Post Harbor ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Last night’s four band bill at Neumos was a glimpse into how the Northwest rock scene is being remade circa 2010. Celebrating the release of Post Harbor’s new album They Can’t Hurt You if You Don’t Believe in Them (out on Burning Building Recordings February 23rd) was of course Post Harbor themselves in the headlining spot, and in support were label-mates Daniel G. Harmann & the Trouble Starts and the Oregon Donor, and The Soft Hills, a stacked local “indie+post rock” bill if there ever was one. Conclusion: More bands need to incorporate bow’s into their guitar playing.

And the Oregon Donor! I’ll admit that their record from last year didn’t catch my attention, but last night they did just that. I tweeted:

The oregon donor is rad. Like muse remaking ‘the bends.’ I love ‘the bends.’

Hard to go wrong with that review I’d say.

The Oregon Donor ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Oregon Donor ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Soft Hills ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Daniel G. Harmann & The Trouble Starts ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Post Harbor ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Post Harbor ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Flickr: Post Harbor, Daniel G. Harmann & The Trouble Starts, The Soft Hills, and The Oregon Donor at Neumos

D. Black ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Last Saturday KEXP hosted an eclectic line-up of local bands at the Sunset for their monthly Audioasis benefit. In a completely guitar-less night, three great genre crossing artists took the stage: the confessional piano pop of People Eating People, the dangerous rock swagger of Blood Red Dancers, and the conscious hip hop of D. Black.  As bizarre as the bill might have seemed to some, I was delighted. Such genre-crossing bills expose audience members  to artists they might not otherwise hear of and only serve to highlight the diverse riches of the local music scene. These are a few of my favorite photos from the evening.

People Eating People ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

People Eating People ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Blood Red Dancers ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Blood Red Dancers ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

D. Black and Spaceman ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

See More Photos from KEXP’s Audioasis on our Flickr

Do Make Say Think ::: Photo courtesy of Keith Rutowski

Our contest winner Keith offered to ply his journalistic wares at the Do Make Say Think show he won tickets for. I must say he captured some great images. Thanks Keith!

Do Make Say Think ::: Photo courtesy of Keith Rutowski

Do Make Say Think ::: Photo courtesy of Keith Rutowski

Read the rest of this entry »

Blood Red Dancers ::: all photos by Abbey Simmons

Saturday night Blood Red Dancers celebrated the release of their EP Bikini Island with a gritty, brooding set of their brand of the blues at The Blue Moon. Blood Red Dancers specialize in dark, raw drinking songs delivered with powerful performances from each member of the trio. Singer and bassist Aaron Poppick growls and spits his words like a curse, while drummer Kevin T. Lord looks like he knows a hundred ways to kill a man with his sticks. It’s all bridged by the piano playing of Julian Thomas, who skillfully molds the mood from spooky psychedelic to dirty delta blues to Depression-era Southern gospel.

Blood Red Dancers by no means put on a flashy performance, but it is very much in your face. It’s rock’n'roll that still feels dangerous. It’s tunes you’re drinking whiskey to, but if the world was fair, and it never is, you would be drinking moonshine. It’s leering at you and is just as ready to fight you, as it is  ready to sling an arm around you and whistle at passing pretty girls.   It’s tormented and taut, and if you haven’t seen them yet — you should really remedy that. But do it at a dive, do it at a place like the Blue Moon or the Comet or the Funhouse, where you can stand toe-to-toe with the band and look the devil in the eye.

Julian of Blood Red Dancers ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Blood Red Dancers ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Blood Red Dancers With Blue Moon Percussion Accompaniment ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

See More Photos from: Blood Red Dancers EP Release Show at The Blue Moon - November 14, 2009

Part of what makes the Seattle music scene so exciting right now are the artists who aren’t on stage: the talented community of poster artists and photographers. They are as much a part of the riches of Seattle as the musicians who they chronicle and create for.  It’s been a big week for celebrating the rather obscene number of talented folks who call Seattle home with photo show openings for Chona Kasinger, Jenny Jimenez, and now the showcasing of these two talented artists: Jon Smith and Tyler Soverns at the Greenwood Collective tonight.

Jon Smith (and partner Owen) are the minds and artists behind the trippy posters of SmithBellcraft. Jon has created creepy wonderful posters for local bands like Iceage Cobra and Thee Emergency, to national acts like Ghostland Observatory, Ween and The Decemeberists, and for big name festivals like Sasquatch. A number of Jon’s posters hang proudly at Sound on the Sound HQ and we’re still excited that Jon designed a poster for Sound on the Sound’s first show a few years back.

Apparently just above (or below) Jon Smith’s show will be the opening of SNAPS featuring portraits of Seattle hip hop artists by Tyler Soverns, better known as Rabid Child Images. With his unmistakable fish-eye style Tyler has been chronicling the local hip hop scene for quite a while now and I’m certain his pictures have played a big part in building the amazing momentum bands like Mad Rad and Fresh Espresso have. I knew I had to see these bands thanks to Tyler’s photos long before I ever had a chance to hear their music. SNAPS will feature  his signature white background portraits that capture many of the biggest names in Seattle’s hip hop in intimate and funny moments where ego has been set down and a smile is given into.  

Before you head out to a show tonight, we highly recommend you heading up to The Greenwod Collective (8537 Greenwood Ave N.)  to celebrate Jon Smith and Rabid Child Images.  

A Wink from Dita Vox ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

This photo of Dita Vox of Thee Emergency may be my favorite picture I took from all of Reverb Festival. For me, concert photography is as much showing a mood as it is capturing a split second moment.  Since you get a lot more chances at taking shots that portray a mood, that’s more my strong suit. So I’m especially pleased to have caught this, a perfect split second moment.

Here’s just a  quick photo tease of some of today’s (okay yesterday, it’s 2:30 am) Capitol Hill Block party festivities.

Hey Marseilles play a secret KEXP/Cafe Vita Set ::: all photos by Abbey Simmons

Deerhunter joined by Black Lips

Built to Spill

Jesus Lizard Return to Seattle

There are a few more up on our Flickr, so check ‘em out. There’ll be lots more soon. 

The Moondoggies :: at The Blue Moon :: June 19th, 2009

We’ve been saying it basically as long as we’ve been writing this blog, The Blue Moon is one of Seattle’s best and certainly it’s most under-appreciated venue.  I say that fully believing that the most spot-on description you’ll likely ever see of the Blue Moon reads a little something like this:

That place is a real historic Seattle shit-kicker kind of place. You got the old timers and the hardcore drinkers. It’s one of those places where it feels they should have chicken wire onstage so people wouldn’t hit the musicians with bottles. When you walk in it just smells like old bar. … It was cool because there was nothing pretentious about that venue. You just have a lot of real people and then your friends. There would be people who would come there and just be like, ‘Ah, I can’t stand it—I have to leave!’ But it’s a very genuine good shit-kicker bar. It’s one of those places where you’ll be sitting there joking around and some crazy old drunk lady will just lie down on the floor next to you and start sleeping.

Kevin Murphy of The Moondoggies gave that description in a  recent interview with LA Record, when he was asked about the band getting their start with a “residency” at The Blue Moon. Not many other (if any) Seattle venues are being called out by name by out-of-town interviewers. Even so, in Seattle-proper The Blue Moon often seems to be ignored as a legitimate music venue by both the press and regular concert go-ers. While it may very well be the least glamorous place in Seattle, you’ll rarely see a band at it’s more genuine bare than on the Blue Moon stage.

The Blue Moon has been our ‘home court’ for the past three years and it’s not uncommon for us to be there for a show a week. We were there as The Moondoggies got their start playing regularly at The Blue Moon,  and we’ve been introduced to a number of our other favorite local acts from sets at The Moon. The Blue Moon is where local rock bands cut their teeth. And countless Seattle bands (both past and current) had their first gig at the venerable dive bar. Much like this blog, the Blue Moon is largely all about the locals. While there is an increasing number of touring bands on Blue Moon bills, we’d still say that 9 out of 10 bands you see at the Blue Moon hail from the Pacific Northwest.

We’ve spent the past few weekends being reminded just why we love The Blue Moon so much. On June 19th we saw The Moondoggies return to the Moon for a secret performance, and oh how the times have changed from those first sparsely attended late night sets. Even without being on the bill or the show being mentioned anywhere officially, the room was packed and buzzing for the Moondoggies.  In spite of being on the verge of something much bigger, having been recently picked up by Red Light Management who manages acts like Dave Matthews Band, Ben Harper, and Phish — The Moondoggies looked perfectly at home on that shit-kicker stage. And the band played one of the strongest sets I’ve ever seen them perform, playing previously unheard songs among old favorites.

The Moondoggies ::: all photos by Abbey

Read about our next two weekends at The Blue Moon after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Girl Talk ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

There is no question that day three of Sasquatch for us was all about Monotonix’ set, their last set in the U.S. for a while before heading back across the Atlantic to release a new record. Grizzly Bear’s main stage set came in a close second. I also had the privilege sneak in an interview and a Gorge portrait with Hardly Art’s the Pica Beats after their longish very good set at the Yeti stage, so look for that later today. We ended the day with Girl Talk’s non-stop dance party, which of course jumped off an expansive conversation on the legitimacy of sampling, legally and as an artistic device. See all of our day three pictures at our flickr page.

Other Lives ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Pica Beats ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Pica Beats ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Black Moth Super Rainbow ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Blitzen Trapper ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

School Of Seven Bells ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Grizzly Bear ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Read the rest of this entry »

King Khan ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Between evening-long interviews, a wedding that both Abbey and I are in, and a CD Release show, we’ve had minimal time this week to attend to the proper amount of coverage this year’s Sasquatch! Festival truly deserves. Look for a bunch of in-depth reviews of the performances to appear shortly. For now though, feast on our photo’s from the festival from day 1. And yes, Bon Iver was the set of the day, no question.

Champagne Champagne ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Owl City ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Blind Pilot ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Dent May and His Magnificent Ukelele ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Passion Pit’s Crowd ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Passion Pit ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

King Khan ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

King Khan ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Read the rest of this entry »