*Updated 4/14* Upcoming Seattle Shows

Hey all. Few formalities this week because it's 7pm and you only have a few hours to read this post and get to Vermillion Art Bar for the Free MTNS homecoming show with Punishment, Thunder Grey Pilgrim, and Brain Fruit. Other than that, anyone with even a passing interest in shoegaze/dream-pop should see the Telescopes at the Comet on the 15th, Bat For Lashes and Johnny Marr are coming to the Showbox and Neumos respectively, and Prince tickets are still available for the 18th (at least last I checked). If Prince isn't your thing, no sweat, go the Electric Tea Garden for the Airport Motor 12" Release show with Black Hat instead. Finally, Friday and Saturday are jam packed with goodness, not the least of which being Hood to Hood, a free KEXP mega-show featuring Dude York, Pollens, and more; I'll post something about the other show choices later this week. Have a good one!

April 
14 ‘Mo-Wave day 3: Blackie: a tribute to Blondie, Dynasty Handbag, Double Duchess, DickBinge, and Ponytime, at Chop Suey 

14 Naomi Punk, The Exquisites, Wild Moth and Elch at Black Lodge 

14 MTNS, Punishment, Thunder Grey Pilgrim and Brain Fruit At Vermillion Art Bar--Free 

15 Johnny Marr at Neumos

15 Bad Religion at Showbox at SODO

15 The Telescopes, LSD, Flavor Crystals, Black Nite Crash at the Comet.

16 Bat for Lashes at the Showbox at the Market

18 Prince at Showbox at the Market

18 The Revival Tour 2013 with Rocky Votolato, Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Tim McIlrath

(Rise Against) and more at Showbox at The Market

18 Airport, Black Hat, Bankie Phones, and Magisterial at Electric Tea Garden

19 Hood to Hood: Ravenna Woods, Dude York, Damien Jurado and Tomo Nakayama, Pollens and more in UW’s Red Square

19 Princess, Fist Fite, Pipsqueak and Skies Below at Black Lodge

19 Big Eyes, Shivas, Hornet Let and Mega Bog at the Josephine

19 Gems with Gold Wolf Galaxy and Vox Mod at The Sunset

19 Prince at Showbox at the Market (Sold Out)

20 The Funs, FF, and the Lindseys at Cairo Seattle

20 Abbey Arts presents CATHEDRALS: Mirah, Moondoggies acoustic, Shenandoah Davis at St Mark's

20 The Men and Dude York at Vera Project

23 James Blake at The Neptune 

24 Purity Ring at Neptune

24 Grave Babies, Dreamsalon and Starskate at the Mercury

25 Yours, EP release with 1-2-1-2 and Moose Portrait at the Crocodile

25 Week of Wonders, Seacat, Detective Agency and Say Calm at Columbia City Theater

26 Chad Valley and Ski Lodge at Barboza

26 Space Needles, Universe People and the Gallow Swings at Blue Moon

28 Golden Gardens, Snowdrift at the Sunset
30 Mindless Self Indulgence at Showbox at the Market

30 Crystal Castles at Moore 

May

1 Bleached, EX-COPS and Guests at Chop Suey

1 New Build with NO CEREMONY/// at Neumos

2 Marina and the Diamonds with Charli XCX at Showbox at the Market
2 & 3 Allen Stone's Prom-Themed Bumbershoot Final Lineup Announcement Party at The Crocodile  
3 Debacle Fest Day 1 at Fred Wildlife Refuge (line-up for all days)
4 Debacle Fest Day 2 (matinee show) at Highline
4 Debacle Fest Day 2 at Fred Wildlife Refuge
5 Debacle Fest Day 3 at Lo-Fi Performance Gallery

4 Metz at Neumos

5 Stacian, Samantha Glass and DR. Troy at Electric Tea Garden

8 Foot Village, Clipping, Haunted Horses, and WaMu at Black Lodge

10 Kisses and Trails and Ways at Barboza

10 Dude York, Vapor Trails (Ron 9/Love Battery) Pytons, We Are Golden at The Highline

12 The Appleseed Cast, Hospital Ships and Guests at Chop Suey           

15 MGMT at Showbox SODO

16 Hair and Space Museum and JJAAXXNN at Electric Tea Garden

17 Yo La Tengo at Showbox at the Market
17 Beat Connection at Neumos

17 Golden Gardens, Tokyoidaho, Kelli Frances Corrado at Columbia City Theater

19 Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death at El Corazon

19 Vox Mod with Dairos (ft. members of Pollens and Totem and Cabana at Barboza

20 Medical Records Rx with IM NAMEN DES VOLKES, SH6RL6S6 and guests at Electric Tea Garden

21 Karl Blau with Baby Copperhead and the Weblos at the Crocodile Back Bar

22 Flying Lotus with Thundercat at Showbox SODO

23 (Portland) Haim at Keller Auditorium

25 Thermals and WIMPS at Neumos

25 Avi Buffalo at Barboza 

June 2013

6 They Might Be Giants at Showbox at SODO
7 Alkaline Trio at Showbox at the Market

14 Mount Kimbie, Holy Other and Vinyl Williams at Neumos

16 Dreamsalon, Fuzzy Cloaks, Chest Cavity/ BBQ Party at Leather Lounge
21 The Dandy Warhols at Showbox at the Market

22 Camera Obscura at Showbox at the Market 

July 

13 Sub Pop’s Silver Jubilee, Georgetown Neighborhood. Free!

14 Tuxedo Gleam, Jollapin Jasper, Love Cop, and More at Electric Tea Garden

17 The Postal Service at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, OR

19 Peter Murphy performing only Bauhaus material with Ours at Showbox at the Market

26-28 Capitol Hill Block Party

SWL #15: Golden Gardens, "Transparent Things"

Golden Gardens’ 2012 release, How Brave the Hunted Wolves, is really lovely; in fact it is so lovely that I had a bit of trouble deciding which song to showcase here. Of course with Creation Records and vintage 4AD fervor at an all time high there are plenty of listenable songs out there, but few acts are able to sculpt their work into a listenable full-length. Over the course of their 3+ year tenure in the Seattle music scene, Gregg Alexander Joseph Neville and Aubrey Rachel Violet Bramble have developed a distinct and expansive sound that has allowed them to do just that, and “Transparent Things”, the song I finally settled on, is a good example of why. It has all the right fixins’ (e.g. largely indecipherable vocals as instrumentation, reverb and tremolo-heavy guitar, a post-punk style bassline anchoring the percussion, etc), but nothing ever sounds forced or hokey. Instead, Bramble’s warm and expressive vocals and the guitar work remain the focus of the piece, and are accentuated, but never upstaged by a very light touch of synth (lots of bands screw up here by hitting you over the head with it). You can grab How Brave the Hunted Wolves on bandcamp, or various shops around town (Sonic Boom in Ballard and Everyday Music and Capitol Hill have copies). Also, Neon Sigh is slated to release their new EP in June as well as a reissue of their 2011 record, Between the Siren and the Amulet, sometime this year. You can see them with Snowdrift on the 28th of this month (April) at the Sunset.

2013 Seattle Poetry Grand Slam

It's not music. There are no instruments in slam poetry, except for your voice. Still, the artists who will be competing in the Seattle Poetry Slam's 2013 Grand Slam do manipulate words using volume, and they have incredible rhythm, pace, and in some cases, showmanship. Some local slam poets are also musicians and singers. Mary Lambert, who sings the hook on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's song "Same Love", has been in the Seattle slam poetry scene for years.

Slam poetry is an art unto itself, and I am including it here on our blog and filing it under "offbeat". I would hate for you to miss the opportunity to see our great Seattle artists in their most important local competition of the year! The Seattle Poetry Grand Slam will be held from 8pm to 10pm on April 27th at Town Hall Seattle; doors are at 7pm. The top performers will make up the Seattle team that will compete in August at the National Poetry Slam in Boston.

 Karen Finneyfrock and Tara Hardy, two Seattle Slam legends, perform a duet, "sand", a few years ago.

The Seattle Times just published a wonderful interview with the Seattle Slam Master, Daemond Arrindell. I think Daemond has been at every slam I've ever been to, including the weekly slams that occur at Re-Bar on Tuesday nights. You should go check out the article.

SWL #14: Amenta Abioto, “Awake”

 
I’m pretty excited about Opening Flower Hymns, Amenta Abioto’s gorgeous full-length debut. The Portland artist is a jack-of-all-trades (e.g. actor, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist) whose energetic live performances and innovative experimentation with minimalistic soul and tribal textures have gained her growing notoriety, and with songs like “Awake” in her repertoire you can be sure she won’t be slowing down anytime soon. Like most of her work, the song begins as what sounds like a vocal exercise and builds over time until the initially isolated musings start to loop back and find one another. The effect is that “Awake” takes you off guard during its unassuming introduction, and just moments after it all comes together with Abioto’s soulful melismatic capstone, she cuts the loop and it ends abruptly. Opening Flower Hymns was released at the end of last month (March) and you can get it on her bandcamp. No word on a physical release just yet, but if the past is any indication you can bet that she’ll be back in Seattle soon and we can bug her about it then.