The fantastic Hollow Earth Radio Magma Festival will be held across eight nights. Every Friday and Saturday through March, we will be sharing some of our favorite aspects of what H.E.R. is about. From small bands to large, pop to punk to found sound collage, D.I.Y. venues to art centers, Magma Festival is our invite for everyone to experience being a part of our community.
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Jesy Fortino goes by band name Tiny Vipers, a unique and curious name to match an equally unique and curious sound. Watching Tiny Vipers at Triple Door last night, who is older (24ish) than she appears – but clearly wise beyond her years – was a pretty unique experience. OK, I’m done with the word unique already (almost). But you’d have to see her to get it. Her music, is, well, difficult to classify (aka unique). It’s intense, beautiful, folk, acoustic, moody, deep, dark, thoughtful, deliberate, intense, and soft all the same. Her voice is beautiful and rich, folky and difficult to pinpoint. Which is exactly what she is as an artist – difficult to fully grasp, difficult to pinpoint. Her guitar-picking may sound simple and bare, but it’s really much more deliberate and complex if you properly tune in. She also has perfect ‘pitch’, a very rare talent at that. She’ll properly draw you in, engage you without doubt. Her lyrics are stories(?), they’re hard to decipher, let alone follow, but this is a side factor when it comes to Tiny Vipers. What she has going on is a lot deeper and textured than can be defined by the words she’s singing.
There is no statement Tiny Vipers is trying to make. But there’s something about her music, her presence, that makes a statement all the same. There is no pretense in who she is, she delivers a raw, but soft and gentle, performance. She’s on stage, not there to please anyone – in fact one gets the feeling it wouldn’t matter if she were playing all alone in an empty apartment, or in front of thousands of folks (though one would question if she’d ever wish to go down this path, she seems the kind who would quietly allude to remaining just under the radar, or under no radar at all). She’d still deliver the same performance, wholely consumed in her art, her work, which in many ways makes her the untouchable, powerful and mysterious artist she is.
Triple Door’s acoustics and sound did justice to Fortino’s performance. It was a thoughtful show, a contemplative one from the audience’ perspective, and a very enjoyable and real experience at that.
This kid is raw talent. Check out the EP ‘Hands Across the Void’ (Subpop, 2007) for a glimpse into the deep and complex soul of Tiny Vipers. And to get an idea of Fortino live, pick up the DVD series ‘Burn to Shine’, Seattle WA edition – one of filmmaker Christoff Green and ex-Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty’s documentary series that captures live performances of favorite (in this case, Benjamin Gibbard’s – Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service) local Seattle bands in a unique and intimate setting – a house that is on the verge of being demolished.
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.
Wed March 12
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
Here it is, yet another year end list. Of the 110 shows I saw this year, I’ve decided these were my 10 favorite…
10. October 24th – Thurston Moore at Neumos. Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore touring in support of his second solo album, Trees Outside the Academy. To get an idea of what this show was like, imagine Sonic Youth playing acoustic guitars and violins.
9. March 24th – the Heavy Hearts at the Sunset. Read what the Seattle Weekly said about this show and what Three Imaginary Girls said about this show.
8. October 8th – Band of Horses at Easy Street Records (Queen Anne location). A special in-store performance for the midnight release of Cease to Begin. YouTube videos from the show here.
7. January 14th – Rob Dickinson at the Tractor. Former frontman of the Catherine Wheel on stage all by himself playing songs from his solo album as well as Catherine Wheel favorites.
6. September 1st – Tiny Vipers at Bumbershoot. A magical performance in the EMP Sky Church.
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