On February 17th, Semifinals # 2 of Sound Off! took place at MoPOP. Performing on the beautiful Sky Church stage, four Northwest artists – including winner the Good Weird – competed for a slot in the March 11th Finals. Torpoise won the Wild Card Slot, while Girl Teeth and Koga Shabazz also participated. All photos by Simon Krane:
The Good Weird
Torpoise
Girl Teeth
Koga Shabazz
LA-based MUNA, fronted by Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson, recently played a sold-out show at the Sunset Tavern. Compared to Haim and Fleetwood Mac, the band’s debut full-length album, About U, was released earlier this month. Expect more MUNA photos in a few weeks from their SXSW performances.
(L-R) Naomi McPherson, Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin
MUNA
The sold-out Seattle show was Phoebe Ryan’s first stop on Tove Lo’s Lady Wood tour. Her latest single, “Dark Side,” was released three days before, and she played it live for the first time at the Showbox SoDo during her 30-minute set. Fun fact … Phoebe’s flight to Seattle was cancelled but she was able to rebook one at the last minute. She made it to the venue just in time for the show, but she had to perform in her pajamas because the airline lost her luggage. But that didn’t stop her from putting on an amazing performance!
Phoebe Ryan
Show Preview: Temples @ Neumos – Saturday, February 25th
~Dagmar
You can’t get your hands on Temples‘ second album, Volcano, yet. Happily, its release date of March 3rd approaches quickly. Or, if you go to Neumos on Saturday night, you’ll most likely hear songs off it, performed by the British quartet, Temples, whose albums have been produced by lead singer/guitarist James Bagshaw. The big difference here between the band’s 2013 release, Sun Structures, and Volcano is: while Sun Structures swings with a definite psychedelic rock emphasis, Volcano has gone more classic rock. And I love classic rock. Okay, there’s still some psychedelia happening; I like that, too.
The group, in appearance, matches both sounds perfectly. Now, I am not saying you need to look nice to play great music. And it doesn’t enhance the experience of listening to music; obviously, most of the time you listen to music without seeing the artists. What I mean is, Temples look exactly like how I would picture them. It makes it a cool bonus when you see a band perform live. Oh, and my favorite tracks from albums one and two? I am partial to “A Question Isn’t Answered” and, to what I have heard so far from Volcano, “I Wanna Be Your Mirror.”
Seattle was the second stop in the North American leg of JoJo‘s Mad Love Tour, in support of her third studio album with the same name. She was accompanied by a four-member band plus two backup singers for a rich, full sound. New York-based Stanaj opened.
JoJo
Stanaj