-

Me + Yr Daughter

-

A little Thursday morning pick-me-up. Glistening Pleasure is out now, but you can listen to more here.

-

-
For today (Tues Aug 26th) only, the Showbox is offering a 2-for-1 discount for TV ON THE RADIO! That comes to $11.50 a ticket… then you add in TicketBastard’s “fuck you” charges and well, I guess you’re looking at full priced tickets again. At least you don’t have to drive down to the Showbox box office to get them. Just click on this ticket link and enter the password “dearscience” to get a pair of tickets for half er, full price.

-

Or.. you could just drive down to the Showbox, grab your tickets at the box office there and enjoy the Green Room’s Happy Hour Specials. $2 domestic bottles, $3 micorbrews and draft beers, $3 well drinks, $1 off appetizers. Yeah, do that. Screw TicketBastard. They friggen suck a mule.

-

Janelle Monae had me before she even belted out a single note. Her costume, her hair, her demeanor, everything about here was stunning. An amazing talent. A little ball of energy…and then out came that VOICE. Holy Jeebus.

-

Her first 2 songs, which blend seamlessly into one another, are truly something to witness live. (They are good on the cd, but really don’t compare to the mellower tracks on the second half, where she gets to show off her range.) I saw her Friday night in Portland, OR at the Doug Fir Lounge. She rushes out onstage in full doo-wop Motown regalia, with pompadour hair and black and white saddle shoes, like a football team out of the tunnel. Her backup band is also dressed to the nines in what can only be described as: the Temptations meet Outkast. She dances, two steps and hits every note so perfectly that I was just blown away with in the first 2 minutes. The audience couldn’t help but clap and dance along with her. If that wasn’t enough she proceed to come down into the crowd and dance like there was no tomorrow, and even muster up a crowd surf in that intimate venue. WOW. I am sprung.

-

Then she blessed the crowd with an absolutely amazing ballad entitled ‘Smile.’ With the guitar as her only backing track, Janelle let out one of the most inpressive vocal displays I’ve heard in a long time and came with such emotion you couldn’t help but get goosebumps. What a talent she is. It’s kinda ridiculous. After that the audience was mesmerized, and she closed with my personal favorite song, Sincerely Jane. A very soulful song, with a destinct motown feel, about misguided youth. Again, the vibe she gives out when performing isn’t something you see everyday. The whole crowd was in the palm of her hand.

-

Monae has been in the music biz for a while getting guestspots and it paid off when she landed a record deal through her Wondaland Arts Society label. She came up in Atlanda and worked with Outkast on their ‘Idlewild’ album and Big Boi’s ‘Got Purp Vol. 1′ collective. You can see these influences right off the bat. Ms. Monae is essentially a female version of “3 Stacks” himself, Andre 3000. Very original style and infectious personality all wrapped up neatly in an aura of unlimited talent. She is currently signed to Bad Boy and the album was executive produced by Diddy himself. Props to the Did-ster for letting her personality shine thorugh on the record and not forcing her into the poppy mold.

-

Here is a video of Janelle Monae performing Sincerely Jane.

-

-

Her cd ‘Metropolis’ is available in stores and she will be back in Seattle in October. DO NOT MISS IT.

-

Interesting night all around…Monty Python references abounded–from the ‘Spam’ door stamp, to the “I Fart in Your General Direction” t-shirt the bartender wore. Didn’t help that my buddy and I had just randomly seen the Spam sketch prior to heading out that night. Was it predisposition or preordained?–I’ll never tell.

-

I must admit, I didn’t catch much more than peripheral audio from opening band, Pablo Trucker–not an indictment of their music, it’s just that I happened to be playing the world’s longest game of “Elvira” pinball ever. Won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say The Bit’s table ain’t quite right.

-

I was pleasantly surprised by the unassuming Seeing Blind. They had energy, something very unique to offer, and even though their tunes weren’t really my thing the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves. I mean they have a cellist, fer chrissakes! And her contributions were no gimmicky afterthought. Overall, quirky, skillful, arty stuff without putting on arty attitude. Check ‘em out if you like your rock infused with a bit of jazz and an odd quasi-mix of Throwing Muses, Jeff Buckley and Tori Amos. (Don’t blame them if the comparisons are off. Again, not my area of expertise).

-

Round about midnightish The Liars Club came on. Guitarist, Chris, had let me in on the prior night’s drama–Bassist, Alex, had either severely sprained and/or broken his left fretboard-fingering wrist. Thing was all swollen up and wrapped in a brace, but there he was–ingesting various suggested ‘pain-relievers’ and downing medicinal adult-libations. And at the volume The Liars Club played, I can honestly say I couldn’t tell if Alex was ‘on’ or ‘gone’. It was my first time seeing The Liars Club live, and I gotta say they did not disappoint. Sufficiently loud, sufficiently energetic (especially with newish drummer, Steve), and sufficiently polite (singer K.C praised a show-goer for his ‘metal-hair’). It’s true–dude was fully metal from the frizz halo around his Mustaine-do to the toes of his butt-rockin’ boots. The Liars Club weren’t dissin’ on him either–they were sincerely appreciative of his attendance and style. That about sums up their vibe that night. Happy to rock some faces, and makin’ the best of The Bit’s small space (K.C patrolled the crowd like a death-spiraling fish in a tank). I’ll give ‘em a Bronze, with most of the minus being a technical deduction for the apparent physical handicap. Nevertheless, they medal (or should I say ‘metal’)–and I’m pretty sure next time I see them they’ll stand taller on the podium. (and there will be a next time).

-

If there’s anyone out there who hasn’t heard The Liars Club’s latest efforts, I’d advise you to have a listen. Feel free to download the entire EP with the last link.

-
Wide Open Beaver

Wedgewood Hop

Trust Fund

Born on a Friday

-
Download Entire Liars Club EP

-

I was excited to see Blackalicious and Sound Tribe Sector 9 at Marymoor Park only because it was a beautiful day and listening to music outside sounded downright nifty! At the time I knew nothing about either band, but if I didn’t enjoy the music, well, at least I would be outside. I can’t tell you how bummed I was to find out the show had been cancelled at Marymoor at moved to The Showbox. I have nothing against the Showbox, I think it’s one of the best venues on the West Coast, but dang it, I wanted to be outside! I was half hoping my friend would call to inform me that she had sold the tickets and we wouldn’t be going, the idea of sweating in the Showbox just didn’t sound all that appealing, especially since I knew nothing about the two bands. Also, I’ve never gone out of my way to see hip-hop shows, but I figured if there was an opportunity to see some new music, what the hell.

-

We got there a bit early and were able to score some chairs and a table, so at least we wouldn’t be crammed against the 18 and over crowd on the floor. We just hung out and talked while the DJ & bass player duo Conspirator warmed the crowd up with some tunes and riffs. As with most shows, the crowd was fairly sparse at the beginning, but the floor quickly filled up when the first set finished.

-

The cool thing about Blackalicious was how they built their set around a steady escalation of rhythm and rhymes. Front man Gift of Gab took the stage almost as he if he was in a Suge Knight look alike contest, but the irony was completely forgotten as he treated the crowd to a rhyme that sounded like a car accelerating from 5mph all the way to 100mph in about 4 minutes! DJ Chief of Xcel handled the background just as he should have, and kept the crowd moving for the entire 50 minute set. It was good to see a group perform progressive songs with politically charged lyrics, the only regret I have is that I couldn’t really understand them, as he raps with the speed of that guy from the old Micro Machines commercials. Oh well, how else to you keep a crowd moving?

-

My friend told me that she bought tickets for Blackalicious, so I didn’t even know that STS9 was even going to be there, let alone headline. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a purely instrumental group, so seeing these guys was a real treat. They kept the crowd pleased through their groove-jam style of performance that didn’t really involve hypnotic trance techniques. Heavy on the rhythm with every instrument given it’s due. It was also really cool to see a jam band where they don’t just stay planted on one spot playing their instruments, which made it easy to get into.

I’m always pleased when I find new bands to listen to, although I still think it would have been cooler to groove to these guys underneath the stars instead of the plasterboard ceiling of The Showbox. I’m going to check out iTunes and sample some of the tracks of these two bands; I just may want to listen to them when I go running!

I know, I know, you might be distressed by the all big name acts AEG or whatever-the-fuck-booking-agency is doing the lineup now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a super-duper time checking out some of the local and national acts actually worth your oh-so-valuable-time. Thirty years of success can’t be wrong.

Also, how many more hyphens do you think I can fit into this here post? - - - [Answer at bottom]

Here’s who I’d be pressed up against the stage for were I a silly little music geek. Oh wait…:

Main Stage:

Saturday is pretty good, even though it’s kinda honkey-tonk. You’ve got Neko Case and Band Of Horses sandwiching Lucinda Williams (knock it off, perv), followed by the many faces of Beck. Sunday has the Black Keys and that’s about it. Unless you want to relive the Stone Temple Pilots’ glory days like Scott Weiland does. I bet he’s extra skinny now. Monday I’d skip unless I had a crush on Ben Gibbard. Which I don’t.

Fisher Green:

Definitely gear up for Brooklyn’s !!! on Saturday. They are DOPE (if you like maniacally dancing crowds, that is). Sunday has the Saturday Knights continuing their onslaught on our sonic senses, followed by the legendary Lee “Scratch” Perry. You can always count on Bumbershoot for some top quality reggae acts. A couple good hip-hop acts on Monday should get your juices flowing: local boys the Physics and Del the Funky Homoerectus—er, sapien.

Mural Amphitheatre:

I don’t see much here for Saturday or Sunday, but there’re quite a few singer-songwriters slotted, if you’re into that (which I know you are which is why I wrote that). I know leDoux likes Vince Mira (and I love Johnny Cash), so the li’l dude with the big voice gets a shout out for Monday, when you can also see the Old ’97s and Langhorne Slim.

Broad Street:

Lotsa popular up-and-comers on the Rockstar Stage, so hang around if you can. Saturday has pleasant-pop-rockers Throw Me The Statue, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down (from D.C.!), the Walkmen (new record!), and my personal fave, Man Man (like Tom Waits on meth, they say!!) Sunday, I’d recommend some hard-rockin’, hard-workin’ types like Pennsylvania’s the Shackletons and Minneapolis’ Tapes ‘n Tapes. Both are fantastic. Seattle’s Minus the Bear headlines Monday’s lineup.

Exhibition Hall:

Saturday = Sweetwater at 3pm. Yes! I could relive my glory days (of high school)! Sunday boasts the Blakes trying to regain their local footing, and These Arms Are Snakes who are sure to have plenty of new material. Monday, you can see Israeli freak-rock trio Monotonix burn their shit to the ground. And some other stuff happens.

EMP Sky Church:

I’ve actually never been to this venue for a show, but they’ve got some damn fine bands lined up there this year. The new New Faces, the Girls, the Valley, and Kinski all might melt your face on Saturday. PWRFL Power and Tacoma’s Mono in VCF will lighten the afternoon mood that day. Sunday closes with a nice trifecta of Speaker Speaker, the Hands, and Thee Emergency. And it don’t stop on Monday neither. Greives raps at 1:45, the always-electric Feral Children play at 6pm and Murder City Devil sound-alikes Black Eyes and Neckties at 9pm. Better just spend all weekend here.

‘Course, if you want to bypass all my prejudiced picks, you can always just go here and decide for yourself.

[Answer: fifteen]

-

That Past Lives, made up of three-fifths of that late band, incorporate some of the same elements into their debut EP, Strange Symmetry, is unsurprising. What is surprising, however, is how this offshoot has managed to sculpt and shape their incumbent talents into a more sophisticated and settled sound. That’s not to say they’ve mellowed—because they haven’t—it just means they’ve matured. Take lead track “Beyond Gone”, for example, whose chilling guitar and synthetic steel drum backbone introduce Jordan Blilie’s handsome croon (”no curtain call” he yields) and paces Mark Gajadhar’s clickity-clack drumbeat. It sets a sinister tone that is quickly blasted away with the subsequent title track. The uncommon denominator in the Brothers’ bloodline, Devin Welch, detonates a heavy dual guitar chug along with Morgan Henderson that, quite simply, makes this the standout song on the extended player. Blilie adds his familiar urgent yelp and raucousness ensues. Producer Dann Gallucci (Modest Mouse, the Murder City Devils) has his fingerprints all over this one.

-

“Reverse the Curse” is a crescendo-building mad march that evokes an image (in my head, anyway) of Blilie high-kicking across the stage à la David Lee Roth, drum major hat atop his head and baton flailing wildly. Yowza. The final track, “Chrome Life” begins with a wonderfully cacophonous guitar squeal behind a wide snare beat. Henderson swells the song with a baritone guitar reminiscent of “Knight Rider” and it quickly escalates to something mysterious and volatile.

-

The band’s name, they have said, is about friends reincarnate, past experiences dovetailing into something unique and contemporary. Damn right. It’s songs like those in Strange Symmetry, however, that should propel this band far into the future.

-

See these rising rockers Sunday, September 7th at Neumos with Talbot Tagora and Dead Science. You’ll be impressed.

Hey dudes, your favorite punk band from Portland, owners of bouncy hair, jaded views of institutional Christianity, and several orange t-shirts have come forth with some new details regarding their 4th LP, allegedly due in the Spring of 2009. Last time they played here in Seattle, they dropped the hint that it might be called One Special Enjoy.

-

From the band’s myspace blog:

-

The demos are gone! Thanks to everyone for listening and for all your sweet comments, but we can’t have anyone developing strong emotional attachments to them, ourselves included. It’s what producer John Congleton calls demo-itis. It is a terrible disease that can affect us all. Kathy and I just finished tracking the ACTUAL RECORD with John at Supernatural Sound in Oregon City, or as we call it up here the N-dub OC. We recorded 15 songs and we must say we are thrilled with the sound, and we think you will be as well! We will be mixing the record next month in Dallas with John at his studio Elmwood. Still planning on an early spring 09 release, stay tuned! Track list below, so when we start playing shows again people can request songs they haven’t heard yet.
xoxo
h

-

Well, that’s simply awesome. I’m excited. Also, check out these videos from mtv.com to watch Kathy (on drums!) and Hutch play “live” demos of “I Let It Go” and “You Dissolve”.

-

Tracklisting (numbering my own):

1 When I Died
2 I Called Out Your Name
3 When I Was Afraid
4 Liquid In, Liquid Out
5 I Let It Go
6 At The Bottom Of The Sea
7 When We Were Alive
8 My World
9 Now We Can See
10 We Were Sick
11 How We Fade
12 Time Fell
13 I Think Of You
14 You Dissolve
15 Everything Is Thermal

-
It was great to see everyone who made it out as we loaded our guts with $2 beers and unloaded a giant pile of CDs, tickets and other music schwag. Nobody was kidnapped by roving bands of bike messengers and evidence points to everyone making it out of the bar on their own accord (though that might NOT be a sign of a good party). Some would call that successful.

-
Special thanks to Light in the Attic Records for being present and for bringing a box full of goodies. There were some damn happy folks leaving MOE Bar that night with prize packages that were practically LITA’s entire catalog. One can only assume it will help to spread the good word. Kudos to The Liars Club for making an appearance and handing all the kiddies a free copy of their EP. If you didn’t get one, you can download the EP Free here. The Liars Club plays the Bit Saloon in Ballard this Saturday night (Aug 23rd). I recommend dropping any other plans you may have as they intend to blow the front windows right the frick outta the place. Members of Safe Passage Clause also swung in with copies of their new EP and C-Leb had tentative news of an full-length album releasing Oct 31st. You’ll be hearing more about both very soon. Universal Music deserves a bow for supplying great pile of goodies for give-aways as well. (This it starting to sound like the friggen Oscars, isn’t it..? “I’d like to thank the bartenders, and Miller for making the High Life, and…” OK, enough already.)

-
Here’s to seeing repeat offenders for Sept 18th… and to aspirin… guh.

And now… back to the music.

Jaguar Love - This Portland band’s first record, Take Me to the Sea on Matador Records, hit stores yesterday (Aug 19th). Johnny Whitney is fast becoming one of the more “polarizing” figures in rock music (if he wasn’t already), but his off-the-wall approach to lyrics and vocals, coupled with catchy guitar-and-drum trade-offs from Cody Votolato and J Clark make for a worthwhile listen. There’s that word again. Watch the group’s first video and read my review here.

Past Lives - Another Blood Brother spin-off, this local quartet has been busy creating moody, rock-punk of their own explosive variety. They recently signed to Seattle label Suicide Squeeze and have released a stellar 5-song EP, Strange Symmetry. Sample the entire album here and download it for just 5 bucks. Pressings will be released November 4th.

These Arms Are Snakes - The band with my favorite name ever is set to release a few new projects. One, their collaboration with Pelican will be available during their upcoming tour with Suicide Squeeze labelmates sBACH. (Tour starts Aug 31st at Bumbershoot.) Two, their 3rd full-length, Tail, Swallower & Dove will be released October 7th. Check the band’s new blog for a song from T,S&D to be posted soon. [Update 8/22: "Red Line Season" is now up on the band's myspace.]

Deerhunter - Seriously, people have GOT to start talking more about this band. They’re not hard, they’re not soft, they’re just intricately…right. The arrangements exhibited on their records, Cryptograms in particular, are astonishing and main ‘hunter Bradford Cox reminds me of a more subtle Lou Reed with actual singing skills. The Velvet Undergound was never this exhaustive, however. Microcastle, the new LP, is now available on iTunes; hardcopies due in October.

TV on the Radio - Apparently you can stream the first song released from Dear Science—due for release September 23rd—but all I can hear is the first 90 seconds. It sounds like Prince.

Venus Verse - And, finally, a little local band we’re friendly with has cancelled their show at the Skylark Aug 29th. But, in good faith, it’s because the band is working on their second EP. They’ve recorded a new single that’s a ”pretty poppy, uptempo little number and might remind you of a prom in the early eighties”. Awesome. Download their excellent debut here. Seriously, do it.

One more update…

Head Like A Kite - You’ve most likely heard Dave Einmo’s ubiquitous album There is Loud Laughter Everywhere already, but if not, feel free to stream the record in it’s entirety on Mush’s website. Be the internet.

OMG, ANOTHER update…

Talkdemonic - This Portland-based electro-acoustic instrumental duo is getting set to release their 3rd LP, Eyes At Half Mast, on September 16th. Their last record, Beat Romantic, was an amazing musical landscape of powerful percussion, beautiful viola accompaniment, and lush electronic displays floating throughout. Listen to new song “March Movement” here.