Laura Veirs & The Hall of Flames headlined on Saturday at The Croc. It was very apparent from the level of audience participation and their warm reception, that Laura has a loyal following in Seattle.
Show Review & Photos: Gary Numan @ Neumos
Seattle got The Pleasure Principle treatment from Gary Numan this Halloween. The British musician performed the album’s songs, along with other pieces from his oeuvre to a sincerely rapturous crowd. I should know. I was one of those enraptured crowd members. Numan’s voice was perfect for every song; it’s got a hypnotic depth to it that worked so well in The Pleasure Principle‘s songs. It also stood out in all the great music he’s released since.
“M.E.,” “Films,” (I think this one of, all the Pleasure Principle songs hints to the passion that particularly infuses his newer work) “Observer,” “Engineers,” “Cars” (which was right in the middle of the set) hit me just right in the heart– then things got yet deeper. It’s difficult to classify Numan’s music; some want to call it industrial, techno, synth, and I am just not sure. I don’t like pigeonholing music and I think while a lot of his work might have these elements, the songs stand alone. “Pure,” the title track of his 2000 CD, was a key song on the list. Its aggressive and yet lulling guitars and words (I want to dip your wings in blood/And watch an angel bleed for me/Hey bitch/This is what you are/Purified/Sanctified) really shot out at the audience. “Are Friends Electric?” and “Down in the Park,” with their sinister vibes, were perfectly placed within his newer songs. Jagged’s “Halo” was superb, and the new song “Zulu” absolutely roared.
Numan, joined by a full band, moved easily from keys to guitar to using his vocals and performing strongly as a front man. He’s a soul-touching, thrilling master to watch.
Gary Numan – all photos by Dagmar
Photos and Review: Mayer Hawthorne and The County
Mayer Hawthorne, a very talented singer/songwriter from Detroit, Michigan, is doing his part to bring back that wonderful Motown sound. He started off his “show” exclaiming: “If you’re not dancing, move to the back”. Not very many people moved back because the whole room danced from start to finish.
It’s clear that Mayer Hawthorne drew from greats like: Barry White, Smokey Robinson, and Isaac Hayes when he wrote “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out” and “Maybe So, Maybe No” for his 2009 album “A Strange Arrangement”.
If you enjoy Motown, you will certainly enjoy Mayer Hawthorne and The County.
Mayer Hawthorne and The County
http://www.myspace.com/mayerhawthorne
Photographer
John Rudolph
Show Review & Photos: Of Montreal @ the Paramount
In October, Of Montreal put on one of the wildest – and best – shows I have ever seen. The Georgia band played the Paramount Theater, a venue in Seattle that can really show off a theatrical, musical event. It was a great location for the spectacle Of Montreal threw at me.
I had been hearing there were puppets in the show, and I had no idea what form these puppets might take. Would they be marionettes? Would they be hand puppets? What would they be? Turns out they took the form of futuristic, evil looking giant mosquitoes with guns, strange pajama-clad beings with oversized heads, and dancing pigs who were eaten or cavorted with. The whole performance was an original, eye-opening work of art.
Of Montreal is loveable, talented and also photogenic. Most of the band members wore white outfits of varying themes, though it seemed a nautical theme was the predominant choice. Singer Kevin Barnes initially came out onstage in nylons, polka dotted apron, blue top and striped jacket. Barnes has great legs, and pulled this outfit off with no problem – as he accomplished in his mini skirt he wore later in the show. As a live band, Of Montreal kept the energy high and bouncy through their danceable songs, and when they brought things down for the gorgeous “Casualty of You” (You’ve ruined me/You’re a terrorist) it was just as compelling. Other songs I really got into, and the rest of the audience hopped along during, were “For Our Elegant Castle” (We can do it softcore if you want/But you should know I take it both ways), “She’s a Rejecter” (There’s the girl that left me bitter/Want to pay some other girl/To just walk up to her and hit her), “Suffer for Fashion” (with its exquisite bass and lyrics, if we got to burn out let’s do it together), “Girl Named Hello,” “Plastic Wafers” (I want you to be my pleasure puss), “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse,” “Gronlandic Edit,” “A Sentence of Sorts in Konsgvinger” (I spent the winter on the verge of a total breakdown/While living in Norway), “Our Riotous Defects,” “Coquet Coquette,” “Like a Tourist” and “Sex Karma”. Also included was “The Party’s Crashing Us” – one I am not sure I’d want to live without.
The music and performance combined as an exotic cavalcade of depth and glory. Of Montreal ended the show with a Michael Jackson medley including “Thriller,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” and “P.Y.T.” – amazing. My photos are mostly in sequence, as the show happened, except the first shot:
Of Montreal – all photos by Dagmar
Photos: Led To Sea @ The Croc 11/6/10
Led to Sea, fronted by Alex Guy, played for an enthusiastic audience while opening for Laura Veirs at The Crocodile on Saturday. Later that evening, Alex backed Laura on viola and keyboards. Led to Sea’s second album, into the darkening sky, is out now.