We had a great trip into Seattle this weekend! The drive down was pretty chill and the border lineup wasn’t too bad. Once we settled into the historic Moore Hotel, which used to be a total dive in the 90’s but has since been renovated, we headed out to explore the Pike Place Market. It’s a neat strip of small shops and fresh food that reminds me of Granville Island on a larger scale.
It was at the Pike that we got our first taste of grunge music for the weekend courtesy of two street musicians whose cardboard sign introduced them as “Raw Corn.” With nothing but a guitar, an accordion, and their voices they belted out one of the most impassioned performances of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit that I’ve ever seen.
After our grunge experience we wandered into the Pike Brewery for some tasty microbrews. We got samplers which would take you from their lightest to their darkest beers in small glasses. Once the samplers were tossed back we hit the streets again for some food. Turns out there’s a great Mexican place called Mamas that’s the oldest Mexican restaurant in Seattle. I ate way too much food and had to deal with the pain of a stretched stomach for the next couple of hours.
Finally, after one more stop at a cool little tiki lounge beside Mamas, we walked over to the Showbox to see Green River and the Supersuckers bust out the rock noise. And did they ever bring the noise! Green River is an old band from the late 80’s that a couple of the guys in Pearl Jam and Mudhoney got their start it and you can see that these are top musicians playing. They were incredible! Mark Arm, freed of the guitar he usually plays in Mudhoney, leered at the crowd while he screeched and bellowed the first songs of the grunge era.
The Supersuckers had a tough show to beat but they blasted out a two and a half hour set that followed their career in chronological order starting from the very first song they wrote. The middle featured some fine selections from their country album, which is the album that got me into the band. They finished with their “fake encore” and a punishing version of Jackalope Eye as the closer.
Great shows! The trip back was pretty laid back and the border was quick and easy. I’d expected a huge wait, but we were through in less than 15 minutes.
Now I need some sleep!