Seattlest Pix 09Nov24
Tuesdays are Muppet Days
Seattle to Remain Famous for Coffee and Rain
Thanksgiving Pairing Suggestion: Dessert Isn't Just a Meal
Mayor-To-Be Schedules Town Halls for Input and Companionship
Saturday's show at El Corazon had a long line of youngsters snaking along Eastlake/Howell for a few blocks, which we followed to the end and then kept walking to the Re-Bar to drink while waiting for the line to die. We came back a few minutes after 10, but there was still a line and Action Action had already started playing. From the street we couldn't really make out the layered synth pop sound they are known for, obviously. Once inside, our friend pointed out that the bassist reminded her of a boy she dated in high school, probably due to the projectile sweating and enthusiasm. "He looks so excited to be on the stage." If you have to do all-ages shows like this, one of the advantages of El Corazon is the abundance of surveillance monitors in the bar (there seemed to be dozens of them), so if you're an aging alcoholic requiring constant booze at all times, you can get your drink on and not miss everything.
Morningwood lived up to the hype about their deranged live shows. A man named "Everett" elected himself to be the on-stage stripper victim spectacle, and lead singer Chantal Claret sang into her mic with her head buried down his shirt and then in his pants. The man's stripping concluded with only the top of his pubes visible, luckily. During one of the last songs, Claret leaned too far over the stage and a number of hands emerged from the crowd and honked her boobs. She wore a wedding ring, so hopefully those violating hands were of her husband, who would then have to be a cursed mutant with dozens of hands, but at least the lady's virtue would remain pure.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Seattlest, the Morningwood set was also observed covertly from a nearby dumpster by a 16-year-old skateboarder known only as "jackalakalak" who had this to say:
See we were just downtown and I didn't want to go to the show alone. My friend's dad wouldn't let him go... So we just saw two dumpsters and a window.... We heard Nth Degree by Morningwood playing. We thought 'Hey, we're not breaking any rules; let's watch the show.' So we stood up there for a while. Some people came up to us laughing at the clever idea, ha ha. The people inside looked nice. They waved to us, ha ha. We planned on staying there until the Sounds. but the security guy told us to get off. My mom was there and she just had us leave. Morningwood was very energetic and fun. The people looked like they loved it.
What to say about The Sounds? The court of Seattlest turns the mic over to various witnesses for a Rashomon like non-verdict:
18-year-old "Nick" from Sammamish told Seattlest:
After what seemed like an unreasonably long setup and soundcheck the Sounds finally took the stage, but it was well worth the wait. The instrumentation was all spot on and Maja did her best to show a little love to every last person in the venue. Their set list was really good, it was a nice mix of new songs I'd never heard them play live and the instant classics of their first album. I really can't think of much to complain about other than the long wait and the fact that the position I found myself in during most of the show was similar to being ass raped.
And that was the positive view. A total stranger, 35-year-old alleged juggler/film producer known only as "Greg," took a contrary position:
"From the second The Sounds hit the stage at El Corazon, I was underwhelmed. After their debut record, which had so much energy, and then their sophomore disc that followed in the same vein, to have them come out and not command the stage was entirely disappointing. Maja, the singer, was obviously and self-admittedly drunk, very much so, and her voice showed it. She couldn't hit any high notes, dropped many lines in the songs and stumbled across the stage throughout their set. Sure it was the last show of the tour, and they deserved to celebrate, but we who paid $15 each to see them deserved to have them celebrate WITH us, not in front of us. While collectively they were a mess, individually, the keyboard player, guitarist, and bassist held it together. The drummer must have been partying with Maja because he was so all over the place in terms of his meter and how it fluctuated when it wasn't supposed to, that even Maja noticed. I can't believe that this was the international pop sensation that I had waited two years to see."
Seattlest doesn't recall Maja making any announcement of drunkenness, but we'll be sure to bring it up should we run into her in rehab.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
I thought the show was great!, the sounds were very fan orientated I thought they they really kept everyone entertained.
The sound was great they sounded alot like their cd's except I actually think seeing them live was better then listening to the CD's, Maja is really great in front of the crowd, and she gives them what they want great sound music and attitude.
The people that complain about the drummer being all over the place don't know what they are talking about and need to take a music class or two.
The sound of the drums was fine and it could have been related to the audio equip at the place, with that said Maja at no point said that the drummer was off beat or messing up.
The band did a great job, and yes maja did say she was alittle drunk but she still DID A GREAT JOB. I was very entertained.