Show Preview: Kongos @ the Showbox, Sun. 5/14

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Show Preview: Kongos @ the Showbox, Sun. 5/14
~Dagmar


Kongos

Sunday, May 14th is Mother’s Day. If you’re lucky and have your mother around, be nice to her, get her something nice. Maybe call her or take her out. And then you can see Kongos at the Showbox. You have my permission and encouragement to do so. Hey, you could even take mom to see the South African rock band (comprised of four brothers!), whom you are all probably familiar with via their huge 2012 hit, “Come with Me Now.”

Capturing, in tunes such as Lunatics‘ “I’m Only Joking,” a rather stomping rock sound, and creating unique accordion rock in “Take Me Back,” sometimes they remind me of Travis. I don’t know if they hate Travis; I sure hope they don’t, because I mean this as a good comparison. Kongos are partly based in a South African music genre called kwaito. What’s kwaito? You can research it on Wikipedia, but boiled down it’s African samples used in house music (originally, anyway. The sound, as everything, changes and mixes with others).

For their latest album, 2016’s Egomaniac, they boldly put a giant gorilla on its cover, which makes me think they are not messing around. There’s nothing really tougher than a gorilla, is there? Or so at risk. The photo is by Jean-Christophe Verhaegen, and I find it really moving. The album itself has very cool tracks on it; my favorites are “Autocorrect” and “Repeat After Me,” with this chant: If I could breathe, I’d be free/And I’d get high, I’d turn water to wine/If I could be, I’d breathe free at last/And I’d get high, I’d get so high/I’d get so high if I could breathe. More cool facts: They’ve toured with bands such as Imagine Dragons and Kings of Leon, which are very good fits, and their dad, John Kongos is also a talented musician (believe me – have a listen to “Tokoloshe Man.”)

Head here for tickets and showtimes etc.

Photos: Laura Marling @ Showbox at the Market

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Laura Marling recently played a sold-out show – as well as a rare seated one for the audience – at Showbox at the Market. Backed by a three-member band plus two backup singers, the English singer-songwriter was in the middle of the tour in support of her latest album, Semper Femina. Valley Queen, fronted by Natalie Carol, opened.


Laura Marling


Valley Queen

Show Review: An American in Paris @ the Paramount

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Show Review: An American in Paris @ the Paramount, Opening Night – 5/9/17
~Dagmar


McGee Maddox and Sara Esty in An American in Paris – photo by Matthew Murphy

Musical An American in Paris opened at the Paramount on Tuesday night, May 9th. Gathering inspiration from the Oscar-winning musical movie of the same name, the 2015 live musical by Craig Lucas was entirely charming.

This production, directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon OBE, got everything right. From the gorgeous, colorful and scene-appropriate set and costume designed by Bob Crowley, to the beautiful lighting by Natasha Katz, every element left a wonderful impression. The store where Lise Dassin works and the production of the song “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” alone would make this a show I’d recommend. And the great casting? That came from Kelsey + Company and Rachel Hoffman, C.S.A., who cast the principal roles with scene-stealing actors. Although this could have been a problem, the actors were great enough to work as an attractive ensemble. I actually forgot I was watching a play at times, really feeling I was inside it. I loved the entire production, and at the end, I had that strange feeling of being sad that something is over, but happy because this was so good.


Nick Spangler and the An American in Paris Touring Company – photo by Matthew Murphy


Sara Esty and McGee Maddox in An American in Paris – photo by Matthew Murphy

As this musical is an updated version of the original, there were opportunities to explore characters’ in some modern ways, which made a whole lot of sense. Showing respect to Jazz artists features in this aspect, while artist Mondrian’s work (who chose Paris as his home for many years) pops up in the design. Everything fit together perfectly. But don’t think that those strong themes make the experience a tutorial. I would say, not at all. While the time frame is the end of World War II, the emphasis is on embracing the positive in life.

The lead actors McGee Maddox (Jerry Mulligan) and Sara Esty (Lise Dassin) make a beautiful team. For Tuesday night’s energy, I would especially say Emily Ferranti’s Milo Davenport and Nick Spangler’s Henri Baurel sneaked in wonderful supporting performances. And for the songs: Thank you, George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. While Lucas removed some Gerswhin songs from his version, he added others; the final song, “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” is just one of the perfect additions.


An American in Paris Touring Company – photo by Matthew Murphy

An American in Paris runs through Sunday, May 14th. Follow this link for tickets.

Photos: Gringo Star @ the Vera Project

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Gringo Star @ the Vera Project, 9/16/16
Photos by Jonathan Leung
Memory Lane Series, Part 6

Details: Georgia’s Gringo Star, an indie rock band featuring brothers Nicholas Furgiuele and Peter Furgiuele, headlined Vera Project in September 2016. They’ve got a DJ set in their hometown this Friday, and go on the road with Shantih Shantih this month. Gringo Strar describes their songs as “echo-slathered, doo-wop-indebted indie gems.” That’s right on! Animal Camera opened the Seattle date.

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Gringo Star

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Animal Camera

Preview: An American in Paris @ the Paramount, Tues. 5/9 – Sun. 5/14

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Preview: An American in Paris @ the Paramount, Tues. 5/9 – Sun. 5/14
~Dagmar

Winner of four 2015 Tony Awards®, An American in Paris starts a six-day run in Seattle on Tuesday, May 9th. Based on the Academy Awards’ 1951 Best Picture of the same name, which starred the fantastic Gene Kelly, (the film beat A Streetcar Named Desire, by the way) writer Craig Lucas has adapted the story for modern Broadway. Lucas’ other work includes screenwriting the film Longtime Companion and bookwriting the musical Amélie.

The touring production stars ballet dancers Garen Scribner (cool note: Scribner cofound the benefit DanceFAR) and Sara Esty (cool note: Esty was a recipient of a Princess Grace Fellowship!!), who reprise their roles as Jerry Mulligan and Lise Dassin.* In keeping with these original stars of the Broadway production, we’re also lucky to have English director Christopher Wheeldon, who won the 2015 Tony for Best Choreography, at the helm. And the music is gorgeous: “But Not For Me” and “I Got Rhythm” are just a couple of the awesome tunes you’ll hear.

*Update: Apologies to the wonderful McGee Maddox, who plays Jerry Mulligan! My mistake. Garen Scribner is not in this production.

For tickets & more information, head right over here.