Pop Conference 2005 : EMP, Seattle, April 14th to April 17th.. (feat. Tom Ewing!)

Almost all of these panels sound juicy as hell. I can't decide. I might have to clone myself several times, and see all them.

BUT WE GOT DA DICKZ!

http://www.ddir.com/
http://www.ddir.com/store_queen_ann.html

i have not been away THAT long

* Roti (Indian)
* Sam's (sushi)
* Dick's (greazy burgers, fries, and shakes -- just skip Kidd Valley. You want the *real* LDL cholesterofl)
* Pesos, or Blue Water Grill (Mexican)
* Pagliacci (Pizza -- don't go to Zeek's, they're aggressive mediocre)
* Racha (Thai -- Avoid the other Thai place, Phuket.. it's aggressively mediocre)
* The Melting Pot (fondue restaurant franchise)
* Ten Mercer (general gourmet/ritzy food place that isn't bad)
* Some chinese place on QA Ave. and Roy st. that aggressively advertises veggie dishes, but I've never been

There's also this ribs/meat place that has a dancing ceramic cow and pig circulating around, dancing perpetually, above the entrance on 1st Ave N. nearby.

And if you want to walk south of Denny, there's Afrikando... and other places on the cusp of Belltown.

If only Thai Tom was closer.. sigh.

Despite DD's veganitarian proclivities I wholeheartedly recommend EATING there!

FLOYD'S!

if all else fails, Larry's Market has a really terrific bakery

"Moooooooooooooo, Jess, eat me, Moooooooooooooooooooo"

"PADOINK PADOINK, Jess, eat her, HAHAHA PADOINK PADOINK"

Your plane lands. You may or may not need to collect checked bags. But head down to the Baggage Claim level at Sea-Tac airport (first level.). Once you get there and get your checked bags, if any, just GO RIGHT, basically... (in relation to getting off the down escalator.) Just keep going until you have to exit the airport... you should see signs that say "Public Transportation".. these are good signs.

Go outside and look for the bus bay (It was #2 as of two weeks ago, but these can change often) that says "194-Downtown Seattle"... The "Downtown Seattle" part is very important, because the 194 bus also goes south towards Tacoma as well. When the 194 bus arrives, make sure it says "Seattle" on it.

Here is the King County Metro page on the 194's bus schedule:
http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/bus/schedules/s194_0_.html

Scroll down to the "To Downtown Seattle" part to see the schedule northbound to downtown. On your bus trip back, if applicable, look at the day, then go to the "To Sea Tac/Federal Way" portion, southbound. The timetable will also be there at the bus stop.

It looks like the 194 bus runs from 5/6am to 9/10pm on weekdays (every 15 minutes between 8am to 6pm), 7am to 9/10pm on Saturdays, and 7am to 7pm on Sundays.

Fare on weekdays one way: $2.00 (in which case, tell the bus driver, you're going to Seattle when you enter the two bucks, and you'll get a 2-zone transfer, which you can choose to use later or not.)

On weekends one way: $1.25 (same deal with the transfer)

Failing that, there's the 174 bus, which runs all night, except 3/4 to 5/6am.. (til 2/3am on weekends) Here's the schedule for the 174 bus:
http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/bus/schedules/s174_0_.html

Failing THAT, there's a Gray Line bus that runs all day and night, for around $10 or so, that goes between the airport and all the main hotels downtown..
http://graylineseattle.com/airportexpress1.cfm

But, you do not NEED a taxi nor Shuttle Express (a complete rip-off IMHO) to get from the airport to downtown Seattle. You may prefer to do so -- especially if you can expense travel for this conference in some way. But it will be significantly more expensive than the above options.

...

The 194 takes I-5 to downtown, but gets off right before on a bus-only street. It looks kinda industrial there (it's the SoDo district), but there's a lot of quizotic (and quixotic!) graffiti on the west side of the street. In particular, on one corner, there's a painting of half a large menacing grey tiger wearing a large pink party hat attacking an indie rock girl wearing a blue cashmere sweater raising her hand to fend away the beast. Get a picture of this, if you can. (I might have to go down there myself one day JUST FOR THE PURPOSE of photographing this, and the rest of that bus-only street's graffiti.. it sure ain't Oakland, CA or NYC graffiti.. that's one thing I'll say.)

If you're arriving before 7pm on a weekday, or before 5pm on a Saturday, the bus will go UNDERGROUND! There is a network of underground bus tunnels in downtown (that's actually due to close for most of the remaining part of the year starting May/June for retrofitting, so, guys, you are somewhat lucky to catch this for the last time in a while.) There will be the International District Stop, the Pioneer Square stop, the University Street stop (no relation to the U-district), and then -- the stop where you probably want to exit -- the Westlake Center stop. Go up one floor to the mezzanine from the platform, via elevator or escalator, and follow the signs that say Pine and 3rd st. exit. You may have to walk through the Westlake Center Mall to get to that exit.

You're pretty much smack dab in the middle of downtown at this point. You could easily walk to any hotel you booked in downtown.. or you could use your bus transfer (which are all free in Seattle and typically last 2-5 hours) to grab a bus to wherever else you may be staying in the city. Or if you know better, get off on a different stop somewhere in downtown or underground.

Now... If you arrive late enough AFTER the bus tunnel closes, you'll just default to streets in downtown -- no tunnel for you. Get off on the Pine and 3rd st. bus stop, or whichever stop is closest for your lodging needs.

Or, you may have to grab the longer and less scenic 174 bus if your flight arrives late evening, or early morning.. but you'll still eventually get to downtown.

Also, general bus riding warning: There's a lot of confusion around the "Pay As You Leave"/"Pay As You Enter" shit... See, downtown Seattle buses are all FREE between 7am and 7pm every day (which is a convenient thing if you're only too tired to walk in downtown.) So any downtown-bound bus is "Pay as your ENTER".. any downtown-leaving bus is "Pay as you LEAVE" (where you leave at the front of the bus under the semi-scrutiny of the driver, and pay).. except after 7pm, ALL buses go "Pay as you Enter". It's really confusing and fucked up.. it takes years for even locals to not be thrown for a spin occasionally.

If there's anything you want to do that's touristy during the day, and you have the time... go to the Seattle Public Library, and just get lost in it. It's free, and it's one of the best attractions downtown has to offer. Their hours are longer on the weekdays, and slightly shorter on the weekends. Google "seattle public library", press "I feel lucky", and hit the "central location" link, and all the hours information should be there.

So, now, you have a primer on how to get to and from the airport, basically.

I'll provide info on how to get to those two shows I mentioned WAAAY above there, once I get the Monorail operation hours, show times, show locations, etc.

Thing is.. having been through the conference last year, I might just be able to survive one show.. *maybe* two.

ALWAYS TAKE A TRANSFER.

They're free with purchase of a bus fare. It's good for about 2-4 hours after you pay.. you can even get away with flashing it just outside the expiration hour and the bus driver will just grunt and go "huhuhuhuu" and wave you in. And there are no limitations as to which buses you can use transfers on (as opposed to other cities, like Los Angeles)

yes, there is a monorail: http://www.seattlemonorail.com/

It's only useful to those who want to go between central downtown and the EMP. It's $1.50 a ride.. bus transfers won't apply. It's quick, but there are plenty of buses that will do the trick as well.. namely the 16, the 3, and the 4 (3 and 4 overlap a lot) -- amongst many more that get you close enough, too. The buses run a lot later and earlier though, than the monorail currently does. The monorail won't go back to regular hours until the end of this month (until 11pm at nights.. due to that fire from last fall.)

also, a quick recap on the shows happening this weekend...

Thursday 4/14:

* David Thomas / David Grubbs / DJ set by Drew Daniel at the Sunset Tavern (Ballard)

Friday 4/15:

* The Album Leaf / Aspect Of Physics / Manuok / Plastiq Phantom at Neumo's (Capitol Hill)
* U.S.E. + 2 bands at the all ages Vera Project (Downtown)

Saturday 4/16:

* Mixmaster Mike / Electric Six / VHS Or Beta at Neumo's (Capitol Hill) (FREE SHOW.. 8pm 21+... get there early I guess, if you want to go?)
* Federation X / DMBQ (from Japan) / Fireballs Of Freedom at the Funhouse (directly across from EMP, Lower Queen Anne)
* U.S.E. / Bruno Pronsato + DJs at the all ages Vera Project (Downtown)

Sunday 4/17:

* The Wedding Present (and more) at Neumo's (Capitol Hill)

ALWAYS TAKE A TRANSFER.

They're free with purchase of a bus fare. It's good for about 2-4 hours after you pay.. you can even get away with flashing it just outside the expiration hour and the bus driver will just grunt and go "huhuhuhuu" and wave you in. And there are no limitations as to which buses you can use transfers on (as opposed to other cities, like Los Angeles)

yes, there is a monorail: http://www.seattlemonorail.com/

It's only useful to those who want to go between central downtown and the EMP. It's $1.50 a ride.. bus transfers won't apply. It's quick, but there are plenty of buses that will do the trick as well.. namely the 16, the 3, and the 4 (3 and 4 overlap a lot) -- amongst many more that get you close enough, too. The buses run a lot later and earlier though, than the monorail currently does. The monorail won't go back to regular hours until the end of this month (until 11pm at nights.. due to that fire from last fall.)

also, a quick recap on the shows happening this weekend...

Thursday 4/14:

* David Thomas / David Grubbs / DJ set by Drew Daniel at the Sunset Tavern (Ballard)

Friday 4/15:

* The Album Leaf / Aspect Of Physics / Manuok / Plastiq Phantom at Neumo's (Capitol Hill)
* U.S.E. + 2 bands at the all ages Vera Project (Downtown)

Saturday 4/16:

* Mixmaster Mike / Electric Six / VHS Or Beta at Neumo's (Capitol Hill) (FREE SHOW.. 8pm 21+... get there early I guess, if you want to go?)
* Federation X / DMBQ (from Japan) / Fireballs Of Freedom at the Funhouse (directly across from EMP, Lower Queen Anne)
* U.S.E. / Bruno Pronsato + DJs at the all ages Vera Project (Downtown)
* Silkworm / The New Year / Treasure State at the Crocodile (Belltown/downtown)

Sunday 4/17:

* The Wedding Present (and more) at Neumo's (Capitol Hill)

you left off the Mirabeau Room next to the Kid Valley! good mac & cheese, oddly enough. (I also know the two owners, so I feel like I should plug it a little (-: )

If anyone still needs cheapish hotels, the Ace Hotel over Cyclops in belltown isn't too expensive. Not as cheap as the Green Tortise hostel, but not too bad. http://www.theacehotel.com/ It's a short walk over to the EMP from there.

There's another hostel down on Post Alley, just south of the Pike Place market. http://www.hiseattle.org/

True, the Mirabeau Room has the best mac & cheese in town.

It might be hard to get to it at night though, since weekend nights are usually dance nights (which may appeal to some), which requires a cover charge. (Then again, I was there for an amazing Bolly-hip-hop night, so I can't complain about the events there.)

Chance of showers (meaning "we don't have a fucking clue")

Lows in the 40sF (4-8C), Highs in the 50sF (10-12C)

...

Bring one hoodie. Actually, bring more than one.

I can't make any wednesday dinners, but I'm up for some other night.

Eeeee! already, I'm starting to FEEL THE VOIB! My abridged day at work tomorrow is going to feel mighty long before the reception.

(Oh yeah, many revelations about British vs. U.S. pop culture tonight, but most shockingly, the deceased of the Two Fat Ladies, shortly before being deceased, was a reactionary right-wing commentator!)

and then there is saturday.

I'll guess I'll have to go tonight to their big-people show (21+)

The conference is pretty delirium-inducing, lots of great talks- it was really fun to see the Blog panel and watch Tom and Geeta and Jay Smooth and Jess and Matos all fielding questions, Karen Tongson's talk on Fanilows and Claymates (mostly striaght female fans of Barry manilow and Clay Aiken) was hysterically funny and quite smart, a guy from The Upper Crust had some articulate things to say about that band and was charming, Matos on "Apache" was really good and had a nice cumulative build of momentum, Edie Sedgwick did an agile somersault between insincerity and sincerity (taking off your drag always seems to shock people five times as much as being in drag does), I am super bummed I missed Douglas Wolk's talk as everyone who saw it said it rocked, and Dave Thomas was completely on fire ranting about Ernie Anderson/Ghoulardi, it sort of blew everyone's mind. I'm sure there's stuff I'm forgetting . .. I'm bummed I missed Hua Hsu's talk . . . ok off to another day of ranting . . .

Yeah, who IS this? I'm deeply intrigued by the mention of this talk, I could imagine Thomas going bonkers over, well, anything he'd want to go bonkers over.

I think there's a FAP planned tonight for any conference stragglers and Donut X is taking me record and book shopping this aftenoon. :)

and his son is mr. boogie nights/magnolia paul thomas anderson.

My god, what a small world it is.

i'm ashamed i forgot this bit of trivia

There were a couple of panels that were HIGHLY emotional, dare I say, irksome.. which isn't anything I saw last year. I think, overall, this is a great thing, and hopefully might open up some even more interesting dialog for the next convention.

"My favorites of the conf: I got chills during Ned Sublette's hubba hubba presentation on New Orleans parade culture and jazz funerals and hip hop and the sex slave trade and growing up in a racist, small town in pre-civil rights Louisiana. Elijah Wald connected the dots and thralled with his paper on accordians, tubas, bumpin corrido, norteno rap, gangsterist chic in Tejano music culture. Mr Wald was also wearing a fancied-up cowboy shirt he made entirely himself, which, I thought was just as inspiring. Christgau's bit on The Coaster's, which started off about minstrelsry, but concluded with a line about his "first disquieting glimpse of vulva" was bizonkers. Drew Daniel's paper on the Germs movie was my pentultimate favorite in part because Drew did the best Darby Crash impression I have ever seen (after his panel, I asked him if he had a blog - he snapped with Dorothy Parker dryness "No, I have a dissertation."). Robert Fink's paper was totes academic, but subject matter and OTT enthusiasm combined with depth of knowledge conveyed really wowed me, and I liked watching him deconstruct symphonic samples used by both Dre and RZA. It made me want to go to school just so I could talk about inverted 7ths and phrase resolution like it was the new Amerie single. Justin Moyer "performed" a paper as Edie Sedgewick, his non El Gaupo/Supersystem solo-deal, which was so "is this funny or is he insulting everyone in the room for real" -- it was my "on principle" favorite, which drove about half the already dinner-time-dwindled audience out. Justin paced like Phil Donahue, talked in a terse instructional voice, in a silver mini dress and sheer black control top hose, a bad wig and horrible make up, and prefacing his paper talked about how success and being in the music industry can kill your heart, turn you into a zombie, and then pressed the microphone up to the chest of moderator and Presidents of The USA frontman Dave Dederere for proof " See, nothing!" said Justin. I was snorting like a pig laughing at the whole thing, Dave looked Justin had just called his mother the C-word. Justin then did a song at loud-as-it-will go volume, talked about how he was not ironic, hated on academia, and took issue with the non stop Dylan and Jimi loops and hawked t-shirts in the museum lobby. Julianne's paper, about how America wants Courtney Love to die was my favorite-favorite, if I have to pick, because she was fierce and firey and spoke truth to power and the dumb, mysogynisticly slanted questions and comments about C Love that came from both the audience and Charles Cross, Cobain biog and panel moderator, proved every idea in J Shep's paper correct."

Has anyone sprung for that book of EMP presentations?

Until then though, please keep this thread alive.

http://shutyrgob.blogspot.com/

The audience at the U.S.E. show. The band was as good as Matos implied. The only "problem", if it is one, is that by three or four songs in you're pretty familiar with their range. But they whipped the (very young) (it was all ages) (maybe my jaded old ass needed a little more pre-show liquor to get fully shirts-aloft gone) crowd into total conga-line (really, no shit) (ask Matos) abandon. I left to use the bathroom near what turned out to be the end, and when I came back at the climax, 2/3 of the audience was now on stage. (When I was out of the room, I could also hear them using the "Soul Makossa" chant they probably first heard like the rest of us on Thriller and that these kids may not have been familiar with at all.)

I can't remember the last time I saw local band/local audience rapport like this. Probably not since I was in high school, and I certainly wouldn't make a case for that shit musically or as removed from its localized, social context. But the really shocking thing was that the openers were DJ's. Common enough you say, but then I would guess you are in your mid-20s and live in either New York or California. It was really, really weird to see kids - 14-15-16 year old kids at times - wigging out to what basically amounted to Perlon records. And when I say "wigging out" I mean shouting, whistling, and most importantly dancing. You go to APT and tell me the next time you see all that. Hell, even on a good night APT would have trouble pulling an audience of this size. And sure, they were there to see U.S.E. and the energy level markedly went up when they took the stage. But U.S.E. are clearly "building alliances" (barf) with the Seattle techno scene and trying to transfer the fervent worship they seem to inspire in these kids to music that is routine described on ILM and by disgruntled old ravers as "dry", "difficult", or "obscure." If this is the post-emo generation, then i am all for it.

I really hope Simon reads this.

But to some of the folks who visited from NYC for the conference, there were times where I just wanted to just yell out to certain people "WHY DON'T YOU NYC FUCKERS ACTUALLY GET OUT OF FUCKING NYC FOR A SMALL WHILE ON YOUR OWN TERMS EVERY NOW AND THEN, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!".

I have absolute respect for many NYC folks who work hard, are very intelligent, and can live day-to-day surviving there, being a music journalist, but hearing side comments like "And I had no idea Seattle and San Diego were so far away" just fucking infuriated me for brief moments.

Anyway, I totally apologize for the digression and rant.

More panel/conference stuff please.

Did anyone hear this? I'd be interested to know some details of what he talked about.

I do know the NYC provincialism of which you speak- I remember meeting a girl who grew up in Manhattan- when I told her I was from Kentucky she got wide-eyed and said in all seriousness "Oh, I'm sorry. Are there any artists there?". Her pity was sincere and unintentionally hilarious to me.

A conference point: it was weird (but not surprising) to see where "theory" cropped up and where it didn't- it seemed to be the clear marker of who was basically an academic and who was a writer (ie. both bloggers and journos, who were frequently at odds in other ways, shared an aversion to theory-wrangling, while academics generally shared a compulsion to bring it on board, even in papers which for them were clearly "fun" papers).

Aw shit, what are the chances it's going to be printed/available somewhere?