The closing night of City Arts Fest 2011 should pack plenty of unmissable moments in its own right. Enclosed, please find our picks for your Saturday evening.
Mudhoney w/Hot Bodies in Motion, Thee Emergency, Lovesick Empire @ Neumos
Katelyn: Mudhoney, people. MUDHONEY. Plus, Thee Emergency’s reinvented themselves at least twice since I saw them last, so I’m interested to see what the ever-sultry Dita Vox and the gang are up to now. Do wear flannel, and do prepare your eardrums for sonic assault.
Clint: Well, don’t I feel lucky going in for Mudhoney? I’d say that’s been covered quite nicely. Just one more thought: While other legendary Seattle bands/records celebrate 20 years in 2011, Mudhoney nears 25. And still the band’s spontaneous-yet-accomplished rock and Mark Arm’s serpentine, charismatic frontman talents remain unrivaled.
Seapony w/Tea Cozies, Midday Veil, Witch Gardens @ The Rendezvous
Katelyn: Oh, you’d rather be less ragey, more happy on a Saturday night? Done. Go to the Rendezvous for Seapony and Tea Cozies.
Tony: Seapony’s girl-fronted pop’s just plain tasty and sweet, but my heart belongeth to Tea Cozies. The Ronettes fronting Gang of Four while channelling mid ’60’s Kinks, set to a walloping backbeat? Yep, that about covers it.
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down w/Grand Hallway, Lemolo, Kris Orlowski @ The Crocodile
Tony: The Croc’s wildly varied Saturday bill includes Thao’s winning herky-jerky indie pop, Grand Hallway’s entrancing and airy chamber-rock, Lemolo’s electronic allure, and Kris Orlowski’s burnished, beguilingly-ragged Mark Lanegen-esque pipes.
The Hold Steady w/ Grand Archives @ The Neptune
Josh: The pairing of Grand Archives (sunny American harmonics) and the Hold Steady (optimal bar band with a dash of literary tradition) make a great excuse to check out the Neptune.
Male Bonding w/Unnatural Helpers, Virgin Islands, The Fucking Eagles @ Chop Suey
Tony: The bill I’m most excited for this evening has to be this rock and roll quadruple feature at Chop Suey. British trio Male Bonding give great loud pop–short, catchy songs that sound like Teenage Fanclub after a case of Red Bull. But get there really, really early. The other three local bands on the bill pretty much rule: Unnatural Helpers and Virgin Islands serve up some great, spiky post-punk, and Tacoma collective The Fucking Eagles uphold T-Town’s noble tradition of gloriously git-down-and-dirty garage rock, but laced with some muscular R & B. Be sure to bring an extra pair of socks, as your first pair will be knocked off.
Seateeth: Jose Bold (John Osebold of “Awesome”) @ Theater off Jackson
Seth: I wrote about this earlier this week. I will be there at this very show, and if the Huskies beat Stanford that afternoon, I will be the guy smiling broadly and muttering “Keith Mother-f-ing Price! F-ing A!” at intervals. Sorry.
Capsula w/Whalebones, Stag, Rose Windows @ The Comet Tavern
Tony: When it comes to my sixties revivalists, I like ‘em swirly, swaggering and dirty. South America’s Capsula know how to break out the bad-trip psychedelia, and Seattle’s own Whalebones provide a great excuse to show up early.