The Stranger

Born in Cologne, Germany, to a Chinese- German father and a Hungarian mother, Ottmar Liebert gained prominence in the late 1980s from his expert melding of pop-aware flamenco guitar and disparate influences ranging from South American percussion to jazz to rock. In less than a year, Liebert sprang from playing hotel lobbies and restaurants in Santa Fe (where he'd settled) to opening for Miles Davis. Three decades later, he and backing band Luna Negra still effortlessly conjure images of faraway lands through flawless sets of guitar mastery. If you're not entranced by this stuff, you don't have ears. (Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333, 7 pm [all ages] and 9 pm [21+], $25 adv/$30 DOS) by Grant Brissey

Link  |  Post Comment (0)

Nowhere else in Seattle will you find a livelier assortment of clothes, accessories, art, and other handmade treasures. Sure, there are a few dicks who've cross-stitched a sparrow onto a T-shirt and expect you to pay $40 for it, but the cool-to-suck ratio of crafters is remarkably high. Every year, about a week after walking the floor of UCU, I experience a crippling regret for passing on a purchase in the heat of the moment: I swear, if those creepy baby-head salt and pepper shakers are back this time, they will be mine. (Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, 301 Mercer St, www.urbancraftuprising.com, 11 am–5 pm, free) by Paul Constant

Link  |  Post Comment (3)

Truly, if you don't get yourself and some friends to at least one of Joule's summer Sunday Urban BBQs, you are a damn fool. This afternoon's is Southern-themed, and for your $20, you get a choice of deep-fried frog legs with biscuits and crawfish gravy, brisket burnt ends with johnnycakes, or Kentucky-style barbecued goat, AND all you can eat of the sides heaped on a picnic table—collards, slaw, etc. Also! For dessert: chocolate-pecan Derby pie. "I'm really excited to make those, and eat those, too," says Joule's Rachel Yang. Yes, ma'am! (Joule, 1913 N 45th St, 632-1913, 3–6 pm, $20 adults/ $12 kids) by Bethany Jean Clement

Link  |  Post Comment (0)

The Monocular Group's fan-made trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon concludes with a brilliant review of the movie: "Shut up and eat your awesome." Yeah, the "humor" is painful. Hell, all the parts of T:DotM featuring human beings don't appear to have been produced by a human being. But it's two and a half hours of glorious, eye-shredding 3-D, punctuated with some of the most operatic action sequences you've ever seen. It's a bad movie, but as an immersive experience, it's top-notch. Your brain will feel fucked into numbness by the time the credits roll. (See Movie Times: thestranger.com/film) by Paul Constant

Link  |  Post Comment (2)

A cab driver meets a waitress and, after giving her a few rides, invites her up for a drink in his apartment. She accepts, they're both nervous, they bump through a few awkward moments—like when she compares his Koran to his collection of mystery novels. ("It's a whodunit, isn't it?" "We know who done it! God!") Love happens, with all kinds of tensions, some predictable, some shocking. This sweet but sharp new play (by Seattle writer Yussef El Guindi) is a gem. (ACT Theatre, 700 Union St, 292-7676, 7:30 pm, $50) by Brendan Kiley

Link  |  Post Comment (0)

When comedy legend Harry Shearer (The Simpsons, This Is Spinal Tap) heard President Obama describe the post-Katrina flooding in New Orleans as a "natural disaster," he said his "head exploded." Shearer had already devoted years to researching the US Army Corps of Engineers and its colossal fuckups in southern Louisiana. Shearer's conclusion: The flooding was a human disaster and New Orleans would have been better off if the Corps had done nothing over the past 40 years instead of all its stupid somethings. With The Big Uneasy, Shearer has done the work of an investigative journalist with the flair of a born entertainer: His pacing, his interviews, the cinematography—he communicates a ton of wonky information with the skills of a funnyman. (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, www.nwfilmforum.org, 9 pm, $6–$9) by Brendan Kiley

Link  |  Post Comment (3)