Shabazz Palaces at Sasquatch ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Congratulations are deserved all around this morning with the news that Sub Pop has signed local hip hop visionaries Shabazz Palaces. We love it when local support local (it’s kind of our thing here …) and we couldn’t be happier for both parties with this new partnership. I think Ishmael Butler (or The Palaceer) said it best in this morning’s press release, “And, of course, Seattle is the immeasurable muse, the backdrop, backbone, the foundation to how we all get down.”

Here are the important parts of that release and a five tracks from Shabazz via Sub Pop’s soundcloud. You can expect to hear new Shabazz out on Sub Pop sometime in 2011.

Seattle, WA— Sub Pop’s recent signing of Seattle’s ascendant hip-hop collaborative Shabazz Palaces highlights an exciting, new example of the city’s legendary and ever-evolving music community. After self-releasing 2 EPs, Of Light and Shabazz Palaces, in 2009, the group quickly gained local acclaim, especially (and most noticeably to us) here within the Sub Pop offices. The Stranger, on Shabazz Palaces: “Shabazz’s almost subliminal messages are universal: ‘Find out who you are and see it/Find out what you are and free it/Find out who you love and need it/Find out what you can and be it.’It’s a timely sentiment for Seattle hip-hop, which, after years of self-negating/hating or looking too much to the Bay Area and Brooklyn for direction, is enjoying a creative surge and homegrown industry that is—no bullshit—changing the landscape of Seattle music.” With their debut full-length expected and anticipated in 2011, Shabazz Palaces will keep busy playing shows, receiving awards and turning heads.

“I think we both have a lot of love, appreciation, respect and energy for music and for each other. Recognizing the fact that business is necessary for maximizing exposure to it, I think we mutually feel that doing business is less a ‘job’ and more an opportunity to exercise those feelings in dope ass ways. Shabazz, we bring a distinct hip-hop mentality from left to Sub Pop, which has established itself wide and deep in r&r from that same field. So, it’s going to be cool to see what gets born from rolling together. And, of course, Seattle is the immeasurable muse, the backdrop, backbone, the foundation to how we all get down. So SP feels a lot of pride around this partnering-up as well. The people, the office, the deal, it all feels super plush. So stay tuned, it’s ’bouts to be on.”—The Palaceer, Shabazz Palaces

Vampire Weekend ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Vampire Weekend pissed off a whole field of fans this past weekend at Marymoor Park canceling their set after making the crowd wait over an hour for an announcement, which then came from some unlucky manager and not the band themselves. Concert goers on Twitter and blog commenters wanted Vampire Weekend’s blood. (No pun intended, but it stays.) So how does the band make up this grave disappointment to local fans?

They announce two make-up shows in the coming month (September 22nd and 23rd) at The Paramount Theater and they tap these guys for their opener, for both nights:

The Head and The Heart ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Well played Vampire Weekend. And congratulations to The Head and The Heart, whose next gig always seems to be the biggest of their lives. We couldn’t be happier for them.

[Editor's Addendum]: After I got over my initial “holy cow, that is big news!” high I realized I already had plans to see The Head and The Heart on 9/23 opening for Fences at The Crocodile. So I emailed the band and they confirmed that they’ve had to back out of that show and that they are working on ways to make that up to fans who purchased tickets for it.

Doe Bay Campfire::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

This year’s Doe Bay mainstage was home to some of the Pacific Northwest’s higher profile bands, but the mainstage was just one of many places music was made. Each stage has it’s own character: the patio stage overlooking the bay for the sunny lunch and afternoon hour, the cafe stage for late night intimate performances. After 10pm, the Yoga Studio was the place to focus on, as its four modest walls sought to contain a series of performers on the verge of breaking out, both literally and figuratively.

The first band to grace the Yoga Studio was the percussive charms of Ravenna Woods. After a late Thursday night battling, and then falling to, the Washington State ferry system, Ravenna Woods spent much of Friday trying to get what sleep they could before their 10pm set, after arriving on the very earliest ferry. For the short moment I snuck into the shoulder-to-shoulder room, their fatigue was forgotten. Both Ravenna Woods and the Head and the Heart, who took the sweaty stage after them, are bands that move. Going to see these band’s in a normal room is enough to work up a sweat. For those hours in the 100-ish capacity Yoga Studio the room could’ve easily stood-in for the clothing optional sauna’s situated just up the hill. People were walking out of the room with dense layers of steam fogging their glasses and camera lenses. And big grins. During Head and the Heart someone wrote “SO FUCKING HOT” from the inside on the studio’s lone steamed-up window, but nobody was leaving

An equally interesting set, occurring at the same time as The Head and The Heart, was Widower’s Kevin Large in the Doe Bay Cafe. I only caught his two final songs but it was enough, with a squeal-inducing cover of Lisa Loeb’s “Stay” to close out his short set. Just to be clear I didn’t squeal. That was someone else. I swear. Once the yoga studio wound down, the action moved to the campfire, where Large brought his guitar and he found his comfort zone. Large is a bit reserved on and off stage, but in front of a campfire and friends, he’s a beast in his natural habitat. The breadth of his “photographic memory” for songs is impressive, he covered everything from Bruce Springsteen to Counting Crows to Simon and Garfunkel. Needless to say, spontaneous sing-alongs featuring Large, Curtains for You, and the Head and the Heart, and anyone else who might care to join in, kept the music going until the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Widower in the Cafe::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Steam writing in the Yoga Studio during the Head and the Heart ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Kelli Schaefer had the honor of opening the Yoga Studio on Saturday Night, though with her blessing, Drew Grow and the Pastors Wives actually started the night by playing the last song that they didn’t get finish during their mainstage set. Reprising last year’s Yoga Studio appearance with just one song, “It All Comes Right” is a gorgeous folk hymn bursting with harmonies, more so with the addition of Grand Hallway’s Shenandoah Davis and Kelli Schaefer to the mix. Much like Grow, Schaefer holds nothing back, not needing a microphone to make her point. Usually only accompanied by a drummer, this night she kept her label-mates The Pastors Wives on to support, along with multi-instrumentalist Steve Norman on the trumpet and steel guitar. This backing of friends produced a marked change from when I last saw her solo. Replacing a wounded, lilting loner was an emphatic, confessional attention grabber, where the need for a quiet tear was overwhelmed by the joy of the cleansing catharsis on display. Taking control of the night from the beginning, she led the entire studio in a chorus of “It’s so fucking hot” before informing us that was the last time any of us were allowed to utter those words and from that point on, the audience was silently riveted. I heard not one complaint, in I can only assume reverence for the performance. As of last weekend I’ve no reservation in saying Kelli Schaefer is currently endowed with one of the Pacific Northwest’s most compelling and arresting voices.

Though THEESatisfaction might’ve considered themselves a left-field booking for the largely folk and Americana influenced festival, for the last official set of the main festival they were duly appreciated with a packed sweaty crowd that was impressively active. Small rooms are where this band succeeds most, from up on stage some of the cultural criticisms can sound too preachy, but down on the ground, standing at eye-level it’s obvious that they’re speaking from real experience. Their stare you in the eye humor and wit challenges you to think, but also to dance. And the audience obliged.

I emerged from the Yoga studio to the Head and the Heart set up on the General Store porch singing songs with a half-circle of roughly 200 people ringing the porch. For the Saturday arrivers and those of us unable to make it into the Yoga Studio last night, it was a welcome development. The audience’s interest in the band clearly exceeded a hundred-odd person appearance in the Yoga Studio. Mid-way through the set, Doe Bay Resort owner Joe Brotherton arrived to a broken board on the porch from some over-zealous stomping but he could hardly complain, given the large crowd and quality of the quiet after-hours performance. These unexpected moments that felt perfectly orchestrated are exactly what we all hope the Doe Bay experience can be. Festival organizer Chad Clibborn sensed the magic of the moment and announced, with the band’s agreement, that the Head and the Heart will be playing the Doe Bay mainstage in 2011. Smiles abound.

Drew Grow with Kelli Shaefer and Shenandoah Davis::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Kelli Shaefer::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

THEESatisfaction ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Head and the Heart on the General Store Porch ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Though the festival unofficially extended into Sunday afternoon for a few bands on the Patio stage, we were extending our stay until Monday morning in order to complete a few more Doe Bay Sessions, most notably the Head and the Heart out on a rocky point at sunset. This session attracted a larger audience than any of our other relatively secluded forest sessions and in a wonderful turn of events included Kelli Shaefer, Drew Grow and the Pastor’s Wives and members of Youth Rescue Mission on backing harmonies. This magical event felt an ideal culmination of an idyllic weekend, a perfect representation of the community that had been created in the few days we were all together.

Given the tightness of the bonds being forged over the weekend, it came as no surprise that the community was compelled to linger and celebrate just a while longer. What was surprising, was that it happened at the picnics tables surrounding our yurt, with many of the remaining band members and festival organizers spending an hour at our bench. As more people arrived, the tables turned into an unscheduled stage unto itself. Following the quick decimation of two tequila bottles, a furious rap battle broke out between Daniel Williams of Youth Rescue Mission, and Seth from the Pastor’s Wives, with Seattle Times music writer Jonathan Zwickel on beat box and vinyl scratch. Curious owner Joe Bay ventured around the inlet and joined in on the fun, commanding everyone’s attention enough to allow Kelli Shaefer a chance to belt out “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” In this setting, sung with that voice, I was fairly convinced that who ever was wrote that song was thinking of a place not unlike Doe Bay.

Over The Rainbow from Dylan Priest on Vimeo.

Premonition from Dylan Priest on Vimeo.

Ben Harwood of Hobosexual ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

When we started the blog we never considered the heart break we’d feel, multiple times a year, when our favorite bands decided to part ways and stop playing music together. But then again, we never realized the excitement we’d feel when the members of those dearly departed bands started new projects to fall in love with. Our September Sound on the Sound presents bill at Columbia City Theater seeks to celebrate some of our favorite new bands birthed out of the demise of some of our favorite former local bands: The Whore Moans, Vindaloo, Black Eyes & Neckties and Iceage Cobra.

On September 10th Sound on the Sound is pleased to present:
Baltic Cousins (featuring members of BENT and Russians)
Hobosexual (featuring members of Vindaloo and Iceage Cobra)
Hounds of the Wild Hunt (formerly known as The Whore Moans)

You can purchase tickets for $8 via Brown Paper Tickets!

Baltic Cousins ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

The Whore Moans ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

The Lonely Forest ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

We’ve known for years that this day would come for The Lonely Forest and we couldn’t be prouder. Today the Anacortes’ band debuted their first single from the forthcoming Trans Record release on Stereogum.

Download “Live There” courtesy of Stereogum

But there’s more than just a Stereogum debut to be proud of. The band’s first single, “Live There” is a love song to the Pacific Northwest and to the life we are afforded simply by the blessing of calling this slice of Washington home. The Lonely Forest have always been proud of where they come from. The band has always claimed Anacortes as their home, never bowing to the pressure or ease of selling themselves as an up-and-coming Seattle band. “Live There” finds the band still wearing their heart and their hometown on their sleeves.

While Stereogum strangely compares the band to Band of Horses, “Live There” seems to me to be the answer to Death Cab for Cuties “Why You Want to Live Here?” The Lonely Forest, as produced by Death Cab’s Chris Walla, sing the answer: we don’t.

To understand Elliott Brood, begin with the first track on their most recent album, 2008’s Mountain Meadows. “Fingers And Tongues” tells the (true) story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, an 1857 slaughter of one hundred twenty men, women, and children in the Utah Territory. “The little ones were all they saved / As they laid them open on the salty plains / They claimed the wild ones were to blame / As they buried families with their names.” These cheerless lyrics are placed within the framework of a somewhat upbeat country song, exultant in melody, hand clap- and boot stomp-ready.

You see, from the lyrics, why Elliott Brood describes their music as “death country.” But despite this bleak moniker and despite the album’s morbid inspiration, Mountain Meadows is really a hopeful record, more curious and explorative than truly grim. After presenting “Fingers and Tongues” as a prologue, the band spins off twelve song-stories inspired by the massacre and, specifically, the children under age seven who were the only survivors. “What happens to these kids afterwards?” vocalist Mark Sasso wondered to Exclaim! magazine. “What happens to their relatives or their families down the line?”

The end result of this speculation is a sort of musical storybook of the American West. Abstract yet familiar characters appear in classic scenes from our frontier mythology: the lonely drifter in “Without Again” (”His love went south / And he’ll go west”), the lovestruck courter in “Woodward Avenue” (”I’ll hold you in my arms now as we stroll down the boulevard / And how we love the evening in the gaslight flooded streets”). Visions of bustles and boots dance along the melodies and into your head.

And a merry dance it is, for above all else, Elliott Brood is a boot-stomping, hand-clapping good time. Organic and energetic, the band famously used a Samsonite suitcase in place of a bass drum to get a hollower, more stomp-like sound, until the suitcases’ frequent destruction made the technique logistically prohibitive. Live, they encourage the band to supplement their guitars, banjos, and ukuleles with pots and pans, blurring the line between performer and audience and generally encouraging participation and celebration. “Let’s forget we’re up here and you’re down there, ” guitarist Casey Laforet says. “We’re all gonna get up on stage eventually or we’re gonna come down there.”

From a dark place, Elliott Brood creates truth and beauty. The beauty of hope, the beauty of imagination, the beauty of celebration. The beauty of banging away your cares on a frying pan with a wooden spoon. Simply put, I think we could all use a little more of that beauty in our lives.
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Elliott Brood play KEXP’s Concerts at the Mural Friday, August 6. Bring your own stomping boots; pots and pans will likely be provided.
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Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

We might still be sore from Capitol Hill Block Party, but that doesn’t mean it’s not already time to start planning for Seattle’s other big music festival, Bumbershoot. The festival quietly released its full schedule and I took it upon myself to type out the entire music schedule for the festival’s 40th anniversary, just for you.

In doing so, I have to admit, I’ve gotten pretty excited for this year’s Bumbershoot. The festival is pulling out all the stops for its big 40 birthday and from my vantage point, it’s one of Bumbershoot’s most promising line-ups in recent memory. Every day looks solid, but I’m especially looking forward to Saturday, which features headlining performances by Bob Dylan, Neko Case and The Decemberists and supporting stages filled with Sound on the Sound favorites Justin Townes Earle, The Maldives, Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers, Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs, See Me River and Atlas Sound.

Start planning your Bumbershoot schedule now and count down the days till the festivals big birthday with me … only 37 to go.

Saturday September 4th

11:45 - Becki Sue & her Rockin’ Daddies (Starbucks Stage)
12:15 - Grynch (Fisher Green)
12:30 - Great Waves (EMP Skychurch)
The Submarines (Broad Street)
1:00 - Caspar Babypants (Northwest Court)
1:15 - Star Anna & The Laughing Dogs (Starbucks Stage)
Idiot Piolot (Center Square Stage)
2:00 - Born Anchors (EMP Skychurch)
The Constellations (Fisher Green)
2:15 - Plants and Animals (Broad Street Stage)
2:45 - Zoe Muth & Her Lost High Rollers (Northwest Court)
3:00 - The Maldives (Starbucks Stage)
HEALTH (Center Square Stage)
3:30 - Parlour Steps (EMP Skychurch)
3:45 - Wheedle’s Grove (Fisher Green)
4:00 - Atlas Sound (Broad Street)
4:30 - The Round (Northwest Court)
4:45 - Justin Townes Earle (Starbucks Stage)
Civil Twilight (Center Square)
5:00 - Feral Children (EMP Skychurch)
5:30 - The Decemberists (Mainstage)
The Budos Band (Fisher Green)
5:45 - Jamie Lidell (Broad Street Stage)
6:30 - This Providence (Center Square Stage)
6:45 - See Me River (EMP Skychurch)
Pete Molinari (Northwest Court)
Bob Schneider (Starbucks Stage)
7:15 - Neko Case (Mainstage)
7:30 - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (Broad Street)
Balkan Beat Box (Fisher Green)
8:15 - The Cute Lepers (EMP Skychurch)
8:30 - Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra (Northwest Court)
8:45 - Solomon Burke (Starbucks Stage)
9:00 - Bob Dylan (Mainstage)
9:30 - Ozomatli (Fisher Green)
The Ravenoneets (Broad Street Stage)
9:45 - Visqueen (EMP Skychurch)

To see Sunday and Monday’s schedule, follow the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »

S (Jen Ghetto) Tattoo Detail ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

We’ll be talking all about Capitol Hill Block Party shortly, but we’re a little tuckered out from the three-day extravaganza. Much like Jen Ghetto’s tattoo’s, we may be “bout it! bout it!” but we’re also feeling “used” up. … And if you had as little sleep as I have had the past three days, that above sentence might make sense.

Macklemore’s Crowd ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

At this year’s Block Party early arrivers will reap the rewards of good local music. Yesterday Macklemore worked the mainstage as only he can. He’s got an uncanny ability to stir up the crowd that few others come close to. Today we’ve got Head and the Heart in the two o’clock Vera stage spot and Redwood Plan in the 2:15 main stage spot, two similarly energetic bands who’ve got a way with the crowd. Don’t be late!

Screw that Facebook movie, if I’m going to watch a movie about a website, I’d rather it be about Daytrotter. Of course, the Facebook movie has a big time director and a millions upon millions of dollar budget and our friends at Daytrotter are, as always, doing things delightfully DIY. You can donate to help make this documentary, about some of the most inspiring folks supporting musicians today, happen.

We hope, with your help and our help, it does happen. Daytrotter’s praises deserve to be shouted from every music lover’s rooftop and independent movie theater in America.