Live: Pavement, 6/25/10

Live Review:
Pavement
Quasi

Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA 6/25/2010

Maybe Pavement ran out of money, or maybe they just got sick of not being Pavement. I'm guessing the latter. But despite what an un-"indie" and masturbatory undertaking a reunion tour can be, Pavement would be in character not giving a fuck either way. For those unfamiliar, Pavement's greatest non-musical accomplishment was igniting an amusingly one-sided feud with Billy Corgan over a line in this song (seriously, Billy?). The fact that Pavement endures, while Corgan seems to be keeping very busy embarrassing himself in public, is testament to the triumph of not taking yourself too seriously.

At the risk of diving into a gaping nostalgia trap, I went all the way to Berkeley for this one. These days I go to shows to hear music I haven't heard before, so it was a different experience, being one of about a thousand people who showed up to do precisely the opposite.

Then again, timeless as their music is, Pavement's heyday was before my time. I'd never seen them live before. As I suspected all along, that's the way their music is meant to be heard. So this was a new experience for me after all. What justifies their oh-so-90's slacker aesthetic is just how good they are, making it all look like they're not even trying. Especially Stephen Malkmus, who's got some amazing guitar chops but never tries to call attention to himself with that lookatmelookatmei'msucharockstar stage presence so pervasive among rock stars.

I could go on gushing, but I wouldn't be helping my case. The moral of the story is that seeing Pavement live is one for your bucket list. Some key data on this show: Original drummer Gary Young appeared and played for a few songs. I didn't catch their complete set list, but it included:

Cut Your Hair
Frontwards
Gold Sounds
Stereo
Zurich is Stained
Rattled by The Rush
Range Life
Shady Lane
We Dance
Stop Breathin
Trigger Cut
Box Elder
(a new song?)
Two States
Summer Babe (Winter Version)
Here

The opener was Quasi, a band I respect, though their music has never done a lot for me. It's always fun to see Janet Weiss's chops on the drums (See also: Sleater-Kinney, plus Malkmus' other band, The Jicks). This time, Quasi included Joanna Bolme on the bass (also a Jick).

A little nostalgia for your dome:

Live: Delorean, Teengirl Fantasy, Big Spider's Back, 6/6/10

Live Review:
Delorean
Teengirl Fantasy
Big Spider's Back

Chop Suey, Seattle, WA 6/6/10

Late, yes, but I saw Delorean & Guests at Chop Suey. It was rad.

Live: Fuck Buttons, White Rainbow, 5/16/10

Live Review:
Fuck Buttons
White Rainbow

Chop Suey, Seattle, WA 5/16/10

On Sunday the 16th, I saw Fuck Buttons perform at Chop Suey. The opener was Portland-based White Rainbow. It was really rad.

LIve: The Globes, Skeletons With Flesh On Them, Kids and Animals, PWRFL Power, 5/15/10

Live Review:
The Globes
Skeletons With Flesh On Them
Kids and Animals
PWRFL Power

Healthy Times Fun Club, Seattle, WA 4/15/10

There was another band that I missed, apologies if you are that band.

Not a lot of time for blogging lately; when I'm not busy working, practicing music, going to shows, playing Sega Genesis, dancing naked to Cocteau Twins or going on drunken group bike rides, well... There aren't a lot of those moments. I didn't even blog the my previous visit to HTFC; I may have to put a blurb in for it, just to make a record of it.

 So: To be brief: PWRFL Power: Twee as fuck, great songs, awesome use of awesome guitar chops. Kids and Animals: Fun stuff, Modest Mousey, youthful, energetic, all in all pretty good. Skeletons With Flesh On Them: Solid band, alt-countryish, solid performers, good songs. The Globes: I really dug The Globes. Super-tight performance, with a wall-of-sound gazeyness that reminded me a lot of Deerhunter.

Useful Internet links:

http://www.myspace.com/pwrflpower
http://www.myspace.com/kidsandanimalsband
http://www.myspace.com/skeletonswithfleshonthem
http://www.myspace.com/theglobes

Live: Typhoon, Last Slice of Butter, Universal Studios Florida, 4/30/10

Concert Review
Typhoon
Last Slice of Butter
Universal Studios Florida

Healthy Times Fun Club, Seattle, WA 4/30/2010

For my most recent visit to HTFC, I had the pleasure of seeing Typhoon, a young Portland band I'd never heard before. Their music is pretty, folksy, dramatic and earnest, like a lot of music I listened to a few years ago (Sufjan Stevens fans, take note). Not what I typically listen to these days - but their musicianship, complexity and originality won me over quickly. It wouldn't be for everyone, but it would take a hellishly jaded hipster not to be melted by them at least a bit before the end of the show. The band featured two drummers, two violinists, two guitarists, bass, some miscellaneous percussion (kitchenware included), an accordion, two trumpets, and likely some things I'm forgetting. This show comes on heels of a tour with French post-rock titan Yann Tiersen, best known for his work on the Amelie soundtrack.

Typhoon stole the show, but the evening saw a good performance from Universal Studios Florida, a pair of UW students well-known in the Seattle DIY scene, whose sunny, glitchy, loopy electronica earned them a Pitchfork interview in September. Second on the list was the very loud bass/drums duo Last Slice of Butter, who showed some great chops and an energetic performance.

Live: Spoon, Deerhunter, Micachu & The Shapes, 4/9/10

Spoon - Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA 4/9/2010
Plus Guests:
Deerhunter
Micachu & The Shapes

Trying to learn from past experience, I brought a pair of earplugs to this show. Last time I saw Spoon live, before they released the album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, it was at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, and it was one of the loudest shows I've ever seen. This time, the earplugs never got out of their little box in my pocket. From my nosebleed seat in Seattle's Moore Theater, originally an opulent 1920s movie palace, I didn't need them. I might not have needed them had I been in the front row. The fact that a front row existed in the first place, not to mention the sound volume, signaled just how much Spoon's fan base has evolved in its growth since 2006. This production seemed to be catering to the fiftysomething crowd.

This was not lost on Deerhunter's Bradford Cox. The minute he stepped up to the microphone, he had one look at the rows of folding chairs on the floor, and said something like, "This is the weirdest shit I've ever seen." And later, "What is this, the Seattle High School talent show?" In the past, pairing Spoon and Deerhunter might not have been so odd. I imagine that Spoon ten years ago might have been something like Deerhunter today: Young, up-and-coming, fresh, hungry, new.

Fortunately, although Spoon's fans now include the normie crowd, the band is as eccentric as ever. On their latest album, Transference, Spoon shows as untouchable a talent as before for playing old-school rock 'n' roll that still somehow sounds new and hip. I wasn't too sure this would be the case after Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, their most radio-friendly but least interesting effort to date. On stage, while always excellent performers, they've only improved. They played a long set spanning most of their career (I was a little disappointed they didn't play "Metal Detektor" or any other songs earlier than 2001's Girls Can Tell). Singer Britt Daniel's unique brand of stage presence adds an entertaining touch. He's as cool and confident on stage as any singer I've seen. My first time seeing Spoon, I was with a friend who had a huge rock-star crush on him. When he walked into the lobby, she blushed and hid behind me. It's just unfair.

While Spoon didn't disappoint, Deerhunter was the band I came to see. While not so polished as Spoon, they brought an energy and edginess foreign to Spoon's newer work. Despite some things going wrong (a guitar amp died midway through their set) they worked through it well. At first, they stuck to some of their most accessible material. I was especially pleased to hear "Hazel Street," one of my favorite of their songs, but I was also hoping to hear the likes of "Cryptograms," "Microcastle," "White Ink," or something of that weird streak. At first, Deerhunter stuck to more accessible material.

Then they blew my mind. What started as a cover of The Stooges' "I Want To Be Your Dog" morphed into a long, noisy, wild jam, with Cox giving an improvised speech on Curt Cobain, noting that the anniversary of Cobain's death had only been a few days earlier. In Seattle, where Nirvana T-shirts are sold in tourist shops alongside "Sleepless in Seattle" baseball caps, Cobain is fetishized in exactly the way that arguably drove him to suicide. So hearing references to Cobain can get a little tiresome, but not coming from Cox, someone who clearly has a genuine appreciation for Nirvana, who spent his whole day crying at age 12 when he heard the news. "I never thought I'd live to be 27," said Cox, who is now 27 (as am I), Cobain's age at death. He said things like, "I used to dream that Kurt Cobain would come from the sky with his flaming guitar and split open the heads of the kids who used to make me suck their dicks." Heavy stuff.

Micachu & The Shapes also put on a noteworthy performance. Hailing from the U.K. with a DIY vibe, they're a band I'd like to learn more about.

My only major complaint about the event: While Spoon got excellent audio treatment, it sounded like the sound engineer was taking a nap during Deerhunter's and Micachu & The Shapes' sets. Certainly most people came to see Spoon, but you've got to give a little love to the openers.

Watch: Jonathon Fisk by Spoon



"I Turn My Camera On" by Spoon


Hazel St. by Deerhunter (unofficial video?)



"Golden Phone" by Micachu & The Shapes

Live: Deakin, Seattle, WA 3/31/2010

Deakin - Neumos, Seattle, WA 3/31/10
Plus Guests:
Jabon
Peppermint Majesty

I'll admit, my main reason for marking this show on my calendar was because I saw it on the Neumos calendar and thought "Peppermint Majesty" was a good band name. Further research yielded some pleasant surprises. First, I hadn't noticed that Deakin, aka Josh Gibb, one of Animal Collective's three members, was the headliner. I was also unaware that two members of Peppermint Majesty are also in Fleet Foxes. Not to mention Jabon is by day known as Scott Colburn, the audio guru who recorded Animal Collective's "Feels" and Arcade Fire's Neon Bible.

All around, this show was a treat, but it wouldn't be for everyone. Peppermint Majesty bore a lot of similarities to Fleet Foxes, albeit less folksy and more poppy. Some of the songs they played, though not on any FF releases, sounded familiar, and I couldn't help but wonder if the Foxes had played some of those songs when I'd seen them live. PM's harmonies were very much in FF's style, but overall the sound had more Seattle and less Appalachia. Vibraphones and electric pianos and electric clarinet added a playfulness that distinguished them from FF.

It only got weirder from there. Jabon took the stage wearing a mask and robe, and performed a spooky experimental electronic set in the vein of Autechre ("Dark Ambient Avant-Garde Disco Comedy," in Jabon's own words). It was very interesting stuff, though the "comedy" element, as well as some troubles with the laptop on stage (Windows ME? Seriously?) undermined the mystery a bit.


Deakin, on the other hand, went out of his way to be more audience-accessible, even taking the time to explain his musical philosophies before beginning his set. Overall, I found his music much more original and interesting than Jabon's, all of it very much in Animal Collective's style. Even if a slower and more challenging listen, his songs paved a familiar, very lysergic landscape, offering a glimpse of Deakin's contribution to the band. He played sounds unrecognizable as guitar through a multitude of effects, along with some other unidentified noise-making devices. It was all very loud, sounds only a high-powered PA system can do justice.


To my surprise, there was no encore, and the crowd had thinned out a bit by the end of the show. I would have liked to see one, though  will admit I was a little relieved, having forgotten my earplugs. It was a bit over the pain threshold. Don't get me wrong, I like my concerts loud, but if it comes to a choice between losing my hearing and having the sound muffled by earplugs, I'd rather have the volume knob turned back down to "10." If I was just a once-in-a-while concert goer, that might be different, but this is a lifestyle for me, and I hope I have some hearing left by the time I'm 30.

Live:The Crying Spell, Wild Orchid Children, Some Other Bands: 3/20/10

The Crying Spell - Neumos, Seattle, WA 3/20/10
Plus Guests:
Wild Orchid Children
Dynamo Effect
Ghost Town Riot

Clap Your Hands, Y'all.

Part of gaining some critical perspective is figuring out what you don't like - That's the easy bit. The hard part to avoid becoming a complete asshole in the process. I admit, I have done wrong. When you drunkenly yell at the top of your lungs, "YOU'RE WAY BETTER THAN THE BAND BEFORE YOU," you think you're being funny until someone walks in front of you, puts his hand on your shoulder, and says, "I'm in that band."

This happened during Wild Orchid Children's set. For full disclosure, WOC is the band of a friend and co-worker, but they are quite talented.  They got the opportunity to play a Saturday night show at Neumos (who could turn that down?) but had the misfortune of sharing the bill with some other artists who might as well have been from a different, much more Emo galaxy. WOC played well, albiet to a somewhat bewildered audience, using their great chops for sort of fun psychedelia that's easy to get lost in but never boring.

I won't comment on Ghost Town Riot; I didn't catch their set. I arrived in time to see Dynamo Effect, and I was alone and only 2 songs deep when I decided I it was time to retreat to the bar and spare myself the hearing damage. Sure, D.E. Rocked - And Rocked Real Good - in a similar fashion to the hyper-masculine way Creed Rocked or Hoobastank Rocked, circa 2002.

So whatever it was Dynamo Effect was trying to do, they did it well, but that's not the point. I didn't have time to explain this when the next awkward moment arrived. It wasn't long before I found myself at neighboring urinals with the same guy. I think this is a fundamental part of the male experience. When two grown men are standing next to each other with their cocks hanging out in the open, there's no room for bullshit. I knew I owed him an apology, and he turned out to be a likable and earnest character, though understandably a little bruised. He expressed some disappointment with his own performance on the bass. I hadn't noticed. Not the issue, I tried, and failed, to articulate.

So what was the issue? There's playing well, and there's playing what you play well, and then there's originality, perspective, imagination. If there's any of these areas where D.E. falls short, it's the latter. It's not hard to spot. When I read a book, and the first two chapters completely fail to impress me, I don't feel unjustified in not bothering to finish it. This is no different. And I'm not easily impressed.

To their credit, Dynamo Effect at least had a shred of authenticity. The headliner, The Crying Spell (I could stop there) had all the same shortcomings, but to make matters worse, they seemed intent on blowing more steam out their asses than even their fog machines could manage. If a photo published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 2008 is any indicator, these dudes take themselves pretty fucking seriously. A glance at their website, stage props, shiny new instruments, their high-production video of themselves rocking out in the desert (yeah, that's original) and their MySpace page show that for an "unsigned" band, they've got everything money can buy but not a lot that it can't.

Let me be clear: It's only the latter that's a problem, and it takes more than a slick hairdo and striking Christ-like poses onstage and writing songs with titles like "Beautiful" to prove otherwise. TCS have branded themselves thoroughly, but only in the same tasteless aesthetic as the music itself. When you rely on repeatedly pushing the melodrama button, you'll attract a certain audience, but I'm going to guess it'll only be the kind who like to post skanky photos of themselves on MySpace in hopes of showing up in your top friends. It's a path already well worn by The Bravery and The Killers and any number of much worse early 2000s commercial "Modern Rock" acts, the kind of radio-friendly sludge the major labels kept jamming down our collective throats, all the while blaming their declining revenues on Napster. Sure, Wild Orchid Children have an over-designed MySpace page of their own, but at least they had the good sense to smear some dirt on themselves. Clearly they're ambitious and have some resources at their disposal, but it's nice that they don't suck. As for The Crying Spell, I know there are plenty of dudes who work at Guitar Center or pseudo-Goth hairstylists who think this shit is cool. I have news for them: It's not.

Live: Richard Bishop, Seattle, WA, 3/13/10 (Magma Festival 2010, Part 1)

Richard Bishop
Fremont Arts Abbey
Seattle, WA 3/13/10


It's been a busy weekend of concert-going, and I must confess I only caught the very tail end of this one, and none of the openers. Richard Bishop is best known for being a member of Sun City Girls, a band I know very little about, but their Wikipedia page might provide an education.

This was a part of Magma Festival, an annual fund-raiser for Hollow Earth Radio, a fantastic Seattle web-only radio station. I recommend giving it a listen - Especially for anyone interested in the local, eclectic and obscure.

This was a strictly solo show, with Bishop displaying some impressive guitar prowess and sophisticated songwriting. Some of his songs evoked Tom Waits, others were instrumentals with possible middle-eastern and Flamenco influences. He displayed a well-polished variety of styles. His virtuosity alone was enough to make me think I should learn a bit about SCG.

Nothing devastatingly hip about this show, but that would be missing the point. Seeing some good music at a venue I had not yet visited, followed by grabbing a pint with a friend at a nearby pub made for a pleasant Saturday night. 

Live: Thousands, Seattle, WA 3/12/10

Thousands - Healthy Times Fun Club, Seattle, WA 3/12/10
Plus Guests: W.M.W., Shana Cleveland, Fancie

Those of you who have been loyal readers may have figured out by now that brevity is not exactly my thing, but today, in the interest of time, I had better try. As you know, I'm a musician myself, so I should probably be spending more time creating and practicing music than writing about it. With that in mind, this being my first "review" of any local artists, I want to preface this by saying my intention is to document the event, not so much critique it. First off, in hoping to gain a foothold on the local scene, I think it's best I avoid stepping on anyone's toes, not that I'll pull any punches if I come across anything really disturbing. I've been thinking of focusing more of my musical attention (and hence, this blog) on the local scene anyway, as indie-label reviews are already pretty well covered by the Pitchforks of the world (Yes, I read Pitchfork, and admittedly plagiarize its style a little... Bring on the anti-hipster backlash, I'm ready for it).

Healthy Times Fun Club is a somewhat exclusive, underground venue in the first place, and I'm hesitant to bring it too much attention, should it become too popular. I consider myself lucky to know about it, and I probably wouldn't if not for being fortunate enough to know some of its proprietors. Even mentioning it in such a light, I feel I risk attracting wannabes who just want to be there because they think it makes them cool, as much as I want to see it succeed. But given how little interest mainstream Seattle shows in its DIY subculture to begin with, and how exclusive my readership is in the first place, I think it's safe for now.

But yes, the music...

(My mementos from the event: a 7" single and CD from Fancie, and a very nice promo poster).

Mellowness has not been my forte of late, musically speaking, but now and again, it's nice to have a reminder that edginess isn't everything. Thousands is an acoustic duo - I'm told at least one of them is also a member of Heatwarmer, a very good Seattle band I've also seen in a packed HTFC, who amusingly describe their own music as "Phish-style noodling." This was their LP release party - I didn't bring enough cash to buy all the merch I wanted, but I will try to get my hands on it at a later date. Their sound is gentle and folksy, but they display excellent chops on their acoustic guitars, playing in overlapping arpeggios and singing in pretty harmonies. Mellowness and vocal harmonies were a common theme of the night, with W.M.W. and Shana Cleveland bringing a plaintive slowcore/sadcore kind of style. Cleveland's band featured some light percussion, electric bass and a clarinet, in addition to her acoustic guitar.

Not to discount any of the above artists, but to me, the most memorable performance came from Fancie, the project of Elisabeth Wood, a prolific and musically ambitious sonwriter and multi-instrumentalist of unknown origin (Berlin? Portland? California? Utah? Florida? Her MySpace page and website offer multiple hints but no definitive home location). I did have the opportunity to chat with her after the show, and she didn't mention where she was originally from, but she did mention that she's not from Seattle, she had been living, working and performing in Germany, and (I think) that she's going back there soon. Her MySpace page also has the longest list of band members I've ever seen, only 4 or 5 of whom were present at last night's show.

The mysteriousness Fancie brings to the stage only adds an untouchable mystique to her raw talent. She has a tremendous, unwavering, sultry, colorful voice, a command of the guitar and keyboard, a rock-solid sense of her own jazzy, folksy style, and a band of highly skilled accompanists. On top of that, if the size of her discography is any indicator, she possesses a fierce work ethic. She mentioned that music is still not her sole source of income - Making her accomplishments all the more impressive, but still a reminder that the business of music is not a fair one. But then again, it may well be that the unsung heroes are the most heroic of them all.

Live: Do Make Say Think: Seattle, WA 2/5/10

Do Make Say Think - Chop Suey, Seattle, WA 2/5/10
Plus guests: The Happiness Project, Years

Before this show, I got into a conversation with some co-workers about why Post-Rock may have fallen out of the vogue. I posited a theory. These being difficult, stressful times for so many people, I think a lot of us, myself included, have taken solace and escape in the predictability and instant gratification of pop music. It did seem people were more excited about this stuff midway through the last decade. We may have been just as broke and pissed-off during the Bush years, but at least we knew what we were up against. Nonetheless, Canadians like Do Make Say Think seem happily unfazed by this trend, and encouragingly, quite a few Seattleites are still willing to vibe out to large bands playing 20-minute-long, unpredictable, instrumental deconstructions of Rock itself (Any less than 8 members in your band, one member mused, and they don't let you across the Canada-U.S. border).

Even more impressive, considering how DMST is one of the least accessible bands of this genre. While not quite so dangerously flirting with free-form jazz odysseys as Tortoise, DMST tease with their rising crescendos, pulling back from them in places where Mogwai or Sigur Ros would have taken the opportunity to blow your head off. DMST's songs are not easy to follow, but if you can manage, you realize the song structures are quite deliberate.

The highlight for me, however, was the experimental "opener" featuring members of DMST, The Happiness Project. The music was built around recordings of interviews with several people, mostly on the concept of playing instruments to the melodies of their speech. A saxophone for an old woman talking about love and happiness. A violin for a 3-year-old girl having a minor tantrum. "It's like a reverse auto-tune," I overheard an audience member aptly describe it. Most moving was a song built around an interview with a woman who had been deaf her entire life and had a cochlear implant as an adult, describing what it was like to hear sound for the first time. "All of a sudden, I felt my body moving in sound," she says. Brilliant stuff. DMST guitarist/bassist/saxophonist/flutist Ohad Benchetrit followed with his solo project, Years, mostly comprised of beautiful solo acoustic instrumentals.

I do admire how jovial and chatty the band members were on stage. While so often I crave some rock-star mystique, Do Make Say Think were refreshingly accessible in their demeanor, letting their music and multi-instrumental prowess speak for themselves. They were having fun. Nothing wrong with that.