Curtains For You ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

The thing about favorites, is they’re not necessarily the “best.” Take this shot of Curtains For You that I absolutely adore. I could list ten technical things I’d like to change about the photo (focus, framing, tone, etc…) but with all its flaws it is still one of my favorite shots of the year.

While Curtains For You is all lovely swooning retro-pop, front man Matt Gervais is a little bit rock’n'roll when performing. Plus, as evidenced by this photo, Matt has mad hops. If CFY ever decides to become a punk band, Matt will be more than ready with the antics. Of course, I hope that day never comes, as I’m smitten with the pure pop joy that is currently Curtains for You.

If Beach Boys harmonies, classic rounds, bubbling bass and bright guitar is your thing, I highly recommend checking out the band tonight at The High Dive. They’re opening for Slender Means and will be joined on the bill by the Purrs. It’s going to be a solid night of Seattle song craft, go sway and sing along.

Thanksgiving is all about coming to the homeland and taking time with family, and this year many of our town’s recent favorites and up-and-comers are doing just that by joining forces to keep a usually quiet weekend very entertaining.

Black Friday at the Showbox at the Market is a doosie of an all-ages triple bill, with Anacortes based Lonely Forest headlining the venue for their first time, but certainly not their last. From the side of the stage at Bumbershoot, a fellow long-time respected music writer told us that the local adoration for and momentum behind the Lonely Forest reminded him of the buzz behind an early Nirvana. Joining the Lonely Forest will be Telekinesis, the Merge Records-supported band led by Seattle’s Michael Lerner, and fellow Burning Buildings Records signee’s the Globes. This group of bands is in a way a summation of this years list of the best young pop bands from our area, so you can’t go wrong hitting this one up.

Saturday at the Showbox at the Market might be an equivalent bill to excite another set of taste buds, tapping the list of Seattle’s strongest Modern American players. I think people are starting to get that the currently-recording Moondoggies are more than a bunch of slightly dorky, talented, flannel lovers. With their late-night blues jamming and repetitive lyrical themes they’ve struck a chord that now brings people out of the woodwork to dance and hoot and shout in enthusiasm at their shows, always. Local institution Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter along with Star Anna & the Laughing Dogs have the pleasure of warm-up duty, so treat a lady right, show some respect and show up early.

Friday November 27th at the Showbox at the Market
The Lonely Forest
Telekinesis
The Globes
All Ages, 8pm, $10 + fees at Ticketmaster

Saturday November 28th at the Showbox at the Market
The Moondoggies
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Here After
Star Anna & the Laughing Dogs
All Ages, 8pm, $14 + fees at Ticketmaster

Looking for a place to lose the in-law blues? The Crocodile’s Saturday show is an all Seattle band bill that’s an event in its own right due to the one night reunion of pop powerhouse the Lashes. Though they’ve been away you can be assured that Ben Lashes will have a gag or two up his sleeve and that you’ll leave with at least one Lashes melody stuck in your head even if you didn’t know it before. Because really that’s what this band is all about: infectious, person-to-person, fun. Thee Emergency, who knows a thing or two about how to entertain a crowd, and Curtains for You will both be opening, and considering our long time endorsement of the former and our recent endorsement of the latter, you know we’ve got an opinion about showing up late.

Saturday November 28th at the Crocodile
The LASHES for one night only!
Thee Emergency
Curtains for You
21+, 8pm, $10 via the the Croc

In recent years Seattle has called itself home to a number of stellar producer/wordsmith duos participating engaging collaborations: Blue Scholars and Common Market who’ve been holding it down for ages, last year’s White Van Music via Jake One, and this year’s breakout act Fresh Espresso all quickly come to mind. For this year’s list it looks like we’ll need to add the latest collab between Seattle’s Macklemore and producer/filmmaker Ryan Lewis, called Vs. The first single “Otherside” weaves a RHCP bassline into a horn section backing a Macklemore rhyme that takes me back to the early days of Slug & Abilities. Looking at the lineup for tonight’s two show EP Release party at the Nectar, you can count on this being the hip-hop center of gravity this weekend.

Friday November 27th At the Nectar Lounge

The VS. EP Release Party! featuring:
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Early All Ages Show w/
Hella Dope
The Next Door Neighbors
Kung Foo Grip
DJ Sabzi
Hosted By Grynch
All-Ages, Doors at 5.30pm, $8 adv. at TicketWeb

Late 21+ show w/:
The Physics
Symmetry
Xperience
The Next Door Neighbors
DJ Terry Radjaw
Hosted by El Mizell
21+, Doors at 10pm, $8 adv. at TicketWeb

In short, this really complicates my usual post turkey day sleep schedule.

Curtains For You ::: all photos by Abbey Simmons

Last night Curtains For You played to a crowd that treated them like the pop sensations they well may become.  When the band took the stage, women screamed like they were The Beatles. Curtains For You got a bigger reaction just stepping on stage than most bands get when a Seattle audience is demanding an encore.

As someone who’d slept on Curtains For You until now, the audience obviously knew something I didn’t: this band is one of Seattle’s best barely kept secrets and with what they bring to the stage, they won’t be a Seattle secret for long. Their new record What A Lovely Surprise To Wake Up Here, for which the night’s show was a CD release party, has a number of radio ready songs, retro-pop that’s as primed to melt hearts as it is to put a bounce in one’s step. At their best, Curtains For You sounds like the Fruit Bats with swooning, sunny, Beach Boys harmonies. Is what Curtains For You is doing new and innovative? No. But it is timeless, and incredibly well crafted.

The band played all but a couple of tracks off their new CD and managed to sound just as perfectly polished as they do on what listens like a painstakingly recorded and mixed album.  Lead singer and song-writer Matt Gervais is a natural frontman, interacting warmly with both the audience and his band members. He brought a little rock ‘n roll to the lush pop sounds with jumps and high kicks that one would usually expect at an antic-filled punk show. Highlights of the evening included Peter Fedofsky’s and Gervais clever pop phrasing on songs like  “Title Bout,” “Dumb Angel,” and “Small Change,” a sly vaudevillian pop number which featured bassist Nick Holman and guitarist Mike Gervais on euphonium, saxophone, and do-be-doo-wop backing.

Everything about the evening was impressive, from the songs, to the showmanship, to the devoted audience that danced and sang along to every tune. Curtains For You is definitely a band to keep an eye and an ear on. Songs this catchy are made to be enjoyed by the masses and Curtains For You is good enough that they should be.

See More Photos On Flickr: Curtains For You CD Release Show - November 13th