Results tagged “rock”

EVERYONE IN THE CULT LOVES YOU: As we were saying the other week, tonight is a night that will live in Seattle rock 'n' roll history. The Cult is at the Moore, playing a live version of their smash 1985 album Love. That's hits like "Nirvana," "Big Neon Glitter," "Brother Wolf, Sister Moon," "Revolution," and "She Sells Sanctuary"--now how much would you pay? (Hopefully $30 or $40 because that's what tickets are going for.)

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.

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.

MONKEYSHINES: We were going to suggest you go see Chris Cornell at the Showbox SoDo, but it's sold out. So instead we'll remind you that you have until May 10 to catch the Curious George-inspired exhibit at the Children's Museum, Let's Get Curious! Is it an egregious example of product placement? Whatever, we just like it, to paraphrase Liz Lemon. Not to overshare, but Curious George was easily the most appealing character we remember coming across in our toddling era. Oh, that monkey!

EARTH DAY: The UW's Green Coalition invites you out to the campus today for some live music, a gallery of environmental art, a zero-emissions electric car show, a social on the Lake Washington waterfront, and a presentation about sustainable business practices from Jerry Heinlen of Yakima Products to be followed by the movie The Eleventh Hour. Don't worry--there's more earthy doings on tap if you can't make that.

MORE HORNS: If there's one motto consistent through the years of this Seattlest's life, it's "More horns!" It's similar to "More Cowbell," but inclusive of such excellent instruments as the trumpet, the french horn, the tuba, and--our favorite--the trombone. That's why we're recommending you attend HonkFest West this weekend, a three-day event in Ballard and Georgetown dedicated to horns and drums. See the schedule here.

FROM THE PAGE: This season's Book-It Repertory Theatre production is an adaption of Dinaw Mengestu's The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, which was the 2008 Seattle Reads pick. Tonight, the good Book-It people are hosting their regular forum, From The Page To The Stage, to give Seattleites a free preview of and background for the upcoming production. The show itself opens on April 14.

DESIGN: Attention parents! Before you pony up the dough to send your little Da Vinci to Cornish, drop in at the Design Faculty Exhibition and see what the faculty at the Design department (Susan Boye, Jeff Brice, Tiffany Laine De Mott, Jon Gierlich, Jacob Kohn, Claudia Meyer-Newman, Julie Myers, Ellen Forney, Julie Gaskill, Hovie Hawk, BeAnne Hull, Marisa Mangum, Dan Shafer, Hal Tangen, Daniel Thornton, and Junichi Tsuneoka) can do. It's due diligence, people, and worth it for no other reason than because Ellen Forney's name is in the middle of that list.

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.

A.C. Newman is hard to get a fix on, period. The fact that he's invariably described as the "frontman" for The New Pornographers only raises the question of why anyone leading so phenomenally successful a band needs a solo career.

We're high on transit and so is a certain Metro driver who seems to have mistaken route 42 for a rock shop. Dude, you know the 5-0 rides that line. You best conduct business on the 7. It happens to stop near the Columbia City Library, where, the Rainier Valley Post reveals, car prowls are on the rise. It's happening in West Seattle, too, where residents are taking a bite out of crimes. We're ready to fight back ourselves. Someone smashed our car window at Seward Park Monday afternoon. Now we're prowling Craigslist and pawnshops for our stolen laptop. If you see an iBook G4 with the serial number scratched off, buy it--no questions asked--and we'll pay you back, k?

It's been a long time since Kim had a tourist to show around, so she's looking forward to giving her father a stellar tour of Seattle and its environs. On the agenda: Chateau Ste. Michelle, Bainbridge Island, the Fremont troll, and plenty of great food--finally an excuse to go to the Kingfish! Before pops arrives, she'll kick the weekend off right, with Sera Cahoone and Zoe Muth tonight at the Tractor.

EVERYBODY SAY YEA: Did you see Yeasayer at that show they played with psych rockers Black Mountain last year? We did, and that night we became heartfelt believers in the pounding, global jungle magic of the foursome from Brooklyn. It's a smart idea to listen to their recorded material (here or here) to see if you like the direction they're headed, but to be honest, Yeasayer's got ten times more energy going for them at a live show; leave your inhibitions at home and lose yourself to the rhythm at Neumos for a few hours tonight. Guaranteed to at least pierce the fog of your fall blues.

    

The Breeders played at a packed, swampy Neumos last night; the air was heavy and humid from the approaching rainstorm, and by the time they came on, at 11:30 p.m., we were a coupla-few beers into the evening and our eyelids were a little droopy.

Ellen Carpenter over at SPIN.com makes a great point: plaid is so, so in these days. Look at that Robin Pecknold from Fleet Foxes (pictured), Tom Hobden from Noah And The Whale, or J. Tillman! Something about the gentle, guitar-stroking, whiskered man just screams "I'm humble and gruff, yet still empathetic. And I probably smell like cedar, if you get close enough." Riffs Carpenter after a Fleet Foxes show,

I could have overlooked their militantly woodsy ensembles--they are from the Pacific Northwest, after all--if half of the audience hadn’t been rocking the same look. It seemed like a joke, like one of those Improv Everywhere missions. A flash mob: Lumbercon!

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie tells SPIN.com that the next album will be a lot "softer" than Narrow Stairs, which he says was a dark and exhausting album to create. In return, SPIN calls him a 'broken-hearted bard,' which sounds like an exhausting way to live--even before taking on an ambitiously epic musical project. Maybe it's time to make another electronic indie pop record. (Note to Gibbard: Please reconsider your hesitancy and give the people what they want!)

Ben Lashes of Seattle rockers the Lashes gets to interview Slash of Guns N' Roses for Spin.com. The video, which would have benefitted greatly from subtitles (maybe that's just our crappy desktop speakers though), includes the phrases "How about the marshmallow cheeseburger?" and "Boy I wish I had brought a lighter, I could have got that for you," as well as some adorable fandom from a few teenage boys. Has anyone heard Chinese Democracy yet? Was that leak the real album, or what? And are any of you planning on going to the nearest exclusively licensed mega tech store to buy the album?

When Seattlest tells people we are going to see Journey, Heart, and Cheap Trick tonight (and we have mentioned it as often as possible, which may or may not have been obnoxious), the response is typically one of two options: the enthused "OMG I love Heart!" or a groaning "Well, that takes me back a ways..." In honor of tonight's 70s and 80s explosion at the White River Amphitheatre, we have just one very important question for you: what is your dearest, most beloved Heart-related memory? Ours involves air guitar and jumping on a couch.

Seattlest listens to a lot of local hiphop, and after awhile most of it starts to sound the same, save a few favorite groups (The Saturday Knights, Cancer Rising, and Grayskul, to name a few). Enter the latest two albums from Seattle hiphop staples Sabzi and Ra Scion. When their powers combine, they are Common Market; they're fighting on our planet's side to take (mind) pollution down to zero, with intricate, erudite-bordering-on-incomprehensibly thick lyrical miracle projects with the themes of rural Kentucky and the tobacco industry.

Seattlest is late to the party (as usual) on this supercool event—“Skiffle” has already been scooped by WSB and other blogs—but in case you haven’t heard: Bison, a (presumably) rocking group formed by members of Pearl Jam (Mike McCready), PUSA (Dave Dederer), Velvet Revolver (Duff McKagan), the Dusty 45’s, and “artists and students from Arts Corps, Rock School and the Service Board” are playing a benefit show at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (Whew) Tonight. The event, which also features visual arts, a guitar-and-canvas-“masterpiece” auction, and music from the Boogilistics, Camille Bloom & Recovery, and Scribes, benefits the Arts Center itself. A $25 donation gets you in. (Proceeds keep cool after-school programs afloat.) Ditch your "But it's West Seattle" gripe. Go. Listen. Enjoy.

Stunned and confused, we withheld comment on early 2008 reports that the former Soundgarden frontman would collaborate with hip-hop hitmaker Timbaland. Instead, we waited for a punch line. But the joke’s on us. Not only were those reports accurate, but the first fruits of the duo’s labor are now making the internet rounds….and they're sickly soft-pop sweet. Give "Long Gone" ("ft. Timbaland") a listen. (Listen closely and you may hear Kim Thayil laughing.) The album, Scream, will be released this fall. Cornell has described it as having a "psychedelic aspect," not unlike Dark Side of the Moon. Seattlest doesn't hear that in "Long Gone," but we do hear a former rock icon slipping sadly into over-produced irrelevance.

Ahh, Saturday! A chronologically arranged discussion of the Block Party, Day Zwei (Day Eins here):

Yes, you read that correctly. Donut! Eating! Competition! Are your artery walls closing in yet? Don't worry, because all calories from the donut consumption on Saturday will be null-and-voided by the blast of hiphoppy surfer punk rock played live by The Saturday Knights while you cram your mouth full of cakey, frosted goodness at the downtown Top Pot on (appropriately) Saturday. Last year, Bob of The Blakes won; this year, our money's on a very special someone named Billy The Fridge.

Sup Pop is well-known for unabashed self-promotion and grandiose overstatement. Thing is, most of that (tongue-in-cheek) hyperbole is deserved. The much-touted reunion of Green River, one of the label's first signees, was no different. It truly was the highlight of Sub Pop's two-day 20th birthday bash.

Seattlest told you about the Sub Pop Big Deal and a bunch of other live music happening this weekend, but we neglected to mention the acts appearing at West Seattle's Summer Fest. Shame on us, too, because the best (in this Seattlest's opinion) already came and went Friday night.

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

Without Green River in 1984, there might be no Sub Pop Records today. Without Sub Pop in 1987, there might be no Mudhoney—or even Pearl Jam—in 2008. (Green River begat Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone; MLB begat PJ.) And without either in the 80s, there likely would have been no "Seattle Sound" explosion in the early 90s.

The Saturday Knights/Budos Band show at Nectar on Friday night was sold out by 9:30 p.m., as in guest lists closed, no further entrance, and crowds of people partying outside the gates. Seattlest arrived at a normally respectable hour of 10:45 p.m. to find the Budos Band's shiny brass horns blaring, congo drums thumping, and every inch of Nectar packed with happy people.

THAT'S SO DOPE: Dope Emporium is a free festival of all things hiphop: DJs, MCs, spoken word artists, graffiti artists, and more. It's going down as part of Artopia, an arts extravaganza in the extremely dope neighborhood of Georgetown, so hop on a bus and experience some of the best Seattle hiphop has to offer. Our picks: Candidt, Orbitron, B-Girl Bench, Waves of the Mind and Dim Mak. Hot!