The Builders And The Butchers use lots of cool instruments. Photo by Josh of SoundOnTheSound So, no one has said anything yet about The Builders and the Butchers playing at the Sunset tonight, and that must be remedied. If you aren't going to Radiohead (in the rain), and you want to go to a kickass show tonight, there is such a show happening in Ballard. Foot-stomping rhythms, guitars, red-headed boys, three drummers: the works!......

Neumo's was humid as a swamp, and crowded with Rocky Votolato fans who sang along under their breath to every song, from the trim blonde woman in the black slacks and black summer-weight jacket, chunky blonde leather bag slung over her shoulder, to the greasy dark-haired guy in beat-up jeans, with sleeve tattoos. "It's good to be home!" announced Rocky, and then laughed post-ironically. After an 8-month European tour, he's back in Seattle for a......

Friday Head Like a Kite: By the time we got into Neumos, we'd unfortunately missed most of their set. Whatever they were playing when we walked in, it was awesome and everyone was into it. It wasn't long, however, before they went into show-closing mode with more ethereal, experimental jam stuff. We dig Head Like a Kite, but they also bore us sometimes. Menomena: Fate, that surly sonofabitch, has kept us from seeing Menomena......

Philly rapper Freeway at Chop Suey on Saturday: gruff, powerful, in control. Prodigious beard. His set was a pleasure to behold, with thick, thumping, meaty beats over which his growl sounded just right. Such sparkly bling, too! Our only complaints are that he cut off "It's Over" way too early and there were a couple too many a capellas, but the man can keep filthily perfect time and impresses regardless of the beat behind him.......

Here's the whole story: Wednesday night we went to Neumo's to hear We Are Scientists (WAS). There. That's not a good story? Ah, okay, okay, we'll...we'll punch it up. More first act? We Are Scientists are not scientists (Ha! Misdirection!) but are two guys called Keith Murray (guitar, lead vocals) and Chris Cain (bass guitar, backing vocals), and then there's two other guys, a drummer and a keyboard fellow. (We're tempted to go on and......

"The Long Winters 01" by Flickr user Michael Alan Goldberg When John Roderick isn't writing hilarious lies about other musicians, he's fronting one of Seattle's best indie rock bands, The Long Winters. When last we saw The Long Winters, roughly one year ago, it was also at the Showbox and it was one of the best shows we've ever seen there. Roderick and company had just returned home from a lengthy tour and they seemed......

We had a laid-back, happy time at Dope Emporium on Saturday. It felt like a hiphop block party: a family affair with barbeque, a beer garden, and kids running around doing cute things like breakdancing. There even was a producers' battle from which MTK (of Himalayan Rickshaw Run fame) emerged triumphant. Check out some photos from the event, taken by Seattlest and Terry Creighton.......

The Budos Band opened up the night in style! Photo by Seattlest's Abbey Simmons. The Saturday Knights/Budos Band show at Nectar on Friday night was sold out by 9:30 p.m., as in guest lists closed, no further entrance, and crowds of people partying outside the gates. Seattlest arrived at a normally respectable hour of 10:45 p.m. to find the Budos Band's shiny brass horns blaring, congo drums thumping, and every inch of Nectar packed with......

LOCAL LIT: Tired of living la vida loca after pride weekend? Sick of the sun and the heat? Want to retreat back into your dark, shade-drawn house and dream of the rain? Of course not, which is why it's so hard to recommend you spend your Monday at a literary reading. Still, local author and medical expert Carol Casella has a reading tonight down at Elliott Bay Books, for her debut novel Oxygen. Casella, a......

These New Puritans hail from the UK, and despite having a strong album in Beat Pyramid, they've managed to avoid being burdened by the usual praise of the UK press, leaving Seattlest much more receptive to their post-punk wares when the CD finally reached our desk. It seems these days every other band is post-something, so tossing those descriptions out the window, what makes These New Puritans stand out is the overwhelming urgency evident on......

"Feet, Legs and Wires" by cloverity (Aimee Wenske) Los Campesinos! onstage at Neumo's. One of the iconic images we love, gently plucked from the Seattlest Flickr pool.......

Last Friday we were at Shorecrest High School after-hours for "Coffeehouse," an open-mic put on by the school's literary journal Tattoo. It was our second time around, so we had a better idea of what to expect: the cafeteria was packed to the rafters. Seriously, Friday night and this is what the kids of today are up to? Near the end of intermission we were looking over the art gallery in the hall when this......

OPERATION BRIGHT PINK FLAMINGO: If you were at Myrtle Edwards Park last weekend, you may have noticed a city-approved flock of plastic flamingos hanging out on the lawns. Lest you prematurely begin the spiral into "WTF, can't we just have normal public art," let us inform you that the flamingos were only visiting to remind everyone that real Chilean flamingos are available as of tomorrow to gawk at over in the Woodland Park Zoo.......

Photo of One Be Lo by Kyle Johnson. One Be Lo, a nationally acclaimed independent hiphop artist hailing from Pontiac, Michigan, is fond of our city. "In Seattle, I get an epiphany every day," he says, recounting his insights gleaned from dining with local Vietnamese families and browsing through the shelves of the Emerald City’s bookstores. The emcee leans in closer. "Seattle’s giving me my second wind." An avid learner and frequent public speaker,......

That's what opener Anna Ternheim dubbed the Ternheim-Li-del Mar lineup at the Triple Door last night, the "Swedish girls tour." She was the solo singer/songwriter of the night, with a throaty, room-filling voice, a setlist stuffed with love and anti-love songs, and a guitar. (She also took over the grand piano.) "That one was about a girl who's a stalker," she mentioned off-handedly. "Any stalkers here tonight?" Her songs often ended surprisingly, in mid-flow. Twice......

HUGE AMOUNTS OF CHEESE: The Cheese Festival is upon us! This is one of our top three favorite events of the year (#2: our birthday, #3: Christmas). Several reasons: a city block full of cheese, friendly vendors, wholesale prices on bottles in the wine garden (don't buy the red wine that says "bacon" three times in its description, we made that mistake last year), and (it bears repeating) a city block full of cheese. 10......

DJ Rare Groove spins for the crowd before Atmosphere's set. Slug's tidy ponytail gleams, silhouetted against changing red, green and aqua lights. He moves his body like he's got something to clarify. "Oh, you know this one too?" he asks the deliriously excited crowd, and of course the answer is yes. In Seattle, Atmosphere's emcee Slug--dark, emotionally tortured, pensive Lothario Slug--is a god. We seem to prefer our rockstars on the brooding but safe......

Nas--NAS, people--is playing Showbox SoDo this Friday, and there are three possible reasons why tickets are still available. (1) No one knows he's coming (an unintentionally secret show?); (2) Word's gotten sufficiently around about Nas' weak live performance (but still... Nas!); or (3) Everyone's blown their ticket budgets on hipster-friendly Atmosphere, playing Tuesday at the same venue (for $20 less a ticket). Needless to say, Atmosphere and Nas don't really bring out the same crowd.......

Just before lunch we were bicycling down Broadway and this guy on the sidewalk asked us where the place was you can buy pizza by the slice. "Pagliacci," we called back. "What's to-day, my fine fellow?" he asked. "To-day!" we replied. "Why, Christmas Day!" That last part was not quite true. But it's like Christmas because Pagliacci Pizza is hosting a concert benefit, “A Night for Elise," at Neumo’s tonight, and that seems really nice.......

As if chocolate alone isn’t enough, tonight Theo Chocolate adds music, massage, and meditation to the menu. Can you believe it? Head over to Theo’s fun shop in Fremont to sample some chocolates and sip some Choice organic tea. They’ll have a string quartet playing, and if you’d like even more relaxation, you can enjoy a complementary Ayurvedic mini hand massage with Sweet Beauty chocolate lotion. Or ante up and purchase a two-person Ayurvedic......

RETURN TO THE '80s: The B-52s are playing at the Showbox at the Market tonight. We hope you already have your $50 (!) tickets since the show's sold out. If you're into that kind of '80s thing though, you can get your fill at "I Love the 80s" at Club Noc Noc with DJ Shane. Tonight is sure to be a love-shack bonanza. 9 p.m. // Club Noc Noc // Free TIME FOR THE BIRDS:......

CHARITABLE INDULGENCES: If you're not too hungover from tonight's couture cocktails with Jack Mackenroth at Product Runway, something beautiful involving imported beer and fine Scotch is happening in Fremont both tonight and tomorrow: the HopScotch Spring Beer and Scotch Festival. The festival's a benefit for NW Folklife, so think of your purchase of extra tequila tastings as an act of springtime charity. 5 p.m.-12 a.m. Friday, 1 p.m.-12 a.m. Saturday // Fremont Studios, 155 N.......

Laura Veirs has been writing and performing dreamy folk and pop songs for nearly a decade. She graces Seattle with a solo performance this Friday night at the Triple Door. 7:30pm & 10pm (21+) // Triple Door // $17 adv, $20 dos // Liam Finn opens Seattlest: Can you tell us a little about the solo tour? Laura Veirs: I start on Wednesday in Vancouver and then the second show will be in Seattle. It's......

MUSICAL: Just you wait, 'Enry 'Iggins! Lerner & Loewe's proto-Pretty Woman fantasia, My Fair Lady, opens at the Paramount, starring British theatre actors Christopher Cazenove and Lisa O'Hare as Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle. The production unites the original U.K. artistic team with Trevor Nunn (director), Matthew Bourne (choreography and musical staging), and Anthony Ward (production design). 7:30 p.m. // Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine Street // Tickets: $25-$72 MUSIC: Peter Morén, the lead......

FOOD: First things first. Before you go rushing off into your weekend, you should eat. Eastlake Italian restaurant Serafina is having a grand reopening Friday night after a kitchen remodel and bar facelift, with a new spring menu. It's their 18th anniversary, too. What more do you need? Friday, 5:30-11 p.m. // Serafina, 2043 Eastlake Avenue East // Entrees $16-$27 MUSIC: The GRAMMY-winning Shelby Lynne is at the Showbox SoDo Friday night. Her new......

ART: New York graffiti artist Ghost a/k/a Cousin Frank has a show up at the BLVD Gallery. A pioneer who got started in the late 1970s, Ghost was on the ground for the NYC subway graffiti movement featured so prominently in Warriors. His stuff is instantly recognizable. If we end up walking by, we're heading in. 1-6 p.m. // BLVD Gallery, 2316 Second Avenue // FREE FILM: Now where did that cat Jonesy get......

If you've come to know Rilo Kiley through recordings, we're here to tell you that they're an even better band live. They open up the studio packaging and let the songs breathe. Sometimes it's bluesy, sometimes it's R&B, sometimes a torchy twang. Jenny Lewis led the Showbox audience through songs off the new album, Under the Blacklight, but everyone already knew all the words to "Close Call" and "The Moneymaker." We'd always thought of Rilo......

MUSIC: If you're not taking the ferry Friday night to Bremerton's Admiral Theatre to catch Death Cab for Cutie (we understand if you're not, it's a real schlep) and if you don't have tickets to Blitzen Trapper/Fleet Foxes at Neumo's (it's sold out), then my god, what the hell were you planning on doing? How about a trip up to Everett for the Everett Symphony's Tribute to Burt Bacharach. (We agree, Mrs. Hendy, he......

BIRTHDAY: Seattlest contributor and man about town Donte presents the "I Ain't Dead Yet Mutha*%&# Dirty Thirty Extravaganza!" featuring: Truckasaurus, Sleepy Eyes of Death, and Randy Jones. As Donte points out, that's "two of The Stranger's Young Ones, and a veteran producer/DJ--for free. What more could you want?" 8 p.m. doors // Neumos, 925 East Pike Street // NO COVER (21+) BIDNESS: Seattle Tech Startups is having another meet-up to...you know...talk about tech startups.......

"Let Us" by Seattlest Flickr member JeanineAnderson Hooray! The first batch of the Capitol Hill Block Party line-up for this summer has been announced, and we're thrilled to see what a truly fine list it is. Hot groups such as Vampire Weekend, Les Savy Fav, Kimya Dawson, and The Physics are already confirmed, with nary a six-hour-long Spoon set to be found. (Okay, so maybe last year's Spoon performance wasn't exactly six hours long,......