Back Beat Seattle | Memory Lane

Our Memory Lane Series features Back Beat Seattle photographers’ work, that, unfortunately has not found itself on Back Beat Seattle yet. But we believe photos are forever and always relevant! As photos go live on the site, they will be added here.

Part 41

Dude York, Naked Giants & Dog Breth @ the Crocodile, 12/16/17
Photos by Casey Brevig
Memory Lane Series, part 41

Part 40

Papa Roach, Nothing More & Escape the Fate @ Showbox SoDo, 5/4/18
Photos by Alex Crick
Memory Lane Series, part 40

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Part 39

New Politics, Dreamers & the Wrecks @ the Showbox – 3/4/18
Photos by Alex Crick
Memory Lane Series, part 39

New Politics‘ David Boyd

The superb Danish trio New Politics visited Seattle’s Showbox in March. They’re an exciting trio of great musicians and entertainers who’ve built a huge fanbase over just a few years. Part of that fanbase includes Weezer’s River Cuomo, who worked with them on the track “Tell Your Dad,” off the latest New Politics album Lost in Translation. That’s awesome. And as they confirm in their about section on Facebook, they are, indeed, “Danish as f*ck.” Opening for the night were two Los Angeles bands: the Wrecks (by the way, they return to Seattle for a show at El Corazon on 11/11), and Dreamers (who’ll be back in Seattle on 10/24 at Chop Suey).

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Part 38

Jay-Z @ KeyArena – 12/13/17
Show Review & Photos by Josh Daniels
Memory Lane Series, part 38

Jay-Z

Let’s just get this out of the way now: Jay-Z is the god-damned man. He managed to spend two full hours strutting around the stage like it was the “Big Pimpin'” era, never missing a beat or lyric. In many ways he outshone the next generation of rappers, not bringing a hype man on stage or letting the background track do most of his singing/rapping for him. The only performers in KeyArena that brought a matching level of energy and skill was his insanely talented house band. Partially buried beneath the ever-moving stage in what can only be described as a fairly conventional orchestra pit, the musicians manning drums, percussion, guitars and more, not only kept the energy level at 100% through the entire set but elevated HOV to an even higher standard of performance. In one case, the guitarist (who had no part in the song), jumped up and down swinging a hype towel for the entirety of “Big Pimpin'”. This is worth mentioning not because it was some outstanding moment of the set, but because it was the standard for every second of it. Whether sauntering around the stage or standing at a mic stand in the center of it, Jay-Z kept the energy level high and delivered every beat of his classics perfectly, mixed in with selections from his new album, 4:44.

Speaking of 4:44, the album itself is good. It boasts a ton of acoustic instrumentation and has a very organic feel to it. But good lord, this album was meant to be performed live. Every single track from 4:44 was more compelling in its softer and more honest moments, or energizing in its more upbeat ones, than any recording that Jay-Z and company put to tape and released. If I’ve ever before yearned for a live bootleg of an album, 4:44 takes the cake.

In stark contrast to the energy of the night was the glaring issue of the most effective way to present a solo artist, keeping them interesting and compelling while they, well, walked around stage rapping. Unlike Justin Timberlake or other pop acts, there were no dancers or onstage antics, and unlike Snoop and crew-based rappers, there wasn’t an entourage of hype men jumping around in the background. It was just Jay-Z and the crowd.

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Part 37

The Shins, Foxygen & Day Wave – 9/23/17
Photos by Peter Dervin
Memory Lane Series, part 37

The Shins‘ James Mercer

Another cool set of photos by Peter Dervin, these ones taken at the Shins’ Marymoor Park headlining performance in ’17. Last year and this year, the Shins did a very intriguing thing: after releasing Heartworms in ’17, they redid that album in ’18. Called The Worm’s Heart, the album was “flipped”, which means the band made new versions of every track. Remakes are always exciting. Also on the bill for the Marymoor Park date were California’s Foxygen and Day Wave.

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Part 36

Yes & Todd Rundgren – Yestival @ Tulalip Ampitheatre, 9/3/17
Photos by Peter Dervin
Memory Lane Series, part 36

The Seattle area has been lucky to have Yes play two shows in the last two years: Tulalip in 2017, and Woodinville in 2018. The 2017 concert was part of the Yestival tour, while the 2018 concert was one date of the 50th Anniversary tour. Congratulations on that anniversary! Todd Rundgren, who opened in 2017, has also been busy with six albums already released this decade. There are loads of opportunities to catch both bands again right now, so check them out.

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Part 35

Talib Kweli, Styles P & K’Valentine @ the Showbox – 1/24/17
Photos by Casey Brevig
Memory Lane Series – part 35

Talib Kwali

Styles P

The beginning of 2017 found Talib Kweli looking forward to sharing new works: his own ’17 album, Radio Silence, and the EP The Seven, with rapper Styles P. But first, he kicked off the year with the Seven Tour, which featured Styles P and hip hop artist K’Valentine (on Kweli’s label, Javotti Media). After you check out these photos, head over to Billboard, who has a great interview with Kweli and Styles P about their collaboration.

K’Valentine

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Part 34

Less Than Jake @ Showbox SoDo, 1/31/17
Photos by Charitie Myers
Memory Lane Series, part 34

Less Than Jake‘s Roger Lima

Okay, Less Than Jake’s most recent show in Seattle was just earlier this month, but we’ve got you covered on their 2017 show here. The always-popular Gainesville, Florida pop/ska band has even more dates coming up, including a spot on the 2018 Vans Warped tour. Less Than Jake’s most recent release is 2017’s Sound the Alarm EP, which included seven previously unreleased songs. Thanks, Less Than Jake!

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Part 33

Upstream @ Various Locations, 5/13/17
Photos by Monica Martinez
Memory Lane Series, part 33

Gazebos‘ Shannon Perry

For day two of its inaugural event, Upstream 2017 brought out another variety-filled lineup, including Dinosaur Jr., Sundries, J GRGRY, Helms Alee, Gazebos and the Soft Offs. Punk, hard rock and pop got attention from photographer Monica Martinez – all in one day. Congratulations to Upstream, and thank you for letting us cover your debut!

Dinosaur Jr.

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Part 32

Upstream 2017 @ Various Locations, 5/12/17
Photos by Monica Martinez
Memory Lane Series, part 32

Before you tuck into this, alert: Upstream 2018 tickets are on sale now! Everything was so awesome last year, they’re doing it again. In 2017, photographer Monica Martinez attended, and her first group of photos are from day 1. Brent Amaker and the Rodeo, Charms, the Fabulous Downey Brothers, Metz and the White Tears & Pearl Dragon Is Dead were among the performers. Thanks Monica, for racing all over and getting these cool shots.

Brent Amaker of Brent Amaker and the Rodeo

Brent Amaker and the Rodeo

Charms

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Chastity @ Barboza, 3/13/17
Photos by Monica Martinez
Memory Lane Series, part 31

Chastity

Brandon Williams, going by the name of Chastity, performed (with band) at Barboza last March. The Ontario, Canada native, who’s signed to Brooklyn label Captured Tracks, released his debut full-length in July ’17. Grab that album, called Death Lust, over here and/or watch the video for “Children,” the first track from it.

Part 30

Regina Spektor @ the Paramount, 4/3/17
Photos by Kirsey Sutton
Memory Lane Series, part 30

Regina Spektor

Wonderful pianist and singer-songwriter Regina Spektor headlined the Paramount Theatre for a spring show in April, 2017. The Russian-born artist’s most recent album, 2016’s Remember Us to Life, included an incredible group of string artists, from cellists to violinists to double bassists. Some of those string players were onstage with her. Lovely! Cute side note for 2018: Spektor’s, husband, musician Jack Dishel, appeared in his second full-length movie, Wanderland, this year.

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Part 29

Clean Bandit @ the Showbox, 3/13/17
Photos by Casey Brevig
Memory Lane Series, part 29

Clean Bandit‘s Grace Chatto

British trio Clean Bandit, along with touring singers, were headliners at the Showbox in March, 2017. I know, the band were meant to return here in 2018, but drummer Luke Patterson need surgery on one of his feet. We hope he is recovering nicely! Still, enjoy some smashing photos of Clean Bandit’s 2017 show, and have a listen to their new track, “I Miss You feat. Julia Michaels.” You probably know Michaels from her hit, “Issues.”

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Part 28

Mitski @ the Neptune – 4/8/17
Photos by Casey Brevig
Memory Lane Series, part 28

Mitski

Little Big show hosted the wonderful Mitski at the Neptune in the spring of ’17. She’s totally cool. An incredible songwriter and lyricist, Mitski will tour America again this year, with Europe shows also arranged. Some of her dates will find her opening for Lorde, giving her some extra exposure to new fans. For the Seattle April ’17 date, she had Steady Holiday and Kadhja Bonet open.

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Part 27

Old Dominion @ Showbox SoDo – 12/11/16
Photos by Kirsey Sutton
Memory Lane Series, part 27

Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion

This one really fits in our Memory Lane Series! It’s awesome photos by Kirsey Danae of Old Dominion’s Seattle, December 2016 show. The country rock band shared songs from their second album, Meat and Candy, which got them many nominations in the country music world – plus the American Music Awards. In 2017, Old Dominion hit the charts hard with a number 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Country Albums for Happy Endings. Big bonus? You can catch them on tour with Kenney Chesney this year!

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Part 26

Kaskade & Illenium @ the Paramount, 6/6/17
Photos by Jonathan Leung
Memory Lane Series, part 26

Kaskade

The brilliant DJ Kaskade brought his unique sounds to Seattle in the summer of ’17. Playing two nights in June, Kaskade entertained fans with music and totally trippy lights. If you couldn’t get into these shows, and if you have the dough, head over to Vegas and catch him this spring. And did you miss this?: He closed out 2017 with the release of a really cool Christmas album (I know, electronic Christmas music???), appropriately called Kaskade Christmas. Illenium, a Denver-based DJ specializing in bass and trap, opened.

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Part 25

Dandy Warhols & Telegram @ the Showbox, 12/17/16
Photos by Monica Martinez
Memory Lane Series, part 25

Dandy Warhols

Details: Portland’s got many things you can call their pride and joy; one of them is definitely the Dandy Warhols. They shared songs off 2016’s Distortland live in Seattle for the first time (by the way, if you love that album loads, you can get it live on vinyl), and the psychedelic quartet had London’s Telegram open the evening. Touring with the Dandy Warhols brought Telegram to America for the first time!

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Part 25

Sound Off! Finals @ MoPOP, 3/11/17 & Sound Off! 2018 Begins Fri., 2/9/18
Photos by Simon Krane
Memory Lane Series part 25

Jason McCue

A belated congratulations to the final four competitors in Sound Off! 2017. Folk artist Jason McCue, a transplant from Philadelphia, won first place. He followed up that win with numerous shows in Seattle last year. Coming in second was R&B singer Falon Sierra, who also had a huge live presence in the area. At third and fourth places were, respectively, the electronic Torpoise (another prolific live act), and rock quartet The Good Weird. These wins open up many opportunities, and you can see the 2018 Sound Off!, starting on Friday, February 9th, at MoPop.

Falon Sierra

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Part 24

Celebrational Muppetational @ MoPop, 5/19/17
Photos by Dagmar
Memory Lane Series, part 24

Celebrational Muppetational!

Details: MoPop hosted Muppetational Celebrational!, a very fun opening night party for the The Jim Henson Exhibition. The exhibit, extended through February 28, 2018, features actual Jim Henson puppets and puppet-related activities. The spring kick-off included a costume and fashion parade along with a great version of the Kermit classic “The Rainbow Connection” by Jon Pontrello (the Moondoggies) and Jason Dodson (the Maldives). Thanks to MoPop and Museum of the Moving Image for putting this all together.

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Part 23

AFI, The Chain Gang Of 1974 & Souvenirs @ the Showbox, 1/25/17
Photos by Alex Crick
Memory Lane Series, part 23

AFI

Details: AFI, with a lot to be proud of, including the January 2017 release of AFI, headlined Showbox at the Market on January 25th, 2017. It’s been four years since AFI gave us an album! For those interested in tour statistics of songs played, etc. during the first leg of the Blood Tour, which this show was part of, check this out. Nice to keep track of that. And before we head into 2018, we’re sharing photographer Alex Crick’s moving shots of AFI and openers the Chain Gang Of 1974 and Souvenirs.

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Part 22

Photos: Toro y Moi & the Mattson 2 @ the Neptune

Toro y Moi & the Mattson 2 @ the Neptune, 11/7/16
Photos by Casey Brevig
Memory Lane Series, part 22

Toro y Moi

Details: So, this is pretty amazing: Toro y Moi (real name Chazwick Bradley Bundick) has a date named after him in Berkeley, California. As of 2017, June 21st is Chazwick Bradley Bundick Day! That’s an honor. Toro y Moi also put out a record, Boo Boo, in 2017, making it a big year for him. He’s already made two videos, “Pavement” and “Windows,” from the album with photographer Kristie Muller, but hasn’t announced any tour dates. As an opening band, Toro y Moi chose duo the Mattson2, with whom he made 2017’s album Chaz Bundick Meets The Mattson 2.

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Part 21

Photos: Grouplove, MUNA & Dilly Dally @ the Crocodile

Grouplove, MUNA & Dilly Dally @ the Crocodile, 10/14/16
Photos by Jonathan Leung

Grouplove

Part 21 of Memory Lane Series

Details: Let’s mention this first, because it’s super awesome: Grouplove has created their own special jacket. While only the band’s been sporting these beauties, they’re available for pre-order now on their site. They’ve got a scorpion on the back (the jacket, not the band)! No one asked us to mention this, it’s just, damn the jackets are cool. But back to the main point of this post, which would be the photos from Grouplove’s Seattle’s 2016 visit. They’ve even been here twice in 2017, by the way. For the Crocodile show, the audience was able to enjoy for the first time songs from the just-released Big Mess. Also check out Jonathan Leung’s sweet shots of openers, MUNA and Dilly Dally.