Show Review & Photos: Ravenna Woods & Cody Beebe & Crooks, Land Of Pines & The Swearengens @ City Arts Fest

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Ravenna Woods, Cody Beebe & the Crooks and Land Of Pines @ City Arts Fest, 10/19
Review by Chris Senn
Photos by Kirk Stauffer

City Arts Fest is the best local festival to come about in quite a while. While quite a few national and international acts are brought in, the core and heart of City Arts Fest lies in celebrating local music, art and venues. Friday October 19th at the Crocodile represented what this festival is all about: A home grown bill from top to bottom all four bands came to rock.

Unfortunately I showed up a little late and admit that I missed the opening set by the Swearengens. I really wanted to see the band named after Ian McShane’s Deadwood character, but no luck there. I promised to catch one of their shows soon.


Land Of Pines

I showed up shortly before Land Of Pines took the stage. Their music is in the same vein as the Lumineers and the Head and the Heart, albeit with a slightly heavier edge. During the intro to “Following,” the ghost of Nick Drake made an appearance. The structure and delivery of the lyrics exhibited a definite Drake influence.

Next up, Cody Beebe & the Crooks took the stage for their first Seattle show after successfully pulling off the first annual Chinook Fest a few weeks ago. Newly married drummer Chris Green is still celebrating. For this show Drew Fletcher filled in behind the kit after only two rehearsals. He didn’t miss a beat. Cody Beebe & the Crooks launched into their set like a force to be reckoned with and put on a straightforward rock show. “Waiting For You” and the breakdowns on “Change of Pace” were particularly strong. Eric Miller’s archival video editing provided an entertaining backdrop. The solos, as always, were amazing.


Cody Beebe & the Crooks


The Swearengens

The headliners, Ravenna Woods, performed an energetic, xylophone filled set to close out the night. Matt Badger made the most of his stripped-down drum kit, the sound filling the room. The manic energy and guitar of Chris Cunningham kept the crowd alive and rocking late into the night. Brantley Duke makes the most out of the xylophone, one of the most unlikely – but awesome – instruments you’ll find in a rock band. The intricate, speed-acoustic guitar on numbers like “We Want It All” and “One Fall” sealed the deal. They ended the show with the adrenaline still pumping. This show is what City Arts Fest, at least the music side, is all about.


Cody Beebe

Land of Pines


The Swearegeans

Photos: Heartless Bastards, Ty Segall & The Helio Sequence @ Bumbershoot

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We are getting so, so close to completing our coverage of 2012’s Bumbershoot! Photographer Simon Krane was all over the festival’s grounds, and we’ve got more evidence of his journeys. Krane caught garage acts Heartless Bastards and Ty Segall – as well as the Helio Sequence.


Heartless Bastards


Ty Segall


The Helio Sequence

Show Review & Photos: Frightened Rabbit & Arc in the Round @ the Triple Door

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Frightened Rabbit & Arc in the Round @ the Triple Door, 10/15
Show Review & Photos by Abby Williamson


Frightened Rabbit

After two years away from Seattle, Frightened Rabbit finally came back to our dear city, headlining a show at the Triple Door on October 15th. Opening the show was Arc in Round, a group drenched in sonic experimentation and fuzzy humming instruments. It was an interesting warm up to Frightened Rabbit, made even more interesting by the dinner theater ambience.

The Scottish boys brought it home with songs ranging from Sing the Greys to songs off new EP, State Hospital. Again, the dinner theater setting made for almost a more intimate performance – front man Scott Hutchison was almost able to have complete conversations rather than just talking at the audience. He told us about the band’s hardship in getting across the border, calling the border patrol lady a less than politically correct term – but that’s Scotsmen for you.

I was thoroughly pleased with the show. It felt short, but that may have been because it was such an early show (those 7:30 start times sure throw me off). Scott Hutchison’s solo acoustic stuff was one of the highlights of the night (apart from meeting the band afterward), but I was heartbroken not to have heard “Keep Yourself Warm.” I mean, damn that’s a good song.

Luckily, the band did say they’d be back next year with a new full-length (which was actually mastered the day of the Seattle show)! So if you didn’t catch them around on this tour, you’ll definitely have another chance – I highly recommend it.


Frightened Rabbit


Arc in the Round

Show Review & Photos: The Good Hurt, Furniture Girls & City Faire @ the Crocodile

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The Good Hurt, Furniture Girls & City Faire @ the Crocodile, 10/5
Show Review & Photos by Heather Fitzpatrick


The Good Hurt

The Good Hurt headlined the Crocodile on October 5th and brought along local bands Furniture Girls and City Faire to round out the bill. The Good Hurt was celebrating not only the end of their West Coast tour with a home town gig on a coveted Friday night, but also had reason to celebrate by featuring a bunch of new material their Seattle fans had yet to hear. The new songs were upbeat and playful, and the crowd’s reaction gave the band what they were looking for: cheers and yells of encouragement to let them know their new music was just what they’d envisioned. They ended the show with a birthday celebration of sorts, and not at all what you’d expect. Birthday boy and The Good Hurt drummer, Aaron Ameen leapt from behind the drum kit and took center stage, and with mic in hand performed the vocals as the band performed Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy” to a huge round of applause. This show made the crowd happy. Now the guys will go into the studio later this fall to produce the new tunes, which will make everyone happy.


The Good Hurt


City Faire


Furniture Girls