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JANUARY 1-7 2014 I VOLUME 39 I NUMBER 1

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DIM SUM WORTH A 136 MILE DRIVE PAGE 13 MUSIC: THE ARTISTS WHO WILL

RULE 2014 PAGE 25

What Ed Murray Needs to Know The hapless, scandalous and sometimes victorious leaders of the city’s past have some tips for the new mayor. B Y M AT T D R I S C O L L

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inside» January 1–7, 2014 VOLUME 39 | NUMBER 1 » SEATTLEWEEKLY.COM

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news&comment 5

TRANSITIONARY POSITION

Ed Murray on the books he’s read, the trips he’s taken, and the sleep he’s missed since election day. 5 | SPORTSBALL

AN EDUCATION

BY MATT DRISCOLL | A lesson plan

based on a century and a half of mayoral malfeasance and magnificence.

food&drink

13 DIM SUM, LOSE SUM

BY JAY FRIEDMAN | Our writer heads away from Seattle’s carts to B.C.’s bounty. 13 | FOOD NEWS/TEMP CHECK 14 | THE BAR CODE

Editor-in-Chief Mark Baumgarten EDITORIAL Senior Editor Nina Shapiro Food Editor Nicole Sprinkle Arts Editor Brian Miller Entertainment Editor Gwendolyn Elliott Editorial Operations Manager Gavin Borchert Staff Writers Ellis E. Conklin, Matt Driscoll, Kelton Sears Contributing Writers Rick Anderson, Sean Axmaker, James Ballinger, Michael Berry, Sara Billups, Steve Elliott, Margaret Friedman, Zach Geballe, Dusty Henry, Megan Hill, Robert Horton, Patrick Hutchison, Sara D. Jones, Seth Kolloen, Sandra Kurtz, Dave Lake, John Longenbaugh, Beth Maxey, Jessie McKenna, Terra Clarke Olsen, Kevin Phinney, Keegan Prosser, Mark Rahner, Michael Stusser, Jacob Uitti

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arts&culture 17 ALL ABOUT ABBEY

BY GAVIN BORCHERT | What matters

in the new season of Downton Abbey. 17 | PICK LIST 19 | PERFORMANCE/VISUAL ARTS

20 FILM

25 MUSIC

BY SW CRITICS | The bands that will set

the tone for 2014, Fly Moon Royalty’s funk; one bigass free festival, and more. 26 | SEVEN NIGHTS

odds&ends 29 | TOKE SIGNALS 30 | CLASSIFIEDS

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news&comment Ed Murray’s Awesome Adventure Read dull books, walked dog, slept fitfully—and had “more fun than I’ve ever had in my life.” BY ELLIS E. CONKLIN

No, Murray concedes, he hasn’t seen a movie since the election—though he did manage to squeeze in the season finale of Homeland—nor has he gone birdwatching. Yes, our new man atop City Hall, who actually has a bird app on his smartphone that goes “tweet, tweet, tweet,” is quite fond of communing with his fine feathered friends, and laments that he didn’t remember to bring his binoculars—the ones that can correct for his slight hereditary tremor—during his Thanksgiving trek to Hawaii with hubby Michael Shiosaki. The six-day stay at Poipu

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Beach in Kauai was so far his only respite from the endless task of becoming mayor. “But really, I couldn’t wait to get back. I’m having more fun than I’ve ever had in my life,” he says. “Right now, I’m working my way through lunches with council members.” Aside from the occasional long walk with his King Charles spaniel Rory, it has been all work and no play for Edward Bernard Patrick Murray, the full Irish name he intends to use during the

“I kidded Michael that this year I became mayor and we got married, and that the biggest highlight of the year was meeting Michelle.” swearing-in ceremony at his Capitol Hill abode. Murray confides that he slept like a baby during the campaign. “But since the election, I wake up a lot, thinking about issues, about people I need to talk to, people who I haven’t gotten back to that helped me.” One of the post-election high notes came December 13 when Murray was in Washington. D.C., attending a conference for new mayors at the White House. Pretty heady stuff, talking urban issues with the president and rubbing elbows with the likes of New York City’s Bill de

Blasio and Los Angeles’ Eric Garcetti, and then spending some private time with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. But the real thrill came later that evening at the White House Christmas party. “After the party,” Murray recounts, his blue eyes brightening, “the President came over and said, ‘Michelle, I’d like to you to meet the new mayor of Seattle’s husband.’ ” With a wide smile, Murray adds, “I kidded Michael that this year I became mayor and we got married, and that the biggest highlight of the year was meeting Michelle.” Murray hasn’t decided on all the furnishing and

knickknacks he’ll bring to the mayor’s office. A few things, though, he says he’s set on: “I have three framed photographs that I’m going to put up. One of them is Cal Anderson, one of John and Robert Kennedy together at a Senate hearing, and the other of Martin Luther King.” Also decorating his seventh-floor office will be his Irish blackthorn walking stick, a replica of the one presented to President Kennedy during his 1963 visit to Ireland—that, and a small crystal boat from Galway. To our new mayor, let us toast: May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door. Oh, and yes, may you see a good movie and read a fun book. E

econklin@seattleweekly.com

THE WEEKLY BRIEFING | What’s going on at seattleweekly.com: Fremont residents discovered sheep skulls strewn across Despite the fact that Kurt Cobain actually hailed from nearby Aberdeen, the mayor of Hoquiam declared that April 10 shall their yard. be known as “Nirvana Day.” The Seahawks clinched their eighth division title in franchise history and secured home field advantage for the play-offs. In related news, the Pittsburgh Steelers will not be in the post-season. Unfortunately the same can not be said for the officials.

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hen you watch the Seahawks defense during the playoffs, keep your eye on the edge of the screen. Just beyond it, free safety Earl Thomas is messing up the other team before they even snap the ball. Positioned 12 yards south of the line of scrimmage—so far away that he often doesn’t appear on your TV screen—Thomas is tasked with preventing long pass plays. But he’s so much more. Thomas is like gravity, an unseen force influencing every move opposing offenses BY SETH KOLLOEN make. Here’s how Thomas stuffs a run without touching a soul. Because he’s fast and savvy enough to patrol the outer reaches of the Seahawks defense all by himself, the other Hawks can edge up to the line of scrimmage. The opposing offense can try to run, but since the quarterback doesn’t block anyone, and someone has to carry the ball, they only have nine guys to block ten Seahawks. If every Seahawk does his job, Thomas’ ability guarantees a stuffed run—though Thomas himself never gets within 15 yards of the play. When opponents pass, Thomas is a leading cause of quarterback indecision. On the TV, you see the quarterback looking . . . looking . . . looking. What he sees is Thomas, lurking in the middle of the field, primed to use his worldclass speed to race toward any deep pass. Fearful of throwing an interception, the quarterback holds onto the ball too long, and a lineman like Michael Bennett sacks him. Then you see Bennett shaking his moneymaker in celebration—but Bennett’s name isn’t on the dance card if Thomas doesn’t cause the quarterback to throw a few beats late. Sometimes quarterbacks do test Thomas with deep passes. It hasn’t gone so well. This year, the Seahawks allowed only 4 passes of more than 35 yards. Meanwhile, Seahawks defenders returned 4 interceptions for more than 35 yards. I’ll admit I’m being intentionally arbitrary here, but—whoa! Opposing quarterbacks tossed as many long passes to the Seahawks as they did to guys on their own team. If you really want to geek out on Thomas’s brilliance, I highly recommend the “coaches film” mode on NFL’s Game Rewind. Because Thomas is so frequently out of view on the regular TV broadcast, this high-altitude angle, also called “all-22” because it shows all 22 players, is the only way to see him in action all game—running with receivers, charging opposing running backs, closing down throwing lanes. Of course, if you want to simply celebrate along with the Seahawks’ stellar defense, I won’t blame you. Just know that Thomas is a big reason for all the dancing. E

sportsball@seattleweekly.com

This week’s edition of Rick Anderson’s column is available online at seattleweekly.com.

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

t’s all a blur now,” Ed Murray says of that chilly November evening when he was elected Seattle’s 53rd mayor. “I heard some of my campaign staff in the kitchen yelling and I knew I’d won, and next thing I knew the security detail arrived at my house. Then I remember later that night, me and Michael and a friend of ours from New York stayed up until 2 a.m., talking about the future.” On a gloomy, gray late-December afternoon, Murray ruminates on what he’s been doing since emerging victorious after a rigorous 10-month campaign. The conversation takes place in his small office on the 27th floor of the Seattle Municipal Tower. This no-frills conference room has served as transition headquarters—quiet as snow, with bare white walls and dark-paneled cubicles. The election-night champagne bottles hadn’t yet been tossed into the blue recycling bin before Murray plunged into forming a new city government. “We went right into the transition,” the 58-year-old son of a steelyard worker begins. “Every night I’ve been reading briefings from department heads, decision papers, and I’ve been spending a huge amount of time sorting through police and public safety issues, a huge amount of time.” And if that doesn’t sound fun, consider the books our new mayor has tackled. First was The Metropolitan Revolution by Bruce Katz, which, Murray enthusiastically explains, “is all about how cities are incubators for innovation as state and federal government becomes increasingly dysfunctional.” After finishing that, Murray inhaled Edward Glaeser’s Triumph of the City, a 352-page tome that enumerates the many ways urban centers can spur innovation and encourage entrepreneurship. It’s a page-turner, all right. Currently sitting on his nightstand, alongside Doris Kearns Goodwin’s The Bully Pulpit, is Benjamin R. Barber’s If Mayors Ruled the World. Murray says he can’t wait to dig into it, lured by its tantalizing premise—that mayors are the most effective and pragmatic of all political leaders because they have to get things done.

Out of Sight, Earl Thomas

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If Seattle mayors have had one constant enemy over the years, it’s potholes. Just in recent years, they’ve employed pothole rangers, pothole counters, and entire pothole websites to battle them. They’ve dispatched crews to fill potholes in the middle of the night. They’ve proclaimed themselves pothole vigilantes, and launched full-blown pothole wars. But potholes put up a good fight. “The last three Seattle mayors have dispensed heaping helpings of urban vision. It beats sweating details on the delivery of city services. But maybe a ‘Mayor Pothole’ is what we need now,” the Seattle P-I ’s Joel Connelly wrote in 2001, before the ouster of one-termer Paul Schell and the election of Greg Nickels. “At some point, potholes become this enduring symbol of your mayoral prowess,” says Knute Berger, Seattle history 100 60

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Seattle’s past mayors. And we’ve got ’em. To aid Seattle’s newest leader with his transition, we spoke with four of those ex-mayors (McGinn included), two former deputy mayors, several historians, and at least two curmudgeonly media types to glean advice. The results can be found in the following lessons, which, if followed, just might help Murray avoid his predecessor’s one-term fate. From Henry Yesler’s lottery scandal and Hiram Gill’s troubles with vice to Paul Schell’s PR nightmares and Greg Nickels’ snowstorm, Seattle history is filled with mayoral mistakes and successes. Take notes, Ed Murray. There’s a lot to learn.

wning up to the mistakes of his first—and as it turned out, only—term in office while on the campaign trail last year, outgoing Mayor Mike McGinn must have said it a hundred times: “There is no mayor’s school.” He had a point. From the impression he created during his fruitless battle against the tunnel, the City Council he never got along with, the endless bicycle photo-ops that alienated car-loving voters, and the disheveled appearance that defined his early months in office to the embarrassment of last summer’s gunbuyback fiasco, McGinn’s on-the-job blunders were countless and politically costly. Sure, he learned a lot on the job, and finished his term much stronger than he started it, but a remedial course in How to Handle Your City, it seems, would have benefited McGinn greatly. So what if there was a mayor’s school? As McGinn’s questionable luck would have it, there actually is a mayor’s school—of course!—an annual three-day course at the Kennedy School at Harvard’s Institute of Politics that was held in early December. More than 20 incoming mayors attended it, and Ed Murray—who takes office Jan. 1—was one. Back in Boston, academic types and policy experts schooled Murray on subjects like making the transition from campaign trail to the office, finance and administration, the economy, and public safety. Chances are, however, the Kennedy School failed to delve into many of the real-life challenges that face the leader of Seattle—a city that vacillates only in its shades of blue, so well known for its foot-dragging that the term “Seattle process” has become synonymous with painstaking bureaucratic slog. The good news for Murray is that many of these lessons can be learned from

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» FROM PAGE 7 enthusiast and former Seattle Weekly editor-inchief. “If you’re going to mayor’s school, one of the things I’d write on the blackboard is: ‘It’s the potholes, stupid.’ ” But filling potholes is about more than fixing holes in the road. It’s about a mayor’s image—and whether voters see a mayor getting things done. “What [keeping up on small stuff like potholes] allows you to do is build up a trust that if you say you’re going to do something, people will trust you to do it,” Nickels says. “The message that you send about those little things is very important.” While McGinn’s administration filled more than 50,000 potholes during his tenure, the outgoing mayor admits he didn’t realize how important things like road maintenance, drainage issues, and timed traffic lights were until after he took office. He learned quickly. “Initially, when I came in to office, my feeling was the mayor was supposed to work on big stuff and not little stuff,” says McGinn. “But it turns out if the constituents care about it, it is big stuff.”

Lesson 2: Respect the Power of PR A former TV newsman, Charley Royer understood the importance of handling the small stuff. He also understood the importance

of doing so publicly. “You can do a lot of little things, but if no one ever hears about them, it’s not going to demonstrate to people [that you’re competent],” he says. Asked for an example, Royer recalls a downed stop sign—and a man who just wouldn’t stop calling about it. “Finally, I called the guy up,” Royer says. “He was just floored that the mayor was calling him. . . . I told him I’d have a guy out there in a halfhour. The story got around, and we helped the story get around, obviously. “And this guy kept telling everybody that the mayor kicked some ass and he got his stop sign.” Tom Byers, who served in the Royer administration and was a deputy mayor under Paul Schell, says a mayor doesn’t need only to get things done, he or she needs to show people what’s been accomplished. Byers knows from experience, and it’s here that the power of public relations comes into play—an arena many say Schell failed in. Byers sticks up for his former boss, arguing that Schell got “a ton of libraries, parks, and community centers built.” But Byers also concedes that Schell was undone by an inability—or a lack of interest in—communicating his feats to voters. “Paul, I think, thought if you just got the work done, the rest would take care of itself,” says Byers. “It is an unfortunate reality of politics that it really doesn’t always work like that. . . . He was not a politician that came in with a mind-set of looking after his image. It came back to bite him.” In a big way. While Schell may well be guilty of failing to tout his legitimate accomplishments, he suffered more for major PR gaffes—none bigger than the aftermath of the fatal Mardi Gras riot of 2001, where police stood on the sidelines on the orders of Schell’s police chief, Gil Ker-

likowske, as 20-year-old Kristopher Kime was beaten to death. Later, Schell spokesman Dick Lilly told a radio reporter the mayor had been asleep at the time. It was a stupid move. “If it wasn’t for Dick Lilly being an absolute [expletive] idiot and volunteering to the press Schell was asleep, I think the political fallout from that would have been a lot less,” the late Blair Butterworth, a famed political strategist, would tell Jim Brunner of The Seattle Times in 2002. The fallout was very real. According to Byers, a mayor who’d already seen his approval rating plummet thanks to the 1999 WTO riots was all but crippled by the Mardi Gras meltdown. Most political observers were far from shocked when Schell didn’t make it out of the 2001 primary. “It was disastrous. [Schell] had no real political operation or no real political brains at the time,” the P-I ’s Joel Connelly tells Seattle Weekly. “The idea that he was slumbering reinforced an impression of a somewhat ineffectual, slightly grumpy sad-sack.” “We had bad luck in that regard,” Byers says of Schell’s struggles. The truth is, it wasn’t bad luck as much as very bad public relations.

Lesson 3: Expect the Unexpected HistoryLink staff historian Alan Stein puts it bluntly: “The best lesson learned for any mayor coming in is to expect the unexpected,” he says. In other words, there’s a good chance your mayoral legacy will be defined at least in part by something you never saw coming. For Murray, that could be whatever’s currently blocking the Highway 99 tunnel dig, growing labor tensions, or even a catastrophic earthquake. We just don’t know.

For Charley Royer, we do: It was the Chavez, a 12,000-ton, 550-foot-long freighter carrying a load of gypsum up the Duwamish in the middle of the night. In mid-1978, Royer was unproven—a former TV newsman at KING in office a little more than six months. Early on the morning of Sunday, June 11, 80-year-old ship pilot Rolf Neslund would put his new administration to the test, veering his massive vessel into the Spokane Street Bridge and crippling the city’s major connection to West Seattle. (Later, suspicion arose that Neslund may have been drunk at the time.) “What West Seattle feared most occurred early yesterday morning,” reported The Seattle Times on Monday’s front page. Though Seattle had been debating the construction of a new West Seattle Bridge and freeway for years, Royer and the City Council no longer had time to dawdle. Within days, Seattle’s new mayor was meeting with Senators Warren Magnuson and Henry “Scoop” Jackson, Port of Seattle officials, and other bigwigs in D.C., orchestrating an 11th-hour amendment to a transportation bill that steered $50 million to Seattle for a new high-span bridge and freeway across the Duwamish, forever changing Seattle’s transportation landscape for the better. “Here’s this major-league crisis, and you’ve got to be in D.C. the very next day,” recalls Royer’s brother Bob, who was serving as deputy mayor when Neslund slammed his vessel into the bridge. “Responding to a crisis is a hell of a lot of fun. It really tests everything.” Even the phone tree. Bob Royer remembers that on the night of the crash, the Spokane Street Bridge’s tender accidentally called his brother’s predecessor, Wes Uhlman, at home. The tender’s list of important phone numbers apparently had

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yet to be updated. Luckily Royer eventually got the message, and just six weeks later, Bob remembers, Seattle had a sizable “down payment” straight from the feds for a new bridge. “You’re just not prepared for that. Absolutely not. A lot of instincts kick in,” says Bob Royer. Or, as Stein puts it, “Some drunk on a boat smashes into a bridge, and that becomes a real defining moment of your term.” Greg Nickels’ unforeseen defining moment worked the other way. In December 2008, Seattle saw its largest snowfall in more than a decade— blanketing the city and keeping it under ice for more than a week. It was the kind of freak Arctic event that Seattle rarely experiences, and— fairly or not—Nickels’ response to it will be forever credited for his third-place finish a year later in the mayoral primary. The streets weren’t plowed properly, voters bemoaned, and they became even more irate when the mayor failed to use salt to deice them—even though environmental city policy prohibited it at the time. The citizenry didn’t care, and when the 2009 primary rolled around, Nickels most likely paid a price for his perceived inaction. “That was a particularly big snow, and a long snow, and the city’s just not prepared for that kind of thing,” says Stein. “I think Greg did what he could. There’s really nothing in place to deal with something like that.” While Nickels blames his failure to secure a third term on the tanked national economy rather than on snowplows or salt, the former mayor is well aware that Mother Nature did him no favors. “The snow gave me every opportunity to give [voters] a reason to be pissed off. Certainly, in retrospect, we would have loved to do a better job,” says Nickels today. “Shit happens,” he adds. “And in this case, people were not predisposed to being forgiving.”

“Some drunk on a boat smashes into a bridge, and that becomes a real defining moment of your term.”

Lesson 4: Find the Right Police Chief Troubles with Seattle’s police force are nothing new, of course, and cleaning up SPD has been on the agenda of many a mayor. It has also been many a mayor’s downfall. Hiram Gill was done in, at least in part, by a corrupt police chief. Wes Uhlman faced police scandal. Schell and McGinn both dealt with unrest between the community and its police department, as have plenty of others. The current consent decree with the Department of Justice only highlights the longstanding issues with Seattle’s boys in blue—a mess Murray will step into on Day One. “At the end of the day, the mayor has to have a chief that he can trust,” says former mayor Norm Rice. “And the chief has to have a mayor that has his back. There can’t be any doubt in your mind.” Will Murray succeed in hiring a chief who can right the ship? No question facing the incoming mayor looms larger. “This is the biggie,” Seattle Weekly founder David Brewster wrote for Crosscut in late November. “While pressure for modernization from the Department of Justice and Murray’s chance to name a new chief will help, it is important to remember that police reform (both

Lesson 5: Want the Job

It seems obvious now, but the job of Seattle mayor is one that the person holding it should want. When that doesn’t happen, awkward history is made. Awkward is just one word that might describe the surprise resignation of Frank D. Black, after only three weeks on the job. “The council had apparently settled down to the busy hum of a treadmill session,” reported the Seattle P-I in 1898, when the clerk “announced a communication from his honor, Mayor Black.” Citing a reluctance to serve and his health—

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SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

better treatment of minorities and the mentally ill and more effective crime-stopping) has eluded Seattle mayors for 40 years.” When it comes to hiring a police chief, one leader who most people agree got it right is Royer, who plucked Patrick Fitzsimons from New York City in 1979. Fitzsimons would become Seattle’s longest-serving police chief, leading SPD for 15 years until retiring from the department in 1993 at age 64. His tenure came on the heels of failed stints by George Tielsch and Robert Hanson and at a time of significant unrest, thanks to a recent police payoff scandal and the simmering racial tensions that had dogged Wes Uhlman during his time as mayor. Under directions from Royer, one of Fitzsimons’ first tasks was to integrate the police department so it looked more like the city it served. “That’s one of the places where the Uhlman administration left Charley with a difficult problem,” Bob Royer says. “Everything that goes wrong at the police department is the mayor’s responsibility . . . It’s a harsh standard.” “We started at a pretty low point,” remembers Charley Royer. As he tells it, the choice came down to Fitzsimons, a thoughtful lawyer and “kind of a little guy,” and an assistant chief from San Diego whom everyone seemed to like. Royer says the latter “looked like John Wayne.” “I think he had two guns. He was a pretty macho guy,” Royer recalls. “ ‘John Wayne’ was pretty impressive . . . just physically, and he had a pretty good reputation in San Diego.” But Royer connected with Fitzsimons. “Pat I found very thoughtful, and just totally candid and open with me. . . . We developed a very trusting relationship, and it lasted almost 12 years. He wasn’t the police department’s favorite in the beginning, but I really felt that I had to have a personal relationship with the chief, one that was built on trust and confidence over time, and candor. I really wanted someone to tell me when things were going wrong in the department. “I think we hit it off,” Royer says of one of Fitzsimons’ first trips to Seattle, noting that their character differences were part of what made them a good team. “He got really grumpy with me when I took him to a Japanese restaurant and we had to sit on the floor,” Royer recalls. If Royer needed proof that he’d made the right decision, perhaps it came when good ol’ John Wayne was caught having an affair with a subordinate in San Diego. “I thought he was too good-looking,” says Royer.

» FROM PAGE 9 “which is never robust,” Black wrote—the mayor’s letter informed his colleagues of his unexpected decision to step down. “A moment’s breathless silence followed this letter,” according to the P-I. “Then the recess came, and with it the storm of excitement broke. . . . Throughout the rooms and hallways there was a wild commotion and men gathered about in knots to discuss the great surprise.” With that, Black—a real-estate man who was “nominated, elected, and installed over his protests,” according to King County historical records—became Seattle’s shortest-serving mayor ever. The man who followed Black didn’t do much better, however. In William D. Wood’s case, it wasn’t health concerns or a preference for private citizenship that inspired him to leave the mayor’s office. It was gold. After a little more than a year on the job, Wood ditched Seattle for the allure of the Klondike. As The Seattle Times noted in a 2001 piece celebrating the city’s 150th anniversary, “All went well until the steamer Portland showed up with its legendary ‘ton of gold’ from the Klondike. Wood, who was attending a Christian conference in San Francisco, resigned and formed a shipping company, selling passage to the gold fields for $300 a head.” “He didn’t even stop by,” says Alan Stein of Wood’s hasty departure. “He just went up [to Alaska] and wired his resignation.”

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SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

Lesson 6: Don’t Underestimate Unrest

Lesson 7: Never Leave Town

Paul Schell didn’t necessarily need the WTO “debacle,” as Stein calls it, to do him in. But it surely didn’t help. And while the poorly organized police response to the protests surrounding the World Trade Organization conference in Seattle on and around November 30, 1999, will forever be known as “The Battle in Seattle”—with disastrous repercussions for Schell and his approval rating at the time—there’s more to Schell’s WTO blunder than pepper spray and regret. “What dawned on us when things went sideways is that all of us were operating according to a sort of social contract that had been worked out over 20 years in Seattle about how demonstrators and Seattle authorities related to one another,” says Tom Byers, who recalls that the fury of the riots caught the Schell administration completely off guard. “By and large, that worked with the homegrown folks. But it really, really, really didn’t work with the thousands and thousands of people who came from out of town, or the small group of folks that came from Eugene, Oregon. They weren’t playing by the same rules.” Schell was hardly the first Seattle mayor to face the challenge of citizen unrest. Yesler faced the anti-Chinese labor riots of 1886; George Cotterill had the Potlatch riots of 1913; Ole Hanson was credited with successfully putting down the General Strike of 1919, but resigned mid-term; and Charles Smith had the Waterfront Strike and riots of 1934–35 to deal with. “In other words,” as Berger says, “Schell is in good company.” “The lesson: The guy in the middle gets dirty when the shit hits the fan,” Berger concludes.

For Doc Brown, it probably seemed like a great idea. In 1924, the man known as the “painless” dentist (thanks to the vials of Novocain he used to treat the city’s cavities) headed east toward that year’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. “A month-long getaway from the rigors of office,” as longtime newspaper columnist Emmett Watson summed up the opportunity in his book Once Upon a Time in Seattle. Two years later Brown would be out of office for good. Painless Doc Brown had more than the gift of gentle dentistry going for him. The mayor also had no shortage of unsavory connections to the underworld of Prohibition-era Seattle. “He was a friend and convivial buddy of Roy Olmstead, the king of Northwest bootleggers,” Watson writes. “The police chief, William Severyns, ran his department with a loose and tolerant hand.” But in taking his DNC vacay, the freewheeling mayor made a mistake that would doom him. With his bags packed, Brown named Bertha Landes acting mayor—a position the charging reformist was in line for due to her status as city council president. During an informal ceremony bestowing the power on Landes, a cocksure Brown reportedly told her, “There isn’t much to do here, but keep your eye on the chief.” If he’d only known. Not long after Brown’s train had faded into the horizon, Landes publicly demanded the police department be cleaned up, fired Severyns for his refusal to do so, fired an assistant chief for good measure, and named herself acting police chief. “Within hours” of the news hitting the street, Watson writes, “every gambling

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joint and speakeasy in Seattle was locked up tight. Slot machines were turned to the wall. Bootleg liquor deliveries slowed. Chinese lotteries were stopped. Seattle was a buttoned-down town.” Landes had made her move. It wasn’t long before Mayor Brown, across the country in Philadelphia, received the desperate message from his boys in Seattle. They wanted him back, as fast as possible. The painless dentist did as he was told—a feat requiring days of exhausting travel—but he was already cooked. Landes had sown the seeds of reform, and Brown’s political demise was imminent. Just two years later, Doc was out and Bertha was in—by popular vote this time. She was Seattle’s first— and so far only—female mayor. Though Seattle soured on Landes’ cleanup efforts within two years, voting her out in 1928 after one term, her place in history was set.

Lesson 8: Don’t Fire Everyone During the mayoral campaign of 1977, Charley Royer remembers his challenger Paul Schell attacking his resume and experience. “One of the criticisms that Paul made of me when we were running against each other was that I had never hired anybody. And that was true,” says the candidate, who ended up winning by more than 25,000 votes that year. (Schell would later win public office as Port of Seattle Commissioner in 1989 before eventually running for the mayoralty again in 1997 and winning.) In some ways Royer’s inexperience showed. Though he still argues that a mayor isn’t a manager, just someone who hires them, he agrees that there’s no understating the importance of

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the department heads and staff a mayor chooses. He gets credit for finding and appointing one of the most well-respected police chiefs in the city’s history in Fitzsimmons, but he also admits to mistakes—specifically, he regrets the 1979 appointment of Robert Murray to head City Light. Royer asked the former energy consultant from Oregon to resign in August 1980. “It was kind of a hiring catastrophe,” says Royer. “[City Light] made progress, ultimately, but the turnover didn’t help anybody. That was all my fault. “You can get snowed in an interview process, and you can listen to a bunch of experts,” he continues. “But your gut has to tell you that you can trust this person and work with this person.” It sounds obvious: Surround yourself with good people. But it’s sometimes easier said than done. Prejudices can get in the way. “There’s a tendency for a candidate running for mayor to label the incumbent’s tenure as a bunch of inefficient, failed people. That can be a double-edged sword,” says Norm Rice, Seattle’s “Mayor Nice.” “Go slow, go cautiously. Give the bureaucracy some trust,” he advises. The urge to purge the influence of one’s predecessor, says Nickels, can lead to the loss of one of an administration’s more valuable assets: “institutional memory.” “Royer kind of fired everyone, and four years later they were still trying to find the restrooms,” says Nickels.“I fired half.”

Lesson 9: Don’t Let Your Passions Define You

Lesson 10: Acknowledge That Racism Exists Plenty of people remember Omari Tahir-Garrett’s attack on Paul Schell with a bullhorn. For Garrett, the face-smashing resulted in a seconddegree assault charge, almost two years in prison, and a healthy dose of infamy; for Schell, broken bones, traumatized muscles, and vision problems. Fewer people, however, remember the most important aspect of the attack: its impetus. Ostensibly it was to protest police brutality in the case of murdered motorist Aaron Roberts. But if not for the long-simmering racial tensions

“You look around this city as far as you can see, and realize that the people that live in these houses put their trust in you. It’s a very moving experience.”

part of an effort to celebrate a Central District revitalization project, and SPD Capt. Nick Metz told the Times at the time that the attack was particularly unfortunate because the event was designed to “reach out to the people and spur a dialogue,” it’s clear that more from the mayor— and the mayors that came before him—was necessary. More than 12 years later, many of these tensions still exist—something Murray will have to face head-on if he’s to succeed where others have floundered. According to McGinn, racial tensions in Seattle are something he was “acutely aware of ” when he took office four years ago. Throughout his time in charge, including negotiating the policereform settlement agreement with the DOJ, he says he’s worked to openly “acknowledge that racism is real and still exists and we have an obligation to deal honestly with the issue.” “[Racial tensions are] something that can make an elected official very nervous, because there are longstanding problems, and if there was an easy solution, someone would have done it,” McGinn says. He adds that race-related policereform efforts must “come from the community leaders, community members, and the people whose behavior we’re asking to be changed.” True to his outsider form, McGinn is wary of elected officials trying to lead the discussion over reform. Instead, he believes the real answers must come from the community. “I do not believe that reform is going to succeed if it’s run by politicians trying to impose it from above. Their incentive is to reduce conflict and make everyone happy,” McGinn offers. “The mayor, the city council, the U.S. attorney—they’re all politicians. If they ever tell you they’ve got this, you should be worried.”

Lesson 11: Don’t Let Scandal Slow You Down It’s sad, really. Mayoral scandals are so drab these days. It’s not every day you get a salacious Canadian smoking crack. More often we’re stuck with a boring dick pic or a played-out extramari-

tal affair. Back in Seattle’s heyday, it used to take more. In Henry Yesler’s time, mayoral terms were only a year long. He got two of them. His first, starting in 1874, was marked by fraud, with Yesler offering his sawmill as first prize in a public lottery and then changing his mind after the drawing. “Yesler was deep in debt at the time, mostly to a man named John McClain, and that debt was paid off a few years later,” Alan Stein says. “There’s no record that Yesler used the lottery proceeds for that, but it does beg the question of how he was able to pay it.” “It was a total fraud,” Stein concludes of the lottery, which he says earned Yesler a $25 fine from the city. Needless to say, it looked bad for the man responsible for founding Seattle’s first water system, but that wasn’t enough to stop voters from re-electing him 10 years later, in 1885. Even before Yesler, however, there was Seattle’s third mayor, Corliss P. Stone, who apparently had no interest in a second term. Elected in 1872, Stone ran off to San Francisco the following April with $15,000 of his business partners’ money and “a woman, not his wife,” as the papers told it. “That’s a pretty bold move,” observes Greg Nickels, who’s something of a mayoral history buff. Of course, no discussion of Seattle mayoral scandals would be complete without a nod to Seattle’s most infamous leader, Hiram Gill, first elected in 1910 on the promise of an open town that limited Seattle’s gambling and prostitution to a vice district. In his spare time, Gill acted as attorney for most of the city’s brothelkeepers, as J. Kingston Pierce writes in Eccentric Seattle. “I don’t pretend to be a very good man, but I know the law and I will enforce it,” Gill is quoted as saying upon taking office. Unfortunately for Gill, and thanks in large part to the corrupt police chief he hired, Charles W. Wappenstein—“Wappy,” as he was known— Gill would be recalled by reformers and replaced by February 1911. The sleaze and cops on the take were apparently too much for voters to stomach. But, like Yesler, Gill would return to the mayor’s office. In 1914 he was elected again— this time as a closed-town candidate, winning over voters thanks to a change of heart on underworld crime. “I think that shows a great deal of not only cojones, but adaptability,” Nickels offers. If history has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes all it takes is a little “adaptability” to get a second chance with Seattle voters.

Lesson 12: Enjoy the Moment Being mayor isn’t always fun. McGinn, Nickels, Schell, and every other Seattleite to take the oath of office can certainly attest to this. But that doesn’t mean a mayor shouldn’t find time to enjoy the moment and appreciate the weighty responsibility that comes with it. “The feeling . . . is amazing,” says Nickels of being mayor. “You look around this city as far as you can see, and realize that the people that live in these houses, who walk these streets, who go to work every day put their trust in you. It’s a very moving experience.” McGinn doesn’t hesitate when asked to recall the moments after being sworn in four years ago. “That night I went outside to make sure it wasn’t snowing,” the outgoing mayor says with a laugh. “Because that was my responsibility now.” E

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Mike McGinn will forever be known as Seattle’s bike mayor, despite the considerable bi-pedal accomplishments of former mayors George Cotterill, “Dorm” Braman, and Wes Uhlman, who helped create Seattle’s first bike master plan in 1972. Even with Seattle’s well-established green sympathies, it’s a caricature of our outgoing mayor that’s not likely to be remembered fondly. Already owning a reputation as an ideological obstructionist following his vocal misgivings about the tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct—and his successful efforts to force a public vote on the project—the pictures of McGinn on his bike during his first years in office only strengthened the disdain that many drivers (and voters) felt for him. “What I discovered after about a year and a half in office was people thought all I cared about was fighting the tunnel and bikes,” says McGinn. “This whole narrative had been created, even though I was actually spending very little time on bike issues. “Since I rode a bicycle, I’m sure that perception was out there,” the outgoing mayor continues. “In reality there was a bike master plan already in place that I was implementing.”

concerning Seattle’s police force—and the fact that Roberts was black and the officers who shot him were white—Schell’s face might look a lot different today. “[Schell’s attack] is a direct result of not just that killing, but the accumulated frustration over the years of police brutality,” The Seattle Times quoted Central District resident Don Alexander as saying. “I can’t say I feel bad because I don’t know what the provocation was. I’m sure of this: In the past the politicians in this city have provoked these attitudes because of their attitudes.” Though Schell’s appearance that day had been

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

food&drink Road Trip to Richmond For dim sum, the drive across the border is worth it.

No Carts and Ordering Smarts

Xiao long bao, Shanghai River

Dim sum, minus carts

I love carts as much as the next person—especially the chance to ask “What’s in that basket?” and get a peek inside. Even minus the carts, it’s still easy to overorder, getting too much food too fast. In Cantonese, dim sum is called yum cha, which translates to “drink(ing) tea.” Tea is really the crux of the dim sum experience, with all those dumplings and such serving as snacks to accompany it. So be in control of your meal. Order as few or as many items as you’d like, at whatever pace feels right. Think about variety. Chinese food is about texture as much as flavor, so diversify your dishes. For every fried spring roll, get a slippery rice roll. Maybe even try something out of your comfort zone, like tripe or chicken feet.

What to Eat Where Shiang Garden (4540 No. 3 Rd., 604-273-8858)

I try har gow wherever I eat dim sum, but year after year I return to Shiang Garden for what I believe are the best in Richmond, sometimes ordering a basket of them and little more before

Century egg and prawn rolls

moving on to another restaurant. (If duck tongue is on the menu, I recommend it as well.) Jade Seafood Restaurant (8511 Alexandra Rd., 604-249-0082) Perhaps my top pick for

dim sum in Vancouver. The pickled ginger with century egg and prawn roll (picture a translucent fried egg roll filled with shrimp and a dark-colored preserved egg) serves a big burst of flavors, while the steamed mushroom dumplings contain a variety of mushrooms and—could it be?—a little truffle oil. Empire Seafood Restaurant (5951 No. 3 Rd., 604-249-0080) The baked barbecued-pork buns

are a nice alternative to steamed, with a tender bun that’s buttery and a sugary crust. For dessert, I like the baked tapioca pudding—rich and creamy, and best eaten while still warm.

Golden Paramount (8071 Park Rd., 604-2780873) My newest discovery in Richmond, this

restaurant is less gaudy than other dim sum “palaces” and ultimately more my style. If you order (and you should) the “steamed dumplings with crab meat and meat” (actually crab meat with pork and vegetables), they’ll come to your table first, to show off the freshness of the crab and the delicacy of the dumpling. I’m also impressed with their stir-fried sticky rice, its great smoky flavor evident from the use of a hot, well-seasoned wok.

Capitol Hill cookie shop Hello Robin is open for business. Robin Wehl Martin’s bakery at the new 19th & Mercer building includes a seasonal Molly Moon’s Ice Cream counter. Ice cream sandwiches and classic cookie flavors are available alongside combos like sweet onion and pecan or orange-habanero. Hello Robin’s neighbor Cone & Steiner is on track to launch this week as well. Folks behind Skillet, Fuel and Retrofit Home are teaming up to offer everything from sandwiches and grocery staples to hardware and greeting cards at the forthcoming general store. Wine bar Le Caviste opened at 1919 7th Ave. downtown. Hours for the bistrot-à-vin spot from Le Gourmand alum David Butler are Tuesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to midnight. The latest member of Ballard’s brewery scene launched last week. Bad Jimmy’s began pouring pints of IPA, pale ale and habanero amber inside its tasting room at 4358-B Leary Way NW. After losing its lease, the more than three decade old La Boulangerie will close its doors later this month in Wallingford. Neighboring bar Seamonster Lounge plans to expand into the space after the bakery shutters on Jan. 31. food@seattleweekly.com

Temperature Check FROM MEERU DHALWALA, OWNER OF SHANIK

Creative, respected new versions of the pigeonholed cheap ethnic cuisines. We need some cool Burmese, Cambodian, Colombian, and Ukrainian restaurants. Actually, Ukrainian food goes beyond pierogies and is just a wonderful and elegant cuisine.

Kale. Even though I love kale and serve it all over the place, there are way more green leaves out there for us to love. The next hot green is going to be broccoli stalks.

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

Crab meat with pork and vegetables

Eating at your desk. Especially eating greasy, junky food or tasteless healthy food at your desk. You end up not chewing properly or even tasting. For me, this is the same ambience as eating while you’re sitting on the toilet—trying to get two important things done at once while both need their own separate time. Doesn’t have to be fancy—just not your office desk.

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

One thing is quickly evident in Richmond’s dim sum restaurants, some of which are cavernous spaces with dripping chandeliers, garish linens (pink seems popular), and elegantly uniformed workers. While the crush of customers asking about seating times at the host stand might be chaotic, you’ll notice that what’s missing is the frenzy of dim sum carts in the dining area. In Richmond, dim sum dining means ordering off the menu. I love carts as much as the next person—especially the chance to ask “What’s in that basket?” and get a peek inside—but I gladly give them up in exchange for food made to order, arriving fresh at my table. If you want a preview of what’s available, ask for a table close to the kitchen and spy as the servers walk by with the food.

FoodNews BY SARA BILLUPS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAY FRIEDMAN

’m constantly apologizing to my Seattlearea friends for turning down dim sum invitations. Sure, dim sum is just dandy here compared to most of the country, but the bao and other delicacies are simply much better to the north in Richmond, B.C. There, a thriving Chinese population eats out regularly and demands the best for its dollars. Competition translates into culinary quality. Perhaps because the chefs are from Hong Kong, the mecca of dim sum, I find the flavors to be cleaner and better-balanced than in Seattle, the food less greasy. In addition, there’s better attention to such details as the crimping of dumplings. Take, for example, har gow (shrimp dumplings)—the benchmark of quality at a dim sum establishment. In Richmond, these dumplings have translucent wrappers that are delicate and yet sturdy enough to support the shrimp inside. As for that shrimp, Seattle’s tends to be a bland clump that’s almost unrecognizable, whereas in Richmond you’ll find large pieces which taste fresh and sweet, with a tell-tale snap when you bite into them. But Richmond can be intimidating, even for people just across the Fraser River in Vancouver. With the traffic, the crowds, and the sheer number of restaurants—usually with signage and menus full of Chinese characters—it’s easy to feel like a stranger in a strange land. But the food makes it worth conquering the fear factor. To help, here are tips on where to go, what to order, and how to do dim sum right in Richmond, especially with Chinese New Year just around the corner.

BY JAY FRIEDMAN

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recently went to a “Great Whiskey Debate” (sponsored by Jim Beam) hoping to learn some interesting facts, figure out what Seattle’s favorite style of whiskey is, and get a lot of free booze. I got the latter. What was pitched as a debate was more a strange amalgam of marketing meeting, stand-up comedy, and a lot of cheap Seahawks-centric pandering. (Seriously, we got a twominute discourse BY ZACH GEBALLE on Luke Willson, Seattle’s second-string tight end, who just happens to be from Windsor, Ontario, home of Canadian Club. Most of the crowd figured the guy just didn’t know Russell Wilson’s first name. But I digress.) The most insightful takeaway for me? The current focus in the whiskey world, at least among major distilleries, is how to get their spirits to taste like anything besides whiskey. Whether infusing it with different flavors or lengthening the barrel aging to mellow the spirit and add more vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch flavors, the goal seems to be to make all whiskey taste more like bourbon. I guess that’s a win for the U.S.? In comparison, I can’t help but think about what happened to the wine world. As highly concentrated and heavily oaked wines from the U.S. and Australia came into vogue, winemakers in many other countries followed suit, investing in expensive new equipment, barrels, and consultants. Suddenly you had wines from around the world that more or less tasted the same: rich, jammy, oaky, and high-alcohol. There’s a place for wines like that, just as there’s a place for bourbon. But that doesn’t mean I want Canadian, Irish, or Scotch whiskey to taste like it comes from Kentucky. That’s just one of the many questions that could have been actually debated, instead of “How has your spirit driven sales of whiskey forward” or other PR pablum. Why no discussion about the rise of flavored whiskies? Or the fact that increased demand is forcing certain brands to reduce the time their whiskey spends in barrel? Hell, after the event I had a fascinating discussion with the Laphroaig representative about how they don’t put age statements on some of their product because consumers are so obsessed with older and older Scotch that they won’t buy a young 5- or 6-year-old bottle, even though it’s delicious. In the end, the question of Seattle’s favorite whiskey (Irish, Scotch, Canadian, bourbon) remained unanswered. Bourbon got the most applause, but the “official” result was a four-way tie (which really bailed Canada out, honestly). The real issue is: Will those of us who like things besides sweet bourbon continue to matter to the major whiskey makers of the world? Now that would have been an interesting debate. E

THEBARCODE

you can sample more menu items. If you drive out of Seattle early, you can beat traffic and arrive in time for late-morning dim sum. While it’s not a long drive, I like to take the train; it’s scenic and restful, and eliminates concern about traffic, parking hassles, and fees. I recommend the evening Amtrak, which sets you up in Vancouver or Richmond for an early start the following morning. From Vancouver, a Skytrain to either Lansdowne or Richmond-Brighouse puts you in perfect position for most dim sum places. Don’t limit yourself to just one restaurant. A progressive meal at two or more gives you a fuller dim sum experience. Eat a few bites at one restaurant, take a walk (which will do you good!), and then order food at a second and even third place. Some restaurants start serving as early as 9 a.m. (Note, though, that not every item is available that early, as some chefs hold back certain dishes until bigger crowds arrive.) Arriving that early enables you to go without reservations (essential especially on weekends) and to beat the crowds, with an added bonus: Most restaurants offer a 20 percent discount on orders before 11 a.m. Speaking of money, check your credit cards to find one that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee. Or bring a debit card which reimburses you for foreign ATM use. The restaurant staff will appreciate your use of cash as a tip for their service during your meal. E

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Hungry for more?

While the focus here has been on Cantonese dim sum, Richmond is an ideal place to eat Shanghainese dim sum as well. Restaurants like Dinesty, Top Shanghai, and Shanghai Morning serve dishes like daikon pastries, beef rolls, and xiao long bao (steamed dumplings traditionally filled with ground pork and broth), though my favorite xiao long bao in Richmond are at Shanghai River (7831 Westminster Hwy., 604-233-8885). Their soup dumplings have the most delicate wrappers, and inside is a remarkable amount of pork and delicious broth. If you want to space out early Cantonese dim sum with later Shanghainese dim sum, you can easily go shopping at one of the local malls, or perhaps enjoy a relatively inexpensive session of foot reflexology or shiatsu massage at one of the nearby Chinese clinics. JAY FRIEDMAN

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BY GAVIN BORCHERT

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 1

*EARLIER DUBIOUS MARITAL ADVICE “In these moments, you can normally find an Italian who isn’t too picky.” —Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham “Find a cowboy in the Middle West and bring him back to shake us up a bit.” —Robert BRANSON So handsome. So self-righteous. What will happen to the ex-chauffeur’s fiery

egalitarian ideals now that he’s stumbled into being the cricket-playing, white-tie-dining undersquire of the estate? As devastating as his wife Sybil’s death was, I foresaw friction down the line; frankly, as progressive as Branson seems, I had doubts his view of women would turn out to be any more enlightened than, say, Carson’s. These radicals talk a good game, but only one person in that marriage would have been changing nappies. EDITH After being abandoned at the altar by Sir Anthony Strallan (but rewatching Season 3 these past few weeks, she really did sort of steamroll him down the aisle, didn’t she?), it looks like she’s destined to rebound with Michael Gregson, the noble newspaper editor, handsome in kind of a Michael Palin-y way. But he’s anchored to a wife in the loony bin, and so can’t divorce her—expect her to drop dead, however, at whatever convenient moment series writer Julian Fellowes chooses. (BTW, what’s up with Fellowes’ obsession with the romance of journalism?

THOMAS Usually so shrewd, what was he thinking? Did he really believe that the way to further his pursuit of the strapping footman Jimmy, aka Yorkshire’s Next Top Model, was to sneak into his room and grope him? And after this semi-rape, they’d just stroll off happily and open a B&B? MORE QUESTIONS Will O’Brien’s replacement as Cora’s lady’s maid have a tongue as sharp, a hairstyle as improbable? Will downtrodden kitchen drudge Daisy become the artisanalpreserves queen of the Midlands? I HOPE WE SEE MORE OF Branson’s surly brother Kieran; Robert’s vinegary sister Rosamund; “Patrick,” the burn victim and possible missing Crawley heir from Season 2 AND LESS OF That odious tart Cousin Rose. THE DR. CLARKSON DRINKING GAME Every

time he misdiagnoses something, down a shot of cinnamon and warm milk.

MOST-ANTICIPATED CAMEOS Paul Giamatti as Cora’s wastrel brother; Kiri Te Kanawa as reallife opera singer Nellie Melba. LOCAL CONNECTION Maria Doyle Kennedy—who as Vera Bates was such a spectacular psychobitch she tried to wreak revenge on Bates posthumously—is also a cabaret performer, and is scheduled to play the Kirkland Performance Center on Saturday, June 3. I’m totes serious! POTENTIAL DA-THEMED PUNK BAND NAMES Isis Ass, Ethel the Whore, The Dead

Crawleys, Her Ladyship’s Soap.

BEST EPISODE RECAPS Patton Oswalt’s Twitter feed (twitter.com/pattonoswalt) andSarah Ball’s synopses for vanityfair.com, both hilarious. E

gborchert@seattleweekly.com

By a conservative estimate, this writer has gained 50 pounds so far during the holidays, mostly consumed in the form of mashed potatoes, gravy, pie, and alcohol. And New Year’s Eve lies just after deadline, meaning one more night of caloric excess before 2014’s cold slap in the face. How better to greet the new year, then, than by running a 5K and splashing into Lake Washington at the finish? The 3.1-mile loop is run entirely

A recent Polar Bear plunger.

within the park, meaning minimal traffic. Costumes aren’t specifically encouraged, but you can be sure they’ll be worn. Bonfires will help you reheat after your dip, and there will be changing tents to put on dry sweats. If you need extra incentive, hot chocolate and chili will be served afterward. And the beer garden, run by Fremont Brewing Company, will be open from 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. That’s where you’ll find me before and after the race. Magnuson Park, 6500 Sand Point Way N.E., promotionevents.com/resorun. $30–$45. 10:30 a.m. T. BOND

THURSDAY, JAN. 2

Ronald Hall

Ronald Hall’s paintings are fun. They brim with color and humor, looking like the scattered contents of someone’s subconscious. Over here is a guy sawing a watermelon, over there is a house . . . thinking about toilet paper. Hall opts for vibrant pinks and turquoises—neon hues that make his work instantly pop. Despite that bright palette, however, Hall didn’t call his new show The N Word for nothing. Amid the flights of fancy and surreal, cartoonish stylings are heady juxtapositions of race issues past and present. Frederick Douglass is given pink skin; Olivier Le Jeune is pictured in nightmarish slave restraints; a “Missing” poster is transposed over a traditional African mask. In Blind Nation, Barack Obama is even depicted wearing a thorn of crowns with a black censor’s bar over his eyes while the White House explodes in a plume of smoke in the background. Did his election really launch America into a proud new post-racial era? Not in Hall’s paintings. (Through Jan. 30.) Gallery4Culture, 101 Prefontaine Pl. S. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 296-7580, 4culture.org. Free. First Thursday reception 6–8 p.m. KELTON SEARS

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

MATTHEW AND MARY Since each season airs on the BBC in the fall and on PBS only afterward, spoilers were nearly impossible to avoid on the Internet last year, and so like millions of American fans, I prematurely found out about the death of Matthew, Robert’s son-in-law and heir. This year I learned my lesson, and have basically kept my browsers shut since September. Matthew did manage to come up with a boy baby, born literally hours before his death, at last putting to bed the first season’s driving plot: the search for a successor to the Grantham title. It looks as though his widow Mary’s romantic life is going to be Season 4’s focus.* (It’s been speculated she and Branson will hook up, which seems ridiculous, like those who thought Harry and Hermione would be a thing.)

Hugh Bonneville’s Earl of Grantham.

Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary; Dan Stevens as (the late) Matthew Crawley.

BATES AND ANNA How will downstairs’ adorable dream couple remain interesting now that they’re at last reunited? As Fellowes puts it, “Any writer . . . always dreads allowing lovers finally to come together, because once you have, there’s very little left you can do with them in terms of narrative . . . [but] there comes a time when the audience thinks, oh, for Christ’s sake . . . to spin it out any more would be wrong.” Given Anna’s sleuthing skills, uncovering the evidence that sprung Bates from Death Row, I see a spinoff in which they solve murder mysteries. (In the pilot: The tiresome Reverend Mr. Travis is found smothered under a pile of chasubles.) Bates & Bates. Who wouldn’t watch it?

Resolution Run & Polar Bear Dive

CHRIS HUNT

All three Crawley daughters have been linked to the Fourth Estate at some point.)

n Sunday, after nearly a year’s wait, TV’s most anticipated dog butt will return. For those of you who are not Downton Abbey addicts, the first shot of the manically popular Brit import’s opening credits is a rear-end view of Isis, the beloved yellow lab owned by Robert, Earl of Grantham; her waggy tail’s become one of the show’s iconic images. Here in anticipation of Season 4 (to air at 9 p.m. on KCTS) are reflections on Season 3’s most volatile plot lines, where they might lead, and miscellaneous Downtoniana.

ThisWeek’s PickList

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 17

The YWCA of Seattle-King County-Snohomish County is seeking a

#13-1211

Program Manager I, Seattle Housing Services: Operations and Reporting.

arts&culture» Pick List » FROM PAGE 17

W. S. Van Dyke directs the very talky script. (Through Wed.) Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th

St., 523-3935, grandillusioncinema.org. $5–$8. 6:30 p.m. BRIAN MILLER

FRIDAY, JAN. 3

The Thin Man

This position manages the operations of the YWCAís Seattle Housing Services and Permanent

Internet Cat Video Festival

William Powell and Myrna Loy starred as elegant married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles in a half-dozen Thin Man films between 1934–47. Based on the Dashiell Hammett characters, the pair were introduced in this 1934 original, aided by their crossword-puzzle favorite of a pet, Asta. Cocktail-swilling sophisticates during the height

Housing Stability Departments including intake, housing services; contract administration/invoicing/ reporting. This position supervises direct service staff in cooperation with the Regional Director.

FT, 40 hrs/wk, $17.81 to $22.26/hr DOE. Details at:

http://www.ywcaworks.org

For Internet real estate, “one thing competes with porn,” wrote Gideon Lewis-Kraus in a piece on the “Online Cat-Industrial Complex” he penned last year for Wired. “That is cats.” Grumpy Cat, L’il Bub, Maru: We know these individual felines by name. Their videos appear in our Facebook stream, and we can’t resist the urge to click. But what is it about them? Lewis-Kraus concludes that an “Internet cat . . . confronts us with how cravenly we ourselves court approval.” Yet most participants and viewers at the first Internet Cat Video Festival—organized by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 2012—agreed that watching cat videos “just feels good.” Now in its second year, the festival has a touring component: 60-plus short videos that are sure to delight. Admission tonight includes light snacks and beverages and a signed calendar featuring local feline Henri, le Chat Noir. The creator of that existential kitty’s videos, Will Braden, will be on hand to sign copies of his book. Sadly, we’re told “Henri is unable to attend, due to his strict napping schedule.” Le sigh, le mew. Kirkland Arts

Respond to:

ckhiring@ywcaworks.org

Center, 620 Market St., 425-822-7161, kirkland artscenter.org. $25. 7 p.m. (Also: 2 & 7 p.m. Sat.) GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT

Teri Garr, Wilder, and Feldman assess their creation.

20TH CENTURY FOX

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

MGM

of the Great Depression, Powell and Loy are free of children or worldly cares—they’ve got money, and lots of it, so how better to spend their leisure time than solving crimes? When a reporter asks Nick, “Can’t you tell us anything about the case?”, he replies, “Yes. It’s putting me way behind in my drinking.” Memories of Prohibition were fairly recent, and Nick and Nora provided welcome escapism during a hard-luck decade and the following war years. The plot doesn’t matter terribly (the titular thin man is the murder victim, not Nick); it’s the married panache that Powell and Loy brought to their roles that you remember. Along with It Happened One Night (made the same year), The Thin Man is one of those ’30s movies that signaled a new ease and equality between the sexes. Rather than being some stuffy old 19th-century institution, a contract, marriage actually seems fun in the movie. It’s a trick many of today’s filmmakers still can’t seem to master.

Young Frankenstein

Mel Brooks’ inspired 1974 spoof is probably his best movie, affectionately rooted in the James Whale originals (particularly Bride of Frankenstein) yet knowingly updated with innuendo and vaudeville. Gene Wilder stars as the reluctant mad scientist who’s determined not to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. The great Madeline Kahn plays his fiancée, destined to end up with quite another man (er, monster, played by Peter Boyle). Marty Feldman is the goggle-eyed hunchback. Wilder and Brooks are both credited with the script, which includes countless classic gags—from “What knockers!” to “It could be worse; it could be raining”—and much horse whinnying at the mention of Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman). Brooks was able to reuse portions of the original Frankenstein laboratory sets that Universal had saved; and that period integrity is one reason the comedy holds up so well. In a way, the Borscht Belt is as timeless as Transylvania. (Through Wed.) Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 686-6684, central-cinema.com. $6–$8. 7 p.m. BRIAN MILLER E

arts&cultureD» I NPerformance I NG WE EK LY B Y G AV I N B O R C H E R T

Stage OPENINGS & EVENTS

RICHARD II One of the Bard’s great history plays. Center

House Theatre, Seattle Center, 733-8222. $25–$48. Previews Jan. 7–9, opens Jan. 10. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Sat., plus some weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare. org for exact schedule. Ends Feb. 2. SING-A-LONG-A SOUND OF MUSIC With subtitles so you can join in with Julie Andrews and the gang—but you probably know all the lyrics anyway. 5th Avenue Theater, 1308 Fifth Ave., 625-1900, 5thavenue.org. $29. 7 p.m. Fri., Jan. 3, 1:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 4–Sun., Jan. 5. WHEEL OF TEASE Burlesque meets improv: You choose the props and the music, and Maggie McMuffin, Jesus la Pinga, and many more do what they can. Re-bar, 1114 Howell St., 800-838-3006, purpledevilproductions. com. $13–$40. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 4.

CURRENT RUNS

DICK WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT Picaresque fairy

stgpresents.org/paramount. $25–$100. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Jan. 1–Thurs., Jan. 2; 8 p.m. Fri., Jan. 3; 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., Jan. 4; 1 & 6:30 p.m. Sun., Jan. 5. LES MISÉRABLES Thanks to director Steve Tomkins and company, you’re not likely to see the 1985 smash musical done this well—or so intimately—ever again. As in Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel of revenge and redemption, French parolee Jean Valjean (Greg Stone) is pursued by inspector Javert (Eric Polani Jensen) while seeking to regain the good name he lost after stealing bread to feed a starving child. KEVIN PHINNEY Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah, 425-392-2202. $33–$68. Runs in Issaquah through Jan. 5, then at the Everett Performing Arts Center Jan. 10–Feb. 2; see villagetheatre.org for exact schedule.

F IL M

TEATRO ZINZANNI: HAIL CAESAR: FORBIDDEN OASIS Frank Ferrante returns as the flamboyant,

omnisexual chef Caesar; slinky Dreya Weber, equally skilled as an aerialist and singer, plays a resurrected Cleopatra. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., 802-0015. $108 and up. Runs Wed.–Sun.; see dreams.zinzanni.org for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 26.

Classical, Etc.

• SEATTLE SYMPHONY The annual year-end

Send events to stage@seattleweekly.com, dance@seattleweekly.com, or classical@seattleweekly.com See seattleweekly.com for full listings. = Recommended

•

Beethoven Ninth, paired with (except on Jan. 3) Brahms’ jaunty Variations on a Theme of Haydn. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., 215-4747, seattle symphony.org. $28–$128. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., Jan. 2, 7 p.m. Fri., Jan. 3, 8 p.m. Sat., Jan. 4. WASHINGTON WIND SYMPHONY Music by Copland, Strauss, and others. Kirkland Performance Center, 350 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland, 425-893-9900, washington windsymphony.org. $10–$15. 3 p.m. Sun., Jan. 5. COMPOSER SPOTLIGHT A presentation by composer Chris Jeffries and writer Harold Taw on their collaboration, a new one-act musical titled The Missed Connections Club. Jack Straw Studios, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., jackstraw.org. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Jan. 8.

» Visual Arts B Y K E LT O N S E A R S

Openings & Events MARY COSS Public Debt to the Suffragette presents her

•

Send events to visualarts@seattleweekly.com See seattleweekly.com for full listings = Recommended

•

JAMES MARTIN The local artist presents whimsi-

cal new drawings, some featuring the likes of Pablo Picasso, others with giant potatoes. First Thursday opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Foster/White Gallery, 220 Third Ave. S., 622-2833, fosterwhite.com, Jan. 2-31. SUE PERRY Seattle: Changing Times contrasts gentrified parts of the city with those left alone. First Thursday opening reception, 5-8 p.m. Sisko Gallery, 3126 Elliott Ave., 283-2998, siskogallery.com, Fri.-Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Through Feb. 2. A PLACE FOR MEMORIES AND SECRETS Susanna Bluhm, Christopher Buening, and London Tsai’s mixedmedia group exhibit shares the theme of “personal memory and the role it plays in the navigation of public and private space.” First Thursday opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Soil Gallery, 112 Third Ave. S. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 264-8061, soilart.org, Thurs.-Sun., 12-5 p.m. Through Feb. 1. TESSELLATED LANGUAGE Local artists Kate Jessup, Joseph Pentheroudakis, Kelley Knickerbocker, Tina Randolph, Julia Haack, and Jo Braun are featured. Opening reception 4-6 p.m. Tues., Jan. 7. (The show extends down into the Anne Focke Gallery.) City Hall Gallery, 600 Fourth Ave., 684-8888, seattle.gov, Mon.Fri., 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Through Feb. 28. MIKE WAGNER You Made Me Realize presents colorful new drawings, some figurative, some inspired by graffiti art and pop culture. First Thursday opening reception, 5-9 p.m. Flatcolor Gallery, 77 S. Main St., 390-6537, flatcolor.com, Fri., Sat., 12-8 p.m.; Wed., Thurs., Sun., 12-6 p.m. Through Jan. 31. PATTI WARASHINA In Scrutiny, the eminent local ceramicist presents recent work. First Thursday opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Davidson Galleries, 313 Occidental Ave. S., 624-1324, davidsongalleries.com, Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Through Feb. 1. ROBERT YODER AND MICHELLE KLOEHN Dark Entries collects Yoder’s experimental paintings (created by squeezing paint directly from the tube to the canvas) and pairs them with Kloehn’s wet-plate collodion photos. First Thursday opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Platform Gallery, 114 Third Ave. S. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 323-2808, platformgallery.com, Wed.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Through Feb. 1. CALUDE ZERVAS In Quasicrystals, he presents brushed-ink drawings based on botanical and scientific forms that recall tile motifs in Islamic architecture. First Thursday opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave. S., 624-0770, gregkucera.com, Tues.-Sat., 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Through Feb. 15.

HA P P Y HO U R

A R T S A ND ENT ER TA I NM ENT

Low Priced Previews

January 8 & 9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Jan. 8–Feb. 2, 2014 www.seattleshakespeare.org

Find out about upcoming performances, exhibitions, openings and special events.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, AT 7PM

BEETHOVEN UNTUXED Carlos Kalmar, conductor Nathalie Paulin, soprano Angela Niederloh, mezzo-soprano Brendan Tuohy, tenor Charles Robert Stephens, baritone Seattle Symphony Chorale BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9, “Choral” Sit back and revel in Beethoven’s uplifting final symphony with its famous “Ode to Joy” chorus. Untuxed concerts are short and intermission-free. PLUS! Stay after the concert for a special Ask the Artist with Seattle Symphony musicians.

•

Sponsored by

International Guest Artist Sponsor

Tickets going fast!

206.215.4747 | SEATTLESYMPHONY.ORG

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

airy, translucent sculptures made of ast bronze, sewn window screen, and argon lights, some suggesting parasols and dresses. First Thursday opening reception, 5-8 p.m. Method Gallery, 106 Third Ave. S., methodgallery.com, Fri., Sat., 12-5 p.m. Through Feb. 15. LINDA DAVIDSON/NATALIE NIBLACK Nearer to Thee presents one of Davidson’s signature “grid” installations, consisting of 250 small paintings set next to one another. Veiled explores Niblack’s love of Renaissance iconography through her paintings. First Thursday opening reception, 5-8 p.m. Room 104, 306 S. Washington St. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 953-8104, room104gallery.com, Wed.-Sat., 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Through Feb. 15. NATALIE DOTZAUER The installations in Romanced are meant to recall the quiet, cast-off corners and forgotten utilitarian spaces of old homes, bringing out the hidden “language within these elements of physical life.” First Thursday opening reception, 5-8 p.m. Punch Gallery, 119 Prefontaine Place S. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 621-1945, punchgallery.org, Thurs.-Sat., 12-5 p.m. Through Feb. 2. RONALD HALL SEE THE PICK LIST, PAGE 17. STEPHANIE HARGRAVE The Northwest painter explores organic and natural forms. First Thursday opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Patricia Rovzar Gallery, 1225 Second Ave., 223-0273, rovzargallery.com, Mon.Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Through Jan. 31. ED KAMUDA/DION ZWIRNER The two established Northwest artists share their natural landscape inspired paintings. Opening reception: 4-6 p.m., Sat., Jan. 4. Lisa Harris Gallery, 1922 Pike Place, 443-3315, lisaharrisgallery.com, Mon.-Sun., 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Through Feb. 2. KEVIN MARSHALL In Illusion, he digitally processes to rearrange their sequences to skew the viewer’s notions of time. First Thursday opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Gallery 110, 110 Third Ave. S. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 624-9336, gallery110.com, Wed.-Sat., 12-5 p.m. Through Jan. 25.

W W W. S E AT T L E W E E K LY. C O M / S I G N U P PR OM O T IONS EV ENT S

•

tale + audience participation = traditional British pantomime. Hale’s Palladium, 4301 Leary Way N.W., 800838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. $7–$13. 4 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 1 & 4 p.m. Sun. Ends Jan. 5. EVITA Never mind Madonna’s logy screen Evita—the juicy story of the worshipped, martyred, morally flexible Eva Peron inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best score. The Paramount, 911 Pine St., 877-STG-4TIX,

•

MUSIC

arts&culture» Film

SINGLE SPARK/MAGIC BOX

Opening ThisWeek Bettie Page Reveals All

This new documentary contains many disclosures, some of them strange, some terribly sad. But one of the weirdest is surely the description of a “camera club” in New York in the late 1940s and early ’50s, shutterbugs who trooped out of town every weekend with a handful of models to take pin-up photos. Such pictures, their subjects partially clad or entirely barenekkid, might be sold by mail-order or to magazines like Wink, or Cavalier—you know, for discriminating readers. Some of these (apparently docile) smutpurveyors are still around; interviewed for this documentary, they suggest the kinds of bottomfeeding oddballs from Tim Burton’s Ed Wood, but without the florid personalities. The mind boggles at the thought of these blandly organized jaunts and the mixture of tawdriness and innocence they conjure up. (Such scenes were suitably odd in the 2005 biopic The Notorious Bettie Page, which starred Gretchen Mol.) At the center of many of those photographs was Bettie Page (1923-2008), an unusually expressive model who was reasonably wellknown on the underground nudie circuit in the ’50s and then became a major cult icon by the ’80s. This is her story; and thankfully director Mark Mori uses audiotape of Page recalling her life to string together the movie’s narrative (and its ample full-frontal photos and film clips). We hear from a few others—the photographers, one of Page’s ex-husbands, and the inevitable Hugh Hefner—but the best of the film is Page’s own matter-of-fact voice, huskily spinning her tale. The general aura that surrounds Page’s resurgent popularity emphasizes the campy, cheerful, sex-positive nature of her image, but her story isn’t a happy one. Molested as a child by her father and sexually assaulted as an adult, Page soldiered on through bad marriages and a few life-threatening incidents. She found God and

Jiang’s miner goes looking for justice.

PA Touch of Sin RUNS FRI., JAN. 3-THURS., JAN. 9 AT NORTHWEST FILM FORUM. NOT RATED. 125 MINUTES.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty isn’t the only picture peddling fantasy right now, but Jia Zhangke’s vision is considerably darker than that of Ben Stiller. In the misfire that is Mitty,

VICTOR F/ENTERTAINMENT ONE

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

RUNS FRI., JAN. 3-THURS., JAN. 9 AT SIFF FILM CENTER. NOT RATED. 101 MINUTES.

quit the pin-up business in the ’50s, spiraling into mental instability in middle age. Page says she enjoyed posing for pictures, even the bondage and spanking films made by the notorious Irving Klaw (a perfectly nice and mild fellow, according to Page). Yet, as full of voyeuristic hot air the film’s commentators may be, it is true that Page’s spark leaps out of her photographs—she’s visibly thriving under the validation and reward she appears to be getting from the camera. (So many good actors have that same hunger to be looked at.) You can’t help wondering where that need came from, which is the troubling bass line beneath the film. However much her admirers coo about the delight or empowerment they see in those vintage pix, and however much we might appreciate the adults-only arrow aimed at the heart of the Eisenhower-era façade of respectability, the overall takeaway from Bettie Page Reveals All is sadness—and a lingering unease about the appetite that needs to feed on the flesh of ambivalent icons. ROBERT HORTON

a virtuous, underappreciated schlub dreams of grandeur—then is vindicated in real life, too (see: cake, eating, having, extra frosting, etc.). Jia offers four unhappier linked scenarios here, based on real news events, following an embittered coal miner, a rootless criminal, a lovelorn receptionist, and a teenage factory worker drifting from job to job. All are from villages being obliterated by new factories, railways, airports, and roads. Most are nomadic, finding jobs where they can and wiring money back home to elderly parents or neglected wives and kids. They’re cogs in the machinery of China’s relentless modernization, so is it any wonder they dream? A short prologue leaves three dead and ends with a fiery explosion—more like a Western action movie than Jia’s prior realism (The World, Still Life, 24 City). Later in the film, bus passengers will watch such a violent Hollywood flick; these are the scenes, Jia suggests, that are displacing the old peasant songs, national mythology, and Chinese opera. Their imaginations are being systematically Ben Stillerized. Certainly the pissed-off coal miner Dahai ( Jiang Wu) has seen a few revenge movies. He’s a local dissident trying to send a protest letter to Beijing about how the village bigwig sold off the mine and pocketed the proceeds. Now Dahai’s childhood friend is a rich industrialist, flying home from a Hong Kong shopping spree on a jet and driving a Maserati. (These images also seem fed by our Western tabloids and bling.) “There’s no justice!,” says the indignant yet powerless Dahai, who then shifts from Lomanesque pathos to Bronsonesque retribution. Also overmatched by a corrupt, inhumane system are the robber (Wang Baoqiang), the country girl (Zhou Tao, Jia’s wife) having an affair with a married man, and the factory teen (Luo Lanshan). The presence of iPhones and iPads gives them all a sense of connectedness not just to China’s rich, coastal elite but to the broader world of Bieber and Beyoncé. A short generation before, their parents had no such awareness; nor was there such yawning social inequality to be aware of. Ironies abound: The teenager works as a lackey at a brothel called The Golden Age; and he later visits a sprawling factory town named Oasis of Prosperity (run by a Fortune 500 company, his Taiwanese boss proudly tells him). The state and its moneyed apparatchiks are no less enamored of fantasy, as when the brothel girls do a marching song for their clients while dressed in skimpier versions of the old Communist Youth uniforms. In this creepy, funny scene, traditions have just become another sexual fetish—like naughty nurses, nuns, or maids. The new economy gets to fuck the old social order. “Shooting guns isn’t boring,” says the robber in his Chicago Bulls cap. What’s boring, to him at least, is the old village—where he reluctantly, infrequently returns. Not everyone in the film is so violent as he, but there’s a shared, stewing resentment that inevitably boils over. How many overworked, underpaid, and humiliated Americans haven’t dreamed of killing their bosses? After Columbine and so many other shooting sprees, those fantasies are taboo here; but in Jia’s vision of modern China, there aren’t enough bullets to go around. BRIAN MILLER E

film@seattleweekly.com

Only Connect

A phone chat with the writer-director of Her, my favorite film of 2013. BY BRIAN MILLER

SAM ZHU/WARNER BROS.

Page in a rare color image from her pin-up prime.

Jonze on the set.

he worst kind of interviews are what we in the trade call “phoners.” Faceto-face is best, and email interviews at least allow deliberate, considered answers. I caught Spike Jonze on a bad day, for me at least. My recorder broken, I simultaneously typed and talked to him in L.A. SW: Is the notion of falling in love with an artificial-intelligence operating system so far-fetched?

Jonze: It might be absurd, it might be science fiction, but it actually means something

Given how the movie’s protagonist (Joaquin Phoenix) responds to his computer’s voice, can speaking be more powerful than reading or seeing?

A lot of conversations on the phone are incredibly meaningful. Someone can hear something you’re saying and feel that they understand you or know you.

Is the romance between Theodore (Phoenix) and his OS “Samantha” (Scarlett Johansson) a comment on how technology inhibits human intimacy?

There’s always been a need to connect and a need to be known. That is age-old. I wasn’t alive 100 years ago or 1,000 years ago, but I’m sure it was the same. The need to connect was always hugely important part of life. That’s what the movie’s about—our need for intimacy and the things inside of us that prevent us from being intimate. It’s a pleasant shock to see Phoenix smile for once in a movie.

That’s why I wanted to cast him, because I think he’s so alive onscreen. I had this faith that you could just put a camera on his face, and he was going to be able to represent both his and Samantha’s characters on screen. I don’t know many other people who could’ve done that. E

bmiller@seattleweekly.com

HER Continues at Harvard Exit and Lincoln Square. Rated R. 126 minutes.

D I NI NG

SEAT TLE BY BRIAN MILLER

Local & Repertory • ALIEN This is likely Ridley Scott’s 2003 director’s cut

of the sci-fi classic, which hardly needed improvement back in 1979, when it had its world premiere at SIFF. Here’s what’s interesting three decades later: AIDS and ebola and SARS have given a whole new mortal resonance to Sigourney Weaver’s (disregarded) concerns about quarantine and infection. The bickering, class-divided shipmates reflect the movie’s origins in Thatcherite England. They’re fractious proles in the service of a corporate overlord whose computer proclaims, “All other considerations secondary. Crew expendable.” (R) BRIAN MILLER Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 686-6684, central-cinema.com, $6-$8, Jan. 3-8, 9:30 p.m. HERE COMES THE DEVIL In this ‘70s-style horror homage by Adrián García Bogliano, two little kids go missing, then return to their parents as demonic killers. Or something like that. (NR) Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th St., 523-3935, grandillusioncinema.org, $5-$8, Opens Jan. 3, Fri., Sat., 10:15 p.m. Through Jan. 11. THE SPECTACULAR NOW SIFF begins its Monday night “Recent Raves!” series with this agreeable adaptation of a 2008 young-adult novel by Tim Tharp. Teen protagonist Sutter (Miles Teller) leads a wildly unsupervised life of partying and blown-off homework. He wakes up on a lawn, unsure where he left the car, which introduces him to smart-girl Aimee (Shailene Woodley). They’re total opposites, and The Spectacular Now is the story of their unlikely yet plausible romance. (Oh, and Sutter is plainly an alcoholic, though that term is curiously omitted here.) Director James Ponsoldt’s young duo behaves with a likable, naturalistic ease. There are no Hughesian quips or ridiculously hunky/ beautiful high-schoolers here. Both these kids are from families close to slipping out of the middle class, shadowed by the recession. In response to such stresses (absent fathers, etc.), Sutter’s credo is “Live in the now,” while ever-striving Aimee’s goals are to own a horse farm and work for NASA. Reality intrudes in a clunky third act, as a road trip to find Sutter’s father (Kyle Chandler) yields predictable results. The storytelling here surpasses the story. Every generation needs its new Say Anything. This isn’t that movie, but it earns points for trying. (R) B.R.M. SIFF Film Center (Seattle Center), 324-9996, siff.net, $6-$11, Opens Jan. 6, Mondays, 7 p.m. THE THIN MAN SEE PICK LIST, PAGE 18. WRONG COPS From Quentin Dupieux (Rubber, Wrong) comes this future-set tale of errant LAPD officers, one of them played by Marilyn Manson. The Village Voice called it “a tedious exercise in hipster lowbrow comedy,” not that there’s anything wrong with that. (NR) Grand Illusion, $5-$8, Jan. 3-5, 8:30 p.m.; Jan. 6-8, 9 p.m. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN SEE PICK LIST, PAGE 18.

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Ferrell and Adam McKay have frittered nearly a decade since their 2004 hit Anchorman. Maybe they’ve overthought the character of Ron Burgundy a tad too much. While Ron has moved from San Diego in the mid-’70s to New York in the early ’80s, more time has passed outside the multiplex. So Ferrell and McKay are torn: Should they reassemble the old cast, add some fresh cameos, and package a bunch of sketches; or should they endeavor to actually say something about the news business? Both approaches are crammed into one sporadically funny movie, but neither half will have you blowing soda out your nose. Fans will expect more Burgundy catchphrases and inanities from his cohort (Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner). Those are there, but all the ad-libs can feel like a late show at the improv club after the audience has gone home. Ferrell hasn’t grown into the role of Ron so much as grown past it. There are giant Motorola cell phones and predictable ’80s radio hits here, but Ron’s crybaby petulance—hidden beneath the macho bluster and hairspray—feels too small. (PG-13) B.R.M. Alderwood 16, Pacific Place, Cinebarre, Kirkland Parkplace, Varsity, Lincoln Square, Thornton Place, SIFF Cinema Uptown, others GRAVITY George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are stranded in orbit, menaced by regular bombardments of space debris. The oxygen is running out and there’s no prospect of rescue from Earth. Their dilemma is established in an astonishing 12-minute opening sequence, seamlessly rendered via CGI by director Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá También). The camera occupies no fixed position. There is no up or down in the frame as it pushes and swoops among the wreckage and flailing astronauts. (Here let’s note that the 3-D version is essential; don’t even consider seeing the conventional rendering.) Dr. Stone (Bullock) at first can’t get her bearings; and the rest of the film consists of her navigating from one problem to the next. Gravity is both space-age and hugely traditional, though with a modern, self-aware heroine. (PG-13) B.R.M. Thornton Place, Sundance, Pacific Science Center IMAX, others HER Spike Jonze’s unlikely romance is set in a smooth, efficient near-future Los Angeles. There are no poor people, no upsetting stories on the news. Technology works perfectly. Everyone ought to be happy, and that’s the problem for mopey Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix). Gradually it emerges that he’ separated from his wife (Rooney Mara), but won’t sign the divorce papers. Impulsively deciding to upgrade his phone and home PC, Theodore opts for the new OS1 ( “It’s not just an operating system, it’s a consciousness”). He chooses a female voice (Scarlett Johansson’s) called Samantha, which soon takes over his life. Before long they’re going on dates together—and more. (Meanwhile, Sam is evolving at a startling rate; “Tell me you love me,” she implores.) When Theodore finally spills his secret, his friend Amy (Amy Adams) treats it like no big news—everyone’s falling in love with an OS, she tells him. In this ingenious and unexpectedly touching story, both humans and programs worry about being alone. And both yearn to connect across the digital divide between sentience and software. (R) B.R.M. Harvard Exit, Lincoln Square THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Part 2 of Peter Jackson’s three-year Hobbit project, Smaug improves on last year’s rambling An Unexpected Journey by sticking to a clean, headlong storyline and jettisoning much of Part 1’s juvenile humor. Our hero, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), is traveling with his crowd of bumptious dwarfs, intent on finding a magical stone inside a mountain crammed with treasure. Wee wrinkle: The mountain is home to a dragon named Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch), who likes to emerge periodically from his lair and burn down neighboring Laketown. This is really the only plot. Wizard leader Gandalf (Ian McKellen) breaks off from the travelers for his own jaunt; elfin archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom) returns to the fray from his LOTR stint; and a new elf character named Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) provides woman-warrior action. The tightened storytelling (even at 156 minutes!) is welcome, and the movie looks cool. However, one serious caveat: Jackson misplaces Bilbo Baggins. In the bustle and the rapid-fire closeups of the dwarfs , good old Bilbo is relegated to member-of-the-gang status—but this really is his journey, isn’t it? (PG-13) R.H. Alderwood 16, Pacific Place, Southcenter, Ark Lodge, Cinebarre, Cinerama, Kirkland Parkplace, Lincoln Square, Majestic Bay, Thornton Place, Sundance, others INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS While there are funny bits in this simple story of a struggling folk musician in 1961 Greenwich Village, very loosely inspired by Dave Van Ronk’s memoir The Mayor of MacDougal Street, the situation for Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is fairly dire.

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David O. Russell is full of big roundhouse swings and juicy performances: It’s a fictionalized take on the Abscam scandal of the late 1970s, in which the FBI teamed with a second-rate con man (here called Irving Rosenfeld, played by Christian Bale) in a wacko sting operation involving a bogus Arab sheik and bribes to U.S. congressmen. Along with the FBI coercing him into its scheme, Irving is caught between his hottie moll Sydney (Amy Adams) and neglected wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence). Even more complicated for Irving is that one of the targets of the undercover operation, a genially corrupt yet idealistic Jersey politico (Jeremy Renner), turns out to be a soulmate. Equally unhappy is the presiding FBI agent (Bradley Cooper, his permed hair and his sexual urge equally curled in maddening knots), who’s developed a crush on Sydney that is driving him insane. Russell encourages his actors to go for it, and man, do they go for it. If this isn’t a great movie, and it’s not, it sure is a fireworks display. The movie’s fun to watch, if seemingly untethered. It would be nice to be able to avoid comparing it to vintage Scorsese, but the ricocheting camera and syncopated use of pop songs do seem awfully familiar, and just a little ersatz. (R) ROBERT HORTON Alderwood 16, Pacific Place, Ark Lodge, Big Picture, Cinebarre, Kirkland Parkplace, Lincoln Square, Thornton Place, SIFF Cinema Uptown, Sundance, others

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He has no money, no apartment, and no real prospects in the music industry—apart from an album that isn’t selling. He’s the wrong guy at the right moment, as the movie’s poignant final scenes make clear. The Coen brothers aren’t really making a comedy here, and you should temper your expectations to appreciate the movie’s minor-key rewards. Isaac can really sing and play guitar; the sterling soundtrack, by T Bone Burnett, is built around live music performances; and the catchiest tune—an astronaut ditty called “Please, Mr. Kennedy”—is a knowingly cornball novelty song. But Llewyn’s a jerk to fellow musicians and benefactors, rude to his sister, and dismissive of others’ talent—possibly because he’s unsure of his own. Llewyn is a self-described asshole offstage; he’s only at his best onstage. If music can’t save him or provide a career, it’s also his only succor against life’s crushing disappointments. (R) B.R.M. Sundance, Harvard Exit, Lincoln Square MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM Sad to report, this biopic is a routine movie. The attempt to tell the whole long story puts a burden on leading man Idris Elba, the strong British actor lately seen in Pacific Rim but still best known for The Wire. Elba handles the task with aplomb, adjusting his performance from the cocky clotheshorse and fiery leader of youth to the calm visionary with the post-prison healing touch. There’s also a whole separate movie to be made around Naomie Harris’ ferocious performance as Winnie Mandela, a very complicated person who bashes around during the film’s midsection. Mandela’s death at 95 on December 5 brought an enormous, and appropriate, onslaught of media coverage. Mandela can’t help but seem like an extension of this, albeit dramatized and given length (146 minutes). The life is dutifully told, but unless you’re going to set a wildly distinctive moviemaker loose on the material (director Justin Chadwick is strictly a journeyman), I still think the right approach to historical figures is not the lifespan model but the snapshot. (PG-13) R.H. Alderwood 16, Lincoln Square, Meridian, Sundance NEBRASKA Whether delusional, demented, or duped by a sweepstakes letter promising him $1 million, it really doesn’t matter about the motivations of Woody (the excellent and subdued Bruce Dern). What counts is the willpower of this cotton-haired, ex-alcoholic Montana geezer. His son David (Will Forte, surprisingly tender) becomes the enabler/Sancho Panza figure on their trek to Nebraska, where Woody expects to get his prize. There is a lifetime of regret and bad parenting to reveal in Alexander Payne’s black-whitemovie, which makes it sound more bleak than it is. There’s both comedy and pathos as Woody makes his triumphant return to Hawthorne, en route to the sweepstakes office in Lincoln, Nebraska. Supposedly a prospective millionaire in his old hometown, he’s a big shot at last, grander than his bullying old business partner Ed (Stacy Keach). If the locals mistakenly gush over Woody’s good fortune, and if his own ridiculous family, the Grants, come begging for riches, he enjoys the acclaim. Also visiting Lincoln is Woody’s wife, the movie’s salty truth-teller. Kate (June Squibb, a hoot) cheerfully defames the dead, ridicules Woody’s lottery dreams, and gives zero fucks about offending anyone. With its mix of delusion, decency, and dunces, Nebraska is a little slow for my taste but enormously rewarding in the end, one of the year’s best films. (R) B.R.M. Oak Tree, Guild 45th, Meridian, others PHILOMENA Based on actual events, our film begins with journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan), a brittle Oxbridge type, newly out of a job and lowering himself to write a human-interest story. That’s how he meets Philomena (Judi Dench), an Irish lady with the kinds of questions that perhaps only a reporter could answer. As a teenager in the 1950s, Philomena got pregnant, was sent to a Catholic convent to hide her sin, and gave birth there. She remained at the convent as unpaid labor, and her little boy was taken at age 3, never to be seen or heard from again. The pair’s discoveries are a matter of record now, but we’ll hold off on the revelations . . . except to say that there are some doozies. Maybe it’s Coogan’s acerbic personality (he scripted, with Jeff Pope), or director Stephen Frears’ unpretentious take on the material, but Philomena generally succeeds in distinguishing itself from the average weepie. The calm roll-out is effective; Coogan’s performance is shrewd; and anytime the camera gets near the convent, the Irish chill is almost palpable. (PG-13) R.H. Seven Gables, Oak Tree, Meridian SAVING MR. BANKS Here we have congenial Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, who’s wooing prickly author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) to authorize his studio’s planned musical Mary Poppins. Disney he wears his despotism lightly. “Call me Walt,” he keeps insisting—yet another irritant to Travers, sulkily visiting

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L.A. to approve the project (or not, as she continually threatens). A self-made woman who bolted Australia to refashion herself as a starchy, acerbic Englishwoman, Mrs. Travers—as she imperiously commands informal Americans call her—both needs the cash and despises her need. There’s enough conflict here for a good comedy of manners during the sunset of the studio system, but the movie—competently directed by John Lee Hancock—is too timid to take many liberties in 1961, preferring instead to intercut the parallel story of Travers’ difficult girlhood in 1906 Australia. Little “Ginty,” so in thrall to the confabulations of her charismatic father (a charming yet vulnerable Colin Farrell), must inevitably be wounded in childhood. Just as inevitably, 50 years later, that wound must be healed—with music, laughter, and a generous heaping of Disney stardust. As Walt and company sweetened and simplified several Poppins books into one hit movie, Travers’ rocky biography has been ironed out here. “We instill hope,” says Disney. Travers is too cowed to correct him: Hollywood sells hope. And happy endings. (PG-13) B.R.M. Alderwood 16, Pacific Place, Southcenter, Ark Lodge, Cinebarre, Kirkland Parkplace, Varsity, Lincoln Square, Majestic Bay, Thornton Place, others THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY Adapting James Thurber’s 1939 story, director and star Ben Stiller is mostly in a thoughtful vein here. Walter is a nebbish who works in the photo department for LIFE magazine, and the film’s early going is punctuated with his fantasies about heroically impressing a coworker (Kristen Wiig, absurdly limited by her role). Then Walter’s daydreaming side is back-burnered as he goes on an actual adventure: He needs to find a charismatic, Robert Capa–like photographer (Sean Penn). Like a James Bond movie that needs to fire its location manager, the film leads Walter to Greenland and Iceland, where he indeed finds a backbone. All of which steers toward a placidly nice message, if not very close to Thurber’s Walter Mitty. But that original character, a portrait of quiet desperation resigned to the bittersweet escape of daydreaming, would be far too depressing for a holiday picture. Mitty is sunnyside-up, not Stiller’s best mode. (PG) R.H. Alderwood 16, Southcenter, Cinebarre, Kirkland Parkplace, Lincoln Square, Meridian, Thornton Place, Sundance, others 12 YEARS A SLAVE Made by English director Steve McQueen, this harrowing historical drama is based on a memoir by Solomon Northup (here played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free man from Saratoga, New York, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. Solomon passes through the possession of a series of Southern plantation owners. One sensitive slave owner (Benedict Cumberbatch) gives Solomon—a musician by trade—a fiddle. Then he’s sold to the cruel cotton farmer Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), who also owns the furiously hard-working Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o). Patsey, like Solomon, is caught inside the terror of not knowing how to play this hand. Do they keep their heads down and try to survive, or do they resist? This is no Amistad or Schindler’s List, tackling the big story, but a personal tale. Instead of taking on the history of the “peculiar institution,” the film narrows itself to a single story, Solomon’s daily routine, his few possessions. The film’s and-then-this-happened quality is appropriate for a memoir written in the stunned aftermath of a nightmare. Along the way, McQueen includes idyllic nature shots of Louisiana, as though to contrast that unspoiled world with what men have done in it. The contrast is lacerating. (R) R.H. Guild 45th, Meridian THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Hugely, rudely entertaining, Martin Scorsese’s three-hour tale of rogue stock traders during the early ‘90s stars a ferociously funny Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, upon whose jailhouse memoir the movie is based. Wolf almost seems like a remake of Scorsese’s Goodfellas—or two of them, given its length. Here again are the crazed, colorful criminals, the mountains of blow, the army of hookers, the venal vitality of a life lived outside the law. The crucial difference, however, is the absence of mobsters and violence; this film is a greed-com, and the clowns include Jonah Hill, Rob Reiner, Matthew McConaughey, Jean Dujardin, and Spike Jonze. In a way, this is the movie Brian De Palma tried and failed to make out of Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities (a book Belfort read in prison, inspiring his memoir). Belfort is a guy programmed to sell, fuck, steal, and get high, only fun to watch while engaged in those core activities. In the film’s coda, Belfort finally recognizes as much: The only thing worse than being poor is being bored. Fortunately for us, Scorsese’s Wolf is the opposite of boring. (R) B.R.M. Southcenter, Cinebarre, Lincoln Square, Meridian, Thornton Place, SIFF Cinema Uptown, Sundance, others

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A Peek Into 2014

Jolie in Maleficent.

What movies are coming in the new year? Let’s take a look.

January

10 Meryl Streep plays it big and broad in the

screen adaptation of Tracy Letts’ acclaimed play August: Osage County, directed by John Wells and featuring a boatload of talent including Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Sam Shepard. It’s not great, but it’s entertaining. The Grand Illusion has the third anime in the Evangelion series— like Pacific Rim, but a cartoon. Then Mark Wahlberg stars in the very violent and harrowing Lone Survivor, based on an actual 2005 battle in Afghanistan. It’s full of patriotic feeling, and the two big firefights seem to go on forever. John Sayles is back after a long break with Go for Sisters (at SIFF), about Mexican drug cartels. And Northwest Film Forum has something called Pig Death Machine, which may not actually involve pigs or death. 17 Chris Pine fills the shoes previously worn by Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Though what we’re all obviously thinking is, how will he stack up against Matt Damon in the Bourne movies? Animated talking squirrels figure in The Nut Job, while Ice Cube tries to become a cop in the comedy Ride Along. (Why couldn’t Cube be an animated talking squirrel who wants to become a cop? There’s a movie we’d pay to see.) Takeshi Kitano promises to shoot and shock in Beyond Outrage, his latest yakuza flick. Devil’s Due sounds like a rehash of Rosemary’s Baby, but January’s the traditional dumping ground for such dreck. 24 Ralph Fiennes plays a adulterous Charles Dickens in The Invisible Woman (which he also directed). The Japanese documentary Tokyo Waka examines the bond between urban-dwelling humans and urban-dwelling crows. And in I, Frankenstein, the monster somehow becomes a good guy, possibly a superhero, battling baddies who need battling. (Extra points, however, for including Bill Nighy—a sign they’re going for an Underworld vibe.) And beginning Thursday the 23rd is NWFF’s Children’s Film Festival,

SIFF’s ever-popular Noir City series. And the Grand Illusion will salute Woody Allen’s 1980s work this month, with titles including Hannah and Her Sisters, Broadway Danny Rose, and The Purple Rose of Cairo. 21 One Chance is an English feel-good dramedy with music, based on the life of a contestant on Britain’s Got Talent, essentially the male Susan Boyle. Hayao Miyazaki’s last animation effort—he promises!—celebrates aviation before World War II; some have criticized The Wind Rises for that very reason. Evan Rachel Wood plays a mental patient taken to a society wedding in Barefoot; we’re guessing that ends badly. Made in Paraguay, the chase-thriller 7 Boxes was a favorite during SIFF last year; now it’s back for a weeklong run. 28 Finally an action flick we’re excited about! Liam Neeson wields his AARP card as a deadly weapon in Non-Stop. Do we care about the plot? He’s on a plane, he’s Liam Neeson, and that’s all you need to know. Then some teenage girls get a hold of a time machine in the Michael Bay–produced Welcome to Yesterday (previously Almanac); this also portends bad things . . . unless they go back and try to kill Hitler? It’s the Oscar telecast weekend, always dead at the multiplex. And beginning this weekend, the Seattle Jewish Film Festival will play at SIFF and other venues.

February

7 George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, John Goodman, and Bill Murray are among those seeking to save art treasures in the rubble of the Third Reich in The Monuments Men, directed by Clooney. Then there’s The Lego Movie; no idea what that’s about. And bloody Ben Wheatley (Down Terrace, Kill List) returns with A Field in England, about a gory British battle during the 1600s. 14 There was nothing wrong with the original, but now we have a reboot of Robocop, starring Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman. In support are vets like Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson—so it can’t be all bad, right? Not a remake, despite the title, is the teen romance Endless Love. But this one is a remake of the 1986 movie (itself based on a David Mamet play): About Last Night, now with an AfricanAmerican cast. Less of a Valentine’s Day date movie is 3 Days to Kill, an action flick written by Luc Besson, directed by McG (aka the Charlie’s Angels guy), and starring Kevin Costner. Eddie Muller will visit town to introduce titles at

March

7 Here’s the first real movie of the new year: Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, starring everyone who’s previously been in a Wes Anderson movie. The plot? Luxe life and romantic entanglements in the 1920s. And for absolute counterprogramming, there’s 300: Rise of an Empire, with all the beefcake, blood, swords, and sandals you can handle. Meanwhile, the homoerotic tension is more manifest in Stranger by the Lake, about a summertime romance between two Frenchmen. 14 Grace of Monaco stars Nicole Kidman, of course, as screen icon Grace Kelly. It’s apparently more about political intrigue than Hollywood, though some actor will wear the fat suit to play Hitchcock. That Awkward Moment stars Zac Efron and a couple other dude-bras uncertain whether to commit to their girlfriends. Need for Speed announces itself as a potential gasoline franchise entry (after The Fast and the Furious), about guys who need . . . well, you get the idea. North Carolina teens help create low-income housing in the doc If You Build It.

21 Tina Fey and Ricky Gervais join the gang in Muppets Most Wanted, a jewel-heist caper comedy set in Europe. (Cameos will include Lady Gaga and Zach Galifianakis, the latter billed as “Hobo Joe.” What else could he be?) Jason Bateman directs himself in Bad Words, a dark comedy about a grown man who enters a children’s spelling bee. 27 Again with the Bible movies: Darren Aronofsky and Russell Crowe join forces in Noah, about the guy, the boat, the animals, and the flood. And for something completely different: Tim’s Vermeer, a documentary about a Texas man obsessed with Girl With a Pearl Earring (the painting, not the movie).

April

4 Wait, it is summer already? Now we have the second Marvel installment Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Unrelated to those cartoon Madagascar movies is Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, a nature doc with the voice of Morgan Freeman. Then Jude Law shows up as a London safecracker in Dom Hemingway, an ex-con looking for money, not revenge. 11 The talking cartoon birds are back in Rio 2, and Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to action mode in Sabotage. Couldn’t these two movies be combined somehow? 18 Bears! (No, don’t go there . . . ) John C. Reilly narrates this Disney nature doc about our glorious ursine neighbors in Alaska. They are cuddly and cute, and your kids haven’t seen Grizzly Man, so let’s leave it at that. 25 Earth to Echo: Preteens receive strange text messages . . . from space?!?

May

2 Now summer begins, right? It’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, so it must be summer. Some-

one tell me I’m wrong. 9 Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, plus new baby, move next door to a frat house in Neighbors. And who’s the frattiest of their rowdy new neighbors? Zac Efron. 15 SIFF! The 40th annual Seattle International Film Festival runs through June 8. 30 Angelina Jolie stars as the evil witch in Maleficent, a PG-rated Disney retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with Elle Fanning as the slumbering princess. E

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Streep stares down her granddaughter (Abigail Breslin) in August: Osage County.

with 11 days of family-friendly programming. Another festival is Women in Cinema, running a week at SIFF. 31 Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin star in the crime melodrama Labor Day, directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Young Adult); this ought to be promising, but it’s an end-of-the-year stealth release in New York and L.A. The Past features an equal pedigree, directed by Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) and starring The Artist’s Bérénice Bejo as a woman seeking to extricate herself rom a bad marriage. Poor black teenagers in Baltimore ride illegal dirt bikes in the documentary 12 O’Clock Boys. The new documentary Jobriath A.D. celebrates the life of the late, one-named gay rocker, an icon of New York in the ’70s. And a month before the Academy Awards (March 2), you can see a traveling package of the Oscarnominated short films.

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red molly w/ anne and pete sibley

El Corazon

THU/JANUARY 9 - SAT/JANUARY 11 • 7PM CAN CAN PRESENTS

109 Eastlake Ave East • Seattle, WA 98109 Booking and Info: 206.262.0482

WED/JANUARY 8 • 7:30PM

www.elcorazonseattle.com

elvis alive

w/ vince mira & special guests SUN/JANUARY 12 • 7PM

school of rock performs: the beatles TUE/JANUARY 14 • 7:30PM

emily asher’s garden party

FRIDAY, JANUARY 3

NUMBER STATION (FORMERLY PIPEDOWN) with Gladiators Eat Fire, A Province Of Thay, Where My Bones Rest Easy, plus guests Lounge Show. Doors at 7 / Show at 7:30PM ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $8 ADV / $10 DOS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 4 El Corazon & Colossal Artist Management Present: COLOSSAL FEST - DAY 1 SHOWROOM:

TRUTH UNDER ATTACK with Keeping Secrets, Ashes Of Existence, HARPS, Chin Up Rocky, Lover Fighter, Lover Fighter and Beneath The Spinlight LOUNGE:

DJ PARTY ROCK with Fringe Shift,

Worthy Is The Lamb, Honor Among Thieves, Verdant Mile, Before And After, The Orange Version and Loudsole

THU/JANUARY 16 • 7:30PM

kelly joe phelps SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

w/ dave mcgraw & mandy fer

next • 1/17 - 1/19 los lobos • 1/22 george kahumoku jr and led kaapana • 1/24 the big gig: 6 speeds, lo to hi • 1/25 kim virant and gerald collier • 1/26 cheryl wheeler • 1/28 chieli minucci & special efx • 1/31 the year of the horse - a cultural celebration of the chinese new year 2014 • 2/1 alice stuart & the formerlys • 2/5 patty larkin • 2/6 habib koite • 2/7 6th annual gimme shelter • 2/9 lisa koch birthday bash • 2/10 duncan sheik • 2/11 dawn of midi • 2/12 - 2/15 the atomic bombshells :: j’adore! a burlesque valentine • 2/16 the presidents of the united states of america (acoustic) • 2/17 an evening with greg laswell • 2/18 & 2/19 sweet honey in the rock • 2/20 hot tuna (acoustic) w/ david lindley

happy hour every day • 1/2 miss miller and the swells • 1/3 jacques willis band • 1/4 the eric hullander group • 1/6 crossrhythm session • 1/7 singer-songwriter showcase featuring: annie ford, pepper proud and gregory paul • 1/8 jd hobson TO ENSURE THE BEST EXPERIENCE · PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY DOORS OPEN 1 HOUR PRIOR TO FIRST SHOW · ALL-AGES (BEFORE 9:30PM)

thetripledoor.net

216 UNION STREET, SEATTLE · 206.838.4333

Doors at 4 / Show at 4:30PM ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $10 ADV / $15 DOS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 5 El Corazon & Colossal Artist Management Present: COLOSSAL FEST - DAY 2 SHOWROOM:

CELLARS AND ATTICS with

Peace Mercutio, Abaddon, To Paint The Sky, TripMadam, We Move Mountains and Eleven o 7

LOUNGE:

BRIA with Astronauts In Airballoons,

Stephen Curtis, Amanda Hardy, Raven Zoe, Mystery Machines and Totem Lake

Doors at 4 / Show at 4:30PM ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $10 ADV / $15 DOS

MONDAY, JANUARY 6

THE HORSE I RODE

with Liars Start Fires, Esoson and Chase The Sunlight Lounge Show. Doors at 7 / Show at 7:30PM ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $8 ADV / $10 DOS

TUESDAY, JANUARY 7

!MINDPARADE with Samaneiga, The Decoys

and brotherinferior Lounge Show. Doors at 7:30 / Show at 8PM All Ages/Bar W/ID. $8 ADV / $10 DOS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10 THE SCHOOL OF ROCK STUDENTS PERFORM: BIG 4 (METALLICA,

ANTHRAX, SLAYER, MEGADETH) Doors at 5 / Show at 5:30PM All Ages/Bar W/ID. $10 ADV / $12 DOS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10

THE SCHOOL OF ROCK STUDENTS PERFORM: BLACK SABBATH Doors at 8 / Show at 8:30PM ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $10 ADV / $12 DOS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 11 Musicwerks Seattle & El Corazon Present:

VOLTAIRE

with Trance To The Sun, The Spider Ferns and Jeff Ferrell Doors at 8/ Show at 9PM ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $15 ADV / $20 DOS

JUST ANNOUNCED 2/8 SUPER GEEK LEAGUE 2/19 LYNCH MOB 1/31 LOUNGE ULTRA BIDE’ 3/14 BAYSIDE 4/9 THE CREEPSHOW UP & COMING 1/16 STATION TO STATION 1/17 PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS 1/18 D.R.I. 1/19 SHYAN SELAH AND THE REPUBLIC OF SOUND 1/19 LOUNGE JAYKE ORVIS AND THE BROKEN BAND 1/22 LOUNGE LETTERS 1/23 LOUNGE CALABRESE 1/24 EMERY 1/25 THE EXPENDABLES 1/26 THE PERSEVERING PROMISE 1/27 LOUNGE SELF DEFENSE FAMILY 1/28 THE TOASTERS 1/28 LOUNGE RED CITY RADIO 1/29 LOUNGE OH DEAR! 1/30 LOUNGE ACIDIC 1/31 DAVID ALLAN COE 2/3 KID SLIM

EL CORAZON VIP PROGRAM

Economy Got You Down? Do you find yourself wanting to attend three shows in one week but can only afford one? Do you see live music regularly? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions the EL CORAZON VIP PROGRAM may be just what the Rock Doctor ordered for you. We offer an unlimited package as well as a 12 show pack. Unlike other VIP packages we are giving you access to shows as well as many other perks (not just making you pay for the chance to buy tickets first) please read the basic program details at http://www.elcorazonseattle.com/vip.html and if you want an application email us at info@elcorazonseattle.com

Tickets now available at cascadetickets.com - No per order fees for online purchases. Our on-site Box Office is open 1pm-5pm weekdays in our office and all nights we are open in the club - $2 service charge per ticket Charge by Phone at 1.800.514.3849. Online at www.cascadetickets.com - Tickets are subject to service charge

The EL CORAZON VIP PROGRAM: see details at www.elcorazon.com/vip.html and for an application email us at info@elcorazonseattle.com

arts&culture» Music

The Scene in 2014

1303 NE 45TH ST

Our predictions of who will shape the new year in music. BY MARK BAUMGARTEN, GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT, AND KELTON SEARS

Benjamin Verdoes and Nathan Quiroga has all the makings of a breakout year in 2014. Their band, formed after each

MEGUMI SHAUNA ARAI

KELTON SEARS Iska Dhaaf The duo of

member left a respectable former outfit (Verdoes from Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band, Quiroga from Mad Rad), stormed onto the radar this past summer with minimal advance notice and

Simon possesses vocals with a naturally smooth, warm tone that add a delicate softness to an icy, inorganic landscape. two online-only releases. On the strength of the band’s groove-laden surf-inflected hit “All the Kids,” Iska Dhaaf earned critical accolades while whipping up small, packed crowds in house shows and gallery spaces, playing raucous sets that had people talking for weeks after. While expectations grew, the band went to work recording and producing videos, including an artful, revelatory short film for a new song,

“Happiness,” which amplified the buzz considerably. There is little doubt that that buzz will carry through to the spring and that the band will find itself on all the area’s major festival bills—Sasquatch!, Bumbershoot, MusicfestNW—positioning itself to be Seattle’s breakout band of 2014. Whether or not that happens depends largely on what’s going on in Olympia’s Dub Narcotic Studio right now, as the band is finishing up the recording of its debut full-length album with producer Ephriam Nagler, a K Records regular whose production is largely responsible for the buoyant darkness of the band’s previous releases. MARK BAUMGARTEN Kairos While at Cornish, 23-year-old multi-

instrumentalist Lena Simon dabbled in a little bit of a lot, studying everything from classical clarinet (her most proficient instrument) and composing music for Javanese gamelan while simultaneously joining three other widelyrespected indie bands: Pollens, Tomten, and Throw Me The Statue. Last year she added Kairos, her new project, to the load and it’s since signed to Fin Records. With the label’s help, she’s released two gorgeous singles, “That Which is Not” and “Undermine,” pretty electronic tracks that, respectively, call to mind to the layered, lush electronica of Tracy Thorn and Cocteau Twins. Live, her band is composed of some of Seattle’s best and brightest, too, including lyricist Kate Finn (aka Katie Kate), Ray McCoy of Charms, Alex Barr of Kithkin, and Conor Sisk, formerly of Brite Futures. In addition to playing bass, drums, keys, guitar, and laptop, Simon possesses vocals with a naturally smooth, warm tone that add a delicate softness to what might otherwise be an icy, inorganic landscape. As is suggested by her new band’s name—an ancient Greek word meaning “the right or opportune moment”— Simon is in the zone. As Fin gears up to release Kairos’ six-song debut EP this year, this talented and wellconnected young artist is poised to deliver exciting things. (Thurs., Jan. 16, Columbia City Theater) GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

ith 2013 officially in the past, we can now start looking into the hazy future that is 2014. We know lists abound this time of year, but we can’t help throwing yet another onto the pile. We’ll keep it short, but here are a handful of artists that we’ll be watching in 2014. Ishmael Butler After Sub Pop heard THEESatisfaction’s spaced out collaborations on Shabazz Palaces’ Black Up, it decided to release the group’s impeccable debut album awE naturalE. The record’s cosmic soul made it one of Sub Pop’s most unexpected releases of 2012. The band’s signing also stands as the first unofficial A&R action by Shabazz MC Ishmael Butler. This past August, Sub Pop sealed the deal and officially incorporated Butler into its A&R team, giving him the hefty responsibility of seeking out new talent for Seattle’s biggest little label. In Butler’s words, he’s looking for “imaginative artists, daring artists, courageous artists, independent-thinking artists, artists that aren’t relying on trends or superficial things to get noticed, artists that are more musically inclined rather than image inclined, artists that are hard workers and ... cool.” But while Butler isn’t exclusively looking to sign rap artists, his hire leads to speculation that 2014 could be the year Sub Pop goes full-on hip-hop. The timing is apropos, too—the city is brimming with incredible rappers and producers like Kingdom Crumbs and Blue Sky Black Death who deserve quality label recognition and could soar with his personal endorsement. Although there’s no telling if he’ll look specifically within Seattle for talent, his many collaborators and home base here suggests that as a possibility. On top of that, he and his bandmate Tendai Maraire are working on a follow-up to 2011’s highly acclaimed Black Up, slated for release sometime in 2014. Butler’s a busy dude, and his many projects are bound to turn up something interesting this year.

arts&culture» Music

SevenNights

TRY MUSIC LIVE COwUwN w.lit tleredhen.com

E D I T E D B Y G W E N D O LY N E L L I O T T

Thursday, Jan. 2 CORRECTIONS HOUSE is the collective musical

THURSDAY JANUARY 2ND

JANE ROSE & THE DEAD END BOYS 9PM - $3 COVER

FRIDAY JANUARY 3RD

SAMMY STEELE 9PM - $5 COVER

SATURDAY JANUARY 4TH

Friday, Jan. 3

SAMMY STEELE

Locals STEREO CREEPS’ latest single “Goat,” from the forthcoming full-length Cave Dwellers of Tomorrow (due sometime in the spring), sounds like a mix of Built to Spill and a heavier version of the Toadies, making for a pretty tasty dish of alt-rock. With Greenriver Thrillers, Cody Foster Army. Blue Moon, 712 N.E. 45th St., 6759116, bluemoonseattle.wordpress.com. 9 p.m. $5 DOS. 21 and over. JB Only THE SPITS could make you happily celebrate New Year’s Day two days later. And why not? Its brand of punk-meets-Devo up-tempo tunes brings the party wherever it plays, and tonight is no exception—with food and a midnight champagne toast to boot. The band’s recently reissued LP of tour-only rarities, Kill the Kool, will be available tonight, so bring money. With Sex Crime, Wimps, DJ Nun, MF Cake. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8005, chopsuey.com. 9 p.m. $8 adv./$10 DOS. 21 and over. JB GABRIEL MINTZ’s music is the strangest, most brilliant mishmash of genres. It sounds old, yet it’s like nothing you’ve ever heard. It’s funky, it rocks, it grooves. It echoes Led Zeppelin and the Beatles as much

9PM - $5 COVER

SUNDAY JANUARY 5TH

DAVANOS

9PM - $3 COVER 4PM OPEN MIC / ACOUSTIC JAM W/ BILLY BODACIOUS

TUESDAY JANUARY 7TH

T & D REVUE 9PM - NO COVER

Send events to music@seattleweekly.com. See seattleweekly.com for full listings.

Friday, January 3

etting funky—both in the musical and sexual realm—has always been at the forefront of Seattle soul/R&B group Fly Moon Royalty’s art. “At times I wish I hadn’t met you/But I ain’t harping on the past/Because the truth of the matter is/I still wanna like yo’ ass,” Adra Boo coos in “No Pain No Gain” on the group’s Unfinished Business EP (Sportn’ Life Records), a cat-and-mouse tale about spurned love. Lead single “Piece of Me” flips that narrative, finding Boo singing the praises of Herculean lovers: “She gives me the most intense feelings of passion/That’s ever ran through my body,” she belts over “Superstition”-style Stevie Wonder clavichord funk. Producer Illvester showcases some new tricks on Unfinished Business and takes Boo for a vocoder ride on “DNA,” a neonlit down-tempo track that might make Daft Punk jealous. “The Anthem” bristles with a clattering, busy beat that’s livelier than anything Fly Moon’s done before, prompting Illvester to take to the mike himself. Technically the EP won’t be out

as Beck and the Shins. His fresh take on late-20thcentury rock is well-captured on his latest Versicolor release, Future Wars. With YVES, Cold Guns. Columbia City Theater, 4916 Rainier Ave. S., 722-3009, columbiacitytheater.com. 9 p.m. $6 adv./$8 DOS. 21 and over. JESSIE MCKENNA SPOONSHINE Mid-song, Jacob Navarro and William Cook attack the instrumental breakdown, playing like their lives depend on proving that not all acoustic performances are slow and somber. Hands blur as Navarro strums the guitar and Cook plucks away at the upright bass. Their nature-themed, down-home lyrics and penchant for combining Americana and rock culminate in a fervent, feisty show. With Kristy Cameron. Conor Byrne Pub, 5140 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-3640, conorbyrnepub.com. 9 p.m. $8. 21 and over. AZARIA C. PODPLESKY

until February 18, but all those who pay an extra $2 at this release show will receive an advance digital download as well as a chance to buy a physical copy a month ahead of time. To make it worth your while, the group is also roping in local hip-hop outfit Fresh Espresso, who are busy releasing their own new material as well, and DJ Marco Collins hosts the whole thing. If you are

JANAE JONES

extractions of Eyehategod frontman Mike IX Williams, Neurosis vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly, Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), and Sanford Parker (Minsk). The result— some have called it a metal supergroup—is something entirely unique and unexpected. After releasing the Hoax the System/Grin With a Purpose 7-inch earlier this year, the band followed with its first full-length, Last City Zero—a monster album that weaves a certain poetic beauty within an abrasive soundscape full of devastation and destruction. Opening tonight is local band Great Falls, who recently released the pummeling metal masterpiece Accidents Grotesque, which topped my list of 2013. With Wrekmeister Harmonies. The Highline, 210 Broadway E., 328-7837, highlineseattle. com. 9 p.m. $12 adv. 21 and over. JAMES BALLINGER PEARL DJANGO WITH BUCKY PIZZARELLI What would already have been an evening of mindexpanding gypsy jazz received a huge upgrade with the inclusion of 87-year-old guitar legend Pizzarelli, who has been gliding up and down fretboards for seven decades now, and will surely bring some of his trademark seven-string swing to the show. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave., 441-9729, jazzalley.com. Through Sunday. 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. $24.50. CORBIN REIFF

Fly Moon Royalty

into hot and steamy new-music-on-new-music action, head on down. With Future Shock, DJJustice. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442, neumos.com. 9 p.m. $10/$12 w/ digital download. 21 and over. KELTON SEARS

Formerly known as Pipedown, the members of Sacramento’s NUMBER STATION refer to themselves as “hardgaze”—which, after hearing a few tracks, might sound like a very fun new way to say “screamo.” Vocals range from Davey Havok–style singing to a harsher hardcore style, but the music delivers focused, high-energy, guitar-driven postcore rock. Show up early for a stellar bill of locals as well: Gladiators Eat Fire, A Province of Thay, Where My Bones Rest Easy. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 262-0482, elcorazonseattle.com. 7:30 p.m. $8 adv./$10 DOS. All ages, bar with ID. JB A family band from Mill Creek, HALLSTROM plays swelling folk music built around the nicely matched vocals of Tom and Kate Hallstrom. While its tunes can be cloying like a Hallmark movie, they can also be sweetly touching and are a perfect come-down after New

KARAOKE

WITH DJ FORREST GUMP 9:00PM • NO COVER

FREE COUNTRY DANCE LESSONS WITH OUR HOST MARY ANN AT 8PM; SUN, MON, TUES

HAPPY HOUR

9AM-NOON & 4-7 PM • MON-FRI

WELL DRINKS & DOMESTIC BOTTLED BEER $2 16 OZ. MICROS $3.50

DINNER: 5-10PM EVERYDAY BREAKFAST & LUNCH: SAT 8AM-2PM / SUN 9AM-2PM 7115 WOODLAWN AVENUE NE 522-1168

FRANK MADDOCKS

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY

Surfer Blood

2033 6th Avenue (206) 441-9729 jazzalley.com

Year’s debauchery. With Rags & Ribbons, Kate Lynne Logan, James Anaya Band. Nectar Lounge, 412 N. 38th St., 632-2020, nectarlounge.com. 8 p.m. $6 adv./$8 DOS. DANIEL PERSON CASEY NEILL is one of those Portland artists who seem to have always been there, working on a balance of roots musicianship with tales of gritty urbanism. Backed by his band the Norway Rats—consisting of some Portland indie all-stars—Neill released All You Pretty Vandals earlier this year, an album that appears to have nailed the mixture, adding the perfect amount of swing and swagger to his Celtic folk sound. With Sassparilla, Ian Moore. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880, sunsettavern.com. 10 p.m. $8. MARK BAUMGARTEN

Saturday, Jan. 4

A TRIBUTE TO ROGER MILLER Though best known for

Big Ass Boombox

Friday, January 3-Saturday, January 4

In 2012, Portlanders and self-proclaimed local music geeks Arya Imig and Eirean Bradley had questions. Specifically, they wanted to know “How do we get all of the rad power/noise/ dance/spazz pop bands in our lovely home town to play together, get to know each other, and make tons of rad shows together?” and “How do we make sure everyone can come and check out a bunch of bands they may not have heard of yet, but will probably fall in love with if given the chance?” The answer was their solution: the Big Ass Boombox Festival, an event that showcased 20 Northwest bands, all for free, at venues in their hometown. The shindig was so successful the pair is now hosting their third fest in Portland and their first in Seattle, with a literary component to boot. “The festival is free of charge and will feature 40 bands and 10 writers over two days at four different venues,” writes Adam Prairie, one of the festival’s organizers. There are two stages at the Rendezvous and two at the Crocodile. “The Crocodile will be all ages,” he explains. “This festival aims to showcase the great musical and literary talent that this city has to offer and to

Airwaves Music Festival and, most recently, a shared stage with the likes of Toby Keith and Brad Paisley at the 2013 Watershed Music Festival. The band released its third album, Victory & Ruins, last year. With the Paperboys. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599, tractortavern.com. 9 p.m. $18 adv. 21 and over. JM

Tuesday, Jan. 7

TENNIS It’s appropriate that Tennis’ music has that

whimsical, love-is-in-the-air vibe. Why? Because the founding members of the Denver-based act started the band after, well, falling in love. Nearly four years later, the couple, plus drummer James Barone, continues to develop its sound—tender indie pop with lots of heart—into an explosive, emotionally potent live set. With Poor Moon. Barboza, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467, thebarboza.com. 8 p.m. $12 adv. 21 and over. KP It has been almost half a decade since a shy, teenaged VINCE MIRA literally stepped off the streets of Pike Place Market, guitar in hand, and became known

remove every possible barrier keeping people from discovering it.” For lucky festival-goers, think of this as indie rock blind dating without the uncomfortable silence and creepy OK Cupid private messages. Maybe you’ll be charmed by Charms’ jangly guitar tones or maybe A Happy Death’s garage noir will provide you with a few moments of happy life. There are more twists and turns in the lineup than an M. Night Shyamalan film. One minute psych-folk project iji will be crooning the back bar only to be followed by raucous pianorock group Swingset Showdown, power-pop quartet The Hoot Hoots, or Americana rockers In Cahoots. “We are pretty sure you’ll find your new favorite band here,” Imig and Bradley write on the fest’s site. “And if you don’t? Hell, we tried.” With Dark Hip Falls, Bigfoot Wallace & His Wicked Sons, Branden Daniel and the Chics, Fanno Creek, Tangerine, The West, Julia Massey, Puget Power, Livingston Seagull, Charts, The Yev, Roaming Herds of Buffalo, The Ecstatics, Tango Alpha Tango, Special Explosion, Jesus Rehab, XVIII Eyes, Feral Children, Friends and Family, Scarves, Bike Thief, Robb Benson & Shelk, The Great Um, Christa Says Yay. All ages: The Crocodile, 2200 2nd Ave., 441-4618, thecrocodile.com. 21 and up: The Rendezvous, 2322 2nd Ave., 441-5823, jewelboxtheater.com. Free. See seattle.bigassboombox.com for exact set times. DUSTY HENRY

as “The Kid in Black” for his renditions of Johnny Cash songs. While it has been a struggle for Mira to step out of that shadow, he has shown signs of songwriting brilliance with songs that pull from other influences, most clearly Dylan. Now Mira is an older, more confident performer, prepping a new EP of songs, recorded at Robert Lang Studios, that cast his still-uncanny deep voice in a new direction at once indebted and forward-looking. Can Can, 94 Pike St., 652-0832, thecancan.com. 7 p.m. $8 adv./$10 DOS. MB This week’s Musicquarium SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOWCASE brings together Mid-Atlantic natives Annie Ford, Pepper Proud, and Gregory Paul for a night of original folk/Americana—though with this lineup, you might hear hints of jazz, classical, Irish, experimental rock, or even klezmer. These musicians have carved out places in the Pacific Northwest, busking the local outdoor-market circuit and performing with local darlings Sera Cahoone, Lindsay Fuller, and others. This showcase promises to be a prime cut of Seattle’s folk scene. Triple Door, Musicquarium Lounge, 216 Union St., 838-4333, thetripledoor.net. 8 p.m. No cover. 21 and over. JM

PEARL DJANGO WITH SPECIAL GUEST BUCKY PIZZARELLI THURS, JAN 2 - SUN, JAN 5

Seattle-based gypsy jazz favorites with jazz guitar great!

TUCK AND PATTI TUES, JAN 7 - WED, JAN 8

American jazz guitar and vocal duo, celebrating 35 years!

JEFF LORBER FUSION FEATURING BRIAN BROMBERG, PATRICK LAMB AND GARY NOVAK THURS, JAN 9 - SUN, JAN 12

Trailblazing Grammy-nominated keyboardist, composer and producer with his fusion band

MARK HUMMEL’S BLUES HARMONICA BLOWOUT FEATURING JOHN MAYALL, CURTIS SALGADO, RICK ESTRIN, LITTLE CHARLIE BATY AND JAMES HARMAN TUES, JAN 14 - WED, JAN 15 A tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson II

AMEL LARRIEUX THURS, JAN 16 - SUN, JAN 19

Urban soul singer/songwriter returns in support of her new release Ice Cream Everyday

all ages | free parking full schedule at jazzalley.com

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

the country classic “King of the Road,” Roger Miller was a multitalented session cat. He played drums for Faron Young and Ray Price and fiddle with Minnie Pearl. He wrote songs, performed by Young, Price, and Ernest Tubbs, that went to the top 10. He performed on TV programs like American Bandstand, The Jimmy Dean Show, and The Merv Griffin Show, which introduced his clean-cut looks and goofy persona to millions of Americans, endearing them to songs like “Do-Wacka-Do,” “Dang Me,” and “Chug-a-Lug.” His humor-filled tunes put him in the same category as his most similar contemporary, Bobby Bare, but the two ran in different circles, and Bare proved more successful with lasting fame. But Miller has his cult following, as evidenced by this tribute evening; each act will perform a song from his catalog. If you’ve ever heard the tottering, ramshackle nonsense that is “My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died,” you’ll no doubt hope the tune is among them. With Cahalen Morrison and Country Hammer, Low Hums, Annie Ford Band, Liam Fitzgerald (of the Raineros), Jon Pontrello of the Moondoggies, Country Dave and His Pickin’ Crew, Pepper Proud, Warren G Hardings, Dean Johnson Band, Corespondents featuring Ava Grapes, Lovely Coast, Not a Real Flag, Elias Cotez, Girlz Nite Out—A Lady Acapella Surprise! Hosted by Iaan Hughes of KBCS Columbia City Theater. 8 p.m. $8 adv./$10 DOS. GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT CARRIE CLARK & THE LONESOME LOVERS From the cabaret sass of “Bum Bah Dum” to the Americana/ country vibe of “Where Are You,” 2011’s Between the Bed Sheets and Turpentine flirts with a handful of genres, but each selection is top-notch, proof of Clark’s many singing and instrumental talents and Martin Feveyear’s famous production skills. With Jessica Lynne, Denim Wedding. Conor Byrne Pub. 9 p.m. $8. 21 and over. ACP LUCY WAINWRIGHT ROCHE As the daughter of Suzzy Roche and Loudon Wainwright and sister to Martha and Rufus, it was a practically a given Lucy would follow in her family’s musical footsteps. The artist, who recently opened for Neko Case in Europe, plays acoustic folk music and sings with an emotionally charged voice that can turn Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend” into a tearjerker. Empty Sea Studios, 6300 Phinney Ave. N., 228-2483, emptysea.com. 8 p.m. $18 adv./$22 DOS. All ages. ACP Winter is the season of karaoke, a time when indulgence peaks and shame recedes like the midday sun. It has been almost a year since Portland’s premiere purveyor, dubbed BABY KETTEN KARAOKE, earned a deserved high profile when The New York Times anointed the PDX karaoke scene a seriously silly movement. Helmed by musician-turned-KJ John Brophy, Portland’s Baby Ketten features songs you won’t find anywhere else, the instrumental tracks recorded by Brophy himself. The Washington version of Ketten has been going strong as well, helmed by Ivan Terrazas. Now is the time to sing your song. Skylark Café, 3803 Delridge Way S.W., 935-2111, skylarkcafe.com. 8 p.m. MB SURFER BLOOD Touring in support of last year’s Pythons, the Florida-based indie-rock four-piece brings its peppy surfer rock to this not-so-beachy Ballard hot spot. And while the fellas of Surfer Blood may have met at Ultra, one of the largest electronic-music festivals, their tunes skew more head-bobbing-in-thegarage than bass-dropping-on-the-lawn. The band plays the Sunset again on the 10th and the 17th. With Wild Ones, Cock and Swan. Sunset Tavern. 10 p.m. $9. KEEGAN PROSSER MASSY FERGUSON Seattle’s self-described “bar band” has been rocking since 2007, chugging out clean Americana rock everywhere from Seattle Weekly’s Reverb Festival and South by Southwest to Iceland’s

JAZZ ALLEY IS A SUPPER CLUB

W W W. S E AT T L E W E E K LY. C O M / S I G N U P

arts&culture» Music LocaLReLeases Various artists, Neon Dream (out now, Neon

EV EN T S

MUSIC

HA P P Y H O U R

EVENTS NEWSLETTER

A weekly A R T Scalendar A ND EN TER TA INMEN T of the city’s best offerings.

Buy, Sell & Barter age Stereo Records, Guitars & Vint

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shop, Fair prices.

We pay more for your vinyl Lots of punk, wave and alt Closed Monday • Tue-Fri 1-8 • Sat 11-8 • Sun 11-7

SEATTLE WEEKLY • JAN UARY 1 — 7, 2014

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E V E NT S

Ocelot Omelet, Present in the Dark EP (out now, self-released, ocelotomelet.bandcamp. com) Recorded under the watchful eye of Seattle institution Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden, etc.), Ocelot Omelet’s selftitled three-song EP is vintage metal to the core, a release that could have as easily come from 1993 as 2013. If a key element of metal is excess, Ocelot Omelet has that down in spades. In both tone and vocal inflection, lead singer Os Calaveras sounds a bit like James Hetfield, with some of Layne Staley’s nasality. Meanwhile, the group’s guitarist—who goes by the name of Whiz—seems to be on a mission to play every single effect pedal he could fit onto his board, as most of the tracks feature significant levels of overdrive, fuzz, wah, chorus, vibe, and delay. All these songs follow the same template, opening with a sparse or disquieting melody or sound before descending into fullon mayhem. The first track, “Out of the Frying Pan and Into Another Frying Pan,” opens with a wall of fuzz that could make Mudhoney blush. It’s followed by “?”, which features some real monster double-beat kick-drum work. Things come to a close with “Present in the Dark,” a meandering 10-minute sound-shifting

PR OMO TI ON S

The Pornadoes, In Space ( Jan. 4, self-released, thepornadoes.com) The Pornadoes’ aptly titled second album is intriguing in that the space between notes is where the magic happens.

BOB LINDENMAYER

EKLY

Sigh Records, neonsigh.bandcamp.com/ album/neon-dream) When earlier this year My Bloody Valentine dropped its first release in 22 years, some viewed the move as a milestone in the current shoegaze and dream-pop revival. Others quietly wondered if those sounds ever really went away. One group in particular, local label Neon Sigh, has taken to giving likeminded fuzzed- and far-out bands an outlet for two years now. Its latest compilation, Neon Dream, boasts talents from the Northwest, the East Coast, and places in between; while rooted in psychedelic shoegaze, the range of sounds here is just as diverse. Black Nite Crash’s “Baby It’s You” opens the collection with a sublime psych-pop tone setter, and Dead Leaf Echo carries the poptimism even further with its sweet and bright “Kingmaker.” The atmospheric swoons of Astrobrite’s “Unknown Color” are as obscure as the song’s title. Local group Golden Gardens envelops ethereal tones with electro-beats on “All Night I Lay Hidden in the Garden,” while Portland’s Soft Shadows delivers swirling guitar visions on “A Soft Night.” All the tracks, despite their varying instrumentation, keep the same hushed beauty behind all the noise, pushing the genre to new heights. For those who left their fuzzed-out dreams in the early ’90s, this compilation provides a great reminder why the genre endures, and a formal introduction to an ally in this championing new local label. Kevin Shields’ legacy is not stagnant at all. DUSTY HENRY

colossus dominated for much of its duration by a crushing solo guitar instrumental fixed in the middle. In the context of Seattle’s renewed revitalization of grunge, Ocelot Omelet doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. It excels, however, in perfectly executing those sounds in the present for listeners obsessed with the past. (Fri., Jan 10, High Dive) CORBIN REIFF

It’s not Jason Goessl’s bright and perfectly reverberated classic surf rock guitar—clear as a whistle here, lusciously distorted there—a la Link Wray or Dick Dale (an obvious influence) that moves you, so much as the contemplative space between tremelo-affected strums and arpeggios. The digital effects of guest artist Robb Davidson add a layer of depth to the songs, abundant with quintessential surf rock guitar riffs. In a genre that single-handedly ushered in a new era for electric guitar loudness, In Space betrays a fondness and respect for vast expanses of sounds that whisper like powerful winds sweep through towering trees. The band weaves the album together cleverly with four shorter tracks titled “Space One,” “Space Two,” and so on. These tasty tidbits provide thoughtful downtime, centering you between songs that challenge you to explore unknown realms along with the music. The album, recorded live in one take for KEXP’s Sonarchy Radio, is a testament to the group’s musicianship. Unlike its first release, Now Serving…, which has a lounge-y vibe interwoven with plucky pop elements, In Space takes you on a solitary journey through the space between your ears via tracks like the spooky “101” and the not-quite-melancholy “Eyes.” The record has a running G minor theme that ties it all together like one long jam session cut into bite-sized pieces. Yum. (Sat., Jan. 4, Vito’s) JESSIE MCKENNA

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How Long Until Those Legal Marijuana Stores Open, Again?

anyplace to legally buy recreational marijuana in Washington state until at least June. Once that happens, the Liquor Control Board is recommending to the legislature that patient collectives be eliminated—even though those collectives tend to grow medicinal strains and have valuable knowledge concerning the most effective ways to use them. Will the legislature take the LCB’s recommendation and eliminate medical-marijuana dispensaries? It’s starting to look inevitable—and that will come with a heavy price. First will come a reduction in safe access for patients. Take Seattle, for example, where more than 220 patient collectives currently provide

s we all know, adult marijuana possession—well, possession of up to an ounce, anyway—has been legal in Washington since shortly after voters approved Initiative 502 in November 2012. But you can’t just walk into a medicalmarijuana dispensary and buy BY STEVE ELLIOTT a legal ounce, even if you’re over 21; dispensaries sell only to authorized Washington residents with their paperwork in order. So why, more than a year after voters had their say, can’t you go into a state-licensed recreationalpot store and buy that legal ounce you were promised? Beyond that, why do Washingtonians get to watch Coloradans joyously visit their pot stores on New Year’s Day and get all the positive press, when, according to the most optimistic estimates, it will be at least six more months before any such weed stores open in the Evergreen State? The short answer: Colorado has a somewhat better law and a much more logical way of implementing it. They’re rolling out recreational-marijuana legalization by, at first, limiting pot-store applicants to those who are already operating medical-marijuana dispensaries. After all, why reinvent the wheel when there are already hundreds of what are, effectively, pot stores operating in the state— stores with extensive experience vending cannabis in a retail environment? Why, indeed? And why oh why does our state Liquor Control Board—whose members might be twiddling their thumbs now if not for marijuana (considering they were essentially fired by voters from their former job, selling booze in the state)—seem intent on alienating medical-cannabis patient collectives (also known as “dispensaries”), rather than, as Colorado is, incorporating their expertise into the process? Be that as it may, it appears there won’t be

access to medical cannabis. Under limits imposed by I-502, Seattle will be allowed only 21 retail marijuana outlets. Once collectives are shut down, access points will be reduced by 90 percent—and recreational-marijuana stores may not even bother to carry more medicinal strains. Most observers predict that the legislature won’t dare shut down patient collectives before recreational 502 stores open, so that means dispensaries will probably be open through June. Some optimists predict that the coming legal battle means dispensaries may even survive to the end of 2014. E

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