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October 1, 2012

The Dirty Three at Neumos on Tuesday Night

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The Dirty ThreePhoto: Annabel Mehran
The Dirty Three

They come from a land down under.

After not releasing a studio album since 2005′s Cinder, Australia’s The Dirty Three have decided to put some of their side endeavors on brief pause in order to release their latest effort Toward the Low Sun. Surely, if you’re a fan of music at all, you’ve probably seen the Dirty Three name at some point in your life. If that isn’t the case then you’ve probably heard their music unknowingly. This isn’t a safe bet however. Maybe you’re someone that rarely leaves your house, rarely google chromes the internet and is hellbent on not allowing the opinions of other human beings influence your life. Fair enough.

My knowledge of The Dirty Three’s past discography is minimal. I’ve never owned any of their records, though countless friends and acquaintances have played them in my presence. Gentle readers, I am someone that hates describing how a band sounds when you can make a few clicks of a mouse or type in a few words and figure it out yourself. Music writers are mostly useless. The Dirty Three remind me of a small coffee shop in Burlington, Vermont by the name of Radio Bean. If you’ve visited the small, blissful town of Burlington then you know exactly what I’m talking about. On the other hand, I have not experienced the Dirty Three live yet. I have heard their performances can become quite intense. “Ferocity” is not an item you’ll find on the menu at Radio Bean.  Some have even said that seeing them on Tuesday night at Neumos might change my life. Who knows, maybe your life will change as a result as well?  Watch this weird video to inspire those winds of change.

The show starts at 9pm. Doors are at 8pm. Opening up for the Dirty Three is Scout Niblett. Tickets are $15 in advance.

February 17, 2012

Ume, Virgin Islands and Cursive at Neumos Tonight!

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Well, it’s about to happen again. Don’t say I didn’t warn you chaps ahead of time.

Whenever Ume is slotted to play first (read – they are the opening act) they inevitably destroy every single band that comes after them. It doesn’t matter if you have “punk” credentials out the ying-yang like The Meat Puppets or if you’re playing a free show with local band Yuni In Taxco. If Ume is allowed to precede your band, you might as well not even play. The following are a few excuses you can use to suddenly renege on your public social engagement. The booker and/or the all effected parties might want to stage your public execution, so you’ll need to bring your A+ acting game.

• Pretend your guitarist is self-involved drug addict and break-up the band before you can set-up your equipment. Stick a needle in a bandmate’s arm and start yelling hysterically in their general direction. You might even want to stage a fight.

• Hire some of “Seattle’s Finest” to stage a fake arrest of you and your bandmates  out in front of the club. I’m not saying Seattle cops have no morals, but I’m willing to risk a certain degree of slander that they’ll take this bribe.

• If you have a very tall friend, dress them up in a Bigfoot suit and have them bum-rush the entrance to the bar. Some stupid people do not believe in Sasquatch. Make sure your tall friend has a gun so that those cryptozoological heretics suddenly became Loch Ness evangelists.

•  Don’t show up.

Virgin Islands are cool. They were on our “Best Albums of 2011″ list for Ernie Chambers v. God.  If you enjoy your guitar licks red-hot, your bass thick and lumpy and your percussion trying to keep the insanity under wraps, this is the band for you.

As for Cursive, what can I say about Tim Kasher and Co. that hasn’t already been said? I wasn’t even aware they had a new album out (I Am Gemini - on Saddle Creek Records). Once upon a time, they released one of my favorite albums ever, 1998′s The Storms of Early Summer: The Semantics of Song. If you haven’t heard this record and you call yourself a Cursive fan, I’m going to brazenly laugh at you. It’s by far the best Cursive record. I’ve held a somewhat passive grudge against this band because as the calendar pages fall to the kitchen floor, the likelihood that Cursive will ever release another The Storms of Early Summer is fading away. Oh nostalgia, are you the laziest of emotions? Or am I confusing you with modern indifference?

Doors are at 8pm. Tickets are $15 in advance.

January 19, 2012

Youth Lagoon’s “July” in January

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Weather permitting Boise-based Daily Choice baller Youth Lagoon is headlining Neumos tonight. With the also just announced spring tour where they’ll be opening for Death Cab For Cutie and wrap up in Seattle at the Paramount Theater on May 13th, Youth Lagoon’s Trevor Powers is already thinking out to summer.

Earlier this month for the song “July” Powers revealed that his imaginative video collaborations with director Tyler T. Williams who directed an earlier film for “Montana” are going strong. This latest entry’s visuals echo the record’s own capacity for describing an escape to otherworldly realities without entirely leaving the stress of real life behind. If resolution is elusive in the end, so to is it on the record.

December 20, 2011

Three New Venues Coming to Seattle in the New Year

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In 2012, there’ll be at least three new stages for you to see live music at Seattle: two at already established local venues and a new concept for a club in Columbia City. Here’s a little bit about each of the new venues.

The Royal Room:

The Royal Room, just south of Columbia City Theater, celebrated their grand opening last week but I suspect it will take the new year for Seattle to really explore the room. The permanently back-lined stage will encourage collaboration between musicians of all types, here’s a little more on the Royal Room’s vision:

With permanent backline, recording and video, a grand piano and a generous stage, the venue has been designed to serve the musicians and artists who will be performing. Thursday through Monday evenings feature local artists with no cover charge, allowing fans and regulars alike to enjoy the music. Tuesday and Wednesday nights are reserved for national and touring acts. The music featured at the Royal Room covers a wide range of styles, with an emphasis on creative programming and development. This allows artists to work on projects in a collaborative community space. To that end, the club has been designed to accommodate in house recordings, off hour rehearsals and residencies of four to twelve weeks.

Neumo’s Basement:

As reported by The Stranger yesterday, Neumo’s will be opening a new 21+ basement venue in April of 2012 with a capacity of 200. With the untimely end of Healthy Times Fun Club, we were hoping the new Neumo’s venue might offer a much needed all-ages alternative on Capitol Hill, but the plans for a seven-night-a-week venue focusing largely on local talent is still a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Here’s more from LineOut:

(Steve) Severin says they plan on a art deco design with two bars, and the space will be versatile, able to host DJs and/or bands, or just stay open as a place to hang out. “We’re going to be open seven nights a week,” he says. “It will feel really cozy and comfortable. A place that will be nice for just chillin’ and rocking out to bands or dancing. Lots of bands are going to be a better fit down there, and it’s going to allow us to put on a LOT more local shows, which I’m really excited about.”

Crocodile Back Bar:

The Neumos news came hot on the tail of The Crocodile announcing they’ve added a small stage to their back bar, home to “The Office” happy hours this summer and fall and they too will be booking local shows and DJs. And you won’t have to wait till April to see shows there.

Here’s the word from Kerri Harrop, we’re especially excited to hear the words all-ages mentioned:

Starting this week, we’re now featuring live shows in the Crocodile back bar. A small stage has been built in the front corner of the room, and our sound and light team has assembled a good little system. We’ll have live shows back there as often as the calendar allows. In other words, pretty much whenever there isn’t something going on in the main showroom.

It will be a good opportunity for young bands and DJs to get into the mix, and definitely provides our booking team the chance to expand their horizons. Some of these shows will be all-ages, and cover charges will always be low (and, in some cases, non-existent).

We’re also hearing about a new stage in the U District in the new year and news will be coming out soon about that. When it comes to stages for local bands to play, we are of the mind, the more the merrier and we’re looking forward to checking out these new stages in the new year.

November 15, 2011

Wild Flag Wow at Neumos

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Wild Flag ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

It’s a special thing to see anyone fully in their element. To see someone owning a moment in its totality, and in doing so, present the clearest expression of their own aspirations. Though Wild Flag held onto playing a Ramones cover until the encore at Neumos, the frenetic spirit of the seminal punk band was pulsing through the modern foursome’s entire set. Carrie Brownstein’s leering vocals contrasted catchy-as-fuck harmony hooks and guitar parts that vacillated between locked-in theme development and a bit of goofing off. Yeah, it’s just pop music for punks, but it was rare and satisfying sight to see a band of four where each personality stood out and still coalesced in the way Wild Flag in front of a very sold out Neumos on Friday.

If the band’s pedigree weighed on the room, Wild Flag wasn’t wearing that pressure on their shoulders. Brownstein hammed it up and generally brought levity to an otherwise expectant situation. Striking poses and sharing amused smiles with fellow guitarist and lead vocalist Mary Timony, that levity extended to the rest of the band. Janet Weiss reminds of what a true rock drummer brings to the table, a steady strength that everyone else can rely on always. So when you’ve mastered your instrument and vocal parts as these four have over the past year, what’s left but have fun with it? Comfortable as they were, the stage might as well have been their own practice space.

In openers Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives, Wild Flag might have found the only other four-part harmony I can think of where each member consistently represents their own distinct personality and still comes together as something more than the expected sum of their parts. Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Seth Schaper often steals the spotlight with his wildman guitar work or vocal solos, and bassist/vocalist Kris Doty can tingle a spine or two herself with her vocal accompaniment. As Grow attempts to distinguish himself from any easy definition, he is in constant motion, both on stage and as a songwriter. Not someone to be predictable or easily pinned down, one never quite knows what to expect from a night out with Grow and Co., but Friday represented one of the most accessible presentations I’ve seen from the group.

Drew loves to throw the word “Gospel” out there, and though it’s certainly a part of his roots, he’s steadily sought to blaze a new trail for the Pastors’ Wives so as to upend any expectations. Three weeks of tour had shed much of the band’s extraneous flare and experimentation and they were instead letting the sinewy innards of songs work together and the guts transcend a simple melody or chord structure. This is rock and roll to be sure, but with something deeper motivating it than simple entertainment. This notion was brought home when midset for his only words from stage he acknowledged a new song called “Groundwire” was inspired in part by Seattle’s unexpectedly supportive response to an auto-accident that happened deep in last winter’s snow. Following the accident it wasn’t certain how Grow would recover. We asked ourselves how would an artist with not only personal creative momentum but building career momentum sustain such a show stopping injury? Would 2011 be a lost year for Grow? Friday showed none of our fears were warranted. Though the van crash resulted in an abrupt and temporary stop to Grow’s physical movement, it did nothing to stop his personal momentum.


Drew Grow and the Pastors Wives ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Wild Flag

Wild Flag’s Mary Timony ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Wild Flag

Wild Flag’s Carrie Brownstein ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

October 31, 2011

City Arts Fest: Mudhoney

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Mudhoney ::: photo courtesy of Nate Watters

Sometimes life is just like the way Pixar Disney described it to me as a child, it’s a fairy tale. However, seeing Mudhoney for the first time was a different kind of dream come true.

There were no sorceress that turned into a dragon. I didn’t have seven vertically challenged, hard-working men helping me get back on my feet again. I didn’t break my arm and end up pitching for the Chicago Cubs in a pennant race (Writer’s Note: Rookie of the Year is not a Disney movie but it should have been, damnit!). I was not a mermaid that wanted to become a part of your world. Elton John didn’t create an award winning soundtrack for my every move.

If you may recall, I told a few of you that I used to pretend to be Mark Arm in the shower while I listened to  Mudhoney albums as a youth. This is one hundred percent correct. I’ve passed on seeing Mudhoney in-person a myriad of times because nothing infuriates me more than seeing a band that I hold in high regard and being sorely disappointed. I’m not going to name names, but there have been times where I’ve seen a band I liked and then sold off all of their records the next day. I don’t deal well with musical disappointment.

I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but if we’re going to speak about disappointment then I’m going to have to reference Thee Emergency’s performance at Neumos prior to Mudhoney’s set. I only caught the last few songs but it was a train wreck. It seems as if Thee Emergency failed to heed the pop music warning of Bruce Springsteen. Glory days, don’t let them pass you by. The highlight of Thee Emergency’s set actually came as they were walking off the stage and front-woman Dita Vox addressed a cowardly heckler. Really, is there anything more gutless than heckling a musician while they are performing? Here’s how that exchange went:

Cowardly heckler from balcony: You guys suck. Dita Vox: We may suck but I have bigger balls than you.

Mrs. Vox was right on both accounts. Yes, Thee Emergency did suck and yes, he should grow a pair that guy has a yellow belly. Personally, I was in greater agreement with the spineless noodge who stood to the right of me. He decided to take time out of his busy schedule to suggest that Thee Emergency, “Go back to playing weddings!” in a very audible manner. This might not be a bad idea for Thee Emergency or anyone else. Wedding bands make a decent bundle per gig and unless it’s a crappy wedding, they get to drink for free.

Then Mudhoney came on-stage and I felt like one of those crazy young girls from Foreign Country X who would pass out every time the King of Pop would grab his schlong (this is during the height of his popularity mind you. I’m talking Jacko circa 1985 not 2005). The air left the room. I started to feel weak at the knees. I didn’t resort to “Crazy Person Hop As You Cry and Scream” dance but I had a smile that you could have seen from the comfort of your home.

I looked around and all my surroundings whirl-pooled into a time vortex. Suddenly I felt like I was in the Motor Sports Garage circa 1990. The lucky lot of you actually saw Mudhoney, some under-achieving band called Nirvana and a host of other pivotal “nineties rock acts”  at the Garage during that time period. For a then seven-year old living in Virginia, the closest I got to experiencing these events was viewing the Charles Petersen photos a few years later, still attending elementary school in suburban Washington, D.C.

Mudhoney is important to me because they represent something much larger than their albums or songs. In the context of general history, they’ll always be seen as one of the pioneers of a musical movement. I have no idea what that means because I don’t do guest spots for Rolling Stone am not a musical journalist. For me, Mudhoney was the first example that not all music has to be “popular” to be good. If I didn’t enjoy Mudhoney, then I never would have listened to the Melvins, Jesus Lizard, Bikini Kill, L7, Bratmobile, Afghan Whigs, Dinosaur Jr. or countless other bands associated with that early nineties time period. As a middle school kid that can’t afford anything and could only get to decent record stores with the assistance of an able adult, the opportunity for potential “counter culture” exposure was random at best. In hindsight, my exposure to Mudhoney was definitely a make or break moment.

The band tore through a bunch of songs that I haven’t listened to in ages but will never forget. Since this is Seattle (sometimes I pretend I’m in San Francisco), I’m not going to name all “the hits” that they played because I’m sure you’re already familiar. I was beyond ecstatic that Mudhoney performed “This Gift,” as it is my favorite song of theirs. Seeing them perform Fang’s “The Money Will Roll Right In” was a refreshing reminder that I always preferred their cover of this particular song when compared to Nirvana’s.

After the show was over and I was walking to a friend’s birthday celebration at the Redwood, I saw my bathtub messiah (Mark Arm) talking to a friend a few paces in front of me. So many different emotions came over me at the moment. What do you think I did?

A) Punch friend of Mark Arm in the mouth, watch him bleed on the sidewalk and then proceed to tell Mr. Arm that I am a grown man that enjoys the music of the band he is in. However, once upon a time I was a boy that used to pretend to be him while rocking out to Mudhoney albums in the shower. After that’s all said and done then I quickly tell Mark Arm that this is not a reverse pedophilia (retrophilia?) pick-up line and all of these events really did happen. Quickly walk to Redwood before Mr. Arm calls the cops on me for assaulting his friend.

B) Tell Mr. Arm that he played a great show and in doing so create a minor interruption of the conversation that he and his friend are engaged in.

C) What is music? Take me to the Redwood.

If you chose “C” then you are correct. Shyness wins out every time. Redwood, yonder-ho!

There were three things that took place this evening that stood out to me:

1. Crowd-surfing in high heels. Who wants to lose an eye? Equal parts amazing and dangerous, I hope to see this from afar happen more often at shows in Seattle. Do you hear that Tractor-goers? Probably not because you’re too busy talking over me.

2. I saw two dudes do “The Choke” and it added to my overall enjoyment of the show. I wanted to free my Iphone from my Levis and record them but decided against it. I’m creepy enough as it. In other news, did you know that there is no wikipedia entry for the aforementioned dance? Gentle readers, can you take care of this for me?

3. I never liked the in-studio version of “In n’ Out of Grace,” the song always seemed a bit obnoxious to me (especially with that goofy guitar line at the end of the main riff). After seeing them play that song at Neumos, never again will I think such nonsense.

July 1, 2011

Shabazz Palaces at Neumos

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Shabazz Palaces ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

This week’s Shabazz Palaces release of Black Up on Sub Pop Records was precipitated by two years of slow build up, and in the last few weeks, a flurry of critical acclaim. Declarations of “Record of the Year” abound by just about every head in town and many outside the 206. But just as I thought Shabazz Palaces was starting to open up in the last few months with Sub Pop now on their team, last night at Neumos they reverted to the shrouded mystery that characterized their first few years as an underground curiosity. In contrast to their last visit to Neumos where Shabazz hosted a variety show of sorts and worked the crowd, Palaceer Lazaro now dressed in all black, sunglasses, vest and fedora included, remaining largely behind his sampler and mic, and when he did move he roamed through a stage of dense smoke glowing with color. Under that fedora, at their brightest, the lights kept Lazaro’s visage an enigma — an occasional glint of a white-toothed grin or shine off his glasses. As I write the word ‘enigma’ I realize this is the word I’ve been looking for in reference to Shabazz Palaces.

Instead of the inevitable call-and-response rigamarole every rapper ever seems to feel obligated to do to fill up time while they catch their breath, Lazaro and partner Tendai Mairare only took time to wipe the sweat from their brow between songs (Lazaro rarely doing that), just once making an effort to include the crowd in their presentation in the “usual” way. An epic wait for a start time (made easier by OC Notes), Neumos in full on sauna mode, some minor volume struggles, and the newest material being front-loaded in the set meant it took a while for things to get really going, and even then the last third of hit-after-hit never fully rescued the energy in the room. The hypnotic meter of Lazaro’s rapid-fire references is entrancing, his vocals are clear and present in the mix making it easy to listen and ride his rollercoaster, if you can keep up that is. Black Up is conceptually dense, containing as many loquacious rap tracks as dance tracks, so the response of the room may have simply reflected this reality. Around midnight “Recollections of a wraith” felt the first track to really spark bodies into motion, even the SP duo themselves had some choreography to help the audience loosen up and get in the right mood.

I’ve been present for each of Shabazz’ three Neumos shows, and this one felt at times the most accessible of the three, and at other times the least accessible. Most accessible because the group has now had time to attract all kinds of fans to their show, no longer was the audience chocked full of discerning scenesters (though I scoped a few of those too). More accessible than I’d guessed as I watched the closing minutes from the back, most everyone on the main floor was moving if not exactly dancing. Less accessible though, than last winter’s highly entertaining variety show, was Ishmael Butler’s return to the unwavering persona of Palaceer Lazaro that we’d met two winters ago in their debut. In truth, the previous events were each a revelation in their own right, formative moments never to be repeated, so to draw these comparisons is probably not fair, but they are the best points of reference we have.

A year and a half on, with a pedestal of critical praise to hold them high, how Shabazz Palaces is able reconcile the rigor of their persona with the demands of a hyped audience who just wants to have fun still remains to be seen. However, whether Ishamael Butler is the most significant rapper in these parts (and maybe anywhere), I won’t argue with you on that. He is. In words and in deeds he makes everyone else in the game look, well, corny.

Shabazz Palaces returns to Neumos tonight for night 2 of their Black Up release shows, with Metal Chocolates and OC Notes in support. (more…)

May 15, 2011

Femi Kuti Tonight At Neumos

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It takes a special kind of person to follow in the footsteps of your world renown father, but that’s just who Femi Kuti is. For those who are not familiar, Femi Kuti is the son of Fela Kuti, who is often cited as the creator of “Afrobeat” music. My god, that is a legacy that casts a shadow with no traces of daylight in sight. He could have been a pilot or quite possibly the most musically inclined farmer that the world never heard of. What does he do instead? He joins his father’s band. Three decades later, Femi Kuti has released several albums that have received critical acclaim (two Grammy nominations), he has collaborated with the likes of D’Angelo (let’s ignore some of those meltdowns), Mos Def and Nile Rodgers (like a boss), been an ambassador for Amnesty International and used his voice to raise AIDS awareness around the world. Most importantly, Femi Kuti’s voice is featured on Grand Theft Auto IV where he is the host of the radio station International Funk. This last sentence will make for great trivia the next time you’re at a party in which many of the attendees are E3 nerds that also happen to be afrobeat junkies.

Kuti’s latest album Africa for Africa is, let me give you the technical term — “bad-ass.” Femi Kuti and his band Positive Force will get you up and moving for an entire hour nonstop. Yes, even you the uptight Seattlite will move like you have ants in your pants. The rhythm is going to get you. Let’s not get carried away though, Femi has a lot to say. You don’t name your songs “Can’t Buy Me,” “Bad Government,” and “Politics in Africa” because you want to be the background music to the good time of someone else. Much like James Brown used funk to deliver social messages to the masses, Femi Kuti uses afrobeat to do the same. This is the last date of the North American tour for Femi Kuti and Positive Force. I can promise you that they’ll leave it all onstage. The Onion called Femi Kuti “one of the more powerful live shows on Earth,” but they were being serious. Just think about that for a second…

Tickets are $25. Doors are at 8pm.

March 9, 2011

The rest of your week in music

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If Godzilla is on your show poster, I will talk about you.

Didn’t I see you at Weedeater on Monday night? Oh, I didn’t? That’s because I was played hooky and wasn’t there. Where I was happens to be none of your business (read: sitting on my bed, fatigued and shoegazing). The underlining point is that I should have been at the Funhouse. Here are some places you should be as well. It’s funny because the title of this post is “the rest of your week in music” but I am the one telling you what to do. I am your mother. I write for a website. This week your maternal figure knows how to dance, rock and get psyched out. The neighbors say I’m a triple threat and they aren’t lying.

Wednesday March 9th

Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour (7:30pm at the Vera Project, All-Ages. $11) – Greetings from the ghosts of indie rock past. Do you remember Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo and Neutral Milk Hotel? Do you remember CMJ Magazine and hearing about Built to Spill for the first time? Remember when you thought the best thing that Flaming Lips would ever do was “She Don’t Use Jelly”? If you are fond of any of the listed memories and/or items, consider yourself at the mercy of nostalgia. It’s crazy how much things have changed yet stayed the same.

Thursday March 10

Diamond Rings and PS I Love You (7:30pm at the Vera Project, All-Ages. $10) – Do I genuinely enjoy listening to either of these acts? Not really. Brittney wrote a nice live review of Diamond Rings when she saw him at the Vera Project back in December.  With that being said I’ve noticed that you’ve been a bit grumpy over the past couple of weeks Seattle. Until recently there was absolutely no sunlight. You’ve been listening to too many sad songs. You’re heating bill has been annoyingly high. It is with this in mind that I recommend this show to you gentle reader. I want you to go to the Vera Project and dance. Lighten up a bit. It’s good for your soul. People don’t dance enough these days. In the words of my great-grandmother, those who don’t dance are bastards.

Noise for the Needy Kickoff Concert (8pm at Neumo’s. $10 advance. $12 at the door) – Have you ever been to a concert that wasn’t actually a concert but a scene from a graphic novel? Probably not, but this is something you’ve always wanted to do. Thursday night at Neumos is your chance to do it, and for a good cause. Noise for the Needy is having their kickoff show at Neumo’s and it features some heavyweights. Junkie XL, Mad Rad, Truckasaurus and even some Kokon Taiko Drummers thrown in for good measure. If you’re a fan of the graphic novel Shinjuku, come get your book signed by Christopher “Mink” Morrison. Find out happens when the graphic novel world meets the trucker-hat wearing female groupies of Mad Rad. Can you see fantastic cultural orgy explosion? Maybe not, but you can read that sentence and imagine all sorts of weird naughtiness taking place. Perverts like you need to support Noise for the Needy and the Real Change Homeless Empowerment Project. Midday Veil, Datura Blues, Hypatia Lake and Wah Wah Exit Wound (9pm at the Comet. $7) – I missed Midday Veil when they played the Josephine with Lesbian a few weeks back. I was pretty bummed. Gentle reader, now is the time for you to repent for the sins of the author. Go see Midday Veil and in the process expose yourself to some of Seattle’s premiere “psychedelic” acts. While the term “psychedelic” means nothing to me unless we’re talking about fungus, I can promise there will be at least six delay pedals in attendance this evening. You may even see a tye-dye shirt, who knows. Party hard. Strong Killings, MK Speed Dial and Broken Nobles at the Rendezvous – Let’s be honest. Belltown sucks. This is one of the few things that all of Seattle can agree on. Why is this neighborhood even in our city? Let’s attach some industrial strength balloons to various Belltown establishments and float this son-of-a-bitch into outer space. The dream of Up! is possible, this just happened in California. Before I get Mayor McGinn to sign off on that, come see one of Seattle’s best rock and roll acts, Strong Killings. They never disappoint. I also urge you to see MK Speed Dial, probably the best “pop” band that nobody talks about. Shame on you Seattle. I blame this all on your never-ending jealousy of California.

Friday March 11

Lonsome Shack, Curious Mystery and Karl Blau (9pm at the Comet. $8) – When I first moved to Seattle a few years ago, one of the first “local” acts  I saw Lonesome Shack at Cafe Racer. I had been surviving in my car for days, living only on energy drinks, coffee, sun chips and candy bars. My clearly detoriated mental state caused me to think that Lonesome Shack was making music in the 1930′s but somehow they were projecting themselves into 2007. Amazing finger-picking and guitar work, washboard for percussion, vaudeville mustache and attire. I was blown away. I hadn’t seen music like this…ever. Sorry, they don’t make tunes like this in east coast hardcore scenes. Lonesome Shack is another band that I’m surprised doesn’t own all of Seattle. They do this thing sort of thing better than anyone else in this town, at least anyone I’ve been exposed to. I am making a not-so-bold prediction. I am envisioning Lonesome Shack “taking off” during this calendar year. I’m the only music writer on the internet, listen to what I say. Also come congratulate The Curious Mystery on the release of their newest record, We Creeling. It was just came out on Tuesday and was released by K Records. Police Teeth, Grenades, Victory and Associates, Brickbats and Great Falls (9pm at the Black Lodge. $5-7) – I have a confession to make. I am completely jealous of Victory and Associates. They travel from up from Oakland and low and behold, they get to play on this amazing bill on Friday night. Then they wake up on Saturday morning, go to Glo’s for breakfast and play with Helms Alee and Absolute Monarchs later that night. You lucky basatards, many local bands are ripping their hair out at this realization. Not yours truly, I don’t have hair. This is probably the best show happening this month. Police Teeth have a new record dropping later this spring. I’ve got my grubby hands on a few tracks, it’s going to be good. Grenades are the musical equivalent of a Honey Badger, the rock is unique and relentless. I’ve yet to listen to Great Falls but they’ve gotten on some decent shows within the last year so I assume they are respectable.

Saturday March 12

Helms Alee, Victory and Associates, Absolute Monarchs (9pm at the Comet. $8) – I’ve sang the praises of Helms Alee about three thousand times since I’ve been writing for Sound on the Sound. If you have their older stuff and haven’t heard the new material yet, come to the Comet on Saturday night. I don’t know the names of any of the new tunes, I’ve only heard the tunes in a live setting on occasion. I just know that the new stuff is mind-bending and that you’d enjoy it. Absolute Monarchs have been steadily on the rise since last spring. They are on a Patrick Swayze-esque Roadhouse mission to clean up the Seattle rock and roll scene. Cue Pantera’s “Cowboys From Hell”. Don’t thank me, thank Seattle Rock Guy.

The Dismemberment Plan, Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band and The Globes (7pm at Showbox Sodo. $23) – Weirdness. My childhood is coming to the Showbox SoDo. The Dismemberment Plan were always the DC band that never quite fit and I mean that in a good way. There were always other contemporary bands ripping off musical legends of the District of Columbia and here was The D-Plan writing some of the most quirky, danceable stuff that indie rock has ever seen. Yes Seattle, there benefits to being from Virginia. You observe Dischord Records greats as a child and you mutate their sounds accordingly. The Dismemberment Plan’s initial existence really got moving with the album Is Terrified and culminated with Change; long before your President aped that slogan. Personally, Emergency & I, is and always will be my favorite D-Plan album. I still listen to it on a regular basis. It’s fitting that the D-Plan is billed with another group that doesn’t quite fit, the Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band. Once again, I mean that in a good way.

If by some reason you’re too much of a jerk to enjoy all of this good music. May I recommend the Emerald City Soul Club at Lo-Fi on Saturday night. I pray that Motown rhthyms will have a positive effect on your bad attitude. The dance party starts at 9pm. But if you’re smart you’ll get there around midnight.

November 18, 2010

Sharon Van Etten at Neumos

by

Sharon Van Etten

Sharon Van Etten ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Some records we come to love aren’t just records. Over time they become our best friends. We’ve all got the friend we want to call up when we need to just cut loose and have fun and we’ve all got the friend who we call when we need a shoulder to cry on, the one who we can talk about anything with, and we have records to go to for those same reasons. As we really become close to a record, we start to look beyond our the context of the songs to own our lives, and peer deeper into the heart of the creator. Though it’s probably not fair since we don’t personally know the songwriter, we project the personality of the songs onto the personality of the person making the song, and feel that we can somehow see deeply into the songwriters soul.

In the case of Sharon Van Etten’s music, and by extension my imagined version of her, over the past year as I became more familiar with her work, I’d become deeply worried over her state of mind. Her voice was beautiful, of that there was no doubt. But that she was inexorably tied to having to perform songs of personal tragedy, night after night, was also distressing. Her joyful appearance at Neumos last week set to rest at least some of my worries, and served as a prime example of why we shouldn’t equate the song with the performer.

Much like many a musician before her on visiting our fair city, Sharon van Etten gave a nod to Seattle’s storied musical past by dusting off the flannel. She arrived on stage enveloped by an over-sized orange flannel, a garment obviously favoring function over fashion and probably sized for an actual lumberjack. In this case the tribute even went so far as to have a worn hole in the elbow, a well-remembered calling card for a decade past. “See this?” she says pointing at the shirt with a huge grin. Answering her own question without a hint of irony, she points to the crowd and says “Do you know who I’m wearing this for? I’m wearing it for all of you Seattle!” Before things have even started, my image of a humorless woman on the verge, another darker days of Chan Marshall kind of thing, is completely shattered. Whether Van Etten herself feels the pain of wounds re-opened nightly I couldn’t say, or maybe by owning her story in song she’s able to have the last laugh after all. Joking with the crowd and her band between just about every song, she was obviously no stranger to laughter.

This night also made me realize if you haven’t heard Sharon Van Etten live setting, you haven’t really heard. I thought I’d heard over the past year as I ravenously waded through sub-par Youtube videos in search of more jaw-dropping sessions equal to her visit to Daytrotter. But a voice like hers really demands to be heard unfiltered, with none of her deep deep tones missing and the details of her emotion left uncompressed. Human to human, shades of gray in the voice make all the difference; Van Etten’s very presence serves as a poignant example.

Though much of Van Etten recorded work is just her with a guitar, and with that stark presentation is emotional impact, her simple three piece band gave the songs the momentum they needed to work in a live setting without lessening the overall impact. When Van Etten took a turn at the harmonium for what may be our song of the year “Love More,” I got the shivers. I say this not in hyperbole. Band’s don’t really do that to me, so when a song has that sort of involuntary affect, I remember. Her unmediated expression communicates directly to my fundamental emotional hard-wiring. With Van Etten I’m finally starting to grasp just what “catharsis” actually means. And for that, I’ll keep coming back again and again.


Sharon Van Etten ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Junip ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth