Earlier this week local arts magazine and champion City Arts announced that they’d be hosting the first ever City Arts festival this October at venues around Seattle. But don’t let the word “first” trick you into thinking this is some amateur event, for their inaugural festival City Arts has crafted a line-up filled with national, international and local talent that rivals established festivals like Bumbershoot and Capitol Hill Block Party.

Just take a peek at an abridged list of the line-up:

Belle and Sebastian / Blue Scholars / She and Him / Big Boi / Gogol Bordello / Blitzen Trapper / The Vaselines / Roky Erickson / Brother Ali / Foals / Dum Dum Girls / Macklemore with Ryan Lewis / The Weepies / Fresh Espresso / The Head and The Heart / The Maldives / Sera Cahoone / The Atomic Bombshells / Brent Amaker and The Rodeo / Tilson / Star Anna and Her Laughing Dogs / Head Like A Kite / And Many More …

I chatted with Leigh Sims from the Festival this week and she told me what initially was an idea for a singular event to celebrate the beginning of “the fall indoor arts season,” blossomed into a full-on festival because there were just so many great ideas flowing. Not only does the October date separate this from most of the summer-based Pacific Northwest music festivals, the spirit of collaboration and creating once-in-a-lifetime events is also distinctive. At the fest you’ll have a chance to see Belle & Sebastian at Beanroya Hall with strings, Head Like a Kite with The Atomic Bombshells and Brent Amaker & the Rodeo for a rowdy sexy night and an all-star local hip hop show featuring Blue Scholars, Macklemore, Mash Hall and Fresh Espresso, plus out-of-towner Brother Ali. And that’s just a few … you’ve also got The Weepies with The Head and the Heart, Roky Erickson with The Maldives and a promising event called “Poetry and Hip Hop Church.”

Wrist bands go on sale tomorrow for the festival and I’d pay the $125 for VIP Access to guarantee entrance to the big events.

The Moondoggies at the Blue Moon ::: Polaroid by Josh Lovseth

Saturday night at the Blue Moon was a Hardly Art label showcase of sorts, featuring two bands officially on the label, The Moondoggies and Unnatural Helpers, and a third band with an up-in-the-air status at this point. Of course, you would have never known that, because the only band listed on the bill was the fictional Diamond Joe Quimbys.

The first Hardly Art band to take the stage were the Unnatural Helpers, who have a new record in the pipeline and who had me wishing I could have caught the whole set instead of sneaking in for the last two songs.  Billed as the Diamond Joe Quimby’s the Moondoggies served as the night’s headliners. The band took the stage at midnight and played to an effusive crowd who knew every word to ever song until last call. The Moondoggies are the closest thing the Blue Moon has to a house band and even though they can barely still play there even when it’s a secret, seeing them on the stage that all but bore them just never gets old.

That third band of unknown status (who played second), referred to themselves as “White Lightning.” Formerly they were “Magic Mountain,” or maybe “Magic Mtn,” but I guess that didn’t go over too well with the trademark police, so now they have a new name. (Which may not be the name they end up with.) The now known as “White Lightning” is a collaboration of Arthur & Yu’s Grant Olsen and The Moondoggies.  Kevin Murphy, lead singer of The Moondoggies, told me that a summer White Lightning tour may happen, and a recording may even follow. But no promises. You can already hear the collaboration in action on one live track included on the free 2009 Hardly Art label sampler, a track recorded during the course of playing just a few select dates last summer.

With all that possibly in the works, it’s looking like it’s going to be a busy year for the Moondoggies. In addition to setting a September release date for their next Hardly Art LP, Tthe band has just returned from a month long tour with the Cave Singers and the Dutchess and the Duke and the band has already confirmed an early summer tour with fellow Northwest roots rockers Blitzen Trapper. Those dates are below the fold.

White Lightning? ::: Polaroid by Josh Lovseth

Flickr: The Moondoggies, White Lightning at The Blue Moon Tavern

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The Mural ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

It was packed by the time the TMTS went on at 6pm last Friday, but it was good to see so many people out to enjoy the rock on a nice day. Blitzen Trapper attracted a mass of dancers toward the foot of the stage once the shade had set in on the super hot concrete.

This weekend the free fun continues with some Friday evening hip-hop from Dyme Def and Fresh Espresso, and the all Saturday afternoon KEXP BBQ with Japandroids, Viva Voce, Dinosaur Jr. and more.

Throw Me The Statue ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Blitzen Trapper ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Blitzen Trapper ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Lounging in the Beer Garden ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Grizzly Bear ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Some notable calendar listings have appeared in the past week or so we thought you might want to be aware of:

Grizzly Bear coming to the Moore Theater, Friday October 16th
$23 - presale starts Thursday July 16 through the Moore. PW: KEXP.

Monotonix coming to Neumos September 19th
$13 - 21+ - Tickets available at Ticketswest

Pearl Jam coming to Key Arena September 21st and 22nd
$68 - Tickets go on sale to the General Public, Saturday July 18 at Ticketmaster.

The Dirty Three coming to the Crocodile September 18th
$15 - 21+ - Get tickets from the Crocodile

Fruit Bats coming to the Crocodile August 20th
$12 - 21+ - Get tickets from the Crocodile

MP3 - “Ruminant Band” by the Fruit Bats courtesy of Sub Pop

KEXP Summer Mural Concert Series at the Seattle Center Mural Amphitheater
All these shows are free and all-ages, including the BBQ. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

Friday 7/31, 5-8pm
Blitzen Trapper
Throw Me the Statue
This week daytrotter posted their session with Blitzen Trapper.

Friday 8/7, 5-8pm
Dyme Def
Fresh Espresso

Saturday 8/8, 7th Annual KEXP BBQ! 2-9pm
Dinosaur Jr
Viva Voce
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Japandroids
Born Anchors
Champagne Champagne

Friday 8/14, 5-8pm
The Dodos
Army Navy
We highly recommend streaming the Dodo’s new album Time to Die at timetodie.net.

Friday 8/21, 5-8pm
Fruit Bats
Johnny and the Moon

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

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The Builders and the Butchers ::: Photo by Josh

Last year Sasquatch showed Seattle’s up and comer’s a whole lot of love, and this year Portland is the local city with the honor of the most performers. In fact it’s a veritable who’s who of notables coming out of PDX: Hockey, Blind Pilot, Loch Lomond, M Ward, The Decemberists, Viva Voce, Pt. Juncture, WA, The Builders and the Butchers, Blitzen Trapper, Horse Feathers. We can honestly say there’s not a bad one in the bunch and something for everyone, with a small gripe that maybe a little more female representation from the Rose city might’ve been nice (Laura Viers, Mirah, Explode into Colors… the list is lengthy).

To help you decide about which of these distinguished Oregonian bands you should see, I’ve assembled a nice list of free tracks from each of these bands (except one band who keeps a tight grip on their tracks online) for you to evaluate on the long drive to the Gorge. Enjoy and make sure to pick up these band’s albums should you like what you hear. A number of these bands including the Decemberists and Blind Pilot will be signing their albums at the Easy Street Booth throughout the festival, so take a look at that schedule too.

MP3: “Go On Say It” by Blind Pilot courtesy of SXSW 2009

MP3: “Blue Lead Fences” by Loch Lomond courtesy of SXSW 2009

MP3: “Never Had No One Like You” by M Ward courtesy of Merge Records

MP3: “Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect” by The Decemberists courtesy of Kill Rock Stars

MP3: “Devotion” by Viva Voce courtesy of Barsuk Records

MP3: “Sick on Sugar” by Pt. Juncture, WA
courtesy of Pt. Juncture, WA

MP3: “Devil Town” by The Builders and the Butchers

MP3: “Gold For Bread” by Blitzen Trapper courtesy of Sub Pop Records

MP3: “Curs in the Weeds” by Horse Feathers courtesy of Kill Rock Stars

Video: “Too Fake” by Hockey

Portland’s community of musicians always seem to band together and put on the best benefit shows. This year’s benefit for PDX Pop Now! happening next week is no exception. Just before heading out on tour with the Shins, James Mercer will roll solo, along with a number of other local frontmen.

Complete details are on the poster above, and below.

Make It Pop!
A Benefit for PDX Pop Now!
Thursday, April 30
The Cleaners at The Ace Hotel
All-Ages
$30

Featuring performances by
James Mercer of The Shins
Marty Marquis of Blitzen Trapper
Brandon Summers of The Helio Sequence
Loch Lomond
Ryan Sollee of The Builders & The Butchers
Dantronix (Video DJ)

Plus admission includes sundry comestible treats from sponsors such as Bakery Bar, Artemis Catering, St. Cupcake and Captured by Porches Brewing.

Tickets are at Brown Paper Tickets.

Ahhhhhh yeah, it’s weekend time, which for Noah Sanders just means that I won’t have to go to work drunk on Sunday.  There’s a slew of good shows happening about town and I’m going to try to tap in to the deep parts of your grey matter to pick which ones I think you’d best like.  Alright, bald-faced lie, these are the shows I might be attending and if you’d rather do something else, I think you’re wrong, but entirely right in your choice to differ.

FRIDAY

Blitzen Trapper, The Parson Red Heads, & PWRFL PWR @ CHOP SUEY

I’ve been trying to shove Blitzen Trapper down the throats of each and every person I know and, possibly, love for as long as I’ve been spinning Wild Mountain Nation on my ghettoblaster.  These guys are as good as everyone says, talented, alt-country rocking sons of bitches that put on a damn good live show.  You can avoid them again, telling yourself that their just a “flash in the pan” and then afterwards when everyone is talking about how good a show it is, you can impress them by kicking yourself in the nuts.

SATURDAY

The Wild Orchid Children and The New Faces @ The Sunset

The Wild Orchid Children will quite possibly melt your face off.  I saw them when I was extremely intoxicated many months ago (that’s what Olympic’s Open Ceremony drinking games will do to you) and was head-smashingly happy to see how wild these fellows actually are.  Thomas, guitar-guy, fell down repeatedly, while Kurt, singer guy, manhandled the mike like it was stealing his tips.  This, was, awesome.

SUNDAY

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band @ Neumos

I don’t really get Mt. St. Helens’ Vietnam Band.  I don’t know where they came from, or why they’re so popular all of sudden and this might be contributed to by the fact that I haven’t listened to their music nor seen them live.  Thus, for the betterment of all, I will go to this show (or at least speak of going to this show) so I will no longer be, uh befuddled by the dark cloud of ignorance that hangs over them.

Oh and by the way, I’ve realized that I’m pretty limited in my knowledge of what bands are playing where, so if you want me to check out a show or give you some love, send me a note with your date and where you’re playing at.  I’m friendly … sometimes.

Blitzen Trapper - Furr

You know I was going to write up the pretty amazing new album from kings of consistency Blitzen Trapper (and I still might) but for now, I just want you to head on over to their Myspace page, pop out the player, and let this country-fed indie blitz (…en trapper) wash over your overly urbanized ears.  I’m not going to say that this is the best album that’ll strike your speakers this moon cycle, but I will go on record as saying this: Blitzen Trapper always delivers a brand of indie pop that pushes above and beyond the stale crud that so often clogs our sensitive eardrums, incorporating the gentle twang of country guitar, with the schizo guitar freak outs of indie rockers past.

You don’t even have to buy the damn thing, just go check it out, and if you don’t want to buy it then, you’re an evil bastard and you rightfully deserve it when strangers spit at you.  I’m kidding, no seriously, kidding.

So here’s the Myspace.

Blitzen Trapper - Furr

Lead singer Eric Earley :: Photo by joshc

I saw Blitzen Trapper at Bumbershoot and here’s a few things I brought home with me:

1.  Blitzen Trapper is one of the hardest working bands in America.  I’ve seen them probably five times now and I can’t ever get over how solid and dependable of a show they put on.  Sure, it may get lost in the glitz and glamour of some of the more ridiculous acts like Man Man or Dan Deacon, but you can always expect to be strongly entertained by the alt-country-freak out that is Blitzen Trapper.  It’s sort of sad to me that the times I’ve seen them, they’ve been overshadowed by bigger openers or the above mentioned flash of other bands, because they deserve a strong audience.

2.  That said, I’ve seen them twice, very recently, and the first time they played a set that relied heavily on their more country songs, and I’ve got to be honest, I really enjoyed it.  These gents have a beautiful control of harmony that mixes well with lead singer Eric Earley’s gravelly voice.  This go around they played a good deal of the harder (comparably) stuff off the new album, and though it wasn’t bad, I couldn’t get in to as much.  This could also be because I was recovering from one of the worst hangovers of my life, and trying not to fall asleep/vomit on the weird red tube thing that overshadowed the Rockstar Stage.

3.  I’ve heard “Furr”, the new single of their new album which drops September 9th, twice now live and it is a beautiful, beautiful pastoral number.  It eschews a lot of the noisier business BT is known for and just focuses on Eric Earley’s voice and his lyrics about the country and life and on and on and on.  It’s sort of in constant rotation these days at the old Noah Headquarters, and it’s reason enough to drop some dough on the new album.

It’s a Chorus Line! :: Photo by serotonein

4.  It pissed me off that every time anyone has even the slightest bit of gravel in their voice people either compare them to Dylan or Tom Waits.  Sure, Earley has a bit of Bob Dylan’s nasally twang in his roughed up holler, but, who doesn’t these days?  Any act making folk music these days owes more debts than Harvard’s student loans, so pointing out that said acts are reminiscent of Dylan/Waits is just repetitive drivel and if you’d please, stop doing it.