popwreckoning

“Turn off, turn off this song. You can listen to it later, and go outside.” That’s what the Lonely Forest begs of us listeners on the first track on their new EP. You see, I would – but the thing is, it’s so good that I can’t possibly follow their instructions. Being the inaugural band to be signed to Chris Walla’s new Trans Records, The Lonely Forest will release the first round of new songs this month with a 5-song EP, out September 14^th. In keeping with their passionate pop rock, the Lonely Forest didn’t stray at all from their debut LP We Sing The Body Electric with this new effort. But I wouldn’t have expected anything less with fellow Washingtonian Walla nurturing this budding band.

The one glaring change on this EP is how personal it is. After listening through it several times now, I’ve connected with it on so many levels that it’s kind of crazy. The whole EP reads like a love letter to the Pacific Northwest, or more specifically, Anacortes, WA – where the band is from. “Turn Off This Song” begins the EP in a hook and harmony-driven self-deprecating plea for people to stop sitting around and to get out and do something. It takes all the cliché out of “live your life to the fullest,” and still resonates with anyone – teenagers to 30-somethings.

The next song, “Ramshackle House” almost seems like a 58-second lead-in to the song following it, but I wonder if it’s more of a preview for what’s to come on the full-length album in early 2011. Even so, it’s a short, intriguing track with a incessant humming in the background complimented by lead singer John Van Deusen’s powerful vocals. The most personal song on the EP, and one that hit me so deep that it’s almost brought me to tears several times, “Live There” is a lovely piano-laden ballad proclaiming the band’s fondness of where they live – Western Washington. In the song, we’re told that since LA is too obsessed with money and Nashville is “much too safe,” they always come back to the northwest. “Give to me miles of tall Evergreens, the smell of the ocean and cool mountain breeze, won’t you please?” Having grown up in Puget Sound myself, I can say that the Lonely Forest expressed the beauty of this region with a song equally as beautiful.

The penultimate song on the EP is the heavy “Let It Go.” And I say heavy because no aspect of the band takes a backseat on this song. Employing a much fuller sound, and most likely higher-quality recording equipment, the drums, bass, guitars, and vocals are all strong without competing for your ears’ attention. I also say heavy because “Let It Go” tells the story of a girl “pierced in the heart by a sinister dart thrown by an insecure tongue,” and it’s left to rot for years, pushing the girl further within herself until nothing’s left of her. It’s a familiar story, one that The Lonely Forest’s young fans can definitely relate to, but again – without the cliché. From here, we’re given the acoustic version of “Turn Off This Song,” which some people might find redundant, but considering the song’s message, I think it fits perfectly. We’re kicked at the beginning with Van Deusen telling us to turn off the song and go live our lives, and again as a reminder at the end. But it still doesn’t make the song any less good. We’re still going to listen to it.

Track Listing

1. Turn Off This Song
2. Ramshackle House
3. Live There
4. Let It Go
5. Turn Off This Song (Acoustic)

The Lonely Forest on MySpace

We all love a good Columbia River backdrop or acres and acres of open field at our music festivals, but what makes MusicFest Northwest different than most festivals is that it takes places within the city – at all the Portland venues you know and love. It’s not just a celebration of music but also a celebration of Portland in general.

In just under two weeks’ time, Portland’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning alt-weekly newspaper Willamette Week will be hosting its 10th annual MusicFest Northwest, which has grown to be the third-largest indoor music festival in the country.

At no other festival else can you park for free in suburbia, take a light rail downtown, then pick up an orange Tang doughnut (yes, I said Tang), and walk a block down at 1 a.m. to catch The Builders and the Butchers at Berbati’s Pan.

Voodoo Doughnuts and Berbati’s Pan are very conveniently placed literally 125 away from each other. Just a tip.

Because of this indoor, inner city set-up, you won’t have to empty your bank account for festival food, or use smelly port-a-potties. But I’d never expect anything different coming from Portland, with the casual, low-key vibe that I love about it so much.

Here’s what I’m planning on doing, but trust me – with the MAX light rail running at full capacity over the 5-day festival, you’ll have the opportunity to see so much more, whether it be a 21+ show, or an all-ages (AA) show.

Wednesday, September 8^th:

Act: Panda Bear
Time: 10 p.m.
Location: Comcast and opbmusic stage at the Crystal Ballroom

Ever since seeing Animal Collective play live over a year ago, I’ve been holding out for another chance to see any of the guys in a live capacity. To coincide with the release of his highly awaited album Tomboy, Noah “Panda Bear” Lennox will be gracing Portland with his mesmerizing presence on the first night of the festival at the Crystal Ballroom (which has floors with a bit of bounce in them). AA

Thursday, September 9^th:

Act: Ra Ra Riot
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Nike Sportswear Stage at the Wonder Ballroom

In the past, Ra Ra Riot has opened for such amazing acts as Editors, Art Brut, and Tokyo Police Club, but now as part of their headlining tour for their new album The Orchard, Ra Ra Riot will be taking the stage at the Wonder Ballroom. I’m intrigued to see their unique brand of baroque pop live. Plus if you have time afterward, circle the block to get some pizza at Sparky’s or if you feel more adventurous, Ethiopian at Queen of Sheba.  AA

Act: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Time: 9 p.m.
Location: Comcast and KNRK Stage at the Crystal Ballroom

For something with a bit more attitude, you can head back over to the bouncy floors of the Crystal Ballroom for Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. You’re sure to have a good time with these old school punks, and you’ll still have enough energy to go for the rest of the night afterwards. Heck, walk a few blocks down Burnside and you can still browse around Powell’s Books until 11 p.m. AA

Act: The Thermals
Time: 10:30 p.m.
Location: Comcast and KNRK Stage at the Crystal Ballroom
Local darlings The Thermals will have literally released their fifth album two days before when it comes time for their show at the Crystal Ballroom. They’ve been working with Chris Walla again on Personal Life, so I’m anxious to hear what these pioneers of Portland rock of the ‘00s have put together with Mr. Walla. AA

Act: Major Lazer
Time: 11 p.m.
Location: The Roseland Theater

For the most part, I probably won’t be heading to the Roseland too much just because there are so many great bands playing everyone, and it’s already hard to choose. But I’m going to make it a priority to see Major Lazer’s reggae/hip-hop hybrid. You’ll be sure that you won’t see any other act like them at the festival, and as far as I know, there won’t be another chance to see them in the northwest for a while. AA

Act: Justin Townes Earles
Times: 11:55 p.m.
Location: Jack Daniels and opbmusic stage at Berbati’s Pan

Four blocks away, you’ll find yourself back at Berbati’s Pan (and maybe after another round of Voodoo Doughnuts) for the considerably less hyphy Justin Townes Earle. It’ll be the nice way to end the night after burning all your energy at the last show. Maybe you could get a drink and relax to Earle’s mandolin-laden country folk. Earle’s blend of deep-south vintage country is so far from today’s mainstream country that you almost expect someone to be playing a water jug and a washboard.  21+

Friday, September 10^th:

Act: Surfer Blood
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Nike Sportswear Stage at the Wonder Ballroom

As the start of a ridiculously full two-month tour, Surfer Blood will get to bring their beachy indie rock to the Wonder Ballroom. A friend of mine put their song “Swim” on a mix tape for me earlier this year, and ever since I saw Pitchfork give the song spot number 37 on the lost of the 100 Best Songs of 2009, I’ve been wanting to see them play live. Now you have that chance too.  AA

Act: Black Lips
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Nike Sportswear Stage at the Wonder Ballroom

When going through the list of bands playing at this year’s festival, I immediately put Black Lips on my “list to see,” because of their extensive history, guitarist Cole Alexander’s work with Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, as well as what I’ve heard of their chaotic stage antics (including nudity, fireworks, band members kissing, and vomiting). AA

Act: Sara Jackson-Holman
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Ash St. Saloon

Mixing classically-influenced piano, soft and longing strings, and winsome vocals, Portland native Sara Jackson-Holman falls into the ever-growing “melancholy piano songstress” genre, but her smoky voice and strange bent harmonies make her worth seeing. Within a couple blocks of the saloon you could also hit up Esan Thai or Kells Irish Pub for dinner if you like. 21+

Act: People Eating People
Time: 9 p.m.
Location: Mississippi Studios

After the disbanding of her band Mon Frere in 2007, Seattle native Nouela Johnston decided to record some of her own stuff under the moniker People Eating People. Her powerful piano pop will be perfect for one of my favorite venues ever – Mississippi Studios, which was built for musicians, by musicians. It’s located in a residential neighborhood and you can literally park in front of someone’s house. The floor is small, but the wraparound balcony provides just as good a view. 21+

Act: Morning Teleportation
Time: 10 p.m.
Location: Hawthorne Theater

I saw Morning Teleportation in June, and they had the most inexplicably enjoyable set that it’s impossible to explain. Psychedelic, rootsy jam-band, electro-indie rock is one way I could describe it. If you’re still confused, I recommend that you make time to go see them at the Hawthorne Theater. Lead vocalist Tiger uses a Talk Box. That’s worth it enough just to see that. AA

Act: Okkervil River
Time: 11 p.m.
Location: Comcast and KNRK Stage at the Crystal Ballroom

I’m not sure whether or not Roky Erickson will be gracing the stage with Okkervil River in this instance, since they just released True Love Cast Out All Evil with Erickson, but either way, the critically acclaimed Austin band is surely not one to miss. AA

Act: The Tallest Man On Earth
Time: 11:55 p.m.
Location: Toyota Antics and KEXP stage at the Doug Fir

Performing at the most comfortable venue I’ve ever been to, The Tallest Man On Earth will be bringing his bluesy brand of acoustic folk to the Doug Fir. When I first heard Kristian Matsson’s music, I didn’t realize that he was Swedish for awhile, until I eventually got how clever Matsson’s moniker is (people of Scandinavia are predominantly over 6 feet tall). 21+

Saturday, September 11^th:

Act: The Builders and the Butchers
Time: 1 a.m. (yes I just said 1 a.m.)
Location: Jack Daniels and opbmusic stage at Berbati’s Pan

Seeing the instruments that the Builders and the Butchers play, you wouldn’t expect to essentially rock out at one of their shows, but they defy all stereotypes and bring massive amounts of energy to their acoustic guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Seeing that the Builders and the Butchers are from Portland, I’m expecting this particular show to be crazy awesome. Having seen then 2 short months ago, I can back up that claim. 21+

Act: Laura Veirs
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Levi’s Pioneer Stage at Pioneer Courthouse Square

Laura Veirs will be the first of a few shows that you should absolutely check out on the main stage at Pioneer Courthouse Square. The neo-folk songstress returned to her roots with July Flame this year, her 6^th studio album, putting out hauntingly beautiful songs full of odd instrumentation and Veirs understated vocals. AA

Act: The Decemberists
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Levi’s Pioneer Stage at Pioneer Courthouse Square

I’ll just be sticking around at Pioneer Courthouse Square for The Decemberists after Laura Veirs, because it will surely be one of the best shows of the weekend. Even when they aren’t playing for hometown crowd, The Decemberists are awesome live, but in this instance I can only imagine. The last time I saw them, it was on the Hazards of Love tour, so this time we’ll get to hear songs from all throughout their catalogue. AA

Act: The Globes
Time: 9 p.m.
Location: Backspace

Playing at one of best coffee houses in Portland, Seattle’s own The Globes will be bringing their experimential ambient indie rock to the tiny venue. I saw them play a show in Seattle back in November with Telekinesis and The Lonely Forest, and with how much they downplay the energy, The Globes put on a great show. Think My Bloody Valentine with harder riffs and a rainy-day ready wall of sound. AA

Act: The Head and the Heart
Time: 9 p.m.
Location: Jack Daniels and opbmusic stage at Berbati’s Pan

Bluesy folk with soft harmonies and bubbly beats permeate through Seattle’s own The Head and the Heart’s music, and it should be quite delightful to see them in Berbati’s Pan’s small room. Plus if you haven’t had dinner yet, you can get yourself some Greek cuisine while you’re there. 21+

Act: The Smashing Pumpkins
Time: 10:15 p.m.
Location: MusicFest Northwest and KUFO stage at The Wonder Ballroom

I honestly had no idea that the Smashing Pumpkins were playing until about five days ago, and I’m surprised that they’re playing The Wonder Ballroom, because it’s not that big. So if you want to get in at all, I suggest getting there relatively early, even if you have a wristband, because this will undoubtedly be one of the most attended shows of the festival. I can’t remember the last time they toured, so I’m pumped. AA

Act: Suckers
Time: 11 p.m.
Location: Jack Daniels and opbmusic stage at Berbati’s Pan

What’s funny is that right after playing up against each other at separate venues at MusicFest Northwest, Suckers will be going on a month-long national tour with Menomena. Employing Talking Heads-esque multi-layered vocals with the passion of former tourmates Local Natives, Suckers will definitely fill the small room with fervor. 21+

Act: Menomena
Time: 11 p.m.
Location: Comcast and KNRK Stage at the Crystal Ballroom

I have to be honest, I haven’t listened to Menomena’s new record yet, but Friend And Foe was one of my favorite records of 2007, and it’ll be interesting to see how the band’s eerie experimental indie rock will play out to their hometown crowd. Also, the band members always shuffle around who sings and who plays certain instruments, so that always makes for a more intriguing show. AA

Act: Champagne Champagne
Time: 11 p.m.
Location: Jimmy Mak’s

Seattle hip-hop favorites Champagne Champagne mixes traditional hip-hop with peppier electro-pop, and I love it. Again, I’ll reiterate my normal dislike for hip-hop, but when locals sing and rap about Molly Ringwald, I’m sold. But again, I’ll have a hard time deciding which show to hit up at 11 p.m. 21+

Act: The Dodos
Time: 11:55 p.m.
Location: Jack Daniels and opbmusic stage at Berbati’s Pan

Even though The Dodos are probably best known for having two of their songs in two separate television commercials, their albums are rich with offbeat instrumentation like toy piano and pulsating drums. And you can’t deny that if a band has their songs on television, the songs are undeniably catchy. 21+

Act: Japandroids
Time: 11:55 p.m.
Location: Toyota Antics and KEXP stage at the Doug Fir

Having two guys on stage, you wouldn’t expect them to create the sound that Japandroids manage, but the raw and fuzzy guitars will be a great way to end out the penultimate night of the festival. And while you’re there, definitely check out the restaurant upstairs. Also there’s free parking around the corner, so that’s another plus. 21+

Sunday, September 12^th:

Act: The Walkmen
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Levi’s Pioneer Stage at Pioneer Courthouse Square

It seems like it’s been way longer than 2 years since The Walkmen put out new music, but this performance will be two days before their new album Lisbon is released, so I’m happy. One of only a select few shows on the last day of the festival, The Walkmen’s drowsy surf rock should carry well through the outdoor amphitheater. AA

Act: The National
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Levi’s Pioneer Stage at Pioneer Courthouse Square

After having seen The National play at the Columbia River Gorge back in May, I was anxious to see them again. Although I think The National is one of those bands that you may or may not like live. Lead singer Matt Berninger has an oddly intense stage presence, but the energy might turn some people off. If you haven’t seen them play live though, I strongly recommend giving them a shot, because they sound fantastic live. AA

However long this preview is, it’s still just a taste of what’s coming to the tenth annual MusicFest Northwest. I mean, I’m going to try to see all these bands, but who knows how full the venues will get or how quick the public transportation will run that weekend? To see the full lineup or purchase tickets, go to http://www.musicfestnw.com. General admission wristbands are still available for purchase that will guarantee entry to all club shows and all shows at Pioneer Square (however you must choose to see either The Decemberists or The National with this ticket). All show wristbands are also still available, which guarantees you entry to all shows, no exceptions. If you don’t wish to purchase a wristband, you can buy tickets at the individual venues the night of the show.

By now I’ve probably exhausted the fact that Neumo’s gets really hot. But Monday’s Tokyo Police Club show puts all those other shows to rest. I can easily say it reached over 100 degrees in that place. But what can you expect when Seattle was 90+ that day and Neumo’s is a completely black building? Thankfully my friend and I had grabbed a couple bamboo fans from my house before we left.

Like I said, Tokyo Police Club came to Seattle on Monday with openers Freelance Whales and fellow Canadians Arkells. I was surprised that there weren’t more people lined up outside the venue when I got there with half an hour to spare, but I was unaware that there had been an in-store down the street probably going on right as I got there at 7:30. But once I did get in line, I made some new friends, one of which had a camera similar to mine – a DSLR. It was her step dad’s camera, and when we got to the door, she was completely unaware that they weren’t going to let her in with it. She’d taken the ferry, so there was no car for her to put her camera in. After I made my way to the front of the stage, I waited to see if she’d gotten everything squared away. About ten minutes later, she walked through the door, camera in hand and a wristband just like mine.

“How’d you manage to get in?”

“The owner wasn’t going to let me in, but I was outside crying and I saw some people walk out from the venue and was like, ‘are any of you in the band?’”

She then told her story to Graham, the keyboardist from Tokyo Police Club, and being the cool guy that he is, he talked to their manager and got her name on the guest list so she could get a photo pass.

That made me smile so big, and the show hadn’t even started yet.

Right around 9 p.m., Arkells came out onstage and surprised me. I wasn’t aware that they were even playing that night, and they were really good garage rock, kind of a mix between local darlings The Lonely Forest and the early days of Rooney, with strong and driving pop hooks. A couple great songs in particular were “Ballad of Hugo Chavez” and “John Lennon” off their 2008 debut Jackson Square.

Arkells was remarkably energetic for how early it was in the evening, using Neumo’s small stage to their full advantage, even with 5 guys in the band. At one point, lead vocalist Max apologized for getting to the in-store late earlier that day, because Nick, the bassist, had been scouring the city for a Ken Griffey Jr. jersey. Sadly, he didn’t find one.

After a few more kicking tracks, Griffey got another shout out.

“We’re gonna snap. This is the first time this has been done in Seattle, are you ready?” Max asked the audience, raising his hands up to get ready to snap.

“Let’s get three snaps for Freelance Whales!” And we all snapped while the rest of the band let out three power chords.

“How about five for Tokyo Police Club?”

“Let’s give nine snaps for Ken Griffey!” This one got the most cheers.

And just to be cheeky, “And eleven for the dearly departed Super Sonics!”  Then a resounding “awwwww” from the crowd while we all snapped eleven times.

During the intermission, some guy offered to buy me and my friend drinks if we let him use our fans. We didn’t take his offer of a drink, but let him borrow one of our fans for a few minutes. Those fans saved our lives, I’m pretty sure.

After Arkells’ strong set, the roadies unloaded the stage and reloaded it with several more instruments, including a watering can hanging off a keyboard, for Freelance Whales. I didn’t think that I would like Freelance Whales after I heard them the first time. I don’t normally like music that’s so…adorable, but the deep instrumentation is what pulled me in. Plus, I’m a sucker for a good banjo riff.

Freelance Whales, while a softer follower to Arkells, kept it interesting by switching instruments multiple times. At one point, Doris Cellar was playing the keyboards, then the far under-utilized harmonium. Chuck Criss would play the bass then the banjo. Kevin Read played guitar with a cello bow and then the glockenspiel. And that’s all but just a taste of the range of the band’s talent.

The room, however, had mixed feelings about Freelance Whales. There was a girl standing behind me that was screaming throughout their set, a guy next to me proclaimed his love for Doris, and then there were a few people up front who were just anxious to see Tokyo Police Club. It’s understandable, because their energy is far less in-your-face than Tokyo Police Club, or even Arkells, but I didn’t find them any less wonderful.

A few of my favorites of their set included “Hannah,” “Generator ^ First Floor,” and “Great Estates.” All of which were from their debut album Weathervanes, released on Frenchkiss Records this last April, which is awesome in its own right.

In all the broad instrumentation and shuffling around the stage, I never saw anyone beat on the watering can I mentioned earlier, but I may have missed it.

By the time Freelance Whales had finished their set, the air above the crowd was the usual hot and sweaty Neumo’s atmosphere, but the air beneath our chests was surely 110 degrees. I wanted to take my shoes off, but I feared major toe-stepping.

Once the fog machines had filled the room, making it even harder to breathe, that’s when everyone shoved their way to the front, decreasing the comfort level exponentially. I’m pretty sure I left at the end of the show with more sweat from other people on my back than my own.

The exuberant Canadians started out with “Favourite Colour” off their highly-awaited second album Champ. I have to say, frontman Dave Monks is only 23, but he’s got the charisma of someone much older than 23. Tokyo Police Club proved to be a really good time, even though I was getting battered from behind me. The band played through some old favorites like “Graves” and “Centennial” off Elephant Shell, and even “Box” off the Smith EP.

I particularly liked “End Of A Spark,” another new track. It had more mature hooks and heavier sound, but it was still completely Tokyo Police Club. Dave’s quirky voice and bass in the forefront of each track makes Tokyo Police Club’s sound much more than any indie pop-rock bands that came before them.

Waiting for one of my favorite songs, “Tessellate,” I endured the moshing going on behind me, but once it was over my friend and I made our way out to enjoy the rest of the show with a semi-constant flow of fresh air. As it was plenty warm outside at midnight, we stepped out for a minute and found at least a couple people who’d almost passed out inside the venue.

I guess that’s a testament to both Tokyo Police Club’s wicked energy and Neumo’s lack of proper ventilation.

As we were just about to walk back inside, our new friend with the photo pass walked outside.

“I was getting thrashed around in there. And when Dave saw, he leaned down and asked if I was okay. And then told the crowd to back off.”

Dave Monks has charisma and class.

Seeing that we’d expected there to be a couple more songs before the last song, we were surprised when we heard the opening riffs to “Your English Is Good,” which is my all-time favorite Tokyo Police Club song, so we ran back inside and rocked out before the encore.

Once the main set was over, a lot of people left. I thought, “Did we miss more than we thought? Was that the encore?”

It wasn’t, because a couple minutes later, the guys walked back out on stage, and started a familiar riff, but not a Tokyo Police Club song.

“My name is Jonas! I’m carrying the wheel. Thanks for all you’ve shown us, this is how we feel!”

A Blue Album-era Weezer cover? I think, yes.

Even though I was standing far off to the side of the stage, I was dancing around and singing along like it was 1995, and it was awesome. Not only was it vintage Weezer, but Tokyo Police Club pulled it off really well, and it got the room ready for what was to be the most fast-paced finale of a show I’ve experienced in a long time – “Cheer It On.” That song ended up being a giant sing-along dance party, which made the temperature raise 5 more degrees in the 2+ minute song.

I’m not even going to post the set list, because they rearranged it so many times during the show that it wouldn’t be accurate.

For fear of going on for forever, I’ll just say – Tokyo Police Club was a roarin’ good time. And they’re pretty nice guys, it turns out too.

For even more photos from that night’s show, head over HERE.

Playing to a sold-out crowd on Friday the 13^th sounds like you’re asking for trouble, right? Not for the Temper Trap, who did just that last Friday at the Showbox at the Market, by far one of the best venues in town, and on one of the warmest nights of the summer.

On a day that was already riddled with great (and some free) shows around Seattle, the line for the Temper Trap’s show was lined up around the block by with still twenty minutes to spare until the doors opened at 8.

It had been two and a half months since I’d been to the Showbox, and also two and a half months since I’d seen the Temper Trap at the Sasquatch Festival. So it was nice to get back to my old stomping grounds with what I expected to be a great show.

I was right.

Synth-laden electro pop San Francisco natives Butterfly Bones opened the show. Their sound was fun and comparable to Seattle natives Starfucker. Though the crowd was really feeling it, their upbeat grooves should have gotten more people dancing. I had a feeling that because it was a sold out show, no one really cared about an opening act. It also probably didn’t help that each of Butterfly Bones’ songs seemed to never end. I’m pretty sure one lasted about 7 minutes. I’m not kidding. But I like Butterfly Bones music – the funky jams like “Crystal Caves” and “<3” – both of which are on their MySpace. I mentioned the show to a friend of mine who lives in San Francisco, and she said that Butterfly Bones are normally really awesome live. Local favorites, local crowds: I know how it is.

By the time the intermission came, people were already ridiculously anxious. And at that point, the PA system started playing some random catchy dance pop. However, when the opening chords of Phoenix’s “1901” came on, people started dancing. It was quite awesome, actually, because people also were singing along – to the loudspeaker. I know, a bit surreal, right? I love Phoenix as much as the next person, so I joined in the intermission loudspeaker dance party.

Just after 10 p.m., a drawn-out synth introduction built the anticipation in the crowded room, a few people behind me already slightly inebriated.

Stepping out on stage one by one, the Temper Trap finished out the intro, a strong and powerful way to start the show, before jumping right into “Rest,” with lead singer Dougy Mandagi’s crescendoing “oooo, baby” throughout the chorus and verses. My sister and I were standing on the right side of the stage in front of bassist Jonathon Aherne, who has the most energy I’ve ever seen from a bass player, and it helped make our experience that much more exciting.

After “Rest,” we got the more upbeat and danceable “Fader,” which is my second favorite track off their phenomenally successful 2009 debut Conditions, and it’s by far the easiest to sing along to. How hard is it to sing, “Don’t go change a thing, ooo, ooo, oooo, oo?”

That was actually one thing I’ve been missing lately – people crowd knowing all the songs. The last three shows I saw were all the same band with an extended back catalogue, and because the Temper Trap only has one full-length out, there are only those songs to memorize. So naturally, I wasn’t the only person singing a long to all the words.

Except at one point three girls planted their feet behind me and the polite crowd of people I was standing with and decided to make fools of themselves. It was nearing the middle of the show, and one of the girls was literally crying. I’m sure it was a mixture of the heat, crowd, awesomeness of the show, and the alcohol in her system.

It provided a good laugh for the people I was standing with.

The crowd wasn’t nearly as excited as I’d hoped, with it being sold out and all, but once guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto started playing the familiar chords to “Sweet Disposition”…well, people still didn’t get into it. But then again, Sillitto’s guitar intro is quite long, and I remembered it from back in May, so I probably looked like a crazy fool getting all excited for unspecified chords while everyone else was like, “when are they gonna play “Sweet Disposition?!” In about a minute, my friends – just you wait.

So that’s when everyone went absolutely nuts and started swaying to the beat and singing at the top of their lungs. I just wished that’s how the crowd had reacted to each song, not just the single that was on the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack and got dangerously close to being overplayed.

Even though that moment when everyone recognized “Sweet Disposition” was expected, it was still awesome. However, my favorite moments of the night came during the building and pulsating two part “Resurrection” and “Drum Song” where Mandagi took his water bottle and poured it directly on the floor tom he was beating on in almost a tribal way, which then sprayed across the stage in a cascade of water droplets. And “Resurrection” is my favorite song off the record, so that made it even better.

After a short encore and a loud round of applause, the Temper Trap came back on stage for a few more songs, after Mandagi introduced a new one, where he sat at a slightly undersized keyboard that was quite low to the ground. It was a softer song, which was a nice start to the encore, because the show ended on the second single off Conditions, “Science of Fear,” which also got the crowd in a tizzy, so it was the perfect way to end a great show from a great band.

The crowd may have been less-than-thrilling, but I was so into the music being played I didn’t care about the lame people standing to my right or the drunk people standing behind me.

One more thing – because I’m slow, I didn’t get a set list at the end of the show, but I can pinpoint which songs the Temper Trap did play.

Set list (don’t hold me to the correct order)

1. Intro
2. Rest
3. Fader
4. Fools
5. Rabbit Hole
6. Down River
7. Love Lost
8. Soldier On
9. Sweet Disposition
10. Resurrection
11. Drum Song
12. Unnamed new song
13. Science of Fear

(I know the last two were in the encore, I just can’t for the life of me remember what the third one was. Sorry.)

It’s no secret that I love We Are Scientists. Possibly a little bit too much. I love them so much that when I saw that they were playing in Seattle and Portland within the span of three days, how could I not go? Heck, if I had a passport I would have taken the trek over the border to Vancouver, BC in between the two shows. Sadly, I didn’t have one, but by double dose of WAS is pretty good for one week, I think.

Monday the 26^th started with the 3-ish hour drive south from where I live to Portland. From there I met up with some friends at Music Millennium on East Burnside in Portland, where We Are Scientists played a short in-store consisting of “Nice Guys” and “Pittsburgh” off their new disc Barbara, as well as a couple more. Check at the end of this post for some videos of the two in-stores I hit in Seattle and Portland. That night WAS played at the Doug Fir Lounge with Rewards (a.k.a. Aaron Pfenning of iPod-commercial-famed Chairlift). This being my first 21+ show, it was quite different than anything I’d ever experienced. First of all, the venue at the Doug Fir is downstairs from the restaurant, which is attached to a hotel. And the venue had air conditioning and cushy seats against the wall. So this was by far the most comfortable I’d ever been at a show before.

After the hour of waiting and watching the various circles of people get more and more inebriated, Rewards (I’m still not sure how to pronounce Pfenning) took the stage at just after 9 p.m. The floor was virtually empty at that point, so I was free to roam around to take pictures. Rewards is what I could call experimental seductive synth pop, if that makes any sense. The heavy bassline that you could feel reverberating through your whole body, Aaron’s understated swagger and deep whispery vocals almost reminded me of INXS’ “Need You Tonight,” except not cheesy. Also unlike the music the 80s, Rewards’ sound had a much more minimal approach to instrumentation, similar to The xx. Aaron definitely left some of the commercial-friendly aspects of Chairlift behind when pursuing his own – almost spooky, but sexy – solo stuff.

With how anxious as I was to see We Are Scientists, I really enjoyed Rewards. He played into the small crowd, acting quite casual on stage. About halfway through his set, he shed this Tommy Bahama lounge shirt, telling everyone that it was Keith’s (Murray) shirt. “I’m never wearing this thing again,” he said. In fact, this was the first time I’d seen in a long time that the openers and the headliners were so buddy-buddy. The last song of Rewards’ set called “Two Cardinals,” he brought all of We Are Scientists out on stage – Keith playing the drums, Chris playing bass, and WAS’s drummer Danny Allen (formerly of Youth Group) on a red Gibson SG. The stage was so full of love you couldn’t help but smile at Keith’s raucous and exuberant drumming. Since Rewards doesn’t actually have any albums or EPs out, I strongly recommend you go check out his MySpace page at Myspace.com/aaronpfenning, seeing that it’s the only place you can check his music out. Unless of course you see him on tour with WAS. Which I recommend even more.

At 10:15, the floor had filled up a bit, and people still clutched the beers they’d previously purchased. Keith Murray, Chris Cain, and Danny Allen came out on stage to very talkative crowd. Seriously, there were multiple exchanges between the guys and the audience. But that’s part of what I love about WAS so much – they’re chatty. Chattiness mixed with wittiness adds up to some hilarious banter. If my memory serves me correctly, they started with “Rules Don’t Stop,” the short and equally as catchy first single off Barbara. I was too excited to keep track of the set list completely, but thankfully my friend Adrian has a ridiculously good memory. So I know what songs they played, just not in what order. There was a mix of old songs like “This Scene is Dead” and “Inaction” and new ones like “Pittsburgh” and “Ambition.” I was disappointed not to hear “It’s A Hit” off With Love And Squalor, their phenomenal major label debut, but as Chris promised me in an interview back in May, we got a wicked version of “Chick Lit.” At one point someone in the front of the crowd demanded a bass solo, because Keith had some awesome guitar solos already. But before giving into the crowd’s demands, Chris gave this unbelievable explanation for what he was about to do. He said that most people who do bass solos care too much about tone, so he was going to play a “real” bass solo. And apparently according to Cain, a real bass solo doesn’t need to be plugged it. So he unplugged and rocked out like a 16-year-old boy playing air guitar to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Writhing around the floor with ridiculous facial expressions and all. And Murray stood there, staring at Chris in awe. Naturally, we all did as well.

There wasn’t much of an encore. Or maybe there was, but there just wasn’t a break between the main set and the encore. They played “The Great Escape,” “After Hours,” and I think it was “Cash Cow.” Or “Callbacks.” This confusion could have been avoided if they’d written down their set list. Thanks, guys.

After this show, I remembered how much I love this band. It had been over two years since I saw them live in Seattle for the first time, and after two days of nervous stomach, I could not have been more pleased. WAS is so full of energy and cheeky happiness that it’s impossible to not have fun. And chilling outside the Doug Fir after the show, it was so pleasant to finally talk to them in person. After chatting with Danny for a good ten minutes about touring in podunk towns and how it differs from Australia, I formally introduced myself to Chris.

“I’m Abby. I actually talked to you on the phone a couple months ago, for PopWreckoning?”

“Oh, you’re that Abby? Well thank you for your personal and professional interest in our band,” he said.

And then my friends and I threatened Chris and told him that they had to play “Lethal Enforcer” in Seattle, because it’s such a good tune – seriously, it’s like someone spoon-feeding awesome directly into your ears. There were hugs all around and we went along on our way because the owners of the Doug Fir told us that we couldn’t sit in the parking lot anymore seeing that it was about 2 a.m.

I took the next day to drive home and recover so I’d be ready for another day of We Are Scientists in Seattle, at the same venue I’d seen them play at two years ago at Neumo’s.

Wednesday night already started out great because I found free parking, so nothing could really ruin my night. Thankfully, nothing did.

That night WAS played an acoustic in-store at Sonic Boom Records on Capitol Hill before their show at Neumo’s, and from when I saw, because I was late, they played “After Hours,” “Jack and Ginger,” and “Rules Don’t Stop,” all while sitting criss-cross on the makeshift wooden stage. Before playing “Jack and Ginger,” Keith told everyone, “We’re playing a much more stripped down set at Neumo’s tonight,” because he’s just that sarcastic.

Just like Monday’s show at the Doug Fir, it took forever for Neumo’s to fill up. I didn’t have to stand up at the front from the beginning to get my spot. I had time to sit up in the bar. It was like a whole new world, because I’d never been upstairs in Neumo’s before. And I also had time to go talk to Keith who was peddling t-shirts and vinyls at the merch table and pick up a new copy of With Love And Squalor for Adrian who was sitting outside because she was not quite 21 yet, and she’d worn out her copy. Keith looked at me perplexed, “Wore it out? What did she do, rub it in grit?”

Aaron Pfenning took the stage, pre-empting his performance with, “my hologram band from Vancouver got held up at immigration.” This time he didn’t sport the Tommy Bahama shirt, but a slightly more dressed up ensemble, matched with his Marty McFly Nike high-tops. Again Rewards rocked it, at one point taking a step down in the crowd, tugging the mic cord behind him and meandering around the scarcely populated room.

Along with Rewards, WAS had a second opener, Seattle vintage rockers Black Whales. They weren’t nearly as intriguing as Rewards, but equally as catchy and more energetic, taking melodic cues from The Kinks and Bob Dylan. It was hook-y tambourine-laden guitar rock. Stuff that you and you parents could enjoy. I quite liked “Books of Tape,” with its ultra danceable beat and non-stop catchiness, from verse to bridge to chorus.

The title track off their EP Origins, released on Mt. Fuji records, was also a nice little ditty. Head on over to Black Whales’ MySpace for more information about their music and where to purchase their EP.

At this point Neumo’s had not quite maximum capacity – surely nothing like an all-ages show. WAS came out on stage to the excited crowd and started right in to “Nice Guys,” after Chris proclaimed to the audience “Welcome to Seattle.” A couple seconds later Keith replied, “Are you talking to me and Danny?” He wasn’t, Keith.

Again, the guys’ banter never gets old. Keith and Chris should seriously moonlight as stand-up comedians. After a couple oldies but goodies (the set list was virtually the same as Portland’s show), we got to rock out to “I Don’t Bite,” one of my favorite tracks off Barbara. It’s the heaviest song on the album, and employs Keith’s strong vocals (which I’m glad they brought back into the forefront for Barbara. It’s the one thing that I think Brain Thrust Mastery was sadly lacking.)

I may have been the only one standing right up front singing along to every song, at least the correct lyrics. Just like Adrian told me, I know We Are Scientists’ music so well that I can tell which song is coming next by how Keith tunes his guitar. And as soon as Keith started tuning his Telecaster for “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt,” I knew it was would get the room moving. And it surely did. I mean, how can you not dance and sing along to  “My body is your body, if you wanna use my body, go for it yeah!” It’s infectious. In fact, that’s how I can describe them – We Are Scientists is infectious, but in the best possible way. “It’s A Hit” wasn’t on the set list again, but thankfully Adrian was outside keeping track of all the songs in order, because I forgot my notebook to write it down (thanks, my friend). Actually as soon as the band was about to start “Rules Don’t Stop,” Keith started laughing flailing wildly on stage. He looked absolutely crazy, but it turned out that he was waving at Adrian standing outside in the back because a security guard had opened the door to let some of the hot air out.

During the encore, Chris started to explain to the audience that they’d be having a special guest come out for one of the songs.

“Eddie Vedder!” someone shouted from the audience.

Oh, Seattle.

“No, it’s not Eddie Vedder,” Chris replied sharply.

Aaron Pfenning came out to play the haunting “Two Cardinals” with them, Keith on drums, Chris on bass and Danny on lead guitar just like Portland.

It was such a special night. I honestly apologize for the length of this post, because I’m sure you’re probably getting tired of reading at this point. That’s why I’ve posted videos and pretty pictures to look at. But with it having been two years since I saw We Are Scientists, my favorite band in the whole wide world, I felt like I had to capture every detail. Because that’s really what we’re doing – telling stories. To make you feel like you’re there.

I’m just incredibly thankful that I had the chance to be there for both shows, because not only is We Are Scientists a great live band with sidesplitting banter and loving stage presence, but they’re also awfully lovely guys. If you get the chance to see them on the rest of this tour, don’t hesitate to approach Keith, Chris or Danny and tell them how awesome they are.

Seattle Set List:
1. Nice Guys
2. This Scene is Dead
3. Inaction
4. I Don’t Bite
5. Impatience
6. Let’s See It
7. Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt
8. Rules Don’t Stop
9. Chick Lit
10. Pittsburgh
11. Ambition
12. Break It Up
13. Dinosaurs
14. Great Escape
15. Jack & Ginger
16. Two Cardinals (w/ Rewards)
17. After Hours

Here’s a couple videos from the in-stores.

Check out even more photos from the shows HERE and HERE.

As the finale for a week-long benefit for Seattle’s premiere all-ages venue The Vera Project, the newly-remonikered Brite Futures (formerly Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head) played their first show with the new name, not to mention their first show in Seattle in 9 months. As singer Shaun Libman said during their set, “We could have had a baby in the time we were gone.” Guitarist Luke Smith replied with, “Maybe we did. The baby’s name is Shaun.” But in all seriousness, it was nice to see them playing in Seattle again.

As I stood in line outside the venue, this man – who was obvious inebriated – shouted, “who’s playing tonight, the Jonas Brothers?” Seeing that this was a benefit for the all-ages movement in Seattle, a large majority of the people who came out to see Brite Futures was underage. It made me feel quite old, but the one really good part about all-ages shows is that they’re never short on energy. And it was good for me because the people standing in front of me were considerably shorter than I so I had a perfect view of the stage.

Now, Brite Futures weren’t the only band to play at this “A Drink for the Kids” benefit show. They were preceded by Motopony and Sap’N, both Seattle bands, and both of which I’d never heard before. So this was a nice treat. Both bands were awesome, but in quite different ways.

Motopony started off with the understated indie folk rock vibe, but singer and guitarist Daniel Blue had far more soul than I would have expected to match with the music. After a few songs, I turned to my sister and mentioned that his voice reminded me of Cold War Kids. She agreed. And along with the building energy from song to song, Blue eventually got up from his chair (he had to sit because his guitar strap broke) and started to dance. Not just shimmy and trip around the stage, but really dance. Like spin and salsa and even possibly moonwalk. It was refreshing. Motopony’s set was short, but the heavy and groovy “Seer” was my favorite song of theirs. I say groovy because while staying current, Motopony had a bid of a retro feel, with kicking guitar licks and organ tones. The fact that keyboardist Buddy Ross was a playing a clearly retro keyboard could have contributed to that too, as well as lead guitarist Brantley Cady’s Hendrix-esque Afro.

After Motopony finished their set around 9:45, we had a short interlude before Seattle’s own electro-soul performance duo Sap’N took their place. They’d just come off the release of their debut EP, produced by another Seattle artist P Smoov (of Fresh Espresso and Mad Rad). The singing boy/girl duo, Mitch and Regina stepped out on stage, accompanied by their DJ Joan Law, all sporting glittering face paint, just to up the energy ante. Even though the glitter should have been some sort of clue, I had no idea what to expect. And with how excited the young crowd was already, they were really fun. A couple of the stands out tracks were “Special Services” and “Girl’s Name.” Again, it felt retro – not 70s retro like Motopony, but 90s dance pop retro. Just to express that further – the last song Sap’N played was “Pump Up the Jam.” As in Technotronic. I’m serious. After being told that they had two minutes left to play, Mitch said to the crowd of 17-year-olds, “This song might be a bit old for some of you.”

If you ever get the chance to see them – do it. You’ll be really sweaty at the end of it all. Because at this point, I was already sweaty. But we were about to pump up the jam even more when Brite Futures came out on stage. However, not before the owners of the Vera Project gave a little information about the benefit, as well as sending a couple empty jugs around the crowd for people to donate. You see, the Vera Project is Seattle’s only non-profit all-ages venue run by donations and volunteers, and this was their 10-year anniversary.

But at 11 p.m. sharp, the stage was littered with handmade paper cones covered with glitter, and one even designed like an ice cream cone. Brite Futures took the stage one by one – keyboardist David Price first, then drummer Liam Downey, bass keyboardist and bassist – heck I’m not even going to say what they play because they all shift around instruments. Then Claire England, Luke Smith and Shaun Libman took the stage all in matching white ensembles to a trippy intro that they listed as “Sister” on the set list. There were a handful of new songs on that set list, so I had a hard time deciphering which song was which.

The last time I saw Brite Futures…well they weren’t called Brite Futures, but they weren’t the headliners, so I’d never seen a truly loving crowd. All I have to say is: oh my god. I already loved this band so much, but being in a crowd of ridiculously excited and energetic teenagers made it all the more fun. The band started with their relatively mellow “Bedroom Costume” and “Slow Motion Tag Team” (and I stress ‘relatively,’ because in any other context, it wouldn’t be mellow). But after that, the dancing was full-throttle. “Holding Hands in the Shower” and “Me + Yr Daughter” came next, and since were two of my favorites I was overjoyed. I’m sure anyone walking down Pike would have been able to feel the heat radiating off the windows in Neumo’s, because it got sweaty in there. Like to the point where an the breeze from an open door never felt so good. I don’t know how they do it, but Brite Futures manages to bring sexiness to their music while still remaining youthful. And I love it. The band then led us all into a few of their new songs, including “My Funk” and “Dog Eared Summer” off the recently re-released Glistening Pleasure 2.0 (which they actually just released last Tuesday). England took the mic for “My Funk,” which she proclaimed was about ice cream. It had a bit more soul and polish than the older songs, so it was different, as was “Dog Eared Summer.” Actually when they started playing “Dog Eared Summer,” Smith grabbed an acoustic guitar for the first time.

“You guys are probably wondering, ‘what is this wooden instrument I’m holding?’ And if you checked our website recently, you know what’s coming.” He was referring to when they released “Dog Eared Summer” for free on their website back when they first changed their name. Even though it was considerably light and beachy, the crowd still danced their little behinds off, and we all swayed our hands back and forth to the beat.

In fact, all the new songs that night showed that along with the name change, the band has grown up a bit. It’s always nice to see progression without too much change.

After this point, I’m sure we’d all made Neumo’s into a sauna, and my camera battery had also died, so I put it away so I wouldn’t risk damaging it. My industrial camera bag protected it pretty well while I was constantly jumping for the next twenty minutes or so. My knees are still sore. The fast-paced “Hush Hush” was by far the craziest part of the night, besides the latter half of the encore, which included the heavy and sexy “Malibu Highlife.” But that’s probably because it crescendos into a much quicker speed and the repeated line “I’m not in love with you! I’m in love with what we do!” So naturally, we all sang along.

And as it was just after midnight, there was one song their set was clearly missing at this point – “Beard Lust,” possibly the only song ever written about facial hair grooming. Multiple people from the crowd shouted “Beard Lust” before they started their final song, and I’m not gonna lie – I was one of them. As soon as Price started the opening notes, everyone went nuts and just as Libman instructed people to throw their hands up and give – essentially – spirit fingers, we all obliged. Libman took all the handmade paper cones off the stage and threw them into the crowd and balloons and confetti filled the air while we all had a super sweaty fun dance party.

Afterwards, walking away from Neumo’s with my friends and the paper cone I managed to wrangle from the stage, it was just nice to be in the fresh air away from the body heat sauna. But as uncomfortable as I was by 12:30, I had an inexplicable amount of fun seeing Brite Futures for the first time in nine months.

Welcome back, guys. Welcome back.

Set list:

1. Sister
2. Bedroom Costume
3. Slow Motion Tag Team
4. Holding hands in the Shower
5. Me + Yr Daughter
6. My Funk
7. Dog Eared Summer
8. Pig Bag
9. Hush Hush
10. Sophisticated Side Ponytail
11. Baby Rain
12. Iceage Babeland

Encore

1. Tell It To Me
2. Malibu Highlife
3. Beard Lust

Listening to Striking Back’s new The Restless EP, on the first run-through there wasn’t a lot that intrigued me. Maybe that’s just my taste. But if you like the impassioned lip-pierced hard-but-soft prog rock with a heartfelt message thing, lead singer-songwriter Jordan Thompson’s debut EP as Striking Back is just for you.

Take a bit of the melodic cues from the Lovehammers, old-school Hoobastank and throw in some passionate, although sometimes overworked vocals, and you’ve got The Restless EP. It’s very radio-friendly music for mainstream alt-rock stations all across America. And I also wouldn’t be surprised if it were to show up as the soundtrack for some angsty teen show.

The majority of The Restless EP is almost painfully generic. The title track “Restless,” along with “Falling” and “Dream On” could easily rival the cheesiness of such similar acts from recent years like Hinder or Shinedown. It’s not quite emo, yet not quite metal at the same time. “Over Now” sticks with the ultra-anthemic feel, but loses some of the cheese, with a straightforward and driving chorus. “Dark Day Afternoon” however breaks away just enough for me not to completely dismiss Striking Back. It’s a simple ballad, and showcases both Thompson’s vocals as well as his songwriting. Although I’m not sure why we were given both the original and an acoustic version on a 6-track EP. And going back to listen to both versions, it sounds like they used the same vocal track just with different instrumentation for each, so it makes one of the versions quite useless.

While this kind of music isn’t my preference, I still like to be surprised. After I heard the title track, I didn’t have a lot of expectations, but I kept an open mind. Nothing on Striking Back’s debut EP excited me. None of the songs jumped out and told me “hey look at me I’m awesome!” They all just sat in the back of my brain and didn’t make much of an impact.

This is surely one of those albums that a live show would do a load of justice. The problem with so many mainstream prog rock albums these days is how overproduced they are. It would be different if Thompson had a completely new point of view and sound, but overproduction isn’t going to cover up a bland EP. Sorry.

Track List:

1. Restless
2. Dark Day Afternoon
3. Falling
4. Dream On
5. Over Now
6. Dark Day Afternoon (Acoustic)

As an adolescent, Brad Oberhofer went to Tacoma School of the Arts just half an hour south of Seattle. He recorded some songs with a band in his parents’ basement, and then moved to Brooklyn where he has since created a bit of a name for himself. I mean, his music just appeared in a Sobe commercial. And he’s about to release his debut 7″, perplexingly titled o0O0o0O0o.

Being from the Tacoma area myself, I always love hearing about success stories from our little corner of Washington. I can’t help but feel a sense of pride when listening to Neko Case’s “Thrice All American” (which is about growing up in Tacoma), and now Oberhofer can also show the rest of the world that Seattle isn’t the only place in this state that breeds good artists these days.

Having already released a set of free songs on his MySpace, Oberhofer now officially will release his three-song 7” in the physical sense. The titular song and single, I’m guessing refers to the “ooo ooo ooo” that encompasses most of the chorus, but it doesn’t really matter. This is the song that hit the television in the new, hip advertisement for Sobe. Even though it’s the most commercial on the 7″, this track employs fuzzy guitars, lo-fi drums, toy piano, glockenspiel, and Oberhofer’s scrappy shouts and coos. That’s actually what I like the most, because the instrumentals aren’t all that distinct from a lot of the independent artists coming from the underground these days, but Oberhofer’s vocals mirror the styling of both Noah Lennox and Dave Portner of Animal Collective, but a bit more youthful. And I love me some Animal Collective, so what’s not to like about Oberhofer, right?

I couldn’t find much that I didn’t like. Especially, since this isn’t the first I’ve heard of him. A friend of mine who went to art school with Brad put his song “Away frm U” on a mix CD a while back, and I got curious. “Away frm U” was one of the songs Oberhofer released for free via their MySpace page, so I suggest you go there first to have a sample before shelling out the coin for the 7” in August.

The next two songs on o0O0o0O0o aren’t nearly as catchy as the title track, “Don’tneedya” and “Smylez,” but you can see that Oberhofer is creative with his song titles. “Don’tneedya” is a darker song with far more electronic instruments than the title track – which I’m sure if I played around with Garageband for long enough, I could figure out how to put something similar together. But the cheesy synthetic noise mixed with the raw quality of all the other layers makes for an especially interesting debut. “Smylez” again uses the familiar guttural “ooo ooo ooo” prevalent on the first track. Now the title is making a little more sense.

The only downside to the o0O0o0O0o 7″ is that you don’t get more tracks. And even though Oberhofer has a similar wall-of-sound style as Animal Collective, they aren’t playing epic eight-minute songs that Animal Collective. I just hope it’s a small taste of what is to come from the Tacoma native. Okay fine, so Brad Oberhofer moved to Brooklyn before getting all the publicity that he has (which is why I think he moved to Brooklyn in the first place), but Oberhofer’s parents’ basement isn’t in Brooklyn. It’s in Tacoma.

If you pre-order the vinyl right now over at InSound, you’ll get the mp3s right away to take a listen.

Track Listing:
1. “o0O0o0O0o”
2. “Don’tneedya”
3. “Smylez”

Oberhofer on MySpace

Having not been to a proper show in Seattle in a month, I couldn’t wait to go see Portugal. The Man Friday night at Neumo’s. Not only because they rocked the Sasquatch Festival last month, but also the Builders and the Butchers were opening for them, and I’ve been really digging them lately. Morning Teleportation actually started the show, and if you’re like me, you probably haven’t heard much of them, but I strongly suggest you seek them out.

It was a night of Portland music, and all three bands rocked the house. I don’t think I’d been a show in Seattle with that much energy since January.

Morning Teleportation took the stage almost looking like they’d just stepped out of a time machine from 1973, sporting shaggy haircuts and fitted patterned button-ups, but they certainly didn’t sound like it. There are quite a few words to try and describe Morning Teleportation, but if I could think of one that might give you some idea without sounding overzealous, it would be funky. They were psychedelic, rootsy and jam band all at the same time. And normally I’m not much of a jam band kinda person, but Morning Teleportation surely put on a show. I mean, how often do you see a talk box these days? And a theremin? It shouldn’t make sense, but Morning Teleportation made me a believer. Thankfully they’ll be at MusicFest Northwest in September, so I’ll get to see them again for longer than 25 minutes. For now, head to their Myspace and listen to “Snow Frog vs. Motor Cobra.” It’s a perfect representation of their sound in hyper drive. And it’s really fun if you like to dance like a crazy person at shows.

It was nearing 10 p.m., and by that time Neumo’s was still a comfortable 75 degrees, if I could guess.

The Builders and the Butchers were up next. And on this particular night, lead singer Ryan Sollee picked up an electric guitar for the first time at a gig, because apparently his band mates had said he was getting too folksy. Either way, acoustic or electric, the Builders and the Butchers were awesome. With how many instruments they implemented on the tiny Neumo’s stage, they managed to make their banjo and mandolin-laden folk rock feel hard. But with how much power they put behind their music, I’m not surprised.

The Builders and the Butchers played for a good 45 minutes, and through most of the songs off their phenomenal 2009 album Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well. Ironically enough, they’ll also be playing at MusicFest Northwest, so that is one more show I’ll be anxiously awaiting. Also ironic – both the Builders and the Butchers and Portugal. The Man are originally from Alaska, and migrated to Portland. Fun fact!

All within their set, the Builders and the Butchers shuffled through instruments and tossed maracas into the audience. I think that there had to be at least eight maracas in the crowd by the time they finished. A couple of my favorites were the building epic “Golden and Green” and “Down in this Hole,” the latter of which turned into a grand sing-along that I’m sure everyone roaming around Capitol Hill could hear. Portugal. The Man surely had a tough act to follow.

At this point I remembered how hot Neumo’s got during the summer time, because the few open doors that the security guys guarded were like a cracked window in a hot car at noon. Thank goodness I had a water bottle, or else I probably would have lost consciousness.

It also didn’t help that the smoke machine seemed to be on overdrive.

I had a perfect spot standing up front, and right before Portugal. The Man took the stage these two guys who were considerably taller than I planted their feet in front of me and the much shorter girl to my left. But eventually the front of the crowd moved around so much I had a much clearer view. Portugal. The Man came out on stage amidst the thick fog and started off with their heavy prog rock, and as frustrated as I was with the smoke and lighting, the band sounded awesome. It was as good as I remembered from…okay it was only a month ago at Sasquatch, but the crowd received Portugal much better than at the festival.

After awhile, I forgot that I couldn’t get any decent photos and just rocked out, because it was kind of a requirement for being up front where I was. We got to enjoy some tracks from this year’s American Ghetto, last year’s The Satanic Satanist, and all the way through their five-album-five-year catalogue. I didn’t realize before that Portugal. The Man has released an album every year since 2006. That’s quite a feat.

As it’s also hard to describe Portugal. The Man; it makes for a diverse live show – with southern rock anthems like “People Say,” sexy psychedelic tracks like “60 Years” and soft ballads like “Created,” which was one of the closing songs from the night. But at that point it had gotten so stuffy in front that I had to scurry to the back of the venue to avoid passing out.

By far my favorite moment from the night was during “And I” where everyone in the crowd joined in with the “ooo ooo oos” during the chorus and danced together, if you could call it dancing. More like moving. People moved a lot. Which was part of the reason that Neumo’s was at least 85 degrees by midnight.

There is one thought that I took away from that night – of all places for awesome bands to come from – Alaska?

Apparently Alaska breeds bands the right way.

Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head is no more. Instead, the Seattle pop act will now be known as Brite Futures.

That’s right. After a mysterious countdown appeared a few days ago on this website, NPSH teased it all over Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. And technically the countdown ended at noon today, but since the information leaked, the band updated site prior to the end of the countdown.

If you go to any of their sites, you can download Brite Futures’ new single “Dog Eared Summer,” a breezy electro pop song laced with acoustic guitars and hand claps. When I heard it for the first time I thought of the beach. Dancing on the beach at sundown with s’mores. Not sure why, but it’s an aptly-named song great for the start of the summer.

Not that there are any hard feelings between the band and Ms. Portman, as she will still remain on their guest list +1 at every show. But as said in a statement released by the band on their Myspace page, “We chose our band name on a whim when we were still in high school, and ‘Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head’ has seen us through an unexpectedly amazing four years. Our love affair with Natalie’s name was like a summer fling that lasted… and lasted… and lasted. But now it is summer once again, and time for a change.” The band released a touching farewell video to Natalie Portman this morning on their YouTube account, which can be viewed below.

To catch Brite Futures in their first show as Brite Futures, they’ll be playing at Neumo’s in Seattle on July 17th for a benefit show for the volunteer-run all-ages venue The Vera Project.