suey
• The Speakeasy Series visit Los Angeles, with DJ Supreme LA Rock providing the soundtrack to showings of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard and Robert Altman's The Player @ the Triple Door

Here we are in the thick of August's silly season, which last year was focused on talk of death panels and this year is dominated by the threat posed by a ZOMG Ground Zero terror mosque.  It's almost as if the media has nothing else to do with their time, besides quash intellectual debate and foment fear.  Might we suggest they take a break from the crushing twenty-four-hour news cycle, in favor of a movie or two?  With that in mind, here's a look at recent DVD releases, care of our good friends at Scarecrow Video.

The silly season of August also means fewer new DVDs of note, but there have been a few out recently that are worth your while: last week brought Date Night and this week marked the release of The Good, the Bad, and the Weird, a Korean take on the spaghetti western. There's also Cemetery Junction, which I honestly don't know much about, but when the words "written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant" are used, I say, "yes please."

This week also brings the release of the HBO biopic on autism spokesperson/animal lover Temple Grandin, which will assuredly win Claire Danes an Emmy, along with a DVD of Grandin herself speaking on the topic of autism. And there's The City of Your Final Destination, which was not very well-reviewed, even with the presence of Sir Anthony Hopkins, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Laura Linney.  There's also Skellig: The Owl Man, in which Tim Roth plays Skellig, who is, yes, part-owl, part-man.

In terms of special editions, Criterion has their new releases of Crumb, Louie Bluie, and Black Orpheus. The Orlando: Special Edition gives lush treatment to the sexy, gender-bending Tilda Swinton costume drama. Meanwhile, the 25th anniversary of The Animals Film brings the shocking documentary on animal exploitation and cruelty for the first time to DVD.

Of course, there's a few new releases to be avoided at all costs: Furry Vengeance, The Last Song, and Dead Man Running. The less said about those three, the better.  And the award for most ridiculous new DVD out this week is Burning Bright, in which a woman and her young autistic brother are trapped in a house during a hurricane...with a killer tiger on the loose.

That's the subject line of an email I received yesterday, promoting a tweetup this Monday morning with the monumental German director/intellectual madman himself. Ostensibly, it's an event to drum up interest in First Look Studios' upcoming DVD release of My Son My Son What Have Ye Done, Herzog's collaboration with David Lynch, which played at the Northwest Film Forum this spring.  But really, this is an opportunity to throw your thoughts at Werner and get one of his trademark dry-witted replies.  Animal-related questions encouraged, for sure.

Herzog will respond in real-time to questions tweeted to the First Look Studios' Twitter account, @1stlookstudios, with his responses posted on the First Look Studios' YouTube channel. Though Herzog himself is not a member of Twitter, his persona is quite popular on the social network, as seen through the popular trending topic #WernerHerzogvsChuckNorris, where users weigh in on who is tougher, Werner Herzog or action star Chuck Norris.

Tweeting to Werner commences Monday morning, so send your questions @1stlookstudios by August 23rd at 9:45 a.m. PDT.  Full press release after the jump.

First Look Studios Hosts The First Social Media Press Day With Werner Herzog 

(Los Angeles, CA) –On Monday, August 23, 2010 First Look Studios is hosting the first press day exclusively conducted within social media platforms with the acclaimed director, Werner Herzog, on behalf of his September 14 DVD release of MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE? Herzog will respond in real-time to questions tweeted to the First Look Studios’ twitter account, @1stlookstudios, with his responses posted on the First Look Studios’ Youtube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/FirstLookStudios. Though Herzog himself is not a member of Twitter, his persona is quite popular on the social network as seen through the popular trending topic #WernerHerzogvsChuckNorris, where users weigh in on who is tougher, Werner Herzog or action star Chuck Norris.

With this social media press day, First Look Studios is transforming the traditional press junket into an event where key press, bloggers and fans can participate directly with talent in a this interactive medium. MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE? is the first collaboration between legendary filmmakers David Lynch, who produced the film, and director Werner Herzog. This psychological thriller stars Academy Award® nominees Michael Shannon, Chloë Sevigny, and Willem Dafoe, and is loosely based on the mysterious true crime story of a young stage actor who, obsessed with a Greek tragedy he's rehearsing, slays his own mother with a sword. We would like to receive all Twitter questions for Werner by 9:45AM (Pacific Time) Monday, August 23.

ABOUT FIRST LOOK STUDIOS www.firstlookstudios.com

First Look Studios, a leading independent supplier in the entertainment marketplace, acquires, markets and distributes feature films, television series and specialty programming. First Look owns a vast home entertainment library consisting of over 1000 titles, including War, Inc., Transsiberian, Priceless, The Proposition and King of California. First Look also distributes a growing number of product lines to major retailers including Scripps (Food Network), Carsey-Werner ("The Cosby Show") and VideoAsia (Battle Warrior starring Tony Jaa). Recent theatrical releases from First Look Studios include Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/1stlookstudios

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/FirstLookStudios

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/firstlookstudios?ref=ts

Blog: http://blog.firstlookstudios.com/

Though it's cooled off considerably now, Monday night a hot and sweaty Neumo's played host to a packed crowd for Freelance Whales and Tokyo Police Club.  I've seen both bands before, and came into the show with my own preconceptions.  While I feel that Freelance Whales has its moments, some of their lyrics are downright cringeworthy, and while they've got good chops, the lead singer is so overtly geeky that it is occasionally painful.  As in, I ache for him, not with him.  Our own Josh is much more generous: Freelance Whales remain one of those bands with acres of potential. I mean, aside from the player-hater lyric, that song ["Hannah"] is fine Mates of States-ish girl/boy vocals. Tons of people seemed genuinely entranced. To the point of arm-dancing even!

As to Tokyo Police Club, the first time I saw them is going on four years ago (!), and oh, how much the boys have grown.  As in, now the Ontario quartet can legally drink--but they have just as much energy as ever. They brought the clap-happy super-short songs from their first two EPs, as well as the (relatively) more mature work from their two full-lengths, including new album Champ's near pitch-perfect, near power ballad "Breakneck Speed." Says Josh: I very much appreciated how well suited the venue was for that band. They really brought it, light and soundwise, in a way that few other mid-level indie rockers do.

Surprisingly, there were a lot of bros at the show (some of whom should've been straight-up iced), so I'm guessing that the TPC discography is getting heavy airplay at the frat house.  Keeping with the bro theme, the band itself always has some tender bro-to-bro moments (broments), and Monday night's show was no exception, as it included some guitar playing to each other whilst on bended knee, as well as a playful cross-stage tambourine toss.

One final note: Tokyo Police Club knows how to encore.  They closed with their theme song "Cheer It On" (and seriously, more bands need a song where they yell their name in the chorus), which was preceded by Weezer's "My Name is Jonas." For the record, if any other bands want to start doing Blue Album Weezer covers (or even a show consisting of the entire album start to finish), please go right ahead--as an audience, we will graciously oblige you by losing our shit.

Wednesday, August 18th

• Lenny White's Anomaly with Jimmy Herring--former Miles Davis/Chick Corea/Return to Forever drummer teaming up with Widespread Panic/Allman Bros. guitarist Jimmy Herring for a jazz/rock/fusion extravaganza @ Jazz Alley
• "Crystal Beth," a solo performance by Beth Fleenor benefiting the Frank Agency @ Fandrich Piano Studio (1513 14th Ave.)
• The Hold Steady, America's favorite big time bar band, bring boisterous literate rock to town. With Jaill @ Showbox Original Flavor
• Mary Roach talks about the finer points of filling your suitcase for interplanetary travel, reading from her new book Packing for Mars @ Kane Hall

Thursday, August 19th

• The first of three nights of Brown Derby's take on Saturday Night Fever @ Re-Bar
• Earshot Jazz's monthly showcase features Art of Jazz with Marc Seales Group, UW professor and stellar pianist Marc Seales & co. playing music from the new CD American Song Book @ SAM
• Gnomedex 10 begins! (and runs through August 21) @ Bell Harbor International Conference Center
• Ivory in Ice World plays a rare unplugged set featuring members Ivory Smith and Sara Edwards @ the Can Can
• Singer David Lowery does double-duty with his bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven @ Neumo's

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Friday, August 20th

• Squeee! It's the top ten contestants from the last season of American Idol @ Key Arena
• Two in the Wave documents the friendship-and-feudin' of Truffaut and Godard (through August 26) @ Northwest Film Forum
• Whedonists! Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog gets a live showing (through September 4) @ Balagan Theatre
• deComposition, a devised theatrical performance directed by Jess Smith opens @ the Erickson Theatre
• Artifakt Art's Fourth Annual Graffiti Jam @ Lo Fi Performance Gallery

Saturday, August 21st

• Be prepared for some serious weirdness with a private meet-and-greet with Tommy Wiseau @ Central Cinema, before yet another midnight screening of The Room @ the Egyptian
• For a less weirdo auteur interaction, check out the Vincent Moon retrospective (through the 26th), with the director of some of the best modern music videography in attendance @ Northwest Film Forum
• Whether you call him Frank Black or Black Francis, the Pixies singer will be @ the Triple Door
• Ira Glass tells his radio stories in a clipped, nasally manner @ Benaroya
• After Ira takes Benaroya with sentimental tales, he and Dan Savage spin (really?!) a late night dance party @ Re-Bar
• Get rootsy all day long [free 26-song sampler here] with No Depression Fest @ Marymoor
• FREE! Trumpeter Thomas Marriott and his "Flexicon" group, with Evan Flory-Barnes, Rick Mandyck and Jeremy Jones @ Lucid Jazz Lounge

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Sunday, August 22nd

• TRUST brings their slate of great DJs to a free all-day BBQ @ Red Lion Hotel
• Another great day at the races with the Longacres Mile @ Emerald Downs
• Just a typical Sunday: Bondage for the Bedroom with Lamalani, International Ms. Leather 2009 @ Babeland

Monday, August 23rd

• It's a free (with RSVP) day of female-centric films at the Women's Empowerment Summer Screening Series @ Seattle University
• Things are bound to get heavy, with Boris, Red Sparrowes, and Helms Alee @ Neumo's

Tuesday, August 24th

• The Cuong Vu Trio, called "the jazz version of a rock music power trio," with Seattleite Luke Bergman on bass and Vu's longtime partner in crime Ted Poor on drums @ the Triple Door
• If there's one thing that's funny, it's social justice.  That's why the Social Justice Fund presents an Evening of Comedy and Social Justice with Seattle comic Hari Kondabolu @ Central Cinema

Photo credit: Rachel Gray/Woodland Park Zoo

Squeeee! Another two penguin chicks recently hatched at the Woodland Park Zoo, bringing the Humboldt exhibit's total for the year up to seven new penguin babies. The chicks hatched on August 2nd and 4th and are currently bonding with their parents in a private nesting burrow.

Like the other babies, they've got to be conditioned to interact with zookeepers for feedings and weighings (as well as learn how to swim) before they can be introduced to the public. These chicks are the first offspring of mama Cujo and daddy Oedipus, who at 18 and 20 years old respectively, are the oldest birds in the colony.

The five older chicks, which hatched in April, joined the adult penguins on public display in early July.

In other important Cute Zoo Animals News, check out this drugged red panda and the snow leopard cubs (along with their mom) testing out some cologne.

Ridiculously twee baby penguin video after the jump.