Show of the Month

Capitol Hill Block Party

Seattle, WA

July 25-26, 2008

Tight, energetic and charismatic, Bellingham six-piece Black Eyes and Neckties opened up Neumo’s Friday lineup and kicked off the Capitol Hill Block Party with ferocious glee. On opposite sides of the stage, guitarists Ryan Cadaver and Josh Homicide convulsed with apparent synchronization, assaulting microphone stands and writhing around on the floor while managing to nail every chord change in between leaps and collisions. Frontman Bradley Horror, while modestly dressed in a sweater vest, delivered the rage of gravel scraping across sandpaper, amplified and huge over the wall of sound behind him. Brenda Grimm (organ) sparkled in sequins and a gold bandit mask as she too crashed into her bloody-faced counterparts. The band made a point to thank the decent-sized early crowd for getting their shifts covered.

Local up-and-coming hip-hop act Common Market barnstormed the Main Stage with a feverish jolt of energy, playing new songs from their forthcoming Tobacco Road full length as well as old classics like “Connect Four.” While their stage show was very minimal, their stage presence was great and exactly what was needed to hype up the Cap Hill crowd.

Gracing the newly anointed King Cobra stage, The Pharmacy created the atmosphere of a garage: tightly packed, loud and intimate. Scott Yoder (guitar/vocals) lilted a gentle howl over the stripped-down rock progressions with a repressed violence; the combined power of keyboardist Stefan Rubicz’s voice allowed for a compelling rise in dynamics. Moments of sugary sweet pop, refined but with a sense of slop, give The Pharmacy a flavor that is hard to replicate. Brendhan Bowers’ tight percussion is the heartbeat behind the chunky guitar, twinkling keys and vocals that carries over the brief breaks of silence with magnificence and passion.

Over at Neumo’s, Head Like a Kite were ripping it up! What could have easily fallen into the trap of studio project/headphone band actually translated into a kinetic live performance and got the room thumping. Dave Einmo made himself into a water-soaked mess while twisting knobs, playing the guitar and singing through a phone receiver as drummer Trent Moorman often took the driver’s seat on his electronic drum pad. Guests Graig Markel and Zera Marvel helped convert the room into an experimental dance party with a huge, often shifting and surprisingly organic sound.

Meanwhile at the Vera Stage, Abe Vigoda brought a scrumptious taste of all-ages L.A. to all-ages Seattle. Running a little late due to border problems and needing to borrow Talbot Tagora’s gear, the noise punk four-piece played a very short set, but were memorable even so if for nothing less than the chiming dynamics between guitarists Juan Velazquez and Michael Vidal.

U.S.E. exploded across the Block Party Main Stage with a 2001 Space Odyssey intro until percussion smashed into the set with a brilliant and intense drum solo. Sickly sweet vocoder entered next, saturating the already danceable beat with a liquid backbone. This in turn was supported by a delightful tradeoff of vocals from the band’s six members, who clarified words with human annunciation. The Seattle dance rockers used the occasion to perform a series of songs from their new album, yet untitled. Despite battling some major sound issues that saw their vocals mixed extremely unevenly, songs like “It Is On” and “Emerald City” had the crowd remembering just how fun and funky U.S.E. can be.A dim glow of electronic ambience signified the arrival of Truckasauras back at King Cobra. Like scientists, the Seattle denizens manipulated gadgets that seemed impossible to understand, cranking out an acid techno-tinged set that had the crowd on its feet and dancing along with the static noise and hypnotic gyrating beats. These beats functioned like an alien heart rate monitor with a pulse that continued throughout the set. The images projecting on the screen behind the band, both humorous and symbolically loaded with commentary, allowed them to escape into their knob-twisting world and not appear neglectful.

Following Truckasauras on the King Cobra stage, The Airborne Toxic Event was perhaps the greatest surprise of the weekend (though KEXP and most of L.A. have been in on the secret for some time now). As opposed to draping their hearts with shrouds of electric voltage, this five-piece put on an incredibly engaging performance with their hearts front and center – and wide open. Armed with an arsenal of insanely talented musicians, the Los Feliz band displayed a remarkable magnetism and was much, much larger than the room, hitting its high note with “Sometime Around Midnight,” which the group would go on to perform on Late Night with Conan O’Brien the following week.

Later that evening, the mash-up genius Girl Talk took the Main Stage – along with a large handful of the audience. While the beats were engaging, well matched and humorous, much of the joy that comes from listening to the mix-master was lost as the sound floated into the Seattle sky, uncontained by the walls of sweaty club. (Though after last year’s mob at Neumo’s left a huge crowd barred from gaining entrance and many disappointed – or squished – the pros of the outside venue mostly outweighed the cons.)

The Dodos took full command of Neumo’s, playing their second show there this summer. Meric Long’s fervent guitar strumming and double mic’d vocals bounced across the venue walls in a whirl of sonic conversation with Logan Kroeber’s drumbeats like an exercise in echolocation. Already employing a unique approach to percussion, the San Francisco duo really ramped it up for this show, bringing along a guest drummer who banged wildly on a trashcan and other accessories throughout the set. Seattle clearly loves this band – it was impossible not to notice the entire front row singing along to each song (unless you were crammed outside, of course).

New York’s Les Savy Fav and Vampire Weekend closed out Day 1 on the Main Stage, both packing the people in (almost too tightly) for their memorable performances, the former’s leaving LSF frontman Tim Harrington in his briefs!

Little Party and Bad Business rocked an early set at the Vera Stage, launching into Day 2 with unmatched fervor. Frontmen Casey Catherwood and Dale Metteer faced off with each other on keys, with a sunglasses-clad backing band behind them. It’s refreshing to hear such enthusiastically spastic vocals over pleasantly poppy and distorted keys. Pouring sweat by the end of the second song, and with both knuckles pouring blood by the end (from attacking the monitors), Catherwood possesses all the energy one could want from a frontman.

Meanwhile, Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground graced the Main Stage with a 10-piece bohemian ensemble of extremely artistic and capable musicians, crafting some of the best pop melodies performed all day long. After announcing his excitement to be opening up the fest this year after closing it down last year, frontman Kirk Huffman commented on the wonder that is the Block Party: all of Seattle getting along (more or less) and bands playing music in the streets. Awesome.

Breaking the dance party vibe of Girl Talk and U.S.E. was much of the Saturday lineup, which continued on the Main Stage with The Cave Singers, playing one of the best sets of the festival. With his froggy, old-timey vocals, lead singer Pete Quirk really connected with the audience, leading them on a psychedelic journey through a mostly acoustic set. The music – much evolved since the band formed about a year and a half ago – was often dark, but always had a head-bobbing beat.

Up next, the equally nervous and engaging Kimya Dawson was a highlight of the Main Stage on Saturday, further cementing her role as a Seattle bard with her charming entry to the Block Party. Originally scheduled to perform at the festival two years ago, the day of her daughter’s due date, she shared her vision of going into labor during her set, saying the Block Party was actually in her birthing plan. Translating nervousness into intimacy, Dawson captivated the audience with her banter and cleverly simple yet brilliantly touching songs, inviting her brother, Akida Junglefoot Dawson, up onstage to perform a song too and introducing him as her “favorite songwriter in the whole wide world.” Also of interest was the selection of tunes she performed from her upcoming children’s album, Alphabutt, due for release this month on K Records. Before her final song, Dawson told the audience that she was going to take a break from all this for a while and start an all-ages “soft rock” choir in Olympia (no experience necessary), explaining that she’s sick of the biz and just wants to make music with her friends again. She then launched into a song, “My Rollercoaster,” about doing just that. Asking for the audience’s help on multiple occasions throughout the set, she requested from the crowd one last thing: a final sing-along to Annie’s “Tomorrow,” and proceeded to belt out hope across the Hill.

Inside Neumo’s, Portland’s The Builders and the Butchers submitted the most startling performance of the weekend with their howling, almost metal-hard rendition of a classic folk sound. Consisting of acoustic guitar and bass, an electric mandolin/banjo player and two drummers on the same kit, the band’s set was uniquely fresh, always high energy and passionately ferocious. Their lack of cymbals and use of the double kick drum had the audience mesmerized, as did lyrics to songs like “The Bottom of the Lake,” which darkly entices the listener to “find me at the bottom of the lake.” The effect was almost religious as frontman Ryan Sollee yelped and cried his vintage-sounding lyrics.

The King Cobra stage was so packed in preparation for Sleepy Eyes of Death that a sub-bass synth line incited a premature explosion of clapping. With only the illumination of small LED lights and constant camera flash, the identity and entirety of the band remained a mystery throughout its set. While minimalism is a task rarely acknowledged by full instrumental bands, SEOD pulls it off with perfection; their builds, crescendos and climaxes may remind some of Broken Social Scene instrumentals, full of prolonged climbs eventually floating on relaxed bubbles of sound.

On the Vera Stage, San Diego’s Grand Ole Party played a smattering of old and new songs to an enraptured and good-sized crowd. Lead singer/drummer Kristin Gundred’s head mic went kaput halfway during the set, but the trio played on, performing particularly spellbinding renditions of “Insane,” “Gypsy March” and “Look Out Young Son” off its Humanimals debut, clearly leaving the all-ages audience awestruck. Perhaps even more captivating than Gundred’s stage presence and soulful pipes are her hyper-literate lyrics, which rang clear through the band’s garage gospel blues.

Inside Neumo’s, Steed Lord proceeded to tear the dance floor to shreds with their rave stomping beats inciting a mosh pit. Simultaneously over at King Cobra, Feral Children incited the packed club to rowdiness with their gnawing and unruly, experimental and somewhat poppy pandemonium. This frenetic local band is all about the beat, and with four drummers pounding away at some points, they pretty much went wild (no pun intended).

The cinematic gypsy ensemble Devotchka closed out the 2008 music festival on a less rowdy note, sprinkling enthralling instrumentation with the edge of gorgeous shattering glass through theSaturday night air.

-Review by Rob Bergquist, Katherine Hoffert, Casey P. O’Neill and Evan “The Bug” Williamson; photos by Katherine Hoffert and Robby Neighbor

What the Heck Fest

Various Venues

Anacortes, WA

July 18-20, 2008

It’s an unusual location in the Northwest Corner that’s drawn people from around the world every summer for the past seven years. Anacortes, nestled snugly in the Puget Sound on Fidalgo Island, is a town with only one street of commercial establishments and an especially hungry, enthusiastic music/arts community. Its renowned annual gathering, What the Heck Fest, coincides with a citywide rummage sale called “Shipwreck Day” and features nationally known artists along with local heroes in countless venues throughout the town. Most notably, it caters to something that many cities do not: all-ages access. All of the bigger shows, or the especially intimate ones, are open to all.

Karl Blau began the Friday night City Hall show with a six-piece backing band that he described as “Anacortes villagers.” His voice defied limitation of range as he effortlessly moved between low and high registers, his deliveries genre-mashing restlessly. Songs were sung beautifully in between smiles, enormously decorated by his backing instrumentation; the power of the brass alone easily blew away expectations of the entire evening. With a new full-length release on the way from K Records, Nature’s Got Away, the rest of the West Coast will surely see a lot of this Anacortes artist in the upcoming months.

Ceiling projections reacting to whirling notes made of stardust, static fizzle-pops and whistle-frogs introduced Lucky Dragons next at City Hall. Sounds reminiscent of hi-tech Ancient China were produced by one man, a laptop, motion sensors, touch pads and ... rocks. In response to the motion sensors, Luke Fischbeck handed out rocks to audience members and together, they moved sound. Somehow (later discovered to be completely unplanned), a riotous mass of synchronized hand clapping ensued, occasionally punctuated by yelping, hooting and harmonizing: the audience had been hypnotized. The madness lasted for eight minutes and concluded a truly incredible set.

An interesting drama performance ensued next featuring beatnik dialogue, guest accompaniment by Ian Svenonius of Weird War and haphazard backing instrumentation of mega-overdrive twangs and drum crashes. This feel of sloppiness, seemingly intentional, was the perfect introduction for K Records founder Calvin Johnson, who had been slowly introducing himself into the performance limelight. In patented style, Calvin wailed a cappella like a foghorn, convulsed neurotically and crooned, backed by the previous band.

Then seeming small and alone onstage, Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie left space to become huge. Between the notes of voice and delay-distorted guitar, vacuums were created and filled by unusual words and environments that always resonate with his awestruck listeners.

The following afternoon, the mini-amphitheater at Causland Park was treated to a variety of talent (and all-day sushi). Notably, Bryce Panic, armed with an iPod-infused circuit-bent keyboard, spit pop culture references over hip-hop beats with sarcastic wit and a vengeance. Later on in the afternoon, The Gift Machine rained refreshing songs on the sun-beat crowd, all cleverly worded with intricate metaphors and delivered by the duo with certain sweetness.

That night at City Hall, Clyde Peterson of Your Heart Breaks told stories within songs and between them with an awkward cleverness that smelt of life, travel, marijuana and cheap beer. The imagery employed in the songs made listening to them feel like stealing nostalgia. Taking the stage next with only a drummer in tow was Little Wings’ Kyle Field. Fortunately, volume did not compete with his brilliance or mask his modestly subtle lyrical mastery.

Tying into the theme of national acts introducing not as well-known phenomenons was Kimya Dawson. Her unique style was first refined in nearby Port Townsend’s The Moldy Peaches and her genuine journal-esque lyrics were exposed to the world with the Juno soundtrack last winter. Staying true to her style, she performed passionately and openly while her daughter listened on to something she’ll probably always take for granted.

-Review by Evan “The Bug” Williamson; photos by Robby Neighbor