at The Tractor Tavern

 

Tomo Nakayama (and all of Grand Hallway for that matter) is a pleasure to watch perform.  The eight piece orchestral indie-pop band played to a bursting Tractor Tavern, last Saturday, with headliners Black Whales andAmateur Radio Operator. Having never caught Grand Hallway live before, I was surprised by Tomo's ability to alternate between intensity and composure, while weaving together delicate songs that tug at the heart and mind in equal measure.

If you missed it, you have a chance to catch them again at the Triple Door, March 6th, backed by the 50 piece Seattle Rock Orchestra and the Perkins School Children’s Choir. I can't imagine a better place to experience their brand of sweet orchestral pop in it's full glory. Bam.

 

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Bumbershoot takes place at the Seattle Center this September 5-7 and there's about a million and a half things to do (bands, literary panels, art shows, Flatstock, kettle corn lunches) over the three-day fest.

To help folks (especially ourselves) prepare for Bumbershoot 2009, we put together this lil mix of some of the things you should add to your Bumbershoot scheduling spreadsheet. We hope this helps you pick your must-sees or at least provides a soundtrack as you wander to and fro.

 

{go listen}

I believe that one reason Seattle and the Northwest in general puts out a crap-load of great music is the constant incest between bands. Whereas incest usually creates mutant babies, Grand Hallway is a band where it gives birth to a unique (but not in that “special” way) and lovely sound that encompasses the octet’s orchestral swells on songs like “Blessed Be, Honey Bee,” and the delicate finger picking of “Usagi No Uta” off their newest release, Promenade, out this September.

The band is mainly Tomo Nakayama, formerly of Asahi and Jen Wood Trio. The rest of the lineup includes members from the Maldives, Sleepy Eyes of Death, Widower, and Voyager One. More than this, on their newest album they also had help from Heatwarmer (a band whose songs are such a mash-up of different styles that I continue to see them live just to figure out exactly what the hell I think of it, and have decided, I love it), Cory Gray, and Goh Nakamura.

Grand Hallway’s songs are melancholy, melodically Beatlesque simultaneously Japanese and European, at times sparse and at others dense, but they always hit home in a direct and charming way that brings a listener into the folds of what the Northwest music scene has to offer. Don’t miss them at 3:15 on the Northwest court, Monday of Bumbershoot.

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at The Crocodile

Loney, Dear. Gotta love the Swedish folk. They love to tell stories about their experiences on tour in America. Lead singer Emil Svanängen recalls his day spent visiting the Sub Pop offices (and being very appreciative of them) and walking around memorizing the street names near the Crocodile.

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We have a pair of tickets to a lucky reader to see Hey Marseilles and Grand Hallway on Thursday - send an e-mail to tig@threeimaginarygirls.com before noon on Thursday to enter.

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It is scheduled to take place at Cheney Stadium, home of the Tacoma Rainiers minor league baseball team at 2pm.

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As if the lineup at Sasquatch 2008 could get any better, local Seattle dreamy orchestral band Grand Hallway have just announced that they're joining M.I.A., Death Cab, R.E.M., and about a zillion other fantastic bands at the Gorge this Memorial Day Weekend.

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It's a cover of Neil Young's sound "Philadelphia", and like the rest of the album (Yes Is the Answer) it is a fragile thing of beauty.

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We gathered our imaginary staff to determine our collective Northwest favorites for 2007. It was hard work. Imaginary battles were fought, alliances formed, and finally, winners emerged.

You should have seen the way that imaginary Liz can arm wrestle, and how Erik Gonzalez can duke it out for his favorite bands. It was fierce and fun, and we think our final list was well worth the effort.

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Every December I go through over 80 albums and try to codify them some way. Though it may take until after Christmas before my final top list (and mix cd) is ready, my favorite albums of the year are always fairly obvious to me by now. These are the ones that meant the most to me.

Top NW Albums

1) Grand Archives - s/t
2) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
3) Menomena - Friend & Foe
4) Tullycraft - Every Scene Needs A Center
5) Shake Some Action - s/t
6) Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
7) The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
8) Welcome - Sirs
9) Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
10) Awesome - Beehive Sessions
11) Carolyn Mark - Nothing Is Free
12) Grand Hallway - Yes Is The Answer
13) The New Pornographers - Challengers
14) Ghost Stories - Quixoticism
15) The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

Overall Top 10 Albums of 2007

1) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
3) Emma Pollock - Watch The Fireworks
4) Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
5) Feist - The Reminder
6) Menomena - Friend & Foe
7) Blonde Redhead - 23
8) Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound
9) Apostle Of Hustle - National Anthem Of Nowhere
10) Radiohead - In Rainbows