Doesn't this photo say, "Fuckyeah, I'm awesome!"? Photo by: Dave Sanders

So last year around this same time, I discovered an album called Oopma by lovely, honey-voiced Sabrina Chap - and I'm pleased to announce that she's coming back to Seattle with a week full of shows! Burlesque, caberet, piano-playing, crooning - you name it, Sabrina is doing it. Man oh man, I love this woman! She's currently cooking up her new album, We Are the Parade, and could use a some dollas to help finish it up and get it out the door. I'm a sucker for kickstarter campaigns, so I donated. You too? 

{Ed. note: Sabrina decided to share a song from her new album so y'all could hear what's next, so we switched out the track!} Ms. Chap generously offered up a preview of some of her new stuff for our imaginary readers! Take a listen to this track from We Are the Parade: 

So to recap: track down a copy of Oompa and mix up some Manhattans, take a listen to one of her new tracks, throw a few bucks her way if you dig it, and take your pick from any of the shows below to bask in the Sabrina goodness. 

Feb. 10th, 11th &12th
That's F*cked Up 3!
Burlesque as you've never seen it... 
ReBar
Doors @7pm | Show @8pm 

{complete show listings after the jump}

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Adam Pranica, filmmaker and principal over at Dorsia Films and true indie rock enthusiast, with the perfect opening line:

"In the winter of 2011, Victoria VanBruinisse came up with a crazy idea to invite John Roderick of The Long Winters over for a potluck dinner. He played a few songs, told some stories, and ate all of the food."

And that's pretty much the long and short of it. When I found out that I was going to be in New York at CMJ for this past year's City Arts Festival, and would subsequently be missing the only performance by the Long Winters for the 2011 calendar year, I almost cried. Not literally, but still. It was a huge disappointment, a sigh to end all sighs, the conundrum that comes from being vested in so many interests and not being able to be everywhere at once. And so I did what any fan would do: I suggested to John that perhaps he might want to play a show in my living room.  I base much of my interactions on the simple methodology of the old adage that it never hurts to ask, because as the lottery tells us, you can't win if you don't play.

Well, we played alright, and we won. All of us, and that's you {yes, you!} included, because we won something big: a beautiful, candle-and-twinkle-light-lit evening with two dozen of our closest friends, where we enjoyed food, comraderie, and a series of brilliantly performed songs by the one and only John Roderick. And because of the genius embedded in Adam Pranica, Tyler Kalberg, and Zach Varnell -- the latter two being names you should recognize from the Notes from Home series -- we get to share the collective product from that near-perfect night with the world.

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at Tractor Tavern

The working subtitle for this photoessay was almost Fuck Everything Else, Indie Rock Wins Forever. Because there's no other way to say it: Nada Surf puts on one hell of a pulsing, swoonworthy, face-shredding rock show. And not just any kind of rock, mind you -- this is fully legit indie rock, a term that gets tossed around way too loosely these days. You just have to know it when you see it: in this case, Nada Surf delivers their particular take, with the kind of big-guitar storytelling madness that keeps the crowd moving for the duration of the set, while blowing out eardrums in the most beautiful of ways. Without hesitation, I'll even go so far as to say that Nada Surf comes damn close to giving bands like the Wrens a run for their money -- and those of you who know my personal dedication to all things Wrens know the {musical} gravity with which I speak when I make that kind of a statement.

To wit: the setlist was flawless, and opener Eric Elbogen {nee Say Hi} did a tremendous job warming up the crowd with his batch of attention-grabbing, carefully delivered songs. I only wish more people would have stopped their yammering to pay more mind to his set, but with a sold-out venue that's on their tip-toes readying to rock the fuck out, there's only so much you can expect past the first five or six rows.

Say Hi:

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...when the tissue paper layers of his songs build to sufficient thickness, it’s impossible not to be swept away, as evidenced by Blues Funeral.

Blues Funeral is the first album released under the name Mark Lanegan Band since 2004’s Bubblegum, but don’t think Lanegan hasn’t been busy. He has released albums with Isobel Campbell, The Twilight Singers, Soulsavers, and The Guttertwins, in addition to making numerous guest appearances in the meantime. Despite eight years and nine albums separating them, Blues Funeral follows logically from Bubblegum. Blues Funeral is the more cohesive of the two, yet rarely dips into monotony. Guest appearances by frequent collaborators, Josh Homme, Greg Dulli, and Jack Irons connect the album to Lanegan’s other projects.

Blues Funeral is best enjoyed in its entirety in a darkened room, through headphones, with a bourbon in hand. Throughout the whole, lyrics are placed front and center, where, like the Man in Black, Lanegan yearningly explores unwholesome themes with only a flickering hope of Christian redemption.

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In the throes of a killer party at the Neptune last night, we were thrilled beyond belief to find out the details on another most excellent year for the Sasquatch! music festival, taking place out at the Gorge on Memorial Day weekend {May 25-28}. Sasquatch! is by far one of our favorite fests every year, and 2012 is going to be no exception.

We're particularly excited about partying down with the likes of Jack White, Beck, Tenacious D, Beirut, Girl Talk {hell yes!}, The Head and the Heart, Tune-Yards, Wild Flag, Blind Pilot, Mark Lanegan Band, The Cave Singers, Grouplove, Ted Leo, Deer Tick, Alabama Shakes, We Are Augustines, Shearwater {!!!!!}, Charles Bradley, Pickwick, Hey Marseilles, Sallie Ford, Dyme Def, Fresh Espresso, and Katie Kate -- but by no means does that even scratch the surface of the seemingly-zillion fantastic bands included on this year's lineup. As usual, there's a thoughtful mash of notable locals and squee-worthy headliners, so much so that slapping down the ticket price to spend the long weekend with twenty-plus thousand of your closest friends is an absolute no-brainer.

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We know we've already warned you to buy tickets to Dancing on the Valentine Seven (and the Ragged Tiger), because WE KNOW this thing is gonna sell out - but just in case, here's another reminder, and a chance to win a pair of tickets so you can spend your money on booze and (LOTS of) raffle tickets instead! 

DOTV7 is officially ONE WEEK AWAY, and ALL ticket and raffle proceeds go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Here's another look at the awesome lineup of Northwest bands that will be on stage at The Crocodile covering Duran Duran songs: 

John Roderick (of The Long Winters) 
Exohxo
Lesli Wood (of The Redwood Plan) with Jupe Jupe
Katie Kate
Noddy
Princess
Hotels
Daniel G. Harmann & The Trouble Starts
Fly Moon Royalty
Davidson Hart Kingsbery

Just send us an email to tig {at} threeimaginarygirls {dot} com with the subject line "Sing Blue Silver" sometime between now and 5pm on Wednesday, February 8. We'll pick a winner and notify you on Wednesday night so you and your date have time to plan outfits for Friday! 

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Music and mountains are two of the biggest draws to the Pacific Northwest. On February 13, you can enjoy both together with an afternoon slipping down the slopes of Steven’s Pass, followed by The Head and the Heart’s acoustic set at the Foggy Goggle Lounge. We can’t think of a better way to warm up for Valentine’s Day than drinking hot toddies while hearing THatH’s intelligent, heartfelt harmonies.

THatH have won us over time and again with their live performances, which always sell out. This one may be all the way up the pass, but tickets are going fast, so you’ll want to get yours soon.

{21+ / $70 show + lift; $25 show only / 7:00 pm}

Gosling pretty much says it all. Tennis Pro is playing on Wednesday, February 8 at Chop Suey with two Japanese bands with perfect rock-and-roll names: Troll 8 (also the owner of Chop Suey's band) and Gnosis  - plus, The Terrordactyls, who also hail from Seattle, and post pictures of sad pizza. Oh, and they also sound pretty neat, so they should complement Tennis Pro's awesomeness just fine.

So I'll see you guys up front near the stage, right? 

Chop Suey Presents 
TENNIS PRO
The Terrordactyls
Troll 8
Gnosis
plus guests 
Friday, Feb. 8 | Doors at 8pm | $7 

{photo courtesy of Tennis Pro's Facebook page} 

We're just about a month out from Andrew Bird's next album release {Break It Yourself, due out on March 6th} and twice that from his upcoming show at the Paramount Theater {April 9th} with Laura Marling. Pre-album, the single "Eyeoneye" has made a (legal) foray out into the 'nets, and seeing as it's been on rotation since the minute the mailing list hit our imaginary inbox, we thought it fit to take a moment and hip you to it.

If this track is any indication of what Break It Yourself is going to bring to us on the whole, we're ready to put this as a frontrunner for one of 2012's top five albums without a single look back. There's a wide spectrum of recognizeable influence here while remaining decidedly Andrew Bird, which is to be expected -- he's one of those artists that continues to evolve with the world around him and change dramatically without departing too far from his baseline. And that said, there's a whole new freshly familiar vibe to the music: still laden with whistle-overs, graced with more than a hint of Phil Spector wall-of-sound-ery, and sliced through to the skeleton with a half-dozen emergent indie sounds of, well, right-fucking-now-ness.

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Just when we thought the new track from Nada Surf, "When I Was Young" {off the stars are indifferent to astronomy, which is officially out tomorrow on Barsuk} couldn't get any better, we stumbled across this gem of a video. While it's definitely a stripped-down version that doesn't have the same big, building, wall-of-sound vibe that the full band delivery brings, the intimacy and DIY element make this rendition a treasure of a whole other caliber -- and, of course, seeing and hearing this has gotten us that much more excited for the currently-sold-out show at the Tractor next Thursday.

Yep. Believe it or not, Nada Surf is playing at the Tractor. What's that? You didn't get tickets in time? Well, you're in luck: we're giving away a pair to one lucky winner, and you've got a whole week to enter to win! Just send us an email to tig {at} threeimaginarygirls {dot} com with the subject line "PicturesInOurPretendWallets" sometime between now and 5pm on Friday, January 27th. We'll pick a winner over the weekend, and notify you on Monday morning that you're headed to Thursday's show.

Good luck!

{21+ / 8p doors / SOLD OUT / Say Hi opens. Hat tip to Laura Musselman for sending the video our way!}