A CD Release Party for Local Band Tacocat, a Contemporary Dance Festival and the Seattle Symphony’s Performance of Symphonie Fantastique

!–paging_filter–pstrongMust Rock Out/strongbra href=”http://bit.ly/1jraJPw” target=”_blank”Party with Local Band Tacocat/abrFriday (2/14, 9 p.m.) — Brandishing a riot-grrrls-meet-The-Go-Go’s sound, Tacocat charms fans with funny songs about waiting for the No. 8 Metro bus, fear of toxic shock syndrome and a psychic cat that predicts nursing-home deaths. The band celebrates the release of its second full-length record, emNVM /em(as in “never mind”), at Chop Suey on Friday night./p
pstrongMust Hear/strongbra href=”http://bit.ly/1aZB3x9” target=”_blank”Peter Mountford Book Launch at Richard Hugo House/abr(2/13, 7 p.m.) — This week Seattle mag 2013 Spotlight Award winner Peter Mountford released his brand-new novel, The Dismal Science, and it has already earned critical raves (“distinctively entertaining,” “sharply drawn,” “quietly wrenching”). Hear him read excerpts at the Richard Hugo House./p
pstrongMust Listen/strongbra href=”http://bit.ly/1ewmw74” target=”_blank”Seattle Symphony Performs Symphonie Fantastique/abr(2/13 and 2/15, times vary) — Fans of The Shining and A Clockwork Orange will recognize the haunting strains of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Stanley Kubrick was obviously a fan, and you will be, too, upon hearing maestro Ludovic Morlot conduct the Seattle Symphony in this masterwork./p
pstrongMust See/stronga href=”https://www.facebook.com/events/222000684654453/” target=”_blank”brFirst Ever Seattle Black Panther Film Festival/abr(2/14–2/16, times vary) — The first chapter organized outside of California, the Seattle Black Panther Party was one of the group’s most active branches. Commemorate this local legacy with the rare documentaries screening at the first-ever Black Panther Party Film Festival at Ark Lodge Cinemas in Columbia City./p
pstrongMust Go East/strongbra href=” http://bit.ly/1mdTjb2” target=”_blank”Chop Shop Contemporary Dance Festival at the Meydenbauer Center/abr(2/15 to 2/16, times vary) — Ten contemporary dance companies from around the country, including Seattle’s Spectrum Dance Theater and Bellevue’s Stone Dance Collective, will hit the Meydenbauer Center stage for two days of riveting contemporary dance performances./p