http://lineout.thestranger.com/blogs/lineout/ Seattle's #1 Weekly Newspaper. Covering Seattle news, politics, music, film, and arts; plus movie times, club calendars, restaurant listings, forums, blogs, and Savage Love. en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. editor@thestranger.com (The Stranger Editor) webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Tue, 21 May 2013 14:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/21/fleetwood-mac-tacoma-dome http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/21/fleetwood-mac-tacoma-dome Kelly O <p>Who went? How was it? Was it as great as this mini-Facebook-review by my friend Denise?! WITCHY!</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:412px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/46b0/1369171613-fleet.jpg" alt="fleet.jpg" title="" width="400" height="278" /></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/21/fleetwood-mac-tacoma-dome#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16834921&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Show Review Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/21/fleetwood-mac-tacoma-dome?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16834921&id=comments 0 Fleetwood Mac @ Tacoma Dome? Tue, 21 May 2013 14:19:06 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/17/daughter-and-jeremy-messersmith-neumos http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/17/daughter-and-jeremy-messersmith-neumos Hallie Santo <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/dc99/1368834906-daughter7.jpg" alt="Daughter" title="Daughter" width="500" height="388" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption">Daughter</li></ul></div></p> <p>To those familiar with <a href="http://www.ohdaughter.com/">Daughter</a> and <a href="http://jeremymessersmith.com/">Jeremy Messersmith</a>, the program at Neumos last night might have seemed a little imbalanced. A trio of austere Londoners paired with a witty (and sometimes irreverent) Minnesotan? Madness! But aside from their ties to <a href="http://glassnotemusic.com/">Glassnote Records</a>, these two acts have another thing in common: their stage presences endear them to audiences so much that, in between songs, all I could hear were remarks of "Isn't he/she cute?"</p> <p>Messersmith took the stage at 9, armed with a guitar, a loop pedal, and an offbeat sense of humor. Highlights from his set included <strong>an ode to girls who run merch tables</strong> at shows and a song based on a motivational poster he saw on Reddit. ("Someday, <strong>someone will love the fuck out of you</strong>.") My favorite was "I Wanna Be Your One-Night Stand," about a middle-aged man with a mini-van who decides to rediscover his youth by having a "one-night stand" with a woman who is eventually revealed to be his wife. (Sort of like an alternate-universe version of "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)," where our protagonist and his lady really want to make things work and synthesizers apparently don't exist.)</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/2d14/1368834839-jeremy_messersmith.jpg" alt="Jeremy Messersmith" title="Jeremy Messersmith" width="500" height="450" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption">Jeremy Messersmith</li></ul></div></p> <p>Then it was time for Daughter, who opened their set with the title track from their excellent new record, <em>If You Leave</em>. Like her <a href="http://www.4ad.com/">4AD</a> labelmate St. Vincent, frontwoman <strong>Elena Tonra is endearingly awkward</strong> onstage: she stammered out sincere "thank you"s in between songs and seemed astonished that her band had managed to sell out Neumos. (When Daughter last visited Seattle in late October, they performed on the significantly smaller Barboza stage, though they claim they attracted <strong>a colorful crowd, including a zombie</strong>.) It isn't hard to imagine a man telling Tonra that she's "too old to be so shy," but her modesty is what makes her so enjoyable to watch. The crowd joined her in singing "Candles," "Youth," and other tracks from the band's two EPs, and called for an encore for which the band didn't seem entirely prepared. "We're going to play one more song for you... and it's a cover," Tonra said, grinning nervously as she picked up her sparkly gold bass and launched into <a href="https://soundcloud.com/swedensfinestmusicblog/daughter-get-lucky-daft-punk">a rendition of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky."</a> I might be going out on a limb here, but Daughter could cover just about anything and still sound captivating.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/17/1368835297-daughter1.jpg" alt="Daughter1.jpg" title="" width="500" height="389" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/17/1368835384-daughter3.jpg" alt="Daughter3.jpg" title="" width="500" height="708" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/17/1368835507-daughter5.jpg" alt="Daughter5.jpg" title="" width="500" height="472" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/17/1368835773-daughter6.jpg" alt="Daughter6.jpg" title="" width="500" height="755" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/17/1368835569-daughter4.jpg" alt="Daughter4.jpg" title="" width="500" height="411" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">beth crook</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/17/daughter-and-jeremy-messersmith-neumos#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16793370&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/17/daughter-and-jeremy-messersmith-neumos?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16793370&id=comments 0 Daughter &amp; Jeremy Messersmith @ Neumos Beth Crook Fri, 17 May 2013 17:05:02 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/16/photos-mgmt-at-showbox-sodo http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/16/photos-mgmt-at-showbox-sodo Josh Bis <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/57a1/1368741174-01_mgmt_9120.jpg" alt="MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden) at Showbox Sodo" title="MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden) at Showbox Sodo" width="500" height="334" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden) at Showbox Sodo</li></ul></div></p> <p>A glitchy cosmic seagull was among the the interplanetary spirit guides for MGMT's set at the Showbox Sodo last night. Arriving in the middle of an "<a href="http://www.whoismgmt.com/us/whereismgmt">interesting markets</a>" tour (Seattle and Portland are among the bigger/more standard stops) and in advance of a new album (<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/mgmt-get-even-weirder-on-synth-heavy-third-album-20130129">due in June</a>) they spent a compact set reminding audiences of some of the less famous songs from <em>Oracular Spectacular</em>, bringing out some (but not enough!) of the highlights from under-appreciated <em>Congratulations</em>, and rolling out some new songs for a crushed-to-the-front, more-comfortable-in-the-back sold-out crowd. The main set was sprinkled with three fresh tracks that will by now be familiar to YouTube tourstalkers: the disconcertingly upbeat "Your Life is a Lie", fuzzy psych throwback "Introspection", and noisy synth-heavy jellyfish jam "Mystery Disease", along with what sounded like some newish instrumental interludes, while Record Store Day cassette-only exclusive (now an "official lyrics video") <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG2Pgd6Tm7Q">Alien Days</a> led the short encore.</p> <p>Overall, the performance and accompanying constantly shifting, mostly intentionally glitchy, brightly colored, often hypnotic light show served as a mission statement that those kids who wrote a couple of insanely catchy pop songs had left the building and are now firmly on course to follow other ambitions: definitely in line with the previous material, but possibly a bit deeper instead of world-conquering. The kids up front seemed OK with it, in the absence of traditional pop hits, they were still happy to crowdsurf to whatever the band felt like playing and scrambled madly for flowers tossed from the stage when the show concluded.</p> <p><strong>crowd notes:</strong> seeing a woman hoisting up an child so that he can get a better view of a band reminiscing about playgrounds, animals, digging up worms from the vantage of rock stars growing tired of models and drugs, and realizing that the child was probably born after the song was written gives a whole new depressing spin on already secretly downer "Time to Pretend", doesn't it? </p> <p><strong>bar notes:</strong> I say this every time, but man, Showbox Sodo is pretty much the opposite of Showbox (original flavor) in just about every structural way possible. One has a bar with hundreds of perfect sightlines, the other has a bar with four barely adequate sightlines. Et c.</p> <p><strong>style notes: </strong> MGMT is the band that I (possibly unfairly) associate most closely with the dawn of the facepaint and featherwave period. About halfway through a deep instrumental jam in the middle of the show, Andrew VanWyngarden was miraculously wearing a floral headband; another indication that the signs at Coachella pointing to a new festival fashion era may have been correct.</p> <p>(<em>more lightshow soaked pictures after the jump.</em>)</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/8524/1368741341-09_mgmt_9156.jpg" alt="MGMT trippy color tour" title="MGMT trippy color tour" width="500" height="334" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">MGMT trippy color tour</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/51d9/1368741997-02_mgmt_9222.jpg" alt="MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden)" title="MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden)" width="500" height="334" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden)</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/16/1368742127-06_mgmt_9124.jpg" alt="MGMT (Benjamin Goldwasser)" title="MGMT (Benjamin Goldwasser)" width="500" height="334" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">MGMT (Benjamin Goldwasser)</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/16/1368742170-07_mgmt_9251.jpg" alt="MGMT" title="MGMT" width="500" height="334" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">MGMT</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/16/1368742268-08_mgmt_9334.jpg" alt="MGMT" title="MGMT" width="500" height="334" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">MGMT</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/16/1368742309-03_mgmt_9142.jpg" alt="MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden)" title="MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden)" width="500" height="334" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden)</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/16/1368742339-11_mgmt_fans_9107.jpg" alt="MGMT fans" title="MGMT fans" width="500" height="334" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">these MGMT fans followed the tour from Spokane to Seattle</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/16/1368742392-12_mgmt_fans_9108.jpg" alt="celeb hats are so hot right then" title="celeb hats are so hot right then" width="500" height="334" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">celeb hats are so hot right then</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/16/1368742424-13_mgmt_fans_9131.jpg" alt="minor crushing hazard, nbd." title="minor crushing hazard, nbd." width="500" height="334" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">minor crushing hazard, nbd.</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/16/1368742959-mgmt_setlist_seattle.jpg" alt="MGMT setlist [needs more Congratulations]" title="MGMT setlist [needs more Congratulations] " width="500" height="375" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">MGMT setlist [needs more Congratulations] </li></ul></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/16/photos-mgmt-at-showbox-sodo#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16786311&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/16/photos-mgmt-at-showbox-sodo?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16786311&id=comments 0 Photos: MGMT at Showbox Sodo MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden) at Showbox Sodo Thu, 16 May 2013 16:18:49 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/we-tend-to-jam-too-much-steve-gunn-neumos http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/we-tend-to-jam-too-much-steve-gunn-neumos Dave Segal <p>Guitarist/vocalist <a href="http://www.paradiseofbachelors.com/steve-gunn">Steve Gunn</a> opened for <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/suggests/16599008/kurt-vile-and-the-violators">Kurt Vile &amp; the Violators</a>, who packed the fuck out of <strong>Neumos</strong> last night. (Prediction: Kurt Vile will soon be bigger than <strong>Beyonc&#233;</strong> and will headline Bumbershoot in 2014.) But Gunn and his steadfast bassist <strong>Justin Tripp</strong> and drummer <strong>John Truscinski</strong> were the highlight of the night for me. They do what so many other American bands do, but somehow Gunn and company&#8217;s take on folky blues resonates way more strongly than that of their peers. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/42b8/1368482502--2.jpg" alt="Steve Gunn Trio: Americana thats not a merry con." title="Steve Gunn Trio: Americana thats not a merry con." width="500" height="375" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Dave Segal</li><li class="imageCaption">Steve Gunn Trio: Americana that's not a merry con.</li></ul></div></p> <p>The songs on Gunn&#8217;s new album, <em><a href="http://www.paradiseofbachelors.com/pob-08">Time Off</a></a></em> (out June 11 on <strong>Paradise of Bachelors</strong>) plunge so deeply into that folk-blues vein it becomes a kind of sacred psychedelia. Last night they showed how Americana <em>should</em> sound: raw, fluid, grave, stirring, and rolling on a seemingly eternal ramble. Gunn&#8217;s non-histrionic voice is the ideal forlorn, wistful foil to the glistening streams of salubrious, post-<a href="http://www.johnfahey.com/">Fahey</a> sound. </p> <p>The half hour on stage that they got was way too short; Gunn's songs needs much more leg room to allow for their stark yet easy-going melodies to properly weave their hypnotic spell. &#8220;We tend to jam too much,&#8221; Gunn said at one point, realizing they had only eight minutes to squeeze in two more songs. &#8220;We need to keep it tight.&#8221; But the Gunn trio won over the crowd in their piddling 30 minutes. Let&#8217;s hope they come back to town and get more time to unfurl their practically designed freak flag.</p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/z_mXTXzyiyc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/we-tend-to-jam-too-much-steve-gunn-neumos#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16755597&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Show Review Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/we-tend-to-jam-too-much-steve-gunn-neumos?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16755597&id=comments 0 "We Tend to Jam Too Much": Steve Gunn @ Neumos Steve Gunn Trio: Americana that's not a merry con. Dave Segal Mon, 13 May 2013 15:06:13 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/kurt-viles-guitar-driven-slackerisms http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/kurt-viles-guitar-driven-slackerisms Andrew Hall <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/d78c/1368476739-k-1.jpg" alt="Kurt Vile" title="Kurt Vile" width="500" height="391" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption">Kurt Vile</li></ul></div></p> <p>Since when did <a href="http://kurtvile.com">Kurt Vile</a> have enough fans in Seattle to sell out <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/neumos/Location?oid=24256">Neumos</a> on a Sunday? The last time I saw him headline a venue, I was in Portland and his first album for Matador, 2009's <em>Childish Prodigy</em>, had been released a few weeks prior. I had read earlier that week that Vile was fairly hit-and-miss, and to that <strong>somewhat-interested crowd of onlookers</strong>, he and his Violators banged their way through a handful of songs that made far less of an impression than his excellent first two records, <em>Constant Hitmaker</em> and <em>God Is Saying This To You?</em>.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/13/1368476785-k-2.jpg" alt="K-2.jpg" title="" width="500" height="399" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption">Kurt Vile</li></ul></div></p> <p>Vile wasn't someone I'd planned to see again, but in the years since, he's all but ditched his lo-fi past in favor of uniquely sprawling, <strong>guitar-driven slackerisms</strong> that sound like they could've come from any of the last four decades of pop music without sounding out of place. He's written some of the best road songs in recent history on 2011 breakthrough <em>Smoke Ring For My Halo</em>, and on this year's very good <em>Wakin on a Pretty Daze</em> (where Vile uses his songs' lengthy run times to stretch out, <strong>take a solo or three</strong> if he feels like it, or just play a riff to himself, safe in the knowledge that there will be resolution eventually).</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/13/1368476846-k-3.jpg" alt="Kurt Vile" title="Kurt Vile" width="500" height="755" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption">Kurt Vile</li></ul></div></p> <p>He's also vastly improved as a performer since I last saw him. To that aforementioned sold-out (and <strong>much more excited</strong>) crowd at Neumos, Vile played a hits-friendly set to a room that knew most of his songs by their picking patterns. He and the current Violators lineup&#8212;drummer Vince Nudo, guitarist Jesse Trbovich and multi-instrumentalist Rob Laakso&#8212;kept his <strong>cosmic Americana</strong> in constant motion while Vile shook up his vocal melodies and lead lines, proving every aspect of his songs to be malleable. He took moments, that on his records can be mistaken for being laid back, and proved them to be full of potential energy; <em>Smoke Ring</em> standout "On Tour" was propelled forward by percussion while "Ghost Town" built to a much noisier conclusion. "Freak Train," one of a small number of older songs Vile played, saw Nudo disregard the programmed, <strong>krautrock-inspired drum machine</strong> to play aggressive, cymbal-heavy fills without getting overindulgent. Vile's screams, once buried in its recording, came through loud and clear over Neumos' PA. The mandatory <strong>mid-set solo acoustic bit </strong>served as a welcome change of pace, and despite the fact that he and his guitarists were constantly trading instruments between songs, they moved through the set effortlessly&#8212;a welcome thing given that they were, for the most part, <strong>playing very long songs at a late show</strong> on a Sunday night.</p> <p>Brooklyn-by-way-of-Philadelphia guitarist <strong>Steve Gunn</strong> both opened the night and ducked in and out during Vile's set, contributing additional guitar in places. Gunn's own songs explored very English strains of blues and folk, <strong>revealing stylistic debts to songwriters like Bert Jansch and Michael Chapman</strong>. Though at times he and his backing band, which includes drummer John Truscinski and bassist Justin Tripp, spent too long in one place&#8212;even Gunn himself joking about how they'd sometimes jam too much on stage. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/13/1368476984-f-3.jpg" alt="Fresh and Onlys" title="Fresh and Onlys" width="500" height="360" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption">Fresh and Onlys</li></ul></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/13/1368476953-f-1.jpg" alt="Fresh and Onlys" title="Fresh and Onlys" width="500" height="463" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption">Fresh and Onlys</li></ul></div></p> <p>The second band, San Francisco pop mainstays the <a href="http://thefreshandonlys.blogspot.com">Fresh and Onlys</a>, sounded great as they tore through songs from last year's <em>Long Slow Dance</em>. Frontman Tim Cohen now looks a little bit like <strong>Michael McDonald</strong> as depicted in J.D. Ryznar's hilarious Yacht Rock, but he appears to be no less confident because of it, and several years of touring have turned his often <strong>home-recorded band</strong> into something considerably more muscular than it was in years past. The strongest applause during their set came when Vile appeared to sing backup vocals on "Waterfall," a standout from their 2010 album <em>Play It Strange</em>. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/13/1368476909-f-4.jpg" alt="Kurt Vile with Fresh and Onlys" title="Kurt Vile with Fresh and Onlys" width="500" height="393" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Beth Crook</li><li class="imageCaption">Kurt Vile with Fresh and Onlys</li></ul></div></p> <p>At the end of his set, Vile returned for an encore, consisting of a solo rendition of "Baby's Arms" and nothing else, followed by the sentence "<strong>Thanks, I love ya, I love ya</strong>," as he walked off. They were among the only words he said all night. Though Vile's been described, aptly, as a funnier guy than his songs initially give away (check the moment in "Wakin' on a Pretty Day" where he catches himself wondering what he's going to be joking about that day), I'm fairly comfortable assuming he's the type who communicates with strangers, <strong>many of them intoxicated</strong>, almost exclusively through music, and I'm pretty sure that we're better for it.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/kurt-viles-guitar-driven-slackerisms#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16754176&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Show Review Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/kurt-viles-guitar-driven-slackerisms?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16754176&id=comments 0 Mon, 13 May 2013 14:33:25 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/09/uv-race-and-life-stinks-at-barboza http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/09/uv-race-and-life-stinks-at-barboza Kathy Fennessy <p><div class="blogImageLeft" style="width:312px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/ddcd/1368118232-uv_race.jpg" alt="uv_race.jpg" title="" width="300" height="237" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">K.C. Fennessy</li><li class="imageCaption">Marcus Rechsteiner: bringing sexy back</li></ul></div> To judge by my Twitter feed, more people were at the Crocodile for last night's <strong>Secret Chiefs 3</strong> gig than at Barboza for <strong>UV Race</strong>, and that's too bad. Not for the former, but definitely for the latter, who put on a great show. </p> <p>There were so few people at the venue, in fact, that the opening act, San Francisco's <strong>Life Stinks</strong>, went on at 9:20pm rather than 9pm. It was a wise move, since a few more punters had arrived by that time, and it created a smaller gap between acts. Around 11:43pm, <strong>Dave Segal</strong> tweeted about a 40-minute intermission at the Chiefs concert, so I feel like I got the better deal&#8212;at least from a scheduling perspective (and I was home before midnight, which is always welcome on a work night). </p> <p>Out of respect for the bands and fellow show goers, I decided to turn off my camera flash, since I can usually get decent photographs at Barboza without it, but they didn't turn out very well, in part because the lighting scheme wasn't as bright as usual, most notably during Life Stinks' set. I've posted a few below.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:487px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/8549/1368118875-life_stinks.jpg" alt="life_stinks.jpg" title="" width="475" height="333" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">K.C. Fennessy</li><li class="imageCaption">Chud Kawamura: doing that voodoo that he do</li></ul></div></p> <p>Give it up for a guy who can scream, <em>scream</em>, <em><strong>scream</strong></em> like a banshee. Chud Kawamura started to scream, and he didn't stop until the last song. There was one number where he screamed a little more quietly, but it was still a scream.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:487px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/09/1368120664-life_stinks4.jpg" alt="life_stinks4.jpg" title="" width="475" height="390" /></div></p> <p>Considering that I just saw <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/07/metz-cripples-ferraris-and-a-voivod-t-shirt">METZ</a> last week, that makes for two scream fests in a row. That said, I was a little put off at first, but only a little; the more I heard, the more I cottoned to the quintet's garage-core sound. And that shouldn't come as much of a surprise since they've got two drummers, and I'm a sucker for that configuration, which <strong>the Dirtbombs</strong> have turned into high art. Ronaldo and Vinnie mostly play the same thing in unison, but it just intensifies the rhythm, although I think only Ronaldo played the kick drum (I couldn't see Vinnie <br />very well). </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:487px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/09/1368120913-uv_race2.jpg" alt="uv_race2.jpg" title="" width="475" height="368" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">K.C. Fennessy</li><li class="imageCaption">UV Race's Al and Georgia</li></ul></div></p> <p>In scrolling through the group's <a href="http://troyrhewitt.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, I found that <strong>Shannon &amp; the Clams</strong> were previously part of this West Coast tour.* I'm sorry Seattle didn't get that triple bill (Portland got Eat Skull instead). Incidentally, if you Google <strong> Life Stinks</strong>, even if you add the words "band" and "San Francisco," you'll bring up entries for the Mel Brooks' dud of the same name... about which I had otherwise completely forgotten. I doubt it had any influence, especially since song titles include "Creepazoid" and "You're Face Is a Mess." In the world of <strong>Life Stinks</strong>, life just plain <em>stinks</em>. </p> <p><small>* In two weeks, UV Race will be sharing bills with Total Control with whom they have players in common, like drummer Dan Stewart, who was wearing a Life Stinks t-shirt [not pictured]. </small></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:487px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/09/1368123784-uv_race3.jpg" alt="uv_race3.jpg" title="" width="475" height="372" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">K.C. Fennessy</li><li class="imageCaption">UV Race's Alexandra Microwave and Moses</li></ul></div></p> <p>I recognized the UV Race material from <em><a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2012/12/31/bad-eggs-the-ballad-of-uv-race">Racism</a></em>, but I'm less familiar with 2011's <em><strong>Homo</strong></em>. It all sounded good, including a cover of the Swell Maps' "Midget Submarines." Though Marcus serves as the Melbourne band's core member, they sing most songs in unison. At other times, guitarist Al "Borat" Snake handled a few verses, but Marcus brought the quips, the moves, and the priceless expressions: when he frowns, you want to cry; when he smiles, it lights up the room. Bonus points for the sax squall that added savory dissonance to his skewed confections. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:487px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/09/1368127389-uv_race4.jpg" alt="Ronaldo and Marcus share a mic" title="Ronaldo and Marcus share a mic" width="475" height="361" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">k</li><li class="imageCaption">Ronaldo and Marcus share a mic</li></ul></div></p> <p>Though he was fully dressed when the show began, that t-shirt came off the minute Marcus got overheated (Stewart also took off his belt, while Snake took off his snazzy jacket). Based on the front man's comments between songs, I got the distinct impression that he digs Seattle&#8212;so I hope the city shows him more love next time around. They deserve it. <strong>Great set, great night, great band.</strong></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/09/uv-race-and-life-stinks-at-barboza#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16719915&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Very Great Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/09/uv-race-and-life-stinks-at-barboza?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16719915&id=comments 4 UV Race and Life Stinks at Barboza K.C. Fennessy Thu, 09 May 2013 15:58:10 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/03/prom-at-the-crocodile http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/03/prom-at-the-crocodile Emily Nokes <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/03/1367613988-mackjr.jpg" alt="This guy kept saying, Im Macklemores little brother!" title="This guy kept saying, Im Macklemores little brother!" width="500" height="740" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">This guy kept saying, "I'm Macklemore's little brother!"</li></ul></div></p> <p>I asked Anna Minard to the <strong>Allen Stone Bumbershoot Announcement Prom at the Crocodile</strong> last night. Unfortunately, we did not get gussied up, but HOLY SHIT EVERYONE ELSE DID! I thought we were going to see some funny '80s prom dresses, or maybe some <strong>wonky tutus and other costumes</strong>, but really, most everyone was dressed in NO-BULLSHIT PROM WEAR FOR ADULTS. Curling-iron ringlets, shiny ties, color-coordninated flower corsages, and sparkly Express dresses in cleavage and <strong>cleavage-plus</strong> varieties. Not a casual couple in the bunch! Except for me and Anna. Good thing the Croc has the best pizza and a non-venue area to eat it in. </p> <p>What else? A prom kind and queen were voted in by applause, <a href="http://www.allenstone.com">Allen Stone</a> sang his soulful hits and encouraged dancing/discouraged <strong>arms-crossed pouting</strong>, Stone's drummer took off his prom jacket to reveal nothing but a bow tie and suspenders (and probably pants, but whatever, he was sitting down). OH! And the <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/02/look-whos-playing-bumbershoot-2013-death-cab-for-cutie-heart-fun-bassnectar-kendrick-lamar-the-breeders-superchunk-mgmt-crystal-cas">Bumbershoot lineup</a> was announced via animated words projected the back of the stage. Massive WOOOOs went down for <strong>MGMT</strong>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/FUN-Sucks/133367960090714">fun.</a>, awkward silence for <strong>the Zombies</strong>. So it goes. </p> <p>More hot prom pics below! It's like a <strong>300% shittier cell-cam version</strong> of <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/29/what-youre-not-wearing-portland-edition">What You're Not Wearing</a>!</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/03/1367613877-blues.jpg" alt="The blue in my hair is for the Seahawks!" title="The blue in my hair is for the Seahawks!" width="500" height="664" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">"The blue in my hair is for the Seahawks!"</li></ul></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/03/1367614619-yellowtie.jpg" alt="Best tie of the night. And lipstick. And everything, really." title="Best tie of the night. And lipstick. And everything, really. " width="500" height="713" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Best tie of the night. And lipstick. And everything, really. </li></ul></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/03/1367614438-cuuuute.jpg" alt="Dears in headlights." title="Dears in headlights. " width="500" height="373" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Dears in headlights. </li></ul></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/03/1367613779-2nd.jpg" alt="Prom queen runner-up!" title="Prom queen runner-up!" width="500" height="669" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Prom queen runner-up!</li></ul></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/05/03/1367614681-pink.jpg" alt="We tried to nominate ourselves for prom royalty, but they wouldnt let us!" title="We tried to nominate ourselves for prom royalty, but they wouldnt let us!" width="500" height="800" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">"We tried to nominate ourselves for prom royalty, but they wouldn't let us!"</li></ul></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/03/prom-at-the-crocodile#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16664272&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/03/prom-at-the-crocodile?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16664272&id=comments 0 Prom Night at the Crocodile Caption Cpation Fri, 03 May 2013 14:15:38 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/02/bleached-tear-gas http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/02/bleached-tear-gas Emily Nokes <p>After a<a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Search?cx=018412283168992679552%3Ayvxwdz723au&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=may+day+2013+"> curious</a> walk through cops on foot, cops on bikes, and cops in cars, I finally made it into <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/chop_suey/Location?oid=24704">Chop Suey</a> a few seconds before LA sun sisters (Jessica and Jennifer Clavin) <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HelloBleached">Bleached</a> started their first song. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/84c8/1367518323-bleached.jpg" alt="You cant see the clear instruments, but theyre there!" title="You cant see the clear instruments, but theyre there! " width="500" height="373" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Hotcellphonestockphotos.com</li><li class="imageCaption">You can't see the clear instruments, but they're there! </li></ul></div></p> <p>Bleached were joined by tour bassist Micayla and drummer Jon (even though he may or may not have broken his foot jumping off of <a href="http://huntersny.bandcamp.com">Hunters</a>' van in a party moment), who both played clear instruments! <strong>You just can't beat clear instruments</strong>. Unless you have glitter instruments. </p> <p>Bleached started off with "Waiting on the Telephone," a simple and ridiculously catchy tune that might be one of my favorites off their new album <em>Ride Your Heart</em>. Other set favs included the <strong>Fleetwood-tinted</strong> "Searching Through the Past," and the ultra-dreamy "Outta My Mind." I think for me, it's the pop vocals and harmonies that seem effortless in a way that no one is trying too hard&#8212;<strong>Bleached are just keeping it real </strong>and sounding fantastic while their at it. OH MAN, aaaand they covered Misfits "Hybrid Moments" and Ramones "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World"&#8212;I think I want them to be my new besties. </p> <p><small>- Confidential to the dude sitting/lounging on the side of the stage, making weird eyes at the audience: no. <br />- Confidential to that party-fountain ponytail: yes, yes, a thousand times yes! </small></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/02/bleached-tear-gas#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16652671&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/02/bleached-tear-gas?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16652671&id=comments 3 Bleached >>> Tear Gas You can't see the clear instruments, but they're there! Hotcellphonestockphotos.com Thu, 02 May 2013 12:04:46 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/26/thursday-night-with-the-thermals http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/26/thursday-night-with-the-thermals Emily Nokes <p><a href="http://www.thethermals.com">The Thermals</a> show at <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/neumos/Location?oid=24256">Neumos</a> last night was the kind of all-ages situation I would have killed for as a youth. The opening bands were the fine <a href="http://laluz.bandcamp.com">La Luz</a> and <a href="http://thesewimps.bandcamp.com">Wimps</a>, and the entire front-of-stage area strictly for dancing. No <strong>old people standing still with beers</strong> in their hands&#8212;that was for the upstairs. </p> <p>Since I am an old person and wanted a beer in my hand, I went to the 21+ attic where it was <strong>25 degrees warmer</strong>, which is just fine because toasty > chilly, any day. Upstairs, I could hear the thermals, but could not see them&#8212;there just isn't a great way to see bands from the top floor unless you're right against the railing, an area that's always fully lined with strangers who don't like when you <strong>mosh up on them</strong> (for some reason). </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/e71b/1367000529-thermal.jpg" alt="View from the top!" title="View from the top!" width="500" height="297" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Blown-out cellphone pic 420</li><li class="imageCaption">View from the top!</li></ul></div></p> <p>Anyway, the Thermals always and forever sound like really good, simple, <strong>catchy rock n' roll</strong>. No frills. No toms on the drums. No specialty vocals&#8212;Hutch's naked voice is all they'll ever need. <strong>Elegant crusties and squeaky clean teens</strong> alike danced and shouted along. An encore was demanded, obviously, and sweaty <strong>jump-hugging</strong> and head shaking exploded when "No Culture Icons" started... which reminds me, in a roundabout way. Why aren't the Thermals on Sub Pop anymore? </p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Cf5wlXR9q3c?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/26/thursday-night-with-the-thermals#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16597111&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/26/thursday-night-with-the-thermals?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16597111&id=comments 8 Thursday Night with the Thermals View from the top! Blown-out cellphone pic 420 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:50:09 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/23/introducing-sparks-to-seattle http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/23/introducing-sparks-to-seattle Emily Nokes <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparks_(band)">Sparks</a> show last night was the exactly the sort of show* you want on a Monday. It started on time at 8pm, no waiting around, no surprise openers, nothing but the <strong>pure wonder of the brothers Mael</strong> visiting Seattle for the first time ever! </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;background-color:transparent; border:none;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/6cec/1366752400-photo_copy.jpg" alt="photo_copy.JPG" title="" width="500" height="500" /></div> </p> <p>I walked in about 10 minutes late, right as my faaaavorite Sparks song "At Home, At Work, At Play" started. I stopped dead and, I don't know, <strong>felt like crying</strong>? Is that ridiculous? On the <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/neptune_theater/Location?oid=7097368">Neptune</a>'s cozy stage, Ron was perched behind his giant keyboard (with brand name Roland rearranged to spell Ronald), Russell stood front and center wearing pedal pushers and holding a cordless mic. Ron looks basically the same as he ever did&#8212;<strong>a perpetual and stylishly unstylish old man</strong> with slicked-back hair (and now with owlish glasses and a pencil thin mustache instead of the Chaplin), wearing pleated pants belted high. Russell's looks have changed, and though I wish he still had the fountain of T. Rex-esque curls (he now wears his hair sort of plastered down and with side-swooped bangs), he <strong>looks fantastic</strong> for his 62 years. </p> <p>AND HIS FUCKING VOICE? Are you kidding me? The entire Sparks show amounted to Ron and Russell alone on stage, <strong>plonking and belting out</strong> masterpieces from<em> Kimono My House</em>, <em>Angst In My Pants</em>, <em>No. 1 In Heaven</em>, and beyond (I certainly didn't know every song, but that didn't really matter). A few highlights included the recitation of a scene from their terrifically strange concept album <em>The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman</em>, the best version of "Singing in the Shower" (originally a duet with Les Rita Mitsouko) ever, and of course, Ron's <strong>frenzied-dancing</strong> finale. </p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jgtjEjEKUA4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>Though I would have killed to see them with a live band and all the bells and whistles of a<strong> full-on Sparks rock show</strong>, there was something more... dignified and engrossing about this kind of performance. Maybe they don't need to pretend that nothing has changed, maybe they're just owning the change that is inevitable and showing off what truly sets them apart: their ridiculous talent and <strong>everlasting weirdness</strong>.</p> <p><em><small>* Yes, the show didn't sell out. Yes people in Seattle are bad at dancing and clapping and being alive <del>at shows</del>. But looking at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sparksofficial">Sparks' Facebook</a> page gives me the impression they had a really good time! As I think most of the audience did (looking at you wasted "WOOOO" dude behind me), so I'm not going to mega-negs about that.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/23/introducing-sparks-to-seattle#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16570485&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/23/introducing-sparks-to-seattle?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16570485&id=comments 5 Introducing Sparks to Seattle Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:41:11 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/20/angel-olsens-stunning-set-at-barboza http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/20/angel-olsens-stunning-set-at-barboza Kathy Fennessy <p><div class="blogImageLeft" style="width:312px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/6189/1366474021-angel_olsen2.jpg" alt="angel_olsen2.jpg" title="" width="300" height="225" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">K.C. Fennessy</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div> I was afraid there wouldn't be a lot of people at Barboza last night for <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/15/angel-olsens-new-record-and-tour">Angel Olsen</a>, but that was definitely not the case. The crowd was a little sparse for <strong>Villages</strong>, but they filled the room before Olsen took the stage (I stayed in the back during Villages' set; Ross Gentry's carefully controlled brand of drone-rock was a bit sleepy for my taste). </p> <p>Olsen brought a talented three-piece with her (bass, drums, cello), and they began with "Acrobat" off <em><strong>Half Way Home</strong></em>. It was a great way to start the show. </p> <p><em>More low-light pics below (I turned off the flash to reduce the irritation factor). </em></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:487px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/997a/1366474561-angel_olsen3.jpg" alt="angel_olsen3.jpg" title="" width="475" height="366" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">K.C. Fennessy</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>It took me aback to see so many people out on a busy, crappy night to see this relatively low-profile performer in concert. I've never heard her on the radio, and I haven't noticed much interest from the local press, so I'd be curious as to how so many became familiar with her work. I suspect it's partly because she spent years touring with <strong>Bonny "Prince" Billie</strong>. Since Olsen left to pursue a solo career, Will Oldham has been working with <strong>Dawn McCarthy</strong> of Faun Fables. Interestingly, my friend, Steven, noted that some of Olsen's songs recalled the <strong>Everly Brothers</strong>. The latest Billy-McCarthy collaboration, <em><a href="http://www.dragcity.com/artists/dawn-mccarthy-and-bonny-billy">What the Brothers Sang</a></em>, is a collection of lesser-known Everly material. It's entirely possible that Olsen is a fan, too.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:487px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/04/20/1366486634-angel_olsen6.jpg" alt="Stewart Bronaugh on bass" title="Stewart Bronaugh on bass " width="475" height="416" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">K.C. Fennessy</li><li class="imageCaption">Stewart Bronaugh on bass </li></ul></div></p> <p>With her cat-eye eyeliner and long blonde hair, Olsen's looks echoed her music, which works off 1960s and '70s touchstones from raw-boned country to folk rock to girl-group pop, and several of the gents in the front were crushing on her big time (in person, she resembles <a href="http://ghostradio.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/aimee-teegarden-wallpaper-03.jpg">Aimee Teegarden</a> from <em>Friday Night Lights</em>). </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:487px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/0236/1366474914-angel_olsen5.jpg" alt="angel_olsen5.jpg" title="" width="475" height="371" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">K.C. Fennessy</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>When she asked for beer recommendations, they burst forth with suggestions, including Bud Light's <a href="http://greatbrewers.com/sites/default/files/images/Bud%20Light%20Lime%20STRAWBERITA.preview.jpg">Straw-Ber-Rita</a>. Three of the guys were drinking the stuff out of tiny cans, and one fellow even offered her a sip, which she politely declined. During the set, I heard him say to his pal, "What a voice!" Another guy kept turning to his female companion, and saying things like, "I told you she was good!" It's clear he wanted her to share in his enthusiasm, and I have to say: <strong>Olsen was great</strong>. Her voice sounded just as stunning live as it does on record. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:487px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/04/20/1366486929-angel_olsen7.jpg" alt="Joshua Jaeger on drums" title="Joshua Jaeger on drums" width="475" height="388" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">K.C. Fennessy</li><li class="imageCaption">Joshua Jaeger on drums (not pictured: cellist Danah Olivetree)</li></ul></div></p> <p>In the live context, especially under Barboza's glowing crimson lights, Olsen gave off more of a jazzy, quasi-Lynchian vibe, which has a lot to do with drummer Joshua Jaeger, who can really swing (I ran into him as I was leaving, and told him how much I enjoyed the show). At times, he draped his drum heads with towels, but they still sounded pleasingly tinny, even though he kept trading between brushes and sticks. And he wasn't always quiet. Olsen and band could really kick up a ruckus, though she ended with two stark solo numbers. She said she was only going to play one, but the crowd insisted on another, and she granted their wish. To quote Olsen herself, it was all pretty "sick." In the best possible way. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:487px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/04/20/1366475854-angel_olsen4.jpg" alt="angel_olsen4.jpg" title="" width="475" height="370" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">K.C. Fennessy</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><em>Olsen plays again today at Sonic Boom at 3pm as part of Record Store Day.</em></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/20/angel-olsens-stunning-set-at-barboza#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16543739&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night On Tour http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/20/angel-olsens-stunning-set-at-barboza?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16543739&id=comments 4 Angel Olsen's Stunning Set at Barboza K.C. Fennessy Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:26:18 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/prince-h8s-poor-ppl http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/prince-h8s-poor-ppl Kelly O <p>Photo tipper submits this photo and says:</p> <blockquote><p>I don't think they will protest again tonight as the police moved them along last night...</p></blockquote> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/9550/1366419874-poor_ppl.jpg" alt="poor_ppl.jpg" title="" width="500" height="750" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Christian Petersen</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/prince-h8s-poor-ppl#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16539246&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night Photo http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/prince-h8s-poor-ppl?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16539246&id=comments 7 Prince H8S POOR PPL? Christian Petersen Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:01:01 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/scream-queen-formerly-named-nite-nurse-pony http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/scream-queen-formerly-named-nite-nurse-pony Kelly O <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheNiteNurse">Scream Queen</a> played Pony&#8212;Seattle's Best Gay Punk Bar&#8482;&#8212;last night. There was headbanging, crowd surfing, beer throwing, spitting, and guitar-playing-while-standing-on-the-bar. Watch out for these guys. I think they'll bring the party, to the 2013 <a href="http://capitolhillblockparty.com/scream-queen/">Capitol Hill Block Party</a>. Yep.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:412px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/9e46/1366417709-scream.jpg" alt="scream.jpg" title="" width="400" height="501" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Shitty cell phone photo by Kelly O</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/scream-queen-formerly-named-nite-nurse-pony#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16538867&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Block Party Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/scream-queen-formerly-named-nite-nurse-pony?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16538867&id=comments 0 Scream Queen, Formerly Named Nite Nurse @ Pony Shitty cell phone photo by me Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:15:50 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/on-seeing-prince-at-the-showbox-but-what-about-purple-rain http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/on-seeing-prince-at-the-showbox-but-what-about-purple-rain Kelly O <p>From my friend and Seattle musician Dita Fox:</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:362px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/1909/1366394924-purp.jpg" alt="purp.jpg" title="" width="350" height="156" /></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/on-seeing-prince-at-the-showbox-but-what-about-purple-rain#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16535886&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/on-seeing-prince-at-the-showbox-but-what-about-purple-rain?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16535886&id=comments 5 On Seeing Prince at the Showbox: But What About Purple Rain? Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:48:10 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/on-seeing-prince-at-the-showbox http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/on-seeing-prince-at-the-showbox David Schmader <p>Every serious Prince fan has encountered numerous anecdotes about the amazing, intimate club shows Prince has given in the middle of the night at First Avenue or some nightclub in Paris. Last night, <strong>we got one in Seattle</strong>. (Actually, we got two&#8212;I saw the 11:30 pm show, and reports from the 8 pm show sound identical.)</p> <p>The basic set-up: This was an intimate club performance by <strong>Thirdeyegirl</strong>, an all-female band with a male lead singer, who <strong>happened to be Prince</strong>. The basic question: Would Thirdeyegirl be a tool for Prince to communicate weird new free-jazz feelings, or would this be a Prince show with a hot new band?</p> <p>This question was answered almost immediately after the lights went out, the band came on, and the stage exploded with <strong>amazing virtual pyrotechnics</strong> as Thirdeyegirl launched into <strong>"Let's Go Crazy,"</strong> performed in a slowed-down, power-chord heavy version. It was electrifying and just the beginning.</p> <p>This was definitely a Rock Show&#8212;Prince kept his guitar on all night, with things getting seriously funky only towards the end, when he brought out the <em>Controversy</em> classic "Let's Work" and&#8212;OHMYGOD&#8212;"A Love Bizarre." <strong>But holy shit what a rock show</strong>. The set list was both a fan's dream and from outer space, ranging from humongo-hits ("U Got the Look," "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," "When Doves Cry") to beloved B-sides (<strong>"She's Always in My Hair"</strong>!) to weird catalog gems (<em>The Gold Experience</em>'s "Endorphinmachine"! <em>Chaos &amp; Disorder</em>'s "I Like It There"!) The whole thing ended with a stageful of dancing band/audience members, and Prince DJ'ing a career-spanning medley of hits, over which he sang live and praised Seattle. <strong>We responded by losing our minds</strong>. </p> <p>It all happens again tonight&#8212;twice!&#8212;at Showbox at the Market.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/on-seeing-prince-at-the-showbox#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16535565&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/19/on-seeing-prince-at-the-showbox?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16535565&id=comments 21 Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:47:15 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/17/savages-lets-make-this-evening-special http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/17/savages-lets-make-this-evening-special Josh Bis <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/ba07/1366220022-img_6703.jpg" alt="A note from Savages" title="Savages ... believe that the use of phones to film and take pictures during a gig prevents all of us from totally immersing ourselves" width="500" height="500" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Savages "... believe that the use of phones to film and take pictures during a gig prevents all of us from totally immersing ourselves"</li></ul></div><br />Playing at Neumos last night, <a href="http://savagesband.com/news/">Savages</a> joined the revolution sparked by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/08/the-yeah-yeah-yeahs-dont-want-you-to-watch-their-show-through-a-screen">last week</a> at Webster Hall, by way of signs posted outside the showroom asking people to actually watch the shows <strong>with their eyes instead of their phones</strong>. Conveniently enough, my iPhone died just as I was walking into the club; so spending just under an hour in the company of their dark reverby guitars and droning vocals without even the temptation to gauge the time <em>was</em> kind of transcendental. </p> <p>Appropriately enough, their album, scheduled for release next month on Matador is titled <em>Silence Yourself</em>.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/17/savages-lets-make-this-evening-special#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16516341&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/17/savages-lets-make-this-evening-special?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16516341&id=comments 5 Savages: "Let's Make This Evening Special" Savages "... believe that the use of phones to film and take pictures during a gig prevents all of us from totally immersing ourselves" Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:09:10 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/09/just-another-high-spiritualized-neptune-theatre http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/09/just-another-high-spiritualized-neptune-theatre Dave Segal <p><small>Photos by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelholden/">Michael Holden</a></small></p> <p>As a veteran of British space rockers <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/searching-for-my-mainline/Content?oid=16402626">Spiritualized</a>&#8217;s live spectacles, I&#8217;ll always be that despicable guy who says, &#8220;You know, their <em>best</em> shows happened in the &#8217;90s.&#8221; Still, <strong>Jason Pierce</strong> and company&#8217;s recent dates supporting 2012&#8217;s <em>Sweet Heart Sweet Light</em> have sporadic shafts of brilliance that flash me back to those lysergic highs of those Clinton years gigs. Last night&#8217;s performance at <strong>Neptune Theatre</strong> is a case in point&#8212;even if they didn&#8217;t do godhead cuts like <strong>&#8220;Electric Mainline,&#8221; Cop Shoot Cop,&#8221; &#8220;Medication,&#8221; &#8220;Anyway That You Want Me,&#8221;</strong> and other favorites of die-hard fans.</p> <p>Pierce sat in a chair on the far left side of the stage in a white <strong>MC5</strong> T-shirt and shades, stoic as ever. (He&#8217;s never been a great showman, and after enduring two bouts of serious illnesses, Pierce is even less mobile now.) His two female backing vocalists stood behind him, like guardian angels. A keyboardist working four instruments, a bassist (<strong>Brad Truax</strong>, I believe), a guitarist, and <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/eternal-drummer/Content?oid=15565503">Kid Millions</a> (<strong>Oneida, Man Forever</strong>) on drums formed a tight unit who could move from delicate beauty to catastrophic power with ease and finesse.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/aef6/1365549318-8634513506_675333335f_z.jpg" alt="Spiritualized, steadfastly refusing to perform Electric Mainline." title="Spiritualized, steadfastly refusing to perform Electric Mainline." width="500" height="400" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Michael Holden</li><li class="imageCaption">Spiritualized, steadfastly refusing to perform "Electric Mainline."</li></ul></div></p> <p>Give Pierce credit for a <strong>somewhat unpredictable setlist</strong>, which included some unreleased songs and less emphasis on <em>Sweet Heart</em> than one would expect. The opener, <strong>&#8220;Here It Comes (The Road, Let&#8217;s Go),&#8221;</strong> started out with those familiar &#8220;Walking With Jesus&#8221; strums, but it eventually morphed and set the scene with a special sense of wonder and spectral beauty. <em>Sweet Heart</em> highlight <strong>&#8220;Hey Jane&#8221;</strong> followed, but it sounded rushed and the backing divas were barely audible&#8212;a major problem, as they&#8217;re crucial to the song&#8217;s sublime glide. Millions&#8217; Keith Moon-like splatter during the <em><a href="http://www.discogs.com/Red-Crayola-The-Parable-Of-Arable-Land/release/387656">Parable of Arable Land</a></em>-style freakout amazed, and the way the band shifted into a massive, buzzing motorik cruise after it was breathtaking. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/04/09/1365549632-8633406231_6d28606c46_z.jpg" alt="Pierce, the sit-down tragedian." title="Pierce, the sit-down tragedian." width="500" height="625" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Michael Holden</li><li class="imageCaption">Pierce, the sit-down tragedian.</li></ul></div></p> <p>The high-voltage act continued with <strong>&#8220;Electricity&#8221;</strong> (whose intro homages <strong>13th Floor Elevators&#8217; &#8220;Tried to Hide&#8221;</strong>), offering more opportunities for jolting, frazzle-dazzle noise spasms. The split-second change into <strong>&#8220;Shine a Light&#8221;</strong> represented my personal peak for this show. This blissful hymn never fails to induce goose bumps and shivers, even without the brass section. Damn, those guitars can sigh the blues. </p> <p><strong>&#8220;Let It Flow&#8221;</strong> stoked those patented SPZ gospeldelic feelings and the group let loose with some grandiose, strobing &#8220;side 2 of <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fun_House_%28The_Stooges_album%29">Fun House</a></em>&#8221; chaos before seamlessly seguing into those consoling &#8220;whoa whoa WHOA&#8221;s. Another noise avalanche ensued, but because this is Spiritualized, you say, "Damn the ear plugs." </p> <p><strong>&#8220;Rated X&#8221;</strong> from <em>Amazing Grace</em> featured atonally angular improv jazz moves before becoming a lumbering power ballad. Another ballad from <em>Amazing Grace</em>, <strong>&#8220;Oh Boy,&#8221;</strong> came next, but thankfully was enlivened by an explosion of acrid, flanged and tremeloed guitars. The lackadaisical <strong>&#8220;Freedom&#8221;</strong> came next and one sensed that Spiritualized were setting us up for a huge fireball after this three-track lull. What followed was a sludgy instrumental paraphrase of <strong>the Beatles&#8217; &#8220;Revolution 1,&#8221;</strong> which was actually a new piece called <strong>&#8220;&#8216;A&#8217; Song.&#8221;</strong> The super-dense guitar buzz and solid groove built to a tumultuous climax. Another new song, the tender ballad <strong>&#8220;Perfect Miracle,&#8221;</strong> revealed Pierce&#8217;s quasi-corny, show-tune side. </p> <p>The set proper closed strongly with <strong>&#8220;I Think I&#8217;m in Love&#8221;</strong> and <strong>&#8220;Take Your Time.&#8221;</strong> The former&#8217;s slow, spacey intro was pregnant with momentousness and elongated as if we had all the time in the world. Millions funked up the rhythm and the guitarists drew out the slide-enhanced crying to poignant eloquence. &#8220;Take Your Time&#8221; used those ectoplasmic &#8220;Electric Mainline&#8221; organ moans before beginning a stealthy ascension that culminated in a cathartic blast of blues-rock abandon.<br />The encore of <strong>&#8220;Walking With Jesus&#8221;</strong> proved once more that it is one of the greatest songs with &#8220;Jesus&#8221; in its title. Its sacred, see-sawing sway inspired one silk-shirt-wearing dude to jump with arms outstretched while &#8220;WOO&#8221;ing. This is church-building music for heathens and it almost made up for the absence of &#8220;Electric Mainline.&#8221; (It&#8217;s my review and I&#8217;ll sulk if I want to.)</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/04/09/1365550307--3.jpg" alt="-3.jpg" title="" width="500" height="667" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Dave Segal</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/09/just-another-high-spiritualized-neptune-theatre#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16456483&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Show Review Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/04/09/just-another-high-spiritualized-neptune-theatre?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16456483&id=comments 5 Just Another High: Spiritualized @ Neptune Theatre Dave Segal Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:37:15 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/29/last-night-i-caught-an-ampbuzz http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/29/last-night-i-caught-an-ampbuzz Dave Segal <p><a href="http://kinski.net/kinski/">Kinski</a> guitarist/vocalist <strong>Chris Martin</strong> generously asked me to guest on his excellent, long-running radio show on <a href="http://kbcs.fm/site/PageServer/index.html">KBCS</a>, <em>Ampbuzz</em>. Martin describes the show as "An integrated mix of psychedelic rock, outsider folk, free and not-so-free jazz, and anything else that can be considered 'out' but not necessarily 'noise.'" </p> <p>Last night I spun some strange old and new tracks by musicians hailing from a lot of different places&#8212;from <a href="http://www.discogs.com/artist/Igor+Wakh%C3%A9vitch">Igor Wakh&#233;vitch</a> to <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=74762">Jan Jelinek</a>&#8212;and answered in a serious monotone voice some questions that Chris asked me. There's a chance you may hear some tracks you like. I tried not to air anything that's been overexposed. The program's archived for two weeks on kbcs.fm; you can listen <a href="http://kbcsweb.bellevuecollege.edu/playlist/archive/?ShowID=30214#">here</a> if you have a spare two hours.</p> <p><small>Kinski's album-release party for <em>Cosy Moments</em> (<a href="http://www.killrockstars.com/artists/kinski">Kill Rock Stars</a>) happens April 5 at the <a href="http://www.sunsettavern.com/calendar/event/kinski-album-release-party-with-mark-mcguire-and-bali-girls">Sunset</a>.</small></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/29/last-night-i-caught-an-ampbuzz#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16372451&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night Radio Conflict of Interest http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/29/last-night-i-caught-an-ampbuzz?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16372451&id=comments 0 Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:12:18 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/27/useless-eaters-sound-great-live-have-guitarist-who-looks-like-rick-moranis http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/27/useless-eaters-sound-great-live-have-guitarist-who-looks-like-rick-moranis Emily Nokes <p>I hadn't had a chance to listen to <a href="http://uselesseaters.bandcamp.com/">Useless Eaters</a> until last night when I saw them play <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/chop_suey/Location?oid=24704">Chop Suey</a> with <a href="http://nightmareboyzzz.bandcamp.com/">Nightmare Boyzzz</a> and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/gravebabies">Grave Babies</a>. I missed the Boyzzz (a rad rock unit from Alabama) which totally sucks, but then again I'd already had the pleasure of seeing them in Philadelphia last summer so I didn't feel SO guilty about eating that <strong>second bowl of cereal</strong> before leaving the house (the #1 reason I'm late to anything.) </p> <p>Anyway, <strong>Useless Eaters</strong> put on an impressive live show to the sparse audience who just kept creeping closer and closer to the stage. <strong>Seth Sutton</strong> is the Eaters' main music-maker, but his backing band was solid and entertaining (the lead guitarist, who I'm told is new to the band, looks and sort of acts like a young <strong>Rick Moranis</strong> with better hair and no glasses). I bought their record and haven't listened to it yet, but their recordings online don't quite live up to the tightly wound energy they emit when you're close enough to really admire the bassists sweatshirt/<strong>jeans tucked into boots</strong> combo. </p> <p>Grave Babies were as <strong>haunted</strong> as ever, though I wish they had incorporated more smoke machine. Just kidding, there was <strong>plenty of smoke machine</strong>. Remember when they used to wear masks or hoods or something? Did I make that up? Maybe they ditched the masks to cash in on their boyish good looks (<a href="http://www.hardlyart.com/images/GB/GraveBabies2.jpg">insert catcall here</a>)! </p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="400" height="100" style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=973440375/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"><a href="http://nightmareboyzzz.bandcamp.com/track/up-all-night">Up All Night by Nightmare Boyzzz</a></iframe></div></p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F76221806"></iframe></div></p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F69060339"></iframe></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/27/useless-eaters-sound-great-live-have-guitarist-who-looks-like-rick-moranis#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16353506&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/27/useless-eaters-sound-great-live-have-guitarist-who-looks-like-rick-moranis?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16353506&id=comments 0 Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:01:23 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/25/street-level-minimalism-terry-riley-conducts-in-c-at-sam http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/25/street-level-minimalism-terry-riley-conducts-in-c-at-sam Dave Segal <p><div class="blogImageRight" style="width:387px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/0f45/1364252436--2.jpg" alt="Terry Riley and the SSO, caressing In C into existence." title="Terry Riley and the SSO, caressing In C into existence." width="375" height="281" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Dave Segal</li><li class="imageCaption">Terry Riley and the SSO, caressing In C into existence.</li></ul></div></p> <p><a href="http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/">Seattle Art Museum</a> closed off First Ave. at Union Sunday evening in order to unveil <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/invisible-rhythms/Content?oid=16295314#comments">Doug Aitken&#8217;s new artwork, MIRROR</a>, which will adorn SAM&#8217;s fa&#231;ade on its northwest side. But the big draw for me was <a href="http://terryriley.net/">Terry Riley</a> conducting his pioneering minimalist composition, <em>In C</em>, with 20+ members of the <a href="http://www.seattlesymphony.org/symphony/">Seattle Symphony Orchestra</a> (including <em>Stranger</em> Genius <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/lori-goldston/Content?oid=14839764">Lori Goldston</a> on cello)&#8212;on the street&#8230; for <em>free</em>. (We owe SAM big time for this one, citizens.) Local trombonist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Dempster">Stuart Dempster</a>, who played on the piece&#8217;s 1964 debut, also performed. It lived up to my absurdly high expectations&#8212;and then some. </p> <p>Before <em>In C</em>, though, we got a snappy run through <strong>Steve Reich</strong>&#8217;s <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapping_Music">Clapping Music</a></em>, after which I always think the crowd should respond by playing music. Instead of the usual two clappers as dictated by Reich, SSO gave us eight. They slapped up one helluva a mesmerizing rhythm. It was a nice warm-up for the main event. </p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OPSvKpIAuug" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>To witness Terry Riley&#8217;s <em>In C</em> conducted by the legend himself was, to put it lightly, the fulfillment of a long-deferred dream. Now 77 and sporting a scraggly beard of blinding whiteness, Riley donned a suit jacket that looked like something <strong>Pharoah Sanders</strong> would've worn to church circa 1969 and what can only be described as the most dignified-looking ballcap ever. He sat behind a large black square housing a keyboard of some kind. There he was 15 feet away from the front row, this man I rank among the top five musicians in the history of the world, this man whose music is peace beyond peace. My eyes teared up and my throat lumped from the first second of <em>In C</em>. </p> <p><em>In C</em>, as many of you know, is something of a Big Bang for minimalist music. It gives you the sense of something momentous happening, of many little wings beating relentlessly in a patient ascendance to the heavens, an industrious illumination, a feathery confluence of mini-ecstasies that you hate to see end. <em>In C</em> possesses wonderfully fluid, non-uptight guidelines for its technical parameters. From Wikipedia:</p> <blockquote><p>In C consists of 53 short, numbered musical phrases, lasting from half a beat to 32 beats; each phrase may be repeated an arbitrary number of times. Each musician has control over which phrase he or she plays: players are encouraged to play the phrases starting at different times, even if they are playing the same phrase. The performance directions state that the musical ensemble should try to stay within two to three phrases of each other. The phrases must be played in order, although some may be skipped. As detailed in some editions of the score, it is customary for one musician ("traditionally... a beautiful girl," Riley notes in the score) to play the note C in repeated eighth notes, typically on a piano or pitched-percussion instrument (e.g. marimba). This functions as a metronome and is referred to as "The Pulse".<br />In C has no set duration; performances can last as little as fifteen minutes or as long as several hours, although Riley indicates "performances normally average between 45 minutes and an hour and a half." </p></blockquote> <p><em>In C</em> has been done by flute ensembles, by rock bands (<strong>Acid Mothers Temple, L&#8217;Infonie, Styrenes</strong>), and by musicians in many other configurations. The work is a wondrous gust of fresh air no matter how it&#8217;s rendered, and though it really came to prominence in 1968 when CBS issued it on LP, <em>In C</em> transcends its era. One can envision every generation tripping out to its hypnotic undulations till the electricity runs out.</p> <p>To watch and hear a highly skilled orchestra manifest <em>In C</em> is to marvel at a multiplicity of minuscule musical gestures coalescing into a monumental mosaic of unspeakable beauty and simplicity. SSO&#8217;s violinists, cellists, trombonists, a trumpeter, marimba players, a guitarist, a French horn specialist, and a tuba player lasered in on their parts; they interlocked intricately to form the &#252;ber-groove of sublime slinkiness that Riley conjured nearly 50 years ago out of grandiose generosity for humankind. </p> <p>Near the end of <em>In C</em>, Riley rose from his seat and gestured for the orchestra to intensify the sound, then diminish it, then intensify, then mellow out, then cease abruptly. The crowd went wild, whooping and clapping for an exceedingly long time. This <em>In C</em> performance is destined to be <em>the</em> show of 2013&#8212;and all it cost was the feeling in my fingertips from the cold. </p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8lXs9EusFoM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/25/street-level-minimalism-terry-riley-conducts-in-c-at-sam#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16338684&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Show Review Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/25/street-level-minimalism-terry-riley-conducts-in-c-at-sam?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16338684&id=comments 10 Street-Level Minimalism: Terry Riley Conducts <i>In C</i> at SAM Terry Riley and the SSO, caressing In C into existence. Dave Segal Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:32:29 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/25/checking-in-with-a-couple-of-black-metal-dudes-in-a-nice-mini-van-outside-the-comet http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/25/checking-in-with-a-couple-of-black-metal-dudes-in-a-nice-mini-van-outside-the-comet Emily Nokes <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/2db0/1364244820-black_metal_dudes_in_a_mini_van.jpg" alt="BLACK_METAL_DUDES_IN_A_MINI_VAN.JPG" title="" width="500" height="373" /></div></p> <p><strong>What are you guys up to?</strong><br />Just getting ready to play a show here at the Comet in 20 minutes or so. </p> <p><strong>What is the name of your band? </strong><br /><a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/sacramentovimpurityband">Sacrament Ov Impurity</a>.</p> <p><strong>Where are you from?</strong><br />We are from Mount Vernon. </p> <p><strong>What are some of the names of the songs you'll be playing tonight? </strong><br />Let's see, we've got "God of This World," "Burn Your Bible, Burn Your Church, Kill Yourself," umm, "Darkness Everlasting"... </p> <p><strong>Can you give us a sample lyric?</strong><br />Like I sing it? </p> <p><strong>Absolutely, like you sing it. </strong><br /><embed src="/foundation/audio/player/mediaplayer.swf" width="160" height="20" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="height=20&width=160&file=http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/25/1364245338-metaldudes.mp3&backcolor=0xFFFFFF&frontcolor=0x444444&lightcolor=0xFFFFFF&screencolor=0xFFFFFF&showicons=false&usefullscreen=false" /></p> <p><strong>What are your day jobs? </strong><br />Driver's seat: I'm a butcher. Passenger seat: I'm a janitor. </p> <p><strong>A janitor at a school? </strong><br />Sometimes. Wherever they send me. </p> <p><strong>Do you feel like you influence the children at these schools you janitor at? </strong><br />[Laughs] Uh, probably not. </p> <p><strong>Thanks guys! Have a great show. </strong></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/25/checking-in-with-a-couple-of-black-metal-dudes-in-a-nice-mini-van-outside-the-comet#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16338041&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/25/checking-in-with-a-couple-of-black-metal-dudes-in-a-nice-mini-van-outside-the-comet?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16338041&id=comments 8 Checking in With a Couple of Black Metal Dudes in a Nice Minivan Outside the Comet Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:05:14 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/16/all-of-the-fun-balkan-night-nw-tonight http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/16/all-of-the-fun-balkan-night-nw-tonight Derek Erdman <p>It was easy to spot the <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/russian-community-center/Location?oid=24740&show=map">Russian Community Center</a> on 19th from a few blocks down the street&#8212;light from an open door illuminated groups of people entering and leaving <a href="http://www.balkannightnw.com/">Balkan Night Northwest</a>. As we got closer, it became apparent that these people were sweaty and alive, many taking a break from the frantic dancing inside. I overheard a conversation that last year's attendance was so overwhelming that it spilled out onto the street. This year, an extra day has been added to accommodate the crowd. Just then we saw somebody we knew. "It's so fun in there," he said. <strong>"All of that dancing is exhausting."</strong></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/8b56/1363461027-photo.jpg" alt="Orkestar Zirconium on the Floor" title="Orkestar Zirconium on the Floor" width="500" height="373" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Orkestar Zirconium on the Floor</li></ul></div></p> <p>Inside was a not-uncomfortably-crowded scene of people laughing, talking, eating, and drinking. <strong>Oh, and the dancing!</strong> A huge circle of people on the floor surrounded <a href="http://www.orkestarzirkonium.com/">Orkestar Zirconium</a>, every person holding the hands of the person on either side of them. The circle rotated and swelled while the dancers did a series of complicated-looking steps. I remarked to somebody that I'd never met that it looked so hard. "Just grab somebody's hand and follow everybody's feet, it's very easy." Everybody was so friendly, we'd stumbled into a wonderland!</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/a0ae/1363461133-photo_1_.jpg" alt="Lucinda &amp; Nick" title="Lucinda &amp; Nick" width="500" height="373" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Lucinda &amp; Nick</li></ul></div></p> <p>"I made the sauerkraut myself," a tall man in an apron said has he thrust a plate into my hands. The sauerkraut was mixed with potatoes and there was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielbasa">kobasica</a> on a bun along with it. I was hardly hungry but I usually don't turn down food, especially when it's out of the ordinary. <strong>It was beyond delicious.</strong> There was talk of a <em>must-try</em> flaky pastry filled with cheese and egg and plates of dessert went back and forth. A tall bottle of <strong>Karlovačka Pivo<del>vara</del></strong> appeared in my hand. This kind of night just magically happens when you don't expect it, a night that you can't recreate and everything is wonderful. The tall man in the apron was now on the floor dancing to great applause, using the apron in a mock striptease.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/b52e/1363461240-photo_2_.jpg" alt="Red Pants, No Shoes, Get Wild" title="Red Pants, No Shoes, Get Wild" width="500" height="373" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Red Pants, No Shoes, Get Wild</li></ul></div></p> <p>Balkan Night NW is an annual celebration of the cultures of Southeast Europe, attracting people from the far stretches of the PNW. The second half of this year's celebration starts today at 4pm and goes until midnight. <strong>You should go!</strong></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/16/1363461858-photo_3_.jpg" alt="photo_3_.JPG" title="" width="500" height="373" /></div></p> <p><em><small>Balkan Night Northwest 2013 / 704 19th Ave E / Kids under 12 admitted free, adults $20</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/16/all-of-the-fun-balkan-night-nw-tonight#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16272708&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/16/all-of-the-fun-balkan-night-nw-tonight?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16272708&id=comments 12 All of the Fun: Balkan Night NW (Tonight!) Orchestra Zirconium on the Floor Sat, 16 Mar 2013 13:19:22 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/07/more-morrissey-at-the-moore http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/07/more-morrissey-at-the-moore Derek Erdman <p>I breathed a firm sigh a relief this morning when I read <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/07/ive-seen-this-happen-in-other-peoples-lives-morrissey-at-the-moore-theatre">Jackson Hathorn's excellent review of last night's Morrissey show</a>. I had a feeling that a post-show visit to <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/pony/Location?oid=274521">Pony</a> might sacrifice any semblance of punctual journalistic reports. Alas, the Pony was filled with people who had also been to the show, so staying too late was partially redeemed. I was also able to, you know, <em>be in the bar with my head on the bar.</em></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/80f6/1362681482-01_morrissey_1601.jpg" alt="01_Morrissey_1601.jpg" title="" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Josh Bis</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>Due to a ticketing mix-up, we spent a few minutes outside trying to contact a lady on the east coast about getting an extra admission. Oh also, I was totally stoned due to my recent proclivity for rolling and smoking <strong>giant joints that I've dubbed <em>bombers</em></strong>. I never really smoked pot in public before it was legal(ish), so lately the world is an almost new place to me. Suddenly the main doors swung open and the faint sounds of "Everyday is Like Sunday" oozed out. Was that a recording? Had he started? <strong>He had started!</strong></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/1a97/1362681595-02_morrissey_1611.jpg" alt="02_Morrissey_1611.jpg" title="" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Josh Bis</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>I stormed the entrance briskly and was directed down a main floor aisle, where the whole room seemed really small. I think a person could describe <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/moore_theater/Location?oid=24641">the Moore</a> as rather intimate, and though it was filled with people of all ages, shapes, and styles, it almost felt like a conference room. <strong>Oh right, I was totally stoned</strong>. After the song ended, the two gentlemen reluctant to move from our seats informed me that I was indeed late. "How late?" I asked. "You missed half the show!" they replied. My heart sank. I was just getting stoned in a Subaru and missed half of my only chance to see my childhood idol in Seattle? "JUST KIDDING!" they announced. I asked them what songs I missed but the couldn't say. They were sure that it wasn't "Ouija Board, Ouija Board." They said that's the one they were waiting for. <strong>Who waits for "Ouija Board, Ouija Board?" That song is just okay!</strong></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/14e1/1362681695-03_morrissey_1619.jpg" alt="03_Morrissey_1619.jpg" title="" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Josh Bis</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>The next batch of songs came from the latter half of Mozzer's career, and the band was perfect for the guitar heavy (& sometimes generic) tracks. But when it came time to turn back the clock with "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore," I noticed that the band didn't seem perfectly suited for the necessary subtle restraint. I can tell you this for sure, during the long awaited "Ouija Board, Ouija Board," <strong>the drummer was noticeably lost</strong>, and Morrissey made it known with annoyed glances behind him. Oh wait, was I just totally stoned? Nope, parts of some songs were absolutely confused. Something has to get lost when music goes through so many people, the current band members were probably tots when it was written. It was like a game of telephone and we were near the end of the line.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/07/1362681766-04_morrissey_1603.jpg" alt="04_Morrissey_1603.jpg" title="" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Josh Bis</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>I really can't complain about the set selection, there are so many Morrissey/Smiths songs, and <strong>they're nearly all unique and great</strong>. Near the end they played a brilliant version of "Still Ill," with a drawn out intro and ending like they would have done in 1986. "Meat is Murder" included a backdrop of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDea6L9gPD8"><em>Meet Your Meat</em></a>, which maybe went on a tad too long. Morrissey vanished from the stage for a good portion of the song, re-emerging in a different shirt when it ended. I'd seen Morrissey enough times to know <strong>that shirt was coming off.</strong> Morrissey doesn't throw expensive shirts into the crowd, he throws cheap shirts from Topman!</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/07/1362681790-07_morrissey_1626.jpg" alt="07_Morrissey_1626.jpg" title="" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Josh Bis</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>The rest of the set was perfectly satisfying. There was no triumphant reprisal, no mind blowing finish. "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" sounded sparse and weird, but was still so great to see. I'm not a fan of "How Soon is Now," but I had chills through my body when it started. When I asked somebody later if they liked the show, they replied, <strong>"If you're a Morrissey fan, you're probably always going to like a Morrissey show."</strong> Which is true. The one song encore was "The Boy With the Thorn In His Side." Nothing else after that, house lights and the standard show ending opera track.</p> <p>In the line for (some garish, some not) merch afterward, I met a woman named Laura with a "Sweet and Tender Hooligan" tattoo. Her husband had a pompadour and came away with <strong>a decent sized chunk of Morrissey's shirt</strong>. While talking to her I spotted the only person to climb on stage to hug Morrissey. He was wearing a red hat, he's from Ireland and lives in San Francisco. It was the second time he'd hugged the Mozzer. When I asked him to describe it, he said that he didn't have the words.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/07/1362681844-sweet___tender_tat.jpg" alt="SWEET___TENDER_TAT.jpg" title="" width="500" height="374" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Derek Erdman</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>When I woke up this morning with my head mildly throbbing, I saw a pile of clothes and happily remembered: <strong>last night I bought a $30 t-shirt.</strong></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/07/more-morrissey-at-the-moore#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16189198&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/07/more-morrissey-at-the-moore?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16189198&id=comments 4 More Morrissey at the Moore Josh Bis Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:15:34 -0800 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/07/ive-seen-this-happen-in-other-peoples-lives-morrissey-at-the-moore-theatre http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/07/ive-seen-this-happen-in-other-peoples-lives-morrissey-at-the-moore-theatre Jackson Hathorn <p>Usually I start off my show reviews by testing your patience with an anecdotal story about my personal connection with the artist I'm seeing. Then I place the musician in some larger genre and/or historical context, and wax poetic about what makes them extraordinary among countless other bands. </p> <p><div class="blogImageRight" style="width:212px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/9aad/1362678626-mozshirt.jpg" alt="For the entire duration of Kristeen Youngs opening set I stood in line for a t-shirt. To be fair, its now one of the most ridiculous shirts I own, and Moz IS my shepherd." title="For the entire duration of Kristeen Youngs opening set I stood in line for a t-shirt. To be fair, its now one of the most ridiculous shirts I own, and Moz IS my shepherd." width="200" height="266" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">For the entire duration of Kristeen Young's opening set I stood in line for a t-shirt. To be fair, it's now one of the most ridiculous shirts I own, and Moz IS my shepherd.</li></ul></div>It's utterly pointless for me to try to do this for <strong>Steven Patrick Morrissey</strong>. For longer than I have been alive, music journalists have chipped away at the man, dissected his lyrics, and sought to explain his appeal. All in all, like so many other people, I spend a lot of time with Morrissey's music. I don't think I'll ever come up with a way to artfully explicate it, but he makes me feel less alone, and he will probably always mean a great deal to me. </p> <p>Walking up to the Moore Theatre in the pouring rain, I first heard a pat-down security guard barking <strong>"No flowers! No iPads!"</strong> which might be one of the strangest introductions I've had to a show. Inside the mood was dizzying; this being my first Morrissey show, I didn't know if there was always this much excitement in the air for one of his concerts, or if it was a lot of pent up anticipation. (The concert was originally scheduled for November before being pushed back so Moz could attend to his ill mother. He's also had a bout of health scares that led to some cancellations on this US tour.)</p> <p>I got to my balcony seat late, just in time to see the end of a PETA video with Joaquin Phoenix. Before Morrissey took the stage, there was a series of music videos that had to be curated by the man himself. <strong>Mighty Joe, Small Faces, Fran&#231;oise Hardy, Sparks, Nico</strong>, and, of course,<strong> the New York Dolls</strong> all warmed up the crowd. The setlist started off with "Shoplifters of the World Unite," taking me a little bit by surprise to hear a Smiths song so early. The song had barely started when I asked my date what he thought so far. <strong>"It sounds like everyone is screaming back at him. But in a good way."</strong></p> <p>I have no way of quantifying this, but by the time the band started their fifth song of the night, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMW_n5XNG_A">Speedway</a>," it seemed like they started hitting their groove. But I might be biased because it is, in my opinion, one of Moz's best. The biggest problem I've always had with Morrissey's solo work is that it doesn't have Johnny Marr in it. (Can I admit here that I first got into the Smiths because I thought that just the instrumental music was some of the best stuff I'd ever heard?) Seeing this show tonight certainly gave me more of an appreciation for Moz's band. Normally I would find things like a gong onstage totally ostentatious, but it seemed appropriate tonight, especially for songs I normally pass over. (I'm mostly thinking about "November Spawned a Monster" here, whose <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTev6og-edU">video</a> had long spoiled the song for me until last night.)</p> <p>The next surprise was also the next Smiths song that was played. I'm sure you can read way too much into Morrissey playing "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIyXJxPFVz4">That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore</a>" after his recent <a href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1550408/jimmy-kimmel-extends-olive-branch-to-morrissey">back-and-forth with Jimmy Kimmel</a>, but it shouldn't damper that it's one of the better slow-jammers ever recorded by the Smiths. </p> <p>Considering all the praise Morrissey gets for his wit, I should have more funny banter to report on, but I don't. I think at this stage in his career, Morrissey knows that he really doesn't have to do a whole lot to whip an audience up into a frenzy. All it takes is a slow crouch to his knees at the end of a song, or a reach of his hand towards the people in the front, and it will send everyone to their feet. If there was a single moment when all-hell-broke-loose, it was at the end of "Let Me Kiss You," when Moz took off his shirt and hurled it into the audience. </p> <p>The toughest part of the night for me was when the band played "Meat is Murder." For all that Morrissey has personally affected people's lives, he can also make it difficult to be a fan. In Morrissey's world there aren't any grey areas. (Except, perhaps, his sexuality.) Everything is absolute, so he often places a premium on being <strong>militant rather than showing any tact</strong>. I'm (an admittedly recently converted) vegetarian, but I still don't see why he needs to accompany live performances of the song with visuals of chickens and cows being butchered. I took an informal survey around me during the song, and it looked like most concert goers were squirming in their seats, covering their eyes, uploading photos on Instagram, or taking an opportunity to go the bathroom. The only person I saw who was transfixed on the visuals was Morrissey himself; he couldn't take his eyes off the screen. </p> <p>The concert quickly picked up again, especially for the later Smiths songs. Tears welled up when I heard "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want." "How Soon is Now?" totally bowled me over, a glorious cathartic moment. I was <strong>giddy, moon-eyed, and ridiculously singing along</strong> when I heard, quite possibly, my favorite song of all time, "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" played during the encore. This might have been one of the only concerts I've been to in the past five years where, once it was over, I still wasn't ready to go home yet. </p> <p><strong>"I suppose it's necessary to tell everyone everything,"</strong> is something I remember Morrissey saying last night. I'm a little too frazzled to remember when he said that, or really what he meant by it. But I have to thank him, for finding it necessary to say everything to everyone. My life wouldn't be the same without him and his big mouth. </p> <p>Set List:</p> <p>"Shoplifters of the World Unite"<br />"Alma Matters"<br />"Everyday is Like Sunday"<br />"Irish Blood, English Heart"<br />"Speedway"<br />"Maladjusted"<br />"I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris"<br />"Action is My Middle Name"<br />"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"<br />"Ouija Board, Ouija Board"<br />"November Spawned a Monster"<br />"Still Ill"<br />"People Are the Same Everywhere"<br />"Meat is Murder"<br />"Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want"<br />"You Have Killed Me"<br />"Let Me Kiss You"<br />"How Soon is Now?"</p> <p>"The Boy With the Thorn In His Side"</p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/07/ive-seen-this-happen-in-other-peoples-lives-morrissey-at-the-moore-theatre#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16186085&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Show Review Last Night Love Puppy http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/07/ive-seen-this-happen-in-other-peoples-lives-morrissey-at-the-moore-theatre?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16186085&id=comments 10 I've Seen This Happen in Other People's Lives - Morrissey at the Moore Theatre For the entire duration of Kristeen Young's opening set I stood in line for a t-shirt. To be fair, it's already now one of the most ridiculous shirts I own. Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:54:17 -0800 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/06/passion-pit-matt-and-kim-icona-pop-at-the-paramount http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/06/passion-pit-matt-and-kim-icona-pop-at-the-paramount Josh Bis <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362591637-15_passion_pit_1508.jpg" alt="Passion Pit" title="Passion Pit" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Passion Pit</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362590900-06_matt___kim_1097.jpg" alt="Matt &amp; Kim" title="Matt &amp; Kim" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Matt &amp; Kim</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362589676-04_icona_pop_0781.jpg" alt="Icona Pop" title="Icona Pop" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Icona Pop</li></ul></div><br />Tuesday night "felt like a Friday" at the Paramount last night with a show that ended in time to get everyone home in time to get a full night's sleep before reporting to homeroom on Wednesday morning. Although unnaturally happy Brooklynites <b>Matt &amp; Kim</b> generously attributed this T.G.I.F. transformation to Seattle's especially game attitude, I think that much of the credit goes to the three bands who brought an surgical strike of electro-pop targeted directly at the bouncing region of the lizard brain to the Paramount's grand stage. Openers <b>Icona Pop</b> took the most gradual build into dance attack, saving "I Love It" to close their set, breaking a few times to turn up the lights, chat up the crowd, and get a look at the audience, perhaps to see if there were any <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qMplFDm_ZA">Hannah Hovarth inspired mesh pennies,</a> shirt trading, or glowing fashion in the house. (I can't confirm or deny, but there definitely was a <a href="http://grizcoat.com/">Griz Coat</a>). <b>Matt &amp; Kim</b> dove headlong into plastering smiles on thousands of faces, pounding keyboards and drums in front of paired LCD screens showing their faces, words of encouragement, or synesthetic fireworks. By the end of the set, they'd staged a little <strong>"Harlem Shake"</strong> video, cheerleaded from atop multiple pieces of their equipment, concluding with Kim strapping on a medical boot to protect a twisted ankle while she walked and danced on top of the crowd. <b>Passion Pit</b> were similarly relentless in driving the audience to test the structural integrity of the venue's floating floor: always dapper Michael Angelakos wind sprinting across the stage all manic pixie dream vocals above the band's affectingly ingenious pulsing sound sculptures. Filling the air with bubbles during "Take A Walk" and flooding it with candy colored lights throughout, they set slowed to breath-catching pace only during "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBLuWKnKIn0">Constant Conversations</a>" and when they opened their encore with a rarely-played track ("<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qxaLqJmW50">Where I Come From</a>") they'd written for romantic vampires. Of course, they ended an evening of happy sounding sad songs with enduring hit "Little Secrets", finishing just as a line of chaperones pulled up cars on Pine Street.</p> <p><em>More pictures of all of the bands and some of the crowd after the jump.</em></p> <p><strong>Icona Pop</strong><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/654b/1362589523-01_icona_pop_0745.jpg" alt="Icona Pop" title="Icona Pop" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Icona Pop</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/1546/1362589566-02_icona_pop_0869.jpg" alt="Icona Pop" title="Icona Pop" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Icona Pop</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362589721-05_icona_pop_0926.jpg" alt="Icona Pop" title="Icona Pop" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Icona Pop</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:344px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/dc91/1362589606-03_icona_pop_0900.jpg" alt="Icona Pop" title="Icona Pop" width="332" height="500" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Icona Pop</li></ul></div></p> <p><strong>Matt &amp; Kim</strong><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362590930-07_matt___kim_1189.jpg" alt="Matt &amp; Kim" title="Matt &amp; Kim" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Matt &amp; Kim</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362590958-08_matt___kim_1209.jpg" alt="Matt &amp; Kim" title="Matt &amp; Kim" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Matt &amp; Kim</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362591013-09_matt___kim_1014.jpg" alt="Matt &amp; Kim" title="Matt &amp; Kim" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Matt &amp; Kim</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362591076-10_matt___kim_0968.jpg" alt="Matt &amp; Kim" title="Matt &amp; Kim" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Matt &amp; Kim</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362591111-11_matt___kim_1141.jpg" alt="Matt &amp; Kim" title="Matt &amp; Kim" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Matt &amp; Kim</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362591322-12_matt___kim_1266.jpg" alt="Matt &amp; Kim" title="Matt &amp; Kim" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Matt &amp; Kim</li></ul></div></p> <p><strong>Passion Pit</strong><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362592267-13_passion_pit_1278.jpg" alt="Passion Pit" title="Passion Pit" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Passion Pit</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362591856-18_passion_pit_1484.jpg" alt="Passion Pit" title="Passion Pit" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Passion Pit</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362591902-19_passion_pit_1478.jpg" alt="Passion Pit" title="Passion Pit" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Passion Pit</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362591434-14_passion_pit_1308.jpg" alt="Passion Pit" title="Passion Pit" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Passion Pit</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362591745-16_passion_pit_1395.jpg" alt="Passion Pit" title="Passion Pit" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Passion Pit</li></ul></div></p> <p><b>Superfans</b><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362591956-20_passion_pit_1347.jpg" alt="Passion Pit" title="Passion Pit" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Passion Pit</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362592010-21_matt___kim_1159.jpg" alt="Fans!" title="Fans!" width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Fans!</li></ul></div><br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/03/06/1362592125-22_matt___kim_1167.jpg" alt="front row fans." title="Front row fans." width="500" height="332" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Front row fans.</li></ul></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/06/passion-pit-matt-and-kim-icona-pop-at-the-paramount#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16178273&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night Photo http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/03/06/passion-pit-matt-and-kim-icona-pop-at-the-paramount?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16178273&id=comments 0 Passion Pit, Matt &amp; Kim, Icona Pop at the Paramount Icona Pop Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:34:22 -0800 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/02/28/holy-shit-the-patti-smith-show-at-the-neptune-was-amazing http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/02/28/holy-shit-the-patti-smith-show-at-the-neptune-was-amazing David Schmader <p>I did not go into a 2013 Patti Smith concert expecting to come out raving. I've seen too many 21st-century Dylan shows to expect my legends to represent in full in the present moment. <strong>I mostly just want to be in the same room with someone whose art I love</strong>, even if the live iteration of this art is a limited pleasure. (Sometimes it seems like Dylan has a "the artist will use no consonants" clause in his tour rider.)</p> <p>But last night Patti Smith and her band put on one of the best rock shows I've ever seen. </p> <p>The setlist was a fan's dream, including <strong>nearly every totemic Patti Smith song</strong> you could hope for, each brought to new life in a way that acknowledged the historical record (there were no full reinterpretations) but ventured way beyond the recordings. Great care was taken throughout the show with instrumentation and volume, and <strong>the sound at the Neptune was amazing</strong>. But what took things over the top was the theatrical attention to detail, with song after song inhabiting its own sonic world, many of them building to climaxes that felt truly cathartic. (That's the thing about playing stretches of a show at mid-volume&#8212;it allows you to truly make a point when you crank shit up.) </p> <p>And here's something I never thought I'd say: <strong>Patti Smith is a great singer.</strong> I had a similar realization after listening to Morrissey's 21st-century live album, and noting that this man who introduced himself with his barely-a-voice singing voice had grown, over decades of recording and touring, into a forceful vocalist, capable of a world of nuance inaccessible to his younger self. Same with Patti, and her current vocal power is what made last night's versions of <strong>"Dancing Barefoot," "Pissing in a River," "Redondo Beach," "We Three," "Free Money," and "Beneath the Southern Cross"</strong> so engrossing. (Beyond Patti songs, the show also featured Lenny Kaye leading the band through a couple <em>Nuggets </em>nuggets and a Heartbreakers song.)</p> <p>And in case you were wondering, Patti Smith is still a <strong>hilarious, mouthy crank</strong>, as evidenced in her between-song banter. She told a story about giving Ralph Nader a birthday present, and how he immediately recycled every bit of the gift wrap. She railed against a culture obsessed with up-to-the-minute gadgetry, yelling at the audience, "We don't need that shit!" And she discussed her deep love for AMC's <em>The Killing</em>. "It's coming back for a third season!"</p> <p>And then there was the final song, which seemed specifically designed to prove Patti's still capable of riling us up in ways we may not even like: <em>Easter</em>'s ever-problematic <strong>"Rock N' Roll Nigger." </strong>She prefaced the song with a spoken-word piece about the revolutionary spirit of Jimi Hendrix, but did nothing to diminish the song's potential for offense. For the full-band chant of "Nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger," <strong>the stage lights were abruptly brought up to full</strong>. No hiding, no apologies, and apparently no explanation necessary.</p> <p>All the best poets are partly full of shit. Thanks for the amazing night, Patti Smith.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/02/28/holy-shit-the-patti-smith-show-at-the-neptune-was-amazing#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16132939&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/02/28/holy-shit-the-patti-smith-show-at-the-neptune-was-amazing?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16132939&id=comments 12 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:20:48 -0800 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/02/05/sasquatch-launch-party http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/02/05/sasquatch-launch-party Emily Nokes <p>Last night's <strong>Sasquatch! Launch Party</strong> at the Neptune featured the eclectic lineup of Cody ChesnuTT (you have to read <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/i-was-a-dead-man/Content?oid=15873843">Larry's piece on ChesnuTT here</a>), <strong>Built to Spill</strong>, and a special surprise* (*not actually a surprise) appearance by <strong>Macklemore</strong>. </p> <p>The lineup was announced, and people talked about it in very good and very bad ways, <strong>all over the internet</strong>. I LOVE camping and I LOVE people watching, and I LIKE music (JK music, you know you're my #1), so Sasquatch is super fun for me. Plus people on drugs! And <strong>free Pop Chips</strong>! Even if only three women will be there to play, total, that just means more Pop Chips in the lady-tent, am I right? (Side note: please book more ladies everywhere, all the time, tho.)</p> <p>To see the full lineup, and talk about how YOU'RE feeling about it, check out Megan's post <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/02/04/sasquatch-2013-the-line-up">here</a> and then listen to Josh Bis'<a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/02/05/getting-to-know-sasquatch-2013-via-spotify?cb=908c664bfac91ce487a521ab9b07ace1"> Sasquatch Spotify playlist here</a>. </p> <p>Now then, here are some <strong>wonderful photos</strong> from last night, taken by Molly Bauer. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/b7b6/1360094325-img_0830.jpg" alt="Cody ChesnuTT" title="Cody ChesnuTT" width="500" height="750" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Molly Bauer</li><li class="imageCaption">Cody ChesnuTT</li></ul></div></p> <p>I loved Cody ChesnuTT's dance moves (lots of <strong>butt wiggling</strong>) and outfit (WWII-style helmet, red sweater). His bass player was also super entertaining. Actually, they all were. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/b199/1360094587-mack1.jpg" alt="Macklemore" title="Macklemore " width="500" height="750" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Molly Bauer </li><li class="imageCaption">Macklemore </li></ul></div></p> <p>Before the show, some friends told us the <strong>surprise guest</strong> was definitely Macklemore, because, "it was all over Craigslist."</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/02/05/1360094851-img_1397.jpg" alt="Macklemore" title="Macklemore " width="500" height="333" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Molly Bauer </li><li class="imageCaption">Macklemore </li></ul></div></p> <p>I haven't seen Macklemore &amp; Ryan Lewis since they became Seattle's <strong>favorite sons</strong>, so it was nice to catch them in a smallish setting&#8212;not a ton of people were let in, but those who were seemed downright ecstatic to be there. Mack played those three songs ("Thrift Shop", "Same Love", and the one about the ceiling), <strong>confetti cannons</strong> went off, and the dance moves were spot-on. Mack looks like he's been doing pilates. I am calling him "Mack" now like he is <em>my</em> son. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/02/05/1360095106-builttospill.jpg" alt="Built to Spill" title="Built to Spill " width="500" height="333" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Molly Bauer </li><li class="imageCaption">Built to Spill </li></ul></div></p> <p><strong>Built to Spill</strong> covered Smiths "How Soon is Now" and "Don't Fear the Reaper" along with "some Captain Beefheart song" (I admit, I was not there when this happened, because there was a fro yo hut down the street, and you know how it is). </p> <p>More photos! In no particular order! Happening right now! </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/02/05/1360097492-img_0917.jpg" alt="There was something extra charming about the way those ill-fitting pants..." title="There was something extra charming about the way those ill-fitting pants..." width="500" height="750" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Molly Bauer</li><li class="imageCaption">There was something extra charming about those ill-fitting pants...</li></ul></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/02/05/1360097655-img_1298.jpg" alt="How many peach suits do you think Wanz ownz?" title="How many peach suits do you think Wanz ownz?" width="500" height="333" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Molly Bauer</li><li class="imageCaption">How many peach suits do you think Wanz ownz?</li></ul></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/02/05/1360098113-img_1994.jpg" alt="Seasons dont fear the Doug Martsch." title="Seasons dont fear the Doug Martsch. " width="500" height="333" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">Molly Bauer</li><li class="imageCaption">Seasons don't fear the Doug Martsch. </li></ul></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/02/05/sasquatch-launch-party#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15932639&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night Sasquatch Photo http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/02/05/sasquatch-launch-party?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15932639&id=comments 2 Sasquatch Launch Party Tue, 05 Feb 2013 13:58:56 -0800 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/28/the-rock-supermarket http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/28/the-rock-supermarket Charles Mudede <p>This is how it's going down...<br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:449px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/7dd4/1359400205-screen_shot_2013-01-28_at_11.07.55_am.png" alt="Screen_shot_2013-01-28_at_11.07.55_AM.png" title="" width="437" height="470" /></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/28/the-rock-supermarket#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15862993&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/28/the-rock-supermarket?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15862993&id=comments 1 The Rock Supermarket Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:21:58 -0800 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/26/the-cave-singers-at-hi-fidelity-in-bremerton http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/26/the-cave-singers-at-hi-fidelity-in-bremerton Sean Jewell <p>I've liked the <strong>the Cave Singers</strong> since I first heard<em> Invitation Songs</em> sometime in 2008. The feeling I get from their music is perfectly summed up in their video for "Dancing On Our Graves" from that same album. The spell one falls under listening to their hypnotic basslines must be what its like to be brainwashed by a cult. Life could be going to shit around you, your family can't believe someone got you to handle snakes, speak in tongues, and <strong>dance around like you're on fire</strong>, but you feel like a thousand warm suns are kissing your skin, like everyday worries are minuscule; you feel powerful, you feel loved.</p> <p>If I had a voice like <strong>Pete Quirk</strong>, all scratchy and rare, I'd sing all day long about every goddamn thing. His esoteric, poetic lyrics are great, but let's be honest, he could make the weather report sound <strong>fucking epic.</strong> I missed them the last time they played my hometown in 2010, I had a real job then, so blame it on responsibilities, but I've always regretted not showing up for the show. Having thrown away any shot at being a grown up or having a real career since then, though, I wasn't about to miss this opportunity.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/c7de/1359191669-cave_singers.jpg" alt="Church of The Cave Singers" title="Church of The Cave Singers" width="500" height="375" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">My cell phone</li><li class="imageCaption">Church of The Cave Singers</li></ul></div></p> <p>My date and I managed to get on a wait list for the capacity show, scarf some Hi-Fi pizza and some <strong>homemade energy drink</strong> (yeah, I don't know what the hell that means either, it was kind of like red bull I guess?) and when some sinners passed on the glory, we got in. Despite their sound changing quite a bit since 2007, their rhythms are still rooted in that Appalachian gospel. As a matter of fact, assisted by Morgan Henderson on bass (one more reason for me to celebrate the disbanding of <strong>Fleet Foxes</strong>), their rhythm section is even more batshit crazy than before. The highlight of the show for me though, was finally seeing <strong>Derek Fudesco </strong>in action inside of the actual cave that is the stage at the tiny <strong>Hi Fidelity Lounge</strong>. <strong>Fudesco</strong> gets hella-excited about his riffs, and was sweating and dancing like he caught the same holy spirit I did. Most of all I think the band likes their own music, they looked as gassed as the rest of the 60 or so blessed citizens of Bremerton with any musical taste (or blind luck) who ended up in Hi-Fidelity last night.</p> <p><a href="http://jagjaguwar.com/blog/2013/01/pre-order-the-cave-singers-new-album-naomi-win-tickets-to-january-shows/">Their new album</a> <em>Naomi </em>is out in March, and like their last three <em>I believe</em> it will be <strong>sanctified.</strong></p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ssN2_B7351U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YwQilKbK9Mk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/26/the-cave-singers-at-hi-fidelity-in-bremerton#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15847646&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Show Review Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/26/the-cave-singers-at-hi-fidelity-in-bremerton?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15847646&id=comments 3 The Cave Singers at Hi-Fidelity in Bremerton Church of The Cave Singers My cell phone Sat, 26 Jan 2013 13:19:42 -0800 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/04/happy-new-blare-blouseusa-and-jetman-jet-team-vermillion http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/04/happy-new-blare-blouseusa-and-jetman-jet-team-vermillion Dave Segal <p>The first week in January is not a time when you expect to witness what could be one of the year&#8217;s best shows, but last night at <strong>Vermillion</strong>, <a href="http://blouseblouse.bandcamp.com/">(blouse)usa</a> and <a href="http://jetmanjetteam.bandcamp.com/">Jetman Jet Team</a> torched the post-holidays doldrums with some scintillating music in that small, but fairly crowded space on a rainy Thursday.</p> <p>(blouse)usa&#8212;<strong>Benjamin Thomas-Kennedy</strong>, drummer for the heavy head-expanding groups <strong><a href="http://lesbian.bandcamp.com/music">Lesbian</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://fungalabyss.bandcamp.com/">Fungal Abyss</a></strong>&#8212;was accompanied by the guitarist in both of those bands, <strong>Daniel La Rochelle</strong>. BT-K wore fluorescent-green raver bracelets as eyeglasses and handed out more of such bracelets during the set. But the music wasn&#8217;t DayGlo. Rather, it sounded like a bizarre hybrid of sundownered, gothic/desert rock &#192; la <strong>Savage Republic</strong> or <strong>Scenic</strong>&#8212;especially with La Rochelle&#8217;s <strong>John McGeoch/Bruce Licher</strong>-like guitar tones&#8212;and <strong>Boards of Canada</strong>-esque downtempo electronica. La Rochelle produced shards of burnt-orange drones while BT-K finessed casually funky beats on a minimalist kit (kick/snare/two cymbals). It was the type of set you don&#8217;t hear much in Seattle and I immediately bought the self-titled CD on <a href="http://deadaccentsmusic.blogspot.com/">Dead Accents</a> when it was over. I highly recommend it as a subtly twisted soundtrack for imaginary <em>Twilight Zone</em> episodes. </p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ECfIpkpViHc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>Jetman Jet Team were missing guitarist/vocalist <strong>Brenan Chambers</strong>, who reportedly took a drunken fall off a building in Canada and damaged some ribs. Nevertheless, this young psych-shoegaze-rock band forged on sans its charismatic frontman (and its <strong>Dreamachine</strong>) and blazed a lot of people&#8217;s gray matter. They began with a stoic, sinuous motorik groove that was punctuated by trebly ripples of synth and guitar and occasional outbursts of <strong>Keith Moon</strong>-like drum exhibitionism from <strong>Quin Dickinson</strong>. Imagine <strong>Can&#8217;s &#8220;Mother Sky&#8221; played by first-LP Ash Ra Tempel</strong>; no (cosmic) joke.</p> <p>The second epic track was fiery psych rock, a lava flow of controlled chaos that entered the realm of Japanese form-busters like <strong>High Rise</strong> and <strong>Acid Mothers Temple</strong>. The scorched-earth coda landed somewhere between <strong>Hendrix</strong> and <strong>Haino</strong> on the over-saturation meter. What a corrosive rush. Good thing Chambers didn&#8217;t show up, as his ribcage would've really been splintering by set&#8217;s end.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/04/happy-new-blare-blouseusa-and-jetman-jet-team-vermillion#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15676163&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Show Review Last Night http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/01/04/happy-new-blare-blouseusa-and-jetman-jet-team-vermillion?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15676163&id=comments 0 Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:42:56 -0800 The Stranger