This past weekend I had the fortune of covering the 2009 Decibel Festival for KEXP. Over four nights from Thursday to Sunday, I heard a lot of different electronic artists, did some dancing, and even got in to a couple "secret" afterparties. You can find my articles by searching the Decibel Festival category on the blog (and for some reason my posts are the only ones under that category, even though they had at least one preview post and must've had some kind of coverage in previous years), but I'll also link them individually here:

Decibel Festival 2009: Thursday night
Decibel Festival 2009: Friday night
Decibel Festival 2009: the weekend

I had a great time overall. If I had one complaint, it was just that the venues were spread out across town, making it impossible to check everything out—though with so many acts and events, it wouldn't have been possible anyhow, and I actually do like the idea of this being a cross-Seattle event rather than a single-neighborhood event. Also, as two of the venues, Neumos and Sole Repair, were directly across the street from each other, I got to see a lot more than I would've otherwise. Not all of the music was to my taste, but there was always something else worth checking out. I also want to give a shout out to the Electric Tea Garden and its friendly staff. Finally thanks to the staff and volunteers of the Decibel Festival for putting together such a great weekend showcasing electronic music; Seattle is definitely a better city musically for hosting this event.

Months ago in April, I started writing a series of articles for the KEXP Blog called "Know Your Subgenres". For various reasons it took me a long while to get a second one done, but I'm pleased to say a new article is up now. This installment is on what might be called the original subgenre of rock, rockabilly, and you can read it here on the KEXP Blog. It's actually the third article I've written; the one that took so long to write, about art rock, has been tabled for now so that we could have this one up in connection with the 22nd annual Shake the Shack Rockabilly Ball going on this weekend. 

Back on Monday August 17th, I went to the Crocodile to see Emilíana Torrini. I can't now recall exactly why I picked up her English-debut album Love in the Time of Science, back around 2000 or so—it was an impromptu purchase, but I don't know what whim made me decide to check it out—but I've really enjoyed it since, and though I haven't picked up her more recent ones I've continued to be interested. So I took the opportunity to go see her and write another review for KEXP, which you can now read here on the KEXP Blog.

I'm once again behind in my music blogging—this wasn't the only show I went to in August. I volunteered for the KEXP Concerts at the Mural series, but didn't plan on writing reviews and so didn't take any notes. That said, I should do a writeup about the series, particularly as I fell in love with The Dodos. I also went to see The Animals At Night back at the beginning of the month and do have notes on that show, so I will try to write that up soon. Finally, I went to see Bat for Lashes at Neumos and was blown away by their amazing performance. I wrote a review for the KEXP Blog, but it was postponed due to extensive Bumbershoot and MusicFest NW coverage; hopefully it'll be posted early next week.

As for Bumbershoot, I have to say I found this year's lineup to be rather lackluster; I ended up only going on Saturday and only because I was able to get a volunteer shift for KEXP. However, Hotels did play on Saturday, and had a great set; I also saw Matt & Kim and De La Soul. Also this month I saw two of my favorite bands celebrating their tenth anniversaries: Freezepop at El Corazón on September 6, playing their last show with founding member Kasson Crooker (aka The Duke of Pannekoeken), and Kinski at Chop Suey on September 11. Those were both good shows and I hope to get reviews written soon. Meanwhile, this weekend I'm attending Decibel Festival as the KEXP blogger, and I'll be posting about that very shortly. 

On Saturday I went to the second day of the 2009 Capitol Hill Block Party. With Hotels on early in the afternoon and Sonic Youth headlining, I knew I didn't want to miss this event. As it happened though, I ended up only seeing one other full set in between, by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, but I did catch some of New Faces and The Thermals as well.

Hotels had a short but awesome set inside Neumos early in the afternoon. Despite the heat in the mid-80s, the boys were still dressed professionally in their button-down long-sleeve staff shirts and trousers; also despite the heat, they played to a full house, with people lined up on the balcony as well as filling the main floor. They opened with their new single, "The Bat Watusi", but played no other new ones; no matter, I haven't got tired of the current songs yet. I noticed that they've been making a point of introducing "Farewell to Love", and I like that, pushing the catchy instrumental is a good idea, and it makes me hope they'll do another. There was also a funny moment during that tune when lead singer Blake Madden pretended he was about to sing just as they went into the main guitar "verse". It was a good time and I expect they made a bunch of new fans.

A bit later at the main stage, I listened to The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (I can't say I saw them, because it was impossible to see the stage without being very close up). This indie-rock quartet had been catching my ear on KEXP, so I was interested in hearing them live. Listening to them, I felt they had a really strong late-'80s/early-'90s alternative rock vibe, resembling a blend of The Jesus and Mary Chain with Sugar. The beginning of one song in particular sounded to me a lot like Sugar's "If I Can't Change Your Mind", enough that for a moment I thought they were starting a cover. They did sound very good, particularly the sweet (but a bit drowned-out) male-female dual vocals, and I enjoyed the set.

While having a very tasty pizza from Via Tribunali, I caught the end of New Faces' set on the Vera Project stage. It was long enough to keep me interested in hearing more from them, not long enough to develop more of an opinion about them. I also heard The Thermals' set on the mainstage, but mostly as background music, not really paying attention. My ears did perk up when I recognized they were doing a cover of The Breeders' "Saints", and after that I recognized a couple others as reasonably good catchy singles KEXP's been playing, which was enough to make me think perhaps I should pay them a little more attention in the future.

Throughout the day, KEXP was holding semi-secret performances in Caffé Vita's coffee bean warehouse. I was able to get a pass in to see them, but ended up missing Truckasaurus in order to meet up with a friend. However, we did get in to see a short interview with Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. It had been billed as just an interview with Thurston Moore, but at the last minute the other two decided or were asked to join in; unfortunately, this resulted in a rather lame interview as the interviewer (Andrew Matson of the Seattle Times, not a KEXP staff member) was unprepared for them. (That said, I'm not convinced he would've done better with just Thurston Moore.) Still, it was pretty cool to be that close and hear some of their opinions on music and the industry. (Ironically, in response to one question they made rather disparaging remarks about blogging, so you may consider this post to have the Sonic Youth Stamp of Disapproval.) (Also, you can view the entire interview here on the KEXP Blog.)

What wasn't pretty cool, I found to no surprise, was trying to be close up to the stage for their performance. The area was pretty packed already for Gossip, but my friend was determined to be right up front, so when Gossip's set ended we slipped and shoved as best we could as far as we could, getting pretty close. Once there, though, I found that the seething mass of people in the center, deliberately or not, kept pushing outward in waves, causing many people including myself to stagger and nearly fall over. After a few times, I knew there was no way I could possibly ignore that and enjoy the show, so I retreated out of the mob before the band started playing and everyone went truly insane. 

As for Sonic Youth's set itself, to be honest I was distracted by unrelated issues and didn't get to enjoy it much, though I did stay and listen. Once I'd made my way out of the crowd, about a block away, I found that the sound quality didn't seem very good. I had crossed over to the 21+ side of the street, which was less crowded overall, so i gradually made my way back closer to the stage, ending up about half a block away, and the sound did improve closer up. Most of the music was from their latest album, The Eternal, and I did like the ones I recognized from airplay, I just wasn't able to concentrate on the music enough to give it a proper listen. Hopefully I'll have a better opportunity someday to enjoy Sonic Youth in concert.

Again, I'm catching up on my concert reviews, so here's a quick summary of June.

I've already posted before about seeing The Juan MacLean and The Field on Monday June 8 at Nectar Lounge; that review was written for the KEXP Blog and can still be read there. However, let me give a couple excerpts:

Last Monday night when I went to Nectar Lounge to see The Juan MacLean and The Field, I didn’t know that I’d be at the hottest show in town. These two groups played sizzling sets of electronica to a packed and enthusiastic crowd. DJ Nordic Soul warmed up the club with a solid mix of dance music.
[...]
The Field’s music is very cool stuff, and I could easily listen for a few hours; it seems tailor-made for airplane flights, and I’ll have to pick up the aptly-named album From Here We Go Sublime before my next trip.
[...]
While The Field kept the club simmering for an hour, The Juan MacLean brought it up to a full boil with their high-energy synth rock. ... They built up to a stunning conclusion with “Happy House”, extended to over 20 minutes and climaxing several times, and then cooled things down in the encore with the mellow and dreamy “Tonight”.

Also, I was right next to the stage for The Juan Maclean's set, so I was able to get some pretty good photos, including John MacLean in action rocking the theremin. See the whole set here in Flickr.

I went to two other shows that week: KJ Sawka at Nectar Lounge on Friday June 12, and Hotels at the High Dive on Saturday June 13. I had already decided I wasn't going to blog about those shows, so I didn't take any notes. However, I can tell you that Sawka's show was to promote the release of his DrumBanger app for the iPhone (read more about it in this post on Line Out, The Stranger's music blog), and that while I still enjoy his music, I found that I'm getting a little tired of hearing the work from his two recent albums and would like to see him pursue a new direction. Oh I forgot that opening for Sawka was first DJ NoiseMaker, who I can't recall anything about, but then DJ Crime, billed as "Las Vegas's #1 VJ"—he mixed videos, using both music videos and other footage, which was fun to watch as well as hear.

As for the other show, Hotels played third in a set including Anomie Belle, Born Anchors, and (ostensible) headliners Furniture Girls. I reviewed Anomie Belle for the KEXP Blog when she opened for Tricky back in March, and I don't really have anything to add to that: she's got talent and potential, but despite her use of live violin loops, her music currently is kind of bland soulful trip-hop. I can't remember anything about Born Anchors, which suggests I didn't find them that interesting, but I know I didn't dislike them and really I'd have to hear them again to give any kind of review. Hotels were awesome of course and I danced like crazy through their set; I've really just about run out of things to say about them until they release some more new music, which is why I had decided I wouldn't blog about this show, but here I am. Finally, my opinion also hasn't changed much on Furniture Girls: they're fun, the band is really solid, but they just don't quite win me over somehow. However, they did have a strong-voiced guest backup singer for most of the set, which made a real difference as the original Furniture Girls synth-player/backing vocalist doesn't have a voice strong enough to match the lead singer (that original member hasn't been replaced, just moved back to focus more on the synths).

The other two shows were good overall, but I do have to say The Juan MacLean and The Field were a phenomenal bill, definitely one of the best shows of the year.

I have a few more concert reports/reviews to do; it's been so long that I'm going to keep them brief, and in most cases I don't have much to say anyhow. However, I'm going to split them up in three posts just so it's easier for me to add them to my master list later on.

The first show is the "John in the Morning at Night" benefit for KEXP, held at Neumos back on Friday May 29. I attended this show as a KEXP volunteer, posting updates to the KEXP Facebook account, so the standard "these are solely my views, not those of KEXP" disclaimer applies. The show's lineup began with Throw Me The Statue, then Iran, U.S.E., and finished with Pela. Again, it's been two months, and I took cursory notes at the time, so I have just a couple quick comments about the bands.

Throw Me The Statue are an indie pop-rock quartet. Their sound was somewhere near Minus The Bear style modern rock, but more on the pop side; the Long Winters or Band of Horses might be better comparisons. They brought along a three-piece horn section to play some songs, and I felt that was a good addition to their music. In general, I thought they were likable, but I wasn't feeling their music very strongly.

Next up was Iran, another quartet but definitely on the heavier side of rock than Throw Me The Statue. They weren't quite metal; they focused on melody and good songs rather than noise, which I liked, but I still wasn't really sure they were my thing. They actually had a few softer ballads, but for the most part seemed to come out of the '90s heavy modern rock sound.

In radical contrast was the high-energy synthpop dance party that is the seven-member United State of Electronica (U.S.E.). They don't have a lot of substance lyrically: pretty much everything's about dancing and music and fun and love and Seattle. But they were very solid musically, with strong dance beats, big hooks, and sweet female vocals. As with a lot called synthpop, they actually had strong guitar and bass parts too. U.S.E. are pure summer dance pop, something Seattle needs year-round, and they're very good at it. Toward the end of their set they broke into an impromptu instrumental jam when a keyboard problem cropped up, and managed to fix the problem in time for one last song. Their whole set was really fun stuff, and I'm (still) looking forward to picking up their new album.

As it was Friday night and a KEXP benefit, KEXP DJ Michele Myers was spinning the tunes in between the sets. She really showed her stuff at this point, segueing from U.S.E. into the Cure's "Just Like Heaven", then Ghostland Observatory's "Sad Sad City", and then Daft Punk's "Burnin'/Too Long" (from Alive 2007). It was a great transition and just the sort of thing that DJ Michele pulls off all the time.

Headliners Pela are yet another energetic indie rock quartet. They had good catchy songs, very tuneful, and I liked them but again didn't feel very enthusiastic about them. Their "only have time for one more" three-song encore included a cover of "Guns of Brixton", which I liked. There's no disputing that they're a solid band and put on a pretty good show, a satisfactory conclusion to the evening.

I have a small set of photos here in Flickr.

Almost two months after the event, I'm finally finishing this summary... In late May, I was invited on short notice to attend the 2009 Sasquatch Music Festival, a three-day event happening over Memorial Day Weekend at the Gorge Ampitheatre in central Washington state. My role for the weekend was to post updates to KEXP's Facebook account about all the great bands I was seeing; naturally, I also took notes to write up a review of the weekend. With so many bands to cover, I'll do my best to keep this short and sweet.

Read about Saturday at Sasquatch.

Read about Sunday at Sasquatch.

Monday

Monday was the day I finally spent a substantial amount of time at the Mainstage, starting with Deerhoof's early afternoon set. Deerhoof were last-minute replacements for another act that had to cancel, and they're offbeat enough that if they'd been scheduled normally, they'd probably have been on the Yeti or maybe the Wookie Stage. Still, although their edgy post-punk rock is quirky enough that they'll probably always be something of an underground act, they're quite good and the audience was very appreciative.

After Deerhoof, I had something of a dilemma, as the next two bands I wanted to see had overlapping sets. I headed back to the Wookie Stage to give the first band, Black Moth Super Rainbow, a try. They are a heavy synthrock band, but featured live bass and drums in the set. Their music sounded laid-back and psychedelic, and they accompanied it with videos of over-the-top gory horror and time-lapse decay, all of which is to be expected at times in a nighttime club setting but which felt very out-of-place in a field on a bright sunny afternoon. Although I liked the music, I wasn't feeling the vibe and really didn't care to watch the video, so after ten minutes I headed back to the Mainstage to catch the other band I'd wanted to see.

That band was Grizzly Bear, and while M83's set on Sunday may have been the performance of the weekend for me, Grizzly Bear proved to be the sound of the Gorge. Their expansive, open style was evocative of the Columbia River Gorge behind them and captured the grandeur of the setting. Where some music sounds urban, Grizzly Bear's music sounds like the wilderness, vast and gorgeous. They were a much better fit for the hot afternoon than Black Moth Super Rainbow, and I was pleased I hadn't missed them. I also thought it was a nice touch when at one point between songs they stated, "It's an honor to follow Deerhoof."

Over the whole weekend, I stayed through only one whole set at the Yeti Stage, but it was one of the best sets of the weekend: School of Seven Bells. This trio combines electronic dance beats, glam guitars, and ethereal vocals into modern goth/dreampop electronica, with some shoegaze touches as well. Their sound is dark but sweet—not quite dark enough to be darkwave—and sometimes cool, often warm. As their set went on, I felt the shoegaze influence more strongly, to the point that I felt with solid bands like this still around, it's not such a big deal that My Bloody Valentine were inactive for the past 18 years.

After a short break, it was back to the Mainstage for Fleet Foxes. They made an interesting contrast to Grizzly Bear: similar in style, with that "open West" spirit, but more folk-sounding. Whereas Grizzly Bear felt like the music of the wilderness, Fleet Foxes felt like the music of the pioneers in the Western frontier. Their sound was still as big as the Gorge but the scale felt human. They were almost more orchestral in a way: chamber music, for a very large value of "chamber". Fleet Foxes were a little less satisfying to me than Grizzly Bear, as their music never really built to a climax, but they made a beautiful finale to the afternoon.

As with the previous two evenings, I finished my day in the Comedy/Dance Tent, this time to see electronic musician Tobacco. I'd only learned that day that he's also a member of Black Moth Super Rainbow, and like them he played psychedelic techno, but this time the music fit the hour and venue. The music reminded me more of Meat Beat Manifesto, though it was mostly laid-back and groovy, not as hard-edged as MBM. Also like both MBM and BMSR, Tobacco used the requisite weird film loops made from old films and video, but without the emphasis on gore and horror. Although none of the music really stood out more than "Hairy Candy", the single KEXP had been playing, it was still good stuff and a decent end to the festival.

Somehow, after a very long three days, I still had enough energy left to want to stay and dance for the final set of the evening by DJ Chromeo, which was rocking, but I only listened to a little before I had to catch my ride home.

See my Sasquatch Music Festival 2009: Monday photo set on Flickr.

Last month, I was invited on short notice to attend the 2009 Sasquatch Music Festival, a three-day event happening over Memorial Day Weekend at the Gorge Ampitheatre in central Washington state. My role for the weekend was to post updates to KEXP's Facebook account about all the great bands I was seeing; naturally, I also took notes to write up a review of the weekend. With so many bands to cover, I'll do my best to keep this short and sweet.

Read about Saturday at Sasquatch.

Last month, I was invited on short notice to attend the 2009 Sasquatch Music Festival, a three-day event happening over Memorial Day Weekend at the Gorge Ampitheatre in central Washington state. My role for the weekend was to post updates to KEXP's Facebook account about all the great bands I was seeing; naturally, I also took notes to write up a review of the weekend. With so many bands to cover, I'll do my best to keep this short and sweet. 

Last week I went to Nectar Lounge to see The Juan MacLean and The Field, two electronic artists I didn't know much about but remembered liking what I'd heard by them on the radio. I came away loving both bands, and wrote a review of the show which is now posted here on the KEXP Blog. Unfortunately I was up in the balcony for all of The Field's set and took only one photo that wasn't worth using in the review (too dark, too far away), but I got some decent ones of The Juan MacLean. 

I never mentioned here that, on very short notice, I was asked to attend the Sasquatch Music Festival back over Memorial Day Weekend and post updates about it to KEXP's Facebook account. I did also take notes while there on the bands I saw, but for various reasons I haven't got around to writing up a review yet. Hopefully I'll get that done in the next couple days, and post it here. Likewise I also have the "John In The Morning At Night" KEXP benefit show to review. I also have to write a new installment of "Know Your Subgenres" for the KEXP Blog, and that should be done in the next couple days as well.