I was doing okay

I was doing okay Saturday morning until I ducked into ETG Coffee and heard that Sunday is their last day open for awhile. The owner Laurie has done her best to keep afloat, but can do it no longer.
She said she'll continue roasting beans for Bean Box.
Come on Seattle/Washington/America.
Relief now for small businesses and service employees!
We're losing what makes us wonderful.

Friday night concerts (livestream version)

The livestream music continues!
Last night, Peelander-Z, a Japanese punk band experience, put on a show from Texas where they'd hoped to be at SXSW. What a performance! I'm still scratching my head -- there was a young kid shredding on guitar, an Elvis-type performer with motorbike handlebars attached to a mic stand, and then of course the wonderfully anarchic Peelander-Z, occasionally hoisting a huge sign saying "Wash Your Hands" and zipping on and offstage in tiger masks, oversized ties and colorful outfits.

Later, Big Freedia herself rocked from New Orleans with 2 luscious dancers.
I'm so grateful to American performers for making this possible. WWOZ Onlinewire lists shows daily, as does KEXP and I'm sure a bunch of other places. Yo Yo Ma posts a daily song of comfort.
Tune in and feel your spirits lift.

in positive news

There are good things happening amongst all of the dreariness.
--Artist Trust has started an artist's relief fund for local artists hit hard by the slump. A good friend received a check just yesterday. I'm so happy to see this working as intended.
--Was able to hang out with the fam on video chat for awhile last night. We got the giggles when our aunt changed her background image and became a floating head.
That's all I got for now. Wishing everyone peace and strength.

the other side

Corvus & Co.

a morning walk

I took a quick walk around the neighborhood early on a chilly morning. I was out of coffee beans--a near-tragedy in this caffeinated burg. So many bars and restaurants are boarded up now--Quinn's, the Comet/Lost Lake Complex, Capitol Club. Which I assume means they won't be returning anytime soon.

A man and woman tried vainly to rouse the sleeping person on the stoop of the postal shop on Pike and 12th. Dog walkers hurried by. A properly-spaced line of patrons awaited entry into Amandine Bakeshop. At Pine and 12th, a cheery reminder. We still have tacos (carry out, of course).

Me, I'm home and working, with the luscious tunes on WWOZ keeping me company.

the show goes on

I"m happy to report that it hasn't taken musicians and artists long to figure out a way to share their performances on livestream. It means the world to me, as a dedicated fan of live shows, and I suspect we're only just getting started.
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Saturday evening the Seattle Symphony broadcast a Mahler symphony. Normally I wouldn't know one classical piece from another, but this was a real treat: professional musicians playing with strength and beauty. (I was relieved that it was only an hour, though.)
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Monday I checked out the Metropolitan Opera's broadcast of Carmen. You have to use their app and I couldn't get my subtitles to work but it was also lovely.
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Tuesday night was burlesque performer Trixie Paprika reading of a Sherlock Holmes tale for Noveltease Theatre. Not really my thing, I discovered, but I appreciated the coy energy.
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Tonight I had the pleasure of watching the Monty Banks Trio perform at Buffa's, live in the back room, in New Orleans. I'd tuned in for my all-time favorite Treme Brass Band but they had a sick band member and so Monty Banks it was. The patter, the jazz, the porkpie hats--I felt almost as though I were in a tiny little club in one of my favorite cities in the world. There are shows all week and a tipjar right on the page. Laissez les bon temps roulez...online.

ghost town