{John Vanderslice at the Tractor, Noise for the Needy 2010}

It's that time of year again, where the fine folks over at Noise for the Needy get together a slew of stellar shows to benefit a local non-profit. This year the funds are being raised for Real Change, and suffice it to say, there's bands out there to suit every taste -- the Fucking Eagles, Mal de Mer, the Builders and the Butchers, Drew Grow, Goldfinch, Fresh Espresso -- scroll down for more! The list quite literally goes on and on.

Rather than wax poetic about the details, we'll just give you the quick & dirty lineup with links to venues and tickets so you can go and get your charity on. And away we go!

:: June 7th ::

Detroit Cobras, Girl in a Coma, The Fucking Eagles
Neumos / 8p / 21+ / $13 adv {tickets}

:: June 8th ::

Brendan Perry (Dead can Dance), Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins)
Neumos / 8p / 21+ / $22 adv {tickets}

NFTN Preview Party w/ DJ Toast
The Bus Stop / 8p / 21+ / FREE {info}

Karaoke for the Needy
The Crescent  / 9p / FREE {info}

:: June 9th ::

The Golden Blondes, Mal De Mer, Soft Hills, Ivory in Ice World, Surrealized
Comet Tavern / 7:30p / 21+ / $8 {tickets}

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Two things that are making Friday very extra Friday-y: A., This image is causing a full-frontal poster-gorgeousness coma. B., Goldfinch is playing the Tractor on Sunday night! Be excited. Be very, very excited for both of these things. (Especially since we have a pair of tickets to give away to the show.)

But before we get to the give, let's get to the get: Goldfinch is a hell of a band. First dropped oh-so-ceremoniously onto the Imaginary Radar by none other than the fair John Roderick during one of his Triple Door shows last summer, these guys (and gal) couple a painful level of lyrical honesty with a haunted undertone that's positively enrapturing. There's almost nothing they haven't done on stage that isn't pure gold, and seriously -- if they can pull something like this off on a whim at a rest stop at 3am, think about what an entire legit show must be like:

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Here at TIG, we firmly believe that good content trumps mediocre video quality. Hopefully you do too. Because that's Sean Nelson above, doing his acapella rendition of "Brown Sugar" at BARE last month, a night at the Fremont Abbey full of nothing but some of our favorite local artists and their booming vocal cords. Below, our friends Goldfinch do an excellent version of "Jolene," and Kaylee Cole gives us both a stir and a laugh during "Smile."

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The first two weeks of 2011 have set the bar pretty high for shows: Lovesick Empire killing the stage at a real-life $5 cover night at Neumos, Damien Jurado selling out Columbia City Theater, and back-to-back nights with The Head and the Heart (an impromptu night at Porterhouse in West Seattle last Thursday, and Friday's packed house at Neumos). Suffice it to say that what we're about to see this week is no exception.

On Friday night, the Great Hall of the Fremont Abbey will be filled to the brim with nothing more than the voices of some of our favorite artists -- The Maldives, Sean Nelson, Grand Hallway, Goldfinch, Drew Victor, Shenandoah Davis, Pablo Trucker, and a half-dozen other talented local folk will be hosting an entirely acapella evening, and we're already counting down the minutes to the show. It's the second annual installment of a show called BARE, where we'll be spending the evening sans instruments, electronics, or any kind of amplification -- just the audience, the voices, and the rafters of the hall.

***UPDATE: We've got two tickets to give away to the show, and we want to send you and a friend! Send an email to tig {at} threeimaginarygirls.com by 5pm on Thursday, January 20th with the subject line BareItAllAtTheAbbey, and tell us why we should choose you to attend the show.

We totally get it if you don't want to run the risk of the show selling out, so click here to pick your tickets up while you still can -- the event is all ages, and prices are only $12-$15 depending on where you'd like to sit your seat.

We'll see you at the show!

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Looks like it's the season for some hard-workin', beard-sportin' local bands to be showing us what they've been squirreling away at recently. In the past few weeks, both Pablo Trucker and Goldfinch (two lovely, sad-bastard-ful bands with no other relation between them whatsoever, as far as we know) have put forth some merry newness into the wide world of the internets for our listening pleasure -- and we've got to say, we're oh-so-excited for them both!

Pablo Trucker launched an ambitious project of putting out an actual holiday EP in time for the holidays, which they've managed to accomplish and have also gone the extra step of releasing it track by track through all of the Fridays in December. It's all kicking around on their website over at PabloTrucker.com, along with exclusive videos and photos of the recording sessions that took place a few weeks back. (Hint: with covers of tracks by the Beach Boys and the Staples Singers, this EP is well worth whatever nominal amount of money that these hard working gents are requesting for it. We're just saying.)

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There was plenty to do this past weekend in our beloved, still sort-of sunny Seattle: The Black Keys at the Paramount. Youth Rescue Mission, Kimo Muraki, and a slew of amazing mini-bands at Columbia City Theater. Kurt Reighley's reading over at Elliott Bay Bookstore. Wheedle's Groove, DUG -- the list goes on and on.

But the one place that had it all, not surprisingly, was the John Roderick / Eric Corson (as the Long Winters) show at the Triple Door. The bright lights, big-city feel of the venue, the good food and strong drink, the gathering of friends -- and most importantly, John and Eric's epic set -- were all present and accounted for. To sweeten the pot, Tacoma-based openers Goldfinch and spot-drummer Jason Finn (Presidents of the United States of America) rounded out a lovely, late, packed-house kind of vibey night this past Thursday, and there was nowhere else that the collective 'we' would rather have been.

John Roderick, Eric Corson and Jason Finn at the Triple Door:

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at Doe Bay Music Festival 2009

The Second Annual Doe Bay Festival was a magical experience up on Orcas Island. A music festival like no other, and likely the closest thing to the free-loving style of the 60's that I'm likely to experience.

the Long Winters

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