Underage

On Inauguration Day, lots of people were out celebrating our new
commander in chief, but only a small, familiar crowd chose to celebrate
at the Vera Project with charming Los Angeles–based songwriter
Devon Williams. The baby-faced Williams, who is the former
guitarist for sleepy folk act Lavender Diamond, was happy to
amuse the small crowd with jokes about how his grandmother missed his
last Seattle show because she passed away (in fact, she’s very much
still alive and sends him money for candy every Valentine’s Day), and
more importantly, with his strong, syrupy singing voice.
Admittedly, his 2008 debut album, Carefree, didn’t impress me
upon first hearing it, but this show was something else. He played an
orange guitar, the color of a runaway forest fire, which
produced a warm, classic jangle, sounding like a reverby sleigh bell.
Whether backing him on somber rockers reminiscent of Hatful of
Hollow or Phil Spector–like doo-wop with repetitive choruses,
Williams’s band rose and fell to match every triumphant crescendo and
subtle croon of his perfectly pained voice. It’s always exciting when a
live performance moves you to revisit an album you might have
prematurely dismissed, and last week’s show has got me running back to
my turntable to give Carefree another chance.

Fri Jan 30: Suburban Vermin, Le Attempts, the Greengoes,
S.K.U.D at KTUB, 7:30 pm, $6.

Fri Jan 30: The Hugs, Se7en Car Pileup, Ambulance, the
Pangeans at Ground Zero, 8 pm, $5.

Fri Jan 30: Cower, Owen Hart, Degania, Sixes at Fusion Cafe,
8 pm, $5.

Sat Jan 31: The Deepsea Goes, We Wrote the Book on
Connectors, Happy Birthday Secret Weapon at Ground Zero, 8 pm, $5.

Sat Jan 31: Quiet by Ten, the Heyday, Brier Rose, Sea Feaver
at Q Cafe, 8 pm, $7.