My REVERB: Ivan & Alyosha's Pretty Tunes, Sparrow-Bot's Vagina Song, Mike Seely's Faith Hill Cover, and The Young Evils' Smiley Set

Laura Musselman

The wicked Young Evils

4:00pm, Tractor Tavern: I introduce and watch Ivan & Alyosha's set. Impressively, for this early of an hour, the Tractor fills up, and it turns out to be a great way to kick off REVERB Fest. I&A's fluent folk-pop is easy on the ears; last night the duo played with three backing musicians -- a bassist, an extra guitarist, and a drummer. Initially the lineup disappointed me -- I usually prefer to see only the original players in a band -- but the full band only rounded out Ivan & Alyosha's beautifully melodic sound. And, as Paige pointed out earlier today, "Easy to Love" is a damn near perfect pop song.

5:45pm, Hattie's Hat: I'm squished into the back hallway of Hattie's selling wristbands. It's packed and sweaty. I pass the time riffing with the comedian Anthony C., who's serving as emcee for the Hattie's stage; we create fake slogans for Pop Chips, one of REVERB Fest's many sponsors. Some samples:

• Pop Chips: They're Wonderful!


• Pop Chips: Little Baked Pieces of Jesus

Also while working the door at Hattie's, I get to watch the lo-fi acoustic stylings of Lincoln Barr of Red Jacket Mine -- sweet and crooning songs of the type young ladies swoon for, including one completely wasted dancing girl in the audience who was celebrating her 21st birthday -- and Sparrow-Bot, the nom de plume of Sydney McClune, who played the guitar, ukelele, and music box, and sang a pleasant song about her vagina.

9:00pm, Ballard Loft: It's karaoke time at the Loft. SW Managing Editor Mike Seely -- aka Mugsy -- performs about six songs in the space of an hour, the highlight being a horrific rendition of Faith Hill's "This Kiss." For the rest of my life, I'll never hear the words "it's centrifugal motion" without flashing back to this moment.

10:00pm, Tractor Tavern: I introduce the Young Evils, who then perform my favorite set of the festival. Troy Nelson plays acoustic guitar and shares lead vocals with girlfriend Mackenzie Mercer; they are backed by a bassist, a guitarist, and Mark Pickerel on the drums. Their album is called Enchanted Chapel, an apt name for the absolutely enchanting music they produce. The bouncy tunes coupled with the entire band's cheery attitudes makes for a happy audience, myself included (and the Tractor is packed. As in, good luck squeezing past anywhere in this crowd). Methinks the Young Evils will do a fine job opening for the Vaselines at Neumos in a couple weeks. I'm a sucker for sunny pop music -- and it was just what we all needed in last night's gloomy rain pour.

Laura Musselman