Stranger Suggests: Your Agenda This Week, August 10–August 16

MONDAY 8/10

Yard Act

(MUSIC) Yard Act’s third album starts with an industrial post-punk track featuring tongue-in-cheek commentary conveyed through spoken word vocals before launching into a melodic, guitar-forward indie rock song. The whole record continues this way, weaving between discordant, edgy tunes and danceable, Britpop-inspired grooves. You’re Gonna Need a Little Music is a journey, and I’m here for it. The English dance-punk band, who draws comparisons to LCD Soundsystem, Beck, Viagra Boys, and the Arctic Monkeys, comes through town on their album release tour with support from Brooklyn group Bambara, who make their own brand of dark and driving noise rock. Fun fact: Yard Act chose their name from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game level, “Spring Yard Zone Act 1.” (Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH

TUESDAY 8/11

TV Star, Lightheaded, Research Vessel

(MUSIC) “We make music for heads” is something TV Star just started saying one day, until it became their tagline. “The phrase just kind of materialized, not even from a specific thing or person,” guitarist Che Hise-Gattone told me in an interview back in April. “Heads,” of course, refers to the band’s abundance of musical references, ranging from ’90s psych rock and Britpop to alt-country and jazz. A music obsessive could perhaps identify that the band name itself comes from a Butthole Surfers song. Or that their swirling guitars and vocal harmonies take inspiration from bands like Lush and the Stone Roses. However, being a music fan isn’t essential to enjoying their music. “Heads” can also be read literally: they make music for living beings. Their lyrics are profoundly human and rooted in life experiences, as deep as the sunflowers that bloom on the cover of their debut album, Music for Heads. They will support the album alongside New Jersey jangle-pop band Lightheaded and indie-pop project Research Vessel. (Sunset Tavern, 8 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

WEDNESDAY 8/12

Audrey Hobert

(MUSIC) At first, I was hesitant about singer-songwriter Audrey Hobert, assuming she was just another Gen Z nepo baby (her father, Tim Hobert, worked as a writer and producer for Scrubs and The Middle). Mea culpa—after checking her music out due to an endorsement from MUNA member Katie Gavin, Hobert quickly won me over with her caustic, brutally honest songwriting, hyper-specific observations, and biting humor. Her songs fluctuate between hilarious and devastating, often on the same track, as she muses on her disillusionment with adult life. On the single “Sex and the city,” she laments the dismal state of modern-day dating: “The seat is up / The place is haunted / He’s heating up and eating up a pizza pocket / I wanted one, but he forgot it.” And in “Sue me,” she flirts with the idea of hooking up with an ex who exclusively wears Amazon Basics (inspired by a real ex of hers). Reigning pop princess Olivia Rodrigo recently coronated her the “artist of the summer,” so if you aren’t already on board, what are you waiting for? (Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

THURSDAY 8/13

Corinne Bailey Rae

(MUSIC) If you were glued to the TV every morning in the early 2000s like I was, watching music videos, then you probably first saw Corinne Bailey Rae as a VH1 You Oughta Know Artist, riding her bike around a scenic park in the video for her 2006 summertime hit “Put Your Records On,” which turned her into an overnight success. I was 10 years old when I first heard it, and I immediately begged my dad to drive me to Target so that I could get her self-titled CD—the first album I ever bought with my own money. I played this album to death for the next several years, floating around my room and lip-syncing in the mirror. To this day, I put on the album when I’m feeling untethered and need to remember who I am. This August, I’m turning 30, Bailey Rae’s debut album is turning 20, and I feel like the stars have aligned. She will celebrate the album’s anniversary by playing it in its entirety. (Moore Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

FRIDAY 8/14

Ali Wong Live

(COMEDY) Ali Wong needs no introduction. She’s the rare quadruple threat: an actor, comedian, writer, and producer you’ve almost certainly seen in more movies and TV shows than you even realize. But if you need a refresher on her recent feats, look no further than Netflix’s Beef, the very rewatchable Always Be My Maybe, and (one of my personal faves) Tuca & Bertie. Impressive as she is on screen, though, Wong is still at her absolute best on stage in front of a live audience. Fresh off her latest Netflix special Single Lady—which earned her a Golden Globe—Wong is back on the standup circuit touring the sharp, fearless style that’s made her one of the defining comics of the last decade. If you consider yourself a comedy fan, she is well worth the ticket price. (McCaw Hall, 7 pm) LANGSTON THOMAS

SATURDAY 8/15

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

(FILM) Never in my life have I been so seated for a film as I am for I Saw the TV Glow director Jane Schoenbrun’s latest release, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. It contains all my favorite things: queer horror, psychosexual obsession, a sultry sapphic age-gap pairing, X-Files icon Gillian Anderson, and Hacks actress Hannah Einbinder. Einbinder stars as Kris, an up-and-coming queer filmmaker who is enlisted to direct a reboot of the slasher series Camp Miasma and casts the elusive Billy Presley (Anderson), who played the franchise’s original final girl back in the day. Schoenbrun’s likened the film to “Portrait of a Lady on Fire set in a Friday the 13th sequel.” Throw in a soundtrack by Alex G, plus roles from Sorry, Baby director/writer/actor Eva Victor, SNL cast member Sarah Sherman, Severance actor Zach Cherry, and Yellowjackets star Jasmin Savoy Brown, and yeah, I’m ready to make this movie my entire new personality. (SIFF Uptown, times vary) JULIANNE BELL

SUNDAY 8/16

Samantha Allen

(LITERATURE) I devoured Seattle journalist and author Samantha Allen’s 2022 razor-sharp dark comedy/horror novel Patricia Wants to Cuddle, which follows the four finalists on a Bachelor-type reality dating show called The Catch, filmed on a fictional Pacific Northwest island called “Otters Island.” Things take a turn when the cast and crew run into a cult that worships a giant female Sasquatch. I’m thrilled to see Allen return to the reality TV realm with her latest novel, Puck, a modern riff on A Midsummer Night’s Dream that reimagines the mischievous title character as a pot-stirring nonbinary dating show producer. Puck’s friend group is upended when their college roommate Mia gets engaged to her ex’s best friend Damon. Secretly, Puck takes it upon themself to save the day by matchmaking their friends into new couples, all while falling for a bridesmaid. Obviously, hijinks ensue! (Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

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