hot avocados photography blog edition

hot avocados photography blog edition http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/ (We're too excited to sleep.) en-us Copyright 2010 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:22:46 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification [change of a dress]
it would seem I have forgotten to formally redirect you.

I can now be found on wordpress at:

http://portableviva.com

(yes, portableviva = the portable victoria. thanks, jon.)

see you in fifteen seconds or so.

xo
victoria
]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2010/06/change-of-a-dress.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2010/06/change-of-a-dress.html Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:22:46 -0800 [april showers, may flowers] Rad is the new Normal. Starring all of us.

Hi.

So April was totally the best. The weather's starting to turn, people are coming out of hibernation, bands are touring, festivals are lining up the line-ups... and with a little more cred under my belt than I had last year, everything's shaping up to be just as mindblowing as it's ever been. But first, here's the best of the best of the last couple of weeks:

I'm not even going to lie, I was pretty apprehensive about Bowie cover night at the Moore -- there's only a handful of David Bowie tracks that I'd go to bat for (with the full disclaimer that Bowie is a mad genius and brilliant in ways that I can't comprehend), and even though the night was full of local all-stars, I just wasn't sure it was going to translate.

Um. I was mistaken. Thomas from the Raggedy Anns just Absolutely. Killed. It. For serious. I don't even have any more adjectives for how balls-out tremendous of a job he did opening up the show -- it was nothing short of complete and utter amazingness. The end.

Another City Arts slam-dunk I was fortunate enough to get in on was Brandi Carlile's no-opener show at the Croc. What an absolutely fantastic set this was -- I mean, it was a huge underplay and I knew it was going to be great, but I had no idea what I was in for. Truly.

I have the new album, and I've heard a lot of odds and ends from her catalog since acquiring it, but I was completely unprepared for both her epic songstress-ry and for the overall vibe of the night. It sounds ridiculous, but you could literally hear the room smiling -- from the Beatles cover she opened the show with, throughout the entirety of her set -- up to and including a sweet acapella version of "Dying Day" from the edge of the stage (which is my favorite thing performers do ever, ps). Definitely one of the top shows of the year so far.

Moving right along... a Saturday (or two?) ago, we all went out and raged Record Store Day. I spent the morning messing around at Oddfellows and then pawing through the stacks at Everyday, and then closed the day out at Sonic Boom (both stores, ps, are looking sweet & swanky in their new spots on Le Hill).

I got to BFF with Greg Vandy for a few during his DJ set at the 'Boom, to the tune of me asking what soul music I needed to own if the world was ending and I was about to spend my last fifteen dollars ever to exist, ever. He pointed me straight to Freedom Highway by the Staples Singers, and I've been trying it on ever since... it's brilliant. Not what I gravitate to of my own accord, but historically significant, and fantastic to boot. (This bodes well as a segue for the movie playing at the NWFF this week, about the music of the civil rights movement -- it's got enough great parts to outweigh the cheesebag parts -- and besides, it never hurts to give the film forum a nine-dollar donation. You might want to stop in and see it if you find yourself on 12th with a free night sometime in the next couple of days.)

Last, but certainly not least, City Arts did another round of the Song Show at the Triple Door -- this time with Matt Bishop of Hey Marseilles taking on the headlining spot.

The event overall was a little lower-key than the last Song Show, but it was sweet and vibey and fun nonetheless. And anyhow, I would have practically sat through just about anything -- and I mean anything, like, a ninety-minute second grade violin recital kind of anything -- to get to see Matt doing a six-song solo set. Unplugged lead singers are my favorite-ist of favorites, and with Hey Marseilles on my top ten bands of the last ever list, getting to see Matt in this format was quite the treat.

So, there was much more to kick around than that -- but that's all the news that's fit to blog about. Up next: The Shearwater / Wye Oak / Hospital Ships show at the Triple Door (omg), Chris Pureka at the Tractor (!!!), me raging the weekend before my birthday on Venice Beach (where I've managed to get myself in to see Andrew Bird at Largo) (WTF), Frightened Rabbit doing a free in-store at Sonic Boom AND raging a set at Neumo's (seriously!), Greg Vandy dj-ing my birthday party with a soul-night to beat all soul-nights at the Triple Door (am I really typing all of this?), and then five minutes of downtime before I geek my face off at Sasquatch for Memorial Day weekend.

Like I said. Rad is the New Normal. Holy shit.

Lather, rinse, repeat. See you in a few weeks.

xo
*Viva
]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2010/05/april-showers-may-flowers-or-s.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2010/05/april-showers-may-flowers-or-s.html live music & theater Sun, 02 May 2010 13:47:34 -0800 [hi. so I went to SXSW, or something.]
So it's been a while, and I'll make up for it with all the best of the besties. I could post every picture here, there was just so much rad to be had. Here's some highlights, between sneezes:

I'd like it duly noted that I did all of that with a point and shoot. A really, really great point and shoot that I borrowed from Laura -- but still. You can see the rest of the mess on flickr: Day One, Day Two, and Day Three. Long story short is that we raged away with Chris Pureka, Hey Marseilles, Andrea Alseri, and our good pal Amanda Walker; went everywhere, didn't see everything, and left obsessed with Nico Stai, the Middle East, and First Aid Kit. Oh, and a few tracks from Good Old War.

In other March news, I bummed around town a bit and just hit a ton of odds and ends. The KEXP pledge drive, a pop over to the 5 Point, and some great stuff for City Arts that I'll link back to post-publishing next month.

That's all the news that's fit to print for now. I could say many more interesting things about everything that's here, but I'm dog tired and rest for the day job beckons. Brandi Carlisle, Shearwater, and a ton of great stuff coming up in April for the taking.

Safe travels (and well-deserved naps) until then --
*Viva

]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2010/04/hi-so-i-went-to-sxsw-or-someth.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2010/04/hi-so-i-went-to-sxsw-or-someth.html Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:47:32 -0800 [everything looks better in black and white.]
good thing somebody's keeping track. I mean, really -- what I can tell you without looking is that there was one trip to LA, two to portland, and that I washed a lot of images black and white. because, as graham nash put it -- I see in color. let's shake things up a little bit with our images. right? right.

(in real life, I mean. sayeth graham nash. in color. at the emp. where I shot him. like, from about eight feet away. seriously.)

I took some *excellent* shots of ben gibbard and john roderick at the showbox, and I also signed my life away saying I wouldn't post them anywhere. so I can't link to the private flickr set, but for some reason I really doubt that john would mind me posting this shot here in the land of avocados.

sweet nico stai (from mid-crowd, but still). sweet los angeles. sweet road trip, sweet sunshine and almost-famous-esque hotel life that I could get *way* too used to, way too fast. as it was, I spent every extra dime I had and pushed the trip an extra few days because of all the uncontrollable rad. as the song goes, I could see why you'd \ want to \ live here. really.

while we were down the coast, fences did a night with chris pureka at the hotel cafe, and a lighter opening set with nico. and killed it both times.

on top of all the sun and pure rad that is life / shows in LA, I got my first shot (literally) at seeing chris pureka live -- she's nothing short of full-force amazing. I even pulled off a few good photos. and I've got to say, she's a total pleasure in real life -- I can't wait to get more of her and nico at SXSW in a few weeks.

back in seattle, fences killed yet another full house at neumo's opening up for st. vincent -- they get better every time I see them, and I see them a lot -- they're really fusing together to make some gorgeous, gorgeous sounds. and they're doing it really consistently. I can't. wait. for the album to get released. and then cue all of you putting "girls with accents" on every mix tape you make for the rest of your ever.

sarah bettens came through for a stop at the triple door, and while the show was a bit sparse, she poured out her heart all the same -- there's more face shots in her flickr set, but something about this one made me mark it as my favorite. I'm probably the only person who thinks so, but whatever.

and last, but for certain far from least, dave rawlings machine knocked the stripes right off my kneesocks on valentine's day when they played the showbox. blissy, down-home (but not too country) twang, with a side of the kind of sweetness that only gillian welch can bring to the stage.

I think that's it. (like that's not enough!) hey marseilles blew the roof off of both mississippi studios and the vera this month, andrea gibson ripped my face right off of my skull in bellingham, and the damien jurado / robinsons set last night at the sunset was beyond killer -- but I visited all of those as fan-slash-spectator, and hence was sans camera. plenty of coverage to follow on all of the above as spring tour, SX and life in seattle continue on throughout march and april. I'm sure.

remember the time when I moved here and I thought it was just like this with shows all the time because it was fall tour? right.

on that note, stay tuned -- we were promised jetpacks, mike doughty, more shows for city arts (like next month's soundoff! at EMP), and some live feed from austin will be coming to the internets over the next three weeks or so. (and pending a scheduling confirmation, some east coast chris pureka dates will be shaping up the start of april!)

until then, bon courage. and love. and other indoor sports.

hearts,
*viva
]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2010/02/everything-looks-better-in-bla.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2010/02/everything-looks-better-in-bla.html Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:51:12 -0800 [damien jurado, eric corson, fences, the 'hood, and some city arts love]

the forces of whatever decided to collide, and I suddenly found myself with a recurring gig for city arts magazine as of january '10. (I know!) so there'll be a little bit of a posting delay as I have to wait for each month's ish to go to print before I can post, but I promise, they'll be well worth it. case in point, the song show at the triple door -- love love love. so much fun. such great artist, such great performances, and more hometown whole-heartedness than you could shake a stick at.

earlier that night, they sent me out to the croc to cover the school of rock's recital -- kids doing covers of northwest bands after completing a semester of music school. we heard a few cuts from built to spill, death cab, and most notably a tremendous rendition of "more than shapes" by the long winters, featuring a real live long winter -- total cute overload.

next up was the mayor's inaugural party at showbox sodo, where I got to spend my night shooting on an all-access pass (read: our mayor is rad, and he likes to chill out in the green room, ps) with the kids from fences and hey marseilles.

and this is my desk.

and this is my 'hood.

and I rode a train with a bunch of people, and they all took their pants off.

I'm just saying.

up & coming: a leg down to LA for chris pureka's closeout residency show at the hotel cafe (with a little love from fences), another gibbard / farrar / roderick set (showbox, this sunday), and whatever february decides to bring besides rain. and prefunking sxsw. and keeping my fingers crossed for a pass to wilco. and some kind of all-out sad bastard fest for valentine's day.

yours in the anti- of all things hallmark,
viva*

]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2010/01/damien-jurado-eric-corson-fenc.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2010/01/damien-jurado-eric-corson-fenc.html editorial live music & theater Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:24:20 -0800 [hey marseilles, and fences. and glen hansard. and more hey marseilles.]

Christen brought me in all-access when Hey Marseilles and Fences played the Vera a few weeks ago. The result was a veritable slew of off-stage and on-stage documentary-ism, all of which can be seen here. And a lovely little feature on three imaginary girls here.

And Glen... crazy, microphoneless-from-the-edge-of-the-stage, amazing, epic Glen. Let's go here: the show was so good that I was crying. Not "I want to cut myself" good or "it hurts it's so good" good -- like, literally, I was crying, and I had to leave. That's never happened to me before. But the two-thirds I was able to stay for just ate me alive. In a good way. More here, and of course over here.

I am Victoria's multi-show-on-a-weeknight aftermath. We hit the town and caught the likes of Elizabeth and the Catapult, Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground, and caught up with the GIVE comp benefit at the Croc. Still need presents for the holidays? Dig this. Seven bucks, and well worth it just for the remastered "From A Terrace" track. Really.

And the topper to the last handful of shows, for sure, has got to be Hey Marseilles' set last night at Neumo's. They had a 3rd-of-4 slot opening for the Maldives, between Champagne Champange and the headline -- and they just absolutely killed it. 52-cards deep, in fact.

That's all a drive-by, for sure, but there'll be much more to follow before the year is out. Probably. Maybe. Well, I shouldn't be promising that. But I'll be doing a ton of rad stuff that I hope to have time to post. That's accurate.

Happy solstice, or whatever!
V.

]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/12/blog-now-or-forever-hold.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/12/blog-now-or-forever-hold.html Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:13:42 -0800 [john roderick, jay farrar & ben gibbard, 16 hours in san francisco, monsters of folk, chris pureka, and my day job.]

What's that? Oh, yeah -- no bigs. Just me four feet away from Ben Gibbard and John Roderick at Bimbo's in San Francisco this past weekend.

Right? Obviously. Of course it's bigs. While a lot of my rockstar interaction has shifted to "file under: things I have gotten used to since moving to Seattle" and all, being front row for a stellar show is still being front row for a stellar show. And being able to do it con camera just takes it all right over the top.

They tell me that after I've lived here for a while that I won't geek out as much. Frankly, my inner cassette tape-playing radio station-calling fifteen year old is still pretty stoked to be here -- I honestly hope I never lose that part. Somehow I don't think I will. This is just way too much fun.

Oh, PS: San Francisco is really pretty. I hear it's also really expensive, but still.

The week prior to Bimbo's, I had the pleasure of seeing Monsters of Folk (Thursday) and Grizzly Bear (Friday) in two of Seattle's awesome, quasi-posh sit-down theaters. MoF was wonderful, although the crowd left a bit to be desired -- I do loves me some M. Ward though, and subsequently will put up with a lot to listen to him fill up a room with sound. Grizzly Bear was sans photo pass, but with so much... everything. It felt like I was inside a dream with however many other people fit into the Moore, getting annihilated with amazingness song after song after song. Not exaggerating / kidding.

Whoopsie. Almost forgot to mention Austin City Limits. I can't write a single word more about it, but you can catch up on my meanderings here. I'm particularly enamored with day two, by far the favorite of the weekend (plus the Girl Talk mud festival on Sunday night).

And for anyone who's keeping score: Chris Pureka = bliss. I couldn't shut up about it.

And last, but by no means least, I did a series of shots of this new display hanging-system thing we have in the lobby of our building at work. I'm not quite sure if my boss ever even saw these, or what's going to happen with the pictures, but I'm pretty happy about how they came out.

I think that's quite enough for one post. Now that we've officially entered the hibernation zone out here in the PNW, I'm hoping to get back to my weekly (or bi-weekly, at worst) Tuesday posts.

Coming up: pulling an overnight at WaMu, Pinback, Blind Pilot, calling shotgun on Wilco, NaNo "holy shit it's November" o, Laura's show, and more getting organized than you can shake a stick at. I might even update the real dot com, imagine that! It would likely behoove you to stay tuned.

Love & other indoor sports,
Victoria

]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/10/john-roderick-jay-farrar-ben-g.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/10/john-roderick-jay-farrar-ben-g.html editorial live music & theater Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:49:48 -0800 [how about I update while it's still 2009?]

First off, ~~Frank Black~~ Black Francis at the Triple Door. No bigs. (Obviously I'm joking. This was so good, it bordered on life-altering -- check it here and here.)

Then, I got to kick it imaginary-style at Marymoor for the Flaming Lips -- holy crap. The show these guys put on can only be described as what church would be like if people like me went to church. All love and music and leafblowers rigged up to shoot an endless supply of confetti. And a million balloons. And just all-around goodness. And Wayne. And then more music. And maybe some people in furry animal costumes. And more confetti. Which is my new favorite word, PS.

"Confetti."

Then some lovely people I work with got married, and we all drove out to the middle of nowhere to celebrate. Apparently Becky makes one hell of a cake(s). Amazing, edible sugar-flower laden, magical, kitchen-diva-esque cakes. The cake toppper kind of freaked me out, but whatever. Drop me a line if you want Becky to make you a cake of unicorn-like proportions for your next party.

I'm serious.

Heartless Bastards and the Avett Brothers blew my mind a few weeks ago. You can read all about it here.

Harvey Danger had their last show ever (ever) (for real ever) (not having another one next year -ever) at the Croc, and the place was so jam-packed full of semi-rabid fans that I couldn't get more than halfway through the room. Thus the shots from mid-floor. But Laura rocked the hell out of the earlier set and graciously posted her shots for our gawking pleasure.

And two weekends ago, ISB shut down and we all bus-tripped it to Fort Worden for my company retreat. The room pretty much looked like a jail cell that had been warmed up a bit, in reality we were staying in some revamped Army barracks. Except they didn't revamp the original One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest-style metal hospital beds. You could have shot a whole depressed -rexo/heroin addict American Apparel ad in our room, or maybe an album cover. It kind of sucked. But the rest of the place was magically pretty.

I'm off to ACL next weekend on an imaginary press pass, which will be my last trip in a series of crazy trips that fall under the justification of "I have a real job with sick time and a steady, decent paycheck." (I'll just have to make do with the bands that decide to stop in Seattle for fall tour. Poor me.) Until then, I'll be out soaking up the rest of the sun that our fair city has seen fit to bestow upon us to end the season -- I'm ready for fall, but I'm being told to go out and get it while I can. Apparently I'll be clamoring for days like today a few months from now. Still, it's weird to be drinking a pumpkin spice latte when it's 86 degrees out.

So I'll see you when it starts raining. Or something like that.

*Victoria
]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/09/how-about-i-update-my-blog-som.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/09/how-about-i-update-my-blog-som.html live music & theater weddings Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:55:12 -0800 [death cab for cutie, wrens/chicago, glen hansard/austin]

Last weekend I went on a little road trip. Air trip. See, Glen Hansard was playing what turned out to be an almost split-show with Sam Beam, for a benefit. In Austin. I talked myself into covering it a while back, not thinking prior to about how I'd be in Texas in July, or where I would stay, or how the logistics would work out. It was a hundred dollar difference in my plane ticket from the already quasi-ridiculous plan I had to go to Chicago for back-to-back Wrens shows. I mean, really. Glen. Hansard. And I'd never been to Austin. And what's a girl to do, anyway, after hearing about a show like that? Put a hundred (or two) bucks in the bank and be happy about how good it felt to be financially responsible? No way. So off I went.

I wrote all about it rather reservedly here, and posted the pictures as per usual. But if you want the whole truth -- you guys, really: it was fucking staggering. I almost threw up, a couple of times, watching the entire set wedged behind the stage-left speaker stacks out of view from the rest of the crowd. Glen was disheveled, and undeniably true, and about ten feet away from my face, and had the same guitar with the same holes I'd seen so many times, and he just screamed and yelled and laughed and sang his sad-bastard Irish heart out. Literally screaming, song-screaming, through the anguish of "Leave" all half-bent over with a red face and those achy, heartbreaker eyebrows... guh. Unreal.

And that was more than enough, but to boot he juxtaposed all that achy-breaky with some Pixes and some lighter notes, notably the blissy fun-ness of lines like I don' like drinkin'... I fouckin' LOVE IT... laughing and yowling and bouncing his voice throughout the venue during the chorus of a children's song for the encore. To be so close for all of that, like we were back at the Paradise, and all the disdained, broken sounds his voice made at the ends of his sentences, just piling up in little batches at my feet, and the chills that it sent up my spine in the three-figure temperatures -- it's still only an arm's length away, along with the buzz of the air conditioner and the sway of the soft motel bed, all freshly embedded in my mind. Over a week later, still stunned with the sweetest show hangover, not to mention crying through several songs in Sam Beam's set, and some elbow-bumping afterwards at the local bars.

And before I forget - the rest of Austin was great, too. Per Patrick's recommendations, I stayed at the Austin Motel, grabbed coffee at Jo's, swam in Barton Springs, and drove all over the place digging on the downtown. It was beyond hot, but then I don't know if it would have felt right without all the hot, if that makes sense.

So right before all that, there was this:

I know. Right? Jesus. I'm still crushing.

Ditto for these kids: there was much restraint of pen and a batch of shots that came out onto the imaginary internets earlier this week -- but with the equal force and blown-away-edness as I stated for Glen Hansard's performance, let me just tell you: the two nights I spent with the Wrens were positively life-altering. Both nights ruled the school, on Friday Stephanie and I got pulled up two songs into the set to play piano; Saturday, three encores and a bunch of shit off Secaucus. Friday, hang-time with Kevin and Greg; Saturday, chit-chat and an assload of complimentary merch from Jerry.

Every minute of the sets were sweaty and loud and tremendous, the energy was positively electric, and all four of these guys were just completely adorable in a rocked-out, grown-up band-guy kind of way. It's always so funny with them, to chit-chat before the set, everyone's so nice and so happy to be playing, and then cut to full-throttle freakout for the performance. Shift back to chit-chat post show, like nothing ever happened -- they're the same guys, and we're left totally reeling, wide-eyed and giddy and all wasted with show. Like it's effortless, the full-throttle plugged-in purposeful deconstructedness, like it's tuning in and out of a radio station or something. All simple and perfect and fantastic.

Speaking of radio stations, or whatever, the rest of Chicago was rad, too:

I find it quite amusing that as I type about the Wrens, I get Pfizer spam in my gmail. Awesome.

But yeah - Chicago kicked ass. The subway system was fantastic, I felt at home, I got to spend a nice chunk of time checking out Wicker Park with Mary Jones... and I stayed in the nicest hotel I think I've ever been to in my life, ever. It was gorgeous and pristine and modern and I felt like I needed to be dressed up to go to bed or something. See also: greatest shower in America, with glass walls and lit-up mirrors and fluffy bathrobes like they have in the movies. No joke. The room even had an iPod docking station with the most excellent surround sound system known to man.

It must sound like I'm exaggerating. But really - the whole thing was tremendous, start to finish.

And then right before all that, there was this:

Hey, look! It's 2004 and I'm at a show with my point & shoot. Ha.

The ever-lovely Laura took me along for the second night of Death Cab's double-whammy out at Marymoor the weekend before my little road trip (where I'm off to in two weeks to dig on the Flaming Lips with a couple of fellow imaginaries, yay!). It's really a terrific as far as outside venues go -- the sound is great, the views are great, the layout is thoughtful, it's spread out and intimate all at once -- and everything is sort of in the bottom of a little bowl, so you can be on the "floor" or perched up on a little incline behind it and still have a decent view of the stage. The set just completely killed, the New Pornographers (even without Neko) really brought it home. Courtesy of one Ms. Musselman and one Mr. Roderick, I even got to BFF backstage for a bit post-show. Tres magnifique.

And speaking of magnifique, look what Laura did:

Unreal. As Kristin put it - her pictures really looked like they were alive. There's just no other way to put it. Go geek on the whole batch of 'em here (including some scans of a few awesome film shots that she managed to snag of the night).

That's the news for now -- I'll be back post-tattoo expo and post-Doe Bay with all the stuff that's fit to print. Post. Whatever. You know what I mean.

*Victoria

]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/08/death-cab-for-cutie-wrenschica.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/08/death-cab-for-cutie-wrenschica.html live music & theater Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:22:49 -0800 [here we come / walkin' down the street]
View chicago time in a larger map

did I mention already how excited I am about chicago?

seven days & counting. interview confirmed. tour guides in place. and me, attempting not to throw up on my shoes.]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/07/here-we-come-walkin-down-the-s.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/07/here-we-come-walkin-down-the-s.html Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:51:48 -0800 [tori amos]

Right. Not kidding.

Get this:

So Chris asked me if I wanted to shoot the soundcheck, and of course, I was all over it. After will call not having our information, and waiting around for what seemed like forever, one of the venue guys came out to tell us that it was time to head inside -- for a private press performance. This was Tori with accompaniment, full-on full production, doing a private performance for the press. And by 'press' I mean Zune, Spin, and us. Yup. So, we got a private show. A good six or seven minute song, during which I shot close to a hundred and eighty pictures, and tried not to throw up on my shoes.

The actual real-time performance was as exquisite as our prequel - you can read all about it here.

Another groovy thing I got to do a few weekends ago was shoot a bunch of Joni's art. I've made the poor gal wait just about forever to do this job for her, and it's finally done. We did some huge hi-res cropped files that she can make prints out of, for the pieces that were too big for her scanner. I've got to say, the set really came out nice. I'm so excited to work with new friends, and of course to have more juju for my portfolio.

One more thing: the Long Winters (sort of) played a show (set) at the Sunset last week, a super lo-fi surprise bag of goodness. Between Medicine Cabinet Pirate, Car Parts, and Cinnamon -- and the fact that it was happening at a quasi-private semi-secret gig (with a stage two feet off the floor and about just as far from where I was standing) makes it all the more rad. I didn't have my camera with me, but I did shoot a little mini-clip of a video that we posted up yonder. It ruled!

I'm off to rest up for my big self-inflicted birthday present trip-a-tron 2009, wherein I will fly to Chicago next Friday, see the Wrens play back-to-back nights, sneak in an interview, geek out around the city, leave Sunday for Austin (where it will be a cozy 110 in the shade, I'm sure), dig the city, go to the Glen Hansard / Iron & Wine benefit I talked myself into getting comped for, and hop a flight home Tuesday at 6am. Bonkers, right? I should have enough time to blog all about it with all the airport action happening, so stay tuned.

Holy ____.

Hearts, fastened seatbelts, and top five lists,
*Victoria
]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/07/tori-amos.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/07/tori-amos.html editorial live music & theater Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:43:26 -0800 tom brosseau, the young fresh fellows, & the tripwires

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
]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/06/tom-brosseau-the-young-fresh-f.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/06/tom-brosseau-the-young-fresh-f.html live music & theater Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:16:49 -0800 let's catch up, shall we?

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

]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/06/lets-catch-up-shall-we.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/06/lets-catch-up-shall-we.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:03:06 -0800 pearly gate music & j. tillman at the crocodile

We'll skip the part where the crowd from 88 Keys kind of ruined the show, and just leave the pretty pictures up instead. Looks like a great show, right? Right. There definitely wasn't a patch of chicks that mistook the Crocodile for a bachelorette party stop, and they definitely didn't ruin the vibe, and J. Tillman & Co. definitely didn't turn up beyond loud to kill the din of people at the bar and eventually walk off the stage in disgust.

In all seriousness, Pearly Gate killed it, and it was almost a really awesome show.

Related news: I've got LightRoom. There's much more to follow, as soon as we run out of sun.

x.
vvb
]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/05/pearly-gate-music-j-tillman-at.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/05/pearly-gate-music-j-tillman-at.html live music & theater Mon, 25 May 2009 11:09:28 -0800 [getting colder, getting less entertained...]
Cutting a check tomorrow to a coworker who has a friend who has a friend who is picking up Lightroom 2 for me. For reals. I can't wait to see the 3IG Croc show, and all the Pearly Gate awesome, and all the rest of the rad.

BRB.

PS: 5/7, PGM at the Sunset. Don't miss it.
]]> http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/04/getting-colder-getting-less-en.html http://www.hotavocados.com/blog/2009/04/getting-colder-getting-less-en.html Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:40:49 -0800