Recent Stories with tag grand hallway

The still relatively new Columbia City Theater played host to some exciting bands on Saturday. It was Youth Rescue Mission's CD release show, and they shared the stage with the eclectic Heatwarmer and the emotional Grand Hallway.

Youth Rescue Mission are a new group formed chiefly of four siblings. They brought the whole family with them Saturday, with their parents on cello and electric bass and their cousin on drums. The siblings had wonderful four-part harmonies, which the crowd enthusiastically welcomed. There was even a little singing and stomping along from those at the front.

Heatwarmer followed with an astounding set, prompting Grand Hallway's Tomo Nakayama to declare them his favorite band in Seattle. Heatwarmer takes the standard rock lineup, adds keyboards and an electric wind instrument, and then proceed to play Frank Zappa jams. It's almost as if they took a look at the joke combinations of genres bands use on MySpace (like easy listening/zydeco/eclectic) and actually formed a band around it. Influences from all over the place could be heard and the musicians are ridiculously talented. For the last few songs, they brought in a saxophone quartet dubbed the "Seattle Sax Murderers." If anyone was making an '80s-style superhero show, they would be required to employ the services of Heatwarmer for the soundtrack.... (more)

The Long Winters at the Crocodile

Never heard of the Newton Girls? How about Rad Snafu? Yes, well, neither had anyone else until about a week ago. The Crocodile quietly disclosed performances by each of these bands, held less than a week apart. Eventually they let it slip that the bands were in disguise, and the craftier among us could figure it out via anagram. Luckily, there were much smarter people than me in my Twitter feed that discovered the bands to be the Long Winters and Nada Surf.

Grand Hallway at the Crocodile

The Long Winters were preceded by Grand Hallway, an amazing group in their own right. They are talented musicians from other bands around town like the Maldives, Shenandoah Davis, and the Head and The Heart. Tomo Nakayama has a subtle power in his voice that commands attention from his audience. The crowd may have been sparse--the large group yet to come was only interested in the main act--but Grand Hallway gave credit to their name, filling every nook and cranny with their lingering melodies.

The Long Winters came on stage to a nearly (if not completely) sold-out crowd of die-hard fans. It had been a long time since they had played in front of a Seattle crowd, or as frontman John Roderick put it: "Way too long."

Half of them were newbies to the group: Eric Corson moved from bass to guitar, they've grabbed a new drummer to fill Nabil Ayers mighty shoes, and a friend of John's stepped in on the bass.

It was a helluva show that started with the entirety of what would turn out be their Sasquatch set, as well as a Crocodile-only bonus set. Roderick hit on most of the favorites from all the Long Winters' albums, including "Carparts," "Cinnamon," "Clouds," and "The Commander Thinks Aloud." I was left breathless and wired for the next couple of days. Hell, even if you weren't a fan, Roderick's tongue-in-cheek charm displayed between songs would have won you over in a second.... (more)

doe bay festival image courtesy of doebayfest.com

What's that? You don't know what the Doe Bay Music Festival is? Why, it's a magical place where local bands converge to spread musical joy to a crowd of a little under one thousand fans basking in the mid-August sun. 

Okay, enough of that. Here's the lowdown: it's a two-day festival on Orcas Island comprised solely of Northwest bands that will blow your mind. It's at the Doe Bay Resort and Retreat, which opens their doors (and part of their 33-acre expanse) to campers and music-lovers alike for a two-day intimate music experience. It's a low-key alternative to the huge crowd-laden festivals that we know so well. The whole fest is limited to about 750 tickets, which go on sale this Monday at 9 a.m.

This year it's on August 13th and 14th, just in time for Seattle's weather sweetspot, that time of year when almost every day is heaven on earth: hipsters are puttering on their scooters, beach volleyball is an afternoon staple, and ice cream is an important part of every meal.  

Doe Bay Resort image courtesy doebayfest.com

You might be thinking to yourself, It starts on a Friday and ends Saturday night? Yes, it starts on Friday, but if it follows a similar schedule as last year's event, then the acts don't really get going till around 6 or 7 p.m. That leaves you just enough time to trek over to Orcas after work and catch the first act.

As for the logistics, there is really only one way to get over there, by ferry from Anacortes. Unfortunately it's pretty expensive: $44 for car and driver plus $13.45 per passenger, but at least it's free on the ride back! When it comes to sleeping accommodations, the cheapest option is camping out on the grounds, then there's a bed in the local hostel, a yurt that sleeps 5 to 25, or a cabin. If you'd rather have cushier arrangements, there are some beautiful B&Bs in the Doe Bay community.... (more)

Thursday night at the Crocodile was a bit subdued, but all in all an evening of quality music. The lineup consisted of Friday Mile, Ritchie Young (lead singer of Portland's Loch Lomond) backed up by a string section, and the headliner Grand Hallway.

Friday Mile @ the Crocodile

The local group Friday Mile started the show off. They came together in 2005 and started touring up and down the West Coast. Most recently, they released Good Luck Studio with the help of well-known L.A. producer Dennis McKay.

As their website claims, "the new tracks showcase the band's keen sense of songwriting, lyrical imagery, and gratuitous use of melody and harmony." Friday Mile are a lot of fun to watch, and if the crowd was any indication, they already have quite the following.

Ritchie Young @ the Crocodile

This was Ritchie Young's second show at the Croc, as he sang with Loch Lomond in January, and made an impression. This time he was backed by a talented and well-dressed group of violin, viola, and cello players. His higher range makes for a haunting sound that seems to linger in the air after each verse. The strings fit right in with the soft melodic feel.

My favorite was his cover of the Bee Gees' song "Holiday." I'd remembered it from the January show and was excited he'd made it a regular part of his set.

Grand Hallway @ the Crocodile

Grand Hallway rounded out the show and then some. They're an eight-piece orchestral pop band that includes members from several other local favorites Voyager One, the Maldives, Sleepy Eyes of Death, Widower, and Shenandoah Davis.... (more)

The godlike greatness of David Bowie should be damn near incontrovertible, and pairing some of his greatest songs with a fifty-piece orchestra has this avowed Bowie acolyte near salivation. Fortunately, there are still tickets available for Seattle Rock Orchestra's David Bowie Tribute at the Moore Theater tonight.

Local musician/arranger Scott Teske's been wowing local fans for several months now with the SRO, augmenting fine homegrown bands like The Black Swedes and Grand Hallway with classy horn-and-string flourishes, and tearing down the Fremont Abbey with SRO's inspirational live take on the Arcade Fire's Funeral (previewed in these here online pages in November 2009).

A terrific revolving-door of local vocalists (The Posies' Jon Auer, People Eating People's Nouela Johnston, Kindness Kind's Alessandra Rose, and Aqueduct'er David Terry, among them) will lend their talents to some of Bowie's greatest material (word has it that they'll cover tracks from Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, and Diamond Dogs), and with a four-dozen-piece orchestra milking every bit of drama from the Thin White Duke's succulently theatrical tunes, it'll be a real crash course for the ravers.

At the Triple Door on Wednesday, four local artists shared their deepest songwriting secret. I can sum it up in one short phrase: Be honest.

City Arts sponsors a concert/documentary series they call The Song Show. This edition was the first for them at the Triple Door (instead of the Can Can), and looked to be nearly sold out. Just before the music began, I settled in at my table with a friendly gentleman named Tom. He was there to see Jesse Sykes, I was there for Damien Jurado and Tomo Nakayama (of Grand Hallway). We were both expecting to learn something about local hip hop from Macklemore's performance. In the end, we got to see an amazing show and learn a whole lot more.

Between songs, Nakayama, Macklemore, Jurado, and Sykes talked about their various philosophies of songwriting. The details varied as much as the songs, but the overarching theme was one of honesty. Whether it was a painfully beautiful orchestral pop song, a "conscious" rap, a depressing folk ballad, or a '60s hippie-tinged tune, the message was the same. Each singer firmly believed in being true to themselves, and through that truth, they found beauty in their own music.... (more)

My New Year's resolution was to see 50 shows in 2009. I thought this was reasonable for a person with a job that requires me to get up at 6 a.m. Yet, like most people, I did not fulfill my New Year's resolution. I got 39 nights of rock and roll in with 122 bands. Not too shabby, but I'll try to do better in 2010. My five favorites are recounted for you below.

#5. Classics of Love, Mike Park, Dateless, The Damage Done - The Grn Strp House - 3/14/09

As someone who discovered punk rock in the early nineties, it makes sense that Operation Ivy is one of my favorite bands. The Bay Area ska/punk band was an influence to a whole decade of punks and made Lookout Records famous well before Green Day came around. When singer Jesse Michaels disappeared after their first record, punk rock hearts were crushed everywhere. He had a short comeback with Big Rig and then got back into the swing of things with reggae/punk band Common Rider. His new project Classics of Love wanders back into straight punk songs.

I got to see them with Skankin' Pickle and Asian Man Records mastermind Mike Park as well as two local groups in a small punk house near the freeway. There is absolutely no better situation than a hundred and fifty or so people crammed into the living room, their breath condensing on the walls, waiting for their hero to take the stage so they can rock the hell out. When Park started playing "The Crowd" by Op IV and Michaels joined him on vocals, it was like it was 1989 all over again and we were ready to take on the world. When Classics of Love played, we did, in fact, rock the hell out.

#4. Cumulus Festival - Chop Suey/King Cobra/Vera Project - 1/23/09 to 1/25/09

The second I heard about the Cumulus Festival, I bought a three-day pass. While three days of (mostly) instrumental music might not be everyone's cup of tea, I was super excited. Seattle is the perfect place to foster this genre of music. With extraordinarily talented musicians and long, dreary winters, we are primed to create a musical revolution. The wide variety of bands at the show underscores the depth of talent we have here and the wide variation that is prevalent in the instrumental music genre.

I spent several hours that weekend riding on emotional crescendos and decrescendos, shaking my head at ridiculous musicianship, basking in various light shows, and no small amount of rocking out. I discovered a ton of new and awesome bands. I shared a unique experience with a couple hundred like-minded people. I am very much looking forward to Cumulus Festival 2010.

#3. Grand Hallway + Seattle Rock Orchestra, The Maldives - Fremont Abbey - 9/17/09

There are bands that simply break your heart with their beauty. Grand Hallway and The Maldives are two of those bands and they played together on the same night. The Fremont Abbey has amazing acoustics for orchestral pop and alt-country ballads. I wallowed around in the sorrow and beauty and reverb and melodies. I'm man enough to admit I cried a little bit during "Sirens," the saddest Grand Hallway song ever. It was a particularly emotional night for me anyways, but two beautifully melancholy bands put it over the edge. I'll remember this show for quite some time.

#2. Sunny Day Real Estate, The Jealous Sound - Paramount - 10/16/09

Though I discovered punk in the early nineties, I had started to grow up and get all emo by about 1995. It was fortunate, then, that Sunny Day Real Estate released their first record the year before. I played that record so much that I even memorized the gaps between the songs. When the second record came out, I did the same and made up my own lyrics since the liner notes didn't include them. When I went away to college, however, Sunny Day Real Estate and I went on separate paths.

At the Paramount, hundreds of people got to share in the heartfelt reunion of an influential Seattle band. Sunny Day sounded amazing. Their songs were tightened up on a month of touring and they were just as emotional and real as ever. No giant light shows or ridiculous theatrics, just them and us in a huge concert venue. It was a great finale. Meanwhile, the new song they debuted made us think that their story might not be over yet. We'll see what 2010 brings.... (more)

Seattle had its first mayoral debate, hosted by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. So far as debating goes, Mike McGinn won handily on points; Joe Mallahan tied, I think, with Admiral Stockdale. If you want a deep-bore tunnel like you might just die if you don't get it, McGinn's performance will have mattered little to you. But if you were looking for a hyper-competent business perspective, Mallahan made you wonder what goes on, exactly, over at T-Mobile. Here's the political wonk recap at Publicola. Joel Connelly takes a closer look at Mallahan's bona fides here.

Muggers have been working Green Lake, a story My Green Lake has been covering closely. This reminds me of my post reminding our mayoral candidates about rising crime city-wide.

CHS has an enjoyable profile of local chef-entrepreneur Becky Selengut. West Seattle Blog reminds you that it's harbor seal pup season and to watch for the little bundles of cute when casting for salmon.

We here at The SunBreak had a great first full week of existence. We talked... (more)

Let me just get this out of the way: Grand Hallway are amazing. Every time Tomo Nakayama's voice rings out over a crowd, that crowd is instantly smiling at the beauty of the world. The audience is inspired by the lush and changing instrumentation of the 8 piece band and their lilting and plaintive melodies. It's like Grand Hallway breaks your heart and makes you feel awesome about it at the same time. I know that every time Tomo ends the set with a heartfelt "I spend most every night wondering how you are" that I end up telling my show-going companions that there is something in my eye. I mean, that must be why I'm smiling and crying at the same time, right?

Tomo was gracious enough to take a moment to answer some questions for the curious public. They'll be celebrating the release of their new CD, Promenade, at the Fremont Abbey on September 17th. Ladies and gentlemen, this will be a special show, as Grand Hallway will be accompanied by the Seattle Rock Orchestra and a kid's choir. It will likely be one of those... (more)