T.V. Coahran opened kicked it off. Bombastic on the downbeat.  Live, their sound is more punk and less nuanced than their recorded material, like Township of Cecil, with weird doubled falsetto vocals, WWI musical style songs, ancient Greek references about Artemis Ogygia, toy keyboards and drums all snare and cymbal.

Nice shoes.

Next was Idle Times, their second live show, as it were.  Grunge-o-rific:

Headlining was The Impossible Shapes from Indianapolis. Pared down drums. Songs alternately mangled and sweet. Mushrooms and moans.

This?

Or that?

All photos by Adam Forslund.

dance party royale at Lo Fi. DJ Rhymtha tearin it up

Caught the end of B. Dolan's set at Chop Suey, which included pronouncements on what hip hop is and parading around to eye of the tiger in a cape. See fer yrself -

Then Scroobius, London hip hop.  Another bearded white dude doing hip hop, but this time with an accent.

Here's a wack max headroom vid they did -

Look For The Woman

Shout out to DJ Riz, who spins a show on KEXP twice a week, a variety mix, every Wednesday and Thursday on KEXP from 9PM to 1AM.  Everything from indie rock to ambient shit to hip hop to other genres.   Always good. And when he gets on the mic it's choice. Found this interview had some good info.  There's also Justify Your iPod podcast Riz holds court and makes David Schmader look lame.  He doesn't even have an iPod.

What The Heck Fest 2008

Desolation Wilderness at Causland Park on Saturday indie rockers. 

Saturday night, Ô Paon in the City Hall gym.  Each song a looping a guitar part and looping vocal done on the fly, then  French on top like some sort of incantation.

Sunday morning, a ferry ride to Anderson's Store on Guemes Island featured The Solvents.  Venue looking out to bales of hay, mountains and ocean.  Accompanying violin..

Some lines from one of their songs:

Goin down to the basement
Listenin to the Replacements
Love to watch that record spin
With my tonic & gin

Mirah and Spectratone International on Sunday afternoon played, serious musical chops.  Accordion, cello, oud and percussion: nice.

One of three MCs from the BBB, Bryce Panic at Causland Park on a Sat afternoon, beats across Anacortes at What The Heck fest.  

Served up joints from the record  as well as Boom Boom Baby.  One man wordball rollin with the B.

Here's B w/ B-Wanna:

Ononos at the Josephine.  10 or 15 there to witness the spectacle as masked keyboardist played beats and loops while masked drummer thumped and the queen vamped.  Plus Yoko Ono masks doled out to the audience, creepy  

The Josephine space: high ceilings, fat speakers and BYOB. 

Oompa. 

Yowza.

Blake/e/e/e make for a soundtrack recorded and live

Check out “Time Machine,” ain't so bittersweet.  And jams.

At The Comet they opened with “New Millennium,” anthemic. Harmonies between the singers. “Time Machine” shouts. Instrumentation configuration during the show, the banjo passed around, the bassist on percussion, the drummer with a cymbal with a bow. Ended with “Holy Yes To The Sun” into minimalist banjo melancholia into a full out jam.

Video from their tune "The Thing's Hollow" 

Photos by Adam Forslund

Thee Emergency are doing a run of shows promoting their new record this month -- a bunch still to be played.  Caught them at The Funhouse on Saturday May 10 rippin it up. Something kind of JC Superstar about them. And that's no diss no doubt.

Dita Vox, pipes, has it going on

The band rips the rock riffs.  Urgencies and emergencies music.  A great live set

Photos by Adam Forslund

lays it out right on its MySpace page -- the track "Hopped Up For The Git Down"  is outta control

North By Northwest by The Blues Scholars

Local lines and the chorus  "It's that Northwest classic..."

keep it micro-local and check "The Ave"