One of the fringe benefits of a packed music and arts festival is the inevitable overflow. There's just too much pork for Bumbershoot's proverbial fork, and other venues are dishing up the leftovers.

My Ballard reports that several of the comedians set to perform at Bumbershoot will put on a pre-show this Friday, Aug. 29 at 10:30 p.m. at Ballard's Live Girls! Theater. The names can't be revealed for contractual reasons, say the Swedes, but for a measly $5 cover there's no point in wasting time trying to guess.

Also on Friday, Daniel Clowes visits Georgetown's Fantagraphics Bookstore to talk up the new deluxe edition of "Ghost World." The new version of the epochal work includes some behind-the-scenes skinny on the 2001 Thora Birch/Scarlett Johansson film, and you can get the man himself to affix his signature to it between the hours of 6 and 9 p.m.

Satellite Riders, an Old 97's tribute band out of Mineral Wells, Texas, plays the Tractor on Sunday, Aug. 31 at 9 p.m. Those who have seen both bands have said that the Riders sound exactly like the Old 97's, and even resemble them to an astonishing degree. A really, truly astonishing degree.

If you're not up to braving the crowds that will surely throng the Old 97's Bumbershoot appearance this Monday, the Satellite Riders have got your number. (Hint: It's three short of a hundred.) Acclaimed local band Downpilot opens.

Finally, the great John Vanderslice plays a free in-store performance at Sonic Boom Records in Ballard on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. He'll probably preview some of the new stuff he's working on.

That's all I can think of right now. Did I miss anything?

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company