Seattle Subsonic - August, 2009
As Posted on Craigslist at 7:33am…
Word to the wise… Don’t ever leave your music equipment at a pissed off ex girlfriends house… LOL
Carousel Festival Begins Today
The Carousel Festival is Seattle’s DIY house-scene annual extravaganza, and it begins today at 3pm. The Green House (run by the affable Natron) and the Healthy Times Fun Club—two of the most prominent house venues in town—will be hosting the event, along with Dancylvania, Gallery 1412, Black Lodge, and Cairo Gallery. Go here for comprehensive location info.
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Not only is the effort for a good cause—Urban Rest Stop and our good friends at Hollow Earth Radio will be the beneficiaries—but the lineup is fucking stellar. See Me River, the Pica Beats, Weekend, Partman Parthorse, Feral Children, Loving Thunder, and Helms Alee are among the most recognizable outfits. Tons of other great bands, too. Check out the deets from the organizers below.
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Seattle DIY & United Underground Presents…
THE 4TH ANNUAL CAROUSEL FESTIVAL 2009!
THREE DAYS OF ART, MUSIC, AND COMMUNITY!
AUGUST 28TH, 29TH, AND 30TH!
All proceeds go to support the Urban Rest Stop & Hollow Earth Radio!
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$17 3-day passes.
$8 1-day passes. $5 per show.
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Tickets AVAILABLE at these locations: Left Bank Books, Singles Going Steady, Wall of Sound, 20/20 Cycle. Entire fest MC’ed by DUET TO-IT!
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Friday, August 28th
3pm @ Dancylvania
- Buffalo Thunder
- Silhouettes
- FOR CRYING OUT LOUD WORKSHOP!
- My Parade
- A Million Years Ago
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7pm-1:30am @ Healthy Times Fun Club
- Herr Jazz
- Strong Killings
- Total Bros (PDX)
- Alexis Gideon (PDX)
- Shelley Short (PDX)
- See Me River
- Why I Must Be Careful (PDX)
- Snowman Plan
- the Pica Beats
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WITH RESPECT TO THE VENUES, THIS IS AN ALCOHOL AND DRUG FREE EVENT.
200 PERSON CAPACITY CUT-OFF ON EVENING SHOW. GET THERE EARLY!
WORKSHOPS, FILMS, AND MORE!!!!
For more info go to seattlediy.com or myspace.com/carouselfestival
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Saturday and Sunday schedules after the jump/cut/fold/WHATEVER!
REVERB Festival initial line-up announced
On October 3rd, Seattle Weekly’s REVERBFest will make it’s glorious return to shake the mortar from Ballard’s historic buildings. All happening in one day and spread throughout all available venues, it is – without challenge – the greatest single gathering of the Seattle area’s musical talent.
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This year’s bands enter from all realms of the spectrum, from the hot-shit hip hop of Fresh Espresso, to the deep raw grooves of The Redwood Plan, to the pizza party pop rock that is Coconut Coolouts, and the re-re-reborn punk-rock genius that is Unnatural Helpers. The line-up for the fest is still in the preliminary stages, but there are over 30 bands already set to hit the stage. After the Bumber-Monster receds back into the murky depths, those slated for the labor day event will be able to announce their participation here as well, so expect some more big names to emerge. I think last years REVERB Music Fest cost loyal SEA music fans a whopping $8, so get it on your calendar now. You’re going.
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For now, I’ve listed out the bands playing so far, with links to their music as well as some choice MP3s to listen to.
Thee Emergency* (Attack of the Cobrasaurus)
Lonely H
Katharine Hepburn’s Voice
Fences
Thee Satisfaction
GMK
Final Spins
Fresh Espresso* (Big or Small)
Fatal Lucciauno
Spaceman
The Maldives
Levator
Unnatural Helpers* (Dirty Dumb Comical)
Redwood Plan* (Movers Shakers Makers)
Recess Monkey
Kore Ionz
Coconut Coolouts* (Party Jail)
Zera Marvel
Little Cuts
The Girls
SK
Telepathic Liberation Army
Tea Cozies
Wallpaper
Barton Carroll
The Keeper
The Basements
Lady Drama
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(*=some of my personal recommendations)
The Purrs Keep On Doin' Their Twang
The Purrs play the part of the persistent underdog well. The band is one that you’ve probably heard of. You’ve likely read a positive review about them in your favorite online music reading place (guilty). They’re probably a band that you’ve inadvertently stumbled upon in some Ballard venue on some rainy weeknight. Yet they’re likely not the first band that comes to mind when somebody posits the question, “What’s your favorite guitar pop band in Seattle?” Well, the dudes aren’t ready to give in; not to fickle audiences, not to unappreciative labels, and surely not to the undulating local music scene full of synths, glitches, beards and crossovers. As such, the band has given us Amused, Confused & More Bad News, its third full-length and arguably its most evolved and succinct output yet.
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The quartet, for the most part, stays true to its atmospheric psych-pop maxims: vocalist/bassist Jima’s lucid bellyaches about his heartbreaks and hangovers, eternally stuck in the doldrums, and Jason Milne’s high-fret wandering manifestos. Like any good songwriter, Jima is adept at turning his written prose into singing poetry, often laced with cynicism and snark. The guy’s probably had ten times as many breakups as you or I, yet he is nothing if not resolute, determined to shake off his funk, and preferably with a drink. There is a heaviness to this album that differs from their first two, as the band opts for less exploration and more immediacy in achieving their final compositions. The record’s success ultimately hinges on Jima’s ability to corral his emotions (and pitch) and Milne’s proclivity for testing the heights of his spiraling, skygazing strings. The Purrs are not a duo however, and drummer Craig Kellen and new rhythm guitarist Bob Silverstein complement their mates capably. Kellen, in particular, is as solid as skin pounders come.
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“Sister” is the leadoff track, and for good reason. Milne’s Fender explodes into a beautiful, blistering wah-wah arpeggio that lasts a good 90 seconds (the rest of the band joins in, including a third guitar). It really lays into the listener and sets a towering tone while Jima and Silverstein conspire for their best harmonies of the record. You’d be hard-pressed not to conjure memories of your favorite Brit-pop band—from the Smiths to Oasis—while listening to the album’s jangly, hook-heavy first half, with “Fear of Flying” and “Feeling Fine” as the poster songs. The second half of the record is where the Purrs slow it down and burn through some solemn psychedelia. “The Outpost” is possibly the best song they’ve penned (ok, maybe not better than “Taste of Monday”), a colossal and wide-eyed venture. Jima ponders the future of his relationship in the wake of the “gigantic machine” and has this gurgling noise (guitar pedal? organ?) that steps through each verse like a dejected creature plodding through the cosmos.
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Not quite the final track, “Good Times Will Come” is the de facto closer of Amused. It’s a broiling drifter of a song, aimlessly roaming a lost, sun-scorched highway. The Purrs are convinced better times are ahead, and if this record doesn’t get ‘em there, well, who knows how they’ll handle it.
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The Purrs celebrate Amused, Confused & More Bad News at the Sunset this Saturday, August 29th, with Black Nite Crash and Blood Red Dancers. Don’t miss this lineup.
Redwood Plan @ Sunset
The Redwood Plan is new construction from old growth Seattle rock and rollah. Lesli Wood, previously of Ms. Led, brings the same energy 
and raw talent to this project showcasing the power of XX. The Redwood Plan is playing numerous shows throughout Sept including Oktoberfest in Fremont and the REVERB Fest in Ballard, but this show at the Sunset Tavern will put these heavy grooves right up in your face. Here’s a little taste:
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Redwood Plan-Something to Prove
[audio:http://www.digitalwell.washington.edu/dw/1/51/a1/a1f1c9f5-aa68-41fa-99a2-fdabd9d5d1ba.mp3]
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10:00 – 21+ – $8 / Buy tickets HERE
New Track from Dutchess and the Duke's Upcoming Release
Kimberly Morrison and Jesse Lortz, are due to release their second album, Sunrise/Sunset through Sub Pop sister label Hardly Art on October 6th. The sophomore effort continues their deep decent into the heart of folk rock, employing gracefully harmonized vocals, intimate rattlings of percussions and instrumentation that somehow teeters between minimalism and rogue wave. To whet the appetite for the coming feast, they have released this first single.
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Hands
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Backing the the release in October, the Dutchess and the Duke will play a West coast tour with a album release date here in Seattle Oct 9th at the Croc.
The Get Up Kids @ Neumos
Being from Kansas I have a special place in my heart for the get up kids. They once played a show at my high school. I have been to their recording studio. I even made their reunion show this past year in Kansas City. So you can bet money that i will be attending this show. Also they are going to be reissuing their album “Something to write home about” my personl favorite of their albums. Its a 10th anniversary CD/DVD combo coming out on Sept 8th. So keep any eye out for that.
http://www.myspace.com/thegetupkids
The Get Up Kids, Youth Group, Pretty and Nice ::
Doors at 7 pm ::
$21 adv
FREE SHOW AT THE COMET TONIGHT!!!!!
TONIGHT!
THE SAFE PASSAGE CLAUSE
CLEB & ABRO
with special guest
INNUENDO
FREE SHOW,
Comet Tavern, Capital hill
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Queens of the Zeppelin Fighters?
While some around here may decry the varied and sundry side projects of Jack White, this writer has a penchant for the work of Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, UNKLE, Desert Sessions, The Wellwater Conspiracy). And it appears we can add another mysterious moniker to his impressive resume: Them Crooked Vultures. The name was spilled this summer by his EODM bandmate Jesse, and from the teaser vids on YouTube and their own site, the lineup is kinda the supergroup of the year: Dave Grohl (who recorded and toured with Josh for QOTSA’s “Songs for the Deaf”), Alain Johannes (Eleven, Chris Cornell’s band, and longtime guitarist for QOTSA) and… drum roll, please: John Paul Jones, of Led Fawking Zeppelin. The poster for their Chicago appearance featured the Foos’ “FF” logo, a symbol from Zep IV and the “Spermy Q” image from Queens’ second album. Sweet.
There is about as much conjecture flying around as truth with regard to this band’s future recordings, but the body of work that’s appearing on the YouTubes and reviews of their Lollapalooza two weeks ago confirms that they have an album’s worth of music in the bag.
Their official (though basically empty) site is here. So far it’s just got a vbulletin forum and a google maps plugin that may or may not tell you where they are at the moment. I eagerly await more.
Good Old War @ Studio Seven
w/ The Honorary Title and Cory Branan
Cost: $10 adv/ $12 DOS
“The trio have mastered the art of three-part harmonies and their lively and intricate songs are a throwback to the days when Crosby, Stills And Nash ruled the rock world…Rocks Like: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young / Fleet Foxes / Simon & Garfunkel” – Alternative Press
check them out here.
http://www.myspace.com/goodoldwar
