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We’re posting next week’s Stranger Suggests a few days early, since Monday, September 1, is a holiday. Go do something fun!
MONDAY 9/1
(FOOD) As is yearly tradition, the ever-popular local burger joint Li’l Woody’s will dispense free burgers for Labor Day. Note that “extras cost extra,” so you’ll have to pony up if you want additional toppings like house-made queso, a fried egg, pickled fig jam, or an onion ring, but it’s still a great deal. The “labor of love” will be available at Capitol Hill, Ballard, White Center, and Green Lake locations from 2–5 p.m. and there a one burger per person limit. (Multiple Lil Woody’s locations, 2–5 p.m.) JULIANNE BELL
TUESDAY 9/2
(MUSIC) Wet Leg burst onto the indie rock scene in 2022 with a debut self-titled album packed with guitar riffs and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. They were initially slated to play the Sunset Tavern for their first Seattle show that year, but it sold out almost immediately and was moved to the Crocodile, which also sold out lightning fast (and fucking rocked). This time around, the British band plays two nights at the Paramount after putting out their sophomore album moisturizer in July, which they wrote by asking themselves the question, “Is this going to be fun to play live?” The shows are supported by fellow female-fronted experimental rock trio Mary in the Junkyard, once again proving that women can go toe-to-toe with men in the indie rock scene (or, in my opinion, take the lead). (Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH
WEDNESDAY 9/3
(FILM) The September installment of the SIFF Movie Club brings a screening of the 2017 indie cut The Florida Project. Sean Baker’s affecting humanist depiction of central Florida strip mall heartland has become a bit of a cult classic, and for good reason; those who found Baker’s award-sweeping Anora lacking in subtlety and resolve will find the opposite here. The film follows Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), a joy-seeking 6-year-old, as she befriends a rotating cast of long-term motel residents, the only constants being her exotic dancer mom (Bria Vinaite) and hotel manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe), the latter of whose goal of being taken seriously is often undercut by a paternalist affection for his tenants. As a character, the neon purple motel stands out as a glaring metaphor for an unmoored life at the hands of economic uncertainty. It’s up to Bobby to hold things together, his unwashed traits not able to shine elsewhere, but in a chaotic environment that swallows others, he is allowed to emerge, while flawed, as a protector of virtue. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, 6 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM
THURSDAY 9/4
(FILM/MUSIC) This event combines three of my favorite things: early horror movies, solo cello, and unsettling contemporary art. Local experimental cellist Lori Goldston—known for her solo ambient work, as well as her collaborations with PNW rock bands like Earth and Nirvana—will perform a live original score to Carl Dreyer’s eerie 1932 masterwork Vampyr. The silent film is a classic vampire tale that follows a young occult enthusiast as he gets entangled in dark forces and forbidding living shadows. This screening will accompany the Frye’s current exhibit, Jamie Wyeth’s Unsettled, and I predict that Goldston’s tense strings will echo beautifully through the gallery walls. Plus, the hauntedness of the whole thing is a great way to get in the mood for dark and rainy autumn. (Frye Art Museum, 6 pm) AUDREY VANN
FRIDAY 9/5
(THEATER) In award-winning actor, playwright, and screenwriter Keiko Green’s comedic horror-thriller Hells Canyon, five friends, including the seven-months-pregnant protagonist Ariel Lim, gather in a remote cabin in the woods in Eastern Oregon. What could possibly go wrong? A lot, it turns out: long-simmering resentments bubbling to the surface, tensions ratcheting up in the close quarters, and a sinister force that’s attempting to break through the front door to swallow them all. The play references the real-life history of 1887’s tragic “Snake River Massacre,” in which 34 Chinese gold miners were murdered by a gang of seven white men in Hells Canyon, Oregon. Its themes of racism, trauma, and the exploitation of non-white bodies prompted Minnesota Public Radio to liken its world premiere in Minneapolis last year to “the films of Jordan Peele, especially Get Out,” so don’t miss its West Coast debut produced by Washington Ensemble Theatre and directed by Amber Tanaka. (12th Avenue Arts, times vary) JULIANNE BELL
SATURDAY 9/6
Shout Your Abortion’s 10th Birthday Bash
(PARTY) CW: This entire blurb is a giant conflict of interest. But if you trust me, I think this event and this cause are relevant (and fun!) enough to legitimately put in these pages. If you don’t trust me, then move those eyeballs along. All right, before I returned to The Stranger, I was Shout Your Abortion’s Creative Director. SYA founder Amelia Bonow has been a close friend and neighbor since before she got pregnant and had the abortion heard ’round the World Wide Web (via viral tweet), sparking a grassroots movement that has been helping people find “thoughtful, impactful ways to normalize abortion and support access” for the last 10 years. To celebrate the milestone, this party will feature music (DJs Larry Mizell Jr., Stas THEE Boss, and JusMoni), fashion (SYA x Prairie Underground x Free Witch Quarterly), screen printing (Ink Knife Press), musical fortune-telling (Corey J. Brewer), tarot (Lisa Prank and Bree McKenna), tattoos, cake, and more. Yes, I am in community with all of these people, if not in bands with them. A final reveal: I just illustrated a beautiful children’s book called Abortion Is Everything (written by Bonow and Rachel Kessler) that will be debuting at the party. All proceeds support the work of SYA. (Washington Hall, 7–11 pm, sliding scale, all ages) EMILY NOKES
SUNDAY 9/7
(DRAG) For years, troupes across Middle-earth have been marrying high fantasy with high heels in the hit comedy drag show Dungeons and Drag Queens. Now, fans can experience it live at Emerald City Comedy Club, where Dungeon Master Paul Curry and improvisational musician Carson Cutter guide three queens through a brand-new D&D adventure packed with danger, snark, and audience participation. Grab a drink and get ready for some high-rolling hilarity! (Emerald City Comedy Club, 1 pm, 21+) LANGSTON THOMAS
