Tag Archives: City Arts Fest 2012

Reliving Erin Jorgensen’s Marimba Noir Broadcast

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Erin Jorgensen in "Waiting for Signs" at the 2012 City Arts Festival (Photo: Kari Champoux)

Erin Jorgensen in "Waiting for Signs" at the 2012 City Arts Festival (Photo: Kari Champoux)

Erin Jorgensen in "Waiting for Signs" at the 2012 City Arts Festival (Photo: Kari Champoux)

Erin Jorgensen in "Waiting for Signs" at the 2012 City Arts Festival (Photo: Kari Champoux)

The 2012 City Arts Festival, now fading in our memories, really put the “city” into an arts fest. A number of arts installations were squirreled away into secret locations that you had to wait to hear details about. It was fun; it felt like you were invited to a “happening.” You’d show up on a sidewalk somewhere and eyeball others standing around, trying to discern if they were in on it.

One of the shows was Erin Jorgensen‘s Waiting for Signs, which took place in a tattoo parlor on Olive Way. Tucked away in the back was a surprisingly realistic studio apartment (or live-in radio studio) that Jorgensen and friends had constructed. Before the show began, Jorgensen was getting the finishing touches on a tattoo herself, as befits a performer known as a “punk marimbaist.”

People clustered around, sitting on the floor up front, as Jorgensen launched into late-night radio broadcast mode. She sings in English, French, German…and anything else she cares to. It’s not necessary to understand the words, really–as a musician, Jorgensen is used to communicating through sound, phrasing. Wherever you walked in from melted away in the face of this voice of world-weary experience.

This time, the songs came with confessional, spoken-word arias: conversations, interviews, philosophizing, all in a late-night minor key, about that time someone worked at a strip club, that time someone went to their first addiction meeting. One voice discoursed directly about signs and coincidences, synchronicities we can’t help but find meaningful. In this noir landscape, the signs marked the last exit, last straws, last hopes.

It was a short show, relatively speaking. But a month later, its taste of whiskey and stale cigarettes, buzz of speaker or needle, and pulsations of neon instruction, still inhabit an imaginary place where Hopper’s Nighthawks actually open up.

Rock and Roll Highlights from City Arts Fest 2012 (Photo Gallery)

Prism Tats.
Prism Tats.
Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound.
Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound.
Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound.
Fox and the Law.
Fox and the Law.
Fox and the Law.
Howlin' Rain.
Howlin' Rain
Howlin' Rain.
Ravenna Woods.
Ravenna Woods.
Ravenna Woods.
Ravenna Woods.

Prism Tats yowls for his supper. (photo by Tony Kay)

Prism Tats. (photo by Tony Kay)

Try saying it five times, fast: Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound. (photo by Tony Kay)

Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound. Then serve with electric Kool-Aid. (photo by Tony Kay)

Something in the Bay Area water breeds psychedelic bands like kaleidoscopic flies: Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound. (photo by Tony Kay)

Guy Keltner, frontman for Fox and the Law. (photo by Tony Kay)

Fox and the Law rock, they do. (photo by Tony Kay)

Guy Keltner of Fox and the Law. (photo by Tony Kay)

Still not sure if there's an apostrophe in there or not: Howlin' Rain at Barboza for City Arts Fest 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Ethan Miller of Howlin Rain. (photo by Tony Kay)

Howlin' Rain. (photo by Tony Kay)

Ravenna Woods' Chris Cunningham. (photo by Tony Kay)

Ravenna Woods' Brantley Duke. (photo by Tony Kay)

(photo by Tony Kay)

(photo by Tony Kay)

Prism Tats. thumbnail
Prism Tats. thumbnail
Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound. thumbnail
Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound. thumbnail
Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound. thumbnail
Fox and the Law. thumbnail
Fox and the Law. thumbnail
Fox and the Law. thumbnail
Howlin' Rain. thumbnail
Howlin' Rain thumbnail
Howlin' Rain. thumbnail
Ravenna Woods. thumbnail
Ravenna Woods. thumbnail
Ravenna Woods. thumbnail
Ravenna Woods. thumbnail

[See our previous entry for a more exhaustive report on City Arts Fest 2012, as well as more photos from the Fest.]

This year, City Arts Fest also utilized Neumo’s basement cousin Barboza, which meant that wristband holders could see two different sets (and a slew of bands) with a simple jog up and down a flight of stairs. I took advantage of the very convenient logistics to augment the hip hop action with a dose of rock.

Barboza’s Friday night line-up included ex Koko and the Sweetmeats guitarist and singer g. vandercrimp’s one-man new wave band Prism Tats (hyper, minimalist, yelpy, and really damned fun), San Francisco psychedelic rock collective Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound (think the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Cream, and Crazy Horse sharing tabs of acid and really raging on guitar), and Seattle monster-rockers Fox and the Law (a terrific heavy-rock band whose lead singer/guitarist Guy Keltner was a show all by himself). Friday Barboza headliners Howlin’ Rain (another SF outfit) balanced their stoner tendencies with a dose of Queen-style bombast and ambition.

Last but sure as hell not least, I forced myself to exit Neumo’s before Fresh Espresso’s reportedly-great set (sorry, guys) to catch Ravenna Woods pack the house at the Crocodile. There’s a reason the Woods have earned hosannahs from nearly every music journalist in the region: On a good night, they’re the best live band in Seattle, and last Friday was a very good night, indeed.

Keyboardist Sam Miller fleshed out the sound with some apt sonic cushioning, but for the lion’s share of the set it was just the band’s core. Fount-of-ingenuity Brantley Duke capably hopscotched between guitar, keyboards, and percussion, and Matt Badger’s brilliantly outside-the-box drumming propelled the music with haunting relentlessness. At front and center, Chris Cunningham remained a  guitarist of staggering skill and a frontman of evangelical energy. Oh, and they showcased some great new material from their forthcoming 2013, too. The band plays live around town with a fair amount of frequency around town, but based on their showing at City Arts Fest, it’s a fool’s game to take them for granted.

Random Highlights from City Arts Fest 2012, Hip Hop Division (Photo Gallery)

Thaddeus David.
Seattle MC Larry Hawkins.
Larry Hawkins, Seattle hip hop artist.
The Physics.
The Physics.
Mos Def.
Mos Def.
The Good Sin.
The Good Sin.
Key Nyata.
Key Nyata.
Kingdom Crumbs.
Kingdom Crumbs.
Kingdom Crumbs.

Local MC Thaddeus David at the Showbox SODO. (photo by Tony Kay)

Larry Hawkins works the crowd at the Showbox SODO. (photo by Tony Kay)

(photo by Tony Kay)

Monk Wordsmith of The Physics. (photo by Tony Kay)

Thig and Monk, sibling frontmen for The Physics. (photo by Tony Kay)

Hey, it's that guy on Dexter. No, it's Yasiin Bey. No, it's Mos Def. (photo by Tony Kay)

(photo by Tony Kay)

The Good Sin throws down at Neumo's. (photo by Tony Kay)

The Good Sin. (photo by Tony Kay)

Key Nyata: Barely old enough to vote, definitely old enough to rap. (photo by Tony Kay)

Key Nyata. (photo by Tony Kay)

Blown away by Kingdom Crumbs. (photo by Tony Kay)

Kingdom Crumbs' will be done. (photo by Tony Kay)

Kingdom Crumbs rocking Neumo's. (photo by Tony Kay)

Thaddeus David. thumbnail
Seattle MC Larry Hawkins. thumbnail
Larry Hawkins, Seattle hip hop artist. thumbnail
The Physics. thumbnail
The Physics. thumbnail
Mos Def. thumbnail
Mos Def. thumbnail
The Good Sin. thumbnail
The Good Sin. thumbnail
Key Nyata. thumbnail
Key Nyata. thumbnail
Kingdom Crumbs. thumbnail
Kingdom Crumbs. thumbnail
Kingdom Crumbs. thumbnail

City Arts Fest 2012 bounded through this neck of the woods last week, and I was lucky enough to catch some of the Fest’s highlights last Thursday and Friday.

You can go here for a more exhaustive report (and several different photos) from my two days camped out at the Showbox SODO, Neumo’s, Barboza, and the Crocodile, respectively. Meantime, here’s your Cliffs Notes from the hip hop contingency to go with the enclosed pics:

Thursday night, I caught Mos Def, as well as some great local hip hop, at the SODO. Yeah, the venue’s still one of the most annoying music spaces in town, but glass half-full time: The show was pretty awesome. In addition to basking in the glow of a hip hop royalty headliner, local MCs Thaddeus David, Larry Hawkins, and The Physics offered Mos Def solid support.

Last Friday’s Neumo’s set also provided a hip hop extravaganza, this time all homegrown.  The Good Sin served up socially-aware lyrics and a baritone voice that impressed me mightily, high-school-age MC Key Nyata laid down gothic hip hop that utterly subverted his tender years, and Kingdom Crumbs changed things up with a trippy and party-centric set that painted frescoes on frontal lobes (even without the benefit of the blunt being passed around and smoked openly).

Fresh Espresso‘s headlining set was reputedly awesome, but other musical acts called. More on that, later…

Saturday Night’s Musical Selections at City Arts Fest

It’s the final night of City Arts Fest, and plenty of great musical offerings pepper  the participating local venues.

You know the rest of the drill: Wristbands for the Fest are now sold out, but single tickets for some of the events can still be purchased at the respective venues. As always, zip on over to the City Arts Fest website for purchase details. And get out there, already.

Here’s the most essential stuff among a pretty stellar closing-night line-up.

Sam Miller, Two White Opals, Eighteen Individual Eyes, The Tempers @ The Rendezvous. Show at 8:00pm.

Capitol Hill recording studio CryBaby Studios rolls out its showcase in the cozy environs of the Rendezvous tonight. I don’t know how CryBaby in-house engineer Sam Miller plans to replicate his dense gothic piano pop live, but his darkly gorgeous singing and Broadway-Musical-in-Hell tunes will render early arrival a must. The descent down the gothic romance rabbithole continues with Two White Opals and Eighteen Individual Eyes, two evocative guitar bands that navigate swirly melodies along twisty percussive side trips. Leigh Stone’s plaintive and lush singing receives backing from Ravenna Woods’ rhythmic genius Matt Badger with the former, while Eighteen Individual Eyes scruff up the beauty of Irene Barber’s voice with an art-punk instrumental attack that makes them a lethal live act.

Electro-goth trio The Tempers headline the evening. With their unusual-for-Seattle layout of vocals, synth, and drums and an infamous flair for the theatrical, this sibling-populated outfit should be a singular experience in the flesh. Lead singer Corina Bakker is one of this ‘burg’s most charismatic figures, singing in an over-the-top croon that sounds like Patti Smith affecting Bryan Ferry after an absinthe bender.

Stephanie, Hobosexual, Hounds of the Wild Hunt, “The Rolling Stones” @ Barboza. Show at 6:30pm.

Need an infusion of rock, yet still want to get to bed at a decent hour on a Saturday night? Get the hell over to Barboza, already. Big things are being muttered about for local five-piece Stephanie, who’ve only released one 7-inch so far (they sound like Guided by Voices playing a new-wave dance party).

Occupying the middle of the evening will be two of Seattle’s best live bands: The incredible synergy between singer/guitarist Ben Harwood and drummer Jeff Silva (the two-headed rock machine known as Hobosexual) is a thing of wonder live, and Hounds of the Wild Hunt remain one of the sweatiest, throat-shreddingest, all-or-nothing rock bands in Seattle onstage. Oh, and you get a Stones cover band including members of Whalebones, Truckasauras, and Blood Brothers to close out the night, too.

DeVotchKa with the Seattle Rock Orchestra @ The Moore. Show at 9:15pm.

DeVotchKa‘s been around long enough to have influenced a whole slew of bands with their cinematic sound, equally inspired by Talking Heads, gypsy music, Ennio Morricone, and David Lynch. Whoever thought to wrap the band’s immersive music in the gilded raiments of the wonderful Seattle Rock Orchestra should be canonized (or at least bought free drinks for life).

 

 

Friday Night’s Music Selections at City Arts Fest

Friday night holds the promise of the weekend in its hot little hands, so it’s no surprise that some of City Arts Fest’s choicest musical offerings surface tonight.

Wristbands for the Fest are now sold out, but single tickets for some of the events can still be purchased at the respective venues. As always, zip on over to the City Arts Fest website for purchase details. Here’s what’ll rule musically tonight.

The Swearengens, Land of Pines, Cody Beebe, Ravenna Woods @ The Crocodile. Show at 8:00pm.

It’s another great all-local bill at City Arts Fest, and a varied one to boot. The Swearingens and Cody Beebe hold up the roots end: The former provide the party music, while the latter serves as the soundtrack for that last-call sob into your beer. Land of Pines, contrary to their rustic-sounding moniker, bash out great (and decidedly non-rootsy) guitar pop, but the evening will definitely belong to Ravenna Woods, who play live with the jumpy, desperate energy of guys facing their last night on earth.

The Good Sin, Key Nyata, Kingdom Crumbs, Fresh Espresso @ Neumos. Show at 8:15pm.

Someone out there’s surely clucking on about the hip-hop renaissance that Seattle’s experiencing right now, and if they’re not, someone (maybe even me) probably will after this evening of homegrown crews. That mantra of early show arrival really, really applies here: Opener The Good Sin is flat-out terrific, a tersely-effective lyricist with resonant, deep delivery and expansive melodies to back up his rhymes. Key Nyata’s barely old enough to vote (18), but he’s on to a seriously addictive mix of trippily-sluggish beats and jet-black verse. Kingdom Crumbs’ vividly-imaginative jams mix experimental electronics with sometimes surreal stream-of-consciousness rhymes, and they’re energetic as hell onstage. Last but surely not least, Fresh Espresso shall surely bring the house down with their established and fervent party-down agenda.

Reignwolf @ The Laserdome. Doors at 10:45pm, show at 11:15pm.

The current fave rock rave of every rational human who’s seen him, Reignwolf delivers such an astonishing show all by his lonesome that throwing him into a laser show seems almost superfluous. Here’s hoping the set-up accommodates that.  Rumor has it that this one’s sold out, but there may be some single tickets at the door. 

Prism Tats, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Fox and the Law, Howlin Rain @ Barboza. Show at 6:30pm.

Headliners Howlin Rain are pretty damned awesome–think an unlikely but pretty magical amalgam of Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, and Love–but again, get there early. Prism Tats have formed from the ashes of the late, great Koko and the Sweetmeats, and they play very cool garage-rock laced with minimalist indie-pop beauty. San Franciscans Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound sport a name almost as cool as Prism Tats and a gently psychedelic sound. Second-to-the-last but not least on the bill is Fox and the Law, a great, growling rock combo who sound like electric blues on a Queens of the Stone Age head trip. 

 

 

Tonight’s Music Selections at City Arts Fest

The 2012 edition of City Arts Fest made its official musical bow yesterday, with turns from David Byrne and St. Vincent, The Head and the Heart’s Jonathan Russell, and Ghostland Observatory, among others. If you didn’t get a chance to check out any of Wednesday’s music acts, fret not: There are still plenty of crucial sonics coming down the pike before the Fest winds down on Saturday. A detailed schedule, ticket info, and various sundry good things can be acquired over at the City Arts Fest website, but here are some of the musical highlights coming up tonight.

DJ Swervewon, Thaddeus David, Larry Hawkins (formerly SK), The Physics, Mos Def @ Showbox SODO. Show begins at 7:15pm.

Showbox SODO sits in South Seattle, pretty far away from the Fest’s Capitol Hill and downtown focal points, and it’s an imperfect performance space at best. That said, the lineup’s strong enough to warrant just hunkering down and shaking your ass for the night. Whether he calls himself Yasiin Bay, Dante Smith, or whatever, Mos Def’s more than earned hip hop royalty status after a couple of decades in the trenches (dude’s a really good film and TV actor, too). But the front end of the bill’s brimming with multiple flavors of local hip hop.  Thaddeus David keeps it sparse and menacing, the artist formerly known as SK (Larry Hawkins) plies a more expansive, hook-laden sound, and The Physics back their rhymes with a lush sound that combines velour funk with bursts of silken soul-inflected backing vocals.

Tomten, Throw Me the Statue, Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground, Gold Leaves @ The Crocodile. Show begins at 8pm.

Yeah, Gold Leaves–the newest project from Arthur and Yu’s Grant Olsen–is pretty as all get out, what with its lush arrangements and Olsen’s plaintive, warm vocals at the center. But the three preceding acts make tonight’s Croc show a full-meal deal. Tomten‘s graceful, loping pop songs are so British-sounding you can taste the vinegar on the salt-and-vinegar crisps, and Throw Me the Statue sell their everything-and-the-kitchen-sink indie pop with phenomenal musicianship and drum-tight live performances.  Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground, meantime, sound like earnest chamber pop, bum-rushed by a drunken cabaret band.

Nark, Glitterbang, House of Ladosha, SSION @ the Rendezvous. Show begins at 7:45pm.

Wanna dance, but don’t wanna do so in the barn-like Showbox SODO? Get thee the hell to the Rendezvous tonight. Headliners SSION enjoy reams of notoriety for their warped and over-the-top live shows (lead singer Cody Critchloe’s cartoon charisma alone is worth the price of admission) and the band’s newest material takes a left turn from herky-jerky new wave to hooky electro-disco. That change in sound will nicely compliment Brooklyn beat-meister House of Ladosha and Seattle danceketeers Glitterbang, plus busy Seattle DJ Nark spins for early arrivals.

Slang!, Lemolo @ The Triple Door. Show begins at 8pm. 

You probably don’t need to hear another round of hosannahs for local duo Lemolo‘s swirly and devastatingly lovely pop, but there’s a reason for all the hoop-dee-doo: their songs completely captivate, and their live shows have never been anything less than transcendental. Opening outfit Slang! consists of Portland singer/songwriter Drew Grow and Wild Flag/Quasi member Janet Weiss. Grow and Weiss are talented as hell, so it’ll be nice to hear the former lending his famously-passionate delivery to other peoples’ material (Slang! is a cover band, apparently) while the latter delivers contrasting harmonies and (fingers crossed) gets behind the drum kit.