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The Pronto Podcast — Brown Paper Tickets’ Event Guide for Seattle

BPT_buttonWelcome to The Pronto! Brown Paper Ticket’s event guide for Seattle.

Tune in every Tuesday to check out a few of our favorite events in the Emerald City! You can check back to the blog every Tuesday at 10am or hit “subscribe” on the player and get each week’s Pronto delivered right to your computer.

Have a friend that’s visiting Seattle this week? Why not share this podcast with them and give them ideas of something to do? 

This week’s podcast features our top picks for this year’s New Year’s Eve! These are just a few ways to ring in 2014.

Conor Byrne Pub in Ballard hosts the 2nd Annual Artist Home New Year’s Eve Celebration. Lots of guest musicians on the roster including members of Big Sur, Ravenna Woods, Hounds of the Wild Hunt, Smokey Brights and more.

If you wanna get exotic this year check out Afro-Caribbean New Year’s Night at Salsa N Seattle. The doors open at 10. Breakfast at 4. In between expect lots of partying, plus an amazing performance by Sultan Clinton, DJ Toni and others.

If you really wanna feel the music this time around, perhaps a stop at Bassdrop Music NYE 2014 is the way to go. This one is at the newly renovated Monkey Loft in Sodo and features DJs Jameson Just, Paul Wheeler, Tyler Brown and others.

Lucky Strike in Bellevue hosts Cirque Glow New Year’s Even 2014. With prices ranging from thirty bucks to a ten thousand dollar VIP package (yes, you heard that right) there’s plenty of bowling, dining, drinking and dancing for everyone. Plus acrobats and other circus performers. Amazing party.

This might be the year to go back in time. Couple’s Cupid 70’s New Years Eve Groovy Dance Party goes back to the 70’s. So wear your best vintage clothes. This sexy event is limited to couples and single females only.

If you wanna go straight for the tunes this year, head over to the High Dive in Fremont. You’ll blaze in the new year with The West, Ever So Android and Dead Ship Sailing. Great bands, indeed.

In the mood for some Russian influence this time around? How about spending new year’s eve at the Russian Community Center of Seattle on Capitol Hill. They’re calling it The Firebird. Your hostess will be decked out in Russian attire. There will be plenty of Russian food and music. And of course, there will be enough vodka for everyone.

Wanna go retro? Why not spend the evening at Fuel Sports in Pioneer Square with Platinum Spandex. That’s Puget Sound’s best 80’s hair rock band. You know you sorta wish it was 1987.


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The Mid-Week Beat: House Concerts

houseconcertsRecently, we here at Brown Paper Tickets have seen a surge in the popularity of house concerts: concerts hosted in the homes of ardent music fans who wish to have a more intimate musical experience, in the comfort of their own homes, amongst a handful of fellow music enthusiasts. The audiences can range from 10 people, or up to 20 or 30.

Traditionally, house concerts were common amongst folk, country and blues musicians living in rural areas without traditional venues to play in. In fact, you could argue that, in these areas, pretty much every live musical performance was in someone’s home.

In urban areas like New York City, apartments were often used for rent parties, where a tenant would hire local musicians to play and then pass the hat amongst the attendeees to collect that month’s rent.  Rent parties of 1920s New York are often credited as playing a major role in the development of jazz and blues and jazz legends like Willie “The Lion” Smith and Fats Waller got their start playing stride piano at these affairs. Later, in the 1930s, New York folk musicians like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger would describe their weekly rent parties as “hootenannys.”

While rent parties and hootenannys may be things of the past, for the most part, the house concert remains popular. The intimate environment seems to lend itself to classical, blues, folk and Americana music, but it’s a great venue for singer/songwriters as well. Audiences can enjoy the music without being distracted by the din and clatter associated with traditional music venues and bars. They can hear the lyrics and enjoy the little subtleties of an individual’s performance.


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