PDX Pop Now -- getting my head out of the sand

There's such a solid scene in Seattle that it happens sometimes (okay often) that I have little feel for what's happening in other NW cities. But, this weekend marks the third year in a row that the folks down in Portland have had themselves a pop festival, called PDX Pop Now.

The bands are varied and include Stars of Track and Field, Viva Voce, The Upsidedown, The Conductor, Parenthetical Girls, and lot more.

The Raconteurs @ the Moore

I got a call from my friend David yesterday, informing me that he had an extra ticket to see the Raconteurs (see the recent piece in The Stranger) last night at The Moore. So, I took him up on the offer and went down to the big rock show.

We arrived a little more than two-thirds of the way through the opening act's set. Kelley Stolz is the name, and I've got to admit I know zero about them/him (I don't even know if it's a band or a solo person and hired guns). But, he/they have five releases under his/their belt, according to the website. My experience seeing the group perform was much like the first time I saw Jonathan Richman -- like everyone else was in on a private joke. Perhaps it was simply because I arrived late, but the main guy ("Kelley" perhaps) kept doing this thing in between their songs where he would sing in a loungey voice about various things happening in the room. People were laughing like it was a comedy routine. But, I didn't get the joke.

When they played songs, I really enjoyed their sound. The tunes were super short, but creatively arranged and catchy.

Then after a brief pause for set change-over, The Raconteurs took the stage. Now, I have heard their single "Steady As She Goes" a million times over, and I've been exposed to the rest of the record to varying degrees. But, I wasn't prepared for the full-on 1970s arena rock onslaught of their set. I don't want to make a direct comparison here, because that'd be ludicrous, but the bombast of the first few songs make me think of KISS concerts from the 1970s. Sure, there wasn't the circus of blood, 10 inch tongues and firebombs. But, the sound was pure arena rock.

And I don't mean that in a bad way. It's been a long time since my senses were truly "rocked" in that way -- and heck, only five rows of seats were between me and the back wall of the second balcony (where you are essentially looking down onto the top of the band's head). So, good on them for rocking out!

That said, I'm really more of a song guy, and they lost me a few times with the extended guitar jams. I turned to my friend David at one point and said in my best stoner voice, "I think they're going to do Dark Star tonight."

But, they never did (thankfully). They stuck to the rock, and you can tell it's a band that is comfortable with one another on stage. [Sidenote: When did Jack White become a big ol' rock star? I've apparantly been spending too much time in smaller clubs, because it was a little weird to see how the audience responded to him.] Brendan Benson is the perfect pop foil for Jack White's guitar histrionics, and their voices blend well when they're both singing.

After the rote encore of "Steady As She Goes" we hit the door and I was at home, in bed by 11:30pm. And, in the end, that's exactly how I'd want to see The Raconteurs... get in, get out, get home and get to bed early. Maximimized experienced acheived.

IPO gets some press

This just came down the wire (and by "down the wire" I mean my friend Chris emailed me about it...).

A Reuters news piece on the International Pop Overthrow. It's an overview article, but it does mention that the IPO is in Seattle and Vancouver for the first time this year.

I'll be doing a variety of pieces that are IPO related in the near future, since we're only about a month out from the Seattle dates (Aug. 24-27).

Harvey Danger/Long Winters at TIG

There is a fun segment over on Three Imaginary Girls in which John from The Long Winters and Sean from Harvey Danger interview one another.

Both bands have releases out this week.

Some By Sea call it quits

Tacoma indiepoppers Some By Sea are packing it in. Their final Seattle show will be tonight (7/26) at The Paradox (with Say Hi To Your Mom and Dirty on Purpose).

It's a shame they're splitting up, since their recently release on SideCho records is a solid, catchy gathering of tunes. You can get a taste of them on their myspace page.

Early Seattle Powerpop - X-15

Formed in Bellingham in 1979, X-15 would've fit right into the 1970s New York punk rock scene where you could be a Television or a Blondie or a Talking Heads and still fit in. But, they were out here in the Pacific Northwest, where they became one of the areas biggest draws in the early 1980s and were a common opening act for national acts -- Missing Persons, Iggy Pop, and The Clash included.

Songs like "no regard" reflect their energy and warbled vocals while still providing a catchy hook. You can still purchase their music through cdbaby, and although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, there is supposedly an X-15 section at EMP.

Visqueen video - Crush on Radio

Seattle shows for week of 7/24

Holy crap, there are lots of shows in Seattle worth mentioning this week!

Monday, 7/24
The Rentals at Neumos

Tuesday, 7/25
Grant Lee Phillips at the Crocodile
The Low Haunts at the High Dive

Thursday, 7/27
The Raconteurs at the Moore Theater
Tara Jane O'Neil at the Sunset Tavern

Friday, 7/28
Capitol Hill Block Party

Saturday, 7/29
Capitol Hill Block Party
The Buzzcocks at El Corazon

Song of the weekend (7/22)

This past weekend found me repeatedly rockin' out to Once For Kicks and their song "oh hurry." With traces of Ric Ocasek-era Guided By Voices, the tune churns along and drives itself into your memory banks.

I'm not sure why these guys don't rule the city, frankly.

Long Winters releases CD in hell....

... okay so it wasn't in hell. But, it sure was uncomfortably hot!

I started to write a blog post about how the whole night was uncomfortable for me -- the heat, the couple in their 40s making out in front of me for like an hour as if they were 14, the girl who was dancing a little too close to my bar stool without realizing she was giving me a lap dance -- but then I figured I'd be wasting your time.

So, instead, let's talk about the music. The Lake Society opened the show. I've got to admit they confused me a little. I could tell that somewhere in there, there was a straight ahead rock band lurking. But, that straight ahead rock band seemed to be hidden beneath a bevy of odd time signatures and quirky choruses. At one point I thought to myself, this is what it would sound like if the Minutemen were jamming with the J. Geils Band. It was a solid set. But, I'm not sure the two sides fully gelled, and I kept expecting one or the other to take over.

Up next was Tim Seely, which is a band that also happens to be the name of the main guy in the band. And what a delightfully odd mix of instruments and genres at play here! The group is made up of guitar, drums, a multi-instrumentalist on pedal steel, mandolin, and guitar, and a keyboardist who provided most of the bass frequencies on a microkorg -- and I'm pretty sure there were some backing tracks with drum loops, violins and vocals flying around, too. It was like indie rock and alt-country smashed together, and something (although i can't pinpoint exactly what) makes me think they could be big with the "jam band" crowd. But, it was a wholly enjoyable set.

By the time the Long Winters got on stage, fatigue had set in, which is a shame, because I like these guys a lot. Unfortunately, I only made it about 5 songs into their performance before having to flee for cooler climates and fresher oxygen. But, the 5 songs that I was able to experience did not disappoint. It was obviously their night and the had-to-be-capacity crowd roared in approval when they took the stage and, especially, when they played "pushover."

Since this was the Long Winters CD release, they pulled heavily from that track listing (see my previous post for the online sampling of the new record). Run out a buy a copy on Tuesday!

NW powerpop at garageband.com

Portland's Throwback Suburbia just reached number four on the current powerpop chart over at garageband.com. Also cracking the top 20 is Seattle's Regan Lane.

Perhaps most impressive of all, Tacoma's 99 Men is number four on the all time powerpop chart with their song "Big Party." Finally, Portland's Hemmit is also on the all time chart, coming in at number 15 with "what you see is what you get."

Well done and congrats all around, folks.

Smoosh on The Early Show

Let me admit my bias that I am 100% in favor of teenagers starting bands and writing catchy pop tunes. So, that fact that these two early-teens not only do just that but have released recordings and played shows with major bands tickles me to no end.

I'm sure that at least some of the attention Smoosh gets can be attributed to the novelty factor. But, you can't argue with the unadulterated joy they radiate.

CBS's "early show" did a piece on them about a week ago.

Death Cab meets Elvis Costello

I don't know that I've ever uttered the following phrase, but it's true today:

"Damn, I wish I had VH1 Classic."

Why? Well, this evening they're running an Elvis Costello tribute as part of the Decades Rock Live series.

And what's the local connection? Well, Death Cab for Cutie is all over the place! A brief sample clip of their take on "kinder murder" is available online. There is also a clip of them backing Declan himself on "accidents will happen." A few of the Death Cab guys also are in the mix along with Billie Joe of Green Day and Fiona Apple for "what's so funny about peace, love and understanding" and others.

I'll make you a dinner of corn dogs and tater tots if you can get me a copy of this complete event. Anyone got tivo and dv-r?

Mon Frere performance video

In honor of Mon Frere performing last night in my previous hometown of Marietta, Georgia, here's a clip of them rockin' out recently at Chop Suey.

How those guys ended up with a tour stop in Marietta, I'll never know. But, it looks like their next stop is tonight in Mobile, Alabama, then onto Mississippi. Rough tour! Drive safely, avoid dirt roads, and if any toothless locals try to take you into the woods to show you their moonshine stills, don't trust 'em!

I grew up in Tennessee, so it's okay if I mock the South. :)

Early Seattle Powerpop - The Heats

I have recently found myself scouring the web for information on 1970s and 1980s Seattle powerpop. I'd love to hear from anyone out there who has good information on bands of the time.

As a teaser, here is a sample of "I don't like your face" by The Heats (aka "The Heaters") who were a regional powerpop juggernaut during those years. Here's more from them on allmusic.

Also,take a gander at these pictures --
The Heats then... and more recently:
.....

Lillydale at 826 Variety Show (7/22)

Do you ever find yourself saying, "you know I love pop music, but I sure would like to see a pop band play and get to see people juggling or dropped into a dunk tank"? If not, you're still welcome to attend this show. But, if so, the dream you dared to dream is coming true!

Indiepopsters Lillydale will be performing (along with other music acts) at the 826 Variety Show fundraiser. The event is taking place from noon until 5pm on 7/22 at the Phinney Ridge Neighborhood Center, which is located at 65th and Phinney.

Your $6 goes to a good cause. If you haven't heard of 826 Seattle, peruse their website. They do good work.

Half Acre Day write up

Half Acre Day got a nice write up over on the Breakthru Radio site. The article is very complimentary, even saying their song "Sayonara" has the potential to be an international hit. You can hear it on their myspace page.

An interesting assertion in the article is that "there a million bands here [Seattle], 250,000 of which are quite good, and 250,000 others who are masterful self promoters..." What's your take on this?

The Rentals - Neumo's on 7/24

I have to admit I have not paid much attention to The Rentals. I bought their first record back in the 1990s and I thought it was a moderately catchy, if uneven, set of numbers that didn't really stick to my ribs. Of course, there are folks out there who absolutely love them (I'm looking in your direction, Ms. Hydra). So, there must be something going on that I was missing!

Well, if the song "We Have a Technical" on their myspace page is any indication, I need to go give another listen. I think it may be that my ears have changed rather than their sound having changed, since it still sounds like a moderately catchy, analog synth heavy pop tune. But, it seems more enjoyable to me now than it did a decade ago.

See them at Neumos on 7/24 with Ozma, who also have a healthy addiction to analog synths (and were perhaps influenced by Rentals main guy Matt Sharp's old band Weezer). All in all, it promises to be a good night of music.

The Capillaries - unstable, but solid as a rock

Matt Southworth, main man in Seattle powerpoppers The Capillaries, never intended to be a full time musician. Indeed, he was on the path to independent filmmaking in 2000, living in LA and “having a nervous breakdown” when the music bug bit him. But, it was that breakdown that led to him hunkering down in his basement and writing and recording his songs.

And he kept writing, and writing, and writing. After going through an LA version of The Capillaries, Matt moved to Seattle and kept writing. One hundred songs later, The Capillaries are on the verge of releasing “Love Conquers Some,” their second release.

And Seattle has been good to them. Matt notes that, “Seattle has a really strong connection to art in general. Something about being in the corner of the country makes the people more social here, more interested in art. There seems to be a solid audience here for power pop just like there is for hip-hop and roots country and metal.”

And when I say Seattle has been good to “them,” I do mean THEM. Matt points out that there have been 16 members of The Capillaries, if you go back to include the LA lineups. Perhaps that’s not surprising for a band Matt calls literate, with “an unstable side.” Especially live, where they “have a tendency to go off the rails. I think that combination of emotional instability and verbal acuity is interesting,” says Matt.

The Capillaries will be showing up on a number of live dates soon, especially after the record is released. So, head on out to see them. Matt says to tell him that Seattle Powerpop sent you. But, I’m not sure how he plans on using that information. Should I be nervous? I mean, he did declare himself emotionally unstable! :)

Their upcoming calendar, as well as our full email interview with Matt, is up over at The Capillaries myspace page. While you’re there, take a listen to their songs. They're really solid, catchy, rocking, and energetic. The very definition of powerpop!

Cristina Bautista, Patience Please and Fishboy tonight at SS Marie Antoinette

Seattle is just a cool place to be. Where else can a former boat factory host pop bands? Only at the SS Marie Antoinette.

If you head there tonight, you can catch:

Cristina Bautista
Patience Please
Fishboy

The former two are local and Fishboy is from Texas. How appropriate is it for a band called Fishboy to be performing in a boat factory?

Patience Please just released a joyfully shambly indiepop record called "Parallel Plots" and are headed across the country on a tour. So, catch them here while you can.

I don't know much about Cristina Bautista. But, the tunes on her myspace page make me think she could be famous in a year or two. You've got to like a 19-year-old who sites Material Issue, Joe Jackson AND "Boys II Men, ABC, BBD" as influences. :)