Seattle Subsonic - September, 2009
Anomie Belle w/ Mr. Lif @ Bumbershoot (Monday)
I usually hear about artist collaborations that accidentally happened at bigger festivals; but Bumbershoot has always seemed pretty straight forward to me. Through the bleakness, I’ll at least be looking forward to a surprise Northeast/ Northwest collaboration of Anomie Belle w/ guest emcee (and Def Jux alum) Mr. Lif, from Boston. If you like underground hip hop and haven’t heard of Mr. Lif (or Def Jux) then, go back, and do your homework. Start with “I Phantom”. Smart lyrics and good beats.
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We interviewed Anomie Belle in January and she was already excited about possible future projects with hip hop artists. Since then, she’s been all over the Northwest scene from Noise for the Needy, to the Photosynthesis Festival, and now Bumbershoot. (Keep it up!)
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I expect Mr. Lif’s charged political lyrics should be a great match for Anomie Belle’s material, which often deals with social issues. Beyond that, Anomie Belle plays and records all the instruments for her music and it has always been interesting to see who will help her perform the one person act at live shows. So, if you were hoping to see something at Bumbershoot, which you wouldn’t normally get to see, maybe you should start here. (Any other collaborations going on?)
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Monday, September 7th
Anomie Belle w/ Special Guest Mr. Lif
Bumbershoot – Northwest Court Stage
12pm
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www.myspace.com/anomiebelle
www.anomiebelle.com
www.myspace.com/mrlif
Throw Me The Statue and Nurses @ the Vera Project
| Tuesday, September 22, 2009 | ||
| 7:30 pm |
Throw Me the Statue
The Brunettes
Nurses
$10 ($9 w. club card)
Throw Me the Statue came out of nowhere when they signed to Secretly Canadian Records in 2007, and since then they’ve managed to turn themselves from Seattle indie rockers into an indie pop powerhouse. Their debut album “Moonbeams,” is an indie rock delight, full of harmony and catchy hooks. Now, they’ve followed it up with another great album in “Creaturesque” another Seattle indie rock classic. This is their first club show since the album dropped so make sure you don’t miss them playing new cuts and old favorites!
Nurses! love their album right now. A must see show!
Minus The Bear @ Pyramid Brewery
| Saturday, October 10, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
Seattle Alehouse – back parking lot in the Snow Cap tent
A night of revelery, entertainment, and the first of the season’s Snow Cap! Doors at 6pm, music at 9pm. More details to come . . . Seattle Pyramid Alehouse 1201 1st Ave S In the Snow Cap Tent!
Freaking Minus the Bear and Snow Cap.. sounds like an amazing night to me.
The Gaslight Anthem @ Showbox Market
| Wednesday, September 23, 2009 | ||
| 7:00 pm |
with Murder By Death, The Loved Ones, and Frank Turner
| Day: Wed, Sep 23, 2009 Days until show: 19 Doors open: 7:00 PM Ages: All Ages to Enter, 21 & Over to Drink On sale now Ticket Prices*: $18.00 ADV-$20.00 DOS |
The Devil is in the Details!
It was almost 25 years ago that Daniel Johnston first appeared on MTV, finagling his way into a live performance and interview on a show based upon the thriving Austin music scene at that time. Johnston is a singer/songwriter/artist who rose to underground cult status while battling crippling manic-depression that may in fact fuel his genius. Thus, we are lucky that Daniel Johnston is playing this Friday night at Neumo’s, gracing Seattle with one of the greatest musical geniuses we have seen in quite some time.
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His life-long battle with depression and schizophrenia was the basis for the 2006 documentary film, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a chronicle of the artist’s life from his youth through being offered the most artist-friendly contract in major label history to bouts of depression that landed him in institutions. For those out there that are not familiar with Johnston’s music, at first listen you might exactly wonder what is happening…the chords are sometimes a little off, the voice resembles a childlike sing-a-long, and the songs themselves aren’t always the most intricate pieces of work. But once you start listening to the songs through the lens with which Johnston writes, once you can truly hear how amazing the songs really are, Johnston’s true genius comes through. Because of that, this is a show you certainly do NOT want to miss. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned that Kimya Dawson (yes, the Kimya Dawson who did the Juno Soundtrack, is also playing…) Here are a couple of tracks if you aren’t convinced yet:
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Friday, September 5th
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Neumo’s, 8pm, 21+ $18 adv
It Might Get Loud
Had a chance to see the new guitar documentary It Might Get Loud over at the Egyptian Theatre last night. I’ll start off by saying that, as a white male rock music fan between the ages of 16 and 60, I enjoyed the film. And if the above is your demographic, chances are you’ll like this movie, too. That’s not meant as a disparaging remark (or a slight to the ladies), I just think it has its proper audience: Led Zeppelin geeks, U2 geeks, Jack White geeks, and guitar geeks. I fall somewhere in the middle of that quartet as a definite Led Zep geek, a partial Jack White Geek, and a partial guitar geek. I’ll admit it was nice to get acquainted with the Edge, his history and his intriguing techniques, but I haven’t really listened to much U2 since high school (War and The Joshua Tree, predictably).
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The film stars Jimmy Page, Jack White, and the Edge and was produced/directed by Davis Guggenheim, probably most notable for the Oscar-worthy An Inconvenient Truth. Despite what you may be anticipating, very little of the film takes place in the circle of couches hinted at in the trailer. Much of it takes place in the respective home/studio of each super-guitarist, followed by rare and familiar footage of each (Page playing ‘skiffle‘ as a schoolboy was priceless), and finally the conversational/jam session aspect among the trio. Guggenheim attempts—and succeeds, mostly—to show how each guitarist, demi-gods to successive generations, found and honed their inescapably signature sounds.
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There were a few goose-bump-inducing moments early on in the movie when each player was “introduced”. The first was White building an electric guitar out of a weathered piece of 2×4, some nails, wire, and a coke bottle. He takes the stogie from teeth and says, “Who says you need to buy a guitar?” Another was Page playing “Ramble On” in his courtyard (btw, he makes A LOT of old man faces while playing these days). Watching him charm that celebrated tune, sans band, was an absolute treat. Another was hearing a present-day Edge play the intro to “Where The Streets Have No Name” several times over, before the riff finally segues into some arena footage of U2 performing in front of 100,000 bouncing people. (side note: I was surprised at how epic this image seemed, and at the wave of emotion sweeping through my entire body. For U2! THAT is what the guitar does.)
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I found myself more entranced with the eccentric, enigmatic White than either Page or the Edge. He’s the youngest of ten children, he picked up the guitar because his upholstering mentor-cum-drummer needed a bandmate, he referred to the initial red-and-white incarnation of he and Meg as “cartoon characters”, and the equipment he uses is, well, shit. Guggenheim highlights a guitar White bloodied during one frenetic performance. He talks about “creating a struggle”. There’s a really endearing scene near the beginning where he instructively plays the piano for a similarly dressed 9 year old boy (described only in age) who’s eager to learn.
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I could go on, but that would count as spoilers. See it if you’re a fan of these musicians, or guitars in general. If not, it’s probably not your bag. Page did confirm however, in somewhat cliché fashion, what fans have outright assumed all these years: that “Stairway to Heaven” is, in fact, modeled after an orgasm.
Sub Pop Mixtape
Hey, just wanted to alert you to Sub Pop’s newest free mixtape. It’s offered over at insound.com and is available for download for only seven (7) days, starting yesterday (9/1). Pretty good offering of their current talent:
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“You’re a Target” – No Age
“Seven” – Sunny Day Real Estate
“Son of a Gun” – The Vaselines
“Hold On” – Mark Sultan
“Two-Headed Coin” – Obits
“Belated Promise Ring” – Iron & Wine
“Silver Among the Gold” – Grand Archives
“Black River Killer” – Blitzen Trapper
“Hurt Feelings” – Flight of the Conchords
“False Jesii Part 2″ – Pissed Jeans
“Gauze” – Red Red Meat
“Dreamer” – Tiny Vipers
“Mykonos” – Fleet Foxes
“The Ruminant Band” – Fruit Bats
“Strictly Rule” – Vetiver
“Radio Kaliningrad” – Handsome Furs
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You can also still download the label’s cheekily titled “Cybersex Digital Sampler” that they offered up back in June, should you miss out on this new one. Ten of those 14 tracks are identical to this one. You might just head there now to check out the hilarious 1999 “retro” website.
The Get Up Kids @ Neumos
| Friday, September 18, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
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
Good Old War @ Studio Seven
| Wednesday, September 16, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
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
