Seattle Subsonic

Seattle Subsonic - Show Critic

BRMC @ the Showbox MKT

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I went down to the Showbox last Friday (3/5) with a couple friends to check out Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The San Francisco band is touring on the heels of their sixth LP, Beat the Devil’s Tattoo, which hits shelves tomorrow. The show was sold out. I’ve been a big fan of BRMC for a long time now—since their first record—and this performance did nothing to change that. I’ll admit that the band is less revelatory to me now than in my younger years but Robert Been and Peter Hayes are nothing if not excellent musicians and songwriters. Critics have long derided their lack of ingenuity—save for Howl, I suppose—but to them I scoff. Their heavy-loaded garage-gaze oscillates among the mysterious, the rebellious, the boot-stompin’, and the stirring. I get thrills watching/listening to them play their instruments every time. Not to be outdone, Been and Hayes played each non-new song with noticeable changes and embellishments that made for little rediscoveries throughout the night. The guys were willing to let the songs linger, too, busting out a few divergent guitar tangents here and there.

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One interesting aspect is the addition of new drummer Leah Shapiro (you might recall she toured with the Raveonettes in 2008 for the Lust Lust Lust album). I’d give her an ‘A’ for her skills, especially given how deep the band delved into their back catalog, but she differed from Nick Jago in content. Where Jago was more apt to take an alternate route, Shapiro seemed to keep time in a more straightforward manner. The band pumped out a cool 24 songs (by my count), leaning heavily on Tattoo and B.R.M.C. Songs from Baby 81 included “Berlin”, “Weapon of Choice” and “666 Conducer”. From Howl, “Ain’t No Easy Way”, “Sympathetic Noose” and “Shuffle Your Feet” were also played.

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I like the new record (you can stream it parts of it over at their myspace), but I don’t think it’ll end up being my favorite. That distinction belongs to Take Them On, On Your Own. “War Machine”, “Mama Taught Me Better”, “Shadow’s Keeper” and the title track are all high quality songs, though. Not to mention the 10-minute (!) opening closing track of “Half-State”. As usual, they didn’t talk to the crowd much (I don’t think Hayes said one word), except when Been asked for a request during the encore. “Ok, ‘Rifles’ it is,” he obliged.

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Gallery

Show Review: Swollen Members

It took an extra bit of effort to see Swollen Members perform at Neumos free last week; but it was well worth the wait. Of the opening bands, I thought Tacoma’s, JAY BARZ were a little too self-deprecating and self-promotional, with lines like “F*ck JAY BARZ”, to gain my interest. The group, Potluck, didn’t perform; but Cool Nutz , from Oregon, did a decent job of warming up a full house with more of an old school flow and some danceable stuff. THEN the wait started, at 11PM on a Thursday night, for Swollen Members. No announcements.
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By the time Swollen Members hit the stage at 12:15AM (their scheduled end time) much of the crowd had left and the band offered little explanation other than Canadian border problems. Is this a common delay for bands in Seattle; I’ve heard it several times before, but isn’t that something you would normally account for? I read they performed for the Olympic Village the previous night (being from Vancouver).
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My frustration faded quickly as the band fully invigorated the shrinking crowd. Rarely do you see a whole Neumos crowd jump around for a solid hour. My friends were unfamiliar with the songs, but had no problems getting into it. The sound was perfect (the sound guy had a long time to prepare I suppose). The fun energetic vibe that came from the stage did not seem to represent the gangsta tone of their last album. The MC’s moved around the whole time, into/onto the crowd, and even allowed the audience onstage to breakdance or sing along. The lyrics were crisp and the beats loud, original, and moving; better than the actual albums (which I admired for those same reasons). Prevail laid down one of the best and longest freestyles of the whole night with a lot of respect for Seattle.
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I left very sweaty (who’s sweat?), very tired, and feeling pretty good. Often I’m disappointed by bands which I started listening to ten years ago and finally get a chance to see them perform; this was not one of those times.

Past Lives In-Store At The New Sonic Boom

I went down to the new Sonic Boom on Melrose Avenue for the first time Tuesday night to a) check out the new Sonic Boom, b) pick up a copy of Tapestry of Webs and c) watch a live performance from Past Lives. Success on all three fronts. (I even picked up a few other albums. Yay.)

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First, the store: it’s pretty nice and spacious. But it’s a record store, so nothing special; just rows upon rows of CD and vinyl racks (the vinyl area, btw, is much larger than what they had at the old 15th Avenue location). The performance area is rudimentary, but no less effective. And it’s high up so the band’s feet are basically at eye level—good for swarms of people. The lighting is a bit poor, with a large hanging fixture right where most frontmen/women would have their face. Owner Jason Hughes astutely turned it off mid-way through the set. Now they just need some mood lighting of some sort. Neon signs? Strings of lights? The possibilities are endless.

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Second, the band: I don’t have to tell you these guys were spot on (they were). It’s how they roll and their maturation as a cohesive unit has been pleasing to watch over the last few years. Past Lives, who tread adroitly in uncommon groovy art-punk, are easily one of the most exciting local bands around (FWIW, Pitchfork recently gave Tapestry an admirable 7.5 rating). Watching them play, I was struck by this realization: they remind me of TV on the Radio. More stylistically than sonically, but the similarities are there. Both bands have an experimental nature to their music; both bands have a unique lead vocalist who often keeps one arm contorted somehow while performing; both bands have a thick-bearded guitarist contributing high-register backup vocals; and both bands have a dexterous drummer with a hip-hop style. What’s this mean? Not much, I just thought it interesting.

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They played “the hits”, if you will, from the new album: “Past Lives”, “Hospital White”, “Vanishing Twin”, “Paralyzer”, and “Hex Takes Hold”. Below is a video for “Vanishing Twin”:

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Don’t forget, you can stream the whole album on pastliveslife.com.

Thee Oh Sees, the Urinals, and Unnatural Helpers Totally Fuckin’ Killed It

Dudes, I’ve been totally dying to get some of these pics up from the Funhouse last Friday night (2/19). It was easily one of the best shows I’ve been to the last few months (check the Show Critic tag, there are some doozies), as it was a garage rawk fest for the ages. Or at least the age that contains the last few months. Unnatural Helpers opened up for the Urinals who opened up for Thee Oh Sees, and all three totally fuckin’ killed it.

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I showed up just in time to catch Unnatural Helpers, as their dark and dirty Stooge-grooves turned out to be the perfect catalyst for a raucous sold out show (if you don’t frequent the Funhouse, then you’re missing out; no kiddin’). As you’ve likely heard, the band has an LP coming out on Hardly Art pretty soon, and all I can say is that I hope they were able to capture on record the gritty punk spectrum that the they so easily tread on stage. They’re not breaking ground, obviously, but they’re doing their damnedest to stomp all over it just for the hell of it. Led by Dean Whitmore on drums/vocals, this is a motley crew of shredders playing feel-good, drop-kick garage-punk. Sounded like they might lose another player (guitarist Brian Standeford; Kimberly Morrison has already been replaced on bass), but if Charles Leo Gebhardt sticks around, they should be alright.

That’s Thee Oh Sees founder John Dwyer up there, and it was a hoot watching him play guitar. My knees were against the stage for this set, so it was the perfect setting to finally see these popular San Franciscan swamp-punkers. Dwyer is a caricature on stage: tattoos and tank top, shoving his beat up Burns Double Six high into his armpit and shifting freakishly on his toes as if he were Wile E. Coyote on one of those ACME high wires. He plays like a maniac and his music shows it. I love the vocal interplay between he and Brigid Dawson, drenched in echo and retro sass. The rest of the band, it’s apparent, has to work at keeping up with the main man. Drummer Mike Shoun was front and center and played as if his life depended on it (it probably doesn’t). Petey Dammit plucked his Fender in the background like an old-timer, content to lay rhythm. They were all great, though, and you can see a couple (high quality) videos I shot here and here.

MORE PICS HERE

Ravenna Woods

If you were in a cult and you wanted a soundtrack for your seaside bonfire and kool-aid party, I would recommend you hire Ravenna Woods. Only don’t pay them in punch, we are going to want them around for a while.
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The most notable element of this band’s recent release “Lakes and Demons” is rhythm. Everything revolves around the rhythm. I immediately recall the Dodos’s use of all things percussive. Singer/guitarist Chris Cunningham’s guitar work is also noteworthy; his playing is equal parts rhythm and melody, if not more of the former. The guitartistry invokes the thought of a Jose Gonzalez LP spinning at 45 rpm. This record is ambitious, full of thought and craftsmanship that deliberately toes the line of lo-fi/overproduction. The backup vocals ubiquitously flow in and out of audibility, and for me, it’s working. This record has energy. The more I listen, the more impressed I become that this is only three people. It’s like the organic brand of Menomena. It’s an album that can be enjoyed in full, although “People in High Places” and “Ghosts” are garnering the most plays. They make the most of their sonic canvas (via healthy doses of xylophone) and I really hope they can translate this live…
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I arrived at Chop Suey to find that these twat-bots left me off the list… no matter, I’m absolutely willing to support this band and I’m curious to see the trio in a live setting. Am I a sucker for a crazy looking dude jumping around, pounding on some floor toms? The answer is yes, I am, and they have one of those. I’m also a sucker for a guitarist that plays without a pick. They have one of those too. Most of the vocals are done in two-part harmony and are drenched in delay. The third song they played, “Devil’s Coming,” made it apparent that these two gentlemen have been singing together for sometime. There is a lot of “whoa”ing. So if you’re someone who likes lot of “whoa”s, to you I give the green light. As for me, the ambition heard on the record was being delivered. I liked it, a lot. After the show, my verdict was this: the folly of creating a record you can’t replicate live does not claim this band.
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The first night I spent in Seattle I went to see a friend-of-a-friend’s band… some local upstart that was part of a bill that was drawing about 30-40 folks on a Friday at Chop Suey. At one point during the show the guitar amp quit and the singer did an acoustic song while the problem was being resolved. It was a song called “Icicle Tusk.” Since I was new to the city, and so as not to appear naïve, I wanted to disguise how impressed I was with this guy. “Is everyone this good?” I wondered. I probably offered my buddy some insightful bit of critical analysis such as “fuckin good, man,” but secretly I was thinking to myself, “These guys are not going to be playing to this small an audience for very long.” And they didn’t. I got a similar feeling at the Ravenna Woods show. File under “Band to Watch” and hope they stay together.
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For fans of: The Dodos, Bon Iver, Yeasayer, Sea Wolf

Talkdemonic Played the Mars Bar

Here are a few pics of Portland drum and viola duo Talkdemonic. They headlined the final day of the Cumulus Festival this past Saturday night (2/13) at the Mars Bar on Eastlake. I couldn’t believe that it had been close to five years since I last saw them live.

The lush, laptop-aided instrumental jams of this band sounded a bit thin for the first half of the set; turns out they were trying out some new tunes on us guinea pigs. Lisa Molinaro, the violist, said they were about 75% finished with their fourth record. My bet is that they’ll improve with repetition. The last part of their performance was more on par with what fans can expect. Heavy, skittish skins from Kevin O’Connor, elegantly aberrant mini-symphonies from Molinaro, precisely placed electro touches and the beautiful feeling of temporary, atmospheric paralysis. I don’t think I heard any songs from Beat Romantic, but I could be mistaken.

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Talkdemonic will next entertain Seattle as part of Sleepy Eyes of Death’s record release show on April 30th at Neumos.

See The Future

Seems like just last week I was spinning my fresh new copy of Them Crooked Vultures CD and planning to buy tickets for their show at the Paramount. Now months have flown by, and I am still regularly playing that album, and LOUD. I can confidently count that show as one of the best I saw last year, and the best rock record I heard in 2009.

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I’ll admit, I was skeptical about the show, and  I was vocal about this – I’ve been burned before by setting my expectations too high for the first tour of a hotly-anticipated band. (A Perfect Circle comes to mind) And I was doubly wary because the tickets were so damned expensive – about fifty bucks a piece. When a band’s only put out one record, there’s about an hour of material to work with. Sure, the back catalog of Zep songs alone would be like sitting through Wagner’s Ring Cycle, but I had a strong sense that this supergroup wasn’t going to touch the members’ previous work. And I was right. Right, for one, that they wouldn’t play any covers, and right to set my expectations low because I had my socks rocked off that much more. It also paid off that our buddy Matt was the sound tech and helpfully advised where to stand for the show. Helpful tip of the day: consider asking the guy at the boards for the best sound location in the house.  The band thundered through all of the songs on the album, plus a B-side called “Highway 1″. Though I admit having to grit my teeth and avert my eyes from the stage during Josh’s inane hulu antics for “Interlude with Ludes”, the album’s only throwaway track, the rest of the show was structured a lot like the record: loud, quiet, loud. If you have the record, you know this is often the case within one song.

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The whole show came across better live than on the record, from the vaguely Pearl Jam-esque “Bandoliers” to the homage to Cream with “Scumbag Blues.” The extended outro to “Bandoliers” was especially powerful with the guitar-drum battle between Grohl and Homme. As you’d expect of some high-profile rockers, their equipment and lighting was top-notch.  The illuminated fretboard on JPJ’s bass was about as mezmerizing as the number of strings that may have been attached to it. Eight? Ten? I dunno. Kudos to Grohl for trying his damnedest to try to wear out his bass pedals.
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When comparing notes over beers after the show, we collectively agreed that our initial skepticism was pretty misplaced. While the last Queens of the Stone Age show was inferior to shows past, we should have respected the cumulative road time that those three musicians have accrued. Between the Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Zeppelin, Queens, and Eagles of Death Metal, that’s quite a few decades of rock music experience. As Grohl said a few years ago of this project, it “wouldn’t suck.” He’s right.
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In case you have had your head in a cave, or missed my fanboy post here last summer about the emergence of the rock supergroup made up of the (last) drummer of Nirvana, Queens’ frontman Josh, and Zep bassist John Paul Jones, you can catch them this weekend on that NBC sketch comedy show that airs on Saturday nights at 11:30pm.  Or, you can cut out the adverts and check ‘em out on the youtubes.
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Continuing their support of the Deserve the Future tour, Them Crooked Vultures is scheduled to play Coachella Festival on April 16.

Macklemore vs. Mad Rad

Photos by Blush Photo

In theory, last Thursday’s show was all about Mad Rad’s return to Capitol Hill. The bad boys back on the beat. The party-rappers keepin’ it clean on the scene instead of bein’ mean. Macklemore, while exhibiting his own solid footing of late with a magnificent EP (Vs.) cut with beatmaker Ryan Lewis, was simply a tantalizing opening act. A warm up to the big up.

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Turns out Macklemore had something else in mind. And not maliciously or vigilantly, of course; the homegrown hero was simply going to go out, put on a euphoric performance in front of a packed crowd, and let fate run its course. That is to say, Macklemore absolutely slayed. And that’s not to imply Mad Rad tanked; quite the opposite. I just thought Macklemore’s set was stronger. His songs were heavier, fleshier and given to more purpose. His cadence was unmistakable. Could be that I was wowed by never having seen him before, or it could be that he’s a native Capitol Hiller, like myself, and his self-aware, reminiscent style resonated clearly on this faux-reunion night. Look, I’m a fan of Mad Rad—”My Product”, “Superdope” and “Crack the Blunt” are some of the illest cuts to come out of Seattle the past few years—but their feasting ways and high wattage displays are a whole other ballgame. I’m not sure I was sold on some of the guys’ new tunes.

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But one of the ideal aspects of Seattle’s incredible palette of hip-hop and rap, amidst aesthetic differences, is the seemingly high level of kinship amongst the plethora of boxers in the local ring. These guys are preposterously fraternal; sure they’d like to duke it out a bit, but playfully, with gloves and a smile. Macklemore almost immediately brought out his step cousin to assist in “Crew Cuts”, talkin’ ’bout haircuts, Sam Goody, tether ball and Labyrinth. Chris Mansfield, aka Fences, played his guitar for 3 or 4 songs, beginning with “Otherside”, the Red Hot Chili Peppers-sampled story of the MC’s recent drug addiction. Pearl Dragon and Sir Thomas Gray of Champagne Champagne joined them for the Arcade Fire-sampled “Kings” and unflinchingly brought the house down (especially with that organ from “My Body Is A Cage”…oh man). Cripes, Mack even put on a wig and fur coat for the bouncy “Life is Cinema”.

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“The Town” is an homage’s homage and provided my favorite line of the night: “the skyline is etched in my veins / you can never put that out no matter how hard it rains.” He closed with “Irish Celebration”, another ode to his past in which Lewis uses Beirut’s “Scenic World” to set the scene. A huge Irish flag got run around the stage like it was the 12th Man at Qwest Field and the live trumpeter and violinist—first time I’d seen that at a hip hop show—were especially on point. In the end, Mad Rad eventually re-elevated the party, and even brought Rik Rude out for a couple Fresh Espresso jams (man, Smoov REALLY loves that vocoder). I think I was just surprised by how good Macklemore was.

So Grudge Rock Was Pretty Awesome

I wouldn’t really consider myself much of a game show fan these days, but I’ve certainly seen my share throughout my 30 years. I’ve always liked Jeopardy! and The Price is Right and will still catch those on occasion. I’ll admit to getting swept up in the initial Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? craze a few years back in its “halcyon” days with Regis Philbin. My brain is cluttered with childhood memories watching Let’s Make A Deal starring Monty Hall (where did those all costumed idiots come from, anyway?), $25,000 Pyramid with the ageless Dick Clark, or the Chuck Woolery vehicles of The Love Connection and Scrabble. I never really liked Wheel of Fortune, and I’ll pugnaciously avoid most of the short-life quiz show wannabes that now or did litter the airwaves (hello, Deal or No Deal).

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I do have a special place in my heart for Family Feud, though. I can even give you the lineage of hosts, from memory: Richard Dawson begat Ray Combs, who begat Louie Anderson, who begat Richard Karn (a.k.a. “Al Borland”), who begat today’s host John O’Hurley (a.k.a. “J. Peterman”). God, that’s embarrassing. It came as no surprise, then, that Seattle’s rock show version—Grudge Rock—completely entertained me. What was surprising was that I’d never been to one prior to Saturday (it recently migrated from the Re-Bar to the Crocodile to accommodate a growing fan base). It goes like this: two local bands face off within the typical Family Feud format, only all the questions are music related (Prince and Sting were two very popular answers this night). There are 10 rounds and halfway through, the leading band can either choose to play their set right then, or wait to play at the end of the night, as de factor “headliner”. Whoever ends up winning at the end gets all the door money. At ten bucks a pop, that’s no small shakes. Must’ve been at least a 150 people there.

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It was almost as fun as Seattle Semi-Pro Wrestling at the Re-Bar, which host Jake Stratton also pioneered. He also announces at Rat City Roller Girl matches (HIGHLY recommended, btw) and monstrously growls in local deathmetal band BloodHag. He’s your local go-to contact sport and game show announcer for hire. As for the match, everyman pop-rockers BOAT took on dapper electro-rockers Head Like A Kite. BOAT wore black tees, each with a single letter to spell out their name, and HLAK…well, they wore a lot of flair. Feathery boas, wigs galore, a gas mask, a Darth Vader mask, a sheik headdress, and one full-on panda bear suit. In BOAT’s defense—or offense, if you prefer—they also had a big fat guy cheerleading without his pants. His name was Chicken Parm. HLAK, in addition to the panda, had Tilson of the Saturday Knights. The biggest travesty of the night came when U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” was NOT one of seven (!) answers to the question, “Name a song with a day of the week in the title”. Blasphemy! I also thought Eddie Vedder was a pretty good pick for a musician-cum-movie soundtrack writer. But the survey didn’t say.

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BOAT was winning at halftime, and they chose to play their set. I hadn’t seen them in a couple years, and it seems as though they’ve turned it up a notch, Weezer/Pavement/Ted Leo-style. Their songs were much quicker and slicker than I remembered. Much of the indie-boy goofiness is still in tact, but with three guitars and two keyboards chugging away, I found myself focusing solely on the instruments. They were good. In the second half, both teams ended up passing off to their opponent quite a bit, but in the end HLAK took home the prize. I do think a couple improvements could be made to Grudge Rock: pare down the rounds from 10 to maybe 7 or 8 (it dragged on a little bit), and utilize the game’s honky-tonk fiddler theme music way more. That shit is funny.

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The crowd had dwindled by the time HLAK’s set started, but those who stuck around—like me—were treated to an excellent outing by Dave Einmo and Trent Moorman. Tilson came on stage for “Director’s Cut” (video below), which can be found on the philanthropic GIVE Seattle compilation, plus one other song. Einmo played telephone captain and jostled ably between his guitar and his console, and Moorman was possessed and robotic on drums. The show-goers seemed a bit tepid, but Einmo did his best to spur them on, jumping onto the floor at one point and pumping out steady, salacious beats to match his taut guitar. Lots more pics here. One more game video here.

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Mt. St. Helens Vitnam band Christmas Spectacular

The stage was set up to be a winter wonderland. Fake snow? Check. Drums and Amps wrapped up like presents? Check. A fake holiday fire place? of course! can’t have a Christmas rock show without a fake fire!
MSHVNB played an amazing show this past weekend at the crocodile. Even being a member down. Their sound and stage presence was good as always. So much energy that this group puts out. Layers of sound to fill your ears. And tennis balls being bounced off a tom drum to keep you on your feet and paying attention.

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The opening bands were something to check out. Having never heard of “Left” i was enjoying their sound. Was not enjoying their Heckler though. Is there some kind of requirement to get into the crocodile that you already have to be drunk, loud, and  obnoxious? I love the venue but the last few shows i been too seem to attract some really drunk people who feel the need to share with the band.

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but i guess its close to the Holidays. Everyone is a bit drunk and crazy.

This was a fantastic Holiday show.

Mew Was Rad

In hindsight, I probably should have waited until after the Mew show at Neumos last Thursday (12/10) to publish my ‘Best Shows I Saw This Year’ post, because this would’ve surely made it into the top five. My reasoning? The fancifully experimental Danish band took their stunning record No More Stories… and translated it perfectly to the stage for a sold out Seattle crowd.

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I’ll be honest, I was pretty slammed during this show and I didn’t take very good notes, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one. The light brigade, however, was in full force, shocking our eyes into a color pandemonium of sorts: hot pink, bright white, alien green, and sun-surface orange. I imagine the film school background of Bo Madsen (guitar) and Jonas Bjerre (vocals) is responsible for the visual aesthetic of the band’s stage set up, as all sorts of projections made their way to the back wall, including the face of an old woman, a hypnotic circular thingy and creepy deer-headed skeletal creatures. Hot Tip: you can even watch all sorts of short Mew-made “films” over on the band’s website.

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They began their arena-sized attack with “Introducing Palace Players”, and then quickly moved into And The Glass Handed Kites’ most popular songs: “Special” and “The Zookeeper’s Boy”. The wife and I had been waiting three long years to see them play those two songs live and (predictably) they didn’t disappoint. The first two were a natural choice to sandwich together, given the similarity in both of Madsen’s asymmetrical alligator riffs. Drummer Silas Jørgensen, who I’ve come to believe shaped No More Stories… just as much as either Bjerres or Madsen, was mostly hidden from our view but not from our ears. I don’t understand why his kick drum sounds so much better than everyone else’s.

Mew would play close to 14 or 15 songs, continuing with “Hawaii”, “Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy”, “Repeaterbeater”, and a couple older songs. Bjerres, dressed in a frumpy cardigan and ill-fitting slacks, is an odd fellow I must admit. He seems very coy and demure—effeminate even—sort of always looking at the crowd with the top of his eyeballs, and biting his bottom lip. It surprises me, given the dramatic bombast of the music, that he generally just stands there with his chin pointed upward, singing his weird little heart out instead of making a scene. He grabbed the guitar and maracas a few times. Madsen took care of the majority of “conversation” with the crowd. They finished with “Silas the Magic Car”, “Apocalypso”, and “Saviours of Jazz Ballet”. The encore began with “Circuitry of the Wolf”-cum-”Chinaberry Tree” and then “Beach” and another one I didn’t recognize. I wished they had played “Vaccine”.

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The Lonely Forest were pretty entertaining; it’s just that I found myself thinking about which song sounded like which huge band the entire performance. Death Cab For Cutie, Radiohead, Sunny Day Real Estate, Nirvana. Channeling those types of bands, especially the young anthemic exuberance, will usually reap pretty good rewards in the fan department. More pics.

The Best Shows I Saw This Year

As I’m sure you’re keenly aware (hopefully, anyway), the end of the year is nigh. And in loser blogger parlance, that means list-makin’ time! Here’s the first: the best, most awesomest shows I had the privilege of attending in 2009. I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t make it to as many small, local shows as I would’ve liked, but I’m also decidedly appointed (is that the opposite of disappointed?) that I witnessed an accomplished cavalry of national acts rolling through town. I decided to rank the Lucky Top 13, mostly because of the whole suspense factor, but after the first few, it’s all really up for debate—with myself. Because this only represents the one opinion. I love arguing with myself.

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And since I’m a bit laborious, I put in some Honorable Mentions at the end. Onward:

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13.  Noise For The Needy with the Curious Mystery, See Me River, and Grand Archives @ the Crocodile (6/12/09): My first time at the renovated Crocodile, my first time seeing both the Curious Mystery and See Me River, and the first time hearing the new Grand Archives songs. All for a good cause. [Full Review]
12.  the xx @ Neumos (11/27/09): New Londoners wow a raucous crowd with a heavy, goth-romantic set. Eight songs was way too short. [Full Review]
11.  The Vaselines @ Neumos (5/13/09): Vulgar Scots win me over with 20 year old pop songs that sound better than most contemporary versions. [Full Review]
10.  Broadcast/Atlas Sound @ Neumos (10/31/09): A weird and wonderful Halloween night listening to one of my favorite musicians around (Bradford Cox). [Full Review]
9.  Seattle Subsonic 1st Birthday @ the Sunset Tavern (5/14/09): With the Liars Club, C-Leb & A-Bro and the Celebrity Orphans, we celebrated this website’s 1st birthday (!) the only way we know how—drunk and sloppy. [Full "Review"]
8.  The Murder City Devils/Past Lives @ the Showbox MKT (2/11/09): The reunited (again) local booze-punks recapture that old MCD spirit. [Full Review]
7. Dinosaur Jr., Viva Voce, Japandroids @ the Mural Amphitheatre (KEXP BBQ) (8/8/09): A revelatory first-time experience with J. Mascis and crew, and Viva Voce’s endearing psych-folk. [Full Review]

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Top 6 after the jump/cut/fold/whatever.

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