June 2009 Archives

What an excellent, excellent pair of shows to be hitting up the blog with this week. Really.

I just about lost my cookie over the Tripwires / YFF set at the Tractor two Fridays ago - it was a tremendous set of sets. I'll spare you all my adjective -- you can watch me gush all over it in the most imaginary of ways here, and dig on the full set of pictures here. Too sweet.

Then, last Tuesday, I had the good fortune of seeing my friend Tom Brosseau for more than a passing moment when he came into town for a show. Typically it's show-leave, or arrive-show-leave, but this time around it seemed like an honest-to-goodness visit: an in-studio at KEXP, a Mariners game, dinner, a gig at the Tractor, and then the leave. Phew! It feels like Tom has officially transitioned from a musician I've become friends with to a friend that's a musician... I'm so lucky to have crossed paths with him and Mary (and now Ethan and Shelly as well), and I'm as equally pleased to have a fresh new album of his in my hot little hands, Posthumous Success.

I'm quite sure I'll take some of my time with Tom into further discussion on my personal blog, but for the sake of avocados (and because I can't write about friends over at 3IG) I've got to spend a moment talking about the evolution of Tom's sound -- it's been quite the journey to witness. We chatted for a while about his stride, musically I mean... it's great to sit down and determine from an observer's perspective that there's nothing Tom sounds like but Tom. Layers of Tom, growing and passing through life and travels Tom, skeletons with and without clothes. People ask me about his songwriting (you know, "so what does he sound like?") and I always launch off into this diatribe about it: earnest young man from North Dakota with a suitcase full of punk rock records-plus-insanely observant storytelling-plus-this haunted, otherworldly sound... a good kind of crazy, an identifiable kind of disturbed that leaves most audiences slack-jawed and wanting.

That's our TB. For me, anyway.

It's still too sunny out to post much. But I'll make it back over here soon, promise.

*Victoria

This was a rad show.

See the date on that? April 4th. Really. Like, two and a half months ago. It's partially me being hung up on sun, and partially having to save up for my photo editing software. However - the proverbial game is on, as they say. Except for the sun being out and me not wanting to spend any time at a computer... well, what I do take the time to post will be good. And the projects I'm going to get into this winter are going to be pretty outstanding, as far as I can tell.

So, yeah. "Awesome" + Tullycraft (!!) + Iji = mega goodness. And the posters were tight, too.

This is from my boss' seats at Safeco. That's right - my new home field. You know, Not Fenway. It's super bonkers to be backing up another team, but I want to get behind my city now, you know? Apparently due to the transplant rate, you get a pass for cheering on the Mariners and then backing up your team when they're playing anyone but the Mariners. Case in point, we were at the Sox / Mariners game on my birthday weekend, and I cheered for the Mariners. I've been told that this is punishable by government torture, but I'm doing it anyway.

And I still hate the Yankees. If that counts for anything.

And last but not least, I got to cover Neko Case for 3IG. I was super-stoked for the achy awesome echo of deliciousness that she rings out, you know, the shit that makes you pull the car over - only this night, not so much. The sound was off, the stage was kind of lost in the hugeness of the venue, and it sort of felt like we were at practice for an MTV Unplugged session. There were a handful of moments where she found that thing - where I caught my breath and got lost in the silence that followed her notes - but they were the exception, not the rule. As Kristin likes to put it, "We could have stayed home and just put the album on real loud." But I'm happy to have gone all the same.

So, for the up & coming... I'm much too tired to actually get up and get the book out, but there's a handful of things off the top of my head - Tom Brosseau has an in-studio next Tuesday and a show at the Tractor next Wednesday, and hopefully I can get to both (well, I'm shooting the Tractor, but I really want to go down to the station too). The Tripwires are playing tomorrow night - Friday - at the Tractor, with the Young Fresh Fellows - super low-key famous dudes doing full frontal rock & roll, two feet in front of my face. Woot! (And I think I might have a +1, too - double woot!) I'm hoping to get in for the Avett Brothers, Harvey Danger's Last Show Ever (Ever) is at the end of August, and a ton more stuff that I know I'm spacing on right now. More Pearly Gate, maybe sneaking in to the Triple Door for Rodriguez - I'll put a calendar up early next week when my boss is out of town.

Oh, PS - I've been putting up songs for my friend Eric's slideshows on his photography blog. It's rad. I feel a little self-conscious about it, since we're both really laid back about the writing (well, I think it's stupid, and Eric loves all of it, so laid-back is somewhere in the middle of those, I think). After a few more posts go by, I'll send the link along so you can point and laugh at how I describe getting all achy over the Long Winters or whatever.

Off to the races - brb, promise!

*Victoria