From the Aug 12 – Aug 18, 2004 issue

Music

Up & Coming

THURSDAY 8/12


FRED EVERYTHING
(See Sound Lounge) Montreal DJ/producer Fred Everything (Frederic Blais) is one of those guys whose cell is on speed-dial among many industry hot shots. They call on him to remix their mediocrities into mesmerizing, tuneful house butter. (For proof, check out From the Deep [Bombay], Fred's collection of studio rejuvenations from 1998-2001.) Brilliant case in point is Fred's "Afro Loft Re-interpretation" of Jaffa's "Elevator," which he swathes in satiny synth pads and churns out funk grooves as silky and tight as the jumpsuit of a Soul Train dancer circa 1973. As a producer, Fred released Under the Sun (2001, Turbo) and the new Light of Day (20:20 Vision), which International DJ Magazine called "the best house album of 2004." This guy's a real smoothie, but he's soulful with it. DAVE SEGAL

RACETRACK, ANCILLE, DAVID & GOLIATH, THE IF/THEN STATEMENT
(2nd Avenue Pizza) When you hear the record Racetrack just made with Chris Walla--on tape (of all things) and in record time--they're going to be your favorite band. Why wait, though, when you can see them rock out live ahead of time? Fans of NW power pop whose indie rock melodic strains can't subdue the fury of the driving beat (one could mention Flop without going too far afield, though Superchunk seems to be the operative influence) should flock to this band. SEAN NELSON

SPIDERBITES, VIA, FROM THE ICY COAST
(Sunset) In retrospect, SPIDeRBITeS' frontman Ryan Davidson admits blowing fire with former band EXBeSTFRIeNDS was amusing, but quite dangerous. The time for pyro may have passed, but the time to commit SPIDeRBITeS to tape is nigh, although Davidson cautions, "We're definitely working on it; I don't want this to turn out like EXBeSTFRIeNDS, where we recorded right before we broke up." Given that very few rock musicians in this city are cultivating as much raw, unharvested talent as Davidson, I couldn't agree more. HANNAH LEVIN

LOVE HOTEL, GLADNESS, THE MYRIAD, SPANISH FOR 100
(Chop Suey) I'm warning you, Love Hotel is getting really good. The guitar-bass interplay of Aaron Huffman and Bo Gulliland is starting to locate itself in the axis of the Cure, Blondie, and similar late-'70s/early-'80s dark waver pop, while singer Sarah Paul O'Campo is stepping into the rock-goddess shoes that are rightfully hers. Having watched them gather and lose momentum for a couple of years now, it's great to see this bunch of talented players get committed to being formidable. Here's hoping they keep it up. SEAN NELSON

FRIDAY 8/13


DAVE ALVIN AND THE GUILTY MEN, CHRISTY McWILSON
(Tractor) See Drunk by Noon, page 58.

SEATTLE MUSIC FEST: POST STARDOM DEPRESSION, SCHOOLYARD HEROES, DROP SIX, STATIC RADIO, CHRONIC DISORDER, SUB-MOTIVE
(Alki Beach) See Stranger Suggests, page 37, and All Ages Action, page 66.

ACCEPTANCE, GATSBY'S AMERICAN DREAM, MY AMERICAN HEART, BEFORE TODAY
(Graceland) Am I wrong when I say that the Gatsby's American Dream song "The Badlands" sounds a whole lot like the Eagles? Rejuvenating the old seems to be working out for them, because Gatsby's shows never fail to be filled to capacity, and the band just got signed to Fearless Records. Also in signing news, Gatsby's current tourmates, Acceptance (tonight is the kickoff for their 28-date U.S. tour), have recently inked a deal with Columbia and will release their major-label debut early next year. MEGAN SELING

THE GIRLS, THE LIGHTS, THE BAD DATES
(Chop Suey) If you've yet to see the Girls or the Lights, two great local acts, or even if it's been a while since you've gone to one of their shows, now's the time to see them together. The Lights have fleshed out their set list with new material that builds on the stark mood and haunting post-punk sound that rightly gave them such a large Seattle fan base. And the Girls are taking their Cars musical connection all the way, giving new wave a rock 'n' roll punch and more chant-along anthems than a British soccer match. JENNIFER MAERZ

THE CAPILLARIES, HEATHER DUBY, SOME BY SEA
(Crocodile) The Capillaries have come a long way (baby) since Matt Southworth moved to Seattle with nothing but a broken heart, a moldy four-track, and 1,750 songs about his horrible ex-girlfriend in tow. They've become a powerful pop-rock band--particularly when the Long Winters aren't on tour so semi-permanent Capillaries member Eric Corson can fill out Southworth's tasty guitar licks with his trademark melodic bass playing. Is Corson the best bass player in town? Indeed. Best there is? Time will tell. Heather Duby has made another moody, vibey LP, and has a suave band to support her heavy, sexy voice. And Some by Sea is well on the way to finding their own path through the musical salmon run that is early-Death Cab influence. Still, for smart, sweet songwriting and sheer musicality, it's hard to imagine another up-and-coming band with more promise. SEAN NELSON

SATURDAY 8/14


THE INTELLIGENCE, THE HUNCHES, NEW FANGS
(Fun House) See Live Wire, page 55.

SEBADOH, IMAAD WASIF, THE COPS
(Crocodile) See Stranger Suggests, page 37.

MOMMA, THE INSURGENCE, LIFE IN BRAILLE, AMY COOPER
(Paradox) See All Ages Action, page 66.

MARAH, GRAND CHAMPEEN, RICHMOND FONTAINE
(Tractor) See Drunk by Noon, page 58.

The Bran Flakes, KJ Sawka, The Fading Collection, Bookmobile

(CHAC Lower Level) See Live Wire, page TK

THE DICKIES, THE BRIEFS, DEK
(Graceland) When I think of all the '70s punkers that were full of campy sass and cheek, the Dickies are the absolute KINGS! They put the pun in punk! Seriously, they wrote the best, FUN fucking songs that were loaded with hilarity and sideways, not-so-obvious "Fuck off, you square-assed hippie a-hole rock jerks!"--broad smiling, chummy "fuck offs," of course. And all they had to do was punk up their hooky, silly songs and toss in some live "theatrics" (thanks to Genesis! I swear it's true!) in the late '70s... when mustaches weren't ironic and "rock" was decidedly NOT funny! MIKE NIPPER

SLICK RICK, KOOL KEITH
(Premier) Slick Rick is truly great because he is hiphop's only dandy. His mode of being--the richly colored clothes, the exhausted, aristocratic voice, the glittering jewelry--aspires to the condition of beauty. Indeed, you won't find a hiphop song that is more ethereal than "Venus," which opens with a hard, city-street beat and ascends to a heavenly, dreamy place where purple angels sit on white clouds that are bright with sunlight and floating on warm air that's sweetened here and there by Slick Rick's mellifluous whistling. Any discussion about hiphop aesthetics cannot be done in any satisfactory way without first considering the remarkable art of Slick Rick. CHARLES MUDEDE See also My Philosophy, page 57, and Stranger Suggests, page 37.

KASKADE, WESLEY HOLMES, JEROMY NAIL
(Chop Suey) Syrupy, song-oriented house music ranks near the bottom on my list of favorite styles, but apparently folks are feelin' Kaskade's lush, sappily melodic productions for San Francisco's relentlessly upbeat (as in emotion, not bpms) Om Records. Kaskade's new full-length, In the Moment, is the club equivalent of '70s AM radio (Bread, Seals & Crofts, etc.): It's the house album you can play for your parents without ruffling any feathers. Kaskade (AKA Ryan Raddon) is Om's A&R director, so all you producers be nice when you hand him your demos. With Jeromy Nail, Christa Wells (live vocals), and Erin O'Conner. DAVE SEGAL

CITIZEN COPE, JEN CHAPIN
(Hideaway, late) Like G. Love and Special Sauce, Citizen Cope moves through murky areas that mix genres indiscriminately, pulling from the rhythm of hiphop and the delivery of acoustic balladry. Unlike G. Love, though, Cope (AKA Clarence Greenwood) steers away from the trite lyrics, instead fleshing out his work like a more adult-alternative-friendly, Hollywood-soundtrack-steering Beck. JENNIFER MAERZ

SUNDAY 8/15


DAVID BYRNE
(Pier 62/63) See Stranger Suggests, page 37.

PATTI SMITH AND HER BAND
(Moore Theatre) See preview, page 50.

CHICAGO, EARTH WIND & FIRE
(White River Amphitheatre) Earth, Wind & Fire is like water: Everything you say about the band seems obvious. They were a popular and big--in terms of members--funk band in the '70s and early '80s; like their funk contemporaries--the Commodores, the Gap Band--they dressed extravagantly; and they promoted on the covers of their LPs a frankly utopian, Afrocentric vision. Earth, Wind & Fire also produced a galaxy of pop hits. Most of these hits are now popular at weddings, especially white, suburban weddings. When the sun has set over Bellevue and other parts of the Eastside, and the once tipsy moms and pops of the bride and groom are now tanked, nothing can stop them from dancing (embarrassing themselves and their loved ones) to "September" or "Boogie Wonderland," or the eternal "Shining Star." CHARLES MUDEDE

MONDAY 8/16


THE WAXWINGS, LITTLE HAND OF THE CITY
(Sunset) Not to be confused with Seattle band Waxwing, Detroit's the Waxwings blend spaced-out, Zombies-influenced garage with stoned, Beatles-tinged pop. Their latest collection of Technicolor melodies, Let's Make Our Descent, jangles like a pocket full of loose change, keeping up the retro vibe even as the production on the record keeps the sound nice and smooth. With a record that takes off on "Eight Miles High"--and at times sounds like a more subdued Go--the Waxwings transcend the grit of most garage acts to float in a cloud of blissed-out guitar riffs, an aesthetic that unfortunately can make them sound a little monotonous. Still, it's a very comfortable ride. JENNIFER MAERZ

TRICK DECK, ENTROPIC ADVANCE, MISS SOLAR SYSTEM, DJ SEAN WOLCOTT

(Chop Suey) Seattle's Entropic Advance's bleak, pitiless electro rock intensifies your grimace with each malignant measure. Their 2002 double disc, Red Yellow Noise, displays EA's versatility. On the Red CD, the group's glitched-to-hell beats carom amid toxic ambient emissions, conjuring a soundtrack for watching Iraqi oil wells burning in the desert. At times it gets positively Muslimgauze-like with Arabic chanting and frenetic hand drumming. The Yellow CD captures EA's ethno-ambient/ surreal-field-recording style to eerily powerful effect. Unlike many postindustrial electronicists who put more creativity into their facial hair than their music, Entropic Advance operate at a frightfully high level of imagination. DAVE SEGAL

TUESDAY 8/17


OLD CANES, IDIOT PILOT, IN PRAISE OF FOLLY, THE RACE, TALK DEMONIC
(Graceland) The Race offer a fuzzy blanket of moody, introspective, electronic-flecked pop, crooning like Radiohead-meets-the-Saddle Creek catalog on their latest record, If You Can. The songs move at the pace of a breakup that refuses to end, and the vocals waver between somber explanation and expressions of slight hope, but steady beats and soft-loud guitar dynamics keep the Race out of the realm of sorry self-pity, instead finding beauty in sadness. JENNIFER MAERZ

WEDNESDAY 8/18


COWBOY JUNKIES, SHAWN COLVIN
(Marymoor) Many years ago, I read in some British pop music magazine that the Cowboy Junkies, who are from Toronto and had at the time released The Trinity Sessions (1988), came from well-to-do families. I distinctly recall the words "upper-middle class" being used to designate their position in the world. When I finally got around to listening to their music, Whites Off Earth Now (1986) and The Trinity Sessions, the impression I got was that only rich kids could make this kind of music. It was a stark, melancholy mix of country and blues, with Margo Timmins singing like a woman whose money and love problems are watered down by can after can of cheap beer. The music was filled with what the French call nostalgie de la boue ("nostalgia for the mud"), which is the romanticization of the values, habits, opinions of lower-class people. The Cowboy Junkies were rich kids pretending to be burdened by the sorrows of poverty. CHARLES MUDEDE

ARGO, ARKADE, LOVE HOTEL
(Crocodile) After childhoods spent playing music together, and a couple of years playing out in Seattle in relative obscurity, local four-piece Argo are talented multi-instrumentalists (who rotate around the stage with Sebadoh-like intensity) ready to headline. With musical styles as diverse as each band member's talents, Argo can take you from melodic indie pop to brainy jazz-influenced instrumentals to intense rock refrains, with a sophistication beyond their young years and a continuity maintained throughout. And now, they're ready to enchant all of you. DANA BOS

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