Seattle Subsonic - June, 2011
Ape Machine, the Skylark Cafe, Friday June 17
One of my favorite places to see bands is the Skylark Cafe in West Seattle. It’s in part because they know me there and give me my choice of shows to see and write about, but it’s also because the sound man is good. So when a friend of my recommended I check out a band there I was interested of course. The band is Ape Machine. I listened to one song on their Facebook page and knew they’d be good and beefy in the mix at the Skylark, or rather to borrow from The Who, they’d be meaty, beaty, big, and bouncy.
The song I listened to was this: All Things. Good tune. Live at the Skylark, I’m sure it will be even better.
Who: Ape Machine, Man Rockwell, Toward Distant Suns, Mystery Ship
Where: Skylark Cafe
When: Friday June 17 8:00
How Much: $5.00 21+
Ape Machine, the Skylark Cafe, Friday June 17
One of my favorite places to see bands is the Skylark Cafe in West Seattle. It’s in part because they know me there and give me my choice of shows to see and write about, but it’s also because the sound man is good. So when a friend of my recommended I check out a band there I was interested of course. The band is Ape Machine. I listened to one song on their Facebook page and knew they’d be good and beefy in the mix at the Skylark, or rather to borrow from The Who, they’d be meaty, beaty, big, and bouncy.
The song I listened to was this: All Things. Good tune. Live at the Skylark, I’m sure it will be even better.
Who: Ape Machine, Man Rockwell, Toward Distant Suns, Mystery Ship
Where: Skylark Cafe
When: Friday June 17 8:00
How Much: $5.00 21+
Sightseer, Bold, What Tomorrow Brings
I caught Sightseer at the Skylark Cafe a month or so ago, but as I was there to see a different band on the bill and it being a hard thing for me to write about more than one band per evening, I made only the following note about them in my notebook, “Good band. Black Crowesy at times. Soulful at others. See them.” I finally got round to taking my own advice last Sunday. After a quiet day of editing the book, I needed some music because as much as I love writing, music is the one thing that can really cleanse my soul. I knew Sightseer was playing at the High Dive so I texted guitarist Jason Lightfoot to say I was interested in coming to the show and could he put me in the list. His reply was perfect. “Awesome, man! See you tonight.”
I got to the High Dive as Sightseer was getting set to go on. I situated myself at the bar, ordered a beer of course, started taking notes about the crowd, the band, the bar. The guy sitting two seats over from me was hitting on the bartender and seeming to make some progress. “If I can’t get the day off, I’ll call in sick,” she said to his delight. It made him bold enough to finally take her hand. She let him.
True to my note of the first time, the band was indeed Black Crowsey right from the get go by opening with the Crowes’ “My Morning Song” and doing a kick ass job of it. P.A. Mathison Brent can truly do the gospelesque rock thing that Chris Robinson has mastered. The band was in their element, and it roused the crowd, lifted the mood. The song ended, and there were cheers. “It’s still the weekend for a couple more hours so drink up!” More cheers.
They played a few of their songs next, and I noted they were bluesier, more rocking, more Crowsey so to speak, than they had been at the Skylark where the term of alternative-countryish rock would have been more appropriate. At the High Dive, the country element was subdued. I made note to ask about it, but I also made note that I liked it. They beefed up their originals. Songs like “Miss You Much” and “Ruin Me” pushed with more weight. I scribbled an almost illegible note, “Some B.C. feel!” I liked that they could carry the tunes a couple different ways, tailor the music to the audience or simply to their mood without losing something. Not every band can.
A few songs later, I got a tap on the shoulder. She was blond, pretty. She thanked me for writing about her band and then gave me a hug. This writing thing does indeed have its benefits. She then went up front by the stage to dance and groove but being a singer herself and a friend of the band, she was called upon to sing, “You should come up for this one since it’s your favorite,” Brent said to her. So she did. “This one’s called Read It and Weep,” and it was my favorite thus far as well. The two female vocals combined for a LARGE chorus after which there were heavy guitars and riffs. The band could surprise. Great tune. I rocked, grooved, drank my beer and took more illegible notes, but spent most of the song watching the guest vocalist.
Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks” came not long after that, and as with the B.C. cover, they nailed it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another band play Levee, and to hear Sightseer do it, I don’t want to. They were ramping up the night. The power was there, but then in that odd way about music they closed with a mellow acoustic number, “Biggest Storms”, one of those soulful tunes that when done as a closer leaves the audience feeling not pumped so much as lifted.
The silence of this room is deafening
I can hear the creaking of my bones
I can hear the dust dancin’ in sunbeams
Lord, I wish you didn’t go
And ain’t it funny how
the biggest storms don’t make a sound.
We were all quiet. We swayed. We drank. Men held their women, and women held their women.
And who knows what tomorrow brings
A gypsy’s curse on angel’s wings
And no one can predict these things
And this is what I found
The biggest storms don’t make a sound
Afterward, I spoke to Jason Lightfoot and P.A. Mathison Brent, and to the blond. People were going to a karaoke place up the street. There would be drinks and conversation and singing. “And who knows what tomorrow brings…” No one at all. There is only ever tonight, so like the guy hitting on the bartender earlier, I got a little bold with the blond. “Can I buy you a drink?”
High Dive photo by Jeremy Snyder
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Flexions Album 'Golden Fjord' Out August 2nd on Cairo Records
Flexions are a band to keep somewhere in your crowded brain-space, whether in the frontal lobe or somewhere on the back burner. They’re a rare band with alternate takes on various genres and methods. Mostly though, they’re a dub-infused, post-punkish, quiet-riot kind of lock-step outfit with one of the city’s best guitarists (Devin Welch) and also one of it’s best drummers (Tyler Swan) pulling full-time duty. Robin Stein has plenty of grooves snaking out of his bass guitar, too. Relive their February Jewelbox show here.
Anyway, thankfully, their new record is finally on the docket, to be released by local imprint Cairo Records on August 2nd (CD / LP / MP3). It goes by the name of Golden Fjord, and listening to it for the first time, I must contain my excitement. Production seems to be top-notch, and there are many more auditory treats than just the simple schematic of guitar / bass / drum that maybe you heard live or on prior recordings. Below are a couple of songs to whet your whistle. Whet away…
Flexions – Seething Mass from Cairo Records on Vimeo.
I Like This (It's HellaDope)
When I saw the title, I thought they were talking about a nerdy Pearl Dragon. S’pose not.
That beat is crackin’!
THADWICK TRISTEN TREVOR lll & SWAN COLTRANE – “Brain Champagne” (Official Music Video) from Stephan Gray on Vimeo.
Summer Babes – Open Swim
It’s been a while since my last post but my old friends in Summer Babes just released their first full length album “Open Swim” and I had to give them a plug. You’ll recognize some of the members from groups like The Lights and Man The Guns, but this album is a different direction. Very refreshing, eclectic, smartly written, solid hooks and a tangible vernacular that moves back to a almost post punk style vocals (male, female and harmonies) with indie guitar. There are brush strokes of rock, blues, indie and maybe even jazzy licks. Definitely worth listening to. If this is what their writing now I can’t wait to hear more. Nicely done. Next show is at the Blue Moon Tavern July 8th.
Block Party Single Day Tix Go On Sale Tomorrow
The day-by-day schedule for this summer’s Capitol Hill Block Party was released yesterday, and in this dude’s less-than-humble opinion, Saturday is the muthafuckin’ day. A main stage trifecta of Handsome Furs, Les Savy Fav, and TV on the Radio? Yes, please. Three-day passes have been on sale for awhile now (and methinks not quite sold out yet), but single-day tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday 6/3), for $27.50 a pop.
The headliners are noticeably dumbed down from years past (Ghostland Observatory? Really? Blech.) when bands like the Jesus Lizard, Sonic Youth, and the Dead Weather choked the Pike St. corridor. TVOTR is a respectable band—and one whose albums I all own—but I don’t think they’re nearly the draw of other outfits (ditto Explosions in the Sky). Plus Kevin ceremoniously turned his back on them back in ’08, so there’s that.
As usual, I will have to force myself to not just camp out at the Vera Stage all day Saturday. Yuni in Taxco, Witch Gardens, LOVERS, Seapony, Teen Daze, and Beat Connection: damn if I haven’t BLOGGED LIKE CRAZY about all of those great bands in the past year (‘cept for Teen Daze, but I can assure you his last LP My Bedroom Floor is the Real Fucking Deal). LOOK IT UP.
Also, after years of back-dooring the reach-around, the Cha Cha is now an “official” CHBP stage. Congratulations guys! You can get advanced tickets in person this year at Caffe Vita, btw Nope. Below is the full list of acts:
THE HEAD AND THE HEART, BEST COAST, SHAD, KUNG FOO GRIP, BFA, BATHS, DUNES, COLD SHOWERS, GRAND HALLWAY, TV ON THE RADIO, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY, GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY, THURSTON MOORE, THE CAVE SINGERS, BATTLES, RA RA RIOT, LES SAVY FAV, HANDSOME FURS, THE POSIES, KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS, YUCK, FUCKED UP, TELEKINESIS, CULTS, COLD CAVE, WOODS, FENCES, PINK MOUNTAINTOPS, MY GOODNESS, PAPERCUTS, AUSTRA, THE FRESH AND ONLYS, MAD RAD, FRESH ESPRESSO, CHAMPAGNE CHAMPAGNE, FEDERATION X, THEESATISFACTION, RAVENNA WOODS, AKIMBO, THE YOUNG EVILS, BLACK BREATH, GRYNCH, ABSOLUTE MONARCHS, ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER, GRAVEBABIES, BEAT CONNECTION, GRAND HALLWAY, CAMPFIRE OK, LOCH LOMOND, SKARP, LISA DANK, SOL, PAINTED PALMS, MASH HALL, METAL CHOCOLATES, UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA, SPORTS, TEEN DAZE, CRAFT SPELLS, BOAT, LAKE, VIRGIN ISLANDS, SPURM, ELEPHANT RIDER, THE PHARMACY, LOVESICK EMPIRE, CONSTANT LOVERS, SLOW DANCE, DON’T TALK TO THE COPS, NAZCA LINES, THOMAS WRIGHT TRIO, LOVERS, YARN OWL, THE FIRST TIMES, REPORTER, LUMERIANS, SEAPONY, WHEELIES, SLOW DANCE, THE LUMINEERS, WITCH GARDEN, HE WHOSE OX IS GORED, LAND OF PINES, BUSTER BLUE, THE FIRST TIMES, “THE ROLLINGSTONES”, HAUSU, YUNI IN TAXCO, SPACENEEDLES, COMEBACK! WITH COLBY B AND DJ PORQFEAT FEAT: ONONOS, HOLLYHOOD! DJ SETS BY FOURCOLOR ZACK, TIGERBEAT, SEAN CEE DJ N8
Listen To The Sasquatch
Feel like you wanna check out, or even relive, last weekend’s Sasquatch! Festival? Well, lucky you, NPR and KEXP did an unprecedentedly excellent thing when they decided to stream, and archive, several performances from the annual blowout at the Gorge. You can listen over here.
There’s Bob Mould, the Foo Fighters, the Thermals, Robyn, Wolf Parade (in one of their last shows for the foreseeable future <sob>) Washed Out, Das Racist, Modest Mouse, the Flaming Lips, Deerhunter, Black Mountain, Sharon Jones and many more.
And, I suppose if you really wanna relive it, you can also re-read ALL MY FUCKING AWESOME WRITE-UPS FROM LAST YEAR. DUDE.
Furniture Girls, French Fries, I like It When You say…
On Sunday May 22, I braved the gray skies and early spring-like temps to visit the University District Street Fair to catch the Furniture Girls, a band named after the Furniture Girls in the Charlton Heston film Soylent Green, a film I haven’t seen but where women concubines come as part of the furnishings for apartments. Films depicting a dystopian future always have some odd sexual element, and the band liked the oddness and humor of this one enough to take on the name. F.G. had a 1:30 start time so arriving just after noon I had time to wander about the fair.
Walking up and down The Ave, I bumped into the masses of people walking in directions they weren’t looking, the people stopping and starting, the people eating mounds and mounds of french fries, great over-sized heaps of fried potatoes in little cardboard containers. I could feel my arteries clog just by witnessing such. There were all the usual crafts and other things to eat and those busking where they could find the space. And more people and more potatoes and more bumping. There was a guy doing a solo hacky sack to a crowd of none. At the Purrfect Pals booth, I saw a woman working who I’d once asked out for dinner and drinks. She gave a very emphatic “not interested” answer back then. I didn’t ask again. And still there were more people and more potatoes. If there wasn’t a band to see, I would have gone home as I’m not one for crowds. I should have camped out in a pub until 1:30, but I just wasn’t that smart.
When it came time, I went over to the stage and found a spot about fifty yards back where I could lean on a wall and take in F.G. and write. As soon as I settled in, a guy came over with the requisite serving of fries and chose a spot a couple feet away. He looked at me, “Hey, man, you want some?” I declined and was glad to see the Furniture Girls taking the stage. The singer, stayC Meyer, had on a green dress, boots, blond hair. She looked good. The rest of the band was appropriately casual for an afternoon of playing for the french fry crowd. It’s always that way when a female fronts a band. She becomes more the focal point than a guy singer would, tends to dress up more too, sharper, to the image, for the image, dressing for the part and the performance. Nothing wrong with looking good and sounding good, and I had it on good faith from a trusted source that she could indeed sing well. On stage, there were two guitarists. That was a bonus as in their pictures and on their CDs there was only one. I figured an extra guitar would beef up the sound. Nothing wrong with that either.
“Hey, man, I can’t eat all these, you sure you don’t want any?” I declined again. He left and left his fries on the ground where’d he’d been standing.
The band’s first song was “Chitoses Golden Gate” and caught me a little off guard. The second guitar did indeed beef it up a little more than the recording from their 2010 CD How I learned to Crawl, but it was spacier than I’d imagined, a little more atmospheric. The rhythm was slow, a simple descending bass, guitars that held notes, some with delay, some just sustained. There was a break down to just vocals and drums. It was open and drawn out. People swayed as they ate their fries. I did as I took notes. Two guitars suited them very well.
Later they played a tune called “Aurora Village Daddy”, and here came the funky-electro-rock I’d been expecting. A drum beat and a couple simple bass notes and a simple vocal. “I like it when you say, let’s have tea … I like it when you say, screw our economy … I like it when you say come fuck me…” Some people in the crowd sang the fuck me line, and the guitars came in and the bass did a little slapping and popping, and I couldn’t help but be reminded rhythmically of “Ghost Song” from An American Prayer by The Doors. There was a 70′sish funk vibe, almost porn music like. And why not? It had a groove. It’s music I’d certainly like to have sex to. “I like it when say, come fuck me.” Indeed.
An old guy in a stained yellow tee shirt came over and started eating the fries the other guy had left. He finished those and then looked at me, up at the stage, at me again before walking off in search of more.
The band played on with Meyer saying, “We’re going to get a little more aggressive now.” And she was right. The two guitars were there more and more. They gave the band a kind of Faith No More flavor. They didn’t play big solos. They played chords. They played riffs under the melody rather than all over it. They played rhythm. They built up well and a little heavy in “Aurora Village Daddy”, especially in the Kingston Wall-like ending. The closer though was the best. “Candy Kids” rocked in a groove held by some super tight bass from Jim Watkins. The guy could play. It was structurally simple, a progression of B to A for pretty much the whole song, but embellished of course, and with two guitars there was that Faith No More kind of heaviness, though of course it sounded like the Furniture Girls. There was even, finally, a solo, and an excellent one at that. Good tune. Good closer. People set their fries down and cheered.
After talking briefly with the band, I left feeling a fair bit higher than I had been. Good music of any genre will do that to me. I wandered around a bit more and didn’t mind bumping into people. I looked at all the crafts I didn’t need. I made my way over to the Purrfect Pals booth and once again asked the woman out for a drink and did not mind that she once again was not interested. I even got some fries and settled finally at a pub with some beer. Nothing wrong at all with being part of the french fry crowd after some music on a Sunday afternoon. The sun was beginning to show. The women walking about looked fine. And I had the lyric in my head, “I like it when you say…”
Furniture Girls: Website | Facebook
Next Show: Noise for the Needy
When: Saturday June 11
Where: The Comet
Time: 8:00 – 11:00
Tickets: $8.00. 21+ buy online
