Seattle Subsonic - October, 2009
Grizzly Bear Will Be Good, I’m Sure Of It
About four months ago, I put on a rather large geek-out party when all I cared to listen to was the plush and magnetic record from Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest. (Solved the issue on the pronunciation shortly thereafter, btw: veck-uh-tim-est). The record was a springtime one, and emitted a smudgy sunshine gleam ( “Cheerleader”, for example), but now that it’s autumn and the cold has settled in, the off-kilter indoor coziness of it sounds just as engrossing as ever. Regular listens are imperative, despite its ripe old age of five long months.
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The band is making their way to our corner of the world, the Moore Theatre to be precise, this Friday, October 16th. They’ll be joined by the Morning Benders. Tickets are (amazingly) still available, and I would recommend you getting down off that silly horse and checking it out. A memory from my party:
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Like with any beguiling record, there are a handful of songs that truly stand out, and if you’ve spent any time at all listening to or reading about this one, you aren’t likely to be surprised by my picks. “Two Weeks” is the popular front running favorite, its exemplary video of the band members’ pasty, incandescent faces slowly exploding into Piccolo Pete-type fireworks. Daniel Rossen’s (also of Department of Eagles fame) jumpy, plaintive piano lights the match while Ed Droste’s classic tenor spirals into the ether (Save up all the days / A routine malaise). Harmonizing is key for this band, and they succeed at it without show or pretension. My absolute personal favorite, however, is “While You Wait For the Others”, a bouncy folk tune with a goose-bump-giving chorus (So I’ll ask you kindly / to make your way / Ooooooh!). Rossen provides lead vocals this time, deliberately strumming his reverberating hollow-body to absolute perfection.
I have no doubt the show will be stupendous. If it isn’t, well, I’ll try to be honest about it. Please watch the video for my favorite tune, directed by Seattle’s own Sean Pecknold (brother of Robin, of course), who’s in high demand after creating a couple Fleet Foxes videos (“Mykonos”, “White Winter Hymnal”) and another for Elvis Perkins.
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Looks Like ‘Starfucker’ Is Now ‘Pyramid’
Is this newsworthy? To me it is.
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Was perusing the ol’ myspace and stumbled upon this little nugget: Starfucker is now Pyramid [PYRAMID---all caps may be required]. Most likely. I like it, although it does evoke a decidedly different emotion and image than its predecessor. ‘Starfucker’ is a [high voice] happy, fun, carefree hot mess, where ‘Pyramid’ is a [low voice] giant behemoth of impending wonder and icey intrigue. The rainbow pyramid is a nice compromise, though.
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Update: Line Out has the press release. Also, the new website is: www.pyramidlovesyou.com. A cursory search of the web reveals this name to be decidedly not unique. Oh well.
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You’ll recall the band recently decided to change its name.
The Fucking Pixies @ the Paramount
| Tuesday, October 13, 2009 | ||
| 7:30 pm | ||
| Thursday, November 12, 2009 | ||
| 7:30 pm |
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Um. No brainer.
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Pixies are playing Doolittle. Straight through. 2 nights at the Paramount. Hope you have your tix!
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November 12 – 13, 2009
7:30pm
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Special Guest Thursday:
The Rain Machine
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Special Guest Friday:
TBD
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Run Vera Run (with the Maldives)
The Vera Project held their first annual fun-draising fun-run (Run Vera Run) this past Sunday, at Seward Park on a chilly and sun-soaked morning. As you’ll recall, we signed up for Team Sonic Boom, and were thus graciously awarded Top Pot doughnuts and custom t-shirts from the store’s co-owner, Jason Hughes. Score.
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It was a fairly relaxed and enjoyable morning, considering the following: the course wasn’t even quite 5k (more like 4) and no race times were taken, the sun was warm, free espresso, miscellaneous refreshments and trucker hats courtesy of Caffé Vita, free massages for any participants, and a humorous and helpful warm up session from our faux-Scandanavian instructor Inga, a.k.a. Vera Project co-founder Shannon Stewart. She led us in some basic calisthenics and then successfully taught us some silly choreography to “Once In A Lifetime”.
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Of course, the biggest reason to participate was raising money, of which approximately $32,000 was donated. The person who brought in the largest haul won a slick, dark green Gibson guitar. After the race, local country rock outfit the Maldives played a leisurely set on a small outdoor stage. It was good, honest listenin’ for good, honest, aching muscles.
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You can see more pics over on our photo page.
Devo and Reggie Watts @ the Moore
| Sunday, November 8, 2009 | ||
| 7:30 pm | ||
| Monday, November 9, 2009 | ||
| 7:30 pm |
We are DEVO~!!
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How can one refuse the utter awesomeness that is Devo? Especially playing with Seattle’s (gone NYC) legendary Reggie Watts? This night will be one of those shows that – be it for better or worse – you’ll most likely remember forever. The price is a bit outrageous, but if you ask nicely they might throw in a classic red hat and seriously, when the frik else are you gunna be able to see DEVO!?.
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Devo
Special Guest: Reggie Watts
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The Moore Theatre
Sunday & Monday
November 8 – 9, 2009
7:30pm
$38 – $75
PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE ›
The Heavy and Thee Emergency @ Crocodile
| Friday, October 30, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
I’m a long time fan of the hard-hitting, sexually charged performances of Thee Emergency and while I’ve heard several songs from the Heavy over the past few years, I’ve only recently brought them into focus. Already the stand out single “How you Like Me Now” from their latest release “The House the Dirt Built” has bored its way into my head and is in permanent rotation in my playlist. They’re right in line with some of my current favorites such as Black Joe Lewis and Raphael Saadiq. I’m looking forward to seeing how this British band translates the raw blues to the stage.
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THE HEAVY
Thee Emergency
$10/$12
8pm – 21 & over
Redwood Plan and the Quit @ Comet
| Saturday, November 28, 2009 | ||
| 9:00 pm |
A pretty stellar lineup tonight on the Hill. I was conpletely impressed with the Redwood Plan at REVERB even after I’d hyped them up so much in my mind. I’ve always been a fan of the Quit and Trombone Cake can be a really surprising treat if they’re “on.” Their recordings have a tasty Man Man quality to them.
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REDWOOD PLAN,
THE QUIT,
TROMBONE CAKE,
MAL DE MER
21+ $?? (rob under ten bucks.)
Junior Boys Chop Suey
And chop it, did they ever.
Junior Boys, from Toronto and the electronic blue abyss, put on a deft display of chilled electro ballads and thumping dance inducers Saturday night. This was my second time in their presence and they didn’t disappoint. Lack of disappointment is inherent to their impassioned synthetic craft. Chop Suey, on the other hand, I’ve kind of come to loathe attending shows at given how headliners rarely take the stage before midnight. Which, fine, it’s a club, it’s been that way for years, and I’m probably being crabby. But when there’s only two bands and the first one doesn’t start until 11 or later, it’s annoying. It just feels like we’re being strung along.
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JB’s set list was well balanced between the popular jams from both So This Is Goodbye, their greatest, and Begone Dull Care, their latest. “Parallel Lines” and “Work” commenced the continuous crowd bobbing. Vocalist Jeremy Greenspan alternated between his keyboard—adorned with an inanimate crow—and his guitar, which added some excellent texture not found on record. I think he played mostly a bass guitar at Neumos in 2006. A nostalgic string of songs followed, all from Goodbye: “Count Souvenirs”, “The Equalizer”, and “Double Shadow” which was transformed to the point that I almost didn’t recognize it. Greenspan did most of the talking (he received enthusiastic responses to his continued questions concerning our well being), while beatmaker Matthew Didemus roamed and paced behind his cavalcade of consoles. A real-life drummer kept time in the background.
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“Hazel” sounded a bit stuttered—stop-and-go—but aside from that, Didemus was on point and his elastic beats pulsated well with Greenspan’s quiet croon. “Bits & Pieces”, a blind love affair with 80s club technique, rode high. “In The Morning”, all twinkly, starry-eyed and scuzzy bass, is probably their best cut.
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As for the other band, oh man was that unexpected. I suppose you might label Circlesquare as musical and Canadian brethren of Junior Boys, but their opiate-heavy, down-tempo trance rock was unsettling at first, and rather enjoyable by set’s end. The bass and drums were massive and marched defiantly on our wits. Two projector screens flanked the band, one in the foreground and one in the background, and both at stage right. Vocalist Jeremy Shaw seems to be the band’s creative force, and unleashed his Dave Gahan-like vocals (droning, echoed, insistent) in a curious slacks-and-suspenders outfit. The guitarist’s bold coiffure, akin to Lyle Lovett’s curly mop atop close shaven sides, became my visual focal point as I struggled to figure out which sounds were his. There were three songs where ‘dancing’ was the core of the lyrics, which seemed odd given that the music never really increased to a dance velocity. But then again, oddities crept their way into much of Circlesquare’s deceptively atypical output.
REVERB REDUX
Before I even begin, let me just admit that all the hype about Reverb I’ve been posting on the site over the last couple of years has just been hearsay. I’ve never been to the Ballard Music Extravaganza, let alone witnessing anything to back my comparisons to Bumbershoot or Cap Hill Block Party. Given that the festival consists of all local bands spread over most of Ballard’s best venues, I just guessed that it had to be phenominal. Turns out I’m a real good guesser.
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So, I didn’t get to see every one of the 64 bands playing at REVERB 2009 as I had hoped (or claimed). Hell, I didn’t even make it past midnight. In the 8 hours I did survive, what I saw besides the bottom of many pint glasses, was a stunning array of Seattle musicians pouring their hearts out for their local fans. Being that we all have important things to do today, I’ll just touch on a couple of outstanding instances.
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The day started at 3:30 sharp with the first scheduled band, Fresh Espresso. They played an all-ages show under the half-burned-out-1972-kindergarten-class-florecent light banks of the NY Fashion Academy behind a couple of stand amps. Even with the entire atmosphere working against them, they leaned straight into their songs and exuded an enthusiasm unmatched by many arena shows I’ve seen. Terry Radshaw bounced around the stage while hitting us with big beats and P Smoov and Rik Rude rhymed tight and clear. They immediately got the crowd up close and involved sing-alongs and the inevitable hand-claps, and fully deserved the screaming Beatle-esque applause they demanded for the end of the show.
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The second noteworthy show of the day was Brent Amaker and the Rodeo in the belly of the Tractor Tavern. This show began as a suggestion from C‘s friend V. (I’ll hide the names to protect the innocent but just ask me for the photos and you’ll have them!) She said she had a friend in the band, that they were great, and we should go. Now, I had previously 
heared the band through their Myspace and, while it’s decent rock-a-billy/country music, it didn’t really blow my hair back, but after dumping back many yellow beers and “free tots” at Zayada Buddy’s I was pretty pliable. We headed over and to my utter delight and satisfaction, my PBR tall-boy came with a free Tractor Coozie. I was already on the good foot. The Rodeo took the stage looking the part in their all-black-villian-duds and cowboy hats. Next out was a sex-pot burlesque dancer named Bunny Monroe to drape a cape over the shoulders of our soon to be hero Brent Amaker. What followed was tooth and nail, honest to God, country rock and roll that shamed the Myspace recordings in comparison. We bounced harder and harder to each song progression, and were rewarded greatly with a “baptism of bourbon” deftly distributed to the deserving by the lovely Bunny and Co. Cooze, Booze and Rock-n-Roll. How can a show be any better? If you’re into the rock-a-billy thing at all, I highly suggest you try and catch these guys the next time they’re playing.
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Then it was time to get our grime on and head to the infamous Bit Saloon. For the next 45 minutes, the old pool and arcade room turned concert stage would be rattled by the Redwood Plan. Lesli Wood lead the charge into a world of skull-cracking, fist-pumping, punkrock anthems smattered with occasional synth-pop melodies to allow everyone to catch their breath. I’d been wanting to catch Redwood Plan for a long time and while that type of buildup often leads to disappointment, these guys delivered. The only let-down was that there wasn’t room for an encore.
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There were many other band, beer, and street meat encounters to be had, but we’ll save those for some Happy Hour some other time. I’m pretty sure there is no better way to spend $8 on a Saturday Night. Until next year, REVERB, thank you.
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Special thanks Dave Lichterman for the photos seeing as I forgot to bring a camera…
Get Yer Electro!
Continuing on with the upcoming events, this weekend is a doozy for those less guitar-driven bands we all love so much.
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Remember that band Starfucker? Of course you do, I write about them all the time. Well, the man is sticking it to ‘em (not true), and they’ve decided to <gasp!> change their name. Apparently they’ve been clipped from several tours with cool bands (i.e. Passion Pit) because of the colloquial nature of their name. They even held a contest to come up with the new moniker (email your ideas to: newnameideas@gmail.com OR tell them in person at the merch table at a show). I’ve read lots of opinions on the matter out there on the interweb and the one that resonated most with me was that of Starfucker founder Josh Hodges:
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“I’d rather be eating dinner and paying rent than being cool, you know? And I’ve been poor my entire life. I’ve done every shitty job that you can imagine. I’ve been a security guard, I’ve parked cars, I’ve waited tables, I’ve bussed tables, I’ve sold coffee, I’ve painted houses. I’ve done seriously everything that sucks that you can do. So this isn’t work, it’s not fucking work, and it pays me. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. …If I was a trust-fund baby then maybe I’d have the financial freedom to have integrity, if that’s even what it is. But I’m not. I have to work.”
I really like the name (and simply checked out their myspace because of it), but I respect where the man is coming from. To that end, see them perform as a fucker of Stars one final time! This Friday (Oct 9) at the Vera Project! With Nurses! I promise (based on last time) it’ll be awesome!
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As for Saturday, the choice is yours: do you don your leather and boots and head to Neumos for the psychedelic future of School of Seven Bells? Or do you slip on your Canadian cool and make your way to Chop Suey for the subtle and sexy synth-crooning duo Junior Boys? Gun to my head, I head to Chop Suey, mostly because I’m a HUGE fan of JB and everything they’ve done for smartly-executed, slightly cheesy, toned down R&B-inspired dance music. Jeremy Greenspan’s muted vocal MO is not unlike that of Fujiya & Miyagi’s David Best, though with more emotion and heart, and Matthew Didemus’ thump-and-run 80′s-style beats are simultaneously nostalgic and innovative. Begone Dull Care is a solid follow up to 2006′s So This Is Goodbye.
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And if that’s not quite enough East Coast for ya, Sunday at the Showbox Market features Passion Pit, a highly enjoyable jubilant synth-pop group out of Boston. I’ve been listening to Manners consistently for a couple months now, and its rapturous glide to big beats and happy harmonies is lively, throbbing and a ton o’ fun. I could do without all the Christian imagery (angels, bended knees, swimming in floods, etc.), but this album hasn’t yet failed to elevate my mood. The tour slight to Starfucker is weird, but who knows what really happened.
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Choice Music Miscellany
Yo peeps, just wanted to alert you to some choice music-related minutiae (or things of significance, depending on your viewpoint) that caught my eye this morning. Remember: my job isn’t to keep you on your toes (I find your toe muscles quite satisfactory), but rather to alert you as necessary and when Father Time permits. He can be such a fickle bastard.
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There appears to be a glut of shows this weekend that favor the more electronically inclined (I’ll dive into those in a subsequent post), but one appetizing acoustic-style show will kick things off. Ye old Dutchess and the Duke will be celebrating the release of their sophomore effort Sunset/Sunrise at the Crocodile this Friday, October 9. If you haven’t heard much from this ramshackle duo (plus one percussionist who reeeeeeeally likes John Lennon), well, then you’ve been living under a rock. See them live if you haven’t. Can’t make it to the Croc on Friday? They’ll be in Sonic Boom’s Capitol Hill location for what’s likely to be a sweetly in-store at 6:30 on Wednesday. Bonus: our good friends at Hardly Art have released another D&D MP3, here on the day of its release. You can download both here or listen below:
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Speaking of Hardly Art, D.C. primal pop outfit Le Loup has a *STELLAR* new record out, entitled Family. I was actually shocked the first few times I heard it because of how much it pierced my brain and coddled my neurons. The band combines percussion-heavy folk organisms with synthetic electro-decor embellishments. The Animal Collective comparisons are fair, and you’ll hear lots of references to other buzz bands (Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes), but the tribal, atmospheric ambiance of the record is ultimately unique and will no doubt resonate with hordes of insatiable aficionados. Not only will they be floating themselves through Seattle, October 23rd (at Chop Suey, with Portland’s Nurses), but you can preview two singles from the label (hint: you can also listen to the entire record on myspace):
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Kyp Malone And His Rain Machine
So, Kyp Malone and his Rain Machine (I kinda wish that was the actual band name) unexpectedly blew me away the other night. For whatever reason, I wasn’t “super stoked” to see the lead guitarist from TV on the Radio perform a bunch of eccentric and unfamiliar songs, but ten minutes into the set I realized I was watching THE LEAD FUCKING GUITARIST FROM TV ON THE FUCKING RADIO. IN THE FRONT ROW. AND IT WAS AWESOME. Seriously, why wasn’t I more pumped? Perhaps something in his music is lost in translation from live to studio to record, or perhaps I’m getting old (ugh…30?! already?!), or perhaps I just failed to give a unique man and his creative prowess the credit their due. Probably a combination of all three.
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Kyp—I call him Kyp—is the force and creator behind Rain Machine, which is nothing if not individual. He even thanked us for checking out “something different” this night. We should not assume that an artist such as he will crank out some formulaic guitar rock solely because he’s got some idle time on his hands. No, he’s gonna create some weird and crazy incomparable shit because he seems like a weirdo. A good weirdo, who has an artist’s soul, and a musician’s touch, and avoids vacuous mainstream culture by choice (though his pre-show turquoise Dr. Huxtable sweater was pretty intriguing). And while his otherworldly beard offers little in the way of facial expression, it turns out he’s a pretty affable and friendly guy. At least in front of a loyal crowd. P.S. I think I just officially fell in love with Mr. Kyp Malone.
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Thursday night he took the stage at Neumos with four other undistinguished musicians, who seemed like some random people that Kyp found interesting and talented enough to bring his vision to life. And while their body language was often tentative, constantly looking for cues from Kyp and no doubt getting used to each other as an on-stage unit, they indeed gave Rain Machine’s songs a fervent heartbeat. There was a girl, who sang and played keyboard and banjo. There was a talented bassist wearing boat shoes. There was a long haired drummer who played mostly with timpani mallets and cowbell. And there was Carmen, the strained-face guitarist who relied mostly on racket and texture. Kyp split his time between a dobro and small body Gibson, which accompanied his unearthly voice. Regarding his voice, its much more conspicuous than its role within the realm of TVOTR, more of a centerpiece, and its range is quite good.
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Said voice was the focus of the one solo “song” that Kyp was alone on stage for. After a handful of tunes, the band exited, he made a jab at himself (while referencing the value of the self-deprecation he learned from watching Jewish comedians as a kid), and set out on a wild tirade of a song, whose two main lyrics were “hoooooooooooooly shit” and “satan’s got the a-bomb”. It was a winding, singing, spoken word freak out that epitomized his artistic approach. The band re-entered and played probably their most popular song thus far, “Give Blood”. The energy was high.
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Some other notables: Kyp spent a summer in Ballard many years ago and our city impressed him. Yay. During the last song, which was a hushed crescendo folk rocker (“Winter Song”), someone in the chatterbox crowd got a scolding from the front man: “ssshhh” he said, and when the noise continued, “I know it’s late at night, but I dedicated this song to my nephew.” I like how carefully he chooses his words. More pics here.
