Toronto’s Cowboy Junkies achieved something really awesome in 2021: an authorized biography called Music is the Drug hit stores in February. Not many bands get to do this. Last time they were going to visit Seattle, there was a snow storm (yes, in Seattle), which led to a waiting time. . . but they returned! Led by Margo Timmins, the band performed songs from their cool career, including the track “My Little Basquiat,” with the words: One day they’ll be older/Maybe bolder perhaps than me/One day they’ll be rising/Maybe living perhaps in peace. Here’s to peace.
Thundercat @ the Paramount Theater – 12/4 Show Review & Photos by John Rudolph
Thundercat – photo by John Rudolph
Thundercat’s fans loved this show at the Paramount. One fan joked with another fan, “if Thundercat were an anime character, he would have wielded a bass and killed us all.” The sentiment with most fans was that he slew the audience with his fierce bass riffs.
I expected to see a dazzling performance, and I wasn’t disappointed. My dear friend, Tammy, said Thundercat has a modern-day Parliament vibe, and yes, he does. Parliament is known for their far out “Funkadelic” stage presence and knows how to wow the crowd. Thundercat was different from Parliament in his way, wearing a Gucci adornment in his hair. His stage lighting had a very Parliament/Funkadelic vibe to them.
Stephen Bruner (that’s Thundercat!), played a six-string bass, and the backup guys played a masterful set of jazz fusion, funk, with a heavy dose of R&B. I loved that sense of the drummer, the keyboardist, and the singer all playing slightly offbeat in a cool jazz kind of way.
I like when entertainers share some personal anecdotes about their lives. Bruner shared how his mom named him after Bruce Lee (full name: Stephen Bruce Bruner). He even wore an outfit styled after Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon.
The crowd danced the entire night, hopping and groovin’ to melodic beats that pounded the chest with heavy bass. They couldn’t get enough.
Later, Bruner laid down a bass solo as I’ve rarely heard, except maybe from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea. The crowd began clapping in unison during the intense solo and stomping their feet. The volume was deafening and the floor vibrated with every strum of the bass. Bruner put on a fantastic show worthy of the moniker “virtuoso.” I didn’t know much about Thundercat before the show. Now, I am looking for more music from the master.
Time for some Band of Horses! The Ben Bridwell-led quintet headlined the Paramount in Seattle on November 8th. The group, who will give fans album six, Things Are Great in March 2022, released an amazing video for the album’s first single, “Crutch.” As for opener Miya Folick, you can check out her vocals on American Football’s version of Mazzy Star song “Fade Into You.”
Rock band All Time Low, plus Kalie Shorr, made their way to Seattle on November 7th. They’ve released two albums in the last few years, and songs with Pale Waves and Demi Lovato. In an impressive 2019 turn, All Time Low debuted their own Pinot noir, called Pretty Venom.
Artist:Lev Snowe Single: “Someday Soon” Details: Canadian singer-songwriter Lev Snowe has an adorable cat photo for the cover of single “Someday Soon.” I can’t blame him. That’s just a perfect cat expression. This track came out a couple of years ago, but I believe Snowe is working on new tracks.
