Blog: A Northwest Music Blog

I saw Helmet last week and though Helmet was quite good, I was accused of being a sissy since the rest of the music from the other bands didn't do it for me. And well, now we go from Helmet to Icelandic singer/songwriter, Ólöf Arnalds , so I suppose the accusations of being a sissy might persist, but I really don't give a damn. Arnalds is a talented musician with some graceful and haunting tunes. I absolutely love Surrender which features vocals from Bjork and is now available in digital format . The video is most [...]

Sigh. I'm sitting in the West Seattle Uptown Espresso trying to get a few words down about the Helmet show at El Corazon last Saturday, but it's tough going. My feet ache for need of new shoes. I've had about five too many cups of coffee today (eight total), and there's a group of ladies, loud ladies, at the big table in the center of the room. "He's bona fide! He's bona fide!" They keep saying. They're laughing, quilting, joking, and will not stop repeating ... "He's bona fide! He's bona fide!" ... a line from [...]

Local bands, Out Like Pluto, Peace Mercutio, and Bedside Manner will be playing at the Rendezvous Theater this Saturday April 9. I've recently had the pleasure to see both Out Like Pluto and Peace Mercutio and to talk at length with the members of each band after their shows. The music and conversation were good in both cases, but each night cost me something, or nearly so at least. I had such a good time at the Out Like Pluto show that somewhere between the conversation afterward and walking to my car I lost a copy [...]

Another must see/listen. You'll recall me mentioning Purple & Green several weeks ago in this post about White Rainbow. Again, get hip: . PURPLE & GREEN - "HUMAN NATURE" from judesays on Vimeo .

Two of the coolest cats in Seattle hip hop, OCnotes and Rik Rude = Metal Chocolates . .

For those of you who don't know, Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, in addition to doing a bit of tracking on Kristen Ward albums , has another band, a UFO tribute band, Flight to Mars , that will be playing at the Showbox at the Market on Friday, April 8 . Now, before you question the choice of bands deserving of such homage, I have it on very good authority that these guys are great, that they rock, so I'm going even though I couldn't tell you anything about the music of UFO. Sometimes it's best just to [...]

This Thursday Night the High Dive is hosting some of the best upcoming acts in Seattle right now. Bryan John Appleby, Young Lions, Fort Union, and Widower. WOW! New comers Fort Union, who consits of members of GoldFinch and former members of Friday mile will be celebrating the release of their newly release Single " Solstice Day Parade" which you can listen to HERE Also celebrating a new release will be Young Lions, who just finished recording with Seattles own Grammy winner Kory Kruckenberg which you can listen to HERE To top off the night will [...]

Saturday was the kind of night I didn't want to feel anything. In the afternoon down at Pike Place Market, I'd run into my ex who, as these things go, is the love of my life, the most beautiful woman in the world, and seeing her hold the hand of another man was, to way understate it, difficult. But I'd agreed to go to a show that night down at the Kingcat Theater, and while taking notes as a band played was one of the last things I wanted to do, I still went. I'd given my word, and for [...]

As I'm wont to do before a show, I was at a bar with a book and a beer. The bar was the Hard Rock Cafe where they charge $6.25 for a pint of Mannys. OK then, won't be drinking there very often. The book was The Captain is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship , Charles Bukowski, a posthumously published journal of sorts and my go to read for the quiet pre-gig moments. The gig was Kirsten Ward and Gary Westlake opening for the Paperboys at the Showbox at the Market on St. [...]

It was either the Crown Royal or the stout, or perhaps the mixture, the Porterhouse Royale, a shot of Crown in a pint of stout. It took me so long to finish the thing that I didn't have time to go home and eat before heading to Studio 7 to catch Peace Mercutio so on the way I had McDonalds. Maybe it was the McDonalds. Whatever it was, the stomach was rumbling. I got to the club right at 7:00, right when the show was supposed to start, but the doors were locked. I peered in, nothing. I [...]

• Peace Mercutio - Chicago

We missed recognizing International Women's Day around here ( that new Shabazz Palaces track must've had my head all up in the clouds), but hopefully you ladies know we love ya. And what better way to pay belated tribute than by watching some new PJ Harvey videos, one of the most ferocious and gifted female artists of our generation? With the GOP's astonishing and repressively repulsive recent attack on women's health and right to choose, Harvey's folky, geopolitically war torn new album Let England Shake holds ultimate relevance in today's divisive climate. Not [...]

What would you say if I told you Christmas was a band that sounded like Karen O fronting the Intelligence ? Or perhaps Grace Slick wailing with the Gits ? Would you say "fuck off"? Would you say "Holy Hell!"? Would you say "don't make me punch you"? Would you say "where's my presents?" Whatever sort of cataclysmic reaction you would resort to probably wouldn't have near the effect on me as the calamitous new self-titled album from these Olympia surf-thrashers. Yes, that's right, surf-thrash is on the rise. [...]

So in keeping the tradition of passionate music that I've witnessed at The Columbia City Theater lately, last Friday I finally got to catch Drew Grow and The Pastors Wives . Due to Drew's very recent recovery from being injured, It was a special night for the band and for everyone who came. He took to the stage on crutches, looking reasonably uncomfortable. Then found his guitar, sat in front of the mic and after a moment poured his heart into it. Actually, I was amazed at the idea of Drew returning [...]

Kristen Ward will help celebrate St. Patrick's Day at the Showbox at the Market this year by performing an acoustic set, presumably with long time music partner Gary Westlake. I had the chance about a month ago to catch just such a show by Kristen and Gary at the Gibson Show Room , and it's something not to miss. Her voice soars in a very subdued way and Westlake's guitar playing is a perfect compliment to it. Ward's newest CD, Charles , is a collection of intimate acoustic songs performed by this duo, [...]

I had a printed copy of the book (draft 25) with me because I'd been reading and editing one last time before sending it off to New York where it would hopefully find it's way around the world. I'd been at Buckley's thus for the span of a few beers and a few chapters, but as 8:00 rolled near, I paid my tab and went across the street to the Jewelbox Theater where local band Out Like Pluto was playing with newcomer Electric Villain . I'd written a piece last month that mentioned EV singer Karen [...]

Ya'll knew I'd be posting this. Can't get me enough of that Shabazz Palaces . . . Black Up will be out May 31st on Sub Pop , and I can't think of one local record I'm anticipating more than this one. (Ok, maybe Helplessness Blues , but that sounds so cliché, doesn't it? Is me asking if it's cliché a cliché? Am I currently wallowing in clichés? [...]

I was in Ballard Friday night to see Cobirds Unite , a band featuring Rusty Willoughby and Rachel Flotard . Rachel had been kind enough to get me on the list via some last minute (meaning 6:00 P.M. night of the show) Facebook messages and texts sent from vans already gig bound. I appreciated the effort and quick response on her part given the time so I rushed to the Tractor, got there at 6:45, pulled on the door handle. It was locked. There was evidence of a sound check happening within but unable to enter [...]

Hotels fans were in for a treat (literally, there were pastries for sale!) last Saturday night at The Columbia City Theater. Incorporating the theme of their new record On the Casino Floor to transform the venue into a Las Vegas Casino! (roulette wheel ticket giveaway, and Bourlesque dancing included!). A fitting atmosphere for Hotels curious lounge-pop brand of music. Openers The Devil Whale from Salt Lake City really kind of took me for surprise,(as I had never heard of them) with a killer set [...]

. This Friday at Columbia City Theater Drew Grow & the Pastors Wives are back, after having to cancel recent shows due to a car accident that Drew suffered in January. If you haven't bought your tickets BUY THEM NOW! because it will sell out. Drew Grow is quickly becoming a main NW attraction. Don't miss your chance to see him in this quaint and gorgeous venue. It should be quite a great evening, with Baltics Cousins , and Portlands AgesandAges . Battle School will be opening this event playing in [...]

The title kind of says it all, but if you've come this far, maybe you'll come a bit farther. Webelos is a Seattle band who recently released an LP that goes by the name Shadow Seasons . You can listen to/purchase it over at their bandcamp or any one of Seattle's fine independent record stores. And you better, because it's pretty excellent . The band, led by guitarist/vocalist Jim Smith and subject to many lineup changes, has been flying under the overground for the better part of 4 sun cycles [...]

• Webelos - In My Last Act