Three Imaginary Girls blogs

Recommended show + free tickets: American Film Week at NWFF

imaginary victoria — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:56:12 +0000

There's a great selection of films going on at the Northwest Film Forum next week (well, there's always good stuff at the NWFF, if you want to get technical about it) that we wanted to make sure you were hip to. It's called American Film Week, and it's running in the spirit of a mini- / non-festival: a series of "bold American films, offering you just one choice a night." Brilliant!

We're particularly excited about Fever Year, a documentary about the grueling of Andrew Bird's 165-date tour, and Bombay Beach, a "rich and emotional portrait of the lives of some of California's absolute poorest" with a musical score by Zach Condon {best known for directing many a Beirut video} -- but the whole week is worth a visit, so much so that we're giving away a pair of passes to the entire run of screenings.

Sabrina Chap takes over Seattle this weekend/week! (and releases an album with your help)

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:38:52 +0000

Doesn't this photo say, "Fuckyeah, I'm awesome!"? Photo by: Dave Sanders

So last year around this same time, I discovered an album called Oopma by lovely, honey-voiced Sabrina Chap - and I'm pleased to announce that she's coming back to Seattle with a week full of shows! Burlesque, caberet, piano-playing, crooning - you name it, Sabrina is doing it. Man oh man, I love this woman! She's currently cooking up her new album, We Are the Parade, and could use a some dollas to help finish it up and get it out the door. I'm a sucker for kickstarter campaigns, so I donated. You too?

Ms. Chap generously offered up a preview of some of her new stuff for our imaginary readers! Take a listen to this track from her 3-song piano and vocal CD (which will be available at her gigs!):

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://threeimaginarygirls.bandcamp.com/track/stupid-broken-love-song&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; _cke_saved_href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://threeimaginarygirls.bandcamp.com/track/stupid-broken-love-song&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Stupid Broken Love Song by Sabrina Chap&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

So to recap: track down a copy of Oompa and mix up some Manhattans, take a listen to one of her new piano tracks, throw a few bucks her way if you dig it, and take your pick from any of the shows below to bask in the Sabrina goodness.

Feb. 10th, 11th &12th
That's F*cked Up 3!
Burlesque as you've never seen it...
ReBar
Doors @7pm | Show @8pm

{complete show listings after the jump}

THEE Satisfaction play for the kiddies at Town Hall {2/18}

Imaginary Gemma — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:21:25 +0000

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.

Imaginary exclusive! More Than Shapes, starring John Roderick of the Long Winters

imaginary victoria — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:21:07 +0000

Adam Pranica, filmmaker and principal over at Dorsia Films and true indie rock enthusiast, with the perfect opening line:

"In the winter of 2011, Victoria VanBruinisse came up with a crazy idea to invite John Roderick of The Long Winters over for a potluck dinner. He played a few songs, told some stories, and ate all of the food."

And that's pretty much the long and short of it. When I found out that I was going to be in New York at CMJ for this past year's City Arts Festival, and would subsequently be missing the only performance by the Long Winters for the 2011 calendar year, I almost cried. Not literally, but still. It was a huge disappointment, a sigh to end all sighs, the conundrum that comes from being vested in so many interests and not being able to be everywhere at once. And so I did what any fan would do: I suggested to John that perhaps he might want to play a show in my living room. I base much of my interactions on the simple methodology of the old adage that it never hurts to ask, because as the lottery tells us, you can't win if you don't play.

Well, we played alright, and we won. All of us, and that's you {yes, you!} included, because we won something big: a beautiful, candle-and-twinkle-light-lit evening with two dozen of our closest friends, where we enjoyed food, comraderie, and a series of brilliantly performed songs by the one and only John Roderick. And because of the genius embedded in Adam Pranica, Tyler Kalberg, and Zach Varnell -- the latter two being names you should recognize from the Notes from Home series -- we get to share the collective product from that near-perfect night with the world.

Imaginary Mixtape: Shuffle Surprise!

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:57:26 +0000

You know that point when your iTunes gets so filled up with awesome stuff that you can't possibly listen to everything that's in there with any kind of regularity? Where, like, you put it on shuffle and then you hear a song and you're all, "OHHHH right, I love this song! But I forgot about it!" Right.

Well, that's been happening to me lately and there's so much good stuff I want to share, I thought I'd just go ahead and create a mixtape for y'all. Enjoy!

"Nothing Really Happened" - Math and Physics Club
"So Caroline" - The Posies
"Lonelily" - Damien Rice
"The Kids We Used to Be" - Phineas and The Lonely Leaves
"Do It Better" - Imperial Teen
"If It Was (A Matter of Mind)" - The Rave-Ups
"Hold On" - Yellow Ostrich
"The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine" - Spoon
"Run" - Ben Kweller
"Closet Cutter" - Mike Viola
"Sigh" - Verlee for Ransom
"Connection" - The Brunettes

Play this mixtape on Spotify.
{I once again tried to include an iTunes link, but sadly only 9 of the 13 songs are available on there. auuuuggghhh}

So... what songs have popped up on your shuffle lately that you're suddenly loving again?

Imaginary Linkage: Stuff We Spied Online This Week {1/28-2/3}

Imaginary Amie — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:51:05 +0000

So much internet love this week! Here are the things that thrilled us so much we had to share.

There's not much we can add to the video above, except that the people at Archie McPhee clearly RULE.

Ever wondered where the best of the worst roadside dinosaurs are? Now you know.

Rough breakup? Sell your ex's gifts on Never Liked it Anyway, or tell a story about items they left behind on I Still Have Your Stuff.

Den of Geek put together a pretty good list of Top 25 Cult Film Actors - but Amie is upset that they forgot Jeffery Combs. I mean, SERIOUSLY.

Cards Against Humanity: Our new favorite game (that you can download for free!)

The best cover of Depeche Mode's "Strangelove" on the entire internet.

Low-Commitment Projects: Crafting for lazy people.

{probably NSFW} Someone who calls themselves Dianne Amazeballs (rightfully so!) started a collection of Ridiculous Pregnancy Pictures on Pinterest, and we can't. stop. looking. at. them.

What you'd see that's worthy of an Imaginary Shout-out?

Totally legit: Sasquatch! 2012 lineup announced

imaginary victoria — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:38:58 +0000

In the throes of a killer party at the Neptune last night, we were thrilled beyond belief to find out the details on another most excellent year for the Sasquatch! music festival, taking place out at the Gorge on Memorial Day weekend {May 25-28}. Sasquatch! is by far one of our favorite fests every year, and 2012 is going to be no exception.

We're particularly excited about partying down with the likes of Jack White, Beck, Tenacious D, Beirut, Girl Talk {hell yes!}, The Head and the Heart, Tune-Yards, Wild Flag, Blind Pilot, Mark Lanegan Band, The Cave Singers, Grouplove, Ted Leo, Deer Tick, Alabama Shakes, We Are Augustines, Shearwater {!!!!!}, Charles Bradley, Pickwick, Hey Marseilles, Sallie Ford, Dyme Def, Fresh Espresso, and Katie Kate -- but by no means does that even scratch the surface of the seemingly-zillion fantastic bands included on this year's lineup. As usual, there's a thoughtful mash of notable locals and squee-worthy headliners, so much so that slapping down the ticket price to spend the long weekend with twenty-plus thousand of your closest friends is an absolute no-brainer.

Recommended Show + Ticket Giveaway! Win tix to Dancing on the Valentine 7 {2/10}

Imaginary Amie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:23:27 +0000

We know we've already warned you to buy tickets to Dancing on the Valentine Seven (and the Ragged Tiger), because WE KNOW this thing is gonna sell out - but just in case, here's another reminder, and a chance to win a pair of tickets so you can spend your money on booze and (LOTS of) raffle tickets instead!

DOTV7 is officially ONE WEEK AWAY, and ALL ticket and raffle proceeds go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Here's another look at the awesome lineup of Northwest bands that will be on stage at The Crocodile covering Duran Duran songs:

John Roderick (of The Long Winters)
Exohxo
Lesli Wood (of The Redwood Plan) with Jupe Jupe
Katie Kate
Noddy
Princess
Hotels
Daniel G. Harmann & The Trouble Starts
Fly Moon Royalty
Davidson Hart Kingsbery

Just send us an email to tig {at} threeimaginarygirls {dot} com with the subject line "Sing Blue Silver" sometime between now and 5pm on Wednesday, February 8. We'll pick a winner and notify you on Wednesday night so you and your date have time to plan outfits for Friday!

Imaginary Watch This: Eagles are Turning People Into Horses! (what)

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:25:59 +0000

I don't even know what to say about this short film, except I liked it -- and apparently so did Slamdance and SXSW. Maybe you will too?

"Hannah, hit the button on the seismic reactor, which is definitely a real thing"

Don't miss: Sasquatch! lineup announcement / party / show at the Neptune {2/2}

imaginary victoria — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:40:42 +0000

It's coming! The crowds, the sun, the bands -- my stars, THE BANDS. We're beside ourselves with anticipation as we wait for the announcement of this year's Sasquatch! music festival lineup, and it won't be long now! The news will be public in less than forty-eight hours, as the folks at Sasquatch! HQ gear up for the announcement party taking place tomorrow night {2/2} at the Neptune. And you can join in, too! The show is all ages and tickets are just $16.00, which is a fair price to pay to be spending the night with the likes of Junip {feat. Jose Gonzales}, Matthew Caws {of Nada Surf, also playing a sold-out show later that night at the Tractor}, and The Physics.

Add the cherry on top of Luke Burbank playing host, and you've got the best party / show / festival lineup announcement / gathering-thing this side of the Puget Sound. We can't wait to start making our schedule for this year's trip to the Gorge, and hope to see you tomorrow night!

{All ages / $16 adv / 7p doors. Photo of the main stage at Sasquatch! 2010 by Victoria VanBruinisse.}

Movie Crushes: My Top 5 Imaginary Boyfriends

Imaginary Amie — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:35:09 +0000

So here's the thing; my crush list is kind of EPIC. By that I mean, there are a lot of celebs that I find myself dreaming about, and my dreams aren't limited to just the actors, they extend to specific characters they've played on screen. I felt compelled to share them with y'all* just in case you need some ideas for silly romantic comedies with men that will make you swoon.

Dylan McDermott as Leo Fish in Home for the Holidays
It’s probably hard for everyone to erase the image of McDermott crying while masturbating in American Horror Story—but if anything can get it out of your mind, it’s his sweet, ruggedly handsome Leo Fish in one of my favorite holiday movies of all time. Leo pursues a sullen Holly Hunter with respect, romance, and just enough smoldering sexiness. There’s a bit in a coffee shop where he explains to the young clerk why he needs him to stay open long enough to buy this girl a cup of coffee that’s so endearing it’s insane, and when she rebuffs his romantic advances, I guarantee you’ll scream at her—as if she can hear you. I don’t want to ruin anything for those that haven’t seen it, but the ending. MYGODTHEENDING.

The Head and the Heart heat up the slopes at Steven's Pass {2/13}

Imaginary Gemma — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:20:18 +0000

Music and mountains are two of the biggest draws to the Pacific Northwest. On February 13, you can enjoy both together with an afternoon slipping down the slopes of Steven’s Pass, followed by The Head and the Heart’s acoustic set at the Foggy Goggle Lounge. We can’t think of a better way to warm up for Valentine’s Day than drinking hot toddies while hearing THatH’s intelligent, heartfelt harmonies.

THatH have won us over time and again with their live performances, which always sell out. This one may be all the way up the pass, but tickets are going fast, so you’ll want to get yours soon.

{21+ / $70 show + lift; $25 show only / 7:00 pm}

Recommended Show: Tennis Pro rocks it Japan style at Chop Suey {2/8}

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:40:00 +0000

Gosling pretty much says it all. Tennis Pro is playing on Wednesday, February 8 at Chop Suey with two Japanese bands with perfect rock-and-roll names: Troll 8 (also the owner of Chop Suey's band) and Gnosis - plus, The Terrordactyls, who also hail from Seattle, and post pictures of sad pizza. Oh, and they also sound pretty neat, so they should complement Tennis Pro's awesomeness just fine.

So I'll see you guys up front near the stage, right?

Chop Suey Presents
TENNIS PRO
The Terrordactyls
Troll 8
Gnosis
plus guests
Friday, Feb. 8 | Doors at 8pm | $7

{photo courtesy of Tennis Pro's Facebook page}

Cabin Fever + Rider Strong = a splatteriffic good time at the EMP {2/3}

Imaginary Amie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:09:34 +0000

It's ALL HAPPENING!

To complement their Can't Look Away: The Lure of Horror Film exhibit, the EMP has put together a special event of splatterrific proportions - a screening of my favorite Eli Roth film, Cabin Fever, complete with a Q&A involving the lead, Rider Strong (I guess some of y'all worshipped the guy with teen idol fanaticism when he was on Boy Meets World - a show which I actually never watched, but I admit: he is kinda dreamy!) on Friday, February 3.

Anyway! Cabin Fever is full of awesome icky goodness involving a bunch of college friends who hole up in a woodsy cabin, run into a dying guy who's bleeding out of every orifice, and end up contracting a vicious flesh-eating disease. EWWWWWW. The amount of blood, guts, and gore is extremely impressive, and I heart the crap out of the humor in this thing. Tickets are only $10 ($7 for EMP members), and it probably goes without saying, but this R film is not for the kiddos!

Buy your tix now!!! The JBL Theater is an excellent venue for ~~drooling over~~ appreciating guest speakers up close and personal.

Cabin Fever Screening and Q&A with Rider Strong
EMP JBL Theater, 325 5th Ave N
Friday, February 3, doors @7:30pm, film @8pm
Tickets: $10 ($7 EMP Members)

Get your {indie} freak on with the new Andrew Bird track

imaginary victoria — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:35:47 +0000

We're just about a month out from Andrew Bird's next album release {Break It Yourself, due out on March 6th} and twice that from his upcoming show at the Paramount Theater {April 9th} with Laura Marling. Pre-album, the single "Eyeoneye" has made a (legal) foray out into the 'nets, and seeing as it's been on rotation since the minute the mailing list hit our imaginary inbox, we thought it fit to take a moment and hip you to it.

If this track is any indication of what Break It Yourself is going to bring to us on the whole, we're ready to put this as a frontrunner for one of 2012's top five albums without a single look back. There's a wide spectrum of recognizeable influence here while remaining decidedly Andrew Bird, which is to be expected -- he's one of those artists that continues to evolve with the world around him and change dramatically without departing too far from his baseline. And that said, there's a whole new freshly familiar vibe to the music: still laden with whistle-overs, graced with more than a hint of Phil Spector wall-of-sound-ery, and sliced through to the skeleton with a half-dozen emergent indie sounds of, well, right-fucking-now-ness.

Building a mixtape: Darren Hanlon and Adorable and that catchy bassline

imaginary liz — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:29:42 +0000

Over the weekend I had an OMG realization: one of the chord progressions to "The Unmade Bed" by Darren Hanlon perfectly complements (or shall we say, matches) my favorite progression of all time, that being the baseline in "Homeboy" by Adorable.

Both are wonderful songs that I could listen to on repeat independently, but together it's infectious and possibly the beginning of a great mixtape, one made up of songs that feature tabs of that ilk. Are there any other songs you can think of that would play nicely next to these two tunes?

As inspiration (and exhibits A & B), here are videos for both songs (and yes, that's Jens Lekman in the Darren Hanlon video!):

Adorable - "Homeboy" from the album Against Perfection

Darron Hanlon - "The Unmade Bed" from the album Little Chills

Imaginary Linkage: Stuff We Spied Online This Week {1/21-1/27}

Imaginary Amie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:39:22 +0000

We sure do love the internets! And we also love the millions and millions of things we see everyday while we're surfing around, trying to kill time or relieve stress, or just plain distract ourselves. Because we also love YOU, we wanted to share the following things that made us happy.

Social Media Madness: TIG jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon! It's fun (and time-consuming).

Awwwwww! We <3 this really sincere reaction to being nominated for an Academy Award.

Hipster heaven: create your own animated gifs with stenographs from the NYC Public Library.

Film nerd heaven: Watch short films from Sundance - for Free!

Seattle real estate porn: the revamped Sanctuary is back on sale (yet still too expensive for normal people) condo market. It sure is beautiful, though.

Seth Rogen speaks the truth at the Golden Globes. (hee!)

What'd you see on the 'net this week? Please share your imaginary awesomeness in the comments!

Imaginary Watch This: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On Two

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:47:45 +0000

I can't really explain why I think Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is so damn funny, but it just is. In this second installment, I really love the "oh god, I can smell his face" part - and the explanation of where he sleeps when in a hotel. (part 1 here)

Let the Los Campesinos Countdown begin {Neptune, 2/4}

imaginary liz — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:33:33 +0000

It is just a little over a week until the Los Campesinos! show at the Neptune Theater on Saturday, February 4, 2012 and I am beside myself with pre-show excitement. Every single LC! show I've seen has left me gleefully ravaged by the frenetic enthusiasm and beguiling live set. For them, it's a moral imperative to put on an amazing show.

Their latest album, Hello Sadness, is a further step down the path towards debilitating heartbreak. It tempers the deep cuts of longing with a glimmer of hope for what's ahead (I can't wait for them to get a room with Conor Oberst already. Oh how my world would be complete).

Currently, I've been listening to "Songs About Your Girlfriend" (which I bet is David Gedge's favorite song on the album), "Life Is A Long Time" and "By Your Hand" on repeat. I love it when it hurts so good.

Next Saturday cannot come fast enough!

If you haven't gotten your tickets yet for this all-ages show, you can pick them up online.

Oh, and did you see them perform "By Your Hand" on Letterman? Can I get a hallelujah for the Beautiful South t-shirt? (see the video after the jump)

Buy Your Tix Now for Dancing on the Valentine Seven at The Crocodile {2/10}

Imaginary Amie — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:35:58 +0000

This year is already flying by - which means in just a little over 2 weeks, it's time for Dancing on the Valentine Seven (and the Ragged Tiger)!!!

Jenny George's awesome fundraising cover night for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society takes place at The Crocodile on Friday, February 10, and features a line-up including TIG's Indie Santa Claus John Roderick, Lesli Wood (of the Redwood Plan) with Jupe Jupe, The Hotels, Katie Kate, Noddy, Exohxo, Princess, Flymoon Royalty, and Daniel G. Harmann with The Trouble Starts.

The seventh (!!!!) annual DOTV gathering marks a return to its original form featuring Duran Duran covers, in honor of Jenny's incredible meeting with the band last fall. Our own Imaginary Dana is Emcee'ing again (yay!), DJ Mike Steve will spin some tunes in-between bands, there'll be some sweet sweet raffle prizes, merch from previous DOTVs, and of course - Ben Haley's famous photobooth!

We hate to state the obvious - but we're giving you advanced warning because y'all better get your tickets now...this thing is gonna sell out.