Results tagged “indie”

BYRNE BABY BYRNE: David Byrne is back in town for a visit to the Paramount. Famous in his heyday for biting the heads off bats in his over-the-top metalhead shows...wait that doesn't seem...where's that bio again? Ah. Yes, the former Talking Heads front man is on a summer tour, playing songs by himself and Brian Eno. You'll hear stuff from Everything that Happens will Happen Today, and some back-catalogue Heads music than Eno had a hand in. Something old, something new, what's not to like?

Our predilection for local county/folk songsmiths aside, our interest was piqued when we heard that a Brooklyn band that has received praise for playing melodies in roughly the same vein would be hitting Chop Suey tonight in support of Ben Kweller. In advance of their first trip to Seattle, we were able to catch up with mandolinist and singer Danny Erker of Jones Street Station to talk about exploring “the great American genres,” and reconciling playing traditionally rural music in urban settings, among other topics.

IN FULL GIAMATTIVISION: Cold Souls is the too-grimly titled existential comedy starring Paul Giamatti as Paul Giamatti. While rehearsing Uncle Vanya, Giamatti begins to lose himself in his character's depression, and looking for a temporary fix, stumbles across the new process of "soul extraction," as detailed in the New Yorker. While the movie is deadpan, Giamatti is not. His off-kilter spiral into soullessness is by turns hilarious and touching.

It seems almost too perfect that technology is what ultimately derailed our interview with the famously technologically-wary Jason Lytle. With nothing but spotty cell phone reception as he traveled through Wyoming, the former frontman of Grandaddy was unable to find a signal that would last long enough to allow for a successful interview.

Has anyone ever told you that you reminded them of someone else? More often than not, these comparisons are mildly entertaining. Sometimes comparisons can be flattering and other times, definitively less so. But regardless of where these comparisons fall on the spectrum, there comes a point where the novelty wears off and you want to be evaluated on your own merits. Murray Lightburn of The Dears reached this point some time ago.

NONCONFORMIST INDIE ROCK GOD: That's right, Destroyer (aka Dan Bejar aka the "unofficial" wine-swilling member of the New Pornographers) is in town tonight, ready to baptize the new Crocodile with...frankly, you never quite know with Dan. One recent album, Destroyer's Rubies, opened with an over-nine-minute track, with Bejar announcing portentously, "Cast myself towards infinity, trust me, I had my reasons." Trouble in Dreams was summed up as "shitfaced" by Pitchfork, who also called Bejar an "untouchable wizard." What a character! If you haven't had a chance to visit the new Croc yet, this show is as good a reason as any.

It’s premature to judge the latest incarnation of the famed Second Avenue venue from one loud night there...but we will anyways. Pleasantly, there were less hipster types this time around, but then again Friday night’s sound wasn’t boring indie pop, so the rock may have scared some away.

MORE POWER TO YOUNG AMERICA: The Nite Owls are performing at the ever-excellent Corner tonight, boosting a strongly-recommended show's status up to "can't miss." The Nite Owls' mash-up of punk, rock n' roll, and hiphop will have you dancing and whooping it up, and at the Rendezvous, that means you'll be warm and in good, funny company while you do it. The group is comprised of members from The Saturday Knights, Cancer Rising, and Grayskul. Hear that? Also rockin' the stage: Orbitron, Ripynt, and Johnnie Storm. Shake off the cabin fever with us in Belltown tonight!

Idly we wondered, "Move on up where?" as we listened to Velella Velella shake the Sunset Tavern into percussed splinters of funk. But it seemed better not to ask questions. Velella Velella (named for a jellyfish) are Andrew Means, Michael Burton, Jeremy Hadley, Bethany Petersen, and Johanna Kunin, and we'd been meaning to check them out ever since we ran into Andrew at a party and he knew what Zork was. "Gonna move on up," the chant from "Do Not Fold / Do Not Bend," could be a band mantra. Up tempo, upbeat, they took us up where we belong--their enthusiasm is as infectious as the Santa's sack of hooks they're carrying around. They have a whole two albums out now: their Flight Cub EP and Bay of Biscay LP, but they played until they were short on material. The encore was just one song. Imagine a crowd of white Seattle hipsters wanting more dancetime. It could have gotten ugly, but Velella Velella is not about ugly--they are about a profusion of happy non sequiturs and a rock flute and a bunch of piledriving beats on an recalcitrant iPod. (Andrew was fiddling with it, Jeremy said, "iPods! What are ya gonna do?" and either new member Bethany or new member Johanna piped up with, "Buy a Zune!") If you're into it, you can jump down the rabbit hole of musical sources and influences (Curtis Mayfield, DJ Shadow, Timbaland), but the band's appeal is equally the five live people beaming with sweaty pleasure and the keyboards, bass lines, and that classic Fender sound, all producing a (mostly) irony-free, joy-filled groove that you're an equally sweaty party to. Crazy kids.

He sang some new songs ("Sparklers," "Lucky Clover Coin") and steadfastly refused to satisfy one man's regularly howled demand for "Tennessee Train Tracks." He strummed more than he picked, shoveling away at the bass string. He got Neumo's staff to turn off the smoke/incense machine huffing away in the back, to wild cheers from anyone in the smoky vicinity. At his best, his songs are as meticulously artless as Kerouac: on the page, his lyrics read like a vagabond's travel diary--but when he sings, you hear the crafty rhyme of "pennies" with "when is." Sometimes his rhythm wandered, lines staggering off into the distance, but then finally came the short, chopped, punch of "Is is the red wire / or the blue wire?" and the hulking, bruised men in dark hoodies and boots threw back their heads and shouted along: "Oh god I love you / I mean forever / I left my body to break the news."

Here's the whole story: Wednesday night we went to Neumo's to hear We Are Scientists (WAS). There.

Tonight, head out to an event that will keep your finger on the pulse of the Seattle music scene. Seattle’s very hidden and very trendy Sole Repair Shop hosts six local artists: The Half Brothers, birds may bite, Gretta Harley, Johntana (featuring John Osebold of the indie-prog band “Awesome”), Trent Hill and Misty Weaver. It’s also the CD release party for Misty Weaver’s “Lost Saints for Long Roads,” and includes a cakewalk (win non-edible CD’s) and a raffle that advertises, “win cool things.” Cool things? We’re there.

The end is near! You're running out of chances to stand in line for a SIFF film, so if you haven't yet, get on it. Things wrap up this weekend. In the meantime, here's the rundown on our picks for today through Thursday. It's quite a week. For all SIFF screenings, the general/member ticket prices are $11/$9 (and matinees $8/$7), except for gala screenings and other special events, which cost more.

Last fall, the blogosphere was abuzzin' about Jacksonville, Florida's Black Kids. Their self-produced debut EP, Wizard of Ahhs, garnered them some major attention on both sides of the pond when they made the four-song demo available for free download via the MySpace. The Kids' five-piece band (two of which are indeed black) make catchy, driving, dance-happy songs somehow reminiscent of both The Cure and Go! Team. They've just wrapped up touring the UK, they rocked Coachella last weekend, they're working on recording their first full-length album (set for release this July), and they've still found the time to play Neumo's tomorrow night, opening for the Australian indie dance pop of Cut Copy. Busy busy Black Kids. Head to the Wednesday's show to check if these guys live up to The Hype. Word is they do.

Part of the reason we Zipcar-ed out to Ballard was to see the space that The Space (aka the 608 Club, at 608 NW 65th) is in. We found a door that said 608 on it and walked into a foyer crammed with electric organs and keyboards and a couch. People glanced up at us, but we kept on, down a hall to a small merch table that also contained a paper bag filled with small brownie squares. To the right was a larger room with instruments at one end, a few chairs at the other. We ended up sitting on the floor for the shows (Faun Fables sat next to us during Estradasphere's set). People--mainly Estradasphere, we think--live upstairs.

Indie underground vets Les Savy Fav manage to be both experimental and catchy. It's a tough balancing act, but the NYC quartet pulls it off with aplomb, especially on latest (and greatest) album Let's Stay Friends. The art-leaning band with academically-inclined lyrics is equally well-known for its intense live shows, with frantic frontman Tim Harrington providing a great deal of the spastic energy and wildman antics, as well as the costumes and gratuitous nudity....

Seattlest feels dirty (not in a good way) after reading the Oxford American's article on indie rock and Seattle.

Sulking after having missed most of the music festival that took place in our own backyard last weekend, Seattlest ventured down I-5 to check out the northwest’s other early September music festival, Musicfest Northwest. We strolled over to Towne Lounge off SW Burnside St. Friday night for a roller coaster night of local sound and lots and lots cheap booze.

Portland's alt-country meets indie-electro sextet Blitzen Trapper has been hyped up the wazoo lately. They'll be playing a free show at the Croc tonight with Jennifer Gentle and Hypatia Lake.

This weekend the National Weather service is calling for mid-70s to 80 degrees. You may want to recover from heatstroke by rehydrating in an air-conditioned theater with other bepinkenned Seattleites, and their melanin-endowed friends savoring their little moment of schadenfreude. (Here's the Seattle Times cheat sheet on the various venues.)

Yes, we're Folklife enthusiasts. Where else can you get a funnel cake, a hip-hop spitfest, a latin dance party, and a contest for liars, all in one place? We quoted Prince in the headline because we wouldn't be surprised if he showed up at Folklife this year. There is so much shit going on this weekend, and you don't have to drive all the way to the silly Gorge and pay through your nose to enjoy the music, yall.

Another sold-out Saturday night at the Showbox. Another amazing performance by another amazing band it’s taken us too long to see.

Wednesday, January 3

Last week we caught a free showing of the Brazilian documentary Favela Rising, courtesy of Scion's marketing machine. With the promise of free cocktails beforehand, we trundled down to the Harvard Exit about a half hour in advance of the show. Upon making our way upstairs to the top floor, we felt a bit like we'd crashed someone's party where we quickly realized we knew no one there. The atmosphere was more "Yo check out my friend's DJ premiere" than "Indie movie screening", but we tried to settle in. Sadly, we were not wearing a mesh hat slanted like Mike Cameron, or our best "trying too hard" clothes.

RE: the sign on the door of the North Hill Bakery, we know pigeons are crafty little disease vectors, but this seems positively intolerant.

Brooklyn Indie Rockers "Dirty on Purpose" bring their own brand of gooey melodic rock to the Paradox tonight. The dirtiness is no accident, and their brand new album "Hallelujah Sirens" could easily be your soundtrack to the summer. Their refreshing mix of guitars, vocals, and reverb drive you down memorable roads; but the sound is all their own. We love the pairing with "Say Hi To Your Mom" – a band that KEXP's own Kevin Cole turned us onto a long time ago. They sing about Robots and Snowcones. We've always wanted our own Robot - He could go get us Snowcones. A cool mid-week show. We're curious to see how this lineup will shake out. Both bands play short live sets on KEXP before their evening show so you can catch a preview.

Maybe we failed to give credit where credit was due yesterday in the Bumpershoots post. Some of the best stuff at the festival tends to not be music (notably the 826 thing from last year) and they have a lot of cool sounding events listed on their website that aren't music, but definitely are worthy of a mention.

It's music, which we love, and video, which we also love, however in Seattlest's opinion there is no more wasted modern art form than the music video. How these two vastly expressive mediums combine to form such an awful taste is beyond us. Damn you, MTV. They're just not ever worth watching, outside, of course, of a handfull of indie rock videos that never get spun and the odd Tool offering. Yes, actually some indie videos are good. You haven't seen them, because where would you? But they're good.

Seattle musicians, if you can tear yourselves away from scanning threeimaginarygirls.com for any mention of your name for just a second and focus here we'd appreciate it. We know you're out there. We also know you're not working and right about now you're wondering how you're going to spend the day. Man, you lazy bastards. Hit the cafe again or just go straight to the bar? Just kidding - We know you're still in bed. As soon as you wake up and see this, though, grab your guitar, that crate of jumbled cord and pedals you haul everywhere, your Marshall head and your girlfriend's ibook and start convincing one of your sucker friends that they need to leave work immediately and drive you to Portland. They'll do it! No one can deny the power of the get-back.