Black Eyes & Neckties Finale ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

I’ll admit, I’ve been avoiding writing about Black Eyes and Neckties funeral show that happened back on Halloween at the Nightlight in Bellingham. Not because it wasn’t an amazing show (it was), but rather in the child-like hope that if it’s not mentioned, it didn’t actually happen. But it did.

That being said, if a band has to break-up, and they all inevitably do, every band should be as lucky to have a final show as rowdy and overflowing with appreciation as Black Eyes & Neckties did. The band played two sets to a sold out crowd that shoved, crowd surfed, stage dove, and screamed along to every song.  Between swigs of too many bottles of red wine to count, the band played a set fitting of their gothic and theatrical birth and all-too-brief life. They were pelted with beer cans, insults, and compliments by a crowd who raged with equal parts appreciation and anger. For the band. For the show they were experiencing. And for the fact they would never experience it again. I had bruises on my knees and sides for days following the show from being crushed against the stage and shoved against my fellow funeral mourners. None of us, from the beer-drenched band to those of us who had to fight our way to remain upright in the surging crowd, would have it any other way.

If you’ve gotta go, and we all do, there’s no better way to go than doing what you love at 100%.  That’s how Black Eyes & Neckties returned to the grave. In a year of brutal break-ups, I’ve mourned none as much as Black Eyes & Neckties end. Nor have I enjoyed a funeral, nay, a celebration of undead life, so much as I did this. It was one of the most memorable shows of my life.

A Solemn Occasion ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

A Ressurection ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Fist ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Audience Guitar Appreciation ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Brenda Grimm ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Josh Homicide Crowd Surf ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

See: More Photos from the Funeral

The Maldives and Moondoggies Sing-Along ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

2009 was an inspiring year for live music locally. My favorite shows ranged from intimate living room gatherings to huge festivals. They spanned genres from horror punk to hip hop to Ballard Avenue twang. They were almost all exclusively local, though I’ve seen a number of great touring bands in 2009. My hometown is where my heart is musically. Lucky for me (us all really) it was a banner year for local music, with a new found energy in the air and coming off the stages of Seattle. 

Seeing that we have a couple weeeks left in 2009, I’m hopeful there’s still another show in my near future that will be worthy of being dubbed a favorite. Considering how great 2009 has been, it would surprise me more if that didn’t happen. While this list isn’t ennumerated, it is in a hierachal order of most cherished towards the top.

David Bazan in an Edmonds, WA Living Room

Bon Iver at Sasquatch

Black Eyes & Neckties Final Show - Halloween in Bellingham

Doe Bay Music Festival

Nurses in a South Seattle Living Room

The Moondoggies at The Blue Moon

 The Maldives Three Night Stand at The Tractor

The Lonely Forest, Telekinesis, and The Globes at the Showbox

 Blue Moon’s 75th Anniversary Shows

The Rural Alberta Advantage at The Sunset

 The Ironclads Final Show Before Hiatus

Widower with Pearly Gate Music at the Sunset

 Fresh Espresso at Seattle Weekly’s Reverb Festival

Hey Marseilles and all of the Bean Room Shows at Cafe Vita During Capitol Hill Block Party

J. Tillman and Pearly Gate Music at The Sunset

A Gun That Shoots Knives and Doctor Doctor at Neumos

Mad Rad at Sasquatch

The Ironclads CD Release Show with The Whore Hands and What What Now at Holy Mountain

D. Black CD Release Show at The Crocodile

The Lonely Forest at Bumbershoot

Though I don’t have a photo to include with the list Regina Spektor’s sold out show at the Paramount is also one of my very favorite concerts  of 2009.

Hide your children and grab your kleenex, Black Eyes & Neckties final shows are nigh.

Halloween makes a fitting finale for the theatrical Bellingham band. Beyond the macabre make-up and the tortured songs they sing, Black Eyes & Neckties got their start playing Halloween parties in Bellingham. So it is only suitable that the band will thrash and scream and amaze for their final shows in Bellingham on Halloween.

There will be two ‘funerals’ for the band and we recommend making the drive north for at least one of them. Black Eyes & Neckties have treated us to a few of our craziest and most memorable concert moments of all time, and I have no doubt what will go down these two nights will top most of those. Plus, this band was literally made for Halloween.

Tonight the band plays their final all ages show at the Old Foundry (WHAAM) in Bellingham with a Misfits and a David Bowie cover band.

On Halloween they’ll be playing the Nightlight Lounge for their final show. If you plan on going don’t try and saunter in at the crack of midnight, buy your ticket now. The band’s Halloween shows have sold out the Nightlight before and I suspect that their glorious gothic wake will as well. Sound on the Sound will be there, mourning and moshing.

They Live! at Fremont Oktoberfest ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

This weekend provides an embarassment of riches and difficult decisions when it comes to musical choices. On the average weekend night in Seattle there are usually a couple shows tugging us in different directions, but Saturday’s musical options alone could make for a solid week of amazing shows. It’s further proof why I wouldn’t trade the Seattle music scene for anywhere else in the country. It’s a fucking conundrum which show to choose, for sure, but what a wonderful conundrum to have.

Here’s why there’s absolutely no excuse not to catch at least a couple shows this weekend:

The Black Whales at The Tractor Tavern ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Friday - September 18th

Dirty Three, Chris Brokaw — The Crocodile

Bobby Bare Jr., The Black Whales (CD Release Show) - The Tractor Tavern

Mad Rad  - Nectar

Monotonix at Neumos ::: photo by Abbbey Simmons 

Saturday September 19th

Monotonix, Black Eyes & Neckties (Last Seattle Show Ever) - Neumo’s

Local Natives, Final Spins - High Dive

Whore Moans, Police Teeth, High Class Wreckage - Sunset Tavern

They Live!, Champagne Champagne, & More - Fremont Oktoberfest

The Soft Pack - The Crocodile

Arctic Monkeys - The Showbox

Cosmic Panther Land Band  at The Sunset ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Sunday September 20th

M. Bison, Skeletons with Flesh on Them - Fremont Oktoberfest

Cosmic Panther Land Band (members of the Moondoggies & Maldives), Curious Mystery - Sunset Tavern (late show)

Beach House - Neumo’s

History for Sale - Sunset Tavern (early show)

Black Eyes & Neckties ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Alright favorite bands, this is getting a little ridiculous. Still nursing the wounds from the final Ironclads show, I’ve just gotten confirmation that our favorite epic horror punk band Black Eyes and Neckties will soon also be no more.

The Bellingham outfit’s final Seattle show will be September 19th with Israeli wild-men Monotonix at Neumos. While a bill with these two bands would already be unmissable in our minds, the fact that it’s the last time we’ll have a chance to see BENT smear black make-up on their eyes, drip fake blood on us, and destroy everything in their sight, will make what is sure to be an insane night bittersweet.

We imagine this show will sell out and is not to be missed for many reasons. So we recommend buying your tickets now, here.

Black Eyes & Neckties Play The Comet July 19th ::: Photo by Abbey

Remember when I said not every week would have seven nights of recommended shows…? This is one of those weeks.

However, for most of the night’s that have recommendations, there are numerous pleasing possibilities. Looks like another week for some heated internal debates on which shows to attend.

Who - So Many Dynamos, Police Teeth, Cast Spells
Where - VERA Project
How (Much) - 8$/7$ with Club Card
Why- So Many Dynamos mathematic, energetic, angular, and infinitely danceable approach to indie rock is a perfect way to start the week with momentum.

Who - The Girls Guide To Rocking
Where - VERA Project, 7:30pm
How (Much) - Free
Why - Because in 2009, rock’n'roll is still a boys club. Books like The Girls Guide to Rocking and places like the VERA Project help encourage and teach girls to find their rightful place in rock.

Equally Awesome Alternatives:
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone at HTFC
Team Gina at Chop Suey

Who - Jack Wilson and the Wife Stealers 
Where - The Comet, 6pm  
How (Much) - ?
Why - If you like what bands like The Maldives and Widower are doing, it’s time for you to check out Jack Wilson and the Wife Stealers. Wilson is a pleasant addition to the burgeoning bearded Seattle-Twang song-writer sound.

Equally Awesome Alternatives:
GMK at Nectar Lounge
Tea Cozies, Devices at Tractor Tavern

Who - WE Prom Featuring: We Wrote The Book On Connectors, M. Bison, Tennis Pro
Where - The Crocodile
How (Much) - 10$
Why - Because this is what Sweet Dreams are made of. Or at least, that’s the theme of this prom, which is guaranteed to suck 100x less than your actual Prom. There will be photos, formal wear, a balloon arch, and  few great local bands playing from their own catchy catalogs, as well as the promise of some classic Prom songs. Slow dance, anyone?

Equally Awesome Alternatives:
The Metal Shakespeare Company at The Blue Moon
The Sea Navy at The Comet Tavern
The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, Blind Pilot at Marymoor Park

Who - Laura Veirs, Cataldo
Where - The Crocodile
How (Much) -  15$
Why - To spend a night with one of the Pacific Northwest’s most gifted lyricists and song-writers, Laura Veirs.  2007’s Saltbreakers is a quintessential Pacific Northwest album, so evocative of the surroundings that inspired the album, you can almost smell the damp salty cedar air.

Equally Awesome Alternatives:
What What Now at Cafe Racer
Death Cab for Cutie, the New Pornographers, Ra Ra Riot at Marymoor Park

Who - Helms Alee, Black Eyes & Neckties, Red Fang
Where - The Comet Tavern, 9pm
How (Much) - 8$
Why - You’d be hard pressed to find a stronger all-local hard rock bill. In spite of being on a Sunday, the sheer weight of rock and spectacle of this line up may actually leave The Comet in ruins.

Equally Awesome Alternative:
Death Cab for Cutie, the New Pornographers, Ra Ra Riot at Marymoor Park

Black Eyes and Neckties at Bumbershoot 2008 ::: photo by Abbey

Just as I love everything about this photo, I love everything about Black Eyes and Neckties. They were the big discovery of 2008 for me, and though their album Apparition! didn’t come out in 2008, it was doubtlessly one of my most listened to albums of the year.

See more of BENT’s inspired and insane Bumbershoot performances on our Flickr.

Tomorrow night is a crazy night for live music in Seattle, there are at least three different venues I’d like to be at. However, when push comes to shove, there is nowhere I would rather be tomorrow than The Comet to celebrate Carly of Starbird Promotions’ birthday with a few of her favorite bands.

Not that Black Eyes & Neck Ties with Helms Alee and Black Elk shouldn’t be enough to get you through what is sure to be a very crowded Comet door…just check out the trippy, slightly scary, completely awesome poster.

Wheelchair Headbang ::: Photo by Abbey

As we’ve mentioned before, Bradley Horror, the lead singer of Black Eyes & Neckties, played Bumbershoot wheelchair bound after a stage jumping accident in Montana. And while we imagine it stinks to be Bradley Horror on stage right now — we loved what the wheelchair added to his performance and the larger horror aesthetic of BENT.

In fact, I think BENT should keep the wheelchair as part of the stage show. Find an antique wheelchair, wheel Bradley out on stage for the first song, where he thrashes around and head bangs. Then, at some climactic moment of the song, Bradley could stand up with his cool old gnarly cane and continue with his intense theatrics. For the rest of the set the wheelchair could be a great prop for the rest of the band. It certainly added to the Brenda and Bradley back and forth during BENT’s KEXP set, and Josh Homicide really needs some other unstable thing to stand on during a show. C’mon BENT — think of the possibilities!

Black Eyes & Neckties brought a huge set to end Bumbershoot. For me, it was the perfect way to end a nearly perfect Bumbershoot — being screamed at by some of the PNW’s finest.

Photo by Josh

Bradley Horror ::: Photo by Abbey

Black Eyes & Neckties  ::: Photo by Abbey

Check out the rest of our BENT Bumbershoot Photos at Flickr

While we were super sad to see the Line Out post detailing the breaking of Bradley Horror’s (of Black Eyes & Neckties) foot and spraining of both ankles on THE FIRST NIGHT OF A TWO WEEK TOUR…  We can’t say we were super surprised.

Witness Bradley Horror at the WHAAM last Friday:

swinging from the rafters ::: photo by abbey