Tough decisions

Going through my inbox yesterday, I was excited to hear, in the weekly The Stranger Presents newsletter, that The Blow will be playing at this year’s installment of the Genius Awards…for free! I just saw The Blow for the first time at this year’s What the Heck Fest (see my previous post on Mount Eerie’s performance at What the Heck) and was really impressed. Khaela Maricich is quite the performer: at What the Heck she would work herself into a sweaty, angst-fueled dancing frenzy, then cool off with rambling–but surprisingly captivating–stage banter. Her music is an adolescent, heart-on-the-table display of raw emotion imbued with adult sexuality by her crooning, alternately coy and hungry, hot-breath vocals–an enrapturing combination. It was moving, seductive, and fun.

“She wasn’t lying!” I said to myself. I had talked with Khaela briefly in between sets during What the Heck, and she had informed me, after discussion of her Huffy-brand fanny pack and my Bill Murray t-shirt, that she would be playing one show in Seattle in the fall. I returned home and checked her MySpace page, only to discover no Seattle dates listed among her tour stops.

Enter the Stranger Presents, 8.16.07, informing me of the upcoming Genius Awards gig–indeed, a show in Seattle, in the fall. My faith restored, I flipped over to Google Calendar to throw this sure-to-be-amazing, free show on my schedule. Let’s see, evening of September 14th…surely nothing else going on. Or at least nothing else that could compete with this…

Enter me, crestfallen: September 14th is also the date of Animal Collective’s upcoming performance at Neumo’s.

Why, The Stranger, why? There wasn’t one night you could have scheduled your Genius Awards when nothing else was happening in Seattle? Like a Monday morning? (To be fair, I’ll throw out a “Why, Neumo’s, why?”–I don’t really know who booked whom first. They obviously weren’t taking my personal musical interests into account.)

But I suppose I can’t complain too much. Pretty tough life out here in Seattle with too many cool concerts going on all at once (and it’s not even Bumbershoot). I still haven’t decided which one to go to yet, though I’m leaning towards Animal Collective since I haven’t seen them live yet.

Side note: Former The Blow-compatriot Jona Bechtolt (a.k.a. YACHT) will be performing in Seattle at the Vera Project on a day in September other than the 14th–the 7th, to be exact–with the Dirty Projectors and White Rainbow.

What the Heck?

July 21st, 2007: Clouds streamed past mountain peaks, accompanied by swells of crashing thunder while a crowd of hipsters and hippies sat, rapt with attention, staring at the gymnasium wall, longing for an alpine breeze that never arrived. The occasion: What the Heck Fest 2007, Anacortes, Washington’s homegrown music festival. What the Heck features a variety of area bands, everything from teenage locals to nationally-known independent artists, many of whom, of course, are themselves Anacortes natives.

Phil Elvrum (from his website)

Saturday night we found ourselves in a cramped gymnasium beneath City Hall waiting for Anacortes’ most famous artist-in-residence: Phil Elvrum, performing under his current stage name of Mount Eerie. We’re unsure what to expect. A solo set with one fragile, plaintive guitar? Or will Phil take full advantage of the P.A. system and amps he was hauling out of the back of his truck before the show and shake the gym with a full band of Anacortes’ finest?

Neither, as it turns out. Mount Eerie’s set begins with…a mountain. The crowd is seated, their backs to the stage, their eyes on the opposite gym wall where an image of a cloud-shrouded mountain peak (nearby Mount Erie, maybe?) is projected. Make that video–the clouds are moving, almost imperceptibly streaming past the jagged mountaintop. Behind us, Phil is alternately drumming on a large metal sheet–unleashing waves of crescendoing thunder–and tapping a (relatively) diminutive cymbal, producing a delicate counterpoint that punctuates the blasting thunder swells.

It’s almost like we’re there on the mountaintop (I say almost because no mountaintop is this sweaty and humid, at least not any I’ve been to.) Or in Phil’s new book, as it were. The newest Mount Eerie release, Mount Eerie pts. 6 & 7 consists of a 10″ picture disc accompanied by a 132-page hardcover book of landscape photos. (And you thought No Flashlight came with extensive liner notes.) Or maybe it’s the other way around–a book that comes with a 10″. It is indeed a “MASSIVE EXCELLENT-LOOKING BOOK“, as the P.W. Elverum & Sun website describes it.

Tonight’s show is a live, supersized version of the new book/album. The images are massive (and moving) and the music comes not from a recording but from Elvrum himself. The mountain scene fades to black and gives way to a series of scenes of different Northwest locales. Phil ditches his percussion for his guitar and begins strumming and singing, his eyes fixed intently on each glacially slow-changing scene before him, watching for cues too subtle to be noticed by anyone else. That’s what it looks like he’s doing, at least.

But most of the crowd isn’t watching Phil. It’s strange (and unexpected) for a concert–for the audience to not be watching the performer–but it seems somehow natural and fitting for Phil. His usual stage antics, if you can call them that, paint him as reluctant, uncomfortable in the spotlight: he signals the end of his songs with a strange curtsy/bowing gesture, and speaks in soft, sheepish tones. Even in his most hard-rocking moments, Phil seems engaged in personal catharsis, not public spectacle. So being in the background, out of the public eye for once, might be a relief for him.

I was lucky enough to be able to experience the new Mount Eerie in its live incarnation (and for only $10). If you’re able, I would highly recommend seeing one of Mount Eerie’s upcoming shows. Who knows if the video + musical accompaniment (not to mention the thunder!) was a one time performance; the only way to find out for sure is to go. At the very least, there’s the possibility Phil will do something new and unexpected. Also, you’ll be able to buy the book for less than the $64 it’s going for online. I think he was selling it for $50 at What the Heck. Here are Mount Eerie’s upcoming shows, according to the P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd. website:

Sunday, Aug. 19th- Rochester, Wash.- Helsing Junction Sleepover early

TOUR WITH MOOOOOOOOOOOLS
Tues. Oct. 2nd- Seattle, Wash.- The Vera Project with Moools and PWRFL POWER and Oregon Donor

Weds. Oct. 3rd- Olympia, Wash.-

Thurs. Oct. 4th- Portland, Ore.- The Artistery with Moools

Fri. Oct. 5th- Eureka, Cal.- The Placebo

Sat. Oct. 6th- Sacramento, Cal.- Fools Foundation with Moools

Sun. Oct. 7th- San Francisco, Cal.- ATA

Mon. Oct. 8th- east bay

Tues. Oct. 9th- Santa Barbara- Muddy Waters

Weds. Oct. 10th- Los Angeles- the Troubadour

Thurs. Oct. 11th- San Diego- Che Cafe- (with Red Pony Clock)

If you can’t make it to any of those shows, you can always curl up with the book, put the 10″ on, and flip through the photos. You could even pretend Phil was sitting behind you, and you’re just not looking at him because you’re meant to look at the book. If that’s your sort of thing.

P.S. There were lots of other great (and a couple downright baffling) bands/artists that performed at What the Heck 2007. But that’s another post.

Free music at the Croc

Last Friday I took advantage of a rare free show at the Crocodile (not sure if this is a new, regularly-occurring thing) featuring brand-new Sub Pop signees Blitzen Trapper and Jennifer Gentle. Hypatia Lake opened with some ear-blasting psychedelic rock, complete with accompanying trippy visuals. Not really my cup of tea, but it was funny when the software they were using to create their visuals crashed and they were rocking out in front of a Windows desktop, then a blue screen, for a few minutes. Blitzen Trapper came out next with a Northwest take on Southern rock. Their sound was all over the place, at times resembling Johnny Cash country ballads, other times seeming more Lynyrd Skynyrd. Knitting together these somewhat disparate songs was lead singer Eric Earley’s harmonica, which was consistently above average. I enjoyed their set–not as much as that guy in the flannel who was jumping up and down the entire set–but it didn’t really grab me.

I was, however, more taken with Jennifer Gentle, who played next. Jennifer Gentle is from Italy, and they look it–mustaches, greasy hair, and the like. Didn’t see any swarthy chest hair, although I think I saw one of them sporting a fanny pack before the show. Their music is pretty out there–I think Megan Selig (of The Stranger) describes it aptly with the phrase “sickly carnival swagger”. Frontman Marco Fasolo laid down some creepy, slurred-but-childlike vocals over lurching guitars and a warbling organ. It’s pyschedelia, but of a more demented, mellow variety–think White Album-era Beatles’ weirdness (Bungalow Bill taken a drugged-out step further). Certainly not to be confused with Hypatia Lake’s high speed psychedelic jams. It was just crazy enough to be intriguing.

Belated Block Party Recap, Day 2

Saturday of the Block Party started out about as mellow as Friday had. I guess everyone was resting up and hydrating after a long day of block-partying. The first show I caught was Mirah on the Main Stage. Like the Saturday Knights, Mirah seemed victimized by the festival schedule; the beginning of her quiet, folky set was marred by the thundering bass from the band playing inside Neumo’s that could be heard in the background. She even asked “Can we close the doors? Or windows?” (Little did she know that Neumo’s has no windows to speak of, as anyone stuck inside in the heat could attest to.) The noise continued and Mirah went on with her set. The situation reminded me that, as much as I love music festivals, there are some inherent downsides, of which Mirah’s case is just one example. Festival crowds are another, one which I’m not going to get into at the moment.

One of the highlights of Saturday for me was seeing the Whore Moans, who played one ear-blasting, floor-shaking, ball-breaking sonic assault of a set. I was just checking out their MySpace page, trying to revisit the experience, but it hardly does them justice. You’ve got to see these guys live–if you can handle it, that is. If screaming vocals backed by a taut, surgically-precise, three-pronged guitar-drums-bass attack sound like your thing, do you yourself a favor and check them out. They’re on a national tour right now, but they’ll be back in Seattle by August 23rd. Or you could listen to their MySpace songs at a reasonable volume on your shitty computer speakers, whatever. More reasons to like the Whore Moans: good stage banter. I don’t remember what minor problem was delaying things on stage, but bassist Ryan treated us to a story about one of the guys from the Hold Steady drunkenly bashing his girlfriend in the face with a microphone during a show (broadcast live worldwide by KEXP, conveniently enough–the Whore Moans-Hold Steady feud is on!). He also explained his outfit, which he dubbed “Cool Dad on Vay-Kay”: Raybans (with gator), a bass-fishing tank top, and boat shoes, all topped off with a cell-phone belt clip. Now you know what to wear to the next Whore Moans show.

I was lucky enough to be introduced to Ryan after the show (thanks Masha). He was nice and a bit exhausted, understandably. He’s also apparently a charming young fellow–he told us how one of the middle-aged regulars at the coffee shop he works at was so excited to hear that they were going on tour and promised he would be at their Block Party show with all his friends. So not only is their music great, but they seem like really nice guys. Well, Ryan at least.

Another highlight was seeing John Vanderslice. I hadn’t really listened to his music before (other than some Mountain Goats’ albums he produced…which doesn’t really count) but I liked it enough to go listen to his new album Emerald City for free on the Barsuk website. His lyrical folk songs range from delicate and melodic to dark and rough-edged. John commented on how fun it was playing on the main stage with some powerful amplification–a little more wattage than he’s accustomed to, it would seem.

Later in the day I made my way back into the sweaty cave of Neumo’s to catch Grand Archives, a new local band fronted by Mat Brooke (formerly of Band of Horses and Carissa’s Wierd). They’re on Sub Pop and have yet to release a proper album, although they’ve had a CD-R for sale at their shows. Although this was the third time I’ve seen them–I guess they’ve been playing a lot of local shows–I still enjoyed hearing their “old” standards, along with a couple new songs. My favorite part of their show is still their backup vocals–just consistently great vocal harmonizing all around. If you haven’t happened to catch these guys live yet, I highly recommend seeing them. It looks like they’re playing Bumbershoot, and surely some other local shows in the near future.

Spoon did not disappoint as the Saturday night Main Stage headliners, putting on a tight, energetic show to an enthralled crowd. Watching their live show, it was obvious these guys have been doing this for a while; their timing and coordination was effortlessly perfect. Spoon is a finely-tuned rock machine with a lot more going for them than pretty-boy Britt Daniels’ doe eyes and tight pants, which, as much as some admiring fans might enjoy them, do not a band of Spoon’s caliber make.