by Mercy Moosemuzzle - SGN A&E Writer

PINK MARTINI
Mercy and Cuteness enjoyed Pink Martini, from Portland, on a lovely evening at ZooTunes, August 15. China Forbes has a powerful voice. The band was tight.

They opened with 'Let's Never Stop Falling in Love,' followed nicely by 'Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps,' 'Song of the Black Lizard,' 'I Don't Want to Work,' 'Midnight Bossa Nova,' 'Hang On Little Tomato,' 'What'll I Do,' 'In the Blue Dome,' 'Forget Your Name,' 'Hey Eugene,' and 'Over the Valley.' They closed with 'Happy Days Are Here Again.' The sold-out crowd gave them a standing ovation.

RORY BLOCK
Son Jack Jr opened for Rory Block at the Triple Door, August 16. They had good blues harmonica, guitar, and voice. High points were 'Maximum Insecurity' and 'I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You.'

Rory Block has a strong voice and her guitar playing is delicious. She opened with 'Crossroad Blues.' 'Death Letter Blues,' 'I Be Bound,' 'Preaching Blues,' 'Me and the Devil,' 'The Water is Wide,' 'From the Dust,' 'Daniel Prayed,' 'Steady Freddy,' 'Lo, I Be With You Always,' 'Silver Wings,' and 'The Last Leviathan' followed well. Rory talked about her mother, who knew Pete Seeger and may have once auditioned for the Weavers.

STORM VS. SPARKS
Mercy and Cuteness watched the Seattle Storm take on the Los Angeles Sparks at Key Arena, August 18. The Sparks came into the game 15-and-6, while the Storm were 10-and-10. Ann Wauters was out with a strained left achillles and Sue Bird had the flu. Lauren Jackson was still in Australia because of her Olympic responsibilities. (By the way, Sue Bird brought home her third gold medal for the USA, while Lauren Jackson and Australia captured the bronze. These two medals bring the Storm roster's Olympic medal count to 13.)

After the first quarter the Storm were ahead, 22-20. The end of the half was just as close in the Sparks' favor, 40-38. They were still ahead after the third quarter, 66-60. The final score was Los Angeles 82, Seattle 71. Kristi Toliver earned 22 points for the Sparks.

Cuteness said, 'Tanisha Wright had a great game (21 points). Sue Bird was sick. Lauren Jackson is due to return from Australia soon. I thought L.A. out-rebounded us at both ends of the court. We missed a lot of free throws. They win or lose games. We fought hard even though we were missing some key players.'

BÉLA FLECK AND THE MARCUS ROBERTS TRIO
Mercy is looking forward to seeing Béla Fleck and the Marcus Roberts Trio at Jazz Alley, September 6 to 9. Band members are Fleck (banjo), Roberts (piano), Jason Marsalis (drums), and Rodney Jordan (bass).

This year, Fleck earned his 13th Grammy, for Best Instrumental Composition ('Life in Eleven,' co-written with Howard Levy). He has been nominated in more different categories than any other musician: arranging, composition, spoken word, folk, classical, bluegrass, jazz, pop, and country. You can get your tickets at www.jazzalley.com.

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