The best thing about the San Francisco PopFest, besides the fabulous line-up gathered in one city over five consecutive days for the massive delight of p-fest attendees, is fact that all of those PopFest bands sometimes spread their west coast wings and, in the most wonderful of cases, travel north to visit us in Seattle.

On Friday, June 3 at the Rendezvous we have just such a migration from SF as two Seattle (and imaginary favorite) bands share a bill with two indie-popolicious artists from far away to make my one-night-mini-popfest dreams come true.

Opening the night is Monnone Alone, a band consisting of the most charming Lucksmiths' bassist of all time, Mark Monnone {and, sometimes, a couple very talented friends}. There has been a hole in our heart since the Lucksmiths called it quits (or how we like to remember it, put a hiccup in our happiness by hitting the 'pause' button), and here comes Monnone Alone to the rescue.

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{Her Majesty herself, Rachel Flotard, by Steve Louie}

We may be almost a week out from the crazy weekend known as Bumbershoot, but that doesn't mean we can't gush about our favorites and relive the magic as we head into a dreary fall weekend. All photos by Steve Louie.

1. A double shot of Visqueen with a hint of Neko Case

What a lucky day to get to see one of Seattle's best bands twice! For those lucky enough to get tickets, Visqueen played a KEXP lounge set early Saturday afternoon, and ended with an almost a capella version of "So Long", all harmonies and cello which had me in tears. Here's a video of "Summer Snow" (complete with typical jokes cracked at drummer Ben Hooker's expense) from the same set, which will give you an idea as to how emotional and amazing Visqueen can be turned down. KEXP is still streaming the whole set on their two week streaming archive, so I highly recommend taking a listen.

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Northwest Film Forum kicks off the 12th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival tonight with a screening of The Mountain, The River and The Road at 7pm, followed by the Opening Night Party at 9pm. Join Seattle filmmakers, movie buffs and loyal Film Forum fans for boozin’, dancin’ and performances ($5/NWFF members, $7/non-members). I can tell you from experience, NWFF parties are always a good time.

Running through Wednesday, October 7th, the Festival includes 9 feature films and over 50 shorts from Northwest Filmmakers, along with special presentations and events. Based on the descriptions, I’d say don’t miss Punch, American Collectors, Where You From or any of the Shorts packages!

You can see the full schedule and buy tickets here.

{The Local Sightings Film Festival runs at Northwest Film Forum from October 2-7.}