Last Weekend & this Upcoming Weekend in Seattle music

Last Saturday I caught The One and Only True Messiah at an afternoon show at Fremont’s High Dive. The band is fronted by Steve Van Liew (former lead singer for Sub Pop’s Bible Stud, Seattle’s ’80s metal group Overlord, and I believe Mike McCready’s old band, Shadow). I don’t know what his old hair metal voice sounded like, but his new voice is old, worn and craggy — it’s perfect. He sounds like he’s been there and done that, and probably some more. The music of TOOTM is generally moody Crazy Horse-cum-Drive-By Truckers styled singer-songwriter rock.

Steve’s brother Dave (guitarist for Seattle’s hair metal kingpins Lipstick in the ’80s) plays guitar solos that aren’t so much Neil Young as they are Mick Mars — and this is a good thing. The solos are melodic and strong as opposed to the aimless Southern rock noodling or Young-derived screeching that bogs down much so called “alt.country.” Favorite track is “Seventeen” which features great vocal hook and Steve singing lines like “Seventeen again…” before his crag of a voice wanders off into the whiskey and cigarettes. Openers Jeff Marshall and the Law were solid alt.country, even doing a cover of Steve Earle’s “Taneytown.”

On Sunday I finally made it to the Sunset in Ballard to check out the Suffering Fuckheads. Despite the offensive name, this was one amazing jazz combo. Centered around keyboardist Ron Weinstein (Crack Sabbath) and drummer Mike Peterson (Sean, Apes of Wrath, the Accused) the show mixed impassioned, impressive, off-kilter jazz with raw humor. After finishing stories Mike and Ron getting into sparring contests that feature dialogue similar to this: Mike: “Jesus, Ron - you’re as old as my mom.” Ron: “Yea, I used to take your mom out.” Peterson would relate stories on subjects such as revisiting Everett the previous night and meeting an old Indian with a leather jacket who taped Mike’s thumb into place after he shattered it on a glass at a punk rock show some years earlier. “He was the fucking sound guy!” The music was incredibly absorbing — I don’t know anything about jazz and I spent most of the show entranced. The band also had a trumpet, tenor saxophone, and crazy good guitarist. Only $5 and they play every Sunday night — highly recommended.

Coming up this weekend

SPOILS/DIMINISHED MEN/WAH WAH EXIT WOUND

The Rendezvous Jewel Box Theater, $6

Spoils — freedom rock at it’s finest

Diminished Men — cinematic psychedelic

Wah Wah Exit Wound — proggity prog prog prog

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