It always sucks when a really great line up has a tinge of sadness to it, but that doesn’t make tomorrow night’s line up at The High Dive any less worthy of recommending or attending. On a night filled with a plethora of great options, I’d recommend you be nowhere but The High Dive for Ms. Led’s final performance.

Ms. Led has been a long time favorite of this here blog and we’re incredibly sad to see the band parting ways. In a scene as treacherous and ever-changing as the Seattle local music scene, Ms. Led has been making music together for nearly 10 years. Local band years are at least equal to dog years, so that puts Ms. Led at a whopping 70 years old. 70 years old and surrounded by hyped bands that aren’t even old enough to drink–it doesn’t sound like the easiest place to be. However, you’ve never heard a word of complaint for Ms. Led who has year-after-year put out some of the catchiest, upbeat, and intelligent punk-pop out there. We have never seen a bad or depressing Ms. Led show, and we have seen many.

Lesli Wood, lead singer and song-writer for Ms. Led is one of Seattle’s most extraordinary performers with more energy and talent in her petite 5′0 frame than most entire bands. But Ms. Led isn’t a one woman show, Lesli has been backed brilliantly by a trio of Seattle’s most talented performers: Peg Wood, Matt Menovcik, and Steph Hasselman. While we mourn the loss of Ms. Led we hope that out of its punk ashes sprout at least four great new Seattle bands.

To celebrate one last frenetic night of punk magic Ms. Led will be joined by two up and coming local bands, Wallpaper and The Camellias. So come on out tomorrow night and celebrate the passing of one of your favorite Seattle bands and perhaps you’ll discover a couple new favorites.

The Trucks Finale ::: photo by Josh

The holidays are over, we’re back to our day jobs, and it’s still snowing…all things that make us sad. But nothing compares to the woe we feel about a number of our favorite local bands calling it quits during 2008.  We thought 2007 was brutal for our favorite bands (and it was!) but 2008 kept the brutality going–taking The Trucks, Hopscotch Boys, Iceage Cobra, Das Llamas, and Ms. Led to the big gig in the sky.

We were lucky enough to catch each of these bands finales (well, we will see Ms. Led’s final show on 1/23/09) and each and every one was bittersweet. On one hand we were seeing a show of one of our favorite bands that never dissapoint, on the other, it was the last time we’d ever see them share the stage (to our knowledge). So, we figured today, when you’re suffering the post-holiday hangover and wishing you were anywhere but work…we’d share with you some of the great losses of 2008.

Hopscotch Boys Finale ::: photo by Josh

Brad Kaufman singing Acid Pony at the Cobra Finale ::: photo by Josh

Das Llamas Finale ::: photo by Abbey

Ms. Led at GMF ::: photo by Abbey

See More Photos from these bands final shows by clicking the links below:

Hopscotch Boys
Iceage Cobra
The Trucks
Das Llamas

Ms. Led ::: photo by Abbey

You’d think after writing eulogies for a number of our favorite local bands who’ve called it quits over the past few years, would make getting and giving the news easier…but it doesn’t. We’re super sad to share with you that Ms. Led has decided to “call it a night” as a band, and have scheduled their last show ever for January 23, 2009 at the High Dive.

From the Band’s Myspace:

After 9 fantastic years, we have decided to call it a night. We are absolutely best friends and family in this band and our decision was mutual and completely amicable. We have had some hilarious and wonderful adventures and we wouldn’t trade a single moment. THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us over these years. We have been so fortunate to have such an amazing fanbase of great people who have helped out this little DIY band. We hope to see you at the final show so we can celebrate together.

If you have any songs you would like to hear one last time at this show, please drop us an e-mail!

Lots of love,
Ms. Led

Bands break-up, I get it. But what makes this break-up especially heart-wrenching is the fact Ms. Led is one of the only bands in Seattle made of strong women who don’t find themselves solely playing bass guitar. An important voice and narrative in Seattle music is coming to an end on January 23rd when Ms. Led plays its last show, so we will be there in the front row basking in every moment. But please do excuse if we don’t seem as blissed out as we would at every-other Ms. Led show, it’s a sad night for lovers of music, gifted song-writers, political anthems, women rock’n'rollers, and Seattle music in general. But we guarantee, it is going to be one hell of a show.

Aristeia ::: Photo by Josh

So last Thursday we get there expecting Hockey at 10. Instead Ms Led who was originally headlining, asked if they could play second to last since they were going to be heading down to be counselors at that rock camp for girls in Portland the following day. Anyways, to make a long story short, Hockey ended up playing last and Aristeia was the first band we got. It all worked out though.

Generally I don’t like prog/experiemental/instrumental bands. While most go big, in my mind very few have the necessary chops to pull off a truly interesting and experimental sound, and most sound like caricatures of themselves by getting too loud or only being loud. In seeing Aristeia for the first time in the dingy confines of the Comet I was struck by the sheer magnificence of their output without the pesky volume issues that usually effect small shows or inexperienced bands, as well as their attention to texture and mood.

Pedals were in evidence heavily all around (including my personal favorite of the moment the Big Muff) and they were actually using them in ways most bands ignore. Along with a tightly woven dueling (dueting?) guitars, delicate and efficient use of the delay was surely a trademark effect of the quieter moments. In my mind a truly successful instrumental rock band has just as much mastery over the quiet moments as the loud ones, and Aristeia did just that with frightening frequency and precision, keeping me interested and engaged their whole set.

Ms Led came next, and as per usual, made it really feel like a weekend party night by ratcheting up the rawk while following them was Hockey who broke the Comet after three songs by blowing a fuse that the soundman was having a hard time fixing. We decided to jet once that time of the night came around, but all in all came out of the night feeling pretty good about hearing Aristeia. They’ll be back in Seattle on September 6 at the Skylark Cafe in West Seattle.

Aristeia ::: Photo by Josh

Ms Led ::: Photo by Abbey

Cancer Rising ::: Photo by Abbey

Friday finally felt like Spring (finally!) and I got the go ahead to jet out of the day-job early and enjoy day one, the evening-only edition, of the Georgetown Music Festival.

The first thing I noticed is that Georgetown really is changing. Whether you like it or not may depend on whether you’ve lived and worked in the neighborhood for the past few years and seen it first hand or whether Georgetown was the neighborhood you never had any reason to go to. For those who were residents, it certainly must be strange having seeing it go from the place where those who had no where else to go went (and they liked it that way mind you), to the place that is prime real estate just outside the city center, just itching to be brought into the fold of the Nickels “mixed-use” master-plan and developed. Earlier this year, one of Georgetown’s most historic warehouses had to be knocked down due to foundational instability. This year’s festival was held just the same in the shadow of those fallen walls, but it felt like something had been lost.

We took in the first few bands in the bustling environs of Jules Mae’s and the Daguerreotypes were just beginning as I moseyed in to the back room. I have to admit that I struggle listening to this band, and it’s because of lead singer John Fitzsimmons. The music really works for me, but Fitzsimmons’ more experimental, “psychedelic,” singing just confuses me.

Skeletons With Flesh on Them have a bunch of new songs and they are most definitely not pop. I thought their first EP was a minor pop achievement (esp. “Neon Lights of Reno”), but this seems like a step off in another direction entirely. I mentioned it to Scott and he acknowledged that pop definitely isn’t in how they’ve been feeling lately.

Notable sets we only had the pleasure of few songs from were Ms. Led, Little Pieces and the Kindness Kind, who’s last two songs got me interested enough again that I’m listening to it as I write this. The gypsy caravan of The Bad Things complete with banjo’s, accordions, washboards, and mandolins lived up to their mischievous name. The music is built for dancing along, and even a few of the non-hippie kind of feet were feeling it. Especially the kids, who in their minature, manageable and adorable numbers turned out to be one of the more enjoyable parts of the day. Do I feel a parent stirring in the curiously dormant adult corner of my psyche?

Cancer Rising owned the 7:30 slot on the main stage, trying to build on the energy of the Bad Things. As the sole hip-hop act of the evening, nay the festival, they had a certain responsibility to “represent” and were without question were the liveliest act of the day (at least that we saw). Judas, Gatsby and DJ TilesOne spit in a refreshingly unselfconscious and practiced manner. The song “EVRYDAY BIDNESS” is a drive through different spots in Seattle, sampling Mix-a-lot’s “Posse’s on Broadway” extensively, and the lyrics appropriately name check Georgetown. It felt like just the song to cap off the evening.

The Daguerreotypes ::: Photo by Josh

Skeletons with Flesh on Them ::: Photo by Josh

Skeletons with Flesh on Them ::: Photo by Abbey

Ms. Led ::: Photo by Abbey

Having Fun ::: Photo by Josh

The Bad Things ::: Photo by Abbey

Cancer Rising ::: Photo by Abbey

Cancer Rising ::: Photo by Abbey

Flickr: Georgetown Music Festival, Friday June 13 in Seattle

2007 was an unbelievable year for local music in Seattle and has made this an incredibly difficult task, thus a best of 2007 list coming out a few weeks in to 2008. I hope it was worth the wait for you guys and I hope you’ll find a new favorite album or act. Also, this list consists of only local full-length releases as I did a seperate post on my favorite EP’s of 2007. It’s especially exciting that a number of my favorite local releases of 2007 were debut albums, almost half of them in fact, and that means a lot of follow-ups to look forward to in 2008. As you can see, my indecisiveness and the plethora of phenomenal albums, has led this to being my top 12 Local Releases, I couldn’t shave it down to just ten.

12. Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
Laura Veirs‘ Saltbreakers is a quintessential Seattle album. The language and the mood puts you deep in some damp cedar forest, so evocative you can almost smell the rain through the trees. Long a favorite of local smarty-pants wordsmiths, Colin Meloy and Ben Gibbard, Veirs has claimed her spot as one of the Pacific Northwest premiere song-writers. My favorite tracks off the album include the liltingly lovely “Drink Deep” and the plucky “Cast a Hook.”

11. Das Llamas - World War
Das Llamas debut album, World War is one of the hardest hitting albums of 2007 - filled with riffs that don’t stop and a frantic edge to the whole recording. There’s a jangly roughness to Das Llamas, that reminds me of the drive and passion of early Modest Mouse records. Lead singer’s Kerry Zettel vocals are self-assured in its uniqueness and I think he’s a great rock vocalist, also in the vein of the unconventional Isaac Brock. Clocking in at just over half an hour, I always wish there were just a few more songs for me to enjoy. Especially since the album ends on such a high note, with the building rock crescendo that is “The Wedding Song.”

10. J. Tillman - Cancer and Delirium
The one good thing about this list being delayed, is that I actually discovered one of my favorite albums of 2007, in 2008. Even after just a few listens, I can say without any doubt that local folk guru, J. Tillman’s Cancer and Delirium is one of the great albums of 07. If I’d had the album all year, I am certain it would be much higher on the list, because Tillman’s voice (both physical and metaphorically) has a clarity rarely heard today.

9. A Gun That Shoots Knives - Miracle
Nineteen catchy, clever songs? Now that is an album! With topics as varied as Robot Spiders, the United States Postal Service, and Literacy, Miracle is certainly one of the most eccentric albums of 2007 and definitely the most fun. A Gun That Shoots Knives is also the most heavily represented band on my Best of Lists… the band has released a Best Local Full Length of 2007, a Best EP of 2007, and played a number of my Favorite Concerts of 2007. What can I say, there’s nothing I don’t love about AGTSK.

8. Solvents - Manresa Castle
It may seem strange, but I love music that breaks my heart, music that makes me weep. And the gut-wrenching release, Manresa Castle by Port Townsend’s Solvents does just that, on nearly every listen. There is an achieness to the album that I love, which I see as very similar to two of my favorite albums of all time - Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over The Sea and Dirty Three’s Ocean Songs. The bare bones delivery, of an acoustic guitar, some sparse drums and ghostly strings lays the pain-stakingly honest lyrics in the open for you to share in their woe. It may make me a sad bastard, but its albums like these that last for me… I’ll be listening to Manresa Castle years down the road.

7. Ms. Led - Shake Yourself Awake
Ms. Led offers one of the most interesting and pleasing mixes of influences and sounds the Seattle scene has to offer. Shake Yourself Awake is an album filled with pure punk, exemplary power pop, and 60’s girl group sensibilities and harmonies. Lesli Wood, lead singer and song-writer of Ms. Led is force to be reckoned with - a powerfully dynamic performer on stage and a thoughtful and clever lyricist. The album’s firs track, “A New Agenda” is the most compelling protest song written about life in the Bush era. Impressively, the album keeps the momentum started with such a great track, featuring one stand-out song after another. This summer was all about driving with my windows rolled down, blasting Shake Yourself Awake, and shamelessly singing along.

6. Shane Tutmarc & The Traveling Mercies - I’m Gonna Live The Life I Sing About in my Songs
A lot of the bands that I adore would likely have fared better in another era, most often the 70’s or late 60’s. But Shane Tutmarc & The Traveling Mercies are of another era entirely, 50’s heart-throbs singing jilted love songs and old standards on Seattle stages in 2007. Shane Tutmarc, has spent the greater part of the last decade proving himself to be one of Seattle’s most talented song-writers crafting album after album of near perfect pop songs for Dolour. With The Mercies as his latest vessel, Shane’s continuing to write one stellar song after another; the band already has another full album recorded in ‘07 to be released in early 2008. Until the new release, relish in the debut and songs like “Pressure, Pressure” and the Lennon-esque title track, “I’m Gonna Live The Life I Sing About in My Songs.”

5. Siberian - With Me
Who’d a thunk…. a great Brit Pop record, recorded and written in Seattle?!? That’s just what Siberian did with their 2007 debut, With Me. I’m a sucker and a sap for a good love song, and With Me is filled to the brim with them. I’m just waiting for one of the tracks (put it on shuffle and pick one, seriously) to be picked up and put in some climactic spot in a hit TV drama… I’m vying for Seattle-based Grey’s Anatomy. Whatever the romantic dilemma or pleasure, Siberian has a song for it. My favorite song of the album and one of my favorite songs of 2007, is “Paper Birds” which starts with a line that slays me in it’s simple perfection. It’s a why had nobody every written that line before? (ahem, Lennon/McCartney?? c’mon guys!) The line? “If I’m just an old flame, don’t turn me on, don’t turn me on.” Maybe it’s just me, but I think that’s pure pop/love song genius.

4. Iceage Cobra - Brilliant Ideas from Amazing People
If I was making a 2007 time capsule and I could only include one album, Iceage Cobra’s Brilliant Ideas from Amazing People, would be it. The material on this album were the first songs I heard in 2007 - as Cobra played the New Years Eve Party I attended, taking the stage just after the stroke of midnight. A very good way to start the new year indeed! After that I went to every Iceage Cobra show I could and the album, released in early 2007, went on permanent heavy rotation at my house. I’m sure my neighbors know all the words and riffs, I’ve played it so frequently and loudly. Songs like “Tornado of Knives,” “Dance Floor on Fire,” “Acid Pony,” hell most of the album - are classics in my mind. While unfortunately the original trio that created this brilliant album won’t exist beyond 2007, their songs will stand the test of time.

3. The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
I love a band that doesn’t easily fit into a mold, who’s sound and style is difficult to describe. The Cave Singers created their own sound and genre with their release Invitation Songs, heralding in the era of spooky folk music in Seattle. Peter Quirk’s voice is an instrument of it’s own to be reckoned with, at once eerie, guttural and pleasingly soulful. I also think the band should be sainted for bringing back the wash-board as a clutch part of a rhythm section. There isn’t a mediocre song on the album and a few of the stand-outs, “New Monuments” and “Dancing on Our Graves” are astounding.

2 The Whore Moans - Watch Out for This Thing
I wish I could say it was love at first listen with The Whore Moans, but it wasn’t. Rather, the band and their album have been the most rewarding acquired taste of 2007. It seems I like the album more with every listen and The Whore Moans have basically started improving on perfection with their live performances. Whatever the most recent Whore Moans show was, that was The Best Whore Moans Show, EVER. Because this band is only getting bigger and better. Another debut, the album is filled with worthy punk anthems such as”X-Ray Eyes,” “Beware, The WolfSpider,” and “Power of Pride.”

1. The Lonely H - Hair
The Lonely H were my best local music discovery of 2007. They boys astounded me upon introduction and have continued to do so with every performance and every listen of Hair. While there have been lots of albums filled with solid songs this year, Hair is filled with instant classics. I believe in my heart of hearts if this album was released circa 1970 (+/- 5 years), songs like “Don’t You Know,” “The Meal,” “For Barbara,” “Hair,” etc… would have provided The Lonely H with a string of top ten and number one hits. We would be mentioning The Lonely H in the same breath as the greats - Queen, Zeppelin… As it were, these Island boys took 2007 by storm - winning over one audience at a time with their infectious performance and throw-back hits.

For the purposes of this list the Northwest includes Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. I’d like to include Vancouver B.C. but I just don’t know enough to really say too much about it. Notable bands who hail from the northwest and released an album this year include but are not limited to the 25 chosen for this list. Should I have aggregiously missed an album that deserves attention, leave a comment.

25. Dept of Energy - Held By Waits

24. A Gun That Shoots Knives - Miracle

23. Das Llamas - World War

22. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

21. Aqueduct - Or Give Me Death

20. Solvents - Manresa Castle

19. Rocky Votolato - The Brag & Cuss

18. The Shaky Hands - The Shaky Hands

17. Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter - Like, Love, Lust

16. The Lonely H - Hair

15. Laura Viers - Saltbreakers

14. Feral Children - Eternity Emergency EP

13. Ms Led - Shake Yourself Awake

12. The Blakes - The Blakes

11. Ghost Stories - Quixoticism

10. David Bazan - Fewer Moving Parts EP

9. Shane Tutmarc and the Traveling Mercies - I’m gonna Live the Life I Sing About in My Song

8. Whalebones - Morning Man EP

7. Siberian - With Me

6. Ice Age Cobra - Brilliant Ideas from Amazing People

5. Tiny Vipers - Hands Across the Void

4. The Whore Moans - Watch Out for this Thing

3. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

2. Cave Singers - Invitation Songs

1. Menomena - Friend and Foe

Give a listen. Buy an album.

Abbey will have her list of the best local Seattle releases shortly as well.

Lesli Wood astonishes me not only every time she steps on stage, but every time she opens her mouth. As the front woman of Seattle’s Ms. Led, Lesli crafts catchy pop songs with lyrics that matter and presents them with an intensity that is breath-taking. As an outspoken activist for Seattle musicians and our community, we have no more eloquent advocate. Seattle is a much better place for having Lesli Wood on our stages and on our side.

Lesli Wood of Ms. Led

This is by far the most daunting list of the year. I’ve decided to divide it between local and national shows/line-ups. If I hadn’t, you probably wouldn’t recognize a single band if you weren’t from Seattle… which says something tremendous about the state of live music in Seattle today. For the sake of every local band that is not Hopscotch Boys or Thee Emergency, I’ve tried my hardest to limit myself to a single show per band to represent on this list. (oh well, that didn’t work at all…) Though this list isn’t specifically enumerated, the order is meant to signify a hierarchy among my favorite shows. Alright, here goes nothing:

The Best Local Shows of 2007

The Lashes at Bumbershoot - 9/1/07

Thee Emergency, Iceage Cobra, The Hands, A Gun That Shoots Knives at The Sunset - 2/17/07 

Hopscotch Boys, Junkface, and The Resets at The Blue Moon - 5/12/07

The Whore Hands at Healthy Times Fun Club - 12/7/07

A Gun That Shoots Knives and We Wrote the Book on Connectors at The Blue Moon - 5/19/07

Saturday at Georgetown Music Festival - 6/2/07

A Benefit for The Blue Moon - Night One and Two - 9/28 & 9/29/07 

Iceage Cobra and The Lonely H at The Nectar - 6/21/07

The Resets, Vindaloo, Ms. Led at The Blue Moon - 9/7/07 

J. Tillman, Shane Tutmarc and The Traveling Mercies, Whalebones at The High Dive - 12/1/07

The Best National Shows of 2007:

The Shackeltons for John in The Morning’s Birthday - 3/10/07

Elvis Perkins at The Tractor - 3/30/07

The Figurines, Dappled Cities at The Crocodile - 10/12/07

Andrew Bird at Western Washington University - 5/6/07

The Antiques at The Nectar - 2/27/07

Sadly, I missed the show this fabulous video debuted at. Luckily, it’s on my blog and I can watch it over and over again!

Ms. Led -  New Agenda from Shake Yourself Awake