Bad Religion and New Yorkers Polar Bear Club hit Seattle’s Showbox SoDo on April 15th. Also appearing with them was the Bronx – we’ll have photos of them up in a separate post soon. Los Angeles’ Bad Religion released True North this year, which is now one of the band’s highest charting albums in the States. Photographer Josh Daniels returned from the show with the following action shots:
Bad Religion – photos by Josh Daniels
Polar Bear Club – photos by Josh Daniels
One of my favorites for many years, Joan Osborne, backed by The Holmes Brothers, played eight shows at Jazz Alley and I was privileged to shoot one of them. Best known for her 1995 hit, ”One of Us”, the smoky-voiced singer is out on the road in support of her latest album, Bring It On Home.
Ben Howard @ the Moore, 3/18
Show Review & Photos by Dagmar
Ben Howard
Ben Howard is irresistible. I’m quite sure he could make converts to his music in any venue, whether it was a large theatre or a street corner. The English musician played for a large audience at the Moore in Seattle, an audience who seemed to feel the music as a part of their lives. I’m saying this because many of the fans seemed to be at that age some music fans never grow out of, the ages between teens to 25, when music can mean so much more for the developing, young mind. Some people never lose this intense passion for music – the older people in the crowd, I reckon, are in this bundle of listeners.
At one point during his show I couldn’t figure out what the unique noise was I could hear from the stage. Then I realized it was his guitar playing. It’s not that often you hear a musician play and think the sound is that unusual. Maybe I’ve experienced this more with loud electric guitars. Mostly you can identify a drum, a bass, a guitar, and occasionally keys. But there was a different element to Howard’s playing, a kind of pizzicato. A thing in itself. That Ben Howard was playing guitar with an injured left hand made this even more amazing. I don’t know how much it would hurt to pluck or strum a guitar with a broken finger. I don’t want to know. I’m guessing it is quite unpleasant. There was nothing to indicate any holding back or having to cheat around song elements.
Howard released his striking debut, Every Kingdom in 2012. I believe he’s been to Seattle a couple times before last week’s appearance, and hate myself for missing him. Anyway, Ben Howard was completely unaffected as he stood on the Moore’s stage. It was just Howard and three other musicians, including the fantastic India Bourne, who sang, played bass, cello and drums. Rather than being just an unidentifiable back up band, the musicians were key elements of the performance. Songs such as “The Fear,” with lyrics I’ve been worryin’ that my time is a little unclear/I’ve been worryin’ that I’m losing the ones I hold dear/I’ve been worryin’ that we all, live our lives, in the confines of fear/Oh I will become what I deserve sounded so gorgeous. “Keep Your Head Up,” and “Only Love,” courageous and positive songs, also spoke to the crowd, as did an alternatively heartbreaking “Black Flies.”
The self-effacing Howard, who’s an avid surfer, responded to the many (and there were many) requests from the audience to take his shirt off in this way: “I’ve been in America for two weeks, my six pack is long gone.” I’ll expect his return soon – next time to an even bigger venue – with I’m sure a growing fan base.
Ben Howard
Ramona Falls, Social Studies & the Ecstatics @ Doug Fir Lounge, 3/1
Show Review & Photos by Abby Williamson
Social Studies
There are few bands that I will drive to Portland for. It means a full tank of gas, taking at least a day off work, and mooching off my friend and her grandmother, because I’m not about to get a hotel down there. Now, this time it was a little different because I was already planning on going to Portland, but I left a day early so that I could see Ramona Falls at the Doug Fir Lounge. Now you’re probably saying, “Abby why didn’t you just see them when they were in Seattle?” Well – they were playing in Seattle the night I was already going to be in Portland, so I had to adjust my plans. It was a very complicated weekend, to say the least.
Can I tell you how happy I am that I did adjust my plans? I love this band a lot, in a strictly platonic way, but still a lot. Seeing the band with new members and new instruments on stage made it a completely different experience from when I saw them play last year. The songs sounded new, and exciting, and refreshing. I usually get mad when bands switch around members all the time, but for Ramona Falls – it works. Brent Knopf is still the mad scientist behind the songs, and that’s really what matters.
Now I’ll stop gushing and talk about the other bands that played that night. The first band – very aptly named – was called the Ecstatics. Seriously, their name could not have fit better. They looked like a young Weezer, but had the performance style of one of those pop punk bands you used to hear on the radio like 6 years ago, when pop punk was still a thing that mattered. They didn’t sound like that – I need to clarify. The Ecstatics’ sound was reminiscent of Pigeon Detectives, Oxford Collapse, or Bishop Allen. They were certainly fun to photograph – the lead singer made some wicked guitar faces.
The Ecstatics
The second band up – Social Studies – blew me away. I can’t say that I was happy with the lighting setup, but they sounded fantastic. Think Beach House mixed with School of Seven Bells – and you’ve got Social Studies. They were very now, very hip, and very, very good. I’m pissed at myself for not picking up a copy of their album while in Portland though. Stupid me.
Social Studies
And then came the band I assume we all came to see – at least I came to see them.
Ramona Falls is unique in that when playing on stage, not one person is more prominent than another. The drums, synthesizer, guitar, violin – and Brent’s keyboard – are all on the same plane. No one is in front of one another, so they can all interact when they play, making their performance way more intimate, even in a relatively full Doug Fir. I, for one, love it. It’s easier to get photos of each band member that way.
The show was mesmerizing. The last time I saw them, guitarist Brandon Laws had literally just joined the band, but by now they’ve all been playing together for so long that it felt much more organic and less practiced, if you get what I’m saying. The new drummer had all kinds of awesome energy – especially on one of my favorite tracks, “Brevony.” It felt heavy and intense, just like on the record Prophet, and it was perfect. And on “Spore,” rather than having a bunch of synthetic sounds, the violin added this extra layer that wasn’t even present on the record.
Perhaps my favorite moment, however, was when Brent said, “this next one is a cover.” It wasn’t anything specific, but when Brent started the opening riff of “Wet and Rusting” by his old band Menomena, I could feel a grin reaching across my whole face. It made me so inexplicably happy. Well, the entire show made me inexplicably happy, but that “cover” was the secret ingredient that gave it that certain something.
Ramona Falls
Social Studies
The Ecstatics
Dropkick Murphys are on the road right now, having released new album Signed and Sealed in Blood. They’ll be in the Northwest for a date with Sasquatch! on May 26th – although all are welcome to enter this contest, I’m betting a local reader will grab up this giveaway, which includes an autographed copy of the new CD, a Dropkick Murphys patch, and a Dropkick Murphys T-shirt. Be the first to email Dagmar ( [email protected]) with the correct answer to the following question by 4 PM PST on Friday, April 26th:
Which Broadway musical was the song “Tessie” featured in?
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