Was the $400 four-day pass to this year’s edition of S’quatch a tad too steep for the ol’ bank account?
Well, buck up! Just because you won’t be spending Memorial Day weekend sprawled on the hill in front of the main stage, paying homage to a hirsute cryptid, doesn’t mean your appetite for live music has to go unsated.
Here’s a brief list of recommendations for a few local (and much more affordable) Sasquatch alternatives:
FRIDAY, May 25
Day 1 of Northwest Folklife Festival
11 am, Seattle Center
Every variety of folk music imaginable will be filling each nook and cranny of Seattle Center, all weekend long.
The Dusty 45s, Shane Tutmarc and The Whiskey Swillers
9:30pm, The Tractor Tavern
Sling back a few to some honky-tonk and acoustic blues.
Planned Parenthood Fundraiser, featuring NoRey, Fox and the Law, Sweet Secrets, and The Volcano Diary
8 pm, The Crocodile
An interesting motley of performances, all for a good cause.
SATURDAY, May 26
Day 2 of Folklife
11am, still Seattle Center
So much local folk (folkal?).
Down North
8pm, The Crocodile
A band with growing popularity who’ve been rocking the festival circuit and over 100 college radio stations.
John Reilly and Friends
8 pm, Aladdin Theater
Yeah, that’s John C. Reilly. And yeah, he sings. And yeah, he’s pretty good. So good that, even though this show is in Portland, I’m including it in this list.
MxPx, Amber Pacific, Poorsport
8 pm, El Corazon
For a rowdy, yet nostalgic, Saturday evening.
SUNDAY, May 27
Day 3 of Folklife
11am (notice a pattern?), still still Seattle Center
Is it possible to have a folk-stroke?
Aaron Daniel and the Bloody Knuckles, The Shivering Denizens, and Whitetrash Whiplash
9 pm, The Tractor Tavern
Local alt rock. Because Seattle.
BIRDS AND BATTERIES, and Shenandoah
8 pm, The Crocodile
Reviews include phrases like “spine-tingling” and “lush.”
MONDAY, May 28
Day 4 of Folklife
10:50 am (Oh ho!), still still still Seattle Center
You’re going to need some serious rehab after this folk-verdose.
Gazmo with HiGHFii KiDDO
8 pm, Neumos
Killer hiphop at an equally killer venue.
Barons of Tang, Ando Ehlers, and Esmerelda Strange
9:30 pm, The Funhouse
Catch the tail-end of Funhouse’s Punk as Folk Weekend for a taste of Aussie punk.
