The mass exodus to South by Southwest last week left us with the sound of crickets in clubland, but a few local bands still managed to make an admirable ruckus, either in my headphones or on the stages of tumbleweed-strewn clubs.
Among the impossibly bad bands (I’m an open-minded, rock-loving gal, but metal bands with Cookie Monster vocalists simply must be stopped) that played the forgettable and poorly organized Emergenza Music Festival over the weekend, Four Counts Dirty, a four-piece from friggin’ Auburn, stood out like Jello Biafra at an Ann Coulter book signing. Clearly, these punk tykes have been taking their Guns N’ Roses– and Ramones-fortified vitamins on a regular basis, and while they’re not exactly charting new topography, when a young band’s influences are this well-digested, with their chops this sharply formed and their attitudes this plausibly impassioned, it’s worth keeping an ear out for what they might stumble upon when they find their own footing. They play out all the time in, um, Spanaway and Orting, but given the splash they made at the High Dive (measured by booking agent Greg Garcia’s feverish reaction), they’ll hopefully be appearing on more Seattle bills soon.
Local label (and erstwhile production company) Light in the Attic already had much to be proud of, given their history of putting on beautifully executed shows for psych-minded Anglophiles (early shows they craftily promoted for Clinic and Interpol both sold out), and lovingly reissuing overlooked archives from Seattle’s music history, such as last year’s well-received soul compilation, Wheedle’s Groove. Their stable of bands grew even more impressive with last year’s signing of the Black Angels. The Texas-based, drone-driven outfit display their Velvet Underground influence not only in name, but in scope, drawing out almost-elegant passages of stoner rock with ’60s psychedelic embellishments and climaxing with the same frenzied, narcotic bliss-outs that helped genre-defining bands like Spiritualized and the Verve find their loyal-for-life fan bases. LITA released the Black Angels’ self-titled debut EP last year to instant cult-like acclaim, and this April’s unveiling of their full-length, Passover, will undoubtedly take them to the next level of the hype machine. Evidence that the buzz is growing louder was reported from SXSW where influential scribes like Magnet columnist Fred Mills, Rolling Stone editor David Fricke, and Chicago Sun-Times tastemaker Jim DeRogatis were spotted among the enthusiastic audience members at their seven well-attended showcases. Seattle fans will have to wait to catch them till late June or early July, when they return from a spring tour with Pink Mountaintops.
Judging by both the Farmer’s Almanac and the notably sunnier disposition of the Stranger staff (my grouchy self included), spring is making its much-anticipated comeback, and club calendars are starting to burst with excellent bills featuring artists touring to promote new releases. Some of the best to hit my inbox recently are the return of Ladytron to Neumo’s on April 26, the joint billing of Bobby Bare Jr. and his legendary father at the Showbox on May 18 and the re-emergence of the Walkmen, who are also at the Showbox on June 9.
Those of you looking for something to get excited about within a more immediate timeframe should consider heading down to El Corazón this Saturday—especially if you are a fan of Brooklyn heroes the Hold Steady. That band’s mustachioed, cartoonishly charismatic keyboardist is nurturing a nutty side project called the World/Inferno Friendship Society, a nine-piece cabaret act that draws upon the works of German-American composer Kurt Weill, big-band swing, vaudeville, klezmer, gospel, polka, and (egads!) Broadway show tunes—all delivered in circus-like, punk-rock style. Appropriately enough, World/Inferno open for beloved UK legends the Subhumans—an inspired pairing, for sure.
As appealing as that show sounds, my agenda this weekend involves an inaugural visit to Devil’s Point, the Portland strip club that attracts dancers of the Suicide Girl persuasion, along with a notable array of touring and local bands who share the stage with the tattooed and pierced strippers, apparently to euphoric effect. Saturday’s show is the release party for Pretty Monster, Portland’s metal-minded punk band with a nasty reputation for smashing furniture and breaking acceptable decibel levels. Wish me luck. 