Kevin Murphy ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

When it comes to local records I am most excited be released in 2010, there’s no competition: The Moondoggies’ Tidelands, due out October 23 on Hardly Art.

Last Saturday, we got a sneak peek of some of the songs when Moondoggies front-man Kevin Murphy played a solo set at The Blue Moon. It was a quiet night at The Moon, reminiscent of the first Moondoggies shows we saw there years ago, when the band was testing out the songs that would become Don’t Be a Stranger and before the delights of their drawl were widely discovered and lauded. Kevin’s set included old Moondoggies favorites like “Undertaker,” a solid rambling cover of Tom Waits’ “Pancho’s Lament” and a number of new songs from the forthcoming Tidelands and the just released You’ll Find No Answers Here EP.

My favorite song of the night was “A Lot of People on My Mind,” the final track on Tidelands and the last song Kevin played. Its a mournful love song, that shows Murphy maturing as a song writer and singer. I can’t wait to hear what the song sounds like with Caleb Quick on Rhodes and a full Moondoggies backing, but even in its skeletal solo form it is achingly beautiful and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the band’s best. Take a listen and a look for yourself:

The Moondoggies at the Blue Moon ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

In between playing shows with Blitzen Trapper and sending us postcards from the road, The Moondoggies sat down with internet radio site Pandora at the Bonnaroo music festival and ended up talking mostly about the Blue Moon of all things. We love hearing our favorite dive get name checked to start off an interview almost as much as we love the fact that Kevin is still wearing his flannel despite what is sure to be sweltering Southern heat and humidity. See for yourself:

The Moondoggies at the Blue Moon ::: Polaroid by Josh Lovseth

Saturday night at the Blue Moon was a Hardly Art label showcase of sorts, featuring two bands officially on the label, The Moondoggies and Unnatural Helpers, and a third band with an up-in-the-air status at this point. Of course, you would have never known that, because the only band listed on the bill was the fictional Diamond Joe Quimbys.

The first Hardly Art band to take the stage were the Unnatural Helpers, who have a new record in the pipeline and who had me wishing I could have caught the whole set instead of sneaking in for the last two songs.  Billed as the Diamond Joe Quimby’s the Moondoggies served as the night’s headliners. The band took the stage at midnight and played to an effusive crowd who knew every word to ever song until last call. The Moondoggies are the closest thing the Blue Moon has to a house band and even though they can barely still play there even when it’s a secret, seeing them on the stage that all but bore them just never gets old.

That third band of unknown status (who played second), referred to themselves as “White Lightning.” Formerly they were “Magic Mountain,” or maybe “Magic Mtn,” but I guess that didn’t go over too well with the trademark police, so now they have a new name. (Which may not be the name they end up with.) The now known as “White Lightning” is a collaboration of Arthur & Yu’s Grant Olsen and The Moondoggies.  Kevin Murphy, lead singer of The Moondoggies, told me that a summer White Lightning tour may happen, and a recording may even follow. But no promises. You can already hear the collaboration in action on one live track included on the free 2009 Hardly Art label sampler, a track recorded during the course of playing just a few select dates last summer.

With all that possibly in the works, it’s looking like it’s going to be a busy year for the Moondoggies. In addition to setting a September release date for their next Hardly Art LP, Tthe band has just returned from a month long tour with the Cave Singers and the Dutchess and the Duke and the band has already confirmed an early summer tour with fellow Northwest roots rockers Blitzen Trapper. Those dates are below the fold.

White Lightning? ::: Polaroid by Josh Lovseth

Flickr: The Moondoggies, White Lightning at The Blue Moon Tavern

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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.

The Moondoggies at The Blue Moon ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

If you’re a regular reader of Sound on the Sound, hell even if you’ve only read us once, you probably know that there are few things we love more than The Moondoggies and The Blue Moon. The laid back blues of the Moondoggies and Seattle’s venerable dive bar are inextricably linked, like peanut butter and jelly. We first fell for The Moondoggies via their late night sets at the Blue Moon, long before Hardly Art came knocking and the band could pull a near-capacity crowd at The Showbox. We knew then, in those sometimes sparsely populated shows, that we were seeing something special. Success coudn’t have found four nicer or more deserving fellows.  

One of our favorite shows of 2009 found The Moondoggies back on the Blue Moon stage as secret headliners. These days, even a whisper of The Moondoggies at the Moon means a line sneaking down the Blue Moon alley. Lucky for you, you can avoid the lines and sussing out secrets by bidding on sharing a beer with The Moondoggies at the Blue Moon for this years’ Strangercrombie auction. We’re tempted to bid ourselves, but since it’s the holidays, this is a charity auction, and we’ve had the pleasure of spending time with The Moondoggies at The Blue Moon before, we’re leaving the bidding up to you. ‘Tis the spirit of the season.

The Moondoggies at The Blue Moon ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

The Moondoggies at The Blue Moon ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

An epic collision of rock is eminent. The concussion from which will leave few standing by the end of the night. This is going to be a night for drinking and fist pumping. Oh yes it is. The holiday music already has me avoiding recreational TV watching. I need this. You need this. We all need this.

Sound on the Sound Presents:

December 4th at the Blue Moon Tavern
45th St. NE & I-5 in Seattle

Blessed Deep Band
(feat. members of: Chuck Yay-Grr!, 1,2-1,2, Lake of Falcons),
The Spinning Whips
(feat. members of: Ice Age Cobra, Magic Mirrors),
What What Now,
(feat. members of: Thunderbird Motel, Salmon Thrasher)

and a special secret headliner who shall be called:
“Sneaking Out & Getting Off”

$5, 21+, 9pm

This is where the rock is. Period.

Poster for Sound on the Sound by Stubby Abbot

As far as we’re concerned, Friday December 4th at the Blue Moon is a monster lineup.

Little did we know that when we agreed to sponsor the first show of Jordan West’s new band the Spinning Whips, we’d end up with a whole lot more. Formerly of Ice Age Cobra, West (who’s been taking singing lessons) invited us out his practice space to get a taste of what his new six piece has to offer and we were hella impressed. Also playing their first show is the Blessed Deep, a band that includes your friendly Sunset bartender Holly (formerly of Chuck Yay-Grr).

The most recent exciting development is that a fourth band has been attached to the bill as a secret headliner. They go by the name “Staying Out & Getting Off.” We couldn’t be happier they wanted to play.

Below are the full details:

Sound on the Sound Presents:

December 4th at the Blue Moon Tavern
45th St. NE & I-5 in Seattle

Blessed Deep Band
(feat. members of: Chuck Yay-Grr!, 1,2-1,2, and Lake of Falcons),
The Spinning Whips
(feat. members of: Ice Age Cobra, Magic Mirrors),
What What Now,
and a special secret headliner who shall be called:
“Sneaking Out & Getting Off”

$5, 21+, 9pm

Check out the first video from one of my favorite local bands of 2009, The Curious Mystery. The video for “Black Sand” is much like the band and it’s sound:  feverishly hallucinogenic and strangely compelling.

The band is in the midst of a national tour, but will be back home in Seattle on November 14th when they’ll be headlining my favorite dive, The Blue Moon.

Seattle Loves the Ironclads ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Today marks three years that this blog has been covering the Seattle music scene. In celebration we booked last Friday night at the Blue Moon with some of our favorite up and coming local bands.

Navigator vs. Navigator once again made for a hard act to follow and at their screamiest moments reminded of a young Isaac Brock. What I consider to be their best songs though are kin to the floor-tom heavy rhythms, deep tones, and angular rock of Wolf Parade. “Screams from the City,” “Ol’ Time Radio” and “Raw Paw” are all insidiously hard to remain still to. How these guys continue to fly under the radar just baffles me.

Alligators came to the stage supremely polished in their own right. They’re band that maintains an amazing balance of energy within their set, elegant local pop a la Crystal Skulls matched with the elaborate and sometimes over the top stylings of British mega-stars Muse. I normally wouldn’t just throw that Muse comparison out there, but for those really high pitched lead moments, guitarist Joshua Trembley makes it sound strong. These gents are another band that seem ripe for the next level.

By the time midnight came around, it was Ironclads time and a crowd eagerly coalesced at the foot of the stage. Co-lead singer Jamie was nursing a lost voice so the night was admittedly not the best night for an introduction, but for those who were already acquainted, the situation was just the invitation they needed to sing louder and fill in the gaps. Not that they really needed any invitation. Few bands seem to illicit the kind of crowd love that these guys seem to have at every show. Needless to say we, and Seattle, are really gonna miss this band.

Thanks for everyone who made it out to the show, especially the three great bands who played. And even if you didn’t make it out (there were so many great shows that night) thanks for taking the time to read the blog and support local music.  We’re looking forward to the next three years and beyond of Sound on the Sound, and hope you are too!

Navigator vs. Navigator ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Navigator vs. Navigator ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Alligators ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Alligators ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Ironclads ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Johnny and Brian singing along ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Good Times with Jamie ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Flickr: Sound on the Sound’s 3rd Birthday Show with The Ironclads, Alligators, and Navigator vs. Navigator

Navigator vs. Navigator have been tearing it up on the local DIY and tavern scene for a while now with their own brand of rough and tumble foot stompers. They make forward thinking percussive rock in the mold of Cold War Kids and Wolf Parade that it’s damn hard to prevent your whole body from reacting to. Their last appearance at the Blue Moon had them playing to a active and appreciative crowd who danced with abandon, making for a hard act to follow. Check their video for “‘Ol Time Radio” below and see if you don’t agree showing up early (read: 10pm) for this band this on Friday at the Blue Moon for our 3rd Birthday show might be a wise decision.

“‘Ol Time Radio” by Navigator vs. Navigator