* Denotes items that are $15 or less
Kate Wallich and The YC
Seattle’s Kate Wallich brings her physical, fast-and-twitchy and always-inventive choreography to On The Boards this weekend, for a full-length piece called "Splurge Land" that's rooted in pop culture. I caught a snippet of rehearsal earlier this year and I remember thinking, Why aren’t all contemporary dance performances this good? Expect the dancers to Instagram during the show. Also expect the set to look fab because it’s designed by JD Banke, who is also a local artist. Banke can turn a simple paint stroke into something that’s in-your-face cool.
If you go: Kate Wallich and The YC, On the Boards, April 2-5 ($25) – F.D.
LloydMartin April Fool’s Day Pop-up
Each year, Queen Anne’s LloydMartin transforms itself into an inspired pop-up for April Fool’s. Last year, the New American restaurant became Chicharron; this year Sloppy Hog BBQ will reign over the intimate space for four days.
The menu will feature original takes on Southern cuisine classics — think Pulled BBQ Tamworth Pork, Duck Leg with Huckleberry sauce, BBQ Shrimp and Grits — plus the sides that often steal the show (Skillet corn bread! Slaw! Deviled eggs with candied bacon!). As usual, the food comes from select, local food purveyors like Willie Greens, Urban Foraging and Carlton Farms. The restaurant is sponsored by Gentleman Jack, so there will be a cocktail menu to match, heavy on the whiskey.
If you go: Sloppy Hog BBQ Pop-up, LloydMartin, Through April 4 — N.C.
American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
In MOHAI’s newest exhibit, visit a recreated speakeasy to transport yourself back to the impassioned politics of the early 20th century that led to Prohibition (which kept its national hold from 1920-1933). Engage with over a hundred years-worth of artifacts — see the Seattle phone involved in the first national case of wiretapping, behold the hatchet wielded by Prohibition activist/tavern-hacker Carrie Nation, and peruse some prohibition era cocktail recipes.
The opening on April 2 marks the West Coast premiere of American Spirits, created by the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and running through August 23. NOTE: While the admission to the rest of the museum will be free for this month’s first Thursday, this exhibit will charge an admission fee on Opening Day.
If you go: American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, Museum of History and Industry, April 2 through Aug. 23, All Ages ($17)- N.C.
The Sonics
“Wahhhhh!” Sonics singer Gerry Roslie’s iconic chain-smoker screech, which opens the classic track “Have Love, Will Travel,” encapsulates the band’s intensity. It’s pure lightning, sealed in a bottle and then smashed on a dive bar floor.
Born in Tacoma during the ‘60s, this group turbocharged blues and rockabilly with their rough-hewn guitar sound. They stood as a shining example of Washington’s garage rock potential, a paragon that the grunge era’s best would later emulate. There would surely be no Nirvana or Mudhoney without The Sonics’ hard-nosed lo-fi influence, and Mudhoney is in fact opening for the group at The Moore this week. It’s a lineup that creates a bridge between generations of rock and roll.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20S_kwNb4rg[/embed]
If you go: The Sonics with Mudhoney, The Moore, April 2, ($27-47). All ages. — J.S.H.
Read My Pins: The Madeline Albright Collection *
You’ve got to love the novelty and history of a show dedicated to the pin collection of 
the former U.S. Secretary of State. BAM debuts this first-of-its-kind museum exhibition, which features more than 200 pins from Albright’s collection and shows the diplomatic and political power a piece of jewelry can hold.
Albright was no stranger to criticism — nor to having her wardrobe scrutinized: After the Iraqi press referred to her as an “unparalleled serpent,” she pinned a gold serpent brooch on her lapel for her next meeting with Iraqi officials. And that is how you throw down when you’re Madeline Albright.
If you go: Read My Pins: The Madeline Albright Collection, Bellevue Arts Museum, Through June 7 ($12) — F.D.
Broncho *
Broncho are from Tulsa, but the band dovetails neatly with the Seattle DIY scene. Their fuzzy-yet-slick pop punk sound would sound great alongside locals Dude York, and there’s a little surf influence from time to time, just like Northwest natives Chastity Belt and La Luz. Their newest album, Just Enough Hip to be a Woman, came out last September and explores a more groovy MGMT vibe than earlier releases.
Opening Broncho's Seattle show is Aqueduct, which transplanted from Tulsa to Seattle years ago. The band is chiefly the project of David Terry, whose piano skills and penchant for bittersweet lyrics have earned him and his bandmates a sterling reputation.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to-nZLV794g[/embed]
If you go: Broncho and Aqueduct, The Tractor Tavern, April 3 ($10). 21+ — J.S.H.
Belle and Sebastian
The somewhat trite title of Belle and Sebastian's semi-recent release, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, signals a shift in the Scottish group’s rosy-cheeked chamber pop. They remain as lyrically-oriented and airy as ever, but this latest work has abandoned some of the group's prim indie rock attitude.
Sunny keyboard pop freshens up Belle and Sebastian’s appeal immensely. Opener and local Perfume Genius will bring the mood down a bit, but his spooky piano ballads make up with charisma what they lack in optimism. The different emotional tones of these two acts should balance each other out neatly.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vS1Hf3CVGs[/embed]
If you go: Belle and Sebastian with Perfume Genius, The Paramount, April 3 ($41.25). 21+ — J.S.H.
The Onlies *
If you’re looking to add some fiddle music to your collection, here you go. The Onlies are a trio of young — Garfield High School-student young — music makers, but what they deliver is poignant, soulful and playful tunes that will carry you away to some cabin out in the woods.
In fact a cabin alongside the North Fork of the Skykomish River is where Sami Braman, Riley Calcagno and Leo Shannon camped out for two weeks last August to record their latest CD, Long Before Light. It weaves traditional songs with original ones. Sometimes, The Onlies sing three-part harmony and sometimes they just play the fiddle, guitar, mandolin and banjo and, in either case, you just want to sit back and let it all wash over you.
If you go: The Onlies, Town Hall, April 4 ($10) – F.D.
