Sharon Van Etten and her band played a sold-out show at the Neptune over the weekend. Van Etten is on tour in support of her recently released album, Are We There, and this was her third performance at the venue in the past two years. Australian Courtney Barnett opened.
Sharon Van Etten
Courtney Barnett
Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart returned home to Seattle earlier this week for a performance at Marymoor Park. The show was the last of their “Canadian” tour and was the only US stop. Since the ’70s, Heart has had a huge following, which was very evident by watching the 5000-member audience. Their 13-song set started with “Crazy On You” and the six-song encore ended with “Stairway To Heaven”.
Heart
Robyn and Röyksopp appeared at Marymoor Park in June for their Do It Again Tour. This was a rare Seattle appearance for both acts, who unfortunately tour this area infrequently. So it was a special treat that fans got to see them together! Unless you’ve been under the proverbial rock, you’re probably familiar with the song “Do It Again,” the massive summer stomper from the self-titled EP by Robyn and Röyksopp. That EP is available now.
Robyn & Röyksopp – all photos by Simon Krane
Los Angeles-based Uh Huh Her – often stylized as UHH – returned to Seattle last week for a show at Neumos. Fronted by Camila Grey (vocals, guitar, keys) and Leisha Hailey (vocals, bass, keys), the duo recently released their fourth studio album titled Future Souls.
Uh Huh Her
Sasquatch, Day Two with the National, Cut Copy, Band of Skulls & More, May 2014
Review & Photos by Abby Williamson
The National‘s Matt Berninger
Saturday of Sasquatch seemed to come a lot quicker than I expected – but it could have been that I first woke up with the sun at 6:30 a.m. “What time is it? Damnit I
don’t need to be awake yet!” So I fell back asleep for three more hours. I was determined to erase the visuals of Friday night from my brain by Saturday
morning, and thankfully Hobosexual was able to do that with full force. That Narwhal stage was packed at 2 in the afternoon. All the dirty, rusty rock and roll –
complete with manes of hair made for headbanging. And boy, did the crowd meet the requirements.
Hobosexual
Across the lawn was exact opposite – but equally as pleasant – Portland’s own Radiation City at the Yeti Stage. Their sunny indie pop is exactly that – sunny as hell, the epitome of Saturday’s weather. Sticking with the same indie pop vein, I headed over to the Bigfoot Stage for the Dodos, who first jumped on my radar when one of their songs ended up in a beer commercial back in 2008, and I honestly kind of forgot about them. But I’m glad I caught their set – and subsequently found out that this new album Carrier is their fifth. Shows how much I know.
Radiation City
The Dodos
After they kicked us out of the pit at Bigfoot, I ran over to the Narwhal Stage again for the second half of Dude York’s set – and I’m glad I did. It was only recently when I discovered Dude York’s raw punk tunes. I used to be a huge fan of Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, and it’s nice to see that Claire England is still making music in Seattle.
Dude York
Since comedy was a priority all weekend – I couldn’t miss Eric Andre, and apparently neither could anyone else, because the tent was packed for his set. I had
to jump over people napping on the ground, making sure not to step on anyone’s face. It was a precarious situation. He was so funny – miming god knows what and sporting the weirdest hairdo I’d seen on anyone all weekend – that I almost stayed for the whole thing. But alas – I could not! I needed to see local hip-hop hero Sol on the Bigfoot Stage, and his set did not disappoint. His smile and energy reached back across the huge lawn, so it felt even warmer than it already did at 4 in the afternoon. Yeah, this was only 4 p.m.
Eric Andre
Once Sol completed his set, we went back down rock and roll street for Band of Skulls, who was a surprise love for me. I’d only heard a little of their music – first on one of the Twilight movie soundtracks. But this bluesy English band – for the lack of a better term – brought it, not to mention gave me some of my favorite shots of the festival. Thank the lord for long hair. Although I stayed for all of two songs – I had to catch at least a little bit of Violent Femmes on the main stage, because they’re the Violent Femmes. They don’t tour regularly, so when the heck was I going to get another chance to hear “Blister In The Sun” live? Probably never.
Sol
Band of Skulls
Violent Femmes
The last comedian of the day was Nick Swardson, and I know I said Eric Andre’s crowd was big, but this was ridiculous. But when you’ve got a comedian whose most
popular bits are about old people listening to rap music and inviting John Stamos to his funeral – young people will eat that stuff up. El Chupacabra was so crowded that after I stayed for half the set, I crawled under the side of the tent because there was no escaping through that cluster.
Nick Swardson