NWMB Recommends – Seattle Concerts for March

This March, Seattle has a huge lineup of great bands to continue where February left off. This month, again, I’d have to say that the High Dive in Fremont probably has the best schedule going – and beyond that – they’re GIVIN’ it away. Two free shows. One on St Patrick’s Day and another on March 8th with the Blakes and the Detroit Cobras! Other highlights of the month include the finals for Seattle’s SOUND OFF! the under 21 battle of the bands raging on at the EMP for the past month, Tiny Vipers at the Triple Door, and a rockin night on March 20th at Seattle’s newest venue, King Cobra. As always, I’ve got links to all recommended bands as well as some MP3’s hooked up so you can check out what we’re going on about.

Tiny Vipers at Triple Door

Wed March 12

TINY VIPERS

w/opener YANN NOVAK
$12    7:30

I’ve only just began to get into Tiny Vipers. I just bought their first EP as a memento of the Fremont Sonic Boom and love it through and through.
Lead, Jesy Fortino,  has done her time in coffee shops and on mismatched bills. Her style is not folk, not alternative, but something different and wonderfully better. Tiny vipers  is backing up their latest release (and first full legnth) Hands Across the Void

Steve Earle at The Moore

Tues, March 18

Steve Earle

8:00pm

$30 – $35

Steve is on the road promoting his newest album Washington Square Serenade. Politically charged music from Rock to Country, Steve is a living legend. Be sure to get seats no higher than the first balcony as the acoustics in the Moore blow above there!

Vince Mira and Roy Kay Trio at Sunset

Thurs March 13

Vince Mira with the Roy Kay Trio

Fernando (PDX)

At The Spine -  [audio:http://www.globalseepej.org/atthespine/fdos/downloads/atthespine_02_mouth_of_hell.mp3]

TheOne & Only True Messiah

$8 9:00

Your $70 is gunna go a helluva lot further for you here than mine did at the Triple Door. Granted there isn’t any 7-Flavor Beef (and I tasted aaaaall 7 of them) or table service.. or tables for that matter. But what you ARE getting is a tiny Sunset Tavern venue that’s gunna get filled with a HUGE voice. Vince Mira is playing again with the fabulous Roy Kay Trio and significantly fewer tag-alongs. With his cost tails free from all the footprints, this should be a great show.

Sera Cahoone CD Release at the Tractor

Local country songstress Sera Cahoone (she has a backing band) commemorates the follow-up to her self-titled debut, Only As The Day Is Long, leading an intriguing bill at the Tractor tonight. I saw her recently open up for Grand Archives, and enjoyed it immensely. If you like indie-country, alt-country, awesome female country singers, or just a plain ol’ country mile, head to the Tractor. I’m sure it’ll be packed.

Also playing:

Panda and Angel
Carrie Biell

9pm, $10 dos, 21+

TOLSATD w/ Past Lives at the Comet

TOLSATD = Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death, sort of an experimental local supergroup of sorts. Spencer Moody, from the Murder City Devils sings, Andrea Zollo (Pretty Girls Make Graves) plays percussion, Dann Galluci (the MCDs, Modest Mouse) plays something, though he wasn’t there last time I saw them. Really, there were only three musicians, but apparently there are five folks in the band. Theirs is a more abstract take on garage and psychedelia, mashed up to sound totally off-the-wall. If you aren’t familiar, but are interested in some old flames from groups past, head to the Comet.

You’ll also see Past Lives, featuring three former members of scream-punks the Blood Brothers. They recently played with Liars and L.A. Sub Poppers No Age (who are awesome, btw) at the Showbox. Check out live video of the show on their myspace. Word.

9pm, $?, 21+

The Valley Headlines ‘Piss Your Pants’ at the Sunset

Yes, that’s right, folks—the Sunset Tavern’s “Piss Your Pants” show is back (third Thursday of every month). Two-freakin’-bucks for some hardcore, local, high-quality rock bands. The Valley is the main attraction for this installment (last one I was at in January featured the Purrs, the Heavy Hearts, and Hypatia Lake!), and to be able to see them blast the eardrums for such a low-low price is tremendously far-out.

The Stranger, Sonic Boom, and PBR ($2 pounders!) dutifully present.

Also playing:
The Small Change
guests

9pm, $2, 21+

Brides of Obscurity CD Release at the Sunset

For me, I think the best thing Gary Reynolds has going for him is that his voice recalls the great Thin White Duke. Seriously, if he and his Brides of Obscurity did a Bowie covers record, you might not be able to tell the difference. The music isn’t quite as glamorous or raucous as Bowie’s, but certainly recalls the guitar & piano pop of the 60s and 70s. This show will be a CD release party for their latest, Santiago’s Vest, which I’ve been spinning quite a bit recently. It’s worth checking out, for sure, and got them enough buzz for a SXSW invite later in the month.

Other Seattle bands on the bill:
Curtains For You
Dept. of Energy

10pm, $7, 21+

The Old Haunts at the Funhouse

I always dig going to shows at the Funhouse. It’s a cool little joint under the Needle that caters to punks, beer-drinkin’ rock fans, and pool players. Olympian swamp-rock trio the Old Haunts play a Friday show with a couple other northwest bands and one from Germany (??). Sounds absolutely diabolic. Check out the Haunts 2005 debut, Fallow Fields, for a carousing, fervent, and raw take on surf rock, rockabilly, and good ol’ fashioned classic rock.

Also playing:
Little Claw (Portland)
Nice Smile (Seattle)
Catatonic Youth (Germany)

9:30pm, $6, 21+

Les Claypool at Showbox SoDo

Fri March 14

LES CLAYPOOL
$26 Doors  8 – 21+

That’s right fabled bass slapper and lead of Primus (Primis SUCKS!) as well as the Flying Frog Brigade and Oysterhead is bringing his circus act to Seattle.

JUSTICE and Diplo at Showbox SoDo

Mon March 24
JUSTICE
DIPLO – FANCY
$25 Doors at 8pm – All Ages

Last time Justice was in town, the floor of Neumos reached it’s maximum bouncing potential. I’ve never been part of such a full fledged dance party and the Showbox SoDo venue only promises to step it up.

Vampire Weekend at Neumos

WED MAR. 26THVAMPIRE WEEKEND
YACHT
$10, 8PM DOORS, 21+

Apparently ( and very unfortunately) this show has already sold out. These East Coast superstars made huge waves far before their self titled album ever dropped. Keep an eye out for last minute tix from Neumos.

Monotonix! Yeah, this happened…

Friday night, Feb 22nd. A camera was found amongst the remains of the Comet Tavern. We’re not sure what happened, exactly. All we know is that the Israeli trio, Monotonix took to the stage at approximately 11:00. The foundations shook, fires erupted, someone tried to pull the place down by the rafters and from what we rescued from the digital files, it would appear that the crowd vanished into the throws of hedonism.We can only assume that Monotonix rocked the Comet Tavern right down into the tunnel being drilled through Capitol Hill and that nobody made it out alive….The following photos are real. They have not been modified or doctored in any way. Any commentaries are assumed, you know, cuz nobody made it out alive and stuff.

mmm…moustache

Graffiti Rock! – This Saturday March 1st @ the Sunset Tavern in Ballard

Featuring the turntable wizardry of ‘The Elefaders’ and the funky stylings of ‘N/NW’

For those that don’t know…

The Elefaders put on an incredible set. Three djs on three sets of turntables creating live beats, dropping sick breaks and the cleanest of cuts.

N/NW always bring a high energy show and will drop a party rocking set sure to keep the Sunset jumping till the wee hours.

PLUS: DJ 100 Proof bringing the old school flavor on the tables and Big Rob dropping comic gems that fly higher over your head than a 747 at cruising altitude.

Graffiti Rock! – This Saturday March 1st @ the Sunset Tavern in Ballard

Featuring the turntable wizardry of ‘The Elefaders’ and the funky stylings of ‘N/NW’

For those that don’t know…

The Elefaders put on an incredible set. Three djs on three sets of turntables creating live beats, dropping sick breaks and the cleanest of cuts.

N/NW always bring a high energy show and will drop a party rocking set sure to keep the Sunset jumping till the wee hours.

PLUS: DJ 100 Proof bringing the old school flavor on the tables and Big Rob dropping comic gems that fly higher over your head than a 747 at cruising altitude.

Helio Sequence CD Release at Neumos

Portland indie-rockers the Helio Sequence will be celebrating the release of their highly anticipated sophomore album, Keep Your Eyes Ahead at Neumos tonight.  Opening will be The Shaky Hands and Pseudo Six. This show is recommended. Duh.

$12 ADV, 8PM DOORS, 21+

Holy Fuck – A Place to Bury Strangers – the Purrs at Chop Suey

I’ve been listening to HF’s LP quite a bit recently and it’s really pretty good. Great, actually. Lots of electronica, laptops, drum & bass, with sparse vocals. I’ve heard rumors of excellent live performances.

Opening the show will be Brooklyn’s A Place To Bury Strangers, whom I know little about, and Seattle’s own The Purrs. Sort of an odd pairing, but hey, whatever works. I checked out APTBS’s online tunes the other day, and it sounds pretty interesting. Dark, spacey, and a bit more organic than Holy Fuck. The music kinda reminded me of Voyager One at warp speed (get it?), or an offspring of Depeche Mode, Bauhaus, the J&MC. For the new millenium. Even though those dudes are all still making music; but you just KNOW they’re making it for an old millenium.

$10 adv, 21+, doors @ 8pm

Holy Fuck TONIGHT at Chop Suey

So, I pretty much just wanted to put Holy Fuck into a headline. But I also wanted to say that this show is going to be holy fuckin’ rad. I’ve been listening to HF’s LP quite a bit recently and it’s really pretty good. Great, actually. Lots of electronica, laptops, drum & bass, with sparse vocals. I guess it’s mostly instrumental. I watched a fraction of their set at Neumos from the street several months ago and was definitely intrigued. I’ve heard reports of excellent live performances.

Opening the show will be Brooklyn’s A Place To Bury Strangers, whom I know little about, and Seattle’s own The Purrs. Sort of an odd pairing, but hey, whatever works. I checked out APTBS’s online tunes the other day, and it sounds pretty interesting. Dark, spacey, and a bit more organic than Holy Fuck. The music kinda reminded me of Voyager One at warp speed (get it?), or an offspring of Depeche Mode, Bauhaus, the J&MC. For the new millenium. Even though those dudes are all still making music; but you just KNOW they’re making it for an old millenium.

Anyway, I won’t be there, but YOU should be.