Tonight: Vic Chesnutt Tribute and Benefit, Free Energy

Categories: Happenings

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Vic Chesnutt Tribute and Benefit. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 8 p.m. $10 donation.When Vic Chesnutt passed on Christmas Day of 2009, he left a legacy of arrestingly emotive folk music behind him. Unfortunately, he also left a lot of medical bills along with it, even though the songwriter allegedly paid $800 for health insurance each month. Chesnutt was wheelchair-bound - the tragic consequence of a car accident when he was 18 - and many of his friends and fellow artists attribute his death from what the Los Angeles Times called an "intentional overdose" on muscle relaxants to the stress caused by his mounting debts. To help pay off Chesnutt's remaining medical bills, Dave Bazan and Damien Jurado will be stopping by to perform, as well as Seattle musicians Erik Howk, Jason Dodson (the Maldives), Ian Moore, Marc Olsen, Mike Dumovich, Anne Marie Ruljancich, Lori Goldston, Erin Jourgensen and Your Heart Breaks, who will all play covers of Chesnutt's songs in tribute to Vic Chesnutt's art. After covering expenses, 100% of the proceeds from the show will be donated to offset the bills Chesnutt left behind. SARA BRICKNER

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Tonight: AFCGT at the Comet, Hypatia Lake, Mark Farina

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Photo courtesy of Sub Pop Records
AFCGT, with Kinski, Arbitron. Comet Tavern, 922 E. Pike St., 323-9853. 9 p.m. $7. The magnificent racket made by the union of arty, angular rock trio the A Frames and guitar-driven sonic architects Climax Golden Twins is one happy marriage, despite sounding downright apocalyptic. Guitars shriek and wail like torture victims one moment and descend into nearly-Zen, meditative squalls the next. Their eponymous debut for Sub Pop is a miraculous meld of elaborate psych atmospherics and brutal punk poundings that gel with impressive grace--and it's easily one of the best local records of 2010. Tonight they celebrate the release of that recording with their longtime pals in Kinski, who are equally adept at bringing the proverbial noise. Audio Armageddon rarely sounds so glorious chaotic and concise at once. HANNAH LEVIN

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Tonight: Sol Performs at the Rendezvous for "The Corner"

Categories: Concert News

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Sol performs tonight at the Rendezvous along with Dark Time Sunshine, J. Bre, Mr. Hill, and Night Fox.
​Seattle MC Sol has been laying relatively low since he released his debut solo effort, The Ride, early last year. So, it's nice to see that tonight he'll pick up the mic for Candidt's essential monthly live love-in "The Corner." Below, you'll find "Hyy," a track from Sol's Dear Friends EP, a collection of six songs featuring guest spots by Grynch, Scribes, and others. It's a little appetizer he put together after dropping the full-length. "Hyy" is more bragging than conscious rap (Sol showed he was adept at both on The Ride), but that's OK. Indeed, at "The Corner," you're rewarded as much for swagger as you are for style.

Sol Hyy by kcapp

Someone at the CW Has Been Listening to Seattle's Singer-Songwriters

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​There's really no way for me to write about this without revealing that I sometimes watch One Tree Hill on the CW. So, here it is: Sometimes, I watch One Tree Hill. (In Seattle, that's Channel 11, if you're curious.)

If any Reverb readers have ever watched this show, they will understand what I mean when I say that music plays a huge role in One Tree Hill's plot lines. I'm not just referring to the fact that one of the characters owns a record label, that there are always musicians in guest spots, and that each episode is named after a song title. I mean that the backing music might as well be credited as another character. Any time there's a remotely emotional moment, some lyrical song comes floating into the background in an attempt to heighten the emotional tension.

Yes, the overuse of music for emotional effect can be cheesy, but at least the producers at the WB are using quality songs. In the past months, songs by Seattle's own Noah Gundersen (who is an unsigned artist) and Rocky Votolato have appeared on the show.

Both of Votolato's songs--"Fragments" and "Lucky Clover Coin"--are on True Devotion, his latest record. They appeared in the episode "At The Bottom Of Everything," which first aired on Feb. 15.

Noah's song "Middle of June" from his Saints & Liars EP appeared on the episode "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance," which aired on Feb. 22.

All three songs are available for purchased download on the CW's music Web site.

Mixtape Review: THEESatisfaction's Stylish, R-Rated Ode to SA-RA

Categories: Reviews

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THEESatisfaction Loves the Sa-Ra Creative Partners was released Feb. 23 via the duo's website.
​THEESatisfaction this week made available for free what a release described as "the first installment of their musical appreciation series." Or, put another way, odes to artists whom the local hip-hop duo admires. Titled THEESatisfaction Loves the Sa-Ra Creative Partners, the mix sees MCs/girlfriends Catherine Harris-White and Stasia Irons stamping the left-field SA-RA's sound with their cosmic sensibility and gay pride lyrics. Although the interstellar references are getting old, overall, it's a quality, groovy little suite of five songs that tackles complex issues of identity politics with style.

The mood here is firmly rooted in raunchy, Rick James-style funk--a tact that allows Harris-White and Irons to blow steam without sounding like blowhards. Opener "Bi-Sexual" is a wink and a nod to sexual experimentation that treats flirtation as fun, fickle sport. ("I don't usually do guys, but tonight I might be...bi-sexual.") The second track, "Pause," is a sly, slippery number aimed at homophobes, and is followed by the night-sky-scanning soul of "Moonday (Intergalactic Church)," which is about as overtly spacey (thankfully) as the duo gets. The mix ends with the upbeat shit-talking of "Ooh THEES Bitches is Bad." Why? Because they are.

Win Free Tix to See Duff, McCready and Friends at the Hoot for Haiti!

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Duff McKagan
​Hootenanny for Haiti goes down at 6:30 p.m., Sunday featuring Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Reverb-columnist Duff McKagan (Loaded, Velvet Revolver), Kim Warnick (Fastbacks), Kim Virant, Kristen Ward, Mark Pickerel, Star Anna and the promise of a few surprises. For those of you who don't win tix, you can purchase then via Ticketmaster for $15.

We've got a pair of tickets to give away this morning. Send me an email (ckornelis@seattleweekly.com) with your name and phone number I can reach you at immediately with "Hoot Tickets" in the subject line. I'll draw a name at random around 3 p.m. and alert the winner, who will have two tickets waiting at Will Call.

As Duff mentioned in his column a couple weeks ago, the crew will be playing, among other tunes, "Heaven Is A Place On Earth," with a surprise guest on vocals. Any guesses?

Good luck, y'all!

A.M. Music News: Phantogram, Sirius XM, U2 + The Fray, and More Exile

Categories: News

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Phantogram
​-- Pitchfork: In a glowing 7.5 review, Pitchfork calls Eyelid Movies -- the debut LP from Barsuk's Phantogram -- "a lush and evocative thumper." Download the track "When I'm Small."

-- Rolling Stone: I've listened to the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. about a dozen times since this time last week. Now I read that there are 10 never-before-heard songs making their way onto the May 18 re-issue. Ka-Boom!

-- Business Week: Sirius XM has turned a small profit for the first time since their merger.

-- LiveDaily: The Fray will open for U2 at Qwest on June 20.

I've Been Listening to Neil Young

Categories: Krist Novoselic

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Neil Young, - Fork In The Road: Neil offers up a musical mix of politics and a passion for automobiles. The commentary is put into perspective because, like the song says, "Just Singing A Song" - won't save the world. Then there's cars and the economy with "Johnny Magic", a tune that's reminiscent of the blockbuster album Rust Never Sleeps.

I like politics and I'm into cars too. I tinker on no less than three air cooled VW sedans. I have a '65, '68 and my nephew and I are putting together a Baja Bug - '67 on a '64 chassis. I crank 40 years of Neil in the old garage! Fork In The Road is a double CD / DVD. We put it in the DVD player in the shop and enjoy high resolution sound without getting greasy fingerprints on vinyl records.

Last Night: The Globes and Finn Riggins Rock the Sunset, Loudly

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Bobby McHugh
Finn Riggins played The Sunset with The Globes and Boy Eats Drum Machine on Thursday, Feb. 25.
​Watching The Globes last night sealed my opinion of that band as a thing of budding greatness. They've created this beautiful brand of indie rock that somehow feels so Northwest, but here's the main thing about The Globes - everything about their performance is on point. The third song on their setlist last night, "Stay Awake," is the most technically razor-sharp song I can remember hearing in a long time. Erik Walters' voice is so sugary and pretty that it's easy to forget how rocking this band is - the more cacophonous moments, when the drums are flailing and Walters' and Kyle Musselwhite's guitars are simultaneously building in such a visceral way, remind me of my beloved Sunny Day Real Estate.

Finn Riggins didn't disappoint either - I love a good husband and wife team, and the vibe between Eric Gilbert (keys/synth/vocals) and Lisa Simpson (guitar/vocals) is worth a Yo La Tengo comparison, especially in combination with their impressively adroit drummer Cameron Bouiss. Similar to YLT, Finn Riggins' take on rock music is decidedly experimental - Gilbert's keys are jamming, I never knew a steel drum could sound so punk, and Simpson can seriously belt. I could have done without the part where they sang binary code, but a lot of the intense instrumental breaks in their set made my ears feel like they were bleeding. And that is legit.

Check out Bobby McHugh's photos of The Globes and Finn Riggins after the jump.

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And the Worst Band Name We All Take for Granted: Neutral Milk Hotel

Categories: Random

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Daniel McClenaghan
It should be okay to love Neutral Milk Hotel and still be able to discuss how much the band's name sucks.
1. Neutral Milk Hotel

Choosing to call your band something as nonsensical as Neutral Milk Hotel is one thing, but telling the press you don't want to explain why you chose such a lame name because "it's private" is a total fucking copout. Even if it's a reference to sperm. Especially if it's a reference to sperm. The only reason more people don't talk about how Neutral Milk Hotel is one of the stupidest band names in the history of band names is because a) Mangum and Co. are bloody brilliant and b) the band is broken up. No one dares sully the memory of such a brilliant and influential band -- it's like saying bad things about a dead person at the wake -- but let's not pretend that every decision Jeff Mangum made was a good one. The band broke up, didn't it? Because that's one thing we can all agree on: Neutral Milk Hotel is a sucky name, but even suckier than that is the knowledge that the band will probably never play a show again.

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