If you’ve had your ear to Seattle’s music pulse over the past year
or so, then you might have heard a few albums that sound eerily
familiar. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but you may have noticed
that wildly popular bands like Fleet Foxes and the Dutchess
and the Duke gleefully polish and revive some of the band members’
favorite old songs and groups. Whether it be Crosby, Stills, and Nash
in the Foxes’ case or the Rolling Stones for the Duke, a certain brand
of revivalism is huge right now, and Hardly Art’s the
Moondoggies are doing it as well as anyone.
The lead track, “Ain’t No Lord,” off of their debut album,
Don’t Be a Stranger, perfectly demonstrates how the band
bring together the best elements of classic Americana to create fiery
alt-country and roots rock that thrives in a modern setting while
tipping a ten-gallon hat to the forefathers of the genre. A whole lot
of tambourine shaking and Rhodes organ are combined with honky-tonk
guitar, drums, and impossibly catchy choruses, resulting in a sound
that’s a little like Let It Be–era Beatles, but even more
like a down-home spiritual experience. These barroom doggies
don’t grace the all-ages scene too often, so be sure to catch them
playing a rare free show on the University of Washington’s HUB Lawn
this Friday, April 17, at 2:00 pm. The show should be a little weird,
starting in the middle of a school day, but I can’t think of a better
way to appreciate the hazy, dazed rock of one of Seattle’s finest
revival acts than on a sprawling lawn with the sun shining high in the
sky. 
Wed April 15: Theo Zumm, Your Heart Breaks, Dashel
Schueler, Blanket Truth at New Crompton, 7:30 pm, $3–$5.
Thurs April 16: The Helm, Behold, Degania, Brave
Young at Fusion Cafe, 8 pm, $5.
Fri April 17: Tiny Vipers, Grouper, Scott Goodwin
at the Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $8 ($7 w/club card).
Fri April 17: A Night in Hollywood, Oh Sweet
Ransom, at KTUB, 8 pm, $6.
Fri April 17: The Moondoggies at HUB Lawn, 2 pm, free.
Sun April 19: Shotwell, Jack Saints at the
Greenhouse, 8 pm, $5 donation.