Blockhead & Yppah
Friday, April 4, at Nectar
Get your tickets now before they sell out: HERE.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Blockhead & Yppah
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
A Punk-Rock Othello
A Punk-Rock Othello
Playwright Nathaniel Porter Airlifts Othello into a Punk-Rock Present
by Brendan Kiley
by Brendan Kiley
The impulse to rewrite and "modernize" Shakespeare can have gimmicky and stultifying results—A Midsummer Night's Rave, anyone? Tromeo and Juliet?—but Nathaniel Porter's airlift of Othello into the world of scrappy punk bands works surprisingly well. Othello "the Moor," an army general, becomes the singer for a band called Black Vengeance and the only person of color in his scene. Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian senator who Othello elopes with, becomes Des, the lily-white daughter of a racist country-music star. And Iago, the ensign who's angry that Othello promoted a younger soldier over him, becomes Black Vengeance's manager, who's furious he wasn't asked to play lead guitar.
Plot point for plot point, it's a good fit—in Othello, for example, Desdemona's father accuses Othello of using "witchcraft" to seduce his daughter. "She loved me for the dangers I had pass'd," Othello responds, "and I loved her that she did pity them. This only is the witchcraft I have used." In Black Vengeance, the country-star father-in-law growls: "What do you have her on? Is it cocaine? Meth? Heroin? What is making her act this way?" "We don't need drugs, old man," Othello shoots back. "She likes me. She likes my stories. She likes my scars."
Director Emily Harvey and designer Kasia Rozanska have turned the Ballard Underground into a basement rock club, covering its walls in graffiti—some topical ("Free Pussy Riot"), some Shakespearean ("I did love the Moor"), and some timeless ("Dick punch"). The performances are all over the map, from energetic (Kayla Teel does some creditable snarling as Iago's nihilistic wife Emmy) to too energetic—the male actors tend to show us their emotions by kicking and otherwise assaulting the set, and Tom Stewart as Iago has a habit of bending over and cackling like a cartoon villain.
But Black Vengeance's biggest stumbling block is its singing. A melodic three-piece punk band called Stranger Than Nixon plays upstage while the actors burst into song, musical-theater-style: "If I can put an end to this madness/I can still be in the band/My soul, maybe, won't be damned." Their voices are strong enough for basement rock 'n' roll, but the actors and the band seem to be living in different key signatures. This is forgivable in the more raucous numbers, when the characters are shout-singing their way through songs, but during the quieter, slower numbers, pained expressions kept flickering across faces in the audience.
Still, the structural transformation of the play into the present—and its serpentine story of how racism, jealousy, and manipulation lead to a bloodbath—is ingenious. A little more work on the musical side, and merciless cutting of unnecessary musical numbers, could elevate Black Vengeance into something piercing and difficult. 
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
What to Bring when Dining at a Sand Point Seattle Grill Restaurant
If you want to dine at a grill restaurant in Seattle, there are some things you need to prepare. You can’t just go out without bringing some important stuff with you. This will make your experience in a grill restaurant more fun and memorable. Here is a list of things that you can bring when dining at a Sand Point Seattle Grill Restaurant.
1. Bring your food-loving self. Who else need to experience the dining, but you yourself? If you are planning to go out and dine at a grill restaurant, make sure that your stomach is not full enough or you will not be able to enjoy a sumptuous meal. Make yourself ready to eat a good amount of delicious food from a Sand Point grill restaurant in Seattle.
2. Bring your family especially your kids. Your dining experience will definitely be fun and unforgettable if you share it with your family of course, you know what each family member would like to eat so it would be easy for you to order meals for everybody when you bring them in a grill restaurant.
3. Bring your friends and workmates. Aside from being with your family, you can also enjoy dining out with your friends. After a good day at work, you can finish off at the grill restaurant with your favorite burgers or salads.
4. Bring some extra cash. You might want to ring in some extra cash as well. If you loved eating in the restaurant, you will surely love to bring some food at home. Or if you are not the type to bring cash on when you dine out, you can use your credit card to buy a take out.
Of course when you dine in a grill restaurant, you don’t only have to bring thing to the place. You can actually bring home some new and extraordinary things with you after dining. Here are some things that you will gain after your adventure in the grill restaurant.
1. Great experience with the food. You won’t be able to enjoy the same delicious food at home. So that would be an experience you’ll never forget.
2. Some bonding moments with the precious people in your life. Especially for parents, who are busy with work, taking your family to a grill restaurant will keep you closer together. You don’t have to think of work and home chores to do. All you need to think about is how to enjoy and finish your meals.
3. The anticipation of dining at the same restaurant again. Because dining out is not going to happen in every meal of everyday, you will definitely be a lot eager to taste food from the same grill restaurant again.
Any Sand Point Seattle grill restaurant offers you great food on their menu. All you need to do now is to find the one that can give you the best services and the one that can let you, your family and friends enjoy a very good dining experience.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
What's Crappening?
What's Crappening?
News, Reviews, and Baby Oil
by Ferry Singer
by Ferry Singer
• The Pixies played the Paramount last week, and it was half great. Frank Black and the gang (with a new bassist who is not Kim Deal, but dresses like Wednesday Addams, which must count for something) mixed in too many new (see: not very good) songs for our taste, and even had the nerve to start their encore with a new song (see: horrible). Rude! You know that's not why we're clapping, guys.
• Doom-metal pioneers Pentagram played El Corazón on Saturday night. Frontman (and star of highly recommended music documentary Last Days Here) Bobby Liebling wore a rainbow boatneck sweater small enough for the average third-grader; a bearded man with a projector off to the side of the stage moved bowls of baby oil, rubbing alcohol, and some kind of dye to the music, creating a customized "trippy blobby" backdrop. After the show, Liebling was spotted at the 5 Point Cafe, eating a club sandwich and talking about how much he loves Black Sabbath.
• Ani DiFranco kicked off her concert at the Moore on Saturday night with the song "Fuel," whose lyrics make explicit reference to the slave history of Manhattan. It was the only acceptable way to start out, after the singer-songwriter's sorry mistake of failing to apologize for setting a songwriting "retreat" in a former slave plantation. After she leveled some implicit self-criticism, we were able to remember why we'd liked her in the first place.
• On a related note, we were even almost able to forgive DiFranco's fans, several of whom seemed to believe they were having a personal conversation with her all the way through the concert.
• While in San Francisco last week for Red Bull Music Academy's Bass Camp, Seattle producer DJAO tweeted, "It's going to take a lifetime to process the fact that Erykah Badu blatantly hit on me in front of everyone during her lecture #BassCampSF."
• Thursday night at the Lo-Fi, as local space-rock hellions Jetman Jet Team were closing out their set, Miguel Diaz, perhaps feeling regretful he'd recently quit the band, joined Jetman onstage to play tambourine for about five minutes, before abruptly stopping and running out of the club. In other band news: Former JJT bassist Adam Breeden has replaced Diaz. We're as confused as you are.
• Mark Kozelek, aka Sun Kil Moon, asked the crowd at the Neptune on Friday night, "Do a bunch of morons write for The Stranger?" Apparently he didn't appreciate Trent Moorman asking him about notorious serial killer Richard Ramirez "nine times" in an interview. An audience member yelled out "Too much reverb!" in between songs, prompting a bit of back-and-forth between Kozelek and the crowd, including such gems as another person yelling, "Show up to your own sound check, asshole!" and a woman trying to bring some positivity to the proceedings by shouting, "Seahawks! Woo!"
Monday, March 3, 2014
Tips to Enjoy the Experience in the Best Grill Restaurant in Seattle
If you are an avid eater in some Seattle grill restaurants, you should know how to enjoy every experience. To fully enjoy a meal, you go to the best grill restaurant in Seattle firsthand. Definitely, you will not only get really good food, but you will go home with a very happy tummy as well. Here are some tips to help you enjoy your experience in a Seattle grill restaurant.
1. Order dishes that you like. If you are picky eater, you know which types of food to eat. Read through the menu thoroughly so you will know which dishes you can perfectly eat. You may ask the servers to explain to you what the dishes are actually like. If you have allergies, make sure to avoid foods that contain them. You can talk to the servers about it as well. If you are adventurous with food, you can definitely order as you like.
2. Pair your food with drinks to your preferences. You don’t want to end up choking on very bite f your meal. Order a beverage that would perfectly match with the food you are having. If you are not sure which drink to order, you can ask the server for suggestions. They will surely be able to give you a good one.
3. Try out the house specialty. Especially if you are new to the place, you have to try out the dish that is made specially and exclusively by the restaurant. Their signature dishes would most definitely fill your stomach. If the restaurant has signature drinks, you might want to try them out as well.
4. Forget the pounds for now. If you are out to eat, don’t mind about the pounds too much. If you think of the possible weight you are going to gain with the amount of food you are taking in, you won’t be able to enjoy it to the full.
5. Eat out with a company. You can enjoy your food and drinks when you share it with the people you are close to. Your entire dining experience would be truly great if there are people, who are also enjoying the moment with you.
6. Savor the moment while you are at the grill restaurant. While you are eating, concentrate on what is on your table and the people that you are dining with. Forget about the worries about work or even your worries at home. Savor each bite of your food and enjoy to bits. If you want, you can get a take out for yourself, so you would have something to munch on when you get home.
7. Support the charities that are connected with the restaurant. Some restaurants extend their help to schools and other charities. You can lend a helping hand as well to add more value to your dining experience.
The best grill restaurant in Seattle will surely allow you to enjoy your meal to the last bite. All you need to do is go to the place and enjoy a meal that you deserve.
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