To celebrate the release of their gorgeous new record,
Promenade, local eight-piece chamber-pop band Grand
Hallway have put together an impressive party—a concert in
the Great Hall at the Fremont Abbey, where the octet will be joined by
the 30-piece Seattle Rock Orchestra.
“We wanted to do something special,” says band singer Tomo Nakayama.
“We worked for a really long time on this record, and there are a lot
of parts that we can’t always do live, and we wanted to do the songs
justice.”
The band—featuring members of the Maldives, Sleepy
Eyes of Death, and Voyager One—usually have to scale
back or rearrange their songs live, since the studio versions have more
parts than the eight members can perform themselves. Nakayama, who says
the band have so far only had one rehearsal with the orchestra, is as
eager as anyone to hear what these expanded live versions sound
like.
“It’s nerve-racking, but it’s also really exciting. It’ll bring out
a different side of the record,” he says. “For this performance, it’s
going to be a lot of layers and sounds. And the cool thing is we don’t
really have to mic anything because the acoustics in that room are
awesome.”
The band have also recruited the Perkins School Children
Choir, a small ensemble of 8- to 11-year-olds, to provide some
added vocals. (In return, the band will be donating part of the
evening’s proceeds to the Perkins School.)
Sounds like this show will be amazing. It goes down Thursday,
September 17, tickets at the door are $10, and doors open at 7:00
p.m.
Fri Sept 18: The Get Up Kids, Youth Group, Pretty
& Nice at Neumos, 7 pm, $21.
Sat Sept 19: Monotonix, Unnatural Helpers, Black
Eyes and Neckties at Neumos, 8 pm, $13.
Sat Sept 19: Alligators, Candysound, Kids &
Animals, Webelos, Piko Panda at Mr. Spots Chai House, 6 pm,
free.
Sun Sept 20: Team Dresch, Erase Errata, Telepathic
Liberation Army at Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $12/$11 with club
card.
