Our Favorite 2013 Show Posters

"Hipster poll" outside of our apartment.

In case we haven’t made it obvious, at NGD we have a certain reverence for those people and organizations that sustain DIY communities. The unfortunate truth is that whether promoting, distributing, or creating, the people who truly make a local scene wonderful typically do so with very little moral support and still less financial compensation. In the past we’ve talked about our favorite record shops, labels, venues, etc, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I realized that we were missing someone.

Earlier this month I attended The Josephine’s 2nd Guitar Worship Service, an event that featured performances by 9 local artists including members of Stalebirth and Geist and the Sacred Ensemble, Power Skeleton, Terminal Fuzz Terror, Sioux City Pete, and more. Running the gamut from drone and harsh noise to psychotic blues and space rock, each of the artists approached the instrument from a different direction, which together with Randall Skrášek's awesome visuals resulted in one of the better shows I’ve been to recently.  However, during one of the breaks I found myself staring at Darwin Rodriguez’s phenomenal poster for the event (see below), and I found myself thinking about how a funky little show like this comes together.

If you’re The Showbox, or Paramount, or WaMu Theater you probably don’t know the value of a killer show poster like Darwin’s. After all, when you have a ton of cash for promotion you can afford for any one approach to fail. But for smaller venues, posters are an affordable and often indispensable way to get the word out. Needless to say, not all of them are created equal, and generating a concise and aesthetically pleasing poster is much easier said than done.

So, in tribute to the local people who produce these unsung works of art, I’ve decided to put together a post highlighting my favorites of the year. They appear chronologically and include either the artist’s name, or the name of the person who initially posted the image to the Facebook event. While I initially intended to only feature each artist once, I found out while researching that my tastes have a definite preference, so I decided to just go with it.

If you notice a mistake, or know who really made one of the “unknown” posters, then please let us know so that we can give credit where it’s due. Enjoy!

1/12 Beau Fucking Presents: Justin Maurer and Friends, The Aim Lows, and On The Ground at The Comet/ Clorox Girls, Smoke Jumper, Loud Eyes, and Night Nurse at the Highdive posted by Beau Saperstein

4/12-14 ‘Mo-Wave // Seattle's Queer Music and Arts Festival, posted by 'Mo-Wave  

4/14 MTNS, Brainfruit, Punishment, and Thunder Grey Pilgrim at Vermillion, by Aric Atienza

5/31 La Luz, The Trashies, Nuclear Animals, and Peace at Black Lodge, by Tom Lowel

6/6 Broken Water, Haunted Horses, Jetman Jet Team at The Comet by Myke Pelly

7/7 So Pitted, The Hussy, Fuzzy Cloaks, and Ubu Roi at Black Lodge, posted by Black Lodge

9/9 High Wolf, Chicaloyoh, Wott, with DJs Explorateur and Veins at Electric Tea Garden by Dax Anderson

9/28-11/01 Haunted Horses East Coast Tour, by Myke Pelly

10/1 Kitty Crimes, Werk Out Place, Narky Stares, Diogenes, and Bankie Phones at The Comet, by Dax Anderson

10/2 You May Die In The Desert, Minot, Piano Piano, and Armed with Legs at Barboza, posted by Kevin Malik

10/11^th and 12^th Hyponotikon 2013: Seattle Psych Festival, posted by Steve Strauss

  

11/9  -> <-Guitar-> <-Worship-> <-Service-> <- (2nd) at The Josephine, by Darwin Rodriguez

11/29 Fever Witch, Perpetual Ritual, Night Worship, Bat at Vermillion, by Aric Atienza