STEP UP YOUR BRUNCH GAME: Brunch for Seattlest usually means stumbling to the closest eggs-and-bacon joint, slamming some coffee, and thanking God we didn't have to put on real clothes for the occasion. But we will make an exception and actually dress up (ish) for a fancy weekend brunch, now offered at the Saint, if only for the opportunity to taste Tecate-marinated Carne con Huevos (yum) and sip on a house mimosa. The Saint's from......

Seattlest is quaking in their boots (bought especially for the occasion) with excitement for this years SXSW in Austin, Tex. We're making our initial sojourn to the festival and are so pleased to see there will be a strong Seattle contingent joining us in Austin this year. There are, to our calculations, 29 Seattle bands officially associated with the festival this year. These bands will be playing sanctioned showcases, what we will call "the......

Right on the heels of the announcement that the Mars Volta was added to the Sasquatch lineup, and right before tickets go on sale this Saturday, the three-day music festival has seen fit to delineate who will be playing on which day: Saturday, May 24th R.E.M. / Modest Mouse / M.I.A. / The New Pornographers / The National / Ozomatli / Beirut / Dengue Fever / Fleet Foxes / The Breeders / Okkervil River......

After months of wild speculation, the official 2008 Sasquatch lineup has finally been announced: R.E.M. / The Cure / The Flaming Lips U.F.O. Show / Death Cab For Cutie / Modest Mouse / M.I.A. / Flight Of The Conchords / Rodrigo Y Gabriela / Michael Franti & Spearhead / The Breeders / Built To Spill / The Hives / Tegan & Sara / The Presidents / Ghostland Observatory / Ozomatli / The New Pornographers......

Quality over quantity, yes? Yes. The weekend isn't bursting with great shows, but there's plenty enough to go around. First up, you've got New York rock giants, The Bravery, tonight at Neumos. (Sold out! Looks like you might have some luck on craigslist). Come Saturday, you've got some decisions to make. Do you continue the NY theme and head to the Paramount for Ryan Adams? Or do you support local boys, The Cave Singers at......

Lunch today, walked down to a nearby grocery/deli for the best sandwich in the world (Pike Place Special). Who takes our order? Mr. Derek Fudesco of The Cave Singers, PGMG, etc... We say, Hey, you're Derek right? He says, Yeah. We say, Loving The Cave Singers, great album. He smiles real big and says, Thanks. Couple minutes later, we're walking by with our beverage. Derek says, Jack? We reply, Yes? (And we're thinking, Holy shit,......

"You can't reinvent how to write a song," Robin Pecknold once said in an interview. "I don't listen to too much new music unless it adheres to tradition." Generally we might take that to mean Neil Young or Fleetwood Mac, but the polyphonic choral intros and sense of space to newer Fleet Foxes songs pull from early American hymns, maybe even monastic chants. The complicated multi-part harmonies have prompted Pecknold to start air conducting --......

As previously mentioned, Les Savy Fav play Neumo's tonight. If the idea of a pregnant dude spitting water on you doesn't quite float your boat, head to the Croc to check out Cave Singers and Fleet Foxes. Tonight is also a free-free-free hip hop show at the War Room with Bun B and Swizz Beatz, care of the redundantly good people at Goods and Zune. Show up early; the last event like this, with Clipse......

Do they sing into caves, about caves, or from within a cave? Whatevs. Hauntingly, charmingly neurotic local folk trio the Cave Singers open for Black Mountain at the Crocodile Cafe this Saturday night. Seattlest has a pair of tickets to give away to the 21+ show. Enter to win by filling out the form below. No worries: Your info is safe with us and will not be shared with advertisers and/or the government, yadda......

In January of this year, the Weekly's Brian J. Barr described local trio the Cave Singers as "an updated version of the Anthology of American Folk Music. Not the graduate-student, learned interpretations of folk music circa 1962, but folk music approached by way of punk rock. It's sparse, melodic, and simultaneously creepy and alluring, like the widow mourning graveside in Johnny Cash's 'Long Black Veil'." That was enough to get Matador Records interested, who......

Though Seattlest would love nothing more than to give you a proper review of the KEXP barbecue, we've come to the stinging conclusion that it's simply not in the cards. We just got a work deadline thrown at us like a ton of cliches and this is the best we can do for you right now. To be sure, the whole day was spectacular. The Blakes were top notch, even though we had to......

Can you think of a better way to spend your Saturday than kicking back on the lawn, chowing on a burger and listening to great live music? Didn't think so. Grab your shades, your sunblock and your appetite, kids. The barbecue is upon us! Providing the tunes are Blue Scholars (with 7-piece band!), Cloud Cult, Pela, The Cave Singers and The Blakes. We've seen most of these bands and can vouch for their fun factor,......

The above vid is a live performance of "Our Bovine Public," the barrelling leadoff track from The Cribs' latest release, Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever. Even if the album wasn't really, really good (and basically all we've been listening to lately), we'd have to recommend it based on the awesomely ambivalent title alone. The Brit-punk three-piece, made up of the Brothers Jarman (twins Ryan and Gary on guitar, bass and vocals, and kid brother......

We know that the weather has been rainy and overcast and downright crummy these last few days, but never fear: things are looking up! And just in time for this weekend's Capitol Hill Block Party, which over two days features three stages and nearly fifty bands. One of the bands that we're most excited to see is Britain's The Cribs. Comprised of three brothers (twins Ryan and Gary Jarman on guitar, bass, and vocals,......

A strange sort of nervous tension sat on the shoulders of the crowd as Nick Dewitt, Andrea Zollo, Jay Clark, Leona Marrs and Derek Fudesco took the stage together for the last time. It sat there, weighing us down -- a burdensome feeling of finality. And it stayed there, unrelenting, tugging at our throat from the inside, even during the first couple of songs. We were having a great time, sure, but we were too......

Finally, someone else sees things our way. Like peanut butter and jelly, there has been one natural combination longing to be put together: having a beer and thinking about your favorite insurance company. Thank God Online providers Esurance have stepped up to the plate. Meshing together insurance needs with scenester whoredom, that's right, this year it's the Esurance Capitol Hill Block Party. The Esurance Capitol Hill Block Party is a huge, two-day explosion of......

MUSIC: The Cave Singers. One of their MySpace friends commented, "If I was a hang glider I would listen to your music while hang gliding." Um, okay. We might agree with that. Either way, these guys make good down-home music and their guitarist is ex-PGMG. *Sample tracks on MySpace. 9:00 pm // the Crocodile // $7 STREET SENSATIONALISM: Rene Denfeld's book All God's Children: Inside the Dark and Violent World of Street Families explores the......

Tuesday, February 6 >>> Spanish classical guitarist Pepe Romero at Benaroya Hall. The flying-fingered flamenco phenomenon, knighted by the King of Spain, plays several of his father's compositions and one of his own, plus other Spanish works. * video: Recuerdos de la Alhambra 7:30 pm // $29-$61 // Cheap seats are in the rear orchestra section. >>> From the North at High Dive. Seattle rock music history comes full circle in a way with......