A Conversation with President Bill Clinton @ McCaw Hall

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A Conversation with President Bill Clinton @ McCaw Hall – 6/30/18
By Lisa Hagen Glynn


Kris Engskov w/ President Bill Clinton

Former President Bill Clinton visited Seattle on June 30th to promote his best-selling novel The President is Missing, a White House thriller co-authored with popular writer James Patterson. In the fictional story, President Jonathan Lincoln Duncan eludes the Secret Service to thwart a cyber-terror attack.

Clinton was interviewed by his former aide Kris Engskov, now an Executive Vice President at Starbucks, in a living-room style discussion. Clinton was as much a storyteller as an interviewee. He said he prefers storytelling to persuasion by “beating people over the head with facts and assertions,” and attributed his own penchant for it to his rural upbringing, which afforded little formal entertainment except for a small-town movie theater and an occasional square dance.

Engskov pitched mostly softballs—it was, after all, a book tour and not a debate – but Clinton did take several opportunities to speak from the heart about Hillary, Chelsea, and his two grandchildren. Clinton peppered in previews of the novel as he reminisced about his time in office, his endearing friendship with George Bush Sr., and the distinctions between a $15 and $30 bottle of vodka.

The former president called for national unity instead of polarization. Although not strictly apolitical, Clinton was largely diplomatic about criticizing the current administration directly. The exception was a punch line of “Back then, you couldn’t just tell an outright lie and get away with it,” which was met with wild applause.

Clinton closed with a message of optimism for the country: “This is not a time of despair. This is a time for citizen activism. . . We’re gonna be all right if you just show up and stand up.” Inside, the audience offered Clinton standing ovations both before and after the show.

Ticketholders and passersby lined the exit to catch cellphone videos and shout admirations of the 42nd president. Clinton greeted the public with a just-folks genuineness, much like he used to do during his famous morning jogs on the National Mall, as he was ushered into one of several SUVs.


A Conversation with President Bill Clinton

Photos: The Shins, Foxygen & Day Wave @ Marymoor Park

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The Shins, Foxygen & Day Wave – 9/23/17
Photos by Peter Dervin
Memory Lane Series, part 37


The Shins‘ James Mercer

Another cool set of photos by Peter Dervin, these ones taken at the Shins’ Marymoor Park headlining performance in ’17. Last year and this year, the Shins did a very intriguing thing: after releasing Heartworms in ’17, they redid that album in ’18. Called The Worm’s Heart, the album was “flipped”, which means the band made new versions of every track. Remakes are always exciting. Also on the bill for the Marymoor Park date were California’s Foxygen and Day Wave.


The Shins


Foxygen


Day Wave

Photos: Slightly Stoopid & Stick Figure @ Marymoor Park

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Slightly Stoopid & Stick Figure, 6/8/18
Photos by Casey Brevig

Slightly Stoopid and Stick Figure enjoyed outdoor shows with fans on a beautiful June day at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington. Congratulations to the rock/reggae San Diegans Slightly Stoopid, who have made a very successful go of having summer tours! They’ve brought artists such as Dirty Heads, Iration and Rebelution with them. This time, reggae band Stick Figure, who has their own dog, Cocoa the Tour Dog (see below), was one of the openers. Keep an eye out for Everday Life, Everyday People, Slightly Stoopid’s eighth album, with the release date of Friday the 13th.


Miles Doughty of Slightly Stoopid


Slightly Stoopid


Stick Figure


Atmosphere

Photos: Rainbow Kitten Surprise & Caamp @ Showbox SoDo

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Rainbow Kitten Surprise & Caamp @ Showbox SoDo, 5/3/18
Photos by Alex Crick


Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Boone, North Carolina’s Rainbow Kitten Surprise headlined Showbox SoDo on May 3rd, just a few weeks following the release of their big label debut album, How to: Friend, Love, Freefall. I’ve read the band doesn’t like classifying their sound, but for production duties on How to. . . they worked with Jay Joyce. Joyce has produced artists such as Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town and Keith Urban, putting Rainbow Kitten Surprise in the category of music that knows how to cross over. Indie-folk duo Caamp, from Ohio, opened.


Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Caamp

Photos: KT Tunstall @ Marymoor Park

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KT Tunstall opened for Barenaked Ladies at Marymoor Park in Redmond, east of Seattle. Her solo set – accompanied by looping – was in support of her most recent album, KIN. After playing her first hit from 2004, “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” she imitated the audience saying, “Oh! She’s the one who sang that song!” Watch for KT’s sixth studio album this fall and a tour stop in October.


KT Tunstall