Austin-based band Monahans do to music what poetry does to words. Tonight, they'll bring their stylin' tunes to the Tractor. Also on the bill is local songwriter J. Tillman and the very pretty Zera Marvel. We called up Monahans frontman Greg last week during their brief stint with the Cowboy Junkies to find out why he thinks people should come to tonight's show. 9 p.m. // Tractor Tavern // $7 Where are you right......

If you're familiar with the Asylum Street Spankers, you don't need us to fumble through explaining their sound, their talents, or their puckish charm. If you have no clue who they are or what they do, we urge you to educate yourself. ("Hick Hop" represents just one "genre" they've invented.) Ultimately, what the Spankers are is unmissable. So if you did miss their two shows at the Triple Door on Friday, we feel sorry......

This Seattlest just returned from Austin, Texas, for the annual South by Southwest music festival. While enjoying Austin, we were struck by one thing over and over again--how much Texas really wants to be its own nation. Nothing drove that point home more than comparing Texas' Capitol building to our very own Capitol. The state building in Austin is easily three times the size of Washington States and rivals the size of the Capitol building......

Normally we don't like to report on the kind of news that brings a sad sigh to your lips and might make you think of calling your mother. But since Seattlest Abbey covered the story of the 10-year old boy who asked friends to bury his head in the sand, and we're filling in on the news beat while she's in Austin, we thought we should at mark the end of the story now that......

Seattlest is quaking in their boots (bought especially for the occasion) with excitement for this years SXSW in Austin, Tex. We're making our initial sojourn to the festival and are so pleased to see there will be a strong Seattle contingent joining us in Austin this year. There are, to our calculations, 29 Seattle bands officially associated with the festival this year. These bands will be playing sanctioned showcases, what we will call "the......

We have gathered some of the top political writers in the country and asked them to discuss the presidential race throughout the year. Today they will discuss the Democratic race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Seattlest-- How do you feel Senator Clinton's recent attacks on Senator Obama are shaping the upcoming Texas and Ohio primaries? Jeff (San Francisco Chronicle)-- I've got to come clean with my dirty secret-- I'm starting to get cold feet......

Knowledge: Seattle University is having a Globalization & Justice conference and you're invited. Today's keynote speaker is the very famous, very sharp...Anil Gupta, ladies and gentlemen! Put your hands together for his talk, "G2G – Grassroots to Global: the Knowledge Rights of Creative Communities." Gupta founded the Honey Bee Network, which is good because if the real ones don't bounce back, we may need to turn to them for pollen collection. 5:30pm // Pigott......

In the westerns we read growing up, cowboys were always punching each other right in the solar plexus. A scene in the lonelyhearts drama By the Waters of Babylon did that to the Seattle Rep audience last night, leaving people gasping and in tears. It was a lucky punch, though -- most of the time the play telegraphs exactly what's coming next: quips and tedium. If you go, go for Suzanne Bouchard's outstanding performance as......

Chris Walla is best known for being the guitarist in Death Cab for Cutie. Or he's known as a producer for Tegan & Sara and the Decemberists. Or maybe you heard about the little incident he had with Homeland Security confiscating his computer last fall. Now Walla's got another reason for notability: his first solo album, Field Manual, out today on Barsuk Records. Singer-songwriter stuff ain't exactly our bag, but Walla's smooth delivery ensures......

In case it doesn't snow too much tonight, or in case you're not too much of a pussy to venture outdoors, head to Queen Anne to network with the organizers of South by Southwest and other like-minded music geek individuals. Join us from 7-9pm on Monday evening, January 28th at Solo Bar in Seattle (200 Roy Street). This is the chance for Pacific Northwest digital creatives to meet with SXSW organizers, as well as......

Austin-based Anglophile pop quintet Voxtrot just can't help but draw comparisons to bands like Belle & Sebastian, Morrissey, the Wedding Present, and even the Cure. After a couple well-received EPs, the band put out their self-titled debut full-length earlier this year (see above single "Firecracker"), and then proceeded to tour up a storm. Now the boys are back on the West Coast: Voxtrot headlines an extremely twee-centric all-ages show (Division Day, Tullycraft, and Math......

And we mean everybody: the New York Times, Pitchfork, the ever-fickle blogosphere. Seems that it's not hard to garner that kind of love and affection when you're a Brit-leaning pop quintet straight outta Austin. With clever arrangements, charming melodies, limber lyrics, and jangly guitars, Voxtrot just can't help but draw comparisons to bands like Belle & Sebastian, Morrissey, the Wedding Present, and even the Cure. After a string of well-received EPs, their self-titled debut......

If you've been following Seattlest David's football and cooking series, you'd know that there's hardly anything more unlikely than that he'd be talking about cooking to a regional radio audience. And yet, he will, today at 2:45, on the KUOW program Sound Focus--discussing a football-season-long odyssey in which he's cooked everything from deep-dish pizza to deep-fried ravioli. Perhaps the most memorable moment in his odyssey was when David learned that unlike water, oil doesn't have......

The script to Birdie Blue is the sort that, if there was any justice in this world, would have been unceremoniously trashed by every producer whose desk it crossed. Unfortunately, this being the real world and all, this awful script has been produced off-Broadway and in regional theatres all across the country, despite the fact it's guilty of every terrible conceit and device you could associate with the modern theatre. Nothing would have made us......

Anti- reissued three Neko Case albums today: Furnace Room Lullaby from 2000, Blacklisted from 2002, and last year's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Stock up if you don't have 'em. If you're like Seattlest -- obsessed -- you already own them. So what's new? Bonus disc. This year's Fox Confessor comes with a 5-song disc containing "Set Out Running" and "Furnace Room Lullaby" from Furnace, "Deep Red Bells" and the lovely "I Wish I Was......

Wait--choke back that vomit. We're making shit up. Speculating doom, if you will. Only half of that title is true. Charles Cross' 2001 biography of Kurt Cobain actually is being adapted for the big screen. By highly-anticipated The Kite Runner and Wolverine screenwriter David Benioff, no less. (Aside: Seattlest once met Benioff at an Austin bar, while unsuccessfully schmoozing with Hollywood types. Before we knew better, we asked him, "Are you a writer, too?" Ha.)......

This fall we are combining our love of the football and our dream of learning to cook. On Sunday morning, following a trip to a local farmer’s market/major supermarket chain, we will be preparing a meal from the city of the Seahawks opponent. Then at halftime we will throw our badly burned hands in the air and make hot dogs. Seahawks vs. Toasted Ravioli Preview Honestly not much to say about this week’s meal. Very......

Seattlest feels dirty (not in a good way) after reading the Oxford American's article on indie rock and Seattle. Bill Wasik's piece about indie rock and the blogs and radio stations who love them revolves around Seattle and KEXP. He frames us as the first city of indie rock, which, first of all, doesn't seem right. We have a decent amount of indie-type bands and some clubs and Capitol Hill, but... do you think we're......

Seattlest isn’t really a discriminating diner. We don’t have a sophisticated palate. We don’t demand impeccable service. If we get what we order, the food is reasonably priced and tasty, and the wait staff leans friendly, we’re content. We do, however, expect near-perfection from new restaurants. And fair, unbiased criticism from those who evaluate them. After reading a “first look” review of new Ballard eatery Austin Cantina, and subsequently eating there Saturday night with our......

Our sophomore year boyfriend was mid-grope when we heard our first Spoon song and stopped paying attention to him entirely. While the relationship proved futile (shocking!) our love for "Change My Life" remains as solid as ever. Is it hormone-fueled nostalgia that keeps our Spoon flame burning? Or is it just Britt Daniel? It's Britt Daniel. And eight incredible albums. It's like a 49/51 split, really. We're not even going to try and write about......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......

We're bringing it up because Seattle Times brought it up. Here's why we hate the idea of making clubs get licensed in order to be clubs: If we happen to have some huge influx of new citizens, you can bet the majority of them aren't coming here simply because they want to sit in a cubicle for nine hours and return home to their ever-tinier condo so they can watch TV. Where people work, they......

LAist was comped front row seats by the Dodgers due to Malingering being struck by a foul ball last week, and she came back with some great photos, and earlier made fun of 4th of July on Venice Beach. But the biggest stories of the week was that the Mayor's Hot Tamale was revealed, and that a Kwik-E-Mart was erected in Burbank. Phillyist was busy doing the Fourth of July up right, exercising their......

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried......

As has already been mentioned everywhere else, the wind nearly destroyed Sasquatch on Sunday, taking out the Polyphonic Spree (all 90 of them) on the mainstage, delaying their show till after the Beastie Boys later that night, and delaying other acts who then had to reschedule for other stages. Right before the Polyphonic group had to reschedule (yet another rendition of that one song that enjoyed way too much rotation on KEXP back in......

Vitals: 22 yo LHP. Born in Austin, TX. 6-1, 200. 0-3, 5.32 career and 2007 (he's a rookie). Acquired via trade from Texas (Brandon McCarthy) before this season. $380,000 salary. Arsenal: Same was Barry Zito's. He's got a 88-91 fastball, a 80 mph change that he appears to locate well (and likes to use with two strikes) and a big looping curve--which, from what I've seen, isn't as big and looping as Zito's is. Recent......

Flickr photo by Anziano311 For the last few years Austin’s SXSW Music festival has brought Seattle their best European (mostly U.K.) bands; many of them making their first appearance here before heading back across the pond or whisking away to the many summer music festivals around the country. Seattle seems like a good enough launch pad though, and we’ve got a few beauties lined up. On Monday, May 5th two of the biggest bands......

MUSICALS: Camelot opens with previews tonight--the barely-recognizable celebrity they've pressganged into the production is Michael York, who you know from Austin Powers. 7:30pm // 5th Avenue Theatre // $20-63 BOOKS: Speaking of barely-recognizable celebrities, ex-MASH star Mike Farrell reads tonight from his memoir Just Call Me Mike: A Journey from Actor to Activist--it's a sequel to his disappointing first memoir, The Name Is *Mister* Farrell, You Disgusting Little Toad: A Journey from Actor to Activist......

We came across two examples of Microsoft's less-successful marketing attempts yesterday. One from the '80s via YouTube: And one from SXSW a few days ago via BoingBoing: In a rare instance of us supporting The Man, Austin P.D. hauls off a guerrilla marketing posterer for Microsoft Zune on 6th St. at SXSW. I am not sure I heard everything clearly, but I think he said: “We’ll have none of your advertising for your DRM’d crippleware’d......