Seattle Subsonic - December, 2011
Mike McCready with Shadow at the Tractor
| Tuesday, December 27, 2011 8:00 pm | to | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 1:00 am |
When I heard Mike McCready was playing a show at the Tractor on Tuesday, December 27 with his old band Shadow I knew I had to go. I mean, come on, it’s Mike McCready at the Tractor. Not often can one see someone of his stature at such an intimate venue. So I contacted Shadow drummer, Chris Friel, who I had the pleasure of jamming with when backing up Kim Virant and asked about getting in to write about the show. He said, “Sounds good!” and thus, it’s set. I’m going. I don’t know much about Shadow’s music but Strangest Tribe author, Stephen Tow, refers to them as a “metal band” so I’ll go with that. Some good metal and, I’m sure, plenty of good guitar solos at the Tractor it is then.
The complete line up of Shadow is Chris and Rick Friel, Danny Newcombe, and Mike McCready. The show will feature a special surprise guest, and I’d say get there early as I can’t image it not selling out. Tickets are $15 and the show is a benefit for Carbon Roots International.
Details:
Who: Shadow with Chasers and Surprise Guest!
When: Tuesday, December 27
Where: The Tractor Tavern 8:00pm until 1:00am
Cost: $15. Buy online.
Facebook Event: Shadow with Chasers and Surprise Guest!
Mike McCready with Shadow at the Tractor
When I heard Mike McCready was playing a show at the Tractor on Tuesday, December 27 with his old band Shadow I knew I had to go. I mean, come on, it’s Mike McCready at the Tractor. Not often can one see someone of his stature at such an intimate venue. So I contacted Shadow drummer, Chris Friel, who I had the pleasure of jamming with when backing up Kim Virant and asked about getting in to write about the show. He said, “Sounds good!” and thus, it’s set. I’m going. I don’t know much about Shadow’s music but Strangest Tribe author, Stephen Tow, refers to them as a “metal band” so I’ll go with that. Some good metal and, I’m sure, plenty of excellent McCready guitar solos at the Tractor it is then.
The complete line up of Shadow is Chris and Rick Friel, Danny Newcombe, and Mike McCready. The show will feature a special surprise guest, and I’d say get there early as I can’t image it not selling out. Tickets are $15 and the show is a benefit for Carbon Roots International.
Details:
Who: Shadow with Chasers and Surprise Guest!
When: Tuesday, December 27
Where: The Tractor Tavern 8:00pm until 1:00am
Cost: $15. Buy online.
Facebook Event: Shadow with Chasers and Surprise Guest!
The Missionary Position, All My Mistakes, The Right Ones
I met one photographer, Stacy Albright, at the Sunset. The other photographer would meet me at the Tractor. Stacy took the picture on the cover of Chris Cornell’s Songbook, and when I first met her the morning after Thanksgiving for that album’s release, she recommended over coffee and signed phgotographs the Missionary Position as one of her favorite Seattle bands. Being inclined to trust the suggestions of artists whose work I like, I took her up on the idea, and so there we were in the Sunset a week later sharing pizza and beers with a few friends of hers before the show.
“You’ll love these guys,” she said of the band when I arrived. I bought a round of drinks, and there was talk about photographs and books and local bands, local artists, and since among our group there were photographers, writers, and musicians, we spoke about how people are often surprised when local artists create something that actually moves them, how they act surprised that someone playing in a small club in Ballard could dare to shake the firmament with a few chords played just so and make them pay attention. All of us had experienced it, the look, the question, “You took this photo?” or “You wrote that? … it’s, like, actually good.” What can an artists do but laugh at such statements and keep on playing and writing and creating?
After Stacy recommended the Missionary Position, I listend to one song online, and I had one thought, “They have something here.” And I wasn’t surprised. On any given night in Seattle there are loads of good bands playing, shaking and rattling the very core of things. One has only to be open to the idea. After lingering on beers and conversation at the Sunset, we got to the Tractor just as the Missionary Position was getting ready to start. I noticed there was no bass player. It seems a trend these days (more on that someday), but I wasn’t worried for I knew the keyboard would fill that space.
I got a Manny’s, settled in the corner, and they started. They wore white tux coats and had a good Morphine vibe with a sax and the keyboard bass parts. I once had a woman who was a huge Morphine fan tell me Mark Sandman’s voice was a “Fuck Me” voice. I imagine some women might feel the same about Jeff Angell’s voice for the way it oozes a gritty kind of confidence. And they kept playing, and there were moments when it almost sounded like “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” or The Doors or one AC/DCish bit. They have some new kind of blues infused rock, modern with electronic elements, heavy grooves, and textures from the hips that caused both of the photographers I was working with to groov as much as they took photos.
I took notes in my customary role of separating myself from the moment, of becoming the observer, alone in the corner with a beer and notebook, but that’s a good place to be because in a way the music comes at me full force since I shut all else out. And the music did come, and in one moment near the end of their set, it brought me down, way down. There was a song called “All My Mistakes”, the first on their 2009 CD, Diamonds in a Dead Sky. It was a mellow tune, soulful, a little gospel-like. Angell sang:
“I’ve been throwing my nights away just trying to forget that
That there used to be something you liked about me…
And I think about who I could have been
And who I couldn’t be.”
I wrote in my notebook, “good number to hold woman!” But there wasn’t a woman. I wondered if the “you” in the lyric was a reference to anyone in particular, if the song was meant for someone. I dedicated a book to a woman who I let down because of who I couldn’t be, and the words came again as the song continued and the audience swayed, “And I think about who I could have been. And who I couldn’t be,” and it made me sad, empty. Music like no other art can grab hold of a moment and echo out bits of the listener’s life; the refrain, the phrase, can lift or drag down, but it has to be played by the right group of musicians. These guys were the right ones.
I damn near left after that tune. In a way, it was too good. I didn’t want to hear any more songs after being drawn into the sadness, but then, they switched. There was a bass line and a kick drum, a vocal in, “There’s no time like the present.” It had a quick pace. It shook things a bit. It lifted. There was the repeated line in the chorus, “Let’s start a fire!” There was the pounding unison of snare and kick drum, guitar, bass, and sax all on the same thumping riff, and indeed, I wanted to, “Let’s start a fire!”, not for sadness or anger or anything else in my life, but for the joy of the moment, for the sake of lighting up the night. Good music will always do such, but it has to be played by the right musicians.
When they finished, I had the thought that my initial impression was right. They have something here. They played a few chords just so, and more importantly, they struck others.
Photos by Stacy Albright and Sandy Lane
The Missionary Position: Website || Facebook
Their next gig is in Olympia on New Year’s Eve at the 4th Avenue Tavern.
The Missionary Position @ The Tractor
| Friday, December 2, 2011 | ||
| 9:00 pm | to | 11:30 pm |
On the day after Thanksgiving, I met the photographer who to took the cover photo for Chris Cornell’s Songbook. We were at Easy Street in West Seattle to pick up copies of the vinyl and have her sign it, and over the course of signing and breakfast and pots and pots of coffee, she asked me a question, “Have you ever heard of the Missionary Position?”
“Uh … I’ve heard the name but not their music.”
“Oh, you NEED to go December 2nd. They’re playing at the Tractor. They’re awesome. We’re going.” A friend of hers who was there confirmed it. “Yeah, we’re going. You should come.”
“Hmm, I’ll check them out online.”
And I did. I listened to “Here Comes the Machine”:
Only one song, and it was settled.
I’m going. And they’re right. I think it will be awesome.
Who: The Missionary Position
Where: The Tractor Tavern 5213 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107
When: Friday, December 2 9:00
How Much: $8.00
Julia Massey and the 5 Finger Discount @ Hard Rock Cafe
| Thursday, December 1, 2011 | ||
| 8:00 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
I saw these guys at the Crocodile for Dia De Los Muertos, and they were good so I’ll see them again on December 1 at the Hard Rock Cafe. With bands, I’m like I am with beer. I find something I like, and I stick with it. On any given night if you see me around town, I’ll have either a Blue Moon or a Manny’s in hand. And on any given night when Julia is playing, you can find me in the audience with said Blue Moon or Manny’s
Thursday’s show is a contest of some sort with things like recording time and video production up for grabs, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is getting out to see and hear some goods musicians playing music and making something happen. And it’s a benefit show to boot. Some portion of the profits will go to Treehouse: a foster care program in Seattle. The door fee is either a donation ($15, suggested) or a NEW TOY for the kids there. Julia is bringing a toy. I’m on the guest list, but I’ll bring a toy too.
Photo by Sandy Lane
Who: Julia Massey & the 5 Finger Discount
Where: Hard Rock Cafe
When: Thursday, December 1
How Much: Donations for Treehouse ($15, suggested) or a New Toy.
