Three Imaginary Girls - Seattle's sparkly indie-pop press

For the (whole) love of Wilco

imaginary victoria — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:27:11 +0000

7 Feb 2012

Last night's performance by Wilco at the Paramount was just a few strokes short of phenomenal. And those few strokes, mind you, were negligible at best. The set had that bright, perfect, let-your-love-light-shine kind of feeling, coupled with a stunning amount of... well, shredding, really, is the only way to put it. Hella shredding, even! Lovelight and shredding, with lots of emphasis on the new album, select tracks from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and a perfect integration of the rest of the band's catalog. Lines like what was I thinking / when I said hello {I Am Trying To Break Your Heart}, with no larger problems / that need to be erased {Impossible Germany} and you love her / but you don't know why {Born Alone} were delivered with the intimacy and care as if they were being played for a few hundred close friends at a venue the size of Neumos. Connecting with a room the size of the Paramount is no small task, and Wilco seemed to pull this off effortlessly, much to the crowd's delight.

On top of all the sonic bliss, fans seated up in the balcony were able to take in the show the full view of the stage and the incredulous setup of hundreds of rag-covered lights that hung from the rafters, which reflected an aptly-displayed series of lights and images that changed with the songs during the set -- birds, mountaintops, digital dreamscapes, and open skies. It was reminscent of the thousand-lantern stage setup that Grizzly Bear had at the Moore a few years back, only better. Shreddier, even. And so beautifully Wilco-esque.

Set list:

* One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
* Poor Places
* Art Of Almost
* I Might
* Bull Black Nova
* Company In My Back
* I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
* Kamera
* Impossible Germany
* Born Alone
* Laminated Cat
* Shouldn't Be Ashamed
* Whole Love
* Heavy Metal Drummer
* I'm The Man Who Loves You
* Standing O
* Misunderstood
* Dawned On Me
* A Shot In The Arm

===

* Candyfloss
* War On War
* Walken
* Red-eyed and Blue
* I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
* Outta Mind (Outta Sight)

{Photo of the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot towers (Chicago) by Victoria VanBruinisse.}

{Set list after the jump!}

Photoessay: Nada Surf at the Tractor

imaginary victoria — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:41:12 +0000

2 Feb 2012

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:

Nada Surf:

Miss the show? Well, thankfully you've got another chance to get your Nada Surf on, because they'll be playing at the Neptune at the end of March. Based on all the bliss at the Tractor, plus the absolute stellar-ness that is the newest release The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy, we're betting this one will come damn close to selling out too -- so get your tickets while you still can. We'll see you there!

{All photos by Victoria VanBruinisse. See the rest of the night and much more over at the imaginary flickr pool here!}

Say Hi:

Portishead: Live at WaMu Theatre

Andrew Boe — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:49:44 +0000

23 Oct 2011

Portishead-third.jpg

On a cool and desolate autumn evening last weekend, Seattle welcomed back Portishead for the first time in fourteen years, the season and the setting perfect for the murky UK act. Their most recent release, 2008’s minimal and stark Third, is already three years old -- this alone made the wait seem like a near eternity before remembering that I last saw the band a few months after I first moved to Seattle, in December of 1997 (and that performance at The Paramount left me thoroughly impressed.) With this in mind, even though over a decade had passed, I still had high expectations... and this time around the band was once again in top form. Time has not aged this group whatsoever, and I was left reeling from their outstanding performance the moment the lights were turned back on in the theater.

Third was heavily relied upon as songs from the album provided the majority of the evening's set. Coy as ever, Beth Gibbons tightly clutched the microphone with both hands, eyes closed during each verse -- her desperate shyness certainly lending some esoteric attraction to the group. Once the vocals were finished in every song, she would turn her back to the crowd and walk back towards the drummer in some kind of attempt to avoid the spotlight. The claustrophobic “Silence” opened the show in a striking manner as the band performed before an amazing backdrop of grainy videos that were projected over shots of the band playing live.

It was no surprise that several songs from 1994’s Dummy were interspersed throughout the setlist. True to original versions of “Sour Times” and “Glory Box” still sounded impressive, but it was a thoroughly bleak and slower rendition of “Wandering Star” that really floored me. While most of the group members left the stage, Geoff Barrow played the bass in funereal cadence and Adrian Utley supplied a little bit of atmospheric guitar while Gibbons sat down wrenching out the lyrics. It was equally painful and gorgeous at the same time.

The devastatingly lonely track “The Rip” from Third was exceptional as its crescendo was extended, sending shivers down my spine. Interestingly, Geoff Barrow performed the overdriven drums live from start to finish on “Machine Gun,” which was surprising as I completely expected them to be sampled. To close the main set, an intense delivery of “Threads” was unleashed with Gibbons screaming, "I'm always so unsure," into the microphone at the end of the performance. Hopefully an official live version of this will see the light of day at some point.

Only two songs were performed from their underrated eponymous 1997 release, “Over” and “Cowboys.” These ominous songs also ended up being two of the strongest ones of the evening -- it's indeed a shame that more material from that record was not thrown into the mix, as they might have sat a little more comfortably next to the songs from Third. Another highlight was the final encore track “We Carry On” with Utley’s nihilistic guitar taking the forefront of the mix. Shockingly, Gibbons even wandered around greeting the fans and shaking hands with them during the extended musical refrain at the end, providing a surreal close to the stellar performance.

Setlist:

Silence
Hunter
Nylon Smile
Mysterons
The Rip
Sour Times
Magic Doors
Wandering Star
Machine Gun
Over
Glory Box
Chase the Tear
Cowboys
Threads
--
Roads
We Carry On

The Velvet Richman Division

Imaginary Steve — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:33:19 +0000

15 Oct 2011

Since I'm such an opinionated music lover (some would say "music snob"), I have fairly rigid ideas about successfully pulling off a cover tune. The way I see it, there are generally two ways you can go. The first is to do a note-perfect rendition of whatever song it is you loved enough to perform in the first place. Otherwise, break it down and make it completely your own -- Grandaddy's cover of "Revolution" is a nice example of this tactic.

But after seeing The Velvet Richman Division (supported by Slaughterhaus Rose and Life In A Blender) last Saturday at The Rendezvous, I may have to add a third option. It turns out that combining said song with others by equally-adored, though generally unrelated, artists and just rolling with it works too.

The VRD provide a mash-up of songs by The Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and Joy Division. I'm intimately familiar with The Velvets, yet considerably less so with Joy Division and not at all with Richman. Though this presented some interesting limitations, the benefit was that my ignorance allowed me to enjoy the performance in a way I would have otherwise been unable to. It was as though I was watching a great original set, albeit one heavily influenced by Lou Reed!

What I was most impressed by was VRD's ability to weave these three elements together so seamlessly. Or so it seemed- I suspect it presented quite a challenge to them. Nevertheless, making something difficult appear simple is no small feat. Now that I think about it, being in a cover band that's actually good is an accomplishment in and of itself- I've seen some that were so putrid, I still wake up screaming. OK, maybe that "music snob" label I alluded to was more accurate than I'd like to admit.

The VRD consist of Michael McGivaren, R. Aaron Brown, Mitch Leffler and Dan Schulte. Between them, they're been involved with a number of great local bands including Hotels, The Capillaries, Treasure State and Ed Wang. With such credentials, it's no surprise they are able to do justice to the material of such legendary artists.

They'll be taking a winter-long hiatus to hone and add to their already excellent set (Imaginary Steve selfishly hopes this will include "Venus In Furs.") They're also in the process of booking dates for 2012. And when they do start playing gigs again, make sure you attend because The Velvet Richman Division, above all else, provide something often all too lacking in Northwest music-fun.

Fabulous Downey Brothers

Imaginary Steve — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:32:10 +0000

4 Oct 2011

20110911-130927-743675.png

When it comes to music, when it comes to pretty much anything, I’ve always been a style over substance kind of guy. I think it’s great that KISS put so much work into their costumes and stage show, but I would have much preferred songs that I actually liked. Other than Bowie, in fact, I can’t think of too many artists I admire who have successfully married style and substance. Which is why it’s so refreshing that The Fabulous Downey Brothers seem intent on providing both.

This Olympia-based outfit played to an adoring and enthusiastic crowd at The Comet Tuesday night, supported by Lakefight and Sebastian Clark. Adorned in blue costumes with sizable headpieces, they could have just stood on stage and immediately been different than virtually any other local band. But merely stand on stage they did not. Conflating a cauldron of hardcore, synthpop and musical theater, FDB whipped through an intense set featuring short bursts of controlled chaos. At times it was as if I were watching They Might Be Giants performing under the influence of ridiculously potent amphetamines.

On the surface, the backdrop seems pretty simple- vocals, two guitars, bass, drums and keys. Yet what FDB manage to do with these pedestrian resources is at times nothing short of shocking. We were treated to liberal audience interaction, incredibly catchy melodies and a clamorous wall of sound that kept my ears ringing well into the night. As this event unfolded, I was reminded of acts of divergent as TMBG, The Descendents and The B52s. They even threw in a Misfits cover for good measure.

I see only a handful of shows each year which exceed my expectations. I’m delighted to say this was one of them. You can check them out for yourself on Halloween at The High Dive. They’re loud, they’re electrifying, they’re a little insane, they’re spectacular. They’re The Fabulous Downey Brothers, and most importantly, they’re proof that in 2011, style and substance need not be mutually exclusive.