Local radio powerhouse KEXP announced the lineup for its Concerts at the Mural series this morning. The shows are free weekly concerts that happen at the Mural Amphitheater throughout August. The shows make me nostalgic for the days when Pearl Jam, Grunttruck, the Posies and other local legends all rocked the Mural for free as party of KISW's Pain in the Grass series back in the 90s.
Performers for this year's series include: Victor Shade, Grand Hallway, the Head and the Heart, Mt St Helens Vietnam Band and more. The full lineup is listed below along with a very suspicious "Special Guests TBA" on Aug. 13.
It should be noted that that the annual KEXP BBQ is missing a solid headliner. Last year the event featured Dinosaur Jr and Japandroids. I think it's safe to speculate a band bigger than The Lonely Forest will rock the Mural on Aug. 14, or maybe that's what the Special Guest situation on Aug. 13 is all about?
Ear Candy's friends in Born Anchors have a new record they're planning to release this summer called Colorize the Grey. The record is one of my favorite local releases of the year so far and it shows amazing growth for a young band. It's a massive shift from the group's aggressive and hard rock sound heard on last year's Sprezzatura to a more mature, melodic sound. I really like this album and I'm pretty sure you'll dig it too. You can stream the album below and hear the band's growth for yourself and you can see Born Anchor's next Seattle show at the Cha Cha on July 24 as part of the Cha Cha's CHBP offerings.
Experience Music Project's Sound Off! battle of the bands is the contest that just keeps on giving. Not only does it give underage musicians a chance to shine on stage and compete for a slot at Bumbershoot, it also introduces local music fans to some of the best up-and-coming bands rocking the all-ages circuit.
Tonight Sound Offf! continues to give with EMP's Summer Sound concert. The show, which is free and starts at 7 p.m., is happening in front of the EMP at Center Square which is where the stage that will replace the Ex Hall stage at Bumbershoot will be set up. The Summer Sounds lineup features Ear Candy favorites People Eating People and SEACATS. Also on the bill are newcomers Kids and Animals. Headlining the event will be Bellingham duo Idiot Pilot. Idiot Pilot won Sound Off! in 2004 and eventually inked a deal with Warner Bros. Records.Unfortunately their stint at a major label didn't last too long (I'm told poor album sales did the band in) and now they are paving the comeback trail with one of their first Seattle shows of the summer.
People Eating People features Nouela from 2004 Sound Off! band Mon Frere and Brian Turner from 2003 Sound Off! band Schoolyard Heroes. While those two bands were both hardcore punk-metal outfits, PEP is piano-based pop. But don't worry there's still some rage in Nouela's voice. See "I Hate All My Friends" for an example.
With sunny skies gracing the Emerald City and the past two posts here on Ear Candy focusing on the Capitol Hill Block Party and Bumbershoot it's pretty evident that summer has officially arrived in Seattle. So what better way to celebrate the warm glow of the 80+ degree sunshine and prepare for enjoying the duration of the outdoor concert season than to reminisce about the three days of musical wonderment that was Sasquatch! 2010? So check out Brittney Bush Bollay's portraits of the people who made Sasquatch! 2010 tick. Who knows, maybe you'll spot your sunburned self in the photos below.
There’s been a lot of talk recently about what to do with the empty space on the Seattle Center grounds where the amusement rides and parlor games that made up the Fun Forest once lived. Proposals range from building a Dale Chihuly glass museum to making it a new space for KEXP.
Since a decision on what will permanently be done with the area that is now being called “Center Square” won’t be happening for a while, the folks at One Reel found a way to put the space to use during Bumbershoot. The mostly empty space in front of EMP – which currently houses a basketball court and a hay maze for kids (pictured to the left) – will be used for an outdoor stage and a beer garden. This new stage won’t be in addition to the festival’s multiple stages, instead it will (thankfully) replace the Exhibition Hall stage.
The Exhibition Hall is a cavernous concrete cave of a spot to see a band and I welcome its demise. It ranks right up there with Showbox Sodo as one of the worst places to see a show. Replacing it with an outdoor stage that will house more people is a smart change to Bumbershoot that will not only make the festival experience better but also provide broader exposure to the artists who play that stage.
The day-by-day schedule for this year's Capitol Hill Block Party has been posted and as usual there are conflicts aplenty.
On Friday night do you watch the group that made one of last year's best local albums, Shabazz Palaces, or do you watch Unnatural Helpers, the group that made one of this year's best local releases? How do you decide between the heavily buzzed locals Head and the Heart and heavily loved (by Ear Candy) locals The Redwood Plan on Saturday? While those two conflicts are definitely not cool, perhaps the most interesting clash will be the beauty of the Dutchess and the Duke up against the fury of Dead Weather on Sunday night. It'll be interesting to find out whether you'll be able to hear Kimberly Morrison's whimsical campfire rock voice over Allison Mosshart's ferocious, womanly exorcism wails. The full schedule for CHBP 2010 is below.
The Columbia City Theater reopened its doors last week and the video below documents the grand reopening. The festivities continue this weekend with a free show tonight by the Maldives and a free show tomorrow night featuring the Whore Moans. In other CCT news, I wrote a story about the revamped venue for Crosscut last week and you can find it in full after the jump.
Seattle’s newest music venue is also one of its oldest — the Columbia City Theater. Located in Rainier Valley, the theater has roots that go back to the days of vaudeville. It originally opened in 1917 and has served as everything from a movie house in the 1950s to a home for DIY punk rock shows in the 1980s. During the heyday of jazz, its stage hosted local legends such as Jimi Hendrix (performing as a member of his high school jazz band) and Quincy Jones, as well as national titans not from around here, including Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald.
If you frequent Capitol Hill - which you probably do if you enjoy live music - you may wonder what that racket coming from that weird little Sole Repair space behind Quinn's this weekend. Turns out the folks at beverage giant Vitamin Water have rented it out for the next month, and will be turning it into the "Vitaminwater Social Club," hosting events and free shows in the meantime. Yes, that's what that entire back-of-the-front-page ad in The Stranger this week was all about. And yes, free shows. Here's a little info from their promo materials:
"So, what is Vitaminwater Social Club? [It's] a lil' bit of local color on the canvas of life - a destination that promotes the creativity and active lifestyle that Seattle embodies so well, while supporting the passions that resonate within our city."
Craftily-worded marketing jargon? Maybe. But their intentions seem good enough, and they aren't charging anything at the door.
Tonight two of Ear Candy’s favorite members of the local music community are banding together to provide some free summertime entertainment for all to enjoy.
The delightful pair of Andrea and Mark Heimer, aka No-Fi Soul Rebellion, are coming to Seattle tonight where they will pair with the delightful folks over at the Experience Music Project for a free concert at the Sky Church. While No-Fi is a band, they are also a contact sport which is why this show has the potential to be quite a spectacle. Think Monotonix levels of interaction without the element of danger and you’re close to what a No-Fi Soul Rebellion experience is like. Needless to say, the band definitely can’t be categorized as museum rock, especially since they’ll likely be setting up on the floor and performing inside the crowd, which could make this a very memorable show.
Tonight the Columbia City Theater is finally (re-) opening, becoming the only legit music venue within at least a few miles of the South End neighborhoods. I'm obviously biased being a lifetime Southerner myself, but seriously folks. This is the moment we have all been waiting for. Finally, a venue in OUR neighborhood. The next step in the expansion (gentrification?) of glorious Southeast Seattle, the last straw ensuring that South End residents needn't feel bad about not making it out to Ballard (forreal though, Ballard is DEEEEEEP from our perspective, man), and the first step in finally making this area a cool place to live for those who didn't grow up here and don't appreciate its diversity and uncanny charm.
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