Swell Season at Seattle’s Paramount Theater

If music is the international language then seeing The Swell Season at Seattle’s Paramount Theater is like a therapy session in a penthouse suite. Commissioned by Paramount Pictures in the late 1920’s, the Paramount’s decadent décor filled with high arches, ornate touches and multiple chandeliers has seen Broadway, dance, theater and music ranging from vaudeville to Madonna’s first stop on her 1985 “The Virgin Tour”. When I was young I told my parents that if I ever won the lottery the first thing I would do is buy the Paramount, just to ensure no one ever tore it down. Luckily a Microsoft executive beat me to it pouring millions of dollars into restorations in 1993 leaving me free to dream of other extravagant indulgences.

No matter how beautiful the surroundings, the only thing capturing the attention of the audience on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2009 was the commanding presence of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova who make up The Swell Season. These Irish (well, okay mostly, she’s Czech, but he and his bandmates are all Irish lads) indie darlings captured international attention in 2008 winning an Academy Award for “Falling Slowly” from the film Once, not to mention one of the first times I have ever seen an allowance for an extended acceptance speech!



This pair is inspiring on a number of levels. Their lyrics are full of hope in the face of struggle while the juxtaposition of Glen’s passion-filled wails with Marketa’s quiet, sprite-ish stature exhibits strength in every form. These unassuming stars are well aware of their roots and are known for wandering the streets of any city they play, finding a favorite struggling musician and inviting them to perform onstage in front of packed houses.  Their performances are full of quirky moments from Irglova’s incorporation of her vintage Casio keyboard to Hansard breaking three guitar strings mid-song, forcing a stagehand to run a new instrument onstage multiple times, but refusing to leave the melody unfinished.

But don’t take my word for it, you can stream songs on their website and decide for yourself!

Around the World On A Stage

One of the things I have picked up through my travels is a love of the theater. I saw my first “Broadway” show in London (and just to further confuse the geography of that sentence it was a production of Chicago). Some of my favorite shows have addressed issues ranging from inner city life in Upper Manhattan to the AIDS epidemic in Africa without adding a single stamp to my passport.


So, when my beautiful and talented friend Taryn Darr, star of the 5^th Avenue Theater’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, invited me to an opening night performance I threw on my theater-going heels and raced out the door. 

I'll admit to being slightly religiously-challenged and a little skeptical of a “family” show, but I was quickly converted. This silly storyline takes the audience on a journey from Israel to Egypt riding on the backs of every musical genre they can cram in. I was especially impressed with Jennifer Paz, the narrator whose kid-friendly voice could soothe a rabid dog to sleep yet still manages to remain saccharine-free, and the band of brothers whose vocal prowess and comedic timing were more memorable than any of their names.

And of course, the entertainment industry loves any excuse to throw a party. Palomino hosted the cast, crew and lucky few who took advantage of a buffet dinner and “Technicolor Coolers”. Theater parties rival Halloween for costume watching with attendees in satin dresses, baseball caps and jeans (lead Anthony Federov…), and a fabulous older man in a sequined Technicolor coat (where was my camera when I needed it?!).

What Comes First, the Sports Team or the Fans?

After a particularly brutal weekend of Seattle football (not to mention coming off of the worst year ever for any sports fan), I got to thinking about the relationship between sports and the city. There is no denying that an athletic presence contributes to the identity of both a city and its people.

Seattle has a reputation for good, but not great, professional sports teams. The Seattle Seahawks made a Super Bowl appearance in 2006, but our rings ultimately ended up on the fingers of the Pittsburgh Steelers. We invested in a gorgeous baseball stadium, spent $100 million dollars on star-studded Mariners talent like Ichiro Suzuki, but still boasted a baseball team that lost a heart-breaking 100 games in 2008. And then there was the winless college football season of my alma mater, the University of Washington…

And yet somehow, Seattlites look for something to cheer about. We rally around individual records, monumental moments and the pure joy that comes from the unexpected success of a perpetual underdog. Our fans actually celebrated the loss of UW’s first college football game simply because we held our own with the highly ranked LSU. In the face of defeat, we remain hopeful.

I find this attitude interesting because as a city itself, Seattle is a bit of an underdog. Sure, it has a reputation for being beautiful, but it doesn’t hold the worldwide the recognition of Los Angeles or New York City. And yet, residents are fiercely loyal in the belief that we don't need a title when we know how great we've got it. So are our sports teams a product of our environment, or an example of it? And how much of this resilience, or is it acceptance of disappointment, finds its way into the everyday life of our residents?

Every city’s fans have their own reputations. I’ve witnessed in-your-face New Yorkers boo their own players if they didn’t feel up to their standard of excellence. Still, this was unsurprising in a city that attracts worldwide talent and accepts only the best in every arena. Could this be a contributing factor to the championship ring collection of the New York Yankees? Or a byproduct of it?

Every sports fan I know wants to feel like they make a difference in the outcome of the game. We bring our attitudes, cultures and our personalities into the stadium, I’m simply curious how much of this mentality actually factors onto the field.

Three Good Reasons to Love Argosy Cruises

1. Gorgeous views of the Seattle waterfront

2. Way better than anticipated buffet dinner

3. Support for one of my favorite charities, Camp Goodtimes

And if I can recommend the perfect party game for any occasion, reminiscent of the great Pee Wees’s Playhouse, you should always have a secret word. Ours is “ninja”. 

Squeezing the Last Sunny Days Out of a Seattle Summer

I’m definitely not what you would call a morning person. I’m a firm believer that days should start once the hours enter double digits. Still, when the West Seattle Blog announced that Alki Kayak Tours slashed their $65 Alki Lighthouse run to $20, simply because they felt it would be a crime not to take advantage of 80+ degree weather in late September, they got me out of bed. Who can resist that kind of staff commitment to sharing an experience they clearly love?

So at 8:30am on a day when I was scheduled to work the closing bar shift, I found myself scarfing down a bagel & cream cheese and a boiled egg (fuel for this three-hour tour) and catching the free Water Taxi shuttle to our launch site.

This last minute plea brought together seven strangers, picked to paddle the waterfront, and find out what happens when they stop enjoying the scenery and start getting…tired. Our group consisted of a cute young couple, two adult women who had never kayaked before, myself, with the limited experience of once on a lake this past summer, and an old pro called “North Dakota Dave (or was it Dan?)”. Our gregarious guide was named Greg, but went by “Kona” since half the staff also appeared to be named Greg.

The staff had every amenity imaginable on hand, from the essential life jackets and equipment to waterproof bags for cameras and loaner sunglasses. Kona led us through a brief tutorial of how not to end up upside down while entering and exiting the boat and emergency exit procedures should you find yourself flipped to face the fishies. Then it was all hands on deck to haul the boats to shore and start paddling.

Alki Beach provides one of the best possible views of the Seattle skyline, but being locals our eyes were peeled more for the possibility of a seal sighting, foreshadowed by the far off barking echoing over the water and granted about ten minutes in. The group kept an easy pace to the lighthouse and back, stopping sporadically to let lagging members catch up, snap photos or bask in the sunshine. By the time we were halfway back to our starting point my arms had definitely begun to ache, but I took very little advantage of the freedom of the out-of-sight back paddler to slack off every now and then… I swear!

Trazzler Travel Writing Contest

I've broken the top 20 of the 200+ semi-finalists in an online travel writing contest sponsored by Trazzler.com and NYCGO.com. The top ten most voted trips go to the finals to be judged on the merit of their writing, so I need your help to get there! The theme of the contest was to find an "Oasis", a place that lets you escape from everyday life and describe it in roughly 150 words or less.

As an added incentive, if selected as a winner I plan to donate half of the $10,000 prize to the American Cancer Society's Camp Goodtimes, a much needed "oasis" for children battling cancer.

I chose the sunset on Alki Beach in West Seattle, a view that has kept me going through many busy nights working at the restaurant where this is my "corner office". I can practically predict my night based around what time the sun goes down and our staff makes it a point, no matter how hectically we may be running around, to stop and enjoy this sight every night for at least a minute.

You can read my entry "Searching for the Perfect Sunset on Alki Beach" here:
http://www.trazzler.com/trips/alki-beach-in-seattle-wa-98116

***Update- made it to the top 20 contestants, but didn't break into the top ten finalists. Thanks for the love from those who voted!

Discovering Seattle’s OTHER Favorite Football Team

People like to say that Americans are the last to embrace the game of soccer as a professional sport, but it appears that someone forgot to tell that to the fans that occupy the Brougham section of Qwest Field during a Seattle Sounders game. Keeping a close eye on your friends is key in order to avoid being lost in a sea of bright green jerseys and twirling scarves (You’ve GOT to love a sport that provides its fans with not only uniforms but accessories!).


As a newbie to the sport I knew just enough to follow along the basic rules (no hands allowed, go for the goal on the opposite ends of the field, etc.), could distinguish the difference between red and yellow cards, and quickly learned to groan at the amount of time players spent rolling around on the field in pain and then miraculously leapt up and continued playing on said agonizing injury if it didn’t warrant a whistle.


What I didn’t realize is the sheer level of involvement of soccer fans! There was a young guy in the front of our section with a megaphone who led cheers, chants and songs nonstop throughout the entirety of the match. These ranged from multiple verses regaling the strength of Seattle to the less than PG-13 jeers of “F*!? You, A$$hole” directed towards the other team’s goalie every time he kicked, to the downright disturbing chants of “Let-him-die!” when an opposing team member was being carried off the field in a stretcher. Okay granted, he immediately got up and ran down the sidelines once off the field, but seriously?!


Overall it was good-natured fun. I may be a Seahawks girl at heart, but the passion of these season ticket holders was contagious. The only thing less than satisfying was the end result of tie with a score of 0-0. When neither side gets to walk out of the stadium taunting the other relentlessly, doesn’t everybody lose?