Seattle-based non profit Noise For The Needy, an organization that raises money for charitable causes through the production of live music shows, has announced the lineup for this year’s festival. Headliners include the 1990s, Art Brut, The Constantines, Grand Archives, Crystal Antlers and Throw Me The Statue.

This year’s shows will take place at several venues across Seattle from June 10th through 14th, will feature over 40 bands (line up below), and benefits Transitional Resources, a licensed mental health center and residential program located in West Seattle that offers a full spectrum of optimistic and respectful mental health services to adults with major mental illnesses.

Noise For The Needy is holding a Festival Season Kickoff Party at Woodshed Studios this Saturday, April 18th that features DJ Chrispo, Truckasaurus, Erik Blood, Exohxo, Origami Ghosts and Solomon Giorgio. The event is 21+, and begins with a free happy hour from 6 PM-9 PM. The show itself starts at 9 PM; tickets are $6. All proceeds from the event will go directly towards Noise For The Needy’s 2009 festival budget.

NOISE FOR THE NEEDY 2009 LINE-UP

Wednesday, June 10th:
Neumos: 1990s (Scotland), New Faces, Special Guest. 9PM | 21+ | $10
The Comet: Coulter, This Is A Process of Still Life, Safer, Skeletons With Flesh On Them. 9PM | 21+ | $7

Thursday, June 11th:
Tractor Tavern: Throw Me The Statue, Awesome!!!, Velella Velella. 9PM | 21+ | $12
Sunset Tavern: Widower, Painted Hills, Jack Wilson & the Wife Stealers, Shane Tutmarc & the Traveling Mercies. 9PM | 21+ | $8
Conor Byrne: Lucy Bland, Half Light, Trentalange, Cataldo. 9PM | 21+ | $7

Friday, June 12th:
The Crocodile: Grand Archives, See Me River, The Curious Mystery. 9PM | 21+ | $12 ADV/$15 DOS
Underground Events Center @ Belltown: The Whoremoans, Speaker Speaker, The Raggedy Anns, Wallpaper, Special Guest. 9PM | 21+ | $7

Saturday, June 13th:
Neumos: Art Brut, Special Guests. 9PM | ALL AGES Bar w/ID| $13
Wildrose: Black Eyes & Neckties, Transliberation Army, Loving Thunder, The Beats, Man. 9PM | 21+ | $7
High Dive: Furniture Girls, Anomie Belle, Hotels, Born Anchors. 9PM | 21+ | $8
The Comet: Brent Amaker & the Rodeo, The Valley, An Invitation to Love, The Beautiful Confusion, The Thoughts. 8PM | 21+ | $8
Chop Suey: Special Guest, Black Whales, The Pica Beats, Grant Olsen (Arthur & Yu). 9PM | 21+ | $10

Sunday, June 14th:
Neumos: The Constantines, Crystal Antlers, I Was a King (Norway), Hey Marseilles. 9PM | 21+ | $12
The Comet: Reptet, Gravelroad, Purty Mouth, Sam Marshall Trio. 5PM | 21+ | $6

More bands and venues to be announced soon.

Noise For The Needy: website |

Toronto-based rock outfit The Constantines have been on tour previewing their latest release Kensington Heights, a hard rocking, almost English influenced twelve-track disc marking the band’s fourth studio effort.

Kensington Heights opens with a crazy riff and synth part over steady drums played with brushes. The scratchy and powerful rock vocals of Bry Webb on “Hard Feelings.” He blatantly lays out the band’s image singing, “You can tell by the way I talk / You can tell by the way we walk / We are hard.”

The slower, hard “Million Star Hotel” follows with a gritty rock sound that is the band’s M.O. on this disc, exemplified on “Trans Canada,” “I Will Not Sing A Hateful Song,” and “Brother Run Them Down,” in addition to “Million Star Hotel.” Despite the grim and grit in the Constantines’ beats and riffs, they know how to create driving songs with plenty of hooky to keep you listening for more, especially in “Million Star Hotel,” “Our Age” and opener “Hard Feelings.”

The Constantines also venture into soft and smooth territory on “Time Can Be Overcome,” “Life or Death” and “New King,” which function as the album’s ballads with soft and low vocals atop minimalist chord progressions and simple bass lines. Closing song “Do What You Can Do” begins in the smoother, minimalist style, laced with staccato lyrical spurts but picks up into driving guitars riffs and bass lines increasing the tempo as Webb demands, “Do what you can do with what you got” over and over. There is a crescendo of sound before the album fades out on a single riff.

While not overly impressed on the whole by Kensington Heights, I loved track 8, “Credit River,” and its space age-y riffs and synth and loud, driving drums. It’s a poppier song than the rest of the gritty disc, but it features great instrumentation and is just a wonderful song. Kensington Heights is a hard rocking explosion of sound building on what The Constantines have been creating since their debut release in 2001.

You can catch The Constantines finishing up their spring tour now or when they hit the road in June for select cities and festivals. Look for Kensington Heights in stores now.

Tour Dates:
May 02 – Capital Music Hall/Ottawa, Ontario
May 03 – Club Lambi/Montreal, Quebec
May 16 – ATP Festival/Minehead
Jun 17 – 7th Street Entry/Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jun 18 – Pyramid Cabaret/Winnipeg, Manitoba
Jun 19 – The Exchange/Regina, Saskatchewan
Jun 20 – Louis’ Pub/Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Jun 21 – The Starlite Room/Edmonton, Alberta
Jun 22 – Virgin Festival/Fort Calgary Calgary, Alberta
Jun 24 – Kelowna/Kelowna, British Columbia
Jun 26 – Richard’s on Richards/Vancouver, British Columbia
Jun 27 - Sugar Nightclub/Victoria, British Columbia
Jun 28 – TOFINO/Tofino, British Columbia
Jun 29 – Neumo’s/Seattle, Washington
Jun 30 – Doug Fir Lounge/Portland, Oregon
Jul 02 – Slim’s/San Francisco, California
Jul 03 – Troubadour/Los Angeles, California
Jul 04 – Casbah/San Diego, California
Jul 06 – Urban Lounge/Salt Lake City, Utah
Jul 08 – Hi-Dive/Denver, Colorado
Aug 30 – Electric Picnic/Dublin, Ireland
Sep 06 – V-FEST/Toronto, Ontario

The Constantines: website | myspace
Arts & Crafts: website

Out Today!!

Your Vegas A Town and Two Cities
The Constantines Kensington Heights
The Roots Rising Down
Les Savy Fav After The Balls Drop
Langhorne Slim Langhorne Slim
Boris Smile
Jamie Lidell Jim
Portishead Third
Wallpaper T Rex EP
Madonna Hard Candy