Seattle Subsonic - October, 2009
Wolfmother @ the Paramount
| Friday, November 20, 2009 | ||
| 7:30 pm |
I guess we figured it might happen with this band, Wolfmother. Honestly, we really should’ve known better. Rewind to 2005: three dudes from Sydney, Australia (that’s in New South Wales, people) unleash an album filled with powerful, 70′s-style metal stoner epics, proudly displaying their shameless affinity for the glistening crowns of rock music’s anointed divinity: Zeppelin, Sabbath, et al. It was an entrancing and head-pounding record, with impossible soaring riffage, dirty organ backdrops and requisite fantasy imagery of unicorns, gnomes, wild women and the mind’s eye. “Woman” was the mainstream hit, but songs like “Colossal”, “Joker & the Thief”, “Dimension” and “Where Eagles Have Been” made the album alarmingly superb. In short, for 2005, too good to be true.
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We knew it rehashed the ideas and techniques of those radio kings we grew up idolizing. We didn’t care; it rocked and we wanted to party to it, hard. Deep down we knew it couldn’t last, though. You can only live off your ancestors for so long before you have to pack up and set out on your own. I recall remarking one late evening, “I don’t think they can make this album again. It’ll be too much.” Fast forward to 2008: the band’s rhythm section splits, citing “irreconcilable personal and musical differences”. Andrew Stockdale, guitarist/vocalist/mastermind, chooses to soldier on with new mates. Today (or rather, October 26th), we have Cosmic Egg, which you can currently stream in its entirety over at the band’s myspace.
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I should’ve known. The luxury of hindsight tells me that maybe we shouldn’t have invested so much into Wolfmother, that it was a flash-in-the-pan kind of deal. Save for a few enjoyable tunes, Cosmic Egg comes off as a bit boring and bland. The bombast meter has been set to medium, the inspiration quotient staggeringly low. The album serves as a build up to, and a let down from the black boot swagger of the title track. “10,000 Feet” is tyrannical in its guitar march, with Stockdale’s Ozzy-esque storytime vocals leading the charge. The cyclonic guitar storm of “Sundial” complements the primordial spirit Stockdale is so clearly enamored with.
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The cosmic egg—or, the seed that spawned the Big Bang—is a BIG deal to cosmologists everywhere. Stockdale, unfortunately, aims for Cosmic Egg to be just as colossal. It’ll be interesting to see how the band formulates the set list when it comes to the Paramount Theatre Friday, November 20th. Let’s hope they haven’t forgotten how we felt in 2005.
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Special Guests: Heartless Bastards, Thenewno2
7:30pm
$26.50 (not including fees)
Raphael Saadiq @ Showbox SoDo
| Monday, November 16, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
The first time I heard Raphael Saadiq’s nouveau Motown sound I was hooked. It’s like nothing I’ve ever heard yet completely familiar. His latest album “The Way I See It” was a Subsonic hit right out of the blocks and I’ve been told more than once that his shows are the best people have seen this year, last year.. and EVER. Really. The only down side of this night is that it’s happening at the SoDo venue which can be a deal breaker to some but I think this is worth the acoustic and ambient pains.
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Also on the bill is Anjulie who, given the right vibe, could work the crowd into a serious groove.
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Mon, Nov 16, 2009
Showbox Sodo
8:00 PM
21+
$25.00 ADV-$28.00
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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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 ›
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.)
