The Stranger went in search of music at U Link Launch party for the newly opened Capitol Hill and UW station light rail stations. It was hard to avoid it, and more of it sounded better than expected, to this cynic. Unfortunately, I arrived at the Capitol Hill station grounds right after Travis Ritter (aka DJ Goo Goo and occasional Stranger freelancer) had finished his set, but he mentioned that he’d spun a mostly electronic set that included Throbbing Gristle’s “AB/7a,” which offers an exceptional breakfast soundtrack. We did catch KEXP’s DJ Sharlese long enough to hear her drop tracks by Chastity Belt, Helio Sequence, and Crater. “I love playing local music on vinyl!” Sharlese enthused, even at 10:30 am on a Saturday.

Wandering around the Capitol Hill station area was a garishly garbed gladiator working under the auspices of Sound Transit; he was wearing an insignia on his chest that read ZAP GRIDLOCK. Zappy alternately fascinated and scared a group of kids, one of whom ran away and fell in doing so. The boy appeared unhurt, thankfully. Inside the station, Miles and Karina played jaunty and melancholy old-timey folk songs on dobro and accordion. Family-friendly and harmless stuff. At the UW station, a subdued jazz trio called Karma Ju Ju provided a pleasant backdrop on the concourse to Husky Stadium. Their version of Hendrix’s “The Wind Cries Mary” was highly mellifluous and it took some ingenious melodic liberties.

Sadly for Karma Ju Ju, thunder from a massive drum ensemble called Vamolá was bleeding into their sound. A ragtag group of mostly middle-aged folks of various ethnicities and genders, Vamolá busted out some Brazilian-inflected, fonky pieces, which they punctuated with robust chants. The band’s leader, Grant Emery, looked a bit like Kenny G and he conducted them with arm movements and a whistle. “We’ve all got day jobs,” the Emery said to a fan. “I’ve been doing it for 12-13 years. It keeps me sane.”

The musical highlight was Ela Lamblin of Lelavision and his Stamenphone, a metal sculpture he made about 20 years ago, which he strung with piano wire. Lelavision runs a cello bow over the strings to create rich harmonics that hover timbrally somewhere between a harp and a viola. He made the Stamenphone thrum with a solemn, majestic beauty that recalled the ancient-to-future compositions of Stranger Music Geniuses Eyvind Kang and Jessika Kenney. Truly moving music.

Back at the Capitol Hill station, I caught some of DJ Riz’s set, which included what sounded like a house remix of Ohio Players’ “Love Rollercoaster.” Right about then, a man and woman (who, it turns out, are Lelavision; they get around) adorned with metal kneecaps, butt pads, helmets, bras, and pipes strapped to their backs marched by and beat out a skeletal rhythm that meshed surprisingly well with Riz’s selection.

DJ Brent (aka Burnt Zza) followed with a rock-heavy vinyl set that bolstered the theme of trains and riding : the Kinetics’ “Take a Train,” Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Rider,” Eric and Happy Thoughts’ “Ride Ride Ride!” etc. Brent, who lives on Capitol Hill and works at Sub Pop’s shop at SeaTac Airport, gushed about how much easier it would be to get to work now. Shortly thereafter, a woman—who lives across the street from the station—charged toward him at the DJ booth to complain about the noise during the Jesus and Mary Chain tune. Brent, however, didn’t turn down the volume as he moved into Tubeway Army’s “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?”