Capitol Hill Block Party 2016

DAY ONE

Rumor has it Dilly Dally’s performance at Capitol Hill Block Party’s 20^th Year was the show to see by local record A&R’s. Their record Sore has been tearing through my speakers since it came out last year, so it was a good show to kick off this neighborhood’s summer festival with. Katie Monks, Liz Ball, and band wasted no time ripping into their albums worth of songs, which is centered around the idiosyncrasies of Monks painfully beautiful voice and Ball’s head down rockin’ guitar riffs.  

As the sun set over Seattle I made my way into Neumo’s for local hip hop maven Do Normaal’s set of head in the clouds hip hop. With a DJ playing her beats from a laptop and MPC Do Normaal rapped clearly and accurately from her two Eps. She paced the stage bursting with flow of consciousness raps and already had the people dancing before she left the stage herself and entered the crowd for “Let That Thing (Go)”.

Wild Powwers took the stage next, and set up the city’s best drummer Lupe Flores center stage. Bouyed by a thundering rhythm section including Jordan Gomes on bass, singer Lara Hilgemann caused the crowd to gasp audibly as she tore into six and twelve string electric. Her voice now runs the gamut from spirited high harmonies with Flores, to feral growl.  Not even a lengthy break to repair a broken bass string halfway through the set, and the myriad of music in every bar on the street could get the crowd to break their gaze with the stage.

Security had a heavy presence at CHBP, from stage hands, to local police and sheriffs, and entry points blockaded with cop cars. The festival retained a peaceful feeling despite being one of the most heavily gentrified areas in the city. Known as Seattle’s prime gay-borhood, and arts district Capitol Hill has seen homophobic violence rising consistently with rent prices, but aside from a drunk earlier in the day being tossed from Neumo’s for homophobic slurs towards bartenders people seemed to be caring for each other pretty well.

DAY TWO

Day two began for me with a rousing set from Thunderpussy. Their bare bones rock n’ roll had the day crowd rushing towards the main stage. Their cover of early Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”, and the party starting tom-tom beat of the song “Thunderpussy were crowd pleasers. Thunderpussy has become a formidable live presence with shows full of, dance numbers, badass custom costumes, and power trio rock that recalls classic rock’s riotous inception.

Up and coming local act Carseat Head Rest was already in command of a huge crowd with his full band. Playing from his latest album Teens Of Denial, Will Toledo fit the part, singing confidently, either fooling a crowd into loving experimental rock, or turning them into tasteful fans on the spot. As with Teens Of Denial, the massive sound system and full band helped his music take on a full, loud sound that was pleasing and punishing at once. As I left the show I found myself thinking, “Wilco, with naiveté”. I thought it in the best possible way.

I have to admit when I ditched the building crowd and escaped to Barboza, Nuemo’s basement bar to see Jus Moni, I thought I was catching a show not many people would know about. I was wrong. The place was packed back to the door and as I entered her band included Porter Ray, Taysean (Kingdom Crumbs), and Stas The Boss (Thee Satisfaction). She sang like a bird through her debut EP –mood-setting, uplifting R&B set to afro-futurist beats, to the delight of the entire crowd.

Outside on the mainstage british electronic producer TOURIST had a mass of bodies the size of two city blocks bounding under his earworm hooks, buzzy synths, electronic bloops, and inevitable, hotly anticipated bass drop.  I was surprised to see him playing mini moog and synth keys live.

After an early evening break at the food truck ranch for frybread tacos, I descended once again into Barboza in time to catch the enigmatic Scott Yoder. Yoder’s latest permutation shows off his classic songwriting skills, ranging in sound from doomed love lounge numbers to dusty road folk Another sexy Seattle crooner with songwriting chops.

Upstairs at Neumo’s Grizzled Mighty rocked out a set of distorted, De Stijl blues. Drummer Faustine Hudson and guitarist Ryan Granger whipped the raucous crowd with slide licks into a beer flinging mosh pit.

DAY THREE

Day three saw pop maven Maiah Manser belting out songs from her forthcoming EP to a growing crowd. Backed by a full band that included wildly entertaining electric cello, her crystal clear singing and artistic compositions set the tone for the day: gorgeous vocal vibes.

Up at Vera Stage SassyBlack performed songs from her latest EP No More Weak Dates. Sassyblack’s DIY songs are vocal runs over polyrhythms that fill a void in pop music where young gay women, who maybe like Star Trek and comic books more than you, can express themselves safely.

My Capitol Hill Block Party ended with a vibrant set from The Joy Formidable. They came all the way from Wales and rocked the hell out of the mainstage.

Words and photos by Sean Jewell

Visible Voice Session with Lucius at the Neptune Theater

Anything that I could write here pales in comparison to the intense and chill inducing vocals of these two gals. Lucius graciously met up with us in the green room at the Neptune theater in Seattle for a session. Make sure you watch this video of "Dusty Trails" and catch them on their tour this summer!

Lucius - "Dusty Trails"

Video By Adam Richert

Photos by Alexander Hallett

The Wild Reeds - Visible Voice Sessions - At the Triple Door

We met up with these lovely gals right before their show in the green room at the Tripple Door in Seattle. The Wild Reeds are a thresome from Los Angeles that can really wail! They have beautiful harmonies, a banjo, and a vibrant stage presence that keep you wanting more, what else do you need!? On top of all of that they were gracious enough to sit down and play a few songs for us:

Single Release: Kris Orlowski - "Walking in my Sleep"

Kris Orlowski is ready. 

Our phone call is happening hours earlier than scheduled, squeezed in while he's still in Nashville. He's busy writing songs while seeing a growing circle of friends and industry contacts. He offers to step outside where it's quieter but I can hear him just fine. 

His new album, Often in the Pause, is due out in April (PRE ORDER NOW!) and the first tune “Walking in my Sleep" sounds like a departure for the Seattle-based singer-songwriter. There’s more of a rock-radio polish to the production and an unmistakable upward trajectory. He still displays the disarming voice and knack for melody he showed on Believer (2014), but with aims for larger audiences. 

“It’s exciting, but it’s kind of scary,” he says of the record, which will consist of 12 songs from varying genres, all revolving around life and it's carousel of transitions. “The album's really close to our hearts. It's a bit of a different me, but I'm excited about it." 

And it sure sounds in his voice. Be sure to take a listen to his new single below, and check out his interesting covers of "Halo" (Beyonce) and "Nice Work if You Can Get It" (Gershwin) as well.

Upcoming Show Dates: 

1/28 – Green Frog, Bellingham, WA 

1/29 – Yakima Sports Center, Yakima, WA 

1/30 – The Bartlett, Spokane, WA 1/31 – Caffè Mela, Wenatchee, WA 

2/3 – White Eagle, Portland, OR 

2/4 – Sunset Tavern, Seattle, WA 

2/5 – Sunset Tavern, Seattle, WA

Words by Brian Hodge

Video by Adam Richert

Tweedy - at the Neptune Theater - Seattle WA

I am the biggest Jeff Tweedy/ Wilco fan... But aren’t we all? He is the most accessible musician with catchy, radio friendly songs that seems to avoid mainstream radio. If for some reason you have missed out (since the late 80’s) on Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, and now Tweedy I would begin to go down that magical rabbit hole right about now.

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco played to a sold out Neptune Theater with his side project “Tweedy” consisting of Jeff and his son Spencer, along with some of their amazingly talented friends. When you go see an artists’ side project you generally can expect experimental songs that nobody knows and are just hoping that they will play a hit or two. But with Jeff Tweedy…. The man is going to kill it with some new jams, bring it home with some classic Wilco and a few “dad” jokes that may or may not embarrass his son Spencer Tweety sprinkled throughout.

Quiet Life - Housebroken Man

Housebroken Man, the new EP from Quiet Life, doesn’t wait long to introduce itself. A plinking piano and a chugging rhythm guitar practically kick the bar room doors open, letting the lilting voices of Sean Spellman and Cary Ann Hearst (Shovels and Rope) do-si-do on top. The titular housebroken man is “laying off the bourbon and the weed” but there’s enough winking knowingness here to give the listener doubt about its sticking power. It makes for a rousing opener.

“Shaky Hand” is another cautionary tale, this form in a Brucean ballad, about the dangers of booze. The next track, “Messin’ Around”, covers what goes wrong when those cautions go unheeded. “If I don’t die before I get old, I’m going to quit messing around,” Spellman sings.

Clearly, Quiet Life are leading anything but a tranquil existence. Growing success as an up-and-coming act can do that to a group. The EP seems to grapple with how to be the best versions of themselves amid increasing expectations and temptations.

“These songs were written when a lot of things were in flux,” Spellman told Esquire. “Lyrically, they came together at weird or rough times in certain relationships I was having. Housebroken Man is about trying to be a good boyfriend/husband/whatever and imagining and idealizing the perfect life.”

The EP concludes with a cover of Townes van Zandt’s “Waiting Around to Die”  - complete with an assist from Jim James - signifying that despite the ratcheting worries, Quiet Life is capable of turning gut checks to gold.

Quiet Life - Housebroken Man from Kitchen Sessions on Vimeo.

 

Quiet Life -Shaky Hand from Kitchen Sessions on Vimeo.

Words by Brian Hodge

Photo//Video by Adam Richert