WEDNESDAY 10/9  

André 3000: New Blue Sun Live In Concert

(MUSIC) In November of last year, André 3000 surprised fans with his first new music in 17 years—but it wasn't what we anticipated. The OutKast rapper released a full-length album entirely of flute music. New Blue Sun is an odyssey of spiritual jazz and electronic ambient sounds that could perfectly soundtrack an Octavia Butler novel. Featuring instruments like mycelial electronics, plants, shakuhachi, and sintir, the album is equal parts acoustic and electronic with multiple types of flutes played by André himself. Joined on stage by album collaborators Carlos Niño, Surya Botofasina, Nate Mercereau, and Deantoni Parks, the ensemble will present an immersive concert that enchants audiences with improvisational "sensory grandeur." (Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St, 8 pm, $54.50-$144.50, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

9. BUT AFTER THE GIG: Just because the party has ended, that doesn’t mean the activities have.

Green Room

For today’s “after the gig” prompt, we’re talking about A24’s critically acclaimed horror-thriller Green Room. Fictional punk band the Ain’t Rights, composed of bassist Pat (the tragically departed Anton Yelchin), guitarist Sam (Alia Shawkat), drummer Reece (Joe Cole), and singer Tiger (Callum Turner), are touring the Pacific Northwest when a series of misadventures leads them to grudgingly perform at a neo-Nazi bar outside Portland. After the members accidentally witness a stabbing committed by a member of the Nazi metal headliner in the venue’s green room, they find themselves locked in a grim battle for their lives, fighting a gang of “red lace” skinheads tooth and nail alongside the murder victim’s friend Amber (Imogen Poots).

The Seattle City Council passed a resolution Tuesday opposing I-2117, a Republican-backed, Let’s-Go-Washington-branded initiative that would overturn the Climate Commitment Act (CCA)’s cap-and-trade system and prevent the state from establishing another one in the future. If the initiative passes, Washington communities will lose billions in funding to improve air quality, public transit, fish habitat, and wildfire prevention, all to allow Washington’s wealthiest corporations to pump millions of metric tons of carbon emissions for free.

The City should get some flowers for their support of the CCA, but, as with any good thing self-proclaimed Democrats have ever done, it's just not enough. To meaningfully protect the CCA, the City must also oppose I-2066, Let’s Go Washington’s electrification ban. And, if the City wants the clout of choosing the environment over the profits of the wealthy few, the City must do so in their own budget, too. 

Dear Readers: It’s my birthday this week — thank you very much — and I’ve retreated to a secret, undisclosed location (without Internet access!) to ignore, er, celebrate the occasion. So, in place of a regular column (you ask, I answer) below you’ll find some questions I posted to Struggle Session, a weekly bonus column where I respond to comments from my readers and listeners. “Never read the comments” is standard advice for anyone who goes online — and it’s damn good advice —but Savage.Love is the exception to that rule: it’s the one and only place online where you should read the comments, thanks to the wonderful community there. So, here are some letters that I posted to Struggle Session and invited Savage Love commenters to respond to. Enjoy! — Dan

When a judge recently ruled that the man accused of killing 80-year-old dog-walker Ruth Dalton was unfit to stand trial, the right started howling with indignation. In August, the man allegedly pulled Dalton from her car, which struck and killed her as her assailant drove away. Like similar high-profile violent crimes in the past, conservatives turned her murder into a cause célèbre, treating the tragedy as a symptom of an epidemic of lawlessness that only more cops and prison cells can cure.  

Right now, Dalton’s alleged killer, Jahmed Haynes, is in the hospital to restore his competency to stand trial. After that, if he’s found guilty, then he will almost certainly go to prison for life. But Republican gubernatorial candidate and former King County Sheriff Dave Reichert turned the story into red meat for his base, erroneously posting that the incompetency finding meant Haynes would get “a 90-day stay at the hospital instead of prison.” Only slightly more honest, internet personality Brandi Kruse acknowledged on her podcast that Haynes would get competency restoration and that “we have these protections for a reason.” Still, she expressed doubt that the state hospital would succeed (competency restoration has an 80 percent success rate) and opined that Haynes would get “a free murder.”

:( $$$: The Seattle City Council voted 6-1 to make the Seattle Police Department’s hiring bonus program permanent and to raise one-time incentives for experienced officers up from $30,000 to $50,000. Council Member Tammy Morales, the sole no vote, questioned why we’re doing this when the mayor’s budget cuts $400,000 for police accountability and we’ve got a $250 million deficit. Council President Sara Nelson said we need the hiring bonuses to stay competitive and hire “the best of the best.” We started offering bonuses in 2019, and in her most recent Bad Apples column, Ashley wrote about the “best of the best” we’ve attracted so far.

Not to mention the Mayor sacrificed $200 million in what would have been affordable housing funding in a housing crisis. Good governance! https://t.co/nkyk19y4dH

— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) October 8, 2024

Surveil me, plz: The council also passed legislation to install live police cameras in neighborhoods it says have the most violent crime. Council Member Cathy Moore thanked the ACLU for raising privacy concerns but evoked the “higher goal” of public safety.

CM Bob Kettle, ahead of a vote on surveillance expansion, says that Seattle protects free speech and expression. He has yet to comment on the protester who alleges his neighbor threw a speaker at his head while excising his right to free speech. https://t.co/rM4OdPyeyH

— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) October 8, 2024

8. POOL PARTY: Is there a swimming pool in your plot? Take a dip, mind the drip.

Infinity Pool

It’s easy to see director and noted nepo man Brandon Cronenberg embedded within the plot of his own film. In Infinity Pool, Alexander Skarsgård plays a bankrolled but blocked creative who coasts at a ritzy resort in search of inspiration. All hell breaks loose after a fatal accident and a run-in with a hedonistic freak played by Mia Goth.

All Alice’s parents really wanted was for her to win the Olympics. Her parents had both competed in the games, but neither had medaled—and “like most parents,” Alice explains, “they hoped their children would succeed where they had failed.” When she was growing up, Alice was allowed to play only sports that were in the Olympics; they even sent her to a camp that specialized in them. 

She did eventually medal, but probably not the way her parents imagined. Alice—otherwise known as Mistress Alice, or Alice in Bondageland—won trophies for her work in porn.

The Tip of the Iceberg

There’s a buzz around the Seattle Kraken as they prepare for their fourth season of play. After regressing from their strong 2022-23 season and playoff run, the franchise made a bold change at the end of the winter, firing head coach Dave Hakstol. Replacing him is former Coachella Valley Firebirds and Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma and his staff, including glass ceiling-breaker assistant coach Jessica Campbell. Add in growing young prospects, exciting free agent additions, and a brand new broadcast TV deal, and you’ve got the recipe for one exciting Kraken season. Have they got their tentacles around you? Do you feel yourself being sucked in? Here’s what you need to know to join the squid squad.

Happy Tuesday: Did you catch some showers this morning? For those of you who hate what the rain does to your hair (mine gets soooo flat), rest assured you likely won’t see any sprinkles past 8 am. Just clouds and temperatures in the mid 60s. Nice!

Tim Walz: Kamala Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, landed in Seattle last night ahead of a private fundraiser event at Hunts Point Tuesday morning. Groups such as Stop the Sweeps, Resist US-Led War Seattle, Bayan, International Migrants Alliance, Samidoun, South Asians Resisting Imperialism, and many more plan to protest outside the fundraiser. Some saw Harris picking Walz as an olive branch to progressives, but after Walz said that “the expansion of Israel and its proxies is a necessity for the US” in a recent debate, the honeymoon phase has worn off. 

Morgan Henderson biked about 10 miles from his West Seattle home to Fonté Coffee in the Denny Triangle neighborhood to meet The Stranger. While that commute would tax most musicians, it didn't seem to faze him. It's merely a tiny fraction of the mileage that he's run in races such as the Cascade Crest 100 ultramarathon.

To put it lightly, musicians—especially those of Henderson's renown—are not famous for their love of pounding the pavement on foot for several hours. The Seattle multi-instrumentalist is part of a small crew of musicians who compete in long-distance running events. Morgan's buddy Ben Gibbard is probably the most notable among them, and, yes, Henderson's logged many miles with Death Cab for Cutie's frontman.

7. LITTLE DEVILS, BIG SHRIEKS: How much terror can a child really wreak?

Kill, Baby, Kill

Set in a small Transylvanian village in 1907, Mario Bava’s gothic horror film Kill, Baby, Kill begins as a deceivingly straightforward tale: A big city pathologist is brought in to investigate the death of a young woman who’s been skewered by a palisade fence. The mystery quickly grows—a child’s laugh echoes through cold stone walls, ghostly eyes glare through dusty window panes, porcelain dolls appear in people’s rooms, and a young woman stabs herself with a candelabra. Melissa, a seven-year-old ghost girl, is seeking her revenge. Who has summoned her? 

For four years, 43rd Legislative District candidate Andrea Suarez has preached the gospel of her nonprofit, We Heart Seattle.

Her gospel teaches that waste management is a form of mutual aid, even when volunteers allegedly throw away someone’s belongings. It also teaches that Housing First–the primary, evidence-based approach to homelessness, which is backed by decades of research–is an ineffective and cruel machine that chews up the vulnerable people she is trying to help. In the word according to Suarez, drugs–not economic conditions–drive homelessness, and mandatory treatment is the only way forward. As she tweeted last month, “Treatment is Housing.” 

Don't subject yourself to a boring week! We're recommending plenty of events worth your precious time and hard-earned money, from Clairo to André 3000: New Blue Sun Live In Concert and from Rain City Showcase: LA Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers to the opening of MoPOP's Keith Haring: A Radiant Legacy exhibit.

MONDAY

LIVE MUSIC

ANOHNI and the Johnsons
On Anohni's new album, My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross—her first album with backing band the Johnsons in 13 years—the trailblazing balladeer slow dances between orchestral '60s soul, abrasive industrial, and intimate jazz. As usual, Anohni's vocals are pitch-perfect, evoking the rich textures of Nina Simone, Terry Callier, and Robert Wyatt. The album shines brightest on intimate jazz guitar-driven tracks like "Sliver Of Ice" and "It's My Fault," which allow her singular voice to take center stage (à la classic torch singers like Julie London or Dinah Shore). Don't miss the rare opportunity to hear Anohni's incredible voice live—she hasn't performed in Seattle since 2009! AUDREY VANN
(Paramount Theatre, Downtown)