Seattle was the second stop on Meghan Trainor’s North American Untouchable Tour. The sold out show at the WaMu Theater was filled with 7000 moms and daughters. Backed by a seven-member band and flanked by four dancers, Trainor’s 90-minute set included three costume changes. Near the end, she brought four kids on stage during “Friends.”
California-based Common Kings opened the show. Hailee Seinfeld, of True Grit and Perfect Pitch 2 fame, was up next, appropriately dressed in a Seattle Seahawks 12th Man jersey.
Capitol Hill Block Party starts its annual takeover of Capitol Hill on Friday, July 22nd. Before I get into day one’s highlights, I need to point out that STRKFR will do a DJ set at Neumos on Thursday evening to kick off the festivities. The following days, five stages will have numerous acts, displaying many of Seattle’s best bands – plus cool touring artists. Block Party produces shows during the entire year, so rest assured it knows what’s what. Right, now on with five groups you must catch on Friday.
Seattle lost Iska Dhaaf to Brooklyn a couple years ago, but luckily for us, the duo returns to the area with some frequency (for, example, especially deserved headlining gigs). Description? ’60s rock? Melodic goodness? Iska Dhaaf’s songs, written by band members Nathan Quiroga (guitar, voice) and Benjamin Verdoes (drums, voice), don’t really fit any genre. And that’s all the better.
Coming from Odense, Denmark (also the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen!), MØ’s shared her vocals on tracks with Iggy Azalea, DJ Snake and. . . Justin Bieber. Her debut album, No Mythologies to Follow, brought her loads of international attention as a solo artist. While her second album is in development, she told DIY Magazine: “Writing is my therapy.” Do I sound like a jerk if I want her to stay in therapy?
Grunge lives on awesomely in Toronto, Canada’s Dilly Dally. I saw this band open for Fat White Family in Seattle this year, and they sure were vigorous. I don’t know what they were singing about. I could barely make out one instrument from the other. Somehow this quartet made it all sound excellent.
Down on the Cha Cha Stage (basement of Bimbo’s), you’ll find DONZIS. Capitalized – rightly so. This is rock music like you just don’t always hear these days. I keep waiting for Seattle to embrace THE ROCK N ROLL again; perhaps DONZIS can help with that.
Supergroup Head Wound City might just be uncontainable. Block Party knows this, and have accordingly put them on an outdoor stage. Made up of members from the Blood Brothers, the Locust and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Head Wound City bring their second album in 11 years, New Wave of Violence (wow), to Seattle. It’s hardcore verging on metal. In other words, hot stuff.
Artist:Calvin Harris (featuring Rihanna) Song/Video: “This is What You Came For” Why You Want to Listen/Watch: I can’t get enough of this Calvin Harris song. The EDM track features Rihanna, and the video showcases her as well. Wearing a sexy onesie, Rihanna sings and dances in an electronic cube with a variety of visuals projected on it. And there are lasers. Naturally.
English singer-songwriter Birdy headlined at Neumos on June 29th. The sold-out show was the last on the North American leg of her Beautiful Lies Tour. Birdy and her five-member band thoroughly entertained the audience during their 90-minute show. They ended the main set with “Wings,” played a three-song encore, and wrapped up the evening with “Skinny Love.” Lawrence Taylor opened.
On his 19-city “Out On a Limb” tour, Steven Tyler is dipping his toe into the country music world. Tyler’s new song “Red, White, and You” has a country sound, however do country fans take him seriously? For this show at least, the audience ate it up while dancing enthusiastically and waving homemade American flags.
Tyler’s stage set had a very distinctive ‘70s theme with a somewhat psychedelic back screen. Yes, there was some country flair but it was mostly vintage Tyler.
Working in Nashville with Jaren Johnston from the Cadillac Three, Steven Tyler produced his new album, We’re All Somebody from Somewhere. I have to admit, hearing the singer who brought the world “Toys in The Attic,” it took some getting used to. In saying that, this seems to be the path for many classic rockers to follow.
As the night progressed, we got a variety of songs from various influential artists. I liked Tyler’s mix of songs from the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and Erma Franklin (Franklin’s “Piece of My Heart” was sung famously by Janis Joplin).
Steven Tyler peppered his older selections with his newer ones. His longtime fans seemed to be fine with his new journey. To accommodate his new sound, Tyler slowed the tempo of his older songs to match his new-found country flair.
An element of the show many classic musicians are doing now is reminiscing about the past. I find the storytelling-drive down memory lane interesting. We all have moments in time that influence our lives and Steven shared moments that helped start his 45-year musical career. One moment that seemed particularly poignant was when he talked about hearing “Rattlesnake Shake” by Fleetwood Mac. It became the catalyst for the foundation of Aerosmith. Tyler said, “Without that song Aerosmith would not have been founded.”
So is Tyler a country singer? As a longtime fan of Aerosmith, hearing “y’all” fall from his lips was unexpected. Time will tell if country fans believe his sincerity. At the end of the day, music is about art and stretching one’s boundaries, and it will be interesting to see where Tyler’s new path takes him.
