Song Spotlight: “Shelter Two” by The Evens

Honestly this really about checking out the Evens period if you’ve never heard of them before. I was out at the bar the other day with Ben from my band and we ran into my buddy Jimmy who used to play in some punk bands back in the 90s. Anyways, long story short he mentioned I needed to check out the evens because I mentioned some minimalist rock.

Right the and there I added it to my library and kind of forgot about it. Flash forward a couple of days and I’m driving in my car trying to think of what to listen to (which happens far too often honestly) and I saw this, clicked it, and fell in love.

Shelter Two is the first song on the album and not so coincidentally is the first song I really liked from them. Maybe most importantly, and what I’ve failed to mention until now…The Evens consists of Ian MacKaye from Fugazi. Its really cool hearing him in this entirely new context.

Anyways, enough blabbering from me. Check it out below!

Low Cut Connie @ The Sunset – Seattle, WA April 12, 2019

I’ve dug Low Cut Connie for a while now, ever since I started playing in a band in Louisville, KY. A booker I know there (actually also went to college with) named Hunter was a huge fan and turned me onto them. The singer has got a bigger than life personality and treats each venue likes it a huge amphitheater. It’s always a good time.

Anyways I noticed they were coming to town when some girls at work asked what was going on the weekend of April 12th/13th. I’m glad they did because it allowed me to see that Low Cut Connie was playing back to back shows. Even though the 13th was sold out I was able to get two tickets for the 12th. I’ll be honest, I also tried to get my band on the bill to open for them. NO SUCH LUCK unfortunately.

Anyways tickets were pretty cheap, I asked the drummer in my band Dirty Rugs if he wanted to go and he was down. His last band Lanford Black got to open for them and he’s a fan.

Before we got there me and Ben jammed out some new songs at the practice space right down the road. We then went to a place I believe was called Big Alberts for some pre-show brews and food. I’m glad we got the food part because I was pretty buzzed up. Was a LONG week at work and needed to let loose.

We showed up at Sunset and were able to catch the first band Electric Nono. They weren’t bad but they were a two piece and all I could think of was the missing bass. I know people like the two piece thing, but its just not for me. That being said they were talented, just not for me I suppose.

They were the only opener and Low Cut Connie was fairly quick to hop on afterwards. The came out to a lot of fan fare. The singer was almost immediately up and dancing on the piano bench. He does a great job of crowd interation, pointing out people, “petting” peoples heads, giving high fives, acting like he’s taking his jacket off, and general overall showmanship.

I was happy to hear a few hits I knew previously like “Rio” and “Beverly”. All the songs are great, they have an old timey almost saloon-y vibe that makes it easy to dance around and drink to. Every member of the band was into it. A guy from the crowd jumped on stage and danced around a bit. He ignored the singer’s request to “get the fuck off the stage” and the guitarist ended up shoving him off. Luckily that was the end of that. I thought for sure the dude would get kicked out but must have been his lucky day.

I watched the show up until the end and then I stepped out. I do like Low Cut Connie and it definitely was a good night out, but after a while the songs all kind of sound the same. Some of the showmanship felt a little forced as well but hey, it’s rock and roll and better than most everything else out right now.

After the show we walked to Conor Byrne and caught a couple of songs from a band called Black Giraffe. They had a great singer but again, they were a two piece. Not sure if we missed the full band or not but I’d be down to hear more.

After finishing that up, we rented lime bikes and biked to Barhouse for some nightcap PBR’s. Was a long eventful night full of lots of fun and drinks. It was enough to put me out of commission for the rest of the weekend but it was definitely a good time. Check out my favorite song by them below!

Song Spotlight – “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” by Megadeth

I like to post song spotlights as kind of a running tab on what music I’m listening to. Its so cool to look back and see the different songs I’ve been obsessed with. As the years go on I think this list will get more and more eclectic and interesting.

After my yearly Dio obsession I got real into Megadeth. I had never heard “Holy Wars” and became obsessed with some of the riffs within the song. (right around the 2:40 mark). I just think it’s a brilliantly heavy song. Definitely makes me want to rock out. Check it out!

Built to Spill at Columbia City Theater – Seattle, WA March 26th, 2019

2019 has brought a lot of changes for me. I got promoted at my job and it’s been a huge influx of work. I don’t feel like a “zombie” anymore but the mental toll has taken a bite out of my life outside of work hours. Anyways, not here to complain, but I would chalk that up as to why I haven’t been out and about as much. I believe this is my first big show of 2019 and hey, it was great one!

I’ve been trying to see Built to Spill since I first heard of them when I moved to Seattle 6 years ago. At that time I was in a band called Po’ Brothers and we had played the Blue Moon Tavern in Seattle. A guy there by the name of Larry told us we reminded him of Built to Spill. I had never heard of them and was intrigued so I bought their album “There’s Nothing Wrong With Love” in Bellingham.

While that Album was great, what really sold me on Built to Spill was “Keep it Like a Secret”. This album alone got me into a whole new universe of music and helped ensure that Built to Spill is one of my top favorite bands. Can I put a number to it? Not really but probably somewhere in the top 30.

Anyways I’m rambling but that’s good. I haven’t got on here in a while so sometimes you need to just let loose. Any whooo… I’d missed Built to Spill at the Showbox multiple times, probably at least 3 times but maybe more. Anyways I was on Facebook and saw that they were playing Columbia City Theater. I thought it was a fluke or something at first but once I found out it was real I bought tickets immediately. Alyssa didn’t want to go so I asked Jake Naville if he’d like to go.

Jake was kind enough to get us an uber down there. We were probably the first people there which surprised me. I must think more highly of Built to Spill than most people because I was picturing throngs of people just beating down the doors to get in there. We had a bunch fo beers, met some guy named John who was all of 5’3″ and all about smoking some weed. That definitely set the tone for the rest of the night

I wasn’t initially wanting to see the openers, rather I just wanted to focus on partying. But the show was delayed or there was a late start or something. Anyways a band called the French Tips opened it up. and MY GOD did they open it up. I was completely astounded at how great they were. Their bass tone was amazing and all the instruments tones were just perfectly spaced and complimented each other so well.

Seriously, The French Tips encapsulate great rock music to me. They had the tones, the energy, the rawness, the whole package. By the end of their set I was an instant fan. I really regret not buying merchandise but I had spent too much money to get to enjoy that part. I have to say it really surprised me, but I’m so happy I got to see them because now when they come back I’ll be there in a heart beat. 10/10 highly recommend.

Next up was Orua who was great as well. I feel bad writing so little about them but I probably wasn’t paying as much attention as I should to their set. After being so enthralled with the French tips it was back to drinking and smoking for me. They’re from Brazil so a lot of the words I didn’t understand, but I can tell you they rocked out and I did enjoy watching them.

Finally Built to Spill came on. I was surprised to learn before the show that Doug Martsch routinely changes members of Built to Spill and was honestly a little worried. I very quickly found out that I had nothing to worry about.

It seems he had members from Orua filling in for all the positions of the band. I gotta admit I didn’t notice any funkiness or anything that was off. That is crazy to me from a musicians standpoint because I’m not sure I could just going a band and play their music with the same gusto and perfection that I’ve come to have with my own music.

I was really excited that they played “the Plan” towards the beginning of the set. Probably one of my favorite one of their songs so it really drew me into the rest of the set. If your a newbie who hasn’t heard their stuff I would definitely start there.

Doug is looking old these days but he sings perfectly and moves around stage like a young guy. One guy I was standing next to described his demeanor on stage as that of a bobblehead and I laughed and had to agree. It’s funny seeing this high pitched “nice” voice coming from a balding 50 year old guy that kind of bobbles his head as he sings.

They went on to play “Center of the Universe”, “In the Morning”, and “Randy Described Eternity” among others. As I said earlier everything came through perfectly. That speaks to how great the musicians are that he had play with them.

Anyways it was a great night, and I think me and Jake may have had too much fun. the next day was rough at work but it was well worth it. I got to hold on to these times, I never wanna miss out or lose out on a good time because I’m worried about what tomorrow will bring. Thats no way to live!

Mark another concert off my list and I hope to get out and see another one soon.

Song Spotlight: “All Choked Up” by BRONCHO

photo by Courtney-Lee Yip

I had heard of Broncho but never listened to them. Fortunately “All Choked Up” came across my recommended songs on Apple Music and I immediately loved it. Lots of slacker attitude with the vocals and the rhythm to it is unique and a great change of pace from pretty much anything else I listen to.

I listened to more of their album Bad Behavior and it’s pretty good, but this song stands far and above the rest in my opinion. I mean that steady bass kick spread randomly throughout the verses is great. It’s honestly inspiring me to try and do something similar with my own music.

Check the song out below!

Song Spotlight – “Starting From Scratch” – Carl Broemel

I got lucky enough to hear Carl Broemel pop up on one of those algorithm’s on Apple Music. I loved the song and saved it but didn’t immediately listen to it over and over. Then a couple of weeks later I was listening to WFPK and heard “Starting From Scratch” again and remembered how much I loved it.

This of course got me curious so I download the latest album and loved it! Listened to it over and over again. I liked it so much I did the whole wikipedia thing to see where he was from and was blown away that not only is he from Indiana where I’m from, but he’s also part of one of my favorite band’s, “My Morning Jacket’

I took it as one of those signs. It’s weird when things come together like that. Anyways I should just be recommending everyone to check out the whole album, but I wanted to introduce you all to him like I was introduced and start of with “Starting From Scratch”. Great tune, amazing musicianship and just tasteful really. Can’t recommend it enough, definitely my favorite album of 2018.

Song Spotlight – “Return of the Grievous Angel” by Gram Parsons

This song hit me right when I heard it. In fact I can tell you right where I fell I love with it.  About 4 or 5 lines in when he says “Out with the truckers and the kickers and the cowboy angels”.

I think it must have been his harmonies with Emmylou Harris that got me, but I dunno, its just immediately likable and recognizable. Makes me jealous and honestly astounded at how its catchy.  I wish I could write music that was as simple, catchy, yet unique as this song is.

Gram Parsons is a pioneer of Alt-Country and I’m forever grateful for that. He totally made the world a better place because of his contributions to music. It’s too bad he died young. The story of his death is a whole different topic, truly something you would think would be made up in a a book or movie. Long story short his body was stolen by his friends on its way to his funeral, then they burned his body in the Joshua Tree state park in California because thats what he would have wanted.

Crazy right!?  Anyways, enjoy the song and if you have time listen to his other stuff. Great, amazing talent.

 

J Roddy Walston @ Showbox Market – September 16, 2018

This show was a cool one to go to.  Jake ended up buying tix off his brother for this show so I got to go for free! woohoo!

I drove to the venue and found parking right on pike place market which was cool. Not sure I’ve ever found space down there before, especially for free.  We grabbed 2 beers at that bar down there, I forget the name but it has a perfect view of the market sign. After all the talk of the Showbox shutting down we were anxious to get there so we headed out a little early in time to catch the opener, William Elliot Whitmore

The opener, W.E.W was a little generic folksy for my taste but he was good.  I’d never heard of him before, I guess he had some hits back in 2009 so that makes sense, right when the big Mumford and Sons explosion hit.  It was just him up there but he did a good job entertaining the crowd.  I did enjoy the song “hell or high water”.

We had decided since it was Sunday we were going to get home early. At least early for us.  J Roddy was surprisingly playing second so that worked for us. I guess the headliner was a band called Murder by Death? I tried listening to them but was not into it at all.  Anyways, back to the show at hand…

W.E.W finished and J Roddy hit the stage.  I had seen them once before 3 or 4 years ago at the Crocodile.  I absolutely love J Roddy. His brand of rock is honestly what I consider perfect rock music to be. Edgy and cutting and gravelly and raw…but with a perfect amount of pop thrown in to make it catchy and singable.

We moved up from the bar to catch the show at a closer vantage point. I stopped drinking since I had to drive so it was a nice change to actually be able to comprehend the show with a clear mind. He played all the hits I had seen last time.

His energy was just as high as it always is but I could tell his voice was bugging him. He wasn’t pushing it completely and couldn’t go as high as he does in the recordings. Thats bound to happen when touring! The whole crowd was into it. Really the only thing I can say bad about it was they didn’t play any new material.  Other than that the show was great an he sounded great as ever.  If you want a guaranteed good night out I’d highly recommend J Roddy!

Fall Playlist 2018

I need to add a few more shows to my blog here but I’ve been busy and I need the time to write those down.  In the meantime I figured I’d jot down some artists I’ve been listening to this fall to mainly remind myself in a couple of months.  It’s funny, 2018 started off with me listening to a lot of Dio (actually pretty much nothing but Dio) then I went through a typical garage rock phase, then thrash metal…lately all I’ve been listening to is singer songwriter stuff.  So here it goes, in no particular order

Kyle Craft
Father John Misty
The War on Drugs
Jim James
Carl Broemel
Paul McCartney
Greta Van Fleet
Kevin Morby
Ryan Adams
Kurt Vile
Conor Oberst

Song Spotlight – Paul McCartney “Come on to Me”

I actually first heard this song…unknowingly…on James Cordon’s Carpool Karaoke.  When I went back and visited my family in Indiana my sister was lovingly showing me her new favorite show called Carpool Karaoke.  I forgot all about it and somehow someway I heard from someone that I had to watch the Paul McCartney one.  It was most likely Alyssa that told me but who knows.  Anyways, we sat down and watched it and it was amazing.

I already loved the Beatles and respected Paul McCartney, but the episode really kind of gave an inner look at just who he was as a person.  I honestly think he’s a genius.  I heard a story about how on the latest Foo Fighter’s album they brought Paul McCartney in to help write and drum on the song “Sunday Rain”. Dave Grohl was amazed at how easy the song together and Paul just simply said “It’s always that easy”.

His matter of factness really stuck with me. I’d like to live my life like that.

Anyways, “Come on to Me” was in the episode and I finally listened to the full album and recognized it immediately.  There’s many songs I like on the album, but this has got to be my favorite.  Just a cool, simple, straight forward song. Great writing and super catchy. Check it out, and if you dig it, I highly recommend the whole album.  You can tell he had a lot of fun making it.