Those pillars really tie the room together man.

Contingent in my resolution to see more live music and travel more is the fact that I might have to do those things alone because I resolved to travel to the places I want to go to and to see the live music that I want to see and not everyone, certainly not all of my friends and family, shares my tastes.

So, this past Friday I ended up by myself at Lebowski Fest at the Showbox. Now, I like the movie (The Big Lebowski), but I had my reservations about the music. There were two opening bands, The Fucking Eagles, and Har Mar Superstar and I'd never heard either of them so I didn't know what to expect.

I'm getting ahead of myself though. The first thing I have to talk about is the Showbox. It's a venue that I've never really appreciated. Most Seattlites that like live music love the Showbox. It's the favorite venue of several people I know, but I never really liked it. My first complaint was the smoke. My second complaint is the fact that there's next to no seating in the Showbox. The first has been solved by the smoking ban recently passed in Seattle but the second is still a problem. However, you can get seats if you just go to the attached Green Room for a drink first because there's a connecting door and they let people in through the Green Room before they open the main doors.

So, now, I'm a convert. I love the Showbox. You walk in under a huge chandelier and on either side are raised up bar areas with four bars in total. All of the seating is in the raised bar areas so, for the most part, the view from those seats is pretty great. Straight ahead as you walk in is a large circular floor area (with no seats) and then the stage. The walls are painted blood red and there are lighted pillars that look like hibiscus flowers. In the bar area to the right of the stage there's a photo booth. It's a really cool vibe that I never noticed before this Friday (despite having seen at least 7 shows there).

Now, on to the show. The Fucking Eagles were amazing. They're a local band (from Tacoma) and they totally surprised me. Their music is sort of rockabillyesque but with a bit harder edge and they are funny and, of course, they say fuck a lot which is always hilarious.

The second act, Har Mar Superstar wasn't that great, was funny when talking, but almost completely incomprehensible when singing. Luckily, being at the show alone meant that I met some interesting people to talk to during the more boring parts of his set. Being there by myself sort of made me a target for being picked up on by guys, but that's not so bad. Cute boys flirting with me didn't exactly detract from the concert going experience.

The movie was, of course, fantastic although I would kind of prefer to watch it at home without a crowd full of people quoting it in, not quite, unison. But it's an experience to go to something like Lebowski Fest and the crowd participation is part of that experience.

All in all it was a great way to spend my last Friday night in Seattle before embarking on my European adventure.