Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Wavves, Crystal Stilts, Idle Times Help RainyDawg Celebrate 6th Birthday

Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 4:26 PM

UW internet station RainyDawg Radio scores a serious coup with this show. Brooklyn's Crystal Stilts put the Jesus into Mary's Chain, stressing that seminal Scottish band's deft melodic touch over their noisier tendencies; Wavves is San Diego lo-fi noise dude Nathan Williams, a buzz act with a ton of buzziness in his prickly-sweet tunes; Seattle's Idle Times sounds like guitarist/vocalist Nikki Sudden post-Swell Maps and/or a bedroom-produced Marc Bolan—scrappy, alternately lethargic and coiled fuzz pop.

Show happens Fri. April 24 (7 pm) at North Husky Den located in the HUB on the University of Washington Campus.

UPDATE: AFCGT have been added to the bill.

Press release after the cut.

Continue reading »

Street Dating: The Only Physical Promos In My Hand Edition

Posted by Travis Ritter on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 3:31 PM

I would have loved to expand on Leonard Cohen's Live in London disc, Peter Bjorn and John, and Malajube, but this was all I had in front of me. Digital promos killed my hard drive.

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Yeah Yeah Yeahs

It's Blitz
CD (Interscope)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs' polished their third full-length with a slick, synthesized shimmer, which might turn off some who really appreciated Nick Zinner's wiry guitar sounds (you'll have to trudge through half the album to get your fix on "Dull Life" and "Scheme and Fortune"). But the band's new direction is certainly one that will draw more in than the number of those who are turned away. The catch-factor is off the charts and Karen O has never sounded lovelier than on "Runaway." It's Blitz is epic. Yeah.


4722/1238537698-41df_en3ozl._sl500_aa240_.jpgA-Trak
Infinity +1
CD (Thrive/Fools Gold)

Hear me now: Infinity +1, the latest mix from the former DMC World Champion/current DJ for Kanye West known to many as A-Trak, will be crashing the CD players and iPods of many parties in 2009. The hour long, 21-track CD stacks demolishing house tracks (Laurent Wolf's "The Crow") upon mutant electro bits (Boyz Noise remix of Gonzales' "Working Together") and milky way-walking disco vamps (Golden Filter's "Solid Gold"), bringing together the accessible with the far out. This combination of dud-less ingredients yields potent, unbridled dance party action. Give thanks to body movement and feel great.


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Thunderheist

Thunderheist
CD (Big Dada)

Thunderheist is Canada's answer to an Amanda Blank-fronted Spank Rock vacationing in Miami, with all the sass, suggestive sluttiness, and bottom-heavy, sweat-stained 808 grinds as the Baltimore-Philly crew, but without the memorable hooks or devious vocal positioning of the body. One standout track, "LBG (Little Booty Girl)," literally had me bouncing in my chair, and visions of a nice compact ass on a pretty girl knocked my dome. Hot. It's true that this album really likes to party, but it's done so in the way that could potentially lead to terrible, terrible things.

Dub Survivors

Posted by Charles Mudede on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 2:51 PM


Again and again, we hear it in the depths of a dub. As the maze darkens, as the haze thickens, out of nowhere we hear a beep. The beep is like a red light in the dub maze/haze. But what is this beeping that can be heard on dubs by Perry, Tubby, Scientist, Burial, and DJ Spooky's "Grapheme"? It is the signal of life in the dub. The listener is on a rescue operation in the "land of the aftermath." As LKJ put it, "destruction is all around," buildings crumble, a layer of smog covers the dead city. Suddenly there is a beep. We hear it and know for sure that life is in this dub.

In Basic Channel's dub, however, no such signals can been heard. There are no survivors, no humans in their dub.

Yes Yes Man: Bernstein Documentary Nearing Completion

Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 2:49 PM

Received a call from Steve Fisk today in which he said that a documentary about Steven Jesse Bernstein is in the editing stages. The doc’s director, Peter Sillen, is interviewing Fisk—who created music for and produced Bernstein’s posthumous 1992 Sub Pop album Prison (recently discussed here)—for the film, titled Bernstein. Fisk says that Sillen hopes to have the movie completed in time for the festivals next year. The director described Bernstein below:

This living documentary of SJB is intended not just to eulogize, but to try to invoke his vibrant spirit as it lives on in his work and in the memories of those he inspired. It subtly questions a society where so many people seem to fall through what little safety net exists.

In other news, Fisk relates that his band Cut-Out, featuring Bob Beerman of Pell Mell, have completed Cut-Out 2, an album of electronic-oriented instrumentals that sound like they emanated from early-'80s Germany (Pyrolator, Asmus Tietchens, Dieter Möbius, etc.). This is the follow-up to 2003’s Interlude With Fun Machine. It is currently label-less. You can hear four tracks from the album on the band’s MySpace. Fisk also mentioned that Sub Pop is willing and able to release a solo album by the man. So stoked to see this happen...


Want to See Pelican and Wolves in the Throne Room For Free Tonight?

Posted by Megan Seling on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 1:42 PM

Tonight's Pelican show at Neumos should be pretty killer, especially with openers Wolves in the Throne Room. Now, you could pay $12 to see it—and it'd be worth every penny—or you could send an e-mail to freetickets@thestranger.com RIGHT NOW with Pelican in the subject line and maybe go see the show for free. You have until 3 pm to enter. Then, one entry will be randomly chosen for a guest list spot with a +1. Ready... go.

UPDATE: The tickets have been won. Thanks to everyone who entered. Find out about ticket give aways the minute they go up by following Line Out on Twitter.

J'aime L'amour a Stereo Total; Je Deteste Leslie & the LYs

Posted by Eric Grandy on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 12:28 PM

I had no idea Stereo Total were going to be so goddamn adorable. I've somehow missed the band whenever they've come through town previously—possibly because, although I've loved various singles of theirs over the many years they've been a band, I've never really fallen for an entire album of theirs until 2007's concisely awesome Paris-Berlin. Too bad, because their live show is a total blast.

Brezel Göring (the gentleman of the husband/wife duo) is tall, lanky, and hyper-animated (animated like bugs bunny is animated), with a long shock of hair flopping in front of his face, and a tie loosened over first a stylish buton-up shirt and then later a sweaty t-shirt. He played guitar and keyboards, but by far the instrument he worked the hardest was a ribbon controlled synth hooked up to some echo, which sounded a bit like theremin only with more precisely controlled glissando. Göring played the thing, sliding his fingers up and down the ribbon with a kind of manic charge, and it was in his hands a fun, showy instrument to watch. Françoise Cactus was a far more subdued, almost coy stage presence. She wore a loud green blazer, bright red hair, and glasses, looking kind of like a cooly subversive school-marm. She sang (they more or less omitted any of the songs with male lead vocals) and played drums and a heart shaped guitar (Göring's guitar was one of those rectangular ones that looks like its made out of a washboard or a cardboard box).

The duo, who have been recording together for nearly 15 years now, had an easy, affectionate, and fun rapport both with each other and with the enthusiastic crowd (Ryan Donnelly, who was working the door last night, observed that tonight's show had drawn out a fair amount of French and/or Francophone kids). When Cactus flubbed the transition into the second verse of "Plastic," she and Göring playfully negotiated how and where to restart the song, Cactus waving off with her hand the idea of taking it from the top, indicating that the crowd would be bored to death. Better still—and the highlight of the set, really—was when they brought a girl up from the audience for "L'amour a Trois." As the song opened, the girl (Claire) and Cactus sang while Göring turned his back to the crowd and embraced himself, running his hands up and down his back in that funny way that makes it look like you're making out with another person (I haven't seen anyone do that in years, and I'd forgotten how terrifically silly it looks). Later, Göring and Cactus sandwiched Claire in a little hip-thrusting, ass-bumping conga line, caterpillaring back and forth across the stage. It was pretty cute.

That the band didn't play my favorite tracks from Paris-Berlin—"Lolita Fantome," "Ta Voix Au Telephone," "Patty Hearst," or "Baby Revolution"—is a minor complaint. They did play "Plus Minus Null," the excellent retro rocker "Holiday Inn," a version of "Satisfaction" (and maybe another cover that I'm forgetting now), and, finally "Wir Tanzen Im Viereck" and an awesome, repeatedly extended version "I Hate Everybody in the Discotheque" with a crowd of audience members pulled onstage to dance along. It was a great show; and I agree with Matt (Fuckin') Hickey, who suggested someone should bring them back for Block Party, which they would kill. I also agree that it's insane that these guys were opening rather than headlining last night—insane.

Which brings me to the utterly detestable, electro-clash throwback Leslie & the LYs. I only had the stomach/gluttony for punishment to watch like one and a half songs—the tail end of some spectacle in which her sequined, stoned-looking back-up dancers hung suspended in some kind of human-sized diorama, and then a song about how one ought not to blame Leslie but rather blame her ample booty. Whatever you want to blame, Leslie & the LYs certainly sounds like ass. This joke isn't funny anymore.

Might I Suggest...

Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 12:01 PM

...you check out Reks' Grey Hairs and More Grey Hairs? Both albums are a little uneven but Reks grows on you and some of the production is fucking stellar. Take, for instance, this DJ Premier produced track (please ignore the video's shoestring budget) :

Or this:

Reks reminds me of mid-90s Ras Kass. If you're in to that, I heartily endorse these albums.

'Value Added'

Posted by Grant Brissey on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 11:57 AM

As Dave mentions here, Devo drummer Josh Freese is selling 'value-added' packages with his lastest record. Here is another take on the idea, and an update.

Josh Freese, the Devo drummer whose wildly creative "freemium" packages drew widespread attention to his new record, is raking in the cash as buyers snap up his inventive, value-added deals.

Freese cooked up a tiered pricing structure for Since 1972, his new album released Tuesday, that started at free (download a single song from the record) and soared to $75,000 for the most elaborate package, with multiple levels in between. The high-end packages include bizarre adventures with Freese and some of his rock 'n' roll compadres, such as a personal tour of Hollywood in a sports car—on mushrooms.

In an era when song downloads and file sharing have turned music into a commodity, limited-edition, highly collectible packaging points one way toward a profitable future for independent musicians and struggling record labels. Like pricing experiments by Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails before him, Freese's extremely creative deals may be blazing a trail toward a business model that sells experiences and access as well as music.

He's already listed the limited-edition $20,000 package as "sold out" on his website, pending finalization of the deal. The one-of-a-kind experience includes a miniature golf session with Freese, Tool's Maynard James Keenan and Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh. Other highlights: a drum lesson or foot/back massage, a night on the Queen Mary (including a "Ghost Tour") and a guided tour through Long Beach, California, where the drummer lives.

This is one way to move some units, especially if the record couldn't achieve that feat on its own. Spoiler alert: The limited-edition packages including lunch at Cheesecake Factory or P.F. Chang's are sold out, but you can still get the hallucinogenic tour of Hollywood in a Lamborghini.

Via wired.com

Single Ladies Dance Class

Posted by Kelly O on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 11:30 AM

Tonight! Want Seattle's red-hottest boylesque superstar Waxie Moon to teach you how to dance like just like Beyoncé? I mean Sasha Fierce? Uh, whatever the hell she's calling herself these days? Waxie, along with Inga Ingenue, and Lou Henry Hoover are teaching a brand new class where you'll learn the choreography from Beyoncé's video, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". After breaking down all these moves, I'm guessing you'll be the new hotness on the dance floor, whether you're dancing to Beyoncé, or well, anything.

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Classes start today, 6:30-7:30 pm, and run for 5 weeks (3/31-4/28), at HaLo. For more info call (206) 324-7263. Photo by Andy Pixel, from On the Boards, Intermission Impossible

Jimi Hendrix's Childhood House Comes Down

Posted by Megan Seling on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 11:30 AM

Via the Seattle Times:

The demolition crew has been working at a fast pace, and the tiny, 900-square-foot house where Jimi Hendrix lived from ages 10 to 13, and first showed his love for music, was down to its shell Monday.

Despite an eight-year, $100,000-plus effort by Pete Sikov — a Seattle real-estate investor who at first wasn't a Hendrix devotee, but became one — the historic structure is gone.

Most Uplifting Songs Ever [Fifth in a Series]

Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 11:28 AM

[Most Uplifting Songs Ever (aka MUSE) is a recurring Line Out feature that spotlights the tunes on which I can rely to elevate my mood (with no negative side effects), no matter how oppressive my deadlines, no matter how grim the news is, no matter how lousy the weather, no matter how severely the publishing industry continues to collapse (okay, maybe they can't ameliorate that last one). You may feel the same way about them.]

While at Linda’s last night, DJ Shani Jayant played Wire’s “Map Ref 41ºN 93ºW.” Besides being one of Wire’s greatest songs, this tune never fails to launch my spirits skyward. “Interrupting my train of thought/Lines of longitude and latitude/Define and refine my altitude” are wonderfully incongruous lyrics for a chorus that soars out of the somewhat humdrum verses like a supersonic jet (the words are typically, lovably Wire-like in their un-rock&rollness).

Colin Newman and Bruce Gilbert run their guitars through their FX pedals like hedonistic scientists, wringing aquatic flange, spectral spray, and brittle crackle with equal inventiveness. Back in the ’80s, “Map Ref.” used to loop through my brain for hours on end, spurring me to run long distances with a quickness. Sadly, both Wire and I have seen better days.

(My Bloody Valentine do a reverent cover of "Map Ref." You may have heard that they're playing WaMu Theater April 27.)


Cursive - "From the Hips"

Posted by Megan Seling on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 11:23 AM

"From the Hips" is from Cursive's new record Mama, I'm Swollen, which Eric Grandy reviewed a few weeks ago here.

Rain City Mix Tape Club at Havana

Posted by Megan Seling on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 11:02 AM

8240/1238522153-rcmtclogo.jpgOn Sunday night a small group of friends and music nerds gathered at Havana for the first installment of the new monthly series Rain City Mix Tape Club. My friend Chris started it about a month ago as a club on Facebook, and the gist of it is this: Each month, every member compiles a mix tape or CD according to the assigned theme. Then, on the last Sunday of every month, everyone gathers at Havana at 10 pm to exchange their mixes, drink, and talk about which Queen song is the best Queen song ever (or something comparable to that).

On Sunday more than a dozen people showed up with CDs (and even some tapes) in hand. The theme was "Sad Bastard," and compilations included everything from Sicko and Magnetic Fields to L7 and a bunch of shit I've never even heard of but would probably enjoy. One mix even came with a six-pack of beer, because duh, what else goes better with Sad Bastard music than beer?

It was sort of intimidating at first—I worried that I'd be judged too harshly for my predictable (but good!) list of songs. But once we started comparing track listings, the jitters died down as I realized all these people want to do, in the end, is listen to music—not judge you for what music you choose to listen to. It's not about putting together the best mix of the most rare shit you can find, it's about putting together a mix that represents you. And that's pretty awesome.

The next RCMTC is Sunday, April 26th. The theme is "Autobiographical" meaning, well... a variety of possibilities, actually. You can compile of list of songs that represent each year of your life thus far, or songs that mark notable moments in your history, or songs that best tell your life story... Each mix-tape maker can interpret the theme however they'd like. And that's what makes it interesting. For more information about RCMTC, check out the group page on Facebook.

My autobiographical mix will probably have a lot of shit like All-4-One and Dance Hall Crashers on it. I pity the fool that has to walk down my memory lane.

(For those who are interested, my sad mix is after the jump).

Continue reading »

Max Tundra - "Which Song"

Posted by Eric Grandy on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 10:38 AM

This little prodigious spaz was easily the best live act I saw at SXSW this year; here is the new video for "Which Song," which is by far the best song off of his excellent latest album Parallax Error Beheads You:


Max Tundra performs Sunday April 12th at Neumos with the Junior Boys, 8pm, $15, all-ages

Today's Music News

Posted by Brian Cook on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 10:17 AM

Cuddle up with your mp3s pt. 1: Virgin Megastores close

Cuddle up with your mp3s pt. 2: Black Sabbath albums get digital release

Pissing off more than just grammar teachers: Courtney Love’s blogs lead to lawsuit

The music and medicine you needed for comforting: Amanda Palmer to star in high school play based on Aeroplane Over The Sea

Something tells me the song will reference General Motors, the Army, and Burger King: Travis Barker and Busta Rhymes collaborate for Transformers 2 soundtrack

Tonight in Music: WD4D, Pelican and Wolves in the Throne Room

Posted by Megan Seling on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 9:00 AM

In this week's Data Breaker, Dave Segal has some very kind words to say about local WD4D, who'll be performing at Lo-Fi tonight:

WD has been making tracks and spinning wax for over 12 years, and the roll call of artists with whom he's shared stages includes GZA, KRS-One, the Coup, Bus Driver, and Oh No, as well as 206 luminaries like Blue Scholars and Common Market. In addition, WD has laced tracks for Awol and Existereo of the Shape Shifters, Xololanxinxo, Bukue One, and many others. On top of this, WD hosts KBCS's Saturday night (10 pm—midnight, 91.3 FM) Zulu Radio program with Sean Malik and Zulu King Khazm. Finally, WD4D's cherubic visage can also be spotted in deep concentration behind the decks on Fridays at Grey Gallery & Lounge with DJ Vital (for a night called Grey Area); WD's also in the jock rotation with SunTzu Sound's DJs for that same bar's soul/jazz-oriented Blueprint on Thursdays. And his agenda includes a residency at Lo-Fi Performance Gallery's Tuesday night hiphop hoedown Stop Biting.

Also tonight, per this week's Up & Comings:


Pelican - "Dead Between the Walls"

Pelican, Wolves in the Throne Room, Tombs
(Neumos) Olympia quartet Wolves in the Throne Room live a green lifestyle, but play their metal black—and spacious. Their third album, Black Cascade (recorded by Seattle producer extraordinaire Randall Dunn), is an aptly titled foray into metal's more anguished chambers. Nathan Weaver's tormented vocals, brother Aaron Weaver's pummeling, speed-bag beats, and the group's beautifully gnarled melodies cohere into an exhilarating expression of doom. (Bonus: WITTR made me learn about Ahriman.) Chicago-based Pelican soften metal's abrasiveness and bombast with more aerated guitar riffs and atmospheres. Their brand of the genre is light on its feet and unafraid of disarmingly pretty passages, betraying their fondness for shoegaze (shhhh). DAVE SEGAL

See the rest of Tuesday's listings in our online calendar.

Monday, March 30, 2009

OMG! NKOTB!

Posted by Megan Seling on Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 6:08 PM

At least one person who reads Line Out cares about New Kids on the Block, right? This one's for you, NKOTB-loving person:

Live Nation welcomes
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
to White River Amphitheatre on Tuesday, July 7, 2009.

Tickets are $19.50, $39.50, $ 59.50 and $79.50, and go on sale Saturday, April 4 at 10:00 a.m. EXCLUSIVELY at LiveNation.com, select Blockbuster locations, or by calling 877-598-6659. Specially-priced $10.00 lawn tickets will be available Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Alan Lee Keyes's History of Hiphop

Posted by Charles Mudede on Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 5:27 PM

Number four on my top five hiphop tracks about neighborhood girls with bad reputations goes to an awful track by Too Short. I refuse to write the name of this track—so foul is its content. Suffice it to say that it concerns a very unfortunate woman named Betty. Too Short's mind is made from the slimy stuff of ghetto gutters.

Tonight in Music: Mixed Feelings

Posted by Eric Grandy on Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 4:51 PM

e6db/1238456894-stereo_total.jpg

Because I love, love, love Stereo Total (see also here) and hate, hate, hate Leslie & the LYs, I just wanted to draw a little more attention to tonight's tragic pairing of the two at Neumos, about which I wrote the following here:

Stereo Total's shtick—the duo are like lovers at the barricades of Paris in 1968, with all that era's awesome post—Marxist Situationist politics, mod fashion sense, sexual revolutionizing, and ye ye rock 'n' roll—just kills me. The German/French husband-and-wife duo of Brezel Göring and Françoise Cactus have updated all the best things of that time for today's postmodern discotheques, and the result, especially on most recent album, Paris-Berlin, is spectacular fun. (Favorite Stereo Total song at this moment: the sensual, seductive solidarity of "Baby Revolution.") Leslie & the LY's shtick, though—sweaters! ZOMG, she's funny looking!?—just makes me want to kill. Hers is an already-stale novelty that treats human ears like toilets. Don't skip this show, but do yourself a favor and leave early.

(What really worries me though is that Stereo Total might actually like Leslie & the LYs if they asked her on tour—which would pretty much shatter whatever ideas I have about their revolutionist cool, or even just their good taste.)

He Might As Well Have Been Arrested For Being Too Awesome

Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 4:32 PM

Andre 3000 arrested for driving 109 miles per hour. Why is it that everything he does automatically seems cool?

Tera Melos - "Hey Sandy"

Posted by Jeff Kirby on Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 4:12 PM

Great idea, perfect execution. Tera Melos is very smart.


Dance Battle Leads to Street Fight

Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 4:03 PM

Seattle Police are looking for a group of brawling B-boys after a dance battle feud turned in to a fist fight early Sunday morning.

According to a police report, two 20-year-old California men were standing outside of a club in the 2100 block of 6th Avenue at about 2:00 AM, waiting to get in to an after hours party.

A group of men—who'd participated in a dance battle with the two California men earlier in the day—approached them and, the report says, made a "derogatory comments about them winning the dance competition."

One of the rival dancers pushed one of the 20-year-old men and then punched him in the face. When the other 20-year-old man tried to intervene, the rest of the group of bitter B-boys attacked him and fled.

The report says the group of men were seen leaving in a red SUV.

Smashing Pumpkins Seek Drummer; Form an Orderly Line

Posted by Dave Segal on Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 3:51 PM

Want to keep time for Billy Corgan? Get on down to LA April 10, enterprising drummer.

Auditions will be held Friday, April 10 in Los Angeles for drummers who are looking to play with THE SMASHING PUMPKINS. They should send their background info, photos and performance web links via email only to: pumpkinsdrummer@gmail.com.

Wave Hello to the Intelligence's New Album, Fake Surfers

Posted by Dave Segal on Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 3:19 PM

Seattle’s the Intelligence, perennially one of my favorite local rock bands, follow up 2007’s Deuteronomy with a new album titled Fake Surfers (their fourth overall), due in early May on In the Red.

Fake Surfers (recorded in Costa Mesa/Orange County, CA—hence the title, I'm guessing) is another sweet batch of 12 concise, catchy songs that encompass garage-rock, new-wave, lo-fi, and post-punk tactics without falling prey to the clichés of any of those long-in-the-tooth genres. Within their low-budget constraints, head Intelligencer Lars Finberg & co. squeeze a vivid variety of analog tones and charming, tart melodies from their fertile imaginations.

Fake Surfers is much more cleanly recorded than past Intelligence LPs, but slick it ain’t. The Intelligence strike a righteous blend of rough textures, rambunctious rhythms, and appealing tuneage. I’ve listened to the album thrice so far and I hear no duds. I have a feeling these short, sharp shocks of rock (“Pony People” is the longest track at 3:31; most are under three minutes) are only going to improve over time.

The Intelligence’s April 25 gig at the Wildrose will probably serve as their record release party. They leave for a two-month European tour two days after that.


The Unbearable Niceness of U.S.E.

Posted by Eric Grandy on Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 2:11 PM

046d/1238447450-use-500-2.jpg

I went to Saturday night's United State of Electronica show at the new Crocodile totally ready to hate it and have a terrible time. You see, after a couple listens, I am really not feeling their new song, "All The World," which debuted here on Line Out last week. U.S.E. have always been electro pop maximalists, but even by their standards, I thought this track was just way too much—no dynamics or build, just all cylinders all the time, from one balloon-dropping chorus to another. Worse than that, the group's unstoppable positivity—formerly restrained to singing the joys of such modest subjects as Seattle's neighborhoods, beaches and discotheques—was now promoting something like World Unity Through Song, the kind of sentiment that just feels a little too Jesus-freaky for me (lines about "sisters and brothers," "joining the mission," etc). It occurred to me that maybe I'd just had my fill of this band and their positive mental attitude, that, as with Shout Out Out Out Out, I just prefer my anthemic electro rock with a little more dark times, debt, and doubt.

So, yeah, totally ready to hate on this show. Not helping things at first was the sold-out crowd, which makes navigating the new Croc somewhat difficult (the new layout is prone to bottlenecks between the bar and the soundbooth on the way into the main showroom), although a guy from the adjoining Via Tribunali was able to make it through the crowd to deliver a few pizzas (which were then eaten in the middle of the crowded showroom, a potentially messy practice which will hopefully cease once the restaurant is fully up and running). Another note about the new Croc: yes, it is immaculately clean and good-looking in there, from the bathrooms on up to the many shiny, silver lighting canisters above the stage; the sound is great (Jim Anderson was looking dapper and deft on the boards as ever); but once you get into the big, square room, you kind of get the feeling that you're stuck. At the old Croc (as with clubs like Nectar, Chop Suey or Neumos), you could hang in the showroom, or you could duck into a quieter alcove, another bar, or some other space. There's a smoking section outside, I suppose, but if you're not into that, there's just the small mezzanine above the showroom to escape to. If you're feeling a little bit anxious, there's just nowhere to go. This is, of course, a terribly piddling complaint—I'm just saying.

But then, you know what, I had a drink, I listened to DJ Kris K play a pitch-perfect mix of upbeat funk, roller-boogying electro, and R&B that ranged from James Brown and the Jackson 5 to Fujiya & Miyagi and Hot Chip (bonus points to Dave Segal for predicting some Junior Senior would make it into the set—clairvoyant trainspotting, who knew?), and I started having a good time. I think Velella Velella could also use a bit more dynamic range (a couple crescendos came off as more shrill then swelling), as well as a lot more oomph in the drum machine department (maybe ditch the ipod for some stronger hardware?) and some more distinctive vocals both in terms of annunciation and content, but I still enjoyed their set of loungey, loosening-up funk. Also, it turns out that, if you can secure a spot looking down over the stage, the mezzanine is a great place from which to watch a band, especially one with as much gear and actitivity to scope out at as VV).

And then, U.S.E. Damn! I'm still not sold on their new EP, and now that I think about it, it's been easily a year or two since I listened to their first album, but it is downright impossible to be mad at the band's live show. There's a lot to love: keyboardist Noah Star Weaver, with his sequin body-suit, his christmas-lit belt, and his rubber body bending back and forth to the beat without ever dislocating his mouth from his vocoder-equipped microphone; drummer Jon E. Rock, who busts out amiable, on-beat raps while keeping metronome-perfect time; vamping tiara-wearing vocalists Carly Nicklaus and Amanda Okonek; the (relatively) unshowy core of guitarists Jason Holstrom, Peter Sali, and Derek Chan. By three songs in, I was bouncing on my heels a bit (the rest of the ebullient crowd was way ahead of me, hands up in the air, bodies twisting and pogoing, singing along); by the time they played "It Is On!" halfway through the set, I was (once again) hooked.

U.S.E. are simply the most charming and fun party band in Seattle. Their set was a mix of a few old favorites ("Open Your Eyes," "Emerald City") and a lot of newer songs (that one they've been playing with the chorus of "love is gonna break your heart," another about "bouncing on the ceiling," several more for which my notes become jubilantly illegible but whose lyrics were doubtless all about dancing, love, and celebrating good times). Jon E Rock rapped one song into a loose interpolation of "One Nation Under a Groove." Someone crowd surfed and stage-dived during new single "All The World" (huh, where did the old "no stage-diving" signs go?). They closed (no encore) with a song about a "river of love" sweeping everyone up in its path—and you know, watching them play, it really is more fun to go with U.S.E.'s flow than it is to fight that current.

photo by Kelly O

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