Taking it to the streets

From venues like Neumos to production studios like The Northwest Film Forum to coffee house think-tanks like Bauhaus, Capitol Hill is an artsy, musically-inclined neighborhood. This weekend the neighborhood will celebrate its eclectic self at the Capitol Hill Block Party.

For the ninth year in a row, about 10,000 attendees are expected to pack the blocks of Pike and Pine just east of Broadway. Beginning as an unabashed response to similar parties around town, like the Fremont Street Festival with its nude bicyclists, the Block Party has turned into a large celebration of Seattle's musical culture.

According to David Meinert, longtime Block Party organizer and CEO of the Seattle-based music management firm Fuzed Music, the ticket price increased this year from $10 to $12 as a result of bigger names in the lineup, and increased local and national attention for the event.

"If you want to get a sense of the Seattle music scene, this is the best place to be," said Meinert.

Headliners The Presidents of the United States of America (a client of Fuzed Music, appearing Saturday) and Built to Spill (appearing Sunday) are accompanied by more than fifty bands on four stages from noon to midnight each day. In recent years, the Block Party has been a launching point for Seattle bands like Schoolyard Heroes, The Gossip (performing again this year), The Divorce and others.

Proceeds benefit local non-profit organizations like The Vera Project and Home Alive, an anti-violence and self-defense organization.

In addition to music, the event features spoken word and carnival booths with a twist, including a dildo ring toss and celebrity dunk tank. There will also be local artists and designers, appearances by Seattle politicians, including congresswoman Maria Cantwell, and, of course, food on every corner.

I Heart Rummage Vendors

I Heart Rummage has been a monthly vendor party of local artists, independent clothing creators and other counterculture material distributors housed in belltown's Crocodile Cafe for three years. Co-founder Matthew Parker has also been running the vending and booth sales for the Capitol Hill Block Party, so this weekend offers the best compilation of art and clothing and weird-ass booths in the city.

Speaking of Weird-Ass booths ...

The party has the same booths found at every festival, but it does them with a twist. From a dildo ring toss to a dunk-tank with Seattle's politicians, you can have some fun playing adult versions of the games you remember from elementary school -- the three beer gardens might be an entertaining pit stop before the games.

Music for the eclectic listener

On Saturday the Mainstage offers three bands you probably won't see together anywhere else. In the midst of an international tour, Seattle's Supersuckers start the evening at 6:30. Oscillating between country with urban lyrics, aggressive rock and alternative reminiscent of the early '90s, the band is know for high-velocity shows.

Blue Scholars have been around the UW a lot lately, but the hip-hop group is expanding their quick, locally-themed lyrics across the Northwest and Canada.

Last is the comedic, long-lived Presidents of the United States of America. The band is still recovering from its early-'90s stardom and becoming a bigger participant in Seattle's music scene.

For Seattle fans who want more than the obvious

For those who love to run into band members at the grocery store, find their album on Napster and see them at a $5 concert the next day, there's so much good music this weekend you'll get sun burnt.

The band These Arms are Snakes is hugely responsible for Rainydawg Radio's second birthday bash being a big success. This unconventional band is worth the wait through long interludes and the confusion of two drum sets on stage.

Some people like The Gossip for occasional political statements, but others just love raspy-voiced screaming about life and love. After opening for Pretty Girls Make Graves and other big Seattle names, The Gossip has quickly set itself apart as one of Seattle's most enjoyable acts to see and hear live.

With Seattle's IQU headlining the Vera Stage while The Presidents are on the Mainstage, what to see Saturday night is a tough choice. IQU released Sun Q, its second album after a tour, a name change, and a return to the Pacific Northwest. It's another surprising, successful mix of club music and punk rock.

The up-and-comers

The duo Sick Bees is seriously Seattle with song titles like "St. Helens." And it's one of those bands you can say you saw before everyone knew them, since 2000's My Pleasure wasn't followed up until the recently released The Marina Album. The band is releasing another album in the fall, and is just getting back in the swing of performances.

Razrez opens the entire Block Party at 12:15 p.m. Saturday on the Mainstage. Their performance will be a good warm up, with rock that never fully breaks out. Later, check out Mon Frere. The fast-paced trio won EMP's Sound Off in 2004 and has hit up local clubs with Schoolyard Heroes, Kane Hodder and other acts with a slightly harder sound.

A different form of words

For spoken word fans, Seattle is a great place to hear language sans musical accompaniment. On the National Grand Slam Circuit, the Seattle Team commonly takes top prizes and presents some of the best individual artists in the country. This year, Block Party performances (on stage between musical acts) include this year Seattle's 2005 Grand Slam Poetry Champion Christa Bell, Seattle Public Library's All-City Poetry teacher Roberto Ascalon, and more.