The new live video of the Wild Orchid Children’s “Ahead of us the Secret” by Nick Simmons has captured the band’s dizzying intensity and eye-ball shaking psychedelia. We love the wink and a nod to the constant Beastie Boys comparisons the band receives and cameos by members of Thee Emergency, Champagne Champagne and The Young Evils. Tune in, turn up, drop out.
D. Black, Playing Tonight at the SXSW Send-Off ::: photo by Josh Lovseth
Choosing what show to go to on a Friday or Saturday night in Seattle has become laughably difficult. Instead of being pulled between two shows, its usually five and any destination you choose, you’re going to see something good. Tonight’s line-ups around town would have me believe this is no longer just a Friday and Saturday night problem. I’m not talking one or two good options for shows tonight, I’m talking about four shows I’d be crestfallen to miss and five or six other shows on top of that I know would be awesome.
So start the debate early today guys, because choosing what show you’re going to on Thursday night is starting to be just as hard as Friday and Saturday night. Here are the shows pulling me in approximately 10 different directions … and the one(s) we’ll end up at are bolded.
Blue Moon – Lion Child, Watch It Sparkle, Shitty Dudes Chop Suey – People Eating People, Like Lightning Gavin Guss, Garret van der Spek Columbia City Theater – Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, Squirrel Butter, Ben Gilman Comet Tavern – Nod Off, Stickers, Wildildlife, Monogamy Party Conor Byrne – Benefit for the Common Language Project with Reef Encounter, Country Lips The Crocodile – SXSW Kick-Off Party with D. Black, Wild Orchid Children & More High Dive – Empty Space Orchestra, You.May.Die.In.The.Desert Sunset – American Girls (Tom Petty tribute), Bandolier, Friends and Family Tractor Tavern – Earth (CD Release), Mount Eerie, Low Hums Vera Project – The Lonely Forest, The Oregon Donor, The Violins
Where will you be ending up tonight?
We’ll be the first to admit this list is arriving, oh, at least a month late. On the other hand, 2010 was an expansive year for Northwest music in many regards and worthy of chronicling one last time with thoughtful and focused intention. So we hope you will see that the extra time we’ve given this piece has led to more in-depth reviews of each release in a way that a December 31st publish date didn’t allow. Hopefully you’ll read one of them and discover a great local record that you missed in 2010 proper.
Unlike some other lists who will cite being on a Northwest label as being a candidate for a “Best of the Northwest” list, ours only includes bands from and making music in the Northwest right now. We’ve expanded to include Vancouver to the north, south to Cottage Grove, west to Forks and east to (at least) Billings, however there’s no denying, our list is heavily Puget Sound area-centered, and mostly Seattle at that. We didn’t pay as close attention to Portland and Vancouver as we should have in 2010, something we plan on remedying in 2011.
With that please enjoy our take on the 25 most significant records we heard from the Pacific Northwest in 2010.
25. Fences – s/t
“Clocking in just over 30 minutes, the long-awaited debut establishes it was worth the wait with the first strums of “Girls With Accents,” whose chorus of “I’m fucking up, I’m fucking up everything” is destined to become a teenage anthem. But this album isn’t just for moody teenagers. Fences sings sad songs filled with snide sweetness, self-deprecation and a confessional honesty that hits home to anyone whose been brave enough to admit they fucked up and flawed enough to do the same thing all over again.” [abbey]
24. Wild Orchid Children – Are Alexander Supertramp
Were you ever young? Nod your head “yes.” What did you do when you were young? I’m not talking elementary school age, that’s real kids stuff. Let’s focus on the beast that is adolescence. What did you do when you were young? Did you do what your parents told you? If so, you probably listen to (insert conventional musician using complex social analysis matrix here). Were you a bookworm or liked to secretly play with action figures even though you were probably too old for it? If so, you probably listened to Hum. (editor’s note: Hum totally rules…I swear I left the GI Joe’s alone.) Did you get inebriated in the woods behind a strangers house on the beer you kept buried in the ground, then had Roman Candle fights in a neighboring cul-da-sac? Did you go skating at night and drink beer out of your own Vans sneaker? Did you do acid and see thousands of David the Gnomes come parading out of your bathroom as you tried to sleep? If so, you probably listen to Wild Orchid Children.
That’s exactly what this album is like. It’s like lighting your friends’ parents roof on fire by accident then instead of calling 9-1-1, you decide to make Smores on the ashes. The insurance company has its eyebrows raised. Are you an arsonist? You tell them to fuck off go kick rocks. You are Alexander Supertramp. [Phil]
23. Lesbian – Stratospheria Cubensis
Lesbian enjoys buttering up the listener with unassuming riffs at the beginning of their songs. Take the beginning Raging Arcania or Black Stygian for instance. The former being otherwordly while the latter is an obtuse delight. Eventually Lesbian decides your peace of mind is a bad joke and they’re not laughing. Insert weird metal breakdown here. Lesbian does something a lot of metal bands don’t but should. The band will throw in thrashy parts out of nowhere, creating quite the tempo shift. During these “brutal” fits, you would expect conventional usage of blast beats but Lesbian will not cave in to the needs of mundane metalheads across the globe. They stay true to their original outlandish form. After a few minutes of putting your mind in a blender, Lesbian decides that your pain bores them. The magical mushrooms that the band ingested before they decided to fuck-with-you-for-the-fun-of-it have worn off. They decide against taking you to Harborview because you don’t have insurance. They suture your skull back together with rusty, mostly heavier gauged guitar strings. That’s exactly what listening to this band is like. A prime example of this occasionally interrupted mayhem is the album’s title track. [Phil]
22. Language Arts & Def Dee – Gravity
Though it was a tough choice (a really tough choice) between the two full length albums LA put out this year (the other being Roll With The Winners with producer Blu-Ray), it may have been the warm feeling of nostalgia that surfaced while listening to Gravity that kept it on repeat for such a large part of the year. LA is arguably the most lyrically sound MC in the area code, from street-side cyphers to formidable entries on wax, and Def Dee’s classic east coast style, lowest-fi production, the sixteen tracks feel timeless. [Todd]
21. Baltic Cousins – s/t EP
“I’m the same as I was that day…” – Break Bread
It’s like they were there, but they weren’t.
All of us can reach back into our past and select a day. Depending on which day we take hold, the meaning and the outcome of those moments would be different. Close your eyes and think for a second. What day did you choose and would you change anything about it? Did you say the right things? Did you make the right decision? Has anything about you changed from the brief moment you selected? Is regret a shadow that follows you constantly even though we never see the sun around here?
The self-titled demo released by Baltic Cousins resonates heavily with those who hear it. There is not much to their bare approach to songwriting. No bass. No keys. No additional percussionist. This Bellingham supergroup doesn’t need the bells and whistles of the current dog and pony show that is indie rock. What Baltic Cousins lacks in number of members or presentation they make up for with remarkable honesty that is manifested in both lyrical and musical form. [Phil]
20. Frog Eyes – Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph
My husband suggested the following review for this album: “Weird, but worth it.”
Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph is an intricate concerto of noise, Bach for the rock and roll era. Seemingly influenced by everything from Dinosaur Jr. to Baptist preaching, this record is a master class in bringing together a slew of disparate influences into a harmonious – if not particularly melodic – whole. Sometimes delicate, sometimes rushing and rattling like a runaway train, Paul’s Tomb is a howling journey through frontman Carey Mercer’s brain. [Brittney]
Read the rest of our Top 25 Northwest Albums of 2010 after the jump (more…)
Unnatural Helpers ::: photo by Josh Lovseth
Hey, you remember that time that Kanye West put out his first decent album since College Dropout and received a perfect rating from Pitchfork? Wasn’t that crazy? Or what about that time that the Arcade Fire put out their least memorable studio album to date and ended up on everyone’s “Best Records of 2010″ list? Wasn’t that kind of weird? Have you ever seen a pre-school child eat those goldfish cracker snacks? They devour them. You could drop them on the on a public bathroom floor and those kids would not blink. They have one goal in mind and that is to put those little golden crackers into their stomachs. I like fishes because they’re so delicious. Gotta go fishing. Music reviewers can be the same way. An artist they love can do no wrong. Ever. Before the goldfish album drops, the music critic has already decided to eat it up. What else can they do? Judge it for what it is? No way. That’s wasting food blogosphere credibility. Why think, when you can GroupThink?
This is not really a “Best of 2010″ list. Most of the music I continue to enjoy is rarely released within the current calendar year. Ever since I was a youth, I have let albums find me. Rarely do I go seek an album out. It’s a blessing and a curse. For instance, I still have not heard the National’s High Violet. I like the National’s past releases a great deal, why am I being so sluggish in giving their latest effort a listen? I don’t have an answer for that. I just know that when the time is right, I’ll have that record and hopefully enjoy it. The following couple hundred words is just a list that relates to individual songs. I’ll post additional lists that reference albums, live performances and moments that you may have missed during the past year. Actually it’s more of an awards show without live video. Maybe next year.
Local Song of the Year: “Sunshine/Pretty Girls” by the Unnatural Helpers
I know what you’re thinking, “How the hell did this song win ‘Local Song of the Year’?” I’ll tell you how. At first, I hated this song. I thought that a handful of kids that got rejected from Seattle’s School of Rock could probably craft a better tune. It’s got three chords, barely. If the lyrics were written on anything besides a two day old pizza box it would be a travesty. Everything about this song screams “novice” and “Hey, want to listen to the band I played in during high school?” However, this song rules and your high school band sucked. I can listen to this song anytime, anywhere. It has not left my head or I-Pods (plural, bitches) since I got over my initial disdain for it. Let’s dim the lights and get sensitive for a moment. The song’s subject matter of “sunshine” and “pretty girls” happens to be my two favorite things on Earth! Incredible! The author pretends not to care about them and that’s fine he can let the listener do that for him. This song is about vanity, stubbornness and fun. Incidentally, those are the only three personality traits I have. Winner.
Other local songs that I love that could have won this award:
“Simple Fates” by Ravenna Woods * “All the King’s Men” by Hounds of the Wild Hunt * “Bobby O” by What What Now * “Capital 5…” by Shabazz Palaces * “Break Bread” by Baltic Cousins * “Poisonous Witchball” by Lesbian* “I Want You To Come Home Now” by Drew Grow and the Pastor’s Wives * “Gasoline Rainbows (Jesus Is a Blackman)” by Wild Orchid Children * “Whale Song” by Lemolo * “Rivers and Roads” by the Head and the Heart * “My Oh My” by Macklemore “Floorplan” by Youth Rescue Mission * “Emerald City Dollar Bin” by Partman Parthouse
Any song that is going to appear on the upcoming Helms Alee album. If I knew the names I guarantee you that at least one song would be listed here.
My five favorite songs of 2010 that were not released this year (But I heard them for the first time this year):
“In My Wake, For My Own” by Coalesce * “Salt” by Portugal. The Man * “Victory Is In My Clutches” by Jay Electronica * “So You Wanna Be A Superhero” by Carissa’s Wierd “Freeze Me” by Young Dro f. T.I and Gucci Mane
This Friday three of Seattle’s most unique rock bands (and Sound on the Sound favorites) take the stage at Columbia City Theater: the psychedelic bombast of Wild Orchid Children, the Americana-Gothic sounds of See Me River and the ’70s swagger of Magic Mirrors.
It would be difficult to find a more solid or sonically interesting bill of local rock and we’ve been anticipating it for months. Its a night of sounds so big its bound to blow the rafters off even Columbia City Theater’s high ceilings.
We have two pairs of tickets to give away to see Wild Orchid Children, See Me River and Magic Mirrors. Just drop a clever witticism in the comments (attached to your real email) and we’ll pick two lucky winners by Thursday at noon.
Wild Orchid Children ::: by Abbey Simmons
Warning: The following is a tepid review. Wink. Wink.
The album. The full length. What does it mean in the year 2010? Is it a collection of individual songs that have somehow been forced onto a compact disc, record, website link or playlist? Are those individual songs meant to stand on their own as singular expressions? Or are those same songs meant to convey an artistic message as a collective? I ask these questions because it’s hard for me to listen to albums in their entirety without venturing onto other sonic landscapes for a quick breather. Are you the same way? Artists don’t make albums like they used to. You can’t do the Darkside of Oz using I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness’ Fear Is On Our Side. Life doesn’t work that way, but it would be cool if it did.
I start my review with that non-soliloquy because it gives you an idea of how I approached listening to this album. There is a lot going on during Wild Orchid Children’s …We Are Alexander Supertramp…” I’d bet my last dollar that even after a couple listens all the way through, chances are you’ve missed something, somewhere. I think that’s natural with any piece of music, but this is one psychedelic beast that you can’t tame. Don’t even try. Just hold on tight and hope for the best. This record and I have been bedfellows for the past couple of weeks. I’ve taken some of its tracks on long distance runs, shaved the peach fuzz off my human skull while using it as background music and come home from a late night of partying and attempted to make sweet love to this record. Literally. My Macbook’s hard drive is now broken.
The album announces its arrival with its title track “We Are Alexander Supertramp.” I for one appreciate all the aliases that lead vocalist/frontman Kirk Huffman drops during the 56 seconds that the track runs. It is reminiscent of those old DJ Clue mix tape shout-outs from the late 1990′s. Not many rock and roll bands can get away with this kind of behavior without me wanting to hide in their green room and cut their jugular with a broken Coors Light long-neck. This may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship….
That gets put on hold due to anxiety. “Black Shiny FBI Shoes” is aptly named. The beginning makes you somewhat nervous due to the ambient void that is the beginning of the song. Percussion. Weird effects. Shakers make me think of rattlesnakes. The rim shots and drum toms make your blood pressure rise. Nobody looks forward to a visit from men in black suits that flash a badge before they give a name. I imagine some intense questioning taking place in a dimly lit room during the song’s extended interlude. I want to support long interludes on record but I can’t. I have the attention span of a first grader who has a proficient understanding of YouTube. Luckily for all of us, interludes by talented musicians are what the live music experience is all about. Can I get a witness from the congregation?
Because “Jesus Is A Black Man.” This song is one of my favorites on the album. It has those familiar, somewhat zany Wild Orchid Children group vocals that really add to the piece. Those vocals are especially effective in what is arguably the best breakdown on the record. The cooed group vocals are reminiscent of Robert Plant during Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” and they duel with Thomas Hunter’s wah-wah guitar before transforming into a heavy classic rock delight.
If you’re listening to this record on headphones and the track-list is not in random track order (I do recommend the album on random), “Peyote Coyote” is the track where your mind starts to play tricks on you. Are my senses failing? What is going on here? You’re only four tracks in and you’ve been overwhelmed by sounds. You want to take a breather but then the verse kicks in suddenly your head is bobbing to the keys and you’re not going anywhere. That’s a good thing. If you can make it to the end of the song you will be rewarded with an outrageous yet gratifying ending.
There are two songs on this album that I must group together because I do not “feel” them as much as I do the others. “Martha Goes to Washington” is a catch twenty-two for me. On record, I don’t like listening to this song. I’d much rather listen to other tracks that I enjoy more. With that being said, this song is great live. It’s been a while since I’ve had to say that about any song, let alone a Wild Orchid Children song. This is a track that should be witnessed before being heard. “Tree of Knowledge” is another song I don’t like as much as the rest of the album. It’s not a bad song by any means. I just feel it’s not all that it could be. This opinion could be formed because this song traditionally comes at the end of the record. Like I stated before, your existence gets sucked into the psychedelic gears of this machine. Much like Little Mac in the Nintendo version of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, you need to build endurance by running in a pink jumpsuit behind a fat black guy on a bike to make it through.
I can’t end this review without making an unnecessary Beastie Boys/Rage Against The Machine comparison talking about “Lazers in the Jungle” and “Birth of a Cabin.” Both of these songs are excellent and deserve high praise though the images that their namesakes create are quite puzzling. Close your eyes, picture a cabin being born. Does seeing a lazer in the jungle remind you of the movie Predator? Probably.
The guitar in “Lazers in the Jungle” drag the listener around by a choke chain before settling into a secret-agent-man groove for the verse. The keys really take command of the song at that point. The rapid fire guitar at the end of the verse is a shot of adrenaline that feels natural going into the chorus. The vocals during the chorus remind me of a group of children mocking another on the playground. In this instance, bullying vocals accompanied with a Santana-esque guitar lick build character. Trust me. This song also wins the “What the fuck was….how did you come up with that ending?” award. I refuse to describe how the bridge of the song transitions into the ending so abruptly. No spoiler alerts here. I just want to know how they came to this particular conclusion.
“Birth of a Cabin” is the first song that I listened to on this record initially. My curiosity was too strong to ignore. It was a wise decision. The song starts off huge. Big guitar. Big keyboards. Big drums. The verse is extremely catchy and gets you hyped up. This is a good breakfast song, an even better morning shower song. The only lyrics that I may (not) have accurately transcribed on this album are sung during this song’s refrain. “Freedom is a heavy load, with the power of soul anything is possible.”If everything else on this record is over your head, these words alone should be with you forever.
Wild Orchid Children Are Alexander Supertramp is available on Equal Vision Records. I think you should get your hands on this. They’ will be performing at Columbia City Theater on November 19th with See Me River and The Magic Mirrors.
Wild Orchid Children ::: photo by Abbey Simmons
Boys and girls, you are in for a treat this evening. Come to Ballard. Be the social entities I know you are. Come to the Sunset Tavern for a night of spirits and jovial buffoonery. In doing so you will help raise money for Powerful Schools. Trust me, as far as public education is concerned, the youth of America need all the help they can get. Since adults that exercise their voting rights disappointed kids nationwide this week, now is the time to do something about it. I want you, the young miscreant who seeks vices in the form of loud music and booze to come to their rescue. Like I said, net proceeds benefit the future of our country and the world. Sometimes being patriotic is cool. [Insert the always inappropriate U-S-A!!! chant here.]
When I first saw the names on this bill, I was a bit concerned. “Dark Time Sunshine? Great. Another bearded singer/songwriter who has dreams of being a folk legend” was my immediate, disconcerting thought. You know who else had dreams of being a folk legend? A man by the name of Charles Manson. We all know how that turned out. Mama, don’t let your children grow up wanting to be folk legends.
Thankfully, Dark Time Sunshine are not like Charles Manson or any other singer/songwriter who I’d probably want to put in a crossface chicken wing choke-hold. They are a hip-hop duo from the Pacific Northwest and I say that with much trepidation. Honestly, I have no idea where the hell they are from. Their Myspace says Portland, their label page says Seattle and their Facebook page says France. Who doesn’t love a good Easter Egg Hunt over the internet? This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you they are loggers from Northern Ireland and that one of the dudes wears Tap Out apparel exclusively. While my eyes can’t trust any information related to this band, my ears can give you the low down. Dark Time Sunshine are reminiscent of Greyskull in terms of vocal delivery. Much like Greyskull, they have respected underground hip-hop artists (read: Aesop Rock, P.O.S) that have cosigned on to some of their tracks. Musically, I like the way they work it. No diggity. Lyrically, they are like Lucille Ball trying to sneak into a sold out Tropicana on a Saturday night to see her husband Ricky Ricardo perform. They have some explaining to do.
Absolute Monarchs are raw mean junkyard dogs. It doesn’t matter who you are, get off their lawn before your achilles becomes the next best thing to Pupperoni. They have a song called “Killing the Old.” Ageists everywhere use this song as an anthem for their disdain for the elderly. Raise a fist against those who use a walker! [Editor's Note: Sound of the Sound does not promote violence against those of any age bracket, unless they hit you first.] You’ll like this band. If you don’t it’s because you’ve changed. Sellout.
I don’t want to call anyone’s parents, but I think Wild Orchid Children are into some of that Wacky Tabacky, Reefer Madness stuff. Why am I making such outrageous claims? Have you heard their new album “…Are Alexander Supertramp.”? Of course not, it’s not available yet. It arrives in record stores on Tuesday and it’s pretty fantastic. I look forward to having dissect all the crazy sounds that are featured on that album and share my thoughts with you beautiful people. The biggest question this evening, how the hell are Wild Orchid Children going to fit all band members and their equipment on the tiny Sunset stage? How are the walls going to react to the loud primitive sounds of the Children? I suggest this sound tribe performs on the floor of the venue. That would be pretty amazing.
Show starts at 9:30. Your money goes to a good cause. Hannah Levin will be in the house. Ballard on a Saturday night. Do I need to continue?
So much to do this weekend and you only have 72 hours to do it. Why is partying so stressful!?! Ugh. The things we put ourselves through as social mammals. It’s exhausting. What’s your costume? Where are you going to be? Who are you going to be with? How are you going to get there? You don’t have any money. You don’t have any good ideas. Luckily for you, Sound of the Sound is wearing a cape, a mask and svelte tights with a sock in the crotch. Nice bulge? We know. Here’s a preview of your weekend in the form of someone eavesdropping on a scenester having a cell phone conversation with an unknown entity. We’ll call this fictional character Iggy Crane because I’m afraid I’ll get sued if I use the first name Ichabod. Food stamps can’t pay for lawyers. Don’t Enjoy.
[Scene: Iggy Crane is a very slight individual with a heroin users build. He's about 6 ft tall, maybe 85 pounds after a huge brunch. His complexion is translucent. It's bleach. One might mistake him for an individual that takes spelunking to a whole another level if it weren't for his body paint jeans and over-sized high tops. Crane wears a five o' clock shadow on his face. He's got Grey hair, dyed of course. It makes him appear to be a man of refinement. A blue hoodie underneath a black leather jacket. Don't ask why. He knows what's up. He's hanging out at Cafe Zoka in the U-District.]
[Iggy Crane dialing one of his uber cool buddies. One of his uber cool buddies answers the phone -- on the last ring of course.]
Iggy: Yeah man. What’s going on? What’s going on this weekend? Got any plans?
[....]
Iggy: Well on Friday night I can’t decide what I want to do. As of right now I feel like raging but I’m not sure where. There’s so many shows this weekend. I wish I were Michael Keaton in Multiplicity, only with better results obviously. There’s going to be shenanigans taking place at the Funhouse. How fitting right? Hounds of the Wild Hunt are going to be opening up the gates of Hell for the greatest Misfits cover band of all-time, Glenn or Glenda?
[Iggy pauses to take a sip of coffee and look at who is walking on the Burke-Gilman. Nobody that is traversing its path holds his gaze. He thus turns his attention back to his cellular device.]
Iggy: That’s not a question idiot. That’s the band, Glenn or Glenda? They named the band that because there is a female performer who plays the role of Glenn Danzig while her better half portrays Glennda Danzig. “Glennda is the repressed feminine aspect of Glenn Danzig brought to life, rescuing him from his own machismo through glamour and hilarity.” I swear I did not get that from a press release. In other words, Glenn or Glennda are absolutely ingenious. I’m surprised Glenn or Glenda is not the biggest celebration on Halloween every year. It’s the only day of the year they perform and it’s amazing every single time.
[....]
Iggy: What? You’re thinking about going to that Lesbian CD release show at the Comet with Brothers of the Sonic Cloth and Diminished Men? Argh. Moments like this make me wish all the venues were built on top of one another like some kind of skyscraper of debauchery. Have you heard that new Lesbian record? It slays, literally. I heard three people died on the night of its release due to rocking too hard! Where’s Tipper Gore when you need her!?! Let’s prosecute records to the fullest extent of the law.
[....]
Iggy: Shut-up. You do not want to have sex with Tipper Gore. Why would you do that? Gross. I hear Mrs. Gore is a huge fan of Throne of Bone and Owen Hart. Maybe you’ll see her at the Block Lodge later? It’s a tough call between that, the Comet and the Funhouse. I didn’t even mention that You.May.Die.In.The.Desert. is rocking Healthy Times Fun Club as well. I wish Halloween was tonight, that way I could go all out and put myself in a coma until Monday morning.
[...]
Read the rest of Iggy’s one-sided conversation after the jump … (more…)
… before Thomas Hunter (of Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground, Wild Orchid Children and his own solo project) and his magnificent mustache inspired great art. That time is now.
Not only is that one of the best posters I’ve seen in some time, that’s one hell of a line-up. Add it to your growing, how the fuck can I choose what to do on October 30th list. It’s not just time to start planning your costumes guys, its time to start debating where you’ll don them too. Here is a curated run down of your options thus far.
Sufjan Stevens at The Paramount (if you already bought tickets or can afford to pay 100s of $$ for Craigslist Tickets)
Best Coast, Sonny and the Sunsets, The Calligraphers at Neumos
Hey Marseilles and Fences at Columbia City Theater
Battle Hymns and Joseph Giant at The Blue Moon
The Annual Come as You Aren’t featuring sets from M. Bison, Watch it Sparkle and Levi Fuller at the Skylark.
M. Bison ::: photo by Abbey Simmons
Realistically, I doubt any of you are going to take my advice and pitch a tent outside the 2-Bit Saloon. Too much rock and roll for your heart to handle? That’s fine. I’ll pretend to understand. Luckily for you there’s a bevy of acts that you can use as legitimate excuses to my unrealistic demands. Gentle reader, you may have won the battle, but the war is far from over.
The Author Dancing to What What Now ::: photo by Abbey Simmons
What What Now - A punk band that does not know the meaning of distortion, how could this be? Someone get Bill Nye in here. Good, captivating songwriting, with lyrics you can relate to at times. This band is playing Reverbfest because they bring the baked goods live. Believe me, it has nothing to do with the fact that there’s an incredibly attractive man on the inside of their record (that would be me). You like your mom’s chocolate chip cookies? I give you the sonic equivalent, What What Now’s “Right Angle.” Are you into Blueberry Muffins? Listen to “Tired Head.” Do you like Pumpkin Scones? E-mail me, I’ve got a good recipe. (Salmon Bay Eagles All Ages 8pm)
The Low Hums ::: photo by Josh Lovseth
Low Hums – I literally stumbled onto this band in a drunken fashion at Cafe Racer many moons ago and have been a fan ever since. It’s weird that our casual introduction went so well considering the state of mind I was in. Low Hums are not a beer swilling soundtrack. In fact the only their sound has to do with bars if you want to space out and ignore the person next to you. What? I can’t hear you complaining about how the Everett Silvertips don’t read enough Machiavelli during their intermissions. No, I don’t think that would make the line changes go smoother. I’m a lizard sunning myself on a rock in the desert and there are birds of prey circling overhead. God help me. (the Sunset 7pm)
See the rest of Phil’s Reverb recommendations … (more…)
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