Oh, parents! When I was 13, I threw my copy of The Downward Spiral away before my mom could get to the lyrics to "Big Man with a Gun," 'cause I knew she would. My friend Brandy's mother threw away my copy of Boys for Pele (and told her never to hang out with me again) because of the piglet sucking at Tori's breast. And my cousin got his Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness double-disc confiscated for the lyric "God is empty, just like me." So what has the ability to scandalize parents these days? Read on...

1. Read Hannah's eloquent piece on my favorite goth-horror-punk band, Schoolyard Heroes.

2. Read Travis Hays' inoffensive (yawn) P-I review of SH's new album, Abominations.

3. Read this bizarro reaction to #2, and let me know if you think it's a joke?

4. Actually, I just read the "signatures," and based on this one from Nouela (whom I suspect is the talented Nouela J., formerly of Mon Frere), it must be a joke. Good one y'all!

It's about that time of day, with lunch in the rearview, when my thoughts begin to turn towards  the next noshing opportunity- dinner. At the end of a long week, on Friday evenings I'm not good for much in the kitchen, but the lovely Sonya from Arthur & Yu has given us a recipe for one of her favorite dinners that's almost as easy as dressing up a frozen pizza and calling it gourmet. Here is is, her Spicy Broccoli Whole Wheat Pasta. . .

(Mike Dumovich)

MIRO TEA HOUSE: These folks just opened this summer (August 3) and were pumped to transform their lovely shop in a REVERBfest venue. Personally, I couldn't be more thrilled about the acts lined up to perform there. I'd say that Miro Tea House was reserved for the more contemplative acts playing REVERBfest, what with the gritty-yet-lovely r n' b-ish folk of Troubletown, the emotional atmospheric folk of Mike Dumovich, and the quirky/intimate folk of PWRFL POWER, but things get seriously ramped up when The Spider Trio take the stage, a free jazz garage skronk group led by legendary saxophonist Wally Shoup. Check out their websites for a taste of their tunes, then go check 'em out on Sat., October 6. And be sure to check out the massive tea selection offered by those good people at Miro Tea House.

Here's the Miro Tea House rundown...

4 p.m. Troubletown

5 p.m. Mike Dumovich

6 p.m. PWRFL POWER

7 p.m. The Spider Trio

(Troubletown)

Wolfgang Van Halen and David Lee Roth. Photo from the Charlotte Observer. 

Van Halen played the first show of their reunion tour last night in Charlotte. Here's to hoping they can make it through the next 28 shows so I can see them at the Key Arena in December.

From the looks of it, it should be a good show. The Charlotte Observer caught the show and was kind enough to provide a set list.

01. You Really Got Me
02. I'm the One
03. Runnin' With the Devil
04. Romeo Delight
05. Somebody Get Me a Doctor
06. Beautiful Girls
07. Dance the Night Away
08. Atomic Punk
09. Everybody Wants Some
10. So This Is Love?
11. Mean Street
12. Pretty Woman
13. Drum Solo
14. Unchained
15. I'll Wait
16. And the Cradle Will Rock
17. Hot for Teacher
18. Little Dreamer
19. Little Guitars
20. Jamie's Cryin'
21. Ice Cream Man
22. Panama
23. Guitar Solo (incl. "Women in Love" intro, "Cathedral", "Eruption")
24. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
------------------------
25. 1984
26. Jump

December 3. I'll be there. The band better be there, too. 

Headline taken from gethasselhofftonumber1.com

The Plot: In one of the most effective advertisements for concealed-weapons permits ever filmed, David Hasselhoff's 2006 video "Jump in My Car," three women stroll late at night through a poorly lit alleyway. Out of fucking nowhere Hasselhoff materializes in the car from "Knight Rider." It's like the alley scene from the opening of "Terminator," only the washed-up actor isn't arriving from the future but from the past, and his sole mission isn't killing John Conner but taking one of these sweet, innocent honeys for an unwanted ride.

Hoff brushes off six verbal rejections to "jump in [his] car" before dropping the pretences and physically bullying one of the women into his vehicle. Her friends, who'll never see her again, cower in an alcove. Hasselhoff drives for a terrifying, song-filled minute before rocketing his doomed passenger into the stratosphere via a presumably homemade ejection seat. The curtain drops as he laughs maniacally.

The Moment of Brilliance: The director attempts to portray the twisted landscape of Hasselhoff's mind in a number of disturbing sequences. These include a vertiginous kaleidoscope of Hasselhoff faces, a portrait of the actor with horns on his head against a background of belching fire, and advertisements for an imaginary product line involving "Hoffey [toffee] Apples" and an unappetizing "Hot Cup of Hoffee."

The YouTube Review (by kurona84): "This man pisses excellence."

Why you didn't see it on VH1: It's evidence. The Hoff has done a lot of things he's not proud of, and we're not just talking about staging a stag flick with a hamburger. This video includes actual footage of violence against women committed by Hasselhoff in Australia, where it was filmed, and until recently was kept under seal. Apparently, some enterprising prosecutor leaked it to the public in an attempt to link Hasselhoff with the Ted Mulry Gang, an Australian pub-rock group who recorded the original "Jump in My Car" in 1975. That video, starring a bunch of dudes whose appearance in a dark alley is likewise every woman's nightmare, depicted the purposeful drowning of female fans.

I'm now your humble East Coast correspondent, after moving from Seattle to Philadelphia (where it's nice and hot and muggy) this week ... I'll be posting photos of bands playing here that are slated to come through Seattle in subsequent weeks; keeping tabs on Seattle acts making waves and playing shows out this way; and plenty more ...

On a side note, did anyone happen to go to the Melvins/Big Business gig at the Showbox last week?  That was the last show I went to in Seattle before I moved, and it seemed like the Melvins played a shorter set than usual ... I wonder if it had anything to do with the Showbox security manhandling that guy who crowdsurfed a few times and then got up on the stage.  From where I was standing, it looked to me like Buzz wasn't too happy that the guy was getting worked over pretty good by staff after being led off the stage, but maybe I read the situation wrong.  Anyway, I'm gonna go see the Melvins here next week, and hopefully they'll play a bit longer  (we'll see what Philadelphia venue security is like, too).

Photo courtesy of Easy Street manager Bob Major, who is really obsessed with his new camera's single-color feature!

Well, I had to miss the Cave Singers' Seattle Weekly In-Store at Easy Street last night. I was here at the office too late. By the time I got out, they were finished. Damn. But Easy Street's marketing wiz Jesse Flores tells me it was packed, that they sold dozens of copies of their debut Invitation Songs, and that Solo was packed for our Happy Hour with the band. Wish I coulda been there.

But I DID make it to the Croc to catch one of the greatest live bands on the planet right now, the mighty Oakley Hall. I was almost too excited to catch what was happening. It was a flurry of foot-stomping, hair-flinging, American Rock Music. Frontman Pat Sullivan was absolutely on fire, swinging his axe, hair-in-face, grinding out those burning Crazy Horse riffs. Watching Sullivan is an awesome sight, he moves like Neil Young circa Zuma, rocking back n' forth wildly on his heels. The fact that he's anchored by the rock-steady presence of multi-instrumentalist Fred Wallace to his left, and fiddler Claudia Mogel and singing partner Rachel Cox on his right, gives him the freedom to rock out as he pleases. The Hall are fantastic on record, but live, they are a freight train, a mountain, a goddamn bucking stallion. Of course, with all this energy, it looked like they could hardly keep themselves tied to the Croc's little stage. This band should be playing in a canyon! They positively set their songs aflame, most off them culled from their latest I'll Follow You and their last album Gypsum Strings. Anyone who stayed late enough was treated to Oakley Hall inviting their tourmates, local soggy mountain jammers Whalebones, to the stage. Frontman Justin Deary took the leads and vocals on the Hall's "Having Fun Again", while Joram Young and Amy Blaschke shook tambourines and clapped-hands along with Claudia Mogel. Rachel Cox occupied herself by beat the shit out of a cymbal. And the whole affair built up, built up, built up, and collapsed under its own weight. Amazing. Even after everyone left the stage, Deary and Hall bassist Jesse Barnes kept noodling on their instruments and had to be broken up by legendary Croc soundman Jim Anderson. Very few acts make me say this, but Oakley Hall could've played all night and I'd never grow tired of them.

Photo by Brian J. Barr. Click the image for a slideshow. 

Oakley Hall, with Whalebones
Sept. 25, 2007
The Crocodile Cafe

I know Brian has some Pulitzer-worthy scribbles to throw down on last night's show, so, I'll just ask one question: Why the crap do I have to wait - on a TUESDAY NIGHT - till 11:30 p.m. to see the headliner?

Oh, I'm lame for wanted to go to bed early ON A TUESDAY NIGHT? There were only 70ish people in the room by the time Oakley Hall took the stage. You can't tell me that place wouldn't have been more full had they went on at, say, 10 p.m, or even better, 9 p.m.

I'm not just talking about last night's show at the Croc. Why are these mid-week shows starting so damn late? 

Photos by Marcella D. Volpintesta. Click the image for an audio slideshow. 

It's been a great week for marquee live acts in Seattle. In case you missed it, here's a look at our coverage of:

- The Flaming Lips

- EndFest, featuring The Smashing Pumkins, Perry Farrell, Bright Eyes, and more

- Arcade Fire, with LCD Soundsystem

- Devo