(Thee Emergency performing at Chop Suey in a shot from "$5 Cover." MTV photo.)

I went last night to a special screening of “$5 Cover: Seattle,” the MTV project I covered extensively during Sundance. This was the first time we all got to see Lynn Shelton’s 12 short narratives in a row, which is definitely the way to see them. Though each tells its own mini-story, with Seattle’s independent musicians as characters, they all weave together, and sometimes a story that arises in one is resolved in another down the line.

The shorts were great, as were John Jeffcoat’s mini-documentaries about the bands and the even wider-ranging “B-side” docs produced by Sue Corcorane. But the striking thing about the whole event was the over-the-top talent on display. If you’re not checking out the independent music scene in Seattle, well, then, you’re missing out on one of the best things about living here.

I also found it interesting that while Seattle’s all-male bands get a lot of publicity, and rightfully so, the women are just as worthy of note, if not more so. Among the standouts in “$5 Cover: Seattle” (which will hit the network’s website in June): the two-woman powerhouse Thee Satisfaction, garage-pop Tea Cozies, Thee Emergency, whose lead vocalist, Zana “Dita Vox” Geddes, proves she has screen presence and acting chops as well as a voice to die for. Thee Emergency is the last band you hear in this preview for the series:

Click here to see the trailer for “$5 Cover: Seattle.”