Cairo Blog: Now With Concert Calendar!

If you look to the right side of the page, you'll see a modest little show calendar. Hopefully we'll be able to make it a little prettier and easier to navigate in the near future, but for now, keep your peepers peeled there for all of Cairo's upcoming in-store concerts. There are some major events on the way, and as soon as a given show is ready to announce, you'll see it pop up automatically in the widget. Keep your trapper keepers and datebooks at the ready!

Stephanie part I of II vid, Dec. 4th, 2010 at Cairo

Wet Paint DMM December 4th Part II

Part II of Wet Paint's immaculate set.

Have you watched Cairo's big MTV cameo yet?

Some of you may already be hip to the "$5 Cover" series that MTV commissioned a little while back. They hired awesome Seattle director Lynn Shelton (Humpday, My Effortless Brilliance, one of the best episodes of Mad Men's fourth season) to craft a loose narrative spotlighting various Seattle musicians (e.g. Sean Nelson and THEE Satisfaction) and neighborhoods and venues around town.

Cairo is featured in Episode Three, which you can stream at this link. Check it out!

Wet Paint DMM December 4th Part I

Part I of II of Wet Paint's immaculate set earlier this month. Part II coming soon, as well as Stephanie's set. GET HOME SOON DUDES.

Wet Paint DMM // at Cairo \\ December 4th, 2010 Part 1 from joel leshefka on Vimeo.

Kind Words for "The Cold Jungle" Cairo Comp.

Last week, Seattle Times music blogger Andrew Matson gave another ringing endorsement for Cairo's Cold Jungle compilation, which was released this past fall in conjunction with the Expo 88 music festival.

Dig it:

"Tough to find a more vital Seattle album in 2010 than "Cold Jungle," which compiles tracks by guitar- and synthesizer-based acts who congregate at Cairo, the tiny Capitol Hill retail space that doubles as a silk-screening studio and triples as a performance venue.

The Cairo scene represented on "Cold Jungle" focuses on experimental music that prioritizes groove and mood over formal songwriting, and that's enough of a theme to make a cohesive album. The mood sure does swing, though."

For more of Matson's observations (the record's "all about momentum"), hit this link.

Copies of The Cold Jungle are available on vinyl, cassette, and digipak CD at Cairo both in-store and online (duh), Wall of Sound in Capitol Hill, Ballard's Sonic Boom records, and the Easy Street Records on Queen Anne. Copies are also distro'd through Deathbomb Arc, Mexican Summer's store in NYC, and Olympia's Phantom City Records.

A Friendly Last-Minute Reminder

Tonight, Cairo hosts three awesome acts: King Dude, Oak Rot, and Pilgrimage. Here’s what you need to know about ‘em:

King Dude is the solo project TJ Cowgill, front(mad)man of local death metal outfit Book of Black Earth. His King Dude sets are acoustic, but lyrically and spiritually heavy in their own way. You may know Cowgill from his occasional posts on the Stranger’s Line Out music blog, his stylish work for/at Actual Pain, or his gloomy, commanding performance at this year’s Expo 88 Music Festival.

Oak Rot are like-minded Pac NW post-metal soundscapers, and you can get a taste of their most recent cassette release (on sale tonight, probs) for free at this link. These dudes will be cruising up to Snoqualmie to scope out all the Twin Peaks filming locations tomorrow, so be sure to give them a proper sendoff tonight.

Pilgrimage is doomy metal from Portland expat Wolf Carr (We Safari, I Am the Internet), an old homie of the Cairo management with enough supernatural talent to scare any would-be warlocks into prolonged hibernation.

Tonight’s show starts at 8 PM, don’t be late.

Adorable New Witch Gardens Video - "Lifeguard"

Winsome/handsome/awesome local quartet Witch Gardens are set to perform at Cairo on Friday, January 14th with Dragging an Ox Through Water and the mysterious, un-google-able "U."

Stay posted for more details on that upcoming show...

A Bold New Partnership!

New partners in crime. Left to Right: Cairo booker/music intern Ian Judd and blogger Jason Baxter.


As a longtime fan and supporter of Cairo, I’m very stoked to announce that I’ll now be contributing to the Cairo blog, making sure it’s updated regularly with show announcements, band previews, aggregated content like videos and photos from past Cairo events, and anything else related to Seattle’s finest vintage store/venue space. Some of you may be familiar with my blogging for the Stranger’s Line Out music blog, or my music coverage for Tacoma’s the Weekly Volcano. Absolutely none of you will be familiar with my writing for the Edmonds-Woodway Wireless newspaper from 2003-2005.

Cairo’s got a lot of exciting stuff going on right now, and the next two months in particular are going to be chock full of insane shows that I can’t wait to start spilling the beans on.

With that little introduction now out of the way, it’s time I got started spreading the word…

Positive vibes,

-Jason Baxter

//KING||DUDE\\ Pilgrimage and Oak Rot. Friday December 17th, 8 pm