Art by Zee

Sonic Boom is having a street fair Sunday, September 12, up on Capitol Hill. The day kicks off at 10 am and features BBQ with Sitka & Spruce’s head honcho Matt Dillon, along with refreshments, snacks and fresh local products by Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches, Marigold & Mint flowers and produce, The Calf & Kid cheeses, and Rain Shadow Meats. Bar Ferdinand, Still Liquor, and the outdoor beer garden provide adult beverages – proceeds will benefit Seattle Tilth and their Seattle Youth Garden Works Program.

There’s also a fashion show by Velouria Boutique and live music by New Roman Times at 1 pm, Ghost of Kyle Bradford at 3 pm and Head Like a Kite at 5pm.

Saturday, September 11 at 7pm be on hand at the NW Film Forum for an evening of performance and video with live music featuring Jacob Ciocci and David Wightman (Extreme Animals, Paper Rad, You Can’t Do That on Television). Jacob and David present a mash-up of live music, video, and staged theatrics as they “choreograph a disjunctive array of live shredding, extreme feedback, YouTube bombardment, ecstatic dance moves and Sunday morning cartoons. Their newest performance delves into the world of ‘tween’ culture, the vampire fad and the current obsession with the infinite hall of mirrors known as ‘forever young.’”

Check out a preview clip and buy tickets online at NWFF.

If you were there you know that Vampire Weekend had to abruptly cancel their Sunday, August 29th show at Marymoor Park due to unexpected illness. The show has been rescheduled – they’ll be playing two nights, September 22 and 23, at the Paramount Theatre to make up for the show they missed.

If you had tickets for the Marymoor show, you can exchange them at no cost for either day. If you purchased your tickets online or by phone, call 1-800-745-3000 to arrange an exchange for tickets to one of the new dates. If you bought tickets through a Ticketmaster outlet, simply return to that outlet to switch your tickets.

If you purchased your ticket the night of the show, in cash, at the gate, you can exchange the ticket for the rescheduled show at the Paramount box office during regular business hours. If you prefer a refund, you can obtain one by sending your ticket to:

Ticketmaster
c/o emm0829 refund
216 1st Ave S, Suite 400
Seattle, Wa. 98104

Tickets should be accompanied by name and return address.

If you purchased your ticket at the Marymoor Park box office before the show, you can exchange your tickets before September 19th at the Paramount box office. If you need a refund, you must obtain one from the Marymoor Park office.

If you didn’t have a ticket for the show at Marymoor but would like to see the band at the Paramount, you can buy your tickets online or in person at the Paramount box office (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm), 24-hour kiosks located outside The Paramount & Moore Theatres, and charge by phone at 877-784-4849.

Show starts at 7:30 both nights; it’s a general admission show with The Head & The Heart opening.

Swedish electronica artist Fever Ray (also known as Karin Dreijer Andersson of The Knife) has released a cover of Peter Gabriels’ “Mercy Street”.

Karin explains why she chose this song to reinterpret: “It’s an interpretation of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Mercy Street’. We made it more intense and faster to fit our excentric pecussionists and energetic live musicians. It is a monotone track but we worked with the dynamics trying to make it sparkle. I listened to it a lot when I was around 15, and it still moves me. It made me start reading Anne Sexton too.”

Listen to the online stream here before heading over to NME.com where the song is available for exclusive download for just 24 hours.

Decibel Festival returns to Seattle September 22 – 24 with a free three day conference, 27 showcases across 11 different venues and over 100 artists representing 15 countries.

This year’s musical line up includes Beats Antique, VibeSquaD, Eskmo, Emancipator, Truckasauras, MachineDrum, and many more including festival headliner Flying Lotus. Showcases include the Opening Gala featuring Ean Golden, Kris Moon and Introcut, the Room40Label 10 year anniversary showcase with Ben Frost, Grouper, Lawrence English, and Rafael Anton, and the LoDubs showcase with Disco Nihilist, Struggle, Lioncub and Energy Flash.

Workshops include DJ Tech Tools, a panel on “Women in Electronic Music”, a lecture on “The Age of Abundance” and “Putting Social Networking and Online Promotion to Work as an Artist”.

Passes and individual show tickets go fast; advance purchase is highly recommended. For complete festival line up and pass/ticket purchasing visit the Decibel Festival site.

Rock the Runways is an annual show in Portland to show off PDX’s hottest indie fashion designers and models, highlight local fashion vendors, and have a hot rocking time. This year’s show on August 14 features live music by Portland’s own Suburban Anthem playing their finely honed blend of pop rock punk (seriously, they put on a great show and are worth the cover charge alone).

General admission is a mere $10 – or upgrade your experience for VIP treament. Dress like a rocker and win free drinks but there’s food and drink a plenty all night long. Partial proceeds go to benefit Stop Genocide Now.

All ages at the fabulous Mayfair Ballroom at the historic Benson Hotel (host to plenty a rock star including people like the Beatles, KISS and SO many more). Advance tix at Brown Paper Tickets.

Watch online:
Here We Go Magic “Casual” Video from Yours Truly Pitchfork

Grandchildren “Winterlude” and “Heartbreaker” Videos On Flavorpill

Download:
Blood Red Shoes “Light Up” Video

Alex Winston “Choice Notes”

Young Man “Five” Download

Normally I focus on the West Coast events here but I want to send a shout out to any Hey Marseilles fans who might happen to be reading and might be attending one of their six East Coast shows (August 1 in NYC; August 2 in Cambridge, MA; August 3 in Philadelphia; August 4 in DC; August 5 in Northampton, MA; and August 6 in Bangor) – the band’s got a nifty contest for their East Coast audiences.

Take photos at any of the above shows, upload them to a Flickr page linked on their website, and tag them with “hey, marseilles, super, contest”. The band will review all the photos posted and select two winners to get a fun prize pack that includes utographed CDs, vinyl, tote bags, stickers, t-shirts and maybe even more.

If you’d like to have a good time supporting a good cause this weekend, check out Rock N’ Blues brought to you by Rock the Blues.com and the Hard Rock Seattle to raise funds for local musician Norm Bellis and friend Steve Randel.

Rock N’ Blues features appearances by School of Rock West Coast All Stars, Lynn Sorensen (Paul Rodgers, Bad Company), Steve Fossen (Founding Member and Original Bass HEART), Somar Macek (Vocalist), Jeff Kathan (Paul Rodgers, Spike and The Impalers), Tim Turner Band (Longtime NW Guitarist), Aury Moore (Aury Moore Band, Songwriter / Vocalist), Aaron Balsley (Spike and The Impalers), and many more Northwest performers!

With exciting performers like Head Like a Kite, Fruitbats, Blonde Redhead, Blue Scholars and so many more, the Capitol Hill Block Party definitely brings the fun to the Hill July 23 – 25. What seems like a zillion artists play three stages on three days and, honestly, you’re going to have a tough time deciding between some of these shows.

Don’t worry, though, whichever choice you make is the right one.

To help you with your planning, the CHBP has issued their final line-up and schedule, check it out on their site.