Friday at The High Dive

Femurs/Upskirts/Hungry Pines photos

The SPB Powerpop Night at Mars Bar last night was a pretty rockin' time. The crowd wasn't as large as some that I've held there, and the poor Femurs played to a most-empty room. But, by the time the Hungry Pines took the stage to close out the night, it was respectable.

Here are some snapshots:


The Femurs - Colin Femur


The Femurs - Rob & Colin (and Rob's Voldemort-esque counterpart self)

While this was technically The Upskirt's final show. It was, in fact, a show by the band Emblematic. They really only played one Upskirts tune. So, it was a bit of a bait and switch act. But, it was still a good set, so who cares . :)


The Upskirts/Emblematic - Brad


The Upskirts/Emblematic - guitar close up

The Hungry Pines closed out the night with a strong set. After I got home I realized who these guys kind of remind me of, locally -- Cantona. Imagine Cantona with more distortion and with tighter arrangements.


The Hungry Pines - Irene and Bryce


The Hungry Pines - Chrysti

Your plans for this evening..

... should include, if not be completely planned around, coming to the Mars Bar for the SPB Powerpop Night.

The show kicks off at 9pm with The Femurs and their mix of a The Ramones-like sound with a Violent Femmes-like texture. The Upskirts come on at 10pm in what appears to be their farewell show. The Hungry Pines close out the evening in their rocketship to local celebrity and renown.

Remember: Powerpop Night tomorrow (Saturday the 4th)

Just a reminder to everyone that the next SPB Powerpop Night is happening tomorrow (Saturday, August 4) at Mars Bar. The show features The Femurs, The Upskirts and The Hungry Pines. Come on down and hang out.



Here's 49 seconds of Femur footage:



ha ha... cracked myself up.

Alternate Powerpop Night flyer

I design the flyer that's over there ---> about a month ago when it was nearly 100 degrees. Seemed appropriate at the time.

But, the folks of the Hungry Pines designed an alternate flyer for the SPB Powerpop Night show that's happening this Saturday, and I like it a lot.

SPB Powerpop Night - Saturday, Aug 4

I might not be able to blog very much for another day or two, as our dog is still very ill, and that's taking most of my emotional energy right now.

But, I do want to make sure everyone knows that this Saturday is the next SPB Powerpop Night at the Mars Bar. This one features The Femurs, The Upskirts and The Hungry Pines. It's a great, varied line up that is sure to please the pallet.

Here are some videos to get you in the mood.

First up it's the Hungry Pines, live at the High Dive:



Up next it's The Upskirts (and, point of note, the SPB Powerpop Night will actually be their farewell show):

Hypothesis about Rob Femur

As part of my day-job duties, I was giving a presentation today at Seattle Central Community College. While I was waiting for students to arrive and my presentation to begin, I was thumbing through their printed list of course offerings, and I came across one particular class of note:

PUNK ROCK MUSIC HISTORY • $90
4 sessions, starts Oct 4(6651). Explore the history of Punk Rock. Learn about the different movements within Punk, such as geographical and political discussions of the evolution from a cult movement to the mainstream force it is today.
Item: 6651 BE 1108 Th 6:00P-8:00P Femur

Although you can't really tell from my cut-and-paste work here, the last word in the description is the name of the instructor. So, I'm operating on the hypothesis that Mr. Rob Femur, of 107.7 The End [Gabba Gabba Hey show] and The Femurs fame, is the instructor for this class.

In fact, I just confirmed that hypothesis by cruising over to his personal myspace page and saw that, indeed, he teaches that class. Good on him! I always think it's cool to find folks doing things like this.

Oh, and while I'm vaguely on the subject, Rob's group The Femurs will be on the next Powerpop Night bill, which is happening in about week -- August 4 -- at the Mars Bar. So, put that on your radar now!

August 4 powerpop night announcement

You might have already noticed the snazzy new poster to the right --->

But, I thought I should also make a more formal announcement of the next Powerpop Night at the Mars Bar. This one is special for a lot of reasons. For starters, it's the first time that every band name starts with "the." :) I'll be talking more about it over the coming weeks. But, it'll be a fun night. So, mark your calendars!

Cafe Venus and Mars Bar
Saturday, August 4
The Hungry Pines
The Femurs
The Upskirts

Review: The Femurs' "Modern Mexico"

[blogger's note: I had a wonderfully-composed review of this record completely done and ready to post and Blogger hosed it. What follows is my attempt to recreate that review while simultaneously punching my computer]

I love coming home to find a package in the mail containing a shiny new CD. Today's package transported the new disc by The Femurs to me. It's titled Modern Mexico, and it's quite excellent.

What you get on this disc is a collection of 12 songs (six new and six from the Jack Cafferty Vs. Chuck Scarborough EP) played on acoustic guitar and drums. So, what does it sound like? Take a bit of the Ramones, a bit of the Violent Femmes, a bit of Weezer, and a touch of the lyrical goofiness of some of today's pop-punk bands and you're somewhere in the ballpark of their style.

They call what they do "folk punk," and if you're a genre purist, I'm not sure that really fits. I don't know that there's really anything "folk" about them, other than the presence of the acoustic guitar, and it seems like they're way too likable to be "punk" in the way I think of that term. That said, they do share some traits of punk rocks bands in that they write speedy songs that have been stripped of excess (although there is something approaching a drum solo on track 5). Of course, I've never been a genre purist, so I don't really care where they fit.

While it may be hard to fit neatly into a genre, the disc is unmistakably great summertime record that is toe-tappingly fun. Even my wife, who isn't really a music fan, yelled "that's catchy" to me half way through the first track during my first listen. If you don't have this one blasting at your Fourth of July party, then you're missing out on a good vibe setter. Just add this album to some burgers, some libations and someone almost getting a finger blown off with an m-80 and you've got the perfect party.

I'm pleased as punch to have The Femurs slated for Powerpop Night in early August. So, stay tuned for more details on that in July.

The Sterling Loons/The Doll Test show 1/11

When compiling my shows for the week earlier, I somehow forgot to mention the fact that The Sterling Loons, The Doll Test and The Femurs are playing tomorrow (Thursday, 1/11) at the High Dive.

Here's an mp3 of The Sterling Loons' "Wilting In The Sun"


The Sterling Loons