Seattle Subsonic - November, 2010
Shenandoah Davis, Cataldo, Ivan & Alyosha and Thousands @ Columbia City Theater
The lovely Shenandoah davis, who also plays in a little band called Grand Hallway, has her own project that is just as amazing as her work in GH. This will be a beautiful evening of music from some great artists that will also have a special string accompaniment. Shenandoah will be playing many of the songs off of her new record with the fabulous Passenger Quartet. Shenandoah and a string Quartet at Columbia City Theater.. this is a do not miss show.
Shenandoah Davis from Columbia City Theater on Vimeo.
9pm / 21 + / $10
tickets HERE
Wild Orchid Children's Blissful Assault At The Columbia City Theater
Wild Orchid Children are currently one of Seattle’s most exhilarating, high energy, live shows. A notion confirmed by everyone who caught them last Friday at the Columbia City Theater. With the combined intensity of seven people on stage, they have formulated an all-out psychedelic attack, guaranteed to leave your head spinning. I’m pretty sure guitarist Thomas Hunter has been possessed by the god of rock. The man is absolutely jaw dropping! The essential role, he alone, plays in Wild Orchid Children is astounding. His precisely executed guitar antics, were backed by hard hitting, rhythmically tight drummer Andy Lum, while the other five members, at times, ditched their respective instruments to beat and shake things in a percussive assault . I have to say, I was a bit aprehensive, after catching WOC at reverbfest where they needed to be turned way up. A band like this demands to be experienced in a place were you can feel it in your teeth. The Columbia City theater is very much that place. I was pretty blown away. Sonically, and visually you can’t beat this venue.
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Three very different local bands were booked 
to play that night. See me River, led by Kerry Zettel, played dark folk gypsy songs that, at times, evoked the great Nick Cave.
They were a welcomed contrast in moods for the evening. The five piece possess a striking sound that is quite unique to Seattle. Bluesy, classic rock outfit, The Magic Mirrors opened the show. The band includes one hell of a rock ‘n’ roll guitarist, and a singer who channels Chris Robinson. Lots of old school southern rock swagger from these kids, plus the bass man hangs a decent sized dream catcher over his amp, which is way cool!
Win tickets for a Seattle Threesome – Wild Orchid Children, See Me River & Magic Mirrors This Friday
This Friday three Seattle bands with a great track records for making the house bounce take the stage at Columbia City Theater: “the psychedelic bombast of Wild Orchid Children, the Americana-Gothic sounds of See Me River and the ’70s swagger of Magic Mirrors.”
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Wild Orchid Children “Ahead of Us the Secret” from Michael Ragen on Vimeo.
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You may have heard we have much love the Columbia Theater. It’s intimate but roomy setting takes great bands and immediately explodes them into phenom! It’s also helping to create a new hub for all that is hip in Seattle. So head down, knock back a drink in the Burbon Room and have a night on us!
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Email us here with the header “WILD RIVER MIRROR” to be entered.
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Winner will be drawn Friday at noon,
Teengirl Fantasy – "Dancing In Slow Motion"
Really been diggin’ the new Teengirl Fantasy record—7AM—the past few months. Here’s a new video for their song “Dancing In Slow Motion”, which features Shannon Funchess on vocals. You might recall her soulful voice from the last two !!! records. She’s also a local lady (I think). She bomb.
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The video is appropriate for the Amsterdam-via-Ohio duo, whose blissed-out 80s discotronic haze evokes talking heads and bright lights. It almost feels like Funchess is speaking to us from the planet Krypton inside a cloudy, neon-lit Fortress of Solitude. Perhaps to inform us that she shipped us here to spare our lives, and to help the humans.
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Midday Veil & The Arrington de Dionyso Experience @ The Comet
As Wikipedia puts it: ”The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή (psyche, “soul”) and δηλοῦν (deloun, “to manifest”), translating to “mind-manifesting. Psychedelic states are an array of experiences elicited by various techniques, including sensory stimulation, sensory deprivation as well as by psychedelic substances. Such experiences include hallucinations, changes of perception, synesthesia, altered states of awareness, mystical states, and occasionally states resembling psychosis.”
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The psychedelic experience has pretty much become a staple in our American culture. The shear longevity of psych/music has clearly by now, left it’s mark in our DNA. Rocky Erickson, who came through Seattle recently, has been listed as the first person to actually use the term “psychedelic” to describe music… Anyways, for whatever reason I’m still a fan of the shit. Last Saturday, I made a point of going to the Comet to catch this much anticipated pychedelic line-up
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Starting the evening off, (after some fine krautrock DJing via Mamma Cassarole) was Arrington de Dionyso’s “Malaikat Dan Singa”. Before the music, (perhaps to set the mood, or perhaps to get the band high) Arrington delivered a squirt from a tincture bottle into the mouths of each of his band mates. To say Arrington Dionyso is a multi-talented front man with other-worldy stage presence that borders on demigod, would be an understatement. His voice is an absolutely hypnotic instrument. Using his very low tenor (sounding like a didgeridoo, but better) he managed to pull a full room of people, very quickly, into the void with him. Their opening number, which began as a song consisting of singing in some strange eastern language, tranformed into a gorgeous jam not unlike something from “Can”. Dionyso frantically strummed an obscurely tuned guitar, while three drummers and two bass players held down chunks of pulsating grooves around him. Wow!.. and this was before the man picked up his bass clarinet. Not since the mid-nineties, after experiencing local legend Skerritt on sax, have I been this excited about a wind instrument. Malaikat Dan Singa very nearly set the Comet on fire last Saturday, and I just felt lucky to have been there. http://www.myspace.com/arringtondedionyso
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Moving onto Midday Veil, who immediately came on as aesthetically intriguing, using a fog machine/laser light/ plus projector as their psychedelic weapon of seduction. It wasn’t all smoke and mirrors though, as the sounds emulating (particularly from David Golightly’s synths) emerged beautifully in waves until the the drummer found a beat for it. A nice build up for an array of melodies wrapped in Emily Pothast’s pretty and at times, fiercely “going for the jugular” vocals. Nice 
projection work, and overall drug-inducing experience! There were moments, it seemed, when I felt a little something more than the whiskey I was drinking. I don’t know, maybe it was a flashback. It was the bands Eyes All Around album release that night, and a celebration indeed! http://middayveil.com/
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Unfortunately, after Midday Veil, I was kidnapped by drunken madmen celebrating a birthday, and was unable to return to the Comet for most of the headliners set. However I did catch Master Musicians of Bukkake’s grand finale, and was taken back a little. There was this great wall of people, swaying to this massively loud, ethereal noise. Apparently there’s like nine people in the band, but the Comet, at this point was just a blanket of fog. I couldn’t see anyone playing music! Seriously. http://www.myspace.com/mastermusiciansofbukkake
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An enchanted evening to say the least.
The Icarus Kid Is Here To Slay
For the generation of males lucky enough to be born in time to enjoy the Golden Age of video games (roughly ’76- ’85), Nintendo’s flagship console—the NES—is perhaps the most revered. Sure, there are Atari uber-enthusiasts, Sega megalomaniacs, and, heck, even ColecoVision has it’s corny collective. But it’s the NES that best evokes vivid basement memories of mythically bizarre heroes methodically working their way through “worlds”, powering up along the way with plants, potions, and a panoply of weaponry, all in an effort to save a damsel or defeat an overlord. The games were fantastical Choose Your Own Adventures of incredible 8-Bit proportions that were every bit as addicting as the Four Loko these brainless kids are ingesting nowadays. The music, of course, was much more than a toothless soundtrack, it was a score. A score you remember to this day as if it was a lullaby, a careful composition of dazzling digital sounds from Japanese composers that highlighted and enhanced the on-screen shenanigans. I mean, hearing it now, that shit takes you back.
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Reverence often fails to avoid pastiche, however, and the last thing we need is to hear the music of the Mushroom Kingdom’s underworld appropriated by creative-less jerks. It would seem no one understands this better than local (via Kentucky) producer Dan Crowdus, aka The Icarus Kid. The man has turned his (and our) childhood memories into an astonishing homage to the cartridge giants: the Mario Bros., Link from Zelda, Samus Aran of Metroid, and many more. Amazingly, no samples from his adopted namesake, Kid Icarus, made the cut. Outside of Mario and the nameless astronaut from Section Z, Pit was my hero of choice. I played so much Kid Icarus that I had all the codes memorized, the sections inscrutably mapped, bargaining power with the black market and a healthy number of victories against the dreaded Medusa. Oddly enough, I almost never play video games any more. It just doesn’t interest me the way it used to, aside from the occasional ass-whuppin’ I lay on my buddies in Mario Kart 64 (braggart!).
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So, naturally, I was all ready to hate on this self-titled record from The Icarus Kid. But Crowdus’ incorporation of NES sounds and music into his own high-flyin’, beat-thumpin’ techno mixes resists, for the most part, any hackneyed interpretation of these revered aural memories. At times, it actually kinda slays. “Benny & Clyde”, for instance, is an icy cool break-beat rampage where break dancers would need 6 legs and 6 arms just to keep up. Crowdus uses the artificially spooky music from The Legend of Zelda in the high-climax nu-goth sleepwalker “Dodongo”. His touch is delicate, often letting the samples provide the intensity, such as in “Hammer” which uses a Wrecking Crew sample to perfection. Other times, he surrounds a few simple sounds with his own tripped out cyborg symphony (“Muramasa”). His most motley—and thus best—track is the Mario Bros.-infused “Albatross”, which feels like 8 harrowing levels of multiplex computer fantasia all in itself.
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Is every track an invincible Starman or gold coin? No. And if you can’t stand the hypnotism and spoon-fed velocity of strobe-lit innominate club hits, this probably won’t tickle your joystick. But if your appetite is for slickly integrated Nintendo-born techno-tronic, slap on that Power Glove and hit start. Actually, Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-A-B-Select, then Start.
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Albatross [super mario bros. & defender II]
Dodongo [legend of zelda]
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RootMusic BandPage by The Icarus Kid
Two Nights Of Shows, Three Great Bands
I headed out to Neumos for two nights in a row this week. I caught a few amazing acts. The first night was compromised of joshua Morrison, Sharon Van Etten, and Junip. For those unfimilar with Junip it is the full band project from Jose Gonzalez ( Listen : Heartbeats ) While Joshua Morrison and crew put on a fantastic set, Sharon Van Etten (pictured) took my breath away. She was amazing, not even needing her backing band as she played a few solo songs. Her voice was just incredible. She seemed a bit shy and awkward in between songs, but that all disappeared once she starting singing. Pouring her heart and soul into the songs, it was truly touching.
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Following her set Junip came out and played most of their new album “Fields” I was expecting a very subdued set as the record is great but doesn’t seem to blow you away. Performed live however and the songs transform becoming so much fuller. At one point during the set they had a musical interlude that lasted a few mins, It was an amazing wall of sound. Jose Gonzalez was great to watch, he is a fantastic guitar player, and that voice! 
so smooth. If his vocals are not filtered at all I am impressed. It was clear that he had a love for playing these songs to a crowd, always smiling and at times forgetting when to come in on his songs. Though no one seemed to care. It was a great crowd, not too much chatting during the sets save for the few reeeaaally drunk guys near the front. When Junip or Sharon come back through town make sure to catch them. It’s worth it.
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On to Thursday night. There is not to much to mention about the first two opening bands, other than an extremely long name, not even kidding “Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin” while I can see a need for them at a Super Sweet Sixteen I was not really into it. The Lonely Forest however came and rocked the place out. They were kicking off their newest tour here in Seattle, where they haven’t played in awhile. They got a great start, playing through loads of their next album, fan favorites of the night included “turn off this song and go outside” and “I don’t want to live there” sing alongs were had! We were lucky enough also to get a few songs from “We sing the Body Electric” , “We sing in time” and a very short version of “Stick Upon Stick” since he forgot how to play it. They were full of energy jump and singing as loud as they could, even a stage dive and a smashed instrument. The crowd was loving it, dancing,singing, and enjoying one of the best bands to come out of Seattle.
Dutchess and the Duke @ Tractor
After only two years of bringing us fantastic folk revival, the The Dutchess and The Duke have decided to call it a day. tonight at the Tractor will be their final show and kiss off. We can expect to hear a lot of favorites from their 2 albums, She’s the Dutchess He’s the Duke and Sunrise/Sunset which I believe are couple of the best pieces to come out of the NW this decade. I’m sorry to see them go but couldn’t think of a better venue for them to do it.
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Dutchess and the Duke
Ziskis
Yukon Blonde
9:30pm
21+
$12
Tickets also available at Sonic Boom!*
The Heavy Hit it Hard
Its been a week since The Heavy came crashing through the Showbox MKT and there’s still a bit of a din in my ears. Even now, thinking about the show, I feel the need to get the album back on and bounce around. They rushed into a half-full venue on a Wed night and erupted with all the energy of a New Years Eve arena show. A pure volcano of soul and rock. If you haven’t heard them before, think of it as if James Brown were to met up with Jon Spencer and kick the crap out of the White Stripes. Toss in a 40′s cartoon Satan with long wiggly arms and you’ve got it. The Heavy’s lead man, Swaby, raced around the stage kept the crowd engaged and hopping throughout the entire set. His intensity and endurance reminded me of slightly more reserved version of Fishbone’s Angelo Moore. In a rapidly dwindling outfit and tight mohawk, Swaby introduced every single song with a meandering tale (one the band had obviously heard a couple times before) that inevitably lead to the chorus of the upcoming tune. A story of his missing girl for ” No Time” a story about dancing with the Devil for “Sixteen”. Hokey? Maybe. Fun? Certainly. They even brought the horn section along this time, a piece I thought was severely missing the first time I saw them play in town. Now it’s hard to claim that the heavy’s sound is revolutionary, but DAMN do they know how to do that hoo-doo. Most impressive is the fact that they got an awkwardly-1/2-full room in Seattle to dance.. all the way to the back.
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The Heavy are touring the US in support of their 2009 effort, “The House That Dirt Built”. The album contains one of the years most recognizable tunes, “How You Like Me Now” known to soccer-moms and sock monkeys across the US as that KIA Sorrento song. The ROCK (sorry.. Duh-wayne Joooo-hnson) is using it as a backdrop for the trailer to his new cheesy movie, Faster, it’s been heard on the FX’s Sons of Anarchy and it’s most commonly known around my pad as the ring tone I’ve been using for over a year or so. I’d say I’m fooled at least once a day between the commercials and the airplay. You’d think I’d have changed it by now, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. The remainder of the album doesn’t ride on the laurels of the “hit” either. There are other booming and bass-heavy greats like “No Time” and “What You Want Me to Do?” that will keep the trunk lid of your KIA buzzing, gua-ran-teed! Then there are the genre busting tunes like “Short Change Hero” that could almost be classified as a Spaghetti Western track. Overall, very little fill on this one.
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As a little tease, here’s my personal favorite off the album.
Holy Fuck! Cats!
Did you know that cats are all the rage these days (in certain alternative music circles, anyway)? They are. You might say they’re the CAT’S PAJAMAS. Har har. This video from Holy Fuck (“Red Lights” from Latin) is basically awesome. And you should watch it, especially if you like cats. Get ‘im, Mr. Kitty!
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