Seattle Subsonic - September, 2008
The Way I See It, "The Way I See It" is a Classic
Raphael Saadiq has been putting out great music for a loooong time. He started out as a lead vocalist in the new jack swing group Tony! Toni! Tone! in the early 90s. Then he formed the (super?) group Lucy Pearl with Dawn Robinson of En Vouge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest. He is also a sought after producer, having produced cuts with D’Angelo (the Grammy-winning “How does it feel?”), Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers, The Roots, Macy Gray, Snoop Dogg, Devin the Dude, Kelis, Q-Tip, and just exectuive produced Joss Stone‘s entire 3rd album. Then there are his solo albums that are a must have in any soul/r&b heads collection. Yeah he’s been doing things for a minute.
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His newest album does not disappoint. The Way I See It is one of the best recreations of the “Motown Sound” I’ve ever heard. The tracks sound straight off a 1960′s vinyl pressing. The production is top notch, the vocals are well sung and every song captures the essence of soul music how it was meant to be heard. It isn’t too polished or clean. Hell, it doesn’t even sound like a product of the digital age…and that is the highest compliment I can give. It sounds like all analog equipment was used in the production process and that adds a realness and grittyness that is absent in nearly all new soul music, except maybe for Mark Ronson and the Dap tones. The resurgence of that classic/analog/soulful sound is the best thing to happen to music in the last decade, in my humble oppinion, and Saadiq’s latest offering is at the head of the pack.
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The album is full of gems but my favorite track would have to be “100 Yard Dash.” The riff is just so nasty and the tempo is perfect. I can’t help but get in the groove and hum along when the guitar kicks in during the intro. The rest are all crowd pleasers that will feel right at home in the stereo of a peer, a family member, a parent, a child, or a coworker…practically everyone can enjoy this album. It doesn’t discriminate and is very listener friendly.
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You can go and listen to The Way I See It in it’s entirity on Saadiq’s myspace page. Then I recommend going out and buying a copy.
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Here is a fan video of him performing “Just One Kiss” in DC on 9/1/08.
Shenandoah Davis and Danbert Nobacon (formerly of Chumbawumba.. really) @ the Mix Lounge
To be sure, this is one of the most intriguing and beguiling events I’ve seen in a while. Let’s first start with the location. Formerly the Christoff, and right behind the 9 Lb Hammer, The Mix is an urban culture oasis, a great combination of mini-gallery, and mini-venue, nestled right in the heart of Georgetown. It’s becoming known for it’s jazz musician jam sessions, healthy pours and being a MUST on your tour of hipster nightlife.
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One of our favorites, Shenandoah Davis, will be bringing her collection of gothic ballads and lackidaisical sea shantys into this industrial scene. A marvelously talented singer-songwriter with a voice like driven rain. Perfect for the edgy Seattle gallery.
Check here for a full writeup on Shenandoah.
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Headlining the bill is Danbert Nobacon formly of Chumbawumba (really) and now hailing from Twisp, though I’m not sure how long that’s been the case. He’s been in the music game since 1980 recording on over a dozen albums all ending in getting knocked down in 2004. But he got up again. Since then, he has released his first solo album in a decade titled “The Library Book of the World” filled to the brim with lager-soaked roots rockers and bitter ballads reminiscent of Robyn Hitchcock or the Pogues.
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Also on the bill are Jack Wilson and the Wife Stealers. The sound of true Americana. The slide guitar, tinkling keyboard and shuffling guitars of the Wife Stealers back the soft folk tones of Jack Wilson.
Cold War Kids @ Showbox (Mkt)
Were it not for the fact that I saw them twice in the span of a few months during these fantastically jangly soul-rockers’ Robbers & Cowards tour back in ’06 (at the Crocodile, no less), I’d probably be pining for tix right about now. Cold War Kids, hailing from SoCal, are absolutely stunning in a live setting, with Nathan Willet packing more emotion in his pinky than most of us have in our entire bodies, bassist Matt Maust making like your crazy old uncle and glaring at you from the edge of the stage for the entire show, and Jonnie Russell—the band’s featured performer IMHO—creating jagged Edge-inspired guitar riffs for the mover and shaker in all of us. Throw in Matt Aviero’s pounding percussion and the Billy Joel-esque balladry when Willet hits the piano, and you won’t be disappointed. SRSLY.
Loyalty to Loyalty is the band’s new LP and pretty much picks up where they left off, rollicking right through your heart and head, starting with the single “Something Is Not Right With Me”. You can listen to some additional clips here.
w/ SEAN HAYES
$17.00 ADV / DOS & at the door
Doors at 8pm – All Ages
p.s. Easy Street QA in-store on the same day, 6 PM.
My Morning Jacket @ McCaw Hall
Evil Urges kinda sucks, doesn’t it? But, fortunately, the band that created it does not. It Still Moves and Z are two of my favorite rock americana records of the past several years (not that I spend profuse amounts of time listening to the genre, but still), and Okonos is one of the few live albums I actually own. Jim James will surely blow your mind with his wailing, crooning, screaming, and, yes, real-live singing, and the rest of the dudes in My Morning Jacket have the chops (both literally and figuratively) to make you a real-live fan.
$34 + fees / All ages
p.s. Who the hell plays at McCaw Hall?? Lame. I suppose it’s a nice place…
Travis Vick and not an Airplane @ Mars Bar
Travis Vick is an 18 year old singer/songwriter. Nick Shattell is not an Airplane. Travis’ music is dark and heartfelt and not an Airplane is guarenteed to break your heart.
If this all sounds far too confusing, it’s OK, it is. All you need to know is that Travis Vick (CA), not an Airplane (CA) w/ local guests Haunted Houses (SEA) are playing a quiet, heartbreaking, soul baring few sets of music at the Mars Bar in Eastlake. Shattel plays a style of folk-rock that perfectly relays his lyrics of sorrow and self-reflection, all while-somehow-making you feel really good after hearing it. You can expect melodic, and expressive folk songs from Travis Vick. You’ll walk away knowing more about these guys than you know about your best friends.
Cost will most probably be around $6.
These Arms Are Snakes @ Easy Street (QA)
The Easy Street in Queen Anne will be hosting a CD release show for local hardcore outfit These Arms Are Snakes. The new LP, entitled Tail, Swallower & Dove, is the band’s first for local label Suicide Squeeze. It’ll be the last time they play in Seattle for awhile; they head out on a Euro-Tour with labelmates Russian Circles shortly thereafter. This show will be free, you cheapskates.
More info from Traynor El here. Also, check out lotsa info and photos on the band’s new blog.
Sea Shanties Fill Georgtown's MIX Lounge. Sat, Sept, 27th
To be sure, this is one of the most intriguing and beguiling events I’ve seen in a while. Let’s first start with the location. Formerly the Christoff, and right behind the 9 Lb Hammer, The Mix is an urban culture oasis, a great combination of mini-gallery, and mini-venue, nestled right in the heart of Georgetown. It’s becoming known for it’s jazz musician jam sessions, healthy pours and being a MUST on your tour of hipster nightlife.
.
One of our favorites, Shenandoah Davis, will be bringing her collection of gothic ballads and lackidaisical sea shantys into this industrial scene. A marvelously talented singer-songwriter with a voice like driven rain. Perfect for the edgy Seattle gallery.
Check here for a full writeup on Shenandoah.
.
Headlining the bill is Danbert Nobacon formly of Chumbawumba (really) and now hailing from Twisp, though I’m not sure how long that’s been the case. He’s been in the music game since 1980 recording on over a dozen albums all ending in getting knocked down in 2004. But he got up again. Since then, he has released his first solo album in a decade titled “The Library Book of the World” filled to the brim with lager-soaked roots rockers and bitter ballads reminiscent of Robyn Hitchcock or the Pogues.
.
Also on the bill are Jack Wilson and the Wife Stealers. The sound of true Americana. The slide guitar, tinkling keyboard and shuffling guitars of the Wife Stealers back the soft folk tones of Jack Wilson.
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Listen to the New TeeVahter Record
TV on the Radio (TVOTR), Brooklyn’s uberprogressive tech-rock outfit with the angelic singer (Tunde Adebimpe’s his name) and the white-guy producer with the Harry Caray glasses, has graciously uploaded their fancy new record, Dear Science, up over on their myspace page. You go listen now.
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I’ve listened to it a handful of times over the past week, and it definitely warrants a handful (or 6) more from anyone who calls themselves a fan. Where Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes was an eye-opening, avant garde trip into the minds of some jazzy, techno influenced rockers, and Return to Cookie Mountain was the magnum opus leap into unquestioned credibility, Dear Science finds the band still evolving, yet able to weave the familiar themes of modern-day poetry, emotive falsetto choruses, white-noise electronica, old skool hip-hop percussion, and the unmistakable afro-beat horn section. Not to mention Kyp Malone tearing it up on his guitar (when appropriate, of course).
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Devoid of an ear-catching single such as “Staring at the Sun” or “Wolf Like Me”, it’s a different endeavor noting the standout tracks on this album; instead it reads straight through like a book, beginning to end, with protagonists, plot twists, dizzying highs and bottle-breaking lows. “Golden Age”, the presumed single, has a bright, ghetto-blaster midsection with shades of Prince and classical violin. Adebimpe sounds a bit like E-40 fronting Antibalas on the bump ‘n grind of “Red Dress”. “Halfway Home”, which opens the album, will be instantly recognizable to anyone who’s heard the band before now. And “Crying” uses a feathery funk guitar and synthetic R&B keys as its leaping point into heartbreak of a different kind. I could keep going, but then I’ve taken all the fun out of it.
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They played Seattle recently. I missed it and am therefore disappointed. Please, anyone, share your experience and I will be vindicated.
Does It Offend You, Yeah? Dance Party, Please.
A couple of months back Kevin, our blog maestro, shared some tracks from a little band from Reading, England: Does It Offend You, Yeah? Being a slow summer for me music wise, my ears took immediate attention–this is just what I’ve been looking for. A mix of electro-rock, dance party and 80s new wave, their first full length You Have No Idea What You Are Getting Yourself Into was an album one could say had ADD but in a very good way. One minute, it will getcha thinking B-52s (Attack of the 60 ft Lesbian Octopus). Next minute, 80s style new wave: Dawn of the Dead (clip below) and Being Bad Feels Pretty Good. Another minute LCD Soundsystem with We are Rockstars. Now who doesn’t love cowbell? And then there’s With a Heavy Heart ala Rage Against the Machine.
[audio:http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/04-dawn-of-the-dead.mp3]
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So when Seattle Subsonic was offered up the chance to go check them out at Chop Suey last Wednesday I was totally up for it as DIOY,Y? was the most played album in my iTunes library all summer long. Plus, I was especially ready for another dance party after seeing !!! at Bumbershoot and knew DIOY,Y? had the potential to produce.
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When I showed up at Chop Suey around 9 pm, I was a little worried. The crowd was pretty dismal and the energy level was low. I started to think, damn, there goes the dance party I was looking forward too. Meanwhile, the first band took the stage, a punk outfit out of NYC named Team Robespierre. That’s when people slowly crowded around the stage and energy levels started to rise. During their set more and more people began to trickle into the club just in time to for DIOY,Y?. At that moment, Kevin, who was also in attendance, said to me, “You may get your dance party yet!”
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We made our way over to the stage to set up camp. The band went on shortly after 10 opening with electro-infused Weird Science. Instrumentals were tight living true to form as if streaming seamlessly from the stereo. I turned around to check out the crowd and was happy to see that it numbered in many. And after their first song was up, as if reading my mind, James Rushent (vocal/bass), asked thru the microphone to “dim the lights, we want a dance party.” Yay! The set went on and the dance party ensued with DIOY,Y? playing every inch of You Have No Idea What You Are Getting Yourself Into however somewhere towards the middle, my right eardrum decided to give out to the loudness. Ouch!
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Featured as song of the day on KEXP:
[audio:http://www.digitalwell.washington.edu/dw/1/51/87/87239691-f8f0-40f9-9076-21f58ca3dff1.mp3]
We are Rockstars
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The best songs of the night were the instrumentals and the OMD like 80s prom songs (as I like to call them) straight out of Pretty in Pink. I was also surprised that many on the floor knew the words to their songs. Very impressive considering I haven’t heard them played once on KEXP. What was missing was the raucousness that I’ve heard much about “they sound dance and act rock” but I really only chalk that up to the fact that they were completely sober as mentioned a couple of times by lead singer James Rushent. Was it b/c Chop Suey doesn’t allow alcohol on stage? Or they just didn’t get a chance to drink beforehand? Either way, these guys are from England for crying out loud, give the boys some beer. All in all, a fun night. Seeing them live was the sticky tape that brought the songs together into a cohesive genre crossing package. Oh, and if you happen to find my eardrum on the floor of Chop Suey, please let me know. Just drop me a line over at Seattle Subsonic headquarters.
White Keys? Alicia Stripes?
The Unlikely Duet of the Year Award goes to…. Alicia Keys and Jack White.
Commissioned to record for the upcoming Bond film (it’s called “Quantum of Solace” in case you’ve been living offline in a cave until today.) “Another Way to Die” is probably the strangest Bond theme song of all time. Give the song a spin or two and then imagine the audiences in the theater watching the silhouettes of curvy women slithering over some cars and guns and martini glasses as the credits roll up, wincing in reaction to the dissonant guitar stylings of The White Prince. It’s a big rock song distracted by a big cinematic aspirations. Perhaps it was inspired by Paul McCartney‘s “Live and Let Die”. “Another Way…” seems well-suited for the Academy Awards where there is an orchestra and this Odd Couple on stage for a few minutes for worldwide TV viewers, but it is out of sync with the graceful, hypnotic sounds that have opened the majority of 007 movies. (Louis Armstrong, Carly Simon, Sheena Easton, even Sheryl Crow, for chrissakes.) Alicia Keys’ presence here is incidental but her voice melds well with White’s. The staccato time signature with White’s unmistakeable fat, tube-burning guitar and the Daptones-esque horn section certainly don’t make for a song that’s “a million times better” than the last Bond theme. “You Know My Name”, recorded for Casino Royale, was not a Rick James number, but in fact performed by former Seattle resident and Golden Throat Rocker(tm) Chris Cornell.
As a postscript to this report, I can’t help but wonder which ad wizards thought it prudent to use a song called “Another Way to Die” in the campaign for Coca Cola Zero, a lovely blend of enamel-destroying bubbles, salts, and acids.
