Seattle Subsonic - January, 2009
MSHVB Readying For The New Year
The eccentric and explosive prog-pop Seattle outfit, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, who cannonballed themselves into the community pool this past year with a series of hilarious “instructional” videos, has a few more details for their upcoming self-titled debut LP.
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Currently, the band simply has the 5-song Weepy EP (lovingly packaged in hand made pocket felt cases), but we can expect a full length album March 10th after recently signing to the Dead Oceans label (home to such bands as Bowerbirds and Evangelicals). The record was produced by the esteemed Scott Colburn, a local dude who’s worked with Feral Children (Second to the Last Frontier), KEXP, Mudhoney (Since We’ve Become Translucent), Arcade Fire (Neon Bible), and Animal Collective (Feels, Strawberry Jam) in the past. He also manned the boards for the aforementioned EP. Based on that, I’d say the chances of this album being BAD-ASS are fat to some (you know, as opposed to ‘slim to none’).
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And to this I say yippee. Update: the album version of “Anchors Dropped” (via Pitchfork):
[audio:http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/anchorsdropped.mp3]
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Read about the time they wore matching outfits at Neumos here. Tracklist after the jump.
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Rebirth Gets Stuck in Town.. We WIN!!!
Looks like this time the weather is in our favor. After playing a sold out show at the Tractor last night, Rebirth Brass Band is stuck here in Seattle and unable to get to their Portland show. To fill that void, they are playing TONIGHT (Friday Jan 9)at the High Dive in Fremont.
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There is no chance in hell the teenie tiny High Dive will contain this show. I can almost promise you that there will be people marching up and down Fremont Ave, ‘Second Lining’ behind the most awesome blues stylings of what I consider the best New Orleans Brass Band out there.
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$8 at the door. EIGHT DOLLARS!!
They take the stage at 10pm
Snow Days + Car Trips = Best Massline Music I’ve Heard in a Minute
Blue Scholars – Coffee and Snow
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Common Market – Tobacco and Snow Covered Roads
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Dutchess & the Duke, Night Canopy @ the Tractor
| Saturday, January 10, 2009 | ||
| 9:30 pm |
The Dutchess and the Duke, one of my current faves, plays the Tractor this weekend with Night Canopy (Amy Blaschke of solo and Whalebones fame and Nick DeWitt of Pretty Girls Make Graves) and Jason Dodson of the Maldives. LOTS of acoustic guitars and heartfelt songwriting. Li’l bit o’ country twang, too. What else would you expect from a show at the Tractor?
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The D&D focus on true ramshackle folk-rock songs about supersonic jet planes, fuckin’ in the phone booth, carefree Armageddon love, and ships made of stone. The chemistry between Kim Morisson and Jesse Lortz is both amazing to listen to and fun to watch, and their off-kilter lovelorn harmonies and endearingly simplistic tunes set themselves apart with nimble guitar pickin’, sassy maraca shakin’, constant tambourine playin’, flighty flutes, and sparse drumming.
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$10 / 21+
The Whore Moans, The Hands @ Neumos
| Thursday, January 22, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
I haven’t seen either of these hard-hat bands in awhile, and apparently the new Whore Moans album is pretty bad-ass. I can’t quite get into the Hands, mostly because of John Healy and his bandmates following the Stones formula a bit too fastidiously, but people seem to have a good time at their shows. I think I also don’t like that you can’t easily Google their name. I hate that shit.
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Anyway, if boisterous American garage rock and punk is your thang, get there early to rock out…with your cock out. That’s right.
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w/ the Cute Lepers (local 7-piece doo-wop, mod, power pop, punk band!)
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$8 / 21+
Tapes ‘n Tapes @ Neumos
| Tuesday, January 20, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
Sophomore slump? I think not. In fact Walk It Off was just named best local record of the year by St. Paul’s Pioneer Press. Trust me, the Twin Cities know their music (Prince, Bob Dylan, the Replacements, etc.), so the guys who produced The Loon certainly deserve it.
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Looks to be an Inaugural Day celebration with Tapes ‘n Tapes. Here’s what I had to say last time they played the Showbox: Review.
w/ Wild Light
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$15 Adv / All ages bar w/ ID
Sleepy Eyes of Death, Head Like A Kite, Loving Thunder @ Neumos
| Saturday, January 17, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
Fans of Karp will appreciate Loving Thunder, whom I saw at the Greenhouse several months back. The duo plays a mighty rendition of progressive metal and pounding drums, as Colin Roper, of Cobra High fame, plays a DEEP, synth-like base that grinds and pulsates along with the spastic drumming of Sterling Callier. Roper’s high-pitched vocals are slightly reminiscent of Ozzy, but also dampened as if the deranged Black Sabbath chief sings from <gasp!> 20,000 leagues under the sea.
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Excellent overall lineup with the epically ambient visual & aural stimulations of Sleepy Eyes of Death (CD release) and electro-rock genre-benders Head Like A Kite.
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$8 Adv / 21+
Oldominion 10-Year Anniversary @ Neumos
| Saturday, January 31, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
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The Oldominion crew will celebrate their 10th Anniversary with an all ages show at The Vera Project in the afternoon, a live radio performance by Nite Owls on KEXP in the evening and a 21+ show at Neumos later that night.
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The Vera Project
4pm doors (Cost TBD – no more than $5, possibly free)
Oldominion
Dim Mak
Suicide Riots
Nite Owls
DJ Mr. Hill
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KEXP
6-7pm Nite Owls live in studio set and interview
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Neumos 21+
8pm doors – $10 adv tix
Oldominion
The Saturday Knights
Grayskul
DJ Mr. Hill
Starfucker Fucks With A Star
Portland’s space-pop proprietors, Starfucker, were asked to do a cover by the nice DJ’s at buffetlibre.net. They chose Cyndi Lauper’s hit 80s smash “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” because, quote, she is so badass! and i feel like her music is timeless along with her crazy style. and also “girls just want to have fun” was josh’s cell phone ring for some time and thats where the idea came to do that song, endquote. Well, duh.
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“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” (Cover) - Starfucker
[audio:http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/starfucker.mp3]
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Related:
[Album Review] [Live Show Review]
Thee Emergency, Wild Orchid Children @ High Dive
| Saturday, January 10, 2009 | ||
| 9:00 pm |
American. Punk. Garage. Rock. Go to see this:
or this:
Thee Emergency
Wild Orchid Children
Strong Killings
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9pm
$6 / 21+
Ray Manzarek, Roy Rogers @ the Triple Door
| Friday, January 9, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm | ||
| Saturday, January 10, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
The legendary keyboardist (i.e. the guy who took the band from good to great) and co-founder of the Doors, Ray Manzarek, will play two nights at the Triple Door this weekend with slide guitarist Roy Rogers. I’ll admit, I’ve never heard of this Rogers (the late Country Western star notwithstanding), but apparently the two have put out a pretty solid instrumental album. Doors classics “The Crystal Ship” and “Riders On the Storm” (two songs that lend themselves to instrumentality, I suppose) have been included.
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Watching archived footage of the Doors on PBS the other night really makes me interested in this show, but 30 bucks is kinda steep.
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From the Triple Door’s website:
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What was Jim Morrison really like? The Doors’ keyboardist and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ray Manzarek will share his personal insights and play great music including Doors classics. Joining and jamming with Ray on stage for the evening is Sonoma County’s own Roy Rogers. Roy is one of the premier slide guitarists, a two time Grammy Award Nominee, and well known for his exciting live performances with John Lee Hooker, Norton Buffalo, and The Delta Rhythm Kings.
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Mainstage
8PM
$28 adv / $32 day of
Sera Cahoone @ the Tractor
| Friday, January 9, 2009 | ||
| 9:30 pm |
C’mon, do I really need to tell you how awesome Sera Cahoone is? Only As the Day Is Long ended up quite conspicuously as one of my year end favorites:
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Simply put, listening to Sera Cahoone just makes me feel good. Her sultry, plainspoken voice, her lo-fi, homespun guitar, and her honest, humble attitude all worked together in creating one of the more touching and beautiful records to come out this year. And despite the feel-good aspect of her music, the tone and subjects of Only As The Day Is Long tend to the somber and lovelorn, much like the Nashville stars of yore. “Baker Lake”, a love song with foreboding overtones, “Shitty Hotel”, a steel-pedal driven heartfelt plea, and “The Colder the Air”, a grand tune with a steady Americana tempo, are my favorites. And while her friends do quite well in making her visions come true—in particular plucker Jeff Fielder and steel pedaler Jason Kardong—it’s Cahoone’s voice and relaxed persona that draws me in.
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SERA CAHOONE
BETSY OLSON
ZOE MUTH & THE LOST HIGH ROLLERS
9:30pm ~ $10adv/$12dos
