Back to the Market with the Rusty Cleavers – April 27th

That’s right, we return to our birthplace, the Pike Place Market for a special night of junkyard cabaret and “queer-loving, Black Lives Matter proclaiming, progressive pickin’ from the heart of Tacoma” from The Rusty Cleavers. Here they are doing their bluegrass tribute to The Misfits.

We have a decades-old history with The Rabbit Box Theatre, having played our first shows there when it was Patti Summers Cabaret and then flexing our theatrical muscles in the aughts with the Can Can Castaways. Tonight we promise a night of new songs, favorite covers and timeless classics.

We will also have copies of the amazing poster art from Kathy Moore. These are definitely frame-worthy and continues our tradition of collectible posters for the Rabbit Box shows from Kathy. Get yours and get some Bad Things on your walls.

Tickets are $15 advanced / $18 day-of-show so get yours now at: https://givebutter.com/TheBadThings-April-27

Holy March! Three Bad Things shows in one month you lucky devils.

That’s right, you heard correctly. The Bad Things will grace Seattle-area stages three times this month. Been a while since that happened. Here’s the rundown:

  1. Saturday, March 16th at Miller’s Carnation. We bring the For Shane tribute to the east side this Saturday alongside Invisible Shivers, Mister Ink (from the Peculiar Pretzelmen), Kevin Sur (KEXP, Artist Home), Deacon Raleigh St. James and the incredible Party Cats. Bad Things will be closing out the night with a set of Pogues songs and trad classics. Buy tickets here!
  2. Sunday, March 17th – The Last St. Patrick’s Day at Conor Byrne! This was just going to be another St. Patty’s at Conor’s until the very sad news was released last week that Conor Byrne will be closing down at the end of March. Conor’s has been our home away from home throughout our career and this is a blow to the local music scene….BUT you have one more chance to get wild in Ballard and we couldn’t be more proud to be closing out this very special night. It will be a raucous set of Pogues songs and Irish trad. Buy tickets here!
  3. Saturday, March 30 – The Bad Things and The Party Cats at Cottontail. After two months of paying tribute to Shane, we’re excited to get back to our catalog and tonight will be a special “speakeasy” style performance at Belltown’s Cottontail Club. Enter through the alley , of course. Party Cats are opening the night. Buy tickets here!

For Shane!

Tomorrow night we play tribute to a man that influenced this band probably more than any other. Shane MacGowan’s band The Pogues’ ability to sound like a traditional Irish band infused with punk rage and rebellion was exactly what I wanted to do with The Bad Things. It was too easy to stick a loud electric guitar in the mix to give it a “punk” feel….Shane did it all with words and attitude. He distilled Irish folk music down to its core and overlayed stories of excess (of all kinds), misery, romance and horror. We didn’t pick Irish music as our base but pretty much took everything else from what that late great London band taught us.

Tomorrow night we will be joined by an all-star cast of Seattle musicians and singers who will each pay tribute to this great man in their own way. We will be headlining the last part of the show and will have a host of guest singers and musicians joining us for our favorite Pogues tunes. Expect much singing and drinking….let’s make Shane proud.

This is looking like it will sell out so if you want to attend, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND BUYING ADVANCED TICKETS!

All proceeds will go to two charities that Shane raised money for and donated to:

One in Four – a charity organization that helps end the trauma of childhood sexual abuse in Ireland.

Childline – a 24/7 hotline that Irish children can use in crisis.

The Bad Things Return to The Funhouse – Friday, December 15

So many memories at the old Funhouse….playing on the bar, the first Punk As Folk, so many green room antics…it’s where this band grew up. Of course, that was back at the original location by the Seattle Center, but this room manages to maintain the same free-spirited, drunken energy.

We will be returning to said room on Friday, December 15 2023 for a night of new songs, old songs and maybe even a Christmas song…probably not….but, maybe. Opening the show will be the like minded dark and acoustic Phantom Pines.

Funhouse has an all-ages show earlier so we got the late slot for the adults. Doors are at 9pm. Music starts at 10pm. Start prepping your livers ’cause this’ll be a rambunctious crowd I’m betting. Get advanced tickets here.

The Classic Bad Things Accordion Tee is Back!! On Sale Friday 11/03/2023

It’s probably been over a decade since we’ve had the classic Bad Things Accordion tee available but it’s back! This design was hand drawn by Bad Things co-founder Mad Wilcox and is a portrait of my old war-horse Excelsior accordion, broken keys and all. She has since been retired.

We have a limited run of this classic tee going on sale on Friday, November 3rd. THIS FRIDAY! It’s Bandcamp Friday so all proceeds go straight to The Bad Things.

We have women’s and men’s sizes. These are 100% cotton, Next Level Apparel black t-shirts. They are form fitting so if you like a loose-fitting shirt, go one size up.

We’ll post these at 10:00AM PST on Friday, November 3rd so head over to our Bandcamp page and support a fine group of independent artists, us.

See you on Bandcamp Friday!

cheers, Jimmy the Pickpocket

Kicking off our favorite season!

This Saturday, The Bad Things return to the Rabbit Box Theatre to kick off our favorite season, the fall. I know it’s technically still summer but September means fall to me. The new lineup of the band has really been energized and our creative juices are flowing like crazy. We’ve been writing a ton. Even talking about doing another record…..gasp! For Saturday’s show, we’ve decided to showcase a few of these new songs, three in fact, as well as some cuts from our catalog that don’t see the light of day too often. No worries, plenty of classics will be smattered amongst the new stuff, but we’re excited to play these new ones for you.

Opening the show will be the Party Cats, featuring Accordion Cat, well-known and loved busker from the Pike Place Market, who is probably in more international photo galleries than any busker I know. He will be joined by Violin Cat and together they are the Party Cats! Not to be missed.

As before, this show is all ages with an 11pm curfew so expect The Bad Things to hit the stage around 9:00pm. Pick up advanced tickets here. Last time we played the Rabbit Box, it was pretty crowded so get those tickets in advance and get there early so you can snag a table and catch the Party Cats.

See all you miscreants on Saturday! xxoo Jimmy the Pickpocket

The Bad Things 3.0

Has it really been two years since we posted here? Is that right? It’s like there was a worldwide pandemic or something. The pandemic impacted us as it did many of you and we had two members get the hell out of Dodge (or Seattle in this case): bass player Mad Wilcox moved to Portland and banjo extraordinaire Captain Panto to the sunny climes of Mexico.

Austin is still willing to commute but we found a new (or old) banjo slinger in Professor McBee, original Bad Things banjo player circa 2002-2004. That’s him you hear on the first album. Since Captain Panto has big shoes to fill, we also added a guitarist in Devin Carlen (Bad Things nickname forthcoming). We knew him when he was in the great band from back in the day Gunstreet Glory. He was a natural fit with the band’s sound and aesthetic and we can’t wait for you to hear him.

You can witness this new lineup on Friday, May 26th at the Rabbit Box Theatre in the Pike Place Market – former home of Patti Summers Cabaret and, most recently, the Can Can Cabaret. Both were regular haunts of the Bad Things of yore and it’ll be a hoot returning to the scene of the crime(s). Better yet, the show is all ages until 11pm PST. If there are some young Bad Things fans out there that have always wanted to witness us live, now’s your chance. You can get tickets here, which we recommend given the limited capacity.

So glad to be back and expect much more action on the show and new song front now that we have a hungry and excited new lineup. See you all on the 26th!

Our Triumphant Return to Seattle Stages!

After almost two years of no Seattle appearances, Seattle’s kings of junkyard cabaret return. While our first attempt had to be cancelled due to Delta variant concerns in indoor venues, we’ve relocated to the outdoor stage at Slim’s Last Chance Saloon, in our beloved homeland of south Seattle.This will truly be a triumphant return (assuming we still know how to play the songs) and we can’t wait to see all your smiling, drunken faces.Joining us will be the always epic Chaotic Noise Marching Band. Been many years since we’ve shared a stage and they’re sure to get the party started right! Might even sit in on some Bad Things tunes, you never know.

Advanced tickets available here.

Cabaret Macabre Returns This Saturday!!

That’s right. You thought it was dead but no, it’s rearing it’s ugly head again. Cabaret Macabre returns to the Columbia City Theater this Saturday, October 26.

Cabaret Macabre had a solid run of 13 years before we decided to call it quits three years ago. Life got in the way and handling production and promotion duties for this show just became impossible. So, when our friend Kali of Freaksheaux To Geaux fame asked if she could take over production duties if we would agree to headline, it seemed like a no-brainer.

She’s put together a hell of a lineup: Baby Gramps, Vito and the One Eyed Jacks, Strangely (also holding down MC duties), Mai Li Pittard (Debaucherauntes, Pickpocket Revue) and Sasha Berenstein, Jenny Penny, La Petite Mort, Kino B. Demented, Anna Clara Buoyant and our lovely hostess Mistress Kali. Many of the dancers will be performing live to Bad Things songs and we’ll be adding some special guest musicians as well. Whew! What a night!

Advanced tickets are available here and are highly recommended as this has always sold out in year’s past. Plus they’re cheaper.

Also heard there will be T-shirts for sale of this incredible poster design by Robert “Nix” Nixon.

Feels good to be back. Link to the event page on Facebook and tell us you’re going. We can’t wait to see all your creepy crawly mugs this Saturday.

New Album (Sort of) and a Show in Seattle This Weekend!

Wow, has it really been since January 2018 since we’ve posted anything? Hard to believe. We apologize for the radio silence but middle-aged reality has taken over, leaving little room for our “other” lives. We still get out 2 or 3 times a year but that’s about it.

Luckily for us, our much older friend Danbert Nobacon, has been a busy little beaver up there in Twisp. He remixed the 2010 album “Woebegone” at Mell Detmer’s Studio Soli in West Seattle and the result is “Woebegoner.” The new mix sounds amazing. We miss Miss Funi’s vocals, but Miranda Zickler’s voice offers a great new take on the Liliithiana Red character. The mix is much warmer with a lot of that reverb-soaked space that Mell is known for and that we’ve grown to love. Pick up your own digital copy here. Physical copies should be available soon as well.

We will also be making a rare appearance this Saturday, February 16 at the Owl & Thistle. This has become one of our favorite dives to play. They don’t charge a cover, the crowd dances and we get to play two sets. It’s all Bad Things, all night long. Feel free to throw a little money in the hat and maybe pick up the Bad Things album that’s been missing from your collection. You can find all the details here.

Here we are doing “Evolution 9” off “Woebegone” at the Owl N’ Thistle back in 2017:

And we promise it won’t be over a year until we post on here again. Really. Seattle friends, we’ll see you on Saturday and everyone else, thanks for continuing to support. I know, why not take a trip to the beautiful Pacific Northwest for our next shindig. We’d love to see you.