It's Tuesday, and that means another new release from More Than Shapes: The House Show songs. This time, it's one of my personal favorite moments from the night: John's incredibly compelling cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's "The King of Carrot Flowers, pt. 1". As Adam states, "...in the wrong hands a cover song can be a crutch, or an awkward homage, or a flashy attempt at credibility by co-opting someone else's. In the right situation though, a thoughtfully chosen cover song signals the turning point in a set like few other things can. It's a chance for a performer to say "this is what inspires me" without actually saying it." One could argue that in the realm of discussions on the topic that truer words had never before been spoken.

Many try their hand at the perfect cover, and few succeed. However, with those tries come a chance at brilliance: results like Eef Barzelay's ever-slaying choices come to mind, most notably his rendition of "Don't Stop Believin'" heard on his most recent trip through Seattle this past holiday season; or Nada Surf's delivery of "Enjoy the Silence" from the stage of the Tractor a few weeks ago, or the Postal Service's mindbendingly beautiful version of "Against All Odds". However, on this particular evening, with this particular group of folks, and this particular artist choosing this particular cover -- a magic moment took place that superceded any other cover we could recall to memory with the sufficient force needed to drown it out. This moment, this song, the combination of everything we love about John fused with the brilliance of Jeff Mangum in a crowded Ballard living room -- it was almost more than our collective hand-stamped hearts could take. It may be the shortest song in the series, but it's a contender for leaving the biggest mark.

Give it a listen and see for yourself. And if you haven't seen them already, there's two other releases earlier this month that you can take the time to soak in here and here.

{Special thanks to Laura Musselman for putting this request in the jar at the show!}

It was a great long weekend for sight and sound as we took in some goings-on around Seattle, the most notable of which was the release party for Damien Jurado's Maraqopa this past Friday at the Neptune. Sharing the bill with Gold Leaves and Bryan John Appleby, Jurado and the most recent incarnation of his band sold out our newest favorite venue to an attentive, appreciative crowd. Maraqopa {which is officially out today}, his latest brand of soundscape, is the perfect blend of everything we've come to love about Damien Jurado's work, packaged in a collective series of sounds we've never quite heard from him before. There's a little bit on Maraqopa for everyone: it's part singer-songwriter, part freak-folk, part guitar-shredding psychedelia heaven, and fourteen other different kinds of good. {Read a little more about what we've heard and adore about Maraqopa thus far here.}

Here's a few shots from Friday's show:

Another knock-it-out-of-the-park win this weekend was the screening of Fever Year, the documentary that followed Andrew Bird along for a seemingly insane 180-date tour a few years back. As avid fans, we've seen everything from those early 2000s shows where six fellow attendees stood in rapt appreciation to bursting-at-the-seams capacity nights from this most recent grueling tour {including a sold-out show at the Paramount and a set for a few thousand people at Austin City Limits in 2009} -- and it was an absolute delight to see every facet of Andrew Bird's career represented so brilliantly in this film. Historical flashbacks to his Bowl of Fire days fused together perfectly with recent tour clips and an incredible glimpse of his on-, off- and backstage life, all of which blended together into a gorgeously intimate eighty-minute portrait of the Andrew Bird of today. The mini-doc was warmed up perfectly by the screening of the Fleet Foxes' The Shrine / An Argument, an absolute delight to take in -- both visually on the big screen and as it poured out of the theater's state-of-the-art soundsystem.

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If you’ve never heard of Eighteen Individual Eyes before, you may not be alone -- but if you don’t take a listen now, you soon will be. Irene Barber’s soaring siren call is so thoroughly appealing that it’s easy to ignore the hint of danger lying in the jangly, dirty guitars underneath. Although tender, their songs are eerily disturbing. It's a transfixing combination.

EIE’s talent was obvious on their early EP, Slightly Frightened, Mostly Happy. For their soon-to-be-released debut full length, Unnovae Nights, the group recorded with Matt Bayles (Minus the Bear) and took a big leap forward. You can hear how beautifully Bayles picked apart the intricate tangles of their sound on the track “Four Poses,” available to listen now.

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Whether it’s primal joy or just effervescent boy-joy, Takers and Leavers remains mischievous and playful even in its most serious moments. It’s impossible to stop grinning as you sing along to the line, “all of my friends are dying.”  Kithkin may not be tame, but as in nature, all is not chaos on Takers and Leavers. There is an organizing principle behind the music of this urban tribe of woodland creatures. The playing is tight, the vocals are strong, and for all their youth (did I mention that Kithkin are KEXP Sound Off! alumns?) the lyrics can be on the profound side.

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$7, 714.83!!!!

You guys. That is. AMAZING!!! Jenny George (pictured atop an Exohxo pyramid above!) was sobbing with joy when we dropped the money off to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society {check out this sweet comment from Erin @LLS}. They told us straight up that it would help SO many people! This is the most money that DOTV has ever raised, and Jenny is so so so so thankful for all the volunteers and bands and attendees who made it happen! We can't wait to help plan next year's bash and raise even more money. 

As for Ben Haley's amazing photobooth pictures - they are on the way! Please take a moment to gaze upon Ben as "The Chauffer" and his assistant Merilee Jones - who had THE BEST 80s OUTFIT EVER! So totally tubular. There's a few more pics after the jump - and you can watch for yours in the ever expanding DOTV 7 Flickr set. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELPED MAKE JENNY'S BIRTHDAY SO FANTASTIC! 

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Done with your crafts? Ready to hit the town tonight? Us too! We thought we'd take a moment to hip you to a few things going on in our fair city, in case you're out and about with your sweetie, friends or bandmates:

Sean Nelson, Alex from Cumulus and Eric from Cataldo at Fremont Abbey {Facebook} {Brown Paper Tickets}
Matt Bishop, Tim from Ivan & Alyosha and Kaylee Cole at Columbia City Theater {Facebook} {Brown Paper Tickets}
Whether you're in the mood for love or in the mood for loathing, these artists will make your heart alternately soar and seize with their brilliant respective brands of wordsmithing. Take a ride out to the Fremont Abbey for a night with Sean Nelson, Alexandra Niedzialkowski {of Cumulus}, and Eric Anderson {of Cataldo}, along with poets, painters, wines and desserts -- or spend an evening at Columbia City's finest theater under the spell of Matt Bishop {of Hey Marseilles}, Tim Wilson {of Ivan & Alyosha}, and Kaylee Cole.

Love Equally: a marriage equality benefit and love song cover night at Chop Suey {info}
Chop Suey is going to be full to the seams with some great musicians tonight at their love song cover night / marriage equality benefit: stop by and catch songs from the likes of Ian Moore, The Juliettes, Ghosts I've Met, Vibragun, Kimo Muraki, Like Lightning, Jon Garcia, Dan Leary, The Horse You Rode In On, Kasey Anderson, Downpilot, and more. For a mere seven dollars, this might be the best bang for whatever bucks you have left over after that fancy dinner tonight on the hill!

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We're so happy to share another {new release} Tuesday with you, and this week it just so happens to line up with the day of Saint Valentine -- what better way to celebrate the day of love, longing, and mended / broken hearts than with a new favorite? Whether you're picking up a long-awaited album to give as a gift, to take home and digest, or to use to make a mix for (or in spite of) that special someone, here's something we can all agree on: another new video from the More Than Shapes collection will undoubtedly make your day. This time it's one of our personal favorites from The Worst You Can Do Is Harm, "Scent of Lime" -- a track equally appealing to the happy and the forlorn in all of us.

It's a bit fitting that Valentine's day naysayers "...argue[s] that the speculative explanation of sentimental customs [are] posing as historical fact" when it comes to the love-tinged commercial traditions of February 14th every year. The music of The Long Winters tends to serve as that same formula for many, where one is easily able to insert one's self into the story line to make it their own, regardless of the histories held or factual accounts of the past. Thus, the language of John Roderick is a language that speaks to all of us, much like love itself. Because the plainest words really are the finest. And we're oh-so-happy to be able to share his words with you.

{Be sure to take a peek at last week's introduction to the series, and stay tuned for a new video next Tuesday, February 21st.}

at The Crocodile

It was another amazing year for Dancing On The Valentine, Jenny George's annual leukemia and lymphoma Duran Duran cover night benefit concert. Friends and fans packed the Crocodile while we heard most excellent renditions of DD hits and B-sides from the likes of Lesli Wood, Daniel G. Harmann, Noddy, John Roderick, and Fly Moon Royalty. Show-stealers NighTraiN took the stage with Hotels for a mindblowing cover of "Come Undone," Princess brought metal sensibility to Duran Duran's music like we've never quite heard it before, and Exohxo and Katie Kate rounded out an incredibly successful night. The tally is still in the works, but rumor has it that a very impressive amount of money was raised for a donation. Nice work, Seattle!

In case you were up in the photo booth (thanks Ben "The Chauffeur" Haley and assistant) and missed one of the songs, here's a recap of who oh-so-amazingly did what! We got our photo booth on too, so if you see any errors here, please let us know and we'll update:

Lesli Wood with Jupe Jupe - Girls on Film / Wild Boys
Davidson Hart Kingsbery - Skin Trade / Do You Believe in Shame?
Daniel G. Harmann & the Trouble Starts - Planet Earth / Electric Barbarella / Secret Oktober
Noddy - Red Carpet Massacre / Big Thing / Someone Else Not Me
Hotels - Come Undone (with NighTraiN) / Save a Prayer / A View To A Kill / Late Bar
Princess - Careless Memories / New Religion
John Roderick - Lonely in Your Nightmare / Hold Back the Rain / The Chauffeur
Fly Moon Royalty - Read My Lips / All You Need is Now
Exohxo - Rio / The Reflex / New Moon on Monday / Union of the Snake
Katie Kate - Hungry Like the Wolf / Notorious / Ordinary World

And, here's some photos to prove it all happened:

Lesli Wood and Jupe Jupe:

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Riveting, modern yet vintage-without-trying, just the right amount of haunted and desolate vibes while remaining full to the very seams.

These are the notes from my first few watches through the official video for "Nothing Is The News" by Damien Jurado, off the much-anticipated, almost-released new album Maraqopa, but they might as well be the words that describe both the music and Damien as a whole from a fan and listener perspective. To date, there's been nothing Damien Jurado has done that hasn't been fully immersive: each album a project unto itself, each track an experience, each phase clearly defined, described, presented, and finally ventured on from. The last album, Saint Bartlett, is a perfect example of this, where we traveled along for the story of the tracks, sat listening in the rain, stood stage-side and were all scarred beautifully by our favorites -- and now, the time has come to shelf it for the takings-on of a new journey. It will always be there when we need the nostalgia, of course, or when that phase of the journey re-presents itself sometime down the line -- but as of today, it's Maraqopa time.

Our friends at Secretly Canadian describe this latest work as "the most vital and engaging... heard from Damien in five plus years of working with him here at Secretly Canadian. In this second project with producer Richard Swift, Damien's folk roots are fleshed out with flourishes of blues, psychedelia, and soul breathing a whole new world into Damien's sound" and inform us that "with each visit to National Freedom, Jurado is exploring, taking risks. He's not only freeing his songs. The gate is opened wide to allow us all into his once-isolated musical universe. One gets the sense he's just now hitting his stride." We couldn't have put it any better ourselves, and strongly encourage you to pick up the album as soon as you're able -- preorders are alive and well here, or, take the in-person trip with us and several hundred of your closest friends for the record release party next Friday {2/17} at the Neptune, where you can see Damien play live and pick up a real-live copy at the merch table.

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If you are a fan of the funk-psychedelic feminista sci-fi epics of local duo THEESatisfaction, you probably can’t wait until the awE naturalE release show at Neumo’s on March 29. And now you don’t have to! THEESatisfaction are playing two daytime sets {11 am and 1 pm} for Town Hall's Saturday Family Concerts.

On Saturday, February 18, Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White are bringing their positive, feminist energy with the warmth and depth of Black Jazz and Sunday morning soul to the next generation. They only have a few DJ sets scheduled locally between now and their release show, and they’ll be touring Europe in April -- so this could be your last chance to see them play live for a while. Best part? You’ll have plenty of time for dinner before heading down the hill to see The Presidents of the United States at the Showbox.

So, pack up the kiddies and head to Town Hall for an intergenerational hour of live music. And if you don’t have kids, borrow some: tickets are only $5 for adults with children, but unaccompanied adults pay $25.    

Tickets to THEESatisfaction and other Family Concerts are available online.