Sunset at Doe Bay Festival 2009 ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

It may be five months away, but I’m already ready for Doe Bay Fest 2010. I was ready for it a day after I left Orcas last August, after being treated to one of the most enjoyable and intimate musical experiences of my life. Last year, I called the Doe Bay Fest the local line-up of the summer and by the looks of just this initial announcement, which we’re excited to bring you first, 2010 is going to be just as good.

From now ’til August, Sound on the Sound will be your official source for all things Doe Bay Festival. You’ll hear everything here first: from line-ups to ticket information to interviews and introductions to the artists and just why Doe Bay is such a wonderful place for a festival. Just call us the Official Blog of Doe Bay. We’ll be letting you know soon all the exciting ways Sound on the Sound is going to be involved with our favorite little local festival.

But first things first…we’ve got an initial line-up to announce! This may just the beginning of the Doe Bay line-up, but man, what a beginning it is.

Fruit Bats
Hey Marseilles
Grand Hallway
THEESatisfaction
Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives
The Portland Cello Project
Shenandoah Davis

Those names alone should be enough to have you blocking out the weekend of August 13th and 14th, and I can promise you it’s only going to get better.

Hey Marseilles get animated for their brand new video for the orchestral pop gem “From a Terrace.”

You can see the band in the flesh January 30th at The Crocodile with Loch Lomond.

Courtesy of Left Out Counties

The talk of the town after The Maldives Christmas show on Friday night was Hey Marseilles 10 minute holiday song medley/orgy featuring a seriously sick flow by Sir Thomas Gray from Champagne Champagne and stage-full of randy Christmas elves.  Sound on the Sound was lucky enough to hear the medley twice that night as the band warmed up downstairs in the Neumos’ green room and then again on stage. This is a video of the festive warm up, it’s missing the naughty elves but none of the holiday spirit. Special thanks to Philip Kobernik of Hey Marseilles for letting us post the backstage video.

And happy holidays to you and yours from Sound on the Sound. Thanks for celebrating another great year of local music with us! We can’t wait to discover and share more with you in the coming new year.

The Maldives ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Each year the Maldives gather some of their favorite local acts that they’ve played with or met over the past year and invite them to play a big Christmas show. Last year’s edition with the Moondoggies was subject to Snowmaggedon 2008, so we were stuck on the hill, and only lucky Ballard dwellers were able to enjoy the one show in all of Seattle that wasn’t canceled that weekend. This year’s sold out show at Neumos suffered no such impediments and went off without a hitch. We’ve never seen a stronger Goldfinch set, Sir Thomas Gray was backed by Hey Marseilles for a Christmas rap (where Matt Bishop sang harmonies rhyming Thomas Gray with sleigh), THEESatisfaction got the entire dancing when they joined Champagne Champagne to do “Magnetic Blackness,” and a horde of Christmas elves celebrated the season on stage during Hey Marseilles’ 10 minute Christmas medley. The Maldives played at least three new songs, maybe four, since I don’t think I’d heard the second song before either. The trio of Chris Zasche, Jess Bonn, and Tim Dubois on “Blood Relations” (and “Walk Away” which they didn’t play this night) produce some of my favorite live lead guitar-work going these days.

For now the Maldives are taking a few months away from shows to develop their new songs and plan for a massive 2010. I very much look forward to what’s in store.

Goldfinch ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Goldfinch ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Champagne Champagne ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Hey Marseilles ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Hey Marseilles ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Hey Marseilles ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Thomas Christmas Rapping with Hey Marseilles ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Maldives ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

The Maldives ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

The Maldives ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Flickr: The 2009 Maldives Christmas Show at Neumos with Goldfinch, Champagne Champagne, and Hey Marseilles

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.

Air Banjo during The Maldives Doe Bay Set ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Most of us reading this blog have shredded some serious air guitar at one point in our lives, whether we proudly or sheepishly admit it. However, I imagine the number of us who can claim to have put in time on the air banjo are considerably fewer. Luckily, there was this guy at Doe Bay who blisffuly air picked along with Kevin Barrans of The Maldives for a solid couple of songs.

Be sure to have your air banjos (and the even rarer air steel pedal guitar) ready for Friday night when The Madives are hosting their annual Holiday show at Neumo’s with Hey Marseilles, Champagne Champagne, and Goldfinch.

Drew Grow - Blister from left out counties on Vimeo.

Show by show Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives have been collecting converts. I first witnessed the power of Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives  as they closed the Doe Bay Music Festival in a yoga studio. Unable to cram myself into the crowded candle lit studio, I stood pressed against a foggy window enjoying every note.  With powerful harmonies and evocative lyrics, the Portland band captivated an audience who had just been spoiled by intimate performances from some of the Pacific Northwest’s best bands. The band changed the audience from drunk and chatty to absolutely enrapt. More than one person in the audience wept. As people streamed out of the studio, they spoke in hushed and awed tones, using absolutes like they were going out of style, “that was the best show I’ve ever seen,” “that was the most amazing set ever,” “no band has ever moved me like that.”

I have yet to hear a negative comment about Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives performance. Heck, I’ve yet to hear less than a glowing comment about Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives. The band has a slow burning buzz that’s bound to spark full on flames soon. Catch them tonight at The Comet, where they are opening the Friday festivities and hear for yourself what all the talk and tears are about.

[ Special thanks to Philip Kobernik of Hey Marseilles for the video. He's one of those Drew Grow converts who has nothing but rave reviews for the band. You can check out another Drew Grow and the Pastors' Wives video at Philip's website. ]

Matt & Kim ::: Photo by Marcella Volpintesta for Sound on the Sound

[ Editors Note: Bumbershoot 2009 marks the first time a new photog has been on assignment for Sound on the Sound (since Josh was taking pictures for Stereogum), and Marcella Volpintesta was gladly recruited as our second photog for the task. We couldn't be happier with what she came up with! ]

The weather situation leading up Bumbershoot 2009 was ominous. The entire weekend had a forecast of on-and-off precipitation and even a thunderstorm thrown in for good measure. Saturday morning’s dark skies blanketed Seattle in an unusually intense downpour that seemed to almost miraculously stop as noon rolled around.

For us the early part of the day centered a number of younger local groups who’ve been making waves lately. A Hey Marseilles set in the KEXP Music Lounge, Sound Off! Winner Dyno Jamz! and then Past Lives at the EMP, and the Perez Hilton-endorsed Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head at the progressively muddy Broad Street stage. For only 2.30 in the afternoon, NPSH appeared to have attracted every teenager present on the Seattle Center grounds, skillfully whipping them into giddy, bouncing dervishes.

Despite the damp circumstances, roaming around on cement paths and many opportunities to retreat inside (or just under one of the many covered walkways) made for a not uncomfortable experience at all. After taking a break inside ourselves for Telekinesis’ KEXP Lounge set (another young local band worth noticing), we caught in full Mayer Hawthorne and the County’s tour opening set, where he confirmed the promise of his debut album A Strange Arrangement. Given the opportunity to catch Elvis Perkins in a more intimate setting than he was scheduled for later in the day, we wound our way to the day’s final KEXP Lounge Session where Elvis Perkins in Dearland played their entire new Slow Doomsday EP for a packed audience.

Local hard-rockers The Whore Moans were intent on bringing something special to this year’s Bumbershoot, souping up their act as a kind of soul-influenced revue with more players involved and new songs composed. Calling it The Whore Moans Present: The Black Atom! it was complete with backup singers borrowed from the Cute Lepers and Mike and Jordan from the Hands guesting on sax and keys respectively. Guitarist Nikki shined in gold sport jacket while the Whore Moans held nothing back in their retro adventure.

As the light waned at the Northwest Court stage, Elvis Perkins in Dearland played their official set to a respectfully silent crowd (in-between hearty round’s of applause of course). Cold War Kids guitarist Johnny came on stage to help out on a couple of songs, among them one of my new favorites, the jangle-blues jam of “Stop, Drop, Rock, and Roll.” Perkins dedicated the dirgey “Chains, Chains, Chains” to the maker of the animated video for the song, Sean Pecknold, who was appreciatively taking in the show off to the side. The mournful songs from Ash Wednesday were nary in sight until a final song to usher us home, “While You Were Sleeping.”

Wrapping up our evening at the Broad street Stage we were interested to see if JRod had managed to pump out any more new Long Winters songs in the weeks since we’ve last heard from him. The band was playing it’s last set with drummer Nabil Ayers who’s moved on to other more business-like endeavors in New York, and as was expected of the occasion the band was goofy and loose. A few new ones did make it into the mix, but nothing really seemed quite firm yet about them, with one song even necessitating stopping midway through for a situation re-evaluation.

Once day one was finally finished, amazingly I wasn’t muddy, cold or disgruntled. While threat of imposing weather had apparently kept many people at home, those who did make it out experienced a rather mild day with minimal sprinkles and even a few hours sun. In addition to enjoying a healthy amount of elbow room so one never felt to crowded, food and ATM lines were relatively short (but not the comedy lines) and there was always a spot to plop down on the grass if you wanted to. On Saturday we reaped all the benefits of a depressed turnout.

Everest ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Hey Marseilles in the KEXP Music Lounge ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Bumbershoot 2009 ::: Photo by Marcella Volpintesta

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Elvis Perkins ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Day One is done. We managed to avoid the rain completely and instead were drenched in good music and performances… a trend we hope that continues tomorrow. We’ll have full coverage later this week including posts and photos from new contributors, but to tide you over here are a couple pictures from today’s Bumbershoot. Speaking of tomorrow, we have some recommendations check them out here.

 Hey Marseilles at KEXP’s Music Lounge ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Mayer Hawthorne ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Nick of Elvis Perkins in Dearland ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

The Whore Moans Present! Black Atom ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

London based dreamy orchestral pop act Fanfarlo just released this captivating video for “The Walls Came Down,” one of the strongest tracks on their debut album Resevoir. We’ve been enjoying the bands Beirut-ish sound since listen one and are thrilled Seattle is one of only six US tour dates this September.

The band is playing Chop Suey on September 14th and we’re dreaming of a Fanfarlo, Hey Marseilles bill…especially since Chop Suey doesn’t have any bands listed as backing acts. Whether that happens or not, if you’re a fan of Hey Marseilles, Beirut or lushly orchestrated pop, you’re ripe to fall for Fanfarlo.