Seattle Subsonic - January, 2010
A Short & Sweet Post for Spoon
You can listen to Spoon’s latest — Transference streaming on NPR. It’s going to be released on January 19th so it’s a special sneak peek.
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See, what did I tell you, short & sweet.
Grand Hallway @ the Tractor Tavern
I just happened to go catch Grand Hallway at the Tractor last night. Tagging along with a friend for his birthday. I had no idea that i was about to see one amazing show. The place was completely packed. The show had sold out before the first band had finished playing. I had heard some G.H. before but was about to witness my first live show. Comprised of 8 ( yeah 8!) member’s G.H is able to pack an array of sound into their songs. i heard one enthusiastic fan remark that if you combine Ben folds with Arcade Fire you get Grand Hallway. I am kind of amazed that their 2009 album “Promenade” didn’t make anyone’s list of best albums list. Though i have a feeling that it will become much more appreciated in the coming year. Check out “Blessed be Honey bee” soaring violin’s, piano, pedal steel and some stellar vocals performed live its amazingly beautiful. If you can you must catch these guys live. check out the video below of Grand Hallway and the Seattle Rock Orchestra perform “Raindrops”.
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Grand Hallway site
Happy Birthday, David Bowie
I don’t talk about too many “older” musicians here, but today I’d like to pay small tribute to the illustrious Thin White Duke, Mr. David Bowie, on his 63rd birthday. Born David Jones—he took his stage name from the famed Alamo hero and knife namesake Jim Bowie–in London on January 8, 1947, the chameleonic artist is quite simply one of my favorite musicians of all time. ALL TIME, PEOPLE. Only Pixies rank higher. He could be my desert island pick, easy. I’ve always had an affection for his music (who hasn’t loved at least ONE of his songs somewhere along the way?), but it wasn’t until about five or six years ago that I really began to dive into his discography. I started with a compilation, because, well, that’s an easy way to familiarize oneself with “the hits”. Plus, it fed the karaoke demon that lives inside me. Needless to say, I needed more.
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I went straight to his space-age, glam-rock masterpiece, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and subsequently had my mind blown—just as the Starman had predicted. I quickly gobbled up the post-apocalyptic trash rock of Diamond Dogs and the space-jazz/ honkey-tonk fusion of Aladdin Sane (A Lad Insane—heh, I love that), and it was as epiphanous as anything I’ve ever experienced. This was a bonafide genius: a prolific, gender-bending, bombastic mastermind that completely opened my eyes. The preposterous, cosmic Stardust world he created was somewhere I wanted to live: the heavy (Mick Ronson-led) guitars, the rollicking pianos, the operatic plot lines, the extravagant costumes.
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Sorry if this is becoming cloying, but I just can’t hide it. Just like Bowie himself couldn’t hide it. He wanted to be a spectacle, he wanted to challenge every notion of a traditional performer. He also didn’t hide his influences, who were as big and varied as his own output: the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, John Coltrane, Little Richard, Kraftwerk and countless others. He morphed and changed with the times. From his psych-folk beginnings—particularly Space Oddity and the supreme Hunky Dory—to his late 70s collaborations with Lou Reed (Transformer), Brian Eno (Low, most notably), Iggy Pop (Raw Power and The Idiot), and Bing-freaking-Crosby. And then came the 80s. With his slick hair and white suits, he penned quite possibly his most popular record in Let’s Dance, and wrote, with Queen, one of the decade’s most popular singles in “Under Pressure”. The man can even act, playing King of the Goblins in Jim Henson’s fantastical Labyrinth (where he famously showed off his junk), Pontius Pilate in Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, and Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. Oh, and he married a supermodel.
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So I guess what I’m saying is I love David Bowie. Immensely. I admire the artistic futurism he gifted to the world, and I cherish the unforgettable music he made (anything pre-1990, anyway). And with all due respect to Elvis Presley, who was also born on this 8th day of January, in my eyes David Bowie is the King.
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Go check out David Bowie’s official youtube channel.
Michael Vermillion at the Sunset
| Saturday, January 9, 2010 | ||
| 9:00 pm |
Singer/Songwriter Michael Vermillion will be playing with his full band at the Sunset Saturday, Jan 9. There’s also someone’s (named Jeremy from the Whiskey Swillers) 30th birthday celebration too. Ahhh to be 30 again. I’ve seen Michael V. once before playing with the Vince Mira assemble. From what I remember his music style is sort of alt-countr-ish, johnny cash-ish, Jim Croce-ish. Also, my friend’s boyfriend is in the band, Ben. Hope to see you Saturday!
Top 5 “Should Haves”
As was totally expected, as soon as I posted up my “Best of…” list, I started finding and rediscovering songs that should have made the cut. I can’t say why these slipped by the wayside. In the true spirit of singles, I think some of the albums that surround these songs are less than awesome (to be nice) but alone they are incredible. Now while I stand by my claim that The Heavy’s - No Time earnedthe #1 spot, there are a couple in here that should have made the top 5, Dirty Projectors being the closest contender. Seeing that I could not let these songs just go unmentioned, as my new year’s amendment I present the Top 5 “Should Haves” in no particular order
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Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is the Move - Bitte Orca
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Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks - Veckatimist
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Passion Pit – Little Secrets- Manners
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The XX – Crystalised – XX
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YACHT – Psychic City - See Mystery Lights
Listen to Hype’s Top 50 Albums in Their Entirety
Hype Machine, the uber-music-aggrigate, has collected the the Top 50 Albums of 2009 according to 550 of their top bloggers’ top 10 lists and weighted them according to public popularity. So essentially, this is like the people’s choice Top 50. They will be revealing 10 albums each day throughout this week (Jan 4-8) and you can listen to every album in it’s entirety.
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To check out the listings and cram your day with great music, just click here.
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We at Seattle Subsonic are also regular contributors to Hype Machine so be sure to show your support and favorite us while your there. You can find our Hype Page here.
Wheedles’ Groove Playing Free Jan 9th
Residents of Seattle, start ringing the celebration bells, as you’ve just hit the jackpot. New Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is throwing himself a big old party and he’s invited some of the greats to help him ring in his first mayoral term. Gabriel Teodros, Hey Marseilles, The Maldives, and the extra-special, bastions of Seattle’s historical funk and soul torch: WHEEDLE’S GROOVE. The #1 pick from dj100Proof’s top albums of 2009 (sorry for the spoiler if you haven’t been keeping up..)
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That’s right, the soul-shaking, rump-rotating crew will be performing at McGinn’s Inaugural Party, and if you’re not excited yet, you durn well should be. Oh, and did we mention? It’s all-ages and one hundred percent FREE.
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The Details:
What: New Mayor Mike McGinn’s Inaugural Bash!
When: Saturday, January 9th, 7:30 – 11:30
Where: Showbox Sodo1700 1st Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98134
Who’s in the Wheedle’s Groove live band: Just about everybody! Overton Berry, Pastor Patrinell Staten Wright, Ron Buford, Ural Thomas, members of Black On White Affair, Broham, Cold Bold & Together, Cookin’ Bag, and Robbie Hill’s Family Affair.
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At around 9 PM, there will be a sneak peak of the Wheedle’s Groove film documentary, followed by the band’s performance at 9:15. This marks their first show in 4 years!
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Wheedles Groove @ Shobox SoDo – FREE!
| Saturday, January 9, 2010 | ||
| 12:30 am | to | 11:30 pm |
Residents of Seattle, start ringing the celebration bells, as you’ve just hit the jackpot. New Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is throwing himself a big old party and he’s invited some of the greats to help him ring in his first mayoral term. Gabriel Teodros, Hey Marseilles, The Maldives, and the extra-special, bastions of Seattle’s historical funk and soul torch:
WHEEDLE’S GROOVE.
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That’s right, the soul-shaking, rump-rotating crew will be performing at McGinn’s Inaugural Party, and if you’re not excited yet, you durn well should be. Oh, and did we mention? It’s all-ages and one hundred percent FREE.
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The Details:
What: New Mayor Mike McGinn’s Inaugural Bash!
When: Saturday, January 9th, 7:30 – 11:30
Where: Showbox Sodo1700 1st Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98134
Who’s in the Wheedle’s Groove live band: Just about everybody! Overton Berry, Pastor Patrinell Staten Wright, Ron Buford, Ural Thomas, members of Black On White Affair, Broham, Cold Bold & Together, Cookin’ Bag, and Robbie Hill’s Family Affair.
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At around 9 PM, there will be a sneak peak of the Wheedle’s Groove film documentary, followed by the band’s performance at 9:15. This marks their first show in 4 years!
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Steve Earle @ The Moore Theatre
| Friday, January 22, 2010 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
Now while earning a Grammy nod usually renders a band as officially irrelevant for me, Steve Earle stands apart. The legendary country icon is backing his album Townes dedicated to the late great Townes Van Zandt, Steves friend, teacher and inspiration, at The Moore Theatre in Seattle on Friday, January 22, 2010.
Friday
January 22, 2010
8:00pm
$30.50 – $35.50
North Twin @ High Dive
| Saturday, January 16, 2010 | ||
| 9:30 pm |
All-star night of local twang at the High Dive.
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Charge: $7
Jan 16, 21+ 9:30pm
Sera Cahoone and Moondoggies 15th and 16th @ the Tractor
| Friday, January 15, 2010 | ||
| 9:30 pm | ||
| Saturday, January 16, 2010 | ||
| 9:30 pm |
Sera Cahoone and the Moondoggies flip flop the headlining roles in this alt country weekend.
Friday night Moondioggies take the lead and Sat, its Sera’s turn on top. Either night promises to provide all the rootsy rock you can handle.
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WIDOWER (15th) THE MAGIC MTN (16th)
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Charge: $15 ~ Tickets also available at Sonic Boom!*
Buy Tickets
Time: 9:30pm
Rebirth @ Neumos
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 | ||
| 9:00 pm |
Simply put, The Rebirth Brass Band is a New Orleans institution. Formed in 1983 by the now infamous Frazier brothers, the band has evolved from playing the streets of the French Quarter to playing festivals and stages all over the world.
Rebirth Brass Band
Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk ::
$20 ADV 21+
Sat Jan 23, 2010
