Pilcrow

May 2010 was a busy month for music, with four shows plus the Sasquatch Music Festival (and some late-night dancing on top of that, but that doesn't get reviewed). I was also very busy with work (in a welcome change) that month, which I guess is my still-lame excuse for never noting here when I posted a review on the KEXP Blog of the first show I saw that month: on Saturday the 8th, I went to the Crocodile to see Owen Pallett, with Snowblink and Cataldo. Owen Pallett put on an amazing performance that made me a confirmed fanboy. I took several photos at this show which you can see in this set on Flickr.

On Tuesday the 11th, I was thrilled to see Annuals return to Seattle, also playing at the Crocodile, and happy that they brought along their previous opener What Laura Says for a second time, along with the Most Serene Republic. I decided this time that What Laura Says are a kind of southern version of Grizzly Bear, with their '70s-esque bluesy prog rock and good vocal harmonies. I liked their ability to handle minor trouble without blinking: the lead guitarist didn't stop playing when he broke a string, and the drummer and bassist covered further technical difficulties after another song by starting a groove that went seamlessly into the next song. I also liked that their multi-instrumentalist had a table-ful of glass jars and tin pots to play as percussion. The Most Serene Republic played late-'90s indie pop-rock, sounding something like Harvey Danger. But the band tossed in some unusual extra instruments including trombone, banjo, trumpet, and a bit of violin amongst the guitars, keyboard, bass, and drums, adding some color and individuality. Their music was also pretty busy, with complex bass and drum lines in unusual rhythms; it didn't quite grab me, but it was definitely enjoyable. Annuals were amazing as always, ranging from intimate folk music to epic prog rock. I was amused to see that guitarist/drummer Zack Oden had added accordion to his repertoire; by my count, that puts them up to at least 15 different roles among the six members. They played several new songs from their Sweet Sister EP, which all sounded good, but nothing as glorious as "Complete or Completing" or "Hot Night Hounds", for example. Still, new music from Annuals is always welcome, and I'm always eagerly hoping for their next visit to Seattle. The lighting at the Crocodile is seldom kind to my iPhone's camera, but I still took a lot of photos, which you can see in this set on Flickr.

On Thursday the 20th, I went to the Rendezvous Jewel Box Theater to see Unwoman, the solo project of cellist/vocalist Erica Mulkey, who I first saw performing as a member of Stripmall Architecture back in 2008. I missed most of the opening set by the Tin Can Tobacco Band, who as you might expect from that name played roots folk. Next up was Nathaniel Johnstone, performing on banjo with a concertina player and with Mulkey as a guest on theremin for a couple songs. Johnstone claimed to have just picked up the banjo for the first time that Monday, but attributed his skill with it to the fact that it had the same tuning as the viola, which he played in school; I would guess though that he's also a talented guitarist, based on his playing. Apparently this was an unusual set-up; if I recall correctly, the other three usual members of his band were already en route to a tour stop. Musically the sound was unusual too, having a strong Balkan influence, and I wondered whether that was the normal style with the full band. The players had some good banter, at one point Johnstone asking "what key is this in?" and receiving the reply "it's in the key of shame flat." I enjoyed their set. As Unwoman, Mulkey used computer backing tracks including synth rhythms and self-sampled cello to augment her own cello playing and singing; she also played theremin for "Casualties", the title track of her then-new album. The album was written in response to a bad breakup and aftermath she went through, and so the songs tended to be weighty and dramatic, but her strong clear voice and classical-music sensibilities carried them well. She also did a lovely slow and moody cover of Joy Division's "Ceremony". I'm honestly not sure yet how much I actually enjoy most of her music, though I have no doubt that it is quite good, but I do plan to keep listening as she does and no doubt will continue to do interesting things.

I didn't take any notes at the fourth concert of the month, which featured the Tripwires, the Fucking Eagles, and Hotels playing at the Skylark Cafe on Friday the 21st as part of KEXP's "Hood to Hood Challenge/Celebration" in West Seattle. I can say that this was Hotels' first show with their new drummer Aaron Voros, who acquitted himself admirably, and of course all the boys put on a good show as always. I know I stayed up front for the Fucking Eagles, who delivered a strong set of rock, and I decided I wasn't interested enough in the Tripwires to stay through their whole set, instead leaving early to go dancing as I'd planned. 

Finally, I finished the month by once again having the privilege of attending the Sasquatch Music Festival as a correspondent for KEXP. You can still read my coverage of Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at the festival on the KEXP Blog, and check out a large assortment of photos from all three days on Flickr. I had a fantastic time and saw some amazing performances, particularly by My Morning Jacket, Massive Attack, Phantogram, and Seattle fire-dancing troupe Pyrosutra. 

Two weeks ago on Saturday Nov 22, I went to the Showbox at the Market to see Annuals, who were on tour with Minus the Bear. Opening the show was Helms Alee.

Helms Alee are a trio on guitar, bass, and drums, with the guitarist and bassist trading lead vocals and the drummer singing backup. I'd heard them before on KEXP and thought they sounded interesting, so I was surprised when they turned out to be basically a metal band. The guitarist occasionally sang a bit of melody but mostly his vocals were either a low croon or hoarse screams; it was weirdly hard to hear the hoarse screaming, which was lost in the noise. In fact the guitarist's primary role seemed to be creating droning noise, while the bassist carried the melody with her playing and singing, and the drummer supported them with her impressively fierce pounding. Although the guitar noise created some hints of shoegaze the overall sound was more metal than that, and the band seemed to have only one dynamic, loud; they could benefit from more diversity in their sound. In the end Helms Alee did nothing for me, and I'm still wondering what I'd heard on the radio that was better.

Annuals released their second full-length album Such Fun in early October, and I'd been eagerly awaiting this concert to hear the new songs and pick up the new album. They played a mix of new and old songs that showed the continuing diversity and development of their style. One new song featured guitarist Kenny Florence on pedal steel slide guitar, giving it a strong country feel; another had a strong bluesy groove and ended with some of the impressive multi-player drumming that adds a lot of excitement to the live show. Unfortunately the sound mix was a bit muddy, in particular Anna Spence's keyboards and backing vocals were both often lost amidst the rest and it'd be good to hear them brought out more. Still it was a good if not long enough set, and their song "Do You Like It", retitled "Hot Night Hounds" on the album, continues to be an awesome set closer in the original awe-inspiring sense of "awesome". When I talked to Spence after the show, she promised that Annuals would be back in town on a headlining tour in February or March, and I cannot wait.

Minus the Bear are the quintet of Jake Snider (vocals, guitar), Alex Rose (synthesizers, vocals), Dave Knudson (guitar), Cory Murchy (bass), and Erin Tate (drums). They played a set of mid-tempo modern rock with occasional jam-band influences, something like a softer Soundgarden or Foo Fighters with a little Dave Matthews thrown in. There are plenty of bands I love that have a clearly derivative, familiar sound, but overall I didn't find Minus the Bear as interesting as they might have been. To me they sounded too much like a number of other late-'90s bands whose names I couldn't even call to mind, just part of the post-grunge Seattle sound.* I wanted to like them more than I actually did, they just weren't quite my style. That said, the last several songs had a little prog-rock feel to them and were all really good, including the catchy single "Knights" which I had recognized when I saw them at Bumbershoot this year. I'll be keeping an ear out for Minus the Bear, they may yet grow on me.

(*Tony Sacco, who was also at the show, agreed with me, saying "they're like settled grunge," prompting my question "is that 'grime'?")

I couldn't resist taking a few photos even though I knew the lighting was too poor and the stage too far for my iPhone, I saved three of Annuals and one of Minus the Bear starting here in Flickr.

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And with that, I have dinner dishes to clean and then I'm off to the Comet Tavern to see Hotels with Tea for Julie and a couple other bands.

Two Saturdays ago - November 10 - I went to The Crocodile Cafe to see Annuals for the third time this year. Opening for them was The New Frontiers and Manchester Orchestra. The show was all-ages, and when I arrived just after New Frontiers had begun, I found the room was divided roughly in half, with the all-ages side already pretty full and the 21+ side still fairly open. The 21+ side steadily filled in during the opening set, but never got too crowded.

Both of the opening bands were quintets comprised of two guitars, bass, synths/percussion, and drums, with a male guitarist as lead vocal and backing vocals from most of the other guys. Although first act The New Frontiers were competent and sounded fine, I found them fairly unremarkable overall - none of their songs grabbed me, nothing in particular stood out from other bands of that style. Manchester Orchestra, however, had a more individual sound. They opened and closed with solo songs by the lead singer, complementary introspective pieces about the pressures of being a working musician out on the road. In between the quiet bookends, they rocked out harder than The New Frontiers, making good use of contrasting quiet sections within the songs. One notable song opened as a sort of Gospel spiritual, featuring just lead vocals and an organ drone for a while before gradually adding some guitar, and building up to the rest of the band coming in for a rock-out ending. Overall I enjoyed their set more than The New Frontiers' set, and although Manchester Orchestra also didn't quite win me over as a new fan, I feel they offered more potential for future goodness.

Annuals are a sextet from North Carolina, including Adam Baker (lead vocals/synths/drum), Kenny Florence (guitar/backing vocals/drum), Mike Robinson (bass), Zack Oden (guitar/drumset), Anna Spence (keyboards/backing vocals), and Nick Radford (drums). When I first saw them, they were headlining at Neumos. After the second time, I wrote that I expected them to be headlining The Showbox when they next came to Seattle. Perhaps that was a bit hyperbolic, but still I was surprised that they were returning to a relatively small club, and I wondered how they would all fit on stage, let alone whether their expansive sound would overwhelm the smaller space. Of course, they proved to have no problem with the space at all, physically or audibly. They even had two members of Manchester Orchestra come on stage for added backing vocals and drum in one song. Throughout the set, I was impressed by the clarity of the sound and well-tempered volume: even without earplugs, there was no feedback hiss and even more surprisingly my ears weren't ringing after the show. Their set included a couple new songs, one of which featured guitarist Florence on lead vocals, usual lead vocalist Baker on the secondary drum kit, and Oden playing Baker's synth as well as his own guitar. Rather than break up the momentum of their set, they said they weren't going to bother leaving the stage before the encore, and they played another new song, the anthemic "Do You Like It?", which with its dramatic sound and repeated calls of "Goodbye!" in the lyrics is a perfect set closer. As evidenced by their set list, that was indeed the planned encore, and they left the stage when they were done. However, the audience enthusiasm was so great, it dragged them back out for an unplanned encore. For my part, even after three shows this year I'm eagerly looking forward to their next visit, and to a new full-length album they have planned for next year.

( one of many Annuals photos )

Last night I went to see Blonde Redhead and Annuals at The Showbox. Generally, I prefer cheaper shows at smaller venues rather than going to the Showbox, and I don't care for being in the large crush of people by the stage there. However, I really enjoyed Annuals at their last show here in February and it wasn't likely I'd see them again soon after this. Additionally, I don't know Blonde Redhead very well, and didn't want to miss the opportunity to learn more about them.

Annuals put on another set of high-energy rock. Again, the musicianship of this sextet really shone through their percussion-heavy sound. Lead singer/keyboardist Adam and guitarist Kenny were able to switch rapidly between their primary instruments and furious drum-pounding without missing a beat. Guitarist/drummer Zack usually played one or the other instrument, but for at least one song he sat with his guitar at the drum set and alternated between the two, playing the drums with one hand. Full-time drummer Nick held the group together with his steady beat, and keyboardist Anna and bassist Mike were never overwhelmed by the others. The entire band was very tight, and the songs although often frenetic were clearly well-rehearsed. I said in my last review that I expect Annuals to get a lot of attention as the year goes on, not knowing they were about to do this short tour with Blonde Redhead. Now, I expect them to be the headlining act at the Showbox the next time they come to town.

Blonde Redhead are the trio of Kazu Makino (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Amadeo Pace (vocals, guitar), and Simone Pace (drums). They're not a band I've paid much attention to in the past - I'd hear one of their songs and say, "oh, this is Blonde Redhead!" - for some reason they just hadn't clicked with me. However, KEXP frequently has been playing tracks from Blonde Redhead's latest album, 23, over the past couple months, and I've been enjoying what I've heard. So I was expecting a good show, and it was good, but still not really engaging until near the end. Both the sonic wash of their music and their heads-bowed-down performance style fit the shoegazer genre, though overall their music had the harder edge and dissonance of experimental indie rock. Most of the set featured songs from the new album, and the audience was duly appreciative; but despite my ignorance of Blonde Redhead's older work, I could tell from the crowd's excited reaction when they pulled out an older song. Toward the end of their main set, they brought out two hits even I recognized (though I'll admit I've had to look up the titles), "Falling Man" and "In Particular." The crowd went wild for these songs, and perhaps it was their enthusiam or the songs' familiarity that finally warmed me up and brought a big grin to my face. In the end, the show proved to be an excellent choice, and made me feel remiss for not being more familiar with Blonde Redhead.

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I passed up a show by Beehive in order to attend this show - although I reasoned that there was a good chance that Blonde Redhead would sell out, in which case I could have gone to Beehive instead. However, on their MySpace page Beehive recently announced the release party for their upcoming CD, Pretty Little Thieves, to be held at High Dive on Saturday, May 26. That's a show I'll be sure to attend.