Seattle Subsonic - September, 2010
Scribes “Roll My Way” vid
‘Uh’memba summer.. yeah me either. This smooth little diddy from local-boy, Scribes, puts me in a summer kinda mood though. Not sure if it’s come too late or just in time. Regardless it’s a good tune get you in the right state of mind.
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Directed by Jon Jon (Jon Augustavo)
Presented with hugs and kisses.
LCD Soundsystem – “Home”
I’m not actually sure if this is the official video for This is Happening‘s passionately epic closing track, but if it isn’t, it should be.
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And, for more James Murphy, check out the excellent soundtrack he put together for Noah Baumbach’s “Greenberg” (including several original songs). I finally got around to watching it the other night, and Ben Stiller’s phobia-riddled, anxiety-driven living-in-the-past performance was a thing of beauty. Disgustingly awkward, morbidly humorous, painfully entertaining: the hallmarks of Baumbach’s peerless movies.
Dungen at Neumos
| Sunday, October 3, 2010 | ||
| 8:00 pm | ||
| 8:00 pm |
There are three things that I really like, among others. 1. Psychedelic rock. Its got that twang situation, I cant help it. 2. The Swedish. I have never met an unattractive Swede. Not one. 3. Combinations.
So when you combine some Swedish gents with Psychedelic rock you have won my heart. Dungen will be at Neumos on Sunday, Oct 3. And it is a combination situation that I am thrilled to check out.
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What: Dungen
Where: Neumos
When: Sunday, October 3 @ 8
How: $12 adv, 21+
Local Hip Hop At The Paramount Highlights City Arts Fest, Induces Raised Eyebrows
Of all the shows scheduled for the upcoming City Arts Fest (Oct. 20-23), the one depicted on this poster might be the most unforeseen of the bunch. And no, I ain’t talkin’ about the fake boxer bodies attached to Fresh Espresso‘s heads. I’m simply referring to the fact that the Paramount will be hosting this mostly-local, all hip-hop show, with the Blue Scholars as the headliner. Word on the street is that this is the first of it’s kind at the renowned theatre, so big “ups” to the crews on the bill for gettin’ up on that marquee.
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As for the rest of the festival, it’s a varied mix of music, theatre, cinema, and Fireside Chats taking place throughout Seattle in late October. Other than watching “the Hitmaker” and “the Razor” do their electro-rap alongside Brother Ali, Macklemore, and Mash Hall, several other intriguing shows should be mentioned. There’s Belle & Sebastian at Benaroya Hall (Oct. 20), 13th Floor Elevator Roky Erickson at Neumos (Oct. 20) Cat Power at the Fifth Avenue Theatre (Oct. 21), the Vaselines, Dum Dum Girls and Young Evils at Neumos (Oct. 22), Sera Cahoone at the Crocodile (Oct. 23), Big Boi at the Showbox SODO (Oct. 23) and multiple screenings of the timeless Deutsch sci-fi flick “Metropolis”, scored live by the Alloy Orchestra at SIFF (Oct. 21/22/23). Apparently they found some new footage in a vault and reworked the film. Hey, at least it’s not a prequel or a “reimagining”.
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See the full schedule here. Pony up for a $60 wristband and you’ll get admission to all shows.
Claustrophobic With Cox
The first video from Deerhunter‘s forthcoming Halcyon Digest (out Sept. 28 on 4AD) has been released. “Helicopter” is one of the sumptuous new songs on the band’s fourth album and can be found by visiting halcyondigest.com and clicking through twice. I say claustrophobic because frontman Bradford Cox’s greasy mug fills up most of the camera’s eye space, overlapped with what looks to be a grainy, chopped up tour travel diary (note the prayer to the porcelain god) and other distorted imagery. It waltzes in as easily one of the more thoughtful ballads the band has written yet.
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The early talk on the record is that it resembles more of an Atlas Sound offering than one devised by Deerhunter, but I’m not sure that’s entirely true. The two are linked by Cox’s whims, obviously, and these songs sound (maybe) less band-oriented than many tracks found on Microcastle or Cryptograms, but I wouldn’t read too much into any claims that his bandmates are on the fringe (or the “outs”, god forbid). Pundt, Archuleta, and Fauver have all been key components of the Atlanta ghost-rock band from the beginning. We even get to hear guitarist Pundt lead the vocals on “Desire Lines” and “Fountain Stairs”. That said, this album won’t remind you too much of those previous two records—go back and listen to the Flourescent Grey EP and you’ll find your similarities—but it will certainly cement your fandom (should you allow it).
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You can also stream the album over at NPR for the time being. The Guardian will have it from the 22nd and on. Pre-order it here.
Unnatural Helpers, Night Beats, Broomsticks @ the Funhouse Tonight
There are plenty of good shows tonight, but this is where I’ll be. If there’s one place you wanna get gritty with Unnatural Helpers, it’s in the dirty, despicable confines of the Funhouse (note: it’s not that dirty or despicable), arguably the best punk venue in town. By now, you should be armed with plenty of ammo for the ornery shotgun garage punk of the Helpers, Dean Whitmore’s loudmouth, no frills motley crew. Watch the video for my favorite song of theirs, “Girl In The Window”, here.
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Night Beats are also playing, and, as I’ve outlined previously, have a stronghold on scuzzy psychedelia and surf-metal tavern punk. The band’s warped wailing—courtesy of band founder/Austin transplant Danny Rajan—and scorching psych rock should be enough to make even the straightest of edges hotbox the elevator all the way to the 13th Floor. Care for Cloud your cerebrum appropriately.
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Broomsticks is the new band featuring husband/wife duo Ruben Mendez and Lacey Swain, who’ve made a modest ripple in Seattle’s pizza party scene playing with the Coconut Coolouts. Also, Zig Zags from California will be there. I know nothing about them.
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21+ / $6
9:32pm
The Head and The Heart Open for Vampire Weekend
| Wednesday, September 22, 2010 | ||
| 7:30 pm | ||
| Thursday, September 23, 2010 | ||
| 7:30 pm |
Vampire weekend found a way to make up for their missed show at Marymoor Park this summer, they found help from Seattle’s up and coming The Head and The Heart. Opening both nights at the Paramount Theater on September 22nd and 23rd. If you had tickets to the Marymoor show you can trade them in for tickets to the Paramount show. If you just want to go be ready to shell out some cash for these babys, but hey you know its worth it.
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Vampire weekend and The Head and The Heart @ The Paramount Theater. Get your tickets HERE
Kelli Schaefer and Kaylee Cole @ Columbia City Theater
| Saturday, October 2, 2010 | ||
| 9:00 pm |
Its like the people over at Columbia City Theater are booking shows just for me, I mean really two amazing singer/song writers on one bill. Damn guys, Thank you. This will be an amazing night of sing alongs and people actually listening. Really looking forward to this show.
Get Your tickets HERE
Shenandoah Davis @ The Can Can
| Thursday, September 16, 2010 | ||
| 8:30 pm |
The Lovely and Talented Shenandoah Davis will be playing a show this Thursday. This is the last show she will be playing for a few months here in Seattle, while she finishes recording her new album.
And if you are a fan of Shenandoah’s or just a fan of helping your local artists, Check out what she is doing to raise money to help fund her new record. There are some pretty sweet gifts involved in donating. check that out HERE
Shenandoah Davis, Autopilot is for Lovers,Cynthia Marie and Rachel Sage, Serena Tideman! @ The Can Can
Klaxons at Chop Suey
| Tuesday, October 5, 2010 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
The British gents that form the Klaxons are coming through Seattle in October. They will be playing with Baby Monster at Chop Suey.
This is exciting, as their new album, Surfing the Void, came out about mid-August and is being released digitally on September 21. Holla atcha i-tunes. Let me tell you about my anticipation for hearing this album, when talking of their influences for this latest album Simon Taylor suggests that they are drawing from many different genres, including dub-step, dance, and folk-music. I mean, c’mon, if that doesn’t spark your interest I don’t know what will.
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What: Klaxons w/ Baby Monster
Where: Chop Suey
How: $15 adv, all ages
When: Tuesday, Oct. 5, doors @ 8
Download A New Shabazz Palaces Track
When emails mysteriously show up in your inbox from “palaceer lazaro”, your eyes pop out of your head and you wonder “will this celebrity spam never cease?” Turns out it wasn’t a scam, and the man behind new Sub Pop signees Shabazz Palaces really did send me (and many others) a link to a free download of a new song. It appears he sent it to those who had bought his wildly successful debut double EP. Apparently it’s for some online music magazine or something. I don’t know and I don’t care (ok, slight update: it’s a Seattle zine, I Want You. I guess you can get it around town. I’ve never seen it though.)
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All I know is that if there was ever a hip hop track that sounded like a haunted mansion, this is it. Slow and low, that is the tempo:
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“Barksdale Corners” on palaceer pusher beat circa now – by Shabazz Palaces
The Dilemma With Arcade Fire
Today, I’d like to ruminate on a personal issue that I hope some of you can relate to. You might have noticed, if you peruse the music headlines now and again, that Arcade Fire‘s third album The Suburbs hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart the week it debuted (8/10). Number one! For all I know, it’s still sitting there (I don’t subscribe to Billboard, thankfully). It also hit No. 1 in the UK, Canada, Ireland and Portugal. The band’s second album, Neon Bible, reached as far as No. 2 on that same chart back in 2007, so upper echelon territory is not necessarily a new thing for the orchestral popping Boss-rockers from Montreal.
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But what—in my mind—began back during their initial Funeral tour in 2004, the popularity of Arcade Fire has only escalated with each new album at an alarming rate. They’re playing at Key Arena in a few weeks for chrissakes. And, in the grand scheme of non-LB things, that’s a good thing: a talented band on an “independent” label making meaningful music that the masses can’t get enough of. It’s a small slice of Utopia. But when I boil it down to my personal biases regarding bands and their popularity and my subsequent perception of them, I run into a predicament. A predicament I’ve had a tough time reconciling.
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Let me explain. I have this internal switch that’s triggered the moment (or moments) a band I’ve invested emotionally in “gets big”. I actually don’t like to admit it sometimes, but an appearance on TV or inflating record sales can often be a turn off for me. A “new, streamlined sound” with “pop sensibilities” makes me cringe. Ever the loyal Taurus, how is it that I can turn my back so frivolously, so casually, so flippantly? I write about musicians I like, so shouldn’t I be happy when they finally reel in that bigger paycheck? It happened with Modest Mouse. It happened with the Shins. It might be happening with Interpol.* In my eyes, these bands altered their MO to appeal to a larger audience, to transform in such a way that more people would hear them. As it is, I’m not exactly cool with that, as is probably the case with most diehards.
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You see, I’m not a big huge fan of Neon Bible. Never was. Oh sure, it’s a fine, authoritative testament, but it had nowhere near the impact on me that Funeral had. I thought it anticlimactic and a bit heavy handed. I expected less out of the band going forward, and with their fame skyrocketing, I did what any stilted, overly sensitive music fan would do. I shrugged myself silly and said, to no one in particular, “Good luck with that.” But when I come to The Suburbs, my problematic trigger switch fails to fire. I honestly don’t know if I can say that Arcade Fire “altered their MO”—maybe they did, maybe they didn’t—but perhaps they’ve somehow transcended this imaginary tipping point I’ve invoked. Because as luck and the universe would have it, The Suburbs is an exceptional, moving record, despite the fact that it’s currently blasting out of Best Buy speakers all over Manitoba. It’s graceful and intense and brooding and raw and rollicking and flawlessly composed. In fact, I can’t stop listening to it.
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Of course I can’t, with the band’s popularity higher than ever, with me and my shrugging and my non-expectant poo-pooing. My blatant adoration for the band has utterly been reinstated in the face of prolific record sales and my quandary is again at hand. But how can I shun a band whose music I hold so dearly? How can I ignore such a poignant, persuasive, well-arranged record? The answer is, I can’t. I CAN’T. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I HAVE TO LOVE A REALLY, REALLY POPULAR BAND. And for once, that’s just fine and dandy.
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* I’ll refrain from any nuanced stories about how these bands disappointed me. I still “care for them”, by and large, but the relationship broke somewhere along the line.
