The Stranger

For a hot minute in 1993, when they were riding the rambunctious high of Spasm Smash XXXOXOX Ox & Ass, Trumans Water represented indie rock's pinnacle. They brought a careening, coruscating energy to a scene that too often mistook lassitude for slack cool. Trumans Water's quasi-comeback album after a long hiatus, O Zeta Zunis, casts their no-wave abrasiveness and rowdy dynamics in a slightly more accessible light, but it still bears a caustic sting. Get ready to spaz. (Funhouse, 206 Fifth Ave N, 374-8400, 9:30 pm, $7, 21+) by Dave Segal

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From last year's summer SAM Remix at Olympic Sculpture Park, I remember flashing lights, black sculpture in the dark, dancing, and candles; it was a beautiful blur. This year's edition includes new art by Houston's Trenton Doyle Hancock; performances by Stranger Genius Susie Lee; music by SunTzu Sound, Truckasaurus, and Library Science; tours by lots of folks (yeah, I'm one of them); and all manner of ephemeral good times. Truth: SAM Remix at Seattle Art Museum proper can be a little weird, like a mack scene with historic objects. But in the summer quarter, at the park, something breaks loose, and art and party come together in an ecstatic union. (Olympic Sculpture Park, 2901 Western Ave, 654-3100, 8 pm–midnight, $12–$15/first 50 wearing neon get in free) by Jen Graves

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Prolific playwright Steven Dietz (God's Country, Lonely Planet) has set himself a challenge: write a spy/conspiracy thriller for the stage, set in a dusty Manhattan bar, where the action has to live in the language, not in car chases or James Bond parkour. He succeeds. Yankee Tavern goes from goofy—the evil hermeneutics of Starbucks—to chilling, real-life oddities about 9/11 that are difficult to explain away. There's a steely stranger who always orders two Rolling Rocks but only drinks one, an exasperated and naive bar owner, and a deeply entertaining performance by Charles Leggett as Ray, a blustery, cranky conspiracy theorist who might be closer to the truth than anybody gives him credit for. (ACT Theatre, 700 Union St, 292-7676, $10–$50, 2 and 8 pm) by Brendan Kiley

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First, a tremor causes the bottom of the ocean to break open. Then a swarm of prehistoric man-eating piranhas escapes. And what else? IT HAPPENS DURING SPRING BREAK. Five bajillion gallons of fake blood burst out of peoples' (sometimes naked!) bodies while hundreds of little swimming monsters with red glowing eyes feast on their flesh. Elisabeth Shue runs around with perfect and bouncy hair. And it all happens in 3-D! Stranger film critic Andrew Wright declares it the "blissfully empty-headed savior of the summer." So the question is not why should you go see Piranha 3D, the question is why the fuck wouldn't you? (See Movie Times: thestranger.com/film) by Megan Seling

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Two elements are missing from your summer desserts: neon purple and strange textures. Go to Inay's Asian Pacific Cuisine on Beacon Hill and order a bowl of halo-halo (Tagalog for "mix-mix"). The near-glowing dish will arrive at your table frosty and bright, full of colorful things you don't recognize. Be brave. You will like langka, macapuno, and gulaman. Your first bite might be crunchy or chewy or smooth or creamy, but it will be uniformly refreshing and delicious. There's ice cream, shaved ice, sweetened black and white beans, plantains, jackfruit, jelly squares, coconut, and flan. Halo-halo makes ice cream hella boring. (Inay's Asian Pacific Cuisine, 2503 Beacon Ave S, 325-5692, 9 am–9 pm) by Jesse Vernon

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Humor and art: Both are better, more themselves, if they can't be readily explained. That's where Playboys & Killjoys comes in. It's the group show that kicks off the fall season at Ambach & Rice gallery, and its list of artists is part internationally famous (Erwin Wurm, Raymond Pettibon) and part up-and-coming (Eric Yahnker, Markus Vater, Sara Greenberger Rafferty). Themes include tiny pickles, the Bee Gees in the Bible, meals with dictators, the tragic figure of the standup comedian, mistranslations, and politics. There will be laughing with, and there will be laughing at. (Ambach & Rice, 5107 Ballard Ave NW, 789-6242, noon–6 pm, free) by Jen Graves

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