You guys. I think I found the opening track for my Summer 2012 mix! Summer Twins (who I saw open for Matthew Sweet just a few weeks ago) just released a video for "I Will Love You" and it's bursting with danceable indie-pop goodness that makes me want to jump around like crazy and spin in the sunshine and collapse after hours of laughing. Plus, the ending is all lilty-pretty-swooning retro beautifulness. Plus plus, the video is ADORABLE. Where can I get one of those polka-dot dresses? And hand-clapping boys to dance around me while I play musics?
{Yeah, I have a crush. So sue me.}
Press play and start your early Summer dance party now!
From the "duh, obvsies" file: you're not going to want to miss Father John Misty this Monday night at Neumos.
On the heels of a killer Letterman performance {above} and rave reviews for the new album, Fear Fun, FJM is in the middle of taking their show on the road. They'll be stopping in our fair city with the third show of the tour, which extends for much of the rest of the month and covers Canada, the northeast and a few stops down south -- and if you're lucky enough, they'll be stopping somewhere near you.
In case you have been living under a rock haven't heard about Fear Fun yet, here's a few snippets to start your landscape: first, our full album review, where Chris Estey describes the sound as "...a lot of reading Beats and bards and bohemian travel writers; writing reams of visions and observations and humiliating admissions; listening to a whole lot of great albums from the later Vietnam era created by PTSD-shaken troubadours; perfervidly working on demos with producer/singwriter comrade Jonathan Wilson, and bringing on board Phil Ek to help mix it. Also: treehouse living with spiders, Canadian Shamans who share a little too much intoxicant, Adderall and weed otherwise, a lot of funerals, fumbling drinks, and novels needing to be written as one lives life like a "You take your chances here, pal" roller coaster."
And our initial report, after my first sighting of "Hollywood Forever Cemetary Sings," and a trip around the soundscape of the leaked version of FF: "...over the last few days we've been wrapping our ears around the internet leak of the new album by Father John Misty, nee Josh / "J." Tillman {formerly of the Fleet Foxes}. Fear Fun will be out in early May on Sub Pop, and it's going to be one we pick up on vinyl in triplicate for sure: it's an incredible departure from anything we've ever heard J./osh Tillman involved in thus far, and a few of our first listens, it almost feel like a sampler of everything he's been waiting to play for the world, and everything we've been waiting to hear but didn't know we needed. Fear Fun is some kind of mad genius that we can't quite find the right adjectives for yet, as we're still waist-deep in absorbing both the lyrical content and sonic experimentation of it all: pure, clear vocals laden over with seventies-esque easy-listening key-change sensibilities and a side of jangly guitar twang, fused together with a full-frontal balls-out sound that takes time to digest and process. This album is smart, complicated, soothing yet uncomfortable, brash yet kind -- it doesn't sound like anything else we know, which leaves us with the overall feeling that Father John Misty just might be the Brian Wilson of the post indie rock set."
I’ve been a fan of Jonathan Coulton ever since my own Jonathan put “Skullcrusher Mountain” on a mix CD for me. And, Hooray! He's coming to The Showbox June 22!!!
Moving between fun, poppy tunes and folkier ballards, Coulton's lyrics inject a sense of (nerdy) humor into every song. His live shows are full of adorable stage presence punctuated by witty commentary, making him beloved by legions of fans. (I’m not kidding about the legions, you guys. He’s like the official singer/songwriter for everybody who goes to Comic Con.) Check out "Skullcrusher Mountain" above, and listen to more of his songs for free here, plus get some downloads for only $1 a pop! Further proof that he is super awesome. Ticket buying is recommend NOW, because this will be sold out soon.
“I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you
But I get the feeling that you don't like it
What's with all the screaming?
You like monkeys, you like ponies
Maybe you don't like monsters so much
Maybe I used too many monkeys
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?”
{Jonathan Coulton | Showbox at the Market | 6/22 | Doors at 8pm | 21+ | $28.50 adv, $30 day of}
{Allo Darlin' photo by Steve Louie}
We always been in awe of David Schmader for being such an amazing talent; he's good at just about everything: writing amazing works of art, producing and performing one-man plays, and emceeing events (just to name a few). And, we've always loved him because he's a super generous and friendly guy... and now we have another reason to adore him:
He shares our love of Allo Darlin' and heartily recommends their upcoming show, next Friday (5/11) at the Vera Project!!!
David astutely wrote in The Stranger's Suggests column: London’s Allo Darlin’, led by escaped Australian Elizabeth Morris, who plays ukulele, writes songs about diagnosing relationships via Woody Allen’s cinematic archetypes and making chili, and is brilliant.
We couldn't agree more! We also couldn't be more honored by his kind words about the Allo Darlin' / Wave Pictures show, which also happens to be the first show in our 10th Anniversary celebration series.
Next time anyone crosses paths with David, tell him how brilliant he is (and buy him a beverage, at the very least).
Don't forget, there's still a couple days left to enter to win tickets to the Allo Darlin' show! Enter to win tickets before noon on May 3!
This has actually been lingering in my inbox for awhile (sorry guys!) but I finally had time to take a proper listen, and am ready to declare that Sweet Diss and the Comebacks is joining the list of my new favorite PNW bands!
Nathan Reinauer hales from Seattle and currrently lives in Portland - and also apparently created some of the best stuff I've heard in awhile by performing, mixing, and mastering every note on Emerald City Love Song himself. Bravo, Nathan. Bravo. It's sweet and danceable ad power-poppy and. Oh hey. I LOVE IT!
I also appreciate this description from their bandcamp page:
Catchy melodies, soaring harmonies, and more key changes than your ex-girlfriend's apartment.
Yup. That about sums it up! Take a listen to "Twenty-Something" below (I also recommend "Indie Girl", "Never Stop Wooing You" and "Dear Small Town", and if you like - you can listen to the whole album on bandcamp here, buy it on iTunes here, or order it from Japan (what?) to get it with 4 extra tracks.
{Apologies for the crappy cell phone pic, you guys!}
Was this my most anticipated show of the year? So far—YES. I think it was. And so I was a little worried when my friend told me that Matthew had stumbled a bit during his Portland show, but I needn’t have been: The Girlfriend Tour was exactly what I wanted it to be.
Opening band Summer Twins (from Riverside, CA) took the stage, and I was pretty much immediately taken with the two sisters at the heart of the band: Chelsea and Justine. First off, Justine plays DRUMS, and I’m a sucker for a female drummer. Second, Chelsea has one of these awesome sultry-cute voices, and plays the guitar in an adorable sway-dancing way that is almost too twee to handle.
Rounded out by Marcia Rivera on guitar (who stood completely and totally still the whole set) and Levi Audette on bass (who bounced around the other side of the stage in stark contrast), Summer Twins played a bunch of really solid, utterly danceable super-fun indie rock tunes that mixed a hint of of surfy-garage rock with retro pop.
Bounciness was in abundance, my friends. I bought their self-titled debut CD at the break, resisting the vinyl…but only temporarily. Because I bet they sound AMAZEBALLS on vinyl.
If you listened to radio at all in the 90s, you couldn't escape hearing Matthew Sweet's swirling guitar-filled, gets-stuck-in-your-head, bouncy hit "Girlfriend". And if you were a genuine power pop lover, you toted around the Girlfriend album like it was pure gold, shuffling the tape or CD from your car to your boom box, sticking a song from it on every mix you made, and stashing your vinyl safely in a plastic sleeve, to make sure it stayed pristine and unscratched for listening parties.
Lucky for those of us that are Girlfriend aficionados, Matthew Sweet is touring for the 20th Anniversary (WHAT), and is making a stop at The Triple Door for two nights of playing Girlfriend in its entirety. Oh, the nostalgic 90s bliss that will ensue during those two nights! Can you imagine the amount of drool on the floor that will be left from power pop enthusiasts? I can. And I bet the Triple Door can too, which is why there were super smart to book him for two shows.
Due to some divine intervention (ha!), I'll be at the Wednesday night show, imagining the way I used to gaze lovingly at young Matthew’s photo on the inside of the CD cover and hope he was talking to me when he sang, “I hear you’re looking for someone to love”, and preparing my ears for his sweet, sweet (double ha!) vocals. And! We have a pair of tix to giveaway to it too! Wanna go see Matthew on 4/25? Send an email to tig {at} threeimaginarygirls {dot} com sometime between now and the end of the day Friday {4/20}, with the subject line "Evangeline". We'll pick a winner and notify you over that weekend that you're on the list +1.
My Girlfriend CD and remixed single (pictured above, right) are a little worse for wear, but this girl can still swoon over Matthew Sweet -- even 20+ years later.
{Matthew Sweet Girlfriend Tour | The Triple Door | 4/25 & 4/26 | Doors at 6pm, show at 7:30pm | All Ages | $28 adv, $32 day of, $38 VIP}
Latest comment by: Edward Dekema: "I can't believe it's been twenty years. The album is still a classic!"
I'm almost not quite sure how to begin recounting last night's show at the Fremont Abbey {Round #83, with Damien Jurado, The Head and the Heart's Jonathan Russell, and members of Pretty Broken things, two painters, and a poet} in a way that conveys it with proper justice. So far as layperson's terms go, it was just a show: two forty-five minute sets on a stage, three lead singers trading off turns, with active art creation on the side and yes, even the poetry was good. But when you take two powerful frontmen and put them in such an intimate setting -- you're bound to win big. And I think I can speak for the entire sold-out room when I say that everybody won last night.
Between getting to see Damien Jurado's work showcased at such a tangible, stripped-away scale {both through selections from Maraqopa and long-standing favorites like "Sheets"} and Jonathan Russell's raw-yet-polished abandon {several new-to-me songs, a Bill Withers cover, and an incredible closing number about getting postcards you don't want that's been rattling in my brain since The Head and the Heart's Easy Street set last year}, we were taken on a collective journey through the soundscape that engaged both the audience and the other members on stage in a way you just don't see at a one-band-at-a-time rehearsed show. Such is the beauty of seeing performers in the round.
Latest comment by: imaginary victoria: "hey spiro, I didn't want to be disruptive to the performance and had to shoot "around" the folks sitting in front of us -- no, nothing I managed to get of her came out. :("
Well, we were going to tune in this morning amidst the Radiohead photos and oohs-and-ahs from Andrew Bird's performance last night that are clogging our social media streams to tell you that Eef Barzelay needs your help to make a new Clem Snide record. But as it turns out, with twenty-three days left in the fundraising project over on his Kickstarter page, he's already made the $10,000.00 goal needed to get cracking on the recording.
Barzelay is no stranger to the Kickstarter world, funding a few of his recent efforts the same way -- most notably, Clem Snide's Journey, an EP chock-full of the greatest Journey songs you'd ever want to keep on repeat -- but this one has a bit of a twist: he'll be recording an album of the songs he's been commissioned by his fans to make over the years, and has a great take on the gap-bridging that takes place in the process that he explains in the video for the project above.
We might be wrong here (Eef, let us know!) but even though he's made his goal already, folks who continue to pledge amounts between $1.00 and $2000.00+ will still receive the benefits listed. With everything from an advance copy of the album to "Fan for Life" status (where you are guest-listed for every show, forever) to a private show and a weekend with Eef in Nashville on the table, it's practically impossible not to donate to the cause.
You guys! Best Coast is coming to Seattle on May 22 and playing at The Neptune! The Drums and Best Coast in the same month? I am in imaginary music heaven. Crazy for You is one of my most-played albums, and I've been excitedly anticipating the release of their second CD, The Only Place, since they announced it. You can grab a free download of the first single on their site! Awesome.
In addition to loving their lush, retro-esque pop, I am also tottally enamored of their killer West Side Story-inspired video out for "Our Deal", Directed by the amazing Drew Barrymore, and starring the equally amazing Chloe Grace Moretz, Alia Shawkat, and...Donald Glover! It's so pretty. I could watch it over and over (which is what I've been doing for the past hour or so).
I suggest you grab tix quick, because I suspect this show will sell out.
{Best Coast with Jeff the Brotherhood | Tuesday, May 22 | Doors @7pm, Show @8pm | Neptune Theatre | All Ages, Bar w/ID | $18 ADV, $20 Day of}
Latest comment by: Imaginary Amie: "Hooray, John! We will be show-going Imaginaries together. :) "
Recent comments
The Drums + Craft Spells = total dance party!
The Drums + Craft Spells = total dance party!
The Drums + Craft Spells = total dance party!
The Drums + Craft Spells = total dance party!
Willis Earl Beal wows small crowd at Barboza
Recommended Event: SIFF 2012 Opening Night {5/17}
Willis Earl Beal wows small crowd at Barboza
Willis Earl Beal wows small crowd at Barboza
Fear Fun
Fear Fun