See Me River played The Tractor at Seattle Weekly's REVERBefest on Saturday, Oct. 4. Video courtesy of Darren Lund and Blake Dally.

Watch other REVERBfest videos featuring:
-- Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden
-- Shim
-- 17th Chapter
-- An Interview With Tad Doyle of Brothers of the Sonic Cloth
-- An overall REVERBfest video featuring Boat, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, and others.

REVERBfest on the Ferry (seriously), featuring:
-- The Moondoggies
-- The Crying Shame
-- The Moondoggies + The Crying Shame

Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden played The Tractor at Seattle Weekly's REVERBefest on Saturday, Oct. 4. Video courtesy of Darren Lund and Blake Dally.

17th Chapter played The Tractor at Seattle Weekly's REVERBefest on Saturday, Oct. 4. Video courtesy of Darren Lund and Blake Dally.

Shim closed out The Tractor at Seattle Weekly's REVERBefest on Saturday, Oct. 4. Video courtesy of Darren Lund, Leif Aesoph, and Blake Dally.

Tad Doyle: "I have access to a greater power, a universal spirit that helps me rock out."

Music editor Brian J. Barr, with an assist from Chris Estey, interviews Tad Doyle at REVERBfest, after his performance with Brothers of the Sonic Cloth.

Grayskull at The Sunset


Photos by Laurie Pearman. Watch a slideshow of REVERBfest 2008.

And the #1 mustache of the REVERBfest goes to ...

This is the first of several REVERBfest videos we'll be rolling out for y'all this week. Later today we've got more of Shim's set at The Tractor and Brian J. Barr's on-site interview with Tad Doyle of Brothers of the Sonic Cloth. Huge thanks to the men behind the videos: Darren Lund, Leif Aesoph, and Blake Dally.

Blood Red Dancers

4 p.m., Blood Red Dancers, the Sunset Tavern

I started the evening with Blood Red Dancers, a three-piece band that manages to create some really trippy, rough-around-the-edges rock and roll without the use of any guitar whatsoever. Just bass, keys and drums. This band deserves every last ounce of hype they've received...and probably more. I was pleased to see that they had a solid audience at the Sunset, even though it was early in the day. I bought their EP. You should too.

5 p.m., Crying Shame, Conor Byrne's

Last time I saw these guys was at Jules Maes and everyone was standing around, drinking copiously and talking. Conor Byrne's seemed a little more reserved; it was an older crowd, everyone was sitting down and the band started with their least twangy numbers, though the twang seemed to increase as the set progressed. Arlan's got this deep, sonorous voice that sort of reminds me of David Berman's, but only a little. They're playing the Sunset on the 20th, if you missed their set. And please, when you go to that show? Stand up near the stage. It's more fun that way.

5:30 p.m. (okay, more like 6 for me), Husbands, Love Your Wives, Mr. Spot's Chai House

I wrote the feature on Jaime for the REVERBfest guide, so I wanted to stop in, say hi and see what her set would be like with a bigger backing band (Toby Gordon, Erik Neumann and Joe Syversen joined her). She makes quiet music that suits the chai-house vibe, but I must confess; it felt like sort of an odd space, mainly because the four of them were set up in the middle of the Chai House, but the place was packed with people sitting on the floor, all living-room style. If you missed some of it like I did, they've got a show coming up on the 13th at the Comet Tavern.

All photos by Laurie Pearman. Watch a slideshow of people at REVERBfest 2008.

REVERBfest 2008
When: Saturday, Oct. 4
Where: Ballard

Kickin' it at the Salmon Bay Eagles.

I hope this is as big as REVERBfest ever gets. There's something special about pulling the cream of the local scene into one place all at the same time. Something about last night's feel-good, Kokanee & Vitamin Water-fueled binge of local music would be lost the minute the focus shifted toward attracting a crowd with a headliner other than the best of Seattle music.

It's not just because I saw, as Brian pointed out this morning, much of the sweat and stubbed toes that went into the event, that I say that of all of this year's festivals -- Bumbershoot, Sasquatch!, Pemberton -- this was by far the best time I've had.

After spending the first part of the day roaming around all the venues, I spent four hours working the door at the Salmon Bay Eagles, and just couldn't shake the grin off my face through sets by Boat, Mono in VCF, Black Whales, and even Aqueduct (we'll get there). The vibe was astounding, right down to the supportive parents couching it in the side room, and the Eagles members talking my ear off about how great it was to see this kind of event go down in Ballard.

I loved everything about it.

3:30 p.m.ish: Elder Mason, The Tractor

These guys opened with a mid-afternoon arena rock set, toting in their own light show, fog machine, and prerecorded intro.

4 p.m.ish, Hazelwood Motel, Conor Byrne's

Solid.

5 p.m.ish, The Crying Shame, Conor Byrne's

Arlan and Teo of The Crying Shame did us the honor pre-REVERBfest to take the ferry to Bremerton and perform for the first of what will hopefully be many Music on the Ferry installments. During this set, Arlan told the crowd about the excursion with The Moondoggies, and about how impressed he was with Bremerton's newly developed waterfront. A few minutes later I was walking by some of Ballard's gorgeous new tenement sand commented to a colleague about how great it would be to live in one of the sparkly condos just off Ballard Ave. And it got me thinking: those of you who are pining for Old Ballard, and want a grimy blue-collar town to come home to should THINK BREMERTON. This area's not a t a loss for towns without Sam's Sushi, Cupcake Royale, and other luxuries.