Come September 10th we’ll be celebrating the new incarnations of some of our favorite disbanded bands at Columbia City Theater. Taking the stage will be The Hounds of the Wild Hunt (formerly the Whore Moans), Hobosexual (featuring members of Vindaloo and Iceage Cobra) and Baltic Cousins (featuring members of Black Eyes & Neckties and The Russians). Bring your ear plugs, because it’s going to be a loud night of rock’n'roll you won’t want to miss.

Pre-Purchase Tickets HERE
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Much thanks to Bradley Lockhart for another gorgeous poster. You can share your appreciation for Brad’s work when he takes the stage as the frontman for Baltic Cousins.

The Ironclads CD Release Show ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

As a person who goes to grippa shows, it’s a hopeless task to put properly put into any meaningful order the favorite shows they’ve been two beyond saying a few were the very best or stand out as special moments and deserve recognition as such for the annals. So I’ve chosen a list of twenty shows and sets from this year that I’ll never forget, presented in chronological order.

Blind Pilot @ The Triple Door (January 2009) - read the full review

The Murder City Devils first show back at the Showbox at the Market (February 2009) - read the full review

Dan Auerbach at the Showbox at the Market (March 2009) - read the full review

The Ironclads CD Release w/ Hands, Whore Moans, What What Now (April 2009) - read the full review

Blue Moon 75th Anniversary Show w/ High Class Wreckage, Thee Emergency, Hopscotch Boys, and The Whore Moans (April 2009) - read the full review

The Lonely Forest CD Release at the Vera Project (April 2009) - read the full review

Bon Iver at Sasquatch (May 2009) - read the full review

Nurses at the South Pole (DIY venue) (June 2009) - read the full review

David Bazan in a Living Room in Edmonds (June 2009) - read the full review

Robin and Josh ::: Photo on Film by Josh Lovseth

Robin Pecknold at Neumos (July 2009) - read the full review

Rural Alberta Advantage at the Sunset Tavern (July 2009) - read the full review

Widower, Pearly Gate Music, Final Spins at Sunset Tavern (July 2009) - read the full review

Doe Bay Fest (August 2009) - read the full review

The Maldives CD Release at the Tractor Tavern w/ The Moondoggies and Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers (August 2009) - read the full review

Macklemore at Bumbershoot (September 2009) - read the full review

Dirty Three at the Crocodile (September 2009) - read the full review

Fanfarlo at Chop Suey (September 2009) - read the full review

Grizzly Bear at the Moore (October 2009) - read the full review

Black Eyes & Neckties Last Show (October 31, 2009) - eulogy never written

Regina Spektor at the Paramount (November 2009) - read the full review

Taking in the Bay at Doe Bay Music Fest ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

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.

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 ::: Photo by Abbey

Bellingham’s Black Eyes & Neckties are going into 2009 with all sorts of news. First off, they’ll be heading to the UK as now they’ve been signed to the William Morris Agency over there, and will be playing a string of dates in late May surrounding the Dot to Dot Festival. Right now they’ve only got a few dates confirmed, but they’ll be filling out that schedule as the weeks go on, including a couple of dates in London.

Just made available is a split 12″ with fellow Bellingham band the Russians, and they’ve posted a song from that on their myspace page. In addition to that new song, titled “Grace Note,” the split contains a ‘reworked’ version of “Tonight Death Soars” which originally appeared on their first effort Stiletto.

And finally, the band is working on writing songs for a third record which is slated to come out in “late 2009.” Hearing that little nugget right there rescued my Monday.

Update: AND they’ve just added a local show. On April 2, they will open for the Bronx at El Corazon.

With nearly 200 shows under my belt in 2008, it’s hard to narrow down my favorites to just 15– but after much thought–here they are. I went for singular shows/sets, rather than including entire festivals such as Bumbershoot and Georgetown, which would have easily qualified for best of status. The photos are ordered, with my favorite show of the year on top and so forth. Hope you caught at least a couple of these shows in 2008 too!

Monotonix at The Sunset Tavern–and Ballard Avenue (9/28/08)

Dead Confederate at The Greenhouse (5/23/08)

Ice Age Cobra at The Key Bar in Austin (3/13/08)

The Shackeltons at Bumbershoot (8/31/08)

Slackfest 2008 with The Maldives, The Moondoggies, and lots more (8/24/08)

J. Tillman and David Bazan at Sunday Bloody Sunset (5/18/08)

Portugal The Man (with Wild Orchid Children) at the Do512 Party at SXSW (3/15/08)

Hopscotch Boy’s Final Show (6/8/08)

Sound on the Sound’s Blue Moon Birthday Bash w/Thee Emergency, Thunderbird Motel and Skeletons with Flesh on Them (1/12/08)

Black Eyes & Neckties at King Cobra (4/19/08)

The Trucks Final Seattle Show (10/12/08)

The Hands CD Release w/The Whore Moans at Neumo’s (3/1/08)

Ice Age Cobra’s Final Show (9/12/08)

Noah and The Whale at Chop Suey (9/29/08)

We Wrote The Book On Connectors CD Release Show (11/16/08)

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.

Hey guys, sorry this is coming a few days late and is one of my only recent post. Yours truly picked up an honest to god day job, and thus my contributions to Sound on the Sound have been suffering/non-existent. I promise you, that this will change in November, now that I’ve gotten a bit of  handle on the day-job and that best of/end of the year posts are right around the corner.

Without further ado, I present to you the songs and albums that have kept me sane in this largely music-less month.

* A Gun That Shoots Knives - “Stay In School Mother Fucker”
* Starfucker - Starfucker
* See Me River - Time Machine
* The Moondoggies - Don’t Be A Stranger
* Black Eyes & Neckties(the best Halloween-ish music ever)
* Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes
* Catfish Haven - Devastator
* Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
* Bon Iver -Daytrotter Session
* The Shackeltons - “Soft Heart”
* Hopscotch Boys - Sad and Lonely Eyes
* The Whore Moans - Watch Out For This Thing
* Sufjan Stevens - “Majesty Snowbird”
* Jake One - White Van Music