Note: Major props to Nick Feldman for making this project his own. Nice job, Nick.

Don't say we never gave y'all anything! How about a free mp3 from each of the 64 artists and bands playing Seattle Weekly's REVERBfest on Saturday? That's right! Free! What's more, once you download these tracks and toss 'em onto your iPod, you'll be able to click through on each mp3 while you're listening and see when and on which stage the selected band is playing REVERBfest and read a short bio. Further instructions (w/pictures) after the jump, but here's the gist of it:
Note: Details vary by model/settings:
-- Download each batch of mp3s, broken down by stage (some with a couple per stage. sorry)
-- Toss onto your iPod
-- Select the "REVERBfest" genre
-- Now you can browse through every REVERBfest band and listen their mp3, read about 'em, and find out when/where they're playing on Saturday. One you're listening to the track, just keep clicking through for more set time and bio.

Of, if you wanna break it down even further ... the "album" associated with each band's MP3 is the venue they're playing at. So, if you just want to go in and search by album -- "REVERB: Tractor Tavern" -- and you'll see the tracks for all the bands playing The Tractor.

Click venue names to download a zip file full of mp3s of the bands performing at the venue.

-- The Bit (Emeralds, Guns & Rossetti, The Valkyries ...)

-- Hattie's Hat (Ian Moore, Herman Jolly, Sweet Potatoes ...)

-- Conor Byrne's (The Crying Shame, The Rainieros, Hazelwood Motel...)

-- Salmon Bay Eagles Vol. 1, Vol. II (Panda & Angel, Black Wales, Boat ...)

-- The Sunset Vol. 1, Vol. II (Sage, Team Gina, Thee Sgt. Major III ...)

-- The Tractor Vol. 1, Vol. II, Vol. III (Zach Harjo, See Me River, Shim ...)

-- Market Street Athlete Vol. 1, Vol. II (Wizdom, Knox Family, Ripynt ...)

-- Mr. Spot's Chai House Vol. 1, Vol. II (Husbands Love Your Wives, Man Plus, Pufferfish ...)

-- Lock and Keel Vol. I, Vol. II (The Little Penguins, Red Jacket Mine, Trombone Cake ...)

(More details after the jump.)

Team Gina

Manning, one of the co-owners of the Wild Rose, was badly burned in a gas station explosion several weeks ago. These bands are playing without pay to raise money to help cover Manning's expenses/

LESLIE & THE LY'S
Precious Moments
Team Gina
DJs Mathmatix, Dewey Decimal, Colby B. & more TBA

It's at 8 p.m. at Chop Suey and is $10-$15 on a sliding scale. Of course, you can give more dough if you like. No one's stopping you. Or, if you can't go to the show, you can still donate at any Bank of America to the "Martha Manning Fund."

Talkdemonic

Firstly, the Megapuss/Little Joy show at Neumos is canceled. Sorry guys. Here are some things you might be interested in doing instead. And if I were you, I'd have a tough time choosing. Good thing I'm going to see the Silver Jews (and Monotonix) in Portland so that I don't have to. Choose, that is.

Talkdemonic, High Dive, 9 p.m., $8

I didn't write this up for Short List, and that was lame of me, because I'm a big fan of this instrumental duet from Portland, plus they've got a gorgeous new record out, Eyes At Half Mast, that I really like so far. If you're one of those people who can't get behind instrumental bands, Talkdemonic will change your mind. Percussionist, synth guru and catch-all acoustician Kevin O'Connor and cellist/violinist Lisa Molinaro know how to compose dynamic, utterly mesmerizing songs that ebb and flow. Without lyrics.

Hater, the Cops, the Curious Mystery, Tractor Tavern, 9 p.m., $12

Two of my favorite local bands, Seattle punk rock vets the Cops and psychedelia K Records signees the Curious Mystery, both open for Hater, about whom Andrew Miller wrote this for Short List this week:

Hater hasn't stirred a lot of online fanfare for its first gig in more than ten years. The group's official Web site hasn't been updated since 2005 (when Hater finally released its recorded-in-1995 album The 2nd), while its MySpace tribute page, dormant since April, remains planted in the past tense ("Hater will live on through all the fans they have created"). Perhaps Hater doesn't need to do much Web promotion, because with Chris Cornell preparing to unleash a disastrous misfire (check YouTube for "Watch Out," the worst of his Timbaland collaborations) and with "Kim Thayil works at Cinnabon" rumors circulating thanks to The Onion, Soundgarden fans desperately crave the reassurance of seeing the band's erstwhile rhythm section engaged in respectable musical employment. Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd (Hater's singer/guitarist) and drummer Matt Cameron co-founded this side-project in the early '90s, combining the psychedelic swirls Shepherd contributed to his former band (with songs like "Head Down") with a slight country twang. Details are scarce regarding who's rounding out the lineup, but with Shepherd and Cameron confirmed to play Hater songs on stage together for the first time since 1997's Bumbershoot, fans won't be overly concerned with the identities of the accompanists.

Photos by Sarah Joann Murphy from Akimbo's 10-year anniversary celebration and record release show for Jersey Shores at King Cobra last Saturday.

Helms Alee opened:

And Akimbo ruled, naturally:

I can't really get behind Billy Joel, but I love the idea that Springsteen will be playing a joint concert with the Piano Man at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC for the Democratic nominee at his last event in the Tri-State region before Election Day.

Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the VP debate this Thursday is the comedic disaster that I'm praying for...

Photo: Dragstrip Riot

In case you haven't heard, Seattle Weekly will be taking over downtown Ballard on October 4 with REVERBfest. The only all-local music fest in the city, REVERBfest takes place in multiple venues around downtown Ballard and boasts over 60 bands from the worlds of indie pop, stoner rock, hip-hop, electronic, roots, and more. Today's REVERBfest venue-of-the-day lineup: The Bit Saloon, 4818 17th Ave NW. Time to get excited, people!

12 a.m. — Dragstrip Riot
Knuck, the frontman for Dragstrip Riot, told Tacoma’s Weekly Volcano that his band was “like rockabilly that got older, pissed off and turned into cowpunk”. In other words, this is music made by dudes who are just as comfortable under the hood of a classic Chevy as they are in front of an amp. Dragstrip Riot’s songs are pure high-octane rock n’ roll, like Bo Diddley backed by Social Distortion. Their 2003 album self-titled album was produced by Jack Endino, a guy who knows a thing or two about producing loud bands. The result is a greasy, drag-race of an album, one that will make you think you’ve spilled cigarettes and gasoline in your CD player. And live, they have the capacity to burn your face. Approaching the club during their set, you’d think someone was revving a motorcycle inside. BJB

"Troublebound"

Austin: nearly hot as Mordor.

Only $5!!!!!!!

Sadly, (as of this photo) they had no takers...

all photos courtesy of Kim Strong

It was hot, dry and surgical mask dusty but this year's ACL Fest was one the the best festival experiences I've ever had.

Staring intently at the crowd, Cold War Kids bassist Matt Maust performs with the band at The Showbox on September 30. Photo by Nick Feldman.

After getting psyched on Rainn Wilson's suggestion back in the spring, I dove headfirst into Cold War Kids, and I haven't looked back. Seeing them at The Showbox was a perfect culmination of the whirlwind that recent release Loyalty to Loyalty has been; the venue was outright fitting for the band and it's performance, and a sold-out crowd agreed. As a side note, I've actually never been harassed for extra tickets before entering a venue quite like I was for this show.

Whereas Sasquatch! and The Gorge seemed a little large (my last chance to see the SoCal quartet), The Kids commanded a presence that blew the roof off of the 1st Avenue venue. Every song sounded beautiful, crooned expertly by Nathan Willett and improvised to the perfect degree. I heard "Hang Me Out to Dry," "We Used to Vacation" and "Robbers" from Robbers and Cowards in addition to more recent creations such as "Every Man I Fall For," "Every Valley is not a Lake" and (of course) smash-hit "Something Is Not Right With Me."

It was a truly enjoyable performance, and the live act brought an entirely new energy and dynamic to an already complex sound that made it impossible not to enjoy. The crowd wasn't too rowdy (or drunk), the sound quality was excellent and the venue staff even seemed to be in good moods. For a Monday night show, all of the pieces seemed to have fallen into place.

Photo: Michael Vermillion

In case you haven't heard, Seattle Weekly will be taking over downtown Ballard on October 4 with REVERBfest. The only all-local music fest in the city, REVERBfest takes place in multiple venues around downtown Ballard and boasts over 60 bands from the worlds of indie pop, stoner rock, hip-hop, electronic, roots, and more. Today's REVERBfest venue-of-the-day lineup: Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. NW.
Time to get excited, people!

Noah and the Whale

For your aural pleasure? Don't mind if we do. God, I wish I'd gone to see People Under the Stairs last night. Big FAIL for me.

Cold War Kids, Showbox at the Market, 8 p.m, $17, all ages

I haven't even gotten to listen to Loyalty to Loyalty yet. Why? Because I foolishly passed it on to Nick, our intern, and then Chris came sniffing around for it. And we all have very different feelings about music. This show's sure to be a crowd pleaser. Plus, Nick, who interviewed the Office's best actor, Rainn Wilson, informed us all that the Cold War Kids are one of his favorite bands. And if Rainn Wilson likes them, you will too. Because we all live our lives based on the edicts issued by celebrities, right? Right!

Noah & the Whale, Lindi Ortega, Grand Hallway, Chop Suey, 8 p.m., free

Michael Alan Goldberg composed this lovely blurb about Noah & the Whale:

I have to admit I had a laugh at the way a music critic at British rag The Independent recently savaged the frontman of London indie-folk quartet Noah and the Whale: "Charlie Fink has a promising future as every Jack Johnson fans' eighth-favourite singer and as a supreme irritant to the rest of us." Why the hate? Well, Fink and company play acoustic guitar, ukelele, violin, glockenspiel, and French horn (and sometimes whistle gaily), and sing smartly about love, death and going to the zoo with maximum amounts of coy charm, and so their melodic fruit doesn't fall too far from the Belle & Sebastian twee, with maybe a bit of Jens Lekman and the Decemberists thrown in for good measure (not sure I hear anything remotely Jack Johnson, though). And we all know how much some people hate twee. But we also know how much some people adore twee, so if you're one of them, you'll want to be front and center at this gig.

Jackson Browne, McCaw Hall, 7:30 p.m., $39-$59.50

Justin Farrar, ladies and gents:

Have you seen the cover of the new Jackson Browne album? My God - he looks like the Dude from The Big Lebowski, which just might be intentional. Time the Conqueror, his first album of new material in six years, is a collection of earnest, political folk music from an ancient hippie who, just like the Dude, didn't get the memo that the '60s died a long time back. Ten bucks says more than a few reviews are going to paint that very mage. But if sincerely caring makes Browne a relic, so be it. The guy looks around the country, doesn't like what he sees and writes a batch of tunes demanding some answers. Is that not the very mission of folk, punk, hardcore and even, to some extent, the blues?