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January 11, 2011

My 2010: In One Ear and Out The Other (the “Live” show)

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Baroness at Bumbershoot ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Ladies and Gentlemen, hold on to your hats, this is for all the marbles….

“You’re Not From Around Here…Are You?” – Best Live Performance By A Touring Act

Winner(s): Goodie Mob. Coalesce. Baroness. Almost Winner(s): Jay Electronica.

Judging by the fact that I have multiple winners listed, this was a difficult decision to make. Goodie Mob gave me a reason to believe in the concept of “reunion tours” again. I graduated from the school of thought where if you break up once, you should probably stay separated. Unless you’re a fan of daytime television or have the desire to construct a Greek tragedy in which you are the star, it’s probably in the best interest of all parties involved. This Goodie Mob tour could’ve went a lot like a Naughty By Nature (who?) reunion tour. But it didn’t. Big Gipp rocking a bullet proof vest in tongue and cheek fashion. Cee-Lo playing the part of the big bad wolf by blowing the “house” down with his vocals. It was a thing of beauty. Coalesce took a decade of mockery by yours truly and shoved it down my throat and into the pit of my stomach. I’m still removing the crow from my teeth and the show happened back in May. Baroness may be the crown jewel of this trio. They braved the elements. an unfavorable set-time (competing with lots of other acts at Bumbershoot) and still came out as the undeniable kings of the mountain. They literally destroyed generations of people. Never have I seen someone who isn’t old enough to know the mathematical concept of “multiplication” rock out so hard. They performed with a precision and charisma that was unmatched in the calendar year of 2010. Kudos to them. On the other hand….

The Thermals at Bumbershoot ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

“Who Are You Boning For Your Success?” Worst Live Performance By A “Touring” Band

Winner: Free Energy. Almost Winner: The Thermals.

For as long as Free Energy are in existence, this is their award to lose. The kings of pomp. How many Mick Jagger “How To Be A Frontman” VHS tapes can we watch in one night? No. Let’s choreograph the moves we see in RockBand.  Maybe if we wear makeup, people like us more? Suddenly we’re opening for a souless, cowardly Weezer. Go figure. The Thermals are a band that I enjoy, at times. Here’s where I utter the predictable “I like the first album, but that’s it” go-to critic line. I saw them in the KEXP Bumbershoot Lounge or what have you. Easily one of the most boring, uninspired performances I’ve ever seen. Billy Corgan is looking in the mirror, shining his bald head and mocking toasting this display of live mediocrity. Well done. The well-trained people in the audience clapped after every song. Why? Was it because it was live radio and that was your job as a studio audience? Sheep. I wanted to “boo” and maybe “hiss.” Tomatoes would have been heaved in the Thermals general direction. There is the possibility that the Thermals were saving their passion for the Broad Street Stage later on that tonight. That’s not a legit excuse in my opinion.

Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

“‘It’s Getting Better All The Time…’No Seriously Your Band Is Like That Beatles Song…” Live Show Award.

Winner: Drew Grow and the Pastor’s Wives. Almost Winner(s): What What Now.

I’m just stating the facts. Every time I see Drew Grow and the Pastor’s Wives, they are better than the time before…and they are always really good. After the first four or five times this happened, I was shocked. Now this is just something I expect. It’s too bad for them, they’re fucked by their own greatness.  Sooner or later I fully expect Drew Grow to utter this in the middle of a live performance: “While all of you had your eyes closed during It All Comes Right, Seth and Jeremiah have built a spaceship out of your adoration. Look around you. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are currently floating in space…I’m not kidding.” I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest. In fact, I demand that this happens the next time I see them. Don’t mind me. I’m a first child. We’re the spoiled ones.

See the rest of Phil’s live favorites (and least favorites) after the jump… (more…)

September 10, 2010

Bumbershooting – Day Three

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Anvil ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

To keep weary festival goers attention on its final day, Bumbershoot stacked its line-up with the most theatrical performers of the festival. From classic heavy metal to the hip hop super heroes, Monday was a feast for the eyes and the ears.

Brent Amaker and the Rodeo ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Victor Shade ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Victor Shade ::: Photo by

People Eating People ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

See more photos from Day Three of Bumbershoot (more…)

September 9, 2010

Bumbershooting: Baroness

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Baroness ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

“7-year-old girl headbanging like some shit next to me @ baroness #bumbershoot” 5:05pm Sep 6 via Twitter for Crackberry (follow me @eyesoredown)

Yeah, I tweeted that. I couldn’t help myself. Despite the huge kid grin she had on her face, the little girl next to me was headbanging with great ferocity.  Not only that, she doing it in-time and on the beat. It was pretty amazing. I wanted to take a picture of her drop-C tuning celebration but I pictured an uncomfortable dialogue taking place before that could happen:

Me: “Hey man, your daughter rules! Could I take a picture of her and put it on the internet?”  Father:“Uhhhh….”  Me: “Crap, that sounded bad…”

Needless to say, I decided against going that route. Instead I furiously kept typing notes and attempted to keep my own headbanging in rhythm. I can’t decide if Baroness was the most impressive act of the weekend or not. I expected more from them than the rest of the acts and they went above and beyond to ensure that I was not disappointed.

Baroness delivered a masterful performance. The set-list had great flow, once a song ended you had to cut short your applause because you wanted the next song to begin. They played all their songs with precision and the charisma of the bearded guy in those Dos Equis commercials. In fact, I think they need to do an additional commercial for the “World’s Most Interesting Man” campaign with a reference to this Savannah, Georgia quartet. “I don’t always listen to epic, storytelling sludge from the southeast United States, but when I do….” (cue artificial harmonic)

Baroness ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Charisma can’t be under-valued when it comes to a live performance, it can really make or break an opinion. There are heavy, technical bands that I absolutely adore on record, but when you go see them live it’s like watching animatronics performing at your local Chuck E. Cheese. I’m talking the most rigid movements you’ve ever seen. Sometimes I think those bands have fishing line strung to their lips that their sound crew pulls on occasion which forces them to crack a smile. Baroness was having none of that. Despite having to constantly keep their their dual guitar attack in syncopation they were consummate showmen. They could have been performing as a trapeze high-wire act and I’m pretty sure they still would have pulled off the same six-string mayhem. They reminded you why guitar players get all the glory.

The set-list was a healthy dose of both the Red Album and the Blue Record. I’m probably one of very few fans that has remained on the fence as it relates to the Baroness song “Jake Leg.” After seeing that song played live, it might be one of my new favorite songs off the Blue Record. It still has a ways to go before it overtakes “The Sweetest Curse,” another song which was fantastic on the final day of Bumbershoot.  Baroness played “Grad” without missing any of its couple hundred guitar pull-offs. If any song can be directly traced to minor arthritis  it’s this one. However, while Baroness management team was ordering calcium pills by the truckload, Baroness was busy inducing heart dysrhythmia during the introduction of “Isak.” Those pick slides drenched in delay and nervous heart beat of the bass drum have been known to cause anxiety.  I completely lost it when they went into that song, there are so many elements that make it memorable. For me, it’s the crazy “did you just fall down the stairs?” descending guitar line that takes place after the chorus. Whenever I hear it, that five second sequence never seizes to amaze me. Baroness also played a couple other of crowd favorites, “A Horse Called Golgotha” and the song that got me into the band into the first place, “The Birthing.”

If you have a chance to see Baroness (I’m looking at you Australian and New Zealand Sound on the Sound readers) in the near future, I wouldn’t pass it up. This is a band you can appreciate whether you’re into this kind of music or not. I saw a few couples that could’ve been my grand-parents giving the “devil horns” to Baroness as they played. A woman accidentally slammed her umbrella into the side of her husband’s face during one of the songs, she was rocking that hard. Despite the rain, the minor technical problems with the bass player’s amp and being scheduled at the same time as a handful of local acts, there was no denying the power of Baroness on Monday evening.

Baroness ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

September 6, 2010

Bumbershoot 2010: Day Three Preview

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Japandroids ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Alright. Let us take a second to catch our collective breath. Hopefully some of you kind folks have decided to indulge in Bumbershoot festivities over the past couple of days. Maybe it was you that was walking slow as shit in front of me when I was competitive speed walking between performer’s sets? Was that you I saw chugging Four Loco on the fine lawn of the State Farm Stage? Maybe we shared a laugh when Courtney Love kept on repeating the word “surreal” during Hole’s set? To my knowledge Mrs. Love has never been labeled clairvoyant (I don’t follow her on Twitter, has she?), but I don’t think she had any idea how insanely surreal it was seeing her in-person rather than on television. So far this whole festival has been like that, seeing acts I never in a million years thought I would. The review will come later, the day three preview is now.

For the Day Two preview I started off with a generic quote that pertained to movies. For the Day Three preview, I’m going to use various quotes to describe those who will be performing at Bumbershoot. In order to keep one of my journalism teachers from googling me and ending my life, I tried to go through the necessary steps to make sure these quotes are somewhat legit. One can only do so much when they put an ounce of faith in the internet. Gentle reader, at this point I’m just throwing darts and keeping my fingers crossed. I’m hoping something sticks, or at the very least nobody loses an eye in this ordeal. Enjoy.

Quote: “I don’t know. My mom would say it’s because they are jealous.” Who said it: Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers The artist I’m referring to: Drake

I think that Brandon Flowers quote sounds like something Drake would say in one of his rhymes. I think that’s one of the reasons I’m not down with Drake. He might have a line or two that sounds like something serious, but let’s get real here, Drake was on Degrassi: The Next Generation. There is nothing hip-hop about that. I didn’t watch that show but I don’t think he played an “edgy” charachter (think Sean on Boy Meets World). If Sean (Rider Strong) came out with an album, I know that those tracks would consist of “real talk.” I back Curren$y and some of Lil “Weezy F. Baby, Please Say The Baby” Wayne’s other apprentices with no apprehension. I don’t see that happening in this case, unless I turn into a lonely 15-year-old girl who needs a handsome infatuation within the next 24 hours. I’m not sure how likely Drake is to win me over. (7:30pm on the Bumbershoot MainStage)

People Eating People ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Quote:“No performer should attempt to bite off red-hot iron unless he has a good set of teeth.” Who said it: Harry Houdini The artist I’m referring to: People Eating People

I didn’t mean for there to be a connection between Houdini talking about teeth and the performer being People Eating People. I’d like to think I’m a little more clever than that. To me, the Houdini quote symbolizes the “I’m drawing a line in the sand, who’s coming with me?” vibe Nouela Johnsto’s songs give off. There are times I can see the carnival barker yelling and there are fire dancers all around. Nouela sits in all her glory, a red-hot iron is clapsed in her shit eating grin. (12:30pm at the EMP Sky Church)

(more…)

December 27, 2009

Best Of Guest List: Jamie Cotton’s Top 10 Albums of 2009

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 Jamie Cotton during an Ironclads gig ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

[editor's note:  Though he may not realize it, few people have played a more important role in my continued love affair with local music in 2009  than Jamie Cotton of The Ironclads. Jamie's complex character-driven pop songs have kept me engaged and enamored after a hundred plus listens and what seems like almost as many live shows. For me, there was no more pleasant surprise in local music than The Ironclads,  their devoted audience, and their continued growth as one of Seattle's most underrated bands. Few folks are crafting as smart and catchy pop songs as Jamie, though as his diverse Favorites of '09 show, there may be more than pop songs coming from him soon.  -abbey ]

Here are 10 albums that came out in 2009 that I really dug. I often had conversations this year about how boring pop/indie music was this year. Like everyone just wanted to “mellow out” and “chill” (a la The XX or Animal Collective). I felt it was really hard to put a list together of things that really got my blood pumping. But I gave it a shot, and while the albums below run the gambit of genres, they all have incredible and very honest songwriting, which is something I think most artists strive for, but few actually achieve.  Maybe, if you take each of those songs, layer them in garage band, you might end up with the next Ironclads single.

1. Baroness – Blue Record | band’s website |     Choice cut: “The Gnashing”  | listen to track |

Its like if Mastodon wrote songs as real people, not as ridiculous shamans. This album is triumphant. Makes me want to smash my head into something so it will crack open and more glorious riffage can be absorbed.

2. Future of the Left – Travels With Myself and Another | band’s website |      Choice Cut: “You need Satan More than He Needs You” | listen to track |

The most punk album I’ve listened to for probably 3 years. My girlfriend says it sounds like Avenue Q. I agree with her.

3. Girls – Album | band’s website |      Choice cut:  ”Summertime” | listen to track |

The saddest feeling/happiest sounding album I’ve heard in a long time.

4. Arctic Monkeys – Humbug |band’s website |     Choice cut:  ”Pretty Visitors” | listen to track |

These guys are so cool, and they do not give a fuck about what I think. They’re too busy boning supermodels. Lots of people hate them. I don’t know why. I envy them.

5. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below  | band’s website |      Choice cut:  ”Home” | listen to track |

“Home” is winner for cutest song of the year by far. If this band were a real cult, I would follow them into the desert and drink the Kool-Aid.

6. PJ Harvey and John Parish – A Woman A Man Walked By  | band’s website |     Choice cut: “Sixteen, Fifteen, Fourteen” | listen to track |

Move over Sun(O))), this is by far the scariest record of the year. It should have been the soundtrack to Lars Von Trier’s movie Anti-Christ. You always read about the lady that went crazy and killed her family when a demon possessed her. PJ Harvey is that lady.

7. akron/family – Set em Wild, Set em Free  | band’s website |      Choice cut: “Gravelly Mountains of the Moon” | listen to track |

I wish these dudes were my friends. Then I would just go over to their house and sit in on the most out-there jam sessions. Then I would be like, “That was good, but next time rock the clarinet for another couple bars.” Then they would be like, “Thanks Jamie! We really appreciate your fine songwriting talent.” And I would be like, “No problem guys.”

8. David Bazan – Curse Your Branches  | band’s website |      Choice Cut:  ”Bearing Witness” | watch video |

Oh man… This record… Bums me out in so many great ways. Everytime I feel like I’ve written a good old sad song, I listen to this record, and it turns my song into garbage. Stop raising the bar David.

9. Pelican – What We All Come To Need  | band’s website |      Choice cut: “The Creeper” | listen and download track |

On tour we played with a Portland metal band called Aristea. They were great, and the best part about them was that there wasn’t a shitty lead singer to ruin their songs like most metal bands have. Pelican is the same.

10. Atlas Sound – Logos  | band’s website |        Choice Cut: “Shelia” | download  track |

I hopped on this record really late in the game. Now I really like it.