The Top 12 Things to Do This Week

Esperanza Spalding, Susan Orlean, The Flavr Blue, David Crosby and more.

Wednesday, March 9

Beacon Bards

Readers at this fun, laid-back reading series in the heart of Beacon Hill include Seattle poets Aaron Counts and Matt Gano, as well as Leija Farr, the city’s first-ever Youth Poet Laureate. At just 17, Farr’s a scary-good poet; she’s already won no less a vocal fan than Sherman Alexie. The Station Coffee Shop, 2533 16th Ave. S., 453-4892, beacon-arts.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PAUL CONSTANT

Thursday, March 10

A Craft Talk With Susan Orlean

Susan Orlean is either best known as the author of The Orchid Thief or for being played by Meryl Streep in the movie Adaptation. But she’s not just some celebrity: Orlean is one of the top reporters in the goddamned country, and an opportunity to hear her talk about her craft is a privilege. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., 322-7030, hugo house.org. $5–$10 adv. 21 All ages. 7 p.m. PC

Sizing Up Scalia

The judicial legacy of Antonin Scalia—the brilliant, bigoted Supreme Court justice who died last month—will get a figurative post mortem at Folio, David Brewster’s new semi-public library and event space. Panelists include a former state attorney general and two former clerks of other Supreme Court justices. Lawyer up, brah. Downtown YMCA, 314 Marion St., 402-4162, FolioSeattle.org. $5. 7:30 p.m. CASEY JAYWORK

The Body

A frequent source of anxiety, interim home for food, and prison for your soul, the human body is the subject of tonight’s sure-to-be-freaky art show. Things kick off with a live model drawing, move onto a performance piece called “Meatbag,” and later, a film about leprosy will be screened. Twenty-seven artists possessing human bodies will also present work on the theme. InArtsNW, 1633 17th Ave. Free. All ages. 6–10 p.m. KELTON SEARS

Esperanza Spalding

Last Friday, the Portland jazz standout released her fifth full-length album, Emily’s D+Evolution, and bent the arc of jazz. Spalding made a name for herself by splicing elements of Brazilian music and hip-hop into her jazz, but this new iteration is more prog-pop, the 31-year-old bass player crafting an expansive, enlightening, and ultimately entertaining work of art. The Showbox, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151, showboxpresents.com. $35 adv./$40 DOS. 21 and over. 9 p.m. MARK BAUMGARTEN

Friday, March 11

Heiress, Great Falls

Two of Seattle’s heaviest are celebrating newly released LPs tonight at the Funhouse—and it’s free, so you’ll have an easier time budgeting some record cash. Heiress’s third full-length, Made Wrong, is a volatile blast of hardcore-style vocals and crushing riffs, containing some of the band’s best work to date. Great Falls’ The Fever Shed will systematically and violently dismantle your soul. Live, both of these bands are top-notch crushers in their prime, and shouldn’t be missed. With Mercy Ties, Scriptures. The Funhouse, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 262-0482, elcorazonseattle.com. Free. 21 and over. 8 p.m. JAMES BALLINGER

Scrape

—a perfect name for a string ensemble, especially one devoted to new music and ready for whatever unorthodox playing techniques it might require. Jim Knapp’s group plays works by him and by Brian Chin, whose Obamatorio sets excerpts from the President’s speeches for strings, harp, electric guitar, jazz bass, and soprano Cherie Hughes. Resonance at Soma Towers, 288 106th Ave. N.E., Bellevue, universallanguageproject.com. $15–$25. 8 p.m. Also at Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave., 8 p.m. Sat., March 12. GAVIN BORCHERT

Saturday, March 12

The Flavr Blue

This Seattle trio specializes in that silky, sinuous strain of electronic R&B that’s meant to be played late at night accompanied by a bath full of rose petals, and some fancy-ass wine. Love Notes, the group’s latest record, is its slickest yet—catch them performing songs from the album tonight with Thraxxhouse crew leader Mackned. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442, neumos.com. $15. All ages. 8 p.m. KS

Sunday, March 13

Hannah Notess

This Seattle poet’s latest collection, The Multitude, has been a long time coming. Her excellent video-game-obsessed chapbook Ghost House won Floating Bridge Press’s 2013 Chapbook Award, and she’s kept a relatively low profile in the intervening years. We could use more fun, energetic, clear-headed poets; hopefully after this reading Notess won’t disappear for another three years. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliott baybook.com. Free. All ages. 3 p.m. PC

Bear/Skin

Keith Hennessey returns with his own brand of socially conscious dance. The work always has a direct physicality and a wide-ranging set of references; this time out, it’s The Rite of Spring, teddy-bear shamanism, and action movies, just to start. “Bear/Skin” should be a ritual and a lecture. Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave., 325-8773, velocity dancecenter.org. $18–$25. 7:30 p.m. SANDRA KURTZ

Monday, March 14

The Starting Gate Release Party

When celebrated local playwright Paul Mullin announced his retirement from theater, everybody hoped it was more of a Jay-Z kind of retirement, as opposed to the Sean Connery variety. Thankfully, this debut party for his raucous memoir, The Starting Gate, indicates he’s not out of the writing game yet. St. Andrews Bar & Grill, 7406 Aurora Ave. N., 523-1193. Free. 21 and over. 7 p.m. PC

Tuesday, March 15

David Crosby

In his 50-plus years of writing, David Crosby has provided an unofficial history of America, the counterculture icon cataloging the country’s political and emotional life in his songs. For this intimate evening, the co-founder of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash will return to that vast back catalogue, playing classics and deep cuts alike. The Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., stgpresents.org. $53.50–$73.50. All ages. 8 p.m. MB

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