The Decibel Festival

I’m going to waste no time in introducing you to some great music I discovered at the Decibel Festival, a world-famous electronic, techno, and dance music festival that happens in Seattle every year. Electronic music is played not with traditional instruments (though they are sometimes used), but with soundboards, laptops, computer programs, and all manner of technology. The concert I attended took place in Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony. Pierced, black-clad techno-punks descended upon elegant, pristine Benaroya – an odd juxtaposition – but as I chatted with Milicent, the house manager, she informed me that Benaroya hosts all kinds of music events, and she didn’t seem the least bit fazed by mohawks and tattered jeans. The show, entitled “Tactile Immersion”, was an audio/visual combo, so I felt like I was getting two artforms for the price of one. The lineup was Noveller, Fennesz, and Oneohtrix Point Never, three bands I’d never heard of before (I told you I was branching out!).

Noveller, a young woman from Brooklyn, was…interesting. She created cycles of multi-layered sounds using nothing but her acoustic guitar, some pedals, scissors, a cowbell, and a wad of bubble wrap. It sounds like it would have been intriguing, but she didn’t really grab my attention until her final number, when she finally pulled out her electric guitar and ripped on those strings with a violin bow. That’s what I’m talking about! I felt bad for her because she seemed to cast a soporific spell on the audience – I saw at least six people fall asleep upright, and I definitely heard some snores. It was cruel. She got up on that stage all by herself and tried so hard to present her own creations to a disinterested audience. That takes courage, and I have to give her props for that.

Fennesz. Oh my, I’ve never experienced anything like Fennesz. His music made me feel like the planet was going to rip apart and carry me across the galaxy on my own little piece of it. You might by asking yourself, is that a good thing? Does that mean she actually liked Fennesz? Yes, it is definitely a good thing, and yes, I loved Fennesz. The Austrian guy absolutely enveloped my ears, eyes, and body in roaring, eardrum-splitting, electrified, laptop-ified sound and images. Depth, darkness, jubilation, ecstasy, sweetness, sadness – he beckoned every emotion with his music. The visuals during his performance featured flying, multi-colored globs of paint, and he was the sorcerer igniting the colors' own volition, summoning them to come alive and dance across the screen for him. And he was really loud. I definitely sustained some hearing damage, but the volume only added to the incredible force and power he wielded with his sound. He gave me the “tactile immersion” that the show was supposedly all about, with music so loud, almost painfully loud, that the sound felt like a weighty, physical presence in the auditorium. It was a breathtaking, kinetic experience, and he received such thunderous response from the audience that he performed a beautiful, quieter encore while I wished it would never end.

Sadly, it did indeed end, and after the riveting spectacle that Fennesz gave, Oneohtrix Point Never was a bit of a let-down. OPN had the darkest, creepiest show of the evening with lots of sinister low bass and strange visuals (it was also literally the darkest show – the only light in the hall was the one emanating from his headlamp). Fennesz was a hard act to follow, and I felt a little bad for OPN when he didn’t get the same enthusiastic response, but he’s up-and-coming in the electronic scene, and he was pretty good. It’s just that Fennesz was so good. He was a musical Tesla, electrifying me the first time, and OPN was, well, playing with just one headlamp. But that’s just my opinion. Check them out for yourself and let me know what you think.

Seattle Music History 101

Before I moved to Seattle I considered myself to be pretty in-the-know when it came to music - I know plenty of classical, rock, jazz, modern, tango, pop, and alternative music, and I also know my way around a piano. Well, after being here just one month my musical ego has been taken down a few notches, and I’ve come to the sad realization that I know practically nothing about music. Seriously, I feel like a music bumpkin compared to some of these die-hard music fans. People here care about more than just the music – they want to know all about the people, events, and stories behind the music as well. They crave new sounds, they adore experimental artists, and they love being one of the first to know about the next great band. Sounds a lot like me!

So now I’m on a quest to expand my musical horizons, and you’re going to be the beneficiaries of my escapades. As I wade through the waters of the local music scene I’m going to let you in on all the treasure I find so that we’ll all be smarter, cooler, and more attractive. But first, a bit of music history. In order to understand the current Seattle music scene, first we have to know how we got here; wouldn’t you agree? So today’s music post will focus on some legendary Seattle-bred musicians from years past, along with my own favorite songs from each of them. Let’s jump in, and feel free to “come as you are”!

Jimi Hendrix: Can you say that you ever thought to play the guitar with your teeth? Somehow it did occur to Jimi to put dentine to string and pluck out those riffs with his incisors, and once you see him do it you’ll understand why the crowds went wild (check out his live version of “Hey Joe” on Youtube). Makes me wonder what other body parts I can use to play the piano. Nose? Toes? But anyway, you also need to see the things Jimi does with his guitar while playing “Wild Thing” live; I’ll just say it’s not called the “guitar sacrifice” for nothin’. I had no idea that guy was so out there. My favorite Jimi song is “Foxy Lady”. I’m comin’ to getcha!

Heart: Okay, it might be a stretch to call Heart legendary, but I like them so much they’re going in this post. Before the sad demise of my little red Mustang, I used to drive around in it while listening to “Barracuda” and feeling like one tough chic. Those Wilson sisters could rock it out right along with the best male rock bands of the time – Ann Wilson is even referred to as a “female Robert Plant” (lead singer for Led Zeppelin) – but unlike many musicians of the ‘70s (except Robert Plant) the Wilsons are still alive and well and continuing to produce music. My favorite Heart song is “Crazy On You”.

Nirvana: I was surprised to learn that Nirvana only released three albums; their influence was so pandemic that it seems like they released a plethora of albums. Nirvana ushered in the grunge movement that overtook the Seattle scene in the ‘90s. Not sure what grunge music is? Just picture head-bangers, crowd moshing (an activity in which audience members fling themselves against each other just for fun), and crowd surfing (being passed overhead from person to person) and you pretty much get the idea. My fave Nirvana song is “Come As You Are”.

Pearl Jam: To be a lead singer, Eddie Vedder sure does have trouble carrying a tune, but man can he write a rockin’ song. His occasional off-key warbling is only part of his charm, along with his curly long locks that I’m sure drove the girls wild back in his heyday. With such awesome song-writing skills, I won’t hold it against him that he struggles with hitting pure tones. Pearl Jam is my favorite of the big grunge-era bands, making it hard to pick just one song, but I’ll go with “Evenflow”.

Soundgarden and Alice In Chains: Two more local grunge bands who electrified the world. It’s funny to look at old pictures of these bands, because all the members look the same – long haired, skinny dudes dressed in jeans and t-shirt (or no shirt at all). That look was all the rage back then, and it kinda makes me wish I’d been here to be a part of it. I’ll just have to dig around and figure out what the next musical juggernaut is so that one day I can say I saw it all happening live. My fave Soundgarden song is “Black Hole Sun”; for Alice In Chains it’s “Black Gives Way to Blue”.

That’s just the teeny-tiniest sampling of Seattle’s music legacy. Over the coming weeks and months I’ll share with you many more of my musical discoveries; we have our work cut out for us! And by the way, the photos are of me listening to my iPod in various locations around the city. Enjoy!

Neighborhood Spotlight: Ballard

Next up in my Neighborhood Spotlight series is Ballard, an area that feels like a world away from bustling downtown Seattle. Ballard has a quiet atmosphere, yet it’s still close enough to downtown to make it a very attractive location to live. It’s quickly getting the reputation of being hip and chic; I’ve heard so many people here say that they absolutely love Ballard, and I really can’t blame them. It has two beautiful parks, an awesome year-round farmers market, plenty of stores selling local food and clothing, and a happening nightlife and music scene. What’s not to like about all that?

Yes, I’m definitely a Ballard girl. I love all those things about the area, but what really gets me all worked up is the neighborhood's strong Scandinavian ties. You see, I have a strange little obsession with Sweden, and whenever I get the (surprisingly frequent) craving to don my clods, tie on my bonnet, and make like a Swede, I head over to Ballard. In Ballard I can visit cute little Bergen Place, a gift from the king and queen of Norway themselves (Bergen, Norway is Seattle’s sister city); I can see some Scandinavian-inspired architecture and condos with names like “Nordic Plaza” and “Viking Villa”; I can watch some old Viking fishermen sailing their boats through the Locks and imagine that I’m a Swedish mermaid guiding them to faraway, unexplored lands; I can sample foods like “lefse” (Norwegian flatbread) and salted black licorice at Olsen’s Scandinavian Foods; or I can visit the Nordic Heritage Museum and give you all a full report of Seattle’s Scandinavian legacy. With good times like that, how can you blame me for loving Ballard?

My day of photo-taking in Ballard started a bit dubiously with a heavy rain shower just as I was starting to stroll through the farmers market. However, that didn’t seem to be stopping anyone else from their strolls, since being Viking and all gives them a pretty hearty constitution (their ancestors probably used to row across the Baltic with nothing but their bare hands and a barrel of mead, so why should a little drizzle stop them from a pleasant stroll?). In an effort to prove my own Vikingness, I decided to tough out the rain right along with them. Well, that little venture didn’t go quite as planned, because all I ended up proving was my hair’s saturation point. Fortunately, when I stepped into Duque Spa the owner took pity on me and gave me a free lip exfoliation treatment while lecturing me about the harmful effects of too much sugar in the diet. I concurred wholeheartedly (neglecting to mention my cupcake addiction) and emerged from the spa with softer lips, dryer hair, and a craving for sweets. By then the sun was shining so I bought myself a bottle of locally-made lavender lotion, received a “ciao bella” from the Italian guy selling local honey (must’ve been the exfoliated lips), satisfied my sugar craving at Hattie’s, where I ordered “The Swedes” crepes (I really just wanted the chance to finally say, “I’ll have the Swedes”), and discovered one of my favorite stores in the city, Venue. It’s an “arts co-op” where local artists both run the place and sell their art there. I wanna sell my art there too!

I also went to the Locks (a “boat elevator”) and watched the boats sail by. Sound boring? Believe me, once you try it you’ll see that it’s strangely mesmerizing. Finally I took myself down to Golden Gardens Park, one of the loveliest places I’ve found in the city. So, whenever you get a hankering to dress up like Pippi Langstrump (or a ‘70s ABBA singer) and try some salted licorice – and who hasn’t had the strange urge to do just that? – you know where to go. Lycka till!

Seattleites Love Cupcakes. Who Knew?

Seattle is certainly known for its coffee, with companies like Starbucks and Seattle’s Best being founded here, but did you know that there’s a cupcake craze here too?

There are dozens of boutique cupcake stores scattered across the city like, ahem, sprinkles on a cupcake, and I feel no shame or guilt in admitting that I’ve already sampled the goods at several of them. There’s Cupcake Royale, a cupcake and coffee house combo that offers seasonal specialties like the Wild Huckleberry cupcake; Trophy Cupcakes, which earned the enthusiastic approval of Martha Stewart herself; Wink Cupcakes, which enticed me through its doors with the smell of freshly baked cake, and which also offers Cupcake Happy Hour and the Wink VIP Club; and many other options to satisfy Seattle’s cupcake fiends – myself included.

Each cupcake boutique – that’s right, they’re boutiques, not stores – has something yummy to tickle my tastebuds, but I have to say that Cupcake Royale gets it right each and every time – and I believe I know their secret. It’s a crucial element in the cupcake-eating experience that I’ve termed “the frosting-to-cake ratio”. You see, if you have too much frosting then it gets all over your nose as you bite into the cupcake and it also creates too much sliminess in the mouth; however, if you have too little frosting then the cake gets too dry and it’s just no fun to eat. The correct ratio of frosting to cupcake gives you the perfect biting experience and also the smooth and creamy mouthfeel (my new favorite culinary term) that makes cupcake-eating so dreamy. Cupcake Royale gives me the perfect ratio with each and every sweet little organic cupcake; plus, their slogan is “legalize frostitution”. How can you not like a company that dishes up cupcakes, coffee, and wit?

So, when you’re in Seattle, be sure to have a cupcake or two with your coffee. You can even attend the annual Cupcake Camp or purchase a cupcake for breast cancer research. Your flavor can be as exotic as Tomato Soup or White Chocolate Pretzel, or as tried-and-true as Triple Chocolate or Red Velvet. You can consume organic cupcakes, vegan cupcakes, healthy cupcakes, mini cupcakes (but why would you want to?), showy cupcakes, and even XXX-rated adult cupcakes. Just be sure to get some sachariferous treat.

“Sweets to the sweet; farewell!”

More Beautiful Produce, and My First Russian Bath

I just love all the beautiful produce at these farmers markets; I want to photograph each and every thing there! Here are a few pics to get your mouth watering. J

I also wanted to tell you about my first experience at a Russian bathhouse. I don’t have any pictures because it was dark outside when I went there, but since it was my first time in such a place I thought you might like to hear about it.

If you’ve never been to a banya, allow me to explain what it’s all about. Apparently medicinal bathing has been all the rage for a long time, as many Asian and European cultures have valued the practice since ancient times. A banya is the Russian version of the hot and cold baths that are typically used in the therapeutic experience. You alternate between sitting in a hot tub or steam room for a while (this is where the medical risks come into play, as temperatures can reach 200 degrees), and then dunking your whole body in ice cold water. Doesn’t that sound like fun? The alternation of hot and cold is supposedly very good for the skin and circulatory system, and the sweating excretes toxins and bacteria from the body. How lovely - sitting around with a bunch of strangers, stewing in the collective cesspool of toxins. And as if that weren’t enough, traditional bathing is done naked. And coed. So very European.

By now you’re probably surprised that I even went to this place, but in the spirit of adventure I agreed when my friend Tomoyo invited me to the banya with her. The place I went to is named Banya 5, and thankfully, it is NOT a nude sauna (Tomoyo said there is one in town, but it’s just for women); everyone was properly clothed in bathing suits – a downright prudish alteration of the traditional bathing experience that I for one appreciated. Before I even entered the sauna I had to read and sign a rather scary agreement form, warning me about all the high temperatures, hot surfaces, and medical risks I might encounter once I entered the doors to the sauna. I signed the form somewhat dubiously, wondering what exactly I was getting myself into, but as it turned out the sauna wasn’t nearly as intimidating or scary (or disgusting) as the form made it sound. In fact, I actually enjoyed myself. I took to the waters repeatedly, trying out the medium-temperature tub, the hot-temperature tub, the wet steam room, the dry steam room – pretty much everything except the icy cold tub (I did stick my toe in, but just couldn’t bring myself to submerge more than that).

People usually spend at least a couple of hours there, alternating between the tubs and steam rooms while taking occasional breaks for water or tea. They’re pretty stoic about the whole ordeal too, solemnly dunking themselves into the icy tub or sweating profusely without so much as an expression on their faces. Maybe they have other things on their mind.

Personally, I wasn’t at all solemn or expressionless. How could I be while trying out a banya for the first time? A couple hours later, I emerged feeling invigorated and relaxed at the same time – and also quite worldly. I can see why those Europeans like their saunas! It would be a great place to escape the dreary Pacific Northwest winter weather that I hear is on its way. Some saunas also have more rooms with various herbs infusing the steam, so you can really sweat out those toxins and enhance the therapy with special herb combinations designed to boost the healing effect. I might have to try that out. Maybe I’ll even try solemnly flinging myself into the ice-cold tub. My friend made it sound like it’s all the rage, so who knows, maybe I’m missing out on something. Ooooh, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!

Gas Works Park

Yesterday I went to Gas Works Park, located in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. Gas Works may not be the most beautiful park I’ve ever seen (that would be Vigeland Park in Oslo, Norway), but it certainly is the funkiest. It’s located on the former site of the Seattle Gas Light Company's gasification plant, and much of the old industrial architecture still remains as part of the park in the form of ruins or a renovated children’s play area. The park is situated on Lake Union, and it offers great views of the city skyline and the Olympic Mountains (when the weather is clear). I loved the odd contrast of old, austere industrial structures with peaceful sounds of water and birds (and the not-so-peaceful seaplane or two). Those old structures could be viewed as ugly reminders of man’s destruction of the natural environment, but instead they managed to seem like organic parts of the landscape, grown out of the earth itself, and imbuing the place with an eerie, almost haunted atmosphere. It would be a great place for Halloween scare-fests. Or weddings, apparently, as I saw a wedding party, dressed to the absolute nines, traipsing through the muddy ground.

Gas Works is a place of contrasts: it manages to be both somber and lighthearted at the same time; it quietly flaunts both natural and manmade beauty in a way that enhances all elements; it serves as a reminder of the city’s industrial past while also revealing the changing uses and symbolisms of things over time (ie., drab old gas industry trappings are now a colorful children’s playground); and it blurs traditional ideas of beauty and ugliness in order to show that the park can be considered both beautiful and ugly at the same time. It’s the most existential, philosophical park I’ve ever seen.

And to top it all off – or should I say take it all off – it’s also the place where those Solstice Cyclists finish their annual nude bike ride. Now that would be a study in contrasts…

Harbor Cruise

A couple of days ago when the weather cleared up and the day turned sunny, I decided to take a mini-cruise along the harbor. Argosy, the company that operates the cruise, offers all sorts of cruises ranging from dining and dancing cruises, to sightseeing tours, to private events for a variety of budgets. Whatever your cruising fancy, they have something to offer. I opted for the one-hour harbor cruise, which took me all along the colorful waterfront and the shipping terminals. This is the classic Argosy cruise, as it was the one that started it all back in 1949 when the company opened. Now the family-owned company has a fleet of eight ships running cruises morning, noon, and night to locations all around the sounds, lakes, and islands of Seattle.

I learned some interesting tidbits while I snapped photos left and right: Seattle has the second busiest ferry system in North America (the busiest being Vancouver, BC), and the fifth busiest in the world; the architect who designed the Space Needle (more about that particular landmark in a future post) thought that all buildings in the twentieth century would look like the Needle – a rather odd conjecture, given that the Space Needle is 604 feet high, yet has only three usable floors; Seattle is one of the most trafficked pleasure-boating locations in the world; and 1201 Third Avenue, the beige and green glass building in the Seattle skyline, is consistently voted Seattle’s most beautiful building by residents themselves, and its emerald glass design started the architectural aesthetic of glass buildings in Seattle. The use of glass in many of Seattle’s buildings helps reflect sunlight, and in a city that has over 200 overcast days a year, that helps the downtown area appear brighter than it may actually be outside. The glass buildings also give Seattle a gorgeous skyline.

The harbor cruise was an absolute delight, and I plan on taking the company’s Locks cruise, which goes through the Ballard Locks, as well as the Kirkland Lake cruise, from which I’ll be able to see the “homes of the area’s rich and famous” – which of course includes Bill Gates. It’s hard to get richer and more famous than that!

Neighborhood Spotlight: Fremont

This is the first post in a series in which I'll be highlighting each of the different neighborhoods of Seattle. In each post I'll spotlight a different neighborhood and explain a little about its culture. First up is Fremont, known as one of the two artistic neighborhoods in the city (the other being Capitol Hill). Whereas Capitol Hill is edgy and modern, Fremont is more of a throwback to the hippie, New Age era of the sixties and seventies. It was once a countercultural center, but now it's become a bit more gentrified and can seem a bit dated. Fremont is where you'll see people wearing tie-dyed clothes made of hemp, sporting long dreadlocks and a guitar case, heading to the local arts & crafts market or music festival. In fact, just this past weekend when I was exploring the neighborhood, hundreds of old hippies were gettin' their psychedelic groove on at the "Lovefest", a day-long world music festival, and I could smell the incense from a dozen blocks away.

Fremontonians like to say that they live in the "Center of the Universe", and they're also famous (or perhaps infamous?) for their Summer Solstice Parade, held annually on aforesaid day, the highlight being the nude, painted cyclists zipping down the street. Are you understanding what I meant about Fremont having a distinctive hippie vibe?

Somewhat surprisingly, Fremont has also become an epicenter of Seattle technology companies, to the point that it's now called the "Silicon Canal". Some of the tech companies in Fremont include Google (which actually has two locations in Seattle, both of which offer all the usual Google perks, including kayaks for a quick lunchtime paddle around a lake), Adobe, Getty Images, AdReady, Tableau Software, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Groundspeak, and a whole slew of smaller start-ups. So Fremont is both a throwback to the countercultural past and a herald of the tech-driven future, all rolled into one artistic, vibrant little neighborhood.

Despite - or maybe because of - its seventies ambiance, I like Fremont. I had fun with the Fremont Troll, the Lenin statue, the Dusty Strings music store, the vintage shopping mall, and Silence-Heart-Nest, the "vegetarian heart of Fremont". This is a place where I can let my own hippie tendencies come out and play - or should I say groove - for a while. I may have to go back and buy myself some of that incense. :)

Beautiful Produce from Olympic Farmers Market

Discovery Park

Yesterday I went to Discovery Park, a 534-acre natural area that provides a welcome excursion into nature without even leaving the city. There are hundreds of parks in Seattle, and Discovery Park is the largest. It's situated on Magnolia Bluff overlooking the Puget Sound, and there are many trails that wind through wilderness, meander along the sandy waterfront, and offer dramatic views of the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges. If you're interested, you can also visit the oldest lighthouse on Puget Sound, or tour the Daybreak Star Center, a Native American cultural center, to see some art or attend a pow wow.

Seattle's expansive park system is largely the result of the Olmsted Brothers, an influential landscape design firm formed in 1898. Now, you may not have heard of the Olmsted brothers, but back in the early 1900's they were pretty hot stuff. Their vision for Seattle's park system helped the city evolve into one of the most livable green cities in the nation. The Olmsted brothers designed dozens of parks and boulevards, the campus of the University of Washington, and the State Capitol plan. Seattle is now a city with hundreds of beautiful vistas, parks, and boulevards just waiting for me to photograph each and every one.

And here's another interesting historical tidbit about Discovery Park - it used to be an Army fort, and it was almost turned into an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system (as a deterrent against expected Chinese missile attacks) in the mid-1970s. However, the citizens and city officials of Seattle, tree-huggers that they are, protested against the proposed ABM and won. So, thank you hippies of Seattle, and thank you Olmsted brothers!

Farmers Markets

Sunday I went to two neighborhood farmers markets - the Ballard and Fremont Markets. Both are open year-round, and of course, they offer a bounty of local produce, artisan food products, wares from artists, and even vintage jewelry and clothes. I could easily spend a day just strolling around the markets, sampling the yummy snacks and marveling at the beautiful fruits and veggies I've never even heard of before. There are no less than a dozen farmers markets happening all across the city on various days of the week, and I have the resolute intention of visiting each and every one.

As if the smaller farmers markets weren't enough, there's also Pike Place Market, the gigantic, wild and crazy market that's open every single day of the year. I haven't even begun to explore everything Pike Place has to offer. In addition to being one of the oldest continually-running markets in the country, it is home to the original Starbucks, the famous "fish-throwers" (apparently they're all the rage, but I find it rather cruel), cooking demos by the city's best chefs, and literally hundreds of stores and booths selling not just produce from local farms (though there's certainly plenty of that), but also clothes, jewelry, handmade crafts, gifts, antiques, and art. Whew! I plan on taking one of the Market tours soon, just so I can begin to figure out that teeming, wonderful place.

Bumbershoot 2010

Saturday I went to Bumbershoot, a three-day music, arts, and crafts festival held annually in Seattle every Labor Day Weekend. It was a fun-filled day of discovering new bands, checking out hand-crafted wares, and sampling local foodie treats - all things right up my alley. It's held in Seattle Center, the 74-acre complex that is home to, among other things, the Space Needle, the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (aka, "EMP/SFM"), and the Pacific Science Center. It's a major tourist attraction, but locals go there too, especially for the spectacle that is Bumbershoot.

With dozens of events to choose from, I'm glad I did my research beforehand to scope out the best bands and attractions. I saw several popular bands from all along the West coast - Health, Atlas Sound, The Maldives, The Budos Band, Ozomatli, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Wheedle's Groove, Civil Twilight, This Providence - and that was only about half of the bands that were performing! At day's end I felt like a music glutton, nice and satiated from all the new tunes (not to mention all the snacks). If you're interested in my favorite picks, those would be Health, The Budos Band, and Edward Sharpte & The Magnetic Zeros. Check 'em out for yourself and let me know what you think!

In addition to sampling all the musical offers, I also attended a lecture (where I learned about "cognitive surplus" and "The Uncanny Valley") and saw the local dance troupe "Can-can Cabaret". The dance performance was perhaps the highlight of the entire day. They were voted "Best in Seattle" by Seattle Weekly, and it's easy to see why. The crowd went wild as they lit up the stage with funky, fluid, nouveau interpretations of classic cabaret, and their music selection was killer. They have a studio at Pike Place Market, and I will definitely be going there to check out more of their performances!