Spacehog & EMF @ The Neptune Theater – 06/18/2025
Photos by Alex Crick
It was a quiet and unassuming night in Seattle but over at the Neptune Theater a time warp was occurring, delivering a taste of 90’s musical energy. Spacehog’s live set at The Neptune was a glorious, unadulterated dive back into the glam-rock-meets-alt-rock sound that made them a standout in the 90s.
EMF got the night started with a phenomenal dance-rock performance that had the crowd on their feet and cheering for more.
Remy Bond @ Madame Lou’s – 6/24/2025
Photos by Kirk Stauffer
Singer-songwriter Remy Bond headlined at Madame Lou’s during a stop on her The Star Shaped Baby Tour. Flanked by two dancers and accompanied by a three-member backing band, Remy’s energetic performance had the crowd screaming, singing along, and begging for more. One of the many highlights of the nostalgic show included Remy climbing into a huge martin glass and singing “Atlantic City”. Many of the girls in the audience were Remy lookalikes with vintage dresses and hibiscus flowers in their hair. Remy’s sister, Olivia Bond, dressed as a genie, opened.
Remy Bond – Photos by Kirk Stauffer
Olivia Bond – Photos by Kirk Stauffer
Drive By Truckers and Deer Tick delivered a show to delight the most ardent and discriminating of guitar devotees Friday night at Marymoor Park in Redmond. While the bands vary significantly in terms of tone and content, they both worship at the altar of The Big Guitar & Roaring Amp and cater to a crowd that shares their passion for biting solos and chunky rhythms. Threatening weather may have thinned the crowd a bit as the venue appeared to be at about half capacity but the fans that chose to brave the elements were rewarded with excellent sets from both artists.
Drive By Truckers are not your father’s southern rock band but they clearly draw musical inspiration from that genre’s tried and true heavy hitters. While the Trucker’s lyrics lean progressive politically, the sound of the band owes much to Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers and a host of lesser artists generally identified as ‘southern rock’. The Truckers also proudly (and transparently) wear their Rolling Stones influences on their fringed and denim sleeves. With two talented songwriters in the band, DBT usually alternates between the co-leader’s tunes, one for Mike Cooley, then one from Patterson Hood. Cooley’s songs tend toward gritty slice o’ southern life tales while Hood is the more overtly topical writer of the two. Not to be dismissed or shortchanged is 3rd guitarist and keyboard player Jay Gonzalez (also an excellent harmony singer). His contributions go a long way toward rounding out the band’s live attack. Perennially smiling Matt Brown is ever solid on bass and longtime Truckers drummer Brad Morgan is at home keeping time on driving rockers, country-tinged shuffles and everything in between.
On their last swing through town (2024) the Truckers played their landmark 2001 release, Southern Rock Opera, in its entirety. While I enjoyed the chancce to experience SRO in a live setting, I missed hearing the band play a wider and more varied selection of tunes from their deep catalog. That itch was scratched Friday as the band played a long and varied set drawing from all phases of their career. Highlights included a brooding and edgy version of ‘Hell No I Ain’t Happy’, a stinging take on Cooley’s border/deportation tale ‘Ramon Casiano’, and a torrid cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Adam Raised a Cain’.
Rhode Island’s Deer Tick turned in a solid and well received performance to set the plate for the Drive By Truckers. This was our second time catching Deer Tick (the first being an opening slot for Jason Isbell at a Zoo show a couple years back). The band drew from last year’s ‘Contractual Obligations’ lp as well as selections from throughout their two decade career with a blazing Warren Zevon cover (‘Play It All Night Long’) thrown in for good measure. Deer Tick is a talented band and a terrific live act. I would absolutely make the effort to see them headline a show if such a thing came to pass.
Thank you, Brian Wilson.
Brian Wilson @ the Paramount, 2017 – photo by Dagmar
The Melvins and Napalm Death brought their most recent traveling metal extravaganza to a sold out Showbox last week for a cathartic night of loud and aggressive rock & roll. Australia’s Hard On’s opened the show with a well-received set of snappy punk/metal.
The tour was billed as a co-headlining affair with Napalm Death taking the stage last but I’d be willing to bet that a disproportionate number of attendees were there for the Melvins. Montesano’s finest was in excellent form with a second drummer (Coady Willis, of High On Fire and Big Business) on hand to add an extra dose of wallop to what has always been an absolutely crushing live act. Their set began with a synchronized drum intro with OG Melvins drummer Dale Crover and Willis pounding out a martial pattern that eventually led into ‘Working the Ditch’ from 2024’s ‘Tarantula Heart’. When Melvins maestro/guitar strangler/songwriter/frontman King Buzzo (aka Roger ‘Buzz’ Osborne) and Steven Shane MacDonald (of Redd Kross) joined the fray on guitar and bass respectively, the crowd roared and the room shook.
The Melvins drew from all phases of their long career during their satisfying set but avoided material from their most recent release, ‘Thunderball’. I’ve seen a lot of Melvins shows with a lot of different lineups (including the 2017 double bass tour with JD Pinkus of the Butthole Surfers) but I think this may have been my favorite outing to date. The crowd seemed to feel the same, demonstrating their appreciation with loud applause and an active pit. It should be acknowledged that the staff at the Showbox does an admirable job of helping crowd surfers safely navigate the barricade in front of the stage, providing excited and sweaty fans with a bottle of water before sending them back into the crowd.
Manchester England’s Napalm Death closed the show with an exciting and energetic set, mixing guitarist John Cooke’s sledgehammer riffs with frontman Barney Greenway’s guttural vocals. I will confess to not being able to decipher all of what Greenway was raging about during Napalm Death’s tunes but, judging from his between song banter, I feel safe assuming that it was primarily political in nature. Regardless, it made for a potent mix of instrumental heaviness crossed with an innervating and enjoyable stage presentation. I would absolutely make the effort to see Napalm Death again.
The show was opened by a fun and fast set from the Hard Ons. While the core of the band comes from Australia they’re being assisted vocally on this tour by Jerry Lang (aka ‘Jerry A’), formerly of Portland’s fondly remembered ‘Poison Idea’.