at Capitol Hill Block Party 2010

Photos from Capitol Hill Block Party 2010. You know the deal. Let us know what shows you have seen and what you liked in the comments!

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Somehow, in the sea of amazing, mindbending, 40+ shows this past weekend, we managed to find ourselves front row for two of our favorite local acts, with camera in hand. Two great nights with two rad bands, at two perfectly-suited venues: John Roderick's solo show at the Triple Door on Thursday, and the Head and the Heart's late-night set at the Comet on Friday.

First up: picture one of your all-time all-star favorite musicians playing all of your favorite old songs, from the edge of a couch in your apartment. Now, give your apartment temperature control, a raging sound system, stellar lighting, room for all your friends, and a waiter who serves you lemon-infused sparkling water and endless range-free grass-fed chicken filled potstickers. (Right? Seriously.)

Such was our night.

Nothing could have prefunked a sun-filled weekend better than a night with John Roderick, who took the spotlight center-stage this past Thursday at one of the sweetest venues in town. After warmup sets from comedian Karen Korn and Jason Dodson, a two-hour set (!) of Long Winters favorites ensued, and we sat and soaked it all in from the darkened, cushy, air-conditioned seats of the Triple Door. The night consisted mainly of older songs, tracks off of most of the band's earliest releases like The Worst You Can Do Is Harm and When I Pretend to Fall, some pre-LW songs, and even some pre-Western State Hurricanes material. (!!!) Coupled with a smattering of more recently released selections (and the greatest stage banter this side of the Sound), it was everything a solo show at the Triple Door should be: totally deconstructed and intimate -- akin to spending an evening in a performer's living room / your apartment -- with a first-hand tangibility to the whole thing that knocked us right out of our chairs.

{Tons of photos after the jump!}

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Skeletons with Flesh on Them {Photo: Steve Louie}

Thanks to everyone who joined us at the Crocodile last Saturday night for the big birthday show with Aqueduct, Math & Physics Club, and Skeletons with Flesh on Them. It was wonderful to spend the special evening with you... even if none of us could break out the candy in the #8 pinanta {thanks to Skeletons with Flesh on Them for supplying the pinata!}.  It was such a joyous time, it made us wish that we could celebrate a birthday more than once a year. Good thing time flies!

Double thanks go to our photographers Steve Louie and Lori Paulson for capturing the evening in photos.

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at Neumos

Starfucker brought the heat to Neumos with a set that could make even the most waifish of concert goers sweat bullets. Fans literally jumped and danced for twelve straight songs (plus an encore that included a drop in from Champagne Champagne and one awesome kid who crowd surfed like a champ). Copy, the opener, also killed with delightfully heavy beats overlayed with intricate keytar (can the keytar even be intricate?!). And Truckasauras filled the middle with interesting noise and a hype man that wouldn't quit (I just kinda wished he would). Starfucker is continuing up and down the west coast, but I guarantee they will be back for some summer jams. Check 'em when you can.

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at Neumos

I really like Hospice, The Antlers' first album as a trio. If you even remotely enjoyed the album, then I certainly hope you were able to make it to the sold out show last week at Neumos. It seemed like no one knew that this was an all-ages show since everyone arrived at 9PM, just in time to hear the first half of Phantogram's set from 10th Ave. Thankfully I was able to make it in to grab some shots of both stellar sets.

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at Showbox at the Market

The all ages show kicked off with with boisterous applause and exclamations of "I love you Gareth!" and " I Love You Harriet!" as the eight-person band gathered on stage. Within the first few bars of their set, the comfortably filled floor was insanely shaking with Campesinos fans singing along to every word and joyfully bouncing with the ebb and flow dancing as the band moved through the first part of their set with numbers like "Romance is Boring" and "A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State or, Letters from Me to Charlotte".

About halfway through the set, lead-singer / glock-maestro Gareth explained a bit about the Seattle / LC! mutual love affair and took a moment to profusely (and deservedly) thank the lovely and talented John Goodmanson and Eric Corson for all their help in and out of the studio. The imaginary highlight was when he followed with a shout out of appreciation to The Stranger, KEXP, and Three Imaginary Girls--a moment from which we are still blushing.

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at The Triple Door

Between the sweet and straight-out bite of Hospital Ships, the huge-guitar shred of Wye Oak, and the general everythingness of Shearwater -- I'm surprised that anyone left the Triple Door last Thursday night with any face left. The show was absolutely amazing, and easily makes my top five sets of the year so far. Without an instant of doubt.

The two openers, Hospital Ships and Wye Oak, were perfectly laid out as warm-up and direct support on the night's bill. There are plenty of bands that can (and do) sound fine next to each other, of course -- but when someone has put together a thoughtful lineup like this, the vibe of the night really translates. Hospital Ships' set was laden with sharp, smart lyrics and lovely, happy-to-melancholy chord changes that took us from "Aw!" to "Holy crap. YES." and back in a single song. Wye Oak, in contrast, stayed more on the angst-sound side, blowing us out of the front row with a gigantic sound that seemed much bigger than two people could possibly produce.

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Last night, I found myself at the Vera Project to check out Dolorean. The show was awesome and had a good mix of EP and LP material.

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at Neumos

If you haven't heard of Colonies, you will soon. Their show at Neumos on Thursday night was most definitely an indicator that they will be blowing up in the not so distant future. Thursday's showcase of lovely local indie pop-rock bands consisted of: Lemolo, The Mopes, Conservative Dad and, of course, Colonies. Every band that night blew me away and, if you're looking to support your local music scene (which I assume you are), you should definitely take a few minutes out of your day and give a listen to all of these bands. Let your ears be happy, they deserve it.

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at Neumos

For years I have followed Ted Leo's music. I was fanatic for a while, even. Then it came to the point where one of his songs would pop up on my iPod and it would be a pleasant reminder of why I love him so. Friday night was that reminder times a million and then some. Oddly enough, it was my first time seeing him. Neumos started out a bit empty, but upbeat local band, The Sea Navy, came out and got everyone dancing as more people filtered in. The Hive Dwellers (fronted by K Records head Calvin Johnson) followed up The Sea Navy with a set that defied the laws of most Neumos shows by not using one microphone or any fancy lighting. I can do no justice in describing what happened, you really had to be there. I'll just mention that there was a lot of hip-gyrating. A lot of it.

Soon enough, Neumos was jam-packed with die-hard indie rock fans, buzzing excitedly about their love of Ted Leo. It seems he has quite a cult following and it's really not hard to see why. Ted Leo is a great indie-rock god to believe in, a force to be reckoned with, really (but likely the nicest force you will ever encounter). I will definitely be seeing him any time he is back in the area because, I don't know about you, but I really like to get my face rocked off. ...Also, covering Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" is one of the keys to my heart.

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