Seattle Subsonic - April, 2009
KGHB @ The Vera Project
| Wednesday, April 8, 2009 | ||
| 7:00 pm |
Hey Video Game Music Lovers. The Crazy Kids in Kids Get Hit by Buses (KGHB) are playing a show! If you missed them at this years Sound Off! You should really come check them out tonight at the Vera Project. Oh Did i mention it is a FREE!! Show. How often do you get to see two guys in spandex costumes dancing on D.D.R boards and using gameboys as instruments? Not that often I am afriad.
KGHB, Fighter X, Leeni, Circles, Spamtron, McFiredrill. Wow! Crunchtastic!
7:00 PM at Veracity @ The Vera Project
Warren & Republican Ave N, Seattle, Washington 98109
From the Coast of Carolina to Tokyo with Telekinesis
I love indie pop music. There’s just something about it that catches my ear each time those sugary poppy hooks stream on the air. It gives me the same feeling that warm sunny days and margaritas do–makes me happy and all warm & fuzzy. That’s pretty much how I felt when I first heard Coast of Carolina last fall by Seattle’s Telekinesis. I liked it so much that I went straight to KEXP’s website to see who was playing which I rarely do. Next stop—the band’s myspace page discovering that actually it’s not a band, but just one guy, where I promptly emailed him asking if I could write about his album. However to my dismay, it wasn’t ready at the time. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I found out that Telekinesis’ new LP, Telekinesis! is ready to be released…today.
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Telekinesis is the project of Michael Benjamin Lerner who recorded his latest with Chris Walla (of Death Cab for Cutie fame) touting the role of producer and engineer. Michael wrote and sang all of the songs constructed of vintage pop hooks of the 60s and 70s blended with indie flair. Each of the songs were tracked and mixed to analog tape in a single day before moving on to the next song in order to avoid over-thinking or over-working the spontaneous enthusiasm of the music. And, not only is Lerner the talented frontman, but he played nearly all of the instruments on the album. While he’s out touring with Ra Ra Riot though, he won’t be solo but with a full band of Seattlites backing him up.
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Telekinesis! is filled with 11 quintessential pop tunes, 3 of which have already hit the KEXP airwaves: Awkward Kisser, Tokyo, and Coast of Carolina (the latter getting the heaviest rotation). With the opening song Rust about a rusty heart that’s afraid to love, it’s easy to set yourself up for a more dreamy melancholic experience however that feeling soon dissipates once the sunny, catchy Coast of Carolina comes to play. As the songs progress, so does the fearlessness and intensity of the music with Tokyo, an homage to Lerner’s love for Japan, Look to the East, All of a Sudden and Foreign Room which eases in gently then peaks with power pop force. Telekinesis! wraps up as it started, on the softer side but with not so much of the melancholy. I Saw Lightening is a sweet melodic love song which makes you think that maybe that rusty heart got a jolt, or possibly some oil, to make it not so afraid after all.
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Lerner and crew will be in town on April 17th with the Banyans, Say Hi and Throw Me the Statue for their CD release party at the Crocodile. So if you like what you hear here, be sure to go check them out next week.
In-Store Performance from White Lies!
White Lies will be at Sonic Boom doing an In-store performance on Tuesday April 7th at 6pm before their big show at Neumos. If you are unfamiliar with White Lies this will be a great chance to be up close and personal with them. I can imagan that they won’t be doing these kinds of things for much longer.
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We also have a pair of tickets to give away for the show. So we are going to have a little contest for them. We want you to email us a funny lie you told recently. The best Lie gets two tickets to Tuesday show at Neumos. Winner will be announced on Monday the 6th at Noon
Lie to us here (info at seattlesubsonic.com)
congrats to Ian!
The Dutchess & The Duke, The Pica Beats and The Drug Purse @ Neumos Saturday April 4th
Perhaps you remember SS doing a couple articles on a small Sub Pop spin off label called Hardly Art, and HA being a cordial guest at one of the many SS happy hours hosted at Moe Bar. Well, two of the band on the HA label are at Neumos tomorrow night, The Dutchess & The Duke and The Pica Beats. Joining them is Tacoma band The Drug Purse.
Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison of the Dutchess and the Duke have great harmonies and almost indie-folk style song writing with an edge. Lortz has been in past Seattle bands such as the Flying Dutchmen and Fe Fi Fo Fums, among others.
Along with The Pica Beats poppy up-beat sound and The Drug Purse guitar driven ambient melodies that remind me of remnants of The Black Angels this proves to be a killer show for a Saturday night…
Listen To Now We Can See (Hurry!)
As you’ve probably noticed, I like to tell you when you can go over to myspace (or other free online music streamers) and listen to a recent release, in full, of a favorite band. TV on the Radio, Malajube, Handsome Furs have all done this via myspace recently; Neko Case and Animal Collective via NPR; Obits and MSHVB via Spinner.
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Well, as of yesterday, The Thermals, who might be considered Portland’s most beloved band, have loaded their 4th full length, Now We Can See, into their myspace player. Production-wise, it’s the facsimile of that bust-out political dynamo from 2006, The Body, The Blood, The Machine (though Fugazi’s Brendan Canty has been replaced on the boards by John Congleton). The same clean-yet-crunchy guitars and worm-like hooks from Hutch Harris, the same rowdy bass from Kathy Foster, new drummer Westin Glass essentially picks up where Lorin Coleman left off (why is it that no drummers wanna stay with this band?). Despite the title’s obvious nod to the new political landscape, Hutch’s lyrics are less incendiary this time around, if not more self-aware.
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It’s funny, I’ve never considered myself much a fan of the “power pop” or the “pop punk”, but when you combine the two in the mold of the Thermals’ no-frills-no-gimmicks “power-punk”, I’m completely enamored. Ever since I heard Fuckin A during a relentless and drunken CD-repeat session at the ’04 Sasquatch, never has a band seemed so visionary and comfortable in their skin as this one. The raw irascibility of their first two records has morphed into a calculated bombast that, despite its conventional approach to rock music, will place this band firmly within this decade’s elite. Early favorites on this one are “I Let It Go”, “When I Was Afraid”, and “How We Fade”.
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Record release show will be at Neumos on April 11. Now We Can See is due to hit shelves Tuesday, April 7 on Kill Rock Stars (where I just read that today and tomorrow only will the record be on myspace. Giddyup!).
White Lies @ Neumos
| Tuesday, April 7, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm | ||
| 8:00 pm |
White Lies, a trio of young London post-punks who just topped the U.K. charts with their debut album To Lose My Life and grabbed some unlikely ears for their broody rock with a cover of Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown.” The band got American crowds buzzing at the SXSW Festival in Austin last month, where they DJ’ed “a full-on Stifler-style frat party,”
I would describe their sound as Tears for Fears meets Interpol. Plodding basslines, bright drumming and moody synths. Dark and Danceable.
White Lies w/
Friendly Fires & The Soft Pack
@ Neumo’s on Tuesday, April 7th
Doors at 8 pm :: $13 adv
Bumbershoot announces their first Sponsor!
So if you haven’t heard, every year on Labor Day weekend here in Seattle there is a gathering of consumers with disposable income down in Seattle Center under the watchful eye of the Needle (WORDPLAY!). It’s 3 days of logos and and info booths that just make me giddy thinking about it. It’s called Bumbershoot and it’s brought to you by a load of huge companies that know you’re just dying for their newest and greatest stuff. This year like last year Samsung Mobile is the first proud sponsor. We’ll get to hear sooo much about alll their great products and services over the next SIX MONTHS!! Whooweeeh!
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Last year, Paul Chapple, Vice President for Samsung Mobile said “Bumbershoot is so uniquely Seattle — eclectic, entertaining, and unifying — it’s really a pleasure to associate our latest devices with an event that is truly one of the highpoints of the summer.”
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Oh, good on ya Paul! Horray!!! New Devices!!
I really hope AEG rounds out this years sponsor lineup with classics like and Starbucks, SPIN Magazine, a huge tent dedicated to how FUN Microsoft is, and Crocs. Gawd I LOVE Crocs. Crocs RAWK! Shit. This year is already looking to be great… and did I mention there’s only SIX FUGGIN MONTHS left to wait!?!? I’m already getting nervous about getting my discounted tickets. I HOPE they don’t run out.. I’d better make sure me and all my friends are on BumberFan mail
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Oh yeah, and an initial lineup has been announced as well. There’s some music thing happpening there too.
Passive Disaster @ Chop Suey
| Thursday, April 2, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
Passive Disaster will be playing a show at Chop Suey this Thursday night. If you missed it they got a small little write up in Last weeks Stranger (See “Frisky Business”). The Party Crasher happened to crash a party at my house that they played. So now is your chance to see their awesomeness in person. Their live show is a dancing good time. With just three members two of which jump between the Guitar and the key board their music will get you moving. They even have a song about dancing with out your pants. They happen to play this song without the aid of pants. So come down to Chop Suey and check out this show. Its only 7 bucks.
www.myspace.com/thepassivedisaster
The Passive Disaster w/
Alaska in Winter,
and A Leaf
Liars Club @ Skylark
| Friday, April 3, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
One of our faves, the Liars Club are headed out (or “in” depending on your geographic stance) to West Seattle for a night at the Skylark. In their last appearance they introduced a couple new songs due to be eventually compiled onto.. dare I say it.. an LP..? Regardless, you can get a taste of what’s to come on their MySpace here. (or just look below) What I can promise is that it will be a raukus night. Hopefully KC will coral the crowd into getting it’s groove on at the front of the stage again.
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Headlining the night are Seattle post-punk rockers Biography of Ferns. They’ve got a sound that they claim comes from influences such as the Kinks and Yo La Tango. I’d personally say the reference is spot on.
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In addition to being a well put together venue just on the cusp of the W. Seattle, the Skylark also has some great brews on tap. It’s heaven for both the audio AND the beer geek. Namely me. Oh.. and did I mention that all the shows there are FREE!! . Well the are. $free.99
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Biography of Ferns 11
Mars Accelerator 10
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Thermals @ Neumos
| Saturday, April 11, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
New Album.
New Drummer.
New label
Neumos.
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Shit what else can say. The Termals are coming. The Portland Trio are hitting the stage here in Seattle days after their album Now You Can See drops on the 7th. The place is sure to be bouncin higher than Kathy’s curls.
If you haven’t heard anything off the new release yet. Check this:
[audio:http://www.musicsnitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/thethermals-nowwecansee.mp3]
The Thermals,
Panther,
Parenthetical Girls
:: Doors at 8 pm :: $15 adv ::
Squirel Nut Zippers @ Triple Door
| Thursday, April 16, 2009 | ||
| 7:00 pm | ||
| 9:30 pm |
I know Squirrel Nut Zippers as the soundtrack of summers between college terms. Songs about burning in hell and sipping on lemonaide all seemed to somehow blend just perfectly. They were the first to hit the radio with that thowback ragtime style with songs that sounded like a punk band born in the 30′s working mandolins rather than electric guitars. I never got a chance to catch them back in the day, but now they’re coming to my favorite venue in Seattle.
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Now while the ever more popular Andrew Bird was once a member, he won’t be joining this troop of original members. They will perform selections from the entire catalog, plus new songs and different cover songs. In addition most shows include a video performance of the amazing Ghost of Stephen Foster cartoon, created by their friends at The Simpsons.
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All while nice waitresses bring me al th “Old Fashions” I can drink. AAaahh.
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Squirrel Nut Zippers
Triple Door Mainstage :: $28 ($30 after fees)
- 7:00 PM
- 9:30 PM
The Republic Tigers @ Showbox
| Sunday, April 5, 2009 | ||
| 9:30 pm |
So another band that happens to be from my home town of Kansas City is coming to Seattle. I had heard that the last time Republic Tigers where in Seattle that it was all Kansas City kids at the show who knew of them from back home. Of course that was before they had made their T.V. debut on David Letterman. Their big song is “Buildings and Mountains” which was picked up by Itunes Indie Spotlight for Alt/Rock is just the tip of the iceberg for their style of music on their album “Keep Color”. They are currently on tour with Travis. This is going to be a really good show. These guys are fantastic musicians and their live show is full of energy. I highly recommend that you make your way down to Showbox on April 5th.
April 5, 2009
Travis
The Republic Tigers
@ Showbox at The Market
7:30 doors – $25
