Blog Archives

December 22, 2011

The Blue Moon’s 8th Annual Christmas Eve Holiday Pageant / Midnight Mass

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The 7th Annual Blue Moon Midnight Mass ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Jason Josephes (Booker at The Blue Moon, member of the Hopscotch Boys and “Jesus” during the pageant.) took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few of my silly questions about “Blue Moon’s 8th Christmas Eve Holiday Pageant and Midnight Mass” by way of electronic mail. Not if, but when you get sick of your family on Saturday night, you know exactly where your annoyed soul needs to go. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Holidays.

Jason, I have questions about the Blue Moon Christmas Eve Pageant/Midnight Mass.

Jason Josephes (JJ): I am here to answer these.

So, what’s it like portraying the “Son of Man” once a year? Have you done it for the entirety of the tradition? What can we expect from Blue Moon Jesus and Friends?

JJ: I gotta be honest with you, Regis. It gets a little tiring. You’d think being the son of God would help me pull off a successful pageant each year. Ah, but I am merely me PLAYING the son of God. Not a huge difference, if I must be equal parts frank, humble, and full of shit. But if I could be Jesus playing me instead, it would help on the “make sure this all runs smoothly” tip. Therefore, for the first and perhaps only time, I am outsourcing my Christ robe. Jesus will be played by a special guest this year. Don’t worry, it’s not Anthony Keidis.

What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened at this event?

JJ: Hard to say, but it usually involves the midnight mass. Reverend Jenkins is an old school fire and brimstone guy but even the most methodical Methodist should re-up with their pharmacist every now and again lest serotonin levels drop to the single digits. Example: here is a picture of the aftermath of the midnight mass from 2008:

To see the aftermath (more…)

December 13, 2011

Our Favorite Photos of 2011: Hopscotch Boys

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Hopscotch Boys Reunion ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

My greatest accomplishment of 2011 may go down as organizing a show that inspired the Hopscotch Boys to reunite. After scenes like this from their first show in three years, it really couldn’t just be a one night thing.

Hopscotch Boys are playing this Friday’s 4th annual “The Cops Ruin Christmas (Again)” at The Tractor with The Golden Blondes, Lovesick Empire and, of course, The Cops. Tickets are $10 and its sure to sell-out, so get them now.

Hopscotch Boys Reunion ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

October 20, 2011

So, You’re Not Going to City Arts Fest …

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The Head and the Heart Zoe Muth

 

Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

So, you’re not going to City Arts Fest this weekend or at least not all of the weekend. Fear not! There are actually local venues that are hosting non-City Arts related shows this weekend and there’s another festival happening entirely, Earshot Jazz Festival. Here are some recommended options for non-City Arts Fest weekend.

Thursday:

Swingset Showdown, Shitty Dudes, My Posse Don’t Do Homework, VD at The Funhouse Earshot Jazz Festival

Friday:

 

 

Koko & The Sweetmeats at the Benbow Room Lonesome Shack at Cafe Racer Northwest Folklife Presents Spoonshine, Chris Cunningham, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West & more at Columbia City Theater Stickers, Low Headaches, Pony Time at The Blue Moon Earshot Jazz Festival

 

 

 

 

Saturday:

 

 

Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers and Big Sur at The Tractor Tavern Death Cab for Cutie and The Head and The Heart at Key Arena Dyme Def, Hopscotch Boys, The Cold Cold Ground at Sunset Tavern Earshot Jazz Festival

July 6, 2011

Sound on the Sound Presented the Return of Iceage Cobra and Hopscotch Boys

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Iceage Cobra

Iceage Cobra ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

The nice thing about getting to put together our own shows are the opportunities to act on little more than a lark and a dream and still have things work out. Our dream was to bring the best of the Blue Moon Tavern circa 2007/2008 to Columbia City Theater, but that would involve reunions and cross country travel.

Our bill on Friday July 1st, truly was a lark and a dream, though its success wasn’t certain at all in our minds. If we could wrangle the bands, would a Blue Moon crowd come to Columbia City Theater? These were questions that could not be answered ahead of time. But as 9:30 struck and the room filled with old familiar faces on and off stage, we had what we’d hoped for all along: a full-on return to the Blue Moon Tavern circa 2007/2008, a one-night only reunion of Iceage Cobra, the return of the Hopscotch Boys and current favorites What What Now.

What What Now have an entire catalog of catchy melodies and incredibly catchy pop-punk lyrics, which felt even larger as we were given a set of new songs on a new stage. What What Now craft the kind of lyrics and melody that inhabit your unconscious until just the right moment a day later, and you’re suddenly headbanging in vegetable aisle, “Tired Head! Tired Head!” The foursome launches into just about every song, a kicking off of the momentum of Rob Dyrdek careening through a playground of obstacles, navigating his board over and through avoidable hazard after avoidable hazard while never falling off. Its youthful disregard braking is slightly crazy but ultimately thrilling and fun as hell.

Friend of the blog and Blue Moon Tavern booker Jason Josephes agreed to wrangle his band the Hopscotch Boys for the special occasion of an honest-to-god rock show under the Sound on the Sound Presents banner. Frontman Blowdog arrived on-stage with hum bao Hooters, a blonde wig, and a menacing orange ski mask, and entered the crowd to challenge our collective personal space before the first song was over. His beady eyes peaking out from just big enough holes amounted to Blowdog’s creepiest stare yet. As he pulled off the mask (but kept the wig) and began pulling hum bao from his pants shirt to stuff in his mouth the night descended into that hazy place where you’re not entirely sure if you just saw what you think you saw, where drinking is called for to help you process and forget it all at the same time. By the end of the night marshmallows and hum bao carcasses littered the floor under the place where a minor pit spun up and the crowd was more outright grins than uneasy smirks.

We started Sound on the Sound in search of rock and Iceage Cobra was one of the first to emerge to us as the best of 2006′s crop. Thus, with just one record under their belt, Iceage Cobra’s 2008 demise was far too soon for us. Guitarist Jordan West is Angus Jr., a swirling mayhem of hair and kicks and guitar play. The songs were penned with testosterone on the mind after all so the rest of the band sweats their share of male prowess: Hobosexual’s Ben Harwood on bass is a guitar god in his own right, and Mitch Brasch who took some time to visit from higher education to break his symbol at soundcheck and give a go at the same for the rest of his set during his hour on stage. Few bands we’ve seen since feature in one song’s time the same balance of showmanship and fist-pumping anthemic rock that Iceage Cobra dishes out with every song, and seeing it all in action again, separate from the era in which it existed, it stood up on all levels. Far from a slapdash one-off “reunion,” the threesome delivered for their gathered fans in spades, and sweat it out like every other show before it. It’s no favor for them to have followed the Hopscotch Boys, and yet even today the presence of Iceage Cobra effectively stomps out the thought of all others.

Word is Hopscotch Boys might be lurking around a bit more in the coming months so be on the look out for that. As for me, hum bao will never quite look the same. Thanks to those of you who came out and fulfilling our dream of bringing the best of the Blue Moon to Columbia City Theater. You know what I mean when I talk about hum bao never being the same, and Friday wouldn’t have been the same without you.

Hopscotch Boys

Hopscotch Boys ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Find some photos from Friday night below the fold… (more…)

June 28, 2011

Win Tickets to See Iceage Cobra, Hopscotch Boys and What What Now

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Columbia City Theater Sound on the Sound Presents

 

Iceage Cobra ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

 

 

Before there was Iceage, there was Iceage Cobra. And when they played their final show in September of 2008, eager fans actually drank the sweat from the dripping t-shirt of lead singer Jordan West. Their heavy hook, antic-filled anthems and their gigantic stacks of amps were better suited for arenas than the Blue Moon, but for those of us watching Cobra from the front row, fists in the air and heads thrown back to best scream along … it might as well have been the Coliseum. There was a talk box, head-banging, high kicks, hanging from rafters, mic-swallowing, crowd surfing and knife play involved after all.

 

Hopscotch Boys ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

 

 

And then there’s the Hopscotch Boys. They’re a delightfully disturbing trainwreck of a band, who write twisting riffs so good, you don’t even notice you’re bopping your head and singing along to a tale of the torture of a teenage prostitute, until it hits you like an open palm. The most mellow Hopscotch Boys show I ever saw took place in the clubhouse of a biker gang in a section of South Seattle mostly populated by cargo containers and I still worried I might be arrested for attending. I can only imagine what the band has planned for their first performance in over three years.

 

What What Now ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

 

 

Last and certainly not least is What What Now, who while not yet a band in 2008 when Iceage Cobra and Hopscotch Boys played their final shows, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us in the front row at both finales. One of Seattle’s most underrated punk rock bands, What What Now plays with a frantic energy that screams and claws and shakes. While lead screamer Brittian Piper wails like a man painfully dying after a life of chain-smoking and whiskey swilling, there’s a surprising pop rapport between lead guitarists Mike Kalnoky’s robust riffs and the jauntiness of Brian Weza’s bass playing. This is pop punk, if only that term hadn’t been tainted by The Offspring, Blink 182 and a generation of cargo short wearing tribal-tattooed copy cats.

What we’re saying you already know if you were there at the Blue Moon during the summer’s of 2006, 2007 and 2008 … the return of Iceage Cobra and Hopscotch Boys are not to be missed. It is those of you who weren’t there who we’re hoping will take a flying leap of faith and come see a couple of our most missed Seattle rock bands.

To win a pair of a tickets to see Iceage Cobra, Hopscotch Boys and What What Now at Columbia City Theater this Friday, just leave a comment below. We’ll pick the rowdiest one by noon Thursday and see you in the pit.

June 2, 2011

Sound on the Sound Presents: the Return of Hopscotch Boys

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Hopscotch Boys Ice Age Cobra Columbia City Theater Sound on the Sound Presents

 

Hopscotch Boys ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

 

 

With Iceage Cobra reuniting for our July Sound on the Sound Presents show, we wondered aloud about how amazing it would be if another one of our most missed local bands would join the party. And the first name to cross our lips was the Hopscotch Boys.

You see, back in 2007 long before most you read Sound on the Sound, we thought the Hopscotch Boys were the Most Valuable Live Act in Seattle. And after being introduced to the band that year, we didn’t miss a single show until their untimely demise in 2008. Here’s what I said about them in 2007:

Every Hopscotch Boys show I go to somehow manages to be the craziest concert I’ve ever seen. I keep thinking I’ve witnessed it all, that they’ve topped themselves, that it couldn’t possibly get any stranger… and then it does, infinitely so. In my first year of Hopscotch performances I’ve seen lead-singer Blowdog head-lock and straddle a rowdy fan, get whipped with his own belt, nearly poison himself with a glow-stick, alter his ahem… nether region, forever change my idea of Santa, and nearly get stabbed by a skin head – all in the midst of some kick ass rock shows. Despite the antics, Hopscotch Boys aren’t just a freak show. Their album Sad and Lonely Eyes plays harder than most bands dare dream of achieving live. The intensity so present at every Hopscotch show is audible every second of the record. A whiskey soaked hallucination, right there in your headphones.

That is to say, the Hopscotch Boys sound and perform nothing like anything most of you probably associate with Sound on the Sound. We later described their live shows as straddling the line of art and misdemeanors and it is true we have wondered more than once if we would be arrested for the things we witnessed at a Hopscotch show. Their music bristles with disturbing imagery, it grabs you by your neck through your speakers and sometimes literally when seeing them live and the nightmare is all stitched together by surprisingly catchy hooks. I have a Pavlovian response to the guitar riff in “Jesus Lips” and the spooky piano intro to “Bed Ridden Old Dog” is the soundtrack to my personal horror movie.

Hopscotch Boys have delighted, terrified and revolted us and we are so excited that we have another chance to see them and to introduce you to them. Its been nearly three years since they’ve taken the stage and we can’t wait to see what trouble they manage to brew up on July 1st. Whatever it is, we promise you don’t want to miss it.

Sound on the Sound Presents: Iceage Cobra and Hopscotch Boys July 1st at Columbia City Theater

 

Hopscotch Boys ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

September 16, 2010

Blowdog and Sneezy at The Blue Moon

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Blowdog and Sneezy ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

This may have been two weeks ago to the day, not that our deeply troubled and slightly traumatized minds have been keeping track, but these photos are far too … well, you’ll see, not to share.

Think Sound on the Sound just likes sweet folk harmonies and Ballard beards? Think again. September 2nd was like walking into 2007 in the best way for us. The Blue Moon was filled with old friends and favorites, some of whom hadn’t taken the stage in over a year. The night felt secretive and slightly dangerous and possibly illegal … ah, the good old days. Of course, in 2007 there were no home-made foam machines, but just as he did back then, Blowdog and his antics stole the show.

If you ever see the name Blowdog or Sneezy on any bill or attached to any band: show up, stand back and expect the unexpected to explode. And maybe, just to be safe, don’t wear your favorite shoes.

Blowdog and Sneezy ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Blowdog and Sneezy ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Blowdog and Sneezy ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Blowdog and Sneezy – Foam Finale ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

See more photos from The Terrible Twos

August 30, 2010

The Terrible Twos This Thursday at The Blue Moon

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Blowdog and Sneezy ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Going hard on Thursday and Friday before the marathon that is Bumbershoot is probably a terrible idea, but there’s not a chance we’re going to miss a special night at the Blue Moon: The Terrible Twos.

This recipe for trouble includes sets by two-somes best known for their roles in other bands and some of our most memorable nights at The Blue Moon: The Seattle Supersonics (better known as Matt & Adm from Thee Emergency), Kurly Something (a duo featuring Kurly of A Gun That Shoots Knives), Shitty Dudes (better known as Stubby and Jeff from A Gun That Shoots Knives) and the final show ever from Blowdog and Sneezy (better known as Blowdog and Sneezy from Hopscotch Boys). The cover for the evening is, of course, two dollars. Beer is two dollars. And well-drinks are two-for-one. The most expensive part of the night will be the cab ride home.

Apologies to our livers in advance.

December 29, 2009

Josh’s Favorite Shows of 2009

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David Bazan Grizzly Bear Hopscotch Boys Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore Zoe Muth Widower What What Now The Whore Moans Thee Emergency Nurses Pearly Gate Music The Lonely Forest The Maldives The Moondoggies

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

July 11, 2009

Stoic Swine at The Sunset Tonight

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Before enjoying a plethora of musical choices tonight (No Depression Festival, Robin Pecknold/Drink for the Kids at Neumos, The Ironclads & The Hands at Mars Bar, Thee Emergency for Free at The Nectar, The Pharmacy at The Comet, Mad Rad at Chapel…) I highly recommend you make your way to The Sunset Tavern to support another talented local artist, Stoic Swine.

On this blog, Stoic Swine is best known as Blowdog of the dearly departed Hopscotch Boys. His performances, which we’ve described as “part art, part felony” were confrontational, dark, abrasive, fascinating, enthralling, and totally unique. The same can be said of the artwork he creates under the name of Stoic Swine.

While I’m no art critic or historian, Stoic Swine’s pieces evoke the same sort of reaction in me as his performances as Blowdog: enamored revulsion. As Stoic Swine describes his own work, “soul in the soot, head in the ether.”  His art, like his performances, toes the line of grotesque, in a way that makes you want to see more, not less.  It is raw, honest, totemic, evocative, and I think, beautiful in it’s portrayal of the flaws and vices of man. Much like Blowdog on stage, it’s work you’ll either love or hate, there’s no middle ground. I for, one, love it. 

So does The Sunset Tavern on Ballard Avenue, which is currently hosting Stoic Swine’s latest collection, “YESTERDAY’S HERO, TODAY’S GOAT.” The artist describes his work, created just for this show at the Sunset as:

Spanning from the fumes of the room’s storied past (from shaky Chinese restaurant to a debauched sailor dive) to its present lore as one of the city’s finest rock clubs, this work was created specifically to be installed in the legendary Sunset Tavern. All portraits on display are of figures I could imagine, at one time or another, filling the Sunset with their gregarious personalities and drunken behavior as they unwittingly question life’s greater existential formalities. Hopefully no amount of their blood, sweat or ejaculate has been spared in my faithful depiction.

Tonight the bar will be hosting an artist’s reception during Ballard’s Art Walk  for Stoic Swine and his work from 6 to 8pm.

To see more of Stoic Swine’s work, check out his blog: Gift Horse Mouth