Stranger Suggests: Bleak Beauty, Cocaine Bear, NW Black Restaurant Week, Kremwerk’s Anniversary, Bob James Quartet

Hospitality Fundraiser for Relief Efforts in Turkey & Syria

(FOOD) The 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6 killed more than 47,000 people, displaced at least 2.4 million people, and caused somewhere between $50-$85 billion in damages. Within days Rachel’s Bagels and Burritos put out a call—”Emir, our kitchen manager, is Turkish. He’s also a great cook. He’s putting together a pop-up at Rachel’s on February 22. All proceeds will be donated to relief efforts.” Emir’s idea quickly took off. Now more than 75 local restaurants are participating, all promising to donate some of their proceeds to organizations like World Central Kitchen and Ahbap. Make a whole day of it! Start with coffee and a croissant from Seawolf Bakers and grab lunch at Rachel’s, Ciudad, or the Whale Wins. If you need an afternoon treat Full Tilt Ice Cream and Milk Drunk will take care of that craving, and then you can finish the day with dinner at Hamdi, Lupo, Monsoon, or one of the other six dozen other businesses who’ve committed to donating a portion of their proceeds. (Various locations, see all participants here) MEGAN SELING

Bleak Beauty

(VISUAL ART) We’re living through the toughest time of year, weather-wise. The skies are gray, the temperature is cold, and summer seems to be eons away. But Bleak Beauty at Koplin del Rio—which closes on Saturday—finds the beauty in that sense of bleakness, pulling together minimally-colored black and white works of more than a dozen artists. David Bailin’s used charcoal and coffee in “Burnt Field” to compose a piece that resembles a faded memory. It’s really easy to get lost in the bleakness of Krisna Nidorf’s inky black abstraction in “Black Mug, Sleeping States 3” or the spindly trees in Robert Wade’s photographs. While sometimes color is the antidote to winter’s overwhelming neutralness, the answer is often to lean into that darkness. Bleak Beauty at Koplin del Rio does just that. (Koplin Del Rio Gallery, 313 Occidental Ave S, 11 am-5 pm through Feb 25) JAS KEIMIG

Cocaine Bear 

(FILM) Lots of cocaine!!! One bear!!!!!! A movie about a bear who consumed a buttload of cocaine. It’s based, if you do not know, on a real bear. But cocaine, which fell from the sky, killed the real bear—a black bear who is spending eternity in a Kentucky mall. The movie bear does not die from an overdose but becomes larger than life and death. He goes on a rampage. He destroys this and that. Humans scream and die. And this is a comedy! How can we miss this movie? It sounds like top-notch trash. I hope it doesn’t suffer the fate of Snakes on a Plane. (Playing at theaters everywhere, including Regal Meridian, AMC Pacific Place 11, the Egyptian, and Majestic Bay starting Friday) CHARLES MUDEDE

Kremwerk’s Anniversary Weekend 

(PARTY) If you can believe it, nine whole years have passed since Kremwerk flung open its doors and began pumping out world-class techno and drag, making the city immeasurably cooler. And this weekend, clubgoers have the opportunity to rage over two days for the complex’s 9-year anniversary. On Friday, get your poppers ready and head to the Kremwerk basement to lose your mind to the energetic club cuts and inventive rave classic flips of legendary Jersey Club queen UNIIQU3. Also playing that night are local selectors Cousin Chris, N SO, Ca$h Bandicoot, and Sepha. On Saturday, producer/DJ duo musclecars are bringing their specific vision of house, disco, and jazz to the decks for a special Seattle iteration of their NYC party, Coloring Lesson. Elsewhere in the complex, Detroit-based LADYMONIX is bringing her lush, ecstatic vision of house music to the evening. Holding it down across the dance floors are local DJs Ellie Dodger, OFF99, Sis Girl, AC Ranger, Brit Hanse, and Suss Out. Don’t miss this! (Kremwerk, 1809 Minor Ave #10, 9 pm, $23.79, through Saturday) JAS KEIMIG

Ground Hum

(MUSIC/VISUAL ART/DANCE) Dubbed “a winter celebration of experimental art and music,” Ground Hum appears to be continuing the defunct Corridor festival’s ethos of excellent eclecticism. Ground hum’s organizers promise multimedia thrills in a “converted industrial space” in Ballard, including installation art by Gia Valente and Kate Van Ness, a dance performance by Maia Melene Durfee, and live electronic music from 10 brilliant Seattle and Portland artists. Seattle techno producer Selene’s latest release, The Secret Garden Is in Your Mind, as I noted on Slog, “traffics in elegant rhythms, spacey atmospheres, and shimmering, complex textures.” IVVY—who’s collaborating with Pascal for this event—has made some of the Northwest’s most inventive, hypnotic techno over the last seven years. An innovative tech worker by day, ‘nohup’ creates diverse, heady music that moves in surprising and exciting directions. Former Nirvana and Earth cellist Lori Goldston is a master improviser whose drones, radical textures, and spontaneous melodies reward close listens. Portland’s Patricia Wolf produces profoundly emotional ambient music while Strategy is an ingenious font of all manner of dubby dance music and abstractions. Hans, tondiue, and enereph fill out the loaded bill. More info at groundhum.net. (A converted industrial space off Shilshole Ave in Ballard, the address will be shared with ticketholders before the show, 2-11 pm, $30) DAVE SEGAL 

Jack Whitehall 

(COMEDY) I first fell for Jack Whitehall’s “handsome kid hates himself” schtick when he played JP in the British comedy Fresh Meat. JP was a rich, horny idiot and Whitehall nailed the role, walking the line between being an egotistical dick and relatably sensitive. As a stand-up comedian, Whitehall continues to walk those dichotomous lines, usually with hilarious results. He knows he’s good-looking, but admits he’s bad in bed. (“I always say sex with me is like arriving late at the theater and trying to find your seat. Lot of shuffling, bit of shushing, a pause, and then from somewhere in the darkness, a whispered: ‘I’m sorry.'”) He comes from an affluent British family—his father is producer and talent agent Michael Whitehall and his mother is actress Hilary Gish—but he uses his comedy to take his own privilege down a notch, making jokes about how their lifestyle can sometimes cause a disconnect from reality. There’s an air of Lucille Bluth to father Whitehall (which I’m sure he plays up for the camera) and his son calls it out every chance he gets. As of this writing, only a few tickets remain, so if you’re reading this and the show is sold out, stay home, order takeout, and watch a few episodes of Travels with my Father on Netflix. (Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave, 8 pm, $28.50-$48.50) MEGAN SELING

NW Black Restaurant Week

(FOOD) Black Restaurant Week started in Houston in 2016 as a way to highlight some of the area’s best Black-owned restaurants, food trucks, and bakeries. The good idea spread and now there are Black Restaurant Weeks all over the country, from Los Angeles to New Orleans to Atlanta to New York. It’s still fairly new around here—this is just its third year in the Pacific Northwest—but the lineup of participants is strong. From February 24 to March 3, eateries including Taste of the Caribbean, Ezell’s, Mama Sambusa Kitchen, Creamy Cone Cafe, and Island Soul Rum Bar & Soul Shack are all offering specials and, in some cases discounts, to celebrate the event. There are even a few spots in Tukwila (Taste of Congo), Kent (Nana’s Southern Kitchen), and Tacoma (Buddy’s Chicken & Waffles and Southern Kitchen). A couple of tips, if I may: Creamy Cone Cafe will be offering $1 off milkshakes and affogatos (which count as breakfast, if you ask me) and Charles Muedede recently wrote that Island Soul has a near-perfect lamb burger. (Various restaurants, Feb 24-March 5, visit Black Restaurant Week’s website for a complete list of participants) MEGAN SELING

Bob James Quartet at Jazz Alley (Charles)

(MUSIC) If you listen to the first 33 minutes of Bob James’ “Take Me to the Mardi Gras,” you will find basically the history of hiphop. That small (indeed tiny) space of time takes you from the Crash Crew’s “Breaking Bells” (1982) all the way to Missy Elliott’s “Work It” (2002). LL Cool J’s groundbreaking “Rock the Bells” is in there, and so is NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton.” And if you turn to Bob James’ “Nautilus,” you find the materials for the greatest (most spaced-out) track in the history of hiphop, Eric B. & Rakim’s “Follow the Leader” (1988). Though Bob James began his career in free jazz, hiphop sampled (and continues to sample) his marvelously smooth jazz period in the 1970s. Going to this show is like going to the temple of hiphop. (Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave, 7:30 pm, through March 1, $38.50) CHARLES MUDEDE