Sunday evening I witnessed short sets from two great bands, Active Child, and M83. It was a sold out show, the first of two the bands would play that night.
Up first were Active Child. The lights went down, and three men came out, one sitting before a harp. I remember thinking: “OK, a goddamn harp. This should be interesting.” Then the guy opened his mouth, and the essence of pure beauty poured out.
Active Child is primarily the solo project of Los Angles’ Pat Grossi. To a guy who has seen entirely too many god-awful opening acts in the last few months they might seem horrifying on paper: inspired by days as a choir boy, synths, drums, harps and… oh shit, another guy with a laptop. Live it’s an entirely different story.
Active Child plays otherworldly music that dredges up the old cliché of being almost indescribable. Grossi knows what he’s doing, and he’s picked his sidemen well. The crowd around me seemed as impressed as I was. It was synth pop, in a way, but it was influenced by natural instruments as well, a lush, almost hallucination inducing blend of strings and machines.
If you get a chance to see Active Child, do so. They sound great on record, but to truly do them justice they must be experienced in person.
Up next was the headliner, M83. I was a bit late to the party with this band, as I only came on board with their new album, Hurry Up We’re Dreaming. I was impressed however, because how many bands sell out two shows in one night?
The band opened (not surprisingly) with “Intro” off the recent album. They then tore through a set that was designed to get the crowd pumped. The highlight was “Midnight City,” which immediately turned the room into a dance floor.
The set was vibrant, exciting, and occasionally brilliant. It did seem like a bit of a cheat, though. It seemed more like a warm-up for the later gig, than an actual performance. Though I enjoyed the set, I probably wouldn’t go see M83 again. Active Child, however… you’d have to fight to keep me away.
Block Party is beautiful. Every little thing about it is absolutely fantastic. From security yelling at people to get off the sidewalks, and into the streets, to the endless cacophony of music coming from every direction, it’s all wonderful.
The day started off with a short set by Fucked Up, broadcast by KEXP. There is a lot to be said about Fucked Up, but we’ll get there in a moment. For now, here’s a photo of me with Damian, the singer of the band. Yes, I asked him to take his shirt off for the photo.
Next up, was another KEXP set, this time by beloved Seattle band The Head and the Heart. I hadn’t listened to them up to this point, but I wasn’t going to miss them this time.
It has to be said that the band has an absolutely fanatic following. The Bean Room reached capacity about fifteen minutes before the set, and there were people milling around in anticipation two hours before they were scheduled to play. Are they worth the hype?
That depends on taste, but I definitely saw something intriguing in their short set. The band plays enjoyable acoustic music, and I saw enough to understand what the fuss is about. I’ll be watching The Head and the Heart more closely in the future.
Next, it was over to Neumo’s to stand in line for the bathrooms, and to see New York’s Cults. Cults sort of sound like twee pop filtered through Joy Division. The strobe lights hit, the band took the stage, and the sound of dark dance music filtered through the room.
Lead singer Madeline Follin came off something like a Gwen Stefani for the goth set, but the band had a sense of joy around it. A beach ball hit the stage at least a dozen times during the set, and the crowd seemed extremely happy to be there. The music had plenty of fantastic distortion, and people danced like they were on fire. It was a great show, and up next was the highlight of the evening.
Fucked Up tore the roof off Neumos, in a way that’s rarely seen. The band was noisy, but played extremely well together, even though from the balcony the songs were often indistinguishable from one another. That didn’t matter. Two dozen stage divers cannot be argued with.
Singer Damian Abraham led the crowd in a sweaty, raucous, mess that was absolutely astonishing to witness. At one point he lead the crowd into chanting “I hate summer” during one song, and into “we’re dying on the inside” during the next. It was beautiful. He took off his shirt, and began twirling his microphone during the first song, and the energy did waver for a solid forty-five minutes.
This was punk rock at it’s purest. Not only did Abraham stage dive but so did one of the guitar players, and the (female) bass player. The latter two did so while they continued playing. The crowd was putty in Abraham’s hands, even when he dove into the crowd during the second to last song, and went to the bar to get a drink. This kind of ballsy awesomeness is so rarely seen at shows. It was breathtaking to behold, and I cannot wait to see this band again.
After Fucked Up, complete exhaustion set in, but I stayed around for Yuck. The band set up, and by their second song the crowd was enthralled. They played a set of slacker rock that made one nostalgic for the mid-90’s, when bands like Pavement were in their prime.
The set ended, and I struggled my way through the crowd, into the street, and through an exhilarated, completely transformed Capitol Hill. It’s 1 a.m., and I can still hear the drunks partying in the streets from my living room window.
Yuck( http://yuck.bandcamp.com/)is an indie rock group hailing from London, England. They are currently enjoying buzz band status centering on their self-titled debut record which was released on Fat Possum last February. The album is full of fantastically catchy songs, including the noisy “The wall”
The band plays a brand of fuzz rock that rides a wave of ‘90’s alternative rock nostalgia. They’ve garnered comparisons to legendary acts such as a Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic youth. The comparisons are certainly justified, but Yuck updates the sound of ‘90’s Indie Rock with a sound uniquely their own.
Recent live shows have been well reviewed, and Friday’s set should be outstanding. Their show is eagerly anticipated, and the crowd should be rapturous. Yuck are not one to miss.
Yuck will be playing on Friday at 10:15 p.m. at Neumos.
Over the last decade Fucked Up has gone from being a relatively by the number hardcore punk band to being something that is almost impossible to describe. With their new album David Comes To Life, they’ve given the world an eighty minute rock opera.
The album is dense, but accessible, full of giant hooks, and even bigger ambition. Like most concept albums, the story is difficult to follow, but that doesn’t detract from the album. The fact that the album exists is a testaments to Fucked Up’s greatness. The fact that it doesn’t suck makes the band legendary.
Fucked Up will be playing two sets on Friday, and I plan on seeing both. I expect the venues to explode. It will be a joyous, sweaty, and rowdy experience. Fucked Up has a reputation as a fantastic live act, and they shouldn’t be missed.
Both sets are on Friday, at 5 p.m. in The Bean Room at Cafe Vita and 9 p.m. at Neumos across the street.
There’s a certain level of sweet I can take when it comes to music, and Ra Ra Riot rides that line between chocolate pie and sticky toffee pudding, but that level of sweetness always makes for a rather joyful live performance full of adorable banter, loving stage presence, and gracious thank-yous. Playing to a sold-out crowd on Thursday, Ra Ra Riot brought along Silverlake, California natives Pepper Rabbit and Givers, who hail from Lafayette, Louisiana.
As Pepper Rabbit set up their gear, the stage was inexplicably full of equipment – four drumkits, enough speakers for a show much larger than Neumo’s, several keyboards, and a clarinet.
A clarinet?
Yes, a clarinet.
What I quite liked about Pepper Rabbit was the impeccable use of the loop pedal, which in the first song made the clarinet this underlying hint of something you don’t often hear in indie rock. I’ve heard plenty of brass and strings before, but not a lot of woodwinds, and it sounded really cool. The loop pedal made Pepper Rabbit definitely sound like more than three people up on stage, which can often get monotonous without some clever mixing.
Along with the clarinet, we were also given the treat of the ukulele, but not in a cheesy Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole way. The ukulele was plugged in, and added an interesting charm to the music, which already had plenty of complexity. Think of it as avant garde folk, and you’ll get a sense of Pepper Rabbit’s sound. Or better yet, you can go check out their MySpace page.
After Pepper Rabbit was done with their set, they cleared out whatever gear they had to make room for Givers. It was funny seeing the various members of the band and the Neumo’s employees trying to maneuver themselves over the guitars and hi-hats. Lead guitarist Taylor Guarisco was quite friendly to me and my friend Lori who were holding our spots up front to have a perfect view for photos. It’s always nice when bands appreciate what we do.
This band – I’ll tell you – they’re intense. If I could come up with another word to describe their live performance, I would, but intense was the first thing I said after the show on Thursday. With Guarisco’s eyes pointing to the sky and his tongue never staying in his mouth and percussionist Tif Lamson‘s frantic beating of the drums and fervent belting of the lyrics, you’d think that Givers was leading a religious revival rather than a rock concert.
Givers definitely brought the southern passion to their Afro-beat folk rock, and at times I thought Guarisco would break the strings on his old and weathered Gibson acoustic guitar. It seriously looked like one that blues musicians would have played back in the 60s – it was that used. The crowd was so into it that I was afraid they’d upstaged the headliners, but shouldn’t it always be the goal of any band to be the best of the night, even they aren’t the headliners?
It sure seemed like Givers did that. I mean, not only did Lamson basically shred the ukulele, but during the infectious “Up Up Up,” the flute made an appearance. For a little insight on how good they actually were, you can take a listen HERE. I mean, the recordings are great, but still nothing compared to their live show. If this was their first time in Seattle, I can only imagine what it would be like to see them in their hometown.
After we were thoroughly mystified by Givers’ psychedelic Afro-pop, Ra Ra Riot and the Neumo’s employees virtually cleared the stage. It was convenient though, because that way no equipment would be blocking our view from getting good photos.
Ra Ra Riot walked on stage to the heavy rock song of an introduction, and started off the show with a rather odd choice, “Massachusetts,” a song that starts out slow and gets exceedingly more energetic throughout the song. I would have preferred something with a little more pep to start out with, like “St. Peter’s Day Festival,” but after that, they picked up the energy.
On to “Run My Mouth,” which instantly called for a sing-along with all the teenage girls shoved up front with me. Seriously, these kids were reacting to Ra Ra Riot like they were Hansen back in 1998. Wow, that shows how old I am.
It was nice to hear at least one song off their first EP, “Each Year,” but although I was hoping for the punky “A Manner to Act,” which they played in Portland back in September when I saw them. A couple of the highlights included lead singer Wes Miles crooning on “Do You Remember,” “Kansai,” and when cellist Alexandra Dawn took the mic for a particularly passionate rendition of “You and I Know.”
The lovely singing from Miles and Dawn were held strong by the smooth strings of violinist Rebecca Zeller, the peppy rhythm by bassist Mathieu Santos and drummer Gabriel Duquette, and the infallible melody from guitarist Milo Bonacci. Their synergy on stage made for some particularly cute moments, when Miles went around and rubbed Santos’ and Bonacci’s heads, and nearing the end when he jabbed at Bonacci with the mic.
I’ll tell you, there is nothing unpleasant about this band.
Finishing out their regular set with their first single off The Orchard, “Boy,” and another of my favorites off the album, “Too Dramatic,” they left the stage after graciously thanking both Pepper Rabbit and Givers for coming on tour with them. And as soon as they went down the stage behind the stage at Neumo’s, all the crazed fangirls standing behind me screamed so loud I almost regretted not bringing earplugs this time.
But since we’d seen the set list and one song in particular was missing from their set so far, Ra Ra Riot predictably stepped back on stage for the encore of the phenomenal “Ghosts Under Rocks,” and “Dying is Fine.” And when those songs were over, Miles ran across the front of the stage to give all the people surrounding me high fives. I ducked down to let the girls behind me get their high fives, in which they responded like Hansen fangirls, “oh my god he TOUCHED ME!”
Not to sound jaded or anything, but after having seen so many bands, I find that so hilarious. “I’m never washing this hand again!”
But I guess I have no room to talk, because I used to be that way.And I can imagine, if I’d seen Ra Ra Riot when I was 16, I’d have reacted the same way.
If you haven’t yet educated yourself about Seattle’s ownthe Head and the Heart, do it. Well, read this first and then go watch their videos, buy their album, see them live, etc.
After hearing so much good stuff about the Head and the Heart from many of my friends around Seattle, I finally got to see this marvelous band on Friday at their first headlining show at Neumo’s – which was 21+, and sold out. To say that I was proud is an understatement. You see, the Head and the Heart just officially signed to Sub-Pop Records on Jan. 11, even though it was worst kept secret around Seattle for at least a few weeks. You can actually buy their debut album on iTunes now, and it’s being re-released in physical form under Sub-Pop in April.
But enough background. Let’s talk about the awesome night of local music I had on Friday!
Opening the show was Lemolo, a girl duo made up of Meagan Grandall on keyboard and guitar and Kendra Cox on drums and also keyboard. It was Cox’s grandfather’s Casio- I came to find out because her father was standing next to me in the crowd and he could not stop gushing about the band. “That’s my daughter up there,” he kept telling people around us. It was cute.
Lemolo surprised me. You definitely would not expect that much sound to come from just two girls, but the girls’ stage presence is full of so much passion that once you see them, you get it. With Grandall’s sultry voice and confident stance, Cox’s infectious energy at both the keyboard and drums, and their impeccable harmonies, Lemolo brought the house down, even if it wasn’t full at that point. Grandall even said, “Tonight Kendra is playing drums for the first time in heels. I’m proud of her.”
“They’re really tall, see?!” Cox shouted back with glee.
Lemolo played through a strong set of songs off their couple EPs, including the incredibly catchy “Open Air” and the understated and sexy “Whale Song.” It was both Lemolo’s strong local connection and their obvious friendship that made their performance so enjoyable, and that theme led throughout the night as Curtains For You took the stage.
Turning up the energy, retro-pop band Curtains for You brought smiles across the faces of the whole crowd, most certainly. Fronted by brothers Matthew and Mike Gervais, Curtains for You has a sound familial to Kay Kay and the Weathered Underground, Rufus Wainwright, perhaps the Beach Boys, and even a bit of vaudevillian charm in there.
Seriously, during toe-tapper ragtime track “Small Change,” we not only had the drums, guitar, bass, and keyboard on stage, but also the saxophone and sousaphone. It’s a wonder that Curtains for You has been around since 2004 and I’ve never heard of them, because they have enough energy for venues three times the size of Neumo’s. They played songs off their 2009 album What A Lovely Surprise To Wake Up Here as well as their 2010 EP Heaven’s Waiting, all of which had earnest and lovely lyrics but powerful arrangements that filled up the crowded room.
Just when I thought the night could not get any better, guests of honor the Head and the Heart took the stage to a wild round of applause, and jumped right into the sweet little ditties “Popsicle” and the gospel-tinged “Cats & Dogs.” I can say, I’ve never seen so much love in one room before. It made me proud to be a Seattleite, seeing how much this band had accomplished in less than a year and how much the Seattle music community supported them.
“Some of us are from Virginia, and every time we leave, it makes us realize how fucking lucky you are,” said guitarist Jonathan Russell, which was met with more applause. “I mean, we like Virginia too, it’s nice.”
“We love Virginia!” Chimed in violinist Charity Rose Thielen.
There was not a down moment during that performance, as they started the unbelievably catchy “Ghosts,” which ended in a giant sing-along of “ba-da-ba-da-ba-ba! I’d seriously never been to a sold-out 21+ show, but it may be my new favorite thing. You’ve got all the love and energy of an all-ages show without all the precocious teenagers stinking up the place with their bad weed.
The middle of their set was the so-called “low-energy” songs, but they were no less beautiful, with “Sounds Like Hallelujah,” “Lost In My Mind,” “Seat Beside Me” and “Winter Song.”
“You see, what’s great about headlining is that the stage is for all intents and purposes yours for the night. You get to choose the awesome bands to play with, and because of Derek right over there,” and Josiah Johnson pointed over at a tall man shoved in a corner of the room and he waved, “you get to have people come up on stage with you if you want.” So instantly the women who were crowded up front near me shuffled their way to the tiny staircase and I’d say at least a couple dozen people on that stage singing and dancing along to “Lost In My Mind.”
What I love so much about the Head and the Heart is that they mix southern charm, northwest passion, and a whole heck of a lot of talent between the five of them. Seriously, I will drive up to Ballard on Sunday nights just for a chance to see any of them play at the Conor Byrne open mic night, which, from what I’ve heard is quite a good time.
After Johnson inquired if anyone in the audience was from a state that started with “T” and people started spouting out random states, the band played a great cover of Johnny Cash’s “T is for Texas.” As the hour passed midnight, I was already on a musical high, but then they closed the night out with a goosebump-inducing performance of my favourite song “Down in the Valley,” and an even more moving version of “Rivers and Roads,” which wasn’t even on the first printing of their debut album.
After the amazing extended version of “Rivers and Roads,” the band exited the stage while the crowd already started chanting for an encore. But the problem was this – they’re a new band. They’d already played all their songs, so they were out of songs to play for an encore, and it took the audience quite a long to figure that out. Honestly, they wouldn’t leave.
But who would, really? You wouldn’t want to leave that high behind. The Head and the Heart was that good, so good that you didn’t want to leave even when the show was over.
Setlist: (There was one song they added in at some point that wasn’t on the setlist, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was.)
It was almost a whole year ago when I got my first photo pass. It was November 27, 2009, and it was a Lonely Forest show at the Showbox at the Market. I didn’t know what I was doing with my camera, and I basically knew nothing about the band. A year later, this had been the fourth time I’d seen local darlings the Lonely Forest, this time at Neumo’s, withSomeone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (SSLYBY) and Us On Roofsopening.
I was up front with a couple friends of mine, and clustered next to me was a small crowd of especially excited teens around my sister’s age, freshmen at Western. I wasn’t sure what they were going on about, and at one point I overheard, “well, does your mom know what Chris Wallalooks like?
I didn’t hear the answer, but a few minutes later, one of the boys jumped up on stage and grabbed the bass sitting on the floor. He – Mikey Farrow, and two other guys-Brian Fisher on guitar and Nick Blodgett on drums, made up Us On Roofs, a local indie pop trio that sounded like they took some inspiration from the Lonely Forest themselves. Farrow took off his shoes almost right off the bat, and the crowd surprisingly didn’t overwhelm the band. But seeing that it was a loving local crowd, they were very perceptive and open to more local talent.
And this was a time when I felt particularly old.
All throughout their set, the young band thanked the Lonely Forest more times than I can count, but it was made evident why whenJohn van Deusen of the Lonely Forest decided to get up on stage and sing with the band into Farrow’s mic, as he looked on like a proud older brother. And before he left the stage at the end of the song, van Deusen gave Farrow a great big hug from behind, also like a proud older brother.
It turns out, after I went home to check out more on Us On Roofs, they are all my sister’s age, and from my hometown of Gig Harbor. Go figure. And it also turns out that Us On Roofs also competed in this year’s Sound Off!, a Seattle battle of the underage bands competition put on by the Experience Music Project – a contest the Lonely Forest won back in 2006. So hopefully you’ll hear more from Us On Roofs in the next year or so.
After their set was over, the guys of Us On Roofs took back their rightful places up front with their friends while SSLYBY set up their gear.
Even though SSLYBY was the odd band out in terms of being non-locals, they put on a great show, with some older tracks from Pershing and Broom, as well as a bunch of new ones from Let It Sway, out in August.
“We’d like to dedicate this song to –“ and guitarist Philip Dickey trailed off after mumbling two names and an awkward pause. I guess you could say that SSLYBY has an awkward charm. Understated personas, generic clothes, but superbly catchy songwriting. A couple of my favorites were “Modern Mystery” off Pershing and “Everlyn” off Let Is Sway, which was produced by of all people – Chris Walla.
So even if SSLYBY aren’t based out of Seattle, they’ve still got some bit of Seattle running through their music. I swear Chris Walla is like the Timbaland of indie rock. He works with everyone.
“We’d like to dedicate this song to the Lonely Forest, or more how we’ll feel once we’re done touring with them,” Dickey announced again, right before they jumped right into “All Hail Dracula!” But the best part of that song is how upbeat and so not-vampirey it sounds. You’d be hard-pressed to find a band whose melodies are more universally feel-good that you picture artfully shot scenes from adorable movies with Michael Cera in your head.
But the retro mixing and harmonies matched with the oftentimes-somber lyrics keep SSLYBY from being kitsch. You sometimes want to skip around, sometimes slow dance, but you always want to dance in some way or another.
Just before 11, the Lonely Forest came out on stage, checking the mics and chatting with the kids in the front row, but not starting their set quite yet.
“We’ve gotta go off stage, because it’ll make us cooler!” John van Deusen said to his tourmates waiting in the stairwell to the right of the stage.
“You’re already cool enough!” A voice came from the crowd, not sure where though. Van Deusen smirked at the remark, but then they did step off stage to be “cooler.” But suddenly before they actually took the stage, local comedian and radio host Luke Burbank got up on stage to introduce the band. I hadn’t seen a proper band introduction in…I don’t even know how long, so that was a nice surprise. Burbank told the crowd that apparently The Lonely Forest had been double booked that night, but they needed a good reason to stay at Neumo’s. With that, a monstrous round of applause and screaming lit up Neumo’s as the band took the stage for real this time.
Having seen the band four times this year, the songs are all so darn recognizable that I can’t pinpoint any sort of set list. I was glad to hear all the songs off their latest EP – included “Let It Go,” “Ramshackle House,” “Live There,” and “Turn Off This Song (And go outside).” The latter of which was basically the soundtrack to my summer. “This song is about pretentious guys in bands,” van Deusen said of “Turn Off This Song.”
“Live There” was also a stand out because of the intensely local subject matter, and being in a room full of kids spanning from Anacortes all the way to Gig Harbor, it was a particularly heartwarming song.
As the venue grew hotter and hotter, the crowd grew more and more enveloped in their own mass of energy. Even after playing through plenty of songs off We Sing the Body Electric, guitarist Tony Ruland crowd surfing, and one encore, the crowd wasn’t done yet.
Really, during the encore the band played an especially rousing version of “Blackheart vs. Captain America” that ended with van Deusen swinging his guitar high above his head that I was afraid the strings might break and the Telecaster would be sent into the crowd. Thank goodness the strings didn’t break, but it was surely the way to end the show.
It’s a weird experience going back and looking at the photos I took of this band a year ago, and I think about how far the Lonely Forest has come since then – they released a phenomenal EP, were the first band signed to Chris Walla’s record label Trans, and they’re getting ready to release another LP.
It’s nice to know that we’ve all grown quite a lot in the last year.
The first time I saw the Morning Benderswas at Neumo’s as the opening band for We Are Scientists, July 9 of 2008. I went to that exact same venue this week at the first headlining gig I’ve seen them play.
It was a short set. I would have wished to see more songs, and at least one more during the encore, but it was nice seeing the Morning Benders with a room full of other people who were there for them and not for another band. It was awesome. And I love them a lot.
When I got to Neumo’s it was basically deserted, and oddly enough I was the only photographer. So that was different. Granted, it was a Monday night.
It took until about halfway through Twin Sister’s set for the venue to fill up respectably, so the floor looked incredibly sad during Cults. People stood with a five feet empty zone between them and the stage. Oh well, more room for me to get good photos, right?
Starting out the show was New York’s own Cults with their charming retro pop. They put on a great show, with their easy, breezy (pardon my borrowed phrase) New York indie pop. As the quintet graced the stage, it was evident that all band members had the same haircut – all the guys plucking their instruments and the girl lead singer. Chances are – if you don’t live near these guys, you won’t see them play live for a while unless you catch them on this tour.
Seriously, with a name like Cults, it’s virtually impossible to sort through all the Google entries about crazy religions before you get to their sparse Bandcamp page. They don’t even have a MySpace page, but their songs (“Go Outside,” for example) are so catchy and sunny that it’s worth the digging.
Once Cults’ 25-or-so minute set was over, the PA system started playing some of the familiar hits Neumo’s plays. Local indie, obscure classics, but one in particular stood out to me. I was standing there singing along to these lyrics that I knew, but hadn’t ever heard.
“I the midnight moonlight I, be walking a long and lonely mile. And every time I do, I keep seeing this picture of you…”
Why the heck do I know this song?
“…Here comes my baby, here she comes now. And it comes as no surprise to me, she’s with another guy.”
Oh! It’s “Here Comes My Baby!” I’d only heard the Sons of Admirals version of the song, not the original Cat Stevens versions. That’s funny. I’ll spare trying to explain who the Sons of Admirals are, so I’m just going to link you here. They’re awesome. But I’m getting off topic.
I was standing next to this guy all night, and he told me before Twin Sister started playing that they were amazing. Oddly enough, later I found out that he follows me on Twitter. That was awkward.
But he was right about Twin Sister. They were awesome. Another girl-fronted group, Twin Sister produced this subtle wall of sound, kin to the Morning Benders, but more ethereal. For some reason their music reminded me of space and France, with the electronic sounds created on the keyboard and lead singer Andrea Estella’s velvety voice. If that makes any sense.
Twin Sister’s set was remarkably long. I’m almost positive they played about as long as the Morning Benders’ main set, but I didn’t mind.
By this point, during the second intermission, Neumo’s had filled up to a normal crowd, well for a Monday night. But then that crowd – me being a part of it – got impatient. It took until after 11 until the guys started playing. For about fifteen minutes before their set, keyboardist John Chu and drummer Julian Harmon had been meandering around the stage helping set up the equipment, which seemed to be causing them some grief.
But finally at ten after 11, John started the beginning strings loop to “Excuses;” but the first song on their actual set list was “Promises,” both off Big Echo, their phenomenal second album.
I’m interjecting on myself for a sec. If Big Echo doesn’t get on at least a few “best of 2010” lists, I will punch someone. This album is so underrated it’s ridiculous. Big Echo – top ten albums of 2010 – do it critics – now.
Interjection over.
Most of the set list was – in fact – from Big Echo, but there were a couple times where Chris wanted to change it up a bit.
“Do you guys want to see me dance? I want to see you dance,” he said. “This is a song off our first record,” and even before Chris could say the title, this really excited chick standing up front was like, “WAITING FOR THE WAR!”
So we danced. And it was lovely, because even though Big Echo is so amazing, it’s not as energetic as Talking Through Tin Cans was.
About halfway through the set, Chris took a moment to thank Cults and Twin Sister for coming on tour with them, and to plug their merch.
“We have tee shirts for sale over there, and our album Big Echo, if you don’t have it already,” he said, and then glanced right down at me, “You were at our show last time, so I know you have the album already.” And suddenly I was a 15-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. Chris remembered me. Now THAT was cool. It hasn’t happened to me since… well since August, but that’s when I saw We Are Scientists three times in two weeks and followed them 800 miles down the coast to San Francisco. So it’s reasonable that they’d remember me. But I haven’t seen the Morning Benders since May when they opened for Broken Bells. Pardon my gushing. I was just so gosh darn excited, gosh darnit.
Anyway, as the sadly short set list was winding down, we got “Stitches,” “All Day Day Light” and “Excuses.”
The first of which, “Stitches” gave me goose bumps. Chris’ longing crooning matched with the most epic crescendo I’ve heard in a long time led up to this awesome drawn out outro, which was easily half the length of the whole song. “Stitches” is melancholy, sexy, and furious at the same time, and definitely one of those songs that is completely different listening to it on record than seeing it live. I highly recommend the latter, as well as the former.
Then we got the summery “All Day Day Light,” for which the band recently came out with a video, one that’s equally as charming as the song. It was a perfect upbeat before the final song of the normal set, “Excuses.”
I have to say something about the song “Excuses.” I decided after hearing it at least a dozen times that it was going to be my first dance song at my wedding. And if a man out there agrees with me, then it’s meant to be. Hands down. Having the whole room sing a long to the “la da das” was so magical on this particular Monday that I almost want to snatch the maraca out of Chris’s hand as he sauntered across the stage.
“Last time we were here Seattle had the best singers on the tour, so I hope you guys live up to it,” Chris said, after he requested the sing-along. Last time? Last time I strictly remember no one around me was singing a long. I’d hope that we out-sang ourselves.
It was just after midnight, and we all knew it was coming – the end of the set. It saddened me to know that it was almost over, but we did get to choose which song we were going to hear during the encore.
“We’ve got a cover and a new song. Which do you wanna hear?” Chris asked. It was nearly impossible to choose, as the cover was Fleetwoot Mac’s “Dreams,” and new songs are always pleasant, so many people shouted “both,” including the guy who follows me on Twitter.
The boys didn’t give in to our plea of both songs, but their cover of “Dreams” was quite fantastic and refreshing. I hadn’t heard that song in years, at least my parents were still listening to CDs regularly.
Even though we didn’t get more than 13 or so songs (the set list was written on a paper plate, and many things were redacted and rewritten), the show was everything I wanted it to be, and I miss the Morning Benders already.
By now I’ve probably exhausted the fact that Neumo’s gets really hot. But Monday’s Tokyo Police Clubshow 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 openersFreelance 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 Forestand 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!”
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.
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 26th 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.
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Concert Calendar
Nov 23, 2011
HaHa Tonka @ Recordbar, Kansas City MO
Nov 25, 2011
Thee Oh Sees @ The Granada, Lawrence KS
