No More Pretty Girls?

What happened to Pretty Girls Make Graves? I just got a message that Neumo’s is hosting their final performace, to be held next Saturday night. What the heck?

Popularity: 9%

Beastie Boys at the Croc This Friday

UPDATE: Tickets are to be on sale WEDNESDAY at 4pm. Don’t know why.

A little bird just told me this:

“Beastie Boys are playing at the Crocodile Café on Friday.” Tickets go on sale today at 5pm at
http://www.ticketmaster.com/

Tickets are $25 a piece, limit 2…this show will sell out very fast. From what I hear…just so you know…it’s more of a “rehearsal” for their new album/tour. This weekend they are playing at Sasquatch and I believe it is their first show of their new tour. I also hear it will, primarily, be an instrumental set.”

I can’t make it, so one of you all should. Take some pictures and tell us all about it!

Popularity: 16%

The Festive Season

Summer is coming to Seattle.  Well, if not what most people would consider summer, at least the chance of a few rain free days in succession are headed our way.  And with the summer come the music fests, street fairs, block parties and so on.  Personally, I’m not a huge fan of outdoor stages.  I prefer my live music without the sunburns and baby strollers.  I feel if rock was meant to be played outside, guitar amps would plug into trees.  Rock is born in dark basements and in bedrooms late at night.  Music sounds best, to me, when it entirely fills a small, awkward space.  But I know most people enjoy huge outdoor concerts.  And here in Seattle, we put on some pretty great music festivals.  And while, it isn’t my favorite way to see bands, I still go.  I get pretty excited when the line-up announcements start coming in.  So here are the some highlights of this year’s festival season…

Popularity: 25%

Contraband Countryband CD Release Party!!!

Saturday, May 12, the Allegro Lounge, 6:30 pm

The Contraband Countryband is a collective project centered around the songs of Jared Nelson (who, yes, is me — but still, the third person). Recorded in a variety of times and spaces from November 2005 to 2006, this is the first “normal” record from 1/2 Ass Universe. The record veers from solo folk, to booming Crazy Horse-plods, elegant psychedelic trumpet bridges, upbeat Wilco-esque pop, campfire sing-alongs, screaming walls of noise, and anthemic rock. Produced by Dave Webb (Girth, Wah Wah Exit Wound) and featuring performances from Peijman Kouretchian (Girth, Secret Chiefs 3), Jordan Michelman (Patience Please), Chris Borgia (the Quit, the Tangents), Dash Pilcher (Sway), and Micheal van Bebber (2004 MACRO Composition/Theory Award and Honorarium).

Popularity: 10%

Okkervil River / Sera Cohoone / Ghost Stories

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 8:00 PM, Neumos

This should be good. I’ve been listening to Okkervil River for about a year, and listens of Black their Sheep Boy CD never fail to impress. It’s held up.

Popularity: 8%

Scott H Biram w/ Mike D (of SOB) 4/28 @ Tractor

In my everlasting pursuit of the rock and excuses to wear shirts with snaps and yokes, I’ve come across a pretty killer show at the end of April.

Sat, April 28
blues, hillbilly and country precariously lashed together with raucous punk and godless metal
SCOTT H. BIRAM
EDDIE & THE HELLDREGS
MIKE D & THEE LOYAL BASTARDS of I Can Lick Any SOB In The House
9pm ~ $10
www.scottbiram.com
www.myspace.com/eddieandthehelldregs
www.mikedamron.com
Tickets also available at Sonic Boom!*

 

Now I’ve written before about the backwood punk/hillbilly rock that is Mike D from SOB, and honestly I JUST saw that he was in this lineup when I was copying it from the Tractor site. The real prize of the night is going to be Scott Biram. Really raw roots rock with a lo-fi sound and guitar that makes your fingers bleed just hearing it.

Popularity: 9%

Saturday Night @ the Rendezvous - Jewel Box Theater

SPOILS + DIMINISHED MEN + WAH WAH EXIT WOUND

10:00 p.m., $6

Spoils

The first time I saw Spoils is when they opened for Kinski and the Pink Mountaintops at the Crocodile Cafe earlier this year. I was positively blown away. The band consists of Milky Burgess, Don McGreevy, and Diamond Vincent. These guys all do double duty in a variety of other freaked out projects: they form the musical core of costumed ritual rockers, Master Musicians of Bukkake. McGreevy is played bass on doom metal/drone forefathers Earth’s newest album and is a member of the Stares — a boy/girl indie rock Seattle band. Jim “Diamond Vincent” Davis plays in splatter punk godfathers, the Accused. Here in Spoils though, it’s all about one thing — big ol’ fun dancing drinking smoking rock & roll. Milky plays and sings guitar — and he does both with a style, passion and sincerity — his voice sounds like a combination between John Fogerty and Prince. He fingerpicks his guitar, but not in a folky John Denver way. More in a “how the fuck is he doing that right now” kind of way. If you like straight up rock & roll to party to, to dance to, to fuck to, to get high to — this is it.

Popularity: 11%

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.

Popularity: 10%