There is an infectious joy that radiates from the tightly knit quintet that make up Grouplove. While billed as an acoustic set, Grouplove brought their bounding stage presence and upbeat energy to the Triple Door to lift the audience with a happy set of summertime jams from their latest album Spreading Rumours. I defy any live music fan to try to walk away from a Grouplove show without a giant smile across your face.
Grouplove – Tino Tran
Les Claypool (of Primus fame) partnered up with Marc “Mirv” Haggard to perform at the Neptune on August 23rd as the bluegrass-inflected Duo de Twang. Sitting with a mock campfire between them on stage, the duo played an entertaining set of covers ranging from the Bee Gees to Alice in Chains along with Primus classics including “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” and “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver.” Musical comedy duo, Reformed Whores, opened the show.
Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang
Reformed Whores
Fiona Apple stopped in Seattle for the second night of the “Anything We Want” tour with Blake Mills, which kicked off in Portland the night before. Apple and the audience enjoyed a lot of playful banter between songs from her albums, as well as new material.
Fiona Apple
In support of their sixth album, Trouble Will Find Me, the National made a stop in Seattle to play the Paramount Theatre in late September. Drawing from a deep catalog of meticulous songcraft, Matt Berninger and company captivated the capacity crowd with an extended two hour set. The show came to a close with an acoustic performance of “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” which moved the entire audience to sing along and made for one of my favorite concert moments of 2013.
The National
Rising 16-year-old New Zealand singer Lorde (born Ella Yelich-O’Connor) headlined during the Decibel Festival at the Showbox at the Market in support of her debut album, Pure Heroine, which was released on September 30. “Royals,” the hit single, was recently #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. What a talented performer! I made the claim after her show that she’d never be back in Seattle at such a small venue. I proved myself right today when it was announced that she’d be back in town at the 17,450 seat KeyArena for the Deck The Hall Ball on December 3.
Lorde