TeenTix Blog

Review of Sound Off! Semi-Final #1 by Allison C.2nd place winner Sam LachowPhoto by Brady HarveyIn it’s eleventh year, EMP’s annual Sound Off! kicked off this past Saturday with its first round of semi-finalists. The stage was rocked by a wide assortment of musical styles: The Unibroz, Dungeon Science, Sam Lachow, and The Deep Wake. A 21-and-under battle-of-the-bands-like competition, Sound Off! carries a hefty prize. First place winners will perform at Bumbershoot 2012 and live on 107.7 The End, and receive gear, studio time and music industry consultation. The competition has helped catapult bands like The Lonely Forest, Dyme Def, The Globes, Brite Futures, New Faces, Sol, The Lonely H, and Schoolyard Heroes into Seattle’s revered music scene. This year’s Semifinal round #1 was an impressive and entertaining show. The UnibrozPhoto by Brady HarveyFirst to take the stage were The Unibroz. This electro-hip hop group from Seattle put on, by far, the most entertaining act. With heavy electronic-funk influences, and soulful lyrics, they take on comical subjects with serious intensity. The resulting attitude can be compared to that of former Sound Off! winners Brite Futures, or internationally known hip hop trio Das Racist. Songs about “sweet and sour dipping sauce” and a “crispy chicken saxophone” were fun and catchy. Their infectious attitudes started Sound Off! with a bang. Dungeon SciencePhoto by Brady HarveyFollowing the Unibroz was Tacoma-based Dungeon Science. With just a three-piece band, a bass, guitar, and drums, they managed to pack in a lot of punch. Quite contrary to Unibroz, they are a garage rock-soul band. Their dirty vocals and heavy, bluesy guitar give off a retro feel, similar to that of the Black Keys. While their performance was a strange jump from electro-hip hop, Dungeon Science was still able to transform the EMP into a smoky bar. The messy music is infectious. Their set seemed to end all too quickly. Next was the highly anticipated Sam Lachow. Lachow, originally from Seattle, filled the stage with his large and very talented band. He pairs hip hop with jazzy instrumentals and vocals, and his care-free lyrics guarantee a good time. Lachow focuses on using live musicians instead of sampling prerecorded artists. This made the show exciting, engaging, and impressive. Ariana DeBoo for example, who sang vocals for Lachow, has a powerful soulful voice. She was fantastic to listen to. Lachow made for a great show. His sound is contagious and interesting, his flow good, and his performance entertaining. He was the clear crowd-pleaser. Sam Lachow won second place, and a spot in the Wild Card pool. The other two semifinals will add two other wild cards, and EMP’s Youth Advisory Board will select one to compete in the finals. Sound Off! Semi-Final #1 winners, The Deep WakePhoto by Brady HarveyLast, but not least, was The Deep Wake. Hailing from Bainbridge Island, they gave the 1st semifinals a peaceful, harmony-filled conclusion. Singers Adam Foley and Laura Jean Anderson hit every note beautifully. Adding in guitars, banjo, and fiddle, they produce a folksy, twangy sound. Their harmonies wowed the crowd, their soft lyrics delicate and meaningful. With a powerful finish, they took home 1st place. They will be performing at the Sound Off finals and have a shot at winning its fabulous finals, though, with their talent, they were bound to get noticed either way. Sound Off! 2012Semi-Final #2: Saturday, February 18Semi-Final #3: Saturday, February 25Final: Saturday, March 3Teen Tix $5 at the doorMore info at empmuseum.orgPreviews, reviews, photos and more on the soundboard

Our BE THE HAND OF TEEN TIX contest continues. Is your hand THE hand? Does it have the X-factor? There's only one way to find out! Send us a picture of your hand, and we might put it on our new poster. More info here.

Our BE THE HAND OF TEEN TIX contest continues. Is your hand THE hand? Does it have the X-factor? There's only one way to find out! Send us a picture of your hand, and we might put it on our new poster. More info here.

with dandelion!Our BE THE HAND OF TEEN TIX contest continues. Is your hand THE hand? Does it have the X-factor? There's only one way to find out! Send us a picture of your hand, and we might put it on our new poster. More info here.

Review of Don Quixote at Pacific Northwest Ballet by Amy O.

Review of Tartuffe at Taproot Theatre by Jennie K.

THIS SUNDAY, February 12th: A FREE Hands-on Workshop and Demonstration with the special effects make-up technicians of Bandersnatch Studios FREE event for High School students.Space is limited. RSVP and get more info: futurewave@siff.netSunday, February 12, 1:00 – 3:00pmSIFF Film Center (Seattle Center in the former Alki Room)Like SIFF FutureWave on Facebook for info on more exciting, upcoming film events

Review of Bond & Beyond at Seattle Symphony by Will L."I also appreciated the faithful interpretations."This is not a typical night at Benaroya Hall. As the lights dim, there is no need for introductions; after a brief overture, the iconic theme of the James Bond franchise has everyone immediately captivated.The shorter style of the songs makes the performance enjoyable even for those who might typically have trouble sitting through the symphony. The conductor tells jokes, the vocalist swaps outfits for every song, and one piece even features a cell phone as a soloist in a concerto.The jazz and rock feel in many of the songs provides a refreshing change from the typical chamber music and concertos of the symphony. Saxophone solos and epic drum fills riddle the songs that are taken from both the classic 1960’s films and the modern Daniel Craig movies. The themes from The Pink Panther, Austin Powers, and Mission: Impossible all make excellent cameo appearances. My only qualm is that towards the end, the final medley seems a little cluttered and drags a little.The scores of the songs remain mostly unchanged from their film debuts. The arrangements do not innovate the rhythms or melodies of Bond, but provide the original take on the themes. “Diamonds are Forever,” “Goldfinger,” and “Dr. No” keep the charm unaccompanied by Connery or Brosnan on camera. I appreciated these faithful interpretations, but someone looking for totally new orchestrations of the classic songs will probably be disappointed.The performance is overall an extremely entertaining experience, and a great first show for newcomers to the symphony. At slightly under two hours, the show is shorter than a typical performance at Benaroya, making it more conducive to a less veteran crowd. I highly recommend Bond & Beyond to any lover of spy movies, symphony lover or otherwise, for a great time. Bond & Beyond is closed, but, if you're looking for a good symphonic experience for first-timers, check out Beyond the Score: Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27, a multi-media experience with local actors (including Teen Tix Crush-of-the-Month Sara Mountjoy-Pepka!), Sunday, March 4, 2012. More info here.

Review of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead at Seattle Public Theater by Chloe L.

We are looking for a hand model to star in our new poster. Just imagine: your hand, plastered all over the city! All you have to do is send us a photo of your hand. Three ways to do that:1. Upload your photo to facebook and tag Teen Tix (be sure to make your photo PUBLIC or we won't be able to see it.)2. Tweet us your photo3. Send us your photo in an old fashioned email.All of the photos will be posted to our blog and facebook - internet fame is better than real-life fame anyway, right?Just to get your competitive juices flowing, here's Elsa B's rock star submission. (You don't have to plaster Teen Tix all over your hand...unless, y'know...you want to. But plain old hands will also be considered.)

Tartuffe @ Taproot TheatrePhoto by Erik StuhaugSo, Tartuffe is a con-man. He fakes religious piety in order to worm his way into the lives a wealthy family and seduce the lady of the house, and hilarity ensues. Tartuffe opened at Versailles in 1664, and was almost immediately censored by King Louis XIV. King Louis LOVED the play, actually. Thought it was hilarious. But he was worried that his subjects wouldn't get the joke. He thought that there was so much "resemblance of vice to virtue" in the play that people wouldn't be able to sort out which was which. This is hard to understand from a modern perspective, until you realize that Molière basically invented comic juxtaposition, a concept so central to contemporary comedy, we barely even notice it anymore. He figured out that putting two things together that don't usually go together = funny. He said "incongruity is the heart of the comic . . . it follows that all lying, disguise, cheating, dissimulation, all outward show different from the reality, all contradiction in fact between actions that proceed from a single source, all this is in essence comic."Anyway, blah blah blah, history whatever. Go see Tartuffe, all right? It's FUNNY. Even King Louis thought so.TartuffeTaproot TheatreFebruary 1 - March 3

Teen Tix member Yvette J. Hey there Teen Tix members,We are looking for a few smiling faces to feature in our annual report to partners. These profiles help to personalize the report by showing our participating organizations who they are actually serving by collaborating with Teen Tix. Want to be in the report? Just fill out this quick survey. Just by filling it out, you'll be entered to win $50! And, if we like your answers, we'll get in touch about including you in the report. Thanks!HollyTeen Tix Program ManagerP.S. That's Teen Tix member Yvette J., who was featured in last year's report. Hey Yvette!

Review of Erin Jorgensen/Steve Fisk: Redemption at On the Boards by Anna M.Photo by Basil HarrisSeeing Erin Jorgensen and Steve Fisk’s performance, Redemption, showing at On the Boards was an incredible experience. I left the theater unsure of what I had just witnessed, but nonetheless blown away. I’ve been procrastinating writing this review because I have been unable, after a weekend of thought, to classify Erin Jorgensen’s awesome performance clearly and succinctly. Was it a concert? No. Play? No. Theatrical? Maybe… For the purposes of this review, I will call it a quasi-musical, quasi-theatrical, experiential and thought provoking performance.The show surrounds Erin Jorgensen’s several songs, featuring voice, piano and marimba, as well as the electronic effects of producer Steve Fisk. As a singer, her voice is incredible. As someone who has been involved with a marimba group before, I was excited to see the instrument getting some attention. The sounds created by her voice, the instruments and the electronic addition were simply incredible and reverberated through the small and intimate On the Boards theater. The combination of the music and her monologues created an all-around surreal performance. Photo by Basil HarrisDuring the first quarter of the show, I was trying in vain to analyze what all of the songs meant and what emotions the performance was intended to evoke. I had my pen out and my notes ready. But sometime near the beginning, Ms. Jorgensen said something along the lines of “I know your problem. You’re thinking too hard. Don’t you know that all real truth is rooted in the senses?” That was the last note I took, and would be my advice for those looking to see this performance. Any attempt to make this performance perfectly logical, will be inevitably futile. My advice is go into the theater, and experience the incredible and unique sounds paired with the aesthetic created by the lights, set, marimbas, and Jorgensen herself. Redemption is closed but you can hear Erin's music and buy her album at erinjorgensen.bandcamp.comPlus! We've got videos of Erin playing on the Teen Tix YouTube pageNext up at On the Boards: Mariano Pensotti | El pasado es un animal grotescoa play about four Buenos Aires 20-somethingsFeb 9 - 12More info at ontheboards.org

Review of How to Write a New Book for the Bible at Seattle Repertory Theatre by Melissa C.This show, about a son reflecting back on his family’s story after his mom dies from cancer, starts out promising enough. A single door and a few carefully placed pieces of furniture displayed below gorgeous hovering light fixtures lay the scene for an apparently humorous and touching play. This perfect picture quickly wears out.(l to r) Aaron Blakeley, Tyler Pierce, Linda Gehringer, and Leo Marks star in the world premiere of Bill Cain’s How to Write a New Book for the Bible at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com I’ll start with the positive. The technical aspects of this show are simple and yet surprising. There are only four pieces of furniture used, but they creatively shift the scene from a bedroom to a doctor’s office to Washington D.C. The back screen changes colors so magnificently that it evokes emotion. The acting is equally impressive. A mere four actors spin this story for us. The main character, Billy (Tyler Pierce), is the least compelling to watch--granted it is a hard role. He is on stage the whole time acting as devoted son, holy preacher, narrator, and stand-up comedian. It is obvious that Pierce has talent, but the comedian takes over, yelling punch lines at the audience, rendering his sentimental moments fake or sarcastic. Leo Marks as his dad, on the other hand, brilliantly transforms into different parts. He is able to convincingly play everything from a sick old man to a healthy young woman. It is refreshing to watch an actor make an effort to actually act like a woman instead of playing it off as a joke. Billy’s brother (Aaron Blakely) is the opposite. He has a weakness when it comes to playing different ages, but moved me to tears when his character broke down at the Vietnam memorial wall. However, the character that is clearly holding this play together is Mary, Billy’s mom, played beautifully by Linda Gehringer. She is hilarious and authentic. I watched her age until she couldn’t walk and I believed every second of it. Every moment was so well done, I cannot praise her enough.However, this play is missing a crucial element: a compelling script. It feels like the author, Bill Cain, took a mostly average experience and tried to force themes, religion, and humor in to make it worthy of the stage. The show begins with our narrator doing a short monologue on how every writer should write a mystery first. I assumed that would be the end of that whimsical tidbit, but for every character in the play, Mr. Cain tries to shove the mystery theme in again. A great mystery has to be attributed to each character’s life whether it works well with the story or not. The whole metaphor is extremely ironic because there is no mystery to this play for the audience to puzzle over. Everything is perfectly tied up. Each detail of every event is carefully gone over multiple times. I was left asking no questions. From the title How to Write a New Book for the Bible, one would expect that the focus of this play would not be mystery, but rather religion, finding peace with the afterlife, and putting faith in God. However the attempts at religious insight don't fit and feel forced. Even the other characters think it is weird that Billy is a priest. Mr. Cain goes as far as to use a sermon-like form of speech which starts out as a joke and turns into an unnecessary annoyance as the play progresses; I found this style so stiff and awkward that it forced me out of the moment, and I started thanking my lucky stars that I didn’t have to go to church. Almost every reference to the bible is quickly followed by some wisecrack about those "tricky bible mothers" or a jest about Jesus. Most of the jokes were not my type of humor, but, at the performance I attended, the mainly 60+ audience was laughing uproariously at every turn the story took. To be fair, the play is clearly geared towards an older crowd; I was not able to empathize with many of the situations portrayed. But those around me were engrossed and as I sunk into my chair with a sigh of relief when the final curtain fell the rest of the audience rose and gave it a standing ovation.This show could be witty and meaningful if done in under an hour. Instead, it drags out to two-and-a-half hours. The entire second act is entirely unnecessary; at intermission I was satisfied with the story and no longer invested in the characters. I did not need to know that they ate tomato soup and I didn’t care about the "new twists" in the story--Billie thinking that he is ill when he isn’t ill, his mother soiling herself and accepting death about three times. It became so tedious and drawn out that I would have walked out if I didn’t have to write this review. But when I look back now I can see that the technicians, actors, and director all did their jobs to perfection. When it comes down to it, it is merely a boring script not written for young audience. I’m looking forward to buying myself a ticket to this show again...in about 50 years.How to Write a New Book for the BibleSeattle Repertory TheatreThrough February 5, 2012

Here is our amazing intern, Dillon, busily mailing out Teen Tix passes. Do you know where YOUR Teen Tix pass is? If not, just go to our Lost Pass Form and we'll send you a replacement. Easy Peasey!Problems with the Lost Pass form or questions about anything? We're always here for you: teentix@seattle.gov or 206.233.3959.

Review of Hamelin Performs Chopin at Seattle Symphony by Galen C. World premieres seemed to have become an important part of Seattle Symphony’s first season under new executive and music direction. On Thursday night, So Far So Good, composed by rising star Nico Muhly, had its first performance under the baton of Ludovic Morlot. The fluid piece was programmed alongside Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Although the pieces had clear contrasts, there were common elements that united the works into a cohesive entity.

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead @ Seattle Public TheatreIn the little-known olde tyme play Hamlet, after all of the important characters have already died, an ambassador from England enters to announce that "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern," a couple of messengers who nobody cares about anyway, "are dead." Enter the genius of Tom Stoppard, who took these two nobodies and gave them a whole play. A hilarious, brilliant play. My drama geek friends and I were obsessed with it in high school, and you and your drama geek friends should be, too. One drama geek to another, just trust me, okay? Go.Oh, and, P.S., Seattle Public Theater has recast the two rubes as ladies, played by the beautiful and talented Angela DiMarco and Alyssa Keene. Yay!- HollyROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEADSeattle Public TheaterThe Greenlake Bathhouse7312 West Green Lake Dr. N. Seattle, WA 98103mapPreview Thursday, January 26Opens Friday, January 27Runs through February 19$5.00 Teen Tix day-of-show for each performance until sold out.Availability of Teen Tix tickets is not guaranteed. We recommend calling ahead: 206-524-1300

TONIGHT! Hollis Wong-Wear, rising star of the Northwest spoken-word poetry scene + some awesome poets from Youth Speaks Seattle + thousands of records = a killer listening party at Seattle Art Museum's RECORD STORE in Pioneer Square. This event is free and open to the public.RECORD STORE is a temporary SAM installation in a storefront in Pioneer Square. Nothing is for sale there, but anyone can walk in and play music from the store's vast collection of vinyl. Tonight, Wong-Wear and the Youth Speaks folks will be performing poetry and playing music for YOU. Check it out.RECORD STORE LISTENING PARTY withHollis Wong-Wear & Youth Speaks Seattle[storefront] at Olson Kundig Architects406 Occidental Ave. SSeattle, WA 98104mapHOURSTues| Wed | Thurs12 – 4 pm and 6:30 – 9:00 pm

Feeling a little stir crazy? Got Wii Tennis arm? All hot chocolated out? GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE. Here's a list of what's on and off (but mostly--hooray!--on) for tonight at our participating organizations.

Boating with Clyde: Snow Snow Snow Your Boat from Do it for the girls on Vimeo.(3D glasses recommended!)Tonight's 7:30 performance of All Through the Night at ArtsWest is ON!Rabih Mroué: Looking for a Missing Employee at On the Boards in ON, and they have added a 4 pm matinee tomorrow (Saturday, January 21st) to make up for last night's missed performance.This weekend's remaining performances (Saturday and Sunday) of Attila at Seattle Opera are ON.Pacific Science Center's IMAX Theatres and Laser Dome are OPEN!Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Asian Art Museum, and The Olympic Sculpture Park are OPEN!Henry Art gallery is closed. Sad trombone.SIFF Cinema and Uptown Cinema are OPEN!Tonight's 7:30 performance of How to Write a New Book for the Bible at Seattle Rep is ON!

Seattle Symphony has cancelled tonight's performance Mendelssohn’s “Italian” SymphonyJust going to post cancellations as they come in today, so stay tuned to the blog (or, if there's something you're wondering about, you can always call the organization directly. All of the numbers are listed on our our website).