This weekend was full of fine choices for shows, both in and out of Seattle proper. We found ourselves out in Tacoma (!) for a night at the Warehouse for Pickwick, Ivan & Alyosha and Pablo Trucker; and in the KEXP studios Saturday night before heading out on the town to catch a set by Youth Rescue Mission -- it was a rad stretch, and we've got the photos to prove it!

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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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I've pretty much been nerding out about Pablo Trucker since the minute I hit the ground in Seattle. Show after show after show, they just won't quit -- and I can't wait to catch more proof tonight when they slay the stage at Conor Byrne. Their sound is inherently simple: big dirty guitar + tortured vocals + jazz-like precision on the drums + just the right amount of bass for good measure (pun intended). But that's where the cut-and-dry stops -- because there's something that comes alive on the stage when these musicians get together that's hard to match.

On the odd chance you're not familiar, you can read a bunch of emo about their live shows (spoiler: the start of every descriptive about them is almost identical to the first sentence of this post) here, here, here, and here.

And if all that adjective isn't enough to get you to Ballard to spend seven bucks on a Friday night, I don't know what is. The show is 21+ / 9pm / $7 at the door. See you there!

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I can guarantee you that tonight's show at the Tractor will be the best $6.00 you spend all week. Period.

I make no bones about the fact that my inner sad bastard has had a love affair going with Pablo Trucker since about five minutes after I met Seattle. Spending endless mornings before work at Victrola up on 15th for my first few months in town, I caffeinated across the bar from Andrew Rudd -- who I knew only as a raging barista who worked in a music shop. Come to find out, he was a percussionist (and then one-half) of the band Pablo Trucker, who write some of the saddest songs I've ever loved to be slain by. Doppio, swoon, ache. Lather, rinse, repeat.

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at Sunset Tavern

I believe in Pablo Trucker, and so should you.

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at The Sunset

A night full of local all-stars with Jon Auer, Gavin Guss, Pablo Trucker, and Visqueen.

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Got sneakers?

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at The Sunset

Holy _____ on a _______.

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