STG Presents Ryuichi Sakamoto, The Airborne Toxic Event & Idlewild, Begins 9/18

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) announces the following concerts going on sale this week.

An Acoustic Evening with The Airborne Toxic Event Performing with the Calder Quartet

Date: Saturday, September 18, 2010 @ 8:00pm
Venue: Town Hall (All Ages)
Price: $20.00 in advance, $25.00 day of show, not including applicable fees
Seating: General Admission
On sale date: Saturday, July 17, 2010 @ 10:00am
Ticketing information: Online at Tickets.com, in person at the Paramount Theatre box office (M-F 10am-6pm), 24-hour kiosks located outside the Paramount & Moore Theatres, charge by phone at (877) 784-4849, or online at STGPresents.org.

The Airborne Toxic Event borrows its name from the novel White Noise by Don DeLillo. Published in 1984, the book foresaw a world consumed by media -- radio waves, billboards, television, advertisements -- all crowding waking hours, finding their way into dreams, subconscious thoughts, incoherent bits of static about Toyotas, Pepsi, manic depression, and the president. The Airborne Toxic Event is an enormous dark cloud, created by an explosion at a nearby chemical plant. In addition to the crowded airwaves, the cloud portends death, lingering at the edges of life, giving it meaning, urgency, something to fear. The music press has compared them to the Cure, Modest Mouse, the Smiths, Franz Ferdinand, the Clash and the Arcade Fire. Rolling Stone named them one of the top 25 bands on MySpace. Their live show, in addition to viola, organ, guitars and trumpet, includes the hood of a 1969 Alfa Romeo found at a junkyard one afternoon.

An Evening with
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Playing the Piano
Date: Saturday, October 30, 2010 @ 8:00pm
Venue: Moore Theatre (All Ages)
Price: $27.50 not including applicable fees
Seating: Reserved Seating
On sale date: Friday, July 16, 2010 @ 10:00am
Ticketing information: Online at Tickets.com, in person at the Paramount Theatre box office (M-F 10am-6pm), 24-hour kiosks located outside the Paramount & Moore Theatres, charge by phone at (877) 784-4849, or online at STGPresents.org.

Ryuichi Sakamoto's legions of fans will have a new special 2-CD package to savor on September 28th (Decca): the two albums, playing the piano and out of noise, present a wide-ranging view into the world of this composer, musician, producer, actor, and environmental activist. Ryuichi Sakamoto will make a rare North American solo tour in October/November, bringing his music to audiences through sustainable and ecologically sound touring. In addition, a carbon offset will be made for all carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the tour. The first CD, playing the piano, is a series of miniatures or "self-covers," as Sakamoto refers to them - solo piano versions of his earlier works, including some of the famous film themes such as The Last Emperor (Oscar/Grammy ® -winning soundtrack), Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and The Sheltering Sky (Golden Globe - best original score). The second CD, out of noise, is arguably Sakamoto's most ambitious to date in which he continues to explore the netherworld between music and noise that has fascinated him for years. He is joined here by, among others, Austrian guitarist/laptop artist Christian Fennesz, guitarist Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada), England's renowned early music group Fretwork, and Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Skuli Sverrisson.

Idlewild
Special Guest: Happy Hollows
Date: Saturday, November 20, 2010 @ 9:00pm
Venue: The Crocodile (21+)
Price: $15.00, not including applicable fees
Seating: General Admission
On sale date: Saturday, July 17, 2010 @ 10:00am
Ticketing information: Online at TheCrocodile.com. More information can be found at STGPresents.org.

Maybe it's the lush climate, maybe it's the protective isolation, but something about the Scottish Highlands yields a hearty strain of rock band. Idlewild, which sprung from these volcanic hills, formed at an Edinborough art school in 1995, thrashed around on pub stages for a year or two, then underwent a classic evolution: from distortion-wielding punk scrappers to commanding, elegant songwriters and absolutely enthralling performers -- with the edge retained, following the same path greats like the Replacements did over the course of a decade. But they did it in two albums. "I'd always been very interested in the written word," says Woomble, whose school teacher mother is a poet. "But when I was into indie-rock and punk-rock, I never cared too much about lyrics. Then I realized that all the books I'd been reading and all the things I'd been thinking about could make their way into songs." He also tried his hand at another new challenge: singing notes. "I never thought of myself as a singer, really," says Woomble. "I just thought of myself as the guy in the band that didn't play any instruments." This changed on with the release of 100 Broken Mirrors, a cult hit in the U.S. that made the four fetchingly collegiate Scotsmen the alt-rock find of 2001. Named the "Number One Record You Didn't Hear" by Spin magazine, Windows bristled with the kind of pointed riffs and post-punk intensity few associated with the band's region -- then a center of languid British balladry a la Travis. But it also revealed a sure knack for vocal harmonies and Woomble's distinctive lyricism: a keening voice that suggested a Gaelic Michael Stipe, with oblique verses that rose up into haunting, enigmatic refrains -- "All I need is a little dis -- courage," "Don't be real/Be postmodern."

STG is the 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization that operates the historic Paramount and Moore Theatres in Seattle, Washington. Our mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of our region's cultural identity while keeping these two landmark venues alive and vibrant. STG presents a variety of shows from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and Jazz or comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows - at both historic theatres in Seattle and at venues throughout Puget Sound and Portland, Oregon.

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