They're Still Talking About Janet Jackson's Super Bowl Peep Show

Let. It. Go.

Topics: Music television

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A Gazillion Friday Show Recommendations

"Hemhorrage," which is actually Partman Parthorse with No Fi Soul Rebellion. Normally Partman Parthorse is louder than this.

Tonight is a really, exceptionally good night to go out. Here are seven, count 'em, seven shows that I think you will enjoy.

Dandelion Gold release show at the Big Blue House (1132 34th Ave), 7:30 p.m., $7 donation for a copy of the new Dandelion Gold compilation, all ages

Sweet Potatoes, The Curious Mystery's Shana Cleveland, the Corespondents, Cock and Swan and a few others are all performing tonight. If you need to chill out to some pretty, quiet music, this is a good place to relax and listen. Sweet Potatoes played REVERBfest; she is a one-woman show who does interesting things with looping pedals and collected sounds. If you like, say, The Microphones, Karl Blau, etc., you will probably dig it (and you'll at least dig Shana Cleveland, who sings like an effin' angel.) I know our readers are polite and mature, but I have to say it: this is somebody's house, so please don't act like an asshole.

Dinosaur and The Missing Link, Le Shat Noir, PartMan PartHorse at the Bit Saloon, 9 p.m.

If you missed Partman Parthorse on Halloween, here's an opportunity to watch these guys frolic near-naked and sing about weird shit. Frontman Gary Smith's known for prancing about in his undies at shows, but the real attraction is the high-energy, distorted guitar work and Smith's sexy growl (he's kinda like the Sinatra of rock and roll music; the ladies love him, and he gets away with murder because of his titillating vocals). Their shows are not for the prudish, squeamish or claustrophobic. They just put out an album, Year of the Jerk, that I love a lot.

Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers, Black Crabs at Conor Byrne, 9 p.m., $8

Rockabilly goodness from Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers, who are one of the best country bands Seattle had to offer before they decided to pack up and move to Austin. BOOOO!

Lucky Dragons, Hecuba, Pit er Pat, Tinsel at Vera Project, 7:30 p.m., $8, all ages

Andrew Miller on Pit Er Pat:

Pit Er Pat plays like a jazzy Portishead revamp, with the chilly female vocals recast in a rain forest of jungle beats and sweltering rhythms. Fay Davis-Jeffers brings a torch-singer vibe to highly flammable backdrops, igniting dub reggae, brassy lounge funk and organ-mellowed garage rock. On its new release High Times, the Chicago-based trio empties its exotic-instrument arsenal, employing bells, bongos, cuica (think of that odd laughing-chimp sound in Beck's "Tropicalia") and a wide array of shaken/clapped percussive devices. It's unclear how much room the group left in the van for all the toys, but these songs would remain seductive even if stripped to their keys/bass/drums core. Openers Hecuba and Lucky Dragons, both duos from Los Angeles, use an electronics-intensive approach to groove-driven material, ranging from glitchy clatter to danceable trance.

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Topics: Happenings

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Used CDs: Listen To 'Em, Burn 'Em, Sell 'Em...Repeat.

The last few times I've visited Easy Street Records in West Seattle (celebrating 20 years in business this week, by the way), I've been astounded at the stacks..no, towers...of used CDs and records the buyer recently purchased. But I also overheard the buyer explaining to one seller that, because of the market, he couldn't offer the same amount for each that he used to. The economy has taken a nosedive, in case you hadn't noticed. On top of that, CD sales have declined overall. Further, those sales have declined in part because of the rise of MP3s. The convergence of these factors has lead to a spike in the number of people looking to unload their CD collections at places like Easy Street and Sonic Boom. Because of the economy, more people sell their CDs because they need cash. Because of MP3s and iTunes, more people just rip their collections onto their laptops and get rid of the CDs before they collect dust. But if CDs are so low, I had to wonder if the stores were selling enough to make it worthwhile. Given Easy Street's massive used sections, I decided to write owner Matt Vaughan about how his stores are handling this trend(s).

Because the economy sucks right now, have you in fact seen a dramatic inscrease in the number of people unloading CDs and DVDs for cash? If so, how many used CDs
and DVDs are people turning in compared to previous years?

It's getting silly. Easy Street has always prided itself on being able to buy just about everything (folks don't like to walk out with crap) and eventually get it into the right persons little hands...we recycle, if you will. So we price and burn as quick as
we can and actually have more sales than before.

Have you had to adjust what you offer per CD because of this increase?

The prices have come down on our buying, yes, but also on our selling price. The retail price of the used CD has dropped about 25% in the last two years. What was once an $8 cd is now $6. People have been unloading and purging their collections for some time now. The thought of hauling your CD's, DVD's, and LP.s everytime you move is always a burden and for some it is easier to rip what they want and sell off the rest. We've become part of the solution, but in a much bigger way than I would have expected. Of course, also people are streamlining and throwing everything they can on their iTunes. Of course, with money being tight for everyone, selling your used goods is quick cash.

Since CD sales are low overall, are you finding that used CDs are slower to move, as well? If so, what are you doing to adjust?

Again, we've marked our prices down..come on down and check it out. With that, we are selling about the same amount of used CD's as we did last year. Vinyl sales and prices have gone up, so we do make up a little with this vinyl craze going
on. Also, we sell lots of used DVD's, but we've dropped prices there a bit too.

If it keeps increasing dramatically, do you think you'll maybe just start offering trade instead of cash?

Half of our buys have been trade for some time and they seem to still be that way. You can get up to 20% more in trade and with our new used prices being the best in town, we tend to still get a lot of trades going for the avid music lover. As
much as people still need cash, they also gotta have new tunes, right? And it's a fun impulsive thing to do once your in the store. How can you not?

Topics: Interview

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NKOTB! NKOTB! NKOTB!

My boy band dream is almost complete. In the last three months I’ve witnessed live performances by the Backstreet Boys, Hanson, and now… the original boy band… NKOTB. If I were in sixth grade I would pee my pants with excitement. Hell, I’m still about to pee my pants. The only other thing I could ask for is an LFO reunion tour.

My girlfriend Denille and I have been prepping for this concert for a month. We downloaded the entire NKOTB greatest hits album AND their new album The Block. We’ve studied their choreography. We’re making signs tomorrow morning. (Hers for Donnie, mine for Joey.)

In college I dated a guy that looked exactly like Joey McIntyre for a whopping nine months. He’s an asshole—who for the record, I dumped—but he did not succeed in tainting my love for the real Joey.

Think I’m lame? Laugh all you want, but NKOTB’s concerts have been getting rave reviews. The Boston Herald referred to it as a “resurrection of biblical proportions.” That’s definitely worth braving the shitty parking situation at the Tacoma Dome tomorrow.

Topics: Guilty Pleasures

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Campbell & Lanegan Pt 2: More Beauty, Less Beast

If you have any money for CDs and aren't planning to blow it all on Chinese Democracy this Sunday, might I suggest the above? In 2006, fans of these two artists were pretty weirded out when a record was released bearing both their names titled Ballad of the Broken Seas. Isobel Campbell is the innocent-looking violist from Belle & Sebastien. Mark Lanegan, on the other hand, has black eyes, lots of tattoos, and plenty of addictions. She sings like a kitten. He growls like a demon. Needless to say, no one would've guessed they'd make a good duo. But together they weaved their way through melancholy orchestral pop, dirty country blues, and gothic balladry with eerily beautiful results. And they do it again with Sunday at Devil Dirt, which was released this week. Once again, the two reverse the usual male-female team-up in pop music. Campbell is the writer, producer, and arranger. Lanegan is the diva she lets shine. The results here follow the exact same formula as the previous album. But that's fine because the formula is all their own. Though the album is solid throughout, "Who Built the Road?" and "Keep Me In Mind, Sweetheart", are highlights for the way Lanegan's gruff, chaffy vocals rub up against her angelic little purr. On these, Lanegan comes off as damn near charming, as if Campbell might have actually gotten him to smile. They manage to recreate the classic feel of male-female duos (Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra) while turning the entire concept on its head.

Topics: CD review

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Tonight's Show Suggestions

"2080" by Yeasayer, who play Neumos tonight

For all you jazz people out there, the Ballard Jazz Walk is tonight, and everyone from Egan's to Conor Byrne's is participating. There's also the Nadamucho.com birthday bash with The Gatling Gees and Girl Trouble at Chop Suey, which should be fun, too. Also, if you missed Wallpaper's CD release show last week at the Comet Tavern, they're playing another show tonight at High Dive.

Patterns, Jack Lewis, Oh Yeah Hell Yeah at Comet Tavern, 9 p.m., $6

Raechel Sims wrote the paragraph below for this week's Short List, but it should also be noted that this is Jeffrey Lewis' brother Jack's first Seattle show.

Tonight's bill showcases a solid assortment of rollicking indie rock that ranges in genus from Appalachian-tinged Americana to suave, nuanced Portland pop. Come discover why your friends south of the (state) border harbor an abiding, cult-like love for Patterns (or anything frontman Ricci Swift touches, for that matter.) The trio shines brightest in intimate venues, though their soulful layering of organs, driving bass and clap-along refrains would easily fill much larger spaces. As far as Sam Russell and the Harborrats, no one knows which incarnation of this seemingly ever-changing cavalcade of performers will appear, but the rotating line-up always wields a precise combination of soul and folk. Russell's reassuring baritone could almost pass for that of The National's Matt Beringer, but his underlying heart-on-the-brink tremble keeps it from happening (thank God).

The Rosebuds, No Kids, The Kindness Kind's CD release at Tractor Tavern, 9 p.m., $10

I also heartily recommend The Kindness Kind, whose new album is a lovely little Blonde Redhead-esque gem of airy female vocals and electropop goodness. But here's Michael Alan Goldberg on The Rosebuds:

Last year, married North Carolinians Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp — better known as The Rosebuds — delivered a terrific album of dark, stylish, synth-heavy pop (Night of the Furies) that merged ominous imagery with Howard's nocturnal guitar, Crisp's jaunty keys, and the pair's dramatic vocal interplay in a manner that suggested early Cure combined with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. They've somehow managed to one-up that disc with the stunning new Life Like — impeccably crafted, it's even more seductive and atmospheric than its predecessor; still lyrically obsessed with trouble and strife, yet packed with plenty of sweet melodies. It's much more guitar-centric as well, in a dream pop kind of way that also at times recalls the moodiness of "Pink Frost"-era Chills. It's fantastic stuff, delivered just as brilliantly live — as proved by a live set I caught earlier this year. Definitely don't miss this one.

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Topics: Happenings

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What are you listening to?

What Are You Listening To?

Name: Jason S. (“I’m going to be secretive.”)
Occupation: Bartender, just started working at 500 Mercer
Where and When: bus stop on Spring and 1st, Friday afternoon

What Are You Listening To?
Kardinal Offishall: Bring the Fire Out

What Else?
It’s on random. Whatever comes up, but it’s all rap.

Is there a favorite album or song on your iPhone?
The Game: Gentleman’s Affair and Color Me Badd.

Why Are You Listening To This?
Music changes my mood…there’s ‘get you up’ tempos and ‘calm you down’ tempos.

Here’s a list of some of Jason’s musical choices, and the artists’ most recent albums:

Color Me Badd: Awakening (1998)
Kardinal Offishall: Not For Sale (2008)
The Game: LAX (2008)

Topics: What are you listening to?

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Why My Wife Still Thinks I'm a Badass

Duff McKagan's column appears every Thursday on Reverb.

I am the father of two girls. Our dog Buckley and I are outnumbered at our house, but at least I can say “No!” when my girls try to put pink ribbons in my hair. Buckley, of course, does not have that option. I have entered an age grouping that has had the name ‘crisis’ after it much too often for my liking. There is no way you will see me driving around some new yellow Corvette just to relive my 20somethings. No way, man! I am edgy and ‘street’ and have an image to uphold. So I chose a more macho new hobby to combat escalating estrogen at my home and deflating testosterone, also um, at my home…I’m a Harley rider. I’m a BADASS!

Two summers ago, I acquired a brand-new Harley Davidson Road King. With an 1840 cc engine, it IS the biggest motorcycle that one can buy stock from a manufacturer. Why would I get a bike that is so big? To make up for my long legs of course. (There is another thing big machinery helps to accommodate, but it slips my mind at the moment-maybe it’s time for Ginkgo Biloba).

Continue reading "Why My Wife Still Thinks I'm a Badass"

Topics: Duff McKagan

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Few More Photos From Last Night at The Sunset

Watch a slideshow of last night's show, featuring The Moondoggies.

More from last night's benefit for Jamie Spiess at The Sunset.

The Banyans

Topics: Concert Photos

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Sunday Night: Mickey Avalon at The Showbox [Interview]

For a few tracks the "kosher salami" donned a Seahawks hat that was thrown on stage near the end of the show.

The first thing I noticed after walking into The Showbox on Sunday night was a girl proudly waving a string of beads over her head — anal beads. No lie.

True to form, Mickey Avalon made out with the girls in the front row, spit water into the crowd and was accompanied by two scantily-clad dancers who may or may not have been actual prostitutes. The music itself was unreal and unruly, but an extremely sold-out and intoxicated Showbox seemed to be more concerned with the glam-rapper’s bizarre presence. They were thoroughly entertained.

He nearly covered the entirety of self-titled debut LP, and even played some new songs: “Oh Baby,” “On The Ave,” and one possibly titled “Fuckin’ ‘Em All.” They were pure gold, as one could only expect from the scrawny tattooed rapper who almost wasn’t.

But despite the wild performance, something entirely else was on my mind. While interviewing Mickey in the tour bus, I noticed a tattoo on his left forearm: “A-13344.” It was his grandfather’s designated number in the Holocaust labor camps, part of the vow “to never forget.” After reading the incredible LA Weekly profile, I got to know his past: heroin addiction, male prostitution and, at one time, Orthodox Judaism. Much of his past can be gleaned from the music — in reality, it became the fodder for his obscenely raw lyrics — but there’s a lot more to him than being “So Rich, So Pretty.”

Avalon raps "Roll The Dice" during his Sunday night show, a track off his self-titled debut album.

Continue reading "Sunday Night: Mickey Avalon at The Showbox [Interview]"

Topics: The Morning After

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West Seattle Getting a New Music Venue

Julien Perry has the scoop over at Voracious (it's there because the joint will also serve food).

Topics: Gossip

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Tonight's Show Suggestions That Are Not Sold Out

Dead Confederate's video for "The Rat"

Of Montreal is SOLD OUT, ladies 'n gents. I hope you didn't wait until the last minute to buy tickets. And I personally cannot recommend tonight's My Brightest Diamond performance, because while other people seem to like them, I personally feel that they bear an unfortunate resemblance to that horrible Evanescence band. But you could go see Dead Confederate, which Nick Feldman wrote up for this week:

Dead Confederate, Apollo Sunshine, Feral Children at Chop Suey, 8 p.m., $10

At Sasquatch! '08, after a few bottles of bourbon, an incomprehensible poem, and a portrait of me as a female Neanderthal courtesy of guitarist Walker Howle, I got to talking with Athens, GA rock 'n roll outfit Dead Confederate. But don't read too much into the name or the hype. Turns out the Cobain comparisons are mostly just based on frontman Hardy Morris' looks, and most of the band draws more from Metallica than Lynyrd Skynyrd. In their words, it's not so much Southern rock as it is "monitor rock" — meaning you have to straddle a monitor to play it. It's loud, distorted, and just a little dark, but if you can stand up to the decibels you'll thank yourself later...even if your eardrums don't.

Topics: Happenings

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Also Last Night: Brickner Meets Kathleen Edwards At The Sunset, Acts Dweeby

John Doe and Kathleen Edwards singing "We'll Sweep Out The Ashes"

It must be the week for Seattle Weekly employees to meet famous people they love! Before that benefit show happened, I had been planning on going to see Kathleen Edwards at the Tractor Tavern last night. Because I love Kathleen Edwards' music. I truly do. And Seely's glowing review did not help me feel better about missing her show last night. That said, last night's shindig at the Sunset was really fun, and I'm really glad I went. In fact, it was very nearly sold out. I was standing there watching the Moondoggies when I saw a lone woman with curly hair standing against the wall by herself. And it was KATHLEEN EDWARDS. She must have stopped in after her set down the road at the Tractor.

Usually, when it comes to approaching to my favorite artists as a fan instead of a journalist (or, hell, even as a journalist), I am very bad at being brave. For example, David Berman was two feet away from me at the Silver Jews show in Portland and I did not say anything to him because I don't know what to say to a man who's made some of my favorite music in the world. Anything I could have said just seemed inadequate, you know? So I said nothing and just stared at him like a creepy stalker. I also think that if I ever ran into Neko Case (whose entire catalogue I have memorized), I'd probably melt into a puddle on the floor. And Kathleen Edwards is right on up there with Neko among my favorite female songwriters performing today (and I have also memorized a lot of her music.)

But I need to stop being a dweeb. I'm supposed to be a professional. So I marched up to her and said, "Excuse me...but you're Kathleen Edwards, aren't you?" She looked positively taken aback that I recognized her. But she was really nice and kindly tolerated my blathering on about how much I loved her and how I was listening to her album on the way here and how I'd seen her several times and was going to be at her show tonight if not for the benefit and that our office loves her new album, especially our managing editor and our web editor and, uh, me. Yeah. It was smooth. Real smooth.

And then she asked, "Who is this band? They're really good." I said, "The Moondoggies! They're great, right? They're on Hardly Art." I then asked her how her show went. She said it went well.

Then I did some more blathering and was like, 'Well I was going to look for Chris the web editor (to be like, 'OMG OMG KATHLEEN EDWARDS IS IN THE HOUSE PREPARE YOURSELF'), but it was so good to meet you!" AND THEN WE HUGGED. I am such a creep. She was probably terrified of me. But Kathleen Edwards, if you're reading this, I want you to know that I'm normally not that awkward. I just really like your music and don't know how to act around people who make music that's important to me. also, I will totally go to your show at the Snoqualmie Casino (?) in January if I can afford it. That is all.

Topics: Love

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Last Night: Moondoggies, The Maldives, Final Spins and Others at The Sunset

The Maldives, Tuesday evening at The Sunset. All photos by Chris Kornelis.

What: A benefit for Jamie Spiess of Husbands Love Your Wives, featuring The Moondoggies, The Maldives, Final Spins, The Banyans, Grand Hallway
When: Tuesday, Nov. 18
Where: The Sunset Tavern

From my new favorite perch at The Sunset last night, I couldn't help but look out at the damn-near-capacity crowd and think that the evening was a Barack Obama applause line waiting to happen. Here we have a benefit concert for an INSURED young woman struggling with medical bills. "WHY ARE THE INSURED STRUGGLING WITH MEDICAL BILLS?," I can almost hear our president-elect preach to the grandstands.

Enter friends, colleagues and the neighbors, who have intervened to throw one hell of a shindig to contribute to the cause: Jamie Spiess of Husbands Love Your Wives. With bankable killers like Moondoggies and Maldives on the bill, the evening was never going to be anything other than solid. But with the tasteful addition of The Final Spins — a straight-ahead, defiantly not indie outfit that lacked the banjo and beard accessories brought by their friends on the bill — it became a Tuesday evening for the books.

Mr. President, you were saying? "NOW IF ONLY THE COMMUNITY CAN COME TOGETHER FOR (ALMOST) UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE!"

The Moondoggies

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Topics: The Morning After

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Last Night: Kathleen Edwards & John Doe at the Tractor

Photo by 'Lil Scoop.

Who: Kathleen Edwards & John Doe
Where: Tractor Tavern
When: Tuesday, November 18

Kathleen Edwards and John Doe go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Both have true, rich voices that rank among the best in roots rock, and the pair have a palpable chemistry onstage that led to a classic exchange during last night's sold-out show at the Tractor. In an attempt to puncture the libidinous balloon in the room, Doe mentioned that he contemplated calling their joint jaunt the "We're not fucking tour," to which Edwards responded that she wanted to call the tour "We're not fucking...yet."

Doe and Edwards first met at a Gram Parsons tribute concert four years ago, where Doe humbly confessed to being happily upstaged by "real stars" like Dwight Yoakam, whom Edwards said was "wearing fucking spurs on his boots." Rather than adhering to a traditional opener-headliner structure, Doe and Edwards came out together sans band and quickly launched into a duet version of the title track from Edwards' latest LP, Asking for Flowers. (I'm going to apologize up front for not being as schooled as I should be on Doe's vast oeuvre.) The crowd, unsurprisingly, was almost exclusively 30 and up, with the median age hovering around 40 — and the guy in the back who kept burping up pepperoni needs to change butchers, pronto.

After a couple tunes, Doe left the stage to Edwards for a few solo tracks, among them the sumptuous "Copied Keys" from her best album, Back to Me, and the clever "You Get the Dough, I Get the Glory" off Flowers. Before launching into "Run," she spun a long yarn about how she used to be an avid runner, but that she eventually quit because it caused her to eat too much peanut butter and be in too good a mood — an emotional no-no, she said, for a songwriter. She also mentioned that the first time she ever played here was at the Sunset with Richard Buckner, and that while she loves playing Seattle, she "really loves Ballard."

Continue reading "Last Night: Kathleen Edwards & John Doe at the Tractor"

Topics: The Morning After

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